BobVADemHawk's Blog
About the Author
Be prepared for bare-knuckled intellectual debate or go see one of my "softer" colleagues. Keep the Faith and keep the faith. The populist revolution has begun!
I'm sure we've all noticed the huge amount of spamming to this blog over the past few months. I must admit, I find it rather annoying that the DNC IT Department hasn't done more to prevent this. Or, at a bare minimum, have someone keeping an eye on the blog to delete the spam posts as they appear. Jonah has been doing a good job with the KA blog. I would hope whomever is assigned to this blog would step up and start doing their job. This is the online presence of the Democratic National Committee. Practically the whole world can see this site. We can do better.
by Dr. Michio Kaku
The recent discovery of methane on Mars is more than a curiousity. It could be a game changer.
For the last three decades, NASA’s Mars exploration program has been based on a single mantra: Follow the water. Where there is water, there might be life. So far, this strategy has come up empty handed. But now, NASA might have to change course and follow the methane. Methane gas, which heats up our food in our kitchen stoves, can be created by natural processes, but about 90% of the earth’s methane gas comes from living things, such as the decomposition of organic materials. So this is tantalizing evidence that perhaps some form of Martian life created this methane.
Back in 2003, the European Mars Express orbiter detected methane on Mars in the northern hemisphere. Careful analysis over several years with three ground-based telescopes then detected plumes of methane gas spewing from several specific sites on Mars, peaking in the summer time. Up to 20,000 metric tons of methane gas have been detected in these plumes. The burning question now being asked is: what is the origin of this methane gas?
3 billion years or so ago, Mars was tropical, with lakes, rivers, perhaps even an ocean as big as the United States. Back then, you could get a sun tan on prime beach front property. And perhaps microbial life in the form of algae and plankton thrived in this lush environment. But today, Mars is a frozen desert, a bleak, sterilized, and freezing landscape with a thin atmosphere of almost pure carbon dioxide. Perhaps this methane gas was left-over from the decay of organic life billions of years ago. A more interesting hypothesis is that this methane gas comes from present-day microbial life that grows underground, perhaps heated up by volcanic activity and hot springs.
(The earth also belches large quantities of methane gas, such as off the coast of Calif., because of methane deposits on the bottom of the ocean. Some have even speculated that these belches of gas might explain the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle. Colossal bubbles of gas seeping from the floor of the Caribbean may have suffocated sailors on ships or destabilized airplanes.)
At the very least, it means that NASA may re-think where to land the next series of Mars rovers. The next mission is the Mars Science Laboratory, to be launched in 2011. Before this announcement, NASA had considered (and passed over) the Nili Fossae area for a landing site, where methane plumes have been found. Scientists may reconsider this decision in light of this discovery. By digging into the soil, or by carefully analyzing the hydrogen isotopes within the methane, scientists may settle the question of the origin of methane gas.
If it turns out to be organic in nature, it could be the most profound achievement of the entire space program, rivaling sending a man to the moon.
In the long term, even if the methane gas has been found to be of inorganic origin, there are other possible uses for it. First, it might be used to create rocket fuel. In a manned mission to Mars, the astronauts may melt the ice in the ice caps or permafrost, separate out the oxygen and hydrogen from the water, and use them for rocket fuel. If methane exists in large quantities, it might be mixed with other volatile gases to make rocket fuel, thereby saving a considerable amount of money (since it may cost upwards of several hundred thousand dollars or more to put a pound of anything on the surface of Mars).
Second, in the far future, science fiction writers have speculated that it might be possible to create an artificial Greenhouse Effect on Mars by deliberately injecting methane into the atmosphere, since methane is much more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. In this way, one might be able to heat up the planet to melt some of the ice caps and permafrost so that liquid water may one day freely flow on the surface of Mars. Some have speculated that we might be able to create a new Garden of Eden on Mars. The goal would be for humanity to terraform Mars so that humanity can become a “two-planet species,” (i.e. to create an insurance policy in case life is threatened on earth.)
Having a spare planet could come in handy one day.
http://mkaku.org/home/?page_id=537 Read More »
ALIEN bugs are responsible for strong plumes of methane gas detected on Mars, it was claimed tonight.Read More »
Nasa scientists say the gas emissions could have either a geological or biological source - as The Sun exclusively revealed today.
Nasa announced its historic findings on its online television channel...
Life is responsible for more than 90 per cent of the Earth’s atmospheric methane.
Experts believe there is a good chance that organisms produced the gas emissions - as large as some of those seen on Earth - on Mars too.
Scientist Michael Mumma of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center said: “This raises the probability substantially that life was there or still survives at the present.
“We think the probability is much higher now based on this evidence.”
The bugs that made it may have vanished millions of years ago, leaving the methane frozen under the planet’s surface.
But another possibility is that some hardy organisms still survive on the Red Planet, living underground without sunlight and using hydrogen from water for energy. Similar microbes exist on Earth.
Methane produced by the action of water on hot carbon bearing rocks, as occurs in volcanic regions on Earth, is the alternative explanation.
Whatever the source is, scientists agree that something is replenishing the methane.
The find is seen as exciting new evidence that Martian microbes are still alive today.
Some scientists reckon methane is also produced by volcanic processes. But there are NO known active volcanoes on Mars.
Furthermore, Nasa has found the gas in the same regions as clouds of water vapour, the vital “drink” needed to support life.
Experts speculate that the methane is being emitted as a waste product by organisms called methanogens living in water beneath underground ice.
And they would have to be alive today because the methane would otherwise have been lost from the Martian atmosphere...
NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - India warned its citizens on Friday it was unsafe to travel to Pakistan and the prime minister met his military chiefs, while Pakistan canceled army leave and moved some troops from its western border.
The travel warning marked a dramatic rise in tension between the nuclear-armed neighbors after last month's attack on Mumbai that killed 179 people and which India has blamed on Islamist militants based in Pakistan.
It followed media reports in Pakistan and India that "several" Indian nationals had been held in the last two days after bombings in the Pakistani cities of Lahore and Multan.
"Indian citizens are therefore advised that it would be unsafe for them to travel (to) or be in Pakistan," India's Foreign Ministry spokesman said in a statement.
Another Foreign Ministry official contacted by Reuters said the warning referred to all travel to Pakistan... Read More »
The travel warning marked a dramatic rise in tension between the nuclear-armed neighbors after last month's attack on Mumbai that killed 179 people and which India has blamed on Islamist militants based in Pakistan.
It followed media reports in Pakistan and India that "several" Indian nationals had been held in the last two days after bombings in the Pakistani cities of Lahore and Multan.
"Indian citizens are therefore advised that it would be unsafe for them to travel (to) or be in Pakistan," India's Foreign Ministry spokesman said in a statement.
Another Foreign Ministry official contacted by Reuters said the warning referred to all travel to Pakistan... Read More »
Rachel Maddow and Keith Olberman last night (18DEC08), on their respective shows on MSNBC, http://www.rachel.msnbc.com , did a good job at espousing the opinion of those who believe that Pastor Warren was not the best choice to deliver inauguration invocation on 20JAN09. I do not share all of Pastor Warren's views, either however, the choice was not yours or mine to make, it was President-elect Obama's choice as it is his inauguration.
But to automatically disqualify him for his opinion(s) is no better than qualifying someone based merely on their opinion(s). Pastor Warren, and those that follow him, had every right to advocate for CA Prop 8 as much as all the groups that advocated against CA Prop 8. That is our political process. And once again, in accordance with CA law, the will of the people is served. You and I may not agree with the majority decision but, elections have consequences.
Pastor Warren represents the views of tens of millions of Americans if not hundreds of millions when it comes to his religious convictions about gay marriage and other political hot button issues such as abortion. President-elect Obama will be the POTUS to all 300 million of us, not just the LGBT community and their supporters. Furthermore, the President-elect stated throughout his entire campaign that he was opposed to gay marriage but in favor of civil unions. The LGBT's knew this. What was their alternative, vote for Sen. McCain (R-AZ) or some third-party hack that didn't stand a snowball's chance in Hades of getting elected? The LGBT community will have a seat at the proverbial table in 2009. It will not be a front row seat though due to political considerations.
Once again, we are a nation of law, not men. The rule of law must be followed otherwise we live in a state of anarchy. Every single right we have, or do not have, is by the will of the people through their elected officials. There are consitutional mechanisms in place to amend the constitution or repeal any amendment. If the votes were there, any Amendment could be gone by the end of 2009. Want to ban guns? Repeal the 2nd Amendment. Want to make alcohol illegal again? Repeal the 21st Amendment. Want to ban term limits on the POTUS and VPOTUS? Repeal the 22nd Amendment. And if you want to secure gay marriage for the LGBT community, then it is time for the "28th Amendment". The trick will be finding the votes for such.
And as of this time in history, the votes are not there. IMO, the votes will not be there until the baby boomers have died off. Polling of CA voters indicated that those under 35 voted two to one against CA Prop 8. That will be the generation that brings gay marriage into existence, not us.
In VA, when we amended our constitution back in 2004, the gay marriage ban passed by a margin of two to one. The thirty-plus states that have passed similar amendments saw those pass by a similar margin.
The LGBT Community often asks, "How would gay people marrying affect heterosexual marriage"? The correct answer is, "It wouldn't". But the majority of Americans (60%+) disagree with that notion. Therefore, the question needs to be changed to, "If the LGBT community has the same rights as marriage but it is called a CU, why should that affect their 'marriage'"?
In closing, if the LGBT Community wants the same rights as married couples, the only viable alternative at this point in history is Civil Unions (CU's). Polling indicates that CU's enjoy significantly more support than gay marriage does. Is that seperate but equal? Yes, it is. Does that suck? Yes, it does as much as it did when the same standard was applied to African-Americans. Is that the best we can do now under the rule of law. Yes, it is because if it won't pass in, arguably, the most liberal state in the union, it darn sure won't pass anywhere else.
But to automatically disqualify him for his opinion(s) is no better than qualifying someone based merely on their opinion(s). Pastor Warren, and those that follow him, had every right to advocate for CA Prop 8 as much as all the groups that advocated against CA Prop 8. That is our political process. And once again, in accordance with CA law, the will of the people is served. You and I may not agree with the majority decision but, elections have consequences.
Pastor Warren represents the views of tens of millions of Americans if not hundreds of millions when it comes to his religious convictions about gay marriage and other political hot button issues such as abortion. President-elect Obama will be the POTUS to all 300 million of us, not just the LGBT community and their supporters. Furthermore, the President-elect stated throughout his entire campaign that he was opposed to gay marriage but in favor of civil unions. The LGBT's knew this. What was their alternative, vote for Sen. McCain (R-AZ) or some third-party hack that didn't stand a snowball's chance in Hades of getting elected? The LGBT community will have a seat at the proverbial table in 2009. It will not be a front row seat though due to political considerations.
Once again, we are a nation of law, not men. The rule of law must be followed otherwise we live in a state of anarchy. Every single right we have, or do not have, is by the will of the people through their elected officials. There are consitutional mechanisms in place to amend the constitution or repeal any amendment. If the votes were there, any Amendment could be gone by the end of 2009. Want to ban guns? Repeal the 2nd Amendment. Want to make alcohol illegal again? Repeal the 21st Amendment. Want to ban term limits on the POTUS and VPOTUS? Repeal the 22nd Amendment. And if you want to secure gay marriage for the LGBT community, then it is time for the "28th Amendment". The trick will be finding the votes for such.
And as of this time in history, the votes are not there. IMO, the votes will not be there until the baby boomers have died off. Polling of CA voters indicated that those under 35 voted two to one against CA Prop 8. That will be the generation that brings gay marriage into existence, not us.
In VA, when we amended our constitution back in 2004, the gay marriage ban passed by a margin of two to one. The thirty-plus states that have passed similar amendments saw those pass by a similar margin.
The LGBT Community often asks, "How would gay people marrying affect heterosexual marriage"? The correct answer is, "It wouldn't". But the majority of Americans (60%+) disagree with that notion. Therefore, the question needs to be changed to, "If the LGBT community has the same rights as marriage but it is called a CU, why should that affect their 'marriage'"?
In closing, if the LGBT Community wants the same rights as married couples, the only viable alternative at this point in history is Civil Unions (CU's). Polling indicates that CU's enjoy significantly more support than gay marriage does. Is that seperate but equal? Yes, it is. Does that suck? Yes, it does as much as it did when the same standard was applied to African-Americans. Is that the best we can do now under the rule of law. Yes, it is because if it won't pass in, arguably, the most liberal state in the union, it darn sure won't pass anywhere else.
The Obama administration should set a concrete schedule for human Mars missions, and make sure new hardware developed for NASA's return to the Moon can be adapted for missions to other destinations, a new report says.
With a new US president set to take charge of the White House and many questions hanging over NASA's future, many have been trying to advise the agency about where it should go from here.
President-elect Barack Obama's transition team has been very tight-lipped, but if the Obama administration takes its cue from the preponderance of advice it's getting, then human missions to Mars may well move up in priority.
Back in November, the Planetary Society, a space advocacy group, released a report called "Beyond the Moon", which called for delaying new missions to the Moon and channelling more resources into paving the way for human missions to Mars instead (see Moon takes a backseat in new space plan).
Now, an independent group of space experts, led by David Mindell of MIT, is calling for a timeline for human Mars missions, and urging that any Moon hardware be designed with other destinations in mind as well...
Read More »
Well, the argument for it is millions of jobs will go under. You will lose the largest manufacturing unit in the United States, the heart and soul of American manufacturing. R&D goes with it. Technology goes with it. Engineering goes with it.
And more important, the auto industry has an enormous future in this world. Americans, we buy, in a good year, 17 million cars. China, India, all these countries are opening up. People are moving into the middle class. They're going to want cars. You will carve the United States out of much of the future. But in terms of viability, what's killed General Motors, and the others, is they have dropped the greatest, highest-paid guys who give the most in taxes, the cleanest, safest factories, and dropped them into global competition against factories in places like China, whose managers would be in a penitentiary if they were doing in the United States what they're allowed to do over there.
We are Americans. Why would you buy a car from a foreign country that hires Americans at a third of what American auto makers pay and all the profits go overseas? That, in and of itself, is un-American.
The Big 3 were instrumental in our winning of WW2. Were it not for GM and Ford converting to make military trucks, jeeps, and other components of the American war machine, we may be all speaking German or Japanese right now. And quite frankly, if we keep "whoring" ourselves out with the trade deficit the way we have been; we may end up speaking Japanese or Mandarin yet.
The time has come to stand up and say no more to our manufacturing jobs being shipped overseas. No more to foreign countries driving down the American standard of living. No more to foreign companies having influence over our elected officials. No damn more! Did Congress ask the AIG executives how they got to Washington? Did they ask Lehman Bros., Bank of America, or anybody else?
Stop selling out your fellow Americans. Look for the Union Label. Look for the Made in America labels. When you walk into a store, ask where the American made products are. Stay the hell out of Wal-Mart. We are Americans and it's high time we remember that. Buy American. At least 3 million of your fellow citizens, and quite possibly the economic future of this country, are depending on you.
And more important, the auto industry has an enormous future in this world. Americans, we buy, in a good year, 17 million cars. China, India, all these countries are opening up. People are moving into the middle class. They're going to want cars. You will carve the United States out of much of the future. But in terms of viability, what's killed General Motors, and the others, is they have dropped the greatest, highest-paid guys who give the most in taxes, the cleanest, safest factories, and dropped them into global competition against factories in places like China, whose managers would be in a penitentiary if they were doing in the United States what they're allowed to do over there.
We are Americans. Why would you buy a car from a foreign country that hires Americans at a third of what American auto makers pay and all the profits go overseas? That, in and of itself, is un-American.
The Big 3 were instrumental in our winning of WW2. Were it not for GM and Ford converting to make military trucks, jeeps, and other components of the American war machine, we may be all speaking German or Japanese right now. And quite frankly, if we keep "whoring" ourselves out with the trade deficit the way we have been; we may end up speaking Japanese or Mandarin yet.
The time has come to stand up and say no more to our manufacturing jobs being shipped overseas. No more to foreign countries driving down the American standard of living. No more to foreign companies having influence over our elected officials. No damn more! Did Congress ask the AIG executives how they got to Washington? Did they ask Lehman Bros., Bank of America, or anybody else?
Stop selling out your fellow Americans. Look for the Union Label. Look for the Made in America labels. When you walk into a store, ask where the American made products are. Stay the hell out of Wal-Mart. We are Americans and it's high time we remember that. Buy American. At least 3 million of your fellow citizens, and quite possibly the economic future of this country, are depending on you.
Anger Over Prop. 8 Erupts In San Francisco
POSTED: 10:40 pm PST November 14, 2008
UPDATED: 11:57 pm PST November 14, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO -- In San Francisco's Castro District, people on both sides of the same-sex marriage controversy confronted each other on Friday night, as police tried to keep the peace. Proposition 8 passed in a close vote and eliminated the right of same-sex couples to marry.
Members of the gay community said that almost every Friday night, a Christian group meets at the corner of Castro and 18th Streets. They try to convert gays and lesbians into a straight lifestyle.
This Friday night, the message didn't go over well. Some gays and lesbians reacted by trying to chase the group out of the Castro.
"Their rights were respected," said Joe Schmitz, an opponent of Prop 8. "They got a chance to go ahead and pray on the sidewalk and I had the opportunity to express my freedom of speech which is telling them to get out of my neighborhood."
San Francisco Police officers in riot gear formed a line and escorted the religious group into a van to safely get them out of the area.
Members of the gay community insisted that their reaction to the Christian group was spontaneous. "It was not an organized thing. We're tired of it. It's not religious. It's not a racial thing. It's about hate. We're trying to send a message across the world that we're standing up and we don't want this to go on anymore," said Adam Quintero.
Supporters of same-sex marriage plan on Saturday to stage a national day of protest against Prop 8. Some demonstrators told KTVU that they are planning on more than protests. They say they plan to break away and carry out acts of civil disobedience.
In San Francisco, the demonstration is scheduled to take place outside City Hall. Other demonstrations are planned in Oakland and Walnut Creek, and in New York, Washington, Chicago and other U.S. cities...
http://www.ktvu.com/news/17986914/detail.html Read More »
POSTED: 10:40 pm PST November 14, 2008
UPDATED: 11:57 pm PST November 14, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO -- In San Francisco's Castro District, people on both sides of the same-sex marriage controversy confronted each other on Friday night, as police tried to keep the peace. Proposition 8 passed in a close vote and eliminated the right of same-sex couples to marry.
Members of the gay community said that almost every Friday night, a Christian group meets at the corner of Castro and 18th Streets. They try to convert gays and lesbians into a straight lifestyle.
This Friday night, the message didn't go over well. Some gays and lesbians reacted by trying to chase the group out of the Castro.
"Their rights were respected," said Joe Schmitz, an opponent of Prop 8. "They got a chance to go ahead and pray on the sidewalk and I had the opportunity to express my freedom of speech which is telling them to get out of my neighborhood."
San Francisco Police officers in riot gear formed a line and escorted the religious group into a van to safely get them out of the area.
Members of the gay community insisted that their reaction to the Christian group was spontaneous. "It was not an organized thing. We're tired of it. It's not religious. It's not a racial thing. It's about hate. We're trying to send a message across the world that we're standing up and we don't want this to go on anymore," said Adam Quintero.
Supporters of same-sex marriage plan on Saturday to stage a national day of protest against Prop 8. Some demonstrators told KTVU that they are planning on more than protests. They say they plan to break away and carry out acts of civil disobedience.
In San Francisco, the demonstration is scheduled to take place outside City Hall. Other demonstrations are planned in Oakland and Walnut Creek, and in New York, Washington, Chicago and other U.S. cities...
http://www.ktvu.com/news/17986914/detail.html Read More »
I think we all owe a debt of gratitude to Sen. Clinton for her help in the general election. Sen. Clinton proved once again that is a class act and the epitomy of what it means to be a Democrat. Though a few of her supporters never came around, the fact that well over 90% of Democrats voted for President-Elect Obama showed that the "PUMA effect" was practically non-existent. The election of President-Elect Obama was due to the Clinton Democrats' full support and for that, I, and many others like me, are certainly grateful.
R.I.P. PUMA and Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild. You're about to learn how cold it is in the poltical wilderness.
R.I.P. PUMA and Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild. You're about to learn how cold it is in the poltical wilderness.
Marriage has traditionally been between a man and a woman since the founding of the United States. To change something that embedded in the history of America should be put to a fair vote of the electorate as was civil rights. The results of CA Proposition 8 should send a clear message to the GLBT community that even in the most liberal of states; more than half of the electorate do not share your view in this matter. That is a democracy. That is the very foundation our great nation is built upon.
The GLBT community should reconsider their strategy at this time and come to the realization that, for at least another generation, Civil Unions will have to be an alternative. Polling indicates that state electorates, such as in CA, will have a lot easier time supporting Civil Unions than they will gay marriage.
Is this fair? No. Is it the old axiom of "separate but equal"? Yes, it is. But the civil rights contingent had to go through this period and it would appear that a majority of the electorate would want the same for the GLBT community if for no other reason than to give society, as a whole, time to adjust.
I'm confident that in one generation, or less, homosexuality will be considered as little as someone who is left-handed as many do now. I, like the GLBT community, look forward to that day. Every tax paying American citizen should be allowed to enjoy the benefits of a legally recognized marriage.
But while 52%+ of the electorate are prepared to accept an African-American as POTUS, the CA results clearly indicate that gay marriage is not that widely accepted. That is a true shame but, as in the POTUS election of two nights ago, the people have spoken. And the Democratic Party should not squander and of its mandate to force this through the Congress. To do so would violate the trust of a majority of the electorate. At best, this is a late second term item for the agenda and we need to see one state, any state, have a majority of its electorate approve gay marriage as opposed to judicial ruling(s). Pursue Civil Unions. That is your best chance, IMHO, for the foreseeable future.
The GLBT community should reconsider their strategy at this time and come to the realization that, for at least another generation, Civil Unions will have to be an alternative. Polling indicates that state electorates, such as in CA, will have a lot easier time supporting Civil Unions than they will gay marriage.
Is this fair? No. Is it the old axiom of "separate but equal"? Yes, it is. But the civil rights contingent had to go through this period and it would appear that a majority of the electorate would want the same for the GLBT community if for no other reason than to give society, as a whole, time to adjust.
I'm confident that in one generation, or less, homosexuality will be considered as little as someone who is left-handed as many do now. I, like the GLBT community, look forward to that day. Every tax paying American citizen should be allowed to enjoy the benefits of a legally recognized marriage.
But while 52%+ of the electorate are prepared to accept an African-American as POTUS, the CA results clearly indicate that gay marriage is not that widely accepted. That is a true shame but, as in the POTUS election of two nights ago, the people have spoken. And the Democratic Party should not squander and of its mandate to force this through the Congress. To do so would violate the trust of a majority of the electorate. At best, this is a late second term item for the agenda and we need to see one state, any state, have a majority of its electorate approve gay marriage as opposed to judicial ruling(s). Pursue Civil Unions. That is your best chance, IMHO, for the foreseeable future.
Barack Obama and Joe Biden 1,313,103 49.56%
John McCain and Sarah Palin 1,308,123 49.37%
Precincts Reporting:
1,997 of 2,496 (80.00%)
Voter Turnout:
2,649,181 of 4,912,971 active voters (53.92%)
2,649,181 of 5,034,660 total voters (52.61%) Votes by County/City
https://www.voterinfo.sbe.virginia.gov/election/DATA/2008/07261AFC-9ED3-410F-B07D-84D014AB2C6B/Unofficial/1_s.shtml
How's that for close. We're still waiting to hear from Richmond, Roanoke, and part of northern VA. VA will be close!
Congratulations to Senator-Elect Mark Warner!
John McCain and Sarah Palin 1,308,123 49.37%
Precincts Reporting:
1,997 of 2,496 (80.00%)
Voter Turnout:
2,649,181 of 4,912,971 active voters (53.92%)
2,649,181 of 5,034,660 total voters (52.61%) Votes by County/City
https://www.voterinfo.sbe.virginia.gov/election/DATA/2008/07261AFC-9ED3-410F-B07D-84D014AB2C6B/Unofficial/1_s.shtml
How's that for close. We're still waiting to hear from Richmond, Roanoke, and part of northern VA. VA will be close!
Congratulations to Senator-Elect Mark Warner!
VA is going to be closer than it looks. The weather forecast is for rain in the SE quadrant of the state. This is a big area for the Republicans due to the military population of Hampton Roads however, we're relying on heavy African-American turnout in Portsmouth, Norfolk, and Newport News.
Along the I-95 corridor, where we Democrats enjoy the advantage, the forecast is for intermittent rain. While none of the projected precipitation for Election Day is expected to be severe, it may have an impact on voter turnout.
So where does that leave us? I stand by my original predicition from last week.
Obama 49%
McCain 47%
Nader 2%
Barr 1%
All others 1%
Senate:
Former Gov. Mark Warner (D-VA) 62%
Former Gov. Jim Gilmore (R-VA) 35%
House:
Dems +1
Along the I-95 corridor, where we Democrats enjoy the advantage, the forecast is for intermittent rain. While none of the projected precipitation for Election Day is expected to be severe, it may have an impact on voter turnout.
So where does that leave us? I stand by my original predicition from last week.
Obama 49%
McCain 47%
Nader 2%
Barr 1%
All others 1%
Senate:
Former Gov. Mark Warner (D-VA) 62%
Former Gov. Jim Gilmore (R-VA) 35%
House:
Dems +1
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - NASA officials said Wednesday it might be possible to try out its new moon rocketship a year earlier than its current target date of 2015.
That would mean just a four-year gap between the last space shuttle flight and the next-generation spacecraft, instead of five years. Many in Congress, including the two presidential candidates, are troubled by the prospect of the United States having to rely on Russia for trips to the international space station during that time.
NASA is midway through a study looking at ways to move up its March 2015 test launch of the new Ares rocketship with a crew, in case the next president wants that. The new rocket would ultimately return the United States to the moon, but the initial flights would be to the space station.
It will be difficult to accelerate the mission by much more than a year, however, said Jeff Hanley, manager of NASA's back-to-the-moon program, called Constellation.
"We're shooting for a more aggressive date of September 2014," and looking at even faster options, he said. "The real stretch is what can we do to accelerate as much as 18 months. That will be particularly hard."
The two-month study, which includes outside experts, should be completed in early December. Read More »
That would mean just a four-year gap between the last space shuttle flight and the next-generation spacecraft, instead of five years. Many in Congress, including the two presidential candidates, are troubled by the prospect of the United States having to rely on Russia for trips to the international space station during that time.
NASA is midway through a study looking at ways to move up its March 2015 test launch of the new Ares rocketship with a crew, in case the next president wants that. The new rocket would ultimately return the United States to the moon, but the initial flights would be to the space station.
It will be difficult to accelerate the mission by much more than a year, however, said Jeff Hanley, manager of NASA's back-to-the-moon program, called Constellation.
"We're shooting for a more aggressive date of September 2014," and looking at even faster options, he said. "The real stretch is what can we do to accelerate as much as 18 months. That will be particularly hard."
The two-month study, which includes outside experts, should be completed in early December. Read More »
I witnessed something today that made me incredibly proud. Something that gives me hope for a better tomorrow. Those events are few and far between these days.
My mother is seventy-nine years old and is from the coal camps of the great state of WV. She was still in diapers when the Great Depression started in 1929 and, needless to say,
her childhood consisted of a dirt-poor existence during the depression and World War Two. How these people made it through that is beyond me but it speaks volumes as to
the noble and enduring spirit of this generation of Americans. It is that spirit and perservernace that we should all aspire to.
My mother was an ardent supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) during the Democratic primary. She proudly casted her ballot for Sen. Clinton on 12FEB08 here in VA. When Sen. Clinton conceded, my mother was crushed and took her disappointment out on our nominee, Sen. Obama (D-IL). Furthermore, my mother is from a different
time. She had the old prejudices from a time that should be long forgotten but isn’t. It was the same reservations that Sen. Obama expressed about his ailing grandmother having. In fact, at the behest of my now decease father, she voted for Gov. George
Wallace (I-AL) in the 1968 election.
At first, she stated that she was going to vote for Sen. McCain (R-AZ) out of anger for the way she perceived that Sen. Clinton was treated. For all intents and purposes, she was a de facto PUMA without even knowing what a PUMA was. Slowly, she realized the error
of doing that. After all, people of her generation from WV believe in God, guns, coal, and Robert C. Byrd Democrats. She then thought of casting a write-in ballot for Sen. Clinton. Then she realized the futility of that.
Today, her absentee ballot came in the mail that we requested from VA Board of Elections. Her heart condition and athritis would not her stand in line for hours on Election Day. She stated she would miss the sense of community one feels when they’re standing in line with their neighbors to perform their second most important civic duty as Americans. The most important, of course, is to defend this nation from all enemies foreign and domestic. But today, I am proud to report that after much soul searching, and a bit campaigning from her only child, namely me, that my mother proudly cast her VA
Absentee Ballot for Senator Barack H. Obama, hopefully to be our forty-fourth President of the United States. And now all I can think about are the words of the great Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), “The hope still lives and the dream shall never die.”
My mother is seventy-nine years old and is from the coal camps of the great state of WV. She was still in diapers when the Great Depression started in 1929 and, needless to say,
her childhood consisted of a dirt-poor existence during the depression and World War Two. How these people made it through that is beyond me but it speaks volumes as to
the noble and enduring spirit of this generation of Americans. It is that spirit and perservernace that we should all aspire to.
My mother was an ardent supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) during the Democratic primary. She proudly casted her ballot for Sen. Clinton on 12FEB08 here in VA. When Sen. Clinton conceded, my mother was crushed and took her disappointment out on our nominee, Sen. Obama (D-IL). Furthermore, my mother is from a different
time. She had the old prejudices from a time that should be long forgotten but isn’t. It was the same reservations that Sen. Obama expressed about his ailing grandmother having. In fact, at the behest of my now decease father, she voted for Gov. George
Wallace (I-AL) in the 1968 election.
At first, she stated that she was going to vote for Sen. McCain (R-AZ) out of anger for the way she perceived that Sen. Clinton was treated. For all intents and purposes, she was a de facto PUMA without even knowing what a PUMA was. Slowly, she realized the error
of doing that. After all, people of her generation from WV believe in God, guns, coal, and Robert C. Byrd Democrats. She then thought of casting a write-in ballot for Sen. Clinton. Then she realized the futility of that.
Today, her absentee ballot came in the mail that we requested from VA Board of Elections. Her heart condition and athritis would not her stand in line for hours on Election Day. She stated she would miss the sense of community one feels when they’re standing in line with their neighbors to perform their second most important civic duty as Americans. The most important, of course, is to defend this nation from all enemies foreign and domestic. But today, I am proud to report that after much soul searching, and a bit campaigning from her only child, namely me, that my mother proudly cast her VA
Absentee Ballot for Senator Barack H. Obama, hopefully to be our forty-fourth President of the United States. And now all I can think about are the words of the great Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), “The hope still lives and the dream shall never die.”
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― Police say a campaign volunteer confessed to making up a story that a mugger attacked her and cut the letter B in her face after seeing her McCain bumper sticker; now she's facing charges.
At a news conference this afternoon, officials said they believe that Ashley Todd's injuries were self-inflicted.
Todd, 20, of Texas, is now facing charges for filing a false report to police.
Todd initially told police that she was robbed at an ATM in Bloomfield and that the suspect began beating her after seeing her GOP sticker on her car.
Police investigating the alleged attack, however, began to notice some inconsistencies in her story and administered a polygraph test.
Investigators asked Todd to return to the police station today for more questioning and to help them release a composite sketch of the suspect.
When she did, police say she admitted that she made the whole thing up and that it snowballed out of control.
Todd told investigators today that she "just wanted to tell the truth" " adding that she was neither robbed, nor attacked.
Todd told police that while she did not remember how the backward "B" got on her face, she may have done it herself since she was the only one in the car when she saw it.
According to police, Todd said she thought of Barack Obama when she saw the "B" in her rearview mirror.
Officials say they do not believe any other people were involved; and Todd's friends believed the story about the attack " encouraging her to call police. Read More »
At a news conference this afternoon, officials said they believe that Ashley Todd's injuries were self-inflicted.
Todd, 20, of Texas, is now facing charges for filing a false report to police.
Todd initially told police that she was robbed at an ATM in Bloomfield and that the suspect began beating her after seeing her GOP sticker on her car.
Police investigating the alleged attack, however, began to notice some inconsistencies in her story and administered a polygraph test.
Investigators asked Todd to return to the police station today for more questioning and to help them release a composite sketch of the suspect.
When she did, police say she admitted that she made the whole thing up and that it snowballed out of control.
Todd told investigators today that she "just wanted to tell the truth" " adding that she was neither robbed, nor attacked.
Todd told police that while she did not remember how the backward "B" got on her face, she may have done it herself since she was the only one in the car when she saw it.
According to police, Todd said she thought of Barack Obama when she saw the "B" in her rearview mirror.
Officials say they do not believe any other people were involved; and Todd's friends believed the story about the attack " encouraging her to call police. Read More »
Three weeks from now the first results from the east coast will be coming in. It'll still be early but, we should have a good sense as to what the night shall bring. We will either experience a win that'll give this great nation of ours a fighting chance or a crushing defeat that very well may doom our very existence.
Why do I bring up the spectre of defeat? One, I'm a Democrat; I'm used to it. Two, with all the polls showing we are pulling away we run the risk of voter apathy. If we get soft now, we run the risk of letting Sen. McCain making an epic comeback. He's already done it once in his party's primaries. Do not underestimate this man or his followers.
We must keep knocking on doors. We must keep manning the phone banks and making donations to the Obama campaign as well as all of the down ticket races. This is our last chance. Treat it as such.
Three more weeks, my fellow Democrats, three more weeks...
Read More »My fellow Democrats, like you, I am quite encouraged by all of the polling data we've seen in the past few weeks. Click on the "Read More" link for current polling data from ElecotralVote.com. I firmly believe that if the election were held today we'd clear 300 electoral votes easily. But the election is not today. It is four weeks from today. There are two more debates and, of course, the proverbial October Surprise to get through. And we all know that four weeks is a long time in the world of politics.
Please do not become complacent. Keep working at your local campaign offices. Keep making donations if and when you can. Sen. McCain (R-AZ) has not given up yet and we will not let up. This election is too important and we've come to far to do anything less. Our very future is at stake.
In closing, we have all come a long way here. We should take some solace in what we've accomplished but not let up one single iota. The party is as unified as it's going to get. We are on the cusp of beginning to recover from the worst presidential administration in American history. The best way to accomplish that is to elect Senator Barack Hussein Obama our forty-fourth POTUS and to elect sixty Democratic Senators for a filibuster proof majority. Four more weeks, my fellow Democrats, four more weeks... Read More »
Please do not become complacent. Keep working at your local campaign offices. Keep making donations if and when you can. Sen. McCain (R-AZ) has not given up yet and we will not let up. This election is too important and we've come to far to do anything less. Our very future is at stake.
In closing, we have all come a long way here. We should take some solace in what we've accomplished but not let up one single iota. The party is as unified as it's going to get. We are on the cusp of beginning to recover from the worst presidential administration in American history. The best way to accomplish that is to elect Senator Barack Hussein Obama our forty-fourth POTUS and to elect sixty Democratic Senators for a filibuster proof majority. Four more weeks, my fellow Democrats, four more weeks... Read More »
Soros floats alternative bailout plan with Dems
By Alexander Bolton
Posted: 09/30/08 11:19 PM [ET]
The billionaire financier George Soros, a major Democratic financial backer, is floating his own rescue plan among Democratic lawmakers who are uncertain what to do in the wake of a surprise defeat of a proposed $700 billion rescue package proposed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
Soros has outlined his plan in an opinion editorial in the Financial Times and circulated a concept paper among decision-makers.
Specifically, the liberal philanthropist has proposed that government funds should be used to recapitalize the American banking system by purchasing equity in banks and investment firms.
Democratic Rep. Jim Moran (Va.) scheduled a meeting Tuesday afternoon with Robert Johnson, a former manager of the Soros Fund Management, to discuss the proposal.
Moran compared the proposal to Warren Buffet’s $5 billion investment in the investment firm Goldman Sachs Group in return for preferred stock and warrants to buy common stock at a discount.
Soros has also contacted Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) presidential campaign to share his views on the financial crisis and the best way to solve it.
Soros described the plan he outlined in his concept paper in an opinion editorial that appeared in the Financial Times early Wednesday morning, Greenwich Meridian Time.
“Instead of purchasing troubled assets, the bulk of the funds ought to be used to recapitalize the banking system,” Soros wrote.
“The Treasury secretary would rely on bank examiners rather than delegate implementation of [the Troubled Asset Relief Program] to Wall Street firms,” he wrote in reference to the plan first crafted by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. “The bank examiners would establish how much additional equity capital each bank needs in order to be properly capitalized according to existing capital requirements.”
“The recapitalized banks would be allowed to increase their leverage, so they would resume lending,” he wrote.
Soros has emerged as a harsh critic of the Treasury Department, especially of Paulson’s proposal for the government to buy $700 billion of distressed mortgage-backed securities to restore the flow of credit in the financial markets.
It is unclear whether his entry onto the debris-strewn field of the debate will help lawmakers reach agreement on an alternative proposal or further anger House Republicans, who blew up a compromise plan on the House floor Monday...
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/soros-floats-alternative-bailout-plan-with-dems-2008-09-30.html Read More »
Some may believe that is harsh or ill-advised. They are certainly entitled to their opinion. But, IMHO, the worst thing we could do is to bailout these stupid, conservative, money-worshipping, fat cats. Bailing out an industry who was prone to make loans to people who had virtually no chance of being able to pay back said loans and even worse, were not intelligent enough to fully comprehend the terms of the agreement is just plain wrong.
The banks who made these loans are as much at fault as the dumba**es who accepted the loans. If you're a loan manager and a person comes to you wanting to buy a $250K house and makes $30K a year; what the hell are thinking authorizing that loan? Furthermore, if you're making $30K a year and a bank offers you a loan where the first year, or two, you only pay $500 a month but, in the next year the ARM kicks in and you're paying $1500 a month, what the hell are you doing accepting those terms? Are you planning on hitting the lottery? Perhaps you were waiting for a rich relative to die? More than likely, it was someone trying to ride the market up and flipping the house to some sucker who was going to pay 25% to 100% more than the actual property was worth.
Then, to top it all off, some nitwit conservative gets the idea of, "Hey, let's sell this worthless paper to some sucker and we're outta here!" This is the schmuck, now rich schmuck, the SEC should've been on guard for.
I do not feel sorry for Lehman Bros., Wachovia, Merrill Lynch, or any of the rest for being so stupid as to not check the validity and security of these so-called mortgage backed securities. They let their greed get the best of them. Why? Because they took out loans based on their holding of these worthless mortgage based securities and when they proved to be worthless they had no way to pay back the money they borrowed against the securities because the $30K guy woke up one morning and realized he had $4000 of bills, now that gas is nearly $4 a gallon as is milk and his personal property taxes are through the roof for his overvalued house, in one month and only $2500 of income. Oops! This is what happens when you let stupid people run things.
And then someone warns, "But we won't be able to get credit to buy cars and houses and fancy Made in China clothes". To those people I would say, here's a novel approach; cash and carry. And that concept is interest free! Save your money. Make some small investments, if you dare, in this economy. Walk into the car dealership or a realtor, stroke a check, and drive out. I'm sure GM or Century 21 wouldn't mind having all of that money up front. Then they don't have to worry about whether or not you're going to get fired, the economy is going to tank, again, you get divorced and your income drops 30% to 70%, or any other unforseen calamity. Read More »
The banks who made these loans are as much at fault as the dumba**es who accepted the loans. If you're a loan manager and a person comes to you wanting to buy a $250K house and makes $30K a year; what the hell are thinking authorizing that loan? Furthermore, if you're making $30K a year and a bank offers you a loan where the first year, or two, you only pay $500 a month but, in the next year the ARM kicks in and you're paying $1500 a month, what the hell are you doing accepting those terms? Are you planning on hitting the lottery? Perhaps you were waiting for a rich relative to die? More than likely, it was someone trying to ride the market up and flipping the house to some sucker who was going to pay 25% to 100% more than the actual property was worth.
Then, to top it all off, some nitwit conservative gets the idea of, "Hey, let's sell this worthless paper to some sucker and we're outta here!" This is the schmuck, now rich schmuck, the SEC should've been on guard for.
I do not feel sorry for Lehman Bros., Wachovia, Merrill Lynch, or any of the rest for being so stupid as to not check the validity and security of these so-called mortgage backed securities. They let their greed get the best of them. Why? Because they took out loans based on their holding of these worthless mortgage based securities and when they proved to be worthless they had no way to pay back the money they borrowed against the securities because the $30K guy woke up one morning and realized he had $4000 of bills, now that gas is nearly $4 a gallon as is milk and his personal property taxes are through the roof for his overvalued house, in one month and only $2500 of income. Oops! This is what happens when you let stupid people run things.
And then someone warns, "But we won't be able to get credit to buy cars and houses and fancy Made in China clothes". To those people I would say, here's a novel approach; cash and carry. And that concept is interest free! Save your money. Make some small investments, if you dare, in this economy. Walk into the car dealership or a realtor, stroke a check, and drive out. I'm sure GM or Century 21 wouldn't mind having all of that money up front. Then they don't have to worry about whether or not you're going to get fired, the economy is going to tank, again, you get divorced and your income drops 30% to 70%, or any other unforseen calamity. Read More »
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