Associated Press
NEW YORK - A newspaper report Thursday said tens of thousands of eligible voters have been removed from rolls or blocked from registering in at least six swing states, but election officials quickly lined up to defend their registration procedures and said they had done nothing wrong.
The New York Times based its findings on reviews of state records and Social Security data, and said it had identified apparent problems in Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina.
The Times said voters appear to have been purged by mistake and not because of any intentional violations by election officials or coordinated efforts by any party. It says that some states are improperly using Social Security data to verify new voters' registration applications, and that others might have broken rules that govern removing voters from the rolls within 90 days of a federal election. Read More »
We're in a depression. More evidence from Wave 3 TV news here in Louisville.
I would add to that the fact that the number of people at the closest "Dare to Care" food bank (free, "fresh" food) has increased from about 30-40 a year ago to over 80 today and gradually clmbing.
McCain will simply make things worse even IF (and it's a big if) he doesn't start more wars we can't win.
Obama must win and carry a lot of Democratic congressional reps with him.
Brave New Films has released a new video, "John McCain's Rage," focusing on the Arizona senator's legendary temperament problem. The video features original interviews with POW/MIA advocate Eleanor Apodaca, former Arizona Republic editor and publisher Pat Murphy, former Arizona Republican Party executive director Jon Hinz, and former Arizona senator Dennis DeConcini, all of whom speak from personal experience on John McCain's unstable, violent temper. The video also includes secondary comments by Republican strategist Pat Buchanan and US Army major generals Paul Eaton and Scott Gration, who likewise all express deep misgivings regarding McCain's fitness to serve as president. The webpage for the video contains additional materials including transcript, background information, and links to testimonies and media reports on McCain's temper.
This is not the first time Brave New films has sought to bring McCain's temperament problem into the open. The group recently launched a campaign with The Real McCain to press for for full disclosure of McCain's medical records including psychiatric records, circulating a video and petition which at time of this writing has been signed by more than 59,000 people including nearly 3000 medical doctors. Meanwhile, top Democrats including senators Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Harry Reid of Nevada, and Charles Schumer of New York have recently repeated calls for McCain to fully disclose his medical records (see Huffington Post, ABC News, Columbia Journalism Review, Open Left).
Previous accounts of McCain's infamous anger-management problem include such incidents as when he reacted to disagreement on immigration reform from fellow Republican senator John Cornyn of Texas by screaming, "F*ck you!"; when he called fellow Republican senator Pete Domenici of New Mexico an "a**hole"; and when he called fellow Republican senator Charles Grassley of Iowa a "f*cking jerk." Once in a 1987 meeting at the height of Central American tensions, according to fellow Republican senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi, McCain reached across the table and physically assaulted a Nicaraguan representative, seizing him by his shirt collar. "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine...," Cochran later said when endorsing Mitt Romney for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, "...He is erratic. He is hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."
McCain has also been sharply criticized for his wrathful treatment of POW/MIA family members pressing for information on loved ones who diappeared in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. At a Senate hearing in 1992, McCain verbally assaulted Dolores Alfond, chairwoman of the National Alliance of Families for the Return of America's Missing Servicemen and Women, leaving her in tears. Ms. Alfond - sister of Eleanor Apodaca, whose brother disappeared over North Vietnam in 1967 - is visibly upset in video of the event while McCain sits glowering and ready to explode: hardly the way a public servant ought to behave toward a member of the public he is sworn to serve. Four years later during a Washington conference of Alfond's and Apodaca's group, about 25 members went to a Senate office building hoping to meet with McCain. As McCain and an aide walked by, McCain raised his hand to wave away Jeannette Jenkins, whose cousin was last seen in South Vietnam in 1970, backhanding her and pushing her against a wall. As McCain continued walking, Jane Duke Gaylor, the wheelchair-bound mother of another missing serviceman, approached the senator. As Gaylor reached out toward McCain, according to Eleanor Apodaca, "McCain stopped, glared at her, raised his left arm ready to strike her, composed himself and pushed the wheelchair away from him" (see McClatchy, Huffington Post, The Nation). Ms. Apodaca recently explained in writing and video why she is "appalled at the possibility that John McCain could become the next President of the United States."
Readers are encouraged to sign the petition for full disclosure of McCain's medical records, to press Democratic leaders including their own senators and representatives to raise the issue on the campaign trail, and even to press McCain himself by e-mail (john_mccain@mccain.senate.gov, info@johnmccain.com).
Mark C. Eades
http://www.mceades.com
YES. Did you know State & Federal Election Law works:
1. Registrations are due 30 days before an election.
2. Federal Law requires that all registrations are verified to have the correct name and I.D. # (SSN or State ID) on them.
3. If a voter registration doesn't verify, then no vote can be made.
4. Deceased and multiple voter registrations are cleaned from systems.
THE SYSTEM WORKS
Contrary to some things in the media as of late, a voter registration for a 13 year old would never make it past the system. They wouldn't be able to vote.
Why are all these new stories spinning?
Because of a fake "consumers advocate" organization, called the Consumers Rights League.
Consumers Rights League is the same "consumers advocate" organization that lobbied for deregulation of banks:
- to give loans to the poor for "community reinvestment"
- work against a Bill that would force credit card companies to have a set merchant interest rate (Visa was also against this)
- AND NOW they are lobbying against ACORN even though ACORN's voter registrations don't increase election fraud (false voting).
WHY? Because they are protecting the interests of predatory lending institutions and want Republicans in office. Democrats will cause more regulation. They in no way work for the best interests of the citizens. They work for banks. Just go to their website & look at their past reports that want greater deregulation in the name of "consumers" (listed down right side of their website). www.ConsumersRightsLeague.org
The Consumers Rights League has gotten the news out about ACORN, which Republican media grabbed onto because it's beneficial to them... to block poor, black votes (Democrat votes). They've made the public be afraid that election fraud is going on. They've made it sound like targeting groups for voter registrations is illegal, but it's not. Both parties do it. Both parties have 3rd party voter registration companies too, that submit many incorrect registrations.
CRL just got into the business of "voter protection" when they collaborated with Senate Republicans to testify at a September 24, 2008 Congressional hearing on the 2008 General Election. During that hearing two Republican Senators asked many questions about ACORN. All four Election officials that testified, said that ACORN and 3rd party voter drive groups were more of a blessing then a curse. They said they saw nothing out of the ordinary with ACORN's "fraudulent registrations". They were normal for voter drive groups. The other panel of organizations were there to protect voter rights... which included the DOJ and consumer advocates for the Military, foreclosed homeowners, new citizens, and minorities. Then there was Jim Terry from CRL. He was the odd one out. He was only there against ACORN. After that hearing (where officials said ACORN was an asset to the community) Congress ordered an FBI investigation on them. It's a terrible story of voter suppression. Just listen to the Hearing for yourself, then try to figure out from it why ACORN is being attacked (ACORN topics are discussed at hour 1:00:00 and 1:30:00). http://cha.house.gov/view_hea...
Terry committed perjury several times. So now what?
The Consumers Rights League just popped up out of nowhere. I called them. There is only one person running this "non-profit, non-partisan, educational organization", Jim Terry.
A week ago, Terry submitted written testimony against ACORN. You can see it on their website here: http://www.consumersrightsleague.org/uploadedfiles/JamesTerryACORN9-24.pdf
Practically the whole document substantiates its findings with news articles, no actual court cases. My research is showing that many of these articles don't exist or refer to cases that were shown to have a low-level employee filling out voter registrations to show paid-time work, but Prosecutors of these cases point out that there was obviously NO INTENT TO CAST A VOTE with these.
One of Terry's citations in his written testimony:
10 Ervin, Keith. �Felony charges filed against 7 in state�s biggest case of voter-registration fraud.� Seattle Times. July 26, 2007.
Statement from the Prosecuting Attorney on the case:
��Indeed, a joint federal and state investigation has determined that this scheme was not intended to permit illegal voting." http://www.metrokc.gov/proatty/news/2007/Voter%20Registration%20Statement.htm
Jim Terry is the one credited for "exposing ACORN" and his "findings" are the primary source of quotes against ACORN. He's been quoted throughout the news & even interviewed on FOX News.
This is a Republican posing as a Consumer Advocate organization, setup to smear ACORN (and subsequently Obama). Read More »
McCain’s Foreclosure Plan is bankrupt
First, the Obama campaign has a new ad going right after this horrible plan:
"Tested" ad [0:31]
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/tested_ad
and at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeUFSnPZ3rI
From: BarackObamadotcom Added: October 09, 2008. On the air...
And don’t take our word for it... The Reviews Are in on John McCain's Foreclosure Plan:
WSJ (Editorial) - The Next $300 Billion
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122350990054117367.html
WP (Editorial) - Mr. McCain's Mortgage Offer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/08/AR2008100803253_pf.html
WP - McCain Plan Draws Doubts From Experts On Mortgages
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/08/AR2008100803532_pf.html
NYT - Taxpayers, Not Lenders, Would Bear Costs of McCain's Mortgage Proposal
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/us/politics/09mortgage.html?ref=business
Politico: McCain changes homeowner plan
http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=DF749B43-18FE-70B2-A8F6C5D94FD8672E
Whitman was also mentioned by McCain as a possible Secretary of the Treasury during the second of three United States presidential election debates in 2008.[19]
Whitman was a supporter of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney's presidential campaign [12][13] in 2008 and was on his "National Finance Team".[14] She was also listed as Finance co-chair of Romney's campaign exploratory committee. [15] After Romney stepped out of the race, Whitman joined John McCain's presidential campaign as a national co-chair. [16]
She has political ambitions of her own and is considering a run for Governor of California in the 2010 election.[17] Whitman was also named as a dark horse candidate for the Vice Presidential slot in McCain's 2008 presidential bid.[18]
At the Republican National Convention (2008), Whitman gave a speech about what presumptive presidential nominee McCain would do in his first one hundred days in office if elected President of the United States. Read More »
The John McCain campaign has been forced to fire its campaign chair in Buchanan County, Virginia, following his publication of a racist newspaper attack on Barack Obama. Bobby May, pictured here, who has also served as treasurer and correspondence secretary of the Buchanan County Republican Party, recently penned a column containing an overtly racist attack against Barack Obama for a local newspaper, The Voice, which lists Mr. May among its columnists. May's column contained a number of inflammatory charges against Obama, including the following on Obama's plans for America if elected:
"FREEDOM OF RELIGION: Mandatory Black Liberation Theology classes taught in all churches - raise taxes to pay for this mandate. Put Rev. Jeremiah Wright in charge...."
"DRUG CRISIS: Raise taxes to pay for free drugs for Obama’s inner-city political base...."
"2ND AMENDMENT: Under Obama will only apply to gang-bangers, illegal aliens, Islamo-Fascist terrorists, and Senator Jim Webb’s aide...."
"FOREIGN RELATIONS: Appoint Rev. Al Sharpton as Secretary of State, Jesse Jackson as UN Representative, and let Bill Clinton handle all other "foreign relations" ... As long as Hillary doesn't find out...!"
"THE WHITE HOUSE: Hire rapper Ludacris to “paint it black.” Taxes to be increased to buy enough paint for the job plus spray-paint for graffiti...."
"THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES: Raise taxes to send $845 billion, most of it to Africa so the Obama family there can skim off enough for them to free their goats and live the American Dream...."
"NATIONAL ANTHEM: Change to the "Black National Anthem" by James Weldon Johnson...."
"US CURRENCY: Update photos to reflect US diversity; include pictures of "great Americans" such as Oprah Winfrey, Ludacris, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Paris Hilton, and Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson (Obama's new Secretary of the Treasury - 50 Cent refused position after learning that he would lose his crazy check if he accepted the nomination)...."
"US FLAG: Replace 50 stars with a star and crescent logo; red stripes changed to green to represent Obama’s tree-hugging radical environmentalism and his lack of experience. Flag lapel pins, having become a substitute for "real patriotism," will henceforth be banned...."
At the end of his column Mr. May challenged Obama to meet him on "County Talk," a Friday morning talk show on radio station WMJD 100.7 in Grundy, Virginia. Mr. May seems quite the local mover and shaker in Buchanan County Republican circles: In addition to his work with The Voice and WMJD, May has appeared in the Virginia Mountaineer with other local Republican leaders. Mr. May's photo above was cropped from a larger photo of him here with GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell, formerly posted at the Buchanan County Republican Party's website, now purged from that site but heroically rescued from oblivion and posted at the Daily Kos with news of May's dismissal from Team McCain. According to the Daily Kos, Mr. May also provides the advertising specialties for Virginia congressman Virgil Goode, currently seeking re-election and noted for his opposition to Minnesota congressman Keith Ellison's taking the oath of office on the Quran rather than the Bible. Here is a photo of May with Buchanan County GOP leaders from a March 2006 edition of the Virginia Mountaineer:
GOP MEMBERS elected Saturday [3/25/06] were, from left (front), Delores Childress, treasurer; Leona Ratliff, recording secretary; Harriett McClanahan, second vice chairman; Jerry Lester, chairman; David Lowe, first vice chairman; and (back) Bobby May, corresponding secretary; and Bobby Hall, parliamentarian.
(Photo/Tucker Davis)
First noted in a Los Angeles Times political blog, Mr. May's story spread via blogs such as the Daily Kos (including this blog: see Oct. 5 below). May's dismissal from the campaign was finally noted by Keith Olbermann on the Oct. 8 edition of MSNBC's Countdown, when Olbermann named Mr. May "Worst Person in the World" for his racist attack on Obama (see video). Meanwhile, the Buchanan County Republican Party's website, which contained material by or about Mr. May throughout its pages when I previously looked (including the photo with Bob McDonnell above), has at time of this writing been taken offline as references to and photos of him are presumably being purged, Mr. May himself presumably expelled, any potential career for him in politics presumably ended. Like Trotsky in Stalin's USSR, Mr. May will now be airbrushed out of photos with prominent Republicans like Bob McDonnell. Wild!
The bigot Bobby May has been fired from his GOP campaign job and crowned Worst Person in the World as he deserves, John McCain has taken another notable hit in return for the overwhelmingly negative and "racially tinged" campaign he and Sarah Palin have been waging against Obama, and a county Republican website in Virginia has been forced offline. I call this a score.
Mark C. Eades
http://www.mceades.com
QUEEN’S COMMENTS on: “If the shoe fits, wear it.”
I continue to get validation for my homilies about the Republican newspeak strategy again and again: Look to what they are claiming that others are doing and you can rest assured that the shoe most likely does not fit their opponent nearly as neatly as it fits them.
Amazing, isn’t it the nerve (stupidity?) of Sarah Palin to try to make Obama into a terrorist because of the remote connection between Barack Obama and terrorist from the ‘60’s? (William Ayers is a man who committed his crime when Obama was 8 years old, a man who had lived a life of 30 years as a decent citizen before Obama ever met him.) Yet, Sarah Palin has much closer connections to a terrorist organization.
For you see, Joe Vogler, the founder of the group of which Todd Palin was a member from 1995 to 2002, had planned to appear before the United Nations to denounce United States “tyranny” before the entire world and to demand Alaska’s freedom. The Alaska secessionist had persuaded the government of Iran to sponsor his anti-American harangue. Yes, Iran.
Here is the interesting story regarding Sarah Palin’s involvement with this terrorist group. It was written by David Talbot and recently appeared in Salon. It is legitimate and easily verifiable by many sources. It might explain why Ms Palin decided to pull back on her attacks of Obama and his association with William Ayers.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/10/07/palins_unamerican/
The Queen has also posted a few items on this topic as well. Here is one link:
Forget the kitchen sink and throw the bathroom toilet at them:
Then today, after losing his debate last night, he started using his wife to fight his fights. Cindy McCain, who was an admitted drug addict, is now using a senate procedure to attack Sen. Obama for not supporting the troops. It seems that Cindy is still on some sort of an hallucinogen because she seems to have forgotten that Sen. McCain actually voted against the new GI bill! And he didn't won't against it because it was bad for the GIs, no, he actually said that he was voting against the bill because it was too "expensive!"
All issues aside, John McCain is a coward for hiding and getting women to fight his fights. He needs to man-up and come out and say what he wants to say about Sen. Obama's honor. If he doesn't have the fortitude to do so then he needs to shut-up and stop using women to fight his fights. McCain is a despicable coward and a downright phony whom we as Americans can not allow to occupy the highest office in the land. God bless America!
Poll numbers indicate that the Obama/Biden campaign has handily won its third of four presidential and vice-presidential debates. A CNN/Research Corporation poll showed 54% of viewers thought Obama performed better in the debate while 30% thought McCain performed better, up significantly in CNN polling from Obama's 51% to 38% win over McCain in the first presidential debate Sept. 26. Meanwhile, a CBS News poll of uncommitted voters shows Obama won 40% to McCain's 26% with 34% saying the debate was a draw, a similar result to the Sept. 26 CBS poll (Obama 39%, McCain 24%). A Media Curves poll shows independent voters favoring Obama in the debate 52% to 34%, down somewhat from the Sept. 26 Media Curves poll (Obama 61%, McCain 39%) but still a sizeable lead for Obama. As the Huffington Post reports, state focus groups by NBC News in Pennsylvania, Survey USA in Washington, and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner in Nevada likewise broke decisively for Obama (PA 60%-40%, WA 54%-29%, NV 38%-30%). Even a Fox News focus group showed a clear majority of raised hands for Obama, a result that reporters at Fox seemed to have a little trouble processing. With three debates down and only one to go as Election Day rapidly approaches, it would seem that McCain's hopes for a "game changer" are growing dim indeed.
Mark C. Eades
http://www.mceades.com
Every time McCain starts blathering about earmarks, I am reminded of an experience that a friend and I had in a small town in Arizona a few years ago. We were traveling with her husband and a friend of mine cross-country from Albuquerque to Santa Monica along the old Route 66 highway. We had stopped for gas and while “the men” were checking the cars fluids, my friend and I went inside the store to horse around. Most of the merchandise in it looked to have long expired its shelf life. At the back of the store was a plastic tub with pigs ears. We each took a pair and were dancing around in the back of the store with our “earmarks”. It wasn’t long before we were asked to leave. [I've been thrown out of much classier places than that store--believe you me.]
I was thinking today: perhaps I could send Senator McCain a pair of pigs ears and he could do a little angry dance for added emphasis whenever he goes into another of his self-righteous tirades against earmarks.
BACK TO THE REAL TOPIC OF POLITICS: McCain continues to make an issue out of earmarks, which are only a teeny tiny part of the overall federal budget. The big ticket items are entitlement programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, and defense spending, which together represent much of the federal budget; earmarks are just $16 billion out of a more than a $2 trillion budget.
Another way to put it: Why focus on the ears when they are such a very small part of the hog?
That's utterly essential not only to resolve America's wars and financial meltdown, but also to tackle the vast challenges of global warming, nuclear proliferation, overpopulation, epidemics, etc. etc. - existential threats to humanity.
And our principal fear is that RACE and political genius dirty trickster ROVE are what stand in the way of Barack Obama.
But we have little confidence in American voters who elected so obviously unsuitable a candidate as G W Bush (with a little help from the Supreme Court) in 2000 - and then re-elected him again in 2004 although by then his financial and war policies were already proving disasrous.
Of course a lifelong Republican beyond three score and ten who voted for that calamitous Iraq war can't possibly bring about real change to get on that cooperation track! How absurd even to think so!
For more, see our www.dipconsult.eu
This is beyond left & right, Rep or Dem, Lab or Con - so this consultancy is working full time to try to help Obama. Whatever his faults he may indeed be able to make a real change. McCain and Madame Palin can't. And - given McCain's age and health record - imagine Mme Palin deciding our lives and those of our children! Actuarially it seems she has a 1 in 7 chance of becoming president in the next 4 years. And McCain has a far greater chance of falling ill on the job or simply being physically overwhelmed!
The deadlines have passed in many states for voters to register to vote, but I'm feeling pretty confident for Obama and Joe Biden. I have no solid evidence to back up any of my opinions just like noone else does, but I really believe that Obama will be our next president. I'm in a blue state so I might be a little biased, but I don't even think it's going to be a close race. Unless I'm understating the population that's racially biased against Obama, thinking he's a muslim, or is just not going to vote for a democrat ever, I think I've got fairly good reasons to believe he'll be the man. I realize there's a whole other view of this, but there's just so many things happening recently that make me believe this.
Here's why I think he's the man...
We can't forget about the rallies back in early 2008 when he was bringing 30,000 people compared to his opponents with only a couple thousand in attendance. I would assume this translates to bigger polling numbers for Obama... even if not so dramatic.
He has overcome many many media attacks starting starting back over a year ago when Fox News misquoted his name as a terrorist's name. There have been countless attacks since which he has only rebounded even stronger every time. I can't say this about the other side. Bouncing back is a great thing to have in a leader. Inspiring hope after failing is what our country deep down inside I believe is looking for after the financial mess and all the previous garbage we've went through.
Obama has created memes like "Obamaniac" which haven't been duplicated by any of the running opposition.
Interestingly, if you do a search on google for "Obama sucks" (with quotes), he has twice as many pages featuring that phrase compared to mccain. Palin has 3x as many as Joe biden does. I'm taking this as a pure measure of popularity. Obama wins this one.
If you look at crowd sourced websites that sell t-shirts and posters, they have been taken over by Obama merchandise. Palin and McCain are popular too, but if you look at the designs, they're almost all negative. Again, a larger number of designs for Obama. He's got 54,000 compared to McCain with 30,000.
Youtube has the same type of statistics going for it as well. Obama has 478,000 videos which completely trumps McCain's 278,000.
If these numbers stay this