Arkansas Blog

Charges Against Journalists at RNC Dropped; Questions Remain

Date: September 19, 2008
Contact: Jen Howard, Free Press, (202) 265-1490, x22 or (703) 517-6273

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Local authorities in St. Paul announced today that they will not prosecute journalists who were arrested on misdemeanor charges during the Republican National Convention earlier this month.

Nearly two dozen reporters were arrested during the four-day event, including Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman and two of her producers, Associated Press reporters, student journalists, and local TV photographers, among others. Other journalists were pepper-sprayed, and reporters with I-Witness were held at gunpoint during a "pre-emptive" police raid aimed at disrupting protesters. The press release from St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman's office noted that the city's attorney will use a "broad definition and verification to identify journalists who were caught up in mass arrests during the convention."
freepress.com

clik name

IS Sarah Palin qualified to to serve as V-P of the United States?

For real. It's a PBS online poll. At my name.

Like Karl Rove's 51%, and what the Justice Department did to the former Governor of Alabama and to our own Robbyn Tumey, what the cops did to the reporters and demonstrators in St. Paul accomplished the neo-con mission.

I guess if any of these roughed up and arrested reporters wanna sue, the 50 million in taxpayer money the sorry-ass Justice Department gave St. Paul will cover those expenses too and the city will still pocket some nice change. I'm not sure where we are....but this ain't America any more.

Sweet Jesus, eLwood, a majority on a PBS poll are voting against us!

I weep for the memory of my once-great country.

Grandpa says we need offshore oil rigs 'cause the fish like'em...........

HUH??????????????

Is obama experienced enough to be president? Will joe boca grande biden's mouth fit through the door of the white house?

Harry Reid says he doesn't know what to do about the financial problems. Why should we support a party that can't solve our problems?

Should be interesting... Naomi Klein who wrote the "Shock Doctrine" is on Real Time tonight.

No, the question is why should the Democratic Party support him for leadership? Democratic principles are the solutions. Just look at the late 90's for proof. Reid and Mary Landreui, who also admitted she was clueless about the problem, need to step down.

Yea, but where is harry reid going to find a job that allows him to take off more time for a vacation then he spends doing any work?

Ask George W. Bush about time off for a vacation vs work.

At key points in his administration, Bush has been on vacation. For instance, he spent a month in Crawford shortly before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when critics say he should have been more attentive to warning signs.

Up to now Bush has spent over 900 days in whole or in part at Camp David or his sprawling estate in Crawford, Tex. Granted he does a few things related to being President while there but not enough to really call it a work day. One third of the year taking it easy.

Broke Reagan's record last March for days away from the office. Just like he did prior to the 9/11 attack when he told folks he didn't need to be bothered with their reports.

Please document your assertions about Bush. Where did you get the data? I don't remember him leaving the office and taking a vacation when the country was faced with an oil crisis. I don't remember him saying that he didn't have a clue about solving the financial crisis and saying oh by the way we are getting ready to adjourn and we will deal with it after the election.

I didn't think anyone would break actor Raygun's record for winging west every w/end.....

but, lo and behold the idiotmoron did.

Just wait....if, Lord forbid, Palin/McBush win in Nov. look for Gramps to go into an iron lung
every w/end, maybe have a sheep/goat transplant, go off shore for secret cancer surgery,
deliver the antichrist out of his left jaw.

.........but, have no fear...Moosemama and first dude are ready and willing to take over.

strange...know how to google?????

Ever hear of KATRINA...now Galveston????

Ever hear of Betsy?? LBJ was there NEXT day with a flashlight to reassure the people.

Why do I bother???

CBS Radio White House correspondent Mark Knoller has been keeping records on Bush's vacation/work habits. Just type in Bush + vacations and you'll find plenty of evidence. He already had 879 documented days in March of this year. (Dan Froomkin, Washington Post - clicky on name).

"Up to now Bush has spent over 900 days in whole or in part at Camp David or his sprawling estate in Crawford, Tex."

Do I have to spell it out for you. DOCUMENTATION!!!!!!!!

How do these days compare to other Presidents? Why qualifies as a 'VACATION'. What if they work?

Wasn't President Bush also absent for most of his service in the Texas National Guard also? Maybe President Cheney sends Bushy away on these 'vacations' so that he can run the govenment himself. The current President has not been very Presidential this year. I have almost forgotten what the man looks like.

Loved his speech this week...goes like this..."The economy is bad. Here is few hundred billion. Goodbye."........

He could have just sent us a text message.

If there's one thing worse than taking almost 900 days of vacation on your ranch in Texas, it's taking almost 900 days of vacation on a ranch where the cattle were rented.

Lets get down to brass tacks,,,idiot has never broken a sweat in the WH, camp David,
Crawford, Tex or anywhere else in his sorry life.

A prez who calls it a day by 9 p.m. is a person who is not fit to be prez of the US.........
it is not a 9 to 5 job.

Would be even worse with old 72 yr old Gramps,,,he would never wake for a 3 a.m. phone call.

Klein is one of our favorites (hubby/I), eureka. In fact, her 'shock-doctrine' stuff can be used to explain some of what occurred this week economically. Get the people rattled/in shock and then Socialize Wall Street. And, the Republicans accuse liberals of being Socialist/Communist...good grief. (What the Republicans would have done to Bill Clinton if his economy/fiscal actions had mirrored President Shit for Brains is too ugly for words)

Kool-Aid drinking Republicans are the most hypocritical and predictable people in the country (quite an achievement).

One thing about Hillary's supporters/feminists...we don't need to make pop icons of the women we admire by emulating their wardrobes/eye glasses. We like Hillary's mind/achievements. Republican women flocking to buy Sarah's glasses is pathetic and revealing of the sheep mentality that drives that Party.

Good week for Obama...AND THE REST OF US SANE PEOPLE.

Evening everyone. A beautiful weekend lies ahead.

"Please document your assertions about Bush."--strange

Oh, I almost missed this gem...LOL...strange asking for documentation LOL LOL!!

Glad to know you have such a fine-tuned sense of humor, strange.

The rented cattle thing cracks me up. I mean, he owns a ranch...shouldn't he be charging rent to other ranchers so their cattle could graze on lush Presidential grass? That is not very fiscal minded of our President at all.

He stocked his pond with foreign perch too. Called the day he caught a seven pound stocked perch in his pond... the best day he had during his presidency. All the alcohol and illegal drug abuse in the world could not make a normally smart person as dumb as George Jr.. he has no excuse.

He's a complete and utter buffoon of a spoiled bully brat.. and he's a bloody war criminal.

Those of you who regularly participate in this blog know that I am not voting in this year's election so I don't have any dog in the hunt. However, I have something to say as a combat veteran about scurrilous attacks on another combat veteran. When obama made fun of McCain because he couldn't use a computer he showed total contempt for a man who served his country and paid a very high price for that service. The torture that was frequently employed on McCain by the gooks was to tie his arms behind his back, life him off of the ground with a rope hung from the ceiling until his arms were radically out of joint and keep him hanging there for hours. It is extremely painful. It has resulted in his inability to use his arms in ways that you and I take for granted. This from a punk who has never served his country or risked his life for his fellow countrymen. obama's conduct is shameful.

Let's get back to the question: Is Sarah Palin qualified to to serve as VP of the United States?
The question should be: Is Sarah Palin qualified to be president?
Unless she manages to pull a cheney, she's running for a job I could do, mostly from home, no less. Even she had to ask what a VP does every day. BUT, should something happen to John McCain, she'll have to step up to the plate on a moment's notice, and possibly in a time of extreme crisis. How many people do you think would agree with the idea that she is qualified to be president?
Now about our hardworking, brilliant prez -- well, answer me this: If you had some spare land, would you rent cows to run on it? Or would you rent the land to some guy that needed pasture for his cows? This is the man who has the final say on all things economic.
I think I'll go throw up.

How would you characterize our illustrious Congress? They have a lower approval rating than Bush. Do you approve of their going on vacation when their fellow countrymen were demanding that they deal with the high price of gasoline? Do you approve of their shrugging their shoulders and saying that they didn't know what to do about our financial meltdown and plan on taking another vacation until after the election? Do you approve of their approving a loosening of regulations that allowed loans to be given to people who normally would not qualify, who could not document their income, who were buying houses they couldn't afford, who were paying 100% of their house payment on interest and not principal? Do you approve of giving these people loans to buy homes solely because they were black or brown even though the loan officer knew they couldn't pay the loan back?

"...This from a punk who has never served his country or risked his life for his fellow countrymen. obama's conduct is shameful.--strange

Isn't it special how right wingers demand respect while pissing disrespectfully on us. Interesting strategy...in a spectator sort of way. Can't count the times righties have lectured me about disrespecting the office of the President with my Monkeyboy language...right after they had called Bill Clinton every name in the book. Precious people.

Is barack hussien obama qualified to be President? What foreign policy experience does he have that qualifies him to be president? What executive experience does he have that qualifies him to be chief executive officer of the government? What experience does he have to be commander-in-chief of the armed forces? I have asked these specific questions for weeks and have NEVER been given an answer of each specific questions.

You don't like that comment because you have NEVER served your country. You have NEVER put your life on the line.

Which should be our greatest concern right now? Should we be concerned about the person running for VP that has no real constitutional authority other than ceremoniously presiding over the Senate and serving if the President should die or the ability and experience of a person to be President of the United States? Which is the most important right now?

Doigotta...I don't care if she's qualified; I care that she's a LYING religious nut who's trying to enforce her religious view on the rest of us by running for political office.

You support a guy who publically says that he is trying to get our troops out of Iraq quickly and then tries to cut a secret deal with Iraq to delay our troops leaving. Hmmmmmmmmmm! You have a strange sort of loyalty.

strange - you are among the most shameful trolls I've read anywhere. McCain invites that stuff far more than most people take the bait... he abuses his POW status like Giuliani abuses 9-11.

Anyone who want to liberate Spain... you know the Spain in South America... is obviously not capable of learning to use teh google.

ANy Vet will tell you they don't talk about their experiences for a reason.. except on rare occasions among themselves. As much as McCain and you violate that unwritten but widely recognized code... you deserve all the criticism and scrutiny you get.. and then some.

I've listened to long conversations with generations of vets this week, all who are offended.. not by Obama, but McCain's abuse of his "service".

As much as McCain talks about it... he should have long ago said he can't use a keyboard if that's truly the case. I've watched a couple of hours of youubes this week where McCain goes off on all kinds of veterans and their wives for far less.. Google "youtube Mccain temper" someday and follow the countless horrific episodes of McTemper.. and hide your grandkids from the evil man on your computer while you watch.

I will say any damn thing about you or your service... or anyone else. This is America and you folks don't have carte blanche just because you helped kill a bunch of people. I'm sorry you were asked and just as sorry you went. I sure wouldn't wish captivity on anyone... but I will be damned if it's going to keep me from asking questions and demanding straight forward answers from them any more or less than anyone else.... when they apply for a job.. or run for public office.

Silverback66,

We are Democrats and one of the biggest differences between us and the Bushevik Republicans is that we don't continually and habitually lie. We have values, ethics, and morality that rise above doing anything to win the current, including subverting the U.S. Constitution and electoral process.

I took the PBS on Sarah Paling being qualified to be the Vice-President and I voted, Yes. Here is why.

"Qualifications for the Office of President

Age and Citizenship requirements - US Constitution, Article II, Section 1

No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United States.

Term limit amendment - US Constitution, Amendment XXII, Section 1 - ratified February 27, 1951

No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once."

She is qualified to be a candidate for the position of Vice-President. She is not qualified to receive my vote and is continuing to move farther and farther away from any possibility of ever receiving my vote.

I am a Navy Vietnam Veteran. In my six years, before the mast on nuclear ships and boats, we had a saying, "Illegitimi non carborundum!" "Don't let the bastards grind you down!"

Be a good Democrat, Progressive, Moderate, Liberal , Independent, Thinking Voter, etc Silverback66. Do not succumb to the A$#h%^#s, don't lower yourself to their level. Let Rove, Limbaugh, Beck, Buchanan, Novak, O'Reilly and all the others including our loyal opposition on this blog continue to "gyre and gimble in the wabe" with the other "slithy troves."

They don't need us to sanction their lack of manners and morals by adopting their ways. They will continue to lie and claim we do anyway. So let them continue to show their A$$#$ by lying with justification.

Click

and view http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2008/0809/cklein_0929.jpg

President "AWOL from the Texas National Guard" Bush never laid his life on the line for this country.

There is lots of film of him getting off a bus, coming back to the US, snapping that arm up in
a salute to all the brass who greeted him.

Lord, I had bursitis, in both shoulders, couldn't comb my hair, dress myself, pain, pain, pain....
one injection of cortisone cured me.

I'm sick of all the WW2, Viet Nam, excuses to give old people a pass........

We all have stories of war and hard times but don't use them as a pitty party to get elected
to highest office in the land.

Excuse me, passion overrode grammar and spell checking. Change to ". . . let them continue to show their A$$#$ by lying WITHOUT justification.

Click to see a Republican preparing to do what was once anathema to him, but has decided to join them if you can beat 'em.

Neither did clinton even after he signed a letter of intent to serve. McCain and I served and so did a lot of other guys from Arkansas.

merkwürdigeliebe

Excuse me, passion overrode grammar and spell checking. Change to ". . . let them continue to show their A$$#$ by lying WITHOUT justification.

Click to see a Republican preparing to do what was once anathema to him, but has decided to join them if you can beat 'em.

Strangelove, cutting and piling brush doesn't count as work.

Yea, I got the distinct impression when I got back home after all of you sent me there that you really could care less. I had a lot of company in that feeling.

Presuming military service is the only way to serve your country is just that: a mere presumption based on a bit of self-righteousness. Lee Harvey Oswald did military service as did Charles Whitman. Fine young Marines.

You are correct in that people shouldn't denounce someone's patriotism. McCain and Obama both agreed on this. Neither should be attacked for their records of service to their country. Such a line of argument is just misdirection away from issues.

As to the request for documentation on Bush's time away from the office, I gave you the source and one key link. Don't be such a lazy ass. Go look it up. It's there. That's more than you gave us about Reid.

I did check it out and did not find that figure. I did find that Clinton spent the least amount of time on vacation. Being President and wielding power was his passion so he didn't find a vacation that rewarding.

Ah, I see you got there first, Scottie.
Now, against all good advice and good sense displayed on this blog, I will rant a bit.
The imprisonment and torture that John McCain suffered nearly 40 years ago has little, if anything, to do with what John McCain seeks to do today -- become president. Yet he manages to bring it up again and again. A badge of honor? If you wish, but my husband served during wartime as well and has the scars and an array of medals to prove it. Yet he rarely speaks about those experiences unless someone asks a specific question. To him, it's something that was over many years ago and does not define who he is now. If you were to try to make him a hero or put him on a pedestal, he'd laugh, and privately think you a fool.
Obama's point? That John McCain has so little curiosity that he can't even figure out how to turn on a computer. That trait probably dates from his childhood. You will note that he got into the Naval Academy only by dint of family ties and then finished near the bottom of his class, sixth from the bottom if I remember correctly. Then there's his inability to master things mechanical or aeronautical -- crashing FIVE planes. Had my brother crashed ONE naval vessel, he wouldn't have made it to 35 years and retirement.
Zelda, you're right. She is a lying, conniving, self-serving, autocratically religious woman who is NOT qualified to be president , therefore not quaified to be VP.

Oh, and Stranglove, I'm soooo glad to know you don't plan to vote in this year's election.

I would have hated for my vote for Obama to have been wasted in canceled out yours.

Reid was quoted in numerous news sources as saying he didn't know what to do about the financial meltdown. Now who is being lazy?

So are you saying that if you are religious you are NOT qualified to be VP? Where do you find that?

I have said that so many times on this blog that I am tired of mentioning it. However, people on this blog have very SELECTIVE memories.

I might add that being a conservative does not earn me any brownie points when I say that I am not voting for McCain/Palin. I know that this thrills people on this blog but in the real world it does not endear you to many.

From the Dan Froomkin article that could be found by clicking on my name earlier:

Mar 08 Washington Post

"According to the meticulous records kept by CBS Radio White House correspondent Mark Knoller, Bush on Monday lodged his 879th day spent in whole or in part at David or his sprawling estate in Crawford, Tex."

Extrapolate 21 more days over the next 6 months which is considerably less than his average and I arrived at 900+ days. How you missed it, I don't know.

Autocratically religious, Strange, as in believe as I do or else because I'm right and you're wrong. Now if she were a Muslim what would you think? Would you prostrate yourself toward Mecca six (I think) times a day because she insisted? Religion has no place in politics. It shoud be a private matter. At most, it should amount to some form of this statement. This is what I believe. You are free to believe as you wish. Sadly few of us can get our minds around that one.

I thought it would take awhile to read 50 posts on this thread, but about 80% were by 1 single troll and irrelevant, so I only had to read about 10 real posts. Much easier and quicker.

Max, can troll posts be in red to more easily distinguish/ignore them?

When has she tried to force her beliefs on you?

So are you accusing him of neglecting to do his job or just that you don't like his policies?

strange - there were alot of other people at that table last night that didn't understand the mortgage mess, don't just single out Reid.

McCain doesn't understand it and I doubt Obama does either. Bush certainly doesn't get it and he's damn lucky that Paulson ran Goldman Sachs before moving to treasury.

The only politician that I heard this week that get's it is Bill Clinton. He gave an interview on CNBC yesterday and he understands the securitization process from A-Z.

Both or neither. Do you not believe in the tooth fairy or just don't like dentists? It's all in how you frame the question for some people; for others, information is enough.

When has she tried to force her beliefs on you? <<

Nice try. No cigar. Google Sarah Palin and creationism. Wants that religious belief taught in public schools, those are schools financed with tax payer funds, just in case strange is using "you" collectively, which he is likely stupid enough NOT to do.

.

Excellent show tonight Max (AETN). I enjoyed every minute of it. I particularly enjoyed your analysis on the situation of four dead children within the DHS sphere and Gov. Beebe's role or his
'should be' role in the continuing tragedy.
Seems you and David Sanders found enough common ground to have a very lively discussion. Sanders has become tolerable since he publicly denounced Huckabuck.

.

I enjoyed AW tonight, too. What bickering? Love Fest is more like it. Sanders seemed uncharacteristically agreeable. I was waiting for Steve Barnes to ask if they'd brought rings to the altar.

And I loved the description of the logo of the United Methodist Church: flaming cross! How quaintly Southern Conservative!

And what do you call forcing kids to be taught evolution? You are forcing your beliefs on my kids. No, your hands aren't clean. She isn't prosyletizing.

Bill clinton knows economics. Ha, ha, ha! When I went to law school they didn't do much economics. All he can do is BS. He doesn't know anymore about securitized mortgages than a monkey.

Max, now Strange is pretending to be a lawyer,,,if he really is,
I'd like to know who he is, just because....

You can't define for me what a credit default swap is unless you go to google.

Probably the only teacher in Little Rock that can do that is the Central HS teacher that took his econ group to the Federal Reserve competition the last two years and won.

You must have taught P.E. or English at Central bucause you don't have a clue about econ.

"Do you approve of giving these people loans to buy homes solely because they were black or brown even though the loan officer knew they couldn't pay the loan back?"

Missing the point again strangelove. Republican deregulation made it possible for greedy bankers to hand out loans to anyone with a heartbeat. Why did they do it? Because of a new little trick called more or less bundling mortgages to be sold to a 3rd party. It's the 3rd party, so often Freddie & Fannie who got stuck with a bill of goods. The greedy banker made the loan to the zeros, then turned around and sold it at a discount, but still a profit, to a 3rd party. It was win win for the banker.

Add to that this wonderful sliding interest rate. Good folks who could pay 900 per month for a house quickly found their payments to be 1900 a month.....a whole different ballgame. I had 2 dozen people laugh at me for hanging on to my old 10% fixed rate mortgage while they got a 3 or 4% sliding rate loan. They haven't been laughing the last couple of years....some of them don't live in Arkansas any more and the Yard Nazis are going nuts because the yards of these abandoned houses are 2 foot high in uncut grass.

Add to that the Soul Train Wanna Buy Your Own House TV advertising that went out to big black communities all over the country. Ya know, black folks want to own instead of rent too. The slick TV ads promised a nice big house for next to nothing. So you see strangelove deregulation of the banking industry by the Newt G. Republicans, the Phil Graham Republicans, has come back to bite us in the ass to the tune of a couple hundred billion in government bailouts so far....with more heading our way.

And by the way, your NO DOG IN THIS HUNT is barking it's fool head off. If yer dog ain't hunting, keep it a little closer to the house and quit disturbing the real hunt that is going on between now and November 4th.

And by the way, your military service doesn't make your shit not stink. It's a fine thing to have done, but you must keep in mind I didn't send anyone to war. No one asked my opinion before they started a war that despite your best efforts, Max Cleland's best efforts, John Kerry's best efforts, and the best efforts of 58,000 plus dead US soldiers, couldn't be won. The Vietnam War was the invention of Eisenhower, then Kennedy, then Johnson, then Nixon. Then in 1975 when Congress pulled the plug on funding the Vietnam war our troops came home followed by about 50, 000 Vietnamese refugees. The same thing will eventually happen in Iraq, hopefully long before 58,000 plus US soldiers have to lose their lives. You ruin the honor of your own military service in about half the posts you write, in my opinion.

And finally I had to go watch the Northside Grizzlies stomp a little LR Catholic butt tonight. The weather was perfect, no the rumors that my 1972 girlfriend would be there didn't turn out to be true. And the score was like 48 to 36...so it was a hell of a game. I think the inches of death are turning into feet cause I got all teared up at halftime when the band started playing a 70s tune and I had a few flashbacks of sitting in the same place so many years ago and realizing how damn fast life slips away. Saw one of the cheerleaders from my era waddling by...that really got me boo hoo-ing. Time why must ya be so cruel? Anyway....you all send up another football team that needs beating and we'll whip some more Grizzly Pride on ya.

She was at the FS/Central game. FS had a good night in the Rock.

Strange if you don't have a dog in this hunt, as you keep repeating, then get your ass out of the woods.

Forgive me for sorta changing the subject (it is Open) - I posted this over on the Lottery Lawsuit in response to Old Blue Eyes objecting to being "lumped in" with other Christians who do take a lot of heat around here...

OBE: There are Christians (I aspire to it, my wife a bona-fide!), and then there are the ones that we most often chide, diss object to and often treat poorly here - and they deserve all of it and more. They are also GROSSLY un-American, rejecting such basic concepts as ALL, as in freedom and justice for. They routinely support stomping on the Constitution, while claiming allegiance for a piece of cloth, rather than what it is supposed to symbolize.

Those are "small c" christians, defined as those who are WAY more interested in my behavior/beliefs than their own. While they PROFESS to literal interpretation of THEIR particular version of the Bible, what they really are is Pecksniffs who just cannot keep their faith and leave others alone - like many admonishments in said book: when/where to pray and be "devout," motes vs. timbers in eyes, loving thy neighbor in certain ways, etc. almost ad infinitum. It's insufficient for them to live their faith, they consistently are feverishly working to cram it up my ass, and I resent and will not stand for it. Simple.

Jerry Cocks and his Band of Bigots are our nearest examples, and come up ONLY because of their insistence on controlling the lives of others. If they wouldn't do that, they'd get NO mention here. That's it. They are the US Taliban of Religionists, and come in varieties as sick as Fred Phelps' folks, our departed chasv and such. On the other hand we have magnificent examples of faithful, religious leaders here in Arkansas: Vic Nixon, Larry Maze, Betsy Singleton, "Flash" Gordon and of the non-Christian variety Gene Levy. I single them out because I know most, and know of their work in their churches and our communities. I suspect they have wisely chosen to distance from Cocks & Co. THEY are Christians and/or religious leaders of merit. He is in need of a real life, and just needs to go away, or maybe to Utah.
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WELL LETS SEE WHO GOT THE MOST FROM FREDDIE MAC AND FANNIE MAE.. YUP.. IT WAS CHRIS DODD.. AND OH YEST.. OBAMANATION WHILST SWEET CHARLIE RANGLE WENT MISSING IN LALA LAND .. WHAT HOUSE.. WHAT TAXES.. THE TWO ON OBAMA'S STAFF WHO MADE KILLINGS IN FREDDIE MAC AND FANNIE MAE. AND THEY HAVE THE NERVE TO POINT FINGERS TO ANYONE.. OBAMA NO MA.

INCLUDED. DO THEY THINK WE ARE STUPID OR SOMETHING. GET REAL. THE SMART ONES WILL FIGURE HIMOUT. AND KICK HIM TO THE CURB AND UNDER THE BUS,. WITH HIS GRANDMOTHER, WHAT A PIECE OF TRASH THAT MAN IS.. HAS HE NO SHAME. LIES CANNOT BE HIDDEN FOREVER. AND SO IT GOES. DBI.. GODS GONNA GIT YOU FOR THAT CACA TALK ABOUT HIM.. YOU ARE ONE SIK PUPPI DUUFUS,. REPEAT. THANK GOD FOR THE WEST COAST FORTSIE TRIBAL LAND. KEEP HIM RAPPED AND RUNNIN LORD. THANK YEE

"HAS HE NO SHAME. LIES CANNOT BE HIDDEN FOREVER."

I could not agree more about him....him being McCain, right?

I want to know that my vote counts. With the Electoral College, if I live in a state that historically votes for the opposite party, then the votes are all awarded to the candidate that I did not choose. Before we get to another presidential election 4 years from now, we all need to encourage reform of the voting system. If everyone's vote counted equally, candidates couldn't ignore states that they think will vote the opposite party. They don't come to Arkansas because it is not in dispute. Arkansas electoral votes have gone to the Republicans in all of the elections since 1980 except in the 2 elections that Clinton was running. Let's work to abolish the Electoral College and know that every vote can make a difference.

Gee, cool. Strange's alter ego LARGEASSHOLE shows up late again with his brilliant analyses - as in ANAL... And probably missed Strange breaking his own world record by making 4 consecutive posts!!!

"And what do you call forcing kids to be taught evolution?" ----Science.

I have my groove back, and so I propose again (do NOT take credit for this, but cannot recall where I first saw it):

McThuselah Lumpjaw did NOT "pick" Caribou Barbie Moosejaw, the Neo-Con "controllers" of Bush did - Darth Cheney, et al. The reason is she is a "blank slate," similar to the Manchurian Candidate paradigm. When McPain croaks, they've GOT HER - another ego-driven president without the mental capacity to come in out of the rain, to manipulate. Another incompetent who, when making decisions consults "the Higher Authority," e.g. George Carlin's Man Up There. When making appointments, does it strictly by sycophantisis (See Huckabuck, Mike). Making government more and more incompetent destroys it (see FEMA, and as someone mentioned above, Galveston - now even Houston) - the ultimate objective, other than finalizing the demise of the middle class.

NONE of this will change unless O'Bama is elected OR the people actually take to the streets to rebel. We the people are too busy leading our lives of meaningless comfort to notice, THAT is why CBM "energized" the Repug base - they are Morons.
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Gee whiz, large... I see you are going blimp sized over bloviation tonight.

FOlks like the top tier of freddie and fanny contribute to both sides in order to maintain access. However that particular group contributed about ten times more to McCain.

Also.. Even Sarah Palin admits lobbyists are much more crucial in what we should all worry about. Whoops!
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/09/mccain-blasts-o.html
<<<<<<
The Obama campaign says when Sean Hannity asked Palin last night
whether there should be an investigation of campaign contributions by
Fannie and Freddie executives, she deferred saying, "that's
significant, but even more significant is the role that lobbyists play
in this."
Obama campaign staffers note that several of McCain's top advisors -
including campaign manager Rick Davis, vice presidential vetter Arthur
Culvahouse, and McCain consigliere Charlie Black - lobbied on behalf
of the mortgage giants.

<<<<<<

The Obama campaign doesn't have lobbyists. McCain doesn't think or say "large ass" without lobbyists permission.

We have to watch them all like hawks in these times of rushed secrecy.. It's when things like the Patriot Act and new wars start. But you don't need to run around making stuff up in order to justify flipping out. Isn't a trillion wasted bucks and counting enough to prove your beloved republicans failed miserably?

Never Vote Republican -

"I want to know that my vote counts. With the Electoral College, if I live in a state that historically votes for the opposite party, then the votes are all awarded to the candidate that I did not choose."

Whether your candidate wins or loses, your vote is counted. But you want proportional allocation like the Democratic Party uses in their primaries. Unfortunately, their nomination was determined by the Rules and Bylaws Committee, not the voters. It was a fiasco. We don't need those sort of shenanigans in the general election.

I prefer that each state decides how to allocate their electoral votes, and here in Arkansas, I prefer the traditional winner-takes-all method based on who won the popular vote in our state. It's more decisive, and it's still representative. The Founding Fathers knew what they were doing when they established our electoral system.

The stupidest thing I've seen recently on changing the system was a Bill in the Arkansas Legislature that would have given our state's electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote. That would effectively give our electoral votes to large states like New York and California. Most Arkansans were totally unaware of that effort, but fortunately, it did not pass here.

No, our votes in Arkansas do not count because it will go for McCain. It doesn't matter if we vote in Arkansas or not. The electoral college is archaic and needs to be ended.

Our votes here do not matter as much as those in Ohio, Michigan or others states. PERIOD

I sure am enjoying the stink of desperation that's rising off stranglelove. The Palin bounce is wearing off and John McCain's desperate gamble is beginning to backfire.

As for the "John McCain can't use a computer because he's all crippled up so you're mean to mention it" thing, I have two words: Stephen Hawking.

>>Yea, I got the distinct impression when I got back home after all of you sent me there that you really could care less. I had a lot of company in that feeling.<<

You really need to deal with your years and years and years of tightly held anger at what you believe about the war in Nam and how it ended. It's not good for your mental health and it makes many of us unwilling to waste much time listening to you.

You insulted someone in a post above that they had "never put your life on the line". These insulting statements from a bitter old man still nursing his hurt feelings, just don't work. I didn't put my life on the line, but I did more - I watched as my youngest child, at the age of 24, with all the promise in the world, was sent off to Bush's folly in Iraq. I would have gone there in his place, I would have stood between him and the enemy - GLADLY. I would have died to keep him here and safe, I would have dismantled the Bush Adm with my bare hands to keep him away from that useless risk of his precious life. You going to war yourself is not a huge sacrifice - watching your baby go is the real sacrifice.

You have no special honor that the rest of us don't have. My ex-husband was a door-gunner in a helicopter in Vietnam and the stess has destroyed his life, but you don't hear anyone in my family pissing on the American people for realizing that Vietnam was also a godawful folly that should never have happened. We learned from what we endured rather than drying up and becoming bitter old agents of hate.

All my uncles served in Korea, or WWII. We are a family that sacrificed and served when asked or needed - whether we thought the cause was right or wrong - but we didn't come out of that believing that Americans don't have the right to think - to discern what is a war of necessity or a war of some stupid choice.

Instead of being angry with you and feeding your slide into a black hole of anger and misunderstanding, we should pity you..........

Larry and old blue eyes...thanks for using such apt words to explain how so many feel about much of the autocratic religious crap that we've been living with. And, thanks, larry, for re-posting it here 'cause I would've missed those wonderful words.

This I believe...
strangelo' would argue that man can survive with out oxygen!!!! He's got...PMS "President McCain Syndrome" plus BMOB (Big Man On the Blog) open line Friday Night Lite Fever.

Lord forgive me for that and bless all the pygmies in New Guinea Amen...

CiCi, unless you have a license to practice Psychiatry you need to refrain from psychobabble analysis. You don't know me and have no basis for any analysis of my psche. I am not bitter about the war. I served my time and did my duty. I don't believe that people who dump on anyone's service for any war are doing them justice or the country. In addition to my service, I have had many of the male members of my family who have served in several wars. None that I knew were bitter. I don't personally know any guys who are bitter. What they did not appreciate were some people who spit on them for doing their duty. That is what they object to.

You give me the right to comment when you constantly post comments that show your anger at Americans, that show you feel you did something unusual by serving in the military and by showing you believe insults you received when you returned home give you the right to put down the rest of us here who probably did as much for the country as you ever thought of doing.

You display your bitterness regularly and if you don't want comments made about what you say and reveal, then I suggest you consider your words in the future.......

As for bitterness - anyone who still can't get thru a night of posting on a political blog without referring to what happened to them at a moment in time 40 yrs ago - is bitter with a capital "B". You scream bitterness and I'll comment as I see fit.

Thank you Dr. Cici, I don't know what I would have done without your instant analysis. The oldest gambit in the book of debate tactics is to attack the person if you can't attack his arguments. I probably am older than you so I have lived long enough to see just about everything that people do to win an argument. How about dealing with the issues that I bring up or is that too difficult for you?

>>The oldest gambit in the book of debate tactics is to attack the person if you can't attack his arguments.>>

This coming from Dr. Strange who never attacks other persons? Dr. Strange, whose attack on a fellow poster prompted my comments?

Sweet.

I have asked repeatedly and received NO response. What are obama's qualifications to handle foreign policy? What are his qualifications to be commander in chief? What are his qualifications to be chief executive officer of the federal government? How many times do I need to ask the same question before I get a response? Is there some problem thinking of a response to these legitimate questions?

"You give me the right to comment when you constantly post comments..."

YEA! Ci.Ci

NO ONE! Who's a War Veteran (and I know a lot) talks about 'IT'...they will if you press 'em but would NEVER bring the subject up themselves. Just Saying!

"The oldest gambit in the book of debate tactics..."
by: strangelove

LMAOROTF!!!!!!!!

I'm still waiting for an answer to my question.

CiCi's right, strange, your bitterness shows every time you wear your military service as some special badge of honor that gives you special 'commentary rights' the rest of us don't have. (If you crap it, spread it...you own it.) Plus, the historical facts about the Vietnam War are completely contrary to what you and your ilk keep spreading.

Your questions regarding Obama's presidential qualifications have been answered over and over. You just don't like the answers and/or are just using the questions to launch into one of the 5-6 diatribe's you recycle over and over.

We all know you've declared you're not voting for McSame...we (me and my mouse) just don't believe you...because your words indicate otherwise.

In other words you CAN'T answer my questions and yet you are voting for him. Amazing!

The reason stranglelove keeps asking for documentation and proof whenever someone says anything is because he is a liar and a cheat who continually Makes Shit Up whenever he wants to "prove" something, and he assumes that everyone else is as morally depraved as he is. He isn't getting responses to his questions because people are treating him with the contempt his lying cowardice deserves. What a small, sad little man he is.

So in addition to supporting obama for no reasons other than the fact he is a liberal you also can read minds. Amazing!!!!

Oh, good. We now have the president of the katherine mitchell fan club joining us in the reading of minds. So now I know what it takes to be a liberal today----a high psychic sense of mind reading. Amazing!!!!

The qualifications issue cuts both ways. Looking at how Presidents were rated vs how "qualified" they are doesn't shed a great deal of light on the subject. The key point rather is what are their stances on the issues -- these are the real qualifications which should determine our choice.

Timothy Sexton took on the subject of Obama's qualifications over a year ago and did so by looking at George W. Bush. Here is an excerpt:

"Texas likes to advertise itself as being like a whole other country. Well, we can certainly wish, can't we? If only Texas had been another country, the US could have been spared Bush's leadership. I mean it's one thing if a bunch of nutjobs want to hand over their state to a man with absolutely no qualifications; Texas isn't known for producing geniuses, after all. (Except for Tom Landry, I guess.) Why Texans wanted to make George Bush their Governor can only be answered with by asking why such a large minority of Americans wanted him to be President. My theory still rests upon the idea that millions thought they were voting for his dad.

At least the Texans can be forgiven. Everybody knows Texas politics is about as crooked as it gets but America as a whole could look to what Bush accomplished in Texas, whereas the Texans only had his business failures by which to judge. While Bush likes to tout his success at reforming the education system and tort reform, the lasting legacy of Bush's leadership of Texas is remarkably similar to what he has done as President. Namely, appointing a string of unqualified people to positions of power and engaging in one sweetheart deal after another to further line the coffers of his biggest campaign contributors. And let's not forget that one of his proudest accomplishments was to allow almost any Texan to legally carry a concealed weapon. As if Texans weren't already dangerous enough.

So, let's take a look at the qualifications of George W. Bush to become President. A one term Governor of Texas. A string of failures in the business world. An admitted recovering alcoholic which means-if you buy that whole crapload about alcoholism being a disease-that every single day the President of the United States fight consciously fight the urger to go on a bender resulting in who knows what kind of devastation. On the other hand, Barack Obama was an Illinois State Senator for eight years and has been a US Senator since 2005. In other words, without any qualifications, George W. Bush sought to become the chief executive first of a large state and then the entire country, while Barack Obama has worked in the legislative realm in which people who say no to you don't get fired. Barack Obama is learning the process of government, while George Bush learned only that people ask high how when you say jump

So, to those who would say that Barack Obama doesn't have enough experience or is not qualified to be President the only possible response one can give is that if George W. Bush had the right to be elected President, then Barack Obama has the right to be elected God. One thing is crystal clear: Barack Obama could not possibly do any worse than George W. Bush. Of course, my youngest son's pet hamster couldn't do any worse than President Bush.

The really strange thing about all this talk of experience and qualifications is that George W. Bush was the most unqualified man ever to become President and promptly set about proving it. On the other hand, his father was one of the most qualified men to become President.and still managed to be a horrible leader."

The point is that there are a multitude of reasons to vote for or against a candidate. Anyone attempting to narrow the debate to a single word will usually disagree with any definitions or contentions differing from his own. So, it's more a battle of semantics and definitions than it is a discussion of issues and plans.

Cheap rhetoric, in other words. Bitter invective, also.

Oh well, send some more money to your candidate's campaign as I will and that does more good than true believers arguing with other true believers.

Keep it up Ci Ci, I think you are cracking his code.. He just used "amazing" and "liberal" in the same sentence.

Another thing that amazes me about vets who experienced war.. such as McCain.. is when they come home and promote numerous needless wars for the rest of their lives. It's like they want everyone else to continue to fight the battles they suffered through or lost... over and over again. Anyone who wants war.. is a sick puppy. If any single point can quickly define the most important differences between Obama/Biden and Palin McCain tickets... it is that.

McPalin is very dangerous.. on all issues, both foreign and domestic. (just like Strange)

George Bush is not running for President. I asked you about obama and I am still waiting for an answer. Why won't you respond to my questions? What is the reason why you can't identify what his qualifications are to being President?

Qualifications for the Office of President

Age and Citizenship requirements - US Constitution, Article II, Section 1

No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United States.

Term limit amendment - US Constitution, Amendment XXII, Section 1 - ratified February 27, 1951

No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once.

"I used to make fun of names until I stopped worrying and learned to love the bomb."
by: strangelove

Creepy man hug...strangelo' (PMS) "President McCain Syndrome" take a pill MAN!

bejeeus, it is an inside joke. Don't they have inside jokes in Conway?

very cute----quoting the Constitution. Ok, one more time. What experience does obama have in foreign policy? What experience does he have to be the chief executive officer of the federal government? What experience does he have to be commander in chief?

Let's talk about something more interesting: John McCain's unfitness to run American foreign policy.

This week, while being interviewed by a Spanish journalist, John McCain got confused about who the president of Spain was and managed to give him a bit of a snub. Now, everyone makes mistakes. What not everyone does, however, is refuse to admit that he made a mistake, and have his campaign organization insist that he'd really meant to snub him.

John McCain's reckless, arrogant inability to admit a mistake has just hurt the country. He's not competent to run foreign policy and he's not fit to be president.

So the president of the katherine mitchell fan club isn't going to answer my question either. You guys are supporting someone whose experience you can't even identify to justify someone voting for him. Amazing!!!!

"Don't they have inside jokes in Conway?"
by: strangelove

Don't know strangelo'...do they?

You're right John A Arkansawyer...
"First, a McCain aide suggested John McCain invented the BlackBerry. But now, another top McCain aide--Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard--says that McCain (and Sarah Palin) would not be qualified to run a major corporation. Really, she did:" [CLICK]

TOUGH DAY AT THE OFFICE....First she gets fired from HP, now Carly Fiorina has been fired from the McCain campaign. Maybe the Fed should hire her to run AIG next?

Carly Fiornia wasn't able to run HP so why would we assume she could run anything else. She was a quota hire. I'm still waiting for an answer to my question.

Strange says "George Bush is not running for President".

Oh but he is--his name is McCain! That is enough reason for some people to support Obama. After 8 years of a Republican disaster, Obama brings a breath of fresh air to those of us who are sick of incompetence, cronyism, destruction of the constitution. As Zelda said "Your questions regarding Obama's presidential qualifications have been answered over and over. You just don't like the answers".

Obama is intellingent, has experience living in different cultures, cares about the direction this country has been headed and good ideas of how to reform things. As I've mentioned before, some of the presidents that are considered the greatest had no "executive" experience. I am less worried about that lack of experience than I am about another 4 years of the worst administration in US history.

Why does anyone who knows everything need to have a question answered?

"No, our votes in Arkansas do not count because it will go for McCain. It doesn't matter if we vote in Arkansas or not. The electoral college is archaic and needs to be ended.

Our votes here do not matter as much as those in Ohio, Michigan or others states. PERIOD"

Thanks eark for your response to Arkblogger. Glad to find some support of my position

There is a "National Popular Vote" initiate that Arkansas Blogger mentioned but that is not what I am advocating. It still relies on electoral votes. I want to eliminate the electoral college entirely.

I don't see why in this age of electronics, we can't each cast a vote and the votes are totaled all over the country and the winner with the most votes is elected as President. Then my vote would count as much as any other vote anywhere in the entire country.

I think we MAY all be able to agree that electing ANY candidate for the first time is a leap of faith - there are NO guarantees. In this election it really boils down to "personalities" (later) and, sadly as we only have two actual choices, which bed you want to lie in - R or D. MOST of us here are not "true believers," as we all see that the "process" our government operates in leaves little true choice as these (legislative) folks ultimately all slop from the same trough. If "maverick" is a desirable, there are few real ones. As a former R, I feel somewhat qualified to write this; and I have NEVER been a D. I 'hang' with very few R's these days, as my personal tastes run contrary - BIG live music fan, MANY gay/lesbian friends, ANTI-racism, ANTI-religionist, imbiber, lover of cheese, sushi, fine wine & spirits, outspoken "liberal" (as defined in the dictionary, NOT as corrupted by the R machine). If we're going to have an actual relationship that begins NOW, we probably don't want to spend most of our time arguing/disagreeing. I have ONE rabid racist+ friend; we NEVER discuss "important stuff" and coexist that way because of convenience to us both (and his wife is a sweetie!).our wives once worked together, and we're neighbors.

My PRIMARY considerations boil down to a few issues: preserving what's left of our natural world; improving the likelihood that children will grow up to be happy, productive adults; actualizing "freedom and justice for ALL; avoiding the possibility of thermonuclear war. While the R's were indeed once grounded in conservatism (dictionary, again) that is no longer true, although they have 'fellow travelers' who just cannot stomach "liberals" as defined by the R's, so they ultimately make strange bedfellows OR loose elections like when Perot got Clinton elected (and conversely when Nader got Bush elected).

Given my considerations and the "evidence" we have from the last 7.75 years, it's a no-brainer for me. The fact is, unless there were a VIABLE third-party candidate, I would vote for ANY D who initially threw her/his hat in the ring, or crawled out from under a rock before I'd vote for an R. Any.

Simple, independent from Strange's rantings about "qualifications." And I am totally convinced that should McCain be elected not only are we FKed, it will be for the simple reason that too many folks will NEVER vote for a non-white (even tho' we know that "white's" are going extinct.

I close with a close friend's assessment (from Puget Sound) regarding the ONE umbrella we should ALL be coalescing under - Sustainable Society:

Our nation, in fact all industrialized nations and developing nations like China and India, live under the illusion that we can create open-system economics with single-use product life cycles and always
find a place to dump our shit.

We're ARE FKed anyway! While we're slowly cogitating the effects of our actions we keep right on sawing off the limb we're sitting on - our oceans are dying, fisheries collapsing, temperatures rising, ice sheets melting, storm intensities increasing, species disappearing, water tables sinking, deserts expanding, forests are beetle-ridden, disease vectors spread, tundra is releasing more and more methane, and the oceans are maxed out on absorbing any more CO2. (What did I miss?)

Yet we still think we can drill our way out of this and produce even more products to consume.

Something's seriously wrong with the picture and your neighbors are worried about gays & praising their false gods, while awaiting the Rapture? Did I say Idiots?

stranglelove says, "Carly Fiornia wasn't able to run HP so why would we assume she could run anything else."

Fair enough. Let's take that to its logical conclusion: John McCain showed terrible judgment to pick her as a spokesperson. One more piece of evidence that John McCain is not fit to be president.

I'm not too narrow-minded to get hooked on this buzzword "qualifications." Obama could beat McCain over the head with his higher education level or better environmental record or community service record; McCain could outrank Obama on other factors in his background. And, that's the key. Experience has not been a reliable predictor of a candidate's ability to be president.

You get elected because of issues. I define qualifications primarily on each candidate's stand on a variety of issues. I factor in the way a campaign is run (the amount of lies used mostly), a candidate's ability to communicate, and how the candidate's party has dealt with issues and problems facing the country. I'm also leery of overt manipulation of the facts.

Somewhere between the glamour of a Madison Avenue support ad and the goriness of a low-level attack ad, there just might be some bit of reporting that doesn't distort things too much one way or the other.

Actually, there is really only one qualification to be president of this country: win the election. Convince the American public you're good enough to do the job.

Back later - the TiVo is humming...and I ready for some FOOTBALL!!!
|

McCain picked her to satisfy the press who would have taken potshots at him if he didn't have a sufficient number of women in his campaign. Come on, you guys know this stuff!!!!

Look, the three questions I asked you relative to obama's experience are the three main categories of job responsibilities for the President----foreign policy, chief executive and commander-in-chief. You blew it!!!! You can address them because he doesn't have the experience. It is pretty obvious. You are backing a looser.

stranglelove says, "McCain picked her to satisfy the press who would have taken potshots at him if he didn't have a sufficient number of women in his campaign. Come on, you guys know this stuff!!!!"

Shorter stranglelove: "McCain is a girlyman. Or maybe: "For John McCain, one Vagina-American is as good as any other."

All the candidates have to play to the special interest groups and the press. That is why they do some of the stupid stuff that they do. Anyone in the business world knows what a joke carly was running HP. The board would have dumped her sooner if she had been a white male.

Corporate America, presidential candidates and politicians in general all are cowards because they placate the special interests and the press. They are afraid to be called racist, sexist, etc. So they end up being manipulated to do stupid things. I see it everyday in corporate America where we hire people who are at best minimally qualified to stay out of trouble. It is the cost of doing business these days.

Straw man
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A straw man argument is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position.[1] To "set up a straw man," one describes a position that superficially resembles an opponent's actual view, yet is easier to refute, then attributes that position to the opponent. For example, someone might deliberately overstate the opponent's position.[1] While a straw man argument may work as a rhetorical technique-and succeed in persuading people-it carries little or no real evidential weight, since the opponent's actual argument has not been refuted.[2]

Its name is derived from the practice of using straw men in combat training. In such training, a scarecrow is made in the image of the enemy with the single intent of attacking it.[citation needed] Such a target is, naturally, immobile and does not fight back, and is not as realistic to test skill against compared to a live and armed opponent. It is occasionally called a straw dog fallacy, scarecrow argument, or wooden dummy argument.[citation needed] In the UK, the usual term is Aunt Sally.

strangelo' you's-a-master-debater!

strangelove, you have either posted or been mentioned by others 74 times thus far on this thread. I'd love to be your agent. How about it, dude?

No one has answered my questions. I'm still waiting.

durangokid, speaking as a man with a degree in mathematics, let me give you a little piece of friendly advice: ten percent of nothing is still nothing.

The president of the katherine mitchell fan club has spoken again. I wonder if you will answer my questions?

Right about now, Katherine Mitchell is thinking, "I am +so glad+ I never went out with that creepy stranglelove guy, no matter how often he asked me. I wonder what he's doing right now? He's probably forgotten all about me, but I'll never forget him. There was something about him, something weird, that gave me the creeps. Oh, well--back to leading the happy, normal life he'll never know. "

I was only interested in intelligent women so we wouldn't be compatible.

"38 million people watched Obama at the stadium in Denver. There were 84,000 full-throated supporters who turned out there at the field. The Republicans fired back today. They say, 'We can also fill a stadium with thousands of screaming people. For example, the Superdome during Hurricane Katrina.'" -Bill Maher

"Barack Obama gave a speech in Germany and 200,000 people showed up. There were so many Germans shouting and screaming that France surrendered just in case." --Craig Ferguson

"Barack Obama is now denying that he is email pals with the beautiful actress, Scarlett Johansson. Remember that story? They were saying that Scarlett Johansson and Barack Obama were emailing each other. He says no, it's not true. In fact his exact words were 'I did not have textual relations with that woman.'" --Jay Leno

"It was quite a weekend, politically. Yesterday, an estimated 75,000 people attended a Barack Obama rally on the banks of the the Willamette River. ... And if you believe the media, listen to this. After the rally, Barack Obama fed them all with just five loaves of bread and two fish. Amazing!" --Jay Leno

stranglelove says, "I was only interested in intelligent women so we wouldn't be compatible." And I believe it, which explains why he never did marry.

"There was some breaking news out of Dayton, Ohio today, where Republican presidential candidate John McCain introduced the world to his third wife." -Jon Stewart

"Actually, it was kind of a smart choice. McCain went with a woman because hedidn't want to have to be in a position to have to get CPR from Mitt Romney." -Jay Leno

"Have you seen the new commercial? The McCain campaign compares Barack Obama to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. And today the Obama campaign released an ad comparing John McCain to Zsa Zsa Gabor and Bea Arthur." --Jay Leno

"John McCain has been accused of stealing policy ideas from Wikipedia, which is ridiculous. Everybody knows McCain doesn't know how to use the Internet, so how could you even accuse him of that?" --Craig Ferguson

"John McCain is actively courting women over 60. And I'm thinking, who does this guy think he is, Ashton Kutcher?" --David Letterman

Don't tell my wife that. She might take offense.

Strangelove said " You are backing a looser."

Looser?

The only loser here is you. You are giving up on your right and responsibility to vote. If you don't believe Obama has the qualifications for President, then vote against him. You say you don't support McCain either. Obviously that means he doesn't have the qualifications to be President either according to your stringent requirements. So vote against him too. Maybe you can find an independent candidate you like.

There is nothing more tiring than someone complaining that they don't like the job a politician is doing (or isn't qualified to do) when they didn't exercise their right to vote.

Everyone has a right to choose the candidate they like based on what they feel is important and we aren't required to explain it to anyone. Obviously no matter how much we answer your repetitive questions about Obama, you are not going to be satisfied. Why aren't you asking the same questions about McSame? It's clear where your loyalties lie. Why don't you go watch Fox News to keep yourself entertained instead of going for a record number of posts on every thread on this blog?

The answer is Abraham Lincoln. Almost unanimously voted by historians and citizens the best president ever to serve, by the standards of qualifications and experience when he ran in 1860, Abe has a resume' more akin to Obama's past than to McCain's. A few terms as a representative in the state legislature, one term in the US House of Representatives, a brief captaincy in the state militia, party apparatchik, and lots of work as a lawyer. Humble beginnings, no famous family background, a good speechifier, devoted family man, and very unpopular in the South.

Hmmmmmm....sounds familiar.

And, the responsibilities, duties, and powers of the president are much, much broader than the short list given. For every person under the president in the military, there are three in civilian non-military jobs (judicial, legislative, bureaucratic, executive officials, federal officials, etc.), including over 6000 jobs depending on Presidential appointment.

But, the main point is that Abe Lincoln is another Illinois man who campaigned and won on an issue. He doesn't fit into any analysis based on qualifications or experience as the only criterion for POTUS. Well, he did get portrayed as "Honest" a lot and as an agent of change.

Am not sure we could say Honest John with a straight face.

The winner and loser won't be declared on this blog. The electorate will do so after hearing the debates and studying the issues. Predictions of greatness or failure remain tainted by partisan leaning so they remain entertaining parlor tricks at best. Nothing divides us more or brings us closer together than Presidential elections.

In the summer of 1864 the Republicans were ready to drop Lincoln from the ticket. People were tired of the war. They were ready to capitulate to the South and agree to their secession. The only thing that saved him were that the fortunes of war started to turn in the North's favor in September due to Sherman. Sound familiar?

In February 1860, Lincoln made his first major political appearance in the Northeast when he addressed a rally at the Cooper Union in New York. He was now sufficiently well known to be a presidential candidate. At the Republican national convention in Chicago in May, William H. Seward was the leading candidate. Seward, however, had qualities that made him undesirable in the critical states the Republicans had lost in 1856: Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, and New Jersey. As a result Lincoln won the nomination by being the second choice of the majority.
Sound familiar?

"malice toward none" and "charity for all"...Isn't It Ironic!

In March 1861 Lincoln took office. In April 1861 South Carolina fired on Fort Sumter and the War Between the States began. The war ran until 1865. Over 600,000 died. Sound familiar?

"I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday." Abraham Lincoln

Jeez,
I think I'm falling in love with Ci Ci. Let Strange have it, girl!

I'm still waiting for an answer to my question. Maybe CiCi can answer me?

Do us all a MAJOR favor - HOLD YOUR BREATH until you get those answers...

What's the difference between an orange? Do you walk to work or carry your lunch?

How come nobody will answer MY questions? :>( Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! :>(
|

"answer me?"
by: strangelo'

AFCAQTWCA

S.AMDT.1041 to S.1082 To improve the safety and efficacy of genetic tests.
S.AMDT.3073 to H.R.1585 To provide for transparency and accountability in military and security contracting.
S.AMDT.3078 to H.R.1585 Relating to administrative separations of members of the Armed Forces for personality disorder.
S.AMDT.41 to S.1 To require lobbyists to disclose the candidates, leadership PACs, or political parties for whom they collect or arrange contributions, and the aggregate amount of the contributions collected or arranged.
S.AMDT.524 to S.CON.RES.21 To provide $100 million for the Summer Term Education Program supporting summer learning opportunities for low-income students in the early grades to lessen summer learning losses that contribute to the achievement gaps separating low-income students from their middle-class peers.
S.AMDT.599 to S.CON.RES.21 To add $200 million for Function 270 (Energy) for the demonstration and monitoring of carbon capture and sequestration technology by the Department of Energy.
S.AMDT.905 to S.761 To require the Director of Mathematics, Science, and Engineering Education to establish a program to recruit and provide mentors for women and underrepresented minorities who are interested in careers in mathematics, science, and engineering.
S.AMDT.923 to S.761 To expand the pipeline of individuals entering the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields to support United States innovation and competitiveness.
S.AMDT.924 to S.761 To establish summer term education programs.
S.AMDT.2519 to H.R.2638 To provide that one of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used to enter into a contract in an amount greater than $5 million or to award a grant in excess of such amount unless the prospective contractor or grantee certifies in writing to the agency awarding the contract or grant that the contractor or grantee owes no past due Federal tax liability.
S.AMDT.2588 to H.R.976 To provide certain employment protections for family members who are caring for members of the Armed Forces recovering from illnesses and injuries incurred on active duty.
S.AMDT.2658 to H.R.2642 To provide that none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used to enter into a contract in an amount greater than $5,000,000 or to award a grant in excess of such amount unless the prospective contractor or grantee makes certain certifications regarding Federal tax liability.
S.AMDT.2692 to H.R.2764 To require a comprehensive nuclear threat reduction and security plan.
S.AMDT.2799 to H.R.3074 To provide that none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used to enter into a contract in an amount greater than $5,000,000 or to award a grant in excess of such amount unless the prospective contractor or grantee makes certain certifications regarding Federal tax liability.
S.AMDT.3137 to H.R.3222 To provide that none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used to enter into a contract in an amount greater than $5,000,000 or to award a grant in excess of such amount unless the prospective contractor or grantee makes certain certifications regarding Federal tax liability.
S.AMDT.3234 to H.R.3093 To provide that none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used to enter into a contract in an amount greater than $5,000,000 or to award a grant in excess of such amount unless the prospective contractor or grantee makes certain certifications regarding Federal tax liability.
S.AMDT.3331 to H.R.3043 To provide that none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used to enter into a contract in an amount greater than $5,000,000 or to award a grant in excess of such amount unless the prospective contractor or grantee makes certain certifications regarding Federal tax liability.
Senate Resolutions Passed:
S.RES.133 : A resolution celebrating the life of Bishop Gilbert Earl Patterson.
S.RES.268 : A resolution designating July 12, 2007, as "National Summer Learning Day".

Obama's list...

Most important of all...he's NOT John McCain!

This reply that you're still waiting reminds me of a joke:

It had been raining for days, and the river's waters finally came up over it's banks and threatened the nearby homes. The officials sent out a warning to evacuate.

One man said "No, I will not evacuate. The Lord will save me."

The flood waters rose. The man had to go to the 2nd story of his home to avoid getting wet. A rescue boat came to get him. The man stuck his head out the window and said, "No, the Lord will rescue me."

The flood waters rose even more. The man went to his roof and waited on the Lord. Another boat came by to get him, but still he refused. "The Lord will rescue me!" He said.

The flood waters continued to rise, until the man was standing on his tip-toes on his roof. A helicopter came to pluck him out of the flood, but STILL he refused. "I'm waiting on a miracle from the Lord. I have faith. God will rescue me!"

Finally, the man was struggling in the water with no sight of help. He cried out to God, "Lord, where are you? I've been waiting faithfully for you, why won't you save me?"

God answered, "What do you mean, 'where am I?'?? I sent you two boats and a helicopter!"

We've given you an answer, yet you continue to struggle with it. My conscience is satisfied with my choice. I support the candidate most aligned with my beliefs and concerns on the issues.

Tell you what though, since you don't support McCain, why don't you explain why he doesn't deserve your support. That topic deserves just as much attention as the reasons why you don't like Obama.

for more [CLICK]

Your answers are as transparent as your candidate.

By the way, I liked your joke.

Oops try
http://thomas.loc.gov/

What does a list of legislative acts have to do with being commander in chief, chief executive officer of the federal government, foreign policy? I didn't ask if he had experience as a legislator.

"Your answers are as transparent as your candidate."
by: strangelo'

That's IT...you whine all day and THAT'S YOUR answer? OH Master-Debater!

Please switch to AUTOTROLL!

A guy can have experience repairing an automobile but you wouldn't hire him to do brain surgery.

stranglelove came to mind when I saw this elsewhere on the internets:

What they're actually saying is, "That interaction didn't come out the way I expected, and it's All Your Fault! You violated the Secret Agreement under which I'm entitled to win! UR NOT DOIN IT RIGHT!"

Click on name for fabulous article on all the different roles of a modern US president. It is scholarly, succinct, and shows the importance of legislative knowledge & diplomacy in running the country effectively.

Here is the author's final thoughts:

CONCLUSION

From the above, we see that there is a correspondence between the six presidential roles set out in Article II of the Constitution, and the six general purposes of government set out in the Preamble:

(1) The president is to take care that the laws passed by Congress are faithfully executed; this is necessary to "insure domestic tranquility."

(2) The president is to nominate judges; this is necessary to "establish justice."

(3) The president is to serve as commander in chief and make treaties; this is necessary to "provide for the common defence."

(4) and (5) The president is to give Congress information about the state of the Union and recommend measures to improve it; this is necessary to "promote the general welfare" and "to form a more perfect union."

(6) The president is to take an oath at his Inauguration; this is necessary to confirm that ours is a system of laws over men, which in turn is necessary to "secure the blessings of liberty."

"In the summer of 1864 the Republicans were ready to drop Lincoln from the ticket. People were tired of the war. They were ready to capitulate to the South and agree to their secession. The only thing that saved him were that the fortunes of war started to turn in the North's favor in September due to Sherman. Sound familiar?"...Strangelove.

You are over generalizing. Only some of the Republicans were ready to drop Lincoln. These where the radicals within his own party who were opposed to his moderation policies. These radical Republicans wanted the rebellion supressed by "force of arms and without compromise," and urged the rebels land be confiscated and given to the soldiers. They wanted Fremont to be the candidate and not Lincoln.

The Unionist Republicans made it clear of their support for Lincoln and with their alliance with the "War" Democrats nominated Democrat Andrew Johnson to be Lincoln's running mate. It is correct the 1864 victories, on the heels of the victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg in 1863, certainly aided the reelection of Lincoln in November, 1864.

Excuse me but I would submit to you that the obvious Republicans in control were the Thad Stevens crowd. Since Andrew Johnson was Impeached and within one vote almost convicted I would think that his group was rather significant. The came within a hair's breadth of dumping Lincoln. If was Sherman's success that saved him. I know my history.

Legislation is a deliberative process. Executive functions are decisive and require the ability to implement policy. They are TOTALLY different functions. They require very different knowledge, skills and abilities. You are absolutely wrong when you try to equate the two.

Cato, there are two periods in American History that I take particular attention to. They are the Colonial period and the War between the states period. I am very familiar with the various particulars relative to those times.

Where did Abraham Lincoln get his executive experience?

BTW, you have not attempted to answer my question about why you don't support John McCain. I've given an answer (attempted in your lights) to your inquiry. Now, it's your turn.

I do not support the Republican Party in this Presidential election because the Republicans have betrayed those basic tenants that in the past defined and differentiated the Republicans from the dems. The reckless spending and big government policies of the republicans are unacceptable. The support of amnesty for illegal aliens is anathema to those who still embrace those basic tenants of small government, limited regulation, low taxes and strong support for the military. McCain is not a basic believer in those basic tenants so, as such, I can not support him. He does support a strong military and for that I respect him. I respect his service. However, in all other areas I do not believe that he embraces those basic tenants. I believe I have answered your question.

Mr. Lincoln made many mistakes as president. His management of the war effort was very bad. It was only through Sherman and Grant that he finally realized success. However, that success was more to Grant and Sherman and had nothing to do with any direction from Lincoln. He is remembered today and revered because he was assassinated and because he supported keeping the union together. I'm not sure that had he lived he would be as revered today as his martyrdom has garnered him.

These 150 comments make me tired......Max, Please! Please! Make Strange GO Away!

"Excuse me but I would submit to you that the obvious Republicans in control were the Thad Stevens crowd. Since Andrew Johnson was Impeached and within one vote almost convicted I would think that his group was rather significant. The came within a hair's breadth of dumping Lincoln. If was Sherman's success that saved him. I know my history."---strangelove

They were not in control of the Republican Party until after the post-war congressional elections when they got control of both houses of Congress and sought control of the executive branch by removal of President Johnson so their Speaker of the House would be the chief executive and there would be no impediments to their Radical Reconstruction (punish the South goal) legislation. They were not in control of the Republican Party during the time you alluded to (1864). And I said the victories of 1864 certainly aided the cause but don't forget the victories in 1863 at Vicksburg and at Gettysburg which were relevant also.

"It was only through Sherman and Grant that he finally realized success. However, that success was more to Grant and Sherman and had nothing to do with any direction from Lincoln."

It was due to Lincoln's appointment after he had run through a half dozen commanders who simply would not fight. He found those qualities in Grant and Sherman. And if you think Lincoln didn't give any direction then you need to refreshen your Civil War history by reading the account of the meeting between Lincoln and his newly appointed commander (Grant) when he was quizzing Grant as to what his plans were to defeat Lee and the CSA.

"He is remembered today and revered because he was assassinated and because he supported keeping the union together. I'm not sure that had he lived he would be as revered today as his martyrdom has garnered him."

I agree. But his determination to see it through to keep the Union together is a quality worthy of being revered just as we revere Washington's determination to create the Union.

My thanks for the answer. If it's good enough for you, it's good enough for me.

Quite the contrary, it was Lincoln's poor direction in the first part of the war that caused so much failure. He micro managed the war and as such caused the mishandling of the war. When he appointed Grant one of the stipulations was that Grant would be calling the shots. It was due to his dire situation that he relented and gave Grant control. Lincoln was a lousy commander in chief and towards the end of the war he finally had to acknowledge that fact.

"Quite the contrary, it was W's poor direction in the first part of the war that caused so much failure. He micro managed the war and as such caused the mishandling of the war. When he appointed Petraeus one of the stipulations was that Petraeus would be calling the shots. It was due to his dire situation that he relented and gave Petraeus control. W was a lousy commander in chief and towards the end of the war he finally had to acknowledge that fact." posted by strangel with a few nominal changes inserted

Perfect fit!

Lincoln was very poorly served by his early generals. McClellan in particular was a disaster.

Basic tenants are people who pay rent to you. Basic tenets are principles or beliefs.

Having read about 30 books of the American Civil War including Lincoln biographies, I have never encountered the remarkable assumption that Lincoln was an inept commander-in-chief.

As one historian wrote:

"More out of necessity than inclination, Abraham Lincoln became one of the most active commanders in chief in American history, directly influencing and managing events and generals in every field of operations during the Civil War. Never before had a president been able to communicate his desires to far-off commanders as quickly as Lincoln was able to. He could do this because of recent inventions that speeded communication, most notably the telegraph."

Here is the observation that is most repeated by historians regarding Lincoln and his commanders" "Lincoln would be forced to deal with numerous commanders who failed to understand that the main objective of the Union military machine should be defeating the Confederate armies, not merely occupying enemy territory. Lincoln often had to beg his commanders to take action, or relieve and replace a general when he failed to prosecute the war in an aggressive manner."

I suggest you read Tried By War by the eminent historian James McPherson. His contention was that as an amateur of war, Lincoln was our greatest war leader ever and created by his actions the modern commander-in-chief. He is definitely not alone in this assessment.

As to your repeated contention that we need leaders with experience, might I suggest that Katherine Mitchell certainly fits the bill in her previous election bids. I didn't notice you using that line about her. (Which is where we see the true meaning of "qualifications" in your arguments as you "qualify" the meaning of your statements.)

Lincoln stands unscathed by your pathetic and untrue revisionist viewpoint.

There is an interesting conjecture I see in all this. Who would

(Sorry, but laptop screwed up. Here's the rest)

.....come closer to writing a true fact about Lincoln, a million monkeys or a million Idiot Savants?

Sounds to me like Lincoln didn't do such a good job of picking commanders. Considering that all failed until Grant I wouldn't say that was an endorsement of his commander in chief role.

It's apparent you know little to nothing about Civil War history.

Very apparent.

Go to a Civil War roundtable and you will be laughed out of the room for such foolishness.

Jake, I think strangelove performs much the same way here as Sarah Palin does on the campaign trail. Little real substance beyond the talking points and rhetoric being fed in.

Finding himself at a Civil War roundtable discussion (without a browser) might elicit the same brow sweat Sarah is likely to encounter at her first debate without cue cards.

We'll be able to see how she handles it.