open

I'm sorry.

Electric 20 (3-0.6.7.7)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

white cosmic wizard ~ kin 234

ENDURE in order to ENCHANT,
TRANSCENDING RECEPTIVITY
seal the OUTPUT of TIMELESSNESS
with the COSMIC tone of PRESENCE.
guided by the power of ENDLESSNESS.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
◄ 12.19.15.3.6 ≈ can cimi ►

BREAKING SCANDAL: How did GOP get $8 million from Wachovia? Hotlist
by ProgressiveSouth [Subscribe]
Thu Oct 09, 2008 at 11:49:15 AM PDT

Cross-posted at Facing South -- your source for news, politics and trends in the changing South. This in-depth report follows up on a diary by tommytutone here at DailyKos yesterday. PLEASE REC -- This issue needs more attention!

Wachovia Corp., a once-thriving financial giant now teetering on the brink of collapse, confirmed today that it was extending an $8 million loan to the cash-strapped National Republican Congressional Committee for last-minute activites to support GOP House candidates.

Wachovia's decision to lend money to the NRCC -- itself reeling from a damaging financial scandal earlier this year -- is sure to draw charges of favoritism, as Wachovia denies credit and freezes assets for thousands of other customers.

Allegations of favoritism are especially delicate for Wachovia, given the company's disproportionate support of Republican campaigns and organizations.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/10/9/144138/991/200/625265

Financial crisis could put crimp in defense spending plans
By Nancy A. Youssef | McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — With the U.S. economy in crisis and military spending at its highest level since World War II, military officials and experts are worrying that America may have to start reining in defense spending.

In the fiscal year that just ended, the U.S. spent $694.2 billion on defense, up 52 percent from the 2000 defense budget in constant dollars. (That year, the department spent $292 billion.) The fiscal 2008 total includes $514.2 billion in the defense budget and another $180 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which have been financed through so-called "supplemental" budgets.

Eight years of borrowing to pay for the Iraq and Afghan wars, coupled with an aging baby boomer population, growing health care costs and a push to enlarge the Army, could force legislators to make tough decisions about which needs should take priority, and the next president to reassess how much the military can do.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/53674.html

Did U.S. government snoop on Americans' phone calls?
By Jonathan S. Landay | McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — The Senate Intelligence Committee is examining allegations by two former U.S. military linguists that the super-secret National Security Agency routinely eavesdropped on the private telephone calls of American military officers, journalists and aid workers.

If the allegations are true, they could re-ignite a political firestorm over the administration's post-9/11 eavesdropping operations and its efforts to collect vast quantities of data about Americans' tax, medical and travel records; credit card purchases; e-mails and other information.

If the allegations are true, they could re-ignite a political firestorm over the administration's post-9/11 eavesdropping operations and its efforts to collect vast quantities of data about Americans' tax, medical and travel records; credit card purchases; e-mails and other information

An ABC News report Thursday quoted two former military linguists saying that the country's largest intelligence agency routinely recorded calls to homes and offices by hundreds of American military officers, journalists and aid workers who were posted in the Middle East between 2001 and 2007.

The interviews were scheduled to be aired Thursday evening on the ABC Evening News and ABC Nightline programs, according to the report.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/53703.html

http://airamerica.com/ondemand/show/86877

Leaving for work in a bit.

The good thing is I won't watch TV and get my blood pressure boiling up!

MSM doing what they do best and kissing the GOP's asses.

McCain blames the MSM and they kow tow to him and his bitch!

May the karma gods give them (the GOP and MSM) something to worry about!!!

"A proven Maverick...."

How many McLiar votes could be here?

Have a great rest of the afternoon.

Some good news for you:

Undecided Voters Breaking to Obama
A new Ipsos/McClatchy poll of undecided voters who watched Tuesday's second presidential debate indicates that Sen. Barack Obama seems to be picking up momentum among the small number of voters who have not yet decided on a candidate.

Before the debate, these undecided voters leaned toward Sen. John McCain (Obama 45%/McCain 55%) -- but after Tuesday's debate, nearly six in ten lean toward supporting Obama (Obama 57%/McCain 43%).

http://www.ipsos-na.com/news/pressrelease.cfm?id=4115

Atonement list:

To Sam and Marc, for all the undue criticism I've directed your way lately.

To Alice, for being so short tempered some times.

To ToniD, for not writing when you were in the hospital.

To Crank Bait, for stealing your jokes.

To Dada, for the exchange we had about your `Stanic' post...I really should have known...and snapping off at you when you pointed it out to me.

To Sunshine Jim, for accusing you of being John McCain yesterday.

To everyone else on the blog who I've offended, you deserve to have your opinions aired.

To all the other bloggers, sorry I haven't appreciated you as much as I should.

To Wardog, Celticman, et al, cuz you're assholes.

Obama ahead in WV for the first time by 8 points!

Hope I am not repeating the information

http://americanresearchgroup.com/pres2008/WV08.html

Well if it's ok to spy on civilians....
Submitted by ghettodefender on Thu, 10/09/2008 - 4:56pm.
Did U.S. government snoop on Americans' phone calls?
By Jonathan S. Landay | McClatchy Newspapers

*******
We need another Uproar about this for Congress to Sit Up & Take Notice !

I just did..

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

While Republicans and Democrats might debate around the fringes, when it comes to the major issues of the day, both parties stand for virtually the same thing.

That is very umm...jewish? of you... :)

Invitation to Stanford’s Course on the US Presidential Elections Here’s a project that a few colleagues and I have had some fun developing. So it only seems fair that I get the scoop, right? Starting on October 15, you can follow a timely, free course presented by Stanford University. Led by Martin Lewis, the course will explore the geography of U.S. presidential elections (both past and present), and challenge the suggestion that we are simply divided into a “Red America” and “Blue America.” It’s really much more complicated than that, as the introductory video below makes pretty clear. (Get the iTunes version here.) The course will run five weeks, and it will include a debrief after the November election. A new video (running between 90 and 120 minutes) will be posted every Wednesday on iTunes and YouTube. And we’ve set up a web site for the course where you’ll be able to interact with the professor, and where you can also find a lot more information, including a complete course description and readings for the course. Once the course gets started, I will post a reminder. In the meantime, I wanted to give you an advanced heads up and hopefully whet your appetites a bit. Lastly, I should mention that this course comes out of Stanford’s fine Continuing Studies program, and it will be eventually listed in our collection of Free Online Courses.

Here’s a rather amazing video (added to our YouTube playlist) that shows what happens when an artist, who happens to be autistic, takes a 45 minute helicopter flight over Rome and then works to artistically reproduce all that he sees. The human brain never ceases to amaze:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utv7DfnUBBE&e

ACLU.org

Put the Constitution First at the Polls in November

Let the candidates running for office know that when you step into the polling booth this November, the Constitution will be the first thing on your mind.

Sign The Pledge.

www.aclu.org/

A Incentive too > Free Bumper Sticker When You Sign the Pledge

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Atonement or not..

In a Manly kind of way,of course.. :)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Awwww.... :)

http://ubu.artmob.ca/sound/ball_hugo/Ball-Hugo_Karawane.mp3

>>That is very umm...jewish? of you... :)

I believe the word is Jewy?

I think Yom Kippur should be for all people of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition...

why stop there?

You can too..Be the coolest kid on the block ! ;)

www.aclu.org/

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

..do you now respect the authora-tay of the "/" ?

Think twice, and answer once.

Lest I petition to change your name to Chubby Blooger!

</bluerootsradio>

>>an artist, who happens to be autistic, takes a 45 minute helicopter flight over Rome and then works to artistically reproduce all that he sees.

that is freakin' amazing...

you know what would be a good job for autistic people? Spin-meister!!! ;)

i've been winding down the day listening to cnbc fast money piss and moan about the drop in the market today. they are declaring that we have had a slow motion crash since we've lost several thousand points in a short period of time.

anyways, whats interesting is that bush has announced he will speak about the economy at 10 tomorrow morning. to a man, the individuals on cnbc are all saying they like bush (who would've guessed) but they wish he would just stfu. there is getting to be more and more doubt that the bailout was the right thing to do. time will tell.

trouble is when bush tells us, its going to take time to get things going again, the markets aren't listening.

one final note, the drop that has occurred technically puts us into the area of a depression although the happy talk is recession.

now if only i could remember why i was putting money into a 401K.

>>Think twice, and answer once.

How about I just blurt out a string of obscenities and then apologize?

>>when republicans eat their own

I was STUNNED when Joe Scarborough called the race for Obama on last night's Daily Show.

More truncated fun from the `recent comments' box

#
>>when republicans eat their
Chubby Bubba
10/09/2008 - 6:42pm

...and then apologize?

That'll work too.

</bluerootsradio>

Alice, last week or so I mentioned a website that is a great study resource for taking computer certification tests.

here it is: http://www.braindumpcentral.com/

like I said earlier, people who've just taken the test go to the site and submit the questions they remember and the answers they gave.

I still think foreward slashes are for sissies.

but I use them in the img src= command...bunch of whiny mac users... ;)

A must see for us Boomers...

http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-walt-babyboomers-blurb,0,1036393....

got to have the sound on.

To other contenders.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/10/09

-

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

http://vodpod.com/pod/video/1648800

.

Yes, he said, "Lunch awaits us!"

</bluerootsradio>

You can see their candidate on the video of the 3P Debates held last Monday at Vanderbilt University...

work has been hella hellish today...like five classes of children...*bleh*

*

Wasn't that cool, ellwort! Scott Ritter and Amy Goodman - all in one day.. *loverly*
How's your day going?

>>There is an actual Constitution Party

Oh,there are parties with all sorts of crazy names!

Why, I hear there is even a `Peace and Freedom' party way out there in Comrade-fornia! ;)

___

.♡. - .☮.

The Constitution Party is a conservative United States political party. It was founded as the U.S. Taxpayers' Party in 1992. The party's official name was changed to the Constitution Party in 1999; however, some state affiliate parties are known under different names.

According to ballot access expert, the editor of Ballot Access News, who periodically compiles and analyzes voter registration statistics as reported by state voter agencies, it ranks third nationally amongst all United States political parties in registered voters, with 366,937 registered members as of November 2006.[1]

The Constitution Party advocates a platform which aims to reflect the principles of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights. Their policies are similar to that of the Libertarian Party in their strong belief in federalism, limited government, and non-intervention, but similar to the Republican Party in their stance against abortion, homosexual marriage, embryonic stem cell research, and illegal immigration.[2]

</bluerootsradio>

We will be having a Texas only broadcast of the debate between Box Turtle Cornyn and Rick Noriega for one of our Texas Senate seats. I have put a link to the web stream video up in Open Mic if anyone is interested.

John is a real dolt. It should be fun if you are into watching the Special Olympics v The Dream Team.

>>The Constitution Party advocates a platform which aims to reflect the principles of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, and the Bill of Rights. Their policies are similar to that of the Libertarian Party in their strong belief in federalism, limited government, and non-intervention, but similar to the Republican Party in their stance against abortion, homosexual marriage, embryonic stem cell research, and illegal immigration.[2]

too bad abortion, homosexual marriage, embryonic stem cell research, and illegal immigration aren't mentioned anywhere in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, or the Bill of Rights.

unless you stand on your head and squint really hard...

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

...are the Texas Republican's beating up Noriega about his name ala Obama?

What do we really know about Rick Noriega?

</bluerootsradio>

tonight

Who Rick Noriega. This is Texas, we see that mb.

>>Sarah Silverman on KO

quite a step down from yesterday's appearance on MvS...

I guess you take the booking you can get?

double talk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI_PzqMQoJM

Happe Talk

He said the fundamentals of the economy were strong.

I'm lying. He's supposed to speak tomorrow morning, so we can expect another pitiful day for the market after his 10 minute prerecorded drivel.

----------------------------------------
http://www.vodamusic.com/blog/

funny!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE66jjj08zE

Happe Talk

..When Is The White House Gonna Give Us Some Answers!

I don't think you understand..doubletalk IS their answer.

after all, it HAS worked for them the last 8 years.

hairy upper lip and all. Palin is more than a woman. She's a sack of testosterone too!

Anyway you cut it...

this is going to be one hard winter for most of us.

I wonder if Silverman and Oberman will do that rap version of `Give the Jew Girl Toys' tonight?

I d-d-d-d-d-ont know what to say! Can someone step up to the plate and accept the blame? I'm pissed and I want to leave the country. I guess I'll try to stay until just before martial law. Who are these people? Mars Attacks? (Don't let the doves fly) I just want to be left alone! Is that so wrong? Where do we go from here?
(Not telling)

My Friends... That's a nice cushion going into the final weeks of the campaign. Bring on the attack ads, f*cker.

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=045C8101559FAF2F2DEE6AAD...

----------------------------------------
http://www.vodamusic.com/blog/

>>! Can someone step up to the plate and accept the blame?

Can't we just blame it all on the illegal aliens?

They keep sending their paychecks to Mexico!

Loved that Sarah Silverman w/ the MvS! It was fun and I heard the old juices running with the guys! Yay!

>>It was fun and I heard the old juices running with the guys! Yay!

if you thought that was good, check out Maron flying solo today.

even with the tech problems, the show is a winner!

I am happy and I do not accept the whole "acceptance thing" PS I'm outta here!

Have a check in and code word for the gettin out?

Keep his Radio Show on the air.
http://www.peterbcollins.com/you-can-help/

You can help!

The future of the Peter B. Collins Show is in jeopardy, and I’m asking
for your help.

Over the past three years, we have grown from one station to eight, and
the show is now on in San Francisco, Portland and Seattle. Our podcast
audience is scattered all over the nation and the world, and has grown
dramatically this year. We are very close to adding a new affiliate in
Boston, a 50,000 watt station that will air us live 6-9pm ET.

On a daily basis, our program features incredible guests: journalists,
authors, activists and elected officials. If you are one of these
people, thank you for your editorial contributions and support of the
show. You help us achieve our goal of projecting views and voices that
don’t get heard in the corporate media.

For the last three years, I’ve been able to subsidize the costs of the
program through my work for clients, producing radio programs and
consulting on media projects. But, like many other businesses, my
revenue has declined as clients deal with the economic slowdown.

We are committed to keeping the PBC Show on the air through the
election, but without new support, we will have to shut the program
down in mid-November.

You can help in one or more ways:

–buy advertising for your business on the PBC Show, or refer a
potential sponsor

–facilitate the placement of spots or underwriting for a nonprofit or
think tank

–make a contribution of any amount. Donors who wish to contribute
more than $200 can earn an equivalent tax deduction by donating to our
nonprofit partner, The Public Record.

You can use PayPal to make a contribution right now, or you can send a
check to Box 100, Mill Valley, CA 94942. To make a tax-deductible
contribution, email me for the details: peter@peterbcollins.com

Your assistance and support are deeply appreciated!

In advance, sincere thanks from your humble host.

pbc

Just try the alternate take...

http://www.236.com/video/2008/keating_five_documentary_you_c_9400.php

"Let us make it obligatory for homosexuals to have their backsides tattooed with the slogan SODOMY CAN SERIOUSLY DAMAGE YOUR HEALTH and their chins with FELLATIO KILLS," - Rev Dr Peter Mullen, Anglican rector of St Michael’s Cornhill and St Sepulchre without Newgate in the City of London. - Andrew

might have to try this linik a couple of times to get to it:

http://video.wsaz.com/global/video/popup/pop_player.asp?vt1=l&d1=0&ClipI... FEED: Senator Barack Obama Campaigns in Portsmouth, Ohio&at1=Video%20Player&LiveURITitle=LIVE%20FEED%3A%20Senator%20Barack%20Obama%20Campaigns%20in%20Portsmouth%2C%20Ohio&LaunchPageAdTag=Video Player&fvCatNo=undefined&playerVersion=1&hostPageUrl=http%3A//www.wsaz.com/&rnd=33624979

http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/amandascott/gGgKpl

Two weeks ago, Treasury Secretary Paulson bailed out American Insurance Group (AIG) with $85 billion dollars in taxpayer money - and now they are back for more. He said they needed it to stay afloat. Now, we know what they did with our money.

AIG executives headed out on a taxpayer funded junket to the St. Regis resort in California. While there, they had a blast at our expense. They helped themselves to:1

$201,047.42 for hotel rooms and $147,301.71 for catered banquets
$23,380 for the hotel spa and another $1,488 for the salon.
Golf for $6,939.09 and $5,016.32 spent at the Tavern.

Now they are back at the trough. This is outrageous. Tell Treasury Secretary Paulson: The Director who authorized this junket should be fired and every penny spent on this lavish retreat must be returned to the Treasury.

Send A Message To Secretary Paulson Now !

Take Action Link

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Rachel has new hair...and is going to be on the Tonight Show!

brought to us by the League of Women Voters - Video Link
I'm pissed off that my video link doesn't work. I'll rebroadcast soon. I'ts a fantastic dumb down for poor Rick to sit through but funny as shit about his opponents.

Help Peter B Collins
Submitted by grischa on Thu, 10/09/2008 - 8:38pm.
Keep his Radio Show on the air.
http://www.peterbcollins.com/you-can-help/

You can help!

The future of the Peter B. Collins Show is in jeopardy, and I’m asking
for your help.
*******
That sucks ! He has a very good show too..

I just wish I had more money.. :(

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

blog..WATCH OBAMA - LIVE - CAMPAIGNS IN PORTSMOUTH OHIO
Submitted by woodlomond on Thu, 10/09/2008 - 8:53pm.

might have to try this linik a couple of times to get to it:

Happe Talk

don't see an edit for it

http://edinburghfurfreecity.co.uk/boycottchina/index.php

Home from work and have been watching Rachel. She just had a fellow,David Neiwert, on that wrote an article for Salon about the Alaskan Independence Party.

Here it is...

Meet Sarah Palin's radical right-wing pals

Extremists Mark Chryson and Steve Stoll helped launch Palin's political career in Alaska, and in return had influence over policy. "Her door was open," says Chryson -- and still is.

By Max Blumenthal and David Neiwert

Editor's note: Research support provided by the Nation Institute Investigative Fund. For Salon's complete coverage of Sarah Palin, click here.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oct. 10, 2008 |

On the afternoon of Sept. 24 in downtown Palmer, Alaska, as the sun began to sink behind the snowcapped mountains that flank the picturesque Mat-Su Valley, 51-year-old Mark Chryson sat for an hour on a park bench, reveling in tales of his days as chairman of the Alaska Independence Party. The stocky, gray-haired computer technician waxed nostalgic about quixotic battles to eliminate taxes, support the "traditional family" and secede from the United States.

So long as Alaska remained under the boot of the federal government, said Chryson, the AIP had to stand on guard to stymie a New World Order. He invited a Salon reporter to see a few items inside his pickup truck that were intended for his personal protection. "This here is my attack dog," he said with a chuckle, handing the reporter an exuberant 8-pound papillon from his passenger seat. "Her name is Suzy." Then he pulled a 9-millimeter Makarov PM pistol -- once the standard-issue sidearm for Soviet cops -- out of his glove compartment. "I've got enough weaponry to raise a small army in my basement," he said, clutching the gun in his palm. "Then again, so do most Alaskans." But Chryson added a message of reassurance to residents of that faraway place some Alaskans call "the 48." "We want to go our separate ways," he said, "but we are not going to kill you."

Though Chryson belongs to a fringe political party, one that advocates the secession of Alaska from the Union, and that organizes with other like-minded secessionist movements from Canada to the Deep South, he is not without peculiar influence in state politics, especially the rise of Sarah Palin. An obscure figure outside of Alaska, Chryson has been a political fixture in the hometown of the Republican vice-presidential nominee for over a decade. During the 1990s, when Chryson directed the AIP, he and another radical right-winger, Steve Stoll, played a quiet but pivotal role in electing Palin as mayor of Wasilla and shaping her political agenda afterward. Both Stoll and Chryson not only contributed to Palin's campaign financially, they played major behind-the-scenes roles in the Palin camp before, during and after her victory.

Palin backed Chryson as he successfully advanced a host of anti-tax, pro-gun initiatives, including one that altered the state Constitution's language to better facilitate the formation of anti-government militias. She joined in their vendetta against several local officials they disliked, and listened to their advice about hiring. She attempted to name Stoll, a John Birch Society activist known in the Mat-Su Valley as "Black Helicopter Steve," to an empty Wasilla City Council seat. "Every time I showed up her door was open," said Chryson. "And that policy continued when she became governor."

When Chryson first met Sarah Palin, however, he didn't really trust her politically. It was the early 1990s, when he was a member of a local libertarian pressure group called SAGE, or Standing Against Government Excess. (SAGE's founder, Tammy McGraw, was Palin's birth coach.) Palin was a leader in a pro-sales-tax citizens group called WOW, or Watch Over Wasilla, earning a political credential before her 1992 campaign for City Council. Though he was impressed by her interpersonal skills, Chryson greeted Palin's election warily, thinking she was too close to the Democrats on the council and too pro-tax. More:

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/10/10/palin_chryson/print.html

has nothing to do with the Constitution. From the Salon article

~~Another far-right organization with whom the AIP has long been aligned is Howard Phillips' militia-minded Constitution Party. The AIP has been listed as the Constitution Party's state affiliate since the late 1990s, and it has endorsed the Constitution Party's presidential candidates (Michael Peroutka and Chuck Baldwin) in the past two elections.

The Constitution Party boasts an openly theocratic platform that reads, "It is our goal to limit the federal government to its delegated, enumerated, Constitutional functions and to restore American jurisprudence to its original Biblical common-law foundations." In its 1990s incarnation as the U.S. Taxpayers Party, it was on the front lines in promoting the "militia" movement, and a significant portion of its membership comprises former and current militia members.~~

Help Peter B Collins
Submitted by grischa on Thu, 10/09/2008 - 8:38pm.

Happe Talk

-Can someone step up to the plate and accept the blame? -

Not on this planet...

From the Huffington Post Off The Bus:

Ever read The New Yorker's "Talk of the Town"? Wikipedia describes it as "a miscellany of brief pieces-frequently humorous, whimsical or eccentric vignettes of life in New York -- written in a breezily light style." Now, imagine that same feature, but people-powered with submissions and stories from a network of thousands around the United States (and world, for those of you out there). Picture funny and playful stories and anecdotes from people about life just weeks before our much-anticipated presidential election.

That's exactly what we'd like to introduce to HuffPost readers, but we need your help.

Think back to what you've seen and heard this week, gossip and all. Think of the interesting stories you've told and been told. Think of those few poignant moments (or crude ones, if you will). Think of what's made you laugh or cry. Most importantly, think of what sticks out to you as worth passing on.

Now write it down in 50-100 words. Use your best prose. Keep it simple and direct. Keep it under 100 words, or else we won't accept it.
Submit it to us using this Survey Monkey page.

Can't think of anything? Pretend you're at a boring work party and need to spice things up. Or maybe a first date, a blind one. What story would you tell from the last week? We've got a fictitious sample at the end of this email.

The best submissions will be published as the first edition of "Eyes And Ears," a new feature here at HuffPost's OffTheBus. Witty and informative, that's what we're shooting for.

Keep 'em coming.

Amanda, Hanna, John, Marc, and Gabriel

----------------------------------------------------------------

sample:

"Hillary Clinton gave us a surprise visit at campaign headquarters last night. A group of us settled in for another long night of data entry after weekend canvassing and ordered pizza. No one looked up when the bell rang, but moments later we heard a familiar voice. The New York Senator greeted each volunteer, thanking them for their dedication to the campaign.

Not long after her arrival, the pizza came. As is typical of our state's hospitality, we pressed Mrs. Clinton and her entourage to have a slice. Turns out she's a big peppers and onions fan!"

Visit OffTheBus. Submit your stories to campaigntrail@huffingtonpost.com

Keating to McCain in 1986: ‘I’m yours til death do us part.’

The Washington Times reports that in 1986, John McCain wrote a note on House stationery to Charles Keating, chairman of a failed savings and loan association who went to prison in the late 1980s. In the letter, McCain apologized for listing Keating as part of his Senate campaign finance committee. Keating wrote in response: “You can call me anything, write anything or do anything. I’m yours till death do us part“:

http://video1.washingtontimes.com/video/Keating-Letter.jpg

McCain has acknowledged his friendship with Keating, who helped funnel campaign contributions to McCain in the 80s. After Keating turned to McCain to try to stave off government intervention during the scandal, the Senate Ethics Committee admonished him for seemingly intervening with federal regulators on behalf of Keating.

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/10/09/mccain-keating-letter/

..it's just not his nerves that are made of steel. I've been there many times. It's a sleepy little river town chock full of people who definitely tilt towards the south.

I gotta see this. If he was well received in Portsmouth, John McCain would be way beyond toast. He would be way beyond those pesky burnt crumb shards that always come out of the bottom of your toaster when you least want to see them.

</bluerootsradio>

this really wouldn't surprise me. He likes em tall eh?

Happe Talk

How Long Till The N-Word?
McCain campaign co-chair Fmr. Okla Gov. Frank Keating calls Obama "a guy of the street."

--Josh Marshall

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/09/mccain-co-chair-calls-oba_n_133...

The more I listened to Obama, the more I realized that on the major issues of war and peace, there was in fact very little that separated him from the Republicans he opposes. Both have sold out American sovereignty in the name of Israeli security (or more important, Likud-inspired, AIPAC-driven policies falsely sold as being in the best interest of the Israeli people).

Both assume Iranian nefarious intent, and point an accusatory finger at “Russian aggression” without reflecting on the cause-and-effect reality of irresponsible American foreign policy (the expansion of NATO, the invasion and occupation of Iraq, withdrawal from the ABM Treaty, and the installation on Polish and Czech soil of a ballistic missile defense shield claimed to be for the Iranian threat, but optimized for missiles launched from within Russia).

You Betcha
Alaska Supreme Court dismisses GOP bid to kill Trooper-Gate investigation.

--David Kurtz

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/10/court_throws_out_gop_e...

Trolls been really lax in their efforts lately.

Have they given up?

Were they evicted from their homes?

Are they paralyzed by the realization the people they've pimped bankrupted the system?

Are they at McCain/Palin rallies shouting `terrorist' and `kill him'?

Are they too busy jerkin' the gherkin while fantasizing about Sarah Palin?

recession ya know.

falls 8%

.

Immunity for U.S. troops a barrier in Iraq talks

The United States' insistence that its troops and contractors remain immune from Iraqi law is a key obstacle to reaching a status of forces agreement. The Iraqi foreign minister said until the issue is fully resolved, he cannot give a timetable for this agreement.

CREW files ethics complaint against McCain over undeclared gambling revenue
John Aravosis (DC) · 10/09/2008 07:49:00 PM ET · Link
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From CREW:
Washington, DC - Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) asked the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate whether Senator John McCain (R-AZ) violated federal law and Senate rules by failing to disclose gambling winnings on his Senate financial disclosure reports.

According to a recent article in The New York Times , Sen. McCain is an avid gambler, who frequents casinos as often as once a month. The article states that in the winter of 2000, at the Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut, “[Sen. McCain] and his entourage emerged with thousands of dollars in winnings.” Sen. McCain also reportedly spent a weekend at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2007, playing craps while there.

In July, Time reported that over the past decade, Sen. McCain has gambled on Mississippi riverboats, on Indian land, in Caribbean craps pits and on the Las Vegas strip, allegedly playing “for a few thousand dollars at a time.” In 2005, The New Yorker reported that while in New Orleans in the spring of that year, Sen. McCain gambled at Harrah’s Casino.

Federal law and Senate rules require all income to be reported on annual financial disclosure reports. The Senate Ethics Manual states that winnings, such as those derived from a lottery or a game show, are gifts that must be reported as income. Knowingly filing a false report is a crime punishable by up to five years in jail.

Nevertheless, Sen. McCain reported no income derived from gambling on the personal financial disclosure reports he filed with the Senate between 2000 and 2007.

http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/34665

Negotiations with some members of the Taliban could reduce violence in Afghanistan

Gen. David Petreaus said yesterday, that Britain helped reduce violence in Iraq through negotiations, remarking, “They’ve sat down with thugs throughout their history, including us in our early days.”

I don't think that, that is what Alice is trying
to say..... think maybe we should not put
such an angelic coating on Obama.
After all politics is politics. I like Obama -
he is my Senator. But like anyone in the position
he is in - he unfortunately is playing that game.
I think if he doesn't he wouldn't have a chance in
hell to win.

Hi everyone..... still packing!

Documents Say American Detainee Near Insanity

A US military officer warned Pentagon officials that an American detainee was being driven nearly insane by months of punishing isolation and sensory deprivation in a US military brig. While the treatment of prisoners at detention facilities have long been the subject of human rights complaints, the the new documents shed light on how two American citizens and a legal U.S. resident were treated in military jails inside the United States.

Scott Ritter said it...

Did the United States use a nuclear weapon on Iraq?

A former U.S. military, Jim Brown, an engineer who fought in Operation Desert Storm in the first Gulf War, accused the US government of launching a nuclear bomb penetration of five kilotons of power in a area between Basra and the border with Iran, Feb. 27, 1991, the last day of the conflict.

THE GREAT SCHLEP

http://www.thegreatschlep.com/site/index.html

I'm back..

McNuts..Is it 2000 or 2008 ?

Me..Why ?

McNuts..My ass really hurts !

Edit*-McNuts..But,I can still play Craps standing up..

McNuts..Cindy ! Fire up the Heleo Copter !

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

in Afghanistan air strike.
The US military has admitted killing 33 civilians in an air strike on a village in Afghanistan in August, far more than it has previously acknowledged.

Following the August 22 attack on Azizabad, in Heart province, the Afghan government claimed that 90 civilians, mainly women and children, were killed. This figure was backed by the UN.

Until now the US has estimated that that no more than seven civilians died in the attack. It launched an inquiry after it emerged that film recorded on mobile phones showed rows of bodies of children and babies in a makeshift morgue.

The inquiry found that of the 33 dead civilians, eight were men, three were women and 12 children. The 10 others were undetermined. It also claimed that 22 Taliban fighters were killed in the attack.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/09/afghanistan.usa

1 US Soldier, 19 Iraqis Killed; 34 Iraqis Wounded

Sheriff won't evict in foreclosures

The sheriff of Chicago's Cook County said that he's ordering his deputies to stop evicting people from foreclosed properties because many people his office has throwen out on the street are renters who did nothing wrong.
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said he believes he's the first sheriff in a major metropolitan area to stop participating in foreclosure evictions.Dart said that from now on, banks will have to present his office with a court affidavit that proves the home's occupant is either the owner or has been properly notified of the foreclosure proceedings. Illinois law requires that renters be notified that their residence is in foreclosure and they will be evicted in 120 days, but Dart indicated that the law has been routinely ignored.He talked about tenants who pay their rent, then leave one morning for work only to have authorities evict them and put their belongings on the curb while they are gone. Dart said the number of foreclosure evictions in Cook County is on pace to see 4,500 such evictions this year. There are more than 1 million U.S. homes in foreclosure — with about a third of that number occupied by someone other than the owner.

"Protecting Individual Privacy in the Struggle Against Terrorists"

A privacy and terrorism commission funded by Homeland Security reported this week that the government should not be building predictive data-mining programs systems that attempt to figure out who among millions is a terrorist. The technology does not work and the inevitable mistakes would be un-American. The committee expressed doubts about technology designed to decide from afar whether a person had terrorist intents. Automated identification of terrorists through data mining is neither feasible as an objective nor desirable as a goal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt_TnQqkVyk

Happe Talk

As a former U.S. army wife, Jill Hart used to bleed red, white and blue.

Now, three years after her husband, Patrick, deserted the army and fled to Canada, she just bleeds red and white.

She gripped her husband's hand yesterday as the two spoke of their hopes of becoming Canadian citizens -- just hours after the Canadian Border Services Agency denied the couple their bid to stay in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

The couple was told yesterday by a CBSA officer they must leave Canada by Oct. 30 or they'll be deported. They are planning to appeal they said in an interview with reporters yesterday.

All the while, their son Rian, 6, sat quietly in the corner playing a Gameboy SD, oblivious to his parents' predicament. And despite the fact Rian was born in Kansas and lived in the U.S. until he was three -- the Harts fled to Canada in 2005 -- his life is here in Toronto, where he attends Grade 1.

"He doesn't remember the United States," Jill said.

The former Sgt. Hart, 34, grew up in Buffalo and spent nine years in the U.S army before deserting his 101st Airborne Division in Fort Campbell, Ky., in August, 2005 because of his opposition to the Iraq war.

Hart, who was stationed in Bosnia in the '90s, said when he was deployed to Kuwait in 2003, he was horrified by tales from other U.S. soldiers who boasted about killing Iraqi civilians and picking human flesh and hair out of the grills of their vehicles after running over Iraqi children.

http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2008/10/09/7024841-sun.html

Who gives a shit about lives lost? What about MY millions lost?
This seems to be the press's take on what its audience ought to care about, judging from the placement of headline stories.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIaJOAZd3TM

Happe Talk

at 2012

Is the 2012 transformation merely an archeological myth? Or is it a scientific reality, manifesting before our eyes? The new documentary film 2012: Science or Superstition explores these questions, probing deep into the facts and philosophies behind the approaching Mayan climax. Released by The Disinformation Company, the film lives up to the label’s reputation for objective, challenging inquiry. A broad range of scholars and authors are featured in exclusive interviews, including Graham Hancock, John Major Jenkins, Alberto Villoldo, astronomer Anthony Aveni, and Daniel Pinchbeck. The film is slated to hit the screens later this year – on December 21st, to be exact.

The film will be followed by an interactive discussion with Reality Sandwich's Daniel Pinchbeck (author of 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl)and the film’s writer/producer, Disinformation's Gary Baddeley.

Wed, October 22
The Wild Project

195 East 3rd St. between Ave A & B
(7:30p, $20)

wrote - disappeared ! Weird -

1 US Soldier, 19 Iraqis