MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE SEMINOLE DEMOCRAT

No Christmas like a Florida Christmas...

Hey Big Three! Why Can't We Get This....

The new Ford Fiesta:


(Picture from Federal Review.com)

65 miles per gallon on the highway.

Where to find this car? YOU HAVE TO GO TO EUROPE! They only sell the stylish models there. HERE in America, we get this crap:


(Picture from Federal Review.com)

Same Car, but uglier and 35 miles per gallon on the highway--on a good day.

Or this showroom "beauty":


(Picture from Ford.com)

Five more miles to the gallon, but you pay for it by having to drive a box on wheels.


Ford insists they cannot sell the stylish diesel-powered Fiesta in the US because they don't have the $350 million necessary to buld a facility capable of manufacturing the engine. (Just like they can't sell us any cars without the stupid 3-grill design).

However, they do apparently have no trouble spending $1 billion a month of their reserves to keep churning out the same old crap with ridiculously low gas mileage.

After all, Americans don't want fuel-efficiency. WE want ugly box vehicles capable of stopping a Gdamned airplane!!!:



(Picture from 3.bp.blogspot.com)


For years, the Big 3 insisted on building Huge, Ugly, Gas-Guzzling vehicles while laughing at American's growing concern for high gas prices and global warming. Even after crisis mode they still built giant SUVs and Hummers while their European and Asian competitors built stylish, fuel efficient cars that are currently kicking their collective butt.

Breaking: NOW that you have just received the 17 BILLION from us taxpayers for NOT buying your cars--maybe you can rethink that factory?

Florida is Number ONE! Take THAT Illinois!

Florida is the most corrupt state in the union according to the Department of Justice if you go by the number of federal convictions of public officials in all 50 states and territories.



Despite a record of having a governor going to jail on average of once every 10 years, Illinois could only muster 7th place. Pathetic.

There are so many people to thank. I'd like to thank JEB Bush and his cronies...And let's give it up for whole city of Miami! You know you put us over the top! I'd also like to acknowledge Tom Feeney and all the other corrupt sleazeballs who were never convicted but were with us in spirit...

Of course, some would argue that going by number of convictions is unfair. After all, we are a big state. All of the big states were in the top five.

DOJ got you covered. They also tallied the number per capita. In that case, Florida falls out of the top ten, but still comes in at a respectable fourteenth.
DC comes in number ONE--which is also slightly unfair. That tiny district has the highest concentration of public officials. North Dakota is the top state in this arrangement, which is surprising. The next one, Alaska--not so much:

JEB was a failure. Make sure he stays gone!

Do you guys really want to be the national joke again?

The nation resoundly rejected a continuation of the Bush policies by overwhelmingly rejecting John McCain--and he did his best to run AWAY from the Bush name. If George W. Bush had been able to run, I think you would have seen an election reminiscent of Mondale's 1984 shellacking (just without Minnesota and DC).

Good citizens, how is it that Jeb Bush, a man who, like his brother, squandered a huge surplus from a previous Democratic administration with a massive $6.6 billion in tax cuts that only benefited Florida's wealthiest residents, is a serious contender for Mel Martinez' Senate seat?

Now our state is in such a fiscal crisis that the GOP legislature is now making huge cuts to our public schools and healh care facilities--and more are coming. JEB did to our state what Bush did to our country--which is why I can't understand why anyone would reward that man.

What makes the situation worse is that while JEB shared his brother's priority to help those who need it the least while hurting those who need it most, he was simultaneously lying about the severity of the state budget.

(What do you expect. The man lies about his own damn name. It's not even JEB--he hicked it up for the yokels. His real name is John Ellis Bush for crying out loud.)

Being responsible for the state's fiscal crisis should be enough to discourage anyone from reliving the Bush years. But, as it goes with the Bush legacy, there are many more reasons. People tend to look at the past with rose-colored glasses, so let me give a few more examples of live under JEB:

JEB is the one responsible for dropping legitimate voters who had been illegally purged by him and his Secretary of State, Katherine Harris. Even after the 2000 debacle, he had a "solution" for "those people" by instituting a complicated process that had the purged voters reapply for their own rights that never should have been taken away to begin with. In 2004, he hired a company that kicked off thousands of African-Americans, but surprisingly, less than 80 Cuban-Americans (who tend to vote GOP). Even JEB couldn't explain that one and, under intense pressure, finally backed off.

JEB turned critical state services over to private corporations. He shifted the job of providing for the poor to faith-based organizations while making huge cuts to spending programs to Medicare and health care programs for the elderly and disabled. The underfunded Department of Children and Families, which had few caseworkers, took 15 months to discover that 5-year-old Rilya Wilson was missing from her foster home. JEB, like his forever blameless brother, blamed the caseworkers.

JEB said he had "Devious PLANS" to kill the classroom-size amendment that voters demanded. Sen. Kendrick Meek called Bush's proposal to kill the classroom size amendment & threats of more cuts to much needed social services "a premeditated abuse of the highest office in Florida to circumvent the will of the people.''

JEB fought like hell to force a brain-dead woman, Terry Schiavo, to be force-fed because he claimed he was "pro-life". Yet he was unmoved by this letter to the St. Petersburg Times on 04/15/2003 by another citizen who desperately wanted to live: "I am just one of the 26,000 who received the letter from the Department of Children and Families last week, informing us that Gov. Jeb Bush and our elected public servants have given me until May 1 to continue my chemo. Then I must prepare to die in half the time I would live with chemo."

I could go on with the corruption, the failed Medicaid Reform Plan, or a host of other reasons that I have written about in previous blogs during his reign. But the truth of the matter is, its the Florida Democrats who are the reason JEB is now a serious contender. I talked about all the issues I have just mentioned and more, and how the FlaDems were giving JEB a free pass in this blog post back in December 2006. I warned that this meant he could return at a later date--but I thought at the time it would be as either VEEP or a presidential contender. (Even I didn't see how quickly the Bush family and their principles would fall out of favor).

But in this strange bubble we live in called Florida, JEB is poised to become a serious contender for Senate--bringing back what we have all fought so hard to overcome.

This time, we can't afford to roll over.

Just one more...

I promised no more Bush bashing. It's over.

But damn it you don't make this easy for me, Mr. President. His exit interview with Chucky was priceless. My favorite quote:

ABC News' Charles Gibson: You're only 62. Is there one more thing you really want to achieve?

George W. Bush: Um, that's interesting question... Wouldn't it be interesting for baby boomers not to retire in, y'know, nice places, but to retire during their retirement to go, y'know, help people deal with malaria or AIDS? ... In other words, I'm not suggesting that is what I'm gonna do. It is the kind of thing that intrigues me.

Jon Stewart: That's like walking up to a homeless guy and going, "Hey, imagine if I just gave you thousands of dollars...I bet that would totally change your life! Intriguing to think about, isn’t it? Alright, See ya later!"

Child: "Santa Doesn't Visit Me"

It tears my heart out to think of children who get nothing for Christmas, either because they are too poor or because they have no one. If you see a tree with cards or candy canes somewhere that has a child's name along with a toy wish--PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE go ahead and get it.

I grabbed one where all the kid asked for was a coat. One stinking coat. I bought him a nice coat with a Transformer, packaged it, and put it under the tree. It will probably be the only gift he gets. It breaks my heart to see so many other wishes left. If I am ever wealthy, I'm buying every damn one of them something nice.

There is a tree at the Publix at the Winter Springs Shopping Center for the kids from House of Hope. If you know of other ones in the local area, please let me know so I can post them here.

Whether you are inside or outside Central Florida, if you run into one of these trees, please don't just walk by.

Merry Christmas and God Bless.

FoxNews: Obama Would Have Negotiated with Terrorists?

Idiot non-savant Jon Kraushar, who calls himself a "Communications Consultant" for FoxNews, found a way to take the unified stance Bush and Obama showed against the awful terrorist attack in India to an awful partisan smear of Obama. Granted, he is just a flunkie who gets paid to do their blog, but FoxNews featured this at the top of their website today.

The mind of Krushar:

As details emerge about how commandoes ended the brutal attack on Mumbai, India it will offer the incoming Obama administration — and the world — lessons about the most effective ways to quickly end a terrorist strike on a city and may also suggest longer-term strategies to discourage future terrorist traumas.

President-elect Barack Obama’s campaign declarations on everything from national security to economic security are undergoing severe reality checks day by day.

Under what conditions is it effective to negotiate with terrorists? What anti-terror strategies result in at least limited havoc and horror?

Can anyone tell me when exactly Barack Obama said he would "negotiate with terrorists"??

Barack Obama said he would conduct tough diplomacy with leaders of nations who are not our allies. (Who the hell else would you conduct diplomacy with?) He never said he would "negotiate" with Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda is actually worried now because they face a presidential advesary who is actually focused on wiping them out: as opposed to endlessly trying to justify why we instead need to be distracted by a pointless and bloody conflict.

And their attempt to smear Obama by using Malcolm X showed how desperate they are. Al Qaeda is clearly worried because the world is now rallying behind our president-elect and have started to wave, rather than burn, our flag.

Is the author actually suggesting that Obama doesn't negotiate with unfriendly world leaders? Barack Obama is articulate and intelligent enough to conduct tough negotiations. Just because we have had someone for eight years who could barely put a sentence together is not a reason the conservatives should try to condemn someone who can.

Any president worth their salt knows you have to sit down at the negotiation table at some point with other leaders you may not like. Reagan did it with Yuri Andropov, FDR did it with Stalin, Kennedy did it with Krushchev, and so forth. Bush's unwillingness to negotiate with Iran or North Korea hasn't exactly paid any dividends: Iran is now a regional power developing a nuclear weapon, and North Korea has already gone nuclear. Well done.

I know FAUX News feels it has to provide opposition to our president-elect to placate their base. But it is possible to provide thoughtful criticism without resorting to lies and smears.

If you think it's wrong, let this moron know how you feel by leaving him a comment.

Happy Thanksgiving! We have much to be thankful for!

That everyone around the world is waving American flags again...

The team that Barack has put together is already creating confidence...

That Bush has continued with the tradition his father set of being magnanimous and helpful, even in defeat...

A great election...

Real change...

And the obvious fact that so many in this community have contributed to that change. Thank you so much for your kind words and telling me how you've gotten involved or been inspired.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Impossible to Vote for Franken and McCain!

Quicknote: This was my sixth recommended diary on DKOS:

While FoxNews is doing its best to smear Al Franken by questioning some of his challenges of poorly marked ballots, (while ignoring the fact that Coleman is doing the same thing), the Coleman camp kicked it up a notch and did the unthinkable.

Coleman is now challenging ballots that were clearly marked for McCain for president and Franken for Senate--because anybody who voted McCain HAD to have meant to vote for Coleman!!!

That's right folks. If you live in Minnesota and voted for John McCain, according to Norm Coleman, there is no way you could have voted for Al Franken. Your ballot is now in jeopardy.

The anger I have is extreme. I can't imagine in this day in America that a national party thinks they have the right to DICTATE how I vote!


Coleman's camp wouldn't have challenged these if they didn't think they could get away with it, although I can't fathom how that this will stand. If it somehow does, then it sets one hell of a scary precedent. If I vote for president, then apparently I have to vote for everyone down the ticket on the same party no matter how objectionable they may be.

No. It can't possibly be that someone in Minnesota respected John McCain's service but DIDN'T want a chicken-hawk draft dodger like Coleman.

Or that a Republican agreed with McCain's moderate stance on stem cell research but was appalled by Norm Coleman not only voting against stem cell research, but palling around with right wing extremists.

Or how about this conservative explaining how Coleman lost his vote.

Could you imagine if Al Franken challenged every ballot that voted for Obama but not him? Could you imagine the outrage on the right if he had done that?

For that matter, the voter could have been intending to vote for Obama and made the mistake.

Send this video to everyone you know. This shows just how desperate the GOP has gotten and gives a new, cold meaning to the phrase "Win by any means necessary".

Seriously, please DONATE TO FRANKEN'S LEGAL RECOUNT FUND: https://secure.alfranken.com/page/contribute



NOTE: It is likely that these challenges won't stand. But this does warrant outrage because a sitting US Senator is arguing that clearly and properly-filled out ballots against him should be thrown out or given to him instead! I was outraged when the GOP was challenging thousands of people's voter registrations as well. Just because most didn't stand--you don't just laugh it off and ignore it. I'm a Floridian, I've seen what can happen.

Palin - Crist 2012

My friend Tally at FlaPolitics is asking people to email all the traditional state media political journalists and urge them to do two things: 1) Ask Charlie Crist if he supports a Palin presidential campaign in 2012 and 2) Ask Sarah Palin if, considering the importance of winning Florida in a presidential election, she would consider Crist as a VP choice.

Although he is asking that to stir up trouble, I actually wonder if this will actually be the GOP answer to Obama in 2012. Obama will be much more formidable than he was now: they won't be able to throw the inexperience factor at him, nor will they be able to stir up fears that he's "risky" since he would have run the country for 4 years. (Even doing a half-assed job, which he won't, would be a severe improvement).

But I think it's likely. The GOP is screaming about returning to their "roots", (i.e. right-wing extremism), and there is no one more right-wing extremist than Palin. Besides, she may be able to convince the party elders that she can claim the coveted "turn". Bob Dole was selected to go against Clinton in 1996, even though there were stronger candidates, because it was his "turn". He performed well ("proved himself") against Bush in 1988, lost but then became a big-Bush backer. It was his turn. McCain did the same thing--he performed well against Bush (w) in 2000, lost but then became a bigger-Bush backer.

I don't think Palin did well before she lost, but to hear right-wing pundits like Bay Buchannan and others, it was McCain who blew if for Palin. Palin "excited" her base and drew thousands. She should be the GOP leader, the argument goes. (And for once, I totally agree.)

The problem is that they keep trying to give her the torch, like they did with the GOP governor's conference speech, but she keeps fumbling. Having a moron is not a disqualifier (see W), they just need someone in the number #2 position to run the show. My idea is that the GOP will pick Palin in 2012, and Charlie Crist as the veep. Palin would be the extremist idiot in the top slot. As they learned from McCain, the GOP stays home unless there's an extremist on the top of the ticket. However, they need a semi-competent person to run things--and Charlie can fit that bill. His moderate persona, the thinking will go, should be enough to draw in others.

This isn't my thinking, mind you. Anything with Palin on it will fail miserably. And Charlie Crist is probably too smart to join a ticket like that. But he may realize that the GOP will NEVER allow him to be on the top of the ticket--a closet-gay Republican simply won't be asked to lead the party. Plus, he's way too moderate. He can't win the top of the ticket--he may figure this is the only shot he has.

Better hurry up and speculate, folks, only 1436 days to the next election!!

Hey NE? Where are your pro-lifers now?

I heard a radio story today that broke my heart. A young child, like mine, under 10, was dropped off at a NE hospital under their no-age limit safe haven law. For those that arent' aware, it's the law that was designed to allow a parent to drop off an infant without fear of prosecution for abandonment. The unicameral legislature erred in not having an age limit--allowing parents from all over the country to abandon their kids at any NE hospital.

The story focused on a young child crying and pleading with his mother to love him and not abandon him at the hospital. He promised her he'd be good. But she left him alone with strangers.

The pro-life governor said he doesn't have the resources to deal with the unwanted children coming in: 34 and counting. And all I could think was, were the f**k are the pro-lifers??

I was in tears. I imagined this little boy, fearful and crying. His mother just didn't want to deal with the stress of having a child and saw this as a way out. Misbehaving teens, unruly children, or even severely disabled older children are being dropped off--not one infant. The legislature is trying to fix it, but it will be at least another week or so.

I think about Nebraska, which ranks as the most pro-life state in the union, and wonder why all of those ardent pro-lifers aren't stepping in to take care of, or even adopt, these children.

Why hasn't anyone from the powerful Nebraskans United for Life come in, picked up, and comforted that poor child??

For that matter, anyone from these large organizations: National Right to Life, American Life League, etc.
Do you only care when it's a clump of cells? Do you only care if it's a fetus in a woman's body? THIS IS A LIFE!! This is someone who needs someone.

WHERE ARE YOU?

Ask them. See the reply you get...info@nebraskansunitedforlife.org

No More Bush Bashing

The election is over.

It's time for us as Americans to come together and tackle this nation's problems.

I can't think of any benefit that will come by bashing McCain or George W. Bush. John McCain has given the most gracious concession speech I ever heard. I wondered if the outcome would be different if the American people were given the choice between Obama and the McCain we heard Tuesday night.

George W. Bush, in the tradition of his father, has been very gracious as well. He has gone above and beyond to ensure a smooth transition. His father set the standard when he offered to pick up Clinton on Air Force One after the election and pledged not to criticize him for a period of one year after he was sworn in. That became a nice tradition that once again made our nation the envy of the world. When candidates lose in other countries, they still fight----sometimes literally. Not here.

I will no longer be bashing George W. Bush. I am willing to allow history to be the judge.

I wish for healing, and my hope is that even though Barack Obama has large majorities in both the House and Senate, that he will govern in a bi-partisan fashion. Most good legislation is crafted with input from BOTH sides--and I fully expect the GOP and Obama to work together for the benefit of our nation.

I know that's asking a lot, but after Tuesday night, I truly do believe anything is possible

Tom Feeney Lost...To Clint Curtis!

Tom Feeney won only 41% of the vote this election from a district that he hand-drew. Two years ago, Clint Curtis--a man who was derided by Feeney and even the liberal Orlando Weekly as "crazy"--won 42% of the vote. In other words, one percent more than Tom Feeney.

Congratulations to Suzanne Kosmas AND Clint Curtis.

Cystic Fibrosis Charity Golf Tournament Raised $5000+!!

Thanks to everyone here who participated at the Golf Tournament at Stoneybrook East Golf Course!

This has been a pretty good week!

Correction: Seminole County Purple, Not Yet Blue

My jubilation over Barack's victory here in Seminole County was premature. I based it on a story I heard on the radio--apparently it was breaking blue but the final tally wasn't in. Well, the Sentinel reports today that McCain received 104, 885 votes compared to 99,140 for Obama. That's a difference of 5, 745 votes. My apologies.

Nonetheless, considering that the difference between Bush and Kerry was a whopping 31,201 votes in our small county, I would say that I can no longer claim this is a "blood red" county. More of a pinkish-purple...




OK--we turned Florida and the USA blue. But Seminole, we still got some work to do.

I wish Martin Luther King, JR was alive

Barack Obama won.

I have no words.

Why We Need a Supermajority in the Senate

It's not the evil that the GOP makes you believe. It only ensures that Barack Obama can actually implement his agenda. Tax cut for the middle class as opposed to the wealthy, commonsense healthcare, S-CHIP, etc.

The GOP can fillibuster any of this. Just this year, they initiated 94 fillibusters. All a supermajority does is ensure the GOP can't derail the agenda that Obama has laid out--which is why America has overwhelmingly supported him to begin with.

Your Words, GOP: "Back the President"

For 8 horrendous years, we were told we had to back Bush blindly because he was Commander in Chief. Any dissent was tantamount to treason. Backing Bush was equated with love of country, and criticism of Bush meant you were in league with the terrorists.

WELL.... start backing....

I can assume that any criticism of Barack Obama as president will be treated with the same disdain?

National Nightmare Almost Over...

It's been a long, dark, painful 8 years....

From the greatest economy to the worst, from world leader to pariah, from supporting freedom to shredding our constitution, from strength to fear, from pride in our government to international/national embarrassment and condemnation...

IT'S ALMOST HERE!!!!!!

You made it happen!!

Bring it HOME Baby!

First polls close within minutes.

I just left pollwatching in Precinct 22 located in Sanford, FL. Ruby was in charge of that precinct and really knew her stuff. Everyone working the polls were committed to getting every eligible voter through efficiently. Obama was on top of everything--two lawyers were there when I arrived. They weren't needed, but it was nice to see that his massive organization was on top of things. We will not see a repeat of 2000.

I am happy to have been a part of history. Nothing to do now but wait.

Pray for McCain

I am not suggesting the race is over. Not by a long shot. And I will be working a 12-hour shift on election day as a pollwatcher in Sanford, Florida. (I have a feeling its necessary.)

But something has changed. Or maybe its me who has changed. For months, I have been battling (friendly-like) with my McCain friend in West Virginia. He would send me the latest smear attack from FAUXNEWS or RedState, and I would respond with articles from legitimate news organizations or funny YouTube videos catching McCain contradicting himself. But ever since the wheels came off on the ST Express, my friend has been grasping at straws like so many of his friends.

He argues with me that the number of McCain signs are proving his man is making ground, or pointing to the "polls" done by McCain's people that show PA and Iowa tied. But what he was most proud of was the following. And that is what changed me.


"They are going to blitz your state with these ads soon".

He sent me a link. It's McCain's latest ad. It begins with the phrase "The last eight years haven't worked so well have they!?"

(Considering my friend was an ardent Bushie, I was floored that he was so proud of McCain trying to throw W under the bus.)

But as McCain was talking, and rambling on about drill baby drill or whatever, and as I was about to compose a response--I noticed something...

Dear Lord, he looks so old....and so tired.

Please understand that I don't mean this as an insult. It's just that the realization hit me.

I used to respect this man. I thought he had a compelling personal story, was fiercely intelligent, and at one time stood up for his principles. I loved how he went after Bush in 2000. If the primary in Florida hadn't been so late, I would have considered voting for him and even supporting him.

But now, I pity him. I will pray for him. It is going to be so tough for him to lose this election. He has worked so hard, sucked up to Bush so much, and even threw away his reputation.

Just imagine if he had actually stuck to his principles:

1. Deep down, he has always hated Bush. But he felt he needed his base and wanted to win, so he reversed most of his positions and sucked up to him so much he became Bush's lap dog.

Consequence: He got what he wanted. People now associate him with Bush. Now that Bush is going down as the worst prez in history, McCain is NOW vicously attacking him--but its too late.

2. McCain, I truly believe, wanted to run an honorable campaign based on the issues. He himself said that if any of his opponents primarily run negative ads, that would mean they had "no direction" for the country. He also remembered the Bush/Rove smear of his own daughter in SC in 2000. But then McCain started sinking in the polls. He hired a Rove disciple, Steve Schmidt, to take over his campaign--a man whose mentor attacked McCain's own family. Schmidt ran the Rove playbook well--nonstop smear of your opponent and play to the base.

Consequence: McCain went along with every vicious lie--and sold his integrity little by little every time. The playbook of calling into question your opponents patriotism and even outright lying (Protecting kids from sexual predators meant Obama wanted to teach sex ed to kids??) didn't work the way it did in 2004. As a result, the few people supporting McCain can't even tell you what he stands for, and everyone else is turned off by the lies, anger, and hate from his campaign. He not only is losing the election--he lost his honor and reputation in the process.

3. McCain even allowed Schmidt to bully him into picking a yokel he met for less than 15 minutes instead of his first choice, Joe Lieberman.

Consequence: Palin has been an embarrasment and nonstop drag on his ticket.


Just imagine--if McCain had run an HONORABLE campaign based solely on the issues.

Just imagine--if he truly was the maverick he claimed to be and told Schmidt to shove it and picked Lieberman or someone halfway competent that he knew and respected.

Just imagine--if he did what he wanted to do years ago and tell Bush to stuff it (instead of doing it a week before the election).


Although I'd still fight against him because of the issues, the Supreme Court, and the fact that we need a Democrat in the White House to clean up the mess after Bush--I do believe that McCain would be neck and neck in the polls right now.

And even if he lost, he could say that he lost with honor, dignity, and grace. He could hold his head up high after the election, and he would still have the respect of millions like me.

But after the election, he will come to the realization that, in his twilight years, all that honor he had worked so hard to build, the reputation he worked so hard to restore after the Keating scandal, and all the beliefs he had sacrificed: gone.

I don't hate McCain anymore for what he's become. I'm NO LONGER ANGRY.

For the first time, I didn't respond with a lengthy diatribe against McCain. I told my friend that anything is possible and wished him luck. I pray for my friend, who will most likely suffer the pain I felt election night 2004.

I will pray for our great nation, and pray that President Obama will fulfill his promise in bringing all of us together to move past this partisan hatred.

But most of all, I will pray for the man he is working so hard for that I believe will not just experience a profound disappointment on election night, but suffer the rest of his days for what he has become.

Tonight, I pray for John McCain.

My Rant on Babs West in the Orlando Sentinel

Because I've already been published just a little bit ago, and also know its usually bad form for news organizations to criticize each other's reporters--I figured the best way to get my point across on Babs in our local paper was in the 30-word rant section. Today's paper:

WFTV's Barbara West threw softballs to [John] McCain but compared Obama to Karl Marx. Are you applying for Fox News, Ms. West?

See the full story below.

Clinton, Obama in My Hometown for the Closing Arguement!

Although it was late, tens of thousands showed up to listen to Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

Bill Clinton, in his best praise of Obama, talked about how, during the financial crisis, Obama talked to economic advisors so that he could understand what was going on and respond appropriately. He contrasted this to the actions of both Bush and McCain: Pulling stunt after stunt or erradically shifting from one idea to the next (McCain) or just sticking the old noggin head in the sand and hoping for the best (Bush).

We need a president who WANTS to understand and CAN understand!!

Priceless.

Palin: Says Alaska collectively "shares the wealth"

Palin gave stupid interviews before she was the GOP nominee:

We’re set up, unlike other states in the union, where it’s collectively Alaskans own the resources. So we share in the wealth when the development of these resources occurs.

And here's a bonus from Ted Rall:



Shout out to Den the Blogger over at boilingmad blog for these good tidbits.

Seminole Democrat Endorses Republican Barry Gainer

I know I said I would make no endorsements for local offices, but I had to make an exception. Seminole County School Board needs the return of the incumbent, Barry Gainer. The main reason is perpetual candidate Sylvia Pond, his opponent, is a right-wing nut who told the Orlando Sentinel that she believes in teaching creationism in science class.

Wonderful, as if it isn't bad enough we are being surpassed by third-world countries in the science field, we have ideologues who want to turn science class into religion class: and Seminole County is just backward enough to support that. We already have radical religious groups like JMJ (Jesus Mary Joseph) Life Center teaching our kids about sex education--where they get great tidbits of information like learning that the pill is an "abortion agent" that causes infertility, cancer, blood clots, stroke, weight gain, and makes women more susceptible to AIDS and other immune-related diseases. (Orange County has rejected them based on "concerns with the validity of their information", but here in Seminole we apparently have no issue with that).

We don't need more right-wing nuts on the board. We need less. I would like to have a moderate Democrat run for School Board here in Seminole for a change, but barring a miracle, we need to back Gainer for School Board.

The Seminole Democrat Endorsements!

President/Vice President: Barack Obama and Joe Biden

Congressional District 7: Faye Armitage
Congressional District 24: Suzanne Kosmas

State Senate District 9: Darius Davis
State Senate District 24: Kendall Moore

State Representative District 33: Robert Acosta

Seminole Soil & Water Board: Steve Barnes

Seminole School Board: Barry Gainer


Amendments:
Vote YES on Amendment 1 and Amendment 6.

Amendment 1 states immigrants can't own land--it was put on the books almost a century ago and is completely ignored anyway, but it can't be removed without another amendment. This would remove pure prejudice in the state constitution. Vote YES on this.

Amendment 6 allows marina owners to have their property assessed based on what they actually are, not at the optimum rate they could be if they were condos. The reason I am for this is that it helps slow development of box condos on our shorelines. The developers love that marinas are being taxed so high because a lot of them are going under--which means the land developers can swoop in and plant yet another unnecessary condo. Just what we need. Vote YES on this.

All the other amendments range from being misguided, not worth the investment, or outright wrong. Vote NO.

I encourage you to do your own research on the amendments. The Sentinel breaks down the pros and cons of each: Click Here

I do not make endorsements for individual cities within Seminole. I STRONGLY urge you to visit the Seminole County Elections Supervisor Site: http://www.semcoelections.org/

This site will tell you who is running, link to their websites, give you a sample ballot, tell you where to vote early, what you need, etc. etc. etc.

Be an informed voter. The local elections have a big impact on your life, but normally people don't even bother to see who's running. Don't make that mistake.

Happy Voting!

WFTV's Barbara West: SCHOOLED-Biden Style!

Hey Barbara--Thanks for making Central Florida and the rest of my state look ignorant. Again.

I couldn't believe my ears... This so-called unbiased reporter from WFTV asked Joe Biden three different times if Obama was a "marxist". I would stake that he would have had more intelligent questions going on O'Reilly.

Joe Biden completely eviscerated her. From the fake ties to ACORN to repeated attempts to link Obama to Sweden/Marx, etc, Biden slams her and looks calm and presidential while doing it. ("Is that a real question?") This is the very reason Obama chose him. Palin he is not.

That's the thing about using phony talking points without doing research. They go unchallenged when featured on the likes of Hannity and Limbaugh; but trying to use them against a well-informed opponent? Well, you get exposed for the ignoramous you are.

The WFTV director, Bob Jordan, responded to the complaints by arguing they were just tough questions.

No, Bob. Tough questions are one thing. Questions based on false and ignorant talking points are, well, ignorant.

McCain/Bush "spread the wealth around" by giving a tremendous tax cut benefitting the super wealthy and the oil companies. That didn't work so well. Obama and Biden are talking about giving a tax cut to those who actually need it: the middle class. And now that's "socialist"??? That's "marxist"?? That's "welfare"??


Enjoy:



Even though she was rude and insulting to Biden, it may have passed muster with people if she were equally rough on McCain when she interviewed him October 14th. Nope--she throws softballs and downright begs him to go after Obama on ACORN. Watch the difference: http://www.wftv.com/video/17712615/index.html

You should never be able to tell a reporter's ideology. I think this makes it clear.



PS--If you are as embarrassed by her antics as I was, drop her a line:

Babs: Barbara.West@wftv.com
General Manager: Bob.Jordan@wftv.com

UPDATE: Turns out that her husband, Wade West, is a political and media consultant for Republican politicians. The GOP talking points Barbara West used in her interview may have come directly from the McCain Palin communications team via her husband Wade.

McCain Bumper Sticker...Notice Anything?

I snapped this picture on a red pickup truck in Sanford, Florida. It was the only sticker on the car.

Notice anything?

Like... No mention of the top of the ticket?


It's nice to be a Democrat for a change. I have Obama stickers all over my car--I couldn't imagine having only one that says Joe Biden for Vice President. But then again, I'm proud of my candidate for president, unlike this guy.

Let's face it. This guy picked this sticker over the more common ones that feature McCain because he must ashamed or disappointed in his candidate for president.


And that's one thing I guess we agree on.

PS--thanks to distraught from DKOS for pointing out this gem on brettmarty.com. This is Sarah Palin signing a sign that says PALIN 2012.

The fact that the supporter used "2012" is the clearest indication that their supporters know the McCain campaign is lost. But you would think she'd play the game until after next week...

Great News and Bad Mistakes

Miami Herald poll shows a six point lead here in battleground Florida: 49% to 42%.

Boosting Obama: independent voters, who back him over McCain by a 57-22 percent margin -- a 38 point shift toward the Democrat since the last poll in September

.

McCain is finally realizing the stupidity of his Pennsylvannia strategy, and is dumping all his money in Virginia and here in Florida. It won't matter.

Salon.com made a list of the 7 worst mistakes of pundits made just this year:

1. Sarah Palin was a brilliant pick as McCain's running mate.
   
2. Choosing Steve Schmidt to run McCain's campaign was a stroke of genius.
   
3. Gas prices on election day will determine who wins.
   
4. Obama should have taken public financing.
   
5. Obama was guilty of hubris for contesting North Carolina and other red states.
   
6. Obama will hurt Democrats downticket.
   
7. The Democratic Hillary supporters will destroy Obama

I'm not guilty on any of those, but you can add the mistake many made, including me, that voters would punish the Democratic candidate for spurning us during primary season. Turns out there were bigger issues--who would have thunk it?

I was correct, however, when I said ALL our delegates would be seated.

I am hoping that soon after the election, the RNC and the DNC can work together for a fair primary season. I am also hoping for world peace and that my 401k will suddenly reverse itself so much that I could afford a Palin shopping spree.

If the World Could Vote

After all, our president is the "Leader of the Free World". And our elections do affect the entire world--it's amazing for me every time I see or hear about people across Eurasia watching as intently as I do on election night. The President of the United States is the closest thing we have to a world leader--so it's nice to at least ask the rest of the world their opinion even though it won't count.

Good news for McCain. He is kicking ass in the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia and has made serious inroads in Venezuala. (The map doesn't show it, but it looks like Seminole County might break his way too.)

The rest of the world.... well... http://www.iftheworldcouldvote.com/results

OMG! ORLANDO SENTINEL endorses Barack!!

I am watching Powell endorse Senator Obama as I write this. What a great way to wake up.

I am looking at the Orlando Sentinel full page endorsement of Barack Obama! IF you don't know the Orlando Sentinel, you have to understand that they love to endorse Republicans. The joke on talk radio is usually "do what the Sentinel tells you and vote Republican".

With ONE exception, John Kerry, they have endorsed Republicans for president for the PAST 40 YEARS!! They also endorsed John McCain, but NOT Obama, (rather Hillary), several months ago in the respective primaries. I really didn't think they would do it.

The Sentinel even admitted that they wer leaning McCain as the primary season began, but changed thier mind over the events of the past several weeks.

While Obama showed "sound judgment" and "grace under pressure", Mr. McCain has reacted "haphazardly" and "abandoned" positions that the Sentinel had supported. Their words: Mr. McCain has demonstrated "shockingly poor judgment".

I encourage you to read the entire endorsement. It is a work of art. They contrast the difference between McCain when he started (when the Sentinel originally endorsed him) and McCain now; and also where Obama was then and where he is now. I won't put the entire endorsement here, but I will provide the portion under the heading "Obama Now":

Under months of unrelenting scrutiny and withering political attacks since then, the Democratic nominee has proved to be an unflappable and thoughtful leader. He has displayed a remarkable command of issues, both domestic and foreign. It's hard to imagine a quicker study.

Mr. Obama has wisely compensated for his relative inexperience by reaching out to experts, from billionaire investor Warren Buffett and former treasury secretaries for advice on economic policy to ex-national security advisers on foreign policy. He chose as his running mate Joe Biden, the veteran U.S. senator from Delaware and Foreign Relations Committee chairman. The contrast with Mr. McCain's choice for vice president could not be more striking.

Mr. Obama gets the nod in this race not just because of his opponent's flaws.

The Illinois senator has a better plan than the Arizona senator for expanding health-care coverage. Mr. Obama would focus on the problem -- uninsured Americans -- while strengthening the current system of employer-based care. Mr. McCain would unravel that system.

Mr. Obama also would be more aggressive in curbing America's dirty and dangerous addiction to petroleum by mounting an ambitious campaign to develop renewable energy. Mr. McCain says he favors alternatives to oil, but his "drill, baby, drill" fixation could prolong the nation's habit.

The Democratic nominee is more inclined to turn the page on the foreign policy of the past eight years that has alienated allies and incited enemies. His willingness to engage when necessary in tough negotiations with enemies is not naive or irresponsible; it's an approach followed before by presidents from both parties.

Since he began his meteoric rise in American politics, Mr. Obama's critics have trivialized his remarkable skills as a speaker. From Abraham Lincoln through Ronald Reagan, history has shown that eloquence is a powerful tool for presidents to rally Americans to get through tough times together and achieve great things.

If you have a moment, please PLEASE send a quite note of support to insight@orlandosentinel.com.This is a conservative area, and they are going to be bomarded with hate mail. When they endorsed John Kerry last time, you would have thought the apocalypse was upon us. Tons of letters came in complaining and hundreds of subscriptions were canceled.

I honestly thought they would cave like the idiotic endorsement of the Tampa Tribune yesterday. But they didn't. And I couldn't be more proud.

What a great morning.

New Poll Showing Feeney Getting Spanked

I have said it before and I'll say it again. If Tom Feeney hadn't been allowed to draw his own district picking his own voters, this race would be a landslide against Feeney. The Orlando Sentinel, which loves to endorse Republicans, endorsed Suzanne Kosmas for FL-24. HOW could they not? There are no accomplishments Feeney can point to, and he has been voted the most corrupt politician in Congress four years in a row by a nonpartisan group. It seems now that gerrymandering alone won't save Mr. Feeney:


Greenberg Quinlan Rosner poll:

Kosmas (D) 58
Feeney (R) 35

Suzanne Kosmas loves to point out that for all the disdain of government Mr. Feeney has, he has spent his adult life in public office. Kosmas is a successful self-employed business owner who also had a very successful career in the state legislature. All the negative ads against Kosmas seem to be failing--this Seminole district knows the score.

To help Suzanne send Feeney packing, go to www.KosmasforCongress.com

Oliver Stone's W: Unexpected in More Ways than One

It wasn't at all what I expected:

I went late last night to Oviedo mall, and I figured it would be just me in there. The theater was pretty packed, however.

I also assumed that it would be mostly liberals and the anti-Bush crowd, but it was pretty mixed. I could tell because half the audience would cheer and the other half would jeer at the same parts either showing Bush in a good light or bad.

Finally, the trailors and posters of the film do not do it justice. They feature only the parts where Bush looks silly, so I expected more of a hit job. I'm glad it wasn't, because that would have been boring.

Love or hate him, you have to admit that George W. Bush is a very interesting man. Essentially, you had an unfocused, adolescent drunk through his early 40s, completely written off by his family as hopeless, finding religion and beginning a meteoric rise to become leader of the free world. Gotta admit, there's a story there.

Over the past 8 years, characatures have been drawn about W (really dumb), his wife (stepford), and the Bush family (power-hungry). This film doesn't play into any of those stereotypes. Stone did his research and treated his subjects fairly.

The movie is told in two simultaneous storylines that merge at the end. The movie focuses on what will be the Bush legacy--the run-up and subsequent invasion of Iraq. The movie flashes back during this time to tell the story of W growing up from the late 60s until it catches up to the invasion storyline.

By presenting the movie in this fashion, you get a deeper understanding of why W does the things W does. At a press conference, where Bush can't admit a mistake, you see how the complicated family dynamic, especially with his father and brother Jeb, played into that. You understand how his unsatiable drive to succeed was fueled by his fear and hatred of being perceived as a failure, such as his first run for Congress: "I'll never be out-Texaned or out-Christianed again!" And you understand how his conversion to Christianity, which the movie does not treat lightly, shaped his black and white view of the world as good and evil.

Bottom line: if you were expecting a film trashing Bush about 9/11, My Pet Goat, Katrina, the economy, etc., you will be disappointed. If you are expecting a gushing film showing a brave leader standing with a bullhorn and fighting evil with truth, justice, and the American Way, you will be more disappointed.

But if you expect a film about a complicated man that takes a hard, fair, and surprising look at this interesting story, you will enjoy it. The film certainly has its flaws. The ending I felt was weak. Also, there are many aspects of Bush's life that the film left out for time (it's a little over 2 hours long) which I wish they would have examined--which makes me think this film would have been better as a mini-series. The introduction of Rove is rushed and the story of Bush's first real success, beating a popular governor of Texas, was glossed over--and that is a story that could have been a movie unto itself.

Josh Brolin gave the performance of his career. You can tell he really studied Bush. Not just his mannerisms, but Brolin even studied how Bush walked at different points of his life. That really came across, and you evenutally saw just W. Other impersonations were good, but none were as strong as Brolin's.

In the end, I felt I got my money's worth. Afterall, the movie got out at 1am and I still wanted more.

Should have been YOU Charlie!

McCain expresses regret for picking that idiot Palin over our own guber, Charlie Crist.

St. Pete Times:

"Charlie, because he's so popular, he probably would have made a significant difference,"McCain said in an interview with the St. Petersburg Times and Bay News 9.

"I think this would have been a battleground state, except for obviously (with) a popular governor as Charlie Crist is," McCain said.



"Look, this is a tough decision that we made with Sarah Palin."

Wow. McCain actually offers straight talk that maybe Sarah wasn't the best choice. You think?

Charlie, whether he admits it or not, was furious about the Palin pick. Charlie is the one who put McCain over the top with a crucial endorsement before the FL primary, he's been grooming himself for this post for years, and dammit, he even rushed out and got engaged again when his party tried to shoot the veep talk down with that "gay" rumor.

Charlie is probably enjoying this--as evidenced by his refusal to play ball on the phony ACORN fraud charges. I am enjoying this more: I get to see both men stew in discontent over this fiasco.

KO Breaks Debate Secret! (Must-See Video)

True Reason I'm Enjoying Obama's 14-Point Lead

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is entering the third and final presidential debate Wednesday with a wide lead over Republican rival John McCain nationally, a new CBS News/New York Times poll shows.

...
Among independents who are likely voters - a group that has swung back and forth between McCain and Obama over the course of the campaign - the Democratic ticket now leads by 18 points. McCain led among independents last week.
...
McCain's campaign strategy may be hurting hurt him: Twenty-one percent of voters say their opinion of the Republican has changed for the worse in the last few weeks. The top two reasons cited for the change of heart are McCain's attacks on Obama and his choice of Sarah Palin as running mate.

Poor John. They told you to pick Sarah Palin over Romney, and she is now dragging your ticket.

They told you to crawl in the mud and go all out negative. And you have now turned off the very independents you were craving.

What is rich about this is that these slimeballs who ran your campaign were the very disciples of Rove/Bush who smeared YOUR OWN daughter 8 years ago. Like a coward, you embraced them and surrendered your campaign so they could do to Obama what they did to you.

But unlike you, he was able to outwit them. Unlike you, h was focused.

Unlike you, he NEVER LOST HIS COOL. And he played all of you.

Pretty soon you will be forgotten and irrelevant. You will sit alone in your mansion(s) in your final years, thinking of the honor and reputation you had worked so hard to restore 20 years after Charles Keating: all thrown out in a matter of weeks!!!

You sold your soul. They promised you if you would just go down in the gutter with them, they could do for you what they did for Bush. But that is what happens when you sell your soul to the devil, you always get screwed.

It wasn't enough that they attacked your family--they now took your precious honor as well. You let them. And I don't feel one ounce of pity for you.

I also am on a real high because for two years, from 2004 to 2006, I had to deal with idiots who loved to tell me that the Democratic party was over and that there would be a permanent GOP majority. I receive all kinds of comments of how the Democrats would never win again....these are the same people who are whipped up in hysterics right now and turning McCain speeches into hate rallies because it is no longer a question of if--but of how much.

I am, in fact, really, really, really enjoying this!

How the Presidential Race Stands Now (with interactive map)

Before I give you the update, this needs to be said. The blogosphere, such as DKos, is screaming right now that the mainstream media is way behind in updating their polls. Either they are very slow, afraid to show bias, or want to keep this a close race. If you look at election projection websites, including far-right leaning sites and polling firms, all show what is now an Obama landslide:

Election Projection: Obama 364-174
Electoral-Vote.com: Obama 349, McCain 174, 15 tied
Fivethirtyeight: Obama 347.6-190.4 McCain
Pollster.com: Obama 320, McCain 158, Toss-up 60
Cold-Hearted Truth (right-wing): Obama 320, McCain 203
Hedghog Report (right-wing): Obama 358, McCain 180
Federal Review (right-wing): Obama 358, McCain 169
Real Clear Politics (GOP Polling firm): Obama 277, McCain 158, Toss-up 103

Now look at the the polls for the mainstream media:

MSNBC: Obama 264-174 McCain
CNN: Obama 264-174 McCain
New York Times: Obama 260--200 McCain
CBSNews: Obama 259-163 McCain

I have borrowed the map used by CBSNews and adjusted it a bit. It's interactive, so feel free to play with it as you wish:




Now for my analysis:




The gray areas are the swing states as of Oct. 12, 2008. Obama will sweep all of the Kerry states. Period. McCain's best shots were PA, NH, and MI. Obama has double-digit leads in all of them now. There are several combinations he can enjoy with one big state, a big and a small, or three small states. RIGHT NOW, Obama has a healthy lead in Iowa and New Mexico: they will certainly flip to Obama.

This means that Obama needs one of the gray states, just one, and he will be the next president.

Indiana is now in play, as polls show a statistical tie. North Carolina show a slight lead for Obama, which means that it is a statistical tie as well. No network is including West Virginia as a battleground or in the Obama column, but the latest poll by ARG shows a big lead for Obama. I would need to see more polls to put this in Obama's column, but at the very least, it should be considered a toss-up.

Obama is currently leading in the other swing states--a congregation of the polls show they range from the margin of error to slightly ahead of the margin of error in each one.

In order for McCain to win, he must run the board on the gray states: He must win EVERY SINGLE ONE.

If Obama wins just one, he wins. (Note: if Obama just wins Nevada, it will be an electoral tie, 269-269, which means Obama will still win because it will get thrown to the House.)

If McCain manages to turn things around, it will be the greatest turnaround in presidential history. I know a lot of his supporters are counting on the Bradley effect, but the last time it played a role was 20 years ago when I was working for the Wilder campaign in VA. Add to the mix the hundreds of thousands of new voters Barack has registered, along with the number of younger cell phone users who aren't polled, and I think it would be balanced out. Regardless, the Bradley effect generously gives 6 points, (generously a generation ago), and Obama has a healthy lead over that in swing states such as Colorado and Virginia.

What Obama should do now is travel to every state that the Senate race is competitive (MN, NC, MS, OR) and try to raise money and support for the senators in close races to get to the magic 60 that Obama needs to fulfill his agenda.

Don't Let Me Down Orlando Sentinel

The Orlando Sentinel loves Republicans. A guy on the radio yesterday joked that he would do what the Sentinel tells him to do and vote Republican. Today, they endorsed Ric Keller--even though they admitted in his endorsement he hasn't done anything, along with John Mica, and the dreadful Ginny Brown-Waite.

Up until the last presidential election, they hand't endorsed a Democratic president in 40 years!! Bush was so bad, they finally did the right thing and endorsed Kerry:

Four years ago, the Orlando Sentinel endorsed Republican George W. Bush for president based on our trust in him to unite America. We expected him to forge bipartisan solutions to problems while keeping this nation secure and fiscally sound.

This president has utterly failed to fulfill our expectations.

The Sentinel endorsed John McCain and Hillary Clinton in their respective primaries. A few months or even weeks ago, I would have expected the Sentinel to endorse McCain. But after these past few weeks, I don't know how the Sentinel can justify it.

Just look at the events of the past few weeks:

He tries to question Obama's judgment, but picked an unvetted right-wing zealot as his running mate who abused her power in office according to a report that was released yesterday by a unanimous vote of the bipartisan Joint Legislative Council in Alaska.

His bizarre plan to fix the housing crisis would destroy the taxpayer, and has been mocked by his own GOP supporters and even economists who formerly endorsed him.

He has allowed his campaign stops to become little more than hate rallies, with people yelling "Kill him" and "terrorist"--while saying nothing. (His nutty veep even eggs them on).

Instead of leading in a crisis, McCain seeks to continue the politics of division and hatred. Ironically, he hired the disciples of Bush/Rove, who propogated the very smears against McCain's own child back in 2000.

After promising not to go negative, decided that 100% of his ads would be smears. Lying about Obama supporting sex ed for kids (it was an anti-stalker law), lying about his "frienship" with Ayers (Obama was on a board with him-along with prominent Republicans such as a Reagan ambassador), and trying to hint that he's somehow unAmerican. Sick, sad, and desperate.

McCain has been proven wrong on just about everything: the Iraq War, health care, the economy, deregulation, etc. Not to mention that this is the LAST chance we have to prevent the Supreme Court from becoming a permanent arm of the GOP.

We deserve better.

The Orlando Sentinel grudgingly did the right thing four years ago (and Florida has suffered greatly for not listening). Here's hoping they do the right thing at this critical time.

McCain Palin Supporters

The ignorance of these rallies is frightening. I wish I could say things are better here in Florida, but the fact is the Palin rally in Clearwater almost turned violent. The crowd started threatening the media and even picked on an African-American working for the crew for one of the networks. Hate speech can incite violence--and its a sad commentary that that is what the McCain-Palin campaign has deteriortated into: hate speech. No wonder people at these rallies shout "Kill Him" and call Obama a terrorist.

So much Mr. "Maverick" for raising the bar:

The Florida Independence Party

Imagine me as governor of Florida, and now imagine that I was running for veep. Imagine that my spouse was a member of a party that wondered why we are still connected to our American oppressors. Imagine the founder of this organization screaming that the swamps of the everglades could not quelch the hatred for the American government--and that he would not be buried under America's "damn" flag, but only under the honorable mouse ears.

And imagine me attending their conventions, and giving videotaped messages of support.

Would that give you pause? Perhaps not. Afterall, Florida gives me valuable foreign policy experience since Castro rears his ugly head and if he attacks, he'll come right up through our air space. I also border Alabama, which is a more foreign nation than Canada.

I would certainly have experience with the housing collapse--I would challenge any governor to say they had a more screwed up mortgage crisis than right here.

The thing of it is, with our hurricanes and election problems that allowed Bush to begin with, would the rest of America care if we split?

Who won the debate?

I know the snap polls are saying Obama, but what do you think? New poll on your right...


PS--I didn't catch a second of it. Busy with work.

Tom Feeney's Race Update

Currently, conservative prognosticator Scott Elliot at electionprojection.com is predicting Seminole's House District 24 to be Tom Feeney over Suzanne Kosmas by a hair: 2 percent. This means the race is essentially tied; and not bad at all considering Tom Feeney drew the damn district--even carved it right around his own house. If this was a fair election, he would be getting clobbered in a landslide right now.

Gerrymandering--gotta love it.

Some creative Floridians had fun with his pathetic "apology" ad:

McCain's Playing Defense in Florida

By the by, Mr. Elliot at electionprojection is projecting an Obama victory now in Florida: 3.2 percent. The polls definetly show favor for Obama:

09/30/08 Suffolk Obama 46% - McCain 42%
09/30/08 CNN Obama 51% - McCain 47%
09/30/08 Insider Advantage Obama 49% - McCain 46%

The Quinnipiac University surveys this weekend showed Obama leading McCain in Florida 51 percent to 43 percent. I like that a lot and Q is one of the better polls, but I'm not that optimistic.

Still, it's nice to see McCain playing defense in a state I thought he'd win easily. Remember when we thought all hope was lost a year ago because of the delegate debacle?

Apparently no one in this state does either.

Hey Sarah, WHO's palling around with terrorists???

Sarah Palin was a strong supporter of the AIP, whose motto is "Alaska First, Alaska Always".

Their leader and founder, Joe Volger, said this in 1991:

The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government.

Here's more from Talking Points Memo:

Palin has courted the group over the years.

Three years after the controversial interview, in 1994, Palin attended the group's annual convention, according to witnesses who spoke to ABC News' Jake Tapper. The McCain campaign is disputing her presence there, but Tapper found two people to attest to it.


The McCain campaign today produced Palin's voting registration records, and said they proved she was never a member of the party.

But she has repeatedly reached out to the group. The McCain campaign has confirmed she visited the group's 2000 convention, and she addressed its convention this year, as an incumbent governor whose oath of office includes upholding the Constitution of the United States.

Palin's husband, Todd Palin, was a member of the party from 1995-2002 with a brief exception in 2000.

It's worth noting that Vogler isn't just some figure from ancient history. He is still being hailed on AIP's site this year, the same year Palin addressed the group's convention.

SOOOOO, Sarah, who has been "palling around" with terrorists? You wanted to go there, now it's on...

LAST DAY TO REGISTER TO VOTE!! Ensure you weren't kicked off voter rolls!

Project Vote Smart has the info.

You should also go to VoteforChange to ensure that you are registered to vote. THOUSANDS of people have been removed from the voter rolls!! Logically, most have been Democrats. This site will tell you if you are good to go--if not, you need to fix it TODAY baby! Notices were supposed to have gone out, but if your name was "accidentally" removed and you don't fix it today, you are screwed.

PS--the site asks for an email--you don't have to give them one. Just look to see if you are registered.

PSS--New Florida ad from Obama campaign. Well done:

McCain Crosses Line with Final Hail Mary Pass

So McCain has decided to try one last hail mary pass: engage in swift-boat attacks in a desperate attempt to duck the issues. McCain claims it's about character and judgment, but what does it say about his character and judgment that McCain hired Rove's team, who dragged his family through the mud in 2000, to now smear Obama.

If McCain can't win on any of the issues, maybe he should rethink his candidacy before losing anymore of his coveted "honor".


DNC response:

Goin' Negative: How Dumb Does McCain Think We Are?

Ms. Deer in the Headlight decided to give a preview of the debate Tuesday night. When you can't win on ANY issue, nor can you articulate ANY reason you want to be president--do what Rovian GOPers do. Resort to fear and smear.

Pathetic Palin decided to attack Obama and say that he "pals" around with terrorists. This type of attack is expected from a right-wing nutball blogger, not someone seeking the second highest office in the land.

For all that W has screwed up, at least he didn't actually join the false attacks the Swift-Boaters were lobbing against John Kerry. Even W understood that engaging in a false smear isn't presidential. You leave that to surrogates. In a twist of irony, the very surrogates that smeared John McCain's family are now in charge of the final desperate and erratic strategy aimed to destroy the character of Barack Obama.

How sad. How pathetic. The man who has spend over 20 years building and restoring his honor after the Keating 5 debacle is willing to throw it out in their final of a series of hail mary passes that has defined his campaign.

Not only is it despicable, it won't work.

It hasn't before, it won't now. Why?

Because the vast majority of Americans are smarter than the small-minded right-wing nutters who think this is brilliant. If they could get past their hate and emotion against Barack Obama, they would see it clearly.

The man has devoted his life to public service. He turned down big paying jobs to fight for the rights of the poor and middle-class. He has amassed a vast record in helping average Americans in a short amount of time over others who have spent decades in politics--like John McCain. And the honorable Senator Obama is now seeking the highest office in the land, at considerable expense (personal and financial), because he wants to bring the change our country desperately needs.

And they honestly think people will believe that a man who has brought so much hope to so many Americans---somehow, actually, really hates America?

Do the GOPers behind this strategy really expect us to believe that once Obama is sworn in as president that he will say "SUCKERS!! I hate America!! I now turn everything over to my pals the terrorists! ALLALALALALALA"

Seriously--what the living hell are they thinking? We have people literally dying because they lost their healthcare, thousands dead in Iraq with no exit strategy in sight, people losing thier homes, their jobs, and under Bush/McCain, their VERY FREEDOMS!! (Talk about hating America.)

Anyone who buys this stupid, rehashed crap was never going to vote Obama regardless. This strategy will only appeal to the nutjobs. But I am angry because I honestly thought that finally, we would get a presidential race that we deserved. A race that focused on the issues and that either man, regardless of the outcome, would be able to finally change the tone of these races and the victor would usher in a new era of bi-partisanship: and the other would at least be able to hold his head up high for running an honorable race.

Apparently, that will now only be possible with one candidate in this race.

Local and State Issues?

The month before a presidential election I like to focus on the national presidential race because there is so much at stake. So much that it affects everything here in Florida and Seminole County.

I will focus more on the local issues after the election, but unless something warrants some real attention, or there are any exciting developments for the Feeney/Kosmas smackdown, this blog will primarily be Obama/McCain until Nov. 4.

OCTOBER 6: LAST DAY TO REGISTER TO VOTE IN FL!

REGISTER TO VOTE MONDAY OR YOU WON'T VOTE FOR CHANGE NOVEMBER 4!!!

PS--Early voting on Oct. 20. Be there!! Governor Crist recently decided to enforce a law called "No Match, No Vote".

Miami Herald:

State elections officials will resume enforcement of a controversial state law that requires Floridians to have their identification match up with a state or federal database in order to register to vote.

Why is he doing this:

The year the law took effect, state election data shows that Florida Democratic Party registration began to swell. Between 2006 and 2008, Democrats increased their ranks with more than 170,000 new voters -- while the Florida Republicans lost 11,594 during the same time. Independents decreased by about 4,000 since 2006.

Dirty Tricks---when fear and smear just isn't enough

What a debate!

PS--From DKos:

Republicans and pundits think this is a Joke. We have well over 4000 US troops dead in a war that was waged on false pretenses...an economy in shambles...people losing their homes...unemployment rates out the roof....people dying because they cannot afford Healthcare...a current administration that has violated the US Constitution, exceeded their powers over and over again...

and Palin giving shout outs to 3rd graders? eye winking? saying she won't answer questions? giggling like a 15 year old? Come ON!

Pathetic!

Top 10 List:

First Person In the History of the World to Dance

Congratulations Obama!

He won the debate.

I am a partisan, and I'm certain there are those on the other side who will say McCain won. And yes, there were no knockout blows, they both deflected the others' criticism, and neither one said a Palin-like gaffe that would have killed the campaign.

Although CNN and CBS had polls afterwards that Obama had performed better, I think most analysts are calling it a tie.

BUT that does not change the fact that Obama won the debate.

WHY?

Because McCain NEEDED TO WIN. He needed to hit this out of the park. He needed a game-changer. There are no more for him. The conventions are over, the veeps selected--the only thing left are the debates.

Palin will not be able to take down Biden. She will be lucky to be left standing. McCain will NOT be able to tangle with Obama on the economy. It's over. There are no more game-changers left.

The only chance McCain had was to knock out Obama on his supposed strong suit--foreign policy.

And he didn't. Most polls are showing Obama won--but in fact, at best, it was a tie. McCain is bleeding in the polls, he didn't need a tie-he needed a win. A big win.

And that is why Obama won.

Painful Palin Interview: Why McCain REALLY wants to stall debates

This really hurts:


Watch CBS Videos Online

Short Transcript:

COURIC: You've cited Alaska's proximity to Russia as part of your foreign policy experience. What did you mean by that?

PALIN: That Alaska has a very narrow maritime border between a foreign country, Russia, and on our other side, the land-- boundary that we have with-- Canada. It-- it's funny that a comment like that was-- kind of made to-- cari-- I don't know, you know? Reporters--

COURIC: Mock?

PALIN: Yeah, mocked, I guess that's the word, yeah.

COURIC: Explain to me why that enhances your foreign policy credentials.

PALIN: Well, it certainly does because our-- our next door neighbors are foreign countries. They're in the state that I am the executive of. And there in Russia--

COURIC: Have you ever been involved with any negotiations, for example, with the Russians?

PALIN: We have trade missions back and forth. We-- we do-- it's very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia as Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where-- where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is-- from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there. They are right next to-- to our state.

NOW I read on CNN that conservative commentators are piling on--George Will, David Brooks, and now even Kathleen Parker! Parker is calling for her to "step down" for the good fo the party. She is dying a slow death--and as Parker says, if she were a man, we would all be laughing at her.

Ed Shultz reported that senior McCain aides are in a panic because she is nowhere near ready for a real debate. The mock debate they had proved that she was clueless, and that is the exact word they used. One aide just said "What are we going to do?"

I'll tell you what you do--YOU GODDAMNED ADMIT YOUR MISTAKE and let this awful person go. But that would be putting Country First. And there will be none of that.

What Obama Should Say to McCain...

I heard the announcement live hear in Florida where Obama is campaigning.

I am irritated that McCain has once again decided to pull a political stunt when the situation least calls for it.

• He did by picking an unvetted radical to be his Vice President.



• He did it by going overboard on rhetoric about the Georgian invasion that even the Georgian president called unhelpful.



• And he does it now. When we need it the least
.

Obama reached out to him this morning to show solidarity with a joint statement on the crisis. McCain decided to react by holding a press conference and saying he will suspend his campaign--taking no questions from reporters. If this was a true gesture, then McCain would have spoken with Obama instead of holding an event and tried to get both of them to suspend their campaigns simultaneously. Make no mistake about this, McCain is trying to use this travesty to get the upper-hand. Cynical. The proof of this can be seen on right-wing blogs such as RS that are gleeful that McCain is trying to use this as a ploy to crawl back up in the polls. Obama can't let him.

Obama should simply say the following:

I am glad that McCain wants to help solve this large financial crisis. But this crisis was created because this administration, with the support of Senator McCain, pushed through deregulation of our banking industry as well as stipped away all meaningful oversight. The legislation that allowed this was crafted by none other than Senator Phil Gramm, his former chief economic advisor until he stated that suffering Americans were "a nation of whiners." This is the direct result of the now obvious misguided belief that investment firms with no regulation and no oversight work best.

This deregulation allowed a culture of greed to overtake our financial markets, and the American taxpayer is now being stuck with the bill. Unlike Mr. Bush and Senator McCain, I do not accept that this multi-billion dollar bailout has to occur within the next two days. Wall Street will not fall apart before Friday. Personally, I would rather get it right than rush through a bad bill; and for once, this president should take time to work through this carefully.

There is no reason why Senator McCain should forgo the debates this Friday. A high-level public servant should be able to multi-task, and the threat of sectarian violence, rogue states, and terrorism are just as relevant and present just as much a threat, if not greater, than investment firm greed.

Senator McCain himself admits that he is not well-versed on the economy, so I cannot understand what is accomplished by McCain forgoing the debate to go to Washington except to have a photo opportunity. The Senate Majority leader is correct when he states that it is wrong to inject presidential politics into this delicate negotiation.

I will be attending the debate on Saturday and hopefully Senator McCain will attend as well. The American people deserve better than political stunts.

Ask a McCain Supporter ONE Thing...

Why do you support John McCain?

I promise you that you will get a litany of Obama smear. You will get a bunch of outright lies or picking apart of any number of plans that he has put forward.

Listen closely to the drivel on talk radio. Listen closely to the answer you get--and you will notice ONE thing.

NOT one McCain supporter will say why he wants to be president. NOT one McCain supporter will tell you what his policies are, or the direction he wants to take the country.

All you will hear is something about Obama.

That is because that is the entire point of the McCain campaign and the GOP apparatus--to stay in power. They can't say they support everything Bush does--tax cuts for the wealthy, deregulation and stripping of oversight, staying in Iraq indefinetly...

They are wrong on EVERYTHING. There is no daylight between the positions Bush has and McCain has, so they resort to the only thing they have left. FEAR and SMEAR.

And that is all you undecideds need to know for this election.

Tax Plan Comparison-Email this to EVERYONE

JOHN MCCAIN LIES when he says Barack will raise everyone's taxes. EMAIL this to everyone you know. It's a breakdown of the proposals from the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center as reported by the Washington Post and includes the cool graphic below.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/06/09/ST2008060900950.html

Under John McSame, the wealthiest Americans get the largest tax cut. The middle class gets almost nothing.

Under Barack Obama, the people who NEED help, the middle class, get a large tax cut while he restores the tax rate for those making over 2.87 million back to what they were pre-Bush.

John McSame's tax plan is not only UNFAIR, it can't work. We have record defecits, meaning there is no way we can afford another trillion dollar tax cut that mostly helps the wealthy. That is how we got INTO this mess to begin with. Trickle-down economics, giving to the rich and stealing from the poor, caused the recession of 1990 and it caused the mess we are in now.

Barack's plan to help the middle class CAN work because he balances it with the tax revenue from the super-wealthy.

McCain Skit on SNL 9/21

He's already said that Barack will raise everyone's taxes (LIE), his veep never sought earmarks as governor (LIE), and that Barack supported sex education for children (LIE). TYPICALLY candidates take words out of context, but McCain has crossed a line and is now just making things up.

SNL smacked him down last night: