Courtesy of the American News Project:
McCain supporter, Charles David Ficken, holds aloft a ten-foot sign featuring Obama in East African attire outside of a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, and proclaims that America does not need a "Muslim-leaning" president. Obama supporters confront him about his claim.
Now, Fox News is turning their backs on the McCain campaign. Host Neil Cavuto offers one last ditch plea-cum-brandishing for policy articulation gone terribly, terribly wrong. Truthfully, the scathe is bad enough, but the real oomph in this message is that Cavuto's talking in a way that I think mirrors other Republicans out there. I imagine that there is a population of conservatives who are both really frustrated with their nominee, but equally if not more angry about a guy who takes cheap shots, ad hominem attacks, and can't intelligently deliver the real grist of what they hope to do to change America.
Not that he's a fan of his policies, the host admits, but he can still appreciate Obama's consistency and clarity of message. McCain apparently has no such luck.
Maybe I'm casting high hopes some four days before the election, but I believe that things might have turned out differently had McCain been able to better reason through, explain, and contrast his policies rather than relying on cheap code words or veiled (and not so veiled) insults. Americans may not be able to grasp all the concepts of some policies in existence, but we have had our intelligence insulted for far too long as it is.
If you know something and you think the other guy has a good enough idea, you say "We both know who #2 is," and you wink at them. No guessing game or mind reading allowed without the appropriate board game or crystal ball devices.
Obama issues a two-minute long advertisement detailing his economic tax plan.
CNN's Rick Sanchez reports the conclusion of a recent story about a McCain supporter allegedly attacked by a tall African-American man who robbed her, 20-year-old Ashley Todd of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, issued an assault, and carved a "B" into her cheek to scare her into supporting Obama -- as a hoax. Sanchez says that the police officers who investigated the account had issued a polygraph test which the victim failed.
Check it out below.
Recommended reading:
McCain Campaign Volunteer Admits Alleged Attack was a Hoax
The last free concert hosted by Tucson for Obama will take place this Sunday, October 26 from 5:00pm to 10:00pm at the Old Town Artisans, located on 201 N. Court St. in downtown Tucson. No cover charge. Happy hour available from 5 to 8, live music the entire time, and face painting from 5 to 7. Come hang out!
Major kudos to American Android lead singer Carlos Arzate and his superior flyer production skills, by the way.
This is the 100th post of the Brainsplitter Project, and 2000 days since Bush declared "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq.
Never forget the disillusion and deception that marred our American history for, at the bare minimum, the past eight years of this Administration. Stay vigilant, keeping eyes open regarding efforts to suppress your voice and scare you into submission to a governance that has hurt many, many classes of people across the board.. Don't rest on your laurels, America.
And whatever you do, whichever state you live in, get out and vote on November 4!
Some disturbing footage from Ohio. The strange thing is, the man, Mike Lunsford, is obviously not ashamed or hiding his views based on the effigy, but that he refuses to be interviewed on camera for fear of hurting his employer's business. Never mind what information people can acquire through Google.
Either way, Mr. Lunsford, don't start blaming the broadcast media for fueling your racist symbol of Obama. The newscaster says that Lunsford is reacting to the media's favorability of Obama and that he was also inspired by an Obama mannequin being "chased" by McCain in Ku Klux Klan gear. Hate like that has to come from within, even if it's stoked by other people.
For what it's worth, at least he isn't doing that tired line: "Oh? Hanging a ghost from a tree with a noose and slapping it with an Obama sticker? I didn't know nooses were racist."
Just a thought.
I know why you're voting against Obama, but I don't know why you're voting for McCain. Care to enlighten me?
In fairness, I ask the reverse question of Obama supporters.
Maybe you'll make a bit more room in the schedule for one more weekend canvass event, or you'll chip in a few more dollars before Election Day, or you'll make quite the concerted effort to wear your paraphernalia at all times. You'll watch one more simulcast of the debates if you have them recorded, or maybe you'll join one more watch party or phone bank, or do something in your ability to gather round other supporters like you and talk out the issues. Maybe you're stressed about robocalls, seances for McCarthy, or that much more perplexed by this whole "liberal media" situation.
If I had it my way, people would put Obama's and McCain's proposals side-by-side, comparing their policies on the economy, taxes, job creation, climate change, energy, and so on, and weigh them for their merits. But I also expect that people vote with the same traditions they have in past elections, or they'll listen to what their friends and family members or doing, or maybe they'll throw in one ditch effort of prayer and come to relevation on the fourth of November. Or they'll have to work and figure that it's not worth getting up extra early.
I've been watching YouTube, and I've heard more than my fair share of smear material. It puts a hollow in the pit of my stomach.
I wore my Obama shirt this afternoon, and I met a lady in the grocery store parking lot named Carol who deals antiques in town. She says she occasionally gets grief from people not supporting Obama, but she is unapologetic about wearing her button ahd she'll talk to anybody who will listen to her. We spoke for about half an hour. In the exchanges of being scared about smear tactics and being hopeful that Obama will win, or in the throes of swapping stories from the campaign trails, or talking about what matters most of us, I offered a small piece of advice.
I'm not voting against McCain. I'm voting for Obama. The people getting testy and tense at their town halls, or being dumbstruck by Obama food stamps or "little Hussein" Curious George dolls are just voting against Obama.
How do I know this? They get asked about supporting their candidate, but they revert back to these autonomic hate responses. Seriously, "Get a job!" "Commie faggot!"
It's easier to yell than to think apparently (or carry a tune).
Really. Does anyone in America befriend domestic terrorists? When is it ever okay to yell "Kill him!" in a crowded hall? Even this guy titles his schtick the welfare state, rotten ACORN, or some such nonsense, but you get several minutes of an African-American youth yelling about how the Democrats are brainwashing you. Ahem. Nigga, please. He said he doesn't support Obama's tax plan; he explicitly supports McCain, but he, too, can't answer that pesky why question. Damn that why!
This will be a close race. This race will be historical. It is something that I'm proud to be a part of in my young lifetime. That's why it's all that much more important to do what you can in crunch time to back your candidate and to do so with the blessing of good, solid, reliable information. You can't control the hate machine, but you can control the facts that you accept on their merits.
Rachel Maddow takes former Bush speechwriter David Frum to task for blaming the negative campaigning undertaken by McCain on the very commentators, like Maddow, who are supposedly stroking that fire. Never mind that she asked her guest to comment on some remarks he made about McCain's use of Ayers. Or that he didn't exactly answer her question and he tried to get some sniping in at the same time.
Let me be clear about my position and my blog statement on political discourse. I don't think anyone should be afraid of having a political view or expressing it to other people, or even having to apologize for their stances -- and that's if you're red, blue, or something else. Believe me. The American public is improved by a free, open discourse in which people are allowed to disagree and that they can air these issues out in a smart debate. We suffer when flag pins, comments taken out of context, and evaluations of the better choice for company at your neighborhood bar become the measuring sticks with which we vote leaders of our country.
When supporters yell at political rallies "Kill him!" "He's a terrorist!" "Off with his head!", we don't simply cringe at the bastardization of Carroll's Queen of Hearts, but rather the permission that persons on the podium give in not responding.
"I do think there's something qualitatively different about violence and about accusations of being un-American, or that they would sell out their country...", she replied. Whether McCain could hear it or not, says Frum's weak rebuttal, doesn't matter. The other supporters in the room did. The press did. We heard it on the couch last night. With a rather destructive and shameful past of racial violence and political suppression, no American, running for an office or not, should take that lightly. And no politician should shirk responsibility or pretend as if eight years into this new millenium, that that burden somehow dissipated into the past.
It hasn't, and it has been the stuff of death threats and assassinations. On a lighter day, Curious George dolls festooned with Obama stickers in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Frum might do himself a service by being a little more critical about these ads instead of projecting the angst of a Republican campaign gone awry.
Conservative pundits seem utterly bewildered at McCain's tactics since "suspending" but not really suspending his campaign a couple of weeks ago.
If you need a stark reminder of the mayhem that deregulation can inflict on the market economy, click below to play a thirteen-minute mini-documentary entitled "Keating Economics: John McCain and the Making of a Financial Crisis".
The Keating Five refers to the five senators charged as co-conspirators in acting beyond appropriate measures of intervention for Charles Keating, former head of the defunct Lincoln Savings and Loan, whose bailout was estimated at over three billion dollars. Having demonstrated inappropriate financial ties (in the form of paid vacations and numerous political contributions), McCain and his four compatriots were accused of interference with the investigation by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board. Though eventually cleared of charges, McCain acknowledged that this scandal was one of the "worst mistakes" of his life.
Despite the public embarrassment and scrutiny paid to this case, McCain apparently has not changed his tune on deregulation, an element heavily peddled by the Keating Five in order to embolden corrupt financiers to use means to maximize their profits, even if lending behavior goes well beyond necessitated risk. Keating served his sentence in the midst of numerous appeals, and McCain paid back the money, and somehow all is well in the land of economics.
Why someone who will eventually lead the helm of our country would be willing to -- to use a self-professed recreational metaphor cited in his own memoirs -- gamble it all again is beyond me. Last time, the fraud only affected about 23,000 investment holders. (Never mind the extent to which investments and life savings were completely dried up.) To take such a reckless course would affect a far greater number, potentially up to 300 million of us.
You don't have enough age or excusable ignorance in you, Senator, to repeat your mistake over 13,000 times -- let alone a second time.
Before the reverse chronological live blogging of the vice presidential debate, a word from the Declare Yourself Campaign.
Concluding Comments:
I can credit Palin for appearing a little more competent under the stage lights, but that doesn't say much considering where she went since her RNC premiere. But I can certainly fault her, and will continue to fault her, for not studying hard enough on the fundamental issues so that she could better clarify how her and McCain intend to be mavericks. My impression is that the maverick came out tonight: not answering the questions.
I also don't appreciate that using the errors of the current Administration accounts for "finger-pointing." I don't think the Republicans would be as candid to their Democratic colleagues. But I suppose I'm a believer in the idea that if mistakes are made, they are intended to be both acknowledged and learned from. I'm also a believer in empty promises. I have lived under them as an American citizen for the past eight years. Go back to the Biden blockquote. Answer's there.
Maybe it was Pat Buchanan who said that in response to Palin, "If you don't like her, then you'll be pulling your hair out. If you like her, you love her now." As I recall, that might not help McCain on his numbers. If McCain has a shot, it's in his ability to return to straight talk. That means letting reporters on the plane. That means letting reporters get back on the bus. That means answering the questions directly and blaming yourselves, not the media, for failing to come up with workable answers.
Good luck. See you next week.
7:32pm
The debate is over.
7:29pm
Don't blast the media too soon. They are reporting you live.
7:23pm
Biden is busting up McCain on the kitchen table issues, and he's not letting up in the rebuttal. Includes one zinger in the civil liberties and social freedom issues. Good to hear it.
7:17pm
Sharp response to Cheney!
Seconded the blockquote from Huffington Post:
"Past is prologue, Gwen. The issue is how different is John McCain's policy going to be than George Bush's? I haven't heard anything yet. I haven't heard how his policy is going to be different on Iran than George Bush's. I haven't heard how his policy will be different with Israel than George Bush's, I haven't heard how his policy on Afghanistan will be different than George Bush's, I haven't heard how his policy in Pakistan will be different than George Bush's. It may be, but so far, it is the same as George Bush's, and you know where that policy has taken us. We will make significant change, so once again, we're the most respected nation in the world. That's what we're going to do."
7:16pm
She's had over an hour to get this right. I guess they don't teach you to give a straight answer in Wasilla.
7:10pm
Like, advocate drilling at the expenses of solar, wind, and natural gas? Like, telling government to get out of the way when they have a right to tell women what they can and can't do with their bodies? Like, denying the right of insurance, co-ownership, and economic benefits for gay couples and straight couples? Like, continuing to get drained and to have no investments or savings or security to show for it? Like, being told good luck with my health insurance? "Now, doggone it!" get out of my way, government?
Stop it.
7:06pm
If you know how to do all of those things in warfare, then why haven't you healed Iraq already?
6:55pm
Finger-pointing? Promises of reform? There is absolutely nothing wrong with demanding accountability. I think the American people need to know this, and -- there he goes -- Biden just said this. He hasn't heard and we haven't heard about the policies are any different than the failed Adminstration prior.
I hope Palin eventually gets back to this...
6:53pm
Yes. Answer the questions.
6:50pm
Good question again. "Our friends and allies have said, 'Talk, talk, talk.' Five Secretaries of State, three of them Republicans, have said 'Sit down.' After five years, Bush has finally sent over a high-ranking diplomat. Why is McCain the only one against this?"
6:47pm
It's NU-CLE-AR! And, seriously, "diplomacy not off the table" equals Obama is actually sitting across the table from Ahmedinejad?
6:44pm
"With all due respect, I didn't hear a plan in there." -- Joe Biden
6:42pm
Maybe this isn't fair, but it seems that Palin's responses come off as snark rather than thoughtful response. Biden is really keeping it temperate, but I don't blame him for laughing. It's like quoting two words together without at least dignifying the rest of the sentence. Palin is trying to snipe; it's not working. I think she looks personable on camera, but she's not hitting the facts hard enough.
6:39pm
"Marriage" is sacred. Got it. And I got that code word "tolerance." I can tolerate some perfume scents or sitting next to a college Republican, but that doesn't mean I want to work actively with them.
6:32pm
"If you don't understand what the cause is, then how can you come up with a solution?" To be fair, nobody was really saying anything definitive about alternative energies until gas crept up over four dollars a gallon.
6:29pm
Huh? Ms. Ifill is talking about the bankruptcy problem plaguing homeowners, not energy. (The next question just came up on climate change. Let's listen.)
6:26pm
An eleventh-hour conversion to reform and regulation does not ensure that you will continue to uphold those values. Are you trying to convince us, the American people, or are you trying to convince yourselves? I'm not sure.
6:21pm
I am a little concerned about the nominees' problem with not directly answering the moderator questions. This happened during the first presidential debate, and both Biden and Palin have gotten off to a rocky start. It's a double-edged sword. A voter might appreciate a little more honesty out of their politicians, but it is the use of keywords and code-talk that people are quick to respond to. Maybe it's an issue of limited political attention span?
6:13pm
Biden, great line about the increased tax on higher income: "Back where I come from, that's fairness!"
Governor Palin, it's your job to answer the questions. It is an indictment to your running mate's record to not answer for his problems, or at least you have to acknowledge it.
Countdown to the vice-presidential debate. Democratic running mate Senator Joe Biden takes on Republican Governor Sarah Palin on the stage at Washington University in Saint Louis in about 45 minutes.
After watching the first debate, I have been champing at the bit for this one for a few reasons. Since premiering with Obama at the Democratic National Convention, Biden has been unusually quiet on the campaign. He has made a couple of joint appearances with Obama, and he responded to some of the sexism toward Palin charges with little more than disgust at the "garbage" called lipstick on a pig. I sympathized because, like other interested citizens of democracy, I became increasingly tired of people wasting time on tripe instead of discussing the intricacies of the bailout or the progression of getting our troops home from Iraq. I would even settle for some "Gotcha!" journalism so long as it isn't an overt distraction from what's worth talking about in public and across the blogosphere.
Based on Palin's plunging favorability ratings back home and among the continental forty-eight, now is more important than ever for her to demonstrate real knowledge about economics, foreign policy, and alternative energy. No resting on laurels. No glitzy smiles or yup, y'know deference to staff members. (It didn't work for McCain, needing to confirm his number of houses.) Currently on "Countdown with Keith Olbermann," some footage of Palin during her governor campaign appearing well-spoken, knowledgeable, and determined to serve her state. Once the snow was brushed off of her shoulders, the strength turned toward little more than sex appeal. Yes, she is attractive. Yes, she is personable. But being pretty doesn't get the numbers crunched, the books balanced, the Terr-ur contained, and so forth.
I have yet to hear a McCain surrogate offer a defensible position on not just Palin's qualifications but her preparedness to lead. Considering that the bulk of their criticism for Obama had been based around inexperience, the McCain campaign offers a twisted conception of "good" experience versus "bad" experience. Intelligence and thoughtfulness are not seen as assets; those qualities are "too elite" for the American public. Being a Senator is inadequate; being a governor of a town smaller than the graduate student population at UA is highly qualified. Being in charge, but not delegating real responsibility to a National Guard is useful. Looking out from one's house to see Russia is a demonstration of foreign policy experience. Being an aerial wolf hunter is one unit shy of taking out bin Laden!
Let me be clear on something. Quite frankly, I don't want to set the bar low. I don't want to look at my president or my vice president or any official in Congress to be someone "I want to drink a beer with." I know my drinking buddies. Qualified for running the nation, no and double no! I don't want to relate to the people running the country. I have friends and colleagues that deserve that kind of attention. The lady went to college -- maybe four of them -- and she had a career in press journalism; sentence requisite.
Good luck, Mrs. Palin. You've already won over the red. Let's see what you can do with the rest of us.
Dani Lanz is a regional leader for the New Energy Army, a grassroots extension of the Pickens Plan. T. Boone Pickens, a successful oil prospector throughout much of his life, has now dedicated his time, resources, and philanthropy into promoting alternative clean energies as a means to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Dani contacted me through my blog and asked my help in promoting this initiative.
I believe in the Pickens Plan primarily because of not only the positive environmental impact that can come from using clean and sustainable energy resources, but also the great potential the Green Sector has for job creation. Having faced the prior record levels of unemployment in our country and being in desperate need for a new industry to promote job creation, technological advances, and some renewed competition in technology and the global sector, there is a real impetus to stop talking and to start making some serious strides toward innovation.
Click below if you want to get involved. 
There are two things you can do from this hot link. There's a short form. Filling that out aligns you as one of a desired goal of one million voices demanding that the Pickens Plan moves forward. Click "Submit," then click "Take Action." This takes you to a longer form. Fill in this information and the site will prepare an automatic petition letter for your local Senator and Congresspersons.
Finally, if you are a University of Arizona student and are interested in becoming a campus coordinator for the Pickens Plan, please contact Dani. Her e-mail address is dani.lanz@pickensplan.com; her phone number is (602) 410-7659. The ideal coordinator enjoys spreading the word about the Pickens Plan to friends and classmates, and likes recruiting people from popular sites like MySpace and Facebook. The position is in high demand; act now!
