Sunday, September 28, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Barack Obama: Reforming Washington
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Scholars question Palin credentials
John McCain was aiming to make history with his pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and historians say he succeeded.
Presidential scholars say she appears to be the least experienced, least credentialed person to join a major-party ticket in the modern era.
So unconventional was McCain’s choice that it left students of the presidency literally “stunned,” in the words of Joel Goldstein, a St. Louis University law professor and scholar of the vice presidency. “Being governor of a small state for less than two years is not consistent with the normal criteria for determining who’s of presidential caliber,” said Goldstein.
“I think she is the most inexperienced person on a major-party ticket in modern history,” said presidential historian Matthew Dallek.
That includes Spiro T. Agnew, Richard Nixon’s first vice president, who was governor of a medium-sized state, Maryland, for two years, and before that, executive of suburban Baltimore County, the expansive jurisdiction that borders and exceeds in population the city of Baltimore.
It also includes George H.W. Bush’s vice president, Indiana Sen. Dan Quayle, who had served in the House and Senate for 12 years before taking office. And it also includes New York Rep. Geraldine Ferraro, who served three terms in the House before Walter Mondale chose her in 1984 as the first female candidate on a major-party ticket.
“It would be one thing if she had only been governor for a year and a half, but prior to that she had not had major experience in public life,” Dallek said of Palin. “The fact that he would have to go to somebody who is clearly unqualified to be president makes Obama look like an elder statesman.”
And Alaska is a much smaller state than Illinois, the political base of Barack Obama, whom Republicans have repeatedly criticized for being inexperienced, having served nearly four years in the U.S. Senate after eight in the Illinois state Senate.
“Not to belittle Alaska, but it’s different than the basket of issues you deal with in big, dynamic states,” Dallek said.
Palin has no experience in national office. Before becoming governor in December 2006, she served as a council member and mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, which had a population of slightly more than 5,000 during her time in office.
Brad Blakeman, who ran the 1988 Republican convention for GOP nominee George H.W. Bush, turned the experience question on its head, suggesting that accomplishments in office mean more than time accrued.
“Here’s a governor who may have served two years, but her accomplishments are worth eight,” said Blakeman, citing Palin's work as governor on ethics reform and an Alaska oil pipeline. “She’s got as much experience for being vice president as Barack does to be president.”
But other students of presidential history said that in choosing Palin as his running mate, McCain has reached back to a time when few actually seriously contended that the vice president should be demonstrably prepared to assume the presidency from Day One.
If elected vice president, Palin would appear to have the least amount of experience in federal office or as a governor since John W. Kern, Democrat William Jennings Bryan’s 1908 running mate, who had served for four years in the Indiana state Senate and then four more as city solicitor of Indianapolis. The Democratic ticket lost to Republican standard-bearer William Howard Taft and running mate James S. Sherman by an Electoral College spread of 321-162.
More conventionally in modern times, running mates could boast decades of experience in Washington, from ballot box winners like Dick Cheney, Al Gore, the elder Bush and Mondale to also-rans such as Jack Kemp, Lloyd Bentsen and Joseph I. Lieberman.
These super-credentialed candidates were sometimes chosen, like Joe Biden, to shore up the résumés of candidates with little or no time in Washington, such as Jimmy Carter (Mondale), Bill Clinton (Gore) and Michael Dukakis (Bentsen).
Palin, on the other hand, is a total “wild card,” said Stanford historian David Kennedy.
“If she had been around for two terms as governor — or been a senator — it would have been an incredible choice,” said historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. “Who else could he have found who appealed to the conservative base … and as someone who was a reformer?”
That’s not to say Palin will be a dud on the campaign trail.
But out-of-the-box picks in recent years have not usually worked out too well for the top of the ticket. Consider independent candidate Ross Perot’s 1992 running mate, former Navy Adm. James Stockdale, who famously asked at the vice presidential debate with Gore and Quayle, “Who am I? Why am I here?”
“He took the wind out of Perot’s sails, and Perot could have done even better” than the 19 percent he garnered, Dallek said.
A bad running mate pick can even put a successful presidential ticket in question. The 1988 Bush-Quayle victory over Dukakis and Bentsen came in spite of Quayle’s frequent campaign trail gaffes and questions about his military service in the Vietnam era and other controversies. Bush handlers largely relegated Quayle to small-town audiences that would attract little media attention.
“Quayle — it threw off the momentum for some weeks,” said Goodwin. “One has to hope for McCain’s sake that [Palin] has been fully vetted.”
“The first thing that hits me,” said Stephen Hess of the Brookings Institution, "is that it suggests that John McCain is a gambler. This is a high-roller decision.”
“The next thing you have to ask yourself: Is it worrisome to have a gambler in the Oval Office? That’s an important question," he said, “perhaps more important than anything else today.”
UPDATE: After reading this article, the McCain campaign issued the following statement: "The authors quote four scholars attacking Gov. Palin's fitness for the office of vice president. Among them, David Kennedy is a maxed-out Obama donor, Joel Goldstein is also an Obama donor, and Doris Kearns Goodwin has donated exclusively to Democrats this cycle. Finally, Matthew Dallek is a former speech writer for Dick Gephardt. This is not a story about scholars questioning Gov. Palin's credentials so much as partisan Democrats who would find a reason to disqualify or discount any nominee put forward by Sen. McCain."
In response to the statement, David Kennedy wrote to Politico that he has contributed the maximum to Obama, but believes that does not compromise his objectivity as a historian. Goodwin said she has contributed to no political candidates in the 2008 election cycle and has not done so for more than a decade, if not longer. Goldstein said he has given $250 to Obama but rejected suggestions he can not be objective. Dallek is a former Gephardt speechwriter - but noted that he also is the author of a well-received book about Ronald Reagan's first election as California governor.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Real Time With Bill Maher - September 10 2008
As for the rest of the show, Fund, who is an insufferable ass, pretty much ruined the panel discussion, though it was somewhat satisfying watching him be called a liar. Plus, there was one classic moment involving Fund. It came when Salman Rushdie said that Osama bin Laden had hoped to topple the Saudi government and Fund said that bin Laden was right, the government should have been toppled
Real Time Opening Segment Sept. 12, 2008
Real Time: Panel Discussion Part 1 Sept. 12, 2008
Real Time: Panel Discussion Part 2 Sept. 12, 2008
Real Time: Panel Discussion Part 3 Sept. 12, 2008
Real Time: Panel Discussion Part 4 Sept. 12, 2008
Real Time New Rules Sept. 12, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
McCain Issues A Challenge: ‘Nobody Can Name’ An Issue I Have Flip-Flopped On
click here for full story
See our full document here. Steve Benen has compiled another flip-flop list here.
On ABC’s The View today, host Joy Behar complained to John McCain that “you used to be more of the Maverick, then you sort of turned.” “In what way?” McCain asked. “You became much more lockstep, I think, with your party, with George Bush’s policies,” Behar answered, adding, “I don’t see the old John McCain. … I understand why — you want to get elected.” McCain issued this challenge in his defense:
I’ve been through this litany before, where I say, “ok, what specific area have I quote changed?” Nobody can name it. … I am the same person and I have the same principles.
McCain argued that on issues — “whether it be spending, whether it be climate change, whether it be the conduct of the war in Iraq, whether it be torture of prisoners” — he is “the same guy.” Watch it:
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Help Spread The Truth About McCain !
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Alaska National Guard General Changes Story; Palin Promotes
Written by Brandon Friedman
When John McCain announced Sarah Palin as his running mate, the campaign immediately began touting her experience--both foreign and domestic--as "commander-in-chief" of the Alaska National Guard. But the reality of the situation--that Palin actually had little to do with the National Guard quickly became apparent. In fact, the idea was undercut severely by comments made by the actual commander of the Alaska National Guard--its Adjutant General, Major General Craig Campbell. When that happened, it eventually turned into somewhat of a national joke, culminating in the humiliation of McCain/Palin campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds on CNN when he tried to promote Palin’s "foreign policy" experience during the Republican National Convention.
It was getting bad for the McCain campaign because they couldn’t afford to lose the "experience" argument to the Obama campaign.
But suddenly--and strangely--the commander of the Alaska National Guard, Major General Campbell, changed his story. By the end of the convention, he was praising Palin’s experience, talking on TV about how she had taken control of Alaska’s National Guard operations and how she was a "great" leader.
Interestingly enough, Palin promoted him with his third star--to the rank of Lieutenant General--only three days later.
Essentially, Campbell had been unhelpful to the campaign at the very least. But all of a sudden he became one of Palin’s biggest supporters. And he was then promoted to be one of the two highest-ranking state National Guard officials in the country. See if this timeline is as eyebrow-raising to you as it is to me:
Sunday 31 August 2008: Major General Craig Campbell, Adjutant General of the Alaska National Guard, tells the AP that:
he and Palin play no role in national defense activities, even when they involve the Alaska National Guard. The entire operation is under federal control, and the governor is not briefed on situations.
The quote is used against Palin throughout the media for several days.
Wednesday 3 September 2008: Major General Craig Campbell does significantly more damage to Palin’s credibility in this piece in the Boston Globe:
And while the Alaska National Guard operates a launch site for a US anti-missile system at Fort Greely, about 100 miles south of Fairbanks, the Alaskan governor is not in the site's chain of command and has no authority over its operations, according to Maj. Gen. Craig E. Campbell, the adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard who commands the roughly 3,800 state militia members.
"Our National Guard is basically just like any National Guard," said Maj. Gen. Craig E. Campbell, the adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard who commands the roughly 3,800 state militia members. Campbell, a native of Springfield, Mass., said by telephone. "You could call [Adjutant General] Joe Carter in Massachusetts and he would say he is organized the same way."
Nor are the recent deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan by the Alaska National Guard under Palin's purview, despite assertions this week by McCain campaign spokesman Tucker Bounds to that effect. "She is head of the National Guard that has been deployed overseas," Bounds said. "That's foreign policy experience."
Campbell also said that Palin has authority over the National Guard's domestic missions -- such as fighting wildfires and rescuing stranded residents, but that she has a limited role in determining how the forces are trained or equipped.
About 75 percent of the Guard's budget, he said, is the purview of the National Guard Bureau in Washington, which is responsible for ensuring the Guard is prepared to be called up by the president in a time of war. Her primary role, he said, is in recruiting National Guard volunteers.
Campbell said he has met with Palin about once a month, but communicates with her by phone and email more frequently. Earlier this week, he noted, she ordered the Air National Guard to fly a planeload of supplies to hurricane victims in the Gulf Coast.
"She is very much engaged in what we are doing and she asks a lot of questions," Campbell said. "Maybe not the most engaged, but definitely engaged.
She is very much involved in ensuring that I am recruiting enough people.
Friday 5 September 2008: Only two days later, Campbell’s story has completely flip-flopped. Now he’s suddenly praising Palin, appearing on Fox News to gush about what a superb commander-in-chief she is:
"I'll tell you, in the last few days, I've been watching the press, and I've not been very pleased with what I've been seeing about the chastising of the National Guard by having it diminished by the insinuation that a commander-in-chief of the National Guard doesn't really control the military. The National Guard has 500,000 people in it around this great country, serving in states and overseas. National Guards are state military forces run by governors, and Sarah Palin does it great."
Here’s the video:
Monday 8 September: After the weekend--and after his complimentary remarks--Major General Campbell is promoted within the Alaska National Guard to the rank of Lieutenant General. The promotion is not recognized outside the state of Alaska, but he is promoted with his third star, nonetheless. Here is the release:
For Immediate Release 7 September 2008 No. 08-153 Alaska National Guard Adjutant General Promoted
September 8, 2008, Camp Denali , Alaska – Before a formation of Alaska Air and Army National Guard members, the Alaska National Guard's top leader was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General yesterday in front of the Guard's headquarters building on Fort Richardson .
Lt. Gen. ( Alaska ) Craig E. Campbell, the adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard and commissioner of the Department of Military & Veterans Affairs, received his third star, signifying Governor Sarah Palin's support of the Guard and her commitment to reinforcing the cooperation between federal and state military assets.
Palin took the opportunity to promote Campbell ahead of any pending emergency that may occur with the upcoming fall storm season. This allows Alaska to have more of a say in times of state disasters.
"This is about Alaskans serving Alaskans. The promotion is a statement that the Alaska National Guard is the state military force responsible for responding to state issues, at the direction of the Governor," Governor Palin said. "The decision to promote the Adjutant General to Lieutenant General is based on a fundamental states'-rights stance, for which Alaska has a strong historical position."
This issue gained momentum with governors following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when the Department of Defense pushed a change in federal law that authorized the President of the United States to mobilize National Guard members to federal service in response to emergencies, without the consent of the governor.
The National Governors Association and the Adjutants General Association of the United States were unanimously opposed to this change, and the following year Congress reversed the law. Concurrently, Alaska Statutes were changed to permit the governor to promote the Adjutant General to the state rank of Lieutenant General specifically for state service.
Campbell was pinned with his third star by his daughter Amanda Rauckhorst and wife, Anne Marie Campbell. Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell was also in attendance and spoke on behalf of Gov. Palin about the importance of the Alaska National Guard in securing the state.
"The action of promoting the Adjutant General to Lieutenant General ( Alaska ) in one way serves to strengthen the concept that the federal and state forces are co-equal partners in providing support to the state of Alaska ," Campbell said. "It is also a positive statement by Governor Palin that the Adjutant General, as a senior state official and cabinet member of a state entity, correctly relates to the senior appointed federal officials in Alaska , when supporting the citizens of this great state."
Campbell will only wear the rank of Lieutenant General when he is in service to the state. His federal rank will remain Major General. This state promotion carries no financial benefit to Campbell . When serving in state status, the Adjutant General receives commissioner pay and benefits. When serving in active-duty status (federal), the Adjutant General is paid under the federally recognized rank of Major General.
Campbell now joins the rank of the adjutant general from the Texas National Guard, which currently has a lieutenant general as its top officer. Georgia and Maryland have also had adjutants general as lieutenants general in the past.
If nothing else, this series of events raises serious questions about what’s going on. And the media would be wise to probe this further.
UPDATE: The link to the press release seems to have changed from what I received via email last night. Not sure what's up with that. CORRECTION: The link wasn't changed. I had the wrong link. I've now updated the diary with the correct link.
UPDATE II: Whoah. Read this. The plot really thickens now.
Also available at VetVoice
The Truth About John McCains " RECORD "
-IMMIGRATION: he wrote the bill granting amnesty to illegal immigrants (co-sponsored by Ted Kennedy)
-SOCIAL SECURITY: he voted to give your social security money to illegal immigrants
-TAXES: he voted against the Bush tax cuts multiple times (he has since flip-flopped and has campaigned as a lifelong tax-cutter)
-RHETORIC: he routinely engages in Democratic class warfare against big companies in America, particularly the “evil” drug companies who research cures to debilitating diseases for a profit
-ECONOMY: as recently as December 2007 he admitted “he does not know the economy very well” and needed to get better at it
-1ST AMENDMENT: he wrote the McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill that was declared to be an unconstitutional infringement of the 1st Amendment (co-sponsored by ultra-liberal Democrat Russ Feingold)
-2ND AMENDMENT: he was called the “worst 2nd amendment candidate” by the president of the NRA
-EQUAL PROTECTION: lifelong supporter of affirmative action
-ENERGY TAX: wrote a bill (co-sponsored by his buddy Lieberman) imposing a massive tax on energy which, according to the Department of Energy, would drastically raise the price of gasoline and put 300,000 Americans out of work
-GLOBAL WARMING: supports radical global warming legislation which involved him voting with every Democrat; think only America is responsible to take action, not other superpowers
-JUDGES: he joined forces with Democrats (Gang of 14) to block the Senate Republican’s attempt to confirm conservative, strict constructionist judges; also said Alito was too conservative for his liking
-WAR ON TERROR: fought with Hillary Clinton to demand that terrorists be given a full American trial
-GAY MARRIAGE: he joined liberals to fight against a federal marriage amendment supporting the institution of traditional marriage
-CHRISTIANS: campaigning in 2000, he famously described Christian leaders as “agents of intolerance”
-PRO-LIFE: he filed an amicus brief against pro-life advocates in Wisconsin
-BI-PARTISANSHIP: he met with leading Democrats in 2004 to discuss the possibility of being John Kerry’s Vice-President; publicly considered leaving the Republican Party in 2001 after he lost the primary
-INTELLECT: finished 894 out of 899 in his class in the Naval Academy.
-PROFESSIONAL ETHICS: ringleader of the infamous Keating 5 ethical scandal which cost US tax payers $160 billion (Google it)
-PERSONAL ETHICS: McCain cheated on his first wife after she had a severe accident that left her partially disabled. He then divorced her and married his multi-millionaire mistress, whose daddy bought McCain a spot in the Congress
Monday, September 8, 2008
Sarah Palin's 9 Most Disturbing Beliefs
By AlterNet Staff, AlterNet.
http://www.alternet.org/story/97907/sarah_palin%2527s_9_most_disturbing_beliefs/?page=entire
It's time to shift the discussion about Palin to what really matters: her far-right views on the issues.
Let's forget for a moment that Sarah Palin likes to kill moose, has lots of children and was once voted the second-prettiest lady in Alaska; that's all part of the gusher of sensationalist, but not particularly substantive, news that has dominated coverage of the Alaska governor's addition to the Republican ticket.
Before the next news cycle brings the shocking information that Palin was actually impregnated by Bigfoot, we need to shift the discussion to what really matters about her in the context of the White House: her dangerous views.
AlterNet has compiled a list of Palin's most shocking beliefs, ranging from her positions on the economy to her views on reproductive rights. This list has nothing to do with her personal life, her looks or her gender. It's the stuff that voters need to know: what Sarah Palin really believes.
1. Despite problems at home, Sarah Palin does not believe in giving teenagers information about sex.
The McCain campaign is spinning Bristol Palin's pregnancy as a neat, shiny example of the unbreakable bonds of family. But while Bristol's actions and choices should not be attacked, teen pregnancy is no cause for celebration, either. To state the very obvious, it is not a good thing when teenagers have unprotected sex. And U.S. teens appear to have unprotected sex a lot: The United States has some of the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the industrialized world, and 1 in 4 American teen girls has an STI.
Like John McCain, Palin's approach to the problems of teen pregnancy and STI transmission is abstinence-only education. In a 2006 questionnaire by the conservative group Eagle Forum, Palin stated: "Explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support." Presumably the programs that do find Palin's support are ones that focus on abstinence and only mention contraceptives to talk about their supposed shortcomings.
But someone already tried that. For eight years the Bush administration has thrown its heft behind Title V, a federal program that provides states with funding for abstinence-based sex education. In 2007 an expansive study proved abstinence-until-marriage education does not delay teen sexual activity.
If Palin is elected, she will continue to throw money at a policy that does little besides ensure that a larger number of sexually active teens lack information about how to avoid pregnancy and STIs.
2. Sarah Palin believes the U.S. Army is on a mission from God.
In June, Palin gave a speech at the Wasilla Assembly of God, her former church, in which she exhorted ministry students to pray for American soldiers in Iraq. "Our national leaders are sending them out on a task that is from God," she told them. "That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that plan is God's plan."
Palin talked about her son, Track, an infantryman in the U.S. Army:
When he turned 18 right before he enlisted, he had to get his first tattoo. And I'm like -- I don't think that's real cool, son. Until he showed me what it was and I thought, oh he did something right, 'cause on his calf, he has a big ol' Jesus fish!
Holy war, holy warriors.
3. Sarah Palin believes in punishing rape victims.
Palin thinks that rape victims should be forced to bear the child of their rapist. She believes this so strongly that she would oppose abortion even if her own daughter were raped.
The Huffington Post reports: "Granting exceptions only if the mother's life was in danger, Palin said that when it came to her daughter, 'I would choose life.'
At the time, her daughter was 14 years old. Moreover, Alaska's rape rate was an abysmal 2.2 times above the national average, and 25 percent of all rapes resulted in unwanted pregnancies.
If Palin's own daughter was only 14 when she made that statement, does she think any girl of reproductive age is old enough to have a child? Girls are hitting puberty earlier and earlier. What if the rape victim were only 10? 9? 8?
Palin also opposes abortion in cases of incest and would grant an exception only if childbirth would result in the mother's death. She has not made any statements yet about whether she believes a 10-year-old who was raped by her father would be able to actually raise the child once it was born. Perhaps Palin doesn't care.
4. Who's really not in favor of clean water? Sarah Palin.
As The Hill reports, "Governor Palin has ... opposed a crucial clean water initiative."
Alaska's KTUU explains: "It is against the law for the governor to officially advocate for or against a ballot measure; however, Palin took what she calls 'personal privilege' to discuss one of this year's most contentious initiatives."
Palin said, "Let me take my governor's hat off just for a minute here and tell you, personally, Prop. 4 -- I vote no on that." And what is that? A state initiative that would have banned metal mines from discharging pollution into salmon streams.
She also approved legislation that let oil and gas companies nearly triple the amount of toxic waste they can dump into Cook Inlet, an important fishery. It looks like being an avid outdoorsperson doesn't mean Palin really has the health of watersheds, natural resources or our environment at heart.
5. Sarah Palin calls herself a reformer, but on earmarks and the "Bridge to Nowhere," she is a hypocrite.
Palin says she's a "conservative Republican" who is "a firm believer in free market capitalism." She's running as an anti-tax crusader, and she did make deep cuts to Alaska's budget.
So, one would assume she is no borrow-and-spend conservative like George W., right?
Well, there was the time when she served as the mayor of the tiny town of Wasilla, Alaska. According to the Associated Press, "Palin hired a lobbyist and traveled to Washington annually to support earmarks for the town totaling $27 million." You'd think that $27 mil in taxpayers' funds would be enough scratch for a town with a population of 8,000, but you'd be wrong. According to Politico, Palinthen "racked up nearly $20 million in long-term debt as mayor of the tiny town of Wasilla -- that amounts to $3,000 per resident."
Then there's her current stint as Alaska governor, during which her appetite for federal pork spending has been on clear display. The Associated Press reported, "In her two years as governor, Alaska has requested nearly $750 million in special federal spending, by far the largest per-capita request in the nation." While Palin notes she rejected plans to build a $398 million bridge from Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents and an airport, that opposition came only after the plan was ridiculed nationally as a "Bridge to Nowhere."
6. Sarah Palin believes creationism should be taught in schools.
Until somebody digs up the remnants of a T. rex with an ill-fated caveman dangling from its jaws, the scientific community, along with most of the American public, will be at peace with the theory of evolution. But this isn't true of everyone. More than 80 years after the Scopes "Monkey" trial, there are people -- and politicians -- who do not believe in evolution and lobby for creationism to be taught in schools.
Palin is one of those politicians. When Palin ran for governor, part of her platform called for teaching schoolchildren creationism alongside evolution. Although she did not push hard for this position after she was elected governor, Palin has let her views on evolution be known on many occasions. According to the Anchorage Daily News, Palin stated, "Teach both. You know, don't be afraid of information. Healthy debate is so important, and it's so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both."
Palin further argued, "It's OK to let kids know that there are theories out there. They gain information just by being in a discussion."
Not when those "theories" are being presented as valid alternatives to a set of principles that most scientists have ascribed to for more than a century.
7. Sarah Palin supports offshore drilling everywhere, even if it doesn't solve our energy problems.
If McCain was hoping to salvage any part of his credibility with environmentalists, he threw that chance out the window by adding Palin to his ticket. Palin is in favor of offshore drilling and drilling in the ecologically sensitive Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
The Miami Herald reported:
The Alaska governor has said that she has tried to persuade McCain to agree with her on drilling in the wildlife refuge. She also has said that she was happy that he changed his position over the summer and now supports offshore oil drilling.
As if that weren't bad enough, in her speech this week at the Republican National Convention, she said, "Our opponents say, again and again, that drilling will not solve all of America's energy problems -- as if we all didn't know that already." Huh. I guess drilling even when it won't help is better than working on renewable energy sources, as Palin also vetoed money for a wind energy project.
8. Sarah Palin loves oil and nuclear power.
Aside from her "drill here, drill there, drill everywhere" approach to our energy crisis, the only other things we know about Palin's energy policy, especially given her Bush-like love of avoiding the press, comes from her acceptance speech:
Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we're going to lay more pipelines, build more nuclear plants, create jobs with clean coal and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal and other alternative sources.
Nuclear power plants. Interesting. As folks look for alternative fuel sources (and again, Palin loves oil first and foremost so her commitment to any alternative energy source is suspect at best), nuclear power is enjoying a return to vogue. But here's the problem: Even the U.S. government's own nuclear agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, thinks an atomic renaissance is a bad idea:
Delivered by one of America's most notoriously docile agencies, the NRC's warning essentially says: that all cost estimates for new nuclear reactors -- and all licensing and construction schedules -- are completely up for grabs and have no reliable basis in fact. Thus any comparisons between future atomic reactors and renewable technologies are moot at best.
Not to mention all the other problems with nuclear energy, such as how to dispose of nuclear waste and the possibility of a catastrophic meltdown, to name a couple. Palin has no background with nuclear energy and shows no evidence of having looked into the science behind it or the dangers that come with it.
Also, it's time for Palin to drop another Bush-like tendency: Governor, the word is pronounced "new-clear."
9. Sarah Palin doesn't think much of community activism; she'd much rather play insider political games.
In her Republican convention speech, Palin slammed Barack Obama's early political work, saying, "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except you have actual responsibilities." Palin's put-down of grassroots workers, often unpaid or low-paid, demeaned an American tradition of neighbors helping neighbors, according to Deepak Bhargava, executive director of the Center for Community Change. But more revealing is Palin's apparent lack of experience in community change and local volunteer efforts, during her years in Alaska before becoming governor.
Scores of press accounts of her early years as mayor of Wasilla omit any mention of such work. Instead, they note as mayor, and in the intervening years before running for governor, Palin gravitated to those with power, money or influence. She worked to enlarge Wasilla's Wal-Mart and build a sports center (that went over budget in an eminent domain dispute), and she hired a Washington lobbyist, directed a political fundraising committee for the state's senior U.S. senator, Republican Ted Stevens, now under indictment for corruption, and steered $22 million in federal aid to her town. While some of her early community work was undoubtedly centered on her church, perhaps this comment by a blog reader best sums up Palin's political opportunism:
So community organizers (aren't) responsible? Or caring? Or doing anything important. What a terrible insult to the greatest community organizer of all time, Jesus Christ.
CONTACT MSNBC ABOUT OLBERMANN AND MATTHEWS
Sunday, September 7, 2008
There Is Hope ! 49,000 New Voters in VA
That said, one should take note that the state of Virginia is one of those states
that does not require nor record party affiliation. So will these newly registered voters go democratic in the fall?
Its a quandry, however I think it is a real possibility.
The Obama campaign needs to register at least 150,000 new voters before the fall election.
If the average age of new voters are between 18 - 25 years old, they will probably be voting for Obama.
We need to win my fellow readers.
Our country can not live nor can it thrive if we allow
four or eight or possibly even twelve to sixteen more years of criminal and neglectful Republican rule.
If the thought of that last statement scares you even half as much as it scares me, now is the time to act.
I call every Democrat to action.
It is our election to win and ours to lose.
If you really care about the things that are to important to you and to your families,
it is time to get up off your rumps and Do Something About It.
We can not depend on others to do for us what we can do for ourselves.
Have a spare 5.00 dollars? ( no one really does ),
but if you can DONATE to the Obama campaign.
Have a few spares hours? ( again, tough I know ),
VOLUNTEER at your local Democratic Headquarters and help register those new voters.
Lick those envelopes, make those calls but please do not sit idly by and wait for Obama to accomplish this all on his own.
Need to find out if you are registered or want to vote from abroad?
You can get all the answers you need HERE
Want to volunteer? There are many things you can do.
Please do not feel as if you do not count or have nothing to contribute.
You are important and you are vital to our fight.
We need YOU ! You can find out all you need to know about what you can do HERE
I hope everyone understands the impoortance of this election.
If in this time of a slow economy you can not help with your pocketbook,
then please help with your voice and your time.
Those last two elements are as important as money.
God Bless everyone who has read this and
God Bless America and Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden.
Peggy Noonan, Mike Murphy, Chuck Todd "MSNBC Open Mic "
TRANSCRIPT:
CHUCK TODD: Mike Murphy, lots of free advice, we'll see if Steve Schmidt and the boys were watching. We'll find out on your blackberry. Tonight voters will get their chance to hear from Sarah Palin and she will get the chance to show voters she's the right woman for the job Up next, one man who's already convinced and he'll us why Gov. Jon Huntsman.
(cut away)
PEGGY NOONAN: Yeah.
MIKE MURPHY: You know, because I come out of the blue swing state governor world: Engler, Whitman, Tommy Thompson, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush. I mean, these guys -- this is how you win a Texas race, just run it up. And it's not gonna work. And --
PEGGY NOONAN: It's over.
MIKE MURPHY: Still McCain can give a version of the Lieberman speech to do himself some good.
CHUCK TODD: I also think the Palin pick is insulting to Kay Bailey Hutchinson, too.
PEGGY NOONAN: Saw Kay this morning.
CHUCK TODD: Yeah, she's never looked comfortable about this --
MIKE MURPHY: They're all bummed out.
CHUCK TODD: Yeah, I mean is she really the most qualified woman they could have turned to?
PEGGY NOONAN: The most qualified? No! I think they went for this -- excuse me-- political bullshit about narratives --
CHUCK TODD: Yeah they went to a narrative.
MIKE MURPHY: I totally agree.
PEGGY NOONAN: Every time the Republicans do that, because that's not where they live and it's not what they're good at, they blow it.
MIKE MURPHY: You know what's really the worst thing about it? The greatness of McCain is no cynicism, and this is cynical.
CHUCK TODD: This is cynical, and as you called it, gimmicky.
MIKE MURPHY: Yeah.
Hello Friends, I now have time to become politically active. Feel free to share this with any and all. Thank you for reading this!
An Alaskan Woman’s Perspective on Sarah Palin
I am Mary A., age 55, from Fairbanks, Alaska. I wish to voice my strong disapproval of the choice of Sarah Palin as the Republican Vice-Presidential Candidate. I expressed total disbelief when McCain selected her, as did most people in my life. Never in my wildest dreams had I considered her to be even remotely qualified to be our nation’s vice-president, much less our president should that ever be the unfortunate case. I have chosen to write down my thoughts and concerns and to share them with other voters in our state and nation. I want people to know what an Alaskan resident thinks about this choice and why. I have lived here for 30 years, and yes, my family enjoys many activities in the outdoors and in the wilderness. We own guns, we hunt, we fish,we enjoy moose burgers and caribou and salmon and halibut. We pick blueberries and cranberries and harvest gardens. We have sailed in Prince William Sound, the Gulf of Alaska and in Southeast Alaska. We have hiked and kayaked in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and other wilderness areas. We are active citizens, always vote, have raised two children here, and are proud to live in Alaska. But Governor Palin would never be our choice vice-president.
Yes, she was a mayor of a small town in Alaska with a small population of under 7000 during her tenure. She was elected with less than 700 total votes. Now she is the governor of our state which has less than 700,000 total residents, and has been so for only 18 months. She was elected with a total of 114,697 votes. Slightly over 239,000 people voted, the lowest voter turnout since 1990. You know, 17 cities in the U.S. have populations greater than the entire state of Alaska! Being Governor of Alaska is like being mayor of a U.S. city where only 239,000 people voted! She’s been learning about government in a small isolated town, and in a state with a small, and isolated population. A small population base makes for a small and often less selective candidate pool. Her experience from a national and world perspective truly is miniscule. It does not make her ready to be a major player on the world stage.
The more I have learned about this candidate since her selection, the more concerned I have become, both about what she is and what she isn’t. Many of my friends, both male and female, have echoed my concerns. Her characterization of her few government accomplishments is disengenuous to put it lightly. She has reaped the benefit of state coffers that are nicely in the black simply due to the state’s royalty share of oil profits. Outrageous world oil prices have given us a budget surplus, not policies from Sarah. She has not had to balance the budget or overcome deficits. She has actually increased our budget considerably. She has not cut our taxes. Alaska does not even have an income tax, nor state sales taxes. What taxes is she talking about? She was definitely for the “Bridge to No Where” until the very last minute and Alaska has kept the money allocated for that project. She has been an active supporter of other earmark funds as well. I am concerned about her national misrepresentation of herself.
During the last year and a half our state has been getting to know this new governor. Her relatively high approval rating may well be due to the “honeymoon” effect of her short tenure to date. That “honeymoon” was starting to end, however, since even before this VP nomination. Questions had already been raised by Alaskans about Palin and her professionalism and judgment. Topics that were already newsworthy concerns even before this selection include: unprofessional and disrespectful talk show behavior, rocky relationships with other elected women in government, and actions against government employees based on personal vendettas. However, most people were still giving her the benefit of the doubt, or, having been so busy living and working, they had paid little serious attention to state government or to Sarah. Plus, of course, when state coffers are overflowing and both permanent fund and energy assistance checks are in the mail (totaling over $3000 per person), constituent approval is understandable.
I do not ever want to be for or against a candidate simply because of age, race, religion, or gender. I do not want to vote for a candidate simply because I can “relate” to him/her. I can relate to many of the parents of my children’s friends. I can relate to women who have been soccer moms, hockey moms, homework moms, PTA moms, orchestra moms,…… as I have been. I can relate to the women in my thirteen year old book group. I can relate to people who enjoy singing, and dancing, and music. I can relate to my coworkers and colleagues. I can relate to these people in my life, but I don’t want to select any of them as my vice-president or president simply because I can “relate” to them. So far Sarah has not let me know what she truly thinks and believes about important issues. During her speeches, she simply replays what she said at her convention speech. I can only assume that she wants my vote based on gender, her religious views, her less than honest portrayal of her accomplishments as small town mayor and governor of a state with a small population, and because she can deliver caustic jabs at her opponents.
Despite her assertion that she is for honest and transparent government, she is apparently not willing to be transparent as a vice-presidential nominee. She has not yet answered any serious queries by the press so that I can get to know more about her other than Alaskan issues and “scandals”, her family matters, as well as her views on abortion, sex education and contraception. I want her to answer serious questions so that I can learn her views on important issues and about why she believes she is prepared for this position. The fact that she has hired a lawyer in regards to “Troopergate” makes me wonder how upfront she wants to be with this ethics investigation. Or, does she just want to stall this inquiry until after the election?
I want any candidate I vote for to be one of the best thinkers and decision-makers our country has to offer. I want them to be someone who can be respectful, who can unify, who can consider all sides of an issue, who can listen, who can evaluate, who can learn from the past. I want a candidate who can be respected both from within our country and from without. I now know that Sarah went to five colleges and then graduated with a degree in journalism and a minor in political science. I would like to know more about her background as a serious student and a deep thinker. If her grades were good or if she participated in university level organizations, this would be one way for me to know about her intellect. I have not yet seen a release of her GPA and most colleges where she attended can’t remember much about her. I want to hear her speak intelligently and “off the cuff” on many issues before I know whether she has the intellect for national office.
So far, most of her comments and her demeanor in the national spotlight have been sarcastic and divisive. This is not what I want in a national leader. She has been praised for becoming McCain’s “pit bull” and talking tough. But you know, if she can talk tough, she needs to truly be tough. Why isn’t she talking to the press on her own? Why is she able to dish it out yet is afraid to take it? The fact that McCain’s campaign says she needs to get ready to talk to the press, that she needs to prepare, and that the press needs to treat her with “deference” only shows me that she’s not ready to be on the national stage on her own. This is not what I want in my vice-president or possible president. She needs to be ready to face some truly formidable characters in many different regions of the world, with very high stakes at risk. How can she be ready for those sorts of confrontations if she can’t even “face” her own country’s press? How can she say she is for transparency in government if she refuses to open herself up to the press? Whether or not she has been under scrutiny for her personal life, she can’t hide from the press. She accepted this scrutiny when she accepted the nomination. Believe me, even more intense scrutiny comes with the job, even more than when interviewing for the job. How can I continue to interview her for this job, which is what I believe a campaign is about, if she won’t even answer my questions via “the press”? If she is elected, will she also feel that she has no obligation to speak with the press? Scary thought. As a woman, I want a female candidate to believe in herself and to feel confident and comfortable talking to the press. She is letting the McCain campaign treat her as a “fragile flower” even as they use her as their “pitbull”. A strong and confident woman would insist on talking to the press for herself. If she can’t handle this scrutiny, or this pressure, what will she do in a national crisis?
The more I learn about Sarah Pallin, the more I believe that she has not put “Country First” when she accepted this nomination. Sarah has not been honest about her accomplishments. She has not been realistic about her educational preparation. She has not been realistic or transparent about her knowledge and preparation for dealing with the national economy. She has not been realistic or transparent about her knowledge and preparation for dealing with world affairs. She is not ready to face her own country’s press much less world leaders and the world press. She is not prepared for this important national and world position and SHE SHOULD KNOW THIS! Is she flattered by the nomination and unable to see beyond her ego that she is unqualified? Is she complicit in realizing that she is not qualified yet is simply being used as bait for the religiously conservative fundamental and female votes? My conclusion is that Sarah is in this for Sarah. She’s willing to sell our country out for the glory of the nomination and for the chance at being a Republican window dressing. She won’t be getting my vote!