Bill Maher is back, & better than ever

This morning I got a chance to watch the first new episode of Real Time With Bill Maher, and boy, did I miss him. Above is his opening monologue, and it was one of his better ones. He's an important liberal voice in the media, and I sure look forward to hearing his shows from now until the November election.

And the panel on his show Friday night was good as well, particularly NPR's Michelle Martin - who is no pushover sheep; she really added to the discussion, and best of all, she doesn't simply nod in agreement with all of Maher's points. Now here's hoping that this fall he doesn't bring back his most annoying and moronic guest of all, GOP pollster Frank Luntz. I enjoy hearing competing points of view, but Luntz is a GOP stooge masquerading as a mainstream poll.

However, my favorite segment from Maher's show last night was his infamous New Rules (as is often the case). Maher really took aim at critics (mostly Republican) of John Edwards, who really is the Democratic Party's most prominent, effective voice when it comes to poverty.

I'm not defending Edwards' actions in his personal life - it takes a special sort of dirt bag to cheat on your wife while she's suffering from cancer. But there was plenty of knee-jerk reaction to his adultery. I'd have Google money if I had a dollar every time I heard people, many of them Democrats, say in the wake of the outing of Edwards' affair, "Thank GOD he's not the nominee!" Well, I guess that's true, because the adulterating conservative rubes like Newt Gingrich, Dick Morris, etc. would have derided him mercilessly (and of course, hypocritically).

Of course, as Maher points out, McCain gets a pass for cheating on his first wife - it gets virtually NO discussion in our disgraceful corporate media. McCain's backers would no doubt shout, "But that was over 30 years ago!" Fair enough, but again, it still goes to character, just like the fact that he very publicly called his wife a "cunt" during one of his infamous tirades in the 1990s.

Don't get me wrong - I think politicians' private lives should stay private, but there should be no double standards, but there certainly has been considering the political sex scandals dating back to the Clinton Impeachment.

As Maher sagely points out, some of our most effective presidents in the last 100 years have strayed in their personal lives; FDR, Eisenhower, JFK, Clinton; while some of our most disgraceful presidents have, by all accounts, remained faithful; Carter, Nixon, Reagan, and most of all, President Bush 41 and our current National Embarrassment, President George W. Bush.

Maher's show is as much of a must-see as The Daily Show - it can't be missed. In fact, it's reason enough to get HBO, if you need one more.

Another brilliant McCain decision

Color me very unimpressed. Only McCain knows for sure why he chose Sarah Palin as his running mate, but for the life of me, I can't figure it. She adds nothing to the ticket - zero - for any undecided who was looking for a reason to vote for him.

Normally, I believe that running mates sway very few voters. However, Dick Cheney, the most powerful (and worst) vice president in U.S. history, has potentially forever changed how veeps will be viewed. Not only that, but McCain's age certainly has to be an issue at least in the back of some voters' minds. On Friday, the same day that Palin was announced, McCain turned 72 years old. As much as he wants to dismiss people's concerns about his age, it cannot and should not go away as a campaign issue, especially considering his choice of Palin.

I'm still laughing about his choice, actually. We've no bigger criticism from the right in the past six months than Obama's inexperience. Now, after all of that, McCain picks a running mate who's greatest claim to fame is being governor of Alaska for two years? Before that, she was mayor of a town with a population of about 7,000. Okay, so much for the experience argument.

On some levels, I do understand the choice of Palin, though. From what I've read so far, she's vehemently pro-life, pro-gun and pro drilling. McCain is still not trusted by the far right, and this pick was certainly an attempt to reach out to them. Too bad for those far right voters that Palin won't be signing the bills into law (or vetoing), nor setting policy in the administration.

As I type these words this morning, I'm watching Meet the Press, and all of the talking heads are buzzing about Palin. So, since Palin, like all Alaskans, is in favor of oil drilling, she's some sort of an energy expert? Gimme a break. The distortions about domestic drilling have just begun by Republicans and Big Oil, believe me.

An interview was just run on MTP where Palin is endlessly pimping the value of Alaskan oil, and she's babbling about how safe it is to drill there. Again, and I've been writing this for some time - two words: Exxon Valdez. And the Obama campaign should be clubbing the Republicans over the head with this issue. Not only did the Valdez oil spill happen, but Big Oil (in this case, ExxonMobile) has fought compensating the people of Alaska tooth and nail whose livelihoods the spill destroyed. Biden should go on the offensive and make her defend ExxonMobile against the people of Alaska when the vice presidential candidates debate. (And Obama should do the same thing.)

Furthermore, Palin is on record as saying during an interview on July 31, 2008 that she "doesn't know exactly what the vice president does," which is also pretty hilarious.

My thoughts on her is that she has many good qualities, but I could never consider voting for anyone even remotely politically like her. This is McCain's pathetic attempt to reach out to evangelical Christian voters, as well as disenchanted Hillary Clinton supporters. In a way, I view it as a slap in the face of Clinton's supporters. What does McCain think is going to happen - Hillary's supporters will just say, "Ooo, there's another woman we can vote for!"? Any, and I do mean any woman who really wanted Hillary to win the nomination couldn't possibly favor Palin - she's almost 180 degrees opposite of where Hillary is politically.

Bring on the GOP convention - it should be another interesting week politically, especially considering the backdrop will be another major hurricane - Gustav - hitting the lower 48 in the next few days. If the Obama campaign carefully words it, I would put out some ads highlighting the Bush administration's criminal incompetence during Hurricane Katrina, especially considering that Bush was busy celebrating McCain's birthday with him in Arizona when Katrina stormed ashore three years ago.

I pray and weep for the people on the Gulf Coast in the coming days, but I will really fear for all of us if McCain and Paulin win on Nov. 4.

Live blogging Obama's acceptance speech

Obama's just about to get started, and I have goosebumps. If I live another 60 years, God willing, this really will be a night to remember.

My first thought after Obama walked out - this guy is politically courageous, without question. It takes a great deal of moxie to decided to fill a stadium full of 75,000 people. Anyway, here we go. ...

An early favorite Obama quotation: "We are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look like the last eight."

Excellent decision by Obama to mention McCain's inexcusable voting record, where he has sided with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time. "I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to take a 10 percent chance on change," said Obama, after blasting McCain for thinking Bush has been correct 90 percent of the time. Brilliant.

A fist-pump (no, not a fist bump, Fox News, although what's wrong with that?) moment was when he tore into McCain for being associated with the thoroughly detestable Phil Gramm, the former Texas U.S. Senator who was one of the chief architects of McCain's economic policy. Gramm very publicly (and stupidly) called the recession we are in a "mental recession" and then had the temerity to call American a "nation of whiners."

Obama's mentioning and paying appropriate homage to President Clinton (actually, both Clintons) - certainly not a bad idea, especially considering the 23 million jobs that were created during his presidency.

I just heard Obama say for the second time, "I am my brother's keeper." What a concept - one that was lost on America back in the 1980s, with the advent of Reaganomics, and the greedy, selfish, survival of the fittest economic mentality.

I'm very happy to hear Obama mention that he'll cut taxes for over 90 percent of Americans. Next week, McCain will no doubt try to scare the living shit out of as many Americans as possible with tales of tax hikes for everyone.

I'm encouraged to hear Obama pay appropriate attention to America's energy problems - how Congress and Washington has "been talking about our addiction to foreign oil for 30 years." And, by the way, "McCain has been in Washington for 26 of them." A nice touch - painting his relative inexperience as an asset, not a liability, because that's exactly what it is. However, what about our infrastructure and mass transit? Still missing from Obama's campaign platform. Maybe the Amtrak-riding Biden will help him right that wrong.

10:39 - I love it that Obama just mentioned that repugnant bankruptcy law, which never should have been passed in the first place. An Obama administration will no doubt right that wrong in year one.

10:41 - Corporate tax loopholes - YES! It's about time someone not just talk about closing them, but actually do it. Put that one in the Clip & Save file.

10:42: "If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament to serve as the next commander in chief, that's a debate I'm ready to have!" That's just the right tone - not too over the top, but combative enough to let Americans know he means business.

10:43: Easily the highlight of his speech so far is talking about foreign policy and terrorism - the corporate media-generated McCain stronghold (which is a myth and a joke). My favorite: "John McCain has said he'll follow bin Laden to the gates of hell, but he won't even follow him to the cave where he lives." Take that, McSame.

10:45: Each and every tax-paying American should be outraged, and I do mean OUTRAGED, that Iraq has a $79 billion surplus, while we are swimming in red ink and debt. I can't wait to hear McCain defend that one.

Obama is clearly not going to sit back and wait for McCain to come to him - he's taking him on regarding foreign policy. "We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. Don't tell me we can't keep this country safe." Excellent, and another "it's about time."

10:47: "Patriotism has no party..." what a concept. Okay, THIS is his best line thus far. Funny, it's always Republicans and conservatives I hear questioning people's patriotism over political disagreements, not Democrats. This is an excellent word choice by Obama, who it was publicized earlier tonight wrote this speech himself. Impressive indeed.

10:50: I'm very pleased to hear Obama mention "our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters." If you're gay and you vote for McCain, kindly leave the planet, PLEASE.

10:54: "What the naysayers never understand is that this election is not about ME - it's about YOU." He's taking shots at Karl Rove's playbook, which hopefully will be on the political trash heap by November 5, but I'm not holding my breath. But I'm happy Obama's going on the offensive here.

~~~
Well, it's all over, and I came away very impressed (obviously) - it was an extraordinary performance. The critics said he couldn't do it - that he's nothing but a good talker, but he went out and kicked two legs out from under the platform of that argument.

I've been pretty derisive and harshly critical of the media coverage this week (and with good reason). However, MSNBC's Chris Matthews is doing everything but putting on an Obama campaign button. (And I'm not complaining.) Matthews is summing up his favorite lines from the speech thusly [this is Matthews talking]...

You take your opponent's best shot, and you throw it back at him. "Are we a nation of WHINERS?!?"

"If this is an ownership society, YOU OWN YOUR OWN FAILURES!"

"Was my upbringing a celebrity upbringing?!?"

And how dare you say this election is a test of patriotism, when we are all in this together? It was a great way of throwing back the other side's best shot, and saying it's full of crap! [Emphasis all by Chris Matthews]

As Olbermann pointed out, "there was no stone left unturned here," noting there were 29 specific policy proposals, and 19 different instances where Obama pointed out the inadequacies of the McCain campaign.

Next week will be a very interesting one in our political world. With the backdrop of Tropical Storm and soon-to-be Hurricane Gustav getting ready to enter the Gulf of Mexico, it gives Obama a chance to highlight Republican ineptitude in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. And of course, McCentury is having his Republican Convention, and tomorrow we get to find out who his running mate is. (Please, let it be Rudy 9iu1ian1, but I don't think even McCain could be that stupid.)

I'm not rooting for Gustav to hit the US to upstage the GOP Convention, to be sure, but another impending natural disaster raises plenty of questions about the competency of the openly anti-government GOP's ability to run a government that it's so determined to undermine, at least socially.

And, of course, when powerful hurricanes hit, it also raises important questions about global warming, which are certain to be raised again this coming week.

More to follow soon, including a recap of this past week - the good, the bad and the ugly (and there was plenty ugly about the Democratic Convention, most notably the coverage).

It's official - Obama's the one

I sincerely apologize for the paucity of posts this week - school started, and I've been sick as a dog. Of all the weeks for it to happen - school starting, and the Democratic National Convention. Sigh. Oh well, I'll more than make up for it over the next few days, and definitely this weekend. I have so much to blog about, thoughts are spilling out my ears.

Anyway, I just finished watching the Democrats do it right - officially nominating Barack Obama at 6:48 p.m. Eastern Time. The Dems did it in fine fashion - timing it out so that Hillary spoke for New York State, and she quickly moved that Obama be nominated by acclamation, which was accepted.

It was a pretty historic, sweet moment. After watching Hillary last night give the speech of her political career, and watching her totally classy, appropriate show of unity for the party, Obama's the one. For the life of me, I cannot fathom why any of her supporters would possibly consider voting for McSame, and I certainly hope that after listening and seeing her sincerity, a vast majority of her supporters do the right thing.

After seeing the pageantry, pomp and circumstance, I had two thoughts - thank GOD Obama got the nomination without a floor fight, and I love how Repube predictions of party strife were about as credible as a Rush Limbaugh rehab center.

I'm off to a fantasy football draft tonight, but I'm TiVo-ing all of the festivities, so I promise to have a little bit more later tonight, and plenty more tomorrow.

And it's Biden!

Obama has made a solid choice. Sen. Joe Biden may not have been the "sexiest" pick (in political terms), but choosing Biden has chosen a solid campaigner with plenty of foreign policy experience - Obama's chief weakness on his presidential résumé.

So far, I really have enjoyed so far is the McSame campaign's response - to run footage of Biden criticizing Obama during the primaries. My first thought was, "Is that all they've got?" Talk about taking pot shots. What's more, I don't think it will gain traction with most moderates and undecideds, either. Of course, the Republican faithful will eat it up, but big deal. Hey, this line of argument didn't work for the Democrats in 1980 after George H.W. Bush called Ronald Reagan's economic proposals "voodoo economics," and it won't work for McCain.

My chief concern is Biden's tone - I hope the Obama campaign softens his sharp edges; he has a tendency to sound bitter and angry. Note to Senator Biden - many most of us are angry, but anger is not what we need from the Democratic ticket - we need ideas.

I'm also worried about Hillary Clinton's supporters, too. In the end, once McCain hopefully gets exposed for the seriously flawed candidate he is, most of her supporters will support Obama. After all, Obama certainly is much more closely aligned with Clinton's political point of view than McCain is.

Despite not knowing who McCain's running mate is, I look forward to hearing Biden's debate skills in action during the vice presidential debate - he's a seasoned debater and will more than hold his own.

Anyway, I'm getting out of "Olympic" mode and into political mode with the convention just days away. More later. ...

McCain's desktop

I've got plenty to get to tonight, but before I do, I have a few funny things to share. I found this one on the Internet a few days ago, and I got a kick out of it. I find it nothing short of remarkable that a presidential candidate in the 21st century would publicly say that he doesn't "do the Internet." And John McCain is a guy that people are seriously considering voting for? For the life of me, I'll never understand why. Okay, for 20 percent of people who vote, I get it, but for anyone who's even remotely open-minded, I don't understand it. (There are 20 percent of close-minded people on both sides who will vote either Republican or Democrat, all the time and every time, but those aren't the people who win elections for candidates anyway.)

Our next president needn't be a genius who grasps every minute detail about the most complex of issues, but after eight years of a president who at times has taken pride in his lack of intellectual curiosity, we need a president who both has a handle on technology, and is willing to unleash its potential to solve some of our problems. (For those of you who feel I'm being too harsh on Bush, look up his commencement address to what I believe was Harvard some years back, when he joked about being a self-described "C" student. Way to blaze a path to mediocrity, Mr. President.)

Still mourning Leroi Moore

I'm having a hard time getting started on anything this morning as I sit here thinking about all of the Dave Matthews Band shows I've gone to (it's got to be over 20 by now - I stopped counting) and all the times I've enjoyed listening to the sweet sax and clarionet riffs of the late great Leroi Moore.

There are loads of tribute videos already up on YouTube, but this is one of the best I've found - a moving montage of some pretty great Moore riffs. I've always said that the band's music must be seen live to be appreciated, and Moore was one of the biggest reasons I felt that way. At about the 4:30 mark in the video above, my favorite part of the song Warehouse begins - Roi's sweet sax brings it home.

As Dave Matthews himself said at Staples Center last night, "It's always easier to leave than be left," Matthews told the crowd, according to Ambrosia Healy, the band's publicist. "We appreciate you all being here."

According to a story in the Charlottesville Daily Observer, last night at the show Dave went on to describe the first time he had ever heard Moore play:

Matthews went on to describe the first time he heard Moore play saxophone. While at a gig, Moore grew tired of standing, leaned against a cash register to rest and started to play.

"He played the most beautiful version of 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' I'd ever heard in my life," Matthews said. "That's the day I fell in love with him. I'm still in love with him."

So are the band's fans around the world, including me. So long, friend - you will be missed, but never forgotten.

McCain/Lieberman '08? Mac doesn't dare

(If he has any true aspirations of becoming president, at least.)

I've been reading lots and lots of stories and speculation that McSame is about to pick Joe Lieberman as his running mate. Don't believe it.

McCain has already taken great pains to court the conservative vote, and among the far right he is still viewed with a fair amount of skepticism. If he were to pick Lieberman, he would be doing nothing to further blunt that skepticism.

However, it's official - turncoat Joe will now speak at the Republican National Convention, official becoming this year's Zell Miller. What a difference eight years makes. I guess in a way I'm rooting for McCain to select Lieberman, because I could exorcise my demons of having voted for Lieberman in 2000 by voting against him now. (And it would also serve to steel my resolve to volunteer for the Obama campaign and to work that much harder in seeing McCain get defeated.)

Well, we won't have to wait much longer to see if we are all going to be treated to the John and Joe Warmonger Show this fall.

TMW discusses "that Obama fellow"

[Click image above for entire cartoon]

Another spot-on cartoon by Tom Tomorrow. I find it astounding, but not really surprising, that the same people who voted for George W. Bush TWICE (and I know many of them) are now talking about experience like it's an absolute must in anyone elected to the Oval Office. The blatant, disgraceful double standards amoung many conservatives will never, ever cease to amaze me.

Rest in peace, Leroi Moore...

It's pretty hard to describe what I'm feeling right now - I just read online that Leroi Moore, saxophonist for my favorite band in the whole wide world, The Dave Matthews Band, passed away earlier today from complications from his ATV accident some days ago.

What I've always loved about the band is that it's comprised of talented musicians, and they all bring something special, and irreplaceable, to the band. And those who know me best have heard me say on many occasions how much I love Moore's mellowing (and sometimes, appropriately wailin') saxophone solos. I still can't believe I'll never hear him play again.

Rest in peace, Leroi. It's impossible to thank you enough for all of the joy your music has brought millions of fans around the world over the years, and me personally, but I'll write it anyway - thanks for the memories and your passion for being the best you could be, and for sharing your talents with all of us. You will never, ever be forgotten, and your music will live on in our hearts forever.

Weekend Cartoons

Lots and lots to get to today and later on this evening, so I'll make this edition of weekend cartoons a little bit shorter than usual. On to the comics - hope you're enjoying the beautiful day if you're in the Philly area.

One of President's Bush's principle weaknesses, according to Ron Suskind's new book (that I'm currently reading), is that he judges world leaders like Putin according to "instinct" or his "gut feeling." I would certainly agree. The last time I checked, President Bush 1. Doesn't had a psychology degree, and 2. Even if he did, he took pride in his academic mediocrity.

See Above.

John Edwards is a special kind of dirt bag, just as many politicians were before him. (I've spent a lot of time criticizing scum bags like Newt Gingrich, Henry Hyde, Rush Limbaugh, and the laundry list of other GOP adulterers, so Edwards deserves the same level of criticism.) However, it takes a special level of scumminess to cheat on your wife as she's suffering from cancer. I seldom say this, but perhaps GOP talking heads like Limbaugh were more right than wrong about Edwards. Hell, even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

The right-wing spin machine certainly tried to make a lot of hay about Obama's comment last week that people should make sure their tires are properly inflated to save a little bit on gas. And McCain pathetically tried to paint it as Obama's energy policy. Arrrrrrnt! Wrong again, McLame. For one thing, the Department of Energy and AAA agree that it will help your mileage - between one and two miles per gallon on average, if you have your tires inflated to manufacture specs. And Senator McDrilly thinks massive new drilling will lower prices and save us money? Wrong again. This is another issue that warrants a separate post - coming soon. These distortions are in the same vein with Bush's Social Security, global warming and stem cell proposals - totally off base, and in many cases, wildly inaccurate.

No explanation needed.

The jealousy emanating from McCain about Obama's press makes me feel warm and fuzzy all over - the differences between the two are very stark, and one of the biggest is their charisma, or lack of it.

A-men!

China is just another example of Bush openly supporting a country with dictatorial practices, but yet he condemns other governments when it's politically convenient for him to do so. I guess it's a good thing for North Korea that their isn't any significant amounts of our oil under their soil.

Above is another inconvenient truth that our corporate media all-too-conveniently ignores. Anything that doesn't fit the American ideal, unless it's much too blatant to ignore, is simply brushed aside at worst or underreported at best.

Last night we watched Phelps win his 8th gold, and it was awfully sweet to see. He's one amazing competitor, and best of all, he's a class act.

Freakin' airlines - let 'em all go bankrupt - I couldn't care less. Hey, someone will offer flights if they all go out of business. I sure as hell won't support more governmental bailouts of corporations, and with an Obama administration, we likely won't see any. Last week, it was widely reported that 3/4 of the corporations based in America don't pay any taxes. And McCain wants to lower the corporate tax rate, all the while keeping free-trade policies? Tragically, he doesn't appear to be kidding. (Not to mention the skyrocketing deficit, currently at about $10 trillion.)

Brett Favre a Jet - I'm lovin' it - he's out of the NFC. Boo hoo for the Packers, but the team did what it had to do - as painful as it was. He never should have decided so quickly after last season to retire. If he had given it some time, he more than likely would still be in a Packer uni getting ready for the season.

An Obama administration will begin to adequately deal with global warming, and end the endless obfuscations and distortions of the Bush administration regarding this issue that affects us all. The debate really will be over once we get a president who doesn't have corporate interests and donors who all but demand that our president willfully ignore the science that's evident to impartial scientists.

This is another topic that is getting scant attention in our media, but certainly should. With the world population skyrocketing, it isn't going to get any better, anytime soon.

Ernest Borgnine tells us the meaning of life

This one needs no description - I got a good laugh out of it this morning. Finally, something on Fox & Friends worth watching. Enjoy, and pass it on. You know you want to.

Is this the new Gore invented the Internet?

(For the record, I seriously doubt it.)

Evidently, McCain is claiming he created the Do Not Call List. Kudos to the great people at Think Progress, who quickly discovered that it's a blatant lie:

This week, 16 months into his campaign, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) released his first policy paper on technology. Over at the Wonk Room, former Clinton administration privacy counselor Peter Swire notes that the paper gives McCain credit for “creating” the “Do Not Call” list. But the Federal Trade Commission chairman announced the list two years earlier:

McCAIN: 2003 – McCain led in creating the FTC’s ‘Do-Not-Call’ telemarketing registry to allow consumers to opt out of receiving telemarketing calls. And, when the law was challenged in court, McCain led the effort to ensure that it was upheld.

REALITY: FTC Chairman Tim Muris announced in October 2001 that the FTC was going to do the Do Not Call list. Yet somehow McCain magically caused the Do Not Call list in 2003. And, given the independent agency status of the FTC, it is a stretch to say that ‘McCain led the effort to ensure that it was upheld.

The paper also says that the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act “became law in 2000.” In fact, the law was enacted in 1998.

Hmm, let me guess, it's the "librual media" who is focusing on the McCain lies, right?

Actually, no - the media is currently obsessed with a plethora of issues that have zero effect on an overwhelming majority of Americans - John Edwards' sex life, crazy mothers who may or may not have killed their kids, spreading lies about the "benefits" of more domestic oil drilling, and, of course, Michael Phelps. Okay, I love Phelps, and it IS a great story, but even that coverage is wildly unfair and far-fetched - you'd think he's the only American competing in Bejing.

I gave up on our so-called media long ago, but that doesn't mean I'll ever stop criticizing it. The McCain mischaracterizations get virtually no press, if it weren't for the Internet. Just about every day, for some reason or another, I say to myself, Thank GOD for the Internet - it's all we have left. And the 'Net? McCain is very notably against Net Neutrality, too, which is beyond outrageous. More on that later today - there was a pretty important development on the Net Neutrality front this past week, but that warrants a separate post.

McCain's hyperbole this week downright scary

I've got plenty, and I do mean plenty, to say on the Russian/Georgia conflict when I have more time later on this evening. However, for now, I couldn't resist commenting on this absolutely ridiculous, absurd assertion made by McCain a few days ago.

So, let's get this straight, the conflict in Georgia is the most serious international crisis since the end of the Cold War? Hmmkay - so I guess the Rwandan genocide, the famine and slaughter in Somalia, the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, not to mention the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan don't qualify in McCain's mind. (I guess if he wasn't running for president when those things took place, they didn't qualify as a crisis in his mind.)

Seriously, this guy is either unwilling or unable to remember more than three months in the past, or he has absolutely no problem with telling blatant lies and wild distortions to the American people. You decide, but it's one or the other.

If anything, the War in Iraq definitely qualifies - we have created one of the biggest refugee crises in the world, to the tune of more than four million Iraqis, many of whom have left the country altogether.

At least this McCain staffer is only inept

I found this one this morning on Crooks and Liars, and I got a good laugh out of it. Evidently, the McCain campaign didn't get permission to use Jackson Browne's song Running on Empty in a campaign ad. I can only guess what the ad was about (more lies about offshore drilling, no doubt), but what morons. It's no doubt a bit of a stretch to blame McCain directly for something a staffer didn't bother to do, but if I'm McCain and I see/hear a new ad with this song, I'd probably say, "We have permission to use this song, right?"

Maybe at the end of this particular ad, it should have said, "I'm John McCain, and I didn't approve or even bother to listen to this message."

I'll resist the temptation (Okay, not really) to bust McCain's stones about using the song for another reason. I guess no one on his staff has a wicked sense of humor like yours truly, because if someone did, no doubt that person would have pointed out: "Um, maybe having a song called Running on Empty isn't such a bright idea for our guy; after all - he's only three years younger than the country of Iraq."

If this is the type of people he surrounds himself with now, Heaven help us if he wins in November.

The L.A. Times has more.

More later tonight

I'm traveling again this evening and won't be back until well after dinner, but I'm chomping at the bit to do some writing late tonight and early tomorrow morning, so please stop back. The last 24-48 hours have seen some remarkable development in our politics, even though if you're listening to our so-called media, you may not have caught some of these developments.

Anyway, I'll be back later.

Ron Suskind discusses impeachment on TDS

I enjoyed the above interview between Jon Stewart and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ron Suskind, whose new book, The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism, is soaring to the top of bestseller lists, and is creating a great deal of waves in Washington.

I'll have more on this book shortly - I'm about 50 pages in.

I can't believe it's been two years...

...since Vandra and I got married in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, but as I type this, it's just about two years to the hour. Where does the time go? I'll be back very late tonight or early tomorrow morning with more, as we are celebrating our anniversary tonight.

McCain's greatest hits gaffes

Talking Points Memo has put together an early edition of McCain's greatest hits on the campaign trail, and it's more than worth the five minutes to watch it - it's pretty hilarious.

My personal favorite lines in the vid above:

"...the Iraq-Pakistan border..."

"I will conduct a dispirited, er, spirited debate. Now it will be a forceful debate. I'm a proud conservative liber... Republican... conservative Republican! Hell-o! Easy there!" (How many Freudian slips can you have in one sentence?!?)

"If you want to pay more taxes, then I'm not your guy - Senator Obama is your man. Ah-heh-heh-heh." (That creepy laugh and smile always gives ME a good laugh - see another great example below.)

"Tell 'em to come back and git to work!" (He's referring to Congress, which is currently in recess [and yes, they shouldn't be], and how legislators should return to Capitol Hill to work on an energy policy. However, it's more than amusing that the presidential candidate who has missed more votes than any other presidential candidate since he declared his candidacy would implore Congress to "git to work." I guess he forgot that he's actually a U.S. Senator with responsibilities to his constituents.)

However, I can't believe TPM didn't include this one...

Anyway, it's still a pretty good round-up. I highly recommend you subscribe to TPM's videos on YouTube - they rarely disappoint. Do it by clicking Here.

By the time Nov. 4 gets here, there should be enough fodder for at least two more of these five-minute videos about McCain's gaffes. Let's just hope we don't have to endure four years of his incessant, gaffe-prone babbling. McCain looks and acts like Reagan late in his second term, and he's running for his first.

TMW tackles McCain's Obama bashing

[Click for the full cartoon]

This one is one of Tom Tomorrow's better comics - the insanely stupid Obama bashing that's taking place not only by the McCain campaign, but more importantly, by the right-wing media that's so omnipresent in our "media."

Exxon John, the video

The DNC has set up a Website and has also put out the above video detailing how John McCain is in bed with Big Oil. I know, I know - like that's news. Anyway, it's worth a look, and it's no secret that McCain has received a boatload of cash from Big Oil (including ExxonMobile) since he changed his position on outer continental shelf drilling.

The Sopranos, edited for TV

I promise I will get back to serious political stuff later tonight and tomorrow, but first I had to share this - it's hilarious. Just about anyone can appreciate the humor, but if you watched the Sopranos, you'll get it even more. Enjoy, and I'll be back later tonight and tomorrow morning with lots more. I'm wrapping up reading a few books I want to tell you about, as well as loads of stuff from this week in the world of... you guessed it, politics. Both candidates seem to be getting crazier by the minute, but one more markedly than the other - no mystery who I think that is.

President Bush's love child speaks!

I had this forwarded to me, and I couldn't stop laughing. Not only does this kid have down Bush's mannerisms and idiosyncrasies, but also his language choice. Anyway, I just had to share it - enjoy. I know the video itself isn't of the best quality, but it doesn't even need to be when the impersonation is this good.

TDS Bush v. Bush

No one nails it like Jon Stewart does, as I've written many times. The right only wishes it could be this funny - a great mixture of facts, humor and best of all, video footage from the past that the Bushes, McCain and Obama can't run from.

I find it particularly painful (and annoying, quite frankly) that Obama has "modified" his position somewhat on outer continental shelf drilling. I see his point, but seriously, does anyone not working for Big Oil think that it will be done in a completely environmentally safe way? And if the unthinkable happens, it's not a stretch to say that Big Oil will fight any judgment in the courts with its vast army of lawyers. In the end, U.S. citizens lose, and Big Oil wins, again. The only way this won't happen is if we stop them.

Lots more on energy and drilling coming up - I have plenty more to say about it (and a number of letters to write about it), along with some pretty good footage.

TMW chronicles stupidity in the USA

[Click the image to go to full comic]

The latest TMW takes a not-so-pleasant walk down memory lane in regard to how people were willing, weak-kneed robots since 9-11.

Tom Tomorrow offers up another save, implicit criticism of our Democratically controlled Congress, which for reasons I cannot comprehend, is unwilling to hold Bush and Cheney accountable for all they have wrought on America. I will go to my grave believing that were it not for the polarization and politicization of impeachment during the Clinton years, when we tried to kick a president out of office for getting a blowjob, Bush would have been kicked out of office years ago. But, since Republicans made impeachment a political tool for trying to get rid of a president they merely didn't like, Democrats are scared of being accused of doing the same thing. Meanwhile, impeachable crimes have been willfully committed at the highest levels of this administration since the first days Bush took office. It's a national disgrace. Speaking of which, Ron Suskind's new book offers some stark revelations about the Iraq War and selling the case to the American people. More on that in a bit.

Paris responds, & it's actually funny

I'm not an admirer of Paris Hilton by anyone's measure, but I had to post this, because it is pretty funny, I have to admit. Take that, McCain - that's what he gets for featuring her in one of his ads. I wonder if Senator McDrilly's handlers are actually smart enough to realize that they've just been pwned by one of the most annoying celebutantes in modern American history? Somehow, I doubt it.

This is probably the one and only time I'll ever write this, but Way to go, Paris. I was actually a fan for 1:49.

How to separate a woman from her money

I've got many, MANY serious political things to write about today, so since things will get relatively "heavy" later on, I thought I'd start today out with a laugh. Please don't read into this my being misogynistic, but this is pretty funny. And I thought terrestrial radio was dead - looks like a select few still know how to run a pretty funny morning show. This really is a textbook example of how to separate a woman from her money. I have to make my wife listen to this - love you, honey! ;-/

Weekend Cartoons

So many great cartoons to post from this past week, so little time to post them. I had a hard time choosing from the plethora of sage cartoons I ran across this week, but the ones below are the best of the best. I have limited bloggin' time today (we are on vacation in Washington State in the Olympic National Forest), so I won't offer up too many comments this week with them (below selected cartoons, as usual), but I will be tackling many of these subjects in separate posts to come later on this weekend and early next week.

Hope you are enjoying your weekend, wherever you are. Please check back soon - CMB is only going to be more and more active in the coming days and months - after all, we're down to 92 days before the election.

On to the cartoons. ...

I was listening to the Thom Hartmann show last week (I never miss it), and a man called in who was clearly a conservative, although he claimed he was an Independent, and he was whining and complaining about paying for "other people's healthcare." I never cease to be amazed by this "argument," when the facts are clearly on the side of universal healthcare. The bottom line is this (and Hartmann put it much more succinctly than I could ever hope to) - we pay for it either way. The uninsured use emergency rooms as personal doctors and they must receive care by law, and when the bills go unpaid, the insured are paying for them anyway.

There are so many other reasons for uni healthcare, and for the life of me I'll never really understand why conservatives fight it so much. Oh well - just like I hope to live to see us walk on Mars, I also hope I live to see that day when all Americans are covered.

Deregulation is another thing espoused by conservatives on a daily basis, and for the most part (with a few exceptions), it's the scourge of the working men and women of this country, as well as an excuse for corporate American to "police" itself (Read: Rape and pillage rate payers to pad a corporations' bottom lines). It will never stop cracking me up that Americans elect politicians who run on the idea that "government is part of the problem." NO - incompetent idiots running the government is the problem. There are too many real examples of this in the Bush administration to cover here, but I will in due time. Monica Goodling's testimony before Congress this week merely reaffirms the fact that the Bush administration has long valued ideology and loyalty over competency since day one. Heck of a job, Georgie, heck of a job.

Isn't this one the sad truth. Our government is broke. No, seriously, our government is broke, and no one really seems to get it. My theory is that during election years, when we decide who will lead the country for the next four years, we really do expect (and like) to be lied to. If either McCain or Obama got up in front of a crowd and said, "Our government is broke, and we are in serious, serious trouble," that candidate's electoral chances would be about as realistic as a Milli Vanilli comeback.

As I wrote earlier this week, I'm looking forward to the day that Sen. Ted Stevens is a former U.S. Senator. He's the dork of pork and also a vehement opponent to Net Neutrality. For those reasons alone (but there are many others), I'm looking forward to his demise.

This one speaks for itself.

As does this one. A majority of Americans aren't the only ones who are crying out for change in the wake of eight years of Bush - so are our allies, who have had to endure eight years of Cowboy diplomacy. Speaking of diplomacy, anyone remember Dubya's guarantee that there would be a peace settlement

This is one of the wittier posts I've seen about McCain and any comparisons to Reagan.

Sen. Claire McCaskill said on on TV last week, and I couldn't agree more - among the right-wing talking heads in the media, Obama will be criticized no matter what he does, and as if we needed any proof of that, think back to the coverage that Obama has received in the last few weeks, during the last leg of his overseas trip to the media coverage he's received since he's been back home.

Offshore drilling is a complete crock as a solution to our nation's energy problems, & I'm mighty steamed that Obama appears to be caving on this issue somewhat, as evidenced by his comments in recent days that maybe he would be open to the idea of OCS drilling as a compromise to Republicans.

I was listening to Thom Hartmann the other day talk about the Home Mortgage bailout bill, and his very educational discussion hammered home one thing - that the home mortgage crisis and our national debt are linked, more closer than probably just about every American is comfortable with.

In short, Hartmann mentioned how in the 1970s, the chairman of the Federal Reserve at the time, (President Carter had several, but I believe the one Hartmann was referencing was Paul Volcker) struck a deal with foreign governments to invest in the U.S. dollar, an in return the U.S. would give these governments a guaranteed return on their investments. Much of this money went into mortgages and housing.

Consequently, last week's bailout of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were largely, according to Hartmann, to send a signal to the foreign governments that their investiments in the U.S. dollar are safe. Also, according to Hartmann (and I've read this elsewhere), the housing "bailout" contains very little in the way of help for increasingly desperate homeowners. Howe very comforting. So, the U.S. Government assures its creditors that the U.S. will make good on its borrowing, and in the end, millions upon millions of homeowners continue to claw and fight, day-to-day, to keep their homes. Why am I not surprised.

By the way, I know I've written about him many times, but he's certainly worth mentioning again - I learn more from listening to Hartmann than I do listening to any other radio show, by far. And his show is not about the partisan bickering and ranting that characterizes so many shows (we all know who they are on the right). When I listen to Hartmann, I hear conflicting points of view debated; he regularly has on conservatives, and issues of the day are debated in a calm and reasonable manner. Try getting that on Hannity's or Rush's show. Good luck.

The lack of oversight and regulation by our government about our food supply should be very damning to each and every American, especially since the Bush administration rejected out of hand some proposals several years ago that would have installed tracking devices on food shipments, as well as extensive record keeping, so reports of food supply irregularities could easily and quickly reported and tracked. Evidently, it was too "onerous" for businesses.

Corporate profits and political influence trump the public interest, again. It's a song we've grown accustomed to hearing all too often during the Bush administration.

It's patently absurd and asinine that McCain would go on TV and accuse Obama of being a celebrity. Who has appeared more times on Meet the Press since 2000? That would be John McCain, but to hear him say it, he never gets any press or favorable publicity. Laughable.

It's even more absurd that this country could have a major candidate for president in 2008 who isn't intimately familiar with the Internet. This guy served in Vietnam, and technologically speaking, he acts like he lives there, too.

The luggage fees and carry-on situation on many flights are quickly becoming intolerable. Before long, the airlines are going to be charging for the flotation device your seat, the air you breathe, and the napkins that are handed out with the snacks.

A truer cartoon has never been written.

People ought to go to jail for the hiring practices of the Bush Justice Department. Will they? Don't hold your breath.

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