Progress Now Action

I was outside Channel 4 tonight as part of the Udall cheering squad. (I was wearing my dorky DAV hat and wearing a Vets for Udall shirt with some of the Iraq vets in the campaign.)

At first, the crowd was about equal in size, but about when Udall showed up, a mob of mid-teen kids and their parents showed up with the usual Pro-Bob signs. One teenie girl decided she needed to debate Veterans issues with me, in a nice, perky way.

After the usual partisan banter, I asked her where she lived. "California - we all came out to help Bob Schaffer win!"

The whole mob of nice, clean safe teenagers and their parents were trucked in by Schaffer and the GOP to be in the crowd. Conservative Carpetbagger Bob Schaffer can't even muster enough support to have COLORADO volunteers at his own rallies.

There's sad, and there's Bob Schaffer sad.

It might not get published, so I wanted to share it here.....

In response to Senator McCain's latest round of inscrutable advertising, I've decided that I would like to do an ad in the same vein as "Joe the Plumber." I'd call it "Dan the Iraq Vet."

I met Dan the Iraq Vet at the Stand Down for Homeless Vets in Colorado Springs last week. Dan was an Army Infantryman from Fort Carson, and had 7 years of service, which included deployments to Iraq and other countries in the Middle and Far East. He also had some time at West Point, carefully herding clueless Army Cadets thru weapons instruction.

Dan the Vet wanted an Army Career, but he was wounded in Iraq, and suffered severe shrapnel wounds to his head and neck. The Army patched him up, but wasted no time hustling him out with crappy transition classes, no Purple Heart and no mentorship to transition him to civilian life. That was 2005 or 2006...Dan has trouble remembering.

Dan the Iraq Vet lives in a tiny apartment now in Colorado Springs, but he only recently managed to land a minimum wage job that could help pay for that. Before that, he was either living on his buddies' couch, or out of his car. Dan the Iraq Vet drinks a lot - before he goes to work, when he tries to sleep, and when he's with his friends. It's the only way he can keep going day-to-day without being angry or depressed.

He finally has a disability rating from the VA, but he still hasn't managed to get an ID card for treatment, or attend any therapy sessions....they're during the day, which would force him to choose between attending his session and getting fired, or missing his session and keeping his job.

In short, Dan the Iraq Vet got screwed over by his country. When he answered the call to defend our nation, our Constitution and our way of life, he did not hesitate. He took the toughest and most dangerous job the Army had for him, and he very nearly paid the ultimate price for his patriotism.

In my ad, I would tell Dan the Iraq Vet's story, and I would say what Senator Obama would do for him. Senator Obama will make sure the VA takes care of Dan the Vet, including PTSD therapy and proper medical attention for his wounds.

That's because Sen. Obama took his job on the Senate Veteran Affairs committee seriously, and he's consistently voted for funding for the VA, especially mental health counseling. Because of this, he has an 80% rating from Disabled American Veterans.

Senator McCain would tell him to go see a private doctor who might figure out what's wrong, and he'd use a "plastic card" to pay for it - IF the doctor takes the card.

And if the doctor doesn't want to take the "Plastic Card", then he can wait in line for the limited service the VA would have under McCain's idea of a budget. See, Senator McCain always votes for the least amount of money for the VA, like he has every year since 2004. Dan the Iraq Vet wouldn't get extra counseling for his mental illnesses, because Senator McCain fought against funding that program.

Senator McCain, the 100% disabled vet from his Vietnam service and his torture as a POW, will not help vets from Iraq and Afghanistan. Because he wouldn't help vets from ANY conflict his entire term in Congress. That is why he has a 20% rating from Disabled American Veterans. It is his record, and it is shameful.

And that's why he does not deserve to be the President of the United States. And if people would see an ad about Dan the Iraq Vet, and if America would talk about him, and remember his sacrifices and troubles, they will not vote for Senator McCain.

October 20, 2008
McCain camp looking for way to win without Colorado
Posted: 06:40 PM ET

From CNN Chief National Correspondent John King

(CNN) -- The McCain campaign is looking at an Electoral College strategy heading into the final two weeks that has virtually no room for error and depends heavily on a dramatic comeback in Pennsylvania, which hasn't backed a Republican for president in 20 years.

While Iowa, New Mexico and Colorado are still officially listed as McCain target states, two top strategists and advisers tell CNN that the situation in those states looks increasingly bleak. Iowa and New Mexico always have been viewed as difficult races, but the similar assessment of Colorado reflects a dramatic shift for a campaign that had long counted on the state.

"Gone," was the word one top McCain insider used to describe those three states.

This source said while the polls in Colorado remain close, he and most others in the operation were of the opinion that the Obama campaign and its allies have a far superior ground/turnout operation and "most of us have a hard time counting on Colorado."

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/20/mccain-camp-looking-for-way-to-win-without-colorado/

Not that it's a must-attend event by any means, but the candidate turnout for the Colorado United Veterans Council was pretty astounding by any political junkie's standards. And all for 3 minutes of speaking time!

In attendance at the VFW Post 9644 were the following Senate/Congressional Candidates:
Ed Perlmutter
Mark Udall
Jarid Polis
Scott Starin
Hal Bidlack
Betsy Markey
Doug Lamborn
Hang Eng
Mike Coffmann
George Lilly (CD1)
John Lerew

And pretty much everyone else running for State House and Senate Offices. Candidates made their case, 3 minutes at a time, starting at 830-ish and went until noon.

With this lineup, who were the No-Shows? Candidates with crummy Veterans' records, of course:

Bob Schaffer
Marilyn Musgrave
Diane Degette

Testicular Fortitude Moment - Scott Starin telling a room full of disabled vets that he wants to stop building veterans hospitals.

Comment most heard: "I know it's been said already, but I want to take you for your service.." I guess they need it for their press releases.

Political Position most take: Don't raid the State Veterans Trust Fund!

With the exception of some brave NeoCons who were making fun of the Dem candidates in the corner behind a female vet Obama supporter, this was a respectful, interesting and calm meeting of candidates. Hopefully, more folks will go next year!

GEN Clark will be in Aurora, Pueblo and Colorado Springs for one day on Oct. 22nd. I'm working on getting the details for the So. Colorado events, but he'll be in Aurora at the Retired Enlisted Association #3, 1599 Dayton Street at 9am. The event is open to the public.

You know that GEN is not afraid to pull any punches when it comes to talking about the GOP, and esp on John McCain. This should be a delightful event as he speaks his mind!

OK, I've always been pissed that the mainstream media ALWAYS lets McCain get away with his "I have a perfect voting record on Vets issues." Whenever McCain is confronted over his horrible record on veterans' issues, his usual response is "Not it's not" and the reporter meekly shrugs their head and moves on to the next bogus question.

Seeing how well that's worked for the GOP candidate for President, Gov Palin now is saying her guilt is "resting after an extended squawk " (per CBS News)

"In a brief conference call with press reported by the Anchorage Daily News, Palin said, "I'm very, very pleased to be cleared of any legal wrongdoing … any hint of any kind of unethical activity there. Very pleased to be cleared of any of that."

And, as usual, the mainstream media rolled over obediently and moved on to the next question.

Folks, we need to make sure that our own little part of the 4th Estate that despite how many times the candidates deny there's a dead parrot in the cage, they need to follow up and report the truth.

The statement we need to repost on every news website is this:

"The report affirmed that, as governor, she had the constitutional right to hire and fire at will, and therefore her termination of Monegan was lawful.

However, the report found that Palin, her husband Todd, and her subordinates used pressure and intimidation to try to force the firing of Michael Wooten, beginning before her swearing-in ceremony took place, and therefore broke the law.

The investigation said she violated Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act, which states, "… each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust."

GET BUSY!!!

I'm sure many of the Palin-hating blog posters here on ProgressNow are dancing behind your keyboards with last night's release of a report that found Gov. Palin guilty of abusing her power in office. And while in the short term the McCain campaign will be busy lying and weaseling their away around this development, in the long term THEY are the ones who are dancing with joy.

Why? Now they have an excuse to cut Gov Palin loose, choose a more competent running mate (prob Sen. Dole of NC), bash the media, and allow GOV Palin a political retreat that will solidify her future Right-Wing Nutjob career.

Here's what will happen - the McCain campaign will send out the usual Media-bashing "it's a partisan stunt" press release crap over the weekend, but will also loudly proclaim that Sen McCain will be having a closed-door meeting with Gov. Ditz on Sunday, prob before or during the talk shows,

Gov Palin will call a lonely press conference, and declare that due to the partisan bias of the liberal left-wing media, she has been unfairly declared guilty of crime she did not commit. However, she'll be stepping down from the campaign for the good of the Republican Party, and she'll return to Alaska to fight for God and Country and restore her good name in politics. For the remainder of the campaign, she remains the darling of the mainstream media, and attacks the Dems and Obama with impunity, all the while repeating the usual crap about the left-wing liberal media attacking her reputation.

Meanwhile, Libby Dole (losing large in the NC Senate race, and prob with no chance to come back) will declare her willingness to sacrifice her Senate race for the good of the country, and proudly accept the VP slot. She then goes on the road as the "GOP Experience Dream Team," nicely bashes Obama and Biden, and brings back the Uber-Right of party, and attempts to seduce independent and undecided voters with the Dark Side of the Republican Force.

Unlikely? Worked for Tricky Dick Nixon....

Unlike the McCain campaign's ridiculous attempt to link Obama to Ayers, there are plenty of skeletons in the Really Old Senator's Closet that deserve speculation. I could see the Keating 5 coming out, but this morning news broke that McCain was deeply tied to Iran-Contra:

McCain linked to private group in Iran-Contra case
By PETE YOST - 7 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) -- GOP presidential nominee John McCain has past connections to a private group that supplied aid to guerrillas seeking to overthrow the leftist government of Nicaragua in the Iran-Contra affair.

McCain's ties are facing renewed scrutiny after his campaign criticized Barack Obama for his link to a former radical who engaged in violent acts 40 years ago.

The U.S. Council for World Freedom was part of an international organization linked to former Nazi collaborators and ultra-right-wing death squads in Central America. The group was dedicated to stamping out communism around the globe.

The council's founder, retired Army Maj. Gen. John Singlaub, said McCain became associated with the organization in the early 1980s as McCain was launching his political career in Arizona. Singlaub said McCain was a supporter but not an active member in the group.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jzQtw1kATj1xCqPcAmwgCKDtNpDQD93LGSJG0

So, yes, if the Right wants to start digging around in the Past, let 'em. They might not like what turns up.

Pop Quiz - which of the two presidential candidates has a Gay Chief Of Staff?

1) Sen. Barack Obama or
2) Sen. John McCain,

Surprise! The correct answer is #2!!!!

http://blog.blowfish.com/culture/greta-christina-why-i-do-care-about-john-mccains-gay-chief-of-staff/851

Now, overall, this should be a non-issue. If the Republicans truly believed their own rhetoric about qualifications being the ultimate arbitrator of hiring practices, it should be widely celebrated that John McCain is progressive enough to ignore the hate and bigotry in his own party to have Mike Buse be in such an important position.

But it's not that simple. Because Senator Creepy Old Guy was so heavily involved in writing his Party's platform, he can be called ANYTHING but progressive. The GOP is running this election on an engine of hate and intolerance that would make the Klan stand up and cheer.

So, how can he, in any good conscience, rely on this man to be his Chief of Staff?

There's two answers:

1) John McCain hates gays in all forms with every fiber of his personal and political being, but is more than willing to surrender those views to surround himself with those people to help him win an election.

2) He genuinely gives a crap about anyone sexual orientation as long as they can do their job, but is willing to surrender that view in order to appease his Party and win an election.

Is one any better than the other?

I've been following the posts and rants on this fine website for the last two weeks, and the one constant in all of the post is the willingness to repeat the same STUPID bumper sticker mentality that says "No Welfare for Wall Street!"

I've tried to dispassionately tell you all you're focusing on a stupid bumper sticker talking point, and you're missing the big issue. So I guess I need to go with an brutal force insult instead of informed debate:

You're all being a bunch of webpost DUMBASSES!

You guys can do all the cut 'n paste web stories you want, and you still don't get the jist of the fiscal meltdown we're facing. It has nothing to do with the money blown by investment firms on dumbass gambles. None of the money discussed in the bailout is going to those companies.

This is a CREDIT Crisis - and since the American Economy now runs almost exclusively on credit, any freeze in that process will melt down our economy and at least put us in a deep recession, if not a real depression.

The real issue is this - banks and other similar institutions now have so much bad debt that they no longer have the money to lend to each other, much less to other customers. (This is Federal law that they're required to have so much in assets at any one time.) In the case of banks, a large portion of those assets are mortgage-based, and thanks to the housing bubble, they aren't worth as much as they say....even though most of those mortgages are being paid.

When banks stop lending to each other to fuel the complex financial instruments that our economy uses now, they then stop lending to everyone else. (The interest rate they charge each other when they do has shot up to the point that no bank can afford the loan.)

It starts with the so-so-credit, most of which is the American Consumer and his staggering load of consumer debt. It keeps going and engulfs small and medium business which use credit, rather than cash to buy inventory, ship goods, make payroll, etc.

History shows that when this happens, a broad economic crisis can follow, for instance, the Great Depression and Japan's decade-long recession in the 1990s.

"If nothing is done, the potential for these markets to seize up in a big way is definitely there," said Frederic S. Mishkin, an economist at Columbia University who was a Federal Reserve governor until last month. "When you look at the history of these crises, when things spin out of control, the cost to fix it later goes up exponentially."

Which goes back to my original point - al the posts and dumbass commentary is centered around the mistaken idea that all of the money proposed for the bailout is going to the investment and brokerage firms that bought the subprime mortgages as corporate bonds from these banks in trouble.

THAT"S NOT WHAT THE CURRENT BAILOUT BILL IS ABOUT!!! It's a combination of buying some of the mortgage debt, and providing some cash to the banks so they can walk the line of keeping so much in assets AND lend money in the form of credit to keep the economy going.

Now, over 200 non-Wall Street economists say this in-between approach is a bad idea....they signed a petition started by a University of Chicago Professor that stated the current bailout bill sucked. Their statement is either give it all to the banks to get them back on track, or buy all the bad mortgage debt.

With either approach, the debate NEEDS to be how the American taxpayer can get a chunk of these banks, and make we get our money back once the crisis is resolved.

But none of the commentary posted on this website does this -- AND IT NEEDS TO STOP!!

David Letterman Skewers John McCain over his Campaign Suspension:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjkCrfylq-E&eurl=http://cajunboyinthecity.blogspot.com/2008/09/letterman-rips-old-asshole-mccain-new.html

Folks, when ALAN GREENSPAN says your tax policy is complete bunk, you know you have a credibility problem:

From the AP:

"Alan Greenspan says the country can't afford tax cuts of the magnitude proposed by Republican presidential contender John McCain -- at least not without a corresponding reduction in government spending.

"Unless we cut spending, no," the former Federal Reserve chairman said Friday when asked about McCain's proposed tax cuts, pegged in some estimates at $3.3 trillion."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080913/ap_on_el_pr/mccain;_ylt=AscNL0YhuWZ66QyP8u7PRp6s0NUE

Can we hope that the Obama folks are working over the weekend on a new spot to highlight this....

As with any politician who abuses his power to protect himself, it looks like all the skeletons in John McCain's closet are animating to life, and shuffling into the limelight.

On OpenLeft.com, Matt Stoller is reporting that a former McCain staffer is blowing the whistle on John McCain's coverup of his wife's drug habit. Based on his testimony, Cindy McCain was also engaged in SMUGGLING Drugs using a diplomatic passport obtained for her by his office.

"Today, Tom Gosinski, her former employee and a close friend of the McCain's, came out on the record about the entire sordid episode. And it appears that McCain used his Senate staff and resources to cover up Cindy's drug use, and potentially to prevent the Drug Enforcement Agency from investigating his wife's theft of illegal prescription drugs. John McCain certainly used his political connections to begin a campaign of intimidation against Gosinski, because at the time - this was after the Keating 5 scandal - another major scandal would have derailed his career."

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do;jsessionid=D909326D07A9634C6099B6C92E2706C2?diaryId=8147

So, to use the McCain narrative about the campaign - if this is about judgement and character, then Sen McCain is not ready to lead.

let's see where this goes...

From The Nation Magazine:

The McCain-Follieri Love Boat = The Maverick and the Celebrity Con Man

John McCain has been hammering rival Barack Obama for being little more than a vapid "celebrity" and "elitist." But The Nation has obtained a photo revealing just how star-struck a straight-talking maverick can become when offered the chance to celebrate his birthday aboard a yacht filled with celebrities--even if one of those celebrity types turns out to be an A-list con man.

The photograph substantiates reports that in late August, 2006, McCain celebrated his 70th birthday aboard a yacht, the Celine Ashley, rented by A-list con man Raffaello Follieri and his then-movie star girlfriend Anne Hathaway. In the current edition of Vanity Fair, Michael Schnayerson reported that Follieri rented the Celine Ashley for the month of August 2006. Montenegro's leading daily newspaper, Vijesti, earlier reported that during McCain's visit in 2006 he celebrated with birthday cocktails and sweets aboard the Celine Ashley yacht. In the photograph, taken in Montenegro at the end of August, McCain is shown boarding the yacht ramp towards the smiling Follieri and Hathaway. Just ahead of McCain and shaking hands with Follieri appears to be Rick Davis--McCain's top aide and now co-manager of his campaign, who accompanied him on the trip and advised the government of Montenegro. A few months after McCain's yacht party, Follieri strengthened his ties to McCain's orbit by retaining Rick Davis's well-connected Washington lobbying firm, Davis Manafort, and offering Davis both an investment deal and help in securing the Catholic vote for McCain's presidential bid.

Follieri, who posed as Vatican chief financial officer in order to win friends and investments, pleaded guilty Wednesday in a Manhattan district court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, eight counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering. As part of the plea, Follieri admitted to misappropriating at least $2.4 million of investor money and redirecting it to foreign personal bank accounts that were disguised as business accounts.

At the time he met McCain, Follieri was adept at collecting friends in powerful places and using those connections to attract investments in projects which later turned out to be bogus. His ties to Bill Clinton and his entourage have been well-documented; the charismatic Follieri, whom Vanity Fair has likened to an ambitious nineteenth-century protagonist from a Balzac novel, ingratiated himself to President Clinton and aides by posing as a mega-donor to the Clinton Global Initiative. He also formed an investment partnership with California business mogul and Clinton donor Ron Burkle to develop surplus real estate properties owned by the Catholic Church, which Follieri claimed to represent. Burkle later sued Follieri for $1.3 million in misappropriated funds.

Please direct your web browsers to: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080929/berman_ames

Disabled American Veterans has an initiative called "Stand Up for Vets." (http://www.standup4vets.org) For politician's it's pretty simple - it asks that they pledge to support the troops by taking the following actions:

"As an elected official, I will support legislation to:
• Properly screen and treat the psychological wounds of our veterans, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD);
• Properly screen and treat all veterans who may have suffered traumatic brain injury (TBI), including all who may have suffered a "mild" TBI - using the most effective techniques and treatments;
• Provide comprehensive support to family caregivers of severely wounded and disabled veterans, including access for family caregivers to mental health care services and financial support programs;
• Fix the federal budget process to make veterans health care funding sufficient, timely and predictable.

We must keep faith with the brave men and women who served and sacrificed for our country. I pledge to take all actions necessary to ensure that veterans health care remains the "best care anywhere.""

Simple, straight and to the point. So far 5 Senators (4 Dems, 1 Ind) and 22 Congresspersons ( 15 Dem 7 Rep) have signed on, with several pledging to do so when business opens on the House & Senate floors.

What doesn't surprise me is that Sen. Obama is one of the signatories. This is a man who chose Veterans Affairs as his committee, when he had the choice of any of them. And he has delivered to Veterans and the Military.

What also doesn't surprise me is that Sen. McCain has not. This is a man who is a disabled vet, a retired Navy officer, and who has been numerous committees involved in with Veterans, POW/MIA, Military and Foreign Affairs. And he has consistently voted against all of them.

Now, who should Vets and the Military be voting for?

Wasilla Is In Meth Capital of Alaska

"In 2003, authorities uncovered nine meth labs in the area. Last year, the number increased to 42, said Kyle Young, an investigator with the troopers who works with the Mat-Su narcotics team... When authorities surrounded a converted bus housing a meth operation in Big Lake in January, a 13-year-old boy who answered the door bragged that his mom cooked the best meth in the valley, according to the troopers."

http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/030805/sta_20050308002.shtml

Now, I realize the strike team of reporters just deployed to Alaska, but this is the kind of thing we need to get the mainstream media to cover. If the GOP wants to promote her great experience as the mayor of real-life Cicely, Alaska, then let's show what she's screwed it up.

Over the last few days, we've had a number of posts about different horrible things that the GOP and their minions have done since the campaign has started in earnest. We've also had some very on-target posts on imporant issues that can decide the election this fall - Big Oil Bob's Selling out the Western Slope, f'r instance.

But we need to stop wasting time and energy on some of the trivial shit that the GOP is putting out there to divert our attention -be it the fake Palin Bikini Gun photo, McCain's so-called faith gap, or the soon-to-occur outrage over the stolen flags from the Obama acceptance speech.

There's 58 days left until the the November election, and we cannot allow our selves to be distracted by this stupid, trivial crap. That's what the GOP machine does - takes trivial crap and blows it up to appear major. They trumpet it in the mainstream media, and we as Progressives spend way too much energy hooting and screeching it down.

The way that Pat Waak and the Convention Committee handled it is the way we need to handle all of this kind of bullshit attack - make a definitive statement that includes the appropriate amount of outrage, close the door to any further debate, and move on.

If any of you really want to hurt the GOP noise machine, start sending emails to everyone you know, and point them to http://schafferscandals.com/. Who knows, it might generate enough interest in the mainstream media that undecided folks start going there, which will make Dick Wad(hams) have to get off message and defend his lousy candidate.

Getting pissed by the McSame's camp declaration about how Obama's going to raise taxes on everybody? Write a damn email to the editor at the Rocky, The Post, or whatever rag is in your area. Again, if enough Progressive emails keep pounding the editor, at some point they'll have to acknowledge the flood and publish a few.

And, of course, the best thing you can do is....DO SOMETHING. Now that McSame has a freaky Rapture-Awaiting VP, the Religious Right is going to come out in force and volunteer, call, hand out propaganda etc. It doesn't matter if its Mark Udall, Betsy Markey, Jarid Polis, Hank Eng or LtCol Bidlack, or esp the Obama people.

This is the battleground state that the Dems need to win. He can hope the trend toward the Left continues, or we can fight the hard fight to guarantee it.

I make my living by doing production, post-production and marketing. I understand positioning, "perception of quality" and a number of other tools to make a product or person seem appealing to a majority of a demographic.

So, I was surprised when the McCain campaign and his handlers choose Gov. Palin. On the surface, it seemed to be a shrill and superficial pick designed to scoop up the shrill and superficial Hillary supporters who were still hooting and screeching like petulant teenagers who were told they couldn't go to the Mall.

On that level, I gave the McCain folks some credit.

But not, it seems the idea wasn't even his - the Australian News Network ABC is now reporting that McCain had picked a different VP, but was forced to chose Palin.

It seems that McCain was going to continue to play a moderate to the American People, and choose "Turncoat Joe" Liebermann has his VP. Partisan Politics aside, Turncoat Joe knows the Senate, is Pro-Choice and very independent, and would've scooped up a bunch of Independent Voters this fall, and possibly helped McCain win.

According to Aussie ABC News:

"After weeks of vetting his potential vice-presidential picks, Senator McCain was set on his old friend and Al Gore's running mate in 2000, Senator Lieberman.

But 10 days ago Senator McCain was called into a meeting by several of his most senior and trusted campaign advisers.

He was told if he proceeded to nominate Senator Lieberman, who is pro-choice on the issue of abortion, the conservative Christian base of the party would take the issue to the floor of the convention and try to overturn the selection.

Senator McCain was told that without the base he would certainly lose the election."

Link: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/09/03/2353903.htm

So, when Senator McCain was called on to make a choice - a tough choice, one that would decide the fate of his campaign, a presidential-quality choice...he sold out. He caved.

He showed he does not deserve to be President.

If Sen. McCain wants to run a campaign based on judgement and experience, then this was the deciding factor on who the American People should vote for. Because, if he folds this easily under pressure, then we are assured that this will be the way he handles ALL crises under his watch.

If every time there's a tough decision to make, this means he'll fold up like a Transformer in a effort to appease a tiny part of the electorate. If all it takes is the threat of difficulty to make Sen. McCain change his mind, then he'll be incapable of making a decision of any substance once he's in charge.

Beware, my friends...while we get this fact, there are many other who will not. We need to bust our asses the next few weeks, and deliver this great State of Colorado to the Democrats.

Not just the Presidental votes, but the Senate as well as many of the Congressional ones. Hank Eng and LtCol Bidlack have a chance, if we can get off our collective Progessive asses and DO SOMETHING other than forward Keith Obermann's latest special comment.

I guess the McCain people were hoping that the Press was going to be bedazzled by Gov. Palin's Killer Smile, the Moose-meat stories and photos of her busting caps on the Range.

However, the Media is finally doing their job...and the thing that will sink Gov Palin is going to be her love of the Congressional Pig Trough known as Earmarks.

Now, remember, she's being presented as some big-time fiscal conservative who fought "The Bridge to Nowhere," even though she fully supported it. And up there on the Podium with Sen McSame, she proclaimed she'd fight waste where ever she can.

But, there's one TINY problem...she's lying. Well, maybe she'll do it from now on, but it appears that the Lovely Gov from Alaska got $27 MILLION dollars for her little slice of Alaska by (wait for it) EARMARKS.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/01/AR2008090103148.html?hpid=topnews

So, either McCain is a clueless old man who's not even in charge of his own campaign, or the handlers in charge of him (and it) have decided they can lie their way out of this one as well.

But they won't be able to....they were up on stage together, talking tough on waste in government. And it turns out the Beauty Queen of the Congressional Pork Parade was up on stage with him.

We need to keep this one up.....

So, in the latest edition of "What the F*CK was the McCain Camp THINKING?," the press now reports that Gov. Sarah Palin's 17 year-old daughter is 5 months pregnant. As to reassure the frantic Christian Conservative electorate, we have been reassured that she knows who the father is, and they will be married "soon."

The campaign should also be relieved that Bristol Palin is a practicing heterosexual.

The McCain campaign is dismissing this as a "private family matter," and that family should be afforded privacy like the other candidates' children.

Fair enough - because all the rounds I want to send in this direction are all directed at "Grandma" Palin.

So, one of the following statements is true:

A) Grandma Palin is a lousy teacher - assuming that she followed the usual Christian über-Conservative lesson plans, she failed to teach her child the "Cross your legs for Jesus" abstinence-only method of birth control. She then also failed to teach her core values that makes her a heroine of the Ultra-Right, in that daughter Bristol choose such a sinful and shameful activity in direct contrast to those values that Pailn senior "clearly" possesses.

B) Home School Education is a complete failure - assuming that Grandma Palin correctly communicated the "Cross your legs for Jesus" abstinence-only method, then that means it has no value as a practice of Birth Control. It also shows that teaching traditional Christian Conservative Values in a home-school environment is also pointless, since those so taught completely ignored those values and had unprotected out-of-wedlock sex ANYWAY.

Either way, the values that the McCain campaign are hooting and screeching about Gov. Palin have now been severerly tarnished. If she is the Gun-totin' Gawd-Fearin' Honest-ta-goodness Conservative, why has she failed so utterly at such an important Conservative standard?