frankilin roosevelt

It's not about being liberal or conservative anymore y'all. That is a hype offered by the fascist whores who want to confuse the people with lies while they turn this country into an aristocratic police state. Some people will say anything to attain power and money. There is no such thing as the Liberal Media, but the Corporate media is very real.


Check out my old  Voice of the People page.


Gino Napoli
San Francisco, California
High School Math Teacher

jonsdarc@mindspring.com




Loyalty without truth
is a trail to tyranny.

a middle-aged
George Washington



ARCHIVES
1662 POSTS
LATEST ITEM

March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
May 2022
April 2022
February 2022
January 2022
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
September 2016
August 2016
May 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
September 2014
August 2014
May 2014
March 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
August 2012
July 2012
April 2012
March 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
August 2010
July 2010
March 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
August 2009
July 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
June 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
June 2005
May 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004

Saturday, 18 October 2008 at 2h 37m 2s

OMG, this is hilarious


Another hat tip to Barry Ritholtz


Saturday, 18 October 2008 at 2h 0m 36s

The Bears are back in town ...


Mucho gracias to barry ritholtz.


Saturday, 18 October 2008 at 1h 34m 23s

Politically driven Justice Investigations

David Iglesias says he's shocked by the news, leaked today to the Associated Press, that the FBI is pursuing a voter-fraud investigation into ACORN just weeks before the election.

"I'm astounded that this issue is being trotted out again," Iglesias told TPMmuckraker. "Based on what I saw in 2004 and 2006, it's a scare tactic." In 2006, Iglesias was fired as U.S. attorney thanks partly to his reluctance to pursue voter-fraud cases as aggressively as DOJ wanted -- one of several U.S. attorneys fired for inappropriate political reasons, according to a recently released report by DOJ's Office of the Inspector General.

Iglesias, who has been the most outspoken of the fired U.S. attorneys, went on to say that the FBI's investigation seemed designed to inappropriately create a "boogeyman" out of voter fraud.

And he added that it "stands to reason" that the investigation was launched in response to GOP complaints. In recent weeks, national Republican figures -- including John McCain at last night's debate -- have sought to make an issue out of ACORN's voter-registration activities.


[SOURCE: Zachary Roth | TalkingPointsMemo | 16 October]

This is from Republican David Iglesias, because some persons know the difference between their country and a political party.

This is what the Attorney General firings 2 years ago was really all about. All of the Federal district attorneys were expected to comply with Karl Rove's desire to use politically motivated Department of Justice Investigations in order to take down the opposition. Two years ago, Rove fired 7 Federal attorneys because they refused to proceed with the politically motivated elections.

The entire history of what Rove was doing between 2004 and 2007 has yet to be dismantled and written, but history will eventually expose the plethora of illegal abuses in the DOJ. A number of old employees were resigning, or were reassigned, or chose early retirement, because rather than pursuing criminals and nefarious individuals the Department was being transformed into pursuit of politically driven investigations -- some of which have no merit or legal basis other than partisan prejudice.

Any honest discussion of voter fraud will say that there are maybe 6 to 20 cases in the entire USA AT MOST in any given year, because it is extremely difficult to actually pull-off. Registering false voters will not result in a person who fraudulently voted. A person named "Popeye The Sailor" can only vote if he proves himself at some point during the first vote. If he shows up to the polling booth, the poll worker will be astounded that the name "Popeye the Sailor" is on the registration list. Do you really think that poll worker isn't going to ask for identification? States have laws that require some form of identification for first-time registrations. If Sam Davis living at 304 Sycamore St. Apt. 8 shows up with a utility bill in that name, or a state I.D. with that name and address, Sam Davis living at 304 Sycamore St. Apt. 8 gets to sign his name in the registration book and vote.

Absentee Ballots work the same way. Civil servants do make mistakes, like even some human being will do 3 or 4 times out of 100,000 repetitions, but states that have absentee ballots also have drivers license data linked to the voter registration data. Do you really think a registration from a duplicate drivers' license (or state I.D.) will exist in a state computer system? Young pre-21 year olds might have "fake ID's" but these are only cosmetic -- a look alike older sister or brother, or black market issue. They only see bar door bouncers, and are never in the state driver's license computer.

Anyone who actually votes -- like myself -- will know this. I vote every single election. There is no excuse for anyone to be denied the vote. There is also no excuse for anyone not to vote.

How can anyone really be free who does not at least momentarily partake in the decision making of the nation by pulling a lever for one public policy, official, or another?

If you resign your small slice of the heritage that is a government of, by, and for the people, you allow the government to be occupied by public relations managed hyenas who are really only after the power and financial gain.


Friday, 17 October 2008 at 1h 24m 8s

My precious, my precious

It wants-eth to be da big leedah, mon. It stands-eth before the people and looks foolish.

Him's a real leader, him that points the finger and tellsith not the truth. He haseth principolls and really, really cares.

True believers everywhere unite behind the reincarnation of Jim Jones, and drink the Kool-aid.

Here's the caption Reuters provided to accompany the above picture.

US Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain (R-AZ) reacts to almost heading the wrong way off the stage after shaking hands with Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) at the conclusion of the final presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, October 15, 2008. REUTERS/Jim Bourg (UNITED STATES) US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN 2008

[SOURCE: Reuters's news service | Yahoo news | 16 October 2008]


Friday, 17 October 2008 at 1h 5m 3s

Down for the Final count

Thank you John Aravosis who deserves all the credit for collecting the 20 or so editorials from various national news papers across the United States. Note: the New York Post and the Detroit Free Post usually have conservative, libertarian bent.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

FL – St. Petersburg Times (Editorial) "McCain's last offensive:" On the same day a new poll showed that voters' confidence in the federal government has reached an all-time low, Obama spoke with a reassuring confidence…But when the questioning turned to campaign attacks by both sides, McCain could not contain his anger and lost much of his momentum. He again floated some dark connection between Obama and 1960s-era antigovernment radical Bill Ayers. When that punch failed to ruffle Obama, McCain ramped up his intensity. The split television screen displayed a candidate who gradually appeared more frustrated, condescending and dismissive of one who would not take the bait. Those facial expressions will not play well in the coming days.

WI – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Editorial) "The attack debate:" John McCain went into the final presidential debate on Wednesday looking for a game-changer, the need to reverse plummeting fortunes as measured by polls and likely fueled by national economic difficulties that do not favor members of the party now possessing the White House. Time - and an election - will tell, but our guess is that McCain missed the mark if that was his goal.

MO – Kansas City Star (Editorial) "Attacks can't shake Obama in debate:" Over the three presidential debates, Democrat Barack Obama has largely answered doubts about his readiness to be president of the United States. His unflappable temperament, thoughtful demeanor and rhetorical abilities were impressive. Republican John McCain's performances were more uneven, becoming increasingly aggressive.

MI - Detroit Free Press (Stephen Henderson) "Striving to get back in the game, McCain looks more desperate": It was probably unrealistic for anyone to believe that Republican presidential candidate John McCain could right the sinking ship of his campaign with a debate performance, but Wednesday night's encounter with Democrat Barack Obama only seemed to reinforce the idea that McCain is badly behind, and desperate. Here was McCain, answering a question about the negative tone of his campaign — and the very frightening tenor of recent rallies for McCain — by talking about the negativity of Obama's campaign, saying Obama's failure to agree to more than 10 town hall meetings was the reason things turned so negative. But overall, it was hard not to think of this campaign as largely over while watching the debate. Of course, anything can happen in the next few weeks, and history says the race will almost certainly tighten. John McCain, though, looked like a guy about to lose and fully aware of the desperation of his circumstances.

Des Moines Register (David Yepsen) "Obama Bests McCain In Final Debate" John McCain lost the final debate of the 2008 presidential campaign Wednesday night…McCain simply needed a breakout performance and he failed to provide one. He went into the forum trailing Obama in polls of the contest and he came out of in the same position. By doing so, McCain missed his biggest remaining opportunity to change the direction of the presidential contest.

MN – Duluth News Tribune (Staff Written) "Local and national online polls give nod to Obama:" News Tribune readers who answered an unscientific online poll Wednesday said Sen. Barack Obama won the third and final presidential debate over Sen. John McCain. Of 112 readers who voted between 9:30 and 11 p.m., 59 percent said Obama won while 41 percent said McCain won. [According to one reader] "I felt that the cool, calm, collected nature of Barack Obama was welcomed and needed in these already stressful and uncertain times of crisis. To me the long-standing reputation of John McCain as a maverick and a reformer was overpowered by his cynicism, sarcasm and smugness." [said] Adam White of Duluth.

OH – Columbus Dispatch (Darrel Rowland) "Undecided's dial it up for Obama:" Fifty women gathered in a Columbus hotel's conference room and got to do what millions of Americans probably wanted to do last night: Tell the presidential candidates exactly what they thought of them….This group of undecided voters' opinions were recorded every second of the 90- minute debate. The result? A major win for Democrat Barack Obama. Seventy-one percent of these undecided voters thought Obama did better in addressing the issues important to them, while only 9 percent felt that way about Republican John McCain. The group slightly favored Obama coming into the debate, but afterward he won support by about a 2-to-1 ratio.

PA – The Philadelphia Inquirer (Larry Eichel) "Some jabs, but there was no knockout:" Republican John McCain, desperately trying to launch a comeback with less than three weeks to go, was on the offensive all night, intense and focused. But Democrat Barack Obama had the same calm and steady presence he'd shown in their two previous encounters, answering some of McCain's attacks and shrugging off others, saying that the voters want to hear about their own problems instead. When it was all over, even though the debate was somewhat more contentious than the previous two, the likelihood was that nothing much had changed in the shape of the campaign. The first round of post-debate polls had Obama the overwhelming winner, as was the case in the previous two.

PA – Philadelphia Daily News (John Baer) It was an often angry, sometimes manic McCain trying to knock Obama off his cool at a time when voters are telling pollsters that they want a calm and steady hand steering the nation out of its economic crisis. Obama was his usual reserved self, often smiling and shaking his head instead of counterpunching. He patiently, even indulgently, explained and defended his programs and his campaign.

New York Post (Kirsten Powers) "Bam Gets Job Done" Even when McCain was substantively on point, his body language and tone were a distraction. McCain's facial expressions were akin to Al Gore's sighs in the 2000 debates with George W. Bush. At times McCain was downright nasty, speaking in sarcastic and condescending tones. Toward the end of the debate when they discussed education, McCain spoke to Obama with something bordering on disgust. Considering polls show that voters already view the McCain campaign as overly negative, this behavior couldn't have won over many people.

Boston Globe (Editorial) "Scattershot McCain" John McCain's fiery performance in the final presidential debate last night may have given a lift to some despondent supporters who have watched the election getting away from them. But it is less clear that McCain's buckshot approach hit its target…The stock market is in freefall. Basic needs are more expensive than ever. The very planet is in peril. These are serious concerns that face America's future. Yet, in a debate that McCain needed to win, he seemed fixated on some deluded throwback from the Vietnam era.

Los Angeles Times (Editorial) "McCain's debatable strategy" Throughout, Obama adopted a look of incredulity, but even his reserve was cracked by McCain's pivot out of the politics of personal attack. Immediately after demanding that Obama provide a full accounting of his relationships with ACORN and Ayers, McCain asserted: "My campaign is about getting this economy back on track, about creating jobs, about a brighter future for America." That disjointed segue was too much for Obama, who laughed.

Boston Globe (Scot Lehigh) "It's not even close": John McCain came into the final presidential debate needing a game- changer, a Ronald Reagan moment, a Jerry Ford-like blunder by Barack Obama, something - anything - that would reverse the strengthening tide now running hard against him. He didn't get it. Not even close.

Boston Globe (Joan Vennochi) "That's it for McCain": Its Over. John McCain still hasn't told the country why he should be president. He has talking points. He is against taxes, earmarks, and pork. But he can't knit what he opposes into a coherent economic philosophy that would inspire voters to get behind him in the final days of this presidential campaign. He has an inspirational life story. But in this campaign, he never connected his biography to his presidential ambition, and he never told voters how it would shape a McCain administration and make him a better president than his opponent.

New York Daily News (Thomas M. DeFrank) "Feisty John McCain works hard, can't score" It was John McCain's last big chance to tame the massive headwinds buffeting his fading campaign…Barack Obama came into the Hofstra debate handily ahead. Nothing Wednesday night altered that stark reality for McCain and his dispirited partisans.

New York Post (Carl Campanile) "Barack Rocks With Post Panel" The results are in and the winner is . . . Barack Obama… McCain's decision to attack Obama for his associations with 1960s Weather Underground terrorist Bill Ayers and the group ACORN backfired with The Post's panel of voters. Upper West resident Anne Maxfield said, "Ayers was a terrorist 40 years ago. We have serious economic problems in this country."

Los Angeles Times (Cathleen Decker) John McCain came into the third and final presidential debate needing to somehow wrestle the campaign out of Barack Obama's arms. He did not do it. There was no single moment that was likely to reverberate in the minds of American voters and change the course of an election that has moved dramatically toward Obama in the last several weeks. But the 90-minute debate was a perfect distillation of McCain's general election campaign, with all of its inconsistent messages.

TIME (David Von Drehle) "McCain Threw the Sink — and Plumber — But Obama Doesn't Falter" The problem for McCain is that no matter how hard or how crisply he punched, it could not last. In the end, the gravity of the debate returned to Barack Obama. The turning point was when McCain finally brought up the issue of Obama's ties to former the anti-Vietnam War terrorist William Ayers. All he accomplished was to swing the spotlight from himself back to the engaging newcomer. Predictably, Obama had a mild answer ready-as straightforward and uncontroversial as it was soothing… Mostly he tried to say that Obama-change is dangerous. Across the table, there sat Obama, looking not very dangerous.

Washington Post (Dana Milbank) Schieffer moved on to another question -- and Ayers and ACORN, after a five-minute cameo, were gone. In those five minutes, the Republican nominee became the man America had seen in his ads, whose slashing personal attacks on his opponent's character have, by most measures, done him more harm than good. Perhaps mindful of that, or perhaps set back by Obama's mild responses to his attacks, McCain, though delivering sharper jabs than he had in the earlier debates, was unwilling, or unable, to mount a sustained effort to undermine Obama's personal standing.

New York Times (Patrick Healy) "Pressing All the Buttons, McCain Attacks, but Obama Stays Steady": But then Mr. McCain began to undercut his own effort to paint Mr. Obama as just another negative politician. Mr. McCain grew angry as he attacked Mr. Obama over his ties to William Ayers, the Chicago professor who helped found the Weather Underground terrorism group. Suddenly, Mr. McCain was no longer gaining ground by showing command on the top issue for voters, the economy; he was turning tetchy over a 1960s radical…It seemed as if Mr. McCain was veering from one hot button to another, pressing them all, hoping to goad Mr. Obama into an outburst or a mistake that would alter the shape of the race in its last three weeks.

Newsweek (Richard Wolffe) "Mad Man" McCain didn't just need a game-changing moment at the debate; the Arizona senator, known in Washington for his sharp temper, needed a character-changing moment… Whatever happens in the next two weeks, the McCain campaign should be happy there are no more presidential debates.

Boston Globe (Todd Domke) "Good, but not good enough": John McCain needed to turn this third debate into a second chance. He needed to persuade undecided voters to look at him in a new, positive way and to look at Barack Obama in a new, negative way. He needed to change the dynamic of the contest because, ever since the economic crisis struck, Obama has had the advantages in message, momentum, money, and media…But it wasn't the dramatic breakthrough he needed, so, in effect, he lost.

The Hill (Sam Youngman) "Debate sees an aggressive McCain and a cool Obama:" With less than three weeks before Election Day, Sen. McCain (Ariz.) had promised to go after Obama more forcefully in their last meeting, and he did just that, accusing the Illinois senator of lying, wanting to raise taxes and associating with unscrupulous people and organizations. The Democrat, however, knowing that McCain needed a knockout blow, seemed to take McCain's best punches, explaining himself when warranted and focusing on the ongoing financial crisis and domestic policy at other times.

Politico (John F. Harris and Jim VandeHei) "Debate III: Edgy McCain sheds no new light": John McCain's challenge at the final debate was to present his case for the presidency in a new light. But over 90 minutes of intense exchanges with Barack Obama—sometimes compelling, often awkward—-there was very little new light, and no obvious reason for McCain to be optimistic that he has turned his troubled campaign in a new direction. To the contrary, what McCain offered at Hofstra University was simply a more intense, more glaring version of his campaign in familiar light —- an edgy, even angry performance that in many ways seemed like a metaphor for his unfocused, wildly improvisational campaign.

Politico (Roger Simon) "McCain fails, Obama is not rattled" John McCain needed a miracle in his final debate with Barack Obama on Wednesday night, a miracle that would wipe away McCain's deficit in the polls and re-energize his flagging campaign. He did not get one.


Friday, 17 October 2008 at 0h 37m 17s

The truth about Voter Registration

The media conglomerates want to confuse, not inform, you.

From October 6 through October 15, CNN aired at least 54 segments mentioning allegations that ACORN submitted allegedly false or duplicate voter registration applications this year in a number of states. However, only one of those segments mentioned both of the following two relevant points: 1) that the statutes of most of those states require third parties registering prospective voters to submit all registration forms they receive; and 2) that actual instances of illegal votes being cast as a result of registration fraud are extremely rare. Of the 54 CNN segments addressing the allegations against ACORN, two mentioned only the former of those two points, while one mentioned just the latter.

[SOURCE: Eric Boehlert & Jamison Foser | Media Matters |16 October 2008 ]


Friday, 17 October 2008 at 0h 16m 50s

Joe the Plummer and the Keating Family ties

That Joe the plumber guy whom McCain referred to as a real, down home guy.

Turns out that Joe Wurzelbacher from the Toledo event is a close relative of Robert Wurzelbacher of Milford, Ohio. Who’s Robert Wurzelbacher? Only Charles Keating’s son-in-law and the former senior vice president of American Continental, the parent company of the infamous Lincoln Savings and Loan. The now retired elder Wurzelbacher is also a major contributor to Republican causes giving well over $10,000 in the last few years.

Click here for a video feed in which Mike Papantonio reveals the truth about Mr. Joe the Plumber.

That's all the Republicans can do: plant fake people who pose as real people.


Wednesday, 15 October 2008 at 2h 47m 30s

Funny comic about ATM machine


Image courtesy of sinfest.net.


Wednesday, 15 October 2008 at 2h 31m 28s

Wierd journalists named Balz

Dan Balz, putative journalist of the Washington Post.

My comments will be italicized and contained within brackets [ ... ].


By Dan Balz

For the past two weeks, the focus of the presidential campaign has been on John McCain. [really now, by what measurable metric do you use to cast this assertion? The focus from WHOM?] Given the state of the race, it may well stay there for a while. [Are you serious? It might stay where you presumed without proof to be located? Indeedy.]What can McCain do? Should he attack more? Should he go all positive? Can he come back?

[Yes lets think like we are on McCain's team. Should he ATTACK what? And going all positive means ... he was going all negative? Negative? Postitive? WTF are you talking about? ... You mean: Should he tell the truth? Should he lie about Obama's past and mis-characterize his policy statements?

With 22 days left in the race, that's understandable. McCain is the focus because what was thought to be a close race doesn't look like one at this moment. [Oh that makes sense ... because people thought something was going to happen, they now have to explain why they were complete morons by focusing on the wrong topics at the wrong time.]Which is all the more reason that the real focus now ought to be on Barack Obama.

The Illinois senator has been the political beneficiary of one of the worst months of economic news in the country's history. Since the fall of Lehman Brothers, Obama has expanded his lead and solidified his position in the presidential race.

He leads nationally in the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll by 53 percent to 43 percent. He leads, too, by a wide margin in estimates of the Electoral College. Virtually all of the closest states left at this point voted for President Bush four years ago.

The presidential race is not over, but at this point, Obama has a better chance of becoming president than McCain, and as a result, the questions ought to be going toward him as much or more than McCain -- questions not of tactics but of substance.

[Questions of substance? Oh my, yes let's ask those substantial questions much much more, why don't we. Might what these questions be?]

Obama has dealt deftly with the economic crisis -- at least in a political sense. Unlike McCain, he was fairly calm during the first days after Lehman's collapse and the government bailout of AIG.

He stayed in close contact with Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke and with Democratic congressional leaders. He both embraced the sense of urgency to act on the $700 billion bailout package and offered criticisms of the administration's initially sketchy plan. His criticisms were in line with changes that Congress made before eventually approving the package.

But it's not clear that he has had any better ideas -- or put them forward more aggressively -- than Paulson and Bernanke when it comes to dealing with the crisis in the credit markets. It's not clear that he has pushed ideas that would have dealt with the crisis more effectively. At every turn, he has voiced support for the general course the administration has outlined, but he's not been far out ahead.

[Are those questions of substance coming anytime soon? And Wait, did I catch that ... Are you really implying Paulson and Bernanke had better ideas? What ideas would those be? And are you calling Paulson's blatantly vague lack of oversight an aggressive pursuit of ideas, without mentioning that Paulson worked for Goldman Sachs up until 2 years ago and was instrumental in laying the foundation for this economic mess? You say that Obama voiced support but hasn't been far out ahead? Ahead of what, and of whom? Two scared idiots who dress up in suits and make bad decisions?

Do you mean media outlets haven't played Obama's spoken words more than they have rushed to make the administration look like wise old sages who are aggressive and have better ideas. What a waste of a paragraph. Are you going to state what Obama has said, or just make this blanket ambiguous insinuations you call questions?

Nor is it evident that he has dealt realistically with the impact the economic crisis may have on the next president. He has not backed away from ambitious plans for a second stimulus package, for dramatically expanding health care, for reducing dependence on foreign oil or for other spending plans that long have been part of his campaign agenda.

[That's what a thought, you will make blanket statements of ambiguous insinuation. Are we asking those questions of substance yet?

He's backed away from saying what he has already stated publicly according to what reference frame. Faux journalists refuse to remember -- because frankly it gets in the way of your real intentions. Or you are just too lazy to do the homework, and would rather pontificate your biases underneath a ruse of questions.

Changing circumstances have not changed his view of what can or should be done if he becomes president. It would be helpful to voters to know now, rather than after the election, whether he will take a zero-based look at everything and rearrange priorities.

[Yes it would be helpful Mr. Balz if you could provide that education, rather than wobbling left and right while you make ambiguous insinuations of empty details. I thought you were gonna ask questions of substance.]

It is hard to think of a new president who inherited such a rapidly altered landscape. Franklin Roosevelt inherited a country in crisis, but the crash on Wall Street began years before he was elected in 1932. The 44th president's world has been turned upside down in a matter of months, and literally on the eve of the election.

How adaptable is Obama to all of this? How willing is he to address these questions in real time, as opposed to later? How much time has he given recently to rethinking the scope and ambition of a possible Obama administration? Would he come to office with a determination to be bold or to be cautious? Is he the pragmatist that allies have suggested -- or committed to a more ideologically oriented agenda, as his critics say?

[Again, nothing here educates the reader about the issues you stated to be important for voters to know. Would he do this? Would he do that? What does your speculations about the future have to do with elucidation of factual information? That's what journalists do. Mr. Balz however decides to speculate.]

Other questions that ought to be raised include what his commitment to bipartisanship amounts to at this point. He has talked about turning the page on old politics throughout his campaign. What does that mean?

[Really, what does that history of bipartisanship that Mr. Balz won't detail amount to? What does it mean when Mr. Balz prefers to insinuate and write empty speculation rather than inform his readers of silly historical details?]

All hard-fought campaigns become more partisan toward the end, but how much would that color Obama's approach, should he end up in the Oval Office? Will he hew closely to the wishes of Democratic congressional leaders or will he demonstrate some independence from them in an effort show the country what he might to do create a broader coalition as president? Will he do anything before the election to signal what he thinks?

[So has Obama not signaled what he thinks already, over the last 19 months? Is that one of your substantial questions? By implication, Mr. Balz is planting the notion that Obama has not signaled what he thinks, even while he hasn't offered any proof that this question has any merit. Will he do some signaling? Why is that important? You could provide the details of what Obama has said he would do in the past, and then speculate on these prior statements. But no, doing that kinda research is too much for an overpaid moron who can type. Speculation without providing the reader something with which to speculate from is called circuitous emptiness.]

McCain has begun this week with a fresh stump speech, a "fighting McCain" persona and the determination of an underdog, which is always where he is most comfortable. Speaking in Virginia Beach on Monday morning, he said with a smile:

[Hey now, he's a fighter with a smile, watch out. He's determined. Unlike Obama, McCain doesn't have to signal. He's got a fresh stump speech even.]

"We have 22 days to go. We're 6 points down. The national media has written us off. Senator Obama is measuring the drapes, and planning with Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid to raise taxes, increase spending, take away your right to vote by secret ballot in labor elections, and concede defeat in Iraq. But they forgot to let you decide. My friends, we've got them just where we want them."

His criticisms of Obama were not personal, as they've sometimes been in the past week, but substantive. He hopes to claw his way back into the race and he hopes that the polls could tighten as Election Day nears, and that, if that happens, the voters will take yet another look at their choices.

[You hear that. Mr. Balz won't quantify McCain's criticisms of Obama more than half of a sentence in a complete 2 sentence quote. He won't even provide an unbiased veracity of the claims. But rest assured that Mr. Balz finds them substantive not personal. And that's a really big deal. Because that's how we get the polls to tighten, eh Mr. Balz. We squeeze the discussion of policy positions into 2 words and leave out all historical details in order to throw out conjectures and questions.

Accordingly, these substantive issues are : "to raise taxes, increase spending, take away your right to vote by secret ballot in labor elections, and concede defeat in Iraq." Are you kidding me? Those are the big 4 issues of substance?]

McCain has been criticized for raising questions about Obama that were seen as questioning his patriotism or his commitment to the values the country holds dear. But there ought not to be any moratorium on asking hard questions of both candidates right now, and especially of the Democratic nominee who sits in the pole position heading into the final three weeks.

[Is that all McCain has been criticized for? Not acting like a fool when he first suspended then unsuspended his campaign. Not accepting lobbyists into his campaign like whores trawling the Las Vegas clientele. Not his flagrant flip-flopping on almost every issue he's ever taken up over the last 20 plus years as a public official.

We should ask hard questions of both candidates, right Mr. Balz? Questions like : how many lobbyists does MrCain have on his staff? And why was he the only Senator of the Keating 5 who had financial relations with Keating and flew free on Keating's jets? After all, didn't you say you wanted to ask questions of substance?]


[SOURCE: Dan Balz | Washington Post | 13 October 2008]

The article is called "Questioning Obama". It Should be called, "Empty questions and an Attempt to blow life into the McCain plane wreck".

Mr. Balz is a pathetic journalist. He could have spent the entire scope of this article educating the public about the difference between 3 or 4 various policy choices. Instead he develops a narrative about Obama benefiting from the drama of the economic meltdown and casts various speculations about the thought process of Obama and what he might do or not do in the future. He puts a false assertion that Obama hasn't signaled what he thinks yet. Then he transitions how the McCain camp is on the rebound, fending of those who said he shouldn't have questioned Obama's patriotism or his committment to American values.

Not one quote from Obama. Not once was a policy position from Obama ever stated, and the only reference to a policy position by McCain was in the two sentence quote Mr. Balz chose to use towards the end of his article. Mr. Balz cries much about voters needing to know things, and how hard questions should be asked, and then Mr. Balz promptly refuses to give the voters what they need know while asking silly questions.

Mr. Balz is not a journalist. He's a framer of events who is hired to craft conjectures of events without providing any knowledge. He puts questions into the air, without bothering to evince an answer because the questions are really insinuations. They are frail incorrigible distractions from the details of history that Mr. Balz can't be bothered to research or read. Instead he blows air bubbles of speculation, all of which pop moments latter, leaving a residue of bias. The entire structure of the article is meant to leave a negative opinion of Obama. It's a sordid opinion piece without any substance, that plants slander like little innocent seeds by asking suggestive questions like a little brat who refuses to answer the first question before bombarding his adversaries with 20 more.

In other words, he's an con artist.


Monday, 13 October 2008 at 18h 57m 17s

McCain's ear-marked History

Click here to read a long list dating back to the 1980's. A lot of McCain's ear-marks for defense contractors over the years also seem to get beset by delays, lags in production, faulty manufacturing, and cost over-runs.




GOTO THE NEXT 10 COLUMNS