Must Reads

Frank Schaeffer: Sarah Palin Will Never Be President -- Trust Me

Bob Cesca: What Doesn't Kill The Far-Right Only Makes Them Crazier

The Rude Pundit: Fun With Lieberman: Should He Stay Or Should He Go?

Dr. Biobrain: Conservative Catastrophe: Bigger Than Bush

Jay Dixit: I can has cheezburger ... and pathos?

Obama's First Weekly Address

President-elect Obama has taken the weekly radio address into the 21st Century. His weekly addresses will be posted on YouTube for viewing at your convenience. It'll also help to expand his message across many more households than had been previously listening to the radio address.

Think about it? Raise your hand if you've heard a weekly radio address from a president on the radio? ... That's what I thought.

I'll be putting these up weekly.

T Minus 66 Days

"As a matter of fact, I know relations between our governments is good."

- Washington, DC, November 2006, discussing relations between the U.S. and South Korea

Well... at least he didn't say "relations 'tween our guv'ments be good."

Out With The Old...

...in with the new.

Some of you may know that I'm a Mets fan. A rabid Mets fan. I've been a Mets fan since I went to my first game in 1975. It's been 33 very long years, with two World Series appearances and one World Series Championship. The Mets have won two championships in their 46 year history but I was too young to remember the first in 1969. So I'm left with one. One... in thirty-three years... in a town that shares baseball real estate with the New York Yankees.

You know the Yankees. 26 World Championships. TWENTY-SIX. And six in my lifetime. And they beat the Mets in 2000. I think Mets fans' only solace is that they haven't won since 2000 even while outspending every other team in payroll. But I digress.

The point was that the Mets are getting a new stadium next season. Citi-Field will open on April 13th. I'll be there rooting for my team, and enjoying the new stadium I'm sure. Shea Stadium was one of those cookie cutter stadiums built in the 60's and 70's. Pedestrian traffic patterns were horrible, not enough bathrooms, the food sucked and the seats were small and uncomfortable, no leg room.

But it's bittersweet because I'll always have fond memories of Shea. My first Major League baseball game watching players live instead of on the screen. My amazement at Dave Kingman popping up a ball that flew higher than the top of the stadium. Going to double headers on my own as a kid with my friends and sitting in the upper deck. Being at the game in 1986 when Dwight Gooden won against the Chicago Cubs to win the pennant for the first time in thirteen years. And my only time on the field watching Billy Joel play the final concert at Shea. So it's a little sad to drive by and see the dismantling of a place that holds a lot of memories. The seats are gone, the scoreboard is down, the field is slowly being covered by debris.

Anyway, a friend sent this picture to me - his brother was coming back from vacation and took this shot as he was landing at LaGuardia Airport. (Click picture for full size.)

Out with the old, in with the new. And hopefully a change of luck in the process. Those season tickets are getting expensive!

GOP Identity Crisis

What is the future of the Republican Party? Who will the future leaders of the GOP be? All the talk has been focused on Sarah Palin, and although the thought of Palin dragging the party down to Titanic depths is very appealing to me, I don't think the Republican Party can stand nor will they choose another George W. Bush in Armani jackets and Prada pumps.

Still, here's Chris Matthews having a debate with Pat "Even A Stake Through The Heart Won't Kill Me" Buchanan and Republican strategist Mike Paul. Buchanan and Paul get into it at about the 8 minute mark.



Well, that was a very interesting debate. Mr. Paul was correct. For the Republican party to remain relevant, they're going to have to change the way they cater to the elite in this country and the party as a whole needs to examine itself and try to get minorites (soon to be majorities) on their team, to which Buchanan responded, "Why dont you examine yourself?" I don't know what he meant by that, but Pat's brain isn't as sharp as it used to be - carrying water for the GOP has a numbing effect on your synapses.

"Why dont you examine yourself?" Buchanan always refers to 1964, 1968 and Nixon (probably the only time he was actually relevant) but that was FORTY-FOUR YEARS AGO, PAT! It's a shame that they can't see or perhaps don't understand that lip service and wedge issues are no longer going to be enough. What your party does while it's in power will be dragged out onto the mat and there will be accountability.

This election was a reckoning. Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado (did I forget one?) jumped into the blue paint vat because the old GOP system is broken. Did anyone ever think the Democrats would win Virginia, North Carolina and Indiana in one cycle?! It shows that their system of politics is broken - the Lee Atwater/Karl Rove style, while working well in the 80's and 90's and the notion that there could be a permanent Republican majority - burned white hot and extinguished itself out in four short years. (I say short in the grand scheme of things - I know they were four very long years for most of us.)

But I don't know how they can fix it. Being a fiscal conservative is one thing. But being anti-union and forcing religion into the public arena is another. I'm an Hispanic and I can't for the life of me understand why any Hispanic or African-American would vote against their own self interests by voting Republican. I'm dumbfounded by the likes of African-American Republican strategists Ron Christie and Joe Watson on the air. What are they thinking?! How do they sleep at night after bald-faced lying on the air daily?

Mike Paul was the first African-American Republican strategist I've seen who made any sense, but his basic premise is to change the party. The thing is if you remake the party, if you change the party for the better ethnically and demographically, if you change the philosophy of the party to attract more people of color, then is it really still the Republican Party we all know?

There will always be a base that you can spoon feed the red meat to - just look at Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity making asses out of themselves with the latest wingnut talking point, "The Obama Recession" - but it's no longer enough. The Republicans that listen to the hate mongering who still think that their party is what it was 40 years ago are dying out, their base is shrinking and unless they really start paying attention to the fact that caucasians will soon be the minority in this country, the GOP will go the way of the dinosaur, the automat, and $1 per gallon gasoline.

T Minus 67 Days

"We need a common enemy to unite us."

- Happy 54th Birthday Condoleezza Rice

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton?

Andrea Mitchell:

Two Obama advisers have told NBC News that Hillary Clinton is under consideration to be secretary of state. Would she be interested? Those who know Clinton say possibly. But her office says that any decisions about the transition are up to the president-elect and his team.

Armadillo Joe and I was tossing names around a few months ago (including John Edwards for Attorney General before the whole affair thing) and he said that Hillary would be good for Secretary of State. I agree with him. Does she want it? Who knows. I'm also not crazy about another open Senate seat should this situation come to pass.

Apparently John Kerry and Bill Richardson are very interested in the job.

What do you think?

Sadie's Getting Big!

Our little girl is growing up. She got her final rabies shot at the vet yesterday. Clean bill of health and she's already 25 lbs!

Here are a couple of pictures from a trip to the park last week.

Amazingly, we met another pup named Indy who'd been adopted from the same shelter within the same week.

They played for a good long while.

If A 7 Year Old Can Figure It Out...

.. why can't the 46% of the electorate that voted for McCain/Palin?

Seven year old blogger and future voter Stanislaw Gunkel gets it. And also got a personal thank you note from President-elect Obama.

Here is why I'm asking grown-ups to vote for Barack Obama. I am 7 years old so I can't vote......

My mom told me that I shouldn't base my election analysis on "feelings" (I like him/her) or "beliefs" (I share his/her beliefs) but on logical arguments. She asked me to create my own rational explanations for my support of Obama. Here is one of my arguments:

McCain and Palin are not be qualified to be President / Vice President of the U.S. The President's job is to do good for the country and the world. To do good for the country, the President must make smart decisions on important situations.

Governor Palin believes the world is 6000 years old. This is absurd. This is not a rational belief. This is a mistake. Scientists, experiments and evidence have shown this to be completely false. Therefore, she is not rational. If she is not rational, she should not be allowed to be President or Vice President.

Please vote for Barack Obama.

Wow. Check out his blog, it's pretty damn good.


(H/T Crooks & Liars)

T Minus 68 Days

"The United States and Russia are in the midst of transformationed relationship that will yield peace and progress."

- Washington, DC, November 13, 2001


What was that quote by John Hinderaker again?

Oh yeah :

"Obama thinks he is a good talker, but he is often undisciplined when he speaks. He needs to understand that as President, his words will be scrutinized and will have impact whether he intends it or not. In this regard, President Bush is an excellent model; Obama should take a lesson from his example. Bush never gets sloppy when he is speaking publicly. He chooses his words with care and precision, which is why his style sometimes seems halting. In the eight years he has been President, it is remarkable how few gaffes or verbal blunders he has committed. If Obama doesn't raise his standards, he will exceed Bush's total before he is inaugurated."

HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!! Douchebag!

Following My Blog

(BUMPED - Originally posted 11/3/08, 11:19 am)

Hello reader(s).

I've added a little widget on the right side of my page in order to help me figure out how much traffic I'm actually generating. After almost two years of blogging and over 1,300 posts I'm a little curious to find out if I am connecting with anyone and if you like my stuff enough to come back. I'm not so much worried about the single hits, but if you like what you read and stop by on a regular basis, won't you please take a moment to add yourself to the Blog Followers List? It would do wonders for my posting motivation and best of all, it's free!

Thanks,
Broadway Carl

All The News We Hope To Print - UPDATED

On the way in to work this morning, I was handed a copy of the New York Times for free. "How nice," I thought. But then I read the headline and spit out my coffee. IRAQ WAR ENDS.

What the fuck?! That was fast! Obama rules!

This morning, commuters in New York City were handed free copies of what appeared to be the New York Times. In fact, what they had been given was a surprisingly elaborate forgery: A fake version of the paper dated July 4th, 2009 that offers as its lead story "IRAQ WAR ENDS."

Other headlines in the paper, which is full of stories that, if true, would be cause for celebration among liberals, include "USA Patriot Act Repealed" and "National Health Insurance Act Passes"; the fake newspaper's slogan is "All the news we hope to print."

It's a full 14 page print version - a website version is also available but it seems overloaded.

Later on Wednesday morning, the Yes Men issued a statement claiming credit for the prank. The statement said, in part:

In an elaborate operation six months in the planning, 1.2 million papers were printed at six different presses and driven to prearranged pickup locations, where thousands of volunteers stood ready to pass them out on the street.

Pretty fucking brilliant. Even the ads are fake, but oh, so good. Here's what the full page ad from Exxon Mobil read:

We at Exxon are committed to meeting the new Congressional guidelines for socially, economically, & environmentally responsible enery. That's why we applaud the end of the war in Iraq.

The invasion of Iraq was supposed to mean access to oil without the costly interference of national sovereignty, and lower prices at the pump for you and your family. Projections and reality differed, but now we've learned: PEACE can also be lucrative.

Times have changed. Oil fields have reverted back to a newly independent Iraq, and Congress has mandated "Fair Trade," in which most profits go not to brokers, stockholders and a small management circle, but flow directly to those who produce. Exxon is excited about helping do things better - not just because it's the law, but because Exxon has always been about innovation. It's also an opportunity to turn over a new leaf. As Exxon finds itself under feredal oversight, we are more than happy to use our profits to develop sustainable, decentralized energy production. This will help fight further climate change, and prevent costly new wars over energy in the future. After all, if everyone can turn the sun or wind into power, what's there to fight about?

Peace. An idea the world can profit from.

Brought to you by Exxon. Finding decent ways to deliver the energy you need.

________________________

Now that's an advertisement!

Of course, my favorite article is "Court Indicts Bush on High Treason Charge." I'll scan and post it late tonight.

UPDATE (11/13/08 10:40am): Here's that scan. It' looks so much better in print, doesn't it? (Click on picture for full size.)

Kyl Threatens Filibuster

It's been eight days since Senator Barack Obama officially became President-elect Obama and already the freakazoid Republicans in the Senate are threatening filibusters on possible Supreme Court appointments that haven't happened yet.

Jon Kyl, the second-ranking Republican in the U.S. Senate, warned president-elect Barack Obama that he would filibuster U.S. Supreme Court appointments if those nominees were too liberal.

..."He believes in justices that have empathy," said Kyl, speaking at a Federalist Society meeting in Phoenix. The attorneys group promotes conservative legal principles.

Kyl said if Obama goes with empathetic judges who do not base their decisions on the rule of law and legal precedents but instead the factors in each case, he would try to block those picks via filibuster.

Give me a fucking break. Obama is 10 weeks away from taking over and already these obstructionist motherfuckers are threatening to block confirmation of an appointment to a position that doesn't exist. This from the same fuck-o who threatened the nuclear option when it was Bush's stellar appointments that were in danger of rejection.

You know what? Give it your best shot, Kyl. But you'd better get your orthopedic shoes on because it ain't gonna be a bullshit, pansy ass filibuster. You're going to have to - how does Sarah Palin put it? - "walk the walk" and stand up there as long as your feeble ass can take it. We'll wait until you kick the bucket from exhaustion and then confirm the appointment anyway, whenever that should take place.

So in short, go fuck yourself, Kyl. This is a new ballgame. Game on, brohim.

(H/T Crooks and Liars)

T Minus 69 Days

"Wow! Brazil is big!"

- Upon seeing a map of Brazil at a meeting with the Brazilian president, November 2005

Joe Lieberman Must Go

I know that President-elect Obama has suggested that Lieberman remain in caucus with the Democrats and retain his chair positions, and in the spirit of bipartisanship I tried to go along with it, but I can't bring myself to agreeing with Obama on this one. Not after the way Lieberman treated the Democratic party like a doormat, not after the way he spoke about Barack Obama after saying he wouldn't be negative towards Obama, just positive toward McCain.

Brave New Films has produced another great video. Call your Senators. Joe Lieberman must go.

This Veteran's Day...

... I would be remiss in not taking a moment to remember and give thanks to every Veteran who has served our country bravely and honorably.

Sometimes we walk around with blinders on, but it's good to take a look around every once in a while. Thanks to my good friend, Armadillo Joe, for the reminder.

T Minus 70 Days

"They misunderestimated me."

- Bentonville, Arkansas, November 2000

Douchebag Of The Day

Rep. Paul Broun (R-Georgia): "It may sound a bit crazy and off base, but the thing is, he's the one who proposed this national security force," Rep. Paul Broun said of Obama in an interview Monday with The Associated Press. "I'm just trying to bring attention to the fact that we may — may not, I hope not — but we may have a problem with that type of philosophy of radical socialism or Marxism."

..."We can't be lulled into complacency," Broun said. "You have to remember that Adolf Hitler was elected in a democratic Germany. I'm not comparing him to Adolf Hitler. What I'm saying is there is the potential."

Where has this douchbag been for the last eight years? It's amazing how they can't see the forest for the trees.

I Don't Like This

President-elect Barack Obama has informed party officials that he wants Joe Lieberman to continue caucusing with the Democrats in the 111th Congress, Senate aides tell the Huffington Post.

Obama's decision could tie the hands of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has been negotiating to remove Lieberman as chair of the Homeland Security and Government Reform committee while keeping him within the caucus. Lieberman has insisted that he will split from the Democrats if his homeland security position is stripped.

It shows you the type of leader Barack Obama is, putting differences aside in order to work together, but I'm not so sure it's the best move. What's the point of keeping Lieberman's vote if he doesn't vote with you? It's not like he's shown any loyalty to the party, first running as an Independent after losing his Connecticut primary to Ned Lamont and then endorsing McCain and not being too kind to Obama in the process.

Lieberman was hedging his bets by running with McCain every chance he got, going so far as to saying Obama voted against troop funding and therefore was against the troops. When you gamble there should be consequences. For Lieberman to get away with spitting in the face of the Democratic Party time after time with no repercussions is not a good thing for the party. Don't get me wrong, we don't have to march in lockstep like the Republicans do, but Lieberman's actions are beyond the pale.

ADDING (11/11/08 8:50am) - What really pisses me off is that Lieberman is the one who's finding all this "unacceptable." Shut the fuck up, Joe, you made your bed. Unfortunately, Obama has made a suggestion, recommendation, whatever you want to call it, and that should weigh heavily in the Senators' decision on what to do with Lieberman in deference to Obama. I don't like it but should they consider keeping Lieberman on, they should make it clear he's on the tightest of leashes and if he keeps tacking to the right with the fear mongering and acting as if Israel is more important than the country he was elected to represent, he's done.

Scarborough Says "Fuck You" On Air

A priceless Morning Joke™ moment. Scarborough drops the F-Bomb! He doesn't even realize he said it. And then Mika goes with the tried and true "Run away! Run away!" desk anchor technique and goes so far as to say he didn't just blurt out "fuck you" on national television, but then realizes that even she can't talk the country out of this one.



Can he be fired now? Please?

ADDING - The sad part was that he was finally making a good point; that the Obama campaign and their members were a good group of steady men that "don't go around flipping people off and screaming fuck you at the top of their lungs" like John McCain.

UPDATE (10:30am): Commenter "dontpanic23" on Bob Cesca's blog brings this to our attention - it wasn't the first time he had said it on air.



Now there is rumor that Scarborough has been suspended for the incident. I haven't found any confirmation of that yet.

T Minus 71 Days

"They want the federal government controlling the Social Security like it's some kind of federal program."

- St. Charles, Missouri campaign speech, November 2000

By the way, George Bush won St. Charles in 2000 with 58% of the votes. The good people of that county voted for him in 2004 with 60% of the votes cast. But in 2008? Boy, did they change their minds! McCain won with 54% of the vote. Just sigh and move on.

Why Does This Dipshit Still Have A Job?

Will someone tell me why anything Bill Kristol writes matters? Only a weatherman can be wrong so often and still be able to retain his job. And yet, here is Kristol in the New York Times again with this craptacular observation:

Sure, the election results had been bad — but they weren’t devastating. Obama wasn’t winning the popular vote by double-digit margins, as some polls had suggested he might. Republican losses in the Senate and House were substantial but not catastrophic.

...there was virtually no change in the voters’ ideological self-identification: in 2008, 22 percent called themselves liberal, up only marginally from 21 percent in 2004; 34 percent were conservative, unchanged from the last election; and 44 percent called themselves moderate, compared with 45 percent in 2004.

In other words, this was a good Democratic year, but it is still a center-right country.

Oh, Bill. Bill. You can try to talk yourself into your idiotic assessments until you're blue in the face, but the reality is that the country is not "center-right." In fact, it never has been. Here's a little something from Gallup brought to us by our good friend, Mr. Bob Cesca:

• Americans are pro-choice (67 percent)
• Americans support the Geneva Conventions with regards to torture (57 percent)
• Americans don't want the government snooping in their bank and internet records (67 percent)
• Americans want the USA Patriot Act changed or eliminated entirely (81 percent)
• Americans support protecting the environment at the expense of economic growth (55 percent)
• Americans believe that global warming is happening (86 percent)
• Americans believe that it's the government's responsibility to provide health care (69 percent)
• Americans support the decriminalization of marijuana (55 percent) and support the legalization of medical marijuana (78 percent)
• Americans are opposed to attacking Iran (68 percent, according to a CNN Poll)
• Americans support labor unions (60 percent)
• Americans want government funding of embryonic stem cell research (56 percent)
• Americans believe that free trade hurts American workers (65 percent)
• Americans believe rich people and corporations aren't paying enough taxes (66 and 71 percent respectively)
• And overall party affiliation? 54 percent of Americans are Democrats (with leaners) and 39 percent are Republicans (with leaners).

Bob also mentions this little tidbit of information:

Of the last 30 Congresses, since 1945, Republicans have controlled the House for a grand total of seven Congresses. Seven out of 30. The 80th Congress, and the 104th-109th. In the Senate, the numbers are slightly better. Ten out of 30.

We know you really, really, really want to think that the country is more conservative, but just because you say it doesn't make it true. Here's a handy, dandy little map brought to you by the newspaper of record that you happen to work for, The New York Times:

See all the blue there, Billy boy? Those are counties that shifted and voted more Democratic than in 2004. That's a lot of blue, isn't it? A bit too much blue to claim that the country is "center-right."

And yet, this moron still has a job, but hopefully not for long.

T Minus 72 Days

"Throughout our history, the words of the Declaration have inspired immigrants from around the world to set sail to our shores. These immigrants have helped transform 13 small colonies into a great and growing nation of more than 300 people."

- Charlottesville, VA, July 4, 2008

Dear Red States

I don't know who the originator of this e-mail is, and I know that it's a few days late but I thought it was so funny that I had to post it. To whomever wrote it, thank you!

To: Broadway Carl
From: Anonymous

Dear Red States:

We've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us. In case you aren't aware, that includes California , Hawaii , Oregon , Washington , Minnesota , Wisconsin , Michigan , Illinois and all the Northeast. It may even include Florida and Ohio , they are seriously considering it. We've given them until Nov. 4th to decide. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country. Since we're dropping the middle states we're calling it United America, or simply the U.A.

To sum up briefly: You get Texas , Oklahoma and all the slave states. We get stem cell research and the best beaches. We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood. You can take Ted Nugent. We're keeping Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel. You get WorldCom. We get Intel and Microsoft. You get Ole' Miss. We get Harvard and 85 percent of America 's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama . We get two-thirds of the tax revenue, you get to make the red states pay their fair share.

Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms, and the highest concentration of pregnant unwed teenagers. Please be aware that the U.A. will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq , and hope that the WMDs turn up, really we do, but we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's Quagmire. We'd rather spend it on taking care of sick people, and educating our children.

With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80 percent of the country's fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 95 percent of America's quality wines, 90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech industry, most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools plus Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT. With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92 percent of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100 percent of the tornadoes, 90 percent of the hurricanes, 99 percent of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100 percent of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia. We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you.

Additionally, 38 percent of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62 percent believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the war, the death penalty or gun laws, 44 percent say that evolution is only a theory, 53 percent that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61 percent of you crazy Redies believe you are people with higher morals then we Bluies.

Finally, we're taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed they grow in Mexico.

Peace out, Blue States


Update (4:40pm): A quick Google search brought me to this. Still funny.

GOP Hypocrites

Jim Rutenberg, New York Times: "That whole anti-American, friend-to-the-terrorists thing about President-elect Barack Obama? Never mind."

Michele "Anti-American Views" Bachmann: ...called Mr. Obama’s victory, which included her state, “a tremendous signal we sent.”

Sarah "Palling Around With Terrorists" Palin: " “Let us, let us — let him — be able to kind of savor this moment, one, and not let the pettiness of maybe internal workings of the campaign erode any of the recognition of this historic moment that we’re in. And God bless Barack Obama and his beautiful family.”

Joe "Obama Doesn't Support The Troops" Lieberman: "... Senator Obama — is a genuine patriot and loves his country."

Fucking. Hypocrites. All.

Krauthammer Blames The Economy

When will these conservative pundits admit the truth and just come out and say that McCain fucked up? Obama has so far received over 65 million votes, 8 million more than his opponent and counting. 364 electoral votes and counting. And yet the so called conservative pundits can't bear to give credit where credit is due. Any excuse to exonerate the Maverick.

Charles Krauthammer blames the economy.

In the excitement and decisiveness of Barack Obama's victory, we forget that in the first weeks of September, John McCain was actually ahead. Then Lehman collapsed, and the financial system went off a cliff.

To be fair, Krauthammer does go on to mention other factors that caused McCain's demise, including the choice of Palin, and trying to steal the "change" message - real change because of McCain's and Simple Sarah's maverickiness. And he does say that Obama ran a "brilliant" campaign. But that's secondary to Krauthammer's main message which more than half his column is devoted to, blaming the economy subliminally by suggesting that if the market didn't tank and banks didn't collapse, things could have turned out differently.

We'll never know. But the major difference is that while John McCain was playing political stunt du jour, Barack Obama was thoughtful, sought advice from experts and multi tasked - he didn't have to pretend to suspend his campaign in order to deal with a crisis.

If anyone or anything beat John McCain besides Barack Obama, it was John McCain, not only because of his choice of Sarah Palin in an attempt to galvanize a base that would never vote Democratic anyway, but in the one line that Krauthammer fails to mention in his column: "The fundamentals of our economy are still strong."

With that one sentence, McCain showed that he wasn't in touch with what was going on, that the economy was not his strong suit, and that he thought it better to try and calm the populous with a false line instead of giving them "straight talk." The non-suspension suspension of his campaign (which Krauthammer also mentions) to "solve the economic crisis" that he didn't believe was a crisis to begin with, only to go to Washington, not participate in the talks in a leadership role and quite possibly derailing the progress that had been made before he got there - was only exacerbated by the botched Letterman debacle. He should have given Letterman some "straight talk" instead of lying to a man with a nightly broadcast.

Then the Maverick who said he would "make famous" the seekers of pork with his Almighty Sharpie™ voted yea for an $850 billion bailout bill (renamed a "rescue" bill to make it more palatable for us taxpaying schmucks) when he probably knew it could have passed without his support. He could have made a statement and separated himself from his opponent by voting against it and using that Sharpie like Leonard Bernstein used a baton. Instead, he holstered his mavericky magic marker, voted for the bill and then railed against Obama as a socialist for voting in favor of the same bill!

Everyone was looking at John McCain 2008 through John McCain 2000 glasses. They wanted McCain 2000, but that McCain shriveled away a long time ago. That McCain was replaced by the 90% Bush appeaser when he realized that McMaverick wasn't going to win him any elections. The economy didn't beat John McCain, it just exposed him for the loose cannon, shoot from the hip, political stunt politician he has become.

But then Krauthammer ends with this last line - a eulogy, if you will - for Johnny Maverick:

But before our old soldier fades away, it is worth acknowledging that McCain ran a valiant race against impossible odds. He will be - he should be - remembered as the most worthy presidential nominee ever to be denied the prize.

Really - a valiant race? The most worthy presidential nominee ever to be denied the prize? I know of one particular Nobel Prize winner that might disagree with you, Chuck. If ever someone was "denied" something that was probably rightfully his, it was Al Gore.

And as far as "a valiant race" is concerned, when you resort to fear mongering by calling your opponent a socialist, claim he's "palling around with terrorists", and tacitly approve of 527 groups running non-stop Reverend Wright ads for three straight days before the election, that's not valiant, it's cowardly. Not condemning that kind of hateful rhetoric is far off the bravery meter in my book.

T Minus 73 Days

"Considering the dire circumstances that we have in New Orleans, virtually a city that has been destroyed, things are going relatively well."

- Happy 54th Birthday to former FEMA director Michael D. Brown. You're doin' a heckuva job, Brownie.

Music Break! Dr. John

How Come My Dog Don't Bark When You Come 'Round?

Must Reads

Judith Warner: Tears To Remember

Newsweek: Hackers and Spending Sprees

John Cole: Henke On The Rot

Gotta Laff: Knock Knock...

More Morning Joke™ Zaniness - UPDATED

Someone should tell Joe Scarborough that the election is over.

Speaking of Sarah Palin this morning, and how she didn't know her geography, Scarborough squeezed this nugget of wisdom out of his ass: "This plays in her favor."

Not knowing what countries are involved in NAFTA and not knowing Africa is a continent is apparently an advantage to being one step away from the Presidency of the United States, according to Scarborough.

Now we all know what he meant. He meant that politically, it shows she's "just like us" and by "us" I mean all the uneducated wingnuts that make up her base; that she's got that... how do the French say it... "I don't know what"; that she's the type of person you'd like to have a beer with or maybe a lap dance from, but Joe, Joe, Joe, can you for once in your life think about the greater good instead of instinctively going to that deep, dark place that asks how this can be politically advantageous?

I mean, for fuck's sake, she could have gotten to the position of sitting Vice President without knowing that Africa is made up of 53 countries! I think that's a bit of a problem, Joe. I don't care that she galvanizes the extreme right wing base and you think that that's a plus. How did that work this time around? I want my elected officials to be smarter than I am, or at least smarter than a grade school student, or at least smarter than my dog!

And on another note to be fair, if these leaks from anonymous McCain campaign sources are false, then what does it say about the leakers or the Republican party in general that they are eating each other from the inside just two days after the election? They obviously were close enough to realize what type of person she is and don't want her anywhere near the leadership for a future run.

Either way, whether she's a dingbat or whether it's character assassination, and I believe it's the former judging by the few interviews she gave and the VP debate, it's not good for the remnants of the Republican party.

(H/T Bob Cesca)

UPDATE (11/08/08 12:55pm):

More right wing wingnuttery - this time it's Pat Buchanan and the forlorn Mika Brzezinski in defense of Sarah Palin yet again. How can they think it's a good thing for the Republican Party to have Palin as its leader? And they're all upset about the constant Palin attacks after the race is over, as if it's some entity other than the GOP and the McCain camp who's trashing Palin. They're self destructing and refuse to see it.

Lawrence O'Donnell is spot on in this clip.



(H/T FDL)

T Minus 74 Days

"Anybody who is in a position to serve this country ought to understand the consequences of words."

- George W. Bush to Rush Limbaugh, November 2006

AHAHAHAHAAHAHAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

I Have No Problem With This Commerical

But this is what they'll probably play in the Red States:



I wonder what the European version will look like?

UPDATE (11/7/08 8:20pm): During the evening last night, the latest South Park episode regarding the Obama win was on and this Guitar Hero commercial was on twice. The PG version. They chose to air the PG version after midnight on a cable network during the airing of a show that used the word "asshole" at least three times and bleeped out "fuck" "shit" "fucking" and so on. I'll never get the FCC.

Electoral Map Question

Can someone explain to me why Missouri (tied at 49% with 100% of the precincts reporting - where are the other 2%?) has been called for McCain with over 2.8 million votes cast and McCain's lead at 5,868 votes but North Carolina (tied at 50% with 100% of the precincts reporting) hasn't been called for Obama with over 4.2 million votes cast and an Obama lead of 14,053 votes? What am I missing?

I know it doesn't matter to the news organizations anymore and therefore I won't hear it on the tube, and that it won't change the results of the election, but I'd like to know what's going on. My sadistic side really wants to turn these states blue. Can anyone enlighten me?


UPDATE (2:55pm): BAM! Obama wins North Carolina. What took so fucking long? This article also states that Missouri is still too close to call, even though I've seen maps and stories handing MO to McCain. Maybe I'll get my wish after all. Woohoo! Political woody!

T Minus 75 Days

"This very week in 1989, there were protests in East Berlin and in Leipzig. By the end of that year, every communist dictatorship in Central America had collapsed."

- Washington, DC, November 6, 2003

Fox News Throws Sarah Under The Bus

But guys, what about Palin 2012? Isn't that still on the table?

Apparently, Fox News sat on a story that concluded what we all knew: Sarah Palin is not smarter than a 5th grader. Among the things she didn't know - what countries were part of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) or that Africa was a continent, not a country.



It looks like the McCain campaign or the players in the campaign are hoping character assassination will work on Palin as well as it failed on Obama. Not that I believe these stories aren't true - on the contrary, I think this is only a glimpse into the real, stupid Sarah Palin. And here I was thinking I would never have to hear her name on a daily basis again. I have a feeling we'll be hearing about her in the next few weeks, with one embarrassing anecdote after another. Sort of like the daily coverage of the death of Anna Nicole Smith... remember how long that lasted?

And on another note, do you think Fox "Fair and Balanced" News would have kept this story off the record for a month if it were, oh I don't know, Barack Obama who didn't know that the US, Canada and Mexico were part of NAFTA? Hmmm...

(H/T Bob Cesca)

Relief and Decompression

Credits: Stan Honda/ Getty

Did you feel it this morning? I did. The sky was a little brighter. The grass was a little greener. The air seemed fresher... even in New York City. I have never been happier to start a sixteen hour work day in my entire life. There's a spring in my step and a tune on my lips - something that had not come easily for quite a long time.

The weight of eight years of darkness and oppression and failed policies of the party in the Executive office was lifted off the collective shoulders of the American people; off the shoulders of all the American people, even if almost half of them don't even realize it.

Perhaps all of us can now take a breath, sit still for just a few moments and enjoy what we were a part of last night. After a twenty-one month presidential race filled with such emotion, we should take a second to stop and smell the roses. But just for a second because the work is only just beginning. All of this work was just to get to the start line. We now have to hold our elected representatives accountable, something that hasn't happened lo these last eight years. We are nowhere near finished.

There are those who would think the worst at this point in time. Already, less than twenty-four hours after one of the most important history making moments of our nation, come whispers of assassination fantasies and media personalities creating false premises to rationalize the obvious. There exists flat out hate and fear mongering (warning - link leads to Rush Limbaugh website) and it's only going to increase exponentially unless we take the bull by the horns and wrestle it to the ground. We have to come together as one and police ourselves. We have to call out not only those in opposition, but when needed call out our elected officials and put their feet to the fire when it's called for.

The work is just beginning... but it's off to a goddamn great start.

And So It Begins

HISTORY!

UPDATE (12:52am):

The Obama campaign and Howard Dean's 50 state strategy has remade the electoral map. Ohio, Virginia, Florida, Iowa, Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada were Bush wins in 2004 that have now gone blue. As of this writing, we're still awaiting races that are too close to call in Indiana, North Carolina and Missouri. Montana and Alaska are the remaining two states that haven't projected a winner but should remain red.

Chris Shays has lost his Congressional election which now means that there are no Republican Congressmen representing any of New England. None.


UPDATE (1:40am): The new map. (Gray = still too close or too early to call as of 1:40am)










UPDATE (1:45am): Rumor has it that Obama is choosing Rahm Emmanuel as his Chief of Staff and Emmanuel has accepted!

That's it for me - I have to get up for work in four hours. I'll continue tomorrow. Goodnight! I think tomorrow is going to be a good day.

UPDATE (6:11am): INDIANA GOES BLUE!



Neither North Carolina nor Missouri have been called.

North Carolina: 50%-50% SPLIT

Obama 2,101,986
McCain 2,089,826

Obama + 12,160

Missouri: 49%-49% SPLIT

McCain 1,442,577
Obama 1,436,724

McCain + 5,853

The reason these numbers are important is because in 2004, Bush won in NC 54%-46% and MO 53%-46%. Another amazing turnaround is that Indiana is now blue where Bush won in 2004 60%-39%.

Voting Problems - UPDATED

Kansas City, MO - Six polling locations received the wrong precinct books, therefore poll workers don't have the names of the voters who should be casting their ballots in those locations. Officials are now woring to get the books to their proper locations.

12:15pm - Richmond, VA - Exremely long lines. Polls opened at 6am and there were lines forming at 3:30am!!! Electronic voting problems in different counties not showing either the Presidential or Senate races. It's also raining in Virginia and somehow, the ballots are getting wet and jamming as they are put through the machines.

1:55pm - VIRGINIA - The Northumberland County Board of Elections has announced a programming error will prevent voters today from voting a straight ticket for one party.
Mary Thew, director of the Northumberland County Board of Elections, told The News-Item that a problem was discovered early in the vote process.

I'll update this list as I hear of the problems. If you hear anything, let me know.

T Minus 77 Days

"I'm not the one who was elected. I would never do anything to undermine my husband's point of view."

Happy 62nd Birthday Laura Bush!

I hate to break it to you Laura, but your husband wasn't the one who was elected either.

Did You Vote Yet?

At 9:13am EST, I cast my vote for Barack Obama from New York's 31st District, to be the next Presdent of the United States.

VOTE!

This is the time. There has arguably never been a more important election in the past hundred years in the history of our nation, quite possibly even since our country was founded. I know that may sound over the top or melodramatic, but think about it. Think about how we find ourselves as a nation at this moment in our history.

We find ourselves in the middle of waging two wars that has spread thin our once mighty military to the breaking point. One side looks to end the war in a logical, careful fashion and bring our men and women in uniform home, while the other side would have us continue the war indefinitely; a war built on a false premise through deception and faulty intelligence against a country that never attacked us.

We find ourselves in the midst of a deepening financial crisis, with a booming budget deficit, a nearly ten TRILLION dollar national debt; record job loss and obscenely high home foreclosures that threaten the middle class in America which thrived only 10 short years ago.

We find ourselves falling prey to health insurance companies whose premiums have increased at twice the rate of inflation in just the last year alone. Over 47 million Americans (and rising) go without health insurance in the only industrialized nation that doesn't cover all of it's citizens, yet pays six times more per capita than any of its peers - the U.S. now spends more on health care than it does on food.

We find ourselves still addicted to oil. Our track marks will not fade away so long as we need 25% of the earth's oil production but only provide 3% of it ourselves. We are a nation that develops solar panels and ships them overseas to other countries. One side wants to find alternative sources of energy to reduce and eventually eliminate our dependence on foreign sources while he other side thinks that increased oil production in the U.S. will ween us off of our need for the dealers cloaked in the suits of Big Oil.

I could go on and on, but after almost two years of debating and campaigning, you've probably heard it all. If you haven't, then you haven't been paying attention. If you come to this site on a regular basis, then you know where I stand on the issues and who I'm planning to vote for, but I'll leave you with some some poetic words written by the Rude One because if the issues don't grab you, maybe this will:

What we're witnessing this election season is the ultimate triumph of American assholism: don't you fuckin' tell us we can't change things. Maybe the end result of selfishness is self-empowerment, the belief that, yeah, goddamnit, we are important enough to transform this shit. Because this ain't about McCain, this ain't about Obama. It's about us. That's what Obama has tapped into, and that's what we have responded to. Barack Obama hasn't asked us to transcend our asshole ways. He's asked us to use them, to turn the tools of egotistical expression into weapons, to act like righteous motherfuckers to those who have power. Bill Ayers and the Weather Underground and the SDS were fuckin' jerks. The civil rights marchers were rude and impolite to the status quo.

Now is the time, this final confluence of events, that has allowed us to be able to say, "How dare you have done this to us. How fucking dare you." It's why for so, so many people race doesn't matter. It's why even the South and West are in play this year. Even an asshole can do what's right.

No policy talk here. No comparisons with McCain. Let's keep this clear: By making Barack Obama president, we return to a simple American idea, one that the Founders embraced when they were such jack-offs to the British: this land is our land, my land, your land. But it ain't fuckin' their land.

This is the time. Make your voice heard. Vote.

I'm Broadway Carl and I approve this message.

Obama's Grandmother Dies

NY Times:

Senator Barack Obama’s grandmother, a central figure in his life who helped raise him during his teen-age years, died in Hawaii on Monday morning.

Mr. Obama, who left the presidential campaign trail late last month to travel to Honolulu to bid her farewell, announced the death in a statement released by his spokesman upon landing here this afternoon. Her death comes one day shy of Election Day.

“It is with great sadness that we announce that our grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has died peacefully after a battle with cancer,” Mr. Obama said in a statement. “She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility. She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances.”

Palin Snubs Megyn Kelly and Fox!

Megyn Kelly: Now on Friday, we promised you an interview with Gov. Sarah Palin. We did that because the McCain camp promised us, after weeks of negotiating, that the governor would sit down with me in Ohio on Sunday. On Saturday, less than 24 hours before the interview, the McCain camp canceled, saying that the the governor would not meet with us after all. They claimed that the governor suddenly did not have any time over the coming 72 hours to make good on her agreement of a 10-minute sit-down. We apologize for the McCain camp breaking its word. Our viewers certainly deserve better.

Interesting that Fox would have to negotiate for weeks to have an interview with Sarah Palin. Weeks of negotiations to be able to spotlight a candidate for her own benefit.

AHAHAHAAHHAH!!!! Suck it, Megyn Kelly! After that knock-down-drag-out with Bill Burton last week, now your own candidates are snubbing Fox. Maybe it's time to get a real job since you seem to be too tough for a Palin interview on the GOP network.

It must hurt, Megyn. It must really feel like shit. All that water carrying for the GOP and now you're treated like this. You probably feel like the young woman who was turned away at a McCain rally because she "didn't look right" - and this after she had already voted for McCain! That's gotta sting.

Come away from the dark side, Megyn. Come into the light. At the very least, join CNN or a major network (I'd dare say MSNBC but I fear you don't fit in), but whatever you do, take a good look in the mirror and try to figure out why it is that you were snubbed by a know nothing whore from Alaska, after you've been defending her and McThuselah for all this time.

Hockey Mama For Obama

Very funny.

Uncommitted Voters

I read this today:

With two days to go, only 8 percent of likely voters are uncommitted – either they have not yet chosen a candidate, or their minds could still change. Nearly all of these uncommitted voters say they plan to vote.

Today’s uncommitted voters are mostly white, and more than half are age 45 or older. Just over half are men, and most live in the Midwest and South. Half describe themselves as moderate, and many are not partisan - four in 10 are independents.

In that case I've come to the conclusion that "today's uncommitted voter" is also a fucking moron who couldn't decide if he should have Cocoa Puffs™ or Fruit Loops™ for breakfast. And they go through that hard decision every single day. "Today's uncommitted voter" spends 20 minutes wondering what pair of jeans he's going to wear, the blue pair or the blue pair, even though both pair are the same exact fucking type of jeans. "Today's uncommitted voter" calls himself "independent" because he can't decide on a political party. And judging by the description that "today's uncommitted voters" are white Midwestern/Southerners over the age of 45, I've also come to the conclusion that they are also closet racists who can't stand John McCain but can't bear the thought of voting for Barack Obama because he's a black man. And the only reason that they are still in the closet about their racism is because they can't decide if they should come out.

No ifs, ands or buts about it - if after listening to two years of campaigning, you are still "uncommitted" between

A) a creepy, old guy who brings nothing to the table except that he thinks he is deserving of the highest office in the land because of his status as a POW and who's first real presidential decision was to choose as his running mate a trailer trash whore from Alaska who can't put a sentence together without sounding like a sing-song Romper Room host reject to be one frail heartbeat away from the most powerful position in the world, or -

B) an, intelligent, thoughtful man who knows and understands the problems that we face in this country because he was not born into privilege and can bring people of all stripes together because of his overwhelming message of hope and unity and his ability to extract the best from every single one of us in order to reclaim our position of respect in the world -

- then you probably should sit this one out and let the grown ups decide what's best for the nation. I know that voting is a right, but I also think that it is a privilege, a privilege that shouldn't be taken lightly, and for someone to say they are still "uncommitted" at this point, they must either lying, apathetic, or completely uninformed, misinformed or both and therefore clueless.

So do us all a favor, Mr. and Mrs. Uncommitted, and stay home. Watch the election results from the comfort of your own home as you fret over the decision between ordering pizza or Chinese. Sit there with your mouth agape as the kung pao chicken or pepperoni slice hangs from your lips pondering the next four years with the first African American in the White House. And then sit back and think about how you watched history... instead of participating in it.

T Minus 78 Days

"There is a - we've got a homeownership gap in America, let's face it. Over 75 percent of white Americans own their home, and less than 50 percent of Hispanos and African Americans don't own their home. And that's a gap, that's a homeownership gap. And we've got to do something about it."

- Cleveland, OH 2002