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Sarah Palin’s Effect on JohnMcCain.com
While John McCain need only be “aware of the internet” to effectively lead this country into the next decade according to his online adviser Mark Soohoo, While John McCain need only be “aware of the internet” to effectively lead this country into the next decade according to his online a... more
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McCain rushes for gold in the Yukon
The McCain camp just put together the perfect foil for the Obama/Biden ticket. As Obama’s message of change took a sharp turn for the establishment in choosing Senator Biden - McCain bucks the current conventional wisdom by choosing the Governor from Alaska. In FEBRUARY American Spectator said this about Palin: The McCain camp just put together the perfect foil for the Obama/Biden ticket. As Obama’s message of change took a sharp turn for the ... more
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Playing Poker with John McCain
by Jayne Lyn Stahl
Showing, yet again, that he can climb tall buildings in a single leap, presumptive Republican presidential contender, John McCain, today announced his pick for running mate, "feminist for life," Sarah Palin. Among other things, the question is: whose life is Gov. Palin a feminist for--that of the unborn, or that of the living?
After last night's historic, and momentous, convention, in Denver, we have no questions about whose life Sen. Obama is deeply concerned.
What's more, with this selection, Sen. McCain shows that all his party talk about experience was nothing more than campaign rhetoric. Would you buy a used car from this man?
McCain poker: "I'll see you one two term senator, and raise you with one first time governor." by Jayne Lyn Stahl ... more -
Sex ads on Denver Craigslist spike with Democrats' arrival
An unusual phenomenon has recently appeared on Craigslist's Denver Web site. Sex-wanted ads spiked this week, which happens to coincide with the Democratic National Convention.
Ads seeking casual sexual encounters through the Denver Craigslist site increased an average of roughly 70 percent to 80 percent over the same days of the week earlier in August.
"Casual encounter" ads spiked the week of the Democratic National Convention. But correlation does not, by itself, prove causation. The vertical axis is posts-per-day, and the horizontal axis represents every day of August to date.
On average, 425 posts on Craiglist's "Casual Encounters" area appeared on the first three Sundays in August. But this Sunday, when tens of thousands of people had arrived for the convention, 763 posts appeared--an 80 percent increase. An unusual phenomenon has recently appeared on Craigslist's Denver Web site. Sex-wanted ads spiked this week, which happens to co... more -
Blogger Michelle Malkin Attacked in Denver near DNC08
Conservative blogger Michelle Malkin was beset by a horde of self-described leftist anarchists not far from the site of the Democratic National Convention earlier today. The mob was lead by well known left-wing conspiracy theory radio show host Alex Jones, who was at the protest designed to (and I’m not exaggerating at all) levitate the Denver Mint so as to shake out all the money. The mob was organized under the banner “Re-Create ‘68″, with the goal of re-igniting the riots of 1968 around the Chicago Democratic Convention. Conservative blogger Michelle Malkin was beset by a horde of self-described leftist anarchists not far from the site of the Democratic... more
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August 29, 2005
By Jayne Lyn Stahl
Don't you find it curious how Vice President Dick Cheney is going to visit Georgia, next week, when he didn't visit New Orleans after Katrina?
And, as for Georgia, it'd be a welcome relief if "humanitarian aid" came in the form of interest, and not navy war ships.
On August 29, 2005, in the hours after Katrina hit, you may recall, Bush and McCain were too busy celebrating the Arizona senator's 69th birthday to notice thousands of those who were displaced, or drowning. Indeed, while they were busy cutting into the birthday cake, FEMA was busy not returning phone calls.
That the vice president has chosen the week of the third anniversary of Katrina to announce his field trip to Georgia is egregious in light of his administration's wanton, and boldfaced disinterest in the the poorest, and most economically disenfranchised, citizens of New Orleans. The only thing more egregious is the gross neglect of a hurricane-ravaged city, over the past three years, which largely looks today as it did in the days after August 29th, as well as a policy of calculated disinterest in the plight of the homeless, and the indigent, throughout this great nation.
Clearly, if there was oil in New Orleans, that would have been the vice president's first stop. Surely, too, Mr. Cheney is thrilled by the prospect of a lucrative reconstruction deal in Ossetia and Abkhazia. Any government that cares more about rebuilding a foreign country over rebuilding a national treasure, in our own backyard, is one that has outstayed its welcome.
Two days from the Republican nominee-in-waiting's birthday, one that is easily remembered as it, coincidentally, happens to fall on the same day as a historic, and monumental, tragedy that resulted from institutionalized mismanagement, it's up to each and every one of us, on Election Day, to ensure that John McCain and George W. Bush don't get to celebrate President McCain's 73rd birthday while the rest of us are mired in debt, displaced by foreclosure, or engaged in a battlefield quagmire that has only served to profit the privileged few who now happen to run this country, and are running it into the ground.
Oil isn't our biggest import; aristocracy is. The high priests of privilege have been playing poker with our future, and that of our children. Those who want an economic caste system, who want life and death to be predicated on privilege, belong in their country clubs, not in our government. By Jayne Lyn Stahl ... more -
Hillary Backs Obama at DNC, Calls for Unity
Hillary Rodham Clinton summoned millions of voters who supported her in the primaries to send Barack Obama to the White House Tuesday night, declaring in a Democratic National Convention speech that the man who defeated her ``is my candidate and he must be our president.'' Hillary Rodham Clinton summoned millions of voters who supported her in the primaries to send Barack Obama to the White House Tuesday ... more
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Timed Release
By Jayne Lyn Stahl
Understood there was no accusation of fraud, or embezzlement; nevertheless, explain why this story about Hunter Biden, son of Sen. Joseph R. Biden, is getting high profile coverage when another one, the resignation, (on a Sunday, no less) of Andrew McCain (son of Sen. McCain) from Silver State Bank got such limited press.
This is not to suggest that there was no impropriety, or backroom wheeling and dealing, in which Biden's son and brother had a hand in, only that it's curious timing given Saturday's announcement of Joe Biden as Obama's choice for vice president.
When you consider how much concern there is, and has been, justifiably, about assassinations, in this election year, you can't help but wonder how it is that political assassinations are overlooked,as are character assassinations--the kind in which Sen. McCain routinely engages when talking about his opponent. Doesn't anybody care about character assassinations anymore? We've turned into a nation of tabloid terrorists.
This sort of mudslinging is nothing new in your average garden variety campaign year, but the mainstream press has now become not only a collaborator in the lead-up to an illegal war, but has thrown its hat in the election ring by manipulating release of a story about lawsuits that are more than a year old to coincide with the feel good week of the Democratic convention. This kind of media interventionism shows just how masterfully the Bush administration has managed to neutralize the press.
Bias is clearly one four letter word the F.C.C. has yet to fine.
If the mainstream media, in this country, wants to prove to posterity that it has even a sliver of independence, or backbone, left, those newshounds who broke the Hunter Biden story might think about returning the favor, in the days immediately following McCain's veep announcement, and do a much-needed follow-up story on Andrew McCain's sudden, and inexplicable, disappearance from Silver State Bank. By Jayne Lyn Stahl ... more -
Why Biden?
By Jayne Lyn Stahl
Why did Barack Obama pick Joe Biden to be his vice presidential running mate? In a word, Georgia...
(see link for rest of article) By Jayne Lyn Stahl Why did Barack Obama pick Joe Biden to be his vice presidential running mate? In a word, Georgia... ... more -
An open letter to Joe Biden
Welcome, Joe. You have my vote, and have had it for years now---big fan here.
Do me a favor, though. Please make the focus of your campaign the economy, and not foreign policy. More people are concerned about losing their homes than losing their freedom even. How many people take to the streets over the notion of a unitary executive, or even NSA surveillance?
So, please, whatever you do, try and let the other party trip over their potential foreign policy blunders. See to it that the economy is the core issue as, at the moment, it is the only issue that distinguishes Democrats from Republicans.
We don't want Obama/Biden to be McCain lite. Welcome, Joe. You have my vote, and have had it for years now---big fan here. ... more -
Wheres the change that was promised? Biden pick shows lack of confidence
DENVER - The candidate of change went with the status quo.
In picking Sen. Joe Biden to be his running mate, Barack Obama sought to shore up his weakness — inexperience in office and on foreign policy — rather than underscore his strength as a new-generation candidate defying political conventions.
He picked a 35-year veteran of the Senate — the ultimate insider — rather than a candidate from outside Washington, such as Govs. Tim Kaine of Virginia or Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas; or from outside his party, such as Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska; or from outside the mostly white male club of vice presidential candidates. Hillary Rodham Clinton didn't even make his short list.
The picks say something profound about Obama: For all his self-confidence, the 47-year-old Illinois senator worried that he couldn't beat Republican John McCain without help from a seasoned politician willing to attack. The Biden selection is the next logistical step in an Obama campaign that has become more negative — a strategic decision that may be necessary but threatens to run counter to his image.
Democratic strategists, fretting over polls that showed McCain erasing Obama's lead this summer, welcomed the move. They, too, worried that Obama needed a more conventional — read: tougher — approach to McCain.
"You've got to hand it to the candidate and the campaign. They have a great sense of timing and tone and appropriateness. Six months ago, people said he wasn't tough enough on Hillary Clinton — he was being too passive — but he got it right at the right time," said Democratic strategist Jim Jordan. "He'll get it right again." DENVER - The candidate of change went with the status quo. ... more -
Obama's Vice Pres is chosen?
Barack Obama said Thursday he's chosen his running mate, but coyly kept all the details to himself as he campaigned with one leading contender and planned a major rally to present the Democratic ticket Saturday in Illinois.
Obama refused to say whether he'd notified his pick or when exactly he would send cell phones buzzing with the answer delivered via text message.
He didn't reveal his choice to Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, considered to be on Obama's short list, even after they met Thursday, according to two people close to the governor. They spoke on a condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Obama seemed to relish the frustrations of scores of reporters following him this week in anticipation of the announcement.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" he said with a grin when an Associated Press reporter asked when the text would be sent.
"I've made the selection, that's all you're gonna get," Obama said as he visited a store selling roasted Virginia peanuts as nonchalantly as any other day campaigning in a battleground state.
Obama planned to appear with his pick Saturday at the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., where he launched his presidential campaign in February 2007. Obama then planned to travel to the battlegrounds of Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri and Montana before arriving in Denver to accept his party's nomination Thursday.
One person who had been vetted for the position told The Associated Press there had been no contact from Obama or his campaign about the decision. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Obama campaign asked candidates not to speak about the decision.
The Illinois senator was widely thought to be considering Kaine, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas and Sens. Joe Biden of Delaware and Evan Bayh of Indiana. None of them gave anything away—at least not in words.
Obama spent part of the day with Kaine, who reportedly told a colleague Wednesday that he believed he was on the short list. West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin said Kaine told him although he hadn't heard anything from the Obama campaign on where he stands at the time, "he really thinks he has a chance at the short straw."
Kaine and Obama met privately with the governor's staff for 15 minutes at a Richmond hotel. Afterward, Kaine said he would let the Obama campaign speak about whether the candidate asked him to be his No. 2. But two people close to Kaine said the governor was still in the dark.
Kaine plans to fly Friday night directly from Virginia to Denver, site of next week's Democratic National Convention, three people with knowledge of the governor's travel plans said. The plans could be changed if Kaine is told he needs to fly to Springfield instead.
Biden had a family gathering at his home Thursday afternoon, with his wife Jill, niece Missy Owens and son Beau, Delaware's attorney general, coming and going past reporters staked outside. Biden ran errands, including a visit to the dentist, but didn't speak to the media as he came and went.
Biden is a favorite for the vice presidential nomination among Democrats who think Obama could use his experience and tough campaign style. Biden has served 35 years in Congress, while Obama has served three.
Sebelius, campaigning for Obama in Iowa, said being mentioned as a potential running mate is something of "an out-of-body experience."
"Whoever it is, I am an enthusiastic supporter," she said but added she would leave the announcement to the campaign.
Bayh worked in his Capitol Hill office and later spent time at his home in Washington. He left wearing shorts and a baseball cap but told reporters outside he had no news to share. "Not tonight, sorry," he said.
It's possible Obama could make a surprise selection, although at least one dark horse candidate appeared out of the running. Former Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn's spokesman said he would be traveling internationally until Monday, making a Saturday visit to Springfield seem unlikely. Barack Obama said Thursday he's chosen his running mate, but coyly kept all the details to himself as he campaigned with one lead... more -
McCain: The Candidate We Still Don't Know
"Most Americans still don't know, as Marshall writes, that on the campaign trail 'McCain frequently forgets key elements of policies, gets countries names wrong, forgets things said only hours or days before and is frequently just confused.' Most Americans still don't know it is precisely for this reason that the McCain campaign has now shut down the press previously unfettered access to the candidate on the Straight Talk Express." "Most Americans still don't know, as Marshall writes, that on the campaign trail 'McCain frequently forgets key element... more
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In case peolpe forgot
This is one of Obamas greatest speeches.
The reason I posted this is because this speech took place before the so called ""hype"" that overshadows Obamas campaign today. This is one of Obamas greatest speeches. ... more -
Hillary to appear on ballot at Democratic convention
WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- The leadership of Democratic Party has decided to put Senator Hillary Clinton's name on the ballot alongside presidential hopeful Barack Obama at the party's national convention late this month.
The symbolic move was intended to soothe a lingering rift between Obama's camp and Clinton supporters, the website of New York Times reported Thursday.
The decision was reached earlier this week, and will be announced later in the day.
It comes after negotiations on both sides, with many Clinton supporters vigorously pushing for her candidacy to be validated by giving her delegates the chance to support her through a roll call vote.
Clinton was defeated by Obama in the presidential primary election early this year, but party rules allow her name to appear on the ballot at the convention in a symbolic voting which will formally give Obama the party's presidential nomination. WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- The leadership of Democratic Party has decided to put Senator Hillary Clinton's name on the ballo... more -
Will the Real Domestic Terrorist Please Stand Up?
Article on the USA Patriot Act, so-called "domestic terrorism," and the neutralization of dissent in America. By Jayne Lyn Stahl. Article on the USA Patriot Act, so-called "domestic terrorism," and the neutralization of dissent in America. By Jayne Lyn ... more
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Arkansas Democratic chairman killed in shooting
The chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party died Wednesday, hours after a shooting at the party's headquarters, police said.
Chairman Bill Gwatney died at 3:59 Wednesday afternoon after a gunman entered his Little Rock office and shot him several times in the upper body, Little Rock Police Lt. Terry Hastings said.
Authorities confirmed the news shortly after former President Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton released a statement expressing their condolences.
"We are deeply saddened by the news that Bill Gwatney has passed away," the former governor and first lady of Arkansas said. "His leadership and commitment to Arkansas and this country have always inspired us and those who had the opportunity to know him."
The shooting suspect, a white male, also died Wednesday afternoon after a police chase ended in gunfire, Hastings said.
Authorities are working to confirm his identity, but Hastings said there was no indication that he was a former employee. He said police were investigating for possible motives, as well as why the suspect went into the Arkansas Baptist State Convention brandishing a gun.
* * * * *
More at link. The chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party died Wednesday, hours after a shooting at the party's headquarters, police said. ... more -
Gunman kills Arkansas Democratic party chairman
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - A gunman entered the Arkansas Democratic Party headquarters Wednesday and shot and killed the party chairman, authorities said.
The gunman asked to speak to the party chairman, Bill Gwatney, and fired three shots at the office near the state Capitol.
"He came in and went into this office and started shooting," police Lt. Terry Hastings told reporters near the party headquarters.
The suspect was chased into Grant County, south of Little Rock, and apprehended after being shot, the police spokesman said. The suspect's condition and motive were not known.
Sarah Lee, a sales clerk at a flower shop across street from the party headquarters, said that around noon Gwatney's secretary ran into the shop and asked someone to call 911.
Lee said the secretary told her the man had come into the party's office and asked to speak with Gwatney. When the secretary said she wouldn't allow him to meet with Gwatney, the man went into his office and shot him, Lee said.
She said the secretary described the man as in his 40s and white and drove off in a blue truck. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - A gunman entered the Arkansas Democratic Party headquarters Wednesday and shot and killed the party chairman, auth... more -
The Edwards Debacle: Another Page from the Karl Rove Playbook
By Jayne Lyn Stahl
If I were one of these conspiracy nuts which, of course, I'm not, I might almost think I smell the thorny hand of Karl Rove behind the Enquirer's dogged, intrepid stalking of former senator, and presidential hopeful, John Edwards, but the only other public figure to have an adjective made out of his name since Machiavelli , Rove, has had way too much on his plate lately sabotaging the careers of governors like Don Siegelman, and skirting congressional subpoenas, to dabble in destroying a potential president's career.
That said, the timing of the Edwards revelation can only be described as Rovian.
That it's taken more than a year for a national press that now grovels more than diehard paparazzi to declare the adultery witch hunt over proves that the technological revolution isn't all it's cracked up to be. After all, how long did it take to destroy the careers of other prospective presidential candidates like Gary Hart, Ted Kennedy and, better still, a sitting president, Bill Clinton? And, anyone who doesn't see parallels between John Edward's forced confession of adultery and those other chaps needs to have their eyes checked.
But, the larger question here is why we don't force our presidents to confess their sins in shame when they lie about the number of troops in Vietnam (LBJ), and why we invaded Iraq (GWB?) Maybe because that doesn't sell as many papers, or as much advertising, as anything having to do with sex. And, if that's the case, shame on you, America, for bringing down another good man for the crime of being human, and being flawed.
When asked whether John Edwards can forget about his future in politics, even his former campaign manager, David Bonior, turned against him: "You can't lie in politics and expect to have people's confidence."
Excuse me, but what do you call what a former Republican president did, while vice president under Ronald Reagan? What do you call it when George H.W. Bush looked a CBS anchor, and camera, indeed, looked America, straight in the eye and said he knew nothing about the illegal sale of arms to the Contras in exchange for release of hostages in Iran?
And, what do you call it when, a couple of decades later, another president lied to Congress, and the American people, about the existence of weapons of mass destruction, took us to war without a formal declaration of war, and one that has cost the lives of many thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians?
To the contrary, it seems to me that one can lie very well in politics and have the people's confidence, but that one must choose one's lies carefully. In this country of the Puritans, by the Puritans, and for the Puritans, a nation that has shown the World Health Organization, and HIV/AIDS clinics in Africa and Asia, that ideology comes before survival by requiring abstinence-only sex education in order to receive funding, a country that countenances "ghost ships," and the suspension of habeas corpus is appalled because a candidate who could talk about "morals" is a man, after all, and not a god... By Jayne Lyn Stahl ... more -
O'Reilly's Revenge
by Jayne Lyn Stahl
Forget Montezuma, be careful if you're traveling this summer, or you'll catch O'Reilly's Revenge. If you want to know how that feels, just ask Florida Congressman Robert Wexler who has been targeted by Fox News, and Bill O'Reilly, for "not really living in Florida" as the Palm Beach Post reports.
Of course, as this article says, Wexler is "really" being harassed for speaking out against Karl Rove, the Bush White House, and working for impeachment.
Now that Obama has managed to maintain a small, but steady, lead over McCain, the neo-cons will stop at nothing to upset the congressional race, and they're getting desperate.
O'Reilly is trying Rovian tactics on the congressman from South Florida, but they'll only work if we stand by and allow them. But, to paraphrase a former senator, Bill O'Reilly is no Karl Rove! by Jayne Lyn Stahl ... more
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