This is a good post from Matt Mendelsohn in the Huffington Post
McCain: A Tragedy in Three Scenes
Scene 1. A polling place.
First Witch:
When shall we three meet again,
Second Witch:
In Florida, Texas, or in Maine?
When the hurly-burly's done,
When the 'lection's lost and won.
Third Witch:
That will be ere the set of sun.
First Witch:
Where the place?
Second Witch:
Upon the plain.
Third Witch:
There to meet with John McCain.
He's getting desperate, just our style.
Let's let his anger stew awhile.
First Witch:
But first, the Tar Heel state doth beckon.
Second Witch:
Yes, it's sister Liddy, I do reckon.
Third Witch:
Anon!
All:
Fair is foul, and foul is fair:
North Carolina needs some godless air.
Exeunt
Scene II. A field outside Raleigh.
First Witch:
Sister Liddy, how goeth it?
Second Witch:
So fareth, so goodeth, Sister Ann.
When we're through with that Pagan woman,
the voters will thinketh she be one of us.
Third Witch:
'Tis good. But methinks her name be Hagan, not Pagan.
Second Witch:
Pagan, Hagan, whoeth is counting, Sister Bachmann?
Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.
But voting in November, facts they won't remember.
Third Witch:
Too trueth, too trueth!
Though facts were scarce, folks got the gist
When I called Obama a terrorist.
(The witches laugh and dance.)
First Witch:
What be the weapon of choice, Sister Liddy?
The dagger or the poison?
Second Witch:
Worse, Sister Ann. Character assassination!
Upon the hour an ad will air,
Which goeth beyond the bounds of fair.
We'll have her claim there is no God,
A ring and run and I'll get the nod.
All:
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
'Tis always good to get the voters pissed.
By labeling one an atheist.
Exeunt
Scene III. A Campaign Plane.
First Witch:
A drum, a drum!
McCain doth come.
McCain:
Speak, if you can: what are you?
First Witch:
All hail, McCain! Hail to thee, thane of Tempe!
Second Witch:
All hail, McCain, hail to thee, thane of Temper!
Third Witch:
All hail, McCain, thou shalt be president hereafter!
First Witch:
Lesser than Obama, and greater.
Second Witch:
Not so eloquent, and lots more air quotation marks.
Third Witch (to Palin):
Thou shalt get presidents, though thou be none:
So all hail, McCain and Palin!
Palin:
You betcha, witches!
Though English Lit is not my bag,
I know enough to respect a hag
Who telleth me good things will come,
Wink wink, nudge nudge, my brain is numb.
Though Todd may be a simple musher,
My ambition runs straight through to Russia.
Big things, bright lights, the world 'tis mine,
Just one week more, must tow the line.
Keep up pretense to Lady McCain,
and four more years will be thy reign.
What troublest thou, McCain?
They said you would be president.
Is that not what those witches meant?
McCain:
They said your children shall be presidents. Methinks they meant
pregnant, not president.
Palin:
Heyest, now -- don't goest there.
McCain:
If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well
this 'lection were done with quickly.
I can hold on five more days,
no matter what Chris Matthews says.
I can scare a nation straight,
with talk of Marx, of tax, of hate.
My men can pull some 'lection pranks,
and cause dissent among the ranks.
But I am afraid to think what I have done;
Once a maverick, when I was young.
But now I'll do just what it takes,
I'll say anything, for goodness sakes.
And when you though things couldn't get dumber
I hung my hopes on Joe the Plumber.
Ambition is a funny thing --
Change -- no, not that change! -- it doth bring.
These weird witches, the truth they speak;
I might be president this time next week.
But witches messeth with your head,
It just might be Barack instead.
Exeunt.
Friday, October 31, 2008
ARE THESE POLITICAL PUNDITS GROVELING AND BEGGING FOR JOBS, SUCH AS SPEECH WRITING ?
It seems to me to be the case. These guys are on cable every night praising Governor Sarah Palin and Joe the plumber. Sometimes they can't get the words out and stumble over them if asked a question out of their talking points.
They think the American public is so dumb and is dumbing down the public for their own gain. It is so disgusting. I don't know when the spinning stops and the real conversation begins. I am just thinking about their children and if they have any respect for them.
When I go to San Diego and stay at one of their luxury hotels and two blocks away there are hundreds of homeless and runaway kids camped out on the sidewalk. Some of these kids parents say "do as I tell you and not as I do". I believe they think their parents are hypocrites.
The parking at this hotel was valet parking only and costs 22.00 a night. There was no other option. I guess it was for the guests safety.
They think the American public is so dumb and is dumbing down the public for their own gain. It is so disgusting. I don't know when the spinning stops and the real conversation begins. I am just thinking about their children and if they have any respect for them.
When I go to San Diego and stay at one of their luxury hotels and two blocks away there are hundreds of homeless and runaway kids camped out on the sidewalk. Some of these kids parents say "do as I tell you and not as I do". I believe they think their parents are hypocrites.
The parking at this hotel was valet parking only and costs 22.00 a night. There was no other option. I guess it was for the guests safety.
TACTICS TO KEEP COLLEGE STUDENTS FROM VOTING
TOP STORY
Friday, October 31, 2008State laws pose hurdles for student votersBy Christina M. Wright, Special to Stateline.org
College students who registered to vote in the state where they attend school have faced sometimes daunting regulations that vary from state to state. And they may confront one more hurdle — showing acceptable identification at the polls.
While the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1979 that students can register to vote at their college address, a wide range of state laws, some made stricter since the 2004 elections, and some questionable interpretation by local registrars have deterred some young voters from registering.
Seven states, most of them battleground states, have laws that make it more difficult than others for out-of-state students to establish residency where they attend school, register to vote there and verify their identity at the polls, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University Law School. They are Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio and Virginia.
The center, which studies how voting laws affect students, flagged Indiana and Florida as having the most rigorous residency verification.
In Florida, each voter must present a photo ID with a signature and an address in the voting district. That can pose problems for students whose driver’s licenses often carry their home address and whose student IDs often don’t have a signature or address.
Indiana requires voters to present a photo ID that has an expiration date and is issued by the state of Indiana or the federal government.
While some states allow others forms of identification to register, such as utility bills, colleges often pay dorm utilities from student fees, leaving students without these documents.
Student voter rights are a hot topic this election season because college students voted in record numbers during the primaries and subsequent voter registration drives on campuses produced even more potential voters.
“This is the most active student electorate ever,” said Michele Jawando, a manager with the People For the American Way Foundation, which works to clarify state laws. “And the best tool for them to have is to know their rights.”
But student voter registration drives haven’t been without glitches. Permanent residency is the most debated registration regulation. College students usually claim their home address on official paperwork and their school address for paperwork mailed throughout the school year, creating confusion for state officials.
College students have been deterred from registering to vote in some states by fears or warnings that changing permanent residency could adversely affect the validity of their driver’s licenses and their parents’ claiming them as dependents on tax forms, financial aid, health and car insurance.
In August, a registrar in Montgomery County, Va., where Virginia Tech is located, issued statements — later reversed — warning students that they should weigh the consequences of changing permanent residency, prompting some students to quickly withdraw their registration. The official said that by registering at college, “you have declared your independence from your parents” for tax purposes and that the students could lose scholarships and were required to change addresses on driver’s license and car registration within 30 days.
Local officials later issued similar warnings in North Carolina and Colorado.
Jennifer Rosenberg, a Brennan Center fellow, said the project found none of those concerns valid. Almost nothing is affected by claiming permanent residency in another state for voting purposes, she said, and residency for voting is different than residency for federal matters.
“Students have had problems voting before,” Rosenberg said. “A lot of the local registrars don’t understand the rules; the poll workers don’t understand the rules.”
Another concern of advocates are states that look for some assurance that students will stay. Virginia requires a voter to “have a physical location where they intend to stay for an unlimited time,” according to the state’s elections board. The regulation is a bit unclear, but Rosenberg said it cannot require students to declare that they will remain in Virginia after graduation.
“We believe states that require students to stay in-state after graduation are unconstitutional,” Rosenberg said.
Out-of-state college voters aiming to skip local voting issues by using absentee ballots from their home states also have run into various requirements.
Alaska, Missouri, Wisconsin and North Carolina require absentee ballots to be witnessed by at least one person. First-time Mississippi voters who registered by mail must supply a copy of an ID in the return packet, and all absentee ballots must be witnessed by a notary.
By far, the most strenuous regulation in all the battleground states is in Michigan, which requires first-time voters to either register in person or vote in person.
Rashawn Mitchner, a Howard University senior from Michigan, said she registered in person this year while she was home for winter break and will vote from Washington, D.C., by absentee ballot. But some fellow Michigan students are not sure of their state’s laws.
“I know there is some confusion,” she said. “I did hear someone say on campus that they couldn’t vote because they have to be in person.”
Some states make it quite easy for out-of-state students to vote, according to the Brennan Center. Montana accepts a wide range of documents establishing residency, including cell phone and student housing bills. Iowa, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Wisconsin are other battleground states with the least-daunting regulations.
“Some states just make it easier or understand the needs of these students,” Rosenberg said.
In response to these issues, the Student Voter Act of 2008, introduced by U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) in July, would require universities that receive federal funds to offer voter registration to students when they register for classes. “We should be making it easy,” Schakowsky said at a recent Capitol Hill conference.
Rosenberg said she thinks states make it harder for out-of-state persons to register in an effort to prevent these voters from taking control of the ballot, such as in a swing state where a few thousand votes could make the difference.
Liberty University Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. made a plea in September to the 10,500 eligible students at his fundamental Baptist institution in Lynchburg, Va., to register locally. “Wouldn't it be something if Liberty's votes were enough to change which presidential candidate won Virginia and maybe even the presidency itself,” Falwell said in a statement.
Friday, October 31, 2008State laws pose hurdles for student votersBy Christina M. Wright, Special to Stateline.org
College students who registered to vote in the state where they attend school have faced sometimes daunting regulations that vary from state to state. And they may confront one more hurdle — showing acceptable identification at the polls.
While the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1979 that students can register to vote at their college address, a wide range of state laws, some made stricter since the 2004 elections, and some questionable interpretation by local registrars have deterred some young voters from registering.
Seven states, most of them battleground states, have laws that make it more difficult than others for out-of-state students to establish residency where they attend school, register to vote there and verify their identity at the polls, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University Law School. They are Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio and Virginia.
The center, which studies how voting laws affect students, flagged Indiana and Florida as having the most rigorous residency verification.
In Florida, each voter must present a photo ID with a signature and an address in the voting district. That can pose problems for students whose driver’s licenses often carry their home address and whose student IDs often don’t have a signature or address.
Indiana requires voters to present a photo ID that has an expiration date and is issued by the state of Indiana or the federal government.
While some states allow others forms of identification to register, such as utility bills, colleges often pay dorm utilities from student fees, leaving students without these documents.
Student voter rights are a hot topic this election season because college students voted in record numbers during the primaries and subsequent voter registration drives on campuses produced even more potential voters.
“This is the most active student electorate ever,” said Michele Jawando, a manager with the People For the American Way Foundation, which works to clarify state laws. “And the best tool for them to have is to know their rights.”
But student voter registration drives haven’t been without glitches. Permanent residency is the most debated registration regulation. College students usually claim their home address on official paperwork and their school address for paperwork mailed throughout the school year, creating confusion for state officials.
College students have been deterred from registering to vote in some states by fears or warnings that changing permanent residency could adversely affect the validity of their driver’s licenses and their parents’ claiming them as dependents on tax forms, financial aid, health and car insurance.
In August, a registrar in Montgomery County, Va., where Virginia Tech is located, issued statements — later reversed — warning students that they should weigh the consequences of changing permanent residency, prompting some students to quickly withdraw their registration. The official said that by registering at college, “you have declared your independence from your parents” for tax purposes and that the students could lose scholarships and were required to change addresses on driver’s license and car registration within 30 days.
Local officials later issued similar warnings in North Carolina and Colorado.
Jennifer Rosenberg, a Brennan Center fellow, said the project found none of those concerns valid. Almost nothing is affected by claiming permanent residency in another state for voting purposes, she said, and residency for voting is different than residency for federal matters.
“Students have had problems voting before,” Rosenberg said. “A lot of the local registrars don’t understand the rules; the poll workers don’t understand the rules.”
Another concern of advocates are states that look for some assurance that students will stay. Virginia requires a voter to “have a physical location where they intend to stay for an unlimited time,” according to the state’s elections board. The regulation is a bit unclear, but Rosenberg said it cannot require students to declare that they will remain in Virginia after graduation.
“We believe states that require students to stay in-state after graduation are unconstitutional,” Rosenberg said.
Out-of-state college voters aiming to skip local voting issues by using absentee ballots from their home states also have run into various requirements.
Alaska, Missouri, Wisconsin and North Carolina require absentee ballots to be witnessed by at least one person. First-time Mississippi voters who registered by mail must supply a copy of an ID in the return packet, and all absentee ballots must be witnessed by a notary.
By far, the most strenuous regulation in all the battleground states is in Michigan, which requires first-time voters to either register in person or vote in person.
Rashawn Mitchner, a Howard University senior from Michigan, said she registered in person this year while she was home for winter break and will vote from Washington, D.C., by absentee ballot. But some fellow Michigan students are not sure of their state’s laws.
“I know there is some confusion,” she said. “I did hear someone say on campus that they couldn’t vote because they have to be in person.”
Some states make it quite easy for out-of-state students to vote, according to the Brennan Center. Montana accepts a wide range of documents establishing residency, including cell phone and student housing bills. Iowa, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Wisconsin are other battleground states with the least-daunting regulations.
“Some states just make it easier or understand the needs of these students,” Rosenberg said.
In response to these issues, the Student Voter Act of 2008, introduced by U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) in July, would require universities that receive federal funds to offer voter registration to students when they register for classes. “We should be making it easy,” Schakowsky said at a recent Capitol Hill conference.
Rosenberg said she thinks states make it harder for out-of-state persons to register in an effort to prevent these voters from taking control of the ballot, such as in a swing state where a few thousand votes could make the difference.
Liberty University Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. made a plea in September to the 10,500 eligible students at his fundamental Baptist institution in Lynchburg, Va., to register locally. “Wouldn't it be something if Liberty's votes were enough to change which presidential candidate won Virginia and maybe even the presidency itself,” Falwell said in a statement.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
UNITED NATIONS REPORT ON THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT AND GROWING INEQUALITY
Growing inequality in US cities could lead to widespread social unrest and increased mortality, says a new United Nations report on the urban environment.
In a survey of 120 major cities, New York was found to be the ninth most unequal in the world and Atlanta, New Orleans, Washington, and Miami had similar inequality levels to those of Nairobi, Kenya Abidjan and Ivory Coast. Many were above an internationally recognised acceptable "alert" line used to warn governments.
In a survey of 120 major cities, New York was found to be the ninth most unequal in the world and Atlanta, New Orleans, Washington, and Miami had similar inequality levels to those of Nairobi, Kenya Abidjan and Ivory Coast. Many were above an internationally recognised acceptable "alert" line used to warn governments.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
JOHN MCCAIN'S CAMPAIGN LINKED TO VOTER REGISTRATION FIRM
John McCain's campaign has directed $175, 000.00 to the firm of a Republican who has been accused of voter registration fraud in several states. The RNC, McCain-Palin campaign and the California Republican Party made the payment to the group Sproul and Associates (former name of Lincoln Strategy ) for registering voters.
The managing partner of that firm is Nathan Sproul. He has been investigatedmany times for suppressing Democratic voter turnout, throwing away registrations of minorities,and helping to get Ralph Nader on ballots to hinder the Democratic ticket.
The managing partner of that firm is Nathan Sproul. He has been investigatedmany times for suppressing Democratic voter turnout, throwing away registrations of minorities,and helping to get Ralph Nader on ballots to hinder the Democratic ticket.
TALIBAN HAS BEHEADED UP TO 30 PEOPLE
The victims were passengers on a bus in southern Afghanistan. They were being accused of being soldiers travelling in civilian clothes. 6 bodies were found. They were beheaded, mutilated and dumped.
24 others have been killed but their bodies have not been found yet.The attack occured on the main road from the southern city of Kandahar to the western town of Herat. It took place in Maiwand District.
24 others have been killed but their bodies have not been found yet.The attack occured on the main road from the southern city of Kandahar to the western town of Herat. It took place in Maiwand District.
TAINTED FEED KILLS 1,500 DOGS IN CHINA
The 1,500 raccoon dogs were bred for their fur that is used to trim coats and other clothing. The feed was tainted with melamine, it causes kidney stones.
The dogs died of kidney failure after eating the tainted feed, Zhang Wenkui, a veterinary professor at Shenyang Agriculture University said.
There is a crisis where the dairy products caused kidney stones in tens of thousands of children and has been linked to the deaths of four children.
The chemical has also been found to be in the edible body paint.
The dogs died of kidney failure after eating the tainted feed, Zhang Wenkui, a veterinary professor at Shenyang Agriculture University said.
There is a crisis where the dairy products caused kidney stones in tens of thousands of children and has been linked to the deaths of four children.
The chemical has also been found to be in the edible body paint.
ACORN OFFICES VANDALIZED AND STAFF GETTING DEATH THREATS
For two weeks employees of Acorn have been attacked. John McCain told a national audience that Acorn was " maybe perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history in this country, maybe destroying the fabric of democracy",and after that Acorn's Boston and Seattle offices were vandalized.
The staffer who appeared on tv received a death threat.There have been racist and threatening voicemails and emails.
The staffer who appeared on tv received a death threat.There have been racist and threatening voicemails and emails.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
SURGE IN ATTACKS ON IMMIGRANTS IN ITALY
With the economic crisis under way, they are blaming the immigrants. People have been beaten and killed recently because they are accused of stealing work from Italians.
3.6 million legal immigrants were admitted last year. Italy needs the immigrants because of low birth rates and to boost the economy. A minister said the spectre of fascism is returning to Italy.
3.6 million legal immigrants were admitted last year. Italy needs the immigrants because of low birth rates and to boost the economy. A minister said the spectre of fascism is returning to Italy.
IMMIGRATION MINISTER IN UK WANTS TO CAP NUMBER OF PEOPLE GETTING IN
The reason for the cap is because of tough economic conditions & people losing their jobs. There will be a balance of number of people coming in and people leaving.
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