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Republicans may be bad for your health but laughter is always the best medicine. And this an Open Thread...
And so I am left wondering how this can help any GOP candidate?
Last week a Quinnipiac Poll showed that the more people learned about Sarah Palin, the worse her numbers got. This week? A new poll with about 2/3 of Republicans giving her favorables is the only thing propping her dismal numbers up. Outside of the ever shrinking minority of GOP voters the Dems give her about 15% favorables and the idependents? About 33%.
Given the trends of the last few election cycles, slightly growing number of Dem affiliated voters and the fast growth of indies and a continued decline in GOP membership? She could probably come close in the election for Mayor of Wassilla right now. But that is about it.
Has anyone mentioned to the GOP that the fact that they have wildly unpopular leaders - outside of their own party base for certain - and their continued advocacy for failed and incompetent policies that got us in an economic ditch may be leading to their continued decline? When it comes to the Free Market Run Amok? Voters can and will "just say no!" after what the last 30 years of Reagan/Bush trickle down voodoo just did to the American economy.
And as a side note below the fold:
Last year, speaking at the Heritage Foundation,
Sen. John McCain said that the Republicans laid the groundwork for reconciliation because of how they had used it:
MCCAIN: I fully recognize that Republicans have in the past engaged in using reconciliation to further the party’s agenda. I wish it had not been done then, and I hope it will not be done now that the groundwork has been laid.
But now that reconciliation, a simple up or down vote, is actually going to be used to pass a mish-mash of conservative GOP and Democratic ideas under Obama's watch? Suddenly it is the nuclear end of the world:
Here we have the GOP's favorite far right wingnut Chucky Norris discussing his wish to destroy America with dreams of a Texas secession where he can reign supreme because he didn't get his way in the last elections with FOX news lunatic, Glen Beck, trying to start a wingnut revolution:
On Glenn Beck's radio show last week, I quipped in response to our wayward federal government, "I may run for president of Texas."
That need may be a reality sooner than we think. (...snip...)
How much more will Americans take? When will enough be enough? And, when that time comes, will our leaders finally listen or will history need to record a second American Revolution? We the people have the authority according to America's Declaration of Independence, which states:
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience has shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
When I appeared on Glenn Beck's radio show, he told me that someone had asked him, "Do you really believe that there is going to be trouble in the future?" And he answered, "If this country starts to spiral out of control and Mexico melts down or whatever, if it really starts to spiral out of control, before America allows a country to become a totalitarian country (which it would have under I think the Republicans as well in this situation; they were taking us to the same place, just slower), Americans won't stand for it. There will be parts of the country that will rise up." Then Glenn asked me and his listening audience, "And where's that going to come from?" He answered his own question, "Texas, it's going to come from Texas. Do you agree with that Chuck?" I replied, "Oh yeah!" Definitely.
...snip...
For those losing hope, and others wanting to rekindle the patriotic fires of early America, I encourage you to join Fox News' Glenn Beck, me and millions of people across the country in the live telecast, "We Surround Them,"
Certainly explaining why Chucky was so fond of secessionist Sarah Palin...
Cross-posted at The National Gadfly
Every morning on my walk to the bus, I pass the windows of a shop called Bazar. They sell imports, womens' clothing, shoes, etc. I often look at the dresses on display with an eye for something my wife would like me to surprise her with. They often have some posters for bands or performances that I assume the owner fancies.
Bumped and promoted. Originally posted 2008-11-01 10:41:44 -0500. -- GH
Pepe Escobar Commentary: Al Gore campaigns for Obama in Florida; Bin Laden still not heard from
For months there has been relentless talk of an October surprise capable of swaying the US presidential election - just as the Osama bin Laden video "Message to the American people" released in late October 2004. Possible October surprises include former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsing Senator Barack Obama and former vice-president Al Gore campaigning for Obama in Florida - the state that cost him the election in 2000. Meanwhile, al-Qaeda has vaguely endorsed Senator John McCain. But many - including top US government officials - are still waiting for an Osama bin Laden video.
by Jeff Huber
The war party continues to retreat; its skirmishers trail behind the main body to burn bridges, set booby traps, and otherwise harass the advancing Obama phalanx. The Syrian shenanigan is the latest tactical move in the neoconservative right's fight-another-day strategy, both in the fact of it and in the way it has been covered in our polluted mainstream media.
The story broke on October 26. The UK Telegraph reported that "Media reports gave conflicting accounts" of an air strike apparently conducted by U.S. military helicopters on Syrian civilians. The Times article first cited Syrian state television as saying an attack took place "near the Syrian border town of Abu Kamal."
Then it quoted a private Syrian TV channel saying nine people had been killed and 14 wounded when an unknown number of American helicopters attacked the village of Al-Sukkiraya.
Then it referenced and AP story that said seven people were killed and five others wounded when two American helicopters carrying U.S. soldiers raided the village of Hwijeh.
Then it cited a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, Sergeant Brooke Murphy, as saying that commanders were investigating the reports.
The narrative got confusing after that.
Securities and Exchange Commission Chief Christopher Cox alluded to $55 trillion in credit default swaps recently, at least a tip off that the problem is far greater than any $700 billion bank bailout can begin to fix.
There remains no transparency regarding how the nine banks that were partially nationalized by the U.S. Treasury last week are using those hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars. Are they using the money to ease credit and get capital-starved American businesses going again, or are they using it to cover their insolvent leveraged obligations, instead. Who knows?
In an interview today, John McCain "guaranteed" a victory on November 4th.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he can “guarantee” a win on Nov. 4 in a squeaker victory that won’t be clear until late that night.
[...snip...]
“I guarantee you that two weeks from now, you will see this has been a very close race, and I believe that I'm going to win it,” McCain told interim "Meet" moderator Tom Brokaw. “We're going to do well in this campaign, my friend. We're going to win it, and it's going to be tight, and we're going to be up late.”
Given the unprecedented interference posed by George W. Bush asking the DoJ to intervene in the Ohio voter registration flap, on top of a strange AP outlier that could help set the stage, issues with absent absentee ballots and the numbers of potential voters purged from the rolls estimated at around 13 million, McCain may just have a reason to believe he could make it in a squeaker -- just like Bush, in both the 2000 and 2004 elections.
Meanwhile, the overall projected electoral count (Obama 375, McCain 157) -- and even the world itself (Obama 87%, McCain 13%) -- appears to indicate an overwhelming preference for his opponent.
Facts and figures from Electoral-Vote.com and IfTheWorldCouldVote.com are as of this posting and thus subject to change over time. Hat-tip to LordRag of DelphiForums for the lede.
Parts I and II described John McCain's position in the neoconservative daisy chain. Part III discusses McCain's tireless fundraising efforts on behalf of the Military Industrial Complex of America.
Among John McCain's more preposterous campaign promises is that he'll reduce federal spending by cutting back on non-discretionary outlays except for defense and veterans benefits. That's about as pound-foolish as an American politician can get.
In a message received (and posted elsewhere by) a friend, Robert Greenwald of BraveNewFilms.org provides a collection of targeted "The Real McCain" videos. Greenwald's objective is to shed some light and truth in order to provide leverage for use derailing the "Hate Talk Express."
I haven't watched the videos yet, but judging by the topics I thought it was worth sharing the content of the message.
Message and videos below the fold.
by Jeff Huber
This is the first installment of a pre-election series of essays on John McCain and American militarism.
Having based his presidential candidacy on his prowess in national security affairs, John McCain needed a running mate who wouldn't show him up by understanding more about the subject than he did. This left his vice presidential search committee with a Herculean task, and one that they performed dutifully, but make no mistake. The top bimbo on the GOP ticket is not Sarah Palin. In the area where McCain claims to possess the most competence, he couldn't find his proverbial rear end if Joe Lieberman held the map for him and Lindsey Graham worked the compass.
To paraphrase Voltaire, witticisms can be the best way to make a point but they never prove anything. So while a couple of satisfying one-liners may illustrate the chasm between McCain's perception of his national security credentials and the stark reality of his fecklessness, it is vital that we examine the specific ways in which, as commander in chief of the United States military, McCain would be the most dangerous man in world history.
It's vital that we take this journey, even if it turns out that Colin Powell left McCain and his number two without a pot to go number one in. Every president for the foreseeable future will have to deal with the threat to U.S. security interests that McCain personifies: parasitic, malignant militarism.
Dennis Greenia, Vampire Slayer 
I first learned about Jack Abramoff's successful plot to help Heather Wilson ambush and bleed dry my good friend, Richard Romero, in two separate New Mexico congressional elections while strolling with dengre down K Street. Both times, Abramoff employed a stealth PAC purportedly championing health care reform. By 2004, New Mexico's political aquifer flowed red. 
I'm not the first person to learn about Abramoff from dengre. He's one of the brave few whose nocturnal obsession with vampires unearthed Washington's Empire of the Undead for the slumbering masses.
Note: The cartoon is the logo of the real Joe the Plumber in Amarillo. Send him some business, I'm told that he's an Obama guy. If his website takes off because of all this attention maybe he can switch from actual plumbing to an online plumbing advice column. Bob
