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The world is going to hell in a hand-basket.  Oil prices at all time highs, the mortgage crisis forcing tens of thousands of American families out of their homes, and greedy Republican warmongers have embroiled us in an unwinnable war in Iraq.

Still President Bush has responded by hosting a Tee Ball game on the South Lawn of the White House.

Rather than attempt to use some non-existent diplomatic skills to repair the damage he and his cronies have caused to America, Americans and our status on the world stage, still President Bush would rather surround himself with 6 year olds and ignore the real problems in life.

That sounds like familiar behavior from the man.  Isn’t that what he did on 9/11?  Hide behind some first graders as the world came down around us?

Bush plays ball at the White House
Tuesday, July 1, 2008

President George Bush poses for pictures on the White House lawn as he gets into the holiday spirit.

He is pictured giving a commemorative ball to a player from the Little League Angels of Manati, Puerto Rico, after a Tee Ball game on the South Lawn at the White House.

Also in the shots is Roberto Clemente Jr (left), whose father’s number was "retired" at the field before the game.

The US celebrates its July 4 independence day holiday later this week.

[Thanks, Metro.co.uk]

John McCain has bowed to the will of the GOP this week by re-organizing the management of his presidential campaign.  With many prominent republicans openly fearful that McCain is out of touch with the majority of the voters it apears to be time to attempt to re-invent McCain yet again.

Springing into action at the whim of the party, McCain has chosen Steve Schmidt, who studied under the smarmy tutelage of Karl Rove, as the chief of his day-to-day campaign operations.  We can only imagine that ‘Swift Boat’ attacks on the presumptive Democratic candidate are only days away.

McCain ‘Orders’ Shake-Up of His Campaign

By ADAM NAGOURNEY
Published: July 3, 2008

WASHINGTON — Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign has gone through its second shake-up in a year. Responding to Republican concerns that his candidacy was faltering, Mr. McCain put a veteran of President Bush’s 2004 campaign in charge of day-to-day operations, and stepped away from a plan to have the campaign run by 11 regional managers, Mr. McCain’s aides said Wednesday.

The elevation of Steve Schmidt — who worked closely with Karl Rove — at Mr. McCain’s headquarters represented a sharp diminishment of the responsibilities of Rick Davis, who has been Mr. McCain’s campaign manager since the last shake-up nearly a year ago.

The shift was approved by Mr. McCain after several of his aides, including Mr. Schmidt, went to him about 10 days ago and warned him that he was in danger of losing the presidential election unless he revamped his campaign operation, two officials close to the campaign said.

The move of Mr. Schmidt is the latest sign of increasing influence of veterans of Mr. Rove’s shop in the McCain operation. Nicolle Wallace, communications director for Mr. Bush in the 2004 campaign (and in his White House), has joined the campaign as a senior adviser, and will travel with Mr. McCain every other week.

Greg Jenkins, another veteran of Mr. Rove’s operation who is a former Fox News producer and director of presidential advance in the Bush White House, was hired by Mr. Schmidt last week after a series of what Mr. McCain’s advisers acknowledged were poorly executed campaign events.

Mr. Rove, who was Mr. Bush’s senior political adviser until he left the White House last year, was said by Mr. McCain’s advisers to have offered advice in recent days to Mr. Schmidt and others on how to get Mr. McCain’s campaign on track, but has stayed mostly on the periphery. Mr. Rove is aware, his associates said, that his own legacy could be helped should Mr. McCain win the presidency.

Mr. McCain’s advisers said that Mr. Davis would continue to hold the position of campaign manager, but that Mr. Schmidt had taken over every major operation where Mr. McCain has shown signs of struggling: communications, scheduling and basic political strategy. Mr. McCain’s aides said that Mr. Davis would now focus more on longer-term campaign efforts, including helping with the selection of a running mate and planning for the Republican National Convention, which is now just two months away.

[Thanks, NY Times]

Continue reading ‘McCain Campaign - Stirring the Pot Once Again’

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Are you one of the millions of computer users who keep private files on a USB flash drive and schlep that back and forth to work with you?  Do you perhaps have those great PortableApps and keep a copy of Firefox and Thunderbird on a thumb drive so you can check your personal e-mail and stock prices from your desk at work?

If so, have you ever worried about having all of that personal information available all in one place?  If you lose that thumb drive, you’re basically screwed.  Right?

Well, here is a handy little application that allows you to create a hidden and encrypted ‘partition’ on your USB flash drive that will protect your private data.  It’s easy to set up and easy to use.  Well worth a look.

Rohos Mini Drive

Those lovable scamps over at Anonymous are planning their next little intervention against the Cult of Scientology (Co$).  On July 12th, 2008, the loosely knit group of protesters will take to the streets and byways surrounding Co$ ‘churches’ to bring public attention the intelligence arm of the organization called the Office of Special Affairs (or ‘OSA’).

The OSA is charged with the chores of gathering intelligence and administering "justice and punishment" to its perceived foes (we can assume that the retribution that certain members of Anonymous have suffered were orchestrated and carried out by members of the OSA).

It is also charged with providing the agents that carry out the now infamous "Fair Game" policy.  Fair Game is the official policy where critics of the Church of Scientology are targeted, harassed, threatened and intimidated in an attempt to silence or punish them.  And if certain rumors are true, the attempts to silence someone can be of a permanent nature.

What I find compelling in all of this is that each and every month the members of Anonymous can bring to the table a different aspect of this so-called religion.  And this facet of the bigger picture is more than worthy of increased scrutiny.  Read some of the links supplied at the end of the article and ask yourself if there is any other true religion that is surrounded by this much controversy.

Spy vs. Sci: Anonymous Challenges Scientology’s Intelligence Division The OSA

By Anonymous

On July 12th, 2008, at 11:00 am local time, in cities all around the world, Anonymous intends to don its best tux, order "shaken not stirred" cocktails for everyone and bring the activities of the Church of Scientology’s intelligence agency, known as the Office of Special Affairs (or ‘OSA’), to wider attention and greater scrutiny.

Last month’s protest was pirate themed, in order to parody and expose the abuses that occur within Scientology’s private navy, the Sea Org, but now it’s "Spy vs Sci" as Anonymous asks the question:

"Why does something that describes itself as a religion need an intelligence agency that aggressively persecutes critics?"

The OSA is a highly organised sub-division of the Church of Scientology that has a license to gather intelligence and administer "justice and punishment" to its perceived foes.

It also provides the agents that carry out the "Fair Game" policy, by which critics of the Church of Scientology are targeted, harassed, threatened and intimidated in an attempt to silence or punish them.

Most Scientologists are unaware of the functions of the OSA and accept what their leaders tell them about it. However, there is a growing body of evidence that OSA agents operate to attack perceived enemies by using infiltration, bribery, burglary, and blackmail, in addition to threats, intimidation, assaults and worse.

A well-documented example of the illegal actions of the OSA was ‘Operation Snow White’, a wide scale and sophisticated infiltration of the U.S. Government itself. Another example was ‘Operation Freakout’, a long campaign of harassment and intimidation against Paulette Cooper (writer of the book ‘The Scandal of Scientology’), which involved distributing false propaganda about her as well as fabricating evidence in an attempt to frame her for making bomb threats.

Anonymous can also point to many other examples and if required can back all these up with facts, testimonies and evidence.

Who and what is Anonymous?

We are a collection of individuals united by ideas. Anonymous chose Scientology as a campaign target because of the events surrounding the now infamous Tom Cruise Scientology video; whilst the video itself was not enough to spark interest (although it was amusing), the aggressive actions that the Church of Scientology attempted to take to remove it did get our attention. When Anonymous found out even more about the crimes and abuses of the Church of Scientology, action became inevitable. Anonymous is the voice of the body politic and the consciousness of the Internet that has stepped offline and into the real world.

Since its campaign began, Anonymous has uncovered or brought to the public eye many of the illegal actions, fraudulent activities, and human rights violations perpetrated by the Church of Scientology.

Although described as "terrorists" by the Church of Scientology, Anonymous’ methods have been peaceful. Conversely, there have been several incidents of assaults on Anonymous members by Scientologists, mostly as attempts to unmask and identify them so that the OSA can target them for harassment.

But instead of being scared off, these incidents have strengthened our resolve and add more credence to one of Anonymous’ core messages: that the Church of Scientology is both willing and prepared to go to any lengths to silence those who would speak out against them.

However, Anonymous is not intimidated, because the nature of Anonymous is irrepressible.

We are Anonymous
We are legion
We do not forgive
We do not forget
Expect us

For more information
http://whyweprotest.net
http://exscientologykids.com
http://www.enturbulation.org
http://xenu.net
http://whyaretheydead.net

[Thanks, News Blaze]

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Washington and California are about to join only 3 other states in enacting tougher cell phone use laws.  Starting next week both states have outlawed the use of cell phones without a hands-free headset while driving.   In California, you can get pulled over simply for having the cell phone held up to your ear.  A first offense for Californians will cost $20.00, with subsequent offenses costing $50 plus fees.

In Washington State, the cost is going to be $124, but that fine will only be assessed as a secondary violation to another violation.  We can only hope that the number of speeding and reckless driving violations increase so that the state can gain some much needed funds by tacking on the cell phone ticket.

In Washington it is already illegal to text while driving while California will introduce legislation in the Senate shortly to outlaw texting.  Is it really necessary to create a long shopping list of the things that are illegal, or can’t we just decide that things fall under the reckless driving or reckless endangerment laws and ticket people that way.  I would like to think that my legislators have better things to do than deciding that posting to My Space while driving is dangerous and should be illegal.

A quick breakdown of cell phone laws in the various states can be found HERE.

California to drivers: Drop the cell phone, dude

Fri Jun 27, 2008 10:22am EDT
By Dan Whitcomb

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Next week California will try to wrest cell phones from the hands of drivers, telling everyone from movie starlets and dot-com millionaires to surfers and soccer moms that conversations behind the wheel must be on a headset.

Several U.S. states and some two dozen countries around the world already have restrictions on mobile phones while driving but now such a law has come to California — where the car is king and much of life is spent on the famously snarled freeways.

Californians interviewed by Reuters mostly supported the law requiring hands-free phones in cars and outlawing cell phones entirely for drivers under 18, which takes effect on Tuesday — though they were puzzled by a loophole that allows seemingly more dangerous text messaging.

Others cast a jaundiced eye on lawmakers, who they blame for failing to build more freeways or public transportation in the face of increasingly gridlocked roads in the nation’s most populous state and say hands-free conversations are no safer.

"I can’t believe that (Californians) will put up with all these nanny, nit-picking laws," KFI-AM radio talk-show host John Kobylt told Reuters.

"It’s stupid because we’ve gone over about seven different studies and each one of them says it’s the conversation that distracts you, not holding the phone," he said.

TEXT MESSAGING OK?

Besides, he said, many Californians are forced to use their cars as offices while stuck on the freeway.

State Sen. Joe Simitian, who authored the bill, disputes those studies and says keeping both hands on the wheel is always safer. He expects his law to save hundreds of lives.

"There are more and more people out there on the highway and the CHP (California Highway Patrol) has collected data every year showing that cell phones are the number one cause of distracted drivers," Simitian said.

Fines for a first offense are $20 plus fees and $50 plus fees for subsequent convictions.

The Democratic lawmaker is working on a follow-up bill to outlaw text messaging in the car, which he says wasn’t an issue when he began working on the first one in 2001.

Connecticut, New Jersey and New York already prohibit drivers from talking on hand-held cell phones, along with some two dozen countries around the world. In New Jersey, police have issued 35,000 tickets for using a hand-held phone or texting while driving since the law went into effect March 1.

But the random sampling of Californians interviewed by Reuters expressed ambivalence.

"On the one hand I don’t want people crashing into each other, but I’m not going to go get an ear thing," 38-year-old bank employee Jason Fischer said in Los Angeles. "I’ll give it up and then one day I’ll make a call and get a ticket. I don’t want a headset. I’m too lazy to get a headset."

Rachel Kucsulain, 36, said she rides her bike to her job as an administrative assistant in Los Angeles and wants cell phones taken out of the hands of drivers.

"I’ve almost been hit multiple times. I think it’s totally a threat," Kucsulain said. "Two blocks from here someone (on a cell phone) turned on me as I was crossing a crosswalk. They were only inches away from me. It’s just distracting."

(Additional reporting by Jon Hurdle in Philadelphia; Editing by Mary Milliken and Eric Beech)

[Thanks, Reuters]

David Letterman:   The Supreme Court "ruled individuals have the right to carry guns." But do not "think you can just go into a gun store and buy a gun. There is still a strict 15-minute waiting period."

Jimmy Kimmel:   "The latest Bloomberg poll shows" Barack Obama "has a 15-point lead over John McCain." Obama "leads in men, in women, with young people" and "minorities. In fact," McCain is only "beating Obama…in calcium deposits."

David Letterman:   "When the decision was read, it created pandemonium. Court Justice Scalia had to fire two warning shots to settle people down. And then at the White House, just for fun, Dick Cheney went out and peppered a buddy with some bird shot."

Drinking bottled water is not just bad for the environment, but it’s a colossal waste of money.  We have known that for ages, what we are only now discovering are the long term effects of Bisphenol A, commonly abbreviated as BPA.  BPA is a common ingredient in Polycarbonate plastics and is used to make a variety of common products including baby and water bottles.

Kor believes that the water you drink should be healthy, and they want to keep it that way. The Kor One Hydration Vessel ($29 USD) is BPA-Free and features a unique hinged cap that allows you quick, easy access to drinking - with one hand. The Kor One is great for the office and a must-have in the gym.  Available in August, there is a page where you can sign up for updates on the web site.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has come out against the energy policy of presidential candidate John McCain.  Criticizing the much ridiculed proposal to lift the ban on off-shore oil drilling, Arnold has made no secret of his disdain for the proposal - even with Florida Governor Charlie Crist, a supporter of the proposal within earshot.

Arnold has a long history of directing legislation that benefits the environment and reduces greenhouse gas emissions in the State of California.  With the exception of killing off General Motors EV1, the first mass produced electric car, the California Air Resources Board has been aggressive in it’s policies toward the environment. 

In fact, CARB’s most recent plan which calls for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 30%, is far and away the most aggressive piece of legislature to date.  CARB’s only real failing is not seeking to be more aggressive in it’s refusal to allow American automakers to waste more time and money on the fuel cell scheme.

Schwarzenegger criticizes McCain’s offshore drilling proposal

At a Florida conference on global warming, California’s governor says drilling will not bring down oil prices, and he urges consumers to use more renewable resources.

By Carol J. Williams, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
7:47 PM PDT, June 26, 2008

MIAMI — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made a veiled swipe at Republican presidential hopeful John McCain on Thursday when he said at a climate conference here that anyone suggesting offshore oil drilling could bring down gas prices was "blowing smoke."

The remark was also a dig at his host, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who riled environmentalists, tourism promoters and the state’s political leaders on both sides of the aisle last week when he voiced support for McCain’s proposal to lift bans on exploring for oil off the coasts of California, Florida and the Eastern Seaboard.

McCain and Crist, whom the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is rumored to be considering as his running mate, have come in for heavy criticism for backing exploration that many Floridians and Californians fear could pollute the coastal playgrounds that are vital to their states’ tourism-dependent economies.

Crist, who thrilled environmentalists Tuesday with the announcement of a major land purchase to speed restoration of the Everglades, has since modified his stance on offshore drilling to say he would support it only if guarantees were in place that no environmental harm would result.

From his podium at the conference, Schwarzenegger said, "Politicians have been throwing around all kinds of ideas in response to the skyrocketing energy prices, from the rethinking of nuclear power to pushing biofuels and more renewables and ending the ban on offshore drilling," Schwarzenegger said. "But anyone who tells you this would bring down gas prices any time soon is blowing smoke."

Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear later contacted The Times and other news media to say the governor’s remarks were not aimed at McCain or Crist.
The Austrian-born governor also chastised U.S. energy consumers for lagging behind those in his state and Europe in using renewable resources and likened the challenge of combating global warming to defeating communism and putting a man on the moon.

Schwarzenegger also touted California’s leading role in the green revolution, repeating pledges to have the state using renewable sources for a third of its electrical generation by 2020 and to have 7 million more hybrid and electric vehicles on the road by then.

The skyrocketing cost of America’s "oil addiction" threatens the nation’s energy security and its image in the world as an innovative leader in science and engineering, he told Crist’s second annual forum aimed at bringing the fight against climate change down to the grass-roots level.

"Working together we can create a comprehensive, innovative energy policy that helps consumers, protects our planet and builds a stronger and more secure America," Schwarzenegger said. "We can make America No. 1 in fighting global warming."

Schwarzenegger hailed his state’s landmark global warming law as a blueprint for the country to follow and urged the federal government to "get on board." He called it "shameful" that the United States as a whole gets less than 2% of its energy from renewable sources, compared to 12% in California.

Denmark gets 20% of its power from wind turbines and Germany and Brazil lead respectively in the development of solar power and ethanol, the governor noted.
"I want America to be No. 1. America can and should do better," Schwarzenegger vowed.

Washington has been "unwilling to hold automakers’ or oil companies’ feet to the fire" to get them to build more fuel-efficient cars and find less-polluting substances to power them, he said, noting that the average passenger vehicle in the U.S. gets less than 25 mpg.

"The Model T did better than that," Schwarzenegger said. "But since the Model T disappeared, America summoned the political will to put a man on the moon, end legal discrimination and bring down the Berlin Wall."

He said "big science, big technology and smart policies will help America reach its rightful place in the world."

Both governors appealed to those with the real power to make change — average citizens — to drive slower, keep engines tuned and tires properly inflated, to buy hybrids and lower overall consumption.

"We all do have the power. Let’s not wait for government," Schwarzenegger concluded. "Energy prices are not going back to the good old days."

Florida and California have some things in common, he said playfully:
"We each have a governor that is nice and tanned. Each has a governor that can rip off his clothes and look great in a swimsuit on the beach. And each of us has a governor who can run as vice president."

[Thanks, LA Times]

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John McCain is trailing in almost every aspect of every poll.  He and his staff are desperate to try to find some topic upon which to build a campaign.  With all of the topics available, with all of the issues that American’s are dealing with on a daily basis, the McCain campaign seems to have decided that terrorism is it’s best bet for a win in November.

McCain was able to use terrorism to his advantage during his primary campaigning.  Using the politics of fear against Republican candidates and voters seems like poetic justice to me; they are, after all, the reason we are in this mess.

But now that McCain is trying to compete with Barack on the national stage he keeps coming up short. So, what will he and his party do?  They’ll try to fuel the flames of fear once again by playing the terrorist card.

Let’s forget for a moment that when I travel it seems like the biggest threats to our national security are my shoes and shampoo.  Let’s forget for a moment that there have been no additional terrorist threats uncovered here in America, despite what the DHS and the TSA would have you think.  Let’s forget for a moment that the only real effect of the September 11 tragedy has been a loss of our civil and constitutional rights.

So, do I want to let McCain and the members of political party arguably responsible for the mess we’re in frighten me into voting for another 4 or 8 years of this?  I think not!

Obama campaign accuses McCain aide of exploiting terror fears

By Brian Knowlton
Published: June 24, 2008

WASHINGTON: An adviser to Barack Obama accused the campaign of John McCain on Tuesday of injecting "the politics of fear" into the presidential race by suggesting that a pre-election terrorist attack on the United States would give the Republican senator a "big advantage."

McCain immediately rejected the remark made by his chief strategist, Charles Black, in an interview with Forbes magazine. Black himself said he deeply regretted the comment.

Forbes magazine also quoted Black as saying that the assassination last year of the Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto had been an "unfortunate event," but one that underscored the importance of McCain’s security background.

"His knowledge and ability to talk about it re-emphasized that this is the guy who’s ready to be commander-in-chief; and it helped us," Black said. As to a new terrorist attack, "Certainly it would be a big advantage to him."

The Obama campaign seized on Black’s statement - a clear political faux pas, even if some analysts believe it may be true - to issue a sharp warning to the McCain camp against stoking fears of terrorism for electoral gain, something many Democrats have bitterly complained about for years.

"It is critical that the candidates debate national security and their significantly different visions for America’s future course in an atmosphere free from fear tactics and political bluster," said Richard Ben-Veniste, a member of the bipartisan Sept. 11 commission who took part in a conference call with reporters organized by the Obama campaign.

Denis McDonough, a foreign policy adviser to Obama, said the Illinois senator was ready for a substantive debate on terrorism, and what he called the failures of the Bush administration.

"Why haven’t we captured Obama bin Laden almost seven years after 9/11?" he said. "Why does Al Qaeda have a sanctuary in Pakistan? Why has it gained new recruits worldwide? That is the debate the American people deserve."

The case showed once again how a misstep by an adviser can knock a candidate’s serious policy proclamations - like McCain’s proposal Monday of a $300 million prize for the development of a revolutionary car battery - out of the headlines.

McCain’s denunciation of Black’s comment was strong and quick.

"I cannot imagine why he would say it," the senator said. "It’s not true. I’ve worked tirelessly since 9/11 to prevent another attack on the United States of America."

It was unclear whether Black’s future with the campaign was in jeopardy. Ben-Veniste, asked whether Obama wanted Black to be ousted, did not answer directly.

"I don’t think it’s up to us to suggest how Senator McCain staffs his campaign," said Ben-Veniste, who once worked for the Watergate special counsel. But he called for "perhaps a greater adherence to the principle here in staying away from the politics of fear."

But Change to Win, a coalition of labor unions representing about five million workers and that backs Obama, demanded Tuesday that McCain fire Black. The group’s executive director, Greg Tarpinian, called Black’s remarks "beyond inexcusable," noting that dozens of the unions’ members had died in the Sept. 11 attacks.

"Mr. Black’s comments are a disgrace to their memory," Tarpinian said in a statement, "and betray the very worst sort of politics."

Both campaigns have lost advisers following controversial remarks, including Samantha Power, an unpaid Obama adviser who resigned after referring to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in a newspaper interview as "a monster." Power later apologized.

McCain supporters noted Tuesday that Clinton - who returned Tuesday to Congress for the first time since suspending her presidential campaign, and on Friday plans a first joint appearance in support of Obama - had herself made a comment not greatly dissimilar to Black’s remark.

"It’s a horrible prospect to ask yourself: ‘What if? What if?"’ she told supporters in New Hampshire. "But if certain things happen between now and the election, particularly with respect to terrorism, that will automatically give the Republicans an advantage again, no matter how badly they have mishandled it."

Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, then a fellow candidate for the Democratic nomination, called it "tasteless to discuss political implications when talking about a potential terrorist attack on the United States."

As the candidates move with full force into the general-election campaign, both have been working assiduously to portray themselves in voters’ minds in ways they think will bring success in November.

But Obama, who in a new ad introduces himself as a hard-working patriot with deep-seated heartland values, clashed Tuesday with a leader of politically influential American evangelicals, James Dobson.

Dobson, in remarks taped for his radio program, questioned biblical references made by Obama in a speech to a liberal Christian group.

"I think he’s deliberately distorting the traditional understanding of the Bible to fit his own worldview, his own confused theology," Dobson said, and "dragging biblical understanding through the gutter."

Joshua DuBois, an Obama religion adviser, responded that the senator was committed to reaching out to people of faith and "looks forward to working across religious lines to bring our country together," The Associated Press reported.

In campaigning set for Tuesday, Obama was speaking about energy in Las Vegas before flying to Los Angeles for a fund-raising event. McCain planned to take part in an environmental briefing in Santa Barbara, California, then attend two fund-raisers.

[Thanks, International Herald Tribune]

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One of the greatest and most controversial American comedians died Sunday at a hospital in Santa Monica.  One of his routines, Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television, led to the 1978 U.S. Supreme Court case F.C.C. v. Pacifica Foundation in which the Supreme Court agreed that the government had the right to regulate Carlin’s act on public broadcasts.

George Carlin will be remembered for his radical departure from conventional stand-up comedy in the 70’s, his unique brand of humor, and his scathing insight into American culture and humanity as a whole.  He was well loved and will be mourned.

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In quite a few news articles the mass media is reporting news that really isn’t quite news.  It seems that Senators Barack Obama and John McCain have very different views on both national security and the recent Supreme Court decision that affirmed any prisoner of the US government has the right of Habeas Corpus.  (ed. I’m basically VERY confused as to WHY that question actually had to get decided in the Supreme Court, but I digress)

The reason that I think this isn’t really news is based on a simple premise.  Barack will bring change to America and McCain will continue with the flawed and illegal Bush legacy.

The time is coming when we will all have to make some choices, are we going to be for or against the war in Iraq, for or against the raping of our national parks and wilderness sanctuaries, for or against the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, for or against another 8 years of Republican totalitarianism.  Simple choices really, if you are not one of the top 100 richest individuals or corporations in America.  Simple if you aren’t beholding to Exxon or Haliburton or Blackwater.

We need simple choices.   And Voting for Barack Obama in November is the simplest of them all.

McCain up after hitting Obama on security

Posted June 21, 2008 7:00 AM
By Paul West

A fierce debate over national security, perhaps the clearest and widest difference between John McCain and Barack Obama, was triggered this week by, of all people, five justices of the Supreme Court. How it plays out could determine who becomes the next president.

The court’s decision in a Guantanamo Bay case, giving non-citizen prisoners the right to challenge their detention in federal court, "threw a stone in the pond" of the presidential contest, remarked Robert Gibbs, the Obama campaign’s communications director.

A boulder might be more like it.

Ripples from the ruling launched a furious argument over Obama’s national security views, as he was rolling out an ad campaign designed to cast him in a patriotic light. Coincidentally or not, McCain’s support in Gallup’s national tracking poll ticked upward and Obama’s lead was down to two percentage points by Friday.

The McCain campaign pounced quickly after Obama said, in an ABC News interview Monday, that the U.S. could adequately defend itself against terrorism without violating the Constitution. Pointing to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing as an example, Obama said that "we were able to arrest those responsible, put them on trial. They are currently in U.S. prisons, incapacitated."

McCain and his team unleashed an escalating series of charges: that Obama was naïve about terrorism, imprecise in his facts (one of the alleged ‘93 suspects wasn’t apprehended) and insufficiently bloodthirsty when it came to dealing with a captured Osama bin Laden.

Portraying Obama as weak and highlighting his inexperience in foreign and defense matters is central to McCain’s strategy. Polls show that McCain’s military background and years of dealing with security issues in Washington give him a clear edge when voters rate the candidates as a future commander-in-chief.

Obama responded quickly and aggressively to McCain’s attacks, accusing him of employing "George Bush’s playbook" and using "terrorism as a club to make the American people afraid."

The Obama campaign also showcased his meeting with foreign-policy advisers, including several from the Clinton administration (and Hillary Clinton’s campaign). And as he did after Clinton questioned his commander-in-chief credibility, Obama sat down again with some retired generals and admirals who back his candidacy.

Obama has sent inconsistent signals on national security during the campaign. He based his candidacy on his early opposition to the Iraq invasion and is calling for a renewed emphasis on diplomacy to repair America’s badly damaged image abroad.

Asked this week what he would do with bin Laden if the U.S. captured him, he brought up the Nuremberg war crimes trials after World War II, calling them a high point of U.S. foreign policy "because the world had not seen before victors behave in ways that advanced a set of universal principles."

At the same time, he’s advocating greater military action against a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan. After getting slammed for saying he’d be willing to meet with the leader of Iran or other rogue states with no preconditions, he declared his willingness to launch a military strike against al Qaeda in Pakistan without that country’s permission.

Democrats say Obama is wise not to back away from a debate over national security, even as he attempts to shift attention to the economy, where he’s on much stronger footing.

McCain’s attempts to play on fears of another terrorist strike are part of an unfolding effort to exploit voter anxieties about Obama, said Kenneth Baer, a Democratic strategist not connected to the campaign.

"That’s the only card they really have to play, the anxiety of what the changes will mean," he said. "And they are going to prey on those and Obama is going to stress the positive, and whoever wins that argument is going to win the election."

Democratic consultant Jenny Backus said Obama "needs to sound as strong as he can" on national security because Republicans will try to use the issue to question his patriotism. She praised as perfectly timed Obama’s first campaign ad of the general election, now airing in 18 states, in which the candidate, sporting a flag pin on his lapel, refers twice to his "love of country."

Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster not connected to the McCain campaign, said Obama "has to be acceptable as a potential commander-in-chief in order to win the election, and he’s not there yet."

Terrorism and national security are "one of the few areas where the public still trusts the Republicans more than the Democrats" because "the Democrats have yet to get the monkey off their back about being weak," he added. "If the debate is about national security, John McCain is winning almost by definition."

That’s a big "if."

At the moment, terrorism has slipped far down the list of voter concerns and will likely stay there, barring an external event at home or abroad. On Iraq, an issue thought to favor Obama, the country is evenly split when asked which candidate they trust to handle the war in Iraq, polling shows.

But the aggressive stances that Obama and McCain are taking reflect the potential for national security to become a decisive factor in the election. Its emergence as a central campaign issue, as spring turned to summer, is the opening round of a struggle to frame the terms of a contest that will decide where the country is headed over the next four years.

[Thanks, The Swamp]

I found this great, free application for PCs a little while ago.  It’s nothing earth shattering.  In fact it’s basically banal.  Until you need one of it’s cool features.  What is it you ask?

A Windows calculator!  But with two really cool features, the first is a virtual tape.  Much like an adding machine you can see what operations you have already completed, the other is different keys for ‘00′ and ‘000′, so if you wanted to type in 1,000,000 it’s only three key-strokes!

Click the image below to get taken to their web site! (Or click HERE)

As our Attorney General, Michael Mukasey, continues to insist, there is no reason to imagine that the sub-prime mortgage problems will result in the same level of global crisis that the Enron scandal did just seven years ago.  Mukasey has gone on record as saying that "…he did not feel the mortgage crisis warranted the same sort of response the Department of Justice mustered to Enron’s collapse in 2002, when the DOJ formed a national task force to investigate the collapse of the energy industry titan."

If that is truly the case, he should have mentioned something it to his staff.  US News & World Report has reported in it’s daily political bulletin that more than 400 individuals have been arrested in the past couple of days for mortgage fraud charges.  This number includes two Bear Sterns executives who were charged with lying to investors about the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market.

I wonder if the DoJ and the FBI are colluding behind the back of their titular chief to investigate, arrest and prosecute these crooks because they know the wind is going to change come January 20, 2009?  If that is the case, if these people involved in bringing justice back to the Justice Department are going against the flow because it’s the right thing to do, they really need to be applauded.   Well done!

Mortgage Fraud Crackdown Nets 406 Arrests 

Yesterday’s announcement that over 400 people have been arrested in a national mortgage fraud crackdown dubbed "Operation Malicious Mortgage" is covered widely in this morning’s papers. The networks also covered the story, combining their reports on mortgage fraud with their coverage of the arrests of two former Bear Stearns executives on charges relating to misleading investors regarding the health of the subprime credit market earlier this year.

NBC Nightly News reported, "Federal agents revealed today they’d rounded up more than 400 people since March, charged with mortgage fraud, cheating individual homeowners and banks with, for example, phony foreclosure rescue schemes." The CBS Evening News reported, "The mortgage fraud charges run the gamut, from phony bankruptcies and foreclosure schemes, to bogus applications and builder kickbacks. And no corner of the nation was untouched, as scammers coast to coast sought to cash in on an overheated real estate market."

ABC World News reported, "Justice Department officials say the massive fraud extends from Wall Street to Main Street. The 400 arrests announced today are part of a broad effort, with investigations in every FBI field office in the country." The AP reports, "The FBI put the losses to homeowners and other borrowers who were victims in the schemes at over $1 billion."

According to the New York Times, "The FBI has more than 40 task forces around the country that are working with other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies on mortgage fraud issues. Its caseload has nearly doubled in the last three years, from 721 mortgage fraud cases in 2005 to more than 1,400 cases that are currently pending."

[Thanks, US News & World Report]