spookypeople - 2008 tag

Change.gov

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 02:20:00 GMT

It took them very little time to get Change.gov up. Looks like they are going to make a lot of the transition public. This is a welcome change from the past eight years of opaque government.

First 3 Predictions

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 04:06:00 GMT

The conservative mainstream pundits will claim that the results are actually a victory for conservatism; that McCain lost because he wasn't a real conservative or conservative enough and this election proved that America is a center-right nation.
The GOPers and assorted right wing nuts will claim that Obama won due to fraud from Acorn. They will claim the election was stolen and advocate for all kinds of draconian voter validation laws.
There will be proof that the outgoing administration used much of its final time in office to destroy evidence and pardon co-conspirators.

Palin doesn't understand First Amendment

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:23:00 GMT

To put it succinctly: the press can't violate Palin's First Amendment rights. If the government were to criminalize her speech, that would be a violation. But what the press is doing in criticizing Palin is exercising the First Amendment.

Palin doesn't understand First Amendment - War Room - Salon.com

Ouch. That was painful.

Hitchens Unjumps Shark

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:12:00 GMT

It therefore seems to me that the Republican Party has invited not just defeat but discredit this year, and that both its nominees for the highest offices in the land should be decisively repudiated, along with any senators, congressmen, and governors who endorse them.

From Vote Obama - By Christopher Hitchens - Slate Magazine

Hitchens' well written take down of McCain reminds me of why I read him the first place.

Issue Isn’t Faith and Family

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 01:50:00 GMT

It is not snobbish to recognize that the job of vice president of the United States at this point in history requires a broad understanding of our diverse, globalized world and ways to strengthen the weakened position in it that this country has suffered over the last eight years.

From With Palin, the Issue Isn’t Faith and Family

A new acronym for this election, ITIS (pronounced it-is) for It's The Incompetence Stupid. Palin is under a cloud of corruption, cronyism and abuse of power. She expects to avoid answering questions by demanding reverence. This should be a big red flashing warning sign of someone who could not, should not and must not be trusted with power.

Mississippi’s Ballot Trick

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 02:00:00 GMT

Defying state law, they have decided to hide a hard-fought race for the United States Senate at the bottom of the ballot, where they clearly are hoping some voters will overlook it. Their proposed design is not only illegal. It shows a deep contempt for Mississippi’s voters.

From Mississippi’s Ballot Trick

Remember the good old days when elected officials used to try and hide their law breaking rather than flaunt their contempt for laws they find inconvenient?

Did McCain crash five planes?

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 04:14:00 GMT

Did McCain crash five planes?

Short answer: no. Follow the link for the long answer.

Robert Reich on Vetting

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:54:00 GMT

Do you believe Sarah Palin was put through anything remotely like this before John McCain decided she would be his vice presidential candidate, and possible President of the United States?

Robert Reich's Blog: Vetting

Robert Reich discusses the vetting process he went through and suggests that maybe Mrs. Palin was actually picked based on one five minute meeting and a second five minute phone call. Scary. Looks like McCain thinks being sloppy, lazy and unprepared is the best way to show he is still that Maverick from 2000.

VPilf.com

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 01:59:00 GMT

The word of the day is VPilf.

A Speech to the Delegates

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 02:14:00 GMT

The award for best Obama hype satire goes to David Brooks

Biden

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 19:36:00 GMT

I kind of like Joe Biden. I think Biden would make a perfectly good VP. I think he would be an amazing Secretary of State. His problem is that sometimes his mouth runs out of words so his ass has to finish his thought for him.

McCain's McMansions

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:20:00 GMT

Tasteless

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 02:39:00 GMT

More on the story here. Talking Points Memo | Republican Outreach

I didn't think the Texas GOP could sink lower than those phony purple heart band-aids they handed out in 2004. Boy was I wrong. And there are still five months left.

pastor john hagee

Thu, 22 May 2008 14:09:00 GMT

Pastor John Hagee thinks God sent Katrina to punish the gays. He thinks God sent Hitler to force the Jews to move to Israel.

I think God sent Pastor John Hagee to make sure McCain doesn't become president.

Obama/Kennedy vs. McCain/Goldwater

Wed, 21 May 2008 04:02:00 GMT

If John McCain is running for George W. Bush's third presidential term, as Democrats have suggested, Barack Obama is campaigning for John F. Kennedy's second term.

Obama/Kennedy vs. McCain/Goldwater | Salon

Normally this is the type of political article I despise. Debate by analogy mixed with historic revisionism and a touch of baseless speculation. But sometimes, a really good writer can make it work. This is one of those cases. I see more Goldwater in McCain than JFK in Obama. The comparison seems to work pretty well. Well worth the read.

Clinton, Obama and McCain on WWE

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 02:32:00 GMT

Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain will appear on World Wrestling Entertainment's live "Monday Night Raw" (8-11 p.m. EST on cable's USA network) but instead of smacking each other down, they separately will deliver some wrestling-themed stumping in taped messages before Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary.

The Associated Press: Clinton, Obama and McCain on WWE's `Monday Night Raw'

Just one of those days where the AP reads like the Onion.

Obama, get ready for the Clinton rules

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:50:00 GMT

And as Barack Obama should have learned during the debateâs first 45 minutes, if not before, the same fuzzy but obsessive focus on "character" that plagues Bill and Hillary Clinton will be turned on him with equal or greater ferocity by those who once claimed to admire him. He is now subject to the "Clinton rules," which have long permitted pundits, editorialists and reporters to indict the former president and first lady for sins that other politicians, mostly Republican, may commit with impunity (see Gingrich, Newt, first, second and especially third marriage).
Those slanted rules have guided coverage of Sen. Clinton during the past several weeks, notably in the controversy over her inaccurate version of her arrival in Bosnia a decade ago. How the game works can best be understood by comparing the firestorm over her remarks with the placid acceptance of blatantly self-aggrandizing falsehoods by certain venerated politicians of the other party.

From Salon.com | Obama, get ready for the "Clinton rules"

Conason hits the nail on the head with this one. The focus on trivial nonsense in the Democratic debates and the press giving McCain a free ride on lack of support for a Modern GI Bill. Or on his multitude of flip-flops.

Kerry Endorses Obama

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 19:45:00 GMT

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for the White House Thursday in a timely slap at Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as well as his own vice presidential running mate.

From The Associated Press: 2004 Dem Nominee Kerry Endorses Obama

I predict Gore will endorse him before Super Tuesday on Feb 5th.

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 05:15:00 GMT

88% Barack Obama
86% John Edwards
86% Chris Dodd
84% Bill Richardson
82% Mike Gravel
81% Hillary Clinton
81% Dennis Kucinich
79% Joe Biden
42% Rudy Giuliani
36% John McCain
30% Mike Huckabee
28% Mitt Romney
24% Ron Paul
22% Tom Tancredo
19% Fred Thompson

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

No surprise here.

Republicans Plan to Penalize States on Primaries

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 03:46:02 GMT

The Republican National Committee plans to penalize at least four states holding early primaries, including New Hampshire and Florida, by refusing to seat at least half their delegates at the party’s national convention in 2008, a party official said Tuesday.

From: Republicans Plan to Penalize States on Primaries - New York Times

I like this. My opinion of the whole primary process has been degrading with each passing day. I think we should get rid of the whole primary and replace it with a national caucus. Each of the 435 congressional districts would have precinct by precinct caucuses. They would elect a local representative who is who would go to the national convention. Those local representatives would then get together for a week or two and then draft the party platform and pick a ticket that would be able to run on that platform.

There are some some obvious and not so obvious advantages. For one thing, 435 people from around the country would might better represent party than a sample of people in Iowa and New Hampshire.