* The conservative agenda ~ or lack thereof – Today a Washington Post article was titled, “Gay-Marriage Issue Awaits Court Pick, Same-Sex Unions Supplant Abortion As Social Priority for Conservatives.” Despite no evidence that same-sex marriage has a negative influence on the institution of marriage or the fabric of our society the conservative movement has hitched their Trojan horses to this empty wagon. Imagine the benefits to the American people if the full force of the conservative movement, be they social or anti-social conservatives, actually advocated for meaningful issues that include:

~ Affordable, quality healthcare for all citizens (as is the case in most industrialized nations)
~ Energy and environmental policies that protect the air and water essential to human existence and the food supply to sustain that existence
~ Responsible inspection of imported and domestic food and products
~ Workers rights that assure fair wages and reasonable and safe working conditions
~ Limitations on interest rates that have now reached levels that qualify as usury and were at one time outlawed in America
~ Public financing of elections so that special interests do not override the real interests of the people

Perhaps God should be recruited to the policy-setting committee for the conservative agenda. Rumor has it that She cares about the actual well-being of people.

* Romancing a Sheep – Religious-right leader Pat Robertson says, “The ‘ultimate conclusion’ of legalizing same-sex marriage would be the legalization of polygamy, bestiality, child molestation and pedophilia.” As the religious-right apprehensively watches its relevancy wane, its inflammatory rhetoric increases in intensity and absurdity. Appropriate responses to such nonsense would be “Nah” and “Baa.”

* Ignorance is bliss ~ or, just ignorant – John McCain has returned to the Sunday talk show punditocracy. These days he is weighing in on the military’s policy of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT). If one is in the armed forces and is gay, just don’t admit to it and you are permitted to face a Taliban sniper or the possibility that the family jewels will be blown off by an al Qaeda operative or Sunni insurgent. McCain says that the policy is working. A fair question would be, “What are the results of inserting one’s head in the sand on this issue?”

From ThinkProgress.org: Since 1994, DADT has resulted in the discharge of more than 13,000 military personnel across the services, including approximately 800 with skills deemed “mission critical,” such as pilots, combat engineers, and linguists. According to a 2005 report from the Government Accountability Office, “the cost of discharging and replacing service members fired because of their sexual orientation during the policy’s first 10 years totaled at least $190.5 million — roughly $20,000 per discharged service member.

With war on two fronts and a military extremely over-extended Senator McCain says that the system is working. At a time when the strategic goals in Iraq and Afghanistan critically require personnel with Arabic language capabilities many have been dismissed. At a time when many military personnel have received deployment to combat zones four and five times because of a shortage of trained soldiers, this has resulted in very high numbers of military personnel with stress disorders. McCain would have us believe the system is working. Appropriate responses to such nonsense would be “Nah” and “Baa.”

* Seeing the obvious ~ when it is right in front of you – “Census data from the Mexican government indicate an extraordinary decline in the number of Mexican immigrants going to the United States.” I guess one could say that the U.S. government’s effort to stem the flow of illegal immigrants across our borders is finally working. Nah and baa. “If jobs are available, people come,” said Jeffrey S. Passel, senior demographer at the Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research group in Washington. “If jobs are not available, people don’t come.” The recession is proving more effective in reducing illegal immigration than incompetent and malfeasant U.S. policy.

Something we have always known is that the attraction for people to enter our country illegally was the availability of jobs. Something we have known all along is that it is illegal to employ undocumented workers. Something we have known all along is that said law was not enforced. Why? One reasonable guess would be that politically influential farmers, food processors, manufacturers, builders, landscapers… convinced the powers that be to look the other way. There was too much profit to be relinquished if they could not use these immigrants who work for low wages, no benefits, no worker rights and protections. Now that the not-so-secret “secret” is out, how will this affect enforcement of existing law and the formulation of new laws going forward? The answer depends upon the balance of power in this country between the special interests and the interests of the American people.

* “Power always thinks it had a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak, and that it is doing God's service when violating all His laws.”
John Adams (1735 – 1826) second President of the U.S. (1797 – 1801)

* Patriotic sadism ~ if at first you don’t succeed… - Former VP Dick Cheney and his chain gang claim that waterboarding works. That being the case one would think that after one or two or three or even unbelievably ten waterboardings a suspect would provide the information sought. Okay, it wasn’t a lucky interrogation for the inquisitors. Let’s try it 20 times on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. How about 30 or 40 or 50 times? That should cover it. But then again, maybe the guy is an encyclopedia of information. Let’s try waterboarding him 80 or 90 or 100 times. Nah, this is America with a documented work ethic and a penchant for going for the gold. Let’s waterboard the SOB 183 times. Maybe the interrogations ceased because they ran out of water.

* The Ticking Bomb ~ The Catastrophic Fallout – Defenders of torture generally begin the debate by saying, “Torture methods are necessary to get information from a detainee who has information about a bomb about to go off that will take American lives.” Seemingly compelling, one wonders whether this scenario applied to any of the hundreds (or more) of detainees “harshly” interrogated at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and untold secret sites? Even more telling of this blanket reasoning is the recently released report by the Senate that abusive techniques were used to try to produce evidence of ties between al Qaeda and Iraq. To summarize: detainees were abused to extract evidence of a relationship that never existed, except in the necon planet of the Bush administration. This may be the greatest lesson to be learned from the Bush years: the dangerous and self-defeating consequences of believing your own lies.

* Bombastic rhetoric – I find it interesting that those folks defending the actions of the Bush administration at Guantanamo et al reply that critics of such behavior can only be found in the political far left. I guess this means that citizens on the near left, moderates and conservatives (near and far) believe that torture is acceptable. Except for the majority of conservatives the majority of Americans are against the use of torture. Look at the polling. For as long as I have been on this planet, at least until seven years ago, I was under the impression that AMERICA AND AMERICANS DO NOT TORTURE. That being said, Defenders of the Bush Administration would have us believe that what took place at Guantanamo et al was not torture. John McCain strongly disagrees with his fellow conservatives and stated on Face the Nation that under George W. Bush the U.S. violated the Geneva Convention. FBI director Robert Mueller told his agents who had observed and reported back CIA enhanced interrogation techniques, "No, you can't do that. That violates our own rules. That violates our understanding of the law. You have to step back." Both the inquiries yet to take place and history will condemn this period and note that torture, even when wrapped in the Stars and Stripes, is still torture.

* Two misunderstandings have gained widespread attention concerning Barack Obama and his approach to dealing with the torture issue. Contrary to many media pundits, it is not Obama’s decision to seek or not seek investigations into the commitment of torture. It is the decision of the Attorney General, the person designated to oversee the legal interests of the American people (contrary to how Alberto Gonzales interpreted this position).

The second area that requires further thought is when Obama said that he was immunizing CIA personnel from possible prosecution for committing torture. Recall that we function under the laws of the U.S. AND international law that our country has signed on to. From Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com: “After President Obama announced last week that he opposes prosecutions of CIA officials who tortured detainees in reliance on OLC memos purporting to legalize that conduct the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Nowak, announced that Obama's policy of immunizing CIA torturers violates international law and, specifically, the clear obligations of the U.S. under the Convention Against Torture (signed by Ronald Reagan in 1988).”

For those macho guys (and gals) who want to treat waterboarding as a day at Wet N Wild, they should be reminded that, “After World War II, we convicted several Japanese soldiers for waterboarding American and Allied prisoners of war.” They were hanged or sentenced to 15 years in prison. Apparently the Bush lawyers who wrote justifications for the use of waterboarding were ignorant of or ignored history and the law.

If you have the stomach the LA Times offers 10 just-released photos depicting treatment of detainees at Abu Ghraib. We may never know to what extent abusive American actions contributed to the further recruitment of terrorists but it is safe to say that what are known as “enhanced techniques” did little or anything to make us or our troops in Iraq safer. If anything, such actions increased the threat to American troops and citizens.

And let us not forget the complicity of some Democrats, if the claim is correct that a small number were informed of the program. And let us not forget the pathetic lack of opposition by the Democratic Party as the enhanced techniques became publicly know. This is not a political party issue. It is a humane issue, a legal issue and strikes at the heart of what this country stands for. It matters not to me, and hopefully other citizens, whether an individual politically affiliates with an R or a D. If they knowingly enabled or did not vociferously oppose the use of torture, the light of shame should be shone upon them.

For the record, a new poll out today by the New York Times and CBS found that 71% of Americans consider waterboarding to be a form of torture. It is interesting to note that 26% said it was not torture, about the same percentage of Americans that approved of George W. Bush as he left office. I will leave it to the political scientists to draw conclusions.

* The Party of smaller government ~ until government is needed – The recent outbreak of Swine Flu is a reminder that we are susceptible to pathogens that result in widespread illness or worse. Rightfully so, Obama’s original stimulus packaging contained $870 million for flu pandemic preparedness. In order to gain the support in the Senate needed to pass the stimulus bill, Republicans Susan Collin and Arlen Specter demanded that this money be cut from the spending bill. Perhaps these esteemed Senators did not feel it necessary to prepare for viral outbreaks since they benefit from an excellent government-sponsored health plan. For the rest of the citizenry, let them eat cake.

Last week tough-as-a-longhorn Rick Perry, Governor of Texas, stood on a soapbox and suggested that Texas could secede from the union. It is a good thing that secession takes time because this week, “Gov. Rick Perry has asked for 37,430 courses of anti-viral medicine from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention because of the swine flu outbreak.” It reminds one of the child who runs away from home but returns in two hours because it is getting cold and dark.

* Swine Flu conundrum – The Center for Disease Control says, “If you have a fever and you're sick or your children are sick, don’t go to work and don't go to school." The National Partnership points out: “nearly half of private sector workers in the United States don't have a single paid sick day. It's even worse for low wage workers. And nearly 100 million workers don’t have a paid sick day they can use to care for a sick child. “

* “The layman's constitutional view is that what he likes is constitutional and that which he doesn't like is unconstitutional.”
Justice Hugo L. Black (1886 – 1971) Associate Justice of the Supreme Court 1937 to 1971

Tea and Torture on a Spring Day

* The prestidigitation of the political right – There was much ado about very little with last week’s tax day Tea-Bagging protests about taxes and an assortment of sometimes hate-filled accusations. Although it was billed as a populist movement of significant proportions it was neither populist nor populous.

The event was repeatedly promoted by FOX News. While some consider FOX News a news station what it has demonstrated over the last 10 years is that it is the public relations arm of the Republican Party. FOX silence was telling on the subject of federal spending during the years that Bush and Republicans blew through the Clinton budget surplus and proceeded to build huge deficits. Who were the other movers and shakers behind Tea-Bagging?

Americans for Prosperity – a right wing think tank funded by billionaire David Koch. Koch Industries was fined $35 million dollars in 2000 for oil spills resulting from eroded and broken pipelines. “During the 1990s, the firm's faulty pipelines were responsible for more than 300 oil spills in five states, prompting a penalty of $35 million. In 1996, a flawed pipeline caused an explosion outside of Dallas in which two teenagers were killed. In a lawsuit related to the deaths, a trial court returned a judgment of $376.69 million against the company. Now there is a populist face to put on your tea bag tag.

The Independence Institute – This very conservative think tank is funded by the Coors Foundation’s Castle Rock Foundation both of whom advocate for the wealthy interests and their privileged needs. Just because they supply beer to the masses does not mean they are interested in the masses beyond the purchase of the next six-pack.

FreedomWorks – An organization that supports and promotes the interests of lobbyist Dick Armey. Those interests include Bristol-Myers Squibb, the insurance industry, and oil interests. Armey opposes health reform that would cut into the profits of branded drugs, works for deregulated life insurance reform and supports the status quo reliance on fossil fuels. Not to go unnoticed, none of these issues are in the interests of the American people.

The funders of the Tea-Bagging movement are to populism what the Republican Party was to the religious right. It is the illusion of representing the interests of a broad segment of the citizenry while in fact representing the interests of a select few. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs had the appropriate response to the Tea-Bagging magical mystery tour. “The president, he stressed, had just recently passed a ‘tax cut that covers the most people in the history of this country’…The president promised significant tax relief for working families of this country, and in the first month of the administration delivered that to the American people.”

What are the facts concerning U.S. tax policy? A report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: “Federal Tax Burdens for Most Near Their Lowest Levels in Decades” concludes: Overall Federal Tax Burdens Are Low by Historical Standards; Federal Individual Income Tax Burdens Have Fallen Significantly; and Tax Burdens Have Dropped Most Sharply for the Highest-Income Households. I would suggest that this is what the Tea-Bagging rallies were about. It involved the wealthiest of society protecting their privileged tax concessions which they manipulated through congress in recent decades. And the sly shysters at FOX carried their water. What is being touted as a grassroots movement is little more than an assroots movement ensconced in deception and illusion.

John Perr at Crooks and Liars compiled a list of 10 Republican Tax Day Lies. They are listed below and the link provides fuller explanations:
1. President Obama will raise taxes on small businesses.
2. The estate tax devastates small businesses and family farms.
3. 40% of Americans pay no taxes.
4. Tax cuts always increase revenue.
5. The GOP is the party of fiscal discipline.
6. Ronald Reagan was the greatest tax cutter of all time.
7. FDR caused the Great Depression, or at least made it worse.
8. Obama's cap-and-trade plan will cost each American family $3,100 a year.
9. Obama's tax proposals will undermine charitable giving.
10. The rich pay too much in taxes already.

* The Torture Memos –Obama’s release of Bush’s Justice Department torture memos showed courage and at the same time focused attention once again on some of the moral and legal issues these memos engender. It required courage to go against the national security community, some of his advisors and the bulk of the political right. These memos broke laws and their release exposes the shrewd but amoral reasoning used by the Bush appointees who concocted these “justifications.” And make no mistake! U.S. laws and international laws were broken, as pointed out by constitutional lawyer Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com. How many times in the last two decades have we heard conservatives lecture about the rule of law, at least until the law is an inconvenient truth? Our laws, including international treaties, exist apart from political party or political perspective. They exist regardless of issue or circumstance.

My ambiguity about the CIA interrogators empowered by these memos uncomfortably surfaced when Obama said that CIA operatives would not be prosecuted for committing torture. This is a difficult subject to embrace from either side. From one standpoint if one thought that they were following the law they should be free of prosecution. And yet, the Nuremburg trials concluded that this was not a satisfactory defense. This is not an attempt to equate the widespread inhuman acts of the Nazi regime against innocent and defenseless people to what occurred at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and secret prison sites. It is a question of where one draws the line. It is my strong feeling that the line must not be subject to situational ethics. It is also a matter that these operatives were burdened with directives that stemmed from the Bush administration’s strained attempts to circumvent the law. It is interesting that when Obama said that CIA personnel involved in these interrogations would not be prosecuted there was no mention of a pass for the people that designed and authorized these programs. Perhaps there will be consequences but in either case we are at least addressing this difficult and challenging subject. Democracy and morality are not always easy and the fact that we question our actions in an open forum only adds gravitas to the proud claims we proclaim as a nation.

* Quotes of the Week:

~ Richard Armitage, second in command at the State Department under George W. Bush, said in an interview (about the torture of detainees), "I hope, had I known about it at the time I was serving, I would've had the courage to resign,"

~ “The image of the United States of America throughout the world (committing torture) is a recruiting tool for Islamic extremists.” John McCain 4/20/09

* “The healthy man does not torture others - generally it is the tortured who turn into torturers”
Carl Gustav Jung (1875 – 1961) Swiss psychiatrist

During one of the most memorable nights in my lifetime, a night reminiscent of the hours before the birth of my daughter, I anxiously watched America choose its 44th President, Barack Hussein Obama. His skin color was not a deal breaker. His middle name was not a deterrent. Over the next days, weeks and years historians, political scientists and folks sitting in diners with coffee in hand will be debating the factors that lead to Democrat Obama being selected over Republican John McCain. The significance cannot be debated.

My personal elation was threefold:
~ I intensely believed that Obama was the better choice to lead America at this critical and complex period fraught with dangers and challenges. Our country requires a dramatic change in emphasis as to whose interests it serves domestically and, of equal importance, the direction of foreign policy.
~ This election demonstrated that a national political campaign can be successful that does not base its strategy on negativity and divisiveness, accusation and innuendo. One can only hope that the Republican Party, which continued to utilize the Atwater and Rove political tools of shlock and awe in this election, will abandon the strategies that the American people in 2008 emphatically rejected.
~ Pride that the United States of America took a huge step toward being a more inclusive society.

At 11:00 PM on November 4, 2008 it was announced that Obama had surpassed the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. I saw the tears on the face of Jesse Jackson, a leader of the African American community who, in recent years, was characterized as attacking and divisive. Few of us could stand in the shoes of Mr. Jackson and understand the dangers and challenges he faced as a leader in the civil rights movement that began in the 1960s to break the stranglehold that communities, particularly in the South, had over Black citizens. Over a two-hour period this night, each time that the camera focused on Mr. Jackson’s face, tears continue to flow from a depth that I imagine is beyond my comprehension.

I listened to another pillar of the civil rights movement, long-serving Georgia congressman John Lewis. He discussed what it meant to him and the African American community for a Black man to be elected to the nation’s highest office. It is certain that many viewers, even the majority of us that did not directly experience his history, shared his pride, emotion, and moist eyes.

Eugene Robinson is an African American and columnist for the Washington Post. I have listened to him during many of his appearances on political talk shows, his commentary always impersonal and analytical. Following the announcement that Obama won the election Mr. Robinson offered observations about what Obama’s success meant to him on a movingly personal level and the joy and pride he shared with his aging parents in a telephone conversation minutes before.

Channel surfing to ABC I listened to an interview between a White seasoned newsman and a younger Black reporter speaking from his hometown area of Lynchburg, VA. The older reporter commented about an assignment early in his career when he was sent from the North to cover a story in Lynchburg. He described his shock to find restrooms labeled Men, Women and Colored.

This morning I made my usual stop for a bagel and coffee. As I entered the store I saw a White customer high-fiving with an African American employee. Although the employee knew me we had never discussed politics. When I commented that last night was very special she offered me her hand in a high-five gesture.

The Obama election will not automatically eradicate what is a dwindling but still existing degree of racial prejudice in our country. It seems to be a characteristic of human nature to distrust that which is different. The candidacy of Barack Obama did make a major contribution toward the understanding that as Americans we have a common interest and a common bond. The election of Barack Obama, supported by a very significant electoral vote majority, is a threshold moment for human relations in America we can share and admire and celebrate.

* The Bush effect
One wonders if the Democrat Obama could have won this election if not for the damaging effect the Republican Bush administration has had on our country. The Republican candidate McCain was seen as a strong supporter of Bush doctrine and policy - no matter how consistently the McCain campaign attempted to distance itself from Bush. The country was desperately ready for change.

Although I have been a very vocal critic of George W. Bush I believe he did have a positive influence on the positive public perception of African Americans serving in high-level federal positions. Among the Bush appointments of African Americans to very significant positions in his administration were Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice. These appointments, in no small way, helped pave the road for Obama’s journey to the White House.

* The Howard Dean effect – Not to be forgotten in the Democratic success this election cycle is the wisdom and influence of the former governor of Vermont and current Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, the central organization of the Democratic Party. It was during his unsuccessful presidential candidacy 4 years ago that a 50-state strategy for the Democratic Party was conceived. For many years prior to that time Democrats ignored states it deemed unfavorable to its success. Mr. Dean changed that strategy and it was a building block diligently implemented by the Obama campaign.

* ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL
An excerpt from the Declaration of Independence, adopted by the Continental Congress July 4, 1776.

Regardless of the outcome of the presidential election on Tuesday its close will be welcome. Presidential politics have been in the forefront for almost two years and in recent months the calls, the mailings, the emailings and the television and radio ads have become burdensome. At the same time, the number of voter registrations and anticipated voter turnout should be a high mark in our democratic tradition. There still are concerns about Republican attempts to disenfranchise voters not prone to the GOP and unreliable voting machines, but these potential disruptions can lead to systemic improvements if the activism seen in this election remains energized. Safeguards for voter rights and voting systems require an upgrade.

McCain and Obama continue to offer striking differences in content and demeanor. Obama concentrates on issues important to Americans. The McCain campaign concentrates on characterizing Obama as a Socialist, a Marxist and a supporter of terrorists. Perhaps Mr. McCain does not sufficiently believe in his own platform that he has to emphasize empty issues that lack gravitas. Obama’s tax plan, ideas for economic recovery, foreign policy strategies, energy solutions and prescriptions for health care inadequacies and inequities is what most of us care about. A poll on Thursday indicated that 59% of voters felt that Sarah Palin was not prepared to be Vice President. The Palin selection was emblematic of a McCain candidacy constructed to appeal to a narrow base and plagued by impetuous execution. The Palin nomination understandably brought into question McCain’s judgment and ability to make sound decisions. Questionable economic stances and neocon/myopic foreign policy have not added to his appeal or credibility. The John McCain candidacy has proven to be a disappointment for many Independents, Republicans and even Democrats who once admired the long-serving Arizona senator.

* Under the radar ~ Leadership and Organization – The polls indicate that McCain is still within striking distance to win this election. What the polls do not show is the comprehensive ground game that the Obama campaign has designed and implemented. The Obama campaign has established offices and built an army of volunteers across America that is beyond the scope of previous national campaigns. One aspect of this effort was registering voters and it did so in record numbers. The other aspect is directed toward voter turnout. This weekend millions of registered Democrats will be visited by Obama volunteers. They will be reminded to vote, provided with information about voting locations and hours of operation and offered rides to the polls where needed. On Election Day these same registered Democrats will again be reminded to vote and a huge number of legal experts will be deployed around the country to protect against voter intimidation and vote stealing. The Democratic Party will be far better prepared this year to deal with Republican shenanigans than it was in 2000 and 2004.

* McCain ~ Change you don’t want to believe in – The McCain-Palin campaign did not invent racism and hate in America. Evidence of these ugly facets of human behavior can be seen throughout American history. However, one would think that a national political party seeking election to the highest office would go way out of its way to avoid any taint of such negativity and divisiveness. John McCain proves this premise incorrect. A survey of news outlets and blogs provides numerous examples of increasing expressions of hate and meanness, racism and homophobia - a result of the pandering McCain/Republican political campaign. I lay responsibility for these cancerous expressions at the feet of Senator McCain and Governor Palin. Regardless of the outcome of this election their candidacy was a big step backward for American principles, a regression stained with shame that will not disappear like political lawn signs on November 5th.

* The Bush Effect ~ Lest we forget – President Bush is still in office and still intent on his damaging policies and reign of error. A Washington Post article on Friday provides the details. “The White House is working to enact a wide array of federal regulations, many of which would weaken government rules aimed at protecting consumers and the environment, before President Bush leaves office in January.” If there was not such a damaging track record by the Bush administration I would have thought the article was a Halloween trick. It reminds one of an April 1st fool: lift constraints on power plants, mines and farms; clear obstacles to some commercial ocean-fishing activities; ease controls on emissions of pollutants that contribute to global warming; relax drinking-water standards; and lift a key restriction on mountaintop coal mining – a type of mining that damages the environment and has destroyed communities.

* Karl Marx meets Grouch Marx – Representative Steve King (R-IA) tells an audience in Sioux City that Obama is even more extreme than a Socialist. With Obama America will wind up with a totalitarian dictatorship. And, bless his little heart, he informs the audience that only Republicans have a legitimate claim to representing freedom as America knows it. From the Farm Belt – it’s Saturday Nigh Live. If one does not laugh at this crap one would cry.

* Let freedom ring – My efforts and my vote support Barack Obama. A number of Republican/conservative friends have told me they will vote for John McCain. I am disappointed in their decision but understand that all of our votes are valid. When the election is over we will move forward together. One cannot ask for more in a democratic society.

* “Bad politicians are sent to Washington by good people who don't vote.”
William E. Simon (1927 – 2000) 63rd U.S. Secretary of Treasury

* Politics in need of a Thesaurus – John McCain and Republican brethren are accusing Obama and liberals of having an agenda of Socialism. They fail to comprehend that “Socialism” and “fairness” are not synonymous. They fail to recognize that sharing the bounty is good for everyone. Our society works best when there is an engaged work force earning a reasonable wage. That has nothing to do with the indiscriminant distribution of wealth or resources. Ultra-conservative Henry Ford understood this principle. He paid his workers a higher wage than what was the standard at the time. He realized that if employees had sufficient income they would also become customers for the automobiles he produced.

In more recent years the marriage of Republicans, conservatives and special interests has resulted in the abandonment of the common good. Declining wages, increasing unemployment and dramatic increases in the concentration of wealth are evident in every study that examines U.S. economic conditions. Adjusting economic policy in order to revitalize what had been a vibrant middle class is not Socialism. It is intelligent Capitalism. On the other hand, not adjusting economic imbalances is exactly what leads to conditions that have spawned Socialism and Communism and revolution. I would suggest that Senator McCain and his Party are also in need of history books.

* Different roads offer a clear choice – I watched appearances of McCain and Obama this week. When McCain made a comment about Obama the crowd booed. McCain paused to allow the boos to resonate and then continued with his comments. When Obama made a statement about McCain there was a smattering of boos in the audience. Obama held up his hands in a halting fashion and said to the crowd, “We will have none of that.”

* A prescription for conservatives – It is understandable that some Republicans and conservatives find the McCain-Palin ticket unappealing but have anxiety about voting for a Democratic candidate or a Barack Obama who is perceived as left of center in political philosophy. Since I already prescribed Xanax for nervous voters in the previous blog I offer a non-pharmaceutical alternative. The website Conservatives for Change is a project featuring Republicans and Conservatives who, in their own words, explain why they are voting for Obama. Perhaps peer experiences will ease the transition. See McCain Effect below.

* Does McCain suffer from dementia, ignorance or bovine excreta? John McCain was interviewed on the Don Imus radio show. In reference to his VP selection Sarah Palin, McCain said, “I think she's the most qualified of any that has run recently for vice president, to tell you the truth.” McCain therefore concludes that Governor Palin possesses superior qualifications to that of Al Gore, Joe Lieberman, Dick Cheney and George H. W. Bush. Perhaps this explains McCain’s affinity for George W. Bush and why many serious voters have difficulty taking McCain seriously. In the categories of ”irony” “ludicrous” and “my mirror is broken”, this week McCain accused Barack Obama of being willing to say anything to win the election.

* Bradley Effect - Each day polling data increasingly favors Obama. Many supporters of the Illinois senator take this news favorably but with tempered optimism due to the Bradley Effect. Twenty-six years ago Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley, an African American, ran for governor of California. Prior to the election he led in the polls by 20%. He lost the election to George Deukmejian, a White American. It was concluded that many voters polled before the election said they favored Bradley but when it came time to pull the lever they could not vote for a Black man. I have seen comments suggesting that polling is significantly more sophisticated today and that more recent races between White and Black candidates demonstrated that polling reflected the final results. Such observations have not reduced the apprehension of many leading up to this year’s election.

* McCain Effect - I have been wondering if this year’s election may produce a McCain Effect. It appears possible that some Republicans and conservatives, as well as Whites who are reluctant to vote for a person of color, have told pollsters they will vote for McCain. Is it possible that some will stand in the polling booth and decide that deep down inside, in opposition to their inclinations, Obama is the right choice to be our nation’s 44th President?

* Palin Effect ~ defining a terrorist – I never imagined that my East coast major metropolitan viewpoint would be the same as someone from Alaska. What I did not realize is how far apart these perspectives can be. NBC’s Brian Williams interviewed Sara Palin this week. In the context of the 1960’s actions by Bill Ayers, Williams asked Palin if an abortion clinic bomber is a terrorist. Most would agree the question is moot but I find the answer telling. Palin responded, “There’s no question that Bill Ayers via his own admittance was one who sought to destroy our U.S. Capitol and our Pentagon. That is a domestic terrorist. There’s no question there. Now, others who would want to engage in harming innocent Americans or facilities that uh, it would be unacceptable. I don’t know if you’re going to use the word terrorist there.” Am I being cynical wondering if the darling of the extreme religious-right subtly is implying that an action is somehow more excusable if it is performed in an interpretation of the Almighty? I believe we call such folks “al Qaeda.”

* Economic realism – The implosion of Wall Street highlighted many Republican and conservative philosophies and policies that have been somewhere between bad and devastating for the vast majority of Americans. All of their recent finger pointing and misleading blame game tactics do not alter the results. As noted above the employment record is another proof-is-in-the-pudding moment. Republicans would have us believe that tax cuts for the wealthy will lead to greater investment in industry which will lead to greater employment. There may have been some merit to this strategy under different economic and workplace conditions but certainly not as it has been applied during the Bush administration. Articles this week pointed out that Clinton created 23 million jobs while Bush created 4.8 million. At the beginning of the 21st century the Trickle Down Theory may apply to a toddlers right leg but, as a strategy for the American economy, it has dried up. I would expect that under an Obama administration we would see intelligent tax incentives for business aimed at increasing employment while reducing the existing tax cut policies that are devoid of responsible requirements.

Another Republican strategy that I expect will merit demise is anti-unionism. The 20th century offered a history of the battle between unions and business. Each side had their victories and losses but what is clear is that when either side became too strong the common interest was hurt. Today we again see the result of business having become too dominate in this relationship. The unwritten contract between business and the Republican Party has resulted in union membership in private industry falling from 30% after World War II to 8% today. “The decline in union membership paralleled with a decline in real wages, retirement benefits, and quality of health care. To ensure that workers who wish to organize are able to do so, the House passed the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) in March 2007 with bipartisan support. In the Senate, however, a group of 48 conservatives successfully blocked the measure with a filibuster threat three months later.” I anticipate the passage of this bill in the next Congress.

* The Roots of Violence: Wealth without work, Pleasure without conscience, Knowledge without character, Commerce without morality, Science without humanity, Worship without sacrifice, Politics without principles.

Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869 – 1948) a political and spiritual leader of India

* American heritage – I have often wondered why, in a country so blessed with the footing of democratic and religious freedoms, there is much evidence of hatred and prejudice. Civil rights did not become a legal reality until the 1960s and even then it was not simply an extension of rights to all citizens. It required a big bang of legislation and legal enforcement. At this moment religious tolerance appears to be experiencing a backward spiral as the Republican brand encourages the narrowness and overreach of the religious-right. As we survey our country in the beginning of the 21st century that which permeates our presidential elections are issues of race, religion, hate and fear. It characterizes George Bush’s candidacies and administrations. Some may excuse these patterns as merely Rovian politics but, such seeds of ill will require a compatible environment to root. At one time I hopefully and naively believed that our society and much of humanity were on an ascending plane of betterment and concern for the common good. Our “avowed” commitment to faith in a universal influence and “belief” in individual freedoms has too often been as much surface as substance. How does one explain this failure to build upon the tenants of 18th Century Enlightenment that inspired the foundation of our country and the structure of our political framework?

Future generations of sociologists, anthropologists and psychologists will render theories and opinions as to the contributing factors that kept us underachievers of the democratic ideal. DNA experts may find genetic markers that preclude humans at this stage of evolutionary development from achieving the promise of fair, tolerant and moral behavior. With respect to America, perhaps there was a “genetic” flaw endemic to our founding. I thought about this on a recent visit to Monticello, the home of one of the greatest of our founding fathers – Thomas Jefferson.

By almost any standard Jefferson was a Renaissance man. Science, agriculture, botany, arts and letters were within his interest and grasp. He wrote the Declaration of Independence and thereafter spent 33 years in public life, including serving as President of the US from 1801 to 1809. Embodied in the Declaration were the words “all men are created equal” and have a right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” In opposition to these lofty ideals, during Jefferson’s lifetime he owned over 600 slaves. This contradiction was noted by the Marquis de Lafayette, a Frenchman who believed in the idea of liberty and rights of man and who lent his considerable efforts to the American Revolution. Thirty-five years after the revolution he visited Jefferson at Monticello. A slave later related how Lafayette was critical of Jefferson for his support of slavery. Jefferson responded that perhaps some time in the future slaves would be free. Perhaps some time in the future the idealism and lofty goals enunciated at our nation’s birth will be broadly fulfilled and hypocrisy will be as ugly a footnote as slavery.

* Yes Virginia, democracy has been saved – The Virginia State Board of Elections has ruled that, “voters won't be allowed to wear clothing featuring John McCain or Barack Obama when they head to the polls on November 4th.”The ACLU says the ban violates the First Amendment’s right to free speech. “The board, however, said it has to weigh that against the right to vote free of undue influence or the tension that candidate advocacy might create.” I suggest that we all take a Xanax and go to the polls nude. This will abate our tensions and preclude undue influence should another voter be wearing a White shirt or a Black skirt.

* Quote of the Week – “Democracy and capitalism are the two great pillars of the American idea. To have rocked one of those pillars may be regarded as a misfortune. To have damaged the reputation of both, at home and abroad, is a pretty stunning achievement for an American president.” From an article by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson, referring to Iraq, the Wall Street meltdown and the Bush legacy.

* Halloween arrived early for Republicans ~ the tricks have far-exceeded the treats – In July the McCain campaign stunned the political landscape by announcing that Sarah Palin was the selection for VP. The attractive and bubbly governor of Alaska was costumed as a reformer with executive credentials and she enthusiastically enhanced the façade by claiming foreign policy experience. McCain certainly was not fooled by Palin’s background because it was as empty as some of McCain’s campaign appearances. Palin was an offering to the religious-right and hopefully an attraction to women and small town and rural voters. She has agreeably accepted the role of attacking Obama and memorizing campaign sound bites. She has objectively done nothing to enhance her credibility as someone actually qualified for the position. What do the American people think about Ms. Palin three months after her grand entrance and two weeks before the election?

Two polls released on Tuesday indicate that the Palin selection is being seen for what it is – a trick. “Palin's qualifications to be president now rank as voters' top concern about John McCain's candidacy… Fifty-five percent of respondents now say Palin is not qualified to serve as president… for the first time, more voters have a negative opinion of her than a positive one. In the survey, 47 percent view her negatively, versus 38 percent who see her in a positive light…opinions of Palin have flipped in the last month, especially among the female voters she was expected to attract to the McCain ticket… Women, especially women under age 50, have become increasingly critical of Palin: 60% now express an unfavorable view of Palin, up from 36% in mid-September.” On November 4th it is likely that Christmas will have arrived early for the Republican ticket as the voting public appears ready to say to McCain and Palin, “Ho, ho, ho” and vote “Bah, humbug.”

* Speaking of costumes – The Republican National Committee has spent $150,000 to clothe and coif Sarah Palin and her family since her coming out party as VP nominee. The “values” mom who prides herself on appealing to regular folks and “real” Americans did not do her shopping at Wal Mart. "According to financial disclosure records, the accessorizing began in early September and included bills from Saks Fifth Avenue in St. Louis and New York for a combined $49,425.74. The records also document a couple of big-time shopping trips to Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis, including one $75,062.63 spree in early September. The RNC also spent $4,716.49 on hair and makeup through September after reporting no such costs in August." John McCain’s experience and knowledge of government may not have rubbed off on Ms. Palin but his wife Cindy certainly has become Sarah’s big sister when it comes to fashion and cosmetics. One can only hope that she does not spill beer on her haute couture. You betcha!

* Cause or effect? ~ the dumbing of the electorate - As the 2008 presidential campaign nears the end game fewer and fewer important issues are getting attention. It would be difficult to recall the last, if any, discussion about illegal immigration and an approach to the 12 to 20 million people residing in our country illegally. Iraq and Afghanistan are in deep background and one could conclude that Pakistan does not exist. Silence has accompanied the issues of food and product safety, greater inspection of food imports, broader inspection of shipping containers entering the country and increased security at chemical plants. Never on the table was discussion about our dwindling water resources and increasingly polluted water supply. Neither candidate, beyond promising to clean up Washington, addresses campaign finance reform or stronger congressional ethics rules and oversight or increased restrictions on lobbyists. After you have heard an Obama or McCain campaign speech one time there is no need to tune in to another. Both campaigns approach the listening public as if we do not have the ability to understand more than one issue at a time or two issues in a week or 3 issues in a month. Since campaigns are scientifically researched and designed to attract the maximum number of voters perhaps they have concluded that John Q. Public or Joe the Plumber cannot intellectually multi-task issues. Perhaps they are correct.

* “Half of the American people never read a newspaper. Half never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half.”
Gore Vidal - American novelist, screenwriter, playwright, essayist, short story writer and politician.

* Naked on the right - The demise of the most recent version of conservative economic and political policies has the populist talking heads of conservatism in a dither. Examples include Neil Cavuto and Rush Limbaugh from viral broadcasting and the right-sided writing of the Washington Post’s Charles Krauthammer. They currently are desperately grasping for a hold on respectability and relevance. In order to protect their message they have concocted faux targets to divert attention from misguided and wrong counsel. One of their disingenuous maneuvers is to place the blame for the current financial crisis on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.” Look out for those liberal-supported policies designed to assist lower income families to invest in homes.” “Those damn left-wingers.” Fortunately, there are still some in the Fourth Estate doing their job.

The McClatchy Newspapers Washington Bureau just removed the wheels from the canard that conservatives are riding. The article is titled “Private sector loans, not Fannie or Freddie, triggered crisis.” It was an unregulated private sector gone wild that brought our economy to its knees, not regulated government-assisted programs. I highly recommend a read of this article as an aide to understand what took place and, just as importantly, guidance for future policy. Republican conservatives bemoan the fact that the current financial crisis has altered the parameters of the upcoming election. I agree that it is unfortunate. We all had to suffer the effects before their failed policies were laid bare. The policies that they promoted should be evaluated and voted upon by the electorate, without spin and din.

To borrow an often used phrase of Barack Obama, “Let me be perfectly clear.” I do not advocate a national discourse devoid of conservative ideas any more than it would be appropriate to give voice exclusively to liberal thinking. It so happens that conservatives have dominated the national landscape while their views were implemented dishonestly and incompetently by President George W. Bush and the Republican Party. Liberal thinking and the Democratic Party are not without criticism. Going forward America’s best chance is a synthesis of views from all positions. It is likely that the first step will require that the political house be cleaned, with many more Republicans than Democrats being left for the trash pickup. A return to normalcy will be accompanied by a return to balance. At some point in the future this lesson will be forgotten and the process will cycle again. At best, we can hope for less dramatic swings of the political ideology pendulum and greater integrity in the people that we elect.

* Agreeing to disagree – I almost never agree with neo-con, conservative and Bush war cheerleader Bill Kristol. His column in the NY Times on Monday October 13th was no exception. Kristol wrote, “It’s time for John McCain to fire his campaign.” This comment comes after previous Kristol comments suggesting the McCain campaign do what he now criticizes. I say leave well enough alone. This is a McCain-selected campaign team of lobbyists, neo-cons, deregulators and slime campaigners scraped like barnacles from the Karl Rove ship of ghouls. They represent the political and economic philosophy and foreign policy that has put this country and its citizens in peril. My friends, I say do not fire them. Allow them to go down in flames with the current icons of these failures, Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin. I wish them GOP – Get Out of Politics - after the election.

* Clunk - That thud you heard this week was the approval rating of George W. Bush. Declining to 23% it surpassed Richard Nixon’s low of 24% and is a point away from the lowest in 70 years of polling, set by Harry Truman in early 1952. The ABC News/Washington Post poll also found that 90% of Americans believe that the country “is on the wrong track.” Contrary to Mr. Bush’s daydreams and prognostications, history will not absolve him of what will be one of the worst executive tenures in American history. I believe that as we learn more about a Bush administration that has been wrapped in secrets and deceptions the perception of the Bush years will worsen. The face of G.W. Bush will not displace the portraits of Washington, Lincoln, Jackson, Hamilton or Franklin on our folding money – even if there is any money left.

* Mea culpa – I recently criticized the Clintons for not campaigning more on behalf of Barack Obama. Perhaps their appearances were not showing up in my news sources. On Sunday I watched their speeches in Scranton, PA and both Clintons are active on the campaign trail promoting Obama, the jobs he will create and reinforcing the idea that we do not need a continuation of Bush-like policies. We each can ask ourselves what we are doing to bring about a change from the disastrous policies of the last eight years. The Obama campaign is urging people to volunteer at their local offices leading up the election on November 4th. With less than three weeks remaining before the most important presidential election in our lifetime there are opportunities to get out the vote, work at polls, help people to get to the polls. If you have been unhappy with the course our government has taken, the time to do something is now.

* Welcome to the 51st State of the United States ~ the police state - Talk about unfocused and misguided policy. Over the last couple of years we have seen evidence of federal, state and local police bodies targeting anti-war groups. Unlike the protests during the Viet Nam war evidence of violent intentions or behavior is lacking and yet the free speech of protesters is seen as terrorist activity. The latest example of such blurred vision and perhaps illegal action was committed by the Maryland State Police. Sisters Carol Gilbert and Ardeth Platte, each serving the Catholic Church for over 50 years, have been placed on a national watch list due to their participation in anti-war protest activities. “They were among 53 people added to a terrorist watch list in conjunction with an extensive Maryland surveillance effort of antiwar activists.” Many voices in our society are quick to criticize the efforts of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) but it is actions like that of Maryland law enforcement that reinforces the need for civil liberty watchdog organizations. Note: This portion of SVN is being written anonymously since I will be driving through Maryland later this week. You can be sure I will not be wearing a nun’s habit.

* Unwelcome results of government spying on citizens – The National Security Agency (NSA) is the primary eavesdropper on our communications. Bush has tried at every opportunity to allow such spying without oversight or court order. Before Bush the courts had to issue a warrant for a U.S. citizen to be spied upon. Recent legislation removed restraints and that is troublesome in a free society. Power unregulated gets abused. It is a natural law. In an ABC report, “two former military intercept officers who worked at the NSA charge that the government spying agency listened in on calls to the United States made by soldiers, journalists and human rights workers working in the Middle East, even after it was clear that the calls were not in any way related to national security. The NSA officials regularly passed around salacious calls such as the private "phone sex" calls of military officers calling home, according to the report.”

In the next administration and congress oversight of spying should be revisited and protections from spying abuse legislated. One J. Edgar Hoover was enough for this country. Hoover was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1936 and led the organization until his death in 1972. Known for abusing his power and exceeding his jurisdiction U.S. leaders feared him because he compiled secret files on them, information often collected illegally. His dirty tricks program included “infiltration, burglaries, illegal wiretaps, planting forged documents and spreading false rumors about key members of target organizations.” Hoover was not bashful about using these files to achieve his end. This is not an America that I envision.

* “The fact is that censorship always defeats its own purpose, for it creates, in the end, the kind of society that is incapable of exercising real discretion.”
Henry Steele Commager (1902 – 1998) American historian

* A note to attendees of McCain-Palin rallies – After participating in these rallies that get your juices flowing with hateful responses to hateful and divisive remarks by the Republican standard bearers, go home and open your quarterly retirement plan statements. Perhaps even read a newspaper. If there is objective grey matter still functioning, consider how the U.S. reached this weakened state. Republicans blame everyone but themselves while their blame game and desire to maintain power has reached a vicious level. Seeing the crowd reaction at your political rallies one could conclude that the dumbing of America now mirrors the Dow Jones Average. And is it not ironic that your political party, that touts its affiliation with the religious-right, has no problem promoting ungodly hate, prejudice, ugliness and divisiveness? If there is a God of Hypocrisy you are on his wish list.

NY Times columnist Frank Rich offers a thoughtful analysis of the McCain campaign strategy and McCain and Palin’s refusal to condemn Republican rally attendees’ yells of “terrorist,” "treason,” “kill him,” and “off with his head” directed at Obama. Rich pointedly notes the anti-black sentiment the McCain campaign and Palin’s speeches are engendering. While thinking about my very negative opinion of such despicable tactics, as well as the ticket and policies of the 2008 GOP, I remembered emails I recently exchanged with a conservative friend who calls himself a Libertarian. He said that he is voting for McCain. My reply to him was, “I just don’t get it.” I am curious to learn if my friend is changing his mind. I would like to think that fair-minded Americans who were for McCain now have serious doubts.

* Choices - In many respects this presidential election is a wake up call for America. It is an election that offers very clear choices. John McCain offers a continuation of the Bush strategy of blind military power and a deregulation philosophy that favors the haves and disregards the needy and disadvantaged. Barack Obama offers a foreign policy approach that includes negotiation supported by a strong military. Obama offers a healthcare plan that enables all citizens to have access to medical care. McCain would give further tax breaks to the wealthy and the mega corporations while Obama offers tax decreases to individuals earning less than $150,000, including small businesses. Obama’s campaign appeals to the broad spectrum of Americans while McCain’s campaign raises fears of difference. Consenting Adult has a video of Donna Brazile, Democratic activist and Al Gore’s campaign manager for his presidential run in 2000. She speaks about growing up in a segregated South, sitting in the back of busses. Brazile notes that America has come a long way since those days. She emphatically states that she is not going back. Let us hope that America makes the same choice.

* A “friend” of veterans they don’t need – When John McCain utters his often-used expression “my friends” he would have you believe that the expression includes veterans. He is fond of saying, “I know them. I know them well.” Then why does McCain get consistently low ratings from veterans groups? At VetVoice.com I counted over 25 examples of Senator McCain not supporting those who have served in the military. McCain’s abandonment of his fellow veterans is outlined in the article: McCain's Miserable Record of Not Supporting America's Troops and Veterans. One can imagine Jack Nicholson’s character in A Few Good Men addressing McCain supporters and bellowing, “You can’t handle the truth.” Too often history has demonstrated that fear mongering and hate overshadow truth and facts. The McCain campaign is trusting that history repeats itself.

Another take on McCain with respect to veterans was offered by Paul Rieckoff, founder and Executive Director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), a non-partisan group, and author of the acclaimed book Chasing Ghosts – Failures and Facades in Iraq: A Soldier’s Perspective. Appearing on the Rachel Maddow Show Rieckoff discussed his organization’s analysis of McCain’s 2008 voting record on veterans’ legislation. McCain earned a D from IAVA. A synopsis of the legislation and a rating of all senators and representatives is available at this link. Senators Obama and Biden earned a B. My friends, Senator McCain is not a friend of veterans.

* Another non-friend of veterans – Sunday October 12, 2008 marked the 100 days left in the Bush Administration.

* Handling the truth – An aspect of the Republican smear campaign on Barack Obama is their accusation that three former executives of disgraced Fannie Mae are economic advisors to Obama. FactCheck.org investigated this claim and shows it to be a fabrication. It is interesting that the lie comes from the political campaign that currently employs over 150 former lobbyists, many of whom lobbied on behalf of the financial industry for less regulation. As I have noted before, McCain’s chief economic advisor Phil Gramm legislated as a senator and subsequently lobbied on behalf of financial institutions for less regulation. McCain’s current mantra is for the voter to take a closer look at the real Obama, a test McCain cannot stand up to.

* Media myopia – ThinkProgress.Org noted that some in the media have excused McCain for his campaign’s virulent political tactics against Obama. The article notes that Ben Pershing and Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post and Bob Schieffer of CBS have made excuses for McCain, implying that he is in a bubble - his campaign is responsible for the effluence. Since McCain has been repeating most of the crap appearing in his ads, the ads that end with “I’m John McCain and I approve this message,” I find it difficult to believe the Arizona Senator is operating in a bubble. McCain owns this strategy. One of the criticisms of George W. Bush has been that he functions in a bubble. Perhaps these media types have not noticed that this country does not need consecutive bubble heads or a president that is dangerously divisive or a president that does not know what is going on. Been there, done that.

* Broken Brokaw ~ indifference, incapacity or agenda-based punditry? – On Sunday’s Meet the Press Tom Brokaw was interviewing a Republican talking head (RTH) whose name I did not get. He asked about McCain’s negative ads. The RTH responded that Senator Obama has run more negative ads than any other campaign in history, much more that Senator McCain. As ludicrous a remark as this was, Brokaw proceeded to mosey on to his next question. There was no follow up as to the veracity of Mr. RTH’s claim. Is Mr. Brokaw incapable of functioning outside of a script or does he have an undisclosed agenda? Neither alternative serves the public’s interest.

* Cockeyed optimism meets cockeyed spin – On Thursday night the McCain campaign released a statement saying that the investigative report concerning Sarah Palin in the Troopergate scandal exonerates her. This was before the report was released. On Friday, when the report was actually released, we learn that Palin “unlawfully abused her authority.” During the Biden-Palin debate we were given the impression that a poster of authority-abuse rock star Dick Cheney hangs in Governor Palin’s bedroom - bless her heart. The fact that the Governor of Alaska abused her power and lied about it was not exactly shocking. After a review of the report Time magazine concludes: “Is the Palin administration shockingly amateurish? Yes, it is. Disturbingly so.” The report also reveals that when you elect Sarah Palin you also get an active husband Todd – a recent member of the Alaska Independence Party that wants the state to secede from the U.S. Yes, this election offers Americans a clear choice. It is a choice of moving forward or backward.

* Each vote that we cast is more than the selection of a candidate. It is a profound statement about who we are.

* The tenor of the presidential race is off key, again - At FactCheck.org one will find questionable and misleading claims made by both presidential campaigns. In the case of McCain-Palin, it is a ticket in desperation mode carrying the scurrilous standard of Bush and Rove to even lower standards. It is negative, toxic and hate-tinged. Like the Republican candidates themselves it is not something that America needs now or at any other time. Flush and plunge rhetoric belongs in the outhouse, not the White House. It is the worst that a democracy has to offer. The Obama campaign has manipulated some facts in presenting its case but it has not lost its soul. At the same time, the relatively minor indiscretions by Obama-Biden are unnecessary and regrettable. McCain’s history, voting record and proposed policies provide a cornucopia of material for demonstrating the differences between the candidates. Americans are desperately looking for leadership they can believe in. Give us reason to do so.

* Legislative Alert - I would like to suggest that the next congress enact legislation that requires federal election advertising be reviewed for accuracy by an independent body before the ad can be released. What does it say about our country that candidates continually seek office through intentional, unmitigated dishonesty? There is good reason why the word “trust” is rarely used to describe an elected official. It is quite a sorry state in which “the greatest democracy in the history of the world” finds itself.

* Silence on reparations – Much has been written about the obscene salaries and bonuses taken by Wall Street financial executives as they allowed their companies to reach bankruptcy. While the taxpayers are being asked to fork over $700 billion to bail out these icons of modern finance there is almost no mention about recouping the executive compensation that was “earned” through incompetence and fraud. Reading about bankrupt Lehman Bros. this week only added to my conviction that significant amounts of Wall Street compensation in recent years should be recouped.

Lehman CEO Richard S. Fuld, Jr. testified before congress on Monday. Mr. Fuld said that he “took full responsibility” for the actions that led to the nation’s largest bankruptcy ever but, he conceded no errors or judgments. I had to smile when Committee Chairman Henry Waxman noted that Mr. Fuld had received $484 million in compensation since 2000 and Mr. Fuld retorted that the amount was in the range of $250 million. What was not questionable during the hearing was that internal Lehman emails showed that the company was not “overwhelmed by forces outside its control” as Fuld claimed. After realizing the company was in trouble it “continued to squander millions in executive compensation.” It ignored its money-management subsidiary suggesting “significant expense reduction” and, most egregiously, “Lehman recommending to its compensation committee four days before the bankruptcy filing that three departing executives receive more than $20 million in special payments.” This occurred at the same time that Mr. Fuld was pleading with Secretary of the Treasury Paulson for federal rescue.

It is my opinion that taking compensation during fraudulent and incompetent behavior is cause for reparation of that compensation. As America teeters on an economic cliff it is time for all parties concerned to be accountable – the President, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve, the congress and the bloated and beached whales of finance.

* Syllogisms on steroids ~ conservative convoluted cogitation - Republican members of the House Oversight Committee released a report in which they concluded that deregulation is not to blame for the current trouble in the financial system. As wonkroom.thinkprogress.org notes “House Republicans argue that there should be no such rule, because bankers will just find ways around it.” At least this mental mendacity explains why George W. Bush and his Republican cohorts had no misgivings over the last eight years side-stepping the Constitution and avoiding oversight. The American flag pin lapel wearers were just being “logical.”

* When you throw dirt, be the first to duck – In response to the negative ads and absurd claims being regurgitated by the McCain campaign the Obama campaign has decided to forcefully respond. The difference being that the Obama claims about McCain’s ethical lapses on behalf of Charles Keating during the Savings and Loan scandals in the late 1980s is factual. The Obama campaign has produced a 14-minute video titled “Keating Economics – John McCain and the Making of a Financial Crisis” with commentary by William Black, Ph.D., Federal Banking Regulator, 1984 – 1994. In a counter-move McCain trotted out his lawyer John Dowd to make the claim that McCain was a scapegoat in the Keating Five scandal and that his relationship with Keating was purely social. This is true only if “major financial contributor” is a synonym for “social.” It is interesting that in his 2002 autobiography McCain refers to this incident as "the worst mistake of my life." Not precisely the words of a scapegoat?

* Curiouser and curiouser – In Tuesday’s debate John McCain said, “I'll get Osama bin Laden, my friends. I'll get him. I know how to get him.” It causes one to wonder why he has not shared this expertise with the President and the Secretary of Defense. Perhaps he is waiting to advise Sarah Palin.

* True to form – The other day someone asked if I found it unusual that Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin was being used by the McCain campaign almost exclusively as an attack dog against Obama. No, I was not surprised. There is nothing else she is prepared to do.

* “Trusting” the McCain campaign – John McCain asks us to groundlessly believe in the soundness of his health. This is a 72-year old man with a history of serious skin cancer who refuses to release his medical records. I agree that your and my medical records are no one’s business. That is not the situation with someone who aspires to be the leader of the free world. Are voters entitled to know the status of his health given that if he were elected his replacement is as prepared to be president as I am to be an oncologist?

* Missing Persons Alert – If anyone runs into Bill and Hillary Clinton please remind them that their Democratic Party is involved in the most important presidential campaign in our lifetime. It is time that the Clintons get over Hillary’s loss in the presidential primary and at least pretend that they care about the future of America.

* Is there a doctor in the house? – A new report by Daniel R. Levinson, the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services says that “more than 90 percent of nursing homes were cited for violations of federal health and safety standards last year, and for-profit homes were more likely to have problems than other types of nursing homes… Problems included infected bedsores, medication mix-ups, poor nutrition, and abuse and neglect of patients.” This is not a report on a third world country. This report is about the United Sates of America. The inspector general said he had found some cases in which nursing homes billed Medicare and Medicaid for services that "were not provided, or were so wholly deficient that they amounted to no care at all." Presently we are focused on the dishonesty in the presidential race and Wall Street. The sad reality is that dishonesty, disinterest and self-centeredness have infected our society to such a degree that triage is now appropriate. Where does one begin?

* Speaking of medical care – The economic brain trusts advising John McCain are generally well-heeled and not critically dependent upon health insurance for their well-being. They have no clue as to what the average American faces and they could not care less. They are full-fledged members of the ruling class in America, the class that has been taking us toward developing country status. On Tuesday we learn from The Wall Street Journal that McCain plans to pay for his health care plan by cutting $1.3 trillion dollars from Medicare and Medicaid over 10 years. A campaign spokesman said “that the campaign has always planned to fund the tax credits, in part, with savings from Medicare and Medicaid. If anyone believes this gibberish I have some Lehman Bros. stock to sell them. If these programs are cut to the degree McCain proposes it will be lights out for many of the elderly. There is no where else to turn. You might suggest they turn to private health plan insurers but under McCain’s plan health insurers would not have to accept pre-existing conditions. Show me an elderly person without a pre-existing condition and I will show you Jack Lalanne. After that we are looking at fiscal and physical euthanasia for the elderly. For the record, the well-respected Center for American Progress explains that there is no Social Security crisis.

* Tip for the Obama campaign - Florida has 27 Electoral Votes and 3.2 million citizens covered by Medicare.

* “The law does not pretend to punish everything that is dishonest. That would seriously interfere with business.”
Clarence Darrow (1857 – 1938) American lawyer and leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union

* Thanks But No Thanks – The much anticipated debate between vice presidential candidates Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah Palin was enlightening. One candidate demonstrated a knowledge and understanding of a broad range of very serious issues facing our country and the ability to articulate his views to the public. The other candidate reincarnated her bid to become Miss Alaska with enough “being a Mom”, dogonnits and bless your hearts exhalations to sell a truckload of Girl Scout Cookies. The best that can be said about Ms. Palin is that she did not implode while repeating her tape recorder-like responses to questions. There may have actually been a time or two when her response somewhat coincided with the question. Aside from expressing her admiration for the over-reaching power of Vice President Dick Cheney we learned little about the woman who would be a heart beat away from the Oval Office. Do not despair. Help is on the way.

I have never met or spoken with Sue Katz, author of the intelligent and timely blog Consenting Adult. We crossed paths through the blogosphere and have exchanged emails discussing a potpourri of issues. As a result of this association I received an advance copy of her new book “Thanks But Not Thanks: A Voters Guide to Sarah Palin” that will be released October 13, 2008. This well-written, informative and entertaining book is the first well-researched and comprehensive document available to voters and political junkies who want to know more about this little-known Republican instant star – information that in many cases the McCain campaign would prefer be kept in the dark.

TBNT provides the reader with a whirlwind tour of who Sarah Palin is, where she came from and the influences that led to her meteoric rise to prominence. Perhaps the main influence is the religious right, a constituency critical to a successful McCain election. We see Sarah Palin attending her church and the influences she meets. “Jews for Jesus’ David Brickner, was a guest speaker recently and Palin was there. The Times tells us that Brickner “suggested that terrorism in Israel was God’s judgment against the Jews for failing to accept Christ as the Messiah.” Palin did not walk out and there are no reports of her objecting.” Katz ponders the question of how Palin’s religious convictions would impact her political policy decisions.

Katz also looks at Sarah Palin in the context of the women’s movement and observes that Palin “has also changed the face of national politics. She has subverted the feminist agenda, running as a woman and mother, but neglecting to look after the needs of women and children. She has subverted the notion of experience, turning the PTA into a major qualification while ridiculing Obama’s three years of community organizing with poor people.”

Among the many perspectives that TBNT shares with the reader is a chapter devoted to how the world community views Palin. As great a loss of stature that America has experienced under Bush, the next administration will have much work to do to restore the reputation and role of America in the world community. Katz explores how the world is seeing not only Sarah Palin but its anticipation of an America being lead by John McCain or Barack Obama.

This link provides a detail background of the talented and multifaceted Sue Katz and additional information about her latest book – a guide that enables voters to make an informed decision.

* Politics puts your vote at risk ~ irony out the wrinkles in a democracy - Although you believe that your voter registration is valid, in reality, it may not be. In many parts of the country, for any number of reasons, mostly partisan, voters are being purged from voter records. A visit to The Brad Blog offers details of what CBS calls “Massive Voter Roll Purges in 19 States” These systematic purges ignore federal law, the National Voter Registration Act. At Vote for Change one can register to vote or check on the status of an existing registration.

* Welcome to the American Dream – Conventional wisdom suggests that it is liberal political philosophy that seeks to help every American achieve the goal of owning a home, gaining a piece of the pie and grabbing a brass ring. Somewhat ironically, it is conservative political philosophy of deregulation and free markets that has enabled every American taxpayer to own at least pieces of multiple homes. You may not live in the home, have a lawn to cut or windows to wash but, if you are a taxpayer, regardless of your current residency situation, you own pieces of multiple homes. That is what the bailout/rescue plan achieved. Your government just spent $700 billion to buy the troubled mortgages held by financial institutions so that they have funds to loan to businesses and individuals, a move intended to keep the economic system functioning. No one is certain that the legislation will achieve its goal and the NY Times notes that this legislation is a stop-gap measure with much to be done by the next president and congress. The cloud may not have been removed from the U.S. economy but we can still say, “Congratulations to the American taxpayer” – even if your piece of the pie is humble.

* Put on your seat belt - Expect the folks that gave you the “American Dream” to infect the last four weeks of the presidential campaign with toxic advertisements and Kool Aid misrepresentations. As of Saturday Obama is surging in the polls and significantly outdistancing McCain in the most important statistic, electoral votes. In spite of McCain’s promise to run a clean campaign brace yourself for a strategy that would make Karl Rove blush.

* Italian imports ~ Sì e no – I have no objection to the vast quantities of Italian shoes, clothing and wine that enters our country. Their design and quality are examples of the best that the world has to offer. When it comes to nuclear waste I am of a different opinion. We produce enough of our own and have yet to come to terms with what to do with it. EnergySolutions operates a nuclear waste site in Tooele County, Utah and they have requested permission to import 20,000 tons of radioactive waste from Italy. Currently the U.S. has 64,000 tons of spent fuel being stored on-site at nuclear power plants in 33 states and the amount of this very dangerous material continues to grow. Until we solve our own disposal of nuclear waste problems there should be an embargo on importing it. And even then we should probably say, “Thanks but no thanks.”

* I wish I could give you a lot of advice, based on my experience of winning political debates. But I don't have that experience. My only experience is at losing them.
Richard M. Nixon (1913 – 1994) 37th President of the United States (1969-1974).

* Finally, an answer – If you are like me, understanding a number of the underlying causes of the current financial crisis besetting our nation has not been easy, until now. When you need an answer to difficult questions, especially as they pertain to disasters, crises and calamities – go to the folks with God’s cell phone number – the religious-right fundamentalists. “Christian Civil League of Maine Executive Director Michael Heath writes that the financial crisis facing Wall Street is a symptom of America's sinful sexual culture, including the acceptance of gay unions.” With red-faced embarrassment all I can say is, “Why didn’t I think of that?” On second thought, perhaps the red in my face is a reaction to Mr. Heath using the word “civil” in league with his League. Perhaps it is time for the American people to emphatically let these ungodly radical right zealots know they are welcome to believe what they want but, they are most unwelcome to be defining our values and policies. George Bush was their product and John McCain wants to be. Amen.

* Financial Tip of the Week – This advice will not directly benefit individual investors but if you are a business corporation there is no better return on your money than that spent on lobbyists and political campaigns. The Washington Post points out that, “Since 1998, AIG has spent more than $72 million on lobbying and contributed more than $25 million to campaigns. The insurance company received $85 billion from the federal government last month. For this $97 million investment AIG received an 876 percent return. Until America comes to the realization that public financing of elections and congressional ethics reform is instituted, the American citizen will be treated like bubblegum stuck to the bottom of a politician’s wing-tipped shoe. The current financial crisis resulted from the marriage of the financially privileged and the governing class. Forces in this country have tried to focus our attention on something that is none of our business – the issue of gay marriage. Our attention would be better served, no, critically served, to the divorce of the parties that caused this financial meltdown through greed and malfeasance.

* Quote of the Week - "I will oppose the Wall Street bailout plan because though well intentioned, and certainly much improved over the administration’s original proposal, it remains deeply flawed. It fails to offset the cost of the plan, leaving taxpayers to bear the burden of serious lapses of judgment by private financial institutions, their regulators, and the enablers in Washington who paved the way for this catastrophe by removing the safeguards that had protected consumers and the economy since the great depression. The bailout legislation also fails to reform the flawed regulatory structure that permitted this crisis to arise in the first place. And it doesn’t do enough to address the root cause of the credit market collapse, namely the housing crisis. Taxpayers deserve a plan that puts their concerns ahead of those who got us into this mess."-Senator Russ Feingold, October 1, 2008

* Suppose the year is 2009 and at 3:00 AM the phone rings in the White House informing the president of another financial crisis. Do you want Obama or McCain answering the call? NY Times writer Paul Krugman asks and answers this question. One man would be surrounded with clear-thinking advisors and the other’s chief economic advisor is an arch-deregulator. Krugman notes, “to a large extent the poor quality of Mr. McCain’s advisers reflects the tattered intellectual state of his party. Has there ever been a more pathetic economic proposal than the suggestion of House Republicans that we try to solve the financial crisis by eliminating capital gains taxes? (Troubled financial institutions, by definition, don’t have capital gains to tax.)” The article is worth a read.

* Assessing the damage ~ and looking ahead - John McCain is often described as a maverick, impulsive, a gambler. These characterizations came to mind while reading Jill Abramson’s review in the NY Times of Bob Woodward’s new book about Bush, The Final Days. This is Woodward’s fourth book about the Bush administration and Abramson puts the four volumes in context when she writes, “These books offer a chilling lesson in how not to lead. They also describe the tragic pattern of a president who operates impulsively, guided solely by his instincts, abetted but ill-served by advisers who fail in the crucial task of speaking truth to power.” A number of times I have referred to McCain as McBush, implying that a McCain presidency would be more of the same with even greater peril to America since it is already so weakened by the Bush years. This review offers no reason for me to change my mind.

* A break with the past – The Record is a newspaper in Stockton, CA. For the past 72 years, since endorsing Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936, this paper has endorsed a Republican for president. Not this year. From the editorial: “For eight years, American politics has been marked by smears, fears and greed… The result is a cynicism every bit as deep as that which infected the nation when Richard Nixon was shamed from office and when Bill Clinton brought shame to the office… This must end, but John McCain can't do it. He can't inspire, nor can he really break from a past that is breaking this nation.” The editorial is interesting and the reasoning is instructive. In order to address the challenges facing our country it is important that we all re-evaluate our propensities.

* What a difference a century makes ~ welcome to the Big Top:
Antedated definition of “Republican”– somebody who believes that the best government is one in which supreme power is vested in an electorate.
Current definition of “Republican” – a circus performer in grease paint, bulbous red nose and baggy pants who, when its mouth opens, spews lies like clowns from a Volkswagen.

The press conference of the House Republicans that followed their vote against a supposedly agreed upon bi-partisan legislation to stabilize Wall Street was laughable. Grown men saying the bill was okay but, they voted against it because Speaker Nancy Pelosi insulted them. The country can flush itself down the financial sewer because their feelings were hurt. On Tuesday we learn that House Republicans not only acted stupid, they lied while doing it.

“The Republican National Committee's new advertisement critical of the Wall Street "bailout" was produced and sent to television stations in key states before the package failed, officials at two stations said.” The ads were also placed before Pelosi’s remarks. I recently noted that people tell lies when they fear the truth. In the case of House Republican toddlers and the McCain campaign, they have reached a point that they do not know the difference between truth and lies. Recall the good old days when a voter tried to be alert for a politician’s lie. In today’s world the challenge is to be alert for a truth.

* “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Albert Einstein

* America needs a bailout ~ from failed leadership - The Houston Chronicle reports that undocumented workers will be the linchpin in efforts to clean up Texas following hurricane Ike. A local contractor said “he’s having trouble finding legal local workers to help with hurricane cleanup. In what has become a commonplace irony, “The region needs the muscle of undocumented immigrants, but simultaneously is a cog in a broader crackdown of illegal immigrants at worksites.” Is our immigration dilemma not a metaphor for the other large issues burdening and daunting America? The financial crisis, the war on terror, environmental degradation, oil dependency, job losses, and special interest dominance have either been ignored or addressed with faulty or incoherent premises. Some of these problems can be attributed to George Bush and Republicans and some go back over 3 decades with Democrats equally culpable. The American people are experiencing the results of failed leadership across party lines, ideologies and time frames.

* A funny thing happened on the way to the forum - We have a major political party that offers us a vice presidential candidate that is about as prepared for the position as Harriet Miers was to be a Supreme Court Justice. Miers had written two legal opinions in her entire career. Being against abortion and homosexuals is not qualification for our highest court or for our second highest elected office. On September 25th Katie Couric interviewed Sarah Palin. The question to Palin was, “Why do you think the Wall Street bailout is needed?” Palin’s response was,” Ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up the economy. (Realizing she had confused her tutored and tortured talking points she quickly looked at her notes and continued.) Oh, it’s got to be about job creation too. So health care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions.” No, this was not a skit on Saturday Night Live. You can watch the video.

Expect to see more people questioning the Palin nomination as conservative columnist Kathleen Parker did on Friday. Parker said, “Palin’s recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League.”

Thursday’s debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin may prove to be the defining moment of this campaign, surpassing the impact of the McCain-Obama debates. I say this because John McCain has made his judgment and experience a cornerstone of his presidential candidacy. Reality has been replacing the excitement generated in the early days of Palin’s selection. I watched Joe Biden respond to very tough questions on Meet the Press three weeks ago and Palin’s responses in interviews noted above. I expect that the VP debate will shine a klieg light on McCain’s terrible judgment and insult to the American people by injecting a person with no credentials, experience or gravitas onto the Republican ticket. It would not surprise me that McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin proves to be the deal breaker for American voters.

* Call 911 ~ a missing persons report – During the negotiations to bail out Wall Street something came out of the mahogany woodwork in the Rayburn Building. They are known as House Republicans and they threw a hissy fit that the government was about to provide Wall Street with $700 billion. This is not to say that their obstinacy did not have some merit. They pride themselves on being fiscally conservative. My question is, “Where the hell have you been?” For almost 8 years you have rubber-stamped virtually every spending bill that George Bush has requested. You watched a federal deficit go from $5.3 trillion to what will likely be almost $11 trillion before the end of 2008. While this debt burden exploded and the value of the dollar imploded, with no hesitancy you reduced taxes for the wealthy and made no attempt to curb the financial irresponsibility of Wall Street. Something had to give and it included your integrity. Perhaps some of your individual constituencies will look the other way on November 4th and pull your lever. That will not change the fact that for eight years the only thing you have pulled is our leg.

Also receiving dishonorable mention in failed financial leadership is Christopher Cox, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He is another stalwart of deregulation who had to acknowledge on Friday “that failures in a voluntary supervision program for Wall Street’s largest investment banks had contributed to the global financial crisis, and he abruptly shut the program down.” Quite the post-active manager! He agreed that “the oversight program was fundamentally flawed from the beginning.” This admission followed a report by the SEC’s inspector general strongly criticizing the agency’s performance in monitoring Bear Stearns before it collapsed in March. Did President Bush, during his speech Wednesday night, make any mention that his policy to overspend, push deregulation and appoint watchdogs that also opposed oversight was responsible for the potential collapse of our financial system? I may have missed such a comment while getting my popcorn from the microwave. Or, perhaps he failed to take any responsibility for his disastrous tenure, again.

* Grate American Families ~ where laws and decency too often become non sequiturs - Last week I noted that John McCain had a less than noble role in the last financial crisis, the Savings and Loan failures. He attempted to influence regulators because one of the bankers being investigated was a friend and major contributor – Charles Keating. He was also protecting investments of his wife Cindy McCain. A short video provides the details. Another example of getting a repeated free ride is George Bush’s brother Neil. He was involved in shady dealings as a board member of the infamous Silverado Savings and Loan. Its collapse cost taxpayers $1 billion. Neil has since made millions of dollars through his software company selling products to George’s No Child Left Behind program. Recall that mother Barbara Bush, when she made a financial donation to the Katrina recovery effort, designated the money to buy educational products from son Neil’s company. At this point I am Straight-Talked out and Bushed.

* Defying time, space, and reality ~ On Friday morning, before McCain confirmed that he would attend the first presidential debate, his campaign website had a picture of the Senator surrounded by American flags declaring “McCain Wins Debate” accompanied by a quote from McCain campaign manager and financial industry lobbyist Rick Davis saying, “McCain won the debate – hands down.” Cockeyed optimism was selecting Sarah Palin. This was just cockeyed.

* Quote of the Week – “Barack Obama is probably America’s last hope of ending this country’s reputation as the assholes of the Universe.” An observation by comedienne Sarah Silverman

* If it’s true it’s not hyperbole – A reader took me to task for saying, “What else would one expect from a Bush appointee but lies and arrogance?” after I noted that Secretary of Treasury Paulsen had lied while appearing before the Senate Banking Committee. The following went into my comment: President Bush, VP Dick Cheney, David Addington, Donald Rumsfeld, Alberto Gonzalez, Michael Chertoff, Scooter Libby, Josh Bolten, Karl Rove, Harriet Miers, Dick Kempthorne, Michael Leavitt, Condoleezza Rice, Monica Goodling and the leaders of the EPA, FDA, NASA, VA, CIA, NSA and almost every combination of capital letters one will find in the federal government. I would suggest that the reader will find greater veracity in a minimum security federal penitentiary, where a number of the above mentioned should be receiving their mail.

* “Honesty is the first chapter of the book of wisdom.”
Thomas Jefferson (1743 – 1826) third President of the United States and principal author of the Declaration of Independence