I’m not good at writing things that are inspirational and meaningful but I would like to take a minute to try to write how important it is to vote.
Like I was telling some of my friends who are not registered to vote and aren’t political: Voting gives us a say in our country. Voting gives us the power to choose our future. Thinking that the entire system is corrupt is no excuse. Many have fought (and still fight) and died for this right we have. Many in the world do not have the opportunity to decide anything in their country. We should take advantage of the rights we have.
The 2000 election was decided by some 537 votes. That’s it. Saying your opinion, your vote doesn’t matter simply isn’t true.
Please, get out and vote TOMORROW, NOVEMBER 4, 2008. If you’re not sure where you vote visit vote411.org for your location.
A quick note on voter fraud: No, the election for Democrats is not November 5, it’s November 4, like EVERYONE ELSE, on the SAME DAY, regardless. And no, you won’t get arrested for not paying child support or if you have a speeding ticket or whatever else you may have heard if you try to vote. They are Republican scare tactics and they are UNTRUE to try to get you not to vote. Don’t let that happen.
Another quick note, don’t let poll numbers discourage you to vote either. Get out to the polls no matter what. Even if you’re 100% confident your candidate will/will not win, still get out there. Your vote DOES matter.
Furthermore, don’t let long lines to vote discourage you. Please wait it out and get your say. Maybe try to coinvince your boss to let you go early so you can get there, or try to go in the morning or during lunch. But get out there regardless.
Too close to election time. I forgot to post this. Here’s a list of all the McCain gaffes and misspeaks he’s said this past election.
2007: McCain: “I was in a conference in Germany over the weekend and President Putin of Germany gave one of the old Cold War style speeches as he addressed the conference there.”
2008: McCain: “And I’m going to tell them, I don’t agree with Senator Obama that they cling to their religion and the constitution because they’re bitter.”
2008: McCain: “I believe that, when he said that we had to leave Iraq, and we had to be out by last March, and we had to have a date certain, that was in contravention to, and still is, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General David Petraeus.”
2008: McCain: “And I’m afraid it’s a very hard struggle. Particularly given the situation on the Iraq-Pakistan border.”
2008: McCain: “Because of the surge, we were able to go out and protect that sheik and others and it began the Anbar Awakening. I mean, that’s just a matter of history.” (The Anbar Awakening began in September 2006, months before the surge was even discussed.)
2008: McCain: “The fact is we had four years of failed policy; we were losing. We were losing the war in Iraq. The consequences of failure and the defeat of the United States of America in the first major conflict since 9/11 would have had devastating impacts throughout the region and the world.” (Afghanistan anyone?)
2008: McCain: “We continue to be concerned about Iranian taking Al Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending them back.” and “Well, it’s common knowledge and has been reported in the media that Al Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran. That’s well known. And it’s unfortunate.” (Joe Lieberman had to correct him.)
2008: McCain: “It was al-Sadr that declared the ceasefire, not Maliki.” (It was actually members of Prime Minister Maliki’s government who brokered the ceasefire in Basra, Sadr agreed.)
2008: McCain: “How can we bring pressure on the government of Somalia?” (Mark Salter corrected him by saying “Sudan”.)
2008: McCain: “We have drawn down to presurge levels.” (The US currently had 150,000 troops in Iraq at the time. Pre surge levels were at 130,000.)
2008: McCain: “Basra, Mosul, and now Sadr City are quiet.” (Mosul on the same day suffered three suicide bombings.)
2008: McCain: “I was concerned about a couple of steps that the Russian government took in the last several days. One was reducing the energy supplies to Czechoslovakia.” (Czechoslovakia doesn’t exist anymore. It’s the Czech Republic and Slovakia.)
2008: McCain: “I think it’s a pretty good timetable, as we should have our horizons for withdraw.” (Which then he denied a day later) “I didn’t use the word timetable.”
2008: McCain: “I believe that it’s not an accident that our hostages came home from Iran when President Reagan was president of the United States. He didn’t sit down in a negotiation with the religious extremists in Iran, he made it very clear that those hostages were coming home.” (McCain seems to forget that the hostages were freed because of the Algiers Accords which Warren Christopher and the Carter Administration had negotiated. Nothing to do with Reagan.)
2008: McCain: “Ahmadinejad is, was the leader.” (Political authority rests with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, not the president of Iran. As for foreign policy, Ahmadinejad has very little influence.)
2008: McCain: “There is a very clear standard in the Constitution requiring not only just compensation in the use of eminent domain, but also that private property may not be taken for public use.” (The constitution says “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation”.)
2008: McCain: “In the twenty first century, nations don’t invade other nations.” (Did he forget Iraq again?)
2008: McCain: “So the compact that is in effect, obviously, needs to be renegotiated over time amongst the interested parties. I think that there’s a movement amongst the governors to try, if not, quote, renegotiate, certainly adjust to the new realities of high growth, of greater demands on a scarcer resource.” (Talking about the Colorado River Compact. Mitt Romney later corrected him.)
2008: McCain: “We should be able to deliver bottled hot water to dehydrated babies…”
2008: McCain: “I’ve bought American literally all my life, and I’m proud.” (Yet he owns a Honda, Volkswagen, and a Lexus.)
2008: McCain: “Across this country, this is the agenda I’ve set before my fellow prisoners…”
2008: McCain: “If we had done what Senator Obama wanted done in Iraq, and that was set a date for withdrawal, which General Petraeus, our chief, chairman of our Joint Chiefs of Staff…” (Again, Petraeus isn’t the chairman of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff.)
2008: McCain: “I think you may have noticed that Senator Obama’s supporters have been saying some pretty nasty things about western Pennsylvania lately… And you know, I couldn’t agree with him more…”
In an effort to not be 100% bias, here are a few gaffes of Obama’s.
2008: Obama: “On this Memorial Day, as our nation honors its unbroken line of fallen heroes, and I see many of them in the audience here today…”
2008: Obama: “If they just gave him some treatment early and they got some treatment and a breathalyzer or inhalator. Not a breathalyzer. I haven’t had much sleep in the past forty eight hours, so.”
You know, I’m really getting tired of getting emails and reading news articles and postings by people who are so ignorant. I just got another email today about how Obama said how the flag to some is “a symbol of oppression” and how “the anthem itself conveys a war-like message”. Of course snopes.com has this as false.
I read more and more how Obama is a Muslim or Arab, can’t be trusted, has terrorist ties, etc. Why don’t people fact check? Why are some people so ignorant? They say he’s a Muslim but then what’s all this controversy about a Christian Pastor? This is all stupid. And anyway, what’s wrong with believing in another religion? To steal a line from South Park, I thought this was America! Maybe people here are shocked and suprised that people have tolerance and acceptance towards other ideas. It’s like they woke up and said “Wow, I can’t believe it! America is actually how we imagined it!”
And I blame John McCain for not setting these people straight. If he says “I have repudiated every time someone’s been out of line, whether they’ve been part of my campaign or not, and I will continue to do that.” Then, tell me, how come he doesn’t come out about the people at Palin’s rally’s, shouting “terrorist” and “kill him”? How come Palin hasn’t come out and said anything about it? How come McCain’s own spokesperson, Nancy Pfotenhauer has said that parts of Virginia who are responsive to McCain are “real Virginia”, McCain hasn’t repudiated that? What about all the shouts of “kill him” and “terrorist” at Palin rally’s, McCain hasn’t repudiated that? How come McCain hasn’t repudiated his own VP pick for saying the “real America” and “pro-America” places of the United States? What about Rush Limbaugh’s reason of how Powell endorsed Obama because of race, yet McCain won’t repudiate it?
McCain seems to not repudiate anything. He’d rather sacrifice his integrity and support hatred than loose a campaign. Doesn’t he not want to be a part of this? If he doesn’t, I don’t see how.
As many of you know, Brian was running for House Of Representatives until my father passed away. Things got crazy (and it’s still crazy) so he decided to drop out. Before he did, he gathered a bunch of views and ideas he had and put them up on his website.
Since the idiots in Congress can’t get their act together and pass a bill that would try to save us all from hell, I persuaded Brian to start calling around and tell them his idea. This idea would fix the housing market which would lead to a more stable economy, thus saving us all from a recession or depression. Here’s his plan (from his website):
In the past couple of months many people have noticed mortgage companies and banks have been losing a lot of money and people are being forced out of their homes. It is terrible when people lose their life savings, their homes, and have their credit ruined all in one fell swoop. I think there are a couple of very simple steps to correct this situation so no more people will fall prey to this kind of lending again.
The first thing to do is save people who are in foreclosure or who are about to go into foreclosure. In order to do this, I propose that we use the HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) to refinance all the loans that are resetting to higher rates into fixed rate mortgages. I would also increase the amount of time that a family has to pay back the loan from a traditional 15 or 30 years so that they can spread out the payments to something that they can still afford today (say a 60 year mortgage) with no penalties for early payment. People can say in their homes with a mortgage that is manageable. Also, they should be able to pay towards the mortgage what they can afford to spare in order to pay the loan off faster without penalty.
The second step to saving the mortgage industry is to enact legislation that will stop predatory lending. This legislation should force mortgage companies and brokers to make potential buyers more aware of the consequences of the loans they sign.
Just wanted to put Brian’s idea out there. He already called a few of our Maryland congressmen and explained it. They probably won’t get back to him cause they don’t care.
Brian doesn’t care if he gets credit for this idea or not. He just wants a solution, as do I, as should all of us.
If you think this is a good idea, share it or whatever.
Well since McCain “suspended” his campaign last Wednesday, I wonder if he bothered announcing that he unsuspended it. It seems his time in Washington is a complete waste as he said nothing and proposed nothing during the big White House meeting Thursday.
“I came back because I wasn’t going to phone it in.”
McCain said this week. However, he did just that with his time in Washington. He spent the weekend on the phone, something he could have done anywhere. I’m wondering, did he actually do ANYTHING helpful to solve this problem? I didn’t hear any proposals or anything from him. I thought his whole point of “suspending his campaign” was to get this thing fixed. Is it? No.
In other news, a lot of rally’s were held to protest the bailouts, which makes me happy. It’s good to see people taking time to gather and state what they believe in. We need more of this, we need more riots.
Barack Obama has gotten more of my vote (if that’s possible) for him wanting the FDIC to raise the limit. For years I’ve said the limit should be raised because $100,000 isn’t worth nearly as much as it was when the limit was set. It seems McCain is also for it, which also makes me happy.
Last comment, I find it really disgusting that the house Republicans would play politics and blame Pelosi for making a partisan speech (aren’t they all partisan?) that supposedly “poisoned” their position on the bill or whatever. The real reason, I’m sure, is that Republican’s don’t believe in bailouts, why they don’t state that’s the reason we’ll never know. However, to blame a speech… and not only that, saying a speech pissed you off so much so you don’t do what’s right for our country… that really says something.
Here’s who I think will go to the playoffs in 2008:
AFC:
New England Patriots
Cleveland Browns
Indianapolis Colts
San Diego Chargers
New York Jets
Pittsburgh Steelers
NFC:
Dallas Cowboys
Minnesota Vikings
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Seattle Seahawks
Philadelphia Eagles
New Orleans Saints
I’ve been compiling for quite some time a list of ways McCain has voted and things McCain has said that are against women and their rights. Seeing McCain picked a younger woman to be his Vice President, which is obviously a move of desperation to get the PUMA vote and to make himself look younger, I’ve decided to unleash this masterpiece now.
And all the time I thought McCain was against affirmative action…
1986: McCain made a very offensive joke about a woman getting raped by an ape then asking “Where is that marvelous ape” after she came to.
1990: McCain voted against Title X planning programs (such as Planned Parenthood) which provide low income and uninsured women and families with health care services. Also, such programs provide breast and cervical cancer screenings for women in need.
2003: McCain voted against an amendment that would have required insurance coverage of prescription birth control.
2005: McCain voted against spending $100 million to expand access to preventive health care services that would reduce teen pregnancies and the number of abortions.
2005: McCain voted against legislation that would overturn the “global gag rule”. This rule which bars foreign organizations from receiving US assistance if the organization provides abortion or advocates pro-choice laws in their country.
2007: McCain: “Ahhh. I think I support the president’s policy.” (On grants for sexual education with funding for contraceptives. Bush’s policy is abstinence.)
2008: McCain: “I certainly don’t want to discuss that issue.” (On why insurance companies cover Viagra and not birth control. So what is it, Mr McCain?)
2008: McCain believes Roe vs Wade is flawed and should be overturned, having once said in 1999 “Certainly in the short term, or even the long term, I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade, which would then force X number of women in America to [undergo] illegal and dangerous operations.â€
2008: McCain skipped a vote for the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act which sought equal pay for women. He claims he would have voted against it because it would lead to more lawsuits.
———-
FEW QUESTIONS FOR MCCAIN
- If abortion is made illegal, how much time should a woman do, if any, for having an abortion?
- What punishment should the doctor receive?
- Why do you vote against funding for family planning services that would reduce the number of abortions?
- Are you against birth control?
- Would you please answer that Viagra vs Birth Control question? We need to know your stance. Yes, it might be embarrassing, but this is a real issue.
I’m having O C D troubles with the way I organize things online.
As most of you know, I use Facebook all the time at work. However, I don’t want my entire internet life to be centered around Facebook.
I want everything to import into Facebook so I won’t have to ever log into it, basically. Here’s the stuff I currently have/want out on the internet:
- Twitter (status updates) – My tweets updated. Facebook works with Twitter so this is fine. It updates my status. My tweets can be accessed outside by anyone.
- Twitxr (photo updates) – I send photos to Twitxr, just random photos. I want more than this, though. I was looking into Flickr but there’s no good apps on Facebook to import all the pictures actually INTO Facebook so I can tag people. Twitxr does everything I want it to do but it’s single picture. Need to investigate more on this Flickr thing, but the app for Facebook doesn’t allow people to be tagged in photos. And what about my blog photos?
- Digg (news articles) – Updates on Facebook. People can access what I’ve dugg online. This is great.
- Youtube (my videos) – Facebook hasn’t come out with a good app for this that I’ve seen yet. It’s all “your favorite videos”. I want an app that will automatically import my videos into Facebook or something like that. Youtube itself is okay since anyone can access it. I just need to link to it.
- Blog (my two blogs) – Currently I have this blog importing into Facebook. I want to change this because people comment on Facebook when I don’t want them to. I’d rather keep it outside with it automatically importing comments or vice versa. Also, this sucks because when I make changes to my blog it doesn’t update the post in Facebook. It’s just an import. I need to find an app that lets me do what I want to do with LIVE UPDATING. This is going to get dicey when it comes time to do my weekly Football Predictions.
- About Me stuff – On Youtube, Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, etc always has these little “about me” sections. I want a feature on something where it updates all these “about me” sections, etc automatically on everything. Right now I just have it linking to a page on my website. I should talk to someone I know about this idea…
I’m trying to get people to join my pool of bets for the V P picks for the Presidential Nominees.
If you want in, it’s $20 for two picks (Democrat and Republican). Choose who you think McCain’s V P will be and who Obama’s V P will be. Get in soon by contacting me somehow.
As you know, I am very Earth concious and I try to be as “Green” as possible. I’ve decided to list out what I try to do in my daily life in order to stop wasting the Earth and stop Global Warming. Some of them are really small but I do what I can.
- I drive a Hybrid, my Toyota Prius. Yes, it still pollutes but it’s the most fuel efficient thing out there.
- I car pool with Brian everyday to and from work.
- I reuse my old water bottles and refill them.
- I use hand towels instead of paper towels to clean spills and things. It’s easier to throw them in the wash.
- I always try to use energy saver everything like light bulbs.
- I turn my room temperature to 68 in the winter and 75 in the summer. I open the windows as much as possible on nice cool days.
- I recycle everything I humanly can; beer bottles, cans, junk mail. In MoCo, it’s hard to recycle but I put aside cans and jars and paper to recycle over Brian’s parents house. I also have a special recycling drawer that I put useless non-identifiable paper and things in to recycle later.
- I reuse paper if there’s not much written on it, I just scratch it out.
- I reuse my lunch bags and other bags. When I go to the mall, I take a plastic bag with me, that way I’m not using one of theirs. I also reuse my sandwich bags by wrapping my sandwich up with a napkin. I need a napkin anyway.
- I turn my computer and speakers off whenever I’m not using them. Except for my work computer which needs to update itself. I turn that off for the weekend.
- I turn off lights whenever I exit a room. Except at work. I was instructed to leave my light on forever since I have the front office and the bosses want it to look like our office is busy even though no one is in the office.
- I use rechargeable batteries for remotes, cameras, controllers, etc.
- I buy Green things. Like our shake flashlight.
- I manually open doors instead of going through automatic doors whenever possible. I also use the stairs instead of elevators (unless it’s really high like 4+ stories).
- I reuse tinfoil and plastic wrap as much as possible, if I can.
- I roll down my windows like all the time in the car instead of air conditioning. This sometimes helps fuel efficiency.
- Over Dad’s, I do the same sorts of things. I recycle whatever I can. When I find metal I put it in one of the junk cars that goes to the scrap yard to get recycled. I’ll pick aluminum cans out of the trash to put them into the recycling.
It made me outraged that McCain released a load of garbage ad against Obama that’s full of nothing but falsehoods.
It is true that Obama cancelled his visit with the troops but not because the center “wouldn’t allow cameras”. Obama was afraid that visiting the troop hospital would make it look like a campaign prop. In fact the footage used in the ad was of Obama playing basketball WITH THE TROOPS. Chuck Hagel even thinks the ad is inappropriate!
The ad also states that Obama doesn’t support the troops and McCain does. Well I found an article that compiled all the work for me on that one.
The ads McCain releases and what McCain says totally contradicts truth in some matters. It seems the media is giving McCain free passes. They don’t bother to fact check him. He claims he supports the troops when it’s clear he doesn’t. Look at his record, it speaks for itself.
McCain is banking on the media not paying attention or waving off his little misspeaks and gaffes; and it’s worked out so far for him. I’m compiling a list of gaffes McCain has made since the start of his campaign. I will be posting it in the upcoming weeks, or I just might wait until the election since I’m sure there will be many many more up until then.
Bottom line, the media really needs to make more of this and not let McCain get away with whatever he says that is false. We need fact checking here. And people need to stop believing every word that comes out of these politicians mouths. Do your fact checks, the media obviously isn’t going to do it for you since they apparently have their own agenda.
Now, last week I gained respect for John McCain and what he came out and said about the New Yorker.
“I think it’s totally inappropriate and frankly I understand if Senator Obama and his supporters would find it offensive.”
Welp, this week, he lost what respect he gained with me by saying:
“I had the courage and political judgement to say that I would rather lose a political campaign than lose a war. It seems to me Senator Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign.â€
I’m sorry but, how could anyone say that? I find that probably one of the rudest things I’ve heard in politics. It’s just down right dirty and wrong.
And about the surge, here’s my take: THE SURGE DIDN’T WORK. What was the surge supposed to do? Provide a secure environment so the Iraqi’s could set up their government and achieve POLITICAL RECONCILIATION. Did that happen? No.
Yes, yes, yes it is more secure in Iraq, but the goal of the surge was NOT MET. So how can you say that it worked?
Furthermore, if said surge “worked”, why aren’t we starting to withdraw then? All this “success” in Iraq, why haven’t we discussed a timeline for withdraw? The Iraqi Prime Minister and the Iraqi National Security Advisor both said this month that we need a timetable for withdraw.
No matter how you cut it, those troops need to come home now. Please, talk about a timeline or “time horizon”… however you want to call it. Just get them home, and soon!
My coworker, Howard, forwarded me this email yesterday…
Some interesting thoughts!
Where Have All the Leaders Gone?
by Lee Iacocca  (Hardcover – April 17, 2007)
He’s not talking just about George Bush. It’s time to vote them all out. That includes Hillary and Barack and John and Nancy and Harry.
Remember Lee Iacocca, the man who rescued Chrysler Corporation from it’s death throes? He has a new book, and here are some excerpts. Lee Iacocca Says:
Am I the only guy in this country who’s fed up with what’s happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We’ve got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we’ve got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can’t even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car.
But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, ‘Stay the course’.
Stay the course? You’ve got to be kidding. This is America , not the *darn* ‘Titanic’. I’ll give you a sound bite: ‘Throw all the bums out!’
You might think I’m getting senile, that I’ve gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore.
The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we’re fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving ‘pom -poms’ instead of asking hard questions. That’s not the promise of the ‘ America ‘ my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for.
I’ve had enough. How about you?
I’ll go a step further. You can’t call yourself a patriot if you’re not outraged. This is a fight I’m ready and willing to have. The Biggest ‘C’ is Crisis!
Leaders are made, not born… Leadership is forged in times of crisis. It’s easy to sit there with your feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone else’s kids off to war when you’ve never seen a battlefield yourself. It’s another thing to lead when your world comes tumbling down.
On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader more than any other time in our history We needed a steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A hell of a mess. So here’s where we stand. We’re immersed in a bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for leaving. We’re running the biggest deficit in the history of the country. We’re losing the manufacturing edge to Asia , while our once-great companies are getting slaughtered by health care costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are in trouble. Our borders are like sieves The middle class is being squeezed every which way These are times that cry out for leadership.
When you look around, you’ve got to ask: ‘Where have all the leaders gone?’ Where are the curious, creative communicators? Where are the people of character, courage, conviction, omnipotence, and common sense? I may be a sucker for alliteration, but I think you get the point.
Name me a leader who has a better idea for homeland security than making us take off our shoes in airports and throw away our shampoo? We’ve spent billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy, and all we know how to do is react to things that have already happened.
Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a single day evaluating the response to the hurricane, or demanding accountability for the decisions that were made in the crucial hours after the storm.
Everyone’s hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping it doesn’t happen again. Now, that’s just crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you’re going to do the next time.
Name me an industry leader who is thinking creatively about how we can restore our competitive edge in manufacturing. Who would have believed that there could ever be a time when ‘The Big Three’ referred to Japanese car companies? How did this happen, and more important, what are we going to do about it?
Name me a government leader who can articulate a plan for paying down the debit, or solving the energy crisis, or managing the health care problem. The silence is deafening. But these are the crises that are eating away at our country and milking the middle class dry.
I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn’t elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked and our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity.
What is everybody so afraid of? That some bonehead on Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break. Why don’t you guys show some spine for a change?
Had enough? Hey, I’m not trying to be the voice of gloom and doom here. I’m trying to light a fire. I’m speaking out because I have hope I believe in America… In my lifetime I’ve had the privilege of living through some of America’s greatest moments. I’ve also experienced some of our worst crises: the ‘Great Depression’, ‘World War II’, the ‘Korean War’, the ‘Kennedy Assassination’, the ‘Vietnam War’, the 1970s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years culminating with 9/11. If I’ve learned one thing, it’s this: ‘You don’t get anywhere by standing on the sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action.
Whether it’s building a better car or building a better future for our children, we all have a role to play. That’s the challenge I’m raising in this book. It’s a call to ‘Action’ for people who, like me, believe in America. It’s not too late, but it’s getting pretty close. So let’s shake off the crap and go to work. Let’s tell ’em all we’ve had ‘enough.’
Below are a lot of issues I compiled to show McCain’s various flip flops on issues or a list of issues where McCain’s view has “evolved”:
ROE VS. WADE
1999: McCain: “Certainly in the short term, or even the long term, I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade, which would then force X number of women in America to [undergo] illegal and dangerous operations.”
2008: For a repeal of Roe vs Wade.
———-
OFFSHORE DRILLING
1999: McCain supported drilling moratorium. He also scolded the special interests in Washington that sought offshore drilling leases.
2008: Vowed to end the federal ban on offshore oil drilling.
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BUSH TAX CUTS
2001 and 2003: McCain voted against Bush tax cuts.
2008: Supports Bush tax cuts and will EXTEND them as president.
———-
AMNESTY FOR ILLEGALS
2003: McCain: “Amnesty has to be an important part because there are people who have lived in this country for 20, 30 or 40 years, who have raised children here and pay taxes here and are not citizens.”
2007: McCain: “The fact is that I’ve never supported amnesty.”
———-
IRAQ
2002: McCain: “I believe that the success will be fairly easy.â€
2007: McCain: “I knew it was probably going to be long and hard and tough and those who voted for it and thought that somehow it was going to be some kind of an easy task, they were mistaken.”
2008: McCain: “But again, I would remind you, I said we would have an easy victory. We did.”
———-
IRAQ TIMETABLE
2008: McCain: “This success that we have achieved is still fragile and could be reversed.” and “If we do what Sen. Obama wants to do, then all of that could be reversed.” (When asked about a possible Iraq timetable.)
2008: McCain: “I think it’s a pretty good timetable, as we should, or horizons for withdrawal.” (When asked about what Maliki wants to do which is what Obama has been saying all along, a 16 month time table.)
———-
GAY MARRIAGE
2008: McCain: “I think gay marriage should be allowed if there’s a ceremony kinda thing, if you want to call it that. I don’t have any problem with that.”
2008: McCain: “I do not believe gay marriages should be legal.” (During the same debate.)
———-
TORTURE & WATERBOARDING
2005: McCain introduced the McCain Amendment 1977 or the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 which prohibits the inhumane treatment of prisoners by interrogations.
2007: McCain: “People who have worn the uniform and had the experience know that this is a terrible and odious practice and should never be condoned in the U.S. We are a better nation than that.†(In response to the issue of waterboarding)
2008: McCain sided with Bush and supported a veto of an anti-warterboarding bill.
———-
PRIVATIZING SOCIAL SECURITY
2004: McCain: “I don’t see how you can possibly, overtime, make sure that young Americans are able to receive Social Security benefits.” (Without privatizing Social Security.)
2008: McCain: “I’m not for, quote, privatizing Social Security. I never have been. I never will be.”
———-
REV WRIGHT COMMENTS
2008: McCain: “I mean being involved in that, it’s beyond belief.”
Yet McCain has been associated with extremists like John Haggy and Ron Parsley (who he campaigned with earlier last year).
———-
WARRENTLESS WIRETAPPING
2007: McCain: “I think that presidents have the obligation to obey and enforce laws that are passed by Congress and signed into law by the president, no matter what the situation is.” and “I don’t think the president has the right to disobey any law.”
2008: McCain believes Bush has the authority to conduct warrentless wiretapping.
———-
ESTATE TAX
2006: McCain: “I agree with President Roosevelt, and I remain opposed to full repeal of the estate tax.”
2008: McCain: “The estate tax is one of the most unfair tax laws on the books.”
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BALANCED BUDGET
2008: McCain has been quoted as saying “will not leave office without balancing the federal budget” and has said in February he would balance the budget by the end of his first term.
2008: One of McCain’s economic advisers has said “McCain’s overall goal is to balance the budget by the end of his second term” later in April.
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WINDFALL PROFITS TAX
2008: McCain: “I don’t like obscene profits being made anywhere. I’d be glad to look not just at the windfall profits tax, that’s not what bothers me, but we should look at any incentives that we are giving to people, or industries or corporations, that are distorting the markets.”
2008: McCain: “If that plan sounds familiar, it’s because that was President Carter’s big idea, too.” and “I’m all for recycling, but it’s better applied to paper and plastic than to the failed policies of the 1970s.” (McCain also criticized Obama for supporting it.)
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MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY
1983: Opposed the holiday’s creation.
2008: Supports the holiday, even made a speech on it in 2008.
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SANCTIONS
1985: Voted against imposing sanctions against South Africa.
1986: Voted against considering imposing economic sanctions against South Africa.
2008: McCain: “We should privatize the sanctions against Iran by launching a worldwide divestment campaign. …Years ago, the moral clarity and conviction of civilized nations came together in a divestment campaign against South Africa, helping to rid that nation of the evil of apartheid.”
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KATRINA INVESTIGATIONS
2005 and 2006: McCain votes against establishment of a 9/11 kind of Congressional commission to examine the Federal, State, and local government response to Katrina. Both proposals sponsored by Senator Clinton.
2008: McCain: “I have supported every investigation and ways of finding out what caused the tragedy.”
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EVOLUTION TAUGHT IN SCHOOL
2005: McCain: “I think that there has to be all points of view presented. But they’ve got to be thoroughly presented.”
2008: McCain: “Should it be taught in a science class? Probably not.”
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ECONOMY
2005: McCain: “I’m going to be honest, I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues.”
2007: McCain: “I am not an expert on Wall Street.” and “The issue of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should.” and “I’ve got Greenspan’s book.”
2008: McCain: “I have not. I have not. Actually, I have not. I said that I am stronger on national security issues because of all the time I spent in the military. I’m very strong on the economy. I understand it.” (When confronted about him saying he’s not an expert on the economy. He interrupted the interviewer.)
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ENGLISH AS OUR NATIONAL LANGUAGE
2006: McCain voted to declare English the national language of the US.
2008: McCain has his campaign website available in Spanish with the greeting “Bienvenido! Estamos Unidos con McCain” .
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RAISING PAYROLL TAXES
2005: McCain: “As part of a compromise I could.†(Support lifting on the cap on Social Security taxes.)
2007: McCain: “I want to right now tell you I will not support a tax increase. I don’t see how it would be. It’s off the table, certainly, now.”
2007: McCain: “I am against tax increases. I am against increases in taxes. I think there are ways to fix Social Security without that.”
2008: McCain: “There is nothing that’s off the table. I have my positions, and I’ll articulate them. But nothing’s off the table.” (In response to a question regarding whether or not he would increase payroll taxes)
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THE DRAFT
2007: McCain: “I might consider it, I don’t think it’s necessary, but I might consider it if you could design a draft where everybody equally could serve.” (When asked about reinstating the draft.)
2008: McCain: “I don’t know what would make a draft happen unless we were in an all-out World War III.” and “I do not believe the draft is even practicable or desirable.”
2008: McCain: “Ma’am let me say that I don’t disagree with anything you said and thank you and I am grateful for your support of all of our veterans.” (When a veteran asked if we don’t reenact the draft, there won’t be anyone to get Bin Laden.)
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NOTE ABOUT THE $300 MILLION PRIZE FOR CAR BATTERY
McCain said he’d pay for this prize by eliminating pork barrel projects (unspecified pork barrel projects) yet he said that eliminating those would pay for his other spending.
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NOTE ABOUT MCCAIN BEING IN TOUCH WITH THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
McCain has used his wife’s corporate jet for campaign purposes. McCain in 2007 backed legislation requiring presidential candidates to pay the cost of flying on corporate jets. Using his wife’s jet is, obviously, exempt from this legislation.
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FEW QUESTIONS FOR MCCAIN
- What military experience do you have that makes you qualified to be president?
- How come when I go to Courageous Service on your website nothing’s there?
- What SPECIFIC earmarks will you cut to save $100 billion?
- Will you cut the $4.3 billion aid to Israel and Egypt (it’s an earmark)?
- Do you think we have memory loss or something when you say you haven’t said you’re not good on the economy when there are quotes everywhere contradicting that statement?
- How can you say you’re in touch with the American people when your wife, Cindy McCain, spent $750,000 in credit card charges in ONE MONTH?
- How can you claim that you are in touch with the American people when you don’t even know how many houses you own?
- How can you prove you understand America’s hardships and problems?
- Do you believe that you were tortured in Vietnam? According to the Bush Administration’s definition of torture (which you side with and support), you WERE NOT tortured.
- Would you reinstate the draft to fight all these wars you want to wage? Yes or no. Simple answer please.
I’m deeply deeply saddened by today’s news about Tim Russert. I can’t believe it. He is so awesome. I can’t describe.
He helped me get into politics. For the past three years every Sunday (up until my Dad died) I’d always watch Meet The Press. It was something I really looked forward to. Every Sunday. Tim would get them.
He was amazing at what he did. He did so much research and really got people. He kept them honest. He asked tough questions and did what all media should do, grill them.
I can’t help but think how much he will be missed and how much of an impact he had in the media and on politics. I know I will miss him, especially during this next election.
Just a quick thought before I have to go to a meeting… I hate the media.
Headlines alone DON’T TELL anyone the story. I was shocked to read Former Obama Fundraiser Convicted Of Corruption. However, you must read the entire story to get the whole story.
Firstly, every candidate gets caught in something like this. Secondly, he was a FORMER Obama Donator. Furthermoe, he hasn’t donated to Obama since 2004, well before Obama decided to run for president. Also, the money Obama got from this guy, went to charity. Also, and this is a big one, Obama never did any favors for him, nor did he do any favors for Obama.
Reading just the headlines of articles is wrong. The media is wrong. The facts are buried in the article all the way at the bottom. The defense rests.
Tomorrow night, the super delegates have given what Hillary Clinton wanted, a chance to finish out the primaries. Tomorrow night she should step down and admit defeat.
When every state has completed voting, the time has come. Hillary can not claim anything anymore. Barack Obama will be the Democratic nominee. She can not argue popular vote, she can not make any more cases for super delegates, she will have lost. She should graciously exit.
She’s holding an election night celebration tomorrow night in New York, the perfect time for her to admit defeat. She put on a good fight but now, finally, it is time to admit it and reunite the party before the convention in order to beat the Republicans in the fall.
Hillary, my dear, it’s time to go. Your unwillingness to concede has cost us a lot of time, voters, and media attention. This attention could have been focusing on John McCain’s numerous Iraq mistakes, giving our party a better shot. I thank you for playing but the time has come. You ran a good campaign and should be proud to be the first woman to get this far in a presidential race. You should feel really good about what you’ve accomplished. You have the respect of millions of Americans. Please, don’t take advantage of that. Please, do the right thing. You still have a large voice in the Senate. Do what’s right, even with that much power, you still make a difference everyday. You should be proud, Hill-dawg.
Hasn’t anyone heard of proof reading before publishing? Check out this article.
“He’s one who made the adjustment in about 30 seconds. There’re some who had a little bit more difficulty coming back,” said Bennett, a Republican who represents Utah.
I see typo’s all the time in news articles but this one I couldn’t resist since a Republican said it, LOL.
Yes, I know it probably had nothing to do with Bennett but it’s still pretty funny. What does “there’re” mean anyway?
How cool is this?
On the House season finale, I saw this. Vote For Change!
I’ve started another blog about adventures and stuff with my Dad’s house. It’s at www.longlivethemonkey.com/dadshouse. I’m currently updating it from all the past and current projects we are working on.
By the way, love the new WordPress update. I didn’t know they made it more awesome now. I can actually find things!
