Follow the Money

Here's a quick question before getting into this one: If gas prices were to hit $5 a gallon before November 4th, who would get a 'bump' in the presidential election? Personally, I think the more people have to pay at the pump, the better Obama looks. With that in mind, here's are some observations I've made recently.

Labor Day came and went, and our local gas prices stayed the same.

The Dow lost 500 points, the prices of a barrel of oil went up $10, and our local gas prices stayed the same.

Hurricane Ike slammed the Southeastern U.S., knocking out a refinery or two, and our local gas prices stayed the same. [Now, Ike did cause a run on gasoline and a subsequent shortage in the immediate area. But usually when a refinery goes down anywhere, the oil companies raise their prices everywhere in the country.]

Why is it that the "normal" fluctuations that gasoline prices usually have are not apparent lately? I think it's a rather commonly held belief that gas prices quickly shoot up on any negative news, then fall down slowly (if at all). Odd that they are not reacting to major catastrophes, financial woes, or even the cost of oil itself.

Of course, nothing is really odd if you believe that the oil company execs are holding the price still to help the candidate that they think will help them the most. That alone is enough to decide my vote. I want the guy that they don't.

Fight the Smears

The following is a copy of an e-mail that I drafted recently to a friend who was getting riled up about "facts" that she thought were the final straw of the Obama campaign. We now return to the program, already in progress...

Dear [friend],

Since I had never heard of the quotes that you were referring to during our last phone conversation, I looked them up after we hung up. Here is a page that describes (in context) which quotes are real and which aren't.

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/o/obama-books.htm

And here's another:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/ownwords.asp

The short answer regarding the one about "siding with the Muslims" says basically that Arab-Americans in this country deserve the same laws as the rest of us, and that people should not be attacked on the streets (or prejudiced against in stores, at the airport, at religious services, etc) solely because of their ethnicity/religion.

After Pearl Harbor, the Japanese (and Chinese and Korean and Philippino) people of America were all gathered together and locked up in internment camps. These were people that had lived here all their lives and had no connection with Pearl Harbor. Fear caused the gov't to round them up and sit on them. What Obama was saying was that we should not repeat that mistake.

If an "ugly turn" takes place and people started randomly attacking Muslims within this country for no other reason than that they were Muslim, Obama said that he would side with them, the victims, for being attacked. That makes sense to me. Attacking someone just because of their skin color is a hate crime; it should not be endorsed.

Anyway, that was the gist of it. You mentioned checking your own facts, but I know you're slammed for time. I'd be more than happy to look this stuff up for you and you know I'll be truthful. In the past, I've even had to point out negative stuff about my favorite candidate because I don't think anyone should get a pass on important stuff. Good luck with [your kid] this week; hope things get better with his [issue].

The important thing to remember is that if something sounds incredulous, it probably is. At least look it up before passing it on. Especially to me. :)

Remember the Fallen

It's been seven years. In that time, I met and married my wife and had my first child. I've lost some grandparents and some friends. I'm still driving the same truck and going to the same job, but many of my co-workers can't say the same because of lay-offs.

We set off to route out the Taliban from Afghanistan, then attacked Iraq for no publicly-discernible reason. While losing over four thousand men and women, billions of dollars, and thousands of limbs, we've all but forgot those that attacked us. Those that are still out there, planning.

We owe it to the people lost on that day to keep America the shining promise that it was when we were attacked. Guarding our own civil liberties, guaranteeing rights to those we charge with crimes, protecting those who are under attack for no other reason than being there. These are all traits that America can admire in herself, even if some of the occupants resent them.

We need to stand up for ourselves and for our nation. We need to echo Barack Obama's call that "Enough is enough!" We've been swindled of our hopes and dreams, money and security, friends and family. This administration has taken it all for their own needs, and they weren't altruistic ones.

Raise your voice to those that must hear it. Demand that news companies once again produce journalism. Push yourself to read and understand, if you don't yet. Take an interest in the world around you besides your own. Inform the President that you DO NOT APPROVE of his actions, and of his failures to act. Volunteer for your local Obama or other Democratic candidate's campaign office. These are only some of what you can do to help remember the fallen.

Gov. Sarah Palin Flip-Flops on Her V.P. Status

Here's a YouTube clip from June, '08, from the (ick!) Glenn Beck program.

At 8:10 into the above clip, Glenn Beck asks the Governor if she would consider being Vice President, if asked. Rather than give the typical answer, that it would be an honor to serve if asked, she instead flat out says no. Guess that didn't last long...

Awesome Jon Stewart Clip

If Viacom petitions to get the clip yanked from YouTube, I'll try and edit the link when another version of it inevitably gets posted.

Jon shows the flip-flopping of Republican pundits when the shoe is on the other foot.

Celebrity?

We've seen ads run by the McCain Campaign espousing Barack Obama's "celebrity" status: how he's a rock star, how he's no more than Paris Hilton or Britney Spears. To my knowledge, Sen. Obama has never been a star in a movie or created a music album or been an heiress to a billion-dollar hotel chain. The most he can lay claim to is appearing on Saturday Night Live, just as Bob Dole has done in the past.

So, who are the real celebrities out there? Let's look at a list of celebrities in American politics.

Republicans	Democrats
Ronald Reagan Movie star in many westerns. Elected to be the governor of California and President of the United States.	Al Franken Writer, comedian, talk show host. Has hosted a political talk show and is currently running for a U.S. Senate seat.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Blockbuster movie star in many action films. Elected to be the governor of "Kaleefornya".
Jesse "The Body" Ventura Actor and pro-wrestler. Elected to be governor of Minnesota. Though actually a member of the Reform Party, his views more often coincided with those of the Republican Party than the Democratic Party.
Clint Eastwood Actor in many western and action movies. Elected mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. Registered Republican though sometimes described as a Libertarian.
Sonny Bono Singer/Comedian. Was married to Cher. Elected mayor of Palm Springs, California and later elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Fred Grandy Played "Gopher" on "The Love Boat". Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

The list seems to be a bit one-sided, doesn't it? Which party tends to carry more celebrity within its ranks?

Possible Veep Replacement?

I don't know how much of this is rumor, but it's been reported that there are some back-room conversations occurring whose purposes are to determine how hard it would be to replace Gov. Sarah Palin as the V.P. choice for Sen. John McCain's campaign. Apparently, she can be replaced easily (aside from public ridicule, backpeddling, and signage production costs) up until she formally accepts the nomination in her acceptance speech at the RNC's convention.

If they decide that she has to go after that, there're waiting periods, mandatory filings, required documentation to state the reason for the switch, and possibly an internal vote among party officials. With that said, you know that the Vetting Squad is very active right now, belatedly turning up every stone in Alaska to see what crawls out. Let's look at some of the highlights so far.

• It's reported on CNN that the Governor's husband, Todd Palin, was once a member of a political party, the Alaskan Independence Party, whose primary goal is to remove Alaska from These United States. They want for it to be an independent nation, to own all their own oil rights, and to be able to drill willy-nilly in ANWR and keep every penny for it. It was the for the attempt of secession that the Civil War was fought, that over 600,000 Americans died in a battle to maintain the integrity of the U.S. The Governor attended the AIP's convention in 2000, but it is unclear as to her membership status (though the AIP claims that she was indeed a member). Bear in mind that the most effective tactic to achieve its goal would be to have its members infiltrate the American government and push the secession agenda. Is Vice President of the United States (and accordingly the President of the Senate) high enough a position?

• She is under investigation for strong-arming a Public Safety Commissioner to fire her ex-brother-in-law from the State Troopers. Included in her reasons is that he tasered his 10-year-old stepson. That's terrible! Of course the rest of the story is that the kid really wanted to get zapped and begged his stepdad to do it. He foolishly agreed, proceeded to set the taser to its lowest setting, had the boy get into a safe position so he wouldn't fall, then zapped him. Afterward, the kid asked to get zapped again. While this is not stellar judgment on the trooper's part, it is the kind of behavior that one sees in rural areas when boys try to peck out their Manly Men status. This is right up there with the T.V. show "Jackass" and the countless people on YouTube recording themselves getting shot with paintball guns while not wearing armor.

• Remember the Bridge to Nowhere that Gov. Palin claims to have fought against? Now there are reports surfacing that she actually campaigned for it in the first place, before the national attention was directed at Alaska. Not just rumor-filled reports, mind you. Last night, during a Q&A period with RNC committee members, they admitted that "Yes, she was for it before she was against it," but now everything's just hunky-dorey.

• And on the topic of earmarks, which she's supposedly going to fight in Washington, does she mention that her small town of Wasilla (pop. 5,469) has benefited from over $26.9 million? And that's just during her final term as mayor there. That's an average of $4,918.63 per resident.

• Well, maybe she's doing better on the family front. Well, we all know the situation with her eldest daughter, but the family is supposed to be off-limits. I think it would be fair game since much of the Republican's platform is "family values," but I'll lay off. Now the Governor herself is fair game and there is a question as to whether her eldest son was conceived in wedlock. If he were conceived on their wedding night, some calculations put his term at 7 months, 21 days. Quite a bit premature, but certainly not unheard of. I'd be curious if someone knew his birth weight...

Now, please keep in mind that Alaska is difficult to get to, and the Vetting Squad has only really had five days to look into her background. What's going to seep to the surface over the next sixty days? We have roughly 6 hours before changing the bottom half of the ticket gets really troublesome, so let's sit back and enjoy the show.

Prayers Answered

Stuart Shepard, a director for Focus on the Family, asked his religious viewers on their show Stoplight to pray for rain during Sen. Obama's final speech at the DNC Convention.

His hope was that there was so much rain falling at Mile High (yeah, yeah, Invesco Field) that the cameras couldn't pick him out. Denver had clear skies and a beautiful temperature that night.

The RNC Convention however, finally getting started up in Minnesota, has been delayed for rain, tons of it, coming from Hurricane Gustav and soon-to-be its little sister Hanna. Hurricanes can't affect Minnesota, you say? True, Minnesota is as dry as it normally is this time of year. But all of the headliners for the convention serve in the southern U.S.

Now I could make arguments about whose side God is on, or about karma torpedoes backfiring, or about Climate Change shooting the Republicans right in the foot, but instead of all that, I think I'll just do as Sen. Obama asks of us: Donate some money to relief funds and volunteer for cleanup efforts in the affected areas.

Footnote: I'm not flippant about the danger to those in the path of the 'cane. My smugness is present only because the affected regions managed to avoid significant damage since the path deviated at the end and it missed the heavily populated areas.

Republican Veep Selection

Sen. John McCain tapped Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his running mate, no puns intended. After reviewing her background, I have to say that this was an incredible choice. Incredibly poor. I'm trying to isolate what it is about her that brings any strength to his ticket. Alaska usually goes red, so there's nothing to "bring in" there. She's a life-long member of the NRA, but so is half of the Republican party, so no gains there. She won "Miss Congeniality" in the Miss Alaska contest of 1984. Um, really?

She was on the city council of her hometown, population 5,469, for four years. Then she got elected mayor for two terms. Apparently, her first task as mayor was to place a gag order on the chief of police, public works, and the local librarian. No one could talk to the press without first consulting her. In a town of five thousand, I assume this means that some of them couldn't say "Hi" to their neighbors without squaring it with the mayor first.

After term limits ended her mayoral career, she tried and failed to get the vote for Lt. Governor. Four years later, she tried and won the governorship. She hasn't finished her first term there, but she has managed to rack up an investigation as to whether she strong-armed, a Public Safety Commissioner to fire her ex-brother-in-law from the state troopers. She allegedly dismissed the Commissioner when he refused to fire the trooper.

Along with Sen. McCain's famous temper and grudge list, I think the new motto for the Republican ticket should be "Never Forget, Never Forgive".

Sen. Obama, on the other hand, has presided over the Harvard Law Review, served eight years in the Illinois State Senate, and four years in the U.S. Senate. Since Chicago has four times the population of the entire state of Alaska, I believe that Sen. Obama has served the interests of a far greater populace than Gov. Palin.

Let's look a tad bit closer at the good Governor, since we're discussing her experience. She's a five-time mother. Her youngest is 4-months-old and, unfortunately, has Down's Syndrome. Caring for differently-abled children takes a lot of energy and time. Is she going to have the time to perform her duties as V.P.? Is she going to have the time to even campaign for it? Perhaps her 17-year-old daughter, just starting her senior year in high school, could help out with the infant. Except that she is 5 months pregnant herself and might have her hands full.

What's left that the Governor brings to the table? The only thing I see left is her gender. Maybe McCain felt he needed a woman on the ticket to bring in Hillary's supporters. But, as I heard on some morning show today, Hillary was a woman who was strong on issues and had a solid track record. This is not to say that there was a woman-sized-hole open on the ticket and any woman could fill it. There was an incredibly-strong-and-popular-Clinton-sized hole to be filled.

So, the Republican ticket wants to put a rather inexperienced 1-term governor, with infant children and grandchildren into the position of being 1 heartbeat, 1 stroke, 1 coronary, 1 cheeseburger away from being the President. And McCain says that he was fully aware of the upcoming grandbaby and it did not affect his decision on the affair. Again, not-so-great judgment being displayed by the Senator from Arizona.