Vote NO on Prop 8 (California)

I'm no fan of Samuel L. Jackson as an actor, but he is part of a really great ad against Prop 8, in California, which is an attempt to ban same-sex marriage -- and likely one of the most important amendments on Election Day, no matter where you live.

Powerful ad. Powerful.

This is What Facebook Obama Supporters Look Like!

Love it.

Memories

Doesn't it feel like forever ago when people said Obama couldn't win the blue states and then they said he was gonna lose because of his VP pick and should have picked Hillary?

Now, McCain could lose up to 11 red states, and one of the biggest problems he has is his VP pick.

Funny.

The Truth of Bill Ayers

Politics is all about creative word selection. When asked about his nasty ad campaign and smearish robo-calls, John McCain, quite correctly, says:

They are 100% accurate.

And indeed they are. The problem is, they aren't the truth. It's called word play. Here's the talking points the Republicans always use:

Bill Ayers is an unrepentant domestic terrorist who bombed the Capitol and Pentagon and who's group has killed Americans.

Oh, where to start. Well, let's look at the facts:

• Bill Ayers was a domestic terrorist.
  
• Bill Ayers is unrepentant.
  
• Bill Ayers bombed the Capitol and Pentagon.
  
• Bill Ayers' group, the Weather Underground, killed people.
  

So, why doesn't it matter?

It doesn't matter because what McCain wants you to believe isn't true. First, Bill Ayers was never considered a "terrorist." The acts he was responsible for had no goals of killing people, let alone Americans. Terrorism is about intent to harm innocent citizens as an alternative to amassing a large army.

The Weather Underground was trying to send a message. However, during those few bombings they committed, they made sure NOBODY was around when the bombs went off. That's why, when you heard them say the Pentagon and Capitol were bombed, you probably went, "Really? How come I never heard of that?"

That's because a small bomb went off in a bathroom at the Capitol, and everyone knew it was going to happen and the area was cleared well before. Not exactly 9/11, and not exactly terrorism.

A stupid way to send a message? Sure. And Bill Ayers agrees as such now. He was stupid.

The next part, and it's a biggee, is the term "unrepentant." Yes, he is unrepentnant. But, not about the bombings. He regrets the method they chose. What he DOES NOT regret is the effort to end the Vietnam war. Comflating the two, the Republicans have a very good talking point. However, it's a lie. Here's what he has said:

I've thought about this a lot. Being almost 60, it's impossible to not have lots and lots of regrets about lots and lots of things, but the question of did we do something that was horrendous, awful? ... I don't think so. I think what we did was to respond to a situation that was unconscionable.

...

When I say, 'We didn't do enough,' a lot of people rush to think, 'That must mean, "We didn't bomb enough shit."' But that's not the point at all. It's not a tactical statement, it's an obvious political and ethical statement. In this context, 'we' means 'everyone.'

And more:

We were very careful from the moment of the townhouse on to be sure we weren't going to hurt anybody, and we never did hurt anybody. Whenever we put a bomb in a public space, we had figured out all kinds of ways to put checks and balances on the thing and also to get people away from it, and we were remarkably successful.

The group was doing the bombings in response to the bombings (and killings) of innocents in Vietnam. Funny, the Republicans have no problems letting the deaths of so many innocent Vietnamese go, but a bomb that tries to bring the point home, without killing anyone, makes any Democrat you care to have a conversation with who isn't white a possible terrorist.

Finally, yes, people did die due to the Weather Underground. During a failed bomb construction, three people died. THREE MEMBERS OF THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND. Nobody else died. They killed themselves by accident.

So, there ya go.

The other point to be made here is that NONE OF THIS has anything to do with Barack Obama. This has to do with Bill Ayers. Barack Obama was 7 years old at the time, he never endorsed this, he calls these acts "despicable."

Obama worked with the man on a charity board, all volunteer, to improve inner-city education. Bill Ayers is now a well-respected college professor who uses his brain for the public good, not public fear. He got a second chance in life, and he's made good on it.

And you've never heard of the man til now. Why do we hear about it now? Because it's a convenient ploy to try to win an election by people who are running the sleaziest campaign in American history.

And it's sad.

Ad of the Year

No question.

Thoughts On The Debate: 2 Weeks, 5 Days To Go!

Last night was Obama's best performance, and McCain's worst. That's not to say it was a typical McCain debate. He went on an all-out offensive. But, the reason why all the snap polls broke, overwhelmingly, for Obama was this: Obama calmly, *clearly* refuted McCain's negative talking points.

On Bill Ayers, Obama made it clear what their relationship was, that he finds Ayers acts (when Obama was 8 years old) disgusting, and that Ayers is a college professor, well respected in the community, and he worked with him on a charity board to improve inner city education in Chicago. He also gave a simple "It's not true" about the lie that his campaign was launched in Ayers' living room. It's completely false.

On ACORN, Obama clearly articulated what happened to them (they are a victim), and showed that ACRON has nothing to do with the Obama campaign and they are not, despite right-wing faux outrage, an evil organization. (They, are in fact, VERY American.)

In addition, John McCain proved how poor a leader he would be. Given at least a WEEK of preparation time for the debate, he clearly made it a point to bring up "Joe the Plumber" and mentioned him about a dozen times all night. However, despite all this preparation, he failed to get his last name right, hesitating before calling him Jo Wurzelburger instead of calling him by his real name, Joe Wurzelbacher.

Good one.

There's also chatter this morning that ole' Joe is not some uncommitted voter, but in fact a registered Republican who voted in the Republican primaries. Also, his argument is pretty lame and somewhat planted. He argues that he cannot afford to buy the small business he wants because it would put him in a higher tax bracket.

First of all, when your tax bracket goes up, you only pay the higher tax rate on the income you go over into that bracket with. Under Obama's plan, those who make $250K and less will not see a tax increase and in fact most will see a significant tax break as part of the Obama plan to elevate the middle-class.

As a small business owner myself, I know that the money Joe would make OVER $250K would be subject to the higher bracket, but none of the money below it, which would be taxed at the same rate as before. So, let's assume Joe would make $300K a year if he buys the business. What is the increased tax rate? It would go from 36% to 39%. A mere 3% difference.

3% of $50K is $1,500. So, he would have to pay an additional $1,500 of the $300K he would make a year. OMG. This is the difference between buying and not buying the business?

The whole argument is stupid, and it will be known shortly now that it's been made an "issue."

...

In addition, check this out. The mailed is using an ACTUAL PICTURE of Osama bin Laden, air brushing it to give it Obama's face and removing some elements. Not so subliminal advertising and probably the most disgusting attack on Obama this season.

But, they'll still deny they are calling him a terrorist.

OBAMA '08

3 Weeks, 1 Day To Go!

Cedric Was Projecting :-)

So, one of those wanna get away moments. Michele and I went to Barnes and Noble last night so I could find some children's books to read. (Yes, with Eragon done, I want more, more more!) I told Michele to just run in there cause she had to use the potty, and so I took Cedric out and walked with him inside after.

We get in, and I turn right down the Popular section. I take a look at a book, and then continue walking and am holding Cedric in my arms when all of a sudden:

BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!

Cedric heaves. Oh, it was gross. It really shot out there. :-) Got all over his clothes and my sleeve and all over the B&N floor. I could make out the beets we fed him at White Fence Farm, too. ;-) Yeah, Cedric had a lot of milk yesterday and we decided to let him hold on to it while in the car. When I was taking him out of the car I had noticed he had drank it all, and wondered how much tolerance a young infant has for milk.

Quick trivia, did you know an adult cannot drink a gallon of milk in a sitting? it is physically impossible for your stomach to hold it in.

Weird, huh?

Well, for Cedric, the tolerance is much, much less. And it was gross. Poor staffers had to clean it up. I smelled like vomit for the next hour before we could shower. Mmmm, vomit.

Brisingr Complete

Just finished Brisingr, the 3rd book in the Eragon series, a few minutes ago. Just like the second book, a great book. I was surprised to find out, as I'm not totally in the loop with Eragon as I was with Harry Potter, that there will be ONE MORE BOOK. I had assumed this was the last.

So, I can't wait for it. :-)

Town Hall Debate Observations

Last night was a really telling debate between Obama and "that guy." Yeah, you know, that guy. Rude, right? Well, here are my observations:

• Obama's talk about "I don't understand" was brilliant. "You're right, I don't understand. I don't understand how we could invade a country that had nothing to do with 9/11..."
  
• Obama's discussion of how his mother, dying in the hospital from cancer, had to fight with insurance companies from her room. It was a great moment that I think a looooooooot of Americans can identify with.
  
• At one point during the debate, McCain gives his worn out old tale of how he voted against a "bad" energy bill and, oh yeah, guess who voted for the bill? "That guy," while pointing at Barack. Extremely rude and it's getting a lot of air time this morning. (And the argument is an old one, Obama reluctantly voted for the bill because of unprecedented monies the Democrats were able to negotiate into the bill for alternative energy initiatives...and then he fought to rescind the bad stuff.)
  
• John McCain attacked Barack Obama's "fines for small businesses that don't provide healthcare and Obama never says how much the fine is." This was laughable, and Barack's response was to declare that there were no fines for small businesses and after his 2 minute talk McCain jumped up and embarrassingly asked, "Did you hear how much that fine was??" Uh. Yeah, we did.
  
• John McCain was asked a question about how he'd prioritize Education, Health Care, and Energy. When Brokaw called on him, he responded, "Ummm, what were those three again?" And then as Tom said them again slowly, McCain could be seen writing them down as he went along. Senile and odd.
  
• Barack Obama discussed for a couple minutes health care and explained how McCain's plan included a $5,000 tax credit...but what McCain doesn't say is that we'd be TAXED on our health care for the first time ever and that money would have to be used to cover the costs. He lambasted the plan. It was great. Then, in McCain's response, he refuted nothing and then gloated about his $5,000 tax credit, forgetting Obama's grilling of it. Point, Obama.
  
• McCain talked about "freezing spending" on the same night he talked about the government BUYING UP mortgages!
  
• At the end of the debate, there is a really awkward moment where Obama goes to shake McCain's hand, McCain backs off, and Cindy does. Very strange. What the hell was it?
  
• The moment I laughed at the most is when Obama went through a little phrasing where he said, "McCain says I'm green [sic] behind the ears and, uh, I don't understand..." and McCain decides to interject and say "Thank you!" and smiles and moves forward into the rotunda and at that moment Obama STRIKES with ... well, watch the video. :-) It was just a wanna get away moment. :-)
  

Bottom line, if you support Obama, last night was Halloween candy come early. Arthur, you had nothing to be worried about. :-)

Obama was declared winner by all snap polls and even Republican pundits!

Cindy Who?

Cindy McCain said this today in what has to be the most reversed, mind-blowing thing I've read in years:

Cindy McCain: Obama Waging 'The Dirtiest Campaign In U.S. History'

What is Cindy's last name? Luckett? I thought it was McCain. These people are so out of their mind.

Here's a Thought

We don't seem to hear from the PUMA's anymore. I'll assume they came to their senses. I wonder how many of them are seeing Barack put up a fight the likes of which Gore or Kerry failed to do.

Orchestrating a landslide against John McCain? Even the most hardened Hillary supporters must be giving their due.

Fiona Apple Trivia

Just a fun note. Fiona Apple's second CD, commonly knows as "When The Pawn," actually has a much longer title. On the cover you see it, a poem that she wrote, which according to Wikipedia, was in response to a bad review of her groundbreaking debut, Tidal. The title of the album is actually:

WHEN THE PAWN hits the conflicts he thinks like a king
What he knows throws the blows when he goes to the fight
And he'll win the whole thing before he enters the ring
There's no body to batter when your mind is your might
So when you go solo, you hold your own hand
And remember that depth is the greatest of heights
And if you know where you stand, then you know where to land
And if you fall it won't matter, cuz you'll know that you're right

- Fiona Apple

I've always liked it, especially the last two lines. That, and it's a chess reference. :-)

I am a Cholinergic Urticaria Sufferer

Weep for me.