McCain Associates With Communists For Over Five Years!

My fellow prisoners, just who IS John McCain? Hmmmmm?

The Great Redistributor

An Open Letter To The Red States

Dear Red States:

If we lose the 3rd Presidential Election in a row, we've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us.

In case you aren't aware, that includes Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California.

To sum up briefly: You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states.

We get stem cell research and the best beaches.

We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood. We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom...or what's left

We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss.

We get 85 percent of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama.

We get two-thirds of the tax revenue, you get to make the red states pay their fair share.

Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of obese single teenage moms.

Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for 'God's War' on 'The Others', and will deem you 'unpatriotic' if you disagree with their neo-conservative point of view.  We do wish you success in Iraq, and hope that the WMDs turn-up and you secure all of those oil sources and military bases, but we're not willing to spend our lives and resources in Bush-ney's egomaniacal, misguided, and manipulative political agenda.

With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80 percent of the country's fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 95 percent of America's quality wines (you can serve French wines at state dinners - what irony), 90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech industry, most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools, plus Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT.

With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92 percent of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100 percent of the tornadoes, 90 percent of the hurricanes, 99 percent of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100 percent of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia.

We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you. Additionally, 38 percent of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62 percent believe life is sacred (unless we're discussing the Iraq war, the death penalty or gun laws), 44 percent say that evolution is only a theory, 53 percent that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61 percent of you crazy bastards believe you are people with higher morals superior to we lefties.

By the way, we're taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed they grow in Mexico.

Peace out,

Blue States

Sunday Morning & The Political Campaign Landscape

A friend's brother writes...

The Political Campaign Landscape and WHY
I am going to drop out of the current politics and do drugs:

I HAVE VOTED ...
I HAVE DONE MY DUTY HONORABLY...
and there is nothing else to do
save watch the totally neurotic, if not psychotic,
campaign
playing out,
with tragic characters dying
under the lights of the media.

WE NEED TO SHORTEN THE CAMPAIGN PROCESS ...
IT IS JUST RIDICULOUS...AND IT ALLOWS NEUROSIS TO CREEP IN.

It is JUST PLAIN TIRESOME AND WITHOUT MERIT
AND HAS DRAGGED ON WAY TOO LONG
AND REDUCED POLITICS TO BLACK AND WHITE FEARS,
A CONSTANT BARRAGE OF LIES AND DECEITS,
AND PALIN'S TITS n ASS INADEQUACY AND NAUSEATING CUTENESS,
LEAVING THE DIALOGUE TO MINDLESS DIATRIBES
AND ENDLESS POLLING DISHONESTY AND CONFLICTS
BETWEEN ABC, MSNBC, CNN AND FOX...
WHO JUST CAN'T RESIST THE "TOM BRADLEY EFFECT!"

I voted here by mail in ballot over two weeks ago,
and this election is a dead horse,
being beat upon by bigots,
the insanity of Palin believing in her own PR,
the pathetic figure of McCain trying to scratch his way
out of the unethical hole into which he has dug himself,
Biden who cannot pick and choose his words, and
who is being supplanted by Hillary on the trail with Obama,
who, HIMSELF, is trying to keep his head above Republican DISTRACTIONS
who fear a conversation on real issues
and which distractions seek to suppress the issues....

When the media dwells on McCain's psychotically angry sibling (like himself),
When the media dwells on Palin's goddamned party-paid wardrobe,
When the media dwells on Joe, the not-a-plumber Plumber,
When the media dwells on the "impending doom"
of a Black uprising
(even on NPR),
which uprising will supposedly happen whether Obama wins or looses,
because Blacks "can't control themselves in either eventuality ... "
THAT WAS THE CLEAR DISCUSSION INFERENCE ...
I was totally surprised by such an insulting presentation by NPR,
under the guise of intellectual pursuit of some so called
social political understanding!

I am being JUST A LITTLE UNFAIR to NPR,
but not by much!
I was driving on the freeway on my way to work one morning,
and nearly drove off the roadway, when I heard it.

THERE IS NO SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE MEDIA...
NONE. The media has clearly lost its mind and direction.

IT IS TIME FOR ME TO JUST DROP OUT ...
AND MAYBE DO A LITTLE DRUGS!
OR GET LAID,
CUZ THERE SURELY AIN'T NO POINT
IN ME BEING ANY PART OF THIS CAMPAIGN PROCESS
AND CERTAINLY AIN'T NO POINT IN ME
LISTENING TO ALL OF THESE TALKING HEADS ON TV or NPR,
WHO DON'T KNOW THEIR ASSES FROM HOLES IN THE GROUND
AND ARE INCITING PEOPLE TO NEAR RIOTS,
RATHER THAN COVERING THE ISSUES...

They want to talk about WHAT IFs,
while the WHAT AREs are being ignored!

McCain will win votes at ANY COST, EVEN HIS COUNTRY...
The Media will win market share at ANY COST, EVEN THIS COUNTRY...
And the People and This Country
have become Bastard Children and Orphans
WITHOUT ANYONE TAKING RESPONSIBILITY
or CARING.

So...We are dropping out...
NO MORE POLITICS AND NO MORE CAMPAIGNS INVADING THIS HOME!
We have not watched MSNBC or FOX for over a week,
and have only dropped in on CNN to watch the market.

Thank God for Colin Powell's level headed assessment of the choices, and
Thank God for the economy going into the toilet....
I would have never guessed that reason would have come from Powell,
nor that the single reason for a vote for Obama would be a failing Economy:
but :)
these two single factors may be the only things
that get Obama into the Oval
and saves us from the further evils of
Republican Courts,
Republican Evil Jockeying for Big Business interests
and personal financial gain at the people's EXPENSE,
at the expense of the literal destruction of this country's financial fabric
and the WHOLE OF THE WORLD ECONOMY...

So maybe a Recession is just what we needed
TO WAKE US UP FROM OUR LETHARGY.
Why does it ALWAYS TAKE A PEARL HARBOR
TO WAKE UP THE PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY?!

I am still not impressed with Colin...
He should have known that he was working for assholes,
long before now...HE ACTUALLY PRAISE CHENEY AT ONE POINT!
I think he is a good and moral man...
but a little SLOW to perceiving reality in the moment!
The handwriting was and has been on the wall
long before his fairly recent epiphany..
so...
I'll not give him more credit than he deserves
as a Johnny Come Lately!
But COME LATELY better than not at all.

One last comment...

I think it speaks to who we are as individuals
and as a singular nation of this world,
that a man who is half white and half black,
with a glass of Chardonnay in his hand
IS nevertheless ... BLACK ...
and ALL BLACK if you would believe the MEDIA/PR that is out there.

Obama is being painted in such a way as to generate FEAR
... and McCain IS part of this deceit AND HE KNOWS IT ...
and that makes him and Palin flat out evil.

As a matter of fact...
Obama is just BARELY blacker than I am,
and I have the whitest ol' ass in Los Angeles :)

I just wanted to end on a LIGHTER REALITY note!

I am OUT of this current campaign politics until voting results are in.
Most of the stuff I am getting is just REHASH or CRAP...
even from the NYTimes and Washington Posts and Huffinpuff :) ...
TOO MANY BAD VIBES!
and nonsense.

I am simply trashing my subscription emails until election day is over.

It is enuf to say that
IT JUST IS NOT POSSIBLE TO VOTE FOR ANYONE OTHER THAN OBAMA.

Have a nice Sunday ...
Am going to go out and smell the fresh air for the day :)
GET POLITICS OUT OF MY MIND!

Modern Suffragettes

Whazaaaaaaaaa?

This Obama bud's for you.

Double Standard Much?

The video is entitled "I'm Confused", but of course we are not confused at all about the fact that what we have witnessed in this race is a story of ethnic and cultural hypocrisy. It's subtle and insidious enough to have escaped the attention of the media and other observers of the political scene, but when the candidates' histories are juxtaposed in this way, the racial bias is breathtaking.



The following is from an email that is going around:

• What if the Obamas had paraded five children across the stage, including a three month old infant and an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter?
• What if John McCain was a former president of the Harvard Law Review?
• What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class?
• What if McCain had only married once, and Obama was a divorcee?
• What if Obama was the candidate who left his first wife after a severe disfiguring car accident, when she no longer measured up to his standards?
• What if Obama had met his second wife in a bar and had a long affair while he was still married?
• What if Michelle Obama was the wife who not only became addicted to pain killers but also acquired them illegally through her charitable organization?
• What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?
• What if Obama had been a member of the Keating Five? (The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s.)
• What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker?
• What if Obama couldn't read from a teleprompter?
• What if Obama was the one who had military experience that included discipline problems and a record of crashing seven planes?
• What if Obama was the one who was known to display publicly, on many occasions, a serious anger management problem?
• What if Michelle Obama's family had made their money from beer distribution?
• What if the Obamas had adopted a white child?

You could easily add to this list. If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are?

This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference.

Educational Background:

• Barack Obama: Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in International Relations. Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude
• Joseph Biden: University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science. Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)

vs.

• John McCain: United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899
• Sarah Palin: Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism

Education isn't everything, but this is about the two highest offices in the land as well as our standing in the world. You make the call.

Vote Barack by M.C. Howie & Julie

Howie & Julie's very clever Palin directed videos are here and here.

The Turtle And The Mouse (and the financial crisis)

There was a turtle and there was a mouse
And earlier this year they owned a house
What you say this must be a mistake
But not so my friend not in 2008

You see for years we had created these toys
Mortgage backed securities created by the boys
Who smoke cigars and rode in sedans
And bought up the Hampton's and other fine lands

You see there were so few who understood the indentures
The complex documents that controlled this debt misadventure
That money was lent and made so available
That any borrower's credit was essential unassailable

It all started so innocently the concept was simple
You could split a mortgage between interest and principal
By moving the payments just slightly around
Then many more mortgages could ultimately be found

We built a market with these altered cash flows
Buyers all over the world would help them grow
Money would be lent even from foreigners
So no one would have to borrow from banks on the corner

In fact as the money moved around so fast
It eventually wasn't clear who really touched it last
What started out as money for a home
Turned into a way to get a free loan

Because it wasn't the house that provided security
It was money for free that was used in absurdity
Dogs were seeing therapist, and were eating pate
Cats no longer drank milk, as the now preferred lattes

People were buying anything and all
Because the loans, well they would never be called
So cars got bigger, I mean bigger than big
So large in fact that they were referred to as rigs

Everything got inflated like boats became ships
It even extending to the size of the lips
On woman who injected some poisonous things
And worked out all day to carry 10 carat rings

And this spread thru the world this debt frenzied craze
To Russia and China where cities were razed
So new buildings would be built taller than tall
And the world's biggest cranes were sent one and all

Those factories were full and built toys full of lead
Monks in Tibet were beat on the head
But no one dared to make too much noise
Where or where would we buy all our toys

We now were a nation driven by consumption
With money lent by others that was the assumption
Even Russia was strong with its oil propped up ruble
Buying half of France, they somehow even made Americans look frugal

And of course lets not forget we were on the attack
By blowing up oil fields in terrorist filled Iraq
Of course that resulted in oil prices going sky high
And well maybe we were told just a few white lies

And while our soldiers were killed and were killin'
Well we wasted somewhere close to almost $3 Trillion
But somehow I've digressed and moved a bit off the story
About how we borrowed our way to this financial gory

So all of us borrowed more than we could
Well maybe the word is more than we should
But to our rescue and to make the game even more fun
Someone decided they could insure everyone

As long that is as no one ever really failed
How would anyone know this was just a fish tale
An innocent story to make everyone feel safe
And if house prices kept going up it would all be great

So houses were built and sold with such glee
The loans got so cheap they were actually free
As strange as it seems there was even a time
When you could buy a million dollar house with less than a dime

And if you held that house for like 30 days
You could then refinance it and pretend it was paid
The loan that you knew you never should took
Was effectively sold by some not so nice crooks

Then once all the people had eventually bought
The brokers decided that animals could be sought
They should buy houses on the same silly terms
Turtles and mouse's and I even heard worms

They were living in mansions instead of outdoors
They were refinishing bathrooms with inlaid marble floors
It was amazing how much wealth had been created
Just by taking some cash flows and have them inflated

And then twisted and turned and traded between
So everyone everywhere was involved in the scheme
Bilking the poor and those without money
Loans were made and bees stopped making honey

And it all would have continued on its slick little course
If it wasn't for the unfortunate divorce
Of the turtle and mouse who bought their fine home
But needed to sell it when they went on their own

You see they had to sell it in just one night
And the value of their house well it decreased oh so slight
Never before had such a thought occurred
And all the insurers well they all demurred

They told the banks we can't really provide
Any insurance if housing prices actually slide
And the banks then decided well what was it worth
To carry all these securities of which they gave birth

So one dumped his quickly so he wouldn't get burned
and started a rumor about poor Bear Stearns
Next thing you know they got quite a reamin'
And a few months after that it was the House of Lehman

Then panic set in and everyone started to sell
Stocks and Bonds... heck everything fell
How could this happen who was in charge
How could a mess be suddenly so large

Then that's the point where the pol's got involved
Not even grasping the problem to solve
But what a great way to take a position
On how to blame the other parties condition

Uncle Ben and pal Hank tried to provide some relief
So banks would start lending based on a belief
That buying the bad loans and credit default swaps
Would prevent any more institutions from another big flop

We lost WaMu and Wachovia and more
Morgan Stanley was even almost out the door
But somehow John Mack and Goldman found a way
To make themselves banks in just one day

Wells, Citi, JP and B of A
They just sat back and picked up the scraps all day
And lest we forget the best of them all
The boys who ran hedge funds and shorted them all

No need for an uptick no need for cash
Just short those stocks until they inevitably would crash
Its just the free market and capital formation
Really no connection to a Senate Banking relation

What were these swaps and derivative things
Who was responsible for this terrible swing
And no one it seemed wanted to face the fact
That we all knew it was a game that went way back

To the changes we made in the way that we manage
The risk that we took and what we knew it could damage
But everyone was winning so big for so long
That no one can admit that it was just so wrong

We lost our focus on building true wealth
Instead we needed more crap to put on our shelves
We borrowed money to satisfy our greed
We forgot to give to those in need

And while this is hard and will cause dislocation
We have the chance for an invocation
Remember when something is too good to be true
Its just what your grandma always told you

Work hard be honest and pray for your health
Because that is the only real thing in life that is wealth
And even though they lost that house
I'm hoping that turtle gets back with the mouse

- poem by Steve

Clean Coal

This, and that Star Wars missile defense shield, and we'll be good.

P.U.M.A., West Virginia Branch

Palin' Around With Wolf Murderers

There she goes again. Say it ain't so, Sarah!

Palin/Fargo/Ebert Mashup

When (Palin) was on familiar ground, she perked up, winked at the audience two or three times, and settled with relief into the folksiness that reminds me strangely of the characters in "Fargo."

Palin is best in that persona. You want to smile with her and wink back. But who did she resemble more? Marge Gunderson, whose peppy pleasantries masked a remorseless policewoman's logic? Or Jerry Lundegaard, who knew he didn't have the car on his lot, but smiled when he said, "M'am, I been cooperatin' with ya here." Palin was persuasive. But I felt a brightness that was not always convincing.

- Roger Ebert