Craig Crawford's Trail Mix

quasi-political news - Amy P (aka Hil'ry) is leaving SNL in Nov to have a baby...and she's not coming back.

Fry: Grammar police

your = you're = you are

And that makes the Repubs even BIGGER hypocrites seeking corporate handouts, corporate welfare, socialized capitalism.

tt

Awe, she is great as Hillary.....hope she has a healthy babe. : )

Some folks like Bob Barr for his "nutty reputation," but I like the noughat.

fry - Who are you trying to convince?

ET, I agree with your post previous thread. I don't know if you have ever lived in Texas, but I have twice in my life. I know exactly what that means - 100% white = not black, and not 50% white like Barack.

-------lunch was just delivered------ciao~

Obama/ Biden 2008 Ohio !

"equivocate and prevaricate" Craig, you're absolutely poetic today.

I've seen Barr on TV, and he is a joke. But not having a spoiler is a good thing this time around, IMHO.

Dallas doesn't get Air America.

*weeping*

tt

I just don't see why any genuine libertarian would want to be a member of a Libertarian Party.

Craig

This sentence applies to all of the parties this year!

It is too bad the Libertarians blew it in nominating Bob Barr for president.

It is too bad the Republicans blew it in nominating John McCain for president.

It is too bad the Democrats blew it in nominating Barack Obama for president.

Too bad nobody has created the Futurist party. The one party that truly cares about the future beyond the election.

tt
You can listen to air america on line

http://airamerica.com/

Bob Barr was going to deliver Georgia for Obama
because he was going to be a credibible alternative to McCain.
Barr is a whack job.

credibible alternative to McCain (Ish Kabibble made me do it)
credible

KGC...Ish Kabibble! LOL.

-lunch was just delivered--

I didn't know they served lunch in offices.

j/k UB, couldn't pass it up :-)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ish_Kabibble

KGC....my late father used to invoke the name of Ish many a time....a fond memory for me.

Barr. . Think I read yesterday Barr screwed up (overslept?lol) and didn't get registered in time for the WV ballot.

Repost from previous thread -- answering FryDaddy's questions.

BTW, Thank you Fry for using my correct name. I appreciate that.

Fry -- The answer is simple. As much as I'm upset about what happened in my primary, I'm still a Democrat. I've been repeatedly roughed up pretty badly by GOPs in the past and I've never forgotten it. I'm under no illusions that the game of politics is a fair fight, it's not. So I'm not open to the GOP when it now speaks with its soothing voice, "Come here little lady, you were treated so mean by those nasty boys in the Obama team. We like you now because you will help us win. See? We even got ourselves a girl on the ticket. We're Feminists now!"
(Yeah right, buddy. I think I'll stick with the devils I know.)

Bottom line -- You're right. I really don't like Obama. But you know what, Fry Daddy? I absolutely can't stand McCain.

So I'm holding my nose and voting Obama. I'm not working for him or giving him money -- I'll leave that to the true believers. But there is absolutely nothing you can say that will make me like McCain or the GOP -- who are against everything I'm for.

Blonde.. it is hard to create a true futurist party or vision when the country is based on rugged individualism. Unless people are willing to think collectively and work as such to make the world a better place, there won't be any significant change. The two capitalist parties hold the monopoly on elections and media in the USA. Both the Repugs and the Dems are capitalists and both have a common formula:

Expansion abroad + growth at home = unified interests. At least that was the theory. Problem is, the formula doesn't work because the growth falls primarily in the hands of the top 1% of the entire population, which does not create any semblance of unity. What is really needed is for a proportional representation system in our country. If the Greens take 10% of the vote, they would get 10% of the seats, for example. It would certainly open up discussion if the two major capitalist parties no longer held the patent on American politics.

alicia...post like yours are also helping me find my way back to the dems...I don't like the new dem party, like new Coke, but really can't go back to Pepsi. Since there is really no other choice than Coke or Pepsi, I am electing the Coke.

Palin criticizes Clinton over protest

Palin's spokeswoman this morning issued a statement hitting Clinton for pulling out of a protest being organized by several Jewish groups outside the United Nations on Sept. 22 against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/09/palin_criticize.html

bethyboo, champ, and all,

Regarding my final comments in the wee hours, the point was that someone mistook champ for a victim, when it was champ who was swearing at people, calling them names, f'rinstance, calling a female poster "whore." There is simply no excuse for the kind of abuse champ spread yesterday. If someone else has also acted as rudely, it does not excuse champ for his abuse of the other posters, the blog, and Craig.

As to my wishing to jail dissidents, I only wish the republican perps who committed financial crimes, political crimes, espionage and sabotage crimes, sexual crimes, and war crimes, all get the sort of punishment they are dishing out to others at abu ghraib, guantanamo, and the other dungeons of our secret gulag.

Sarah Palin isn't very bright if she thinks criticizing Hillary is a good idea.

ET

I guess capitialists have no future.

And just following up, Barr's inability to be a viable candidate, notwithstanding his own deficiencies, is also because the Libertarians, the Greens, the Socialists, the Freedom party, etc. etc. are not viable parties. They don't get funds to hold primaries and caucuses. They do not get the media coverage, with a few extremely exceptional cases such as Ross Perot's run for Prez in 1992. The political system needs to be overhauled in order to allow the full spectrum of legitimate political parties and ideas to be at the debate table.

One paradigm shift would also be to make it illegal to attack the candidates, but to focus on the issues ONLY. Let the issues and the positions of those who run really make the deciding factor for voters. Character assassinations are the work of a corrupt and morally bankrupt political and social system.

One more thing, want a REAL democracy? Make voting a required act of all citizens. No more trying to over register one side's people and trying to stop the other side from voting. Make everyone vote and make every vote count.

That's all from me... I am tired of politics now.

The difference between anarchists and Liberarians:

anarchists wear stinky sneakers, whereas Libertarians are sneaky stinkers.

Blonde, I think the capitalists would still take the majority seats, but it would be nice to have others sitting at the table.

Hopefully, my vote will count even if I am doing it without feeling.

the difference between radicals, liberals and conservatives.

If there was a concentration camp in your neighbourhood, the radicals would attempt to tear it down, the conservatives would say to stay the course and the excesses would eventually correct themselves, and the liberals would make sure the prisoners all had Starbucks Coffee.

Blonde wino,

I have missed your comments lately. It's good to see your words again. A Futurist Party is a great idea. It is the antithesis of the backward-looking, anti-female, race-baiting, anti-science, class warfare, shoplifting, every child abandoned, anti-Mann Act, pro-billionaire, anti-worker, anti-middle class, anti-stockholder, anti-pension, war crime committing, pro-WalMart, pro-human trafficking, Big Porn, Big Tobacco, Big Pharma, Big Finanace, Big Insurance, Big Weapons, and Big Oil, fascist Party that has held the White House for 7 years, 7 1/2 months.

Xrep....and I believe this year a third party would have been successful. Given the dead heat...this may be another supreme election as in 2000.

I watched the Libertarian convention. Male chauvenism and the desire for headlines over principles won the day. Mary Ruwart a long time LP activist was in the final balloting at a convention where the majority of the delegates were men.

http://votemary2008.com/

She lost and the right wing male nut case with a fondness for booze and gambling won. It's just been that kind of year.

The only woman on the campaign trail is Cariboo Barbie complete with pink snowmobile.

ET...fortunately my neighborhood is not zoned for concentration camps.

Jamie

"The only woman on the campaign trail is Cariboo Barbie complete with pink snowmobile."

How we women have fallen.....but, forgiveness is the best route at this time....I just cannot vote repug. And in four and half years, I may just eat those words!

Alicia - My kindred spirit. I even made the DNC pay the postage on the plea for money that I sent back with the message: "No Hillary, No Money, No Time. Be darn glad you are getting the vote."

"So I'm holding my nose and voting Obama. I'm not working for him or giving him money -- I'll leave that to the true believers. But there is absolutely nothing you can say that will make me like McCain or the GOP -- who are against everything I'm for. "

Jamie

Perhaps if the DNC had read all of the letters and notes attached to their pleas for money, they might have handled the primary contest very differently. It might have saved them today from a very close race and fund raising.

A POLITICAL PARABLE
A republican, a libertarian, and a janitor were flying to Washington when the engines sputtered and died.

There were 4 parachutes and the republican and libertarian grabbed them all for themselves.

The janitor yelped, "Hey ! What about my parachute?"

The libertarian replied "You can't afford a parachute, and a welfare handout will only ruin your work ethic".

The republican said, "We just have to be patient; in time market forces will correct the present shortage."

faux news reported the janitor's death as a freak accident.

let's hear it one more time! here's to aig and to all those great guys out there that xrepub listed at 1:47

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkRIbUT6u7Q

xrep...thanks for the parachute parable.

"Too bad nobody has created the Futurist party. The one party that truly cares about the future beyond the election"

Where do I sign up?

Jack

Rez....you made me LOL.... : )

Quote of the day

"Democrats are like Cubs fans -- they assume that something will go wrong until proven otherwise."

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/

Jack

#

#

Aw shucks ET

That's what my workers say when we are not art work---at work they know that there is no messing around, especially when a Concrete truck shows up, just the words concrete makes ( they
say Hkl and Hide) my pulse race.

Alicia Knight,

"So I'm holding my nose and voting Obama. I'm not working for him or giving him money -- I'll leave that to the true believers. But there is absolutely nothing you can say that will make me like McCain or the GOP -- who are against everything I'm for."

I totally agree with you, it is your choice, and I am not wanting, or even asking you to vote JM. But my real question for people like you was, why hasn't there been a ground swell among people like you and countless others to write in HRC. Now some will say that I am saying this just to get JM elected. No that would be incorrect. What I have always said since HRC got dumped on, was she could easily beat JM, as she would take away R votes and Independent voters. BHO will never accomplish that. I feel bad for you and others like you who feel they are left to vote for someone they know isn't deserving of their vote. I just do not understand why like minded people like yourself haven't merged by now into some sort of driving force. We all know had HRC been the D nominee she would have pick BHO for her VP, and this election would be in the history books by now. BHO never had the intention or the courtesy to even extend to HRC the offer of VP. Had he did that one simple act of professional courtesy, this election would be over. So when I said D women are abused women, and when I apply graphic details of abused women to serve as an illustration, I am not actually saying D women are abused women, but rather you are acting like abused women. And please except my apology if I insulted you, insulting you wasn't my objective.

FD

"why hasn't there been a ground swell among people like you and countless others to write in HRC. "

First the practicalities: A large number of states do not allow write ins unless the candidate has made specific attempts to qualify as a write in. Others do not permit it at all and it would invalidate the ballot.

In some states that are so red they bleed, there has been a small upswelling of voters who might vote third party.

The main reason is that doing anything to dilute the Obama vote could mean getting stuck with McCain/Palin and that would be worse than Obama/Biden particularly when Biden is a big favorite with Clinton supporters.

For the most part we prefer to make our displeasure known to the party and work to correct the injustrices and shenanigans that went a long way toward getting Obama the nomination even while we recognize that Hillary's campaign had major flaws that contributed to an outcome we don't like.

FryDaddy,

There was no groundswell to write in Clinton, because almost every Dem knows that splitting the party will allow the same gang of thieves, torturers, crooked oilmen, eavesdroppers, human traffickers, social security wreckers, kidnappers, mortgage hucksters, bait&switchers, corporate raiders, rez raiders, pension raiders, porn peddlers, cancer pushers, pollution lovers, and war criminals run the US into the dustbin of history. Besides, republicans haven't won a war since 1898 - 110 years of limp-wristed militarism. In short, we Dems love this country even more than we adore Senator Clinton.

ET,

This can't be right. You work for big oil? Russian oil giant LUKOIL. Really, how interesting.

Second largest oil company in the world, and if someone drives off without paying, I get to pay for their fuel... My profit is less than 1 euro cent per litre... And I am a self-employed business person with a franchise contract... so I sort of work for LukOil but in reality I work for myself.... Also we are ConocoPhillips until it was loaded off on LukOil and now CP is 20% owner of LukOil... Just a little factoid.

Jamie,

"For the most part we prefer to make our displeasure known to the party and work to correct the injustrices and shenanigans that went a long way toward getting Obama the nomination even while we recognize that Hillary's campaign had major flaws that contributed to an outcome we don't like."

This may have split the D ticket but you sure as hell would have made up for it by pulling in R and Indy voters. Americans like to see grit in the veins of their candidates. HRC had the grit. Well just remember that when you lose.

take on the old boys network.

I would think that would mean Biden since he has been in DC longer than JM.

3.79 liters to a US gallon. So you make 3.75 cents per gallon give or take a few hundredths of a cent. But do you own the physical station or is the station own by LukOil. Do you have to pay then rent?

ET,

I guess it must be similar there as here. Here the station owner buys from the distributor, and based on what the distributor charges will reflect accordingly at the pump. So you can have several different, sometimes even the same brand name gas station all charging different prices.

FryDaddy,

I should have written, "splitting the vote", rather than "splitting the party".

Fortunately, mccain's latest slogan, urging us to vote for the country, rather than for our parochial interests, is working to counter your PUMA tactic.

THANKS, jOHN !

September 17, 2008 3:02 PM, FryDaddy wrote:

"This may have split the D ticket but you sure as hell would have made up for it by pulling in R and Indy voters."

Your statement insinuates that in a 3 way race, Senator Clinton would win, and that you would be happy with such an outcome.

yes will there is an official price per litre in Belgium ... and the oil companies can charge less but not more. Different LukOil stations will have different discounts because of the competition is different in various locations. I have asked to be able to make people pay first if I don't know them but that has been totally shot down. It's easy for them because even if someone drives off and it's say, 100 euros, it comes immediately out of my account that evening and if I am lucky enough to get the money back ok, but they are DEFINITELY not going to lose theirs. It is a bone of contention with me... I think if people use false license plates we should not be held accountable, but we still are. However, I don't pay electricity, water, heating, maintenance and repairs, and most of my money is made in my shop. I am proud to have two employees working for me and that I am able to handle the ordering and organizing and keep the balances healthy.

All LukOil stations in Belgium are owned by LukOil... The more litres I sell in a month, the less I get per litre... It's a strange system. I have to compliment LukOil for installing state of the art cameras inside and outside the station and sophisticated time locked safes, and so forth. They are taking safety seriously for us and I cannot criticize them for that.

The hardest part of my situation is that my workers are guaranteed 4 weeks paid vacation, a 13th month salary and vacation pay and sick leave. If I want to go on vacation, I have to not pay myself, hire someone to work for me and I have to use what little money I have to go somewhere. On this Fry I understand your disdain for taxes. This month alone I must pay €2700 social costs, (my usual €1000 quarterly and €1700 for under-payment 3 years ago). My costs have gone up, but if I increase my salary, my social costs and taxes will rise and I won't be any better off... Still, it's a solid business and you will see that I do believe in self-ownership (capitalism) and some social based programs.. I am not a purist on either side. Sometimes I think the socialist attitudes go too far. The older someone is the more you have to pay for them and their social costs. Taxes are around 45% of the gross income... blah blah blah, I am off to bed.

Thanks for asking about what I do... It's hard work, but I sort of like it too. Goodnight.

Pogo

Pollster has WV in the tossup category

http://www.pollster.com/

What's happening?

Jack

This post come close to my views on the candidates views on the current financial problems.

http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=MDcyMDYyY2RiZmFhMjA1MDUzMDA2MTUxMDU0OGYyZjU=

Look a picture of Fry

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/85/225684602_5f6253fa3d.jpg?v=0

Julie; 5:58 am previous thread ................... Yes Julie, the first thing I thought of was Scarlett, but Sturge made it pretty easy..........................................

Chloe; 7:42 am previous thread .................. "that candidate is no longer running", Thanks for that, I wonder what's going to happen when they come down with an outbreak of political psoriasis........................

Clinton sez no; 11:17 am previous thread............... I wish she'd said no to going to Florida, Ohio and where ever else they really need her now, payback's a bitch..

Fry; 11:31 am previous thread ......................"Hillary mistreated", I said that yesterday and nobody cared..and about your "elitest" post of 12:11 pm ...I said all that already, and nobody listens, cause nobody cares, because they are elitest...........................

For Alicia; .............. All the yammering about the SC is just so much BS..... women don't have any rights, Hillary's treatment proves it, the curveball called Palin, is only window dressing... it's a boy's club, and they'll do anything they have to, keep it that way.......................

EuroTom; 1:07 pm ..."women shouldn't be abused even on this blog", how gallant, and where were you when they were jumping all over me and calling me a racist bitch?................................................................

xrepublican; 2:55 pm........................You had it right the first time, "splitting the party", and it happened way back when MO opened her big mouth and said"if Hillary can't run her own house, how's she going to run the WH?" The msm picked it up and ran with it and a crack became a chasm and finally the PUMA's..... It was: 1) none of her or anyone else's business to critique Hillary's and Bill's personal life and 2) Uncool to use it against her, it's the kind of thing the repugs do, but she learned her tactics sitting in Trinity church for 20 years soaking up Wright and Phleger, etc.........
So when he said that she would be one of his advisors, that did it for me.. His very suspect associations and her..I will not vote for him...I won't vote repug either, so like Carol and Chloe I'm left sitting on my hands .............................................

Rita

Every once in a while I go off on my "too darn many people" rants. Salon covers the subject today

http://www.salon.com/env/feature/2008/09/17/population_control/?source=newsletter

Now where have I heard this stuff?

An open letter from the publisher of the Democratic Strategist

"http://www.thedemocraticstrategist.org/strategist/2008/09/post_13.php"

"First, you are not offering a coherent account of what has gone wrong with the economy "

"Second: you are not offering a focused, parsimonious list of remedies for the economic ills you cite. As a result, few if any voters can actually cite a single signature economic proposal you have made."

" Third: you are not drawing crisp, punchy contrasts between your plans and McCain’s"

"Three months ago, when you were riding high, the McCain campaign was flat on its back. But give McCain credit: when he was told that to win he had to change, he did. He focused, and he accepted a kind of discipline that he had previously resisted. Now it’s your turn."

Jack

xrepublican

Your statement insinuates that in a 3 way race, Senator Clinton would win, and that you would be happy with such an outcome.

Not a problem. HRC would be heads and shoulders above BHO. Cause if it one thing HRC isn't, she isn't timid. We need a strong leader and not someone, like BHO, who is overly cautious. Being cautious is fine, being overly cautious will get you hurt if not killed. Biden said it best, "I think he can be ready, but right now I don't believe he is. The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training." Since Biden said that nothing has changed.

Saw this on The View the other day, and TRULY appreciated it! I hope I can give you an adequate mental image...

In the audience, a group of people held up four pictures...in left to right order, they were the Pope, GWB, McCain, and Obama. Under each picture, there was a single word, written in large capital letters. Again in left to right order, the words were...

The Pope GWB McCain Obama
POPE DOPE NOPE HOPE

I enjoyed it! Hope some of you will, too. Know some of you won't. Oh, well....

msm picked it up and ran with it and a crack became a chasm and finally the PUMA's..... It was: 1) none of her or anyone else's business to critique Hillary's and Bill's personal life and 2) Uncool to use it against her, it's the kind of thing the repugs do, but she learned her tactics sitting in Trinity church for 20 years soaking up Wright and Phleger, etc.........
So when he said that she would be one of his advisors, that did it for me.. His very suspect associations and her..I will not vote for him...I won't vote repug either, so like Carol and Chloe I'm left sitting on my hands .............................................

Rita

Posted by: politicallypissed

Rita, FryDaddy

overly cautious will get you hurt if not killed. Biden said it best, "I think he can be ready, but right now I don't believe he is. The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training." Since Biden said that nothing has changed.

posted by: FryDaddy

your words, my thoughts, echoing out amongst unsympathetic ears...

regards
toast

I wanted to address the last thread on Palin...

McCain's pick of Palin helped solidify my vote while it strengthened McC's stature as a maverick, yet the most remarkable occurrence was how clearly it demonstrated Obama's weakness in not picking Hillary. When Obama was confronted by Sarah, a strong woman with an acutely skilled and ready tongue, he was so taken aback that he personnaly attacked Palin for nearly "two weeks."

Here was the valiant Obama future POTUS of the free world taking on McCain's inexperienced PTA mom, a smiling Sarah Palin going mano a mano for all to see. The spectacle laid bare the "mettle" of this man so demonstrably, a presidential candidate flailing bewildered, attacking a VP is not just bad form, it was incredibly asinine and clearly diminished Obama personally.

Obama's inane "pride" impeded his judgment, and his "pride" defeated any and all good council. It was more than impolitic for Obama to assail Sarah, it was counter productive, driving away the very women he needs. Bill Clinton on the other hand would have praised Caesar {Palin} and won the moment looking gracious and presidential.

If this is an indication of how our future Commander In Chief reacts when spanked by a grandmother-to-be and the stalwart Obama lashes out uncontrollably for two weeks, am I not to be giddy with gladness and how serendipitous it will be to have such a lion as our next POTUS?

PUMA/Clintons4McCain

toast

Rita,

ref. your 3:51 PM post.

For what it is worth I have been saying that since Iowa, SC. And you are correct up to a point, I don't think that no one cares, I think they feel powerless to do anything about it.

"Three months ago, when you were riding high, the McCain campaign was flat on its back. But give McCain credit: when he was told that to win he had to change, he did. He focused, and he accepted a kind of discipline that he had previously resisted. Now it’s your turn."
Jack

He's like a badger he keeps on going, in the primaries,the Media wrote him off. He stubbornly carried his own luggage through the airport. He looked a very lonely man, win or lose, that will stick in my mind, as an example of determination.

Jack 4-6 wks back I also saw the off shore oil riggers and article that all that existed were rented out already. Do you remember how much they were rented out for daily, it's been bothering me since.

SC

The number in my brain is around $500,000, 450 or 550. But it has been awhile. It was not cheap, I remember that. I'm glad I'm not the one having to justify that to a banker.

Jack

Jack

No, Friday,

Actually, your insinuation was that you would be pleased to see Sen. Clinton beat Sen mccain. And yet, you oppose nearly everything the good Senator cares about.

Katherine Graham Cracker,

The cartoon of mr. right wing talking points is quite nice. I have noticed a similarity between these two subjects and Uriah Heap. What do you think?

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/09/the-palin-syndrome.html#comment-146663

Fry, feel free - my guess is that they will say, "well, duh." Your attorney associates? Didn't you say you were headed out to put the hook to a car the other day? What are those associates, business attorneys who work for financial institutions? No matter, you're confusing cross examination where you stay within the parameters of the argument presented by the witness (unless they are an expert, as you present yourself, in which case you can force them to opine on the set of facts you present) with the argument of your side, where you set the parameters in toto. Easy to conflate the two unless you practice trial law, and I have to say that cross is fun, but argument is where it's at. When you ask them about that, ask them whether they spend more of their time preparing for cross or working on their own agument. Then ask them if they've ever heard of Herb Stern - I'm betting you haven't because your smartass rejoinder shows a total ignorance of his approach to trial ad. It's sort of like politics - the guy who stays on his own message more and responds to the other guy less wins more often than the guy who gets off message more and spends more time responding to the other guy.

A segment of the bio of US Representative Maury Maverick (the real political maverick) from Wikipedia. See if it resembles mccheney:

Maverick was elected to the Texas House of Representatives as a Democrat. A committed liberal, he became well-known during his term in office as a supporter of organized labor and civil rights for African Americans and an opponent of the persecution of suspected communists during the Red Scare. In one incident, he killed a bill to sentence convicted communists to the death penalty by inserting a poison pill amendment to sentence those who were only suspected of communism to life imprisonment. In 1956, he chose not to run for a fourth term.

In 1961, Maverick made his last run for elective office, campaigning (along with 70 other Democrats) in a special election for the United States Senate seat vacated by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson. With the support of the Texas AFL-CIO, he ran fourth out of the five major Democratic candidates, with 10% of the vote, behind appointee Senator William Blakley (18%), future House Speaker Jim Wright (16%), and State Attorney General Will Wilson (11.5%), but ahead of State Senator Henry B. Gonzalez (9%). Having split the liberal vote, thus allowing the conservative Blakley to make the runoff against Republican John Tower (who received 31% in the initial round and was narrowly elected in the runoff), Maverick and Gonzalez, a friend and fellow San Antonian, stopped speaking to one another for almost the next 20 years.

After leaving the House, Maverick became an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, representing civil rights protestors, atheists, communists, and, during the Vietnam War, conscientious objectors and draft dodgers. In 1964, in Stanford v. Texas, he represented John W. Stanford, Jr., a bookstore owner and Communist Party USA member convicted of sedition for selling books authored by Karl Marx, Jean-Paul Sartre, Pope John XXIII, and Supreme Court Associate Justice Hugo Black. The case was eventually heard before the Supreme Court (including Black) and became a landmark free speech case. Another notable Maverick client was world-famous atheist Madalyn Murray O'Hair.

Motown's Norman Whitfield dies

http://www.comcast.net/articles/music/20080917/ENTERTAINMENT-WHITFIELD-DC/

I Heard It Through the Grapevine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyA_DNw2vyg

Rita,

I arrived at the trail after the incident in which you were called racist bitch. That is dreadful. We had some outbursts of that sort yesterday from champ. There's no excuse.

Not a good day on Wall street.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/18/business/18markets.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Any bets as to when the downward spiral will hit bottom and start to rebound?

With the bailout of Fanny and Freddie and now AIG, the Fed is in the position of insuring its own bad loans. No wonder the market is tanking.

If they ever start pricing oil with the Euro instead of the dollar, this country will be in a world of hurt.

And, of course Fry, I note that you could only sling a sarcastic rejoinder at me personally, and didn't touch the substance of what I wrote about the price of oil and gas or even defend your own position. Typical of both you and your candidate.

A 'whore' is someone who compromises their morals or principles for the sake of their own self-perceived self-interest. It should be taken as a compliment, as it implies one actually has morals or principles to compromise. There's certainly more than one whore in here.

Jamie
one bright point, at least we aren't Russia.
Their stock market dropped 17% yesterday and 10% today.

"Russian Markets Halted as Emergency Funding Fails to Halt Rout "
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aIRza4.azeC4

Jack

I've finally found the perfect combo ticket for president.

The Dude/Walter '08

http://threadpit.com/store/product.php?productid=252&flyer=face_lebow_new

Jack

There's a major sell off going on in China as well. AIG was founded in China and they are holding a lot of bad paper while the Feds keep the Chinese bankers happy.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China_Business.html

the dude and walter's slogan:

"Shut the F... up, Donny......."

Actually the slogan is: "This Aggression Will Not Stand!"

Well, manana, perhaps.

Jamie

A fun laymans explaination of the difference between AIG and Lehmann's

http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2008/09/laymans-explana.html

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/fl/florida_mccain_vs_obama-418.html

To the regular commentors here, I have a proposal...

First, I hope some of you come back (Corey, Patsi, to name just two. There are many others.)

Anyway, I'd like to organize our own "Trailmix" news coverage on election night, but it would involve assigning key battleground and toss-up states to certain individuals or teams. I'm thinking there might be a half-dozen we really need to watch. Probably 10 at most. The rest we can let CNN and MSNBC handle.

Anyway, people who sign on would have to commit to becoming experts in each of the states that we identify and assign -- perhaps 3 weeks before Election Day? I'm talking about drilling into that state's elections supervisors websites, getting down to county level returns, tracking polls, etc. Depending upon the interest, I think we could have a kickass news site in the days leading up to the election and on election night itself.

Let me know if anyone else thinks this is a good idea. I'd be willing to organize it, sort of like Jamie does with vacations and horse races.

Hi, xrep - I just now got to your response to me. We have no quarrel. There is no excuse for some of the things Champ has said, but there's also no excuse for "fucking morons" and the various comments about white-haired old ladies, gays, etc. I was surprised at your singling out Champ, that's all. You showed your anger at him and I guess I was surprised since you have always been pretty even-tempered. I have been disgusted and/or angry at what a lot of people have said here, with my own inability to express myself well.

I wanted to defend Champ's right to cross the line. He has posted some very good posts, and some not so very good. I can live with that, that's all.

Don't be angry at me cuz I agree with you - I just added my own string to yours.

Champ doesn't need me to defend him - he knows when he's going to make someone really pissed. He speaks his mind - he is serious.

Oh, boy, I just made a mess of this but can't figure out how to fix it so here goes.

Jack...hilarious post on the "Layman" approach to "Lehman"

This shit really scares me. You said earlier today you called about your father-in-law's insurance? I did the same thing about my money-market savings account -- had to double-check that it is indeed insured up to 100K by FDIC. And for those of you with money-market accounts in credit unions, those are also insured by the Federal Credit Union Association, or something like that.

Still, if this thing creeps into something as boring and supposedly stable as money-market bank accounts, it ain't good at all.

Lardo

I doubt I will be around much election night. I expect it to be filled with certain cheer leader types busy calling the other people in here names. And I expect for it to be filled with respose trolls and insults to be flying.
It sounds like a great idea but not in here.

Jack

Speaking of Get Togethers: Here is what we have on tap for Asilomar (I'll have to break it up into messages because of link limits) Please send me an email at webthings at comcast dot net if you want to join us

Friday

Dinner at Fandango http://www.fandangorestaurant.com/

Saturday

Monterey Bay Aquarium http://www.mbayaq.org/

Saturday Continued

Bargetto Wine Tasting Room
http://www.bargetto.com/taste_mont.shtml

Monterey History Walking Tour http://www.mtycounty.com/pgs-path/apath.html

Saturday concludes

Monarch Grove & Walking Tour
http://www.93950.com/monarchs.htm

Sunday Two Options

Sunday

Monterey Bay Cruise
http://www.montereybaywhalecruise.com/

Bus Tour
http://www.montereymovietours.com/media_sfchronicle.html

Jack...

I'm going to keep pushing the idea.

Maybe if we create something like a "Trailmix News Bureau" it will channel our intellectual energy toward something useful, and away from the usual, pointless circle-jerk sessions.

You would be a great correspondent from the state of your choosing, so I hope you'll reconsider. Missouri may well end up being one of the "dirty dozen" that we need to track.

--Lardo

Date: Wednesday, September 17, 2008, 8:53 AM

I just received this as an email. I forward it to you for your reading ...enjoyment?...pleasure? info?...whatever. I'm not trying to sway anybody's vote, but would like to make the point about sexism and why women will not get over it. I wish people would stop making that suggestion.

WHY WOMEN SHOULD VOTE
> >
> > This is the story of our Grandmothers and Great-grandmothers, as they lived only
> > 90 years ago. Remember, it was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to
> > go to the polls and vote.
> >
> >
> > The women were innocent and defenseless, but they were jailed nonetheless for picketing the White House, carrying signs asking for the vote. And by the end of the night, they were barely alive. Forty prison guards wielding clubs and with their warden's blessing went on a rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of
> > 'obstructing sidewalk traffic.'
> >
> >
> > They beat Lucy Burn, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head and left her
> > hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air. They hurled Dora
> > Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed and knocked
> > her out cold. Her cellmate, Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and
> > suffered a heart attack. Additional affidavits describe the guards
> > grabbing, dragging, beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and
> > kicking the women.
> >
> > Thus unfolded the 'Night of Terror' on Nov. 15, 1917 , when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the
> > suffragists imprisoned there because they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's
> > White House for the right to vote.
> >
> > For days, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their food--all of it
> > colorless slop--was infested with worms. When one of the leaders, Alice
> > Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a chair, forced a tube
> > down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. She was
> > tortured like this until word was smuggled out to the press.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/suffrage/nwp/prisoners.pdf

> >
> > So, refresh my memory. Some women won't vote this year because--why, exactly?
> > We have carpool duties? We have to get to work? Our vote doesn't matter?
> > It's raining?
> >
> > Last week, I went to a sparsely attended screening of HBO's new movie 'Iron Jawed
> > Angels.' It is a graphic depiction of the battle these women waged so that
> > I could pull the curtain at the polling booth and have my say. I am
> > ashamed to say I needed the
> > reminder.
> >
> > All these years later, voter registration is still my passion. But the actual act of
> > voting had become less personal for me, more rote. Frankly, voting often
> > felt more like an obligation than a privilege. Sometimes it was inconvenient.
> >
> > My friend Wendy, who is my age and studied women's history, saw the HBO movie, too.
> > When she stopped by my desk to talk about it, she looked angry. She
> > was--with herself. 'One thought kept coming back to me as I watched that
> > movie,' she said. 'What would those women think of the way I use--or don't
> > use--my right to vote? All of us take it for granted now, not just younger
> > women, but those of us who did seek to learn.' The right to vote, she
> > said, had become valuable to her 'all over again.'
> >
> > HBO released the movie on video and DVD. I wish all history, social studies
> > and government teachers would include the movie in their curriculum I want
> > it shown on Bunco night, too, and anywhere else women gather. I realize
> > this isn't our usual idea of socializing, but we are not voting in the
> > numbers that we should be, and I think a little shock therapy is in
> > order.
> >
> > It is jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson and his cronies try to persuade a
> > psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul in sane so that she could be permanently
> > institutionalized. And it is inspiring to watch the doctor refuse. Alice
> > Paul was strong, he said, and brave. That didn't make her
> > crazy.
> >
> > The doctor admonished the men: 'Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity.'
> >
> > Please, if you are so inclined, pass this on to all the women you know.
> >
> > We need to get out and vote and use this right that was fought so hard for by these
> > very courageous women. Whether you vote democratic, republican or independent party - remember to vote..

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lard

Count me in. I think that sounds like fun.

I know a little about the Monterey Bay Aquarium- that is a Class A organization....and very worth a visit.
------
LL - In Ohio....I could never take on that task - no time, and not the ability needed...but, as far as I know, you have Dexter, Karolenna, and Viv....all good prospects for your idea.

You don't have to live in the state to do the research.

see KGC , I already missed the point....lol.....

Lardo

I've been looking at the f i l finances. The AIG popped right out at me. I kinda went oh shit, He has a policy with them. but it was a small term life they sell to old folks. No money tied up in it. But then I looked at his other policies to see if they were
aig under a different name but they aren't but it doesn't mean the aren't holding some of it in the back ground.

We are paying cashing in one of his annuitys to pay for his retirement home exp. and were thinking about leaving the rest where they were. They are small under 20 thousand. But now I wonder.
A best brains request for any one reading, Are life insurance policies covered by the government like bank savings?

Jack

I can make a fabulous margarita....to order.....just how you like it....

Bit happy tonight, my Son scored a beautiful goal....and when he's happy - it makes me happy - plus it was an awesome display...

People?! Obama himself told us to "get over it", they are just following the leader!

Rita- I'm sorry you were called a racist. I am so sick of all this name calling resulting from this election. I don't recall a time when dems argued with dems like this. So much for unity.

It is the cost of this election that truly makes me ill, today I saw the projected amount needed for Obama's campaign in FL alone. It is unconscionable.

Jack...don't know if they're government-insured, but if it's any comfort, everything I've read says the core businesses of insurance policies are sound and should survive any shitstorm that Wall Street manages to cook up. I think those basic instruments are considered the healthiest parts of AIG's business, along with aircraft leasing and other real stuff, as opposed to weirdo double-leveraged credit instruments that only theoretical mathematicians can really understand.

WHY is OHIO so close? I mean the economy sucks here, we are in the top ten for tax burden.....companies have been fleeing this state for decades. I do not understand why it's a toss up state. Population is shrinking in th metropolitan areas. Foreclosures are high.....

I was listening to NPR on the way home from the soccer game and the guy on air was saying that the Feds were using the AIG insurance policies as the collateral for the bail out.

"Oct. 6 when all the updated voter reg lists will be coming out. "

Why would that make a difference in polling numbers. Nobody is checked against a list that I know of. Polling involves a lot of trust and the hope that liars offset each other.

Jack

It's worth a listen if you can find it, they used a term I can't remember right now.....but it means, when banks have to tell their clients that their dollars are worth less the 100 cents.....95 or 85 cents....and this guy was saying that the US government is doing all it can so that doesn't happen, because they do not want to see the panic that may create for the market as a whole......

sorry I do not have a link I heard this on the radio (NPR)

Lardo

I always try to keep an eye on Missouri. If I get my other computer up and running I have newspaper and county links from the primary night race.

Jack

If McCain keep on the way he has been......by the time election comes around.....people may be asking if he is still actually on the ballot.

Lardo,

It's a great idea and I would be glad to take or share a battleground state. We might want to take a look in a couple of weeks to see which ones will be deciders. Florida looks interesting since I know absolutely nothing about the state. :-)

I'm signing off for the night gang. Keep letting the "Trailmix News Bureau" idea percolate, though. I think it could be interesting.

As for the insurance if there is any risk, I'm only getting a 3or 4 % yeild so it might as well be cashed out and put in a bank.

Jack

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/09/barr-misfires-as-libertarian.html#comment-146887

UB, He looked so pathetic today I was almost embarrassed for the Republicans. He was reading his information, looking down virtually the whole time, and seeming completely lost.

Oh Betyboo !

I'm not angry with you. Heavens, no.

2. And it is not that champ doesn't need you to defend him, it's that he doesn't deserve you.

3. Calling people "f**king morons" is also beyond the pale.

4. Now I see that champ is trying to convince me that the word 'whore' is an honorific. O, brave new World that has SUCH creatures in't. champ should tell this lie to his old man.

Ah yes micro demographics...the politics of ferret supporters

Jamie, as you said " I was almost embarrassed"

Key word ALMOST - lololol -

Is it true that automatic dialing typr polling is illegal for cell phone numbers?

Actually Jamie they do both
at least that is what a little noodling around on pollster
tells me.

I have no doubt in NYC but I suspect it is a little harder in many other states.
And difficult to get a proper sample of rural voters.

Jack

Well, I'll be!

I was intending to pass on election night since I'm so disgusted with the whole campaign. Now you guys have my interest piqued and I think I'll watch and even enjoy.

However, Lard, you can't count on me. I wish I could and I think your idea is great. We do have too much time on our blog-hands ,and it's making us re-hash some old old gripes - has anybody else noticed that?

I can't explain why I can't do it - it's just not me. It's probably an energy thing, but it's just not me.

Craig - I'd like to add to your critique of Bob Barr. His ideas have always been in competition with his ugly ugly face. I'm sure his ideas are the most disgusting sewage - and then I look at him. How has this man managed to get married ...what?... three times?
Then again, looks aren't everything. Maybe he'd be ok if he really cared about his fellow living creatures and wanted to help make the whole world a better place.

Political calls are exempt from the do not call list

Lardo

I will start putting together my links again.

Then we will see.

Jack

election night

I really don't want to be disappointed that night...I don't think I could stand it. Not this time.......Last time was rough, but not surprising -this time, I beleive that the well being of my family is involved.....and that to me make this really serious.

UB...

The 'do not call' list is only good for solicitation phone calls. Any number...land line or cell...can be called with impunity by charities, political organizations, etc. And companies that have a legitimate business relationship with you can also call, even though you are registered on the 'do not call' list.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/09/barr-misfires-as-libertarian.html#comment-146902

Julie, Blonde Wino, LushisLinda, Milquetoast,.....

I think so too....i do have some confidence.

in the office....I'm telling everyone I have Obama fever....(kind of a joke but not) I sent a package to Brooklyn today, and I thought...I'd add " Vote Obama " to the outside of the package....it's cute ,and in my way I am promoting my choice....
it's like a bumper sticker on a parcel instead of a car.

well - we have become phone deviants ...cells only .....charged half the time.....and when they are charge, my god, we go some event where we turn off the sound, then we forget to turn the sound back on......

Brain that a good idea, I will.......duh, I am so used to making things.

I kind of thought the homemade stickers looked kind of cute...

lolololol plus being shipped to an art institute.....she'll laugh when she sees it....that's all I want : )

KO just said

Feminazis?

I think Lard's idea is great. Right now we are just repeating the news and the latest horserace information available through the msm. But checking local papers and state political blogs would add a lot of insight. If nothing else it would improve the diversity of gossip.

Carly who?

I think his idea is great....just do it. lol

In the spirit of Lard's idea

http://ohiopoliticscarnival.blogspot.com/

Anyone remember Paul O'Neill and the book The Price of Loyalty? I seem to remember he thought there needed to be more corporate/CEO oversight and accountability. Maybe one the of the reasons he was booted out fast. I wonder why we never see anyone interview ing him?

Anyone plan to watch Palin on Hannity? Did you hear that someone hacked into her email?

Carol

Time is not a constant. It is the observation or record of matter in motion, and therefore quite variable. Ask Einstein if I am fibbing. (You will find him wherever the 2 parallel lines meet.) Or, ask Heisenberg. (You will find him at the smallest possible level, however your presence will affect him, so he is somewhat less reliable as a witness.)

In fact, to human experience, time is both subjective and elastic. The last day before school lets out for the summer is the second longest known to human kind. The time spent in delivering a child is the longest, unless the gyn opts for Ceasarian Section under general anesthesia. The time between one's first home purchase closing, and one's first mortgage payment, is the shortest month of one's life. Etc. There is too much anecdotal evidence surrounding these truths to doubt my assertions.

Similarly, the time remaining in this election campaign is not a dead and static number. It is as alive as you or I. As an Obama supporter, and investor, the last 3 business days went by with lightening speed. It was bittersweet. I want to both rejoice and die.

My sense of things is that November 4 will arrive in an eyeblink. The polls in the red managed states will close precisely at 8 pm, after one of the longest days in the history of poll watching. The polls in the blue managed states will be open late, to handle the titanic turnout of matter, in the form of new or renewed voters. The blue state day will flee away in the merest blink of a semaphore.

After 8, time across the entire United States will slow to the speed of molasses in January on the dark side of Pluto. For practical, subjective, purposes, time will have jelled and frozen.

Abruptly, at 8:00.02 Tom Brokaw will declare Obama the winner, based on the East Coast exit polls taken from 6 am to 7 pm and tabulated by what is left of Deloitte and Touche.

The other day I heard a conversation where people were being advised to contact every incarcerated individual they knew asking them to register to vote and to request absentee ballots.

The advocates of this process recognized that many of the people will have had their civil rights curtailed, but that the sheer numbers of people applying will make it very difficult for election officials to sort things out.

This conjured memories of what happened some years ago when released felons were discovered voting without having had their civil rights restored.

And, we had the perhaps fraudulent overseas absentee ballots appearing at election central and ultimately being counted in Florida. People lacked the courage to bounce ballots, improperly executed, that might have been sent by service members.

Lard, these types of issues are certainly germane, although distasteful because they bring up emotions that are uncomfortable.

UB

Feminazis is Limp Balls pet name for liberal women.

KGC ,
I may head to canton tomorrow to see Biden....I think it will be a small event, which I prefer........isn't that near your homeland....

"Obama is now stoking racism in the country," Limbaugh wrote in an email. "Obama is a disgrace - he wants the public to think he is Mr. Nice Guy while his thugs are in Alaska looking for dirt on Palin and he runs race-baiting ads and lies about what he has done and what McCain has done."

http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/0908/Limbaugh_hitting_back_over_usage_in_ad_says_Obama_stoking_racism.html

okay ..thanks...I caught it at the tail end of the report.....

What would the structure necessary to accomplish jamie's idea look like ? What would I need to do ?

UB

Yes. Canton is the place.
http://www.cantonrep.com/

Joe Biden is speaking at the Football Hall of Fame
Palin was just there with Tim Timken.
Stark County is the place to be if you want to see a candidate.

Jamie
An example from ABC

"In our U.S. polling, a sample of telephone households in the continental United States is selected via random digit dialing procedures, in which all landline telephone numbers, listed and unlisted, have an equal probability of selection"

http://abcnews.go.com/US/PollVault/Story?id=145373&page=1

exrep here's lard's idea
To the regular commentors here, I have a proposal...

First, I hope some of you come back (Corey, Patsi, to name just two. There are many others.)

Anyway, I'd like to organize our own "Trailmix" news coverage on election night, but it would involve assigning key battleground and toss-up states to certain individuals or teams. I'm thinking there might be a half-dozen we really need to watch. Probably 10 at most. The rest we can let CNN and MSNBC handle.

Anyway, people who sign on would have to commit to becoming experts in each of the states that we identify and assign -- perhaps 3 weeks before Election Day? I'm talking about drilling into that state's elections supervisors websites, getting down to county level returns, tracking polls, etc. Depending upon the interest, I think we could have a kickass news site in the days leading up to the election and on election night itself.

Let me know if anyone else thinks this is a good idea. I'd be willing to organize it, sort of like Jamie does with vacations and horse races.
Anyone who is interested in particpating in TrailMix News Bureau should send an e-mail to lardosreatreat@gmail.com.

If this doesn't happen, then so be it.

Pardon me, Jamie,

for typing " jamie. "

"Anyone remember Paul O'Neill and the book The Price of Loyalty?"
That book is not only a great read, but certainly explains what we have seen for the last eight years. I read it so long ago, but never forgot how I felt after reading it.

It's an insight - many would be afraid to author.

XR

It's Lardo's idea. I just volunteered to assist with Florida. He's thinking about it and deciding states.

I'm going to start with amassing websites of all the Florida Newspapers and the Secretary of State county lists for 2004 and just see what is available that could contribute to the evening.

xr....good thing you caught yourself...you were pushing it with the small "j"....lolol

Rasmussen:

Oregon
Obama +4

McCain has made significant gains in Oregon and Washington.. The campaign can't take these states for granted.

Forgot to add for Saturday night, those that want to do so, The Fishwife is right next to Asilomar and if you love fish, it's great

http://www.fishwife.com/

All breakfasts are at Asilomar and included with your rooms. Lunch and dinner are available for an additional cost for those who don't want to wander off the grounds for meals.

Hasn't limbaugh died of AIDS yet ?

Looks like survey usa also does not use preselected registered voter lists.

http://www.surveyusa.com/index.php/why-did-surveyusa-call-me/

Jack

limbaugh will never die.....lol...only the good die young

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2yCDjt9pLo

Jamie

Here is a list from 2004 and most use random telephone numbers much as ABC and self select for registered voters

http://polipundit.com/index.php?p=4176

So who does use voter registration lists for their polls ?

Jack

Jack

All the survey companies have free polls and paid polls. They use a variety of methods, lists, and data to provide the information their clients are seeking.

When you hear someone in politics referring to their "Internals" they are usually talking about in depth polls among likely voters that they have commissioned and paid for.

This is one of the reasons that the Networks can declare races two seconds after the polls close. They already know what is likely to happen and when that is joined to their exit polling data ... Voila: And the Winner Is ________________!!

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/09/barr-misfires-as-libertarian.html#comment-146955

Fund Raisers, phone banks, GOTV exercises,

Either that or take a few more and sleep through the rest of the night.

"Fund Raisers, phone banks, GOTV exercises"

Jamie

Pollsters, I believe was the original subject and if up dating the registered voter list would affect the polls.

From what I can find out enough of the major pollers use RDD. So there should be little difference even if there is a large addition to the registered voter data base as they will be caught by random dialing.

Jack

unlikely_burrito,

Ya, I s'pose he is already 20 years dead from the AIDS, but is kept erect, and blathering into his mike by his master, the Baron Samedi. Periodically, I s'pose, he has to journey back to that Caribbean isle, to the secret grave where Baron Samedi 'dwells,' there to get more viagra, and to have those spells that sustain the undead renewed. And then, it's back through customs, more mike time, and yet another marriage to yet another white beard.

I know that limbaugh only marries white women, but are they undead, too ? Does he take them to the Caribbean to serve the Baron, and return alone ? What color boys does rush like ? Uh, I mean for decorative purposes only, of course. HAHAHAHAHA.

Does this mean we can sue Craig?

"Are you getting carpal tunnel syndrome from hitting "refresh" at political websites and blogs?"

"So we narrow down the national adult sample to registered voters. This is the group who in response to a standard poll question say they are "registered to vote in their precinct or election district." "

http://www.gallup.com/poll/110287/What-difference-between-registered-voters-likely-voters.aspx

Ok
I believe I can safely safely say this without embarrassment.

Told you so.

Jack

Jack,

Registered voters ? Wouldn't we want to poll the likies ?

I really think this is going to be like '96 and '04. In 2 weeks, there will be little doubt about the outcome, and by Halloween even that doubt will have evaporated.

Jack:

One point I heard raised is that if polling is based on landlines - it will tend to include a smaller percentage of young voters because most only have cell phones.

Of course that depends on making sure those young bucks get out and vote this year.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/09/barr-misfires-as-libertarian.html#comment-146972

Warren, I think we went over all of this yesterday with some data where the polling companies are starting to include cell phone data at about 17% as well as adjusting for age demographics. There was also some indication that as of right now, there aren't showing that much difference between land a cell users as long as the age adjustments were made.

As more and more people go to cell, the companies are probably going to have to come up with another plan.

Warren

From reading how ABC generates their number data base I don't know how they don't pick up cells as well as landlines. Numbers now move freely around I believe.
But go on Gallup and look at their FAQ's it is either question#1 or #2 on the list.

Jack

How can mccheney possibly explain the latest financial meltdown ?

Those wonderful republican policies and platforms, guiding the republicans holding the White House since 2000, and the republicans strangling Congress for nearly 14 years, brought on the OVERNIGHT DOUBLING of the national debt, and in 2 weeks, the collapse of five of the mightiest financial institutions in the history of the sidereal universe !

This is the Hurricane Katrina and the Viet Nam of financial scandals, and it is due almost entirely to mccainneilbush's and other republican's deregulation mania. Throw the bums out !

Jack -- Re your earlier question about insurance company insolvencies. This is handled at the state level, according to the state where the policies are held. Most state insolvency funds are reciprocal in that the funds are collected after the fact amongst all the other companies.

Here is a good article on the whole process:

http://www.sonnenschein.com/docs/PAOInsLitRptr092005.pdf

Xrep go read the link, I just cut out the part on how they selected for registered voter, the rest is there.

I hope your right.
But Obama is doing a good job so far of letting McCain define the race.

Jack

Thanks

Then money left in a life insurance policy is at greater risk than that left in a bank. all things being equal it looks like we need to think about cashing out the policies. Insurance companies don't look too safe right now.

Jack

That should have been

thanks, Alicia.

Jack

Jack,

Ya, thanks. I did read it, and it seemed that the likelies would the ones we would want to query.

I think that the unseen hand of the market, kudlow's pagan 'animal spirits,' will be defining mccaineilbush from now until election day. These market forces will define him as an uncompromisingly incompetent, and aggressively silly, American version of Basil Fawlty gone into politics.

IF NOT, THEN THE DARK AGES ARE UPON US.

Sweetie calls. Goodnight .

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/09/barr-misfires-as-libertarian.html#comment-146848

luvin Lard's Trail Mix Bureau idea. every morning i go through an ever increasing number of local news sites in key states but it's taking me 2-3 hours and need to pare it down, so some spotters out there would be wonderful

So Craig what is a key state this go around?

Jack

just got back from a hilarious night at Sandra Bernhard's one-woman show in DC. she gets a trailmix YAHOOOOO

http://www.sandrabernhard.com/

Is it for sure that Palin's allure has diminished? I see a lot of positive stuff about her.

Craig

Why not assign some of us particular sites to read and report. You've got a crew of politically aware folks. Just tell us what you need to know.

"So Craig what is a key state this go around? -- Jack
Posted by: whskyjack"

Jack, here's my current tracking list for AM local news surfing:
Ohio (20 Electoral Votes)
Pennsylvania (21 EV)
Michigan (17 EV)
Wisconsin (10 EV)
New Hampshire (4 EV)
Virginia (13 EV)
Florida (27 EV)
Missouri (11 EV)
Colorado (9 EV)
New Mexico (5 EV)
Nevada (5 EV)

Bethy,

Her 15 minutes of fame is slowly ticking away. The hard core Republicans are trying to hold her up, but the charm is wearing thin. In this day and age of instant communication, the very obvious stump speech where even the lies don't change is just becoming too obvious. They are trying to stuff her as full as a strasbourg goose with information and memorized positions, but there is a limit on how many catch phrases anyone can learn in a given period of time.

But taking comfort in polling numbers is a fools errand.

This is going to be a close election no matter how you cut it. While each day is important - I think having a well thought out strategy is key. With the ebbs and flows - timing is crucial - and whoever has the momentum in November will make the difference.

Jamie, i like Lard's thoughts on this, defer to what he's talking about, let you guys come up with the assignments. but here's what i use to dig into local news coverage . . .

newspapers by state:
http://newslink.org/statnews.html

tv stations by state:
http://www.newslink.org/broad.html

Lard was talking about it for election night. I think we could probably give you a hand long before then, if only to keep an eye on your named states. If you have ones that feel strongly about for your work, maybe you could do them and we could report on some of the lesser ones just in case something breaks loose.

I am glad McCain is spending his money in place other than Ohio....lol ....seriously, I don't watch local tv.....so much - or daytime at all....and most likely not the channels that McCain would spend his money on.....I still think Ohio is going to break for OBAMA...

Just got off skype, omg....students are crazy for Obama.

Bush blocks tortured American, POW's from suing Iraq. Of course he does. He & Cheney did the same to Iraqi prisoners.

However:

"House gives go-ahead to sue Iraq over torture

Former POWs and civilians who were tortured or held hostage during the 1991 Gulf War could pursue lawsuits against Iraq under legislation the House has approved."

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iZ9EI860fdbKpQi5QBUPxn8qmN4gD937RQ3O0

And I hear more Repub conservative talking heads dumping on Bush now. Yes I like this fair weather hypocrisy.

For KO: MIchael Savage is in pain from his colonoscopy and the removed polyp. He can't work. The guy is a pain in the ass and now literally.

tt

Jamie - I love that image of Palin with her neck stretched out having conservative dogma crammed down her throat.

I saw a little of her talking to Hannity - she looked scared, as if she was hoping he'd be kind. I think maybe she's not as accustomed as she had thought to being questioned. HA.

Sheila - the pix I wanted to post about the rally against Palin were posted by somebody else - no prob. thanks for trying to help me to post them, tho.

Tiptoe - I would have thought Savage could do his own colonoscopy by simply opening his eyes!

Change Equals:

Economy that works for everyone.
-(Point to tax cuts for 95% of Americans and healthcare)

Foreign Policy that restores our standing as the leader of international community. The problems of terrorism, climate change and energy are worldwide and need global solutions.
-(Point to McCain's support of Bush's failed Foreign Policy and his expressed intention to continue it).

Washington that is more transparent and works for the people instead of the special interests.
-(Point to Obama's grassroots campaign of millions vs. McCain's campaign of lobbyists and Karl Rove's henchmen).

Craig,

Two things...

1. What type of local information are you wanting us to cull?

2. Would it be a worthwhile attack for a 527 to blame the Bush years on Ronald Reagan?

After all, he did do away with all of President Carters efforts to pursue, solar, wind power as well as higher fuel economy standards.

He was responsible for stationing the Marines in Beirut and his absolute retreat after the bombing of the barracks, with tail between his legs, was the initial spark in the mind of Osama Bin Laden and let to 9/11

He brought us the first steps to the deregulation that was abused by his party and led to our current economic crisis.

If it could be pointed out that Reagan was wrong on some important things, then being a Reagan Republican my not be a great thing for the country...especially when you lack warmth and charisma.

Saw Palin's non-answer today re: her national security experience at the town hall today.

Very weak. Just repeating "I will be ready" and "if you want specifics . . . we can play stump the candidate later."

They never played it.

Remember a couple of weeks ago - when all the McCain talked about was whether Obama was ready to lead...

The selection of Palin is the biggest piece of evidence that the McCain campaign will say anything to get elected.

Warren

The selection of Palin is proof that they are definitely NOT ready to lead. If all you care about is image, there is no way you can be effective.

-Rebuffed criticism that she doesn't have enough foreign policy experience to assume the presidency, if necessary.

"If you want specifics and specific policy or countries, go ahead, you can ask me. You can even play stump-the-candidate if you want," Palin challenged her questioner.

McCain stepped in to note that she had negotiated with oil companies for a massive natural gas pipeline, is commander of the Alaska National Guard and has a son, Track, who is deploying for Army service in Iraq.

"I think because I'm a Washington outsider, opponents are going to be looking for a whole lot of things that they can criticize," Palin said.

She said that by Inauguration Day in January, "Certainly we'll be ready, I'll be ready. I have that confidence."

http://www.kentucky.com/518/story/526776.html

Bethyboo....EXCELLENT reply.

LMAO, so to speak.

tt

McCain is not for rolling back the Bush tax cuts on the wealthy. He is not going to be able to make any real change to the healthcare system.

How do those prive healthcare accounts - for people to invest in stocks - look right about now?

McCain will not represent the same clean break from Bush on the world stage. His strong support for the Iraq War hurts his credibility. And his belligerent comments towards Iran and Russia make more wars more likely than diplomacy.

And if McCain is supposedly going to stand up to lobbyists once he gets elected - why doesn't he do it now and get them out of his campaign.

Some Conservative talking heads were invoking FDR today.

Hell has frozen over.

tt

"So I'm holding my nose and voting Obama. I'm not working for him or giving him money -- I'll leave that to the true believers. But there is absolutely nothing you can say that will make me like McCain or the GOP -- who are against everything I'm for. "

Been lurking here since the anointed one won and have been far too pissed off to post but I want to thank Alicia Knight for so eloquently putting into words what I feel. I will vote for Obama because there is far too much at stake for anyone that truly cares about this country to do anything else. Other than the fact that Obama dissed Cub fans BIG TIME in an ESPN interview, I have chosen to set aside such trivialities and look at the bigger picture.

For all Hillary supporters that have flocked to McCain and Caribou Barbie all I can say is, "What the HELL is wrong with YOU?!!!!!"

"For all Hillary supporters that have flocked to McCain and Caribou Barbie all I can say is, "What the HELL is wrong with YOU?!!!!!" Posted by: GAKaren September 18, 2008 12:37 AM

Thx Karen, glad you're speaking up.

Nice one Karen!!

Shouldn't the Democrats point out to the electorate that John McCain is all for privatizing Social Security?

After all, he thinks American's would be better served investing a market that can drop at the first sniff of head fun manipulation and panic...the same stock market that lost $1 trillion in value this week.

I would like McCain to be asked what would he do if everyone lost their social security money in what were thought to be safe investments?

Listen to Karl Rowe, it is all Fannie Mae's fault. The movement conservative will pound this until it is being believed so they can dismantle a successful new deal program.
There is something the democrats need to nip in the bud.

Want to bet it happens.

Jack

GAKaren...

Obama is a White Sox fan so I'm glad he was able to remain true and dis the Cubs.

Another reason why the Plunger Rudy will burn in hell is that he's supposed to be the Number 1 Yankees fan in the world and the asshole actually said he hoped the Red Sox won it all last year.

That makes him an opportunist traitor...don't think people forgot Hillary was a Cubs fan til she became a Yankees fan...hell even Bloomberg, as mayor of New York, is still a Sox fan...stay true to your team.

If you spend 3 years as a community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a
Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's
Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills
and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.

If your total resume is: local weather reporter, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 6,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive. (Almost forgot - "She can see Russia from her house!!")

And let's not forget - Americans have had over 20 debates and almost two years of intense scrutiny on the campaign trail to decide whether Obama is ready to lead.

Palin has had two weeks of giving the same scripted stump speech and two interviews. And now the McCain camp is trying to shut down an investigation over whether the "reformer" abused her power.

burrito, McBush is a magician. He made Carly disappear.

What with KO & bears? He seems to so enjoy them.

Bush blocks

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/09/barr-misfires-as-libertarian.html#comment-147008

Jamie, maybe we take it one state at a time and everyone dive in. Right now, for instance, I am trying to learn everything going on politically in Wisconsin. Not interested in polling data. But what are the policy issues, down-ballot races, registration drives, economic stats and other factors that define a state's current political culture. I am moving thru the above list of states looking for what might be the Florida of 2008 in a nail-biter election, and Wisconsin is next on my list for analysis.

As I feared all along, Obama almost looks poised to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory. (I'm a Cub fan, why would I think any thing else? LOL)

We cannot allow that to happen.

I saw Paul Begala on Bill Maher's show on Friday and he made me feel a little better when he said that David Axlerod is smarter (and IMO slimier) than Karl Rove so he thought he can pull it out. I hope Begala is right. I am well aware of Axlerod too since I spent most of my life in Chicago. My fear is that Axlerod may be a master of Illinois/Chicago machine-style politics but ill-equipped to handle a national campaign.

It kind of looks that way now ...the only thing that can save the Dems is to keep pounding away at the economic mess we're in and to make it clear that this is what always happens after eight years of Republican administrations ... in fact, that is the next commercial I would roll out ... a summary of how bad things were after Reagan, Daddy Bush and now W the Moron. Obama needs to make it clear that McCain is part of the problem ... not the solution.

Do we get paid?

Bear: If I stayed true to my team I wouldn't vote for Obama! ; )

In all honesty, he really shouldn't piss Cub fans off, there are an awful lot of them.

you get points in heaven, champ

I hope they're transferable.

and from what i've seen around here lately, maybe you could use a few

Craig: Hopefully you're not interested in GA. Frankly, the electorate here scares me!

In all honesty, the reason they are so painfully stupid in GA is that they are regular listeners of Neal Boortz.

Craig,

My cousin's inlaws have a dairy farm outside of Madison and my company is headquartered up there.

send me your email and I can forward along their thoughts.

Hopefully I can have something usable by lunch time if that works for you...

Good night everyone.

Keep fight the good fight - no matter what side your on...

Trail Mix First!!

This is a Wisconsin political index

http://www.wisopinion.com/index.iml?mdl=feature.mdl&feature=10

Go Badgers!

actually, GAKaren, i dug deeply into GA this week and don't blame Obama camp for trimming their budget and staff, but they're keepin enough on the ground to go back in hard if their prospects improve.

cqtrailmix@verizon.net is always good for contact. thanks bear

GAK - I completely agree re the chicago machine. They think they're ready for prime-time and they have no idea of what it is even is. They read that Obama needs to get tough with McCain and hit McCain hard, so they start knocking McCain with middle-school
names and accusations. "He did this" and "he did that" starts a fight on the playground, but there's no playground.

Getting tough means showing how superior you are, thinking so fast they can't keep up. He needs new people and he needs to listen to them. I'm not sure he is free to dump the machine. They must be having the time of their lives.

Obama looks tired.

Yeah, Jack; given the current economic situation, regardless of cause and despite any political maneuverings, McCain is toast.

Craig: I was wondering whether McCain has been forced to spend more money here in GA than he had been anticipating.

I'm sure it is no surprise to you that there has been a push to register new voters here in metro Atlanta. My son and husband got involved and registered quite a few new voters themselves as part of a concentrated effort by Dems here. Ultimately, I don't know how much it will impact GA's overall numbers but I think turnout will be significantly larger than it has been in the past. It certainly was during the primary.

betty: The "machine" isn't stupid. They're just looking at the country through Chicago's eyes. As a Chicagoan that has been transplanted to the South ... I can tell you things are quite different outside of the Windy City!

I'm praying that Axlerod can adapt quickly. As for me, my head explodes daily here in the land of peaches.

Toast; 4:23 pm ...... "such a lion as our next POTUS", I couldn't have said it better myself....................

xrepublican; 5:26 pm ....... Thank you for your good wishes and being civil enough to discourse. Like you, I prefer good manners, but please believe me when I say that yesterday, as rude as Champ was, it was only a small amount of payback..........................................

Bethy; 7:38 pm................. I've seen the movie, and feel very much like you, that's partly why I'm so angry, but just as they couldn't be forced into not voting, I won't be forced by the DNC's manipulations, into voting for someone I think is preposterous as a candidate................................

Sea; 7:50 pm ...........Thanks for that, but it was a while ago. However I do totally agree about the money, with Wall Street collapsing, people being tossed out of their homes, the cost of things in general, I find the cost of this election to be really disgusting.............................

Lard; 8:25 pm.................. I think your idea is marvelous, I wish I was going to be here to help, but I won't be around so I guess you'll have to scratch me.............

Rita

Some good news for Obama in Oregon.

The Portland Tribune came out with a poll today showing O with a 10 pt. lead among registered votgers.

Rasmussen said it is 2%.

The Trib poll was run by well-respected Oregon pollstger Tim Hibbetts. I have learned over time to
listen to him.

Republican Senator Gordon Smith is locked in a tight race for re-election.

GAK - oh, I don't think the machine is stupid. I think it isn't set up to do national campaigns, and they don't realize it since they're pretty good at doing it on a smaller scale. Some tricks work in a more contained environment that won't work out in the wide open spaces.

Politically Pissed - I hope you didn't mean what you seemed to be saying. You are really sharp and can state your own thoughts very forcefully without being snarky. Well, at least not to me since I agree with just about everything you say. C'mon, don't give up. If you need to, drop out for a bit - just be sure to come back.
You are one of the necessities here.

For all Hillary supporters that have flocked to McCain and Caribou Barbie all I can say is, "What the HELL is wrong with YOU?!!!!!"

Posted by: GAKaren | September 18, 2008 12:37 AM

GAKaren. First of all, I am not voting for McCain.
But I have respect for everyones vision. People are voting for McCain becayse they want to make a statement. I am not voting because I am making a statement of my own.
I will never ever vote for someone or something again and holding my nose up (as you said).
Why the hell vote for someone when you hold your nose up? Certainly you do not belive in that person, but because there is lack of a better person you vote for him or her....Well not me, not anymore. Both McCain and Obama are incompetent to lead this country and will therefore not vote!

But if anyone else wants to vote for whoever...be my guest. Everyone has a reasoning.
And if it is being pissed off or miffed by DNC and the vote for JmC....so be it.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/09/barr-misfires-as-libertarian.html#comment-147010

This is not the first time George Bush has screwed POWs. The people who were held hostage in Iran for 444 days in 1979-1981 also tried to sue Iran. The US still retains Iranian assets which were frozen when the hostage crisis began. The former hostages sued to get some of those assets. They were actually in court and the Bushies from DOJ and State Dept. came rushing in with an injunction to prevent the trial from continuing. It deeply stung them to see their own government pulling the rug out from under them.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/18/AR2006031801126.html

Two points,

1. Its amazing how a post about one thing can turn into a free-for-all about anything.

2. Any post about Barr (or Nader) (or Baldwin) (or McKinney) (or ...) is better than no post. As an old third party political activist once told me, "I don't care what you say about me. Just spell my name right." Does anyone really think Barr would get any "earned media" if he didn't do "nutty" things?

Great post Richard Shepard.

Reg. "Does anyone really think Barr would get any "earned media" if he didn't do "nutty" thing".

Politicians, media, pretty much everyone does whatever is necessary to get the attention they crave and need. They do' nutty things' for a reason.

But if anyone else wants to vote for whoever...be my guest. Everyone has a reasoning. "

Jason, right on. Everyone should do whatever they want with this election without feeling guilt. You always make so much sense Jason.

I saw the Libertarian convention on CSPAN. Watching the convention convinced me that the Libertarian Party should have nominated Mary Ruwart for President (she came in second during the convention in the vote, but she was leading during some of the rounds), for she had the best ideas and she explained them eloquently. She also was sincere in her convention speech. Further she is a scientist, which is a good thing from my point of view.

Did you even read the lawsuit in Texas? If you did, you would know that John McCain AND Barak Obama missed the filing deadline. By putting them on the ballot the Texas SOS broke the law. In WV Bob Barr was ONE DAY late turning in the required petition signatures to be on their ballot, and the decision of the WV SOS to leave him off was upheld in court. If the R's and D's don't have to follow ballot laws, as is your opinion, then NO ONE ELSE has to either.

This is one of the most obviously bias columns I've ever read. You say the Texas ballot claim is "bogus", but have you even bothered to look into what the case is about?

Both candidates missed the filing deadline. This is a fact of the case and not even in dispute. The question is whether or not the rep. and dem's need to follow ballot access laws, because as has been made absolutely clear, 3rd party candidates do.

Both major parties were irresponsible enough to miss a deadline that they should have been aware of. They need to take responsibility for this mistake and accept the fact that they should not be on the ballot.

Where was the furor over the Republicans contesting Barr's ballot access in Pennsylvania? Or for that matter, all of the ballot access hurdles put in place to discourage or flat out prevent third party encroachment on the status quo duopoly? I suppose defending the Constitution, liberty, and the rule of law must seem like a nutty thing these days...

Breaking the law is not bogus unles you are part of the corrupt Duopoly

Once, just once before I die, I would love to hear someone bash the Libertarian party or one of it's candidates after doing some research. It seems as if everyone wants to pass the Constitution and it's limited governmental structure off as some new kooky idea that could not possibly work. WAKE UP!!!! You are all being such mind controlled zombies buying into all the propaganda of the rightist, fascist regime or the leftist, socialist opponent when they tell you that anyone who opposes the big two are nutty. Sounds kind of Nazi Germany to me... Our country was founded on Liberty and competition and we are the only democratic republic that only "allows" two candidates to be heard. That doesn't sound so much like a free country to me. You folks go on believing what you believe and being ignorant because you're too lazy to research the truth for yourselves and our kids will live in 1984. Maybe that is a bad reference though because I doubt half of the zombies have ever read 1984, it's apparent they have never read the Constitution or the Bill of Rights much less the Federalist or Anti-Federalist papers but then again why should you when you have writers like Craig Crawford and politicians like McCain and Obama to tell you what to think. Good luck folks I hope you get what you want and I hope it's not to late for me and my family to leave the country before the atrocities really start.

Crawford, the TX suit is not bogus.

Neither Obama or McCain had their ballot ceritifcations in on time (8-26) under TX law, and there is a clear paper trail to that effect. Therefore they should not be on the TX ballot. Had Barr or any other non-D/R candidate done the same thing, they would have been kept off, and rigthfully so. The suit is to compel the TX SoS to actually enforce TX law properly and consistently, which is his sworn duty.

Either the law is enforced ,or the corruption in TX politics is exposed for all to see. Either way, the voters win and two-headed hydra of major-party statism loses.

Barr may be the biggest screwup the LP ever made the mistake of nominating, but he has this one right.

http://ballot-access.org has the details you obviously missed.

Imagine this scenario, if you will…

Barr wins the TX lawsuit (I did say “imagine”);

The GOP realizes the Obama is now a shoo-in one way or another because McCain cannot get to 270; so

Republicans end up voting for Barr everywhere!

Ahhh…It’s fun to dream every once in a while.

Craig, do you have legitimate documents that show either McCain or Obama filed in Texas as the official nominee before the deadline? Bob Barr's camp has proof that they did not meet the deadline. So unless you have proof to the contrary, your claims of bogus are bogus.

Did any of you detractors actually read what the Libertarian Party stands for, the plain and simple is they stand for The Constitution of the United States of America. I am a veteran and I took an oath to that great document, not an oath to the united socialist republic of mcbamma. The fear and bitterness of this forum is indicitive of why this nation is failing. The repulicrats have incurred a huge debt to China, in order to kill little brown babies in a far off land. The Libertarians would not have driven our country so far into debt, this debt will not just go away, what are we gonna do if China forcloses. The demopublicans have sold us out, and it will be too late to elect a Libertarian, when you finally realise that. I am voting Bob Barr, I suggest you do the same, either that or start learning Chinese.

Craig....it may behoove you to understand Texas state election law before making comments about Bob Barr's lawsuit. In the end you come off as a hack. Do your research or be sure your assistant does. Please refer to Texas State Election code §192.031.