The Audacity of Hope

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Dozens Of Call Center Workers Walk Off Job In Protest Rather Than Read McCain Script

Dozens Of Call Center Workers Walk Off Job In Protest Rather Than Read McCain Script Attacking Obama
By Greg Sargent - October 27, 2008, 5:18PM

Some three dozen workers at a telemarketing call center in Indiana walked off the job rather than read an incendiary McCain campaign script attacking Barack Obama, according to two workers at the center and one of their parents.

Nina Williams, a stay-at-home mom in Lake County, Indiana, tells us that her daughter recently called her from her job at the center, upset that she had been asked to read a script attacking Obama for being "dangerously weak on crime," "coddling criminals," and for voting against "protecting children from danger."

Williams' daughter told her that up to 40 of her co-workers had refused to read the script, and had left the call center after supervisors told them that they would have to either read the call or leave, Williams says. The call center is called Americall, and it's located in Hobart, IN.
"They walked out," Williams says of her daughter and her co-workers, adding that they weren't fired but willingly sacrificed pay rather than read the lines. "They were told [by supervisors], `If you all leave, you're not gonna get paid for the rest of the day."

The daughter, who wanted her name withheld fearing retribution from her employer, confirmed the story to us. "It was like at least 40 people," the daughter said. "People thought the script was nasty and they didn't wanna read it."

A second worker at the call center confirmed the episode, saying that "at least 30" workers had walked out after refusing to read the script.

"We were asked to read something saying [Obama and Democrats] were against protecting children from danger," this worker said. "I wouldn't do it. A lot of people left. They thought it was disgusting."

This worker, too, confirmed sacrificing pay to walk out, saying her supervisor told her: "If you don't wanna phone it you can just go home for the day."

The script coincided with this robo-slime call running in other states, but because robocalling is illegal in Indiana it was being read by call center workers.

Representatives at Americall in Indiana, and at the company's corporate headquarters in Naperville, Illinois, didn't return calls for comment.

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/10/dozens_of_call_center_workers.php

Vets group slams McCain on voting record

http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/10/military_vets_congress_reportcard_100708/

Vets group slams McCain on voting record

By Rick Maze - Staff writerPosted : Wednesday Oct 8, 2008 12:38:28 EDT

The nation’s most prestigious group for Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans released a congressional scorecard on Tuesday that ranks Republican presidential candidate John McCain as having one of the worst voting records when it comes to supporting troops and veterans.
The grade is due to his absence on several key votes on military and veterans’ issues over the last two years.

McCain, ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee and a decorated Navy fighter pilot who spent 5½ years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, received a D on the report card from Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. He is one of nine lawmakers — four senators and five members of the House of Representatives — who received a D or F from the nonprofit, nonpartisan group.

McCain’s presidential campaign staff did not respond to calls asking for comment on the report.
Two people — both Republicans — received an F: Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas.

For senators, scores were based on 10 votes involving increased funding for veterans’ programs, expansions of benefits, a vote to purchase Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles and four separate votes at various stages of consideration of the Post-9/11 GI Bill of Rights and co-sponsorship of the bill.

McCain’s Democratic challenger, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, received a B on the report card, the same grade received by Obama’s vice presidential running mate, Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del. Obama and Biden also missed key votes; Obama missed four and Biden three.
Fifty-five senators received an A on the report card.

In the House, grades were based on 13 votes and co-sponsorship of the full-tuition GI Bill benefits that became law earlier this year. Votes included increasing veterans’ funding and benefits, a veterans’ suicide prevention bill, a bill giving refugee status to translators who worked with U.S. troops in Iraq, expanded wounded warrior treatment programs and a bill ending the government’s policy of requiring repayment of bonuses for people who did not complete their military obligation because of death or disability. Five House members received a D, but 250 others received an A.

Vanessa Williamson of IAVA said the grades are based on items drawn from the association’s legislative agenda, which was provided to every congressional office.

Getting a good score was not that difficult because many of the votes on veterans’ issues were unanimous or nearly unanimous. In the Senate, only three votes on the Post-9/11 GI Bill made a significant difference in grades. In the House, two votes on the GI Bill and a 2007 vote about whether Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans should be given two years or five years of no-questions asked health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs made the difference.

One hundred fifty lawmakers received perfect scores.

Insults fly as Barack Obama & John McCain prepare for second debate

By Thomas M. DeFrank / New York Daily News

WASHINGTON — It's getting McNasty again.

A day after Sarah Palin accused Barack Obama of "palling around with terrorists," Obama struck back Sunday with a tough ad painting John McCain as "erratic."

"Our financial system is in turmoil. And John McCain? Erratic in a crisis, out of touch on the economy," charges the spot — a thinly veiled dig at McCain's age and temperament.

In Asheville, N.C., where he's prepping for Tuesday's second debate with McCain, Obama lit into the Arizona Republican for returning to the low road by having Palin and other surrogates resurrect Obama's associations with 1960s radical William Ayers, now a Chicago educator.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) called Palin's charge "ridiculous."

"I hope John McCain is a strong enough leader to tell at least his vice presidential candidate to knock it off," McCaskill told "Fox News Sunday."

But Palin kept it up Sunday. "In fact, Obama held one of his first meetings hoping to kick off his political career in Bill Ayers' living room," she told a California fund-raising event.

A top McCain adviser signaled last week that the campaign intends to "turn the page" from economic issues — which polls show have staked Obama to a significant lead — and ramp up attacks on Obama as an inexperienced ultraliberal.

"I know the policies he's supported these past eight years and wants to continue are pretty hard to defend," Obama told a rally at a high school football stadium. "I can understand why Sen. McCain would want to turn the page and ignore this economy."

McCain and his agents are "gambling that he can distract you with smears rather than talk to you about substance," Obama added. "They'd rather try to tear our campaign down than lift this country up. It's what you do when you're out of touch, out of ideas and running out of time."

McCain's course correction reflects a growing case of nerves within his high command as the electoral map has shifted significantly in Obama's favor in the past two weeks.

"It's a dangerous road, but we have no choice," a top McCain strategist told the Daily News. "If we keep talking about the economic crisis, we're going to lose."

One-time McCain adviser Mike Murphy told NBC's "Meet the Press" he's worried because "it's McCain's barn that is on fire. McCain is defending states like North Carolina, Virginia, Florida that he has to win."

"I think McCain can win, but the fact is, if the election were held today, he'd lose, and I think he's on a losing path," Murphy added. "This trendline is very, very bad."

Former Bush political guru Karl Rove told "Fox News Sunday" that Obama now leads in states with 273 electoral votes, three more than needed to win.

Republicans financially supporting Obama

This is an article I've found amusing, so Sarah Palin has been using the Barracuda song of the rock band "Heart" After being asked not to use it. The group actually supports Obama.....

Ironically since the GOP refuses to stop using it due to already paying for it, the band members will be donating a portion of royalties to Barack....... AHAHAHAHAHAAHAH

McCain and Palin once again play 'Barracuda'
Posted: 12:43 PM ET
From From CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby

Heart guitarists Nancy and Ann Wilson don't want the McCain campaign to play their song.
LEBANON, Ohio (CNN) – The rock band "Heart" may have asked John McCain and Sarah Palin stop playing their song "Barracuda" at their rallies, but the campaign is apparently paying no heed.

The track — played at the Republican National Convention in honor of the Vice Presidential nominee, who earned the nickname "Sarah Barracuda" playing high school basketball in Alaska — was pumped through the streets of Lebanon, Ohio on Tuesday morning at an outdoor rally before the GOP ticket showed up.

Earlier: Heart condemns McCain-Palin use of 'Barracuda'
When the song was played after Palin's convention speech last week, the band members quickly requested that McCain and Palin pull the plug.

"Sarah Palin's views and values in no way represent us as American women," Ann and Nancy Wilson told Entertainment Weekly. "We ask that our song 'Barracuda' no longer be used to promote her image."

But the McCain camp said last week that it had paid for and obtained all necessary licenses before using the song.

And the band's former guitarist, Roger Fisher, told Reuters last week that the McCain camp’s use of the song benefited both sides: Republicans get "the ingenious placement of a kick-ass song" — and Heart gets headlines and royalties. Part of that money, said Fisher, would be heading to the Arizona senator’s opponent: "With my contribution to Obama's campaign, the Republicans are now supporting Obama," he told Reuters.

Best Clip Calling out GOP EVER!

John Stewart...you are a gentleman and a scholar sir......



WAKE UP SHEEPLE!

AP Points out the GOP Lies....

People it's time to wake up and smell the BS......

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her Republican supporters held
back little Wednesday as they issued dismissive attacks on Barack Obama and
flattering praise on her credentials to be vice president. In some cases, the
reproach and the praise stretched the truth.
Some examples:

PALIN: "I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing
wasteful spending ... and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark
spending by Congress. I told the Congress 'thanks but no thanks' for that Bridge
to Nowhere."

THE FACTS: As mayor of Wasilla, Palin hired a
lobbyist and traveled to Washington annually to support earmarks for the town
totaling $27 million. In her two years as governor, Alaska has requested nearly
$750 million in special federal spending, by far the largest per-capita request
in the nation. While Palin notes she rejected plans to build a $398 million
bridge from Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents and an airport, that
opposition came only after the plan was ridiculed nationally as a "bridge to
nowhere."

PALIN: "There is much to like and admire about our
opponent. But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who
has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform _ not even in the
state senate."

THE FACTS: Compared to McCain and his two decades in
the Senate, Obama does have a more meager record. But he has worked with
Republicans to pass legislation that expanded efforts to intercept illegal
shipments of weapons of mass destruction and to help destroy conventional
weapons stockpiles. The legislation became law last year. To demean that
accomplishment would be to also demean the work of Republican Sen. Richard Lugar
of Indiana, a respected foreign policy voice in the Senate. In Illinois, he was
the leader on two big, contentious measures in Illinois: studying racial
profiling by police and requiring recordings of interrogations in potential
death penalty cases. He also successfully co-sponsored major ethics reform
legislation.

PALIN: "The Democratic nominee for president supports
plans to raise income taxes, raise payroll taxes, raise investment income taxes,
raise the death tax, raise business taxes, and increase the tax burden on the
American people by hundreds of billions of dollars."

THE FACTS: The Tax Policy Center, a think tank run
jointly by the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, concluded that
Obama's plan would increase after-tax income for middle-income taxpayers by
about 5 percent by 2012, or nearly $2,200 annually. McCain's plan, which cuts
taxes across all income levels, would raise after tax-income for middle-income
taxpayers by 3 percent, the center concluded.

Obama would provide $80 billion in tax breaks, mainly
for poor workers and the elderly, including tripling the Earned Income Tax
Credit for minimum-wage workers and higher credits for larger
families.

He also would raise income taxes, capital gains and
dividend taxes on the wealthiest. He would raise payroll taxes on taxpayers with
incomes above $250,000, and he would raise corporate taxes. Small businesses
that make more than $250,000 a year would see taxes rise.

MCCAIN: "She's been governor of our largest state, in
charge of 20 percent of America's energy supply ... She's responsible for 20
percent of the nation's energy supply. I'm entertained by the comparison and I
hope we can keep making that comparison that running a political campaign is
somehow comparable to being the executive of the largest state in America," he
said in an interview with ABC News' Charles Gibson.

THE FACTS: McCain's phrasing exaggerates both claims.
Palin is governor of a state that ranks second nationally in crude oil
production, but she's no more "responsible" for that resource than President
Bush was when he was governor of Texas, another oil-producing state. In fact,
her primary power is the ability to tax oil, which she did in concert with the
Alaska Legislature. And where Alaska is the largest state in America, McCain
could as easily have called it the 47th largest state _ by
population.

MCCAIN: "She's the commander of the Alaska National
Guard. ... She has been in charge, and she has had national security as one of
her primary responsibilities," he said on ABC.

THE FACTS: While governors are in charge of their state
guard units, that authority ends whenever those units are called to actual
military service. When guard units are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, for
example, they assume those duties under "federal status," which means they
report to the Defense Department, not their governors. Alaska's national guard
units have a total of about 4,200 personnel, among the smallest of state guard
organizations.

FORMER ARKANSAS GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE: Palin "got more votes
running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska than Joe Biden got running for president of
the United States."

THE FACTS: A whopper. Palin got 616 votes in the 1996
mayor's election, and got 909 in her 1999 re-election race, for a total of
1,525. Biden dropped out of the race after the Iowa caucuses, but he still got
76,165 votes in 23 states and the District of Columbia where he was on the
ballot during the 2008 presidential primaries.

FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOV. MITT ROMNEY: "We need change,
all right _ change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington! We
have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington _ throw
out the big-government liberals, and elect John McCain and Sarah
Palin."

THE FACTS: A Back-to-the-Future moment. George W. Bush, a
conservative Republican, has been president for nearly eight years. And until
last year, Republicans controlled Congress. Only since January 2007 have
Democrats have been in charge of the House and
Senate.
___
Associated Press Writer Jim Drinkard in Washington
contributed to this report.

Michael Moore on Mccain

This is a very good blog I figured I would share.... take some time to check out his site also....

Random Thoughts from Michael Moore

Senator McCain Cuts and Runs, Governor Palin's "Labor" Day, and a New Hurricane Called, Um, Ike? Who Writes This Stuff?

Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008

Well, I guess God got my email and answered my prayer. Man, the power of the Internet! He even emailed me back! I'll share that with you in the next few days. Proof there is a God in heaven? Never explain comedy or satire or the ironic comment. Those who get it, get it. Those who don't, never will...

John McCain said "it's time to take our Republican hats off and put our American hats on." Really? It would have been nice if Sen. McCain had put on his American hat in the three years since Katrina. Just so no one is fooled by all his fake concern for the people on the Gulf Coast, let's look at his record post-Katrina, compliments of Chris Hayes of The Nation:

If (McCain) cared about New Orleans and the Gulf Coast he could have done something these past three years. He could have made Gulf Reconstruction his issue, he could have excoriated his party for pushing federal dollars into the hands of cronies, for providing inadequate resources, for allowing the further destruction of the wetlands that serve as the only natural barrier to storm surges. He could have taken on the insurance companies that have been serially screwing the residents of the gulf. But he was too busy pushing for more troops, and more war and running for president.

Instead this is his record [via Mother Jones]:

Though McCain issued a statement the next week (after Katrina) calling on Congress to make sacrifices in order to fund recovery efforts, he was quoted in The New Leader on September 1 [2005] cautioning against over-spending in support of Katrina's victims. "We also have to be concerned about future generations of Americans," he said. "We're going to end up with the highest deficit, probably, in the history of this country."

That attitude was borne out in McCain's actions and votes. Forty Senators and 100 members of Congress visited New Orleans before he did; he finally got there in March 2006. He voted against establishing a Congressional commission to examine the Federal, State, and local responses to Katrina in med-September 2005. He repeated that vote in 2006. He voted against allowing up to 52 weeks of unemployment benefits to people affected by the hurricane, and in 2006 voted against appropriating $109 billion in supplemental emergency funding, including $28 billion for hurricane relief.

So honestly, it's an insult to watch him make a show of concern now. ... continue reading

Jack Cafferty Asks the Tough Questions?!?!?!

Commentary: Is McCain another George W. Bush?

Story Highlights
-Jack Cafferty: McCain gives shallow answers at Saddleback forum

-Why isn't McCain grappling with the complex moral issues we face? Cafferty asks

-Cafferty: We can't afford another president like George W. Bush

-World is too complex to entrust to someone who lacks intellectual curiosity, he says

By Jack CaffertyCNN

Editor's Note: Jack Cafferty is the author of the best-seller "It's Getting Ugly Out There: The Frauds, Bunglers, Liars, and Losers Who Are Hurting America." He provides commentary on CNN's "The Situation Room" daily from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. You can also visit Jack's Cafferty File blog.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Russia invades Georgia and President Bush goes on vacation. Our president has spent one-third of his entire two terms in office either at Camp David, Maryland, or at Crawford, Texas, on vacation.

His time away from the Oval Office included the month leading up to 9/11, when there were signs Osama bin Laden was planning to attack America, and the time Hurricane Katrina destroyed the city of New Orleans.

Sen. John McCain takes weekends off and limits his campaign events to one a day. He made an exception for the religious forum on Saturday at Saddleback Church in Southern California. I think he made a big mistake. When he was invited last spring to attend a discussion of the role of faith in his life with Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, at Messiah College in Pennsylvania, McCain didn't bother to show up. Now I know why.

It occurs to me that John McCain is as intellectually shallow as our current president. When asked what his Christian faith means to him, his answer was a one-liner. "It means I'm saved and forgiven." Great scholars have wrestled with the meaning of faith for centuries. McCain then retold a story we've all heard a hundred times about a guard in Vietnam drawing a cross in the sand.

Asked about his greatest moral failure, he cited his first marriage, which ended in divorce. While saying it was his greatest moral failing, he offered nothing in the way of explanation. Why not?
Throughout the evening, McCain chose to recite portions of his stump speech as answers to the questions he was being asked. Why? He has lived 71 years. Surely he has some thoughts on what it all means that go beyond canned answers culled from the same speech he delivers every day.

He was asked "if evil exists." His response was to repeat for the umpteenth time that Osama bin Laden is a bad man and he will pursue him to "the gates of hell." That was it.

He was asked to define rich. After trying to dodge the question -- his wife is worth a reported $100 million -- he finally said he thought an income of $5 million was rich.

One after another, McCain's answers were shallow, simplistic, and trite. He showed the same intellectual curiosity that George Bush has -- virtually none.

Where are John McCain's writings exploring the vexing moral issues of our time? Where are his position papers setting forth his careful consideration of foreign policy, the welfare state, education, America's moral responsibility in the world, etc., etc., etc.?

John McCain graduated 894th in a class of 899 at the Naval Academy at Annapolis.

His father and grandfather were four star admirals in the Navy. Some have suggested that might have played a role in McCain being admitted. His academic record was awful. And it shows over and over again whenever McCain is called upon to think on his feet.

He no longer allows reporters unfettered access to him aboard the "Straight Talk Express" for a reason. He simply makes too many mistakes. Unless he's reciting talking points or reading from notes or a TelePrompTer, John McCain is lost. He can drop bon mots at a bowling alley or diner -- short glib responses that get a chuckle, but beyond that McCain gets in over his head very quickly.

I am sick and tired of the president of the United States embarrassing me. The world we live in is too complex to entrust it to someone else whose idea of intellectual curiosity and grasp of foreign policy issues is to tell us he can look into Vladimir Putin's eyes and see into his soul.
George Bush's record as a student, military man, businessman and leader of the free world is one of constant failure. And the part that troubles me most is he seems content with himself.
He will leave office with the country $10 trillion in debt, fighting two wars, our international reputation in shambles, our government cloaked in secrecy and suspicion that his entire presidency has been a litany of broken laws and promises, our citizens' faith in our own country ripped to shreds. Yet Bush goes bumbling along, grinning and spewing moronic one-liners, as though nobody understands what a colossal failure he has been.

I fear to the depth of my being that John McCain is just like him.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/18/cafferty.mccain/index.html

Mccain's Cribs

http://therealmccain.com/

John McCain is soaring to new heights of hypocrisy on his wife's personal jet. He flies around the country bent on duping the public into believing he's "one of them," a regular guy who can empathize with Americans facing an overwhelming economic crush. What's more, he disparages those who oppose his ridiculous policy proposals as "elitist." But who's the real elitist?

The REAL McCain is a multimillionaire who owns ten luxurious homes. The REAL McCain backs President Bush's tax cuts for big corporations. The REAL McCain empathizes only with the interests of our nation's wealthy minority, not its money-strapped majority. But far too many are buying into McCain's deceit because the corporate press won't present the whole picture, so we created this video to educate the public about the REAL McCain.

Together, you have been a force in making sure The REAL McCain videos have been seen by nearly 6.5 million people. But as Frank Rich noted in his NY Times column yesterday, 40% of Americans hear too little about McCain from the mainstream media, meaning "the public doesn't know who on earth John McCain is." That's why it's crucial you ensure this video is seen by as many as possible, and that we use each and every tool at our disposal to get the word out. Send this on to five friends and family members, and tell them to send it to five people they know. Get it to your local news outlets and blogs and networking sites like Digg. Raise hell about McCain's economic duplicity!

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney summed it up best when he said McCain "simply doesn't understand the challenges America's working families are facing because he isn't remotely affected by them." It's up to us to tell people who McCain really is, a personal jet-setting elitist more concerned with corporate lobbyists than hard-working Americans.

Bonus McBushed!