George W. Bush Wipes Hand On Bill Clinton's Shirt After Shaking Hands With Haitians (VIDEO)

George W. Bush Wipes Hand On Bill Clinton's Shirt After Shaking Hands With Haitians (VIDEO)

Obama's 736 Million Dollar Embassy

Ah, good thing the US quest for violent global domination was brought to a screeching halt with the November presidential election. Without Obama’s election, we’d still have an occupation of Iraq, mercenaries on the US payroll, torture of prisoners, an unending and worsening war that kills civilians in Afghanistan, regular airstrikes in Pakistan, killing civilians and an embassy the size of Vatican city in Baghdad, which was built in part on slave labor. Not to mention those crazy “Bush/Cheney” neocons running around trying to become the “CEOs” of foreign nations. Wow, glad that’s all over. Whew! And, it’s a really good thing Bush is no longer in power or else the US would come up with some crazy idea like building a colonial fortress in Pakistan to defend “US interests” in the region.

From McClatchy:

The White House has asked Congress for — and seems likely to receive — $736 million to build a new U.S. embassy in Islamabad, along with permanent housing for U.S. government civilians and new office space in the Pakistani capital.

The scale of the projects rivals the giant U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, which was completed last year after construction delays at a cost of $740 million.

[…]

Other major projects are planned for Kabul, Afghanistan; and for the Pakistani cities of Lahore and Peshawar. In Peshawar, the U.S. government is negotiating the purchase of a five-star hotel that would house a new U.S. consulate.

[…]

In Pakistan, however, large parts of the population are hostile to the U.S. presence in the region — despite receiving billions of dollars in aid from Washington since 2001 — and anti-American groups and politicians are likely to seize on the expanded diplomatic presence in Islamabad as evidence of American “imperial designs.”

“This is a replay of Baghdad,” said Khurshid Ahmad, a member of Pakistan’s upper house of parliament for Jamaat-e-Islami, one of the country’s two main religious political parties. “This (Islamabad embassy) is more (space) than they should need. It’s for the micro and macro management of Pakistan, and using Pakistan for pushing the American agenda in Central Asia.”

(Also on Rebel Reports)

100 Day's completed..... 63% grade

I have to say I'm extremely happy that the first 100 days are done, hopefully now people can do a little less scrutinizing of every move. There are still alot of things up in the air, but with so many open issues I think a 63% approval rating is pretty good..... Economy, Mexico Borders, Pandemic, Missiles being launched, Israel & Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan Nuclear issues, Iran, Cuba bans, housing markets.....etc.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – As Barack Obama marks his 100th day in office, an average of
the most recent national polls indicates that more than six in ten Americans
approve of the job Obama's doing as president.

According to a CNN Poll
of Polls compiled early Wednesday, 63 percent say they approve of how Obama's
handling his duties as president. Twenty nine percent disapprove. The 63 percent
figure is down three points from CNN's previous Poll of Polls, which was
compiled Sunday.

The president's approval rating stood at 64 percent in
a CNN poll of polls in January, just after his inauguration

"The number
of Americans who think Obama has the right personal qualities to be president
has gone up since the campaign last fall," says CNN Polling Director Keating
Holland. "That wasn't true for George W. Bush eight years ago, and it may be one
reason why Obama's approval rating is still in the 60s."

So how does
Obama compare to his predecessors in the White House around the first 100 days
mark?


George W. Bush stood at 62 percent in a CNN/USA Today/Gallup
poll in April 2001, Bill Clinton was at 55 percent in a CNN/USA Today/Gallup
poll in April 1993, George H.W. Bush stood at 58 percent in a Gallup poll from
April 1989, and Ronald Reagan was at 67 percent in a Gallup poll taken in April
1981.

"The hundred-day mark tends to fall during a period when Americans
are still evaluating a new president. The danger period for most presidents
comes later in their first year in office," Holland says. "Bill Clinton, for
example, still had good marks after his first hundred days, but his approval
rating had tanked by June of 1993. Ronald Reagan's approval rating stayed over
50 percent until November of his first year in office, but once it slipped below
that mark, it stayed under 50 percent for two years. So Obama's current rating
certainly does not indicate that he is out of the woods yet."

The most
recent edition of the CNN Poll of Polls is an average of seven national surveys
taken over the past week: CNN/Opinion Research Corporation (April 23-26),
ABC/Washington Post (April 21-24), Fox/Opinion Dynamics (April 22-23), CBS/New
York Times (April 22-26), Marist (April 21-23), Quinnipiac (April 21-27) and the
Gallup tracking poll (April 25-27).

The Poll of Polls does not have a
sampling error.

With All Due Respect...Get the F@cK Outta here!

With All Due Respect (Now Remember I said that first) Can we please stop with the pettiness of who blames who for what and have a Damn Meeting about stuff that's important.....

I mean OK so now we don't go to a racism conference because the wording implies that somehow and someway Israel might be wrong for what again....

OH BOMBING THE HOLY CRAP OUT OF PALESTINE....

But we can have a president shake Russia's leader hand right after an altercation, or we can talk about peacing it up with all of our enemies, but Israel's skin isn't thick enough to take a sentence in a document, as criticism....

Isn't that the damn point of the meeting...how can you talk about racism if you won't show and we won't go because the criteria may put you in that category, fucking come and clear the shit up if your not wrong...... Obama, and administration, please untuck your tails from between your legs and go Represent...AMERICA! Now remember I did say with all due respect......

Despite efforts to rephrase the language in a rough draft conference
document, the Obama administration has confirmed its decision to boycott "with
regret" this week's World Conference Against Racism in Geneva. The
administration believes the final text draft could potentially isolate Israel
and that it compromises free speech, the State Department said Saturday.

The World Conference Against Racism, also known as Durban II, ignited a
firestorm of controversy when the Obama administration initially said it would
boycott the event in February of this year, after the original conference essay
was released. As reported by The Washington Post, the document was 45 pages and
is believed by White House officials to be instigating racial hatred and
perpetuating anti-Semitism. The text contained the term,
"validation of Islamophobia" alleging Israel's treatment of
the Palestinians is racially motivated and also calls for reparations for
slavery.

As a result of the Obama administrations disapproval, the
preliminary content had been edited to remove negative statements towards
Israel, condensed and revised. Despite the language compromises the
administration remained hesitant to attend, sparking fury among civil advocacy
groups who believe the first black U.S. president should make a point to be
present.

Imani Countess, Senior Director for public
affairs at TransAfrica Forum, an advocacy group whose
focal point is U.S. foreign policy, said "for his administration not to be
present at this global conversation is a disappointment. For President Bush not
to participate, that would have been expected. For Barack Obama's administration not
to participate sends a disappointing signal. It says these issues are not
important."

Department spokesman Robert Wood said the administration was
"deeply grateful" for the revisions that were made, however, the document is
still believed to contain problematic language and references.

"Unfortunately, it now seems certain these remaining concerns will not
be addressed in the document to be adopted by the conference next week," Wood
said. "Therefore, with regret, the United States will not join the review
conference."

In spite of the decision, Wood emphasized that the U.S. "is
profoundly committed to ending racism and racial discrimination" and "will work
with all people and nations to build greater resolve and enduring political will
to halt racism and discrimination wherever it occurs."

Conversely,
Democratic State Representative of California Barbara Lee, who is a chair member
of the Black caucus said the group is "deeply dismayed."

"This decision
is inconsistent with the administration's policy of engaging with those we agree
with and those we disagree with," Lee said. "By boycotting Durban, the U.S. is
making it more difficult for it to play a leadership role on U.N. Human Rights
Council as it states it plans to do. This is a missed opportunity, plain and
simple."

The new draft was created to reverse the administrations
decision not to attend and was believed to have appeased the president's
objections. However, the changes were inadequate and failed to gain Obama's approval.

"This is a big blow," Countess said. "Given the high priority the
administration places on international engagement and multilateralism, this is just a little bit
baffling."

Not really Pro Obama raps, but today I'll let it ride...

My President is Black! REMIX

Smart People in Charge of Science....now that's Novel....

Picking the best people for the tech and science positions, seems almost too smart for a President of the United States to do.... But that's what's happening under an Obama administration...

(CNN) — President-elect Barack Obama named his science and technology team Saturday with a pledge to ensure that “facts and evidence are never twisted or obscured by politics or ideology.”

“It’s time we once again put science at the top of our agenda and worked to restore America’s place as the world leader in science and technology,” he said in his Saturday radio address, in an apparent offhand swipe at President Bush.

“It’s about listening to what our scientists have to say, even when it’s inconvenient – especially when it’s inconvenient,” Obama said, adding that government support had been essential for the greatest scientific breakthroughs of recent history, like the development of the Internet.

“Because the highest purpose of science is the search for knowledge, truth and a greater understanding of the world around us."

Obama announced that Harvard University professor John Holdren will serve as assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Environmental scientist and marine ecologist Jane Lubchenco of Oregon State University was his pick for administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The president-elect also named Nobel Prize-winning Harold Varmus, a former Director of the National Institutes of Health, and Eric Lander of MIT and Harvard, a leader of the Human Genome Project, as co-chairs of the Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

President Bush ducks Flying Shoe

This is Hilarious!

But you gotta admit, bush got some quick moves! That would have hit dead center if it was Cheyney, or Mccain!




Iraq faced mounting calls on Monday to release the journalist who hurled his shoes at George W. Bush, an action branded shameful by the government but hailed in the Arab world as an ideal parting gift to the unpopular US president.

Colleagues of Muntazer al-Zaidi, who works for independent Iraqi television station Al-Baghdadia, said he "detested America" and had been plotting such an attack for months against the man who ordered the war on his country.

"Throwing the shoes at Bush was the best goodbye kiss ever... it expresses how Iraqis and other Arabs hate Bush," wrote Musa Barhoumeh, editor of Jordan's independent Al-Gahd newspaper.
Hundreds of Iraqis joined anti-US demonstrations to protest at Bush's farewell visit on Sunday to Iraq, which was plunged into a deadly insurgency and near civil war in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion.

The Iraqi government branded Zaidi's actions as "shameful" and demanded an apology from his Cairo-based employer, which in turn called for his immediate release from custody.

Zaidi jumped up as Bush was holding a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Sunday, shouted "It is the farewell kiss, you dog" and threw two shoes at the US leader.

The shoes missed after Bush ducked and Zaidi was wrestled to the ground by security guards. He is currently being held by the Iraqi authorities, a source in Maliki's office said without elaborating.

Al-Baghdadia issued a statement demanding Zaidi's release "in line with the democracy and freedom of expression that the American authorities promised the Iraqi people."


"Any measures against Muntazer will be considered the acts of a dictatorial regime," it added.
But the government called for the channel to apologise, saying: "This action harms the reputation of Iraqi journalists and journalism in general."

Saddam Hussein's former lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi said he was forming a team to defend Zaidi and that around 200 lawyers, including Americans, had offered their services for free.

"It was the least thing for an Iraqi to do to Bush, the tyrant criminal who has killed two million people in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Dulaimi.

"Our defence of Zaidi will be based on the fact that the United States is occupying Iraq, and resistance is legitimate by all means, including shoes."

Zaidi's colleagues in Baghdad, where he had worked for three years, said he had long been planning to throw shoes at Bush if ever he got the chance.

"Muntazer detested America. He detested the US soldiers, he detested Bush," said one on condition of anonymity.

Soles of shoes are considered the ultimate insult in Arab culture. After Saddam's statue was toppled in Baghdad in April 2003, many onlookers pelted it with their shoes.

But young Iraqi woman Oum Mina said she didn't consider Zaidi a hero.

"Bush is our enemy. But when you invite your enemy into your home, you don't treat him this way. This could destroy the image of Iraqis."

Protestors in Sadr City, the bastion of radical anti-US cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, however, threw shoes at passing US military vehicles, while in the holy Shiite city of Najaf, the crowds chanted "Down with America."

"All US soldiers who have used their shoes to humiliate Iraqis should be brought to justice, along with their US superiors, including Bush," said Ali Qeisi, head of a Jordan-based Iraqi rights group.

"The flying shoe speaks more for Arab public opinion than all the despots/puppets that Bush meets with during his travels in the Middle East," said Asad Abu Khalil, a popular Lebanese-American blogger and professor at Stanislaus University in California at angryarab.blogspot.com
An Iraqi lawyer said Zaidi risked a miminum of two years in prison if he is prosecuted for insulting a visiting head of state, but could face a 15-year term if he is charged with attempted murder.

"We fear for his safety," said Muzhir al-Khafaji, programming director for the television channel, adding that Zaidi had been arrested before by the Americans and that there were fears that more of its 200 correspondents in Iraq would be detained.
But in Libya, a charity headed by Moamer Kadhafi's daugher Aisha announced it was going to award Zaidi an "order of courage" for his actions.

Pakistan leader meets with Rice on missile strikes

By John Heilprin / Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS – Pakistan's president pressed Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Wednesday to halt cross-border U.S. missile strikes targeting militants in his country's volatile tribal regions, the Pakistani foreign minister said.

"These drone attacks are unproductive, and they are contributing to alienation as opposed to winning people over," Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said in an interview after briefing reporters on the 20-minute meeting between Rice and President Asif Ali Zardari.

The U.S. military is believed to have carried out at least 18 missile attacks on suspected militant targets close to the border in Pakistan since August. The missiles are believed to be fired from unmanned planes launched in Afghanistan, where some 32,000 U.S. troops are fighting a resurgent Taliban insurgency.

The strikes also should be halted to avoid the inadvertent deaths of civilians, Qureshi said. "In fact, what is required is more sharing of intelligence information. What is required is building Pakistan's capacity to deal with insurgency," he said.

State Department officials declined to comment on the meeting.

President-elect Barack Obama's incoming administration presents a fresh opportunity for Pakistan to emphasize more dialogue and development, Qureshi said.

"We'll be discussing with them a more comprehensive strategy. Because Pakistan is of the view that military means is not the be-all and the end-all," he said.

The drone attacks topped the Pakistani concerns aired during the meeting between Rice and Zardari, he said. The two also talked about strategies for dealing with terror networks without inflaming anti-American sentiment and the financial crisis gripping Pakistan and the rest of the world, Qureshi said.

It was one of a series of high-level private talks at the U.N. on Wednesday. These bilateral meetings among world leaders, some including Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, occurred on the sidelines of a high-level U.N. interfaith conference organized by the King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.

Rice also met behind closed doors with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the Saudi king, two U.S. diplomatic officials said. The State Department declined to comment on those meetings, too.

Joe the Plumber....

Is it me or does Barack logic Bomb Joe? ...

Inland GOP mailing depicts Obama's face on food stamp

By Michelle DeArmond / Press-Enterprise

RIVERSIDE, CA — The latest newsletter by an Inland Republican women's group depicts Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama surrounded by a watermelon, ribs and a bucket of fried chicken, prompting outrage in political circles.

The October newsletter by the Chaffey Community Republican Women, Federated says if Obama is elected his image will appear on food stamps -- instead of dollar bills like other presidents. The statement is followed by an illustration of "Obama Bucks" -- a phony $10 bill featuring Obama's face on a donkey's body, labeled "United States Food Stamps."

The GOP newsletter, which was sent to about 200 members and associates of the group by e-mail and regular mail last week, is drawing harsh criticism from members of the political group, elected leaders, party officials and others as racist.

The group's president, Diane Fedele, said she plans to send an apology letter to her members and to apologize at the club's meeting next week. She said she simply wanted to deride a comment Obama made over the summer about how as an African-American he "doesn't look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills."

"It was strictly an attempt to point out the outrageousness of his statement. I really don't want to go into it any further," Fedele said in a telephone interview Tuesday. "I absolutely apologize to anyone who was offended. That clearly wasn't my attempt."

Fedele said she got the illustration in a number of chain e-mails and decided to reprint it for her members in the Trumpeter newsletter because she was offended that Obama would draw attention to his own race. She declined to say who sent her the e-mails with the illustration.

She said she doesn't think in racist terms, pointing out she once supported Republican Alan Keyes, an African-American who previously ran for president.

"I didn't see it the way that it's being taken. I never connected," she said. "It was just food to me. It didn't mean anything else."

She said she also wasn't trying to make a statement linking Obama and food stamps, although her introductory text to the illustration connects the two: "Obama talks about all those presidents that got their names on bills. If elected, what bill would he be on????? Food Stamps, what else!"

Club Member Cries

Sheila Raines, an African-American member of the club, was the first person to complain to Fedele about the newsletter. Raines, of San Bernardino, said she has worked hard to try to convince other minorities to join the Republican Party and now she feels betrayed.

"This is what keeps African-Americans from joining the Republican Party," she said. "I'm really hurt. I cried for 45 minutes."

The Obama campaign declined to comment. It's the campaign's policy to not address such attacks, said Gabriel Sanchez, a California spokesman for the campaign.

The newsletter prompted a rebuke from another African-American member of the organization, which is well recognized in the community for its philanthropy and efforts to register and turn out voters in the Rancho Cucamonga and Upland areas.

Acquanetta Warren, a Fontana councilwoman and member of the women's group, said the item is rude and requires a public apology.

"When I opened that up and saw it, I said, 'Why did they do this? It doesn't even reflect our principles and values,' " said Warren, who served as a Republican delegate to the national convention in September and is a regional vice chairwoman for the California Republican Party. "I know a lot of the ladies in that club and they're fantastic. They're volunteers. They really care -- some of them go to my church."

Warren forwarded an electronic version of the newsletter to the California Republican Party headquarters, where officials also were outraged Wednesday and denounced the illustration.

Hector Barajas, the party's press secretary, said the party chairman likely will have a conversation with Fedele, and Barajas will attend the statewide California Federation of Republican Women conference this weekend in Los Angeles to handle any news media there to cover the controversy.

Obama in Turban

The newsletter is not the first such episode Barajas has had to respond to this week. The Sacramento Bee on Wednesday posted an image it said was captured from the Sacramento County GOP Web site that showed Obama in a turban next to Osama bin Laden.

It said: "The difference between Osama and Obama is just a little B.S." The site also encouraged members to "Waterboard Barack Obama," a reference to a torture technique. The Sacramento County party took down the material Tuesday after being criticized.

Mark Kirk, a spokesman for the San Bernardino County GOP chairman, said he expects Chairman Gary Ovitt to also have a talk with Fedele and to attend the group's local meeting next week to discuss the issue with members, although the county GOP has no formal oversight role over the club. Kirk said these kinds of depictions hurt the party's ongoing efforts to reach out to minorities.

"It's very damaging and we're going to take steps to correct this," Kirk said. "Unfortunately, I don't know what you do to correct ignorance like this, but we will do what we can."

Assemblyman Bill Emmerson, R-Redlands, and state Sen. Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga, both criticized the illustration as inappropriate and irresponsible.

Dutton pointed out that his wife, a member of the club, is of Mexican heritage and has battled criticism that the Republican Party is not the party for minorities. The club's newsletter undercuts efforts to rise above racism, he said.

"Bias and racial comments and even suggestions are frankly what weakens us as a people. I think we as Americans need to rise above that," he said.

Emmerson said he was extremely offended and sickened by the newsletter.

Barbara O'Connor, director of the Institute for the Study of Politics and the Media at Cal State Sacramento, said it's imperative that people speak out about these kinds of depictions no matter how small the organization. She praised Raines for doing so.

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.

Even the kids get it....LOL

A little boy goes to his dad and asks,





'What is Politics ?'





Dad says, 'Well son, let me try to explain it this way:





I am the head of the family , so call me The President .


Your mother is the administrator of the money, so! we call her the Government .


We are here to take care of your needs, so we will call you the People .


The nanny, we will consider her the Working Class .


And your baby brother, we will call him the Future .





Now think about that and see if it makes sense.'



So the little boy! Goes off to bed thinking about what Dad has said. Later that night, he hears his baby brother crying, so he gets up to check on him.





He finds that the baby has severely soiled his diaper. So the little boy goes to his parents' room and finds his mother asleep. Not wanting to wake her, he goes to the nanny's room Finding the door locked, he peeks in the keyhole and sees his father in bed with the nanny.





He gives up and goes back to bed. The next morning, the little boy says to his father,





'Dad, I think I understand the concept of politics now.'





The father says, 'Good, son, tell me in your own words what you think politics is all about.'





The little boy replies,





'The President is screwing the Working Class while the Government is sound asleep. The People are being ignored and the Future is in deep shit .

Palin....Really?!?!?

So Last night Sarah Palin gave her first interview, and got RIPPED!

Shout out to Charles Gibson, I didn't think he was gonna be tough enough.....but he did a good job...

Part 1



Part 2





Even Matt Damon can't stand this person!






Palin tries to defend qualifications in interview

Associated Press

FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska – John McCain running mate Sarah Palin sought Thursday to defend her qualifications but struggled with foreign policy, unable to describe President Bush's doctrine of pre-emptive strikes against threatening nations and acknowledging she's never met a foreign head of state.

The Republican vice presidential nominee told Charles Gibson of ABC News in her first televised interview since being named to the GOP ticket that "I'm ready" to be president if called upon. However, she sidestepped on whether she had the national security credentials needed to be commander in chief.

Palin, 44, has been Alaska's governor for less than two years and before that was a small-town mayor. She was McCain's surprise selection for the No. 2 slot on the ticket, raising questions about her readiness to serve in the White House, particularly during wartime.

McCain has defended her qualifications, citing her command of the Alaska National Guard and Alaska's proximity to Russia.

Asked whether those were sufficient credentials, Palin said: "It is about reform of government and it's about putting government back on the side of the people, and that has much to do with foreign policy and national security issues." She said she brings expertise in making the country energy independent as a former chairman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
She acknowledged that national security encompasses more than energy but said: "I want you to not lose sight of the fact that energy is a foundation of national security."

Palin said other than a trip to visit soldiers in Kuwait and Germany last year — "a trip of a lifetime" that "changed my life" — her only other foreign travel was to Mexico and Canada. She also said she had never met a head of state and added: "If you go back in history and if you ask that question of many vice presidents, they may have the same answer that I just gave you."
Pressed about what insights into recent Russian actions she gained by living in Alaska, Palin answered: "They're our next door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska."

Foreign policy questions dominated the first of three interviews Palin was giving Gibson over two days.

In the interview Thursday, Palin:

_Appeared unsure of the Bush doctrine — essentially that the United States must help spread democracy to stop terrorism and that the nation will act pre-emptively to stop potential foes.
Asked whether she agreed with that, Palin said: "In what respect, Charlie?" Gibson pressed her for an interpretation of it. She said: "His world view." That prompted Gibson to say "no, the Bush doctrine, enunciated September 2002, before the Iraq war" and describe it to her.
"I believe that what President Bush has attempted to do is rid this world of Islamic extremism, terrorists who are hell bent on destroying our nation," Palin said, though added "there have been mistakes made."

Pressed repeatedly on whether the United States could attack terrorist hideouts in Pakistan without the country's permission, she said: "If there is legitimate and enough intelligence that tells us that a strike is imminent against American people, we have every right to defend our country. In fact, the president has the obligation, the duty to defend."

_Said nuclear weapons in Iran's hands are dangerous, and said "we've got to put the pressure on Iran." Asked three times what her position would be if Israel felt threatened enough to attack Iranian nuclear facilities, Palin repeatedly said the United States shouldn't "second guess" Israel's steps to secure itself.

_Called for Georgia and the Ukraine to be included in NATO, a treaty that requires the U.S. to defend them militarily. She also said Russia's attack into Georgia last month was "unprovoked." Asked to clarify that she'd support going to war over Georgia, she said: "Perhaps so."

"I mean, that is the agreement when you are a NATO ally, is if another country is attacked, you're going to be expected to be called upon and help," she said.

_Said she "didn't hesitate" when McCain asked her to be his running mate. "I answered him 'yes' because I have the confidence in that readiness and knowing that you can't blink, you have to be wired in a way of being so committed to the mission, the mission that we're on, reform of this country and victory in the war, you can't blink. So I didn't blink then even when asked to run as his running mate."

_Contradicted an assertion she made at her former church that "our national leaders are sending U.S. soldiers on a task that is from God." Asked whether she thought the United States was fighting a holy war, she said she meant to convey that she agreed with Abraham Lincoln's quote that "I would never presume to know God's will or to speak God's words."

Later, in the second interview, Palin said she broke from McCain on climate change and oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. McCain has said humans have caused climate change and the federal government shouldn't permit drilling in the federally protected wildlife reserve.

Palin, however, said: "I believe that man's activities certainly can be contributing to the issue of global warming, climate change. ... Regardless though of the reason for climate change, whether it's entirely, wholly caused by man's activities or is part of the cyclical nature of our planet — the warming and the cooling trends — regardless of that, John McCain and I agree that we gotta do something about it."

On ANWR, she said: "We'll agree to disagree but I'm gonna keep pushing that and I think eventually we're all gonna come together on that one."

Community Organizers Speak on GOP statements...

Optimum Capital Management, LLC

Announces ENOUGH!

New York, NY - September 8th, 2008

As a community organizer, I want to send this letter to John McCain and the Republican Party, on behalf of all of the community organizers in America. This is letter is written for all of those community organizers like myself who wake up every morning with only one thought on their mind, "How can I make my community better?" It is written for all of those like me who rarely get paid and are hardly ever provided any incentive much more than the joy we feel from seeing one of our fellow community members get a paying job because of our efforts. Rudy Giuliani, you asked what a community organizer is. Sarah Palin, you implied that you were unaware of any real responsibilities that a community organizer had. Let me take a few brief words to explain it to you.

Community Organizer Responds to GOP Attacks!

Community organizers are the ones who actually roll up their sleeves and work in the neighborhoods and communities that are hardly ever seen by a politician. The main gripe that we hear from those we assist is, "We try to reach out to our local politicians but we never get any response." Where a void is left from the inability or unwillingness of our local politicians to insert some action where an abundance of words exists we are the ones who step up to the plate. We are the ones in the prisons teaching for free so that we can lower recidivism rates in our communities. We are the ones holding private meetings with gang members to urge them to trade in their guns for books and job applications. We are the ones who are working with the neglected population of homeless teens providing them with education about financial literacy, health, drugs, safe sex, and life skill implementation.

Governor Palin, do not talk to me about "real responsibility" until you have walked in our shoes. I am not going to down grade your responsibility, because I am sure that to be the Mayor of a town with 6000 people can have its difficulties and challenges. However, for you to disrespect the efforts of the people in the nation who love this country just because you want to score a political point is blasphemous. You hold yourself to be a true follower and believer of the Word of God, but where in the Word does it say that we must down others efforts just to uplift ourselves? Where in the Word of God does it say that we must attack the character of others in order to fulfill our own personal agenda? Do you honestly believe that the only way that one can sacrifice for this country is to be a POW? Of course not! You should be thankful for the sacrifice and the responsibility that is taken on every day by community organizers across the country. You would not have gotten elected into your seat as Mayor or Governor without the efforts of community organizers. If there were more community organizers in Alaska maybe your state would not have such high methamphetamine addiction and youth STD rates.Instead of thanks, we are belittled. I guess that you don't have to thank Martin Luther King Jr. who helped millions doing community organizing to lead the civil rights movement? I guess you would have been condescending to Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Stanton, and Lucy Stone for their work in the National Woman Suffrage Association community organizing for women across this nation? What about Jimmy Hoffa who was a community organizer for the rights of workers? Maybe he didn't have responsibility either? Let's travel overseas to look at the Ghandi, the community organizer who helped millions in India and around the world. Maybe he should have been belittled for his efforts. He himself stated what should be the creed of all community organizers, "Be the change that you want to see in the world." Are you encouraging those in this country and around the world to be that "change" with your words Governor Palin?

Last but not least, my favorite community organizer of which you and I owe a lot to because of our similar faiths, Jesus Christ was a community organizer. Do you think that He would condone your words against Barack Obama and degrading his actions to make a change in his community?

I don't have to point out famous community organizers, but can also make note of those community organizers who do not do the work for personal recognition but because it is just right. Wayne Harris who has dedicated his life to helping homeless youth...keep it up Wayne! Kevin Powell who has dedicated his life to making a positive change in the life of Black Males and who speaks out against violence against women...we need you Kevin and keep it up! George Mitchell who pulls people together to figure out ways to increase traffic to local community businesses...you have a lot of responsibility Brother George and we need your efforts! Dante Dixon who is a minister who uses the Word of God to help people start businesses across the country...I respect your efforts Mr. Dixon and please keep it up! Christina Hodges who has dedicated her life to teaching financial literacy for free throughout her community...don't let the comments from the GOP party discourage you! Lloyd Cambridge who works with youth and adults for free helping them start businesses...I respect you Lloyd! Darnell Canada who is an ex-offender yet still started numerous businesses for himself AND other people in the community...I respect and admire your work Darnell even if Giuliani and Palin do not! Barack Obama who served over 90,000 people while community organizing on the south side of Chicago... we know you could have used your Harvard degree to earn millions but you chose to work with the people! Barack, you are not the savior to the people but your actions and deeds have empowered millions across this country to be a savior to themselves! There are people who have jobs and a future because of your efforts. A "from the bottom up movement" is a movement that you started on the south side of Chicago but will end in the White House! We thank you and need more of you! To all of the community organizers out there who like me are overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated we cannot stop our efforts!As a community organizer I have had my life threatened, been assaulted, disrespected, dismissed, rejected, and undercut all because I want to help my community teaching financial literacy and spreading economic empowerment. These things happened because like other community organizers, we want to create opportunities for success but many times we get the most resistance from those we are trying to help. Governor Palin and Mayor Giuliani, the criticism and disrespect that you provide will NOT dissuade us from helping our community. It only serves to show that you and the Republican Party are out of touch with the American people. You get mad at Barack because he eats arugula but degrade those across the country whose only purpose is to make a difference. You get mad at Barack's statements of clinging to guns and religion, then you belittle the earnest efforts of those in the community trying to improve the lives of those around them. Then you claim yourselves to be patriotic and always put America first? In November the people will speak...if we are smart our voices and votes will put Obama in the White House because he has proven to be the only candidate who has not displayed the moral turpitude that has been destroying this country for the past 8 years! ENOUGH!

http://www.optimumcapitalmanagement.com/contact_us

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.

Bill Maher on Larry King

Must see interview.....




Part 2



Part 3

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

WOW JOHN MCCAIN . . . Where is the Media?

If this video is true! WOW AMERICA!



http://vietnamveteransagainstjohnmccain.com/

Hip Hop We Gotta Do Better?!?!?

Alright so I am a big Luda FAN!


Hence me promoting his new mixtape, in yesterday's post.

I even heard the Pro-Obama song and didn't over analyze it..... However after getting home from work, I come to see Ludacris on the News....

So much of a big deal was made that Obama had to reply quicker then he did for numerous other controversies...... Clinton, Negative Adds, Mccain, Religion, Pastor Wright, Hague, arrogance . . .

The BBC reports.....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7534736.stm

A song by rap star Ludacris criticising Barack Obama's opponents has been called "outrageously offensive" by the US presidential candidate's campaign.

Politics As Usual calls President Bush "mentally handicapped", and insults both Hillary Clinton and John McCain.
"Ludacris is a talented individual but he should be ashamed of these lyrics," said Mr Obama's spokesman Bill Burton.

The rap star's publicist initially declined to comment, reported the Associated Press.

'Great talent'

The musician used a misogynistic term to describe Mrs Clinton and urged Mr Obama against appointing her as his running mate, saying that she "hated on you".
Mr McCain, the Republican candidate for the presidency, does not belong in "any chair unless he's paralysed", according to the rapper.

Mr Burton added: "As Barack Obama has said many, many times in the past, rap lyrics today too often perpetuate misogyny, materialism, and degrading images that he doesn't want his daughters or any children exposed to."

The Ludacris song urges black people to cast their votes in the forthcoming election, and lends his support to Mr Obama's bid.

The lyric "the world is ready for change 'cause Obama is here" is repeated throughout the track.
In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine earlier this year, Mr Obama included Ludacris when describing hip-hop stars he considered "great talents and great businessmen".

In 2006, before he announced his intention to run for president, the politician met the rapper privately in Chicago to discuss youth issues.

Now there can be several arguments that "The media is taking advantage." or "It's because Ludacris is Black." etc and so on.....





My question for you is:





WE KNOW the media will be unfair, biased, ignorant, judgemental and WE KNOW that a double standard exists(Not saying we should be happy with it).

But if WE KNOW these things are prevalent, shouldn't we as supporters be more cautious with what we put out......so maybe through Obama winning, without these distractions that WE KNOW will happen, the change will come???

Ludacris . . . I am a big supporter, but I do think that you are a better businessman, and could have made a better judgement as to "How your song will be taken out of context, before you put it out there." And my biggest fear as a fan is that this is just a publicity stunt for your album..... Say it aint so Luda...Say it aint so...