A good reason why I am not a Republican, nor Democrat or go to Conventions…

Can be found here.

Quote:

Protesters here in Minneapolis have been targeted by a series of highly intimidating, sweeping police raids across the city, involving teams of 25-30 officers in riot gear, with semi-automatic weapons drawn, entering homes of those suspected of planning protests, handcuffing and forcing them to lay on the floor, while law enforcement officers searched the homes, seizing computers, journals, and political pamphlets. Last night, members of the St. Paul police department and the Ramsey County sheriff’s department handcuffed, photographed and detained dozens of people meeting at a public venue to plan a demonstration, charging them with no crime other than “fire code violations,” and early this morning, the Sheriff’s department sent teams of officers into at least four Minneapolis area homes where suspected protesters were staying.

Jane Hamsher and I were at two of those homes this morning — one which had just been raided and one which was in the process of being raided. Each of the raided houses is known by neighbors as a “hippie house,” where 5-10 college-aged individuals live in a communal setting, and everyone we spoke with said that there had never been any problems of any kind in those houses, that they were filled with “peaceful kids” who are politically active but entirely unthreatening and friendly. Posted below is the video of the scene, including various interviews, which convey a very clear sense of what is actually going on here.

In the house that had just been raided, those inside described how a team of roughly 25 officers had barged into their homes with masks and black swat gear, holding large semi-automatic rifles, and ordered them to lie on the floor, where they were handcuffed and ordered not to move. The officers refused to state why they were there and, until the very end, refused to show whether they had a search warrant. They were forced to remain on the floor for 45 minutes while the officers took away the laptops, computers, individual journals, and political materials kept in the house. One of the individuals renting the house, an 18-year-old woman, was extremely shaken as she and others described how the officers were deliberately making intimidating statements such as “Do you have Terminator ready?” as they lay on the floor in handcuffs. The 10 or so individuals in the house all said that though they found the experience very jarring, they still intended to protest against the GOP Convention, and several said that being subjected to raids of that sort made them more emboldened than ever to do so.

I honestly have to wonder, do we live in the United States of America or do we live in Soviet Russia? This will be a black mark on the Republican Party, the City of Minneapolis and the State of Minnesota. It is this sort of idiotic nonsense that gives people like Alex Jones the fuel to fan the propaganda that loves to spread and profit from.

This is one of the simple reasons why I tend to avoid these sort of gatherings. Bad information does get passed and police do make mistakes. As the saying goes, I feel it is better to stay safe, than be sorry.

What happened here, as far as I am concerned, is nothing short of the repression of freedom of speech. It is wrong and I am, quite frankly, surprised that more Conservatives are not raising the roof about it. I realize that some of these people who were raided, might of the Liberal political mindset. But, to attempt to suppress the political discourse and to attempt to quell any sort of a demonstration, goes totally against the Constitution of the United States of America.

I have to honestly wonder, what would President Ronald Reagan say or think, if he were alive to see this sort of brutal abuse of Governmental power. I honestly believe that he would be horrified.

Others Blogging:
Associated Press, Unqualified Offerings, Campaign Silo, Buck Naked Politics, Boing Boing, Firedoglake, Minnesota Independent, Boztopia.com, New York Times, The Art of the Possible, Discourse.net, Hullabaloo, Crooks and Liars, The Washington Note, pandagon.net and Pharyngula and more via Memeorandum

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Something everyone should read about Sarah Palin

Remember what I wrote about Sarah Palin earlier?

Well, it’s worse than I thought, much worse. The Kos Kids, turns out, have a laundry list of dirt on this woman. I highly recommend that you click this link, to go read the accounts of Sarah Palin’s time as Mayor and Governor of Alaska.

We cannot afford to have someone, of this great depth, of this great amount, of deft incompetence running the White House or any other public office in America.

This is not a Republican issue, this is not a Democratic Party issue, this is not a Male vs Female issue, this is not a Sexist issue, this is a issue of what is good for this Nation and it’s stability and the ability for this nation to get back on track to competent Government.

The United States for the last 8 years, has been forced to deal with a Presidential Administration that has absolutely reeked with abysmal incompetence. We as Americans cannot afford 4-8 more years of this. One Dick Cheney is enough, one George W. Bush is enough, we cannot afford another one.

While I am not in the tank for the one they call “O”. I would rather have an outright socialist, a possible closet Marxist in the White House and know that the Government would be well taken care of, than to see an inexperienced buffoon running the White House and the affairs of the United States Government.

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Okay, I dissed McSame's choice, But this is WRONG as hell!

Oh.No.they.didn’t!

Via one of Malkin’s readers:

My secretary was just listening to channel 7 news on the thedenverchannel.com online.

The news guys had the audio on and did not know it.

They commented that they think McCain and Palin must be sleeping together.

They commented about Sara(h) Palin’s nice ass.

They said a lot of very unseemly things.

This seems like a big deal and they should be called on it. My secretary sent them an e-mail and they immediately cut off the audio…

…For myself, as the father of a little girl who I want recognized for her accomplishments and hard work, it was pretty offensive.

I have to agree. I mean, it’s one thing for a smart mouthed Blogger like me to make a comment of this Nature, but the Main Stream Media!?!?! Damn. They’re just getting blatant.

Of course, there is that story about McCain supposedly sleeping with a lobbyist. So, I dunno.

Exit question: Cindy’s Replacement?

Totally politically incorrect second exit question: Cindy’s new closet Lesbian lover? D’oh! 😯 😮

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Reason number 500,865,345,564,000 why I do not watch fox news

Oy!

Via TPM:

Now you see why I refuse to watch Faux Noise. If I sat here and typed why I thought this was wrong, stupid, ect, ect, ect. I’d be here all night, and seeing my body clock is seriously whacked outta shape, and I’m just a very large pile of grumpy, I’ll pass.

But, I think you can fill in the blanks.

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Yeah, I know, it’s Sarah Palin

Sorry about the delay in getting started today. I just could not sleep last night. I have those nights, it sucks, but there isn’t a thing I can do about it.

Yes, I know. It’s Palin.

…and of course, the Christian Right is wetting themselves with self-righteous glee. Which I find to be absolutely sickening.

Michelle Malkin says:

Yes, I’m impressed. Very impressed.

[…]

12:44pm Eastern. Palin gives props to Geraldine Ferraro and Hillary Clinton. “The women of America aren’t finished yet…We can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all!”

Palin coopts the Hope and Change mantra. Sweet.

Audience coopts “Yes, we can!” Sweet.

God bless America!

For real.

HotAir’s Ed Morrissey:

This is change you can believe in, and not change that amounts to all talk. McCain changed the trajectory of the race today by stealing Obama’s strength and turning it against him. Obama provided that opening by picking Biden as his running mate, and McCain was smart enough to take advantage of the opening.

My Take:

Two Words. Big Whoop.

First of all, we already had an overly ambitious woman trying to run for the highest office in the land. I am sorry, but women just do NOT belong in politics. Especially this one, she has a damn baby, I just could not get over the image of how Palin put her own newborn baby off on her daughter, all the while standing up there in her self righteous glory, harping for all that attention. Not to mention the way her older daughters were dressed, looking like two dollar whores, with their dresses hiked up above their knees, and this woman is a Conservative? Please, don’t make me laugh. (To be fair, McCain’s daughter, Sidney, was dressed like a slut too…)

Second of all, she’s pro-life, she’s a part of that far right, evangelical Christian attempt to Christianize America, which I feel violates ones right of Freedom of, and FROM a organized Religion. Further more, she is a part of that Fascist attempt to get the Government to try and control what a woman can do with her body, as a Libertarian, I feel that is in direct opposition to our United States Constitution and is in direct opposition to the very idea of limited Government.

Third of all, she has zero Political experience. The woman served on the PTA, (Harper Valley?) served on the local city council, then ran for Mayor of her home town, then ran Governor of Alaska and won. Now McCain wants to make her a V.P.? Not a smart move Juan McSame.

Just a personal opinion, but I look for that straight talk express to hit the damn wall. Hard.

Will this cause McCain to draw former Hillary supporters, not likely at all. They know the things that Hillary stood for and the more informed one’s will know what the Republicans stand for. It just will not happen.

The Bottom Line: Color me highly unimpressed.

Update: Ramesh Ponnuru somewhat agrees with me, although, he’s not nearly extreme about it as me.

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Obama's Convention Bounce

As expected Barack Obama’s convention bounce has arrived.

Via Gallup Poll:

Democratic candidate Barack Obama has gained ground in the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking average from Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and now leads Republican John McCain among registered voters by a 48% to 42% margin.

The latest three-day Gallup Poll Daily tracking average (Aug. 25-27) is directly coincident with the first three days of the Democratic National Convention in Denver, and is no doubt beginning to reflect the typical convention “bounce” that Gallup has observed in most party conventions in recent decades. There is a lag of sorts involved in the daily tracking; interviewing is conducted in most parts of the country before that evening’s high-focus speeches have taken place. Thus, the current three-day average would reflect any impact of Monday night’s speech by Michelle Obama, and Tuesday night’s speech by Hillary Clinton, but would not completely reflect Wednesday night’s lineup of speakers, such as John Kerry, former President Bill Clinton, and vice presidential nominee Joe Biden, nor the appearance on stage at the end of the evening by Barack Obama himself.

Gallup’s interviewing for last Friday through Sunday, the last three days before the convention officially began, showed the race at a 45% to 45% tie. Thus, there is already a six percentage point bounce evident in the data, although the final “official” post-convention bounce used in comparison with other recent conventions will not be tabulated by Gallup until interviewing for Friday through Sunday is completed (reported next Monday on gallup.com).

Of keen interest this year will be the dynamics of the race in the forthcoming days, as John McCain, by all accounts, will attempt to pounce on the Democrats’ bounce by announcing his vice presidential running mate either Thursday night or Friday and with attention turning quickly to the Republican convention that is set to begin on Monday in St. Paul. Also in the mix this year will be an act of nature; if Tropical Storm Gustav becomes a hurricane and makes landfall on the U.S. Gulf Coast sometime on Tuesday, news coverage of the GOP convention will be diluted, and the impact of that situation (coming some three years after Hurricane Katrina) is impossible to predict.

The Graphs:

080828DailyUpdateGraph1_thnbvrw

080828DailyUpdateGraph2_wrfdvbn

Of course, if you’re objective reporter, and not in the tank for Obama. (Unlike some) You would simply say that this is due to the Democratic Convention and because of Obama’s selection of white running mate, which has most likely reassured some of the more undecided voters.

As it says above, this coming hurricane could also cause the Republicans some serious issues. Especially if there is widespread damage. Hopefully, this won’t be the case, because I am truly looking forward to viewing this upcoming convention.

On the long term, I personally believe that these polls will even out and perhaps go more towards McCain, especially during the Republican Convention. This is unless a hurricane hits the coast hard.

Others: TownHall Blog, The Moderate Voice, www.redstate.com, Hot Air

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Memo to John McCain, Don't be a dickhead, please….

It seems that ol’ Juan McSame is wanting to live up to the image that the Democrats are painting for him. A senile, cantankerous old man.

This little gem, comes Via TIME:

For years, John McCain’s marathon bull sessions with reporters were more than a means of delivering a message; they were
the message. McCain proudly, flagrantly refused direction from handlers, rarely dodged tough questions and considered those who did
wimps and frauds. The style told voters that he was unafraid, that he had nothing to hide and that what you see is what you get. "Anything
you want to talk about," he promised reporters aboard the Straight Talk Express in Iowa back in March 2007. "One of the fundamental principles
of the bus is that there is no such thing as a dumb question." When asked if he would keep the straight talk coming, McCain replied, "You
think I could survive if I didn’t? We’d never be forgiven … I’d have to hire a food taster, somebody to start my car in the morning." Even
after he won the GOP nomination, he demanded that his new campaign plane be configured to include a sofa up front so he could re-create
the Straight Talk Express at 30,000 ft.

However, this has changed quite a bit here as of recent, here’s the transcript of ol’ McSame being a total ass to the media:

And so when TIME’s James Carney and Michael Scherer were invited to the front of McCain’s plane recently for an interview, they were ushered
forward, past the curtain that now separates reporters from the candidate, past the sofa that was designed for his gabfests with the
press and taken straight to the candidate’s seat. McCain at first seemed happy enough to do the interview. But his mood quickly soured.
The McCain on display in the 24-minute interview was prickly, at times abrasive, and determined not to stray off message. An excerpt:

What do you want voters to know coming out of the Republican Convention — about you, about your candidacy?

I’m prepared to be President of the United States, and I’ll put my country first.

There’s a theme that recurs in your books and your speeches, both about putting country first but also about honor. I wonder if you could
define honor for us?

Read it in my books.

I’ve read your books.

No, I’m not going to define it.

But honor in politics?

I defined it in five books. Read my books.

[Your] campaign today is more disciplined, more traditional, more aggressive. From your point of view, why the change?

Iwill do as much as we possibly can do to provide as much access to the press as possible.

But beyond the press, sir, just in terms of …

I think we’re running a fine campaign, and this is where we are.

Do you miss the old way of doing it?

I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Really? Come on, Senator.

I’ll provide as much access as possible …

In 2000, after the primaries, you went back to South Carolina to talk about what you felt was a mistake you had made on the Confederate
flag. Is there anything so far about this campaign that you wish you could take back or you might revisit when it’s over?

[Does not answer.]

Do I know you? [Says with a laugh.]

[Long pause.] I’m very happy with the way our campaign has been conducted, and I am very pleased and humbled to have the nomination of
the Republican Party.

You do acknowledge there was a change in the campaign, in the way you had run the campaign?

[Shakes his head.]

You don’t acknowledge that? O.K., when your aides came to you and you decided, having been attacked by Barack Obama, to run some of those
ads, was there a debate?

The campaign responded as planned.

Jumping around a bit: in your books, you’ve talked about what it was like to go through the Keating Five experience, and you’ve been quoted
as saying it was one of the worst experiences of your life. Someone else quoted you as saying it was even worse than being a POW …

That’s another one of those statements made 17 or 18 years ago which was out of the context of the conversation I was having. Of course the
worst, the toughest experience of my life was being imprisoned, so people can pluck phrases from 17 or 18 years ago …

I wasn’t suggesting it as a negative thing. I was just saying that …

I’m just suggesting it was taken out of context. I understand how comments are taken out of context from time to time. But obviously, the
toughest time of my life, physically and [in] every other way, would be the time that I almost died in prison camp. And I think most Americans
understand that.

How different are you from President Bush? Are you in step with your party? Are you independent from your party?

My record shows that I have put my country first and I follow the philosophy and traditions of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt and
Ronald Reagan. Sometimes that is not in keeping with the present Administration or my colleagues, but I’ve always put my country first,
whether it’s saying I didn’t support the decision to go to Lebanon or my fighting against the corruption in Washington or out-of-control
pork-barrel spending, which has led to members of Congress residing in federal prison. So I’ve always stood up for a set of principles and a
philosophy that I think have been pretty consistent over the years.

Your tougher line on Russia, which predated [the Russian invasion of Georgia], now to many looks prescient. Others say it’s indicative of a
belligerent approach to foreign policy that would perhaps further exacerbate the tensions being created with our allies and others around
the world under the Bush Administration. How do you respond to that critique?

Well, it reminds me of some of the arguments we went through when Ronald Reagan became President of the United States. I think Russian
behavior has been very clear, and I’ve pointed it out for quite a period of time, and the chronicle of their actions has been well known
since President [Vladimir] Putin came to power, and I believe that it’s very important that Russia behave in a manner befitting a very strong
nation. They’re not doing so at this time, so therefore I will criticize and in some cases — in the case of the aggression against
Georgia — condemn them.

You were a very enthusiastic supporter of the invasion of Iraq and, in the early stages, of the Bush Administration’s handling of the war.
Are those judgments you’d like to revisit?

Well, my record is clear. I believe that the world is better off without Saddam Hussein. I believe it’s clear that he had every
intention to acquire and use weapons of mass destruction. I can only imagine what Saddam Hussein would be doing with the wealth he would
acquire with oil at $110 and $120 a barrel. I was one of the first to point out the failure of strategy in Iraq under [former Defense
Secretary Donald] Rumsfeld. I was criticized for being disloyal to the Republicans and the President. I was the first to say I would lose a
campaign rather than lose a war. I supported the surge. No observer  over the last two years would say the surge hasn’t succeeded. I believe
we did the righ
t thing.

A lot of people know about your service from your books, but most people don’t know that you have two sons currently in the military. Can
you describe what it means to have Jack and Jimmy in uniform?

We don’t discuss our sons.

Look McCain, if you want to be President, you’d be learn to deal with the damn media AND Bloggers. Because if you continue this little trend of being a total prick to the main stream media, you might just find yourself beaten in a election, because the way I see it, as an Independent Conservative, I feel that if John McCain cannot handle the media, how is he going to handle Russia, How is he going to handle Iraq? How is he going to handle the daily grind of the day to day operations of the White House?

Of course, I expect that Mr. McSame will again use his P.O.W. status, which McCain and his campaign has been using as a damn crutch, as an excuse to be an grotchity old fool. Sorry, but this Conservative isn’t buying that line of nonsense.

In other words, change the attitude or get the hell out of the Presidential race sir.

New McCain Ad nails Obama on the kneecaps. (or worse….)

(H/T to Ed over at HotAir.com)

The deadly quote in this entire Ad is:

You know, I am a believer in … in knowing what you’re doing when you apply for a job. Uh, and I think that … if I were seriously to consider running on a national ticket, I would essentially have to start now, before having served a day in the Senate. Now there may be some people who are comfortable doing that, but I am not one of those people. — Barack Obama, 2004

Ouch!

Now some would say that McCain’s team is using words from before his decision to run for President. Which is a fair criticism, however, for those paying attention to this whole race, this could do some serious damage.

Now personally, I think that this is classic Republican fear-mongering. It could work, and then again, it could backfire. Because the only thing that team Barry would have to do, is put out an ad reminding America that George W. Bush had intelligence warning about attacks from Al-Qaeda, and basically did nothing, and then tie McCain to Bush. That would be deadly. But would be very effective.

My advice to McCain is step very lightly on this subject, because it could come back to haunt you. Especially using the terrorist images.

Others Blogging:
The Corner, Dr. Melissa Clouthier, Althouse and Macsmind

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My thoughts on Day 3 of the Democratic Convention

I am not supposed to write articles like this, I am a Libertarian Conservative. However, I am also an objective person and I believe both sides of these political isles deserve the same amount of fair treatment. Yes, I will be Blogging and writing about the Republican Convention as well. I will be criticizing what I feel to be overly lame. I will be Blogging about the good, the bad, and the downright ugly of the convention.

While I am pleased to see, that the Democratic Party was able to get a nomination without a floor fight, I am quite disappointed to see how that nomination took place. You see, the Democratic Party is supposed to be a party of principles. However, so far, during and throughout this entire election process, the Democratic Party is totally broken these founding principles of that party.

First off, they elected a Presidential nominee solely based upon a very fatal reasoning — popularity. As much as I would like to say that Barack Obama was elected based truly upon his qualifications, I cannot. Barack Obama’s nomination in the Democratic was based solely upon one thing and one thing only, Identity Politics. Barack Obama’s greatest achievement on politics and within Washington DC and the Democratic Party is that he is an ambitious African-American.

Now before anyone accuses me of being racist. Let me also say this, while I do feel things should have been done differently. I as well feel that there is time for change in this country; unfortunately, the Republicans are on the wrong end of that change. I am an honest enough Conservative to say that. I also believe that there is another reason for this nomination to happen. That reason can be summed up in a few simple words:

“Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop.

And I don’t mind.

Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land!” — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered 3 April 1968, Mason Temple (Church of God in Christ Headquarters), Memphis, Tennessee

I believe that finally, after many years, that the Democratic Party has finally after many years buried the racist bigotry of that party’s well-known past. That burial my friends, is a very good thing.

Joe Biden’s speech and Bill Clinton’s speech were both excellently executed. Bill Clinton gave the nod to the new Democratic Party. He knew that is what had to be done. Some may try to say that it was contrived, but I doubt it was at all. Joe Biden’s speech was cutting and may very well give the Democrats the bump that they need in the polls.

Overall, I believe it was a nice convention, it began a little weak, I felt. Nevertheless, it did end on a high note.

I look forward to seeing what the Republicans have to offer in the way of rebuttal and response. I do not expect to be overly dazzled, but I shall Blog about it and try my best, to be as objective as I can be.

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The Media accuses John McCain of being dishonest in his ads.

This is kind of an oddball story. Mainly, because the media, as always, is full of it and, as always, in the tank for Obama.

This comes via ABC NEWS:

We in the media have given a lot of airtime to the TV ads of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., this week, starring as they do Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY.

There’s been evidence emerging that McCain’s campaign isn’t really running these ads anywhere, according to the Campaign Media Analysis Group.

“These were basically video press releases,” CMAG’s Evan Tracey tells the Wall Street Journal.

OK, so that’s kind of dishonest of the McCain campaign.

Today’s new McCain ad — “Tiny,” which you can watch HERE — crosses a new line into dishonesty, however, beyond whether or not it’s actually airing anywhere.

The Ad in question:

The script of the Ad:

“Iran. Radical Islamic government. Known sponsors of terrorism. Developing nuclear capabilities to ‘generate power’ but threatening to eliminate Israel.

“Obama says Iran is a ‘tiny’ country, ‘doesn’t pose a serious threat,'” the ad continues. “Terrorism, destroying Israel, those aren’t ‘serious threats’? Obama — dangerously unprepared to be president.”

Well, golly gosh gee… Here’s Obama’s Words, first in Video:

and in Print:

“strong countries and strong Presidents talk to their adversaries. That’s what Kennedy did with Khrushchev. That’s what Reagan did with Gorbachev. That’s what Nixon did with Mao. I mean think about it. Iran, Cuba, Venezuela — these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union. They don’t pose a serious threat to us the way the Soviet Union posed a threat to us. And yet we were willing to talk to the Soviet Union at the time when they were saying, ‘We’re going to wipe you off the planet.’

“And ultimately that direct engagement led to a series of measures that helped prevent nuclear war, and over time allowed the kind of opening that brought down the Berlin Wall,” Obama continued. “Now, that has to be the kind of approach that we take. You know, Iran, they spend one-one hundredth of what we spend on the military. If Iran ever tried to pose a serious threat to us, they wouldn’t stand a chance. And we should use that position of strength that we have to be bold enough to go ahead and listen. That doesn’t mean we agree with them on everything. We might not compromise on any issues, but at least we should find out other areas of potential common interest, and we can reduce some of the tensions that has caused us so many problems around the world.”

So, Where is the dishonesty again? I fail to see it. What more can we expect from a communist liberal media?

Others: Macsmind

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