Congrats To The Winners

Best Christmas Gifts for 2008

2008-12-10T14:42:00.007-06:00

Now that the holidays are upon us, Christmas gifts are on everyone's mind. What to get for mom, what do we buy dad this year?

One thing is for sure, the most popular, best Christmas gifts this year will be electronic, as is the case in modern times.

Best Christmas Gifts for 2008 is a quick list of some of the best gifts for this year, based on sales rank and how well the product is selling at this time of the year.

One of the most popular gifts is the iPod of course.

When I bought my first ipod, I wish it had that much storage, 160 GBs of music is a lot to take with you.

If you are having a hard time deciding what to buy a loved one, take a look at the Best Christmas Gifts for 2008 and maybe you'll find something you think they'd enjoy.

Another hot item on the kids wishlist, and some adult gamers too, is the World of Warcraft expansion pack Wrath of the Lich King.

Times have changed since the old board game days when kids were lucky to get a Monopoly game, now everything is digital and electronic, but that's okay. Happy Holidays everyone.

Family Guy

2008-11-11T08:30:00.005-06:00

I was reading the news this morning having my coffee, and I read that Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Family Guy, has been given $100 million dollars to keep the popular cartoon going!

Do you watch Family Guy?

MacFarlane, 35, is creator and executive producer of "Family Guy," Fox's top-rated prime-time 'toon (yes, even more popular than "The Simpsons"), one of the all-time best-selling TV-on-DVD titles, and a show that spearheaded the digital-download video phenomenon.

So it's no wonder the studio recently served up a $100 million production deal to keep their "Family" man happy. MacFarlane also is at the helm of the Fox 'toon "American Dad!" and is working on a "Family Guy" spin-off series, "Cleveland."

"In all honesty, my representative said I could get that much money and I didn't stop him," MacFarlane said. "Can I spend a hundred million dollars? No. I'll spread it around a much as I can."

Spreading the wealth? Clearly, MacFarlane is an Obama man. He did some campaigning for the Democratic presidential candidate, and even took a shot at the Republican competition on "Family Guy."

Note how CNN takes a stab at him for supporting Barack Obama.

The guy is definitely a winner. Not that many people have been that successful with a cartoon, and it has taken lots of hard work and sacrifice.

Despite the amount of wealth he has acquired, he still sounds "down to Earth." When asked how the $100 million could change his life, Seth replied, "Nothing I can do can really live up to that amount of money on a daily basis, so my view of it ... (is that) I gave them all of my 20s, which are irretrievable. (I put my) heart and soul into that show, and, in turn, they give me $100 million. I think that's fair. One of those is replaceable, the other isn't."

Who Killed The Electric Car?

2008-11-10T13:10:00.002-06:00

As I read the news about the auto makers industry needing a possible bailout, I cannot help but recall this DVD I watched awhile back.

If you have any doubt that we should have had electric cars already, and have wondered whether the idea of cars fueled by electricity has been swept under the rug by the very companies who need help now, take a look at this DVD.

Who Killed The Electric Car? is a great documentary, and you will nejoy it if you are looking for info on this fascinating topic.

Here is the brief description I read before watching it:

In 1996, electric cars began to appear on roads all over California. They were quiet and fast, produced no exhaust and ran without gasoline. Ten years later, these futuristic cars were almost entirely gone. What happened? Why should we be haunted by the ghost of the electric car?

Do yourself a favor and educate yourself about elecric cars, why we should already have them and how they were swept under the rug so Hummers could be sold.

Lots of cameo appearances by movie stars who owned prototypes of the cars and loved them! Martin Sheen, Mel Gibson and more.

Get your copy of Who Killed The Electric Car? today.

OBAMA WINS PRESIDENCY!

2008-11-04T22:04:00.003-06:00

Well America, we did it.

Barack Obama wins the presidency

I posted this before: Barack Obama Wins Presidency And hoped it would come true... and it has.

The world will never look at America the same. Hopefully, this will take our country in a better direction. Other countries will see us different now. And we proved we can look past skin color and elect a president.

Say it, get used to it: President Barack Obama.

Congrats to the winners

Back From Voting

2008-11-04T12:10:00.004-06:00

I just walked in from standing in line almost two hours to cast my vote on Election Day!

Here is a picture I snapped just a few moments after arriving.

The line went straight ahead and then curved around the school building. The line went from the voting machines, all the way to the street. People near us said they had been there earlier and the line was much longer, but went home and came back.

As I mentioned, the wait was over an hour and a half, but not quite two hours. From leaving the house and getting back home was close to two hours, as the drive was not that far.

And yes, I voted for Barack Obama.

Election Day

2008-11-04T07:19:00.002-06:00

The day is here, it has finally come. It is time to elect a new President of the United States.

Who will you be voting for?

I do not consider myself a democrat, and although I can have some conservative thoughts when it comes to balancing the budget and wasteful spending of tax dollars, I am a Libertarian.

However, I have learned my lesson from the past and have decided to vote Democrat this go round and will be voting for Barack Obama. Why? If I went into some long diatribe about it, it wouldn't make a difference here, or anywhere. The reasons do not really even matter anymore.

The race is not just between Barack Obama and John McCain, but I really feel if I do not vote for one of those candidates I may be allowing a room for margin that would allow John McCain to snatch the Presidency, simply because of split and decisive voters placing votes for candidates who basically have no chance of winning.

At first I really thought I would vote for Obama simply because I felt he would do a better job than McCain. But after watching McCain's nasty election campaign, the way his party has used racist images and propaganda, I am now going to vote Obama, to vote AGAINST McCain. I place my vote with Barack Obama because I like him, but also because now I do NOT want McCain to win. I feel he will do more harm than good to this country.

At first I thought both candidates were running a nice campaign, but then McCain's advertising became so nasty, the local Republicans running for office started bashing Obama in their local ads and it just got worse and worse. That is not something that sways people like me to their side of the argument.

As I said, it's too late for reasons, it's time to vote. It's time to put your money where your mouth is and pull the crank. Flick the switch, pull the lever. Take the ride.

It's going to be a long day for some people, and I can't wait to see the results.

Palin Hurting McCain

2008-11-03T06:55:00.002-06:00

Is Sarah Palin going to cost John Mccain the election?

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A new national poll suggests Sarah Palin may be hurting Republican presidential nominee John McCain more than she's helping him.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Sunday indicates McCain's running mate is growing less popular among voters and may be costing him a few crucial percentage points in the race for the White House.

Fifty-seven percent of likely voters questioned in the poll said Palin does not have the personal qualities a president should have. That's up 8 points since September.

Fifty-three percent say she does not agree with them on important issues. That's also higher than September.

"Just after the GOP convention in early September, 53 percent said they would vote for Palin over Joe Biden if there were a separate vote for vice president. Now, Biden would beat Palin by 12 points if the running mates were chosen in a separate vote," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.

Despite the SNL imitations and appearances, sometimes America needs more than just a foksy soccer mom to run the United States of America.

The Republicans should have thought more about the running mate in the 2008 election.

Exxon

2008-10-30T09:46:00.005-05:00

Exxon has made the highest ever quarterly profit by a US company. If anyone is a winner, it is Exxon, not the people having to pay the price of gas in America.

"Exxon Mobil made a profit of $14.83bn (£8.97bn) between July and September, smashing its own record for the highest quarterly profit by a US company."

According to the BBC: Another record profit for Exxon

In the second quarter this year, when oil prices were still rising, the oil giant made a profit of $11.68bn.

The new record represents a 58% rise on profits compared with the same period last year.

Profit for the first nine months of this year was $37.4bn, up 29% on the same period last year.

The $1.6bn sale of a natural gas transportation business in Germany helped boost profits.

Meanwhile, because of his gas prices, Americans are struggling to pay the cost of gas...

Rex W Tillerson, chief executive of the company, said: "Exxon Mobil's strong results demonstrate the continued success of our disciplined business approach."

I bet the increase of profit has more to do with them raising the cost of gas to over $4 a gallon, which is probably what they refer to by "disciplined business approach."

It comes as no surprise Exxon is making record profits, the highest corporate quarterly profits in history, at a time when America are paying more than ever at the pump. When families are spending more than $100 per week just to get to and from work, yeah, Exxon is doing well...

Reagan's War

2008-10-24T08:11:00.004-05:00

Last night I decided to watch In the Face of Evil - Reagan's War in Word and Deed.

Due to my age, I was not really following politics during the Ronald Reagan presidency, but have seen many people talk good about him, and other people talk about him in a very negative manner. he battle against "evil" seems startlingly similar to what is happening right now in the world, except instead of "communism," the enemy of our time is "terrorism." As I watched it, I pointed out numerous times, "sounds like this year" or "they're still doing it." People like George Bush Sr. and Henry Kissinger are indeed still wielding influence in this country.

Here is the description I read before viewing this DVD.

Two time award winner for Best Documentary of 2004, In the Face of Evil: Reagan's War in Word and Deed is about a man and nation's courageous journey through the heart of darkness and how that journey inspires us today. This film is not a traditional biopic of Ronald Reagan, but a hard-hitting exploration of leadership and moral courage. Based on Reagan's War, Peter Schweizer's acclaimed bestseller, In the Face of Evil, pits the brutality of totalitarian communism against Reagan s inflexible passion to see freedom s light shine on all the people of the world. The film s timeless lessons inspire us as a call to action. Ronald Reagan's legacy gives us courage to stand tall despite our enemy's harshest aggressions and to never waver in the face of evil.

As usual, this DVD is filled with old footage, countless clips from old speeches, and military footage.

I do not like the "good versus evil" attitude he had, and I can see it in the world today. He used the word "god" and "let us pray" way too much to be a President. If he wanted to be a priest, he should have went that route in his career, and not chose politics.

I had to chuckle hearing him refer to himself as a "liberal democrat" though, I bet that speech makes all the Republicans tense up. yes, your hero Ronnie Reagan was a "liberal" until he flip flopped on his party, and decided to drive America into the military industrial complex it is seated in now.

McCain & Palin Makeup Cost

2008-10-23T11:08:00.006-05:00

How much do you think it costs to make John McCain look "good" enough on camera? How much do you think Sarah Palin spends a month on makeup?

You might be surprised to find out McCain outspends Palin on makeup costs per month, by thousands of dollars!

John McCain makeup bill costs over $12,000 per month. Sarah Palin trails him, costing about $8,600, according to Sydney Morning Herald.

Adding to the ticket's headaches, it was disclosed that Senator McCain spent $US8672.55 ($12,900) last month for the services of the American Idol make-up artist Tifanie White.

While Mrs Palin spent more, the Arizona senator, 72, who has prominent scars from battling cancer, requires more work than does the more naturally telegenic Mrs Palin, 44.

Her travelling make-up artist is Amy Strozzi, who was nominated for an Emmy Award for her work as head of make-up on So You Think You Can Dance. Ms Strozzi was paid $US13,200 by the McCain-Palin campaign last month alone, according to the campaign's latest financial disclosure report filed this week.

The two politicians employ Emmy award-winning makeup artists to cater to their demanding fashion needs.

Between the two candidates, they spend $20,000 a month on makeup, or employing makeup artists.

Piper Palin's $800 Purse

2008-10-23T09:53:00.003-05:00

Since Sarah Palin has made the headlines with her recent, $150,000 shopping spree, paid for by Republican donations, it seems even little Piper Palin is a winner in this election.

Mommy got to spend $75,000 at Neiman Marcus, and over $50,000 at other stores, but Piper palin, who hasn't attended much school this year, got her a Louis Vuitton purse that cost $800.

To be honest, I can understand why Sarah Palin needed a makeover... I have seen what she wore before she was tapped to run for vice president. And I assure you, she dressed as tacky as Britney Spears did... proof?

Here is a picture showing both Sarah Palin and Britney Spears wearing dresses with knee high boots. Can we say redneck?

I may not be a fashion expert, but I know it looks tacky to wear these dresses with boots. Palin has been forced to change her look, and the Republicans are paying for it, with your donations, if you donated to them this year.

A lot of money has gone into making Sarah Palin look the way she does, but why would the RNC be paying for Piper Palin's Louis Vuitton handbag?

Either way, Piper Palin is the winner here, what other 7 year olds do you know that get to hold their crayons and toys in a purse that cost $800?

Sports vs. Politics

2008-10-21T19:29:00.005-05:00

The other day I went to my brothers house, he was having a sports game party, and even though I do not follow sports I wanted to drop in and say hi.

Upon entering the living room, I asked if anyone was going to watch the final presidential debate, or if they had watched any of the local politician debates. Not a single person was going to watch any of them, had watched any of them, and could barely even show interest in my question, as their eyes were glued to the television screen. The high definition cheerleader skirts waving in the wind on the screen had their attention, not me.

This brief, but informing encounter, lead me to want to write this entry: "sports versus politics."

My brother, like many, has zero interest in politics. He is apathetic towards voting, and doesn't follow politics at all.

To me, politics is much like sports, somewhat more exciting. To be honest, watching guys throw a ball around, either on a field or court, has never managed to get my attention for longer than five seconds.

I guess I feel the same way about sports, as some do about politics. I think sports, or watching them, are boring. Some people really enjoy watching a game, watching people compete. I'd rather watch a political documentary. Some people can stare at cable sports channels for hours, all day, every night, and never get bored. I cannot sit through an entire football game on television, even if I was on a date with the hottest female football fan on Earth. Sports bore me, as politics bores others.

Politics, on the other hand, is a sport, or game, played in the real world, for real money. Sure, there may not be full contact in politics, but many people have been shot or killed in the political world, and I find that type of playing field much more exciting. I enjoy watching the latest Republican scandal come to light, the latest Senator busted with cocaine and cheating on his wife. The dirtier the headline, the better.

While I admit, the political world could use some cheerleaders, the two (politics and sports) are very similar and I guess attract different types of people, interested in different things. Some like to watch men and women compete for points or score a touchdown. I like to watch men and women compete for power, and enjoy reading the scandal that follows, when they abuse that power.

Meth Heads Plan Assassination

2008-10-20T17:57:00.003-05:00

Here's a little advice for the meth addicts in the audience, next time you get high, don't plan to kill anyone.

This entry is about three idiots, who got high on meth, and then began planning the assassination of Barack Obama. Can you think of anything more stupid?

Times Online reports:

Three white supremacists with a sniper rifle and high on drugs who were arrested near the Democratic convention in Denver wanted to assassinate Barack Obama, US authorities said last night.

The FBI and the US Secret Service carried out an “intensive” investigation into the plot — in which the supremacists talked of shooting Mr Obama as he accepted the Democratic presidential nomination in an open-air sports stadium on Thursday night — but found insufficient evidence of a “true threat”.

One of the suspects, Shawn Adolph, 33, was connected to a high-velocity Ruger sniper rifle seized during a series of early morning arrests on Monday and had made clear threats and “racial slurs” against Mr Obama, Troy Eid, Denver’s US district attorney said.

Who would've though, a white supremacist with the name Adolf?

The spectre of assassination arose in May when Hillary Clinton had to apologise after appearing to suggest that the assassination of Robert Kennedy in 1968 during his presidential campaign was a good reason for her staying in the race. Mr Obama is often compared to John F. Kennedy. But it is his skin colour that has added to concerns in a country that has more than 200 million legally held firearms and 30,000 gun deaths each year.

Mr Eid said: “It is a serious federal crime to make a threat against a presidential candidate.” But he added that the three men arrested in connection with the plot had been abusing the drug methamphetamine when they discussed the possibility of killing Mr Obama.

“From a legal standpoint, the law recognizes a difference between between a true threat and the racist rantings of drug abusers,” Mr Eid said. “The alleged threat does not warrant charges at this time but we are keeping an open mind.

I am not sure I agree with the "true threat" theory though. If they had a plan, and had not executed it, yet, how does that free them from assassination related charges? I guess, when you're high on drugs, you can say anything or plan anything you want, including shooting someone? This is not just one drug addict ranting to himself in a room, these are three people planning a murder, nothing else.

The three men — Mr Adolph, his cousin Tharin Gartrell, 28, and Nathan Johnson, 32, have long criminal records for illegal gun possession, drug dealing and theft. There were multiple outstanding warrants for their arrest and all three were being held on drug and firearms charges last night.

The alleged plot received serious attention after an extraordinary jail-cell interview with local television by Mr Johnson, who said that his associates had planned to assassinate Mr Obama as he accepted the Democratic presidential nomination in the 75,000-seat openair Invesco sports stadium on Thursday.

Mr Johnson also told police that the plan had been to shoot Mr Obama “from a high vantage point using a rifle sighted at 750 yards”.

Due to their history of illegal guns, I think these guys should be watched a bit more, and not just released because they were high on meth when they stated their plans.

Voter Fraud

2008-10-19T21:18:00.003-05:00

The Republicans and John McCain are trying real hard to connect Barack Obama to voter fraud. The problem is, Obama hasn't done any wrong. Companies are hired by both Democrats and Republicans to gather votes, and here is the latest news regarding Republican toes to voter fraud.

From: GOP voter registration fraud case leads to arrest

The owner of a firm that the California Republican Party hired to register tens of thousands of voters this year was arrested in Ontario late last night on suspicion of voter registration fraud.

State and local investigators allege that Mark Jacoby fraudulently registered himself to vote at a childhood California address where he no longer lives so he would appear to meet the legal requirement that signature gatherers be eligible to vote in California.

How much voter fraud has gone on through this company?

How tied is the Republican party to this group?

If McCain and the Republicans want to portray Barack Obama as taking part in voter fraud, when they themselves are connected to companies committing the same offenses. Possibly even worse?

From: McCain renews claims of voter fraud

Republicans are stepping up pressure on election authorities over alleged voter fraud by a grassroots group with past ties to Barack Obama, setting the stage for a potential legal battle should the Democrat win next month's election by a narrow margin.

Maybe McCain should keep clean out the skeletons in his own closet before accusing Barack Obama of doing anything fraudulent.

Not only did this company commit voter fraud, they actually tricked people into registering "Republican." And were paid for each voter they registered.

Jacoby's arrest by state investigators and the Ontario Police Department comes after dozens of voters said they were duped into registering as Republicans by his firm, Young Political Majors, or YPM. The voters said YPM tricked them by saying they were signing a petition to toughen penalties against child molesters. The firm was paid $7 to $12 for every Californian it registered as a member of the GOP.

Several agencies had launched investigations into Jacoby's activities, including the Los Angeles County district attorney's office, which issued the warrant for his arrest earlier this month on felony charges of voter registration fraud and perjury.

Sounds like McCain and the Republicans have been up to their own voter fraud tricks?

McCain has ridden the news soundbytes with "ACORN," now let's see how he faces his own voter fraud case.

Colin Powell Endorses Barack Obama

2008-10-19T08:51:00.005-05:00

The moment many have been waiting for.

According to the BBC:

US President George W Bush's first Secretary of State, Colin Powell, has endorsed Democratic election candidate Barack Obama for the White House.

He backed his fellow African-American over John McCain, the Republican Party's choice to succeed Mr Bush in the 4 November election.

He told NBC Mr Obama had the "ability to inspire" and was "inclusive".

"All Americans... not just African-Americans" would be proud of an Obama win, he argued.

He nails it. Barack Obama inspires people, can bring about unity and change. People are tired of the same old divisive politics in America.

We want to vote for someone who can help us get this country back on track.

As more news articles come out about this, we will get a glimpse into his reasoning behind this endorsement, but the certainly adds to the excitement of this election.

From CNN: Colin Powell endorses Obama

"I think he is a transformational figure, he is a new generation coming onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Sen. Barack Obama," Powell said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

"I think that's inappropriate. I understand what politics is about -- I know how you can go after one another, and that's good. But I think this goes too far, and I think it has made the McCain campaign look a little narrow. It's not what the American people are looking for," he said.

"Obama displayed a steadiness, an intellectual curiosity, a depth of knowledge," Powell said.

"He has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president," he said.

Above are some quotes from Colin Powell about Barack Obama and why he endorses him.

What do you think of this highly public endorsement?

Obama Speaks To 100,000 In Missouri

2008-10-18T20:58:00.002-05:00

Barack Obama gave a speech to 100,000 at a Saturday rally in Missouri. Marking the biggest crowd at one of his U.S. events.

Look at the size of that crowd! Amazing.

From WSJ Blog: Obama Rally Draws 100,000 in Missouri

The crowd assembled under the Gateway Arch on a sunny Saturday afternoon to hear Obama speak about taxes and slam the Republicans on economic issues.

Lt. Samuel Dotson of the St. Louis Police Department confirmed the number of attendees piled into the grassy lawn by the Mississippi River.

To be sure, big crowds don’t always signal a big turnout on Election Day. But Obama’s ability to draw his largest audience yet in a typically red state that just weeks ago looked out of reach, could signal a changing electoral map.

For months Missouri polls put Obama as much as ten percentage points behind Republican John McCain. It was widely believed that McCain’s pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate would have won over the state’s conservatives and boosted his chances there. So far, that hasn’t happened.

I think it says a lot about Barack Obama, that he is able to draw such large crowds and inspire so many Americans to actually get involved in the political process.

Many Americans have grown cynical towards politics, and many would rather watch sports than vote. But we are all working on changing that, and when elections such as this draw so much attention, it helps get more people involved, sometimes those who would normally be doing something else.

Chicago Tribune Endorses Obama

2008-10-18T19:34:00.004-05:00

The first time it has endorsed a Democrat.

However this election turns out, it will dramatically advance America's slow progress toward equality and inclusion. It took Abraham Lincoln's extraordinary courage in the Civil War to get us here. It took an epic battle to secure women the right to vote. It took the perseverance of the civil rights movement. Now we have an election in which we will choose the first African-American president . . . or the first female vice president.

In recent weeks it has been easy to lose sight of this history in the making. Americans are focused on the greatest threat to the world economic system in 80 years. They feel a personal vulnerability the likes of which they haven't experienced since Sept. 11, 2001. It's a different kind of vulnerability. Unlike Sept. 11, the economic threat hasn't forged a common bond in this nation. It has fed anger, fear and mistrust.

On Nov. 4 we're going to elect a president to lead us through a perilous time and restore in us a common sense of national purpose.

The strongest candidate to do that is Sen. Barack Obama. The Tribune is proud to endorse him today for president of the United States.

Obviously the best part is the end, but its worth reading the whole thing.

The Tribune in its earliest days took up the abolition of slavery and linked itself to a powerful force for that cause--the Republican Party. The Tribune's first great leader, Joseph Medill, was a founder of the GOP. The editorial page has been a proponent of conservative principles. It believes that government has to serve people honestly and efficiently.

With that in mind, in 1872 we endorsed Horace Greeley, who ran as an independent against the corrupt administration of Republican President Ulysses S. Grant. (Greeley was later endorsed by the Democrats.) In 1912 we endorsed Theodore Roosevelt, who ran as the Progressive Party candidate against Republican President William Howard Taft.

The Tribune's decisions then were driven by outrage at inept and corrupt business and political leaders.

We see parallels today.

The Republican Party, the party of limited government, has lost its way. The government ran a $237 billion surplus in 2000, the year before Bush took office -- and recorded a $455 billion deficit in 2008. The Republicans lost control of the U.S. House and Senate in 2006 because, as we said at the time, they gave the nation rampant spending and Capitol Hill corruption. They abandoned their principles. They paid the price.

The give reasons why they do not endorse McCain.

We might have counted on John McCain to correct his party's course. We like McCain. We endorsed him in the Republican primary in Illinois. In part because of his persuasion and resolve, the U.S. stands to win an unconditional victory in Iraq.

It is, though, hard to figure John McCain these days. He argued that President Bush's tax cuts were fiscally irresponsible, but he now supports them. He promises a balanced budget by the end of his first term, but his tax cut plan would add an estimated $4.2 trillion in debt over 10 years. He has responded to the economic crisis with an angry, populist message and a misguided, $300 billion proposal to buy up bad mortgages.

McCain failed in his most important executive decision. Give him credit for choosing a female running mate--but he passed up any number of supremely qualified Republican women who could have served. Having called Obama not ready to lead, McCain chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. His campaign has tried to stage-manage Palin's exposure to the public. But it's clear she is not prepared to step in at a moment's notice and serve as president. McCain put his campaign before his country.

The Chicago Tribune also states why it has chosen Obama.

We do, though, think Obama would govern as much more of a pragmatic centrist than many people expect.

And a great ending

Obama is deeply grounded in the best aspirations of this country, and we need to return to those aspirations. He has had the character and the will to achieve great things despite the obstacles that he faced as an unprivileged black man in the U.S.

He has risen with his honor, grace and civility intact. He has the intelligence to understand the grave economic and national security risks that face us, to listen to good advice and make careful decisions.

When Obama said at the 2004 Democratic Convention that we weren't a nation of red states and blue states, he spoke of union the way Abraham Lincoln did.

It may have seemed audacious for Obama to start his campaign in Springfield, invoking Lincoln. We think, given the opportunity to hold this nation's most powerful office, he will prove it wasn't so audacious after all. We are proud to add Barack Obama's name to Lincoln's in the list of people the Tribune has endorsed for president of the United States.

Good job, and go Obama!

McCain RoboCalls

2008-10-17T20:44:00.004-05:00

Have you gotten one of these McCain "robocalls" everyone is talking about? Things are heating up on the campaign trail. The McCain campaign is getting aggressive, more than ever.

ABC News' Teddy Davis and Rigel Anderson report: Embattled Republican Sen. Susan Collins is calling on Sen. John McCain to stop paying for automated phone calls which describe Sen. Barack Obama as having "worked closely" with "domestic terrorist Bill Ayers."

"These kind of tactics have no place in Maine politics," said Collins spokesman Kevin Kelley. "Sen. Collins urges the McCain campaign to stop these calls immediately."

We shall file this one under "propaganda."

Ayers is the former leader of the Weather Underground. To protest the Vietnam War, his organization ran a domestic bombing campaign which resulted in fatalities.

Obama, who was 8 years old at the time, has repudiated those acts as "despicable." Friday's statement from the Collins campaign came after Maine's Democratic Party issued a press release earlier in the day challenging the Republican incumbent to denounce what it called "blatantly false phone calls personally attacking" Obama.

Collins' Democratic opponent was not satisfied.

"If she truly feels that strongly about it," said Carol Andrews, communications director to Democratic Rep. Tom Allen, "she should resign as co-chair of McCain's campaign in Maine."

Here is the transcript of the McCain Robocall.

"Hello. I'm calling for John McCain and the RNC because you need to know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, whose organization bombed the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, a judge's home and killed Americans. And Democrats will enact an extreme leftist agenda if they take control of Washington. Barack Obama and his Democratic allies lack the judgment to lead our country. This call was paid for by McCain-Palin 2008 and the Republican National Committee at 202-863-8500."

How effective are these types of things during an election?

Republican Vito Fossella Drunk Driving & Having Affair

2008-10-17T20:00:00.005-05:00

What's worse than getting busted drinking and driving? Getting busted for drinking and driving and having an affair at the same time. Ooooops!

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A judge has has convicted Rep. Vito Fossella of drunken driving and will later decide if he should serve time in jail.

The New York Republican was arrested May 1 in the suburbs outside Washington, leading to revelations he had fathered a child from an extramarital affair. After the scandal, he decided not to seek re-election.

Alexandria, Va., General District Court Judge Becky Moore found Fossella guilty, and scheduled a Dec. 8 hearing to decide if prosecutors had met the legal requirement for high blood alcohol content, which would mean a mandatory five-day jail sentence.

Rep. Vito Fossella, on trial for drunken driving, insisted from the witness stand Friday that he had only two glasses of wine the night he was busted. He sought to clear himself in a case that derailed a promising political career and may lead to time in jail.

"I had no more than a glass and a half" of wine with dinner, plus a few more sips of wine at a tavern in the hours before he was arrested, Fossella testified.

Fossella, the lone Republican in Congress from New York City, was arrested just after midnight on May 1 in suburban Virginia. He had spent the previous afternoon at the White House celebrating the New York Giants' Super Bowl victory.

"There was a strong odor of alcoholic beverage coming from the car and his lips were stained red," police officer Jamie Gernatt testified in Alexandria General District Court. The police officer said Fossella told him he'd had two or three glasses of wine.

The non-jury trial was expected to take a day. Police say his blood-alcohol level was 0.17 percent, and under state law anyone convicted of having a BAC above 0.15 must serve a mandatory five-day jail term.

Doesn't every person busted for DUI claim "all I had was a beer or two officer." LOL

Police said the married 43-year-old told them he was headed to see his sick daughter. Given that his wife and children live in New York, that statement set off alarms and eventually led to the revelation he had secretly fathered a daughter, now 3 years old, with a Virginia woman named Laura Fay, a former Air Force officer and congressional liaison.

After admitting the relationship, Fossella announced he would not seek re-election, a drastic fall for a politician once viewed as a potential mayor of New York City. His downfall has also created an opportunity for Democrats to gain a seat in Congress in November.

Fossella's troubles have only further hurt his state party's election chances next month. If a Democrat wins Fossella's seat, it will mark the first time in 35 years that all of New York City has been represented by Democrats.

Vito Fossella busted for drinking and driving and having an affair.

Former UCLA exec pleads guilty to body trafficking

2008-10-17T19:03:00.002-05:00

Go ahead an file this one under "creepy." Here is another winner for Friday night.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The former chief of UCLA's cadaver program pleaded guilty Friday for his role in selling donated body parts to medical, drug and research companies in a scheme that netted up to $1 million, prosecutors said.

Henry Reid, 58, pleaded guilty in Los Angeles County Superior Court to one count of conspiracy to commit grand theft, with a special allegation that he damaged or destroyed more than $1 million worth of school property, which refers to the donated bodies.

Under a plea agreement, Reid could be sentenced to four years and four months in state prison. He also agreed to cooperate in the trial of a co-defendant and to repay $100,000 to $1 million to the program at the University of California, Los Angeles, according to a statement from the county district attorney's office.

A judge will determine the actual restitution figure, the statement said.

"My client accepted responsibility for the mistake he made concerning his activities as director of the Willed Body Program at UCLA and is extremely remorseful about the situation," his attorney, Melvyn Sacks, said after the hearing. "He deeply regrets the outcome of his actions."

The "mistake?" How do you make the mistake of selling people's body parts after they are dead??? Sounds like it took a little more than an accident to negotiate and sell that amount of body limbs and organs.

Prosecutors said Reid sold hundreds of parts of donated bodies between 1999 and 2004 to Ernest Nelson, who operated a business transporting body parts. Nelson then resold them to more than 20 medical, drug and research companies, prosecutors said.

Nelson has said he believed he was acting under the university's authorization when he received the donated torsos. He cut them up and kept the frozen parts in a rented warehouse until they were sold.

The scheme unraveled in 2003 after a state health investigator became concerned about a sale and contacted the university. Reid and Nelson were arrested in 2004, then freed while an investigation continued.

The men eventually were indicted on one count each of conspiracy to commit grand theft and one count each of grand theft and grand theft of personal property. The remaining theft counts against Reid will be dismissed at his Jan. 30 sentencing hearing as part of his plea deal, prosecutors said.

Am I the only one that is creeped out by this?

UCLA said it instituted new procedures to prevent future abuses, including new donor forms and security and tracking systems for the bodies.

yeah, hopefully the school can put an end to this type of activity. Man that is creepy.

Muslim Students Fakes Attack

2008-10-17T16:56:00.003-05:00

It looks like we have a great winner for Friday night. Just when you thought there wasn't enough race based attacks in the world, here comes a student to fake one and stir up some racial tension.

(Sun Times) A Muslim student who claimed she was attacked at Elmhurst College in what school officials described as a hate crime has now been charged with making up the story.

Safia Z. Jilani, 19, of Oak Brook, told police that on Oct. 9, a masked, male attacker struck her in the head with a handgun about after she entered a restroom in the Schaible Science Center on campus, according to a release from Elmhurst police.

Police found threatening graffiti -- "Kill the Muslims" -- written on a mirror in the restroom, students and police said. Earlier Thursday, the victim had spoken at a demonstration called to denounce anti-Islamic slurs and a swastika she had discovered Oct. 2 on her locker, school officials said.

But late Friday afternoon, Elmhurst police announced that a weeklong investigation determined the assault never occurred,there was no gunman and Jilani was arrested on a warrant for filing a false police report, a Class 4 felony punishable by up to 3 years in prison.

The initial report of the attack triggered a lockdown at the college while police searched the campus and prompted hundreds of students to rally again the following day to protest the incident.

Officials at the 3,300-student private college -- which has about 30 Muslim students -- denounced the attack and promised to increase security on campus, including offers of rides for Muslim students to and from classes.

Uh oh. So did she draw the swastika on her locker or did someone else?

Uncounted: The New Math Of American Elections

2008-10-17T07:24:00.005-05:00

With the excitement building over the upcoming Presidential Election on November 4, 2008, I decided to give Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections a viewing last night.

Here's the brief description I read before I sat down to watch it...

Filmmaker David Earnhardt takes a close look at the state of America's electoral process and presents unnerving evidence that fraud at every level is disenfranchising voters across the nation. Featuring candid interviews with election officials, journalists, statisticians, computer programmers and others, this persuasive documentary also examines the scandals surrounding the 2004 presidential election.

All I knew going into it, was that the documentary was about elections, and the counting of votes using electronic voting machines.

If you are unfamiliar with the controversy surrounding electronic voting machines, the company Diebold, and the 2004 election, you really should check this one out. Diebold received so much negative publicity regarding the voting machines bugged with problems, they have since changed their company name to: Premier Election Solutions Inc.

I understand why the country has begun moving towards electronic voting machines, however, I do not understand why there is no paper trail. The company behind the machines, in this DVD, is Diebold, the same company who makes ATM machines. ATM Machines keep an internal auditable log and can be traced. Why should our voting machines, made by this same company, be unable to be audited or counted if there is an issue. Essentially, once votes are cast, there is no proof of them and no way to verify or count them afterward in the event of a problem.

Electronic voting machines should print out a paper, showing all your votes, you should be able to look that over, and then drop that in a ballot box. Not have it all stored in memory on a machine, that has proven to fail. I am concerned more than ever that the Republican ties to the companies who make these voting machines, has in fact, been used to "flip votes" in favor of Republican politicians. Why would I think that?

The man, Clint Curtis is in the documentary, who was employed to write software for these voting machines blows the whistle in this DVD. He became aware something was wrong when his employer wanted him to make the "vote flipping" part of the software source code to be hidden or non-traceable. He voiced his concern, and was told, "you don't understand, this is to flip the election in Florida." Now, if you remember Florida was the state that basically gave George Bush the 2004 election. If he had not won Florida, there is a chance the entire election would have come out differently.

Other examples of clear vote fraud, is shown in a town where only 800 or so people voted, yet Bush was given 4,200+ votes from that precinct. Something a little strange going on? Certainly, and this DVD will open your eyes to the blatant voter fraud taking place in our modern elections.

Why do electronic voting machines not give us a paper trail? Something we can count afterward? Voting machines are built to the exact opposite of standards that ATM machines are manufactured to. ATM machines can be audited and every bit of info or transaction leaves a record so someone can analyze the machine and its numbers if there is ever a problem. Why would a company, that builds such systems, go out of their way, to make voting machines hold no record, keep no trace or trail of events? There is only one reason, to hide what is going on inside.

In this documentary, you see public officials who have been fired for making inquiries into these voting machines, and you can see many of the connections between certain politicians and the company who makes the machines and more. Bruce Funk is locked out of his office, an elected official, while Diebold denies him access to the machines so they can edit the software and remove the "flip virus." This is an amazing inside look into what is going on in America regarding the vote counting process.

I will leave you with the description from the box:

UNCOUNTED is an explosive documentary that shows how the election fraud that changed the outcome of the 2004 election led to even greater fraud in 2006 - and now looms as an unbridled threat to the outcome of the 2008 election. This controversial film examines in factual, logical, and yet startling terms how easy it is to change election outcomes and undermine election integrity across the U.S. Noted computer programmers, statisticians, journalists, and experienced election officials provide the irrefutable proof.

UNCOUNTED shares well documented stories about the spine-chilling disregard for the right to vote in America. In Florida, computer programmer Clint Curtis is directed by his boss to create software that will 'flip' votes from one candidate to another. In Utah, County Clerk Bruce Funk is locked out of his office for raising questions about security flaws in electronic voting machines. Californian Steve Heller gets convicted of a felony after he leaks secret documents detailing illegal activities committed by a major voting machine company. And Tennessean entrepreneur, Athan Gibbs, finds verifiable voting a hard sell in America and dies before his dream of honest elections can be realized.

UNCOUNTED is a wakeup call to all Americans. Beyond increasing public awareness, the film inspires greater involvement in fixing a broken electoral system.

You should watch this before the upcoming election if you have concerns regarding electronic voting machines.

Get your copy of UNCOUNTED: The New Math Of American Elections before the election.

Obama Bucks

2008-10-16T19:33:00.005-05:00

Ever since Sean Hannity said that "no one in the Republican party had resorted to fear or race" in this campaign, I have made it my duty to document the blatant racist adverts being put out via the internet, by the Republicans. Here is the latest, sent out by official Republican mailing.

Obama Bucks

According to PE.com:

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."

What about this image, doesn't contain elements of fear and race?

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."

Of course she, "doesn't want to go into it further."

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."

Not only was this from a chain-letter already being circulated by Republicans, she decided to make copies and forward the propaganda to all her members. Who sent it to her originally? In addition, she doesn't think in racist terms? It's like the racism just goes over their head or something, like they don't even notice it... amazing.

But Black Republican members of the group noticed... and were upset by it.

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."

I can only imagine something like this would offend black members.

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.

Again, take notice that this is taking place in the liberal West, California to be exact, and this shows racism is everywhere.

Joe the Plumber

2008-10-16T17:47:00.004-05:00

Things aren't looking so good again for McCain. A lot of news has been made about this Joe The Plumber guy. A citizen on the campaign trail, who got the attention of the media by posing a question to Barack Obama regarding raising his taxes. Come to find out...

According to Eisenstadt's blog:

John McCain did great tonight in the debate. But every time John mentioned “Joe the Plumber,” some of us in the campaign banged our heads against the wall. If Steve Schmidt had any hair left, I hear he would have been pulling it out tonight. He reportedly screamed at John’s debate prep team tonight (out of earshot of reporters, of course). “You idiots - he’s related to Charles Keating… of the Keating Five scandal!” They thought they had a real live Joe Six-Pack who’s spurned Barack Obama’s tax plan. But what they forgot to do was check on Joe Wurzelbacher’s background.

Turns out that Joe Wurzelbacher from the Toledo event is a close relative of Robert Wurzelbacher of Milford, Ohio. Who’s Robert Wurzelbacher? Only Charles Keating’s son-in-law and the former senior vice president of American Continental, the parent company of the infamous Lincoln Savings and Loan. The now retired elder Wurzelbacher is also a major contributor to Republican causes giving well over $10,000 in the last few years.

Barack Obama took the high road in the final presidential debate by not retorting with the Keating Five scandal when McCain brought up William Ayers of the Weather Underground. But now it (the relationship between Mccain, Keating, Joe the Plumber) will be out in the open even more now. Wonder what will the ads be like?

Word on the internet is, the guy isn't actually a plumber. A licensed one anyway.

A staff person with the Toledo Division of Building Inspection told On Call this afternoon that her division will contact Wurzelbacher to notify him that he can't work without a license.

"We're trying to track him down," she said.

In the meantime, the Democrat-friendly local plumbers' union is fuming.

"He has no license whatsoever with the city of Toledo," said Tom Joseph, the business manager for Local Union 50 of the Plumbers, Steamfitters and Service Mechanics, which has endorsed Obama. "He has no license in the state of Ohio. He has no contractor's license in the state of Ohio. He is not a plumber. He works for a plumber."

Never a dull moment in politics.

After The Final Presidential Debate

2008-10-16T07:43:00.006-05:00

What I saw at the Final Presidential Debate was John McCain acting like a desperate old politician trying very hard to make negative attacks, the other candidate Barack Obama doing a great job at not letting the smear tactics get the best of him.

CNN says: "John McCain came out of the gate strong, but Barack Obama gained strength as the night progressed Wednesday in the final presidential debate where each candidate tried to convince voters that he is better equipped to steer the nation through these troubled times.

Hours before the debate, CNN changed its Electoral Map. The new estimate shows that Obama now has 277 electoral votes to McCain's 174. To win the White House, a candidate needs 270."

I liked the split screen moments, where we could see one opponent speak while watching the reaction on the face of the other. I liked that.

McCain definitely came off as sarcastic, I can't stand that hissing like tone in his voice at times, nor do I consider it presidential the way he turns nasty and you can almost see that fury bubbling to the top. I have heard of his temper tantrums before, and you can see, even from these debates, that McCain is a hot head. Barack Obama kept his cool, calm temper, while McCain went on the attack, and McCain's snake-like grinning while he tries to tie Obama to terrorism turns me off as a voter. Obama is not connected to terrorists, and to see McCain lie over and over again, makes me never want to see him in politics after this. When is his term up???

Barack Obama did a good job on trying to remain on the issues, on topic, and McCain seemed willing, from the start, to try and dodge an issue but come in with a negative attack. We are tired of this, we want answers to the problems facing America, not more of this political back and forth.

McCain didn't get his knockout, and Barack Obama made him look even worse by sticking to the issues and dodging the negative attacks. In this debate, Obama did the right thing by taking the high road and not being tricked into defending himself against baseless accusations. McCain did bring up Ayers of The Weather Underground, and Obama did the right thing by addressing it, but he did not stick on that topic for long and quickly moved to ACORN, and the next attack McCain tried to deliver. I was proud of Barack's focus, and would be proud to have this man as my President. For the first time in my adult life, I will actually ben not only fond, but proud of the leader of my country. President Obama, I look forward to your leadership.

The people who wanted to see McCain strike and attack, will be happy. Those that like the calm mannered Barack will say he did a great job at withstanding McCain's constant attempts at causing Obama to waste his time defending himself versus stating his position. Obama did a great job at not letting those attacks become the focus of the discussion, and kept pulling the debate back to the economic crisis and what is really facing America.

Off topic, but I wanted to mention this: ExxonMobil was the biggest advertiser for the post debate commercials! Those big meany oil companies and their profits!!! ;)

I thought it was highly amusing, that ExxonMobil came up in the debate, their tax breaks and higher fuel efficient cars. Why? Because this is the company McCain wants to give billions of dollars in tax breaks to. Barack Obama specifically named them in the debate, and their ad was for? None other than, those fuel efficient cars we've been waiting for. However, just as in the documentary Who Killed The Electric car, you can tell how the commercial was made not to promote the idea of hydrogen vehicles or biofuel cars, but to show the schematics for tiny box cars that have no room or power. Ads of this nature have been documented by all car advertisement watchers. I won't go into it further here, this is part of my lifelong study of ads, watch Who Killed The Electric Car to gain a further understanding of that I am talking about here. Researchers compare the commercials made for fuel efficient cars vs Hummers, Titans, and other gas guzzlers. You'll be surprised to see how one vehicle is marketed, while the other commercials have negative messages regarding the vehicle they show, to keep people wanting the gas guzzler and not the "tiny sized" hybrid cars.

In the end, to use a McCain campaign line, Barack Obama won... hands down.