McCain RoboCalls

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?

Waterboard Barack Obama

As I sit here, reading the news, awaiting the final Presidential Debate, I felt the need to prove Sean Hannity wrong.

"Nobody in the Republican Party has resorted to overtones of "race and fear" in attacking Obama."

Not only has it been shown that high ranking Republican leaders are training vote recruiters in talking points, to smear Obama claiming he has ties to Osama Bin Laden, we can prove Sean Hannity wrong by simple showing a graphic used by the Republican Party in California, on their official website.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is how the Republicans plan on gaining votes... "Waterboard Barack Obama" ads.



This was used on the official Republican website, although since removed, it shows how far this political party is willing to go to try and make Barack Obama look bad by claiming he has ties to Osama Bin Laden, totally false.

Here is what FoxNews had to say about it...

A California county's Republican Party Web site encouraged readers to "Waterboard Barack Obama" and compared Obama to Usama bin Laden, drawing criticism on Wednesday from Democrats and Republicans in the state.

The Web site of the Sacramento County Republican Party posted five illustrations saying that the terrorist group Hamas supported Obama and that "the only difference between Obama and Osama is BS." Another attacked Michelle Obama, reading, "Hey Obama! Want to see bitter?"

The graphics were removed from the site by Wednesday, after the state GOP urged the local group to take them down.

The state Republican Party learned of the controversial content when it received a phone call from a reporter, said party spokesman Hector Barajas.

"I called the Sacramento county chairman and I had them remove it," Barajas said. "I also noted to them that this is a complete distraction from what we're trying to do, and that's elect John Mccain and Sarah Palin as the next president and vice president of the United States."

I also posted about the GOP leaders in Virginia, equating Obama with Osama, and training vote recruiters to use the talking point that Obama and Osama are friends.

Anyhow, back to the topic of proving Sean Hannity wrong for his comment that no one in the Republican party has resorted to fear or race in this campaign. As you can see that is plainly, not the case.

Official Republican leaders have used racist graphics, as well as, images that promote fear. Not to mention, not only does the "Waterboard Obama" ad insinuate he is connected to Osama Bin Laden, the ad encourages torture against a United States Senator. Before John McCain switched his stance on waterboarding, he was against it. He said it amounted to torture, and American military had no place in torturing people. He has since, flip flopped, changed his policy and believes in torture as a means to gather info. The old McCain would have shunned this type of advertisement, and it shows the length to which these politicians will go to gain a vote during an election.

Even though the "Waterboard Obama" ad has been removed, it still proves that Sean Hannity did a little more than stretch the truth by claiming no one in the Republican party had stooped this low. They have. Here's the proof, Seany Boy.

I would also like to take this time to prove yet another point I have tried to make before. Notice how these racist things happening on the campaign trail, are actually not in the South? Notice how people say "oh the South is so racist." As I look at the electoral maps today, I see Obama is making gains in Southern states, while not suffering the hateful rhetoric he is getting from other states!

The latest hate is in California, not the South! Imagine that...

Seattle Times reports...

The Sacramento Bee asked Craig MacGlashan about the content after seeking his reaction to hate-filled graffiti that was spray-painted over an Obama display on a fence in Sacramento.

In recent weeks, MacGlashan, an attorney, joined local Democratic party officials in condemning vandalism to political displays.

The vandalism to the Obama display appeared to have been done overnight Monday. A racial epithet, profanity, "KKK" and the words "white power" were clearly visible from the roadway. Six of the nine fence panels were defaced.

"What you are describing to me is not free speech, it's vandalism. We don't condone it," MacGlashan said.

Those people spraying "KKK" on signs, and "white power" are nowhere near the South. As a matter of fact, due to population, there are more registered hate groups in California than the southern states combined, believe it. California has more registered race hating groups, than if you combined all the hate groups in the south. And as the news reports, you can see where all the hate is taking place. Not in the South.

Using fear like this in an election campaign in the year 2008, amounts to terrorism in my opinion. Our political climate should be free of these types of advertisements coming directly from the Republican Party. Sure, some wackos will always make racist ads or propaganda, but to have it being shown on Republican party web sites takes it to a whole new level.

You are wrong Sean, your party has in fact, stooped that low.

Sarah McCain Palin Not The Winner

A real winner here today. His name should go down in history as the smartest, brightest man, to ever walk the plant. Mark Ciptak. LOL

Sorry, but naming your child "Sarah McCain Palin" is about the dumbest thing I can think of at the moment. I mean, really.
According to the AP:

A new father has secretly named his baby girl Sarah McCain Palin after the Republican ticket for president and vice president.

Mark Ciptak of Elizabethton put that name on the documents for the girl's birth certificate, ignoring the name Ava Grace, which he and his wife had picked earlier.

"I don't think she believes me yet," he told the Kingsport Times-News for a story to be published Tuesday. "It's going to take some more convincing."

Ciptak, a blood bank employee for the American Red Cross, said he named his third child after John McCain and Sarah Palin to "to get the word out" about the campaign.

"I took one for the cause," he said. "I can't give a lot of financial support for the (McCain/Palin) campaign. I do have a sign up in my yard, but I can do very little."

I wouldn't wanna be that kid.

Karl Rove: Obama Has The Electoral

Despite the excitement over Americans casting their vote for who they feel is the best President is the United States, the electoral vote is what actually elects the President. So how is Barack Obama doing in the electoral college?

Well, even according to Karl Rove, Barack Obama has the electoral votes to win! All you need is 270.

Republican strategist Karl Rove said over the weekend Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) has clearly pulled ahead of Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). But Rove also cautioned that the race could still drastically change, just as it has in the last two weeks when news of McCain's suspending his campaign, Congress' financial bailout package and the first presidential debate affected voters' perceptions.

Rove said on Sunday on his website that Obama had reached more than the 270 required electoral votes to win an election. Citing 39 new state polls in the first three days of October, Rove said the freshman Democrat now has 273 electoral votes while McCain has 163 and 102 votes remain in a toss-up.

LA Times has Obama at 277 electoral votes.

National electoral map: McCain gains Indiana while Obama holds 277

Nearly two dozen new state polls in recent days show the Democratic Party ticket headed by Sen. Barack Obama holding strong with 277 hypothetical electoral votes, 7 more than needed for election, but Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin have regained traditionally Republican Indiana from the tossup category.

This according to the latest state-by-state poll research compiled by Karl Rove & Co. and published in The Ticket by permission every few days.

With Indiana's 11 electoral votes, the first time since early September that the Republican ticket has gained, McCain-Palin now hold 174 electoral votes while another 87 remain in the tossup category.

Barack Obama is outspending McCain, who is running 100% negative ads right now, that many feel is not helping his campaign.

Couple those factors with a massive spending edge for Obama on television, and it's not hard to understand why the Illinois senator sits above 300 electoral votes for the second week of Fix picks in a row.

And, even this map may undersell Obama's strength somewhat as his heavy advertising in places like Florida, North Carolina and Indiana -- 53 total electoral votes -- have turned all three states into true tossups. If Obama were to sweep those three states, he would stand at 364 electoral votes -- the most since Bill Clinton won re-election over former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole with 379 electoral votes in 1996.

While it is important that people get out and vote on Election Day, it is vitally important for Barack Obama to gain the "electoral vote."

Negative McCain Ads Reach 100% - Even Twitter

I noticed even the John McCain twitter ad in the election category, is negative! I heard that John McCain had stepped up his negative ads to 100% percent, but I didn't believe it until I looked it up.



Even on twitter, he is trying to make Obama "look bad," but not delivering any answers to the problems facing America. The Barack Obama twitter ad, on the other hand, links a positive event, a speech of Joe Biden and others, including Hillary Clinton, about the issues facing this country.

Negative ads will always be part of our political process, or circus. But how effective are they, at a time, when people are struggling, even to keep up with the current gas prices in America?

McCain Helping eBay Stocks In Speeches

Am I the only one who notices John McCain plugging eBay into his speeches?

Do you think this is a coincidence that one of his advisers is in fact Meg Whitman, who has made millions of dollars off eBay stocks?

Do you think McCain has eBay stocks in his investment portfolio?

I am surprised to see I am one of the only people bringing this up in blogs today. I noticed McCain consistently plugging how well eBay is doing right now in his speeches, how so many Americans make a living from auctions, and so on. However, that type of promotion comes on the heels of a lay off of 1,000 eBay employees.

I have mentioned this in my comments about the debates last night:

I also thought it was hilarious that McCain mentioned eBay and how many people are doing business on the site, but he left out the fact that eBay has just laid off 1,000 employees... this really shows how out of touch he is with the rest of us. Why? One of his advisers is ex eBay executive Meg Whitman. The people at the top are doing great, but the people who just lost their job aren't doing so well, but McCain will try and make it look like eBay is doing great and everyone is happy. Not the 1,000 who just got laid off.

Should politicians use heavily promoted events such as Presidential Debates to promote companies they are investing in? If these people own stocks in the companies they are promoting in their public speeches, this is like free advertisement.

Meg Whitman has made a lot of money with eBay stocks, and one has to wonder, how much will McCain make?

AuctionBytes says..

eBay CEO Meg Whitman exercised options on shares of eBay stock in June and twice during the month of August, and sold the stock for a total of $64.9 million for a net gain of $45.7 million for the year. The transactions were conducted under a prearranged trading plan that allows Whitman to sell up to 6,400,000 shares between June 2007 and February 2008.

McCain has touted Meg and her economic prowess as why she is his adviser, however, this comes at a time when eBay is laying off 10% of its workers!

According to Reuters & The Huffington Post...

McCain touts the economic prowess of, and suggests as a future Treasury Secretary Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay and someone who he has turned to for economic advice in the past. Normally, this is a solid point for McCain to press, highlighting entrepreneurship and the growth of female business leaders. The problem: eBay just announced that it was firing 10 percent of its work force.

EBay announced on Monday that it would cut 10 percent of its global workforce, representing the most significant layoffs in its history.

This is what McCain had to say about Meg Whitman and eBay during his speech... just like an advertisement.

I like Meg Whitman [former CEO of eBay and current McCain campaign adviser], she knows what it's like to be out there in the marketplace. She knows how to create jobs. Meg Whitman was CEO of a company that started with 12 people and is now 1.3 million people in America make their living off eBay. Maybe somebody here has done a little business with them.

At a time when the stock market is falling and Wall Street is in trouble, I highly doubt he is just dropping names like eBay in his speeches for free. Politicians never promote companies or corporations for free.

My grandpa told me long ago, "follow the money." I would place a wager that if you follow the money on this, you'd find out exactly why McCain talks so much about eBay in his speeches.

Michigan Republicans Betrayed By McCain

After finding out McCain was giving up in Michigan and stopping his campaign advertising there, many local Republicans feel betrayed.

According to Freep...

"Michigan Republicans scrambled Friday to stanch potential damage to their election chances after Sen. John McCain's sudden decision to halt his presidential campaign, including TV advertising, in Michigan.

Some hoped McCain would resume campaigning in the state soon.

Others were downright mad.

"I don't know what McCain was thinking," fumed Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, a leading state Republican. "He's a general who left the battlefield in the middle of the fight.

"I'm disappointed in his behavior; he's thrown a lot of good Republican candidates under the bus."

Patterson said McCain's withdrawal is a blow to other GOP candidates in other races on the ballot. Presidential candidates are counted on to draw voters to the polls, and the appearance that one has given up could depress his party's voter turnout.

Beyond Michigan's 17 electoral votes, the next biggest prize for state Democrats is winning two congressional seats now held by Republicans -- Joe Knollenberg's 9th District seat in Oakland County and Tim Walberg's 7th District seat stretching from western Washtenaw County to Battle Creek.

"If 20,000 people stay home in Michigan on Election Day because our commander has raised the white flag, that could change a lot of races," Patterson said.

How much of an effect will McCain's concession of Michigan have on his election campaign?

Internet Surfer

How many hours a day do you spend surfing the Internet? For many of us our job relates to the internet, and some of us waste time "at work" by surfing the internet!

Some people even claim they are in fact, addicted to the internet. One thing is certain though, people in general enjoy surfing the internet. Whether doing research, or contacting family and friends through the latest social networking site popular among teens and college students.



Studying the behavior and habits of the Internet Surfer has become a science among advertising firms and marketing strategists, and for good reason. The internet has become much more than one would assume it was ever intended to be. In theory, I am sure the communication aspects of the network's origins were the top most reason for funding it's existence, but I highly doubt people thought one day we would be sharing "bookmarks" and trading photos of our favorite celebrity videos, or even watching the latest Presidential Debate via the internet!

Advertising and marketing to the Internet Surfer.

People want to know what makes someone click on something, what gets you to read the latest press release, or watch the latest commercial? Things like this are important to get site visitors to engage in advertisements within your website.

The internet surfer will always be around, clicking around, surfing the newest news site or political forum, waiting to find something new to look at, share, or buy. And as long as the internet exists people will be learning how to sell things to people via the internet.

Most people however, just want to sit back and surf the internet just like they do television. Endlessly clicking on link after link, loading page after page of celebrity gossip, political news, looking at their own house on Google Maps etc... and the internet just wouldn't be the same without them.

Who would make all those useless comments on news sites? Who would waste half a day making humorous video clips of themselves doing silly things on cam? Who could ever replace the internet surfer?