Sure, Spitzer should have de-socked before his career-ending indiscretion. But we should revisit the prophetic message that was lost to the tsunami of Spitzer's scandalization two weeks later.
Predatory Lenders' Partner in Crime: How the Bush Administration Stopped the States From Stepping In to Help Consumers, Feb. 14, 2008. Washington Post.
Several years ago, state attorneys general and others involved in consumer protection began to notice a marked increase in a range of predatory lending practices by mortgage lenders...These and other practices, we noticed, were having a devastating effect on home buyers. In addition, the widespread nature of these practices, if left unchecked, threatened our financial markets.
Spitzer's omen went further to note that not only did the White House do nothing, it embarked on an aggressive and unprecedented campaign to prevent states from protecting their residents from the very problems to which the federal government was turning a blind eye after 50 state Attorneys General and many legislative attempts failed to halt the worst of the predatory lending excesses.
The AGs and their banking superintendents fought the Bush Administration's use of a Civil War era banking provision which established federal preemption of all state predatory lending laws and the new rules which emasculated state consumer protections from national banks.
Shortly before Stone's November tip finally mobilized national law enforcement to rescue Americans from the perverse activities of Spitzer and his calf-length socks, he left a final warning:
When history tells the story of the subprime lending crisis and recounts its devastating effects on the lives of so many innocent homeowners, the Bush administration will not be judged favorably. The tale is still unfolding, but when the dust settles, it will be judged as a willing accomplice to the lenders who went to any lengths in their quest for profits. So willing, in fact, that it used the power of the federal government in an unprecedented assault on state legislatures, as well as on state attorneys general and anyone else on the side of consumers.
We're now to let Industry's insider dictate the terms under which we'll spend the heritage of our grandchildren to repurchase the bloody bag of instruments of our rape?
Because, ya know, it wouldn't be such a nice gift for the republicans - to be able to turn against the bush admin. - at such an opportune time (by voting against a bail out) and the election coming up n' all.
The aide said that guys like me were "in what we call the reality-based community," which he defined as people who "believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality." I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. "That's not the way the world really works anymore," he continued. "We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do."
You don't think the bushies are playing ya? They are playing you all in the hopes of giving the republicans an edge to cut the Dems lead with... And no matter what way this all goes - the big spenders or the do nothings - in the end the shitpile will be shoveled higher and deeper onto the next administration.
McCain will be left with a great reason to cut programs and benefits if, god forbid, he wins. And if Obama wins... He will be saddled with too much debt to make a real dent in change.
The rich will be rewarded for failure and the poor will be stuck with the bill for generations to come.
Still dripping but fully awake, the Republican Party, which we thought would live or die as a bull under the flag of deregulation, is now sanctimoniously asserting the importance of the federal government stepping in to save the little big men of corporate America.
Have they suddenly become those traitorous agents of big government they usually dismiss as misleading populists, socialists or those willing to take us almost into the laps of the inept Marxists in Russia or China?
Of course not, says John McCain, who has become one of the most remarkable embodiments of change we have ever seen. But McCain's actual version of change is that he has become a changeling.
McCain is now deserving of the nickname McChange or McChangeling. But there is a bit of tragedy there. It is never a pleasant experience to see a man sell himself out in unimaginable ways because of the enticement of power.
The McChangeling - See him change in this rare behind the scenes McCain campaign footage with his high as a kite campaign entourage:
The McCain campaign has gotta be trippin' if they think we are buying anything they are saying anymore?
In the wake of last week’s financial meltdown, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has been calling for more regulation and criticizing lax oversight of Wall Street, despite the fact that he and former senator Phil Gramm passed much of the deregulatory reforms that led to the current crisis. Interviewed on CBS today, however, McCain said he does not “regret” championing the deregulation of Wall Street.
Q: In 1999, you were one of the senators who helped pass deregulation of Wall Street. Do you regret that now?
McCAIN:No. I think the deregulation was probably helpful to the growth of our economy.
Our economy is in the dumpster and John deregulation McCain still supports what is a proven failure. A failure he pushed for.
The article, which appeared under Sen. McCain's name, included a favorable reference to banking deregulation that, in light of this week's near-meltdown in the financial industry, provided an irresistible target for Sen. Obama's campaign and once again put McCain on the defensive. McCain's campaign accused Obama of manufacturing an attack by deliberately misreading the Republican's words.
Well... Just so you don't "misread" McCain's own words let us look at exactly what he said, OK?
"Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation." - John deregulation McCain
Democrat Barack Obama criticized Republican presidential rival John McCain on Saturday for his past advocacy of deregulation, ties to lobbyists and support for partial privatization of the Social Security system many of Florida's elderly residents depend on.
The Democratic presidential nominee used McCain's words to portray him as an opponent of federal regulation of the banking industry.
McCain, a 26-year veteran of Congress with a long history of opposition to such regulation, now says more controls are needed to prevent a repeat of the financial turmoil that sent the stock market plunging this past week.
"There's only one candidate who's called himself 'fundamentally a deregulator' when deregulation is part of the problem," Obama said during an appearance at Bethune-Cookman University, arranged to highlight his campaign's effort to reach out to women voters.
Today's Daily Kos Research 2000 tracking poll has Obama up over McCain by (LV, MoE +/- 3). All trackers are data from three days prior to posting, with R2K (ours) from today and the others from yesterday.
Our last three days of polling are Obama +7 Fr, +6 Sa, +4 Su. The other trackers didn't release a whole lot of info over the weekend. These small movements are all well within the MoE, especially any one day sample (+/- 5.1).
Nothing spectacular I can see in the internals. Obama seems to be holding his inroads in the +60 voters, which were +15 McCain on 9/11 and now are +9. That's the only age group McCain wins.
How do things look for the last House Republican in New England? Not so good. This may be why he's been leading his ads with an image of Obama -- even as his statement just a couple weeks ago that "the fundamentals of our economy are strong" show that he really stands with McCain and the Republicans on the issues.
And as the collapsing financial markets show just how badly out of touch Shays' statement was, an internal poll from his challenger, Orange to Blue candidate Jim Himes show just how endangered Shays is.
The Feldman Group for Himes for Congress, 9/17-18, 500 sample (don't know MoE, sorry)
Shays 45
Himes 45 (Via email)
A tied race at this point bodes well for the challenger, especially with a strong Democratic presidential lead -- the same poll shows Obama leading McCain in the district, 56% to 33%. Himes still faces significant challenges, given the difficulty of advertising in a New York City media market, which is why every dollar counts.
But it's looking good for cleaning House in New England.
The Himes campaign have released results for CT-04 by Democratic pollster The Feldman Group.
The campaign's tracking poll, fielded September 17th and 18th, shows that Democratic challenger Jim Himes has pulled even with Republican Congressman Christopher Shays. Each candidate has 45 percent support. Additionally, their support is equally strong with 27 percent certain to support Himes and 28 percent certain to support Shays. An even contest six weeks before Election Day means that the contest now favors Himes.
Our last poll, shortly before the Democratic convention in August, showed Shays in the lead. In the interim, however, Democrats have moved decisively toward Himes to give him a 69 percent to 23 percent lead among registered Democrats. Additionally, independents, who remain a plurality in this district, now break almost evenly between the candidates, with 45 percent for Shays and 43 percent for Himes.
In a district notoriously difficult to communicate in due to the dominance of the New York City media market, familiarity with Himes has continued to climb. Now, 60 percent of voters say they are familiar with Himes, compared to 49 percent in August. Meanwhile, 36 percent of voters feel Chris Shays deserves re-election, while 46 percent believe someone else deserves a chance. Only 43 percent of voters believe he is doing a good job in Congress and only a third reject the description that he is too close to unpopular President George W. Bush while 44 percent believe that is at least partly true.
In a picture supplied by Sarah Palin's family to the Associated Press, Palin appears with some rather odd reading matter: The magazine of the ultraconservative John Birch Society. The picture, dating to 1995, when Palin was a member of the Wasilla City Council, ran beside a profile of Palin in Saturday's New York Times. The magazine, The New American, is sitting on top of her calendar on her desk, unopened.
The Society is generally considered to be well on the right of the American political spectrumand has been described as "ultraconservative" on its own website. However, due to various changes in the personalities, tactics, and ideologies within the conservative movement, the Society has been greatly marginalized since the 1960s among mainstream conservatives.
This afternoon, the director of Division of Elections in Alaska, Gail Fenumiai, told TPMmuckraker that Todd Palin registered in October 1995 to the Alaska Independence Party, a radical group that advocates for Alaskan secession from the United States.
Besides a short period of a few months in 2000 when he changed his registration to undeclared, Todd Palin remained a registered member of AIP until July 2002 when he registered again as an undeclared voter.
There appears to be some conflicting reports on the Sarah Palin's membership which we hope to clear up soon. But there is no doubt that they both attended a 1994 convention, as well as Sarah Palin's video address to the group in 2006 (Video Below).
But make no mistake about the significance of this when you consider that as the "First Dude/Dunce" of Alaska, Todd Palin, has been seen having a significant hand in Alaskan politics not typically allowed for a person with the status of citizen, given his access to what is claimed as supposedly confidential information, information that Sarah Palin refuses to release to the media or any other citizen based on obviously and demostrably false claims of "executive privilege" Sounds like the corrupt bush admin. all over again, eh? Now wonder McCain likes her.
Considering just how well the McCain campaign vetted Sarah Palin before picking her as his running mate for the upcoming campaign, I wonder how Palin's "Patriotic" credibility will be viewed by his rabidly faux patriotic supporters when they find out that her idea of foreign policy experience may be in dealing with the government of the USA?
In the first clip we see Palin address the AIP convention earlier this year:
This next clip is the 1st of 2 parts from the convention itself. About half way through the speech(at 6:00), the Vice Chairman of the AIP, Dexter Clark, says this of Palin: "Our current governor who I mentioned at the last conference, the one we were hoping would get elected, Sarah Palin, did get elected . . . .and there was a lot of talk about her moving up. She was an AIP member before she got the job as mayor . . . "
This last clip is a continuation of the speech from Dexter Clark, the Vice Chairman from the AIP. In it, he talks about the necessity of infiltrating the major national parties in order to further the goals of the AIP.
The AIP’s main aim is to secede from the United States, becoming either a territory or a sovereign nation. They aim to be entirely "self-sufficient" using profits from the oil and gas resources of the state.
The Alaskan Independence Party can be summed up in just two words: ALASKA FIRST!
And their 2008 platform:
To seek the complete repatriation of the public lands, held by the federal government, to the state and people of Alaska in conformance with Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17, of the federal constitution.
Governor Palin’s connections with the AIP are also furthered by her connection to Wally Hickel, a former Alaskan governor. Hickel was elected on the AIP ticket. He served as the co-chairman of Governor Palin’s campaign in 2006 Here is a quote from an interview Hickel did with the Alaska Dispatch:
When Palin was running for governor in 2006, Hickel appeared in advertisements supporting her and the Alaska pipeline. "I made her governor," Hickel told me.
When asked earlier this year on CNBC about whether she’d be picked for McCain’s VP, Palin said, "We wanna make sure that that VP slot would be a fruitful type of position, especially for Alaskans, and for the things we’re trying to accomplish up here for the rest of the US, before I can even start addressing that question."
So, besides the fact that she doesn’t know what the VP does everyday, Palin wants to be VP only if it’s a good thing for Alaska?
Now this proves that she was once a member of the AIP, IMHO... Why would the AIP lie in that video and why else would Palin be willing to address the secessionists after being elected? Anyone outside of Alaska would consider that political suicide with those faux patriots on the right wingnut side of the aisle in the rest of the nation.
That is all just a canard, IMHO. A ruse to throw the dogs off of the scent of the real story they are covering up in all of those pictures. And it has nothing to do with any alleged nude pics of Sarah Palin.(NSFW!)
They may be trying to hide the fact that Palin is still a member of the AIP and that she is one of the highest placed members of the AIP that they have managed to elevate in politics thus far.
If I were a betting man, I would be willing to bet that there are a lot of deleted Sarah Palin pics with lapel pins and other paraphernalia that show her true anti-American allegiance to the Alsakan secessionist movement.
There is no way on earth that McCain honestly vetted Palin before he picked her as a running mate. No republican candidate that understands their own base would ever have let this get so far.
Officials of the Alaskan Independence Party say that Palin was once so independent, she was once a member of their party, which since the 1970s has been pushing for a legal vote for Alaskans to decide whether or not residents of the 49th state can secede from the United States.
And while McCain's motto -- as seen in a new TV ad -- is "Country First," the AIP's motto is the exact opposite -- "Alaska First -- Alaska Always."
Lynette Clark, the chairman of the AIP, tells ABC News that Palin and her husband Todd were members in 1994, even attending the 1994 statewide convention in Wasilla. Clark was AIP secretary at the time.
[update deux] I had a conspiracy tag on this diary since I know that it was speculative... I removed it since ABC confirmed the basis for my opinion is factual. This sure as hell would be a good explanation for all of those missing pics. Imagine what the faux patriots on the right will say when they find out she didn't like the USA at all back in the 90s. And she may very well not like it much now.
In my previous post you will find a Youtube video of Sarah Palin warmly addressing the Alaskan Independence Party. What sort of organization is this and what is its history?
The AIP was founded by one Joe Vogler, who seems to be a rightwinger from way back.
And then Gary gets into Vogler quotes and here is but one example among many:
"The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government and I won't be buried under their damned flag...and when Alaska is an independent nation they can bring my bones home to be buried in my country."
Hate is a pretty strong word Mr. Vogler... Don't ya think? Anyways, Gary, thanks for the illuminating comment.
So it turns out that in the 1990s, Sarah Palin was a member of the Alaskan Independence Party whose primary objective is to secure a vote on whether Alaska should secede from the United States. Their party's motto? "Alaska First - Alaska First Always."
I'm sure McCain will eventually have to comment, but according to Marc Ambinder: "A McCain spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment." I'll guarantee you that we know more about Sarah Palin than does McCain or his campaign.
I am willing to guarantee that as well. Because I know I still have Palin news that I am working on! lol Right now all the McCain campaign campaign can do is shut their mouths on this huge story and hope the media don't start covering it like they should.
[update quatre] The media everywhere is starting to pick up on this... I just watched David Schuster toss it out on MSNBC while interviewing some pundits and surrogates. And you could tell by the McCain flack's (?Andrea Tantaros?) reaction that she was taken aback - that flinch and look of "Say what?" - by this news before she plowed into her talking points on everything but the secessionist point.
Even Karl Rove acknowledged that she was a risky pick in his talk this morning with the Maine delegation. The soap opera is getting surreal. Sarah Palin's involvement with the secessionist Alaska Independence Party is just the latest punch in the stomach to a reeling Grand Old Party. She is a Buchananite who liked (and maybe voted for) Ron Paul? Now news of her daughter's pregnancy adds new poignancy to her 2006 campaign promise.
"Explicit sex ed programs will not find my support."
Lord have mercy, it's hard out there for a Republican pimp.
I think I may be getting closer to nailing down Sarah Palin's connections to the AKIP. But considering trying to keep up on all of the other Palin scandals breaking so fast it is hard to dig on. Added to the multiple scandal factor is the fact that the AKIP connections are very computer savvy, if I am even on the right track?
This afternoon, the director of Division of Elections in Alaska, Gail Fenumiai, told TPMmuckraker that Todd Palin registered in October 1995 to the Alaska Independence Party, a radical group that advocates for Alaskan secession from the United States.
Besides a short period of a few months in 2000 when he changed his registration to undeclared, Todd Palin remained a registered member of AIP until July 2002 when he registered again as an undeclared voter.
There appears to be some conflicting reports on the Sarah Palin's membership which I think I have found the way to clear up. But there is no doubt that they both attended a 1994 convention, as well as Sarah Palin's video address to the group in 2006 (Video Below).
And make no mistake about the significance of this when you consider that as the "First Dude/Dunce" of Alaska, Todd Palin, has been seen having a significant hand in Alaskan politics not typically allowed for a person with the status of citizen, given his access to what is claimed as supposedly confidential information, information that Sarah Palin refuses to release to the media or any other citizen based on obviously and demostrably false claims of "executive privilege" Sounds like the corrupt bush admin. all over again, eh? No wonder McCain likes her.
A phone number search for a number I got out of AKIP archives sent me to this dKos Diary by Ash Meerstrand... It appears he had the same lead I was on. The phone number:
The claim that the AIP held meetings in the town where Palin was mayor while her husband was a member can easily be confirmed using Internet Archive. Meeting information from that time (the first set is from 1998, the other 2000):
Wasilla ,Alaska
Country Kitchen Restaraunt,
411 W. Parks Highway, Wasilla
Tuesdays at 7:00 PM
Wasilla, Alaska
Nobody's Inn Restaraunt,
W. Parks Highway, Wasilla
Tuesdays at 7:00 PM
Call 376-8285
It's only 8pm in Wasilla, Alaska. Is it too late to investigate? Wasilla has only about 9,000 people, and about 5,500 people lived there in the year 2000, so maybe there could be someone there that would know if Todd or Sarah ever showed up.
I edited out the "image source" and formatting crap so you could see the plain email addy for the "same phone" number contact. I was unable to find another reference on a quick Google of that eMail BUT I also did on a search of "web-ak". Info on website addy for this site
Excerpted from the website description:
Alaskan owned and operated, Web Alaska offers web services for Alaskans and outsiders alike. Compu Doc offers computer repair and services thoughout South Central Alaska.
The following is a first hand account of a gentleman who has a story to tell about his experiences with Sarah Palin. I am granting him this venue to say what he has to say because firstly, it gives us another non-press view of a soon-to-be mainstream name, and secondly, the person giving this account is a Geek with Guns (and used to host this website for me when I needed his help).
"I just wanted to let you know ... Sarah Palin who McCain just picked as the next vice president is one of the most honest people I have known. I have known her for over 15 years, been in her house and have had numerous conversations with her, in person, on the phone both for personal issues as well as political issues.
"She is an excellent choice and this might have even saved McCain from going down in history as a loser in the presidential race. Sarah is one elected official that I can’t say anything negative about. And after 15 years of knowing her if there was something that was bad I would have known it.
"This lady has contacted me personally to get help discovering how one of her co workers was abusing his state office because she didn’t believe she could trust the states department of law. The guy later copped a plea, paid a hefty fine and lost his state job but this was after she quit her 2000 / week job and was forced to go public to expose his corruption. By the way he was/is the chairman of the state republican party "She is VERY approachable which is going to make the insiders and secret service crazy."Wanted to let you know."
Mark Chryson Wasilla, Alaska
If you would like to know more about the personal experiences of Mark in regards to Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin, Mark has given us permission to present the following contact information for that purpose, and offered his phone number up for that purpose as well (which I will decline to provide here do to the GwG haters).
mark [at] web-ak.com - Email Mark Chryson by removing the [at]
I have not verified the credibility of "Geeks with Guns," BUT remember how she hacked computers to out the Alaska Republican chairman...
But Fenumiai adds that Palin's husband Todd was a member of the AIP from October 1995 through July 2002, except for a few months in 2000. He is currently undeclared.
As part of their pushback against the charges of Lynette and Dexter Clark of the AIP, the McCain campaign says that Palin did not even attend the AIP convention in Wasilla in 1994.
But another former AIP official -- Mark Chryson, chairman of the AIP from 1995 to 2002 -- tells ABC News that "Palin was at the convention in 1994. She was there."
Was she a member?
Chryson can’t say. "She may have been, I do not know," he says. Their records don't go back that far.
"Ask Sarah," he suggests.
I'd love to. But she hasn't exactly been making herself available to the press.
Former AKIP chairman Chryson, friend and neighbor of the Palins for over 15 years. Chryson was in charge of Wasilla meetings for the AKIP. And Todd Palin was a member almost the entire time Chryson was in charge.
Chryson can't say if she was a member of AKIP? Or he won't say it knowing it would doom her politically.
This may turn into the missing link if we dig enough... heh
Side Note: This diary is just a follow up on Secessionist Sarah diary I did earlier that I felt deserved to be more than just an update in an outdated diary.
[update]Some preliminary digging on Mark Chryson, and this ain't pretty:
Okay, so Walter Hickel is widely believed to have just run on the Alaskan Independence Party ticket because he felt the Republican nominee was too liberal, since he was a major advocate for statehood in the first place. He did, however, threaten to "take our star off the flag."
This was documented once on the AIP's website until 2000, and it still has a reference here: http://www.akip.org/history1.html
The audio is from her 2006 inaugural speech, which I already wrote about, but failed to mention that. Nevertheless, here it is again: http://www.gov.state.ak.us/audio/inaugural_v1.mp3
Now, the Alaska state government may be scrubbing their website, but so far it's mostly as far as links go. If you poke through Internet Archive, even if their robot crawler didn't copy the old 2007 web page, odds are it'll still be hosted somewhere on their servers and accessible via Internet, if you just remove the Internet Archive part of the URL.
That might be a good place to dig.
You can't see them on the 2008 website, and http://www.gov.state.ak.us/... is "forbidden," but here's a link to 212 audio files.
dKos again, and this is some weird, scary and wacky stuff:
Okay, it appears that web-ak.com is a webhosting company that is owned by this friend of Palin's. I went to this site and had a look around. Under the links page, we find something called the "Waco Holocaust Museum". Now, note that this is on the links page and is hosted on the same domain. In fact, it appears to be the only thing on the links page on the same domain. At the bottom of this Waco page, there are more links, a big list of them at the bottom. Half the links don't work (archive.org anyone?), but the ones that do work include:
"Seventh Seal" An 'apolitical' history of the Axis (Nazis).
"The Confederate Memorial Association"
"Brasscheck" Appears to be a 9/11 truther site.
"Real History Archives" Assorted conspiracy theories.
"Brood of Vipers" More conspiracy theories.
"Final Conflict" Incoherent website about Nationalism. The page has an article "Did six million really die?"
Enjoy!
There are also hundreds of photos, gifs and other stuff stored in zips with file titles like /death/burial.jpg, /death/waco/burial.gif, /death/coffin.gif, /waco/coffin.html etc.. This is one wacko dude.
http://www.siteadvisor.com/sites/web-ak.com/
McCafee site advisor shows 4 ZIP files that can be downloaded from the site... Virus free and all. But they look like they are just stuff for his wacky website. I really don't think I want to sift through them after looking at the site.
at the bottom of the waco page:
Published by Public Action, Inc, a news and news analysis service. All commercial rights are reserved. A full statement of terms and conditions for copying and redistribution is available in the Museum Library. "Waco Holocaust Electronic Museum," "SkyWriter," and the sky writing logo are trademarks of Public Action, Inc.
All original material is copyright 1996-2000 by Carol A. Valentine, on loan to Public Action, Inc.
Postal Address: Carol A. Valentine, PO Box 10933, Burke, VA 22009
This page last updated February 28, 2001
This Page is mirrored courtesy of Web Alaska
Not "hosted by web-ak"
"This page is mirrored COURTESY OF WEB-AK"
Interesting choice of outfits to offer freebies there...
More dKos comments because I had to wonder if he goes to Sara Palin's "non-demonicnational" church:
I couldn't find anything to that effect. But I did find a choice quote by him in an apparently defunct guestbook on the akip site that does not appear to be accessible from the main page.
This guy is seriously out there. He also derides someone else who posted to the guestbook as being "government educated" on Feb 25, 2001.
and a second reply:
Sorry about the second reply, but did you notice the article linked at the top of the Waco page called "The FBI's Catholic Church"? It seems to be trying to make the argument that Waco was a plot by the Catholic church because some FBI agents happen to be Catholic. These people are seriously lunatics.
Chryson is as loony as a right wingnut can possibly get... And seems to like reading from, hosting and linking to radical/bigoted/plain-freakin'-loony stuff.
And this is the guy who was the leader of Todd Palin's political party when he was a member? As well as their neighbor who ran the local AKIP meetups? And Sarah Palin got help from him to bring down the Alaskan GOP chairman according to Chryson's words.
And the media gave him a public stage to give a Sarah Palin testimonial. WTF???
Diarist cloudwatcher over at DailyKos has this excellent idea. La Casa de Los Gatos reads DailyKos fairly regularly, but is not a member. Los Gatos, as you know, are not herd or pack animals. They prefer to be solitary in their pursuits. In the event, it's a simply brilliant idea, and for those of our visitors who are not DKos members here is the gist of it: Given that Palin is as anti-feminist as they come, those who disagree with her positions on women's right to choose and to their bodily autonomy ought to donate $10 (or more if you can afford it) to Planned Parenthood in Palin's name. PP has a policy of sending thank-you cards to the person being "honoured" by such donations. Cloudwatcher requests that you use this link, and adds:
You'll need to fill in the address to let PP know where to send the "in Sarah Palin's honor" card. I suggest you use the address for the McCain campaign headquarters, which is:
McCain for President 1235 S. Clark Street Arlington , VA 22202
PS - Make sure you use that link above or choose the pulldown of Donate--Honorary or Memorial Donations, not the regular "Donate Online"
And, of course, in the interest of sharing teh love, please — pass it on!
Over the past three months, the Federal Reserve has taken unprecedented measures to restore stability to the U.S. financial system. The collapse of Bear Stearns, which was once the nation’s fifth-largest investment bank, put the 2007 – 2008 financial crisis into the history books. This was the first time since the Great Depression that a major U.S. bank has failed. In response to this groundbreaking crisis, the Federal Reserve invoked an emergency provision allowing the central bank to loan directly to investment banks. This provision was added to the Federal Reserve Act during the Great Depression and has not been used since then. However, the collapse of a major U.S. bank and tight credit markets are making the Federal Reserve’s job exceptionally difficult. Cutting interest rates alone has not worked, and as a result, the U.S. Central Bank has introduced an alphabet soup of new measures, including the Term Auction Facility and the Term Securities Lending Facility, to inject liquidity into the financial system. They are even willing to accept less liquid and dubious mortgage-backed securities for the Fed’s highly liquid and rock solid U.S. Treasuries.
Although these efforts have prevented a collapse in the equity markets, it has not prevented a continual deterioration of the U.S. economy. With foreclosures on the rise and the median price of existing homes falling by the largest amount on record in February, the housing market shows no signs of stabilization. Layoffs are on the rise and consumer spending is contracting, which has forced the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by 200bp in the first quarter, the most that the central bank has cut in one quarter since 1984. The combination of a deteriorating outlook for the U.S. economy, lower interest rates, and desperate measures by the Federal Reserve are the main reasons why the U.S. dollar hit a record low in March.
I don't claim to be a some kind of financial expert but I do know what it means when "desperate measures by the Federal Reserve" are needed, And I do know that everyone I talk to is either in or on their way to serious financial problems. I also know that looking around at the banking and mortgage failures, and knowing that there are likely still more failures on up the road...
This is the worst economy I have seen in my lifetime.
Most people barely have the money to buy the necessities - if they aren't already choosing between buying food or paying the utility bills or rent - and they have to be looking at all of this happy talk coming out of the McCain campaign and wondering what planet he lives on.
Remember that McCain is a kept that can't keep track of how many mansions he owns, and couldn't tell the press the price of gas when asked because someone else pumps his limousine's gas for him.
MCCAIN: Oh, I don’t remember. Now there’s Secret Service protection. But I’ve done it for many, many years. I don’t recall and frankly, I don’t see how it matters.
I’ve had hundreds and hundreds of town hall meetings, many as short a time ago as yesterday. I communicate with the people and they communicate with me very effectively.
McCain’s cluelessness about gas prices is compounded by the fact that he is clueless about what to do about it. He is promoting a gas tax holiday for drivers because he claims to understand “Americans are hurting.” It will provide “a little psychological boost,” McCain said of his plan.
In reality, his gas tax holiday would be worth a mere 60 cents a day for Americans and would be a boon for oil companies and foreign oil-producing nations.
John McCain will never understand what the average American worker is going through right now.
And McCain will beg you to ignore the reality of your dwindling bank account and buying power and the fact that his campaign is run by lobbyists for the very corporations that have written the GOP's irresponsible fiscal policy that is failing you right now, and John McCain will continue to run this economy into the ground unless someone else puts the breaks on continued bush failures.
In nearly every speech in recent days, he has argued that McCain doesn’t get what ordinary American are facing, reminding people of McCain advisor Phil Gramm’s comment about America being a "nation of whiners" and about McCain’s Saddleback quip defining rich as an income of $5 million.
In an interview with Adam Nagourney of the New York Times, Obama strategist David Axelrod suggested McCain's campaign can't succeed by portraying Obama as out-of-touch because it reeks of hypocrisy.
Ouch. If this were a prize fight, the ref would call it. But it's politics, so he'll just keep bleeding.
Most working families today do not have homes that have anywhere near 10 rooms. John McCain has 10 houses. Many working people in America have to work two and three jobs to provide for their families and pay their car loans. John McCain hops on a private jet. Is it any wonder why McCain champions a George Bush agenda of cutting taxes for corporations and the wealthy, helping oil companies turn record profits, and leaving working families to fend for themselves? McCain's velvet world leaves him utterly unprepared to make the tough choices we need to restore the middle class and ensure that everyone in America has quality, affordable health insurance.
-Andy Stern, President, Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
John McCain is soaring to new heights of hypocrisy on his wife's personal jet. He flies around the country bent on duping the public into believing he's "one of them," a regular guy who can empathize with Americans facing an overwhelming economic crush. What's more, he disparages those who oppose his ridiculous policy proposals as "elitist." But who's the real elitist?
The REAL McCain is a multimillionaire who owns ten luxurious homes. The REAL McCain backs President Bush's tax cuts for big corporations. The REAL McCain empathizes only with the interests of our nation's wealthy minority, not its money-strapped majority. But far too many are buying into McCain's deceit because the corporate press won't present the whole picture, so we created this video to educate the public about the REAL McCain.
Together, you have been a force in making sure The REAL McCain videos have been seen by nearly 6.5 million people. But as Frank Rich noted in his NY Times column yesterday, 40% of Americans hear too little about McCain from the mainstream media, meaning "the public doesn't know who on earth John McCain is." That's why it's crucial you ensure this video is seen by as many as possible, and that we use each and every tool at our disposal to get the word out. Send this on to five friends and family members, and tell them to send it to five people they know. Get it to your local news outlets and blogs and networking sites like Digg. Raise hell about McCain's economic duplicity!
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney summed it up best when he said McCain "simply doesn't understand the challenges America's working families are facing because he isn't remotely affected by them." It's up to us to tell people who McCain really is, a personal jet-setting elitist more concerned with corporate lobbyists than hard-working Americans.
Many of you already knew that we were probably losing our home in the first wave of foreclosures hitting this state and the country. I have been sort of busy the last couple of weeks with this issue and (some of) you may have noticed that my Blog has been dormant because I have been so busy.
The bad news? We have given up trying to save our home.
The good news? Unlike the many American families that are, right now, living in tent cities(from the morgtage crisis, floods and also from hurricane Katrina) we have been fortunate enough to find a house to rent. And we will not have to move from New Milford, either. The kids are happy about that second part. They have made friends and like living here.
Finding a place to live has not been easy. Being in the first wave of foreclosures, many landlords refused to rent to us. This issue will likely resolve itself for others later on as more and more people with foreclosures and bankruptcies on their credit reports will flood the renters market. For now it is still an issue. An issue we that we kind of lucked our way around.
Lemons Meet Lemonade
The house we are renting? It is a little bit smaller than the home we loved but it does have some serious plusses that make this a better place for us. First, it has a nice little wood stove in the living room to curl up in front of on those chilly New England nights. It will also save us money on oil. Second, it has a nice, big and sunny room that I plan on turning into my media room that will look right out over the back yard. Third, it is not on a main street so the kids and the dog will be a little safer playing outside. Fourth, we will be saving hundreds compared to what our original mortgage payment started at, never mind how much our ARM was by the time it doubled.
As for the luck part? Well, we are renting the house from someone that was on the verge of losing it all, as well. She pretty much knows our situtation and, because of her own situtation, was a little more forgiving on our credit check. The lady who owns the house is where we were in the foreclosure process about 9 months ago. She did not have "ARM" or sub-prime issues, but employment/relocation issues. As the real estate agent that helped us find a place said, this is a win/win situation for everyone here. She won't be crushed financially like we were and we will have a roof over our heads.
I'll have more to write on this later but, for now, don't be surpised if my Blogging particiaption is a little bit irregular.
The four-minute video, produced by Robert Greenwald of Brave New Films, is called “McCain’s Mansions: the Real Elitist” and showcases various McCain homes and condominiums in Arizona, California and Virginia, with one valued at $4.66 million.
The Senate will likely vote Tuesday on an amendment offered by Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) “that includes language touting the success of the troop buildup that began last year.” Sens. Carl Levin (D-MI) and Jack Reed (D-RI) have offered an alternative “that would offer a more nuanced assessment of the security situation in Iraq.”
Before I write anything on why Sarah Palin is truly a very sick person I want you to look at these stats for violent crime and forcible rape on a state by state basis:
While - thankfully for us Nutmeggers - Connecticut is way down near the bottom of this list, it is obvious that rape in Alaska is a very serious issue that is and has been begging to be dealt with properly. Unfortunately for Alaskans, Sarah Palin has made it a budgetary priority to ignore these issues.
Despite denials by the Palin campaign, new evidence proves that as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, Sarah Palin had a direct hand in imposing fees to pay for post-sexual assault medical exams conducted by the city to gather evidence.
Under Sarah Palin's administration, Wasilla cut funds that had previously paid for the medical exams and began charging victims or their health insurers the $500 to $1200 fees. Although Palin spokeswoman Maria Comella wrote USA Today earlier this week that the GOP vice presidential nominee "does not believe, nor has she ever believed, that rape victims should have to pay for an evidence-gathering test...To suggest otherwise is a deliberate misrepresentation of her commitment to supporting victims and bringing violent criminals to justice,"
Of course, and as has proven the case over and over again, both the McCain campaign and Sarah Palin tried to lie their way out of that.
Eight years ago, complaints about charging rape victims for medical exams in Wasilla prompted the Alaska Legislature to pass a bill -- signed into law by Knowles -- that banned the practice statewide.
"There was one town in Alaska that was charging victims for this, and that was Wasilla," Knowles said
A May 23, 2000, article in Wasilla's newspaper, The Frontiersman, noted that Alaska State Troopers and most municipal police agencies regularly pay for such exams, which cost between $300 and $1,200 apiece.
"(But) the Wasilla police department does charge the victims of sexual assault for the tests," the newspaper reported.
It also quoted Wasilla Police Chief Charlie Fannon objecting to the law. Fannon was appointed to his position by Palin after her dismissal of the previous police chief. He said it would cost Wasilla $5,000 to $14,000 a year if the city had to foot the bill for rape exams.
You would think that warped view would be enough to throw the average American woman for a loop. But Sarah Palin is even worse than that simple position since, according to the McCain campaign, she fired Monegan - one of the Alaskan state officials at the heart of Troopergate - because Monegan was trying to get more money from the Feds to help prosecute cases of sexual assault.
The McCain campaign says it can prove Monegan was fired in July because of insubordination on budget issues ... The "last straw," the campaign said, was a trip Monegan planned to Washington in July to seek federal money for investigating and prosecuting sexual assault cases.
In a July 7 e-mail, John Katz, the governor's special counsel, noted two problems with the trip: the governor hadn't agreed the money should be sought, and the request "is out of sequence with our other appropriations requests and could put a strain on the evolving relationship between the Governor and Sen. Stevens."
That's right: they claim Chief Monegan was fired for trying to get money to investigate and prosecute rapists, because Palin didn't want to do so.
That's right... According to the McCain campaign, Palin fired Monegan because he was trying to find more resources to prosecute rapists and other criminals involved in sexual assault cases. A problem that she had previously hampered as Mayor of Wasilla when she refused to pay for rape kits.
The more I read on Monegan and Sarah Palin in the Troopergate scandal, the more and more Monegan comes off as someone trying to get things done to improve the safety and security of the people of Alaska in spite of Sarah Palin's best efforts to squander money on bridges to nowhere while ignoring serious criminal activity.
The last straw, the McCain campaign said, was in July, when Monegan planned to travel to Washington to seek federal money for a plan to assign troopers, judges and prosecutors who could exclusively handle sexual assault cases — one of the state's most intractable crime problems.
In a July 7 e-mail, John Katz, the governor's special counsel, noted two problems with the trip: The governor hadn't agreed the money should be sought, and the request was "out of sequence with our other appropriations requests and could put a strain on the evolving relationship between the Governor and Sen. (Ted) Stevens."
Just thought readers would want to know if they decided to click through... And Bloggers would want to know in case they are looking for quotes for their own Blog. I don't know if there were any other major changes to the article other than what I put in BOLD.
THE CRIME AND THE COVER-UP.... At her kickoff event in Ohio yesterday, Sarah Palin boasted about having rejected congressional funds for the infamous "bridge to nowhere." Soon after, we realized that Palin wasn't telling the truth about one of her signature issues, on her very first day as a candidate for national office.
Now, some might say this is excusable, because Palin's remarks were written by McCain campaign aides, and the McCain campaign barely knows who Palin is. That's probably true.
But lying about an alleged abuse of power is far more serious.
Remember the expression, the cover-up is worse than the crime? It's plainly true in the case of Palin firing Alaska Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan. Take a look at this video, from the ABC affiliate in Alaska, and notice that Palin seems to have been caught, rather blatantly, misusing her power and then lying about it.
While we're at it, read this rather extraordinary report from the Washington Post about just how embarrassing this scandal is for Palin.
For that matter, let's not forget that Palin fired the Alaska Public Safety Commissioner for the most dubious of reasons, and then replaced him with a guy facing a credible sexual harassment accusation, and who was out of the job two weeks later. What a great example of sound judgment.
Interestingly enough, the right wing only seems to want to address Palin's charges concerning Wooten being an asshat, but they completely ignore the very credible evidence of serious abuses of power and the fact that their family was directly involved in some of the asshat things Wooten did, as well.
I am sitting back and laughing because, outside of Alaskan Blogs, there were maybe about a dozen Blogs that had even one of the many stories I had bundled together on Friday about Palin being a pothead, her "Bridge to Nowhere!", whether or not she will be inducted into the Alaskan CBC... And, of course, the impeachment story, known as Troopergate, that many Blogs were playing catch up on.
Anyone that thinks this is going to win over former Hillary Clinton supporters already firmly in the Democratic party fold don't understand the fact that Hillary supporters were and are strongly Pro-Choice for the most part.
Her lifetime membership in the NRA may help solidify one of McCain's many weaknesses in his own party base, as well as her advocating religion in schools under the banner of "creationism" may help solidify some of the Christian fundies, but I fail to see how any of it will get her anywhere with moderates or women, in general. Some of the Christian fundamentalists may even despise her just for the fact that she is woman seeking power.
As for her supposed record of cleaning up Alaskan politics and conservative cred?
Palin said she has smoked marijuana -- remember, it was legal under state law, she said, even if illegal under U.S. law -- but says she didn't like it and doesn't smoke it now.
Breaks laws but says it is OK... Sounds bush-like. IOKIYAR, to say the least.
The $398 million bridge would have connected Ketchikan, on one island in southeastern Alaska, to its airport on another nearby island.
Gov. Sarah Palin said Friday the project was $329 million short of full funding.
"We will continue to look for options for Ketchikan to allow better access to the island," the Republican governor said. "The concentration is not going to be on a $400 million bridge."
And any doubt about her place on the ticket to distract from corrupt Republicans can be removed here:
Palin, who has previously said her administration didn't exert pressure to get rid of trooper Mike Wooten, also disclosed that members of her staff had made about two dozen contacts with public safety officials about the trooper.
"I do now have to tell Alaskans that such pressure could have been perceived to exist although I have only now become aware of it," Palin said.
But Palin said her decision to fire Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan last month had nothing to do with his refusal to dump trooper Mike Wooten.
The governor said evidence of what she called a "smoking gun" conversation, and other calls made by her aides, only recently surfaced as the attorney general started an inquiry at her request into the circumstances surrounding her firing of Monegan. Palin wanted the review because a special investigator hired by the Legislature is about to investigate the firing and a legislator has been quoted in a newspaper story talking about impeachment.
Gov. Sarah Palin is trying to find out what the Legislature's special investigator might discover as he probes her controversial firing of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan.
Obviously Sarah Palin wants the inquiry for ethics reasons... Not to head off any damaging information that might come up in a real independent investigation.
Alaska political corruption probe refers to a widespread investigation from 2004 to thepresent by the Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Internal Revenue Service into political corruption of lawmakers in the Alaska State Legislature, focusing in particular on lawmakers' official actions in relation to the oil industry, fisheries, and private corrections industry. As of May 2007, the investigation has resulted in indictments against four current and former Alaska state legislators on corruption charges; and guilty pleas by two executives of the oilfield services company VECO Corporation to charges of bribery and conspiracy to impede the Internal Revenue Service. Indications are that further indictments may be forthcoming as the investigation progresses.
Former Representative Tom Anderson was indicted in December 2006 on allegations of extortion and bribery involving his support of a private corrections company. Anderson was convicted of all seven felony counts on July 9, 2007. Former House Speaker Pete Kott (R-Eagle River), former Representative Bruce Weyhrauch (R-Juneau), and current Representative Vic Kohring (R-Wasilla) were arrested and arraigned on May 4, 2007 on charges of accepting bribery and extortion related to their support of an oil tax law favored by the oilfield services company VECO Corporation.[1] On May 7, 2007, VECO Corporation founder and CEO Bill Allen and Vice President for Community & Government Affairs Rick Smith pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Anchorage to charges of bribery and conspiracy to impede the Internal Revenue Service.[2]
If you want to have a little fun...
Last November voters identified corruption as the number one issue affecting their vote, in short: vote the bastards out! We here at the C.B.C. couldn’t agree more but there are plenty more of these bastards out there in politics, the media and big business so let’s hear more about them. Play Who’s Your Corrupt Bastard?our award winning national contest ripped straight from the headlines of Alaska politics where you can win fabulous prizes and call out your favorite corrupt public figure. Peruse The Bastard Files for a look at current nominees. We are also the official headquarters for the now infamous Corrupt Bastard Club Gear - perfect for that corrupt bastard in your life.
I am doing the best I can to be out ahead of everything that is "NEWS" here, more so than usual... And I think I have been well ahead of the curve on the biggest stories of the campaign in the last month or so. Certainly running with pack of Bloggers that are lookin' way back over their shoulders at the flailing and floundering Traditional Media.
And there is still a lot more to come on this pitiful Palin pick...
I am just not irresponsible enough to start posting based on rumors of her daughter being - or having been - pregnant, or any of the other weird and wacky stories floating around the internet concerning the birth of Trig. But, apparently these stories worry the right wingnuts enough to start refuting them before they make any big splashes in the news. Go figure?
Here we are talkin' about someone that not only should never have been picked as McInsane's running mate, but she knows she is completely unprepared for this, via kos:
In an interview just a month ago, she dissed the job, saying it didn't seem "productive." In fact, she said she doesn't know what the vice president does. Larry Kudlow of CNBC's "Kudlow & Co." asked her about the possibility of becoming McCain ticket mate. Palin replied:
Palin replied: "[A]s for that V.P. talk all the time, I'll tell you, I still can't answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the V.P. does every day?
So, if McCain had made his selection six months ago, the squeaky-clean governor meme would have made a little more sense. But, Sarah Palin is currently under an ethics investigation by the Alaska state legislature. The details of this investigation read like a trashy novel, and I suspect that the players will soon have newfound celebrity on the national stage. I’ll try to explain for all you non-Alaskans who suddenly have good reason to want to know more about Sarah Palin. For those of you not interested in trashy novels, feel free to skip ahead. Here it is…what we in Alaska call “TrooperGate”.
Sarah Palin’s sister Molly married a guy named Mike Wooten who is an Alaska State Trooper. Mike and Molly had a rocky marriage. When the marriage broke up, there was a bitter custody fight that is still ongoing. During the custody investigation, all sorts of things were brought up about Wooten including the fact that he had illegally shot a moose (yes folks this is Alaska), driven drunk, and used a taser (on the test setting, he reminds us) on his 11-year old stepson, who supposedly had asked to see what it felt like. While Wooten has turned out to be a less than stellar figure, the fact that Palin’s father accompanied him on the infamous moose hunt, and that many of the dozens of charges brought up by the Palin family happened long before they were ever reported smacked of desperate custody fight. Wooten’s story is that he was basically stalked by the family.
After all this, Wooten was investigated and disciplined on two counts and allowed to kept his position with the troopers. Enter Walt Monegan, Palin’s appointed new chief of the Department of Public Safety and head of the troopers. Monegan was beloved by the troopers, did a bang-up job with minimal funding and suddenly got axed. Palin was out of town and Monegan got “offered another job” (aka fired) with no explanation to Alaskans. Pressure was put on the governor to give details, because rumors started to swirl around the fact that the highly respected Monegan was fired because he refused to fire the aforementioned Mike Wooten. Palin vehemently denied ever talking to Monegan or pressuring Monegan in any way to fire Wooten, or that anyone on her staff did. Over the weeks it has come out that not only was pressure applied, there were literally dozens of conversations in which pressure was applied to fire him. Monegan has testified to this fact, spurring an ongoing investigation by the Alaska state legislature. But, before this investigation got underway, Palin sent the Alaska State Attorney General out to do some investigative work of his own so she could find out in advance what the real investigation was going to find. (No, I’m not making this up). The AG interviewed several people, unbeknownst to the actual appointed investigator or the Legislature! Palin’s investigation of herself uncovered a recorded phone call retained by the Alaska State Troopers from Frank Bailey, a Palin underling, putting pressure on a trooper about the Wooten non-firing. Todd Palin (governor’s husband) even talked to Monegan himself in Palin’s office while she was away. Bailey is now on paid administrative leave.
As if this weren’t enough, Monegan’s appointed replacement Chuck Kopp, turns out to have been the center of his own little scandal. He received a letter of reprimand and was reassigned after sexual harrassment allegations by a former coworker who didn’t like all the unwanted kissing and hugging in the office. Was he vetted? Obviously not. When he was questioned about all this, his comment was that no one had asked him and he thought they all knew. Kopp, defiant, still claimed to have done nothing wrong and said to the press that there was no way he was stepping down from his new position. Twenty four hours later, he stepped down. Later it was uncovered that he received a $10,000 severance package for his two weeks on the job from Palin. Monegan got nothing.
After extensive news coverage about all this nasty behind-the-scenes scandal, which is definitely NOT squeaky clean, Palin’s approval ratings fell to 67%, still high, but a far cry from the 90% number that’s being thrown around so glibly by the Republicans today. Alaskans are quickly becoming disillusioned once again.
You will find about 800 comments there now, and a lot of it concerns rumors from locals on the Palin kids' origins, so to speak. They are debating whether Sarah Palin was ever pregnant OR if their daughter Bristol is or has been pregnant OR if Sarah Palin had the amniocentesis tests done because she might have been considering having an abortion, among other interesting subjects.
All of these issues are things that should instantly kill Palin's already lukewarm support from the Christian Fundamentalists, Christianists, and Christofascists IF they are proven true. You have to remember that while most of these groups may celebrate her far right wing religious positions, there are many among those groups that don't like women that go to work, never mind chasing that supposed manly power.
Sarah Palin's hometown rallied around her as mayor - now Republicans wonder if the rest of America will warm up to the surprise pick from cold country.
Though her mother-in-law has doubts.
Faye Palin admitted she enjoys hearing Barack Obama speak, and still hasn't decided which way she'll vote."
A former top Justice Department prosecutor now working for John McCain's presidential campaign has been helping to direct an aggressive legal strategy aimed at shutting down a pre-election ethics investigation into Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
The growing role of Edward O'Callaghan, who until six weeks ago served as co-chief of the terrorism and national security unit of the U.S. attorney's office in New York, illustrates just how seriously the McCain campaign is taking the so-called "troopergate" inquiry into Palin's firing last summer of Walt Monegan,
Alaska's Public Safety Commissioner.O'Callaghan emerged publicly for the first time this week when he told reporters at a McCain campaign press conference, in Anchorage, that Palin is "unlikely to cooperate" with an Alaskan legislative inquiry into Monegan's firing because it had been "tainted" by politics.
The "tainted with politics" claim? I guess it is based on the fact that 3 Republicans and 2 Democratic members on a committee looking into claims of Palin's abuse of power voted to go forward with subpoenas and a formal inquiry...
From 
