Contest: Pick Something for Delegate Dan to Break

The first person to notify me next time a Republican makes reference to Abraham Lincoln gets to pick something for me to break.

Rules:
1) The Republican has to hold elected office
2) You have to notify me via email at dans321@hotmail.com
3) Reference has to occur after this moment: Friday September 5th at 9:30am
4) Provide newpaper and date ~or~ network and time that the reference was made
5) In the event of a tie, person who can provide video footage wins.

6) You must pick one of the five items to destroy from the following list.

Option#1: Old Alarm Clock

Option #2: Smiley Face Flower Pot

Option #3: Small Vase of Fake Plastic Flowers

Option #4: Large Green Candle

Options #5: Incomplete Mr. Patatohead

Destruction will be recorded and posted on this webpage.

Winner will be announced and praised in the same video.

Good luck!

Keep 'em honest out there.

PS. If you have no idea what this is about, go here: http://delegatedan.blogspot.com/2008/09/lincoln.html

...

Old Arguments Odd Package

Tonight I witnessed confused desperation.

The craziest part about it: given the last two presidential elections, I secretly harbor a little voice inside my head that tells me that it might actually work.

So I take that little voice inside my head, I rip it out my brain through my ear, place it on the table in front of me and proceed to make every effort possible to rip it apart limb by limb.

All in all, it's a pretty violent process.

No one ever said progress was easy.


You can’t justify more of the same tired dogma that has plagued this country for the last seven and half years simply by taking the exact same ethos that pushed us here and stamping it “change”.

You can’t call a statesmen “bold” after he has voted the exact same way as George W. Bush over 90% of the time during the last seven and a half years.

You can’t make the Grand Old Party new simply by calling its new leader a “Maverick”.

“I will keep taxes low and cut them where I can. My opponent will raise them.”
True: Obama has promised to raise taxes. BUT - also true: under the Obama plan taxes will only be raised on the top five percent of richest Americans. He actually is promising a tax break to the great majority of Americans. Regardless… to flaunt continued tax cut for the wealthiest Americans as the glowing issue of light in a time of economic darkness has no historical base and is extremely irresponsible. Ask Herbert Hoover about it.

“I will open new markets to our goods and services. My opponent will close them.”
How? Why?

“I will cut government spending. He will increase it.”
Yeah that government spending is a terrible way to create jobs in the face of economic crisis. The New Deal sucked. Soldiers who want medical coverage and college education are sissies. And while were at it, let’s cut the salaries of firefighters, teachers, policemen, postal workers and the like, because, damnit, the best way to kick start the economy is by me buying a new boat.

“Workers that lost a job that won't come back, must find a new one that won't go away.”
Is Enron hiring?

“I have the record and the scars to prove it. Barack Obama does not.”
With this gratuitous attempt at exerting executive superiority by extolling his own military experience, John McCain brought the conservative crowd to a frenzy. One question: If military service was such a determining factor to all of those people who gathered in St. Paul, Minnesota tonight, in 2004, why didn’t these same people support John Kerry over George W. Bush. Are decorated soldiers only credible if they are Republicans? You know what someone with more savvy video editing skills that me should do? They should take the now infamous “Swift Boat Veteran” hit piece that aired four years ago this week and edit it ever so slightly. Change all the images of John Kerry to John McCain. Change all the audio parts that say John Kerry to say John McCain. Keep everything else exactly the same. Do this and force these people to smell the horror of their own stink.

“Education is the civil rights issue of this century. Equal access to public education has been gained, but what is the value of access to a failing school? We need to shake up failed school bureaucracies with competition, empower parents with choice. Let's remove barriers to qualified instructors, attract and reward good teachers, and help bad teachers find another line of work. When a public school fails to meet its obligations to students, parent -- when it fails to meet its obligations to students, parents deserve a choice in the education of their children. And I intend to give it to them. Some may choose a better public school. Some may choose a private one. Many will choose a charter school. But they will have the choice, and their children will have that opportunity. Sen. Obama wants our schools to answer to unions and entrenched bureaucrats. I want schools to answer to parents and students.”
I got acclimated to this pattern of language at a young age watching my mom, a high school English teacher, fight battle after battle to defeat vouchers. Here’s how it works: a person with no idea how public school actually work on a day to day basis uses warm language such as “parent choice” and “removing barriers”. Three realities (1) Vouchers would cost taxpayers more – astronomically more – to provide education to every student (2) schools would become private and there would be no standard of uniformity to measure or assess what students should and should not learn. A parent could take the money the state awards to their student and send their student to a school that preaches that the moon is made out of cheese (3) It is entirely politically motivated. The teacher’s unions make up one of the most powerful and galvanized political forces in the country. They often vote for Democrats because Republicans cut the money that goes to education. Therefore, by eliminating Public Education as we know it, Republicans would effectively destroy their most organized opposition. I guess they figure it's easier to do all that than fund schools adequately.

http://www.perkel.com/politics/issues/voucher.htm
http://candst.tripod.com/nkanode.htm
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6342

(I would like to pretend I did a lot of research getting these links, but I just took some of the top ones off Google that read well)

“I fight to restore the pride and principles of our party. We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us. We lost the trust of the American people when some Republicans gave in to the temptations of corruption. We lost their trust when rather than reform government, both parties made it bigger. We lost their trust when instead of freeing ourselves from a dangerous dependence on foreign oil, both parties -- and Sen. Obama -- passed another corporate welfare bill for oil companies. We lost their trust when we valued our power over our principles.”
As the new leader of the Republican Party, John McCain vaguely claims responsibility for all the Republican atrocities and scandals over the last seven and a half years (an abbreviated list: the blown surplus, the skyrocketing deficit, the housing crisis, the crushed economy, Alberto Gonzales’s amnesia, Karl Rove fleeing the country, The Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act, waterboarding is in the dictionary and Scooter Libby is out of in prison, Hurricane Katrina, blacking out of Environmental Impact Reports, Connecting Osama Bin Laden to Saddam Hussien oh and by the way where exactly is Osama Bin Laden and those Weapons of Mass Destruction and does anybody still remember Enron?) BUT in same breath he attempts to connect Barack Obama to corruption created, instigated and covered up by the Republican Party… How does that work?

I’m not done yet with this one… McCain criticizes Barack Obama for helping oil companies BUT in the same speech he claims that the solution America’s energy crisis is to “drill now.” But above all else, the greatest hypocrisy in this particular line: His running mate Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin is from Alaska. SHE IS MADE OF OIL. And I watched her stand up and cheer after McCain delivered this non-dig.

“My friends, if you find faults with our country, make it a better one. If you're disappointed with the mistakes of government, join its ranks and work to correct them. Enlist in our Armed Forces. Become a teacher. Enter the ministry. Run for public office. Feed a hungry child. Teach an -- an illiterate adult to read. Comfort the afflicted. Defend the rights of the oppressed. Our country will be the better, and you will be the happier, because nothing brings greater happiness in life than to serve a cause greater than yourself”
All this from the same stage, the same podium, the same party that - less than twenty four hours prior – had the audacity to mock civil servants. Did anyone else see this on Wednesday? Both Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani uttered scripted digs about Obama’s job as an urban organizer. But while doing so both Republicans made a major mistake: they both flatly laughed when speaking about civil service – as if the concept was joke. To me these two moments of conservative candor were the defining moments of the RNC when the Republican character was revealed in its most detached and tragically elitist form.

"We're going to recover the people's trust by standing up again to the values Americans admire.
The party of Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan is going to get back to basics."
Announcement: I just shattered a small wooden chair from my kitchen into a thousand little pieces against my garage wall (http://delegatedan.blogspot.com/2008/09/lincoln.html). And with it, hopefully, that little pathetic voice of fear and foreboding that continues to find residence inside my head.


.

Signs from the crowd in St. Paul tonight

“Environmentalists for McCain”
The handmade sign was shown on camera while the crowd was chanting “Drill! Drill! Drill!”
This one catapults beyond hypocrisy to sheer insanity.

“Special Needs Mom for Sarah”
Throughout the last thirty plus years, Republicans have consistently voted to cut programs – including but not limited to education – that would have otherwise benefitted special needs students. Am I the only one out there who felt a bit appalled watching baby Trig get passed around like some kind of trophy?

“Iraq War Veterans for Peace”
The balls on this guy. From what I could tell, he wasn’t one of the yellers. He just stood up there in silent defiance with his sign.

To me, the most interesting part about the hecklers was how the crowd responded. Every time a heckler did raise his or her voice in protest during McCain’s speech the crowd responded – loudly with the utmost vigor – “USA! USA! USA!” over and over and over again. Louder and with more vigor with each and every protest and interruption. It was as if all we have to do is wave the flag a little harder and - like a magic wand - our problems are erased.

But what else was the Convention supposed to do, right?

Regardless, I found the tone of the moments symbolic of the last seven and half years of Republican rule.

Pick your war

Obama: Afghanistan
McCain: Iran

On speaking well

I remember two distinct hick ups in Obama’s speech on Thursday night. They threw me off a bit, but he continued through and in the end, the speech was a homerun.

How many hick ups did John McCain have tonight? I lost count.

If it doesn’t matter, then answer me this.
Why were so many people moved by Sarah Palin last night. It’s as if the low expectations manifested by the fact that she is form Alaska or the crud airing on Entertainment tonight actually created a huge opportunity for political capital.
And she cashed in on it like it was ANWAR: just sitting there waiting there to be drilled.

"She presents herself well."
"She speaks so well."
"I like her."
"She's hot."

A person is not allowed to be classified as presenting and speaking well when what they are presenting and speaking are lies.

It is contradictory.

Furthermore, people should not be allowed like, support, adore, lust after or vote for any individual who does this.

The Word from Wasilla

(Written by Anne Kilkenney)

I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992. Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her father was my child's favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the residents of the city.

She is enormously popular; in every way she's like the most popular girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and won't vote for her can't quit smiling when talking about her because she is a "babe".

It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents for seven months.

She is "pro-life". She recently gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby. There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.

She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.

She is savvy. She doesn't take positions; she just "puts things out there" and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.

Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin's kind of job is highly sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything like that of native Alaskans.

Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.

She's smart.

Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000 (at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about 670,000 residents.

During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had given rise to a recall campaign.

Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a "fiscal conservative." During her 6 years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over 33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation (1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they benefited residents.

The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration weren't enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece of property that the City didn't even have clear title to, that was still in litigation 7 yrs later -- to the delight of the lawyers involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.

While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office redecorated more than once.

These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.

As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.

In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today's surplus, borrow for needs.

She's not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren't generated by her or her staff. Ideas weren't evaluated on their merits, but on the basis of who proposed them.

While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin's attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.

Sarah complained about the "old boy's club" when she first ran for Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of "old boys". Palin fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people, creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally grateful and fiercely loyal--loyal to the point of abusing their power to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the case of pressuring the State's top cop (see below).

As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla's Police Chief because he "intimidated" her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska's top cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure and she had every legal right to fire him, but it's pretty clear that an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn't fire her sister's ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew her support.

She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She abruptly fired her loyal City

Administrator; even people who didn't like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.

Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything publicly about her.

When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party) engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a gutsy fighter against the "old boys' club" when she dramatically quit, exposing this man's ethics violations (for which he was fined).

As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the "bridge to nowhere" after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.

As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative action restored most of these projects--which had been vetoed simply because she was not aware of their importance--but with the unobservant she had gained a reputation as "anti-pork".

She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a fiscal conservative.

Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah. They call her "Sarah Barracuda" because of her unbridled ambition and predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah's mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.

As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package of legislation known as "AGIA" that forced the oil companies to march to the beat of her drum.

Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to global warming. She campaigned "as a private citizen" against a state initiaitive that would have either a) protected salmon streams from pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State's lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior's decision to list polar bears as threatened species.

McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a heartbeat away from being President.

There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more knowledgeable and experienced than she.

However, there's a lot of people who have underestimated her and are regretting it.

Lincoln

If I hear one more Republican boast from the Convention podium that they are the party of Lincoln, I will lose my mind, vomit and then break something of significant value.

In 1860 The Republican Party was a relatively new party in United States Government. They had come together just four years earlier by forming a fragile alliance between three different and powerful political groups: Whigs (wealthy frontier landowners), Free Soilers (people opposed to slavery, not because they favored civil rights, but because they didn’t want black people - slaves or otherwise - sharing land with them) and Abolitionists (people actively pursuing the end of slavery). There were also waves of immigrants arriving from Germany and Ireland who felt disenfranchised from the traditional establishment: Urban Irish tended to be Democrats, but rural Germans flocked to the new Republican party in large numbers.

Interestingly enough, despite current widespread belief, Abraham Lincoln was not the first Republican candidate for President of the United States: Frontier General and Californian John C. Fremont was. He very nearly beat James Buchanan in 1856, but in the end lost due to the fact that throughout the 1950s, Democrats were strong enough to carry a few states in the North and completely galvanized in every state in the South. The result of this election continues to be a huge “What if?” for American Historians: Prior to George W. Bush Administration, James Buchanan was widely regarded as the worst President in United States History for very nearly bringing about the permanent division of the Republic.

But I digress.

The point: In 1860 the conservative party in the United States was the Democratic Party. Their stronghold was in the South where people were cemented into their "tradition". The Republicans emerged to challenge this stronghold. But it wasn't easy. It took some luck and some craftsmanship. During his Senate race in 1858, Lincoln skillfully maneuvered his Democratic rival and presumptive future Democratic Nominee for President, Stephen Douglas, into stating he supported the abolition of slavery in the western territories. These comments won Douglas the Senate race in 1858, but they ultimately cost Democrats the Presidency two years later. In 1860, one of the factors that buoyed Lincoln into the White House - despite only serving one term in the House of Representatives - was the fact that Northern Democrats had split with Southern Democrats over this issue. The Democrats had two candidates on the ticket. One from the North, Douglas and one from the South, John C. Breckenridge. Lincoln gained the Presidency with roughly 40% of the popular vote. Historians continue to debate weather or not this was the end result Lincoln intended in 1858 when he backed Douglas into a corner.

Am I still digressing? I don't think so. There are patterns emerging here. Stay with me.

Since Howard Taft took the oath of office in 1909 (post Teddy Roosevelt) 20th and 21st Century Republicans have proudly and consistently proclaimed that they are the party of “tradition.” Although some Republicans are using the word “change” at this week’s Republican National Convention, if the past 100 years serves as any guide, this claim has absolutely no base.

In 1860 Abraham Lincoln was the far from a traditional leader. He was a new type of leader, from a new party, whose very election challenged the traditional institution. He emerged victorious at the Republican Primary and Convention in a field of candidates - William Seward and Salmon Chase to name two - who were labeled as "more experienced". Prior to taking office, while serving as a Congressmen from Illinois he proclaimed boldly, in defiance of tradition, and in reference to the issue of slavery that “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” So great and dramatic was his departure from the status quo that the President-elect had wear a disguise while travelling through the South on train to take his oath of office in Washington D.C.

History now views some of the traditions 1860 conservatives fought so vigorously to uphold – economic stratification, subordination of women, and above all else, slavery – as some of the worst atrocities in American History.

It wasn’t a conservative movement that ended slavery, it was a liberal one.
It wasn’t a conventional strategy that won the Civil War, it was brutally honest and bold one.
It wasn't a traditional leader that brought the country together, it was a new one.

One hundred and forty eight years from now, what will historians and citizens say about the decisions we made today? I hope that they will write that we recognized the truest and greatest challenges of the day head on, stared them in the eye, engaged them in battle, endured and prevailed.

One relevant lesson our history has taught us: in the face of crisis – and make no mistake about it, we are in a crisis: the economy continues to decline, middle class families continue to loose their homes, we have an energy crisis, a global environmental crisis and two wars that are stretching our resources dramatically thinner with each passing day - we must break from tradition, often times dramatically, to create and maintain reforms required of the day, to create balance, right the ship and to heal the Republic.

A second relevant lesson our history has taught us: despite our greatest flag waving efforts on the Forth of July and no matter how many times we repeat the Pledge of the Allegiance, victory is not guaranteed. John C. Fremont lost to James Buchanan. William Jennings Bryan lost to William McKinley. Twice. Adlai Stevenson lost to Dwight Eisenhower. Twice. Al Gore lost to George W. Bush. But Lincoln beat Douglas and the North won the Civil War. Roosevelt beat Hoover and we ended the Great Depression and won World War II in the same administration. Kennedy beat Nixon and we avoided a nuclear holocaust during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Every setback in American history has come with tremendous cost; and every great victory in American History with tremendous cost as well. The difference between the two is when we get it right, America, and the world, have emerged better because of it.

As citizens, it is worth working to get it right.

Drill Baby Drill

And I sit here tonight sleepless, ill with a vile knot in my stomach.

Because I know that slowly across America these grossly inaccurate, misleading, divisive and completely harmful arguments are - somehow, despite the complete corruption and total failure of the last seven and a half years - once again beginning to take root and spout up like poison weed.

My television reeks of sulfur.

I can only handle and respond to so much.

Playing this in the background, loudly during Romney's, Huckabee's, Guiliani's and Palin's Speeches tonight helped me get through it. Enjoy.
http://www.mp3miracle.com/StarWars/ImperialDeathMarch/

Mitt Romney: Hypocrite, Delusional Psychopath, Prouder to be an American than you

************************

Romney's speech in red.

My comments in smaller black.

************************

Last week, the Democratic convention talked about change. But what do you think? Is Washington now, liberal or conservative? Let me ask you some questions.

Is a Supreme Court decision liberal or conservative that awards Guantanamo terrorists with constitutional rights? It's liberal.

Hold on dude. GW nominated two justices in last seven and a hal years. This is after the Supreme Court, in December of 2000 ordered Florida to stop counting ballots and made George Walker Bush the first Supreme Court chosen President in United States History, authorized torture (Chief Justice Scalia: “The torture of detainees does not violate the 8th Amendment’s ban on ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ because, torture is not used as punishment”), overturned a law restricting hand guns… I can go on… do you want me to?

Is a government liberal or conservative that puts the interests of the teachers union ahead of the needs of our children? It's liberal.

I was sixteen years old when I first witnessed a Republican take the stage at the 1992 National Convention and take a jab at teacher’s unions. I still stirs that same ire in me now that it did sixteen years ago. As a student then, I though to myself, “How can you stand on that stage in your neat suit and neat tie and neat hair and attack the humanitarians who help me everyday?” And - above all else - “My mother is a teacher. I’ve seen the work she does for the Teacher’s Union. How dare you.”

The unions these people belong to were formed and continue to exist in an effort to battle the institutions that wish to cut, disembowel and destroy public education as we know it. These teachers fight the battle on two front lines - defending public education from special interests and reactionary legislators, and most importantly, working every day to raise our children to become responsible adults and engaged citizens. They deserve respect and support, not politically convenient and arbitrary insults. Do these people really think that teachers join unions for the purpose of harming students?

Throughout my entire lifetime (almost thirty two years) Republicans have striven to end public education. They call themselves patriots as they push the dagger deeper and deeper into one of Thomas Jefferson’s greatest visions for the Republic. Fortunately for us, so far, they have failed to do so. We can thank Teacher’s Unions across the country for this. However, in the last eight years Republicans have succeeded in gutting public education as we know it. They have succeeded in cutting spending and installing crippling federal overheads on all public institutions across the country through “No Child Left Behind”.

Make no mistake about it: Republicans are the ones are the ones gutting the system. They are the one’s making it rain. And then they have the audacity to walk outside and say “Gee look at that, it's raining! Must be the teacher’s fault.”

Is a Congress liberal or conservative that stops nuclear power plants and off-shore drilling, making us more and more dependent on Middle Eastern tyrants? It's liberal.

Two things are terrifying about this statement. Let me start with what is not terrifying. Democrat or Republican in the White House, expanding Nuclear Energy is going to be a reality in the near future. Although I continue to have concerns about Nuclear Power, I recognize its necessity and recognize that our technology has improved dramatically since Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. But drilling is absolutely wrong. It is short sighted, detrimental to the land, detrimental to the air, detrimental to life on earth as we know it. That is a fact. But that is not, necessarily, what terrifies me about this particiular quote.

What terrifies me is – despite our greatest efforts to inform the public and develop new sources of energy - polls show that drilling is an issue for Republicans to boast. Americans want to drill. How can this be?! The tragic punchline: If we are dumb enough to think is a solution to our energy crisis, we are dumb enough to vote for Republican again.

Oh, and Mitt, regarding your point about liberals making us more dependent on Middle Eastern tyrants… some pictures for you buddy.

Is government spending, putting aside inflation, liberal or conservative if it doubles since 1980? It's liberal.

We need change all right: change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington.

You’ve got to be kidding me. Somebody tell this guy that White House has belonged to a Republican the last seven and half hears. Somebody tell him that Republicans have had control of the senate for four of the last eight years. Somebody tell him that Republicans have controlled the House of Representatives for twelve of the last fourteen years. Somebody tell him that Republican Presidents have made the majority of nominations on the Supreme Court. Somebody please tell him that it was Republican leadership that destroyed our surplus and created the largest deficit in United States History. Somebody tell him that Republicans sent us to war on a lie. Somebody tell him science is our friend. Somebody tell him that he has no argument. Somebody get this guy off the stage.

And you have the audacity to criticize Al Gore for travelling around the world to spread scientific awareness while you stand idle on stage uttering insipid and aged vitriol.

Katrina, Investco Field and Gustav

The Louisiana Delegation sat behind the California Delegation at Investco Field Thursday Night. As I sat in the back row of the California Delegation, these people were within arm’s length of me.

Despite all the different conversations I had with people from all walks of life from all over the country that week, I never had a single conversation with a Louisiana Delegate. However, I did have two interactions with them both of which continue to speak infinite volumes. As national attention shifts once again into the Gulf Coast region, the events from the Democratic Convention floor that day way heavy at the forefront of my consciousness.

First: When Steve Wonder took the stage and performed, I thought the ENTIRE floor was going to lose their collective minds. I’m sure I stood out like sore thumb as I gravitated into the Louisiana Delegation to dance with them. I couldn’t help it. The celebratory energy and enthusiasm generating from their section was like a magnet. I had to be a part of. It was like no musical, concert, perhaps even spiritual experience I have ever had before, and will probably ever have again. It made me want to go to New Orleans.

Second: Later that evening, Barack Obama made reference to Hurricane Katrina. When he did so, something happened that I will never forget: a sort of sigh or gasp – a purging moan mixed with a few sparse Amens – echoed from the Louisiana Delegation. I struggle now to put a finger on the specific noise I heard, but I what I felt – once again - was electric. But this time, it was different. What I felt was much more overpowering: anger, sorrow and hope all at one instant. It continues reverberate in my bones. Even now at this late hour, goosebumps appear on my skin as I send my prayers to them.

In the wake of the second event, the first event gained different meaning. What suffering had these people gone through during the past three years? What fears did they have in the coming week? How much work and dedication did it take for them to arrive on the floor of Investco Field that day? Who and What does Barack Obama represent to them?

Hurricane Gustav: From the GOP

During the 2003 State of the Union I kept a running tally and accurately counted the number of times President George Bush used the following words:
"Terror"
"Weapons of Mass Destruction"
"Sadaam Hussien"
"Osama Bin Laden"
"Al Quaeda"
"Tom Brady"

I threw the last one in because I could not believe that Tom Brady was actually there, sitting next to the First Lady. Only in America can you use a Super Bowl Champion to promote a war that is a lie. I continue to be bitter about it.

The final numbers were off the chart and absurd. I sent out the final count to a group of friends.
And instantly it made the rounds, it was forwarded, and forwarded to the masses.

I know this because I sent out the email before school started at 7am the following morning. By 3pm when I had finished school and was checking email again, I had an email in my box from a person – and I will never forget this name – who went by “Fuzzybunny”. Below what he or she wrote - which I will share with you in a moment - I saw that my message had been forwarded eight different times before making it's way to him/her.

In Fuzzybunny's message to me, s/he basically called me a coward (he was the one using a pen name), challenged my patriotism (there was a huge American flag on my classroom wall next to me), and said that I was wrong for criticizing the President’s effort to preserve security (no comment needed here).

But that’s not the punchline. The punchline is that s/he ended by saying to me that he was going to “teach me a lesson” and sort of cackled off into the sunset. I didn’t think much of this guy until the next day when I began receiving emails from every conservative organization in America.

My decision? Keep them. I’ve been getting emails from the GOP ever since.

You wouldn’t believe some of the articles I’ve kept over the years. I think I’ll write a book about how wrong they were and continue to be someday.

Here is one that arrived yesterday:

Democrats Display Destructive Delight
By Jeff Crouere
September 2, 2008

Once again a major hurricane has hit the New Orleans area. Once again, I have evacuated my family along with millions of harried Gulf Coast residents. We are worried about our family members, friends, property, and pets. It is stressful time for all of us in this region of the country.

It was just three years ago that Hurricane Katrina devastated our area creating horrendous damage and killing over 1,600 people. Unfortunately, there are tens of thousands of people who have not been able to return home. Thousands of homes remain damaged and unoccupied. Sadly, our community has not recovered from Katrina; yet, now we have to face another killer storm. It is a tragic situation that is more than nerve wracking for all of us in the New Orleans area and throughout the Gulf Coast.

In the midst of this tragedy, liberal propagandist Michael Moore, a bloated blowhard, has insulted every resident of the threatened region. Moore told fellow Republican hater and lunatic liberal MSNBC host Keith Olbermann, that Hurricane Gustav was proof that there "is a God in Heaven." Moore crowed that it was delicious irony that President Bush was scheduled to speak to the GOP convention at the same time the devastating hurricane would be rampaging across the northern Gulf Coast.

By celebrating the political ramifications of Gustav, Moore and Olbermann were displaying more concern about partisan politics than the well being of millions of Americans. It was a disgusting display of nasty partisanship at a time of national crisis. Any decent human being should be more worried about the safety of fellow Americans than scoring political points.

Of course three years ago, Hurricane Katrina devastated the New Orleans area and the federal response was lame and delayed. Yet, the local and state response was equally inadequate. This time, the federal government has been proactive and very aggressive in evacuating local residents and preparing for this hurricane. The actions of Louisiana state government led by new Republican Governor Bobby Jindal has been the antithesis of what happened during Katrina. At that time, Democrat Governor Kathleen Blanco was overwhelmed, overly emotional and ill-prepared. She clearly was not able to convey any leadership or inspire any confidence in state government. In contrast, for this emergency, Governor Jindal has acted quickly and confidently and certainly saved lives by his leadership during this crisis.

Regrettably, several leading Democrats are using this tragedy to score political points. Former DNC Chairman Don Fowler said that the hurricane demonstrates that "God is on our side." A shocking video captured a heartless Fowler laughing about this tragedy and saying that it would negatively impact the Republican convention. In another example of horrible insensitivity, liberal Fox News contributor and Temple University professor Marc Lamont Hill said that Republicans must be "praying for tornadoes" so that President Bush will skip the convention. This type of disgusting partisanship is why many people are tired of politics.

Let me be clear to these liberal Democrats, no sane Republican official is praying for tornadoes. In fact, Republican leaders gathered for the convention are very concerned about the impact of the storm and will lead an effort to assist in the recovery of the area. For example, President Bush did not attend the convention so that he could manage the federal response to Hurricane Gustav.

It is time to remind these callous Democrats that God did not send a hurricane to help one party or to harm people to score political points. The God that I worship is a merciful and loving God that watches over all of his flock, regardless of political affiliation.

This tragedy should be an opportunity for people to put aside political labels and pull together to insure a quick recovery from this disaster. The last thing anyone should be doing at this point is to try to take political advantage of this tragedy. The comments of these leading Democrats are incredibly cruel and show complete insensitivity to the plight of their fellow Americans. Now is not the time to play partisan politics, there will be plenty of time for that once this threat passes.

Hurricane Gustav: From Barack Obama

Dan --

Today, the thoughts and prayers of all Americans are with those in the path of Hurricane Gustav -- and many of you are asking what you can do to help.

We do not yet know what the impact of Hurricane Gustav will be, and we hope with all our hearts that the damage will not be as great as it was three years ago.

But we know there will be damage, and there is something you can do right now. Your financial support will strengthen organizations like the American Red Cross that are evacuating Gulf Coast residents and planning to help communities get back on their feet.

Make a donation to support the American Red Cross today.

At times like this, it is our compassion and resilience that define who we are as a nation.

Please give whatever you can afford, even $10, to make sure the American Red Cross has the resources to help those in the path of this storm: https://donate.barackobama.com/redcross

Thank you for your generosity, and I hope you will join Michelle and me in praying for the safety of those in the path of the storm and the first responders who are doing all they can to ensure the safety of their communities.

Barack

Alternate link to my albums

Apparently some folks are having issues using the snapfish links.
Try this one. It's a link to all three albums.

http://www1.snapfish.com/photolibrary/owned_view=owned_2008/t_=142686020

If this one does not work, I'm open to ideas as to how ensure everyone can see them here.
I can also just send them to you via email.

Photo from AP

This is the flag that hung in my classroom at Foothill High School for five years.

"Delegates Dan Schneider, left, from Pleasanton, Calif., and Cirian Villavicencio, right, from Sacramento, Calif., wave the American flang on the last day of the Democratic National Convention at Invesco Field in Denver, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)"

http://media.myfoxdc.com/photo_galleries/DNCDayFourObamaSpeaks/album/slides/Democratic_Convention90__.sff.html

Signs, signs everywhere there's signs

The Airport in Denver has the most efficient security checkpoint I have ever experienced.
They have five different people checking IDs and about fifteen different metal detectors. Everything is efficient.

They were also nice to me. I had fifty different campaign posters - direct from the Convention floor – tucked into my arms along with my laptop. I was in complete violation of the “two item carry on rule” but they smiled and let me through. I was stoked because I could now bring these signs home to my friends, family and supporters in California.

While waiting in line for the metal detector, a gentleman approached me and asked if he could have a sign. I told him I was sorry, but all of these were accounted for. I actually feared being short.

Then a realization.

“Excuse me, where are you from?” I asked.

“Minnesota” The man responded.

“Well then, you clearly need these more than I do. How many do you need?”

“Can I have three?”

“Will you use them?”

“You bet I will.”

"Then how about six?"

"Oh my gosh, thank you."

"Alright man, get after it. We need your state."

Then it got really interesting.

“Does anybody want an Obama sign to take back to their home state?” I shouted loud enough for all fifteen rows of people and, perhaps, all of Denver International Airport to hear.

“Yeah! Over here” I heard a woman shout out over in line three.

I walked over - half waiting for security to horse collar me. It didn't happen.

“Where are you from?” I asked

“Pennsylvania” She replied.

“How many would you like?”

“Can I have four?”

“How about eight? Will you use them. These are right off the Convention floor?”

“You bet I will”

“Anyone else?” I bellowed.

“Yeah over here.” A man said, over in isle twelve.

“Where are you from?” Still raising my voice.

“Texas!”

Laughter from the masses.

“Heck yeah, hang one of these up in Texas!”

I must have zig-zagged through five different security lines to five different people all of which (other than Texas) were from five different battleground states.

Even after I got through security, a gentlemen shining shoes (Colorado resident) asked if he could have a sign. Then his entire team asked for a sign. “Can I have two” his manager asked “I’d like to hang one right here in the airport and in my home as well.”

I returned home with a pile of signs that had been cut by more than half by the Denver Airport, but I am confident that all of the historical artifacts I parted with are LIVING exactly where they need to be.



Here is a photograph of “Battleground States” – directly from the CNN booth on the Convention floor.

Below is a catalogue of the signs I have remaining.

If you know anyone in the states in "battleground yellow” above who would like one of these signs, please let me know and I will mail it to them directly myself. For those of you having trouble reading the picture, or for those of you who are geographically impaired... here are the states, from East to West: New Hampshire, Virginia, Florida, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada.

11 total. Madness.

If you want one for yourself and will put it to good use, then detail to me how you plan on using iand I will find a way to get one to you.


I have seven of these.



I have five of these.



My personal favorite. I have six of these left.



Sorry, but my Irish elders got dibs on these. I will just say, waving a Kennedy sign in a Democratic Convention is not an experience I took lightly nor will soon forget. I get goosebumps now as I type this.



One left. The one I had on the floor of Investco Field. I entered Denver International Airport with twenty.

Clearly Hillary Clinton supporters now have reason to support John McCain for President

Evolution:
Hillary Clinton: Believes in Evolution
Sarah Palin: Believes in Exodus. Let's put it in schools

Guns:
Hillary Clinton: Supports laws limiting hand guns
Sarah Palin: Keep your hands of my guns... Now watch me shoot this!

Global Warming:
Hillary Clinton: A threat
Sarah Palin: A hoax

Wildlife Refuge:
Hillary Clinton: Protect it
Sarah Palin: Drill it

Clean Energy:
Hillary Clinton: Government must encourage and support emerging technologies
Sarah Palin: It doesn't exist... DRILL IT.

Heath Care for the uninsured:
Hillary Clinton: Take care of the sick
Sarah Palin: Pray you don’t get sick

Abortion:
Hillary Clinton: Supports a woman's right to choose what is best for her health
Sarah Palin: Supports the government's right to choose what's best for the woman

Education:
Hillary Clinton: Support students and teachers by funding and building a public education system worthy of the greatest democracy in the world.
Sarah Palin: Test students and teachers. If they don’t pass, take away their funding. Then, after breaking the system declare that the system is broken and state that it needs to be privatized.

Economy:
Sarah Palin: Tax Cuts to the rich = good. George W. Bush's plan for the American economy is working.
Hillary Clinton: B----?! YOU CRAZY?! !!!

War in Iraq:
Hillary Clinton: No longer supports it.
Sarah Palin: Quote: “I haven’t thought about it.”

Vagina:
Hillary Clinton: Has one.
Sarah Palin: Has one.


You should be offended by this.

However, if you are angry at me, then I believe you are directing your anger towards the wrong person.


.