McCain Campaign Violated McCain-Feingold law with Palin Clothing Purchases by Steven Leser www.opednews.com In what has to be one of the most embarrassing turn of events for the McCain campaign thus far, it appears that in purchasing $150,000 worth of clothes for Sarah Palin and her family, McCain and his campaign and/or the RNC have violated the 2002 McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act. A link to the entire text of the law and the relevant text are below. Only a lawyer would know for sure if this constitutes a breach of the law but the spirit of the law was definitely broken by the RNC, Palin and the McCain campaign: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h107-2356 SEC. 313. USE OF CONTRIBUTED AMOUNTS FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES. (a) PERMITTED USES- (b) PROHIBITED USE- (1) IN GENERAL- A contribution or donation described in subsection (a) shall not be converted by any person to personal use. (2) CONVERSION- For the purposes of paragraph (1), a contribution or donation shall be considered to be converted to personal use if the contribution or amount is used to fulfill any commitment, obligation, or expense of a person that would exist irrespective of the candidate's election campaign or individual's duties as a holder of Federal office, including-- (A) a home mortgage, rent, or utility payment; (B) a clothing purchase; (C) a noncampaign-related automobile expense; (D) a country club membership; (E) a vacation or other noncampaign-related trip; (F) a household food item; (G) a tuition payment; (H) admission to a sporting event, concert, theater, or other form of entertainment not associated with an election campaign; and (I) dues, fees, and other payments to a health club or recreational facility.' . Sec. 323 '(a) NATIONAL COMMITTEES- '(1) IN GENERAL- A national committee of a political party (including a national congressional campaign committee of a political party) may not solicit, receive, or direct to another person a contribution, donation, or transfer of funds or any other thing of value, or spend any funds, that are not subject to the limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements of this Act. '(2) APPLICABILITY- The prohibition established by paragraph (1) applies to any such national committee, any officer or agent acting on behalf of such a national committee, and any entity that is directly or indirectly established, financed, maintained, or controlled by such a national committee. ---------------------------------------------------- This puts McCain and his campaign squarely in the realm of slapstick comedy. Does anyone still think he has the managerial and leadership skills to be President? His first major decision was choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate, the most unqualified person on a major national ticket in over 100 years, now his campaign violates a campaign finance reform law that he himself wrote. It's hard to demonstrate incompetence any better than that. He makes Inspector Clousseau, Laurel and Hardy and Abbott and Costello seem adroit by comparison. Will McCain and the RNC now stop whining about the money Obama has been able to raise? If they can afford to spend $150,000 on Palin's clothes, they obviously are not hurting for money. What does this say about the campaign's attempts to reach out to the 'Joe the Plumbers' and 'Joe Sixpacks' and 'Hockey moms' out there? Do those types of people spend $150,000 on clothes from Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue? To think that Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh and various other denizens of the Conservative Right went ballistic over a $400 haircut for John Edwards. Edwards' expenditures are minor league compared to the McCain-Shoppin' ticket. You betcha! McCain is now in the unenviable position of trying to convince the American people that he should be the Chief Law Enforcement official of the land when he doesn't even obey the laws that he crafted. If he were waging an issue based campaign and not hurling false accusations at Obama as fast as he could shovel, one would almost feel sorry for him. McCain had it right when he suspended his campaign a few weeks ago, but the reasons and duration were wrong. He should suspend it permanently because he clearly does not have the judgment or skills for the job. Steven Leser specializes in Politics, Science & Health, and Entertainment topics. He has held positions within the Democratic Party including District Chair and Public Relations Chair within county organizations. Steven Leser writes for www.opednews.com, an internet only media site that has grown to become one of the highest traffic news sites in America, reaching more traffic, according to alexa.com, than all but the thirty largest daily newspapers in the US. Mr. Leser is one of the 500+ liberal pundits who, each month, are published in what has become one of the top five Liberal/progressive media sites in the US."
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Saturday, October 18, 2008
Mask My Political Views
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The following is from Mother Jones online. Isn't it nice to see that we Americans are so transparent, even our Halloween purchases reflect our political leaning? "According to Fortune magazine, more than one Halloween mask retailer has claimed they can correctly predict who will win the White House. Spirit Halloween, the largest seasonal Halloween vendor in the US, says Bush outsold Kerry two to one in 2004, Gore sold 14 percent fewer masks in 2000, and Clinton masks won with 71 percent in 1996.
We decided to update Fortune's presidential mask findings for 2008 thus far; here's what we found.
At Buycostumes.com, which tracks the sales of its paper masks, Obama is currently ahead 54 to 46 percent against McCain, though Sarah Palin masks are outselling Joe Biden masks three to one. Buycostumes.com's poll page has a US map with state breakdowns, including a few noteworthy results: Texas and Mississippi have gone blue this year, while Rhode Island, Vermont, and Maine favor Republican masks. The erratic results suggest that some are buying masks to support while others to mock the candidates, though in the past, total sales—regardless of motive—have predicted the winning candidate.
Over at Amazon.com a running tally updates each hour with the latest sales of vinyl and paper masks. Obama's ahead there, too, though his mask is slightly cheaper: $12.90 versus $12.95 for McCain.
Overall this year, Obama is ahead, with 66 percent of national sales. His mask has hefty margins in all of the swing states, though McCain's is close in Delaware, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina.
But nothing is set in stone: Most costume sales are made in the last two weeks before the holiday. Can your Halloween garb affect the election? Notes Buycostumes.com, "This poll can be bought!'"
—Brittney Andres 
As you can see here, both candidates are a Head, so no clear winner.
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Friday, October 10, 2008
The Candidates and Travel Concerns
0 commentsThis is reprinted from the Frommer's Newsletter http://www.frommers.com/articles/5526.html.
Obama and McCain Strike Out on Travelers' Issues
By Sascha Segan October 8, 2008In this intense presidential campaign, Senators Barack Obama and John McCain have talked about many issues. But as air travel gets more crowded, delayed and expensive, roads and bridges crumble, and fewer foreign travelers decide to brave our strict security procedures to enter the U.S., the two candidates have said very little about issues affecting travelers and the travel industry.
In tough economic times, travel industry issues are very relevant to Americans' pocketbooks. According to the Travel Industry Association, travel and tourism is a $1.6 trillion industry generating $110 billion in tax revenue a year. The industry employed 7.5 million people in 2006, and that's not counting all of the folks who work at stores, restaurants and other venues patronized by both travelers and locals.
We emailed each campaign twice with a list of questions; both declined to respond. We won't take it personally. The Travel Industry Association has also tried to ask the candidates what they're going to do for travelers, and they seem to have been ignored, too.
We've marshaled the candidates' position statements, press and third-party reports to try to suss out what the candidates think about our struggling airlines, our broken-down railways, our crumbling roads and the inbound travel industry.
Air Travel
Airlines are merging. Flight delays are rampant. Airfares are going up, and people are getting stuck on the tarmac for hours at a time. What do Obama and McCain think?
Obama's transportation position paper blames "a record number of flight delays" on "an outdated air-traffic control system and overscheduling at airports already operating at full capacity ... Moreover, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has failed to work well with our nation's air traffic controllers, neglecting to treat them with the respect they deserve. Obama will work with Congress to modernize the nation's air traffic control system and he will direct the new FAA Administrator to work cooperatively with the frontline air traffic controllers to restore morale and improve working conditions and operations at the agency." According to Popular Mechanics Obama favors hiring more air traffic controllers.
If you read between the lines of a highly polemic AFL-CIO page on McCain's aviation policies you'll find that McCain is interested in privatizing or contracting out air traffic control. He's for allowing foreign airlines to compete on U.S. routes, and for more foreign investment in the U.S. airline industry. The AFL-CIO opposes these things, but needless to say, many other people support these ideas.
Neither candidate has stepped forward for travelers on "passenger rights" issues, including regulating whether airlines should provide comfort or compensation to passengers affected by delays and cancellations.
Rail Travel
Bring up the subject of Amtrak, and you'll find some of the starkest differences in the candidates' positions.
McCain has been one of Amtrak's greatest opponents for years. He has opposed increasing Amtrak funding and referred to Amtrak as a symbol of government waste, according to the Boston Globe. “Amtrak should be restructured to eliminate its reliance on the American taxpayers and to allow for its privatization," he said in 2002, according to a Brookings Institution report from August 25.
Obama says he is "a strong supporter of federal financial support for Amtrak. Obama believes we need to reform Amtrak to improve accountability. As president, Barack Obama will continue to fight for Amtrak funding and reform so that individuals, families and businesses throughout the country have safe and reliable transportation options. Barack Obama supports development of high-speed rail networks across the country. Providing passengers with safe high-speed rail will have significant environmental and metropolitan planning advantages and help diversify our nation's transportation infrastructure. Our domestic rail freight capacity must also be strengthened because our demand for rail transportation has never been greater, leaving many key transportation hubs stretched to capacity."
Obama's running mate, Joe Biden, is known as "Amtrak Joe" for his daily commute between Washington, D.C. and Delaware on Amtrak and his staunch support for increased funding for passenger rail.
Road Travel
For John McCain, energy policy and infrastructure policy are inseparable. "The nation cannot reduce its dependency on oil unless we change how we power our transportation sector," his Web site says.
McCain will offer a $5,000 tax credit for anyone who buys a zero-emission car; a $300 million prize for developing a viable electric car; a "rapid and complete" switch to "flex-fuel" ethanol-compatible vehicles; and enforcing mileage standards on carmakers.
McCain opposes a larger federal role in the transportation sector, according to the Brookings Institution.
Obama wants to increase those fuel-efficiency standards by 4 percent each year, provide a $7,000 tax credit for buying plug-in hybrid cars, and mandate that all new cars be "flex-fuel." In his transportation plan, he also discusses investing heavily in roads, highways and bridges with a "National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank" that will finance projects to the tune of $60 billion over 10 years.
Inbound Tourism
Even as tourism to the US declines, the two candidates have been totally silent on issues affecting the huge inbound tourism industry. As Arthur Frommer recounts here on our site, "While other foreign countries are enjoying regular and substantial increases in their incoming tourism, the U.S.A. is welcoming fewer tourists in 2008 than visited our country in 2000. Recently, a Senior Vice President of the Travel Industry Association testified before a congressional committee that the shortfall in incoming foreign tourism had cost America "46 million visitors, $140 billion in lost visitor spending, $23 billion in lost tax revenueÂ… and 340,000 jobs."
The Travel Industry Association tried to get answers from the candidates, but got nothing.
"We have confidence that both could be leaders in striking the best balance between security and travel facilitation, but to date neither campaign has addressed travel issues in-depth," TIA senior vice president Geoff Freeman said diplomatically via e-mail.
In a blog post in the Orlando Sentinel, Obama criticized a potential government-sponsored tourism advertising campaign. "Because, look, money's tight right now. And there are a lot of potential uses for that money. And I think people know where South Beach is."
McCain has stayed mum on the issue of declining tourism to the U.S. On his Web site, he says he wants to "continue implementation of the US-VISIT comprehensive visitor security program." US-VISIT is an umbrella term for a bunch of controversial border security measures including fingerprinting visitors both as they enter and as they leave the country.
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Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Sunday, October 05, 2008
The Nation
0 commentsI am not going to embed this video since the article is just as good a read. http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080915/pow_video
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Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Education of Candidates
0 commentsEducational background of the Presidential candidates Barack Obama: Occidental College - Two years. Columbia University - B.A. political science, majored in international relations. Harvard - Juris Doctorate (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude Law Degree Joe Biden: University of Delaware - B.A. in history and B.A. in political science. Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctorate (J.D.) Law Degree John McCain: United States Naval Academy - Class rank 894 of 899 Sarah Palin: Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A in journalism
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Thursday, September 25, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Sarah Palin: Myth vs. Fact - Rolling Stone Magazine
0 commentsSarah Palin's credentials as a "reformer" are nothing but spin. She has continually sided with Big Oil, lobbied to increase pork spending, raised money for one of the nation's most flagrant pork barrel abusers, and mismanaged public funds through her own neglect and ineptitude. Here's a guide to separating myth from fact. THE MYTH: "She took the luxury jet that was acquired by her predecessor and sold it on eBay. And made a profit!" — John McCain, at a campaign stop in Wisconsin THE FACTS: No one bought the jet online. It was eventually sold through an aircraft broker — at a loss to taxpayers of nearly $600,000 - to one of her largest campaign contributors, who is reportedly now seeking $50,000 in taxpayer money to pay maintenance costs. THE MYTH: "I told the Congress 'Thanks, but no thanks' on that Bridge to Nowhere." — Sarah Palin, convention speech THE FACTS: Supported the infamous pork project in her 2006 run for governor, even after Congress had killed the bridge; derided its opponents as "spinmeisters." Reversed her stance a year later — but kept the money, doling out the $223 million in federal funds to other pork projects throughout the state. THE MYTH: "We ... championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress." — Sarah Palin, convention speech THE FACTS: As mayor, employed a lobbyist who also worked for Jack Abramoff to secure $27 million in pork spending for Wasilla — more than $4,000 per resident. In her two years as governor, requested $453 million in earmarks. Alaska ranks first in the nation for pork, raking in seven times the national average. Alaska ranks number one in federal spending per resident ($13,950) but sits at number eighteen in taxes paid per resident ($5434), meaning all of us taxpaying non-Alaskans spend $8500 per year on each and every resident of Palin's model of "rugged self-sufficiency". THE MYTH: "I found ... someone who stopped government from wasting taxpayers' money." — John McCain, introducing Palin THE FACTS: Signature accomplishment as mayor: building a $15 million hockey arena that plunged the city (whose annual budget is just $20 million) into debt. She broke ground on the project without finalizing the city's purchase of the land, with the resulting fiasco leading to years of litigation and forcing taxpayers to pay six times the original market price for the property the city ended up seizing from a private citizen using eminent domain. This cost Wasilla an additional $1.3 million — roughly $200 per resident. Palin funded the project by pushing a special referendum that raised the city sales tax by 25 percent. City hall records show the referendum was passed by just twenty votes. THE MYTH: "Our opponents say, again and again, that drilling will not solve all of America's energy problems — as if we didn't know that already." — Sarah Palin, convention speech THE FACTS: Apparently Ms. Palin did not know that just the month before: "I beg to disagree with any candidate who would say we can't drill our way out of our problem." — Sarah Palin, July 2008 THE MYTH: "We began a nearly $40 billion natural-gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence." — Sarah Palin, convention speech THE FACTS: With federal approval years away, not a single section of the pipeline has been laid. State could end up paying the pipeline's contractor $500 million — even if it never breaks ground on the project. THE MYTH: "She's from a small town with small-town values." — Fred Thompson, convention speech THE FACTS: Wasilla and the surrounding valley were recently named the "meth capital of Alaska", with 42 meth labs busted in a single year. Charles Wohlforth, in a Frommer's travel guidebook on Alaska, described Wasilla as "the worst kind of suburban sprawl of highway-fronting shopping malls and gravel lots." THE MYTH: Palin has "taken on the political establishment in the largest state of the union." — Fred Thompson, convention speech THE FACTS: Served until 2005 as director of fundraising group associated with indicted senator Ted Stevens. Citizens Against Government Waste is a frequent critic of Stevens' affinity for pork and keeps a list of his projects. Ted Stevens has taken criticism for a wide variety of positions and actions taken in the Senate. He placed a secret hold on a bill that would allow easier accountability and research of all federal funding measures, and supported pork barrel projects such as the Gravina Island Bridge and the Knik Arm Bridge (collectively known as the "Bridges to Nowhere"). In December 2003, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Stevens had taken advantage of lax Senate rules to use his political influence to obtain a large amount of his personal wealth. According to the article, while Stevens was already a millionaire "thanks to investments with businessmen who received government contracts or other benefits with his help," the lawmaker who is in charge of $800 billion a year, writes "preferences he wrote into law" that he benefits from. On July 29, 2008 Stevens was indicted by a federal grand jury on seven counts of falsely reporting gifts. The charges relate to renovations to his home and to more than $250,000 worth of gifts he has allegedly received from VECO Corporation. The indictment followed a lengthy investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for possible corruption based on his relationship with Bill Allen, an oil service company executive, who has pleaded guilty to bribing Alaskan legislators, including Stevens' son, former State Senator Ben Stevens. THE MYTH: "She's fought oil companies." — John McCain, introducing Palin THE FACTS: Collected $13,000 in campaign contributions from oil and gas lobbyists, including Exxon, BP, Shell and Chevron. BP was a major sponsor of her inaugural ball. THE MYTH: "She's been to Kuwait. She's been over there. She has been with her troops. The National Guard that she commands, who have been over there and had the experience." — John McCain, highlighting Palin's national-security credentials THE FACTS: Never had a passport before 2007, when she made a brief photo-op trip to visit her son's batallion in Germany and Kuwait. Claimed to have visited Ireland, but this was a refueling stop and she never got off of the plane. Has never been to Iraq, and has not met a single foreign head of state. THE MYTH: "I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending." — Sarah Palin, convention speech THE FACTS: As governor, sought travel reimbursement for 312 nights she spent in her own home!!! Source: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/23140513/the_truth_about_sarah_palin
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Friday, September 12, 2008
Matt Damon Speaks Out?
0 commentsI posted a video on the right of Matt Damon speaking about Sarah Palin. Obviously, I am no closet Democrat, I am out there for all to see, but yet I still have some question about Matt Damon. Yes, many actors have gone on to politics riding on their celebrity to win elections. What was the name again of that B category actor that became President again? Then there is the former Zelda Gilroy character from the Dobie Gillis Show, in real life Sheila Kuehl who is a State Senator in California. Although many would like to forget, the Terminator is now Governor in California. There was a wresting champion as Governor in Minnesota. Surely, there are other screen guild members occupying government seats elsewhere also. But, by what political acumen makes Matt Damon a spokesperson? Even if one is to discredit his credentials for such, listening to this video did bring something to mind. Health insurance. He spoke about McCain's age, which triggered a problem we face with each vacation we take. Although I am able to readily find travel insurance for health care around the world for a nominal fee, it is a real issue finding it for Ron. He does have Blue Cross/Blue Shield; however, this requires an out of pocket payment and the hopes of being reimbursed 80% of the costs IF they agree with the charges. We have had experiences early on here in Hungary where tests were medically necessary for ruling out a cancerous growth, but BC/BS refused to cough up the reimbursement. Medicare does not provide coverage outside of the U.S. Ron now has Hungarian health insurance, which I have to admit is much better than any we had in the States. With Ron being over 65 years old, there are few choices for travel insurance and the few we have found are exorbitant. AARP is worthless, so don't even suggest it. Been there, tried that. Here is the link in my thinking on this. A U.S. citizen over 65 years old cannot get reasonable health coverage while outside of the country. Yet, we would consider risking the economic, political, and national security of the 'greatest nation in the world' in the hands of a 72 year old man who once had cancer. The key in what Matt Damon states is the phrase "actuary tables". We base so many things on actuary tables, the premiums we pay for health insurance, life insurance, death probability and more. Where does McCain fall on this table? Touting his 92 year old mother is a smoke screen to try to convince the public he has good genes and longevity, but where is his father? According to the actuary tables, U.S. women live longer than men do historically, so shoving your elderly mother in the public eye is no proof of anything. Being just the tip of the iceberg, it has made me wonder what Americans are thinking or rather do they think at all?
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Friday, September 05, 2008
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Celebrity Guest
0 comments Vice in Go-Go Boots?
PITTSBURGH
The guilty pleasure I miss most when I’m out slogging on the campaign trail is the chance to sprawl on the chaise and watch a vacuously spunky and generically sassy chick flick.
So imagine my delight, my absolute astonishment, when the hokey chick flick came out on the trail, a Cinderella story so preposterous it’s hard to believe it’s not premiering on Lifetime. Instead of going home and watching “Miss Congeniality” with Sandra Bullock, I get to stay here and watch “Miss Congeniality” with Sarah Palin.
Sheer heaven.
It’s easy to see where this movie is going. It begins, of course, with a cute, cool unknown from Alaska who has never even been on “Meet the Press” triumphing over a cute, cool unknowable from Hawaii who has been on “Meet the Press” a lot.
Americans, suspicious that the Obamas have benefited from affirmative action without being properly grateful, and skeptical that Michelle really likes “The Brady Bunch” and “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” reject the 47-year-old black contender as too uppity and untested.
Instead, they embrace 72-year-old John McCain and 44-year-old Sarah Palin, whose average age is 58, a mere two years older than the average age of the Obama-Biden ticket. Enthusiastic Republicans don’t see the choice of Palin as affirmative action, despite her thin résumé and gaping absence of foreign policy knowledge, because they expect Republicans to put an underqualified “babe,” as Rush Limbaugh calls her, on the ticket. They have a tradition of nominating fun, bantamweight cheerleaders from the West, like the previous Miss Congeniality types Dan Quayle and W., and then letting them learn on the job. So they crash into the globe a few times while they’re learning to drive, what’s the big deal?
Obama may have been president of The Harvard Law Review, but Palin graduated from the University of Idaho with a minor in poli-sci and worked briefly as a TV sports reporter. And she was tougher on the basketball court than the ethereal Obama, earning the nickname “Sarah Barracuda.”
The legacy of Geraldine Ferraro was supposed to be that no one would ever go on a blind date with history again. But that crazy maverick and gambler McCain does it, and conservatives and evangelicals rally around him in admiration of his refreshingly cynical choice of Sarah, an evangelical Protestant and anti-abortion crusader who became a hero when she decided to have her baby, who has Down syndrome, and when she urged schools to debate creationism as well as that stuffy old evolution thing.
Palinistas, as they are called, love Sarah’s spunky, relentlessly quirky “Northern Exposure” story from being a Miss Alaska runner-up, and winning Miss Congeniality, to being mayor and hockey mom in Wasilla, a rural Alaskan town of 6,715, to being governor for two years to being the first woman ever to run on a national Republican ticket. (Why do men only pick women as running mates when they need a Hail Mary pass? It’s a little insulting.)
Sarah is a zealot, but she’s a fun zealot. She has a beehive and sexy shoes, and the day she’s named she goes shopping with McCain in Ohio for a cheerleader outfit for her daughter.
As she once told Vogue, she’s learned the hard way to deal with press comments about her looks. “I wish they’d stick with the issues instead of discussing my black go-go boots,” she said. “A reporter once asked me about it during the campaign, and I assured him I was trying to be as frumpy as I could by wearing my hair on top of my head and these schoolmarm glasses.”
This chick flick, naturally, features a wild stroke of fate, when the two-year governor of an oversized igloo becomes commander in chief after the president-elect chokes on a pretzel on day one.
The movie ends with the former beauty queen shaking out her pinned-up hair, taking off her glasses, slipping on ruby red peep-toe platform heels that reveal a pink French-style pedicure, and facing down Vladimir Putin in an island in the Bering Strait. Putting away her breast pump, she points her rifle and informs him frostily that she has some expertise in Russia because it’s close to Alaska. “Back off, Commie dude,” she says. “I’m a much better shot than Cheney.”
Then she takes off in her seaplane and lands on the White House lawn, near the new ice fishing hole and hockey rink. The “First Dude,” as she calls the hunky Eskimo in the East Wing, waits on his snowmobile with the kids — Track (named after high school track meets), Bristol (after Bristol Bay where they did commercial fishing), Willow (after a community in Alaska), Piper (just a cool name) and Trig (Norse for “strength.”)
“The P.T.A. is great preparation for dealing with the K.G.B.,” President Palin murmurs to Todd, as they kiss in the final scene while she changes Trig’s diaper. “Now that Georgia’s safe, how ’bout I cook you up some caribou hot dogs and moose stew for dinner, babe?”
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