The Mark of the Feminist, McCain Advisor on Health Care

Palin, falsely branded as a feminist, might best be judged by her actions: She is seen but not heard.

In continuing efforts to keep her away from press that knows more about world affairs and foreign policy--let alone economics--that she does, her "handlers" have again taken the unusual tactic of shutting out the press. Note this is a CBS article, nothing from a progressive journal.

Anyone who has dealt with media knows that there is nothing sweeter than good press, and nothing more devastating than bad press. The Palin approach is to avoid the latter since the former is impossible at least when it comes to issues of the day.

There was an alleged reason (maybe communication was in the wrong astrological house?), as mentioned here in The Atlantic.com.

I just don't know how much more obvious they can be... until, of course today when McSame decided to bow out of the debate on Friday. That is an entirely 'nother post.

When they cannot answer, scream 'sexism'. When you know you are going to get beaten up in a debate, bow out to attend to business. Nevermind that McCain is directly responsible for the anti-regulatory schemes and privatization that has knifed Americans in the back while lifting our wallets. And nevermind that he has 27 lobbyists working for his campaign, including his rove-child, Steve. Nevermind that he lied about lobbying for Freddie (and being paid for it) to its dissolution, lying about his status.

No one in that campaign is able to tell the truth. No one.

*****

I have been meaning to touch upon the issue of health care coming from the McCain camp. More Bizzaro World, from the Dallas Morning News:

But the numbers are misleading, said John Goodman, president of the National Center for Policy Analysis, a right-leaning Dallas-based think tank. Mr. Goodman, who helped craft Sen. John McCain's health care policy, said anyone with access to an emergency room effectively has insurance, albeit the government acts as the payer of last resort. (Hospital emergency rooms by law cannot turn away a patient in need of immediate care.)

I don't know what planet Goodman lives on but perhaps he has never HAD to have this kind of intervention as a policy of last resort. But I have.

When I was uninsured and broke my elbow, I went to the emergency. They x-rayed it, confirmed what I already knew, put it in a sling and told me to go see a doctor. I had just lost my job where I didn't have insurance to start with.

For two days, I called every clinic and bone doc in the county. NOT ONE would take payments. So, I let it heal on its own. I had limited movement of that arm for almost one year. I am also a cancer survivor, so just ask yourself how easy I am to insure.

My ex, who has juvenile onset diabetes, cannot even GET insurance. When very ill and in the hospital, they would not have a specialist in to see him because he was uninsured. The treating physician told me this to my face when I asked. He was visibly embarassed, as he should have been even though it was not his fault. I told him--and this was 15 years ago--he should get off his butt and do something about it. My ex cannot possibly be the only one who has experienced this.

The irony is that McCain, married to money, is covered by the Senate's insurance coverage and of course has the ability to pay way beyond that. He cannot be privately insured as he is a four-time cancer patient.

Ironically, his ticket partner, Palin, has a Down's child--meaning, unable to get private insurance there either.

But Goodman goes even farther:

"So I have a solution. And it will cost not one thin dime," Mr. Goodman said. "The next president of the United States should sign an executive order requiring the Census Bureau to cease and desist from describing any American – even illegal aliens – as uninsured. Instead, the bureau should categorize people according to the likely source of payment should they need care.

"So, there you have it. Voila! Problem solved."

Neocon-speak. If you don't like reality, just change the reality.

McCain Cannot Get His Campaign In One Bucket...

If you follow politics, you know (much younger face, much more putrefied brain) Phil Gramm. That smiling face to the right is him pondering deregulation and privatization.

How is your face doin' today? Smiling like he is over the bright and fundamentally sound economy?

Two paragraphs from an online Austrailian Newspaper pretty much get it right, as I see it.

DESPITE trying to distance himself from the way his party has done business in Washington, John McCain is seen by voters as less likely to bring change to Washington than Barack Obama.

Here's Phil Gramm on July 9, 2008, telling us we are whining about the US loss of competitiveness (31 seconds):



So, who the hell is Phil Gramm (for you that don't recognized that well-healed, very right wing GOP name)? Read this from cron.com, the Houston Chronicle (his home-state newspaper), titled Phil Gramm's fingerprints are all over market mess. Elected Texans must have it out for the economy.

Yes, this is the same Phil Gramm that was McCain's Sr. economic advisor (from summer of 2007 until July 18, 2008. Gives an entirely new meaning to the word 'whip') that called Americans 'whiners'. Gramm "stepped down" from his McCain position nine days after calling millions of people whiners though he still advises McCain's campaign, which explains oh so much.

Here's a quote from the article:

Last February, Fortune Magazine called Gramm "McCain's Econ Brain.

"Gramm lost the official title of economic adviser for making an impolitic remark about this being "a nation of whiners." But Gramm's belief in letting speculators do as they please was never an issue. And even after he left the campaign, Gramm had been mentioned as a possible Treasury secretary in a McCain administration.

Another Gramm contribution was the "Enron loophole," which prevented federal oversight of Enron's electronic energy trading. Such favors proved very expensive to consumers but profitable to the Gramms. Enron CEO Ken Lay chaired Gramm's 1992 re-election campaign, and wife Wendy Gramm spent years on the Enron board, earning as much as $1.8 million, according to Public Citizen, a consumer advocate.

Golly. He does sound like a brain, doesn't he? Never mind the "impolite remarks". Gramm was out to screw the American people through his failed economic philosophy, and he succeeded. During the Bush administration, he had considerable weight.

McCain hired him, advocated his positions and now has the absolute gall to tell us he has a clue and will "reform" the gov, first saying he was against increased regulatory oversight, then saying he was for it.

And never mind what the "P" said. That would be Rove talking, and she has absolutely nothing to bring to this table absent memorization and she can barely get that right. P inherited a healthy economy in her little town and left them $20million in debt. Yup, she is a Republican alright. Yup, that would be the same Rove that not only developed Bush's positions, he now develops McCains as well, and P's likewise. Rove told her what her positions were, then, as a staff contributor for Fox News, Rove reviewed her fake Hannity interview and his own positions. That's Fox's brand of 'no conflict'. And that's totally Rove.

Gramm also wrote and shepherded laws through congress, while a senator from Texas, advantaging the very kinds of business that we are all concerned about now.

Gramm's wife was on the Board of Directors of the Enron Corporation while he was drafting legislation to advantage Enron and corporations like them.

This is what voting for McCain will do... more of the same, or worse. For now, P (as in pathetic, her rating by the American public plummeting) is being outshined as people actually focus on the issues.

FINALLY, FINALLY! Hillary on Palin and McCain

This is a really great article, with three interview videos on this post. PLEASE watch this, ladies (and gents!). The three videos are really a must see. She redirects... Good on her! Class act.

This is what it is all about, and Hillary hits the nail on the head.

Palin's Favorability Ratings Plummet

Photo is of a McCain stop today... Home alone, John? Palin is campaigning alone in another state.

I refer you here and here to read, and they offer a bit of analysis on the figures.

Also a great new Obama ad, hard-hitting, on McCain's dirty campaigning. Super add. And backed up by the calls of the major media. Obama is keeping on track, he's back on message post GOP convention/Palin hubris, he's keeping his ads clean .

Four debates are coming up. They will be important. Obama will actually have a chance to respond to McCain. So will Biden to Palin.

My thoughts, for what they are worth:

1. I have always believed, and remain believing, that the sole purpose of Palin's pick was to energize and solidify the evangelical right. I think, now, many agree... and then there's the AND she is a woman part.

2. I thought they would heavily hit the maverick and change issues. They did. Now they are adding "reformer", or Maverick Reformers for change. Just remember and keep saying McCain--Bush. McCain--Bush. That's what this is all about.

3. They will continue with all the sexist nonsense. That won't be stopping, but not subjecting Palin to general media will continue to piss everyone off and at some point (as the NY Times has probably figured out, based on their whopping article of yesterday) if you aren't in a position to get one of those really special interviews... then perhaps you really ARE free to tell the truth (as they did a damn good job of!). Their strategy will backfire in a lot of ways.

4. Fox news' interview, as a reader points out, will be to reinforce her in the eyes of the public given she did not really do well through the Gibson pieces, especially on foreign affairs. Gibson wasn't nearly as squishy as people thought he would be.

5. She is campaigning separate from McCain right now--they need to cover a lot of bases. But whether she will be made available to the press, I really seriously doubt it. She cannot deal with press. It is a huge risk in the states where they need to press. Campaigning separately will also show that no one really likes McCain... he is alone... very alone most of the time at his stops especially in comparison to Palin. It also--as happened during time of her Gibson interviews--allowed for inconsistency of remarks/message given at or near the same time by the two candidates. (John said one thing on the view, palin said another in interview, both about HER position.)

6. They lost their momentum on Palin when she went back to Alaska (where there was a really nifty anti-palin protest) only to do the Gibson interviews which didn't help. If polling is indeed related to the interviews, and who knows if that is the case, one could argue they hurt her--badly. She should not have taken that break, but I am glad she did. Guess she had to memorize some new lines?

7. Will she be able to regain some of that momentum? Some, certainly not all. As more truth comes out, the non-evangelical vote will tip away (all things being equal!), which is what is starting to happen. Picking her so late gave them an advantage in her being unknown. But as time goes by--and media does their work--evidence is highlighting her truth stretching, lies, spins and her lack of knowledge. It may not shift much of anything in the evangelical vote, but it will shift others and already is shifting others. I take the view that we have two great people to go after here... both are very vulnerable.

8. 527s are starting to come out with their own hit pieces (e.g. on the topics of choice and ariel slaughter of wolves, for instance). Don't think for a minute that won't happen on McCain's side as well. There are already articles out there about millions set aside to swift boat Obama at a strategic time. Probably won't start right away given what I expect to see at the end when there is no opportunity to properly vett all the adds and educate the voters.

9. The GOP is at it again: already caging activities in purple states. If you get an absentee ballot in the mail, my suggestion is do not use it. They are sending out VERY tricky things including ballots with wrong return addresses, a wee little box at the bottom that, if missed, invalidates your votes, etc. Take your absentee ballots to your registrar and your media if you get them and you can find things wrong with them. I hope the national media will start doing some serious hit pieces on this. It will be a mess and could cost the election, which is, afterall, the whole point of their continued ballot box dishonesty.

10. With the announcement of economic gloom and doom--certainly helped along by Greenspan's comments, including the one that Iraq was just a political lie (and this by a 'pub)-- it will force the issue of economics onto the campaign stops more and more. The Lehman Bros. failure (not to mention the upcoming predictable failure of several major banks) will just add to the fire. Palin doesn't know economics. Obama does. Their messages will be VERY different, and no amount of "government reform" Palin proposes will fix that. Obama will shine here, and almost every expert who has looked at his tax plan, v. McCains says that Obama's is better for everyone BUT the extremely wealthy. McCain's favors the extremely wealthy (shocked, right?). The economy is not going to get better in the next 50 days. That will help Obama. He isn't the one that voted 90% of the time with Bush. Keep saying McCain and Bush in the same line. That's what this is all about, except farther to the right.

11. Bill Clinton and Hillary and others are hitting the trail for Obama. Great! Hillary has some work to do in the purple states.

12. Watch Rove carefully. He doesn't like McCain and is sending out some really weird messages. But given what we know about him, he is completely untrustworthy and always has a plan.

13. Remember, Palin is McCain's "best" pick and an example of his judgement. THAT is why we actually can go after Palin... and McCain. I love my dog, but I would want him driving a school bus.

Finally--Don't panic, remain calm, and work for the Obama campaign calling, or whatever they need! Send money. They have to flood with adds in important states. If you can get to a neighboring purple state to work, get with their campaign office to do so. (e.g. California to Nevada).

I really believe we can win this. Yes... I do. I really do believe it.

PHOTO CREDIT: Huffington Post

On Palin and Book Banning: And Her Preacher on Gays

There seems to be as much wrong information (perhaps more) on the alleged book banning story and Palin. There also seems to be some excluded information.

This site, ABC News, has a little piece on it which sort of explains the context etc. and note this is hardly done by progressive or liberal media.

Don't just read the story as the video is far more interesting and complete.

Interestingly, in this video, is a section of her near life-long pastor from Assemblies of God on gays:

"Everybody in the world has a guilty conscience. That's why homosexuals want laws of the land to justify their sin, because they have a guilty conscience."

While Sarah left this church in 2002, she spent the majority of her life there and still speaks there when asks.

Good, Comprehensive Piece on GOP Ticket

This is one of the best overall pieces I have read. Perhaps you will agree. Lays out things pretty nicely. It is from the NY Times.

Palin's Belief: God Has a Place but Honesty Doesn't

There are things in this world--odd things--that test our ability to weigh right and wrong, that help us to decide which way to go on an issue. Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, currently the short term governor of Alaska (pop 670K), is turning out to be an inconsistent, self-serving puzzle if ever there was one.

Palin's religious beliefs were formed in the pentecostal Assemblies of God church where she was re-baptized at 12 years of age having left the Roman Catholic Church. Today she attends Wasilla Bible Church a church that teaches the inspired inerrant (read literalism) Word of God. This means, whether Palin has vocally admitted it or not, she is a creationist if she does, in fact, agree with her church's Statement of Faith.

As an unambiguous advocate of teaching creationism (the Biblical Genesis origins of life), and of teaching the non-science of "Intelligent" Design, Palin is living this part of her faith and suggesting others do likewise even if they are not religious, not Christian, and not literalist.

A creationist believes everything is created by God as set forth in the Genesis creation stories. All of God's creation was (is) holy. All of God's animal creations at risk through the Biblical flood were, of course, saved by humans as they were packed--in pairs of two for "unclean" animals and in three pairs of two for "clean" animals (clean/unclean standards according to Leviticus) into the Ark. For some interesting reading, peruse her baptismal Church's (Assemblies of God) thinking on the Ark.

So her faith informs her of two things: 1) All things are created by God and are holy, and 2) these Godly creations needed saving by humans during the flood.

Today, global warming is causing early and rapid loss of arctic ice flows, including in Alaska. An estimated 25% of the world's population of polar bears live in Palin's Alaska state of 670K or so people. Polar bears are dependent on ice for their survival. It is now well documented that their survival--the ice--is melting under their very paws--and fast.

Instead of working to save the polar bear's themselves, and their environment, Palin is working to save the oil industry. Palin has filed a lawsuit to overturn the bear's endangered listing under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), an act signed into law by Republican Richard Nixon.

Not only does Palin take this course, she takes it in favor of petroleum interests (not mentioned as being sacred in the Bible), and objects based on economic interests [a topic absolutely nowhere addressed, literally, in the Bible]. Of course the Bible also does not address global warming and melting of ice flows which points to the problematic approach of Biblical literalism. The Bible also does not address the literal need for honesty in Governors, though it does address honesty and, as you might predict, it certainly suggests honesty in all things is good. Conflict of interest as a Governor dealing with issues of the family's bread winner isn't a topic of the Bible, either. Literalism does have its limits.

As an aside, polar bears had to be on the Ark. They cannot spend 40 days in the water.

The governor has called a special session of the Legislature to possibly rewrite the Petroleum Profits Tax. Her proposals could have a multi-million dollar impact on her husband's employer. BP could also become a major player in the natural gas line project.

-- KTUU News

Palin's husband, Todd, works as a North Slope oil field production operator for British Petroleum (BP). In other words, her family's bread and butter comes from the energy (read, in this case, oil and gas) industry. It also explains her fervent desire to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

In order to make her ESA objection on the polar bears, Palin clearly obfuscated (actually, she lied) scientific assessment (a dishonest act) indicating the need for the adopted listing was not warranted on this basis. In case you are unfamiliar with this process, the science needed to prove listing is rigorous. In the last eight years, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) hasn't exactly gotten better about doing their work, more liberal about listings, or more lax on the science. In fact, it is generally viewed by the scientific community that the USFWS (like other environmental and health agencies) is understaffed, underbudgeted, has shifted decidedly to the political right, and, like the Environmental Protection Agency, the US Department of Agriculture and other federal agencies, has been as anti-science as these agencies have ever been under any president.

In a potential breech of ethics, Palin cited green-washed studies funded in part by oil companies. Read here and note the source, which is not green media but corporate media. USFWS documentation has indicated concern for more bears seen in open seas.

"Even the Bush administration can't deny the reality of global warming," she said. "The governor is aligning herself and the state of Alaska with the most discredited, fringe, extreme viewpoints by denying this."

"She's either grossly misinformed or intentionally misleading, and both are unbecoming." "Alaska deserves better."
--Both quotes, Kassie Siegel, Center for Biological Diversity

"Essentially, she lied," said University of Alaska professor Rick Steiner, who wrangled with the Palin administration for months to obtain the documents. "She came out and said, 'our scientists agree the polar bears are fine and should not be listed'" when that wasn't the case, said Steiner, a conservation specialist who studies climate change. The McCain-Palin campaign did not make the governor available for comment.
-- ABC NEWS, August 31, 2008

Now mind you, I am an Episcopalian, non-creationist, who believes in evolution and abhors any notion of theocracy, was trained in the sciences and believes public education should be free from all religious factors, influences and interferences. I really don't care WHAT you believe in terms of faith--it's alright with me. You can worship purple pepper shakers if you like, or be an atheist. But shove your rhetoric and belief on me or the American people--or students--yes, I will take you to task. Government and religion must always have a bright, bright line between them. And no, the founding fathers did not support Christianity in the Constitution. In fact, they went WAY out of their way to prevent just that.

So, Sarah Palin, keep your religious beliefs out of the secular society you represent and specifically out of politics. And if you find you are unable to do this and unwilling to leave politics, at least be consistent under your own creationist, literalist faith. If you are proud of it, don't lie about it, don't hide it and live consistently with it. You are not doing any of these things right now.

For some great and interesting reading on polar bears, read this article.

Phot0 Credit: ABC News

This or This? Palin's Compassion Runs To Killing

OR

GOP Vice Presidential candidate Palin objects to the listing of polar bears as endangered. The bear's habitat is literally melting away due to global warming and the species is a candidate for listing under the endangered species list.

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OR


GOP Vice Presidential candidate Palin supports gunning down of wolves from airplanes (they run them nearly to death then shoot them) to attract hunters and preserve caribou FOR more hunters. Palin announced she would pay a $150 bounty for each left foreleg brought in from a wolf kill. Palin is obviously another "compassionate" conservative.

There's a lot more wrong--very wrong--with the choice of Palin for VP. But to animal advocates--those that work to do no harm--this is completely over the top. And anyone that knows the animal advocacy folks knows you shouldn't fool around with them. Most Americans will find her views repugnant.