Paul Newman's Spirituals

Keep Your Eye On The Ball.

Hockey Mom Becomes President.

In Memoriam: Cooper Mack April 2, 1982-June 3, 2008

See some of Cooper's work and thoughts on his life at In Memoriam: Cooper Mack

Couric Interview with Sarah Palin

Obama v. McCain -A Matter of Judgment.

This Looks Legit and These Fellows Look Honest-Letter from Ministry of Treasury of Republic of America.

Dear American: I need to ask you to support an urgent secret business relationship with a transfer of funds of great magnitude. I am Ministry of the Treasury of the Republic of America. My country has had crisis that has caused the need for large transfer of funds of 800 billion dollars US. If you would assist me in this transfer, it would be most profitable to you. I am working with Mr. Phil Gram, lobbyist for UBS, who will be my replacement as Ministry of the Treasury in January. As a Senator, you may know him as the leader of the American banking deregulation movement in the 1990s. This transactin is 100% safe. This is a matter of great urgency. We need a blank check. We need the funds as quickly as possible. We cannot directly transfer these funds in the names of our close friends because we are constantly under surveillance. My family lawyer advised me that I should look for a reliable and trustworthy person who will act as a next of kin so the funds can be transferred. Please reply with all of your bank account, IRA and college fund account numbers and those of your children and grandchildren to wallstreetbailout@treasury.gov so that we may transfer your commission for this transaction. After I receive that information, I will respond with detailed information about safeguards that will be used to protect the funds. Yours Faithfully, Minister of Treasury Paulson

Health Care under McCain or Obama

"The authors conclude that
Obama's plan: '...contains the basic components necessary for effectively addressing the most important shortcomings of the current health care system, that is, limited coverage, inadequate risk pooling, and high-cost growth.'" & Conclude that
McCain's plan: '...make coverage less accessible for those with health problems, have a high budget cost, but have little effect on the number uninsured.'" Shamelessly copied from Patti in Some Snohomish Women, Voting on Issues -- Health Care under McCain or Obama

McCain's No Debate Stunt Exposed

"John McCain blew off David Letterman today because he said was getting back to Washington to address the economic crisis.
Only it turned out he wasn't in Washington, he was still in New York -- being interviewed by Katie Couric." LEAKED VIDEO: McCain Blows Off Letterman For Katie Couric By: Jane Hamsher
See, also Letterman unloads on McCain for not showing up

Sarah Palin Meets & Saves Her First Foreigner and First Heathen-Hamid Karzai.

Sarah Palin says that "this foreign policy stuff isn't so hard" and that her first meeting with a foreigner, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, was pleasant and productive in spite of a rocky start. “Initially, I was uncomfortable with the little swarthy A-rab being so close and staring at my ta ta’s,” Palin said. “He also talked funny and was hard to understand. Then, I told him about Jesus Christ as an ice-breaker and I think he’ll be one of us now” said Palin. He got very quiet, and was obviously pondering where he would spend eternity.” she added.

Palin bans reporters-Sarah, Come Out, Come Out, Whoever You Are! At Least Whisper Louder.

"Sarah Palin, who has not held a press conference in nearly four weeks of campaigning, on Tuesday banned reporters from her first meetings with world leaders, allowing access only to photographers and a television crew. CNN, which was providing the television coverage for news organizations, decided to pull its TV crew, effectively denying Palin the high visibility she had sought. . . .Those sessions and meetings scheduled for Wednesday are part of the Republican campaign's effort to give Palin experience in foreign affairs. She has never met a foreign head of state and first traveled outside North America just last year. The campaign told the TV producer, print and wire reporters in the press pool that follows the Alaska governor that they would not be admitted with the photographers and camera crew taken in to photograph the meetings. At least two news organizations, including The Associated Press, objected and were told that the decision was not subject to discussion." Palin bans reporters from meetings with leaders By SARA KUGLER

Government Bailouts, Executive Pay, Deficits, Taxes, and Bears in Glacier Park.

Patti has the details.

I'm Changing My Name to Chrysler-Sound Bidness Strategery.

Moose Who Believed In Evolutiion & Global Warming Dead-Badenov Denies Knowing Palin.

Betty Bowers Interviews Sarah Palin

Protecting Palin- Letting Her Talk Only to Suitably "Deferential" Members of the Press is Dangerous and Degrades Her, Us, and The Selection Process.

"Until … the news media is going to treat her with some level of respect and deference … it would be foolhardy to put her out into that kind of environment."

McCain campaign manager Rick Davis, on why vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is giving so few interviews to the press

From Newsweek, Perspectives.

We can't let a deferential press give us another Bush. They need to ask tough questions and demand answers. She's a grownup running for the second highest office in the land for God's sake-Not Miss Alaska. With McCain slipping mentally more every day, there is a lot at stake. If she's incapable of standing up to tough questions, "it would be foolhardy to put her" one heartbeat away from the presidency.

Beware of Labels-McCain Calls Himself a "Fiscal Conservative."

Even Greenspan fears that the deficits of previous borrow and spend administrations would Palin comparison to those of a McCain administration.

Thanks, In Part, to McCain's Phil Graham Feds "Have To" Bail Out A.I.G. Because It’s Too Big. Why Keep All Our AIGs In A Few Baskets?

Why do we let them get too big without regulating them? In part because of John McCain's adviser Phil Graham. "Who's to blame for the biggest financial catastrophe of our time? . . . one candidate for lead perp is former Sen. Phil Gramm. Eight years ago, as part of a decades-long anti-regulatory crusade, Gramm pulled a sly legislative maneuver that greased the way to the multibillion-dollar subprime meltdown. Yet has Gramm been banished from the corridors of power? Reviled as the villain who bankrupted Middle America? Hardly. Now a well-paid executive at a Swiss bank, Gramm cochairs Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign and advises the Republican candidate on economic matters. He's been mentioned as a possible Treasury secretary should McCain win. That's right: A guy who helped screw up the global financial system could end up in charge of US economic policy. Talk about a market failure." Foreclosure Phil by David Corn in Mother Jones.
When people complain, Phil calls them whiners. McCain, who has no clue other than what Graham tells him, says that that "the economy is fundamentally sound." McCain was against the taxpayer bailout (yesterday) before he was for it (today). See, McCain says government 'forced' to bail out AIG By GLEN JOHNSON See, Also, McCain: The Most Reprehensible of the Keating Five The story of "the Keating Five" has become a scandal rivaling Teapot Dome and Watergate By Tom Fitzpatrick

The Real John McCain

McCain Spokesperson Carly Fiorina Says That Neither McCain Nor Palin Could Run A Major Corporation.

Carly Fiorina, who speaks for the McCain campaign, said neither John McCain nor Sarah Palin could run a major corporation. "If John McCain's top economic adviser doesn't think he can run a corporation, how on Earth can he run the largest economy in the world in the midst of a financial crisis? Apparently even the people who run his campaign agree that the economy is an issue John McCain doesn't understand as well as he should." Tommy Vietor


"Carly Fiorina, the woman John McCain sent out to defend Sarah Palin and rip anyone who calls her a tabula rasa on foreign policy and the economy, admitted Tuesday that Palin was not capable of running Hewlett-Packard.
That’s pretty damning coming from Fiorina, who also was not capable of running Hewlett-Packard." From `Barbies for War!' By MAUREEN DOWD

Nonpartisan Message From Sarah Palin & Hillary Clinton.

Double Click to hear it.

Palin's vagina card revoked by Eve Ensler

I am having Sarah Palin nightmares. I dreamt last night that she was a member of a club where they rode snowmobiles and wore the claws of drowned and starved polar bears around their necks. I have a particular thing for Polar Bears. Maybe it's their snowy whiteness or their bigness or the fact that they live in the arctic or that I have never seen one in person or touched one. Maybe it is the fact that they live so comfortably on ice. Whatever it is, I need the polar bears.

I don't like raging at women. I am a Feminist and have spent my life trying to build community, help empower women and stop violence against them. It is hard to write about Sarah Palin. This is why the Sarah Palin choice was all the more insidious and cynical. The people who made this choice count on the goodness and solidarity of Feminists.

But everything Sarah Palin believes in and practices is antithetical to Feminism which for me is part of one story -- connected to saving the earth, ending racism, empowering women, giving young girls options, opening our minds, deepening tolerance, and ending violence and war.

I believe that the McCain/Palin ticket is one of the most dangerous choices of my lifetime, and should this country chose those candidates the fall-out may be so great, the destruction so vast in so many areas that America may never recover. But what is equally disturbing is the impact that duo would have on the rest of the world. Unfortunately, this is not a joke. In my lifetime I have seen the clownish, the inept, the bizarre be elected to the presidency with regularity.

Sarah Palin does not believe in evolution. I take this as a metaphor. In her world and the world of Fundamentalists nothing changes or gets better or evolves. She does not believe in global warming. The melting of the arctic, the storms that are destroying our cities, the pollution and rise of cancers, are all part of God's plan. She is fighting to take the polar bears off the endangered species list. The earth, in Palin's view, is here to be taken and plundered. The wolves and the bears are here to be shot and plundered. The oil is here to be taken and plundered. Iraq is here to be taken and plundered. As she said herself of the Iraqi war, "It was a task from God."

Sarah Palin does not believe in abortion. She does not believe women who are raped and incested and ripped open against their will should have a right to determine whether they have their rapist's baby or not.

She obviously does not believe in sex education or birth control. I imagine her daughter was practicing abstinence and we know how many babies that makes.

Sarah Palin does not much believe in thinking. From what I gather she has tried to ban books from the library, has a tendency to dispense with people who think independently. She cannot tolerate an environment of ambiguity and difference. This is a woman who could and might very well be the next president of the United States. She would govern one of the most diverse populations on the earth.

Sarah believes in guns. She has her own custom Austrian hunting rifle. She has been known to kill 40 caribou at a clip. She has shot hundreds of wolves from the air.

Sarah believes in God. That is of course her right, her private right. But when God and Guns come together in the public sector, when war is declared in God's name, when the rights of women are denied in his name, that is the end of separation of church and state and the undoing of everything America has ever tried to be.

I write to my sisters. I write because I believe we hold this election in our hands. This vote is a vote that will determine the future not just of the U.S., but of the planet. It will determine whether we create policies to save the earth or make it forever uninhabitable for humans. It will determine whether we move towards dialogue and diplomacy in the world or whether we escalate violence through invasion, undermining and attack. It will determine whether we go for oil, strip mining, coal burning or invest our money in alternatives that will free us from dependency and destruction. It will determine if money gets spent on education and healthcare or whether we build more and more methods of killing. It will determine whether America is a free open tolerant society or a closed place of fear, fundamentalism and aggression.

If the Polar Bears don't move you to go and do everything in your power to get Obama elected then consider the chant that filled the hall after Palin spoke at the RNC, "Drill Drill Drill." I think of teeth when I think of drills. I think of rape. I think of destruction. I think of domination. I think of military exercises that force mindless repetition, emptying the brain of analysis, doubt, ambiguity or dissent. I think of pain.

Do we want a future of drilling? More holes in the ozone, in the floor of the sea, more holes in our thinking, in the trust between nations and peoples, more holes in the fabric of this precious thing we call life?

Cousin Dave's Ninja Class

Thanks to Cousin Ty.

Four More Years

Enron, Bear Stearns, Fannie May, Freddy Mack, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, whole damned economy ...

Palin-Worse Than Bush?

Sarah Palin said she would support a constitutional amendment to deny same-sex couples benefits; would criminalize abortion even in cases of rape; has sued the Bush administration to take polar bears off the endangered species list; supports hunting of wolves from airplanes; thinks creation "science" should be taught in schools, doesn't believe global warming is man made; she fired the Safety Director of the State who refused to fire a trooper who was getting a vicious divorce from her sister. She also told her Assembly of God Church in June 2008 that it is "God's Will" that the federal government contribute to the expansion of the Alaska pipeline and that the Iraq war is "a task that is from God." See, The Sarah Palin Digest

The Cowardly Pitbull Puts Politics First.

"Sarah Palin told the faithful at the Republican Rallies that she was absolutely fearless. Apparently, that was just one of the many lies she told that night. . . . Sarah “Pit Bull with Lipstick” Palin has been kenneled for fear that she will say something stupid.Or, worse, legally incriminating. Instead of putting lipstick on a pit bull it’s all about putting gloss on bull. No, she will not be talking to the press. After all, McCain picked her without knowing anything about her, why should the voters have it any better?" Mrs. Betty Bowers

Peggy Noonan says "It's over" because of Palin Pick

Noonan: It's Over.
Todd: Don't you think this Palin pick is insulting to Kay Baily Hutchinson
Noonan: Saw kay this morning
Todd: She's(?) never looked comfortable up there..
Murphy: all bummed out.
Todd: I mean, is she really the most qualified woman they could turn to?
Noonan: The most qualified? No. I think they went for this, excuse me, political bullshit about narratives and youthfulness and the picture
Todd: Yeah, but what's the narrative
Murphy: I totally agree.
Noonan: Every time Republicans do that, because that's not where they live and it's not what they're good at, they blow it.
Murphy: You know what's the worst thing about it, the greatest of McCain is no cynicism, and.
Murphy: This is cynical.

The Front Fell Off-Senator Collins On The Enviornment

Thanks to Gene

Bridge To Nowhere

PALIN: “In fact, I told Congress -- I told Congress, ‘Thanks, but no thanks,’ on that bridge to nowhere.”
REALITY: PALIN WAS FOR THE BRIDGE TO NOWHERE BEFORE SHE WAS AGAINST IT.

October 2006” Palin Supported Bridge To Nowhere. In 2006, Palin was asked, “Would you continue state funding for the proposed Knik Arm and Gravina Island bridges?” She responded, “Yes. I would like to see Alaska's infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. The window is now--while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist.” [Anchorage, 10/22/06, republished 08/29/08]

2006: Palin: Don’t Allow “Spinmeisters” To Turn Bridge To Nowhere Project “Into Something That’s So Negative.” "Part of my agenda is making sure that Southeast is heard. That your projects are important. That we go to bat for Southeast when we’re up against federal
influences that aren’t in the best interest of Southeast.' She cited the widespread negative attention focused on the Gravina Island crossing project. 'We need to come to the defense of Southeast Alaska when proposals are on the table like the bridge and not allow the
spinmeisters to turn this project or any other into something that’s so negative,' Palin said." [Ketchikan Daily News, 10/2/06]

REALITY: PALIN ONLY ANNOUNCED OPPOSITION TO ONE “BRIDGE TO NOWHERE,” STILL SUPPORTS THE OTHER ONE

Palin Refused to Fund Ketchikan Bridge, But Did Not Stop Funding for Knik Arm Bridge.“ Among the earmarks: $449 million for what critics have ridiculed as two ‘bridges to nowhere’ -- one in Ketchikan and one across Knik Arm in Anchorage formally named Don Young's Way. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, also a Republican, last month refused to use any more money for the Ketchikan project, redirecting it for other purposes.” [Anchorage Daily News,11/11/07]

As Recently as June, State Asking for Cost Estimate Proposals for Knik Arm. “An independent party will be called in to look at one of the most elusive aspects of a proposed bridge linking Anchorage and Mat-Su: the price tag. Gordon Keith, regional director for the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, said his office will be putting the job of estimating the cost of the controversial project out for bids in coming weeks. He said the task of coming up with a price could cost up to $200,000 and take up to 3½ months. ‘The issue keeps swirling around, so we thought it best to go ahead and do an independent estimate,’ he said. The cost to get the estimate is going to be high ‘if you want to do it correctly,’ he said. The cost of a span reaching across Knik Arm from Anchorage to Point MacKenzie has ranged over the years from $450 million to $1 billion, depending on what kind of bridge is envisioned and what starting date is plugged into the formula… Randy Ruaro, a special assistant to Gov. Sarah Palin, said the administration, even in the face of the recent lengthy report from the bridge authority, was having trouble getting an accurate picture of everything that is involved in the project, of the timing of the phases, and of the costs. He said the independent estimate is expected to answer those questions. Mary Ann Pease, spokeswoman for the authority, said she welcomes the effort to get updated costs.” [Anchorage Daily News, 6/22/08] from Palin v. Reality Posted by Mark Kleiman

Thanks to Draz & Judy

"Your Heart May Be Pure and Your Cause May Be Just, but the Philistines Are Many and They're Goddamned Well Armed."- Mike Everett sometime in 2000.

Mike never ran from a Philistine or anyone else no matter how well armed. He's been gone for nearly four years. We miss him. He's pictured here with Congressman Vic Snyder, a pretty fair hand himself.

Cindy McCain: Palin knows foreign policy because "Alaska is the closest part of our continent to Russia."

"STEPHANOPOULOS: But she has no national security experience.
McCAIN: You know, the experience that she comes from is what she's done in government, and remember, Alaska is the closest part of our continent to Russia. It's not as if she doesn't understand what's at stake here.
It doesn't appear that Palin has ever even traveled to Russia, despite her state's proximity. In fact, she didn't even have a passport until 2007, when she visited troops stationed in Kuwait and Germany. She has also visited Ireland." Well, she didn't exactly visit Ireland, but she did stop there for refueling. Palin’s Ireland trip was just a refueling stopover. "Last week, Politico’s Ben Smith asked the McCain campaign if Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK) — who was first issued a U.S. passport in 2007 — had ever traveled abroad. A spokeswoman for Palin said the Alaska governor had been to Germany and Kuwait in 2007 and had visited one other country, Ireland. It turns out that the Ireland trip was just a refueling stopover on the way to Europe and the Middle East. But she has been to Canada, another campaign spokesman noted. (HT: AmericaBlog)"
Thanks to Jane

Sarah Palin Thinks God is for Bush's War & Palin's Own Pipeline. If This Doesn't Scare You, You Haven't Been Paying Attention

"[Sarah Palin] urged students to pray 'that our leaders -- that our national leaders -- are sending [soldiers] out on a task that is from God.' She added, 'That's what we have to make sure that we are praying for: that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan.'
Palin also referred to God's role in her work as governor.
'I can do my part in working really, really hard to get a natural gas pipeline, about a $30 billion project that's going to create a lot of jobs for Alaska. … [but] I think God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built, so pray for that,' she said. 'I can do my job there in developing our natural resources, in doing things like getting the roads paved and making sure our troopers have their cop cars and their uniforms and their guns, and making sure our public schools are funded. But really that stuff doesn't do any good if the people of Alaska's hearts aren't right with God.'” THE PALIN CHURCH VIDEO-Michael Levine

Concern For New Orleans My Elephant Ass-Hookers & Blow Flow At Republican Convention.

"A band by that name was part of the entertainment as lobbyists and Republicans -- hurricane or no hurricane -- partied down in St. Paul.
But poor Arkies: They apparently aren't considered worthy of tickets to the lobby throwdowns. They've had to make do with trips to the Mall of America and Trivial Pursuit games to fill their leisure hours." 'Hookers and Blow' from the Arkansas Blog
Thanks to J. C.

An Open Letter to God, from Michael Moore

Sunday, August 31st, 2008

Dear God,

The other night, the Rev. James Dobson's ministry asked all believers to pray for a storm on Thursday night so that the Obama acceptance speech outdoors in Denver would have to be cancelled.

I see that You have answered Rev. Dobson's prayers -- except the storm You have sent to earth is not over Denver, but on its way to New Orleans! In fact, You have scheduled it to hit Louisiana at exactly the moment that George W. Bush is to deliver his speech at the Republican National Convention.

Now, heavenly Father, we all know You have a great sense of humor and impeccable timing. To send a hurricane on the third anniversary of the Katrina disaster AND right at the beginning of the Republican Convention was, at first blush, a stroke of divine irony. I don't blame You, I know You're angry that the Republicans tried to blame YOU for Katrina by calling it an "Act of God" -- when the truth was that the hurricane itself caused few casualties in New Orleans. Over a thousand people died because of the mistakes and neglect caused by humans, not You.

Some of us tried to help after Katrina hit, while Bush ate cake with McCain and twiddled his thumbs. I closed my office in New York and sent my entire staff down to New Orleans to help. I asked people on my website to contribute to the relief effort I organized -- and I ended up sending over two million dollars in donations, food, water, and supplies (collected from thousands of fans) to New Orleans while Bush's FEMA ice trucks were still driving around Maine three weeks later.

But this past Thursday night, the Washington Post reported that the Republicans had begun making plans to possibly postpone the convention. The AP had reported that there were no shelters set up in New Orleans for this storm, and that the levee repairs have not been adequate. In other words, as the great Ronald Reagan would say, "There you go again!"

So the last thing John McCain and the Republicans needed was to have a split-screen on TVs across America: one side with Bush and McCain partying in St. Paul, and on the other side of the screen, live footage of their Republican administration screwing up once again while New Orleans drowns.

So, yes, You have scared the Jesus, Mary and Joseph out of them, and more than a few million of your followers tip their hats to You.

But now it appears that You haven't been having just a little fun with Bush & Co. It appears that Hurricane Gustav is truly heading to New Orleans and the Gulf coast. We hear You, O Lord, loud and clear, just as we did when Rev. Falwell said You made 9/11 happen because of all those gays and abortions. We beseech You, O Merciful One, not to punish us again as Pat Robertson said You did by giving us Katrina because of America's "wholesale slaughter of unborn children." His sentiments were echoed by other Republicans in 2005.

So this is my plea to you: Don't do this to Louisiana again. The Republicans got your message. They are scrambling and doing the best they can to get planes, trains and buses to New Orleans so that everyone can get out. They haven't sent the entire Louisiana National Guard to Iraq this time -- they are already patrolling the city streets. And, in a nod to I don't know what, Bush's head of FEMA has named a man to help manage the federal government's response. His name is W. Michael Moore. I kid you not, heavenly Father. They have sent a man with both my name AND W's to help save the Gulf Coast.

So please God, let the storm die out at sea. It's done enough damage already. If you do this one favor for me, I promise not to invoke your name again. I'll leave that to the followers of Rev. Dobson and to those gathering this week in St. Paul.

Your faithful servant and former seminarian,

Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

P.S. To all of God's fellow children who are reading this, the city New Orleans has not yet recovered from Katrina. Please click here for a list of things you can do to help our brothers and sisters on the Gulf Coast. And, if you do live along the Gulf Coast, please take all necessary safety precautions immediately.

Is A Jealous Joe Lieberman Behind John McCain's Plans To Drop Sarah Palin From The Ticket?

Hell hath no fury like a turncoat scorned, but whatever the cause, "The odds are not in favor of John McCain keeping Sarah Palin on his ticket, . . ." John McCain more likely to drop Sarah Palin, bookmakers say BLOOMBERG NEWS

After Sarah Palin Sees This Virg May Be As Short As Her Ex Brother-In-Law If Not As Dead As This Caribou.

Now I know what the gypsy meant When he told me I’d never be President. He said, “Adopt a Korean, kill you a moose Before all hell breaks loose. ”
From Before All Hell Breaks Loose by Kinky Friedman Click here to hear it.
“We rely on elected officials not to use the power of their office to pursue personal agendas or vendettas. It's called an abuse of power. There is ample evidence that Palin used her power as governor to get her ex-brother-in-law fired. When his boss refused to fire him, she fired his boss. She first denied Monegan's claims of pressure to fire Wooten and then had to amend her story when evidence proved otherwise. The available evidence now suggests that she 1) tried to have an ex-relative fired from his job for personal reasons, something that was clearly inappropriate, and perhaps illegal, though possibly understandable in human terms, 2) fired a state official for not himself acting inappropriately by firing the relative, 3) lied to the public about what happened and 4) continues to lie about what happened.
These are, to put it mildly, not the traits or temperament you want in someone who could hold the executive power of the federal government.” Getting Real About Palin By Josh Marshall
Thanks to Jane.