I don't know if Keith's staff found this on their own or if they picked it up from my sending it to MSNBC. At any rate, Shirley Nagel is today's Worst Person in the World.
(It usually takes a couple cups of coffee to angry up my blood in the morning... - promoted by Eric B.)
When historians look back at the 2008 Presidential election, they will recount with disgust the GOP attempts to convince the public that the Democratic candidate--a sitting Senator--was a 'terrorist' and a 'socialist.' It is with great dismay, therefore, that I wake up this morning to find the editorial board of the Detroit News parrotting this offensive GOP campaign under the guise of an 'endorsement' of John McCain for President. The editorial has the right to endorse whichever candidates it chooses, but their decision to pluck langauge and arguments directly from the GOP box of rotten rhetoric is cowardly and cynical in the extreme. When a newspaper echoes political propaganda in the form of an 'endorsement,' it represents more than the failure of journalism. It is the failure of civic responsibility itself.
"John McCain would pay for his health plan with major reductions to Medicare and Medicaid," said one of his top aides, a move that could result in cuts of $1.3 trillion over 10 years to the government programs--according to a Wall Street Journal article from 10/06/08.
What could McCain be thinking? Is he really that out of touch? Since its origination in 1965--Medicare has served millions of seniors and disabled Americans, ensuring them of health care. McCain's plan would jeopardize this security for our nation's most vulnerable.
To here more about the calamities of John McCain's proposed health care plan, check out these links: 1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6X6tmaYGKo&eurl=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video_log/
Just several hours before the vice presidential debate, McCain withdraws his campaign troops from Michigan to redeploy them in other battleground states such as Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Pennsylvania. Clever decision? This campaign tactic could be so much more than what it appears to be at the surface.
Aside from the obvious move to minimize the media attention on his decision by announcing his decision when the media spotlight was clearly focused on the vice presidential debate, there is a lot more suspicious activity behind the scenes.
McCain probably thought that by choosing Sarah Palin as a running mate he could mask his record on women's issues - or to borrow a timely phrase, put lipstick on the pig that is his platform.
But WakeUpWalmart.com is going to make sure he doesn't get away with it-- not here in Michigan, and not anywhere else.
In a new ad, WakeUpWalmart.com highlights what is one of the most egregious examples of his standing in the way of progressive reforms like fair pay for women.
Women working at Walmart make notoriously less than their male counterparts (it's the Walmart way). That's why WakeUp Walmart joined together with other groups to form the largest discrimination class action in history.
This was a chance for Big Mac to prove those reform credentials he likes to talk about, but instead he case a big, fat, regressive "NO" to fair pay.
Securing the votes in Congress to pass real immigration solutions into law isn’t going to be easy. The next President – no matter who wins – will need to lead his own party first to get it done.
(Cross-posted from the AFL-CIO Now Blog. Nearly 228,000 people in Michigan receive Social Security and thousands more are nearing retirement.)
Monday’s stock market disaster, with the Dow plummeting 778 points—a larger drop than after the Sept. 11 attacks—may make Wall Street traders and billionaire hedge fund investors hyperventilate.
But imagine how much worse for the rest of us it would have been if, three years ago, President Bush and Sen. John McCain had succeeded in their efforts to privatize Social Security, gambling in the stock market funds that have been a guaranteed income for America’s retirees?
Amid a new national recognition of our utterly corrupt centers of finance, and with an economic tailspin generating from those centers now reaching the very heart of the nation, John McCain is changing his mind by the hour.
Some years ago, jazz guitarist Pat Metheny vented at some
length
on his online bulletin board about Kenny G's decision to overdub his
smooth jazz saxophone all over Louis Armstrong's classic "What a
Wonderful
World." The rant was picked
up by Harper's Magazine. Here's a small taste:
(W)hen Kenny G decided that it was appropriate for him to defile the
music of the man who is probably the greatest jazz musician that has
ever lived by spewing his lame-ass, jive, pseudo bluesy, out-of-tune,
noodling, wimped out, fucked up playing all over one of the great
Louis's tracks (even one of his lesser ones), he did something that I
would not have imagined possible. He, in one move, through his
unbelievably pretentious and calloused musical decision to embark on
this most cynical of musical paths, shit all over the graves of all the
musicians past and present who have risked their lives by going out
there on the road for years and years developing their own music
inspired by the standards of grace that Louis Armstrong brought to
every single note he played over an amazing lifetime as a musician.
I only mention this now because it roughly approximates how I feel about
John
McCain coming to Michigan today and copping lines from the man who I
consider to be America's
greatest president, Franklin D. Roosevelt. From
the Chicago Tribune's "Swamp":
"One of our great presidents, Franklin Roosevelt,
expressed this optimism even at the height of the Great Depression. He
said, and I quote, 'plenty is at our doorstop but a generous use of it
languishes in the very sight of the supply.' "
"My friends, that's true again today. I reject the gloom and
doom
that says our nation is in decline," McCain said. "America's best days
are ahead of us."
Democratic presidential candidates have had the advantage in our state since 1992, when Bill Clinton won our state and made the climate favorable to Al Gore and John Kerry. Surprisingly however, while all three previous presidential candidates had leads 5-6 points higher than the national margins, Obama leads our state with only a 1-2 point margin. Why isn’t Obama doing as hot as the other previous candidates?
After all, McCain is the one who scorned our embattled struggle to revitalize the auto industry, and it’s Obama who shows a more genuine concern for the common people of Michigan–those stuck in their foreclosures, suffering from escalating heath care costs and hopeless from job loss.
From the viewpoint of a young Michiganian, I think this standstill will quickly change in the upcoming weeks.
'Case you hadn't heard, Joe Biden had some lively stops in St. Clair Shores and Flat Rock today. Here's the Free Press Coverage of the St. Clair Shores visit. And here's the video:
This caught my eye:
Let me just give you one more example. In the midst of this housing crisis, John McCain said, "I will fight for those that lost their... real estate investments." He went on to say, "It's not the role of government to bail out big banks or small borrowers." What about small borrowers? What about homeowners? What about the people who don't invest in homes, but live in them? There's an important distinction between the predators and the preyed upon.
I heard that a Republican County Chairman right here in Michigan said that they're keeping a list of foreclosed homes, suggesting that if you've lost your home, you should also lose your vote. I have a different idea. I think that if you're worried about losing your home, you should vote for the guys who are going to help you keep it!
Whatever happened to the guy, who once denounced tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans in a time of war as immoral?
More about the Republicans' plans to target people who have lost their homes from Michigan Messenger's Eartha Jane Melzer, who broke the story (congrats, Eartha!).
Obama's message of hope and change has reached out to millions of young voters, and I do not understand how some people can not understand why. Republicans think it might have to do with the age of the candidate, so they bring in Palin. Now, she may be "young," but she certainly does not bring nearly the same understanding to issues that concern youth voters the most as Obama does.
With a young population experiencing piled-up college debt and the pressure of finding new jobs, they refuse to believe that a continuation of the current administration could be the solution, especially since John McCain barely shares the compassion Obama does for education and job growth. Our youth have also become disillusioned by the failed policies of the Iraq War and have felt the stress of escalating costs of health care within their families. Who deals with these issues with an eye out for how we feel? I don't see McCain caring much about what we think. The latest Gallup polls from September 7 reveal our thoughts exactly--60% favor Obama while only 32% favor McCain.
But putting all political affiliation aside, will youth participation shock us this election season?
If you have lost your home due to foreclosure in Michigan, the Republicans plan to deny your right to vote! This is not a joke, and it may not be happening in just Michigan.
The chairman of the Republican Party in Macomb County Michigan, a key swing county in a key swing state, is planning to use a list of foreclosed homes to block people from voting in the upcoming election as part of the state GOP’s effort to challenge some voters on Election Day.
"We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren’t voting from those addresses," party chairman James Carabelli told Michigan Messenger in a telephone interview earlier this week. He said the local party wanted to make sure that proper electoral procedures were followed.
