The Obama family was given several warnings about increased death threats

"Why would they try to make people hate us?"

Sarah Palin Blamed by the US Secret Service Over Death Threats Against Barack Obama

Source: UK Telegraph
The Republican vice presidential candidate attracted criticism for accusing Mr Obama of "palling around with terrorists", citing his association with the sixties radical William Ayers.

The attacks provoked a near lynch mob atmosphere at her rallies, with supporters yelling "terrorist" and "kill him" until the McCain campaign ordered her to tone down the rhetoric.

But it has now emerged that her demagogic tone may have unintentionally encouraged white supremacists to go even further.

The Secret Service warned the Obama family in mid October that they had seen a dramatic increase in the number of threats against the Democratic candidate, coinciding with Mrs Palin's attacks. LinkHere

Bush delays release of torture pics

Gore: Internet revolution that elected Obama can 'save Earth'

Auschwitz plans found in Berlin

The original planning docs for Nazi extermination camp discovered in apartment.

3 'superbanks' dominate in US

Mass consolidation leaves few players, consumers seeing higher fees.

Bush cuts some Medicaid services

'Lame duck' president still pushing agenda, slashes outpatient help for poor.

US troops in Iraq losing savings

'Thrift' pension scheme hit by finance crisis; Soldiers' savings sapped.

Can Obama Undo Bush's Tangled Legal Legacy?

By Marisa Taylor and Michael Doyle McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — When Barack Obama becomes president in January, he'll confront the controversial legal legacy of the Bush administration.
From expansive executive privilege to hard-line tactics in the war on terrorism, Obama must decide what he'll undo and what he'll embrace.
The stakes couldn't be higher.
On one hand, civil libertarians and other critics of the Bush administration may feel betrayed if Obama doesn't move aggressively to reverse legal policies that they believe have violated the Constitution and international law.
On the other hand, Obama risks alienating some conservative Americans and some — but by no means all — military and intelligence officials if he seeks to hold officials accountable for those expansive policies.
These are some of the legal issues confronting him: LinkHere

FOUR DOZEN FEDERAL JUDGES to be appointed by Obama at term's outset.

Associated Press - November 8, 2008 12:35 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AP) - President-elect Obama will enter office with an immediate opportunity to begin shaping the federal courts by filling four dozen openings on trial and appeals courts.
Federal judges, with lifetime appointments, can be a president's most enduring legacy. LinkHere

Right-Wing Attack Group Funder's Company Going Bankrupt

What goes around, comes around

The casino company of billionaire Sheldon Adelson, financial backer of right-wing attack groups, may be going bankrupt:
Las Vegas Sands Corp., billionaire Sheldon Adelson's casino company, fell the most in New York trading since going public after saying it may default on debt and face bankruptcy.
The casino owner, which had $8.8 billion in long-term debt at the end of June, said in a regulatory filing today that it probably won't meet the requirements of loans arranged by Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. unless it cuts spending on developments, boosts earnings at its Las Vegas Strip casinos and raises more capital.
The reversal of fortune is a black eye for the 75-year-old Adelson, who was once America's third-richest man on the strength of his Las Vegas Sands holdings. The Las Vegas-based company's dwindling cash flow is threatening $16 billion worth of developments in Macau, China, and Singapore, where Las Vegas Sands is building resorts to cater to wealthy Asian gamblers.
Tom Edsall reported on Adelson in July:
Sheldon Adelson, the 74-year-old casino billionaire who has become the third richest man in America and who has strong ties to the hard-line Likud Party in Israel, has emerged this year a major benefactor of the American right. Past evidence suggests that Adelson will capitalize on his ascent to the top of the Republican money elite to try to build opposition in America to any Middle East peace settlement calling for the division of Israel into two states, one Jewish, the other Palestinian.
In the current election cycle, Adelson has surpassed such past financial mainstays of conservative causes and of the GOP as oilman-corporate raider T. Boone Pickens ($4.6 million 2003-4), Houston real estate magnate Bob Perry ($18.5 million 2003-6) and former Univision CEO Jerry Perenchio ($9.1 million 2003-6). LinkHere

Obama Joke by Premier Has Italy in an Uproar

By RACHEL DONADIO
Published: November 7, 2008
ROME — Italians never quite know whether to laugh or cry at Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. But many reacted with incredulity and outrage after the prime minister, visiting Moscow on Thursday, amiably called the first African-American president-elect in United States history “young, handsome and suntanned.”

Mr. Berlusconi made the remark while meeting President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia, saying that Senator Barack Obama’s good looks, his youth and his so-called suntan were “all the qualities” for Mr. Medvedev and the future president to “develop a good working relationship.”
Many Italian newspapers gave the comment nearly as much front-page attention as Mr. Obama’s victory itself. The journalist Curzio Maltese wrote in the center-left La Repubblica that “bookmakers wouldn’t even take bets” on how long it would take for Mr. Berlusconi to let slip another of his famous gaffes. “Mr. Berlusconi never fails to live up to our worst expectations.”
Mr. Maltese added that just when Mr. Obama’s victory was “inspiring billions of people” to consider “democracy, the most extraordinary triumph of humanity after centuries of bloodshed and intolerance,” Mr. Berlusconi instead contributed “a miserable, vulgar and racist remark, for which he didn’t even have the courage to take responsibility or the dignity to apologize.”
A billionaire populist, Mr. Berlusconi excels at deflating such lofty talk. He said that his remark had been “a compliment” and that his critics lacked irony. “If you want to get a degree in idiocy, I won’t stop you,” La Repubblica quoted him as saying. “I say whatever I think.”
He said the Italian left was wrong about everything, “including their lack of a sense of humor.” He added: “Too bad for them. God save us from imbeciles.”
The center-left opposition leader, Water Veltroni, had earlier called such “cabaret one-liners” unworthy of a statesman and asked Mr. Berlusconi to apologize. Link Here

Calls for inauguration tickets through the roof

By Lolly Bowean Tribune reporter
November 8, 2008
There have been calls from forgotten childhood classmates, from long-gone girlfriends and boyfriends, and even from the widows of deceased Chicago icons.In the three days since the election of Barack Obama, the demand for tickets to Inauguration Day events has been unprecedented, local congressional officials said."It's crazy," said Sharon Jenkins, spokeswoman for Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.). "We're in a unique moment in U.S. history. Every day under Obama's administration is a first, and people want to be a part of it."Tickets to inaugural events are free of charge and distributed through members of the incoming Congress. The ceremonies are coordinated by different committees, and the tickets to the events are distributed differently. Events include a morning worship service, a procession to the Capitol, a swearing-in ceremony, an address, a parade and balls.

Jenkins said Rush's office received about 400 phone calls from residents about the Wall Street bailout package over a two-week period. But in the three days after Obama's election, the office logged more than 1,500 phone calls from people seeking tickets.

Barack Obama's ascendance Photos
Grant Park Obama rally Photos
Michelle Obama: Wife, mother and First Lady Photos
President-elect Barack Obama: A new era dawns Photos
Obama's rise Photos

LinkHere

What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been

Bill Ayers
Bill Ayers, In These Times: "For the past few years, I have gone about my business, hanging out with my kids and, now, my grandchildren, taking care of our elders (they moved in as the kids moved out), going to work, teaching and writing. And every day, I participate in the never-ending effort to build a powerful and irresistible movement for peace and social justice."
LinkHere

The Obamas Talk White House Plans And Pet Peeves

When the Obamas talked to "Access Hollywood" on July 4th, 10-year-old Malia revealed what most excited her about the possibility of a White House move: "I think my most excitement about it is that I get to redecorate my room," she shares. "I enjoy decorating, so I get to get this whole new room and do whatever I want." They also discussed the promised puppy, sibling rivalry, and each other's flaws. (Malia: "I tell long stories"; Sasha to her dad: "You always put your bag on my shoes.") When Michelle and the girls ask Barack what they do wrong, he pauses then diplomatically replies, "They're all perfect." LinkHere

Georgia Claims on Russia War Called Into Question

Source: NYT

Newly available accounts by independent military observers of the beginning of the war between Georgia and Russia this summer call into question the longstanding Georgian assertion that it was acting defensively against separatist and Russian aggression.
Instead, the accounts suggest that Georgia’s inexperienced military attacked the isolated separatist capital of Tskhinvali on Aug. 7 with indiscriminate artillery and rocket fire, exposing civilians, Russian peacekeepers and unarmed monitors to harm.

The accounts are neither fully conclusive nor broad enough to settle the many lingering disputes over blame in a war that hardened relations between the Kremlin and the West. But they raise questions about the accuracy and honesty of Georgia’s insistence that its shelling of Tskhinvali, the capital of the breakaway region of South Ossetia, was a precise operation. Georgia has variously defended the shelling as necessary to stop heavy Ossetian shelling of Georgian villages, bring order to the region or counter a Russian invasion.

President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia has characterized the attack as a precise and defensive act. But according to observations of the monitors, documented Aug. 7 and Aug. 8, Georgian artillery rounds and rockets were falling throughout the city at intervals of 15 to 20 seconds between explosions, and within the first hour of the bombardment at least 48 rounds landed in a civilian area. The monitors have also said they were unable to verify that ethnic Georgian villages were under heavy bombardment that evening, calling to question one of Mr. Saakashvili’s main justifications for the attack.

Senior Georgian officials contest these accounts, and have urged Western governments to discount them. “That information, I don’t know what it is and how it is confirmed,” said Giga Bokeria, Georgia’s deputy foreign minister. “There is such an amount of evidence of continuous attacks on Georgian-controlled villages and so much evidence of Russian military buildup, it doesn’t change in any case the general picture of events.” LinkHere

Observers sense 'something fishy' in Alaska vote

The 2008 presidential race is over, but several Senate races still remain undecided. Georgia is headed for a runoff, Minnesota for a recount -- and in Alaska things just keep getting stranger.

"It looks like senator and convicted felon Ted Stevens and Congressman-currently-under-investigation Don Young will both hold onto their seats," MSNBC's Rachel Maddow noted on Thursday. "That said, there's a case to be made that there's something fishy going on up there.

"Even though the polls this year have generally been pretty accurate, they were way off in Alaska. Stevens was running between 7% and 22% behind his Democratic challenger in the polls, but now he is narrowly ahead in the vote count. LinkHere

Obama emphasizes economic proposals in first press conference

LinkHere

Mr President Mr Vice President

LinkHere

Will Smith's Obama Happiness, Sobs

Will Smith joined Oprah on Thursday and talked about how moved he was when the election was officially called for Barack Obama, even imitating himself bawling on the floor. "Oprah I'm an action hero, I can't be crying on your show," he told her moments before imitating himself sobbing with happiness and falling to the floor. He pulled it together and got serious to talk about how much Obama's speech resonated with him.
Oprah shared her joy yesterday. LinkHere

THE SHIFTING ELECTORATE

Tuesday's Second Biggest Winner: Democracy

Along with Barack Obama (and the other winners I've written about), there was another big winner on election day: democracy.

Obama: "I Will Confront This Economic Crisis Head-On"

Obama, Economic Team MeetAs Economy Sinks

ABC, CNN Top Election Night Ratings: 71.5 Million Watch Obama Victory

Over 71 million people watched the Election Night coverage, making it the most viewed event of the political season and the most watched television event since the Super Bowl (which drew 97.5 million viewers) and the highest-rated election night since 1980. Over 133 million votes were cast in the election.
ABC took the top spot overall, averaging 13.1 million viewers to NBC's 12.0 million and CBS' 7.8 million.
CNN won among the cablers, taking second overall with an average 12.3 million viewers for its most watched primetime event ever. Fox News averaged 9.0 million and MSNBC averaged 5.9 million viewers.
LinkHere

Projection: Jeff Merkley defeats Gordon Smith in Oregon's U.S. Senate race

Another Senate Seat for the Democrats!!!!!!

Projection: Jeff Merkley defeats Gordon Smith in Oregon's U.S. Senate race

Source: The Oregonian
Democrat Jeff Merkley has ousted Republican Gordon Smith from his U.S. Senate seat, The Oregonian projects.Merkley, a five-term state lawmaker and former Habitat for Humanity director, took advantage of a surge of Democratic support to win a close, bitterly fought battle with Smith, who has served 12 years in Washington.

LinkHere

Kenya maternities greet Obama and Michelle

Source: AFP
KISUMU, Kenya (AFP) – Little Obamas and Michelles were coming to the world in maternities all over Kenya -- one woman managing both at the same time with a pair of twins -- as the party mood continued Wednesday in the nation where the US president-elect's father was born.

In the New Nyanza provincial general hospital in Kisumu, the capital of the region which is home to Barack Obama's ancestral village, Pauline Adhiambo gave birth to twins she named Obama and Michelle, an AFP correspondent reported.

At least eight other boys were named Barack or Obama -- or both -- in this hospital alone while maternities in the capital Nairobi and across the entire country reported new namesakes for the future occupants of the White House.

"I consulted my husband and we agreed the name Barack Obama would be ideal for our baby boy because the whole town and the entire world was very enthusiastic about Barack Obama, and we believe he is a great man," Josephine Anyango Anyango told AFP.

LinkHere

"Yes He Did".

CNN calls Indiana for Barack Obama

Source: CNN BroadcastThis comes directly from John King on the air this morning. No link yet.

NC called for Obama.

All change in North Carolina
Beyond the defeat of Libby Dole, what is really seismic is the new wave of Democratic activism that turned this red state blue LinkHere

McCain's verdict on Palin: more trouble than a pitbull:

Source: Guardian UK

So now we know what John McCain really thinks of his running mate Sarah Palin – and that's not just because of the awkward body language between them during his concession speech in Phoenix, Arizona.

The British ambassador reveals what the defeated presidential candidate really thinks of his running mate,

Nicholas Watt guardian.co.uk, Wednesday November 05 2008 13.35 GMT

An exasperated McCain has been telling friends in recent weeks that Palin is even more trouble than a pitbull.

In one joke doing the rounds, the Republican presidential candidate has been asking friends: what the difference is between Sarah Palin and a pitbull? The friendly canine eventually lets go, is the McCain punchline.

McCain's joke is a skit on Palin's most famous line after she was picked as his surprise running mate. Palin delighted the Republican base when she said the only difference between a pitbull and a hockey mom was lipstick.

We owe the new glimpse into the tense McCain/Palin relationship to Sir Nigel Sheinwald, the British ambassador to Washington. Sheinwald recently wrote a lengthy assessment of McCain in a telegram which winged its way across the Atlantic to Whitehall.
LinkHere

WATCH: Obama's Campaign From Beginning To End

The American News Project, meanwhile takes a cinematic look back on this election season, tracing Obama's footsteps in Colorado, Alabama, California, Virginia, Illinois and Washington D.C. and juxtaposing his words with those of Martin Luther King Jr. 45 years ago.

LinkHere

Paul Krugman Lets Loose: No Longer Ruled By "Monsters"

November 5, 2008, 8:25 am

The monster years

Last night wasn’t just a victory for tolerance; it wasn’t just a mandate for progressive change; it was also, I hope, the end of the monster years.
What I mean by that is that for the past 14 years America’s political life has been largely dominated by, well, monsters. Monsters like Tom DeLay, who suggested that the shootings at Columbine happened because schools teach students the theory of evolution. Monsters like Karl Rove, who declared that liberals wanted to offer “therapy and understanding” to terrorists. Monsters like Dick Cheney, who saw 9/11 as an opportunity to start torturing people.
And in our national discourse, we pretended that these monsters were reasonable, respectable people. To point out that the monsters were, in fact, monsters, was “shrill.”
Four years ago it seemed as if the monsters would dominate American politics for a long time to come. But for now, at least, they’ve been banished to the wilderness.

LinkHere

Robert F. Kennedy: Environmental Protection Agency Head?

The first news on Barack Obama's cabinet is out:
President-elect Barack Obama is strongly considering Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Environmental Protection Agency, a Cabinet post, Democratic officials told Politico.

The selection of Kennedy would be a shrewd early move for the new presidential team. Obama advisers said the nomination would please both Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.).
It also would raise the profile of the EPA, which would help endear Obama to liberals who may be disappointed on other issues important to the Democratic left because of budget restrictions.
The EPA enforces clean air and clear water laws. Kennedy, an environmental lawyer and son of the late senator and attorney general Robert F. Kennedy, has long championed a cleaner water supply for New York City.
As an officer and attorney for the environmental watch group Riverkeeper, Kennedy has taken on governments and companies for polluting the Hudson River and Long Island Sound.

LinkHere

Australia Reacts to President Elect Obama

SYDNEY AUSTRALIA

He thanked his wife Michelle, "the love of my life", and promised his children a new puppy would be joining them at the White House. / Reuters

MICHELLE Obama calls herself the new mum-in-chief but admirers say she's a 21st Century Jackie Kennedy who will bring glamour back to the White House. Pound puppy to top dog More

Running mates ... Barack and Michelle Obama wave to their supporters along with vice president-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill / AFP

Ayers Finally Speaks: I Barely Knew Obama, "They Made Me Into A Cartoon Character"

We Can Now Truly Tell Children You Can Be Anything You Want

Rep. Lewis: "A Nonviolent Revolution"

Kerry: "Tonight New Dreams Are Born"

Biggest Voter Turnout In 90 Years, Since Women Won Right

Americans turned out at the polls in record numbers today.
According to MSNBC:
Americans were voting in numbers unprecedented since women were given the franchise in 1920. Secretaries of state predicted turnouts approaching 90 percent in Virginia and Colorado and 80 percent or more in big states like Ohio, California, Texas, Missouri and Maryland.
Though the exact numbers won't be determined until all the votes are counted in the next few days and weeks, a history-making high percentage of Americans voted, according to CNN and the Wall Street Journal:
More than 30 million voters had already cast ballots before Tuesday in early voting. Nearly 100 million more were expected on election day. Hundreds of thousands of voters waited from long before daybreak or for hours on end to make their choices known.
LinkHere

God be with you President Elect Obama, and may you accomplish all so many of the American people, and the Citizens of the world are hoping you can achieve.

...PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA...

"CHANGE HAS COME TO AMERICA"

Good Luck America, The Day Has Finally Come, Go Out And Vote Obama.

The World Watches And Waits

Will catch up later when God willing, Obama Wins.

WATCH The Final Rallies: Obama Addresses 90,000 In Virginia

Barack Obama saved his biggest Virginia rally for last -- a jam-packed event in Manassas with 90,000 people reportedly in attendance. For his conclusion, he "reached back to the roots of his campaign to tell an inspirational story that had long ago fallen from his routine."
The story is about a long drive, a rainy day and how one person can make a difference. It was inspired by a woman he met during a visit to a small South Carolina town in 2007 and became a favorite during his Iowa caucus campaign.
It ends with Obama leading a cheer of "Fired up, Ready to Go!"
Obama ended the event on Tuesday by telling the crowd: "In 21 hours, if you are willing to endure rainfall, to take the person who was not going to vote to the polls, if you will stand with me in a fight with me, I know that your voice will matter. I have one question for you, Virginia. Are you fired up? Are you ready to go? Fired up? Ready to go? Fired up! Ready to go! Virginia, let's go change the world!" LinkHere

Obama's final rally

"Bittersweet"

Obama On Grandmother And Campaign: "Bittersweet"

In what was clearly a very difficult portion of his address Monday night in North Carolina, Barack Obama spoke for several minutes on this grandmother's death from cancer Sunday night. At one point, it seemed, he was moved to tears.

Obama's Grandmother's Absentee Ballot Will Be Counted By HawaiiTeary 86-Year-Old Volunteer Meets Obama (VIDEO)

Obama's grandmother dies

Obama's Grandmother Dies At Age 86

A statement from Barack Obama and Maya Soetoro-Ng on their grandmother's death:
"It is with great sadness that we announce that our grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has died peacefully after a battle with cancer. She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility. She was the person who encouraged and allowed us to take chances. She was proud of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and left this world with the knowledge that her impact on all of us was meaningful and enduring. Our debt to her is beyond measure.
"Our family wants to thank all of those who sent flowers, cards, well-wishes, and prayers during this difficult time. It brought our grandmother and us great comfort. Our grandmother was a private woman, and we will respect her wish for a small private ceremony to be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, we ask that you make a donation to any worthy organization in search of a cure for cancer."
Read the whole story here.

Obama's Nevada State Director Dies

Marc Ambinder reports some sad news:
Terence Tolbert, Barack Obama's Nevada state director, died suddenly of a heart attack yesterday. He was 44, and a former senior aide to New York City schools chancellor Joel Klein and mayor Michael Bloomberg.
For this reason, the mood in Obama's campaign headquarters is more somber than it otherwise would be.
In a statement this morning, Obama said he was "shocked and saddened" to learn of the death.
"Terence was a strong force in this campaign, with a positive outlook that brought people together. He was much loved by his team, who often repeated his motto of 'leave no stone unturned.' His enthusiasm, talent, and warm heart will truly be missed. The thoughts and prayers of the entire Obama-Biden family are with his wife and loved ones," Obama said.
Tolbert is survived by his wife, Freida, and his mother, Carolyn.
LinkHere

Palin campaign stonewalls on medical records

LAKEWOOD, Ohio (CNN) – With less than 24 hours to go before the presidential election, Sarah Palin still has not released her medical records and there is no indication the campaign is planning to do so.
Two weeks ago, Palin’s campaign told several reporters traveling with the campaign that a summary of the governor’s medical history would be made public before election day.
Reporters were told that details on Palin’s medical background would be released early last week. Last Thursday, after that timeframe had passed, a campaign aide backed off the previous pledge, saying the campaign wasn’t sure when the information would be released.
John McCain, Barack Obama and Joseph Biden have all provided details about their medical history. LinkHere

“I’ve seen a different John McCain than the one I signed up to work for,” he said.

Florida U. McCain Chairman Resigns, Votes For Obama

Simmons said he voted for Obama about two weeks ago.

“I’ve seen a different John McCain than the one I signed up to work for,” he said.

Simmons said he submitted his resignation Sunday night and will no longer be chairman for the group, which has more than 1,000 members.

“I expect them to be incredibly pissed off,” he said.

Obama: Right-Wing Attacks On Michelle "Out Of Bounds"

In an interview with Katie Couric, Barack Obama says that the thing that made him angriest in the campaign was right-wing attacks on his wife Michelle.
COURIC: What did the McCain team do in the course of this campaign that made you the angriest?
OBAMA: You know, I, I think that, ahh, you know, I -- a lot of the stuff that has made me angry hasn't directly come from the McCain campaign. I mean, I, I do think that there is a -- there is a Republican or rightwing -- media outlet-- set of media outlets that went after my wife for a while in a way that I thought was just completely out of bounds. And -- and I, you know, frankly I-- you know, I would have never considered or expected my allies to do something comparable to the spouse of an opponent. ... I just feel like family is -- are civilians. And they don't sign up for this stuff. They support their -- their spouse. But generally, you know, they're really -- should be bystanders in this process, even if they're campaigning for you. You know, they're saying nice things about -- about their -- their, in this case, their husbands. I mean, that's what you expect.
LinkHere

Voting Lines Stretch To Eight Hours

Early voting has reached record numbers this year. Including absentee ballots, 27 million people have already voted. That's in spite of lines that stretch on for hours.
"Six hours is ridiculous in terms of waiting in line," one Ohio voter told CNN. "I still haven't had an opportunity to vote," said a Florida reader after waiting in line for three hours. "It seems crazy."

Rachel Maddow discussed the long lines -- eight to ten hours in some places -- on MSNBC last night. While she admitted that images of people waiting hours to vote was inspiring, she reminded viewers that not everyone has the time to do it. Long lines, she argued, are a new kind of poll tax. Watch:

5 homeless shot dead in LA

Killings in homeless camp latest in string of attacks on area's homeless.

In Ohio, Obama's ground game outguns McCain's

Chris Hondros / Getty Images
PITCHING IN: Jenifer Burks walks into Barack Obama’s campaign offices in Delaware, Ohio. She is a former Republican who started working at an Obama phone bank eight months ago.
McCain has struggled to gain momentum in a battleground state that Bush won in 2004 -- and that he needs to win to beat the odds.
LinkHere

McCain's Latest Desperate Attack Debunked: Obama And Coal

Ohio's GOP Senator: McCain "Will Put Coal Out Of Business"

GOP Senator: McCain "Will Put Coal Out Of Business"

Update (12:28AM, Nov. 3): On Sunday, John McCain launched the final attack of his campaign, a fraudulent assault on Barack Obama that serves as a fitting reminder of the fundamental dishonesty not only of his own campaign, but also of the dishonesty of his allies in the right-wing propaganda establishment: Matt Drudge and FOX News.
All you need to know to understand the video is that the Drudge, FOX, and the McCain campaign joined forces with Newsbusters to push a story that the San Francisco Chronicle had concealed an eleven month old recording that supposedly contained devastating audio of Barack Obama proposing to bankrupt the entire coal industry.
Not only was that story false (more detail below), but it turns out that Barack Obama and John McCain have the same position on clean coal technology, and Ohio's Republican senator said McCain's plan to fight global warming would "put coal out of business."

Here's the facts that the McCain-Drudge-FOX axis of weasel does not want you to know: The Chronicle had not concealed the recording, which had been on the newspaper's website all along. And rather than reveal some sinister scheme, what it actually demonstrated was that Barack Obama supported clean coal technology -- a position he shares with none other than John McCain.
Despite the fact that both candidates support clean coal technology, the McCain campaign tried to make the case that Barack Obama wanted to take away jobs from coal country in Ohio and Pennsylvania, and both Drudge and FOX were happy to oblige.
But just three years ago on the floor of the United States Senate, John McCain's Republican colleague George Voinovich of Ohio took to the floor to argue against a proposal by McCain to curb greenhouse gas emissions. McCain's proposal, Voinovich said, would "put coal out of business" and cost thousands of jobs, an argument that McCain did not contest.
In fact, McCain agreed that his plan would require sacrifice, but he also argued (correctly) that in the long-run, America would be better off. In other words, he made the exact same arguments as Barack Obama -- and as you can see above, it was all on video.
The clips I used from FOX were actually attacking Barack Obama, but the fact that you could just as easily have swapped McCain in place of Obama reveals how their media enterprise is really a propaganda operation in which political figures are nothing more than character actors taking up space in their pre-ordained dramatic narrative.
They aren't dealing with reality, they are trying to construct a new reality. For years, they've been able to maintain political power by doing just that, but now that the reality of their disastrous governance has caught up to them, their ability to lie their way to victory has been severely damaged.
For better or for worse, it's a lesson they still haven't learned. They still think they can fake their way through it.
But that's not really the important thing. The important thing is that we are overcoming their grip on power. And for that, the world is a better place. LinkHere

Miners' union: McCain camp 'twists truth' on Obama, coal: Soon...

Reagan, Nixon Speechwriter Endorses "True Conservative" Obama

A speechwriter for Reagan and Nixon—who worked at the National Review for four decades—on why he's voting for Obama.
It may be something of a surprise that, as a long time conservative, I now support Barack Obama. In 1968, I was a speechwriter first for Ronald Reagan, when Governor of California, then, as Richard Nixon became the presidential nominee, a speechwriter for Nixon, working at his home office at 450 Park Avenue. I became a senior editor at National Review in 1969, a position I held until recently.
There are common sense conservatives who are prudential, who try to match means with ends, and who calculate the probabilities of gains and risks. But there are philosophical (analytical) conservatives, the most useful being Edmund Burke, whose "Reflections on the Revolution in France" (1790) understood the great dangers in trying to change society through abstract (republican) theory. My first book that dealt with these matters was "English Political writers: From Locke to Burke" (Knopf, 1963).
One thing I know is that both Nixon and Reagan would have agreed with Obama’s speech against the Iraq War… But all the organs of the conservative movement followed Bush over the cliff—as did John McCain.
Republican President George W. Bush has not been a conservative at all, either in domestic policy or in foreign policy. He invaded Iraq on the basis of abstract theory, the very thing Burke warned against. Bush aimed to turn Iraq into a democracy, "a beacon of liberty in the Middle East," as he explained in a radio address in April 2006.
I do not recall any "conservative" publication mentioning those now memorable words "Sunni," "Shia," or "Kurds." Burke would have been appalled at the blindness to history and to social facts that characterized the writing of those so-called conservatives.
Obama did understand. In his now famous 2002 speech, while he was still a state senator in Illinois, he said: “I know that a successful war against Iraq will require a US occupation of undetermined length, of undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without international support will fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than the best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al Qaeda. I'm not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars.” LinkHere

For some white voters, Obama's race is seen as a

Source: Los Angelas Times
Will Hairston, a white Virginian, admits it freely: When he goes into the voting booth Tuesday, he will take Barack Obama's race into consideration.

It will be, he said, one more good reason to pull the lever for the Illinois senator.

"For me, the Obama thing is a giant step forward for America," he said. The 47-year-old's ancestors once lorded over black slaves as owners of one of the Old South's largest plantation empires. Electing a black candidate, he said, would show that "we're not just the slavery nation, the Jim Crow nation."

This is the other racial dynamic that is shaping the opinion of some white voters, one that has taken a back seat to discussions of white bigotry: the reality that some whites regard a vote for Obama as a victory for diversity, an atonement for past sins and a catalyst for racial healing.

LinkHere

Reuters/Zogby Battleground 8-State Surveys: Obama Builds on Leads in OH & NV; Holds Margins in VA &

USA Today Poll: Voters mix enthusiasm, pessimism (Obama 53% McNuts 42%)

Jim Crow survivor casts first vote —- for Democrat

Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution

In his 103 years, Ernest Smith says, he never drank, smoked or voted.

Though he’s yet to sample tobacco or alcohol, on Thursday, Smith cast his first ballot —- for Democratic nominee Barack Obama.

“I voted, and I want to vote again,” said Smith, a testament to clean living. “It felt good.”

While the Lithonia man’s hearing is poor and his memory spotty, Smith moves without the aid of a walker and has few wrinkles.

“Loving the Lord,” he said, when asked his secret to longevity.

Born in 1905 in Pembroke, N.C., Smith lived most of his life there and was first eligible to vote in 1928 —- then the voting age was 21.

But for African-Americans like Smith, suffrage was far from universal. Literacy tests and poll taxes were enacted through much of the Jim Crow South to suppress black turnout.

Had Smith attempted to vote in 1928 —- he says he never tried to register —- his choices would have been Herbert Hoover, campaigning as a Republican maverick, and Democrat Al Smith who, like Obama, was a historic nominee.
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Howard Dean will be campaigning in Arizona tomorrow

It really is a 50-state strategy. And, Arizona is in play. Via email from the DNC:
On Monday, November 3rd DNC Chairman Howard Dean will spend the last full day of the 2008 presidential election helping to get out the vote for Democrats in John McCain's home state of Arizona. Dean will headline a Get Out the Vote Rally with local Democrats in Tucson, Arizona on the heels of Arizona being moved from "Leaning McCain" to "Toss Up" by Real Clear Politics.Democrats are organized, motivated and ready to bring about the positive change our country needs. Recent polls in Arizona indicate that the election will be close and Gov. Dean is committed to Getting Out the Vote in support of Obama-Biden and Democrats up-and-down the ballot.
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Ohio routed '04 votes thru Bush e-mail host

McCain Did Not Disclose Keating Business Deal To Investigators

The New Republic published an explosive story Saturday evening detailing how John McCain, in all likelihood, leaked information to investigators of the Keating Five scandal that was designed to help his image at the expense of the other four Senators involved.

Dozens of men stoned Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow to death Oct. 27 in a stadium packed with 1,000 spectators

13-Year-Old Rape Victim Stoned To Death In Somalia For Adultery

Stoned In Stadium Filled With 1,000 Spectators

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A 13-year-old girl who said she had been raped was stoned to death in Somalia after being accused of adultery by Islamic militants, a human rights group said.
Dozens of men stoned Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow to death Oct. 27 in a stadium packed with 1,000 spectators in the southern port city of Kismayo, Amnesty International and Somali media reported, citing witnesses. The Islamic militia in charge of Kismayo had accused her of adultery after she reported that three men had raped her, the rights group said.
Initial local media reports said Duhulow was 23, but her father told Amnesty International she was 13. Some of the Somali journalists who first reported the killing later told Amnesty International that they had reported she was 23 based upon her physical appearance.
Calls to Somali government officials and the local administration in Kismayo rang unanswered Saturday.
"This child suffered a horrendous death at the behest of the armed opposition groups who currently control Kismayo," David Copeman, Amnesty International's Somalia campaigner, said in a statement Friday.
Somalia is among the world's most violent and impoverished countries. The nation of some 8 million people has not had a functioning government since warlords overthrew a dictator in 1991 then turned on each other.

WATCH: Obama Discusses Gay Marriage, Paying For College With MTV News

When an MTV viewer wanted to know what Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama thought of Proposition 8, a state constitutional amendment on the 2008 California general-election ballot that would eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry, MTV News brought the question straight to the man himself.
"I think it's unnecessary," Obama told Sway, in response to a question sent in by Gangstagigz from San Leandro, California. "I believe marriage is between a man and a woman. I am not in favor of gay marriage. But when you start playing around with constitutions, just to prohibit somebody who cares about another person, it just seems to me that's not what America's about. Usually, our constitutions expand liberties, they don't contract them."
Keep reading here.

MTV Shows

Original Mavericks To McCain: "You're No Maverick"

Brave New Films talks to the actual original Mavericks, who aren't too fond of John McCain using their name:

Who's the Original Maverick?

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Bush Loyalists Throw Pity Party: "Real Sadness" In The White House

BUSHIES THROW A PITY PARTY.... After failing in every imaginable way, with the worst approval ratings since the dawn of modern polling, and with a party that wants the president to be neither seen nor heard, the Bush White House is apparently feeling a little sorry for itself.
Others inside and outside the administration ... say the upbeat talk masks disappointment and frustration among many White House staffers, who believe Bush's reputation has been unfairly maligned for a series of calamities -- from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to the financial crisis -- that were beyond his control and that he handled well. GOP nominee John McCain's escalating attacks on Bush's tenure have added to the irritation, these people said.
"Everybody kind of wanted to spend the last 100-plus days doing some legacy things, and the financial crisis has thrown a wrench into that," said one prominent Republican who regularly talks with senior White House officials.
"You have a combination of no legacy stuff, a horrible economic mess and the likelihood that Obama is going to win," this person added. "There is a real sadness there."
The Bushies are sad? One wonders whether they can appreciate how the rest of us feel.
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We see America the way Barack Obama sees America. And we share his urgency.

Arizona Paper Endorses Obama

Barack Obama for president

Our future requires a steady, intelligent and, as former Secretary of State Colin Powell said, a "transformational" leader to guide us into a new era. Obama brings deep intellectual curiosity, equanimity and discipline.
The ground under America is moving. A generational change is under way with or without Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., or Barack Obama, D-Ill.

The core concerns are more about the future than the past, be it eight years ago or one day ago. They are about the moment and the movement to engage Americans in ways not seen before, especially against a backdrop of economic strife unmatched since the Great Depression.
McCain is correct that it's time to stand up. "Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight. Nothing is inevitable here. We're Americans, and we never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history," he said at the Republican National Convention.
However, the ways of the past, which we believe McCain understands, will not work in this new America. The future requires new tools and new expertise. A premium must be placed on more than just love of country. We must re-embrace American ideals and lead the world on a stronger path to prosperity and peace.
The time is now and the leader is Barack Obama. The Star endorses Obama for president of the United States.
Like a race car driver going into a turn, a leader must see not only what confronts our nation today but envision where we come out on the other side. Obama sees how the United States is connected to other nations through our economic, immigration, national security and energy policies. No one can thrive alone.
Obama sees a foreign policy where force is but one tool. He envisions countries collaborating to confront bad actors and shared challenges such as global warming, poverty, terrorism, disease and religious extremism.

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Palin Prank Call: Canadian Comedy Duo Convinces Palin She's Talking To Sarkozy (AUDIO)

The AP reports that a Quebec comedy duo, posing as French President Nicolas Sarkozy, have successfully prank called Sarah Palin.
Sarah Palin has unwittingly taken a prank call from a Canadian comedian posing as French President Nicolas Sarkozy and told him she may make a good president in eight years.
The Republican vice presidential nominee discussed politics, the perils of hunting with Vice President Dick Cheney, and Sarkozy's "beautiful wife," in the telephone call released Saturday.
When the caller told Palin she would make a good president, she laughed and replied: "Maybe in eight years.
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Daughter of Ill Senator Dick Durbin dies

Source: cbs2chicago.com

Joe Shoemaker, Communications Director for U.S. Senator Dick Durbin issued the following statement on the death of the Durbin's oldest daughter.

"Christine Ann Durbin, daughter of Senator Dick Durbin and Loretta Durbin passed away today from complications relating to a congenital heart condition. Chris Durbin, 40, fought a heroic lifelong battle with heart disease and our thoughts and prayers are with the entire family."
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"That endorsement didn't come easy. Senator McCain had to vote 90 percent of the time with George Bush and Dick Cheney to get it.

Cheney applauds McCain in Wyoming

Sen. John McCain has received an endorsement -- perhaps unwelcome -- on the eve of the election.

"In three days we'll choose a new steward for the presidency and begin a new chapter in our history," Vice President Dick Cheney remarked Saturday, campaigning for Republicans in his home state of Wyoming. "It's the biggest decision that we make together as Americans. A lot turns on the outcome. I believe the right leader for this moment in history is Senator John McCain."

Obama replied to the endorsement in remarks leaked to the Huffington Post.

"I'd like to congratulate Senator McCain on this endorsement because he really earned it," Obama said. "That endorsement didn't come easy. Senator McCain had to vote 90 percent of the time with George Bush and Dick Cheney to get it. He served as Washington's biggest cheerleader for going to war in Iraq, and supports economic policies that are no different from the last eight years. So Senator McCain worked hard to get Dick Cheney's support."

"But here's my question for you, Colorado: do you think Dick Cheney is delighted to support John McCain because he thinks John McCain's going to bring change?" he added. "Do you think John McCain and Dick Cheney have been talking about how to shake things up, and get rid of the lobbyists and the old boys club in Washington?"

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Documents reveal how Ohio routed 2004 voting data through company that hosted external Bush Administration email accounts

2004 Ohio votes were re-routed through pro-GOP servers

Newly obtained computer schematics provide further detail of how electronic voting data was routed during the 2004 election from Ohio’s Secretary of State’s office through a partisan Tennessee web hosting company.

A network security expert with high-level US government clearances, who is also a former McCain delegate, says the documents – server schematics which trace the architecture created for Ohio’s then-Republican Secretary of State and state election chief Kenneth Blackwell – raise troubling questions about the security of electronic voting and the integrity of the 2004 presidential election results.

The flow chart shows how voting information was transferred from Ohio to SmarTech Inc., a Chattanooga Tennessee IT company known for its close association with the Republican Party, before the 2004 election results were displayed online.

Information technology expert Stephen Spoonamore believes this architecture could have made possible a KingPin or "Man in the Middle" (MIM) attack -- a well-defined criminal methodology in which a computer is inserted into the network of a bank or credit card processor to intercept and modify transactions before they reach a central computer. In an affidavit filed in September, Spoonamore asserted that "any time all information is directed to a single computer for consolidation, it is possible… that single computer will exploit the information for some purpose. ... In the case of Ohio 2004, the only purpose I can conceive for sending all county vote tabulations to a GOP managed Man-in-the-Middle site in Chattanooga before sending the results onward to the Sec. of State, would be to hack the vote at the MIM."

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Family Values!!!!!!!!

Obama And Family On The Trail Saturday

See more Obama Slideshows
SATURDAY PHOTOS:

Judge Orders Justice Department To Produce Wiretap Memos

National Debt Soars $500 Billion In Under A Month

(CBS) This story was written by CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller

It’s the surge you won’t hear anyone boast about. Never before in U.S. history has the national debt increased as much and as rapidly as it has over the past month. Since September 30, the day the national debt hit the $10-trillion mark for the first time, the government has run up over $500 billion in new debt. That’s more than the federal deficit for the entire 2008 fiscal year, which ended September 30. And it’s the most rapid increase in the national debt ever: over half a trillion dollars in less than a month - 23 days to be exact.
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Michigan McCain-Palin supporter says no treats for Obama kids on Halloween

No Fair! McCain Supporter Denies Candy To Children Of Obama Supporters On Halloween (VIDEO)

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Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

By FRANK RICH
Published: November 1, 2008

AND so: just how far have we come?

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