We all knew Obama's faith is far more personal than McCain's.
Obama has a great deal more respect for his wife and his elders. McCain only mentioned Cindy once, and that story is suspect.
McCain is a hammer and sees every problem as a nail- and with Petraeus as his primary advisor, we know exactly what the US response to every problem around the world will be. War. Everywhere, all the time.
In yesterday's Olbermann diary, Keith told us Dana Milbank had taken another job, and that it certainly wasn't better than what he had going at MSNBC. Lots of folks posited Milbank was going to Faux News.
I left a comment, stating it was my bet that Milbank would go to CNN, likely to Campbell Brown's show.
Milbank's taken a new TV gig for sure, but he's denying there was any dispute at Countdown.
I received a survey in my inbox this evening from Polling Point, an internet polling firm run by Pollmetrix in CA, and holding themselves out to be non-partisan. (They also say that Polling Point respondents are invited to take surveys three or four times a year, which I know for a fact is not true, since I get a poll from them at least every week to 10 days.)
I beg to differ with the non-partisan stance as well. After the jump, I will present the top 10 negatives about Obama that Polling Point asked about tonight, and refute each one as we go. If each of these ten items are the core group of concerns of the real anti-Obama voters, then maybe these arguments will help make our case for Obama. I’d like to note that the racist attack you’ll see perpetuated on Obama was not matched with similar questions about the physical, mental or emotional capabilities of the GOP opponent.
With all the recent talk about FISA, gun control, Olbermann v. Greenwald these days, it's easy to forget about other equally important items on the Progressive Agenda. One of those important items being Universal Health Care.
The Big Dog household had an experience this weekend that illustrates, in a very small way, the differences between those with health insurance and those without.
We went to visit my grandfather yesterday, Father's Day. Took the whole family, even my folks who've been divorced for 7 years. My Pa-Paw, as he's called by everyone, is 91 years old, and he has Alzheimer's. He's been in an assisted living facility for going on 3 years now, as it wasn't safe for him to continue living at home with my grandmother.
Pa-Paw has good days and bad days. Sometimes we visit, and he can't remember anyone's name but my mom's. Or he thinks I'm actually my mom. (That's a little scary, but my mom's so cool, I consider it a compliment.)
This diary is about problems within the management culture at the US Secret Service (USSS). There are many, many excellent, trustworthy and non-racist Agents at the USSS, who take their work very seriously and do their jobs thoroughly. This post is not about them. This post is about the racist element that exists at the USSS, the class action lawsuit that has languished for over 7 years, and why we should demand that the suit should be addressed much sooner rather than later.
Earl Blumenauer (OR-3) penned a letter at Blue Oregon today, relating his experience on the House floor today as Barack Obama took the chamber by storm. Earl serves as co-chair of Obama's campaign in Oregon, and he was clearly delighted to see so many Clinton supporters and GOPers coming to shake the hand of our presumptive nominee.
This really caught my eye:
My sense is that at least 95 percent of the super delegates know exactly who they are going to vote for, and most will support Barack. Many were looking for an opportunity to solidify in their own mind or perhaps express to him where they are and where they are going.
Hats off to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) for today's decision by the rank-and-file to take the day off as a West-Coast wide protest against the illegal war in Iraq.
This was a statement made to my 16 year old daughter during her first session of high-schooler phone banking for the Obama campaign here in Oregon last night.
We'll assume that man did not know he was talking to a 16 year old, but who knows.
Another McCain-supporting man was surprised that my 14 year old wasn't going to argue with him about his support of McCain. His two stated reasons for supporting McCain were 1) maintaining a strong army and 2) McCain's "experience". She thanked him for sharing that information, and the man ended the call.
The real victory here is that this did not deter my daughters, both of which were phone banking last night. It did not deter the other high school aged kids there, and it did not deter the organizers at Obama's local county office.
Oregon just got a little sunnier for Obama today. Five state senators and 19 state representatives endorsed Obama today, in addition to the state superintendent of schools and the state treasurer.
I met Barack Obama today. Today was the 10th anniversary of our marriage, and rather than go out to a fancy restaurant for dinner, we decided to take our kids to witness history in the making. My family (Husband, Daughter-16, Daughter-14) and I attended the event in Salem, OR today, arriving at about 8:30A for the announced 11:30 doors open time.
The wind blew a cold 40 degrees, and it threatened to rain. We watched the TSA screeners arrive, along with bomb-sniffing dogs that were taken up and down the now long line into the Salem Armory. From the front of the line, a cheer rose as the gates were finally opened at 11:30A, as promised.
The TSA searched us thoroughly. I was even wanded. Into the Armory we went, searching out the closest seats we could. We ended up several rows back, but within 50 feet of the stage. Finally, Earl Blumenauer, our beloved bow-tie wearing US Representative came out to introduce Obama. Earl gave a very nice speech, the details of which I can’t recall due to what came next.
The race to the nomination became even more unseemly today, with the announcement from a bloc of Ohio superdelegates intending to withhold support of any candidate until they submit a specific plan for protecting jobs in Ohio.
Heather Ryan is running for US House in KY-01 against one of the most good-for-nothings Mitch McConnell could dredge up for his puppet show, Eddie Whitfield. Eddie has shown up for so few votes during his tenure that there's little to show for support of the people of Kentucky. Like when Ed voted NO on SCHIP last fall. In fact, he voted against SCHIP 5 times last year- I think we're pretty clear Eddie isn't a "family values" supporter.
You'll recall my earlier diaries (story also carried at Bluegrassroots) of the Navy Vet mom who KY Senator Mitch McConnell had fired from her job on MLK day because she and her 12-year old daughter dared to ask McConnell a question about the Iraq War during a campaign fund raising stop in Paducah, KY...
That woman is Heather Ryan, our newest Netroots candidate, running for US Representative of KY-01. Heather announced her candidacy today, and will need all the help she can get to make it happen.
Over at BlueGrassRoots.org, they have posted video taken by Hillbilly from HillbillyReport.com of Heather Ryan and her 12-year old daughter Heaven, 4-month old daughter Ireland, and her husband Chris (also a Navy Vet).
Here’s the video- decide for yourself. Are these people really so scary that McConnell had to ruin their livelihood?
Keeping up on Heather Ryan's story, she appeared on local TV in Paducah, KY talking about her story. Ryan says she's seeking legal counsel, as the GOP smear machine is in full swing against her on the usual wingnut blogs. Video of the story after the jump...
It would seem so... Heather Ryan, former member of the US Navy and mother of two, was fired from her job today as the Executive Director of the Maiden Alley Cinema. McConnell encountered Ryan and her 12-year old daughter Heaven as members of a small protest held during a stop by McConnell and his crew in Paducah, KY.
McConnell was so enraged by Ryan and her pink-haired daughter asking questions about his support for the Iraq war, he immediately pulled tens of millions of federal dollars from programs to benefit Paducah. But that wasn’t enough. McConnell went after Ryan personally, tying the federal money to having Ryan terminated from her job. Ryan was fired today by the theater’s Board of Directors, who were apparently cowed into submission by the Paducah City Council and McConnellCo. The Board called Ryan in for questioning last week, and even viewed the video she took of the entire incident. Today, on MLK Day, they fired her.
