RETURN OF THE BIRTHERS

AFTER FIRST OBSERVING the notorious "birther" movement back in July, 2008, long before many in the nation had tuned into the election, even before the financial crisis finally broke, which I anticipated atop the formidable shoulders of others here and here and here, there is finally a break in the courts for the "eligibilty to serve" suit to get heard.

In what could prove to be a turning point in the legal challenges to Barack Obama’s eligibility to be president, a federal judge in California, also a former US Marine, has scheduled a hearing on the merits of a federal court case raising those questions.

While there have been dozens of legal challenges to Obama’s status as a “natural born citizen,” many of have summarily dismissed while others still languish in the lower courts.

The US Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, states, “No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President.”

Some of the lawsuits question whether he was actually born in Hawaii, as he insists. If he was born out of the country, Obama’s American mother, the suits contend, was too young at the time of his birth to confer American citizenship to her son under the law at the time.

Other challenges have focused on Obama’s citizenship through his father, a Kenyan subject to the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom at the time of his birth, thus making him a dual citizen. The cases contend the framers of the Constitution excluded dual citizens from qualifying as natural born.

Complicating the situation is candidate and President Obama’s decision to spend sums estimated from the hundreds of thousands of dollars to several millions to avoid releasing a state birth certificate that would put to rest all of the questions.

It has been concluded that the “Certification of Live Birth” posted online and widely touted as “Obama’s birth certificate” does not in ANY way prove he was born in Hawaii, since the same “short-form” document is easily obtainable for children not born in Hawaii. The true “long-form” birth certificate—which includes information such as the name of the birth hospital and attending physician—is the only document that can prove Obama was born in Hawaii, but to date he has not permitted its release for public or press scrutiny.

Congressional hearings were held to determine whether Sen. John McCain was constitutionally eligible to be president as a “natural born citizen,” although, defying both official protocol and common logic, no controlling legal authority ever sought to verify Obama’s claim to a Hawaiian birth.

The birthers are considered fringe folks, crazed radicals, racists, and inconsequential, but here's a look at the latest fring controverst, this time on the left. First, let's go to Big Hollywood.

And now, let's take a peek at the firestorm created by a White House spokesman who said the "Internet Left fringe needs to grow up, and take off their pajamas so that this administration can get on with more important issues" here's that link. Or something like that. Here's another take.

THE CHARLATAN'S TENT

MY FAVORITE LINE from the charlatan's tent so far has tumbled out of the mouth from Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. When confronted with the fact that Mister President has not done a single thing he promised during the campaign and is instead spending money as if there is no tomorrow while gutting the potential of people by raising taxes, Gibbs replied, “It’s not like you weren’t told. McCain’s campaign said we were going to be doing this right from the start.”

Methinks Gibbs won't last a year, perhaps not even six months. He's a giggling goofball.

CONGRATULATIONS, MR. PRESIDENT

THERE WE HAVE IT. The end of an era. A turn of the page. A so-called post-racial but racially-charged election is now in the books. And the winner and 44th President of the United States of America is the junior Senator from the Great State of Illinois—Barack Obama. We, at The Two-fisted Quorum, offer no apologies for owning our votes, and casting them for the opposition, but now that the Democratic ticket has won this historic election, it is time to move on past the ugly tactics this election process on both sides of the aisle could never transcend. It is time to act like grown-up Americans, always on the watch, but never the sore loser...

This will be a tough cycle. Our enemies who will still insist on hurting us as Americans, and our enemies who will still resist this election are surely lurking amongst us and within us. Let us join our neighbors in praying that President Obama be granted the courage to accept the things he cannot change, change the things he can, and be granted the wisdom to know the difference.

And let us all echo the sentiments expressed by John McCain in his concession speech last night in Phoenix.

May we be inspired to find that all of our fears and anxieties of a radical leftist—smug, thug, and snug in the pockets of corporate interests—sitting in the White House were misguided and nothing but ephemeral mists now evaporated with the pulsing warmth of the sun because here is a new kind of national leader who truly does love America and ALL its people...

I even read today that he is bringing back all the manufacturing jobs our corporations so cavalierly sent away. Rebuilding American industry so that we don't depend on steel and other integral products from our enemies has been a major issue for The Two-fisted Quorum.

May we also not be fooled again...

TEMPTING MISTER OBAMA

AND PUTIN ISN'T EVEN the most serious enemy Obama would have to deal with. That distinction goes to the same opponent The New York Times and other liberal entities routinely fail to acknowledge because they don’t wear uniforms and abide by the rules of engagement that we’re used to seeing in Hollywood movies. No, our most serious enemy, in this fourth-generation war that swaps traditional geopolitical boundaries for ideological ones, is right next door.

It’s hard to speak of terrorism without being accused by the left of seeing jihadists under every rock. But that’s precisely where they are.

This week in Toronto, Canada, a homegrown 29-year-old Muslim was convicted on five charges of financing and plotting thwarted terrorist attacks in the UK. He was a contractor with the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs who spent his downtime hitting the monkey bars at terrorist training camps in Pakistan and writing love letters about Osama bin Laden.

That’s the enemy. But could Barack Obama recognize it? Judging by his close association with a terrorist like William Ayers, apparently not.

Obama has said that he was only a boy when Ayers and his Weather Underground domestic terrorists bombed the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol. As proof that the war on terrorism isn’t yet taken seriously enough, one only has to imagine how the public might react if we found out that John McCain was palling around with a former Nazi war criminal, and justifying it by pointing out that he was just a kid when all that went down and he wouldn’t have supported it had he been around at the time. As though he couldn’t be expected to pick up a history book and do a bit of reading. That’s essentially Obama’s argument vis-à-vis his association with Ayers – and he gets a pass.

He also points to the fact that Ayers is now a distinguished college professor. Yeah, so? How many college campuses would recruit Osama Bin Laden, if we could find him? We already have the Taliban diversity program at Yale for “distinguished” jihadists.

Obama’s numbers in the Middle East are even higher than they are at the United Nations. One thing upon which Palestinians and Jews agree is apparently—and inexplicably—the notion that Barack Obama would be best for their welfare.

As the Associated Press reports, at least one Palestinian is hunkered down at his computer in a refugee camp making random calls over the Internet to Americans, imploring them to vote for Obama. Meanwhile, a Gallup tracking poll has determined that 75-80 percent of Jews will vote for Obama next week.

Read Rachel Marsden's full article...

KEEPING STRONG ON DEFENSE

IN THOSE FOGGY BOTTOM DAYS OF 2006, among other things, the US Senate debated an amendment—Vote 177—that commended the government of Iraq for affirming its position of not granting amnesty to terrorists who attack U.S. armed forces.

This occurred at a time when the situation in Iraq was bleak and terrorist activity high, in the year prior to the onset of the “surge” and the new counterinsurgency strategy successfully executed by General Petraeus.

For the Iraqi government, during this time, to affirm its position that terrorists who attack U.S. armed forces should not be granted amnesty, was a commendable act of courage by Iraqi leaders. This courage deserved our support.

John McCain voted FOR this amendment. Barack Obama voted AGAINST this amendment, as did his running mate, Joe Biden.

To see other votes profiled in the ACT! for America Congressional Scorecard, please click here.

I know this territory has been covered, but here is another fine conundrum of this election cycle. Obama’s entire campaign is based upon Americans trusting him to do things he has never in his life done.

Lower taxes—never done it, but he says he will;

Reform government—never done it, but he says he will;

Work in a bipartisan manner—never done it, but he says he will;

Keep money out of politics—never done it, but he says he will;

Display better judgement—never done it, but he says he will; and the phat-ass kicker of all campaign promises Obama has made—transcend race—absolutely never done it, but he says he will.

HEALTH INSURANCE BAIT AND SWITCH

ONE UNDERREPORTED STORY of this election is how heavily John McCain has been damaged by Barack Obama's television ad assault on his health-care plan. A lot of voters seem to believe the Democrat when he says that Mr. McCain wants to deny them coverage or bankrupt them with crushing hospital bills.

Mr. McCain has himself to blame for not defending his own reform ideas, during the debates and in TV ads, against attacks that have been misleading when not flat-out false. Even so, Mr. Obama's tactics are especially cynical because his own health-care advisers support plans much like Mr. McCain's. Or at least they did before joining up with Mr. Obama.

Put simply, the McCain plan seeks to remedy a distortion in the health-care market that economists have spent decades begging politicians to fix: The tax code subsidizes insurance only if it is provided through employers. Individuals can't take the same tax deduction for buying insurance that businesses can. So Mr. McCain wants to "spread the wealth" of these tax breaks to individuals of any income through a refundable tax credit, no matter where they get coverage.

"The fact that the tax subsidy, which supports the employer-sponsored system, is better than nothing is a feeble excuse for resisting any changes to the status quo." That's not John McCain's judgment. It's a quote from Jason Furman, who happens to be Mr. Obama's economic policy director. In a cri de coeur published in the journal Democracy in 2006, Mr. Furman implored fellow Democrats and other progressives to confront "a critical missing link" in their health ideology—the same link his boss now spends most of his time demagoguing.

Read the entire Wall Street Journal report.

ARREST THE MEDIA FOR FRAUD

From Orson Scott Card's scathing essay—Would the Last Honest Reporter Please Turn On the Lights? The essay is rather long and thoroughly comprehensive, so please don't neglect to hit the link.

An open letter to the local daily paper—almost every local daily paper in America:

I remember reading All the President's Men and thinking: That's journalism. You do what it takes to get the truth and you lay it before the public, because the public has a right to know.

This housing crisis didn't come out of nowhere. It was not a vague emanation of the evil Bush administration. It was a direct result of the political decision, back in the late 1990s, to loosen the rules of lending so that home loans would be more accessible to poor people. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were authorized to approve risky loans.

What is a risky loan? It's a loan that the recipient is likely not to be able to repay.

The goal of this rule change was to help the poor—which especially would help members of minority groups. But how does it help these people to give them a loan that they can't repay? They get into a house, yes, but when they can't make the payments, they lose the house—along with their credit rating.

They end up worse off than before.

This was completely foreseeable and in fact many people did foresee it. One political party, in Congress and in the executive branch, tried repeatedly to tighten up the rules. The other party blocked every such attempt and tried to loosen them.

Furthermore, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were making political contributions to the very members of Congress who were allowing them to make irresponsible loans. (Though why quasi-federal agencies were allowed to do so baffles me. It's as if the Pentagon were allowed to contribute to the political campaigns of Congressmen who support increasing their budget.)

Isn't there a story here? Doesn't journalism require that you who produce our daily paper tell the truth about who brought us to a position where the only way to keep confidence in our economy was a $700 billion bailout? Aren't you supposed to follow the money and see which politicians were benefitting personally from the deregulation of mortgage lending?

Read it all.

McCAIN REBUTS ARGUMENTS TYING HIM TO BUSH

CAN ANY REPUBLICAN HERE voting for McCain tell me five things that John McCain will do differently than President George W. Bush?

1) 2003: Senator McCain called for a surge in troop levels in Iraq. Bush refused. Adopted in 2007, McCain's surge strategy won the war in 18 months. Had Bush listened to McCain instead of General Colin Powell and Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the Iraq war would have been over in mid 2005. Obama to this day won't admit that the surge strategy has turned out to be superior to the cut-and-run strategy.

2) 2005: Energy Policy Act of 2005. Bush and VP Cheney proposes an energy plan that gives away billions of dollars in pork to energy special interests. McCain opposed it. Senator Barack Obama and other special interests on both sides of the aisle supported it.

3) 2008: SEC Chairman Cox and Secretary Paulson asks Congress to draft bail-out legislation. Senate and House majority caucusses draft a bill that includes major pork such as a $600 million per year every year slush fund to ACORN (the electoral-fraud, sub-prime mortgage "community organizer" organization). Desperate to get a bill, Bush supported it immediately. Obama came out in support of it as well. McCain opposed it until sufficient modifications were made to the bill to ensure that its funds will go towards the bailout of the economy and not special interests like ACORN. Obama continues to accuse McCain of being "erratic" because he opposed it (when it was loaded with pork for ACORN) before he was for it (after getting tax-payer protection into the bill).

Of course, I can go on and on. But for argument sake, let's look at two more public policy decisions.

4) Neutral with Bush) Senate Bill 190 in the 2005 Congress, McCain co-sponsored legislation to rein in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Fannie and Freddie's powers-to-be in the United States Congress, in this case Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd and House Banking Chairman Barney Frank, among others indebted to Fannie and Freddie on both sides of the aisle, opposed it. Of course, Fannie and Freddie, in conformation with the banking regulation Community Reinvestment Act which made it mandatory that banks make loans to people who can't pay it back for politically correct purposes, which Obama calls a "good idea" because his front group ACORN bullied banks into making them, Fannie and Freddie CEOs Jim Johnson and Franklin Raines made tens of millions of dollars peddling these toxic loans and earned themselves advisorship in the Obama campaign and therefore possibly cabinet positions should there be a Barack Obama ial administration.

5) The Bush Water Resources Development Act of 2007. This act provided money to the construction of roads and levees. However, it was loaded with pork barrel spending. McCain co-sponsored legislation to guarantee road and levee projects got the money first before it went to special interests. Special interests on both sides of the aisle, including Obama of Illinois, prevailed even over a ial veto. Of course, afterwards, an interstate bridge in Minnesota collapsed killing tens of people, and not atypical seasonal flooding in Iowa subsequently overran levees subsequently. Had McCain and Bush had their way, the funds earmarked to road and levee repairs would have actually gone to road and levee repairs, thus saving lives and property, instead of special interests.

Thank you for your open-mindedness. I trust you will research these legislations to find them factually accurate and join this recent Obama-to-McCain convert in spreading the message that on the big issues of the day, whether it was with or against Bush, McCain has been always right, and when Obama agreed with McCain, he was right, but every time Obama disagreed with McCain, Obama was wrong.

Found on an ABC News blog posted by a fellow named James. And let us not forget, both candidates threw in with the Bush FISA extensions, the domestic spy bill, which hardly differentiates between Joe the Plumber from Toledo and Abdullah the suicide bomber newly arrived from Pakistan, also now residing in Toledo.

TALE OF TWO CANDIDATES

AND JUST FOR KICKS, let's have a look at the respective tax plans of the two candidates. ABC news posted this comparison. In general:

If you make up to $18,725, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., will give you a tax cut of $65, while Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., will give you a tax cut of $567.

If you’re in the second tax quintile, earning between $18,725 and about $37,000 a year, McCain will give you a $259 tax cut, Obama will give you a $892 tax cut.

If you’re in the third quintile, earning between about $37,000 and almost $66,000, McCain will give you a $608 tax cut, Obama will give you a $1,118 tax cut.

If you’re in the fourth quintile, making between almost $66,000 and about $110,000, McCain gives you a $1,487 tax cut, Obama will give you a $1,264 tax cut.

If you’re in the top quintile, making above $110,000, McCain will give you a tax cut of $12,144 while Obama will raise your taxes $4600 more.

Here’s where the starkest differences come in. If you’re in the top 1 percent of wage-earners, making $602,000 to around $2.8 million, McCain gives you a $109,214 tax cut on average, while Obama raises your taxes on average by $121,689.

If you’re in the top 0.1 percent, making $2.9 million a year or more, McCain gives you a $577,148 tax cut, Obama raises your taxes $699,872.

So if you’re voting based on the tax proposals a candidate is making — there you go. ABC promises more on this tomorrow morning on “Good Morning America.”

ALFRED E. SMITH CEREMONIAL DINNER

McCain Roasting Obama, Part I


McCain Roasting Obama, Part II

THERE IS NO MEDICINE LIKE HUMOR to nurse the wounds sustained during a hard-fought campaign. Last night Sen. John McCain rose to the occasion once again in showing his flair for comedy at the 63rd Annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation dinner in New York City. Although, no doubt, this lampooning charity event speech was written by an able speechwriter, McCain's keen delivery of these non-stop zingers are zesty and full of bite.

McCain pokes fun at himself and his opponent Barack Obama but not a few of his more memorable lines are reserved for Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, ACORN, MSNBC, Keith Olbermann, and Chris Matthews among others.

And in the end, most of all, McCain was gracious. His speech was balanced and flowed with a gracious and genuine rhythm, while the Obama speech was slightly stilted in places. Here are links to his speech:
Part 1
Part 2.

FORMER HILLARY SUPPORTERS BACK PALIN

GOVERNOR SARAH PALIN met with a group of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s former supporters Tuesday evening at a special fund-raising reception organized for them on behalf of the Republican ticket.

The reception, which organizers said brought in more than $500,000, was part of an extended evening of fund-raising for Ms. Palin and Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign at the Grand Hyatt in New York that officials estimated raised more than $8 million.

Ms. Palin, along with her husband, Todd, mingled and posed for pictures with the group of about 20, before appearing at the larger finance event, which McCain campaign officials said was the last time Mr. McCain would personally appear at a fund-raiser before the election. It was also the first time the pair had appeared together for donors.

More than 1,000 people paid $1,000 each for tickets to the main fund-raiser. Nearly 250 people who contributed $25,000 got dinner beforehand with Mr. McCain.

Read it all.

Just when you thought the world was coming to an end with all this national poll and electoral map blather, another day on the political circuit delivers a crucial crunch punch for the GOP. Where once upon a time on a midnight clear, the Obama machine had dismissed a certain segment of the Democratic Party base, saying that Hillary's supporters were not needed by this new younger, more urban and suburban coalition of the willing, and they'd have enough votes without them, the tables have turned. Those fat old poor white women who were told they could go pound salt are now the critical swing voters. Thankfully November 4 is only three weeks away. May the best campaign win (and we all know what that means).

NYC PROCLAIMS PEACE ON EARTH

WELL NOT EXACTLY, but some folks did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, and perhaps one of them posted this video shot during a McCain-Palin march in NYC, which ingeniously pretty much sums up the way I feel.

ROUNDING OUT THE USUAL SUSPECTS

“For someone who has authored 2 autobiographies, he’s certainly no open book” —John McCain

“America is the greatest nation on earth. Join me as we try to change it.” —Barack Obama

HERE IS AN INTERESTING TAKE on how the not so cordial affairs of Presidential Campaign '08 are shaping up as we head down to the wire. It's welcome relief for most of us to occasionally step back from the abyss long enough to gain a more comprehensive prospective at what's going on around us, so to that aim, here's something from a website called Redstate, although I can't seem to find the original article on their site:

Don’t underestimate the McCain campaign. The polls are deceptive if not outright fraudulent in an election that is increasingly suspect, leading many to believe that the fix is in, that some players very high of the food chain (like George Soros and his Wall Street cronies) want Barack Hussein Obama to win.

What type of movie do Americans really like? Not the popcorn flicks, but the ones that leave you saying “holy sh–” at the end when the credits roll. The film Usual Suspects comes to mind.

Here’s a movie where you have multiple story lines coming together toward the end, all connected to a central character, and when it finally dawns on you what just happened, wow—it is one heck of a movie. Separate plot elements dramatically merge into one coherent narrative and you realize had you been paying attention all along you would have seen it.

It really works. Those stories have powerful staying power.

For more than two months Republican operatives have pushed the ACORN story—a corrupt, radical organization that operates through voter fraud to disrupt American democracy, destabilize our financial system, agitate against business, etc. Just this week the FBI State Attorney General raided ACORN in Nevada and discovered how prevalent their voter fraud operation is. The FBI is expected to get involved.

Separately, the GOP started painting a picture of Obama’s campaign donations. He’s been extremely secretive. In a bit of marxist doublespeak, the Obama campaign is saying it is the most transparent campaign ever, but won’t provide a list of its donors, destroyed Obama’s Illinois legislative files, won’t provide his health records, etc. The more we learn about his small donors, the more questions we have about foreigners trying to sway the American democratic system.

And then there is the McCain campaign. It has gone zealously after the Bill Ayers connection to Obama. Ayers hired Obama to run the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, after launching Obama’s political career in his living room.

Bill Ayers, in applying for the Annenberg Challenge grant, said the purpose of the money would be to radicalize students to agitate for change. Who did he put in charge of the program? Barack Obama.

Who did Obama give the money to?

ACORN.

And the separate plots begin to connect. The ACORN narrative, the Ayers narrative, the foreign donor narrative—they intersect, combine, tangle, and paint a very ugly picture of Barack Obama.

What Obama did on the board with the Annenberg money and what he’d do with your money come in to the narrative.

But I’m told there will be a surprise twist in this plot that will make it even neater to watch unfold. The next month is going to be tumultuous and fun. The October Surprise is that there is no “surprise.” It’s been in front of us all along. Only now the various story lines are getting connected.

That was an interesting analysis on what's happening on the ground as more bits of information slam the fan everyday in our bravado to hurl ourselves towards the abyss of November 4. We all sense that this is a very important election. It's you, and you alone in that voting booth. Vote your conscience, but please do take the time to absorb the unadorned facts before falling for superficial and slippery campaign rhetoric.

Don't be a zombie. Dig deeper than the shallow grave the corporate media has laid out for its consumers. Make your vote count for something more substantial than the utter destruction of America by a cartel of thugs and liars fanning the flames of dischord in a perfect storm of domestic and global forces aiming to bring America to its knees. Vote Country First.

Don't believe me? Here's another vigorous analysis of Obama as president. It seems more apparent every day that Obama can’t release “facts” because they would all contradict with the myth he’s created in books and in the corporate media.

Tired of whopper Bushisms? Here is a webpage devoted to Obama quotes.

THE TROUT AND THE FLOUNDER

YES, LIKE MILLIONS OF OTHERS, I watched the debate last night between the two "major party" nominees for the US presidency last night. The entire event was a Nashville snoozer. Enter Obama, McCain, Brokaw. Exit. An embarrassing snoooozer. Just plain awful political theatre. But this morning, just before opening my eyes with full awareness, my brain did its own version of the shuck and jive by churning out a quick metaphor consisting of a rather short string of bizarre images, tossed together with no particular connection to my own political surface sensibilities, but indeed rich with Jungian and Freudian innuendo and provocation.

First scene. I was standing on a balcony overlooking a rather frisky river. I seemed to pose no particular function in my presence there on the balcony for the first few dreamscape frames, but was statically admiring the choppy waters and the lush green forests hemming the river's edge on all sides. Only then did I notice the fish. Whole schools of fish, shiny silvery flounder in fact, the river thick with these oddly shaped flat fish. Subsequently I noticed, standing to my right just a few feet away from me, was none other than Senator Barack Obama, his white shirt rolled up to his elbows holding a long cast reel, and not being a fisherman myself, the reel was of no special distinction to me. Out the corner of my eye, I could see that Michelle Obama stood a few feet further away at the far edge of this deck balcony. She was encouraging her husband, cheering up his fishing skills, but neither of them seemed to notice me standing just three or four feet away, a stranger in the mist. Suddenly I became aware that I was clutching a long stick in my hand, not quite but nearly as formidable in length as Mr. Obama's shiny reel. Remember, this is that sort of dream, where quick non-sensical edits are the norm, so without linear thought I find myself probing my branch stick into the water just at the point where a large baited flounder and the Senator's hook were converging. In a flash, the end of my stick was tangled in his rod line. Both Obamas immediately sensed alarm, and turning toward me, glare solemnly at the culprit. I was mum with embarrassment, of course, but quickly gained enough composure to begin an apology just at the moment the scene shifts.

Scene Two. I am standing in the main room in a cabin, perhaps the same cabin owning the balcony I'd just been intruding upon. There is a fiercely glowing log fire in the aged brick fireplace off to my right. Directly to my left on a stand is a large basket of fish. I first intuit that these fish are not flounder but are trout, fattened rainbow trout perhaps. As I gaze around the room, noticing the kitchen is off to my far left, Just beneath a window along the wall is a larger table attended by two shadowy figures fussing over another large basket, but no, this time it is a large kettle of fish. Suddenly one of the shadowy figures turns around, and I see a woman. It is Cindy McCain. It is then that I recognize her husband just as he whips around, rushing the basket of trout near me, and leaning in, flashes that grin, that infamous bearish grin of his, while grabbing the basket of rainbow trout and hurling the entire undressed lot into the flames.

Senator McCain then returns to the large black kettle still on the table and begins gutting and dressing each fish, also rainbow trout, with an unseen knife, one at a time until I begin to notice a strong fishy odor which seems to be emanating from the fireplace. Of course the odor is probably the overpowering stench of guts that McCain is now disembowelling, but before I can make the distinction, I awaken. To my amazement I detect a strong odor of fish rot as I immediately begin to ponder this dream, and continue to suck air into my nostrils until I am positive no real fish odor exists in the room. It was all in my head.

Very odd dream. But believe me, this story, while part of a sleeping dream state, was a very real event. I have recreated the arrangement of images and impulses as I experienced them to the best of my abilities.

To even attempt a rational interpretation of this very vivid experience today would be too exhausting. I shall return. Perhaps after the election.

MCCAIN TOUTS HILLARY'S PLAN

Two Governor Palin zingers from her stump speech today in Bethlehem, PA: Obama is … “trying to talk his way into the White House.”

“Last night John McCain talked about real and practical solutions. Barack Obama talked about why he’d rather run against George Bush.”

WASHINGTON—Scrambling to repair his image on economic issues, Senator John McCain proposed during Tuesday night’s debate a $300 billion plan authorizing the treasury secretary to buy the mortgages of homeowners in financial trouble and replace them with more affordable loans.

The campaign of Senator Barack Obama quickly countered by saying that the financial rescue plan that President Bush signed into law last week already gave the treasury secretary such power. And, his advisers noted, Mr. Obama recommended such a step in a news conference nearly two weeks ago.

The Obama camp is correct that the new $700 billion bailout of the financial system gives the Treasury the authority to buy troubled mortgages. But the law leaves unclear how the authority is to be used, according to a person who was privy to the recent legislative negotiations between the White House and Congress and who is not affiliated with either campaign.

The mortgage renewal idea actually originated with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, said Charlie Black, a senior adviser to Mr. McCain. And Mrs. Clinton, who proposed the idea in a recent newspaper column, borrowed it from a Depression-era New Deal agency, the Home Owner’s Loan Corporation (HOLC).

As Mr. McCain’s campaign described his program, it would be available to mortgagors for whom the property is their primary residence, who can prove they were creditworthy when the original loan was made and who made a down payment. “Lenders in these cases must recognize the loss that they’ve already suffered,” a McCain campaign summary said.

Read it all.

Yes, it is John McCain once again reaching across the aisle to give credit where credit is due—to a superior idea and its author. Barack Obama is playing catch up, as usual. This borrowed idea geared directly to assist the struggling American working class rather than the fat cats has already encouraged many PUMA (solid HRC supporters) groups to strengthen their resolve to pitch their tents in the McCain-Palin camp.

THOSE MIDDLE AMERICA RADICALS

GRABBING AN EXCERPT FROM Pat Buchanan's latest essay on the state of the 2008 presidential election:

Philosophically and culturally, we are a divided people. Across the spectrum there are us-versus-them folks who see politics as a zero-sum game between Middle America and a global elite. Below the upper-income brackets and along the center-right are the folks the late columnist Sam Francis, citing sociologist Donald Warren's 1976 study, called Middle American Radicals.

Richard Nixon brought the "MARs" to national attention when, as David Broder then wrote, the "breaking of the president" was underway in October 1969. Nixon went on television and called for the Great Silent Majority to stand with him against antiwar demonstrators and rioters in the streets, and for "peace with honor" in Vietnam.

When TV anchors trashed Nixon's speech, he unleashed Spiro Agnew on the establishment media. No White House had ever before attacked the networks or national press for ideological and political bias.

In a month, Nixon hit 68 percent approval, the apogee of his presidency, and Agnew was the third most admired man in America.

Ronald Reagan, by opposing the surrender of the Panama Canal to a leftist dictator, also rallied the MARs. He lost that battle, but his consolation prize was the GOP nomination and the presidency.

In recent years, we have seen the MARs rise again and again in roaring rebellion. But, invariably, when these rebellions occur, John McCain may be found inside the castle walls.

In 2007, McCain rushed to Washington to support George Bush, Ted Kennedy, Bill Clinton, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post in the drive to grant amnesty to 12 million to 20 million illegal aliens. A national firestorm killed the bill and almost killed McCain's campaign.

A year earlier, a MARs uprising killed the Dubai ports deal.

The power elite was stunned by the explosion of outrage over the leasing of six U.S. ports to Arab sheiks. Nationalism remains a more potent force than globalism, and not only in America.

In Clinton's first term, McCain stood with the establishment for NAFTA, GATT, the WTO and the Mexican bailout. Middle America opposed them all.

In the past decade, the MARs have opposed free-trade deals, and lost, but won virtually every referendum on gay marriage, affirmative action or welfare for illegal aliens. Invariably, the MARs are portrayed as bigots, nativists, xenophobes, protectionists and isolationists, and their leaders as demagogues. In McCain's words from 2000, they are "agents of intolerance."

This is fine if you wish to be beloved in this city, but it may be a fatal impediment if you want to be president.

McCain's problem is that, in 2008, when his old press idolaters have found a new favorite, these are the people who hold his key to the presidency. They are the Democrats who voted against Barack Obama by wide margins in Pennsylvania and Ohio and landslide margins in West Virginia and Kentucky.

These Democrats can still win this race for John McCain. Many admire his war record. But not only is he not one of them, he has taken pride and pleasure in having been their great antagonist.

Read it all.

Unfortunately, that's not the only news to cross my desk this morning. Read this Brigitte Gabriel interview on another rather critical issue facing the American republic today—the stealth Islamization of America.

FOR THE LOVE OF AMERICA

WHY IS THIS NOT FRONT-PAGE NEWS? Oh yeah, I forgot. Obama Nation game. Obama Nation rules. But the news on the electronic street is that the Chicago Bears won’t allow McCain Supporters to wear McCain gear, but Obama supporters do whatever they want. Monterrey Security, a private contractor hired by the Chicago Bears, repeatedly tried to keep McCain supporters from wearing McCain gear or supporting McCain at the Bears game, but DID NOT inhibit Obama supporters in any way. People were allowed to wear Obama tee shirts, buttons, etc. and walk freely into the parking lots and Bears game. People wearing McCain stickers, holding McCain signs, and wearing McCain shirts were stopped by Monterrey Security and told that no political items were allowed in the parking lot tailgating parties or inside the stadium.

Read it all here.

Looking for some "kick ass now and ask questions later" snark in your life? Click here to watch the resurgent McCain-Palin action team on the stump in Columbus, OH.

MCCAIN DEALS OBAMA A FACE CARD

"WITH SO MUCH ON THE LINE, for America and the world, the debate that matters most right now is taking place in the United States Capitol—and I intend to join it. Senator Obama is doing the same. America should be proud of the bipartisanship we are seeing."

A true leader spoke, when yesterday Obama was playing politics, and today, when Candidate McCain could have buried his opponent with a nod to the facts of Obama's latest absentee snarkyness as this financial crisis consumes everyone but the Chosen One himself, he once again takes the high road!

Concerning the blogosphere debate on which candidate will get a bigger bounce from this fiasco, I think it is too early to tell, but if McCain is dealing Obama a face card by trying to include him in a bi-partisanship maneuver, it can also still be said that he nevertheless controls the deal.

Folks, as the calendar winds down to Election Tuesday, you will have the opportunity to cast your vote for a myriad of third party hopefuls, or to select one of the two major party choices—opting for a proven leader who puts his nation and his honor consistently to the test or settling for a political opportunist who ducks and dabbles in the very worst form of Chicago machine politics...

For more on this meltdown, specifically the public rebellion against a Federal bailout, check out this George Stephanopoulos article comments page. Maybe this bailout should be killed by any means necessary, but I still believe some sort of Federal poop scoop is necessary in terms of stabilizing the global markets. I am hoping Senator McCain comes out against it unless a total reorganization with full and absolute accountability for the industry culprits is reached.

Truth has consequences. Why are we dishing it out for Wall Street again? Wouldn’t it be much cheaper and far more fair to all concerned—especially the taxpayers—to simply quarantine the bad loans and renegotiate with the home owners rather than risk of total devaluation and replacement of our currency? Surely this is not the clandestine but moderately hyped amero caper already on the scene reporting for duty, is it?

Does it mean that each and every asset that is sold at a profit with taxpayer funds will result in 20% being stripped from the public and put into the hands of private organizations such as ACORN, regardless of how many other toxic assets result in total loss to the public e.g. of billions of dollars? If so, it is ensured that this “bail out” will never be in the public interest, but indeed does have Obama's socialist fingerprints all over it. Take a gander at this language in the bill:

TRANSFER OF A PERCENTAGE OF PROFITS.

1. DEPOSITS.Not less than 20 percent of any profit realized on the sale of *each troubled asset* purchased under this Act shall be deposited as provided in paragraph (2).
2. USE OF DEPOSITS.Of the amount referred to in paragraph (1)
1. 65 percent shall be deposited into the Housing Trust Fund established under section 1338 of the Federal Housing Enterprises Regulatory Reform Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4568); and
2. 35 percent shall be deposited into the Capital Magnet Fund established under section 1339 of that Act (12 U.S.C. 4569).

REMAINDER DEPOSITED IN THE TREASURY. All amounts remaining after payments under paragraph (1) shall be paid into the General Fund of the Treasury for reduction of the public debt.

Oh, I see. It's crystal clear now. Let's funnel more graft to the ACORN nuts. Why? Because they are under investigation in several states right now for voter fraud, and they must need the cashflow. Guess the name of their attorney not so long ago or far away? Yep. That very same handsome and articulate Barack Obama—now the unmitigated darling of the DNC, the MSM, his babbling minions, Himself, and his Chicago-styled Revolutionary Guard (not necessarily in that order)...

Check here for a graphic connecting all the ACORN nuts.

This Federal bailout, as it has been floated, seems highly suspicious unless strong multi-level oversight is provided, so that the thieves and culprits of this fiasco are are not further enriched at taxpayer expense. However, all the dust has cleared, here is how one wigwag has put it:

Working people will be far better off if the Paulson plan is passed than if its not. It is more progressive to let taxpayers pay the tab. Why? Because we have a progressive tax system. The top 1 percent pay 28 percent of all federal taxes. The top 5 percent pays 36 percent of all federal taxes. The bottom 40 percent pay no federal taxes.

Thirty million working Americans have traditional pensions that will be unable to pay benefits if the market collapses. Over 34 million working Americans have 401Ks that are mostly invested in the stock market. If the market plunges, their retirement plans plunge. Some 45 million Americans have IRAs with a significant portion invested in stocks. For many Americans this is all they have other than Social Security.

It is far more progressive to let taxpayers pick up the tab than shareholders. The wealthier you are the more taxes you pay. If all your assets are wrapped up in your home (the price will plunge even more if the Paulson plan isn’t passed) and your retirement account a stock market plunge will be devastating.

End of story? Not quite.

JOHN MCCAIN IS NOT GEORGE W. BUSH

HERE ARE JUST A FEW reasons why John Sidney McCain is not and will never be the carbon copy of the current Bush by any measure (thanks to WMCB at the Confluence). That shaky train has left, folks. Get over it, and study these few more pressing facts:

In 2001, he was one of only two Republican Senators to vote against Bush’s tax cuts.

In 2003 he voted against Bush’s second round of tax cuts, calling it “unwise in a time of war”.

He stood up to his party on the torture issue, getting his Detainee Amendment into the appropriations bill despite howls of protest and threats of veto by Bush.

The McCain-Feingold bill, considered McCain’s finest legislative achievement, is one of the strongest campaign finance reform bills in US history.

He defended John Kerry’s war record from the floor of the Republican National Convention in 2004. Word is Bush was pissed at that.

He tried to get the Climate Stewardship Act passed in 2003, and while he failed, he was one of the only Republicans pushing to address the issue at all. He has angered many in his party by his openness to listen to the facts rather than toe the party line on climate change.

He defended a fellow Republican Senator Jim Jeffords, when he switched to Independent and threw senate control to the Dems. Jeffords was being eviscerated for it, and McCain testily called them “self-appointed enforcerrs of party loyalty”, defending Jeffords.

He has worked his tail off for practical, comprehensive immigration reform, addressing security concerns while staying far away from the xenophobic posturing of some on the right.

He helped expose and bring down Jack Abramoff.

He angered his party by leading the “Gang of 14″ to reach a compromise on filibusters.

He was considered to be a favorite for John Kerry’s running mate in 2004. Biden said so. Others said so. If he is such a hard-core conservative as the Left is now trying to paint him, why did many Dems want him on the ticket 4 years ago?

Is McCain everything I want in a president? Not by a long shot. But he is NOT the Bush clone that the Democrats are so suddenly trying to claim he is. It’s baloney.

Now while I realize that a McCain vote is probably not a vote for the GPE (Greatest President Ever), it is a vote however that I can stomach. Baloney (balogna) has never been a favorite of mine, but I do happen to know what it and other processed meat (can you say SPAM?) tastes like. It's called growing up poor...

NO HUMOR IN THESE HERE PARTS

BY NOW WE'VE ALL heard daytime TV diva Whoopi Goldberg's crass remark to candidate John McCain, "Do I have to worry about becoming a slave again?" Well, slavery on the planet is a very real issue. Here's a pro-active website dedicated to raising awareness and combatting this brutalizing practice, most notably in Arab Africa.

Which leads me to another interesting thought by the thankfully deceased Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran who was quoted as saying in 1979 at the height of the revolution:

"Allah did not create man so that he could have fun. The aim of creation was for mankind to be put to the test through hardship and prayer. An Islamic regime must be serious in every field. There are no jokes in Islam. There is no humor in Islam. There is no fun in Islam. There can be no fun and joy in whatever is serious."

So, Whoopi, what are your thoughts on the surge of Muslim immigrants to the West who believe the same austere motivations of life that their honored Islamic mullah set forth for you and me and a dog named Boo?