Black Bag Operations

Suddenly, with only a couple hours notice, we are required to deploy to a key battleground state where there are growing worries about massive voter fraud. We'll be in deep cover and it's unlikely we'll be able to leave any droppings here at the site.

It's a black bag op all the way...

Carry on.

What If Quayle Had Done This?

ONE-TWO-THREE-UM, ER, ....

Finally, a Joe in this race I can vote for...

I did it. I made it through the "debate" season without watching a minute of the three Obama-McCain contests. (Of course, I watched every second of Gov. Palin and the hairplugs & botox guy.) But I find out this morning that last night's "debate" revolved around Joe The Plumber, who is a neighbor of Bob The Builder of PBS fame. I feel a kinship with Joe, although he's a lad 20 years my junior. See, Joe lives very close to where I grew up. And he reminds me of working people I've known all my life who really want nothing more than for government to get out of their way and off their back. But lost in the hoopla today is the nugget of truth about his policies that Barack Obama inadvertently revealed last Sunday when he said:

"It's not that I want to punish your success. I just want to make sure that everybody that is behind you, that they have a chance for success, too. I think that when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody."

I've had people argue with me when I point out that Obama is a Marxist. One of the Dartlads argues that he's actually a Maoist and I take his point, but I'm talking about people who think he's just a "moderate" Democrat. Those people say that calling BXO a Socialist or Marxist is overblown. All I can say is, read what the man told our pal Joe. If that isn't clear to you than I suggest your schooling on economic theory is somewhat lacking.

Here's a picture of fabulously wealthy "Joe the Plumber" - Joe Wurzelbacher of Shrewsbury Street in Springfield Township, Ohio. Look at the guy, sitting in his gilded castle, lording it over the poor folks who just want a crumb from his table to survive. Why he has a cell phone AND a cordless land line phone, the greedy S.O.B.

Welcome to our future, comrade. Praise Lord Obama, peace be unto him.

Never Find Out

Some say we should Never Find Out.

Pinch Yourself

Pinch Yourself

"You have to pinch yourself – a Marxisant radical who all his life has been mentored by, sat at the feet of, worshipped with, befriended, endorsed the philosophy of, funded and been in turn funded, politically promoted and supported by a nexus comprising black power anti-white racists, Jew-haters, revolutionary Marxists, unrepentant former terrorists and Chicago mobsters, is on the verge of becoming President of the United States. And apparently it’s considered impolite to say so."

-Melanie Phillips, The Spectator, London October 14, 2008

IBD/ TIPP

Investors Business Daily does polling through a firm called TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence. Their polling over the years has been quite accurate. Today they published their first poll of the 2008 presidential contest based on polling conducted between October 6th and 12th. They polled for just McCain and Obama with no third-party candidates listed.


The overall result was Obama 45%, McCain 43%, 13% Undecided.


Other interesting data in this poll was that among self-described "Independents", 25% are still undecided. Only 7% or Democrats and Republicans are still undecided.

Obama leads in the Northeast 53% to 31%
Obama leads in the West 47% to 43%
McCain leads in the Midwest 44% to 43%
McCain leads in the South 48% to 41%

McCain leads with white, non-Hispanic males 55% to 35%
McCain leads with white, non-Hispanic females 44% to 43%

McCain leads with Protestants, Catholics and other people calling themselves Christian.
Obama leads with Jewish people and people who claim no religion or "other."


The IBD/TIPP poll also asked people if they display an American flag on their home. McCain carries the flag wavers 51% to 34%. Among those who don't fly the flag Obama leads 65% to 26%.


Gosh, I don't know what to make of that data. I hope nobody is questioning anyone's patriotism.

Democracy Venezuela Style

Laughs from The Ryskind Sketchbook.

Make it worth sumpthin'! Grind 'em into the boards!

You hockey fans, ya gotta love this from Coatsey's Corner in Philly.

Slow Joe Biden Sez:

Telling the American electorate about the judgment and associations of Senator Obama isn't "helpful." I'm sure it isn't helpful to Democrat chances in November, Joe.

Sen. Joe Biden said Monday that the tone of the McCain-Palin campaign has gone “over the edge” and that if John McCain continues to push some lines of attack against Barack Obama he may regret it “for the rest of his life.” Biden didn't explain why winning the White House would be something McCain would regret.

Talking on the Democrat National Committee's nightly game show, “Hardball,” Biden said, “I just think it’s unhealthy, you don’t throw race [and] terrorism” into the presidential campaign. He gave no example of the McCain-Palin campaign "throwing race" into the campaign although lately many Democrats and Dem-friendly pundits have claimed that white Democrats might vote for the Republican ticket. The terrorism portion of Biden's statement is easy to understand. The Democrat standard-bearer and his wife are both friends with Bill Ayers and his wife. Mr. and Mrs. Ayers are both unrepentant domestic terrorists.

“That’s a combustible mix in an environment where people are angry. It’s not a useful time to be running an ad that says the guy consorts with terrorists,” Biden said. The Democratic senator added that if McCain attacks Obama’s associations with the radical William Ayers or the mouth-foaming racist Rev. Jeremiah Wright during Wednesday’s debate he “will regret for the rest of his life having an incredible career getting cast aside.” The question of how Senator Obama's friendships with terrorists and an anti-American preacher would be a problem for McCain was left unasked on the Democrat Party TV program.

But Slow Joe Biden expressed optimism that McCain will choose to back off the charges against Obama that make the young Illinois Democrat uncomfortable. Referring to McCain's chiding of his supporters for their fears of a Socialist winning the presidency, Biden said on another network Game Show, "Nightline" that McCain “seems to have figured it out. He looks like he's trying to tamp it down.”

In deference to collegiality in that great deliberative body, the US Senate, McCain agreed with his "good friend" Senator Biden. "I shall do what's right for my country. I always put Country First (TM). Therefore, I announce today that I will follow the good example of Gerald Ford and Bob Dole and graciously lose to a liberal jerk. Thank you, my friend, for straightening me out before I needlessly defeated that little no-nothing clown, your running mate. And my message to the Republicans and Conservatives who supported me, Good luck, suckers."

Good Monday Morning To You, American Comrade

Charlie Gasparino appears to be fishing for a pink slip from his CNBC bosses with this column at the NYPost: An Obama Panic?

Over at Investors Business Daily they answer the man-on-the-street question: Why has the market fallen so far, so fast? Answer: The end of capitalism in America.

And here's something to cheer you up: San Fran Nan Pelosi is pondering a special post-election session of Congress so Congressional Democrats and President-elect Obama can work on larding on a quick $150 Billion in welfare spending. Guess they want to get the little stuff out of the way before they tackle the $1 Trillion in additional spending scheduled for next year.

The Angry Republicans Storyline

For eight years we've watched endless venom, mouth-foaming anger, vitriol, and abuse thrown at President Bush and Vice President Cheney. The legacy media position on The Angry Left was... *yawn*. Now however we are told that attendees at McCain/ Palin rallies are dangerous, angry, screaming lunatics. I have yet to see any of these supposed unhinged people identified by name. If the elites in the NY/DC media axis would do that we could then research who they are. In the past we've been presented in newspaper articles with "life-long Republicans" who are "fed up and just can't support President Bush" anymore. Often a little research on opensecrets.com reveals these folks to be people who gave money to the Clinton-Gore campaign, the Gore-Lieberman campaign, the Kerry-SilkyPony campaign, and other Democrats. Too good a story for the Democrat handmaiden media to fact-check properly, in other words.

If the left wing dinosaur media didn't care about getting it right then, my answer to their meme about the "angry" McCain-Palin rally folks is pictured above.

Rick Moran wonders here if the people in the stories are even McCain-Palin supporters.

Hope and Change Thy Name Is...

This famous supporter is so firmly in the Obama camp he is proud to call Barack The Messiah.

Spunk In Time, You Found Some Spunk In Time

I haven't watched a network newscast since the late 70's I guess. But that doesn't mean something interesting can't happen over there. Here's a transcript from the alphabet net:

GIBSON: Why then in recent days have you focused so in what you've had to say on Sen. Obama's character, talked about the fact that we don't know him, that he's come out of nowhere, that he's not an open book, etc.
MCCAIN: Well, I'm not sure that's character. What I think it is, is does he have the experience and the knowledge and judgment and has he made the right decisions and has he told -- been candid with the American people. I think that's important.
They certainly know me.
GIBSON: You don't think he's been thoroughly vetted, having gone through all the primaries and all the campaigning, running for president as long as you have? Two years?
MCCAIN: No, actually I don't. In fact, Sen. Clinton in their debates said that the American people didn't know enough about him, including his relationship with Mr. [William] Ayers. That's what she said. And I agree with that. He said he was a guy in the neighborhood. We know that's not true. He said -- he wrote down a piece of paper that he would take public financing for his presidential campaign if I would. He betrayed the trust of the American people there.
He looked in the camera twice during the debate with Sen. Clinton and said, "I will sit down and negotiate with John McCain before I decide to forgo public financing for my campaign." He never called me. He looked in the camera and told the American people something that was patently false. He told the American people about his relationship with Mr. Ayers, that he was a guy in the neighborhood.
He wasn't a guy in the neighborhood. He launched his political career in his living room, in Mr. Ayers' living room. And I don't care about two washed-up old terrorists that are unrepentant about trying to destroy America. But I do care, and Americans should care, about his (Obama's)relationship with him and whether he's being truthful and candid about it.
GIBSON: Do you think his character or lack of candor disqualifies him to be president of the United States?
MCCAIN: I'll leave that up to the American people. But I have every right to insist that he be candid and truthful with the American people. And he needs to be asked about it, and he needs to be forthcoming.
GIBSON: You didn't raise that, this argument, this argument, or line of argument, at the debate the other night. And I asked Sen. Obama about that yesterday. He said yeah, I'm surprised that John didn't say that to my face.
MCCAIN: Again, two things I've never been accused of lacking. And one is passion, and the other is courage. I mean, I can accept a lot of the other criticisms. It didn't come up in the flow of the conversation. But it did come up, and I pointed out that he asked for $3 million for an overhead projector at a planetarium in his hometown of Chicago.
And coincidentally the guy who was the chairman of that organization pledged to raise $200,000 for his campaign. His record is replete of requests for pork barrel, unnecessary, wasteful spending. And I'll let the American people make a judgment there.
GIBSON: Do you think the relationship with Ayers is a critical issue in this campaign or factor in this campaign?
MCCAIN: I think it's a factor about Sen. Obama's candor and truthfulness with the American people. That's what I think it's about. As I say, I don't care about Mr. Ayers who on Sept. 11, 2001 said he wished he'd have bombed more. I don't care about that. I care about him being truthful about his relationship with him. And Americans will care.
GIBSON: And you're comfortable that this should be a focus in the last days of the campaign?
MCCAIN: I think it's something that needs to be examined. Sen. Clinton said it should be examined during their primary and never was.

Mare See Bow Koo

Several months ago Senator Obama was striding across a stage in front of an adoring audience doing his "Americans are so dumb______," comedy riff. You know how it goes as well as you know the Jeff Foxworthy redneck joke construction pattern. "Americans are so dumb they voted for George W. Bush... *chuckles*... TWICE! Roars of laughter and applause. The best one Barry O came up with was, "Americans are so dumb they travel to foreign countries and expect everyone to speak English! *laughter* They walk around...*pause*... and say 'Mare see bow koo.'" Roar. Applause.

Well, The Barack of Obama was prescient. He isn't even President of the United States yet and we are already living in France. Yes, Treasury Secretary Paulson is considering the recommendation of his close personal pal Upchuck Schumer to nationalize US banks. Every day we travel down this socialist path we're on, at the behest of leaders from both parties, constitutes another month we'll be wandering in the wilderness. Welcome to our European future.

Oh, Holy ____!

Sometimes one feels like a real dope for not taking out huge loans one couldn't possibly pay back. This morning is one of those times, yet again. When the Republican presidential candidate proposes using $300 Billion of taxpayer money to make deadbeats whole, it's proof that the party has strayed so far off track they can't possibly win a national election. Every day I hear and watch Governor Palin I feel like casting a vote for McCain/ Palin is possible. But then John comes up with this junk and I remember again why I used to say I'd never vote for him for county dog warden let alone President of the United States.

ABC reports from last night's "debate" this deadly, poisonous, populist load of dung:

The Arizona senator ... proposed a new policy in which the Treasury secretary would "buy up bad home loan mortgages."
The proposal would cost about $300 billion, which the campaign says would come out of the $700 billion financial bailout package passed by Congress last week, according to a fact sheet distributed by the McCain campaign.
"Let people be able to make those payments and stay in those homes," McCain said. "Is it expensive? Yes. But until we stabilize, we're never going to be able to turn around and fix jobs. We got to bring trust and confidence to America, and I know how to do that."

With stuff like that who even needs the Marxism of Obama? Seriously, Senator McCain, if deadbeats get their loans paid for by the federal government what do those of us who own our homes free and clear get? What do the people who have never missed or even been late on a mortgage payment get?

Game over. I just HOPE President Obama doesn't get a filibuster proof majority in the Senate.

What, Me Worry?

As long as the Bill Ayers problem wasn't being mentioned by the McCain campaign Team Obama didn't address it. It was just something the right wing nuts on talk radio and the blogs worried about. Then this weekend Governor Palin dropped William Ayers like a Weather Underground nail bomb into the bloodstream of the daily campaign. And the initial response from the Obama campaign was quite telling. They attacked the McCain campaign for changing the subject from "the economy." They held with that and got help from the handmaiden media with tut-tut articles that BXO and Bill weren't "close." Non-answer answers. Non-denial denials.

But Governor Palin hammers away at it at every campaign stop to thunderous roars from tens of thousands of voters. Even the friendly dinosaur media has had to at least ask Obama's handlers about it obliquely. So, what's the new spin on Bill Ayers from Axelrod, the man behind the Wizard of O's curtain? The New York Post got this: Barack Obama's top political adviser said today Obama "didn't know the history" of unrepentant bomber William Ayers' activities in the violent Weather Underground movement when the candidate attended a political event at Ayers' home in 1995. "When he went he certainly didn't know the history," chief Obama strategist David Axelrod told CNN - arguing for the first time since the story surfaced early this year that Obama was unaware of Ayers' past.
"There's no evidence that they're close," Axelrod added.

"No evidence" is weaselly-- like "no controlling legal authority." But, seriously, what kind of an Alfred E. Newman do you have to be to have liberal arts/ law degrees from two Ivy League institutions and not know enough about the 1960's & 70's in America to be aware of the Weather Underground? And, by the way, Senator, your wife brought Ayers in to be a guest speaker where she worked. Did she not know he had committed what you now call "despicable acts?" Is Michelle Obama that dense too? Frankly, they are lying. In Hyde Park, IL one can pal around with domestic terrorists, racist pastors, and political fixers and still get elected. But that's The Chicago Way and it doesn't play so well out in the larger country.

Governor Palin, what do you have top say about this latest twist in the road?

Speaking at events in Florida, Palin pointed to Axelrod's latest comments, saying, "Today they're saying for the first time that Barack Obama didn't know back then about Ayers' radical background."
"Wait a minute," Palin said. "He didn't know a few months ago that he had launched his political career in the living room of a domestic terrorist?"

UPDATE: Dirty Harry links to a CNN piece on the depth of the Ayers/Obama connection here.

Unprecedented

Brian Wesbury calls for an immediate 1.00% rate cut. No quarter point or half point increments-- a full 100 basis points now.

Brian also lowers his Q4 real GDP call from +3.0% growth to a -1.5% decline.

Additionally the mark-to-market accounting rules must be waived.

59% Say "Fire Them All"

Over the last few weeks folks have been stampeded in one direction or another based on the latest poll. Some of us have gently pointed out that a number of these polls are highly suspect. When a pollster massages their raw, collected data in such a way that predicts that in the 2008 presidential election 16% of the total electorate will be African-Americans, that poll is useless. Dial that 16% down to a more likely 8 or 9% and the same exact data shows McCain/ Palin winning, and outside the margin of error at that. See, that's how polling 1,008 people and extrapolating it to the entire nation works. The result is wholly dependent on the weighting methodology.

I have no idea who is ahead today in the Obama v. McCain election. Neither do the pollsters or the reporters covering the race-- but they can't admit that. Frankly, these same pollsters will tighten their weighting methods in the final week. They want to be accurate at that crucial point to attract future business. John Zogby is still getting bashed for his "Kerry will win" poll the day before the 2004 election. They can always explain their wildly "off" earlier polls thus: "the race tightened". In the meantime, these polls give the legacy media a hook to hang their latest advocacy "journalism" upon. Good for them.

Having said all of the above I will admit that there is one pollster who I generally believe is pretty accurate: Rasmussen Reports. And what a ding-dong-dilly of a poll they have up today:

59% Would Vote to Replace Entire Congress


Congress was front and center in the national news last week and the American people were far from impressed. If they could vote to keep or replace the entire Congress, 59% of voters would like to throw them all out and start over again. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that just 17% would vote to keep the current legislators in office. Today, just 23% have even a little confidence in the ability of Congress to deal with the nation’s economic problems and only 24% believe most Members of Congress understand legislation before they vote on it.
......

Only half (49%) believe that the current Congress is better than individuals selected at random from the phone book. Thirty-three percent (33%) believe a randomly selected group of Americans could do a better job and 19% are not sure.

......

Just 11% of voters say Congress is doing a good or an excellent job.

.....

74% of Republicans would vote to throw out the entire Congress as would 62% of unaffiliated voters. Only 43% of Democrats go along. Still, just 25% of those in Barack Obama’s party would vote to keep the entire Congress even though it’s controlled by Democrats.

.....

However, there is agreement across party lines when it comes to whether or not most Members of Congress understand legislation before they vote on it—25% of Democrats say yes along with 24% of Republicans and 24% of unaffiliated voters.

--------------

Well done, Madame Speaker. Well done.

Market Trained To Beg For More?

The bipartisan federal government intrusion into the current crisis was passed by both houses of congress and signed into law last Friday. Foreign equity markets plunged Monday and US market futures point to a dramatically lower open here in about a half hour. The general tone of the commentary seems to be, "Hey! What's going on? Didn't the feds solve this problem?!?!?"

Socializing risk while privatizing profit is not a solution. A few brave soldiers voted "NO", the rest followed the disastrous FDR model-- We don't know what we're doing but we have to do something!

Oh, this looks like fun... the Pelosi House will start hearings regarding the Lehman Brothers collapse today. Think Fannie/ Freddie and Barney Frank will be discussed? Don't count on it. Gallons of whitewash have been delivered at the back door of the Capitol this morning.

The federal government created massive housing credit havoc and the "solution" to this is a huge intrusion by the same federal government into our private markets. Because, you know, political hacks are so good at running money. Just imagine how much fun the next administration will have with a $1 Trillion treasure chest of goodies to hand out to those who play ball with them the correct way. Where did I put those "Buying Property in Belize" folders?

Bringin' It

15,000 in Carson, California.
Thanks to We Love Gov. Sarah... for this picture and more. Click to see fun in the California sun.



And here's a bit on the NYTimes whitewash at The Corner.
We'll all turn blue waiting for the dinosaur media to ask The Barrack of Obama these simple questions. Does McCain have the guts to ask them in their next "debates?"

Game On... Finally!

On the campaign trail in Colorado today Governor Palin finally opens up the giant can of whoop-ass and out pops domestic terrorist Bill Ayers.

"There's been a lot of interest in what I read lately. Well, I was reading my copy of today’s New York Times and I was really interested to read about Barack’s friends from Chicago. Turns out, one of his earliest supporters is a man who, according to The New York Times was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, ‘launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and the U.S. Capitol.’ These are the same guys who think patriotism is paying higher taxes. This is not a man who sees America as you and I do - as the greatest force for good in the world. This is someone who sees America as imperfect enough to pal around with terrorists who targeted their own country. This, ladies and gentlemen, has nothing to do with the kind of change anyone can believe in - not my kids and not your kids."

Governor Palin was referencing an article in today's New York Times that details Obama's relationship with his neighbor and former Weather Underground domestic terrorist William Ayers.

Also in Colorado today...

Palin told a group of donors at a private airport, "Our opponent ... is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country." She also said, "This is not a man who sees America as you see America and as I see America."
Palin, Alaska's governor, said that donors on a greeting line had encouraged her and McCain to get tougher on Obama. She said an aide then advised her, "Sarah, the gloves are off, the heels are on, go get to them."
The escalated effort to attack Obama's character dovetails with TV ads by outside groups questioning Obama's ties to Ayers, convicted former Obama fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko and Obama's former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

H/T The Corner

Picture: Obama pal Bill Ayers' FBI Wanted Poster

Start Pushing Back

From the NRCC.

Gameday

College Gameday 1949

"Alice, you always bring wonderful sandwiches and such delicious coffee to our pre-game picnic."

"Why, thank you Fred. It's my pleasure! Do you think our boys have a chance today on the gridiron?"

"Not a prayer, Alice."

May your team win today. (Unless you're an Ole Miss fan.)

Critique

One of the problems with having hair plugs is that the patient tends to grow his hair too long, combs it straight back, and looks like he's sportin' a 50's-era D.A. (AKA: Duck's Ass) hairdo. Donald Trump avoids this by combing it around in circles and swoops until nobody can tell where the ass is. Although most people still have a pretty good idea. The plug wearer ends up with essentially a comb-over job running from front to back. This shouts out the same message of a low-part comb-over running from side to side: "I'm kidding myself about my hair loss." Slow Joe would look a lot better if he cut his hair shorter. Especially in the back. That little flip is starting to take on a Will Geer/ Grandpa Walton look. I know your politics are a lot like the late Mr. Geer's, Joe, but that's still not a good look for you. Trust me, pal.


My other criticism of Joe's look is the heavily botoxed forehead. There is so much bondo pumped in there that only the outside ends of his eyebrows even move any more. A lot of people see that and can't quite figure out what's wrong with him but they know something is wrong there. Something looks unnatural. Something looks phony. Which brings us to the gleaming white caps. I have nothing against a good-looking smile. But, if you have whitened your teeth to that extreme-- for someone your age, Joe-- you might want to dial back the smile. Less is more. The smile is extremely phony in many ways, frankly, and Joe wasn't helped in the early parts of the debate when the camera showed his reactions. He looked like he had a coat hanger in there propping it open. Lots of Americans have seen the latest Batman movie and that "Joker" look isn't good for a guy seeking votes.


A good critique should always end with a positive remark and here's mine. For a guy who has been a US Senator for 35 years you have very good posture at the podium, Joe.


Oh, as for the "debate" itself, the Governor kicked the Senator's ass, but not quite as much as I expected her to.

Sorry Citi

The Wells Fargo wagon is comin' down the street.

Joey? Misha here, vill you come over?

If you haven't heard Governor Palin's Tuesday interview with Hugh Hewitt yet, here 'tis. Great stuff.

And then there's Slow Joe. He's not the only person who says literally when figuratively is the proper choice. He's just the most annoying example of that error.

Excerpts from a friendly Boston Globe (NYTimes corp.) piece:

Even for a politician in a fiercely competitive campaign, Biden has an overdeveloped sense of hyperbole. He speaks sotto voce about the gravity of the historical moment, dispenses hard-luck father's cheer to the downtrodden with a lusty growl - "Get up!" - and at times weeps at the mention of his wife and infant daughter's deaths in a car accident 36 years ago.

He thunders outrage at John McCain's philosophy on healthcare and describes the foreign policy consequences of another Republican victory in near-apocalyptic terms, telling donors in Kentucky the other day that relations with Russia could spin "literally, literally, literally beyond our control for the better part of a generation." (He also uses the word "literally" with almost felonious frequency.)

His enthusiasm can also lead him into politically hazardous territory. At an intimate, $2 million fund-raiser put on by a group of trial lawyers in a private home in Washington, D.C. last week, he boasted that he had "done more than any other senator" for trial lawyers. There are "two groups that stand between us and the barbarians at the gate," he professed. "It's you and organized labor."
And even though few would question his long experience in foreign affairs, he can sometimes sound as if he's straining a bit too hard to prove his importance on the world stage.
"When Russia invaded Georgia, I got a call from Misha Saakashvili. He said, 'Joe, will you come over? Will you come?' " Biden said, in a foreign policy speech in Cincinnati last week. "I went to see him in Tblisi. I sat there while Russian tanks were still on the outskirts of the city. And we laid out a specific proposal. We made it crystal clear what Barack and I would do . . . to preserve the territorial integrity of Georgia."

Paulson Plan Gains Pounds

What started out as a 3 page outline from Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson has now swollen to 450 pages of inelegant legislation. Even the 40 page "crap sandwich" that went down to defeat Monday in the House is unrecognizable after spending time on the Senate side of the building. US Senators have thousands of staffers. It looks like most of them got involved in splashing gallons of condiments on the sandwich.

We are now told that this "improves" the bill and makes it more possible to passage. Well, pork payoffs to various congressmen make bad bills more prone to passing, that's true. But don't embarrass yourself by pretending it is now improved. It's a disaster and growing. And, stop calling it a $700 Billion package. The Senate added $150 Billion to it. At least be honest enough to call this mess an $850 Billion package.

As for the Presidential politics of it all... there's no difference between the positions of Obama and McCain. McCain had a chance to separate and soar. He failed.

Eleven Minutes Of Truth

Do you have eleven minutes to see how we got into the credit mess?

It's a fast 11 minutes.

There's music... and lots of moving pictures.

It's the best review of the sub-prime disaster you'll see or read.

The next time you hear some dope blame the President of the United States for this situation ask them if they have eleven minutes to learn the truth.

h/t: Dirty Harry's Place

A Good Ad

More of this, please.

Spell it out while people are paying attention.

And buy time, don't just make an Internet ad and hope a few people see it. Hammer it home.