Obama ahead in Cookie Poll

These days, everyone, it seems is taking polls: API, CBS, BBC, NBC, CSPAN, Reuters, NPR…the list is all but endless. All about the same, both in results and methodology.

But in downtown Rochester, Minnesota, there is a new kind of polling taking place, one I thought “Rip and Read”ers would enjoy: the cookie poll.

In it’s own quest for results, Daube’s Down Under, a lunch spot located in the subterranean shopping subway under the Mayo clinic, has instituted the cookie poll.

Each day, a tray of cookies is placed out for lunch customers looking for desert…one side of the tray offers blue frosted “Obama” cookies, the other, “McCain” cookies with red frosting.

According to staff members, they’ve been keeping track of sales. Obama is out-polling McCain by 150 to 80 as of today.

As a responsible voter, I felt it my duty to try both of the baked goods. On the surface, both cookies were much the same size and weight, there was a lot to like about each, but I must confess that, somehow, in the end, I found the Obama cookie much easier to swallow.

Perhaps it was the spice they used to make the red frosting on McCain’s cookie. What did the lady behind the counter say it was? Cumin? No…wait—PALIN! That’s what it was…the McCain Cookie had too much Palin.

Time to Get Off My Ass I Think

Well, according to the maps, it's looking pretty good here in Minnesota. But there is an even more relable poll that these: one of the deli's here in town is selling Obama Cookies and McCain Cookies. The Obama cookies are outselling McCain- Hands Down.

At any rate, if recent history has taught us anything, and it hasn't, nothing, NOTHING should be taken for granted.

So, my friends, if you ask me, and I haven't signed up to volunteer by the end of the week...please feel free to make my life miserable.

By the way, the above map is from: http://www.electoral-vote.com/ a neat site friend Russell sent my way.

Sarah Palin: Livin' Large at Taxpayer Expense.

When Sarah Palin burst on to the national scene last summer, we all heard about what a pit bull she was when it came to saving the taxpayers money. She stopped the "bridge to nowhere" and, in a dramatic move, put the state's plane up for sale on E-Bay.

Problem is, she still needs to travel, and she's got a large family. Fortunately, Alaska's taxpayers were able to foot the bill, it seems.

Bobbi just sat down to her email and saw this article from the AP:

Alaska funded Palin kids' travel

Even at this late date, I have a lot of respect for Senator McCain....but I can't really say the same for his running mate....

We've heard a lot from the GOP about science center slide projectors and projects to study bear DNA foisted on the public by Liberal Democrats..

...but it seems that the apostles of "thrift" in the GOP may have dirty hands on this one. I know that some Democrats have been guilty of abusing the system, but there is an old saying: Those Who live in Glass Houses should not throw stones.

In other words, it's bad enough to do wrong, but to do wrong while loudly pointing the finger at OTHER people and trying to punish THEM for doing wrong is even more despicable.

Governor Palin has been throwing a lot of rocks lately- and it looks like one of them might have come back to brake her house.

The AP has just released an article which suggests that Sarah Palin may well have taken her children on junkets and had the taxpayers of Alaska pay for it.

Here's a quote:

"In October 2007, Palin brought daughter Bristol along on a trip to New York for a women's leadership conference. Plane tickets from Anchorage to La Guardia Airport for $1,385.11 were billed to the state, records show, and mother and daughter shared a room for four nights at the $707.29-per-night Essex House hotel, which overlooks Central Park."

And later we learn that the Governor had her family sent to an event just so they could watch their dad finish a snowmobile race:

"The organizer of an American Heart Association luncheon on Feb. 15 in Fairbanks said Palin asked to bring daughter Piper to the event, and the organizer said she was surprised when Palin showed up with daughter Willow and Bristol as well.

The three Palin daughters shared a room separate from their mother at the Princess Lodge in Fairbanks for two nights, at a cost to the state of $129 per night.

The luncheon took place before Palin's husband, Todd, finished fourth in the 2,000-mile Iron Dog snowmobile race, also in Fairbanks. The family greeted him at the finish line."

Well...the family that plays together stays together...and the citizens who elect her will PAY together, too.

Sarah knows where the money is: She looks at the taxpayer and says: Drill, Baby. Drill.

Good Clean Fun.

It's no secret that American politics have been getting really poisonous in recent decades.

Recently, however, both John McCain and Barack Obama got in great digs at themselves and at the "show business" part of politics.

Watch both guys... (and Hillary)... if we can keep laughing WITH each other there's not a lot we can't do.

Here's Barack:


Here's McCain:


Have Fun!

Final Debate: A Step Up in Political Discourse

I've just spent the morning listening to the last Presidential Debate, and I think that, while we may not have had the debate we deserved, we got much closer to a complete and honest discussion between opposing viewpoints than we have been in need of for so long.

It is clear that Obama and McCain do not like each other...but, while not perfect, they showed a willingness last night to debate ISSUES and not personalities.

For McCain, in particular, I was glad. While I agree with almost none of the Senator's economic policies, nor with his stance on the War in Iraq, I've admired him as person over the years. He has typified, in many ways, what is best in the American tradition of service. During the frightening days when the Bush Administration advocated torture, he stood for the conscience of America.

So it has been a great disappointment to see the Senator descend to the Rush Limbaugh school of "smear and run." Last night, with a few exceptions, I found him willing to debate on issues...and it was refreshing...Senator McCain regained some stature- which he owes himself and his place in history.

I've noticed a new willingness to talk issues among my email correspondents, and now I saw a tentative step in that direction in last night's debate. This is a trend which I hope continues. Because, no matter who wins, Republican or Democrat, America deserves a Leader of Honor in the White House...I feel more hopeful about that prospect after watching that debate.

The Crisis and The Narrative: Who is to Blame for the Financial Collapse?

Recently, on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, I sat outside a tobacconist's in Saint Paul, smoking a really great cigar with my brother-in-law. (Okay, he's not my brother-in-law yet, but we all like him, so we're keeping our fingers crossed.)

We began discussing the state of the world, as one will do over a cigar, and, of course, the current financial crisis quickly became the focus of conversation. As I listened, I realized that my friend was making an argument that sounded familiar.

The current financial crisis, the argument goes, stems from pressure by the Government to extend loans to the disadvantaged through Freddie Mac and Franny Mae- even though these poor people were bad credit risks.

The argument was politely made and plausible. But it sounded familiar, and so I asked my friend to email the the article he was referencing. He sent me a well written piece from a columnist for the Boston Globe.

The more I read, the more I realized that I WAS listening to a line of thought I'd heard before- not so nicely expressed...from some of my right-wingnut email buddies. By the time the right-wing email machine gets done with it, however, it sounds a lot less pretty.

The way THEY put it, the argument goes like this: (My Friends,)Those Damn Democrats FORCED the financial industry to abandon their usual caution, prudence and good sense by TWISTING THEIR ARMS and making them loan money to MINORITIES who didn't have a pot to piss in and couldn't pay back a loan if their lives depended on it. (My Friends)- this started under BILL CLINTON (gasp!) And, (My Friends), although the Bush White House protested that it was time to reign this in, those DAMN DEMOCRATS kept ARM twisting and forcing the money into the hands of these bad risks. And the leader, of course, of all of this was...(gasp) BARNEY FRANK! (My Friends, did you know that Frank is....GAY?!...and that he's from (gasp) MASSACHUSETTS?)

Fortunately, if we just elect John McCain and his "Mavericky" side-kick Sarah Palin (just a couple of Mavericky ole Mavricks Mavrickin' along, doncha know?)- they will get this Government Interference off our backs so we can go back to some semblance of honesty and integrity.

Okay, without even marshaling further evidence- this argument just DOESN'T wash with me. Here's why:

Congress (bad Ole Congress) was controlled by man-eating Republicans from 1995 until 2007. During most of his Presidency, George W. Bush (a Republican) worked alongside a Congress of Republicans with a Federal Reserve Board chaired by Allan Greenspan- a life-long Republican who was first appointed by Ronald Reagan...a, you guessed it, Republican. I'm sorry, but you twist it as hard as you want...you just can't blame the Liberal Democrats and our coddled Minorities for this one...WE WERE NOT THERE- we'd been voted out of office and were sitting on the sidelines- we are cleared by circumstantial evidence.

The other thing that causes me to doubt this line of argument is that we've seen this before. Following 8 years of Reagan, the American people watched in horror as the Savings and Loan industry collapsed...taking the stock market and some $160 billion tax dollars in bailouts with it. It took the economy about five years to recover. The Savings and Loan Collapse happened under a Chief Executive (Ronald Reagan) who believed that "government was the problem"- and that to regulate the market was to strangle the market...left without police, the system collapsed into a free-for-all of greed that wreaked financial harm on many innocent Americans. The difference between then and now, is that this time the price tag is going to be several BILLIONS of Dollars higher.

And so, while Democrats are cleared by circumstantial evidence (we were either outnumbered or we weren't in power at all during the time in question)- we can call the Republicans to account based on past history...the current crisis fits their previously known M.O.

So, in replying to my Right-Wingnut friends, I found a great article written by a columnist in Business Week. It's titled, pretty plainly: Frannie Mae and Freddie Mac were Victims, Not Culprits. And I recommend it to my "brother in law" and anyone else who has questions about the Republican Spin.

Here's a quote:

Start with the most basic fact of all: virtually none of the $1.5 trillion of cratering subprime mortgages were backed by Fannie or Freddie. That’s right — most subprime mortgages did not meet Fannie or Freddie’s strict lending standards. All those no money down, no interest for a year, low teaser rate loans? All the loans made without checking a borrower’s income or employment history? All made in the private sector, without any support from Fannie and Freddie.

The author goes on to summerize the findings of a study (released back in March, before the hoopla started)by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He writes:

The study identifies five causes of the subprime meltdown:
-Convoluted loan products that consumers didn’t understand.
-Credit ratings that didn’t do a good job highlighting the risks contained in subprime-backed securities.
-Lack of incentives for institutional investors to do their own research (they just relied on the credit ratings).
-Predatory lending and borrowing (which I think means fraud perpetrated by borrowers).
-Significant errors in the models used by credit rating agencies to assess subprime-backed securities.

You’ll note in the Fed’s five causes that there’s some culpability for lenders, borrowers, investors and credit raters. There’s no blame for Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae which had little or nothing to do with the entire situation.

In the end, my feeling is this: Whenever you hear a Republican start complaining about Barney Frank, Bill Clinon, or Massachusetts- you'd better pull out your boots and put 'em on...because whatever line they start spewing next isn't going to be the truth, is going to be deep, and won't smell very pretty at all.

A few notes on Email Exchange

As some readers know, I am part of an ad hoc email discussion group that coalesced about 5 years ago. With the exception of the man who cc'd me on the first few exchanges, I know none of my correspondents in real life.

The email group consists of a majority on the far right wing, and a minority of those of us who are either left, or center-left.

Our exchanges at first were rude to the point of verbal violence. Things were spat at strangers over email that I would be hard pressed to say to my worst enemy face to face.

In time, we began to moderate ourselves (not much, just enough so that people would not withdraw from the conversation). I've noticed in recent days that an increasing tone of civility has crept into our exchanges...not much, but enough to make me wonder what is going on...it almost seems as if we are straining to get beyond the "he is a pig"/"she's a pig with lipstick" and start trying to discuss real issues...

dare I hope?

At anyrate, in on of our exchanges, one on the right hoped I realized just how "Liberal" my party was...I decided to respond here:

M-----,

You make the mistake of thinking that I carry some great shame for being a "Liberal". The United States has had some great "Liberal" leaders...among whom we might count Jefferson, Jackson, (One might even consider adding Lincoln to this list, as well as Teddy Roosevelt- although they are on "your team" - and you're damn lucky to have 'em), Wilson, and of course the greatest President of the 20th Century (Sorry Ronnie, but it ain't you) FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT, Harry Truman, and John F. Kennedy.

(To be fair, the United States has had great conservative heroes as well, including Washington, Adams, Hamilton, Dwight David Eisenhower- and while he cannot be added to honor roll, I must nod my head to Richard Nixon- not a hero, but a genius in his twisted way who left us much of value. I cannot bring myself to add Reagan to the list, given that fact that it was in the wake of his leadership that we found ourselves awash in debt- but I suppose he deserves a nod as well.)

While I agree (as do almost all Democrats) that the Free Market is the best way to run a society, I believe that that market is there to serve the people and not that the people are there to serve the market. Therefore, I have no hesitation or qualms at the thought that society (through our representatives in Government) will bring that market to heel, tame it, and discipline it when necessary.

I'm thoroughly willing to argue the merits of this...especially as I believe that this is a never ending balancing act...what worked for us yesterday may not work today...we must constantly keep thinking and correcting. Thus, "Liberals" of the 60s spend money to raise living standards...while Liberals of the 90s (like Bill Clinton) worked with Republicans (not nicely, to be sure) to reign in spending to end the deficit and begin the huge task of addressing the national debt to China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and others.

But I would argue that "Liberal" philosophy has done great good to this country. Jefferson's writings on the nature of Freedom have far outshone his personal conduct, Wilson, FDR and Truman guided this country through the greatest of wars against the fiercest of enemies...and while the Liberals of the 60s may have overplayed their hand, who can argue that Civil Rights for all Americans was an idea who's time had come?

No, we haven't done everything right, for sure...but I'm not a bit ashamed to be called a Liberal...and while you might teach me something that makes me change the way I approach a problem, I seriously doubt you could ever say anything to make me feel ashamed.....

Cheers!

Rednecks for Obama

First came the news that North Carolina, once a solid "McCain" state, is in play. This will force the Republicans to send Sarah Baracuda South, taking time away from the battle in other states.

But today, I saw an even neater website: Rednecks for Obama. Their Tag Line is:
"We Hunt, Fish, Drink Beer and Support Barack Obama"---Right on!

While Worth Watching, Obama Film missed a chance to Teach and Resorts to Gotcha Tactics.

"Those who do not learn from History are doomed to repeat it."



All week we've been subjected to sound bites of Tina Fey (oops, I mean, Sarah Palin) yammering about how "The Noow Yoork Tiiimes sayz dat Barak Obama Palled around with Terrorists a heck of a lot don't ya know" And the "Liberal Media" continues to play the sound bite despite the fact that the NYTimes article concludes that the connection between the two is not close...and that the terrorist in question has since become an activist for education AND that Barack Obama was all of 8 years old when Bill Ayers was active.

So, I can understand WHY the Obama Campaign felt obliged to make and release it's short documentary: "Keating Economics". Still, after watching it, I found myself wishing that the campaign could have aimed a little higher.

Don't get me wrong. As the financial industry collapses around our ears, and We the People are tapped to pay the bill, the ghosts of the SAVINGS AND LOAN crisis are hovering right above our shoulders. So it's great to have a reminder.

(Wikipedia has a nice refresher course in the S&L Crisis, just in case you forgot the 160 BILLION Dollars you paid back in the late 1980s. It basically boils down to a bunch of Greedy Financial Types, doing fraudulent back flips under a "Free Market" President who sent all the Federal Regulators Home for the Long Weekend. This was back in the 1980s- and here we are again- hence my resort above the overused Santayna quote.)

But "Keating Economics" does a little more than "remind" us. The movie, which feels a lot like a cross between a Frontline piece and something from Fox News, opens with John McCain being hauled before the Senate Ethics committee. In flashbacks, we learn that McCain had close personal ties to Charles Keating, one of the most infamous of the S&L bandits. We learn that McCain and several other Senators used undue influence behind closed doors to offer improper advantage to Keating.

We watch as Keating is trapped and cornered....and the documentary leads you to the emotional conclusion that we will be watching John McCain doing the Perp Walk, too.

But McCain never did the perp walk. The truth is that he was found largely innocent of wrong doing...and he went on to continue a fairly distinguished career in the U.S. Senate.

At this point the movie swerves away from it's "criminal" narrative and makes some really valid points about what happens when Government agrees to protect investors without regulating their activities...in the end, THIS is the most valid part of the film, the part the makes it worth sitting through.

I wish that the Obama campaign had used the same tricks of the trade (tight editing, good story structure, etc.) to make an easy to understand movie about why a Free Market works best with a bit of government oversight to protect the Taxpayers and the Public, rather than indulging the in the temptation to race Sarah Palin and her ilk to the bottom.

My fear is that the American people, realizing that the case against McCain is overstated for dramatic effect, will ignore the parts of the S&L story which are truly important. Our present crisis proves that we've ignored these historical lessons once to our cost (Savings and Loan, 1980s: $160b...government bailout, 2008: $700 -so far!)- let's start electing some public officers who won't continue to compound the mistake.

As it is, this campaign could feature a real debate (Ronald Reagan, George Bush and Milton Friedman vs. FDR and John Maynard Keynes)- instead it's turning into a bickering match:

"You sat too close to Bill Ayers at the board meeting!"
"Oh, yeah? Well, YOU sat too close to Charles Keating!"

Of course, that having been said- it IS true that THEY started it.

Great Video from You Tube!

Gotta love the Aussie's!