Glenn Beck is a F#$%ing Lunatic

Hey look, I found something. Fancy that.

Saw this clip a few days ago, was rather stunned, but it drifted through the cracks of life.

Stewart played it again tonight, and it jogged the ol' memory.

As it says in the title, no ambiguity here, Glenn Beck is clearly mentally unstable. Problem is, he seems to be becoming a conservative force, and is drawing crazy ratings for his radio and Fox News shows.

He is feeding people's irrational fears, on a national platform. Funny thing is, unlike O'Reilly or Limbaugh, I'm not sure if this is feigned or not.

Here is the video of his event from last Friday, 'You Are Not Alone', during which he proved that while people who take him seriously may not be alone, a bunch of paranoid sheep don't make the best gang.

Beck gets emotional about 2:50 in. Check it out and let me know in the comments whether these are crocodile, or genuine :



By the tone of this post, my opinion on Mr. Beck and his methods should be rather clear. Real or not, this kind of crap is dangerous, and feeds the worst parts of a free society.

Really?

Has it really been over 3 months since I last posted?

Well simple math says...yes, yes it has. Simple math is a friend of mine, went to school together.

Anyways, the reasoning behind this gap is nothing more than a simple lack of fire.

Obama won, and is currently killing it, so there's not too many battles that get me juiced up south of the border.

Up here, kinda the same. Harper is being squeezed so hard by his minority status that he just tabled a budget that could have been written by the Liberals. A fundamental fiscal conservative delving into deficit spending for social programs and arts funding...wow.

Ignatieff is doing a good job so far, but with the economic meltdown going on, no one is really paying attention to politics, especially when the threat of an election is so low. Around the mid-point of this year, after the Stanley Cup is over, the spotlight will go back to Canada's favorite contact sport, and Iggy better be ready to go to bat.

During the void, I've gotten hooked on Twitter (so unendingly interesting), enjoying watching my Vancouver Canucks go on an absolute roll, tonight hitting a 10-game home winning streak, keeping up with the 49ers through another offseason and draft (Trade for Cutler dammit!), and becoming rather obsessed with Lost, the greatest show ever to hit TV.

For the first time in a long time, politics is taking a bit of a backseat. I'm still keeping up, of course, I needs mah fix, but it's not all I'm into for once. My friends and colleagues probably enjoy a move away from the Obamania I put them all through for the last year too :P

I'll come back here whenever I feel something needs to be said, but for now, seems like there isn't much to be said...

The Age of Iggy

Bob Rae officially dropped out of the race to succeed Stephane Dion as leader of the federal Liberals, clearing the way for his old college roommate (Google it, it's true), Michael Ignatieff to lead the way.

So, here we come to the Age of Iggy. Will it be successful? Maybe, but I think we can all say with some confidence that it will be better than the epic fail of Dion.

There are many things to be done, and little time to do them in.

The Liberals need to get a grassroots fund raising operation moving, or the next attempt to cut of public financing of political parties could simply kill them off altogether.

They have to make themselves relevant to people outside of Ontario/Quebec that are under 35, as they were basically shut out west of the Manitoba-Ontario border. There was a handful of seats, but the West is turning solid blue, and that trend needs to be reversed or at least stunted for the Liberals to have any kind of viability going into the future.

Although, there is one thing that trumps these problems, and that is the prospect of a coalition government. Not surprisingly, as it was controlled by the Liberals, the coalition proposal was rolled out very badly, and the public seems to be turning against it. Personally I think it would be better for Canada, as they would actually govern with other parties and interests in mind other than their own. That being said, the idea of Prime Minister Dion was a large part of what killed the deal.

Now that part of the equation has been erased, I'm still not convinced that a coalition under Ignatieff would be any more palatable to the public.

The Liberals have kind of backed their way into a corner with this one, and it'll be interesting to see how it plays out. Basically they have put themselves in a place where they can't really support a budget that doesn't meet their exact specifications, as they've shown the willingness to take this thing to the mat, and if they turned away from toppling the government or voting them out, it would look like the only time they want to take action 'for Canada', is when they would benefit from it. Same goes for the NDP and the Bloc.

The only thing we can hope for is Harper makes some concessions and the Liberals are at least able to credibly say it was a compromise deal. It does look like Harper is striking a more conciliatory tone in the last day or so, pledging to work with the other parties to make Parliament, well, work.

I've heard and seen this show before, so until I see a consensus budget, with input from all parties, Harper's words will still ring hollow to me.

Now, if the Liberals fail, we're looking at a Harper majority, without a doubt. If an election was held today, they would easily go over the hump into majority territory, due to the bungled coalition roll-out.

As I've written on here before, I also think that Iggy basically has the task of saving the Liberals from complete and utter obscurity, which is where they will reside if Harper ever takes the majority reigns.

The bottom line is that Canada needs to work, and every party, not just Harper, but every party needs to cooperate, and govern this land with good faith towards the other parties.

I know minorities are contentious, and the next election is always right around the corner, and policy-making in a minority situation tends to lean more towards electioneering than actual governance, but heading into a recession, and possible depression without the right steps, this is not the time to try and cut a political opponent off at the knees while (metaphorically) Rome burns in the background.

Ignatieff himself is an interesting candidate, just based on the fact that he was out of the country for decades at a time teaching at Harvard, and only returned a few years ago to run for office and the leadership.

I can see this going one of two ways, and it depends on controlling the narrative.

Harper has shown himself to be very adept at this part of the game, and the Liberals have, well, been the exact opposite, tripping over themselves and whining about attack ads when they should have been firing back with vigour.

If Ignatieff is framed as an elitist, Canada-abandoning candidate, out of touch with Canadian interests, this thing is over before it even starts.

The Liberals need to highlight that we're talking about a Harvard professor here, a very intelligent man, and one untainted by previous Liberal scandals and mismanagement.

It all comes down to the message, and if things keep on the same track we've seen, there will be Ignatieff attack ads out there tomorrow. They need to hit back hard, and right away, fighting the negative narrative wherever and whenever they can.

Dion, frankly, was a wimp, and was seen as such from almost the minute he stepped atop the party. That was because of a sustained media effort by the Conservative Party, that the Liberals could not counter for the life of them.

Harper defined Dion.

Ignatieff needs to define himself, or he'll be in the scrapheap next to Stephane and the party very, very shortly.

I Know It's Been a While...

It's been a while since I posted, even about the epic, dramatic and world-altering election of Barack Obama, so the question begs...why?

Basically it boils down to a lack of time, a lack of a home computer, and a recovery from the orgy of politics I've been swimming through for the last 2+ years.

I can't promise a coherent, regular posting schedule, but I can promise my full effort and weight behind anything I do put out there.

I hope to do a couple pieces on Canadian politics in the coming hours / days, as we look to be on the verge of either a coalition government of Liberals and New Democrats, or yet another election.

There is also the Cabinet picks of Mr. President-elect to mull over, although I will be perfectly honest and admit I don't know who too many of these people are, because their time in the sun, back with the Clintons, was when I was still in my early teens, and not into politics in the least, let alone digging through qualifications for Cabinet picks.

In any sense, I do hope to get more out there more often, but only time will tell.

Election Results Widget

On the Precipice

Here we stand on the verge of history, hours away from something that will shape the American society, and by extension, the Canadian as well, for a very long time.

And I'm not just talking if Obama wins. The way I see it, tomorrow either pushes us off that aforementioned precipice, or pulls us back from it.

Western society is kind of teetering right now, with the credit crisis, a possible sequel to the Depression and 8 years of George W Bush pushing us towards the cliff.

If John McCain is able to fraud himself a seat in the Oval Office tomorrow (I truly think this is the only way a McCain victory would come about, and the only way 2 Bush victories did) then the world as we know is done for.

I know you're thinking, but, but, it'll be the same as the last 8 years, what will change?

Well, 8 years was almost too much to take, but people see it as somewhat of an aberration, 8 years that got away from them all, and a new President is what will cure the wounds of the Bush years. If McCain is elected, we will have the same indecisive, ideological, misguided, downright nonsensical leadership that the West has endured over the last 8 years for at least the next 4. At the same time, there will also be the constant horror of President Sarah looming over all of us.

A dash of electoral fraud and a relapse of melanoma = some scary shit happening in Washington.

No one likes to say it, but the US sets the tone for the rest of us, in the G8 and outside, so whomever sits in that big chair does determine a large part of where the rest of the world moves, not just their own nation.

That being said, if McCain is able to get in, it ruins the notion that Bush was an aberration, and I frankly think the world might look for a different guiding light than the one that has led us all since the end of World War Two.

But, anyone reading this probably understands the depth of the dangers a McCain presidency would bring, so I won't beat that dead horse any more.

If Barack Obama wins tomorrow, it is like a blank slate, a new beginning. The sins of slavery will be washed almost clean, if not entirely, and the world will look upon the US with new hope in their eyes.

Pardon the word usage, but it would be a black and white scenario.

As Canadians we now stand on this edge, watching, pained that we cannot affect it in the least, and all we can do is sit, watch, wait, and hope everything turns out the way we, and the rest of the world need it to.

I'll say it again, we don't want Obama, WE NEED OBAMA.

I for one view this race as the defining one for my lifetime, win or lose. It will either make me believe that change is possible, and the son of a single mother, who had to take student loans to get an education and who worried where the next meal would come from can actually shift the world, or it will drop me into a pit of cynicism that I probably won't be able to crawl out of ever again.

For a person that wants to get into this political game one day, and very much fits the points I listed in the previous paragraph, I really need my hopes to be heeded, just this once. I have watched election after election up here, and around the world, where the winner didn't really deserve the prize, where the person who could toss out the most ads or smear the most took the seat.

No one has ever energized me in the way Barack has. I have watched him with apt attention for over 3 years now, and I need to see him win tomorrow. I need to know that the good guy can win the race, that rationality can take hold at a point, that people can do the right thing, and not be scared into doing the wrong one.

Of course, that viewpoint is a tad selfish, and of course I want all of the other dominoes that fall with an Obama presidency. I want healthcare, I want the flow of money to stop jumping into the upper-most tax bracket, I want justice and equality, and I want everyone to have a fair shake at things.

One Canadian blogging about the American elections likely won't change one tiny iota of what is going to happen tomorrow, but this is my two cents nonetheless.

We all stand on the precipice, and we all stand together, but only some of us have the power to pull us all back, or to push us over the cliff into oblivion.

I will watch tomorrow night, as I know many of my fellow Canadians, Americans, and citizens of the world will. We will all watch, holding our collective breath, and wish with all the might we can muster that for once, we can believe, we can have hope, and yes, that things can change.

I will close with the three words that have defined this lanky man from Hawaii and his campaign, who grew up with nothing and came to be so much, who has touched so many of our hearts. They are the three that have carried us all this far, pushed us to blog, cut videos, doorknock, phonebank and donate.

The words we have carried and the words we will carry forward, to give us that hope, and to push us forward to change the world.

Yes We Can.

Are the Liberals Losing This Generation?

I'm coming to the realiztion that this Liberal leadership race is probably about the most important in the history of the party.

A heavy statement, I know, but here's something even weightier :

This leader will decide whether the Liberal Party lives on past the next 5-10 years, or whether it fades into obscurity.

The reason I say these things is that I don't see anyone in this generation really grabbing onto them as an opposing force to the right wing, which is galvanized behind one party, as opposed to left, which is fragmented among three. The salvation of young people right now, whether they actually vote or not, seems to lie with the NDP, or to a lesser extent, the Greens.

Everyone I spoke to, and almost everything I read over the course of the campaign from those under 30 seemed to be pulling for Jack and the orange crew, followed by May and the Greens. Dion and the Grits as a whole were almost nowhere to be found.

The next leader will have to be somewhat generational, someone able to bridge the gap between old and young as Martin Cauchon promised to be when he bandied around throwing his name into the ring, as they will need to stem the tide of under-30s over to the other two left-wing parties, or the left will simple get more fragmented as younger folk mark their ballots for the NDP and Greens and older left-leaners continuing marking theirs Grit.

We need to pull the left together if we ever hope to be in government again, and a generational fragmentation is the complete opposite direction of that.

Now, while I think age is a concern this time, as no other really has been, it doesn't disqualify in any way those that are somewhat advanced in that category, such as Rae, Ignatieff or McKenna. Experience does not equal an inability to reach out to the youth. It may make it harder, but all that really matters is the substance of your words and actions, not what year it says on a birth certificate.

There needs to be a significant youth outreach, aside from the Young Liberals or any other group already existing. This needs to be a central plank of not just the party, but of the leadership contest itself as well.

We are going to be witnessing a pseudo-election campaign over the next 6 months, and there needs to be a heavy emphasis on pulling youth into the process. An e-campaign, if you will.

Look at Barack Obama. The man has pulled in millions, hundreds of millions in fact, due to his advanced web presence. That presence, along with his 3 million-plus email list, are one of the many reasons why he won the primary and is now pulling away with the general election.

Elections have largely been taken to the 'net, and away from the more traditional sources such as TV, Radio and mailers.

The beauty of the e-campaign too is that it is largely cost-free. Things like Facebook, Twitter, podcasts, etc, cost little to nothing, and make a significant impact on the younger people of this country, as we are all over these services pretty much every day.

Fundraising is also a big concern for the Liberals after being dominated by the Tories, and the e-campaign takes care of that in two ways. As I said above, it's relatively cheap so this kind of outreach won't hurt the overall bottom line that much, if at all, and also, they can raise money online, through the grassroots, while getting them connected and into the party and its leaders.

There is no drawback to a heavy Internet presence, and only leaps and bounds to gain.

People that already identify as Liberals and are not web-savvy are not going to be affected, as they'll likely keep on the same news sources they have their entire lives, which are those traditional ones that Liberals already market to.

Basically, the gist of this argument is pulling the Liberals into the 21st century, and making them seem like they actually can empathize with the issues of the youth voters in this country.

Sure, people in my demo don't vote as much as they should, but that's not a permanent problem, and it is something that is easily fixable. The youth vote is powerful, and if a party can actually go out there and harvest those immense numbers, we are looking at a redesign of the electoral maps from the Pacific to the Atlantic.

It is not simply the 'net though, as there needs to be campus outreaches, people at concerts handing out flyers and buttons, and other activities of the like to get those under-30s thinking about the future of their country, where it is headed, and instilling the belief that they can play a role in that future too, because up until now, I don't think people really have felt all that included in the process.

This whole youth-based outreach business obviously needs to be in tandem with actual policies that help people get in school, get jobs, and lead our country forward, especially as Baby Boomers are moving into their sunset years, and we will all need to pick up that slack left behind in their wake.

The under-30s are going to be the engine of the economy very soon, and if we lose them to the Conservatives, we'll be shut out of power for decades.

The Liberal Leadership : The Race, and the New Political Reality

With Stephane Dion resigning this past Monday as leader of the Liberal Party, (thank God) it opens up a new race for the person that will succeed him and lead the Grits into the next election, and hopefully further.

There are already contenders floating around, even as Dion's gravestone is still being carved.

Michael Ignatieff and Bob Rae, the two from which the last leader should have been chosen, will almost certainly be in the running once again, as their leadership campaign machines are still warm under the hood from the last race. Both of these two, as last time, have even-to-better odds of being the next leader in 2009. Hopefully we don't see another dark horse backroom deal like the one that screwed both of these men in 2006. If they lose, they lose, but Dion pulled 18% on the first ballot in '06 and ended up the leader. That stinks worse than roadkill on a 40 degree day.

Today, Martin Cauchon, a member from the Chretien era, has said he may also consider tossing his hat into the ring, citing the need for a 'generational change'. He is experienced in government, a former Cabinet minister, and is only in his late 40s, well under the 60-plus years of both Ignatieff and Rae. He could have a shot, but with Dion doing so badly, mostly based on his communication skills, I find it hard to believe the Liberals would appoint another Francophone to their leadership. Aside from that, his age and experience would both be tremendous assets. We'll see where that goes, but I'm labelling him as a long shot for now.

There are also some other repeat candidates, aside from Rae and Ignatieff.

Gerard Kennedy, the man that gave us Stephane Dion is likely to run again, as is Martha Hall Findley, who may find herself on better footing this time around than last, as she is now a sitting MP. Same with Kennedy.

They are still considered very long-shot tries and if either wins, I will be stunned, but in that same sense, who saw Dion as viable last time?

The most intriguing of all the candidates, at least in my mind, is Frank McKenna, the former premier of New Brunswick, Canadian Ambassador to the US, and current Deputy Chairman of TD Bank.

He has the cred, both politically and economically to blow everyone else out of the water.

Frankly, he would have done so in 2006 had he chosen to run, deciding instead to step aside, later taking the TD gig.

This race will be shaped by him, and whether he gives it a go this time around. If he does not, I expect Rae or Ignatieff to take the mantle handily.

This seems like very much a re-do of the disastrous 2006 choice, with Dion obviously not around to swipe it this time.

The leadership choice will be made in May of 2009 in Vancouver (yay, my home city) and it will lay the groundwork for the Liberal Party for what I think will be at least the next decade, as two disastrous choices in a row could doom them to obscurity (If Dion hasn't already done so).

The Liberals are in serious need of a kick-start, as they have died as a party in BC, finishing fourth in most ridings behind even the Greens, getting knocked around badly in Quebec and losing ground in Ontario.

They also are very much in need of an overhaul in the way they fundraise, as Harper and the Tories absolutely killed them in the financial race this cycle, allowing them to run attack ad after attack ad and basically assassinate Stephane Dion's character before he really even got rolling.

Liberals can cry all they want about the right wing propoganda machine killing them this cycle, but that is part of the game, and if they can't hold their ground in that part of the game, they will lose every single time.

No one likes attack ads, but they work, and the Liberals need to recognize the reality of the situation.

You can whine, or you can win, and whether it's Ignatieff, Rae, McKenna, Cauchon, Kennedy, Hall-Findley or someone else, they need to go on the offensive as soon as they take the keys, or the Liberals will be looking for a new leader once again in a few years.

The Greens : Breakthrough or Death Blow?

The much-lamented non-breakthrough of the Green Party to win any seats in Parliament was a bit of a disappointment, but in reality, I would have been shocked if they had.

Judging by the tone of at least Elizabeth May and Adrianne Carr in their post-loss interviews, they seemed to feel the same way.

My view on the Greens is that this was, in fact, their breakthrough election.

Stay with me now.

This was the first time that the Greens weren't seen as a fringe, throw-away your vote party. They were seen as a viable alternative, and they actually made some pretty good gains in the popular vote, and in BC.

In terms of the popular vote, they grew by about 3%, which guarantees them another few million in public funds to run their party for the next few years, and become a more viable force in the next election cycle.

Canadians aren't huge fans of dramatic or drastic changes, and while electing a Green MP wouldn't have entered that territory, it was enough of a change to make people pause, if for no more than this cycle, and also was based on the ridings those prominent Greens were running in.

I wish Elizabeth May didn't run in Central Nova against Peter McKay. I wish Adrianne Carr didn't run against Hedy Fry and Lorne Mayencourt in Vancouver Centre. These are the two highest profile Greens, being respectively their leader and deputy leader, so it was relatively imperative that one of them enter Parliament if the Greens were actually going to be anything more than a bump in the road in Canadian politics.

May chose Nova because she grew up there, which is completely admirable, and the way decisions of which riding to take a crack should start from. But not when it's the Defense Minister who currently sits there, and not when it's a strong blue riding. She came a strong second, partially because there was no Liberal in the riding, but mostly because May is an incredibly gifted orator and politician, and would actually do more for Central Nova than people could ever hope for from McKay.

Alas, it was not to be. And furthermore, May is going to run in the same riding the next time around. Damn.

Here sits the best, most dynamic and intelligent Green Leader we have seen on the national scene, and she is going to again throw herself into what is essentially an unwinnable riding against Peter McKay. If she ran out in BC this cycle, or next, she would likely be sitting in the benches. Instead, she will likely lose, and the Greens will eventually be forced to turn to a leader that actually has a chance of sitting in Parliament, because at the end of the day, that is the only way to do anything you want to do politically in this country. I honestly love Elizabeth May, her candor, her skills and her beliefs, but I'll be shocked out of my shoes if she's ever the MP for Central Nova.

In terms of Carr, this was another missed chance to make an impact, as she was part of the Greens national face, appearing in commercials and having the title of Deputy Leader. She ran in the strongest riding in Vancouver, and finished a distant fourth. No matter what the polls showed, Carr tanked.

Hedy Fry has now won 6 elections, Lorne Mayencourt has high name recognition from being an MLA in the riding, and Michael Byers of the NDP was expected to have a strong showing. Against all this, Carr threw herself into the mix. As with May, a more strategic riding choice could have sent a Green MP to Ottawa.

I see plenty of sunshine around the edges of the shutout though. The Greens finished above the Liberals in almost every BC riding breakdown I saw over the course of last night, pulling significant numbers of votes. There is room to grow, but only at the expense of the Liberals, because at the end of the day, Green ideology is essentially very Liberal in nature, obviously with a heavier emphasis on the environment.

They can take some of the steam out of the NDP as well, but seem to pull in more disaffected Liberals than anyone else.

Splitting votes between the three will only lead to more and stronger Conservative governments, so maybe something like the Dion-May deal to not run candidates in each others ridings could be tried on a larger scale. That is a different subject for a different day though, as is proportional representation, which seems ever more prevalent on the minds of people after seeing the Bloc pull 50 seats out of 10% popular vote, and the Greens pull zero, when their popular vote totals were about 7%.

I understand it is not the best juxtaposition to put these 2 parties together, but when we talk straight numbers, the system we have seems even worse than most people believe it to be.

The Greens are not dead, not by a long shot, and if May stays as leader, and they keep getting themselves into debates, and into the conversation, they will eventually find themselves in Parliament as well.

Election Live Blogging : Fortier Loses Again

Michel Fortier, the unelected member of Stephen Harper's cabinet, who lost his last race and was appointed to the Senate to be able to serve in Cabinet, has lost again.

Does anyone think Harper will pull the same stunt again for the man he clearly wanted in that seat?

Fortier already resigned his Senate seat to run, so my guess would be no. Then again, who thought Harper would have done such a thing anyways?

Lots more to come from this election night.

Looks like another Conservative minority, with little movement seat-wise.

The question tomorrow morning may not be who won, but why we just spent $300 million dollars on what amounts to the status quo.

There wasn't much need for an election, outside of Harper's bare ambition for a majority, and it looks like he will not get it yet again...

The World Changes This Fall -- For Better or Worse is Up to Us

The electoral maps are shifting like crazy right now, with Obama booming and Harper falling, and I couldn't be happier about either one.

Economy, economy, economy. The one issue people care about, here, and down South. The one thing that affects everyone, and the one thing that Conservatives and Republicans lose on every single time.

Whenever the economy starts to trend down, people turn to the left to resurrect it.

The most striking example, and one that has an immense parallel to today would be FDR's election in the midst of the Depression. The New Deal came along after he stepped in, and revolutionized the way the government does business, and the values of an entire nation.

The same opportunities lie bare right now in the US, and even to an extent here.

Stephane Dion is no FDR, and at best a poor man's Obama, but his Green Shift would bring a dramatic, future-reaching change to the Canadian economy that is desperately needed right now.

I am not comfy with the thought of Dion being the face of Canada, but on his policy proposals alone, the man will change us for the better. Not to get too far deep into the Green Shift, but as I have ranted in the past in this space, and others, flipping our economy to be Green-based, with innovations and Canadian-made green technology that we can then go sell and market abroad would make us akin to oil powers in today's age, like Saudi Arabia. It will create green collar jobs, and we will then be on the cutting edge of technology the entire globe will be using in a few decades. We will control patents, and be able to provide our economy with a stable, renewable, clean base for the next ten generations, as opposed to the dirty, fluctuating and unstable footing we and the previous few have stood on.

Ok, Green Shift / carbon tax rant over.

In terms of Obama, there is nothing overarching like a Green Shift, but with promises to invest in those very same technologies in the US, like wind, solar, etc, he is also putting his country on the same footing, and looking to the future, not staying mired in the present and past of carbon-based economic models.

That, along with ambitious healthcare proposals, ending the war in Iraq, giving the middle class back their country and taking it from the 1% that George W let it be consolidated into will fundamentally change how Americans see their country, and therefore the beliefs that country reflects, and it can only be viewed as for the better, because it cannot get any worse than it is right now.

In the face of the economic issues that he helped to propagate, Johnny Mac has really done nothing but flounder and flip flop his way through the last few weeks, watching his polling numbers sink almost in tune with the stock market.

Now we have William Ayers on the political map again because of it, as Johnny figured out he simply cannot win on economics, and desperately needs a change in subject. This crap was tried and failed badly in the primaries, and it will do so on this stage as well.

McCain is behind in several key states, and even some that should be on lockdown. All the so-called battleground states, like Michigan, Minnesota, Virginia, Nevada, all show 10+ leads for Obama in the polls, something that cannot be explained away by margins of error, or anything else other than he is WINNING.

Plain and simple, he is winning, and only electoral fraud or god forbid, assassination is going to stop this man from sitting in the White House January 20, 2009.

On that front, the McCain-Palin ticket is beginning to race-bait, starting a few days ago by inciting crowds to a frenzy, to the point where they have yelled out, 'Kill him', 'terrorist', and 'Off with his head', obviously referencing the junior Senator from Illinois. Is it just me, or is this seriously dangerous territory to be running on? The noble maverick-y candidate has clearly lost that honor he touts so frequently, if he ever really had it in the first place. Clearly the memories of the sting of George W's baseless attacks in 2000 have faded away, replaced by a hunger to win at all costs.

Obama is projecting out at 350+ on some electoral maps, and at least 300+ on some of the less ambitious or gutsy pollsters (270 to win). Nate Silver over at FiveThirtyEight.com, the single best polling site out there, has Obama winning 9/10 times in his electoral predictions, which all through the primaries proved to be about as rock-solid as can be.

It has never looked better for the good Senator in the 20 months he has been in this game, and I have a sneaky suspicion that trend will continue on through November 4.

Back to Canada, before we close.

Harper's poll numbers have been dwindling in the past week or so, down to the point where Dion is nearing the margin or error.

My belief is that his drop is two-fold. First, people are watching him brush off the economic crisis as nothing more than background noise, while watching the economy of the country where 80% of our exports go completely tank. If they have issues with liquidity, and being able to buy anything, let alone import our lumber and other commodities, who do you think is going to feel the pain first?

Harper has shown little to no leadership here, repeating over and over that the Canadian economy is strong. Platitudes and words are all well and good, but I want contingency plans, I want clear visions of what we can do if the US gets into really serious trouble. We get nothing but essentially this : 'Nah, don't worry about it, we're cool'. That doesn't suffice from a Prime Minister.

The second of those two folds is Dion, who has been coming on strong, starting in the English debate, where he actually showed he has the chops to stand toe-to-toe with Harper on the issues of the day.

I find this is what worried people, and myself, the most about a Dion government, that he would be a little weakling drip. I think he has shown that's not the case, and the only thing left is whether people get on board with the Green Shift, which is not a foregone conclusion by any sense.

Dion still has a communication problem, and with a complex, tax-shifting policy, that is a serious issue. I still don't think he will end up being Prime Minister, but if he can stem the Conservative flow to a majority, he's good in my books.

Jack has run strong so far, but he will never be PM with that orange albatross around his neck. Same with Elizabeth May, except hers is tinged Green. Both of these two are more effective communicators, and better leaders than Stephane Dion, and yet, they chose parties that can never actually govern.

Ideological people are great, and the people that end up really caring enough to effect change in the end, but at some point, you have to see the only path to 24 Sussex is a little red / blue road, not orange or green.

We are days away from Canada's choice, and about three weeks from the US's. This is special ground my friends (sorry to steal the line Johnny ;)), and this time in politics will be talked about and studied for a long time into the future.

Game-changing, ground-breaking, paradigm-altering races.

I'm just glad I'm around to take it all in.

Meeting Elizabeth May, Peter McKay , and Discussing Charter Rights

Well, it wasn't me, but it was my significant other, Lindsay.

She lives on the East Coast, in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, home of St Francis Xavier University, which she attends, and also the site of the local candidates debate for the riding of Central Nova last night.

In this riding, the very impressive Green Party Leader Elizabeth May is trying to wedge herself and the Greens into Parliament by knocking off Nova Scotia native son and Defense Minister Peter McKay.

At first glance, this does seem, frankly, insane. Going up against a Cabinet Minister, from a town within the riding, who is running for the party that has had an iron grip on the seat for decades, etc. But, all that outsider, fringe party, insurmountable stuff is getting turned on its head. May has a shot, and she showed why last night.

She was smart, on the ball, rational and reasonable, just like she was in the Federal debates last week. The crowd, chocked full of university students, was fully on her side, as the Liberals aren't running a candidate in the riding, and the NDP candidate is completely and utterly out of their league with two such strong and notable candidates.

She runs her campaign out of Antigonish, and clearly has a good chunk of the town on her side, just based on the amount of signs populating lawns. The riding is not just Antigonish however, as it covers a wide area, but May has more of a chance of knocking out McKay than any Liberal or NDP member has done so far.

After the debate, Lindsay got a chance to speak with both McKay and May, and got a chance to bring up the question to McKay that had gotten cut from the actual debate due to time constraints.

A little background before unleashing the whole story. The Nova Scotia Conservative provincial government has new regulations in place that force those that have taken prescription drugs for a disorder such as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder to declare those conditions and the drugs taken on their driver's licenses.

The government says it is due to safety concerns over people driving under the influence of medication, but that is a little hard to swallow with no evidence that these kinds of people have been a danger, or the drugs taken will impair driving ability.

So, basically what is in place now will force people to either admit to the public record their private medical conditions, or simply ignore treatment to avoid having to do so. Neither of those jives with my values as a Canadian.

I smell a Charter violation there, and so did Lindsay. So she decided to pose the question of the viability of such a law from a Charter standpoint to the one and only Peter McKay.

Now, while provincial and federal parties aren't specifically aligned together (In BC they couldn't be more of a separate entity), apparently on the East Coast it is much more of a central party than translates policy from the top down.

So, talking to a Cabinet member of the ruling Conservatives federally can very much have an impact on the Conservative party provincially.

She posed the question, they went back and forth and debated for 10-15 minutes, and then, the shining light appeared.

Peter McKay admitted the law was a violation of our Charter Rights, and pledged to do what he could to affect some positive change on the matter.

McKay went against his own party, and conversed with a constituent on a personal level. I admire that, and I have a lot more respect for the man now than I think I ever have. Up to this point, he seemed nothing more than the guy that was jilted by Belinda Stronach and sold his soul to Stephen Harper to unite the right.

They exchanged email addresses, and he also gave her some links and contact information for the provincial and federal health ministers, so that she could run down some of the details on her time.

Obviously, that doesn't mean the law is repealed, or that it will be tomorrow, but there is a commitment on record from a very powerful minister to the effect that it should be. That my friends, is a pretty big deal.

I want to congratulate Lindsay for standing toe-to-toe with a very seasoned politician, and winning him over in the end. That's not an easy task, especially when that politician resides in the spin and negativity of the right wing.

Just so you know I'm not fakin', here's the pics of Lindsay and Elizabeth May, and with Peter McKay

Presidential, Federal, Municipal, Oh My! - Election Tidbits From All Sides

There are so many elections and races going on right now, it's hard for the most fervent political fans to stay with everything that comes across the wire.

There are exciting races happening everywhere.

There is obviously the US Presidential elections, covered ad nauseum, the still-blooming federal election here in Canada, and for those of us in the Vancouver area, as I myself am, there is also the very intriguing Mayoral race to follow.

Whew.

First up, Vancouver Mayor.

I like the energy Gregor Robertson and his youth have brought to the campaign, and I have actually signed up to volunteer for him. He scored a huge boon yesterday when COPE and the municipal Green Party agreed to run a unified left wing slate against the NPA, and when COPE more importantly, chose not to run a candidate of their own, and instead back Robertson straight up.

That's huge, because a divided left wing is what handed Sam Sullivan the keys to City Hall in the first place three years ago.

Furthermore, I flat out disrespect the way Peter Ladner came into this race, sweeping the NPA's nomination away from Sam Sullivan, a man who just based on personal story, let alone being the sitting Mayor, deserves to run and defend his record. He will not get the chance to do that and has since stepped away from politics. It was a dishonest and immoral way to jump onto the main stage for Ladner, and simply, his whole campaign just feels dirty because of it.

Federal Election.

Dion is tanking, badly. He is running last in the province, and a shocking poll out today shows the Greens actually running second (!) to the Conservatives, and furthermore, they are only 2 points behind, 26%-24%

That is flat out amazing. Contained in that link is also the incredibly bad news for Dion and the Liberals, that they are running dead last in BC. The NDP support is flagging as well.

The real story in BC and across the country it seems, is with the Greens. This comes from a number of factors.

a) People don't really like Stephen Harper.
b) People think Stephane Dion is a drip, and they don't trust him.
c) Jack Layton comes off as a used car salesman.

People want some change, but they have nowhere to turn. The Barack Obama syndrome run amuck.

Jack can try to be Barack all he wants, and he can say the word change as many times as it can get past that 'stache, but he simply does not have the gravitas of the man across the 49th parallel.

There is no one fresh, except for Elizabeth May and her slate. She is benefiting from apathy with not one party, but three, and four if you count the Bloc, which I don't.

There has never been such a bland slate for a somewhat-fringe party to pick up gains from, but by God, this seems to be it. The Greens should do well this cycle, barring some unforeseen game-changer.

Harper is doing okay for the campaign he is trying to run, which is the 'make Dion look like shit' strategy. Dion is doing a lot of the job for him, but Harper is countering anything positive about the Liberals very effectively.

Bland, uninspiring campaign so far, except May, she is performing wonderfully.

Presidential Elections.

I honestly feel myself being a little soured towards the Presidential campaign right now. Firstly, the strict partisanship that everyone has aligned into, which completely squashes any kind of independent thought outside of what flows from Obama and McCain, which is then disseminated by talking heads and surrogates a thousand times over.

Secondly, I am a very rational person. I take everything, break it down, follow it to its logical end and go with it, and any time that doesn't happen, for me, is cause for a headache. McCain's lies, distortions and illogical explanations and justifications for those lies and distortions has caused me to reach for the aspirin too many times over the past few weeks, starting with the Palin nomination.

Mostly, it is her bare incompetence, but also the reasoning surrogates come up with as to why she isn't incompetent, such as, foreign policy - Russia is close to Alaska / energy (?), denials of the Road to Nowhere, especially after explicit evidence was found and distributed that she supported it, the whole Troopergate debacle that has now had about four different explanations, and the family rights anti-abortion advocate who says how happy she is for 'the choice her daughter made' when she wants to strip that very choice from those in the same situation.

And to see everyone lap it up has just kind of turned me off. McCain got a bounce out of it and is still running even with Obama in a lot of swing states and nationally. That honestly infuriates me. I cannot see how people can compare the two, on ideas, substance, actions, words, anything, and not see McCain is as transparent as a piece of saran wrap. It's like no one can see the incredibly grave risks posed by a McCain presidency, or they simply don't care.

The financial collapse of today has finally turned the attention off of lipstick and pigs and onto actual issues, which is a nice change of pace, and also completely out of McCain's comfort zone, which mainly consists of his POW time.

There are too many negatives with McCain, and so many positives with Obama, I'm not even going to attempt to fill the space. It would take the whole night.

I didn't mean to rant on the US race, but sometimes, you just have to go with what's going, and that went.

Bottom line, good news for Gregor Robertson, bad news for Dion, good news for May and the Greens, and bad news for anyone with a rational mind, and prone to headaches induced by right-wing talking points.

Election Tidbits - Greens Shut Out, Harper and Layton Fast Out of the Gate, Dion Lags

It looks like Elizabeth May and the Greens are going to be shut out of another leaders debate. The decision was made today by a group of Canadian television broadcasters who actually run the debates on their airwaves to only host the Conservative, Liberal, NDP and Bloc parties for the two debates slated for early October.

Unlike all the other times, this time I actually feel they should be there.

They are a legitimate national party now. They are not viable to form any kind of government, but neither is the NDP or the Bloc. They are running candidates in every single riding across the country, except one, which is a product of the ill-advised deal Stephane Dion made with May to not run candidates in each others ridings. (This works just fine for May, but as May herself is running against Peter Mackay, Dion might be thinking twice about not being able to run a candidate against the Foreign Minister) Also, as of the dissolution of Parliament, they actually had a sitting MP, as the near-disgraced, now-cleared but shunned by his former Liberals MP Blair Wilson had switched to Green stripes.

Maybe the Greens should have been let in last time, or the one before, but this time around, they have national prominence, and cannot be denied. More importantly, their main party issue should be injected into our national discourse in a major way.

May and the Greens are taking legal action to hopefully force their way onto the national stage. They've been doing a damn good job of it for over a decade now, and I hope the trend continues sometime in the next few weeks.

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

Jack Layton and Stephen Harper really jumped out of the starting blocks of the national campaign today, hitting hard on issues and trying to define their opponents, campaigns and themselves.

Stephane Dion on the other hand, has had more of a...slow start on the race.

His campaign plane will not be ready for another few weeks, even though this election had been on the horizon since the moment he sat for the first time as Liberal leader in Parliament. He is to be on a bus tour for the time in between, and began today with a rally in Montreal.

As you can see from a 24 Hours review of the event here , it didn't seem to lack too much punch and enthusiasm.

This is going to be a tough campaign for Dion just based on the issues (Green Shift), let alone having to battle problems with energizing his Liberal base and the electorate. This is a very uphill battle, and Dion started with a thud.

Harper, on the other hand, has been issuing election-style commercials for a few weeks now, and peppering Canadian mailboxes with fliers about leadership, the environment, crime, and all the other issues of the day. They have a big head start on the hearts and minds campaign, as the Harper commercials have been effective, showing ordinary people praising Harper's policies, and the man himself.



On a side note, I saw the first Liberal ad of the campaign, and it was highly unimpressive. It didn't seem to have a clear point, didn't convince anyone about the Green Shift, throwing out a bunch of cliche lines about creating jobs and making our economy stronger, without offering specifics. It closed with a very bad, grainy shot of Dion saying something about why he respects Canada. I say again, THUD.

(Note: I searched for a good 20 minutes trying to find the Liberal Party's ad on YouTube, but could not, and ironically, every search with the keywords 'liberal' 'party' 'election' 'ad' 'Canada' '2008', etc, ended up pulling up the Stephen Harper leadership commercials for the first 3-4 hits. Dion is losing the viral campaign already, and with this generation possibly going to the polls, that is a very necessary chord to hit)

Layton gave a fiery speech in Vancouver today, hitting the Conservatives hard on their environmental and social policies. Jack is trying to be the Canadian Obama, preaching about being the candidate of 'change', and right away, it seems to be working for him. He has the populist cred to run this kind of campaign, and with him paying no attention to Dion and all his attention to Harper, in a year where people seem to be largely apathetic towards Dion, and not entirely comfortable with Stephen Harper having a majority, he could steal a lot of left-leaning voters.

I honestly think we will end up in another Conservative minority government, but if Dion flubs, or people are not comfortable enough with him, or Jack, then it could lead to a big Conservative slide.

Jack has opportunities, so does Harper, and the Liberals are just trying to hang on.

Ahhh, feels like 2006 all over again.

I do also think this will be Dion's only election as leader, and he will be subtly, or not so subtly, pushed to the side after the almost assured loss. I think everyone that leans left of Bush in this country (Which would be the type of policies Stephen Harper in a majority setting would emulate to the fullest) is just hoping he doesn't blow it and condemn us to absolute rule by the Conservative Party, and then we'll move on to someone more capable of winning an election. Someone like Michael Ignatieff or Bob Rae, two men who should have been the last two in the leadership contest before Dion and Gerard Kennedy pulled their backstage deal to swipe the leadership away.

That aside, I have heard many people say in this cycle they will not vote Liberal or NDP, they will simply vote non-Conservative. Whatever works in their riding to ensure that seat is not held by a Conservative MP is what their vote is pointed towards. That concept will likely decide the makeup of our next Parliament more than anything the leaders have to say over the next 5 weeks, because with the polls showing a near tie amongst the Liberals and Conservatives, not many opinions are likely to change in just over a month, no matter how heavy the rhetoric and how prosperous the policy proposals are.

Republicans Seem to Like 'Time Since' Counters, Here's One For 'Em

We've all seen these countdown clocks. Time since Obama has been to Iraq. Time since Obama agreed to appear on Fox News and hasn't, etc.

I have an idea for a counter for the Democrats.

The time since Sarah Palin has been the Republican Vice Presidential nominee and has failed to hold a credible media appearance.

As of the publish of this story, at just after midnight PST, we are currently at 6 Days, 15 Hours and 40 minutes since Sarah Palin was officially introduced as McCain's VP.

Besides a fluff piece gone wrong with US Magazine , there has been nothing. Sarah Palin has been in a cocoon, being tutored and prepped by the finest of neocon strategists.

No press pools, no taking questions, no sit-downs with Brian Williams or spots on The View, nothing. She has been in virtual seclusion.

I think this shows just how little confidence McCain has in his pick to actually, y'know, answer substantive questions about her views on the issues of the day. As no one knows the views of someone who could be President in January if Johnny Mac drops, this might be a tad important to assure voters about the solidity of your ticket and your future administration. Call me crazy.

Apparently not though, as diaried earlier here , it looks like Palin isn't going to be available to beat this counter anytime soon, or even at all before November.

There might be a few heavily glossed, manufactured appearances, but no real journalist-to-politician situations, as apparently it's just too dangerous.

Is Johnny Mac and the right really planning this kind of strategy?

This is just plain weak, and it will make Palin, and McCain consequently, look shaky as all sin, shady, and untrustworthy.

The only way I see this kind of blackout ending is if there is a serious fuss made, and I think this clock can serve, if only tiny, a bit of that purpose.

I do think the media, after they get over caving to the McCain campaign's attacks against them over the honest reporting of the numerous Palin scandals, will begin to clamor for time with Palin, for sit-down interviews, press availability, anything, whether it be on the Straight Talk Express, the Straight Talk Private Jet, or the Straight Talk Hovercraft.

There should be pressure out there, but it doesn't mean we don't have to apply it too.

I'm not really a tech guy, so I can't create an actual clock, or something to that effect, but nudge, nudge, I'm sure there's someone in the Intertubes that could help out with that one...

6 Days, 15 Hours and 40 minutes since Sarah Palin was introduced as VP, and has failed to give a credible media appearance.

Start the counter people, I have a feeling it's going to run for a while.

Cross Posted on Daily Kos under the name Red Star

CNN Blinks and Fawns Over Palin - Pundit Live Blog Mishmash

I only had to watch about 5 minutes of post-speech coverage to see that yes, CNN has blinked. They have bent over for McCain AGAIN, and seem to be backing off Palin's numerous, and I mean NUMEROUS scandals.

The speech was light on the economy, and national security policy, but full of down to earth, real person rhetoric, which the stadium audience ate right up, and the so-called experts are now also scooping up heartily.

Ahahaha, Alex Castellanos just said that Palin is essentially the lead character in an 'Annette Benning movie', where the 'woman fights the good ol' boys network, wins, marries Michael Douglas, falls in love and lives happily ever after'. Castellanos is a longtime street fighter Republican, and this is how he, and the majority of his party see a pivotal woman's story playing out on the largest stage possible. This is the kind of respect that anybody but the rich and the pedigreed receive with this party. Anything else is pandering. Remember that.

Campbell Brown seems to have been put in her place as well, stating more than once how fantastic the speech was after nailing Palin's record to the wall yesterday. Wolf Blitzer, the man of the all-mighty beard, called the speech not only a home run, but a grand slam. John King, as always, is doing his best to not seem a strong partisan Republican, which, as always, is not going well. He even pulled out the Magic Screen to illustrate how many states George Bush won in the last election, as if that map has any bearing on this game-changer of an election.

Roland Martin is sllllllaming Palin right now for criticizing community organizers, saying they are the people who fight on the streets, and for people, and it should be a major talking point for Obama and Biden going forward. I agree, it could be huge, as those same organizers have great influence over generating people to go to that voter booth and cast a ballot. Who is that ballot going to be for, the campaign that mocked, or the campaign as essentially came from its roots? Nice, simple equation there.

Jeffery Toobin is making a point that I thought of during the speech as well, that Palin came off smug and sarcastic for a large chunk, kind of ruining her sweet hockey mom image.

He also cited the lie about her opposition to the Bridge to Nowhere, the lie about Barack Obama raising taxes, when taxes will fall for, he said 80%, Obama says 98%, of the middle class and the only increases will be for people making over $250k a year.

Lastly, making the most of his two minutes on the air, he said how Sarah Palin has in a sense lost the innocence around her, that she showed that she's a tough fighter tonight, and the Obama campaign will be less hesitant in the future to go after her. I like the fact that she came out that way, as absolutely no one likes to see a major leader be soft and weak in the face of pressure, but she, and McCain sure as hell better not cry smear campaign or character assassination or sexism any more. No one that goes out there and delivers a speech like that can ever again be portrayed as weak, or a victim, implicitly or not, ever again.

This thought made its way around the round table and seemed to get everyone's acquiescence. Excellent, no more sexism, Palin-is-the-victim memes. Well, at least for right now, I'm sure they'll be back in full force whenever they are on the defensive again, like say tomorrow, when the next scandal breaks loose about Alaskan independence, or women's rights, reproductive, contraceptive, or educational. She has a checkered past and no policy stands to speak of, and that will be an issue, speech or no speech.

Oops, Dana Bash just slipped and said "we", when referring to Republicans. Smooth, and clearly shows how independent her journalism is, if her words and actions didn't show that enough.

Wow, in a shocking act of actual journalism, Blitzer is stating McCain doesn't have executive experience, and has been part of the 'Washington establishment' for more than the last 25 years. Castellanos blew it off by again hitting the POW theme (Good lord, can that be referenced again, I think I forgot what happened) and it then was passed over, but still, nice to actually see some honesty flowing around.

Christ, Campbell Brown has pulled a complete 180, now defending Palin, on sexist grounds, against a statement by Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader for issuing a statement saying that 'shrill, partisan attacks do not change the fact that McCain-Palin is four more years of failed Bush Cheney policies. Wow, Dana Bash agrees, there's a surprise. Nice how a few minutes after saying Palin will be attacked now, saying she opened that door, the first attack that rolls off the wire after the speech is ripped to shreds, portraying Palin as a victim of sexism.

That's it, that's all, I'm done with CNN for the night. Republicans give me a headache, and watching Guiliani go two minutes without referencing 9/11 was almost enough to shock me into a seizure even before the mind-numbing right-wingness of Sarah Palin barracuda'ed (Heh) onto the stage. Twenty minutes of praise for the campaign that embarrassed the network and made them all look like shit not even 24 hours ago is enough to make me flick off for the night.

Live Blogging the Palin VP Acceptance Speech

She's kept it pretty 'down home' so far, talking about humble roots, her family, her husband, introducing her and her family to the world, as most know literally nothing about her.

She just dropped what is honestly a very good dig at Obama, explaining that being the mayor of a small town is 'like a community organizer, with actual responsibilities' Snap!

She's now bringing up the 'bitter' comment, which Guiliani did too. She's painting Obama as an elitist, and McCain as a straight talking good guy. She just made a comment about how John McCain is 'the same person wherever he goes'. I wonder if she knows about McCain's switching out of the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers in his POW story of the mental trick he used during interrogations based on whatever state he's in at the time?

There seems to be an image behind Palin now of a fiery explosion. Nice symbolism guys. No need to tie her to y'know, a bomb or anything, as it's not like she's fighting the image of being a bomb as a candidate...

Now she's saying she opposed earmarks and pork. Weird how Alaska ranks first in earmark money and Palin was cited by McCain at least 3 times in her term for unnecessary earmark diversion to her state. Let's also toss her connection to Jack Abramoff into the mix, as we seem to be on an anti-Washington establishment theme here. Real true reformers here guys and girls.

Oh, and she just repeated her 'thanks but no thanks' lie about the infamous 'Bridge to Nowhere', which she campaigned upon in her election as Governor, fought for, then kept money intended for the bridge after Washington killed it. Now though, it went down with her rejecting federal funds. Well, about that little nugget of a lie Sarah, thanks but no thanks.

She's actually discussing policy now, instead of taking shots and giving a bio, saying that the Alaskan oil pipeline will essentially solve America's foreign oil dependency. Yea, maybe after drilling in the pristine Alaskan National Wildlife Preserve, which she supports fully, by the way.

Geez, again they are going after Obama for 'not having a record' when he's spearheaded dozens of bills fighting against nuclear proliferation, government transparency and other major issues, going across the aisle to do so. Message to Republicans, stop beating this dead horse, it's just going to backfire.

Now apparently Obama again lacks specifics, even though he went line by line through his plan last Thursday in front of 75,000 in person and almost 40 million at home, listing off exactly how his policies will be laid out and paid for, and exactly who they will benefit. But I guess facts and statements aren't really applicable, this is the RNC after all.

She's also hitting a Libertarian kind of theme (Or maybe it's that Alaskan Independence streak, who knows), saying that more controls will be coming from Washington under an Obama Administration. Yes, that is true, and I must ask Gov. Palin, has the deregulation and 'freedom' of the past 8 years has really worked out all that well?

Here comes the 'hard facts' on Obama as a tax raiser. This is in spite of the fact that 98% of families will be getting tax cuts under his tax plan, and only the richest would see an increase. 'Hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes' under Obama she says. Well, when the top two percent control that much, then yea, it could be a number like that. But lets keep letting the gap between rich and poor grow larger, that's definitely a better idea Sarah.

I must say though, she seems very comfortable up there, very smooth, doesn't seem nervous, and is very down to earth. I know that's what they're trying to push, and I know she didn't actually write the speech, but she sure is reading it well. Almost like someone who used to be a sportscaster (Oh wait, that was what she studied in college, wasn't it?).

This is quite a hard-hitting speech though, and she is delivering it well. This is very much what Palin needed to do tonight, which was essentially her first platform as a national politician.

She just mentioned McCain was a POW for about the 27th time as well. She's basically saying McCain should be President almost as a reward (!) for being a POW. Apparently his POW experience also counts as foreign policy cred now too (Well if being geographically close to Alaska counts, I suppose this could too). Never mind of course McCain's POW colleague Phillip Butler said McCain should actually be disqualified from running because of the physical and mental strain of his POW days. McCain's judgment because of his POW status counts...not this guy.

The speech is over, she ended with another McCain is a POW mention. Shocking. The whole Palin family, secessionists and baby-mommas in a row, are now on stage, and Palin is holding her son Trig, in a nice family moment.

Johnny Mac is on stage now, saying only a few words, thanking Palin and saying he is sure he made the right choice.

They're switching over to the pundits now, and I'm interested to see if they will heed to McCain's criticism earlier today about their supposed 'smear campaign' (read: truthful journalism) about Sarah Palin. Will they fawn, or will they break it down honestly?

We'll see, and I'll try to be back for an end of the night recap later.

It was about as good as the Republicans and Palin could have hoped for, as she hit all the points, introduced herself well, and slammed Obama in a few new and interesting ways. Interesting night, we'll see how it plays out in the news and the polls.

I was just about to publish and realized that I need to add something else.

CNN is bullshit. Plain and simple. They never once broadcast the closing pledge of allegiance and national anthem during the DNC, and yet here it gets full coverage. Who comes off as more patriotic of the parties then? Nice and classy, as CNN always is. Oh and now, they're keeping the main feed on the stage for 'Raising McCain', a pro-McCain country song performed by John Rich. Real objective guys, thanks for showing your true stripes.

Federal Election in October All But Assured After Harper and Dion Meet and Decide They Cannot Play Nice

Along with the attention-grabbing US election, it looks like Canadians are also going to go to the polls this fall.

Stephane Dion came out of a meeting with Stephen Harper at 24 Sussex Drive this afternoon and announced to reporters that there was going to be a fall campaign, because he wouldn't give Harper a "blank cheque to govern".

Everyone seems to be on board this time, unlike the near misses in the past.

Dion has been Liberal leader for almost 2 years now, and apparently has been backed into enough of a corner to have at least the appearance of growing a set. Harper seems to be more than willing to violate his own fixed election date law that sets our next federal election for 2009. Jack Layton responded to that move by saying essentially that if Harper wants to quit his job he'll be first in line to apply for it. Gilles Duceppe has pledged to hold a confidence vote, with or without any support.

So here we are folks, ready to mark ballots again.

The competing themes will be leadership from the Conservative side, and the Green Shift policy put forth by Dion.

I would go over the NDP and Bloc approaches, but those haven't changed much. For the NDP, bitch about anything that gets traction, and for the Bloc, bitch about not getting enough support from Ottawa even though you want to separate entirely. Oh, and the Greens, how could I forget? Bitch about the environment and run your leader against one of the highest profile Conservatives in a safe, deep blue riding. Smmmart.

I've actually been meaning to write about the outreach I've been seeing in my mailbox from the Conservative party for a while now, so this seems as good a spot as any to do so.

I have now gotten 4 separate mailers from the Conservatives, about Strong Leadership, Youth Crime, Senate Reform and Clean Air.

They are all stacked with facts, figures, policy standpoints, and imagery that is thought-provoking. Me and my fiancee had a separate conversation each time one of them came in the mail, sparking conversation about the Conservative stances. On leadership and Senate reform, I found myself on the Conservative side of things, which is an odd sensation to say the least.

I do think Harper is a stronger national and international player for Canadian interests than Stephane Dion would be. I don't care for Harper's policies when it comes to free trade and relations with the Bush Administration, but I can take some good with the bad, especially when compared with Paul Martin's Panderbear foreign and domestic policies.

On the Senate, I've been on the reforming train for as long as I have understood the Canadian political process. In no modern democracy should we have an unelected, highly paid, patronage-infested body, which serves almost no purpose other than to rubber stamp. The Senate as is, is nothing more than a money pit which lends itself to cronyism, as all members are essentially there as a reward for a career of party loyalty. This does not jive with a functional democracy. There does need to be a check on Parliament, as we cannot have one sole elected body, especially with a majority government, as that setup is essentially a dictatorship anyways.

We need a Senate that represents all areas of the country equally, with 2 or 3 members for each province, with elections that run opposite Parliamentary cycles.

That is plain and simple, but Dion does not agree, as the Liberals have a heavy majority in our unelected chamber, due to being the governing party an overwhelming majority of the time in Canadian history. Most Canadians are on the side of reform, some on abolishment, but I do not see too many advocating for the status quo on this one.

I'm not saying I agree with the information as a whole, and definitely not on punishing our youth harder as opposed to rehabilitating them, or that Harper is on the right side of the climate change argument, despite his attempts, but the point is they are providing information, and the Liberals are not.

The Conservatives have also debuted a series of commercials to define Harper as a strong leader for Canada, and surprisingly, they don't take shots at Dion, they're simple record pieces on Harper to show people he is the best leader for Canada right now. They are with ordinary people; blue collar workers and soccer moms, listing with emotion and certainty the Conservative accomplishments since in power, and how those accomplishments helped their daily lives and made them feel safer.

Harper does still have a sizable 'creepy problem', as shown in the closing seconds of the ad, when he is sitting down, perched forward with his elbows on his knees, wearing a sweater, and smiling into the camera. It doesn't seem normal, and honestly, it gives me the willies. All in all though, he is in people's hearts and minds more than Dion, by a long shot.

Dion, as detailed in a previous article, available off the right side of this page, has a serious communication issue, as even after 2 years, most Canadians don't know or trust him enough to mark Liberal in their riding come October.

There are of course areas that will remain Liberal until the day this country dies, but there are a lot of battleground-type areas available for either side, with the NDP spoiling a race here or there.

BC is a big toss up, with a left-leaning, green-based ideology perfectly suited to swing Liberal. I've lived here my whole life, and I still cannot understand why the majority of BC seats are as blue as the sky. Partially it is a symptom of the incompetent provincial NDP party, as people have trouble dividing federal parties from their essentially unaffiliated provincial brethren.

But aside from that, it comes down to delivery, to speaking to people's concerns everywhere, not just in Southern Ontario and across the St Lawrence seaway.

Harper can and will nab Alberta easily, but with a concerted effort, a few of those seats further West can swing the other way.

Dion must spend the next two months connecting with people, traveling coast to coast and convincing them that his Green Shift is the way to go for the country.

The Conservatives have spent almost their entire time in power trying to build up their cred on green issues, but it all has rung rather hollow, leaving Dion the opportunity he needs to kick the door in to a serious electoral advantage. Dion needs to hit that note, and hit it hard, convincing people not only is his plan the way to go, but that environmental issues are the most pressing of our time. His whole policy book is built around the Green Shift, so people need to see the environment as above their pocketbook, because that is where the Green Shift is going to hit them.

Dion has said the Shift will be revenue neutral, but that isn't the kind of language that people are going to get in line with everywhere, especially with Harper hammering home the fact that it is a tax increase, leaving aside the incentives and tax cuts elsewhere. As I have said previously, the Green Shift is not an effective campaign strategy, although it is likely a great governing strategy. Hard truths are not easy to campaign on, especially when you have communication and trust issues with the electorate.

The Conservatives are hitting home with their mailers and ads, and Dion needs to jump on this before it is too late. Leadership will be the question, as it always is, but Dion's supposed test of leadership will be defined by how people view the Green Shift. If they don't agree, then Dion and the Liberals are in serious trouble, and Harper might get the majority government he so craves.

We'll find out in the next two months what the Canadian people see as the best road forward, and during that time, we will also see the most dynamic and important US Presidential election ever held.

For pols, such as myself, the fall season isn't going to be about new shows, it's going to be about policy proposals and politics at the highest levels. It's going to be busy, and I'm going to be loving every minute of it.

McCain Taps Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (???) for VP

Ok, McCain has officially sold the last shred of his soul.

He has chosen the 44-year-old, scandal-ridden, Governor of Alaska for all of 2 years Sarah Palin as his running mate.

She is largely unknown, because she hasn't really done a thing. She was the mayor of a 6000 person village three years ago, and now she's supposed to be ready to step in for the 72-year-old with a history of cancer at any moment as President of the United States. To quote Wayne, of Wayne's World, 'Chyyya...ruhight'

This is a straight pander-pick, in a couple of different ways. Firstly, she is a staunch conservative, anti-choice, and a creationist, for the Roves and Huckabees of the right wing. Secondly, she has a vagina, which of course means that all disaffected Hilary supporters will swing over to vote for a woman, basing absolutely nothing on policy, and everything simply on matching reproductive organs. Right-o.

This shows some serious desperation on McCain's behalf to make some sort of energetic splash with his pick, to stifle the wave Obama is riding after his speech of a lifetime last night and his bang-on pick of Joe Biden as his running mate. This really does nothing to help him, and simply casts some serious doubt on that 'judgment' he's always harping on as an edge.

Also, as an added benefit of choosing someone with less of a resume than the Democrat who you lambaste for not having enough of a resume, McCain has effectively ended the 'experience' meme against Obama, and really showed how off-base it was to start with. I think that was ended last night anyways, but this is the nail in the coffin.

I'm just trying to sort out all the negatives here, too many to count.

Biden is going to rip her to shreds too in surrogate battles and the VP debate. He has more experience and political skills in his pinky than she does in her whole career.

A lot of people are comparing this to the Dan Quayle pick of '88, as Palin is completely out of her league and her depth, and that was also a mega pander of a pick by HW Bush. I think this comparison is dead on, as Palin really brings nothing to the table besides her age and gender, which is not all that should be on the docket of someone who is a heartbeat from being President.

All in all, I'd say this is about the best news possible. Pawlenty would have brought a lot of credibility as a Governor to the table. Romney would have brought name recognition and a bevy of cash, even Lieberman can stand on his own two feet based on his experience and record, but nope, lets shelve all these experienced, qualified candidates, and just choose the best right-wing woman available. Good job Johnny.

I'm just sitting her shaking my head, and thinking how much has changed since yesterday morning. Obama passed the commander in chief test with a speech of a lifetime and McCain made the biggest error of his political career.

Wow, what a change a day can make.

The Obama Speech

That was simply amazing. It was the best speech by a politician, or by anyone for that matter, that I have ever heard, hands down.

He did everything he needed to do, hit every area he needed to hit, and dropped more than one notable, time-enduring quote.

It started with a biographical video beforehand that was so deeply personal it let everyone know exactly who Barack Obama is and where he came from. He alluded to this in his speech as well, and I'm paraphrasing here, that his upbringing was not that of any celebrity, taking a shot at that particular and ridiculous narrative, and hopefully putting it to bed for good now that people understand his roots.

It was about his mother, his grandparents, his childhood and his romance and marriage to Michelle. His work in the streets, eschewing a life on Wall Street or in a prestigious law firm. His career in the Illinois State Senate, where he made his first mark. It was a complete picture of the man Barack Obama, and then Senator, candidate and future President Obama walked onto the stage.

He hit McCain on everything. His ties to Bush, voting record, his temperament, (which I found to be particularly outstanding, as that is one of my bigger fears of a McCain presidency, the fact that that hothead is going to have his finger on the button), domestic policy, Katrina, everything. And the beauty of it all was it was not done in a petty way, or a cheap way, but in a calm, rational, respectful way, which always has more resonance than say, the Rush Limbaugh, battering you to dust style of politics.

It was a strong, tough speech, and it showed the fighter that Obama is, which should allay some fears about his perceived weaknesses against McCain's supposed strengths of judgment and leadership skills.

He hammered McCain on Iraq, Afghanistan and the War on Terror, saying, "John McCain said he would follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell, but he won't even follow him to the cave that he lives in." Wow.

Then there was the domestic issues, where he clearly defined every single major policy piece he is laying out. That was the major worry of many, that there was no details, but that cannot be said now.

There was a lofty promise as well, that the United States will not be dependent on oil from the Middle East within 10 years.

10 years! Amazing.

He also made it very, very clear that the ads McCain is running stating he is going to raise taxes on the middle class are completely false, stating flat-out that 95% of middle class families will get a tax cut, and under McCain, those cuts would go to corporations and oil companies. Great contrast.

Tax credits for hybrid vehicles, to the producers and the buyers. $150 billion into renewable energies like wind and solar power.

Most importantly, a vision for the future, not a continuation of the past.

And all on the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech.

Even the most Republican of the CNN 'pundits' are lauding the speech. Alex Castellanos, who is a straight-up Republican street fighter, said that whomever didn't get chosen to be the Republican VP is "a lucky Republican". Whoa, THAT is some serious praise.

Do you really think John McCain is going to be able to compete with that one week from tonight? No way in hell. Word is he is still trying to give away tickets to his 10,000-strong VP announcement in Ohio tomorrow. The 75,000 tickets for this speech were gone within hours, and were actually being sold (The tickets were free by the way) on Craigslist for upwards of $1000/pair. I'd call that an enthusiasm gap.

Barack Obama inspires me like no other politician I have ever seen. I know I will be talking about him to my children and grandchildren the way people talk about Kennedy, and in Canada at least, Pierre Trudeau. In the video that kicked off Obama's time, there was a quote that I'm going to carry with me for a long time, that is going to define a lot of what I do with my life, and a lot of what Barack Obama has done with his.

"You see a situation, and you think, well that's not right, someone should change that. Then you realize that no one is going to change it unless you do."

Perfect.

Fox News Reporter Greeted with Chants of "F**k Fox News" After Venturing into Anti-War Protest in Denver

Just had to put this up. It's too beautiful for words.

Well, except three words...

The fun begins about 1:30 in.

Obama-Biden - A More In-Depth Look

My VP allegiance has swung a bit during the build-up, but in the last week or so, I found myself pulling hard for Joe Biden.

I was a Sebelius fan for a while there until I became convinced that she alongside with Obama, would be prime targets for a 'no experience' line of attack from the McCain campaign, and would compound Obama's biggest problem, his lack of experience.

Quick note, I don't think experience should be a huge issue in most elections, this one especially. I think every leader, when they sit behind that desk for the first time, is a bit daunted by the challenges that lie in front of them. The best thing for any leader to have isn't necessarily a long resume, but good judgment to confront those challenges in ways that progress the nation.

Anyways, I'm getting a bit off point.

Experience is an issue with this electorate though, as they are not all simply clones of myself, and so Obama not choosing someone with one of those long resumes could be an issue, shake people's confidence in what his administration would really bring to the table, etc.

So you go with experience, easy, there are plenty of people in and out of Washington that can fit that bill, right?

Problem is, when you base your whole campaign on a theme of sweeping change and eliminating the lobbyist culture and scuzzy politics of Washington, D.C., picking someone with experience is also problematic. (My what a tight rope to walk!)

So as we see, walking that rope deftly, as always, Obama has chosen a 33-year Senate veteran who, for those 33 years, has never held a residence in Washington, and never had time to fall under those special influences. A person who takes an Amtrak train every day to and from DC from his home state of Delaware.

Watching Biden and Obama on stage together Saturday, and hearing them speak only confirmed all the positives I saw in the past few weeks with the idea of this ticket.



Most of the response to Biden from the media, and the party, seems to be fairly positive, with Gov. Ed Rendell saying, "He speaks our language", and Gov. Ted Stricland quoted, "...his humble Pennsylvania roots give him a deep understanding of the challenges facing Ohio families."

There are of course the Hillary supporters who are threatening to jump ship again to the (incredibly misogynistic) John McCain, but after the convention, where the Clintons will be getting two nights to speak, and Hillary's name will be placed in roll for the nomination, showing her the respect she does rightly deserve, hopefully a chunk will see the light and come back.

Joe Biden has an almost unparalleled level of experience with foreign policy issues, grew up in a small Pennsylvania factory town, made himself into a multi-term powerhouse of a US Senator, has pushed legislation to fight violence against women and fills in all the areas Obama seemingly lacks on that ever-important resume.

He has a silver tongue and whipcrack of a wit, and he seems to have no bones about taking Republicans to task. I frankly think that McCain will have to factor this into his choice, as if he picks someone safe with relatively little charisma, who isn't quick on their feet, Biden will embarrass and destroy them come the VP debate and subsequent interactions between the campaigns.

His personal story, aside from all the success in the Senate, is also very inspiring.

He overcame personal tragedy with the death of his first wife and young daughter, two weeks after he was first elected to the Senate at age 29, and then proceeded to commute every day from DC to care for his two sons in the decades following. One of those sons went on to be the Attorney General of Delaware and is shipping out to Iraq in the coming months.

I'm sure more will be said about Joe Biden in the coming months, not all of it good, as with nearly every politician, he has his flaws, but he was by far the best VP choice out there for Obama to make.

VP picks can be dicey, especially for someone who has no scandals to their name for Republicans to hammer upon. Obama is essentially tying himself to Biden, and everything that comes with him. I don't forsee any problems, but I don't think anyone saw Rev. Wright coming either.

I'm sure I'll take up many more pixels talking about Joe Biden, but for now, I'll keep everything simple.

When the microphones went cold on Saturday in front of the Old Capitol Building in Springfield, Illinois, I was struck with the simple thought that this election was over, and that Joe Biden was that final piece of the puzzle to winning this thing and convincing people that Obama does have the skills, and the team, to get the job done.

Obama-Biden Will Be the Ticket to Win

It's been leaked.

Joe Biden will be Barack Obama's running mate for the 2008 election.

It's been confirmed by the AP, DKos, HuffPost, and CNN.

No time for links and such, but Joe Biden will be introduced, and the much-fabled text message sent out, tomorrow morning.

Obama-Biden '08 sounds damn good to me.

Biden to Georgia a GOP Monkey Wrench for VP Timing?

I was thinking last night while reading some speculation over when Barack Obama is going to choose his VP, that Joe Biden's trip over to Georgia is going to really mess with the timing of a pick, especially if that pick is, as I hope, Joe Biden.

His presence was requested by Georgian President Saakshvili but it still smells a tad fishy to me.

There's been far too many Diaries already posted on the merits of Kaine, Bayh, Sebelius, etc, so I won't get into anything in that regard, but what I will say simply is from the group that is apparently shortlisted, Joe Biden would be, by far, the best choice available in my humble opinion.

Now, with the Olympics winding down on Sunday of this week, and the Democratic convention opening a week from today, Obama is running out of time to choose, at least if he wants to get 2-3 days of positive (hopefully) spin before the Olympics ceremonies overshadow anything political.

The convention is already going to dominate the news, so that isn't the place we would see an announcement, if we're talking pure publicity, which should always be part of the conversation.

So, the way I see things, the nod should come, at the latest, on Wednesday, giving at least two days of solid coverage, effectively removing John McCain from the news cycle until after Obama gives his 75,000-strong acceptance speech next week.

With all of that said, Joe Biden, the strongest VP choice available, is not in the country to stand with Obama, appear on stage or in front of microphones, hug, look good as a team, etc, etc, that would come along with such an announcement.

Biden isn't gone forever, but he likely won't be back until Thursday at the earliest, which isn't ideal time-wise.

I think I've gone far enough into this Diary without covering the actual title, so here goes. Georgia just had the US get its back over the war with Russia, hard. Georgia owes the current leadership in Washington a lot, and I think Mr. Bush might be cashing at least some of his chips with Saakshvili right here and now.

With the election being such a 'horse race' in the minds of many, despite so many reasons why it should not be, every little jab, stall tactic or delay is important. If Obama loses a day of publicity over his VP pick, so much the better for Johnny Mac, and for the Republican Party.

Obviously there is no hard evidence here, and I have no quotes from George, McCain or Saakshvili to point towards this hypothesis, and with Joe Biden's serious foreign relations cred, I can understand why he was the pick, but it's all just very convenient.

Maybe it's Saakshvili soaking up his 15 minutes on the international stage as much as possible, using his newfound ironclad allegiance with the US to show his own people how strong of a leader he is, cavorting with the US Secretary of State, and along with Lieberman and Graham, three heavyweight US Senators, who knows for sure.

Of course, no one knows who Obama is going to pick, and it could be Bayh or Kaine anyways, but I just hope if it was set to be Biden, that the announcement timing doesn't alter the decision, because while the VP pick is important for so many other reasons, the timing, and the control of the news cycle that one gets out of such a high profile choice is really what counts at this time of the year.

I don't think Obama would really toss Biden into the dumpster alongside the Superticket (sorry Hill) simply because of a scheduling conflict, but in the minutiae-heavy Presidential race we find ourselves in, every little tit or tat counts.

Cross-Posted at Daily Kos under the name Red Star

Russia and Georgia - Squashing the Narrative

I've been struck more than once by the utter hypocrisy of the US, and leaders around the world in their response to the Russia-Georgia war.

George W Bush was quoted as saying that invading a sovereign nation in the 21st century was 'unacceptable' (Blogger's note : Was the Iraq War in the 21st century? Someone remind me when that started). Former UN Ambassador and certified nut John Bolten said Russia was trying to re-create the Soviet Empire. John McCain jumped into this narrative as well, accusing Putin and Medvedev of wanting to reform not the Soviet, but the Russian Empire.

Wow.

That is some serious and heavy rhetoric.

I wonder why then that these kind of words were not tossed around say, back in the summer of 2006, when Israel launched their own little 'destroy the thorn in our side' war with Lebanon?

Or maybe in 2002, when the US was prepping for their 'thorn in the side' war with Iraq?

Squashing long-standing enemies seems to be so en vogue in this century of ours, that Russia's war in Georgia is fairly in-line with the example world powers have set over the last eight years.

To say that this is Russia's war, that Russia started, also seems to be the most popular way to frame the conflict in the West.

The basic timeline is this : South Ossetia is a breakaway province that wants independence, Georgia attacked South Ossetia to try and regain its grip over them, after a small terrorist attack by South Oseetia rebels, and Russia rolled in in an attempt to stabilize.

Now, from there, Russia has certainly been opportunistic, looking to squash the country, and a leader, that has been opposed to them for a while now, and who is very pro-US. They have bombed airports, bridges and civilian housing complexes. These are tragedies of course, but were they viewed as tragedies when those airports, bridges and bodies were Lebanese, or Iraqi? Of course not.

I want to make special note of the Lebanon conflict, because it mirrors this one in many ways. A small group, Hezbollah, kidnapped a few Israeli soldiers on a cross-border raid. While Hezbollah is headquartered in a small tract in Lebanon, a strip along the Israeli border, the entire country was razed with missiles, gunships and a ground invasion. It was collective punishment for allowing Hezbollah to exist in their nation. We all knew this at the time, and yet, there was nothing but support for Israel, that they were defending themselves, and were only fighting defensively, etc.

Now, in the very same sense, Russia is protecting it's territorial integrity by warring with a party on its border that has instigated a conflict. And yet, Russia is seen as the aggressor in this case, and Israel the victim in theirs.

It's all PR, it's all spin, and it's all about the false narrative that Russia is the new threat to everything that is holy and good. The Cold War worked brilliantly for those who use the politics of fear, and with under 90 days until the US elects Mr. Bush's successor, this feels like a rehash of that, with a dash of terrorist ties and a pinch of misplaced self-righteousness.

Think of a situation like this : In Mexico, along the US border, there is a group that wants independence, and they are prepared to fight for it. They run border raids across into the US, they attack Mexican interests. Mexico tries to stamp them out, but the US feels they need to protect their security as well, and of course, they feel they can do it better than any Mexican ever could, so they roll in to put out the rebellion, and then see the opportunity to shape the country in their image.

I know this isn't the perfect example, but it is an elected government, on the border of a world power, whose internal machinations have spilled over their own borders, and have sparked an international incident.

Vladimir Putin has been steadfast in his rejection of the disingenuous criticism from around the globe. He called out George as well, questioning why it was okay for the US to execute Saddam Hussein for gassing a few villages tens of thousands of miles from the US borders, but a war of aggression on Russia's border was not cause for a response.

I don't agree with Russia's actions here, so please, don't get my point confused. I am against any conflict like this, like Iraq, like Lebanon, like any smaller nation that gets stomped by a larger power for doing something that power saw as 'unacceptable'. What I am attacking in this piece is the hypocritical narrative laid out.

The US seems to also be stoking the flames of the war a bit by airlifting Georgian troops out of Iraq, where Georgia has the largest military contingent apart from the US and Britain, right into the conflict zone back home.

Understandably, Putin was a tad incredulous as to why a supposed ally would hamper another major allied power's efforts so directly, but, the main handbook on US foreign policy seems to still be 'do as I say, not as I do'.

There are also now whispers here and there of WWIII (Rush Limbaugh), and the fact that Russia has provided plans and built reactors for Iran seems to be at the top of the news again.

I'm not really sure just how WWIII would start, seeing how the US doesn't have the forces outside of Iraq to be able to even perform peacekeeping in Georgia, let alone fight Russia in an all-out war. That would likely require a draft, which is a different theme for a different article.

Funny thing is, the timing on these stories, and the expansion of the anti-Russian narrative is just immaculate, almost like state media, trumpeting the President's message for all the people to hear.

The bottom line is this, Russia's actions, while not desirable, are within the boundaries that have been set for international conflict of this kind. The US set the precedent of a world power having the justification to invade another sovereign nation based on their own suppositions, and nothing else. Israel continued this line in 2006 with Lebanon, and now Russia has its turn at the plate.

No one is in the right, or no one is in the wrong, the US doesn't get to play both ways on this one, they've gone too far to have that right any longer.