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SARAH PALIN’S SCHOOL OF LOW EXPECTATIONS
“Good mornin’ class. It’s sure nice to see so doggone many happy faces smilin’ up at me today, right here in America, the bestest country ever. For those of you whose memory isn’t what it used to be—and whose is, boy-howdy—my name is Sarah Palin. I was John McCain’s runnin’ mate against President Barack Obama in the last election.
“Now, I’m not gonna sugarcoat it, I’m gonna give it to you straight, without the media elite twisting my words into pretzels, or that snooty Katie Couric pullin’ ‘gotchya’ stunts tryin’ to make me sound like a bimbo.
“I lost that election. But I’m not a loser and neither are you!
“That’s today’s lesson at the Sarah Palin School of Low Expectations—we are winners if we say so. Nobody but us can set the bar for our success, and the secret of life is to set that bar so low you’ve already crossed it.
“As I look around the room and see the Wall Street executives and CEOs, the religious leaders and educators, the Dancing With The Stars ex-contestants and Republican ex-senators lookin’ back at me, I can see the question in your eyes. ‘Can I take advantage of the same trick that got Sarah Palin, beauty queen and governor of Alaska—which is almost a state—through a disastrous campaign with a twinkle in her eyes and an allurin’ grin on her adorable face? Will the magic of low expectations work for me?
“You betchya!
“If I can do it, anyone can do it. I don’t think it’s a big secret that I had absolutely no business even bein’ considered Vice Presidential material by John McCain or anyone else. The only difference between me and Dan Quayle is that he’s prettier and he went further in the spellin’ bee. He got tripped up when the liberal media asked him to spell potato and I flunked out on moose.
“But Dan Quayle didn’t know my system. He let that potato make him a loser, but I didn’t let no moose do that to this hockey mom! I shot that sucker square between the eyes and served it to my big, main-street, American family for dinner.
“Low expectations works! When I got my tush handed to me by that smart-aleck Joe Biden during our debate, the whole world thought I’d broken even, at worst!
“Why? Because I had carefully set the bar so low I couldn’t have tripped over it in five-inch heels. All I had to do was keep a seductive smile on my lips while stringin’ random English words together not answerin’ the questions until the light told me to stop, and I was a winner!
“Was I nervous? Course I was! One time my stomach got so jumpy durin’ some foreigner policy question or something that I let out a smelly. You can see ‘can I call you Joe’ make the uglyface when it hit him. But nobody knew because I squeaked it out. If the microphones don’t pick it up, it never happened.
“Remember that class. Never let ‘em see you sweat. Or hear you fart.
“So you’ve had a rough time of it lately. Your company went bankrupt, the government had to bail out your golden parachute, Charlie Rose doesn’t answer your phone calls anymore, you can’t get a decent table at TGI Fridays and your kids tell all their friends at Groton that you’re a fireman.
“Big deal. Tell ‘em that’s just what you wanted! That’s your story and you’re sticking to it.
“Well, jeez-o-flip, class, I see we’re almost out of time. Here are your homework assignments.
“I want you Wall Street fellas to write, in your own words—no cheaties—why you’re happy your companies went bust and got bought by Dubai because, unlike Ken Lay, you’re not in jail, or dead.
“Religious leaders, tell me how your wife is totally behind raising the bastard child you had with that call girl, because you’ve both always wanted to help the underprivileged.
“And you Republicans—well, gosh almighty, I know it’s gonna be hard—but I want you to put on your little spin beanies and write an essay about how you’re glad you lost the election because you broke every toy in the store and mommy told you to go home and stay in bed while the Democrats try to clean up your mess.
“Class dismissed, you cute rascals. Next week we’ll practice ‘the wink.”
Voter Fraud Epidemic - ACORN Accused - 9 States Involved So Far.
Taxpayers Paying for Voter Fraud Schemes - FBI Involved
Voter rolls have expanded by about 4 million voters in a dozen key states — 11 Obama targets that were carried by George W. Bush in 2004 (Ohio, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Indiana, Missouri, Colorado, Iowa, Nevada and New Mexico) plus Pennsylvania. Allegation of fraud is at its highest levels ever. In Ohio you can register , simultaneously receive and immediate vote a mail ballot without identification or any verification. There are reports of people going from one county to another registering and voting. ACORN with a record of favoring Democrats two to one appears to be at the middle of many of these fraud schemes using federal money to pay bounties to register voters. In Nevada the Dallas Cowboy football team have been registered to voter.
In Florida , Democratic registration gains this year are more than double those made by Republicans; in Colorado and Nevada the ratio is 4 to 1, and in North Carolina it is 6 to 1. Even in states with nonpartisan registration, the trend is clear — of the 310,000 new voters in Virginia , a disproportionate share live in Democratic strongholds. In 2004 I was involved in registering or reregistering over 5,000 Republican voters in 4 weeks in California until the local and state party interfered in the business operations and I shut the very successful operation down.
Rasmussen Reports interviewed 21,000 voters over the past six weeks and adjusts is partisan mix accordingly. Those “targets” nationally are notw 39.3% Democratic, 33.3% Republican, and 27.4% unaffiliated. For the preceding week , the partisan weighting targets were 39.0% Democratic, 33.6% Republican, and 27.4% unaffiliated. If the partisan trends do continue to shift between now and Election Day, it could have a significant impact.
“Foreclosure Magazine” Launches!
It is finally here! I got my copy of “Foreclosure: The Magazine for the Newly Broke” today. 
You say American capitalism isn’t working? The brilliant entrepreneurs behind “Foreclosure” beg to differ. They saw a need and filled it—they found the cash in the crash.
I highly recommend you subscribe on your own, but as a teaser, let me list of few of the juiciest articles in the first issue of America’s newest publishing sensation.
“Depression Chick: Second-hand fashions for the well-dressed Nouveau Pauvre!”
“Casual Cuisine: Dumpster diving with Rachael Ray.”
“Six in the Ford Fiesta! Living large on four wheels—how one family beat the high cost of housing.”
“Work the Welfare System! Ten scripts sure to bring tears to the hardest Bureaucrat’s Heart.”
“Hop That Freight! Riding the rails and other Adventure Sports for the healthy homeless lifestyle.”
“101 Yummy Government Cheese Recipes!”
“Fifty Surefire Begging Signs: Be the STAR on your corner”!
And it’s not just lightweight stuff.. “Foreclosure” also takes on the hard-hitting issues of the day with such substantive pieces as:
“Breadline Etiquette: Is it OK to use your pre-teens to hold your place in line while you panhandle?”
“The Sex Trade: New careers in the oldest profession.”
And my personal favorite:
“Drug Addiction: Paradise for Peons or Fool’s Gold for the Foreclosed? A Foreclosure Magazine Debate.”
Run out and get a copy while you can still afford it. That’s what I did and that’s my advice to you. I can hardly wait for next month’s issue—the cover stories sound delightful!
“The Wisdom of our People: A Hobo Speaks.” And:
“Filth—The New Black.”
Pastors Stick Finger in IRS’ Eye
“The role of the religious leaders is to stand apart from government, to prophetically speak
truth to power.”
An evangelical Christian minister in Indiana told his congregation Sunday that voting for Sen. Barack Obama would be evidence of “severe moral schizophrenia.” The Democratic presidential nominee’s positions on abortion and gay partnerships exist “in direct opposition to God’s truth as He has revealed it in the Scriptures.” Johnson showed slides contrasting the candidates’ views but stopped short of endorsing Obama’s Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain.
Rev. Ron Johnson Jr. and 32 other pastors set out Sunday to break the rules, hoping to generate a legal battle that will prompt federal courts to throw out a 54-year-old ban on political endorsements by tax-exempt houses of worship.
This is part of a national campaign, organized by the Alliance Defense Fund, a socially conservative legal consortium based in Arizona, the Internal Revenue Service has pledged to “monitor the situation and take action as appropriate.”
In an open letter Saturday, a United Church of Christ minister, the Rev. Eric Williams said, “The role of the church — of congregation, synagogue, temple and mosque — and of its religious leaders is to stand apart from government, to prophetically speak truth to power,” Williams wrote, “and to encourage a national dialogue that transcends the divisiveness of electoral politics and preserves for every citizen our ‘first liberty.’ “
For Williams the dichotomy between the secular and the sacred a myth: “The issue is not ‘Are we legislating morality?’ This issue is ‘Whose morality are we legislating?’ “
Other clergy pledge to avoid endorsing political candidates. But, that blurs over issues like abortion and homosexual marriage.
Legal scholars generally agree this has little to do with the debate about separation of church and state versus separation from church and state although some less informed will contend it does connect. But, the issue is first the 1954 IRS code and to get the matter into court the IRS must act and “harm” a church or congregation. In that case there will be a legal scrap that could last for years.
Much Ado About Not Much of Anything.
The California Highway Patrol 11-99 Foundation says it will no longer give foundation license plate frames and wallet-sized badges to members who donate $1,800 or more. It seems a lot of people think the insignia help luxury car drivers get out of speeding tickets.
A press release says the decision was prompted by illegal Internet sales of the 11-99 license plate holders, talked up in luxury auto chat groups as get-out-of-jail cards. The 11-99 Foundation is a Fullerton-based non-profit group that provides death benefits for California Highway Patrol families. Eleven-99 is two-way radio code for “officer needs assistance.”
The California State Sheriff’s Association still sells license plate frames on its website as do County Sheriff and some police departments. The frames are the minor part for them because county sheriff’s can and do issue concealed weapons permits and routinely give badges to financial supporters.
Such practices have been long standing across the nation. Years ago the Buckeye State Sheriff’s Association gave so-called get out of jail “courtesy cards” urging any police officer to extend all courtesy to drivers.
Russia Increases Spying On Israel Giving Intelligence to Iran and Syria.
Russia believes America is about to be propelled into an extraordinary shift toward socialism-isolationism ideas it can exploit.
Russia has intensified its spying on Israel and transferring that intelligence on Israel’s strategic capabilities to Iran and Syria. “(I)f the Russians help the Syrians get information, and the Syrians constantly pass it on to Hezbollah, it is a reasonable supposition that the information gathered by the Russians also reaches Hezbollah’s hands,” Col. Ram Dor, chief of information security in the Israeli military, said.
Russia has been monitoring Israel’s military and vital facilities via land, air and sea assets Russian warships are now routinely basing and staging out of Syrian’s Mediterranean naval base at Tartus that has now been converted 
to a permanent Russian naval base.
Officials said Russia has increased espionage operations inside Israel. They said Russian agents have been directed to identify and target young officers in the Israeli military and intelligence community. That is particularly insidious because there are more than 1 million Russian speakers linked to the former Soviet Union in Israel. Officials said Russian intelligence tracks emigrants who work in the Israeli military and defense industry and traces family inside Russia the purpose is to bludgeon their support by threatening family members still inside Russia.
The Russian intelligence on Israel is being relayed to the Lebanese-based Hezbollah militia via Damascus. The Syrians share the intelligence that they gather with Hezbollah, and the other way around,” Dor said. “This we know, because we know how to build a mirror-image that shows us what enemy intelligence knows about us.”
At the same time it was disclosed that Syrian President Bashar Assad has ordered the formation of an Iranian-trained praetorian guard to protect him from assassination which would unravel the Syria-Iranian-Russian triumvirate.
Russia’s expansionist agenda is driven by Putin’s Czarist-like personal ambitions funded by surging oil and natural gas income enabling a 23% increase in military spending, and accelerated by his view that America is about to be propelled into an extraordinary shift toward socialist-isolationist ideas that Russia can exploit.
Blaming Carter, Clinton and Liberal Congress
When the financial problems surfaced my first reaction was to place a big portion of the blame on Jimmy Carter and the liberal Congress who passed the first CRA law. I then read an article that explained why I was wrong and silly me, I believed it. Since then I have read too many other reports that indicate that my initial gut response was, in fact, right. CRA is to blame for a big part of the housing and mortgage problem.
What is CRA? During Jimmy Carter’s presidency, Congress created the Community Reinvestment Act to ensure that banks met the credit needs of lower income areas. I was in banking then and remember when a close friend of mine was initially put in charge of implementing the CRA requirements for my bank. I even helped her with the demographics and maps outlining where the low income areas were and showing the number and types of loans we had in those areas.
Within a year we needed to have an entire department full of people, including a lawyer, to not just make these loans but to show the government that we were in compliance with the new laws. This is because we soon realized that this law had teeth. If a bank was found to be out of compliance then the government could stop it from opening branches, merging with other banks, or even give then a Cease and Desist order! I worked for a large bank which had the manpower and expertise to not only meet the new laws but to then prove we did meet them. But for smaller banks, both making the loans and the accompanying CRA paperwork was (and still is) a huge burden.
I am assuming this but it would make sense that over the next 10-15 years the banks found and made loans to the “best” consumers and businessess in low income areas. Yet they still had to show growth and continuous new lending but there was no one left who qualified.
In 1995 there was a revision to the CRA and one of the changes was to allow the securitization of new CRA loans with subprime mortgages. I have heard but have not yet been able to prove that these changes also allowed banks to use unemployment checks as income for applying for a loan. Regardless of the exact method, the result was to offer mortgages to people who would not qualify for a loan if they lived in my neighborhood or your neighborhood. Yet they were now moving down the street and raising the prices of our houses, all thanks to CRA. And gee, guess what one of the roles of a community organizer is?
Basically, CRA is affirmative action imposed on banks. But affirmative action to lower the requirements to get into college is one thing, lowering the requirements to make a loan is an entirely different prospect. If a person flunks out of college, no harm is done but if a person can no longer pay their mortgage, well, we now see what happens. Then again, what else should we expect when liberal congressmen, most of whom have never worked in the real world their entire lives, tell businessmen how to do business?
I hate being right. But my gut instinct to blame CRA is correct. And yet, even as I write this, banks are still being examined to see if they are compliant to CRA regulations. This makes no sense. We must reign in the CRA requirements or else we will find ourselves back in the same mess, regardless of any new proposals by Congress to resolve this issue. As the saying goes, it would simply be throwing good money after bad.
LETTERMAN THROWS HISSY FIT WHEN MCCAIN CANCELS
Arch Partisan David Letterman As unfunny As Rubber Crutch.
Late Show” host David Letterman blasted John McCain’s decision to cancel an appearance on his talk show Wednesday night saying, among other things, “This is not the way a tested hero behaves. Somebody’s putting something in his Metamucil.” McCain’s camp said it was not a time for comedy having announced he was suspending his campaign until the current financial crisis in resolved. Letterman later asked: “Are we suspending it because there’s an economic crisis or because the poll numbers are sliding?”
Letterman is the most partisan of the late night TV show hosts has been losing the rating wars and is under increasing pressure. Letterman trails Craig Ferguson who follows his show while Jay Leno continues to be in first place above all others.
“Pencil Sharpener Boy” Underscores Crisis in PUBLIK EDUKATHUN
Fourth Grader Kicked Out Of School For Using Tiny Razor Blade From Broken Pencil Sharpener.
A 10-year old South Carolina fourth grader has been suspended because when his pencil sharpener broke and he was caught using the tiny razor blade to sharpen a pencil. His teacher called the Sheriff saying the youngster had a “weapon.”
The responding deputy noted the “weapon” was a tiny metal razor blade from one of those little plastic pencil sharpeners; that the boy had no “criminal intent”; was well-behaved with no record of problems the public school apparatchik had kicked into full song and kicked this boy out.
The defecation hit the impeller as HYPOCRISY SPRANG INTO ACTION. folks ranted that the whole thing was something from the southern end of a northbound horse. The school “lawyered” up and went into full spin mode emailing and sending letters to complainants, parents, community and local media explaining that the junior John Dillinger “had an exposed blade which created a dangerous setting for the student and other children.”
Admittedly the whole thing was a tempests in a teapot between boneheaded bureaucrats and bewildered citizens and not worth mentioning except as a symptom that America’s PUBLIK EDUKATHUN is hemorrhaging draining away the next generation’s and nation’s future. Such abject foolishness and expense siphons away money and energy prostituting education to something contrary and less worthy with every clock tick.
Economy Top Election Issue
A September 24, 2008 ABC NEWS-WASHINGTON POST poll reported on GOOD MORNING AMERICA has Barack Obama surging well ahead of JOHN MCCAIN by 9% (52% to 43%). George Stephanopoulos commented on GMA that no presidential candidate has ever overcome such a lead since 1948.
Other major polls released today do not duplicate ABC/POST finding Rasmussen shows a 49% to 47% edge for Obama among likely voters; that each candidate is viewed favorably by 55% of likely voters, and 41% saying they will vote for Obama and won’t change their mind and 40% saying the same thing about McCain. 47% say the economy is their top voting priority.
A Zogby poll also released today have the race 47% - 44% in favor of Obama-Biden. That lead is among those who say they never go to church 47% to 34% compared to those who attend regularly who favor McCain-Palin 57% to 28%. Voters 18-29 years old narrowly favor Obama-Biden 41% to 39% while those over age 65 support McCain-Palin 61% to 30%.
The economic upheaval is clearly favoring Obama-Biden and the trend is away from McCain-Palin. A serious international incident would tip the balance quickly back.
Stephanopoulos’ remark referred to Harry Truman’s unexpected defeat of New York Governor Thomas Dewey (R) and Strom Thurmond who ran as a Dixiecrat. Dewey was ten percent in front of Truman on election eve but lost.
“Gay Day” In Schools Inflames Religious and Parent Groups
Bizarre Links To Greatest Civilian Death Toll Before 9-11.
A vigorous and rancorous campaign to politically force California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to veto a new law opponents say will force public schools to hold ‘gay day’ celebrations every May 22. Last Thursday the California Assembly approved AB 2567, which designates May 22 as ‘Harvey Milk Day.’ The 43 to 26 vote occurred on party lines with Democrats for, Republicans against. Earlier this week, AB 2567 passed the California State Senate on another party line vote 22-13 - Democrats for, Republicans against. The bill will require all public schools to ‘conduct suitable commemorative exercises’ in “commemoration of the anti-religious, homosexual agenda of the late San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk”. ‘This bad bill will teach impressionable schoolchildren the anti-religious, homosexual-bisexual -transsexual agenda of Harvey Milk,’ warned Randy Thomasson, President of Campaign for Children and Families.
According to a Senate analysis of the bill, ‘This bill requires the Governor to proclaim May 22 as Harvey Milk Day. The designation of a day of significance triggers statutory encouragement for public schools to observe and conduct commemorative exercises suitable to the day.’
Harvey Bernard Milk (May 22, 1930 - November 27, 1978) was an American politician who was the first openly homosexual man to be elected to public office in the United States, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He was elected in the Castro District after the city redistricted into neighborhoods rather than citywide districts.
On November 27, 1978, Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were assassinated. Milk was an activist for homosexual rights lobbying to change local sodomy laws, and for what he saw as homosexual rights. Moscone was a heterosexual who advocated for homosexual rights and was infamous for not investigating San Francisco Housing Commission Chairman Jim Jones and his People’s Temple Cult for alleging criminal wrongdoing. Jones fled the country and oversaw the mass murders at Jonestown, the greatest single loss of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster until September 11, 2001. Jones was the cult’s leader who oversaw the poisoning and deaths of 918 men, women and children, including his own by having them drink arsenic laced grape Kool-Aid.
Racism and the Race
So, if Obama loses, it’s because of racist white people. But, what if McCain loses? Is it because of racist black people? I don’t feel we’re getting the same treatment here…One might call that HYPOCRISY!
Deep-seated racial misgivings could cost Barack Obama the White House if the election is close, according to an AP-Yahoo News poll that found one-third of white Democrats harbor negative views toward blacks — many calling them “lazy,” “violent,” responsible for their own troubles.
…
More than a third of all white Democrats and independents — voters Obama can’t win the White House without — agreed with at least one negative adjective about blacks, according to the survey, and they are significantly less likely to vote for Obama than those who don’t have such views.
…
Lots of Republicans harbor prejudices, too, but the survey found they weren’t voting against Obama because of his race. Most Republicans wouldn’t vote for any Democrat for president — white, black or brown.
Wow….so, in essence, it’s the racist Democrats that will cost him the election. The Republicans aren’t affected by his race, they simply DON’T AGREE WITH HIS SOCIALIST POLICIES. Yet, the Media, and Obama says it’s the right-wing that keeps playing race issues. BULLCRAP.
I guess this statement is the author’s idea of balance….
On the other side of the racial question, the Illinois Democrat is drawing almost unanimous support from blacks, the poll shows, though that probably wouldn’t be enough to counter the negative effect of some whites’ views.
OK, that’s not racist? Whatever.
The poll sought to measure latent prejudices among whites by asking about factors contributing to the state of black America. One finding: More than a quarter of white Democrats agree that “if blacks would only try harder, they could be just as well off as whites.”
I posit, if ANYONE tries harder, they can be as well off as ANYONE else. Who’s bringing up race? Not me fellas.
The article also mentions Obama’s acceptance speech given on the MLK I have a Dream Anniversary. I wish more people knew his dream was AGAINST the Democrats in Washington that have repressed black people for over 100 years. MLK was a republican, the party created to end slavery.
Full article here : news.yahoo.com/page/election-2008-political-pulse-obama-race
War “Unavoidable”, Lt Gen Yaalon
In a briefing to the Israeli cabinet, Director of Israeli Military Intelligence Brig. Gen. Baidatz dramatically revised the timetable for Iranian nuclear weapons capability. With 1 1/2 tons of enriched uranium already and 4000 centrifuges [no peaceful purpose] whirring the general states that Iran is “on the brink” of weapons capability. As reported by Debka, Lt. Gen. Yaalon stated that “an Israel Iran war seems unavoidable”.
With no power comitting to interfering with their own troops, all major powers, despite helium filled rhetoric at the useless UN, have approved of the coming war by their silence.
Marshall Ivan would add that it is likely that the Iranian networks in Europe and the US will make Al Qaida look like kindergarteners. There will be casualties in the West—but hopefully nothing like an Iranian nuke would present.
Knights of Columbus Attack Biden For Pro-Abortion Stance
Letter almost certainly sets up a confrontation between Biden and Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin who is adamantly pro-life.
The head of the Knights of Columbus has sent an open letter to Democratic vice presidential candidate Senator Joe Biden (D) Delaware, urging him to follow his conscience as a Catholic and work to ban abortions. The letter is also published in USA/Today and several other large newspapers. There letter says in part:
“I write to you today as a fellow Catholic layman, on a subject that has become a major topic of concern in this year’s presidential campaign…
“Senator Obama stressed your Catholic identity repeatedly when he introduced you as his running mate, and so your statements carry considerable weight, whether they are correct or not. You now have a unique responsibility when you make public statements about Catholic teaching.
“On NBC’s ‘Meet the Press,’ you appealed to the 13th Century writings of St. Thomas Aquinas to cast doubt on the consistent teaching of the Catholic Church on abortion.
“There are several problems with this.
“First, Aquinas obviously had only a medieval understanding of biology, and thus could only speculate about how an unborn child develops in the womb. I doubt that there is any other area of public policy where you would appeal to a 13th Century knowledge of biology as the basis for modern law.
“Second, Aquinas’ theological view is in any case entirely consistent with the long history of Catholic Church teaching in this area, holding that abortion is a grave sin to be avoided at any time during pregnancy.
“This teaching … was reaffirmed by the Second Vatican Council, which described abortion as ‘an unspeakable crime’ and held that the right to life must be protected from the ‘moment of conception…’”
“While you voted for the ban on partial birth abortions, your unconditional support for [Roe v. Wade] is a de facto endorsement of permitting all other late term abortions.”
Biden recently departed from the party line and said that as a Catholic, he believes life begins at conception, although he said of abortion-rights advocates in his party: “They believe in their faith and they believe in human life, and they have differing views as to when life … begins.”
But Supreme Knight Anderson chastises Biden for not acting to oppose abortion, saying in his letter: “Your unwillingness to bring your Catholic moral views into the public policy arena on this issue alone is troubling…
“You have a choice: you can listen to your conscience and work to secure the rights of the unborn to share in the fruits of our hard-won liberty, or you can choose to turn your back on them.
“On behalf of the 1.28 million members of the Knights of Columbus and their families in the United States, I appeal to you, as a Catholic who acknowledges that life begins at conception, to resolve to protect this unalienable right.”
The abortion issue could prove to be a major factor among Catholics in the upcoming election, as evidenced by their increased support for the Republican ticket following the selection of anti-abortion candidate Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running mate.
“Observant Catholics are returning to the Republican fold now that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has joined the GOP ticket,” The Christian Science Monitor observed, adding that “Catholics are an important subset in presidential elections.”
Excerpted, edited and added from an artIcle by NEWSMAX Friday, September 19, 2008
Parody Time - Barahck, Barahck
Times are very tough right now. The financial world is spinning out of control, the stock market is plummeting, mainstream media continues their biased coverage of the election, the devastation is unending in TX, Brady’s injury has ruined many football pools and things all over appear to be in trouble. So it seems to me that everybody (or at least conservatives) could use a few chuckles…..
A friend of mine recently asked me if I knew about the Capital Steps, a group that sings political parodies. Not only was I aware of them but I made sure that I saw their show the last time I was in DC. Plus what my friend could not have known is that for the past thirty years, before I had even heard of the Capital Steps, I was writing funny parodies to popular songs and poems to commemorate family occasions.
This summer I tried my hand at writing my first political parody. One of my inspirations was the fact that I’ve always thought that Barack’s name sounds like what a chicken says. Barahck Barahck. Silly, I know. As I wasn’t sure how that would go over I just tucked my song away. But thanks to my friend, and the need for a bit of silliness to offset all the bad news I decided to actually print it. So, this one is dedicated to you, Jim and I hope everyone enjoys it.
Since I can’t sing, you will have to hum to yourself as you read my parody to Bad Bad Leroy Brown. (To see the words to the original song click here: (http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/homealone3/badbadleroybrown.htm). With deepest apologies to Jim Croce here is my parody to Bad Bad Leroy Brown
Barahck Barahck Barahck Hussein
ln the South side of Chicago
Is the elitist guy I know
Yes he’s a Harvard man
With a really dark tan
Barahck Obama is that bro
Now Barahck runs from trouble
You see he stands against our war
All the blue state liberals call him “Détente Lover”
All the red states call him girl
And it’s Barahck Barahck Barahck Hussein
The wimpiest man in the USA
Wimpier than old Al Gore
And scarier than Michael Moore.
Now Barahck he a chicken
‘Cause he vows to leave Iraq
And he likes to wave a big white flag
In front of Islamic attacks
Though he acts so presidential
He got no experience at all
He’s got the media in his pocket, for sure
But we’ll still vote McCain this fall
For its Barahck Barahck Barahck Hussein
The wimpiest man in the USA
Wimpier than old Al Gore
And scarier than Michael Moore.
The primary bout a month ago
Barack lookin’ fine
When from the edge of our country
Came a girl named Sarah
And oo that girl did shine
Well he cast his eyes upon her
And the troubles soon began
Cause Obama learned a heapin’
Bout keepin’ all the votes of the common man.
And it’s Barahck Barahck Barahck Hussein
The wimpiest man in the USA
Wimpier than old Al Gore
And scarier than Michael Moore.
Will Bradley /Wilder /Bubba /White Guilt Effects Play in November Election?
The “Bubba Effect” is a racist pejorative reference to the Bradley / Wilder phenomenon referring mostly to white rural and southern voters. Others say so-called “White Guilt” will overide any of these so-called effects.
The Sept. 15-17 Gallup Poll Daily tracking update shows Barack Obama with a 48% to 44% lead over John McCain among registered voters, marking the first time that Obama has held a statistically significant lead in two weeks.
With a 14-point lead among women and a 91-point lead among blacks, Democrat Sen. Barack Obama leads Republican Sen. John McCain 49 - 45 percent among likely voters nationwide, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released today
This compares to a 47%-42% Sen. Obama lead in an August 19 poll by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University.
Zogby polling views the race 47%-45% for Obama and Rasmussen Reports that polls only likely voters, tags it tied at 48% each.
Democrats allege worry about the so-called Bradley effect, less commonly called the Wilder or Bubba effect, referring to a discrepancy between voter opinion polls and election outcomes in American political campaigns when a white candidate and a non-white candidate run against each other.
Named for Tom Bradley, an African-American who lost the 1982 California governor’s race despite being far ahead in voter polls, the Bradley effect refers to a tendency on the part of white voters to tell pollsters that they are undecided or likely to vote for a Black candidate, when, on election day, they vote for his/her white opponent. A sometimes used test is to ask a white voter how they’d vote and how their neighbor might vote, often resulting in different answers.
Tom Bradley was the black five term Los Angeles Democrat mayor (1973-1993) who ran twice for California Governor and was defeated both times by Republican George Deukmejian.
Lawrence Douglas Wilder was the first black Governor of Virginia 1990-1994 and was elected Mayor of Richmond in 2005. The so-called Wilder / Bradley effect was blamed for Bobby Jindal’s Defeat in the Louisiana governor’s race in 2003 but, of course does not factor into his election as Louisiana’s chief executive in 2007 after the state’s botched handling of Hurricane Katrina. Jindal is a 32-year-old native born Indian-American who was rumored to be on McCain VP list.
Tribalism and its Discontents
I live in what I consider to be the greatest country on earth. Having traveled a bit internationally and having the good fortune to become educated past high school, I’ve always known that growing up middle class in the middle of the 20th-century in America made me one of history’s most highly favored citizens.
Throughout the ages, few have lived anywhere near as well as even lower-middle-class Americans do. Few have had so many freedoms from the time their country was founded, although some had to fight longer and harder than others for their share, even here.
I say this to let you know that I know I’m lucky. I’m proud to be an American. I was thrilled to discover colonial roots that bind me genealogically to the founding of our nation. And lately I’m worried about how partisanship is tearing apart our sense of country, of being Americans together, of being the United States—and doing so in the name of patriotism.
Divide and Bludgeon
As I prepared for a small-group meeting last night, I was engrossed in a book about how my faith should be leading me and my fellow believers in actively addressing the biggest challenges in the world. (Doesn’t matter which faith. Most of them—at heart, in their purest essence–promote this same mission and share this idealism.)
In the book, the author wrote about the Rwandan genocide, about the mass killings of hundreds of thousands of members of the Tutsi tribe by members of the Hutu majority. Inconceivable horror, so far away. And then I was struck by a parallel.
Tribalism is happening here, in America, in our politics. No, we’ve not moved anywhere near the point of physical genocide. But we have gone beyond partisanship to the point of forming a mass cultural divide based on whether we’re Democrat or Republican, “progressive” or “conservative,” “spiritual” or “religious” or gunning for a theocracy. To me the effects resemble the aftermath of a 9-11-style attack on decency, trust, and communal citizenship.
While visiting Gettsyburg this summer with my family, I was shocked when the most pop culture-oriented of the group and the least interested in history became utterly engrossed in the brilliantly-prese