Where’s the Outrage?

• The Bush administration was warned in 2004 that Iraq War veterans appeared to have an unusually high percentage of hearing loss. A recent study shows that the Bush administration did nothing and the problem didn’t go away.
• KBR - delivering poor water quality to our troops. Then again we knew this because it was in the film Iraq for Sale (if you haven’t seen it, you have missed a GREAT movie).
• Douglas Fife throws President George W. Bush under the Iraq bus. Remember that he was on the morons who wanted this war so badly he could bust.

Tags: Bush Administration, Countdown, Iraq by ecthompson
Comments Off

I was talking with my car dealer today.  (Yes, I’m up there so often that they know me by name.)  Anyway, we were talking about politics.  He said that someone on the Sunday talk shows was going on and on about the Saturday Night Live effect.  One of the main reasons that Hillary Clinton won Texas and Ohio was Saturday Night Live.  He said that the pundit was 100% wrong.  No one really watches Saturday Night Live any more.

He is right.  At least I think that he is.  I know that I haven’t watched Saturday Night Live seriously since Eddie Murphy left.  I know that back then, folks would plan a date around SNL.  “Why don’t we eat dinner then come back to my house and watch SNL then go see a late movie.”  SNL was blamed for painting Gerald Ford in a bad light since every time the actor that played President Ford was seen on stage he was tripping over something.  I know that Saturday Night Live isn’t generating that kind of interest, now.  So, to conclude that people made up their minds on voting for Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama based on a SNL appearance is kinda crazy.  I guess it isn’t any crazier than Hillary floating the idea that Obama could be her running mate with her at the top of the ticket.

I guess to quiet the media SNL did their own version of the 3 am commercial.   Keith Olbermann and Eugene Robinson from the Washington Post discuss Hillary Clinton and Saturday Night Live.  It is a good interview.

 

 SNL effect [6:15m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Countdown, Election 2008 by ecthompson
1 Comment »

In a state never swift to embrace democracy for all, the Mississippi presidential primary has a brief history.

It was not until 1988 that a real two-party presidential primary was held in Mississippi.

In 2008, the Mississippi primary will be held March 11.

Just over 2.9 million people live in Mississippi. 61% are white and 36% are black. That is the highest percentage of black people of any state in the nation.

Here are some basic facts about Mississippi.

In 2004, George W. Bush won Mississippi 59%-40%.

For many years Mississippi was a one-party Democratic Solid South state that used a whites-only primary.

Here is one link about the white primary.

Here is another.

The great Fannie Lou Hamer (photo above) led the fight for an integrated Mississippi Democratic Party at the 1964 Democratic convention in Atlantic City.

[Read more →]

Tags: Election 2008 by Texas Liberal
9 Comments »

I’m not sure what happened to Barack Obama in Texas and Ohio. Was he suffering from ego-itis? Was he reading his own press clipping? Did his advisors take a nap? I don’t know. All I know is that he wasn’t on his game. He’s speeches were not sharp. He didn’t look sharp but it looks like he is back in Mississippi.

———–

From MSNBC:

Democrat Barack Obama on Monday ridiculed the idea of being Hillary Rodham Clinton’s running mate in the U.S. presidential elections, saying voters must choose between the two for the Democratic nomination.

The Illinois senator used his first public appearance of the week to knock down the notion that he might accept the party’s vice presidential spot on the fall ticket. He noted that he has won more states, votes and delegates than Clinton so far. (more…)

Tags: Election 2008 by ecthompson
Comments Off

I wish I had an uncle or a cousin or nephew who was a oil baron but I don’t. So, I have to look at the oil prices, like the rest of America, and know that there isn’t any logical reason for this retarded spike in oil prices. Well, there is a reason. It is creed.

Tags: Big Oil by ecthompson
Comments Off

Was it the Obama effect? Or the Dennis Hastert effect? A science teacher (a nuclear physicist) with little campaign experience ran in what most people thought was a “safe” republican seat is suburban Chicago. It was House Majority Leader former House Majority Leader, Dennis Hastert’s old seat. Come on you can’t get any sweeter than this. The Republicans were running a businessman who was well-known to the community. He (Jim Oberweis, big time dairy farmer) had run for office a couple of times before (and lost). Both candidates had they party’s support - Obama on one side and John McCain on the other.

So, what can we conclude? If you listen to the Sunday morning quarterback’s this is a huge problem for the Republicans. Look for you use some common sense, you will note some things local flavor in this election that may not translate to or districts 7 or 8 months from now. First, Barack Obama is really loved in Illinois. I mean really loved. Secondly, this scientist wasn’t your run in the mill geek from Harvard with a PhD. He was a businessman. He had started a business with his brother at age 19. This business was/is hugely successful. So, Bill Foster is someone who many people could relate to. He is smart. He is a businessman. He is a teacher. Finally, Dennis Hastert has left a foul odor in the air. His land deal didn’t pass the smell test. His undying loyalty to George W. Bush has to weigh the party down with Bush’s approval rating being around 19%. Finally, I’m sure that voters in Fox Valley haven’t forgotten the page scandal and Hastert’s role in covering it up.

TCR disagrees with me but he is still thoughtful in his assessment.  It is worth a read.

Tags: Election 2008, Party Politics by ecthompson
Comments Off