Conversation Overheard on a Plane Leaving Denver

absentee's diary has a choice snippet of a conversation between two Democratic operatives working for the Obama campaign.

On a plane from Denver to Charlotte following the Democrats' convention, I found myself seated behind former National Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Don Fowler and Congressman John Spratt of South Carolina. Their conversation was interesting to say the least.

For example, they made fun of Sarah Palin for several minutes, Fowler calling her "Dan Quayle" on steroids and Spratt creatively describing her as "just terrible." They both agreed that, "Other than the simple fact that she's a female," she has nothing to offer.

Then there was this gem of a moment from Fowler: [go to absentee's diary to view YouTube video]

These callous remarks prompted SCGOP Chairman Katon Dawson to say,

"The outrageous behavior of two of the Obama campaign's highest profile supporters in the south is despicable, a cynical politization of life and death. I call on Barack Obama to immediately denounce Fowler and Spratt and demand sincere apologies from these members of the Democratic leadership."

BONUS: Michael Moore says hurricane is "proof there is a God in heaven."

UPDATE: FOX News reports that Mr. Fowler has issued an apology for his rash remarks.

An Important Announcement from BBC News

Now that both McCain and Obama have told the world who their running mates will be, it is time to take a break and report on the most significant news story from BBC this year: Willie Robertson is this year's champion at the World Haggis Eating Championship in Perthshire, Scotland. He wolfed down a one-pound haggis in only 2 minutes and five seconds.

Haggis is a traditional Scottish food made from sheep innards, oatmeal, and spices (organizers are considering a vegetarian version in the future). Contestants are only allowed to use plastic forks and knives, and are provided with beer to wash down the food. Robertson, who also won in 2004, received a trophy and a bottle of whisky.

Photos from the DNC and Blogger Bash

Here's a selection of photos I took in Denver on the 28th:

The type of train I took to get to downtown Denver. All those rumors I heard about congestion and ripoff prices for parking spaces near Invesco Field at Mile High turned out to be quite true.


Street vendors in general must have done well this week, since most visitors bought T-shirts and other souvenirs to take home with them.


This is the Union Station, one of the best-known landmarks in all of Denver. Normally one only has to get off at the light rail stop here and cross the street to get to Trios Enoteca, but this was no ordinary week, so I took a leisurely walk from 16th and California.


Larimer Square, a popular tourist attraction, combines the look of the late 19th century with the modern conveniences of the 21st. It is within easy walking distance of the 16th Street Mall.


This arcade shot in downtown Denver brought back fond memories of my travels in Europe, and one could not ask for better lighting.


A most curious painted cow sculpture on the 16th Street Mall


This blogger, who happened to be traveling incognito, demonstrated the power of his imagination by fantasizing that he was being photographed with Mr. Lady of Whisky in My Sippy Cup, who was a gracious hostess that evening.


The room was dark, so I tweaked the photo in such a way that it looks like a painting. Viewers segregated themselves so that Democrats, liberals, and antiwar people sat in the front of the room, while conservatives, libertarians and Republicans took up the rear.

Guest-Blogging at "My Left Nutmeg"

And Now a Word from Bloodthirsty Warmonger!:
(These comments were written last night, at the Rocky Mountain Blogger Bash 5000: The Donkeys Over Denver Edition.)
I like to blog about my passions: politics (usually of the conservative variety) and a closely-related subject, toilet lore; mental health, assorted trivia, military-friendly news, and anything that strikes my fancy.
My take on the Obama speech: It was truly a virtuoso performance - the candidate played the audience like a fine violin, and the Secret Service probably had to veto any suggestion of surfing the crowd after he was finished. It would have been fun to watch, if he could pull it off.

Charles M. Sakai, aka "Bloodthirsty Warmonger"
Colorado Springs
by: mvbrown @ Thu Aug 28, 2008 at 22:26:24 PM CDT
by: you @ soon

What a great guy
Vet of Desert Storm. He feels he is the oldest person here - he's 61 [correction: 60]. He was born in Hawaii {like Barack Obama) and that is where where the similarity ends. He identifies as a Japanese American.
by: mvbrown @ Thu Aug 28, 2008 at 22:35:28 PM CDT

Source: My Left Nutmeg blog

A footnote: "Yanqui Mike" Skowronek, representing Democrats abroad in Argentina, made a favorable impression at this party.

McCain Wakes Up, Makes a Bold Move

What more can we say? Senator John McCain announced his choice of running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin today, just hours after Barack Obama's acceptance speech in Denver. We in Colorado Springs got to see for ourselves how well that decision was received when talk show host Sean Hannity delivered a one-hour speech at the Prorodeo Hall of Fame this afternoon. Every time he mentioned her name, the audience burst into cheers and applause. She adds value to his ticket at a time when he desperately needs a boost, because of her reputation for being a conservative reformer who's not afraid to take on powerful, entrenched special interests.

Obama's Acceptance Speech at the DNC: Gasp! That Guy Is Good!

Yesterday was the closest I will probably be to attending a major-party convention, and I only hope the Democrats or Republicans will not make us wait another hundred years before favoring the capital of our state with another.

Since I visit Denver only a few times a year, I found it cheaper and more convenient to drive to where the parking is free and take the light rail. This time I went to the Mineral station, at the end of one of the two major lines. There were so many cars that I had to park at the outer edge of the overflow area. Getting off at 16th and California, I saw that the 16th Street Mall was a great place for people-watching and taking pictures. Convention-goers were all over the place, and were no doubt reassured to see policemen outnumbering demonstrators. Many Democrats still have bitter memories of Chicago 1968, where rioting went out-of-control, handing the presidential election over to the Republican, Richard Nixon. Denver is the largest Democratic stronghold in Colorado, so visitors coming for the convention never had to worry about whether they would receive a warm welcome.

Trios Enoteca is directly across the street from Union Station (the light rail stop there was temporarily closed for security reasons until the convention was over). All bloggers, regardless of party, were welcome, and I noticed that Republicans, libertarians, and other conservatives usually stuck together with their own kind, while Democrats hung out with other liberals. I was one of the exceptions, as I was determined to shamelessly promote my own blog. One of the principal organizers, Zombyboy of ResurrectionSong, came incognito, and his loyal friends were careful not to blow his cover. Mr. Lady of Whisky in My Sippy Cup made an ideal hostess, and extended a warm welcome to all. This was a golden opportunity to hobnob with people who have been following the convention from the beginning, like Stephen Green of Vodkapundit, who also writes for Pajamas Media. I asked him if he would go to Minneapolis-St. Paul for the Republican convention, and he said yes, he'll be leaving Colorado on Sunday. I tried calling Walter in Denver and Darren Copeland to repentance for not posting on their blogs as often as their readers would like. The Other McCain (Robert Stacy, who said he was distantly related to the Senator from Arizona), Left off Colfax, Alan Silverberg of You2Gov.com, Klaus Holzapfel (originally from Darmstadt, Germany) of conceptbakery.com, Charlie Martin, M.V. Brown and Tessa of My Left Nutmeg (liveblogging at the scene because they had laptops with wireless Internet access), Wheels within Wheels, complete with ukulele, Andy of World Wide Rant, and others too numerous to mention made at least a cameo appearance.

What can I say about The Speech? The back room where the TV was located was so packed that people were sitting on the floor. The Democrats ate it up, and Obama succeeded in his design of making it the climax of the DNC, something that would motivate rank-and-file members to man the phone banks, pass out pamphlets, tell their friends, and keep sending those checks to his presidential campaign. I sat with the conservatives and Republicans, and they provided a different kind of instant commentary known in the trade as fisking.;-) We shook our heads, wondering how Sen. Obama would be able to come up with the money to pay for these extravagant promises, pointed out contradictions in his narrative, and despaired that John McCain would ever be able to pull out all the stops and play his audience like a fine pipe organ the way that Barack did last night. This was the first time I heard an Obama speech from beginning to end, and while he said little that was new, I could sense that he had his audience of over 80,000 at Invesco Field at Mile High (along with millions of Democrats watching on television) in the palm of his hand.

Open Mouth, Insert Foot: Collected Sayings of Sen. Biden, Part 2

During the 1988 Presidential campaign that launched him to national prominence, Biden was forced to withdraw amidst a storm of controversy. A video put together by the Dukakis campaign showed that Biden had lifted portions of speeches from a British politician named Neil Kinnock. Days later, it was revealed that he had also plagiarized a law review paper while he was a first-year student at Syracuse Law School. Further investigation into his academic career led to a testy exchange in New Hampshire, during which Biden told a questioner named Frank, who had asked about his law school grades, “I think I have a much higher I.Q. than you do.” He then added that he “went to law school on a full academic scholarship, the only one in my class to have a full academic scholarship,” and that he “ended up in the top half… with three degrees from college.” It was later revealed that Biden had achieved only one degree, a B.A., and had graduated 76th in his class… out of 85 students. His excuse? “I exaggerate when I’m angry.” - Source: "The Shining City" [blog]

In 2006, Biden, attempting to pander to an Indian-American supporter, noted that, “In Delaware, the largest growth in population is Indian-Americans, moving from India. You cannot go to a 7-11 or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent.” - CSPAN, June 2006

“I mean you got the first mainstream, African American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking, I mean that’s a storybook, man.” - Biden on Obama candidacy, New York Observer, January 2007

Proposed Design for the Three-Dollar Bill :-)

This picture accompanied a Free Republic article about the set erected at Invesco Field at Mile High for Barack Obama's acceptance speech, which resembles an ancient Greek temple, and shows all the care and attention someone with too much time on his hands would lavish on such an eye-catching project. Of course we know the law requiring that one has to be dead to appear on American currency or stamps would have to be changed.

UPDATE: From the "It Was Bound to Happen Sooner or Later" file comes charges reported by KOMO News in Washington state that this gag 3-dollar bill was racist in intent, like anything else that's critical of Sen. Obama.

Featuring a picture of Barack Obama decked out in an Arab headdress with the words "da man" under his picture, the mocking merchandise was prominently displayed alongside the "proud republican" bumper stickers and the "Dino Rossi for Governor" paraphernalia.

In addition to perpetuating the lie that Obama is a Muslim, the fake bill also has some openly racist aspects to it.

Open Mouth, Insert Foot: Collected Sayings of Sen. Biden, Part 1

News item: The Republican National Committee posted a "Biden Gaffe Clock" on their Web site shortly after Sen. Barack Obama unveiled his running mate.

The month after the 9/11 attacks, The New Republic profiled Biden and caught this brainstorm:
At the Tuesday-morning meeting with committee staffers, Biden launches into a stream-of-consciousness monologue about what his committee should be doing, before he finally admits the obvious: "I'm groping here." Then he hits on an idea: America needs to show the Arab world that we're not bent on its destruction. "Seems to me this would be a good time to send, no strings attached, a check for $200 million to Iran," Biden declares. He surveys the table with raised eyebrows, a How do ya like that? look on his face. [Quoted in Wall St. Journal's Opinion Journal, which brought up the fact that Iran is not Arab and that most Arabs distrust the Persians.]

“I think he can be ready, but right now I don’t believe he is. The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training,” [Referring to Sen. Barack Obama]

A Chicago Tribune editorial recounts Biden's recent antics as a senior Judiciary Committee member:
Three years ago, during Senate Judiciary Committee questioning of Supreme Court nominee John Roberts, Biden memorably warned Roberts to give "short answers," then filibustered into the cameras for 12 of his assigned 20 minutes. Lest anyone miss his superiority to Roberts, Biden added theatrics The Washington Post described as "the full Al Gore: While Roberts spoke, Biden shook his head, put his face in his hand, pouted and glared disgustedly."

UPDATE: Frank J. of IMAO sums up Biden blunders in his "In My World" series in a way that is both humorous and chilling.

Obama Announces Biden Will Be Running Mate

Sen. Barack Obama has announced to millions of fans, political junkies, and the media through his Web site and text-messaging that Sen. Joe Biden will be his vice presidential pick. They plan to appear together in public at a rally in Springfield, Illinois later today. This is one form of balancing the ticket: not geographical, but in terms of experience. Biden is respected in Democratic circles for his knowledge of foreign affairs and defense, and could end up being as much of a co-president to Obama as Dick Cheney has been to George W. Bush.

Getting Ready for the Convention or Blogger Bash? Here's Some More Information

It has come to our attention that a 5.5 mile segment of Interstate 25 from the interchange with I-70 to the interchange with 6th Avenue will be closed on August 28, when the Democratic National Convention meets at Invesco Field at Mile High. The road closure will start at 5:30 p.m. and end after Sen. Obama leaves the stadium. This article describes numerous other temporary reroutings in downtown Denver. Plan your travel throughout the week of the convention accordingly and be sure to give yourself plenty of time to get to where you want to go.

By the way, if you wish to attend the Rocky Mountain Blogger Bash 5000: The Donkeys Over Denver Edition, it's still not too late to RSVP. Since driving conditions are expected to be congested and confusing even to people who know the downtown area well, you may want to consider using public transportation. I plan on getting there via the light rail, which provides a carefree, comfortable ride.

If you have nothing better to do in Denver than to join the "Recreate 68" demonstration, check out this picture of your next residence, in an old city warehouse on the northeast side near 38th and Steele:

A Warm and Fuzzy Alternative to Obama and McCain

Rick Moran of Right Wing Nut House has nominated his pet cat, Snowball, for the presidency. About the only obstacle to qualifying is the fact that she's only 3 years old. Complicating the calculation in cat years is knowing that these animals reach puberty in less than a year, but in terms of maturity, she definitely sets a high standard.

"Regular readers will recall that rather than choose either Obama or McCain as my candidate, I turned instead to my pet cat Snowball as a creature I could fully get behind for president.

"The wisdom of this choice becomes more and more evident as the campaign goes along. As the other candidates have sniped and snarked at one another, Snowball has stayed above the fray with that kind of quiet dignity that only cats can aspire. She has not said a word against either McCain or Obama despite the fact that both have given her plenty of ammunition...."

Little Dictators (Is It Contagious?)

Hat tip: Fark.com


1. Reuters reports that Italian mayors get drunk on extra law-and-order powers, issue decrees preventing people from reading in the park, mowing their lawns, and building sandcastles.
2. Mayor of Clayton, CA orders police raid on little girls selling produce from their garden.
3. Wisconsin woman taken away in handcuffs and booked for failing to return two overdue books to the library! The Smoking Gun has the story.
4. Is nothing sacred anymore? The Times of London reports that, starting next year, the French government will regulate the booming business of country-western line dancing, by, among other measures, requiring licenses of teachers, after 200 hours' instruction.

How to Build Community

I saw this cool poster with the following sayings and found out this list was compiled by Karen Kearney, a member of the Syracuse Cultural Workers. You can order a poster based on her watercolor here.

HOW TO BUILD COMMUNITY

Turn off your TV
Leave your house
Know your neighbors
Look up when you are walking
Greet people
Sit on your stoop
Plant flowers
Use your library
Play together
Buy from local merchants
Share what you have
Help a lost dog
Take children to the park
Garden together
Support neighborhood schools
Fix it even if you didn’t break it
Have pot lucks
Honor elders
Pick up litter
Read stories aloud
Dance in the street
Talk to the mail carrier
Listen to the birds
Put up a swing
Help carry something heavy
Barter for your goods
Start a tradition
Ask a question
Hire young people for odd jobs
Organize a block party
Bake extra and share
Ask for help when you need it
Open your shades
Sing together
Share your skills
Take back the night
Turn up the music
Turn down the music
Listen before you react to anger
Mediate a conflict
Seek to understand
Learn from new and uncomfortable angles
Know that no one is silent though many are not heard. Work to change this.

McCain 1, Obama 0

Kevin McCullough at Townhall.com reported that Rick Warren of the Saddleback Church performed a valuable public service by hosting a forum on Saturday the 16th between Barack Obama and John McCain on a variety of religious & moral issues. This article focused on Obama's "nuanced" position on birth control. Here's an example:

His most outright lie was his claim that abortion rates had gone up over the last eight years. Within minutes bloggers at TownHall.com, pro-life groups like Americans United for Life, and even the analyst panel on Fox News Channel had the stats in front of the American public. Abortion rates have actually decreased over the last eight years, and have done so in significant fashion. In fact in January of 2008 it was reported by the Guttmacher Institute and repeated in U.S. News and World Reports that abortions had reached a three decade low.

When asked most forthrightly by Warren as to when a child should have its God given rights protected, Obama balked and claimed "knowing when something" that is obviously living, "begins to live" was, "above his pay grade."

In contrast, McCain got cheers and applause when he declared unequivocally that life begins at the moment of conception. Reality check: it's not for nothing that Planned Parenthood (which makes over a billion dollars a year by preventing parenthood rather than promoting same) loves Sen. Obama.

Here's a link to some YouTube videos with statements from both presidential candidates.

News You Can Use: How About a Fine Jar for People Who Leave Their Cell Phones On?

The Bangor [Maine] Daily News describes a neat idea that the Bangor City Council has instituted: placing a fine jar in a conspicuous location and charging $5 to elected officials who don't remember to turn off their cell phones during a meeting. The money goes to charity, and should give ideas to people who organize concerts, lectures, and other public events.

Limousine Liberal Crisis in Denver!

Organizers of the upcoming Democratic National Convention thought they had everything all planned down to the last organic, locally-grown, non-fried snack, but forgot about having enough limos to meet the demand!!! 9News of Denver (NBC) describes the state of panic that's setting in.

Keeping the Rocky Mountain Blogger Bash 5000: The Donkeys Over Denver Edition Before the Public

A WORD TO THE WISE: Visitors coming to downtown Denver for the first time may find the street layout confusing, since they are laid out diagonally in relation to the rest of the city, and because of so many one-way streets. You may have to orient yourself by using landmarks such as the 16th Street Mall or Union Station.

August 28, 2008
Trios Enoteca
1730 Wynkoop·Denver, CO 80202
7:30 PM to Close

Free Food and Free Beer & Wine
(In limited supplies and only if we like you.)

For continuing coverage of this social event, visit ResurrectionSong or the Rocky Mountain Blogger Bash Web site.

How Much Money Are Professional Fundraisers Taking from Your Favorite Charity?

A July Los Angeles Times investigation revealed that professional fundraisers keep so much of the money donated to charity by conscientious, generous-minded people that 430 different California charities over the last 10 years got not one penny of the contributions. In fact, in 337 cases, the charity paid an additional fee on top of getting nothing back (but did come away with the donors' names and addresses, for further solicitation). Philanthropy watchdogs say fundraisers should never keep more than 35 cents on the dollar, but the Times found the overall average was 54 cents, and for missing-children charities, fundraisers kept 86 cents. (Fundraisers for an organization called Citizens Against Government Waste kept 94 cents.) [Los Angeles Times, 7-6-08, reported in News of the Weird]

The Better Business Bureau's Give.org provides the public with information and guidance for wise giving.

My pet charity, Colorado Springs DBSA (Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance), spends 10% or less for operating expenses, and has no paid staff. We are continuously looking for donors and volunteers to help us serve an area where conditions for the mentally ill can be described as "primitive."

Soldiers-Turned-Reporters Eager to Deliver the Truth About Iraq

A Newsmax.com article describes another encouraging development on the Iraqi front (something you're not likely to see on CNN or the New York Times):

A group of Iraq war veterans returned to Iraq last week as civilians to embed as reporters with their former units, to tell the story of recent successes in the war they believe the media is not accurately reporting to the American people.

Led by Pete Hegseth, chairman of Vets for Freedom, the group of eight citizen-soldier-reporters includes Spec. Kate Norley, who served as a medic in Taji and Baghdad during a 16-month deployment, and Vets for Freedom co-founder David Bellavia, author of "House to House: An Epic Memoir of War."

“The idea was to put vets back into the same places where they had served as soldiers before, to use their unique eye to get a level of nuance that’s badly needed” for the public’s understanding of the war.

In February, Hegseth was embedded in Baghdad, and was able to visit some of the same neighborhoods he had patrolled two years earlier when he was on active duty. The differences were dramatic, he said.

Asked the reaction among U.S. troops to the recent visit by Sen. Barack Obama, Hegseth said there was “a level of frustration that he had made up his mind before he came, so the whole thing was just a photo op, not a real fact-finding mission.”

He also noted that Obama “spent no time with line units, with infantry units.”

If he had, Hegseth said he would have seen that “things have gotten much better here. Violence is at an all-time low both this month and last,” he said.

What you've seen on this blog is less than half of the full article at http://www.newsmax.com/timmerman/iraq_veterans_reporters/2008/08/10/120772.html

Remembering the Times When McCain Got It Right

Here are a few selected quotes from Sen. McCain:

"As you may know, not long ago a couple hundred thousand Berliners made a lot of noise for my opponent. I'll take the roar of 50,000 Harleys any day." – John McCain at Sturgis, SD, August 2008

"Taking in my opponent’s performances is a little like watching a big summer blockbuster, and an hour in, realizing that all the best scenes were in the trailer you saw last fall." – Sen. John McCain

"The mindless slaughter is being conducted by a Russian military that seeks to reassert itself not only in the former Soviet Union but also to extend its reach throughout what used to be the former Soviet Union in an attempt to fold back into the Russian empire those countries that have broken away from it, most notably Georgia." – John McCain, speaking at Arizona State University in 1999 on the subject of the fighting in Chechnya

“The problem... is that most members of Congress don't pay attention to what's going on.” – John McCain

“Remember the words of Chairman Mao: 'It's always darkest before it's totally black.'” – John McCain

“The first pork-barrel bill that crosses my desk, I'm going to veto it and make the authors of those pork-barrel items famous all over America.” – John McCain

"In case you missed it, a few days ago Senator Clinton tried to spend $1 million on the Woodstock Concert Museum. Now, ladies and gentlemen, I wasn't there. I'm sure it was a cultural and pharmaceutical event. I was tied up at the time." – John McCain, on the years he spent as a P.O.W. in Vietnam

"Presidential ambition is a disease that can only be cured by embalming fluid." – John McCain

"I spent several years in a North Vietnamese prison camp, in the dark, fed with scraps. Do you think I want to do that all over again as vice president of the United States?" – John McCain

War is wretched beyond description, and only a fool or a fraud could sentimentalize its cruel reality.” – John McCain

An Ominous Development in NW China

While the rest of the world is preoccupied with the presidential election, the Russian invasion of Georgia, and the Beijing Olympics, Islamic militants made their move in Xinjiang, exactly as we expected (see blog entry for 27 July). Gateway Pundit provided the following report:

EXPLOSIONS IN CHINA-- At Least 6 Dead in Xinjiang Province

Several Explosions were reported in Xinjiang Province in China today.
At least 4 were killed when a man drove a truck into a group of police officers as another man threw explosives at a police station in Kuqa!
4 or 5 "suspects" were killed or injured in the attack.
Bloomberg reported:

A man drove a truck into a group of 70 police officers exercising outside the station in Kuga country, in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, as another man threw explosives at the building then brandished a knife at officers, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported. The number of people killed may rise, the report said.

The BBC reported:

Several explosions have hit the north-western Chinese province of Xinjiang, state media has reported.

It said there was sporadic gunfire after the blasts, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

Earlier this week, 16 Chinese policemen were killed in an attack on a border post in the province, Xinhua reported.

Xinjiang is home to the Muslim Uighur people. Uighur separatists there have waged a low-level campaign against Chinese rule for decades.

We Don't Wish to Slight Sen. McCain

Lately we've been paying so much attention to Barack Obama that it's easy to forget that he has some competition from the Republican Party. In an effort to restore balance, I quote this article, "Why McCain Would Be a Mediocre President," from Marketwatch.com.

The assumption seems to be that McCain's years of experience in the military and in Congress of course give him the background and tools he'd need in the White House. As Britney might say, "Duh! For sure he's qualified!!! He's Mac!!!"

But is that true? Does McCain have the right stuff?

A careful look at McCain's biography shows that he isn't prepared for the job. His resume is much thinner than most people think.

McCain hasn't accomplished much in the Senate. Even his own campaign doesn't trumpet his successes, probably because the few victories he's had still rankle Republicans.

His campaign finance law failed to significantly reduce the role of money in politics. He failed to get a big tobacco bill through the Senate. He's failed to change the way Congress spends money; his bill to give the president a line-item veto was declared unconstitutional, and the system of pork and earmarks continues unabated. He failed to reform the immigration system.

McCain has done one thing well -- self promotion. Instead of working on legislation or boning up on the issues, he's been on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" more than any other guest. He's been on the Sunday talk shows more than any other guest in the past 10 years. He's hosted "Saturday Night Live" and even announced his candidacy in 2007 on "The Late Show with David Letterman."

McCain has not articulated any lofty goals. So far, his campaign theme has mostly been "McCain: He's None of the Above."

The author of this article, Rex Nutting, may be more liberal than most of the authors we quote, but he does raise some valid questions that John McCain and his supporters haven't gotten around to answering. The reader comments from liberals and conservatives alike make for some fascinating reading.

Interesting, Most Interesting

Matt Lewis, in "... Because Every Fascist Movement Needs its own Salute," made this comparison with a pose by Spock of "Star Trek":

The Best Steaks Come from Sacred Cows

Dinesh D'Souza wrote the following in "Sigmund Freud's Illusions":

Sigmund Freud is no longer the revered figure he once was. A recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education noted that Freud is no longer routinely assigned even in psychology curricula. In a way, Freud is following the downward path of that other great totem of the last couple of centuries, Karl Marx. It's hard to believe so many intelligent people spent their lives studying these two thinkers. Intellectuals, we have to conclude, are often fatally attracted to far-out theories that tease the mind but that bear little relation to what's actually going on in the world...."

Read the rest here.

Tabloid Tale Come True: John Edwards Admits to Having Affair!

Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards has finally admitted he did have an extramarital affair—and lied about it repeatedly during his campaign:

In an interview for broadcast tonight on Nightline, Edwards told ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff he did have an affair with 44-year old Rielle Hunter, but said that he did not love her.

Edwards also denied he was the father of Hunter’s baby girl, Frances Quinn, although the one-time Democratic Presidential candidate said he has not taken a paternity test.

Edwards said he knew he was not the father based on timing of the baby’s birth on February 27, 2008. He said his affair ended too soon for him to have been the father.

A former campaign aide, Andrew Young, has said he was the father of the child.

According to friends of Hunter, Edwards met her at a New York city bar in 2006. His political action committee later paid her $114,000 to produce campaign website documentaries despite her lack of experience.

EDITORIAL NOTE: Normally we don't take the National Enquirer seriously, but this time we thought they may be on to something. However, this humble blog lacks the resources to follow up on the charges, and had to wait for former Senator Edwards to provide the world with an essential piece of the puzzle.
UPDATE: John Hawkins of Right Wing News dares ask the searching questions that the MSM will not about the Breck Girl. And Stephen Green has a few choice words to say on the subject in "How the Media Is Still Screwing Up the Edwards Story" in Pajamas Media.
Ann Coulter doesn't let slip this opportunity to slam Edwards royally in the article "Even by Trial Lawyer Standards, Edwards a Real Sleazebag" at Townhall.com.

Patriots Revolt Endorses Distinguished Conservative Leader, Dr. Alan Keyes

The following statement is excerpted from Harry Riley's (COL, USA, Ret.) newsletter:

"Patriots Revolt is pleased and prayerfully grateful to announce support to Dr. Alan Keyes for President of the United States in the November 2008 election, and 'America's Independent Party' as the hope of long term grass roots restoration of conservative principled America....

"Dr. Alan Keyes, a family man, demonstrated patriot, constitutionalist, believer in 'one nation under God,' defender of our Founding Fathers principles, along with 'America's Independent Party' is a solid and refreshing antidote to the two corrupt major political parties. We have a man and conservative movement of integrity, character, who puts God, our Constitution, and America before anything else.......we have a real choice for America...not a wasted vote on McCain or Obama...."

Obama Makes It Easier Than Ever to Be a Racist

Peter Kirsanow has made up a 25-item list (with due apologies to Jeff Foxworthy) illustrating how you may be a racist without even knowing it. Here are the first ten:

1.If you think Obama's the most liberal member of the senate you...may be a racist.

2.If you object to Obama raising your payroll, capital gains and estate taxes you...may be a racist.

3.If you'd prefer a president have at least some foreign policy experience you...may be a racist.

4. If you're in favor of drilling for oil and building nuclear power plants you...may be a racist.

5. If you think "Vero Possemus" is Latin for "Massive Ego" you... may be a racist.

6. If you wonder why Obama was hanging around William Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn you...may be a racist.

7. If your pastor is nothing like Rev. Wright or Father Pfleger you... may be a racist.

8.If you don't want the majority of justices on the Supreme Court to be like Stephen Breyer you...may be a racist.

9. If you're not impressed with Obama's 100% NARAL rating you...may be a racist.

10. If you're not sure whether Obama opposed or supported FISA reauthorization you...may be a racist.

"This campaign has, to paraphrase Moynihan, defined racism down." For the rest of the list, see National Review Online.

Two Different Approaches to the Energy Crunch

Sen. Obama's take on what to do about the high price of fuel may be something he could regret ever saying.

FOX News summed it up with these words, "When Obama first suggested last week that Americans could save on energy costs and gasoline by making sure their tires are filled to the correct PSI, Republicans latched on to the remarks, and have not let go ever since. McCain campaign surrogates have been passing out tire gauges across the country during the last few days insisting that tire pressure amounts to the Democrat’s entire energy policy."

Quick to exploit an opportunity, the McCain campaign has started marketing a tire-pressure gauge for a $25 donation. This item has "instant collectible" written all over it.

Meanwhile, a Republican-led initiative in the House of Representatives is similar to a filibuster, but instead of trying to block a piece of legislation, they are pushing an energy bill that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi opposes. Thus far she has done everything in her power to smother the bill in its crib: calling a 5-week summer recess, dimming the lights, turning off the sound system, and ordering C-Span not to record the proceedings. At any given time, 15 to 20 Congressmen are participating in the protest, which has been ignored by the Big Media, but not by FOX News or Michelle Malkin.

UPDATE: Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) - now possibly on John McCain’s short list of potential vice presidential candidates - has an online petition on the ‘net which urges House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to call Congress back from its paid, five-week vacation and take action to lower gas prices. You can sign the petition by going HERE >> http://www.callbackcongress.com/

UPDATE2: Redstate.com ran a stirring message from Congressman Tom Price. The MSM make it so easy for us to scoop them, as I doubt that they will run the following 3 paragraphs:

"The American people are no longer willing to allow their leaders to put partisanship, special interests, or vacation before serious solutions. They will no longer accept an abandonment of the American can-do spirit. We are a nation of achievers, and we will no longer allow the Speaker and a liberal Democrat majority tell us we cannot meet our energy needs.

"As the events of this past week have shown, and the coming months will continue to demonstrate, the American people are taking back the People’s House. They don't want Speaker Pelosi to have free reign to impose her anti-energy views on unwilling Americans. Citizens across this great nation have risen and realized they have a voice in the House, even if the majority is intent on silencing it.

"It took an act of arrogance to spark a fire, but it has been lit. In the coming weeks and months, House Republicans pledge to hold the feet of this liberal majority to that fire. Just as the American people, we will not accept the Democrat majority’s indifference to America’s challenges."

When All Else Fails, Scare the Public About Obama

It appears that the Republicans' only hope is to feed the doubts many citizens have about Barack Obama's ability to lead. Here are a few recent examples, which are but a fraction of what's available:

From American Thinker:
Obama's Craftiness, by Ed Lasky. Barack Obama is one crafty fellow, reaping political success out of career that got precious little done.
Emperor Obama's New Clothes, by James Lewis. What I want to know is, how did Hans Christian Andersen know about Barack Obama more than a century ago? Because Obama is straight out of Andersen's classic fairly tale, The Emperor's New Clothes. Old Hans Christian, who lived in Denmark from 1805 to 1875, had Obama's number down pat.
Why I'm Thanking God for Obama, by Kyle-Anne Shiver. As so many have noted, 2008 is not an ordinary American election. Rather than two people with different policy positions vying for the President's job, we have one man who understands he's a mere mortal like the rest of us, and one man, who seems to think he is a god.
Recycling Jimmy Carter, by J. Robert Smith. Barack Obama doesn't just talk about conservation, he practices it. In his thinking and proposals on energy, the Illinois senator has expertly recycled Jimmy Carter.

From Discover the Networks:
Barack Hussein Obama - a short biography.
Barack's World - a catalog of his past associations.

From Investor's Business Daily:
Young Obama's Red Mentor. ..the seeds of Obama's far-left ideology were planted in his formative years as a teenager growing up in Hawaii — and they were far more radical than any biography or media profile has portrayed.

From Opinion Journal [Wall Street Journal]:
Political Diary: Directional Drilling. Obama's flip-flop tests the Democrats' stance on energy.

From Townhall.com:
Is the Press Actually Hurting Obama? by Carol Platt Liebau. The ironic net effect of the dinosaur media pushing a crisis atmosphere and preaching the need for change on the one hand and pampering Obama on the other is that the public may hesitate to take a chance on someone so inexperienced.
The Brangelina-fication of the Obamas, by Michelle Malkin. She tears into media efforts to portray the Obamas as a typical American family, an illusion that lacks even the redeeming feature of sincerity.

$300 Million Budgeted for PTSD/TBI Research!

According to an ABC News story, the Department of Defense is spending $300 million on 171 research projects for post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. Knowledge acquired is expected to benefit not only veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq, but many civilians subjected to the same afflictions from non-combat related causes.

Is This One of Your Pet Peeves?

If a shootout is taking place, your neighbor is suffering a heart attack, or you see a house burning down, 911 is the number to call.

But what about these so-called "emergencies?":

A Subway sandwich shop in [Jacksonville] Florida leaves the mayo and mustard off a customer’s order, and he loses all semblance of reason.
A Texas man can’t get a cab.
A Tennessee man’s stepfather keeps nagging him to do the laundry.
A caller in Cordova, CA demands to know why the Transportation Department hadn’t mowed the grass.

This MSNBC.com article gives the low-down on abuses of this emergency number, such as this one:

Dispatch: "911."
Caller: "Do the police have a program called scared straight?"
Dispatch: "Scared straight? I've never heard of it."
Caller: "It's like when you take the child and show them where juvenile [hall] is and scare them so they straighten up."
Dispatch: "How old a child is it?"
Caller: "She's 10."

Pride Piece

We are pleased to announce that "Bloodthirsty Warmonger" is now listed in "RightyBlogs.com/Colorado" along with Face the State, Drunkablog, and ResurrectionSong.

A Sorry Bunch

The American Spectator ran the following article, "A Lot to Be Sorry About," concerning a member of the House who proposed a written apology for the evil of slavery, which was abolished in the century before last.

"On Wednesday the U.S. House of Representatives apologized for slavery. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Steve Cohen, a white Democrat from Tennessee who represents a majority-black district and faces a black primary challenger. Or in other words, the U.S. House apologizes for slavery and Jim Crow not as a sincere gesture of the feelings of the American people, but to help a white incumbent beat a black challenger in a Democratic primary in Tennessee. Wonderful."

Meanwhile, a public worried about high fuel and food prices and economic uncertainty is anxiously waiting for any sign of contrition from Congress for:

1. Bankrupting the country
2. Refusing to lower gas and oil prices
3. Leaving our borders dangerously insecure
4. Atrocious, indefensible pork-barrel spending (related to #1)

The Dark Side of "Extreme Makeover Home Edition"?

The producers of one of my favorite TV shows, "Extreme Makeover Home Edition," can build a home for a deserving family in a week, and usually these people live happily ever after, but have no control over what happens to the homeowners once they move in. Some of them, like lottery winners, have ended up broke in 2 years or less. This Chip Bok cartoon doesn't show the handbasket, but illustrates where personal responsibility in this country is going.

Blogger Bash 5000: The Donkeys Over Denver Edition

With the kind sponsorship of Lijit and with the hard work of Mr. Lady, the DNC edition of the ROCKY MOUNTAIN BLOGGER BASH can finally be announced. Thank God.


August 28, 2008
Trios Enoteca
1730 Wynkoop·Denver, CO 80202
7:30 PM to Close

Free Food and Free Beer & Wine
(In limited supplies and only if we like you.)

Resurrectionsong made the announcement on 28 July, and you can RSVP here.

NOTE: No, we don't want a repeat of the 1968 Chicago riots (see illustration above), but included the picture to remind us of the worst-case scenario.

Aleksandr Isaevich Solzhenitsyn, 1918-2008

It is our sad duty to report that celebrated Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, 89, died of heart failure, according to his son, Stepan. His short novel, "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" (1962) made a deep impression on me, and became the curtain-raiser for a series of books that exposed the massive meat-grinder that was the Soviet Gulag.

Solzhenitsyn wrote from bitter personal experience. All socialist regimes are intolerant of criticism, but Capt. Solzhenitsyn paid a high price - 7 years in a slave labor camp and 3 years in internal exile - for something ridiculously trivial: referring to Stalin as "the man with the mustache" in a letter. The brutal system that killed millions of people and broke many more failed to crush this uncompromising crusader. He committed his three volume magnum opus, the Gulag Archipelago, to memory so that he could later publish the testimony that would help to bring down the USSR.

His life, in a nutshell, was quite turbulent: award of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1970, charges of treason that led to his expulsion from the USSR, 18 years of exile in Cavendish Vermont, restoration of his Russian citizenship and dismissal of treason charges, a triumphant return to the Motherland.

Even after he was free to return to Russia, Solzhenitsyn maintained that his homeland was in a class by itself, and had to develop a Russian solution to its problems instead of relying on foreign imports such as Marxism. He was openly contemptuous of Boris Yeltsin and skeptical of his successor, Vladimir Putin. But eventually they reached a certain accommodation - "Like Putin, Solzhenitsyn argued that Russia was following its own path to its own form of democratic society."

He is survived by his wife, Natalya, and his three sons, including Stepan, Ignat, a pianist and conductor, and Yermolai. All live in the United States.

Twenty-First Century Tale of Enchantment

There appears to be no scientific explanation as to why Brian Williams said what he said on the Daily Show, so we must conclude that he came under Ahmadinejad's spell. Meanwhile, the Iranian government continues to spend billions of dollars on nuclear research and delivery systems. NewsBusters helps clear the air.

Brian Williams: Don't Worry, Ahmadinejad's Just Playing to His Base
By Mark Finkelstein | August 1, 2008 - 12:50

Calm down, you neo-conservative warmongers. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's no more a threat than Congressman Joe Blow back in Cleveland, trying to appeal to the good folks who make up his base. So suggests Brian Williams. Fresh from his trip to Tehran, where he scored a big exclusive with the Iranian president, Williams sat down with Jon Stewart on last night's Daily Show....

Fixing the Blame

For those who have been running into problems trying to access "Bloodthirsty Warmonger" using the Web browser Internet Explorer 7, we believe we have found the culprit. Much larger blogs such as Instapundit have been reporting the same thing, and the solution has been to eliminate Site Meter.

Furthermore, this blog has seen fit to drop the "R-igg Social Networking for the Right" news feature so that Web pages can load faster, even with dial-up modems.

UPDATE: Sitemeter.com informed me that their glitch has been fixed, so I restored that feature to the "Bloodthirsty Warmonger" blog.

An Exciting Concept for Mobilizing and Coordinating Public Service Efforts

"The Snowball Effect"

[This is the report I sent out to many of my friends earlier today.]

I went to the Colorado Springs 2.0 breakfast at Bigg City amusement center, 5825 Mark Dabling Blvd., Colorado Springs, CO 80919, believing it would be a good networking event - and it was! I got some face time with the Big One, Steve Bigari, and listened to short speeches from Mayor Lionel Rivera, County Commissioner Sallie Clark, and others. Councilman Heimlicher was sitting at my table, and I saw congressional candidates Jeff Crank and Gen. Bentley Rayburn working the crowd (Doug Lamborn didn't show up).

Mr. Bigari emphasized that he was just a facilitator, that we have enough private enterprise, nonprofits, and churches to make things happen, and the revival of the late Bob Telemosse's Christmas giveaway proves what people working together as a team can accomplish. Approximately 100 people showed up (I was the only known representative from the entire mental health community), and he said next time he would like to fill up the special events center, which seats over 1,000. He also requested that organizations submit two one-minute videos: 'Who We Are/What We Do' and 'What We Need Most' (anything but a solicitation for cash contributions). The next Colorado Springs 2.0 meeting will be on Friday the 3rd of October. For more information and reservations, call Natalie at 719-955-7220, ext. 122.

A Cautionary Tale

A new book reminds us about why it is foolish for Americans to renounce their U.S. citizenship and move to "workers' paradises" such as Cuba or North Korea.

This is a very sad book, the story of thousands of Americans who, during the Depression, lured by sham Soviet propaganda and pro-Soviet falsehoods spread by the likes of George Bernard Shaw and the corrupt New York Times Moscow correspondent, Walter Duranty, migrated to the USSR in search of jobs and a role in the "building of socialism." It was, in the words of the author, "the least heralded migration in American history" and a period when "for the first time in her short history more people were leaving the United States than were arriving." Most of these expatriates, not intellectuals but simple working men, were quickly disenchanted and wanted to return home, only to find that Moscow considered them Soviet citizens and barred them from leaving. Ignored by the American government, many of them ended in the gulag. In Tim Tzouliadis's Banished: 'The Forsaken' (Penguin Press, 436 pages, $29.95), their dismal story is told with great skill and indignation usually missing from Western accounts of communist Russia.

They came to Russia full of enthusiasm, bringing with them baseball and jazz, and eager to acclimatize. Russians found it difficult to believe the Americans' tales of woe when they saw their clothes, luxurious by Russian standards. And the migrants were themselves quite unprepared for the poverty and lawlessness which characterized life under Stalin, and in many if not most cases decided to leave. They soon learned, however, that when they surrendered their American passports upon stepping on Soviet soil (passports which were then used by Soviet agents in America), they had become, automatically, Soviet citizens. Protests and appeals to the American authorities qualified the émigrés in Moscow's eyes as troublemakers and led to their arrests, followed by confinement in concentration camps....