Well, I got up bright and early on Thursday and was out in Waukesha by about 8:20 for the McCain & Palin Town Hall meeting. The morning was sunny and the crowd excited. (I should have been there earlier.)

 

 

About 55 protesters for Obama were standing nearby. We exchanged chants. They yelled, 4 more years, Stop the war, Obama, etc. We retorted chants of, ACORN, Get a job, Pay your mortgage, John McCain, Palin, Stop Voter Fraud.

About 90 minutes later we were going through security. At first it looked like we were going to be stuck behind the press bleachers again, but after a bit, they allowed us in the bleacher section behind McCain and Palin.

There were the usual warm up "acts." Congressman Paul Ryan was the M.C. The crowd loved him. He asked, Who is ready to lead this land? Who do you trust to lead? Who has been tested? America doesn't need a show horse, America needs a work horse! 

 

 

Scott Walker was next. He joked, I like Sarah because finally I can go hunting with the Vice President! He then talked about Wisconsin's tax burden...We have one of the latest tax freedom days in our nation, April 24th instead of April 15th.

A Native American was next, Jennifer Youngblood. She works in Alaska and told us how 80 Alaskan residents began work on the natural gas pipeline this summer. Jennifer believes Native Americans could turn this vote since Arizona has so much tribal land and Illinois does not. [Sarah Palin is married to a Native American.]

Former Governor Tommy Thompson was fired up. I can't understand why the press is so afraid to pull back the covers on Barack Obama. He talked about Obama's record of voting "Present" and how you can't do that on a nuclear Iran or drilling. Tommy wrapped it up with, Democrats told Freddie to give out the money [even if the applicant couldn't pay it back]... You are just as guilty driving the getaway car as robbing the bank!

 

After a prayer, pledge of allegiance, and national anthem, finally McCain and Palin arrived.

We were sitting a few rows up in back of them. It is true the camera adds 10 pounds; Sarah is very trim! She commented later how she enjoyed running along our lake front this morning. John McCain looks much younger and trimmer in person too.

The usual opening remarks were made. Big cheers went up for McCain's spending freeze.

I think 12 questions were taken in all. The best of the bunch were Questions 6, "I'm mad" and 9 from J T Harris, "I've taken a ...whipping." 7 was pretty good too, about Obama's associations. I am listing 6 and 9 first, then the remaining ones after. Subjects will be in bold so you can look for the ones that interest you.

The 6th question was a biggie. "Thanks for coming. I'm mad! I'm really mad! (YouTube link) And what's gonna surprise you is it's not the economy--it's the socialists taking over our country!" (This one brought down the house--standing ovation.) When you have Obama, Pelosi, and the rest of the Hooligans represent our country... It's time you represent us. GO GET 'EM!!!" More applause and chant, USA, USA, USA!!!

McCain quipped back, I think I got the message. The gentleman is right. Democrats have been in control. Have you noticed any improvement? About ACORN. There are serious allegations about voting. They should be investigated immediately before Nov. 4th, so Americans won't be denied their precious right to vote.

Question 9 brought down the house! J. T. Harris, an African American, the man to Palin and McCain's right, stood up and said,

"God bless you Governor Palin, you are a barracuda, we need that...God bless you Senator for your service to your country, for your leadership. At the convention, you asked us to fight for you...I have to tell you, I doubt there is anyone in this room who has taken the [backside]whipping I have taken for supporting you and your policy!" BIG, BIG, BIG STANDING OVATION.

"Sir, I believe in the next debate, it is absolutely vital that you take it to Obama, that you hit him where it hits as a softball, Sir ACORN is out there, we have the good Rev Wright, Flagler , we have all these shady characters that have surrounded him. We have corruption in Wisconsin and across the nation. I am begging you sir, to take it to him [Obama in the next debate.]"  (Photo was taken after his statement.)

McCain, "Thank you for your courage... I believe your reward will be in heaven not here on earth... Yes, I will do that." But I want to address the greatest financial challenge of our lifetime with a positive plan of action... we will do both.

The other questions in order: 

First question was on health insurance: She wanted to be able to pool with other company's groups. McCain agreed. You should be able to go anywhere for your insurance--why be restricted?

Question 2 from a Realtor--Freddie/Fannie. Will you take immediate actions to investigate, prosecute and name names [on Freddie Fannie scandal]?  McCain said, I will. BIG CHEER

3rd question was on abortion. The moderator clearly did not bring the subject up. With 3rd debate, will you find a way to bring it up? I think McCain agreed and said life begins at conception. Some of the greatest words ever written, "...that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty..." He then added, We need to change the culture in America and show compassion and courage to support young women in this situation and improve adoption.

4th question--oil and exportation of Alaskan oil to China. Sarah Palin answered, We need to drill more. No, it is not a huge proportion that is exported.  

Question 5 was on Hate Crimes legislature trying to stop free speech. McCain answered,  I don't think I can divine the intent of a crime...we just need to prosecute [the actions].

7th question asked, How is it Obama got where he is? We are all a product of our associations. Is there any way to get around this media? [who won't look into Obama and Ayers, Wright, ACORN, etc.] McCain answered, We need to know the full extend of the relationships. Then he brought up character, how Obama said he would take the public money if I did and said that he negotiated with me about it. He did not. [Obama opted to be privately funded.]

Q. 8 was just about the cost of gas.  Palin talked about drilling and "all of the above"

Q. 10 was about special needs children.

Question 11 was about one of Obama's "tiny" countries: Venezuela. What would you do if Chavez shows aggression to other S. American countries? McCain replied that Hugo Chavez is a great reason for energy independence! Strengthening relations with the President of Columbia was part of his solution.

Question 12 was from a Vet. He took issue with Obama's statement of our troops in Afghanistan [bombing villages etc.] He introduced his adopted son, a former Iraqi citizen, now an American. I appreciate your support of war Vets, but when I talk to soldiers, what we want more than anything is to win the war against terrorism. Lots of applause for him and his son.

That was it for the questions. Handshakes and autographs followed for quite some time. I was glad I went.

Once outside, we still were not allowed to leave until the Straight Talk Express bus with McCain and Palin in it left. The crowd was pumped but very discouraged about the prospect of voter fraud.

I have attempted to give you a flavor of the meeting. If you want to hear the exact question and answer, check the Video feed of Town Hall & Audio of Town Hall Thanks, Cindy, at Fairly Conservative

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Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Jay Weber, Mark Levin,  Vicki Mckenna

 

On the news yesterday, I heard that John McCain and Sarah Palin will go to La Crosse Friday after their stop in Waukesha on Thursday. I think that is a good move. McCain will also be in Mosinee, WI, and Palin in Wilmington, OH later on Thursday.

Yesterday, Gov. Sarah Palin said she wanted to go back to Michigan--she wasn't giving up on that state. That is good news for Michigan since The GOP in Michigan is still trying to "boost efforts" in the state.

I just heard about this PAC group, Our Country Deserves Better. They aren't willing to give up Michigan either. In fact, they are holding a 2 day web-a-thon to raise $500,000 by Thursday morning. In their first day, they raised a little over half of it according to their CONTRIBUTE NOW page.

Their logic is that if McCain just gives Michigan up, Obama won't need to spend any time or money there.

The 17 electoral votes will be lost to Obama/Biden.  Down-ballot races of candidates sympathetic to McCain will lose.  And Obama will be able to take money he had intended for Michigan and put it into other swing states such as Nevada, Virginia, Florida, Ohio and Missouri.

We might be focusing on the presidential race, but the president isn't the only candidate on the ballot. The entire House is on the Nov. 4th ballot, and 36 Senators are up for election too.

The thought of an unbridled Democrat majority House and Democrat majority Senate with a Democrat President is enough motivation for citizens to shell out $254,000 (so far) to help Michigan. 

 

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Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Jay Weber, Mark Levin,  Vicki Mckenna

 

That's right.  ACORN Vegas Office Raided in Voter Fraud Investigation this morning: (My emphasis)

Bob Walsh, spokesman for the Nevada secretary of state's office, told FOXNews.com the raid was prompted by ongoing complaints about "erroneous" registration information being submitted by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, also called ACORN. 

The group was submitting the information through a voter sign-up drive known as Project Vote. 

"Some of them used nonexistent names, some of them used false addresses and some of them were duplicates of previously filed applications," Walsh said, describing the complaints, which largely came from the registrar in Clark County, Nev. 

Sound familiar? How about this? 

Secretary of State Ross Miller [a Democrat] said the fraudulent registrations included forms for the starting lineup of the Dallas Cowboys football team.

...

But it's not the first time ACORN's been under investigation for registration irregularities. The raid is the latest of at least nine investigations into possible fraudulent voter registration forms submitted by ACORN -- the probes have involved ACORN workers in Wisconsin, New Mexico, Indiana and other states. 

In 2006, ACORN also committed what Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed called the "worse case of election fraud" in the state's history. 

In the case, ACORN submitted just over 1,800 new voter registration forms, and all but six of the 1,800 names were fake.

Can you imagine? A whopping 1,774 names were phony out of 1,800 in that 2006 case? 

How many Ohio registrations are fake? How about Wisconsin?

Until we get a nationwide voter ID law, we will never know.

 

Question of the night: Will John McCain bring up the other branch of the ACORN family and Barack Obama's involvement in it tonight at the debate? Or how about Obama's working relationship with Bill Ayers, the self admitted bomber of the US Capitol, police headquarters and Pentagon?

Obama, "I've chaired major philanthropic efforts in the city, like the Chicago Annenberg Challenge that gave $50 million to prop school reform efforts throughout the city."

The Chicago Annenberg Challenge, or CAC, was founded in part by Ayers, who was also co-chairman of the Chicago School Reform Collaborative, one of the two operational arms of the CAC. Obama served as CAC chairman.

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Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Jay Weber, Mark Levin,  Vicki Mckenna

Between the voter fraud issue and yesterday's stock market, sometimes a body needs a little comic relief!

Here it is: How well do you know your Presidential Candidate? Match-o-Matic II

It's a quiz from ABC News. The graphics are cute, but there is something to think about too. If you click on the above link, you see a cartoon of the White House and Obama and McCain on a teeter totter.

The object of the quiz is to pick between 2 statements, made by the candidates on various issues, that you most agree with. It then matches the quote with the candidate. At the end, it shows which candidate's philosophy you agree with most. (No big surprise here on my quiz, McCain bounced Obama off the teeter totter. I missed 1 out of 13.)

Have fun!

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Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Jay Weber, Mark Levin,  Vicki Mckenna

 

The question of the day is, will Sen. John McCain go to the debate tonight? (UPDATE: Yes)

If he does not go, here are 2 possibilities:

1. Send Governor Palin. She seems to have done well impressing the various leaders at the UN meetings:

The presidents of Iraq and Georgia gushed over Palin as they met with her yesterday. And Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai told an audience Tuesday night after meeting Palin earlier that day that she asked all the right questions.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari expressed great joy in meeting her during the short photo session at the start of their meeting that was viewed by reporters and cameras.

"You are even more gorgeous than you are on the [inaudible]," Zardari said.

"You are so nice. Thank you," Palin said.

"Now I know why the whole of America is crazy about you," Zardari said, as his handler told them to shake hands for the cameras.

2. Last night Ann Coulter quipped, Barack Obama could debate Joe Biden!  ;-)

I will be watching tonight to see what develops. Even if John McCain shows up, it will be disappointing to me. For some reason, I thought teleprompters were not allowed at the debates, I now know differently. (No wonder only the Town Hall meeting invitations were declined.) 

 

Please, comment content should relate to the subject of the post. Although I try to respond to many, do not interpret my lack of a response as agreement.

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Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin,  Vicki Mckenna

 

Yup, it is true. Former President Bill Clinton appeared on Good Morning America this morning and defended John McCain. (Politics makes strange bedfellows!)

ABC News' Nitya Venkataraman Reports: Former President Bill Clinton defended Sen. John McCain's request to delay the first presidential debate, saying McCain did it in "good faith" and pushed organizers to reserve time for economy talk during the debate if the Friday plans move forward.

... 

"We know he didn't do it because he's afraid because Sen. McCain wanted more debates," Clinton said, adding that he was "encouraged" by the joint statement from McCain and Sen. Barack Obama.

Clinton also commented on the Democrat's accusation that this problem came out of nowhere--we had nothing to do with this. He admitted some responsibility in this mess lies with the Democrats in Congress. (About half way through the clip)

Well... ...the responsibility that the Democrats have may rest more in resisting any efforts by Republicans in the Congress or by me when I was President to put in some standards and tighten up a little with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. [He also blamed the Up Tick rule.]

I really hope the Congress acts in good faith and not in their typical political way, as in the NO Drill Bill. When Sen. Obama originally stated that he would not come, that "If you need me, call me." if he was needed, I wondered how that would have gone over with the Democrats if Pres. Bush had done that with Hurricane Katrina.

GOPUSA's piece, Bailing out the Bailout, talks about Sen. Reid's flip flop on McCain's presence and what some conservatives hope McCain can do, 

...Until McCain's announcement, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid seemed inclined to support the $700 billion bailout bill -- provided Democrats could lard it with their own goodies -- but only if McCain (and other Republicans) would support the package and provide the Dems with political cover.

"I got some good news in the last hour or so ... it appears that Sen. McCain is going to come out for this," Reid announced Tuesday evening.

...

Reid's office promptly released a statement that said, "We need leadership; not a campaign photo-op." So the bailout is worth spending $700 billion of other people's money -- but not worth McCain flying to Washington to broker a doable deal? Get the feeling Reid is completely out of touch?

Now, what if McCain could reduce the size of the bailout? (That is a tall order, but hope springs eternal with me.)

If, however, McCain can broker a more fiscally responsible plan -- read one with a price tag about half of the original's size or less, and with a cap on executive pay -- he just might be able to broker a deal that can pass muster.

McCain is taking a huge chance here. Even just going to Washington to vote on this measure is a risk. One has to wonder if Obama hoped he could duck the whole thing by not going to the Senate to vote at all--a variation on voting, "Present."

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Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin,  Vicki Mckenna

 

In the land of double standard politics, here is another story.

AP Whines Palin 'Banned' Them From Chat with Foreign Leaders, No Such Concern When Obama Did:

Palin is in New York City for the open of the United Nations General Assembly. A review of media coverage from Obama's behind-closed-doors chats with European heads of state, however, shows no such complaint by the media about a lack of access.

As you know, Sarah Palin was originally invited to speak on Monday at the anti-Iran rally organized by a Jewish group in New York. But then the Dems Threaten Anti-Iran Rally Organizers With IRS Attack if they Let Palin Speak. She was dis-invited:

News has emerged that the organizers of that anti-Iran rally that famously got snarled up in Senator Hillary Clinton's ire at Governor Sarah Palin last week were threatened by New York Democrats with IRS action against their tax-exempt status if they allowed Palin to speak.

What would she have said? Her prepared speech is available, thanks to the internet. Palin on Ahmadinejad: 'He Must Be Stopped':

...The world must awake to the threat this man poses to all of us. Ahmadinejad denies that the Holocaust ever took place. He dreams of being an agent in a "Final Solution" — the elimination of the Jewish people. He has called Israel a "stinking corpse" that is "on its way to annihilation." Such talk cannot be dismissed as the ravings of a madman — not when Iran just this summer tested long-range Shahab-3 missiles capable of striking Tel Aviv, not when the Iranian nuclear program is nearing completion, and not when Iran sponsors terrorists that threaten and kill innocent people around the world.

Her speech lists sanctions and measures the US and world must enforce but also of McCain's promise to "Never again will we risk another Holocaust. And this is not a wish, a request, or a plea to Israel's enemies. This is a promise that the United States and Israel will honor, against any enemy who cares to test us."

Governor Palin went to New York anyway and "also asked former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger for insights on Georgia, Russia, China and Iran, and she'll see more leaders Wednesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings." Palin meets her first world leaders in New York:

Palin sat down with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. The conversations were private, the pictures public, meant to build her resume for voters concerned about her lack of experience in world affairs.

"I found her quite a capable woman," Karzai said later. "She asked the right questions on Afghanistan."

Today more meetings are planned,

...McCain and Palin are expected to meet jointly with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili and Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko. Palin is then to meet separately with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The AP, as cited above, isn't happy about their denial of access to these meetings, but it was OK that Obama denied access to his meetings with leaders on his European tour?

Yet when Sen. Barack Obama went to Europe this summer and met with past and present foreign leaders, print media were similarly on the outside looking in. Obama met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former and current British Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown (respectively), and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

No doubt about it, this is Governor Sarah Palin's chance to meet with these world leaders--she is new on the world leader scene.

Senator Obama is hardly a heavyweight in foreign policy either, "Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, these countries are tiny, compared to the Soviet Union, they don't pose a serious threat to us...If Iran would ever tried to pose a serious threat to us, they would not stand a chance." (Um, Obama, remember Japan and Pearl Harbor and Germany and WW2?)  As for Biden, well, he is Biden.

Is it more important for a VP candidate to have years of experience, chronologically speaking, yet shoot their mouth off misspeaking all over the place: no clean coal in the US, stand up Chuck, Hillary Clinton would be better than me, a divided Jerusalem is the solution, Roosevelt went on TV, and the like, or is the ability to make good decisions more important than years of experience?

 

PS  In response to Contrarian's comment that Palin avoids the media and voter questions, this is not true. I forgot about this until Rush Limbaugh mentioned it today. She will be interviewed by Katie Couric tonight and does take questions after town hall meetings. I had even seen a clip of a town hall meeting on a news show--sorry, I don't remember which one--and it was laughable. McCain would call on an audience member for a question, but question after question was for Palin. He took his rejection in a good hearted way, but it was clear that they all wanted to speak with her and she answered easily. She may have no use for the mainstream media, but she is talking to the people.

Brookfield District 7 Info meeting, Wed., Sept. 24, 2-3pm or 6:30-7:30pm City Clerk Kris Schmidt will be in attendance to answer questions or concerns regarding recent news about the Van Hollen lawsuit against the state elections authority.

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Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin,  Vicki Mckenna

What if I had a cure for Parkinson's, leukemia, diabetes, or paralysis caused by spinal cord injury? All you would have to do is take an infant, remove all of its stem cells (sorry, the infant dies), tweak the cells, and transfer them to the ill patient.

Would you do it?

Most people wouldn't and would consider that murderous act barbaric. Yet those who favor embryonic stem cell research are in effect doing just that in the eyes of those who are pro-life.

If you believe that life begins at conception, then even using an embryo for research purposes is an act of murder.

President Bush has been adamantly opposed to federal funding for embryonic stem cell research for that very reason. (The Bush stance only opposes federal funding--not outlawing private research.)

McCain has voted for existing embryonic stem cell research in the past, but those measures failed. John McCain is opposed to embryonic stem cell research that would encourage growing embryos for the purpose. The Republican platform is against any federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, but THEY ALL, BUSH, McCAIN, and PALIN FAVOR FEDERAL FUNDING FOR ADULT STEM CELL RESEARCH! 

The outrageous Obama radio ad that distorts McCain's position includes a woman talking about her diabetic daughter. She says that John McCain is opposed to stem cell research. It goes on to say that medical research, benefiting millions, shouldn't be held hostage by a few.

So why do the Democrats constantly tell people that McCain and Bush are against stem cell research?

Two reasons: One, they want to portray the Republicans as heartless cretins, too stuck on religious principal to care about the ill. Two, if the Democrats can get people to buy into the necessity for embryonic stem cell research, it will dilute the anti-abortion/sanctity of life position of conservatives.

The issue should become moot in time, according to CNS, which is consistent with what I have seen reported*,

Stem cells obtained from adult humans have been widely acclaimed for their ability to promote human health and stave off dreaded illnesses. Stem cells obtained from human embryos, however, have not been successful in yielding results in scientific research thus far.

It will be wonderful to cure some of these diseases in the near future. McCain and Palin are in favor of curing these diseases too, just not at the expense of another individual! Remember that next time you hear an Obama ad saying they aren't.

PS Nick Reed (substitute for Vicki McKenna) called the mother, Jody Montgomery, from the ad to ask if she knew she was telling a complete lie. Turns out, this is the same woman who used the same type ad against Mark Green 2 years ago. Listen to the podcast from the 10am hour on Sept. 24th to hear more.

*Nick Reed just name some of the 73 benefits to human patients obtained from ADULT stem cell research on the same radio program. He continued the stem cell discussion into the 11am hour. He mentioned the 73 benefits at about 11:20am if you were listening to the podcast. See Stemcellresearch.org 

Brookfield District 7 Info meeting, Wed., Sept. 24, 2-3pm or 6:30-7:30pm City Clerk Kris Schmidt will be in attendance to answer questions or concerns regarding recent news about the Van Hollen lawsuit against the state elections authority.

Please, comment content should relate to the subject of the post. Although I try to respond to many, do not interpret my lack of a response as agreement.

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Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin,  Vicki Mckenna

 

I constantly hear the Palin affect if over and done with--mostly from liberals. How then do we explain that Barack Obama drew a crowd of 6,000 in Green Bay and Sarah Palin drew about 60,000 in Florida? Granted, she was in very friendly territory, but people still waited for hours in the hot sun to see her.

A 60,000 person draw is pretty good for a woman who was called "disabled" by Democrat Charles Rangel.

What happened to Obama up in Packer country? The Chicago Sun Times reported, Uncharacteristically low turnout for Barack Obama rally in Green Bay, Wis., McCain/Palin drew 4,000 more supporters at same venue a week ago.

Just a week ago, John McCain and his vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin — who can bring out crowds the way Obama can — appeared in this same stadium, Resch Center, to a crowd of 10,000 fans. There were an uncharacteristic amount of empty orange seats for Obama’s rally.

In their defense, Obama's backers note their rally was held on Monday at noon, compared to a Thursday night rally for McCain and Palin.

Time will tell of course which way Wisconsin goes come Nov. 4th. I think we will need a large margin of Republican votes to counter the voter fraud in this state. But as the Obama campaign shadows the McCain campaign in battleground states and venues, I will be watching to see how the attendance numbers compare.

Brookfield District 7 Info meeting, Wed., Sept. 24, 2-3pm or 6:30-7:30pm City Clerk Kris Schmidt will be in attendance to answer questions or concerns regarding recent news about the Van Hollen lawsuit against the state elections authority.

Please, comment content should relate to the subject of the post. Although I try to respond to many, do not interpret my lack of a response as agreement.

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Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin,  Vicki Mckenna

 

 

 

I would like to formally retract a comment I made on Cindy Kilkenny's Fairly Conservative blog. It was regarding Tina Fey's impersonation of Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live (Sept. 13th.) I said,

I did not see the program but heard about it today and read the script. Unbelievable. There is NOTHING funny about incest and certainly nothing funny about hinting at it going on in the Palin household. NBC's Saturday Night Live might think they can pass this sketch off as a slam on the New York Times, but I think it is just a disgusting attempt to further smear the Republican's VP pick.

Speaking of slamming the New York Times, today, McCain strategist Steve Schmidt called the New York Times a "Pro-Obama Advocacy Organization,"

Let's be clear and be honest with each other. Whatever the New York Times once was, it is today not by any standard a journalistic organization.

"It is a pro-Obama advocacy organization that every day, attacks the McCain campaign, attacks Gov. Palin and excuses Sen. Obama."

"There is no level of public vetting. There is no level of outrage ... let's not be dishonest and call it something other than what it is. Everything that is in the New York Times that attacks this campaign should be evaluated from that perspective."

Don't forget, MS-NBC is "in the tank" for Obama too. 

No other candidate has been treated like Sarah Palin has--ever. To have the lefty media attack her and her family like this is truly vile.

If the liberal media keeps this up, soon they will have no independent minded or conservative viewers left. This election is certainly showing the media's true blue state colors.

 

Brookfield District 7 Info meeting, Wed., Sept. 24, 2-3pm or 6:30-7:30pm City Clerk Kris Schmidt will be in attendance to answer questions or concerns regarding recent news about the Van Hollen lawsuit against the state elections authority.

Please, comment content should relate to the subject of the post. Although I try to respond to many, do not interpret my lack of a response as agreement.

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Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin,  Vicki Mckenna

Barack Obama has an ad running about lobbyists advising the McCain campaign. In light of the Freddie and Fannie mess, and that Obama was the #2 recipient ($152,698) of Freddie/Fannie donations, if I were Obama, I don't think I would even bring this up. (McCain "has taken $16,400 from Freddie and Fannie employees since 2005.")

John McCain is fighting back against Obama's accusations with this new ad, "Advice"

"Obama has no background in economics.

Who advises him?

The Post says it's Franklin Raines, for "advice on mortgage and housing policy."

Shocking.

Under Raines, Fannie Mae committed "extensive financial fraud." ....

The McCain ad goes on to cite various news articles and some disturbing facts about Johnson and Raines. If you care to look at the news items the ad was based on, here they are:

"The Obama Campaign Has Solicited Franklin Raines, Who "Stepped Down As Fannie Mae's Chief Executive Under The Shadow Of A $6.3 Billion Accounting Scandal," For "Advice On Mortgage And Housing Policy." "In the four years since he stepped down as Fannie Mae's chief executive under the shadow of a $6.3 billion accounting scandal, Franklin D. Raines has been quietly constructing a new life for himself. He has shaved eight points off his golf handicap, taken a corner office in Steve Case's D.C. conglomeration of finance, entertainment and health-care companies and more recently, taken calls from Barack Obama's presidential campaign seeking his advice on mortgage and housing policy matters."

"...In October 2003, even as Raines was invited to the Bush White House to receive a leadership award on behalf of Fannie Mae, investigators were about to look into the company's accounting books. A year later, Congress held a hearing on accounting irregularities at the company. By the end of 2004, Raines was forced out by the board, accused by regulators of overseeing accounting manipulations to bolster his compensation. Both from On the Outside Now, Watching Fannie Falter

 

"The Washington Post: "Two Members Of Mr. Obama's Political Circle, James A. Johnson And Franklin D. Raines, Are Former Chief Executives Of Fannie Mae." From Tough Decision Coming

 

Under Franklin Raines' Leadership, Fannie Mae Committed "Extensive Financial Fraud" And Was Forced To Pay A $400 Million Civil Penalty. "In a May report, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight found that Fannie Mae under Raines perpetrated 'extensive financial fraud' so that executives could collect big bonuses. There have been no criminal charges, but the conduct of Raines and other senior Fannie executives 'was inconsistent with the values of responsibility, accountability, and integrity,' the agencies said. Fannie paid a $400 million civil penalty this year to the SEC and OFHEO." From Raines Claiming Accountability Isn't Enough,

 

Franklin Raines Received $114,000 Monthly Pension Benefit. "While disclosing the number and current value of stock options Raines was allowed to keep when he retired, as well as his $114,000 monthly pension benefit, Fannie Mae did not disclose any estimates of how much these benefits would ultimately cost shareholders."

Franklin Raines' Retirement Package From Fannie Mae Was Estimated To Be Worth As Much As $25 Million. "Raines was 55 when he retired, and the authors estimated that his retirement package could be worth as much as $25 million to him and his wife." Both from Study of Fannie Mae Cites 'Perverse" Executive-pay Policy

FYI,  "Obama's running mate, Joe Biden, took just one donation, for $500, from one Freddie employee. McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, is Fannie- and Freddie-free, having never run for federal office."

I am sure we will hear more back and forth on this subject. One thing is for sure, the lead time on new ad creation has certainly been reduced!

 

Brookfield District 7 Info meeting, Wed., Sept. 24, 2-3pm or 6:30-7:30pm

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Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin,  Vicki Mckenna

 

The public and the press are often fickle. One day they praise you, the next they ridicule. That seems to be the case with VP pick Sen. Joe Biden. At first he was praised for adding experience to the Obama ticket, but now he is fast becoming Joe Biden: The incredible shrinking candidate.

Someone should break the bad news to Sen. Joe Biden: As a vice presidential candidate he's doing far worse than Dan Quayle.

In 1988 Quayle became a national laughingstock to the liberal American mainstream media. But he did succeed in helping rally an even-then somewhat dubious Reaganite-conservative GOP base behind Vice President George Herbert Walker Bush, who coasted to an easy victory over Democratic nominee Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis.

It is far better for vice presidential candidates to be lightning rods who are despised by the national media but who are good at rallying the grassroots of the party.

Even Biden expressed his wonderment over Obama picking him for VP when he said, "She's [Hillary] easily qualified to be vice president of the United States of America and, quite frankly, it might have been a better pick than me, but she is first-rate."

If Obama should win the White House, one has to wonder just what role Biden would play. Would Joe Biden even be trusted to fulfill the standard VP role of attending funerals? Can you imagine "Stand up, Chuck" at a state funeral?

But for now, Sen. Joe Biden, who had his own presidential aspirations, is fulfilling his V.P. candidate role.

He works hard, he churns out the speeches, he castigates Republican nominee McCain of Arizona as the fearless "attack dog" he was supposed to be. Yet after he does everything he was supposed to do, even the media who sang hosannas over his selection just report it all glumly and then shrug it off. And no one else cares.

...So far, Attack Dog Biden hasn't managed to land even a friendly lick on John McCain's face. While Palin flourishes amid the media's most frenzied efforts to smear and destroy her, Biden shrivels under that far crueler death blow to any politician's ego--amiable and polite forgetfulness. He is too ineffectual and peripheral to even warrant contempt.

Ouch. But that is the way of roses. They bud, bloom and look beautiful, then they wilt and are cast into the trash--only the thorns remain.

 

Speaking of roses and funerals...The bloom is off the Obama rose for some African Americans, he was heckled at a recent speech (protest signs are OK, but I do not approve of their vocal behavior), and Obama could use a little brush up on memorial decorum. See 9/11 Ground Zero etiquette: A tale of two roses 

Brookfield District 7 Info meeting, Wed., Sept. 24, 2-3pm or 6:30-7:30pm

Please, comment content should relate to the subject of the post. Although I try to respond to many, do not interpret my lack of a response as agreement.

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Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin,  Vicki Mckenna

 

 

I cannot believe people don't understand this, but here it goes.

The old saying, putting lipstick on a pig, is rather like the saying, making a silk purse out of a sows ear. It just means that you can try to dress up a dirty, bloated pig, but it is still a pig. Pretty simple. 

When Sarah Palin told the joke about the difference between a pit bull dog and a hockey mom being lipstick, she was comparing the ferocity of the pit bull with the fighting spirit of a mother of a hockey player. In other words, she was saying she had the grit and tenacity to fight Washington.

The fierce fighting nature of a pit bull is well known. Fighting for what is right is a noble thing. Sometimes the image of a lioness is used to convey the same fighting spirit--that nothing will stand in your way of protecting your charge.

Pigs on the other hand are not associated with anything noble. Pigs are associated with dirtiness, laziness, disease, excess, and general slovenliness.  

Pigs are considered unclean animals by Jews, Muslims, and some Christians. My apologies to Charlotte's Web and Babe fans, but no one would be flattered by being compared to a pig (and I like pigs.)

Barack Obama recently compared McCain's economic policy to putting lipstick on a pig. Obama may or may not have "gotten" that his comparison, coming on the heels of Palin's convention speech, might lead people to think he was referring to her. (She compared her fighting spirit to that of a pit bull--she was just as fierce, she just wore lipstick)  Obama may not have intended the slam, but his audience sure did--they cheered wildly.

And while I am at it, a president must be mindful of his words and their potential to offend. If you read the transcript of Obama's words from the incident, do they sound presidential? His diction and speech pattern is very different from his more formal speeches. Plus, it doesn't even look like they were his own words! From NewsBusters:

The folks at FreeRepublic have found an interesting... uh, shall we say coincidence... concerning Barack Obama's widely panned September 9 comments made at a rally in Virginia where he seemed to be saying that Governor Palin was a "pig" by referencing the "lipstick" quote from her acceptance speech at the GOP convention. It is looking like Obama's comments were not off the cuff, but scripted. And, not only were they scripted, but they were stolen without attribution from a Washington Post political cartoon by Tom Toles from September 5. Will the media notice?

Obama may or may not have intended the slam. Either way, to me, it still shows an error in judgment.

 

Brookfield District 7 Info meeting, Wed., Sept. 24, 2-3 or 6:30-7:30pm

Please, comment content should relate to the subject of the post. Although I try to respond to many, do not interpret my lack of a response as agreement.

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Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin,  Vicki Mckenna

 

 

You probably heard by now how Joe Biden asked handicapped State Senator, Chuck Graham to stand up at a campaign stop. Trouble was, Chuck was in a wheelchair.  

Biden handled his gaffe about as well as anyone could. It was an innocent mistake.

This next "mistake" is not so innocent. (H/T Fairly Conservative)

In a recent Obama ad, John McCain is criticized as being out of touch for not even being able to send an email. Obama mocks McCain for being out-of-touch and computer illiterate in new TV ad:

"John McCain is mocked as an out-of-touch, out-of-date computer illiterate in a television commercial out Friday from Barack Obama as the Democrat begins his sharpest barrage yet on McCain's long Washington career.

...

Obama spokesman Dan Pfeiffer said the campaign was not making an issue of the 72-year-old McCain's age, but the time he's spent in Washington.

 "Our economy wouldn't survive without the Internet, and cyber-security continues to represent one our most serious national security threats," Pfeiffer said. "It's extraordinary that someone who wants to be our president and our commander in chief doesn't know how to send an e-mail."

McCain has said he relies on his wife and staff to work the computer for him and that he doesn't use e-mail.

When I saw the ad, I just thought, What, and any text messaging teenybopper is qualified to be president because they can send an email? What does sending an email have to do with the wisdom and experience necessary to be a president?

Many a high level executive barely knows how to dial the telephone! (Just ask any administrative assistant.) "Bill Clinton sent two emails during his entire presidency and often admitted he didn't know squat about the internet." [Odd that Al Gore didn't clue him in, since Al invented the internet. ;-) ]

But there is a more serious side to this accusation. John McCain cannot type or do other fine motor skill requiring hand movements such as tying a shoe, because of his prisoner of war injuries. From the Boston Globe (March 4, 2000):

"McCain gets emotional at the mention of military families needing food stamps or veterans lacking health care. The outrage comes from inside: McCain's severe war injuries prevent him from combing his hair, typing on a keyboard, or tying his shoes. Friends marvel at McCain's encyclopedic knowledge of sports. He's an avid fan - Ted Williams is his hero - but he can't raise his arm above his shoulder to throw a baseball.

Oh-oh. Oops. Get the egg off of the face. You would have thought the in-touch campaign team would have used the internet and Googled that info before crafting their ad.

This latest Obama ad is rather like criticizing Franklin D.Roosevelt as being insensitive to the environment and not conserving gasoline because he doesn't walk, isn't it?

At any rate, I don't think this is one even Joe Biden can joke his way out of.

 

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Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin,  Vicki Mckenna

 

 

I know what the Monroe Doctrine is. I could even tell you that Kennedy pledged to help any country struggling to be free--a take off on the Truman Doctrine: to "support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures."

But I confess I was not familiar with the term Bush Doctrine. At least not in the way Charlie Gibson presented it in his 1st interview with Governor Sarah Palin on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008.

Seems I am not alone in wondering, what in the world is that? Even Barbara Walters on The View said something akin to she did not know that all politicians would know what that term meant. No wonder.

According to Wikipedia on the Bush Doctrine, there are many aspects to it. "Foreign policy experts argue over the meaning of the term "Bush Doctrine," and some scholars have suggested that there is no one unified theory underlying Bush's foreign policy."

Charles Krauthammer exposed Charles Gibson's Gaffe in this Washington Post piece.

"He [Gibson] asked Governor Palin, 'Do you agree with the Bush doctrine?'

She responded, quite sensibly to a question that is ambiguous, 'In what respect, Charlie?'

There are many aspects to the Bush Doctrine. It isn't just one concept as Charlie tried to infer, and he seemed unwilling to define it. (I think Sarah was wise in asking him to define his term. It is always good to know what you are agreeing with.)

Sensing his "gotcha" moment, Gibson refused to tell her. After making her fish for the answer, Gibson grudgingly explained to the moose-hunting rube that the Bush doctrine "is that we have the right of anticipatory self-defense," ["that we have the right to a preemptive strike against any other country that we think is going to attack us. Do you agree with that?"]

So when Charles Gibson defined it, he did so incorrectly. Sarah then restated that portion of the Bush Doctrine, so there would be little doubt as to her convictions. (The Bush Doctrine being the collection of foreign policy themes over the years.)

Palin: "Charlie, if there is legitimate and enough intelligence that tells us that a strike is imminent against American people, we have every right to defend our country. In fact, the president has the obligation, the duty to defend."

Sarah made sure her position was well defined, that preemptive strikes were not to be based on a feeling or hunch as Gibson suggested but on legitimate intelligence. 

I found Charlie Gibson's attitude annoying throughout the interview. Guess I wasn't alone. Krauthammer sums up:

Presidential doctrines are inherently malleable and difficult to define. The only fixed "doctrines" in American history are the Monroe and the Truman doctrines which come out of single presidential statements during administrations where there were few other contradictory or conflicting foreign policy crosscurrents.

Such is not the case with the Bush doctrine.

Yes, Sarah Palin didn't know what it is. But neither does Charlie Gibson. And at least she didn't pretend to know -- while he looked down his nose and over his glasses with weary disdain, sighing and "sounding like an impatient teacher," as the Times noted. In doing so, he captured perfectly the establishment snobbery and intellectual condescension that has characterized the chattering classes' reaction to the mother of five who presumes to play on their stage.

The question on Pakistan was irritating to me as well as the one on Israel's right to protect itself against Iran. (Wasn't that the one Obama said he would not answer because he did not deal in hypothetical questions?)

I kept thinking to myself, I sure wish these same questions would be presented to all the Presidential and VP candidates...but then that would only be in a perfect world.

 

Found this: Gibson didn't pound John Edwards in 2004; Asked him only if GOP attacks made him mad

Please, comment content should relate to the subject of the post. Although I try to respond to many, do not interpret my lack of a response as agreement.

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Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin,  Vicki Mckenna