Stealing back your vote

It should be simple. You're a citizen, you should get to vote, right?

Wrong.

In Canada, its fairly simple to get on the voters' list if you are eligible. You can even get on the list of electors at the polling station on election day. You accept your ballot, mark it with an X and put it in the ballot box, and then go home and wait for the returns to roll in.

In the U.S. it isn't quite as easy as that. Rules, proceedures and the physical mechanics of voting and counting vary from state to state, even from polling station to polling station. And some people are doing their best to make it as difficult as possible for the "wrong sort" of voter.

The New York Time reports voters being illegally purged from electoral rolls in six battleground states -- not much of a surprise if you've been reading Greg Palast ( and if you haven't, what's wrong with you, you louche slacker bastards? His "Armed Madhouse" and "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy" should be required reading for anyone who votes.)

Let me make this very simple -- I'll type this very slowly for some of you who have trouble following things more complex than an episode of Dancing With The Stars-- The Republicans took office in 2000 because they were successful in keeping people, mostly blacks, from voting in Florida. The Republicans took office in 2004 because they used similar tricks to surpress the vote in Ohio. If you don't think they will do their best to surpress the vote in 2008 you are either too stupid to be allowed to vote or a Republican. Fortunately, Palast and Kennedy have whipped up this little number to show how to steal back your vote.

Radical ties
We've mentioned a few of John McCain's unsavory associations already -- not the least of which is his "close friend" Watergate thug G. Gordon Liddy -- but what of some of his inner circles' connections? Fancy seeing this in the Wall Street Journal:

The McCain campaign, in a continuing effort to link Barack Obama to domestic terrorism, released a statement Wednesday from a New York supporter, recounting how his family home was firebombed by the radical 1960s group founded by Obama supporter William Ayers.
But the McCain supporter, John M. Murtagh, has his own ties to radical protesters: He served as a lawyer for a Catholic priest who led protests at an abortion clinic that turned violent.

Then, of course, there is Sarah Palin's consorting with wingnuts from the John Birch Society and the Alaska Independence Party :

During the 1990s, when Chryson directed the AIP, he and another radical right-winger, Steve Stoll, played a quiet but pivotal role in electing Palin as mayor of Wasilla and shaping her political agenda afterward. Both Stoll and Chryson not only contributed to Palin’s campaign financially, they played major behind-the-scenes roles in the Palin camp before, during and after her victory.
Palin backed Chryson as he successfully advanced a host of anti-tax, pro-gun initiatives, including one that altered the state Constitution’s language to better facilitate the formation of anti-government militias. She joined in their vendetta against several local officials they disliked, and listened to their advice about hiring. She attempted to name Stoll, a John Birch Society activist known in the Mat-Su Valley as “Black Helicopter Steve,” to an empty Wasilla City Council seat. “Every time I showed up her door was open,” said Chryson. “And that policy continued when she became governor.”

Meanwhile, Barrack Obama has your October Surprise right here. My guess is he either gives another hard-hitting speech on race or runs an old episode of the Beverly Hillbillies with the Palin's and the McCain's faces superimposed via CGI, depending on where things stand in the polls.

McCain needs more cowbell

From "You Are My Sunshine" to "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow" campaign theme songs are a venerable part of presidential political campaigns. McCain/Palin '08 seem to be having some trouble finding someone who wants to be associated with the campaign.

Foo Fighters tell McCain to stop using song
NEW YORK (AP) — Yet another band is complaining about John McCain's use of their song to promote his campaign. This time, it's the Foo Fighters.
The rockers sent out a missive telling the Republican presidential candidate to stop using "My Hero." They said they learned it was being use through news reports.
"The saddest thing about this is that `My Hero' was written as a celebration of the common man and his extraordinary potential," the band said in a statement. "To have it appropriated without our knowledge and used in a manner that perverts the original sentiment of the lyric just tarnishes the song."
The band noted it's not the first time McCain has been told to stop using a song. John Mellencamp, Heart and Jackson Browne have also complained — Browne even filed a lawsuit.

Maybe they should ask Jackson Browne if they can use "Running on Empty"

"The sheriff is a ..."

With the world economy in freefall, I can't believe this even needs to be talked about, but after McCain's reference to "that one" in the debate, and the tenor of recent speeches by McCain and Palin and responses they have drawn -- it is pretty clear that the Republicans, desperate to distract, have once again hit the bottom of the barrel and started digging.

Don't for a second kid yourself that race no longer matters in America. Conservatives like the gang at the Corner like to claim that Barack Obama's nomination by the Democrats proves that discrimination against blacks no longer exists (reverse racism against white men, well according to them, that's another story ) Bullshit. Just have a look at what is going on in Virginia, in cyberspace, in Oregon, all over the place, everywhere.

The McCain campaign has given up on the dog whistle and dusted off the megaphone. (Thanks to Cynicor for the comprehensive list of recent sins)

From the LA Times Via Glenn Greenwald and Rising Hegemon :

Here (.pdf) is a newspaper column from Bobby May, the McCain campaign chair in Buchanan County, Virginia and correspondence secretary for the Buchanan County Republican Party, warning that "the platform of Barack Hussein Obama" includes:
Illegal Immigration: "Learn to Speak Spanish";
Terrorist Threat to America: "Learn to Speak Arabic";
Reparations to Black Community: Opposes before Election Day and supports after Election Day;
Freedom of Religion: Mandatory Black Liberation Theology courses taught in all churches;
Homosexual Marriage: Coddle sexual perverts. Give tax breaks for NAMBLA membership;
Drug Crisis: Raise taxes for free drugs for Obama's inner-city political base;
The White House: Hire rapper Ludacris to "paint it black."

It's a short step from "that one" to "you people" to "Sambo beat the bitch *" to the picking a new Grand Wizard. If only Barack had done those townhall meetings like McCain had asked him to, this wouldn't have had to happen.

And furthermore: A Maverick? I don't think so.

*sourcing discussed here

There but for the grace of God go I...

The scene: The moat of the Imperial Palace, Tokyo at 11 A.M. today.

interestingly, the original videos seem to have disappeared but you can still see it on the BBC 

site 

It's not me, but I work a block away and a few more of those 45 degree-85 percent humidity August days and I wouldn't necessarily rule it out for next year.

Update: Now you know (none of) the rest of the story

"Like watching Gidget address the Reichstag"
Matt Taibbi channels the spirit of Hunter S. Thompson. Go read it now!

Palling around with terrorists

Sarah Palin says Barack Obama palls around with terrorists because an acquaintance of his, William Ayers,was once a member of the Weather Underground, back when Obama was eight years old. As future Alaska Gov. Dave Noon (aw cmon Dave, run! please! Wouldn't you just love to debate her yourself?) points out, the Republicans really don't want to go there.

There is also talk that the Republican smear machine is gearing up to talk about Rev. Jeremiah Wright some more. Oh yeah, lets talk about whose preacher is crazier, the ex-Marine civil rights firebrand that Obama has split with, or the gay-hating, witch-hunting brace of looney toons who speak in tongues and think the Iraq war is part of the God's plan that Palin embraces.

If Team Maverick want to talk about who has connection to shady characters, radicals or ideologues that might affect the way they govern, well, bring it on. McCain has some very, very troubling friends - the aforementioned Watergate spook G. Gordon Liddy, financial deregulator Phil Gram, American Taliban Pastor John Hagee, to say nothing of the various mobbed-up gambling industry types and assorted lobbyists.

And of course, there's this guy:





Update: Dave Neiwert rightfully points out that Palin complaining about Obama hanging out with traitors is very much a case of the pot calling the kettle....uh.... well, you know what I mean . Hasn't she already shown her sympathy for a plan to break up the union? Doesn't she snuggle up every night with someone who favours treason in defense of oil profits?
Over at the Huffington Post, Sam Stein reminds us of John McCain's association with a group that backed Central American death squads.
Finally, in the interest of being fair and balanced, Jesus' General has a video that shines a light on the kind of radical organization Obama has joined and the sort of sleazy company this has put him in.