Fox News: Unfair and Unbalanced?

Did you hear that ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, and CNN failed to cover the September 12th Tea Party protest in Washington DC? According to the full-page ad Fox News (Fair & Balanced™) took out in the Washington Post, none of these networks covered the event.

Except that they did. And now the networks are firing back.

Here's CNN's Rick Sanchez flat out saying Fox News was lying.



Now CNN is running an ad. I love it. You will too.



So much for being Fair & Balanced™.

If "Today" Had Any Balls, They Would Ban Her For Life

Okay, I'm going to try to get through this entire post without once typing her name. I think you know the woman of which I speak. She's that narcissistic, racist with shapely legs (which she always highlights in an almost too-short-to-be-legal micro-mini skirt) and long blonde hair who somehow has a career despite being one of the most hateful puppets of the Far Right.

Yes, next time, I'll let you know what I really think and not withhold my feelings.

Anyway, she was on the Today Show this morning to discuss some new cat litter box liner book she has just released. Now I haven't read it, nor will I. I would rather spend a day shoving daggers in my eyes.

Matt Lauer called her out on her allegation that single mothers are the cause of "almost all" of society's ills. Really. That's what she says. And single moms, she claims, are the result of the nasty liberals killing marriage over the last few decades. Crime? It's the fault of single moms. Drugs? Blame the single moms! Rape? Those damn single moms. Poverty? Single moms AGAIN. Illiteracy? Single moms fault.

I'd like to point out to her that our President-elect was raised by a single mom. Of course, as much as his single mom, he was raised by a village (to paraphrase Hillary Clinton) and he turned out pretty well. He did not opt for a life of crime and drugs. In fact, he is pretty much the epitome of what we want for a husband and father. And he has called on all men out there to step up to their responsibilities as fathers.

Furthermore, it's this crazy woman's party's Vice Presidential candidate - Sarah Palin - who's teenage high school student daughter got herself knocked up. And she's not married to the father.

Finally, our current idiot in chief, seems to have never been weaned from his married parents. So what's his excuse for being the colossal failure that he is?

I'm sick of these people who insist on blaming liberals for all of the world's problems without even looking at themselves in the mirror and seeing their own hypocrisy and racism.

Now that Today has kowtowed to her, would they please go ahead and ban her for life? Her 15 minutes of fame were up years ago.

Dan Quayle has been out of office for 16 years. It's time to retire his shtick.

McCain's Honor - New Obama Ad

Here's the new Obama ad and it's good.

Enjoy!

Yes We Will!

John McCain has so distorted Barack Obama's real record and experience, even Karl Rove is calling him on it. And if Karl Rove says your campaign tactics are out of line, you're clearly so far past the line of acceptability, you can't even see the line anymore.

Luckily, the mainstream media has started calling McCain and Palin on their lies. Check out how much of the MSM is no longer blind to the lies of McCain-Palin. (And then send that link to ALL your friends). (Thanks Tim!)My only worry is that the lies have been running strong and unchecked by the MSM for a couple of weeks now. Is it too late?

We must stand strong. We have 50 days left. 50 days to keep our focus. 50 days to spread our message. Our message of inspiration, hope and change, real change. 50 days to fight and stop the smears.

This election is too important to idly sit by and do nothing. Visit Barack Obama's website's Action Center for ways you can get involved. During the primaries, I spent a night calling voters in Ohio through the Obama website. It's easy and you can do it in your pj's.

Tell all your friends and family about the facts about Barack Obama. Here are more ideas on how to take action.

And make sure you forward this You Tube video to everyone you know.





Let's be clear: McCain and the neo-cons are trying to steal this election (here, here, here, and here). We owe it to future generations to prevent that from happening.

Yes We Can!





Here's a fun feel good website about Obama I just found built by 2 Stanford students.

Yes We Will!

Those Damn Community Organizers

Ever since I heard Candy Crowley on CNN report the line about Community Organizers from an early copy of Palin's speech released to the press yesterday afternoon, I have been completely incensed.

I had to resist the urge not to throw things at my TV last night when she actually said it. My only saving grace was that I didn't want to punish myself by breaking my TV.

This morning, FranIam wrote a great post about how difficult it is for her to remain positive this morning in light of that speech. I gotta give FranIam kudos, she's really working hard to resist the urge to reach into the muck that the GOP is spouting.

In her post, Fran also asked for the opinions of her readers and what we thought of the speech. I commented about the community organizing line and I can't stop thinking about that comment.

Here's my comment:

I was over-the-top offended by many parts of her speech, but the line that will stay with me forever was the line that in 1 sentence managed to insult every volunteer helping those less fortunate in America:

"I guess being mayor of a small town is kinda like being a community organizer, except I had responsibilities."

Volunteers who help people with no voice have responsibilities too. Those responsibilities may not come in the form of municipal code, but they're a code from a much higher power - our conscious. The responsibilities of volunteers come from that place deep in our souls that won't allow us to ignore the poor, weak and the suffering. As far as I'm concerned, that's the highest calling there is and the most important responsibility we have as humans.

If not for those "community organizers" you clearly hate so much, would the
"community" previously known as the 13 Colonies have come together and risen up
against England? What do you think the Founding Fathers were? They weren't born
with that title. They were fucking COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS.

Oh, and that work you did on the PTA . . . THAT was Community Organizing too.

And all that GOTV stuff that goes on around election day? Community Organizing.

Rallying a group of volunteers to send care packages to the troops in Iraq, including your uber-patriotic son, Track? Community Organizing.

I could go on.

To paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen, "Governor, I know community organizers. I've
worked with them. They're friends of mine. Governor, you're no Community
Organizer."

Here's a few more things that occurred to me a few minutes ago (when I really should be focused on work) . . .

I guess you're gonna have to give up your relationship with Christianity, Sarah. Your messiah, Jesus Christ, was also a Community Organizer. He had no "responsibilities," except the ones to God and the rest of humankind.

You know your cute hubby, Todd Palin, the First Dude? You love to talk about how he's a union member. Do you know who started unions? Community Organizers.

And one more thing Sarah Palin, you know those women who came together in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries to fight for women's suffrage and ultimately made it possible for the likes of you to be standing at the GOP Convention and (God help us) a candidate for Vice President in 2008? You know those women, right? Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Alice Paul, Carrie Chapman Catt, Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Lucretia Mott, Jane Addams, Helen Kendrick Johnson, Jeannette Rankin, Alice Duer Miller, M. Carey Thomas, Isabella Beecher Hooker, Olympia Brown, Maud Younger, Caroline Severence, and many many more.

They were ALL Community Organizers.

Before you go dissing Community Organizers with a cute, yet shrill (yep, I said it) sound bite, maybe you should think for a moment who fought for your rights and exactly how it is you are able to be where you are today.

In case you're unaware Sarah, Ordinary People CAN Change the World. The fact is, they usually do.

Community Organizers, Sarah. It all starts with Community Organizers.

Aren't the Republicans the Party of Family Values?

I guess I'm really lucky. I have a brother, Dave (I may have mentioned him before), who I consider to be my best friend. Sure, we fought like the Hatfields and McCoys when we were growing up, but for at least the last 15 or so years, there has been no one I want standing in my corner more than him. When I have something to celebrate, I want Dave to know. And when I'm feeling down about myself or have bad news or need advice, I call Dave. And he comes to me for a lot too.

Sure, I jest about still having the only child syndrome, some 34 years after Dave was born, but I'm never serious about it. In fact, usually, the opposite is true. I want things for Dave before me. Never, in my wildest imagination can I conceive of a time when I would actually wish I was an only child or not acknowledge I had a brother. I am proud of Dave. I'm proud of his accomplishments and the man he has become.

So you'll understand why I get a little outraged at the story below from NPR. Now, I'll admit this is only one side of the story. But unless your sibling is Ted Bundy or the Unabomber, why wouldn't you admit to having them? Oh, ya, they're Democrats. Well, Cindy & John McCain, let me share a little secret with ya. If you stop shitting on your siblings and admit to having them, they MIGHT support you in your efforts to become President.

Nice family values, Cindy & John McCain.

Cindy McCain's Half Sister 'Angry' She's Hidden
by Ted Robbins

All Things Considered, August 18, 2008 · Last Tuesday, NPR broadcast a story about Cindy McCain's business and charity work. In it, Ted Robbins described McCain as the only child of Jim Hensley, a wealthy Arizona businessman. The next morning, NPR received an e-mail from Nicholas Portalski of Phoenix, who heard the story with his mother.

"We were listening to the piece about Cindy McCain on NPR, All Things Considered, and it just struck us very hard," Portalski said.

His mother, Kathleen Hensley Portalski, is also Hensley's daughter.

The Portalski family is accustomed to hearing Cindy McCain described as Hensley's only child.

She's been described that way by news organizations from The New Yorker and The New York Times to Newsweek and ABC.

McCain herself routinely uses the phrase "only child," as she did on CNN last month. "I grew up with my dad," she said then. "I'm an only child. My father was a cowboy, and he really loved me very much, but I think he wanted a son occasionally."

McCain's father was also a businessman — and twice a father.

"I'm upset," Kathleen Portalski says. "I'm angry. It makes me feel like a nonperson, kind of."

Who Is Kathleen Hensley Portalski?


Documents show Kathleen Anne Hensley was born to Jim and Mary Jeanne Hensley on Feb. 23, 1943. They had been married for six years when Kathleen was born.

Jim Hensley was a bombardier on a B-17, flying over Europe during World War II.

He was injured and sent to a facility in West Virginia to recuperate. During that time, while still married to Mary Jeanne, Hensley met another woman — Marguerite Smith. Jim divorced Mary Jeanne and married Marguerite in 1945.

Cindy Lou Hensley was born nine years later, in 1954.

She may have grown up as an only child, but so did her half sister, Kathleen, who was raised by a single parent.

Portalski says she did see her father and her half sister from time to time.

"I saw him a few times a year," she says. "I saw him at Christmas and birthdays, and he provided money for school clothes, and he called occasionally."

Jim Hensley also provided credit cards and college tuition for his grandchildren, as well as $10,000 gifts to Kathleen and her husband, Stanley Portalski. That lasted a decade, they say. By then, Jim Hensley had built Hensley and Co. into one of the largest beer distributorships in the country. He was worth tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars.

Sole Inheritor To Hensley's Estate


When Hensley died in 2000, his will named not only Portalski but also a daughter of his wife Marguerite from her earlier marriage. So, Cindy McCain may be the only product of Jim and Marguerite's marriage, but she is not the only child of either.

She was, however, the sole inheritor of his considerable estate.

Kathleen Portalski was left $10,000, and her children were left nothing. It's a fact Nicholas Portalski says his sister discovered the hard way.

"What she found in town — on the day of or the day before or the day after his funeral — was that the credit card didn't work anymore," Nick says.

The Portalskis live in a modest home in central Phoenix. Kathleen is retired, as is her husband. Nicholas Portalski is a firefighter and emergency medical technician looking for work.

They say it would have been nice if they were left some of the Hensley fortune.

They also say they are Democrats, but Nicholas Portalski says he had another reason for coming forward.

"The fact that we don't exist," he says. "The fact that we've never been recognized, and then Cindy has to put such a fine point on it by saying something that's not true. Recently, again and again. It's just very, very hurtful."

Kathleen Portalski says she'd like an acknowledgment and an apology.

NPR asked the McCain campaign — specifically, Cindy McCain — to comment or respond. Neither replied.

Kathleen Hensley Portalski displays newspaper clippings of her father in World War II, as well as snapshots of herself as a child with her father.

Portalski is shown with her late father, Jim Hensley, who was also Cindy McCain's father.

Nicholas Portalski, whose mother is Cindy McCain's half-sister, says it's "very, very hurtful" that he and his mother haven't been recognized.

Okay, this is me again (vs. the NPR article). I know some people are going to say "oh Kathleen Hensley Portalski and her son are just looking for a handout." Well, maybe they are and maybe they're not. And I don't care either way. What I know for sure (here's my Oprah moment), is that I have to wonder if you can't tell me the truth about how many siblings you have (Cindy, you have 2), what else are you gonna lie to me about? And if I can't trust you (and your husband) to tell me the truth on the simple stuff (how many siblings you have is the simple stuff), then I sure can't trust you to be President or the wife of the President.

Of course, I suppose it's possible that all that pill popping Cindy did caused her to have memory problems and despite all the reminders, poor Cindy simply can't remember.

Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.

I read the article below in this morning's Chicago Sun-Times. It's a bit ironic that this article appeared two days before Independence Day. As Benjamin Franklin said, "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

Truthfully, I'm not even sure what could be done to stop this. It angers me that President Bush is doing this with just a few months to go in his administration. January 20th can't come soon enough.

The presumption of innocent until proven guilty has obviously gone by the wayside. And, of course, Bush wants the phone companies to have the power to spy on us without any ability for us to take action against them. Why?

FBI may get OK to investigate any American without evidence of crime
July 2, 2008
FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is considering letting the FBI investigate Americans without any evidence of wrongdoing, relying instead on a terrorist profile that could single out Muslims, Arabs or other racial and ethnic groups.

Law enforcement officials say the proposed policy would help them do exactly what Congress demanded after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks: root out terrorists before they strike.

Although President Bush has disavowed targeting suspects based on their race or ethnicity, the new rules would allow the FBI to consider those factors among a number of traits that could trigger a national security investigation.

Currently, FBI agents need specific reasons — like evidence or allegations that a law probably has been violated — to investigate U.S. citizens and legal residents. The new policy, law enforcement officials told The Associated Press, would let agents open preliminary terrorism investigations after mining public records and intelligence to build a profile of traits that, taken together, were deemed suspicious.

Among the factors that could make someone subject of an investigation is travel to regions of the world known for terrorist activity, access to weapons or military training, along with the person’s race or ethnicity.

More than a half-dozen senior FBI, Justice Department and other U.S. intelligence officials familiar with the new policy agreed to discuss it only on condition of anonymity, either because they were not allowed to speak publicly or because the change is not yet final.

The change, which is expected later this summer, is part of an update of Justice Department policies known as the attorney general guidelines. They are being overhauled amid the FBI’s transition from a traditional crime-fighting agency to one whose top mission is to protect America from terrorist attacks.

‘‘We don’t know what we don’t know. And the object is to cut down on that,’’ said one FBI official who defended the plans.

Another official, while also defending the proposed guidelines, raised concerns about criticism during the presidential election year over what he called ‘‘the P word’’ — profiling.

If adopted, the guidelines would be put in place in the final months of a presidential administration that has been dogged by criticism that its counterterror programs trample privacy rights and civil liberties.

Critics say the presumption of innocence is lost in the proposal. The FBI will be allowed to begin investigations simply ‘‘by assuming that everyone’s a suspect, and then you weed out the innocent,’’ said Caroline Fredrickson of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Attorney General Michael Mukasey acknowledged the overhaul was under way in early June, saying the guidelines sought to ensure regulations for FBI terror investigations don’t conflict with ones governing criminal probes. He would not give any details.

‘‘It’s necessary to put in place regulations that will allow the FBI to transform itself ... into an intelligence gathering organization in addition to just a crime solving organization,’’ Mukasey told reporters.

The changes would allow FBI agents to ask open-ended questions about activities of Muslim- or Arab-Americans, or investigate them if their jobs and backgrounds match trends that analysts deem suspect.

FBI agents would not be allowed to eavesdrop on phone calls or dig deeply into personal data — such as the content of phone or e-mail records or bank statements — until a full investigation was opened.

The guidelines focus on the FBI’s domestic operations and run about 40 pages long, several officials said. They do not specifically spell out what traits the FBI should use in building profiles.

One senior Justice Department official said agents have been allowed since 2003 to build ‘‘threat assessments’’ of Americans based on public records and information from informants. Such assessments could be used to open a preliminary investigation, the official said.

However, another official said the 2003 authorities are limited, tightly monitored by FBI headquarters in Washington and, overall, confusing to agents about how or when they can be used.

Justice spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said the guidelines are part of a ‘‘harmonizing’’ process that will not give the FBI any more authority than it already has. He and two other senior Justice officials would not deny the changes as they were described to AP by others familiar with the guidelines.

‘‘Since we are still in the process of drafting the guidelines, we are unable to comment any further about timing or the specific outcome of the review,’’ Roehrkasse said in a statement. ‘‘It is important to note, however, that nothing in the attorney general’s guidelines can authorize what is prohibited by any statute or by the Constitution.’’

Although the guidelines do not require congressional approval, House members recently sought to limit such profiling by rejecting an $11 million request for the FBI’s security assessment center.

Lawmakers wrote it that was unclear how the FBI could compile suspect profiles ‘‘in such a way as to avoid needless intrusions into the privacy of innocent citizens’’ and without wasting time and money chasing down false leads.

The denial of funding could limit the FBI’s use of profiles, or ‘‘predictive models and patterns of behavior’’ as the government prefers to describe the data-mining results, but would not change the guidelines authorizing them. The guidelines would remain in effect until a new attorney general decided to change them.

Courts across the country have overturned criminal convictions when defendants showed they were targeted based on race. Racial profiling generally is considered a civil rights violation, and former Attorney General John Ashcroft condemned it in March 2001 as an ‘‘unconstitutional deprivation of equal protection under our Constitution.’’

President Bush also has condemned racial profiling as ‘‘wrong in America’’ and in a December 2001 interview had harsh words for an airline that refused to let one of his Secret Service agents board a commercial flight. The agent was Arab-American. ‘‘If he was treated that way because of his ethnicity, that will make me madder than heck,’’ Bush said.

Immediately after 9/11, hundreds of Muslims and Arabs were detained, deported and monitored as the government urgently sought information that could prevent another attack. Despite efforts to repair and nurture relationships with those groups, Muslim- and Arab-Americans still complain of being singled out by federal security practices.

Martin Redish, a constitutional and civil rights scholar at Northwestern University School of Law, said courts are likely to give the FBI a lot of leeway in deciding how to open national security investigations.

‘‘But it’s a very fine line to be drawn when the basis of the investigation is dominated by the ethnic background of the subject,’’ Redish said. ‘‘And when the investigation results in harassment, you have a serious constitutional concern.’’ Citing Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski and Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh — two white Americans — the ACLU’s Fredrickson said: ‘‘Profiling has sent us in the wrong direction. ... I thought we learned our lesson in that regard.’’

We Must All Sacrifice During War

During World War 2, there was food and gas rationing and women planted victory gardens. Heck, even the thing "most dear to a woman's heart" was rationed . . . nylons.

60 plus years later, we find ourselves in another war. The War on Terror. And we must sacrifice again. How are we sacrificing? We have $4+ a gallon gas. The real estate bubble burst in a most devastating way. Jobs are being lost. Food prices are through the roof. The economy is feeling very unstable. Let's face it, we're all feeling pinched and are making changes to the way we live.

But who is making the biggest sacrifice of all? President George W. Bush, of course.

President Bush has given up golf.

That's our president always leading by example.

To show my solidarity with our esteemed leader, I'm going to give up polo.

UPDATE 5/17/08: Oops. It turns out that President Bush made an oops. It seems he DID NOT actually give up golf in solidarity with the troops. If a guy can't tell the truth about whether he did or did not give up golf, it makes ya wonder what else he might be fibbing on. Hmmmmm . . . . I wonder . . .