SAY IT AIN'T SO, JOE
The news keeps getting "worser and worser" for McCain. Yesterday even the GOP stalwarts started piling on. None other than neocon looney William Kristol and David Brooks, amongst many other commentators and politicians, started railing against McCain and bemoaning the state of their glorious GOP. (See today's Press Register for the Kristol piece.) Given the fractuous animosity and internecine stuggles between their competing party wings, maybe that's not really such big news.
Except they're going public. And, maybe, this is just some sort of tough love lesson for the party: "if you choose to break party discipline (be a 'maverick'), you will pay the price." Hey, I understand. I was so pissed at the Democratic Party, that I voted for Ralph Nader. But, seeing Joe Scarborough on Stephen Colbert - above and beyond being thrilled by what he said about McCain's campaign - was transformational. It went far beyond anything that I've seen on television lately.
I lived in Pensacola when he was coming up and saw how he went from a local dumbass know-nothing to a powerful and somewhat thugish GOP wunderkinder and then to a loud-mouth wannabee O'Reilly television commentator. And that's about all I've really known about him for lo these many years except that during Katrina a lot of folks rallied locally to take up the slack occasioned by the Bush Administration's indifference. Kathryn, Carlos' mom, was one of those that bought things out of her own pocket, generated fund drives, and broke the curfew to ferry the supplies to Mississippi. Scarborough was one of the local luminaries who rose to the challenge by being tremendously instrumental in that process.
Here he was on Colbert last night, not quite the mugwump pushing Obama, but giving his assessment that the election was over.
What really was so surprising and refreshing was the manner in which Scarborough has matured. He stayed on message while still comporting himself admirably against Colbert's antics, jovially giving every bit as good as what he got against Colbert's right wing strawperson. Unfortunately, it ended too soon. I wanted Scarborough to finish his thought process about how he'd gotten to where he was and especially the GOP's Katrina response.
Now, no one thinks that Scarborough is Saul on the road to Damascus. I just wanted to hear what he had to say about expecting someone to remedy a problem - be it a natural disaster or an economic one - if the solution is antithetical to their political philosophy and I wanted to hear it from someone who was out there dealing with the realities of trying to help someone who truly needed help.

Former federal prosecutor decries William Ayers link - Los Angeles Times

AYERS CASE PROSECUTOR SPEAKS OUT
A former United States Attorney has publicly taken issue with the characterization that the case against William Ayers was dismissed for "prosecutorial misconduct." The government dropped the case after the Nixon administration's "illegal activities, including wiretaps, break-ins and mail interceptions," were exposed, he said.
(LATIMES)

The Forbidden City: Beyond Space and Time

VIRTUAL CITY
IBM and China’s Palace Museum have created an exact replica of the 178-acre Forbidden City. After working meticulously for three years to recreate every building and thousands of major artifacts, the virtual Forbidden City is now available for download free. Once inside, you can choose an avatar, dress him or her up in Qing Dynasty-era robes, take virtual tours, play Go with computer-controlled characters, call up maps, explore buildings and objects that allow you to click for deeper information.
(IBM, suggested by Tech Crunch)

The Nation - Who You Callin’ a Maverick? - NYTimes.com

A DIFFERENT BRAND OF BULL
To those who know the history of the word "Maverick", applying it to John McCain is a bit of a stretch — and to one Texas family in particular it is even a bit offensive.
(NEW YORK TIMES, suggested by Devon Hanks)

America’s Voice | Blame the Immigrants!

AND THE WINNER IS.....
Michelle Malkin wins the America’s Voice "Blame the Immigrants!" contest. Oh, no, wait, she doesn't win the contest, she's the watershed. This site had run a contest asking what immigrants would be blamed for next, giving a list of possible disasters. "Did you know that immigrants are to blame for Global Warming?", they asked. That was the conclusion of a recent "study" released by the Center for Immigration Studies, anti-immigrant "think' tank". Sad news, though, no one thought it would be the Wall Street meltdown. As Jon Stewart would say, "Damn youuuuuuuuuuuuuu Michelle Malkin!!!!" But, fear not, you can still vote in the poll. The blame game continues.

Steering the McCain Campaign, a Lot of Old Bush Hands - washingtonpost.com

BUSH WARMED OVER
The clutch of Bush veterans helping to coach Palin reflects a larger reality about McCain's campaign: Far from being a group of outsiders to the Republican Party power structure, it is run by skilled operatives who learned their crafts in successive Bush campaigns and various jobs across the Bush government. This has caused distress for some Republicans, who had hoped for a new brand of Republicanism. "It's insane to me that at the same time that it's running saying it's not going to be the Bush administration, this campaign looks like the Bush campaign on steroids," said one Republican strategist.
(WASHINGTON POST, suggested by AlterNet)

PSSSSST! DID YOU HEAR THE ONE ABOUT....
There are some little ironies that make me grin. Like Republicans are from the "Red states", that "Right brain thinking" is creative and intuitive, that "right" means "moral", left, sinister. But the email I got recently about the latest "political rumor" is not just comical, it shows some interesting dynamics at work in the political process and the disconnect in supposedly "right thinking" people.
The email, forwarded to/from groups of medical and legal professionals, claims that they have information that:

"On or about October 5th, Biden will excuse himself from the ticket, citing health problems, and he will be replaced by Hillary. This is timed to occur after the VP debate on 10/2."

Heavy stuff, no? Now, where did our intellectual think tank get this chestnut that they clearly acknowledge is only a rumor? From "a man who generally checks things out before sending," a man, who they claim, is in the DNC.
This would be pathetic except that this is the kind of nonreality-based wishful thinking pap, like the supposed Palin affair, that seriously distracts us from the discussion that we need to have. And, what is really scary about this email is to see just exactly how a whisper campaign is intentionally set out by these fools.
Again, the email:

"There have been talks all weekend about how to proceed with this info. Generally, the feeling is that we should all go ahead and get it out there to as many blog sites and personal email lists as is possible. I have already seen a few short blurbs about this - the 'health problem' cited in those articles was aneurysm. Probably many of you have heard the same rumblings."

"However, at this point, with this inside info from the DNC, it looks like this Obama strategy will be a go. Therefore, it seems that the best strategy is to get out in front of this Obama maneuver, spell it out in detail, and thereby expose it for the grand manipulation that it is."

"So, let's start mixing this one up and cut the Obamites off at the pass - send this info out to as many people as you can - post about it on websites and blogs - etc."

What could the intentional spreading of a lie hope to accomplish? And, what happens to the credibility of the folks spreading the lie after the date comes and goes for the unveiling of THE SECRET PLAN? Well, first, its spread anonymously. Secondly, even when pegged as a prevaricator, one can fall back that it was "just a rumor". Most importantly, it keeps the "faithful" pumped up and if you're driven by faith you can avoid reason. That's how we spend time on irrelevant issues like someone's middle name or the wearing of a flag pin and avoid topics like a melting economy, the effects of deregulation or any of the other really important issues that we have before us. Unfortunately, it has always worked in the past. It scuttled Kerry and was effectively used by the right wing against McCain himself. SEE SWIFT BOATING VIDEO USED AGAINST MCCAIN BY CLICKING HERE.
But the fact that McCain and Obama are the candidates left (oops) standing this year may signal a move away from the effectiveness of such silly crap. Let's hope so.

INFECT ME!
The "viral video" is having an enormous impact on modern day society.Only a few presidential elections ago, the only campaign videos that existed were created either by stiffs in suits working for one of the candidates or by stiffs in suits working for the corporate media. Either way, the results were usually pretty lackluster. Now, thanks to the internet citizens and private groups can easily join the national debate. Here are 10 virii that focus on the presidential elections and are catching everyone's attention.Make sure you check out the SNL skit with Tina Fey!
(ALTERNET)

SCENE FROM THE VIEW
I've never seen "The View" but found this little segment interesting, not only because of the item that they're discussing but also because it's a panel of really intelligent and serious women giving their views. And, unlike the pap from the "heavyweight" discussion outlets like CNN and Fox(!??!) they really seem to tackle a problem by talking it out with (not over) each other.
(ABC)

America’s Voice | News Blogs Call McCain Ad a “Fraudulent” Attack Designed to Fool Latino Voters

SAY IT AIN'T SO, STRAIGHT TALKER
The New York Times and The Washington Post are denouncing McCain's latest Spanish-language campaign ad as fraudulent.
(AMERICA'S VOICE, suggested by AlterNet)

BELIEF YOU CAN CHANGE INTO
How did the folks who have been the bulwark of reaction become the harbingers of change? (SEE THIS ELLEN GOODMAN PIECE.) It was a testimony to the GOP's ability to market belief and blind faith that they could get even the Christian Crazy blue hairs at their convention talking sensitively about the little unwed mother (imagine what they would say if it had been Chelsea - whore daughter of that whore dad and bitch mom - who was knocked up) and talking all sorts of smack about change like they were the Socialist Workers' Party. It was a regular kumbayah moment. The only thing missing was Ann Coulter singing "We Shall Overcome". Add to that the GOPs really remarkable job of marketing Palin based on her experiences as a small town mayor and subsequently governor of this sparsely populated and uniquely situated state, as part of their "populist" resume.
But Palin is really the MAYOR OF NOWHERE. The universe of local governance in Wasilla is sharply circumscribed even by the standards of small towns. Firefighting and schools, two of its main elements, are handled by the regional government. The state has jurisdiction over social services and environmental regulations. With so many government services in the state subsidized by oil revenue, and with no need to provide for local schools, Wasilla has also made do with a very low property tax rate, the bulk of which is paid by people who live outside town but shop at its big-box stores.
And, as this Michael Kinsley piece notes, "libertarian" Alaska is, in essence, an adjunct member of OPEC. It has four different taxes on oil, which produce more than 89% of the state's unrestricted revenue. On average, three-quarters of the value of a barrel of oil is taken by the state government before that oil is permitted to leave the state. Alaska residents each get a yearly check for about $2,000 from oil revenues, plus an additional $1,200 pushed through by Palin last year to take advantage of rising oil prices. Any sympathy the governor of Alaska expresses for folks in the lower 48 who are suffering from high gas prices or can't afford to heat their homes is strictly crocodile tears.
(ELLEN GOODMAN, WASHINGTON POST and TIME MAGAZINE)

New election low: distorting the fact-checking - Los Angeles Times

BASTA!
News organizations and these admirable truth-squadding outfits, including PolitiFact.com, do not collaborate. But in independent news reports and commentaries this week, they seemed to reach a consensus to say "enough" to the McCain camp's efforts to demonize Barack Obama.
(LA TIMES)

Mixed Impressions on Taxes - washingtonpost.com

CUTS BOTH WAYS
The candidates are facing misperceptions on their tax proposals.
(WASHINGTON POST)

McCain Ad Featuring Katie Couric Removed From YouTube - mediabistro.com: TVNewser

LIPSTICK REMOVED
A new ad which features a comment from CBS' Katie Couric has been removed from YouTube. A CBS News spokesperson says: "CBS News does not endorse any candidate in the presidential race. Any use of CBS personnel in political advertising that suggests the contrary is misleading." McCain still has the ad on his Web site.
(MEDIA BISTRO)

I SEE DEAD ISSUES
In political parlance, The goal of "vapor," or "ghost," ads is to stir up news-media interest rather than to reach voters directly through the purchase of expensive TV time.
(WASHINGTON POST)