Day: October 20, 2008

OMG! It Is About Race!

That is what some of the blouted windbags on conservative radio would have you believe about the Powell endorsement of Obama.  These ill tempered parasites have started their cute little program of slandering Powell because he came out in Obama’s corner on Sunday.

To infer that Powell does not have the intelligence to make an informed decision is just flippin’ insulting to a good American vet.  The conservs set about trying to lessen the impact of the endorsement by saying that it is no big deal and then before they take a good breath they are picking apart everything he said.  The Repub surrogates are trying everything to lessen the impact of this endorsement by employing mouthpieces like Rush to do their dirty work of attacking Gen. Powell.

Sad that a man that apparently did take his time and with much thought then his decision is attacked.    Powell went into a 7 or 8 minute explanation of why he chose Obama and worked without notes or a teleprompter.

It looks like tthe McCain campaign is desperate and will say and do anything to try an find something that will register with the undecided.  But I think that attacking Gen, Powell is probably not their wisest course.

Palin On SNL

Finally, Palin has made an appearance on SNL.  After a month opr more of Fet portrayting her, it was time for her to make an appearance.  She did and she was good.  (Did I say that?)

That leads me into my point.  She was funny and charming and I came to the realization that she was that all along—-a comedian.

It was the most watched SNL in 14 years.  Was it to hear Palin?  Or maybe it was to see how she handled the ribbing she was gonna get?  I hear all surrogates telling me just what a great candidate she is and the people love her.  The problem with that is….the polls say different.  So is the media just trying to keep McCain in the running by false reporting?  I mean they consult polls for everything, but amusingly overlook that one.

Was Palin a success?  You betcha!  At least, in the audience that watched the show.  But will that translate into votes or more support?  Not a chance!  Did she do anything to improve her poll numbers?  Nope!  Her supporters are over 50 and filled with hate and venom; they will remain and that is the sad part.  She is very good at spreading the hateful rhetoric on Ayers, socialism, terrorists, yada yada….the only thing she lacks is the truth.

Bachman Back Peddles

On Friday, Bachmann ignited a national controversy when she appeared on a cable news talk show and said she was “very concerned” that Obama “may have anti-American views” and called for the media to examine whether members of Congress are “pro-America or anti-America.”

On Sunday, she retreated from those statements during a television appearance on WCCO-TV.

“I’m not saying his views are anti-American, I’m saying they’re concerning. That was a misreading of what I said,” she told reporter Esme Murphy.  BTW, I say the interview on Hardball, there was NO misunderstanding her words…she called liberals “anti-American”.  Period.

She reiterated that the national media should take a closer look at the relationships Obama had with former 1960s radical Bill Ayers and others. She also warned that if Democrats control the White House and Congress, “we could have the highest tax increases in modern times.”  Pathetic attempt to deflect her outrageous statement.  I love it when politicians crawfish……..it is sad, but surprisingly amusing.

Bachmann’s main opponent, DFL- and Independence Party-endorsed candidate Elwyn Tinklenberg, said his campaign had raised $450,000 in the 24 hours following Bachmann’s statements.

On Sunday, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent out a mass fundraising e-mail featuring video of Bachmann’s MSNBC appearance and emphasizing Tinklenberg’s chances of winning the race.

Hate can make you say things you really do not mean to say.  But in the case of Rep. Michele Bachman, she firmly believes that all us liberals are unAmerican and unpatriotic.

Former Bush administration Secretary of State Colin Powell on Sunday described statements U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann made Friday questioning whether Barack Obama is anti-American as “nonsense.”

Powell, a retired Army general and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, rebuked the 6th Congressional District Republican during a news conference that followed his endorsement of Obama for president on NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday morning.

“This business of, for example, a congressman (sic) from Minnesota who’s going around saying, ‘Let’s examine all congressmen to see who’s pro-America and who’s not pro-America.’ We have got to stop this kind of nonsense and pull ourselves together and remember that our great strength is in our unity and our diversity,” he said.

Tax Calculator–Check For yourself

Taxes have emerged as an issue in the 2008 presidential race, with John McCain charging Barack Obama with planning to raise taxes, despite the Obama campaign’s pledge to reduce taxes for 95 percent of working families.

To help clarify the differences in the tax proposals of the two candidates, the Obama campaign this week launched an easy-to-use online tax calculator to help voters learn what they will save on their taxes under the Obama plan as opposed to McCain.

See here: http://taxcut.barackobama.com/

I know everyone is chomping at the bit on just who will be paying more  or less in taxes.  Check for yourself then make a decision.  Stop listening to the bullsh*t.

More Truth About New Light Bulbs

This is from the Editors of Earth Talk
Perhaps the ultimate “alternative to the alternative,” the LED (light-emitting diode) light bulb may well dethrone the compact fluorescent (CFL) as king of the green lighting choices. But it has a way to go yet in terms of both affordability and brightness.

LEDs have been used widely for decades in other applications—forming the numbers on digital clocks, lighting up watches and cell phones and, when used in clusters, illuminating traffic lights and forming the images on large outdoor television screens. Until recently LED lighting has been impractical to use for most other everyday applications because it is built around costly semiconductor technology. But the price of semiconductor materials has dropped in recent years, opening the door for some exciting changes in energy-efficient, green friendly lighting options.

According to HowStuffWorks.com, LED bulbs are lit solely by the movement of electrons. Unlike incandescents, they have no filament that will burn out; and unlike CFLs, they contain no mercury or other toxic substances. Proponents say LEDs can last some 60 times longer than incandescents and 10 times longer than CFLs. And unlike incandescents, which generate a lot of waste heat, LEDs don’t get especially hot and use a much higher percentage of electricity for directly generating light.

But as with early CFLs, LED bulbs are not known for their brightness. According to a January 2008 article in Science Daily, “Because of their structure and material, much of the light in standard LEDs becomes trapped, reducing the brightness of the light and making them unsuitable as the main lighting source in the home.” LED makers get around this problem in some applications by clustering many small LED bulbs together in a single casing to concentrate the light emitted. But such LED “bulbs” still don’t generate light much brighter than a 35-watt incandescent, much too little light for reading or other focused tasks.

If LEDs are going to replace incandescents and CFLs, manufacturers will have to make them brighter. EarthLED is lighting the way with its EvoLux and ZetaLux bulbs, which use multiple LEDs in a single casing to generate light. The EvoLux delivers light equal to that of a 100-watt incandescent, the company says. But the $80/bulb price tag may be tough to swallow. The ZetaLux, which retails for $49.99, delivers light equivalent to a 50- or 60-watt incandescent, will last 50,000 hours and costs only $2/yearly to run.

Other bulb makers are working on similar designs for high-powered LED bulbs, hoping that an increase in availability will help spur demand, which will in turn lower prices across the board. Until then, consumers can find LED bulbs suitable for secondary and mood lighting purposes in many hardware and big box stores. C. Crane’s 1.3-watt LED bulb, for example, generates as much light as a 15-watt incandescent bulb. Check your local hardware store for other options, as well as online vendors such as Best Home LED Lighting, Bulbster, SuperBrightLEDs.com and We Love LEDs.

Personal opinion, CFL light bulbs are the biggest mistake that we as a society can make, it will create more problems than we can solve.  Please check for alternatives and use them, not the stuff that GE wants you to use.

Today In Labor History

20 October

Eugene Debs, U.S. labor leader and socialist, dies in Elmhurst, Ill. Among his radical ideas: an eight-hour workday, pensions, workman’s compensation, sick leave and social security. He ran for president from a jail cell in 1920 and got a million votes – 1926

Death of Merle Travis, songwriter and performer who wrote “Sixteen Tons” & “Dark as a Dungeon” – 1983

If There Is A Heavy Voter Turn Out

Election officials around the country are bracing for huge voter turnout and a big spike in early voting may not be enough to prevent long lines at the polls come November 4.

The high level of interest in the election leaves local officials scrambling for unprecedented voter turnout. In Virginia, for example, the Secretary of State’s office is projecting 90 percent voter turnout statewide, compared to 71 percent in 2004. Nationally, Mary Wilson, president of the League of Women Voters, says many election officials are bracing for 80 to 85 percent turnout. Of particular concern is that a flood of first-time voters navigating the polling place for the first time could make lines move even slower.

But nationally, a study released by the Century Foundation and Common Cause of 10 swing states found significant problems remain in the allocation of voting machines, and the recruitment and training of poll workers. Increasingly complicated voting laws and technology have strained the army of low-paid senior citizens most localities rely on to operate polling places.

Local officials and both presidential campaigns have encouraged voters to cast their ballots prior to the election. Many states allow voters to cast their ballots early in person or use absentee ballots without an excuse such as illness or being out of town.

Early voting is expected to increase from eight percent in 2004 to a third of voters this year, predicts Paul Gronke, who directs Reed College’s early voting information center.

AS reported in CQPolitics by Seth Stem.

If That Is The Best You Can Do

Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin spoke to a crowd of about 10,000 supporters Sunday in a Roswell airplane hangar, not only making a reference to Joe the Plumber, but alluding several times to “Ed the Dairyman” after seeing someone in the crowd holding a sign identifying himself that way.

She warned voters about Democratic plans to raise taxes “on America’s hard-working families and our small businesses and a lot of folks just like Joe the Plumber and Ed the Dairyman out there.”

Palin challenged the tax plan advocated by Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, which she warned would expand government and “destroy jobs” by redistributing wealth.  And just how many jobs has the Bush tax cuts created?  This is such a tired OLD ploy.

“Barack Obama calls it spreading the wealth. Joe Biden calls higher taxes patriotic,” Palin said. “But Joe the Plumber and Ed the Dairyman, I believe they think it sounds more like socialism.  This broad would not know socialism if it bit her in the ass.

“Friends, now is no time to experiment with socialism,” she told the cheering crowd.  Why not try the fear card again, nothing else is working.

Palin, appearing near a big American flag and a large sign that read “Victory in New Mexico,” hammered on energy policy, saying New Mexico shares a lot with Alaska when it comes to energy.

She has the cutest way of talking without saying a damn thing and this stop was no different.  She told why Obama’s plan is no good, but somehow forgot how McCain’s would be better.  But there are those that take her at her word that Obama bad, McCain good.