COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Jews for Obama. Why?


US elections: American Jews predicted to vote Obama by significant margin
Ewen MacAskill and Daniel Nasaw in Washington
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday July 23, 2008

Jewish leaders in the US today predicted a big turnout among Jews in the November presidential election in favour of Barack Obama in spite of suspicion about his views on Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Ira Forman, executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, an advocacy group with strong links to the Democratic party, said: "I think Obama will win the Jewish vote by a large margin. The question is how much?"

Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Centre of Reform Judaism, said American Jews' traditional political affinity with African Americans, born of a shared experience of discrimination and the struggles of the civil rights era, could outstrip concerns among some Jewish voters that Obama is not pro-Israel enough.

"There is a great deal of pride and excitement about this moment in history as we see this real possibility of seeing a black president," he said.

Obama's visit to Israel is partly to counter criticism from his Republican rival, John McCain, that he lacks foreign policy experience but it is also to shore up support among Jews in the US. Although they make up only 3% of the electorate, Jews have been historically important, mainly as activists in the Democratic party and as generous donors. Unlike young voters and African-Americans who have in the past turned out in low numbers - but are both predicted to turn out in large numbers for Obama this time - Jews are dependable about casting their ballots.

Jews tend to be overwhelmingly Democrats, with 65% identifying themselves as Democratic or leaning Democratic, according to a June survey by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, compared to 23% who identify as Republican or leaning Republican.

A Gallup poll in April put Obama on 61% to 32% for McCain.

Forman said that while Jews are concentrated in places such as New York and California, which both vote Democratic anyway, there were also large numbers in states where the outcome is not as predictable: Florida, Ohio, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Forman acknowledged that African Americans and young voters are likely to defy past experience by turning out in large numbers for Obama but his campaign team would still be looking for Jewish votes. "When you are running a political campaign, you always make the assumption it will be a close race and you have to turn out all your constituencies heavily," Forman said.

Saperstein said Obama has been able to diffuse some of worries about his commitment to Israel, in part through his speech last month at a conference in Washington of the American Israel Political Affairs Committee, in which he promised that Jerusalem would be the undivided capital of Israel, even though he qualified this the next day to say this would be dependent on final negotiations with the Palestinians, who also claim it as their capital.




138 comments:

  1. Why? Well, Jews tend to be well educated and the well educated tend to vote for...Obama.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ask Horowitz about Death Loving Socialist "Jews."
    (virtually all non-observant)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jews historically voted democratic...

    I am a democrat...

    Jews historically voted 92% democrat...

    today Jews will vote about 60% for obama of which 70% were hillary supporters

    Today the largest number of Jews in the history of the Republic both in numbers and %'s will vote....


    For the GOP

    ReplyDelete
  4. independent DEMOCRATS FOR MCCAIN

    I am I cried...

    I am said I...

    and I am NOT alone...

    ReplyDelete
  5. I hope you're right WiO.

    I have been very disappointed with during the previous few elections. I thought surely more Jews than ever will vote for the Republicans. The percentages were disappointing for every presidential election.

    I just can't understand why American Jewry doesn't see the threat coming from the left.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Brilliant Folks like the Einstein Brothers still have political views like SuperDave.

    ...I assume his brother Albert Brooks, my favorite actor is also a lib.

    How 'bout non-related Mel?
    ---
    It just don't add up,
    but there it is.

    ReplyDelete
  7. All of us have really Stoopid Streaks about us.
    W/Jews it's just almost always regarding politics.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Maybe WIO will be right, and we won't know til after the election, when they register their REAL opinion.

    ReplyDelete
  9. There's also a Jews for Jesus movement. I think Jews just like supporting Messiahs.

    ReplyDelete
  10. teresita said...
    There's also a Jews for Jesus movement. I think Jews just like supporting Messiahs.

    Sorry they aint jews in any way shape or form

    We do not claim them...

    From reform to orthodox, from atheist jews to Buddist jews all agree...

    Jews for Jesus is a fraud.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Why? Answer: Masochism.

    The more disturbing question to ask is, why vote? The game is rigged, why give the game credibility? The only answer, again, is Masochism. Masochism in knowing one is being played and going along with it.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Jews for Jesus is more than a fraud. It's outright genocide.

    ReplyDelete
  13. mətušélaḥ said...
    Jews for Jesus is more than a fraud. It's outright genocide.

    the southern baptist convention spends 112 million a year funding Jews for jesus to try to confuse and convert jews.

    typically this christian group (j4j) has used tactics such as legaling changing their names to nice sounding jewish names, going after the sick, the elderly and back in the early 90's the russian jews that escaped to the usa that spoke little or no english....

    they have on purpose...

    the "ENDING" of Judaism

    ReplyDelete
  14. So the Jews have, historicly, voted en bloc, much like the Blacks. Historicly, 92% for the Dems, wi"o" tells US.

    This cycle, down to 65% for Obama.

    Thanks, for nothing.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wasn't Hitler a Southern Baptist? Yes, I think he was. Although I can see how some people might be thrown off by his alleged hail-o-ss.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I've been asking myself this question for years. Particularily this year. The four or five Jewish folk I've know well in my life, all democrats mostly, except for my dad's long time partner, staunch Republican. I think it comes from the Jewish outlook on social justice from the Bible. And yet the democrats aren't really the party of the average joe anymore. It's not the old democratic party any longer. Party of the elites, as they like to think of themselves. You can't accuse American Jews of voting only with Israel in mind. They don't.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Don't think they was voting Carter.

    ReplyDelete
  18. If you ever wondered who dreamed up Cosmo Kramer, the hipster doofus with a mistrust of authority at the centre of one of American television's most successful comedies, Seinfeld, then look no further than Larry Charles, a Jewish-American comedian with an encyclopedic brain and ZZ Top beard.

    ...

    Charles says other projects he has in the pipeline are too secretive to discuss. He denies that he is directing a new National Lampoon movie, as has been rumoured, and confirms that a recent collaboration with rapper Kanye West for HBO was canned by the network after a pilot was shot.

    He does, however, say that since being introduced to British comedy in detail by Baron-Cohen, he has become a massive fan. "I think it's amazing and singular and a lot of people [Steve Coogan and Ricky Gervais, among others] have been drafted over here.


    No One Will be Spared

    ReplyDelete
  19. Both parties are for Free Trade. So neither party is interested in the welfare of Americans.

    ReplyDelete
  20. hheehheehe--Ash got right in there as lead off hitter in this inning.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Roger Harloff turned hard work, attention to detail and risk-taking into a multimillion-dollar farming operation in Manatee County.

    ...

    Harloff, who died Sunday, two days before his 77th birthday, blamed his reversal of fortune on the North American Free Trade Agreement, which began allowing cheaper produce from Mexico to flood U.S. markets in the mid-1990s before U.S. farmers could harvest their crops.

    ...

    Although tomatoes were his favorite crop, despite the vagaries of freezes and other weather extremes, he also grew cabbages, cucumbers, green peppers, watermelons and cantaloupes. He also had cattle and citrus operations.


    Tomato Farmer

    ReplyDelete
  22. Ash confuses 'well educated' with intelligent. Some of these 'well educated' arses still think the Marxist isle prison of Cuba is paradise. And read D. Dennet and think they know something.

    ReplyDelete
  23. aye, good comeback there Bobal, but what do you do with the Marxist leanings of Mattie? Dentist therefore well educated, but intelligent? Naw.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Daily Rasmussen--

    Election 2008: Ohio Presidential Election
    McCain Opens Modest Lead in Ohio
    Tuesday, July 22, 2008 Email to a Friend
    John McCain has opened a modest lead over Barack Obama in the key swing state of Ohio. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the Buckeye State shows McCain attracting 46% of the vote while Obama earns 40%. Last month and the month before McCain held a insignificant one-point lead over Obama.

    Seven percent (7%) of voters say they’d prefer a third party candidate over either McCain or Obama and another 7% remain undecided.

    When “leaners” are included in the totals, McCain leads Obama 52% to 42%.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Have you seen the girls in Cuba, Bob? I tell youz, I wouldn't mind getting stranded on that island, at least for a little bit. :)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Rasmussen Daily Presidential Tracking--

    Romney Tops List of Possible McCain Running Mates


    With Washington abuzz over speculation that John McCain will announce his running mate this week to take some of the focus off Barack Obama's overseas travels, over a third of U.S. voters say Mitt Romney will be the Republican vice presidential candidate.

    Daily Presidential Tracking Poll

    The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Wednesday shows Barack Obama attracting 45% of the vote while John McCain earns 42%. When "leaners" are included, it's Obama 47% and McCain 45%.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I haven't noticed any what I would consider totalitarian leanings in Mat.


    Those are the Potemkin Sisters there in Cuba, Mat, brought out to the foreigners only hotels to earn a little cash, and impress the tourists. Try on a sugar cane worker, then tell us about it.:)

    ReplyDelete
  28. Marxist leanings of Mattie?

    You didn't know, Ashley, but me is a Southern Baptist.

    ReplyDelete
  29. These fellows polled Ohio over the same time frame, bob.
    Totally different result.

    Obama holds Ohio advantage

    Raleigh, N.C. – Barack Obama continues to hold a solid advantage over John McCain in
    Ohio, according to the newest survey from Public Policy Polling.
    His lead in the state is 48-40, similar to the 50-39 edge he showed in PPP’s June poll.
    Obama trails McCain 46-42 among white voters, but his 91-6 advantage with African
    Americans gives him the overall lead.
    “Right now Barack Obama is in a pretty good position in Ohio,” said Dean Debnam,
    President of Public Policy Polling. “His standing with black voters is not surprising, but
    he is also doing unusually well with white voters in the state. Whether he can sustain that
    level of support or not will probably determine if he can take this state.”
    The results show a significant gender gap, with Obama leading by 20 points among
    women but trailing by seven with men. Obama leads in all age groups except senior
    citizens.


    Courtesy of RCP

    ReplyDelete
  30. Yeah I know, Rat. Which poll to believe. Rasmussen seems credible to me. That Quinipec or whatever it is always seems off the wall. Some others too. I don't know which one is the best of the bunch.

    ReplyDelete
  31. When Mat joins the Cuban Communist Party, heads with machete for the cane fields, and falls in love with another cutter, then I'll know he's a commie, and loves Cuban women.:)

    ReplyDelete
  32. The two presidents that preceded President Bush embraced the conservative value of getting revenues and expenditures in line. President George H. W. Bush famously reneged on his "read my lips: no new taxes" pledge in order to address the deficits. This was a big factor in his '92 loss. President Bill Clinton, the victor that year, came to Washington with a Democratic House and Senate and pushed through a revenue package that also addressed these deficits. This helped cost the Democrats control of both houses in '94. It was an earthquake, which would come to be known as the Gingrich revolution. Obviously, both Presidents Bush and Clinton made great sacrifices in order to achieve surpluses.

    I was in the Senate in October of 2000 when President Clinton vetoed Republican-passed tax bills of modest amounts because they threatened our surplus. I was also there five months later when President Bush unfathomably promoted a tax cut four times as large as the kind Clinton had vetoed -- a cut of 1.6 trillion dollars. And it passed! President Bush then embarked on an unprecedented spending spree: a prescription drug benefit added to Medicare, an expensive new federal bureaucracy called the Department of Homeland Security and trillion dollar wars overseas, which are creating a new generation of veterans that will deserve physical and mental care at taxpayers' expense for decades to come. President Bush's first veto was not over unchecked congressional pork but over stem cell research!

    The president reversed his predecessors' good, conservative fiscal policies -- responsible stewardship of revenues and expenditures. So who's drunk?


    Lincoln Chafee, Republican.

    ReplyDelete
  33. al-Bob,
    Well educated for some means a Harvard Degree for an ignoramus like Barry.
    For MOST Social Science grads'
    Well indoctrinated.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Arnold for President!
    (at least til the budget gets signed)
    ---

    Schwarzenegger plans to slash state workers' pay till budget passes - Los
    Angeles Times


    About 200,000 employees would get the federal minimum wage, saving California
    roughly $1 billion a month. They would receive their back pay after a spending
    plan is enacted.

    SACRAMENTO --
    Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is planning to cut the pay of about
    200,000 state workers to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 an hour until a
    budget is signed, according to a draft of the governor's order obtained by The
    Times.

    The deadline for passing a budget was July 1, and without one California may
    be unable to borrow billions of dollars needed to keep the state solvent.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said Wednesday he will not run for vice president on the Republican ticket, adding himself to a growing number of those pulling themselves out of the race.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Dick Morris says thumbs down to Romney, thumbs up to Powell, Rice or Huckabee.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Romney: A Mistake for McCain
    By Dick Morris

    You've probably heard the story about the tycoon who wanted to bring out a new kind of dog food.

    He spent lavishly. He hired the best marketing person, the top PR firm, the best ad agency, the No. 1 packaging expert, the most powerful distributor -- but the sales were flat after six months.

    He summoned his consultants to a meeting and asked why the food wasn't selling. "The dogs won't eat it," was the answer that came back.

    And so it is with Mitt Romney. Despite outspending his rivals by huge margins throughout the primaries, the dogs won't eat it. He lost Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida and California. The only primaries he won were in Michigan, where Dad was governor; LDS states; and a few states on Super Tuesday in which his California-obsessed rivals couldn't spare the cash to advertise. Only John Connolly in 1968 had a worse cash-to-delegates ratio.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Forgot Lieberman. He would be good too, says Morris.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Actually, I never stepped on Cuban soil, and until the Cubans throw out that commie dictatorship, I never will. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for some of my "more enlightened" Canadian associates.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Great minds working in tandem again, Rat.

    ReplyDelete
  41. "an expensive new federal bureaucracy called the Department of Homeland Security "
    ---
    A conservative would have made the case based on National Security.
    With the added bonus of saving Trillions in the long term.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Lots of people in both parties seem to be swimming away from the VP spot. Maybe neither candidate will be able to find a running mate, and the election will be cancelled, saving us.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Of These Polls I think Rasmussen and Survey USA are the better ones.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Should pick Steele:
    His speaking skills put Dumbo to shame.

    ReplyDelete
  45. McCain needs someone who is strong advocate for renewable energy. The Market is leaning Obama, because the perception is that Obama is good for renewable energy, while McCain is really a continuation of the Bush story, that being oil and more wars for big oil.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Turnout models, al-Bob.
    All about turnout.
    St Louie will set an all-time record, is my prediction.
    Chicago may have more Dem votes than the population of Illinois.
    Dumbo worked for ACORN for years.
    No Dummy there.
    Just Crooked.

    ReplyDelete
  47. ..someone who is ^a strong advocate for renewable energy..

    ReplyDelete
  48. McCain's ok with nuclear power. I'm ok with McCain.

    One day Obama is for an undivided Jerusalem, the next for a divided Jerusalem. Seems to depend on just who his audience at the time happens to be.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Mat,
    What I meant was the patent office should have the application for them batteries.
    Would be interesting to see how they are described.

    Pencell NiMh have increased in capacity by 400% in a decade.
    Wonder why THAT NiMh was so special?

    ReplyDelete
  50. Bob,

    nukes = fuel cells = indefinite delay tactic

    ReplyDelete
  51. NiMh is special cause it safe and it don't blow up. :D

    ReplyDelete
  52. from Dr. Bill's web page--

    Cost of Electricity Generation


    Below is a chart of the California Energy Commission's estimate of the cost of electrical energy.
    Cost of Electricity Generation
    Technology Current Cost of Electricity
    (2003 data, cents/kWh)
    Hydroelectric 0.25 to 2.7
    Nuclear 1.4 to 1.9
    Coal 1.8 to 2.0
    Natural Gas 5.2 to 15.9
    Solar 13.5 to 42.7
    Wind 4.6

    ReplyDelete
  53. Mat'sNew Car

    The Lightning GT can go from zero to 60 mph in 4 seconds, just like the Tesla Roadster, and has a range of 200 miles per charge, compared to Tesla's 220-mile range.

    The Lightning GT has a technological advantage over the Roadster, or so it seems, depending on whether recharge time is an issue for owners. The company says the car takes 10 minutes to recharge, if charged from a three-phase power supply (those found in industrial buildings, compared to the residential single phase). The Tesla Roadster has an estimated 3.5-hour charge time from a residential outlet.

    ReplyDelete
  54. and--

    Residential solar PV economics
    SOURCE: truthaboutenergy.com
    Let's look at the economics of putting a 2.3 kWe solar PV system on the roof of a home. With a big splash roof top solar PV homes are now being sold as of January 20,2007 in Roseville California
    Nation's largest solar community to debut. The advertisement in the newspaper says the owner can sell the excess electricity back to the utility and also reap benefits of having their own electricity . After you read what I have written below you will see that the advertisements are completely false. There will be no excess. But so what, there are no guarantees that the solar systems will generate anything.
    The Table below presents the lifetime financial duration of the PV system for 30 years of cost data. The state rebate is $2.50 per Watt. The loan term is 30 years. The system capital cost is $20,000 and the Federal tax credit of 30% is limited to a tax credit of $2,000. The state rebate is thus $2.50 per watt times 2,300 watts = $5,750
    .The total amount financed by the owner is:$20,000 - $5,750 - $2,000 = $12,250
    The home owner can finance the $12,250 for 30 years at 6.2% or 4.10% effective mortgage rate after deduction for interest. This assumes the homeowner is in the 34% combined federal and state income tax bracket. The annual cost of the mortgage is $710, the annual amount of electrical energy generated is 3,022 kWh, the current cost of electrical energy to the homeowner is $0.0798 and I assumes that it escalates 3% per year. The saving in electrical energy payments the first year is thus 3,022 kWh x 0.0798per kWh = $241. But the first year's net cash flow to the home owner is minus $469.
    PG&E tells me that the annual usage of electrical energy varies, but 10,000 kWh is a good number for residential homes with a 2.3 kWe solar PV system on their roof top. Thus the solar PV system would supply about 3,022 kWe/10,000 = 30% of the homeowners electric energy.
    Financial data over 30 years of a 2.3 kWe capacity solar PV system installed on a residential home
    Year
    Annual
    Savings
    Net Cost
    Cost of Energy


    Payments
    per Year
    per Year
    3% Escalation





    per Year

    2007
    $710
    $241
    ($469)
    $0.0798

    2008
    $710
    $248
    ($494)
    $0.0822

    2009
    $710
    $256
    ($480)
    $0.0847

    2010
    $710
    $264
    ($465)
    $0.0872

    2011
    $710
    $271
    ($450)
    $0.0898

    2012
    $710
    $280
    ($435)
    $0.0925

    2013
    $710
    $288
    ($419)
    $0.0953

    2014
    $710
    $297
    ($402)
    $0.0981

    2015
    $710
    $306
    ($385)
    $0.1011

    2016
    $710
    $315
    ($368)
    $0.1041

    2017
    $710
    $324
    ($350)
    $0.1072

    2018
    $710
    $334
    ($331)
    $0.1105

    2019
    $710
    $344
    ($312)
    $0.1138

    2020
    $710
    $354
    ($293)
    $0.1172

    2021
    $710
    $365
    ($272)
    $0.1207

    2022
    $710
    $376
    ($251)
    $0.1243

    2023
    $710
    $387
    ($230)
    $0.1281

    2024
    $710
    $399
    ($208)
    $0.1319

    2025
    $710
    $411
    ($185)
    $0.1359

    2026
    $710
    $423
    ($162)
    $0.1399

    2027
    $710
    $436
    ($137)
    $0.1441

    2028
    $710
    $449
    ($112)
    $0.1485

    2029
    $710
    $462
    ($87)
    $0.1529

    2030
    $710
    $476
    ($60)
    $0.1575

    2031
    $710
    $490
    ($33)
    $0.1622

    2032
    $710
    $505
    ($5)
    $0.1671

    2033
    $710
    $520
    $24
    $0.1721

    2034
    $710
    $536
    $54
    $0.1773

    2035
    $710
    $552
    $84
    $0.1826

    2036
    $710
    $568
    $116
    $0.1881

    Summation
    $21,300
    $11,474
    ($7,117)




    Conclusions: Notice that for 32 years the homeowner has a negative cash flow. The home owner has only four years out of thirty where there is a positive cash flow. The final sum over thirty year was a loss of $7,117

    ReplyDelete
  55. Yeah, but Prius already has NiMh, the others are sposed to be super NiMh?

    ReplyDelete
  56. Mat,
    Those nuke figures probly include the cost of buying the fuel and nothing else!

    ReplyDelete
  57. hehe, my wife was all ticked off today. Seems the city council is coming up with a cock eyed scheme to charge property owners on how much water runs off from the property into the storm sewer system. Repeat, the storm sewer system. This is something new, and probably was schemed up by some arse in City Planning reading some article in City Planning Magazine about some shit in California. There is going to be a rebellion in Lewiston over this. These people here actually work for a living, unlike those in Moscow. It's why the property taxes are a lot less here.

    ReplyDelete
  58. Bob,

    I don't believe those numbers are reflective of reality. From everything I read, nukes are by far the most expensive of all the options.

    ReplyDelete
  59. SuperJoo:
    OBAMA VISITS WESTERN WALL IN OLD CITY JERUSALEM... ARRIVES AT 5:08 AM LOCAL TIME [10:08 PM ET]... SUNRISE... SHOUTING MAN: 'JERUSALEM IS NOT FOR SALE, OBAMA'... MOB SCENE... CHAOS... BOWING HIS HEAD IN PRAYER... PLACES NOTE IN WALL... POSES FOR PHOTOS... LOTS OF SHOUTING... LEAVES 5:20 AM... DEVELOPING...

    ReplyDelete
  60. Would you believe this, Mat--

    Subject: FW: FW: New York Times Where is Obama's money coming from


    This, from a very liberal columnist, helps to validate what many of us have suspected. Maybe the best candidate money can buy and the muslim we all suspect. How much damage can he do with the backing of the middle east?

    By MAUREEN DOWD
    Published: June 29, 2008

    OBAMA’S TROUBLING INTERNET FUND RAISING

    Certainly the most interesting and potentially devastating phone call I have received during this election cycle came this week from one of the Obama’s campaign internet geeks. These are the staffers who devised Obama’s internet fund raising campaign which raised in the neighborhood of $200 million so far. That is more then twice the total funds raised by any candidate in history – and this was all from the internet campaign.

    What I learned from this insider was shocking but I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that when it comes to fund raising there simply are no rules that can’t be broken and no ethics that prevail.

    Obama’s internet campaign started out innocently enough with basic e-mail networking , lists saved from previous party campaigns and from supporters who visited any of the Obama campaign web sites.
    Small contributions came in from these sources and the internet campaign staff were more than pleased by the results.

    Then, about two months into the campaign the daily contribution intake multiplied. Where was it coming from? One of the web site security monitors began to notice the bulk of the contributions were clearly coming in from overseas internet service providers and at the rate and frequency of transmission it was clear these donations were “programmed” by a very sophisticated user.

    While the security people were not able to track most of the sources due to firewalls and other blocking devices put on these contributions they were able to collate the number of contributions that were coming in seemingly from individuals but the funds were from only a few credit card accounts and bank electronic funds transfers. The internet service providers (ISP) they were able to trace were from Saudi Arabia, Iran, and other Middle Eastern countries. One of the banks used for fund transfers was also located in Saudi Arabia .

    Another concentrated group of donations was traced to a Chinese ISP with a similar pattern of limited credit card charges.

    It became clear that these donations were very likely coming from sources other than American voters. This was discussed at length within the campaign and the decision was made that none of these donations violated campaign financing laws.

    It was also decided that it was not the responsibility of the campaign to audit these millions of contributions as to the actual source (specific credit card number or bank transfer account numbers) to ensure that none of these internet contributors exceeded the legal maximum donation on a cumulative basis of many small donations. They also found the record keeping was not complete enough to do it anyway.

    This is a shocking revelation.

    We have been concerned about the legality of “bundling” contributions after the recent exposure of illegal bundlers but now it appears we may have an even greater problem.

    I guess we should have been somewhat suspicious when the numbers started to come out. We were told (no proof offered) that the Obama internet contributions were from $10.00 to $25.00 or so.

    If the $200,000,000 is right, and the average contribution was $15.00, that would mean over 13 million individuals made contributions? That would also be 13 million contributions would need to be processed. How did all that happen?

    I believe the Obama campaign’s internet fund raising needs a serious, in depth investigation and audit. It also appears the whole question of internet fund raising needs investigation by the legislature and perhaps new laws to ensure it complies not only with the letter of these laws but the spirit as well.

    ReplyDelete
  61. HAVANA (Associated Press) -- Ailing Fidel Castro said Wednesday that Cuba's president was right to adopt a "dignified silence" over a Moscow newspaper report that Russia may station nuclear bombers on the island, and said Cuba doesn't owe any explanation to Washington about the story.

    In a brief, cryptic essay posted on a government Web site Wednesday night, the 81-year-old former president neither confirmed nor denied the Monday report in Izvestia newspaper.

    Moscow is angry about U.S. plans for missile-defense sites in eastern Europe and Izvestia cited a "highly placed" military aviation source as saying, "While they are deploying the anti-missile systems in Poland and the Czech Republic, our long-range strategic aircraft already will be landing in Cuba." Izvestia said this apparently refers to long-range nuclear-capable bombers.

    Izvestia points out that there would have to be a political decision on landing bombers in Cuba, and quoted the unnamed source as saying there have been such discussions.

    While Fidel Castro said the president, his brother Raul Castro, was wise not to respond to the newspaper report, he did not make clear why he was commenting.

    Fidel Castro also said Cuba is not obligated to offer the United States an explanation about the newspaper report, "nor ask for excuses or forgiveness."

    ReplyDelete
  62. The home owner has only four years out of thirty where there is a positive cash flow. The final sum over thirty year was a loss of $7,117

    So it's a tax write-down, and when the owner sells his house to move to a retirement community in Florida those solar panels will have a lot of curb appeal.

    ReplyDelete
  63. al-Bob,
    'Rat will assure us Dowd is a right-wing hack, and those contributions from Saudia Arabia were made by Jews on Vacation!
    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  64. PARIS (Associated Press) -- The French electric company EDF says that 100 employees have been "slightly contaminated" by a leak at a reactor site in southern France.

    It was the third incident at a French nuclear site in recent weeks and the second at the huge Tricastin site.

    An EDF spokeswoman says the employees were exposed to radioactive particles that escaped from a pipe in a reactor that had been shut down. It says the employees were exposed to radiation far below permitted levels, and went home but will be tested.

    A leak of unenriched uranium at another facility at Tricastin led to a just-lifted ban on water sports and fishing in two rivers.

    ReplyDelete
  65. "This is a shocking revelation."


    I didn't for a sec believe that the obama contributions were legit. But then, neither are McCain's.

    ReplyDelete
  66. ...and he would be right about the hack!
    ---
    The Fake Maureen Dowd Email
    Editor's note: The following is the text of an anonymous email that falsely purports to be a column by New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd. Read our story about this email and its origins.

    OBAMA’S TROUBLING INTERNET FUND RAISING

    Magazine The Fake Maureen Dowd Email

    ReplyDelete
  67. If there has been illegal activity, from foreign sources, doug, the Justice Dept will be right on that case, in January '09, fer sur.

    Electronic payments, little electronic debits.

    If only Billary were so clever.

    ReplyDelete
  68. I knew it was a fake right away. Too masculine with all those numbers and shit. Maureen Dowd is "fluffier" and wittier.

    ReplyDelete
  69. SUMMARY: Blogs and chain e-mails are spreading a Maureen Dowd column that claims the Obama campaign got suspicious contributions from Iran, Saudi Arabia and China. But the column is a fake.

    At first glance, the chain e-mail looks like an authentic column by Maureen Dowd, the Pulitzer-winning New York Times columnist. It has her byline and a headline that says "OBAMA'S TROUBLING INTERNET FUND RAISING." Some versions even have Dowd's picture.

    But the column is a fake, the latest weapon in the growing arsenal of chain e-mailers who are spreading false information about the presidential candidates.

    The column, which is dated June 29, 2008, says Dowd got a call from "one of the Obama's campaign [sic] internet geeks" who told her the campaign has received a flood of small contributions from overseas. The contributors were difficult to trace, the column says, but they came from a small number of banks and credit cards in various countries, particularly from "Saudi Arabia, Iran, and other Middle Eastern countries."

    The column says that "another concentrated group of donations was traced to a Chinese ISP (Internet provider) with a similar pattern of limited credit card charges."

    The column says campaign officials were aware "these donations were very likely coming from sources other than American voters," but they concluded it was legal to accept them. Federal law prohibits foreign nationals from contributing to the presidential campaigns, but donations from Americans living overseas are legal and fairly common.


    The column calls the decision to accept them "a shocking revelation" and says the Obama campaign should be audited. (You can find the full text of the e-mail here.)

    The column is bogus. Dowd told us she did not write it and that
    "It just seems like anyone who is familiar with my column would know this wasn’t me."

    It's not clear who wrote the column. One of the early appearances of the column was when it was posted June 29 on a blog on AZCentral, the Arizona Republic newspaper site, by someone identified as Thomas Moore. In his bio, Moore describes himself as "a retired journalist/technical writer/illustrator" and a fan of Barry Goldwater. His photo on the blog is a computer animation of a man waving a McCain sign, although Moore has no apparent ties to the McCain campaign.

    When someone pointed out on his blog that the column was a fake, Moore wrote, "It appears that I may be the fool for posting the editorial, since I don't find it on the NYT Website, either. I'm checking with the friend who sent it to me, as to whether he copied it directly from the Website."

    ReplyDelete
  70. hmmm, my source for that Dowd article was Dale, a guy here that sends me stuff alot. Nice guy, ready to fight the muzzies any day. Well, I quess I'll mail him that back, it might break his heart though.

    ReplyDelete
  71. This is a bad day for us Obama bashers. Seems a birth announcement has been found in the Honolulu Advertiser Here

    Dangit, can't we make something stick, other than his policies, of course.

    ReplyDelete
  72. bobal

    yeah I saw that a couple days ago on free republic and stopped posting on that topic.

    I think obamas mideast trip will be remembered for his line that even now he would not endorse the surge. giving truth to mccains claim that he would lose the election if it meant winning the war while obama would lose the war if it meant winning the election.

    that sound bite I think rang too true.

    ReplyDelete
  73. McCain's should be doing something to break up all this coverage of Obama, or pretty soon people won't remember who the other candidate is. Damn press and tv, I hate 'em. All democrats now.

    ReplyDelete
  74. Rush's suggestion on Monday was that McCain should be on an oil derrick in the gulf of mexico advocating more drilling.

    McCain's team announced that McCain will be on an oil derrick in the gulf for a photo op tomorrow or friday--but cancelled because of the cat 2 hurricane in the gulf.

    ReplyDelete
  75. 2,000 years later and the debate still goes on. That ruling would seem to mean that being Jewish isn't a biological matter, but a matter of belief. What about my dad's old Jewish partner, who, more or less like Mat, thought it was all mumbo-jumbo? Is he, or rather was he, Jewish, or not?

    Is Mat Jewish?

    ReplyDelete
  76. McCain ought to do just what Rush tells him to do. And what deuce tells him to do. Then he might have a fighting chance.

    ReplyDelete
  77. 'little people who look strange to us.'

    The Irish have know this for years, Sam.

    ReplyDelete
  78. He just wouldn't listen, Charles, no matter how many times and ways we told him.

    Closed Minded Farmer,
    even in retirement.

    ReplyDelete
  79. Now he's embarassing himself and us w/his fake e-mails!

    ReplyDelete
  80. Yes, I hear your chances of seeing them increase dramatically on St. Patty's Day.

    ReplyDelete
  81. You're discrediting the loyal and true Messiah Bashers, al-Bob.
    That's a sin, in my book.

    ReplyDelete
  82. "Because of the surge we were able to go out and protect that sheik and others. And it began the Anbar awakening," ... "I mean, that's just a matter of history"

    Mav

    ReplyDelete
  83. I shouldn't have said that about the Irish 'little people', who represent, I've read, the old gods gone to ground, after the coming of Christianity. Not aliens.

    The disclosure project is old news to this reporter, and, as Mitchell says, continues apace.

    How can you doubt an astronaut?

    He's right too, that, if they be unfriendly, we're toast.

    ReplyDelete
  84. Dammit, Dale sent me that e-mail. I just sent it on, as per instruction.

    ReplyDelete
  85. Just following orders.

    We've heard that one before.

    ReplyDelete
  86. Dale's probly a little green man in area 51.

    Or Art in Manilla.

    ReplyDelete
  87. I'll take Buz, anyday.
    ...and of course, Hoot Gibson.

    ReplyDelete
  88. Jack Nicholson played a crazed astronaut in a movie whose name I can't recall. Pretty funny movie.

    ReplyDelete
  89. On the Iranian issue, Obama's statements differ from what Israeli leaders have grown accustomed to hearing from officials in the administration of President George W. Bush.

    During his brief visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority Wednesday, Obama told Defense Minister Ehud Barak that he views the peace process between Israel and Syria as very important. When speaking about Tehran's drive to obtain nuclear weapons, Obama reiterated the importance that he attributes to diplomatic pressure.

    Commenting on Obama's recent statements about his support for a "united Jerusalem", presumably under Israeli control, a senior Palestinian official Wednesday told Haaretz that he advises against taking what presidential hopefuls tell Jewish voters too seriously.


    2 Peoples

    ReplyDelete
  90. Chillingly, he claimed our technology is 'not nearly as sophisticated' as theirs and "had they been hostile", he warned 'we would be been gone by now'.

    TOAST

    ReplyDelete
  91. His role in Terms of Endearment further softened the rebel character he had created for the turbulent 1960s and 1970s. As a womanizing, alcoholic former astronaut, he is a comic and not a tragic figure, a man who does his own thing, hurts no one, and can be melodramatically transformed into a sensitive human being. The part won him another supporting actor Oscar.

    ReplyDelete
  92. - Reno Air Races -
    Hoot was there!

    "In 2007 alone, three pilots died over the course of four days in separate incidents (Gary Hubler, Steve Dari, & Brad Morehouse),[2] prompting the temporary suspension of the event.[3] Races were resumed on Saturday after various safety meetings.[4]"
    ---
    Wonder if that will be his first and last!

    ReplyDelete
  93. Israel says Lo-Bama

    They don't much like him, there.

    ReplyDelete
  94. That's a heck of a neat plane, Doug, that Dago Red. Might make a great crop-duster:)

    grrnite

    ReplyDelete
  95. Ideehoe Legend, al-Bob:

    "One look at Gary Hubler's Air Racing website and you can see he means business, he flies to win.

    Gary was never one to fear the ground and most of his flying was close to the ground as an agricultural pilot, but what Gary excelled in was racing and winning.

    In fact, at age 51 he was a five-time champion at Reno National Championship Air Races.

    Gary was from Caldwell, ID and loved to fly and his crew is made of up of a set of superstars indeed."

    16,000 hours!

    ReplyDelete
  96. Teresita:

    We lost 3000 innocent lives on Bush’s watch, and he managed to blame it on Clinton and Saddam, so why would Obama act any different?
    All he has to do is say the whole adventure in Iraq was a mistake from the gitgo.
    Besides, the Iraqis can take care of their own country. People all over the world have been taking care of their own country for thousands of years.
    The only thing we stand to lose is the proposed permanent superbases in Iraq from where the neocons planned to project military power into Syria and Iran and any other country in the neighborhood that frowns at Israel.
    That is what McCain is really thinking about when he says we should be there for a hundred years.
    A vote for Obama is a vote against being the World Cop.

    Zenster said,
    "You’re too kind, fred. Idjits like Teresita would be found, clad in full burqa, nursing away at the nearest imam’s tumescent spigot."

    LOL

    ReplyDelete
  97. She was for Obama before she was against him before she was for him again.

    ReplyDelete
  98. "We lost 3000 innocent lives on Bush’s watch.."


    What, OBL does not carry a watch?

    ReplyDelete
  99. Tes,

    Honestly, sometimes I get the feeling when I read your posts, that I'm reading scribbles plagiarized from a 6 year old. If that's the intellectual caliber of US gov civil service employ, then the US is indeed in deep shit.

    ReplyDelete
  100. T. is for McCain when she's here, for Obama when she's over at BC.

    ReplyDelete
  101. "What about my dad's old Jewish partner, who, more or less like Mat, thought it was all mumbo-jumbo?"

    I don't think it's mumbo-jumbo, I think religion is a fraud. That said, I fully accept and embrace hebrew Israeli culture and biblical hebrew history. But the Jesus story is a Latin Christian story, tied to a Latin Christian culture. Jesus has little to do with hebrew Israeli culture, at least not as is told by Roman story tellers.

    ReplyDelete
  102. I thought you might say something along those lines, Mat. So, you'd think the definition of a Jew isn't really biological, or religious, as in believing, but rather cultural--that makes perfectly good sense to me, an outsider. I think that what you've said is more or less what my lawyer thinks, as well.

    ReplyDelete
  103. It's biological and cultural. You need both for both to survive.

    ReplyDelete
  104. Though the Jewish branch, the original one, of Christ folk, or Jesus folk, or whatever you want to call them, got pretty well erased from the picture after the Roman/Jewish war. After that it was a parting of the ways, is how I understand what happened.

    I still don't understand, and probably never will, just how Christianity took hold in Europe.

    ReplyDelete
  105. Needed, maybe. Here in the USA we are about as diverse as you can get, biologically, and so far we've made it. We do have, or have had, it may be disappearing, a common culture, very young. It's a different world now, with the machines, and travel, and trade, etc.

    ReplyDelete
  106. But the Jesus story is a Latin Christian story, tied to a Latin Christian culture. Jesus has little to do with hebrew Israeli culture,
    //////////
    christianity as I've heard it tought these day is deeply rooted in the old testament--and not in the greco roman culture.

    St Paul himself was a Jew's Jew of the period.

    ReplyDelete
  107. That's what the Greeks thought. Same or the Romans. Same for many other multi culti empires. I don't see America to be all that different.

    ReplyDelete
  108. Charles,

    Paul may have been a Jew, but the Jesus story you have today is a thoroughly edited Roman propaganda tale. It bares little resemblance to what might have been a kernel of historical truth.

    ReplyDelete
  109. The New Testament is fully packed with references to the Hebrew scriptures. There's a word for this that I can't think of right now, but much material is pulled from the earlier and incorporated into the new. So much so that practically every reference can be traced back to it in some way. Jesus thus becomes a kind of new improved version of Moses, in this view.

    ReplyDelete
  110. And it's read both ways. The twelve springs and 70 palm trees in the story of Moses and the escape from Egypt is thus read backwards as a reference to the 12 disciples and 70 apostles for instance.

    ReplyDelete
  111. Jesus spends 40 days in the wilderness, the Hebrews 40 years in the desert, etc. etc.

    ReplyDelete
  112. "Jesus thus becomes a kind of new improved version of Moses, in this view."

    This "new improved version" is the old recycled version of Empire, the Tower of Babel. Jews reject this.

    ReplyDelete
  113. Or more concurrently, the Tower of Bobal. :)

    ReplyDelete
  114. :)

    Well I think the early Christians had little idea what was coming after Constantine had his moment, whatever it consisted of, at the Battle at the Malvern Bridge, or whatever the name of it was. The New Testament itself is not an imperial document. Though it's also true you can see signs of sucking up to Rome, for survivals sake, in some of it.

    ReplyDelete
  115. I got to take a shower and get going, Mat, big day. Talk later.

    ReplyDelete
  116. Charles,

    A clue to understanding the real Jesus, is to understand where Jesus spent his time, and where he did not. Jesus was thoroughly anti Roman, and he scrupulously avoided the more Hellenized towns of Israel.

    ReplyDelete
  117. NP, Bob. Have yourself a great day.

    ReplyDelete
  118. Once you start to understand Jesus' real political views, then things start to make sense. The money changing scene. What do you think was so irritating to Jesus? I'll tell you what it was. It was Greek and Roman coinage at the Temple. And you'd have the same scene if it was me there.

    ReplyDelete
  119. Metuselah: Jesus was thoroughly anti Roman, and he scrupulously avoided the more Hellenized towns of Israel.

    On the contrary, if Jesus was anti-Roman, he would have declined to heal the servant of the Centurion in Matthew chapter 8. Jesus is pro-Roman, pro-woman, pro-everybody. It comes with the territory of being the Savior of mankind.

    ReplyDelete
  120. Bobal: T. is for McCain when she's here, for Obama when she's over at BC.

    We're through, you and me, bobal.

    ReplyDelete
  121. I guess you were there, Tes. Anything else you care to report back to us on Jesus?

    ReplyDelete
  122. Dougster said:

    Zenster said,
    "You’re too kind, fred. Idjits like Teresita would be found, clad in full burqa, nursing away at the nearest imam’s tumescent spigot."

    LOL


    Yeah, real classy blog Wretchard has got there. Its one thing to post a dissenting view, and it's quite another thing to take a dump in someone's blogspace.

    ReplyDelete
  123. Ah, hell T. you're too darn sensitive. You do sound like you're an Obamacon over there at BC, while here you've said 10 times you're voting McCain. Didn't mean no offense.

    ReplyDelete
  124. Okay bobal.

    I like Obama's idea of a surge in Afghanistan, I don't like McCain's idea of staying in Iraq forever. That don't mean I'm going to pull the ripcord on America's suicide jacket.

    ReplyDelete
  125. t says:

    I like Obama's idea of a surge in Afghanistan, I don't like McCain's idea of staying in Iraq forever. That don't mean I'm going to pull the ripcord on America's suicide jacket.

    I wish that america start pulling troops out of japan, korea and germany 1st...

    then speak about iraq and how long...

    ReplyDelete
  126. 2020.05.26酒店小姐的基本介紹跟工作內容領檯: 在餐廳從事接待顧客工作,一般通稱領檯之工作人員,所負責的工作不外乎就是1.我在酒店上班的日子在餐廳門口迎接顧客,並引導入座2. 不敢來酒店上班-酒店打工的原因在門口歡送顧客酒店領檯通常的條件一定要比制服酒店公關漂亮,跟酒店公關一樣要坐檯才會有漂亮的收入! 通常客人沒有選到喜歡的酒店公關時,就會考慮點領檯來坐檯。所謂「特種行業」,係指酒店上班-酒店兼職-兼差如何達成人生的第一桶金「視聽歌唱業」、「理髮業」、「三溫暖業」、「舞廳業」、「舞場業」、「酒家業」、「酒吧業」及「特種咖啡茶室業」等八種行業,因其略分為八大類,故俗稱「八大行業」,以上酒店兼差不是一個複雜的工作環境?八種行業目前回歸由商業登記主管機關管理,其營業範圍職場須知 【酒店PT 】: 1、視聽歌唱業:指提供伴唱視聽設備,供人歌唱之營利事業。夢想在面前,卻少了一筆錢?人生夢想清單想出國、想買房,卻做不到?我們提供妳一個簡單的工作,只要有心,妳也能月入六位數。想脫貧?這次好機會別錯過。薪資超透明 月入10萬不是夢。酒店小姐一定有S嗎?老司機專業勸世文被贊爆八大行業指依「臺北市舞廳舞場酒家酒吧及特種咖啡茶室管理自治條例」管理之舞廳業、舞場業、酒家業、酒吧業、特種咖啡茶室業、視聽歌唱業、理容業及三溫暖業。

    ReplyDelete
  127. 2020.08.25不敢來酒店上班-酒店打工的原因一般人的觀念裡酒店是一個複雜、不好的環境,酒店小姐的基本介紹跟工作內容其實在酒店上班沒什麼不好,我在酒店上班的日子工作性質跟一般在聊天的美眉是同性質的。
    例如:像跟一群人去錢櫃好樂迪參加聯誼會那種形式,認識交際不同的人,一樣是跟客人單純的閒聊、喝 酒炒熱氣份,但只是變成工作,還有錢可以賺,不好的是因為吸毒而去做酒店,甚至賺錢去養男人這是最笨、最愚蠢的作法。
    酒店經紀〝俗稱經紀人〞我們常遇到的女孩子大部分都是單親媽媽要養小孩、要還父母的負債、要實現自己的目標、還有解決自己卡債問題等,這些並沒有什麼不好,人總是因為環境的因素不得已,你只要知道自己最終的目標是什麼就行。另外補充一點,小部分酒店是有做黑的沒錯,但不想做黑的也是大有人在,賣笑不賣身應該有聽過還是可以把大把銀子賺進口袋。
    常有女孩們因為報紙裡的高薪而吸引,卻不知道這家酒店的型態而付出更高的犧牲本身在這一行業也有一段時間,真的有像電影裡的故事情節發生,其實女孩們真的因為經濟上的需要而這樣的工作,除了心理要有充足的準備之外,還要先了解這家店的性質,才不會後悔莫及,許多的女孩子對酒店都有很多的不了解就誤入了這個行業,更扯的是有些女孩子被報紙上的小廣告所騙,九成九不是被騙財就是被騙色。

    ReplyDelete
  128. 2020.10.18酒店小姐的基本介紹跟工作內容第一次是剛入社會工作時,陪主管到台中出差,他們帶我去的;那晚,看到2個已婚主管大解放的樣子,讓我有點驚恐…他們玩得很瘋,我和一個年紀比我小、和我一樣菜的小姐,2個躲到隔壁沒人的包廂「避難」。
    我問她:【酒店小姐】【酒店公關】不敢來酒店上班-酒店打工的原因?為甚麼來這裡工作?
    她說:不敢來酒店上班-酒店打工的原因?趁年輕多賺一點,給家裡,以後也想自己開咖啡店。
    我說:主管說要帶我開眼界…
    她又問:酒店酒店小姐酒店上班到底都在做麼?好玩嗎?
    我說:酒店兼差不是一個複雜的工作環境?有點恐怖….
    可能年紀相近吧,我們聊著在職場被前輩、被客人欺負的零零總總,一直聊到主管大聲叫我們,我們才趕忙走回包廂。上個月,去了第2次酒店。認識10多年的客戶大哥,約我到東區的酒店;這次優雅多了,純粹因為大哥喜歡這裡的氣氛,想在這談事情。陪在包廂的幾個「資深小姐」和大哥都熟,談吐有趣、懂進退;她們試著和我這個新面孔攀談,想找出共同的話題。聊到「投資」的話題,大家的話匣子被打開了。其中一個小姐說:「剛入行的時候,每次領到獎金、每年過生日我都會到名牌專櫃、刷個精品犒賞自己。」
    另一個小姐氣噗噗說:「幾次需要現金週轉,把名牌包轉賣,才發現我幾萬、幾萬買來的包,根本不值幾個錢,嘔死了。」其他小姐跟著起鬨說:「名牌包像渣男的愛,貶值得厲害。」「名牌包像女人的身價,變中古就不值錢了。」她們聊開了,完全忘了眼前我是個男人….汗。
    我好奇問:「現在不買名牌了嗎?」
    小姐A說:「以前送自己名牌包,現在送自己名牌股票。」
    我問:「什麼是名牌股票啊?」
    她們回:「公司穩到不會倒、名聲大到不行的公司啊,像是OOO、OOO….」哈哈,聽了她們講出的幾個名字,果然都是大名牌。
    原來小姐A,聽了恩客的教導,開始懂得投資股票;這幾年,手邊有閒錢就一張一張的買。其他小姐看她像個「包租婆」每年有股息、股利可領,也「跟風」開始學她投資,用包包換股票。A驕傲地說:「年輕小姐在比手上的包包,我們資深姐姐是在比誰手上的股票多。」
    那天晚上的聊天很有趣,很替小姐們「投資有術」開心。手拿名牌包,得到的是虛榮;手裡有錢,才能活得有底氣。不是等有錢了,才理財;而是開始理財,才會有錢。崴爺看到不少人,還停在「買名牌包」、「等有錢才想理財」的階段,希望酒店裡的小故事,讓你有些啟發。

    ReplyDelete