I received this fake invitation from the Presidential Inaugural Committee to "any of the public events" on inauguration day.
It's the kind of teaser that irritates.
I REALLY would like to be at the inauguration.
Oh well...... At least this fake invitation is pretty.
I'll frame it as a momento and watch the festivities from home.
I read this post by a blogger to a Washington Post article and it has had me thinking ever since. I'm skeptical of conspiracy theories, but parts of this one sounds somewhat plausible, especially when you consider the "drill now drill here" and "drill baby drill" slogans being touted by Republicans, as well as the region of the country Palin comes from and the fact that the new campaign label for her is that she is an "energy expert."
I will admit that parts of this post are far-fetched (i.e. I don't believe McCain would agree to step down), but authorizing drilling offshore and Alaska sounds plausible.
Editor's note: In 2004, election integrity activists challenged the results of Ohio's presidential election before the Ohio Supreme Court, and convinced Rep. Stephanie Tubbs-Jones (D-OH) and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) to challenge the state's Electoral College vote before a joint session of Congress. The reaction by Ohio's then Republican-controlled Legislature was to enact a series of election reforms that punished likely Democratic voters. Some of the laws adopted were later thrown out in court, such as penalizing voter registration drives. But others, including a technical process to require certain voters to prove their registrations are valid on Election Day -- or lose their right to vote, remain in effect. Two of the nation's top voting rights groups, Advancement Project and Project Vote, this week reported 600,000 Ohio voters could be effected. This article is a combination of the releases both groups issued this week. George W. Bush beat John Kerry by nearly 119,000 votes in Ohio in 2004. -- Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet Democracy and Elections editor.
Columbus, Ohio August 13, 2008 -- Nearly 600,000 eligible Ohio voters may be dropped from the voter rolls if Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner doesn't act to protect these voters, according to findings based on publicly available information discovered by Advancement Project and Project Vote.
These voters -- disproportionately voters of color and young voters -- are subject to being removed from Ohio's voter registration rolls without notice or a hearing because of the state's vague regulations on vote caging, a process that enables representatives of one political party to challenge the voter registration credentials of voters at polling places on Election Day.
The Ohio counties with largest numbers of returned notices prior to March 2008 Presidential Primary are Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton, Lucas and Summit, where Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo are located.
The mechanism of caging or challenging voters dates back to legislation passed soon after the 2004 presidential election.
In 2005, Ohio's General Assembly introduced legislation, House Bill 3 (H.B.3) that overhauled Ohio's election system. H.B. 3, in part, requires voter information mailings and amends Ohio's challenge statute(s). In particular, it requires that 88 county boards of election mail all Ohio registered voters a non-forwardable notice 60 days before the election. Each board must compile into a list any notices that are returned as undeliverable. These lists, in turn, are available as public records to any individual or group seeking to use the list as a "caging list" to challenge voters.
The amended challenge law no longer requires the county boards to provide Ohio voters with notice that they are being removed from the voting rolls or a hearing for them to defend themselves of a challenge. Rather, the Ohio law permits the boards to review their own records and make a determination to the validity of the challenge.
This law was effective beginning 2006 and covers all primary, general, and special elections from 2006 through the November 2008 General Election. Advancement Project finds it extremely interesting, that this law "sunsets" effective January 1, 2009.
"A single returned piece of mail is not a reliable basis for challenging the right to vote," said Donita Judge, Ohio staff attorney, Advancement Project. "Mail may be returned for many reasons, including errors in the database from which the mailing is derived, errors in the mailing labels, failure to include an apartment number or poor matching criteria."
Advancement Project and Project Vote would like to see the Ohio Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner, issue a directive prohibiting Ohio electors from challenging Ohio voters whose name appear on any returned mailings and/or any past, current or future caging list. This is the best remedy to ensure that all Ohio voters are treated in a uniform manner during the November 2008 election because it permits the county boards to send out information to Ohio voters and at the same time ensures that all voters are permitted to vote without the threat of being placed on a list that is subject to challenge for no other reason than a returned mailing.
"Partisan, challengers who have obtained a list of returned letters shouldn't be allowed to strip Ohio voters of their right to update their addresses" said Teresa James, attorney with Project Vote. The lack of notice to challenged voters under Ohio's 2006 challenge law allows this interference to take place quietly and behind closed doors. This violates the principles our nation was founded on. It is imperative that Secretary Brunner establish guidelines so that partisan challengers will not be permitted to lodge unfounded challenges that clog the election process, burden poll workers and disenfranchise eligible voters."
Ohio's current law is internally inconsistent. For instance, Ohio law permits voters who move from one precinct to another to change their address from 28-days prior to the election, up to and including Election Day. Yet, if a voter is challenged and removed from the rolls within 20 days of the Election and their registration is canceled, without notice, this cancels the effectiveness of a voter changing their address since there is no longer a registration on file. It also violates Ohio law and equal protection of the laws because this voter is not provided the same meaningful opportunity to update a valid registration up to and including Election Day as other Ohio voters.
The new election law also unfairly impacts black and Latino Americans and other voters of color. Advancement Project anticipates that significant number of voters of color will be included on the county generated caging lists because census data indicates that they move more frequently than whites. Furthermore, in light of the fact that college students change residences frequently, it is anticipated that large numbers of young voters will be included on the lists as well.
"Voter suppression and intimidation is driven by a desire to maintain the status quo, concluded Judge." "These acts are carried out in an effort to deprive certain Americans, especially those most marginalized, of a voice in our democracy. Election Day is the great equalizer -- it is the one day where if all was right in our democracy, it would not matter if a person is rich, poor, black, white, educated or not, we all would have the same amount of power."
Advancement Project partners with community organizations, bringing them the tools of legal advocacy and strategic communications to dismantle structural exclusion.
http://www.alternet.org/democracy/94977/
Convention bounce: http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-09-07-poll_N.htm
McCain leads Democrat Barack Obama by 50%-46% among registered voters,...
but more disturbingly...
McCain leads Obama by 54%-44% among those seen as most likely to vote.
Hmm.....
http://headonradionetwork.com/blog/2008/08/13/how-to-get-around-caging-lists-opinion/
So you are hearing about Republican "caging lists" and are worried? Well you should be. The Republican machine will do everything in its power to make sure that some voters are denied the vote.
Now, before you go and open a vein in despair, there is something you can do. It will take a phone call and a trip to your local county registrar.
The thing to remember here is that it doesn't matter who or what you are. You can be "caged" if you are white/black/hispanic/rich/poor. Doesn't make a difference. Assume that you will be struck from the voting rolls and act accordingly. Here is Susan's step-by-step plan to screw up caging lists. Use it if you think it's worthwhile.
1. Call the local county seat/election registrar's office. Find out the cutoff date to register to vote and still be eligible to vote in the General Election. The other thing you will need to find out during this call is what kind of documentation (drivers license, birth certificate, etc) you will need to register to vote. No, I'm not crazy; there is a method to my madness.
2. Once you know the cutoff date for voter registration, two weeks before that date, toddle down to the county registrar's office and ask to check your registration status. If there is no trouble, great! If your name has been struck from the rolls, go to step 3.
3. When you are told you are not registered, then you should re-register right away! Whip out your documentation (which you will have brought with you) and re-register. If possible get confirmation of your re-registration in writing.
With luck the Republicans will not have time to strike you from the voting lists again. Good luck!
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PBS Caging Story (part 1 of 2): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Drak3NcRpJc&NR=1
It seems that this is the central meme of the Gas Oil Party [some might say it is the only major domestic policy position of the GOP], I think it is gaining some traction, despite it's complete lack of substance, so we should all be prepared to tell our friends and neighbours just how vacuous this slogan really is.
To call it a 'policy' is a bit of a misnomer. Drill Here, Drill Now is nothing more than a cynical, meaningless slogan devoid of any substance whatsoever, which accurately describes the current American oil policy, which has not worked out so well.
Here's the list of the top oil producing countries which, I am sure all of you who listen to the right, will be shocked to see the US in 3d place, ahead of Iran, Venezuela, Kuwait, and the rest. Obviously, we are already drilling here, and we are drilling now.
The crux of the GOPosition is that there are massive areas of the US that are off limits to drilling, and that is why gasoline prices are so high. Again, that is completely fraudulent. Here are maps of the US, showing areas where drilling is allowed in red: Now, I don't know where they think we are going to find so much oil, but this shows portions of the 88 million US acres currently leased to Big Oil. If the US can only supply about 1/3 of our current oily needs from all of those red areas, then it is highly unlikely we can find the other 2/3 of our needs in those few remaining lands.
And, in the past 6 weeks, astoundingly the US has increased it's oil exports as the price has climbed to record levels. Well, the US didn't really export it, but the multinational Gas Oil Petroleum corporations exported it. Can any advocate of drilling explain how we are going to become energy independent if our oil is increasingly being shipped to China, India, Japan and/or other countries?
Now, how much is in the Gulf and Alaska, which the GOP tries to trick us into thinking is going to make us energy-independent if we drill? Well, the Gulf has 4 Billion barrels, just 274.8 weeks [5.2 years] of oil at current usage rates. Alaska has even less, 3.9 billion barrels, or 5 years. So, if we were to drill here, drill now, we would literally use up all of the known oil in the areas the republicans are demogoguing about in just a little over one 8-year, 2-term presidency. And, keep in mind the above map, which shows that the undrilled areas are rather small in comparison, so much of that oil is already leased.
If that is not bad enough, The proponents of Drill Here, Drill Now admit that it will not work.
"But if you read it closely, you'll notice Bush did not explicitly claim that coastal drilling would significantly lower the price of the gas.
"Because it won't. There's simply not enough oil there to make an impact.
"Don't believe me? Ask the White House yourself.
"Reporters already did last month. And the White House spokeswoman conceded the point. When answering a question how coastal drilling isn't a short-term solution, she said, "...there's not a real good short-term answer. And we've been very explicit about that from the beginning...There's not going to be a short-term response, and it would be irresponsible for anybody to suggest there would be."
"Sen. John McCain also admitted that he doesn't see "immediate relief" from coastal drilling, but only a "psychological impact.""
I just remembered something about Bush advocating something called an "ownership society" during the last presidential campaign (2004). He promoted this vague idea as some Big Idea of the Future that was supposed to help Americans take more control over their financial futures.
Like...whatever happened to that? What was it about exactly? Did it ever happen?
And, with hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of Americans losing their homes to foreclosure in the mortgage crisis, what does that say about the success of this "ownership society" idea?
Also, with the recent failed banks, along with those that are anticipated to fail in the near future, can Americans trust their social security to privately held accounts in our nation's financial institutions without oversight or increased regulation?
I'm confused. Why aren't we calling the Republicans on these failed ideas/policies/dreams/fairy-tales??!!
Well, they say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So, look no further:
Maybe McCain will come up with his own good ideas at some point...but for now it sure seems like he's stealing anything resembling a good idea.
Here's an interesting one: Exxon just reported the largest quarterly profit of any corporation in recorded history.
"Exxon Mobil once again reported the largest quarterly profit in U.S. history Thursday, posting net income of $11.68 billion on revenue of $138 billion in the second quarter."
So, what did they do with that? Of course, a patriotic American corporation like Exxon would put all of that money into exploration for American oil to make America more energy independent, right?
Um, wrong.
"Exxon spent $7 billion in the second quarter finding and producing more new oil, up 38% from last year. Still, oil and natural gas production from the company fell 8%.The company returned $10.1 billion to shareholders in the form of dividends and stock buybacks, 12% more than last year."
So, Exxon earned $11.68 Billion in profit in only 3 months, for a total of $1500 per second. Then, they returned 85% of that to stock buyback schemes to enrich their shareholders, as well as to reduce the number of Americans [and others] who actually hold shares. And, they spent only 69% as much on exploring as they did on share buybacks, and it actually produced 8% less oil and gas from the year B4.
As shown repeadtedly by the Refinery Fraud, Big Oil makes more money on less production by artifically reducing supply in order to increase price, and saves the cost of that production which is not done, to boot.
Now, we have the Gas Oil Party which wants to increase drilling to lower the price of gasoline by 6 cents a gallon in 2030, and we have Big Oil which has discovered that it is more profitable to reduce production in order to drive up prices, screwing their customers and destroying our economy in the process. Yet, the Gas Oil Party also refuses to drill to make America more energy independent, preferring corporate profit to national security.
Obviously, we cannot count on even American-based oily corporations to invest their obscene profits into making America energy-independent, so the entire Bush/McCain/GOP/Rube Goldberg drilling plan is a fraud. And, the Gas Oil Party recently refused to require the Gas Oil Petroleum corporations to drill in Federal lands leased to them; IOW, they allowed the multinational Gas Oil Petroleum corporations to decide to drill to make America energy-independent pursuant to the GOP's idiot propaganda, or to plow their profits into stock buybacks rather than oil exploring, and to reduce their oil production in order to artificially lower supply.
Great plan, W, McCain and the entire GOP.
Source: CNN
Well, there they go again.
The Senate republican'ts shamefully killed any chance of reducing the price of gasoline by once again procedurally killing an energy bill, this one limiting speculation on oil.
"U.S. legislation to rein in excessive energy speculation failed a key procedural vote on Friday to move forward in the Senate, and now lawmakers will set aside the bill to consider other legislation.Sixty "yes" votes were required in the 100-member Senate for the bill to move forward, but the measure received only 50 "yes" votes and 43 lawmakers were opposed.
Senate Republicans strongly opposed the speculation bill, arguing the legislation should be modified to also boost U.S. oil production by allowing more offshore drilling and developing vast oil shale fields in the West."
The Gas Oil Party insisted that meaningless crap including portions of the W/McCain/Rube Goldberg drilling plan to reduce the price of gas by 3 cents a gallon when the Pitt-Jolie twins are juniors in college be included in any bill, rather than allowing this good bill to stand and possibly work on its' own merits.
Source: Reuters
To find out more about being a Barack Buddy, go here: http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/fredwhite/gGxffY
To join the movement, go here: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4g4qr
So, for my first update on being a Barack Buddy, I've decided to give an example using one of the two people I've decided to buddy with -- my mom...
And that's putting it nicely! McLaughlin's comment on Sunday was way, way out of line. Luckily there were a couple panelists on the show to set him straight.
And, while I almost get tired of asking this: where is the "mainstream media" on reporting this?
Nevermind...I know the answer. :(
I've started an ongoing "event" called Be a Barack Buddy at http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4g4qr. Already close to 50 people are participating, so I wanted to spread the word and explain a little bit more about what it means to be a Barack Buddy.
...he'd be called an "extremist" or "unpatriotic" --
The Founding Fathers would be disappointed with the way America has turned out overall.
