Source:Kansascity.com
A half sister of Cindy McCain, wife of Republican presidential candidate John McCain, has died of Alzheimer's disease, the family announced.
Dixie Lea Burd, 74, died Tuesday in Phoenix. She had been in a nursing home for the past two years, her son Bob Burd said.
Cindy McCain and Dixie Burd had the same mother. Marguerite "Dixie" Johnson married Cindy McCain's father, the late James Hensley, in 1945.
"My family is deeply saddened by the death of my half sister, Dixie Burd. She had been very ill for quite some time, and it was difficult for loved ones to see her suffer," Cindy McCain said in a statement released by the McCain campaign. "I am hopeful that my family's privacy will be respected at this time."
Burd was a homemaker who later helped her family run six Hallmark stores in metropolitan Phoenix. Her son said Cindy McCain was protective of her and that they were close.
Another half sister, Kathleen Hensley Portalski, complained earlier this year that Cindy McCain wasn't treating her like family and announced that she was supporting McCain's rival, Democratic candidate Barack Obama.
Cindy McCain and Portalski have the same father. James Hensley founded Hensley & Co., the Phoenix-area Anheuser-Busch distributor, and Cindy McCain inherited her father's stake in the company.
A memorial service for Burd is set for Saturday in Mesa.
Thousands of voter registration forms faked, officials say
CROWN POINT, Indiana (CNN) -- More than 2,000 voter registration forms filed in northern Indiana's Lake County by a liberal activist group this week have turned out to be bogus, election officials said Thursday.
The group -- the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN -- already faces allegations of filing fraudulent voter registrations in Nevada and faces investigations in other states.
And in Lake County, home to the long-depressed steel town of Gary, the bipartisan Elections Board has stopped processing a stack of about 5,000 applications delivered just before the October 6 registration deadline after the first 2,100 turned out to be phony.
"All the signatures looked exactly the same," Ruthann Hoagland, a Republican on the board. "Everything on the card filled out looks exactly the same."
The forms included registrations submitted in the names of the dead -- and in one case, the name of a fast-food restaurant, Jimmy Johns. Sally LaSota, a Democrat on the board, called the forms fraudulent and said whoever filed them broke the law. Watch how dead people are turning up on voter registration forms »
"ACORN, with its intent, perhaps was good in the beginning, but went awry somewhere," LaSota said.
Over the past four years, a dozen states have investigated complaints of fraudulent registrations filed by ACORN. On Tuesday, Nevada authorities raided an ACORN office in Las Vegas, Nevada, where workers are accused of registering members of the Dallas Cowboys football team. And the group has become the target of Republican attacks on voter fraud, a perennial GOP issue.
A subsidiary of the group was paid $800,000 by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's campaign to register voters for the 2008 primaries, and ACORN's political wing endorsed Obama back in February. But Obama's campaign told CNN that it "is committed to protecting the integrity of the voting process," and said it has not worked with ACORN during the general election.
Brian Mellor, an ACORN attorney in Boston, said the group has its own quality-control process and has fired workers in the past -- including workers in Gary. But he said allegations that his organization committed fraud is a government attempt to keep people disenfranchised. Watch more about this investigation »
"We believe their purpose is to attack ACORN and suppress votes," Mellor said. "We believe that by attacking ACORN, they are going to discourage people that have registered to vote with ACORN from voting."
CNN was unable to reach ACORN officials in Gary and in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the group's Indiana operation is based. Offices in both cities were empty when reporters visited.
Lake County elections officials have set aside all 5,000 of the ACORN-submitted applications in what Hoagland called the "fake pile" for later review. But she said every one will be reviewed before the election to make sure no legitimate voters are skipped.
There has been no evidence of voter fraud yet, because voters have yet to go to the polls. But elections officials say they will be sending their information to prosecutors, who will determine whether any investigation will begin.
"We have no idea what the motive behind it is," she said. "It's just overwhelming to us."
All AboutElection Fraud • Indiana
Source:kctv5.com
POSTED: 11:10 am CDT October 2, 2008
Laptop Stolen In Political Office Break-In
Source:www.kctv5.com
The son of conservative icon and National Review magazine founder William F. Buckley Jr. has endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president. And he cites the nomination of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as Sen. John McCain's Republican running mate as a leading reason.Christopher Buckley, a best-selling novelist, made the move public at The Daily Beast, a new Web site published by Tina Brown, the former New Yorker magazine editor."Let me be the latest conservative/libertarian/whatever to leap onto the Barack Obama bandwagon," Buckley writes. "It's a good thing my dear old mum and pup are no longer alive. They'd cut off my allowance. Or would they?"Buckley, who said he has known McCain personally since 1982 and once wrote a speech for him, pens a column for his late father's conservative magazine. But he said he wasn't endorsing Obama in his National Review space after the reception received by another columnist there who publicly criticized Palin.
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Watch Poppen Report Live Today From California at 4pm
On Ustream.tv
As I break down all the legal and political issues often talked about on news or not mentioned by both parties Republican and Democratic.
THe Voice The World Hears, The One That Cares-
Poppen Report
How Much Palin Really Knows About Govt? Poll
When Poppen Report Polled Alaska, California, and District of Columbia the numbers of people who responded were in the thousands which came out around 600,000 plus. So the above question brought in these results by response in the last 48 hours on my last show.
Alaska
40% Believe She Knows Government
60% Believe She Dont Govt , To Serve Any Government Position
1% Marginal Error
District of Columbia
20% Believe She Knows Government
75% Believe She Don't Govt, To Serve Any Government Position
3% Say She Needs To Learn About Government First, Then Serve Country Later
2% Marginal Error
California
10% Believe She Knows Government
85% Believe She Don't Government, To Serve Any Government Position
3% Say She Needs To Learn About Government First, Serve Country Later
VERDICT =UNFIT FOR AMERICA
Source:www.cfnews13.com
TALLAHASSEE -- A brand new Florida law says that if you are a new voter, and your registration form doesn't check out, your vote won't count.
That has some people complaining about being cheated out of the democratic process.
Florida's "No Match, No Vote" law took effect Wednesday afternoon.
Under the rules, when you register to vote, all of your personal information is entered into a state database.
But, if, for whatever reason, the numbers on your driver's license or Social Security card are entered incorrectly, a red flag goes up. Until the problem is taken care of, your ballot can't be counted, and you probably won't know that until Election Day.
Secretary of State Kurt Browning said he is not trying to disenfranchise voters, but protect them from fraud.
"Florida has had the reputation, unfairly I think, of being hostile to voter registration, and we are anything but hostile to voter registration. It's a fine balance between making sure that voter registration rolls are accurate and allowing someone the opportunity to freely complete a voter registration application and submit it to their supervisor," Browning said.
If you are told your information doesn't match up, you will be allowed to cast a provisional ballot, which won't be counted until all of your information is verified. However, you can't verify that information until after the polls close.
Source:www.action3news.com
Wife of Democratic VP nominee to visit
Associated Press - September 10, 2008 7:44 PM ET
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Jill Biden, the wife of Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden, will tour a handful of cities in northeastern Iowa this week.
Biden is scheduled to visit six cities on Friday and Saturday. She will be in Mason City, Iowa Falls, Marshalltown and Waterloo on Friday and is scheduled to stop in Independence and Dubuque on Saturday.
Her sister-in-law, Valerie Biden Owens, will also travel with her.
The trip will be Jill Biden's first visit to Iowa since the Iowa caucuses.
Source:BBC News
BBC Poll: Most Countries Want Obama Elected
Source:Townhall.com
Paul says he turned down appeal to endorse McCainAP NewsWednesday, September 10, 2008
Republican Rep. Ron Paul, the libertarian-leaning Texas lawmaker who attracted a devoted following in the GOP primaries, said Wednesday he rejected an appeal to endorse John McCain's presidential bid.
Paul said the request came from Phil Gramm, the former McCain adviser and ex-senator whom the campaign jettisoned after he said the country was a "nation of whiners" about the economy. Gramm defeated Paul in the Republican primary for the Senate in 1984.
Speaking to reporters at a news conference, Paul said Gramm called him this week and told him, "You need to endorse McCain." The Texas congressman said he refused.
"The idea was that he would do less harm than the other candidate," Paul said.
Paul won no primaries in the Republican nomination contest but developed a strong following on the Internet.
He appeared at a news conference with three third-party candidates: independent Ralph Nader; former Georgia Democratic Rep. Cynthia McKinney, the Green Party candidate; and Chuck Baldwin, the Constitution Party candidate. Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate, was invited but said at his own news conference later that he declined because Paul didn't endorse one candidate.
"We need today, now, 55 days before this election, bold, focused, specific leadership and that is not the amorphous kind that says any of the above or none of the above," Barr said.
Barr said he had asked Paul to join him as his running mate on the Libertarian Party ticket while his current running mate, Wayne Root would step aside. "We don't anticipate that he will," Barr said.
Earlier, Paul called the presidential elections a charade and said voters are faced with the "lesser of two evils."
The majority of Americans, about 60 percent, are unhappy with their choices in the race, Paul said. He urged the three third-party candidates to bring all their supporters together to vote against the "establishment candidates."
Paul, 73, a former doctor, ran for president as the Libertarian candidate in 1988. He is unopposed in the November race for his congressional seat.
Nader derided media focus on what he called "lipstickgate," referring to the bickering between the McCain and Barack Obama campaigns over whether a phrase Obama used was a sexist comment against Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.
Nader, a consumer protection advocate, acknowledged differences among the third-party candidates such as government regulation of health and safety standards. But he added that he shares Paul's support for more opportunity in the political process for third-party candidates.
Source:USMagazine
Cindy McCain's Half Sister: "I'm Voting for Barack Obama" Thursday August 28, 2008
Cindy McCain's half sister is planning on voting for Barack Obama, she tells Usmagazine.com.
"I'm not voting for McCain," Kathleen Hensley Portalski tells Us. "I have a different political standpoint.
"I'm voting for Obama," the Phoenix resident says. "I think his proposals to improve the country are more positive and I'm not a big war believer."
Portalski, 65, and the potential first lady, 54, have the same father: Jim Hensley, the founder of the beer distributor Hensley and Co. that Cindy McCain now chairs.
In an interview with NPR News' All Things Considered last week, Portalski said she felt "like a non-person" after Cindy McCain described herself as an "only child."
Portalski's mother is Hensley's first wife; Cindy McCain's mother, Marguerite Hensley, also had another daughter from her first marriage.
"She's kinda cool, standoffish," Portalski tells Us of her half sister.
Portalski also doesn't expect Cindy McCain to make an effort to reconcile their relationship.
"She never has, and I doubt that she ever will," she tells Us.
Portalski's son Nathan, a 45-year-old aerospace machinist, is also backing Obama.
"I wouldn't vote for John McCain if he was a Democrat," he tells Us. "I would not vote at all before I'd vote for him.
"I question whether Cindy is someone I'd want to see in the White House as first lady," he adds.
From Source: ADN.com
State paid for trip when Palin told students to pray for pipeline By RICHARD MAUERrmauer@adn.com (09/07/08 01:57:18)
Gov. Sarah Palin used state funds in June when she traveled from Juneau to Wasilla to speak to graduating evangelical students and urge them to fan out through Alaska "to make sure God's will be done here."
State records show that Palin submitted a travel authorization for a quick round-trip visit to attend the June 8 graduation of the Master's Commission program at the Wasilla Assembly of God, the church where she was baptized at age 12. The only other item on the agenda for that trip was a "One Lord Sunday" service involving a network of Mat-Su Christian churches earlier that morning at the Wasilla sports complex.
The records show Palin flew from Juneau on Saturday, June 7. She returned to Juneau that Monday afternoon. The plane tickets cost the state $519.50, and she claimed an additional $120 for meals and other expenses.
Palin couldn't be reached for comment Friday as she campaigned for vice president. Her spokeswoman at the McCain campaign said she wouldn't grant an interview.
But Palin's spokeswoman in the governor's office, Sharon Leighow, said the state paid for the trip because Palin was invited to the events as the governor, not as a private citizen.
"I know for a fact she gave remarks at the Wasilla Assembly of God as governor of Alaska to the graduates of this particular program," Leighow said.
OFF THE CUFF
In her eight-minute remarks, delivered without notes except when she read a brief passage from the New Testament Book of Ephesians, she melded the issues of governance with a call to bringing Alaskans to God.
"What I need to do is strike a deal with you guys as you go out throughout Alaska -- I can do my part in doing things like working really, really hard to get a natural gas pipeline." Palin said. "Pray about that also. I think God's will has to be done, in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built, so pray for that. But I can do my job there, in developing our natural resources, and doing things like getting the roads paved, making sure our troopers have their cop cars and their uniforms and their guns, and making sure our public schools are funded.
"But really, all of that stuff doesn't do any good if the people of Alaska's hearts isn't right with God. And that's going to be your job," she said. "As I'm doing my job, let's strike this deal. Your job is going to be: to be out there, reaching the people, (the) hurting people throughout Alaska, and we can work together to make sure God's will be done here."
The Wasilla Assembly of God said Palin and her family stopped attending regularly in 2002, the year of her unsuccessful run for lieutenant governor. She now attends other nondenominational, evangelical churches in Wasilla and Juneau.
Palin's talk was recorded by the church and posted on its Web site. It has since been removed, but the video has been copied to multiple sites on the Internet as Americans attempt to learn more about her since her surprise pick by John McCain as his running mate Aug. 29.
Palin told the graduates her remarks were off the cuff because she wasn't sure she could attend.
"I flew in from Juneau last night, fly to Juneau again tomorrow, so I didn't prepare anything, thinking that, no, our schedule wouldn't allow me to be here," Palin said.
But Leighow said the graduation was one of two purposes for the trip.
According to a six-minute promotional video by the Wasilla Assembly of God, the master's commission program is a live-in, year-long educational program for young adults. The church's description shows there's nothing secular about it.
"The Master's Commission program is something that's going to take a young person and lead them for the rest of their lives in passionate journey for Jesus," the video says. The instruction is "designed to take students in from around the nation, and through that we're able to shape and mold disciples of the lord Jesus Christ."
The program isn't just inward looking -- the graduates are expected take the message to people around the state.
"We seek him in the morning with worship, with live worship, with intimate worship, to know him face to face," the video says. "The first part in the morning is to know God, and then from that afternoon you go out and make him known."
A FAITH-BASED AUDIENCE
"God has a destiny for the state of Alaska, and we know that master's commission is one of the keys that God is going to use to unlock his glory for that state," a speaker says.
In an e-mail exchange on Friday, Palin's spokeswoman Leighow defended the use of state money by Palin to travel to Wasilla and participate in the event. Attending religious events is common for elected officials, she said. There was no violation of the constitutional separation of church and state in Palin's official appearance and remarks, she said.
"Public officials travel and speak to a religious group as part of their official duties," Leighow said. "Virtually every day there is a state or federal public official who speaks to members of the faith community. The governor can speak to secular audiences as well as faith-based audiences, and Republicans and Democrats routinely do this."
Leighow compared Palin's prodding of the young evangelical students to her attending the 2007 installation of Rabbi Michael Oblath at Congregation Beth Sholom in Anchorage.
"What's the difference?" Leighow said.
How Cuba will determine the 2008 Election.
Whether you are pro-Cuba or anti-Cuba, the debate may continue for centuries. One thing is certain. The nearly fifty year old, U.S. Embargo on Cuba has not worked, does not work and will not work. In stating so, we are not acknowledging, supporting or condoning Cuba’s current government.
We are saying it’s time for some of America’s voters, politicians and media to evolve with Cuba, perhaps more than any other issue. It could be said; how politicians act and vote towards the five decade old failed U.S. policies with Cuba is a clear reflection on their character.
We are saying that continuing the anti Cuba embargo policies is a clear reflection of a persons character. Whether running for President of the United States, Senate, Congress or any government leadership position; a person should demonstrated the ability to change course, try new directions and see different points of view. Especially if the policy they supported has failed for fifty years.
The anti-Cuba politicians, lobby and community is a small percentage of all populations, including the Cuban population itself. Yet the anti-Cuba movement has controlled the presidency of the United States and both political houses; including this elections Republican candidate John McCain for nearly fifty years. John McCain is anti-Cuba, while Barack Obama is pro-Cuba.
Why would any politician, business person and human continue enforcing on themselves, and worse others; a failed Cuba policy that the majority of people in America, the world and mostly the island of Cuba itself do not want? See the Election 08 FREE CUBA FILM SERIES and you will find out.
Then it’s up to you to decide when you cast your vote on “Election Moment”, if you are voting for character.
Election moment is the truest moment in any election when you, the voter stand there in the privacy of your own mind right before you vote. Only you will know if you cast a vote for character, and only you can determine the issues that reflect a person’s character. Cuba is one of those clear character issues.
Election 08 FREE CUBA FILM SERIES, is committed to bring the real Cuba to America. We’ve selected three diverse films that provide audiences with a modern day love story set in Havana, Cuba. A film that gives you a glimpse into the future with the childhood version of The Buena Vista Club, and lastly, an impacting documentary that brings to life, the hidden true history of Cuban terrorism, the U.S. Politicians directly related to Fidel Castro who continued to master mind the anti Cuba movement in the U.S. and the political families who continue to enforce their historically failed policies against Cuba on the world through violence, economics and political warfare.
Will you vote for a person who is pro-Cuba and promises to create a powerful future for America uniting the world.
Or will you vote for a person who is anti-Cuba and promises to bend history to make sure America stays the current course isolating the world.
Only you will know on your “Election Moment.”
Luis Moro
www.EveryThingCuba.com
With Obama's name targeted because of the high amounts of negative racial tones in America, people have learned time and time again to overcome this obstacle which is what makes part of this most historical election in 2008 so amazing.
But as the past to present has showed when we let fear into our lives rule over our minds and decide our fates in regard to what decisions will be made ; we see too often our government trying to scare us into believing by forced coercion with empty threats or lies; that someone is not fit for our country because the fact violence and hate is supported by the highest chain of command. The American people who are richest more often than none also refuse to leave us alone who make America, a better place to live or want it to better as a proud working class American.
So to make change in our lives the first thing which must occur is simple, erase the hate in any form and on all levels that keeps us chained or weighted down from making our own personal decisions or choices in life like who should be the next President of The United States, not have forced decisions where fat rich cat Americans and government officials who believe no one will kick their tail between their legs.
So Lets Not Allow Government Lies Be Deciding Factors, and to Be A true Multicultural America and people we must also respect all our neighbors in our country of all backgrounds and walks of life otherwise this is not MultiCultural, only Selective Memory.
So Hillary and McCain , Go Hug One Another because America wants more love put back into their lives and country not a world of more continuity full lies and empty threats which you get from the Patriot Act and other bills which only push force , violence, and coercion.
Let America Speak From the Heart, Not For The Dollar That Destroys Lives When Someone Elects Themself President He is Not Representing the People George W Bush. He Was Representing the lies pushed into our lives and Bush Doctrine; and protected by his goons the Republican Party.
So Lets Not Misinterpretations in any form by our government overrule the realities in life, that people want change and its with the people , change will occur.
So government trying to spread lies on someone representing the people , and not a secret doctrine or agenda you should be ashamed of yourselves when these are your people to when you live in this country.
Its time for a change, and its time for it occur now because are tired of the same old pot of lies called war propaganda, fear factor, and scare tactics.
Lets remind one another our government has lied since the first president was elected that was white , up to W Bush now and we know better the differences between fallacies and realities.
Government on all levels , sit down and let the American people vote!
As Hillary Clinton jockeys against Barack Obama, Mitt Romney against John McCain, we thought it a good time to summarise the issue that really matters: who do American musicians endorse?
On the Republican side... there are not very many famous activist musicians. Ted Nugent, he who once said "We should Nagasaki [Iraq]" has turned out in favour of conservative Mike Huckabee, while moderate John McCain will have Burt Bacharach tickling his ivories. Libertarian long-shot Ron Paul is backed by Krist Novoselic, formerly of Nirvana. Country-singer Pat Boone has loaned his septuagenarian twang to the campaign of Mitt Romney, who can also count on the help of fellow Mormons Donny and Marie Osmond.
Among Democrats there are several choirs to preach to. Lefty singer-songwriters flocked to Dennis Kucinich and John Edwards, but now that those candidates have dropped out it's unclear where Ani DiFranco, John Mellencamp and Willie Nelson will head.
The real battle is obviously between Hillary Clinton, the meticulous former First Lady, and Barack Obama, the shiny and inspirational Illinois senator. True to form, Clinton's got much of the establishment music biz in her corner: Madonna, Carly Simon, Tony Bennett, Jon Bon Jovi, Melissa Etheridge and Carole King have all endorsed or donated to the Clinton campaign. Obama is meanwhile the candidate of choice for the R&B and hip-hop community, counting Will Smith, Babyface, Macy Gray, Stevie Wonder, Ne-Yo and Usher among his supporters. (See yesterday's story on a will.i.am-led Obama video.)
But it's not so cut and dry. Crooner Harry Connick Jr has broken for Obama, while Janet Jackson and Quincy Jones side with Clinton. Though Obama can count on the Grateful Dead, Clinton won the unlikely backing of one-time Bush fan 50 Cent, who told journalists that electing her "is a way for us to have Bill Clinton be president again, and he did a great job during his term".
However one demographic has made its choice clear. American indie rock is firmly in Barack Obama's camp. There was a time when (pro-Clinton) Elvis Costello could represent for the underground, but today he's on the opposite side of the fence. Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst and Arcade Fire's Win Butler have all stumped for the big O. Even Joanna Newsom, cousin to San Francisco mayor (and Clinton supporter) Gavin Newsom, is siding with the Illinois upstart. "He has a more liberal voting record, more progressive, than Kucinich even!" she pronounced at a concert. Ani DiFranco and Willie Nelson take note!
Although a Pew Research Center study last year found that celebrity endorsements have little impact on voter preferences, they remain a great vehicle for conceiving of musical collaborations. Want to see Will Smith get jiggy with Arcade Fire? Your only hope is to vote Obama. Prefer the idea of 50 Cent and Tony Bennett? Vote for Hillary and perhaps come November we'll hear a new version of Fly Me To the Moon, with added gunshots.
