Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics

Well, the McCain campaign seems to have completely abandoned the truth as well as any shred of integrity in his quixotic quest for the White House.

The campaign approach seems to be to chant loudly over and over "Obama will raise your taxes! Booga Booga!" "Obama wants to show pornography to kindergartners! Boo!".

And my favorite, "Drill Baby Drill". Does anyone else find a bunch of pasty white republicans chanting "Drill Baby Drill" at the candidate alternately described as "A sexy librarian" or "M.I.L.F." a little creepy in a sexual way? When they talk about Sarah Palins rack, I don't think they are talking moose antlers.

Palin continues to make stuff up out of whole cloth about her support for the bridge to nowhere, as well as BS numbers about how much energy Alaska supplies to the nation - Palin says 20%, reality says.... 3.5%. Just a little difference.

Even CNN is FINALLY getting into the act - the clip below gives a breakdown of the McCain claims in detail - here's the high level:

• Obama wants to teach sex to kindergartners? Lie.
• Palin opposed the Bridge to Nowhere? Lie.
• Palin hasn’t taken earmarks as Governor? Lie.
• Alaska produces 20% of America’s energy? Lie.
• Palin visited Iraq and Ireland? Lie

(Credit to SilentPatriot on Crooks and Liars)

The Obama campaign is hitting back by focusing on the economy (It's 1992 all over again- It's the Economy, Stupid!) and the kitchen table issues like health care and peoples worries about retirement and unemployment and inflation and keeping their homes...

But what disturbs me about the story above is the last line:

Our expert says if the McCain campaign can't win pretty, it will try and win ugly, and as you know Anderson, it's getting pretty ugly on both sides".

What the Hell?! The whole story spent going over the lies, damn lies and statistics (all wrong) that McCain and Palin are using to drag this campaign into the muck, and still there is that reflexive, knee jerk reaction of "Well, it's both sides". Umm... no, it's not.

Obama and Biden are attacking McCain & Palin on the lies they are telling, and McCain & Palin just keep telling more lies. I don't see anyone doing 5 minute pieces on all the Obama lies - and our mainstream media would be all over that like white on rice if they were there.

So what does that tell us about the 2 choices we have for President. Liar or Truthteller - which do you want?

Don't count on the Truthteller - just look at mythology- Cassandra got all sorts of hell for telling the unvarnished truth. Everyone in favor the truth instead of "Drill Baby Drill" better keep working damn hard till the polls close in November.

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Do they have a magic piggy bank?

What I want to know is how does Bank of America have $50 billion dollars to buy Merrill Lynch after assuming the liability of Countrywide? Is this the Feds way of creating another "Too big to fail" institution?

Bank of American Profits were DOWN 41% last quarter - "Bank of America said its non-performing assets jumped to $9.75 billion, or 1.13% of all loans, during the quarter.

At the same time, the company said it was forced to set aside $5.8 billion during the quarter to account for loans gone bad or that could falter in the future."

But they have $50 Billion to buy Merrill Lynch. It just doesn't smell right - concentrating so much with B of A with the Feds blessings. There is something behind the scenes there that will come out soon, and I don't think America is going to like it much. Bet whatever it is won't be revealed until AFTER election day.

It's the End of the World as we Know It...

Well, here we are in mid-September, and it seems that America is going to hell in a rocket powered handcart. I often remarked to my wife that W had managed to drive every single business he has ever been involved with into bankruptcy and ruin (Texas Rangers excepted, and he was not in control of that franchise- somebody had a LITTLE sense there- they just bilked the taxpayers in that deal)

But I assumed that the entire American economy was too big a boat for even W to sink. Well, I am reminded again what ASS-U-ME spells...

In the past weeks we have had the federalizing of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the failure of one of the oldest investment banks on Wall Street and the buyout of Merrill Lynch (!) by Bank of America. And all the main stream media seems to be able to focus on is lipgloss and barnyard animals.

On talk radio tonight, I was amazed - Did you know this was all Bill Clinton's fault? (of course it is!) Apparently he FORCED the banks to make predatory, sub-prime loans to minorities (you know, scary black and brown people, oh no!) to fulfill his socialist agenda. And those banks just kept it up all through W's terms as well because, well, Clinton was obviously still holding a gun to their heads.

Amazing how disconnected some of these folks are from reality as perceived by normal people. You don't even have to scratch the surface hard to figure out that is a load of BS, but why accept the blame for W's mismanagement of the economy when you can blame it on the Clinton's, who are apparently all powerful even out of office.

But what I am finding really scary now is this. The Bushies are all talking about how the economy is sound, and there is no need to be afraid of runs on the banks like there were in 1929.

Every time somebody from the Bush administration says that they are NOT going to do something (like bail out Bear-Stearns, or nationalizing Freddie and Fannie) you can count on it happening within 2 months. It's as inevitable as the rising in the east.

Pundits are starting to use the "D" word (Depression) in hushed tones. At least Bernake did his academic work on the Great Depression. He may have the chance to actually apply what he learned in school. God have mercy on the rest of us.

Out of work in another Bush Recession, again...

It's been 2 years since I posted to this blog. I truly reached an "outrage overload". The democrats winning congress in 2006 didn't do a damn thing to help change things. When Pelosi and Reid say "Impeachment is off the table", they took away the only thing these people respect - raw power and the fear of punishment.

I've had 2 jobs since my last post- the job at the national mortgage lender went away, and I got a training job at a large Midwestern bank. I was told a month ago the bank no longer needed my services, and I have been looking since- nothing so far, but I am optimistic, even in view of the latest unemployment numbers which put unemployment at 6.1%- that means real unemployment is nearly double. There can be little doubt that we are in a recession at this point - and if we are not, we are in something just as bad. The traditional definition of recession is 2 quarters of negative growth in GDP. But the GDP simply measures economic output in monetary terms, which have been nominally positive. But when you throw in inflation, especially around food and energy, the falling dollar, the ongoing slow motion meltdown of the financial sector and the inability of the government to do a damn thing about it... Well, we may need a new definition. The old measure don't seem to be valid anymore in this new "Global Economy".

I have high hopes for President Obama - but he is starting at 4th & 25 yards to go. Bush has royally screwed the pooch. The cupboards in Washington are bare, W gave it all away to his cronies and corporate friends. So anyone else has to spend their first 2-3 years in office just clearing the wreckage - whether it's Obama or McCain, it's going to be a long rough row to hoe.

So far, I've lost jobs in Bush the Elders recession, W's first recession and now his magnum opus, his final recess/depress/whatever-ion the hell it is.

I am damn tired of Bushes. Really.

No, Not Really....

And lucky me, I get to fly to Dallas on business Monday afternoon. I can't help but think about the fact Bin-Laden usually plans these sorts of attacks 5 years apart or so...

Yep, it figures...

I can't help but just shrug when I read things like this:

Polling Company Owner Pleads Guilty to Fraud,
Clients Included Bush and Lieberman Campaigns
The Associated Press

Thursday 07 September 2006

Bridgeport, Connecticut - The owner of DataUSA Inc., a company that conducted political polls for the campaigns of President George W. Bush, US Sen. Joe Lieberman and other candidates, pleaded guilty to fraud for making up survey and poll results.

Tracy Costin pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Costin, 46, faces a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when she is sentenced Nov. 30.
....
According to a federal indictment, Costin told employees to alter poll data, and managers at the company told employees to "talk to cats and dogs" when instructing them to fabricate the surveys.

An FBI affidavit from 2004 quotes a supervisor of the company estimating that 50 percent of the data sent to Bush's campaign was falsified. FBI Special Agent Jeff Rovelli, who wrote the affidavit, said Thursday that investigators were not able to verify the claim related to Bush because that data was not located and analyzed.

It's just so typical. They make stuff up out of whole cloth, then when the investigation comes, "that data was not located and analyzed". Wonder what they would find out if it was- may Bush wasn't as popular as people thought back in '04? Just guessing....

John Kerry- better late than never?.... Nah

All I can think (with a heavy sigh) is "WTF? Hey John, you're a couple year LATE!!!" When it made a difference, he rolled over and showed his belly like a kicked cur. I never had any doubt about Kerry's record- swiftboaters be damned! - but I think his best days are behind him. We could have used that fiery young man who testified to congress about Vietnam to do the same in Ohio - but he appears to have been replaced by a political triangulator.

Kerry alleges misconduct in 2004 Ohio vote
August 29, 2006

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. John Kerry didn't contest the results at the time, but now that he's considering another run for the White House, he's alleging election improprieties by the Ohio Republican who oversaw the deciding vote in 2004.

An e-mail from Kerry will be sent to 100,000 Democratic donors Tuesday asking them to support U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland for governor of Ohio. The bulk of the e-mail criticizes Strickland's opponent, GOP Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, for his dual role in 2004 as President Bush's honorary Ohio campaign co-chairman and the state's top election official.

"He used the power of his state office to try to intimidate Ohioans and suppress the Democratic vote," Kerry says in the e-mail, according to a copy provided in advance.

Kerry, D-Massachusetts, conceded the election when he lost Ohio and its 20 electoral votes. A recount requested by minor-party candidates showed Bush won by about 118,000 votes out of 5.5 million cast. But Kerry's e-mail says Blackwell "used his office to abuse our democracy and threaten basic voting rights."

Why now? Surely he had the info then, but waited till now to contest the election? That translate to hundreds of dead Americans at home (New Orleans) and abroad (Iraq and Afghanistan, and God save us, probably Iran soon)

Oh, he needs funds. That's it. It's all about the money.

It'll be a cold day in hell before a Kerry campaign see's another nickel from me. I want my candidate to fight back, not lay down.

Your mother is calling

This cartoon speaks for itself. I can't add any commentary that would put it any more eloquently

Been a while since I've been online- about 8 months... For those who have followed this (ie, nobody- often blogging is the equivalent of talking to yourself in a crowded room), my life has taken on a few changes. I've changed jobs (thank goodness -see here )
Now I work in a mortgage office as a sales trainer, training people how to make loans for people against their homes. It's a very interesting industry, and a good company. The CEO came to speak last week and assured all of us that we are not an accqusition target. I'm betting we are sold in 6 months - but that is just my cynical nature informed by 23 years of working in corporate America speaking.

I have truly reached a level of outrage overload though - I can't even raise the energy to rant at the news anymore, and The Daily Show and Colbert Report just raise weak chuckles. But I am going to rally and get back into the groove, just you see... Elections are coming, and the theme needs to be "Have You Had ENOUGH?!"