Our President-Elect

BAP Rolls On

This may seem obvious, but I'll say it anyway. The election victory last night does not mean the end of BAP. We'll continue getting together and putting on events and talking about the next election. Though first, we'll probably take a bit of time to enjoy this one. :-) See you soon.

Autism support from Sarah Palin - Thanks, but no thanks.

A guest editorial from a woman who has two kids with autism and is the sister of one of our friends in Burlington.

*
It is after midnight and I can't sleep because I am so shaken by Sarah Palin's comments today in regard to autism. Just in case you did not know, she says we (special needs parents) can count on her as a friend and she would be sure to spend money better. But she mocked research being done on fruit flies saying they have little to no value. She said with a smirk ".sometimes these dollars go to projects that have little or nothing to do with public good. Things like fruit fly research in Paris, France. I kid you not."

I am just shaken that she would make such a statement when fruit flies, for many years now, have been a standard in scientific research and that they have led to valuable discoveries related to autism and many other important causes. They have taught us about a protein called neurexin, which is required for nerve cell connections to form and function properly and how this plays a role in autism. What is she thinking?

It is nice that she offers to be my friend but I already have friends that support me (Thanks!). If we need anything, we need science and knowledge and information to solve this horrible epidemic. I do not expect her to know every detail of science, but to mock it and, worse yet, say you will stop it because it has little or no value when you obviously know nothing about it is so irresponsible. Does she think she knows better than the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and the National Institute of Mental Health and the state of North Carolina who funded this research? Oh my goodness she scares me! Doesn't she know how to use google? This was reported on September of last year.

If this is an issue she calls near and dear to her heart and she can't get facts straight enough to make a good judgment call, how will she manage anything else?

Wassup Now?

Years after the funny series of Wassup commercials, what are those guys up to during the Bush Depression?



Funny, sad, moving, true. Vote.

McCain's Real Record on the Environment

The League of Conservation Voters put together this video about McCain's terrible record on the environment and alternative energies:



For more information, check their web site: www.lcv.org.

McCain'ts Healthcare Plan

McCain'ts Healthcare Plan? Why it couldn't be more simple, marry and heiress and run for Congress. You see in today's treacherous healthcare environment it pays to have a backup plan (like John's), in case you get say, melanoma (like John) and become uninsurable in the private market place.

Be prepared. You never know when an extremist freemarket fundamentalist politician might come along with a scheme (like John's) to offer a $5000 tax credit to purchase a $12,000 family healthcare plan as an individual on the open market rather than as a member of a risk sharing pool.

But if you're a member of Congress (like John), no sweat you're covered. And if that should fail, no problem, you've married an heiress, you're independently wealthy (like John) and can pay your own bills, you're golden!

Now some of you will say; "I don't need to take personnal responsibility and marry an heiress or become a Congressman, this is America no one goes without healthcare! Simply go to the emergency room." But just try getting treatment for melanoma (like John's) in an emergency room and see how fast they laugh you out of the automatic sliding doors.

Without the health plan plan or the cash to get treatment for melanoma (like John's) chances are you'd be dead real fast. So take a tip from John and plan ahead. Because if it's good enough for John it's good enough for you!?

Real Americans

The usual incisive satirical commentary from the Daily Show.



I'm glad we have the GOP to us who the "real" Americans are.

Addendum: And in case you're confused as to whether you may be a Real American, the Daily Show has come up with the following quiz and helpful hints:



Clear now? Thought so.

If I Were a Terrorist

James Pence explains how terrorists could really take America down.



Good thing that could never happen.

Takin' It Back with Barack, Jack!

Kay found this video/song at www.devradowrite.com, and it was too good not to share.

A little hip fun to get you swingin' for the last 2 weeks of the election. GOTV!

Here are the lyrics:

Hate to see the nation being run by a hack
Dig the situation that he dug in Iraq
Half the population wants to give him the sack
And now he’s lookin’ round for somebody else to attack
We need somebody great to get us back on the track

So we’re takin’ it back with Barack, Jack!

Choo Choo, Change to believe in
Woo woo, we can achieve it
Choo Choo, Change to believe in
Takin’ it back with Barack, Jack!

Now that global warming is a matter of fact
The only real question is just how to react
The new administration needs the guts to enact
Drastic legislation, leave the planet intact
We can’t be foolin’ round with some Republican Mac

So we’re takin’ it back with Barack, Jack!

Choo Choo….

He only gets his money from your regular macs
Doesn’t take a penny from some whackity PAC’s
For bringin’ folk together he’s the man with the knack
And he’ll supply the hope and inspiration we lack
Cause he’s the best we got and did I ….mention he’s black?

So we’re takin’ it back with Barack, Jack!

Colin Powell Endorses Barack Obama

A great endorsement from the former general and Secretary of State.



Check it out.

Joe the Plumber is a Fraud!

- JtheP does not have a plumbing license so he's not qualified to run the business.
- JtheP is a registered Republican, so his showing up at the Obama rally with "sincere" questions was just a sham.
- The plumbing business JtheP wants to buy only makes about $100K/year, well below Obama's $250K threashold. So under Obama he'd do BETTER if he bought it.
- He only made $40 last year (he better get that plumbing license) so the chances are that this cracker ain't buying a crackerjack stand, let alone a plumbing business.
- The business JtheP says he wants to buy is not for sale.
- Just another dishonest GOPster ploy. Cuz honesty just doesn't work for dishonest people with dishonest plans.
- How stupid can you get. You go on national TV with a contrived GOPoperative story that doesn't stand up for even 24 hours. I wonder how many interviews he'll be agreeing to do today. What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive. JtheP is a liar.
- And the McCain campaign is hanging their hat on this guy. they found their "Jeff Gannon". What a surprise, more aimless thrashing about by the McCain't campaign.
- JtheP has a lien on his house because he hasn't paid his property taxes. Why SHOULD he pay his fair share, he's a GOPster!
- JT Plumber Patently pathetic.

Parade Magazine: Obama vs. McCain

I was very surprised to open my Sunday paper yesterday to discover Parade Magazine (not known for their political coverage - or left-wing leanings) with a chart detailing the differences in Obama & McCain's economic/tax plans.

Here's a link. Or, if that doesn't work in your browser, you can use the full URL below.

http://www.parade.com/news/intelligence-report/archive/how-much-would-you-pay-taxes.html

Their analysis shows that if you earn less than $112,000 per year, you'll do better with Obama in every case. At lower levels of income, substantially better.

And even up to $250,000 dollars, you'll have tax savings with Obama (though after 112k you'll get a bigger tax break with McCain).

Those of us who've been paying attention knew that Obama would save money for anyone earning less than $250,000. We also knew McCain's plan would give bigger tax breaks to those already well off.

What surprised me is the amount of "extra" money you'd have to pay under Obama if you earn between $250,000 and $600,000. (And I daresay that most of us earn less than 600k). According to the article, the extra tax you'd have to pay if you earn in that range is . . . a whopping total of $121. No misprint (unless it's on the magazine's side), that's one-hundred and twenty-one dollars per year.

Seems like a small sacrifice to make for most of the US population.

(Heck, even strapped as I am, I'd be happy to pitch in $121 a year to ensure universal health care.)

Of course, if you're making more than $600,000, under Obama you'd have to give up your W. Bush Tax cut. (And McCain would give you a big tax break -- whether you need it or not.)

I'll be carrying a copy of this article with me whenever I canvass or talk to other voters. I'm urging everyone in the campaign and BAP and all of my friends & family to do the same.

Spread the word. Let's get this to go viral.

GOPster Samantha Kerkman’s supporters have now demonstrated beyond doubt what scumbag traitors to America and her democracy that they are!

This is that same deceitful GOPgarbage that we go through EVERY election with the stealing and destroying of signs that represent the free speech rights of people that they disagree with and are afraid of.

How did I miss that this morning on my way to work this morning? I guess I was looking left at the Zamba = Socialism Bulls**t attack signs.

This shows them for what they are!, small minded, fearful, violent and criminal!

ZAMBA BILLBOARD HIT BY VEHICLE - WATCH WTMJ NEWS

From Larry Zamba: Last night Kerkman supporter(s) intentionally drove a vehicle 100 feet through a farmers field and smashed through our ZAMBA=HEALTHCARE billboard on Hwy 75 and 142. Rather than compete in the arena of ideas, my opponents supporters have chosen not only to steal our signs, but violently destroy private property.

I invite you to watch WTMJ tonight at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to see an inerview with me. If you miss it, we’ll have it up on Youtube.com soon. I’ve tried to run a fun, informative, unique campaign. I was warned how this campaign would go on the west side of Kenosha. Somehow, I thought it would be different this year. I should have known. Kerkman’s afraid to debate me. And because her record has been so lacklauster after 8 years, I guess this is all her supporters have left. Drive trucks through our signs. Apparently these people think they are above the law. They violate our First Amendment rights. And they set a terrible example for our children. As fast as we put up signs, they steal them. One fellow likened their tactics to the brown shirts of Hitlers day.

They must be very afraid of losing this election. And they should be. In fact, canvasing numbers give us a 4000 person lead. But we need to win over those independents to make sure that victory is ours. We’re shifting gears into a different form of advertising now, and that requires money.

Will you please help by donating? This has been elevated by them to a state of violence now. I’m willing to fight them, but I need your financial help now.Please, go to electzamba.com and click on DONATE or mail a check to 24503-75 Street, Salem, WI 53168, made payable to Friends of Larry Zamba.
Thank you!
Larry

Cons Blaming Clinton (Again!)

Once again the the so called "conservatives are trying to blame Clinton for the failures of their Fearless Flightsuit. Only this time they're really desparate as they see their failed extremist utopian ideology crumbling in front of their eyes.

So Rush "Half-The-Truth-All-The-Time" Limbo and his ilk have concocted a fantasy whereby this financial meltdown is the fault of Bill Clinton all those years ago. And the Kool-aid drinkers are still swallowing hard to defend their rigid but deeply flawed belief system. They are ever-so-slightly right in a way, Bill and his side kick Paul Rubens acting as GOPwanabees went along with McCain Econ advisor Phil "Americans-Are-Whiners" Gram, Mr. Enron himself in dismantaling regulations put in place after the Great Depresson to prevent it's recurrance.

This is in fact the perfect storm with at least 5 converging factors working in concert to cause this crisis as outlined below:

1) There were a lot of people (lenders and borrowers) who were all convinced of the conventional wisdom, that house prices ALWAYS go up. So there was NO risk to either party because selling would always recoup the value (and more). I have to say that I didn't question that much myself, although I would NEVER borrow against most of my equity to finance consumer Shtuff. But you know that isn't so much because I'm smart or virtuous as it is because I'm lucky and had savy parents who had savy parents who taught them that, and who in turn tought me that.

2) A lot of people thought they were getting fixed rate loans only to find out at the last minute or after the fact that they were getting ARMs. You know, fraud (see #3 below) If an ARM scared you, well take comfort, see item #1 above!

3) The people who wrote the loans had ZERO stake in the ability of the borrowers to make the payments because they sold them as fast as they got'em (See the fricken Countrywide CEO who walked with $Ms while his employees and shaeholders gotthe shaft as just one example).

4) The late 1990's repeal of the Roosevelt Era Glass-Steagle Act by GOPderegulators such as such as McCain Economic Advisor Phil "Enron" Gram and GOPwannabees like Paul Rubens and his master Bill "where kin I stick it" Clinton created a conflict of interest between the banks who want to sell the mortgages and the brokerages who want to bundle the mortgages into bonds/securities and sell tham all over the globe because they became one company, which was wisely prohibited since the 1930's. The incentive of the brokerages to check the teeth of what they were buying from the banks and selling to their clients was gone when the banks bought them upafter GOPderegulation.

5) Leveraged Hedge Funds and Deriviatives. Out of my league to explain.It's the perfect storm. ALL FIVE were required to created this crisis. Fixed interest loans and this doesn't happen. A stake in the viability of the borrower by the initial lender and this doesn't happen. Transparency in the process of selling and re-selling these loans and THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN! Leveraging the risk all over the the global economy and THIS . . . !

But what is the root sin? GREED. Greed and the enabled desire of the greedy ones (through moneyed lobbying of OUR government) to pursue their vice through the "conservative" plank of wontan and unbalanced deregulation which was what brought us our last Great Depression.

YOU (not the sinners) are now paying the wages of SIN! What more evidence could anyone need of the need to reform our democracy and make it work for people and not money?

Republican Double Standards

Many of you may have gotten the "I'm a little confused" email decrying the double standards Republicans apply to their candidates as opposed to the ones they apply to Democratic candidates. Now someone has made a YouTube video illustrating that chain letter. Check it out.

McCain's Anti-Environment Record

Despite his posture in the debate, McCain has an abysmal record on voting for renewable energy. Here's the truth from the League of Conservation Voters:

McCain has rejected even the weakest renewable energy programs. Sen. McCain voted against giving increased funding to solar and renewable energy programs in 1994 and 1999.³ In 2005, he voted against a national renewable electricity standard (RES) that would have required utilities to get 10 percent of their electricity from alternative energy.⁴ Last year, he missed all of the renewable electricity votes.⁵ Sen. McCain supports giving billions of dollars in subsidies to the nuclear industry while actively opposing similar support for wind and solar energy.⁶ Renewable energy must be an essential part of any global warming plan, yet Sen. McCain has stood in the way of such progress throughout his career.⁷

You can read the full details (with footnotes) here.

Additionally, his overall record on environmental voting is pitiful:

McCain LCV lifetime voting score - 24%
Obama LCV lifetime voting score - 86%

And in 2007 (most recent year available)?

McCain LCV 2007 voting score - 0%
Obama LCV 2007 voting score - 67%

You can find the full details on that here.

Is is possible to have a worse environmental voting score than McCain did last year? I don't think the scale goes into negative numbers.

Don't believe McCain's lies. He's no friend of the environment.

McCain vs. Everybody

Watching the debate at the moment, I want Barack to ask McCain this question, "John, is there anybody in the world you don't want to fight?"

Just now, McCain is posturing to fight both Iran and Russia. And, of course, he doesn't want to get out of Iraq or Afghanistan. Of course, there's no mention of how to pay for any of this adventureism, nor where we're going to get the troops for it, as our military is already stretched near the breaking point.

I think our President should not only stick up for America, but he also needs to pick our fights carefully. I see no signs of such care in McCain.

Obama On the Economic Crisis

Barack's press conference today (longer than many of Bush's) where he talks about the current economic crisis, the tack he thinks we should take on it, and how that relates to postponing Friday's debate (or not).



It's worth hearing his rational (as usual) approach to the country's problems.

Do we want calm and reasoned reactions like this, or a series of "Stop everything!" crisis points and knee-jerk reactions -- which is what McCain seems to be offering.

And here's what Barack sent out in a letter on the crisis yesterday. I'm leaving in the "ads," because some of you might want to sign aboard at this point:

The era of greed and irresponsibility on Wall Street and in Washington has created a financial crisis as profound as any we have faced since the Great Depression.

Congress and the President are debating a bailout of our financial institutions with a price tag of $700 billion or more in taxpayer dollars. We cannot underestimate our responsibility in taking such an enormous step.

Whatever shape our recovery plan takes, it must be guided by core principles of fairness, balance, and responsibility to one another.

By clicking here, you are signing on to support an economic recovery plan based on the following:

• No Golden Parachutes -- Taxpayer dollars should not be used to reward the irresponsible Wall Street executives who helmed this disaster.

• Main Street, Not Just Wall Street -- Any bailout plan must include a payback strategy for taxpayers who are footing the bill and aid to innocent homeowners who are facing foreclosure.

• Bipartisan Oversight -- The staggering amount of taxpayer money involved demands a bipartisan board to ensure accountability and oversight.

Show your support and encourage your friends and family to join you:

http://my.barackobama.com/ourplan

The failed economic policies and the same corrupt culture that led us into this mess will not help get us out of it. We need to get to work immediately on reforming the broken government -- and the broken politics -- that allowed this crisis to happen in the first place.

And we have to understand that a recovery package is just the beginning. We have a plan that will guarantee our long-term prosperity -- including tax cuts for 95 percent of families, an economic stimulus package that creates millions of new jobs and leads us towards energy independence, and health care that is affordable to every American.

It won't be easy. The kind of change we're looking for never is.

But if we work together and stand by these principles, we can get through this crisis and emerge a stronger nation.

Thank you,

Barack

Burlington For Obama Grand Opening

I'm Voting Republican Because . . .

This is hilarious! http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=FiQJ9Xp0xxU

Speaking of hilarious, does anyone know if Paul Ryan is still pushing Ryan's Reactionary Roadmap after the events of this past week? Could even the Paul Pandering Privateer himself still be ideologically blind enough to think handing Social Security and Medicare over to the fast hands on Wall Street would be anything but a complete disaster? Could he still promote this worn out idea to his constituents with a straight face?