Sarah Palin on SNL
October 21, 2008
I just have to share it. Sarah Palin was great!
Colin Powell drops the bomb: thud
October 19, 2008
Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama today.
Colin Powell has been a significant leader in the United States. The first African-American Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a distinguished leader of our diplomatic corps as Secretary of State. He is a capable individual who has built a reputation for being reasoned, steady and honorable; above the political frey.
Colin Powell’s endorsement, sadly, epitomizes politics over substance.
This endorsement will be extremely helpful to Barack Obama. As I write this, my TwitterFox is popping up a stream of left-wing praise for Powell from Rachel Maddow to the Huffington Post which has six post on the topic already. We are certain to hear Powell praised incessantly this coming week. But was this endorsement about Powell’s assesment of the best person for the job?
Powell expressed concern about McCain’s handling of the financial crisis, and he expressed concern about the rightward shift of the Republican party in recent years. He stated the reason for his support of Obama is Obama’s ability “to inspire,” because his campaign is “inclusive,” because of “his rhetorical abilities,” and he has both “style and substance.” In other words, Barack Obama makes Colin Powell feel good and he doesn’t like the conservative bent of the Republican party. It’s all available in the video linked below.
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Why we should reject the bailout.
October 1, 2008
Obama’s “Truth Squad”: prosecutors gone wild?
September 29, 2008
Jennifer Joyce is the Circuit Attorney for the City of Saint Louis, Missouri. She has an important role as the chief prosecutor in that historic town. She states it right on her website:
You deserve to live, work and play in a historically rich, culturally fertile and safe city that respects the rights of all people. As the Circuit Attorney for St. Louis City, I take my responsibility as your prosecutor very seriously. I have a fundamental belief as a public law enforcement leader, that I must utilize all of the resources available to me to hold people accountable for their actions.
And, by God, she is going to in that important Presidential bell-weather state. Now, I don’t use God’s name in vain here. Joyce herself, joined by fellow Obama supporter and Saint Louis County Circuit Attorney, Bob McCullough, wants to make the religious point here. They have set out on a mission to hold the McCain campaign “accountable” when it comes to telling the truth in campaign ads, and they want everyone to know that Barack Obama is a Christian and wants to lower taxes for people making less than $250,000 a year. Here’s what she said in a recent interview (video after):
We want to keep this campaign focused on issues. Missourians don’t want to be distracted by these divisive character attacks.
Well, one would be inclined to think that McCain-supporting Missourians want to keep the issues in center focus as well. Let’s do a bit of truth-squad work as a service to help Ms. Joyce and Mr. McCullough as they seek accuracy: Read more
Sphere: Related ContentWise, but old, hand overtakes strong, energetic neophyte
September 26, 2008
That’s the upshot of tonight’s first presidential debate in Oxford, MS. The debate cannot be judged, though, without taking note of the drama behind whether it was going to take place to begin with.
McCain took a gamble this week and suspended his campaign so he could fly back to Washington and broker a deal on Hank Paulson’s bailout plan. Obama throws a grenade on the table by ineptly calling Republican doubts about the plan a product of their misunderstanding the “need for the rush.” McCain takes the wise course–he listens. Some tempers flare when the Republican congressional delegation in the room express doubts about the plan. President Bush attempts to bring it back in line then Barney Frank starts screaming, the meeting adjourns. Obama failed. Democrats walked out in disgust over Republican concerns.
McCain then agrees from a weak position (Obama has gained in the polls since McCain stepped off the trail) to attend the debate anyway. One felt going into it that McCain needed to address his reasoning for his decision and back it up at the debate. He didn’t do that. Read more
Sphere: Related ContentOld-Time Religion
September 26, 2008
Wall Street Journal writer, Dan Henninger, notes the apolyptic tones in Washington over the current financial crisis and hears the strains of “Give Me That Old-Time Religion” coming from Congressmen on Capitol Hill. He says:
You can’t claim, as holier-than-thou politics is now, that sending an army of regulatory storm-troopers into Wall Street will ensure integrity in mere bankers who themselves come from a broader, anything-goes culture.
Listen to what Henninger has to say in a WSJ video interview. Read his article here.
Sphere: Related ContentReid last minute attempt to sneak in drilling ban
September 25, 2008
UPDATE II: Specifics of the amendment are posted at Sen. Jim DeMint’s website. The ban specifically targets oil shale development. Reid’s specific proposal can be found here.
UPDATE, OPINIONTIMES.COM EXCLUSIVE: At the same time Harry Reid is attempting to renew the ban on oil exploration, an array of environmental groups will be submitting a lawsuit today or tomorrow to block the recent leases granted on the Roan Plateau in Colorado. The Roan Plateau has one of the largest reserves of natural gas in the world.
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Harry Reid is attempting to sneak in a renewal of the ban on offshore drilling into spending legislation sources tell Opinion Times. Reid is offering an “economic stimulus” amendment to the Homeland Security section of the bill which would extend the decades old offshore drilling ban.
The continuing resolution which came to the Senate from the House yesterday had all oil exploration provisions removed by a vote of 370-58. It was a major victory for proponents of expanding energy exploration. the nearly 1 trillion barrels of oil available through oil shale reserves in the mountain states of Colorado, Wyoming and Utah was also lifted.
THIS JUST IN: Harry Reid and The Grinch were separated at birth.
Reid’s motivation is unclear, but it brings to mind Mitch McConnell’s question put to Colorado Senator Ken Salazar “at what price for gasoline would you open up energy exploration?” See below.
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Warren Buffett is buying with $31 billion cash
September 19, 2008
While credit markets have tightened considerably in the last few months, those with cash have the upper hand and are buying up companies in trouble. Chief among them is Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway.
With $31 billion in cash, Buffet is buying up energy companies, adding cash to merger deals with other companies and, frankly, smiling when others are wringing their hands.
And, having warned of the risks of some mortgage securitities, he’s having the last laugh.
Sphere: Related ContentMcCain/Palin Troops beware: you may be sleeping too secure
September 17, 2008
OpinionTimes.com EDITORIAL:
The recently converted McCain supporters (once disaffected members of the Republican base) should be excited about the current McCain bump. But it will be all for naught if the McCain campaign doesn’t focus that energy on a strong effort to get like-minded voters to the polls. Just kiss it all goodbye without a grassroots effort which eclipses 2004. And Karl Rove (love him or hate him) isn’t running that show this time. Rick Davis is. He’s doing an excellent job with media response and has made some great decisions at the convention and with how to message the pick of Palin for VP. But his candidate is out there talking about setting up a commission to study the recent crisis among Wall Street firms as well as regulation of financial institutions. But he should be troubled that the ground game is only now forming with just a few weeks to go, and the McCain is once again drawing upon ideas which serve only to depress the base.
Consider: Read more
Sphere: Related ContentOil Prices below $100 for first time in six months
September 16, 2008
Oil has gone below $100 for the first time in six months. The reason for the drop? Expectations for low demand due to a sagging economy.
The demise of Lehman Brothers who declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday after failing to find a buyer over the weekend put all the markets in a tizzy. And the belief in the oil markets that a major, worldwide economic downturn will follow brought prices down. The oil selloff was probably an overreaction to the news, and we’ll likely see priced edge up again in the next few weeks after AIG and Merrill Lynch work out their own problems.
Should we be surprised at what is going on in the markets rigth now? No. This is proof that market forces are working their “magic.” Situations like the current economic downturn are not abnormal or uncommon. The severity of the problem has come about because of the exasperating influence of easy money in the real-estate market. Those who gambled lost and we will all pay a bit now. But we are paying, and this strongest, most free market in world history will survive and thrive another day.
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