John McNicotine is now for the tobacco lobby after years of working against it.  He not only opposes the cigarette taxes he used to support but also opposes FDA regulation of the tobacco industry after years of supporting it.  McNicotine is an ex-smoker and should understand just how addictive nicotine is, and he even acknowledged the exceptionally high death rate for tobacco users when he joked that cigarette exports to Iran were part of his plot to kill Iranian citizens.  For McNicotine to cave in to the tobacco cartel is the ultimate flip-flop:
http://www.boston.com/...

Why has McNicotine caved in to the interests of the tobacco drug cartel?  It couldn't possibly have anything to do with hiring tobacco lobbyist Charlie Black as his senior adviser.  Move along folks.  There's nothing to see here:
http://firedoglake.com/...

Now let's use the traditional Rethug "moral values" and "sanctity of life" frames against McNicotine!  There's more in the flip.

I wrote a letter to the Cleveland Plain Dealer to tell why Pro-Life people should be for Obama, but they changed it.

This diary is inspired by one that Markos wrote in reaction to Elizabeth Edwards recent diary. In it, he applauded us for our warmth towards Elizabeth. And there was a lot of warmth. But to cleanse myself of this whole affair, I'd like to close my own personal book on EdwardsGate by shining a light on the...less than warmth.

If you're game, to the fold...

I have asked the question aloud many times here in the last few weeks. However, I have never really felt the need to write about this question at all. That is, until now.

America is a nation divided, Liberals hate Conservatives, Conservatives Hate Liberals, Moderates think they are both crazy, and Libertarians hate everybody.

As we've suffered through the longest Presidential race in history, a narrative on our side of the political spectrum arose. McSame. Obviously, because McCain's policies were so close to those of President Bush.

But I'm not sure that's fair. And not in the way you might think. I'm not arguing that McSame is too harsh...I'm arguing it isn't harsh enough.

More below the fold

Kinda like a cross-post...

It is with great pleasure, I bring you another OH-16 "Two-fer"!

Schuring Will Cost Ohio $5 Billion at the Pump before "Energy Plan" Takes Effect

Canton, OH – Rather than providing bold solutions to begin immediately easing pain at the pump, Kirk Schuring has endorsed George W. Bush’s energy stance, which calls for Americans to sit back and wait 20 years while big oil companies prospect for new sources of oil.

In Sunday’s edition of the Canton Repository, Schuring said that opening new areas in ANWR and the Outer Continental Shelf to drilling was a "short-term" solution that would "dramatically increase domestic energy production" and "have an immediate impact at the pump."

There's more...

It was early 1996. I was 16 years old, very very impressionable. A sophomore in high school and my cumulative political exposure was my best friend at the time (whose father was a staunchly anti union conservative) and my Economics teacher who was, shockingly, a staunchly anti liberal conservative.

I am ashamed to admit, for the first time ever, that in early 1996 I supported Bob Dole because the only sources of information I had told me to.

...when I was a sheep.

Luckily there is a reason that 16 year olds don't vote. We'll continue this journey after the fold.

While Barack Obama gives a sentimental lecture about Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Patton’s Army, and what the flag means to him in front of the huddled masses yearning to breathe free in small towns and halls named Independence, the senator from Arizona is rising like a Phoenix from the political ashes of the burnt ruins of the Bush-Cheney Administration.  

While Obama waxes on about how his grandmother worked on a bomber line during WWII, instead of more pressing issues like the economy and the war, John McCain gets to pretend as if he is the only candidate offering real solutions to the American people on energy reform, taxes, and gas prices.  

Although McCain’s proposals are gimmicky (see gas tax holiday) and woefully less progressive than Senator Obama’s plans, it doesn’t come off that way to today’s "low information voter."  

Today I peeked in my local online rag to find William Kristol busy attacking the MoveOn ad which featured a woman and her baby. Kristol, the neocon who manages a spot on the New York Times editorial pages and appearances on cable news, keeps himself busy these days mostly shilling for John McCain and the Republican party.  The former Bush speechwriter's "I am so smart" chatter is loaded with big neon flagwaving and blithe references -- Jon Stewart has a lot of fun with him. One suspects dog-eared talking points rather than authentic thought with Kristol. But is easier that way I suppose.

A case study in Georgia's 3rd Congressional District (incumbent Lynn "3 Commandments" Westmoreland.)

On May 7, 2008, local paper publishes an op-ed piece from Lynn Westmoreland addressing high gas prices and attacking Democrats on the issue.   http://www.times-herald.com/...

On May 16, 2008, same paper publishes editorial serving as a mouthpiece for Westmoreland's press secretary (quoting him extensively in the most apologetic manner possible) explaining that Lynn Westmoreland supports mothers and Mother's Day. http://www.times-herald.com/...

UPDATED: Paper publishes substantive news article on 6-23-2008 highlighting Camp's critique of Westmoreland's comments.
http://www.times-herald.com/...

OK so while it's no secret that FOX News is filled with people of... questionable journalistic standards... you would at least expect them to understand the difference between an editorial piece and an article.

It looks like the White House may not be able to tell the difference either - with cries of "Bias!" coming from both the FOX & Friends hosts and the Bush administration over a New York Times editorial over the weekend. The editorial titled "Mr. Bush and the G.I. Bill" criticized Bush & McCain for their lack of support for Jim Webb's GI bill.

The FOX & Friends crowd doesn't seem to understand that an editorial is an OPINION PIECE which is SUPPOSED to be biased. Thats what an editorial IS! It really is unbelievable how clueless they seem... does anyone working there understand basic concepts of journalism?

Watch the video and keep in mind the name of the editorial -

Ed Fallon today received the endorsement of the Des Moines Register editorial page. Some snippets and my thoughts as a lifetime resident of the district. Okay since I was one, sorry...

The editorial link below contains video interviews of both candidates as well.

The primary is June 3rd. If you want to donate to him go to act blue.

Yesterday I tried hard to focus on the Obama campaign's positive and magnanimous response to Hillary Clinton's poorly chosen, craven words linking her continuing in a lost cause to her husband's run in 1992 and Bobby Kennedy's tragic assassination in 1968.  I felt like this was the best tact since others had so eloquently expressed outrage at her words.

Today, however, Mrs. Clinton has found a way to incite my anger, and i cannot remain silent.  When given the opportunity to clarify herself, an opportunity afforded to her by the national stage which she still occupies for now, Mrs. Clinton chose to blame others and then make a political statement rather than a heartfelt and full apology for her remarks.

Yesterday I wrote this diary where I acknowledged the good things John had done while urging him to run a clean honest campaign of ideas. While warning that hell hath no fury like a former admirer scorned.

And he blew it within 24 hours. Senator Obama gave him the perfect chance to have an honest dialog about Senator Webb's GI Bill. If Senator McCain truly believed the bill would be disaster to the armed forces this was the perfect time to explain why. If there really are holes in the bill, wouldn't his specific and genuine advice be helpful? Perhaps tweaks could still be made if it really was so horrible.

But no. John McCain fired off a thousand word rant where he threw everything at Barack save for the kitchen sink. Predictable far right wing extremism. When confronted with an issue that is a loser for you, bark louder.

Well, up yours John McCain. Up yours today, tomorrow, and damn sure in November.

(more ranting on the jump...)

I'm an Indiana resident. Perry 05 to be exact. Voted today. So did my wife. Every friend I still talk too voted today. Heh. Tons of co-workers voted. I may have not been able to donate as much as I would have liked. Or put in as much time as I would have liked. But I swear, some of the people I had to speak with at length to seal the deal has to count for something. I honestly feel like I did everything I was able to. A little hope in a hopeless world.

I'll ramble some more on the fold!

"Wisdom is a gift; you can't train for it, inherit it, learn it in a class, or earn it in the workplace--that access can foster the acquisition of knowledge, but not wisdom." - Toni Morrison

Shouldn't Dr. Maya Angelou be part of Hillary's dialog on race?

Some have wondered why there are blacks who consider Dr. Maya Angelou a 'traitor' to her black race. I don't know if I put her there just yet. But her past words create questions as to why she has not spoken up about her friend Hillary Clinton's need to inject racism and Reverend Jeremiah Wright into this campaign in the many ways Hillary has.

Here, she is speaking to the American Academy of Achievement in January, 1997. She covers many topics still relevant to today, so as you read through this interview, remember it's eleven years old.

It's as if she's predicting an Obama candidacy.

Low Road to Victory is the title of the editorial. This comes from the paper that once endorsed Senator Clinton saying:

As strongly as we back her candidacy, we urge Mrs. Clinton to take the lead in changing the tone of the campaign. It is not good for the country, the Democratic Party or for Mrs. Clinton, who is often tagged as divisive, in part because of bitter feeling about her husband’s administration and the so-called permanent campaign. (Indeed, Bill Clinton’s overheated comments are feeding those resentments, and could do long-term damage to her candidacy if he continues this way.)

What began as a joyous primary season has turned into a nightmare of bitterness and invective, promulgated largely by Senator Clinton and her campaign.

Sadly, her campaign has become less of a pursuit of "solutions" than a mission to destroy her opponent, no matter what the cost to herself or to the Democratic Party. She's redefined the term ambitious to mean "eagerly disingenuous, destructive, calculating, avaricious, dismissive and arrogant in the pursuit of achieving or obtaining success, power, wealth, a specific goal, etc."

It's time that either she gracefully step aside, or that party leaders escort her off the stage. She's become a parody of a bad vaudeville act, and someone needs to give her the hook.