Fox North and It's Pro-Conservative Spin

CAW President Says Harper Inaction on Manufacturing Job Loss is Shameful
August 8, 2008, 4:04 PM EST


CAW President Buzz Hargrove considers today's announcement of 55,000 job losses in the month of July absolutely devastating. The latest figures, released by Statistics Canada on August 8, are one of the worst monthly job loss totals for Canadian manufacturing on record. Hargrove points the finger directly at the Harper government.
"The Harper government must be held accountable for the pain and suffering felt by the hundreds of thousands of Canadian manufacturing workers who have lost their jobs in recent years," Hargrove said, adding that the government's disregard of important issues such as unfair trade, the rising Canadian dollar, and skyrocketing energy prices has contributed to the major job losses in recent years.
"The government's inaction is both appalling and shameful."
Hargrove said that these latest labour market statistics do not account for more recently announced layoffs and plant closures that will take place in the coming months, including thousands more job losses at Sterling Truck in St. Thomas, Owens Illinois in Toronto and the General Motors Oshawa truck plant slated to close in 2009.
"Until our federal government wakes up and realizes the extent of this crisis, I fear that the worst is yet to come."



Ontario Federation of Labour
10/06/2008

Released by the Ontario Federation of Labour, Monday (Oct. 6).Click to enlarge A report issued by the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) during a press conference at the campaign headquarters of London-Fanshawe NDP incumbent Irene Mathyssen Monday (Oct. 6), shows dramatic job losses in the manufacturing sector for London and the surrounding area.Pointing to report statistics – in the last two years London has lost 18 per cent of its manufacturing job base, more than 7,200 jobs have left the region – OFL President Wayne Samuelson pulled no punches pointing the finger at both the Stephen Harper Conservative Government and the federal Liberal Party."Some politicians, Conservatives and Liberals both, are out there telling people these jobs losses don't matter because there have been increases in service sector jobs in the region. They just don't get it. These new service sector jobs don't pay enough to raise a family, buy a house or pay a mortgage, or put a child through college or university," Samuelson said.The loss of manufacturing jobs is particularly damaging, Samuelson noted, because they are relatively good jobs, paying 30 per cent more than service-sector jobs. In 2008, average weekly earnings in London were more than $1,000 for manufacturing jobs and $767 for the service sector.The OFL report at a press conference held at Mathyssen's campaign office using data from Statistics Canada, and the London-Fanshawe incumbent used the report to urge the people in her riding to rally around her in the coming election and ensure working people have a strong voice in Ottawa."I am thankful that the Ontario Federation has compiled this report, because it underlines what I have been saying for the past two years," said Mathyssen. "Families are falling apart, working long hours—often at two or more jobs—missing out on quality time together, and watching their children's futures and their own retirement plans disappearing. It is time we had a government that understands the priorities of working families and puts the priorities of the kitchen table ahead of the greed of the boardroom table."Samuelson noted that Mathyssen is the only MP in the region to consistently speak out on the job-loss crisis. " It is critical that Irene is re-elected to keep this riding out of Harper's hands.

When you look at job losses in St. Thomas, where there is a Conservative MP, it's pretty clear a voiceless backbencher won't be able to do half the job Irene is already doing." London District Labour Council President Patti Dalton agreed."What we have are low paying, often temporary jobs, that desperate workers are taking because it is the only way to keep food on the table. The work available is low wage, with only the most basic employment standards. These are not jobs that sustain communities. The Harper government has been irresponsible, failing to do anything to protect jobs, and they have no plan to change," said Dalton.

Both Samuelson and Dalton applauded the NDP's "Made-in-Canada" procurement policy for the federal government and its agencies, the $750 million "Green Collar Jobs Fund", and investment in municipal infrastructure as practical, positive ideas that will protect existing jobs and create new jobs in the 21st century economy."Irene Mathyssen, in her first term, in opposition, has brought more than $47 million in federal investment to London-Fanshawe, including job programs for students, investment in Diamond Aircraft, and funding for transit among others. We need to re-elect her, so she can build on her record of getting results." Dalton added.In addition, statistics point to the fact that unemployment is increasing and laid off workers are discovering the failure of the unemployment insurance system.In London, only 29 per cent of unemployed workers can collect employment insurance benefits because there are so many barriers."What we need from the federal government is a plan to address the problems in the manufacturing sector, an unemployment insurance system that provides more support to workers who lose their jobs and a training system that works for people," Samuelson said.


Here is CTV spin


The Canadian economy added 15,200 jobs in August to keep Canada's unemployment rate steady at 6.1 per cent.


The August results were being closely watched because the two previous months had shown declines in employment. Statistics Canada reported Friday that last month's net employment gains were mostly full-time private sector jobs. The private sector had lost 95,000 jobs in July, but added 40,900 in August. However, public-sector employment fell by 23,900 in the same period.
In Ontario, two months of declines were reversed as the province added 14,000 net jobs. The manufacturing sector also showed a bounce as it added 13,800 jobs.
But Statistics Canada also noted that Canada has created only 87,000 new jobs this year compared to more than 220,000 in the first eight months of 2007. In July, the economy lost 55,000 jobs.


"The July number was horrid," Carolyn Kwan, senior economist with Merrill Lynch Canada, told The Canadian Press before the August numbers were released.
Economists warn against giving too much weight to any single month. However, an economics professor at McGill University told CP the August job numbers offer some relief for Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government, which is expected to call an election this weekend.
"I think it helps them in that there's no avalanche of unemployment that they're getting caught up in," Bill Watson said.


The Canadian dollar rose almost three-quarters of a cent to above 94 cents US after the jobless data was released, but loosened its grip on the gains later in the day.
However the stock market doesn't appear to be getting a boost from the employment numbers.
The TSX main index continued its slide, posting triple-digit losses on Friday until slightly reducing its losses in the afternoon. It has fallen 1,000 points loss over four days.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcies reported there were 7,452 personal bankruptcies reported in July, up 19 per cent compared to a year ago.



Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Wednesday.
Flaherty told reporters following the government's throne speech that no major measures to stimulate the economy or bail out the teetering auto sector will be in next week's announcement.
"That is not a mini-budget; it's an update," Flaherty said.



The question all Canadian must ask themselves is this: Why are we listen to Fox North (CTV) with it's pro-conservative spin, and not listen to Statics Canada when they state along with every major economic expert in the entire country that canada is in a major recession

After all what does CTV stand for: Canada Tory Voice

FROM ONE JOE TO ANOTHER

Dear Joe the Plumber,

My name is Joe the Soldier. I noticed you have been getting a lot of attention in the national media lately. I even saw a couple clips of interviews with you on the Armed Forces Network while I was eating in our chow hall in Diyala Province. I watched you complain about everything from immigration to taxes while I ate an omelet which was prepared by Pakistanis and sponsored by Uncle Sam. I tried to ignore your rant, but as I peered over the crowd of smiling, laughing Infantrymen who wolfed down their breakfast before rolling out to patrol the streets of Iraq, my gaze kept returning to the plumber from Ohio who seemed so unhappy to be standing in his driveway with the liberty to complain about his government. And it was at that moment that I was inspired by your shiny head to reflect; you and I have some similarities, but quite a few more differences.

Let's start with the similarities. Like you, my name really isn't Joe. We both use that moniker because...well, it sounds good. You made $40k last year. That is pretty close to my base pay in 2007, and far more than that of the Soldiers which I just described. I believe we both genuinely want to live the American Dream.

Let's look at the differences. You recently showed up at a Barack Obama rally to ask him why he will raise your taxes. Apparently you didn't hear that he will only raise taxes on those with a quarter million dollars of income, or you actually believe that, as a plumber, you will make that much money. Either way, as a Soldier, I can't afford to be that inattentive or unrealistic. You cast yourself as a regular guy, a common man in Middle America. Yet in each interview you continue to complain about the price you pay for membership in the world's greatest nation. I could find many things to complain about too, but my sense of duty shifts my focus to the fruits of our labors and the benefits of all the sacrifices that I have witnessed. I hope you enjoy your freedom as much as you enjoy complaining about how much it costs you, but I honestly don't mind if it is such a high price that you may have to sacrifice a little to keep it...join the club!

Possibly the most striking difference between us is that you have forgotten the legacy which the great generations in our history passed down. It is a legacy of mutual sacrifice and shared hardship. During World War Two, most people didn't complain when they were drafted, they gladly went to fight in a just war. Those who were unable to fight were a part of the war effort at home. They put their cars on blocks and rationed goods to ensure that the troops had what they needed. Taxes were much higher back then. But there were no tax cuts in those days because the country could not afford it in a time of war and it seemed immoral to pass the cost on to...us.
Times have really changed since then, haven't they Joe? Since the start of this war, our national debt has risen to almost $11 trillion thanks to multiple tax cuts to the richest Americans. I can't understand why you, Joe, as a plumber, are fooled into advocating for these millionaires who complain about their taxes returning to the level they were under Ronald Reagan. Isn't it strange that a plumber making $40k per year is complaining on behalf of the top 1% of income earners while our Armed Forces, comprised mainly of middle and low-income Americans(the sons and daughters of plumbers you might say), are sent to fight two wars because "Freedom isn't Free?"

I am sorry Joe the Plumber, I can't sympathize with your complaints. Partly because I don't believe that a plumber will make $250k, meaning you will actually get a slight tax cut if Obama becomes President. But mainly because I think you can handle the taxes you are currently paying. You supported this war, right? You think we should have the best military in the world,don't you? Well, those things cost money. As an American making $40k, you already paid close to the lowest tax rate of any similar wage-earner in the Industrialized World. And look at the return on your investment: you get to live in America and complain about all those taxes you paid! I do believe that we both want to live the American Dream, but after 14 months in Iraq with a unit that lost 12 heroes to the Ultimate Sacrifice, I am sorely disappointed that you whine so much about the meager price you are asked to pay for it.

Sincerely,

William H. Smith. Captain, United States Army

VOTERS: VOTE YOUR ISSUE, NOT YOUR SKIN TISSUE

There are many in the heartland of America who fear that the presidential race may yet come down to just that: fear about race versus values. Some have al ready made their minds up that they won't vote for someone "who is not like them". Yet, for all those who call themselves an American, is not what makes our country great itself greater than is the measure of, or absence of, a man's melanin?
For the voter who can make a choice based on pocketbook and kitchen table issues and not pigment or skin tissue, a quiz:
If you are man with a female child, and you want your daughter to be valued as much as any man, are you strong enough for her to ignore the color of the champion who fights for her? If you are a woman who believes that you, your mother, your daughter, your sister or your aunt should have the sole right to make choices which affect your and their lives, which is the only candidate that supports a woman's right to choose?...
If you are a veteran, voting against increasing veterans benefits on six different occasions and against the new GI Bill should matter. Better yet, if you are a u nion member, and you want to protect... no...strengthen the right to organize, can you make a conscientious choice between color and collective bargaining?
If on the one hand, if the only color that counts is green and every penny in your pocket counts, do you really want to support a candidate that will tax your employer provided-health care benefits and make you wait for a health care tax credit that will end up fattening the pockets of out of state insurance executives?
If you are a senior citizen, what does color have to do with preventing cutting $1.2 trillion in benefits from Medicare to pay for those health care tax credits? Not a thing. Speaking of benefits, do you really want your Social Security benefits tied to the stock market? The stock market just crashed, big time. Imagine if Social Security too had been privatized. Seniors just dodged a very big bullet..Bluntly, a candidate's ethnicity does not threaten your poc ketbook and does not take food off your table; what does present a clear and present danger to every American family is policies which support doing the same thing the same way while looking for a different result. Who deserves a tax break more...you or the corporations that just robbed America blind?
Does it make sense to cough up $300 billion more for a taxpayer-funded buyout of all distressed mortgages in America to further bail out the lenders who stuck the taxpayers with a $700 billion dollar cash-for-trash scheme? There is only one candidate who offers a tax cut to 95 percent of America's working families and not to the lenders, banks, or corporations that just ripped off America's workers and retirees.
If NAFTA caused your factory to be shut down or your job to be shipped overseas, can you ignore all that noise about whether someone is white or not and focus on whether a candidate's position against outsourcing jobs is right or not? & nbsp;Only one candidate has pledged to link trade deals to preserving American jobs and to end tax breaks for companies sending American jobs overseas.
And while on the subject of jobs, in today's world you can't get a good one without a good education. If you believe that education is the pathway way out of poverty and to a good paying job and the ticket to the American dream, is it not more prudent to vote for someone who personally experienced the struggles ordinary families go through to get their children through school and to vote for someone who has pledged to fully fund America's educational system.
In all theses instances, that candidate is indeed...that one...Barack Obama.
There is something to be said about being judged by the content of one's character and not by the color of one's skin. As someone wrote recently, there is a big difference between having character and being one. Pigmentation should not have a place in politics. No one is being asked not to see color, just to ignore it long enough to pragmatically focus on pocketbook issues which will directly impact you and your family. For the nation's sake, I ask that you vote your issue and not your skin tissue.
Some will no doubt have to hold their nose while they cast their ballot. If doing so is what it takes to hold on to what's left of the American dream, well, that's a form of personal sacrifice we should all embrace for the sake of our families and the future of the greatest country on earth. In that instance, pushing past our personal prejudices would be the ultimate act of outright unselfish patriotism.


Gregory Murray

Is John McCain a Crook

The controversial George W. Bush-sponsored poll in South Carolina mentioned John McCain's role in the so-called Keating Five scandal, and McCain says his involvement in the scandal "will probably be on my tombstone." What exactly did McCain do?

In early 1987, at the beginning of his first Senate term, McCain attended two meetings with federal banking regulators to discuss an investigation into Lincoln Savings and Loan, an Irvine, Calif., thrift owned by Arizona developer Charles Keating.

Federal auditors were investigating Keating's banking practices, and Keating, fearful that the government would seize his S&L, sought intervention from a number of U.S. senatorsAt Keating's behest, four senators--McCain and Democrats Dennis DeConcini of Arizona, Alan Cranston of California, and John Glenn of Ohio--met with Ed Gray, chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, on April 2. Those four senators and Sen. Don Riegle, D-Mich., attended a second meeting at Keating's behest on April 9 with bank regulators in San Francisco.Regulators did not seize Lincoln Savings and Loan until two years later. The Lincoln bailout cost taxpayers $2.6 billion, making it the biggest of the S&L scandals. In addition, 17,000 Lincoln investors lost $190 million.

In November 1990, the Senate Ethics Committee launched an investigation into the meetings between the senators and the regulators. McCain, Cranston, DeConcini, Glenn, and Riegle became known as the Keating Five.(Keating himself was convicted in January 1993 of 73 counts of wire and bankruptcy fraud and served more than four years in prison before his conviction was overturned. Last year, he pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud and was sentenced to time served.
McCain defended his attendance at the meetings by saying Keating was a constituent and that Keating's development company, American Continental Corporation, was a major Arizona employer. McCain said he wanted to know only whether Keating was being treated fairly and that he had not tried to influence the regulators. At the second meeting, McCain told the regulators, "I wouldn't want any special favors for them," and "I don't want any part of our conversation to be improper."

But Keating was more than a constituent to McCain--he was a longtime friend and associate. McCain met Keating in 1981 at a Navy League dinner in Arizona where McCain was the speaker. Keating was a former naval aviator himself, and the two men became friends. Keating raised money for McCain's two congressional campaigns in 1982 and 1984, and for McCain's 1986 Senate bid. By 1987, McCain campaigns had received $112,000 from Keating, his relatives, and his employees--the most received by any of the Keating Five. (Keating raised a total of $300,000 for the five senators.)
After McCain's election to the House in 1982, he and his family made at least nine trips at Keating's expense, three of which were to Keating's Bahamas retreat.McCain did not disclose the trips (as he was required to under House rules) until the scandal broke in 1989. At that point, he paid Keating $13,433 for the flights.
And in April 1986, one year before the meeting with the regulators, McCain's wife, Cindy, and her father invested $359,100 in a Keating strip mall.The Senate Ethics Committee probe of the Keating Five began in November 1990, and committee Special Counsel Robert Bennett recommended that McCain and Glenn be dropped from the investigation. They were not. McCain believes Democrats on the committee blocked Bennett's recommendation because he was the lone Keating Five Republican.

In February 1991, the Senate Ethics Committee found McCain and Glenn to be the least blameworthy of the five senators. (McCain and Glenn attended the meetings but did nothing else to influence the regulators.) McCain was guilty of nothing more than "poor judgment," the committee said, and declared his actions were not "improper nor attended with gross negligence." McCain considered the committee's judgment to be "full exoneration," and he contributed $112,000 (the amount raised for him by Keating) to the U.S.

Here's the kicker, Folks....after helping Keating steal all that money from his investors, on Thursday,August 21, 2008, Senator John McCain actually hired Charles Keating to help John McCain get to the White House. Crooks of a feather, one might say.

A Courageous American Steps Forward

MY HOLIDAY WITH JOHN McCAIN

It was just before John McCain's last run at the presidential nomination in 2000 that my husband and I vacationed in Turtle Island in Fiji with John McCain, Cindy, and their children, including Bridget (their adopted Bangladeshi child).

It was not our intention, but it was our misfortune to be in close quarters with John McCain for almost a week, since Turtle Island has a small number of bungalows and their focus on communal meals force all vacationers who are there at the same time to get to know each other intimately.

He arrived at our first group meal and started reading quotes from a pile of William Faulkner books with a forest of Post-Its sticking out of them. As an English Literature major myself, my first thought was "if he likes this so much, why hasn't he memorized any of this yet?"

I soon realized that McCain actually thought we had come on vacation to be a volunteer audience for his "readings" which then became a regular part of each meal. Out of politeness, none of the vacationers initially protested at this intrusion into their blissful holiday, but people's buttons definitely got pushed as the readings continued day after day.

Unfortunately this was not his only contribution to our mealtime entertainment. He waxed on during one meal about how Indo-Chine women had the best figures and that our American corn-fed women just couldn't meet up to this standard. He also made it a point that all of us should stop Cindy from having dessert as her weight was too high and made a few comments to Amy, the 25 year old wife of the honeymooning couple from Nebraska that she should eat less as she needed to lose weight.

McCain's appreciation of the beauty of Asian women was so great that David the American economist had to move his Thai wife to the other side of the table from McCain as McCain kept aggressively flirting with and touching her. Needless to say I was irritated at his large ego and his rude behavior towards his wife and other women, but decided he must have some redeeming qualities as he had adopted a handicapped child from Bangladesh. I asked him about this one day, and his response was shocking: "Oh, that was Cindy's idea - I didn't have anything to do with it. She just went and adopted this thing without even asking me. You can't imagine how people stare when I wheel this ugly, black thing around in a shopping cart in Arizona .

No, it wasn't my idea at all."

I actively avoided McCain after that, but unfortunately one day he engaged me in a political discussion which soon got us on the topic of the active US bombing of Iraq at that time. I was shocked when he said, "If I was in charge, I would nuke Iraq to teach them a lesson". Given McCain's personal experience with the horrors of war, I had expected a more balanced point of view.

I commented on the tragic consequences of the nuclear attacks on Japan during WWII -- but no, he was not to be dissuaded. He went on to say that if it was up to him he would have dropped many more nuclear bombs on Japan. I rapidly extricated myself from this conversation as I could tell that his experience being tortured as a POW didn't seem to have mellowed out his perspective, but rather had made him more aggressive and vengeful towards the world. My final encounter with McCain was on the morning that he was leaving Turtle Island.

Amy and I were happily eating pancakes when McCain arrived and told Amy that she shouldn't be having pancakes because she needed to lose weight. Amy burst into tears at this abusive comment. I felt fiercely protective of Amy and immediately turned to McCain and told him to leave her alone.

He became very angry and abusive towards me, and said, "Don't you know who I am." I looked him in the face and said, "Yes, you are the biggest asshole I have ever met" and headed back to my cabin.

I am happy to say that later that day when I arrived at lunch I was given a standing ovation by all the guests for having stood up to McCain's bullying. Although I have shared my McCain story informally with friends, this is the first time I am making this public. I almost did so in 2000, when McCain first announced his bid for the Republican nomination, but it soon became apparent that George Bush was the shoo-in candidate and so I did not act then. However, now that there is a very real possibility that McCain could be elected as our next president, I feel it is my duty as an American citizen to share this story. I can't imagine a more scary outcome for America than that this abusive, aggressive man should lead our nation. I have observed him in intimate surroundings as he really is, not how the media portrays him to be.

If his attitudes toward women and his treatment of his own family are even a small indicator of his real personality, then I shudder to think what will happen to America were he to be elected as our President.

This letter was originally written by: Ana Dubey

And made public by her friend, Mary-Kay Gamel

Professor of Classic Literature & Arts

Cowell College

University of California

Santa Cruz

California.

FOX Reporter Incites Civil Unrest

Why does FOX news have Sean Hannity on its programing leading a barrage of false allegations against Barack Obama a black candidate? The answer is very simple....Sean Hannity is a bigot, and the worst kind of bigot there is. Fox News (Rupert Murdock) has allowed Sean Hannity a format to invited other racists on his show and let them incite other white supremacists to rally the old boys network into action. Sean Hannity has been a friend of Harold (Nat) Turner for many years and has had Turner on his show many times. Harold (Nat) Turner is working in the open to unite these groups and encourage ACTION against all Blacks, Jews, Immigrants. This week when racist's fliers were delivered to the neighborhood of Roxbury, NJ. nobody doubted who was behind them.
The fliers left on driveways in a neatly packaged plastic envelope and distributed by a group named the League of American Patriots, with a Butler mailing address, questioned, "Do You Want A Black President?" and stated "Black Ruled Nations most unstable and violent in the world."


"Why should we seal our fate by allowing a black ruler to destroy us?" asked the flier, which also detailed what it contended to be a series of facts on black unemployment, poverty, HIV and crime rates, while pointing out the woes of a couple of predominantly black-populated countries.
Attempts to reach the League of American Patriots, by telephone and e-mail, were unsuccessful yesterday. There were no names of group leaders or organizers on the flier or the group's website. The group is "committed to restoring America to the principles upon which it was founded. First and foremost is halting the rapid demographic decline of the European peoples in our homeland," according to the website. League members attended an immigration reform rally in Lakewood in May and what was billed as an anti-Mexican rally in Shenandoah, Pa., in August, according to the site.



Statement made by Harold (Nat) Turner


I decided in early July 2008 that I would end my show because the time for talking is over. The time for action is here.
Instead of telegraphing my thoughts in public, I now move to the shadows with my brethren to take sudden, dramatic, irreversible, direct action.
Let us be like surgeons; carving out the cultural, religious, social and political cancer which is killing our nation.
Let us enjoy the hunt as we make trophies of "men" who are little more than beasts infesting urban Serengeti's that used to be our cities.

It is time once again for Whites to rule the night.

Does this nation want to return to the times when we witnessed the assignations of President John Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Robert F. Kennedy. If you don't then it's time to muzzle the likes of Sean Hannity, Harold (Nat) Turner and the League of American Patriots. Muzzling does not mean taking away their free speech, it means not given them air time to spew their racist's hate speech.
You are not without a voice.

Write to Fox news: comments@foxnews.com ......tell Rupert Murdock is time to stop Sean Hannity and his racists remarks. Do it NOW. Do it before something terrible happens.

Squeaky Clean in Oil

Sarah Palin's Lobbyists

Palin may not yet be as notorious as the influence peddlers in Washington, but she’s working to fit right in. She’s surrounded herself with associates of Jack Abramoff and Ted Stevens—some of the biggest names in the corruption game—and scored huge pork for Alaska in the process. With cronies like those, Sarah Palin and John McCain have a lot in common.
Palin didn’t buck Alaska’s Republican culture of corruption, she hired it.

Lobbyist Hired By Palin Secured $27 Million In Federal Earmarks for 6,700-Person Town.

“Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin employed a lobbying firm to secure almost $27 million in federal earmarks for a town of 6,700 residents while she was its mayor, according to an analysis by an independent government watchdog group…As mayor of Wasilla, however, Palin oversaw the hiring of Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh—an Anchorage-based law firm with close ties to Alaska's most senior Republicans: Rep. Don Young and Sen. Ted Stevens, who was indicted in July on charges of accepting illegal gifts. The Wasilla account was handled by the former chief of staff to Stevens, Steven W. Silver, who is a partner in the firm…According to a review of congressional spending by Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan watchdog group in Washington, Wasilla did not receive any federal earmarks in the first few years of Palin's tenure. Senate records show that Silver's firm began working for Palin in early 2000, just as federal money began flowing…All told, Wasilla benefited from $26.9 million in earmarks in Palin's final four years in office. ‘She certainly wasn't shy about putting the old-boy network to use to bring home millions of dollars,’ said Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense. ‘She's a little more savvy to the ways of Washington than she's let on.’

Lobbyist Hired By Palin Was Part of “Team Abramoff.”

“According to Senate lobbying disclosure reports examined by TPMmuckraker, from 2002 to 2004 Silver listed as a client Jack Abramoff's lobbying firm, Greenberg Traurig. On Greenberg's behalf, Silver lobbied the federal government on ‘issues relating to Indian/Native American policy,’ ‘exploration for oil and gas’ and ‘legislation relating to gaming issues’ -- the very issues that Abramoff headed up for Greenberg at the time. In other words, Silver appears to have been a part of ‘Team Abramoff.’ Indeed, one specific bill that Silver lobbied on for Greenberg, according to the forms, was S.627, also known as the Internet Gambling Funding Prohibition Act. A former Greenberg lobbyist confirmed to TPMmuckraker that Silver would have been working to oppose the bill. And it was an earlier version of this very bill that Abramoff famously worked to spike, with the support of Christian conservative leaders Lou Sheldon and Ralph Reed.” [Talking Points Memo, 9/2/08]
Lobbyist Hired By Palin Called A Member of Ted Stevens And Don Young’s “Inner Circle” And His Firm “Became Ensnared In The Wide-Ranging Federal Investigation Of Corruption By Alaska Republican Officials.”
In hiring Silver, Wasilla found someone who was a member of each lawmaker's inner circle. Silver has donated at least $11,400 to Stevens's political committees and $10,000 to Young's reelection committee in the past decade, according to Federal Election Commission records. Sliver's firm employed Stevens's son, Ben Stevens, in the late 1990s as a federal lobbyist, according to multiple media accounts. Ben Stevens was not listed on lobbying disclosure forms as having worked on Wasilla earmarks. The firm became ensnared in the wide-ranging federal investigation of corruption by Alaska Republican officials. Federal agents reviewed records about its other municipal clients, as well as fishing companies represented by Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh that were close to Ben Stevens.” [Washington Post, 9/2/08]

Palin’s $27 Million in Earmarks For Wasilla Came While Ted Stevens Was Chair of Senate Appropriations Committee.
“The Palin earmarks came when Stevens was chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Young was a senior member of the House transportation committee.” [Washington Post, 9/2/08]
Blatant cronyism won Palin’s lobbyist friends top positions—Sound familiar?
Palin Appointed Lobbyist for the Fishing Industry as Her Fisheries-Policy Adviser.
“She appointed Cora Crome as her fisheries-policy adviser—a very powerful post in a state where fishing is a major industry. Crome formerly worked for the United Fishermen of Alaska, an industry lobbying group, and was married to a commercial fisherman who made more than $600,000 in 2006. (They are divorced; a McCain aide, who didn't want to be identified discussing personal matters, says the divorce occurred before she joined the Palin administration.) In a brief conversation, Crome said she was in a meeting and didn't have time to comment; the McCain campaign declined to comment.” [Newsweek, 9/6/08]
Palin “Counting on Her Lieutenant Governor Candidate… Former Oil Lobbyist” to Help Win Oil Industry Support.
“The defiantly grass-roots nature of the campaign may have distanced her from certain traditional centers of power in Alaska. The oil industry is one -- but the campaign says it is counting on her lieutenant governor candidate, [Sean] Parnell, a former oil lobbyist and legislator, to help there.” [Anchorage Daily News, 10/24/06]
Oil and energy lobbyists fueled Palin’s rise
Palin Took $17,675 From 33 Different Lobbyists During Her 2006 Campaign for Governor. For her 2006 campaign for Governor, took $17,675 in contributions from 33 different lobbyists. [Alaska Public Office Commission]
Palin Took $13,000 from Lobbyists Representing the Oil Industry in Her 2006 Campaign for Governor.
The lobbyists who donated to her campaign represent a range of industries, including oil and gas, tobacco, education and the Native Alaskan community. "She's fought oil companies and party bosses and do-nothing bureaucrats and anyone who puts their interests before the interests of the people she swore an oath to serve," Mr. McCain said Friday at an Ohio rally to introduce her as his running mate. But since Mrs. Palin leads a major oil-producing state, that industry is one of her top donors. She collected nearly $13,000 from lobbyists who represent oil and gas industries in her primary and general campaigns, according a review of her campaign donations and 2006 registered state lobbyists. [Washington Times, September 1, 2008]

The Corsi "Con"

Well! you must be the envy of the entire literary community. Imagine little "Jerome" getting the heads up on all those stuffy Pulitzer prize winning journalists like Schmidt, Grimaldi and Jeff Smith. Oh, surely you had an inside track on this one. Must have been an old fraternity brother of Barack Obama. Perhaps you attended Harvard together. But let's face it, kudos to you Jerome. Really, we are all so envious of all the time you got to spent with Barack and his family, the Sunday night dinners, maybe an interview or two with Michelle and the girls. Alright I admit it I'm green with jealousy. Did you hop on your plane and go to Hawaii to see his grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Dunham? Of course they told you all the wonderful qualities of the Senator of which so many found their way into your book. Grandparents are like that, yea they are. I don't envy you all the long, grueling hours you must have spent in the Library of Congress getting all those important details correct with the proper sources attached. For me I especially loved the chapter you dedicated to Barack's grandfather, a Kansas oil worker who, after the Pearl Harbour attack, march across Europe with Patton's Army. Because of your own heroic military career we all know how much you wanted to honor a fellow Veteran. Of course your many trips to Kenya to see where Barack's father was born and raised, and your trips to Jakarta to visit the school where Barack started his education, convinced me that your depiction of the Senator from Illinois would be a truly objective and fair. I know you spent hundreds of hours interviewing those lower income families from south Chicago, where Barack worked as a community organizer. We only HOPE you didn't have to go it alone. It must have been a bit easier for you interviewing the law firm of Miner, Barhill and Galland, where Barack practiced civil law. I'm sure many of Barack's students came forward to testify on his behalf from the University of Chicago Law School.

We all know how much you wanted to debunk the lies spread by Fox Fake News that Barack went to a Madrassa and was a Muslim. All America knows of your unfavorable views on the lies spread by Hannity, O'Reilly, Ann Coulter and the like. I understand Jerome, I may call you Jerome might-en I, that it is very smart of you to keep your so-called Fox Friends close. You cunning old fox you, keeping an eye on your enemies while pretending they are your friends.

Just be very careful of the old fellow Murdock, I hear he more than likes Obama. Don't want to get on that guy's hit list now, do we?

Listen Jerome, I know that your book debuted at # 1 and well gee isn't that just super, but don't be too concerned about the rumors. What rumors? Well it seems that "someone" has been buying your book in bulk form and storing it in warehouses all across the country. Now whether it is a Republican who thinks this book will do more harm than good, since the reviews have been lukewarm at best or it could be someone who is giving it out as free door prizes. I bet I know the truth, it's probably those lower income families on the south side of Chicago, who plan on using it for firewood this winter, since the cost of oil is sky high since Bush/McCain and the Republicans have been running the country.....never mind little Jerome it's the attempt that counts.

Irreplaceable

Wednesday morning I woke up to pure sunshine, hurried to get dressed, grab a cup of java and made my way to the outdoor deck to absorb the warmth for the sun's rays. But something was bothering me and I just couldn't seem to shake it. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and yet I felt a big black presence sitting directly over my head. What was bothering me so? I tried to remember what I was doing just before going to bed last evening. I let the little puppy out for the last time that evening and I checked a couple of emails. There is was. A friend had sent me an email about a young troubled Veteran who had committed suicide.

Retired Master Sergeant, Chris Scheuerman was returning home after training troops at Ft. Bragg, N.C.. Seeing the black mini van and the chaplain Chris knew in his heart that the very worst had happened. He had lost his beloved son. Eventually they informed Chris that his son Jason had died from a self inflicted gun shot wound, but details were not forth coming.

Using the Freedom of Information Act it would take Chris two long years to find out the truth about his son, 1st class Jason Scheuermann of the 3rd Infantry Division and how he died only six months after deployment to Iraq.

In March 2005, the nineteen year old Jason told his father he was having a very difficult time coping with combat and was very afraid. Chris told his son that help was there within reach and not to be afraid to ask for it. Jason visited the Army Chaplain a month later, after having almost committing suicide. He was referred to the Army Psychologist, who gave him the standard tests. This was the moment when Jason could have been treated and possibly saved. That psychologist sent Jason back saying he could be feigning the illness. Jason might well have been suffering from headaches, flashbacks,tremors, sweating, nausea, nightmares, sensitivity to noise and other symptoms as well. Isolated, frighten and depressed Jason might well have believed there was no options left for him. I imagine this scene has been repeated many, many times. No one listens and the silence is killing many of our youngest and bravest. No more birthdays, more empty chairs at Thanksgiving and Christmas, more trips to the nation's cemeteries to say I miss you, more fatherless sons and motherless daughters. No more wars. Let them end. We need peace. We need to be a unified country again. But let the memories of all those we have lost stay forever young. And to all the families who gave the dearest price of all, remember you have a hold on heaven, because your loved ones are waiting there.

Only a Republican thinks $432/year is chicken fee

Carnegie Mellon Today

Carnegie Mellon News Services Home Page

Save Gas, Money and the Environment with Properly Inflated Tires
Diane Loviglio was one of eight students from Carnegie Mellon's Sustainable Earth Club to measure the air pressure in the tires of 81 cars parked on campus. "After seeing the numbers I was really surprised to see just how much properly inflated tires make a difference," she says.
Want to save hundreds at the gasoline pump? It's easy. Instead of hunting for the best price in town, try checking the air pressure in your tires. Proper air pressure results in better gas mileage, which at $3 per gallon could save you as much as $432 per year, according to an informal study conducted by Carnegie Mellon students last spring.
And if money isn't a big enough incentive, how about helping to preserve the environment? Less fuel consumption results in less carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere.

If you think this is all a lot of "hot air," think again.
During Earthweek last April, eight students from Carnegie Mellon's Sustainable Earth Club—Diane Loviglio, Aurora Luchser Sharrard, David Kennedy, Staci Wax, Rachel Minkoff, Ryan England, Ryan Menefee and Caroline Chow—used digital tire gauges to measure the air pressure in the tires of 81 cars that were parked in the East Campus Garage, the Doherty Apartments Lot and the Morewood Lot. Based on the assumption that the optimum air pressure for fuel efficiency was the maximum air pressure stated on the tires' sidewall, the four tires of each car were under-inflated by a total average of 20%. Only one of the 81 had the proper air pressure. (The suggested air pressure stated in owner's manuals is based on passenger comfort, not necessarily fuel efficiency.)

If you do the math to calculate the extra fuel cars consume due to under-inflated tires, consider the Environmental Protection Agency standard that a 1% loss of fuel efficiency occurs for every 2 PSI of air under the maximum level. Add to that the 2003 Department of Energy report that states that vehicles average 22.3 miles per gallon and 12,242 miles per year, and you find that each of the 81 cars burned 144 extra gallons of gas due to under-inflated tires. At $3 per gallon, each car owner is spending $432 for gas each year that they really don't need.
Of the 81 cars checked, only one had the proper air pressure in all four tires.More than 3,000 individuals in the campus community applied for parking permits last year. Consequently, properly inflated tires would result in an annual savings of more than $1,296,000 for the campus community.
"After seeing the numbers I was really surprised to see just how much properly inflated tires make a difference," said Loviglio, a fifth-year scholar from Long Island, N.Y. "It really doesn't take that much to save a lot of money and pollute the air less."
Speaking of air pollution, 20.8 pounds of carbon dioxide are emitted into the atmosphere for every one gallon of fuel consumed. Do the math again, and you'll find that each of those 81 cars emit an extra 1 1/2 tons of carbon dioxide annually.

Considering that three trees are needed to absorb 1 1/2 tons of carbon dioxide, more than 9,000 additional trees (22.5 acres) are needed to offset the extra greenhouse gases emitted from the more than 3,000 vehicles that park on campus. Without those additional trees, the extra CO2 is released into the atmosphere.

"This was an interesting exercise in that it demonstrated that saving the environment can actually save money and it raised awareness that what we do as individuals really does matter to the environment . . .even on a global scale," said Deborah Lange, executive director of the Steinbrenner Institute for Environmental Education and Research.
The study was sponsored by the Steinbrenner Institute with assistance from David Shiller (S'90), who along with David Molder (HSS'87) owns the E-House Company on Pittsburgh's Southside, a supplier of many environmentally friendly products.

For more on the Steinbrenner Institute, visit http://www.cmu.edu/environment.
Editor's Note: While actual mileage may vary, there is no doubt that maintaining proper air pressure in tires improves fuel economy. In fact, the federal government has mandated that most model year 2008 cars have onboard tire pressure monitoring systems to alert drivers of low tire pressure.
Bruce GersonSeptember 21, 2005
Carnegie Mellon Home

Hooks and Crooks

An indictment on seven criminal charges was filed today against Senator Ted (I didn't do it) Stevens. Senator Stevens became a Utube wonder last year when he described the Internet as being a series of tubes. "Uncle Teddy" has been charges with illegal gift taking, lying to authorities . These felonies could actually result in prison time if convicted.


But don't feel too sorry for the old boy because he will have oodles of buddies in prison to help pass the time. US Congressman Rick Renzi, who just happens to be Senator John McCain's campaign manager in Arizona, is being charged with money laundering, wire fraud, and extortion. He got caught up in what is known as the Arizona Land Swap......a scandal that even John McCain was investigated for. Now don't get that mixed up with the Keating's Savings and Loan Scandal. That was a totally different scandal that John McCain was involved with. Four Senators and McCain attended meetings of the Federal Home Loan Banking Board on Keating's behalf hoping to find out if Keating, a well known Arizona developer was going to lose his Saving & Loan. Later when the Senate Ethnics Committee investigated the role the five Senators played, McCain excuses himself as being the Senator from Keating's home state Arizona.

Randall "Duke" Cunningham
Ted Stevens might prefer to spent some time with Randall "Duke" Cunningham. The worst of the worst. Old "Dukie Boy" was a sidekick of Jack Abramoff, famous Washington Lobbyist who eventually would take out a handful of Republicans all by himself. Duke from the House of Representatives, California 50th district plead guilty in 2005 to accepting $2.4 million in bribes. He was convicted of mail fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy and income tax evasion. Duke was sentenced to 8.5 years and ordered to re-pay $1.8 million.

Robert "William" Ney (Bob)
Robert "William" Ney, Catholic, Republican Congressman from Ohio was another side kick of Jack Abramoff. Ney resigned in 2006 after pleading guilty to conspiracy and making false statements to authorities. Ney had already been identified in the guilty pleas of Jack Amramoff, Tony Rudy, chief of staff to Tom Delay, Michael Scanlon, Press Secretary to Tom Delay and Niel Volz, chief of staff to Bob Ney. Congressman Ney would be sentenced to 30 months in prison. Ney, the so called Mayor of Capital Hill gained notoriety when he insisted changing the name of "French Fries" to "Freedom Fries". He was angry over France's refusal to becoming one of Bush's coalition members.

Robert "Alphonso" Taft 11
Robert Taft holds the distinction of being the first Ohio Governor ever to be convicted of a crime. In August of 2005 he pleaded no contest stemming from his failure to disclose gifts and money from paid lobbyists. He was fined $4000 plus court cost. He could have been impeached but remained in office till the end of his term. He was reprimanded by the Ohio Supreme Court and that reprimand remains attached to his license to practice law in the state of Ohio.

Tom Delay
Probably the worst by far is the Hammer....he thought he could do anything he dammed well pleased. Fancied himself the end all to beat all, and all of the Republicans worshipped him (or were afraid of him, take your pick). Re-arranging voting districts of Texas like it was a God given assignment. This guy took so many "presents" from Lobbyists it's hard to keep track. It was only a matter of time before they got him. He intervene into the Schiavo case, calling the removal of a feeding tube barbaric. How many know that Tom Delay did the very same thing to his father. Hypocritical to say the least. He hates Castro but doesn't mind smoking Cuban cigars. One of Tom Delays best friend is Jack Abramoff ....let's not go into that again...Jack is in prison and Tom Delay should follow with any real luck. Tom Delay married K Street and the both of them have been entangled ever since, it's a sick, sick relationship to say the least.......one of the reasons why nothing ever gets down in the government. So far he has spent zero time in jail...that's too bad; it is where he belongs. In the same cell as Jackie Boy.

Special Mention must go to the following
1.Scooter Libby Convicted on the Valarie Plame Case....pardoned by the Unpopular Bush
2. Jack Abramoff...from all bad thing flow
3. Kenneth Lay...died before sentencing...millions lost all their savings because of him (Enron)

Character Humiliation
1. Rush Limbaugh.....doctor shopping for addictive Oxycodone & Hydrocodone...$30,000 should have gone to prison.
2. Ted Haggard so called preacher to Bush and practicing Homosexuality and drug user; entered rehab to be to cured of this homosexuality.

3. Mark Foley, Congressman who preyed on congressional pages.
4. Larry Graig. Senator from Idaho pleaded guilty to sexual charges.

In the Future we might see
1. Paul Wolfowitz brought up on charges
2. Alberto Gonzales
3. Karl Rove
4. Donald Rumsfeld
More than likely on incompetence or at the very least failure to do their duty to the America.

In the coming years we may see many, many more individual brought before justice.

When the American people vote for their next President don't be afraid of change. Change means growth; and growth is good. Forget all the smears you hear, forget all the commercials, listen to the words when a candidate speaks them. These are the words that come from the heart. If a candidate reads a teleprompter, these are not words coming from their heart, they are coming from another's pen. May God grant you the wisdom to choose the person who will best unite this country, it has been divided for such a long, long time. The most important thing you may ever do in your life time is to choose a President that will be good for your children....we owe them that. When you go into that booth your last thoughts should not be of party, loyalty, past relationships, it should be of what is best for your children.

Big Oil

At Least 22 Top McCain Advisers & Fundraisers Have Lobbied For Big Oil

McCain's Big Oil Lobbyists

Rebecca Anderson
Women for McCain Steering Committee
Williams & Jensen
Sunoco

Wayne Berman
National Finance Co-Chairman
Ogilvy Government Relations
Amerada Hess Chevron Texaco American Petroleum Institute

Charlie Black
Senior Political Adviser
BKSH
Occidental Petroleum Corp. Yukos Oil Chinese National Off-Shore Oil Corp.

Carlos Bonilla*
Economic Adviser
Washington Group
Chesapeake Energy

Eric Burgeson**
Fundraiser
Barbour Griffith & Rogers
BP

Kerry Cammack
Fundraiser
Cammack and Strong
Exxon Mobil

Frank Donatelli
McCain Pick as Deputy RNC Chair
McGuire Woods
Exxon Mobil Dominion Resources

Melissa Edwards
Fundraiser
Washington Group
Chesapeake Energy

John Green
Congressional Liaison
Ogilvy Government Relations
Amerada-Hess Chevon Texaco El Paso Energy American Petroleum Institute

Robert Harding
Fundraiser
Greenberg Traurig
Chevron Murphy Oil Phillips Petroleum Company***

Richard Hohlt
Fundraiser
Hohlt and Associates
Chevron

James "Jim" Hyland
Fundraiser
Pennsylvania Avenue Group
BP America Independent Fuel Terminal Operators Assoc. Occidental Petroleum Corp.

Peter Madigan
Fundraiser
Johnson, Madigan, Peck, Boland & Stewart
Shell Oil

Susan Molinari
Women for McCain Steering Committee
Washington Group
Chesapeake Energy

Jack Oliver
Fundraiser
Bryan Cave Strategies
Shell Oil

Nancy Pfotenhauer
Adviser
Koch Industries
Koch Industries

Steve Phillips
Fundraiser
DLA Piper
BP America Occidental Petroleum

Elise Pickering
Women for McCain Steering Committee
Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti
Koch Industries

Sloan Rappoport
Fundraiser
Downey McGrath Group
Koch Industries

Matt Salmon
Fundraiser
Greenberg Traurig
El Paso Energy

Randy Scheunemann
Defense and Foreign Policy Coordinator
Scheunemann and Associates
BP Amoco

Jeffrey Weiss
Fundraiser
BKSH
Yukos Oil Company


Did you ever wonder why Republicans always give big Tax Breaks to Oil Companies?

Well you don't have to wonder any longer.

Maybe part of those high gas prices are paying for McCain's Attack Ads.

The Word According to McCain

Dateline: May 16th, 2008 John McCain is a guest on Fox News Hannity Show. McCain states he would only cut taxes and would never, never raise taxes. Hannity asked McCain "NEVER", and McCain replies "NEVER"

Dateline: July 7th, 2008 John McCain at a Denver Town hall Meeting. Senator Obama will raise all your taxes, but I promise you my friends, I will never, never raise your taxes. My friends, I promise you this.


Dateline: July 29, 2008 McCain changes his mind (flip-flops) so to speak and announces that he will raise payroll taxes on Social Security, despite the angry rebukes from his own Republican Colleagues.

OK, let's not panic, stay calm, breath. The possibilities are as follows.

1. He lied to Hannity at Fox News.

2. He didn't remember what he told Hannity.

3. He didn't want Denver to know he was raising the payroll tax.

4. He knew his fellow GOP would be _issed.

5. He knows the people will be pis_ed.

Dateline: January 4, 2008. Derry, New Hampshire Town Hall Meeting

Question. Bush says 50 years in Iraq, true?

McCain. Make that a hundred. Look we been in Korea 50 years. And in

Japan for sixty years, so why not 100 years in Iraq.

Dateline: January 25, 2008 CNN interview: Situation Room

Wolf Blitzer: The Iraq government has embraced Obama's time table of 16 months.

McCain: Malki says it's a pretty good time table. He then added "it's a pretty good time table based on ground conditions.

What did He say?

John McCain just went from 100 years to 16 month, based on ground conditions.

Let's take stock here.

According the videos posted at the beginning of the article.

John has flip- flopped on Gay Marriage, Ethanol, No Taxes Increases, Iraq War Time line. We know if elected the Republicans will not improve Veteran's Benefits, Health Care will fall by the wayside, Education will continued to flounder, Infrastructure will continue to deteriorate, the rich will again get the tax breaks, the middle class will not. Jobs will continue to leave the United States for Columbia and Mexico because of unprotected Free Trade Agreements, Our Seniors will continue to suffer and our economy will stay in the toilet right where President Bush put it.

Don't you just love politics.

Hey Senator Surge

Time for a little "truth" telling Senator Surge. For the last several months we have been listening to you saturate the airwaves with nonsense that you and you alone can protect this nation.


While, you have taken sole credit for the "surge" in Iraq you have failed to realize that the downturn of violence in Iraq has lead to an increase of violence in Afghanistan.


Indeed, in the last two months there have been more deaths in Afghanistan than in Iraq. It is widely known amongst coalition forces that Al-Qaeda is now in Afghanistan providing logistics and financing to the Taliban. Several days ago nine US soldiers were killed and fifteen others were wounded when the Taliban attached a US forward base in Kunar province. Insurgents in Pakistan are crossing the border into Afghanistan to join the fighting. That's the Afghan/Pakistan border, not the Iraq/Pakistan border as you wrongly asserted on Good Morning America. In order to secure a border you must first know where said border is. Senator Obama has been calling for reinforcements for Afghanistan for the last sixteen months. You on the other hand waited until a progress report on the security and stability in Afghanistan went to the Congress several weeks ago. It was only at this point that you considered more troops were needed in Afghanistan. Michael E. O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institute and the International Crisis Group's joint study on terrorism have described Afghanistan as extremely volatile. My friend, my friend if you had attended even one committee meeting on Afghanistan you would have realized months ago the deteriorating state of this forgotten war. Of course Senator your absence at every meeting was duly noted.

For someone who has staked his whole campaign on the Iraq war, I was utterly astounded when you told Katie Couric of CBS that the Anbar or Sunni Awakening followed the Surge, when in reality the Anbar Awakening preceded the Surge by almost four months. My friend that is a matter of recorded history.

Joe Klein of Time Magazine stated McCain's assertions as"pure nonsense"

In the beginning you promised the Nation a very civil and respectful campaign. You criticized Senator Obama for not visiting Iraq. Now that he has done that you criticized him for going. Was this jealousy on your part? Several weeks ago you visited Canada and Columbia to promote Free Trade. No criticism there, right John. Yesterday, you accused Senator Obama of being willing to lose a war in order to win the Presidency. More respect on your part, Senator? You accused him of putting the Nation at risk because of his inexperience. This must be the civility you spoke of several months ago. The only Candidate who has Presidential experience is one who is running for a second term. But even with all these remarks and derogatory insults about Obama that are coming out of your own mouth, Senator Obama continues to tell the people that you Sir are a war hero. That is respect Senator McCain. You seemed to have forgotten what respect means. You, Sir have fallen drastically short of the campaign you promised in the beginning.

You have surrounded yourself with campaign advisers of questionable reputations. Charlie Black's lobbying firm has represented dictators like Marcos, Mobutu of Zaire and Savimbi of Angola. Carly Fiorina while with HP tried to circumvent the trade boycott of Iran. Joe Lieberman and Lindsay Graham were both advising Vets for Freedom, a 527 group not unlike The Swift Boat Vets . And yet these are the advisers who have been allowed to stay with your campaign.

I could point out many more gaffes you have made in the last two months, but the only thing I must add is your shameful reputation and voting record when it comes to representing the Veterans of this country. You receive a 100% disability pension, tax free I might add, and you have denied every improvement that these brave men, not only need but surely deserve. How any one millionaire veteran like yourself allows other veteran to be homeless is beyond comprehension.

My friend, my friend please explained to the Veterans of American how Walter Reed Surgical Hospital once the "Crown Jewel" of the US Military has become known as the Dungeons of Building 18, under your watch.

Now that the cameras are focusing on you, an apology and I'll do better somehow just doesn't cut the mustard; it's what you did when no one was looking that counts.