Battling Mis-information, Part 3

It was recently brought to my attention that I haven't blogged about mis-information being spread about McCain. Well, that's a good point. I haven't. So, I spent some time looking for where lies have been spread about the Republican nominee....

I can't find any. Even his campaign isn't refuting what is being said. It's hard to say no, when there's proof of a strong yes. The only things I've even come close to considering mis-information have been due to McCain's own mistakes or his changes of heart/mind. (I guess I can give the guy a little slack, he gets really confused sometimes: "McCain Trips on Spain".)

Maybe you have a particular issue you're worried about, well check it out for yourself here: http://www.ontheissues.org/john_mccain.htm.

During the Republican primaries, he was the middle-right candidate of choice. Now it seems that he is bent on the same militaristic politics and controls as we've seen the last eight years. While some of his social policies vaguely blur into the realm of sanity, his intentions in the area of military conflict are worrisome.

Remember, the President of the United States of America can not directly affect legislation (that's what Congress does), but the President can use his executive privilege to order military actions with repercussions lasting for the span of decades or longer.

McCain and his ol' boys

(You can find this same content where I did: "Obama nails McCain with a great line" on the DemConWatch blog.)

"But it sounds like he got a little carried away, because yesterday, John McCain actually said that if he’s President, he’ll take on the – quote – “ol’ boys network” in Washington. I am not making this up. This is someone who’s been in Congress for twenty-six years – who put seven of the most powerful Washington lobbyists in charge of his campaign – and now he tells us that he’s the one who will take on the ol’ boy network. The ol’ boy network? In the McCain campaign, that’s called a staff meeting."



You can read the full text of the speech here.

Smearing the lipstick

Recently there has been a lot of public focus on "lipstick". At this point, I've come to regard the "lipstick" press as fluff made to distract you from the facts. What's sad is that McCain has been spouting this sort of "lipstick" for quite some time now. (McCain speaking about lipstick and Obama drawing the focus back to the issues.)

So, let's see past the "lipstick" and learn more about Sarah Palin and what policies she brings to the ballot in November. Here's a video clip from MSNBC's Countdown which sifts through what we DON'T know about Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin....

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0M50sM9CZA

Battling Mis-information, Part 2

Check the label on those gourmet crackers McCain is giving you, they might just be dog biscuits.

Take a look at this video and ask yourself how straight the path of the "Straight Talk Express" really is. This is why it is so important that we find the answers ourselves. Don't just believe what you're told, find out for yourself BEFORE you vote away your family, job, or even your life.


URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH0xzsogzAk

I also want to redirect your attention to my post back in June: "The Real McCain" in which I pointed you to "a website dedicated to cutting through the Bush-type Republican crud that McCain brings to the table". See for yourself what games are being played with the people of the USA: The Real McCain.

Battling Mis-information

If there's one thing that has really irked me during this election, it has been the lame and ugly mis-information being spread around about John McCain and Barack Obama. While it's highly unlikely that the American public will see beyond what is thrown at them from TV ads, I've found a couple fact-checking quizzes about the two candidates which I would encourage you take. Once you've seen the facts, I'd encourage to spread the word.

How well do you know John McCain?

How well do you know Barack Obama?

No matter how well you fair, read the facts. You might be surprised by what you find. There's more (or less) to be said about McCain and Obama than the number of houses owned and how "cool" they are.

2008 SelectSmart your candidate

I wanted to go into a bit more detail on what SelectSmart has for the 2008 Presidential candidates, having already mentioned SelectSmart at least twice before in my blog. (Remember, back in March? [INDY Blog])

So, here's the list of options from the current INDY Poll ("INDY Poll: Who would you like to see win the 2008 United States Presidential Election?"). This time I'm linking to each individual's candidate page from SelectSmart. Those pages have really great detailed bullets on where the candidates stand on the issues.

- Constitution: Baldwin / Castle
- Democratic: Obama / Biden
- Green: McKinney / Clemente
- Independent: Nader / Gonzalez
- Libertarian: Barr / Root
- Republican: McCain / Palin

Since only a few of the candidates above have information on SelectSmart, let me also direct your attention to this really cool article in Wikipedia which presents a "Comparison of United States presidential candidates, 2008".

INDY Poll: Who would you like to see win the 2008 United States Presidential Election?

I've made a new INDY Poll available. During convention season, I mentioned that I would make a poll for the 2008 United States Presidential Ballot once all the major parties* had selected their candidates.
* I'm defining a major party as those parties whose candidates appear "on the ballot in enough states to theoretically win a majority in the U.S. Electoral College" [wikipedia]. For a full list of the 2008 candidates check out Wikipedia's "List of candidates in the United States presidential election, 2008".

As always, I encourage you to learn about the candidates, their parties, and where they stand on the issues. I believe that votes should be cast toward the candidate(s) who you feel would best represent your opinions and values in their office. To aid you in that understanding, I am including links to Wikipedia's articles on the candidates' parties, their campaigns, and I will even provide you with links to some helpful online "quizzes".

INDY Poll: Who would you like to see win the 2008 United States Presidential Election?

- Constitution: Baldwin / Castle
- Democratic: Obama / Biden
- Green: McKinney / Clemente
- Independent: Nader / Gonzalez
- Libertarian: Barr / Root
- Republican: McCain / Palin

As of yet, I've only found a couple online "quizzes" that I really like as far as political opinion alignment goes. The number one on my list has always been SelectSmart.

In fact, I'll throw SelectSmart's 2008 Presidential Candidate Selector Widget into the post right here:

(If the widget doesn't show up, just use the link I just provided.)

I came across another quiz today which is also pretty decent. However, it is really only good for aligning you with a candidate on environmental issues, SelectSmart's selectr address an array of issues. Anyhow, here's The Daily Green "Which candidate thinks like you on environmental issues?" quiz.

Once you've got your choice figured out, come jump back over to the INDY Blog and place your vote in the poll. (The poll closes at midnight MDT on November 5th; and you can always change your vote up until that point.)

The human virus and a possible cure

While this video is quite humorous at first glance, the implication is quite unnerving. Humans really have played the role of a destructive cancer in the Earth's recent history.

Humans- Cool Cartoon!
by aniboom

URL: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x53k8k_humans-cool-cartoon_fun

Worry not though, the scientists at CERN will attempt to circulate a beam in the Large Hadron Collider [wikipedia] tomorrow at the injection energy of 450 GeV (0.45 TeV). Some people believe that the "world's largest particle accelerator complex" "might produce dangerous phenomena, including micro black holes" [wikipedia]. So, maybe there's a cure for the human virus afterall! (And it might look something like this....)


URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXzugu39pKM

Personally, I don't think that's going to happen. Better still, if it does happen, we won't be around for long enough to see it coming. (So, technically speaking, I won't even know if I'm wrong.) The test is set to happen sometime between 9:00 to 18:00 CEST (That's 7:00 to 16:00 UTC or 1:00 to 9:00 MDT.)

See you all tomorrow?
-= indy =-

Gov Sarah Palin Will Have To Resign

Trouble for McCain's VP already. Only a few days after Palin was given the thumbs-up by the 72 year old presidential candidate, the Alaskan governor's history of back-alley politics is catching up to her.

1) TrooperGate, where Gov Palin is accused of using her position to fire a state trouper, who's still on the job as of this writing.

2) The news that Palin was part of a group that wanted Alaska to leave the Union.

3) Palin was fundraising director for Senator Ted Stevens' 527 committee.

4) Palin was almost recalled as Mayor of Wasalia, Alaska.

5) She says the Iraq War, costing over 80,000 iraqi lives and several thousand American lives is a war for oil -- she's right, but Republican, so she should not say that.

6) She took earmarks totalling over $197 million, while saying she did not.

Read more from the original post. [DemConWatch]