Daily Archives: 10/04/2008

(Community Matters) It passed, though a lot uglier – special tax breaks and a whole lot of other provisions (including some good ones). It could have included more puntative equity kickers from those coming to the bailout window. Could have, would have, should have . . .

Will it work? No one knows. We only know what didn’t work in 1930, i.e., doing nothing to inject liquidity and restore confidence.

Our own Congressman Lloyd Doggett refused to support the bailout. As his comment to my blog – which I elevated to a separate posting further below – indicates, I had just the week prior written asking that he protect taxpayers by requiring equity participation in the form of stock or warrants as well as requiring oversight. Our Democratic Congressional leadership did a decent job at this. The administration’s first bill included no oversight or equity participation. The bill offered on the House floor included both as well as traunches of funding instead of the full $700B and foreclosure relief.

I’ve got to give Lloyd the benefit of the doubt. And, it’s certainly only fair to acknowledge Lloyd’s well-deserved track record as a fiscal conservative, individually and personally.

Yet, I can’t help the deja vu I feeling that he’s unwilling to stand up against populist opposition, whether or not in the better interest. The most pointed personal example his early refusal to stand up for gay/lesbian workplace nondiscrimination. He tried disguising that failure of courage behind a principle of not co-sponsoring legislation, though he did co-sponsor other bills.

The late Jake Pickle was one of five southern Democrats with the courage to vote for the 1964 civil rights legislation. It could have cost him his congressional seat, though it didn’t. While there are many reasons why I continue to support Lloyd Doggett, his courage and willingness to lead even in the face of populist opposition isn’t one of them.

Will the bailout work? Will taxpayer money be invested wisely? Will the Secretary of the Treasury negotiate as shrewdly as when he was chairman of Goldman Sachs? Will Congress exercise professional oversight rather than politic football? And, will mortgage holders seeking relief be subject to objective scrutiny to ensure they didn’t game the system? I don’t have a crystal ball but I am an optimist, and in times of crisis I believe individual Americans put forth their best. Regrettably, as we saw just after 9/11 and during the wars, some of corporate America behaves at its worst, pigs at the trough of public largess.

(Community Matters) Yesterday we confirmed the following events:

Oct 14:

4:30 Campaign briefing at the Headliners, $1,000 to attend/$10,000 hosts. Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett and Democratic Strategist/key Obama Field Organizer, Paul Tewes

6:30 Happy Hour with Paul Tewes (tbd)

8:30 Dinner with Valerie Jarrett and Paul Tewes
$28,500 per couple

in Dallas: Dinner with former President Bill Clinton
$28,500 per couple

(and still our 10/15 Debate Watch Party at our house)

perfect timing for my visit with favorites Amy Everhart and Ian Davis. They were here when the call came in confirming Valerie & Paul’s visit. The happy hour logistics are still being worked out. Definitely want to make it an event for all the Obamaites who’ve volunteered or might want to volunteer for phone banking & GOTV here in Austin, around Texas and in the battle ground states.

(Community Matters) Amanda has pulled together going on 400 volunteers from Austin high-tech companies to descend on Govalle Elementary School this coming Friday. They’ll landscape, paint, build, tutor, fix and otherwise transform this campus in about 8 hours. I wouldn’t miss this Entrepreneurs Foundation Fall Service Day except that it’s my and Steven’s delayed vacation. We’re taking a few days in San Francisco in lieu of our two weeks overseas this summer, during which I didn’t want to leave since Michael was starting his treatment.

(Community Matters) Great lunch with Equality Texas’ Paul Scott yesterday. Wow, this organization has really evolved to the level Bettie Naylor, Glen Maxey & Diane Hardy Garcia worked so hard to see. Paul and I talked about alliances, fundraising and personal history. I’m hoping Steven and I get to know him and his partner, Scott, better and hoping to help the organization next year.

(Community Matters) from Baikal on AAS blog site:

IRAQ & MILITARY AFFAIRS*

• Skipped over a dozen votes on Iraq in the Senate. (source)
• “Because I know that as successful as I believe we will be, and I believe that the success will be fairly easy, we will still lose some American young men or women.” (source)
• “We’re not going to get into house-to-house fighting in Baghdad. We may have to take out buildings, but we’re not going to have a bloodletting of trading American bodies for Iraqi bodies.” (source)
• “But the point is that, one, we will win this conflict. We will win it easily.” (source)
• “But I believe, Katie, that the Iraqi people will greet us as liberators.” (source)
• “It’s clear that the end is very much in sight.” (source)
• Was indirectly responsible for the deaths of 21 shopkeepers in Baghdad’s Shorja marketplace, after visiting and saying it was perfectly safe.(source)
• “There are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk through those neighborhoods today.” (source)
• “General Petraeus goes out there [Iraq] almost everyday in an unarmored Humvee.” (source)
• “I meant that there are neighborhoods that are safe in Iraq, and he does go out into Baghdad, and the fact is there has been significant progress…” (source)
• “I’m not say that they [VIPs] could go without protection. The president goes around America with protection. So I certainly didn’t say that.” (source)
• Unidentified Reporter: “[On 26 Mar] You said there are areas in Baghdad that you can walk around freely.” McCain: “Yeah, I just came from one.” (source)
• McCain’s escort through Shorja was 100+ soldiers, sniper teams, 10 armored humvees, 3 blackhawk helicopters, 2 apache gunships, predator drone coverage; McCain was wearing a bulletproof vest and allowed to take off his helmet only when authorized. (source)
• Says that Obama can’t understand Iraq since he hasn’t been there since 2006. (source)
• Voted against extending troop deployment times in the USA to match deployment times in Iraq. (source)
• Voted against repealing a capital gains tax cut which would have funded soldiers. (source)
• Voted consistently from 2003-2007 against additional funding for Walter Reed Army Medical Center. (source 1, source 2, source 3)
• Voted to table a bill that would have provided funding and equipment for Guard and Reserve units. (source)
• Voted against additional funding for the mental health care of troops. (source)
• Actively opposed the GI Bill that would increase education benefits to soldiers; was one of three senators who didn’t vote on it; one was in the hospital and one was at a funeral; he was campaigning. (source)
• When asked if he had an idea of when troops would be coming home, said “No, but that’s not too important. What’s important is the casualties in Iraq. (source)

*ECONOMICS*

• “I’m going to be honest: I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues. I still need to be educated.” Denied saying this in a primary debate. (source)
• “The issues of economics is not something I’ve understood as well as I should.” (source)
• Added Arthur Laffer and Phil Gramm to his campaign economics staff. (source 1, source 2)
• “I don’t have the kind of expertise to know exactly whether he has cut interest rates sufficiently or not.” (source)
• Debate question, are Americans better off than they were 8 years ago: “I think you could argue that Americans overall are better off, because we have had a pretty good prosperous time, with low unemployment and low inflation and a lot of good things have happened. A lot of jobs have been created.” (source)
• Today Show, soon after, when asked the same question: “Oh no. No.” Bloomberg TV, same question: “In fact, I think Americans are not better off than they were eight years ago, when you look at what’s happened to middle-income Americans.” (source)
• Says that he can save $100 billion by cutting earmarks; campaign later denies this claim. Has said saving $100B would not come from military; this would necessitate a 18.5% across the board cut in every other discretionary spending program, including education, veteran’s health, highways. (source)
• Favors repealing the alternative minimums tax, 90% of the benefits going to six-figure families; this would cost $1.6 trillion over 10 years; claim of an average of $2000/family mostly weighted by highest earners.(source)
• Says that Obama and Clinton want to create the largest tax increase since WW2; it would be the fifth-largest and is not even an increase, but merely allowing Bush’s cuts to expire. (source)
• Opposed Bush’s tax cuts, then supported Bush’s tax cuts. (source)
• Wants to cut capital gains taxes. (source)
• Wants to remove federal gasoline taxes. (source)
• Claimed that 401ks are taxed by the capital gains tax (they are not) and used this to further his point that “[Obama] obviously doesn’t understand the economy.” (source)
• Claimed Obama wanted to double the capital gains tax; Obama said no more than double (which is what it was under Clinton) and probably much lower. (source)
• Has 118 lobbyists working for his campaign. (source )
• Has Phil Gramm as a chief economic advisor, even though he opposed cracking down on tax havens, like those used by bin Laden, shortly after the 9/11 attacks. (source )
• Phil Gramm has a slight lobbying problem re: the mortgage crisis. (source)
• Hey, Phil Gramm and Enron were joined at the hip! (source)(source)(source)

*FOREIGN POLICY & COUNTER-TERRORISM*

• On The Daily Show (source):

STEWART: There was one comment– and this could have been taken out of context as well– you felt that Hamas endorsed Obama? Did they officially–
McCAIN: A spokesperson from Hamas said they wanted Senator Obama, but that’s– that’s —
STEWART: Do you feel bad you said that? Because that is– if you think about it–
McCAIN: A spokesperson said that, and I think —
STEWART: And you take Hamas at their word?
McCAIN: No, but it’s indicative of how some of our enemies view America. I guarantee you, they’re not going to endorse me.

• Says talking to Hamas is naive; two years prior, in an interview with James Rubin of Sky News, said that negotiations with Hamas were inevitable, and the current (Bush) admin had to get used to that; in 2003 had said that even though Syria sponsored and harbored terrorists, it was worth talking to them. (source)
• Was in favor of negotiations with Cuba; no longer is. (source)
• Constantly confuses Shia and Sunni. (source)
• “There’s not a history of clashes that are violent between Sunnis and Shiahs. So I think they can probably get along.” (source)
• “One of the things I would do if I were President would be to sit the Shiites and the Sunnis down and say, ‘Stop the bullsh*t.'” (source)
• Says that Al Qaeda get training in Iran (source)
• Insists that Ahmadinejad was the leader of Iran, not Khamenei, despite reality being what it is.(source)
• Concerning Cheney: “I don’t know if I would want him as vice president. He and I have the same strengths. But to serve in other capacities? Hell, yeah.” (source)
• McCain refuses to answer a question about whether or not he supports Bush’s abstinence-only policy in Africa; when asked if he supported condom distribution, was silent; when asked about his policy on sex ed in the USA, said “I think I support the president’s policy;” when asked if he thought contraceptives helped stop the spread of HIV, said “You’ve stumped me.” Asked an aide for his policy paper on the subject; couldn’t find it; finished by saying “I’ve never gotten into these issues before.” (source)
• “We have had some success working with the Pakistanis in a low visible fashion. Should they be more helpful? Of course they should be. Should the Saudis be more helpful? Should the Jordanians be more helpful? Should the Egyptians? We are giving billions of dollars a year to the Egyptians, as you know, and they should be more helpful. Should the Mexicans be more helpful? Everybody should be more helpful.” (source)
• Republican John McCain’s campaign accused Barack Obama of having a dangerous and naive Sept. 10 mind-set toward terrorism because the Democrat spoke approvingly of the successful prosecution and imprisonment of those responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center bombings. (source)
• At a Town Hall meeting, was asked why we haven’t caught bin Laden yet; McCain got pissed, started rambling about the Diamondbacks and Yankees and Rudy Giuliani on a screen, said as President, Bin Laden would be caught (Guess this means Bin Laden is still safe for another few months) and people were laughing that McCain wasn’t answering the question.

*ETHICS*

• Moved to Arizona for political reasons; the day after his predecessor announced his upcoming retirement, Cindy bought a house in the district. (source)
• Was elected to congress in part due to his friendship with Darrow Tully, publisher of the AZ Republic, who gave him free editorial space; did not comment when Tully’s numerous war stories about himself (Tully) were revealed to be all lies.(source)
• Was part of the Keating Five. (source)
• Vigorously lobbied to have investigations of his friend Gov. Fife Symington halted; Symington was convicted of bank fraud, to which McCain said that Symington had been running the state well; when a different governor fell under similar circumstances, McCain went after him; when it was suggested that he showed preference to Symington that he didn’t show to Mecham, said “I really won’t answer that kind of insinuation… I do what’s best for the state. I do what’s best for the country.” (source)
• Voted to convict Bill Clinton on impeachment charges. (source)
• Chief Advisor of McCain’s campaign, Charlie Black, lobbied for numerous dictators in Asia and Africa; Black said he didn’t do anything wrong. (source 1, source 2)
• Richard Davis is one of McCain’s friends, advisers, and campaign chairs; Davis was paid $395,000 to lobby on behalf of the telecom industry; McCain, as chairman of the Commerce Committee, supported a Cablevision bid despite a government report saying that it would lead to higher prices. (source)
• Two campaign staffers forced to resign; they had lobbied on behalf of Myanmar’s repressive government in 2002. (source)
• Cindy, after an AP article outed her, sells her investments in mutual funds that invested in the Sudanese government. (source)
• Suggested that, as a new idea, like divestment from South Africa to fight apartheid, we should divest from Iran; a bipartisan bill presented by Obama and Brownback in 2007 said just that exact same thing; McCain voted against it; one of his main campaign advisers lobbies for an Iranian steel company; McCain opposed divestment from South Africa at the time. (source 1, source 2, source 3, source 4, source 5, source 6)
• Used a picture of Gen. Petraeus in fundraising material (military members are not allowed to do this, and it was done without Petreaus’ knowledge or approval). (source)
• Collects $58,000 per year from the government in disability. (source)
• Refuses to return money taken from a fundraiser hosted by Clayton Williams, who said of rape, “As long as it’s inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it.” (source)

*TORTURE & SURVEILLANCE*

• Having been tortured for five years, joined the party that prolonged his torture and blasted Romney at a debate for supporting torture. (source)
• Now McCain himself supports torture. (source)
• Voted against legal definitions of torture. (source)
• After the Supreme Court ruled that Guantanamo prisoners have some rights, “The United States Supreme Court yesterday rendered a decision which I think is one of the worst decisions in the history of this country,” McCain said. He went on to quote from Justice Roberts dissent in the case, rail against “unaccountable judges,” and say that the courts are about to be clogged with cases from detainees. Called it a case about “so-called, ‘Habeas Corpus,’ suits.” (source)
• Says that Bush’s warrantless wiretaps are legal. (source)

*KATRINA*

• Ate birthday cake with President Bush several hours after the levees at New Orleans broke; later, McCain blasted Bush’s tepid and slow response. (source)
• Voted against the Katrina Commission (twice). (source)
• Voted against extended Medicaid access for Katrina victims. (source)
• Voted against extended unemployment assistance for Katrina victims. (source)

*ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT*

• Said he supported a cap-and-trade system, but no mandatory caps. (source)
• Supports clean coal. (source)
• Wants to end the offshore drilling ban of 1981 (opponents include Republican Governors Schwarzenegger and Crist). (source)
• Voted against Everglades restoration. (source)
• Voted against closing a future market loophole that led to the Enron disasters in California; said the market needed less regulation, not more; the money saved from closing this loophole would have reduced medical and pharmaceutical copays for soldiers. (source)
• “Moderate” on environmental and energy issues… ? (source)
• Oil lobbyists? In MY campaign? (source)
• Voted against the Clean Air Act. (Citation needed.)

*DOMESTIC ISSUES*

• Voted against the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday; later said that he didn’t know much about MLK at the time, and that “I had not really been involved in the issue.” (source)
• “Still,…McCain has yet to find his voice on domestic issues–his response to a question about crime among teen girls veered from a Little Rock mentoring program to Nicaraguan drug lords to securing the Mexican border to the rural meth epidemic, then ended with the not-so-confident words, “I intend to enlist the help of the people who know these problems best.” (source)
• “I’m not for, quote, privatizing social security; I never have been, I never will be.” Then… “Without privatization, I don’t see how you can possibly over time make sure that young Americans are able to receive social security benefits.” (source)
• Does not support Amtrak. (source)
• Voted against the ERA. (Citation needed.)
• Voted in favor of tobacco subsidies. (Citation needed.)

*RIGHT-WING LUNACY*

• Said that the nation is founded on “Christian principles.” (source)
• Is in favor of prayer in public schools. (source)
• The description of McCain’s autobiography is by the author of The Unmaking Of Americans: How Multiculturalism has Undermined the Assimilation Ethic and Our Oldest Enemy: A History of America’s Disastrous Relationship with France. (source)
• When asked to name an inspirational author, said “Joel Osteen.” (source)
• Was against intelligent design being taught in schools; now supports it. (source 1, source 2)
• Describes Roberts, Alito his favorite justices. (source)
• Campaign actively sought Hagee’s endorsement until the “Hitler was a hunter” video came out. (source 1, source 2)

*AWFUL CAMPAIGNING*

• Calls Obama an elitist; sells golf equipment on his website. (source)
• His campaign stole a recipe from Rachel Ray / the Food Network website for Cindy’s website; was called on it; did it again with another recipe from the Hershey’s website. (source)
• “That’s not change we can believe in.” (source)
• “The media often overlooked how compassionately [Hillary] spoke to the concerns and dreams of millions.” Three days later denied saying this: “I did not [say that], that was in prepared remarks, and I did not [say it], I’m not in the business of commenting on the press and their coverage or not coverage” (source)
• Campaign staff didn’t know enough about computers to disable comments on campaign youtube videos.
• Campaign staff didn’t know enough about computers to disable comments on website store.

*NAVY CAREER & VIETNAM*

• Finished fifth from last in his class of 899 at Annapolis. (source)
• During the Vietnam war, wanted to bomb Soviet ships and thus initiate a third world war; during the Vietnam war, said he wanted to bomb more than military targets. (source)
• Blamed POW collaboration with NVA forces on “the divisive forces which had come into focus as a result of the antiwar movement in the United States.” (source)
• “I hated the gooks. I will hate them as long as I live.” (source)

*FAMILY MATTERS*

• Divorced his first wife Carol, who had waited for him while he was in Vietnam, who had been in a horrible car accident, for a multi-millionaire heiress he had met a year before the divorce; married Cindy one month after the divorce. (source)
• Admitted and was widely known to being unfaithful during his first marriage. (source)
• Cindy stole prescription medication to feed an addiction for 3 years; Cindy was accused (never convicted) of threatening an employee to keep quiet about the thefts. (source)
• His daughter did not switch parties from Independent to Republican until 2008. (source)
• Was revealed along with his wife to owe $100,00-250,000 in credit card debt. (source)

*CRAZY AND/OR OUT-OF-TOUCH OLD MAN*

• Constantly refers to his imprisonment by the North Vietnamese. (Various sources.)
• Does not know how to use a computer or the Internet (in 2008!). (source)
• At a Smith & Wesson plant, “I will follow Osama Bin Laden to the gates of hell and I will shoot him with your products.” (source)
• In 1989, flipped Sam Nunn the bird. (source)
• Said to Sen. Pete Domenici, “Only an azzhole would put together a budget like this.” After Domenici told him no one had ever called him that, McCain said “I wouldn’t call you an azzhole unless you were really an azzhole.” (source)
• In 2000 Sen. Grassley said, “Are you calling me stupid?” McCain replied, “I’m calling you a f*cking jerk.” (source)
• Screamed “F*ck you” at John Cornyn on the senate floor, followed by “This is chickenshit stuff,” when asked about provisions of his amnesty bill. (source)
• Keeps on him at all times a lucky compass, lucky feather, lucky penny, and sometimes a lucky rock; an aide carries his lucky pen; always wears his lucky shoes (LL Bean rubber-soled dress shoes). (source)
• “Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno.” (1998) (source)
• “Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Iran” (source)
• Slept through portions of Bush’s 2007 State of the Union address (source)
• Called the League of Democracies the “League of Nations.” (source)
• “I will veto every single beer.” (source)
• “We should be able to deliver hot water to dehydrated babies.” (source)

(Community Matters)  More on dirty tricks. I’m reading an email saying the Texas Secretary of State has aribitrarily decided counties can reject voter registration cards that don’t include drivers’ license numbers, unless they’ve checked a box declaring not to have one. Am being told this has never been required before.  Of course, this true here in the final days of voter registration after Ds have registered tens of thousands (hundreds of thousands?) of new voters.

(Community Matters) A friend recently received the following letter. He’s only given financially to two politically oriented organizations. He checked with the other and their donor lists are confidential. He believes his name was obtained from public records of Obama donors.

Americans For Limited Government Foundation http://www.getliberty.org 9900 Main Street Fairfax, VA 22031
Phone: 703.383.0880
Fax: 703.383.5288
info@getliberty.org

Dear Mr. [redacted],

Recently a new left-wing organization announed that it would be targeting donors to conservative, free-market organizations. The major press announcement stated that the organization intended to engage in such activities as “public exposure,” having “watchdog groups digging through the lives” of these individuals, and “possible legal trouble.”

As someone who has been put through that abuse over the years, I can tell you from first-hand experience that it is not fun and not something to take lightly. I have supported groups and efforts that I believe will push back against the radical agenda of the Left. And, I have paid the price for it, in attacks, slurs and threats.

As a donor to one or more of these organizations and efforts, you have been able to engage in these activities without notice, operating in relative obscurity. I am writing to inform you that this will no longer be the case.

Your name has been put in our database. We are monitoring all reports of a wide variety of leftist organizations. As your name appears in subsequent reports, it is our intent to publicize you involvement in your local community. Should any of these organizations be found to be engaged in illegal or questionable activity, it is our intent to publicize your involvement with those activities. You should know that instances of coordinated voter fraud are surfacing all across America and investigations into possible criminal coordination are underway.

For your review, I have enclosed a memorandum from our legal counsel.

Sincerely,
Howard Rich
Chariman

the memorandum evidently a legal brief that prattles on about interfering with elections.

Reminding me of the letters being sent by Virginia Republicans misleadingly threatening university students against registering in Virginia rather than their parent’s home state. Those letters containing ridiculous statements about parental income tax deductions and college scholarship eligibility. Suppose the nastiness is well underway.