Ron Howard, Andy Griffith & Henry Winkler for Obama
See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die
Chris Matthews skewers Palin
This is just too fun not to post.
Message to McCain about Rape and Choice
I haven’t talked about it much in years, but when I was in college I was raped and became pregnant, and within a short period of time miscarried. The idea that I would be forced to carry a baby to term against my will by the McCain/Palin government makes me more than a little angry. And the truth is that although I choose not to deal with this issue as though it’s something that is behind me and I’ve moved on from — that’s a real mistake in my outlook. It’s not as though I or any woman I know is suddenly safe from being raped because I dealt with the past event emotionally and overcame. This is still an issue for me and should be for every woman.
Let me refresh your memory with a clip from last night on where John McCain stands on the issue of choice and women’s health:
CNN: Money Fact check: Plumber Joe’s taxes
According to CNN Money small business owners will not see an increase in taxes.
McCain has entrepreneurs spooked about tax hikes, but fewer than 2% of small business owners (that you can check them out here) would pay more under Obama’s plan.
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Should small business owners fear for their wallets if Obama is elected? Not the vast majority, business and tax experts say.
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Third, even if you’re one of the rare business owners making enough money to be affected by Obama’s proposed tax increases, you still won’t see a big hike in your tax bill.
McCain’s claim that Obama “will increase taxes on 50% of small business revenue” – the line he used in the second presidential debate – is incorrect because of how income is taxed.
If a business owner falls into the top bracket, that doesn’t mean that all of his or her income is taxed at the highest level.
For example: If a small-business owner makes $210,000 in taxable income, he edges into the 33% bracket, one of the two top tax rates that Obama would like to raise.
But he would pay the higher tax only on the amount that exceeds the cutoff – in 2007, the two top tax rates applied to single filers with income of $160,850 or more and joint filers with income of at least $195,850. As a single filer, this business owner would see his federal taxes increase $1,475 under Obama’s plan, which calls for raising the 33% tax rate to 36%.
“While Obama does favor raising the top two rates, the quote is not true because not all the small business income of those in the top two rates is taxed at the 33% and 35% rates,” said Gerald Prante, a senior economist at the nonpartisan Tax Foundation.
The bottom line: McCain’s claim only works by using an overly broad definition of what counts as a “small business” – and even with that definition, fewer than 2% of business owners would be hit by Obama’s proposed rate increase. For those who are affected, the increase would be levied only on a part of their earnings, not all of them.
The Debate in 90 Seconds
The few things that jumped out at me — John McCain does “air quotes” while talking about the health of the mother in emergency abortion situations — so apparently the health of the mother is irrelevant? Wow.
So let me get the Republican position straight here — when I get raped, I’ll be forced to give birth against my will, and if my life is in danger because of the baby I’m forced to breed, let me die so that rape baby can live? Yeah, that pretty much sums up the McCain/Palin position. Which make me want to go get a hysterectomy as a defensive measure, frankly. I don’t want kids — and I damn sure don’t want to be thrown in the McCain/Palin breeding camps when the mad max apocalypse comes here in the next couple months due to Bush/McCain economic policies.
Wow, what was I talking about? Oh, the debate. Yes. Also, did you notice this Obama moment: “I associate with” … list of people…. Dick Lugar… “and these are the people I’ll surround myself with in the White House.” — Did he just name Lugar as a cabinet member? I’m on board with that. Good On.
Also — it’s pretty clear that Walnuts hasn’t been watching YouTube, because actually said “I’m proud of all the supporters at our rallies” – despite half a dozen videos of racist fucks with monkey dolls shouting violent threats, many of which I’ve played here on my blog. You’re proud of those folks? Okay — you get to own them, then.
In general, Walnuts was angry all the time, Obama was cool and collected. Obama wins. Here’s a nice video of Walnuts rolling his eyes and gritting his teeth and being all mad and stuff. Because we need a hothead in the White House right now, ya know.
Best of the Worst: McCain Mobs Compiled
Brave New Films and Color of Change have compiled the “best of the worst” video footage of lynch mob-like crowds attending McCain/Palin rallies over the past several weeks, documenting the racism and violent threats.
Color of Change is sending a public letter to their campaign asking them to take responsibility for changing the tone of the rallies they’re putting together, and asking people to rethink their behavior.
More Racist McCain Supporters
Anyone who’s resisted the idea that there are racist McCain supporters out there won’t be able to get past this video. As Ta-nehisi Coates at the Atlantic points out — It’s not just disturbing that this guy is so obviously evil, but it’s further upsetting that the no one in the crowd around him admonishes him for his open racism. The banality of evil, indeed.
I also find it really sad and upsetting that they’re employing one of my favorite childhood book characters to make racist attacks. Poor Curious George.
More than just the last couple weeks
Over the weekend, we got caught up on watching our saved Rachel Maddow shows — one thing that struck me was than when she interviewed Pat Buchanan, he keep going to the same talking point — “McCain is suffering in the polls over the last three weeks because of the economy taking a nose dive!”
And McCain is on that meme now, as noted in the Huffington Post: “the economy has hurt us a little bit in the last week or two.”
The trouble is, this economic crisis DIDN’T JUST START a couple of weeks ago. It’s been going on for the middle class for a long time.
Way back on July 2nd I noted that my friends and family were having difficulties caused by our crappy economy, and I started tallying up how many people I was worried about.
On July 23rd, I posted about Matt Taibbi’s article in Rolling Stone “It’s a Class War, Stupid” about the economic crisis that was looming over us — and I actually called it a depression then.
This economic crisis didn’t start with the stock market. It started with employment problems and financial issues quite some time ago. The poor and the middle class have been struggling for a long time, and it’s only just now trickled up to the financial sector.
The difference is that the candidate Obama knows that — and has known for a long time; he’s been talking about domestic and economic issues throughout his campaign. McCain thinks it’s just now happening because it’s just now that his rich friends are affected.
Even more crazy McCain crowds
I updated my post from earlier this morning with even more news of death threats issued to Obama during McCain rallies this week. (Threats of “off with his head” came out this morning reported by the Wall Street Journal.)
Here are even more sidewalk interviews with angry McCain supporters who are waiting to get into a McCain/Palin rally:
It’s one thing for Malkin to throw out the meme of “Obama’s a terrorist” but when McCain is actively stoking that rhetoric at his rallies, he’s on completely immoral and unethical grounds — and it’s a really unprecedented turn in American politics and for a candidate for President. The country may be in real turmoil, but that doesn’t warrant this kind of sea change in the language of civil discourse. This may be one of the clearest signals of the end of The Great Experiment that we’ve seen.
The Dangerously Angry Crowds of McCain and Palin
In the past, politicians with honor would correct and shape the crowds who attended their rallies when they shouted things that were incorrect or unfair to their opponents. But in the past two weeks, McCain and Palin have been egging their crowds on in ways that are loathsome and potentially dangerous to Obama and his Democratic supporters.
Politico is reporting this morning about the frenzied mob that attended McCain’s recent rally:
My colleague Amie Parnes, with the GOP ticket today in Wisconsin, sends along an exchange at a town hall meeting:
A man stood up and said, “I’m mad. I’m really mad, and what’s going to surprise you, it’s not about the economy. It’s about the socialists taking over our country.”
“When you have Obama, Pelosi and the rest of the hooligans up there gonna run this country. We gotta have our head examined. It’s time that you two are representing us and we are mad. So go get ’em!”
The crowd erupted in “USA! USA! USA!” chants.
Then McCain replied: “Well, I — I think I got the message. Could I just say, the gentleman is right.” McCain then went on about how it was true that Americans are angry.
The crowds entering McCain rallies are no better than those inside:
At several Palin rallies over the past week, crowds also went crazy without being corrected by the politician:
Worse, Palin’s routine attacks on the media have begun to spill into ugliness. In Clearwater, arriving reporters were greeted with shouts and taunts by the crowd of about 3,000. Palin then went on to blame Katie Couric’s questions for her “less-than-successful interview with kinda mainstream media.” At that, Palin supporters turned on reporters in the press area, waving thunder sticks and shouting abuse. Others hurled obscenities at a camera crew. One Palin supporter shouted a racial epithet at an African American sound man for a network and told him, “Sit down, boy.”
And another account at that same rally:
The reception had been better in Clearwater, where Palin, speaking to a sea of “Palin Power” and “Sarahcuda” T-shirts, tried to link Obama to the 1960s Weather Underground. “One of his earliest supporters is a man named Bill Ayers,” she said. (“Boooo!” said the crowd.) “And, according to the New York Times, he was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, ‘launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol,’ ” she continued. (“Boooo!” the crowd repeated.)
“Kill him!” proposed one man in the audience.
Palin also told those gathered that Obama doesn’t like American soldiers. “He said that our troops in Afghanistan are just, quote, ‘air-raiding villages and killing civilians,’ ” she said, drawing boos from a crowd that had not been told Obama was actually appealing for more troops in Afghanistan.
This behavior on the part of the crowds, and the lack of chastising by the candidates at the podium is really unprecedented. It’s an ugly change in tone for politics, and sets the table for something serious or violent to occur. McCain and Palin have a moral responsibility to object to violent, racist or misguided statements or behavior of the crowds at their rallies.
Obama has a great response to McCain’s crazy name-calling on the road: Say it to my face at a debate, Buster.
UPDATE: After I posted this, I found yet another article — Wednesday, McCain spoke to a crowd in Pennsylvania, where a crowd member shouted in reference to Obama — “Off with his head!” according to the Wall Street Journal.
That’s some scary stuff, yo.
Let me point out, since it briefly surfaced in the mainstream but no one has made a big deal about it — there have been TWO assassination attempts on Obama already. Twice the Secret Service has foiled an angry nut with a guy attempting to get near the candidate.
This sort of rhetoric on the part of the McCain/Palin campaign is dangerous and needs to end before it gets out of hand.