I saw the advert on this site, and I've heard good things about FireFox, but I am pretty illiterate on this subject, so I am asking my friends here for advice.  I just got my first MacBook, so I have Safari for the internet.  What is different about FireFox, and what do you recommend?  If I download it, will Safari still work?  Why / when would I use one and not the other?

Joe wants back in.  He now respects Barack Obama; the same man who he formerly said did not "put country first."  I won't go over the many quotes, but will he get away with this?  I personally believe that Lieberman was perfectly within his rights to back whomever he thought was the best person (including that BEST PERSON's choice for VEEP).   But once the worm turned, ol' Joe is trying to save himself from himself.

I just saw his new ad, and I heard for the umpteenth time that he has been serving the country since he was 17.  He was born in 1936, which would put make him 17 years old in 1953.  He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1958.  

I never knew that a person could write a blog, put it up for the community, and decline the comments of fellow posters.  "Truthseeker" (an Orwellian name if ever there was one) has done it twice that I am aware of.  It seems to me to defeat one of the very purposes of this site, which I always took to be the give-and-take of ideas.

I am pleased with many of the changes here, and I realize that the things that aren't working for me are likely things I haven't figured out yet.  

I've just been watching Steve McQueen in The Great Escape, a story about American soldiers caught by nasty Germans and held prisoner during WWII.  The soldiers are held in internment camps, and are subjected to verbal and physical abuse.  The Germans are comical although serious, so we will stay scared throughout the movie,  but basically they are a joke.

 

For the most part the Natzis are treated comically as buffoons.

 

How will history treat us?  As buffoons, who line up naked people in a pyramid as though it is a joke?  As though we are justified in saying that we are the only country worth following?  Or should we be AMONG the countries who are leading?

I came across this at Huffpo:

Mr. McCain's advisers said that in his speeches, television advertisements and mailings, he would seize on a remark Mr. Obama made in an encounter with an Ohio voter, Joe Wurzelbacher, who had pressed him to explain his support for a tax increase for upper-income filers. Mr. Obama responded by saying he wanted to "spread the wealth." Mr. McCain repeatedly invoked that encounter with the man, whom he called "Joe the Plumber," during the debate on Wednesday.

"Spread the wealth around: We will focus acutely on that," said Steve Schmidt, Mr. McCain's chief strategist. "Spread the wealth around is a big mistake."

 

 

My question:  What is wrong with Spreading the Wealth?  It rings so much better than "Trickle Down," which republicans have no embarrassment about, even though the wealth has done nothing more than trickle up.  Since so many of them don't believe in Evolution, maybe they don't believe in Gravity either.

 

After watching the mob mentality that has gotten so ugly from the Palin/McCain campaign (make no mistake about the order of the names), I really think that our only hope is that the Rapture myth is true. 

For the uninitiated, the "Rapture" is when all believers get to fly up to heaven at once, leaving everyone else behind.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture.  This is supposed to be a gleeful way to leave the rest of us crashing in planes, and having head-on car collisions, as the "faithful" get called up.

Personally, I think the whole world will be a whole lot better off if this mythical event somehow takes place -- sooner rather than later.

Can anyone imagine how it will be to have a government -- even a world -- that is influenced by science and observation rather than myth?  A government that sees the common good as something other than a commie plot; that sees science as suspect; universal health care as evil?  

Please!  Bring on the Rapture!  Set the world free from your bullshit!  And enjoy your special place in ---wherever you are going --with your equally dense pals who blow themselves and innocents up in the name of their very own raptures.

So Sarah Palin thinks that it is time that the American people got to know Barack Obama?  That is her tag-line/excuse for starting up the William Ayers controversy.

How about letting the American people get to know Sarah Palin?   Where she stands, how she got where she is, what she thinks personally.  Katie Couric tried, but it just "annoyed" the dainty Sarah.  But that same dainty miss can get down into the dirt and throw out barbs and accusations without ever having to defend them.  Why?  Because she is sequestered, and the MS  lets her get away with this drive-by crapola.  No one has had the temerity to ask her ONE single word about TrooperGate!  How absurd is that?

She talked about ol' Joe goin' back into the past, but she goes back to the 60's with Ayers, and McCain loves to go back 40 years to when he was a POW.  TrooperGate is NOW.  Why are there no questions?  Why is she protected by the media as they continue to give her air time?

This is the same person who said it isn't patriotic to pay taxes a day before her tax returns show that she cheated on her own taxes by not claiming her per diem (that paid her for staying in her own house rather than the governor's mansion - which presumably still had to pay for heat and electricity and maintenance whether she was there or not).

The same person who won't answer questions about her own scandals back "up there" in Alaska.

The same person who won't hold a press conference, or answer legitimate questions about who the hell SHE is...

What is wrong with the Corporate Media?  Can they not even PRETEND to be fair?  This drive-by accuser should be ignored until she faces the public herself.  Not one inch of footage should be aired until she acts like a legitimate nominee.

Can we start a petition?  I don't know how to do it, but it seems like it is needed, since she gets to spew her stuff without any accountability.  I am so sick of it!

Any ideas?

According to Sarah she was annoyed with Katie Couric because she didn't let her tell Americans how Obama would raise their taxes and McCain would lower them, and how McCain would save health care.  Well, son of a gun and spit on my shoe!  She is goin' all around Jack Robinson's barn! 

Well, she has the McCain campaign to thank for that:  Sarah, we don't know ya.  You haven't let us get to know ya either.  You have stayed away from reporters, and so Katie was tryin' to give us a window into who ya are...wink, wink!

So, with all respect, your negative comments about Obama carry no more weight than some guy we find ourselves sitting next to at the bus stop until you let us know who the hell you are and where you're comin' from. 

So Katie was right, and you were wrong.  Until you show us that you have put any effort and thought into issues that actually affect our country, we'll wait for ya to get back to us!  Wink! Wink!
(adjusts rack unobtrusively while checking blackberry)

Did anyone see the Meet the Press interview with Bill Clinton?  These are a few highlights:

1.  An old quote from Bill about how McCain is a great man.  Could he say the same about Obama?  Short answer -- NO.  Long answer:  to John McCain, who was a POW and came back never asking for simpathy has served our country; Obama has only served x number of years and so HIS greatness will come when he is President and has the opportunity to do good.  (Not if you can help it, Bill!)

2.  Will he campaign for Obama?  Answer:  Hillary convinced him to do it, and so he will (reluctantly) do whatever he is asked.  (Thanks but no thanks, Bill on that campaigning thingy).

3.  When asked about Africa, Bill brought up 10 countries that have a high opinion of the USA.  Why?  Well, first of all because of George Bush's malaria program!!!!

4.  What does he think of Obama?  Answer: Well, he is smart and has learned alot during the primary -- unspoken message --> he still has alot to learn.

5.  Do you think Palin is taking disaffected women who backed Hillary?  Short answer:  Yes, some of them, because Palin is really impressive.

I could go on but I had to leave.  He clearly wants McCain to win.  There is no doubt in my mind.  He answers as though he has this "integrity thing" that keeps him from saying one single positive thing about Obama, when it is clearly a vengeful small-mindedness.  I am furious with Bill!

Anyone else?

I just had a revelation.  After watching both national candidates for President, and also the Vice Presidential candidates, and just recently the debate between Mark Warner and Jim Gilmore in

On a beautiful sunny day here in Charlottesville, Virginia, on the campus of UVA, they came!  I got there at 2:30 although the event was posted to start at 4:50, but I wanted a good seat.  Turns out I got one of the very few seats, atop a stairwell leading to the Plaza near the bookstore. 

The crowd was peppy and excited.  I saw kids with T-Shirts that said "I'm too young to vote but not too young to hope;" plenty of Obamaville pins and T-Shirts too.  About 20 minutes before the projected start time, some speakers came out and revved up the crowd. 

Tom Periello, the Democratic challenger to the ensconced repub Congressman Virgil Goode, reminded us that if  Obama wins every state that Kerry won, and also Iowa where he is ahead, he will need 11 more electoral votes to win.  Virginia has 13 electoral votes!  That got us all going!

Right on time, Lily, Jill, and Michelle came out looking absolutely great!  Jill started, and she talked about the fact that the polls do not include those who have never voted before; she talked about college loans, health care, and changing our image abroad.  She ended up with a lesson about the Supreme Court, and how the next President will have enormous power in the choices of the next several justices.  This segued into Lily Ledbetter.

Lily is the woman who had a very responsible job with Goodyear Tire company in Alabama, and only when she was just about ready to retire did she find out that she had been paid profoundly less than her male cohorts who had the same job descriptions and responsibilities.  She sued and won.  Goodyear countered, and eventually it went to the Supreme Court, which decided 5/4 for Goodyear because she needed to sue within (I think she said) 6 months of when the salary discrepancy happened -- never mind that Goodyear kept this information from her intentionally.  So she lost, and there is no recourse.  I kind of had the impression that she used to be a republican because she said she would never have expected to back Obama, but she endorsed him just earlier today.  In fact, Obama and Biden co-sponsored a bill to prevent this from happening again -- repubs in the Senate kept it from coming to a vote, but they will try again after the election.  She was a good speaker, very down to earth, and I was glad she came.

Michelle, in her elegance, came next.  She had us all hooting and responding to her, "Fired UP?"  chants.  She then went on to talk about college loans, health care, equal pay for equal work, and pulling the troops safely out of Iraq, and using those funds on our own infrastructure.  She compared the Obama team's goals for our country to those of "the other team."  She never once used McCain's name, and never made disparaging comments; it was a completely positive message, and was just the right length of time too.

The message for today was:  Do your part to get people registered to vote (Deadline for Virginia is October 6th).  It was a joyous occasion, and as we were leaving, there was one coed standing with a McCain sign.  She looked either frightened or like she was going to cry.  I went right next to her and said, "You really have a hard job, don't you?"  Just beyond her was a group of 3 with signs that said "If you don't get born you can't vote."  Pretty lame.

I put those points in just because they were there, but the overwhelming feeling of the day was hope and empowerment, and enthusiasm for this great chance we have to make a difference.  Michelle's last words were, "Let's go and change the world!"

That is what we felt like doing as we went back to our homes.

I won't blame John McCain for floating the idea that Sarah Palin has more experience than anyone running; in a campaign of lies it is just one more.  But please, TPMers, don't fall into that bear trap!

Please stop perpetuating this myth:

Like it or not, she has comparable experience to our nominee..

She has governed a state that pretty much governs itself, but that isn't my point.  James Fallows explains it best:

http://tpzoo.wordpress.com/2008/09/13/gov-palin%e2%80%99s-worldview/

Excerpts follow (emphasis mine):

It is embarrassing to have to spell this out, but for the record let me explain why Gov. Palin's answer to the "Bush Doctrine" question -- the only part of the recent interview I have yet seen over here in China -- implies a disqualifying lack of preparation for the job.

Not the mundane job of vice president, of course, which many people could handle. Rather the job of potential Commander in Chief and most powerful individual on earth.[snip]

Each of us has areas we care about, and areas we don't. If we are interested in a topic, we follow its development over the years. And because we have followed its development, we're able to talk and think about it in a "rounded" way. [snip]

Here's the most obvious example in daily life: Sports Talk radio.
 
Mention a name or theme -- Brett Favre, the Patriots under Belichick, Lance Armstrong's comeback, Venus and Serena -- and anyone who cares about sports can have a very sophisticated discussion about the ins and outs and myth and realities and arguments and rebuttals.

People who don't like sports can't do that. It's not so much that they can't identify the names -- they've heard of Armstrong -- but they've never bothered to follow the flow of debate. I like sports -- and politics and tech and other topics -- so I like joining these debates. On a wide range of other topics -- fashion, antique furniture,  the world of restaurants and fine dining, or (blush) opera -- I have not been interested enough to learn anything I can add to the discussion.  So I embarrass myself if I have to express a view.

What Sarah Palin revealed is that she has not been interested enough in world affairs to become minimally conversant with the issues. Many people in our great land might have difficulty defining the "Bush Doctrine" exactly. But not to recognize the name, as obviously was the case for Palin, indicates not a failure of last-minute cramming but a lack of attention to any foreign-policy discussion whatsoever in the last seven years

I honestly think that most of us here at TPM would have much more nuanced, thoughtful, and knowledgeable answers to questions about foreign policy, the economy, and security than she does because we actually care and think about these issues often.  She clearly has not, or she would not respond with coached phrases that belie a profound lack of knowledge.

Barack Obama has spent years developing his "worldview" regarding national concerns, which is evident in his proposed policies.  His statements about the front for the terror threat is Afghanistan and Pakistan came far ahead of Bush's belated attention to the area.

Part of experience is thinking through things.  That is where Palin is woefully lacking.  Her mind has rightly been on Alaska; she wrongly thinks that is just fine for someone who might be president of the whole of our nation.

Thanks, but no thanks, Sarah!

Thought I'd save you the trouble of clicking on the title.