• Gay Marriage

    Claims by No On California Proposition 8 Campaign Growing More Desperate?

    PROTECTMARRIAGE.COM CARD

    This pledge card was signed by a kindergartener at Faith Ringgold School of Arts and Science in Hayward, CA last week. Teaching children to be accepting of others should be commended, but forcing children to sign pledges that include references to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community when these children can barely write their own names and when parents are not allowed to opt out of these class activities, is deplorable.

    The latest polls show slippage for gay marriage in California and now there are reports that the No on California Proposition 8 campaign is growing desperate.

    “Clearly, this is nothing more than a floundering campaign grasping at straws to save its effort,” said Chip White, Protectmarriage.com – Yes on 8 campaign spokesman. “It’s quite sad because those who are hurt most are voters. We invited the No on Prop 8 campaign to debate Proposition 8 this weekend in a live, televised format, but it declined our invitation. If the No campaign is so confident in its arguments, why refuse the debate?”

    Claims reporting Proposition 8 has nothing to do with schools, to Proposition 8 will cause a high-tech brain drain, are being passed off as fact. These claims are nothing but noisy rhetoric and last minute campaign stunts aimed at confusing voters instead of educating them.

    Claim: Proposition 8 has nothing to do with schools

    A few weeks ago children in a 1st grade class attended their teacher’s gay wedding in San Francisco on a school-organized field trip. The principal called it a “teachable moment.” That sure sounds like same-sex marriage instruction in schools.

    This week kindergartners at Faith Ringgold School of Arts and Science in Hayward, CA, were asked to sign pledge cards saying they would not use anti-LGBT language. Parents who felt their children were far too young for such a discussion, most at an average age of 5 who are just learning the basics of reading and writing, were not permitted to opt-out, but instead had to keep their children home from school.

    As we have clearly demonstrated, California Education Code Section 51933 states schools “shall teach respect for marriage and committed relationships.” According to the California Department of Education website, 96% of schools teach this curriculum. And under the Supreme Court’s ruling, current California law means marriage instruction includes instruction on gay marriage. Thus, gay marriage is already part of the curriculum. Perhaps because of these simple facts, Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell refuses to debate.

    Claim: Proposition 8 would have no effect on a church’s tax-exempt status.

    The No on 8 campaign used a classic lawyer trick, rolling out a group of lawyers yesterday to falsely state our concern about the impact of same sex marriage on religious freedoms, and then saying our concerns are false. For the record, the Yes on 8 campaign has never said that churches, acting as churches, would be forced to perform gay marriages. However, it is clear that where churches interact with the public square, in providing social services or even conducting business, their tax exempt status is at risk.

    In one well publicized case, Catholic Charities in Boston ran adoption facilities that managed 700 cases since 1987, most involving children with special needs. Catholic Charities placed such children into parents in traditional marriages, according to their faith. After gay marriage was legalized in Massachusetts, the state told Catholic Charities it had to place children with gay marriage couples as well. Faced with such a decision, Catholic Charities reluctantly decided to stop providing adoption services.

    Another religious non-profit, Ocean Grove Campground in New Jersey, lost a portion of its tax-exempt status on a rental pavilion because it refused to rent the facility to a lesbian couple for a civil commitment ceremony.

    Claim: Proposition 8 discriminates against gays and lesbians

    Under California’s current domestic partnership law, (Family Code Section 297), gay couples are awarded the same legal rights and privileges as married couples. California has the strongest civil union/domestic partnership law in the nation, and Proposition 8 does not take away any of those rights.

    Claim: If Proposition 8 passes there will be a brain drain to gay-friendly Massachusetts.

    Gay marriage has been legal in Massachusetts for five years and California still remains the epicenter of technology, biomed and other science-based industries. If a “gay brain-drain” was going to happen, shouldn’t it have started 5 years ago?

    Flap learned at the blogger conference call yesterday that indeed the No on Proposition 8 campaign has replaced many of their staff and the campaign may be at the last minute replacing all of their television ads. There was even talk that the No campaign was going to put You Tube ads on broadcast television.

    Good luck with that.

    But, at least today, Flap has had an opportunity to sunshine some of the false claims being made – new campaign staff or not.

    Update:

    Why is the No on 8 sending out disingenuous e-mails to decline the debate challenge?

    Letter below:

    Prop-8-nothing-to-do-with-s

    Technorati Tags: ,

  • GOP,  John McCain

    McCain Campaign Supporter Ashley Todd Slapped on Wrist for BS Mutilation Story

    McCain supporter Ashley Todd

    Ashley Todd was in court today and pled out to essentially a wrist slap for fabricating an attack and mutilation story.

    A John McCain campaign volunteer agreed on Thursday to enter a probation program for first-time offenders for falsely reporting that a Barack Obama supporter robbed and assaulted her and scratched a “B” on her cheek.

    Ashley Todd, 20, of College Station, Texas, claimed the attack happened when the robber saw her McCain bumper sticker.

    Todd appeared before a city judge and waived her right to a hearing and was to be released from jail later Thursday.

    Under the agreement, her criminal record will be expunged after if she stays out of trouble and gets mental treatment on probation. Most people spend a year on probation in the program, which is for first-time, nonviolent offenders.

    “Our focus was really, ‘This is somebody who appeared to have some mental issues,'” said prosecutor Chris Avetta. “And we wanted to make sure she doesn’t hurt herself or anybody else.”

    Obviously, Todd has some mental problems and Flap is glad she will receive the obligatory help. If she fails to abide by her plea deal today she can be sentenced to up to two years in jail – OUCH!

    Ashley-Todd-made-it-up


    Technorati Tags: , ,

  • Gay Marriage

    Los Angeles Dodger Jeff Kent Supports California Proposition 8 to Protect Traditional Marriage

    jeff kent for prop 8

    Los Angeles Dodger Jeff Kent

    Former San Francisco Giant and current (free agent) Los Angeles Dodger Jeff Kent has come out against gay marriage.

    Jeff Kent, who played second base for the Los Angeles Dodgers this season, has stepped into the emotional world of same-sex marriage, giving $15,000 to backers of the California proposition on Tuesday’s ballot that would ban it.

    In a disclosure filed with the California secretary of state, Kent listed his occupation as professional baseball player for the Dodgers and his address as Austin, Texas. He gave the $15,000 in a transaction dated Monday but which only now is public.

    In a political race where even California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has weighed in but done NOTHING for the No on 8 campaign this is an interesting and  positive development. Most sports celebrities avoid politics like the plague.


    Technorati Tags: , , ,

  • Del.icio.us Links

    links for 2008-10-30

    • According to legal records on file with the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston, Massachusetts in the case Parker v. Hurley (514 F.3d 87 (1st Cir.2008)), some of the very organizations who are funding and driving the No on 8 campaign have argued vociferously that gay marriage should be taught in the public schools under the guise of “diversity,” and any attempt to prohibit such instruction – or to permit parents to opt their children out of it – must be stopped.

      The following are statements filed in amicus curiae briefs in Parker v. Hurley. The statements show how organizations leading the No on 8 campaign are lying to California voters when they say gay marriage will not be taught in California public schools.
      ++++++++
      More of the consequences should Propositon 8 fail at the California polls.

      (tags: gaymarriage)
    • Whether disapproving churches could be forced to choose between providing services to gay couples or losing their tax-exempt status is one of the questions swirling around Proposition 8, the Nov. 4 ballot measure that would ban same-sex marriage.
      +++++++
      Flap bets should Proposition 8 fail at the polls this consequence will be REAL in short order.
      (tags: gaymarriage)
    • Tens of thousands of people are expected to gather at Qualcomm Stadium on Saturday to pray for the passage of Proposition 8, the ballot measure that seeks to ban same-sex marriage in California, it was reported Thursday.

      Event organizer Lou Engle told The San Diego Union-Tribune that the event scheduled for Saturday, dubbed TheCall, will last from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and will include fasting, in addition to prayer.

      Engle said the event is not meant to make a political statement but prayers will go out to God "to influence the outcome of the election," the newspaper reported.
      +++++++
      Note tens of thousands of voters.

      (tags: gaymarriage)
    • John McCain's campaign is looking for a scapegoat. It is looking for someone to blame if McCain loses on Tuesday.

      And it has decided on Sarah Palin.

      In recent days, a McCain “adviser” told Dana Bash of CNN: “She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone.”

      Imagine not taking advice from the geniuses at the McCain campaign. What could Palin be thinking?

      Also, a “top McCain adviser” told Mike Allen of Politico that Palin is “a whack job.”

      Maybe she is. But who chose to put this “whack job” on the ticket? Wasn’t it John McCain? And wasn’t it his first presidential-level decision?
      +++++++
      John McCain has nobody to blame but himself.He rolled the dice with Sarah Palin and energized his base but squandered her popularity by over-managing her.
      Was she experienced? Not so much but McCain could have worked around the issue and by running a good campaign – much like Bush 1 did with Dan Quayle. McCain can pathetically scapegoat Palin if he wants but Schmidt, Davis et al have lost this race.

    • But 40% of U.S. voters say they are less likely to vote for a candidate on the basis of a Hollywood star’s endorsement, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

      Only four percent (4%) say a star’s endorsement makes them more likely to vote for a candidate, while 55% say it has no impact on them at all.

      One-third of voters (33%) say they have refused to watch a movie because of an actor’s political views, although 62% say that’s not the case for them.
      ++++++++
      The backlash from the GOP voters upon Hollywood has not even begun. Flap bets the next election cycle the celebs will take a pass on overt endorsements.

    • Who are these "wrong advisers" who "captured" Bush? I think it safe to say that Fukuyama means "Advisers Who Are Not Francis Fukuyama." On the other hand, Fukuyama did not hesitate to call for acts of war against Iraq in 1998, when he signed a letter to President Clinton urging him to implement "a strategy for removing Saddam's regime from power."

      Fukuyama's attack on Sarah Palin is unjust, essentially making Palin the scapegoat of his disillusionment with Bush. But alas, before the "unnecessary war" started — as the result of the ill-informed president being advised by Advisers Who Are Not Francis Fukuyama — Fukuyama was busy scapegoating conservative and libertarian opponents of the war as "unrealitistic" and "isolationist."
      +++++++
      The scapegoating of Sarah Palin continues

    • From the invasion of Iraq to the selection of Sarah Palin, carelessness has characterized recent episodes of faux conservatism. Tuesday's probable repudiation of the Republican Party will punish characteristics displayed in the campaign's closing days.

      Some polls show that Palin has become an even heavier weight in John McCain's saddle than his association with George W. Bush. Did McCain, who seems to think that Palin's never having attended a "Georgetown cocktail party" is sufficient qualification for the vice presidency, lift an eyebrow when she said that vice presidents "are in charge of the United States Senate"?
      ++++++
      George Will bashes McCain and Palin in a last minute plea to renew his conservative elitism and to be invited to the White House for the next 8 years.
      For too many years, Will and Noonan have lost their way among conservative grass root politics. They have lived in NY and Washington too long.

    • A state agency has revealed that its checks of computer systems for potential information on "Joe the Plumber" were more extensive than it first acknowledged.

      Helen Jones-Kelley, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, disclosed today that computer inquiries on Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher were not restricted to a child-support system.

      The agency also checked Wurzelbacher in its computer systems to determine whether he was receiving welfare assistance or owed unemployment compensation taxes, she wrote.

      Jones-Kelley made the revelations in a letter to Ohio Senate President Bill M. Harris, R-Ashland, who demanded answers on why state officials checked out Wurzelbacher.

      Harris called the multiple records checks "questionable" and said he awaits more answers. "It's kind of like Big Brother is looking in your pocket," he said.
      ++++++
      Big Brother? – just wait until the Obama Administration, brother.

    • A California couple who hung a controversial effigy of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin from a noose off the side of their house have removed the display under pressure from city officials.
      ChadMichael Morrisette, the man who constructed the mannequin as part of a Halloween display, told The Times that he decided to remove the Palin mannequin on Wednesday after meeting with West Hollywood Mayor Jeffrey Prang. Originally he'd vowed to keep the display up until Saturday.

      Earlier in the day, about half a dozen of Morrisette's neighbors had protested the display and tried to block it from the view of passing motorists, according to Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
      ++++++++
      Did they take it down because of California Proposition 8 and the attention it was bringing to West Hollywood's Gay Carnaval on Friday.
      Too late, morons.

      (tags: sarah_palin)
    • Barack Obama has lived one version of the American Dream that has taken him to the steps of the White House. But a few miles from where the Democratic presidential candidate studied at Harvard, his Kenyan aunt and uncle, immigrants living in modest
      circumstances in Boston, have a contrasting American story.

      Zeituni Onyango, the aunt so affectionately described in Mr Obama’s best-selling memoir Dreams from My Father, lives in a disabled-access flat on a rundown public housing estate in South Boston.
      +++++++
      Nice and a contributor as well.Hey Barry how about sharing the wealth for your own family…

      (tags: barack_obama)
    • "This associate, Rashid Khalidi, he — in addition being a political ally of Barack Obama — is a former spokesperson for Palestinian Liberation Organization," Palin continued, brushing aside Khalidi's denial that he was ever a PLO spokesman. "The twist here is there's a videotape of a party for this person. A celebration of him. Barack was there. Some very derogatory things were said there of Israel and America's support for that great nation. Among other things, Israel was described there as the perpetrator of terrorism rather than the victim. What we don't know is how Barack Obama responded to these slurs on a country that he professes to support, and the reason we don't know is the newspaper that has this tape, the Los Angeles Times, refuses to release it." Then, the Alaska governor openly mocked the L.A. Times as pandering to Obama (the paper has said it cannot release the tape because it received it from a source on condition that it not be published and intends to honor that com
    • Saw a clip from the tape. Reason we can't release it is because statements Obama said to rile audience up during toast. He congratulates Khalidi for his work saying "Israel has no God-given right to occupy Palestine" plus there's been "genocide against the Palestinian people by Israelis."

      It would be really controversial if it got out. Tha's why they will not even let a transcript get out.
      +++++++
      Will someone at the LA Times sneek the video out?

    • It would have been nice to ask that question of Biden himself, but a campaign spokesman told me the Senator was suffering from a cold that made it a strain to give interviews. (I didn't glean evidence of any symptoms during the four speeches that I watched him give over two days.) The spokesman also said Biden would consider it "presumptuous" to talk about how he would perform the job for which he is running. Or maybe it simply wasn't in the script.
      +++++++
      Hiding the GAFFE machine……
      (tags: joe_biden)
    • The momentum has shifted. National media and politicos are paying attention. Veterans are standing up against the troop-slandering incumbent. The polls are tightening. (A new one posted at GrassrootsPA shows a virtual dead heat: MURTHA 45.5% RUSSELL 43.7%.)

      And John Murtha is squealing like the pig he is.

      Here he is cursing his head off and attacking Russell as a carpetbagger. House Democrats have pitched in funds to try and bail him out of his self-created mess.
      +++++++
      So goes Murtha may go McCain in Pennsylvania.

    • Despite a personal plea from the auxiliary bishop of San Diego and a large demonstration by supporters of traditional marriage outside their chambers, the San Diego City Council voted on Monday afternoon to oppose Proposition 8, which would outlaw same-sex marriages in California.
      ++++++
      Shoulkd California Proposition 8 fail, the Homosexual lobby will begin the push for more forced relgious re-education.
      Watch Catholic services end adoption services in California.
      (tags: gaymarriage)
    • Patrick Ruffini echoes the theme of this post — that for what's supposed to be a terrible cycle for Republicans, they're poised to knock off some Democratic incumbents, something they couldn't do at all in 2006 — and points to another House races where the GOP is overperforming. In Georgia, Democratic Congressman Bobby Scott is only up by 5 percent, and is way below 50 percent.

      A couple readers responded to yesterday's post by pointing to anecdotal evidence that their Democratic congressman is in trouble. In most cases, I'll believe it when I see it, but it's interesting that we're being told that it's a Democratic wave election, but the wave isn't showing up in certain districts — and these are districts in swing states like Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Florida.

      Ruffini is right — "If you're a no name challenger who gets 40 to 45 percent next Tuesday, you're in excellent position to come back in 2010."
      ++++++
      Indeed GOP losses have started to bottom out in this cycle.

      (tags: GOP)
  • Gavin Newsom,  Gay Marriage

    Will San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom Deserve The Blame When California Proposition 8 Passes?

    gavin-newsom-prop-8
    San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has become the “poster boy” for the Yes on 8 Campaign to restore traditional marriage in California

    Does Gavin Newsom deserve the blame from the homosexual community when California Proposition 8 passes next Tuesday? This is being asked in a gay publication.

    San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom has been a tireless crusader for gay rights. It was he who, way back in 2000, began issuing marriage licenses in San Francisco.

    Though those marriages were later annulled by the state, California’s Supreme Court this year ruled that gay folk should, in fact, have the right to marry, a decision that spurred the right to launch Proposition 8, which would reverse the Court’s ruling. Again, Newsom’s been campaigning against that measure and just this week shored up support against conservative “extremists.”

    Obviously the right doesn’t like Newsom very much and have been using him as the poster child for gay-friendly politicians. This means, of course, that should Proposition 8 pass, Newsom’s ubiquitous image may take some of the blame.

    Gavin Newsom’s statement in the video below was really the start of the Yes on 8 campaign.

    And, Newsom’s statement “whether you like it or not” may very well become the mantra for traditional marriage ballot fights across the United States.

    Mayor Newsom has been conspicuous by his absense in the No on Proposition 8 campaign since the May news conference. Yesterday, Newsome did travel to the Google Campus to speak on No on 8’s behalf but otherwise he has been on the down-lo.

    Flap has it upon good authority, however, that there will be new Yes on 8 television ads ridiculing the San Francisco Mayor.

    So, blame?

    You betcha, depending upon what happens next Tuesday.


    Technorati Tags: , ,

  • Audra Strickland,  Tony Strickland

    Shocker: Ventura County Star Endorses Audra Strickland for California Assembly

    Audra-and-Tony-Strickland
    California Assemblywoman Audra Strickland and her husband Tony, the former Assemblyman and current California State Senate candidate, Camarillo, California September 2008, Photo by Flap

    Flap is truly shocked that the left-leaning Ventura County Star editorial board would actually endorse a Republican incumbent Assemblywoman.

    Twice now in four years, The Star Editorial Board has endorsed Democrat Ferial Masry, a remarkable woman who has run unsuccessfully against incumbent Republican Assemblywoman Audra Strickland in the 37th Assembly District.

    This year — the last for which Ms. Strickland can run for the Assembly before she is termed out in 2010 — The Star Editorial Board is endorsing Ms. Strickland.

    We continue to admire Ms. Masry, 59, a high school teacher in the San Fernando Valley, for her common-sense approach to governance, democratic ideals and grasp of the issues. She would make an outstanding legislator.

    However, voters have twice chosen Ms. Strickland over Ms. Masry to represent them in the 37th Assembly District, which includes Camarillo, Ojai, Fillmore, Santa Paula, Moorpark, Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley. This year, the Republican registration lead in the 37th Assembly District has been whittled down to 7 percentage points from 11 four years ago — still relatively safe for a Republican.

    Flap bets the Ventura County Star is acknowledging that the 37th Assembly District is a GOP “SAFE” one and why fight a rising tide in a sinking boat.

    The real prize is, of course, the California State Senate District which Audra’s husband, Tony, is seeking.

    There is no way the Ventura County Star will endorse Tony Strickland in that race and Flap bets the editorial is especially scathing – even for the VC Star.


    Technorati Tags: , ,

  • Gay Marriage,  Sarah Palin

    Sarah Palin HANGED Effigy Taken Down – Was it Because of Gay Marriage Proposition?

    sarah-palin-hanged
    A mannequin hanging from a home in West Hollywood has been outfitted to look like Governor Sarah Palin.

    The Sarah Palin “HANGED” Effigy has been pulled down.

    An effigy of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has been taken down from a West Hollywood home, after the homeowner discussed the situation with the city’s mayor.

    The mannequin hanging by a noose was part of a larger Halloween display that included an effigy of John McCain coming out of the chimney surrounded by fake flames. The display has drawn national attention and a visit from the Secret Service, which decided there was no threat.

    Earlier in the afternoon, neighbors covered up the Palin mannequin with sheets, in what was described as a friendly protest.

    Later a handful of protesters were joined by an SUV with an effigy labeled “Chad,” after the display’s creator, Chad Morrisette.

    Local politicians and city officials, including Supervisor Mike Antonovich, called the images offensive and urged their removal.

    Creator Chad Morrissette decided to remove the figures after discussing the situation with West Hollywood Mayor Jeffrey Prang, Los Angeles County sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore said.

    “My understanding is that the mayor had a long talk with the man and convinced him to bring it down. The homeowner began to realize what they had done caused a little more of a reaction than they had hoped for,” Whitmore said.

    Actually, there is another reason why this gay West Hollywood homeowner removed the display: California Proposition 8 – Protect Traditional Marriage Constitutional Amendment that is on the ballot next Tuesday.

    West Hollywood is a predominantly homosexual enclave in Los Angeles County. The hatred for Sarah Palin runs deep in the gay community because she supports Proposition 8 (redefining marriage as between a man and a woman) and a federal Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

    But, the No on 8 Committee has been on the down-lo on the consequences of gay marriage and any public display of the intense hatred for Sarah Palin is self-defeating. Flap bets this was the gist of the conversation Chad Morrissette had with West Hollywood’s Mayor.

    Interesting to note the display was removed prior to the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval where Flap is positive there will be many men dressed up as Sarah Palin – hanged or otherwise.


    Technorati Tags: , ,

  • Day By Day,  John McCain

    Day By Day by Chris Muir October 30, 2008 – RINO Virus

    Day By Day 103008

    Day By Day by Chris Muir

    From Rich Lowry at National Review:

    McCain earned his chops as the media’s favorite Republican senator by being a maverick, or in a less exalted formulation, a gadfly. He pursued pet causes inimical to his party, such as campaign-finance reform, and made it his role to tell fellow Republicans what he considered hard truths.

    None of this endeared him to Republican primary voters. He won the nomination anyway on the basis of his admirable support for the surge (adopted when he was in typical gadfly mode) and a few stock lines. He became the Republican nominee by default, without an organization or fundraising operation to speak of, and soon enough lost the press, too.

    McCain’s rapport with the media depended on snarky banter about his own party and about himself. That couldn’t continue in the general election, so McCain’s campaign cut him off. His lifeline to his former admirers denied to him, McCain became a demonstrably unhappy warrior.

    Rich like Chris Muir’s political cartoon above is absolutely RIGHT. McCain was never the favorite of conservatives or even the GOP base for the Republican Party Presidential nomination. Rudy Giuliani’s personal baggage sunk his candidacy while Mitt Romney’s flip-flops did him in. Mike Huckabee was never a serious contender but a spoiler for the Mormon Romney. Fred Thompson did not have the energy to mount a strong campaign.

    McCain became the easy default candidate.

    McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin has energized the vast right-wing conspiracy base and is a portent for the coming renewal of the Republican Party. New, accomplished and younger GOP candidates will burst upon the scene in the next few years while the “old soldier” candidates fade away.

    A new generation of candidates who will support the Republican Party and not be gadflies will lead the party from the wilderness of 2006 and 2008.


    Technorati Tags: ,

  • Del.icio.us Links

    Flap’s Quick Links for October 30, 2008

    • The Columbus Dispatch : Checks on ‘Joe’ more extensive than first acknowledged

      A state agency has revealed that its checks of computer systems for potential information on “Joe the Plumber” were more extensive than it first acknowledged. Helen Jones-Kelley, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, disclosed today that computer inquiries on Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher were not restricted to a child-support system. The agency also checked Wurzelbacher in its computer systems to determine whether he was receiving welfare assistance or owed unemployment compensation taxes, she wrote. Jones-Kelley made the revelations in a letter to Ohio Senate President Bill M. Harris, R-Ashland, who demanded answers on why state officials checked out Wurzelbacher. Harris called the multiple records checks “questionable” and said he awaits more answers. “It’s kind of like Big Brother is looking in your pocket,” he said. 

    • ++++++ Big Brother? – just wait until the Obama Administration, brother.

      TAGS

    • West Hollywood Sarah Palin effigy taken down | Los Angeles Times

      A California couple who hung a controversial effigy of Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin from a noose off the side of their house have removed the display under pressure from city officials. ChadMichael Morrisette, the man who constructed the mannequin as part of a Halloween display, told The Times that he decided to remove the Palin mannequin on Wednesday after meeting with West Hollywood Mayor Jeffrey Prang. Originally he’d vowed to keep the display up until Saturday. Earlier in the day, about half a dozen of Morrisette’s neighbors had protested the display and tried to block it from the view of passing motorists, according to Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
    • ++++++++ Did they take it down because of California Proposition 8 and the attention it was bringing to West Hollywood’s Gay Carnaval on Friday. Too late, morons.

      TAGS

    • Found in a rundown Boston estate: Barack Obama’s aunt Zeituni Onyango – Times Online

      Barack Obama has lived one version of the American Dream that has taken him to the steps of the White House. But a few miles from where the Democratic presidential candidate studied at Harvard, his Kenyan aunt and uncle, immigrants living in modest circumstances in Boston, have a contrasting American story. Zeituni Onyango, the aunt so affectionately described in Mr Obama’s best-selling memoir Dreams from My Father, lives in a disabled-access flat on a rundown public housing estate in South Boston.
    • +++++++ Nice and a contributor as well.Hey Barry how about sharing the wealth for your own family…

      TAGS

    • Palin Stumps with Joe the Plumber, Mocks the LA Times – Washingtonpost.com

      “This associate, Rashid Khalidi, he — in addition being a political ally of Barack Obama — is a former spokesperson for Palestinian Liberation Organization,” Palin continued, brushing aside Khalidi’s denial that he was ever a PLO spokesman. “The twist here is there’s a videotape of a party for this person. A celebration of him. Barack was there. Some very derogatory things were said there of Israel and America’s support for that great nation. Among other things, Israel was described there as the perpetrator of terrorism rather than the victim. What we don’t know is how Barack Obama responded to these slurs on a country that he professes to support, and the reason we don’t know is the newspaper that has this tape, the Los Angeles Times, refuses to release it.” Then, the Alaska governor openly mocked the L.A. Times as pandering to Obama (the paper has said it cannot release the tape because it received it from a source on condition that it not be published and intends to honor that com

      TAGS

    • Tip: Two quotes from the Obama-Khalidi videotape

      Saw a clip from the tape. Reason we can’t release it is because statements Obama said to rile audience up during toast. He congratulates Khalidi for his work saying “Israel has no God-given right to occupy Palestine” plus there’s been “genocide against the Palestinian people by Israelis.” It would be really controversial if it got out. Tha’s why they will not even let a transcript get out.

    • +++++++ Will someone at the LA Times sneek the video out?

      TAGS

    • Hidin’ Biden: Reining In a Voluble No. 2 – TIME

      It would have been nice to ask that question of Biden himself, but a campaign spokesman told me the Senator was suffering from a cold that made it a strain to give interviews. (I didn’t glean evidence of any symptoms during the four speeches that I watched him give over two days.) The spokesman also said Biden would consider it “presumptuous” to talk about how he would perform the job for which he is running. Or maybe it simply wasn’t in the script.

    • +++++++ Hiding the GAFFE machine……

      TAGS

    • John Murtha is running scared; new internal poll shows virtual dead heat – Michelle Malkin

      The momentum has shifted. National media and politicos are paying attention. Veterans are standing up against the troop-slandering incumbent. The polls are tightening. (A new one posted at GrassrootsPA shows a virtual dead heat: MURTHA 45.5% RUSSELL 43.7%.) And John Murtha is squealing like the pig he is. Here he is cursing his head off and attacking Russell as a carpetbagger. House Democrats have pitched in funds to try and bail him out of his self-created mess.

    • ++++++ Should California Proposition 8 fail, the Homosexual lobby will begin the push for more forced relgious re-education. Watch Catholic services end adoption services in California.

      TAGS

    • Is This Much-Touted Democratic Wave Skipping Certain Districts? – Geraghty

      Patrick Ruffini echoes the theme of this post — that for what’s supposed to be a terrible cycle for Republicans, they’re poised to knock off some Democratic incumbents, something they couldn’t do at all in 2006 — and points to another House races where the GOP is overperforming. In Georgia, Democratic Congressman Bobby Scott is only up by 5 percent, and is way below 50 percent. A couple readers responded to yesterday’s post by pointing to anecdotal evidence that their Democratic congressman is in trouble. In most cases, I’ll believe it when I see it, but it’s interesting that we’re being told that it’s a Democratic wave election, but the wave isn’t showing up in certain districts — and these are districts in swing states like Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Florida. Ruffini is right — “If you’re a no name challenger who gets 40 to 45 percent next Tuesday, you’re in excellent position to come back in 2010.”

    • ++++++ Indeed GOP losses have started to bottom out in this cycle.

      TAGS