Looking for political information that the mainstream media isn't reporting? Wondering what the "other side of the story" might be? Wanting more than this single blog can track? Here's just a few sources that I regularly check:
1. WCPT 820AM, wcpt820.com. Listen in the car or stream into your computer at home. My 3 faves: Stephanie Miller for a humorous look at politics; Ed Schultz for downhome appeal; Tom Hartmann for an insightful perspective.
2. THOMAS, http://thomas.loc.gov/. The Library of Congress has a great site for searching for legislation, info on Congressional sessions & other political info.
3. Real Clear Politics, http://www.realclearpolitics.com/. Keep track of the delegates, the race, and various articles from valid sources.
4. Move On. http://www.moveon.org/. Go here for the latest political issues and activism.
5. The Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/. The latest political info you may not hear on tv (or it started here & tv picked it up).
6. Center for Responsive Politics, http://www.opensecrets.org/index.php. Find out where the money is going--and coming from.
7. TruthDig. http://www.truthdig.com/. Find the story beneath the story.
I also check the Washington Post & NY Times.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Budget Busting Bronco
Joe Miller at Newsweek has posted an interesting article on John McCain's balance-budget promises. On the stump, he has promised to not only balance the budget, but keep Bush's tax cuts and add a few of his own. Go here for part 1, http://www.newsweek.com/id/136779/page/1. For a condensed version:
1. McCain says he'll cut spending by cutting out $100 billion in earmarks. Since most earmarks are essentially just saying what programs will get the money already in the works, this is silly.
2. McCain says he'll cut the budget to get to $100 billion. He also says defense might increase. That means an 18.5% cut across everything else--student loans, vet benefits, highway construction, etc.
3. He overstates the size at which the government has grown. On April 20, "My friend, we have increased the size of government by some 40% just in the last few years. By some 40%, by trillions. By trillions, we have increased the size of government." It took a decade, adjusting for inflation. The last time budgets were trillions smaller was 1951.
Of course, McCain did admit he knows nothing about economics. Maybe he thinks finance is the same.
1. McCain says he'll cut spending by cutting out $100 billion in earmarks. Since most earmarks are essentially just saying what programs will get the money already in the works, this is silly.
2. McCain says he'll cut the budget to get to $100 billion. He also says defense might increase. That means an 18.5% cut across everything else--student loans, vet benefits, highway construction, etc.
3. He overstates the size at which the government has grown. On April 20, "My friend, we have increased the size of government by some 40% just in the last few years. By some 40%, by trillions. By trillions, we have increased the size of government." It took a decade, adjusting for inflation. The last time budgets were trillions smaller was 1951.
Of course, McCain did admit he knows nothing about economics. Maybe he thinks finance is the same.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Wright or Wrong?
So now we're voting on the person who has the fewest non-PC friends and associates? Not on policy or anything that really matters, but on who you know or knew--even when you were 8 years old. Gimme a break. The media (and remember that over 80% is controlled by corporations and conservatives like Rupert Murdoch) had a field day with Obama vs Rev. Wright. Let's shift over to the other side.
What you probably don't know about McCain:
1. He intervened in the investigation of a savings & loan run by his friend & benefactor, Charles Keating (see http://www.newsweek.com/id/135400?tid=relatedcl). This was in 1987 & involved the S&L Crisis that cost taxpayers $500 million cool ones. McCain was one of the infamous Keating 5. Keating was convicted & spent time in jail for it.
2. Doug Goodyear was selected to manage the Republican convention this summer. McCain has protrayed himself as anti-special interest, yet here you have the CEO of DCI Group that lobbied for ExxonMobil, GM, etc. (http://www.newsweek.com/id/136321). Update: May 12, Goodyear resigns today.
3. He has been endorsed by Pastor John Hagee, a San Antonio televangelist who told NPR, after Hurrican Katrina, that New Orleans had suffered "the judgment of God" because of its "level of sin." He called the Catholic Church "the great whore" and a "false cult system." (http://www.newsweek.com/related.aspx?subject=John+Hagee&tid=relatedcl). "On women, Hagee makes St. Paul, notorious for treating women like second-class citizens, look like a feminist. ``Do you know the difference between a woman with PMS and a snarling Doberman pinscher?'' asks Hagee. ``The answer is lipstick.'' As if that's not insulting enough, he continues: ``Do you know the difference between a terrorist and a woman with PMS? ... You can negotiate with a terrorist.'' Real cut-up, that John Hagee." . Despite this, McCain personally wooed Hagee for more than a year to get his endorsement.
4. He hired Richard Quinn as a political advisor in 2000. Quinn has headed the racist Southern Partisan Quarterly Review for many years, has ties with David Duke, and, along with McCain, opposed a Martin Luther King holiday. (see http://www.liberaloasis.com/2008/04/mccain_guiltbyassociation_for.php).
5. One of McCain's top campaign fundraisers is Donald Diamond, an Arizona real estate mogel. Diamond wanted to buy land at a military base & McCain intervened to help speed up the sale. (see http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_04/013572.php).
6. McCain's "spiritual guide" is Rev. Rod Parsley, an Ohio televangelist who has called on Christians to wage war against Islam, which he calls a "false religion." He has railed against the separation of church & state, homosexuals, & abortion rights. See this for yourself at http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/38133-mccain-s-spiritual-guide-wants-america-to-destroy-islam. Update: June 3, 2008. After the above info hit the mainstream media, McCain rejected both Parsley & Hagee. Just remember he courted them in the first place.
The big question is: Why haven't we heard this from the "main-stream media?"
What you probably don't know about McCain:
1. He intervened in the investigation of a savings & loan run by his friend & benefactor, Charles Keating (see http://www.newsweek.com/id/135400?tid=relatedcl). This was in 1987 & involved the S&L Crisis that cost taxpayers $500 million cool ones. McCain was one of the infamous Keating 5. Keating was convicted & spent time in jail for it.
2. Doug Goodyear was selected to manage the Republican convention this summer. McCain has protrayed himself as anti-special interest, yet here you have the CEO of DCI Group that lobbied for ExxonMobil, GM, etc. (http://www.newsweek.com/id/136321). Update: May 12, Goodyear resigns today.
3. He has been endorsed by Pastor John Hagee, a San Antonio televangelist who told NPR, after Hurrican Katrina, that New Orleans had suffered "the judgment of God" because of its "level of sin." He called the Catholic Church "the great whore" and a "false cult system." (http://www.newsweek.com/related.aspx?subject=John+Hagee&tid=relatedcl). "On women, Hagee makes St. Paul, notorious for treating women like second-class citizens, look like a feminist. ``Do you know the difference between a woman with PMS and a snarling Doberman pinscher?'' asks Hagee. ``The answer is lipstick.'' As if that's not insulting enough, he continues: ``Do you know the difference between a terrorist and a woman with PMS? ... You can negotiate with a terrorist.'' Real cut-up, that John Hagee." . Despite this, McCain personally wooed Hagee for more than a year to get his endorsement.
4. He hired Richard Quinn as a political advisor in 2000. Quinn has headed the racist Southern Partisan Quarterly Review for many years, has ties with David Duke, and, along with McCain, opposed a Martin Luther King holiday. (see http://www.liberaloasis.com/2008/04/mccain_guiltbyassociation_for.php).
5. One of McCain's top campaign fundraisers is Donald Diamond, an Arizona real estate mogel. Diamond wanted to buy land at a military base & McCain intervened to help speed up the sale. (see http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_04/013572.php).
6. McCain's "spiritual guide" is Rev. Rod Parsley, an Ohio televangelist who has called on Christians to wage war against Islam, which he calls a "false religion." He has railed against the separation of church & state, homosexuals, & abortion rights. See this for yourself at http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/38133-mccain-s-spiritual-guide-wants-america-to-destroy-islam. Update: June 3, 2008. After the above info hit the mainstream media, McCain rejected both Parsley & Hagee. Just remember he courted them in the first place.
The big question is: Why haven't we heard this from the "main-stream media?"
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