snuffbox

Yeah, 50 billion in taxpayer dollars to combat marijuana users was just not enough.

Yep.

We should all take a greater interest in our state legislature elections.

I've already voted.

Remember when we got that 98% tax cut a couple years ago. That was awesome.

When was the last time he got anything right?

They have this thing called a Supreme Court now.

Lieberman wouldn't have done him any good. Ridge is popular in Pennsylvania. After giving up on Colorado, Wisconsin, etc, the McCain campaign needs Pennsylvania.

I wonder if McCain regrets bending over for the church folk and not picking Tom Ridge now that his entire strategy (of the moment) hinges on Pennsylvania. Oops.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to stick by what I wrote (or "ripped off") despite Marvin's doctoral criticism.

In voting for Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, I made my decision based neither on a lesser-of-evils theorem or any delusion that we bask in the presence of some kind of Messianic being. None of the candidates are evil. I disagree with most of the McCain policies (especially since weirdly turning neoconservative after building a name as a moderate), Sarah Palin is the most vapid candidate this country has ever seen on a national ticket, and they've run the kind of campaign that makes Bob Shrum look like Marc Hanna, but neither are evil. Therefore, the first canard may be discarded. As for the second canard, I don't take Messianic beings of any name seriously. Barack Obama will not save the world or provide us with a brand new utopia. But, what he can (and, with both houses of Congress for at least two years, will) do is make the changes that have driven my vote. The man who first drew my interest into politics was Harry Browne, the Libertarian candidate in 1996 and 2000. From then until 2004 my largely undivided attention was given to the ideals of libertarianism. They still are, really, but far too often I've come to lament the pie-in-the-sky theoretical outlook that accompanies it. Since 2004, I have pared down some of my libertarian stances. I do not see any point in coddling large business and extremely wealthy people at the expense of everybody else. There should be a modicum of regulations. We watch and provide rules for our children, the young lives that we invest in. I see no reason why we should leave the companies that we invest in and provide for to hide in shadows. The wealthiest should also not be the only beneficiaries of the tax policy. Yes, in an ideal utopia there would be no taxation at all. But we do not now, nor will we ever, live in an ideal utopia. After working in factories for several years I can no longer take seriously the claims that softening the tax burden on the middle/working-class would be punishing the success of the big business folks. If a working person puts in too much overtime at their job, they suddenly find themselves working amost entirely for the government. We already punish the hard work and the success of the vast majority of Americans. That is not libertarian, that is not conservative. Coddling is not conservtism. Giving a larger tax cut to a larger number of people (as Obama is doing vs. McCain) has a bit of a libertarian/conservative tinge to it. If nothing else, it's the only policy of the two (and, no, I'm not considering Bob Barr to be a libertarian or a qualified candidate) that I and my wallet can appreciate. Another leftover libertarian ideal is the civil liberties and freedoms of people. I desire the ability for everybody to live their life as they choose so long as it does not impede on the similar ability of anybody else. Here was my biggest concern with voting for Obama. His pathetic FISA vote. For a couple of weeks I was leaning towards writing in Warren G Harding for a posthumous second term. My hope is that domestic spying and the garbage of its ilk will deteriote under Democratic power, my wish is that Obama would have ignored his cadre of weasly advisors and made the correct vote in the first place, but it happened and it is a stain. But, in politics, as in any other facet of our lives, it is important not to wreck ourselves on the jagged shores of perfectionism. So, I am able to stomach an ample amount of bad in exchange for the proposition of actual good. In my opinion, the greatest threat to American civil liberties, as well as one of the most embarassing facets of the country, is our federal drug policy. Obama was one of only a few candidates of either party that spoke of turning towards a more sensible drug policy during the marathon nominating process (Ron Paul and Bill Richardson being the others). He is the only candidate left. A change to the drug laws in this country will free up tens of billions of dollars in tax money and thousands of otherwise innocent, wholly non-violent, truly non-criminals. There are far too many problems in this nation to focus so much attention on a bad habit at worst, benevolent medicine at best. It is absolutely inexcusable that a college student can be denied federal student loans/grants/work study for a marijuana conviction, no matter the size, while there is no similar handicap placed upon students convicted of assault, rape, or murder. Of the two candidates, Obama wins on foreign policy by a mile. John McCain has been dead wrong on the war on Iraq from the beginning. This includes the Surge. The Surge was inended to provide security AND political stability. Security is tenuous but granting McCain that he's still at a 50% percent. Well below failing. Obama has been correct in his opposition. We cant spend trillions of dollars on follies in other lands. We cant maim a generation out of hubris. We cant ignore our real threats and past assailants. I support Obama's agenda of renewing our focus on al Qaeda, Afghanistan/Pakistan, and actual terrorists that actually attacked the United States. I have found it necessary to vote for a candidate who has shown a willingness to follow the footsteps of leaders such as John Adams, Franklin Roosevelt, and George Kennan, to place his attention and ability where it needs to be rather than on incredibly expensive and self-defeating red herrings I had a slight dread during the late spring and summer. A fear was beginning to take hold that Obama could pan out like Jimmy Carter. The general election campaign has completely eased that. The re-assembly of the the Democratic Party after defeating Hillary Clinton, the calm and confidence during a major economic dip, a consistent handling of some of the dirtiest pool being played by the politicians and idealogues that oppose him, and the winning performances in all three debates have all proven the mettle, the talent, and the temperment of a successful leader even during a time of great turmoil. And it was nice to see the day after I sent in my ballot that Cici Goldwater, granddaughter of an Arizona senator I'd have pickled my left ball in a bottle of bourbon to have had the chance to vote for, had endorsed Barack Obama.

Over my head, sorry.

I'm going to go ahead and say it's a fabrication.

Still too painful to spell his name right?

Newt isn't anywhere near a position for 2012 or any other election any other year. And good luck to Bobby Jindal after this year's GOP election stretegy.

Matt Drudge has found his October Surprise.

Fool me, etc.

Get those goddam facts out of here.

http://www.bigtenpoll.org/ Some iffy polls, here. I would never count on Indiana or Ohio to lean like that for something like their money or jobs.

Because of Joe the Plumber.

Did Hillary ever say that Obama suffers from Addison's disease?

Olbermann wasn't a big fan of Obama (or any other Democrat)'s FISA vote.

It's a real word. The statement didn't make any sense.

Some news outlets prefer to report news stories.

Some people like to form a valid opinion on a source before just assuming what it says is true. Some people like to read from several different sources and form their own opinions and ideas. But, damn, it is easy to just parrot something and put absolutely no thought into it.