Sign in my front yard

Update, October 2008: I had to take it down. Several of our neighbors apparently thought we were supporting McCain. Ahem.

"The Obamarita" - Party on Sunday, Sept 28

STEP UP AND CLOSE THE DEAL - with an OBAMArita

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1:00-5:00 P.M.
PARU STREET, ALAMEDA

Next weekend, I'm co-hosting a party at the house of David Teeters on Paru street. David is prepared to make 500 margaritas for this event so spread the word! RSVP to me (dwood at karelia dot com) or david (davidteeters at mac dot com) for the address and to help us judge how many people will be attending.

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MONEY TALKS. If you’re waiting for an excuse to make a contribution, we’re hosting a fund-raiser to support Democratic efforts in swing states, not only for Barack Obama, but also for closely contested House and Senate races.

For a mere $25, you’ll receive a David Teeters margarita – fresh lime juice guaranteed. Write a $25 (min.) check to the campaign of your choice – we’ll have an update on the status of various contests. Bigger checks, bigger glasses – bring your own jug.

Drop by any time in the afternoon. No boring speeches. No live entertainment. But good music, good conversation, and good cheer. Bring your own chips (+).


(If you can't come, or if you want to make a donation in advance, please do so online at our special fundraising page: The Obamarita)

Remembering 9/11 .... the memories that Bush doesn't want you to have

Once again, at the Republican Convention, the neocons were trotting out mentions of September 11th as a way to remind their base of our weakness as a nation, and through fear, inspire them to vote for McCain in November.

Funny, but my thoughts have always been that it was George Bush who was at the helm when September 11th happen, so doesn't that mean we need a different team, a different style of leadership who will keep our country safe?

And yet, they keep playing it as the "fear" card. So I'd like to follow up with a little something to counteract that. Let's really sit down and remember the tragedies of the day and the aftermath, and ask ourselves how anybody could want to see another moment with men like this in power.

(If you saw Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" this stuff probably isn't any surprise to you, it's just good to remember what our administration has been like....)

Let's Remember that when George Bush was told that our nation was under attack, instead of showing leadership and decisiveness (or even of being whisked away for safety by the Secret Service), our "leader" sat blankly in a classroom for about 8 minutes while the students read "The Pet Goat".

Let's remember Christine Todd Whitman telling the first responders and clean-up crews at ground zero that the air was safe to breathe at ground zero in the aftermath; many have died or are dying from being exposed to toxins.

Let's remember Condoleeza Rice testifying "No one could have imagined... using planes as a missile" when in fact just the opposite was true.

Let's remember how the investigation was stalled for two years (Compared to one week for the Kennedy assassination.) And that it was funded a mere $14 million dollars (compared to $75 Million for the Challenger disaster investigation and $40 Million for the Lewinsky scandal). And that the commission was led and heavily stacked with Republican partisans and White House Insider - an operation that Senator Max Cleland, who resigned from the commission, called "the Gong Show."

Let's remember that Bush and Cheney would only talk to the commission together and without any notes being taken.

Let's remember the "Jersey Girls," who said that SEVENTY percent of their questions about the day have STILL gone unanswered.

Let's remember how September 11th was used as an excuse to invade Iraq and Afghanistan. (And they are even trying to start tying Iran into the picture, to prepare for their next moves -- Keith Olbermann made a great commentary about that last night...)

Let's remember that President Bush, when asked about their supposed target of Bin Laden, said "I truly am not that concerned about him."

* * *

In doing research to re-find these numbers and quotes, I came across some weird things that people probably don't remember, or maybe didn't hear about on Faux News -- things that make you go "Hmmmm...." Such as that the US was running numerous training exercises that day that caused confusion for military response; that most aircraft interception could have taken place in time but didn't; that many first responders and other people testified of hearing explosions as both towers collapsed; that there was a third building that collapsed that day, and its cause was never made clear (and that no buildings have ever collapsed in that manner since the three did that day); and one that I had run across a while ago, that strangely on September 10, Donald Rumsfeld made an announcement, completely lost due to the events of the following day, that the Department of Defense "cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions".

Complete 911 Timeline was very useful with documentation and citations...

* * *

So let's remember this day but not as a path to fear and submission, but rather as a call to action to get rid of our corrupt and complicit leadership.

Please feel free to pass this along.

Great McCain Video

I haven't posted to ProgAla in what seems like ages ... I think you could say that I have a serious case of political burnout. (I couldn't bring myself to watch even the smallest iota of coverage of the Democratic Convention last week. And to think that I had considered even going there! But things were very different back then....)

Part of my burnout is that I'm just not inspired or impressed by Obama. So I find it hard to do much for his campaign.

However, I absolutely detest McCain (or as I like say "McSame") and I find his choice of a running mate sad, but not surprising ... after all, think of how the antics of Dan Quayle and George Bush managed to distract the public from the deeds of their counterparts, G.H.W. Bush and Dick Cheney.

So I'm happy to work againt McCain and his ilk.

David T. sent me a link to the following video in an email, asking me to pass it on (and to ask those passing it on to ask others to pass it on.) I'm happy to oblige.



If you'd like to pass this video to others, you can copy and paste this message into an email message:

Take a look at the You Tube link below and pass it on. This is a view of John McCain that you probably won't see on the Network news. Pass it on to everyone in your address book and ask them to pass it on, too.

http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/325.html

Or, just go directly to http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/325.html and click on the big button to send it to a friend.