Thursday, June 18, 2009
One unexpected byproduct of the bogus Iranian elections that have American Conservatives very nervous
By showing millions of protestors in the streets of Iran decrying the unfair elections and calling for a more democratic, accountable government, the very mindset that the GOP has tried to foster in this country about Iran is tumbling down.
Remember...the Axis of Evil...these people were supposed to be an entire nation of bloodthirsty savages whose hatred of America and fanatical, rabid, frothy-mouthed desire to drink the blood of our babies was only matched by their desire to fund, endorse and engage in international terrorism.
Not anymore.
What's being broadcast on every news channel are hundreds of thousands of young, intelligent Iranians wearing sneakers, drinking soda and listening to iPods as they OPPOSE their theocratic government in a scene very reminiscent of the 1960s here in America.
Wait a minute. That's not what FoxNews has been telling me all these years. They've been openly selling the idea that the entire region is filled with turban-wearing potential suicide bombers who cheer in the streets when Americans are killed and want to establish a worldwide Caliphate.
But all I've been seeing for the last couple of weeks are a people yearning to breathe free. A young people who are standing up to death threats and threats of intimidation and imprisonment by going out and protesting for a free and fair election.
Had Mr. McCain gotten his way, he would have been 'bomb bomb bomb bomb bomb Iran-ing' THESE people and not some monolithic group of savages or animals who couldn't be reasoned with.
While it is clear that our GOVERNMENTS have problems with one another. Perhaps this Iranian election will inadvertendly open the door to a new perception of Iran by the West. That they are not our natural enemy and that while we need to keep close tabs on the actions of their government, the Iranian PEOPLE are just like us in many ways. They believe in and love their God, they want free and fair elections and they just want to a stable, prosperous society in which to raise their family.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
My response to a Conservative chain email I received
Here's the email:
Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives,
> socialists, Marxists and Obama supporters, et al:
>
>
> We have stuck together since the late 1950's, but the
> whole of this latest election process has made me realize
> that I want a divorce. I know we tolerated each other for
> many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly,
> this relationship has run its course. Our two ideological
> sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is
> right so let's just end it on friendly terms. We can
> smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go
> our own way.
>
> Here is a model separation agreement:
>
> Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by
> landmass each taking a portion. That will be the difficult
> part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly
> agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy! Our
> respective representatives can effortlessly divide other
> assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate
> tastes.
>
> We don't like redistributive taxes so you can keep
> them. You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU..
> Since you hate guns and war, we'll take our firearms,
> the cops, the NRA and the military. You can keep Oprah,
> Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell (You are, however,
> responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to
> move all three of them).
>
> We'll keep the capitalism, greedy corporations,
> pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street. You can
> have your beloved homeless, homeboys, hippies and illegal
> aliens. We'll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy
> CEO's and rednecks. We'll keep the Bibles and give
> you NBC and Hollywood .
> You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we'll
> retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten
> us. You can have the peaceniks and war protesters. When our
> allies or our way of life are under assault, we'll help
> provide them security.
>
> We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values.. You are welcome
> to Islam, Scientology, Humanism and Shirley McClain. You can
> also have the U.N.. but we will no longer be paying the
> bill.
> We'll keep the SUVs, pickup trucks and oversized luxury
> cars. You can take every Subaru station wagon you can find.
> You can give everyone healthcare if you can find any
> practicing doctors. We'll continue to believe healthcare
> is a luxury and not a right. We'll keep The Battle Hymn
> of the Republic and the National Anthem. I'm sure
> you'll be happy to substitute Imagine, I'd Like to
> Teach the World to Sing, Kum Ba Ya or We Are the World.
> We'll practice trickle down economics and you can give
> trickle up poverty your best shot. Since it often so offends
> you, we'll keep our history, our name and our flag.
> Would you agree to this? If so, please pass it along to
> other like minded liberal and conservative patriots and if
> you do not agree, just hit delete. In the spirit of friendly
> parting, I'll bet you ANWAR which one of us will need
> whose help in 15 years...
>
> Sincerely,
> John J. Wall
> Law Student and an American
> P.S. Also, please take Barbara Streisand & Jane Fonda
> with you
And here's my response:
The following is an excerpt from a famous Liberal website:
If you do not have skin cancer, and have ever stood outside without having a peeling sunburn within moments, thank the ozone layer, thank the ban on CFCs, and thank a liberal.
If you have ever breathed clean air or drank clean water, thank a liberal for continuing to champion environmental standards.
If you are glad we don't live in a right-wing dictatorship along the lines of what conservatives overtly and covertly created in Iran, Guatamala, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, the Congo, Chile, Brazil, El Salvador, the Phillipines, Indonesia and many others, thank a liberal.
If you have ever used Medicare, thank a liberal.
If you have not gotten cancer from radiation, thank the Nuclear test ban and thank a liberal.
If you've ever driven on an interstate highway, thank a liberal.
If you grew up in a family of less than 12 kids, like the idea of being able to choose if you have 12 kids or not, if you don't live in an overpopulated third world slum, or just think birth control is a good idea, thank a liberal.
If your family benefited from the GI Bill of Rights, FHA Mortgages, and so forth, thank a liberal.
If you have ever bought anything from Europe, and are glad the Marshall plan kept it from remained a bombed-out shell or falling to communism or neo-fascism, thank a liberal.
If you are glad that the Nazis don't control half the world (conservatives opposed joining World War 2 until it was forced on them) thank a liberal.
If you have ever eaten food (agricultural subsidies), flicked on a light switch (rural electrification) or benefited from the Tennessee Valley Authority, thank a liberal.
If you ever drank a beer or a glass of wine without being thrown in jail, thank a liberal.
If you are not a land-owning white male, but have voted, thank a liberal.
If you have not died from tainted meat, been prescribed something useless or poisonous by a quack doctor, have not given your children cough syrup which turned out to have heroin as its secret ingredient, thank a liberal.
If your workplace is safe and you are paid a living wage, including overtime; if you enjoy a 40-hour week and you are allowed to join a union to protect your rights without being lynched, thank a liberal.
If you've ever seen a national park, and it hadn't been strip mined and clearcut into a desert wasteland, thank a liberal.
If your children go to school instead of working in coal mines, thank a liberal.
If you're a Native American and have not been killed or died in a concentration camp, or if you live near Native Americans and are not at war with them, thank a liberal.
If you oppose political parties starting massive wars to destroy America, just because they lost the election, and killing hundreds of thousands of Americans in process - if you just don't have that much fanatical hatred of Lincoln's policy of to restricting slavery to states where it already existed, thank a liberal.
If you're part-Irish, Catholic, Jewish, or for that matter anything not Anglo-Saxon Protestant, and are allowed to live in America, and are not harassed and attacked for failing to be born Anglo-Saxon Protestant, or if you've ever bought or used anything built by a non-ASP American, thank a liberal.
If you kind of like freedom of speech, and don't want the state government to be able to censor you - (you think the 14th amendment is a good idea) - thank a liberal.
If you have ever bought or sold anything transported by the transcontinental railroad, or eaten food from a farm created by the railroad, thank a liberal.
If you think the US constitution is pretty cool, and have ever traveled too or done business with a country whose democracy was inspired by the American revolution, thank a liberal.
If you have not been drafted and used as cannon-fodder in some war caused by some petty insult between nobles, clan leaders, or other various overfed dictators, or suffered rape or looting in one of those countless wars, thank a liberal.
If you have not been tortured to death in a religious inquisition, thank a liberal.
If you don't have to walk though ankle-deep sewage in the streets (because sewers are big gummint), thank a liberal.
If you have ever done anything that is a religious or superstitious taboo (ie, done anything at all) without being stoned to death or cast out as a heretic, thank a liberal.
If you have never been raped, and then had the rapist escape punishment on the grounds that he marry you, thank a liberal.
In short, if you've ever enjoyed anything of the post-stone-age world, thank a liberal.
...And if not, become a conservative.
Oh...and on the issue of religion in general in the previous email, Jesus Christ was the ULTIMATE Liberal. Check the books of Matthew, John and beyond. He was AGAINST war, he was for healing the sick and feeding the hungry FOR FREE and he was for all men embracing one another as brothers and not stockpiling guns and building fences. Many people in America today are Christians in name alone. They have no idea what Jesus truly stood for and prefer to ascribe Old Testament values to the New Testament visionary. The Prince of PEACE. And that's coming from one of the millions of Christian Liberals in America today.
So, Conservatives. You want a divorce. You're like a spoiled child who's had their way for 8 long years and the second one election doesn't go your way, you want to take your ball and go home. Deal with it. This is America and our strength lies in our diversity and in our peaceful difference of opinion. No one party or ideology should rule for too long and thanks to the beauty of the American political system, that won't happen. It's cyclical. You've had your time. Hell, you've had 20 of the last 28 years and even THAT'S not good enough for you.
All I can say is that the current state of the GOP is your own fault. You're not bad or evil people but whenever you get stuck in your own head and refuse to adapt and update, this will happen and you'll continue to lose elections until you start to embrace what America truly is. A multicultural haven for people around the world...of every sexual orientation, nationality, religion, race and creed. America is not YOUR country. It's EVERYONE'S country and until your party truly reflects that, the Democratic majority will only increase.
But have fun crying, sulking and shaking your fists at the sky. You'll have to do so until Jan. 20, 2017 when President Obama gives his last speech as President of these United States of America.
"My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness." - The Dalai Lama
Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives,
> socialists, Marxists and Obama supporters, et al:
>
>
> We have stuck together since the late 1950's, but the
> whole of this latest election process has made me realize
> that I want a divorce. I know we tolerated each other for
> many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly,
> this relationship has run its course. Our two ideological
> sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is
> right so let's just end it on friendly terms. We can
> smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go
> our own way.
>
> Here is a model separation agreement:
>
> Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by
> landmass each taking a portion. That will be the difficult
> part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly
> agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy! Our
> respective representatives can effortlessly divide other
> assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate
> tastes.
>
> We don't like redistributive taxes so you can keep
> them. You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU..
> Since you hate guns and war, we'll take our firearms,
> the cops, the NRA and the military. You can keep Oprah,
> Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell (You are, however,
> responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to
> move all three of them).
>
> We'll keep the capitalism, greedy corporations,
> pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart and Wall Street. You can
> have your beloved homeless, homeboys, hippies and illegal
> aliens. We'll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy
> CEO's and rednecks. We'll keep the Bibles and give
> you NBC and Hollywood .
> You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we'll
> retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten
> us. You can have the peaceniks and war protesters. When our
> allies or our way of life are under assault, we'll help
> provide them security.
>
> We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values.. You are welcome
> to Islam, Scientology, Humanism and Shirley McClain. You can
> also have the U.N.. but we will no longer be paying the
> bill.
> We'll keep the SUVs, pickup trucks and oversized luxury
> cars. You can take every Subaru station wagon you can find.
> You can give everyone healthcare if you can find any
> practicing doctors. We'll continue to believe healthcare
> is a luxury and not a right. We'll keep The Battle Hymn
> of the Republic and the National Anthem. I'm sure
> you'll be happy to substitute Imagine, I'd Like to
> Teach the World to Sing, Kum Ba Ya or We Are the World.
> We'll practice trickle down economics and you can give
> trickle up poverty your best shot. Since it often so offends
> you, we'll keep our history, our name and our flag.
> Would you agree to this? If so, please pass it along to
> other like minded liberal and conservative patriots and if
> you do not agree, just hit delete. In the spirit of friendly
> parting, I'll bet you ANWAR which one of us will need
> whose help in 15 years...
>
> Sincerely,
> John J. Wall
> Law Student and an American
> P.S. Also, please take Barbara Streisand & Jane Fonda
> with you
And here's my response:
The following is an excerpt from a famous Liberal website:
If you do not have skin cancer, and have ever stood outside without having a peeling sunburn within moments, thank the ozone layer, thank the ban on CFCs, and thank a liberal.
If you have ever breathed clean air or drank clean water, thank a liberal for continuing to champion environmental standards.
If you are glad we don't live in a right-wing dictatorship along the lines of what conservatives overtly and covertly created in Iran, Guatamala, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, the Congo, Chile, Brazil, El Salvador, the Phillipines, Indonesia and many others, thank a liberal.
If you have ever used Medicare, thank a liberal.
If you have not gotten cancer from radiation, thank the Nuclear test ban and thank a liberal.
If you've ever driven on an interstate highway, thank a liberal.
If you grew up in a family of less than 12 kids, like the idea of being able to choose if you have 12 kids or not, if you don't live in an overpopulated third world slum, or just think birth control is a good idea, thank a liberal.
If your family benefited from the GI Bill of Rights, FHA Mortgages, and so forth, thank a liberal.
If you have ever bought anything from Europe, and are glad the Marshall plan kept it from remained a bombed-out shell or falling to communism or neo-fascism, thank a liberal.
If you are glad that the Nazis don't control half the world (conservatives opposed joining World War 2 until it was forced on them) thank a liberal.
If you have ever eaten food (agricultural subsidies), flicked on a light switch (rural electrification) or benefited from the Tennessee Valley Authority, thank a liberal.
If you ever drank a beer or a glass of wine without being thrown in jail, thank a liberal.
If you are not a land-owning white male, but have voted, thank a liberal.
If you have not died from tainted meat, been prescribed something useless or poisonous by a quack doctor, have not given your children cough syrup which turned out to have heroin as its secret ingredient, thank a liberal.
If your workplace is safe and you are paid a living wage, including overtime; if you enjoy a 40-hour week and you are allowed to join a union to protect your rights without being lynched, thank a liberal.
If you've ever seen a national park, and it hadn't been strip mined and clearcut into a desert wasteland, thank a liberal.
If your children go to school instead of working in coal mines, thank a liberal.
If you're a Native American and have not been killed or died in a concentration camp, or if you live near Native Americans and are not at war with them, thank a liberal.
If you oppose political parties starting massive wars to destroy America, just because they lost the election, and killing hundreds of thousands of Americans in process - if you just don't have that much fanatical hatred of Lincoln's policy of to restricting slavery to states where it already existed, thank a liberal.
If you're part-Irish, Catholic, Jewish, or for that matter anything not Anglo-Saxon Protestant, and are allowed to live in America, and are not harassed and attacked for failing to be born Anglo-Saxon Protestant, or if you've ever bought or used anything built by a non-ASP American, thank a liberal.
If you kind of like freedom of speech, and don't want the state government to be able to censor you - (you think the 14th amendment is a good idea) - thank a liberal.
If you have ever bought or sold anything transported by the transcontinental railroad, or eaten food from a farm created by the railroad, thank a liberal.
If you think the US constitution is pretty cool, and have ever traveled too or done business with a country whose democracy was inspired by the American revolution, thank a liberal.
If you have not been drafted and used as cannon-fodder in some war caused by some petty insult between nobles, clan leaders, or other various overfed dictators, or suffered rape or looting in one of those countless wars, thank a liberal.
If you have not been tortured to death in a religious inquisition, thank a liberal.
If you don't have to walk though ankle-deep sewage in the streets (because sewers are big gummint), thank a liberal.
If you have ever done anything that is a religious or superstitious taboo (ie, done anything at all) without being stoned to death or cast out as a heretic, thank a liberal.
If you have never been raped, and then had the rapist escape punishment on the grounds that he marry you, thank a liberal.
In short, if you've ever enjoyed anything of the post-stone-age world, thank a liberal.
...And if not, become a conservative.
Oh...and on the issue of religion in general in the previous email, Jesus Christ was the ULTIMATE Liberal. Check the books of Matthew, John and beyond. He was AGAINST war, he was for healing the sick and feeding the hungry FOR FREE and he was for all men embracing one another as brothers and not stockpiling guns and building fences. Many people in America today are Christians in name alone. They have no idea what Jesus truly stood for and prefer to ascribe Old Testament values to the New Testament visionary. The Prince of PEACE. And that's coming from one of the millions of Christian Liberals in America today.
So, Conservatives. You want a divorce. You're like a spoiled child who's had their way for 8 long years and the second one election doesn't go your way, you want to take your ball and go home. Deal with it. This is America and our strength lies in our diversity and in our peaceful difference of opinion. No one party or ideology should rule for too long and thanks to the beauty of the American political system, that won't happen. It's cyclical. You've had your time. Hell, you've had 20 of the last 28 years and even THAT'S not good enough for you.
All I can say is that the current state of the GOP is your own fault. You're not bad or evil people but whenever you get stuck in your own head and refuse to adapt and update, this will happen and you'll continue to lose elections until you start to embrace what America truly is. A multicultural haven for people around the world...of every sexual orientation, nationality, religion, race and creed. America is not YOUR country. It's EVERYONE'S country and until your party truly reflects that, the Democratic majority will only increase.
But have fun crying, sulking and shaking your fists at the sky. You'll have to do so until Jan. 20, 2017 when President Obama gives his last speech as President of these United States of America.
"My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness." - The Dalai Lama
Friday, March 27, 2009
GOP Response Budget or 'The Dog Ate My Homework'
[url]http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#29904566[/url]
This Rachel Maddow clip is CLASSIC. For those of my friends here who would rather put a cigarette out on their tongue rather than watch 5 seconds of Ms. Maddow's show, let me paraphrase:
- Barack Obama dares...DOUBLE DOG DARES...his critics to stop taking potshots from the sidelines and actually come up with their own budget if they're so smart.
- the GOP takes the bait and Boehner trots out this 19-page 'budget proposal' which is literally not much more than 'Barack Obama Sucks' and 'the only thing we could come up with is to give the wealthiest Americans the largest tax cut in American history...a tax cut that dwarfs Bush's deepest cut by 10% but completely excludes any mention of healthcare, tackling the deficit or...well...anything else other than criticism of the Democrats' proposal'
- In doing so, in playing right into Obama's trap, the heat now comes off of Obama's budget and onto...you guessed it...the GOP budget...the one that doesn't really exist because Boehner said that it won't actually be ready until next week...
So why didn't they just hold the press conference NEXT WEEK when they had an actual budget to propose? It's the same reason Michael Steele is RNC Chairman...it's the same reason Sarah Palin was selected as VP candidate. The Republican Party has become the party of 'Instant and Predictable Reactionism' in the face of their reputation for staid, patient, well-thought out responses to things.
They've become a party of panickers. A party of 'quick...do something...I don't know what...just do SOMETHING' showmen who don't really HAVE a solution for the budget crisis but feel the need to grandstand and put themselves, once again, in a position to look unprepared, grumpy and obstructionist.
Congratulations.
This Rachel Maddow clip is CLASSIC. For those of my friends here who would rather put a cigarette out on their tongue rather than watch 5 seconds of Ms. Maddow's show, let me paraphrase:
- Barack Obama dares...DOUBLE DOG DARES...his critics to stop taking potshots from the sidelines and actually come up with their own budget if they're so smart.
- the GOP takes the bait and Boehner trots out this 19-page 'budget proposal' which is literally not much more than 'Barack Obama Sucks' and 'the only thing we could come up with is to give the wealthiest Americans the largest tax cut in American history...a tax cut that dwarfs Bush's deepest cut by 10% but completely excludes any mention of healthcare, tackling the deficit or...well...anything else other than criticism of the Democrats' proposal'
- In doing so, in playing right into Obama's trap, the heat now comes off of Obama's budget and onto...you guessed it...the GOP budget...the one that doesn't really exist because Boehner said that it won't actually be ready until next week...
So why didn't they just hold the press conference NEXT WEEK when they had an actual budget to propose? It's the same reason Michael Steele is RNC Chairman...it's the same reason Sarah Palin was selected as VP candidate. The Republican Party has become the party of 'Instant and Predictable Reactionism' in the face of their reputation for staid, patient, well-thought out responses to things.
They've become a party of panickers. A party of 'quick...do something...I don't know what...just do SOMETHING' showmen who don't really HAVE a solution for the budget crisis but feel the need to grandstand and put themselves, once again, in a position to look unprepared, grumpy and obstructionist.
Congratulations.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Bobby Jindal...I'm sorry...the tribe has spoken...
Bobby Jindal got voted off the 2012 GOP Survivor with the QUICKNESS today...
Man...
I feel for the guy. Having to follow the most popular man on the planet who just received 60 standing ovations and was mobbed for autographs by MEMBERS OF CONGRESS like it was a Jonas Brothers concert was like watching a movie in iMax and then watching this skinny kid in his living room with a bad tie and a speech impediment was like watching the same movie only on a shytty bootleg DVD with a baby crying in the background and someone walking in front of the camera.
It was like watching Michael Jordan drop 50 points at Madison Square Garden and then watching Urkel attempt the same moves on a backyard hoop with a Nerf ball.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Barack Obama Has An AMAZING First Week As President
Closing Guantanamo Bay, denouncing and outlawing torture, the Stimulus Package, personally addressing the Arab world, revamping fuel efficiency standards via the Energy Independence and Security Act, promoting stem cell research and now the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act...
This time during Bush's Presidency he was literally planning his first vacation. Barack Obama has rolled into Washington D.C. like a cleansing storm and he's hard at work to reverse the lunacy of the last 8 years.
God bless him.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
"Change has come to America"
It's been a CRAZY 48 to 72 hours.
WE DID IT!!!
Change has come to America and while I'm not deluded into thinking that Barack or any one President or any one person can solve all of our problems, I know that we are off on the right direction again. I know that my President is a man of honor, intelligence, respect given and great respect received around the world. I have NEVER seen the election of an American president this acclaimed and celebrated around the planet. People and nations that were fearful of us before, angry with us before and felt that America's greatest days were behind her will be lining up to work wit this man and that is good for us.
Wow...we can want our children to be like the President, the ULTIMATE positive role model...not just for African-American children but for all children. Just like Dr. King. He wasn't an African-American hero, he was an American hero who just happened to be black and I know tha Obama has yet to earn 'hero' status but something in me tells me that he will.
His presidency will be rough, he'll make mistakes along the way but I believe him when he says that he won't lie to us and that he'll make his decisions the same way he ran his campaign. With discipline, with thought of the future and with the welfare of the American people in mind always.
On a personal note, aside from intermittent crying for the last 36 hours, the second they flashed the words 'BARACK OBAMA HAS BEEN ELECTED 44TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES', I've been so proud, so hopeful, so overjoyed and so reflective. In Astoria, we poured out into the streets cheering and dancing then we heard one of the most inspirational speeches in American history from our new President and I have never heard anything like it.
Then Michelle and I drove to Harlem and I was born and raised there and even I have never seen a scene like it: a brass marching band down 125th street, fireworks, people of ALL CREEDS, COLORS AND WALKS OF LIFE hugging, cheering, dancing, celebrating. I held back the tears as I drove and honked my horn and thought to myself that this scene...is LITERALLY...Martin Luther King's dream come true.
We are one...finally, we are one.
I then proceeded to drive to my grandmother's house (she is 77 and she was still up at 1am) and I double parked the car and RAN upstairs with my huge Obama poster, lawn sign and book to give it to her because if there's anyone who appreciates this moment in history, it's her.
I knocked on her door, she opened it and we were both crying...I've never seen my grandmother cry. She's a strong woman who has had to be strong all these years to endure what she has. We hugged and talked and I presented her with the things and she immediately said that she'd need a frame so that she could put Barack's picture 'right next to Martin's...where it belongs'.
Tuesday night was such a special night and we all made it happen. I think that's the most special part of all this. It was a victory for ALL Americans and even people in other countries are ecstatic.
History.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
The Fierce Urgency of Now
A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the Presidency.
Both parties have LOCKED DOWN states that they're not losing i.e. New York for Obama and Texas for McCain.
When these states are factored out:
Obama:
Vermont - 3
Connecticut - 7
Delaware - 3
Illinois - 21
Maine - 4
Maryland - 10
Massachusetts - 12
New Jersey - 15
District of Columbia - 3
Michigan - 17
Minnesota - 10
New York - 31
Rhode Island - 4
Wisconsin - 10
Iowa - 7
California - 55
Hawaii - 4
Oregon - 7
Washington - 11
That adds up to 234 electoral votes.
McCain:
Georgia - 15
Kentucky - 8
South Carolina - 8
West Virginia - 5
Alabama - 9
Mississippi - 6
Oklahoma - 7
Tennessee - 11
Arkansas - 6
Arizona - 10
Kansas - 6
Louisiana - 9
Nebraska - 5
South Dakota - 3
Texas - 34
Wyoming - 3
Montana - 3
Utah - 5
Idaho - 4
North Dakota - 3
Alaska - 3
That adds up to 163 electoral votes
Okay...that's where we stand. Some would argue about Iowa and Minnesota on Barack's side but Iowa has gone blue in four of the last five elections and Minnesota hasn't gone red since 1972. Couple that with Obama's large and growing leads in both states and I'd call them solid.
So that's where it sits...234 to 163
Leaving 11 swing states:
Ohio - 20
Virginia - 13
Indiana - 11
Florida - 27
North Carolina - 15
Missouri - 11
New Hampshire - 4
Pennsylvania - 21
Colorado - 9
New Mexico - 5
Nevada - 5
A total of 141 electoral votes up for grabs.
Obama only needs 36 of those 141 electoral votes (25%) to be elected President. McCain has to grab 75% of the contested swing states despite being down in the polls in almost all of those states.
And I'm thinking we should know relatively early into the evening what the outcome is likely to be. Eight of these swing states close their polls at or before 8pm:
7:00pm
Virginia - 13
Indiana - 11
7:30pm
Ohio - 20
North Carolina - 15
8:00pm
Florida - 27
Pennsylvania - 21
Missouri - 11
New Hampshire - 4
9:00pm
Colorado - 9
10:00pm
Nevada - 5
Now, I'm not saying this to be cocky or to say that we've got it made and we can sit back. Quite the contrary, the McCain campaign has known this for some time. Which is why we're seeing this desperate, hyperaggressive push to impugn Barack's character. Because they know they can't win by discussing the issues.
We can laugh at the foibles of Sarah Palin and her 'Pretty Woman' shopping sprees and McCain and those corny air quotes and contorted facial expressions but the reality is that they will be working HARD to try and steal as many states...and votes (wink)...as they can and we Obama supporters please need to keep emailing our friends and wearing our gear and if you can volunteer at all this weekend, it will really make the difference. You can go to barackobama.com to find phone banks and other organizing efforts right in your neighborhood. Let's fight the slanderous robocalls with live voices speaking the truth.
This is it, people...the home stretch. We stand on the precipice of the most historic election in our lifetime and perhaps in American history. The stakes have never been higher.
The choice to elect a lapdog of the current administration who has professed a DESIRE for war, continued tax cuts for the super-rich and a blatant disregard and mocking of issues like education, women's health and the environment. An erratic self-styled deregulator who had one message about the strength of the economy when he boarded a plane and had a completely different message when that plane landed.
And the choice to elect an intelligent, principled leader who knows, firsthand, the struggles of the middle class and has tangible plans to address them. A man who sees other people in other lands not as enemies but as allies first and will restore America's good standing in the world and a candidate for President who has earned the respect, the endorsement and the backing of countless elder statesman, military experts and financial authorities. A rare public servant who wins the respect not only of the Warren Buffetts and the Colin Powells but the bus drivers and the teachers and homemakers of this great land.
In less than a week, we can make history but we have to work at it. We can do this. We will do this. But we all need to lend a hand. We're almost at the finish line, guys. Change is almost upon us.
Let's get 'em...
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