United Liberty

Trying to capitalize on his constant references to “Joe the Plumber” in the final debate, Senator McCain’s campaign has launched a new strategy, with which they hope to win the hearts and support of hard-working middle-class Americans by supposedly giving them a voice during the last couple of weeks before the election.  The campaign site claims-

there is no doubt that John McCain and Sarah Palin stand firmly on the side of hardworking “everyday Joes” who understand the value of honest work and the American Dream.

Of course, considering McCain’s wealthy heiress wife, multiple homes and having a cushy government job for the past 25 years, one wonders whether he can truly relate to the average “Joe Six-Pack”, as his running-mate so eloquently puts it.

McCain also needs to explain how anyone who voted for a tax-funded $800 billion Wall Street bailout can seriously claim to be on the side of tax-payers.

Oliver Stone’s new release “W.” is certainly a unique film, and like other films of his, will likely become a reference point for our time.  It is an intertwining of bits and pieces of our current President’s past, from his Yale days to his “fiasco” in Iraq.

What’s particularly notable is how well executed the film is from a Realist perspective, as many of the lines W. delivers in the movie were taken straight from real incidents.  More often than not these statements are to his disgrace and/or embarrassment, provided he has the cognitive capacity to comprehend that he said something imbecilic - again - in the first place.  Stone simultaneously delivers the image of Bush I believe he intended, and yet absolves himself from political pressure or retaliation by sticking to what he was provided.

Recently, New Jersey angered parents by requiring children between 6 months and 5 years that attend day care or preschool to receive a flu shot.  The reasons given for laws like this are that it’s in the public’s best interest-  supposedly, fewer children will get sick and/or die, if they’re all inoculated.  Disease also costs companies and the state money in missed productivity and health care costs.  So, what’s to object to?  Won’t the majority benefit if everyone is vaccinated?

Ever since the “billionaire bailout” of Wall Street passed nearly two weeks ago, the market has signaled its displeasure in the goverment’s decision to shore up the failing system. The bailout passed on a Friday and the following week the Dow had its worse week in history. This created an environment where the Administration took hits for their “failed plan”- a plan that had not even been put into practice. But since markets look forward, expectations of the effects of the plan helped bring about the miserable week on Wall Street.

I have to admit that I was skeptical when my mom sent me an email with this story in it.  Since the kind of jack-booted behavior described seems too sensational to be true, I first verified the story at The Lufkin Daily News and also spoke to Jessica Hughes’ friend and neighbor, Connie Wells, who confirmed Jessica’s existence and story.

According to the email, Jessica Hughes, New Jersey native, but now a resident of Lufkin, TX, was called by an Obama volunteer on her cell phone and asked to support Senator Obama on November 4th.  Jessica replied in the negative, citing Obama’s socialist tendencies and votes against an Illinois “born alive” bill as her reasons.

The Los Angeles Times ran a stunning piece in this Sunday’s paper detailing the resignation of Lt. Col. Darrel J. Vandeveld, the man who was prosecuting nearly 1/3rd of the pending trials for suspected terrorists in Guantanamo Bay. Vandeveld, a self described conformist, became disenchanted with “the system” set up in Cuba over issues relating to fairness and lack of due process for the very prisoners he was suppose to prosecute. He lays out accusations of intentional withholding of exculpatory evidence from defense attorneys by military officials, and even goes so far as to say he reached out to a defense attorney to ask “how do I get myself out of this office?”.

According to Ohio state law, convicted child pornographers are required to carry a Tier 2 sexual offender classification, requiring registration as a sex offender for twenty years. In this case, a teen girl from Licking Valley High School is charged with illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material, a second-degree felony; and possession of criminal tools, a fifth-degree felony.

In case you made it this far without passing judgment on “yet another child pornographer,” the girl charged is fifteen years old, her “criminal tool” was a cell phone and MMS (multimedia messaging service). Her “illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material” were nude photos of herself. Putting those together, you can deduce that she took nude photos of herself with her cell phone. The Licking County prosecutor, Ken Oswalt, has received reports of 20 similar cases among school age teens, and he has been traveling to the area schools with an assembly program that discusses the consequences of such actions.

While the teen girl who sent these nude pictures of herself to others via MMS is not alone, she has been the only person arrested. She also spent a weekend in jail awaiting arraignment and a bond hearing. The statute she has been accused of breaking has exemptions in place that allows parents and/or guardians to take pictures of their naked children for a list of acceptable purposes. Interestingly, the statute does not provide the same exemption for the child themselves. While the consequences for her have already been laid out by the prosecutor in the charges, the recipients of her messages may be also facing prosecution for their passive role(s) in this incident.

So, much to my chagrin the House of Representatives voted to pass the bailout bill yesterday, after it was made into a mashup of the proposed bailout, the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008, and the Tax Extenders and Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008. In addition to the EIEA to woo Democrats, and the TEAMTRA to woo Republicans, many specifically targeted pork projects were added to entice lawmakers to vote for it. The sections and their “enticements” are listed below:

Sec. 101. Extension of alternative minimum tax relief for nonrefundable personal credits.

Sec. 102. Extension of increased alternative minimum tax exemption amount.

Sec. 103. Increase of AMT refundable credit amount for individuals with longterm unused
credits for prior year minimum tax liability, etc.

Sec. 201. Deduction for State and local sales taxes.

From Kevin Drum & Propublica - A visual representation of the bailouts adjusted for inflation.