THE TRUTH BEHIND THE BAILOUT AND HOW PAULSON'S ACTION MAY ELECT THE NEXT PRESIDENT

The following excellent article is being cross posted from a piece I found at The Minority Report, written by one who goes by the name, " civil truth." This excellent posting describes in detail the chain of events instigated by Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and how the chain has damaged McCain even to the point of sabotage whether intended or accidental by Paulson of McCain's run for the Presidency. Not to mention the total incompetency of the Secretary

The title of the post is, "History May Record That Hank Paulson Threw The Election To Barack Obama." Paulson needs to go! Here is the post in its entirety.

Ken Taylor

When I step back a bit and review the whole drama surrounding the Mother of All Bailouts, I see Mr. Paulson at several key steps taking actions that directly and selectively have harmed John McCain's standing as a candidate, an outcome that Paulson could easily avoided or mitigated had he wished to.

And in the process, Mr. Paulson has exploited President Bush's well-know leadership weakness of putting undue trust in his appointed advisers. Whether Senator Graham is a fall guy or willing facilitator also remains to be seen.

History will have to judge whether Paulson put personal aggrandizement above country.
In any case, Paulson deserves to be fired. And in a McCain administration, which demands accountability, he would have been by now.

Let me outline the key events.

1) Henry Paulson announces his plan 10 days ago as an emergency that requires immediate action over that weekend, lest the markets crash. This "sky is falling" pronouncement immediately spreads panic and fear, which is key to his maneuver. He has previously convinced President Bush that this sky is falling and that his bill is the ONLY solution, recruiting him as his point person and lapdog, a role that Bush has played throughout up to today.

2) Then, when Congress does not immediately fall into line over the weekend, Paulson backs off and gives Congress until Friday at the latest to pass the bill. This delay maintains a public atmosphere of crisis and turmoil while privately destroying his credibility with Congress (especially when the deadline later slips to the end of the weekend and changes to “agreement” rather than “bill”).

3) By doing this, rather than demanding a clean bill ASAP, Paulson loses control of the process. His wavering surrenders to the majority Democrats in Congress the whip hand, because Paulson is essentially holding the Republican administration hostage to the good will of a Democratic majority in Congress.

4) Paulson, though Bush, also frames this situation so as to allow the Democrats to require bipartisan cover for enacting this bill, rather than putting the onus on the majority party to get this bill passed.

5) That is, rather than negotiating for his bill (which apparently he had prepared months in advance) Paulson invites the Democrats to amend the bill and bludgeons the Republicans in Congress to accede, putting them in the awkward position of their only weapon being to say no. This also put them under extreme duress by forcing them to oppose George Bush, who has signed the blank check and says that the bill must pass to save the country.

6) The Democrats, taking advantage of Paulson's open invitation, promptly started adding a bevy of pet projects and oversight that turns the bill into a Trojan Horse for socialism if they win in November.

7) Paulson does not call that out on this behavior, does not insist that they strip this stuff out and simply act on his original bill.

8) Now we get to the Presidential politics part of these events. The Democrats continue to abuse the bill in conjunction with a craven Republican Senate leadership, while the Republican House is locked out of the process. They begin to remonstrate and indicate that they are not going to fall into place and vote to approve the clutter attached to the bill.

9) Paulson then privately through Graham asks McCain to come to Washington to help out, probably without informing him of the real situation. He evidently said that if McCain did not come immediately, that the country would go down the drain. McCain, trusting his expertise, responded patriotically, putting country before politics.

10) What Paulson did not do was to publicly ask both McCain and Obama, as sitting senators, to come to Washington to help out. By keeping to back channels, he was acting in his own interests, not wanting to appear weak in public. This was the first sabotage of McCain.

11) As a result, McCain announces that he was suspending his campaign to ride to the rescue, but in keeping with usual protocol does not reveal that Paulson had initiated the request. As a result, the Obama campaign is able to twist McCain's action as grandstanding, while enabling them to keep Obama away (for the moment). It also essentially puts the onus of success on McCain, without obligation of involving Obama.

12) The Democrats thus are totally free, which they took advantage of on Thursday morning, to announce a so-called agreement before McCain arrived, trying making McCain look foolish and unneeded.

13) When McCain arrives and discovers that he is being asked to bludgeon the House Republicans into submission and learns that they had alternative ideas and were being denied a place of the table (while the Democrats had been allowed to run amok), McCain blows up Paulson’s strategy by instead supporting the House Republicans.

14) Emboldened, the Republican House protests and says that there had never been an agreement and that they were not being consulted. The Democrats spin this as McCain destructively blowing up the compromise by his arrival.

15) Paulson never intervenes to set the record straight that he had summoned McCain and there was no agreement before McCain arrived. This was sabotage act number 2.

16) President Bush, meanwhile, had summoned Obama to the White House along with McCain and Congressional leaders. The meeting breaks up in discord with no pubic announcement.

17) We have now heard reports as to how Obama destroyed the meeting with his behavior, and that Paulson, again wanting to appear not to look weak, begged everyone to keep silent on the actual events, appealing to the good of the country to cover his posterior, again with Bush loyally backing him up.

18) McCain and Bush agree and keep silent, for the good of the country. The Democrats, on the other hand, immediately start to lie and publicly blamed McCain for blowing up the meeting and also claimed that the House Republicans had sprung a surprise with their alternative proposals - both clear lies as well.

19) Again, Paulson cowardly keeps silent and does not set the record straight, leaving McCain holding the bag and enabling Obama to escape scot-free

20) This was the 3rd and most serious sabotage of McCain.

21) This also exposed Paulson's acquiescence to the Democratic agenda. (History will have to determine whether Paulson's behavior rose to the level of complicity with).

22) That is, throughout the week, Paulson was willing to allow the Democrats do their mischief to the bill, rather than draw a line in the sand. He also was not open much to Republican alternatives and allowed them to become the scapegoats for possible failure. At a minimum, this was cravenness – he was so desperate to get his power that he didn’t dare cross the Democratic leadership.

23) Friday passed without meltdown, as Paulson extends the deadline again, weakening his credibility to zero among Congress.

24) At the end of the weekend, with McCain engaged and Obama phoning it in, a new bill, largely still along Democratic lines, emerges.

24a) Obama gets to crow unchallenged about his being responsible for the main components while the onus being on Republicans to go along with this bill and having to come up with an undefined number of votes in support.

24b) McCain is given no credit for his efforts to date and instead is left holding the bag, expected to get the Republicans to go along with the new bill that Obama has fashioned.

25) Paulson still says nothing except that he wanted the bill to pass, thereby allowing the Democratic and media interpretations to dominate.

26) Next, we have Monday's drama. While the wreckage is still being sorted out, we see that Paulson did not interfere with Pelosi (almost certainly acting in concert with the Obama campaign) partisan maneuverings, demanding “bipartisan action” while unchallenged the Democrats to, without precedent, define bipartisan action as requiring majorities of both parties.

27) Paulson stands by while that, as others have observed, Pelosi was able to let vulnerable Democrats vote no while vulnerable Republicans were expected to vote yes. When this maneuver failed and Pelosi did not come up with the votes, the Republicans as the minority party were assigned the blame for the bill's failure.

28) McCain, of course, is demeaned for not having gotten the House Republicans on board, while Obama just floats over everything.

29) As others at RedState and elsewhere have documented, Pelosi’s actions either represented incompetence in execution or, more likely in my judgment on the basis of her partisan attacks on the House floor and her refusal to employ the Majority Whip or to require loyalty from her committee people and allies, a deliberate attempt to send the bill down to defeat.

30) The stock market has a serious hiccup in response, but the world does not come to an end. The press tries to play drama with the numeric point drop, but the public still sees that the country is still running.

31) And now, Paulson's only public response is to say that he will push the bill through again. He, with Bush loyally following, keep pushing their bankrupt fear-mongering that this time really the world will come to an end if Congress doesn’t pass a bill soon. Armageddon continues to be delayed, and each delay raises the level of skepticism.

32) Paulson’s next step is to rely on stock market carnage (and associated media sensationalism) to put the screws to the Republican to pass some revised bill. And Bush is continuing to preach doom and gloom.

33) The more benevolent interpretation of Paulson is that he hopes to get a re vote with minor tweaking, with the House Republican going along because there’s too much pressure put on them –that somehow they will stop listening to their constituents and cry uncle “see the light”.

34) The less benevolent interpretation is that the Monday vote was a sneaky effort to create a situation in which Paulson, with the backing of Bush (who still remains convinced of the need for ANY bill), and the Democratic leadership are positioned to end the necessity for bipartisanship, having molded public perception that the Democrats are the good guys acting in the national interest while the Republicans are obstructionists and bomb throwers.

35) In this scenario, Paulson will cheerlead for a bill crafted to the Democratic wish-list to get this Trojan Horse through the city gates, again so that Paulson comes looking good in getting his bill and can save us all – and Obama looks good because he can say that he successfully enabled the bill to meet his stated requirements that are being met, while McCain and the House Republicans are consigned to the dustbin.

This pattern of behavior is why calls are afoot to dump Paulson and get a new leader on board who has the credibility to re craft a proper bill.

BAILOUT FAILS - GOP AND 94 DEMOCRATS SAY NO

After a completely partisan speech by Nancy Pelosi in which she blasted the Bush administration for the financial crisis hitting the markets today, the House defeated the $700 billion dollar bailout bill 228 - 205.

Once again perpetuating the lie that the GOP alone is responsible for the financial crisis Pelosi took the podium on the House floor just before the vote after three days of negotiations in an attempt to create a bill that was bipartisan in nature and in just a few moments Pelosi not only destroyed all bipartisanship but never once accepted or recognized ANY Democrat responsibility in causing the crisis in the first place.

Not once did she mention that GOP lawmakers along with the Bush administration have been warning of a pending crisis for years . Not once did she mention that GOP lawmakers have tried to reform the system dozens of times in the last five years and each time were thwarted by Democrats who claimed that the GOP was only on a witch hunt.

Congressional phone lines and e-mails have been burning with constituents opposed to the bailout bill and Pelosi added to the aggravation showing a total lack of leadership and concern ONLY for promoting her party and NOT any concern for the American people.

Democrats are already trying to blame Republicans alone for the failure in passing the bailout which in this writers opinion makes them heroes and not the scoundrels that Democrats are trying to make them out to be. But 94 Democrats voted against the bailout which also proves that Pelosi cannot even lead her own party much less be Speaker of the House and third in line of succession to the Presidency.

Had this bill been as good as everyone was saying Democrats could have passed it alone as they have a majority in the House. But Democrats did not want the stipulation of being the party that approved $700 billion in bailout money so they brought the GOP into the mix and as such the bill that went before the House was considerably better than the massive bill that began on Thursday of last week.

Democrats have also attempted to portray John McCain as the great disruptor of the bill last week when it was reported that a, "deal," was made and the bill was ready. First there was no deal as House Republicans and most GOP Senators had not even been brought into the mix in preparing the original bill.

The now infamous White House meeting where McCain was accused of creating a ruckus is also a fabrication as far as the facts of the meeting. McCain sat quietly in the meeting except to say that he would not support a bill that did not allow House Republicans any say so in the process, which had been the case before the meeting.

Rather as details are leaking out, President Bush deferred leading the meeting to Pelosi who then deferred to Harry Reid who then deferred to Barack Obama who then immediately accused House Republicans of obstructing the process which in turn sparked a heated debate which lead to McCain placing House Republicans in the mix with his statement of opposing the bill without their participation in the process.

To this Democrat House and Senate leaders blew their tops because they saw their opportunity of getting a bill with pork the way they wanted it ending. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulsen originally asked for McCain to be included in the process because he new McCain could talk to House and Senate Republicans and lead in the negotiations. But McCain arrived at the White House to find House GOP members being left out of the process and would not sign on to anything without their participation and their arguments heard.

Now today when asking for the GOP to vote for the bill Pelosi takes on a completely partisan approach and the vote fails with both sides of the isle defeating the bailout. Now maybe a bill can be put together that places more responsibility on Wall Street than in the pockets of the American people. But if any bill is to pass the best thing to do would be to place Nancy Pelosi in a box and ship her back to San Francisco !

Ken Taylor

JOHN MCCAIN AND THE REPUBLICANS TRIED TO PREVENT THE COLLAPSE, DEMOCRATS FOUGHT REGULATION - THE SUNDAY COMMENTARY

We have listened for more than a week now as Barack Obama and Democrats like Barney Frank and others continually blame John McCain, the Bush Administration and Republicans in general for the massive collapse on Wall Street that has taken place.

Unfortunatly this canard being spewed by Democrats is playing well with the American people in light of the $700 billion dollar bailout which is extremely unpopular and is being pushed by the Bush Administration. A move that because of continual Democrat obstruction over the past ten years in preventing Republicans from actually regulating Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac where this problem began then working its way through the financial system and providing regulatory oversight of these ,"government sponsored enterprises," which portrayed themselves as the guru of , "affordable housing," thus recieving backing by all Democrats and a few Republicans with Democrats accusing Republicans who were trying to regulate these GSE's of creating a witch hunt.

Using the affordable housing issue as a screen, these GSE's, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were allowed because of continual blocking by Democrats to continue virtually unregulated as they flooded the market with sub prime bad loans many of which were bought up by institutions like Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch which have since gone belly up along with Fannie and Freddie.

Now because of the bailout caused by this Democrat debacle, Republicans who have warned for years and tried to force regulatory oversight to prevent the collapse are taking a hit since the GOP is now faced with being the party in charge of the White House when saving the financial markets is necessary and keeping this from having a further ripple affect on the rest of the economy.

I have already posted about the 2005 move by Republicans which was co-sponsored by John McCain on the Senate floor which would have prevented this debacle from happening if it were not for blocking by Democrats. The 2005 Federal Housing Regulatory Act which was introduced in committee by GOP Senators Elizabeth Dole, John Sanunu and Chuck Hagel is considered to be the most important piece of economic legislation of the 109th Congress. After McCain's co-sponsorship on the Senate floor, Democrats blocked the bill through proceedural measures thus allowing it to die without a vote.

Additionally Democrats have been spending the week claiming that deregualtion by Republicans was the cause of this financial meltdown when just the opposite is true. As a matter of fact the very deragualtion in the banking industry that Democrats are crying about allowed banks to attract more than $100 billion dollars in new capital in the last year replacing their sub prime related write downs allowing them to weather this financial storm. It is also deregulation that has allowed the banking acquisitions of Bear Sterns and Merrill Lynch saving taxpayers billions in having to resolve these two investment firms.

Other deregulation by Republicans are found in long-distance telephone rates, the trucking and airline industries and securities brokerage which has actually reduced cunsumer costs because of
deregulation.

During the attempt by Republicans to regulate the GSE, Democrats lead by Barney Frank and Christopher Dodd accused regulatory minded Republicans of attempting to end affordable housing and claimed that it was a ploy for the rich which is a typical Democrat mantra. When in fact the regulatory legislation that was being pushed by Republicans recognized the coming of the meltdown we have seen and would have stopped it well before it affected the financial markets thus the need for this massive bailout would have never existed.

Other Democrats like Barack Obama sat back and quietly looked on as this was happening and only recently when they have seen a political opportunity jumped on the regulatory band wagon in order to blame Republicans, John McCain and the Bush administration.

All the while Obama and his Democrat cronies recieved hundreds of thousands of dollars of campaign contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which looks to have bought their blocking and their silence. These campaign donations did NOT come from individuals as Democrats have been trying to claim but from Fannie and Freddie's Political Action Committee or PAC.

Now these same Democrats who fought regulation which would have prevented this debacle are deriding Republicans as the cause and placing the major blame on Bush and McCain who both time and again tried to stop this collapse.

"I think the responsibility that the Democrats have may rest more in RESISTING efforts by REPUBLICANS in the Congress to put some standards and tighten up a little on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac." This quote comes from Bill Clinton.

This Democrat hypocrisy about the Wall Street collapse and in using the terms, "main street," in order to indear themselves as the saviors and the caring mother hen of the people and terms like ,"depression," in order to scare voters is not only one of the largest political scams in our history but is a farce that makes Watergate look like a walk in the park.

Ken Taylor

JOHN MCCAIN BEING MCCAIN - NOT A ,"STUNT !"

On Wednesday, John McCain suspended his campaign to return to Washington in order to work with the President, and the Congress in order to get a workable package put together to address the mortgage collapse on Wall Street. Immediately he was accused by the left and the Obama campaign of creating a political stunt in order to shore up, "sagging, " poll numbers.

First the poll numbers remain in a statistical tie no matter which poll one looks at, so why would a political stunt be necessary ? Second this type of move by McCain is typical McCain. He has and will always be a doer and not one to just sit back and let things fall as they may. This doer approach has been one of the reasons that he has had disagreements with the GOP conservative base because some of the legislation that he has been involved in has been in opposition to conservatives and the President.

McCain saw in the 700 billion dollar bailout a massive expenditure for the American people with little or no ability to recoup taxpayer monies and an equally small amount of oversight in securing that not only would financial aspect of the collapsed be handled but little resolution to preventing this from happening again.

Barack Obama's response of, "call me if you need me, " was a lame attempt by Obama to try and portray himself and interested but at a distance. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is actually on record in stating that the Senate, "needed, " John McCain in order to pass the legislation and as always McCain set aside self for the betterment of the country.

If this was a political stunt by McCain, why then was he not before the cameras at every opportunity promoting his work on the legislation. I noticed that at every instance a camera was available Barack Obama was in front of it making accusations against the GOP as to why the bill was not a done deal.

Throughout the day it was reported falsely that a deal was at hand , which was never the case and that to was why McCain felt it necessary to leave the campaign and return to Washington in order to assist in any way he could to get the ball moving and try to get a bill that would work and protect American taxpayers at the same time and as quickly as possible.

For this effort he has been accused of political grand standing. Even Bill Clinton defended McCain's return to Washington stating that he suspended his campaign, " in good faith, " that the Obama campaign would act accordingly and that the debate scheduled for Friday night could easily be postponed. In response to those including the Obama campaign who have tried to claim that McCain was , "afraid, " to debate Obama, Clinton reminded that it was McCain who wanted 10 or more debates and Obama was the candidate who balked at debating. So fear of the debate was and is not a factor.

John McCain is being John McCain in a crisis. Obama stated that a President must be able to do more than one thing at once, which was another lame response by the Democrat. If any President was overseas, at a conference or other pressing business and a situation similar to what has happened in the past week arose and necessary legislation was pending, that President regardless of party would immediately return to Washington to deal with the crisis

McCain's action were right on the mark while Obama said, " call me if you need me." Similar to voting , "present," as he has done so often as a legislator. We need a President who will put country above self. A President who understands that the necessities of his responsibility many times require his direct and personal intervention. A President who responds to a crisis with action and not just words. A President like John McCain whose actions speak for themselves and who went when needed instead of waiting for a phone call.

Ken Taylor

THE LIBERAL LIE CaRtOoN GaLLaRy AND YoU CaN't MaKe tHiS StUff Up

The sub prime debacle started by the Dems, shored up by Dems blocking every legislative reform by the Bush administration to prevent the collapse, while Obama and his Dems buddies take hundreds of thousands of dollars of PAC money from the companies at the center of the problem. And Obama blames John McCain.


YoU CaN't MaKe tHiS StUff Up - SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A West Virginia man who police said passed gas and fanned it toward a patrolman has been charged with battery on a police officer. Jose A. Cruz, 34, of Clarksburg, was pulled over early Tuesday for driving without headlights, police said. According to the criminal complaint, Cruz smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech and failed three field sobriety tests before he was handcuffed and taken to a police station for a breathalyzer test.

As Patrolman T.E. Parsons prepared the machine, Cruz scooted his chair toward Parsons, lifted his leg and "passed gas loudly," the complaint said. Cruz, according to complaint, then fanned the gas toward the officer. "The gas was very odorous and created contact of an insulting or provoking nature with Patrolman Parsons," the complaint alleged. He was also charged with driving under the influence, driving without headlights and two counts of obstruction.

I guess using a biological WMD on a police officer can get you some time in the poky - YoU CaN't MaKe tHiS StUff Up

Nearly one month after the surpirse annoncement of Sarah Palin being the VP nominee and Obama and the Dems are still running scared of Sarahcudda !

YoU CaN't MaKe tHiS StUff Up - NEWTON, N.J.— One New Jersey farm has a special attraction to go with the season's hay rides and corn mazes: a giant pumpkin catapult. A group of middle school students who became obsessed with the medieval weapon asked northern New Jersey farmers Anthony and Heidi Lentini if they could use physics to fling the big orange squash.

The couple, who have corn mazes on their Newton farm to attract customers, agreed. The half dozen boys, farmers and a technology teacher from Halsted Middle School began work in August and finished building the giant catapult this weekend. The farmers say the device is up and running and covering the farm with the smashed remains of damaged pumpkins.

This Halloween Linus will be in the Pumpkin Patch yelling , "look Charlie Brown, it's The Great Pumpkin ! " SPLAT! - YoU CaN't MaKe tHiS StUff Up

Biden being Biden, shooting himself and his ticket in the foot and then taking that same foot and placing it right in his big mouth !

YoU CaN't MaKe tHiS StUff Up - MUMBAI, INDIA — Move over Harry Potter. Make way for Hari Puttar. Hari Puttar is set to hit cinema screens this week after an Indian court rejected a Warner Bros. lawsuit contending that the name was too close to its Harry Potter series.

The court said in its ruling Monday that people familiar with the Harry Potter movies and books would know the difference between that and the Indian film Hari Puttar — A Comedy of Terrors. The producers, Mirchi Movies, said the Puttar movie bore no resemblance to the famous boy wizard franchise. Warner Bros. spokeswoman Deborah Lincoln said the company was reviewing the judgment. She said the film infringed on the company's intellectual property rights.

I guess the elitists at Warner Brothers think the public is to STUPID to know the difference. Give me a break ! - YoU CaN't MaKe tHiS StUff Up

As Obama gets caught with his hand in the Fannie, Freddie and Lehman Brothers cookie jar, he and the MSM are pointing fingers everywhere else.

Ken Taylor

JOHN MCCAIN - A HERO WHO DESERVES MY VOTE

Last night I had to make a quick trip to the grocery store. While waiting at the check out, I noticed a clearance sale on a DVD rack that I had not noticed in this store before . Two thoughts went through my mind before I stepped over to the rack to look. First I thought, " everyone wants to get into the DVD business." Then, " what the heck, let's see what they have."

I am a movie buff and collect DVD's so this was a natural fix for me. As I was looking through the rack I quickly discovered that I either had many of the movies or was not the least bit interested in watching others until I came upon one that I had considered before. The name of the movie was, "Faith Of My Fathers," an A & E movie based on the autobiography of Senator John McCain.

This was not the first time that this DVD has caught my attention but for one reason or another I either made a different purchase before or just bypassed the movie completely. Last night, especially at half price, I made the purchase and decided to watch the movie.

I have read about and heard the story of John McCain's captivity in the Hanoi Hilton many times before. As an avid reader I have considered many times reading the book that this movie is based upon but just as with the DVD, another book sparked my interest more and McCain's book was left on the shelf to consider another day.

After enjoying a quick supper and watching a few minutes of Hannity and Colmes which bores my family as they are not the news hounds or political junkie that I am, I started the movie. No one could pull themselves away until the final credits went across the screen. While movies never portray the full extent of traumatic experiences like that endured by McCain in the Hanoi Hilton, this film brought a new understanding and respect for this American hero.

Watching the extreme torture and abuse that John McCain endured for five and a half years, the honor and bravery that kept both he and his fellow captures alive amidst the worst that any man could be forced to endure, had a profound affect on my view of who John McCain is and what he stands for.

The stamina and honor that allowed him to survive under the most dire circumstances, the strength of character and physical ability to fight his captures despite wounds that were slow to heal and even aggravated because of the lack of medical care and continuous torture that was directed toward those wounds and prevented proper healing of wounds that were received when his plane was first shot down shows what this man is made of.

I like many conservatives have had my disagreements with John McCain during his tenure as a United States Senator. Disagreements that to an extent have been put aside because of changes that I have seen and heard during the course of the campaign as I have had the opportunity to see who John McCain is and what he truly stands for.

Watching the movie, seeing a portrayal of the heroism of the real and great American hero that John McCain is not only strengthened my belief that he is the best candidate to be our next President and Commander in Chief but I saw a man who will not waver from his principles and who has the strength to stand for what is right and best for this Nation.

While enduring what he did at the Hanoi Hilton does not qualify him to be President of the United States it does prove the character, devotion to country and strength of principles that makes a great President.

This combined with his strong stance on the pressing issues that we face today and his unwavering faith in the cause of freedom and liberty that this country was founded upon and continues to fight and stand for today as well as his belief in the American people and that government should get out of the way solidifies for me that John McCain has not only earned my vote but deserves my vote!

Ken Taylor

JOHN MCCAIN AND BARACK OBAMA - THE COMPARISON

There are several issues that remain at the top of the list for many when considering who they will support for President. Many of these issue are considered talking points as political pundits include them in nearly every interview that either side gives in promoting their candidate.

Following are the facts about many of the talking point issues for both campaigns.

2008 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE COMPARISON TALKING POINTS ISSUES
JOHN McCAIN - JM BARAK OBAMA - BO

Favors new drilling offshore US
Yes - JM
No - BO

Will appoint judges who interpret the law not make it
Yes - JM
No - BO

Served in the US Armed Forces
Yes - JM
No - BO

Amount of time served in the US Senate
22 YEARS - JM
3 YEARS - BO

Will institute a socialized national health care plan
No - JM
Yes - BO

Supports abortion throughout the pregnancy
No - JM
Yes - BO

Would pull troops out of Iraq beginning immediately
No - JM
Yes - BO

Supports homosexual marriage
No - JM
Yes - BO

Proposed programs will mean a huge tax increase
No - JM
Yes - BO

Voted against making English the official language
No - JM
Yes - BO

Voted to give Social Security benefits to illegal's
No - JM
Yes - BO

CAPITAL GAINS TAX

MCCAIN
0% on home sales up to $500,000 per home (couples). McCain does not propose any change in existing home sales income tax.

OBAMA

Wll raise overall Captial Gains tax from 15% to 25%

28% on profit from ALL home sales. (How does this affect you?If you sell your home and make a profit, you will pay 28% of your gain on taxes. If you are heading toward retirement and would like to down-size your home or move into a retirement community, 28% of the money you make from your home will go to taxes. This proposal will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the income from their homes as part of their retirement income.)

DIVIDEND TAX

MCCAIN
15% (no change)

OBAMA
39.6% - (How will this affect you? If you have any money invested in stock market, IRA, mutual funds, college funds, life insurance, retirement accounts, or anything that pays or reinvests dividends, you will now be paying nearly 40% of the money earned on taxes if Obama becomes president. The experts predict that 'Higher tax rates on dividends and capital gains would crash the stock market, yet do absolutely nothing to cut the deficit.')

INCOME TAX

MCCAIN
(no changes) Single making 30K - tax $4,500, Single making 50K - tax $12,500, Single making 75K - tax $18,750, Married making 60K - tax $9,000, Married making 75K- tax $18,750, Married making 125K - tax $31,250


OBAMA (reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts) Single making 30K - tax $8,400, Single making 50K - tax $14,000, Single making 75K - tax $23,250, Married making 60K- tax $16,800, Married making 75K - tax $21,000, Married making 125K - tax $38,750
Under Obama, your taxes could almost double

INHERITANCE TAX

MCCAIN
- 0% (No change, Bush repealed this tax)

OBAMA
Restore the inheritance tax
Many families have lost businesses, farms, ranches, and homes that have been in their families for generations because they could not afford the inheritance tax. Those willing their assets to loved ones will only lose them to these taxes.

NEW TAXES PROPOSED BY OBAMA

New government taxes proposed on homes that are more than 2400 square feet. New gasoline taxes (as if gas weren't high enough already) New taxes on natural resources consumption (heating gas, water, electricity) New taxes on retirement accounts, and last but not least....New taxes to pay for socialized medicine so we can receive the same level of medical care as other third-world countries.


Ken Taylor

BARACK OBAMA AN ECONOMIC JOKE - THE SUNDAY COMMENTARY

Throughout the past week Barack Obama has successfully portrayed himself as the ultimate economic expert and the great fixer of all of the economic woes that face our Nation. Using the crash of Wall Street giants and their involvement in the mortgage debacle as the catalyst of his economic scare tactics, Obama has managed to pull off one of his greatest deceptions during his Presidential campaign. Portraying himself as an economic genius, blaming all of the collapses of the past few weeks on the GOP, President Bush and John McCain.

Never once did this , "economic genius," mention that the sub prime loan debacle was begun under the Clinton administration as evidenced from this quote in the New York Times from 1999, " ... Fannie Mae, the nation’s biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits ... "

Never once did he mention that three of his top economic advisers two of which are on his payroll were among the major architects of the sub prime loan mess. Penny Pritzer his campaign finance chair partnered with Earnst and Young working through Merrill Lynch to create the sub prime loan situation patterned after a Chicago bank that Pritzer was involved with that went belly up seven years ago.

James Johnson former Fannie Mae CEO during the Clinton Administration when this debacle began was the Chairman of Obama's VP search committee. Franklin Raines though not on the Obama payroll has been a key advisor who while CEO of Fannie Mae milked Fannie for over 90 million dollars while cooking the books to force on paper reaching profit goals which his bonus and pay scale was based upon.

All the while in the last three years the , "economic genius, " Barack Obama became the second leading recipient of PAC donations from both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac taking only three year out of nine years of PAC donations to make it into the top two behind Christopher Dodd.

Now he is meeting with these same advisers to scheme a ,"plan," that he will introduce during the week to solve this mortgage debacle. Meeting with the very same people who started it in the first place to find a solution to the problem. Not only stupid but also extremely hypocritical!

Of course this is only one aspect of the Obama economic idea that shows his, "economic genius." For times sake I will only discuss his tax idea as an example of the, "genius," behind the Obama economic plan. Obama claims that he will provide a tax cut for 95% of American tax payers.

Yet one of the first aspects of the Obama tax plan is to reverse the Bush tax cuts which gave, on average, a $1200.00 tax reduction to a family of four. So by reversing the Bush tax cuts Obama will first raise the taxes of every tax payer who received a reduction from President Bush. The Bush tax cuts reduced taxes in ALL income groups across the board. So even if Obama, "reduces," taxes for ,"95%," of taxpayers their net bottom line will be a tax increase because of the reversal of the Bush tax cuts.

Now let us move on to Capitol Gain taxes. Obama's plan is to increase the Capitol Gains tax by 5% from its current 15% to 20%. This one tax increase alone will affect Americans across the board as Capitol Gains come from several sources including stocks, bonds and real estate. Also it is proven that when Capitol Gain tax rates are lowered revenues are up. A question about revenues that has been posed to Obama several times and avoided in his usual stumbling way every time it was asked.

Now for the big kahuna of the Obama tax plan. Raising taxes on income earners who make $250,000 a year or more. Obama refuses to acknowledge though asked time and again, that this one tax increase does not just affect individuals but thousands of small businesses. Many small business people do not separate their personal income from that of their business and as such every aspect of their small company will receive a sizable tax increase under the Obama plan causing many to go belly up as the tax burden will destroy their small company.

The Obama penalizing success plan will take the top marginal tax rate up to 55% while phasing out personal exemptions which will revert many back to the old practice of disguising personal income as a Capitol Gain and begin the migration of capitol to overseas sources where the tax rate would be lower.

Obama's tax plan will put The United States among the top tax countries in the world and when combining federal and state taxes which will exceed 60% only Hungary will have a higher top tax rate than The United States.

These countries that have such high top tax rates provide a clue as to the economic impact of the Obama tax plan. The average unemployment in these countries is 7.35 percent. Denmark shows only a 3.9 percent unemployment but spends over 5% of its GDP on unemployment programs which in actuality takes its unemployment rate up to over 7 %.

In addition to the increase in unemployment that the Obama plan will spur, investment and manipulation of income from transferring income to capitol gains in order to pay a lesser tax rate will reduce economic growth and greatly slow the economy.

Also because of the high tax rate that already exists in States like New York in addition to the moving of assets abroad to countries like France, Canada and Great Britain to take advantage of lower tax rates, many businesses will move to lower tax states like Florida and Delaware to again avoid the much higher taxation with the combined state and federal taxes.

The long term effects of the Obama plan will come as the deficit will grow because revenues will decrease and taxing the,"rich," is also not an infinite source of government revenues. When more money is needed to pay for huge entitlements already in place like Social Security and Medicare combined with the Universal Health Care that Obama promises to pass in the first 100 days along with other massive entitlements on the Obama promise list, the only source of taxation to cover these massive government spending programs will be the middle income earners which comprise the majority of the work force.

Barack Obama the, "economic genius," who surrounds himself with advisers who created and continued the woes on Wall Street, promises massive tax and spending increases thus destroying the economy and picking the pockets of Americans who only want to live their lives without the government on their backs and follow the American dream that the Obama economic plan through taxation will end.

Ken Taylor

THE LIBERAL LIE CaRtOoN GaLLaRy AND YoU CaN't MaKe tHiS StUff Up

The VP is always the attacks dog but with Palin, McCain got a hockey mom who can field dress a moose and stand up to special interests and corruption. Sounds like a Grizzly to me!



YoU CaN't MaKe tHiS StUff Up - NEWTON, N.J. — A misprint in a telephone book has led to some callers dialing a phone sex service while trying to reach a New Jersey political organization. A listing for the Sussex County Democratic Committee in Embarq's white pages sent people to a sultry female voice inviting them to pay for sex chat.

Embarq spokesman Glenn Lewis told the New Jersey Herald of Newton that a transposition error caused the last three digits of the Democrats' phone number to be misprinted. He said the listing has been corrected in Embarq's directory assistance database.

So what was the number 1-900-BARACK - O ? You have to wonder how many people continued the conversation ! - YoU CaN't MaKe tHiS StUff Up

The Hollywierd gala put Obama in perfect company! Elitist liberal whacos with their elitist Marxist candidate.

YoU CaN't MaKe tHiS StUff Up - GREEN BAY, Wis. — A 33-year-old woman stole her daughter's identity to attend high school and join the cheerleading squad, according to a criminal complaint filed against the woman. Wendy Brown, of Green Bay, faces a felony identity theft charge after enrolling in Ashwaubenon High School as her 15-year-old daughter, who lives in Nevada with Brown's mother.

According to the complaint, Brown wanted to get her high school degree and become a cheerleader because she didn't have a childhood and wanted to regain a part of her life that she'd missed.Brown allegedly attended cheerleading practices before school started, received a cheerleader's locker and went to a pool party at the cheerleading coach's house.

A high school employee, Kim Demeny, told authorities that the woman, posing as the teen, seemed very timid. Demeny said she told her she was not good at math and even cried when she talked about moving from Pahrump Valley High School in Nevada. Demeny said she looked older than a student but had the demeanor of a high school girl. A school liaison officer started investigating after Brown only attended the first day of classes last week, the complaint said.

Hmmm, I guess looking older and the bags under the eyes wasn't enough of a clue that SOMETHING was wrong! Yep that's a government school for you! - YoU CaN't MaKe tHiS StUff Up

You wonder if the Obamamessiah is maybe regretting his VP pick ?

YoU CaN't MaKe tHiS StUff Up - FRESNO, Calif. — Authorities say they've arrested a man who broke into the home of two California farm workers, stole money, rubbed one with spices and whacked the other with a sausage before fleeing. Fresno County sheriff's Lt. Ian Burrimond says 22-year-old Antonio Vasquez was found hiding in a field wearing only a T-shirt, boxers and socks after the Saturday morning attack.

He says deputies arrested Vasquez after finding a wallet containing his ID in the ransacked house. The farm workers told deputies the suspect woke them Saturday morning by rubbing spices on one of them and smacking the other with an 8-inch sausage. Burrimond says money allegedly stolen was recovered.

Don't let this one get out to much or the Democrats will try and outlaw spice rub and sausage as a dangerous weapon. - YoU CaN't MaKe tHiS StUff Up

No matter how you paint him Barack Obama is a typical tax and spend liberal who tries to claim he is new. The only change he brings is that he wants to tax more and spend a lot more than the average liberal Democrat.

Ken Taylor

JOHN MCCAIN WARNED OF MORTGAGE COLLAPSE IN 2005

Barack Obama has been playing off the fears that are running rampant in the market because of the collapse of several of Wall Streets major investment companies like Lehman Brothers. Attacking John McCain and trying to create the idea that McCain does not know what he is talking about and that he is ignorant when it comes to the economy.

For Mr. Obama's information John McCain saw this collapse coming as far back as 2005 and not only warned of the coming collapse but co-sponsored legislation to try and prevent it and go after the corruption that was causing much of the problem. Following is McCain's speech on the Senate floor during debate of Federal Housing Regulatory Act Of 2005 urging the Senate to pass the Act which fell to defeat after being blocked by Senate Democrats.

Mr. President, (referring to the Presiding Officer of the Senate) this week Fannie Mae’s regulator reported that the company’s quarterly reports of profit growth over the past few years were “illusions deliberately and systematically created” by the company’s senior management, which resulted in a $10.6 billion accounting scandal.

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight’s report goes on to say that Fannie Mae employees deliberately and intentionally manipulated financial reports to hit earnings targets in order to trigger bonuses for senior executives. In the case of Franklin Raines, Fannie Mae’s former chief executive officer, OFHEO’s report shows that over half of Mr. Raines’ compensation for the 6 years through 2003 was directly tied to meeting earnings targets.

The report of financial misconduct at Fannie Mae echoes the deeply troubling $5 billion profit restatement at Freddie Mac. The OFHEO report also states that Fannie Mae used its political power to lobby Congress in an effort to interfere with the regulator’s examination of the company’s accounting problems. This report comes some weeks after Freddie Mac paid a record $3.8 million fine in a settlement with the Federal Election Commission and restated lobbying disclosure reports from 2004 to 2005.

These are entities that have demonstrated over and over again that they are deeply in need of reform. For years I have been concerned about the regulatory structure that governs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—known as Government-sponsored entities or GSEs—and the sheer magnitude of these companies and the role they play in the housing market. OFHEO’s report this week does nothing to ease these concerns.

In fact, the report does quite the contrary. OFHEO’s report solidifies my view that the GSEs need to be reformed without delay. I join as a cosponsor of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, S. 190, to underscore my support for quick passage of GSE regulatory reform legislation. If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole.

I urge my colleagues to support swift action on this GSE reform legislation."

Senate Democrats blocked the passage of the Bill and while it passed in the House it failed in the Senate because of the Democrats.

Additionally Obama has been claiming that the fault for this collapse lies in the policies of the Bush Administration and the Republicans using this as a way of finger pointing to John McCain when in fact the entire debacle was started under Bill Clinton. The Clinton administration dictated where mortgage lenders could lend and originally helped create the market for the high-risk sub prime loans now infecting the balance sheets of many of Wall Street's most revered institutions. If these institutions did not comply they were threatened with massive fines and penalties.

Clinton put the Community Redevelopment Act, a Carter era law designed to encourage minority home ownership, on steroids. And in so doing, he helped create the market for the risky sub prime loans that he and Democrats now decry as not only greedy but "predatory."

Two of Barack Obama's top staffers, James Johnson who headed the VP selection Committee and Penny Pritzer, Obama's campaign Finance Chair were both not only involved in this debacle but are attributed in creating the situations that began the sub prime lending schemes that caused the mortgage collapse.

Pritzer along with Earnst and Young working through Merrill Lynch created the sub prime financial engineering that created this meltdown. While Johnson was CEO at Fannie Mae when the Clinton Administration ordered the beginnings of the high risk market through the Community Redevelopment Act.

The very reform act that could have stemmed this collapse in 2005 co-sponsored by John McCain was voted against by Barack Obama who also was the third highest recipient of campaign donations from the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac PACS behind only Christopher Dodd and John Kerry.

The hypocrisy of Obama in claiming that the GOP , President Bush and by inference John McCain caused this problem and did nothing to prevent it when in fact just the opposite is true as it began under the Clinton Administration with its birth created by Democrats who are now involved with the Obama campaign, shows that it is Obama who is ignorant about the economy while McCain knows what he is talking about.

McCain's statement that the fundamentals of the economy are still strong has been backed up by the 3.3 % growth in the economy last quarter as well as all other key economic indicators still holding strong. Democrat claims that we are in a recession heading to a depression are scare tactics as even the definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative growth. This economy has not even experience on quarter of negative growth. The mortgage debacle was caused by greed and sub prime loans that created a bubble that was bound to burst. A bubble that was begun by Democrats and their supporters.

A problem that McCain foresaw and tried to stem and Obama voted with Democrats to keep going. Then Obama hired the major instigators of the schemes that created the sub prime lending chaos as top staffers of his Presidential campaign. So who is actually in touch about the economy ? Well it certainly is NOT Barack Obama. Rather the proven foresight of John McCain as well as his understanding of how an economy actually works instead of trying to scare voters as Obama does proves that McCain is the candidate who will stem the tied of greed and bring necessary reforms while allowing the market based economy to continue to grow.

Ken Taylor

BARACK OBAMA STRUGGLING TO ATTACK

Sunday I posted about the lack of strategy in the Obama campaign and how both the campaign and the Democrats as a party are scrambling to invent a strategy in light of the momentum of the GOP, the nomination of Sarah Palin as VP and the energized Republicans behind the McCain ticket.

In the last two days since that posting the Obama campaign has once again shifted its strategy from one failed attempt to two weak and one actual boggled attempts at trying to hit McCain. The first has to do with an add that came out during the weekend but did not get much play until the Sunday night and Monday news shows picked it up and boy did the Obama campaign lay and egg with this one.

The ad tries to paint John McCain as old and out of touch by showing that he first came to Washington in 1982 and that, "a lot has changed since then." Claiming that McCain does not know anything about the economy and then drifting into spending the latter half of the commercial stating that McCain does not know how to use a computer and he ,"can't even send an e-mail."

This ad is backfiring on Obama in several ways. First while McCain went to Washington in 1982, Obama's VP Joe Biden went to Washington in in 1973 a full nine years before McCain. Second this suggestion of McCain being old and not adapting to the changing times is not playing well with seniors because it suggests that his age may play a part in this perceived lack of change on McCain's part. If you want to isolate seniors in an election just try and play the age game. It failed with Reagan and rallied seniors behind him and it will do the same for McCain.

Next suggesting that McCain knows nothing about the economy is playing on a joking statement made in a very sarcastic manner to a reporter that McCain made several months ago. Suggesting that McCain really does not know, "anything, " about the economy is almost slanderous and Obama knows this yet he approves the ad.

Lastly the majority of the ad deals with the Obama accusation about McCain's lack of computer skills. This is the biggest blunder of the entire ad because it shows that not only did the ad writers NOT do their homework but that Obama also failed to check out the facts and that he is willing to stoop to a new low in politics.

It is well known that McCain has trouble with computers and often has to seek the assistance of his wife Cindy to use a computer especially in checking and sending e-mail. This is not because McCain is not savvy in his computer skills, it is because the injuries he received while a POW actually PREVENT him from being able to type on a keyboard or use a mouse without considerable complications. His arms were so severely damages during the five and a half years of his captivity that the stiffness in them does not allow the movement necessary to use a computer properly.

Not only does this attack show the complete lack of real appreciation on the part of Obama and his campaign for the tremendous sacrifice and service that McCain gave for our country, it also shows their hypocrisy in that they always mention his service right before they attack him almost as if in doing so they can claim a false respect for what he has done.

In addition to this ridiculous ad, the Obama campaign is beginning to realize that the unrelenting attacks against Sarah Palin are not only not working but angering a lot of people on both sides of the political spectrum. So now they are supposedly shifting their attack machine from Palin to President Bush. The new mantra is that a McCain administration will be a, "Bush 44", in reference to George H.W. Bush being called Bush 41 and the current President, Bush 43. Claiming that McCain would be just another four years of Bush.

Not only will this approach fail because McCain has fought President Bush on many occasions as well as showing that a great deal of his proposals are different from the President but campaigning against an incumbent President who is NOT running for another term has NEVER worked in Presidential politics.

Once again the Obama campaign has no substance to go after McCain so they again use another as they have used Sarah Palin in their attacks. Also the attacks against Palin have been so numerous and far reaching that the Obama campaign will never be able to reel them in as the media, Hollywierd and liberals in general have jumped on the Palin attack wagon and Obama supposedly shifting his methods will not stop others. I also truly do not believe that the Obama campaign has stopped the Palin attacks because it goes against their liberal instincts to do so.

The desperation of the Obama campaign in searching for a strategy in which to run against the surging McCain/Palin ticket, the popularity of Sarah Palin and the energized GOP combined with rumblings in the Democrat party that Obama is blowing it is evidence that the fear of losing in November is the driving force behind the campaign and that they do not understand what has hit them and that their candidate is at best very weak.

Ken Taylor

BARACK OBAMA AND THE DEMOCRATS HAVE NO STRATAGY - THE SUNDAY COMMENTARY

The Barack Obama, Democrat no substance campaign has become the campaign desperately searching for a winning strategy but finding nothing but brick walls. At a time when strategy and a plan which has a singular direction for the final weeks before the election is necessary Barack Obama and the Democrats are scrambling to find something that works against a McCain/Palin ticket that has thrown them for a political loop.

The strategy failure began to an extent with Barack Obama's acceptance speech at the and of the DNC Convention. Prior to the Convention Obama's , "message," of hope and change, though lacking substance, played well to the public because it was exciting to some and it was so full of generalities in its lack of substance that other than those who were ideologically opposites of his liberal generalities, had nothing to actually point to as something to disagree with.

After all unless one is specifically on the opposite side of the political spectrum how to you argue against hope and change ? Then came the Greek temple acceptance speech where Obama moved from a broad based hope and change lack of substance message to the typical laundry list of liberal Democrat proposals that have been used by the left for more than four decades. Tax the rich, huge social spending entitlements which require massive government spending with the only real answer to find the money by large tax increases.

Then came the GOP Convention and the addition of Governor Sarah Palin to the ticket. Her addition added an aspects to this election that Obama and the Democrats not only did not expect but never dreamed they would have to develop a strategy for. First they never expected that the GOP running mate would be a women. Most expected McCain to pick Mitt Romney or Tim Pawlenty or a similar safe pick. Choosing Sarah Palin threw the Democrats into panic mode and that panic is still evident more than two weeks after the announcement of Palin.

Second the Obama campaign and Democrats were planning for and even counting on a general lack of unity in the GOP. While support for McCain was growing many in the GOP viewed his nomination as one they would vote for because they could not vote for the alternative but they was a general lack of enthusiasm. The addition of Palin energized the GOP especially the base.

Obama and the Democrats had expected that going into the final weeks of the election McCain would still have to shore up the base while trying to court the Independents and moderates and disgruntled Democrats. By having to spend time shoring up the base in the final push for November McCain, so the Obama campaign thought, would not have the political strength to win the Independent and moderate vote because of having to court the base.

By the end of the Republican Convention Democrats found themselves facing an energized GOP, an extremely popular woman as the VP on the ticket, and a John McCain with a message that changed the dynamics of the election as he was able to steer that message toward Independents and moderates as well as disgruntled Democrats because the GOP is completely behind the ticket.

So the Dems began attacking Sarah Palin finding every effort failing as they see the attacks stirring anger from all sides even their own party. For instance even the Democrat Governor of Obama's home state of Illinois has gone on the record as stating that the attacks against Palin are uncalled for.

The Democrats including the Obama campaign have fallen back to the old liberal scandal machine that claims the seriousness of the charge to be more important than actual evidence. As such they have attacked every aspect of Palin's life from her children to lies about her record in Alaska. Even to the point that the Obama campaign had the Alaskan Democrat party remove a web page from the Internet that praised Palin for her rejection of the bridge to nowhere proving that she NEVER backed it as the left accuses.

In trying to create a Sarah Palin scandal Obama and the Democrats have stopped campaigning against the top of the ticket, and concentrated on trying to defeat the number two on the ticket. Of course the media wing of the Democrat party have been all to willing participants in this scandal watch.

In their attempt to try and demonize Palin they have stooped to name calling and scandal driven lies that have angered and energized people against the Democrat ticket and toward the GOP. Additionally the Democrats have chosen to continue to stand on the wrong side of the singular issue that is affecting every American, the rising cost of gas and drilling for American sources of crude!

The decline of Democrats on this issue began before the conventions and escalated when Republicans spent five weeks staying in a protest session in the House during the August Congressional recess demanding that Pelosi return to Washington and vote on an energy bill. Now that Congress has returned energy and drilling have become front and center on the agenda and placed the Democrats on the defensive with a position they cannot defend to the American people who favor drilling by over 70%

The offshore drilling ban ends at the end of this month so Pelosi cannot table this issue any longer as she has in the past facing a loose, loose situation. If she forces a vote to extend the ban she angers the 70% who favor offshore drilling. If she allows the ban to just end allowing drilling she angers the enviro whacos who have been controlling the energy agenda through the Democrats for more than thirty years.

This combined with the rise and popularity of the McCain ticket has placed the Congressional races in contention for the November election. A situation that most had conceded to the Democrats. Before the conventions, Democrats had an eleven point lead with registered voters in polling that asked whether one would vote for a Republican or Democrat. Dems also had a seven point lead with likely voters.

In polling that was revealed in Friday a dramatic shift has taken place. With registered voters Democrats now only have a two point lead well within the margin of error or a statistical tie. With likely voters Republicans lead in the generic Congressional polling 50 - 45 percent. A full 12 point shift from before the conventions.

Facing the energized GOP fully behind their candidate, a formidable Vice Presidential candidate in Sarah Palin who stands the scrutiny test and in whom the left find a hard time in successfully attacking because she is a woman. And one who they have chosen to attack as inexperienced which has the adverse effect of reminding the electorate that the number one on the Democrat ticket is less experienced than the number two on the GOP.

Combining this with a leadership in Congress who refuse to get on board with the energy issue sinking the majority stronghold in Congress, the Dems are not only running scared but scrambling to find a working strategy with only seven weeks left before the election. All of this is spelling disaster for Barack Obama and the Democrats and victory for John McCain and Republicans.

Ken Taylor

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, WE WILL NEVER FORGET

Today marks seven years since that terrible September day when The United States was attacked by enemies that long before we understood had declared war against our Nation.

Evil men who lived among us were instructed by evil men who used Allah as an excuse to murder and try and destroy everything sacred to who we are and what we believe as a Nation. In doing so they destroyed The World Trade Center, inflicted tremendous damage on the Pentagon and drove a plane full of brave Americans into the ground in Pennsylvania.

Nine of these radical Islamic fanatics flew three planes into buildings killing thousands of brave innocent Americans in the most cowardly act ever committed.

Though they destroyed our buildings and killed our people, they could not destroy who we are nor kill our spirit.

Today we remember those who perished and the brave men and women who came to the rescue of the survivors. We also remember the brave men and women in the uniforms of The United States military who have since that September day taken the fight to the enemy and have defeated many and continue to defeat these radical fanatics.

God bless those who lost friends and loved ones seven years ago. God bless those who have sacrificed giving the last full measure in defending this nation against this and other enemies.

God bless the hundreds of emergency workers who gave so much. God bless the memory of those who died in the buildings and the planes. And God bless America.

Ken Taylor

BARACK OBAMA TAGGED BY BILL O'REILLY

Fox News commentator Bill O'Rielly has been airing a thirty minute interview with Barack Obama in several segments on his show since last Thursday.

In the above segment O'Reilly tags Obama about his assosications with Wright, Ayers and the left wing entities known as Move On.Org. and The Daily Kos.

Intertwined in the video as Obama stumbles his way through the interview without his speaking crutch, the telepromter, are several news reports and clips relealing the real truth about Obama's associations as the candidate tries to deny them on O'Reilly's show.

The video is a little over nine minutes long but has some very revealing information and shows a very hesitant response by Obama when asked tough and legitimate questions.

Ken Taylor

SARAH PALIN THE DEMOCRAT TARGET

Since the announcement of Governor Sarah Palin as John McCain's Vice Presidential running mate nearly two weeks ago she has been the focus of attacks from both the media and the Democrat Party. These attacks have been ridiculous and over board to the point that Americans on both sides of the political spectrum are angered about the direction and content of the attacks, even those who would never vote for McCain or support Palin.

Groups who should be heralding Palin's achievements because they have advocated the advancement of women are attacking Palin because she is not a liberal women. Commentators who praised the achievements of Hillary Clinton and Geraldine Ferraro condemn Sarah Palin because she has achieved her success without compromising principles and standing fast to her conservative beliefs.

While these attacks against this tremendously popular and accomplished lady have been disgusting and over board they have shown an aspect of liberals and the Democrat Party including the Obama campaign that had not been revealed in this manner before.

Democrats, Obama, the media and liberals in general are so occupied with attacking Sarah Palin because she does not fit the mold of the liberal, abortion favoring, career choosing over family baring women that liberals have touted as the epitome of a successful women, that they have opted to campaign against the number two on the GOP ticket rather than the number one who will be President.

There are two reasons why this has happened. The first was mentioned in the preceding paragraph. Sarah Palin does not fit the liberal mode of a successful women therefor she in not capable nor qualified to run for public office much less being Vice President. Also being a new shining star on the national political stage Palin offers the left something they do not have in John McCain.

McCain has been in the national spotlight for so long that he is an open book. He has been scrutinized through two Presidential campaigns as well as several Senate and House campaigns so any skeletons that he may have had have already been revealed and he not only survived left wing attacks but has come out clean.

Sarah Palin on the other hand is a newcomer who has never had the national scrutiny and is now moving into the spotlight as possibly becoming the first women Vice President and maybe the first woman President. A spot that the left had reserved for Hillary Clinton but now Palin has become the favorite in arriving first for both offices.

This poses two methods of attack by the left that they just cannot resist even if it means sinking the Democrat ticket and losing the Presidency in the process. One, the first women President or Vice president is reserved, in their liberal minds, for the Democrats. After all they have been the self proclaimed champions of women for decades, though their actions against Palin are proving otherwise.

Secondly, the left has always lost elections where they had to compete in the field of ideas so for decades they have used perceived and created scandal as their political weapon. With Palin being a newcomer to the national stage she has not been available for the liberal scandal sheets so the attacks are yet another attempt by the left to destroy the opposition by perceived scandal.

Remember with the left it is not the evidence of scandal but the seriousness of the charge that counts. Also trying to create scandal with Palin, in their minds, provides a door of opportunity that because of the intense scrutiny that McCain has had over he years, that this election has not had until the announcement of Sarah Palin as the number two on the Republican ticket.

To this point it is backfiring on the left, but that will not slow them down because, especially with the weak ticket they have and the paper thin resume of Obama, perceived scandal is their best shot, in their minds, at defeating McCain so Palin is their target and the attacks will continue until election day.

The fact that she is a woman does not matter to the left. The fact that she is popular does not matter to the left. The fact that she has and will make history does not matter to the left. The fact that she has successfully combined a political career with being a loving mom does not matter to the left.

The only thing that matters is trying to create a perceived scandal regardless of how ridiculous the charge and bring down this good and faithful lady because she does not fit their mold and scandal is their only weapon in a political contest where people are looking for leadership and ideas.

Ken Taylor

BARACK OBAMA STILL CAN'T GET HIS FACTS STRAIGHT

There have been many reports about Obama not being able to get his facts straight. For instance stating that he had traveled all, "57 states." Or that his father had helped in the liberation of Auschwitz, even though history shows that the Soviet Army liberated the death camp.

Well in an attempt to try and show that he to was considering military service Obama has had yet another in a long line of not being able to get his facts straight. Whether this came from feeling the pressure of the outstanding military service of John McCain or just an attempt to try and take some of the military issue off the table, Obama stated on ABC's, "This Week," with George Stephanopoulos that he considered entering the military because it was an , "ennobling and, you know, honourable option. "

That is all well and good but it is another sentence in the interview where he gets his facts twisted, "I had to sign up for Selective Service when I graduated from high school. " Obama then tells that he graduated from High School in 1979.

The Vietnam draft ended in 1973. For an additional almost two years young men were required to sign up for Selective Service until that to was ended on March 25, 1975 and not reinstated until July 2, 1980 one year AFTER Obama graduated from High School.

For a guy who is lifted up by many on the left as the messiah, he sure has a lot of trouble getting his facts straight and telling the truth.

Ken Taylor