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BUSH WATCH...celebrating our 10th year...November, 2008
Note: JoeBama Watch and Bush Watch will be on holiday vacation until mid-January. Meanwhile, visit us each day and click on the news stories and op-eds in red below for 24/7 coverage. --Jerry Politex
MAILBAG: No one deserves a holiday more than BUSH WATCH. What you have done for this nation over the past eight years is heroic. I admire you, and I thank you, and I congratulate you. Without your work pointing out day after day the insane track of the Bush government, I cannot imagine the so-called \"mainstream\" media would have sniffed out any of it, and certainly, it would have all happened sub rosa as the Bushies wished. Thank you, thank you thank you. And enjoy your very well deserved holiday. --Laura Harrison McBride
Blog Beat... JoeBama Watch... McBush Watch... BW Specials... Archives... contact us...
Top Twenty Actions Obama Should Take by 2010, Jerry Politex
Now that the executive and legislative branches of government are in the hands of the Democratic Party, here are the top twenty actions the Dems should take by 2010, if they expect the voters to remain loyal.
1. Stop the government's socialization for the rich policies. Such as: halt all tax cuts that are in the various Bush bills but have yet to be instituted and create rules designed to put teeth in economic regulations.
2. Call a halt to all earmarks --REPEAT: ALL EARMARKS-- until the national debt is zero, and do likewise with whatever loopholes the bloodsucking members of Congress come up with.
3. Raise the minimum wage by a substantial amount, allow federal employees to freely unionize, and cut the interest rate on student loans.
4. Rescind that part of the Bush Martial Law: HR 5122, section 1076, that makes Bush and future Presidents dictators.
5. Rescind the Bush Public Law 109-364, or the "John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007" (H.R.5122), that allows the President to declare a "public emergency" and station troops anywhere in America and take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor or local authorities, in order to "suppress public disorder," making Bush and future Presidents dictators.
6. Force Bush to follow the perfectly adequate FISA law and stop illegal NSA spying on innocent american citizens. --Kim Anderson
7. Begin oversight hearings on 9/11, Iraq, Afghanistan, Katrina, Energy meetings, Valerie Plame, Pentagon money contracts, congressional ethics, and [insert horrible event here]. Pass the entire 9/11 commission recommendations and point out how it took 6 years for it to be done. --Randall Roberson, Reba Peters, R. O'Connor
8. Impeach Bush and Cheney, or at least make an attempt, to win back a little of our once good name in the world. --Ben Seni, Thomas Roy
9. Figure out some way to outlaw or curtail "signing statements," which [are being used by Bush to] effectivly circumvent the constitution and make the exective the all-powerful branch (dictator) in the US. --Karl Scott
10. Hire new inspectors and enforcement officials to replace those laid off under Bush at the FDA and other agencies. --Bob Mawn
11. Get out of Iraq as fast as possible, and restart the middle east peace process, where we should have been concentrating our efforts all along. --Cherie
12. Congress really needs to push for reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine and encourage the FCC to use its oversight to limit (if not reverse) the mass media consolidation of the last 10-25 years. --Bob Hunter
13. Ensure on a national basis that voting can be verified with paper receipts; just because Dems won - doesn't mean the voting isn't fixed. --George Lacy
14. Appoint Jimmy Carter or Al Gore as chairman of a group to clean up the environment, create an energy policy that's not a boondoggle to the corporations, and rescind all portions of relevant bills to do so.
15. Slave Labor: Create a fair immigration policy that does not penalize the American worker, nor creates a guest worker program, but provides greater oversight and penalties with teeth for those who hire illegal immigrants.
16. Voting machines: get open-source code & a paper trail and whatever else the nonpartisan experts say. Put the whole process in public, not private, hands. --Gib
17. Get rid of "No Child Left Behind", [because it's generally unfunded it does just the opposite. In fact, let's do away with all bills, like Bush's illegal immigration fence bill, that is not unfunded.] --Sahib Khalsa [and Jerry Politex]
18. The strongest support, 92 percent, was for lowering drug prices for retirees on Medicare by allowing the government to negotiate directly with drug companies. --Newsweek Poll after elections
19. Draw up and pass some sort of a bill that will put us on the road to universal health care and take health care out of the control of for-profit corporations.
20. By 2010, provide the voters with a rational explanation why a Dem-controlled federal government has been unable to carrry out all of the above.
Irish-Afro-American Wins Presidency on Coattails of Bush Recession (10 pm ET)
Obama takes Virginia, Florida, Ohio, Indiana; NC, MO Still Undecided
Dole and Sununu Lose Senate seats; AK, MI, OR, GA Still Undecided
OBAMA STATE VICTORIES (Called): VT, PA, NY, NH, ME, MA, RI, CT, NJ, DE, MD, DC, VA, FL, MIN, WI, IL, OH, IN, IA, NM, COL, NV, CA, OR, WA, HI. (NC, IN, MO Still Undecided)
BUSH WATCH MAILBAG: Thank you for the sanity :) Thank you for BUSH WATCH. It has proven to be a terrific resource of information over the last few years. I have always relied upon it to provide insight and accuracy compared to what is provided on the 6:00 news. Now that Obama is looking like he will win today I feel like my blood pressure will go back to normal. Just imagine the rest of the world will look fondly upon us again. --Eric Robinson
Top World Stories: Wednesday, November 5, 2008:
US: World leaders congratulate President-elect Obama, CNNUS: Grant Park, center of the universe, Chicago Tribune
Barack Obama already hard at work building his team, NY Daily News
US: Obama promises First Dog, Chicago Breaking News
Obama Elected President as Racial Barrier Falls
Democrats Widen Senate Edge to Solid Majority
Democrats Increase Their Strength in the House, but Lose Some Races
News Analysis: Now, Promises to Keep, and Divides to Be Bridged
The Challenge: For Obama, No Time for Laurels; Now the Hard Part
Near-Flawless Run From Start to Finish Is Credited in Victory
Voter Polls Find Obama Built a Broad Coalition
Justices Ponder TV's 'Fleeting Expletives'
Editorial: The Next President
Editorial: A Remedy for Those Long Lines
Latin America: Colombian army chief steps down, Constanza Vieira
Latin America: Spanish Civ. War expats' descendants can get Spanish citizenship, MercoPress
Latin America: Ecuador signs Petrobras oil deal, Xinhua
Latin America: Oaxaca repression escalates, Scott Campbell
Middle East: Lebanon's national dialogue starts Wednesday, Hussein Abdallah
Middle East: Help offered for small, medium businesses, DS
Middle East: 6 Palestinians die in IDF raid, Avi Issacharoff
Middle East: Fears for Obama in Rabin's shadow, Bradley Burston
ASIA: India Seeks 'Velvet Divorce' from Iran, Asia Times
ASIA: Business as Usual with China, Asia Times
ASIA: The Fallout From a Malaysian Murder Verdict, Asia Sentinel
ASIA: Indonesia Heightens Security Before Bali Bombers’ Executions, NYT
AFRICA: Stoning Victim 'Begged for Mercy', BBC News
AFRICA: Gas Furor Tips Guinea Further Off Balance, NYT
AFRICA: Kenya: An Obama Presidency Brings Hope For Development, Allafrica
BUSH WATCH: Volunteer Headline Editor Needed For Europe
SPIEGEL ONLINE - International
Obama's Historic Election Victory: The Resurrection of the American Dream
The World Reacts to Obama's Victory: Global Leaders Hope for American Cooperation
Yes He Could: Barack Obama Makes History by Winning the US Presidency
Obama's Victory Speech: 'Hope of a Better Day'
America's New Leader: The Serenity of Barack Obama
Good Morning, Mr. President: Europe's Wish List
Election Stories: Updated Throughout the Evening
Pollster calms paranoid Dems: McCain win would be exceptionally improbable, SteinHometown Chicago voters anticipate Obama victory, Younge
Ohio's voting systems tested by big turnout, Sheeran
Preparing for the first blue presidency, Rachman
Joe Lieberman fears 'America' ( read 'Joe's career) won't survive' a 60 Dem Senate, Khanna
Bug-eyed GOP tries incantations: 'this is a center right country, this is a center right country', Frick
Scared Rove puppet 'Michael Connell' testified today: denies 2004 vote rigging, Gordon
Once more into the conservative moral mire:CA GOP files FEC complaint over Obama's grandmother, Mosk
Waiting for Obama in Grant Park, Davey
Democrats aim for a powerful majority in the Senate, CNN
Tim Robbins is turned away from polling place he's used for a decade, TMZ
Veteran Dem pollster: 'I've never been less worried', Stein
“The early numbers show a startlingly motivated electorate out there,” Brian Williams said , Stelter Why doesn't the Obama campaign do something about the touch-screen SCANDAL?, Friedman
Is the election about to be stolen in Ohio, Pennsylvania &elsewhere?, Boaz et al
All of these vote theft machines must be destroyed: ES&S machines in MI flunk, Zetter
Impossibly long lines for elderly, other voters, in FL, GA, elsewhere, Friedman
Can the grassroots Internet-based election protection movement win the White House?, Fitrakis &Wasserman
Bush torture memo slapped down with disdain by court, Dwyer
Farewell Bloody Dubya, Penketh
Approaching the finish line: hope, passion & some madness in Nevada, Weiner
Poll dancing: can 159 polls (all Obama) be wrong?, Whitaker
Global blog station for US election, news partners
Tomorrow: a thing which has not happened since the Elder Days..., Pitt Pundits including Rove weigh in: Obama,Obama, Obama, Obama, Huffpost
Dick Cheney's hometown paper has endorsed Obama, Mitchell
Voters queue before dawn to elect president, Schor
Voters across the nation hit by dirty tricks, Hastings
Farewell, Messrs. Bush and McCain, it's been horrifying, Carpenter
The end of a subprime administration, Engelhardt
Palin's panic and the right-wing's big freakout, Alternet
Will Europe get the America it wants?, Dejevsky
From behind Obama, I could see a girl moved to tears: notes from the frontline, Eyre
Obama defeats McCain 15-6 in Dixville Notch earliest vote, njherald
MCain is on the verge of a defeat that marks the end of the Republican era, Blumenthal
So little time, so much damage: Bush's last-ditch wrecking ball, Ed
Beyond election day:today's vote will be just the first step towards redeeming America, Herbert
Obama's beloved grandmother, 'family rock' dies on election eve, AFP
The '08 race - a sea change for politics as we know it, Nagourney
On final evening, before 90,000 people, Obama revives 5 words -''fired up, ready to go!', Zeleny
The electoral map: key states - Election Guide 2008, Nagourney et al
What's already gone wrong at the polls? A compilation of voting problems so far, Bazelon &Lapidos
Keeping it real in fake America, Hightower
No hip-hop look for Obama: 'Brothers should pull up their pants.', Falcone
Biden's final sprint and Jimmy Rollins tells Philly to 'take the curse off America.', Broder
The Court and 'fleeting expletives': the F.C.C. has morphed into a serious threat to free speech, Ed
Court blocks mean-spirited White House push on medicare expenses, Pear
Do Not Concede!, Milazzo
They've squandered lives, fortunes and our sacred honor, Galloway
The soiled envelope, please: McCain wins every award for character assassination &slime, Ed
The Republican rump will be ugliest collection of the hardright ever, Krugman
Lame duck summit, Ed
Democratic governors may be the saviors of free and fair elections, White
Bailout funds being spent in ways Congress never foresaw, Hall
Republicans try burning Obama on coal, Tapper
Gouging women on health insurance, Edelstein
Oprah sees her own presidential vote dropped by touch screen voting machine, Friedman
New beltway debate - what to do about Iran, Giacomo
Professors' liberalism contagious? Maybe not, Cohen
Island of lost homes, Ed
Springsteen rocks 80,000 for Obama, AFP
Omens, portents, and taking deep breaths: let nothing stop you from casting your vote, Trish
THE GARLIC
Attention McCain Voters: Don't forget to set your clocks back eight years tonight.
2+2=4. I'm Jerry Politex, and I approve this add.
RIGHT NOW the United States is a country in which wealth is funneled, absurdly, from the bottom to the top. The richest 1 percent of Americans now holds close to 40 percent of all the wealth in the nation and maintains an iron grip on the levers of government power. This is not only unfair, but self-defeating....As we approach the end of the first decade of the 21st century, the United States is in deep, deep trouble. Yet instead of looking for creative, 21st-century solutions to these enormous problems, too many of our so-called leaders are behaving like clowns, or worse — spouting garbage in the public sphere that hearkens back to the 1940s and ’50s.
Thoughtful, well-educated men and women are denounced as elites, and thus the enemies of ordinary Americans. Attempts to restore a semblance of fiscal sanity to a government that has been looted with an efficiency that would have been envied by the mob, are derided as subversive — the work of socialists, Marxists, Communists....It’s in that atmosphere that voters today will be choosing between the crisis-management skills of Senator Obama, who has enlisted Joe Biden as aide-de-camp, and those of Senator John McCain, who is riding to the rescue with Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber in tow.Bob Herbert
BUSH HAS 77 DAYS LEFT TO WRECK THE NATION: While Americans eagerly vote for the next president, here’s a sobering reminder: As of Tuesday, George W. Bush still has 77 days left in the White House — and he’s not wasting a minute. President Bush’s aides have been scrambling to change rules and regulations on the environment, civil liberties and abortion rights, among others — few for the good. Most presidents put on a last-minute policy stamp, but in Mr. Bush’s case it is more like a wrecking ball. We fear it could take months, or years, for the next president to identify and then undo all of the damage. Here is a look — by no means comprehensive — at some of Mr. Bush’s recent parting gifts and those we fear are yet to come.... NYT Ed
OBAMA FORGES INTO NAIONWIDE +7.8 LEAD (52%) IN AVERAGE OF 14 POLLS: From Zogby and Gallup at +11.0 to Hotline at +5.0. RCP, Tuesday, Nov. 4, '08
McCAIN NOW LEADS IN 3 OF 10 BATTLEGROUNDS: North Carolina (+0.5), Missouri (+0.6) and Indiana (+0.5). Meanwhile, he's still behind in six others: Florida, Virgina, Ohio, Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico. Obama continues to hold Pensylvania, the lone Kerry battleground, by +7.6. RCP, Monday, Nov. 3, '08
SUNDAY PUNDITS: The only way McCain will win is if he takes Pennsylvania; Obama will get 343 electoral votes [270 needed] (Stephanopoulos)...If Obama takes Pennsylvania and Virginia, it's all over (another guy)...378 for Obama, George Will (!)...Obama 338, 7+ points (Matt Dowd)...NBC's TOM BROKAW reminds us: If convicted criminal Sen. Ted Stevens wins his election in Alaska, guess which Governor gets to name a replacement when Stevens goes off to the hooscow? Can you say "Senator Palin"? ABC News, Sunday, Nov. 2, '08
"PRESIDENT" OF MAJORITY BACKS OBAMA: Given GOP vote suppression and GOP rigged voting machines (notice, when voting machines reportedly are changing votes, it's Obama votes to McCain votes, and not vise versa), any Dem presidential candidate is never safe unless he has a double digit lead. This came to mind while listening to Al Gore backing Obama in Orlando, Florida yesterday. In democratic America, the people gave more votes to Gore than Bush in 2000; yet, he did not become President, because the elitist, anti-democratic electoral college voted for Bush, after the GOP majority Supreme Court gave them the go-ahead to do so.
If Gore gave such human, sincere, non-gimmicky speeches in 2000 as he did today, he would have won by double-digits, and never have given the Supreme Court an opportunity to negate the will of the people. Obviously, the world would be a much better place today. There would not have been a war in Iraq; there would not have been a severe dimunition of our Constitution, aur Bill of Rights, and our judicial processes; and there would not have been the corporate deregulation that has created the most severe economic crisis since the depression.
Obama, on the other hand, has what Gore didn't have in 2000, but seems to have today: a clear sense of who he is. Gore's problem, sad to say, was he didn't have the strength of character and will to depend upon himself, rather than his hired political strategists. That's not the case with Obama. Obama's his own man, and what we see is what we'll get as President: a careful moderate. Personally, I prefer Gore's political positions to Obama's, but given the alternative, an angry, bitchy John McBush, voting for Obama's a no-brainer. --Jerry Politex, November 1, 2008
Bush Watch Special: GOP Vote Theft
More vote-flipping in TX . Why aren't Dems all over this?, Friedman
NAACP sues in Virginia over voting machine distribution, georgia10
More than 30,000 registered Coloradans barred from voting, Zeveloff
Federal judge rules in favor of plaintiff demand for emergency paper ballots in PA, Friedman
Is CNN trying to make this race closer? A close race is easier to steal, Altman
The vote grab: civilized countries have independent Election Commissions; we don't, Tatchell
Vote watchdogs warn of troubles on election day: Vote Early If You Can!, Williams &Levy
More Texas one-way vote-theft complaints : always flipped from Obama to McCain, Zetter
Ohio provisional ballots may prove pivotal, Urbina
OBAMA MAY ALREADY HAVE ENOUGH ELECTORAL VOTES: Obama has 23 states and the District of Columbia, offering 286 votes, in his column or leaning his way, while Republican McCain has 21 states with 163 votes. A half dozen offering 89 votes -- Florida, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Nevada and Ohio -- remain up for grabs. President Bush won all six in 2004, and they are where the race is primarily being contested in the homestretch....In new AP-GfK battleground polling, Obama has a solid lead in typically Republican Colorado, Nevada, Ohio and Virginia. He and McCain are even in two other usually GOP states: Florida and North Carolina. Obama also is comfortably ahead in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.
The election's final week is being played out largely in states that Bush won and that are toss-ups in a political climate that greatly favors Democrats.
They include the traditional GOP bastions of Indiana and North Carolina, as well as perennial battlegrounds of Missouri and Nevada. Also on the list are the crown jewels of Florida and Ohio, which were crucial in deciding the last two presidential elections. McCain could sweep all six and still lose the White House. Obama has every state that Kerry won four years ago seemingly in the bag or leaning his way, including Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and New Hampshire -- four states with 41 votes that McCain and his allies aggressively fought for before pulling back this month when they became out of reach...AP, Oct. 30, '08
Bush Watch Special: Economic Crisis
Hang 'em high: people want to see Wall Street executives in orange suits, Egan
Hey, A.I.G. - where's the $120 billion? They knew they had vast losses months ago, Walsh
Are stocks the bargain you think they are?, Leonhardt
US: Economy flashes recession signal; GDP down at 0.3% rate , NYT
U.S.: US economy officially on brink of recession, Duncan
U.S.: US economy shrinks as anxious consumers slash spending, Elliott
U.S.: American Express cuts jobs as customers feel pinch, Bawden
U.S.: Oil company bonanza continues with record profits for Shell and Exxon, Milner, Clark
U.S.: US auto aid pleas mount; Treasury says no GM talks, Lawder
U.S.: Next president faces chaotic mix of economic problems not seen since 1930's, Mason
"PRESIDENT" OF MAJORITY BACKS OBAMA: Given GOP vote suppression and GOP rigged voting machines (notice, the nation's machines reportedly are changing Obama votes to McCain votes, and not vise versa), any Dem presidential candidate is never safe unless he has a double digit lead. This came to mind while listening to Al Gore backing Obama in Orlando, Florida this afternoon. In democratic America, the people gave more votes to Gore than Bush in 2000; yet, he did not become President, because the elitist, anti-democratic electoral college voted for Bush, after the GOP majority Supreme Court gave them the go-ahead to do so.
If Gore gave such human, sincere, non-gimmicky speeches in 2000 as he did today, he would have won by double-digits, and never have given the Supreme Court an opportunity to negate the will of the people. Obviously, the world would be a much better place today. There would not have been a war in Iraq; there would not have been a severe dimunition of our Constitution, aur Bill of Rights, and our judicial processes; and their would not have been the corporate deregulation that has created the most severe economic crisis since the depression.
Obama, on the other hand, has what Gore didn't have in 2000, but seems to have today: a clear sense of who he is. Gore's problem, sad to say, was he didn't have the strength of character and will to depend upon himself, rather than his hired political strategists. That's not the case with Obama. Obama's his own man, and what we see is what we'll get as President: a careful moderate. Personally, I prefer Gore's political positions to Obama's, but given the alternative, an angry, bitchy John McBush, voting for Obama's a no-brainer. --Jerry Politex, November 1, 2008
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