Stoned, foreign, and famous

From the McCain Ad, Celeb:

That's the sum up at the end, what the evidence prior was building too: this glass-eyed and oily foreign famous guy looks down on you like all celebs do. And this ad seems like it's been very successful in tapping into a deep seeded resentment. The public feels slighted that the people on TV aren't actually our friends. This is why we hire tabloids to whack them. But we also want to believe that some famous people are good people and by virtue of our own goodness - distant friends.

So is Barack your friend? The words on the screen tell us he's higher and more foreign than most of your friends. And they haven't even said his full name yet. Every ad John McCain releases will be the set up: Barack Hussein Obama the punchline.

Should I believe Barack will change this?

There is a persistent effort on the part of the Federal government and big business to denigrate and to attempt colonization of the new digital lives of free people. I have a mind, a body, a soul and a bed. And my computer gives me the ability to reach my second soul. I have a right to these things. We all do. Take them away and the silent pact is broken, the trust is gone, and the people consent by fear alone. Digital rights are human rights.

via the washingtonpost.com:

Federal agents may take a traveler's laptop or other electronic device to an off-site location for an unspecified period of time without any suspicion of wrongdoing, as part of border search policies the Department of Homeland Security recently disclosed.

Also, officials may share copies of the laptop's contents with other agencies and private entities for language translation, data decryption or other reasons, according to the policies, dated July 16 and issued by two DHS agencies, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
==
The policies state that officers may "detain" laptops "for a reasonable period of time" to "review and analyze information." This may take place "absent individualized suspicion."

The policies cover "any device capable of storing information in digital or analog form," including hard drives, flash drives, cell phones, iPods, pagers, beepers, and video and audio tapes. They also cover "all papers and other written documentation," including books, pamphlets and "written materials commonly referred to as 'pocket trash' or 'pocket litter.' "
==
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff wrote in an opinion piece published last month in USA Today that "the most dangerous contraband is often contained in laptop computers or other electronic devices." Searches have uncovered "violent jihadist materials" as well as images of child pornography, he wrote.

Monica Crowley, Classy Lady

The McLaughlin Group is really like the best show on TV. John McLaughlin is convinced Obama is America's Adolf, uniting the people behind empty slogans. And though Dr. McLaughlin sometimes says things that sound racist, he is not actually a racist motherfucker. The same can not be said for some of the other guests. The show isn't released onto the RSS feed until almost a week after it has aired. But this just makes it seem more old fashioned, like something I should be watching on archive.org. Anyway from last Friday's transcript:

MS. CROWLEY: Tim Pawlenty, the governor of Minnesota, which is somebody that Eleanor predicted that he might look at.

Look, I agree with Michelle. John McCain is vanilla ice cream. He needs a scoop of rocky road to run with, okay? Barack Obama is the exact opposite. Obama's rocky road. He needs more vanilla ice cream. And I think the economic issues are the prevailing force on McCain as he looks at a VP. That makes Romney and, I think, Michael Bloomberg, who on Friday of this week said that he is going to start touting John McCain, not formally endorsing him but touting him. And it may be that they are trying to sort of triangulate this, because Bloomberg is very liberal on the social issues and it may cause some difficulties with the conservatives.

And Dr. McLaughlin reminds us John McCain is not so far removed from Richard Nixon:

MS. CLIFT: And the images of Barack Obama on this trip and John McCain in a golf cart with the former President Bush and strolling the cheese aisle in a local supermarket --

DR. MCLAUGHLIN: Well, we don't need -- you don't need a burlesk of John McCain. I mean, it's all there for you anyway.

Newsmen

Via the Note;

In responding to the ad, did Obama protest too much? Jumping off of the new ad, Obama said: "The only way they figure they're going to win this election is if they make you scared of me. So what they're saying is, 'Well, we know we're not very good but you can't risk electing Obama. You know, he's new, he's . . . doesn't look like the other presidents on the currency, you know, he's got a, he's got a funny name."

ABC's Jake Tapper: "Correct me if I'm wrong, but does it not seem as if Obama just said McCain and his campaign -- presumably the 'they' in this construct -- are saying that Obama shouldn't be elected because he's a risk because he's black and has a foreign-sounding name?"

Correct me if I'm wrong, but fuck you, Jake Tapper and your goddamn face, you colossal smarmy prick.
The things you don't know about politics should fight the things Glenn Beck doesn't know about politics. Hopefully, this endless psychic battle would keep you two busy enough that I'd never have to hear another word out of any of your many goddamn mouths.

Barack in Berlin

Just got back from vacation, and found a pile of news waiting for me. Including the big Barack in Berlin speech. If you want some fun, read the international response at WatchingAmerica.org. I watched it after hearing David Brooks describe it as devoid of foreign policy, just fluff. But Obama is the ascending leader, and the new voice of America, the first new voice in 7 years. It is necessary for him to speak very broadly, about what we have in common and what the goals of all mankind are. Big goals. So he still maintains Bush's dream of global power, but seems capable of explaining it to the world in a reasonable way. It reads nice, and listens even better if you want to check out the youtube, but part of me wonders if this isn't the Omega Code all over again. But hey, so long as it's interesting, right?

Now the world will watch and remember what we do here -- what we do with this moment. Will we extend our hand to the people in the forgotten corners of this world who yearn for lives marked by dignity and opportunity; by security and justice? Will we lift the child in Bangladesh from poverty, shelter the refugee in Chad, and banish the scourge of AIDS in our time?

Will we stand for the human rights of the dissident in Burma, the blogger in Iran, or the voter in Zimbabwe? Will we give meaning to the words "never again" in Darfur?

Will we acknowledge that there is no more powerful example than the one each of our nations projects to the world? Will we reject torture and stand for the rule of law? Will we welcome immigrants from different lands, and shun discrimination against those who don't look like us or worship like we do, and keep the promise of equality and opportunity for all of our people?

People of Berlin -- people of the world -- this is our moment. This is our time.

I know my country has not perfected itself. At times, we've struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We've made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions.

But I also know how much I love America. I know that for more than two centuries, we have strived -- at great cost and great sacrifice -- to form a more perfect union; to seek, with other nations, a more hopeful world. Our allegiance has never been to any particular tribe or kingdom -- indeed, every language is spoken in our country; every culture has left its imprint on ours; every point of view is expressed in our public squares. What has always united us -- what has always driven our people; what drew my father to America's shores -- is a set of ideals that speak to aspirations shared by all people: that we can live free from fear and free from want; that we can speak our minds and assemble with whomever we choose and worship as we please.

These are the aspirations that joined the fates of all nations in this city. These aspirations are bigger than anything that drives us apart. It is because of these aspirations that the airlift began. It is because of these aspirations that all free people -- everywhere -- became citizens of Berlin. It is in pursuit of these aspirations that a new generation -- our generation -- must make our mark on the world.

People of Berlin -- and people of the world -- the scale of our challenge is great. The road ahead will be long. But I come before you to say that we are heirs to a struggle for freedom. We are a people of improbable hope. With an eye toward the future, with resolve in our hearts, let us remember this history, and answer our destiny, and remake the world once again.

[Transcript] [Video]

Clinton says the fix is not in

Clinton explains RFK assassination reference

"Earlier today, I was discussing the Democratic primary history and in the course of that discussion mentioned the campaigns that both my husband and Sen. Kennedy waged in California in June in 1992 and 1968, and I was referencing those to make the point that we have had nominating primary contests that go into June. That's an historic fact."

"The Kennedys have been much on my mind in the last days because of Sen. [Edward] Kennedy, and I regret that if my referencing that moment of trauma for our entire nation and particularly for the Kennedy family was in any way offensive. I certainly had no intention of that whatsoever,"

John McCain Protects Dictionaries, Not People

"In times like the present, men should utter nothing for which they would not willingly be responsible through time and eternity."
-- ABE LINCOLN

Buchanan Rebutts