Irony

“Off the record, every suspicion you have about the blogosphere being against the MSM is true. ……The fix is in, and its working.”

Oh wait….that quote is different out of Instapundit.

A READER AT A MAJOR NEWSROOM EMAILS: “Off the record, every suspicion you have about MSM being in the tank for O is true. We have a team of 4 people going thru dumpsters in Alaska and 4 in arizona. Not a single one looking into Acorn, Ayers or Freddiemae. Editor refuses to publish anything that would jeopardize election for O, and betting you dollars to donuts same is true at NYT, others. People cheer when CNN or NBC run another Palin-mocking but raising any reasonable inquiry into obama is derided or flat out ignored. The fix is in, and its working.” I asked permission to reprint without attribution and it was granted.

I don’t disbelieve this, but it does cause me to chuckle that Powerline and The Anchoress two of my most favorite, most respected blogs along with Instapundit have used an unsourced quote to blog against the MSM.

You don’t need unsourced quotes my friends….. just use the newspapers themselves.

UPDATE: Actually Instapundit probably knows the source and trusts it. I was just surprised to see it other places this morning. Oh – and add Ace of Spades using it too.

The Crisis

I’ll be out of town for the next three days with only spotty internet connection so this “crisis” is going to have to go on without me. With any luck I’ll be back to blog the VP debate.

In the meantime…..I hate to laugh but what kind of dire emergency bordering on the Great Depression is it when Pelosi takes the time to pound Republicans with an idiotic speech BEFORE the big vote so she can insult those whose votes she been asking for?

And what kind of dire emergency bordering on the Great Depression is it when the first version of said bill had such pork out the wazoo?

And now the BIG news is this: Oil PLUNGES $10/barrel

Let’s try a new scenario. All those “bad loans” were done when oil was cheaper. They’ve gone bad as people on the edge already had the price of oil go up over their means.

Now with the price of oil going down due to the shakiness of markets, these same people can pay what they owe.

Hmmm. Maybe the best answer IS a do nothing Congress.

(she says from a position of having read one book on economics in her life)

In many ways – whatever happens, I hope the GOP kicks ass once something is passed or passed over. Right now they at least are trying the old “diplomacy” that the left admires. I really hope they eventually take their gloves off. And frankly, if McCain is to lose – I wouldn’t mind at all if he went ahead and lost it at a debate and ripped a new one for the whole left.

The Antarctic

Watch this. It’s cool.

It’s a 1 minute video down the hall at a station in Antarctica, then a peek out the door on a day no one is allowed outside.

McCain and Gambling

Ooh – the NYTimes has outed McCain again for being evilly embedded with bad people.

Here’s the killer quote:

“One of the founding fathers of Indian gaming” is what Steven Light, a University of North Dakota professor and a leading Indian gambling expert, called Mr. McCain.

….

As factions of the ferociously competitive gambling industry have vied for an edge, they have found it advantageous to cultivate a relationship with Mr. McCain or hire someone who has one, according to an examination based on more than 70 interviews and thousands of pages of documents.

Mr. McCain portrays himself as a Washington maverick unswayed by special interests, referring recently to lobbyists as “birds of prey.” Yet in his current campaign, more than 40 fund-raisers and top advisers have lobbied or worked for an array of gambling interests — including tribal and Las Vegas casinos, lottery companies and online poker purveyors.

ROFL

Funny how they don’t mention what state McCain works for until the 2nd page. [Arizona for those of you who don't know] Which is where they mention Democrat and McCain mentor Udall suggesting that McCain not “forget the Indians” and that gambling has helped pull many Indian communities out of poverty.

Its nice that they mention that McCain has received twice as much money from gambling enterprises as Obama. Did they ever mention the Fannie Mae difference?

I need to get going and may finish reading this article later, but basically it sounds like yet another:

“McCain does X and because of Y there just might be some impropriety here and isn’t that bad?!!!” vs
“Obama has done X, Y and Z and it’s all bad”

Mr. McCain’s spokesman, Tucker Bounds, would not discuss the senator’s night of gambling at Foxwoods, saying: “Your paper has repeatedly attempted to insinuate impropriety on the part of Senator McCain where none exists — and it reveals that your publication is desperately willing to gamble away what little credibility it still has.”

The Debate

Tons of stuff out there. Mostly saying that no one screwed up big time. Since the MSM would have pounded McCain if they thought he was in any way the loser of the debate, I’m still going to give it to McCain.

Charles Hurt had an interesting insight this morning.

Barack Obama made one thing crystal clear in last night’s debate: He simply doesn’t care if we win or lose the war in Iraq.

….

Obama will accept defeat if continuing on hurts too much. For McCain, any mission where defeat is an option is a mission not worth fighting in the first place.

Those thoughts move me to what I considered the major thing of the debate. Obama doesn’t see or can’t comprehend what could/would occur if Iraq is lost.

Iraq is now mostly won so I worry less about this, but I still worry. If Obama can’t imagine the above, then how does that bode for future situations?

The Debate – McCain won. Hands down!

Question 1:
McCain loses. Why? He didn’t talk of the real problem and let Bush/Republicans get bashed in the process. Talk about Fannie/Freddie. Talk about easy credit insisted upon by Congress. What is the matter with him?

Now he’s onto pork. That’s not the problem right this second.

McCain is doing well on the tax thought.

Obama seems to think ‘businesses’ like GE and Ford are the standard business form. Small business is more common.

Ooh – McCain finally got tough on pork with the energy bill. He’s starting to point fingers which needs to be done.

Q2:
What do these guys have to give up for rescue?

Obama doesn’t know. No clue what the budget is going to look like but he lists a bunch of programs anyway. College, science, health care, infrastructure, broadband, electricity, alternative energy.

McCain would cut spending. Examine all agencies. No more ethanol subsidies YAY! Defense spending which is out of control. Fixed cost contract in defense.
Mentions what he fixed and that he knows how. Doesn’t mention what’s stopped him in the last years.

Obama blames lobbyiest for writing the prescription drug bill and we need to get rid of them…but that is actually working!

McCain….spending freeze. Exceptions: defense, veterans. Pushes more energy in the line of nuclear and off shore, connecting this with sending money overseas right now. Good move. OOH, he brings up working with Hillary.
Obama….wants more early childhood education, save on medicare and Iraq.

McCain doesn’t want to hand health care over to the federal govt. Give it to families. Good, straight forward.
Maybe McCain isn’t doing so bad after all.

Q3 – Lessons of Iraq
McCain learned them.
Obama stood up and protested in one speech 6 years ago when he had no influence. Al-Qaeda is stronger since 2001?? In what universe?

Obama admits that Petraeus and our troops did brilliantly.

Slam!! “Obama doesn’t know the difference between a tactic and a strategy.”
Brings up the cut off of funds vote.

Obama:
16months we should “reduce our combat troops”. A far cry from everyone home Obama!
Obama is sounding very defensive here.

Moving to Afghanistan:
Obama wants a “surge” in Afghanistan. ? Of NATO or the US?
-more troops
-press Afghan govt
-deal with the poppy trade
-deal with Pakistan

McCain says he wouldn’t “threaten” Pakistan like Obama would with his cutoff of aid and threatening of strikes.
McCain is GOOD on foreign affairs.

McCain is cleaning Obama’s clock on the “big picture”.

Good point by McCain. If Iraq fails there will be an effect on Afghanistan. True, so true.

Q4 – Threat from Iran.

McCain sees a threat to Israel and the region (everyone will want one). McCain mentions his ‘League of Democracies’. Certainly a better idea than the UN. The idea being to use actual sanctions. No word on how you get France to not backdoor deal things. Points out that Obama didn’t want to vote to say that the Republican Guard is a terrorist organization.

Obama says that “he’s said significantly” that the Guard is a threat. Blames Iraq situation for strengthening Iran. Won’t tolerate a nuclear Iran. What’s he going to do? Tougher sanctions but wants cooperation with China and Russia. He’s also use tough direct diplomacy. Oooh – I thought he had backed down out of that.

Obama going on about negotiations and axis of evil. What exactly did the Clinton/N Korea agreement do? Says Kissinger said that President should meet directly with these evil presidents.

McCain – Mentions that he doesn’t have a seal yet, but that Kissinger never said that the President should sit. YAY mentions the Albright visit to N Korea.

Q5 Russia – How do you see the relationship?

Obama – Entire Russian approach to be re-evaluated. [I'm pretty sure McCain wouldn't have to re-evaluate] Affirm all the fledgling Democracies. (including the Poles. Are they fledgling?)

McCain – Obama didn’t originally understand who Russia was to start with. McCain sees that the Georgia/Russia has to do with energy/oil. Obama never mentioned it. Point to McCain. and he pronounced the President’s name in Georgia nicely.

McCain has traveled to a lot of places. He keeps saying “I went there”. Good for him. He notes that the Russian’s have not lived up to their agreements. McCain “sounds” good on this issue.

Obama: “What he said.” “Ooh and I called for a billion dollars to send to Georgia”
By the way. Alternative energy will save these situations. We need to send money on this.

McCain: Moves on to energy. Off Shore and Nuclear.
The Lugar situation. McCain supported Lugar back in the 90s concerning nuclear fuel. Obama and Lugar had some weird deal there. i forget what it is.

Q6 – Likliehood of another 911 type attack on the US

McCain: Brings up the 911 bipartisan commission that the administration opposed. McCain passed it and he’s proud of it. Most of the reforms recommended are there.

Obama: says we have a long way to go. We haven’t done enough with transit/ports. Biggest threat is a suitcase. Hmmmmm? Wants more money for nuclear proliferation. I must have heard that wrong. Go to root cause of Afghanistan/Pakistan. What about all those educated jihadists in Germany?
“We’re less respected in the world now than then”. (not sure when)

McCain continues to talk to Obama like he’s a kid. Obama still “doesn’t understand” how defeat in Iraq will affect everything.

Obama thinks that 100% of resources have gone to Iraq. ?? I think Bush mulitasks actually. China is in all places we are not. We’re weakened because of Iraq. Because we view everything through the single lens of Iraq. Hmmmm. Doesn’t he sound like someone who’s looking at everything through the lens of Iraq? He even brings up funding for health care.
“No one’s talking about losing this war”. Um – he was.

McCain: Doesn’t believe that Obama has enough knowledge to run this country. We’ve seen the stubborness before with Bush and notes that Obama won’t acknowledge that he was wrong on things. Good point.
McCain points out that Veterans know that he’ll take care of them. Plus he has the ability/judgement/knowledge. No on the job training needed.

Obama: Back to our uninspiring reputation. Our job is to “send a message” to the world. This is in response to McCain’s dis on Foreign affairs? What a goof. Please don’t make him President!

Parting words:
McCain can heal the wounds of war and can deal with foreign affairs.

HAH – Obama’s last words were on the “sending a message to the world”.

ROUNDUP: McCain I think clearly won this one noting that Obama “still doesn’t understand”.
Obama said tons of “me too” and “I get the European vote” “McCain is just like Bush” – sounds like sound bit.
McCain sounded Presidential,
Obama sounded like a Democrat, only a naive Democrat. McCain didn’t slam Obama on a ton of points I would have touched on. Obama looked very defensive to me. And he got crankly while McCain didn’t.

McCain’s mention of this economic bailout would be the end of the beginning was a smart realistic thing to say. Americans need to be ready and he treated us like adults. Whereas Obama treated us like people he can’t convince.

How about a calf blog?

“What the hell is going on out there?,” she says.

The Bailout Drama

Ed Morrissey notes that the Dems can pass this without any GOP help. However, they don’t have the courage, nor do they want to be siding with Bush on this.

McCain is no solid Republican. When he gets consensus he gets it from the Dems. [hence bipartisan action] He can support ‘the plan’ and the Dems would have their cover.

He’s still thinking.

In the meantime Diplomad was kind enough to share thoughts on McCain or rather Obama.

He, like the Japanese in WWII doesn’t understand something big.:

the principle that “no plan survives first contact.”

McCain keeps throwing Obama for a loop because McCain isn’t doing what he’s ’supposed to be doing’. Had any Democrat over the years actually studied up on McCain instead of making him a Bush III, they could have seen this.

A bit of holier than thou, a bit of personal responsibility, a bit of the long bomb, then throw in a heated campaign……
Obama’s deer in the headlights/snarkiness/call me when they need me is ridiculous.

Subprime Mortgages Explained

I just think today is an appropriate day to chuckle again at this video from last year explaining, quite clearly, subprime mortgages and the roll out of bailouts.

Whoops, that link isn’t working to Three Sources. use this one instead. Or just click on the video below.

“Injecting” yourself

I am pretty certain that it’s congressional leaders along with Bush’s folks who are doing the “negotiating” on a bailout. So why is it that because McCain is going to DC to help get everyone to agree on a plan, the news is calling it “injecting himself into the middle of delicate negotiations”?

Isn’t this his job as the new leader of the Republican party?