Vote Tracking
Just a bit of site news: for the rest of today we’ll be running an embedded MSNBC national vote tracker in the sidebar. Everything will be back to normal tomorrow, but for today after 6pm EST feel free to keep up to the minute poll results right here at CFLF. We’ve got you covered. :-)
Sphere: Related ContentGiven all the respect they deserve
One lesson I learned early on in life is really quite simple: respect is earned. There’s a flipside to this lesson though that many people, particularly caring, empathetic, or inherently good-hearted people often miss out on. Contempt, like respect, can be earned.
Apparently the good folks over at LGF never learned that particular lesson. It seems an LGF reader recently contacted the director of Columbia University’s business school exhorting him to release footage from their 2003 farewell party for Rashid Khalidi, first reported on by the LA Times. Gotta give the good director credit, he treats this “request” with exactly the level of respect it deserves:
Sphere: Related ContentBefore and After - GOP Pundit Edition
Someone should really tell the GOP that being a two-faced flip-flopper is a skill that stopped being useful, oh, right around the time of Youtube.
But then again, maybe not. Things are more humorous this way.
*h/t to Dave
Sphere: Related ContentLinking Bush To McCain
The Republican’s may be busy with their own convention and enjoying spending the week with like-minded individuals but they shouldn’t forget one very important fact: Directly linking President Bush to candidate John McCain can only end badly for McCain.
Well, having Bush directly endorse John McCain by remote Big Brother style probably won’t help his poll numbers any.
But you know what? That’s just fine with me.
Sphere: Related ContentThe AP Puts Their GOP Drunk Goggles To Use
For anyone that watched Obama’s acceptance speech last night there was little question that this was one of the most policy laden speeches Obama’s ever given.
- Tax cuts for the bottom 95% of working Americans.
- 10 year Apollo-style timetable to eliminate our imports of Middle Eastern oil.
- Closing corporate tax loopholes and rewarding only those corporations that employ Americans rather than ship their jobs overseas.
- Offering any student willing to enter a community-service program a college education similar to what the GI bill did for WW2 veterans.
And really, those are just the rough ideas I remembered to write down, there were too many to keep count. If you’re like most of the American public though you get your news through one source: the locally-republished AP news feed. So what was AP writer Charles analysis? “Obama spares details, keeps up attacks“.
Sphere: Related Content[...] instead of dwelling on specifics, he laced the crowning speech of his long campaign with the type of rhetorical flourishes that Republicans mock and the attacks on John McCain that Democrats cheer. The country saw a candidate confident in his existing campaign formula: tie McCain tightly to President Bush, and remind voters why they are unhappy with the incumbent.
What The Republicans Fear
Right now I’m busy watching former Vice President Al Gore speak at Invesco Field in Denver in preparation for Barrack Obama’s acceptance speech and a though occurred to me.
This is what the Republicans fear. They fear the crowds. They fear the enthusiasm. They fear the change. Quite simply: they fear us.
While the Republican’s and their media lackeys fret about what columns are used at Invesco we’re busy gathering in massive numbers to take our country back.
The GOP is right to be fearful.
Sphere: Related Content‘One Of The Worst Moments’ Of The Campaign, with Transcript
This morning on ABC’s This Week guest panelist Mark Halperin tried to play the “don’t mess with me or I’ll get really mad” bluff for the McCain campaign. I almost missed it but luckily the intrepid reporters at Think Progress managed to snag a video of the ridiculousness.
For those of you who can’t watch clips online the transcript follows below the fold: Read more
Sphere: Related ContentDark Humor and Talking Points
Why bother coming up with canned “liberal talking points” when the GOP’s been so successful at giving us so many? And the best part, all we have to do is repeat the GOP bottom-line. It’s almost not fair…
h/t: Queen of Spain
Sphere: Related ContentReligulous
While I might think Bill Maher’s views on “alternative” medicine and pharmaceuticals are, to be nice, down right insane his new movie, Religulous, might just spark a couple of interesting conversations when it finally comes out.
I will, of course, do my part to prod them on and laugh the whole way. 
The Daily Show Attacks GI Bill Opponents
You know you’ve lost the PR battle when The Daily Show turns you into the butt of one of their segments, but this is just priceless. In an email I received today from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America mailing list they had a little clip worth spreading around.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6332798158045919513
So go ahead McCain, claim you’ve got the high ground on the troops and defense. They might have something different to say on the matter.
BTW: You are on their mailing list, aren’t you?
Sphere: Related ContentAnd so it must be for us.
As I’m sure my fellow writers can attest I have been, shall we say, “absent” for these last couple of weeks. In my defense this was only partially by choice. You see, I recently moved, then had few issues with work, and then realized I was, for lack of a better phrase, in a “fightin’ mood” (as my Grandfather is so apt to say).
Somewhere during the Democratic nomination process I stopped caring about party unity, civility, and respecting the opinions of others. For all of our sakes I thought it best to step back and let things ride out, let the process come to fruition.
Well, here we are. Whether Hillary Clinton accepts that the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination fight is over or not is irrelevant, it is. We have our nominee and I’m proud to say that the General Election couldn’t have started off with more of a sea-changing bang.
I managed to catch the last half of Obama’s speech online but it was enough to drive a crystal-clear point into my mind: this man will be our next president and it’s our duty as progressives to make damn sure that happens and not a McCain presidency.
Enough with the in-fighting, enough with the name-calling, this is game-time. Regardless of what you may feel about Obama he is the man standing between the Neoconservative/Religious Right and the Supreme Court. After tonight there’s little doubt in my mind that he has the conviction to nominate the right sort of Justices to ensure America remains a secular liberal republic for another generation.
Obama may be the right man for the job but, as he reminds us, it’s up to us to live up to America’s founding ideals. It’s up to us to see this through to the end.
I’ve included the full speech transcript after the fold but, if you have 22 minutes to spare, watch it instead. It’s a display of power, conviction, and impassioned progressivism you’ve likely not seen in years (if ever). It’s well worth your time.
Sphere: Related Content
Fear Monger In Chief
If there’s one certainty in American politics it’s this: The GOP will do anything to paint their opponent as unpatriotic, elite, and, if possible, as a crazy radical we shouldn’t trust in our neighborhood let alone as leader of the nation.
Knowing that it shouldn’t come as any surprise that John McCain has pounced on the World Net Daily interview with Hamas:
“Barack Obama’s foreign policy plans have even won him praise from Hamas leaders,” writes McCain deputy campaign manager Christian Ferry. “Ahmed Yousef, chief political adviser to the Hamas Prime Minister said, ‘We like Mr. Obama and we hope he will win the election. He has a vision to change America.’”
The McCain fundraising e-mail says Obama’s stands have earned him “kind words” from Hamas. “John McCain’s foreign policy provides a stark contrast to the policies of Barack Obama,” writes Ferry. “While Senator Obama would surrender in Iraq and hold talks with the Iranian regime, John McCain will never surrender in the struggle with Islamic extremists. Please join our campaign today by making a generous donation of $50, $100, $250, $500, $1,000 or $2,300.”
First off, anyone find it humorous how McCain asks for $50 to $2,300 from his donor pool while Obama’s rarely ever asked for more than $25? That alone should tell you something about the respective audiences, but I’ll leave it at that.
Sphere: Related ContentObama Nets Another Superdelegate
In what’s become nearly a daily phenomenon Barack Obama has netted another superdelegate, this time Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor to President Clinton. Given Howard Dean’s call on superdelegates to buck up and choose some will likely think that this had something to do with his decision. Well, the New Yorker had a chance to speak with Mr. Reich and he’s saying that’s not so: Read more
Sphere: Related ContentRove’s Subpoena Two-Step
Remember kids, to us mortals a Congressional subpoena, or any subpoena for that matter, isn’t something we can ignore. The choices are simple and there are really only three of them:
- Show up and behave, no trouble no foul.
- Submit a motion to quash, forcing the issuing party to show just cause why you should have to appear.
- Simply not show up. This’ll land you a nice hefty fine and likely a visit with Bubba.
Of course, if you’re Karl Rove, there’s always option #4: Refuse to show up and dare anyone to do anything about it.
Sphere: Related ContentDean To Supersdelegates: Time To Choose
In what’s likely a direct response to last night’s “debate” DNC Chair Howard Dean has now called on the remaining undecided superdelegates to make their alliegances knows.
He’s right. It’s long past time for the superdelegates to declare which candidate they plan to support. For the sake of party unity and a unified front against McCain it’s their duty as Democrats to do what’s in the best interest of the party and the party’s ideals. And at this point that means picking a candidate who can stop John McCain (or his VP) from being the one to pick the next two supreme court justices and/or start another war. The stakes are too high, this waffling BS has got to stop.
Sphere: Related ContentJustifiably Pugnacious
Congressional Quarterly is reporting that the House Democratic leadership is just about done crafting a massive $109 billion dollar war supplemental bill. There’s only one catch. In an effort to force some needed domestic spending responsibility the House Democrats have charted a collision course with their Republican counterparts.
On top of the war funding, Democrats also want to attach billions of dollars in domestic spending initiatives to the measure, which could be the only appropriations bill enacted this year.
John P. Murtha, D-Pa., chairman of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, estimated the bill would outline about $102 billion in war spending for the remainder of the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, plus an additional $70 billion or so in fiscal 2009 war spending.
The mere fact that I’m even writing this post is a travesty. It’s been five and a half years since the war in Iraq started and we’re still paying for the bloody thing using emergency supplementals. Why? Not a clue, but I’d wager it has something to do with the fact that the White House doesn’t want to have to justify why we’ve spent $5 Billion dollars training the Iraqi police/security forces while local police get the shaft, among other things.
Sphere: Related ContentComments From Left Field v3.0 BETA
Hi everyone. If you’re reading this through your RSS feed you’ll likely want to head on over to our home page. If not, welcome to version 3.0 of Comments From Left Field.
Given the recent inclusion of so many quality voices Michael and Kyle thought it a good idea to update our look, to give us a more modern “professional” feel. It’s our goal here to provide high quality discussion and opinion and it’s only fitting our site reflect that commitment to quality.
I personally hope you all approve of the change and while I’ve worked hard to ensure that the site’s theme looks good with all browsers there may still be some bugs that need working out. I’m also still in the process of adding additional features so, for now, enjoy the BETA.
Also: If you’ve got any issues, suggested additions or complaints feel free to add them to this post as a comment. Praise is always good too; I’ve got an ego like everyone else after all
(UPDATE from Kyle: I just wanted to thank the Newshoggers for the little housewarming, blogwarming whatever you want to call it! Thanks guys!
Sphere: Related ContentDonate to CFLF
Blogroll
Pennsylvania Blogs
The Liberal Media
Blogging Liberally
Advertising
Comments From Left Field is a member of...
Memeorandum
Archives
- 2008: J F M A M J J A S O N D
- 2007: J F M A M J J A S O N D
- 2006: J F M A M J J A S O N D
- 2005: J F M A M J J A S O N D
- 2004: J F M A M J J A S O N D
- 2003: J F M A M J J A S O N D
Blog Stuff
