Upcoming Debates

A list of the scheduled Debates:

Presidential Debate Calendar

• September 26: Presidential Debate at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, moderated by PBS's Jim Lehrer
• October 2: Vice Presidential Debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, moderated by PBS's Gwen Ifill
• October 7: Presidential Debate at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, moderated by NBC's Tom Brokaw
• October 15: Presidential Debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, moderated by CBS's Bob Schieffer

All debates start at 9 p.m. ET and are organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates.


Debates

Blogger Booger

I initially got in to the discussion over at Watergate Summer as planned, however posting my first post Blogger immediately kicked me out.. server error or some crap. I continued to try and get into the livecomment session for over 30 minutes and each time was kicked out by some bogus error code. I'm hoping that Enigma4ever just had a ton of people on the site and she was giving Blogger fits by the shear number of visitors she had active but it's more likely Blogger was just a booger to me tonight. Damn.

More on the debate to follow...

Presidential Debate

Tonight I'll be joining Watergate Summer in her Live debate coverage.

Join us at Watergate Summer

Bail-Out Backout

After days of listening to John McCain and his campaign say that he would not attend Friday's presidential debate unless an agreement on a bailout package for the markets was "locked-down," they have (surprise) changed their mind.

Excuse me for sounding... trite, but is anyone surprised?

"Herrrrrrrrree's Johnny"

We are not surprised at all, after all it is what we expected you to do.

Have a good debate.

debate, McCain, bailout

Letterman continues on McCain

I love David Letterman, not like in some weird metro-man-crush kind of thing, as in love his perspective, quirkiness and slightly twisted sense of humor. But then again I'm a Monty Python Fan from way back.

Letterman - Thursday 9/25/2008:

"...Here's how it works: You don't come to see me? You don't come to see me? Well, we might not see you on Inauguration Day," Letterman said.

Noting that McCain wanted to postpone Friday's first debate with Obama, Letterman said running mate Sarah Palin wanted to put off her debate with Democrat Joe Biden until after Election Day. Letterman said Palin's meeting with world leaders at the United Nations was like "take-your-daughter-to-work day."

And now - Screaming at the TV!

See my post titled "Delay the Debate" Posted Thursday.... Of course the entire crap about having to get back to the capital on McCain's White Horse was just a rouse. McCain needed to be the hero again. After all it's about CAMPAIGN FIRST, that's his slogan right?... what? it's what? oh.... Country First. Sorry I must have been blinded by the blatant attempts to pull the freaking wool over my eyes.

I wonder if he has the "I-once-was-complex". You know, it's like when guy's get old we go...

"oh, well when I played high school football we had to play uphill in the snow both ways! God I was great! I do it now just to show you but I have this hip thing..."

I have to go now to Letterman's site and read his "Top 10 List" from last night - I heard it was pretty good.


David Letterman, McCain, Delay the Debate, CAMPAIGN FIRST

Tony Alamo

.... and today in Arizona, Tony Alamo, an Evangelical preacher from Arkansas was arrested for Child Molestation.........

I'll be back for more on this later...

sanctimonious sob's

------------------------------------------------

UPDATE: OK, here's what the lead from the AP had:

Sept. 26, 2008 05:56 AM

Associated Press
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Evangelist and convicted tax evader Tony Alamo says when it comes to sex, "consent is puberty" and there's a mandate in the Bible for girls marrying young.

"In the Bible it happened. But girls today, I don't marry em if they want to at 14-15 years old," Alamo said after federal agents raided his southwestern Arkansas compound Monday and placed six girls into state custody. "We won't do it, even though I believe it's OK."

Here I go - Screaming at the TV!

What person can live for 70+ years and think that it's ok to dink a kid just because they've hit puberty? Jesus! Where's the lightning bolt from the heavens when you need it.

As soon as this pervert said that his ass should have been struck dead and sent immediately to hell. He's just a Pedophile trying to hide behind the Bible.

As a Father of six children (three and three is the mix) I instinctively have gut wretch when I hear or read about these types of animals. I don't believe in the death penalty for many things but if you destroy a life, especially that of a child, with deviant acts your ass needs to be fried. Period. No excuses, no alibi's. None of this whiny "I suffer from a mental disorder"... here, we can fix that "ZAP" problem solved no more suffering for your poor tormented dumb ass. "I'm a product of my environment" WE ALL ARE ... here, we can fix that "ZAP" problem solved.

Well.......... at least he wasn't Catholic.

Here's a good resource for Child Protection Tips.

Yello Dyno Home Page
and
Statistics

Arizona, Evangelist

Even in the days of Jesus Christ

I was just getting ready to call it a night and thought... it's afternoon in Sydney, let's see what they're saying about the "Crisis" that the GWBA has caused the world... and to my surprise they were talking about our ultra right Veep candidate Palin

I'll just post this and provide the link:

The Sydney Morning Herald

A grainy video shows Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin being blessed in her hometown church three years ago by a Kenyan pastor who prayed for her protection from "witchcraft" as she prepared to seek higher office.

The video, which made the rounds yesterday on the Internet, shows Palin standing before Bishop Thomas Muthee in the pulpit of the Wasilla Assembly of God church, holding her hands open as he asked Jesus Christ to keep her safe from "every form of witchcraft."

"Come on, talk to God about this woman. We declare, save her from Satan," Muthee said as two attendants placed their hands on Palin's shoulders at the Pentacostal church. "Make her way my God. Bring finances her way even for the campaign in the name of Jesus. ... Use her to turn this nation the other way around."

Can I get an AMEN! Praise Jeebus (that line is courtesy of Homer Simpson)

Just one more reason to get out and vote!

Guess I'll get back to work on that little financial thing on Black Friday, I'm sure there will be plenty to do.... if nothing else, I can write about how Arizona Prop 102 is a bad idea...

Palin, witchcraft, Wasilla, Jesus Christ

Delay the Debate

I heard this story this morning on the Today Show (NBC).

McCain has suspended his campaign; that's not the new part, during the same story it was stated that the McCain campaign wants to reschedule the national debate for October 2nd.

OK, so why is this important? It happens to be the date that the VP candidates were going to have their Nationally televised debate. Does anyone find this surprising? Come on, WTF people - if your VP candidate isn't ready to go infront of the press, isn't ready to answer questions, isn't ready to debate then I have one simple question:

WHAT THE HELL MAKES HER READY TO BE MY VP?!

Ok, I feel better now... not really, but maybe not as queezy as before.


McCain campaign, candidates, national debate

Changing Addresses - good idea or not?

On the way home tonight I heard something that just kind of clicked with me so I'm thinking about changing the url for wyndmills to http://screaming-at-the-tv.blogspot.com.

Any input?

oh, and as you can see I'm still not happy with the layout so I continue to tweek it...

Address is changed... file this one away in the what was i thinking file....

Trespassing Bananas

While getting my kids ready for their day, the hustle and bustle of breakfast, lunch preparation and last minute homework, the morning news played on in the background. The lead was predictable - the bailout - I listened intently while I continued to move towards getting kids off to school. I stopped and listened however when a story of a Gorilla and a Banana in Texas caught my attention.

Dateline: Texas

After the third quarter of a Friday night Flower Mound High School football game, two seniors, dressed as a gorilla and banana, ran across the football field.

The crowd reacts with laughter, but the assistant principal jumps over the fence and with the help of another person hand the boys over to police.

Punishment for the two boys didn't end with detention and that's what has the seniors parents upset.

After handcuffing the boys, police say they handed them back to school officials, who insisted on pressing criminal trespass charges.Tuesday afternoon the Lewisville school district issued a statement that said in part, "The Lewisville Independent School District has formally rescinded the charges against the two students who disrupted the Flower Mound High School football game by running in costume across the field."

source: CBS11tv (Seema Mathur) & the NBC Today Show

Frankly I couldn't believe that the School officials decided to press criminal trespass charges. What's happened to the schools ability to manage their students? I mean truly, these pranks (and worse) have been going on forever. It's all in good fun and the kids know (or at least we did) that if you get caught you are going to serve detention; either in school or out of school suspension.

Have them arrested?

Really?

On Criminal Trespass charges?

Really?

Aren't they students of the school where they did this? Wasn't this a school event? Doesn't that mean that they were not trespassing? I'm just baffled by the stupidity involved in this case.

Now, off to school boys and don't forget your gorilla suite.

gorilla and banana, Lewisville Independent School District, trespass

King Paulson

The three page document submitted to Congress - you know, the one that's supposed to save our asses from financial collapse - wait, that already happened to me, they must be saving some rich SOB now because that hand certainly wasn't there when I needed it, but I digress.

Anyway that three page document contains a paragraph that EVERY American should be aware of - young, old, voters, non-voters (you know who you are 60+% of the country). Why do we need to be aware of it? Because it WILL change the future of this country forever and it reads:

"Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency."

All power to someone that has NOT been voted in, does not necessarily have our best interest at heart, has absolutely no accountability to anyone. Hey I have a good Idea, let's give him $700,000,000.00 and tell him we'll look the other way if he'll save us!

OK boys and girls it's time to speak out and speak up about this - this is a case of Chaos Economics. The theory is you create an event so massive that it detracts from the normal thought patterns of legislators and civilians alike, making them say OK, SURE, YOU BETCHA' to the most inane crap and before you know it you've given over to a new system of power. Iraq and a privatized militiary come to mind (Blackwater).

Take a few moments, blog, contact your representatives, congress men/woman, send e-mails but let them know we are Americans, we've thrown out one king and we'll damned sure do it again.

NO to Absolute Power without oversight (or even with oversight for that matter!)

Paulson, Power, Oversight, Financial Collapse

Privatized Military - Question for the Candidates

A fellow Blogger has posted a list of 10 questions that she would like to see asked during the upcoming debate. I would add one to the list that she has devised; you can see her entire list at Illini Family Politics.

Question: Regarding Military Readiness.

Over the past 8 years America has seen the largest privatization of the military force in it's history. Companies such as Blackwater have gone from a concept to multi-Million and some Billion dollar corporations. The previous administration has removed all threat of criminal punishment for their actions and has prevented the newly established government in Iraq to place any of these "Government Contractors" on trial. What will your policy be towards Privatized Military? (follow-up) and how will you go about reversing the current trend?

and now for something completely different.... ok, not really, just my opinion.

What the hell are we thinking - Blackwater, more like Blackwidow,... somebody Google "Erik Prince" and see what you get, now just for kicks Google "Erik Prince and Apramoff scandal". I would provide the links but you may think that I'm leaning left when I pick the site - have at it, go Google.

I am ex-military. I served with pride and still hold my service to my country dear. I served because our country is great and I believe in our rights and freedoms. I also am a realist and recognize that those freedoms, don't come for free. What these monkeys have done sickens me - it is in my view it is paramount to the Flag Burning that they so vehemently fought against and I so proudly served to protect. (yes, I consider it protected as part of your Freedom of Speech. I don't agree with the action of Flag Burning but I don't need to.)

The Neocons thought it was a good idea to fight what they termed fundamentalist regimes with .. oh, for arguments sake let's say, fundamentalist regimes. We turned over aspects of military power to a group that is right of right wing asked them to protect dignitaries in the Green Zone then allowed them to Massacre civilian Iraqi's in Nisour Square not to mention other atrocities for which they have yet to be held accountable. This my friends is a perfect example of how not to conduct a foreign policy while endangering your own national security.

Sources unlimited. For a great listing of them pick-up the book by Jeremy Scahill there's nearly 70 pages of sources and references.

Blackwater, Neocons, Fundamentalist, Regimes

North Darfur - September 12th 2008

UNAMID reported that its initial investigation of an incident at the Zamzam displaced persons (IDP) camp outside of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, suggests that 10-12 vehicles belonging to Central Reserve Police fired indiscriminately while passing outside the camp....

This is a daily fact of the people of Darfur's life. While we bitch and complain about Obama not attacking and Palin hiding from the press there are people in this world that are being abducted, raped, tortured and gunned down by their Government police force or that very same force that should be protecting and enforcing laws "looks the other way".

This isn't an election year topic - this needs to be an ongoing discussion. I know, the issues are complex and the solutions are not simple but while we debate these hurdles our brothers and sisters across this globe are being treated like animals and massacred like cattle led to slaughter.

In America Billions... let me check the news ticker... yep $700 Billion will go to bail out AIG and wallstreet. If America is truly governed by the people for the people, then whoever the asshole is that's in charge of my portion of the money... I would prefer to donate my share (roughly $2 Million based on 300M population & 700M bailout) to oh, let's say... UNICEF or The International Committee of the Red Cross or The UN Refugee Agency instead of having my portion spent on Wallstreet. I'm not suggesting that throwing money at the problem will fix it - but giving the funds to the agencies that know what needs to be done can help.

Excerpts from Sudan Tribune ~ dated: 9/13/08

The U.S. diplomatic contribution, meanwhile, remains cautious and ambiguous. U.S. diplomats are scheduled to resume negotiations with the Government of Sudan in mid-September, according to Sudanese officials, though this is not publicly confirmed by the State Department, which has no new information on the Sudan page of its website since July and did not respond to inquiries during the month of August.

U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan Richard Williamson attended the Republican National convention in Minneapolis, and is reported by the New York Sun to have been picked as a foreign policy advisor to tutor Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. His office did not respond to a recent inquiry from the Los Angeles Times.

If the Sudan is any indication on how this guy is going to "tutor" Palin she needs to demand better... maybe not, ahhh what-the-hell, why bother - she has plenty of foreign policy experience, after all she can see Russia from her state.

The following are from The United States' Response to the Darfur Crisis. Links are to that document.

Statement:

“The brutal treatment of innocent civilians in Darfur is unacceptable – it is unacceptable to me, it is unacceptable to Americans, it’s unacceptable to the United Nations. This status quo must not continue.” — President George W. Bush

Statistics from the US State Department:

Attacks on the civilian population by the Janjaweed, often with the direct support of Government of Sudan forces, have led to the death of tens of thousands of people in Darfur, with an estimated two million internally displaced persons.

Actions to date:

Since 2005: $4 billion in humanitarian, development, peacekeeping, and reconstruction programs to the people of Sudan and Eastern Chad.

Just over $817 Million USAID contributions to World Food Program emergency operations in Sudan and Eastern Chad.

For a total of $4.8 Billion

Why if my math is correct, that's nearly $80.2 Billion LESS than what the US Government/Taxpayer has just spent to buy AIG.

President Bush, it appears to me that the status quo has continued and that you, sir, on your watch, have allowed it to happen. We have had the opportunity to do more. To have a greater impact and we have not; God forbid another corporation gets into financial trouble, hell, there could be genocide on Wallstreet.

If you Blog please participate.

Darfur, Janaweed, State Department, Bush, Government

Children and Religion

Twenty plus years ago when I got married my wife and I agreed that there were certain aspects of parenting we would not compromise on.  One of these areas was religion.  We agreed that an upbringing in the church was fundamental to our children's future. Wanting to do everything we could to prepare our children to be contributing members of our society when they became adults, teaching them values, right from wrong, and providing them with a cornerstone for their lives we believed that a belief system and role modeling these behaviors would do this.  We still believe this.  Regardless of what our children did with their religion once they became adults, this was their choice, we believe that providing a community cornerstone where they felt safe to turn was core for them.  Wander as they may, as we did;  Question as they may, as we did and still do.  Believe or not, there was a part of both of us that felt this was instrumental for them. 
 
I was not raised religious.  My brother attended church on occasion and participated in youth activities through the church he went to while we were growing up, this I later found out was because that's where all the girls hung out.  Other than his exposure to that environment I had no exposure to organized religion.  I believed then as I do now, that there is a higher power, what that is I have questioned over my life.  I believe that I have come to know God through many ways over my many years of life, for the past 15 years it has been through the Catholic Church and our Parish's members and those who are active within the faith community.  I don't agree with all that is said and done by these people but I try to look for the message that exists within each.  It's been a long journey and one that continues but I believe it has made me a better man. 
 
My wife was raised Catholic and continues to have a very strong belief.  She is active in the community and believes that giving back is core to the well being of the church and it's future.
 
Why the background?  Why is any of this important?  I guess to set the stage for the quandary that we find ourselves in - to push or allow our oldest to start his own path.
 
The struggle that we have is with our eldest son who is nearing his 18th birthday.  Trials and tribulations have strafed his teen years as they do with many teen boys.  His search for independence, self-confidence, fitting in and the laundry list has led him in many directions.  Experimentation with drugs and alcohol; parental defiance (rebellion I believe it was called when I was youn); self absorption and on and on.  So, for the most part I think this makes him nearly "normal".  I could be wrong but I hope not.  He has been, through all of it, active in his religion.  He was active in the youth ministry and other ministries within our community, until he was soured by the people involved.  He used to attend Mass regularly with us without many complaints, but this is all starting to change and it's causing us to look back at our original views on what we intended to provide to our kids.
 
The church offers opportunities to participate in retreats to places like Disneyland and other theme parks on the west coast for minimal cost - I think a weekend in Disneyland cost $100.00 including the bus ride over to Anaheim. Our son has participated in many of these over the years.  Always with the caveat from my wife and I that he must give back to the church through participation and not just the monetary cost of the trip.  Always it's a promise that he will; the youth groups have changed; he's going to be a leader.... he hasn't.  He finds a complaint, excuse, reason to forego his commitment.  His argument is that over half of the kids/teens that go on these trips are what he calls "part time Catholics", they don't give back, they don't do this... or... they don't do that....  He has a point, but we talk about being a role model, setting the example, moving past the people and on to the spiritual realavance of what he is doing.  Maybe we ask to much, maybe we are misguided, I don't know.  Where's the chapter in the parenting handbook that tells you what to do when one questions their religion?
 
It is not easy being a parent.  It is even harder learning to let you child find their own way, spread their wings and explore their inner self.  I hope, as do most parents, that we have done right by our kids.  That our plans, in this case the plan of providing a safe haven, a cornerstone to lean on, are the best that we could have done by our children and their future.
 
There's no ah-ha moment to this post, just the general wondering of a parent of a teen.

parenting, parent of a teen, Catholic, religion

George Bush and Science Camp

Science camp with all of it's learning and exploration of the science of nature and environment, does have it's moments of insight to the minds of our future.

One of the team building events that the group of sixth graders had to complete was to prepare, rehearse and execute a 3-6 minute skit for all of the other campers. There were moments of brilliance, humor, insight, and pride. There were jokes that were turned into skits, there were remakes of Saturday Night Live originals, there were originals that caught the humor of the kids and then there was a skit that caught the humor of the adults.

Skit: "I Don't Know, the Game Show"

A group of seven boys took on the politics of today and in doing so lampooned George Bush in nearly Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert style. The boys introduced a nearly instant camp classic with the lines.

Host: Mr President, when was the Internet invented.
GWB: aaaahhhhh.... ummmmm.... that'd be 1900 BC
(pause, stands up, looks at the audience), fur those of ya' don't know, BC stands for Before Chilifries.
Host: Mr President, wouldn't that be BCF?
GWB: huhhhhh...mmmm... aaaahhh... wait (shakes hands) you mean Chili Fries isn't one word?!

There was line after line of the kids lampooning GWB, the adults (some who laughed so hard they had tears in their eyes)roared throughout the skit, the kids lapped it up.

All of this goes to show me that the kids are in tune to the world around them and not afraid to call out crap when they see it even if it's through the safety of a skit at Science Camp.

Science Camp and Politics

I thought that I would be able to get away from the dread of the financial collapse of AIG and enjoy some time in the fresh mountain air and forest of north central Arizona with my kid and his friends. Parent-chaperone's wanted to talk about the election, McCain and his MILF, Obama and ... Joey. I did my best to avoid direct assault but I also did my best to listen. Even the Dad who drove his "Beemer" to camp was uncertain and concerned - I'm not sure what that will ultimately will lead him to do - vote or not, for the right candidate or the "Right" candidate, I'm uncertain. The discussion was all over the board as I would have expected from this group of Soccer Mom's (a few Hockey Moms & Dads) and Dads who had taken a couple of days off to be with their kids.

Let's talk about those Dads for a moment. I took the time to go to this camp for three days because I wanted to be there with my son. It's not the first time I've gone to this camp so I knew that my nights would be sleepless, if not for the cabin full of talkative boys then certainly because of three inch foam rubber mattress that you learn to call a bed, I knew there would be down time, and lots of walking in the woods and food that was passable after a long day in the woods. I knew there would be the science of nature and the nature of science involved for the time we were there. What I didn't know is that there would be dads with lap-tops, cellphones and blackberry's wandering through the woods WORKING - ummm I have a bit of an issue with this. As a parent I would like to know, had I not been there and I had entrusted you to chaperone my kid while away at camp - please explain to me how the hell you are going to do this if you are texting your office, making sales calls, and filing reports all day long? Why did you come along? Did your wife twist your arm? Can't you afford to give your kid your attention for three days? I was slightly mystified by the number of dads conducting business instead of enjoying their kids... Maybe this speaks volumes about America today.