New Video

John McCain's shameless, dishonest and bottom-feeding attacks on Barack Obama's opting out of visiting a military hospital in Germany got me pretty steamed. So I came up with the following video to let McCain know my true feeling about his candidacy:

Quote for the day.

Quote for the day:

"Among the items seized from Adkisson's house were three books: The O'Reilly Factor, by television commentator Bill O'Reilly; Liberalism is a Mental Disorder, by radio personality Michael Savage; and Let Freedom Ring, by political pundit Sean Hannity."

David Waters, writing in Newsweek, describes a few of the items that Police discovered in the home of a man who went on an armed rampage in a Unitarian Church, killing two parishioners while children staged a play. The assailant, Jim David Adkisson, was unemployed, had just had his foodstamps cut, and blamed liberals for his troubles. He chose the Unitarian church because of its close association with progressive causes.

Fox News Throws Ronald Reagan Under The Bus

Reporting on the looming $490 billion deficit that will form part of Dubya's enduring legacy to the nation, the propagandists at Fox try to soften the number by pointing out that:

The highest post-World War II budget deficit, in terms of a portion of the GDP, was in 1983 when it was 6 percent of the national economy. The record high-dollar mark to date was in 2004, when the deficit reached $413 billion.

It's amusing to note, of course, that 1983 was the third year of Ronald Reagan's first term in office. So, depending on your metric, the most fiscally irresponsible president in history was either George W. Bush or Ronald Reagan. Take your pick. In that context it is almost laughable that a Bush administration official could warn that:

..."a lot can happen" in 18 months that could worsen or improve the outlook, such as an improved economy leading to better tax returns, or increased spending under a new administration. The official specifically warned about the impact a Democrats.

"Democrats could blow the doors off spending and drive the deficit even higher," the official said.

Of course, the unnamed administration official failed to note that the only way Democrats could, theoretically, "blow the doors off spending" would be if either (a) George Bush declined to veto their hypothetical (and uncharacteristically irresponsible) spending increases, or (b) Bush did veto, but enough Republicans came on board to override the veto. But never mind... let's continue to push the absurd notion that Democrats are the more fiscally irresponsible of the two parties:

Bigotry, Cowardice and Selfishness: The Hallmarks of Contemporary Conservatism

We've known for some time that Dick Cheney is a pretty creepy guy. Today the New York Daily News reveals that Cheney will not give a speech unless all participants have been quarantined for at least two hours beforehand. Apparently, it doesn't matter that the speech is being given before a group of disabled war veterans, Cheney's fear of assassination prevails and the same quarantine directive is issued. Personally, I find this level of fear creepy in much the same way I find Michael Jackson's germ phobia creepy. But it is also distasteful that a man who urges savage, preemptive war on a host of non-belligerent countries and who is one of this nation's most high ranking proponents of interrogation under torture should take such extreme steps to guarantee his own personal safety. One of the great unnoticed hallmarks of the noe-conservative movement in this country is that it is largely built on cowardice. The notion that we must sacrifice our values, our personal freedoms and our nation's noblest traditions to ensure that no harm ever come to any American on the home-front is, in my view, a sign of simple cowardice. Ordinary citizens send other people's sons off to die for them, yet refuse to sacrifice even the slightest degree of personal security to ensure that our nation lives up to its promises of liberty and respect for the rights of man. Which brings me to:

Bigotry, Cowardice and Selfishness are the keystones of the modern conservative movenet.

Bigotry: because conservatives have a long history of demonizing minorities of all stripes (whether it be racial minorities, religious minorities or sexual minorities) to drive their supporters to the polls. Witness the host of voter initiatives aimed at enshrining discrimination against gays and lesbians in state constitutions during the last presidential cycle. And it's not as if there is anything underhanded in these tactics. Karl Rove brazenly announced that this was going to be the Republican strategy long before those elections took place.

Cowardice: because conservatives exploit their supporters' fears in order to consolidate power and undermine the guarantees of liberty that are enshrined in the U.S. constitution. Is there a man among their "base" who would sooner die on his feet than live on his knees? Doubtful.

Selfishness: because conservatives shower the top one percent with massive tax cuts by throwing a few bones off their banquet table for the peons to gnaw on. In the meantime the federal debt grows by shocking leaps and bounds. Has it ocurred to any of these people that their children will be left to clean up after the party? Do they even care? ...and don't get me started on the environment.

It's clear that Dick Cheney embodies all these qualities. The man who skipped serving his country in Vietnam because he had "other priorities," who has made millions for himself in corporate America while pushing for irresponsible tax cuts that would net him even more, the father of a lesbian child who stood firm with his party even as it demonized people like his daughter to stay in power is also the man who insists that disabled veterans be locked up in a room for two hours before he will deign to address them, as a precaution against potential threats to his personal safety.

Dick Cheney: he's the ugly face of the modern Republican perty.

McCain vs. the elitists...

I'm so glad we have a down-to-earth man of the people like John McCain to counterbalance Barak Obama's liberal elitism. Did you know, for instance, that wife Cindy McCain does not always use a chauffer, but rather, pilots her own private plane, just like everybody else in Arizona? After all, as your average, blue-collar, hard-working Arizonan can tell you, a small private plane is the only way to get around the state.

A New Threat From Iran

Iranian Missiles

Iran fired off another volley of missiles today, and Patriot's Quill has got the exclusive photos! (we'd like to thank the Iranian News Agency for passing them along)