Gun Issues Update

Here's some more resources about the ongoing sea-change in the American view about gun ownership and gun violence. It's good to see that at least so far the change is occurring. After Sandy Hook I read many journalists (aka pundits) say with all the idiotic gravitas that they could muster that "there's nothing we can do" about our gun culture. Speaking as a sociologist, I can say that nearly every journalist I have read - on every subject - is at best an educated layman, but more often just a loud ignoramus. So, thank God, the mood is shifting. If we could stop slavery, maybe we can stop this too.

1. This is Slate.com's "Gun Death Map" - a handy, and shattering, crowdsourced reference guide for current gun deaths.

2. For quick reference, here are Obama's executive actions. Again, thank God, Big B is doing what we elected him to do. I'm seeing a change in his attitude towards congress, something I hoped would happen after his reelection.

What comes out from this list is a demonstration that the NRA maybe the most evil organization in America. Because while the other legal-evil groups - e.g. tobacco, oil - advocate indirect death for their own profit, the NRA is in favor of actual death. They may be more evil than gambling and drug lobbyists (and they exist) for that same reason. Jewish law is pretty clear that the one worst crime is murder, mainly because it can't be reversed.

Why do I say they are the most evil? Because after Sandy Hook the journalists have kicked into gear and are now reporting just how much the NRA has been working to ensure that crazy people can get their hands on mass murder tools. It's stupefying, it's numbing, just how much the NRA has done to allow murder!

The best journalist team is, yet again, the Daily Show. Even though they've gotten worse and worse about Israel (shame on you Stewart!), they are top notch about this issue. See the second video here to be astounded:

3. From Huffpo: Jon Stewart Takes On NRA Over ATF Limitations On Enforcing Existing Gun Laws (VIDEO)

How Obama Can Cement a Win in '12

Drop Biden from the ticket and take on Hillary as his VP.

Obama's Speech

There's much to be said about Obama's speech (transcript) and I've been using Jeffrey Goldberg's blog as a center for my reading. While he and I disagree about the means of the Peace Process and about our ideas of Zionism, I respect his knowledge and his commitment to Israel (he served in IDF, I did not).

Some key points:

1. The concept of using the '67 lines is not new at all. That it's considered a pro-Palestinain action by Obama is part of the media spin. In fact, according to some analysis, it was started by a distorted AP piece and then picked up by the anti-Obama forces (e.g. Fox News). See this Little Green Footballs piece to follow the trail: LGF: Instantaneous Outrageous Outrage: 'Obama Sides with Palestinians!' What I learn from the AP bias is that the media WANTS Obama to side with the Palestinians. So does the GOP. And many Jewish racists who hate Obama more than they love Israel.
   
2. Obama did not call for a return to the '67 borders. He said (bold mine): "We believe the borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states." What did people expect, that Obama would call for Greater Israel from the Nile to the Euphrates? Or the fanatasy, that I shared before Oslo, that maybe we could keep until the River Jordan? He said there's be land swaps. Cool.
   
3. No mention of: the Golan Heights (especially in the same week that we put sanctions on Assad/Syria).
   
4. He also tabled the issues of Jerusalem and the Palestinian false claim of a 'right of return': "I am aware that these steps alone will not resolve the conflict, because two wrenching and emotional issues will remain: the future of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees."
   
5. Most importantly, Obama smashed down two dangerous threats to Israel: the Hamas-Fatah coalition: "In particular, the recent announcement of an agreement between Fatah and Hamas raises profound and legitimate questions for Israel: How can one negotiate with a party that has shown itself unwilling to recognize your right to exist?"
   
6. and the looming credible threat of a unilateral declaration of Hamas statehood: "For the Palestinians, efforts to delegitimize Israel will end in failure. Symbolic actions to isolate Israel at the United Nations in September won't create an independent state. Palestinian leaders will not achieve peace or prosperity if Hamas insists on a path of terror and rejection. And Palestinians will never realize their independence by denying the right of Israel to exist."

People need to get over their hatred of Obama - or the GOP's twisted path to destroy the Democrats by destroying America and Israel.

Bin Laden is Dead

I have strong emotions about the news, which I read last night and woke up my wife to tell her. Three quick thoughts:

1. This is a real victory. He was shot to death, identified by experts, and buried at sea. He was being protected by Pakistan, and killed not on a battlefield but in his Wisteria Lane hidey-house. It's crucial to remember that for megalomaniac murderers, the most important goal is to be alive and in power. When Saddam and Bin-Laden are captured and killed it sends the message to other freak-show killers that their chosen path has a definite and predictable end. Moreover, as I learned in my studies of the Holocaust, the loss of a single charismatic leader is devastating. He was a symbol to terrorists that you can beat the Americans, he was a symbol to America that we could be beaten. No more. We caught him like a mad dog and put him down.

2. For that reason, I am hoping that this will have a long-term effect in raising American morale about our perceived feelings of decline. Bin-Laden's continued existence showed that we were weak. It also kept the 9/11 siege mentality alive; it was an unclosed grave. Now we've killed him - it can feel, and feelings are important here, that we can move on. And we really need to move on.

3. Lastly, I hope this will change the perception of Obama and of Democrats. The Press has been a disgusting promulgator of nonsense and dissent in our country. Obama released the long form of his birth certificate (the POTUS equivalent of a poll-tax) not because of Trump but because of the media's fascination with this complete nonsense. Because the Press is fickle and stupid, they can now have flashy evidence of what has been happening since January 21, 2009 - that Obama has been systematically and effectively cleaning up Bush's messes.

This is why it took 10 years to get bin Laden - because 8 of those years were under the complete schmucktard Bush.

That the killing of Bin-Laden happened 8 years to the day after Bush landed on the aircraft carrier, dressed up in a costume and acting like a blowhard punk, is icing on the cake.

Obama's ability to clean up for Bush helps with #2 above. As a social scientist, I can tell you that perception is very important for how a society will advance or decline. Killing bin Laden, I am hoping, will show America and the World that we have also cleaned up from Bush. Just last week, Obama's reaction to the tornadoes of Alabama was praised for it's swiftness and effectiveness. So he cleaned up Katrina and 9/11 in one week.

We'll see if the Press takes this ball and runs it in the right direction. We could be now getting out of our decade long malaise. Obama could announce we're drawing down in Afganistan, that we can wear shoes on airplanes, that we can be sane again!

Reaction to Tuesday's Midterms

Some quick reactions from Tuesday's Midterm Elections. Note, when I say "we" that refers to "Democrats" and/or "(Normal) Jews" and/or "(Normal) Americans". This is because, as I said Monday, the current Republican party is bizarrely more evil in intention than the ideas backing the Bush Years:

1. This could have been much much worse. As the dust settles, the Democrats lost only 1 House. Many of the lost seats in the Senate should have been quite safe (PA, Ill-a-freakin'-Noise) and that's a depressing sign. But considering that Teabaggers were defeated in many places, that California stayed Blue, and that Harry Reid's Faustian deal is still under warranty, means that it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
   


2. The irony about Reid is that if anyone is responsible for the current failure of the Democrats, it's Reid. As I said in the intro, it's a given that the current GOP is freakishly evil (see below), but the only places where their evil could reign was SCOTUS (which is a lost cause until Scalia and Thomas get incapacitated by their own hatred of humanity), and the Senate. Despite the Dems having a historically high 60 seats, Reid allowed the Senate Republicans to destroy most attempts to repair the economy and help America. It's that bad. And because of the deadlock in congress, more people are out of work than should be, the health care plan is flaccid, and Obama's appointees are stalled in committee. All this evil was hated by the American people who returned their ire on... House Democrats. Who were by and large heroes these past 2 years. If there was any justice, Reid should have lost, the Dems should have kept the Senate - and House.
   


3. Which leads to the most infuriating result of Tuesday. While it's bad enough that the disturbing and malevolent John Boehner will be the new speaker, and that the Teabaggers have renewed vigor, what I'm especially angry about is that the GOP tactic of legislative anarchy worked for their benefit. The GOP is better at "playing the ref" than the Dems, mainly because the GOP is ideologically anti-government! Even when the Dems were trying to stop Bush's evil, in general their party is in favor of legislation. GOPers can take it or leave it. They may have claimed that they were trying to stop laws that hurt the American people, but only morons or fanatics actually believe that was true. Seriously. The proof is that the GOP supported everything they claim Obama stands for when Bush was the president. Every (non-alcoholic/moron) in Congress knew that we needed economic stimulus, health care, and bank reform - the GOP just didn't want those vitally important things to happen under a Democratic president. Which makes them a special type of evil.
   
   Note, this proof is the same one behind the Teabaggers: (1) if you don't like deficit spending, then why did you support Bush's epic/disgusting ballooning of the deficit? Because you want tax cuts and crazy wars? OK, yeah, you do. But it's because they're bigoted fiends; (2) if you hate health care reform, why did you support the Medicare Prescription Drug Boondoggle? I could go on but the pattern is obvious.


The Republicans spent 2 years blocking vitally important legislation - that they supported and knew would help get people jobs, medicine, life - in order to help their electoral chances... and it worked. And the American people fell for it. And I just threw up in my mouth.

And because it worked, the GOP will do it again and it will work again. It's bad enough to know that evil has gone unnoticed, it's worse to know that it will keep happening.


4. It's possible that Obama should be blamed for not strongly broadcasting the GOP evil before Nov 2. It is my biggest cavil with the president: that I want him to fight more. Yeah, it's nice to be 'non-partisan' but evil is evil and must be stopped. However, in retrospect, I have to blame the House/Senate democrats - and thus the DNC - for the responsibility of carrying out that message. It was their gooses about to be cooked and their legislature to be explained, and thus I blame their loss on themselves.
   
   
5. The big silver lining about the election is that - based on the GOP Evil Analysis above - that the hidden enemy of Republican Obstructionism now has a face. Ya see, as I've experienced in my own life, it's part of the American psyche to dismiss the excuses behind loss and failure. Bush lied, stole 2000, so what - he crossed the finish line and now we can move on to the next horse race. So too in Congress - so what if the GOP committed legislative fraud and grand evil over 2 years - it's not visible therefore its not provable. Yet now Bone-nert/Bay-nert/Boonert is the orange face of Congress. And we have a clear, easily spotted - even at night - enemy of Democracy.
   
   
6. Other good news - Massachusetts stayed Blue. The Scott "Nudie Model" Brown debacle of 2009 did not repeat.
   
   
7. On the unknown/bad news front: one piece of info I was looking for in the news organs is probably the most crucial factor of the Midterms - the makeup of State legislatures in those states that will gain/lose Congressional seats because of the new census. As Obama said on the Daily Show, the two biggest anti-Constitutional enemies to the Republic are (1) the filibuster, especially in the hands of the anarcho-nihilistic burglars of the GOP, and (2) gerrymandering of House districts. The GOP has succeeded in the former and may now succeed in the latter.
   
   
8. The last reaction for now has to do with newspapers. I sought out a (free) New York Times on Tuesday morning because I felt that I needed to have a good analysis and breakdown of the effects of the Midterms. Yet, I didn't get one. Not only was the newspaper frozen in time while reporting on a constantly shifting fact landscape, what information they did contain was fluffy and pedestrian. I wanted numbers! I wanted facts about losses and wins and causes and effects. Instead the paper was filled with reaction pieces about mood and feelings. It was useless. The internet wins again - not only because its up-to-the-second in news, but because the possible info is BETTER.

216

That's it, the House voted to approve the Senate bill. We've finally entered the Western World for social safety net - guaranteed health insurance.

It's a good day to be an American.

Update: I mean, I feel so happy right now for the fact that we got this done. It's good in itself - it will both help save lives and save poor people money. Isnt' that what Hashem wants?

And I feel good, because as a number of commentators have said: the GOP bet everything on this - they gave nothing and promised that it will destroy all life in the universe - and now they lost. So they can't even claim victory for anything. And this victory thus makes Obama look like a super-ninja with rocket roller skates - he's so truly Da Man - and the Democrats in congress showed their constituency that it was the right thing to vote for them, and shows the independents that if you put the Democrats in charge, they will get big things done

This is a great victory.

Ezra Klein - How liberal is Obama?

All I can say about this Ezra Klein piece from today is 'Amen Brother.' Obama's critics from the loony left irk me no end: Ezra Klein - How liberal is Obama?:

The first year of the Obama presidency has been a long tutorial on the difference between liberal ends and liberal means. If I told you America has a president determined to pass large amounts of Keynesian stimulus spending (that's particularly concentrated in impoverished areas), a near-universal health-care plan, and a bill addressing climate change, you'd say liberals had recaptured the White House. Ambitious liberals, even.

But though Obama's program is quite liberal, he doesn't seem to care much how it's achieved. A public option would be nice, but if it's not there, then that's fine, too. Full auction of permits is a good idea, but if most get given away to corporations, then that's how it goes. Infrastructure spending is good, but if tax cuts are the price of passage, then tax cuts there shall be. The best description of the administration's ideology probably came from Rahm Emanuel when he said, 'The only nonnegotiable principle here is success.'

You could imagine a lot of presidents more dogmatically liberal than Obama, but I wonder whether there are a lot of plausible hypotheticals in which they amass more liberal achievements than Obama. At the executive level, it might be the case that being too liberal is a liability to, well, liberalism.

H.t. Sullivan.

Young Obama Statue Officially Unveiled In Indonesia

From the TPM:

Young Obama Statue Officially Unveiled In Indonesia

Eric Kleefeld
December 9, 2009, 12:18PM

The new statue of Barack Obama in Jakarta, Indonesia, commemorating him from when he lived there as a child, has now been unveiled.The statute is made of bronze, and stands two meters tall, including the pedestal, with a nearly life-sized likeness of the young Obama. It is located at Taman Menteng Park, a site that was used as an athletic field by Obama's elementary school. It was paid for through a private non-profit group, called Friends of Obama.

Central Jakarta Mayor Sylviana Murni said at the unveiling ceremony: "There is a message through the young Obama statue that any child and anyone from any background can reach their dreams if they fight for it persistently."

The peanut gallery in the TPM comments think the right wingers will freak out. Even TPM pushes this with their headline: "Winger Bait."

First of all, stop caring about the freaks on the right. They need no substance to fuel their crazy. They live in a frictionless vacuum of stupid hate.

Second of all, why should the Right wing get angry about Obama when there's a life-size statue of George W. Bush passed out drunk in the basement of a Waco Arby's?

Obama Inherited Afghanistan

The left-wingers are angry about Obama's actions vis-a-vis Afghanistan (in general they seem angry because only now did they discover he lacked supernatural powers to change everything instantly). I don't understand the resistance to Obama's way of waging wars that he inherited. Anybody who says that 'he owns them now' is being idiotic. Only if he sharply changes the mission of the wars, and in a way that is more destructive/aggressive, will he own the wars.

An example: Did Clinton 'own' or 'inherit' the Korean War? That war ain't over - the North Koreans would gladly swoop down and swallow South Korea at any moment. It's only the massed troops (and landmines) on the 38th parallel that keeps that from happening. But that's an inherited condition. If Clinton/Bush/Obama were to take the South Korean/US troops and attack North Korea then maybe I'd say that president 'owns' the war - but even then, not fully, because that was the aim of the war in the first place.

Obama doesn't own Iraq and Afghanistan - these are two botched wars, the first because of criminal-lies and the second because of criminal-negligence. He needs to find some way to salvage them - not just 'remove the troops' because, as a result of the botching, if we leave we'll have a power vacuum in the Mideast that will be quite dangerous for the world.

As far as I have learned destabilizing Iraq and Afghanistan in turn emboldened Iran and other terror sponsors. That's why the botch was so evil and criminal (and why Cheney should be incarcerated not lauded on TV shows) - because it created a worse mess than would have been around had we done nothing.

Bottom line: Obama is trying to repair damage that he inherited. Anyone says he 'owns' the wars (or the recession, off topic) will get a Twitter Tax.

Pic from this numb-dumb website.

Pres. Obama Address on Afghanistan

I didn't get to see it last night, but I just watched it on C-SPAN (here's a transcript).

It was a good and important speech. I'll say it again: I am so glad he's president. And that's in the positive direction, not just compared to Bush, McCain, and Palin. He's sober, intelligent, and clear in his thoughts and goals. He speaks to me (the American people) as if I were his intelligent partner in leadership, not some rube to be duped.

Pic from CBS News.

Frum Anti-Obamaism

A near-daily read, for me, is the frum news-site Vos-Iz-Neias (pronounced "glayyyvin"). Even though, rumor has it, that it's assur to use the intertubes, VIN gathers news from as many sources as possible to bring news stories of interest and importance to the Jewish community. I was 'converted' to them, as it were, when a friend's synagogue had been vandalized and the story was not on the JTA website but was on VIN.

So what does VIN determine is important to the frum news consumer? On one side I admire them for bringing stories of rabbi abuse, chillul Hashem riots, and general criticism of the frum community. On the other side, they seem to have aligned themselves with the Republican party and will gleefully show anything against Democrats and Obama in particular. For example, it is a-priori accepted by the VIN editors that the Health Care Plan is bad for frum Jews (why? because the GOP - a collection of Christian White Men from the South and/or Mountain West - says so).

And, of course, like any website that allows comments (and is read by more than 2 people, unlike The Styx), the comment section is where you'll find the true crazy. Were I a sociologist (uh, wait a sec...) I'd make a theory about how comments-sections reflect the nature of a website. But, to be honest, I can't go that far. Yet. I will say, though, that a sociologist of the Jews would find the crazy exhibited in the comments fascinating.

Take this crazy example, commented on a news thread about (what else) the friendly psychotic Muslim Doctor mass murderer:

Moshe in Baltimore Says:
The anonymous "gunman" was Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a 39 year old Muslim. Of course this was a terror attack. And to #9, Barack HUSSEIN Obama grew up Muslim, and will always be a Muslim. He is very on top of the game of Islam infiltrating the US and other Western Countries. Look at Yechezkel 38:2, the word Nasi, "Prince" Gog of Magog ends in an Alef. Count every seventh letter and it will spell Alef, Vav, Bais, Alef, Mem, Hay; "Obama". It's an obvious Torah code he is Gog or a major player. May Hashem hasten the Geula with no negative affect to Klal Yisroel.

Again, I'm not sure how "Moshe in Baltimore"s Rebbe has allowed him to access the interwebs, unless Moshe himself is a Rosh Yeshiva. It could explain his superior gematria skillz.

P.S. The commenters are also wacko about vaccines. Fun times for the dumb frum.

Obama's Veteran's Day Speech

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

A very good speech - part eulogy, part Gettysburg Address (in that Obama is describing the nature of fallen soldiers and the role of the military in American ideals). The full text here.

Obama and the Steelers

Not only did Obama get the important Steelers endorsement from Dan Rooney that, no doubt, helped him in the PA Primary (see BJ if you don't believe me) but now Obama is making the right choice for the Superbowl:

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette said in today’s edition that Obama has a game ball from their victory in the AFC championship game Sunday over the Ravens. Dan Rooney and his son Jim personally delivered the football to Obama Monday night in Washington, D.C.

Obama also met with Dan and Jim Rooney in a separate room at the Hilton, where the pair gave him the game ball. “He’s a Bears fan first, he admits that,” Dan Rooney said yesterday at the Steelers UPMC training center. “But he’s a Steelers’ fan. He’s said it, and all his staff, they’re rooting for us [in the Super Bowl].”

Can he do no wrong? (note: I am joking)

Late Update (March 2009): Holy cow - Obama nominates Dan Rooney as Irish ambassador. Obama is a gracious guy!

Backpost finished on 2009-11-30.

Tomorrow is Finally Here

Even though I'm working hard on a number of projects, I feel it necessary to say (especially since I may not be able to blog tomorrow) that the Bush Era will finally be OVER! And, if that isn't enough, we're finally going to have what purports to be a decent, brilliant, ethical president. Finally, finally, finally.

One thing I've been doing over this long weekend is cleaning up the old blog posts from my archives (2003-2004) and I have been reading all of my apoplexy over the 2004 election. I was pretty angry back then and I knew in my bones about all the horror we were going to see in 4 years. And that will finally be over.

Let there be Truth and Reconciliation, let there be Justice. And thank God for a new president.

Constitutional Amendment for the 21st Century

The 20th Amendment changed the transition date of the US presidency from March 4th to January 20th. It was a swiftly passed change to the Constitution following the agony of Herbert Hoover. Not only was the bum thrown out of office in 1932 but we needed to wait 4 months to actually have the throwing occur.

I propose that while 4 months worked in the 18-19th centuries, and 2 months for the 20th, we live in an even more swift and dire age and can have an even quicker transition. I propose the transition should be in 2 weeks.

Oh, I hear you cry, that's not enough time for the new president to get up to speed! Look at Obama; he's filled his cabinet in a much faster time than his predecessors but it still takes time and even for him its not finished.

I counter-argue that the whole point of a chief executive is that he controls the cabinet. If the new president took over in two weeks, then even if the previous cabinet were to be in place, they would need to follow the directives of the new guy. And even if they were all to resign at once, then (a) the President could not accept the resignations, or (b) the career bureaucrats who fill up the cabinet offices could take over until new guys are found. Even as it stands it's not *enough* time to really get the new cabinet up to speed to their new jobs, and my solution could actually be a better way to transition in.

My ultimate point is that things are rapidly going to hell even quicker than in 1932 (Bush is like a combination of Herbert Hoover and James Buchanan - bad war and bad money) and we need new leadership fast fast fast.

Post Election Thoughts, part 6

1. Did Palin Know About Africa, NAFTA?
   
   
2. Martin Peretz has a good post: Political Consequences Of An Obama Victory
   
   
3. Reiterating my point about the Obama Presidency's ease: most of the current problems have been CAUSED, they didn't just "happen." True, it's easier to bomb a building than to build one, and Bush has bombed the hell out of the world (literal ones in Iraq, figurative ones on Wall Street), so Obama's toil will be in rebuilding. But here's the simple, all-points plan for the major problems: (1) Iraq, (2) Justice, (3) Healthcare, (4) Economy = once we end Iraq, and enact Healthcare, huge drains on the economy will cease.
   
   
4. Another example of Krauthammer the Ass, from Sullivan.

Backpost finished 2009-12-07.

Emmanuel and Axelrod

Marc Ambinder is all over the Rahm Emmanuel selection (about a dozen posts today). But as I asked yesterday, what about David Axelrod, Obama's campaign chief of staff. Let's cut to Ambinder, already in progress:

Though David Axelrod isn't confirming it himself, friends say that Obama has asked him to be an assistant to the president and senior adviser. Assistant to the president is a very coveted post with quasi-institutional prerogatives; assistants can (if the Obama administration chooses to continue the practice) pop in on the president whenever they want, and they're given review privileges over everything that goes out in the president's name.

And, to round out the picture, here's the New Republic's description of him, and note the last line (bold mine) about Axelrod and Emmanuel's relationship:

Obama's chief of staff could be the Dick Cheney of his administration-the heavy with his hands in everything. Like Cheney, Rahmbo is respected, feared, and a formidable wonk. Emanuel might make an attractive chief of staff because of his reputation for fierce loyalty and his ability to corral the House Democrats. Those in Congress who don't owe their jobs to him are terrified of him. That pick, like so much of Obama's world, would bear Axelrod's fingerprints: Ax signed the ketubah at Emanuel's wedding.

Thanks to my brother for pointing out the story and we both agree that the comparison to Cheney is stupid (and mean): "Obama, like Hitler, was elected the head of his country."

Cabinet Rumors

According to the valley of the leaks, Marc Ambinder, from yesterday:

President-elect Barack Obama is NOT expected to name key posts BEFORE next week...even though there's been speculation that he'd name his Treasury secretary today.... the ONE exception might be his chief of staff. (Rep. Rahm Emanuel has told colleagues that he has been approached about the job, although many in the Obama world are skeptical.)

The goal is for Obama to announce some of his decisions before Thanksgiving, including whether he will keep Secretary of Defense Robert Gates for a few months -- likely -- and whether he'll keep Secretary of the Treasury Hank Paulson (very unlikely).

There is a sense of urgency -- but Obama wants to think through these issues carefully and does not want to rush -- or appear to be rushed.

Credible candidates for Treasury include former Fed chair Paul Volcker, whose reputation has emerged from the financial crisis relatively unscathed, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, and New York federal reserve chair Tim Geithner, who Obama doesn't know.

For defense, people advising the transition say that former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig has emerged as a favorite and trusted defense adviser to Sen. Obama.

And Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano is said to be the favorite for attorney general, although just who is saying that isn't clear.

For the Jewish perspective: Emmanuel (Chief of Staff), Summers (Treasury), and Danzig (Defense) are all Jewish or rumored to be so.

The Racist Belt

From Sullivan who got it from Yglesias who got it from the Times, a map of the sectors where McCain did better than Bush... I wonder why?

Newsweek's Revelations

Newsweek's Special Election Project, according to their description: "...first published in 1984....is an inside, behind-the-scenes account of the presidential election produced by a special team of reporters working for more than a year on an embargoed basis and detached from the weekly magazine and Newsweek.com. Everything the project team learns is kept confidential until the day after the polls close." Here are some direct quotes of revelations from this project. I present them first without comment, then add a few afterward (note, there's more on the website):

1. "NEWSWEEK has also learned that Palin's shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family—clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast," and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books.
   
   
2. "McCain himself rarely spoke to Palin during the campaign, and aides kept him in the dark about the details of her spending on clothes because they were sure he would be offended. Palin asked to speak along with McCain at his Arizona concession speech Tuesday night, but campaign strategist Steve Schmidt vetoed the request."
   
   
3. "The Obama campaign was provided with reports from the Secret Service showing a sharp and disturbing increase in threats to Obama in September and early October, at the same time that many crowds at Palin rallies became more frenzied. Michelle Obama was shaken by the vituperative crowds and the hot rhetoric from the GOP candidates. "Why would they try to make people hate us?" Michelle asked a top campaign aide."
   
   
4. "Obama was never inclined to choose Sen. Hillary Clinton as his running mate, not so much because she had been his sometime bitter rival on the campaign trail, but because of her husband. Still, as Hillary's name came up in veep discussions, and Obama's advisers gave all the reasons why she should be kept off the ticket, Obama would stop and ask, "Are we sure?" He needed to be convinced one more time that the Clintons would do more harm than good. McCain, on the other hand, was relieved to face Sen. Joe Biden as the veep choice, and not Hillary Clinton, whom the McCain camp had truly feared."
   
   
5. "McCain was dumbfounded when Congressman John Lewis, a civil-rights hero, issued a press release comparing the GOP nominee with former Alabama governor George Wallace, a segregationist infamous for stirring racial fears. McCain had devoted a chapter to Lewis in one of his books, "Why Courage Matters," and had so admired Lewis that he had once taken his children to meet him."
   
   
6. "On the night she officially lost the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton enjoyed a long and friendly phone conversation with McCain. Clinton was actually on better terms with McCain than she was with Obama. Clinton and McCain had downed shots together on Senate junkets; they regarded each other as grizzled veterans of the political wars and shared a certain disdain for Obama as flashy and callow."
   
   
7. "At the GOP convention in St. Paul, Palin was completely unfazed by the boys' club fraternity she had just joined. One night, Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter went to her hotel room to brief her. After a minute, Palin sailed into the room wearing nothing but a towel, with another on her wet hair. She told them to chat with her laconic husband, Todd. "I'll be just a minute," she said."

OK, some quick comments:

1. The towel story is the most revealing (har) about Palin's character, even more than the incredible spending/theft (which can be explained as a combo of pure Republican greed and the Beverly Hillbillies). Palin knowingly used sex as a weapon and that above anything else was why she was hated by moderate & liberal women.
   
   
2. The McCain campaign "truly feared" Hillary Clinton. What rubes. But it gives more context for the insane choice of Palin.
   
   
3. The John Lewis story highlights a growing impression about John McCain's cluelessness and ambivalence in this campaign. McCain comes across as a sheltered, half-dead candidate who had no idea what his operatives were doing in his name. I'm not exonerating him, but it does explain why his speeches (most notably his concession) was in a vastly different tone from his campaign. The GOP Machine never liked him and never trusted him... for the very same reasons that McCain was popular and liked by everyone else in America. McCain's joking accessability and his reasonableness were anathema to the Bush/Rove Party. And with the same short-sightedness that destroyed Iraq and spoiled the bipartisan patriotism after 9/11 was the same toxic stupidity that destroyed McCain's reputation and chose Sarah Palin.
   
   
4. A sign of the toxicity of the GOP, and especially Palin, is the bit about the threats to the Obamas as a direct result of Palin's rhetoric. We can not forget, nor forgive, the GOP for that.
   
   
5. "Clinton and McCain had downed shots together on Senate junkets;" Ugh
   
   
6. "Clinton was actually on better terms with McCain than she was with Obama. ... [Clinton and McCain] regarded each other as grizzled veterans of the political wars and shared a certain disdain for Obama as flashy and callow." Ya know, that didn't come across at all. Heh heh heh. Losers.