No More Incumbents Presidential Race

The Fireworks of the Rick Warren Choice

Michael Hayne — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 05:41:22 +0000

So Obama picked reductionist religious gadabout Rick Warren (a.k.a., Chunky McLardtits) to deliver the Christian speech at the Inauguration. Rick Warren, a man whose views on homosexuality are so ludicrous and reactionary make James Dobson look like Harvey Milk. (I believe it’s because he ate Dan White). Moreover, a man who has compared abortion to the Nazi Holocaust. And in a more recent brilliant deduction, said he thinks gay marriage is comparable to incest, polygamy and child abuse. Something tells me that this man has never been in the same room with a homosexual nonetheless actually known one. You don’t have to ask Tim Gun to know that none of those acts are fabulous.

Mr. Warren is yet another bloated bible-thumping theocrat getting a tax exemption while spouting his baseless, fundamentalist claptrap. What the Obomaniacs fail to realize is that this isn’t the first instance in which Obama has tolerated the intolerance. Oprah Winfrey’s vice-president elect allowed virulent homophobe Donnie McCurkin to perform at his rallies. I understood the political ramifications for making such an accommodation, as Barack Obama needed to siphon black votes away from Hillary. We must remember that at this time Hillary was coasting on the coattails of Bill’s vast support among blacks. But Obama has won the election quite vociferously so this speculation is no longer especially relevant, no? Is Barack Obama sticking to his campaign mantra and listening to others, however wrong they are on that given issue, to appear as a legitimate leader presiding over an entire population, as opposed to a specific segment or interest group? Whatever his intentions may be, the idea that Barack Obama would be catering to a politically motivated interest group is fallacious and an affront to democratic pluralism and individual freedom. Arguments for disenfranchising a taxpaying, hard working (no pun intended), a law-abiding fraction of the population should be motivated by the law and thus be compelling and incontrovertible. The religious purveyors of the truth, however, cling to the overly simplified, a child in the sandbox “Marriage is between a man and a woman” argument like it was a half naked altar boy or a bathroom glory hole, or a harvest of stem cells over Michael J. Fox. In brief, it is the duty of every gay American to put down the Tiara and Dildo and exercise their constitutional rights in opposition to this severely misguided man.

But Rick Warren is trying to do everything to prevent global warming from wreaking havoc on earth?

As opposed to Bush–who just recognized there was a climate and who appointed the janitor at Exxon Mobil to lead his scientific research–Obama understands the enormity of the climate issue, and therefore will acclimate himself with knowledgeable people. But Rick Warren isn’t exactly John Muir, or should I say Nobel Prize laureate and Obama Secretary of Energy appointee Steven Chu.

Even though every time this beer-gut gargantuan lifts a fat fold an ice cap melts faster than an M&M in Rush Limbaugh’s gullet, he has played a unique role in combating climate change. Despite opposition from some of their colleagues, Rick Warren decided to back a major initiative to fight global warming, saying “millions of people could die in this century because of climate change, most of them our poorest global neighbors.”

With the Kyoto Protocol set to expire in 2013, Obama understands that he must garner as much support in building a consensus toward the eventual promulgation of a newer and bolder international treaty. It’s just unfortunate that somebody is Jerry Fallwell in a Hawaiian shirt,. President-Elect Obama’s cardinal message of unity and comity on the stump and throughout the entire campaign enabled him to deflect smears from the opposition, showing that he was the real deal.

There is absolutely no question that Obama’s choice of Warren is controversial and extremely disheartening to the LGBT community that helped elect him. But the president-elect is not signaling that he’s giving up his personal support of same-sex relationships and civil unions. By choosing Warren, Obama is reaching out to try to heal a bitterly divided country and hopefully gain more support on some key issues like global warming.

But if Obama says “fiercely” one more time in respects to his support for gay rights, then I think he not only wants Rick Warren to speak but he wants to touch one of his asses. I, kid, I kid…

Cheney on Iraq: “We Made the Right Decision”

Michael Hayne — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 20:31:00 +0000

According to the politico, Dick Cheney, the man who makes Reinhardt Heidrich look like Mother Theresa, defended the Bush administration’s decision to invade Iraq in March 2003, claiming that then-President Saddam Hussein had “every intention” of resuming production of weapons of mass destruction once United Nations sanctions were lifted. And I thought you couldn’t teach old pompous chickenhawk war dogs new tricks?

Former White House Adviser Karl Rove said last week that if pre-war intelligence on the Iraqi WMD programs had been accurate, the United States likely would not have entered the war. But asked about Rove’s comment during an interview with ABC News Monday, Cheney said “I disagree with that.”

When the famously unrepentant and not-so-little devils helper begins showing signs of being human and you disagree with that…

The American people overwhelmingly, 64 percent in fact, strongly believe that the invasion was a dire mistake. Indeed, the Bush Administration flouted the rules of international law to overthrow Saddam because he was an impediment to the neocon vision of American Military Hegemony. Naomi Klein, author of “The Shock Doctrine”, brilliantly articulated our exploitation of Iraq in what is known as disaster capitalism.

We now know that the multiple rationales used to justify the initial invasion were completely fabricated if not downright false. What began as an external threat to America soon became a exercise in neocon nation-building set to Straussian thought. The complete and utter misguided belief that western ideas could be so easily applied to a nation with a deeply non-western past proved to be quite evident, as ethnic/religious factionalism and al-queda took hold.

While it has not been officially stated, it is palpably obvious– as depicted in books, media and film–the driving force behind President Bush’s decision to go to war seemed to be out of a Shakespearean fight between President Bush and Bush Sr. We now know all about the incompetent planning and short termism–from “it’s a cakewalk to low troop levels. These amoral, Machiavelian monsters wrongfully sold the war as a nuclear threat (IE, “The Mushroom Cloud”)to the United States…they twisted language and the truth like an American officer at a black-op torture camp. To still believe in this patent balderdash means you don’t want the American Enterprise Institute, Lockheed Martin, or Halliburton to kick you off the payroll.

With all the facts and information that has been out there for years, which roundly debunks all the shining lies about the lead-up to the war and the occupation, why are these neocons still justifying their crimes with flagrant audacity? The answer is simple: rather than admit to their failures they’ll simply re-write history. After all, it is widely known that the winners are the ones that write history. Any admittance of failure might accidentally result in the truth being read years from now.

I sincerely hope that this horrible act of aggression will not go unheeded, and that Bush, Cheney and company are all put on trial for war crimes. If that doesn’t occur, then any Iraqi or American that lost loved ones as a result of this foreign policy disaster should be allowed to collectively throw their shoes at these despicable men. Make that golf spikes.

Auto Bailout Fails:The Dems Bend over like it were 2005

Michael Hayne — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 07:41:59 +0000

Taken from my column on NoMoreIncumbents.org

Despite picking up a majority–albeit it Hollywood thin–in both houses, the Dems still managed to be just as pusillanimous when they capitulated on key conditions. Once again proving that they are a nothing more than articulate pin cushions. It’s really no state secret that there had been strong language in the package to force the Big Three to drop the plethora of lawsuits aimed at states (California, for example) that sought to establish scricter non-federal emission standards on new cars. Electoral mandate notwithstanding, the Dems are still the Supremes to the Republicans Diana Ross. They’re like the hotel staff and the Republicans are Amy Whinehouse: their reckless actions made this mess while the democrats are forced to clean it up and do it with an Eddie Haskell from Leave it to Beaver smile.

GM, Chrysler and Ford have been abysmal failures in management, idea generation and cost effectiveness when it comes to fuel economy (IE, The Urban Assault Vehicle). These world class jackasses vehemently resisted “green” measures for years. I used all my crocodile tears for the banks and I am not about to waste perfectly good faux salty discharge on the Big Three. Oh, and how about their first trip to Washington when they all showed up in corporate jets. I mean, they might as well been towing a huge banner that read “Fuck you America, you fucking assholes!” These cronies and their corporate masters are now trying to play catch up with the rest of the world amid a deep, dark recession and were supposed to somehow believe that they will do what the banks didn’t do?

I realize that the UAW cannot avoid their responsibilities amid a recession, but it is uneccessarily cruel for Congress to take its bailout angst out on them.

In sum, the Big Three needs to become the Big One. That and they should be required to drive a twenty year old Pinto to the next hearing.

Obama Small Donor Base a Myth

Michael Hayne — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 22:35:22 +0000

(Editor’s Note: This is an article taken from the LA Times)

Everybody knows how President-elect Barack Obama’s amazing campaign money machine was dominated by several million regular folks sending in hard-earned amounts under $200, a real sign of his broadbased grassroots support.

Except, it turns out, that’s not really true.

In fact, Obama’s base of small donors was almost exactly the same percent as George W. Bush’s in 2004 — Obama had 26% and the great Republican satan 25%. Obviously, this is unacceptable to current popular thinking.

But the nonpartisan Campaign Finance Institute just issued a detailed study of Obama’s donor base and its giving. And that’s what the Institute found, to its own surprise.

“The myth is that money from small donors dominated Barack Obama’s finances,” said CFI’s executive director Michael Malbin, admitting that his organization also was fooled. “The reality of Obama’s fundraising was impressive, but the reality does not match the myth.”

Adding up the total contributions from the same small individuals (in terms of dollar amounts, not their height), the Institute discovered that rather than the 50+% commonly….

…reported throughout the campaign, only 26% of Obama’s contributions through last August and only 24% through Oct. 15 came from people whose total donations added up to less than $200.

The key word there being “total.”

It comes down to which definition of “small donor” you accept:
Someone who donated to the Obama campaign by scraping together $199, period. Or someone who donated $199 to the Obama campaign several times, perhaps totaling close to the $4,600 legal limit for the primary and general elections. In aggregate, that would vault him/her out of the small donor category that was so useful to the political campaign’s public relations campaign portraying the donor base as about two times as broad as it really was.

The reported numbers show that Obama actually received 80% more money from large donors (those giving $1,000 or more total) than from small donors.

Through the Democratic National Convention, the Institute estimates, Obama received $119 million from genuine small donors, an impressive sum, to be sure.
But not as impressive as the $210 million he’d raised by then from bundlers and large donors.
“After a more thorough analysis of data from the Federal Election Commission (FEC),” the CFI study says, “it has become clear that repeaters and large donors were even more important for Obama than we or other analysts had fully appreciated.”

Now, we’ll see how broad-based news coverage of this real reality is.

Olbermann lays the smackdown on Palin’s Palling with own Domestic Terrorists

Michael Hayne — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:11:35 +0000

As we approach this critical election, we are being fiendishly fed the same disingenuous, fear-mongering BS that was so sinuously shoveled onto us by Dick Cheney in October of 2004: vote for McCain or become radioactive dust! Realizing that not even the ghost of Reagan can save him now, John McCain is resorting to the very mud-slinging, vituperative malice in which he once promised never to engage in. And the Keating 5 video was fair game as it demonstrated McCain’s role-albeit minor-in the lead up to the crises we are facing now. It should be noted, though, that there were four other democrats involved in this scandal.

So forget the crumbling economy, broken health care system, dilapidated infrastructure, environmental apocalypse, the two wars, a resurgent Russia, and an ascendent Iran because Barack Obama once sat on the same committee with a reformed former member of the Weather Underground–a group that most Palin supporters think is a bunch of independent meteorologists.

Sooner or later people are going to figure out that if all you run is negative attack ads you don’t have much of a vision for the future, or you’re not ready to articulate it.” ~Ariana Huffington

To view Olbermann video, click here

TomObamaRama Political Comedy Fundraiser

Michael Hayne — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 21:54:11 +0000


If you’re feeling overwhelmed by election year politics don’t miss this opportunity to laugh it all off and raise money to defeat the Republicans! 
TomObamaRama will bring together some of your favorite progressive political comics in a hilarious night of election year comedy. Headliners Joey Novick (HBO, Showtime) brings his unique New Jersey home town brand of humor and Sam Greenfield (CNN, Huffington Post) brings the funny from across the Hudson River. 
STARRING: Joey Novick & Sam Greenfield 
HOSTED by Kevin O?Driscoll 
WITH SPECIAL GUEST STAR: Alex Adams as Rudy Giuliani 
FEATURING:  Michael Hayne and Harry Terjanian 
SPECIAL INVITED GUESTS: Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Bono, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Leonardo DiCaprio and Pope Benedict XVI 
Darress Theater

615 Main Street

Boonton, New Jersey 07005 
Thursday, October 23rd

7:30pm ? 9:30pm 
VIP Guests Invited To Back Stage Cocktail Party with Performers

9:30pm ? 11:00pm 
Students/Seniors: $20 / person

Single Ticket: $30 / person

Couple: $50

VIP Ticket: $75

VIP Couple: $125



Keynesianism during hard times, Mixed Market during good times
Michael Hayne — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 22:45:46 +0000
Editor’s note: The first half of this blog  was taken from the blog of Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT)
The current financial crisis facing our country has been caused by the extreme right-wing economic policies pursued by the Bush administration. These policies, which include huge tax breaks for the rich, unfettered free trade and the wholesale deregulation of commerce, have resulted in a massive redistribution of wealth from the middle class to the very wealthy. 
The middle class has really been under assault. Since President Bush has been in office, nearly 6 million Americans have slipped into poverty, median family income for working Americans has declined by more than $2,000, more than 7 million Americans have lost their health insurance, over 4 million have lost their pensions, foreclosures are at an all time high, total consumer debt has more than doubled, and we have a national debt of over $9.7 trillion dollars.
While the middle class collapses, the richest people in this country have made out like bandits and have not had it so good since the 1920s. The top 0.1 percent now earn more money than the bottom 50 percent of Americans, and the top 1 percent own more wealth than the bottom 90 percent. The wealthiest 400 people in our country saw their wealth increase by $670 billion while Bush has been president. In the midst of all of this, Bush lowered taxes on the very rich so that they are paying lower income tax rates than teachers, police officers or nurses.
Now, having mismanaged the economy for eight years as well as having lied about our situation by continually insisting, “The fundamentals of our economy are strong,” the Bush administration, six weeks before an election, wants the middle class of this country to spend many hundreds of billions on a bailout. 
The wealthiest people, who have benefited from Bush’s policies and are in the best position to pay, are being asked for no sacrifice at all. This is absurd. 
Second Half

The very same scum bags who vehemently decried regulation are now crying for it, bellowing from the rooftops from which their golden parachutes will safely glide them down. 
The duplicity and malfeasance of the robber barons of Wall Street, aided by their sycophants in Congress (namely Phil Gram), have put all our futures in very serious jeopardy, perhaps triggering another Great Depression. 
So when you’re debating what wild animal you’re going to eat for sustenance or what trash can you’re going to light for warmth, just remember that it is all “in your head,” so says Phil Gramm (a.k.a., the heavyweight champion of financial deregulation.) While Sarah Palin is pretending to know an iota about foreign policy, McCain should consult Charles Keating on the economy. Neo-liberal, laissez-fairest economics is proving to be quite a bitch. I blame not Wall Street, but dumbass Main Street, for they reelected privatization of every sector in 2004. 
Three cheers for F.U.B.A.R! 



Sarah Palin: Were the soccer moms too busy?
Michael Hayne — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 19:28:07 +0000
If  getting vomit out of a Honda Odyssey and making baby formula less than five seconds with her eyes closed while shooting a polar bear cub with her ruby-red assault rifle makes you eligible to assume the presidency, then Sarah Palin is a shoe-in. 
Ha! I can’t wait to see the “hockey mom” PTA leader debate Joe Biden. This is why the Repugs have truly lost their mojo, and not just because their anointed leader is ED: they are ignoring their own captious criticisms of Obama’s lacking experience in national security by selecting someone not eligible to be class president. Moreover, McCain is going with someone with elementary experience at best as a pointless pander to the 18 million disenfranchised Hillary supporters, and it aint working! 
Once they learn that Sarah Palin opposes rape and incest exceptions for women seeking abortion, they completely write her off. Sarah Palin is to the movement for women’s equality what Steven Segal is to acting. She’s an extremist and an enemy to the cause that has been fought on her behalf. What confuses me beyond belief is if surface, cheerleading, nonthreatening appeal with shit for brains is what McCain was seeking, then he could’ve looked no further than his wife. You know she wasn’t properly vetted because they would’ve told McCain that he’s seeking a vice president, not a third piece of disposable eye candy. 
How about that Cindy McCain? I swear she looked the Malibu Stacy patriotic collection. I still say that the award for most inadvertently funny speech goes to Mike Huckabee! All I heard was something about his Elvis and the electorate not deserving the right to carry desks around. All that was missing from that quintessentially southern nonsensical ramble was a park bench and a half eaten box of chocolates. 
Now, her child’s accidental pregnancy shouldn’t be exploited–even though the Republicans thrive on opening up such non-issues–but I really wish they would stop saying that the Palins were ecstatic to hear the news. They were about as ecstatic when they heard the OJ verdict. Speaking of family values, a fellow blogger said that if your going to take on a super high power job…..maybe 5 kids isn’t the way to go. Her son may have down syndrome but she’s ****ing retarded. She is against abortion…. thus the Down Syndrome child that could have been detected in the first 6 weeks and spared this poor child an existence as a special needs kid with a mom who has better things to do.
As far as maverick and independent thinking goes, 2000 Senator McCain is dead. I believe I wrote about his slow descent to the lunatic fringe long ago when he embraced one time “agent of intolerance” Jerry Falwell. John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin was designed to pacify dyed-in-the-wool conservatives’ anxieties about many of McCain’s liberal impulses (campaign finance reform, immigration, etc.)and thus mobilize the Dobson, Bauer, and Buchanan crowd. In short, he swiftly threw the independent crowd under the cheap talk express and they aint coming back. 
The NY Times already has an article of what really happened and why, according to sources in his campaign. 
It pretty much alludes to the fact that the McCain camp was ready for Lieberman. Phil Graham was even pushing hard for this pick. But the judgment was finally made that the social conservative base would be outraged (the main issue being Lieberman is pro-choice) and their lack of support would too drastically undercut McCain’s chances. 
She passed the crazy, conservative ideological litmus test with flying colors and that is why she’s there. The fact that she she’s hotter than Johnny’s temper, well, that’s what we call value-added. 



Chuck Norris Versus RealityTown
Michael Hayne — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 19:23:27 +0000
Whenever I encounter a story about left-leaning first-rate actors pretending to pontificate on the abstruse, byzantine issues I usually scoff sardonically seeing as I positively adore their profound work. But whenever I see and/or read about an unplumbed, mouth breathing C-rate actor with conservative leanings as always is the case, really pretending to pontificate on the abstruse, byzantine issues… my soul, brain, and heart all seem to want to collide with my taint. At the risk of dignifying a response to a man with nil credibility, if Norris was so au courant on the needs of our fighting men and women, wouldn’t he know that they are donating 6 to 1 in favor of Obama. That is pretty much all I can say in response to a guy who hawks exercise equipment at 3 am every nite. In fact, I am pretty sure that The Home Gym endorses Obama. In short, watching this man speak is like watching a really bad Chuck Norris movie. Arriana is sexier than ever, whereas Chuck just looked like he fell off the back of a Denny’s on wheels. 




A Letter to Anti-Obama people
Michael Hayne — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 04:54:41 +0000