Newt Gingrich Attacks Romney with "King of Bain" Documentary

Thank you, Newt Gingrich. That's something I never thought I'd say, but I'm a Democrat, and I very much appreciate having such important informatio­n to share about the most-likel­y Republican nominee.

Meanwhile, what is the Republican party to do? Every candidate is an extraordin­ary disaster.

Santorum wants to make birth control illegal because he's so "pro-life" -- unless you count his neocon-lik­e militarism and push for war everywhere­.

Ron Paul's libertaria­nism includes a history of writings encouragin­g violence against blacks in American neighborho­ods. His current denials don't hold water when the record shows he has previously defended his newsletter­s.

Perry is another Texas fool pushed to the front by corporate powers mixed in with strange religious extremists­.

Huntsman is too nice to be anything but bland and pushed to the side.

And Newt is a heartless egotist, fiercely stomping around and throwing tantrums.

So they'll go with Romney, unenthusia­stically, for being. . . a leader, and try to figure out ways to defend him. Ha!  

Comment for The Diane Rehm Show, September 9, 2011

Regarding Rick Perry's remarks about climate science jeopardizing America's economy. . .

On Tuesday, a caller from Texas on Talk of the Nation brought up the fact that natural gas fracking there has made the drought and fires much worse because the process has further depleted the water resources and left property owners with dry wells.

It's another bad mark for fracking, and for the Governor's confused logic.

KUER Radio West 8/22/11: Rick Perry and Conservative Christian Politics

Thank you, Doug and Elaine, for addressing this issue.

I found it scary in 2004 when I read in The Village Voice that Karl Rove, just before the 2003 Iraq invation, and in 2004 National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice, and "Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Near East and North African Affairs," Elliott Abrams, had brought in Apostolic leaders to advise George W. Bush on Middle East policy.

Realizing then that the leader in the White House, the man in charge of the world's most powerful weapons, who was undermining the federal agencies that had previously protected Americans by defunding them and appointing corporate lobbyists to lead them. . . was aligned with those who seek THE RAPTURE.

This is important -- the New Apostolic movement is ultimately about the Rapture. And the way to the Rapture is cataclysm. Aiming towards cataclysm is not good public policy. It's that simple.

I recommend two links.

For a Fact Sheet on those leaders involved in Rick Perry's prayer event, with their public statements and actions: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/fact-sheet-gov-rick-perry%E2%80%99s-extremist-allies

For the 2004 Village Voice article on the Apostolics in Bush's White House: http://www.villagevoice.com/2004-05-11/news/the-jesus-landing-pad/

And, if you're interested, for what I wrote, and then said in a presentation at the Main Salt Lake City Library, in October 2004: http://oneperson-knowmore.blogspot.com/2004/10/know-bush-fact-40-good-number-for.html

Frenzy over Rumor Helps Palin Avoid the Baby Story that Deserves Spotlight

To those who ran with the rumor that Trig Palin was not Sarah’s child, but her daughter’s – without any more solid evidence than a couple of photos where Bristol’s tummy isn’t perfectly flat:

You provided Sarah and her Rovian consultants the escape route they so desperately needed.

Now, we have the media trumpeting Obama’s response to the pregnant Bristol story -

I have said before and I will repeat again: I think people’s families are off limits. And people’s children are especially off limits. This shouldn’t be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Governor Palin’s performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president. And so I would strongly urge people to back off of these kinds of stories.

To Obama’s credit, that would be a fair response – IF that was actually the basis of the concerns being raised. But it’s not!!
Today, two of NPR’s top programs, The Diane Rehm Show, and Talk of the Nation talked about Governor Palin, and while the pregnancy issue was addressed at length, they didn’t get anywhere near the original, very strange story. The most daring caller merely questioned the apparent effectiveness of the Governor’s policy of abstinence education over birth control.

They’ve gotten completely off track of where this entire thread began – April 17th, 2008, in Texas, where the water was flowing.

So, it is our responsibility, as citizen journalists, bloggers, commentors, and political junkies – to push forward the real story - which is a big enough story WITHOUT having to resort to Mother-swapping rumors.

The voters need to know about – and publicly discuss – what is the significance of what happened on the day before her son, Trig, was born:

1. Sarah Palin had her water break while she was in Texas on the morning of April 17th, but she chose to continue to participate in an "energy forum", including giving her own 30 minute speech that afternoon. Then, despite the danger of infection and imminent labor, she chose to go to the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport and board an Alaskan Airlines plane for a very long flight back to Anchorage – at least 9 hours, according to the airline’s current schedule – and even then, upon landing, chose to drive to a hospital another 43 miles from the airport. Why did she make those choices? Would she have been this careless if the baby were not already known to have Down Syndrome? What kind of prioritizing is this?

2. This under-reported, and vaguely defined "energy forum" on April 17th, that Sarah Palin was dedicated to, was a gathering that consisted of nine Republican governors and six energy industry CEO’s, hosted by Texas Governor Rick Perry, according to The Austin American Statesman. Why was the event not on the Governor’s website? What was the theme of Ms. Palin’s "keynote" speech there. Will it turn out that Ms Palin was chosen for McCain because she is already selling out her state and its people to industry?

So, let us choose to take Sarah Palin at her word – about that day, and about that pregnancy. And let us then ask the pertinent questions about the strange decisions she made that day, and why.That, too, would be a very fair response – which has nothing at all to do with the candidate’s children or family, as Barack wishes.

It does have a lot to do with this politician who is put before us -- her wisdom, leadership, and, most important, the company she keeps.

Sarah Palin and the Closed Door Energy Forum where Her Water Broke

It did not take long for people to discover the strange circumstances surrounding the birth of Sarah Palin’s youngest child, Trig, widely reported to be a Down Syndrome baby.

Ms. Palin only revealed that she was pregnant one month before his birth, when she was in her 7th month, and in the midst of a very busy schedule, with recent trips to Washington, DC and Los Angeles. She bragged about going back to work as a Mayor the day after giving birth to her daughter, Piper, and, sure enough, in April, when Trig was born, she was back in her office in three days (it might have been earlier, but this birth was on a Friday, so there was a weekend following).

That is enough to make many of us squirm, but it gets much stranger when we learn that Governor Palin’s water broke while she was attending an energy forum in Texas on Thursday, April 17th, but that she stayed for the event, made her own 30 minute speech, and then, rather than going to a hospital, she chose to board an Alaska Airlines plane for what must have been at least a 9 hour flight, according to their current schedule, then drove another 43 miles to give birth at the Mat Su Regional Medical Center in Palmer, Alaska.

Her choice to not respond to her water breaking has led to an internet uproar at www.BuzzFlash.com and elsewhere, especially regarding her priorities, her decisions, her parenting, and her character. . .
But to me, they’re missing the point.

I return to the question of why Sarah Palin was chosen by McCain, especially when he hadn’t even spent any time with her?

The reasons can't be good. And, in truth, the reasons aren't just his. At one time in his life, McCain may have been his own man, but that time has passed. He is in the hands of Rove and Cheney's people, or he wouldn't be where he is today. They may not be thrilled with the candidate they got, but given the other choices of a flipflopping Mormon, an evangelist, or a lazy actor, McCain appeared to be the most electable. So they picked up from his failing campaign, dusted him off, and assigned their people to him as consultants. They settled, and so did he, and he is cooperating.

So, now we have a vice presidential candidate who came out of nowhere.

No, not nowhere -- Alaska. Where Ted Stevens is old and busted - so the oil companies can't use him any more.

But Sarah Palin? Oh my. Known for that odd combination of being both a Christian and a bully, and for her support of giving up both the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and polar bears, she fits the Bush/Cheney/McCain transition perfectly.
In this light, I ask,

"What was she doing in Texas that was so important that she couldn’t leave, and that she didn’t want to highlight by giving birth in Texas?"

Reported to be a "forum on energy with Texas Gov. Rick Perry and executives from four other states", it took a little digging to find that this forum was a closed-door affair hosting a select group of nine Republican governors and such notable corporate energy VIPS (and polluters) as Greg Boyce, chairman and CEO of the Peabody Energy Corp.; John Hofmeister, president of Shell Oil; Robert A. Malone, chairman and president, BP America; Anthony Orlando, president and CEO, Covanta Energy Corp.; and John Somerhalder II, chairman and CEO, AGL Resources.

It is important, too, to understand that the host, Governor Rick Perry, is the governor neatly trained to take Bush's spot in the Texas Governor's mansion. Before that, Perry defeated Jim Hightower for Texas Agricultural Commissioner with the help of Karl Rove and his scurilous tactics.

Perry is also the father of Dick Cheney's son-in-law, the lawyer Phillip Perry, who has bounced back and forth for the last several years between lobbying for Lockheed Martin and working for the White House. His wife, Elizabeth Cheney, though a mother of five herself, is a hawk for attacking Iran and has worked in the Bush Cheney State Department.

So, while the pregnancy story does bring up questions about Sarah Palin's character and priorities, I still think the far more relevant information for voters is what was going on behind closed doors in Texas that day?

This is what we deserve to know.