India!!!!!!!

India is planning to produce a laptop computer for the knockdown price of about $20 (€16, £14), having come up with the Tata Nano, the world’s cheapest car at about $2,000.

The project, backed by New Delhi, would considerably undercut the so-called “$100 laptop”, otherwise known as the Children’s Machine or XO, that was designed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology of the US.

EDITOR’S CHOICE

Special Report: India and Globalisation – May-02

Paul Taylor: Thrills, spills and low bills – Jan-29

The Children’s Machine, which received a cool reception in India, is the centrepiece of the One Laptop Per Child charity initiative launched by Nicholas Negroponte, the computer scientist and former director of MIT’s Media Lab. Intel launched a similar product, called Classmate, in response.

India’s $20 laptop would also undercut the EeePC, made by Taiwan’s Asustek. The EeePC was the first ultra-cheap, scaled-down laptop (a new category known as a netbook) launched worldwide through commercial channels. It does not have a hard drive and sells for $200-$400.

India’s “Sakshat” laptop is intended to boost distance learning to help India fulfil its overwhelming educational needs. It forms part of a broader plan to improve e-learning at more than 18,000 colleges and 400 universities. However, some analysts are sceptical that a $20 laptop would be commercially sustainable and the project has yet to attract a commercial partner.

A prototype will go on show at a National Mission on Education launch in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, tomorrow. Pioneered in India by scientists at the Vellore Institute of Technology, the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras and at the state-controlled Semiconductor Complex, the laptop has 2Gb Ram capacity and wireless connectivity.

R.P. Agrawal, secretary of secondary and higher education, said last week that the cost of the laptop was about $20 a unit, but he expected that to fall. He also said he expected the units to be commercially available in six months.

India faces the huge challenge of finding ways to equip its large population, more than 550m of whom are under the age of 25, with contemporary skills. It needs to sustain high economic growth and spread development across the country.

During the next six years, by some estimates, India will need to create another 1,500 universities. Educational institutions in the UK and US are lining up to become partners to help with this huge projected tertiary-level expansion.

Pressure is building on the government to permit foreign investment into the sector and use public-private partnerships to meet some of the demand. Leading universities across the world, such as Kellogg School of Management in the US and Imperial College in the UK, are exploring different models, including faculty partnerships, distance learning and setting up campuses.

But the government appears to favour turning to technology ahead of international partnerships to bring people into higher education.

Source

An Open Letter to John McCain and Sarah Palin

Dear Senator McCain and Governor Palin,

Time and again in America, people of all races and backgrounds have overcome division and fear, and come together to uplift the country and create a more equal and just society. It’s part of what makes this country great.

With an African-American nominee running on a major party ticket and a woman on the Republican ticket for the first time in history, this campaign has seen Americans–men and women of all races–inspired to continue that great tradition, coming together to bridge the gaps that history has set between us in service of our national progress.

But let us be clear: while we have made great strides in this country when it comes to racial equality, we are not finished. Now, more than ever, we need leadership that understands that we live in complex times where too many are quick to judge another by the complexion of their skin or the sound of their name.

In the last few weeks, Senator McCain and Governor Palin, rhetoric at your campaign events has taken an increasingly dangerous tone that seems to ignore the precarious state of our progress when it comes to race and ethnicity.

Supporters at your rallies and other events have used hateful language and called for violence against Sen. Obama yelling “kill him!” “off with his head!” and “bomb Obama.”

For the most part, you have stood by in silence. In addition, you have also repeatedly made statements that somehow connect Senator Obama with terrorism. Your surrogates have emphasized his middle name. This is problematic and dangerous, and we believe helps create the conditions that have given rise to these incidents of violent rhetoric from some of your supporters.

Today, we’re standing together as Americans of all political persuasions to express our deep concern that the decisions of your campaign are contributing to a dangerous atmosphere of paranoia, division, and hate that, as we have already seen, has the potential to seriously harm our country and its progress.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

In these trying times, candidates seeking the highest offices in the land must call on the best in each of us, and call off the worst.

We urge you to join people of conscience from all races and backgrounds to reject the politics of division and fear, and come together to uplift the country and create a more equal and just society.

Can Someone Explain Sarah Palin’s Views on Abortion to Me?

I am thoroughly confused. Sarah Palin’s serpentine ramblings with Katie Couric over the last few days have left my face permanently scrunched in a state of utter incomprehension. So here are a list of questions that I’d like someone to ask her (not like anyone will have the access or the permission to ask these types of questions….they’re serious policy questions, so obviously, they are off limits).

1. You said in your interview with Katie Couric that you are “all for contraception,” but then you said you don’t support the morning-after pill. Do you know that the morning-after pill IS contraception, it’s simply a higher dose of hormonal birth control? Now that you know that, does it change how you feel about it being made available?

2. You said that abortion should be illegal even in the cases of rape or incest, but then you said no one should end up in jail for having an abortion. I assume when you say it should be illegal, that you mean it should be a crime – if you don’t think anyone should go to jail, how would you enforce it?

3. You say that you believe there is an inherent right to privacy in the Constitution, yet you want to overturn Roe v. Wade, which is based on a right to privacy. How do you reconcile these two conflicting beliefs?

4. You say that you support abstinence-only policies, which have been proven over and over to be ineffective. Then you seem to contradict yourself, saying that you are “pro-contraception.” What exactly are you for, comprehensive sex education, which includes teaching of abstinence as well as contraception and prevention; or “abstinence-only until marriage,” which typically does not cover contraception. As vice president, would you like to continue President Bush’s legacy in funneling millions of federal dollars to ineffective “abstinence-only” programs, or do you support comprehensive sex education programs that include abstinence and have proven to reduce the number of teen pregnancies?

5. You mentioned that you think that young mothers should be shown more support when they “choose” life. Will you therefore continue to cut funding for support of young mothers as you did as governor of Alaska? After cutting funding by 20 percent for Covenant House Alaska, a place with the resources and assistance to help teen mothers gain the necessary skills to create a stable life, will you extend this to the rest of young, low-income mothers in the U.S.?

6. You mentioned you are a feminist, yet you have made policy decisions during your tenure as both mayor of Wasilla (forcing rape victims to pay for their rape kits) and as governor of Alaska (slashing funding for young mothers in need and for special needs children) that fly in the face of supporting women. How do you reconcile these things and what exactly is your definition of feminism, besides hunting caribou and fishing alongside the men?

McCain Supporters Distributing Anti-Muslim Documentaries in Swing States to Incite Fear…Dayton, Ohio has Already Fallen Victim to the Hate…Mosque Gassed During Ramadan Prayers

On Friday, September 26, the end of a week in which thousands of copies of Obsession: Radical Islam’s War Against the West – the fear-mongering, anti-Muslim documentary being distributed by the millions in swing states via DVDs inserted in major newspapers and through the U.S. mail — were distributed by mail in Ohio, a “chemical irritant” was sprayed through a window of the Islamic Society of Greater Dayton, where 300 people were gathered for a Ramadan prayer service. The room that the chemical was sprayed into was the room where babies and children were being kept while their mothers were engaged in prayers. This, apparently, is what the scare tactic political campaigning of John McCain’s supporters has led to — Americans perpetrating a terrorist attack against innocent children on American soil.

I read the story as reported by the Dayton Daily News, but this was after I had received an email written by a friend of some of the victims of these American terrorists. The matter of fact news report in the Dayton paper didn’t come close to conveying the horrific impact of this unthinkable act like the email I had just read, so I asked the email’s author for permission to share what they had written. The author was with one of the families from the mosque — a mother and two of the small children who were in the room that was gassed — the day after the attack occurred.

“She told me that the gas was sprayed into the room where the babies and children were being kept while their mothers prayed together their Ramadan prayers. Panicked mothers ran for their babies, crying for their children so they could flee from the gas that was burning their eyes and throats and lungs. She grabbed her youngest in her arms and grabbed the hand of her other daughter, moving with the others to exit the building and the irritating substance there.

“The paramedic said the young one was in shock, and gave her oxygen to help her breathe. The child couldn’t stop sobbing.

“This didn’t happen in some far away place — but right here in Dayton, and to my friends. Many of the Iraqi refugees were praying together at the Mosque Friday evening. People that I know and love.

“I am hurt and angry. I tell her this is NOT America. She tells me this is not Heaven or Hell — there are good and bad people everywhere.

“She tells me that her daughters slept with her last night, the little one in her arms and sobbing throughout the night. She tells me she is afraid, and will never return to the mosque, and I wonder what kind of country is this where people have to fear attending their place of worship?

“The children come into the room, and tell me they want to leave America and return to Syria, where they had fled to from Iraq. They say they like me, … , and other American friends — but they are too afraid and want to leave. Should a 6 and 7 year old even have to contemplate the safety of their living situation?

“Did the anti-Muslim video circulating in the area have something to do with this incident, or is that just a bizarre coincidence? Who attacks women and children?

“What am I supposed to say to them? My words can’t keep them safe from what is nothing less than terrorism, American style. Isn’t losing loved ones, their homes, jobs, possessions and homeland enough? Is there no place where they can be safe?

“She didn’t want me to leave her tonight, but it was after midnight, and I needed to get home and write this to my friends. Tell me – tell me – what am I supposed to say to them?”

When acting as a representative of Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), the 501(c)3 non-profit organization that I work for, I cannot engage in political activities. The distribution of Obsession, however, although a political campaign scheme, clearly crosses over into the mission of MRFF. So, I’m going to make two statements here — one in my capacity as MRFF’s Research Director, and another as an individual whose disgust at the vile campaign tactics of John McCain’s supporters completely boiled over when I opened up the email about children being gassed.

My statement as MRFF’s Research Director:

The presidential campaign edition of the Obsession DVD, currently being distributed by the Clarion Fund, carries the endorsement of the chair of the counter-terrorism department of the U.S. Naval War College, using the name and authority of an official U.S. military institution not only to validate an attack the religion of Islam, but to influence a political campaign. For these reasons, this endorsement has been included in MRFF’s second lawsuit against the Department of Defense, which was filed on September 25 in the Federal District Court in Kansas.

My opinion as an individual and thoroughly appalled human being:

John McCain has a moral obligation to publicly censure the Clarion Fund, the organization that produced Obsession and is distributing the DVDs; to denounce the inflammatory, anti-Muslim message of Obsession; and to do everything in his power to stop any further campaign activities by his supporters that have the potential to incite violence.

******************

PLEASE PASS THIS INFORMATION ON SO PEOPLE CAN SEE REPUBLICANS RESORTING TO TERRORIST ACTIONS LIKE THOSE THEY SUPPOSEDLY DENOUNCE.

Palin Protected from “Witchcraft”

A video on her hometown church Web site shows Sarah Palin being blessed 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 Wednesday 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. “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.”

The date of the sermon listed on the church Web site is Oct. 16, 2005. Palin formally announced her gubernatorial bid two days later and was elected the next year.

Ya Know…This is Why These People Freak Me Out

So I can’t help but notice that there are just a few too many stories of pedophile priests, porn junkie evangelists, and orgy loving “men of God.” As they tell us all about the sinfulness and blackness of our hearts and deeds, it’s seems more often than not they are perpetrating the very crimes they condemn. Can we all join together in a resounding “HYPOCRITE!!”

(CNN) — Evangelist Tony Alamo was arrested Thursday in Flagstaff, Arizona, on charges related to a child porn investigation, an FBI spokesman said.

Authorities raided Tony Alamo Christian Ministries on Saturday after allegations of child sex abuse.

The 74-year-old founder and leader of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries was arrested without incident at 2:45 p.m. (4:45 p.m. ET) as he was departing the Little America Hotel with his wife, said Manuel Johnson, spokesman for the FBI in Phoenix, Arizona.

The FBI, the Flagstaff Police Department and the Arizona Department of Public Safety were involved in the arrest, he said.

Alamo was charged under a federal statute with having knowingly transported a minor across state lines with the intent to engage in sexual activity, Johnson said.

Alamo, whose real name is Bernie Hoffman, was taken to Coconino County Jail in Flagstaff, where he is to have an initial appearance Friday in federal magistrate court, Johnson said.

Over the weekend, about 100 federal and state agents authorities raided Alamo’s 15-acre compound near Texarkana, Arkansas, and took six children into temporary custody

The children were interviewed as part of a two-year investigation into Tony Alamo Christian Ministries to determine whether they were physically or sexually abused, said Bill Sadler of the Arkansas State Police.

Alamo, reached by phone Saturday in Los Angeles, California, denied any wrongdoing.

“It’s a hoax,” Alamo said. “They’re just trying to make our church look evil … by saying I’m a pornographer. Saying that I rape little children. … I love children. I don’t abuse them. Never have. Never will.”

Asked why authorities were searching the property, Alamo compared himself to Christ.

“Why were they after Jesus?” he asked. “It’s the same reason. Jesus is living within me.”

We Have a secret…

Be sure to tune in on Monday, the 29th. We have a huge announcement!!!!!

Sarah Palin’s Painful Interview

I’m really sorry, but if ANYONE thinks that this woman is prepared to lead our country, whether in the #1 or #2 spot….I seriously don’t even know what to say. But I do have to give some props where they are due. I thought Charlie Gibson was going to lob softballs at Palin and let her hide her ineptitude (which is difficult). But he didn’t. He really went after her and demanded that she answer some pressing questions – which she miserably failed to do. I mean, seriously, each answer was a debacle in and of itself. Here’s the interview for your own personal painful viewing.

And again, if you think that THIS is someone who is ready to lead our nation, if you think THIS is someone who is going to talk straight to the American public, if you think THIS is the type of person who will take us into a new age of progress and reform and strength, then you can get everything you deserve. Because this will NOT happen with my vote. And I hope to God you won’t let it happen with yours. Register today at Rock the Vote’s website and make sure to stand up against this madness on November 4.

Firsthand Knowledge

This isn’t a breaking story but I think it’s worth reading, just to get a view into how those who aren’t afraid of her view Sarah Palin.

This from The Reform Candidate? on The Washington Independent

Dear friends,

So many people have asked me about what I know about Sarah Palin in the last 2 days that I decided to write something up . . .

Basically, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton have only 2 things in common: their gender and their good looks.

You have my permission to forward this to your friends/email contacts with my name and email address attached, but please do not post it on any websites, as there are too many kooks out there . . .

Thanks,
Anne

ABOUT SARAH PALIN

I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992. Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her father was my child’s favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the residents of the city.

She is enormously popular; in every way she’s like the most popular girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and won’t vote for her can’t quit smiling when talking about her because
she is a “babe”.

It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents for seven months.

She is “pro-life”. She recently gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby. There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.

She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.

She is savvy. She doesn’t take positions; she just “puts things out there” and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.

Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin’s kind of job is highly sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything like that of native Alaskans.

Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters. She’s smart.

Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000 (at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about 670,000 residents.

During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had given rise to a recall campaign.

Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a “fiscal conservative”. During her 6 years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over 33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation
(1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they benefited residents.

The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration weren’t enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it
with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a
new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece of property that the City didn’t even have clear title to, that was still in litigation 7 yrs later–to the delight of the lawyers involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.

While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office
redecorated more than once.

These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.

As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she
proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.

In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today’s
surplus, borrow for needs.

She’s not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren’t generated by her or her staff. Ideas weren’t evaluated on their merits, but on the
basis of who proposed them.

While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin’s attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.

Sarah complained about the “old boy’s club” when she first ran for Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of “old boys”. Palin fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people, creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally grateful and fiercely loyal–loyal to the point of abusing their power to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the case of pressuring the State’s top cop (see below).

As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla’s Police Chief because he “intimidated” her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska’s top cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure
and she had every legal right to fire him, but it’s pretty clear that an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn’t fire her sister’s ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation
for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew her support.

She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn’t like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.

Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything publicly about her.

When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party) engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some
undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a
gutsy fighter against the “old boys’ club” when she dramatically quit, exposing this man’s ethics violations (for which he was fined).

As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the “bridge to
nowhere” after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.

As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative action restored most of these projects–which had been vetoed simply
because she was not aware of their importance–but with the unobservant she had gained a reputation as “anti-pork”.

She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a
fiscal conservative.

Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah. They call her “Sarah Barracuda” because of her unbridled ambition and predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly
stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah’s mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and
experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.

As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package of legislation known as “AGIA” that forced the oil companies to march to the beat of her drum.

Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to global warming. She campaigned “as a private citizen” against a state initiaitive that would have either a) protected salmon streams from pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State’s lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior’s decision to list polar bears as threatened species.

McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a heartbeat away from being President.

There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more knowledgeable and experienced than she.

However, there’s a lot of people who have underestimated her and are regretting it.

CLAIM VS FACT
•“Hockey mom”: true for a few years
•“PTA mom”: true years ago when her first-born was in elementary school, not since
•“NRA supporter”: absolutely true
•social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships (said she did this because it was unconsitutional).
•pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to promote it.
•“Pro-life”: mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life legislation
•“Experienced”: Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska. No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city administrator to run town of about 5,000.
•political maverick: not at all
•gutsy: absolutely!
•open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at explaining actions.
•has a developed philosophy of public policy: no
•”a Greenie”: no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
•fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
•pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built streets to early 20th century standards.
•pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on residents
•pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city government in Wasilla’s history.
•pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union doesn’t make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim that she is pro-labor/pro-union.

WHY AM I WRITING THIS?

First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed voter. I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting programs in the schools. If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny +
Alaska), you will find references to my participation in local government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.

Secondly, I’ve always operated in the belief that “Bad things happen when good people stay silent”. Few people know as much as I do because few have gone to as many City Council meetings.

Third, I am just a housewife. I don’t have a job she can bump me out of. I don’t belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will
cost me somehow in the future: that’s life.

Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100 or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah’s attempt at censorship.

Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.

CAVEATS
I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor) from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of
Wasilla, and I can’t recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible for a private person to get any info out of City Hall–they are
swamped. So I can’t verify my numbers.

You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the population of Wasilla, ranging from my “about 5,000″, up to 9,000. The day Palin’s selection was announced a city official told me that the
current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was 5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to 2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90’s.

Anne Kilkenny

Getting to Know…Sarah Palin

Another Alaskan for Obama tellin’ it like it is re: Sarah Palin. Thanks to John Nail for the info..

1. She is presently under investigation in Alaska for abuse of power
2. She strongly supports big oil (her husband even works for an oil company)
3. She stands for everything that Hillary Clinton stood against
4. She is adamantly opposed to reproductive rights for women
5. She has no federal or international experience & has only been mayor of a small town and a beauty pageant winner.
6. She believes global warming is a farce
7. She believes creationism should be taught in public schools
8. She supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and anywhere else big oil wants
9. She supports Pebble Mine which will destroy the richest salmon run in the world
10. She supports aerial shooting of bears and wolves in Alaska and is a lifetime member of the NRA
11. She is pro-war

F*cking Morons

Ok so it’s taken me until almost 11pm to cool down. I have been outraged and unable to sit down long enough to gather my thoughts into one coherent message. But I’m going to try now. I’m pissed at a lot of people today. Here’s the list.

1. John McCain: Do you think all women are brain dead? Do you think they are all dumb as hell like your bimbo wife? It sure as hell seems like it. You think that just because you pick someone with a vagina that all the feminists who wanted to see Hillary in the White House will just automatically line up to vote for you? Seriously, this is the most disrespectful thing I’ve ever seen from a Presidential nominee. To choose someone who has NO federal political experience, who you have met only ONCE before, and who has less experience than my 14 year old sister when it comes to foreign policy is a slap in the face to educated, politically savvy women around the country. How scary would it be if McCain kicked the bucket while in office. Yeah, God forbid, but it could happen, people! He is 72 and he’s had four bouts with cancer! This isn’t some young, healthy dude. So great, imagine that. Sarah Palin taking the oath of office to be our Commander and Chief. Well, at least we know she could go to the front lines and hunt some….moose for the troops.Just because your plastic Barbie doll wife and Sarah Palin share in common the winning of beauty pageants (which still blows my mind, by the way. How did THAT happen?!) doesn’t make her fit to be the Vice President of the United States of America. And just because she is a woman, does not mean that she is Hillary. For the love of God, I can’t believe I even have to write about these two women in the same sentence. Hillary Clinton is a trailblazer, a progressive, a thinker, a stateswoman, one of the top minds in our country. Sarah Palin is Rush Limbaugh with a uterus. Sarah Palin can’t hold a candle to Hillary Clinton. So John McCain, thanks. Thanks for proving to the world that you are a f*cking moron, once again.
2. Sarah Palin: For this woman to accept the nomination for Vice Presidential Candidate for the United States of America is egoism on 157 levels. She has no experience that makes her qualified for this job. She has never dealt with foreign policy. She governs the most detached and isolated state in the US besides Hawaii. She is only in her first term as governor and her only other political experience was serving as the Mayor of an Alaskan town of about 5,000 people. I’m sorry Sarah, but I was the President of my University that had more people than that. And the budget that I oversaw was probably bigger than yours. But I’m not accepting the Republican nomination for VP of the US.She is pro-guns, pro-creationism being taught in our schools, and pro-drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve. She is a mother of five children, but chooses policies to adopt as her own that will harm her children’s future immeasurably. Plus, this is just a personal pet peeve of mine, but the chick can’t speak the English language properly. Is anyone else irritated that every -ing word that she says she abbreviates? Huntin’, winnin’, speakin’, tourin’, challengin’, fightin’, flyin’, votin’….Sarah Palin, I have an abbreviation for you….you are a F*CKIN’ MORON!
3. P.U.M.A.: Ok seriously, I love progressives. I love people that think long-term. I love people with vision and determination to make the world a better place. I feel an affinity for the progressive agenda and its policies. Therefore, I usually vote Democrat. I don’t vote Democrat on party lines but because of issues. I don’t vote for candidates because they are pretty or handsome, ugly or too fat, too skinny, or balding. I don’t vote for candidates because of their age or their gender. I try, with all my human capacity, to vote for issues and for candidates who will lead us into the future with positive goals and inspiration. Ok, so during the Democratic Primaries, I voted for HilHil. I thought she was the best candidate for the job, but this didn’t mean that I was anti-Barack Obama. In February, on that particular Super Tuesday, I supported the candidate that I felt was the total package. I still think HilHIl would make an awesome President. But, as time went on and I learned more about the candidates, I realized that there really wasn’t much difference in the candidates in terms of their policy choices, and some of Barack Obama’s ideas really resonated with me. I was disappointed because I felt that HilHil was kind of railroaded by her own campaign. I thought her managers and staff made some really stupid decisions that probably cost her the nomination. I mean, if HilHil would have spoken and looked and acted like she did on Tuesday night of the DNC, I think she probably would have won. But c’est la vie, Barack Obama took the nomination.So I riveted myself to the tv this past week and really watched the DNC. And you know what I saw? I saw happiness, I saw hope, I saw a microcosm of America really believing that they could partake in the democratic process and look to a future where their voice would be heard and heeded. And HilHil gave an amazing speech, telling us all of her commonalities with Barack Obama and how we MUST vote a progressive candidate into office, for the safety, security and sanctity of our nation.It’s not about party unity. Screw the political parties. That’s stuff of the past. Even Barack Obama doesn’t give a crap about political parties. It’s about issues. It’s about our future. It’s about our children and their children. It’s about the rest of the world. It’s about your health and your retirement and your financial security and your personal safety and your fundamental rights as a citizen of this country.

   It’s NOT about gender. And I am SICK AND TIRED of these dumbass PUMA’s or whatever the hell they want to call themselves, threatening that they are going to vote for John McCain to “teach the DNC a lesson.” Cry me a f*ckin’ river you idiots. You think that this primary was rigged? Are you serious? Ok, even if it was, so what are you going to do? Give your vote to the party that made caging lists of Florida democrats in 2000 and stole the election in the Supreme Court? You’re going to give your vote to the party who again made a mockery of our democracy in 2004 by disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of voters in Ohio who would have changed the course of our history? Yeah, that’s a great idea! Go for it girls.

   You women who call yourselves PUMA’s (Party Unity My Ass) are an embarrassment to women, especially to educated women who actually use their brains to make decisions. You are just as sexist and just as bigoted as the men who wouldn’t think of voting for Hillary because she is a woman. So you’re going to throw your support behind John McCain simply because he chose a person with the correct anatomical structure for you? Are you kidding me?! This has seriously got to be some sick joke that the Republicans are pulling on us. I swear, I think that the PUMA’s really are Republican women who are trying to confuse and conspire against us. I just cannot conceive of a woman dumb enough to throw her support behind a man (John McCain) and a woman (Sarah Palin) who are anti-choice, anti-gay rights, pro-guns, pro-drilling in ANWR, pro-war, pro-nukes, anti-Islam (and any other weird religion with “brown” people in it), anti-middle class, anti-public education, anti-Social Security, pro-torture….do I need to keep going? If you want to vote for a woman, and that’s alllll you care about, fine, write in Hillary’s name if it helps you sleep at night. But for God’s sake, don’t let me read another blog on your idiotic website about how McCain is going to get your vote. PUMA’s you are f*cking morons!

We Cannot Turn Back with so Much Work to be Done

Tonight, 28 August 2008, history was made and history was honored. On the 45th anniversary of the famous “I Have a Dream” speech presented by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., tonight marked the first time in this nation’s history that a man with African roots has been nominated by one of the two major parties to be its candidate for President of the United States. We are well on our way to making Dr. King’s dream a reality.

But, as Barack Obama so eloquently stated tonight, we cannot turn back now…not when there is so much work to be done. While Dr. King’s dream, that the future generations would judge each other not by the color of their skin but on the strength of their character, is tonight one step closer to being realized, we still face racial, ethnic, religious, economic, and social barriers that threaten the very foundations of our American democracy.

We have been suffering for the past eight years under an administration that has no consideration or respect for the Constitution of the United States that our forefathers gave their blood, sweat and tears to frame and bring to life.

We have been suffering for the past eight years under an administration that is more concerned with lining their pockets and the pockets of their corporate friends than helping bolster the middle class, the stabilizing force of our economy.

We have been suffering for the past eight years under an administration that has completely rejected the assertions of our first great President, George Washington, and the words agreed to by all civilized nations and memorialized in the Geneva Convention with their inhumane treatment and blatant torture of prisoners of war and enemy combatants.

We have been suffering for the past eight years under an administration that has lied to each and every one of our citizens when we asked for justification for making the grave decision to invade a sovereign nation, Iraq, that knowingly used faulty and insufficient intelligence to persuade you and your political representatives that this war was necessary, and that has willingly allowed our men and women of our honorable armed services to die, to be irreparably injured, and to be forever emotionally scarred and traumatized for absolutely no legitimate reason.

We have been suffering for the past eight years under an administration that put a Senator’s birthday party celebration as a priority over leading our nation’s federal disaster relief agencies to assist in the evacuation and protection of an entire region battered by one of the strongest and most fierce hurricanes to ever reach the Gulf Coast.

We have been suffering for the past eight years under an administration that has squandered the budget surplus left by Bill Clinton’s administration and has successfully tied the noose of staggering national debt around our necks and the necks of generations to come.

We have been suffering for the past eight years under an administration that has laughed in the face of our civil liberties and fundamental rights, spying on us, wiretapping our phone conversations, taking our citizens into custody without charge for indefinite periods of time, putting fear into our hearts and hardship into our lives. The freedom to assemble, the freedom to speak our mind, the freedom to worship, the right to vote, these have all been jeopardized by this administration one way or another.

We have been suffering for the past eight years under an administration that has placed no value on education and self-improvement. When we listen to our President speak, we should all be moved, inspired, awe-struck. Admiration for our President’s personal, professional, and academic achievements should flow easily. We should not all be able to relate to our President, for our President should be, after all, the President of the United States because of his unique abilities, not because of his commonalities with every man and woman in the country. When we listen to our President, we should feel that we need to constantly improve ourselves, our work ethic, our skills, our understanding of the world, the way we express ourselves. The President should instill a sense of wonderment in the hearts and minds of the people. But we have suffered eight years under an administration that made it simple for us, that dumbed it down for us, that treated us like children, that did not ask us to improve or to transcend, but rather just asked us to go shopping.

We have been suffering for the past eight years under an administration that shown us nothing but failure after failure after failure. John McCain has supported this administration’s failure after failure after failure. John McCain is just more of the same. We need change….drastic change. Barack Obama offers a rebuttal and a fresh change to each and every error that we have suffered under the Bush administration.

Tonight, Barack Obama took the stage to accept the nomination for his candidacy for President of the United States for the Democratic party. He did so after a week-long masterpiece of a convention with amazing branding, the newest and best technologies, and some of the most well-respected and well-spoken people in our country giving speeches supporting his candidacy. Who would ever dare to follow the likes of Caroline Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, Michelle Obama, Joe Biden, Bill Richardson, Dick Durban, Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, and President Bill Clinton himself? Who? Barack Obama. That’s who.

Strength. Poise. Character. Sincerity. Deep understanding and respect for the Constitution. Patriotism. Intelligence. Eloquence. Presence. Depth. Morality. Humility. Compassion. Fearlessness. Courage. Determination. Loyalty. Devotion. Patience. Charisma.

They are words that have been used in the past to describe our greatest Presidents, such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln. Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy. They are words that have been used to describe historical legends, such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. DuBois. They are words that we should all aspire to adopt as part of our repertoire of character traits. They are words that should describe every President this country elects. Sadly, our current President cannot claim any of these traits. John McCain can claim few of them. But these are all words that describe Barack Obama.

If there is a sign that change is needed, I believe you can find it among the youth. And the youth have spoken loudly and clearly. I pray that they use their vote as their loudest and most clairvoyant statement come November 4. All those high school and college students, all those young professionals that, as Joe Biden so truthfully told us tonight, eat cold pizza and sleep on the floor, have come together to form a movement for change and a collaborative effort to elect Barack Obama as their President to lead them into the future.

These students and young people are the future of this country. We have the most at stake because we will be living far into this country’s future, far past the administrations of George Bush, far past the administrations of Barack Obama. We have the most to gain. And we have the most to lose. All those Baby Boomers out there, all those retirees out there, the youth of America is asking you to stand with them on November 4 and vote for their future. Eight years is enough. We cannot turn back when there is so much work to be done.

Barack Obama’s candidacy has been one for the history books. The convention this whole week looked like America – men, women, children, teens, every race, every religion, every end of every political, social, and economic spectrum came to watch, to listen and to support Barack Obama for President. As the CNN cameras panned over the audience, I saw at one point two Sikh men waving American flags and moving to the sounds of Bruce Springstein’s “Born in the USA.” I saw a disabled US Army veteran and amputee in a wheelchair holding up a Barack Obama poster with the words “Change We Can Believe In” emblazoned on it. I saw young students and elderly. I saw women and men of every walk of life. This Convention was a microcosm of our beautiful and diverse nation.

In support of this diversity, the delegates chosen to represent the 50 states at the Convention were similarly representative of the nation’s population. Of the delegates, 5% were Asian/Pacific Islander, 12% were Latino, 6% were LGBT, 24% were African American, 4% suffered with disabilities, and about 51% were women. This Convention, from beginning to end, was a display of the movement that Barack Obama’s candidacy has produced among the masses of our nation.

Barack Obama’s speech tonight was presidential. As he tackled each contentious issue, took on each attack that had be levied against him, and explained clearly his policy objectives, I could not help but be reminded of the great Muhammad Ali and his famous quote, “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” This is exactly what Barack Obama did tonight. He did not rebut John McCain’s attacks with in-kind negativity. He did not barrage the audience with accusations or defensive mechanisms to deflect criticism. Instead he used the ancient art taught by martial arts masters of absorbing the attacker’s energy force from his blows and using it against him. Never could anyone suggest that Barack Obama’s speech tonight was defensive or negative. On the contrary, he was able to maintain his theme of hope while at the same time challenging effectively and efficiently each criticism that the McCain campaign has attempted to stick to Barack Obama.

Tonight, Barack Obama did not deliver merely a speech. He composed a symphony and conducted it tonight with mastery. At times becoming impassioned and quickening his delivery to rally excitement among the listeners and at other times slowing and allowing his voice to decrescendo to a low and soulful tone to allow the audience to grasp the strength and depth of his words, Barack Obama delivered the performance of a lifetime tonight. He was formidable yet uplifting, brazen yet honorable, deliberate yet dignified, brilliant yet accessible. Tonight, Barack Obama showed that he has what it takes to be presidential.

Tonight, Barack Obama renewed his commitment to the people of the United States of America. Tonight, I renewed my commitment to support Barack Obama.

McCain’s Insane “Spiritual Guide”

Sooooooooo we’re supposed to have separation of church and state in this country….riiiiiiight?! I thought so. So what gives? Why is it OK for our Presidential hopefuls to meet at a evangelical church and answer questions about their belief in evil and their ideas about Jesus Christ?! I am ALL for freedom of religion and for spirituality! Anyone who knows me knows how big a part my religious beliefs are in my own personal life. And yes, my religious beliefs do impact my political beliefs when my political beliefs are based on morals and values. But I’m not running for President. And I’m just not comfortable with all this theological jargon that is interwoven in our political system.

On a related note, we went through all these crazy days hearing of Barack Obama’s insane pastor, Rev. Wright, and how his rhetoric from the pulpit was extreme and possibly anti-American. Ok, we know the press loves this kind of stuff and eats it up…sooooooo, why are they ignoring McCain’s insane spiritual guide????!!!! No, I’m not talking about Rev. John Hagee (another friend and endorser of John McCain and firm believer in God’s wrath on New Orleans for its “homosexual sins” culminating in Hurricane Katrina), I’m talking about Rev. Rod Parsley.

Parsley has called on Christians to wage war against Islam, which he considers to be a “false religion.” I find this personally highly offensive – and whether or not you are religious, whether or not you are Muslim, if you live in this country and believe in our Constitution and Bill of Rights calling for Freedom of Religion, you will understand and appreciate that this guy is seriously RIDICULOUS.

But what’s astonishing is that John McCain actively (and received) Parsley’s endorsement in the presidential race. McCain has called Parsley “a spiritual guide” – that’s scary to me. It should be to you, too.

Since the media won’t question McCain about his Islamaphobic, insane, vicious, bigoted, narrow-minded, hostile, anti-Consitution, arrogant pastor, it’s up to YOU to forward this video to your family, friends, and colleagues or simply share the link to this blog. It’s easy.

BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD! FORCE OUR POLITICIANS TO UPHOLD THE CONSTITUION AND THE BILL OF RIGHTS! ASK THE TOUGH QUESTIONS! DON’T STOP UNTIL YOU GET ANSWERS! VOTE OBAMA IN 2008!

Thanks to xtrekker for the heads up on this one! Keep ‘em comin’!

Meet Joe Biden

First of many posts about the Obama/Biden ticket for the Democratic Presidential campaign this year. Today, I’d just like to start by introducing Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) to all the readers out there who might not know his personal history. It’s pretty poignant (and strategically very advantageous, to be politically callous and analytical). Check it out…

Joe Biden comes from a strong Irish-Catholic background. Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania to blue collar parents in a blue collar neighborhood, Biden grew up with the ethics of hard work and the values of a strong education. His parents loved for him and his siblings to discuss politics and current events at the dinner table, so Sen. Biden has been immersed in the news of Washington from childhood.

It seemed he was destined to enter politics – at the young age of 29, he was elected to the Senate. It was no ordinary Senate campaign. Young Biden was running against a strong Republican incumbent. But his campaign was fueled by the love, devotion and loyalty of his family. His sister was his campaign manager. His brother managed his fundraising. And his parents were his strategic team. Through all the struggles, he came out on top, only to be soon thereafter confronted with the most traumatic and transformational experience of his life.

One of them, Beau, is now the Attorney General of the state of Delaware and a Captain in the United States National Guard. He will be deploying to Iraq this coming Autumn and will be voting for his father and Barack Obama from the war zones.

Biden is no re-married to a wonderfully bright, strong woman, Jill Biden, who is an educator with very passionate opinions regarding our country’s public school system. She will be an asset to the Obama/Biden ticket, as she is a working mother who many women in this country will respect and relate to (horrible grammar, ending on a preposition! What would by AP English teacher say?! Yikes.

Now that you have been introduced to Sen. Joseph Biden, the man, let’s see what he had to say during his first speech as the Democratic Nominee for Vice President of the United States of America…check back tomorrow for the video feed!!