Is Vanity Fair Correct-Is someone covering for Mccain in a '64 near fatal accident?

Has anyone heard of this and is it true? How is it that neither this nor Mccain's incomplete medical record are not being investigated futher by the main stream media?

News Orgs Investigate Possibly Fatal McCain '64 Car Crash (Huffington Post):

"For the past two months, a major American magazine and an allied news service have been engaged in a legal battle with the United States Navy over records that they believe show that John McCain once was involveed in an automobile accident that injured or, perhaps, killed another individual.

Vanity Fair magazine and the National Security News Service claim to have knowledge 'developed from first-hand sources' of a car crash that involved then-Lt. McCain at the main gate of a Virginia naval base in 1964, according to legal filings. The incident has been largely, if not entirely, kept from the public."

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John Dinges: McCain's Private Visit With Chilean Dictator Pinochet Revealed For First Time

John Dinges: McCain's Private Visit With Chilean Dictator Pinochet Revealed For First Time: "John McCain, who has harshly criticized the idea of sitting down with dictators without pre-conditions, appears to have done just that. In 1985, McCain traveled to Chile for a friendly meeting with Chile's military ruler, General Augusto Pinochet, one of the world's most notorious violators of human rights credited with killing more than 3,000 civilians and jailing tens of thousands of others.

The private meeting between McCain and dictator Pinochet has gone previously un-reported anywhere."

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Palin USD 150,000 Bonanza!

Palin before the $150,000 clothing accessories bonanza, sponsored by the RNC! So is this money well spent?

Palin on the right.

(Photo by Huffington Post)

Ben Smith's Blog: Political News about Democrats and the 2008 Election - Politico.com

Ben Smith's Blog: Political News about Democrats and the 2008 Election - Politico.com: "I've gotten lots of email over the last few days in response to a request for anecdotes of what sort of contact readers are getting from the campaign on the ground, and virtually all of the stories run the same way: Obama has been contacting these voters many, many more times than McCain.

This may be a self-selected sample, of course -- blog readers lean Obama. With that caveat, here are a couple of (lightly edited) samples:

An Obama supporter in Indiana:

I am a lifelong Republican. I have served on the local county Republican finance committee in the past. I am not supporting the Republican presidential candidate for the first time in my life. I have been contacted during the primary by Rudy Giuliani. No other Republicans have attempted to contact me at all, with the exception of local Indiana candidates. I have had no contact from the Indiana Republican Party and no mail from the McCain campaign during the entire campaign.

The real story though, is about my 24 year old son.

He attended college at the University of Hawaii. He graduated in May. He enjoyed his last summer in Hawaii and traveled to China before returning to Indiana in early September. One week before returning to Indiana, he changed his cell phone number to an Indiana area code. After arriving at the Indianapolis airport, we drove home. Two hours after his plane arrived in Indiana, he received a phone call on his cell phone. It was a local Obama campaign office. They welcomed him to Indiana and asked if he needed assistance in getting registered to vote. He did register and both of us have already voted for Obama.

How is it that an active Republican gets no contact from any Republican office or candidate (except the gubernatorial candidate) and a two hour resident of Indiana gets a phone call from the Obama office?"

On Al-Qaeda Web Sites, Joy Over U.S. Crisis, Support for McCain

On Al-Qaeda Web Sites, Joy Over U.S. Crisis, Support for McCain: "Al-Qaeda is watching the U.S. stock market's downward slide with something akin to jubilation, with its leaders hailing the financial crisis as a vindication of its strategy of crippling America's economy through endless, costly foreign wars against Islamist insurgents.

And at least some of its supporters think Sen. John McCain is the presidential candidate best suited to continue that trend.

'Al-Qaeda will have to support McCain in the coming election,' said a commentary posted Monday on the extremist Web site al-Hesbah, which is closely linked to the terrorist group. It said the Arizona Republican would continue the 'failing march of his predecessor,' President Bush.

The Web commentary was one of several posted by Taliban or al-Qaeda-allied groups in recent days that trumpeted the global financial crisis and predicted further decline for the United States and other Western powers. In language that was by turns mocking and ominous, the newest posting credited al-Qaeda with having lured Washington into a trap that had 'exhausted its resources and bankrupted its economy.' It further suggested that a terrorist strike might swing the election to McCain and guarantee an expansion of U.S. military commitments in the Islamic world."

Yeah I said it: Mccain Flip-Flops and George W. Bush a Socialist

George W. Bush, Socialist | Oliver Willis:

"Under George W. Bush? Well… we own Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and are becoming shareholders in insurance companies and banks. Funny thing.

Freaking socialist cons."

So let me get this straight, after Mccain votes for a USD 700 billion bailout package (which by the way Mccain, is a form of government intervention) and after the Republican administration led by G.W. all but nationalizes our banking industry-you want to call Obama socialist?

That is pure flip-flopping boulderdash! Leave it to the GOP to manufacture all manners of boogeyman's and then throw them at their opponents whenever the GOP is down. This time the strategy will backfire.

Here's why:

• You are not dealing with a naive electorate
• The remaining, on the fence, candidates tend are independents and see right through this
• USD 150 million-raised by the Obama campaign last month! I am sure this will be put to good use in going after more of the independents.
  

Fact Checking Conservative Tabloid Media

Media Matters - Media conservatives baselessly blame Community Reinvestment Act for foreclosure spike:

An excerpt from the The O'Reilly Factor:

"...They say, 'Well, this is a failure of the markets. Oh, this is about greed on Wall Street.' And Bill, the problem here is government intervention in the free markets. 1995, when Bill Clinton decide to tell, you know, [then-Treasury Secretary] Robert Rubin to rewrite the rules that govern the Community Reinvestment Act and push all these institutions to lend to minority communities, many were very risky loans. That was a noble idea, perhaps, but that certainly wasn't following free-market principles. This big pressure on institutions to dole out money and these risky loans started this whole ball rolling at Fannie and Freddie..."

Eric Boehlert and Jamison Foser who collectively make up the County Fair Blog on Media Matters respond:

"...In fact, the federal Community Reinvestment Act -- enacted in 1977 -- applies only to depository institutions, such as banks and savings and loan associations. In testimony before the House Financial Services Committee, Michigan law professor Michael Barr stated that while problems in the subprime lending industry were a driving force behind the housing crisis, he estimated that only 20 percent of subprime mortgages were issued by depository institutions under the CRA..."

As a former credit analyst and mortgage counselor my understanding of the credit crisis is that during the early to mid nineties banking executives realized that they had essentially run out of new customers for their loan products. Their response to this scenario was two fold.

1. They aggressively begin to push refinancing and home equity lines to consumers with marginal credit. Mortgage brokers and mortgage bankers became the foot soldiers of this strategy targeting consumers that they felt would fall for such offers. Oftentimes, the victims were elderly home owners either with no debt on their homes or who were a few years away from paying off their mortgages. So what would happen is that some elderly person on a fixed budget who'd always wanted to get the hole in the roof repaired but never had the extra money to do it would get a letter in the mail from abc contractors. The letter would read something like, "we can fix your roof and on top of that we can get you some cash back." When the homeowner called that contracting company they ended up taking out a high interest rate loan against the house to pay for the inflated repair bill. Two years later the same mortgage broker that dealt with that homeowner's contractor calls to say, "guess what? We can lower your mortgage rate!" But what they dont tell the homeowner is that the back end fees on the loan will eat up most or all of the equity. Now the homeowner has refinanced themselves into a new loan that might now be greater than the amount of the home's actual appraisal value.
   
2. In order to continue financing this risky industry what the banking industry did was almost ingenuous. They got together with the actuaries, number crunchers, and statisticians to devise a way to show that these loans actually represented "good paper". They succeeded in doing this by pooling tons of mortgage notes together-such that you had loans of all credit grades mixed together, with only slightly more good credit loans than bad credit loans. Then they said that because of this plus the fact that the loans were secured by real property that each pool of loans could therefore be "rated" as A paper or A+ or whatever. This looked like easy money to be made on the part of the institutional investors, municipalities, educational funds, and overseas governments that bought the loans.

That is my very generalized explanation of what happened. Of course, once the distressed homeowners started defaulting in masse, America's home values slowly began to drop. Meaning that the investors who'd bought the securitized loan pools ended up finding that their security had dropped in value to less than what they purchased the loans for. Then they stopped buying the paper, while simultaneously demanding their money back.

US Elections 2008: 270 to Win

There is an absolute "must see" website called 270 to Win (www.270towin.com). It is an electoral college map and simulation tool. What is really cool about it, if you are an Obama supporter, is all of the variuos blue state combinations that could lead to a 2008 Obama Presidency. Try it out and you will see what I mean...

I love TheYoungTurks.com!!!

If you haven't been checking out The Young Turks podcasts, forums, and articles then you don't know what you're missing. These two hosts-Cenk Uygur and Ben Mankiewicz along with several other co-hosts have put together an amazing online liberal talk show focusing on current events in politics. The show is young, hip, funny, and insightful.

Here is a youtube snippet:

From the Obama Action Wire

"John McCain's advisers have seen how his poll numbers plunge when he discusses his economic plan -- the other day they acknowledged he will lose the election if he keeps talking about the economic crisis.

So the McCain campaign decided to change the subject. Instead of talking about the issues that are most important to Americans, they're focusing all of their energy on attacking Barack.

We put together an ad to remind voters that it's time for a President who will change the economy and change Washington, not change the subject.

Members of the Obama Action Wire can help right now by using their own grassroots networks to make sure people hear this vital message. Watch the ad and share it with everyone you know"

Obama campaign launches Keating Economics website

The Obama campaign has launched two new websites in conjunction with their newly created Keating Five video documentary.

1. Keating Economics (http://keatingeconomics.com/). Based upon my observation the Keating Economics site represents the Obama campaigns efforts to give legs to the argument that Mccain's involvement in the Keating Five Savings and Loan scandal was the first of two major events in Mccain's political career that illustrate a pattern of poor judgement with respect to decisions impacting the financial lives of Mccain's constituents. The second event or occurence that I have heard Obama use to connect the dots and form a straight line or trending of Mccain's weak judgement is none other than his close association with Phil Graham. Mr. Graham is the Mccain campaign's economic advisor and is a former banking lobbyist. Phil Graham is one of the chief architects behind the banking deregulation of the 1990's that many economists credit as being the key driver behind today's financial crisis. Graham also was said to have heavy connections with Enron.
2. John Mccain Record (http://www.johnmccainrecord.com/) . This site seems to complement the Keating Five economics site by fact checking Mccain on every issue that is vital to the 2008 US Elections. If you click on any of the fourteen hyperlinked topics, you get 3 to 4 fact check points on Mccain that simultaneously make the argument that Mccain's policies are identical to Bush's policies and have already been proven as harmful to American interests.

Think "swiftboating 2.0" meets Michael Moore. This is what you have when you take these two sites and link them to the Keating Five video-sheer genius!

US Elections 2008: Joe Klein's analysis of the second Obama and Mccain debate

Here is an excerpt from Joe Klein that I think represents a strong synopsis of what happened in today's presidential debate.

Excerpt:

"1. My guess is "that one" will be the moment remembered from this one. Why? Because it can be used as shorthand for the overwhelming mood of the evening. There was deep tension between the two men. McCain appeared to hold Obama in low regard. Obama appeared to treat McCain like a disruptive student in his law school class. The teacher acknowledged the dissenter, explained why he was wrong, and moved on.

2. McCain is famous for his performance in town halls, but this was not a town hall, at least not one in the way that McCain likes. For one thing, no one laughed at McCain's bad jokes. And there was no give-and-take with the audience or the moderator. Furthermore, McCain's intent in this debate was the opposite of his intent in a New Hampshire church basement. In the classic McCain town hall, differences of opinion are expressed, and McCain works to build a conversation, so that everyone develops respect for him and each other, even if there is disagreement. In this debate, McCain was trying to convince voters and the audience that Obama was not worthy. So there was a stilted element to the affair. Finally, the key to the classic McCain town hall is that McCain is having fun. He did not appear to be having fun tonight. Obama, meanwhile, did not seem interested in having fun. He was there to make his case, and he did it clearly."

John McCain's Record

John McCain's Record: "McCain repeatedly voted against America’s farmers, opposing the 2008 Farm Bill and disaster assistance bills. Source: Des Moines Register Vote 271, 12/5/06; Vote 439, 9/18/95; Vote 240, 8/4/93; Vote 237, 8/4/93; Vote 238, 8/4/93"

Keating Economics

Keating Economics: "S&L’s Risky Investments With Federally-Insured Money Led To Call For More Regulation. In the early 1980’s, Charles Keating’s American Continental Corporation purchased a California S&L named Lincoln. At that time, S&Ls like Lincoln were able to go beyond their traditional purpose of offering home loans and engage in riskier forms of investment. Since the deposits of S&Ls were insured by the federal government, regulators began to take notice of the investments being made by Keating and at other S&Ls. The Federal Home Loan Band Board (FHLLB), which had regulatory authority over the S&Ls, began to worry about the risks of this trend, and proposed a “direct investment” regulation to limit the money S&Ls could direct to these riskier investments. [Senate Ethics Committee Keating Five Investigation, 1990]

At Keating’s Request, McCain Wrote 5 Letters, Supported Bill To Forestall Direct Investment Rule. Keating was unhappy with the direct investment rule and began actively lobbying against it. Senate Ethics Committee Special Counsel Robert Bennett explained during the 1990 Keating Five hearings that John McCain wrote at least five letters to regulators, Treasury and White House officials to argue against these proposed restrictions on risky investments by S&Ls. Bennett said that “In 1984 and ‘85, then Congressman McCain wrote several letters to Chairman [Edwin] Gray [of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board] and White House officials urging them to postpone promulgation of the direct investment rule's There is evidence that Senator McCain did so at the urging of Mr. Keating or other representatives of Lincoln.” McCain’s work for Keating also included signing onto a bill to delay the direct investment rule in 1984 [Senate Ethics Committee Keating Five Investigation, 1990; HCONRES 363, 98th Congress]".

American Chronicle | John McCain's Presidential Campaign and the Keating 5: A Fresh Look at a Dead Scandal

American Chronicle | John McCain's Presidential Campaign and the Keating 5: A Fresh Look at a Dead Scandal: "In 1989 John McCain´s political career was in jeopardy as his popularity plummeted during the course of the Senate Ethics Committee investigation into his meeting with bank regulators on behalf of Charles Keating, an icon of the Savings & Loan scandal whose corrupt business practices cost American taxpayers an estimated $2.6 billion. McCain emerged unscathed from the investigation, and is now competing for the presidency with an advertisement campaign that portrays him as a GOP maverick who is tough on Wall Street, and committed to divorcing private interests from politics.

John McCain chided Barack Obama for breaking a promise by opting out of public campaign financing in the primaries, however, decided a short time later to do the same to remain competitive in the presidential race."

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The Numbers: After the Debate

AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: "After Debate, 53% Still Believe Palin Unqualified
Despite Palin exceeding expectations, majority still think Palin unqualified to take over as president.

Who Did the Best Job In the Debate?
Biden 51%
Palin 36%

Biden did better or worse than expected?
64% better
14% worse
20% same"

Hillary Clinton: Joe Biden Understands...- Blogs from CNN.com

CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time - Blogs from CNN.com: "Hillary Clinton issued a statement shortly after the debate praising Joe Biden's performance:

“Tonight's debate underscored the stark choice American families face in this election,' she said. “I've known Senator Biden a long time – as Americans saw tonight, he is a strong, passionate and experienced leader. Like Barack Obama, Joe Biden understands both the economic stresses here at home and the strategic challenges in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world."

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