The devil went down to Denver.

Ahhhh ... so the collective masochism of about 50% of the nation begins tonight. Kicked off with none other then Michelle Obama in prime time.

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First to Jambo - I've got a solution. Move to Vegas, it NEVER rains here! Assuming of course that you can bring the kids, forgo any memory of the color green, learn to speak Spanish, pay triple for everything, and embrace year round schooling that is ..... in other words, be thankful that out of us three YOU were able to reamain and make a life in the place I still (and will always) consider "home." By the way, I received my clothes but I had to put down the pigeon. Poor bastard must have hit Nevada by way of Tel Aviv...

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Titus ... I CAN NOT believe that at this late date you have posted a grand total of ONE commentary on Russia (alright, maybe two). I know I covered the situation extensively, so I can only assume that our resident pseudo-Sovietologist agrees with my bristling and cogent analysis. It must be tough being a casino big-wig ... he,he.

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Now, to as what inspired my little verbal venture today. There was a forum that didn't get much air time in the media, and for good reason: Barak H. Obama was an unadulterated disaster. But I'm jumping ahead ... do you remember during the primaries when Barry vowed to meet the GOP nominee quote, "anywhere, anytime" in a debate or town-hall forum? Well, subsequent to his and Mac's clinching the nomination Barak had a town-hall of his own, on his own (I forget where). The point is that "off-script" as they say, he was a bumbling, stumbling buffoon. And that's being charitable I assure you. And eyebrows were raised, for it was naturally assumed that Obama, given his undeniable oratory skills at speech giving, would wipe the floor with whomever his opponent was. BUT, there was suddenly this disconnect: how could it be that an orator so clearly skilled at giving speeches be so inept at a spontaneous Q&A such as a town-hall meeting? The answer was clear to me. He IS in fact good at the spontaneous, the problem is that when one tries to mold their true (and radical) belief system into one more palatable for the mainstream, a lot of "ummm, well, ahhh" begins to creep in as filler. In other words he is trying to be "true" to what he believes while simultaneously attempting to put it in "mainstream" terms. And thats one really square peg being shoved in a round hole ... thus the hemming and hawing.

Well Mac, perhaps smelling blood in the water, requested no less then 10 joint town-hall meetings. Obama countered with an offer of 2. So much for "anywhere, anytime." Which brings us to Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California - the forum which I described as not getting much air-time in the media (outside of FOX and conservative radio that is). Pastor Rick Warren, whom seems to be the heir apparent to the mantle of Falwell and Graham as America's new "Christian leader", extended an invitation to conduct a live audience sit down at this church. McCain suggested they make it a joint appearance - just the three of them sitting at a table, talking. No lights and buzzards or "show of hands" such as at the sanitized sub-par spectacle that has become our modern debate forum. Obama declined the "joint" portion, but agreed to show up with Warren one at a time ... and oh MAMMA! I realize that I need not convince anyone here that voting for Barry is societal suicide, I get that. But I think its important to view this get-together in order to mark just how extreme the leadership, personified in its choice for nominee, of the modern Democrat Party has become. As you might expect the questions were largely religiously oriented - abortion, evil in the world, etc. But Barak's answers, as he sought to find a way to make acceptable his extreme points of view, revealed just how radicalized an individual he is. I was taken aback. You can view the entire 49 minutes at: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video_log/2008/08/obama_at_saddleback_church.html

And just for proper perspective, let me focus for a moment on the back drop to the abortion question Rick Warren asked, which was, "When do you believe life begins?" In Illinois, Chicago to be specific, there was an infamous abortion procedure that caught the local headlines. It would seem that during an attempted abortion on a down-syndrome baby, the child was "accidentally" birthed alive. A botched abortion in other words. Now, apparently there were no laws on the books at that time on just what to do in a "botched" abortion. "No laws" that is assuming the doctor, mother and staff don't consider the living, breathing child to be an actual human being!!! At any rate, the hospital staff quite monstrously simply placed the child in the soiled laundry room, knowing that without medical attention it would die. Let me pause here. Does anyone else see a frightening resemblance to this practice in the Year of Our Lord 2008, to acceptable practices of discarding "defective" babies in Sparta, Greece, 2,750 years ago? I would argue infanticide is NOT too strong a word here. But I digress. A guilt ridden nurse snuck into the soiled laundry room, picked up the child, and held it for 45 minutes before setting it back down, where it eventually died.

Were murder charges brought? No. Manslaughter? No. Neglectful homicide? No. However, even in very liberal (for the most part) Illinois, the state had a collective shame over the matter. So in March 2001 some Republicans (who then narrowly controlled the IL legislature) attempted to enact a state law entitled "THE BORN-ALIVE INFANTS PROTECTION ACT", which in part stated that any "fetus" that was accidentally birthed in an "incomplete" abortion would be protected under all the rights and laws of any other living, breathing human being ... you know, BECAUSE IT IS ONE! The fact that we even need a law with that title is a disgrace.... but again I digress. Well, the measure failed in the Illinois Senate, with one then State Senator Barak Obama voting a very auspicious "present." Then in 2002 the IL legislature changed hands and Obama became the Chairman of the Illinois Health and Human Services Committee. He then went about holding up the bill as long as possible (he had domain over such legislation obviously) until it finally came to the floor for a vote - he voted "NO." He wanted doctors and staff to retain the right to infantacide if the intention was to abort the child.

Almost simultaneous to this the issue was taken up on the federal level, and the Infant Born-Alive Protection Act, nearly identical to the Illinois version, was passed which saw even the likes of pro-abortion fanatics such as Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) CA, voting "yes." Bush of course signed it into law. By the way, add that to his successful championing of making partial-birth abortions illegal and I never again want to hear that "presidents don't matter" when it comes to abortion. That's patently ignorant.

So, with that as a back drop, what was Barak's response to Warren's question, "When do you believe life begins?" He responded .... "That's above my pay grade."

I see. And what office was it that you're seeking again?

I hope the Democrats across this nation understand they're about to put forth the MOST radically left candidate in the history of the United States of America. I can't believe I'm saying this but they'd of had a much better shot with Madam Hillary. In any generic match-up, due to it being a bad GOP year (their own fault), unnamed Democrats have a 10 to 15 point lead on their Republican opponent. Now, putting aside that unnamed Democrats always do better then named ones, Obama and McCain are currently tied at 45% each according to the most recent USA Today/Gallop Poll. Hey Barry! Does the name McGovern mean anything to you?

Oh, and the final night of the convention when Barak gives his acceptance speech has been moved from Denver's Pepsi Arena to the Bronco's stadium! They're going to pack 75,000 people in, with Obama on the field on a podium in the middle. Can you imagine what that will look like all lit up in the night air there in Nuremberg ... errrr .... I mean Denver? By the way, that spinning noise you'll hear tonight as the DNC begins its little foray? Harry Truman hitting warp speeds ......