HIV Travel Ban Struck Down

The ban on HIV positive people entering the United States as tourists or immigrants has been ended.  The US had been one of only a small handful of countries (mostly non-democracies) that prohibited people from visiting based solely on their HIV status.  When the laws were first passed, people were very afraid of HIV and thought that it was highly contagious, and at that time people only had a few years to live.  There was a fear that they would languish in hospitals, taking up valuable beds.  Those days are now behind us, and allowing someone with HIV into the country is likely less of a burden than allowing in someone with cancer.

McCain's new ad

McCain mocks Obama by comparing him to famous Jewish leader.

I don't know who is coming up with the ads this week, but McCain's ads have taken a complete nose dive. At least before he was talking about issues. Now he is telling us that Obama will part the Red Sea.

Maybe he is trying to take away the Muslim vote from Obama? I don't know and I have a feeling neither does McCain.

Anthrax Redux

Almost 7 years ago, a month after 9/11, we were hit with anthrax attacks. How did our leaders react?

McCain used it as a talking point as to why we should invade Iraq.

There are only two questions:
1. Did this guy act alone?
2. Was it a suicide?

Think about it: government employee takes anthrax out of ultra-secure laboratory, mails it to congressional offices. People die. Republicans use it as a reason to invade Iraq (remember, Iraq supposedly had WMD's like anthrax). We go into Iraq, over 4,000 soldiers die, and we find no WMD's. The FBI takes 7 years to even attempt to indict this guy, he is not arrested, and now supposedly commits suicide.

I'm not one to promote conspiracy theories, but those who do are going to go nuts over this one.

Tying up loose ends

Seven years after the anthrax attacks, the plausible suspect has killed himself.  

At this rate, maybe we'll catch Osama by 2020.  

New McCain Website

Enough with the straight talk express:

www.lowroadexpress.com

McCain - Disgraced

John McCain used to be an honorable man, and I was foolish enough to think that with McCain and Obama running in the election that the overall tone of the campaigns would be honorable.  McCain's people (I'm not convinced that McCain even knows what country this is anymore) have taken this to a whole new level.  They have gone negative in their campaigning before the conventions.  This move shows clear desperation on their part.  Yesterday they compared Obama to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.  Now they are saying Obama opened up the race card by saying he is not like the president's on the dollar bills.  He has said the same thing for the past 6 months: "I've got a funny name, I don't look like the guys on the dollar bills."  This is not "playing the race card", it is a satire and an observation.  

McCain won't even debate real issues anymore.  All him and his campaign will do is talk about Obama, which means that Barack will dictate the issues that the campaigns discuss.  On issues such as the economy, Iraq, and foreign relations, this is an argument McCain will lose.

With McCain going negative this soon, the only thing we can expect from this is an Obama landslide.

Little brother

In Flint, MI, big brother is so broke he can't even afford surveillance cameras.  So go ahead and make a tax deductible donation of $30,000 and your company's name will be on the camera.  

Bill the fool

Here is an example of why I generally stay away from the Fox News channel these days; comments like this from Bill O'Reilly are so stupid he should be thrown off even that network.  In all fairness, McCain was ambushed with this question so I'm not clear what his stance is on the issue, but it seems that O'Reilly would rather old, infertile people fuck than younger people.

The Perfect VP?

It looks like our governor, Tim Kaine, may be the next Vice President.  That's the speculation now.  Consider that he was one of the first politicians to endorse Obama and they are good friends.

Kaine would bring a lot to the table.  He is a very Virginia-style democrat.  Pro-life (though he would not overturn existing law), pro-gun (mostly), Catholic, fiscally conservative, pro-business, and willing to compromise with those in the other party.  He would appeal to many groups in a better way than someone like Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden would.  

Also, unlike McBush, Kaine knows how to effectively communicate in today's world, including the use of the internet.  He would also really up the ante in Virginia and our 13 electoral votes would hopefully go blue this year. 

McCain is losing his integrity

McCain's latest ad says that Obama did not visit the troops during his trip overseas.  In the ad, McCain uses footage of Obama playing basketball with the troops in Kuwait.  Yes, you read that right.  McCain's campaign is just that bad.  

What happened to the "Straight Talk Express"?

For a full analysis of this completely false negative ad, see factcheck.org.  

Falling bridges

At least 25% of bridges in the US need to be upgraded, at a cost of $140 billion.  This is about the same amount of a budget surplus we had under Clinton.  Meanwhile, that surplus has turned into a near $500 billion deficit for next year.  McCain would further increase that deficit through his spending on the Iraq War and the Republicans inability to be fiscal conservatives (that is now the job of the democrats).  If you are worried about your taxes going up, it is George Bush's Third Term (McCain) that you should fear.  

Backstage lottery to Dem Convention

Anyone who donates any amount of money to Barack Obama before July 31 will be entered to win 2 backstage passes to meet Barack during the convention in Denver, as well as flights and accommodations.  

I plan on making my donation tonight.