The Pawn By Any Other Name

Palin will be the first female vice presidential nominee of the Republican Party when she is formally nominated at the party's Sept. 1-4 convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Palin, now in her first term as governor, is the first woman and the youngest person to hold the state's top political job.
I guess McCain’s points As to Sen. Obama being too young and en experienced goes out the door here.

She married her high school sweetheart, Todd Palin, on August 29, 1988,
“Sarah Palin, whose husband works for BP (formerly British Petroleum), has repeatedly put special interests first when it comes to the environment," Schlickeisen continued. "In her scant two years as governor, she has lobbied aggressively to open up the Arctic National Wildlife

Refuge to drilling, pushed for more drilling off of Alaska’s coasts, and put special interests above science. Ms. Palin has made it clear through her actions that she is unwilling to do even as much as the Bush administration to address the impacts of global warming.

Up date:

Todd Palin, Shadow Governor of Alaska

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/29/155145/681/530/579154

Her most recent effort has been to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the polar bear from the endangered species list, putting Big Oil before sound science.

As unbelievable as this may sound, this actually puts her to the right of the Bush administration."

As governor, Palin also opposed designating polar bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, fearing that step would get in the way of a proposed natural gas pipeline tapping the North Slope's vast reserves.

Palin is considered to have similar policy positions to John McCain in most respects. One exception is drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), which Palin strongly supports and McCain has opposed.[65] She has supported aspects of Democratic nominee Barack Obama's energy pla

Alaska's Governor now facing ethics-related probe
You may recall that all three members of Alaska's Congressional Delegation, Senator Ted Stevens, Senator Lisa Murkowski and Rep. Don Young, made CREW's list of the most corrupt members of Congress, Beyond DeLay.

Now, the relatively new Governor, Sarah Palin, is in hot water and may be facing a legislative in Alaska Senate leaders want an investigation of whether Gov. Sarah Palin pressured and then fired the public safety commissioner because he wouldn't get rid of a state trooper who had gone through a bitter divorce with Palin's sister.

"I'm fairly confident at this point that what we're going to see is the appointment of an independent investigator," said Anchorage Democratic Sen. Hollis French, chairman of the judiciary committee.

Palin denied any wrongdoing Monday and said she welcomed an investigation.
"I've said all along, hold me accountable," Palin told reporters in Juneau. "And I'm telling the truth when I say that there was never pressure put on Commissioner Monegan."

The governor said she didn't think any conversations she, her husband, Todd, or members of her administration had with the commissioner about Mike Wooten should have been taken as pressure to get rid of the trooper.




From the comment here she’s putting the needs of Alaska ahead of the nation.

The other point is her question about what an VP does.

The ongoing ethics investigation seems to be cool with her.

Via the ever informative Anchorage Daily News:
http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/33465

Seizing on themes Obama has made trademarks of his candidacy, she added, "If you want change in Washington, if you hope for a better America, we're asking for your vote."

For Palin, her landslide re-election in 1999 answered the critics.

It was the one election where her slogan changed from "new ideas" to "stay the course."

Sound like something you heard from another?

On other fronts Palin has a strong anti-abortion record, which aligns with McCain’s last position on the issue even if he don’t remember

Palin is pro-life and a prominent member of Feminists for Life.[35][36][37] A 2006 article in the Anchorage Daily News refers to her as "pro-contraception," but does not go into detail on the subject. McCain doesn't like to talk about that issue either.

But if you break down statements and actions from McCain himself. you need to ask your self some questions.

1. Shes young and not a lot of experience on forign policy the main line of attack on Sen. Obama.

2. McCain has an issue of respect toward women some examples is that of his first wife if this was the only source would not in its self would be an factor .

But there is another more telling example during a biker convention. McCain tried to talk his wife to flash her wares in front of a crowd of bikers. this coupled with the event of calling his wife the C word.

McCain said the reason for his choice "I have found the right partner to help me stand up to those who value their privileges over their responsibilities, who put power over principle, and put their interests before your needs,"

Note he did not say to help lead our nation but who would help in his beliefs "who value their privileges" does that mean those in power or who have money?

If not because of age or experience and that of repect than the issue of chooice than comes down to that of using her as a pawn to advance his postion in the what has been a game to lead our counrty at the cost of human life as well as the hardships of the middle class and elderly of our nation.
Surely he's shown he's not past this

McCain's anti-choice, anti-science, anti-environment, anti-gay right wing extremist pick for vice president -- particularly important in view of Sen. McCain's advanced years and failing health -- reveals the depth of his cynicism and condescension towards American voters, women in particular.

But maybe there is another underlaying reason.
As you remember the big issue of Huckabee not being in the running was the question of his relationship to Bill Gothard and Kennth Copeland.
Bill Gothard was the one behind character first in our schools .I would suggest you goggle him and Bush relationship as to others. And the connection of the no child left behind act.
But was also behind the character city program. a program where autority is never to be questioned.
Kennth Copeland The one who set up the questionable Donation drive for Huckabee.
Currently under investigation

While running for Governor of Alaska, Palin advocated the teaching of both creationism and evolution in public schools;But the next day, she said, "Creationism doesn't have to be part of the curriculum" and that she would not use "religion as a litmus test, or anybody's personal opinion on evolution or creationism" as criteria for selection to the school board.
On Sarah Palin's ties, but not the politician herself.

The community dark_christian, which keeps tabs on some of the darker elements of Christianity (in North America and abroad), has recently taken an interest in McCain's VP pick, Sarah Palin because of some information linked to on her

Wikipedia page (i.e. something from a citation, not just assertion, though the interpretation of the citation may be a little inaccurate: is her denomination Assemblies of God--i.e. bad--or Lutheran--i.e. indeterminate bad or good) as well as a statement she made about Creationism (i.e. people are jumping on any chance to analyze this relative newcomer).

One of the members more experienced and knowledgeable in the ways of certain strains of Christianity, and a more prolific blogger, dogemperor, on the scent of some links in the first post, has sniffed around at the ties Palin has, since she was recently largely unknown to the U.S. at large, unlike Biden, who was at least marginally visible so far.

The links below (from this thread) are on Palin's TIES, not the politician herself, so you should not look at this as reflecting on her character, because I seriously doubt that that's why the post(s) were written. These are in part to look at some reasons McCain might have chosen her.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/29/163234/559/495/579213http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/8/29/182057/888
http://dogemperor.newsvine.com/_news/2008/08/29/1803647-sarah-palin-dominionist-stalking-horse

Under Much Grace Blog

Southern Seminary Guilty by Association or a Case of the Emperor's New Clothes?

Sarah Palin was known as"Sarah Barracuda," for her style of play being hard driving. Staying true to their core, certain bedrock, unflinching principles.

Sarah Palin demonstrated one of her allegedly bedrock, unflinching principles a long, long time ago - well, um, almost seven months ago - when
she refused to endorse Arizona's senior Senator for President:

An issue here is the news of her having nude pictures on the web of her.

To be clear here the act its self after having been passed these pictures to view is this.

If the pictures are on the up and up the fact that one does things when they are younger and regreats doing them come to mind.

Example tatoos body percings in places just about every where you could think of ,Hair cuts ect.

After seeing pictures in question they are not taken in context of porn being taken for fashion would be a bit much but more of art.

The act its self I don't deem as being related to her job performance. But where I do take a stand is that of he image she would produce in talks across a table where being female to 3rd world nations all ready view women in different light would put her behind the curb. I don't thank the image would help here.

This is no different than the issue I take on McCain suggesting his wife flash her wares at an biker convention the chances of someone getting picture with camera phone is just about a given and would have been on the net in less than an hour world wide.

McCain on the other hand known As Mc Nasty being known for temper and being abusiveand an unwillingness to come to the table and talk unless they agree to all our terms. One one hand putting forth he was an P.O.W and tortured on the other saying water boarding not an torture and disregurding the rights of those captured by doing it. Our brand of torture ok. The thought of McCain's well known temper comes to mind if someone at talks flashs a picture of his wife if it had happed.

On another note here he hates them Gooks always will. Which in my view says alot about one asking others to believe in really change but refuse's to understand things change and the need to change this path. not stay the course.

Some Alaska Republicans are conflicted over McCain, including Gov. Sarah Palin. They like his maverick reputation and military background but not his opposition to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
"She said she'd like to support McCain but felt she couldn't at this particular time because of his stand on ANWR," said the governor's spokeswoman, Sharon Leighow.

What is McCain's stand on ANWR? A very different sounding postion now dril at all cost no mater how long before it benifits or effects the current issue.
As recently as less than seven months ago, Sarah Palin refused to even endorse McCain because of a position of McCain's that, in a relatively rare occurrence, has not changed. That's how strongly principled she was (note the past tense) in support of drilling in ANWR.

Palin has signed on to the Bush administration's economic policies, opposes increasing the minimum wage, and opposes equal pay for equal work regardless of gender.
And this is McCain's way of reaching out to women and the working class?

McCain passed over many other better qualified prospects in his search for a vice presidential nominee, simply because in his insulting attempt to pander to the female vote

The fact that he picked the distinctly under-qualified -- but very photogenic -- Palin and passed over Kay Bailey Hutchison, the Texas senator who is very knowledgeable about the military, but is, unlike Palin, not a former beauty queen. (Palin was a runner-up in the 1984 Miss Alaska pageant.)

"Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience .

Both being labeled "maverick" one willing to buck the system to change it.
This begging the question as to if that image being thrown to the wind getting on board for the same good old boy system she use to fight.
Or unknowingly or willing being the pawn in whats now a game where only the ones not playing pay the fines .

The other willing to do any thing to maintain it and stay the course to lead us being the counrty who don,t work hard enough and nation of whinners .

It was not hard to follow the path of attack to try to create rif between Sen. Clinton And Sen.Obama At a time that we should be trying to unite this nation proclaiming we are not working hard enough being an nation of whinners is an insult.

The people of this nation are tired of being used and lied to in the name of protecting us.

In thinking of past events is not but one step short of us going to war to protect those in another nation to protect their rights even if we end up killing them to do it.

On this note something I've been fighting with to post or not is this question.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/30/121350/137/486/580223
http://thail.blogspot.com/2008/08/oh-crap-now-i-am-really-worried.html

I tossed back and forth in postings this .
But my view is this if true on several different levels effect an greater number of people in our nation.
The biggest point is being miss leading with information. I think this nation has been lead down the garden path enough. As to the current war we are in trying to promote it now with the flag and we are protecting peoples rights. And the loss of life of our vets as well as the great cost to our country.
This does not excuse the fact it was started based on lies. Nor the fact that the people that we are protecting their rights and saving them from abuse are being killed to do it.

She is going for a high office to represent the people she would take a pledge to up hold our laws of our nation. Correct me if wrong here but I believe faking or falsifying records is against the law.
This issue would also conflict with her stands on some other issues she is backing.

Sarah Palin belongs to a group called Feminists For Life.

August 29, 2008 - FFL Member Nominated for Vice President of the United States

Also the fact if this true she would have had to offer something for those to go along with this. That is I believe called Bribery .

The most hurtful issue if true would be to her family believe that is not my attempt here.
but if true the issue of her Daughter not being Legal age of constant if one or both parties under age thats viewed as rape. Which is another issue of her not up holding the laws.

In the interest of truth I think these records should be reviewed
To save the stess on the fingers of those who want to make comments such as moonbat or left winnger or tell me to go play in traffic save your time.
My purpuse here is to bring out the truth now instead of finding out later.

Wanting to protect her family shows she cares and strength of character but if running for office is bad judgment because of the needs of the many more than out way the needs of the few.

In Ohio Friday, McCain and Palin both noted that he was choosing her as his vice presidential running mate the week of the 88th anniversary of women's suffrage.

It's interesting the comments made by her in this same week the anniversary of women's suffrage.

Palin: Hillary Clinton is a whiner

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/29/144749/984/664/579036

Seems I remember another getting fired by McCain for a like comment but than again Hillary is only one vote not the public of our nation.

More information filtering in.

http://www.democraticdiva.com/

http://lippard.blogspot.com/2008/08/left-wing-conspiracy-theories.html

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/29/17933/7330/417/579267

UpDate:

Picture have surfaced .

Showing her with child but as with the nude pictures which I viewed as art not porn abut more of art does not effect her job ability except in image if true.

There are still questions here

First the other pictures removed from her site .
Location of where these picture found and timing.

http://www.flickr.com/...

This picture includes "Press Secretary McAllister," yet he was not appointed until last month; therefore the picture in the diary was taken in August, after she had given birth.

The picture taken during interview of local news team but Ive not found the clip of the interview as to what it was for.

She gets on two planes, flies over eight hours, after her water breaks, to have a down syndrome baby in a third-rate rural hospital with a doctor with whom she had a well-established history of mutual political back-scratching. Does nothing to help this issue.

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/08/things-that-mak.html

This time would like to see the truth confrimed before a war and 22 friends not coming home.

Have seen no up dates on other investigation to date if any please post.

Some photos to compare from another birth of hers at same time period.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/31/145838/319/386/581332

http://leftcoastlibrul.wordpress.com/2008/09/01/the-newest-palin-rumor/

News flash Here:

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/09/01/1318541.aspx

I kind of wish the truth to have come out another way.

But I believe it had to come out .

Being govener of the state and the laws covering under age Sex with child even if both agree is an issue that I think would have been better served with all the facts.

To her daughter I my self sorry if she became cannon fire I in now way wish il on your or yours .

But the fact that are nation has been lied to and no longer willing to take things at face value take an stand. The fact that your mom wanted to protect shows a lot of love and I would think that issue would be understood . The problem comes with being VP holds her to higher level of truth no mater what the reason. The stand that she has taken on other issues than to take another is question as to you can't ask the public to do some thing she would not do.

As harsh as this sounds the reality of being near when an mother of afriend has to tell them their dad is not coming home or will get to take them to the park . Theres just nothing to prepare you to see the pain and hurt that brings to a child of 5 who dosen't understand.

If reading this you are not the first one to have to go this path and not the last you will have chooices through out your life some you choose right some wrong . That's life and you will have to grow up faster but as one to bring in life to this world you will understand why there are those who don't mind to fight for freedom but not waste that life no matter what color age shape gender or beliefs that includes parties GOP or Dems

Nothing perfect mainly my typing and not always the best at putting feelings to paper.

But if we don't make the right decsion now your furtue and that of the generations behind us will be harder and after the last eight years things already hard enough.

Again I wish you and yours well and Ask please forgive any pain I cause you was not my intent

An old retired Gulf War vet

Deception & Fraud to the Gates of Hell

This just another example of McCains distorted view of truth and reality that he has aligned himself as to being so far out of touch on the economy of our nation.

McCain Aide’s Firm Was Paid by Freddie Mac

McCain's Lie gets worse

McCain No Friend to Florida or Senior CitizensSeptember 18, 2008 at 08:23:46 by E. NelsonBack in November of 2007 Republican John McCain said to the Wall Street Journal, "I'm going to be honest: I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues.I still need to be educated."

McCain went on to point out that he was accompanied by his close adviser and former Senate colleague Phil Gramm who was an expert in economic matters.

Phil Gramm would later become McCain's top economic advisor and only a few months ago said that Americans were suffering from a "mental recession" and that all the economic doom and gloom was really just in our heads and that we had become a nation of whiners.

My comment:
Now that McCain has defined just what aspects of our economy are strong being the people that where just suffering from a mental recession and whining about it.The Reality can no longer be covered or being promoted as just needing psychological fix.

McCain acknowledged as much in late June when, after saying that drilling would have a positive effect on prices in the short term, he backtracked and said he believed it would have a beneficial "psychological impact."

Despite this obvious gaffe, Phil Gramm has been instrumental in helping McCain craft his economic policy which most outside economists say is nothing more than a continuation of the current Bush policies.Unfortunately our senior citizens in Florida and throughout the country for that matter are dependent on a president who can change the current course that we are on before we plunge our economy off a cliff.Sadly many of these senior citizens lived through the "Great Depression" of the late 1920's as children and probably thought they would never have to live through something like that again.

By continuing the devastating economic policies of the Bush administration McCain's lack of understanding of the basic "fundamental" problems with the current economy will continue to strip seniors of their precious retirement savings.

Couple this with the continued deregulation and privatization of our healthcare system that is also in crisis and the growing population of senior citizens in Florida will be faced with the catastrophic combination of skyrocketing health care costs and an ever shrinking wallet and retirement account.In just the first three days of this week the Dow Jones component of the stock market has compiled a cumulative loss of 812 points and an evaporation of $1.12 trillion in shareholder wealth and retirement savings.

This month when the stock market plunged 504 points, the largest loss since the 9/11 attacks, McCain said in a stump speech in Jacksonville, Florida that the economy was "fundamentally strong".

Even Alan Greenspan, former head of the Federal Reserve, said this past weekend that the United States economy is in no condition to finance McCain's tax cut plan with borrowed money.Alan Greenspan went on to say that the current economic crisis is a "once in a century" event requiring the utmost care and attention to reverse the current course.

It's no secret that McCain's economic advisor Phil Gramm is a strong advocate for deregulation of the financial industry.As a senator Phil Gramm was the chief architect of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act which repealed much of the Glass - Steagall act of 1933.

The Glass - Steagall act was put into place after the "Great Depression" to establish the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and to provide regulations designed to control dangerous speculation within the banking industry.

Most everyone is familiar with the FDIC which is a federal guarantee program that insures deposits up to $100,000 per account if a bank fails.Thankfully the FDIC was not also repealed. However, with the current U.S. deficit now over $9.6 trillion, if a nationwide failure of banks occurred there is some doubt as to whether the federal government would have the collateral to uphold all the FDIC guarantees.

As Senator Harry Reid said yesterday no one really knows for sure what will happen and "we are in new territory, this is a different game".Sadly, McCain is no stranger to financial scandals.

Back in the late 1980's Senator McCain received 10's of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from a man named Charles Keating.McCain and his family vacationed in the Bahamas with Mr. Keating and his family throughout the mid 1980's.

In 1984 Mr. Keating's company American Continental Corporation purchased a bank called Lincoln Savings and Loan. Lincoln Savings and Loan was a type of financial company that had been deregulated in the early 1980s, allowing them to make highly risky investments with their depositors' money.Not so different from what has been happening recently.

When American Continental Corporation went bankrupt because some of the high-risk junk bonds that Lincoln had invested in became worthless, the U.S. government had to seize Lincoln and bail it out with taxpayer dollars totaling $2.8 billion.

This started a domino effect and many other thrifts collapsed, with taxpayers footing nearly $124 billion of the $152.9 billion bailout cost, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.Many of the 21,000 investors in Lincoln were elderly customers and lost their entire life savings because they did not realize their investments were not federally insured.

Many were left destitute while Keating was bailed out and maintained a lavish lifestyle. Mary MacElveen of OpEdNews just wrote an interesting piece on the McCain - Keating debacle and quipped, "I wonder what has happened to those elderly citizens that lost everything after the collapse of Mr. Keatings Lincoln Savings and Loan."

Republican John McCain along with five other U.S. senators were investigated for their involvment with Keating and the scandal became know as the Keating Five.All of these events call into serious question, McCain's judgement on economic matters.

The vast majority of Americans can convincingly say they are NOT better off now than they were 8 years ago. And to the 95% of Americans that did not reap the benefits from the Bush tax cuts and who have had to live through 300% increases in gas, 50% increases in milk, 42 - 70% increases in prescription drugs, and 74% increases in healthcare premiums [reference], allMcCain can say is stay the course. AARP recently stated that the two biggest concerns for its members and retirees in the coming years are "access to affordable quality health care and lifetime economic security".

By John Conyers
Note To McCain: You Don't Have To Own A House (or Eight) To Vote

Michigan Republicans have indicated that they plan to challenge Michigan voters at the polls using lists of homes that are in foreclosure. While we should not be surprised at any tactic after Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004, this is a singular example of how low they will go.It is done in the name of electing John McCain and John McCain should answer for it.

Today, I am calling on McCain to immediately denounce this...Governor Crist defends controversial "No Match, No Vote " law

By WMNF Governor Charlie Crist is defending Florida’s controversial “No Match, no vote” law. Speaking to reporters yesterday (Friday) in Orlando, Crist said “You have to be who you are, in order to vote. It makes sense to me. ...McCain enemy is Crist BFF

By Adam Smith ... supported Pat Buchanan, calling Buchanan a Nazi sympathizer. It was only the latest attack on Wexler by the McCain camp. So it was striking to see Gov. Charlie Crist on Today this morning, once again heaping praise on his buddy, Wexler.John McCain: Straight Talk on Taxes?John McCain: Liiiiiiiiiiaaaaaar (Again) McCain Aide’s Firm Was Paid by Freddie Mac

National Security Archive Stunner
Michael CollinsWashington, DC
The National Security Archive released a report Friday Aug. 22, 2008 that sheds even more light on the premeditated lying and deception that took the United States to war in Iraq.

The findings are based on new evidence compiled by Dr. John Prados and published by the National Security Archive. See "White Paper" Drafted before NIE even Requested , "Scoop" Independent News, Aug. 24, 2008.

Most notably, Prados shows the depth of the deception perpetrated against citizens and Congress regarding the alleged threat to U.S. security posed by Iraq. It had appeared that the White House rewrote the Oct. 1, 2002 National Intelligence Estimate and then issued that doctored report to Congress on Oct. 4, 2002.

Prados reveals convincing evidence that the Oct. 4 White Paper had already been written by July 2002. He shows that it was only slightly altered after the final NIE arrived. This White Paper served as the basis for the war.

The unavoidable conclusion is that the Bush-Cheney White paper "justifying" the invasion was developed a full three months in advance of the intelligence data and analysis that should have served as the basis for that justification.

The National Security Archive summed it up succinctly:
"The U.S. intelligence community buckled sooner in 2002 than previously reported to Bush administration pressure for data justifying an invasion of Iraq,
"The documents suggest that the public relations push for war came before the intelligence analysis, which then conformed to public positions taken by Pentagon and White House officials. For example, a July 2002 draft of the "White Paper" ultimately issued by the CIA in October 2002 actually pre-dated the National Intelligence Estimate that the paper purportedly summarized, but which Congress did not insist on until September 2002."

National Security Archive in "Scoop' Independent News, August 24, 2008.

The seemingly endless war in Iraq has become a total disaster on multiple levels for all involved. The awful toll in human deaths and casualties is largely ignored but real nevertheless. Over 4,000 U.S. soldiers have been lost in battle and tens of thousands injured. In excess of one million Iraqi civilians are dead due to civil strife unleashed by the invasion.

The U.S. Treasury is drained and the steep decline in respect for the United States around the world is just beginning to manifest.
The United States political establishment responds with collective denial on a scale that's incomprehensible.

In the presidential campaign, the only sustained public commentary on the war comes from the Republican presidential candidate John McCain who makes the bizarre claim that U.S. is "surrendering" with victory in clear sight.

McCain touts the surge without noting that 4.0 million Iraqis are "displaced from their homes." Nearly ten percent of Iraq's population is either dead or injured and there are 5.0 million Iraqi orphans.

This pathological view of victory claims the "surge' is a success in the context of a devastated population in an obliterated nation lacking in the most essential supplies and services; a nation where death continues on a shopping spree

My Comment here.
The force of evil in which they speak of was not defeated they just moved back to their base of operation which was and still is the problem.

The report by Dr. Prados makes it clear that the executive branch was responsible for creating whatever information they found necessary to justify war and they did it by posing security threats from Iraq and demanding that intelligence briefers fill in the details
Summary of Findings by Prados, National Security Archive
"A recently declassified draft of the CIA's October 2002 white paper on Iraqi WMD programs demonstrates that that (the White) paper long pre-dated the compilation of the National Intelligence Estimate on Iraqi capabilities.

"Bush administration and the Tony Blair government began acting in concert to build support for an invasion of Iraq two to three months earlier than previously understood.

A comparison of the CIA draft white paper with its publicly released edition shows that all the changes made were in the nature of strengthening its charges against Iraq by inserting additional alarming claims, in the manner of an advocacy, or public relations document.
"The draft and final papers show no evidence of intelligence analysis applied to the information contained." August 22, 2004

One Final Hope to Avoid a Tragic War
Ultimately, the White House had what it wanted by July 2002. When the National Intelligence Estimate arrived from an intimidated intelligence community, there was still one hope of a rational outcome on the rush to war.

The NIE delivered to the White House on Oct. 1, 2002 noted that the one scenario in which Iraq would attack the United States involved a U.S. attack on Iraq that threatened Saddam Hussein's survival.

The following is brutally simple. The one way to cause the hypothesized (and erroneous) claims of Hussein's intent to attack the United States is to go to war and threaten his regime.

Therefore, refraining from war was the best way to protect the United States.
"Baghdad for now appears to be drawing a line short of conducting terrorist attacks with conventional or CBW against the United States, fearing that exposure of Iraqi involvement would provide Washington a stronger cause for making war.

"Iraq probably would attempt clandestine attacks against the U.S. Homeland if Baghdad feared an attack that threatened the survival of the regime were imminent or unavoidable, or possibly for revenge." Key Judgments, National Intelligence Estimate, Oct. 2002

That was deleted entirely. The July White Paper was "complete" and sent to Congress as the evidence justifying the invasion of Iraq.
In the most supreme of ironies, many members of Congress failed to even review the distorted White Paper before voting overwhelmingly to approve the invasion.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/White-Paper-Justifying-Ira-by-Michael-Collins-080825-667.html

My comment here:

The very fact they he's claiming that we saved them from evil by defending their rights even if it kills them is beyond any understanding .

To go one step further is the comment by McCain knowing what he knows now he would have still gone to war. Than in thinking about it Bush did.

Only now calling out he if I’m President of the United States, my friends, if I have to follow him to the gates of Hell, I will get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice.

I wonder if this would apply to those who brought an nation into war if that seem sense of Justice McCain's putting out would carry as much force protecting us the nation of whiners toward convicting Bush on war crimes . Even after accepting donations raised by Bush.
And only giving plan to bring Bin Laden to justice only if elected.

Is what McCain promoting any less of a deception to the public this pathological view of victory claims the "surge' is a success .

The bizarre claim that U.S. is "surrendering" with victory in clear sight.
How can you win a war that was not declared? And sense undeclared the price of gas could not be controlled.

Nothing from the very start of this war has been in clear sight especially the truth.One thing that we Americans have to do is quit saying that we are in Iraq to defend America. It has nothing to do with patriotism, and it is not unpatriotic to state the obvious truth.










Some intersting links



Fake people for McCain

http://www.thepersonalispolitical.com/2008/09/fake-people-for-mccain.html



Thousands of nursing home residents rebel against perceived institutional bias
More than 8,000 nursing home residents have filed a federal, class-action lawsuit in Florida, claiming they are being forced to live in facilities against their wishes. Plaintiffs accuse the nursing-home lobby of pressuring state lawmakers to make it harder for individuals to receive Medicaid-covered home- and community-based care.

...........................................................................................................................................................

Colorado Water Rustlers

The Colorado-New Mexico water blunder. The formula for sharing water in seven western states (Arizona, Nevada, California, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico) was decided in 1922.

Now John McCain wants to throw out that agreement and renegotiate it.

McCain wants Arizona, Nevada, and California to get more water and Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico to get less.

This is going to cost McCain bigtime. Two of the states John McCain wants to steal water from are also key swing states: Colorado and New Mexico.

Coloradans in particular are reacting angrily to McCain's proposal to take their water. Here's the Denver Post:

Memo to: John McCain.From: Five million thirst-crazed Coloradans.Subject:

Forget about winning our nine electoral votes next November. We don't vote for water rustlers in this state; we tar and feather them! Yes, fellow citizens of the state whose official motto is "Whiskey is for drinking, water is for fighting,

" John McCain has thunk the unthinkable — and proposed renegotiating the 1922 Colorado River Compact.

[1]And then to drive the point home:

As a senator, McCain has long represented a state, Arizona, that would love to steal Colorado's water. But now, he wants our votes. Apparently, nobody bothered to brief the candidate who Paris Hilton called "that wrinkly, white-haired guy" that stealing Colorado's water to benefit Arizona, California and Nevada isn't as popular an idea in Colorado as it is in Arizona, California and Nevada.

[2]Oh, that's gonna leave a mark, especially the Paris Hilton bit.

Want to know who's really ticked off?

The Republican candidate for Colorado's U.S. Senate seat, Bob Schaffer:
"Over my cold, dead, political carcass,"

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer said."The compact is the only protection Colorado has from several more politically powerful downstream states,"

Schaffer added. "Opening it for renegotiation would be the equivalent of a lamb discussing with a pack of wolves what should be on the dinner menu."

[3]That's what the Republican said; you can imagine what the Democrats are saying. Before McCain opened his mouth, Colorado was looking like a swing state.

Now, after John McCain revealed his plan to steal Colorado's water a redistribute it, it's very doubtful he can carry the state. New Mexico previously had a Democratic tilt to it, and McCain's water grab plan will probably solidify Obama hold over this state.

McCain can't afford to give up swing states, but with his water grab plan he threw away two of them in one fell swoop.So to sum up, not only did John McCain not "win the week," as some paid pundits have said, this week actually saw McCain's campaign spring a number of leaks that will sink it by November.

Add this to lighting up NV. And keeping Ohio in the dark.

Up Date:

Romney: McCain Doesn’t Speak For McCain When He Suggests Renegotiating The Colorado River Compact

Last week, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) walked into a bipartisan wave of condemnation in Colorado when he told the Pueblo Chieftain that the 1922 Colorado River compact, which governs the allocation of the river’s water among seven states, “needs to be renegotiated over time”:

“I don’t think there’s any doubt the major, major issue is water and can be as important as oil. So the compact that is in effect, obviously, needs to be renegotiated over time amongst the interested parties,” McCain said while on his way to the Aspen Institute.

“I think that there’s a movement amongst the governors to try, if not, quote, renegotiate, certainly adjust to the new realities of high growth, of greater demands on a scarcer resource.”

Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO) called the compact “sacrosanct,” adding that opening it up “would only happen over my dead body.” Senate candidate and former U.S. Rep. Bob Schaffer (R-CO) agreed, telling the Grand Junction Sentinel, “Over my cold, dead, political carcass.”

The Denver Post editorialized that McCain “displayed a disturbing ignorance of the realities of the West’s scarce water resources.”

Now, one of McCain’s top surrogates, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney is claiming that McCain didn’t mean what he said.

Romney told 9News that McCain “has no interest in reopening the compact“:
“Senator McCain has no interest in reopening the compact,” Romney said. “Senator McCain believes as I do that a compact that’s been worked out between the governors and between the states is the right way to go.

States are the ones who build these kinds of understandings. The federal government shouldn’t meddle in that compact.

Salazar’s Press Secretary Matt Lee-Ashley responded to Romney’s comments: “Either Senator McCain is so out of touch with Western water issues that he needs the former Massachusetts governor to defend him, or he really has some interest in overhauling the law of the river that has been in place since 1922.

Both scenarios are troubling.”

Progress NowAction has a petition telling McCain to keep his hands off Colorado’s water.

History Repeats but some things don't change.

Florida's budget shortfall may hit $1.2B
With Florida's economy worsening, economists are likely Friday to forecast a $1.2 billion loss in projected tax revenues, which could lead Gov. Charlie Crist to dip into reserves or propose more budget cuts.

SHORTFALLS CITED
On his state Senate campaign website Wednesday, Gelber noted the monthly tax-collection shortfalls as well as the following statistics that indicate Florida is in for a tough ride:
• 78,000 people lost work from June 2007 to June 2008, making the state first in job loss.
• 40,000 Florida homes were foreclosed in June, the second-highest number in the nation.
• 300,000 homes are unsold, meaning there's a year's worth of inventory sitting empty.
• Existing state properties lost $153 billion in property values, thereby reducing the borrowing power that helped fuel Floridians' spending habits.
''Florida's troubled times aren't going to go away soon or without pain,'' Gelber said. ``And the pain is in the housing market and gas pumps.''

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080814/BLOG01/807073166/-1/newssitemap


Sounds like Crist and McCain are a lot alike.

Small crowds.

Same donation bundler .

Both against off shore drilling before they where for it.

Both do not see a problem.
Crist Fl. has always had an flooding problem.
I was raised here feel free to research flooding in Fl. I admit never on this scale being all at once. But the point being he's never tried to fix it. Come to think of it neither did Jeb Bush.
Crist repeatedly urged Floridians not to take Fay lightly he took Fl's flooding problem lightly.

McCain does not see a problem with the economy and doesn't see a need to fix it.
McCain's taking Our Nation's economy problems lightly.

The marked differences.
Gov. Charlie Crist wants to dip into reserves or propose more budget cuts.

McCain don,t want to dip into our oil reserves in case of the next war, I mean Emergency .

McCain can't seem to hear or understand the questions from the crowd. With Crist they can't hear him.

Out come nothing will change.

.Crist a no show for Buchanan rally

For most of the about 300-person crowd, whatever the governor said was inaudible as Robinson struggled to position the phone at the microphone so everyone could hear the governor.

I tried to get as close as I could to the stage where the raised cell phone became the focus of the crowd, but I only made out something about supporting presidential hopeful John McCain.
After about 2 minutes of the cell phone being held to the microphone, Buchanan realized most of the crowd still wasn’t hearing the speech.

With people heading of the exits, Buchanan stepped in and pushed the phone aside while it sounded like Crist was still trying to say something.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/story/641294.html

Fla. GOP, Gov. Crist to back Rooney for Congress

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The state GOP chairman and Gov. Charlie Crist plan to endorse Tom Rooney in the primary that will decide who faces U.S. Rep. Tim Mahoney in November.

Rooney, a former Army officer, is in a three-way race with state Rep. Gayle Harrell and wealthy investor Hal Valeche.

Mahoney's seat is the GOP's top Florida target this year. The Democrat won office after Republican congressman Mark Foley resigned in disgrace over improper electronic messages he sent to pages.

While party Chairman Jim Greer wouldn't discuss specifics about Friday's event, he said in select cases he will inject himself into a primary to avoid a bloodbath that will hurt the Republican nominee's chances in a general election.
The primary will be held Aug. 26

http://www.jacksonville.com/apnews/stories/081408/D92ICJF85.shtml

Tom Rooney recently received the endorsement of Florida Governor Charlie Crist in the hotly contested Republican Primary in Florida’s 16th Congressional District, despite the fact that Harrell has been leading in the polls, has the longest and most conservative record, and is most likely to win in November.

So why did Crist suddenly back Rooney? Well, Crist and Huckabee aren’t exactly the best of friends and to have the former Arkansas Governor stomping in his backyard probably irked Crist a bit and this may be his attempt at intimidating Mike Huckabee.

More likely, however, it has something to do with dead presidents, or at least the currency they are printed on.
Take a look at the money triangle for yourself.

http://ktracy.com/?p=1850

You shouldn’t be surprised, this is how Rooney and his liberal family operate. They figure that men in politics can be bought off for a price, and sadly, in the case of Florida’s Governor, Rooney is exactly right: "You CAN buy Republican support".

Many of you have fought with me to support Governor Huckabee in the face of a corrupt party establishment that operates exactly like this. As a result, we have Republicans occupying all levels of government because they are wealthy and not because of their commitment to conservative values and the issues we on the grassroots level fight tooth and nail for every day.

Tom Rooney is the kind of Republican we need to kick OUT of Washington, not send there!
That’s why the Republican Party, or at least those truly representing the grassroots of the Republican Party need to come out and support Gayle Harrell.

That means, we need to get HuckPAC to endorse Gayle Harrell! But just as important as Governor Huckabee are we, the grassroots bloggers. No individual among us represents the entire conservative movement, but there’s absolutely no doubt that, together, we sum up the voice of the conservative movement really darn well.

Crist appoints a McCain supporter and a South Floridian

Gov. Charlie Crist announced today that he appointed one of John McCain's top Florida donors to the board of Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state's largest property insurer.
McCain is expected to make a choice of his own in the next few weeks: picking his vice-president -- and Crist is still a contender.

-Corry Capital Advisors partner and Vero Beach-resident William P. Corry, 45, will replace Richard DeChene on the board. Corry gave Crist $1,000 for his 2006 gubernatorial campaign and is among the top 20 donors to committees that have supported McCain's presidential campaign, according to Public Citizen, a non-profit consumer advocacy group.

My Comment Here:

"CAN buy Republican support" keeps ringing in my ears

-Crist also picked TECO Energy CEO and Coral Gables resident Sherill W. Hudson, 65, to replace Bruce Douglas, who stepped down last month as board chairman. More than half of Citizens' 1.2 million policyholders live in South Florida and Hudson will be the only South Floridian on the board.
Citizens board members are not paid, except for travel expenses and other costs associated with their duties on the board.

http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/business/realestate/housekeys/blog/2008/08/crist_appoints_a_mccain_suppor.html
Public Service Commission's targets for renewable energy far below Crist's
A year ago, Gov. Charlie Crist made headlines by announcing ambitious goals to move Florida toward greater use of renewable energy, such as wind and solar power. But the state's Public Service Commission, which regulates power companies, appears to have other plans.

A draft proposal unveiled this week is so timid, critics say, that it would do little to nothing to stimulate the development of alternative energy.

Under the PSC's plan, the state's investor-owned utilities would be required to produce 2 percent of power from renewable energy sources by 2010, increasing to 3.75 percent by 2017, 6 percent by 2025 and 20 percent by 2050.

Compare that to Crist's goal of 20 percent by 2020.
"The (PSC) targets aren't ambitious enough to drive any kind of investment in renewable energy technology in Florida," said George Cavros with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.

The targets were "the weakest in the nation. Dead last," he added. "Gov. Crist would be 94 before his proposed 20 percent target is realized."

Among the new draft provisions: Any new renewable energy projects must not exceed a 1 percent increase in cost to consumers. Renewable energy advocates accused the PSC staff of adopting a double standard, pointing out recent requests by utilities to increase consumer charges by more than 20 percent for construction of new nuclear plants.

My comment here.
It's strange McCain's for more nuclear plants based on his extensive knowlege as a pilot whoe served on board a nuclear carrier.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/energy/article781623.ece

You, too, can join 'The One's' fan club in America."

Will you stop complaining it's only an ace bandage and

now you don,t have to shake hands with them.

It was the only thing I could think of to keep us in the spot light.

In case you have not noticed we don't have a fan club.

Yet another ad to come out of the McCain campaign if you could call it that is called the one.

The ad begins with an excited narrator saying: "You've seen him in London, Paris and Berlin. Now you, too, can join 'The One's' fan club in America."

Apparently its having an effect and more are joining. He indeed is the one people will vote for.
Former Republican congressman endorses Obama's bidThe Associated Press - DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A leading Republican moderate with a foreign policy background endorsed presidential candidate Barack Obama on Tuesday as the ...

Republicans endorse ObamaBy vbdietz Fairbanks Alaska Republican Mayor Jim Whitaker endorses Obama as does former Republican Sen. Jim Leach of Iowa who is heading up Republicans for Obama. "My goal is to let Republicans have a clear understanding that their right to vote

This poll should have Obama booking a flight to Alaska as soon as is practical:
Obama 45McCain 40
This survey was fielded August 6th-7th, 2008 by Hays Research Group. 400 completed respondents were interviewed The margin of error for the data collected is +/- 4.9 % for a 400 response survey for the data analyzed in its entirety with a 95% confidence level; meaning that we can be 95% sure that if every resident of the State (pop. 670,000) with working telephone numbers who have at least one member who has voted in at least two of the last four local or state elections was actually surveyed, the results would vary by no more than 4.9% in either direction.

Former GOP Rep. Leach of Iowa endorses ObamaThe Associated Press - Jim Leach, a leading Republican moderate with a foreign policy background, is endorsing Democrat Barack Obama for president. The former Iowa congressman's ...

Top GOP moderate endorses ObamaBoston Globe - United StatesBarack Obama walked down Kailua Beach in Hawaii yesterday with daughters Sasha (left) and Malia during their vacation. (Marco Garcia/associated press) ...See all stories on this topic

Republican Forms Obama Support GroupFOXNews - USAHEATHER NAUERT, HOST: Fresh from formally endorsing Barack Obama, we are going to talk to one of those Obama-cans. With me now, a former Republican ...

A first for McCain campaign?Seattle Times - United StatesDES MOINES, Iowa — A leading Republican moderate with a foreign-policy background endorsed presidential candidate Barack Obama on Tuesday as the Democrat ...

Republicans For ObamaCBS News - New York,NY,USAThe Republican Mayor of Fairbanks, Alaska also endorsed Barack Obama today. (There's an already existing Republicans for Obama website founded by John ...

McCain surrogates will light-heartedly defend the ad as simply another effort to inject humor into the serious business of running for the White House..

Others will wonder how much more demeaning the McCain camp can get .

I think McCain's just mad because they took away his cell phone.

John McCain's Cell Phone Privileges Have Been CurtailedBy John(John) He wants to be leader of the Free World. But he is not even allowed to use his own cell-phone whenever he wants to. Which BTW is Gold Colored. We are not talking about some delusional teenager, living in his mom's basement. ...Political News - http://finepolitics.blogspot.com/
Or maybe just not getting enough sleep.

John McCain Says He Needs More SleepBy John(John) I almost (but not quite) feel sorry for McCain's campaign staff. How can they possibly spin this as a positive? (Emphasis added.) McCain said he would concentrate on getting more sleep when he can. "If I put in three or four 18-hour, ...Political News - http://finepolitics.blogspot.com/

Or even he could not find his reading Glass’s to read his foreign policies that are based on Wikipedia!!

It is becoming obvious that McCain is so weak that he cannot run on the issues and is left with trying to engage in Psychobabble manipulation of the American People.

What's next, Viagra commericals? Ops forgot can't talk about that issue.

Up Date : This just in .

ATTN: Keith Olbermann! Just this past March, Jerome Corsi linked McCain to Al Qaeda!!

http://wnd.com/index.php?pageId=57678

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/16/18750/5187/543/568995

Lighting Up Nevada & keeping Ohio in the Dark

LOOK ALL I KNOW IS THAT COP SAID WE HAD TO TAKE THE BYPASS




McCain said the country should use its expertise to develop and improve alternative energy technologies, from hydrogen-powered vehicles to solar-powered electric plants. But in the short term, the country needs to use all of its energy resources, from coal and offshore oil, to move toward energy independence as quickly as possible, he said.

You notice nothing was said about using our oil reserves If he believes off shore drilling will impact gas prices now which he stated before it would not because it would take 5 to 7 years to get a producing well.

But for the point of this question it. Why not tap our oil reserves? Would that not have a faster impact?

Still another question if the price of gas hangs in the balance of drilling new wells off shore than why is gas going down in price with not a signal new well drilled off shore?
Are not our oil reserves not a resource?

But because of global warming concerns, the country should invest $2 billion a year in research and development in clean coal technology.

"We are sending $700 million dollars a year to countries that don't like us very much," McCain said of the nation's oil purchases. "Some of that money ends up in the hands of terrorist organizations. America cannot do this."

I wonder if this is the money McCain’s referring to?
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/7/14/203232/585/547/551678

The Democratic National Committee criticized McCain's comments on alternative energy, saying he has "consistently voted with (President) Bush and Big Oil and against renewable energy and new energy jobs." McCain has voted against the kind of tax incentives that would promote investments in renewable energy and create new energy jobs consistently, the committee said in a release.

The party also criticized McCain's support of Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste repository. McCain’s about-face on Yucca “I would seek to establish an international repository for spent nuclear fuel that could collect and safely store materials overseas that might otherwise be reprocessed to acquire bomb-grade materials.

It is even possible that such an international center could make it unnecessary to open the proposed spent nuclear fuel storage facility at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.” John McCain, 5/27/08 McCain made his comments in Denver as part of a larger speech on nuclear power the day before he is scheduled to be in Northern Nevada, which is either one of the largest coincidences in the history of politics or a calculated strategy to help him win a pivotal swing state. (Not that he needs to be right on Yucca Mountain, which will probably factor into few Nevadans’ decisions in November, if history is any guide. Just ask the president.)

McCain’s proposal would seem more sincere if only he hadn’t been so sincerely committed to the dump — and been so unabashed and frank about his support.

But on the eve of his trip to Reno and on the eve of a general election in which Nevada could well be critical, the Straight Talk Express took a detour from its planned stop at Yucca Mountain.

McCain is an enthusiastic supporter of nuclear power and a fervent backer of Yucca Mountain as a suitable storage site. The evidence is plentiful: • In 2002, when final approval was assured after 20 years of debate, McCain told his home-state newspaper, The Arizona Republic, that the Nevada dump site would help the federal government resolve “one of the most important environmental, health and public safety issues for the American people.”And creating another:

• Just over a year ago, he was described as adopting a mocking tone when he told the Deseret News in Utah: “Oh, you have to travel through states ... I am for Yucca Mountain. I’m for storage facilities.

“It’s a lot better than sitting outside power plants all over America.”

• Less than three weeks ago, Reuters ran a piece that said McCain “supports the Yucca Mountain storage facility and believes opposition to it is harmful to U.S. interests.” And the piece quoted one of his advisers as saying,
“The political opposition to the Yucca Mountain storage facility is harmful to the U.S. interest and the facility should be completed, opened and utilized.”

So in the past few weeks, McCain has experienced an epiphany and decided there should be some sort of international repository for the fuel that he had so long wanted to come here? This is believable?

http://storybones.blogspot.com/2008/08/mccain-to-nevada-yeah-i-lied.html

Again not all the facts put out to the public.

The ad cites Senator John McCain’s support for storing nuclear waste in Nevada’s Yucca Mountain, then shows an interview clip of Mr. McCain saying he would not be comfortable with nuclear waste traveling through Arizona, and specifically Phoenix, on the way to the storage site.

McCain proposes a plan to build 45 new nuclear plants before the year 2030.

"My experience with nuclear power goes back many years to being stationed on the first nuclear powered aircraft carrier
[the USS Enterprise],"

McCain said. "I knew it was safe then and I know it's safe now."

The accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in 1979, the last serious accident at a U.S. facility, occurred after McCain was no longer stationed on the Enterprise. . "I knew it was safe then and I know it's safe now."

Far be it from me to question his vast experience that only comes with age.

But a few points here.

1.He was a pilot not a maintainer . I retired 20 years in the A.F as aircraft Crew chief and never heard of a nuclear powered aircraft.

2. Nor was he the captain of the nuclear powered aircraft carrier
[the USS Enterprise] but with his ads he might fit into the TV. version


http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CEED6143FF937A15751C1A964958260

McCain Wants To Send Nuclear Waste through Ohio, But Not AZ

John McCain wants to nearly double the number of nuclear power plans in the nation
They estimate that McCain's plan would require about 6,612 casks, each carrying anywhere from 2-15 tons of high-level radioactive waste, being transported through Ohio.
But they point out that McCain opposes the idea of transporting waste through his home state of Arizona.

Why does John McCain think its ok for hundreds of tons of dangerous nuclear waste to go through Ohio but yet too dangerous to go through his own state?


John McCain simply can’t have it both ways when it comes to the nuclear waste issue.
Right now he supports running hundreds of shipments of dangerous nuclear waste through Ohio and sticking Nevadans with 77,000 tons of it forever, while at the same time saying he’s uncomfortable with it going through his own backyard for even a day.”






McCain"s stand on this issue much like helping an elderly person across the street to mug and steal their money out of site of the public.



Did McCain say Waste Repository or suppository for Nevadans ?

Other events of interest which seem to relate to current events.

Does McCain have anyone that isn't involved in world catastrophes?

McCain's top foreign policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann, was until March a registered lobbyist for the Republic of Georgia.

His firm continues to work on behalf of Georgia and other countries in the region.

In 2006, lobbyist Scheunemann accompanied McCain on a trip to Georgia. And since Friday, McCain and Scheunemann have been issuing bellicose pronouncements on behalf of Georgia in its conflict with Russia over the breakaway enclave of South Ossetia.

However neither of them mentioned that Scheunemann was a Georgian lobbyist.

The conflict in Georgia also brought attention to another complicating feature of McCain’s campaign: His ties to Republican operatives with extensive lobbying practices. Scheunemann was, until earlier this year, registered to lobby for the government of Georgia.

A public relations firm working for the Russian Federation pointed out Scheunemann’s lobbying past to reporters — a sign that McCain’s stance is not, for better or worse, being welcomed in Moscow — as did Obama’s campaign.

“John McCain’s top foreign policy adviser lobbied for, and has a vested interest in, the Republic of Georgia and McCain has mirrored the position advocated by the government,” said Obama spokesman Hari Sevugan, noting that the “appearance of a conflict of interest” was a consequence of McCain’s too-close ties to lobbyists.

The conflict in South Ossetia is complex and nearly every observer of the situation blames both Georgia and Russia for escalating the long-simmering tensions there.

As Ben Smith notes, Barack Obama issued a statement condeming the violence and urging both Georgia and Russia to end the conflict and avoid further escalation.

It was similar to the line taken by the Bush administration and virtually all other western nations, all of whom recognize that there's plenty of blame to spread around and little advantage to wade in immediately scoring points against one of the parties to the war.

Not John McCain, however. His statement was frankly confrontational toward Russia, which he blames exclusively for the fighting. McCain also calls for NATO to be inserted into the conflict, though Georgia is not a NATO member.

McCain also dusted off his bizarre call for Russia to be kicked out of The G-8. And Randy Scheunemann immediately tried to politicize the conflict - without however mentioning that he was a lobbyist for Georgia.

"Sen. McCain is clearly willing to note who he thinks is the aggressor here,” he said, dismissing the notion that Georgia’s move into its renegade province had precipitated the crisis.

"I don't think you can excuse, defend, explain or make allowance for Russian behavior because of what is going on in Georgia.”

He also criticized Obama for calling on both sides to show “restraint,” and suggested the Democrat was putting too much blame on the conflict’s clear victim.
“That's kind of like saying after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, that Kuwait and Iraq need to show restraint, or like saying in 1968 [when the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia] ... that the Czechoslovaks should show restraint,” he said.

As shown by the contrast between the reactions to the fighting in Georgia from Obama and McCain, the US cannot afford a president who is instinctively and immediately belligerent in every international crisis. Further, McCain is ensnared irretrievably by the lobbyists he's surrounded himself with. Americans can't be sure of knowing what kinds of conflicts of interest lie behind John McCain's pronouncements on both foreign and domestic issues.

The parallel to McCain's problems this week with voters in Wilmington, OH is striking. In his latest visit there, McCain tried to downplay the role that his campaign manager, Rick Davis, had in lobbying for the DHL deal that now threatens to leave tens of thousands unemployed in southern Ohio. Indeed, McCain personally had intervened in the Senate to push the DHL deal through.

Yet as Obama manager David Plouffe pointed out, until the Cleveland Plain Dealer this week uncovered Davis' role as a lobbyist for DHL, McCain had tried to keep concerned Ohio voters in the dark about that most basic of facts:

Thourgh a strange twist in current events McCain Wants To Send Nuclear Waste through Ohio, But Not AZ .

Hummm I guess this McCain's way of bringing them out of the dark.

"[John McCain] was there a month ago in this community and was asked a question about this DHL issue and did not say one word about his role in this or the role of his campaign manager.

That is the furthest thing from straight talk that I can imagine."
McCain's lobbyist entanglements will keep getting worse as this campaign progresses. I hope this will to keep him out of the White House, where his lobbyist buddies don't belong.

http://freedemocracy.blogspot.com/2008/08/does-mccain-have-anyone-that-isnt.html

The Cookie Jar Donation

Ah was not really going to take. Just wanted to see who's picture was on it

Still wondering when McCain going to talk about the issues instead of relating to Sen.Obama as the Moses or the chosen one. If he can't speak on the issues than I think he will have lots of time to discuss who the chosen one was after the election and it will not be him.

Right on the heels of Monday's revelations from TPM about maxed-out, five-digit donations to John McCain from low-level energy company employees, comes news this morning of another nest of suspiciously generous working class donors, this one in Southern California, according to the Washington Post:

The bundle of $2,300 and $4,600 checks that poured into Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign on March 12 came from an unlikely group of California donors: a mechanic from D&D Auto Repair in Whittier, the manager of Rite Aid Pharmacy No. 5727, the 30-something owners of the Twilight Hookah Lounge in Fullerton....

Some of the most prolific givers in Sargeant's network live in modest homes in Southern California's Inland Empire. Most had never given a political contribution before being contacted by Sargeant or his associates. Most said they have never voiced much interest in politics. And in several instances, they had never registered to vote. And yet, records show, some families have ponied up as much as $18,400 for various candidates between December and March.....

Donors reached by phone or interviewed in person declined to explain who asked them to make the contributions.

Ibrahim Marabeh, who is listed in public records as a Rite Aid manager, at first denied that he wrote any political checks. He then said he was asked by "a local person. But I would like not to talk about it anymore." Neither he nor his wife is registered to vote, but the two donated $4,600 to Clinton and $4,600 to Giuliani in December.

Funny how McCain's donors seem as confused about their campaign contributions as their candidate is on ... well, just about everything else. This is going to be fun to watch unfold

**********************************************************************************
Who Are These Maxed-Out McCain Donors, Exactly?

Matthew Mosk has a real eyebrow-raising article in the Washington Post today, looking into the activities of Harry Sargeant III, a Florida businessman whose oil-trading firm is being investigated for allegedly overcharging the U.S. military for fuel deliveries to Iraq--a contract that it somehow managed to obtain despite not having submitted the lowest bid for it. Sargeant also happens to be a McCain bundler who seems to have a knack for soliciting a whole bunch of $2,300 campaign contributions from random people who apparently have no knowledge of, or interest in, politics. The article makes no mention of any evidence of actual wrongdoing on the campaign-finance front--it would be illegal if the donors were reimbursed or compensated for their contributions--but there are some really strange and implausible-sounding explanations for how the money was raised:

Some of the most prolific givers in Sargeant's network live in modest homes in Southern California's Inland Empire. Most had never given a political contribution before being contacted by Sargeant or his associates. Most said they have never voiced much interest in politics. And in several instances, they had never registered to vote. And yet, records show, some families have ponied up as much as $18,400 for various candidates between December and March.

Both Sargeant and the donors were vague when asked to explain how Sargeant persuaded them to give away so much money.

"I have a lot of Arab business partners. I do a lot of business in the Middle East. I've got a lot of friends," Sargeant said in a telephone interview yesterday. "I ask my friends to support candidates that I think are worthy of supporting. They usually come through for me." ...

Ibrahim Marabeh, who is listed in public records as a Rite Aid manager, at first denied that he wrote any political checks. He then said he was asked by "a local person. But I would like not to talk about it anymore." Neither he nor his wife is registered to vote, but the two donated $4,600 to Clinton and $4,600 to Giuliani in December.

At the Twilight Hookah Lounge, owned by Nadia and Shawn Abdalla, patrons smoke tobacco flavored with honey and fruit from a menu that includes the strawberry-flavored Sex on the Beach and the strong, orange-flavored Fuzzy Navel.

The Abdallas, who are not registered to vote, said in an interview that they recalled writing a check to an organization in Miami, because a person with that organization was a friend of their mother's. They said they could not remember his name. ...

Abdullah Abdullah, a supervisor at several Taco Bell restaurants in the Riverside area, and his wife have donated $9,200 to McCain.

Reached at work, Abdullah said he knows little about the campaign. "I have no idea. I'll be honest with you," he said. "I'm involved in the restaurant business. My brother Faisal recommended John McCain. Whenever he makes a recommendation, we do it."

Faisal Abdullah, 49, said he helped organize all of the contributions from members of his family. When he was asked who solicited the contributions from him, he said: "Why does it matter who? I'm telling you we made the contribution. We funneled it through the channel in Florida because that's the contact we had. I was responsible for collecting it."

For all I know this sort of thing is relatively common in the world of bundling, but it sure sounds weird to me. These people all happened to have several thousand dollars of disposable income lying around to give to candidates they could care less about, because a friend asked them to as a favor?

************************************************************************************* Correction to This Article
The first name of McCain donor Faisal Abdullah was misspelled in some versions of this story, including in the print edition of The Washington Post. Also, the article incorrectly identified a Rite Aide manager and two Twilight Hookah Lounge owners as being among the donors Sargeant solicited on behalf of McCain. Those donors - Rite Aid manager Ibrahim Marabeh, and the lounge owners, Nadia and Shawn Abdalla - wrote checks to Giuliani and Clinton, not McCain.
Bundler Collects From Unlikely Donors

By Matthew Mosk
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, August 6, 2008; A01

The bundle of $2,300 and $4,600 checks that poured into Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign on March 12 came from an unlikely group of California donors: a mechanic from D&D Auto Repair in Whittier, the manager of Rite Aid Pharmacy No. 5727, the 30-something owners of the Twilight Hookah Lounge in Fullerton.

But the man who gathered checks from them is no stranger to McCain -- he shuttled the Republican on his private plane and held a fundraising event for the candidate at his house in Delray Beach, Fla.

Harry Sargeant III, a former naval officer and the owner of an oil-trading company that recently inked defense contracts potentially worth more than $1 billion, is the archetype of a modern presidential money man.

The law forbids high-level supporters from writing huge checks, but with help from friends in the Middle East and the former chief of the CIA's bin Laden unit -- who now serves as a consultant to his company -

- Sargeant has raised more than $100,000 for three presidential candidates from a collection of ordinary people, several of whom professed little interest in the outcome of the election.

After initially helping to raise money for former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, a Republican, and Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton,

Sargeant, 50, has emerged as a major player in Florida fundraising for McCain.

He has also become a conduit between McCain and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R), who was Sargeant's college fraternity brother and remains a close friend.

Crist, a beneficiary of Sargeant's fundraising network, said he saw nothing unusual in its breadth. "I was not surprised, but I certainly was grateful for his and his family's efforts," he said, adding that he anticipates Sargeant assisting McCain not only with fundraising but also with advice on military affairs and the economy. "He's been enormously helpful . . . already," Crist said.

The 2008 presidential campaign, which could see each side spend close to $500 million, has heightened the importance of "bundlers" such as Sargeant, who not only write checks themselves but also recruit scores of other donors to give the legal limit of $2,300. Questions about such donor networks have repeatedly emerged as points of stress for the campaigns.

In January, Norman Hsu, a top Clinton bundler, was indicted in part on charges of circumventing legal giving limits by routing contributions though "straw donors."

Earlier this week, McCain drew questions about more than $60,000 in donations that were made this year to the Republican National Committee and his campaign by an office manager with the Hess oil company and her husband, an Amtrak track foreman. In that case, the couple said they used their own money.

Some of the most prolific givers in Sargeant's network live in modest homes in Southern California's Inland Empire. Most had never given a political contribution before being contacted by Sargeant or his associates.

Most said they have never voiced much interest in politics. And in several instances, they had never registered to vote. And yet, records show, some families have ponied up as much as $18,400 for various candidates between December and March.

Both Sargeant and the donors were vague when asked to explain how Sargeant persuaded them to give away so much money.

"I have a lot of Arab business partners. I do a lot of business in the Middle East. I've got a lot of friends," Sargeant said in a telephone interview yesterday. "I ask my friends to support candidates that I think are worthy of supporting. They usually come through for me."

My comment Here:

Now one would have to ask yourself why Arab business partners would care in the first place or why worthy of supporting unless there was something to be gained

Maybe this might explain.

Sargeant's business relationships, and the work they perform together, occur away from the public eye. His firm, International Oil Trading Co. (IOTC), holds several lucrative contracts with the Defense Department to carry fuel to the U.S. military in Iraq.

You might remember this issue was in question in the news of late as to why they recieved the contract with the defense department to carry fuel to the U.S military in Iraq.

"It is very difficult and is a very logistically intensive business that we have been able to specialize in," Sargeant said. "We do difficult logistical things that don't necessarily suit a major oil company. It's a niche we've been able to occupy."

The work has not been without controversy. Last month, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) initiated a review of IOTC's contract to determine whether it was overcharging the military for jet fuel, and to learn how the company, which did not submit the lowest bid, landed the contract to supply the fuel. The Pentagon has said that IOTC won the contract because it was the only company with a "letter of authorization" from the Jordanian government to move the fuel across its territory to Iraq.

Sargeant said he has met with Waxman. "We plan to cooperate fully," he said. "Everything we have done on this contract has been in the best interest of the military and the U.S. taxpayers."

Sargeant said the same people who have helped him build relationships around the world also helped him create a vast network. In recruiting some donors, he confirmed he had help from a business associate who formerly was a top counterterrorism official in the CIA.

A review of state and federal campaign finance records found that this collection of donors has been activated four times. Their names -- confirmed by Sargeant -- first appeared in finance records on June 19, 2006, when about 50 of them each donated $500 to Crist's gubernatorial campaign. Sargeant helped lead fundraising for Crist that year.

Thirteen of the donors resurfaced on Dec. 13, 2007, sending a combined $29,200 to Giuliani's campaign at a time when Sargeant was heading up fundraising efforts in Florida for the former mayor. Seventeen of them sent the maximum allowed, $2,300, to Clinton's presidential campaign on Dec. 24. And a dozen of them returned in March to write checks to McCain totaling $50,600.

Brian Rogers, a McCain campaign spokesman, said: "We strictly follow campaign finance law, and where flags are raised, we'll certainly look into it."

Donors reached by phone or interviewed in person declined to explain who asked them to make the contributions.

Ibrahim Marabeh, who is listed in public records as a Rite Aid manager, at first denied that he wrote any political checks. He then said he was asked by "a local person. But I would like not to talk about it anymore." Neither he nor his wife is registered to vote, but the two donated $4,600 to Clinton and $4,600 to Giuliani in December.

At the Twilight Hookah Lounge, owned by Nadia and Shawn Abdalla, patrons smoke tobacco flavored with honey and fruit from a menu that includes the strawberry-flavored Sex on the Beach and the strong, orange-flavored Fuzzy Navel.

The Abdallas, who are not registered to vote, said in an interview that they recalled writing a check to an organization in Miami, because a person with that organization was a friend of their mother's. They said they could not remember his name.

Nader, 39, and Sahar Alhawash, 28, of Colton, Calif, who at one point ran the Avon Village Liquor store, donated a total of $18,400 to Giuliani, Clinton and McCain between December and March. About 80 people in the country made such large contributions to all three, and most were wealthy business executives, such as Donald Trump. The Alhawashes declined to comment about the donations. Abdullah Abdullah, a supervisor at several Taco Bell restaurants in the Riverside area, and his wife have donated $9,200 to McCain.

Reached at work, Abdullah said he knows little about the campaign. "I have no idea. I'll be honest with you," he said. "I'm involved in the restaurant business. My brother Faisal recommended John McCain. Whenever he makes a recommendation, we do it."

Faisal Abdullah, 49, said he helped organize all of the contributions from members of his family. When he was asked who solicited the contributions from him, he said: "Why does it matter who? I'm telling you we made the contribution. We funneled it through the channel in Florida because that's the contact we had. I was responsible for collecting it."

McCain to return (some) donations

WASHINGTON — John McCain's campaign said Thursday it is returning $50,000 in contributions solicited by a foreign citizen. The move follows the disclosure that the money was being raised by a Jordanian man who is a business partner of prominent Florida Republican Harry Sargeant III, who has collected hundreds of thousands of dollars for McCain.

The New York Times reported Thursday that Sargeant allowed a longtime business partner, Mustafa Abu Naba'a, to bring in some $50,000 in donations in March from members of a single extended family in California, the Abdullahs, along with several of their friends.

The Abdullahs and other Arab-Americans in California also contributed tens of thousands of dollars to Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republicans Rudolph Giuliani and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, a longtime friend of Sargeant.

According to the Times, Abu Naba'a is a dual citizen of Jordan and the Dominican Republic.
It is illegal for foreigners to contribute their own money to U.S. political campaigns, and McCain's campaign said Abu Naba'a did not do so.

But McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said some of the people solicited by Abu Naba'a had no intention of supporting McCain for president.

Rogers said "that just didn't sound right to us" so the money is being returned. He estimated the total at less than $50,000, saying "we think we have a pretty good estimate of how much Abu Naba'a solicited."

At the same time, the campaign sent a letter to everyone whose donations went through Sargeant, reminding them that federal law bars campaigns from accepting contributions from foreign nationals and that all donations must come from their own funds, without reimbursement.

Eight months ago, a top fundraiser for Clinton, Norman Hsu, was indicted for making contributions to various political candidates in the names of others.

Arizona Sen. McCain is co-sponsor of the campaign finance reform law that bears his name and the move is an effort to resolve any questions involving Sargeant before it turns into a major political problem for the candidate.

Sargeant, who does extensive business with the federal government, is facing problems on Capitol Hill.

A House committee chairman, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., is looking into Sargeant's defense work shipping fuel to U.S. bases in Iraq as part of a probe into whether contractors are overcharging the Pentagon.

Sargeant and Abu Naba'a are being sued in Florida by a former partner, the husband of a half-sister of the King of Jordan. The lawsuit alleges that Sargeant and Abu Naba'a swindled the business partner out of his share of the profits from valuable contracts with the U.S. government.

The plaintiff, Mohammad Anwar Farid Al-Saleh, says he obtained authorization from Jordan to permit Sargeant's company to ship oil across Jordanian territory to U.S. bases in Iraq.

A 2004 advisory opinion by the Federal Election Commission says a foreign national may lawfully solicit political contributions, but the issue is more complicated than that.

Federal election law does not address whether it is legal for foreigners to solicit donations. At the same time, federal regulations say a foreign national may not participate in a person's decision-making regarding contributions.

One might see where the contributors did not want to say any thing.

"Donors reached by phone or interviewed in person declined to explain who asked them to make the contributions"

"The 2004 opinion is very clear, but throwing the regulation into the mix muddies the water. The FEC could revisit the issue," said Paul S. Ryan, an attorney at the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group.

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

The political interests of the Floridian McCain fundraiser who bundled money from a strange cast of characters extends far deeper into the federal government than previously known.
Harry Sargeant, who has raised more than $500,000 for the McCain from a host of unlikely donors, owns a refinery and fuel supply company that has spent large sums of money lobbying the government since 2000.

Moreover, in 2006 the company, Trigeant Petroleum, brought on board a lobbyist with strong connections to McCain in an effort to win congressional support in its fight over a terminated contract with the Department of Defense.

It could not be immediately determined whether McCain or any other member of Congress intervened on Trigeant's behalf. The Arizona Republican's office did not return request for comment. The company ultimately succeeded in settling its suit with DoD for several million dollars.

But the widening extent of Sargeant's business interests adds another layer of intrigue to concerns that he was bundling cash for the presumptive Republican nominee in hopes of future political favors.

"This bundler certainly is someone who wants to have a president on his side," said David Donnelly of Campaign Money Watch. "He has a significant contract with the Department of Defense and the Pentagon and needs elected officials to listen to him. That's why he hires lobbyists and raises money for politicians like John McCain."

Started by Sargeant in 1985, Trigeant Petroleum quickly became a player in the energy supply industry. In April 2004, the company was contracted by the Department of Defense to provide diesel and motor fuel to the Iraqi populace after a Jordanian company failed in the task. The deal was worth $76,956,988 over the course of a year. Several months into the contract, however, the Iraqi government asked for the arrangement to be terminated.

"The war was over and it was time for Iraq to start running its own business," said Ron Uscher, who represented Trigeant for the firm Peckar & Abramson. "They said we don't need the aid. And so the decision came that the Iraqis were now going to assume sovereignty and this contract was no longer needed."

When the Department of Defense acquiesced to the Iraqi government's wishes, Trigeant was left with fuel literally in transit. Not willing to simply take the hit, the company filed a suit saying that as part of their contract, the U.S. government had to cover the costs of the material they had already lifted.

In 2006, Trigeant hired Otto Reich Associates at $60,000-a-year to build congressional support for the firm's claim that it should be compensated for losses. The choice of lobbyists seemed logical. The firm touts its capacity to deal with international economics:
"Often, a company has all the elements required to succeed in a foreign market but lacks the ability to open the political doors to make its case, or the institutional knowledge to close the deal. We provide that missing element to our clients."

But Reich Associates also advertised another asset: proximity to power. On the firm's website, in the "About Us" section, is a picture of the founder Ambassador Otto J. Reich shaking hands with none other than John McCain. Below is a quote from the Senator praising the lobbyist:

Ambassador Reich has served America with distinction by representing our fundamental values of freedom and democracy around the world, and I am grateful for his support."

In addition to exchanging rhetorical pleasantries, Reich has been a prominent endorser of the presumptive Republican nominee, is reportedly advising McCain on Latin American affairs, and has donated $30,000 to committees supporting the Senator.

According to forms filed with Congress, Reich wrote that he was paid to "inform members of Congress and other senior government officials of the existence of Trigeant, Ltd.'s claim against the Defense Industry Support Center of the Defense Logistics Agency, of the Department of Defense, and to seek their support for a favorable resolution of the dispute."

Which members Reich met with and what type of advocacy he did on behalf of Trigeant is difficult to quantify. The lobbying firm did not return requests for comment.
But around that time, Trigeant's suit with the Department of Defense was finally settled, with the company awarded $3.25 million for the costs it incurred at the end of its contract.

McCain's Senate office did not return a request for comment as to whether or not he was contacted about the case. Uscher, while respecting the need to ask the question, said it was insulting to suggest that Congress could, or would be persuaded to, influence a process that was steeped in contractual law, procurement offices and legal processes.
"[Sargeant] had nothing to do with John McCain until he started making these campaign contributions," he said. "I'm not sure [he] even knew who John McCain was at the time."

Indeed, a review of campaign contribution records shows that Sargeant's support of McCain did indeed start only during this election cycle. Prior to bundling for the Arizona Republican, he raised cash on behalf of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani as well as Hillary Clinton.

Once the primary ended, Sargeant came fully on board. Moreover his brother Dan, who serves as vice president of Trigeant, also raised cash on behalf of the presumptive Republican nominee, donating $4,600 in late January. On March 5, 2008, both Sargeants served as an "Event Chairman" for a "Floridians For McCain reception," an event that raised an estimated $400,000 plus for McCain. McCain is now reviewingdonations brought in by Sargeant.

Up Date:

McCain’s Shady Bundler Helps Out VP Hopeful Crist
Posted on 11 August 2008 by kos

More mysterious donations are being uncovered from John McCain's big-time bundler Harry Sergeant, this time for Charlie Crist in Florida:

Jihan Nassar, a homemaker in Corona, Calif., is listed as a $500 donor to the campaign of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist. But she insists she never gave a dime.

''I can't make any donations, financially,'' Nassar said Friday. "We never made any donations, sir. I have no idea what you are talking about.''

Nassar and her husband, Waleed, are among more than three dozen California donors listed as giving to Crist's campaign on June 19, 2006 -- donations bundled by a controversial Delray Beach defense contractor now under scrutiny for contributions to GOP presidential candidate John McCain.

On Thursday, the McCain campaign said it would return $50,000 in donations tied to businessman Harry Sargeant III, finance chairman of the Florida Republican Party and a college buddy of Crist's. Sargeant has said the California donors were solicited by a business partner, Mustafa Abu Naba'a, a Jordanian with an apartment in Miami-Dade, records show.

Last week, if you recall, TPM got hot on the trail of Sergeant hustling up contributions for McCain in the same Inland Empire region in California.
Funny how Crist and McCain are being talked up as a ticket, and they share the same shady bundler. And let us not waste an opportunity to re-remind the media to answer the very interesting question Marc Ambinder posed last week:

If there were a group of questionable donations all with the name Abdullah that were funneled through a guy in Jordan who is a Jordanian national who is under investigation for war profiteering and it were Barack Obama instead of John McCain would this be a bigger deal?

More mysterious donations are being uncovered from John McCain's big-time bundler Harry Sergeant, this time for Charlie Crist in Florida:

Jihan Nassar, a homemaker in Corona, Calif., is listed as a $500 donor to the campaign of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist.

But she insists she never gave a dime.
''I can't make any donations, financially,'' Nassar said Friday. "We never made any donations, sir. I have no idea what you are talking about.''

Nassar and her husband, Waleed, are among more than three dozen California donors listed as giving to Crist's campaign on June 19, 2006 -- donations bundled by a controversial Delray Beach defense contractor now under scrutiny for contributions to GOP presidential candidate John McCain.

On Thursday, the McCain campaign said it would return $50,000 in donations tied to businessman Harry Sargeant III, finance chairman of the Florida Republican Party and a college buddy of Crist's. Sargeant has said the California donors were solicited by a business partner, Mustafa Abu Naba'a, a Jordanian with an apartment in Miami-Dade, records show.

Last week, if you recall, TPM got hot on the trail of Sergeant hustling up contributions for McCain in the same Inland Empire region in California.

Funny how Crist and McCain are being talked up as a ticket, and they share the same shady bundler.

I've not heard of Crist returning his Donations he recevied .

''I can't make any donations, financially,'' Nassar said Friday. "We never made any donations, sir. I have no idea what you are talking about.''

Rogers said "that just didn't sound right to us" so the money is being returned. He estimated the total at less than $50,000, saying "we think we have a pretty good estimate of how much Abu Naba'a solicited."

Funny that just don't sound right to any one else either. As to the comment we think we have a pretty good estimate of how much was solicited I don't think so.

And let us not waste an opportunity to re-remind the media to answer the very interesting question Marc Ambinder posed last week:

If there were a group of questionable donations all with the name Abdullah that were funneled through a guy in Jordan who is a Jordanian national who is under investigation for war profiteering and it were Barack Obama instead of John McCain would this be a bigger deal?

http://www.bloggersforchange.com/?p=5023

In a related event:

Nervous Job Interviews-for Fla. High Court

Crist will appoint two justices in the coming months from up to 12 candidates selected by the commission. Two more justices are expected to retire next year, giving Crist an unprecedented opportunity to appoint a majority of the seven-member high court.

In seeing relationships of events this is interesting.

Abramoff scandal figure raises McCain money

Wed., Aug. 13, 2008
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WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. - A political strategist tied to the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal is helping raise money for John McCain, urging his fellow Georgia Republicans to attend a fundraiser for the presidential candidate in Atlanta.

Ralph Reed, former director of the Christian Coalition, touted himself as a member of McCain's "Victory 2008 Team" in an e-mail that solicited donations on McCain's behalf.

The Republican National Committee is hosting the fundraiser set for an Atlanta hotel on Aug. 18.
A House investigative committee in 2006 found that Reed interceded with the Bush White House to help some of Abramoff's clients.

Reed's public relations firm also received $4.2 million from Abramoff to mobilize Christian voters to fight the opening of casinos that could compete with Abramoff's Indian tribe clients.

Reed later said he regretted the actions, which contributed to his 2006 Republican primary loss in a bid to be Georgia's lieutenant governor.

Abramoff went to prison for conspiracy, mail fraud and tax evasion.

McCain led a Senate investigation into Abramoff's dealings with Indian tribes, which included information about his ties to Reed.

"I led in the Abramoff hearings in the, in the obscure Indian Affairs Committee, for which people are still testifying and going to jail."

On Wednesday, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean criticized what he called "McCain's decision to cozy up to one of the central figures in the Republican culture of corruption."

Up Date:

Donations for McCain and Crist bundled far from Florida

Ibrahim A. Marabeh has never been to Florida and has "absolutely" no interest in Florida politics.

But the district manager for Rite Aid in the Temecula area of California was among three dozen in a California Muslim community who contributed $500 each to Gov. Charlie Crist's 2006 gubernatorial campaign.

Marabeh's contribution was among some $20,000 raised on June 19, 2006, by a business relation of Harry Sargeant III, an oil company executive, a formal naval officer and longtime friend and fundraiser for Crist.

Some of these same donors were at the heart of questions raised earlier this month about Sargeant's bundling work for GOP presidential candidate John McCain. No one alleges the donors were reimbursed, which would be illegal, but some wondered why a group of modest-income Californians who aren't avid voters would contribute the maximum to McCain's campaign.

That question becomes even sharper when you consider that those same people contributed to Crist in his 2006 campaign for governor of Florida.

"A friend of ours came to us and suggested we make a contribution and we did," Marabeh said. "We're trying to be political contributors."

The Sargeant example demonstrates the power and perils of fundraiser bundling, where a single person exhausts his or her network of friends and business associates to arrange a multitude of donations.

On the one hand, big money is raised in a hurry; on the other, the campaign is getting money second-, third- or fourth-hand. They don't know the contributors, and the contributors may not know them.

Crist sidestepped questions about the contributions bundled by Sargeant but said, generally, he's grateful when anyone contributes to his campaign, "whether it's a check or a vote."

"People give because they want to give, or they like the person who maybe asked them to," Crist said. "It's up to their heart and mind to make that decision as an individual."

Bundling has always been a mainstay of Florida political campaigns, veteran fundraisers say.
"The challenge is: How do you find millions of millions of dollars?

How do you find the resources to compete?" asked Tallahassee lobbyist Brian Ballard, who raised money and advised Crist during the election.

"You've got to find more and more people to get involved in the process and aggressively seek out new givers. It's no fun for anybody."

Bundled money helped Crist raise a record-breaking $19-million in direct contributions. Among the others:

• At least 30 companies owned by Ken Underwood of Ponte Vedra Beach gave the maximum $500 to Crist, for a total of $15,000, and half of the checks were written within days of the firms' creation. Underwood holds a state contract to publish driver safety handbooks.

•Crist received some $6,500 from Miami companies owned by Sergio Pino, a prominent builder and developer and supporter of Republican candidates

. Pino was the subject of a federal public corruption investigation along with Miami-Dade County Commissioner Jose "Pepe" Diaz.

Massie Ritsch of the Washington-based Center for Responsive Politics, a watchdog group that monitors campaign contributions, said candidates can't raise "astronomical sums" without bundlers.

Often the public learns very little about bundlers, he added.

"We know much more about people who donate $250 than we do about those who raise $250,000," Ritsch said.

Coincidentally, over two days that overlapped with Sargeant's bundling, Crist's campaign also received $4,000 from companies and executives who worked for what was then the nation's largest subprime lender, Ameriquest Mortgage Co.

In 2006, Ameriquest contributed to a number of different state elections with an eye toward changing state lending laws. The company had also just settled a multistate lawsuit, agreeing to pay $325-million after complaints the company cheated customers by inflating appraisals, falsifying income statements and charging unjustified fees.

As Florida's attorney general, Crist had trumpeted the "landmark agreement." Ameriquest no longer lends money and has since been purchased by Citigroup.

"Gov. Crist received support from individuals who worked for national corporations with operations in many states, including Florida, and from others because he was seen as a leader in national policy and an up-and-coming political figure," said Sacramento, Calif., lobbyist Jeff Miller, a former Ameriquest lobbyist who collected such checks.

Tallahassee consultant George LeMieux, Crist's former chief of staff and campaign manager, said there's nothing wrong with bundling contributions, even when it sweeps in donations from troubled businesses or the money of out-of-staters with no apparent interest in the election.

He sees no problems with either the Ameriquest contributions or the ones collected by Sargeant's business associate Jordanian Mustafa Abu Naba.

Both LeMieux and Ballard suggested that had the Sargeant-related contributions come from people with names like "Smith" or "Jones," rather than through a Sargeant associate named Mustafa Abu Naba the media wouldn't be as interested.

Crist said he didn't know about Sargeant's associate. When asked about Naba's connection to his 2006 campaign, Crist said: "Whatever it was, I don't know."
Times researcher Connie Humburg contributed to this report.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/state/article778639.ece

The 10 Most Brazen War Profiteers

http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/reconstruct/2006/0905profiteers.htm