The White Noise Of 24-Hour Cable News

I've gotta get outta here.

The 24-hour cable news cycle has numbed my brain and infused me with orange alert levels of both cynicism and skepticism. All in high definition, no less.

I grew up on the dependable half hour of national news from the three networks. Occasionally, when urgent news occurred, the network anchors would prevail with news bulletins that would, quite literally, make us stop in our tracks to share the urgency of program interruption.

These days though, cable news stretches the same amount of news into an endless cycle of watered down news bulletins and uninspiring opinion.

Yes, the same amount of news. After all, there isn't more news now than there was then.

Rhetorical question for other old-timers out there; do we really take a News Bulletin seriously any more?

The ultimate loser in cable news is all of us, the viewers. We've been so damn spoiled by finger-pointing, blame game opinion that we now neglect to engage in the challenge of individual thought. Ironically, when we do we're accused of being out of touch intellectual elitists.

I've gotta get outta here, all right.

Time to turn on cable news, so they can tell me what I think.

Notable Quotable; JFK And A Speech Not Given

It's an entirely loosely guarded secret in the Fischer family that I'm a political speech geek. Thanks to the internet, I've been able to organize a mildly impressive cache of speeches in my favorites that have offered various measures of personal inspiration, as well as providing historical context to frame discussion and perspective regarding current issues.

Hubert Humphrey's civil rights speech at the 1948 Democratic Convention and Ronald Reagan's 1984 speech at Normandy commemorating the 50th anniversary of D-Day are merely two examples of purely brilliant oratory.

President Clinton's emphatic, finger waving declaration, I did not have sexual relations with that woman... , didn't make the cut, lest you were curious.

There have been times, however, when circumstance has rendered intended words unspoken.

President Kennedy was on his way to deliver a speech in Dallas on November 22nd 1963 to the Texas State Democratic Executive Committee. A speech that was never given.

Today though, in looking at excerpts from his speech, Kennedy's script waxes eloquence about our nations challenges that clearly resonate during this years Presidential election, in an almost eerie way.

Dallas, Texas, 22 November 1963;

For this country is moving and it must not stop. It cannot stop. For this is a time for courage and a time for challenge. Neither conformity nor complacency will do. Neither the fanatics nor the faint-hearted are needed. And our duty as a party is not to our party alone, but to the Nation, and, indeed., to all mankind. Our duty is not merely the preservation of political power but the preservation of peace and freedom.

So let us not be petty when our cause is so great. Let us not quarrel amongst ourselves when our Nation's future is at stake. Let us stand together with renewed confidence in our cause--united in our heritage of the past and our hopes for the future--and determined that this land we love shall lead all mankind into new frontiers of peace and abundance.

The importance of Presidential eloquence and intellect have been mocked during the lowered expectations of George W. Bush. John F. Kennedy reminds us that it's the word, both spoken and unspoken, that will endure to inspire and assist our people in persevering.

For life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Amber Alert: Where's Baby Sarah?

It's been nearly two full days since the McCain/Obama debate and still no sign of Sarah Palin.

Is it moose hunting season in Alaska?

The debate had no clear winner but one huge loser, and that's Palin. For once though, she had no control over it.

Palin should be seething at the McCain camp for reducing her role to hiding under the sheets. How condescending. Joe Biden was all over the cable news shows rambling on like only Joe Biden can. The absence of Sarah Palin proves that her selection as McCain Veep was a cold, political one and now even her campaign doesn't take her the least bit seriously.

One other thought.

Post debate polls from Fox News declare that 51% of the electorate believe that Barack Obama does understand.

Paul Newman Is Dead At 83

I'm sitting at my desk, sipping this mornings third cup of black crack and getting set to share a few observations from last nights McLame/Oh-um-ah-Obama debate. Then I hit refresh on my Yahoo page and an entirely unsurprising news update hit me like a surprising ton of damn-you-mortality.

Cool Hand Luke is dead.

Legendary stage and screen actor, film director, philanthropist and quintessentially sueded tough guy, Paul Newman, has succumb to cancer. He was 83 years old.

Newman died in his Connecticut home, surrounded by family members.

I first saw Newman on screen when he paired with Robert Redford in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It wasn't until my adult life, however, when I took the time to immerse myself in Newman's work and the study of his craft. In doing so I was also introduced to others of his time, like Marlon Brando, Steve McQueen and James Dean, just to name a few.

Paul Newman, the man, was an open book with his sincerity, earnestness and measured deeds. He was a man that took his political concerns into quiet action, choosing to organize his own successful food business that gave proceeds to charitable causes. His company, Newman's Own, began with a humble array of organic salad dressings and has since expanded to other products that can complete a family grocery list.

While I'm not a smoker, I'm tempted, as a tribute, to burn an unfiltered Chesterfield to honor the death of Newman. It just seems more appropriate than a moment of silence.

Sure, Hollywood will miss Paul Newman.

Just not nearly as much as they should.

Let's Just Tank And See What We're Made Of

The theatrics on Capital Hill are getting more ridiculous by the minute, as beltway Democrats and Republicans bandy rhetorical nuance as to how to neatly package the enabling bailout and wrist slap of our sick gambler, Wall Street.

All we need now is a P.T. Barnum truck to cozy up to the Capital valet, so the balancing bear on the giant beach ball can roll on in and get this deal done.

Here's an idea for Washington lawmakers, albeit more philosophical than literal. Let's do nothing. Nothing at all.

Maybe what we need most is a cognitive bailout and a fresh paradigm. One that comes without monetary enabling, but rather a healthy and unified dose of tough love.

It's time for us, as a country, to supplicate at the highest level and acknowledge that this charade of shortcuts that we've delusionally referred to as prosperity was nothing more - or less - than smoke and mirrors.

Do nothing.

We'll brace ourselves as more banks collapse, credit markets dry up, trillions of dollars will vanish from pensions, and retirement accounts will plummet to a point of no return, while millions of Americans lose their jobs.

Then, we have a choice.

We can continue to point fingers and blame the banks, Republicans, Democrats, Wall Street, The Hollywood Elite, Hockey Mom's, Community Organizers, our parents, Michael Moore, Fox News, Talk Hate-io and anybody else except the person in the mirror.

Or, we can lift each other up, dust off and get to work reinventing ourselves.

We might just need an even greater depression.

Congress, do nothing (now that's an oxymoron for a future blog post). Let's do nothing not in a dismissive, bureaucratic manner of typical wheel spinning though.

Do nothing in a monumental and bold measure of inaction.

Let's do nothing. But let's do it well.

And when the carnage of nothing settles, we'll find the something that we seemingly misplaced a long time ago.

Humility.

The humility to realize that we've become a nation that has placed top priority on out-borrowing each other to live a lifestyle beyond our means, quietly crossing our fingers that the next paycheck will yield the funds to make the minimum monthly payment.

The humility to acknowledge that the technological revolution and economic boom of the 90's, while funded by US venture capital, was fueled by intellectual property and ingenuity from Indian, Chinese and other international scholastic wizards.

The humility in the fact that we have become a nation that imports the lead paint tainted toys our children play with, however export not much more than our own jobs and Hollywood entertainment.

The humility to look at our neighbors as not a Republican or Democrat, but with basic human dignity.

The humility to adhere towards an advanced level of realization that recognizes a higher power or calling beyond ourselves, our clothing labels and the SUV's we need to lease in order to navigate the speed bumps at Target.

The humility to gather in greater numbers as a community to worship again, whether it be at a Christian Church, Mosque, Temple or Our Lady of Starbucks.

The humility to admit failure and take accountability. In return, the humility to accept the fallibility of others without judgement, and welcome them into our homes for food, shelter, a hot shower and an impromtu Guitar Hero shredathon.

When ultimate humility is achieved, we'll call it rock bottom. That's when we really get to work.

With gratitude.

For gratitude and humility are not exclusive of each other.

Along the way, there will be copious complaining. Ironically though, my guess is there will be one demographic that won't complain a bit, and that's the children of my grandparents generation that still hold a haunting, however fleeting recollection of the Great Depression. The first wave of baby boomers that recall a time that when the potato wasn't big enough to feed the entire family, you simply mixed in the dirt on the potato to compensate and get you through to the hope and prayer for a next meal.

These are the people that won't have time to complain, for they know no other option than hard work and the duty of acting beyond ones own self.

They won't complain because they remember the depression and have been humbled once before.

A quiet humility they've carried for an entire life. And now, in the twilight of their years, the children of the great depression hold a legacy that must endure for us to come back stronger and more prosperous than ever. A legacy that is very simple.

Humility.

The Lowered Standards Of Our President

President Bush interrupted my channel surfing last night to dizzy the shizzy on the get down low down 'bout the 911 of the American paper (USD and economy).

My out of character vernacular can only be attributed to my curious stop at MTV during said channel surfing. Hey home, I can dig it. You know he ain't gonna lay no mo' big rap up on us man. Huh? Dang diggity dang, jive turkey.

I wonder if I'm the only American that felt a queasy and unsettling feeling when the President spoke, due not to the urgency of his message, but rather because of the complete lack of credibility that he has rendered himself to.

The latest economic news released today proves that we've only begun to witness the carnage.

Unemployment is now the highest in seven years. You know, since President Bush inherited a recession in the making from President Clinton.

Don't worry. Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity(!) will still find a way to blame this all on Clinton.

Housing starts are the lowest in seventeen years, swiftly going from downshift to stop and go to pull over to the side of the road because the master cylinder has blown.

Yesterday I had a text messaging debate with my best friend since sixth grade, Larimar Beckerman. He was emphatic in his assessment that history will ultimately render our President as one of the best.

Only one thing missing from his statement though. Punctuation.

It should have ended with three Cavuto-marks (???).

As in, history will show Bush was one of the best Presidents ever???

Perspective; Daily Irony, Notable Quotable

We're in the final six weeks of this tediously long Presidential campaign and the core messages of each candidate are, if presented effectively and without distraction (are you out there, Joe Biden?), succinct and well honed.

John McCain and Sarah Palin have been neatly packaged and are being sold as unique political Mavericks. Let's look at what makes this ticket such vaunted renegades.

They work well across party lines, have executive leadership experience and are compassionate in their conservative ideas.

Sound familiar?

Barack Obama and Joe Biden tout shared experience and rosy ideas, which - quite honestly - sound too populist for their own good, save for the fact that this election has a rare sense of urgency for this message resonating with a majority of the electorate.

Sadly, Democrats aren't fighting back with facts supporting Obama does have requisite experience, whatever that means specifically. I mean, heck, the only requirement to be President is to be a natural born citizen.

I leave you with the simple wisdom and perspective of noted conservative Newt Gingrich. Less than a year ago, Gingrich was asked to comment on whether Barack Obama was equipped to be Commander in Chief.

"Well, Abraham Lincoln served only two years in the U.S. House, and he seemed to do all right".

Finally, something all of us can agree on, except perhaps the 3-percent of voters that quietly acknowledge they wouldn't vote for a black candidate, much less a Muslim.

For those (the 3-percent) of small numbers and even smaller minds, the spirit of Lincoln weeps for you.

OMG! Clay Is Gay

We can all partake in a collective yawn and ho-hum over the news that Clay Aiken has emerged from the closet to reveal that he is gay.

Congratulations, Clay, on being the last to know.

Aiken's announcement wasn't quite as dramatic as the self-indulgent I am a gay American revelation that former New Jersey Governor James McGreevy barfed after it was discovered that he was engaging in an adulterous homosexual tryst with his woefully under-qualified head of New Jersey's Homeland Security. All news to his wife, or so we've been told.

Perhaps Clay Aiken's brave declaration - insert an almost patronizing degree of sarcasm here - will clear a path for others to clean out their closets as well.

Larry Craig, Mark Foley and Ted Haggard; just a few shameless hypocrites that legislated and pontificated morality from authoritative positions, fueling societal disdain towards homosexuals during a six year congressional values binge that completely crippled the Republican brand, as individual liberty through less government was swept aside to appeal to the narrow agendas of their evangelical base.

Ironically, it's the aging McRINO (that's 'pub speak for Republican In Name Only) that has the rather dubious task to save his parties fate.

Poetic justice served up sweet.

Joe Biden The Rhetorical Vomitron

When Barack Obama tapped Delaware Senator Joe Biden to be his Vice Presidential running mate, I shared the opinion of the masses that this was a politically safe and conventional selection that, while offering nary a sizzle, would do little to harm Obama's chance of being elected President.

Boy oh boy, how wrong I was.

One concern many had about Biden is his well honed penchant for verbosity, and how the Obama campaign may be nudged off message on any given day due to Biden's sharp tongue cutting through his shiny veneers.

I'm not sure if Biden is merely garrulous though.

He may have Tourette's Syndrome.

Biden has droned on during the past week with a few rhetorical missteps that appear to be a near Obama sabotage conspiracy story, worthy of an Oliver Stone double-take.

It's as though he's in cahoots with the Clintons that his best bet is to settle back into his Senate chair for another four years, long enough for Hillary to go toe-to-toe with Sarah Palin for the contest of Madame Commander in Chief.

Biden openly said that Senator Clinton would've been a better Veep selection for Obama than himself. A few days later, his football locker room pep talk to his Alma Mater, the University of Delaware Blue Hens, included a reference to his trip to Ohio just days before. Biden suggested that Delaware is such a football juggernaut that they could go out and beat the crap out of Ohio State.

I've been to Columbus to witness an Ohio State football game. Any politician worth a bought and sold Chicago vote knows that you don't mess with the Buckeye state and their football prowess.

Yesterday Biden attacked his own campaign about the merits of an Obama television spot that portrayed McCain as an out-of-touch computer illiterate.

Nice work, Joe. Directing the attention away from the McCain attack ad pimping Obama as an advocate for comprehensive sex education to kindergartners (in reality, a bill designed to help young children identify and report child molesters) was a magnanimous gesture towards your opponents campaign.

Quick. Somebody in Camp Obama needs to scramble and get some duct tape and apply it liberally to Joe Biden's mouth.

Obama should consider a new campaign song when he travels with Biden. Perhaps going old school with Run DMC;

You talk too much and you never shut up
I said you talk too much, Homeboy you never shut up!

A big blabbermouth, that’s what you are
If you were a talk show host, you’d be a star
I said your mouth is big, size extra large
And when you open it, it’s like my garage

You talk too much and you never shut up
I said you talk too much, Homeboy you never shut up!

Forget about Sarah Palin. For McCain, Joe Biden is shaping up to be a gift.

The gift that keeps on giving.

Our Cultural Divide

A new poll confirms what I've been barking about for the past eight years. We're a divided nation alright, however not polarized not by states of blue and red.

More like red pickup trucks and blue Volvo's.

John McCain leads Barack Obama by ten points (51-41) among rural voters nationwide. This should be of grave concern for the Obama camp, since the coveted highest voter turnout demographic of white women are scattered throughout rural America in muted shades of lock-the-doors-here-comes-the-black-guy.

It appears that Hockey Mom's and NASCAR Mom's have carved out a new Mason-Dixon line.

Meanwhile, Botox Mom's and Breast Augmented Mom's of Phoenix/Scottsdale (redundant, I know) will tip handily toward McCain.

Farewell To A Baseball Cathedral

85 Years after Babe Ruth smacked the first home run at Yankee Stadium, the Bronx Bombers shut down The House That Ruth Built with a 7-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.

Mariano Rivera recorded the final out and Jose Molina's name will now endure into perpetuity as the answer to the bar room trivia question of naming the player that hit the final home run at Yankee Stadium.

Yankee Stadium hosted many memorable baseball moments, and was rarely short of sporting dramatics.

Don Larsen pitched a perfect game there in the 1956 World Series, a hurling gem that still stands as the only twenty-seven up and twenty-seven down performance in Series history.

Reggie Jackson bashed three home runs in one game during the 1977 World Series against the Dodgers.

George Brett of the Kansas City Royals went ballistic after the home plate umpire reversed a 9th inning - and potentially game winning - home run and ruled him out because it was determined that he had too much pine tar on his bat.

Lou Gherig echoed to the world that he considered himself the luckiest man on the face of the earth, despite facing imminent death after being diagnosed with the terminal disease (ALS) that now carries his name.

There is no sports franchise that is both loved and loathed in greater and equal measure than the New York Yankees.

Tonight though, as the lights of Yankee Stadium slowly faded, baseball fans spanning generations and team loyalties took pause to wax nostalgia and tip our collective caps to the monumental shrine.

Farewell.

Bush Proposes 700-Billion-Dollar Bailout

Should We Laugh Or Cry?

So it looks as though many Americans will now be writing their mortgage checks payable to the United States Treasury.

This is where dichotomy meets irony.

President Bush announced earlier today that the government is coming to the mortgage meltdown rescue and will alleviate Fannie/Freddy books of sub prime mortgages.

Subprime is a fancy word for predatory, unethical and corrupt lending.

I'm all for less government, however when deregulation leads to unchecked corruption on Wall Street that uses smoke-and-mirrors to artificially inflate a key sector of our countries economic backbone, even David Copperfield couldn't get us out of this pickle.

Because it's not an illusion.

Shameful results of inept leadership; from the White House to Capital Hill, out the door to Wall Street and approved for distribution by the mortgage giants. With a wink and a nod, bankers sold individual homeowners on the "white lies" of stated income mortgage applications that inflated earnings of the applicant in order to be approved.

Compromised integrity from the top on down. Crap flows downhill, so accountability must start at the top.

Now, the cowboy at the top has issued a desperate call for a government rescue.

The very government with the same players that allowed it all to happen in the first place.

Notable Quotable

"I believe my party has gone astray. I think the Democratic Party is a fine party, and I have no problems with it, in their views and philosophy".

- John McCain - 2004

Florida Judge Keepin' It Real Up In The Feel

It's now a constitutionally protected right in Florida. Ass cracks aren't just for plumbers anymore.

A Florida judge ruled yesterday that a law banning baggy pants revealing underwear is unconstitutional.

Which begs the question; when can we expect a ruling from the courts on wearing baggy pants without underwear?

There are currently over 500 municipalities in the United States that have similar laws banning the low slung look. Too bad more parents don't have similar laws in their own homes that instill even a remedial measure of social respect. Believe me, I'm well into personal creativity and expression, however there are clearly common sense parenting responsibilities required to look at your kid and tell them to scamper back to their room, grab a belt and cinch up the bed sheet that the kid calls pants.

This has nothing to do with class or race, as we witness this egregious display of butt cheeks coast-to-coast on a daily basis, from the 'hood of East Compton to the Hampton's of Long Island.

Here in my little geographic nook of Scottsdale, I'd like to see a ban on the steady horrors of bad boob jobs and Botox injections. Maybe the kids with the saggy drawers can mentor their parents in this regard.

Now that's irony.

Annoying Drivel Of Celebrity Politics

I'm wretched tired of the celebrity political pulpit. Matt Damon, Diddy and a steady gaggle of mouthy pop cultured all seem to have it figured out.

This is one reason why I hold the Gallagher brothers with such high esteem. The Brit tandem and their band, Oasis, release their latest offering this month, titled Dig Out Your Soul.

Oasis is the last band that used to be the next Beatles. Nowadays, that ominous moniker gets bandied about with various flash-in-the-pan downloadable singles from upstarts that have included rather pedestrian pop names like The Kaiser Chiefs.

Oasis stands alone with their raw, four cords and a cloud of dust saunter.

With that, Oasis is all about their music and don't appear to take much else very seriously. Which brings us back to celebrity and politics.

Recently Noel Gallagher was asked about the bands Coldplay and Radiohead. Gallagher offered full props to the two groups for their musical contribution, however takes them to task for their stumping politics.

“They get to a certain level and start worrying about the environment. That’s for the governments of the world to worry about. We need to concentrate on fucking women, taking drugs, wearing sun­glasses and being cool. Never mind the polar bears.”

Translation; it's only rock n' roll.

And I like it.

Yes I do.

Sound Of The Economy Is A Thumping Sound

The Dow was date raped by its own banks today and the economy continues its free fall.

John McCain once said that the economy isn't his strength. Boy, talk about a self-fulfilled prophecy.

Senator McCain is beginning to sound more like President Herbert Hoover every day. Hoover also suggested that the "fundamentals" of our economy were "sound", right about the time he decided to institute global tariff taxes that ultimately doomed our nations economic fate that resulted in the great depression.

It took FDR to rally and save capitalism then. It appears that it will take another Democrat to pull a rabbit out of a hat for history to repeat itself.

Daily Irony: SNL Lampoons Sarah Palin

The McCain camp is seething over Saturday Night Live's season debut that began with Tina Fey's dead-on portrayal of Sarah Palin.

An aide to John McCain said comedian Tina Fey's impersonation of Palin on SNL was sexist because it portrayed the Alaska governor as "lacking in substance". Sexism, huh? That seems to suddenly be an important issue for Republicans.

What we have here is a rare daily double of irony.

SNL is meant to be ironic in its mocking of current events and the lampooning of the players that shape them.

Then, we have the fact that Sarah Palin does indeed lack substance.

Irony lost on all fronts by the McCain camp.

It's just comedy.

Deja Vu, All Over Again?

Another Day, Another Lie

It turns out that Sarah Palin has never been to Iraq, as she has claimed on several occasions to offer an example of her foreign policy street cred.

Another fabrication from a total fraud.

Insert yawn here.

Nine Eleven At Seven

Truth be told, I'm rather loathesome of this somber turn on the calender of 11 September. I'd rather be standing in line behind some smelly guy paying for his big gulp with pennies at 7-11 than have to talk about 9-11.

So I won't.

Except to simply say that day sucked.

Larry The Smoking Cable Guy In Court Today

Idaho Senator Larry Craig is in Minneapolis today.

Let this be a warning to all the men using a bathroom at the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport; zip it tight, keep your head on a swivel and lock that snake in its cage.

The Republican senator from Idaho was arrested for soliciting bathroom man love last year at the MSP airport. Police said Craig was arrested after he peered into an occupied stall, entered the stall next to an undercover officer and then tapped his feet and swiped his hand under the divider, allegedly signaling a desire for sex.

Senator Craig pleaded guilty to all charges, thus dismissing the now not-so-operative word allegedly from the criminal citation.

Craig is petitioning the courts to reverse his plea after realizing what a complete dumb ass he is for pleading guilty to these circumstantial charges.

Curious family values.

Lipstick On A Pig

I now know the unequivocal differences between a hockey mom and a pit bull.

The pit bull's crap doesn't smell nearly as bad.

And the pit bull doesn't require a teleprompter to speak.

Daily Hypocrisy; Bill Oh Really(?), O'Reilly

Not too long ago, Bill O'Reilly climbed aboard his elevated pulpit of indignation to render judgement regarding the teenage pregnancy of a public figure.

The young woman made a decision to deliver her baby and prepared to raise the child with the baby daddy, with a family plan that the couples union would be sealed as marriage in the church of their choosing at a later date.

O'Reilly found this morally reprehensible.

Shock and outrage ensued.

Of course O'Reilly's rage wasn't directed at Governor Sarah Palin's pregnant 17-year-old daughter, Bristol.

It was his scathing mandate against the failed tutelage of the parents of Jamie Lynn Spears, a pregnant young girl of compromised Hollywood moral pedigree.

As for Bristol Palin, Mr. O'Reilly?

O'Reilly has dismissed any discussion with a predictable and continued, how dare you even ask, contempt.

A private family matter for the Palin's, according to O'Reilly.

Just like O'Reilly's sexual harassment he inflicted on a female producer of his show a few years back, which was settled out of court and gagged into perpetuity by O'Reilly.

It's as if certain things never happened.

Working For The Man In Seattle

I just finished my first of three days at an industry trade show in Seattle. When the jay-oh-bee takes me away from my home territory and dumps me into a convention hall full of old friends, a simple saunter from our booth to the bathroom can end up as a 45-minute trip down memory lane.

I've been doing what I've been doing so I can pay for the things I want to do and live the lifestyle that it takes to get it done for nearly twelve years.

It took me nearly that long to figure out that life is just one big political campaign, filled with a colorful array of loyal friends, adversaries that smile like a friend, and a mixed bag of what I call Burt Bacharach's.

As the song goes; "call me...".

Such a contrived feeling to run into a person that I never really knew or cared for, and after exchanging no more than ten seconds of pleasantries, we abruptly part ways with him (or her) saying, "hey, call me".

Why?

Another example, I suppose, of how I may be far too earnest for the corporate world.

Two more days. I'll just smile, wave and recite my stump speech.

After all, I only need 50.1% approval.

Daily Truthiness: Palin Yarn Unraveled

John McCain and Sarah Palin may need to come up with a new campaign slogan.

McCain/Palin; a million little pieces.

During her Veep acceptance speech Wednesday night in St. Paul, Palin bandied rhetoric about her pragmatic approach to tackling government waste.

Now we're left to discern between the simple truth and her dramatic fabrications.

Palin received more than a few yah-you-betchas and copious applause when she told the story of selling a private jet on ebay that her predecessor had purchased with state funds.

Truthiness.

"That luxury jet was over the top," she told the RNC faithful when she accepted the party's vice presidential nomination Wednesday night. "I put it on eBay."

As it turns out, this little Palin yarn was the highlight of John McCain's evening.

"How many saw her speech a couple of nights ago? Wasn't it fabulous?" McCain said Friday during a campaign stop in Wisconsin. "You know what I enjoyed the most? She took the luxury jet that was purchased by her predecessor and sold it on eBay — and made a profit."

Complete and utter rubbish.

As fact would have it, Palin did have the jet listed for auction sale on ebay. There was little interest for a 2-million-dollar jet in the online garage sale community, however, so the plane was sold by an aviation sale broker at a significant financial loss to Alaska.

Palin's predecessor, Frank Murkowski, bought the jet for $2.7 million in 2005. The plane was sold by Palin for $2.1 million after she took office.

That's a net loss of 23%, not including the jets operating costs the state incurred while owning it.

This appears to be another indication that John McCain's grasp - or lack thereof - on simple economics is troubling. The McCain sound economy of great progress and significant strides, of course.

It's The Economy, Stupid - Unemployment Soars

The Labor Department released another gloomy economic report today that shows the highest unemployment figures in five years.

So much for the PTA polling bounce from the RNC.

We're back to reality.

Folks, we're in a recession in a no-doubt-ah-bottit kinda way. Yes, the GNP rose 3.3 percent last quarter, however nearly 80% of economists (which doesn't include Steve Douchey or Hannity(!) and Hannity(!) from Fox News) acknowledge that the barometer of gauging an official economic recession is no longer a simple measurement of two consecutive quarters of negative GNP growth.

The jobless rate jumped to 6.1 percent in August, from 5.7 percent in July. In addition, employers cut payrolls for the eighth month in a row. Job losses in June and July turned out to be much deeper than forecasted. The economy lost a mind-numbing 100,000 jobs in June and another 60,000 in July.

Senator John McCain still feels that our "sound" (quotations all his, I can assure you) economy is making great progress.

Tell that to the hockey mom with a stay-at-home husband (in Alaska known as a Commercial Fisherman) of five children and an adopted baby daddy named Levi.

The Obama campaign needs to jump on this report like James Carville on a bowl of jambalaya.

Daily Irony; An Organized Community

As I witnessed both Rudy Giuliani and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin sarcastically mock Senator Barack Obama's early career experience as a "community organizer" during last nights RNC session, it occurred to me that they were, in fact, validating what many in the electorate despise about our politicians.

Quite simply, community organizing at the grass roots level is the only way that ordinary people are able to communicate and respond to the lackluster job performance of out-of-touch politicians and their failed policies.

Rudy and the Governor were simply mocking the very electorate they were attempting to court.

Governor Palin's speech was littered with spoon-fed sarcasm, delivered with more than adequate condescension. Her slow and deliberate tone, which I imagine was intended for emphasis, came off as patronizing campaign bumper sticker slogans and populist garbage.

It was as if David Spade wrote the speech for her.

Palin's real test will be in the Vice Presidential debate against Senator Joe Biden.

Where there will be no teleprompters.

Strangeways, Here We Come

Circus Freak At Fifty

Former King of Pop and current caricature of a parody of the person he was born to be, Michael Jackson, turned fifty last Friday.

There was a time when Michael Jackson was bigger than all four Beatles combined. Then, his steady succession of personal train wrecks and penchant for young boys rendered his music an inconsequential guilty pleasure.

Happy birthday, Jacko.