Wake up America

Live Blogging The Vice Presidential Debate Between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden Posted: 02 Oct 2008 12:45 PM CDT Digital Journal Covering Debates Live, Giving All Bloggers Free Syndicated Coverage If you're a blogger or citizen journalist who doesn't have the resources or time to live blog the event on your own, you can embed our widget and get up-to-the-second coverage for your blog's audience. The event will be live blogged by DigitalJournal.com staff, as well as citizen journalists. And all coverage is going to be fair and balanced, offering both comments and criticisms of all candidates. I am embedding the Digital Journal Live Blog of the vice presidential debate, between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden, on Wake up America. I am not one of the moderators or hosts, this is a Digital Journal event, but I will not be live blogging myself, so this will offer readers a chance to see some blow by blows, participate by submitting comments from the Wake up America site to the DJ live blogging event, participate in their polls and interact with others across the web. If you wish to embed this event on your own blog, you can get the embed code here. The event will be activated at 5:45 p.m. ET. Have fun! (Disclaimer- This is an outside event and opinions, analysis and content may not reflect the views of Wake up America management.) .

Sarah Palin On Journalism, Faith, Joe Six-Pack and Struggling Americans Posted: 02 Oct 2008 12:22 PM CDT The YouTube segment below is the audio of the Hugh Hewitt interview with Sarah Palin. (YouTube URL here) Sarah Palin in a radio talk show interview speaks about her personal faith, journalistic ethics, Joe six-pack, Washington elite, personal attacks and rumors and how Americans are struggling during tough economic times. Yesterday Hugh Hewitt conducted a talk radio show interview with Sarah Palin, where they discussed a variety of issues, including how her own family struggled to pay out-of-pocket for health coverage crossing their fingers hoping no one in their family got sick or injured, the attacks on her and her family in the media and throughout the blogosphere, her pro-life position and personal choices, her religious faith, Israel and much more. Hewitt starts off with the reactions to the announcement of her candidacy for vice president on the GOP ticket, asking if she was surprised at the hostility shown and what she attributes the reactions to. Palin answers by saying people were not used to someone coming from the "outside", continuing on to say "It's time that normal Joe six-pack American is finally represented in the position of vice presidency, and I think that that's kind of taken some people off guard, and they're out of sorts, and they're ticked off about it, but it's motivation for John McCain and I to work that much harder to make sure that our ticket is victorious, and we put government back on the side of the people of Joe six-pack like me, and we start doing those things that are expected of our government, and we get rid of corruption, and we commit to the reform that is not only desired, but is deserved by Americans." Hewitt goes on to ask about the public interviews Palin has conducted and the "pop quizzes" were considered by some to be attempts to embarrass her, asking if she shares that view. Palin says she doesn't fight it, she invites it, because they make one work harder, articulate better, stating "Well, I have a degree in journalism also, so it surprises me that so much has changed since I received my education in journalistic ethics all those years ago. But I'm not going to pick a fight with those who buy ink by the barrelful," she goes on to say they should continue on in that mode. When asked if she follows the number of attacks made on her, she says she doesn't have time to follow along with them all and those attacks on her are "nothing compared to what real shots are against Americans in this world," the Palin lists some of those attacks the American public are taking right now by stating "Americans today who are worried about losing their home and figuring out how in the world they're going to pay their fuel bill next month, and send their kid to college, and may be worried about losing a loved one that they're sending off to a war zone to protect our rights. Those are the shots that Americans are taking, so all this political nonsense and the lies, the rhetoric that is spun out there about someone just trying to offer themselves up in the name of service to this great country, I'll take it. " Hewitt continued on that topic of struggling Americans, and asked Palin if she and her family has had to struggle, if they faced those same hard economic times and if they have had to make those tough choices. This is a topic Palin hasn't been asked in any public interviews as of yet and many are expressing surprise at her answer. Palin: SP: Oh my goodness, yes, Hugh. I know what Americans are going through. Todd and I, heck, we're going through that right now even as we speak, which may put me again kind of on the outs of those Washington elite who don't like the idea of just an everyday working class American running for such an office. But yeah, there's been a lot of times that Todd and I have had to figure out how we were going to pay for health insurance. We've gone through periods of our life here with paying out of pocket for health coverage until Todd and I both landed a couple of good union jobs. Early on in our marriage, we didn't have health insurance, and we had to either make the choice of paying out of pocket for catastrophic coverage or just crossing our fingers, hoping that nobody would get hurt, nobody would get sick. So I know what Americans are going through there. And you know, even today, Todd and I are looking at what's going on in the stock market, the relatively low number of investments that we have, looking at the hit that we're taking, probably $20,000 dollars last week in his 401K plan that was hit. I'm thinking geez, the rest of America, they're facing the exact same thing that we are. We understand what the problems are. It's why I have all the faith in the world that John McCain is the right top of any ticket at this point to get us through these challenges. It's a good balanced ticket where he's got the experience, and he's got the bipartisan approach that it's going to take to get us through these challenges. And I have the acknowledgment and the experience of going through what America is going through. They also speak of how the economic crisis facing America today is affecting her family. Hewitt and Palin go on to discuss Israel, her personal faith, her pro-life position, her decision to have her latest child, Trig, despite knowing he was a Down Syndrome baby, her religious faith and her son Track who just left Kuwait and is heading to Iraq. The interview transcript can be found at Town Hall and the audio recording of the interview can be found here. Jim Geraghty participated after Palin in the show to analyze some of her answers, describes the beginning as "generic talking point Sarah", then highlighted four areas which caught his attention. * She mentioned that she and Todd had lost $20,000 in the past few weeks in their 401(k)s. Can you recall the last time a politician gave a specific number to how much an economic crisis had impacted them? She talked about how she and Todd were worried about paying for college for their children. * She mentioned she and Todd got their first health insurance when they were hired for union jobs. * She said the only time the criticism had gotten "hurtful" was the commentary about Trig Palin, and the insinuation that carrying him to term was a mistake. * She said she had spoken to her son in the Army, Track, when he was in Kuwait on his way to Iraq and that "the little stinker" had called his girlfriend before calling his mother in recent days. He goes on to point out that Palin put the economic crisis, culture of life, and the war in Iraq, in "personal, human terms." .

Pakistani President, Asif Ali Zardari, Earns Fatwa For Comments To Sarah Palin Posted: 02 Oct 2008 11:10 AM CDT A radical Muslim prayer leader issued a fatwa against Pakistani President, Zardari, saying he shamed the nation for "indecent gestures, filthy remarks, and repeated praise of a non-Muslim lady wearing a short skirt," referring to his meeting with Palin. When Alaska Governor and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin met with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari at the United Nations, the meeting was friendly, with Zardari calling Palin "gorgeous," and telling her "Now I know why the whole of America is crazy about you." He also made remarks about hugging Palin if his handlers told him to. These comments outraged a "radical religious leader, enough to issue a fatwa, which according to the dictionary means an Islamic religious decree. The mosque that issued the fatwa was the Lal Masjid (Red Mosque) in Islamabad, and the religious leaders comments about Zardari accuses him of "indecent gestures, filthy remarks, and repeated praise of a non-Muslim lady wearing a short skirt," according to the Christian Science Monitor. Though the fatwa, issued days after the Sept. 24 exchange, carries little weight among most Pakistanis, it's indicative of the anger felt by Pakistan's increasingly assertive conservatives who consider physical contact and flattery between a man and woman who aren't married to each other distasteful. Though fatwas, or religious edicts, can range from advice on daily life to death sentences, this one does not call for any action or violence. The religious leaders wasn't the only one offended by Zardari's words, albeit for different reasons, feninists also took issue with him, not for "cozying up" to Sarah palin but for what they perceived as "sexist remarks" towards her. A member of the Women's Action Forum, Tahira Abdullah, says "As a Pakistani and as a woman, it was shameful and unacceptable. He was looking upon her merely as a woman and not as a politician in her own right." While Abdullah called the religious leader who issued the fatwa "ranting", she also goes on to offer her own criticism against Zardari, stating "He should show some decorum – if he loved his wife so much as to press for a United Nations investigation into her death, he should behave like a mourning widower," referring to former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto who was assassinated on December 27, 2007. Others saw nothing wrong with the exchanges between Palin and Zardari, with columnist Fasih Ahmed in the Daily Times writing "It was a sweet and innocuous exchange played as an international incident on Pakistani and rascally Indian front-pages with one English daily [writing] it in a scarlet box, half-implying Mrs. Palin would ditch Alaska's First Dude and become Pakistan's First Babe. As if." Still others think there are more important things to worry about other than how politicians behave. I gather from all accounts, the world leaders were mighty impressed with Palin, they found her likable, pleasant and for those who claim to be s worried about other countries "liking us", well they should be happy with how her UN meetings went. Think they are? .

Gwen Ifill Never Disclosed 'Age of Obama' Book To Presidential Debate Commission Posted: 02 Oct 2008 09:44 AM CDT Gwen Ifill's book, "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama" was no secret, the publisher had it listed, and Ifill had done video promotions for it, but a report by AP shows, she never disclosed her authorship to the Presidential Debate Commission. (h/t Hot Air) Gwen Ifill was chosen to moderate the vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin and yesterday headlines hit the major media showing that Ifill was writing a book, to be released on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009, called "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama." In an interview with Associated Press, Ifill waves away concerns questioning her ability to be impartial as a moderator and wonders why people assume the portion of her book about Obama would be favorable to him. Doubleday's online description of the book says Ifill "surveys the American political landscape, shedding new light on the impact of Barack Obama's stunning presidential campaign and introducing the emerging young African American politicians forging a bold new path to political power." In the eighth paragraph of the Associated Press article it states Ifill "she did not tell the Commission on Presidential Debates about the book." The Commission on Presidential Debates is responsible for choosing moderators and organizing debate terms between the candidates and/or their campaigns and as of now, they had no comment for the Associated Press and other media organizations that have tried to contact them regarding this issue. Opinions vary, even within opposite political parties as to whether there is a conflict of interest with Ifill having a financial stake in the outcome of the elections. Some from both sides of the political aisle think Ifill can and should be able to moderate effectively and others believe there is a conflict of interest and Ifill should not have been chosen or should be replaced. MSNBC has set up an online poll, which asks "Do you think PBS' Gwen Ifill was a smart choice to moderate the vice presidential debate?" At this moment there are 118,633 responses and 31 percent answers "Yes, her stellar political record speaks for itself," and 69 percent say "No, there is a clear conflict between her moderating duties and the book she's authoring." For many, the issue is not Gwen Ifill's ability to remain an impartial moderator given her political affiliation, but whether her having a monetary stake in the elections is considered a conflict of interest. .

The Gwen Ifill Scandal and the Obama Democrats' Pattern of Contempt Posted: 02 Oct 2008 03:43 AM CDT Does anyone else notice what's going on in our nation right now? Has anyone else out there reached the same troubling conclusions that I have? This VP debate moderator bias scandal -- and it most certainly should be called a scandal -- is just the latest example of the Democratic Party's ability to ride roughshod over the rights of the American people. Here is the typical scenario: The Democrats perpetrate some outrageous affront to common decency and fair play, the Republicans howl in indignant but ultimately impotent outrage and disbelief, and nothing happens. The Obama train moves on to the next station, not even noticeably delayed in its journey to the White House. How many stories have been written expressing this helpless dismay? How many writers have pointed out how this unquestionably biased moderator scandal could never have happened if it were an avid McCain supporter at the center of this controversy? And the point is made and it makes perfect sense and everyone agrees and Gwen Ifill is still going to be the moderator. We the American people are virtually powerless in the Democrats eyes. They hold us and our impotent rage in contempt. We have been sidelined. Our opinions no longer matter. All of our righteous anger, all of that conservative outrage is nothing but a fart in a snowstorm. The Democratic left is running this show and you'd better not forget it. No outrage, no matter how significant, no Reverend Wright scandal, no hate-America rhetoric from his angry hate-America wife, no William Ayers terrorist connections, no proven Rezco affiliations, no cynical and devious manipulation of our military's withdrawal schedule by Obama in Iraq make one damn bit of difference. The Obama train keeps rolling. And all of those Americans who look to the Obama future of America with dread, all of those Americans who fear an internationalist, socialistic, anti-white, anti-Western Administration have been effectively marginalized. No relevant government agency will respond to your complaints. No media will voice your outrage. Your concerns have been dismissed. The word is out: No scandal, no crime, no discovery, no matter how significant will be allowed to delay the inevitable course of the fateful Obama train. We have been warned to keep silent. Our own Justice Department has warned us to watch our mouths. Obama is partially black and this must not, this will not, be mentioned. That questionable VP Debate Moderator, that obviously compromised Gwen Ifill is black, and has written extensively and glowingly about the rise of black politicians, and specifically, and rapturously, about Barack Hussein Obama. But this must not, this will not, be mentioned. We have been warned to keep silent. All or almost all of the terrorist attacks against this nation have been perpetrated by Muslim jihadists. But our own State Department has forbidden its employees to use the word "jihadists", or to even associate terrorism and Islam in the same context. And, most ironically of all, if anyone presumes to write about this virtual Democratic coup, they will be called a liberal propagandist or a weak-kneed defeatist by some members of their own party. Now, my friends, I ask you once again -- Does anyone else notice what's going on in our nation right now? Has anyone else out there reached the same troubling conclusions that I have? For more on the Gwen Ifill scandal see Stop the ACLU's recent article.

The Will Of The Congress Will Be Done Posted: 01 Oct 2008 08:38 PM CDT ~Snooper~ Harry Reid stated just the other day that the will of the Congress will be done. That sounds "Rather" definitive to me and has an air of inevitability. It is also very unconstitutional. Therefore, his very statement is grounds for impeachment proceedings against him. Where in the United States Constitution does the Senate Majority Leader get his validity and his finality of this statement "Congress will work its will"? Nancy Pelosi tries to explain it all here... "Ever since yesterday's vote, House leaders have been in frequent communication with each other and the White House to find a plan that can win strong bipartisan approval in the House. Many Members have offered ideas to modify the emergency bill narrowly defeated yesterday, and we are discussing those recommendations. "The Senate has made a decision about how to proceed and what can pass that body. The Senate will vote tomorrow night and the Congress will work its will. "House Democrats remain strongly committed to a comprehensive bill that stabilizes the financial markets, restores confidence, and protects taxpayers, and we hope Congress can agree on legislation in the very near future." Incredible. She repeated Reid's statement thereby confirming that both leaders of either House will see to it that the "will of Congress" is that which will be accomplished and not necessarily the "will of We The People". This is unacceptable by any stretch of the imagination. Now, whether or not anyone of any moral fortitude will actually call them on this blatant unconstitutional statement remains to be seen. I fully doubt it because not only are there none in either House capable of calling them on this garbage, there are none willing to step into the lion's lair. Regardless, this needs to be taken note of, does it not? It is the very epitome of that which is wholly wrong with our "Republic". If we were a "Democracy", the issue would be a non-issue. However, we were formed and based upon a Representative from of government. Congress is charged by our very Constitution to serve The People and not Congress. They serve IN the Congress to SERVE the people, period. We don't elect them to office to have them turn around and take over nor to make friends with each other. I don't care if they have any friends "across the aisle" or on the same side of the aisle. I care about them being "friends" with their constituents of their prosepective Districts and not those of another District. I wrote an article on this many moons ago. Initially, it was a two-part article and was eventually tailored down into one and was posted at Digital Journal. The original two-part pieces are located here and here with the merged pieces here. The Digital Journal version is located here. As a teaser; [...] First, there is the Trustee form. This is where the elected official, theoretically, listens to the constituents and is trusted to use their best judgments to make decisions for or, in the stead of. (not a good plan) Second, there is the Delegate representative who votes the way their constituents would want them to vote, whether or not the representative agrees with the majority of the constituents. (majority rule) Third, there is the Politico representative which, flip-flops between the Delegate and Trustee forms of representation, depending on the issue(s). (not a good plan) [...] Our Founding Fathers selected the DELEGATE form of Representation but through the decades of socialist indoctrination, Congress has morphed into a merged version of the TRUSTEE and POLITICO forms of Representation which is pretty much no Representation whatsoever. This morphed form rears its ugly head as revealed in such statements made by Harry Reid and confirmed by Nancy Pelosi. My essays ended thusly; [...] This MUST be reversed before it is too late. Should a Leftinistra (a member of the socialist liberal) gain the Throne of American politics, we will be very close to another American Civil War. I make this statement because our country has not been this split since 1861. And, look what that bred. [END] And I am serious. Take a look around you, if you are paying attention and can turn the television off, and find out for yourself. We have not been this politically split in decades, have we? I am not trying to sound like an alarmist as others have accused me of being. Was Paul Revere an alarmist or was he merely trotting around giving folks a heads up? Don;t get me wrong...I am no Paul Revere but I recognize that something is very seriously wrong when the two most powerful leaders in the House and Senate make statements as they have and no one calls them on their idiocy. When will enough be enough? When it is too late? If so, what then my friends? What then? The Crypt has an interesting post and interestingly enough, The Crypt is part of Politico. How ironic is that? Behold: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) says she's voting yea despite receiving 85,000 calls against it -- out of 91,000 total calls. Is that incredulous? No matter the WILL OF THE PEOPLE, Diane Feinstein is going to ignore her constituents. Simply amazing. The vast majority say no to the bail-out and she is going to tell them to shut up and please the vast minority. Where do we go from here and what do we do about it people?

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., Says Joe Biden Sometimes Says 'Stupid Things' Posted: 01 Oct 2008 06:29 PM CDT Senator Claire McCaskill had what she called a "Joe Biden moment" when she was discussing Sarah Palin and Joe Biden with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, where she said Joe Biden "sometimes say things that are kind of stupid." In an interview about different issues, the Democratic Senator from Missouri, Claire McCaskill, discussed Sarah Palin saying the American people do not know much about her and suddenly she is thrust upon the stage and people are curious about her according to a report by ABC's Political Punch. McCaskill then turns her comments to Joe Biden, the Deleware Senator and also the vice presidential running mate to Barack Obama and she states "has a tendency to talk forever and sometimes say things that are kind of stupid." She goes on to say "He a regular guy and … he doesn't parse his words and he's not hyper-careful," and continues on to call him authentic." Realizing her "stupid" comment probably wasn't the smartest thing to say about her party's vice presidential candidate, she then goes on to make matters worse by saying "I was probably having a Joe Biden moment myself," referring to her previous comment. McCaskill is not the first to imply Biden makes his share of gaffes, in 2007, when Biden was running against Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination for presidency, it was reported that he said "I mean, you got the first mainstream African American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy." As an older LA Times article points out, Biden also caused a stir when speaking to an American Indian, trying to be endearing and popped out with "you cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin' Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent." On September 11, 2008, The International Herald Tribune headlined with "Biden living up to his gaffe-prone reputation," where they discuss some of his more recent "gaffes" like urging a a paraplegic state official to stand up to be recognized, or telling a crowd that Hillary Clinton might have been a better choice than he was as a running mate for Barack Obama. Claire McCaskill should not feel bad, because other Biden supporters admit Biden's mouth often runs away from him as evidenced by James Baker, mayor of Wilmington, Delaware which is Biden's home town, who says, "He has overwhelming support here, he's well liked. We forgive him every once in a while when he says something dumb - 'Oh, that's just Joe." Google search has a long list of pieces referencing Biden's gaffes and YouTube has a whole page of them, so it isn't like McCaskill let the cat out of the bag. .

Offshore Drilling Ban Expires Today Posted: 01 Oct 2008 04:38 PM CDT Video above found here. The Outer Continental Shelf Moratorium otherwise known as the offshore drilling ban expired today. The moratorium was first enacted in 1982 and has been extended yearly since. After a hard fought congressional battle between Democrats and Republicans over the issue of allowing offshore drilling to add with other energy plans to help the US become more energy Independent, the final outcome was the expiration of the Outer Continental Shelf Moratorium. In July President Bush lifted the executive ban on offshore oil drilling and encouraged Congress to lift the congressional ban. After months of arguing over the issue and Nancy Pelosi refusing to allow a vote that included drilling from coming to the floor of the house as reported by USA Today, as well as the expiration of the previous ban nearing without the votes necessary to extend the ban, finally the Senate and the House decided to let the ban expire. Environment News Service reports Republican Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma called the expiration of these moratoria "a victory for the American people and our goal of energy security." In a statement provided at Senator Jim DeMint's website, he says: With all that is going on in Washington this week it can be hard to decipher the good from the bad. However, as Congress wraps up work it appears there is indeed a reason to celebrate: American Energy Freedom Day has finally arrived. Thanks to pressure from the American people who are suffering at the pump, Democrats have reluctantly stepped aside and allowed the bans on oil shale and offshore drilling for oil and natural gas to expire. And the credit goes to you, the American people. Without the letters and phone calls to Capitol Hill and the urgent cries for energy freedom in townhall meetings throughout the country, this never would have happened. However, allowing the ban to expire is only the first step in enabling increased American energy production. DeMint is also introducing the Drill Now Act, S. 3646, which will permanently end the ban on offshore drilling in the Atlantic, Pacific, Eastern Gulf of Mexico and Oil Shale Areas. Summary of the Drill Now Act 3646: • Expedites Leasing Process: Allows the Mineral Management Service to being preleasing and leasing activities immediately, without the need to completely write a new 5-year leasing plan. The Drill Now Act would eliminate the need to write this 5-year plan, and allows the pre-leasing to begin immediately. Under current law, drilling may not begin until 2011, but under Drill Now Act, drilling could begin in late 2009. • Ensures 50/50 State Royalty Sharing: Creates revenue sharing for all states that allow drilling off their coasts divided – 50% for states and 50% for the Federal Treasury. • Expedites Judicial Review of Environmental Lawsuits: Allows only 90 days to submit a legal case to U.S. District Courts. Any appeal of a district court can only be made in the U.S. District Court of Appeals in D.C. Limits judicial review for how the Secretary enforces laws. More about the introduction of the bill can be found here. .

Digital Journal Covering Debates Live, Giving All Bloggers Free Syndicated Coverage Posted: 01 Oct 2008 03:03 PM CDT For those that do not have the time, or even some that do not have the inclination to live blog tomorrow night's VP debate, Digital Journal will be doing so and is offering the embed codes for individual bloggers to have their live event embedded into their own blogs. From the DJ announcement: Digital Journal – If you're interested in politics, DigitalJournal.com will be the place to be on Thursday night, as we're covering both the U.S. vice presidential debate and the Canadian federal leaders debate live. Coverage will include play-by-play action, analysis, insight and opinion, as well as live polls and photography, and interaction with readers around the world. Anyone can take part in the debate coverage, and we hope all of you will join us. But in addition to coverage on DigitalJournal.com, we're happy to announce a service for bloggers and citizen journalists outside the site as well. For both debates, DigitalJournal.com is now giving away the embed codes for our live blog coverage, allowing you to embed full, as-it-happens coverage on your own personal blog or even through Facebook. If you're a blogger or citizen journalist who doesn't have the resources or time to live blog the event on your own, you can embed our widget and get up-to-the-second coverage for your blog's audience. The event will be live blogged by DigitalJournal.com staff, as well as citizen journalists. And all coverage is going to be fair and balanced, offering both comments and criticisms of all candidates. Furthermore, if you embed our live blog widget on your page, the coverage will be entirely interactive. Readers will be able to submit comments and vote on polls right on your site. You get in-depth coverage, reader engagement and interactivity at no cost and no effort. We got great feedback on the U.S. presidential debate coverage last week, and so we thought this coverage could be extended to everyone as a service. Just because you might not have time to blog about the debates doesn't mean you have to miss out on having coverage. Read the rest and grab the embed codes over at the original article. Place the embed codes in your blog today or tomorrow and your readers will have live coverage whether you are online or not. .

Group Ad to Connect Obama With Wright, Rezko And Ayers Posted: 01 Oct 2008 02:11 PM CDT According to The Politico, a conservative group called Judicial Confirmation Network, is spending a million dollars on an ad buy, with a video connecting Barack Obama with William Ayers, Jeremiah Wright and Tony Rezko. It will air on networks in the smaller and more inexpensive markets across Ohio and Michigan. In Ohio, Zanesville, Lima, Toledo, Youngstown, and Wheeling-Steubenville. In Michigan, Marquette, Traverse City-Cadillac, Lansing, Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, Alpena. They're also buying time in Erie, Pennsylvania. The video below can be found at YouTube. The ad is narrated by Wendy Long from Judicial Confirmation Network. Text: Wendy: With the help of hundreds of thousands of Americans, the Judicial Confirmation Network fought for the nominations of Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Sam Alito. The next President may nominate 4 new Justices. So we'd like you to see this.... VO: Choosing the right Justices is critical for America. We don't know who Barack Obama would choose, but we know this: He chose as one of his first financial backers a slumlord now convicted on 16 counts of corruption. Obama chose as an associate a man who helped to bomb the Pentagon and said he "didn't do enough." And Obama chose as his pastor a man who has blamed America for the 9/11 attacks. Obama chose to associate with these men, while voting against these men. Wendy: Please join the Judicial Confirmation Network. We need a Supreme Court that respects the Constitution and Justices who won't legislate from the bench. Judicial Confirmation Network paid for this message and is responsible for it. Ayers is a former member of the Weatherman Underground Organization, which organized the Chicago Riot in 1969 and bombed buildings in the 1970's. (William "Bill" Ayers, 2001, Chicago Magazine, trampling on the American Flag) In 2001 Ayers spoke about his setting off bombs on US soil, saying "I don't regret setting bombs. I feel we didn't do enough." That was reported by NYT. More background on William Ayers here. Jeremiah Wright was Barack Obama's pastor for the better part of 20 years, who recently became news fodder when his sermons became available online showing him saying things like "God Damn America" and referring to 9/11 as the chickens coming home to roost. An example of Wright's rhetoric that Obama sat and listened to for almost 20 years can be found at YouTube here. Some history on the political controversy surrounding Obama/Wright can be found here. Tony Rezko, recently convicted of convicted on several counts of fraud and bribery in 2008. He was found guilty of 16 of the 24 charges filed against him. More on Rezko's extensive ties to Barack Obama found here. .

Nancy Pelosi Paid Husband From Political Action Committee Fund Posted: 01 Oct 2008 01:29 PM CDT Nancy Pelosi has directed $99,000 from her political action committee (PAC) to her husband's real estate and investment firm over the last decade. Since Paul Pelosi took over as treasurer for the PAC in 2007, payments have quadrupled. Last year Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House for the U.S. House of Representatives, supported a bill that had it passed, would have banned the practice of paying for services rendered by a spouse of a politician using monies given as political donations. As the Washington Times reports, according to Federal Election Commission records, Financial Leasing Services Inc. (FLS), owned by Paul F. Pelosi, has received $99,000 in rent, utilities and accounting fees from the speaker's "PAC to the Future, over the last 9 years. According to the report, FLS "on track to take in $48,000 in payments this year alone - eight times as much as it received annually from 2000 to 2005, when the committee was run by another treasurer." Lawmakers' frequent use of campaign donations to pay relatives emerged as an issue in the 2006 election campaigns, when the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal gave Democrats fodder to criticize Republicans such as former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas and Rep. John T. Doolittle of California for putting their wives on their campaign and PAC payrolls for fundraising work. While not an illegal practice since the bill that would have banned this practice passed the house with a voice vote but did not get out of a Senate committee, therefore was never implemented into law, Melanie Sloan who is the executive director of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a nonprofit ethics and watchdog group, calls these payments from Pelosi's PAC, to her husband, "problematic," and goes on to explain "From what I understand, Mr. Pelosi doesn't need the money, but this isn't the issue. ... As speaker of the House, it sends the wrong message. She shouldn't be putting family members on the payroll." Nancy Pelosi's spokesman, Brendan Daly, defends the payments saying "She's followed all the appropriate rules and regulations in terms of records and paperwork. When [former treasurer] Leo McCarthy became ill, she thought that it was best that that firm did the accounting and she's paid fair market value in San Francisco." From 1999 and 2006, FLS was receiving $500 a month in rent, utilities and equipment, and in early 2007 when Paul Pelosi took over the job of treasurer, those payments quadrupled to $2,000 per month. Paul Pelosi also receives $24,000 per year for accounting work, all together totaling $48,000 a year paid. Mr. McCarthy, the previous treasurer, had done the work as a volunteer, according to FEC documents and Jennifer Crider, a senior adviser to Mrs. Pelosi and spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. She said FLS' accounting fees are in line with costs for other PACs. In the first six months of 2008, Nancy Pelosi's husband's company, FLS, was the largest vendor for Nancy Pelosi's PAC. According to the Washington Times report Political action committees are designed "to help politicians contribute to other candidates and build influence with colleagues." This is not the first time one of Nancy Pelosi's PACs has been in trouble. In 2004, another of Pelosi's political action committees, named Team Majority, was fined $21,000 by the FEC for accepting over the legal limit donations and Team Majority was closed down after that fine was imposed. I guess draining the Swamp" meant draining it into Nancy and Paul's own bank accounts. .

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