There might be a Sucker Punch behind this move...

McCain Makes Request to delay debate due to economy
06:02 PM CDT on Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) -- The economic crisis and raw politics threatened to derail the first presidential debate as John McCain challenged Barack Obama to delay the Friday forum and join forces to help Washington fix the financial mess.





Obama rebuffed his GOP rival, saying the next president needs to "deal with more than one thing at once." The White House rivals maneuvered to claim the leadership role in resolving the economic turmoil that has overshadowed their campaign six weeks before Election Day.





Obama said he would proceed with his debate preparations while consulting with bailout negotiators and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. McCain said he would stop all advertising, fundraising and other campaign events to return to Washington and work for a bipartisan solution. "It's my belief that this is exactly the time when the American people need to hear from the person who, in approximately 40 days, will be responsible for dealing with this mess," Obama said at a news conference in Clearwater, Fla. "It's going to be part of the president's job to deal with more than one thing at once."





But McCain said they must focus on a bipartisan solution to the nation's financial woes as the Bush administration's $700 billion bailout proposal seemed headed for defeat. If not, McCain said ominously, credit will dry up, people will no longer be able to buy homes, life savings will be at stake and businesses will not have enough money to pay workers. "It has become clear that no consensus has developed to support the administration's proposal," McCain said. "I do not believe that the plan on the table will pass as it currently stands, and we are running out of time." Sen. Lindsey Graham, McCain's representative in debate negotiations, said McCain will not attend the debate "unless there is an agreement that would provide a solution" to the financial crisis. Graham, R-S.C., told The Associated Press that the agreement would have to be publicly endorsed by Obama, McCain, the White House and congressional leaders, but not necessarily given final passage by the House and Senate.





Asked whether the debate could go forward if McCain doesn't show, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs replied, "My sense is there's going to be a stage, a moderator, an audience and at least one presidential candidate." Their competing positions came after the two senators spoke privately, each trying to portray himself as the bipartisan leader in a time of crisis. McCain beat Obama to the punch with the first public statement. He said he had spoken to President Bush and asked him to convene a leadership meeting in Washington that would include him and Obama.





Even as McCain said he was putting the good of the country ahead of politics, his surprise announcement was clearly political.





It was an attempt to try to outmaneuver Obama on an issue in which he's trailing, the economy, as the Democrat gains in polls. He quickly went before TV cameras minutes after speaking with Obama and before the two campaigns had hammered out a joint statement expressing that Congress should act urgently on the bailout.


And while McCain's campaign said he would "suspend" his campaign, it simply will move to Washington knowing the spotlight will remain on him no matter where he is.





Obama, too, made a political calculation by rejecting McCain's challenge while trying to still appear on top of the problem.





Obama repeatedly stressed at his news conference that he called McCain first to propose that they issue a joint statement in support of a package to help fix the economy as soon as possible. He said McCain called back several hours later, as Obama was leaving a rally in Florida, and agreed to the idea of a statement but also said he wanted to postpone the debate and hold joint meetings in Washington. Obama said he suggested they first issue a joint statement showing bipartisanship. "When I got back to the hotel, he had gone on television to announce what he was going to do," Obama said. McCain said he would return to Washington after addressing former President Clinton's Global Initiative session in New York Thursday. He canceled his planned appearance Wednesday on CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman" program and a meeting with the prime minister of India. McCain called Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to propose that joint meetings with Obama and congressional leadership be held quickly, according to leadership aides. Reid spokesman Jim Manley said Reid responded by reading McCain his public statement, in which he said it would not be helpful to have the candidates come back during negotiations and inject presidential politics. The Commission on Presidential Debates and the University of Mississippi, the site of the forum, said they were moving forward with plans for the debate. McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, was canceling her limited campaign events.





Palin said in an interview with CBS Evening News Wednesday that the country could be headed for another Great Depression if Congress doesn't reach a solution.





McCain adviser Steve Schmidt would not say how long the suspension would last but indicated it would go through the weekend, in order to reach agreement on a deal before the markets open on Monday. McCain has struggled with how to handle the financial situation, which he might escape with modest political damage if he and Obama could reach some type of accord on the matter. Scores of congressional Republicans have hinted this week they may oppose the proposed $700 billion bailout even though it is Bush's priority. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., pointedly suggested that Democratic lawmakers could not be expected to back it if McCain did not publicly do so. That leaves McCain with two unpalatable choices. He can oppose a major Republican initiative that the administration says is essential to preventing a full-blown recession, and risk heavy blame if the prediction comes true. Or he can vote for an extraordinarily costly bailout, which many Americans seem to resent, just when polls show him falling farther behind Obama. Several GOP lawmakers and strategists said they see no way that McCain can oppose the main elements of the bailout plan and present himself as a bold leader. He must say, "we need to get this done for the future of our country," said John Feehery, a former aide to top Republican lawmakers. "Country first," Feehery said, noting McCain's campaign slogan. But McCain might reap few political rewards for such a move. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., said he has not found any Republican colleagues who say the proposed bailout "is popular in their district."





Of course, Obama also risks angry voter reactions if he supports the bailout plan. But he could frame his stand as bipartisan statesmanship, whereas McCain's vote could be spun as another example of his siding with Bush, a major impediment to his campaign.

OK. What is wrong with this picture? Does it look like a good use of YOUR MONEY?

FD:

Why does this come up during the final round of our political election campaign?

See an earlier post on this topic.

Fort Worth officials look to join pants-raising effort
By MIKE LEE
mikelee@star-telegram.com

FORT WORTH — City officials want to continue to, ahem, get behind a public education drive aimed at convincing young men to give up their saggy pants.
City Councilman Frank Moss said Tuesday he wants to make sure the "Pull ’Em Up" campaign reaches parents, not just teenagers and young men.
"We’re going to continue to encourage parental involvement," Moss said in a briefing on the campaign at the City Council meeting Tuesday. "They don’t know it’s hampering their [children’s] opportunities."

The problem The sagging style — oversized pants worn low, often revealing a pair of boxer shorts — is widely believed to have its roots in prison culture.

Prisoners in some states weren’t issued belts. Rap artists picked up the style, and it became popular among young people of all stripes.
By the late 1990s, it could be found in schools and on street corners around the country. Moss and other organizers are worried that young men who wear saggy pants may be hurting their chances of getting jobs.
"This is prison," Moss said. "That’s what it is. They just brought it to the outside."
The campaign so far
Dallas City Councilman Dwaine Caraway pushed for an ordinance banning saggy pants in 2007 but backed off when warned that a ban would be unconstitutional.
Instead, he began enlisting support for a public education drive. That grew into the "Pull ’Em Up" campaign.
Fort Worth council members approved a resolution in January supporting the campaign. Clear Channel Outdoor donated billboard space, and an artist drew up a poster. Businesses and a law firm donated cash.
Umoja, a volunteer group that mentors young men, has sponsored a "pull ’em up" basketball tournament, a dance and other events. Umoja volunteers passed out more than 3,500 pushcards at the Fort Worth school district’s annual Cowtown Roundup, which distributes school supplies and clothes to children.
The future
One big question about the program is whether it’s working.

Moss said he wants to assess the results and make adjustments if necessary.
Umoja plans more events, including another basketball tournament, football-watching parties, a father-son football game and possibly a rap concert.
Mayor Mike Moncrief said the city could encourage amusement parks, sports venues and the Fort Worth Zoo to put up posters for the program. He also suggested putting bumper stickers on the city’s cars and trucks.
"So wherever they go with their pants down around their ankles, they’re going to see signs that say 'Don’t do that,’ " Moncrief said.
MIKE LEE, 817-390-7539

Gasoline supplies are tight in
Dallas-Fort Worth Area
09:29 AM CDT on Wednesday, September 24, 2008
By ZACHARY WARMBRODT / The Dallas Morning News zwarmbrodt@dallasnews.com
Hurricane Ike is hitting North Texas gasoline stations hard this week – causing delays in fuel shipments and spot shortages.

Drivers should expect more frequent shortages in the next two weeks as the Texas Gulf Coast's refining capacity continues to come back online, fuel distributors said Tuesday. But after that, supplies should be back to normal, distributors said.
And prices should remain stable, as the major brands of oil locked in their prices before Ike made landfall.
Retail stations said shortages arose at the end of the last workweek. And some gas station owners are desperate. John Benda, owner of Fuel City stations in Dallas, said he expected to run out of regular gasoline by Tuesday evening. "I've been calling all day and begging," Mr. Benda said. "It's been a big problem for the past five days."
Some stations said they were out of gas by Saturday or Sunday. And some Dallas, Richardson and Mansfield stations reported shortages over the last few days.
"You'll drive around and you'll see a lot of bagged pumps," said Rick Canady, president of Fort Worth's Lucky Lady Oil Co.

Distributors and service station operators said drivers should keep a full tank until shortages subside.

Don't panic

But Jim Ervin, AAA Texas area district manager, cautioned that a run on the pumps could make matters worse. He advised consumers not to panic.
"If we look over history from 9/11 to hurricanes, we have never run out as long as we don't panic buy," he said. "If we panic buy because we think it's going to run out, we'll definitely have shortages."

Hurricane Ike, which swept through the state almost two weeks ago, forced the shutdown of Gulf Coast gasoline pipelines and oil refineries.
They are in varying stages of restarting, which is putting the squeeze on supply in North Texas and across the Southeast.
Louisiana, Tennessee and Georgia were all reporting sporadic shortages this week.
"It's largely a function of how the distribution system is working right now," said Bruce Bullock, director of Southern Methodist University's Maguire Energy Institute.
"If you look up to, say, the mid-South region – Atlanta, Nashville, up in the Carolinas and so forth – most of their gasoline comes from the Colonial Pipeline. The gasoline that actually feeds that comes from the Houston refineries."
Until those refineries are up and running, he said, they're not able to feed that pipeline.
Most of North Texas' gasoline supply comes from refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast, which account for about 20 percent of the country's refining capacity.
"There have been a lot of refineries that aren't fully restarted and back at full rates yet," said Bill Day, spokesman for San Antonio-based Valero Energy Corp.
"It has been a lengthy process coming back up from Hurricane Ike, mostly because of power issues – and in our case, things like utilities and fresh water supply."
Local terminals
John Clark, a dispatcher for PM Fuel Services Inc., takes requests from gas stations and passes them along to the company's truck drivers, who pick up the fuel from local terminals attached to pipelines coming from the Gulf Coast.
He said the terminals have started to ration the amount of gasoline they let trucks pick up, so station owners are getting less fuel than usual and less frequently.
Suppliers set prices at 6 p.m. and allow trucks to pick up the fuel at midnight.
"Usually around 7 or 8 in the morning, the product's done," Mr. Clark said. "You can't get [any] more."
Mr. Clark said PM Fuel Services is 10 to 12 loads of fuel behind in orders per day.
Two weeks after Hurricane Rita made landfall, he said, the company was behind up to 50 loads a day.
Normally a station would get an entire truckload of gasoline – about 9,000 gallons. Now, the company splits one truck between four or five stores.
"We've been called everything you can imagine," he said. "They think we're just being mean to them by not bringing them gas. It's because we can't get none."

Just pulled this out of the email box... too many this week. I need to set my DVR for this one.

Freddallas --

This Friday, we'll reach another milestone in this campaign -- the first debate of the general election, on September 26th at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time.

Millions of Americans will tune in to watch Barack debate John McCain about America's foreign policy and our role in the world. Barack will share his plan to bring the change we need -- to restore our place in the world, ensure security at home and abroad, and reestablish the United States as the world's economic leader. This is a great opportunity for you to learn more about the issues. And it's also a great opportunity for you to share Barack's message of change with your friends, family, and neighbors by attending or hosting a Debate Watch Party. Watch the debate with friends and supporters, and talk about how you can get involved in this movement. I recorded a brief message about these parties. Please take a moment to watch the video and sign up to attend or host a Debate Watch Party in your community.
Many Americans are still learning about Barack and this movement for change. They don't know about his plan to restore the middle class, cut taxes for 95 percent of American families, provide health care for every American, achieve energy independence, improve our schools, and responsibly end the war in Iraq.

Many people also don't know that John McCain has voted with George Bush more than 90 percent of the time -- including to continue Bush's failed Iraq policies, not investigating the government response to Katrina, not supporting children's health care, not supporting college benefits for returning veterans, and passing tax cuts for the rich at the expense of the middle class.

This debate is a chance for Americans to hear directly from Barack. And with just a few weeks left before Election Day, it's more important than ever that we bring people together and talk about the issues that matter in our communities.

I hope you'll watch my short message and sign up to attend or even host a Debate Watch Party: http://my.barackobama.com/debate

Thank you for all that you're doing,
Michelle

If only I had gotten mine for this election... with five dogs, we could have gotten through the candidates quickly!

CHEWY: A petfood company has created rubber chew toys in the likeness of Helen Clark and John Key for the KIWI election campaign.

New Zealand's top politicians are going to the dogs this election.
Petfood company Masterpet has launched its own election campaign, in a bid to predict which party leader is going to be "dog tucker" come November 8.
The company has created rubber chew toys in the likeness of Helen Clark and John Key for the campaign.
Masterpet will monitor sales of the toys, holding their own mini-election to see which toy is most preferred by pet owners. The sales results will be posted online as 'political polls' on the political blog kiwiblog.co.nz.
Masterpet North Island sales manager Peter Couchman urged people to get in quick, saying that like politicians, the toy's shelf life might be limited.
"Early data in our reverse poll (the "dog tucker" poll) suggests a preference for Helen Clark. But this is one poll she may not want to be ahead in!”
The figures had the Clark toy cornering 59 per cent of the market, with Key trailing with 26 per cent of sales.
Masterpet have also released rubber toys of popular current affairs show hosts Mark Sainsbury and John Campbell.
Campbell is currently leading early sales with 9 per cent of all toys sold, with Sainsbury on 6 per cent.
The toys are available at specialty pet stores, vet clinics and selected supermarkets.
MASTERPET'S TIPS FOR DOG OWNERS
1. Remember your purchase is part of a political poll - your vote counts
2. Wear suitable ear protection when supervising your dog's playtime with the toy. As with real politicians, the squealing can become quite deafening.
3. Keep dog on a leash if around real politicians. Masterpet does not accept any liability for dog toy mistaken identity.
4. When choosing a toy, take your dog along with you. Man's best friend doesn't like political ideologies thrust upon him/her more than the next person.
5.If your dog destroys the politician in the first five minutes don't hold this against your dog - the media do it every week.

Bin Laden: Goal is to bankrupt U.S. How well did he do?

Osama said he would bankrupt the United States and cause the loss of a huge number of jobs. You read and decide if he is more successful than Bush.
Al-Jazeera releases full transcript of al Qaeda leader's tapeMonday, November 1, 2004

Posted: 8:07 PM EST (0107 GMT) (CNN) -- The Arabic-language network Al-Jazeera released a full transcript Monday of the most recent videotape from Osama bin Laden in which the head of al Qaeda said his group's goal is to force America into bankruptcy.Al-Jazeera aired portions of the videotape Friday but released the full transcript of the entire tape on its Web site Monday."We are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy. Allah willing, and nothing is too great for Allah," bin Laden said in the transcript.He said the mujahedeen fighters did the same thing to the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980s, "using guerrilla warfare and the war of attrition to fight tyrannical superpowers.""We, alongside the mujahedeen, bled Russia for 10 years until it went bankrupt and was forced to withdraw in defeat," bin Laden said.He also said al Qaeda has found it "easy for us to provoke and bait this administration.""All that we have to do is to send two mujahedeen to the furthest point east to raise a piece of cloth on which is written al Qaeda, in order to make generals race there to cause America to suffer human, economic and political losses without their achieving anything of note other than some benefits for their private corporations," bin Laden said.Al-Jazeera executives said they decided to post the entire speech because rumors were circulating that the network omitted parts that "had direct threats toward specific states, which was totally untrue.""We chose the most newsworthy parts of the address and aired them. The rest was used in lower thirds in graphics format," said one official.U.S. intelligence officials Monday confirmed that the transcript made public Monday by Al-Jazeera was a complete one.As part of the "bleed-until-bankruptcy plan," bin Laden cited a British estimate that it cost al Qaeda about $500,000 to carry out the attacks of September 11, 2001, an amount that he said paled in comparison with the costs incurred by the United States."Every dollar of al Qaeda defeated a million dollars, by the permission of Allah, besides the loss of a huge number of jobs," he said. "As for the economic deficit, it has reached record astronomical numbers estimated to total more than a trillion dollars.The total U.S. national debt is more than $7 trillion. The U.S. federal deficit was $413 billion in 2004, according to the Treasury Department."It is true that this shows that al Qaeda has gained, but on the other hand it shows that the Bush administration has also gained, something that anyone who looks at the size of the contracts acquired by the shady Bush administration-linked mega-corporations, like Halliburton and its kind, will be convinced."And it all shows that the real loser is you," he said. "It is the American people and their economy."As for President Bush's Iraq policy, Bin Laden said, "the darkness of black gold blurred his vision and insight, and he gave priority to private interests over the public interests of America."So the war went ahead, the death toll rose, the American economy bled, and Bush became embroiled in the swamps of Iraq that threaten his future," bin Laden said.U.S. government officials said Friday that the tape appeared to be authentic and recently made. It was the first videotaped message from the al Qaeda leader in nearly three years.http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/11/01/binladen.tape/

Just and Update: Twenty is just not as mature as it used to be...

Hunt for Palin hacker shaping up to be simple case
By LARA JAKES JORDAN – 6 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — The hunt for the hacker who broke into Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's personal e-mail account is shaping up to be a remarkably simple investigation, by the standards of major cybersecurity whodunits.
U.S. investigators figure the hacker claimed responsibility in a detailed accounting that included his own personal e-mail address and that he tried to cover his trail using a U.S. Internet anonymity service that has been surprisingly cooperative with the FBI in efforts to peel away that anonymity.
Not exactly the plot of a Hollywood thriller.
In what may be a significant break in the case, the FBI searched the residence of the son of a Democratic state lawmaker in Tennessee over the weekend looking for evidence linking the young man to the break-in, two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press. The apartment the FBI searched is in a complex about five blocks from the University of Tennessee campus, in a neighborhood popular with students.
David Kernell, 20, has not returned repeated phone calls or e-mails from the AP since last week. His lawyer said Monday the family is going through a difficult period. Kernell is an economics major at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
"The Kernell family wants to do the right thing, and they want what is best for their son," said attorney Wade V. Davies of Knoxville. "We are confident that the truth will emerge as we go through the process. David is a decent and intelligent young man, and I look forward to assisting him during this difficult period."
Kernell is the son of state Rep. Mike Kernell, a Memphis Democrat and chairman of Tennessee's House Government Operations Committee. The father declined last week to discuss the possibility his son might be involved in the case.
"I had nothing to do with it, I had no knowledge or anything," Mike Kernell told the AP last week.
"I was not a party to anything of this nature at all," he added. "I wasn't in on this — and I wouldn't know how to do anything like that."
No one answered the door at Mike Kernell's home in Memphis on Monday, and he did not return repeated phone calls Monday from the AP.
Palin's e-mail account with Yahoo Inc. was compromised last week by a hacker who revealed as evidence a few inconsequential personal messages she has received since John McCain selected her as his running mate. The McCain campaign confirmed the break-in and called it a "shocking invasion of the governor's privacy and a violation of law."
Palin used "gov.sarah" in one of her Yahoo e-mail addresses she sometimes uses to conduct state business. The hacker targeted her separate "gov.palin" account.
During the break-in, the hacker used an Internet address that traced to David Kernell's apartment complex in Knoxville. The FBI obtained logs Saturday establishing the connection from Gabriel Ramuglia of Athens, Ga., who operates an Internet anonymity service used by the hacker.
Ramuglia told the AP the FBI asked him to confirm that the address appeared in his records. Ramuglia said his logs showed the hacker visiting Yahoo's mail service, resetting Palin's password and announcing results of the break-in on a Web site where the hacking was first disclosed.
"I think he just didn't realize the severity of what he was doing until afterwards," Ramuglia said.
After the break-in, a person claiming responsibility published a detailed chronology of the hacking on the same Web site. That person identified his e-mail address as one that has been linked publicly to David Kernell.
Kernell's father, Mike Kernell, has a strait-laced reputation among his colleagues.
"Mike Kernell is your quintessential Boy Scout," said state Rep. John Deberry, another Democrat. "Mike follows the rules. He will almost get on your nerve as far as making sure things are done by the book."
"If Mike had known anything about this, he would have had a fit on his son," Deberry said. "When I saw his reaction when he first heard about it, the absolute fear and shock that was on his face, I realized then he had absolutely nothing to do with it."
Experts said the hacker apparently left an easy trail for investigators.
"He might as well have taken a picture of his house and uploaded it," said Ken Pfeil, an Internet security expert. "He should have just set up a big beacon that said, 'Here's my house,' or confessed. If they can't catch this guy based on all the information posted on the Web then all bets are off."
Associated Press writers Ted Bridis in Washington, Erik Schelzig and Lucas L. Johnson II in Nashville, Tenn., and Beth Rucker in Knoxville contributed to this report.

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Palin hacker's IP address linked to Tennessee college dorm
By Sam Gustin, Portfolio.com Published: September 22, 2008 - 10:00AM CT
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Alleged 1st-person tale of Palin e-mail hack comes and goes
Hack of Palin e-mail makes case for sticking with .gov account
Palin comes under fire for using Yahoo e-mail for state biz
The hacker who broke into GOP vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin's e-mail account used the internet service provider of a Knoxville, Tennessee student housing complex under federal investigation.
Federal agents executed a search warrant early Sunday morning at the apartment of a University of Tennessee student in connection with the probe.
In the days since news of the Palin hack broke, Web sleuths have focused on the 20-year-old student, whose father is a Democratic state representative in Tennessee.
But Portfolio.com has learned that the IP address used by the Palin hacker originated from an Illinois-based ISP called Pavlov Media, which provides internet service to The Commons at Knoxville, a University of Tennessee student housing complex.
In an interview with Portfolio.com, Gabriel Ramuglia, who runs Ctunnel.com, a proxy service used by the hacker to try to disguise his identity, said federal investigators asked him about a single IP address which has become the focus of the government's probe into the hacking of Palin's Yahoo e-mail account.
Ramuglia quickly matched the IP address to one found in his logs, which he said displayed Web activity "consistent with what web sites the hacker was expected to have visited through my service."
"The person visited Yahoo Mail, 4chan.org, and the Web addresses that were visible in the posted screenshots," Ramuglia told Portfolio.com Sunday night.
Ramuglia declined to provide the user's full IP address, but Portfolio.com has learned that the address falls within the range operated by Pavlov Media, formerly known as Fusion Broadband, which was created through a 2004 merger between Noment Networks and Distributed Management Information Systems, Inc. (DMISI).
Pavlov Media operates the internet service for The Commons at Knoxville apartment complex, which has become the center of attention in the Palin hack probe. The FBI showed up early Sunday morning at the apartment of the student, the son of a Democratic state representative from Memphis.

The student was apparently hosting a party at his apartment when the feds arrived.
WBIR of Knoxville reported that a Justice Department spokesperson confirmed "investigatory activity" in Knoxville related to the Palin case, and a separate law enforcement source confirmed that a search warrant was served. As of Sunday evening, no charges had been filed in the case.
News of the search warrant came just days after someone named "rubico" posted a mea culpa on 4chan.org, an online bulletin board frequented by individuals associated with "Anonymous," an amorphous, largely unorganized movement of hackers who gained notoriety after some adherents targeted the Church of Scientology.
Internet sleuths have compiled a list of evidence pointing to the student as the culprit, but again, no charges have been filed.
Meanwhile, legal experts say they expect the hacker, if found guilty, to receive a light sentence, according to Wired.com, not least of all because of ambiguity in the Justice Department's own policy regarding the legal status of e-mail that has been read, but not discarded.