RE:think

They Better Be Careful

Hey Democrats, in case you haven't noticed, your inexperienced candidate won't just be a heartbeat away, he will be President...

Rep. Rahm Emanuel, the 4th ranking House Democrat, said in a statement the choice of Palin "shows political panic." "Is this really who the Republican Party wants to be one heartbeat away from the Presidency? Given Sarah Palin's lack of experience on every front and on nearly every issue, this Vice Presidential pick doesn't show judgment: it shows political panic," he said.

Also interesting... When Republicans do this sort of thing, they are sexist. Look at the Ferraro campaign. Look at the criticisms of Hillary. I hate hypocrites.

Link: CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time - Blogs from CNN.com.

Former President Carter: Seriously?

Funny you couldn't find this at CNN.com. Hmmmmm... I wondered when the dems would turn McCain's POW story against him.

Link: Former President Carter: McCain ‘Milking’ POW Experience - America’s Election HQ.

It Was Only a Matter of Time

Guitar Praise... the Christian knockoff of Guitar Hero. I am assuming it only has 3 buttons and a capo...

Link: Guitar Praise: Guitar Hero for Christians - Boing Boing Gadgets.

Hypocrite

Jonathan Falwell complaining about a group boycotting a hotel? Seriously? He says that our right to dissent is vanishing. Maybe I am wrong but hasn't he and he late father been at the command of a boycott or two? This article is absolutely ridiculous.

A group boycotts a hotel, expressing THEIR right to dissent, but somehow Falwell and those who follow his lead are losing their right in the exchange. My head hurts. These people are a joke.

Link: Jerry Falwell Ministries

Bros

Dinner With My Baby

At the Stir Fry Cafe...

The Fauxlympics?

So a lot of the stuff in China is a sham in order to impress the world? Go figure. I missed all of this till now. Takes a little of the luster off those opening ceremonies. Who knows what was real and what wasn't.

Link: ESPN

Link: Beijing's phoniness knows no bounds: Fake ceremonies, fake gymnasts, fake singer, fake buildings. And now … Fake ethnic kids

Link: Beijing Olympic Games 2008 - Beijing uses CG in the Olympics opening ceremony fireworks

Obama, McCain, and Rick Warren

The forum Rick Warren hosted at Saddleback Church this weekend was pretty interesting. I wanted to make a few points about it. I’ll try not to get into the policies of the guys too much. We pretty much know where they stand already.

First, there are charges from the left that McCain cheated. That he knew what was coming and this is why his answers were quicker and more succinct. I’m not much of a conspiracy theorist and I don’t buy this one. I think what we saw is what you have seen me post about here twice before. If it is not a planned speech, Obama has great trouble talking and getting his points across. He hems and haws and stutters and many times ends up contradicting himself in the same paragraph, if not same sentence. For those who don’t believe this, let’s just watch the 3 debates that are coming up.

McCain was very impressive with his quick, short and to the point answers. As one who supported Ron Paul, it was familiar and welcomed. If you ask him for a yes or no answer, Paul is one of the only politicians I've ever seen actually answer yes or no.

Second, many evangelicals are up in arms because Warren would give Obama a forum in his church. It’s just more of the same from hardcore right wing evangelicals and we should all just start ignoring them. Just find something to boycott and leave the rest of us alone. They have played themselves out, been hoodwinked by King Bush, and are going to lose power no matter which of these candidates wins. And this is a good thing. It’s good for our country and it’s good for Christians in this country who do not identify with this group of people.

I actually applaud Warren and Saddleback for doing something that liberal mainline, black, and politically active evangelical churches would never do. Be non-partisan.

Third, I was very impressed with Rick Warren. He did an awesome job as moderator/interviewer and came off as neutral in this forum. Apparently, he gave the two candidates advance warning on some things he would ask that would have to answered with “commitments”. That is very fair. He also gave the both the first 2 questions ahead of time. Again, very fair.

Fourth, how funny was it seeing Obama catch himself as he criticized Clarence Thomas as not being experienced enough when he was nominated? He actually catches himself in the middle of the word experienced and cuts it off early! OOPS! Don’t want to point out one of your biggest liabilities!

Lastly, and you may accuse me of being partisan since I do t least lean right, McCain’s answers said much more that Obama’s. Obama used his speech giving tools of bromides and platitude, and that won’t be taken as a positive by many people. Most people assume, because he does give such wonderful speeches, that Obama connects better with people than McCain does. I don’t buy it. With all of his faults, Bush was very good at connecting with more people than his opponents. Otherwise, how does the guy get elected twice? I think McCain may carry on that tradition.

Again, very interesting event. I may come back with a part two on this.

Link: A day after forum, Obama has harsh words for McCain - CNN.com.

Impressive Statement

It is nice to see this kind of statement in the midst of a heavily contested Presidential Race. McCain has similarly made statements in Obama's defense.

Even so, Obama stepped to McCain's defense when a voter criticized his Vietnam era record. A Naval aviator, McCain spent 5 years as a prisoner of war there after being shot down and badly wounded.

"Respectfully I'm going to disagree with you on McCain and his service," Obama said. "I think his service was honorable. He deserves respect."

Link: A day after forum, Obama has harsh words for McCain - CNN.com.

Michael Phelps is No American Hero

No, he is far from it. He is the epitome of American greed and consumption. He is gluttonous, like most Americans, in his pursuit of Olympic Gold and the fame and notoriety that go along with it. How so you ask?

The guy is eating 12,000 calories A DAY!

A few weeks ago Barack Obama pointed out that Americans consume too much.

"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK. That's not leadership. That's not going to happen."

Now we have this swimmer over in China boasting on TV about all the food he's eating. AND he's doing it in a country and region where many of the poorest of the poor live. American hero? I think not. American ZERO!

And what is it exactly this guy is woofing down each day? From the NY Post:

Phelps lends a new spin to the phrase "Breakfast of Champions" by starting off his day by eating three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise.

He follows that up with two cups of coffee, a five-egg omelet, a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar and three chocolate-chip pancakes.

At lunch, Phelps gobbles up a pound of enriched pasta and two large ham and cheese sandwiches slathered with mayo on white bread - capping off the meal by chugging about 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.

For dinner, Phelps really loads up on the carbs - what he needs to give him plenty of energy for his five-hours-a-day, six-days-a-week regimen - with a pound of pasta and an entire pizza.

He washes all that down with another 1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.

I also saw this on one of NBC's vignettes that focuses on the athletes. Ridiculous! How many hungry kids could be feed daily with this much food?

If this is what it takes for the world's, and more specifically American, elite athletes to compete in the Olympics, I say down with the Olympics! I think I will boycott the rest of these Olympics and YOU SHOULD TOO!!! I expect Barack Obama to boycott any day now and I hope that McCain will follow suit. And Bush, there he was, in Beijing, cheering this glutton on. Disgusting.

Link: OLYMPIC GOLDEN BOY PHELPS EATS 12,000 CALORIES A DAY - New York Post.

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