JohnA lifeBlog

Sen. Obama just delivered the greatest political speech in a generation.

Watch it in High-Definition

I am still pissed about his FISA capitulation, but his speech this evening made me realize that he does want to involve EVERYONE in the election process. He’s not afraid of everyone having a voice and a vote.

We should at least trust his acceptance speech promises with the diligence that we accepted Bush 41’s promise of No New Taxes.

As I debated this with a good friend, I called him naive to believe that things would be different. And I agreed. I am naive. But to be honest, after 8 years of GWB, I am more confident in the people that Obama will surround himself with than the people that McCain will surround himself with.

Don’t forget… He gave his speech with a flag-lapel-pin… how on EARTH will that play in the heartland? I can’t wait to see how FOXNEWSDRUDGESCARBOROUGH will respond.

Finally, according to the campaign website, if you give the tooth fairy at least $15, you get a free LIMITED EDITION “Tooth Fairy / Biden” magnet. I gave $30. Maybe I’ll get two magnets!

I twittered about this briefly yesterday, but decided that it was too big a deal to simply pass up.

AT&T thanks the Blue Dog Democrats with a lavish party

This is simply disgusting. If you want to know why Congress has the lowest approval ratings in history, here is a great start.

Greenwald writes:

There was a wall of private security deployed around the building, and after asking where the press entrance was, we were told by the security officials, after they consulted with event organizers, that the press was barred from the event, and that only those with invitations could enter

This is why I hate politics, and this is why I agree with the single-digit approval ratings Congress receives.

Via FiveThirtyEight

Personally, I think that is a terrific choice. Sen. Biden, while he’s made some poor decisions before, is consistent in his choices, familiar with foreign policy challenges, and the kind of straight shooter one can trust.

No, I still haven’t decided how I will vote this November, but I will give Obama props for making a great choice for his VP slot.

I wrote this letter to the gang at The Consumerist tonight:

Ok, so tonight, I went to the movies, and was confronted again by some low-level worker asking for ID when making a credit card purchase. I explained to the employee that the card was signed, and that was all that was necessary.

Suffice it to say that the employee and her not-legal-to-drink “manager” both said that I could not make the purchase without providing ID. I refused, and went into my movie leaving the overpriced popcorn and soda behind.

When I got home from the movies, I dutifully called the 800 number on the back of my MasterCard, and explained the situation to the rep on the other end. I asked that I be notified via mail that the merchant was indeed contacted about this issue, at which time I was placed on hold.

About 10 minutes later, a “supervisor” came on the phone, and I again explained the situation. She replied that it was their policy that they “preferred that merchants asked for photo ID”. I repiled that contractually, that was not the case. I further explained that since identity theft is so rampant, I refuse to show my ID unless legally required. She put me on hold, and then came back that her supervisor said the same thing, that it was a good thing(tm) that I wasn’t allowed to make my purchase without providing photo id.

Exasperated, I told the agent that I felt like I was having the same conversation I had at the movie theater verbatim, and that she should talk to her HR representative for proper training.

So, Consumerist friends, how on earth do we get these people to understand the very basic contracts that define the relationships between merchant and processor? How do we communicate to these people that we won’t risk identity theft to buy an overpriced bag of popcorn.

I’m off to fill out the MasterCard form on their website, but again, I feel defeated.

Any advice?

John

The bottom line is that merchants are REQUIRED to accept valid, signed cards regardless of the availability of photo ID. To those who say that it is for my protection, I would reply that since I am protected automatically from any invalid charges, it certainly is NOT for my protection.

Let’s see what MasterCard says. Oh, and consumerist.com won’t reply, it’s like writing an e-mail into a black hole.

I can’t believe I ever thought Sen. Obama was different than every other politician in Washington. At every turn, he demonstrates his willingness to pander to whatever crowd he is speaking to. No convictions, no consciences…. just empty promises and Reagan-eqsue speeches. Bob Barr for president, I guess…

More nation building and intervention. “No one welcomes war. … But my country and yours have a stake in seeing that NATO’s first mission beyond Europe’s borders is a success. For the people of Afghanistan, and for our shared security,…The Afghan people need our troops…your support to defeat the Taliban..and to help them rebuild their nation”

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“To be clear: Barack will support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies.”

Yesterday, Sen. Obama voted in the exact opposite position, as noted by Glenn Greenwald:

The Senators then voted for “cloture” on the underlying FISA bill — the procedure that allows the Senate to overcome any filibusters — and it passed by a vote of 72-26. Obama voted along with all Republicans for cloture. Hillary Clinton voted with 25 other Democrats against cloture (strangely, Clinton originally voted AYE on cloture, and then changed her vote to NAY; I’m trying to find out what explains that).

So, in honor of this change, here is my proposal for a new Obama campaign poster:

What would you do if you lost everything? How would you react?

Darcy Burner, a congressional candidate from Washington, shows her true colors in the face of adversity.

As was stated on another site, every $5,000 she receives is a day long reprieve from the necessary fundraising against her opponent who doesn’t have this magnitude of tragedy to face. I gave her campaign $50 today. You should help, too.

Oh, and I totally want to know where she got the </war> t-shirt she’s wearing.

June 25, 2008

Sen. Barak Obama
c/o Obama for America
PO Box 8102
Chicago, IL 60680

Dear Sen. Obama:

We’ve not met, but I’ve been a fan for a while. In fact, as a life-long Republican, my second-ever donation to a Democrat was to your campaign after you delivered a truly amazing speech about your relationship with Rev. Wright. It was the speech that one would expect from a true straight shooter.

My first every donation to a Democrat was to Chris Dodd, actually, when he announced that he would filibuster any attempts to pass retroactive immunity for the telecom companies who spied on innocent American citizens without a warrant.

Back when Sen. Dodd made that pledge, you supported him, and agreed to follow suit. Thanks to that kind of leadership, the measure was defeated.

I gave you $100, Mr. Obama. And I was looking forward to giving you $2,200 more by November. But your recent comments and actions are not those of a leader looking to defend the Constitution. Instead, your words and actions are actually quite difficult to discern from the same messages being offered by the McCain team. Actually, your recent comments about the “Protect AT&T Act” are so similar to McCain’s comments that there is no way to tell you two apart.

As the now de-facto leader of the Democratic Party, you have failed, sir. You have abandoned our precious Bill of Rights in a vain attempt to curry favor from a sliver of voters who are already pre-disposed to avoid you.

Obviously, I cannot vote for McCain this November. I am trying to decide if I should vote for you, or simply leave my selection blank. At this point, I have become jaded, and see you as simply another in a long line of candidates who abandon their core values once the polls start to roll in.

In any circumstance, you have lost a supporter who loved to talk about your honesty and integrity. You lost $2,200. And you made me cynical, seeing that this election is politics as usual.

Sen. Obama, you can still correct this. Refuse to support any bill that includes Telecom immunity. Sadly, though, I’m sure your council of advisors has already made up your mind for you.

Respectfully,
John Anderson