There are some things about Palin that concern me a little–that should concern us all– but it seems that so many are just falling in line because they are Republicans and McCain picked her. He can do no wrong. And of course she is qualified. She’s wonderful. And blah blah blah.

Truth is, she is young, she hasn’t had much experience at the national level, there is a potential scandal hanging over her head involving her brother-in-law, not many know much about her at all, she wasn’t vetted well, and McCain picked her despite not really knowing her. It’s almost like he was scrolling through eHarmonyVP and said, “Hey, I like the write-up on this one. Get her.” I hope I’m very wrong on that. And that isn’t to say that she isn’t very capable of being our vice president or even our president. I want to like her. I want to think she is a good choice, but I think I’ll wait a while before jumping in with both feet. There is too much about her I don’t know.

I still plan to vote for McCain, but I’m not ready to get out my cheerleader pompoms. If worse comes to worse, I’ll consider voting for Bob.

The Democrats have on their blinders as well. Obama has some huge negatives, even from a Liberal perspective, yet I doubt any of them have the character to admit it. I would rather see someone say, “Yes, he does sound racist, but I like what he wants to do with health care, so I’m voting for him.” That’s honest. That’s realistic. That’s taking his strengths along with his faults and deciding that his strengths are more important to you. We all have to do this.

LOL! A hurricane is going to hit New Orleans. LOL Ahahahaha!

God sure is on the democrat’s side. LOL Death, carnage, flooding. Darn, that’s funny.
>

… that a good pencil sharpener is probably worth the money.  Anyone have a favorite?

Once again the liberal bloggers are showing that they are out of touch with the average American.

Palin believes in creation.

::gasp::

So do the majority of Americans.

::double gasp::

Xenophobically ridiculing the beliefs of the majority of fellow Americans doesn’t seem like a very bright thing to do, but I suppose you know what you’re doing. Or maybe not.

It really is too bad that images like this can leave such a lasting impression. Despite what I have had to say about our local liberals in the last week, I just can’t bring myself to believe that any of them would condone what is shown in the following photos. It’s a shame they have to share a party with those that did this.

Get the whole story here and here.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

I don’t think I know much about her.  The article linked above describes her as a “maverick”. I wonder if this was a good choice as McCain is already labeled that way and not considered conservative enough for some. I hope she wasn’t picked just because she is a woman so Republicans could compete with Obama being black.

Except George Bush did it in style. Notice the unassuming columns in the background. They aren’t obnoxious or distracting. Just classic.

This just goes to show you that tastefully classy can be turned into elitist trashy when an ego is left unchecked.

Maybe it’s early yet (the speech was only last night), but has anyone else noticed that the large majority of the pictures of Barack from the convention carefully leave out the columns? That must have taken some work considering how massive they were. Many of the shots seem to be from behind so his adoring fans make up the backdrop.

All hail the power of Barack Obama!
	Let hyperventilating fans prostrate fall;
	bring forth the liberal nomination,
	and crown him savior of all.
	Bring forth the liberal nomination,
	and crown him savior of all.

“Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are working harder for less. More of you have lost your homes and more are watching your home values plummet. More of you have cars you can’t afford to drive, credit card bills you can’t afford to pay and tuition that is beyond your reach

“These challenges are not all of government’s making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed presidency of George W. Bush.

And just what should Bush have done about people spending money they didn’t have? Taken away their credit cards? Told everyone what cars to drive? Personally paid their tuition?

Good grief! It’s time people take responsibility for the financial messes they get themselves into and stop blaming Bush for everything.

Senator John McCain has decided on his running mate, two Republican strategists in contact with McCain’s campaign said Wednesday. He is expected to reveal his choice at a rally at a basketball arena in Dayton, Ohio, at 11 a.m. Friday.

According to The Drudge Report the information may be “leaked” in less than two hours with a confirmation at 8.

What’s the difference between an announcement and a planned leak?   If this is an attempt to build up Obama level hype, it’s pathetic.

Unbelievable! A reporter was pushed off a sidewalk and into the street by a police officer. Once on the other side of the street another officer grabs him by the neck as the tv crew is told to shut off the camera. He is led away in hand cuffs and put under arrest. What caused this? The reporter was standing on a public sidewalk shooting footage of of Democratic leaders and their donors leaving a hotel after a private meeting.

Watch the video.

I would expect this kind of thing from China, but not the United States.

This is so cool. Type in your message and email it to someone. You can choose a male or female singer.

Be patient; it takes a little while to load.

This is painful to admit. I fell for all that lofty idealistic chatter hook line and sinker. No more. Now I see that it was nothing more than babbling and posturing.

I actually believed you when you said you were for free thinking, exchanging ideas, and thinking for yourselves. I thought you really were above insulting others and were all about civil conversations.

I don’t think so anymore. Here are a few reasons why.

1. A liberal that I considered a very good friend and I used to joke around quite often about how a few conservative blogs would moderate comments and not let opposing views be heard or comments attacking or mocking the author. Then that same liberal left in a huff when I wouldn’t do the same on this blog. HYPOCRITE!

2. And how about a liberal blogger that will rail against pseudonymous comments and the people that leave them? That would be all well and good if that person didn’t do the same thing. This blogger has admitted on several occasions that they have commented under pseudonyms. And the comments were rather nasty. Not at all like the usual nice comments this person leaves when using their regular name. Pseudonymous and anonymous commenting is not very unusual, and I don’t generally have a problem with it. I do, however, have a problem with someone that acts like they are above doing that and insult those that do when they are just as guilty or maybe even more so since they don’t just pick one pseudonym and stick with it. HYPOCRITE!

3. And how about the liberal blog that claims to be “The discussion page of Free Thinking Individuals in Rockingham County and Harrisonburg City” but rarely has discussion and is filled with nothing but liberal propaganda? Apparently “free thinking” means liberal thinking. Y’all will talk till your blue in the face about how we all need to think for ourselves, and not just do what the party tells us. Do you ever apply that same concept to yourselves? You act as if you are somehow mentally superior to conservatives and more open minded. HYPOCRITES!

4. You will say things like:

• Obama is my candidate and I will tell anyone who wants to hear why they should vote for him.

• I come to these blogs because I like hearing other points of view

And then when given an invitation to share your point of view and tell me what you see in Obama, I get nothing but crap about how you wouldn’t change anyone’s mind so it isn’t worth your bother.  HYPOCRITES! Oh, and HRR is soooooo mean. Which brings me to my next point.

5. Grow up. If someone is obviously baiting you with name calling and insults, just ignore them if it bothers you. I know from experience that if these tactics are ignored and no one bites, the taunter eventually gets bored and moves on or settles down. I have had people call me names an personally attack me too. I didn’t edit them. I think HRR has even had a few choice words for me in the past. You aren’t special like that. He’s an equal opportunity mocker. You want me to edit or ban HRR for name calling. Well that’s just dandy. While I’m at it I’ll ban you for being insulting and condescending. It isn’t like any of you are much better. You’re just a little more subtle. HRR may punch someone in the nose while you prefer a sneaky attack from behind. I’ll ban Rudder after I ban Joe, Lowell, Emmy, Deb and Kestrel. Which reminds me. You want me to chastise HRR for doing what Kestrel does but I don’t see you holding Kestrel’s feet to the fire. Clean your own house before you complain about mine. HYPOCRITES!

6. George Allen got labeled a racist for saying Macaca. Obama belongs to a racist church, has a racist value system, and stereotypes white people but you don’t seem to have a problem with him. So tell me, really, who is the bigger racist? HYPOCRITES!

7. You all think Bush is an idiot because he has misspoken and said some pretty silly things. How about the guys on your side? Why don’t you call Obama a bumbling idiot like you do Bush? HYPOCRITES! (my chimp-o-matic will but up later this week)

8. And I’m sooooo tired of the threat to not come back. You don’t follow through. You say things like, “I won’t be back.” and within an hour your back on the site. It happens here and at Repub.  So don’t come back. The blog isn’t for you anyway.  And while your at it. The “I just won’t comment anymore” line that you like to pull out when faced with your own hypocrisies is just as old.

Is this really a video of some men deciding what Hillary should wear by holding up several jackets and seeing what matches the podium?

I’m starting to think that all this Hillary hype is just another clever trick to drum up interest in the Obama candidacy. Make everyone think there is some kind of controversy so they will watch hoping to see a train wreck.

Big thanks to Deb, Joe, Emmy and Lowell. Your stereotyping and closed mindedness was spectacular indeed.

Maybe you haven’t noticed, so I’ll point it out for you, that Quite a few of us aren’t too thrilled with the opportunity to vote for McCain. There are some things about him that I don’t like and if you have read the thread asking people why the support McCain you will have noticed that it isn’t the strongest support and others feel lukewarm about voting for him also. There are also things about Obama I don’t care for. And yes I do make fun of him. He provides so much good material.

Two years ago I was going to vote for Allen and vote Yes for marriage. I was pretty sure of it. I ended up voting Web and No. That wouldn’t have happened, if people had behaved the way you all have the last few days. (I think those sentences will earn me a name calling session from HRR. Fire away. )

I’m sorry to hear that you all plan to quit blogging and will be shutting down Rocdem as that is the only logical thing to conclude since you see no point in conversing with people who you think have their minds made up. I however will continue since I know some people are reasonable and capable of change when faced with reason and facts.

Maybe your minds never change unless the party tells you to, but that isn’t the way it is with everyone.

I’m fed up with the lot of you.

[I'm copying the Why vote for Obama post word for word and just changing the names as needed]

Here’s your chance. Tell me why one would want to vote for McCain. Also I you think there are any reasons I would want to vote for him, fire away.

Comments left on this thread attacking people for their reasons will be heavily edited. I want any McCain supporters out there to leave their honest opinions. I may later start a thread to discuss some of the reasons given, but for now I really want to know what qualities people see in McCain that make them want to vote for him. Answers like, “He’s not Obama.” will also be heavily edited. I want to know about McCain.

Alabama will be the first state to charge overweight state workers who don’t work on slimming down, while a handful of other states reward employees who adopt healthy behaviors.

I whole heartedly agree with this. It’s time for people to stop expecting others to pay the price for their unhealthy lifestyle choices. If you want to do something unhealthy like smoke or put yourself at a dangerous weight then you should bear the cost of those choices.

I think this kind of responsibility should be extended to welfare programs. If you are getting government assistance of any kind I think you should be expected to not use drugs, smoke or drink alcohol. If someone is taking taxpayer money for necessities like food, housing, or medication then they certainly have no business buying these types of luxuries along with things like cable, cellphones, and internet access.

I don’t have a very feasible plan to accomplish this and it’s sad that people don’t have the sense of pride and integrity to give these items up on their own when someone else is footing the bill. Do you have no shame?

The suspense built up so powerfully that it could no longer be contained and burst out last night.

Obama’s decision leaked to the media several hours before his aides planned to send a text message announcing the running mate, negating a promise that people who turned over their phone numbers would be the first to know who Obama had chosen. The campaign scrambled to send the text message after the leak, sending phones buzzing at the inconvenient time of just after 3 a.m. on the East coast.

I hope you all enjoyed hearing your phone at 3am.

Why didn’t he just announce it on Friday?

He is actually laying in a recliner practicing for his funeral. Yep, you read that right. He’s practicing for his own funeral. He has decided he wants his hands resting on his chest not down at his sides and wants his face molded into a wink.

Here’s your chance. Tell me why one would want to vote for Obama. Also I you think there are any reasons I would want to vote for him, fire away.

Comments left on this thread attacking people for their reasons will be heavily edited. I want any Obama supporters out there to leave their honest opinions. I may later start a thread to discuss some of the reasons given, but for now I really want to know what qualities people see in Obama that make them want to vote for him. Answers like, “He’s not McCain.” will also be heavily edited. I want to know about Obama.

“I understand that Sen. McCain was asked yesterday this question, ‘how many houses do you own?,’ and he couldn’t answer that question. He couldn’t count high enough apparently to even know how many houses he owns,” said Kaine.

Ummmmkaaaay… And just how refined are Obama’s counting skills?

I guess Obama can’t count high enough to know how many states he wants to govern.

I know, I know, he meant to say 47. That’s all well and good, but if you are going to make fun of someone’s counting ability… well, I’m sure you already know the advice about planks and splinters.

I can perfectly understand why McCain would not know how many houses he and his wife own. His wife owns many of them. And some are investment properties.

So, yeah, Obama, good job with this ad.

I wonder when McCain will start running an ad utilizing the plethora of sound bites stemming from Obama’s misspeaks and imagination.

UPDATE: I guess Obama doesn’t know so much about struggling just to pay the mortgage either…