The Markey-Waxman “Cap-and-trade” Energy Tax bill, in the current form being considered by the House Energy and Commerce committee, would have the following catastrophic effects by 2035:

1. Reduce aggregate gross domestic product (GDP) by $9.6 trillion annually;

2. Destroy 1,105,000 American jobs per year on average, with peak years seeing unemployment rise by over 2,479,000 jobs;

3. Raise electricity rates 90 percent after adjusting for inflation;

4. Raise inflation-adjusted gasoline prices by 74 percent;

5. Raise residential natural gas prices by 55 percent;

6. Raise an average family's annual energy bill by $1,500 annually; and

7. Increase inflation-adjusted federal debt by 26 percent, or $29,150 additional federal debt per person, again after adjusting for inflation.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants the U.S. House to vote at the end of this week on the Waxman-Markey National Energy Tax (House Bill 2454). We must stop it there before it reaches the Senate and passes with near certainty before being signed into law by the President.

Call Congress at (202) 224-3121 to voice your opposition, and tell everyone one you know to do the same.

Current Location: 90062

Republicans, Conservatives, Americans...

Most of us will probably never know how hard it is to do the job this man has done for us for eight years. I will admit, I did not vote for him the first time. But I sure as hell voted for him the second time. I woke up one day (I'll bet you can guess which one) and realized that we were blessed to have someone who recognized the true nature of the threat to our way of life. I started keeping more money in my pockets, because of this man. He tried to make it so I pay less for gasoline. He tried to give us a true retirement option in exchange for an entitlement program, but, sadly, appeasing "the other side" did not work. The spirit of bipartisanship, for us Republicans, is a one way street.

And I will admit, like any friend of mine... Even my best friends... I didn't always agree with him. Most of us can agree that the handling of our nation's sovereignty by him as well as the Republican-dominated Congress was shameful. We can all agree, his administration could have done more to articulate to the people what he did for us. Instead, those of us, out here, on the front lines--especially in so-called "blue state" strongholds for socialism and Leftist thought, were on our own to defend your legacy, your Presidency.

However, I'll never regret it. Because the Presidency is bigger than any one man, and this country is more important than my luxury to sit quiet, and remain comfortable in my own world. Your Presidency taught me that sometimes, we must face challenges now, so that they aren't waiting to harm us later. It was true in my own neighborhood, where I worked with police to chase away new thugs on my streets, and it worked for you. A man who can claim that despite any and all mistakes, he liberated 50 Million people.

Through the prism of time, history will judge you as one of America's greatest, most visionary Presidents; the kind that ranks with Ronald W. Reagon and, Abraham Lincoln (ironically, both Republican). Others might disagree, and it is their right to do so. But this is how I feel.

Tue Jan 6, 10:45 AM ET

President George W. Bush receives a farewell ceremony from the military at Ft. Myer in Arlington, Va., Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

And I want everyone to know that I appreciate the thankless job you've done for this country. Somehow, you knew that past all of the angry, snarling talking heads on CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, MSNBC, and hidden behind the keyboards at the desks of the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, and the San Francisco Chronical, and on and on and on... The marches by Code Pink, A.N.S.W.E.R., and the dictator-hugging Cindy Sheenan, and her fans... That there were those of us who know what you were trying to do. That appreciate the fact that you stuck your neck out, and fought for what was right; what you believed in, no matter what.

We never had to question what you believe in, or your words. We knew what you stood for, whether we might have agreed with it or not. I can't say that for many others who've had your job. I also cannot say that it's likely I'll agree with the President for the next four to eight years.

What I can say is that as you return to your private life in Crawford, Texas, George W. Bush, with a beautiful, loving wife, and two gorgeous, charming daughters rising into their own lives, much inspiration has been drawn from you for me to be the best that I can be. In MY darkest hours, I will look at friends who may turn their backs on me, family who might even disapprove of a choice that if I know in my heart is right, and just, I will think back to the burned effigies, the slanderous movies, the International criticism by bought statesmen and think--if Dubya could handle it, I damn sure can.

I will go on, honoring your legacy, defects and all, because no one is perfect. I make mistakes, everyone makes mistakes. But that shouldn't make us forget the great things we accomplish in our mortal time on Earth. So thank you, Mr. President. You were more than just a guy who sat behind the desk in the Oval Office on my television from time to time, you were the one light shining during the darkest hours of our nation's time. And I am personally appreciative, and grateful for it.

Current Location: 90062
Current Mood: proud

He actually put that in one of his ads. He actually wasted ad-space to tell you that John McCain doesn't know how to use a computer. He actually paid money for time in his ad to mention that John McCain, like most of our parents, is not computer literate.

Just, wow.

McCain doesn't know how to use a computer. If you wanna vote for someone who doesn't know how to use a computer, go right ahead. I'm going with Barack Rogers in the 25th Century.

Obama, in yet another turnaround from his high-toned campaign promises, has gotten really nasty over the last few days. Accusing the McCain campaign of outright lies, suggesting that the McCain campaign thinks voters are "stupid" (even though Obama is the one who's "embarrassed" by us not being cosmopolitan enough for his tastes to speak French). But then there's this-

Obama Puts Different Twist on Lipstick.

What’s the difference between a more hopeful kind of politics and old-fashioned attacks? Lipstick.

Barack Obama says the John McCain-Sarah Palin policies don’t represent change, they’re “just calling the same thing something different.”

“You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig,” Obama said during a town-hall style event here Tuesday night.

The comment played on Republican vice presidential candidate Palin’s joke during the Republican National Convention that the only difference between a pit bull and a hockey mom was lipstick.

Also, from Biden-

This isn’t the first time in a 24-hour period that lipstick has become an issue. As he was introducing Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden, Missouri Rep. Russ Carnahan said Palin had “zero experience in national government, zero experience in foreign affairs. There’s no way you can dress up that record, even with a lot of lipstick.”

Okay...I don't really want to say that Obama (or Biden for that matter) meant to use explicitly sexist language, but what the heck else am I supposed to think? And no, I'm not being a Democrat here and just leaping on any stray word I possibly can to declare my opponents racist, sexist, or homophobic. This "lipstick" rhetoric is directly an assault on the fact that Palin is female. In other words, don't be fooled by her gender, she doesn't really deserve such a great reputation. By extension, you're just being fooled by her gender since she's not that great- you can't "put lipstick" on the problems of the McCain campaign. She doesn't deserve to be as esteemed as she is. This coming from Democrats, who usually embrace racial and gender quotas anyway (to be fair, Obama has has he doesn't support blanket quotas based on anything other than qualifications, which is something that I liked about him).

I'm actually kinda taken aback. I like(d) Obama. I began to like him a lot less when he kept going back on his rhetoric and his promises, but I still thought he was inherently decent. This is the first time I've actually been offended by Obama. When somebody does get a job because they are a minority or because of their gender, it's fair to say this type of stuff. But Sarah Palin is obviously not just someone who's gender won her a spot in the limelight. You can't just be a woman and generate this kind of love-fest, or else Hillary Clinton would have been as big a draw as Palin. For MY part, and the part of every other conservative I know (including you guys, my fine lj friends), her record of kicking butt and taking names when it comes to corruption and wasteful spending is what made us flip for her, not to mention, she's got a way about her that tickles one pink when you hear her speak. She strikes the right tone and can "stick the knife in" with a grin on her face. Plus, she turns the world on with her smile (yes, that's due in part to her gender, but mostly because of her energy and happy demeanor). She's a fresh face, and breath of air.

Of course, even if it was just an innocent (though still kinda nasty) gaffe, I have to just look at Obama and shake my head at his stupidity. I mean, what an awful choice of words, whether deliberate or not. He essentially called her a pig (and if you wanna go further, a female pig, as we all know, is called a "slut". I don't think he intended to call her that, but it just goes to show you how incredibly bad his choice of words was).

I wonder what his comment will do for the feminists. We've got Camille Paglia calling Palin a "leap forward" for feminism-

Sarah Palin is like Annie Oakley, a brash ambassador from America's pioneer past. She immediately reminded me of the frontier women of the Western states, which first granted women the right to vote after the Civil War -- long before the federal amendment guaranteeing universal woman suffrage was passed in 1919. Frontier women faced the same harsh challenges and had to tackle the same chores as men did -- which is why men could regard them as equals, unlike the genteel, corseted ladies of the Eastern seaboard, which fought granting women the vote right to the bitter end.

Wow, surprisingly well put for a lefty. She's got it exactly.

John McGenius...he picked Palin and broke Obama's brain.

I'll leave you with this, from crazy liberal Gary Kamiya, angrily talking about how Republicans are having more fun than him-

By choosing Palin, McCain and the GOP have elbowed the Democrats off the dance floor. In a bizarre turnaround, the uptight Republicans are suddenly the party of sex, women, fun. They're all about spontaneity, bucking convention, letting their freak flags fly.

And the other side of that is that he sounds like some crusty old man yelling at us Republican kids to get off his lawn.

Ow! Sarah Palin, putting the "party" back in the Grand Ol' Party! We've always been the party of (classical) liberalism! The freak flags we're flying are relatively the same freak flags our classical liberal forefathers flew. We've always bucked convention and questioned dogma- leftist convention and dogma based on their strange, strange worldview.

The rest of the article gets offensive, of course. Liberalism and sick perversion seem to go together, and this is no exception.

Oh, and on that sex notion, let me remind you of this...

http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/tvbizwire/2008/09/msnbc_drops_noisy_anchors_nyt.php

McCain beats Obama by 500,000.

John McCain has won the ratings race.

The Republican nominee beat Democratic challenger Barack Obama's record-setting convention speech viewership by 500,000.

McCain's address at the Republican National Convention on Thursday night was seen by about 38.9 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. Obama received 38.4 million.

That means McCain's speech is now the most-watched in convention history -- 41% higher than President Bush's acceptance speech four years ago, and 1% higher than Obama's address last week.

Well, ain't that somethin'? I must say that I was surprised by this. Of course, the story reports that Palin spiked viewership for the previous night, which helped attract more viewers the next night.

Arthur had Excalibur. McCain has Sarah Palin. It's getting a little weird how good for McCain she actually is and has been, like the whole thing was orchestrated by aliens or something. From Rasmussen Reports-

The Palin pick has also improved perceptions of John McCain. A week ago, just before he introduced his running mate, just 42% of Republicans had a Very Favorable opinion of their party’s nominee. That figure jumped to 54% by this Friday morning. Among unaffiliated voters, favorable opinions of McCain have increased by eleven percentage points in a week—from 54% before the Palin announcement to 65% today.


Let me be the first to predict how Democrats might spin McCain's ratings numbers- "Well, Barack Obama was so excellent, people just wanted to tune in and see how McCain could possibly compete with him."

Does anyone know a place or know already how each candidate feels on each issue? I'm wanting to see some sort of table/chart of what McCain and Obama have planned(or not have any plans) on the major issues. Such as the economy, military, energy independence, etc.

A former Hillary campaign spokesman was asked after the McCain speech whether McCain did what he "needed to do" with this speech. He naturally said no, but what struck me is why he said no. He said that McCain needed to prove to independents specifically and America in general that he wasn't going to be four more years of Bush, and his speech did nothing to prove anything to that effect. He also spoke in the nights past about how it's a clear passing of the torch from Bush to McCain (rich criticism, since it is they who thought this would be nothing but a coronation for whoever the Democrat was).

In 2004, I recall that they thought It was going to be more or less a skate to victory. They figured that the country hated Bush as much as they did, so really, all they needed was to nominate someone who wasn't Bush, which is a fairly easy task given the nearly 300,000,000 people in the country who aren't GWB, and they'd win. They nominated John Kerry, but their real candidate was Notbush. They had no new ideas, no innovation of any kind, they just promised to not be Bush. We all know how that turned out.

But here we are four years later, and they aparently are still stuck in that rut. They believe that in order for John McCain to have a chance at winning, he has to condemn every action Bush has ever taken, and articulate in several different ways how he'll not be like W. In other words, they again only wish to nominate Notbush. The problem with this is that while Bush's numbers are indeed in the toilet, and independents, and God knows even Republicans, have problems with George Bush, only Democrats are made so incredibly crazy by G-Dub that they need to expressely hear him repudiated in order to be okay with a candidate. They don't understand that we don't simply want Notbush, because the simple fact that you disagree with Bush doesn't prove that your own ideas are any good. We want someone who is awesome in their own right, who has some good ideas we can get behind. As soon as I learned about Sarah Palin, I could see she was awesome in her own right. John McCain hasn't proved that he's awesome yet, but he's done something I never though he'd be able to do- inspire me, through the proof of the quality of his character, to give him a shot and see exactly how awesome he may very well be.

On the other side, I can't speak for others and independents, but when I think about Joe Biden, the word "awesome" is not what pops into my head. As far as Obama goes, he's an awesome rhetorician, but his character and his record have not given me any reason to give him a shot, and that's leaving out entirely the fact that I, as a conservative, probably disagree with almost everything he has to say on almost every issue anyway.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's highly anticipated speech at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night nearly matched the record-setting numbers of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

Palin pulled in 37.2 million viewers across broadcast and cable networks, according to Nielsen Media Research.

That's 55% higher than Day 3 of the DNC, when her Democratic counterpart, Joe Biden, and President Clinton took the stage (24 million).

It's also up a sharp 99% from the Republican convention's third day in 2004 (18.7 million) and easily bests the numbers viewers attracted by George W. Bush when he accepted the nomination (27.6 million). In fact, it came close to upsetting Obama's historic address last Thursday -- the most-watched convention speech in history (38.4 million viewers).

Dude...our presumptive veep pick basically got as much as the other's party's prez nominee! This chick's awesomeness is starting to become overwhelming.

Heck, look at me. For the past three days, if I've posted anything, it's probably been about Sarah Palin.

And McCain/Palin are being touted as the new Reagan/Thatcher- which is a bit far for me. But even Mike Reagan had this to say, and as far as Reagan experts go, he's hard to beat:

In a column entitled "Welcome Back, Dad", Michael Reagan, adopted son of the late president, wrote: "I saw my Dad reborn; only this time he's a she. And what a she!"

Now, for John McCain...I agree with some_day_soling. In the past, I have not at all been a fan of his. I admire mavericks who do their own thing. I really am one of those types of people. John McCain's maverick ways are well established, and so I can respect that. But usually, he's only ever shown that he can be a maverick in ways that piss me off.

His speech was great, I thought. It didn't soar into the heavens like Obama's, but really, that's Obama's game anyway. McCain's speech was real and it struck me as exactly what he describes his campaign philosophy- straight talk. The question is, do I trust him? Despite the fact that as recently as last week, I was still cursing his name, I'm going to have to say, yes...I trust him. He's never presented himself in a dishonest way. He's always sold himself as a maverick, and by God, he's always been one. And so, when he talks about fighting for the things conservatives want- low taxes, more drilling, smaller government, etc, I believe him. Though Democrats have tried to establish a monopoly on change, the fact of the matter is that Republicans, as apparent since our support for our leadership dried up in 2006, have wanted change as well. Do I believe that John McCain (and Sarah Palin- WOOT!) will "shake up" Washington? Do I believe that John McCain will do the things he spoke of tonight to the best of his ability? Do I think he'll take on the people I hate most in Washington- Republicans who have turned to big government ways in order to get things accomplished? The simple answer is that I do. I don't think John McCain is a liar, whatever else he is. This whole thing, his judgement on the Georgia situation, his pick of Palin, his speech tonight, etc...it's made me look at him in a new light.

"I have said before and I will repeat again: People's families are off limits," Obama said. "And people's children are especially off-limits. This shouldn't be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin's performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president. So I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories. You know my mother had me when she was 18 and how a family deals with issues and teenage children, that shouldn’t be a topic of our politics."

On charges that his campaign has stoked the story via liberal blogs:

"I am offended by that statement. There is no evidence at all that any of this involved us," he said. "Our people were not involved in any way in this, and they will not be. And if I thought there was somebody in my campaign who was involved in something like that, they would be fired."

Well, bravo and kudos to Obama for that. It's about time we start hearing some of that new politics he's been gassing on about for over a year now, not that this particular example is especially hard for him to perform. It's easy to condemn something that is eminently condemnable.