Much better.

Now this is an add that works.

Now move it beyond Atlanta.

Arming Poland.

Can anyone tell me why we are inflaming and already inflamed situation?

WARSAW, Poland — The United States will deploy anti-missile interceptors, upgrade Poland’s air defenses and modernize its military under two agreements signed Wednesday.

The agreements, signed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, are almost certain to increase the already high tensions between Russia and the West over the Russian invasion of Georgia.

Russia already has threatened to target Poland — perhaps even with nuclear weapons — for agreeing to host the launch site for 10 anti-missile interceptors that would be part of the American missile-defense system.

Really this is dangerous, not necessary and just plain stupid.

Obama’s VP picks (oh and McCain’s too).

I, like everyone, else outside of Obama and Axelrod have no idea who Obama is going to pick for VP. Of the supposed short list I’d have to lean towards Biden. Yes, the bankruptcy will was idiotic, however so was Obama’s support for FISA. However Biden fulfills the traditional role of attack dog better than any of the “short listers”. His famous smack down of Rudy was classic. His “Three State Solution” for Iraq is dead on. In short, I think he’s a good pick (although if I had my druthers, it’d be Dodd, Biden for Secy of State).

The person who’s name is not on the short list, yet keeps popping up is Clinton. The media likes to flog that story. The 10 Clinton supporters who are still bitter about her loss like to pimp her as the ONLY VP candidate are pushing her. I cannot imagine a more disastrous pick. She brings no positives. Her experience in legislating is as thin as Obama’s, and she compounds that by choosing loyalty over intelligence (see: Axelrod vs Penn also Bush II). She’s a rally point for the wingnuts. She brings Bill who obviously can’t stand Obama. And finally you can not get more status quo than Clinton. Obama’s message is Change. Clinton is not Change.

I doubt it will happen, but should Obama pick Clinton a) I will be more fuckin’ pissed than after his FISA cave in and b) he will effectively throw the most important election in a generation.

Oh yeah, and McCain…well, he should pick Tom Ridge. Since, well I wanna see some wingnut heads go all ’splody.

Jack Cafferty asks a simple question…

Is McCain another George W. Bush?

Answer: Yes.

When Cafferty gets his own show, I’ll think about flipping on CNN again.

In other related bobblehead show news:

Rachel Maddow gets her own show. Good for her. Took long enough, although the should have axed Race For the Whitehouse instead of Dan Abrams. Race started out strong, but man has it taken a shit in the last month or so. I’ve removed it from my TiVo list. Dan on the other hand I was just starting to like.

Hillary Deadenders.

I see the Hillary Deadenders are still going strong. All several dozen of them. Explaining themselves:

link

(note, since I’m hopelessly lame, and can’t figure out how to Embed MSNBC video in WordPress…click on the link above)

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA. These people are as delusional as any wingnut. I thought David Schuster was on their shit misogynist list for his “pimp” comment. Guess when it’s time to pimp yourself, standards…eh…who need’s em! Schuster and Maddow need their own shows.

Wonder how they’ll like McCain’s lower and middle class tax increase?

McCain’s health care tax.

Over at Benen’s place I saw this piece he wrote about a WSJ article written by two economic policy advisors to Obama. In it, they state:

…Sen. McCain’s plan does include one new proposal that would result in higher taxes on the middle class. As even Sen. McCain’s advisers have acknowledged, his health-care plan would impose a $3.6 trillion tax increase over 10 years on workers.

Sen. McCain’s plan will count the health care you get from your employer as if it were taxable cash income. Even after accounting for Sen. McCain’s proposed health-care tax credits, this plan would eventually leave tens of millions of middle-class families paying higher taxes. In addition, as the Congressional Budget Office has shown, this kind of plan would push people into higher tax brackets and increase the taxes people pay as their compensation rises, raising marginal tax rates by even more than if we let the entire Bush tax-cut plan expire tomorrow.

I really couldn’t believe it. As someone who’s more radical than Bush on cutting taxes, I couldn’t believe McCain would actually be proposing this. Since the article was written by people from the Obama camp, I thought they must be distorting the truth. So I looked and sure enough, this is EXACTLY what he’s proposing. In fact he even clarified this in a press conference. McCain’s own words:

Afterward, McCain explained to reporters: “The employer tax deduction stays in place so the employer still has the incentive to provide health insurance to the employee, but the employee now loses the health tax incentive and it is replaced by the refundable tax credit.”

Are you kidding me? I mean I’m speechless, really. I am now going to have to pay taxes, each check, out of pocket, wait until my tax refund to get the money back…hopefully.

Under the plan, employees who have employer-provided health insurance would be taxed on the portion of their coverage that their employer pays. Aides say those costs would be offset by providing tax credits of $2,500 to individuals and $5,000 to families. They said low-income and middle-income people would benefit from the changes the most, while people in the top tax bracket and whose employers pay $15,000 or more of their health insurance costs would break even or pay higher taxes.

On top of this assinine tax increase on lower and middle income citizens, those who file a 1040EZ (the majority of lower income and middle income household, and a favorite of those who don’t need to itemize), this on who can file a 1040EZ:

You do not claim an education credit, retirement savings contributions credit, or a health coverage tax credit.

So either hire an accountant, itemize and file a 1040, or pay taxes on your health care. I’m sure most low income households have their accountant on speed dial for just such situations.

This is a ridiculous proposal. Wonder what all those anti-tax McCain supporters think about this policy!!

We got slapped…how did we not see this coming?

Here:

But Russia retorted that America, which has a staunch ally of Tbilisi’s pro-western government, would have “to choose” between building a relationship with Georgia or Russia.

How the fuck did we not see this coming? Russia is basically telling us, we’re gonna do what we want and there’s not a goddamn thing you’re going to do about it.

And we can’t.

Our Army is at the breaking point. Diplomacy is a joke at this moment, because well, we are a joke in the international community. While we were out “fighting the good fight” and needlessly invading Iraq, Russia took notice and now here we are. Impotent.

I want to thank Bush, McCain and his wingnut echo chorus for putting us into this unconscionable position. For getting us blindsided again. Thanks. Idiots.

Bush once said that “History will be the judge” of his time in office. Well that history is starting now.

Is McCain acting too Presidential?

He’s sending a delegation to Georgia:

At a press conference just now, John McCain redoubled his efforts to thrust himself into a leadership role on the Russia-Georgia crisis front, announcing that two top campaign surrogates, Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham, are going on a visit to Georgia.

And talking to Saakashvili every day:

In this article, McCain tells the Tribune’s Jill Zuckman that he’s been on the phone with the President of Georgia every day of the current crisis.

Of course when your top Foreign Policy Advisor is lobbying for the country in question:

Sen. John McCain’s top foreign policy adviser prepped his boss for an April 17 phone call with the president of Georgia and then helped the presumptive Republican presidential nominee prepare a strong statement of support for the fledgling republic.

The day of the call, a lobbying firm partly owned by the adviser, Randy Scheunemann, signed a $200,000 contract to continue providing strategic advice to the Georgian government in Washington.

It’s understandable that you might want to take a lead in trying to resolve the crisis in Georgia.

It seems like John McCain’s foreign policy freelancing may be further complicating the situation in Georgia. And President Saakashvili seems reasonably to be asking whether he shouldn’t be getting more for having McCain top foreign policy advisor on his payroll for all these years.

This morning Saakashvili told CNN: “Yesterday, I heard Sen. McCain say, ‘We are all Georgians now,’” Saakashvili said on CNN’s American Morning. “Well, very nice, you know, very cheering for us to hear that, but OK, it’s time to pass from this. From words to deeds.”

I seem to remember not too long ago when Obama was on his foreign trip, the bobble heads and the right were asking…is Obama acting too Presidential?

The candidate’s crowning demonstrations of hubris, according to those building a case, came during his extended trip to Iraq, Afghanistan, the Middle East and Europe. Recall the pundits demanding the freshman Illinois senator prove he could be presidential in the foreign arena?

So he appeared at ease with world leaders, talked animatedly with beaming American troops and drew huge civilian crowds. Then the pundits — who had been taking a round of bashing for supposedly going easy on Obama — told Obama he needed to beware of appearing too presidential.

I mean lord forbid he was giving Gordon Brown some advice!

Obama was even feeling confident enough to give British Prime Minister Gordon Brown some management advice over the weekend. “If what you’re trying to do is micromanage and solve everything, then you end up being a dilettante,” he advised the prime minister, portraying his relative inexperience much as President Bush did in 2000.

Of course that’s hubris. Unacceptable arrogance. McCain however, playing President, possibly interfering in the middle of a crisis, advised by a lobbist for the government of Georgia.

President Saakashvili today told Georgians that the US military was moving in to take over control of the country’s air and seaports — which would be a pretty big deal since much of the country still appears to be an active war zone.

And about five minutes later the Pentagon said he didn’t know what he was talking about.

“We are not looking to, nor do we need to, take control of any air or seaports to conduct this mission,” said Geoff Morrell, Pentagon press secretary. “The role of the U.S. military is strictly to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the victims of this conflict.”

John McCain says he’s talking to Saakashvili every day. What’s he telling him? Is he confusing the situation?

…and no one bats an eye. That liberal media sure has it’s priorities straight! I hear Funny or Die is doing another political parody starting Brittany. Can’t wait to see the blanket coverage on that. Tools.

Obama Georgia and NATO.

Obama released a statement today endorsing the idea that Georgia should be allowed in NATO. Admittedly I don’t know anything about this area of the world. However, seeing that Georgia’s NATO admission might have been one factor for causing the recent battle; and with Russia asserting itself in the region again, I probably think it’s a bad thing. Inflaming Russia at this point is silly and non-productive.

Hilzoy notes:

As I’ve already said, I think that letting Georgia become a member of NATO would be a terrible mistake. Now that Obama has made it, I am left to wonder: is this political? Or does he actually believe it?

I don’t much care for either option.

I may not either, but the third option is McCain and his rhetoric upping the temperature in the region.

Isn’t McCain embarressed by his new ad?

I mean I am. I mean I’m literally speechless at how embarrassing it is.