Questions for Sen. McCain

Radley Balko has a few questions for John McCain. Here's one:

In your January primary debate, you referred to "greedy" Wall Street stockbrokers, and in contrasting your career to the business career of Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney, you said, "I led the largest squadron in the United States Navy. And I did it out of patriotism, not for profit."

Do you think a career in public service is inherently more noble and virtuous than a career in the private sector? Are people who spend their lives on the taxpayer dole as politicians and government employees simply better people than those who create wealth and jobs through private enterprise?

Here's another:

In 1989, your wife Cindy became addicted to the prescription drugs Percocet and Vicodin. Eventually, she began stealing medication from the non-profit medical charity she ran to assist the victims of war and disaster areas. You and your wife were able to negotiate a settlement with the Justice Department that let her off with restitution and admission to a rehabilitation center, but no fines, jail time or even public disclosure.

Certainly no one could fault you for trying to save your spouse from criminal sanction. But you're consistently one of the most strident drug warriors in Congress. You've voted to strengthen penalties against those who use and traffic in both illicit drugs and who divert prescription drugs. You've supported mandatory minimums and harsher penalties for first-time offenders. Why shouldn't average people without powerful connections who make the same mistakes your wife made be shown the same leniency and mercy the criminal justice system showed her?

His next column will pose questions to presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama.

Straight Talk: A few questions for John McCain (via Reason Magazine)

You can't have it both ways....or can you?

Candidate Obama on language.

Opportunity to see what Sen. Obama is all about

Barack Obama has asked the general public if they would like to sponsor a house meeting in their community to directly address Sen. Obama about the issues and challenges facing your daily lives.

We ask that you sign up for one of these meetings, to take place on June 28th. This is for everyone. Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Libertarians, you name it. The idea is to bring to the table, the items that need changed or rethought in our society, and devise solutions to make those changes happen effectively and in a timely manner.

We suggest you sign up as a matter of honestly getting to see what Barack Obama is all about. This NOT some scheme like "Operation Chaos" or anything along those lines, nor do we want it to be taken that way. It cannot be stressed enough the importance of this election, so why not take the challenge and become involved.

It truly is a golden opportunity" to have your voice ring out among the masses and be heard!

Sign up HERE

The General Election finally starts

So now we have the two presumptive candidates and two parties squaring off for the heart of America. The third party called "The Clintons" seems to be fading in the west while Obama's star of "Change you can believe in" is rising in the east, and McCain is hoping that a new day is rising in Iraq as he hitches his presidential hopes to the star of the Surge.

The question this morning are numerous:

Will these candidates be able to really debate the issues, or will we continue to deal in some of the same ridiculousness that we have experienced during the primaries? Senator Obama's words were correct on Tuesday night when he said, "America deserves a debate on where the country is going in the next four years." Those words must be followed by a concerted effort to have a REAL conversation, not a political dodge with the American people. Both candidates need to pay attention to this admonition with a sense of urgency in solving real problems in this moment in time.

How much will race and age matter in the upcoming election?

How much will associations with the Jeremiah Wrights of the world matter?

What role will the experience factor play for people?

How much does soaring rhetoric lift people and can McCain possibly hope to match Obama if it does?

Where will Hillary's people go?

Who will be the VP candidates, and must Obama take Hillary to unify the party? If so, what does he do with Bill Clinton?

These are just a few of the thoughts on my mind as the dust clears today. What are yours?

Anti-Hillary does not equal anti-woman

This comment was written here the other day:

Mr. Sutton is so anti-Hillary - and obviously anti-woman. As a woman who has waited way too long for a real lady to break through the glass ceiling, it's appalling to have latent and only semi-disguised male chauvinism be so blatantly exposed on this blog and in the comments of those Neanderthals who profess to be so tired of the Clintons but are really scared of having a woman in power.

If the Democratic party can't rise above gender bias, who can? It makes me want to cry. Mr. Sutton, how can you call yourself open minded? You can't with any honesty, but you will anyway. How sad.

So because I am opposed to the Clintons, I am anti-woman?

If you listen to everything in this message, it is cloaked with the idea that it’s time for a strong woman to be president. Does that mean that Hillary forever [the author of the comment] is opposed to men? I don’t think so.

Let’s cut to the chase. Some of us, maybe even a lot of us poor Neanderthals (as the writer describes us) have gotten to know the Clintons way too well over their 16 years on the national stage.

We are sick and tired of the idea that the time has come to have a woman, black person, Hispanic, gay, straight, transvestite, or any combination thereof in power. It’s only ever time to have the best candidate elected into power, and have them seriously considered by the nation as a leader. To cloak it in terms of “we need a strong woman” as the writer did is demeaning to women or any other group.

In fact, to vote for Hillary because she is a woman, Barack because he is black, or McCain because he was a POW, are ignorant reasons for being inserted in place of real qualifications. Hillary Forever, please put away your "ists" , and "Neanderthal" terms and understand that familiarity and dishonesty of the Clintons has turned a lot of us off over the years.

I am anything but a chauvinist, and when a non-pandering, honest, qualified candidate comes along who happens to be a woman, I may well vote for her.

Lots of possibilities in today's primaries?

To use some tennis lingo, we are at match point again in the Democratic Primary process, at least according to the all-knowing prognosticators out there.

The popular thought is that Senator Clinton must snatch the primary from next-door-neighbor-favorite-son Barack Obama to continue in the race, and at the same time, close to about 5-6 points in North Carolina where she was down 20 at one time. The predictors seem to be babbling that the pressure is on her because she needs to record big wins to catch up in the numbers, therefore, her back is against the wall.

If that's so, it seems to me that she has the company of one Senator Barack Obama who can’t say he’s gotten his momentum back with that big weekend victory in the Guam Caucuses where about 4,000 people voted. Uh-Uh. No, Barack Obama has won every border state to Illinois so far and much of Indiana is located in the Chicago Media Market. If he can’t win there, even though there are Hillary enclaves located in the northern part of state, further doubt about will explode around the country as to whether he is their guy.

The elected numbers don’t matter anymore for Hillary because she won’t overtake Obama. What does matter is the tally of reasons called primary victories no matter how small that give super-delegates reason to pause on their choice or change before or at the Convention in August. In addition, it also makes dealing with the Florida and Michigan rules mess more palpable if she comes steamrolling into the convention close enough where it becomes a real question.

Either way you look at it, both need Indiana today to either keep the door open to victory for Clinton or slam it in her face if you are Obama. We’ll see at the end of this day who comes knocking. I’m Gary Sutton.

Sen. Clinton and Bill O'Reilly

Out of the frying pan and into the fire! Fox's Bill O'Reilly "takes one for the team" and interviews Hillary Clinton. Views from many sides of the political aisles here in an interesting discussion.

It's personal, it's divisive at times, and most of all, it's entertaining and informative. Click on these and see just what went down.

Indecision 2008: Cheesesteaks

Insightful political analysis of the difficult Pat's versus Geno's cheesesteak issue:



Me? I'm throwing my support behind Gary Sutton Show guest Joe Vento and his shop Geno's Steaks.

Obama unleashes a Barack-barrage

Sen. Obama countered Rev. Jeremiah Wright by denouncing his views and his association with his campaign period. Is this too little too late?

The Reverend Not-So-Wright?

Here are some segments from Rev. Jeremiah Wright's appearance at the National Press Club on Monday the 28th. An interesting look at a troubled mind perhaps?

Obama's honeymoon is on the rocks

Barack Obama’s honeymoon with the media may well be over.

His rhetoric has turned into a double-edged sword which took him to great heights because of its regular man soaring possibilities, but has now become the kind of cryptic, almost Clintonian kinds of answers to troubling questions that leave us as a nation feeling unfulfilled.

For a man with an oratorical gift like the Senator, and one who constantly talks about clearness, and transparency, he missed a great opportunity portraying those qualities by not telling us what “earlier controversial comments” he had heard his pastor Jeremiah Wright utter. The fact that he understates the controversy of Wright’s remarks as simply a “distraction” instead of a defining moment that could help people trust him or not is an error in judgment for a man with a considerable intellect.

People walk away from that answer with a feeling that this is the same old political hack who holds an arrogance that we have seen emanating from Washington for years -- the same Washington that Barack Obama is trying to distance himself from, and the type of political hack he constantly criticizes.

Add to that the tortured oral bumbling in trying to explain how an association with William Ayres, a bombing member of the Weather Underground is nothing more than a “manufactured issue” and you have a candidate whose high-flying words have been grounded, at least for the moment.

It seems to me that what will raise his message back up is clear and plain talk about all issues, whether he thinks they are important or not. I’m Gary Sutton.

Rev. Wright attempts to set the record straight

Here are the 4 clips from his appearance on Bill Moyers' PBS TV show. What do you think of his response?





Enjoy and discuss!

Pro and con racism -- some thoughts

So much has been written about and alluded to carefully about race and racism in this presidential campaign that I think it’s time for us as human beings to remove “carefully” and insert “starkly” into this conversation.

Racism is disliking , discriminating, and hating someone simply because of their color of skin. It’s wrong, it’s ugly, it’s narrow-minded, it’s despicable, and it’s ignorant. It’s also real though many of us would deny it. The problem of racism is that it has multiple ownership with many of those proprietors of hate not realizing the stake they have made.

Think about it; if you think Barack Obama is the best candidate , but you won’t vote for him because he is a black man, then you are a racist. Yes? So let’s offer another side to this and see how it fits. Suppose you think that Barack Obama is not the most well-qualified candidate in your mind and heart, but you vote for him because he is black whether you are or not. You are also a racist. Yes? Why? Because race is the only basis for your decision.

Racism is a convenient substitute for thinking because it is easier to resort to the primal stupidity, ignorance, narrow-mindedness and hate inherent in such a feeling. Our better angels tell us that the only thing that really matters in this election, or any event where race is involved is the content of character and leadership of a man or woman. If Barack Obama becomes the Democratic presidential candidate, and ultimately president, it should be only because of his qualifications.

Unfortunately, we’re not there yet; race is too important to too many, but when we break the barrier without discussing race as a barrier, then we as the human race will have matured beyond pro and con racism, and we all will win. I’m Gary Sutton.

Yep, you guessed it ... Bill's at it again!

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the political waters, Pres. Clinton drops a bit more of his classic "Clintonese" on all of us. This time it was about the Obama campaign and race. Just what did the `ol Billy-Baroo have to say? Check it out below.



But WAIT, you didn't think he would actually tell anyone he said that, did you?



Ah yes, the Rosetta Stone of politics needed to decipher Clintonese still gets the job done, and we all find out what we already know. It still depends on what is ... is.

Today (and tonight!): What are your thoughts on this Primary Election Day 2008?

The Gary Sutton Show will be on location this morning from 9-12 noon at Jackson School (polling place) at 177 East Jackson Street.

Tonight from 8-11p.m., the Gary will have a special "Election Night Show" from "Celebrations" at Sam and Tony's Restaurant. This will be a call-in show and will include guests and "Man-on-the-Street" interviews throughout the evening.

Reflect on the day and share your comments with us here on the WOW Blog.

Consider this before you vote!

As you go to the polls to vote in the primary, I want you to consider the words of French philosopher Frederic Bastiat when he defined the main fault of politicians in our society.

He described this fault as legal plunder and told us we can easily see it as citizens when, “the law takes from some persons what belongs to them and gives it to other persons to whom it does not belong.”

In other words, the law benefits one citizen or a group at the expense of of another citizen or group of same by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime.

With that definition in mind, then, you have three choices tomorrow and again on Tuesday November 5th. You must choose one of three ways to deal with the legal plundering that has changed this country and the idea of individual rights radically over the years. Here are the three ways to settle legal plunder. You must accept one of these:

1. The few plunder the many. (That’s happening now!)

2. Everybody plunders everybody. (That’s happening because we think Number one is ok.)

3. Nobody plunders anybody. (That is not happening at all, but it sure seems like the way it should be, right?)

As you consider your choices today, think about who is closest to number 3, and you might find a good candidate who understands what liberty and freedom should be in the United States. I’m Gary Sutton.

Musings from a non-progressive person about politics, illegal invasions, and how the government enables.

You might be interested in the following information which seems to have become unimportant to many Americans.

Musings from a Silly Non-Progressive American on CHANGE! Is this what we want when we talk change? Oh, by the way, weren't all 3 major SENATORS part of this change that we have heard so much about during the campaign?

CHANGE- Part 1
In just one year. Remember the election in 2006? CHANGE HAS ALREADY HAPPENED -- Because a little over one year ago:

1) Consumer confidence stood at a 2 1/2 year high;

2) Regular gasoline sold for a $2.19 average per gallon;

3) The unemployment rate was 4.5%.

CHANGE - Since voting in a Democratic Congress in 2006 we have seen:

1) Consumer confidence plummet;

2) The cost of regular gasoline soar to over $3.50 average a gallon;

3) Unemployment is up to 5% (a 10% increase);

4) American households have seen $2.3 trillion in equity value evaporate (stock and mutual fund losses);

5) Americans have seen their home equity drop by $1.2 trillion dollars;

6) 1% of American homes are in foreclosure.

America voted for change in 2006, and we got it! Remember it's Congress that makes law not the President. He has to work with what's handed to him.

CHANGE Part 2:

Taxes -- whether Democrat or a Republican you will find these statistics enlightening and amazing.

www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/151.html

GOOD OL' DAYS Taxes under Clinton 1999

Single making 30K - tax $8,400
Single making 50K - tax $14,000
Single making 75K - tax $23,250
Married making 60K - tax $16,800
Married making 75K - tax $21,000
Married making 125K - tax $38,750

vs THOSE UNFAIR TAXES under Bush 2008
Single making 30K - tax $4,500
Single making 50K - tax $12,500
Single making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 60K- tax $9,000
Married making 75K - tax $18,750
Married making 125K - tax $31,250

CHANGE - Both democratic candidates will return to the higher tax rates. It is amazing how many people that fall into the categories above think Bush is screwing them and Bill Clinton was the greatest President ever. If Obama or Hillary are elected, they both say they will repeal the Bush tax cuts and a good portion of the people that fall into the categories above can't wait for it to happen. CHANGE is all that matters (and all they will have left). This is sort of like the movie The Sting with Paul Newman; you scam somebody out of their money and they don't even know what happened....until it is TOO LATE....

CHANGE PART 3:

You think the war in Iraq is costing us too much? Read this:

Boy, am I confused. They say it is the Iraq war and the war on terror that is bankrupting us; I find that to be RIDICULOUS. I hope that you will carefully consider the following 14 reasons as to why they don't make sense.I have included the URL's for verification of all the following facts.

1. $11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each year by state governments. Verify at http://tinyurl.com/zob77

2. $2.2 Billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches for illegal aliens. Verify at http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html

3. $2.5 Billion dollars a year is spent on Medicaid for illegal aliens. Verify at http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html

4. $12 Billion dollars a year is spent on primary and secondary school education for children here illegally and they cannot speak a word of English! Verify at http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.0.html

5. $17 Billion dollars a year is spent for education for the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies. Verify at http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

6. $3 Million Dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens. Verify at http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

7, 30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens. Verify at http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

8. $90 Billion Dollars a year is spent on illegal aliens for Welfare & social services by the American taxpayers. Verify at http://premium.cnn.com/TRANSCIPTS/0610/29/ldt.01.html

9. $200 Billion Dollars a year in suppressed American wages are caused by the illegal aliens. Verify at http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html

10. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two and a half times that of white non-illegal aliens. In particular, their children are going to make a huge additional crime problem in the US. Verify at http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/12/ldt.01.html

11. During the year of 2005 there were 4 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens that crossed our Southern Border also, as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from Terrorist Countries. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroin and marijuana, crossed into the U. S from the Southern border. Verify at Homeland Security Report: http://tinyurl.com/t9sht

12. The National Policy Institute, 'estimated that the total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion or an average cost of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period.' Verify at http://www.nationalpolicyinstitute.org/pdf/deportation.pdf

13. In 2006 illegal aliens sent home $45 BILLION in remittances back to their countries of origin. Verify at http://www.rense.com/general75/niht.htm

14. 'The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration: Nearly One Million Sex Crimes Committed by Illegal Immigrants In The United States .' Verify at http://www.drdsk.com/articleshtml

The total cost is a whopping $ 338.3 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR; which is NOT SPARE CHANGE.

Are YOU a bitter Pennsylvanian?

Obama's remarks about PA's working class voters

Last week, presidential candidate Barack Obama raised the ire of many a voter in PA when he said that, "working-class voters are bitter over their circumstances and cling to guns, religion, and anti-immigrant attitudes as a result." Below is a video of his remarks about this given in Steelton this past weekend.

Thursday, April 10th Show Post

General Petraeus finished up his testimony on The Hill yesterday. Now where do we go with the Iraq War, and will any of the presidential candidates do anything different? The President goes before the nation at 11:30 to talk about Iraq. We'll have it for you on the show if there is time.

Is the president right to say he is going to the Olympics and Opening Ceremonies, while the Speaker, and Senator Clinton calls for a boycott of the ceremony?

More reactions to Jacque's blog will be on the show today including one from a lifelong soldier that will move you. We'll follow up on the Obama delegate who resigned because of calling two kids in a tree "monkeys." We'll continue to tell you why continued dialog on race cannot happen until the playing field of discussion is fair for all voices.

We'll share another e-mail about the 9/11 conspiracy theorists who think it was all planned by the bad guys (U.S.) That's us, and you can feel free to react as I will. Just a few of the items you can blog into today!

Don't forget to stop by WOW Cafe and Wingery, and take your computer along because of their free wi-fi. If you are not a "wing" man or woman, then you will find a great assortment of wonderful delicacies to check out, like fajitas, catfish and wraps. Enjoy the show today!

GS