MEDIA ROULETTE
June 4, 2008
The Straight Talking Caboose -- Barack Obama exceeded the number of delegates needed to clinch the nomination, Hillary Clinton gave an impressive, authoritative speech driven by the strength of her campaign in the latter part of the campaign, and John McCain gave an incredibly lame speech to open the campaign season. (see Newsweek) As one standard "Republican strategist" said on MSNBC, it's not a contest about speech making. But at the same time, you have a candidate who attracts 80,000 people to see him speak, and on the other side you have a lame old man who speaks lamely in front of a handful of robotic Republicans who make very mechanical sounding noises at the appointed pauses in the speech. McCain got where he is by kissing the ass of George Bush. That's his talent. A decade ago he was known for having some independence, an individual voice that stood out from the ranks of the Republicans because it didn't always echo the party line. But when he lost to the superior firepower of the Bush slime machine he joined them and for the next eight years his differences with them never amounted to much of anything. He made a little noise about torture -- after all it wouldn't look right for a military man who has been a prisoner of war to support torture, and thereby make our own military people more vulnerable to reprisals. But after a show of resistance, he caved and let the vicious neocons have their way. He supported and still supports the war, and enthusiastically advocates more wars. He knows he has to distance himself from Bush to have any hope of winning the votes of the 80 percent who don't like Bush, but since he agrees with the worst parts of the Bush agenda, it's hard for him to find anything to say. So apart from the fact that he is not a gifted orator, the real problem is that he has nothing to say, nothing to offer. It's a fraudulent candidacy. He's the Bush candidate. Bush and Cheney really have more at stake in this election than McCain has because they are criminals and they have to make sure the wheels of justice do not turn once they leave office, if they do actually decide to relinquish the White House, which I don't think they have decided on yet. If McCain wins, they are safe. No chance of any justice happening. It will be all-out foot-to-the-floor "global war on terror". There will be no time for anyone to mount any resistance because there will be too many wars, too much economic pressure on the little guys for them to have time to think about democracy, justice, resistance. If Hillary Clinton had gotten in, they could also be pretty sure the wheels of justice would not turn against them. Hillary would send Bill and George H.W. Bush on a "fence-mending tour" and all would be cozy. With Obama being carried in on a giant wave of revulsion against all that has gone on for the last eight years at least, the Bushies are a little less secure. McCain couldn't get any attention all last year, no donations. He almost had to close up shop. Then when those mysterious voting machines started working he was suddenly catapulted to the front of the pack. And conveniently, he just happens to be the candidate most in the Bush fold. Now he's out there and he's no more appealing than he was last year before being pulled from the dead by the voting machines. They may be able to fix the vote, but they're going to have a tough time making it believable this time because McCain is a very unappealing candidate and he's not getting any more traction as the nominee than he did last year as the ass-end runner in the campaign for the nomination.Candor Downunder -- According to Ray McGovern, writing at consortiumnews.com, "Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is now pulling no punches in decrying the subservience of his predecessor, John Howard, to Washington. Announcing the withdrawal of the 550 Australian troops still in Iraq on Monday, Rudd echoed recent charges by former White House spokesman Scott McClellan about the Bush administration's 'shading' of intelligence to 'justify' an unnecessary war. Rudd told Parliament he was most concerned by 'the manner in which the decision to go to war was made; the abuse of intelligence information, a failure to disclose to the Australian people the qualified nature of that intelligence'; and the government's silence on 'the pre-war warning that an attack on Iraq would increase the terrorist threat, not decrease it.' Rudd added: 'This government does not believe that our alliance with the United States mandates automatic compliance with every element of the United States' foreign policy.'"
June 6, 2008
Hum de Dum -- The 24-hour news channels are parsing every dog hair, examining every detail of the ongoing political events with a tight close-up focus on events that don't become intelligible in an instant, events that have not even fully become manifest yet. Obama has secured the nomination. Already in 24 hours these on-air gossip heads are weighing every possible, imaginable aspect of whether Hillary will be Barack's running mate. Is she pushing for it? Is he open to it? Can he not even take the option now because it will appear that she pressured him? Is she angry? Is he angry? A few hours after their speculation, events have shifted and none of the jabber counts for anything. They've examined every possible vice presidential candidate in the country, discussed the pros and cons from the standpoint of regional power, balancing in the ticket one way or another to win an election. They seem at a loss for what to fill the air time with. Tons of empty speculation, hot air. Obama is meeting with Hillary Clinton! The Obama press group was left on the airplane, tricked out of being present at the meeting, but there are plenty others down there, so now Clinton's house is surrounded by reporters, with cameras trained on the still house, barely visible except the porch light. They switch to the on-the-scene reporter posted in front of the Clinton house and he has nothing to report. Nothing. So he stammers around a little, throws out a string of speculations in response to being egged on by the anchor. Well, there's no one home, they might get here in a little while, or maybe it will take longer. Will Obama come in the front door, or will they sneak him in the back door? Well, maybe the front door, but on the other hand it could be the back door. Then someone will discuss all the historical precedents in previous elections, whether they went in the front door, or the back door. But then again, they acknoweledge, this is a precedent-setting election. There are many ways it is like no other, so who really knows?
June 9, 2008
Going to War for 'Nonexistent' Reasons -- The Senate Intelligence Committee report on its inquiry into how the Bush administration used intelligence to push for war, concluded that the administration led the country to war on false pretenses. It's something we all know, but this is an official body drawing the conclusion. The inquiry was started when Republicans controlled the Senate and only now, after much wrangling, is finally coming out. The chairman of the committee, Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, said, "In making the case for war, the administration repeatedly presented intelligence as fact when, in reality, it was unsubstantiated, contradicted or even nonexistent." (LA Times) Sadly, the Bush administration led the nation into war under false pretenses." How many ways can you say "lie" without using the word? How many ways can you say "mass murder"?
Book Credits:
In the 21st Century, being naive to the workings of corporate media can get you killed.
Chomsky For Beginners written by David Cogswell, illustrated by Paul Gordon, published by Writers and Readers, is a documentary comicbook about Noam Chomsky the man, the linguist and the political voice, but more than anything, it is a guide to media propaganda, how the corporate-owned mass media are designed not to inform you but to manipulate you for the benefit of the owners.
Order Chomsky For Beginners from Amazon.com or Barnesandnoble.com
See also Existentialism For Beginners.
June 10, 2008
Commotion in Ghost Town -- Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich introduced articles of impeachment of Bush on the floor of the House on Monday, June 9. (See Cleveland Plain Dealer for a report. See kucinich.house.gov for the contents of the resolution.) Kucinich read a very long case against Bush. But he introduced articles of impeachment against Cheney last year and the Judiciary Committee hasn't responded at all, has not even launched an inquiry into the subject, even as the White House scorns their requests for information for their oversight hearings. It's hard to know what they are trying to protect by inaction in the face of so much criminal activity from the White House. It seems like the Bush administration has committed so many crimes that no one even knows where to begin, and they are unwilling to try. It's pathetic. There's no one there to protect the Constitution. There's no one home. No one at the wheel. To register support for Kucinich, click on kucinich.house.gov/Contact.The People Vs George Bush -- Vincent Bugliosi, however, the prosecutor who nailed Charles Manson, says that impeachment is not enough for the crimes of George Bush. Bush, he says, should be tried for murder. Writing on the HuffingtonPost, he says, "Perhaps the most amazing thing to me about the belief of many that George Bush lied to the American public in starting his war with Iraq is that the liberal columnists who have accused him of doing this merely make this point, and then go on to the next paragraph in their columns. Only very infrequently does a columnist add that because of it Bush should be impeached. If the charges are true, of course Bush should have been impeached, convicted, and removed from office. That's almost too self-evident to state. But he deserves much more than impeachment. I mean, in America, we apparently impeach presidents for having consensual sex outside of marriage and trying to cover it up. If we impeach presidents for that, then if the president takes the country to war on a lie where thousands of American soldiers die horrible, violent deaths and over 100,000 innocent Iraqi civilians, including women and children, even babies are killed, the punishment obviously has to be much, much more severe. That's just common sense. If Bush were impeached, convicted in the Senate, and removed from office, he'd still be a free man, still be able to wake up in the morning with his cup of coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice and read the morning paper, still travel widely and lead a life of privilege, still belong to his country club and get standing ovations whenever he chose to speak to the Republican faithful. This, for being responsible for over 100,000 horrible deaths?* For anyone interested in true justice, impeachment alone would be a joke for what Bush did." Forewarned -- Elliot D. Cohen on Buzzflash, writes that "the guarded optimism of Obama supporters assumes that the voting process will be largely a fair one. However, attention to past irregularities suggests otherwise." Evidence of Tampering -- Did Hillary really win 18 million votes? Jonathan Simon and Bruce O'Dell of Election Defense Alliance writing at OpEd News say, "We present evidence supporting the hypothesis that systematic attempts are being made to manipulate the results of the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination contest, through overt means such as crossover voting by non-Democrats, and through covert means targeted at the electronic vote tabulation process itself. The net effect has been to prolong the nomination battle and sharpen its negativity, thereby boosting the prospects of the Republican nominee and making more plausible his 'victory' in November-either by an honest count, or through continued exploitation of the proven security vulnerabilities in American voting." Big Mac on the Pan -- Former White House spokesman, Scott McClellan, will testify before a House committee next week about whether Vice President Dick Cheney ordered him to make misleading public statements about the leaking of CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity. AP Is this a breakthrough? Can anything ever break through the narcolepsy of Congress? How many smoking guns will it take to bring these varmints to justice?
June 11, 2008
Great American Award -- Kucinich's articles of impeachment can be read at impeachbush.org, democrats.com or afterdowningstreet.org. Congratulations to us all for one congressman who takes seriously the oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. It's unlikely many others will shake off their corporate cash-induced narcoleptic trances and take action to restore the rule of law in this corrupt dictatorship, but one can always dream. You can register your support for Kucinich at kucinich.us. See also impeachbush.org.Bush: No Regrets -- Bush has no regrets about his catastrophic and fraudulent invasion of Iraq, would do it again and is itching to attack Iran. Well, he sure showed his daddy, and that's what counts. CNN A Feast for Thieves -- A BBC investigation estimates that around $23 billion may have been lost, stolen or just not properly accounted for in Iraq. War profiteering is on an unprecedented scale. "" Lies and Contradictions -- Bush tells German Chancellor Angela Merkel diplomacy is the "first choice" for solving his beef with Iran. At the same time he is telling Americans it is useless to "talk" to Iran, and only wimps would do such a cowardly thing. So what kind of diplomacy exists without talking? AP
June 14, 2008
Stone Age Justice -- John McCain is calling the Supreme Court decision to restore the basic system of justice in which an accused person has the right to hear charges against him "one of the worst" supreme court rulings in history. (Boston Globe) These are essential rights established nearly a millennium ago by the Magna Carta, the minimum right of an individual against a government that throws him in jail and doesn't want to even have to say why. Bush's attempt to thwart this ages old principle has now been blocked by a Supreme Court that still has a few members who do not genuflect to him, and this time surprisingly opposed his attempt to re-impose stone age tyranny. McCain doesn't want to be identified with the much-detested Bush, but not only does he agree with Bush and oppose the right wing court's ruling, he calls it one of the worst in history. As People for the American Way points out, the list of horrible Supreme Court decisions includes "a decision that blacks and whites should drink from separate water fountains. Or that hundreds of thousands of Japanese Americans should be imprisoned in internment camps. Or that African-Americans should not be counted as persons under the law." And how about Bush v. Gore, One of the most twisted pieces of legal logic ever produced, blatantly partisan and so absurd in its implications that the decision included a stipulation that it can never be used as a precedent. McCain didn't mind that one. The outrage was not the Supreme Court's narrow ruling to reaffirm the right of Habeus Corpus, but to deny it and try to turn the clock back a thousand years and invoke total power of governments over individuals. The Bush government doesn't want to have to present charges showing why a person is being imprisoned because it can't make cases against these people. If a real court procedure was conducted, it would reveal too many of the administration's own crimes.Iraq Puppet Government Loses its Strings -- Oops, this isn't the way it's supposed to go. Things are falling apart for the Bush administration. The government they established in Iraq when they invaded the country is starting to think it really is a government and to behave independently, putting the interests of its own people ahead of those of Bush, Cheney and the neocons. According to The Washington Post, "The Bush administration's Iraq policy suffered two major setbacks Friday when Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki publicly rejected key U.S. terms for an ongoing military presence and anti-American Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called for a new militia offensive against U.S. forces." As to "the surge", the Post says, "Sadr had ordered the militia to cease carrying weapons last August -- a leading factor in the recent decline in violence."
June 16, 2008
Vidal on Impeachment -- Gore Vidal, on Kucinich's reading of a 35-count indictment against the Bush administration! "As I listened to Rep. Kucinich invoke the great engine of impeachment -- he listed some 35 crimes by these two faithless officials-we heard, like great bells tolling, the voice of the Constitution itself speak out ringingly against those who had tried to destroy it." (see truthdig.com) Kucinich's act was virtually ignored by American media, but appeared on the front page of France's Le Monde. "We all know how the self-described 'war hero,' Mr. John McCain, likes to snigger at France," says Vidal, "while the notion that he is a hero of any kind is what we should be sniggering at. It is Le Monde, a French newspaper, that told a story the next day hardly touched by The New York Times or The Washington Post or The Wall Street Journal or, in fact, any other major American media outlet."Iraq, the 51st State -- And look north to Canada for the story on "The Blueprint for Forward Base America", the plan to set up American forces in Iraq on a permanent basis. The US wants the agreement signed by July. Iraqis don't like the idea of permanent occupation by Americans who are immune from the law no matter who they kill, why or how. But who cares what they think? And for that matter, who cares what the American people -- who want out of Iraq -- think? CBC Russert Without Tears -- It's always sad when someone dies, sad when someone leaves a family before what is thought to be his time. That doesn't make Tim Russert the Abe Lincoln of Journalism, as his colleagues on TV seem intent on portraying him in a narcissistic orgy of grief. One does not wish to speak ill of the dead, but a sense of proportion is appropriate even in times of grief. In 2007, when there was no grief, one could not have blamed Dan Froomkin for pointing out in the Washington Post that Dick Cheney's former communications director, Cathie Martin, testified in the Scooter Libby case that the vice president's office viewed going on "Meet the Press" as a way to go public, but "control the message." When Russert spoke on the phone to Libby four days after former Ambassador Joseph Wilson had charged in a New York Times op-ed and on "Meet the Press" itself that the administration manipulated intelligence about Saddam Hussein's weapons programs to justify an invasion of Iraq, Russert, according to his own testimony, didn't ask Libby any questions about it. And what Libby told him, he kept confidential, as he always does, he said, unless he has permission from the subject. To whom is the journalist in a democracy most responsible, the public to whom he is pledged to report the abuses of power of public officials, or the public officials with whom he maintains privileged personal relationships? How many tragic deaths are we talking about here, as a result of a war based on lies and manipulation of dishonest public officials? How many additional deaths since the time of the Plame scandal in question at the time? Last March, during the presidential primary season, when Russert was given the responsibility of questioning the candidates for the American people as moderator of one of the presidential debates, he didn't, according to mediamatters.org, "ask a single question about global warming, continuing his longstanding habit of all but ignoring the topic. He didn't ask a single question about the mortgage crisis. (As one Cleveland resident noted, 'We've got the mortgage industry's toxic waste scattered all over this city, but Mr. Blue-Collar-Buffalo-and-Cleveland-Marshall-Guy Russert couldn't be bothered with a question about it.') He didn't ask a single question about executive power, the Constitution, torture, wiretapping, or other civil-liberties concerns. But that shouldn't come as a surprise; of all the questions he has asked while moderating presidential debates during this campaign, only one has dealt with any of those topics. He has, however, asked Dennis Kucinich what he felt compelled to insist was a 'serious question' -- whether Kucinich has seen a UFO. And he has asked about John Edwards' expensive haircut." Yes, the death of Russert is a tragedy for his family and friends, but there are many other ongoing tragedies of many less fortunate victims of all these issues that also deserve attention. Throw Them Out -- A 17-member delegation of Veterans For Peace presented 23,000 petitions to Congressman John Conyers, head of the Judiciary Committee and the Member of Congress with the authority to call for impeachment hearings, demanding the impeachment of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. michaelmoore.com. 'Take 'em Out and Shoot 'em' -- Talk show host Michael Reagan on some antiwar activists. "They don't deserve to live," he says. See youtube.com.
June 17, 2008
Beware of More Vote Fraud -- Ohio-based Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman, the experts on the Ohio vote fraud of 2004, warn that Obama had better learn from Kucinich's articles of impeachment, especially the parts about election theft, because the election could well be stolen again. See The Free Press for the grim details.McCain's Murky Career -- Jeffrey Klein on huffingtonpost.com refers to "McCain's Secret, Questionable Record". The New York Times in a front page article said that McCain had been offered an admiral's star but declined to take it, quoting Secretary of the Navy John F. Lehman, who took his position in the Navy only two months before McCain retired. McCain's autobiography tells a different story. Others tell other stories.
June 20, 2008
Thousands of Murders -- Mike Malloy interviews Vince Bugliosi on his book "The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder" brutusworks.comMEDIA ROULETTE
Summer Solstice
June 21, 2008
Lara Logan Fights Back -- CBS News chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan is fighting against the deadly inertia of the American corporate media system. Appearing on Jon Stewart's Daily Show, she said, “If I watched the news that you see in the United States I would just blow my brains out because it would just drive me nuts.”Lara Logan asked about O'Reilly and other things. Lara Logan on CNN defending against accusations of negative coverage Exposing Rumsfeld's lies
Logan interviews Eric Prince, head of Blackwater More good TV clips:
Bush interviewed by a tough Irish journalist, dropping the deferential attitude Bush is used to with corporate American reporters. An amazing glimpse into Bush and his psychology, how he manages to justify his actions and ignore their devastating effects. See youtube.com A short, thought-provoking discussion of Christianity. George Bush: American Idiot Common Sense: The Late Bill Hicks
billhicks.com What is the point of life? The Popemobile and how the corporate media likes to keep people stupid on Rock Stars On UFOs On the first Bush-Iraq Fraud
June 23, 2008
The Audacity of Caving -- Very disappointing and disheartening to see Barack Obama go along with a "compromise" that gives the telecom giants immunity for cooperating with Bush's criminal spy program. I went to his website (http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/contact2) and sent a message. No idea who if anyone reads these things. It's all getting pretty high-end, becoming a very glitzy, expensive operation. But when it compromises with Bush's phony war on terror, the whole premise of which is fraudulent, then one wonders what it does stand for as it evolves. Since I don't expect it to have a great impact on the Obama machine, I'll share it with you.Dear Barack Obama,
I am a heartfelt supporter of you and your campaign, but I am deeply disappointed in your agreement with a so-called compromise in giving immunity to the telecoms for going along with Bush's criminal spy program. I don't see what the compromise is. They get immunity, and what do we get in return? A promise not to do it again? Discounts on our phone bills? A pledge for net neutrality? Anything?
I don't think the Bill of Rights is open to compromise. You either honor it or you don't. There are many ways it is possible to compromise with the right wing, but this spying program is part of Bush's gestapo mentality and is unacceptable, as are all the premises underlying his fraudulent "war on terror".
We don't have many choices in America. At this point it's you or McCain. I certainly would not do anything I thought might aid his drive. But it is very disappointing to see you caving in on things that are the heart of Bush's national security state. It is something we have unfortunately been watching the Democratic party do over and over for the last four years and it is extremely disheartening.
I can't imagine how you could sign on to this, how you can justify it. The "real threat" you refer to in your statement is Bush's phony threat. The real "real threat" is Bush and the neocon world order. Why are you capitulating to it?
Sincerely,
David Cogswell
June 24, 2008
No Stopping Them Now -- Bush is hell bent on attacking Iran. He is not going to let anything stop him. You known how he is. According to former CIA analyst Ray McGovern, writing on Raw Story, "Israeli-American agreement has now been reached at the highest level; the armed forces planners, plotters and pilots are working out the details." Do you imagine that political concerns, lack of military resources, anything on earth will stop Bush, Cheney and the mad neocons? McGovern says, "Unlike the attack on Iraq five years ago, to deal with Iran there need be no massing of troops. And, with the propaganda buildup already well under way, there need be little, if any, forewarning before shock and awe and pox - in the form of air and missile attacks - begin. This time it will be largely the Air Force's show, punctuated by missile and air strikes by the Navy." God help America. God save its wretched soul.Will He Keep His Word? Back in May, Congressman Conyers, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said he would take impeachment off the table if Bush attacks Iran. (See afterdowningstreet.org, crooksandliars.com, alternet.org, opednews.co and dailykos.com.) It looks very likely that Bush will thumb his nose at the world and get this attack on Iran in before he leaves office. Will Conyers follow through with his tough talk? Or will he cave like Democrats do most of the time?
June 25, 2008
As a Thug Thinketh -- Antonin Scalia, the author of Bush V. Gore, the greatest piece of judicial jabberwocky in American history, has reached the point where he not only twists facts and law into whatever pretzel shapes he needs to fulfill the right wing agenda, he now doesn't even bother with facts. In his dissent against habeus corpus, madman Antonin referred to Boumediene v. Bush, saying "At least 30 of those prisoners hitherto released from Guantanamo have returned to the battlefield." According to Marjorie Cohn, writing at truthout.org, the statement is false. Smoking Gun -- I guess the rumors are true. Looks like the Republicans have found the Holy Grail of campaign smears, the video that will no doubt end the Obama campaign, one showing Michelle Obama uttering racial slurs. Oh my God! See YouTube
June 26, 2008
Whooosh! Counterpunch on Obama's Rightward Lurch. A sad story. opednews.comOff Message -- Barry Jennings, an emergency worker, head of a department in New York, called up after the first plane strike, went to Office of Emergency Management in Building 7 and found the office was abandoned. Jennings reports huge explosions and massive damage in the building before either of the twin towers had collapsed. Jason Burmis, one of the creators of the film "Loose Change", interviews Jennings, in anticipation of BBC's featuring Jennings in a film soon and probably debunking his statements. See opednews.com (from Prison Planet). A Fitting Tribute -- The Presidential Memorial Commission of San Francisco has been collecting signatures to rename the Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant after Bush. The Bush Sewage Treatment Plant. AOL News The Few, the Brave -- The 15 senators who opposed the new law legalizing Bush's criminal spying program -- which eliminates the necessity of getting a warrant to spy on Americans -- are: Biden (D-DE), Boxer (D-CA), Brown (D-OH), Cantwell (D-WA), Dodd (D-CT), Durbin (D-IL), Feingold (D-WI), Harkin (D-IA), Kerry (D-MA), Lautenberg (D-NJ), Leahy (D-VT), Menendez (D-NJ), Sanders (I-VT), Schumer (D-NY), Wyden (D-OR). All the Bush administration had to do under the previous law was apply for a warrant 48 hours after they had already started wiretapping someone. It didn't stop them from wiretapping, it only required them to justify it after the fact. This they considered too much of a constraint on their powers, and most of the Senate agreed with them. Obama said he supports it. Clinton didn't vote. A few senators seem to still give a shit about the Constitution. The Devil in Ralph's Details -- Ralph Nader made some good points, considering Obama's apparent "rightward lurch", but Nader's stumbles on the details detract from the force or credibility of his message. He said, "There's only one thing different about Barack Obama when it comes to being a Democratic presidential candidate. He's half African-American." (see boston.com) In fact Obama is not half African-American, he's half African and half Euro-American. His father wasn't an African-American, he was an African. You could say that is only a detail, but when making sensitive points like that, it's important to get it right on the money. If it's worth mentioning Obama's ethnic heritage, it's important to get it right. Nader, as right as he is about corporate America, flubs some things that may be details to him, but are not to many Americans. For example, he said that there was no significant difference between Bush and Gore. It may have been accurate to say that electing either Bush or Gore would not upset the corporate apple cart, and would not solve what is fundamentally wrong with the country. It was not accurate to say they were, therefore, indistinguishable, as we all know now. Does anyone need to be convinced of this point? In 2000, Nader downplayed the importance of the right's getting control of the Supreme Court and outlawing abortion. He said it would just go back to the states to decide. But of course to the people living in states like Alabama where the right is in control, it could be a matter of life and death for thousands of people. Obviously Bush's wars have been life and death issues for thousands upon thousands of people, and dismemberment for thousands more. It's not accurate to say there is no difference. The same applies to Obama-Clinton-McCain. In terms of freedom from the influence of corporations, true, none of them appears to have the independence the public really needs. That is not the same as saying there is no difference. There is a big difference between McCain and Obama. Obama may be leaning too far into the corporate agenda for the good of the people who support him, but McCain is a trap door to hell. -- David Cogswell