Quote :

" Joe the Plumber to Campaign for John McCain October 27, 2008 11:10 PM ABC News' Bret Hovell reports: Joe Wurzelbacher, aka “Joe the Plumber,” will campaign tomorrow in Ohio for Senator John McCain. "

This is so fucking retarded. This campaign is a comedy of errors, a series of blunders and hacks one after another. No one gives two shits about this Joe the Plumber idiot. Dude needs to go pay his taxes and stop acting like he makes 8x the salary he does to help leverage his ridiculous argument.

[Edited on October 28, 2008 at 10:28 AM. Reason : -]

10/28/2008 10:27:40 AM

Word is he's trying to get a book deal, so I guess he might end up being in the $250,000+ tax bracket after all.

10/28/2008 12:20:01 PM

i wish people would quit calling him a plumber. he's not even registered as an plumber's apprentice for chrissakes, much less a journeyman plumber. this means that in his state, Minnesota, he is legally PROHIBITED from performing ANY plumbing work, whatsoever.

i mean, maybe he plunged his toilet after taking a particularly huge dump, but if that's all it takes, then I'm a plumber too.

10/28/2008 12:46:30 PM

Quote :

"Let's see, I've got brie, and free-range mushrooms and tofu."

joke all you want - that sounds great. I might make something with mushrooms and tofu tonight. the 'free range mushrooms' is funny, too.

what's the old saying? If you don't love brie by 30, you have no brain? Something like that

[Edited on October 28, 2008 at 1:04 PM. Reason : .]

10/28/2008 1:03:41 PM

Quote :

"Michael Pollan, who recently wrote an "open letter" to the next president concerning food policy in this country - http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/magazine/12policy-t.html - has brought up an interesting point w/r/t the whole elitist attitude at/towards Whole Foods, organic farming, and actually in general towards healthy eating. He notes that it's funny that it's considered snobby and elitist when people make an effort to "buy local" or shop at farmer's markets or from stores that buy from local farmers, which often end up being more expensive. The extra cost, though, is often going back to the local farmers who work on small farms and don't have the benefits of economies of scale, cheap labor, and government subsidies. Then at the same time, it's considered populist to eat daily at McDonalds and buy as much processed food as possible from Winn Dixie, companies that get their food from gigantic industrial farms and feed lots, who steamroll over and buy independent farmers by the hundred, take as many gov't subsidies as they can get their hands on and still lobby for more, and hire illegal immigrants by the thousand to tend to their fields."

whoa, hold on buddy. that makes way too much sense. get your hippie shit out of here.

10/28/2008 1:03:50 PM

^ great article and point made there. I hate when blowhards get evangelical about food. So petty...

10/28/2008 1:06:12 PM

Best. Video. Ever.

10/28/2008 1:23:31 PM

Quote :

"i wish people would quit calling him a plumber. he's not even registered as an plumber's apprentice for chrissakes, much less a journeyman plumber. this means that in his state, Minnesota, he is legally PROHIBITED from performing ANY plumbing work, whatsoever."

If you work for a company or contractor that has a plumbing license, you don't need one.

10/28/2008 1:32:35 PM

^^ the best part is the old school nintendo music

10/28/2008 1:39:50 PM

^wut

the best part of the video is the token white kid

10/28/2008 2:33:19 PM

Quote :

"the best part of the video is the token white kid"

10/28/2008 2:37:07 PM

Quote :

"If you work for a company or contractor that has a plumbing license, you don't need one."

perhaps you need to learn what you're talking about. yes, that is the way it works in NORTH CAROLINA.

but in most every other state OUTSIDE THE SOUTHEASTERN US -- including Minnesota, where Joe-the-lying-ass-nonplumber works -- you MUST have a valid journeyman's card OR a valid apprentice card ISSUED BY THE STATE BUREAU OF LABOR

or else you are in violation of the law, can be fined, and your employer can lose their license to contract commercial jobs.

if he was doing any plumbing work outside of his own home, he was doing it in violation of the state law. maybe he was an estimator, or some sort of project manager, but he was NOT a plumber or a plumber's apprentice.

10/28/2008 2:59:27 PM

Okay, this goes back to the old argument of the validity of polls, but a bunch of new polls have come out lately. How can people argue that polls are accurate when Gallup has Obama with a 2% lead, Battleground has a 3% lead, then the other extreme you have the Pew poll with Obama at a 15% lead, and the Newsweek at 13%. That is over a 10% difference, which is huge and way beyond statistical anomalies.

What is going on? Gallup, Pew, and Newsweek are all legitimate, trusted pollsters right? How can there be such a huge discrepancy?

10/28/2008 3:10:23 PM

Quote :

"perhaps you need to learn what you're talking about."

1. He lives and works in Ohio, not Minnesota
2.

Quote :

"Wurzelbacher actually does not need a plumbing license because he works for a plumbing corporation, which holds responsibility for licensing issues. Additionally A. W. Newell holds licenses with the State of Ohio and City of Toledo.[5][12] Even in light of the fact that Lucas County Building Inspection records show A. W. Newell Corp. does maintain a state plumbing license, another with the City of Toledo, and none in Lucas County Ohio, Joe Wurzelbacher has no control nor responsibility in regard to this issue. Even if according to Ohio building regulations, he must maintain his own license to do independent plumbing work[29], Joe Wurzelbacher is not presently an independent plumber, meaning this is not presently a regulatory issue."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_the_Plumber

3. I don't really care

[Edited on October 28, 2008 at 3:13 PM. Reason : ]

10/28/2008 3:12:18 PM

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/polls/

10/28/2008 3:12:55 PM

that's why realclearpolitics does a weighted running average

but seriously, i dont know. its a bit troublesome. i've always had a problem accepting the sample sizes as being sufficient. im also not a statistician.

10/28/2008 3:13:59 PM

I like how when Palin was first brought on board the McCain campaign wanted to scream sexism whenever she was questions/criticized, but now they're calling her a diva.

How many times do you hear dudes called diva's

hypocrites.

[Edited on October 28, 2008 at 3:15 PM. Reason : .]

10/28/2008 3:14:31 PM

Quote :

"i've always had a problem accepting the sample sizes as being sufficient. im also not a statistician."

polls have also been wrong in the past, so anything can happen

oreilly gave obama 5-1 odds on letterman last night ,, i think thats a good estimate



[Edited on October 28, 2008 at 3:17 PM. Reason : asdf]

10/28/2008 3:15:37 PM

yes, im admitting an incomplete knowledge of statistics.

perhaps you can explain the wild variations.

10/28/2008 3:17:33 PM

Quote :

"perhaps you need to learn what you're talking about."

10/28/2008 3:18:25 PM

i was merely saying that i have incomplete knowledge of statistics as well

i know enough to say that polls have been wrong in the past, so that makes them illegitimate

enough to get a basic idea, but to call it over before the election is merely stupid

10/28/2008 3:21:25 PM

Quote :

"How many times do you hear dudes called diva's"

every Wide Receiver in the NFL is referred to frequently as a diva.

10/28/2008 3:22:18 PM

cast of "The Wire" encourages NC to vote early.. no Slim Charles though
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9081h1SEvY

10/28/2008 3:42:34 PM

us folks in the middle turned off by the Dan Quayles of the world:

http://www.slate.com/id/2203125/

10/28/2008 3:59:37 PM

A) "A little bit of rain never hurt anybody," Obama said, surveying the soaking, umbrella-covered crowd at Widener University

B) Obama took the stage less than an hour after the McCain campaign announced it was postponing a rally at 1:15 p.m. in Quakertown, Pa., about one hour north of Chester, "due to weather."

^ THATS A MAVERICK MY FRIENDS. YOU BETCHA!

10/28/2008 4:47:42 PM

^Yeah, I heard about that. I think it's pretty telling. If the McCain campaign actually thought they still had a chance to win, he wouldn't have canceled the rally for a little rain.

10/28/2008 5:05:14 PM

whaddya know, another unlucky association with a radical for Obama, except this time it's a prominent Jew-hater who just happens to be practically best friends with William Ayers. It's funny how there are so many random, coincidental meetings and toasts being given to these people that I'm sure have had NO influence on the way Obama thinks.

and

Quote :

"We need somebody who's got the heart, the empathy, to recognize what it's like to be a young teenage mom.The empathy to understand what it's like to be poor, or African-American, or gay, or disabled, or old. And that's the criteria by which I'm going to be selecting my judges."

Seriously? Everybody is okay with this?

10/28/2008 5:37:33 PM

Quote :

"whaddya know, another unlucky association with a radical for Obama, except this time it's a prominent Jew-hater who just happens to be practically best friends with William Ayers."

what you've just shown is that this guy has an association with William Ayers, not with Obama.
Are you trying to play six-degrees-of-separation here? You could link Obama up to Hitler in probably 3 degrees, but that doesn't really mean shit.

10/28/2008 5:41:28 PM

Quote :

"A special tribute came from Khalidi's friend and frequent dinner companion, the young state Sen. Barack Obama. Speaking to the crowd, Obama reminisced about meals prepared by Khalidi's wife, Mona, and conversations that had challenged his thinking. His many talks with the Khalidis, Obama said, had been "consistent reminders to me of my own blind spots and my own biases. . . . It's for that reason that I'm hoping that, for many years to come, we continue that conversation — a conversation that is necessary not just around Mona and Rashid's dinner table," but around "this entire world."..."

Obama most definitely has a connection with Rashid Khalidi

10/28/2008 5:46:12 PM

this is the eleventeenth time i've seen Obama rally in the rain -- looks like he enjoys the dramatic effect of it

10/28/2008 5:53:18 PM

This changes everything

10/28/2008 5:53:33 PM

Quote :

"Obama most definitely has a connection with Rashid Khalidi"

that was pure ownage, do you have a link to that?

10/28/2008 5:58:38 PM

Quote :

""We need somebody who's got the heart, the empathy, to recognize what it's like to be a young teenage mom.The empathy to understand what it's like to be poor, or African-American, or gay, or disabled, or old. And that's the criteria by which I'm going to be selecting my judges.""

why wouldn't you be ok with this? what's wrong with filling the land's highest court with judges of diverse life experiences?

10/28/2008 6:00:10 PM

^^^^^ aimmorris, what exactly, are you afraid of? i mean, i consider you to be more level headed than some of the far right posters, but obama seems to welcome foreign ideas to help shape his view of the world. where exactly is the harm in that?

Quote :

""We need somebody who's got the heart, the empathy, to recognize what it's like to be a young teenage mom.The empathy to understand what it's like to be poor, or African-American, or gay, or disabled, or old. And that's the criteria by which I'm going to be selecting my judges.""

you quoted this, and i really don't understand where your objection may lie. he's saying that he wants a judge who is able to view every side of the issue. something that, I, personally, would like to have in a judge.


we can play the degrees of separation all day with obama and ayers and wright. we can say he pals around with terrorists, and for some voters, that might stick.


but for me, john mccain pals around with george w. bush. and that is more frightening than a 60's radical or a reverand who suggests *gasp* that the united states is being judged for our foreign affairs.

i mean, these things seem to scare you, and you have frequently raised your concern that these things influence the way obama thinks. that may be true, but i've been in many lectures or classes in college with professors that i disagree with, and i've respectfully listened to their opinion and then made my own conclusion based on the added knowledge. so, personally, i'd rather have a president who can weigh different opinions and make judgements equipped with that extra knowlege than someone like mccain who is completely unwilling to hear out ahmadinejad or chavez or whoever because he doesn't approve of the way they do business.

the idea that shunning your opponents ideas because you disagree with them is old and has proven not to work, and an attempt at diplomatically reaching an agreement or disagreement is at the very least, an option to explore.

[Edited on October 28, 2008 at 6:01 PM. Reason : ^]

10/28/2008 6:01:00 PM

I've never heard of Khalidi, but how exactly is he a bad guy?

Quote :

"Khalidi was born in New York. He received a B.A. from Yale University, where he was a member of Wolf's Head Society,[1] in 1970,[2] and a D. Phil. from Oxford University in 1974[3] and spent many years as a professor and director of both the Center for Middle Eastern Studies and the Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago before joining the Columbia faculty. He has also taught at Georgetown University, Lebanese University, and the American University of Beirut. Khalidi is married to Mona Khalidi, Assistant Dean, Student Affairs; Assistant Director of Graduate Studies, School of International and Public Affairs[4] He is a member of the National Advisory Committee of the U.S. Interreligious Committee for Peace in the Middle East, which describes itself as "a national organization of Jews, Christians and Muslims dedicated to dialogue, education and advocacy for peace based on the deepest teachings of the three religious traditions."[5] He is member of the Board of Sponsors of The Palestine-Israel Journal, a publication founded by Ziad AbuZayyad and Victor Cygielman, prominent Palestinian and Israeli journalists. He is founding trustee of The Center for Palestine Research and Studies. Princeton University let it become known that it was considering hiring Khalidi in 2005.[6] However, a controversy developed over Khalidi's political involvements and no job offer was made.[7]"

I don't exactly have any problem with our next president associating with someone who seems to be an expert on the Middle East, and holds some very respected positions.

This seems like more anti-intellectualism and fear mongering from the right because this guy has a "scary" sounding name.

[Edited on October 28, 2008 at 6:02 PM. Reason : ]

10/28/2008 6:01:33 PM

well he is muslim....so, you know

10/28/2008 6:04:46 PM

Ytsejam

here's the link, the actual quote I used is from the LA Times article

http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=ZDFkMGE2MmM1M2Q5MmY0ZmExMzUxMWRhZGJmMTAyOGY

jwb9984

because the Supreme Court's job is to interpret the constitution first and foremost, not be biased in their decision by putting themselves in the shoes of a black or poor person, or a teenage mother. When we start letting judges on the Supreme Court that value their own influences and personal experiences and what ultimately ends up being Democrat vs. Republican over the written law that is the Constitution, we've crossed a line that we will never be able to go back to. I would feel the same way if McCain was saying the same thing because America is a centrist country, not a far left or a far right country. I listen to the Glenn Beck show and while he is kind of annoying sometimes, I really liked his analogy of pendulum: America under Bush has swung pretty far to the left, and the further it swings right, the further it will come back to the left when it has a chance to especially with this president and the potential Congress he'll have... the thing needs to be in the middle

mls09

I'm afraid of a president who has been influenced (supporters can claim the whole guilty-by-association all they want, but there is no way every single connection Obama has is purely a coincidence) by FAR-left ideology. He's not exactly the 2nd coming of Mussolini, but you cannot deny his leftist stance on many, many issues. And he's trying to talk a big moderate game right now but his record really speaks for itself. I'm afraid of a far-left leaning president with a willing left Congress to basically carry out as much as they see fit

Quote :

"so, personally, i'd rather have a president who can weigh different opinions and make judgements equipped with that extra knowlege"

How do you know Obama will "weigh different opinions and make judgments with that extra knowledge" and choose something that doesn't lie on the left end of the spectrum? How much of a moderate congressman has he shown himself to be?


[Edited on October 28, 2008 at 6:23 PM. Reason : .]

10/28/2008 6:19:03 PM

^well, i guess you just don't really know me. cuz i'd be fine with him leaning left. that's where you and i differ. and, as the polls are suggesting, i'm not alone. this country, for a long time, has been centrist-leaning toward the right. is the nation going to crumble if it leans more toward the center, possibly ever-so-slightly to the left?

it's just the unabated fear of change that i don't understand. why would we be afraid to try something else when what we have hasn't been working? seems logical to change the countries gameplan to get us back in the race.

10/28/2008 6:30:33 PM

it's a paradigm shift

the distance between us winning WW2 and now is becoming all the wider

10/28/2008 6:40:17 PM

oh it's going to change no matter who the new president is, it's just a question of how much

for all the talk Obama/Biden try to do about McCain being an extension of Bush, there's a reason conservatives weren't too high on McCain before and why he chose a VP with such far-right values. Yeah, his campaign has been run very Bush/Rove-esque but McCain is a hell of a lot more moderate than Bush was


I'm against Obama more than I'm for McCain

10/28/2008 6:40:21 PM

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/28/obama-affinity-marxists-dates-college-days/

10/28/2008 6:51:34 PM

Quote :

"This changes everything "

10/28/2008 6:57:37 PM

^^ OH NOES. i guess i'll stay home on Tuesday after all

and while we're still on page 84, i just want to say that Ernie got me.




[Edited on October 28, 2008 at 7:06 PM. Reason : ]

10/28/2008 7:00:57 PM

Quote :

"i know enough to say that polls have been wrong in the past, so that makes them illegitimate"

i wouldn't go that far. i think RCP's method of weighting running recent averages is pretty sound. if i recally correctly, they were accurate in 04 except in the case of OH.

though of course it doesn't take into account my theory describing the phenomenon henceforth known as the "Reverse Bradley Effect (TM)"

10/28/2008 7:04:29 PM

Quote :

"and while we're still on page 84, i just want to say that Ernie got me."

BOOM

10/28/2008 7:08:30 PM

Quote :

"because the Supreme Court's job is to interpret the constitution first and foremost"

well no shit, but if personal experiences and ideologies don't play into rulings, then every ruling should be unanimous, right?

diversity breeds discussion, and healthy discussion leads to much more intelligent and fair decision making

10/28/2008 7:13:04 PM

"Ok, there was a guy named Marx. He was bad.

On a scale from 1-10, 10 being Marx, and 1 being not-Marx--

McCain's a 2.2; Obama's a 2.4!"


What a compelling narrative.

10/28/2008 7:30:03 PM

I love it, the so called 'conservatives' just fail to get it. Things have changed.

There is just a blatant refusal to believe that the electorate has changed. No longer do baby boomers run this country and cultural issues exist but you can't win elections hinging on them....so take your evangelical shit and remove it if you want independents. Start now and reform your party.

Also this refusal to accept that people give a shit about every Tom, Dick, and Harry that have some type of connection to politicians. Lame ass republicans continue to think that if someone is friends with anyone other than Lee Greenwood, he's a terrorist or anti-American.

Plays well in the heartland...not so much in other areas nowadays. If I were them, I'd worry that North Carolina, Georgia, Montana, Nevada, and freaking Arizona are polling almost even right now.

lol

10/28/2008 8:05:15 PM

By the way for all of you new Khalidi vultures following Drudge's story in the LA Times? Got news for you....

In the past couple hours today it was uncovered that McCain himself has an extensive relationship with Khalidi, including providing his group with hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant money.

Oops! Wonder why this story was pulled off the headline of Drudge?

[Edited on October 28, 2008 at 8:17 PM. Reason : -]

10/28/2008 8:16:34 PM

man this mccain interview with hannity so so sweet.

awwww

10/28/2008 9:17:35 PM