Voinovich Has Called McCain A Liar....

.....well, sort of.

The main point being, this is all taking place in Ohio, over which we cannot obsess enough, according to the author of the following article. I tend to agree, but where are we on the security of Ohioans' votes? Can we be sure that all Ohioans, who are eligible to vote under Ohio law, will get to vote and will their votes be counted?

Just so you know: my opinion is that between now and Election Day in November, we cannot obsess about Ohio enough. Can Barack Obama, a black guy (did you know that?), or Hillary Clinton, a woman with high negatives, win the White House against John McCain, an old white war hero? All either has to do is win every state that John Kerry bagged in 2004 and swing Ohio from red to blue. The latter seems particularly doable given that the Republican Party has imploded in the Buckeye state thanks to a series of scandals and now Ohio is ruled (so to speak) by Ted Strickland, a popular Democrat, who just might end up in the No. 2 spot on the Democratic ticket. And it does seem hard to envision a McCain victory without Ohio on his side.

So any Ohio-related news is national news. That's one reason why I thought it's important that McCain has campaigned in Ohio with a megachurch pastor who has literally called for the eradication of Islam. If this story comes to hurt McCain--and he has to disavow this pastor--it could damage his effort to turn out fundamentalist voters in Ohio. (I may have more on that story soon.)

Today the political news out of Ohio is that the top-ranking Republican in the state has called McCain a liar. Well, kind of. At a forum of the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission on Wednesday, Senator George Voinovich said, "We're going to have to raise more money in this country. Did you hear me? We're going to have to increase taxes in order to do the job. Anyone that tells you that's not the case isn't being truthful with you. They're not being intellectually honest with you."

I must add my humble (no count) opinion to that of the senator from Ohio, Mr. Voinovich, a conservative of the old school, like the ones I grew up around: If a man or woman says to you that taxes will not have to be raised to help the next president and congress begin to drag us back from the social/economic abyss, not only is he/she lying to you and what's more, they think you are stupid.

Nevertheless, just raising taxes on people who make more than $250,000/year will not get us where we need to be. We need tax cuts on the people who will continue to consume because they have to. They have no choice and if we want them to be able to save anything, tax cuts are needed. I'm talking about people who make less that $60,000 after their employers take out money for retirement plans, benefits and social security, etc.

People who are disabled or retired, in other words, who are living on fixed incomes, of less than 60,000 per year should pay no taxes at all on that money. People who are disabled are finding themselves over-whelmed with healthcare costs, as are some retired people who are more elderly than the younger retired people. Until universal healthcare comes, these people are in failing financial situations.

Retired and/or disabled people who can find jobs that they can manage to do, should be taxed on earned money after the first $10,000/per year at a rate of 10%. They should not lose their healthcare as a result of earning extra money.

As the Ohio state Democratic party was lickety-split quick to point out, McCain has declared that under no circumstances will he increase any taxes if he is elected president. By Voinovich's standard, then, McCain is not being honest.

I doubt this disagreement will prevent Voinovich from campaigning for McCain in Ohio. But the anti-McCain ad writes itself: juxtapose Voinovich's declaration against McCain's. If Ohio is tight any issue could tip the national race one way or the other. This particular matter may not end up the decisive one. But pay attention to each and every bump encountered by either party's nominee in Ohio--for any one of them may be what throws an entire train off the tracks.

Some trains need to be derailed and as soon as possible.

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. I.U. has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is I.U endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)


The Nazis, Fascists and Communists were political parties before they became enemies of liberty and mass murderers.

Voinovich: "Bush has Effed Up The War"

So, what did you really expect, Mr. Voinivich? The war was based on deceit and fear-mongering. It was bound to fail.

Besides, Junior has drilled more dry wells than any oil man in history. He has failed at just about everything he has ever tried to do, including running for president. The simple fact is, he has never actually won a national election.

What did you expect from a man who had to be bailed out of at least one financial disaster by Salim bin Laden, Osama's oldest brother?

You, Mr. Voinovich, and your comrades in the GOP (Greedy Old Pukes) have helped Junior fail this country because you have, for over 6 years, conspired with him to wreck it. You have covered-up for the administration by refusing to do the oversight Congress is supposed to do. You all refused to do your damn jobs.

So while Junior should be put in stockades on the Capitol lawn, most of the GOP should be there with him.

May you all rot in hell!

Bush told Iraq war has helped al-Qa’eda

By Tim Shipman in Washington

Last Updated: 9:23am BST 18/07/2007

President George W Bush was facing increasingly blunt criticism of his Iraq policy last night as a US intelligence report suggested that the war has made al-Qa'eda attacks on American soil more likely.

	President Bush is losing support from Republicans in Congress

Senator George Voinovich, a close ally of Mr Bush, delivered a withering assessment of the situation in Iraq, declaring that the Bush administration had "f****d up the war".

The Ohio senator revealed that he warned Karl Rove - the President's chief political adviser - last week that Mr Bush must devise a new plan for Iraq or he would vote with Democrats on Capitol Hill to withdraw troops from Iraq.

He spoke out as a declassified National Intelligence Estimate of the terrorist threat to the US indicated that the Iraq war has helped al-Qa'eda "raise resources and to recruit and indoctrinate operatives, including for homeland attacks".

The document, which represents the considered views of 16 US intelligence agencies, appeared at odds with Mr Bush's repeated claims that America must prosecute the war in Iraq to prevent terrorists "following us home" with attacks in the US. The three-page report, two pages of which were released to the public, argues that "al-Qa'eda will probably seek to leverage the contacts and capabilities of al-Qa'eda in Iraq".

The findings echo similar assessments of the terror threat from British spy chiefs.

They inflamed an already febrile atmosphere in Congress, where Mr Bush is hemorrhaging support from Republicans.

Mr Voinovich had previously indicated that he would delay any vote to leave Iraq until September, when General David Petraeus, the commander in Iraq, reports to Congress on the status of his surge strategy. But Mr Voinovich shocked political Washington, where personal criticisms and profanity are generally more muted than in Westminster, with the vehemence of his views - which he stated in the halls of the senate. Mr Voinovich, who meets Mr Bush and his inner circle regularly, revealed that he told Mr Rove the President must change course, or face a new mutiny.

"The President is a young man and should think about his legacy. He should know history will not be kind unless he can come up with a plan that protects the troops and stabilizes the region," he said.

He said other Republicans were close to speaking out against the President's current strategy. "I have every reason to believe that the fur is going to start to fly, perhaps sooner than what they may have wanted," he said.

Mr Voinovich is not the only ally of the President losing faith. Yesterday, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, owned by the hitherto loyal businessman Richard Mellon Scaife, branded the Bush administration's plans to stay the course in Iraq a "prescription for American suicide". In an editorial, the paper condemned Mr Bush's performance at a press conference last week, in which he vowed to press on with the surge, saying "we had to question his mental stability".

Democrat leaders last night ordered the Senate into an all-night session in an attempt to force Republicans to back a motion calling for troops to withdraw from Iraq by the end of April 2008. Later this week another motion, proposed by the Republican senators Richard Lugar and John Warner and calling on Mr Bush to get a new strategy in place by mid-October, is also due for debate.

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. I.U. has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is I.U endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)

The Nazis, Fascists and Communists were political parties before they became enemies of liberty and mass murderers.