Democracy for Vancouver

Things I wish the Obama campaign would put together in an ad:

• A 2-lb. block of sharp cheddar cheese at my neighborhood WinCo: $9.49.

• The four brand new Lotus automobiles, 1 Ferrari and 1 convertible Masserati I have begun to see on my suburban commute each morning.

• A Pentagon budget of almost half a TRILLION dollars per year.

• Three years after Katrina - a 400-year storm - New Orleans only has protection against a 30-year storm, despite the fact that we are in a period of increased hurricane activity:

And increased storm intensity:

And ocean current patterns which have made New Orleans more of a target:

• Eight years after the election of the first MBA president:

- Oil has gone from $25/barrel to $140/barrel

- 37 U.S. banks have failed - on par the the Great Depression

- Home sales have fallen to the lowest level since the Great Depression

- Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Bear Stearns have all required government bailouts

- The country has the greatest negative savings rate since the Great Depression

- real income has dropped by an average of $6,000/year while productivity has continued to rise

- According to the AFL-CIO’s 2007 study:

During the past 12 months, overall total compensation of the highest-paid executive increased 20.5 percent while revenues increased 2.8 percent… As of February 2008, the average top executive received overall total compensation of $18,813,697, according to the study. In comparison, the median pay for workers rose only 3.5 percent to $36,140 in 2007, from $34,892 the previous year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

There is no question that average people in this country are hurting badly. We are spending all of our money on a bloated military so we can remain the biggest dick on the block - and failing at that - while hunger, joblessness and homelessness skyrocket at home.

The fact that Obama and McCain are only a point or two apart in polling shows the absolute failure of the Democrats and the Obama campaign to come out fighting.

Yes, the media are on bended knee to John McCain - and we’re about to see Charlie Gibson go hat-in-hand to Wasilla to ask Sarah Palin what her favorite color is and when, exactly, she knew she was destined for greatness.

And yes, the liberal blogosphere is doing its best to counter it: but we’re largely talking to ourselves.

If the Dems and Obama don’t get out there NOW, and for every one of the next 56 days, with ads on the TV - not YouTube - blasting McCain and the deadly, decadent policies of the Republicans over the last 8 years, not only will Obama lose, but we will have to live through another 4 or 8 or even 12 years of a government for, by and of the corporations.

I don’t want my son to be drafted into Sarah Palin’s Christopathic war machine when he turns 18 in 2016.

We had better cut the crap, stop playing nice, and knee-cap these sons of bitches. NOW.

Because our civility is no match for their ruthlessness. Joe Biden yesterday:

MR. BROKAW: You and I were just watching Sarah Palin…

SEN. BIDEN: Yeah.

MR. BROKAW: …with that very impressive introductory appearance that she made…

SEN. BIDEN: Yeah.

MR. BROKAW: …at the Republican National Convention. And when she used that line, being a mayor is like being a community organizer except you have actual responsibilities, you said, “Pretty good line.”

SEN. BIDEN: Yeah, it was a great line.

MR. BROKAW: She had a number of good lines.

SEN. BIDEN: She had a number of good ones. Look, she’s a smart, tough politician, and so I, I think she’s going to be very formidable.

Remember this, Joe:

Failure at some point in everyone’s life is inevitable, but giving up is unforgivable… When I got knocked down by guys bigger than me, [my mother] sent me back out and demanded that I bloody their nose so I could walk down that street the next day.

Enough of this Senatorial comity. Go bloody their noses.