Grandpa 'Straight Talk' Appears With Lunatic Fringe, Collects Armageddon Endorsement

Straight Talk Express conductor John McCain embraced the rapturous hug of lunatic fringe pastor John Hagee Wednesday, just before turning around and throwing him under the "Straight Talk" bus:

"Yesterday, Pastor John Hagee endorsed my candidacy for president in San Antonio, Texas. However, in no way did I intend for his endorsement to suggest that I in turn agree with all of Pastor Hagee's views, which I obviously do not.

And what are some of the views that Grandpa "Straight Talk" so desperately wants to distance himself from (while at the same time basking in the warm glow of Hagee's evangelically Rapturous Armageddon-yearning hug)? Let's take a look. From Sarah Posner's article in The American Prospect:

Hagee, who serves as head pastor of the 18,000-member Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, hosts his own television program that is seen twice a day on TBN. He argues that the United States must join Israel in a pre-emptive military strike against Iran to fulfill God's plan for both Israel and the West.

He speaks simultaneously to two audiences about Iran's nuclear capabilities: one that fears a terrorist attack by Iran and another that embraces a biblically mandated apocalypse.

...When addressing audiences receptive to Scriptural prophecy, Hagee welcomes the coming confrontation. He argues that a strike against Iran will cause Arab nations to unite under Russia's leadership, as outlined in chapters 38 and 39 of the Book of Ezekiel, leading to an "inferno [that] will explode across the Middle East, plunging the world toward Armageddon."

...In Hagee's telling, Israel has no choice but to strike at Iran's nuclear facilities, with or without America's help. The strike will provoke Russia -- which wants Persian Gulf oil -- to lead an army of Arab nations against Israel. Then God will wipe out all but one-sixth of the Russian-led army, as the world watches "with shock and awe," he says, lending either a divine quality to the Bush administration phrase or a Bush-like quality to God's wrath.

But Hagee doesn't stop there. He adds that Ezekiel predicts fire upon those who "live in security in the coastlands." From this sentence he concludes that there will be judgment upon all who stood by while the Russian-led force invaded Israel, and issues a stark warning to the United States to intervene: "Could it be that America, who refuses to defend Israel from the Russian invasion, will experience nuclear warfare on our east and west coasts?" He says yes, citing Genesis 12:3, in which God said to Israel: "I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you."

To fill the power vacuum left by God's decimation of the Russian army, the Antichrist -- identified by Hagee as the head of the European Union -- will rule "a one-world government, a one-world currency and a one-world religion" for three and a half years. (He adds that "one need only be a casual observer of current events to see that all three of these things are coming into reality.") The "demonic world leader" will then be confronted by a false prophet, identified by Hagee as China, at Armageddon, the Mount of Megiddo in Israel. As they prepare for the final battle, Jesus will return on a white horse and cast both villains -- and presumably any nonbelievers -- into a "lake of fire burning with brimstone," thus marking the beginning of his millennial reign.

Now that's entertainment.

But lest you think Hagee is in it simply to guide into the Rapture as many of the flock as he can, he also uses his, eh-hmm, ministry to take pretty good care of himself right here on earth.

Hagee the businessman -- along with friends like Hinn, Meyer, Parsley, and other TBN televangelists, including the network's top executives, Paul and Jan Crouch -- has come under fire for excessive compensation derived from his nonprofit ministries. According to his organization's tax returns, Hagee has earned more than $1 million annually since 1999 in salary and deferred compensation from his nonprofit Global Evangelism Television and Cornerstone Church. In 2004, the San Antonio News Express reported that he was the highest-paid nonprofit executive in that city; his pay was nearly twice that of the next best-paid executive.

So yes, Grandpa Straight Talk, lap up as much of that Apocalypse-seekers endorsement as you can, but be sure to tell everyone the very next day that you don't necessarily "agree with all of Pastor Hagee's views." How sweet! But that's not exactly a rejection or a refutation, is it? I'm sure Tim Russert will hop right on this one.

Brand New Obama Music Video: We Are The Ones

Fresh on the heels of the will.i.am video "Yes We Can," a viral sensation that has garnered more than 5 million hits on YouTube.com alone, the Black-Eyed Peas front man today released another star-studded video in support of Barack Obama:

The Oregon Coast Really Blows

We've all read the stories and seen news reports about the early December 2007 windstorm that devastated Oregon's North Coast and claimed Oregon's largest living thing, the Klootchy Creek Giant, one of the largest Sitka Spruce in the World.

But, much like the "Devastation Zone" on Mount St. Helens, it's pretty difficult to appreciate the extent of the damage and the awe-inspiring force of nature required to wreak such havoc if you haven't seen it for yourself. I recommend a trip down Highway 26 and up the coast. Here are a couple quick snapshots that represent less than a speck of the entire damage done.

This is a broken stand of timber across the Highway and up the road from the Klootchy Creek Giant. The stand of relatively young trees had recently been exposed to the wind by a clearcut.





But don't get the wrong idea here; although the debris and evidence of damage are still visible, the coast is cleaned up and ready for business. And given the recent unseasonably spectacular weather, a trip right now is "awesome" all the way around.

Fox News Scoop: Bankers Closing In On Jacko's Shacko

Count on the top-notch journalists at Fox News to be on top of this (heart)breaking news. From Reuters:

Michael Jackson's famed Neverland Valley Ranch in California will be foreclosed and sold on March 19 unless the pop star pays a balance of nearly $25 million, property records showed on Tuesday.

FoxNews.com celebrity columnist Roger Friedman reported on the Web site (www.foxnews.com) that Michael Jackson has been formally apprised of the foreclosure and that legal documents have also been filed with the Santa Barbara County Recorder's office.

The onetime "King of Pop" has owned the 2,800-acre (1,133-ha) ranch in the rolling foothills above the California coast since 1988, naming it after the whimsical island where children never grow up in J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan stories.

Jackson, 49, famously outfitted the property with a private zoo and amusement park and festooned it with statues of Peter Pan characters.

I'll bet Bill O'Reilly will have a lot to say about this.

Greg Oden; Endorsement Rookie Of The Year

Former Ohio State basketball star and current Blazers No. 1 draft-pick Greg Oden may be out for the season recovering from knee surgery, but he gets my vote for rookie of the year when it comes political endorsements.

From Oden's blog:

Today I got a phone call from Senator Barack Obama. ...The conversation was quick - like two minutes but I got to talk to him like a real person. What I got from talking to him is that he is a real sports fan and he knew about the Blazers. He said that when I come back Brandon, LaMarcus and I will be a force next year. He also asked me about my knee, and he said he wasn't feeling my mohawk - lol. I laughed and explained to him that it's just a haircut to me and he told me he liked how I handle myself as a young man - "Thanks Mom." I did not talk politics with him. He talks about that stuff all the time and I'm going to keep learning more about the issues.

He is a very nice man and I am a big fan. I got the chance to go to his website (www.barackobama.com) and read up on some of his beliefs and there are things he is doing that I really support like his plan with education, civil rights, and health care. That's why Senator Obama is getting my vote.

...If the person I vote for wins it's gonna be because of my one little vote, at least that's what I'm gonna think. I think everyone should think that way. This will be my first presidential election to participate in as a voter and I hope that you younger voters will get involved. I think that our votes can really influence the outcome so go out, register and vote for who you think is the best candidate to be the best leader for this country and make sure you and your family will feel good about the new president that is elected in November.

By contrast, I wonder if former Jail Blazer Zach Randolph even knows this is an election year?

WMD Stockpiles: Red Rover, Red Rover ...

(November 10, 2004)

Novick For Obama, Merkley Follows Suit

Oregon's Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Steve Novick has endorsed Barack Obama. From his statement:

So why am I voting for Barack Obama?

I’m voting for Barack Obama largely because I wonder whether Hillary Clinton is willing to take the political risks she’d need to take to act on what she knows.

...But Barack Obama has been willing to take risks. He did, in fact, oppose the war from the beginning. No, he wasn’t in or even running for the Senate in 2002, but I bet he was already thinking about it. He recently made some dangerously sensible remarks about Iran, “I think it is important for us to send a signal that we are not hellbent on regime change, just for the sake of regime change, but expect changes in behavior. And there are both carrots and there are sticks available to them for those changes in behavior.” He’s been willing to risk the Republican battle-cry of “no new taxes” by emphasizing the need to start applying the Social Security tax to incomes above $100,000 (though perhaps with a sort of doughnut hole for incomes below $200,000.)

Finally, I think the very fact that he has inspired such an impassioned following increases the likelihood that he will take the risks that have to be taken. People from cross-sections of society that have been disillusioned by conventional politics are inspiring by his campaign. Leaders respond to their followers. If Obama’s elected, he’ll know that millions of voters are counting on him, not just to do a decent job, but to make a big, thumping difference. He won’t want to let them down.

WMD Stockpiles: A Patriot Act?

(December 15, 2004)

Remembering Malcolm X

Malcolm X was assassinated on this day in 1965 in Manhattan's Audubon Ballroom. He had just begun delivering a speech when a disturbance broke out in the crowd of 400. A man yelled, "Get your hand outta my pocket! Don't be messin' with my pockets!" As Malcolm and his bodyguards moved to quiet the disturbance, a man rushed forward and shot Malcolm in the chest with a sawed-off shotgun. Two other men charged the stage and fired handguns at Malcolm, who was shot 16 times. Angry onlookers in the crowd caught and beat the assassins as they attempted to flee the ballroom. Malcolm was pronounced dead on arrival at New York's Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. -- Wikipedia

Proof The Terrorists Are Winning?

I like the muscle cars of the late-60s and early 70s as much as any red-blooded middle-class American kid who attempted to grow up in that era. I still remember riding in my Dad's '69 Chevy El Camino with its roaring re-built 327. But is this really what the world needs right now?

The Dodge Challenger SRT makes its debut during the Chicago Auto Show on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2008. Unlike the original, which had a jaw-dropping nine powertrain options, the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 has just one: a 6.1-liter, HEMI V-8 with 425 horsepower. Chrysler says the new Challenger can go from zero to 60 in around 5 seconds and from zero to 100 in less than 17 seconds.

Sure it's absolutely motherfreakin' awesome, but notice that there's no mention of miles per gallon.

The Nation Notices Kroger

Oregon attorney general candidate John Kroger got some high-profile national publicity this week from The Nation magazine's Associate Publisher Peter Rothberg, who featured Kroger's campaign on his Act Now! blog.

What this blog will attempt to do over the coming months is to feature worthy candidates you may not have heard about who are animated by a commitment to social and economic justice and who have a real chance to win a state race.

Up first is John Kroger, running hard in the Oregon Democratic primaries, in a contest that will determine the next state Attorney General.

...I'm convinced that he's someone most Nation readers would find well worth supporting.

From everything I've read in the local press and blogs, the Oregon AG's office has not been an aggressive or effective force for law enforcement under previous administrations. In fact, the office seems to have functioned as much as the corporate counsel for the State as an independent office that can bring lawsuits on behalf of the state's people to accomplish important social ends. Kroger's opponent, Greg McPherson, is squarely within this business-as-usual tradition. Kroger says he will bring the full weight of the office to bear on real things that matter to real people and will never be the tool of the local business class.

Read the entire post HERE.

I Really Miss This Guy (freshly updated with more fantastic facts)

UPDATE: This should help provide a little context

In a just-revealed notation on a 2002 memo about interrogation tactics, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld indicated that making terrorism detainees stand for up to four hours was no biggie in the physical stress department. "I stand for 8-10 hours a day," Rummy scrawled. "Why is standing limited to four hours?" Yesterday, underlings were happy to confirm that their 71-year-old boss does, indeed, toil for hours without sitting. Evidently he enjoys it. "There is no chair at his desk in his office," spokeswoman Hollen Wheeler told us. "When he works, he stands. When he reads or writes, he uses a stand-up desk all day. . . . Maybe that's a tribute to his health. He's in great shape." -- Donald Rumsfeld, A Real Stand-Up Guy. Washington Post, June 24, 2004; Page C03

standupdesks.com

This Just In From Packer-land

Pimpa's Paradise

I post this in honor of the fascinating in-depth coverage of Pimp-gate, wherein MSNBC talking-dufus David Shuster chose some over-used slang of the day to suggest 27-year-old Chelsea Clinton had been "pimped out" by her mom's presidential campaign. Enjoy!

Senate Grants Telecom Immunity, Gives White House Expanded Eavesdropping Powers

The Democratically controlled U.S. Senate voted 68-29 today to grant George W. Bush's eavesdropping wish list. Nineteen Democrats and one Independent joined the lock-step voting Republicans to give the White House what the New York Times called a "major victory."

From the Times:

The bill would grant immunity to phone companies from some 40 lawsuits now pending that charge the firms broke the law by taking part in (President Bush's warrantless wiretapping) program ... the bill would also widen the executive branch’s surveillance powers by allowing the National Security Agency and intelligence agencies to use broad orders — without getting court orders in advance — to eavesdrop on groups of overseas targets, rather than using individualized warrants.

Oregon's Ron Wyden voted against it. Gordon Smith approved it. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama didn't vote.

By a 67-31 vote, the Senate defeated an amendment by Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT) that would have removed the telecom immunity provision. Below are the Democrats who Sen. Dodd said are "advocating this notion that you have to give up liberties to be more secure."

Baucus (MT)
Bayh (IN)
Carper (DE)
Casey (PA)
Conrad (ND)
Inouye (HI)
Johnson (SD)
Kohl (WI)
Landrieu (LA)
Lincoln (AZ)
McCaskill (MO)
Mikulski (MD)
Nelson (FL)
Nelson (NE)
Pryor (AR)
Rockefeller (WV)
Salazar (CO)
Webb (VA)
Whitehouse (RI)

With Democrats like these standing up for civil liberties and separation of powers, who needs Republicans.

Another fine example proving that it's not good enough to simply elect Democrats. The kind of Democrats we elect matters. Democrats control the House and the Senate, yet George W. Bush, the Republican Party and their aptly played "fear" card still control the agenda and the debate in Washington, D.C.

D-E-M-O-C-R-A-C-Y

The roiling debate over the role that so-called "super" delegates may play in choosing the Democratic presidential nominee makes me think that there are waaaay too many (eh-hmm) progressives who need a little lesson in democracy and having faith in The People rather than the elites. The late Wayne Morse, Oregon's truly maverick senator, lays it out pretty well.

"I have complete faith in the ability of the American people to follow the facts if you'll give them."

You'll also notice that Morse actually seems (gasp) angry. Apparently he didn't get the memo.

Hooley Hoops

I've always liked Darlene Hooley, the Democratic congresswoman representing Oregon's 5th District. (Hooley said she won't seek re-election this year). She chaired the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners when I was covering that body for the Clackams Review and Oregon City News. She was always helpful and chipper. Her recent work and ongoing work on veterans affairs and military service issues has been exemplary.

But when she said recently that she gave her word to cast her "super" delegate vote to Hillary Clinton, and that she would vote for Clinton even if the district she represents voted overwhelmingly for Barack Obama, she seems to be forgetting her role.

Hooley says she can't break the word she gave to Clinton. But what about REPRESENTATIVE Hooley's unspoken word to her constituents that she would REPRESENT them in Washington.

When she stands by HER word to vote for Clinton no matter what the outcome of the Oregon primary, she is representing HERSELF not her constituents.

I hate to say it, but she's been in Washington too long. It is indeed time for her to go.

Brought To You By Miracle Ear

This just in from the combined offices of the WMD "Day Late" and "Dollar Short" departments:

It Ain't Over 'Til You Cross The Finish Line

This little snippet in the coverage of Rep. Darlene Hooley's (D-Ore., 5th District) resignation caught my eye:

Ironically, in a year when Democrats are expected to gain seats in the House, Hooley said she would have won if she ran and that political considerations factored into her decision.

"I think it will be easier to elect a Democrat this year, and I don't know about two years,'' she said.

Hooley reflects the conventional wisdom that 2008 is going to be a good year for Democrats.

But watching the current shenanigans over "super" delegates and the Democratic Party's presidential nomination -- while Republicans wake up and choose John McCain, the candidate who provides them with the best chance of winning in November -- I can't shake the feeling that the Democrats are going to pull one of these acts (again):

WMD Stockpiles: Willfully Ignorant

Happy Birthday, Mr. Senator ...

It's U.S. Senate candidate Steve Novick's 45th birthday today. His campaign is asking supporters for a $45 donation to mark the day.

In the meantime, I hope Steve enjoys this birthday greeting:

BREAKING: Hooley Won't Seek Re-Election

Oregonian Washington, D.C., reporters Jeff Kosseff and Charles Pope are reporting today that Oregon Fifth Congressional District Rep. Darlene Hooley won't seek re-election in 2008.

Citing her 32 years of public service, Hooley told the Oregonian she was tired of the relentless travel and non-stop fund-raising involved with seeking a seventh term.

"At some point in everybody's life you have to decide, how much longer do I want to do this?'' she said."It's time to move on."

Hooley also told the newspaper that she believes it might be easier for for a new Democrat to win the seat this year than it will be two years from now.

Oregonian reporter Jeff Mapes speculates on his blog about who might step up to run for that seat now that the incumbent has bowed out:

Expect other Republicans to look at this race besides Mike Erickson, the businessman who was beat by Hooley two years ago and had signed up for another run.

...Who else might get into this? Well, you could look at every legislator and county commissioner in the 5th Congressional District for starters. You could look at the Republicans who have run for Hooley's seat in the past: State Sen. Jackie Winters, R-Salem, Lake Oswego lawyer Jim Zupancic and Rep. Brian Boquist, R-Dallas. And I suspect I'm just starting to scratch the surface.

...Democrats haven't had time to figure out a logical replacement candidate. I immediately thought of House Majority Leader Dave Hunt, D-Gladstone, a rising political figure...

Any other speculation about who may be a good candidate for Oregon's fifth now that Hooley has announced plans to take her leave?

Dubya's Final Acts of Defiance

Gordon Smith's Nightmare?

Like any cookie-cutter conservative politician worth his salt, Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith's impeccably perfect hair is his finest virtue.

If I didn't know better, I'd think he gets his haircuts at that Playdoh beauty shop where kids pump clay though holes in a tiny figurine's head and then "style" it by pressing it in a mold and cutting away any excess.

But what I'd really like to know is how Smith's fellow conservatives -- who derided John Edwards' "Breck Girl" perfect hair -- feel about Gordon's attention to his own flawless locks?

Better still, how do the conservative hacks who attacked John Edwards as a phony populist because of the personal wealth he earned after rising from his family's modest means feel about Smith's fortune, which was handed to him by his aristocratic family?

Oh, the headaches such hypocrisy must cause for those poor conservatives of Oregon's Republican Party. It's no wonder they don't have enough energy left to come up with viable candidates for statewide offices in Oregon.

But I digress. This post is supposed to be about hair. And to that end, I wonder if Gordon Smith ever wakes up in a cold sweat after having this nightmare:

WMD Stockpiles: The Administration's Behind

(January 2004)

Those 16 infamous words about Iraq allegedly trying to buy yellow cake uranium from Nigeria eventually sparked the Valerie Plame/Joe Wilson affair that brought down Vice President Cheney's chief of staff Scooter "Pardon Me" Libby.

It's a Heap Year!

UPDATE, Feb. 6: I uploaded some video on YouTube.

You've got to hand it to the people at the The Old Farmer's Almanac, they sure got this one right. The Western Edition's weather prose for February:

Groundhog's shiver, stay indoors. Snow is reaching second floors! Not a good time to be a snow maker: There's two more feet on every acre! Call it a heap year!

Maybe those Almanac writers should try their hand at political prognostication.

Groundhog Day: Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton ... ...

I've been a bit remiss in failing to note that my favorite New York Times op-ed columnist Nicholas Kristof, who grew up on a sheep and cherry farm near Yamhill, Ore., has recently returned to his column after an extended book leave.

Kristof has often been a solitary light in the mainstream media consistently trying to draw attention to the tragic genocide taking place in Darfur.

And you'll remember that he was one of the loudest voices in the MSM willing to question the accuracy of Bush Administration claims that Iraq posed an "imminent threat." It's certainly good to have him back. That's especially true when he writes about things nobody else wants to seriously discuss. His Jan. 31 column "The Dynastic Question" is a great example.

We Americans snicker patronizingly as "democratic" Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Singapore, India and Argentina hand over power to a wife or child of a former leader. Yet I can’t find any example of even the most rinky-dink "democracy" confining power continuously for seven terms over 28 years to four people from two families. (And that’s not counting George H.W. Bush’s eight years as vice president.)

Perhaps there is some such "democracy" somewhere: If you know of one, report it on my blog, and I’ll support you for president in eight years time ... and then your spouse ... and then your eldest child.

...We remember John Quincy Adams as intelligent and diligent, but his presidency is diminished by the hint of dynastic succession and is seen as emblematic of a parochial time when America was ruled by an incestuous elite. Some day, I suspect we may detect the same narrowness in the rise of the Bush Dynasty and, if there is one, in the Clinton Dynasty.

...Certainly, it’s easy to see why voters nostalgic for peace and prosperity might yearn for a Clinton Restoration. Maybe we want another political dynasty, but we shouldn’t back into one without discussion — again.

In a country of several hundred million people, the idea that two families are put in charge for nearly three decades really flies in the face of a populist democracy. And it doesn't speak well for the imagination of our populace or its leaders.

Maybe we ought to start calling this government a "nepocracy" and change the National Anthem to the theme from Sanford & Son.