John McCain stated in last night’s debate that he regrets the fact that we quit supporting the “freedom fighters” of Afghanistan after they chased the Russians out of their homeland.  Now I know that ever since Ronald Reagan, Republicans like to refer to these rebels as “freedom fighters”, but they preferred to call their conflict with Russia the Mujahideen.  They considered themselves Mujahids, which translates, Muslims fighting in a Jihad… Hmmm – Doesn’t that make them Jihadists?   Since many of the Jihadists were from outside of Afghanistan, I prefer to call them terrorists. 

The Russians left Afghanistan in 1989 in large part due to the United States’ support of the Jihadists.  We supported the Islamo-Fascists then because their enemy was our enemy.  But hey, by today’s definition, wouldn’t that have made us State sponsors of terror?  Does McCain really regret not supporting Jihadists since 1989?  Doesn’t John know that Bin Laden was a prominent member of the Mujahideen?   Does McCain really regret not supporting Osama Bin Laden since 1989?  And, why in the world, does he regret the US not being a State sponsor of terror anymore? 

John McCain just doesn’t get it.  You have to know a little history… You have to know that the Shia and Sunni have a long history of violence towards each other.  You can’t make naive decisions based on your gut without conducting thoughtful research and analyzing the situation carefully.  It appears that McCain is unable or temperamentally unwilling to do either.

Good news everyone. Fox has a new reality television series in development. The series will be set in John McCain’s eighth home (an apartment), and show us that he is a regular guy by broadcasting his interactions with his two roommates. Hear that? He has a lot of homes, but that’s because he has a lot of roommates. Anyway, Fox has put out some teasers.

Wow, John’s a messy bastard, but he can sure deflect criticism well. Fuck a messy kitchen table, I mean he kept everything else clean in a cell in Hanoi for five and a half years. Of course he forgets to clean the table. He didn’t have one for five and a half years when he was a POW in Hanoi.

On to the next promo. Oh snap, John asked a girl to move in and didn’t ask the guys. Do you think this means he won’t ask Congress when he starts wars with Afghanistan, Russia, and North Korea? Well, I was undecided, but now I am firmly in Obama’s corner.

Okay, what have we gleaned from this? John makes messes, and doesn’t clean them up (can you say Iraq). Also, he won’t have to sell the war with Iran to Congress and the American people, because he’ll just do it without asking permission.

I was shocked to see a television ad decrying our dependence on foreign oil that said,”We can’t drill ourselves out of this.” Then, I was floored as it suggested wind and solar power as the means to wean ourselves off carbon based fuels. Then I nearly threw up in my mouth as I saw none other than T. Boone Pickens appear to tell us he would lead us with his new plan. I might be crazy, but he doesn’t seem to be on board with the McCain campaign here. It could all be a rouse to gain support among environmentalists and those hurt at the pump on board with the rethugs, but I don’t know.

CNET has a story about our favorite swift boat vet for truth’s new energy campaign. Some highlights::

Oil mogul and corporate raider T. Boone Pickens launched an energy plan and social-networking campaign on Tuesday that calls for replacing Middle Eastern oil with Midwestern wind. The so-called Pickens Plan would exploit the country’s “wind corridor” from the Canadian border to West Texas to produce 20 percent of the country’s electricity.

What about the offshore drilling and gas tax holiday you ask? Not a word. WTF is going on here. An oil man is trumpeting renewables. Something must be rotten in Denmark, because it is not only against his self interest, it’s against his party’s platform. I feel like I’m taking crazy pills here.

Further analysis leads me to believe that this corporate raider is looking for an opportunity that will further increase his fortune.

I am calling on the next President and Congress to take immediate action in the first 100 days of the new Administration to do whatever is necessary to make this plan a reality. We are asking the American public to get behind this plan and to help us reduce our dangerous dependency on foreign oil. This has to be the number one priority in the country starting today and that’s what this campaign is all about. I am also calling for a monthly report on the reduction in foreign oil imports and a monthly report on progress in the development of natural gas vehicles in this country.

He knows, as all of us have long known, that renewables are the future. Even a rethug POS like him can see which way the wind is blowing. Personally, I choose to believe that he is fairly certain Obama will be our next POTUS, and he knows the Apollo like Green Energy Project is inevitable. He may have given up on his man. That’s not to say he won’t still try to get John McShame in office, but he must be certain he will fail. Otherwise why would he be so sure that green energy would be more profitable than oil?

Why do republicans hate America? Starting with Reagan, why have they been intent on bankrupting and destroying the United States? Many of my fellow citizens have fallen for their false credo that government is the problem not the solution. .. To that I say baloney. A fully functioning and financially stable government is necessary for the benefit of society. A financially stable government would be able to ensure adequately inspected food products, lead free children’s toys and adequate responses to natural disasters.

What the republicans are adept at is cutting taxes to the point where the federal government is unable to provide services to the level of third world countries. Why do republicans hate Americans? According to republicans the working poor don’t deserve healthcare. According to republicans the rebuilding of Iraq’s infrastructure is more important than fixing America’s infrastructure. As a matter of fact, McCain would term infrastructure repair as unnecessary pork. Why do republicans care more about Iraq than the United States of America? They really aren’t very patriotic. Are they trying to destroy America?

Under the republicans many important industries have been deregulated - banking, energy, insurance, to name a few. Look how well that turned out, Brownie! In Banking we are experiencing predatory lending, outrageous interest rates (sans usury laws) and fees. Deregulation wasn’t enough, the republicans had to stack the deck against the consumer even more by changing the bankruptcy laws to the detriment of the average American – even though the majority of bankruptcies are the result of catastrophic illness and being saddled with outrageous medical bills. Why do republicans hate consumers? When utilities were closely regulated speculators had a stable stock to invest in. You weren’t going to make a killing but a stable return on your investment. Utilities were only allowed to make a certain percentage on what they spent. It paid to upgrade your infrastructure because the more you spent the more you made. Now Electric utilities neglect preventive maintenance, trimming trees away from electrical lines and have put off upgrading infrastructure for decades. Why do republicans want to drag our infrastructure to third world status? Insurance – Do I need to say more? Why do republicans hate 40 to 50 million uninsured Americans?

Wake up America – Republicans are uncaring, unpatriotic and marching down the path of destroying the United States.

Cross posted on DailyKos 4:26 PM CDT

John McCain was interviewed by Chris Matthews today, and he seemed to be backtracking. He stated unequivocally that we must not torture. Wasn’t he against it before he was for it before he was against it? Though I must say, I liked his views on climate change. He said listen what have we got to lose if we’re wrong, when you have everything to lose if you deny it exists and do nothing. What got me though was when he said yet another thing I totally agreed with. I must say I was taken aback:

CM: Do you disagree with him on torture?
JM: Absolutely, and could I take a few seconds on that, because I think it’s important, because I think it’s what America is all about, and what kind of country we are. We should never ever torture anyone who’s in the custody of the United States of America, because… because the struggle we’re in with radical Islamic extremism, which is going to be with us for… decades, and that is that it’s a military/diplomatic/intelligence and ideological struggle. If we’re not any better than our enemies, then doesn’t [it] make it harder for young people to choose? I was in Baghdad over Thanksgiving last year, I met with a high-ranking member, former high-ranking member of Al-Queda. I asked him I said, “How did you do so well after the initial military success that the Americans and the [forces deleted] had? He said, “two things, one, was the lawlessness that [existed] in the environment after the Americans and [forces deleted] won the military victory,” he said, “but the second was Abu Ghraib,” he said, “Abu Grhaib is my greatest recruiting tool.” So my point is that for the future of this country, we have to make sure that we remain a nation that does not do things that our enemies do. And I promise you, my friends (eeeeeek) I’ll close Guantanamo Bay, and we will never torture another person in our custody again.

Wow. Flip flop, but at least he’s on the right side now. Maybe he’s not the devil, but I still pray he doesn’t win.

An awful lot has been said about the depths to which we have sunken, but what a glorious time is it when all three candidates decry torture. Wow (/snark) I mean seriously people when did it become bold to say that torture is bad, and Gitmo is too? I guess I don’t think the world will end anymore should John McShame win the white house, but I still bet my citizenship it will be Barack.