Sage advice from Sean Quinn at Nate Silver's site Five Thirty Eight:

"Because they already do. That ship has sailed. When facts are used to
discredit Sarah Palin, emotion trumps facts. The instinct is to defend
against the facts. Consider: you meet someone and like him or her on a
gut level. A stranger – someone who doesn’t have built-up personal
credibility with you – gives you a list of reasons not to like that
person. How do you react?

On an emotional level, you want them
to be wrong, and you will take every possible favorable inference on
the likable person’s behalf. Using facts is pushing a big rock uphill.
You might get it to the top with a few voters, but you’re going to
expend a lot of energy for only a little return."

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/09/dems-must-give-voters-explicit.html

Read the whole thing for how to counter this, it applies to McCain too.

Second try at posting. DFA is looking for ad ideas and dollars to air them.
 

Mark -


Thanks to your support, our ad featuring former POW Dr.
Phillip Butler is already making a splash and exposing John
McCain as "unfit to lead."

This is just the beginning of
our aggressive, hard-hitting ad campaign to expose the real
McCain. It's time to take it to the next level.


For our next ad, we want to hear your
ideas. DFA has always believed in the power of the
grassroots over Beltway consultants. We need to continue
unmasking the real McCain. The ad should be aggressive, creative
and truthful.

Submit your idea for our next ad
and contribute $50 to get it on the air.


SEND US YOUR IDEA FOR AD #2 AND CHIP IN
TODAY!

Wall Street is collapsing, our
troops are still fighting an endless war and yet the polls are
showing that the race for the White House is closer than ever.
McCain's campaign of lies is working and we have to
fight back fast.

Let's get the message out:
If we can't trust McCain to tell the truth, how can we
trust him to lead?

This is our moment to make a
difference and together we can step up to the challenge.
The time to act is now. You can help us put our
campaign over the top. Submit your idea for DFA's next ad and
chip in $50 to make it a reality.

ACT NOW! CONTRIBUTE $50 TO GET THE NEXT AD ON THE
AIR.

Thank you for taking action,

-
Rachel

Rachel Moss, Finance Director
Democracy for
America

P.S. Our ad "McCain: Unfit to Lead"
started running nationally on CNN yesterday and today we're
ramping it up -- adding MSNBC and ESPN. The campaign
with our partners at Brave New PAC has already been covered in
everything from the Politico to the Boston Globe from the
National Journal to NPR.  CONTRIBTUE NOW TO KEEP THE PRESSURE ON JOHN
McCAIN

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This week Scott Harper's campaign in IL-13 was one of only five races nationally and the only one in Illinois to be upgraded to the Red to Blue Emerging Races list by the DCCC.

On top of that this week Harper was also endorsed by DAPAC (Democratic Advancement Political Action Committee). From their website: "DAPAC is a unique progressive political action committee that targets Republican held seats in the U.S. House and helps "new progressive" Democratic candidates run and win in those districts." They only support progressives: "All of our elected members of Congress from the last cycle have voted progressively on the issues. No other Democratic organization comes close to having a record as progressive as ours."

All the smart, hard work Scott, his campaign manager Sarah Topy, her staff and the volunteers flocking to the campaign are putting in to elect this great candidate to the House is really paying off.

Scott is the first serious candidate Bush loving, do nothing, 10 year incumbent Judy Biggert has ever faced. On primary day, Super Tuesday he got 25,000 more votes in the district than Biggert and her wingnut primary challenger combined.

We're seeing a sea change folks, in formerly Republican stronghold DuPage County which makes up about a third of the district, where Markos Moulitos cut his eye teeth canvassing in his misspent youth, almost 133,000 voters took Democratic ballots to 109,000 Republicant. I've been here for most of my life and I can tell you that's never happened before.

And it's not like Repubs had nothing to vote for, this was long before Limbaugh's "Operation Chaos", Biggert had her challenger, and there were several other contested primary races on their ballot. And let's remember it was the last chance they had to vote for anyone but McCain to be their nominee. Romney dropped out two days later. I'm a precinct committeeman here and spent all day at my polling place. I know my voters and I know the Repubs. There were a lot of angry, fed up Republicans who felt betrayed crossing over. My Repub counterpart was a convention delegate for Romney and desperately tried to get them to vote for Mittens but he didn't come close.

Keep in mind back in February hardly anyone knew who Scott was. He's not a longtime politico, he's never run for office before and if you googled his name last year chances are you'd come up with a reporter in Georgetown or a swimmer from Australia. I never heard of him before I met him at Yearly Kos in Chicago last year. On Super Tuesday he was just a name on the ballot with a "D" next to it. Now, thanks to Scott's hard work, a lot of nights and weekends spent by volunteers, the grueling hours his staff puts in, and the money supporters have dug deep to contribute, a whole lot more voters not only know him but are excited about his candidacy.

The same can't be said of Judy Biggert. Scott's forced her to open a campaign HQ and for the first time ever she's mounting a field campaign. She had to skip the Republican convention and the opportunity to hobnob with all those big money donors to march in Labor Day parades where Scott's contingent more than doubled hers in all but one parade thanks to the Giant Ice Cream Cone disaster of 2008 in Naperville that kept many supporters from getting to Lemont in time.

By the end of the 2nd quarter on June 30 Harper outraised all four of Biggert's previous challengers combined for their entire races. As a matter of fact he's outraised her since the beginning of the year. But unfortunately that's not enough.

Biggert has had a 10 year head start. She started with a huge warchest and can count on big banks she "oversees" (I use that term loosely) as the ranking member of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit. BTW she got that plum assignment, the only subcommittee or committee she's ever risen to chair or been ranking member of in her illustrious career in the House when her Republican predecessor dropped dead. You'd think with her district being right next door to Denny Hastert's all those years she'd be a brighter star in the wingnut firmament by now, but not Judy Biggert.

But I digress, She not only has big bank bucks backing her, (say that 5 times fast), she joined the rest of those fools on the House floor this summer spouting "drill baby drill!". Hilariously the only wingnut I found that wrote anything on the net about her speech into the darkness said without a mic she couldn't hear a word she said even though the writer was in the third row! It'll come as no surprise that while she gives lip service to alternative energy and actually votes sometimes for it's R&D funding she fights tooth and nail to make sure the fossil fuel industry stays on top. And why wouldn't she? She's got hundreds of thousands invested in them and has taken almost $88,000 of their campaign cash at last count, and probably a lot more since her grandstand play in the darkened House last month.

Her daughter is a pharmaceutical lobbyist in DC so what's her take from healthcare interests? A cool $230,000.

I could go on and on but you get the picture. Scott Harper is up against an old fashioned money con backed by the fattest of cats who want her to keep fighting for their privileged position, the future be damned.

We're on the verge of winning this race but we need people like you and me and our small donations to help make up that cash difference. The money will go toward the advertising blitz in the last few weeks that'll help us reach those who don't know enough about Harper yet and put us over the top.

Please give what you can to Scott's campaign through this page: www.actblue.com/page/emerging  $50, $100 bucks, even $5 would be a big help. Thanks.

This week <a href="http://www.scottharperforcongress.com/">Scott Harpers</a>'s campaign in IL-13 was one of only five races nationally and the only one in Illinois to be upgraded to the <b>Red to Blue Emerging Races list by the DCCC</b>.

On top of that this week Harper was also endorsed by <b>DAPAC (Democratic Advancement Political Action Committee)</b>. From their website: <i>"DAPAC is a unique progressive political action committee that targets Republican held seats in the U.S. House and helps "new progressive" Democratic candidates run and win in those districts." They only support progressives: &nbsp;"All of our elected members of Congress from the last cycle have voted progressively on the issues. No other Democratic organization comes close to having a record as progressive as ours."</i>

All the smart, hard work Scott, his campaign manager Sarah Topy, her staff and the &nbsp;volunteers flocking to the campaign are putting in to elect this great candidate to the House is really paying off.

Read on for how this race is shaping up to be one of our biggest House wins this cycle.

Scott is the first serious candidate Bush loving, do nothing, 10 year incumbent Judy Biggert has ever faced. On primary day, Super Tuesday he got 25,000 more votes in the district than Biggert and her wingnut primary challenger combined.

We're seeing a sea change folks, in formerly Republican stronghold DuPage County which makes up about a third of the district, where Markos cut his eye teeth canvassing in his misspent youth, almost 133,000 voters took Democratic ballots to 109,000 Republicant. I've been here for most of my life and I can tell you that's never happened before. And it's not like Repubs had nothing to vote for, this was long before Limbaugh's "Operation Chaos", Biggert had her challenger, and there were several other contested primary races on their ballot. And let's remember it was the last chance they had to vote for anyone but McCain to be their nominee. Romney dropped out two days later. I'm a precinct committeeman here and spent all day at my polling place. I know my voters and I know the Repubs. There were a lot of angry, fed up Republicans who felt betrayed crossing over. My Repub counterpart was a convention delegate for Romney and desperately tried to get them to vote for Mittens but he didn't come close.

Keep in mind back in February hardly anyone knew who Scott was. He's not a longtime politico, he's never run for office before and if you googled his name last year chances are you'd come up with a reporter in Georgetown or a swimmer from Australia. I never heard of him before I met him at Yearly Kos in Chicago last year. On Super Tuesday he was just a name on the ballot with a "D" next to it. Now, thanks to Scott's hard work, a lot of nights and weekends spent by volunteers, the grueling hours his staff puts in, and the money supporters have dug deep to contribute, a whole lot more voters not only know him but are excited about his candidacy.

The same can't be said of Judy Biggert. Scott's forced her to open a campaign HQ and for the first time ever she's mounting a field campaign. She had to skip the Republican convention and the opportunity to hobnob with all those big money donors to march in Labor Day parades where Scott's contingent more than doubled hers in all but one parade thanks to the Giant Ice Cream Cone disaster of 2008 in Naperville that kept many supporters from getting to Lemont in time.

By the end of the 2nd quarter on June 30 Harper outraised all four of Biggert's previous challengers combined for their entire races. As a matter of fact he's outraised <i>her</i> since the beginning of the year. But unfortunately that's not enough.

Biggert has had a 10 year head start. She started with a huge warchest and can count on big banks she "oversees" (I use that term loosely) as the ranking member of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit. BTW she got that plum assignment, the only subcommittee or committee she's ever risen to chair or been ranking member of in her illustrious career in the House when her Republican predecessor dropped dead. You'd think with her district being right next door to Denny Hastert's all those years she'd be a brighter star in the wingnut firmament by now, but not Judy Biggert.

But I digress, She not only has big bank bucks backing her, (say that 5 times fast), she joined the rest of those fools on the House floor this summer spouting "drill baby drill!". Hilariously the only wingnut I found that wrote anything on the net about her speech into the darkness said without a mic she couldn't hear a word she said even though the writer was in the third row! It'll come as no surprise that while she gives lip service to alternative energy and actually votes sometimes for it's R&amp;D funding she fights tooth and nail to make sure the fossil fuel industry stays on top. And why wouldn't she? She's got hundreds of thousands invested in them and has taken almost $88,000 of their campaign cash at last count, and probably a lot more since her grandstand play in the darkened House last month.

Her daughter is a pharmaceutical lobbyist in DC so what's her take from healthcare interests? A cool $230,000.

I could go on and on but you get the picture. Scott Harper is up against an old fashioned money con backed by the fattest of cats who want her to keep fighting for their privileged position, the future be damned.

We're on the verge of winning this race but we need people like you and me and our small donations to help make up that cash difference. The money will go toward the advertising blitz in the last few weeks that'll help us reach those who don't know enough about Harper yet and put us over the top.

Please give what you can to Scott's campaign through the <a href="http://www.actblue.com/page/emerging">Emerging Races ActBlue page,</a> $50, $100 bucks, even $5 would be a big help. &nbsp; <br>

There's little doubt Sarah Palin and her family have had a personal vendetta against her ex brother in law Mike Wooten since his marriage to her sister Molly started going sour.

They hired a private investigator to follow him around. A judge in the couple’s custody case  on Oct. 27, 2005, expressed puzzlement about why the
family was trying to get Wooten fired, since depriving the trooper of a
job would harm his ability to pay family support to Palin's sister.
"It appears for the world that Ms. McCann and her family have
decided to take off for the guy's livelihood -- that the bitterness of
whatever who did what to whom has overridden good judgment," Suddock
said in an audio recording from the trial on TV station KTUU's Web
site. "

They lodged 36 accusations against Wooten in 2005 alone. Sarah Palin seemed personally obsessed
with ending his career.

As we all know by now Palin
also alleged that Wooten illegally shot a cow moose, but added that her
father butchered the carcass and that she and her family cooked and ate
the meat. I wonder if illegally killed mooseburgers are tastier than legally killed ones?

She also claimed that he used a taser on his stepson. The Alaska State Trooper suspension notice for Wooten says he tasered his 10 year old stepson Payton for "training purposes" whatever that means. 

Of all those complaints 11 stuck and Wooten was suspended for 10 days by the Alaska State Troopers which was negotiated down to 5 days by his union. 

Now Mike Wooten sounds like a real creep. He's been married 5 times and is evidently a drunk. Everything I've read about the guy makes him out to be ther kind of loser who enjoys life on the force as a power trip. He also thinks laws are for other people to obey, not him.


But here's what Sarah Palin said about him in writing when as mayor she wrote a letter of recommendation for him when he was looking for work in law enforcement. 

<b>In a Jan. 1, 2000, letter of reference, Palin wrote that if “America
had more people with the grace and sincerity that mirrors the character
of Mike Wooten...we would have a much kinder, gentler, trustworthy
nation as a result. … </b>

<b>“I have witnessed Mike’s gift of calm
and kindness toward many young kids here in Wasilla,” said Palin’s Jan.
1, 2000 letter written on City of Wasilla letterhead. “I have never
seen him raise his voice, nor lose patience nor become aggitated [sic]
in the presence of any child. Instead, Mike consistently remains a fine
role model for my own children, and other young people in Wasilla.”</b>

So the question is who ya gonna believe about Mike Wooten? Sarah Palin or Sarah Palin? Because she'll pretty much say anything about anybody depending on whose side she's on at the moment.

<A HREF="http://www.pubrecord.org/nationworld/299-documents-suggest-palin-obsessed-over-retaliating-against-ex-brother-in-law.html">Read the whole thing,</A>

There's links to all the docs and  much, much more like how she's apparently slashing the State Police budget in retaliation against her percieved enemies who wouldn't do the Alaska welfare queen's bidding.

As I said before Palin is governor of a state that has less people than DuPage County IL where I live.

Yet despite Alaska's massive tax revenues from oil companies and it's tiny population it has been getting way more federal pork than any state in the nation for decades. On top of that Alaska is the only state that does not collect state sales tax or levy an individual income tax. To finance state operations, Alaska gets 89% of it's operating budget from petroleum revenues.   

The following organization is the offshoot of President Reagan's Private Sector Survey on Cost Control started in 1984, also known as the Grace Commission. Definitely not a Dem friendly group.

Citizens Against Government Waste
http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=homePage

Rank    State      Pork   Population  Pork/Capita
<blockquote>2000 1 Alaska $394,514,000   619,500   636.83
2001 1 Alaska $480,297,000   626,932   766.11
2002 1 Alaska $451,334,278   634,892   710.88
2003 1 Alaska $393,346,750   643,786   610.99   
2004 1 Alaska $524,329,000   648,818   808.13
2005 1 Alaska $645,502,000   655,435   984.85
2006 1 Alaska $325,106,000   663,661   489.87
2007          not listed
2008 1 Alaska $379,699,715    683,478  555.54</blockquote>

In her introductory speech Friday as McCain’s running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin picked up on the Ketchikan bridge that was never built as a symbol of bad federal policy.

“I
championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress,”
Palin said at her first campaign appearance. “In fact, I told Congress
— I told Congress, ‘Thanks, but no thanks,’ on that bridge to nowhere.
If our state wanted a bridge, I said we’d build it ourselves.”

On Oct. 22, 2006, the Anchorage Daily News asked Palin and the other candidates, “Would you continue state funding for the proposed Knik Arm and Gravina Island bridges?”

Her
response: “Yes. I would like to see Alaska’s infrastructure projects
built sooner rather than later. The window is now — while our
congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist.”

A
year later, she issued a news release as governor saying Ketchikan
needed better airport access, but a $398 million bridge was not going
to happen.

“Despite the work of our congressional delegation, we
are about $329 million short of full funding for the bridge project and
it’s clear that Congress has little interest in spending any more money
on a bridge between Ketchikan and Gravina Island,” Palin said on Sept. 21, 2007.

The money was not sent back to the federal government, but spent on other projects.

That was hardly “Thanks but no thanks.”

As governor of Alaska for the past 18 months Mrs. Palin has been
charged with deploying all 1850 troops in the Alaska Army Nat'l. Guard
within the state in case of natural disaster. As far as I know there
has been no such emergency that has called her to exercise that power.



She is not responsible for recruiting, equipping, or training them. She
cannot deploy any national guard unit outside Alaska and jas no say how
they are used in wartime.   



She has no control over the Nat'l. Missile Defense Shield. She can no
more order it's use  than the governor of North Dakota can order a
first strike on Russia with the offensive missiles deployed in his
state.



If you think the Pentagon is in the habit of briefing politicians on
this highly classified, faulty, as yet inoperable, though fully
deployed boondoggle system you probably believe Diebold is proud of
having it's voting equipment fully vetted too.



Sarah Palin made what had been in the past a small town non partisan
mayoral election (less than 6700 population) into a spectacle featuring
radical wingnut hot button issues like abortion. She won a "landslide
victory" by about 200 votes, approximately 600/400.



She immediately fired most of the town's dept. managers claiming she
didn't think they'd be loyal to her, even the ones who supported her
candidacy. She pressured the town librarian to ban books Palin found
"objectionable". She fired her but then rescinded the decision in all
liklihood because no one else would take the job.



As mayor she hired one of Jack Abramoff's cronies to lobby Washington
for earmarks for tiny Wasilla. Thanks to her, her good buddy Ted
Stevens and Don Young the town recieved $27 million in federal largesse
for projects such as a $600,000 youth center, another $1.9 million for
a
transportation hub, $900,000 for sewer repairs, and $15 million for a
rail project.



She supported the Bridge to Nowhere long after it was DOA in DC. Far
from being a reformer who took on the old boy network in Alaska she was
one of three original directors of the "Ted Stevens Excellence in
Public Service, Inc.," a 527 group that could raise unlimited funds
from corporate donors. Stevens' glowing endorsement of  Palin wasn't
scrubbed from  her website until a blogger made note of it this past
weekend. 



She's so devoted to ideology - even over family - when she was term limited
out of the mayor's office she refused to support her own mother in law because
she is pro-choice, favoring instead another anti-abortion wingnut. For
mayor of a small town for cryin out loud.



She's repeatedly lied about the innapropriate, illegal pressure she,
her husband and her staff  brought against Public Safety Commissioner,
Walt Monegan in the firing scandal. She's now claiming executive
privilege trying to hide her emails from the special prosecutor. The
lawyer she just hired with Alaska state funds is doing his best to
delay, obfuscate and derail the investigation. The first goofball she
appointed as Public Safety Commissioner to replace Monegan after she
fired him lasted two weeks until he left in the face of sexual
harassment charges.



She's said recently she doesn't know what McCain's plan is for Iraq. Doesn't even know if we
have a plan for Iraq but thinks one would be nice. She also said a few
weeks ago she doesn't know what the Vice President does anyway.



This woman isn't qualifed to be Vice President, especially not under a
President who has had 4 cancer surgeries, and who still suffers from
his war wounds and torture 40 years after being blown out of to sky and
captured. His mother may be a hardy 96 years old but both his father
and grandfather died of sudden heart attacks, his fahtrer at age 71 and
his grandfather at age 60. John McCain with his hothead type A
personality just turned 72.



No McCain, no way and Sarah Palin? She should choose life outside of Washington.

As governor of Alaska for the past 18 months Mrs. Palin has been charged with deploying all 1850 troops in the Alaska Army Nat'l. Guard within the state in case of natural disaster. As far as I know there has been no such emergency that has called her to exercise that power.

She is not responsible for recruiting, equipping, or training them. She cannot deploy any national guard unit outside Alaska and jas no say how they are used in wartime.   

She has no control over the Nat'l. Missile Defense Shield. She can no more order it's use  than the governor of North Dakota can order a first strike on Russia with the offensive missiles deployed in his state.

If you think the Pentagon is in the habit of briefing politicians on this highly classified, faulty, as yet inoperable, though fully deployed boondoggle system you probably believe Diebold is proud of having it's voting equipment fully vetted too.

Sarah Palin made what had been in the past a small town non partisan mayoral election (less than 6700 population) into a spectacle featuring radical wingnut hot button issues like abortion. She won a "landslide victory" by about 200 votes, approximately 600/400.

She immediately fired most of the town's dept. managers claiming she didn't think they'd be loyal to her, even the ones who supported her candidacy. She pressured the town librarian to ban books Palin found "objectionable". She fired her but then rescinded the decision in all liklihood because no one else would take the job.

As mayor she hired one of Jack Abramoff's cronies to lobby Washington for earmarks for tiny Wasilla. Thanks to her, her good buddy Ted Stevens and Don Young the town recieved $27 million in federal largesse for projects such as a $600,000 youth center, another $1.9 million for a
transportation hub, $900,000 for sewer repairs, and $15 million for a
rail project.

She supported the Bridge to Nowhere long after it was DOA in DC. Far from being a reformer who took on the old boy network in Alaska she was one of three original directors of the "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc.," a 527 group that could raise unlimited funds from corporate donors. Stevens' glowing endorsement of  Palin wasn't scrubbed from  her website until a blogger made note of it this past weekend. 

She's so devoted to ideology - even over family - when she was term limited
out of the mayor's office she refused to support her own mother in law because
she is pro-choice, favoring instead another anti-abortion wingnut. For
mayor of a small town for cryin out loud.

She's repeatedly lied about the innapropriate, illegal pressure she, her husband and her staff  brought against Public Safety Commissioner, Walt Monegan in the firing scandal. She's now claiming executive privilege trying to hide her emails from the special prosecutor. The lawyer she just hired with Alaska state funds is doing his best to delay, obfuscate and derail the investigation. The first goofball she appointed as Public Safety Commissioner to replace Monegan after she fired him lasted two weeks until he left in the face of sexual harassment charges.

She's said recently she doesn't know what McCain's plan is for Iraq. Doesn't even know if we have a plan for Iraq but thinks one would be nice. She also said a few weeks ago she doesn't know what the Vice President does anyway.

This woman isn't qualifed to be Vice President, especially not under a President who has had 4 cancer surgeries, and who still suffers from his war wounds and torture 40 years after being blown out of to sky and captured. His mother may be a hardy 96 years old but both his father and grandfather died of sudden heart attacks, his fahtrer at age 71 and his grandfather at age 60. John McCain with his hothead type A personality just turned 72.

No McCain, no way and Sarah Palin? She should choose life outside of Washington. 

As governor of Alaska for the past 18 months Mrs. Palin has been charged with deploying all 1850 troops in the Alaska Army Nat'l. Guard within the state in case of natural disaster. As far as I know there has been no such emergency that has called her to exercise that power.

She is not responsible for recruiting, equipping, or training them. She cannot deploy any national guard unit outside Alaska and jas no say how they are used in wartime.   

She has no control over the Nat'l. Missile Defense Shield. She can no more order it's use  than the governor of North Dakota can order a first strike on Russia with the offensive missiles deployed in his state.

If you think the Pentagon is in the habit of briefing politicians on this highly classified, faulty, as yet inoperable, though fully deployed boondoggle system you probably believe Diebold is proud of having it's voting equipment fully vetted too.

Sarah Palin made what had been in the past a small town non partisan mayoral election (less than 6700 population) into a spectacle featuring radical wingnut hot button issues like abortion. She won a "landslide victory" by about 200 votes, approximately 600/400.

She immediately fired most of the town's dept. managers claiming she didn't think they'd be loyal to her, even the ones who supported her candidacy. She pressured the town librarian to ban books Palin found "objectionable". She fired her but then rescinded the decision in all liklihood because no one else would take the job.

As mayor she hired one of Jack Abramoff's cronies to lobby Washington for earmarks for tiny Wasilla. Thanks to her, her good buddy Ted Stevens and Don Young the town recieved $27 million in federal largesse for projects such as a $600,000 youth center, another $1.9 million for a
transportation hub, $900,000 for sewer repairs, and $15 million for a
rail project.

She supported the Bridge to Nowhere long after it was DOA in DC. Far from being a reformer who took on the old boy network in Alaska she was one of three original directors of the "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc.," a 527 group that could raise unlimited funds from corporate donors. Stevens' glowing endorsement of  Palin wasn't scrubbed from  her website until a blogger made note of it this past weekend. 

She's so devoted to ideology - even over family - when she was term limited
out of the mayor's office she refused to support her own mother in law because
she is pro-choice, favoring instead another anti-abortion wingnut. For
mayor of a small town for cryin out loud.

She's repeatedly lied about the innapropriate, illegal pressure she, her husband and her staff  brought against Public Safety Commissioner, Walt Monegan in the firing scandal. She's now claiming executive privilege trying to hide her emails from the special prosecutor. The lawyer she just hired with Alaska state funds is doing his best to delay, obfuscate and derail the investigation. The first goofball she appointed as Public Safety Commissioner to replace Monegan after she fired him lasted two weeks until he left in the face of sexual harassment charges.

She's said recently she doesn't know what McCain's plan is for Iraq. Doesn't even know if we have a plan for Iraq but thinks one would be nice. She also said a few weeks ago she doesn't know what the Vice President does anyway.

This woman isn't qualifed to be Vice President, especially not under a President who has had 4 cancer surgeries, and who still suffers from his war wounds and torture 40 years after being blown out of to sky and captured. His mother may be a hardy 96 years old but both his father and grandfather died of sudden heart attacks, his fahtrer at age 71 and his grandfather at age 60. John McCain with his hothead type A personality just turned 72.

No McCain, no way and Sarah Palin? She should choose life outside of Washington. 

As governor of Alaska for the past 18 months Mrs. Palin has been charged with deploying all 1850 troops in the Alaska Army Nat'l. Guard within the state in case of natural disaster. As far as I know there has been no such emergency that has called her to exercise that power.

She is not responsible for recruiting, equipping, or training them. She cannot deploy any national guard unit outside Alaska and jas no say how they are used in wartime.   

She has no control over the Nat'l. Missile Defense Shield. She can no more order it's use  than the governor of North Dakota can order a first strike on Russia with the offensive missiles deployed in his state.

If you think the Pentagon is in the habit of briefing politicians on this highly classified, faulty, as yet inoperable, though fully deployed boondoggle system you probably believe Diebold is proud of having it's voting equipment fully vetted too.

Sarah Palin made what had been in the past a small town non partisan mayoral election (less than 6700 population) into a spectacle featuring radical wingnut hot button issues like abortion. She won a "landslide victory" by about 200 votes, approximately 600/400.

She immediately fired most of the town's dept. managers claiming she didn't think they'd be loyal to her, even the ones who supported her candidacy. She pressured the town librarian to ban books Palin found "objectionable". She fired her but then rescinded the decision in all liklihood because no one else would take the job.

As mayor she hired one of Jack Abramoff's cronies to lobby Washington for earmarks for tiny Wasilla. Thanks to her, her good buddy Ted Stevens and Don Young the town recieved $27 million in federal largesse for projects such as a $600,000 youth center, another $1.9 million for a
transportation hub, $900,000 for sewer repairs, and $15 million for a
rail project.

She supported the Bridge to Nowhere long after it was DOA in DC. Far from being a reformer who took on the old boy network in Alaska she was one of three original directors of the "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc.," a 527 group that could raise unlimited funds from corporate donors. Stevens' glowing endorsement of  Palin wasn't scrubbed from  her website until a blogger made note of it this past weekend. 

She's so devoted to ideology - even over family - when she was term limited
out of the mayor's office she refused to support her own mother in law because
she is pro-choice, favoring instead another anti-abortion wingnut. For
mayor of a small town for cryin out loud.

She's repeatedly lied about the innapropriate, illegal pressure she, her husband and her staff  brought against Public Safety Commissioner, Walt Monegan in the firing scandal. She's now claiming executive privilege trying to hide her emails from the special prosecutor. The lawyer she just hired with Alaska state funds is doing his best to delay, obfuscate and derail the investigation. The first goofball she appointed as Public Safety Commissioner to replace Monegan after she fired him lasted two weeks until he left in the face of sexual harassment charges.

She's said recently she doesn't know what McCain's plan is for Iraq. Doesn't even know if we have a plan for Iraq but thinks one would be nice. She also said a few weeks ago she doesn't know what the Vice President does anyway.

This woman isn't qualifed to be Vice President, especially not under a President who has had 4 cancer surgeries, and who still suffers from his war wounds and torture 40 years after being blown out of to sky and captured. His mother may be a hardy 96 years old but both his father and grandfather died of sudden heart attacks, his fahtrer at age 71 and his grandfather at age 60. John McCain with his hothead type A personality just turned 72.

No McCain, no way and Sarah Palin? She should choose life outside of Washington. 

I post this at the end of Ripper's diary just before it fell off the page so I guess few saw it. Ripper suggested I make it into a standalone post so here it is.

I was in Miss Hanson's second grade class at our brand spanking new
Worthridge school when the principal came on the PA to call all the
teachers down to his office that day in November 1963. A few minutes
later a visibly shaken Miss Hanson came back to class and announced we
were all being sent home early, the president had been shot, and we
were to go to straight home. Walking those 6 blocks my friends and I
were sure it was the work of the Russians and World War 111
was about to start. At the age of 7 we didn't really know what that
meant but we'd never seen the teachers so distraught before so we knew
it couldn't be good.

All that weekend we watched the funeral procession on our black and white tv, the incessant beat of the drums, John John saluting the casket as it passed, Jackie in her veil. They reran the scenes nonstop.

On March 31, 1968 I watched LBJ make his "I Shall Not Seek, and I Will Not Accept" speech with my Republican father. My dad hated LBJ and I was 12 so I hated LBJ too. As Johnson began to talk I mocked him hoping to goad my dad into changing the channel. The big ugly Texan and his Johnny Reb drawl was making another boring speech and I was sure there must be something better on. My father told me to shut up, the president was speaking and I was to respect the office. So we watched.

Less than a week later I was confirmed in the Episcopalian church at the big cathedral in Chicago. On the way there we sat in the car silently at an intersection in the city for what seemed like an hour waiting for what looked like the entire Illinois National Guard to pass by in speeding big olive drab Army 4x4 trucks, rifles at the ready, on their way to the West Side. I noticed my mother gripping the dashboard with both hands, her knuckles white. Martin Luther King was murdered the day before and a lot of the West Side was burning to the ground. Some of those lots remain blighted and empty today.

Two months later I was at my new school in Downers Grove in 6th grade. We'd moved the year before. It was the last day of the school year if I remember correctly and we discussed Bobby Kennedy's assassination when we were let out early with our report cards on a bright sunny day. It was senseless. While still a nascent Republican I couldn't figure why this Jordanian man killed RFK out of fear for his allegiance to Israel. RFK was for peace in Vietnam, surely he wasn't for more war in the middle east.

I was pretty sick of and very confused by these assassinations. I just wanted them to stop.

That summer I watched the Democratic convention in Chicago, 30 miles away on TV, again with my dad. My father was never a fan of Mayor Richard J. Daley. He was an arrogant ass merely interested in amassing as much power as he could for himself as far as dad was concerned, I of course agreed. We watched the police riot. Together we saw them gleefully wade into the crowd bludgeoning anyone within reach with their clubs. I watched dad's reaction, he was as troubled by what we saw as I was. The next day I went to school and heard tales from a classmate whose 17 year old brother came home with his head wrapped in bandages. That night Dad and I watched Mayor Daley's infamous "the police aren't there to create disorder, they're there to preserve disorder" press conference. He pulled out baggies of feces as "proof" that his men were provoked by the demonstrators.

Right then is where I began coming of age politically and thinking for myself. My father accepted Daley's explanation for what we witnessed live on television the night before wholeheartedly. I guess he needed that reassurance from a authority figure even if he reviled him. I was amazed. I couldn't believe it. I argued with him to no avail. We both saw what happened but he refused to believe his own eyes and instead bought the excuses.

I still believed in Nixon's "secret plan to end the war". If I had had the vote that fall I would have voted for him right along with my parents. I remember my mother's angst, she was tired of voting for losers. Once elected it wasn't long before Nixon's plan went by the wayside and I started growing my hair long.

Within a year my parents couldn't understand me any better than they understood Abby Hoffmann.

My dad and I didn't agree on politics again for decades though we'd argue all the time. He thought Nixon was railroaded out of office. Reagan, from western Illinois like him was his hero. No appeals to decency or common sense would change his mind. Nothing I ever said got through.

I knew he voted for Obama in 2004 for senator but that was no test, his opponent Alan Keyes was nuts. Even my Republican congresswoman all but admitted she voted for Barack in that election.

But about a year ago, suffering from aphasia and unable to speak Dad came into my office with a Obama fundraising letter in his hand addressed to me. Pointing to his chest he made it clear he wanted to me to help him contribute to the campaign. Happily I took his debit card and sent in $50 in his name. Dad died in April but I still get emails from the Obama campaign addressed to him. So when I can I double up on donations for both of us. I know he'd approve.

Last Monday July 21st Sarah Topy and her staff at the http://www.scottharperforcongress.com/ campaign were looking forward to a week of data processing, fundraising and preparing for a big push in August after the immensely successful event they organized called "13 for the 13th" on July 13th, the single biggest Dem canvass ever held in IL-13.

There was a lot of file updating yet to do and wouldn't you know Monday was the day the state guys finally had the new voter file ready to download. The new VAN basically updated and transformed all our files to new software and it was an all day procedure installing it. The files were still offline Monday night when I showed up at campaign HQ to make some calls. Rich Caparrell the field director was in Maryland for a much deserved long weekend off. We had another canvass scheduled for Saturday but volunteer turnout was expected to be light in the middle of vacation season and especially so soon after the big effort on July 13th. It wasn't downtime but it's as close as they'll get in the next few months on Harper's campaign.

Well that was the plan anyway, but it wasn't to be. Read on for how those best laid plans went out the window in an instant and what happened next.

So just when they figured they'd be able catch up on some data entry the DCCC picked that Monday morning to announce the Mobilize for Change, 100 Days to Victory Contest which gave all Dem House challengers across the country just five days to see who could organize the most volunteers to pitch in on Saturday. The DCCC runs these contests periodically but I've never seen one so early in the cycle before. Running one this soon was a smart idea, competition gets the juices flowing just like the primaries particularly when House campaigns need some excitement in the dog days of summer. The reward for the winner is an email shout out to all three million contributors on DCCC chair Van Hollen's email list that will bring in a significant chunk of cash and priceless name recognition and respect that's sorely lacking for a lot of our House challengers.

So with the field director a thousand miles away and the computer files out of action til Tuesday they got to work. They called everybody on their own phone contact lists and emailed any and everybody in their personal address books who they thought might be willing to canvass all afternoon or make phonecalls for as little as half an hour on Saturday.

By Tuesday morning the voter file was up and running again. By Wednesday morning Rich was back in the office and the place was rockin'.

Here's what they accomplished by Saturday:

635 volunteers made phone calls.

Hundreds attended phone bank sites or phone bank house parties and hundreds more took advantage of our call from home program. We had phonebank parties set up as far away as Seattle where one of Scott's old classmates organized a party, to Denver where members of his family had 20 people making calls to NE Pennsylvania where Rich's family pulled together in Hazleton with their cell phones.

64 volunteers went door-to-door.

Canvassers carried literature about Scott Harper and local Democratic candidates. I picked up a couple of DFA activists at the Fairview train station in Downers Grove and gave them their walk packets and lit. One guy, Greg Hodgson left his house in Indiana at 7:30 am and didn't expect to get home until 7:30 Saturday night. The other guy William Maggos grew up in the district in Woodridge and came out from the south side of Chicago. You just gotta love dedication like that. It's the kind of selfless sacrifice that wins elections.

59 volunteers wrote letters and delivered yard signs from our Naperville headquarters.

In all 758 Volunteers Mobilized Throughout the District and Across the Country to help Scott Harper in Just One Day!

When you consider they put all that together starting from behind with four days on the computer to work with instead of five like everybody else and the field director out of town until Wednesday that's just incredible.

Scott’s broad base of support, not just among activists but among Democratic candidates and party leaders was a real key to our success. With the vast majority of candidates for State Representative, State Senate, and local office and all of our elected officials helping out by making calls or hosting sites for us, this whole event was a truly coordinated effort.

I can't emphasize this enough, if your House candidate isn't running a coordinated campaign up and down the ballot with other Dems in the area please contact them and let them know how effective it is. We had too many co-sponsors for this event to list them all but here are just a few who brought many of their own volunteers out and organized canvass staging sites and phonebanks through out the district.

A Big Thank You Goes Out to All the Co-Sponsors especially:

Candidates

Dianne McGuire for State Representative
Joe Heneghan for State Representative
Audrey Manley for State Senate
Will County Board Candidates Karen Gonzalez and Jackie Traynere
DuPage County Board candidates Karol Sole and Bob Brandt

Elected Officials

State Senator A.J. Wilhelmi
State Senator Linda Holmes
State Senator Dan Kotowski
Will County Executive Larry Walsh
Judge Sarah Jones
 
Without these folks and many others and their organizations the Harper campaign wouldn't have been able to mount this great team effort on such short notice. I don't know as of yet who won the Mobilize for Change 100 Days to Victory Contest, I guess the DCCC is still tabulating the results. But I can tell you this is a tremendous success for the Scott Harper campaign and all our other candidates. With all of us pulling together like this we will win in November. And that's just the beginning.

So thanks again to everybody who took time out on a beautiful summer Saturday to make this happen. Whether we win, lose or draw the DCCC contest we've taken another big step toward victory this fall. It's change we can believe in because we are mobilizing that change ourselves.   

 

Tomorrow Saturday July 26 marks the beginning of the 100 Days to Victory campaign. I'm calling on anybody and everybody across the country to help Scott Harper in IL-13 by phonebanking for half an hour calling just 5 people from a list of names and numbers and a script we'll send you via email or fax. This is an excellent opportunity for newbies to get their feet wet volunteering for a campaign and you don't have to be anywhere near Illinois to participate. You don't need any campaign experience to help. If you know how to use a telephone that's good enough. Of course if you're an experienced activist who wants to do more you can make as many calls as you want and we'll also be canvassing and phonebanking from many locations across the district. 

We'll be identifying voters which means we're simply asking them a few questions to discern their political leanings. There's no persuasion involved, we're not "selling" the candidate and most folks are more than happy to answer our questions.

Now why should you get involved in this race? Well first of all I met Scott at Yearly Kos last summer. He was looking to get involved in politics after a successful business and acedemic career and he figured there was no better place to start. I invited him to our local township Dem meeting where our leadership recruited him to run in the 13th. Scott's a smart dedicated Democrat with a lot of real world experience who will help President Obama end the occupation of Iraq and rebuild our country. You can look up more of his bio and positions here: http://www.scottharperforcongress.com/

Harper outraised 10 year incumbent, and Bush favorite Judy Biggert in the second quarter. He's also already outraised her four previous Dem challengers combined and beat her and her even more wingnuttery primary challenger (is wingnuttery a word? if not I just coined it, so there Colbert) together in the primary by 25,000 votes on Super Tuesday. CQ, a little behind the times imo has just uprated this seat from "safe repub" to "repub favored". From what I've seen and heard canvassing and phonebanking since March it's a toss up right now. The point is, this is no quixotic campaign, we're doing what it takes to win this race, not just show.  

Two weeks ago on July 13th Harper's campaign organized the biggest
canvassing event Dems have ever seen in IL-13. In July no less. This was a tremendous effort, we put a lot into it, phonebanking for weeks on end to get volunteers to give up a Saturday in midsummer to come out and canvass with us.

The poor field manager Rich who we've been working like a sled dog finally got some time off afterward and spent a long weekend with his buds at the Maryland shore burning off a few brain cells and recharging his batteries. I'm happy to report he's back at work, sending out emails and holding two phone converations at once while trying to get the printer working with his toes. Well ok, maybe that's an exaggeration but not much of one. Everybody at the HQ is working their butts off. And Rich hasn't walked into a wall even once since he came back so that's a real positive sign.  So why do are we doing  this again so soon you may ask? Aren't we running the risk of burning ourselves out before the playoffs start? 

Well in case you haven't heard the DCCC has announced a contest, the 100 Days to Victory Challenge, inspired I'd like to think by our success a couple weeks ago, calling on all Dem House challengers to see who can attract the most volunteers to their campaign for one day: tomorrow.

The winner gets a email blast to the 3 million people on DCCC chair Chris Van Hollen's email list and a whole a lot of respect (not to mention name rec) from Democrats all across the country.

So here we go again, all hands of deck, we're gearing up again. If you live in a safe Dem district or a red district that's hopeless this is one race where you can make a real difference. Wherever you are sign up today, give us your email address and we'll get back to you tomorrow with a script and five names to call. Like I said this shouldn't take more than half an hour of your time and you'd be helping one of best Dem House challengers with a great shot at turning one a longstanding Repub district blue. 

Here's the link, click on the 100 Days to Victory link inside.  

 http://www.scottharperforcongress.com/
 

Step right up ladies and gentlemen, step right up! There's plenty of room right down in front here, don't be shy, just crowd in a bit so you can hear me. 

Now, I ask you friends, is your government

impeding your ability to make money? Have the people of your country, province or even your county made a terrible mistake by putting a bunch of crazy marxists or bleeding hearts in power?

I see a lot of nodding heads out there, you know what I'm talking about. You had it all laid out, your financing lined up, the equipment leased to drill for oil or mine those precious resources but now that new regime, those illegitimate commies or brainless do gooders have nationalized your

holdings or won't sign off on your project because of some whacky environmental laws or crazy concepts about what's "good for the people" (air quotes).

They don't take your calls, let alone your bribes while an endless parade of local tribal chief swindlers and "fair practice" (more air quotes) co-op conmen and women are whisked into their offices while you're on the outside looking in. Am I right or am I right? You know I'm right! 
 
Well ladies and gentlemen we at Blackwater have the solution to all your problems! There's no

doubt about it, you need friends in high office and when the voters keep sticking a thumb in your eye or the new regime can't be reasoned

with we're here to help.

With our training, aviation and logistics capabilities we can have you back in the catbird seat with a new set of compliant friends in the president's palace or even the county seat ready to bend over backwards for a nominal fee to sign any form, scratch any back or shoot any troublemaker you need to make your financial dreams a reality. 

That's right, you heard me, even when it looks like all is lost we can have your strip mine or derricks up and running in no time. But that's not all. We'll have you in business using local labor so terrified they'll work 15 hour days for practically nada and live in squalor that'd make a Nazi labor camp commandant blush! 

Oh I know you're skeptical. How can he make such claims you're saying to yourself. He doesn't know my situation, my country, this all sounds too good to be true. 

Well I'll tell you how we do it folks. We have hundreds of former US special forces on call, ex Green Berets, Navy Seals, even black ops CIA guys, the cream of the crop of the finest fighting force ever assembled. But that's not all. We also have goon squads composed of South African cops trained under apartheid, and death squad members from all over the world, many of them trained at the preeminent camp for state police forces in Ft. Benning Georgia.  I like to say "coup" is their middle name. They don't know the meaning of human rights. These fellas are experts at bringing down governments or keeping even the most blatantly corrupt tinhorn dictator anyone can imagine on the throne. And I don't know about you but I have a pretty vivid imagination! (Wait for laugh) 

And speaking of tinhorn dictators, in a few short months with our patented methods, we can train up a few of your cousins, that idiot brother in law of yours, (point to a member of the crowd and wink knowingly) yeah sir, you know who I'm talking about don't you? (wait for chuckle) or... I know you'll find this hard to believe but it's true - because we've done it - even train some of your downtrodden wretched refuse yearning to breathe free to be the most ruthless strongmen this side of Idi Amin.

They'll proudly wear the new uniforms you'll pick out yourself for your very own spanking new junta we've helped you put into power.

Now I know what you're thinking. All well and good so far, but I know my brother in law, he's a stupid greedy pig. He'll find some way to screw

it up or worse, screw me. Even if your first choice goes sour...and we all know that old song about power corrupting and absolute power blah, blah, blah.

I won't lie to you, it happens to the best, humans are frail creatures and some fall prey to the trappings of power no matter how many times you strap the electrodes on in training. But I'm happy to tell you we've got that contingency covered too.

No fears there either ladies and gentlemen because as part of the Blackwater Advantage Package we provide not one, but two complete secret police forces trained and led by members of our team with an ironclad guarantee they'll have absolutely no local allegiances. We select only the best and we're proud to say our operatives have no more conscience than your average alley cat.

And we keep it that way using our tried and true methods including an elaborate series of cutouts and numbered offshore bank accounts. You'll be pulling the strings because you'll be the one paying two different goon squads that are all that stands between General Doofus and angry mobs who'd rip his ears off if they had half a chance. As long as our guys get their cut you can count on their complete loyalty to you and only you.
 
Why the redundent systems you ask? Isn't it a little pricey to have two Stasis? Well first of all it's not as expensive as you might think and second do you want to sleep soundly at night or worry yourself into a heart attack? Our experience has shown it's the only way to go when you're in the business of seriously pillaging a whole country's patromony. Sure you can go with some cheaper outfits that cut corners but if you do you'll regret it when your new gold mine winds up feeding somebody else's Swiss bank account.   

Now in the unlikely case Cousin Ernie does go renegade on you or some local chief manages to rile up your labor force and acquire enough AK-47s to be pesky or God forbid start a real revolution before you've made your fortune and are ready to move on to the next unexploited godforsaken backwater ready for the taking ...(deep breath)...there's still no problem.

Sure when you're raping the bejesus out of a country there's always something that can go wrong. That's why we provide not only two secret police forces completely independent of each other and like I said loyal to only you, but we've also trained two or three of your cronies as back ups ready to take the throne if it becomes necessary to throw that fuck up Ernie to the mob as a sacrifice. (chuckle ruefully)

We keep a close eye on all our projects. With our 24/7 monitoring capabilities we're prepared ahead of time and know just when and how to transfer power to Thug No. 2 who we've already coached up to become the next "man of the people" (more air quotes) and split with the now

discredited supreme leader at just the right time in a seamless transition. In nine out of ten cases it doesn't result in a single day's disruption of your operation or enough dead miscreants to make

the papers. I kid you not. The proof is in the pudding folks. Raise your hand if you've ever  read about any Blackwater operation other than

Iraq in the paper.

Now I know I shouldn't bring up Iraq but I

want to talk about it anyway. I'm not gonna shy away from it. I can see by the frowns a lot of you think it wasn't our finest hour. It may surprise you but I agree with you, it wasn't. But folks let me be honest for a second here, Iraq wasn't our deal.

Don't get me wrong, we gained a lot of valuable experience there but most importantly we learned that it's in everyone's best interests that we run the show and take responsibility for the whole shebang.

Iraq was a government operation and we all know what happens when you let (big sneer) government run things don't we? They make a mess of it. They let in media and a whole lot of namby pamby middlemen with their own agendas that not only don't coincide with making money the old fashioned way but actually impede

your progress. That's not what you want and it's not what you get with Blackwater running the show.

Right from the gitgo we tamp down or co-opt any local opposition and interest groups. There isn't any phony baloney democracy or "parliament" (air quotes again) you have to

kowtow to, and we make sure the whole world isn't watching every little thing you do. No sirree, not with Blackwater in charge.

We work with you and your stooges to make sure it stays that way and if push comes to shove we have the capability to airlift in thousands of

trigger happy goons at a moment's notice who are trained in coups, counter coups, suppressing rebellions and general mayhem ranging from

surgically picking off selected loudmouths from a mile away with the latest in sniper gear to burning whole provinces to the ground. Our guys live and breathe this kind of stuff. They have to, it's what they're trained to do and we don't hire anybody who can make it in the real world doing anything else.

Looking at my watch  I can see it's almost time for lunch so I'll stop here. I want to thank you for your time on behalf of the Blackwater Corporation folks. If you'd like to learn more please give your contact information to my assistant Amy or take one of my cards on the table by the door and call us at your earliest convenience to set up an appointment. We'll be more than happy to sit down with you and figure out how we can help you solve your problems. It's what we're hear for.

Step right up ladies and gentlemen, step right up! There's plenty of
room right down in front here, don't be shy, just crowd in a bit so you
can hear me.
 
Now, I ask you friends, is your government
impeding your ability to make money? Have the people of your country,
province or even your county made a terrible mistake by putting a bunch
of crazy marxists or bleeding hearts in power?

I see a lot of
nodding heads out there, you know what I'm talking about. You had it
all laid out, your financing lined up, the equipment leased to drill
for oil or mine those precious resources but now that new regime, those
illegitimate commies or brainless do gooders have nationalized your
holdings or won't sign off on your project because of some whacky
environmental laws or crazy concepts about what's "good for the people"
(air quotes).

They don't take your calls, let alone your
bribes while an endless parade of local tribal chief swindlers and
"fair practice" (more air quotes) co-op conmen and women are whisked
into their offices while you're on the outside looking in. Am I right
or am I right? You know I'm right! 
 
Well ladies and gentlemen
we at Blackwater have the solution to all your problems! There's no
doubt about it, you need friends in high office and when the voters
keep sticking a thumb in your eye or the new regime can't be reasoned
with we're here to help.

With our training, aviation and
logistics capabilities we can have you back in the catbird seat with a
new set of compliant friends in the president's palace or even the
county seat ready to bend over backwards for a nominal fee to sign any
form, scratch any back or shoot any troublemaker you need to make your
financial dreams a reality. 

That's right, you heard me, even
when it looks like all is lost we can have your strip mine or derricks
up and running in no time. But that's not all. We'll have you in
business using local labor so terrified they'll work 15 hour days for practically nada and live in squalor that'd make a Nazi labor camp commandant blush! 

Oh
I know you're skeptical. How can he make such claims you're saying to
yourself. He doesn't know my situation, my country, this all sounds too
good to be true. 

Well I'll tell you how we do it folks. We
have hundreds of former US special forces on call, ex Green Berets,
Navy Seals, even black ops CIA guys, the cream of the crop of the
finest fighting force ever assembled. But that's not all. We also have
goon squads composed of South African cops trained under apartheid, and
death squad members from all over the world, many of them trained at
the preeminent camp for state police forces in Ft. Benning Georgia.  I
like to say "coup" is their middle name. They don't know the meaning of
human rights. These fellas are experts at bringing down governments or
keeping even the most blatantly corrupt tinhorn dictator anyone can
imagine on the throne. And I don't know about you but I have a pretty
vivid imagination! (Wait for laugh) 

And speaking of tinhorn
dictators, in a few short months with our patented methods, we can
train up a few of your cousins, that idiot brother in law of yours,
(point to a member of the crowd and knowingly wink) yeah sir you know
who I'm talking about don't you? (wait for chuckle) or... I know you'll
find this hard to believe but it's true - because we've done it - even
train some of your downtrodden wretched refuse yearning to breathe free
to be the most ruthless strongmen this side of Idi Amin. They'll
proudly wear the new uniforms you'll pick out yourself for your very own spanking new junta we've helped you put into power.

Now
I know what you're thinking. All well and good so far, but I know my
brother in law, he's a stupid greedy pig. He'll find some way to screw
it up or worse, screw me. Even if your first choice goes sour...and we
all know that old song about power corrupting and absolute power blah,
blah, blah. I won't lie to you, it happens to the best, humans are
frail creatures and some fall prey to the trappings of power no matter
how many times you strap the electrodes on in training. But I'm happy
to tell you we've got that contingency covered too.

No fears
there either ladies and gentlemen because as part of the Blackwater
Advantage Package we provide not one, but two complete secret police
forces trained and led by members of our team with an ironclad
guarantee they'll have absolutely no local allegiances. We select only
the best and we're proud to say our operatives have no more conscience
than your average alley cat.

And to keep it that way using our
tried and true methods including an elaborate series of cutouts and
numbered offshore bank accounts you'll be pulling the strings because you'll be
the one paying two different goon squads that are all that stands
between General Doofus and angry mobs who'd rip his ears off if they
had half a chance. As long as our guys get their cut you can count on
their complete loyalty to you and only you.
 
Why the
redundent systems you ask? Isn't it a little pricey to have two Stasis?
Well first of all it's not as expensive as you might think and second
do you want to sleep soundly at night or worry yourself into a heart
attack? Our experience has shown it's the only way to go when you're in
the business of seriously pillaging a whole country's patromony. Sure
you can go with some cheaper outfits that cut corners but if you do
you'll regret it when your new gold mine winds up feeding somebody
else's Swiss bank account.   

Now in the unlikely case Cousin
Ernie does go renegade on you or some local chief manages to rile up
your labor force and acquire enough AK-47s to be pesky or God forbid
start a real revolution before you've made your fortune and are ready
to move on to the next unexploited godforsaken backwater ready for the
taking...(deep breath)...there's still no problem.

Sure when you're raping the bejesus out of a country there's always something
that can go wrong. That's why we provide not only two secret police
forces completely independent of each other and like I said loyal to
only you, but we've also trained two or three of your cronies as back
ups ready to take the throne if it becomes necessary to throw that fuck
up Ernie to the mob as a sacrifice. (chuckle ruefully)

We keep
a close eye on all our projects. With our 24/7 monitoring capabilities
we're prepared ahead of time and know just when and how to transfer
power to Thug No. 2 who we've already coached up to become the next
"man of the people" (more air quotes) and split with the now
discredited supreme leader at just the right time in a seamless
transition. In nine out of ten cases it doesn't result in a single
day's disruption of your operation or enough dead miscreants to make
the papers. I kid you not. The proof is in the pudding folks. Raise
your hand if you've ever read about any Blackwater operation other than
Iraq in the paper.

Now I know I shouldn't bring up Iraq but I
want to talk about it anyway. I'm not gonna shy away from it. I can see
by the frowns a lot of you think it wasn't our finest hour. It may
surprise you but I agree with you, it wasn't. But folks let me be
honest for a second here, Iraq wasn't our deal.

Don't get me
wrong, we gained a lot of valuable experience there but most
importantly we learned that it's in everyone's best interests that we
run the show and take responsibility for the whole shebang.

Iraq was a government operation and we all know what happens when you let (big sneer) government run
things don't we? They make a mess of it. They let in media and a whole
lot of namby pamby middlemen with their own agendas that not only don't
coincide with making money the old fashioned way but actually impede
your progress.

That's not what you want and it's not what you
get with Blackwater running the show. Right from the gitgo we tamp down
or co-opt any local opposition and interest groups. There isn't any
phony baloney democracy or "parliament" (air quotes again) you have to
kowtow to, and we make sure the whole world isn't watching every little
thing you do. No sirree, not with Blackwater in charge.

We
work with you and your stooges to make sure it stays that way and if
push comes to shove we have the capability to airlift in thousands of
trigger happy goons at a moment's notice who are trained in coups,
counter coups, suppressing rebellions and general mayhem ranging from
surgically picking off selected loudmouths from a mile away with the
latest in sniper gear to burning whole provinces to the ground. Our
guys live and breathe this kind of stuff. They have to, it's what
they're trained to do and we don't hire anybody who can make it in the
real world doing anything else.

Looking at my watch  I can see
it's almost time for lunch so I'll stop here. I want to thank you for
your time on behalf of the Blackwater Corporation folks. If you'd like
to learn more please give your contact information to my assistant Amy
or take one of my cards on the table by the door and call us at your
earliest convenience to set up an appointment. We'll be more than happy
to sit down with you and figure out how we can help you solve your
problems. It's what we're hear for.