Happy New Year from Times Square!

Auto Bailout Passes House

Bulletin: The House of Representatives has passed $14 billion bailout for Detriot's Big three automakers

If It's Sunday... It's Time for Gregory

David Gregory has been named the host of NBC's "Meet the Price." Tom Brokaw took over hosting duties for the late Tim Russert several months ago until a permanent replacement could be found.

Hopes of Dem. Filibuster Shattered

CNN: GOP Sen. Saxby Chambliss wins a Georgia runoff, ending Democratic hopes of a filibuster-proof majority, CNN projects.

Who is the 'Bureau of Economic Research'

On Monday, the Bureau of Economic Research annouced the U.S. has been in a recession since December of 2007. Who is the Bureau of Economic Research... excellent question...:

"The Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research met by conference call on Friday, November 28. The committee maintains a chronology of the beginning and ending dates (months and quarters) of U.S. recessions. The committee determined that a peak in economic activity occurred in the U.S. economy in December 2007. The peak marks the end of the expansion that began in November 2001 and the beginning of a recession. The expansion lasted 73 months; the previous expansion of the 1990s lasted 120 months. "

"The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is a private, nonprofit research organization dedicated to studying the science and empirics of economics, especially the American economy. "

"The NBER was founded in 1920. Its first staff economist and Director of Research was Wesley Mitchell. Simon Kuznets was working at the NBER when the U.S. government asked him to help organize a system of national accounts in 1930, which was the beginning of the official measurement of GDP and other related indices of economic activity. Due to its work on national accounts and business cycles, the NBER is well-known for providing start and end dates for recessions in the United States."
>http://wwwdev.nber.org/cycles/dec2008.html

Hillary to Be Obama's Sec. of State

CNN is report that President-elect Obama is expected to nominate Hillary Clinton as Sectary of State after Thanksgiving.

Developing: Attorney General Collapses

Attorney General Michael Mukasey collapses in DC while giving speech, developing story...

Ted Stevens Defeated

CNN: Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens defeated for re-election by Democrat Mark Begich, according to release from Begich's campaign

The Matador: Hot off the Press!

SmithtownRadio.com's co-political directors Dean Laurence and Amanda Boitano wrap up the entire election season in a special President Election pull-out in the all new edition of The Matador, available in English classes and anytime on www.TheMatadorOnline.com.

Update

It has been reported that Mr. Brannigan's senior year high school prom date is in Chicago among voters and supporters by the lake. It's expected to be a "slamin'" party.

In addition, her brother - Internet Director for the Obama campaign - has confessed to wanting to throw up from the tension.

We'll check back with Chicago later in the night. Unless Mr. Brannigan falls asleep -- then we'll check back tomorrow.

Election Night Coverage

Just wanted to let you know that your coverage so far has been great. Voter turnout in my neck of the woods was heavy at 6am when I voted and continues to be heavy as late as 8:30 pm when I last past my polling place in the Port Jeff Station area .

Keep up the good work.

Kings Park -- Update

Mid-afternoon voting was light and elderly at William T. Rodgers Middle School. The San Remo district of Kings Park saw long lines in the gym, while the other district had little-to-no foot traffic.

One voting machine was taken out of use due to faulty gears.

One elderly gentleman was given preferred treatment. An election inspector allowed the aged voter to cut the line, yet this caused a problem. As each voter signed in, their party affiliation and their number in the booth was recorded. So, in short, the man whose spot the old fellow took was of a different party.

In addition to this brief election snapshot, there were no baked goods for sale by the PTA.

Many see this snack slight as a sign that the economy is still in trouble, and people are tightening their belts. While others feel this is confirmation that there is no god.

Live Election Coverage

Be sure to join SmithtownRadio.com's James Brierton, Megan Russ, Dean Laurence and Amanda Boitano for LIVE ELECTION COVERAGE beginning at 7 pm et. They'll be broadcasting until all the results are in. As well, they'll be taking your calls and e-mails. So be sure to log onto www.SmithtownRadio.com to join the interactive broadcast!

Cool Stuff

Just thought this was cool and wanted to share it: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/28/typography.irpt/index.html

"Barack Obama Political Message"

The "Barack Obama Political Message," as it is being called, will air tomorrow night at 8 pm et on CBS, NBC, FOX and MSNBC.

The 30-minute advertisement was paid for by Obama's campaign.

ABC will be showing a new episode of Pushing Daises... whatever that is.

I guess McCain feels no need to follow suit. I wonder what the ratings on this will be...?

Update: Won't FOX being showing the World Series game? As well, for those interested, BET and Univision will also air the "political message," or as CBS.com calls it: BARACK OBAMA PAID POLITICAL MESSAGE (tentative title) ... yes the tentative title part is actually in there...

Update Update: Reuters: "Obama's television broadside may also force a 15-minute delay in the Fox network's broadcast of the fifth game of the World Series -- the fiercely-followed championship of U.S. Major League Baseball -- coincidentally between teams from Pennsylvania and Florida, states that are both major battlegrounds in the November 4 election."

As well, the report says tomorrow is also the anniversary of "Black Tuesday, " the infamous day in which the stock market crashed in 1929.

The Election Will Be Here Sooner Than You Think

Especially as an East student with next Tuesday and Wednesday's mock election.

Social study teachers will be taking their students to cast their votes next week on one of the two days. The Leadership class, which is organizing the election, tell us the results will be available a short time after the polls close.

Will East lean blue like the rest of the state? We'll find out next week. We'll be sure to post the results once we have them.

TheMatadorOnline.com Launches Elect '08

With less than two weeks until Election Day, www.TheMatadorOnline.com has launched Elect '08. The page houses all the latest political and election news from Reuters, CNN and from The Matador Online newsroom.

www.SmithtownRadio.com will have live Election Night coverage on November 4th.

Live from Hofstra... maybe not the smarest idea

Maybe not the smartest but we loved it...

For those of you who tuned in for the live pre-date show than you know the night's excitement.

To make a long story short, a group of anti-war Iraq vets rallied up about 250 protesters and stormed toward a police barricade. The vets were demanding access to the debate and supporting them was the crowd, chanting "Let them in!"

The protesters marched across four lanes of traffic on Hempstead Turnpike to meet face to face... or maybe more nose to nose... with police horseback and tactical officers. They were eventually pushed back across the street... where they then chanted "Shame on you!"

The AP is reporting 15 protesters were arrested and at least one injured.

We've compiled some of our materia together to bring you inside the action:

>RAW Protest footage (by Dean Laurence)
>Edited Protest Footage (by Dean Laurence)
>Our Apperance on CNN.com Live (about 2:30 in)
>Photo gallery of protest (by Dean Laurence)
>Man on the Street: Speaking with protesters (by Megan Russ, James Brierton, Dean Laurence, Amanda Boitano)
>Podcast: Pre-Debate Show w\ James Brierton, Amanda Boitano, Dean Laurence and Megan Russ

*NEW: iReports Witness Protests at Prsidential Debate (by James Brierton / iReport.com blog)

PS: I still have no idea who won Project Runway... oh well

Debate the Debate!

With the presidential candidates meeting for one last time on Long Island - history could be made in our own backyards.

SmithtownRadio.com will be broadcasting live from Hofstra this evening with a special Pre-Debate show airing at 8:30 p.m. et. We'd like to use some of your comments on air so feel free to start debating early.

To join the debate click "Comments" below...

Debate the Debate is BACK!

SmithtownRadio.com and TheMatadorOnline.com's Political Blog will again host Debate the Debate for Wednesday's debate at Hofstra.

Comments will be shared throughout on the night on SmithtownRadio.com. Coverage begins LIVE at 8:30 p.m. from outside the debate hall!

A fresh thread will be posted Wednesday afternoon to begin the dicussion.

LIVE from Hofstra

James Brierton, Dean Laurence and Megan Russ will have LIVE coverage of this Wednesday's third and final presidential debate live from Hofstra University.

Be sure to join them on the live stream for live coverage and be sure to join the rest of our political staff here on the blog to 'Debate the Debate!'

Palin Abused Her Power

An Alaskan legislative panel has found Gov. Sarah Palin abused her power in the firing of a state official but she did not violate the law.

Thoughts?

Forget Green… Nassau Goes Blue

from walkradio.com...
Nassau County has now joined much of the rest of the state in terms of its political stance.

Registered Democrats now outnumber Republicans in Nassau County, once one of the country’s foremost Republican strongholds.

The historic shift in voter registration “marks a watershed event in the national political landscape,” said Party Chairman Jay Jacobs on Wednesday.

The county’s move comes just a week for Democratic Sen. Barack Obama and Republican Sen. John McCain will debate in Nassau for the third and final presidential debate. The debate will be held next Wednesday at Hofstra University.

For decades the county had been such a Republican stronghold that President Ronald Reagan once said, “When a Republican dies and goes to heaven it looks a lot like Nassau County.”

The county’s shift can be traced back to 2001 when County Executive Tom Suozzi took office.

As of Tuesday, Democrats outnumbered registered Republican voters by 118 votes. In 2002, the Republican had the stronghold by more than 66,000 votes.-The AP contributed to this report

Ask and You Shall Recieve

Our Political Blog exploded last night when we asked you to debate the debate with us.

Comments flowed into the joint venture from SmithtownRadio.com and TheMatadorOnline.com throughout the debate.

"Obama doesn't approve of the idea of helping the upper class make jobs for the middle class? Booooo," said a reader by the name of Andrew.

"Agreed. He seems to belive it's the federal governments job to create jobs. Funny i don't see anything about government getting involved in the market anywhere in the constitution," said Steve, another reader responding to Andrew's comment. "Alot of talk about Energy tonight. Seems interesting."

SmithtownRadio.com's Scott Springer was not so sure, "I personally don't agree with the whole trickle-down theory Andrew and Steve seem to be supporting. It appears to me that the lack of government intervention and moderation in the private sector is what has driven our economy to the shambles it is in now," said Springer, co-host of SmithtownRadio.com's Sports Talk. "Regardless, I'm enjoying the setup of the town meeting style debate as well as the presence of a competent moderator."

Another SmithtownRadio.com personality also chimed in, "Overall, I think Obama is making a better impression," said co-political director Amanda Boitano. "He's not fumbling around for words and he's speaking in a more booming, forceful voice. He's showing much more confidence, and that is reassuring."

Tonight's most prolific blogger was a reader by the name of Jonathan: "Sorry McCain...you propose storing nuclear spent fuel rods in Nevada but refuse to allow it to pass through your home state of Arizona and you want me to think that you believe it's still safe?"

Smithtown alumni even joined in on last night's debate. Former editor-in-chief of The Matador and 2006 graduate Laruen Weiss wrote in: "Ok, they need to stop bringing up Achmadinejad and the whole 'no pre-conditions' thing because they continuously misinterpret what Obama said. This has to be the fourth time McCain or Palin has brought this up in debate! Ridiculous."

Readers are still invited to chime in by clicking the Political Blog button on our homepage. The blog, launched earlier in the election season, brings readers the latest dirt and discussion from the political front.

Presidential Debate 2.0

Tonight at 9 pm et on www.SmithtownRadio.com the presidential candidates will meet again for the 2nd Presidential Debate.

During and after the debate be sure to leave your comments here on the Political Blog and be a part of the [heated] discussion!!!

Bush Signs Bailout Bill

enough said...

Second time's a charm... the House passed the $700 billion bailout bill earlier today.

The Senate passed it in one try earlier this week after making some amendments and adding some "sweetners." I'm sooo happy those children will be getting those wooden arrows to play with now :)

VP Debate

Have thoughts after tonight's one and only VP debate? Click comment and share your thougts...

LIVE: Sentate to Vote on Bailout

SmithtownRadio.com is working hard to bring you all the latest on the Economic Crisis as news continues to development.

On Monday night, SmithtownRadio.com Co-Political Director Amanda Boitano and Kevin Perry, former Editor-in-Chief of The Matador and now a Special Correspondent for SmithtownRadio.com, joined me for a special broadcast following the crash on Wall Street and the rejection of the bailout bill in the House. With the Senate voting tonight on a newly revised bailout bill, Kevin and I will again take to the mic to bring you all the latest.

The Senate (which is never very specific with their schedules on these things) is set to vote on the bill tonight. We suspect at some point during the 8 pm et hour to begin our coverage. We'll bring you live audio from the Senate floor, as well as the latest analysis of the bill.

I hope you'll join Kevin and I later tonight on www.SmithtownRadio.com.

Dow Closes Up Tues

The Dow closed up 485 points Tuesday, an increase of 4.68%. Tuesday's closed marked one of the biggest single day climbs in history.

Investors are said to be optimistic that the government will pass a bailout bill shortly.

Congress is expected to reexamine the controversial $700 billion bailout bill later this week.

The Dow closed down nearly 778 points down Monday, the equivalent of $1.2 trillion in market value and a 7% drop. Monday marked the worst single day point loss ever – even topping the 648 points loss on September 17, 2001 – the first day of trading after the September 11 attacks.


Stocks took a nose dive Monday after speculation began to spread that the House of Representatives would vote down the controversial bailout plan – which they did – 228-to-205 – just after 2 pm et Monday.

Hillary to Replace Biden?

"Several US websites are today claiming vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden is set drop out of the US election to be replaced by Hillary Clinton on the Democratic presidential ticket."
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/politics/biden-to-be-replaced-by-hillary-on-obama-ticket-13985924.html

Thoughts...?

Breaking News: House Rejects Bailout Plan

The Dow is down about 500 points following a 228-to-205 vote in the House of Representatives that rejected the 700 billion bailout plan. The Senate is scheduled to vote on the bill Wednesday.

BREAKING NEWS: Palin's Daughter Pregnant

It is now being reported by all major news networks that Bristol Palin, the 17-year-old daughter of GOP VP pick Sarah Palin, is pregnant.

A representative is stating that Bristol is five months into her pregnancy, will keep her child, and is planning on marrying the father, known only as Levi.

This was announced as a response to rampant internet rumors that Trig, Sarah Palin's fifth child, is actually her grandchild. Bloggers are claiming that Trig is Bristol Palin's first child. The Palin family as well as McCain reps have openly denied these claims.

BREAKING NEWS: McCain VP Choice

Sen. McCain has chosen Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin as his VP choice for his race to the White House

Barack's Big Night

As I sit here, the CNN camera is panning out on Invesco field and the DNC has officially come to a close. What a fascinating, thought at sometimes extremely boring, 4 days it has been. I can't say I watched the whole thing because I honestly would blow my brains out if I had to hear speech after speech from local congressmen from Nowheresville, Iowa. I did check out the "Big 4" speeches though. Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton and last but not least Barack Obama. 

Michelle Obama's speech was kind of hokey but it spoke about Barack's character. I personally do not find Michelle Obama too compelling but I think she got the job done and made a safe speech that was presented well. I was impressed as I had never seen her speak on such a large scale before and I thought she did quite well. It wasn't anything too memorable though and as I sit here 4 days later I am having trouble recalling anything major, so let's move on.

I have to confess, I am hot for Hillary. I thought she made an excellent speech throwing her support fully behind Obama while chronicling her historic campaign. Many argued that she didn't do enough to make the case for why exactly we should be voting Obama other than he is the "lesser of two evils" but I feel that really isn't her job. She worked to unite the party, pleged  her support but the only one who can truly convince voters to vote Barack Obama is Barack Obama himself. Overall I felt it was a very good speech (not to mention her orange pantsuit was quite flattering) 

Next came Bill Clinton. Bill has always been an excellent orator and this time he did not disappoint. In stark contrast to his wife he came out attacking John McCain and defending Barack Obama to the point that he drew many parallels between his own 1992 campaign and Obama's. He went on the offensive and refute claims that Obama is too young, too unexperienced etc. Bill's speech style of drawing parallels was very effective especially with his McCain attacks sprinkled in. I think it was a complete 180 degree turn from the lukewarm attitude he had towards Obama just a few weeks ago and regardless of whether Clinton's speech was genuine or not I think it was A+. He made a lot of stupid moves during Hillary's campaign but I think this was a redeemer.

The most anticipated event of this evening was Barack Obama's speech to accept the nomination. I must admit, I have been reluctant to accept Obama. While I agree with his policies I have been on the "not enough experience" bandwagon, not to mention I have yet to find anyone who can name anything notable he has ever done in the senate. I was weary of his general speeches that preached idealism and hope (which is great) but lacked a clear path to get there. Tonight I sat down expecting a trademark Obama optimist speech, but I was pleasantly surprised. Instead of hiding from McCain's criticism Obama took it head on point by point and refuted every attack used against him by the GOP and backed up his point with specifics and numbers (two things I like). It wasn't as enthralling as his previous speeches, but it did the job and I feel it cleared up any doubt for a lot of people. I still have my doubts, but I'm glad he can move past the hope and change to get to the real substance and meat of the issues. I now have much more confidence in Barack Obama and am glad to see the Democratic party united as so many had feared it would not be.  Now don't get me wrong I liked the speech tonight and I liked that he confronted each issue head on, but I think he has a long way to go and I'm really interested to see how the debates play out. 

Four days later, I can't say I have started to drink the Obama Kool-Aid but as someone who was very skeptical of Obama's plans and ability to execute those plans I do feel better about him being the nominee and I hope Barack can continue to prove himself so I can fully support him and the change we all need.  

Democratic National Convention

Programming Note:
The final episode of SmithtownRadio.com Live will air Monday night at 8 pm et from the CNN Center in Atlanta and the SmithtownRadio.com studios on Long Island. In addition to weekly programming, the show will feature coverage of the opening night of the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Breaking News: Obama Chooses VP

Sen Barack Obama has chosen Sen Joe Biden as his VP candidate.

Aussies or Pansies?!?

Ah, Gordon Ramsay. The foul-mouthed celebrity chef who seemingly takes as much pleasure in breaking down his protege cooks as he does a chicken for stock, has offended Australia's politicians.

A recent article in the London Times report that Australia's parliament has launched an inquiry and is recommending an overhaul of broadcast standards in an effort to protect viewers from objectionable language on television.

All this from a country founded by criminals. Why this offense of sensibilities? Was it the sting-ray execution of Steve 'Crocodile Hunter' Irwin that has so rattled the citizens of the land down under? Could it be that the country's greatest export - The Wiggles - have somehow softened the steely resolve? No longer a 'g'day, mate' -- but a 'good day friend.' Put not another shrimp on the Barby -- rather put a wimp over a low heat so as not to cause harm or hurt.

I actually have no point here. But it's a sad day when everyone is going soft all over the world. Thank god the Russians are still poisoning ex-KGB agents!


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article4175687.ece

Al Gore Endores Obama

g

Just in: Al Gore has endorses Sen. Obama.

A little sucking up on Gore's part in hopes of being VP again....? Maybe? Let's get a list of potential VPs going...

NBC's Tim Russert Dies

NBC Washington Bureau Chief and host of "Meet the Press" died earlier today. 58-year-old Tim Russert was working in the bureau when he collapsed and was taken to a local hospital. A family spokesperson has confirmed Russert died of an apparent heart attack. Longtime NBC Anchor Tom Brokaw says Russert's death came during a political campaign that "he loved."

-The AP contributed to this report

Clinton Ends Bid for White House

Clinton ends bid for White House. Endorses Obama.

Reporting from the Bronx...

HSE was just recognized as a top fundraiser for NY Blood Assc. @ Yankee Stadium. -James reporting from the Bronx

Hello Kevin Perry! Hello Mr. Nadramia!

The Political Blog would like to welcome The Matador's Co-Editor-in-Chief Kevin Perry to the blog, as well as SmithtownRadio.com advisor Mr. Nadramia!

>Kevin's already left his first mark on the blog...
>Click here to view Kevin's profile

>Click here to see Mr. Nadramia's profile

(ps: That's a photo of Kevin... not Nadramia... but I'll see what I can dig up... maybe Gallucci can help me with that...)

Will she finally quit...?

Sources tell CNN, ABC News and other major news networks that Clinton will drop out of the race for the White House before Friday. Unlike yesterday (where her campaign fired back at an AP report complaining a similar fate), there has been no word from the Clinton camp about today's reports. (You know... maybe she just didn't step down last night in order to make the AP look bad...)

Anyway, now the question remains - VP Clinton? I doubt it - she's too big on herself to hold such a title... but we'll see...

Send in your comments - we want to see what you think...

Clinton Does Not Concede

Despite the fact that Sen. Clinton gave a lengthy, passed tense speech to supporters in New York City minutes after the news networks gave Sen. Obama the victory, Sen. Clinton did not concede the race, as the AP had reported earlier today she would. She told supporters that she would not be making a deciding whethe to carry on or not tonight.

Obama Wins Democratic Nomination, News Networks Project

Projects by major news networks shows that Sen. Obama has enough delegates to win the democratic nomination.

Still no word if Clinton will concede the race as the AP reported earlier today...

More news as it warrants on the blog and on SmithtownRadio.com! Let us know what you think! Leave us a comment and it may find its way on-air!

Developing: Clinton Conceding?

The AP is reporting that Sen. Clinton will conceded the race for democratic delegates tonight. Within minutes of the news breaking, the Clinton campaign fired back and said they were not ready to admit defeat.

Tonight are the final two democratic primaries - Montana & South Dakota. Obama currently has 2,076 delegates while Clinton has only 1,917. In the race for super delegates, Obama has 335 to Clinton's 293. A candidate needs 2,118 to win the nomination.

More on this story throughout the day and evening...

Smithtown Budget Vote '08

As an aside, SmithtownRadio.com will be covering Tuesday night's budget vote for the Smithtown Central School District live.

Juniors James Brierton and Amanda Boitano will kick-off coverage at 9 p.m. ET from the SmithtownRadio.com Election Center. Junior Dean Laurence will be reporting live from Election Headquarters at the New York Ave. school administration building. Junior Megan Russ will also be contributing. Mr. Brannigan will be acting as facility advisor to the night's coverage.

Listeners are invited to participate in our coverage by commenting here on the blog! Your responds may even be read on-air!

Can We Please Draw Attention to How Old John McCain is?

I'm not trying to discriminate against Sen. McCain because he's old, at least not in the same way that people would discriminate against Hillary because she's a woman and Obama because he's African American. I can find no discernible reason for which being a woman or being African American would negatively effect either of their abilities to be competent presidents, but there are reasons why an elderly person would be less capable: generally, elderly people have less stamina and an increased risk for fatal diseases and death, which would put more importance in the vice president, and would make McCain's running mate choice essential. In addition, McCain's age could make him less able to connect with the younger voters, and, if he were to be elected, he would have a particularly challenging time connecting with them because they are the ones that probably voted Obama, and the young people probably wouldn't be too thrilled with McCain.

John McCain is 71 years old, and if he were to be elected, he would be older than Ronald Reagan was when he took office. While some people see Reagan as one of the most successful presidents of our time, it is important to note that Reagan was fond of naps, evidence of decreased stamina. Also interesting to note is the fact that John McCain is older than both of Barack Obama's parents. Although both people are deceased, both were born after 1936, which was when McCain was born.

Also, am I the only one who finds it weird that his first child was born in 1960 and his last child was born in 1991? Her father is older than my grandmother.

Some other things that John McCain is older than are: bar codes, saran wrap, frisbees, napalm, and Disney's Pinocchio.

Just In: Edwards to Endore Obama

CNN is reporting that former Senator and former Presidential Candidate John Edwards is endorsing Sen. Obama.

Its a good thing Obama doesn't have a lot of hair - otherwise Edwards may go all $400-haircut on him!

Ques. for the Dems

CNN has been utilizing its CNN i-Reporters recently during interviews with Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton on "The Situation Room" with the Wolf-man. In hope of stirring up some discussion between our political gurus, and our readers, I've included questions that myself, and The Matador's Co-Editor-in-Chief Kevin Perry, sent into CNN. If you have an answer to these questions, or have your own question you would like the candidates to answer, send us a comment now!

Why Does Hillary Keep Yelling At Me?

After the recent primaries I have come to the decision -- I will vote for Hillary if she just promises to stop yelling. Her 'victory' speech in Indiana revealed a Hillary not only grasping at straws in her never-say-never quest for power, but a Hillary in desperate need of a lozenge.

One solution -- stop yelling so much. Hillary seems unaware that microphones will do the job they were created to do -- amplify your voice to the masses -- if you'd just let them. However, Hillary seems to want to do everything herself. No help. No advice. No nothing. She runs her own campaign ignoring all advice to drop out. She challenges Obama to debates that haven't been written by her speech writers. Rumor is she even makes her own photocopies.

It's no surprise her voice is horse -- in this presidential horse race. Unlike the Kentucky Derby, we're not going to get to put her down. (They Shoot Candidates, Don't They?) Her strident tones, and screeching vocals have rendered me polarized and weary.

In an attempt to avoid Hillary from shouting at me through the radio, television and print -- I agree that I will vote for her... if she'd just shut up. A small price to pay for a little auditory peace.

Iron Man -- Fanboy Eye Candy or Political Allegory?

As far as superhero movies go -- I have an intense love/hate relationship with them. Inevitably the casting is all wrong, the mythology has been bastardized, there's never enough of the costumed hero and the movie just drags on far too long under the weight of clunky dialogue and over zealous CGI. That having been said, I still yearn to see them in hopes the movie gets some element right. Iron Man comes closer than most recent efforts to actually firing on all rockets.

The story of weapons titan Tony Stark, played with impeccable timing and nuance by Robert Downey jr, who winds up being gravely wounded by his own invention is as straightforward in its man versus machine conflict as they come. Stark is rescued by the very Afghan terrorists who assaulted him, forced to make a weapon of mass destruction. Instead of complying Stark secretly constructs a super suit echoing the knights of the crusades and blasts his way to freedom, vowing to destroy the very weapon stockpiles he has created.

Eye candy for 30-something fanboys still living in their mom's basement? Plenty of it fellas -- come get. Cool flight and fight scenes, awesome technology, hot babes dancing suggestively, plus the red and gold suit with enough tricked out gear to take out years of pent up aggression on the playground bullies all here for you.

But the notion of this movie having a strong undercurrent of political allegory is as nagging as that glowing donut-sized power generator implanted in Stark's chest. Is America's over reaching quest of global democracy for all catching up with us? Liberal Hollywood notwithstanding, you can't help but feel that there's more to the stories of our troops being fired upon with the very weapons American military companies have sold and by the very people our own soldiers have trained.

Tony Stark's wounding caused a change of heart, no pun intended, yet what will it take for America to realize that political freedom doesn't have to be as costly as we make it out to be. To quote another superhero franchise 'with great power comes great responsibility.'

To that end, the responsibility to our nation's people and for the future generations to come has been shirked on an all too regular basis. From the fabricated motivations to wage war in the middle east, to the devastatingly inept recovery efforts in New Orleans, to the blind acceptance of recent genocide in the cradle of civilization our responsibility to leave this world better than how we found it has been brushed off by America's leaders.

Perhaps the moral here is that even though as a country we can suit up as Iron Man to deflect the verbal, and physical, slings and arrows of our allies and enemies -- underneath the armor beats an all too human heart which wants to do what is right despite opposition. That's what makes a true hero.

McCain and Clinton Have Gas

As I combed my RSS feeds for the latest political thriller to come out of Washington this week I came across a very interesting proposal. One that is (very surprisingly) supported by both John McCain and Hillary Clinton. While I applaud this bipartisan unity, I quickly realized that their proposed Gas Tax Holiday (suspending the 18.4 cents a gallon gas tax over the summer) is possibly the stupidest idea to come from the candidates this season. Not only is it counter productive, but it actually aids the very terrorists we are supposedly fighting.

First off, this cannot even be remotely considered an energy policy! Now, lets not forget we still need to pay for that oil in the first place. How are we gonna do that? Wait a minute! We could always borrow money from China. (heck we're already doing it to fund our nation) So we borrow money from China, ship it to the middle east, get some black gold and take a cut of it for ourselves as it gets pumped into your shiny new car. This is the gas policy the way it is now, we maximize our demand, minimize our supply and buy from the very people who want to kill us. True American ingenuity!

Lets look at the bigger picture for a minute. This gas tax funds things in our nation and without that handy 18.4 cents a gallon, where are we going to get the money to make up the loss? My main pant-suit clad woman, Hillary Clinton, suggests that we tax big oil companies. Even if we did somehow tax these big oil companies that is a horrible waste. We waste tax dollars on gassing up Hummers rather than spending it on alternative energy research.

Now both Clinton and McCain claim to be environmentally friendly, but I can't think of a worse plan than this garbage. They want to lower the cost of driving during the summer when gas is at the highest demand. This plan essentially reduces the price of producing greenhouse gasses and it's even worse economically. By reducing the price of gas it encourages more driving which increases the demand for gasoline which inevitably pushes the price back up. The American people gain nothing while OPEC and the oil companies collect the extra money.

Even with all the environmental problems this plan will probably not make a difference to anyone. This remarkable 18.4 cents is just pocket change and most economists agree that it won't do anything to help people in the short term. This savings is also banking on the fact that gas stations will cut their prices after the Tax Holiday goes into effect. I'm sure that will happen because we all know how much oil companies love not making extra money. More likely than not gas stations will just continue charging what they are charging.

This is not only about McCain and Clinton's ludicrous Gas Tax Holiday, it's about our energy policy as a whole. Now, as I understand it we usually try to make policies based around things we want to happen. One instance would be raising taxes on things we want to discourage while lowering taxes on things we want to encourage. It seems we are doing just the opposite by lowering the gas tax and providing essentially no support for alternative energy. Now I do realize that 99% of people have gas powered vehicles and that isn't going to change by this summer, but I'm thinking long term here. As of now congress has failed to renew the solar energy and wind energy tax credits which are set to expire in December. Ironically, gas and oil have kept all their tax credits. Way to go congress! Haven't our government officials seen An Inconvenient Truth or Planet In Peril? (I know sometimes it can be as fun as listening to Bea Arthur lecture about Mongol traditions for 3 hours, but c'mon congress this is serious business!!) We are raping our planet while old men squabble over pennies in Washington. I must give credit to the Democrats though, they wanted to fund solar and wind projects by taking away incentives from oil and gas. But as expected, our fearless leader George W. Bush whipped out his veto stamp. (as he usually does with plans that make sense)

Our energy policy (or lack of one) is not only hurting our environment it is also hurting our domestic economy. Alternative energy companies provide jobs to hundreds of thousands of Americans. If we let their tax credits expire and do nothing to help them we are likely to see jobs lost and sent overseas. America used to be the alternative energy leader, now almost every other industrialized nation has far more ambitious energy programs than us causing companies to send jobs overseas.

While I may have gone on a bit of a tangent from my original focus this is all truly interconnected. The pointless and irresponsible Gas Tax Holiday just amplifies the energy problem in our nation. Our leaders need a wake up call that if we don't take serious action now, we will forever pay for it. We are on the verge of a huge crisis not only with global warming, but also with our dwindling oil reserves and falling dollar. I only hope that one of our leaders in Washington has a transcendent moment and starts a chain reaction of cutting through the standard political B.S. in order to get things done.

On a final and somewhat unrelated note I want to address a minor point brought up in a previous post "Being Politically Aware Never Looked So Cool." I completely agree that the media in the country is horrific. Almost all important major issues are overlooked in favor of stupid and trivial pieces. While I do blame the media, they are not the sole receiver of my wrath. The American people are in part to blame. We look at TV and think there is sort of a conspiracy to dumb us all down, but that could not be farther from the truth. The TV networks are in business to give people exactly what they want, which is a far more depressing reality. A lot of people in America probably do care more about Miley Cyrus' shoulder than global warming and the oil crisis and that is truly sad. I could go on and rant about the media and the state of our society for another 4 pages, but I'll leave that for another day. I just wanted to add my schooner to the canal of ideas. (what a horrible metaphor)

As Confucius once said, "Mind Your Gas"

-Dean

Grocery Bills - Taking a BITE out of Your Wallet!

America is once again poised to stumble into another revolution. Industrial Revolution be damned. JP Morgan, Big Steel, the Conveyor Belt? Damn them too. And Damn Willy Nelson while you're at it.

We need agriculture and we need it now! Bio-fuels may be the big buzz word, but the reality is countries that export the basic necessities of our diet are hoarding the supply for their own people.

The price of wheat, rice, grains and other staples that make up the food pyramid are through the roof. Perhaps if American farmers hadn't been encouraged to plow under their fields, then our plight wouldn't be so dire. Of course Willy Nelson, Neil Young and John Melloncamp may not have had such lengthy careers singing about the travails of our nations plow-men --- but damn it, $15.00 for a pizza pie because the price of flour has gone up?!?

Short-term solution? Capitalize on the crops America grows and grows really well. And fast. Of course that would be marijuana -- which trips us into the whole legalization thing -- which leads us back to Willy Nelson. That crazed old C&W star riding around the country in his jellybean fuled tour bus, wearing hemp jeans and warbling about something sad.

One consolation is we could all relax after huffing America's produce - which would help us forget we're slowly starving to death - which would be heightened by the munchies.

Skip it. Let's just make more Chia-pets. It's a different kind of grass -- but they are cute to look at. Even the Chia-Willy Nelson one.

Being Politically Aware Never Looked So Cool!

In the wake of this whole Obama-Wright "scandal", it looks like the media is doing that clever thing where they try to distract the American people from the most pressing issues (a possible recession, a war, not being able to afford anything, the fact that the Democratic convention is a month away and the election is 6 months away and the Democratic party is still devouring itself), and I have to say that it's working. Not only has the media jumped on the anti-Wright bandwagon (perhaps rightfully so), but now the news is filled with images of Miley Cyrus's scandalously bare shoulder and other news of that nature that are mainly human interest stories instead of things that are actually significant. So I'm going to try to bring some dignity back to the media by discussing something of relevance right now: Super Delegates! Let's discuss the process.

While the name may lead you to believe that these special representatives lead normal lives by day but then reveal a spandex costume to fight crime by night, they are in fact delegates in the Democratic party with more sway than normally elected delegates. They are high-ranking Democratic officials (like governors, so Eliot "Spend Time with My Family" Spitzer used to be one) and there are around 800 of them to be won. Basically, their alignment with a candidate isn't chosen during the primaries (like pledged delegates) and they can choose whoever they want to support at the convention, making their official name "unpledged delegates". Unlike pledged delegates, they are not chosen in an approximate ratio to the percentage of votes that each candidate received in a primary or caucus.

So why is this important?

Well, it shows that current delegate counts for Obaminator and HilRod aren't completely accurate because either of them could potentially have as many as 794 more than the primary results are showing, which makes this race endlessly exciting (Who's winning? Who knows?). Also, when a government position changes hands, like from Eliot Spitzer to current NY Governor Paterson, that delegate alignment and therefore vote changes hands and that could impact the candidate chosen.

Now you are an expert at Super Delegates and can impress all your high brow friends at cocktail parties. Cheerio!

Is Wright to the Right of Being Right? Or is he just Right?

The moment Barack Obama denounced the comments of his former pastor, my Agent Mulder-Conspiracy Theorist brain kicked into overdrive. It's been widely reported and theorized that the good rev's words have been a source of trouble for the candidate even though Obama has stood by him.

It seems at a point when the Obama campaign is faltering due to recent traction of the Hillary machine, the public back turning on Wright is just what candidate's campaign needed to push Obama ahead.

So was this whole Wright-bashing staged? That's my X-File-ish feeling. Perfect show of manufactured strength for Obama.

But, let's look at just what has been said that has caused such outrage, fist shaking and finger wagging.

“Barack knows what it means to be a black man living in a country and a culture that is controlled by rich, white people. Hillary ain't never been called a n——-.” Uhhhh -- kinda' true, although some argue Hillary's been called some pretty horrible things... most of them by Bill.

“The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law and then wants us to sing 'God Bless America'? No. No. No. Not 'God Bless America,' 'God damn America.' God damn America for killing innocent people.” Again, Wright has a point - God should damn America. Not for killing innocent people, though -- for the last season of "Project Runway." Christian over Romie?!? C'mon, people.

“They will not only attack you if you try to point out what’s happening in white America. U.S. of KKK A.” Uh - I don't really have a thought here. But, if you want to talk about wearing white sheets after Labor Day - maybe watching more"Project Runway" would help. And again, Christian?!?

“We bombed Hiroshima. We bombed Nagasaki and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon and we never batted an eye. We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought back into our own front yards. America’s chickens are coming home to roost.” I'm offended by the chicken comment. When are pigs going to get the respect they deserve? I mean - pork is the other white meat! We need a pork-driven slogan campaign to seep into America's Lexicon and we need it now. How about, "America's pigs are coming home to snort"?

"America is still the No. 1 killer in the world. ... We are deeply involved in the importing of drugs, the exporting of guns and the training of professional killers. ... We believe in white supremacy and black inferiority and believe it more than we believe in God. ... We supported Zionism shamelessly while ignoring the Palestinians and branding anybody who spoke out against it as being anti-Semitic. … We started the AIDS virus. ... We are only able to maintain our level of living by making sure that Third World people live in grinding poverty.” Wait, I thought cancer was the number 1 killer -- that's what "Terms of Endearment" taught me.

I think if Obama truly wants to show his strength, he would support his former pastor's comments. Embrace them. Love them. Live them. Be them.

Obama -- show just how nutty you can be! You can't bowl, but maybe if you show a little ole psychotic gumption - the rest of the world we're terrorizing and oppressing, according to Wright, would respect us ugly Americans and let us get on with our chicken-loving, zionistic, cancer-causing, Christian-over-Romie-voting lives!

Welcome!

Welcome to the new SmithtownRadio.com Political Blog. SmithtownRadio.com senior political gurus Dean Laurence and Amanda Boitano will be running this blog. The two will be bringing you the latest political news with a bit of their own twist.

Also contributing, SmithtownRadio.com and TheMatadorOnline.com staff members including myself and Mr. Brannigan, the advisor to The Matador.

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