I wonder if the unhinged at Firedoglake and others who whined about Mo Dowd, an opinion writer, getting the boot from McCain’s plane will cover

Journalists from three major newspapers — each having endorsed John McCain — reportedly have been booted from Barack Obama’s campaign plane for the final leg of the presidential race.

The Washington Times reported Friday that they were notified of the Obama campaign’s decision Thursday evening — even though the paper has covered Obama from the start.

Supposedly, the Dallas Morning News and the New York Post were given the heave ho, as the other two. And Barry has every right to do it. It’s his plane, and campaigns do not have to do the jobs of reporters for them. Still, it is unprecedented for a presidential candidate to be so petty and do this. Just more evidence of what a Barry presidency will mean: chilling of the 1st Amendment, alternative voices will be silenced.

On the flip side, considering the condition of The One’s plane, maybe he did them a favor.

Send a trackback to this post, but don’t forget to link it.

I’d ask “what is with the MSM,” but, we all know the answer: in da tank

Herewe have the McCain campaign’s execrable Michael Goldfarb slinging around accusations of anti-semitism–a favorite pastime, as we’ve seen this year, among Jewish neoconservatives. I’ve never met Rashid Khalidi, but he is (a) Palestinian and therefore (b) a semite, so the charge of anti-semitism is fatuous. Khalidi is also a respected academic, the sort of person who is involved in foundation work that John McCain, for one, was willing to support financially. I’d say that if we have a bigot here, it’s Mr. Goldfarb who, if he’s intent on calling people antisemitic–or any other epithet–should be required to provide chapter and verse, which he does not do on CNN. (I’d also like to know on what basis CNN’s Rick Sanchez can stipulate that Khalidi is antisemitic.)

Oooh, we have the fun “neoconservative” word crop up, something I doubt the majority of Lefties can even define, and don’t you love the “accusations of anti-semitism?” We have been treated to a constant call of racism charges ever since Obama broke his promise about running for president to run for president. First they were against Camp Hillary and her supporters, now they are against Camp McCain and his supporters. Remember

• If Obama Loses: Racism is the only reason McCain might beat him.
• Veiled racism seen in new attacks on Obama
• Even if you vote for Obama, you’re still probably a racist, according to Harvard law professor Charles Ogletree

And those are just a few of the hits. When Palin was hung in effigy, not a peep. If Barry is hung in effigy, Racism! If you bring up Bill Ayers? Racism. Bring up Jeremiah Wright? Racism. Pflagher? Racism. Call Barry a socialist? Racism. Everything is racistunless you prostrate yourself at the feet of Obama. I’m surprised Joe Klein didn’t deem that bringing up Khalidi was racist. But, it was “bigoted.”

Anyhow, Klein could have at least taken the 5 minutes it takes on the Internet to research Khalidi himself. According to Discover the Network

• Former PLO operative
• Has justified as legitimate Palestinian “resistance” that results in death of armed Israelis
• Rejects the possibility of a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Well, as a former member of the PLO, Khalidi certainly can’t be an anti-semite, right? Does that answer a bit of your question of how Rick Sanchez can stipulate that Khalidi is antisemitic, Joe? Why do Liberals members of the Credentialed Media have such a tough time doing research nowadays?

PS: Khalidi also fits right in to the mold of trotting out the “racism!” charge like other Leftists, as he did over the illegal immigration battle.

When Surrendie first heard this story late Thursday, he said “Mine! Mine! Mine!” And, since I usually avoid arguments with poo flingers, I said, “sure.” Raleigh N&O

Kay Hagan has filed a lawsuit against Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

The Democratic Senate candidate announced this afternoon that she will sue her Republican opponent and the Elizabeth Dole Committee over a television ad that criticizes her for attending a fundraiser hosted by the founder of an atheist group.

“In filing this suit, we’ve made clear that these kind of despicable tactics will not be tolerated, and our campaign is moving forward with the most important task at hand: defeating Elizabeth Dole, and giving North Carolina’s families a voice in the U.S. Senate that they’ve been sorely missing,” said Hagan spokeswoman Colleen Flanagan.

Surrendie is thrilled by how cool that is. Hagan has surrendered to the Barry way of doing things. Smear your opponents, lie about your own positions, then, if someone fights back, let your visceral response to be to investigate the lights out of them, and, file a lawsuit.

Now, to be clear, I do not think much of the Dole ad (below the fold), which, whether it is factual, stretches the truth, is false, is a waste of time and money, in my opinion. The whole atheism thing shouldn’t cause any contretemps for Hagan. People can be atheists, and shouldn’t be denigrated for that. It is their choice in our land of freedom. On the flip side, this has exposed not only this tremulous, friable Democrat candidate for high office, but, is a continuation of the Democrat playbook, and should give a big heads up over what the Obama presidency years will look like. And they will also be listening to the atheists would will force their agenda on others, rather then just live and let live.

Anyhow, Dole and her campaign say the ad is truthful. You decide.

Nuff said.

This is a simple and direct message from an American hero, an Iraq War Veteran, to Barack Obama. Its a powerful message about putting country first.

“Dear Mr Obama having spent 12 months in Iraq theatre I can promise you it’s not a mistake.”

“When you call the Iraqi war a mistake you disrespect the service and sacrifice of everyone who has died promoting freedom… Because you do not understand or appreciate these principles Sir, I am supporting Senator John McCain for president.”

Gotta love the double standard. The Halloween display of Sarah Palin hung in effigy was A-OK, almost no one on the Left complained. But, now, horror!!!!! Obama Effigies Strung Up in Kentucky and Indiana

Barack Obama effigies turned up Wednesday on the University of Kentucky campus and in a front yard in Indiana, as federal authorities said they weren’t investigating a Sarah Palin hanging-from-a-noose Halloween display in California as a hate crime.

Kentucky school officials in Lexington were trying to determine who hung a mannequin lookalike of Obama from a tree on campus, school spokesman Carl Nathe told The Associated Press. Police took the effigy down immediately.

In Clarksville, Ind., Kirk Deddo strung an Obama doll up by a noose from a tree on his lawn and called it a Halloween decoration, saying it was the most frightening one he could find, WNDA-TV in Indiana reported.

Deddo said the effigy had nothing to do with race, and he put it up because he doesn’t like Obama’s stance toward the military.

“Electing Obama as president would be the scariest thing in the world,” he told the station.

And Liberals are freaking out

University of Kentucky President Lee Todd told the AP that he will apologize to the Obama family on the university’s behalf because he is “personally offended and deeply embarrassed by this disgusting episode.”

Students and leaders at the U. of Kentucky are outraged, as was the writer of the article, who seems hysterical, and not the funny type. It has been called a “despicable act.” Apologies are flying. And the LA Times plays moral relativism

Everybody take a deep breath. Some critics of the display seem unclear on a couple of concepts: the difference between political speech and hate speech, and the symbolic resonance that nooses hold for African Americans.

Ah. That would be a ……. double standard. It is OK to hang Palin in effigy, but…..ah, you know how this goes. Will the FBI investigate? Will Mr. Deddo be charged with a hate crime?

Photo below the fold

So, what is happening in the world of ACORN? ACORN knew of fraudulent voter registration forms, ex-employee of Project Vote says

A former employee of an affiliate of ACORN testified Wednesday that the community group now in the national spotlight knew that most new voter registration forms it had gathered were fraudulent.

“Forty percent was OK,” said Anita Moncrief, referring to the number of bona fide registrations that officials at the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now believed was acceptable.

Moncrief was the star witness Wednesday in a Commonwealth Court case brought by the state Republican Party and others who are asking a judge to step in and prevent voter fraud on Election Day.

For nearly two hours, Moncrief, 29, gave a scathing, though at times vague, assessment of ACORN and its efforts to go into battleground states and help mostly minorities and the poor register to vote for the first time.

The group, she said, barely trained its workers in how to register voters properly, and would fire employees if they did not meet a quota of 20 new voter applicants daily. And, if they were caught committing fraud, the group “threw them under the bus” as scapegoats to take all the legal blame, Moncrief said.

Prepare to have your life investigated and destroyed, Anita. That bus coming at ya is going to be like something out of a Mad Max movie. All while those on the Left will say “eh. No big deal.”

And, let’s connect the dots to Obama and his campaign on page 2

Moncrief also testified that, in November 2007, she was given a massive database of Barack Obama donors who had already reached the maximum that they are allowed to give to the Democratic presidential nominee. Her task was to cull it for potential donors who, though prohibited from giving any more to Obama, could give to ACORN.

Someone ought to tell Joe Biden about that. John Fund breaks down Obama’s connects to ACORN, for the Liberal Impaired.

Meanwhile, ACORN is being accused of interference with 2nd Amendment Rights in New Jersey. Sounds just like Obama. Cute, disingenuous commercials and speeches aside, Obama does want to curtail your gun rights. His votes and past talk on the subject speak volumes.

Woah! How did this end up not only in one of the main U.S. papers, but, on page A2? Obama Accepting Untraceable Donations. Rather innocuous headline, but, the story basically says Obama is playing games which, as has been said across the right-o-sphere many, many times, are allowing him to rake in millions and millions without any checks on the front to make sure the donations are real, are authorized, are from real people, and are from U.S. citizens

Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign is allowing donors to use largely untraceable prepaid credit cards that could potentially be used to evade limits on how much an individual is legally allowed to give or to mask a contributor’s identity, campaign officials confirmed.

Faced with a huge influx of donations over the Internet, the campaign has also chosen not to use basic security measures to prevent potentially illegal or anonymous contributions from flowing into its accounts, aides acknowledged. Instead, the campaign is scrutinizing its books for improper donations after the money has been deposited.

All in all, the WP does soft pedel the issue, mentioning a few problems, then mentioning that McCain has had a few problems with on-line donations, too (because fair and balanced, ie, responsible journalism, must be practiced when something looks bad for The One). Of course, how much of an affect this will have is unknown, since I have yet to see anyone on the Left, even those who call themselves moderates, decry this practice by the Obama campaign.

I was about to write, before I took a break in writing this post to get ready for work, “I suppose we wil find out about all the illegal contributions sometime in 2009 or 2010, which will be way too late, and the money will already have been spent,” but, based on the recent history of the Obama campaign and his supporters attempting to stop, and, in some cases, stopping conversation through intimidation tactics, lawsuits, threats, investigations in to peoples lives, etc and so on, I doubt there will be any investigation released.

Welcome to North Carolina

North Carolina voters are more likely than those in other states to cast ballots in national elections without making a choice for president.

Unlike many states, a straight-party vote in North Carolina does not cast a vote for president. A ballot expert says the split makes it more likely that voters, especially new voters, will leave their polling places failing, by mistake, to vote for president.

The split between presidential and straight-party votes has brought the state national attention this year because the margin between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain is expected to be close, and North Carolina’s electoral votes would be a prize for either candidate.

And, you know what is coming next. If Senator Neophyte loses, he and his loyal minions will claim some sort of election fraud, hijinks, voter suppression. You know the story and playbook by now.

In an analysis of election returns, Justin Moore, who received a graduate degree in computer science at Duke University, found that 3.15 percent of voters in North Carolina didn’t vote for president in 2000, and 2.57 percent didn’t cast a presidential vote in 2004.

Percentages higher than 1.1 percent — the national, presidential-year average — indicate a flawed ballot design or other problem, said Lawrence Norden, director of the Voting Technology Assessment Project at the Brennan Center at New York University’s law school.

Let me explain something to seethers on the Left who always see this as election fraud: when you go to the voting place, you are given a pretty piece of paper which states that if you pick to vote the party line, that does not include the presidential candidate. This was explained by the people at the table who gave the ballots out, too.

Furthermore, it says it on the freakin’ ballot! If people cannot take the time to read the directions on the ballot, as well as on a pretty piece of paper, and verbally, then, quite frankly, they are too stupid to be voting for the position of dog catcher (which Obama doesn’t have the experience for, either), much less President. Of course, most of these same people don’t bother to take the time to learn about the candidates either, beyond empty platitudes. Which is why I despise GOTV and mass registrations. It turns elections into hand counting at a wet t-shirt contest.