The Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund’s ad shows the brutality of Sarah Palin’s Aerial wolf hunting. (graphical content)

A great response to McCain’s smeared ad on children sexual abuse. Yet McCain still doesn’t want to admit his lies when confronted on the View. I am sorry, but can’t see this dishonest, dishonorable man as the next president of the United States.

Gibson: Do you agree with the Bush Doctrine?
Palin: In what respect, Charlie?
Gibson: What do you interpret it to be?
Palin: His worldview?
Gibson: No, the Bush Doctrine, enunciated in September 2002, before the Iraq War.

Palin is pretty much clueless.

Ha Tran apparently realizes the disaster of going overboard with the production on her Communication ’06. With her new release, Ca Khuc Tran Tien, she scales all the way back to a minimal approach. Electric guitar is the main instrument and the beats are mostly spare and ambient. Wise decision.

“Ra Ngo Tung Kinh” is a great starter. Although the production is very subtle, you could hear the temple bell ringing, voices of the children chanting, organic sounding, electric guitar licks, zither plucking and clap-like drums all come together to create an atmospheric vibe. Best of all, Ha Tran’s angelic voice never drowns in the production. “Ngau Hung Pho” sets in a straightforward Latin rhythmic and her vocals ebb and flow effortlessly along with the guitars. “Mot Minh” is an unadorned beauty. She starts off with the first few bars naked and then the simple plucking guitar joins in to allow her to pour out her heart and soul.

The major flaw of the album is that Ha Tran allows too many guest spots and they just interrupt the flow. Hoa Tran isn’t contributing anything outstanding. “Lien Khuc Chi Toi” is saved by the hypnotic beat and her gorgeous rendition of “La Dieu Bong.” Tung Duong is also a disappointment. His restrained delivery on “Doc Huyen Cam” is utterly awkward. The album would have been better if Ha Tran is the only one to run the show.

Please read “Why this lifelong Republican may vote for Obama” by Michael Smerconish. The excellent article points out the failing of the Bush and McCain party in the hunt for Osama bin Laden since September 11, 2001:

Where the hell are Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri? And why does virtually no one ask anymore? What’s changed since the days when any suburban soccer mom would have strangled either of them with her bare hands if given the chance? And what happened to President Bush’s declaration to a joint session of Congress nine days after 9/11 that “any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime.” Doesn’t that apply to Pakistan?

Smerconish saw some hope in Obama:

Things changed somewhat on Aug. 1, 2007, when Barack Obama delivered a speech at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars: “If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets, and President Musharraf won’t act, we will,” he said.

“We can’t send millions and millions of dollars to Pakistan for military aid, and be a constant ally to them, and yet not see more aggressive action in dealing with al-Qaida.”

Finally, I thought, a presidential candidate saying something about this foreign-policy failure.

The reaction? Ridicule.

Smerconish interviewed Obama on March 21, 2008 regarding to Taliban and Pakistan:

“What’s clear from … what I’ve learned from talking to troops on the ground is that unless we can really pin down some of these Taliban leaders who flee into the Pakistan territories, we’re going to continue to have instability, and al-Qaida’s going to continue to have a safe haven, and that’s not acceptable.”

“And al-Qaida is stronger now than at any time since 2001, and we’ve got to do something about that because those guys have a safe haven there and they are still planning to do Americans harm.”

Smerconish interviewed McCain on June 13, 2008:

“I have promised that I will get Osama bin Laden when I am president of the United States, but … you can go on the Internet, and look at that countryside, and there’s a reason why it hasn’t been governed since the days of Alexander the Great. They’re ruled by about, it’s my understanding, 13 tribal entities, and nobody has ever governed them, not the Pakistani government, not the British — nobody, and so it’s a very, very difficult part of the world.” He added, “I agree with you that we should’ve gotten Osama bin Laden, but I can’t put all of it at the doorstep of the Pakistani government.”

Smerconish concludes with frustration and disappointment:

But it’s about 2,555 days late and $11 billion short. Seven years after 9/11, the country is stoking what was supposed to be a complete and consuming “war on terror” with faint signs of a sustained operation in the country where the bad guys have been hiding for years.

How appalling. I doubt the families of the 3,000 innocents murdered on 9/11 — and of the 4,000 Americans killed in Iraq — are content with it. After all, it’s seven years, thousands of troops and billions of dollars later, and our country has failed to deliver on what we really owe them: justice.

Russell Brand:

The best safe sex message of all time: Use a condom or become a Republican.

Mike:

It’s an old expression, and I’m going to have to cut Obama some slack on that one. I do not think he was referring to Sarah Palin; he didn’t reference her.

CBS pulled a recent McCain’s webad, which attacks Obama regarding to his lipstick-on-a-pig comment, because a CBS anchor Katie Couric was quoted saying, “One of the great lessons of that campaign is the continued and accepted role of sexism in American life.” The problem is that the clip was referring to Hillary Clinton, not Sarah Palin. Damn McShame!

If Palin becomes president is like “a really bad Disney movie.”

Josh Marshall on McCain’s campaign:

[L]et’s face it, John McCain is running a campaign almost entirely based on straight up lies. Not just exaggerations or half truths but the sort of straight up, up-is-down mind-blowers we’ve become so accustomed to from the current occupants of the White House…. John McCain is running the sleaziest, most dishonest and race-baiting campaign of our lifetimes. So let’s stopped being shocked and awed by every new example of it. It is undignified.