Joe Biden: $200 Million for Iran and a Vote Against the Alaskan Pipeline

Joe Biden's Tough on America's Enemies:
Biden One of Only Five Senators
To Vote AGAINST the Alaskan Pipeline in 1973
A $200 Million 'No Strings Attached' Check for Iran
Tomorrow's Headlines Today:
Biden Big Winner in VP Debate

"If I can save just ONE caribou, it will be worth it."

Three Weeks After September 11, Biden Wants to Cut the Iranians a check for $200 Million, "no strings attached"


If a few gas lines in the South--due to the double whammy of Ike and Gustav--make readers nervous, think back to 1973 when the entire nation was one big gas line.

The Arabs, in effect, declared war on the USA for its role in helping Israel defend itself during the Yom Kippur War in October 1973. The Arab oil embargo made gas lines the only way motorists could obtain gasoline--when any was available.

What did Joe Biden do?

He voted against the original Alaskan pipeline.

Shockingly, Sen. Joe Biden was one of only five senators to vote against the first Alaskan pipeline bill in 1973. This is like having been a Nazi sympathizer during World War II. If Sarah Palin does nothing else, she has got to tie that idiotic pipeline vote around Biden's neck.

The Senate passed the 1973 Alaskan pipeline bill by an overwhelming 80-5 vote. Only five senators voted against the pipeline on final passage. Sen. Biden is the only one who is still in the Senate -- the other four having been confined to mental institutions long ago.

The stakes were clear: This was in the midst of the first Arab oil embargo. Liberal Democrats, such as senators Robert Byrd, Mike Mansfield, Frank Church and Hubert Humphrey, all voted for the pipeline.

But Biden cast one of only five votes against the pipeline that has produced more than 15 billion barrels of oil, supplied nearly 20 percent of this nation's oil, created tens of thousands of jobs, added hundreds of billions of dollars to the U.S. economy and reduced money transfers to the nation's enemies by about the same amount.

The only argument against the pipeline was that it would harm the caribou, an argument that was both trivial and wrong. The caribou population near the pipeline increased from 5,000 in the 1970s to 32,000 by 2002.

It would have been bad enough to vote against the pipeline bill even if it had hurt the caribou. A sane person would still say: Our enemies have us in a vice grip. Sorry, caribou, you've got to take one for the team. But when the pipeline goes through and the caribou population sextuples in the next 20 years, you really look like a moron.
Ann Coulter
Biden Secret Service Code Name: 'Assassination Insurance'

Joe Biden is the man that the Mainstream Media will declare the winner in tonight's debate with Sarah Palin. The headline are already written at the New York Times: "Biden Wins Big, Palin Doesn't Know the Square Root of 266443".

Joe Klein wrote his piece for Time sometime shortly after August 30: "Biden Steady; Palin Too Dangerous to Declare Winner".

Kathleen Parker will write a column about wanting nationalized health care because Sarah Palin aggravated Parker's near-terminal "cringe reflex"--oh, and by the way, Kathleen has a pain right here that feels like two billy goats butting their heads together.

Barack Obama picked Joe Biden because of his "experience".

That experience includes his vote against the original Alaskan pipeline. Joe Biden's a stand-up guy: when the Arabs put their foot on America's throat, Joe Biden stood up for the caribou.

Biden's experience also includes wanting to send the Iranians a $200 million "no-strings attached" check shortly after September 11.

“Seems to me this would be a good time to send, no strings attached, a check for $200 million to Iran,” Biden declares. He surveys the table with raised eyebrows, a How do ya like that? look on his face.

The staffers sit in silence. Finally somebody ventures a response: “I think they’d send it back.” Then another aide speaks up delicately: “The thing I would worry about is that it would almost look like a publicity stunt.” Still another reminds Biden that an Iranian delegation is in Moscow that very day to discuss a $300 million arms deal with Vladimir Putin that the United States has strongly condemned.
--Michael Crowley, New Republic October 11, 2008
Rhetorical Question

Obama's has taken heat for wanting to negotiate with Iran without pre-conditions. Many think that is not only wrong, but counter-productive. So, maybe Barack Obama made the smart VP pick after all: at least Biden wanted to send the Iranians $200 million first.

The $200 million check to the Iranians shortly after September 11 and the vote against the Alaskan pipeline are all part of Joe Biden's record of achievement in the Senate.

Say what you will: it's a much larger record than that of his running mate, Barack Obama.


by Mondo Frazier

Joe Biden: Dump Biden Rumors Swirl Amid Obama's Dipping Poll Numbers

Bye Bye Biden?
Obama Biden His Time?






As the Democrat ticket experiences the turbulence of campaigning in the country at large, rumors are flying that Joe Biden will soon be dumped.

JoshuaPundit asks, "Biden to Leave the Ticket??"

The way it's supposedly going down is that sometime after October 5th Biden will step down from being Obama's running mate because of 'health reasons'and Hillary will come on the ticket. The reason for the October 5th date is the VP debate on October 2nd, which Biden will handle either because Hillary wouldn't have sufficient time to prep or simply refused..and anyway, they want Hillary to be an October surprise and try to pull things out at the last minute.

Say Anything's Rob has also heard the "Dump Biden" talk.

Apparently there’s some buzz about Joe Biden possibly resigning from the Presidential race (or Obama giving him the boot from his ticket, depending on how you see it). Is that what’s going to happen?

I don’t think so.

InstaPundit, Glenn Reynolds, says of the "Dump Biden" rumors, "Don't see it happening myself, but obviously some people do."




InstaPundit reader Jim Beam thinks the rumors may have some substance, however:

"Get ready for Obama to pull a Torrecelii/Lautenberg switcheroo. There are waaay too many rumors, trial balloons, and headfakes going around for this to not have substance behind it.

Have your responses prepared. Whatever "narrative" they concoct for the switch, it's obvious that they're doing it only because The Anointed One is behind in the polls. It destroys Obama's claim of judgment being his prime qualification, trust of the voters and convention delegates, and his claim to experience in running a successful campaign."

But reader Mike J. at Hennesey's View, isn't buying the Biden-for-Hillary switcheroo.

There are other factors that mitigate against Hillary moving onto the ticket:

–Obama’s followers HATE her with a passion. He could easily lose more votes than attract by picking Hillary. There are also lots of media types that despise her. Obama allying with Hillary might be too much to swallow.

–Obama cannot stand to be overshadowed by anyone. While McCain is perfectly comfortable in the presence of a charismatic politician like Sarah Palin, Obama is not. It doesn’t help that it does not take much to overshadow Obama.

–The Democratic Party has resolved this would be the year in which the Clintonistas are purged from the party. The move of the DNC to Chicago was almost entirely due to the desire to purge the party operation of Clinton appointees.

Ace says the Biden pick highlighted what kind of 'experience' Obama has in making crucial decisions.

Barack Obama’s judgment was that Joe Biden was the best possible vice presidential candidate.

Joe Biden says he’s wrong. This was Obama’s first major decision as a would-be president.

He got it wrong.

We agree with Allahpundit: "Even more serious question: If Obama’s imploding, why would Hillary agree to come aboard? Better to let McCain finish him off and then skip to the nomination in 2012."

Will Joe Biden be dumped for Hillary Clinton?

Will this help the Democrat ticket?

We'll let Joe Biden plead Hillary's case: "She is easily qualified to be vice president of the United States of America and quite frankly it might have been a better pick than me, but she is first-rate. I mean that sincerely."

Lastly, we'll revisit an interesting quote from our June article, "Astrologer’s Presidential Election Predictions Troubling".

The astrologers looked at the planetary circumstances surrounding election day, how it had been 45 years since the last time Saturn opposed Uranus, which could portend “social change, transformation, and possibly upheaval”.

“With Saturn opposite Uranus on Election Day, the person elected on Election Day may not be the person who’s inaugurated in January.” Raymond Merriman, Astrologer.

Could part of the "tranformation" and "upheaval" mentioned above be Joe Biden jumping from the ticket?

Time will tell.


by Mondoreb
image: dbkp file

YAHOO BUZZ

DBKP One Year Ago: Cowpie Bingo, Evil Dick and John Edwards

DBKP: September 8, 2007



* Picture: Cow Pie Bingo

---

The MSM VP Target-du-jour was Dick Cheney, not Sarah Palin:


* Evil Dick Cheney Lawyer “Tells All”

US Families Sleep Safer with WashPo Watching Over the Republic

By Mondoreb

The Washington Post is onto Dick Cheney. Their resolve never wavers. They are ever vigilant. Women and children in the United States can breathe a little easier.

In a non-story earlier this week, WashPo details how Vice President Cheney's top lawyer, David S. Addington "pushed relentlessly to expand the powers of the executive branch." Quoting liberally (no pun intended) from "The Terror Presidency", a book that otherwise would have slipped unnoticed onto the remainders table, WashPo drops the usual Left buzzwords and phrases throughout: "unusual glimpse of fierce internal dissent", "engaging in tactics that pushed legal boundaries", and "Cheney is a Nazi".

OK, so that last phrase was mine.

In the Washington Post's account, the book, by a former US Justice Department lawyer, Jack Goldsmith, relates how Addington, now Cheney's chief of staff, schemed 24/7 to overthrow the Constitution and usher in a new totalitarian US government.

There are the usual tidbits about how hiring at the Bush Justice Department was--gasp!--political. Goldsmith himself survived the harrowing experience of being asked, "Are you a Republican?"

---

We were talking about John Edwards a year ago?

* Red Planet Cartoons: John Edwards Health Care Plan

---

DBKP's pat sends his first contribution:

* Larry Craig: The Craivan



On the surface, Larry Craig and Edgar Allan Poe don't have much in common: Poe was a drunken, struggling writer, Craig is a US Senator; Poe married his 13-year-old cousin, Craig is for family values; Poe had an encounter with poet Sarah Ellen Whitman in Maryland, Craig had an encounter with an undercover cop in a public restroom.

But, PAT saw the connection.

He saw the link between the two.

So without further fanfare here is PAT's rendition of

"The Craiven."


Once upon a midflight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious newspaper of liberal lore,
While I strained, nearly crapping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my bathroom floor.
`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my bathroom floor -
Only this, and nothing more.'


Ah, distinctly I remember it was approaching September,
And I was stuck the St. Paul Airport staring at the bathroom floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow
From from the Star-Tribune, some bit of truth from this liberal bore -
Before anger rattled me to my very core -
Stuck here for evermore.

And the sad uncertain rustling in the adjoining stalls
Chilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my
heart, I stood repeating
`'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my bathroom door -
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my bathroom door; -
This it is, and nothing more,'

...more...

---

* Video: Special Cases by Massive Attack


A look at socialized medicine, anyone?




And that was what DBKP covered one year ago today.

by Mondoreb
images: see original articles for image credits

Diddy: McCain 'Buggin' the F--- Out"

"Alaska? Come on, man. I don’t know if there's any black people in Alaska."
--Sean "Diddy" Combs





Another political commentator questions John McCain's judgment in picking Sarah Palin as his VP choice. [via Political Punch, Diddy Weighs in on Sarah Palin; Meghan McCain on Bristol]

Sean Combs (aka Diddy; aka Puff Daddy; aka Puffy) takes some time off from doing Proactiv® commericals to sound off on Sarah Palin:

"Attention John McCain, attention John McCain, my name is Diddy…I had to check in with you to tell you that you are bugging the f--- out. I don't even understand what planet you're on right now.! This is the job to be the leader of the free world.

"Ok, no disrespect. I love you. I want you to live to be 110, but things happen. What if, God forbid, you got a running mate, you become president -- Alaska? Alaska? Alaska? Alaska? Come on, man. I don’t know if there's any black people in Alaska.

"John, like, come on!"

"Sarah Palin? Yo, if you really think that we're gonna let you win this election with these, like, crazy, these crazy decisions that you're making, you're buggin'. "

Video below:




Diddy? Yo?!?

Where's the love?


by Mondoreb
image: teens.aol

Sarah Palin, Hillary Clinton: Men are the Bystanders Now

Roar
Suzette
Cripes! Suzette

Barack Obama was right when he said that we are the ones we've been waiting for, but it we turns out that "we" are the women. And as fast as that, the men are bystanders in the national drama and it's all about the women.

What is is about Sarah Palin that has people so agitated? I don't mean the laundry list of of the details of her God-fearing, gun-toting, social conservatism that we've all been discovering over the weekend - I mean the absolutely visceral reaction to her very presence.

It's because she doesn't seek permission and she doesn't apologize.

These are the traits that you are used to seeing in defeminized women - those who are past the reproductive years, like Golda Mier and Margaret Thatcher and those who fall into the virile female category such as Janet Reno. That bumper sticker that says "I'm Out of Estrogen And I've Got A Gun" is no joke. It's also reason that women were declared witches, hunted and executed in the most vile and extreme manner possible to imagine - the fear of that power necessitated a response equal in intensity. But to recognize the audacity of a woman's non-dependence combined with the power of a fertility requires a different mindset altogether. And America - you're not doing very well with that.

In between the outrageous rumor-mongering on the left side of the net this weekend, one commenter laid it bare and stated that he could not wrap his mind around the thought of a lactating vice president. Imagine that fear: confronting the idea of a fertile, life-producing, life-sustaining woman. We already have the power of life - it may be too much to contemplate the potential risk of relinquishing other types of power. Who knows to what uncomfortable place that might take us all. And how are we supposed to act once we get there?

It's not the men who are solely responsible for this attitude. Some of us cannot bear the anxiety of reinventing ourselves in our own image but fight to keep our comfortable and traditional place in the world - at the grace of others. Those mouthpieces who shout loudest about racism have the most to gain by perpetuating it; likewise those who express such grave concern about Palin's mothering choices and the impact her decision to seek office will have on her family have a self-preserving interest in keeping things just as they are.

The womanization - different from the feminization - of the political conversation is an awesome thing and apparently a thing to be feared for so many. Compare Palin's presence with that of Hillary Clinton. Hillary, who did what she could with what she had, rode the coattails of her husband along her own career path. I have no doubt whatsoever that she was the mastermind of his career and the success that he had was due in large part to her efforts, both private and public. But her approach to her own public career is based on being allowed to have it. She got the pity vote in NY state for her traditional reaction to the humiliation at the hands of that husband, and as I write this, she is smarting from the refusal of permission by her party to attain her lifelong goal.

This is a turning point indeed. While others were intent on staring at the their own individual impenetrable ceilings, something happened. We turned around and a woman is standing not on the threshold but is already halfway in the door and she got there without seeking permission from the doorman. So many voices raised now, not in recognition of the primal nature that got her to that point, but to remind her in the most dismissive and condescending terms that the world would really be better off if she would just politely get back to her place because no one gave her permission to be where or who she is now.

It's a message to us all, born of fear and spoken on behalf of safety for the greater pack. I will not listen.

WANT More Suzette? Try these recent offerings from Cripes! Suzette: * A Brief Break From Political Blogging Before Sarah-cuda Churns Up The Waters Tonight * "How Does My Ass Taste Now, Barry?" * Just Kidding! I Would Never Do That. * Me and Mrs. Palin

by Suzette
Source: Roar
Image: flickr

Sarah Palin: Who is GOP VP Pick, Sarah Palin?

Who is Sarah Palin, John McCain's pick to be his running mate?

Soccer mom of five--the latest born in April--and a reformer, Palin played point guard while leading her basketball team to the state championship in high school.

Nicknamed "Sarah Barracuda", opponents and admirers alike say Palin is "tough".


Wikipedia has already updated Sarah Palin's bio page:

Sarah Louise Heath Palin (born February 11, 1964) is the current Governor of Alaska, and the presumptive 2008 Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States. She is expected to be the second female Vice Presidential nominee representing one of the two major American political parties.

Born in Idaho and raised in Alaska, Palin gained statewide recognition as a championship high school athlete and was the 1984 runner-up in the Miss Alaska pageant. After graduating from the University of Idaho and working as a sports reporter at an Anchorage television station, Palin served two terms on the Wasilla, Alaska, City Council from 1992 to 1996, was elected mayor of Wasilla in 1996, and ran unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor in 2002. After charging ethical violations by state Republican Party leaders, she won election in 2006 by first defeating incumbent governor Frank Murkowski in the Republican primary, then former Democratic Alaskan governor Tony Knowles in the general election.

On August 29, 2008, presumptive GOP nominee John McCain chose Palin as his nominee for vice president.

McCain's pick of Palin brings a lot to the GOP ticket. She's young, conservative, a soccer mom, energetic, pro-life and pro-gun.

Previous polls showed Alaska's three electoral votes in play between McCain and Democrat nominee, Barack Obama.

John McCain's pick cannot help but to excite some conservatives who were previously lukewarm toward McCain.

The two GOP picks will be in the Pittsburgh PA area tomorrow at a rally.

by Mondoreb
image: Wikipedia

Sarah Palin is McCain's VP Choice

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Obama Veep Week: Is That all There Is?

Obama: All Foreplay, No Finale
Nancy Morgan
Right Bias.com




The last two days of foreplay leading up to Obama's announcement of Joe Biden as his VP pick have left me exhausted. I, along with millions of other Americans, got suckered into the Obama campaign's carefully orchestrated media orgy surrounding his choice of Vice-president.

First, the news that Obama, The One, has decided on a VP. But he's not saying, just yet. The media reacts as anticipated. "You'll just have to wait!", Obama says. Then, right on cue, a full day media watch, with cameras set up outside the homes of those on the short list. Cameras, beaming out to the world, the picture of four houses. No action, just speculation. The tension builds, the world awaits.

Then, in the waning hours of Friday, select bits of information are released to an anxious nation. No, its not Kaine...oh. No, its not Hillary either. And did you know she wasn't even on the list? Each announcement is timed for maximum media exposure.

Then the biggy. Headlines on Drudge breathlessly report that Obama - Bayh bumper stickers are being manufactured. The firm refuses to confirm. Could it be? Or is it just another fake-out? Speculation swirls.



Millions of Americans have been whipped into a frenzy of anticipation. Who will Obama pick? More leaks tantalize the eager public. Talking heads claiming the inside scoop are interviewed ad naseum. Finally, finally, a News Flash: Secret service agents are heading to Sen. Joe Biden's home. Could it be??

Millions of eager Obama acolytes check their Blackberries every few minutes, relying on Obama's promise that they would be the first to know his VP pick. Alas, they waited in vain.

AP jumped ahead with a carefully worded announcement with built-in deniability, just in case they've been suckered again. They were willing to risk a replay of the infamous Truman headlines in order to be "the first to report." They lucked out.

Around 3 am Saturday morning, it became official. Sen. Joe Biden is THE GUY. Whoosh. After all that foreplay, I was left flat. Biden? Mr. logorrhea himself? Mr. political expedience with hair plugs? Say it ain't so.

Michelle needs to give Barack a good talking to. She needs to tell him that its not good policy to engage in extended foreplay unless he can actually deliver the goods. Joe Biden? Aargh. It was for this I waited up two hours past my regular bedtime? It's not fair. I feel used and abused.

Once again, I fell for honeyed promises from the lips of a master wordsmith. Once again, the actions didn't match the rhetoric. I have only myself to blame. Once again, I realize the truth of the statement, Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus. I should have known.

Obama should have known also. His political handlers should have known. When you tease and tantalize, you better have the goods to back it up. This, every woman knows. Apparently, Obama doesn't.

Obama has used up his share of the headlines, his last quotient of goodwill from a fickle media. From now on, the headlines will focus on Bill and Hill. Obama has just proved, once again, that he doesn't know how to pick his wars. He doesn't know that big promises require, uh, lets say, culmination. And Joe Biden is not a 'culminator.' Sigh.

This morning, I don't respect Obama. I feel used and abused. And if I were a liberal woman, I would exact my revenge in the voting booth.


by Nancy Morgan


Nancy Morgan is a columnist and news editor for RightBias.com
She lives in South Carolina

Article may be reprinted, with attribution

Huckabee McCain's Top Choice for VP?

Mike "The Huckster" Huckabee, is at the top of the short list of John McCain's vice presidential candidates. At least according to a top McCain fundraiser.

Economic conservatives are likely to oppose the choice of Huckabee as McCain’s vice presidential candidate, given the populist tone of his campaign and his tax record as governor of Arkansas.

But in his “Capital Commerce” column for U.S. News & World Report, James Pethokoukis points to the fundraiser’s disclosure and cites several factors that could make Huckabee a strong asset for McCain.

For one thing, the former Baptist minister is a great campaigner who could garner support in the South among social conservatives and at the same time appeal to working-class voters in the crucial states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Huckabee would also appeal to many more voters on a “he cares about me” level than millionaire investor and possible vice presidential choice Mitt Romney, especially given all the turmoil on Wall Street this year.

"Me? I'm just hangin' out, waiting for McCain's phone call and waiting for reporters..."

So Mike Huckabee is in the hunt for the vice presidency, huh?

Given the choice between the Huckster and Obama, many will enter the voting booth and pull the lever for Huck.

In some cases, only after they put a clothespin on their nose first.

by Mondoreb
images: Freaking News; buzzflash
Source: Source: Huckabee Tops McCain VP List