Why legislate hate?

There is a growing group of people that think that the word 'marriage' belongs to them and them only.

They have added prop 8 to the California ballot to eliminate same sex marriage.

Why? What do they have to lose if two people in love can marry? Why limit marriage?

Is YOUR marriage threatened by someone elses?

Does my marriage make yours pale in comparison?

What about Jewish marriage? That's different. So is Muslim marriage and Polynesian and many others.

What about divorce? Do you know anyone that has been divorced? Don't they reduce the value of marriage? Are folks excommunicated for divorce? Should they be? Were your parents divorced? Till death do us part right?

Every person should have the choice to marry the person they love. It’s a personal and fundamental freedom guaranteed by the California Constitution.

This just pisses me off.

I am not gay but why legislate prejudice?

Most sections of California law prohibit discrimination based on a long list of protected classes, including sexual orientation, gender and gender identity. LGBT Californians are protected from discrimination in securing employment and housing, accessing government services and participating in state-funded activities. LGBT people are also protected under the state’s hate crime law.

Proponents of Prop 8 make many misleading assertions in their new television ad.

Fiction: People can be sued over personal beliefs.

Fact: California’s laws already prohibit discrimination against anyone based on race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. This has nothing to do with marriage.

Fiction: Churches could lose their tax-exemption status.

Fact: Nothing in Prop 8 would force churches to do anything. In fact, the court decision regarding marriage specifically says “no religion will be required to change its religious policies or practices with regard to same-sex couples, and no religious officiant will be required to solemnize a marriage in contravention of his or her religious beliefs.”

Fiction: Same-sex marriage would be taught in public schools.

Fact: Not one word in Prop 8 mentions education, and no child can be forced, against the will of their parents, to be taught anything about health and family issues at school. California law prohibits it. A Sacramento Superior Court judge has already ruled that this claim by the proponents of Prop 8 is “false and misleading.” In fact, the “case” that is cited in the ad is from Massachusetts…the proponents knew what California law said, so they used another state, again to mislead voters.

Fiction: Four Activist Judges in San Francisco…

Fact: Prop 8 is not about courts and judges, it’s about eliminating a fundamental right. Proponents of Prop 8 use an outdated and stale argument that we’ve already voted on this, that judges should not protect rights and freedoms, and that somehow what happened in the past should be the guide to our future. This campaign is not about what happened nearly nine years ago. This campaign is about whether Californians, right now, in 2008 are willing to eliminate a fundamental right for one group of citizens.

More to come when I am coherent again.

http://noonprop8.com/home

Just say "No."

MINOT, N.D. (AP) — A Minot Air Force Base officer admitted taking an obsolete missile launch control device as a souvenir, saying he thought it would be "a cool thing to have," his supervisor testified Tuesday.
Capt. David Walbeck told a military hearing that he was shocked when Capt. Paul Borowiecki made the admission because he had performed his duties "flawlessly."
The Air Force hearing for Borowiecki, a missile combat crew member assigned to the base's 91st Missile Wing, was to determine whether he will face a court-martial on charges of dereliction of duty, mishandling of classified items and other counts. It is similar to a preliminary hearing in civilian court.
Borowiecki is accused of taking the domino-sized launch control device in July 2005, rather than destroying it as required when it was no longer in use. Officials say he admitted the theft in May and returned the device.
While the device is obsolete, Walbeck testified that had the technology been compromised, it could have led to "unintended detonation" of a nuclear missile.
Borowiecki's attorney, Capt. Tiwana Wright, asked Walbeck if the device was the only safeguard for the weapons system. Walbeck replied that many safeguards are in place.
Officials said the theft came to light when Borowiecki was given a lie-detector test in applying for a job with the National Security Agency. As part of the test, he was asked if he had ever stolen classified material. Walbeck said Borowiecki answered yes and asked to meet with his supervisor.
The Air Force said Borowiecki also told officials that another officer had lied in saying he destroyed a launch component. That device remains missing, and the other officer's name has not been released. The Air Force says it is handling the cases separately.
Walbeck said as a result of the apparent lapses, procedures for destroying old launch devices were tightened.

French technology at its best...

So it begins...with bonus contest ! ! ! !

Who knew Ohio mattered? I thought that all Ohio had to offer was a punchline...

What's round on both sides and tall in the middle?

O-High-O ! ! ! !

CLEVELAND - In the state that may again determine the presidency, voters started casting ballots Tuesday as Barack Obama struggles to thwart a John McCain victory in Ohio four years after it tipped the election to President Bush.
Both candidates visit often while spending millions of dollars flooding TV and radio with advertisements, mailboxes with literature and even voicemail with automated phone calls to get supporters to the polls, particularly during the one-week window in which people can register and vote in one swoop.
Early participation appeared light; officials in the state's largest counties that are home to Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo and Dayton each reported several hundred ballots cast by afternoon. Many of those who voted cited convenience.
"I wanted to avoid the traffic and the people," said Charlene Glass, 49, of Cleveland Heights. A first-time voter, she backed Obama and expressed her enthusiasm for a black candidate. In Dayton, Terri Bell, 49, chose McCain because of his experience and his military service. "I have a lot on my plate. I wanted to do this early," she said.
At stake: 20 electoral votes — perhaps, the presidency itself.
Most recent state polls show a dead heat; others give McCain an edge. National surveys show Obama slightly ahead if not more. The disparity underscores the difficulty Obama is having in closing the deal in this pivotal state. He's a first-term senator from Chicago with a liberal voting record and would be the country's first black president.
In all, 270 electoral votes are needed for victory.

Read more

If you can identify the main cartoon character above I will mail you a prize ! ! ! (First time EVER!!)
Add your guess in a comment to this entry and the first correct answer wins!!!!!!

Totally looks like...

For Drew...

Must be Modesto...

Cool

For you know who

Funny but ewww - really - eeeewwwwwwww

http://view.break.com/580358 - Watch more free videos

Warning: roadrash footage at the end.

Too funny...

"...I can see Russia from my house..."

After Sarah Palin announced her now oft-repeated line that "you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska," Gary Tuchman from CNN’s news show Anderson Cooper 360° went to find this island.

Here’s his report:
The island is called Little Diomede. It looks like a rock plopped into the Bering Strait. Only about 150 Alaskans live on the whole island. And just about two miles away; in full view of every single house on the island is the nation of Russia. Specifically, it is the Russian Island of Big Diomede which sits about 25 miles from the Russian Siberian mainland (which you can also see from the American island.)
We were curious what the Little Diomeders thought about Palin’s claim of foreign policy experience because of the proximity of Siberia. Interestingly, many of these Alaskans had no idea who Sarah Palin was! It turns out they have no TV on the island, and therefore, many don’t follow the news.
Link

TDI, ta da !! ! !

To raise awareness of the high mileage it’s possible to achieve by driving sensibly in a sensible vehicle, John and Helen Taylor traversed the lower 48 states in a stock 2009 VW Jetta TDI. Staying within 5 MPH of the posted speed limit, the couple used just 11 tanks of fuel on the trip resulting in an overall fuel economy of 58.82 MPG. Yes, you too can get nearly 60 MPG while driving a nice, normal car.
The couple is now holder of the new Guinness World Record for least amount of fuel used while visiting all 48 contiguous states. The numbers break down as: 3.99L/100KM, 11.04 tanks of diesel costing a total of $653.06, 853 miles per average tank, 69 cents per mile, 9,419 miles driven. That’s damn impressive especially since there’s not a hybrid badge in sight. [Fuel Academy via Autoblog]

More importantly:

There are no lithium batteries to dispose of ...

Diesel fuel is easier to manufacture...

Modern diesels have emissions standards to meet just as gas cars do...

Diesels are cheaper to build than hybrids...

September Madness

TechCrunch has posted this "March Madness" style bracket of the recent financial meltdown. It was reportedly created by a general partner at Sansome Partners named Mark Slavonia, says TC.

Too funny...

Last I heard Jason was doing the EOD thing and when I saw this I thought of him.

Virus Warning ! !

If you get an e-mail with ‘Nude Photos of Sarah Palin’ in the subject line, do not open it. It might contain a virus.

If you get an e-mail with ‘Nude Photos of Hillary Clinton’, do not open it. It might contain nude photos of Hillary Clinton.

Clarksons

I love Top Gear and this was too funny to miss.
If you don't watch the show you can skip it.

Riot instructions...

With the election, sub prime and rising cost of living issues going the way they are we may need some instruction on the art of the revolt.

Here is a start...

I think this was Ken's

Wooo Hoooooooooo

I broke a thousand hits this month ! ! ! !

Not too shabby for a blog that is 'only' for friends and family

The "Free Press" ?!?!?!?

I got this from Drew and am also pretty disturbed.

Even searches of Fox using key words from the story fail.

You gotta wonder what Fox has at stake.
=====================================

Hey.

This was on Fox News this morning, and then it wasn't. Just try the link below. It's disappearance disturbs me.

D

----

Conservatives Begin Questioning Palin’s Heft by Associated Press Sunday, September 28, 2008 http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/28/conservatives-begin-questioni...
A growing number of Republicans are expressing concern about Sarah Palin’s uneven - and sometimes downright awkward - performances in her limited media appearances.
Conservative columnist Kathleen Parker, a former Palin supporter, says the vice presidential nominee should step aside. Kathryn Jean Lopez, writing for the conservative National Review, says “that’s not a crazy suggestion” and that “something’s gotta change.”
Tony Fabrizio, a GOP strategist, says Palin’s recent CBS appearance isn’t disqualifying but is certainly alarming. “You can’t continue to have interviews like that and not take on water.”
“I have not been blown away by the interviews from her, but at the same time, I haven’t come away from them thinking she doesn’t know s- t,” said Chris Lacivita, a GOP strategist. “But she ain’t Dick Cheney, nor Joe Biden and definitely not Hillary Clinton.”
There is no doubt that Palin retains a tremendous amount of support among rank-and-file Republicans. She draws huge crowds, continues to raise a lot of money for the McCain campaign, and state parties report she has sparked an uptick in the number of volunteers.
Asked about Palin’s performance in the CBS interview, a McCain official briefing reporters on condition of anonymity said: “She did fine. She’s a tremendous asset and a fantastic candidate.”
But there is also no doubt many Republican insiders are worried she could blow next week’s debate, based on her unexpectedly weak and unsteady media appearances, and hurt the Republican ticket if she does.
What follows is a viewer’s guide to some of Palin’s toughest moments on camera so far.
Speaking this week with CBS’s Katie Couric, Palin seemed caught off- guard by a very predictable question about the status of McCain adviser Rick Davis’ relationship with mortgage lender Freddie Mac. Davis was accused by several news outlets of retaining ties - and profiting from - the companies despite his denials.
Where a more experienced politician might have been able to brush off Couric’s follow-up question, Palin seemed genuinely stumped, repeating the same answer twice and resorting to boilerplate language about the “undue influence of lobbyists.”
These missteps could be attributed to inadequate preparation and don’t necessarily reflect more deeply on Palin’s ability to perform as vice president. But when reporters have tried to probe Palin’s thinking on subjects such as foreign policy, she’s been similarly opaque.
In an interview with ABC’s Charlie Gibson, Palin gave a muddled answer to a question about her opinion of the Bush Doctrine.
And given the chance to describe her foreign policy credentials more fully, Palin recited familiar talking points, telling Gibson that her experience with energy policy was sufficient preparation for dealing with national security issues.
In the same interview, Palin let Gibson lead her into saying it might be necessary to wage war on Russia - a suggestion that most candidates would have avoided making explicitly and that signaled her discomfort in discussing global affairs.
Then, asked this week by Couric to discuss her knowledge of foreign relations - in particular, her assertion that Alaska’s proximity to Russia gave her international experience - Palin tripped herself up explaining her interactions with Alaska’s neighbor to the west.

On the economy, too, Palin has avoided taking clear stances. In a largely friendly interview with Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity, Palin spoke in tangled generalities in response to a question about a possible Wall Street bailout - and even preempted her campaign by coming out against it.
On Thursday, Palin finally took questions from her traveling press - but shut things down quickly after Politico’s Kenneth P. Vogel asked her whether she would support Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, who has been indicted for corruption, and Rep. Don Young, who is under federal investigation, for reelection.
Unlike her other interviews, at least this time Palin had the option to walk away.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA

A policeman was patrolling a local parking spot that overlooked a golf course. He drove by and noticed a couple inside with the interior dome light on.
In the driver’s seat there was a young man reading a computer magazine, while in the backseat was a young woman knitting. Recognizing this as unusual, the officer walked up to the driver’s window and tapped on the glass, asking the man his name and what exactly he was doing.
The man looked up, cranked the window down, and said, “My name is John and that’s my girlfriend in the back seat.”
“OK, so what are you doing?” asked the officer.
“What does it look like?” John answered. “I’m reading a magazine.”
Pointing towards the young lady in the back seat, the officer asked, “And what’s she doing?”
John looked over his shoulder and replied, “What does it look like? She’s knitting, sir.”
“And how old are you?” the officer asked John. “I’m 25,” John replied.
“And how old is she?” asked the officer.
John looked at his watch and said, “Well sir, in 12 minutes she’ll be 18.”

Oooh for Melissa...

Ghetto GPS

.50 Cal gone bad

More from SNL...

I did something like this once...

Evan Roth, is working on a project that will be released soon - the pictures say it all, it's a "carry on" communication system. These metal places contain messages which will appear when they are X-Rayed. The project isn't quite done yet, Evan needs access to an X-Ray machine to take some photos and document. If you have access to an X-Ray machine he's willing to give you a set of the plates for helping out (email fi5e [at] ni9e.com].

Via Make

What I did was trace a Beretta 9mm in tripled up heavy duty aluminum foil and tape it inside the pages of a Motor Trend magazine (with Tim Allen on the cover - irresistible) and taped those pages closed so when flipping through it the 'gun' wouldn't be easily found. I took it with me to a traffic court date and left it outside in the smoking area and waited for some tweaker find it. I walked in ahead of him and watched as the cops passed it through the x-ray machine with piles of other stuff and flipped the fuck out. They stopped the line and searched through all the stuff in the machine looking for the 'gun'. Of course it wasn't easy and upon seeing how truly agitated they were I headed to my hearing and left the commotion behind.

Of course this was pre 9/11 and I'd never do something like that today.

Catholic school...

Little Zachary was doing very badly in math. His parents had tried everything… Tutors, Mentors, flash cards, special learning centers. In short, everything They could think of to help his math.

Finally, in a last ditch effort, they took Zachary down and enrolled him in the local Catholic school. After the first day, little Zachary came home with a very serious look on his face. He didn’t even kiss his mother Hello. Instead, he went straight to his room and started studying. Books and papers were spread out all over the room and little Zachary was hard at work. His mother was amazed. She called him down to dinner. To her shock, the minute he was done, he marched back to his room without a word, and in no time, he was back hitting the books as hard as before. This went on for some time, day after day, while the mother tried to understand what made all the difference.

Finally, little Zachary brought home his report card. He quietly laid it on the table, went up to his room and hit the books. With great trepidation, his Mom looked at it and to her great surprise, little Zachary got an “A” in math. She could no longer hold her curiosity. She went to his room and said, “Son, what was it? Was it the nuns?” Little Zachary looked at her and shook his head, no. “Well, then,” she replied, Was it the books, the discipline, the structure, the uniforms? “WHAT WAS IT ALREADY?”

Little Zachary looked at her and said, “Well, on the first day of school when I saw that guy nailed to the plus sign, I knew they weren’t fooling around.”

Must be California

Two Iraqi spies met in a busy restaurant after they had successfully slipped into the U.S.

The first spy starts speaking in Arabic.

The second spy shushes him quickly and whispers:
“Don’t blow our cover. You’re in America now.

Speak Spanish.”

Scares me to death...

Ladies and gentlemen. The American Voter.

Let the weeping begin.

Procrastination flow chart

Good night Butch...

Paul Newman, the Academy-Award winning superstar who personified cool as an activist, popcorn impresario, the anti-hero of such films as "Hud," "Cool Hand Luke" and "The Color of Money" and most importantly to us, as a race car driver and motoring enthusiast, has died. Sources tell us Newman died Friday after a long battle with cancer at his farmhouse near Westport. He was 83.

McCain's Debate Notes...

Makes sense to me...

A reporter asked a Special Forces sniper what he felt after pulling the trigger on a human being, magnified through his scope so much that he could actually see his face. Remorse? A twinge of guilt? What?

The soldier's reply?

"Recoil."

Thanks Knuckledragger

Soon...

One sunny day in 2009, an old man approached the White House from across Pennsylvania Ave, where he’d been sitting on a park bench. He spoke to the US Marine standing guard and said, “I would like to go in and meet with President Bush.”

The Marine looked at the man and said, “Sir, Mr. Bush is no longer president and no longer resides here.”

The old man said, “Okay” and walked away.

The following day, the same man approached the White House and said to the same Marine, “I would like to go in and meet with President Bush.”

The Marine again told the man, “Sir, as I said yesterday, Mr. Bush is no longer president and no longer resides here.”

The man thanked him and, again just walked away

The third day, the same man approached the White House and spoke to the very same US Marine, saying “I would like to go in and meet with President Bush.”

The Marine, understandably agitated at this point, looked at the man and said, “Sir, this is the third day in a row you have been here asking to speak to Mr. Bush. I’ve told you already that Mr. Bush is no longer the president and no longer resides here. Don’t you understand?”

The old man looked at the Marine and said, “Oh, I understand. I just love hearing it.”

The Marine snapped to attention, saluted, and said, “See you tomorrow, Sir.”

Hockey Mom...

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Change

YEAH ! JUMP ! ! ! ! !

McClane 2008

Failin

Sheelah can do this...

http://view.break.com/575533 - Watch more free videos

I knew this about you already...hee hee

Fake popup study sadly confirms most users are idiots

Read the article

Top ten video game cars...

See them all

Happy Birthday

With all the recent Star Wars activity, let's not forget that it all started with a lowly farm-boy from Tatooine played by a young sandy-haired actor named Mark Hamill. Mark bore the cross of being part of one of the biggest geek-loved movie series of all time with equanimity, and even went on to do a host of other great, geek-related projects. And before Heath Ledger turned the Joker into a disturbing psycho, Mark did the greatest rendition of the role through his amazing voice work in Batman: The Animated Series. So happy Birthday, Mark!

Great catch but why didn't he run?

Nobody in 2008

For Patty and Eric...

I don't have an email address for them so...

Hmmm...

The largest cell in the human body is the female egg and the smallest is the male sperm.
It takes the food seven seconds to get from your mouth to your stomach.
One human hair can support 3 kg (6 lb).
The average man's penis is three times the length of his thumb.
Human thighbones are stronger than concrete.
A woman's heart beats faster than a man's.
There are about one trillion bacteria on each of your feet.
Women blink twice as often as men.
The average person's skin weighs twice as much as the brain.
Your body uses 300 muscles to balance itself when you are standing still.
If saliva cannot dissolve something, you cannot taste it.
Men reading this are still busy measuring their thumbs...

Tough week...

Red neck fire alarm

McClane 2008

Why John McClane?
Why Not? John McClane is a Badass. He’s an American. He doesn’t take shit from terrorists. He smokes. He crawls through air conditioning ducts. He’s a lover AND a fighter. So, shouldn’t we, The United States of America, have someone like John McClane in office? He would be the perfect leader of the free world. He would bitch-slap everyone that pisses him off. He won’t lie to our faces, he’ll tell it like it is. He wears his heart upon his sleeve, when he’s wearing sleeves. He’s not afraid of a little blood. Whether it’s his or a shitty terrorist’s. He has a squinty seriousness about him. He’s got a tattoo, too. Yeah, he’s a goddamn American and he’s goddamn proud of it. America needs John McClane. So, citizens of the free world… rise up and embrace the future of America.

John McClane.

He takes shit from no one. Ever.

Hmmm...

Probably a LOT more. Didn't W's presidency cost daddy 250 Mil?

HOLY CARP ! ! ! !

I need a fish ! ! !

Neat

Step back and these images seem speckled and blurry but take a closer look and each part becomes clear.
They are made up from thousands of products we use every day in our throwaway society.
One image shows a pair of breasts but look closely and each spec reveals itself to be a Barbie doll.
32,000 Barbie dolls make up the of women in the US who have breast enlarge-ment surgery every month
The 1.5m x 2m (5ft x 6ft 6in) photograph depicts 32,000 of the plastic dolls – the number of women in the US who undergo breast enlargement surgery every month.
Photographer Chris Jordan painstakingly assembled them in circular arrangements for the photomontage. It is one of a series of portraits in his Running The Numbers project which aims to show the large-scale waste of consumerism in the US.
The ex-corporate lawyer who turned to photography five years ago, said he was trying to encourage people to take action by translating 'gigantic numbers' into visual images.

Hmmm...

Does this mean that McCain is rich and out of touch or that Obama hasn't been part of the club long enough to have gathered the trappings of power? Both?

@#$%^& Emo's

Here is the original by Tears for Fears:



And here is the woe is me gonna off myself emo version by Gary Jules:



I'd go choke me an Emo but he'd like it and write a poem chronicling his pain and whine the whole time he's pegging his pants and arranging his eyeliner...

Interesting...

If you have kids this is worth a read. I like the idea of role playing and can see how my daughter can benefit and enjoy this kind of teaching with out realizing she is learning.


http://blog.wired.com/geekdad/2008/09/teaching-kids-t.html

Honk

Rat Bastards

Sure, Fox is suing Warner Bros over the rights to make a Watchmen movie because they want to shake Warner Bros down for some cash. But according to Rich Johnston, Fox also wants full rights to sell dvds of the Adam West Batman tv series. Currently, Fox owns the rights to the show, but Warner Bros owns the rights to the characters and trademarks. So, with any luck, the companies will settle and we'll soon have a terrific Watchmen movie, and the Batman tv show on dvd.

Thanks superpunch

The Corporate world...

Seems to me that a guy used to come out of school and either go to college or straight to work and either route included busting your ass and climbing the corporate/industrial ladder toward your retirement/pension. Nowadays (Wow, does using that word make me old?) it's completely up to you to take care of your retirement - - with a few exceptions. My whole point is that most folks I know aren't so much climbing the ladder as tunneling their way out of the prison that is the modern workplace and with the economy heading the way it is things look bleak.

So , I was struck as to how topical the comic above seemed to be given my present state of mind.

Maybe you see it and maybe you don't but I find this to be a perfect snapshot of the world we live in.

I stole the comic from Wirecutter at http://ogdaa.blogspot.com/ and added my own thoughts.

Thanks man.

Dave porn...

With prices starting at $25,000, the CX1 Cray Supercomputer "comes loaded with Windows HPC Server 2008 and incorporates up to 8 nodes and 16 Intel Xeon CPUs (dual- or quad-core); additionally, it boasts up to 4TB of internal storage, 64GB of memory per node and interoperates nicely with Linux."
The CX1 can hold up to eight computing blades though the storage and visual blade each take up two slots, so the model they were showing had four computing blades, and one of each. The one benchmark they currently have is that it hits 768 Gigaflops, which they hope to bump over 800 with some fine-tuning.

A lot of tech speak that means faster than hell.

I bet Dave has a stiffy now.

Good gravy ! ! This made me laugh...

Not only was this hilarious but mom is a full blown hotty...

Yummy ! ! !

Damn Trolls

Wow

Since July 2004, in the little town of Cochrane, northern Ontario (Canada),
you can visit the Polar Bear Habitat, a kind of local zoo where people can live the once-in-a-lifetime experience of an outdoor swim with polar bears.Of course, the humans are in a different pool, separated from the bears habitat by just a layer of glass.
Can you see the water drops now?
There’s a bulletproof, shatterproof glass that’s almost 9 centimetres thick,
because although they’re cute, polar bears are among the world’s most ferocious carnivores.It took 20 years for the Polar Bear Conservation and Education Habitat and Heritage Village to get off the ground.
When it opened in it attracted some 11,000 visitors in the first six months.

For you know who

A blonde woman was pulled over by a woman police officer who was also ablonde.
The blonde cop asked to see the blonde driver’s license.
She dug through her purse and was getting progressively more agitated.“What does it look like?” she finally asked.
The policewoman replied, “It’s square and it has your picture on it.”
The driver finally found a square mirror in her purse, looked at it and handed it to the policewoman. “Here it is,”she said.
The blonde officer looked at the mirror, then handed it back saying,“Okay, you can go. I didn’t realize you were a cop.”

Um, duh...

Everybody knows that I (insert racial harmomy statement here) but OTHER people (blame scapegoat here) and sadly this is still an issue.

Deep-seated racial misgivings could cost Barack Obama the White House if the election is close, according to an AP-Yahoo News poll that found one-third of white Democrats harbor negative views toward blacks — many calling them "lazy," "violent," responsible for their own troubles.
The poll, conducted with Stanford University, suggests that the percentage of voters who may turn away from Obama because of his race could easily be larger than the final difference between the candidates in 2004 — about two and one-half percentage points.
Certainly, Republican John McCain has his own obstacles: He's an ally of an unpopular president and would be the nation's oldest first-term president. But Obama faces this: 40 percent of all white Americans hold at least a partly negative view toward blacks, and that includes many Democrats and independents.

More than a third of all white Democrats and independents — voters Obama can't win the White House without — agreed with at least one negative adjective about blacks, according to the survey, and they are significantly less likely to vote for Obama than those who don't have such views.
Such numbers are a harsh dose of reality in a campaign for the history books. Obama, the first black candidate with a serious shot at the presidency, accepted the Democratic nomination on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, a seminal moment for a nation that enshrined slavery in its Constitution.
"There are a lot fewer bigots than there were 50 years ago, but that doesn't mean there's only a few bigots," said Stanford political scientist Paul Sniderman who helped analyze the exhaustive survey.

Read more...

Jess, you KNOW I love you ! ! !

Abducted...