REALITY CHECK: McCain Campaign All Over the Map On Payroll Tax Hike...

July 27: McCain Refuses to Rule out Payroll Tax Hike: “Nothing’s off the
Table.” “MCCAIN: No, I have said and will say, I will say that
everything has to be on the table, if we're going to reach a bipartisan
agreement. I've been in bipartisan negotiations before. I know how you
reach a conclusion. We all have to sit down together with everything on
the table. STEPHANOPOULOS: So, that means payroll tax increases are on
the table, as well? MCCAIN: There is nothing that's off the table. I
have my positions, and I'll articulate them. But nothing's off the
table. [2]

July 28: Advisor Says McCain has no plans to raise taxes. He has a
strong commitment to reverse the fiscal profligacy of the past decade,
control spending growth, and balance the budget. Those commitments are
clear and stand in contrast to Senator Obama. Barack Obama has an
ideologically-driven desire to raise tax rates that leaves the only
current source of job growth — small business — at risk. Barack Obama
plans to expand the already-rapid growth in spending. And Barack Obama
has no plan to balance the budget. [3]

July 29: Spokesman Says There Is “No Imaginable Circumstance” Where
McCain Would Raise the Payroll Tax. “MEGYN KELLY: Alright, but you’re
waffling now, Tucker. You’re off point, you’re off point. We’re talking
about on a go forward basis if McCain gets in the White House is he
going to raise the payroll tax? Might the Social Security tax go up? Is
that on the table? TUCKER BOUNDS: No, Megyn. There is no imaginable
circumstance where John McCain would raise payroll taxes. It’s
absolutely out of the question.” [4]

MCCAIN CLAIM: Price of Oil is Coming Down Because of Drilling and
Conservation. “We have to understand that it took us about thirty years
to get in this position we’re in now, and we’re not gonna to get out of
it tomorrow. But I really believe that offshore drilling, that and
conservation, has had an effect on the quote futures market of the cost
of a barrel of oil. As you know it has come down some recently. It’s
obscene, don’t get me wrong, but at least there is, we have seen some
drop in it.” [5]
REALITY: In 26 Years in Washington, McCain has Opposed Efforts to Crack
Down on Price Gouging and Now Offers Proposals that Do Nothing to Reduce
the Price of Gas.

Gov. Schwarzenegger: Anyone Who Tells You That Ending The Ban On
Offshore Drilling Will Lower Gas Prices "Anytime Soon Is Blowing Smoke."
"In a strong rebuke Thursday of lifting the ban on U.S. offshore oil
drilling, California Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger seemed to
knock the standard-bearers of his party: President Bush and Arizona Sen.
John McCain. Schwarzenegger, a long critic of his party of the
environment, used surprisingly frank language to buck politicians who
support lifting the 27-year-old ban of offshore drilling. He did not
criticize anyone by name. 'Politicians have been throwing around all
kinds of ideas in response to the skyrocketing energy prices, from the
rethinking of nuclear power to pushing biofuels and more renewables and
ending the ban on offshore drilling, it goes on and on the list,'
Schwarzenegger said. … 'But, anyone who tells you this will lower our
gas prices anytime soon is blowing smoke.'" [6]

Even If Moratorium Is Lifted, Experts Estimate Five To Seven Years, At
Best, Before Oil Flows. “Even if Congress does lift the ban on drilling
on the continental shelf, and states go along, energy experts say it's
at least a five to seven year process before new drillling could beging
— and that could be optimistic The industry already is in a frenetic
push to find more sources of hydrocarbons and faces severe shortages of
rigs and other equipment and workers.” [7]

WSJ: It Would Take Seven Years For Industry To Prepare To Drill. “A
quarter of current U.S. oil production each year -- close to half a
billion barrels -- comes out of the central and western Gulf of Mexico,
where drilling is allowed. Much of the roughly 3.7 billion barrels of
oil believed to reside in the eastern Gulf is in relatively shallow
water that is readily accessible using current drilling technology. But
even there, the U.S. Minerals Management Service, which oversees the
offshore oil industry, estimates it would take at least two years from
the day the moratorium was lifted for the government to conduct
environmental and economic reviews prior to its first lease sale. Recent
history suggests it would take at least five more years for the winning
bidders to explore, drill wells, build production platforms and lay
pipelines so that commercial production could begin.” [8]

All Currently Operating Drill-Ships Are Already “Booked Solid For The
Next Five Years.” According to the New York Times, “In recent years,
this global shortage of drill-ships has created a critical bottleneck,
frustrating energy company executives and constraining their ability to
exploit known reserves or find new ones. Slow growth in oil supplies, at
a time of soaring demand, has been a major factor in the spike of oil
and gasoline prices. Mr. Bush called on Congress Wednesday to end a
longstanding federal ban on offshore drilling and open the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge for oil exploration, arguing that the steps
were needed to lower gasoline prices and bolster national security. But
even as oil trades at more than $135 a barrel — up from $68 a year ago —
the world’s existing drill-ships are booked solid for the next five
years. Some oil companies have been forced to postpone exploration while
waiting for a drilling rig, executives and analysts said.” [9]

For Six Years, McCain Served As Chairman Of The Senate Commerce
Committee And Never Held Hearings. The jurisdiction of the Senate
Commerce Committee ranges from “interstate commerce” to the “regulation
of consumer products and services, including testing related to toxic
substances, other than pesticides, and except for credit, financial
services, and housing.” There is no mention of the commodities exchange
market or energy trading, though the Senate and House Commerce
Committees have both held hearings on “price gouging” and energy
pricing. [10]

McCain Voted To Kill An Amendment To Prevent Price Gouging and Fuel
Price Manipulation. McCain voted against an amendment to create a new
Federal ban on price gouging during national energy emergencies as
declared by the President and place a new ban on market manipulation and
providing the government with false information about fuel prices.
Obama: Y, McCain: N [11]

MCCAIN CLAIM: Gas Tax Holiday Will Bring Price Down. “In the meantime
I’d like to give you also a gas tax holiday. I know that’s been much
derided, okay? Right here at Wagner for every gallon of diesel fuel
there’s twenty-five cent a gallon tax. For every gallon of gasoline it’s
eighteen cents a gallon. Is that, is that gonna help? A lot? No, but I
think it does help some.” [12]

More Than 200 Economists Signed Letter Opposing Gas Tax Holiday And Said
it Would Generate More Profits for the Oil Industry. More than 200
economists “including four Nobel Prize winners, advisers to past
presidents, and Republicans, as well as Democrats -- Democrats, some of
whom are Clinton supporters, […] signed a letter rejecting the
candidates' plans for the summertime tax relief. They say it would
simply generate more profits for the oil companies, instead of
significantly lowering prices for consumers.” [13]

Annenberg Public Policy Center’s FactCheck.org: “McCain Has His Facts
Backward” On The Gas Tax. “McCain has his facts backward. While most
economists would agree that low-income persons feel the pinch of rising
gasoline prices more keenly than the affluent, that's because they have
less money and not because they drive more miles. The truth is, affluent
families drive twice as many miles as lower-income families. They own
more vehicles and drive each of them farther on average. And they spend
more than twice as much on gasoline.” [14]

McCain Admits Gas Tax Holiday Would Offer A “Psychological Boost,”
Advocated Gas Tax Even If It Caused A Spike In Oil Prices. On “Your
World with Neil Cavuto,” Senator McCain was questioned about the spiking
price of oil and his gas tax plan, which has been criticized for its
efficacy, and was asked whether or not he was concerned that the price
of gas would spike back up to the amount of the tax. McCain said he was
“very concerned” about it, but that “psychologically – and a lot of our
problems today, as you know,” he continued, “are psychological.” McCain
said that “it’s not a huge amount of money” and called his plan, “a
little psychological boost.” In a speech days earlier Senator McCain had
called his plan to temporarily suspend federal gas taxes “an immediate
economic stimulus.” [15]


References

1. ^ [CNN Live Feed, Employee Town Hall (Aurora, CO), 7/30/08]
2. ^ [ABC’s This Week, July 27, 2008]
3. ^ [Swampland, July 28, 2008]
4. ^ [Fox News, July 29, 2008]
5. ^ [CNN Live Feed, Employee Town Hall (Aurora, CO), 7/30/08]
6. ^ ABC News, 6/26/08
7. ^ [Associated Press, 6/23/2008]
8. ^ [Wall Street Journal, 6/19/08]
9. ^ [New York Times, 6/19/2008]
10. ^ U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, “About the Committee: Past
Chairmen,” commerce.senate.gov
11. ^ [2005 Senate Vote #334, 11/17/2005]
12. ^ [CNN Live Feed, Employee Town Hall (Aurora, CO), 7/30/08]
13. ^ [CNN, 5/6/08]
14. ^ Factcheck.org
15. ^ Your World with Neil Cavuto, 4/16/08


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and a woman's right to choose a safe and legal abortion,
regardless of ability to pay, and we oppose any and all efforts
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http://trip-reports.com/coppermine/d...up&cat=0&pos=0

I can't remember how I came to see this picture, but I think I know
who took it...

Oh well, one week till independence day, guess we can all have a
little fun...

On Aug 10, 2:20 pm, wrote:
http://trip-reports.com/coppermine/d...um=lastup&cat=...

I can't remember how I came to see this picture, but I think I know
who took it...

Oh well, one week till independence day, guess we can all have a
little fun...

HK's Mao jacket is just a tad tight so it affects his thinking.