I just clicked on the link and donated my $17.76. I see you have $373 already. Great idea!

Posted at July 4, 2008 10:30 AM in response to $17.76 For Obama

Sorry, but having worked as a special education teacher (I believe that is the "working with Downs Syndrome [sic] and other disabled children" that you are referring to) does not qualify anyone as either "lovely" or "humane." As an advocate for children with Down Syndrome and other disabilities, I can testify that special education teachers exhibit the whole range of human qualities. Some are wonderful people, others are nasty and abusive. It is a tremendous logical fallacy to assume that a person who has worked with "disadvantaged" individuals does so out of charitable motives and a high-minded desire to help others. That's the "pity fallacy," and it's nonsense. Since one does not need to be an intellectual giant to become a special education teacher (ask any university teacher who has had students in the special education teaching track in her classes), it's equally possible that Cindy McCain couldn't get another job.

Here's the Wikipedia entry about Cindy McCain's drug addiction, theft of drugs to support her addiction and her husband's retaliation against the guy who blew the whistle on her. Nice folks.

In 1989, Cindy McCain became addicted to opioid painkillers such as Percocet and Vicodin,[32] which she initially took to alleviate pain following two spinal surgeries for ruptured discs[33][34] and to ease emotional stress during the Keating Five scandal.[32] There, her role as a bookkeeper who had difficulty finding receipts for trips on Charles Keating's jet[15] caused complications for her husband when he was already being examined for his role regarding oversight of Keating's bank.[8] The addiction progressed to where she was taking upwards of twenty pills a day[8] and she resorted to stealing drugs from her own AVMT.[33] During 1992, Tom Gosinski, the director of government and international affairs for AVMT, discovered her drug theft.[35] Subsequently in 1992, her parents staged an intervention to force her to get help;[15] she told her husband about her problem, attended a drug treatment facility, began outpatient sessions, and ended her three years of active addiction.[32] A hysterectomy in 1993 resolved her back pain.[32][34]

In January 1993, McCain terminated Gosinski's employment on grounds of budgetary reasons.[35] In spring 1993, Gosinski tipped off the Drug Enforcement Administration to investigate McCain's drug theft,[35] and a federal investigation ensued. McCain's defense team, led by Washington lawyer John Dowd,[35] secured an agreement with the U.S. Attorney's office that limited her punishment to financial restitution and enrollment in a diversion program, [7][35] without any public disclosure.

Meanwhile, in early 1994 Gosinski filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against McCain, which he told her he would settle for $250,000.[35] In April 1994, Dowd requested that Maricopa County officials investigate Gosinski for extortion.[35] The Phoenix New Times was about to publish a negatively-cast article about the whole affair.[35][32] Cindy McCain pre-empted this[32] by publicly revealing her past addiction, stating she hoped it would give fellow drug addicts courage in their struggles: "Although my conduct did not result in compromising any missions of AVMT, my actions were wrong, and I regret them."[7] A flurry of press attention followed, including charges by Gosinski that she had asked him to lie concerning her drug use when the McCains were applying to adopt their baby from Bangladesh[32] and statements by past AVMT employees that Gosinski had once threatened to blackmail her. The Arizona Republic published an editorial cartoon ridiculing the motivations for her AVMT work[36] and an award dinner in her honor was canceled citing poor ticket sales.[7] In the end, both Gosinski's lawsuit and the extortion investigation against him were dropped.[32]

AVMT concluded its activities in 1995.[27] That year, McCain founded a new organization, the Hensley Family Foundation, which donates monies towards children's programs in Arizona and nationally,[7] and she was largely a stay-at-home mom during the balance of the 1990s.[15] She also held positions as vice president, director, and vice chair of Hensley & Co.[24][23

Posted at June 30, 2008 3:42 AM in response to Cindy McCain vs Michelle Obama

For me, it's difficult, maybe impossible, to trust her motivation. After her speech on Tuesday, it is clear that she has difficulty accepting that Obama won the primary fair and sqaure.

Reasonable minds can differ about what is needed to bring her supporters back inside the tent. Perhaps that depends in part on which supporters one means. The 18 million voters she keeps reminding us of range from folks who voted for her in the early primaaries and then changed their minds, as the polls in CA suggest, to the commenters at Talk Left who write as though they are still convinced that Hillary will be the nominee in August (after Obama somehow "self-destructs")and think Obama is the devil incarnate. Since she had already celebrated her campaign and her own accomplishments on Tuesday, I thought it was time for her now to convince her supporters that they can become as dedicated to Obama as they have been to her. She didn't do that/

Posted at June 7, 2008 4:16 PM in response to Hillary: Time To "Write The Next Chapter In America's Story"

I wondered too how Hillary Clinton could be THE leader of American women. I didn't realize we needed a leader. If I thought I needed a leader, it would not be Hillary.

Posted at June 7, 2008 4:07 PM in response to Hillary: Time To "Write The Next Chapter In America's Story"

I must say I agree with this. Her body language changed and she became much stiffer when she began to talk about Obama. She endorsed him in a formal sense, but she didn't vouch for her. If her supporters are really as dedicated to her as they say, then presumably they would accept her if she had talked up Obama's qualifications to be president, the excellent campaign he won, the fact that he won fair and square. etc. etc. I did not hear her say that.

Posted at June 7, 2008 4:03 PM in response to Hillary: Time To "Write The Next Chapter In America's Story"

I felt there was a noticeable drop in warmth and enthusiasm when she moved from talking about her own campaign and the stories of her supporters' incredible dedication to *her*(like the woman on her deathbed), to her endorsement of Obama. I thought her affect became much more flat at that point. Body language speaks louder than words ...

Posted at June 7, 2008 2:10 PM in response to Hillary Implores Her Supporters To Work "As Hard For Barack Obama As You Have For Me"

I agree. She gave all the reasons for electing a generic Democrat, but she didn't talk about why Barack Obama will make a great President. Her endorsement struck me as tepid. She could have given a great speech by talking up Obama's qualifications and great qualities, but she chose not to. Instead, we got a lot of subtle reminders why she would have been the better nominee.

Posted at June 7, 2008 2:07 PM in response to Hillary Implores Her Supporters To Work "As Hard For Barack Obama As You Have For Me"

This was not the time to talk about her own campaign -- she did enough of that on Tuesday night. She needed to tell her supporters why Barack Obama will make a great president. Instead, she talked about why she would have been a great president.

I was not expecting much, but I was disappointed. In many ways it was vintage Hillary -- talking about herself, her own accomplishments, and how dedicated her supporters are to *her* (the deathbed story). And of course, she only suspended her campaign and did not release her delegates.

Posted at June 7, 2008 1:49 PM in response to Hillary: Time To "Write The Next Chapter In America's Story"

Finally, a good comment about "not looking back."

Posted at June 7, 2008 1:12 PM in response to Hillary's Concession Speech Will Kick Off Battle For Her Supporters

"18 million cracks" -- reminding us of all the people who voted for her??? Whether or not she's entitled to "revel," this is excessive.

Posted at June 7, 2008 1:10 PM in response to Hillary's Concession Speech Will Kick Off Battle For Her Supporters