Earlier today, I happened to catch John McCain on a news show. He was making the claim that oil prices had fallen because of President George W. Bush lifted the Executive Ban on drilling for oil in ANWR and off-shore areas in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Pacific Ocean.

I didn't really pay much attention to his claim until I received an email from a conservative mailing list I signed up for that made the same claim. It looks like this is going to be a new line of attack from the Right, so I decided to investigate the claim. There should be enough information in this diary and the linked articles to help any of you win a discussion on this issue.

A search for a video or an online article with McCain's quote in it wasn't available. However, here is a quote from the conservative mailer I received. It contains another quote from a columnist in the Toledo Blade who is making the same claim.

More after the jump...

If you have read Lakoff or any of the language analysis experts, one disadvantage we as Democrats for years have had is in messaging.

I am writing this diary, because I read a lot of concern that Obama is "controlling the message" too much by avoiding the press (a false charge, but let's run with it anyway.) or sticking to script or....

    As the date for selecting a running mate for the presumptive nominees approaches there have been many names thrown into contention for both candidates. While there have been many qualified names offered up for the Democrats and many people have their own personal favorites, I am no exception. According to conventional political wisdom the main purpose of the vice-presidential nominee is to bring unity to the party if there has been a fractious primary, or to bring geographical strength to an area where a candidate may be weak, or for gender, generational or ideological concerns. I believe that one of the top and best choices for Senator Obama's selection as a running mate would be Governor Kathleen Sibelius of Kansas.

(editor's note: I tried for almost 30 minutes to get a series of YouTube videos on here to go with this story, like I did at another site, but to no avail.  MyDD really needs to work on making it easier for diary posters to put up stuff.)

What can I say, I like this guy. No, I'm not crazy, nor have I suddenly sold out to the gang at Swindlers' Inc (aka the current Republican Party).

(cross posted at Kickin it with CG and Clintonistas for Obama)

As if we needed more evidence that the Right is completely whacked...

Yesterday on his radio show, right winger Michael Savage said that autism is "a fraud" and "a racket" and that "in 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out." Savage then asserted that all these "brat[s]" need as a father to tell them to "stop acting like a putz":

That's what autism is. What do you mean they scream and they're silent? They don't have a father around to tell them, `Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don't sit there crying and screaming, idiot.'" Savage concluded, "[I]f I behaved like a fool, my father called me a fool. And he said to me, `Don't behave like a fool.' The worst thing he said -- `Don't behave like a fool. Don't be anybody's dummy. Don't sound like an idiot. Don't act like a girl. Don't cry.' That's what I was raised with. That's what you should raise your children with. Stop with the sensitivity training. You're turning your son into a girl, and you're turning your nation into a nation of losers and beaten men. That's why we have the politicians we have."

Savage later claimed that there was "an asthma epidemic amongst minority children" because "the children got extra welfare if they were disabled."

Listen and vomit a little:

Where do they find these guys?

(cross posted at Kickin it with CG and Clintonistas for Obama)

In case anyone was wondering what an exercise in fear-mongering looks like.  Here you go:

The above represents a billboard in Orange County, Florida. The local ABC News affiliate reports that the person responsible is a local musician "trying to help Republicans" but that "officials with both political parties are calling the billboard inappropriate."

Betcha we'll see more of this as we get closer to the GE.  Ya think?

I don't know if any readers are really into poetry, but I thought I'd post this anyway. I posted one of his poems called "I too sing America." in another thread.

Langston Hughes is often called America's greatest black poet. He is considered by many, myself included, to be one of America's greatest poets, of any color.

He was born in 1902 and died in 1967. He lived through some of the most vicious years of Jim Crow and fought against it his whole life. He flirted briefly with communism then rejected it when he saw it for what it really was - only another way for tyrants to hold power. This poem was first published in 1938 during Hughes brief period of support for communism. Many of his poems speak to the black experience, but many others speak to the universal human spirit. This is one that speaks to both.Many verses are especially relevant in this election cycle. The title of this poem was the source for John Kerry's campaign slogan.

Okay so I have had comments Hide Rated a lot recently. I have only given a Hide Rating to one post. I give troll ratings sparingly and try to only give them to post that attack and demean without provocation. Here is my most recent ratings that I have given:

1) Re: Fight for Equality [2.00], by feelfree, Rated: 2
Posted on 07/13/2008 03:33:01 PM EST
Rated on 07/13/2008 03:56:46 PM EST

2) He is black [1.41], by JJE, Rated: 1
Posted on 07/11/2008 01:00:23 PM EST
Rated on 07/11/2008 02:53:16 PM EST

3) Re: Obama's Fundraising Down? [2.00], by SophieL, Rated: 2
Posted on 07/10/2008 09:41:46 PM EST
Rated on 07/10/2008 10:12:32 PM EST

4) Re: John McCain Raises $22 M [2.00], by chiefscribe, Rated: 2
Posted on 07/10/2008 08:23:10 PM EST
Rated on 07/10/2008 08:40:20 PM EST

5) Re: Answer: Because the PUMA [2.00], by SuGeAtARC, Rated: 2
Posted on 07/10/2008 11:07:34 AM EST
Rated on 07/10/2008 12:41:24 PM EST

6) ultra tip jar [1.57], by Lakrosse, Rated: 2
Posted on 07/01/2008 07:02:14 PM EST
Rated on 07/01/2008 09:01:52 PM EST

7) Re: Last 2 weeks [1.50], by Reaper0Bot0, Rated: 1
Posted on 07/01/2008 01:34:02 PM EST
Rated on 07/01/2008 05:27:06 PM EST

8) Re: Honestly [1.25], by Tenafly Viper, Rated: 1
Posted on 06/23/2008 09:42:44 PM EST
Rated on 06/23/2008 10:37:37 PM EST

9) Why [1.92], by kevin22262, Rated: 2
Posted on 06/23/2008 09:02:04 PM EST
Rated on 06/23/2008 10:37:37 PM EST

10) Re: Methinks the best ticket may be [1.80], by ragekage, Rated: 1
Posted on 06/02/2008 10:20:26 PM EST
Rated on 06/02/2008 10:27:23 PM EST

11) And the trolls roll out... [1.65], by ragekage, Rated: 0
Posted on 06/02/2008 09:40:36 PM EST
Rated on 06/02/2008 10:27:23 PM ESTT

12) [Hidden Comment]

So here is a comment that was hide rated of mine: