Shemuses’s NewsCloud Journal

How the GOP is using this low-grade obscenity to sell Sarah Palin. Homespun. Folksy. Straight-talking. These may be just a few of the endearing terms pundits have used to describe Sarah Palin. But there’s another, more salient, tag floating around the Alaska governor, a secret weapon that was on winkin’ and twinklin’ display during the debate. Few Beltway commentators would dare call this stealth device by name, but the ever-crafty McCain/Palin camp seems to be counting on it to help pull its overmatched ticket across the finish line come November: "MILF" appeal, as in "Mother I’d Like to F…."

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As the deadline for voter registration arrives today in many states, Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign is poised to benefit from a wave of newcomers to the rolls in key states in numbers that far outweigh any gains made by Republicans.

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Advocates called for a national housing policy during a rally and federal all-candidates meeting on housing and poverty in Vancouver Saturday. The event was part of a provincewide "Stand for housing" campaign, in which advocates in communities throughout B.C. staged protests to call attention to what they say is a housing crisis in Canada.

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For the past few years, the Inland Empire in Riverside County has been one of the fastest growing counties in the state - home to a major housing boom. But now the Inland Empire is pretty much the poster child for the foreclosure crisis. In the newer developments, house after house sits vacant - either up for auction, for sale by a bank or going for what’s called a "short sale" which is when the owner owes more than the house is worth. SoCal Connected tracked down some surreal sights associated with the crisis - a company that specializes in removing whatever people leave behind in their foreclosed homes. The process is called a "trashout" - a term the company came up with because it perfectly describes…

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One of the fallacies this election season is that if Barack Obama is paying an electoral price for his skin tone, it must be because of racists. On the contrary, the evidence is that Senator Obama is facing what scholars have dubbed "racism without racists." The racism is difficult to measure, but a careful survey completed last month by Stanford University, with The Associated Press and Yahoo, suggested that Mr. Obama’s support would be about six percentage points higher if he were white. That’s significant but surmountable.

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If hypocrisy were currency, conservatives would be able to single-handedly bail out the nation’s free-falling financial system in less than a week, without the rest of us having to front so much as a penny. So on the one hand, folks like this always tell others–especially the poor and people of color–to take "personal responsibility" for their lives, and not to blame outside factors (like racism, or the economic system) for their problems. But on the other hand, these same persons then demonstrate that their own ability to blame others for their personal setbacks, or the nation’s problems, knows no rival.

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A bad economy can sow racial division, as people in dire straits cast about for scapegoats. This year may be different. The events of the past two weeks have exposed Sen. John McCain’s self-proclaimed lack of understanding about economics. Further, he undermined his own experience argument as Sen. Barack Obama offered a far more steady and reassuring presence in the midst of crisis, while McCain’s flashy gambits fell flat. At this point, it’s practically become a given that Obama is the superior candidate on economic matters. And for those voters uncomfortable with the notion of a president who isn’t white, but unable to tolerate four more years of this economy, it’s a real gut check moment.

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As the country’s attention is transfixed on the machinations of Congress and the Bush Administration to secure agreement on a bailout deal, I’ve been thinking about what this crisis teaches us and how we should respond. Here are my top four takeaways.

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Neither Biden nor Palin crumbled, but who won? She winked. He smiled. They each played to their strengths and side-stepped their weaknesses. Neither one lost. But the question of who won last night’s one and only vice-presidential debate, is an entirely more complicated question that rests on the more intangible and variable measure called expectations. The extent to which the candidate could meet or exceed the standards viewers had coming into the debate, dictated how their performaces were perceived.

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With just weeks to go before the presidential election, voter intimidation has reared its ugly head. An anonymous flier circulating in African-American neighborhoods in North and West Philadelphia states that voters who are facing outstanding arrest warrants or who have unpaid traffic tickets may be arrested at the polls on Election Day. Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Everett Gillison, who learned of the flier last week, said that the message is completely false.

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