On Sunday, before the news about Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter was announced, I initiated a ban on TalkLeft prohibiting mention of her personal or family matters. I was one of the only, if not the only, liberal blog instituting this policy.

I was determined that my criticism of her, which has been limited to her lack of experience and preparedness to take over the Presidency if the need arises, her record and her lack of record while in Government service, the pending allegations of misuse of power while in office, and her position on issues, not be misconstrued by others as an attack on her gender or her personal life. By never mentioning her personal and family issues, I thought that it would be clear that gossip, rumor and innuendo of a personal nature were not related to my criticism.

Readers on both sides were upset with my decision. Some wanted to praise her, others want to point out her hypocrisy given her adverse positions on teaching sex-ed and making birth control available, even in her state which has one of the highest rates of sexually-transmitted diseases in the country. I have spent hours deleting comments and banning commenters who violated my ban over the past few days. That's fine. Almost all of the comments were objectionable under any standard, and I refuse to have a site that bears my name be associated with them.

Now, I feel tooled. [More...]

Thousands of people attended Ron Paul's Rally for the Republic in Minneapolis today. Paul explained the minimalist philosophy that motivated his presidential run.

"I did not want to run people's lives, I did not want to run the economy and I did not want to run the world. I didn't have the authority to do it, and I didn't have the Constitution behind me to do it," said Paul, who has served in the House of Representatives for more than 30 years.

Paul was only a little bit welcome at the Republican National Convention.

The Republican National Committee told Paul he would have to pick up his pass at the gate and couldn't have any guests.

Jesse Ventura wowed the crowd by suggesting that he might be a presidential candidate in 2012, promising (or threatening) to "give them a race they'll never forget."

You'd better watch your mouth and control your middle finger if you travel to Pittsburgh.

City police wrote nearly 200 disorderly conduct citations over a 32-month period for swearing, obscene gestures and other acts deemed disrespectful, a number that a civil rights group said was unacceptable and showed a lack of officer training.

Free expression is sometimes rude. That's the price of freedom.

"Nobody likes to get sworn at, but you can't make it a crime," said Witold Walczak, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Foundation of Pennsylvania.

A New York trial court upheld Governor David Patterson's executive order directing state agencies to recognize the validity of same-sex marriages performed in other states or countries. Justice Lucy Billings rejected a challenge filed by legislators who argued that it was up to the legislature to decide which out-of-state marriages should be recognized in New York.

Justice Billings rejected the plaintiffs’ reasoning, finding that Mr. Paterson’s order was consistent with state laws that generally require officials to recognize marriages from other jurisdictions and are silent on whether same-sex marriages should be excluded from that recognition.

“Furthermore,” she wrote, “when partners manifest the commitment to their relationship and family, by solemnizing that commitment elsewhere, through one of life’s most significant events, and come to New York, whether returning home or setting down roots, to carry on that commitment, nothing is more antithetical to family stability than requiring them to abandon that solemnized commitment.”

Is anybody watching this charade? He even has the nerve to call himself a Democrat.

Update: He says Obama isn't right for the job because he has no record. And Sarah Palin, who would step into the Presdency should anything happen to John McCain? Please.

Now Lieberman is praising Sarah Palin, calling her a great lady. She's a reformer. She is a leader we can count on to help John shake up Washington. What about counting on her if she has to take over as President? He can't address that. All he can do is steal Obama's message of change.

This is the most boring convention ever. I'm just waiting for Big Brother 10 to start.

Just now, former Law and Order Actor Fred Thompson said of Obama: What has he done besides give "a teleprompter speech designed to appeal to America's critics abroad?" It brought the greatest applause and some stood.

Thompson said Obama was the most inexperienced candidate ever, or something like that.

Obama is refusing to fight back on the inexperience ground. He needs to get out there and hit hard. They are not just the radical right and wrong on the issues, 1/2 of their ticket, by any standard, lacks even a modicum of the skills and experience necessary to lead the country if need be.

Since Obama's unlikely to do that, the MSM and blogs will have to do it for him.

Clueless Donna Brazile said Thompson "gave a great speech." Huh? What side is she on?

Via Politico, in the 2006 Alaska Governor's race, Sarah Palin ran against former Alaska Governor Tony Knowles. Knowles campaign put together this oppositon research document on Palin, outlining her position on issues.

One of Barack Obama's aides worked on that campaign. It will not be distributing the document. It's positon:

We’re running against John McCain — the issues raised around his decision and the fact that he clearly bowed under to the right wing of his party and let them exercise veto power over his vice presidential pick,” Dunn said, suggesting the Obama campaign wouldn’t be recycling the 2006 Democratic criticism of Palin.

The Rocky Mountain News reports Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin will campaign together at the Colorado Jet Center in Colorado Springs, CO Saturday.

Colorado Springs, home to evangelical America. James Dobson and Focus on the Family and the New Life Church are located there.

When George W. Bush was inaugurated in 2005, they made their intention to have a greater effect in politics well known.

Evangelical leaders promise that in coming years they'll be even more active in politics. And Colorado Springs will continue to be a base from which the evangelical movement launches initiatives that affect civic life across the nation.

John McCain, Panderer-in-Chief.

I'm watching a Pledge of Allegiance video being narrated by a Republican teenager with a wonderful speaking voice.

Then I read this, about Sarah Palin and the Alaska Independence Party, with which she was affiliated (although not a member) for many years. The party founder, Joe Vogel, in 1991 said:

"But you get to thinking. Why the hell do I owe them anything? And then you get mad. And you say the hell with them. And you renounce allegiance, and you pledge your efforts, your effects, your honor, your life to Alaska, that's how I do--I'm an Alaskan see. And they know it. I've told them so-- to go to hell every way I can and then I sway. I took a case to the Supreme Court believing in the Supreme Court. And I'd rather be tried in a wh*rehouse with a madame as a judge--there's more justice! And if they don't like it they know where they can go.

I tried it. I believed in my country. I believed in the court system and it stinks. . . .

[More...]

John McCain tells us that Sarah Palin is a "reformer" because she fought against the abuse of earmarks. Palin echoed that theme, saying "I've championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress."

Of course, one politician's abuse is another politician's gravy. During Palin's first year as Alaska's governor, she asked Ted Stevens to seek $550 million in earmarks for Alaska, more than $800 per resident. She claims to be a reformer because, after President Bush insisted on a cutback in earmarks (and after the "bridge to nowhere" fiasco), Palin's second year request for earmarks sought only $198 million, about $295 per resident.

That sounds like it might be "reform" until you consider this:

Other states got just $34 worth of local projects per person this year, on average, according to Citizens Against Government Waste, a Washington-based watchdog group.

Talk is cheap. Earmarks aren't. Especially in Alaska, where earmarks are "close to sacrosanct." [more ...]

Citizens of the District of Columbia can vote in a presidential election, but they have no voting representative in the House of Representatives and no representation at all in the Senate. A delegate to the Republican National Convention from D.C. reports that the voting rights issue was of primary importance to the D.C. delegation. They tried to introduce a voting rights plank into the Republican platform, but the measure found little support.

Of course it didn't. Too many Democrats live in D.C. The GOP has no interest in allowing citizens to vote if they might vote for Democrats. Better that they should go unrepresented in Congress, from the GOP perspective.

At the Democratic National Convention, the right to vote was taken more seriously: [more...]

A "festive spirit" has returned to the Republican National Convention, as evidenced by Rudy Guliani's cameo appearance on stage to do a sound check this afternoon.

"Two, three, four. What comes next?" boomed out in Giuliani's famous voice.

Answer: nine, followed by eleven.