10 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT JOHN McCAIN (MoveOn.org)

For all the coverage this week of Senator John McCain's background, there are some important things you won't learn about him from the TV networks. His carefully crafted positive image relies on people not knowing this stuff—and you might be surprised by some of it.
Please check out the list below, and then forward it to your friends, family, and coworkers. We can't rely on the media to tell folks about the real John McCain—but if we all pass this along, we can reach as many people as CNN Headline News does on a good night.

Click here to tell us how many people you can pass it on to—and to see our progress nationally:


10 things you should know about John McCain (but probably don't):

1.) John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's continued to oppose key civil rights laws.1

"The Complicated History of John McCain and MLK Day," ABC News, April 3, 2008
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/04/the-complicated.html

"McCain Facts," ColorOfChange.org, April 4, 2008
http://colorofchange.org/mccain_facts/

2.) According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."2
"McCain More Hawkish Than Bush on Russia, China, Iraq," Bloomberg News, March 12, 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aF28rSCtk0ZM&refer=us

"Buchanan: John McCain 'Will Make Cheney Look Like Gandhi,'" ThinkProgress, February 6, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/06/buchanan-gandhi-mccain/

3.) His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.3

"McCain Sides With Bush On Torture Again, Supports Veto Of Anti-Waterboarding Bill," ThinkProgress, February 20, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/20/mccain-torture-veto/

4.) McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."4

"McCain says Roe v. Wade should be overturned," MSNBC, February 18, 2007
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17222147/

5.) The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.5

"2007 Children's Defense Fund Action Council Nonpartisan Congressional Scorecard," Feb 2008
http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/PageServer?pagename=act_learn_scorecard2007

"McCain: Bush right to veto kids health insurance expansion," CNN, October 3, 2007
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/03/mccain.interview/

6.) He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.6

"Beer Executive Could Be Next First Lady," Associated Press, April 3, 2008
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h-S1sWHm0tchtdMP5LcLywg5ZtMgD8VQ86M80

"McCain Says Bank Bailout Should End `Systemic Risk,'" Bloomberg News, March 25, 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aHMiDVYaXZFM&refer=home

7.) Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he's too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."7

"Will McCain's Temper Be a Liability?," Associated Press, February 16, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=4301022

"Famed McCain temper is tamed," Boston Globe, January 27, 2008
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/01/27/famed_mccain_temper_is_tamed/

8.) McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates.8

"Black Claims McCain's Campaign Is Above Lobbyist Influence: 'I Don't Know What The Criticism Is,'" ThinkProgress, April 2, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/02/mccain-black-lobbyist/

"McCain's Lobbyist Friends Rally 'Round Their Man," ABC News, January 29, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4210251

9.) McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."9

"McCain's Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam," Mother Jones Magazine, March 12, 2008
http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2008/03/john-mccain-rod-parsley-spiritual-guide.html

"Will McCain Specifically 'Repudiate' Hagee's Anti-Gay Comments?," ThinkProgress, March 12, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/12/mccain-hagee-anti-gay/

"McCain 'Very Honored' By Support Of Pastor Preaching 'End-Time Confrontation With Iran,'" ThinkProgress, February 28, 2008
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/28/hagee-mccain-endorsement/

10.) He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year.10

"John McCain Gets a Zero Rating for His Environmental Record," Sierra Club, February 28, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/environment/77913/

John McCain is not who the Washington press corps make him out to be. Please help get the word out—forward this email to your personal network. And if you want us to keep you posted on MoveOn's work to get the truth out about John McCain, sign up here:
http://pol.moveon.org/mccaintruth/
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TOP 10 REASONS WHY PALIN IS NOT QUALIFIED TO SERVE AS VP

OK… I completely understand that we don’t really vote for Vice President; however, with John McCain’s age and major health issues, I feel that her stance on the issues is more important than ever. But one has to ask, of the entire list of all the possible running mates John McCain could have selected, was this the absolute best choice?

The other reason I have decided to single out Palin over McCain, is because John McCain has a lifetime of political involvement and there is a wealth of information surrounding his history.

…Although… this is not to say that I won’t soon release the McCain Top Ten list…

What Palin does bring to the ticket is Conservative balance to McCain’s seesaw of political views. Being female, she naturally has the possibility of drawing in female voter support. However, having only served as Governor of Alaska for less than 2 years and mayor of a small town before that, her qualifications are minimal.


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TOP 10 REASONS WHY PALIN IS NOT QUALIFIED TO SERVE AS VP

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1.) ETHICS REFORMER (???) – A growing ethics scandal has come to light, alleging that Palin was involved in an abuse of power as Governor. Apparently, she punished a State Trooper, who just so happened to be her sister’s ex-husband and for firing a State Commissioner who refused to go along with the headhunt. She is now refusing to cooperate with the investigation… As is her husband, who was believed to have more involvement in her office than is normal, especially for a “first dude.”…Here are a couple articles on this issue:
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/29/palin.investigation/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/17/palin.investigation/index.html
…Here is an article about her husband’s refusal to cooperate in this investigation:http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-trooper19-2008sep19,0,1695989.story
…Here is an article on his involvement as a shadow governor:http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/19/todd.palin/


2.) ENVIRONMENT / ENERGY – Palin has been a long-time, avid supporter of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). In fact, this was one of her major positions during her 2006 gubernatorial campaign. However, experts say that opening this land up to drilling would have a severe impact on the entire area, beyond ANWR. Margaret Williams, Alaska-based director of the World Wildlife Federation's Bering Sea Program. "Development of the tundra would come with a very, very large footprint."
…Here is an article on Palin’s far right stance on this topic:http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1837868,00.html


3.) “PRO-LIFE” STANCE – Palin is against a woman’s right to choose. She doesn’t feel that a woman can decide what to do with her own body, as she is an opponent of even an option of an abortion, even when it is absolutely necessary, like a case of incest or rape. …While I do not necessarily condone abortions, I feel that it can be necessary and it definitely isn’t the government’s right to say what a woman can/cannot do with her body. …I also find “Pro-Life” as extremely hypocritical, especially in this case, since Palin has no problem hunting animals for sport and with her stances on capital punishment. The biggest problem I have with the conservative stance on abortion, is that they want to outright make the option illegal, but then in matters of life or death where the mother can't take care of this child, they will not support welfare efforts to help her keep the child alive! That's hypocritical! And furthermore, these principals go against the standard moral teachings of the christian churches! …Here is an article about her Conservative beliefs that also touches on her pro-life stance:http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1837523_1837531_1837538,00.html


4.) CREATIONISM – Palin believes that Creationism should be taught in public schools right alongside the established science of Evolution. …Here is a link to an article about Palin’s stance on the above:
http://christianity.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=christianity&cdn=religion&tm=35&gps=230_1085_1152_629&f=10&tt=11&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.boston.com/news/local/articles_of_faith/2008/08/sarah_palin_on.html


5.) ENVIRONMENT / ENDANGERED SPECIES – Palin has openly opposed listing polar bears as an endangered species, overtly admitting reservations that “a listing will cripple oil and gas development in prime polar bear habitat” and that there isn’t sufficient evidence to prove they should be protected. According to “Polar Bears International” (non-profit organization), if the earth continues to warm at the current rate, “two-thirds of the world's polar bears could disappear by 2050.” And with the reports that northern polar ice caps possibly melting over the next couple years / decades, they will lose their major habitat. FYI – The North Pole has been frozen for over 100,000 years.…Here is a link to an article on the matter of her stance:http://www.adn.com/polarbears/story/413710.html
…Here is a link to “Polar Bears International” web site:
http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/
…Here is a link to an article about melting polar ice caps:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/16/60minutes/main1323169.shtml
...Here is another link to an article about polar bears resorting to cannibalism due to melting ice caps:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/09/23/arctic.ice/index.html


6.) ENVIRONMENT / CLIMATE CHANGE – Sarah Palin's has changed her position on global warming and climate change. She has always proclaimed that there is no proof that man has had any impact on climate change, but then changed her position when facing all of America in her ABC interview.…Here are a couple articles on her recent change of stance:http://www.usnews.com/blogs/fresh-greens/2008/09/12/palin-changes-position-on-climate-change.html
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1837868,00.html


7.) ENVIRONMENT / PROTECTED SPECIES – Palin created a program in Alaska that offered $150 for turning in legs of freshly killed wolves. However, the state claimed that the number of wolf kills that year was behind schedule, so she upped the ante by supporting aerial hunting of wolves. …Seriously?... I can accept hunting for reasons of survival & sustainability and whatnot, but helicopters & planes?... Where is the sport in that?
…Here is the article about her request for slaughtering wolves:http://dwb.adn.com/news/alaska/wildlife/story/8726730p-8628810c.html…Below are links to a couple videos on YouTube regarding the Aerial Hunting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQobIUE1zTUhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEDlj3CNmn8&feature=related


8.) GOVERNMENT EARMARKS / BRIDGE TO NOWHERE – She has been touted as a “maverick” (whatever that’s supposed to mean), as one who has been willing to take on government. She repeatedly claims that she said, “Thanks, but no thanks, to that Bridge to Nowhere.” As mayor of a tiny little town, she worked hard to secure millions of dollars ($27 million between 2000-2003) in earmarks. When she ran for Governor, she was in support of the “Bridge to Nowhere” (infamous $398 million bridge), but now she has flip-flopped on that subject, saying that she opposed it. Even after the bill was cut, her state kept the money that was earmarked for this bridge! …Here are a couple links in regards to Palin’s earmarks and inconsistent stance for the “Bridge to Nowhere”:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080903/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_palin_earmarks
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=5697644&page=1


9.) SELLING STATE PROPERTY ON EBAY…THEN LYING ABOUT IT – Palin has repeatedly mentioned that the state’s luxury jet was over the top and she subsequently insinuated that she sold it on EBay. As it turns out, the jet never sold, so it was pulled from the site and was sold through a private broker for far less than they posted it online for. And apparently, this wasn't the first time the state had attempted to sell something on the site, with or without success.
…Here is a link about Palin selling the jet on EBay:
http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/did_sarah_palin_sell_the_alaska_governors.html
…McCain went even further to try to proclaim that the jet was actually sold on EBay:http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/saturday/nation/ny-usebay065831440sep06,0,7486973.story


10.) FOREIGN RELATIONS (OR LACK THEREOF) – Palin says that she is prepared for her role in the vice presidency, because as governor of Alaska, “you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska.” She even hinted during the Charlie Gibson war that she felt that we might consider war with Russia. This woman is so clueless, that I shudder to think what other world leaders think about this……Here is a link to part of the Charlie Gibson interview:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jimNrvvCJ-A&feature=related