once again the jokes write themselves...

[sweetcell]

i'm assuming some policy wonk/DC insider here will know the answers to this: do US senators have to undergo any sort of background check?  they have access to info that would require security clearance- do they need to get one before taking office?

[Sage 703]

Originally posted by sweetcell:
  i'm assuming some policy wonk/DC insider here will know the answers to this: do US senators have to undergo any sort of background check?  they have access to info that would require security clearance- do they need to get one before taking office?

No.  I'm sure they get this clearance after being elected, but there is not a requirement that they be able to pass a background check as other federal or state employees might undergo.

[Herr Professor Doktor Doom]

Heh, Chaz, thank you for posting that, I was wondering what the Russians thought of Palin's inanity.  Putin himself must be rubbing his hands with glee at the prospect of America's intellectual and leadership stature becoming so thoroughly debased if she wins.
 
 Sweetcell, a background check might be required for members of Congress to view classified information, but to require such a check just to hold office would be unconstitutional.    Most Congressmen and Senators don't access this information anyway, you have to sit on certain committees and be of certain stature.

[walkonby]

palin rally  at its finest:
 
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U54xJFEOzk
 
 and the church:
 
 http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-10-09/new-footage-from-inside-palins-church/#gallery=12;page=1

[walkonby]

for julian:
 
 http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h21ZbzgPbTVRftcJPT5vkHkonY5QD93PPVH81

[Herr Professor Doktor Doom]

LOL...

[walkonby]

this is why you don't put political signs in your yard:
 
 http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/09/america/toronto.php

[sweetcell]

Originally posted by They call me Doctor Doom.:
  Heh, Chaz, thank you for posting that, I was wondering what the Russians thought of Palin

<img src="http://punditkitchen.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/political-pictures-vladimir-putin-sarah-come-back-alaska-live-sigh.jpg" alt=" - " />

[Venerable Bede]

maybe they should just leave this seat   empty.

[chaz]

Another great nugget:
 
 While McCain unveiled a new campaign speech Monday, his running mate stuck largely to her usual script -- devoting nearly as much time to discussing the special needs of her son Trig, the need to expand drilling for oil and natural gas, and reforming Washington as to McCain's economic plan.
 
 The crowd waited for hours for Palin to arrive and chanted "No-bama!" and "We want Fox!" in the run-up to her speech.
 
 
 The crowd was so large that some supporters standing far back from the stage began chanting "Louder, louder!" midway through Palin's speech after she had paid homage to military veterans in the crowd.
 
 Palin, who assumed they were protesters, said in response to the chants, "I hope those protesters have the courage and honor to give veterans thanks for their right to protest."

[miss pretentious]

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/oct/13/cause-divorce-et-father-names-baby-sarah-mccain-pa/?partner=RSS
 
 ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. �?? A new father has secretly named his baby girl Sarah McCain Palin after the Republican ticket for president and vice president.
 
 Mark Ciptak of Elizabethton put that name on the documents for the girl�??s birth certificate, ignoring the name Ava Grace, which he and his wife had picked earlier.
 
 �??I don�??t think she believes me yet,�?� he told the Kingsport Times-News for a story to be published Tuesday. �??It�??s going to take some more convincing.�?�
 
 Ciptak, a blood bank employee for the American Red Cross, said he named his third child after John McCain and Sarah Palin to �??to get the word out�?� about the campaign.
 
 �??I took one for the cause,�?� he said. �??I can�??t give a lot of financial support for the (McCain/Palin) campaign. I do have a sign up in my yard, but I can do very little.�?�

[walkonby]

that's almost as good as the people in england who named their brat metallica.

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

<img src="http://www.slowpokecomics.com/uploaded_images/hussein_sign-705571.jpg" alt=" - " />

[sweetcell]

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3291/2943833750_eb8343533c_o.jpg" alt=" - " />

[sweetcell]

could someone explain to me what is the point of fake voter registrations (some as ridiculous as "Donald Duck")?  it's not names on the list that gets you elected, it's votes.  one needs to show government ID to get to vote.  having donald duck on the voters list is pointless unless you have someone with a driver's license that says he's donald duck.
 
 only advantage that comes to mind is public perception: hoping to "psych out" the other side with huge pre-election numbers & making them feel the election is a foregone conclusion, in hopes that they don't bother showing up on Nov 4.  maybe.  but otherwise, you're just hurting your cause with registration fraud.
 
 am i missing something?  just seems stupid and irresponsible, not to mention illegal and reprehensible.