Stephen D reports on a Phil Gramm Friday night dump attributing Gramm's resignation from the McSame campaign to the "Americans are whiners!" comment. I think that is just cover for the more likely real reason:

UBS, LGT Helped Hide Assets, Evade Taxes, Senate Says
By David Voreacos and Carlyn Kolker

July 17 (Bloomberg) -- UBS AG and Liechtenstein bank LGT Group aided rich U.S. clients who wanted to disguise ownership of accounts and evade taxes on hidden assets, a Senate subcommittee said.

UBS, the world's largest wealth manager, hid as much as $17.9 billion for 19,000 Americans who didn't declare assets to the Internal Revenue Service, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said in a report released in Washington late yesterday. LGT, owned by Liechtenstein's ruling family, fostered a ``culture of secrecy and deception'' while assigning code names to U.S. clients, the panel said.

Remember that Phil Gramm works for and lobbies for one arm of UBS in the USA. A whole lot more below...

A blogger in my local paper, Aubrey Marron, wrote today with some awesome insight tying John McCain's comment against Cindy McCain's makeup wearing habits, her addiction to pain killers, and how it might all tie into John McCain, the tortured "war hero".  

It's an excellent, yet scary read. What initially looks like yet another opinion of McCain's nasty screed against Cindy, it's much better. It is a look at Cindy McCain's drug abuse in a different light.

The meat of the article, below the fold

Today I received an email from a family member describing Cindy McCain's lifetime of achievements.  It paints her out to be quite a saint, actually, while digging at Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton.   I will paste it below the fold for your reading pleasure.    It's long, so beware.

I'd like to respond to my family member in a respectful manner.  That I support Obama.  That the wives aren't running for POTUS.  That the media has slimed Michelle horribly yet not Cindy...and why is that?  And that this email clumps Cindy, Michelle and Hillary together trying to draw comparisons yet only providing achievements on Cindy.   There are so many themes I could use in my rebuttal, that I'm stuck.  

Can you share your thoughts, fellow Kossacks?  Then I can put together a response and post it for all to see...

1920 - Sinclair Lewis finished the now-famous novel, "Main Street".

1986 - The largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history took place as LTV Corporation asked for court protection from more than 20,000 creditors.

COINCIDENCE? I think NOT!

Quote:
"The church has always been willing to swap off treasures in heaven for cash down."
-- Robert Green Ingersoll

FROM THE CHURCH OF INEFFABLE STUPIDITY:

I didn't sleep very well last night.  One of the reasons was that I had gotten the news about the proposed redefinition of contraception to mean abortion.  As I'm sure I don't need to tell you, this means that allowing hospitals to refuse to dispense Plan B to rape victims is plausible.  "Discriminating" against pharmacists who will not dispense birth control or Plan B will also not be acceptable. As an owner of a pharmacy, say, I couldn't refuse to hire someone who blatantly told me that they didn't believe women should be allowed to take birth control pills.  Last night HHS and Bush did nothing less than propose chaos in health care ethics -- the provider has more rights than the patient.

So there I was at 2:30 this morning, trying to get comfortable and fall back asleep.  I was not very successful.  

A few days ago, John McCain called the Social Security system "a disgrace," and he wasn't just talking about its current financial shape (which actually isn't all that bad) -- but the whole shebang. I find it almost impressive that the Republicans are still pushing their privatization scheme, even in the midst of what appears to be a global economic meltdown. They really do seem determined to take away every last anchor of stability in people's lives. I guess when you've married into the Budweiser fortune, you don't have to worry about things like "the future."

These pics were taken on Sunday, our anniversary. We spent most of the day in Louisville. Louisville is "bat country" because it is the hometown of Hunter S. Thompson and "bat country" because it is the home of the Louisville Slugger factory and museum! We didn't take the tour because they don't manufacture bats on Sundays, and we were a little pressed for time. I absolutely intend to go back! Other pictures are from Falls of Ohio State Park, a good place to go fossil hunting (don't tell the Creation Museum people that!) and from where we had dinner.

http://www.dropshots.com/...

http://www.dropshots.com/...

http://www.dropshots.com/...

Keith will be back tomorrow night. I know we all missed him. But, he earned his time off and then some. Let's keep our "excitement" to PG - 13 levels and express our enthusiastic gratitude to Rachel Maddow for being his "DH"! THANK YOU, RACHEL!!
Now, on to tonight's Countdown diary.

"In Arizona the only way to get around the state is by small private plane"

As someone who has been mightily impressed by the political acumen of Senator Obama and his staff, I am among those who wouldn't be surprised if Jesse Jackson's "gaffe" of last week wasn't as accidental as it appears.  From a strategic standpoint, an opportunity for Senator Obama to distance himself from Reverend Jackson could get him a second look from voters with a, to be charitable, "less sophisticated" understanding who might otherwise tend to assume all African-American political figures held the same beliefs.  With this "rift," these voters, who might not hold Reverend Jackson in the highest of esteem, might now take a second look at Obama.

The New Yorker controversy could present an even greater opportunity.

I came upon this interesting comment made to an article from The Huffington Post:

It would have been a great parody of what some are trying to do to the Obamas, if the New Yorker had done that exact cover, but featuring the McCains. That would really make people face the question of, why is it acceptable or plausible to some to say these things about the Obamas?

Belgian beverage-maker InBev has just purchased Anheuser-Busch, the American beer giant and manufacturer of Budweiser.  I'm reminded of one of A-B's advertising campaigns: August Busch IV, proudly talking about his family's heritage with the company, and the American tradition that it represents.

Well, they're just the latest in a string of American companies being purchased by competitors from overseas.  While the Belgians may improve the quality of the beer (sorry, Americans, but admit this much is true: Europe does it better), this will undoubtedly affect some Americans in the long-term, especially those working at the many distribution plants across the country:

“I don’t think any substantial effect anytime in the near term, meaning the next 6 to 18 months,” Thompson said. “I think beyond that all distributors will be affected, just depending on whether this helps sales or not. Suspicions are it’s not going to help a lot.”

And who stands to profit from this?  The McCains, of course.  Beer drinkers unite!

The interview where he swapped the Steelers and Packers got headlines this week.
Considering what all Ron Reagan misremembered, McCain's gaffe hardly seems to be indictable.

This photo, however, is another matter altogether.
Here is healthy, smiling John McCain doing his homecoming routine in 1973.

So what happens in 1980 when he gets out of the Navy ?
For starts, McCain gets a disability that now pays him $58,000 a year tax free.
This for two claimed major disabilities connected to his service in Vietnam.

1. His right knee was "shattered" as he was ejected from his A-4 fighter/bomber

2. He was not able to raise his arms and he lacks full use of both  hands

Really ?
McCain has released his Navy medical records.
The "shattered knee" claim just doesn't make sense. NO INTERIOR SURGERY.
Where's any evidence showing more than a normally-mended cracked knee cap ?

More below the fold.

I myself fell into the trap of thinking of Cindy McCain as a Stepford wife, and I see I'm far from alone on this site.

The McCain campaign has taken great care that she rarely speaks (at least on camera, and that she's always sharply dressed and fully made up. She stands quietly, smilingly, by her husband until he starts doing his 'man's work', and gracefully leaves him to the business that Victorians believed women should not be privvy to.

In short, the portrayal of Cindy McCain as a Stepford wife is a political ploy, well executed. More after the fold.

John McCain is just a shameless liar, as I can attest from personal experience. But the traditional media in the US remains so wedded to the McMyth he's constructed for them of a 'straight talker', that they generally ignore any evidence that would shatter it. Revelations that would destroy another politician's career routinely are cloaked in silence to preserve the McMyth. Reporters have settled on their narrative for McCain, and they're damned now if they'll admit that they were just blowing smoke at the public.

Take the revelation yesterday that McCain has lied and continues to lie about his marital infidelity and divorce.  Richard Serrano and Ralph Vartabedian of the LA Times uncovered documents to show that McCain's memoir falsified the facts.

In his 2002 memoir, "Worth the Fighting For," McCain wrote that he had separated from Carol before he began dating Hensley.

"I spent as much time with Cindy in Washington and Arizona as our jobs would allow," McCain wrote. "I was separated from Carol, but our divorce would not become final until February of 1980."

An examination of court documents tells a different story. McCain did not sue his wife for divorce until Feb. 19, 1980, and he wrote in his court petition that he and his wife had "cohabited" until Jan. 7 of that year -- or for the first nine months of his relationship with Hensley.

Although McCain suggested in his autobiography that months passed between his divorce and remarriage, the divorce was granted April 2, 1980, and he wed Hensley in a private ceremony five weeks later. McCain obtained an Arizona marriage license on March 6, 1980, while still legally married to his first wife.

The Times neglects to mention that adultery is considered "conduct unbecoming an officer" and can be prosecuted under the UCMJ. The report does however show that despite his later version of events, McCain concealed his extramarital affair from fellow officers and friends as well as his wife, Carol, for the better part of a year. McCain's false chronology obviously is meant to conceal how calculated his behavior was throughout. That's hard to deny given that he got a marriage license while he was married.

So, we have the presumptive Republican presidential nominee caught lying in his memoir about his sordid behavior and past dishonesty. Predictably, the rest of the US media have turned a blind eye to the LA Times' revelations (though they're considered newsworthy abroad).

Because voters don't need to know about evidence regarding McCain's integrity. Reporters have already presented the McMyth. What more could the public want?

According to Dr. Phil ( FORMER Sen. Phil Gramm (R-TX)) who made millions from DEREGULATION, speculation and lobbying, if you lose your house, your job or your bank accounts, it is only in your head.  We are in a mental recession, because he is doing fine with his millions and if you can't find a job or make money on your own, you are part of the United States "nation of whiners".

Well, Lady Percocet (Cindy McCain) can afford to spend $700K on her credit card in one month to help the economy so we should be doing fine (although it might be on Italian and French labels--BUT SHE SUPPOSEDLY HELPED THE U.S. ECONOMY, DAMN IT!).

I guess Dr. Phil should ALSO suggest a pill of Percocet for all Americans to bring everyone to a higher place and forget aabout the economic woes they are facing because IT IS ALL IN YOUR HEAD!

Are we at the point where all is fair in politics and you throw the kitchen sink at your opponent? Or are there certain lines we shouldn't cross when it comes to impugning your opponents character?

Let's cut to the chase:
McCain's personal life is garnering a share of the spotlight lately. If you are so inclined, you can read about it here.

So, here are the questions:

Do his personal peccadilloes directly effect his ability to serve in an elected capacity?

Or are they acceptable fodder for taking down an opponent?

Does it speak to character, or is it character assassination?

An article in today’s Los Angeles Times about John McCain’s adultery and subsequent divorce chose to focus on how his actions affected his relationship with Ron and Nancy Reagan. But as sad as it is to learn that Nancy treated McCain with "cool correctness" after he left his disabled wife and three children for a 24 year old heiress, why don’t we just stay with this aspect of the story; the part where John McCain either forgot that he had carried on an affair for nine months or he lied about it in interviews and in his memoir, Worth Fighting For.

In his 2002 memoir, "Worth the Fighting For," McCain wrote that he had separated from Carol before he began dating Hensley.

"I spent as much time with Cindy in Washington and Arizona as our jobs would allow," McCain wrote. "I was separated from Carol, but our divorce would not become final until February of 1980."

An examination of court documents tells a different story. McCain did not sue his wife for divorce until Feb. 19, 1980, and he wrote in his court petition that he and his wife had "cohabited" until Jan. 7 of that year -- or for the first nine months of his relationship with Hensley.

It seems that Senator Straight Talk’s pants were on fire in more ways than one.

When asked for a comment, a McCain spokesman said:  

Of course we will not comment on the breakup of the senator's first marriage, other than to note that the senator has always taken responsibility for it.

Yes, he has.  McCain has blamed his actions on his "immaturity" (he was 42), but he still hasn’t explained if he’s been lying about having had an affair with his current wife, or if it’s just one more thing that he’s confused about.

The LA Times printed a doozie of an article today about McCain's infidelity.  It discussed how the "nature and timing of his divorce" from his first wife Carol Shepp may have aliented McCain's key allies ie Nancy Reagan.  But it is the reality that McCain's version of the events of his first marriage does not add up when you look at court documents that makes this story concerning for McCain.

Well let's dig deeper on what those versions were.

http://www.latimes.com/...