Yeah, we may not have jobs, we may lose our homes, we may send our children to die in illegal wars, but thank god we have republicans out there keeping us safe from the big bad Democrats who want to tax the rich people!

However I would never imagine criticizing Canada, while in Canada. I would never think of criticizing Canadian internal policies on an international discussion board.

Thank God we will always have Republicans to keep things straight, rich and America strong. No matter how many Democrats are loose out there.

There will always be jobs. Course the Democrat social program abuse causes people to prefer the hand outs rather than work.

That's the Democrat's fault. Not Republicans.

I will debate American politics with American citizens all day long. I will not do so with foreign nationals.

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - In this staunchly Republican state, the Fairbanks North Star Borough mayor has broken party ranks and publicly endorsed presumed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

Mayor Jim Whitaker said he is not rescinding his party affiliation, just backing the person he believes is best suited for the job.

''Our nation is in need of leadership the country as a whole can believe in,'' Whitaker said.

He described Obama as a ''man of significant and promising judgment. I think we need that at this time.''

Whitaker said he liked Obama's forward-looking energy that includes development of renewable and alternative energy that can benefit the resource-rich state.

''If we are as a nation concerned with energy, then our consideration should be a national energy policy that is not predicated on crude oil 50 years into the future,'' Whitaker said. ''We need to get to it, and I think Barack Obama is very clear in that regard.''

Whitaker once supported McCain, in the 2000 primary, but McCain's support for the war in Iraq changed that.

''(McCain) made the adamant statement that, 'I know how to win wars,''' Whitaker said. ''Those were some telling moments for me.

''That is a damned poor approach to public policy, and it's a damned poor approach to national policy. I would like a president who has the wisdom to avoid wars.''

Whitaker's district is heavily tied to the military, and includes both the Army's Fort Wainwright and Eielson Air Force Base.

''I'm an American first, an Alaskan second and a Republican third,'' Whitaker said. ''I think it's in the country's best interest, and the state's best interest that Barack Obama become president. There are those who will criticize it; that's part of being in politics.''

Michael J. Malbin, executive director of the nonpartisan Campaign Finance Institute, said that although Obama had raised an unprecedented $165 million from those who donated in increments of less than $200, "he cannot raise $150 million or whatever his budget says he needs without going to large contributors."

A review of the campaign finance reports filed over the weekend with the Federal Election Commission showed that attorneys accounted for at least $2.4 million of the $20.3 million the three Obama joint committees raised.

People who listed their occupations as investors or said they worked for investment houses contributed at least an additional $2.85 million. Individuals who said they were chief executive officers, company presidents or board chairmen chipped in $1.8 million. The entertainment industry accounted for $1.5 million.

McDonald's President Donald Thompson and Pepsi Chairman Robert Pohlad each gave $28,500. The Pohlad family, including Minnesota Twins owner Carl Pohlad, gave a combined $170,000 to Democratic committees.

Entertainers who donated $28,500 to the committees include producers Frederick W. Field and Steven Bochco and his wife, Dayna, and actors Samuel L. Jackson and Edward Norton.

NBA star LeBron James donated $20,000.

In several instances, couples doubled their donations. Professional poker player Phil Ivey and his wife, Luciaetta, for example, each gave $33,100 to the Obama Victory Committee. New York writer and entrepreneur Steven Brill and his wife, attorney Cynthia Brill, donated $61,600 last month, with $4,600 going to Obama's presidential campaign and the rest going to one of the party's joint fundraising committees.

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-money23-2008jul23,0,2972137.story

Even more interesting than the sums is how they break down. According to the Obama campaign, the average donation in June was just $68. McCain previously claimed his average contribution was $138 in 2007, but wikileaks.com suggests it was actually over $350. Even $138 is more than double Obama's June average, making it clear Obama is actually receiving smaller donations from more donors.

Factcheck.org, a nonpartisan voter advocate site run by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, could not compute an exact average from either campaign but said "persons giving less than $200 account for 47 percent of Obama's donations and 26 percent of McCain's."


McCain's top fundraisers, over 500 of them, raised over $75 million through June, making up over half of McCain's total. Obama's top 500 have raised about $50 million through May, also a large sum, but still less than one-fifth of his receipts through May.

The Obama campaign has consistently appealed to small donations from first-time donors and people who can only afford to donate small sums. Campaign manager David Plouffe has asked for as little as $5 in a video sent to supporters, and the campaign has encouraged $5 donations to be considered for backstage passes to the open convention. Obama's online donation form has a $10 option, while McCain's smallest is $25 (both have blank options as well.) McCain's campaign also has an option bubble for an $9200 joint contribution to a General Election Legal and Accounting Compliance (GELAC) Fund, since the maximum donation an individual can make to the campaign is $2300 for the primary and $2300 for the general election.

http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/election08/251

It seems the presidents of McDonalds, Pepsi, the owner of the Twins, and untold numbers of Americans (the one's who gave that 165 million in shots of $200 dollars) all seem to have no problems with any burn out at all.

McDonald's President Donald Thompson and Pepsi Chairman Robert Pohlad each gave $28,500. The Pohlad family, including Minnesota Twins owner Carl Pohlad, gave a combined $170,000 to Democratic committees.

Entertainers who donated $28,500 to the committees include producers Frederick W. Field and Steven Bochco and his wife, Dayna, and actors Samuel L. Jackson and Edward Norton.

NBA star LeBron James donated $20,000.

The big donations are to Democratic Committees NOT the campaign. Maximum amount allowed to campaigns is $2,000 each for primary and for the general.

I thought that Obama wasn't going to take contributions from Corporations because of a conflict of interest. But it is ok to take money from CEO's of companies? Isn't that the same conflict of interest. What happened to the politician that I onced liked that claimed he was different than the rest? Now it seems like he is like the rest with just less experience.