Uh ... Hello? People Are Still Dying in Darfur.

You would think that the genocide just got started with the lack of media attention, resources and international assistance. But it's been five years with 300,000 people killed and 2.5 million people displaced.

Human Rights Watch released a statement this week saying that there have been fresh attacks, civilians are still at risk and UNAMID (United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur) can't stop the attacks and has itself come under fire.

The government recently detained a Darfur journalist, has neither allowed him to communicate with the outside world nor charged him with a crime.

And with an unenforceable ICC (International Criminal Court) arrest warrant issued for President Omar al-Bashir in July, Bashir recently announced a "people's initiative" for peace in Darfur. But with no involvement from rebel groups, the gesture was downright silly.

Both presidential candidates put together a joint statement on Darfur in May. So when one of them enters the White House in January, who will hold him accountable?

As Goes GM ...

Softhearted Bitch has this to say about a possible GM-Chrysler merger:

If you were falling head-first down a mountain, would you reach for another person who was also falling head-first down a mountain? Or would you reach for someone who was looking skyward with his or her hands and feet firmly attached to the mountainside?

Just a thought.

McCain v. ACORN

Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain is running this Obama-ACORN ad.



Here's what ACORN has to say about it:

ACORN Response to Senator McCain's Smear Ad

ACORN President Maude Hurd released the following statement today in response to the McCain campaign's new ad claiming that, among other things, ACORN is responsible for the mortgage crisis:

"For almost a decade, ACORN, a community organization of 400,000 families in neighborhoods across the country, has been fighting against the predatory lending practices that have robbed our members of their homes, destabilized neighborhoods, and roiled the global economy."

"In his newest ad, John McCain's campaign bizarrely claims, "ACORN forced banks to issue risky home loans, the same types of loans that caused the financial crisis we're in today." Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, ACORN has worked successfully to help working class families get good home loans on fair terms from legitimate banks and has fought vigorously against predatory lenders who have ripped off families in our communities. These predatory loans caused the crisis."

"For more than a decade, ACORN members have held protests, released reports, and advocated for regulations to protect homeowners from predatory lenders. ACORN organizers and volunteers have been working day and night to help victims of the GOP economic meltdown to save their homes from foreclosure. In fact, ACORN has brought class action lawsuits against several predatory lenders, and has lobbied the Federal Reserve and Congress in support of regulations against predatory lending. ACORN has even been successful in convincing many lenders to treat homeowners more fairly and help families be able to make their mortgage payments and save their homes."

"Unfortunately, the Bush administration and Congressional Republicans like John McCain have blocked the sensible regulations that ACORN and others proposed that would have averted the mortgage meltdown. If John McCain thinks that community organizers caused the foreclosure crisis, he knows even less about the economy than previously thought."

"John McCain and the Republicans are desperately trying to shift the blame for the economic crisis they caused with a philosophy of deregulation and indifference to homeowners. All the grainy footage and creepy music in the world can't cancel out some simple, basic facts, and the facts about the economy are not on John McCain's side."

Nucular!

There was a lot of talk about how Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin held her own in the vice-presidential debate with Delaware Sen. Joe Biden.

But I wondered if anyone noticed that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said "nucular" instead of "nuclear" several times during the discussion of energy policy?

Let's see. Who else pronounces the word this way? Oh, yes! That would be our ultra-smart president, George W. Bush.

Now the question I am left with is whether Palin pronounced the word this way on purpose. And if so, why?

Here's one thought on the subject. Here's another. Enjoy.