Archive for October, 2008

McCain defections continue…

McCain still could pull out an upset on a last-minute wave of voter hesitation about Obama, much like Hillary Rodham Clinton came back in New Hampshire after the polls counted her out, but political professionals are putting their bets on McCain going back to Phoenix, not rising like one.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s broadside on Sunday was only the first of the recent GOP defections. The latest arrived Friday from former Republican Gov. William Weld of Massachusetts, who had endorsed former Gov. Mitt Romney over McCain in the GOP primary. Now Weld endorses Obama, calling the Democrat “a once-in-a-lifetime candidate who will transform our politics and restore America’s standing in the world.”

On Thursday, former Republican Gov. Arne Carlson of Minnesota endorsed Obama and ripped McCain in an essay for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Carlson said he saw in the Democrat “a remarkably disciplined and focused leader who has the potential to become a truly great president.”

Obama leads McCain by 51 percent to 42 percent in the rolling three-day tracking poll, which has a margin of error of 2.9 points. (Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby)

Source: SF Gate

The Liberal Party headed up by Shadow Communications Minister Nick Minchin is on the right side of the ‘Clean Feed’ issue. They are right, putting the responsibility of protecting children onto the Internet Service Providers is not the best route to take.

Shadow Minister Senator Nick Minchin, said today he was troubled about newspaper reports that Senator Conroy’s office has been sending emails and making telephone calls to try to silence industry figures who have expressed reservations about the Government’s ‘Clean Feed’ filter proposal.

“It’s extraordinary that Minister Conroy’s office has moved from not only wanting to censor the Internet to actually attempting to silence those who don’t agree with him.

“Minister Conroy’s office doesn’t seem to realise that the broader Australian public are not bound by archaic ALP regulations that forbid any view other than that determined by the Labor caucus.

“Picking on the views of individuals when they have concerns about what you propose is not a smart tactic. This latest episode demonstrates the ugly reality of Rudd Labor when someone disagrees”.

Senator Minchin said the Coalition had already indicated its concern that the Government’s internet filter proposal would see responsibility shifted to Internet Service Providers.

“While we fully support guarding our children from being exposed to inappropriate internet content, parental supervision and guidance supported by readily-available content filters tailored to the needs of particular user settings is a more realistic approach.
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