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Obama-Biden Senior Adviser Anita Dunn says that McCain Senior Policy Adviser Doug Holtz-Eakin’s admission that a health care plan one receives at their job is better than any plan they could get with McCain’s tax credit is surprising but true. (1:06)

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Former Housing Secretary Jack Kemp called on Sen. Obama “to lower taxes during a recession” in a teleconference today. Kemp said he didn’t know any economist who advocated “for a tax increase” during such a time.
Kemp also said it was important to “stop the hemorrhaging” of home ownership. He claimed Sen. McCain will help homeowners in default by renegotiating their payments. Senior McCain Advisor Doug Holtz-Eakin said Obama’s plan of a “90 day mortgage moratorium” doesn’t fix the inherent problem of home ownership.
Holtz-Eakin said he had noticed “daily shifts in the Obama tax plan.” He stated that while Obama started his campaign by saying that everyone making under $250,000 would get a tax cut, Obama said recently that only those making under $200,000 would see a tax cut. In addition, Holtz-Eakin said that Sen. Biden claimed that the tax cut would only be given to those making under $150,000.
Virginia Delegate Chris Saxman said in reaction to Obama’s tax plan, “I don’t want Joe the Plumber’s money. I want him to invest.”
Speaking about McCain’s chances in the battleground state of Virginia, Saxman said that Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, current and former governors of the state, “both ran as centrist democrats.” He said
Sen. Obama is not running as a centrist, as evidenced by his plan to raise taxes.

Former Housing Secretary Jack Kemp explains why Sen. McCain is the best candidate to deal with the housing crisis. (1:15)

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As the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) by President Bill Clinton nears, Commissioner for the rights of non-Muslims in Sudan, Joshua Dae Diu, spoke at the Hudson Institute about the progress Sudan has made.
“Religion is still a major problem in Sudan. South Sudan has become a secular system where freedom of religion is allowed, while the north is still not allowing non-Muslims to practice their religion,” Diu said.
The CPA says that there are other citizens practicing different religions and traditions that police, judges, and other law enforcement need to remember and to allow. Diu says because of this agreement, the south has moved to allow non-Muslims to practice their religion freely throughout. The north is still an Islamic State and until the elections occur in 2009, the north has refused to change course to allow religious freedom.
“The CPA has tried to address the basic issues that plague Sudan, that is why we have one country with two systems. After six years of having these two systems, what do we do then? We must leave it up to the people in the north and south,” Diu said.
Along with the elections that will take place in 2009, a Census is being held throughout Sudan. Diu said that the Census does not cover who is non-Muslim in the Nation’s Capitol and in Sudan. Diu went on to say that the south should have argued this but they were intimidated by the northern officials. “Because of the south being intimidated by the north we are now stuck, we will have to wait another 10 years for another Census to occur. We can not wait another 10 years to get safety for non-Muslims in Sudan.,” Diu stated.

Senior McCain Policy Advisor Doug Holtz-Eakin says that it’s hard to keep track of Sen. Obama’s tax plan since he keeps changing it. (1:01)

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“We lead from behind at this point,” said Army Col. Dominic Caraccilo, commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division during a live briefing from Iraq held in the Pentagon. The area he commands, nicknamed the “Triangle of Death,” has changed dramatically in the last year, he said. Over a year ago, he continued, there were over seventy improvised explosive devices found, and twenty-eight recorded attacks in the month of September. This year, there were only fifteen devices found, and only two attacks in the month of September. From Caraccilo’s vantage point, he said, the Iraqi Army is capable of taking the coalition’s position when they finally leave.
Of main interest is the Sons of Iraq, a short-term military strategy that employs volunteer Iraqi citizens. Although Caraccilo said he didn’t know what the monthly budget the coalition is considering for the SOI, he said “It’s a lot less than the losses that were occurring” before the SOI were established. The budget, he said, is worth it, because peace is more important than violence.
As coalition forces leave, there is always the concern that the void will be filled by violence, Caracillo said. “There is such a large footprint” of Iraqi presence, however, that “quite frankly the population has decided they’re not going to put up with it.” Even if there is a flare up of violence, he said, we haven’t abandoned the Iraqi Army. We are coaching, teaching, and mentoring them. We continue to train them, we provide coverage, and we provide clearance on the roads. In doing so, he concluded, we allow the Iraqi Army to work and sustain themselves so that they will be capable and ready to do the work alone.

Scott Hennen Show Exclusive: Interview with Governor Sarah Palin 10/27/08

Scott Hennen: “And we are so pleased, ladies and gentlemen, to bring you our next guest…the candidate with the most executive experience on either presidential ticket this year, the Common Sense Club proudly welcomes Sarah Palin to our microphones. Greetings, governor.”

Sarah Palin: “Hey! Thank you so much Scott. It is an honor to speak with ya.”

SH: “Another exclusive in our election ‘08 coverage, and we’re happy to have you on the Scott Hennen Show today. Time is short so we’re going to get right to it and tackle some issues today. Like Alaska, here in the Heartland where we have listeners throughout the Upper Midwest of North and South Dakota and Minnesota, people love to hunt and fish. And I have a letter here from the Chief Lobbyist for the Illinois State Rifle Association that says Barack Obama has proven himself to be an enemy of the law abiding gun owner. Who is the real Barack Obama on the Second Amendment governor?”

SP: “Wow. That’s a great statement already coming out of the chute. Yea, Barack Obama, he supported banning guns and ammunition, and that says it all, doesn’t it? And you take that position that he has and you contrast that with the position that John McCain and I have: that we will do whatever it takes to defend our Second Amendment rights. I’m a lifetime member of the NRA and hopefully that says a lot also, but a stark contrast between the two positions on how we respect our Constitution and that Second Amendment right.”

SH: “There is not another elected official in this country that has the résumé that you do, or is better equipped to tackle the nation’s energy crisis. And as North Dakotans we’ve seen what the oil and gas industry, clean coal, wind and ethanol can do for the state’s economy —we’re recession-proof right now—I want to know as Vice President, what you would do—what the most important priority you would take into that office—to lessen our dependence on foreign oil would be.”

SP: “We’ve got to quit these 30 years of failed energy policy that makes us rely on foreign sources of energy… these volatile regimes that we’re beholden to—asking them to ramp up production of energy sources for us so that we can purchase from them—these regimes, some of them use energy as a weapon and they can cut off our supply at any time if they so chose, and we circulate the hundreds of billions of dollars every year into those countries.  Some (as I say), do not like America and do not abide by strict environmental standards, and production, we have the domestic solution here. Barack Obama and Joe Biden have said “no” to the domestic solutions that have been proposed. They’ve opposed offshore drilling. They oppose of course, even some of the alternative forms of energy that have been laid out on the table for them. We need the “all of the above” approach. Drillin here—offshore, onshore—clean coal technology that must be developed, alternative sources also…we cannot keep going down the path that we’ve been on, relying on foreign sources of energy.”

SH: ”Let’s talk a little bit about the economy. It’s certainly dominated the last two months of this election cycle, and one frustration from the listeners I talk to everyday is that they believe the current economic crisis is directly the result of Democratic malfeasance at best—or poor policies driven by the left—at worst Democratic malfeasance, at best just poor policies. And by that I mean everything from the Community Reinvestment Act to subprime loans (as a means for more affordable housing); you got ACORN, Fannie and Freddie, government-sponsored entities in the mortgage business (while dolling out campaign donations), Barack Obama as the second-highest recipient in his short tenure in the US senate; a perfect storm of the housing crisis which lead to this meltdown, while calls for reform from Senator McCain and President Bush and others were ignored. Did Democrats cause the mess we’re in, governor?”

SP: “Um, I would say “yes”, they did. And can you imagine if we have a Democrat controlled House, Senate and (heaven forbid) White House? The Obama-Pelosi-Reid trifecta there? An agenda there of big government, big spenders who would have um, already proven (via their track record) that they don’t know how to get us out of this crisis, because the decisions they’ve made have gotten us into this crisis? And who was it that asked for these reforms? It was John McCain. He was the one who sounded that warning bell and said “look, this is what’s gonna happen with Fannie and Freddy…this is what’s going to cause these problems we are facing today,” and yet, John McCain as a Senator, his colleagues (including Barack Obama) didn’t lift a finger to help him…”

SH: “Are you there governor? Sounds like a bad cell connection there and it just kind of went quiet…let’s see if we can reconnect with the governor. We’ll wait and hook up with the governor soon…”

SH: “Govenor Palin on our exclusive interview today, on the Scott Hennen Show and the Common Sense Club…alright, we’re back with the good governor?”

SP: “Hey Scott, I don’t know where we were cut off there but I was telling you “yea, let’s look at people’s track record.” Let’s look at the Democrat’s record: the actions they took or did not take that got us into the crisis we’re in today. Heaven forbid that the Republicans be solely to blame for what’s been going on today, and it’s not mean-spirited, and it’s not negative campaigning to call people out on their record…that’s in fairness for the electorate, and that’s what we’re going to do. Barack Obama needs to be called out on his inaction there as a senator. He did not accomplish anything as a senator to halt the crisis that now we’re facing. John McCain did. He sounded that warning bell, letting people know what was going on in Fannie and Freddie that was going to lead to a crisis, and his colleagues especially…”

SH: “I’ve seen experts suggest that the volatile stock market right now—the bumpy ride—is partly caused by poll numbers suggesting that Barack Obama is leading this race. Do you believe that one of the reasons the Stock Market is so spooked right now is because of a potential Barack Obama presidency?”

SP: “I want to still stick with somebody’s record, and calling Barack Obama out on the opportunities that he had to be on the side of the American people. On our homeowners, on our small business owners, and he has over and over again chosen to be on the side of bigger government, and no reform that was needed to halt the crisis that we’re now facing. Even if we just stick to someone’s record, it tells the whole story.”

SH: “Meanwhile, we know from the conversation he had with Joe the Plumber that his plan to fix the economy is to “spread the wealth around…”  there’s an interview circulating today from 2001 in which Obama says that it’s a tragedy the Constitution wasn’t radically interpreted to force redistribution of wealth for African-Americans…is that the real Barack Obama? Issue after issue it seems that he’s a man of the Radical Left. Is he, governor?”

SP: “Scott, that is the real issue in that he has the track record…he’s made the statements. He has defined who he is and what his positions are, what he stands for and where he wants to take this country. It is so important to voters to hear what he has said and what he is saying today. And finally, of course, I am so thankful that Joe the Plumber succeeded to get him to speak plainly on what his intentions are in spreading your hard-earned income—according to his priorities (growing government, making government be more and more in control of our lives)—that’s his intentions. It’s clear as day. He said it.”

SH: “If you could sit down one-on-one with every voter here in the Heartland at the kitchen table, how would you differentiate the real Barack Obama from the one Americans see celebrated in what we call the “Obama-Media?”

SP: “And the media has been, I think, giving Barack Obama a pass when they have not called him out on his own record, and again “negative campaigning” to call somebody out…I would love to get to speak with voters across the United States at their kitchen table, and talk about the stark contrast, the choices that you have on November 4^th, and let you know that John McCain and I—our ticket—represents a growing economy of pro-growth, pro-private sector economy, that will create jobs because we will lower taxes and we’ll reign in government growth, and we’ll let you keep what you’ve produced and earned and let you reinvest and grow, and thrive and prosper. As opposed to Barack Obama and Joe Biden, who want bigger government, higher taxes, not allowing you to control your own investments and those things that you’ve based all your productivity and work ethic on, and that’s just on the economic front. We haven’t even talked about the war yet! We haven’t even talked about national security, and of course, there are the stark contrasts there.”
 
SH: “I want to talk about a couple of those things there…it’s an outrage to us, in these final days of this important election given everything this country faces…we’ve seen your clothes become the subject of intense media scrutiny, while the character questions of Barack Obama have been virtually ignored during this entire campaign—including the fact that he’s spent twenty years in the pews of a church with a man who’s been preaching hatred for America, and his radical Black Liberation Theology, and serving as a spiritual advisor (of course, talking about Reverend Wright). Will that be an issue in the closing days and is it an issue that voters should consider?”

SP: “I think associations are absolutely something that um…voters should be considering. And again, I can’t reiterate it enough about how simple it is for people to just go back on someone’s record and look at the votes that they’ve cast, or the actions or inactions or the associations that make a person who they are today. Really quickly if we could talk about the war though? John McCain and I, we will not fly the white flag and surrender to terrorists. We will never support (as Barack Obama did) cutting off funding for our troops over there in the warzone, our troops—fighting for us, for our freedom, for our Constitutional rights, for security here in the homeland—John McCain knows how to win the war, and I have a son over there today—and it’s not just my son who I’m worrying about; our young men and women who are over there risking their lives for all of us…um…heaven forbid that…”

SH: “You could not be more right. No question. On the national security question, again I have a question here about keeping us safe—Joe Biden says he guarantees some force will find the need to gin up a generated, international crisis to test the mettle of Barack Obama…this from the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee who said this several times last weekend…does Joe Biden know something the rest of us don’t? What was he hinting at, governor?”

SP: “I don’t know, but I think we should say, “Joe, thanks for the warning…all the more reason to elect John McCain.” He’s proven, he’s been tested; they’re not going to mess with John McCain, because again he knows the strategy to win the war. He knows what it takes.”
 
SH: “I want to ask you last about the poll numbers. A lot of people are watching this closely—Minnesota  obviously has become a battleground state, some say North Dakota is (although we don’t buy that)— our listeners are quite honestly concerned about this, scared about it…what’s bucking you up right now on these polls? What are you looking at that says in the closing arguments here that this thing is gonna tighten and we’ll have a McCain/Palin administration?”

SP: “It’s just as Thomas Jefferson has said: “You never underestimate the wisdom of the American people.” And I think at the end of the day on November fourth, people are gonna realize they have this clear choice. You wanna win the war? You wanna get our economy back on track? You vote for John McCain. It’s as simple as that. Now, if you want to wave that white flag of surrender to the terrorists, and if you want to grow government (allowing them to make more decisions for you and take more of what you earn and produce), than you vote for Barack Obama. One or the other, it’s quite clear.

SH: “Governor, it’s been a pleasure watching you and your family…we’ve got to meet your husband recently over in Moorhead, Minnesota and we really appreciate everything you have done to energize this presidential campaign and wish you the best of luck. Many people are praying for you in our audience and wanted us to relay that to you. All of these questions today came from our listeners. God bless you and your family…Senator McCain and his family…and we’re praying the right outcome happens one week from tomorrow.”

SP: “I join you in that prayer. Thank you so much! Thanks, Scott!”

SH: “Good to talk to you. Governor Sarah Palin, our exclusive interview on the Scott Hennen show today on the program—you know ten minutes is not enough time, folks, because we had at least thirty minutes of questions at a minimum, and that’s consolidating the hundreds that came in from you. And I really appreciate all the input we did have from the good listeners of this program to get as many of those questions we did have on the program today.”

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With our economy a mess and the world economy messy as well, it is easy to forget about other problems. One of those “other problems” is the proliferation of arms. It is especially easy to forget, given that our export economy includes a significant sale of armaments.
There is a campaign to stop this trade called “The World Is Watching.” The goal? To get the 153 governments who voted at the United Nations to develop an arms treaty. This vote took place in 2006, but so far there is no treaty.
This proposed treaty is not about nuclear arms. It is about the use of conventional war arms. There has been a history of various agreements made in conflict areas, and the agreements are something that any civilized society can agree with. For example: Transfers of arms, ammunition, explosives and other related material shall not be carried to or from states which … commit or sponsor crimes against humanity or human rights violations (Code of Conduct-Central American States), or member states will not issue an export license if there is a clear risk that the proposed export might be used for internal repression (European Union Code of Conduct).
According to an Amnesty International report, the United States was the biggest source of illicit small arms seized in Colombia. The U.S. was the primary source by thousands followed by Germany, Venezuela and Russia, in that order. Russia wins the arms sweepstakes in some other countries such as Cote d’Ivoire.
China is not exempt from the arms export business either. It has “made available” huge amounts of arms sales to the Sudan. It has a very vested interest. China has become cozy with the Sudanese government because of its oil. It has looked the other way while the Sudanese government has committed unspeakable acts in Darfur. China has continued to supply arms to Sudan while the government pushes into Southern Sudan in partnership with the Chinese to drill for oil. The grand total in small arms in 2006 was $17.2 million. Within one year from 2006 to 2007 there were 409 military and police flights to Darfur from the larger government. The Chinese government has made available eight K-8 jet fighters for use in Darfur. According to Amnesty International, these jets were equipped with cannons, rockets and bombs. The Russians contributed planes as well to the Sudan government.
So, the question is how do you prevent such insanity? The only option is for a worldwide treaty with pressure from each country’s citizens. Recommendations have included outlining provisions for state-to-state transfer of weapons, commercial sales rules and loans and gifts from governments to other governments.
One of the ways that an arms treaty that would end arms to the bad guys of the world is to make sure that countries passed their own laws that mandated certain restrictions and transparency rules as to how small arms would be sold and tracked if they were produced in that country. That would take massive country-by-country pressure from citizens.
Legal small-arms exports from the United States have been tracked at about one half billion dollars per year. It would be easy in this economy to increase this as a way to help our balance of trade. We need to pressure the next president to decrease small arms exports and push through national legislation to make sure they don’t go to the bad guys. In the long run, it costs all of us as we fight rogue regimes and human-rights violators.

Pentagon Correspondent Dawn Casey will attend a briefing by Army Col. Dominic Caraccilo, Commander of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), live from Iraq in the Pentagon Briefing Room. UN Correspondent Tala Dowlatshahi will attend a briefing by the Russian Federation. The Washington Bureau will also attend a conference held by Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies on “Unearthing Iraq: Trajectories of Disintegration and Transformation,” a discussion by the Center for Strategic and International Studies on “Past and Present Challenges for Global Health and AIDS,” the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom and the Institute on Religion and Democracy’s discussion on “Promoting Religious Freedom in Sudan,” and a discussion on “The Election and Post-Racial Politics” by the Institute for Policy Studies.