The polls are about to close in some states in a few minutes, so here's how I think it'll play out tonight.

I recently caught an interview given by Senator Chuck Schumer this morning and it was really telling. While most of the focus today is naturally on the election, most of that is just filler until after we get some exit polls and even those are suspect.

The focus of Schumer that I noticed was two-fold. First, he was speaking on the issue of secret union ballots, in a bill called the "Employee Free Choice Act" even though it is nothing of the sort. What the employee free choice act does, in a nutshell, takes away the secret ballot for joining a union, removing anominimity and allowing intimidation from union organizers. Schumer's argument was that union membership was at an extremely low level of six percent of the private sector and that by passing this act, it would place things on an even playing field.

The problem is that Schumer's logic involves a belief that union membership is a positive thing. Unfortunately, as the automotive companies will attest, the unions are at least partly responsible for the problems that are present. Playing games to force workers to join a union doesn't offer the choice Americans want or need. Unions have served their purpose in the past, but like many parts of government, have become corrupt and top heavy. The only positive thing about the bill is that sixty votes are required for it to pass, which is not impossible, but is looking unlikely unless the Democrats have a trick up their sleeve. Obama was an original co-sponsor of the bill, so barring an act of God, a veto would not occur.

The second issue Schumer touched on was that of the fairness doctrine. On the surface, it sounds fair - holders of broadcast licenses (network TV and terrestrial radio) are required to present opposing viewpoints to arguments to maintain a balance. The focus however is finely tuned to look at conservative talk radio. Most people know that the media presents a left leaning bias - only those on the far reaches will disagree. However, the only opposing viewpoints that will occur will not be on the network TV, but the talk radio circuit, in a move to crush dissenting arguments. Fox News, and the other cable networks are safe - for now - because they are on pay cable TV. Presumably, shows on XM or Sirius would be exempt as well.

Once again, the Schumer logic isn't that logical. Both sides of the issue have arguments which can be made for or against the fairness doctrine. Chuck Schumer's argument was that the same people opposing the fairness doctrine are those who oppose pornography on TV, and therefore should have a uniform block on things, as he claims to have. Huh? Dissenting political speech is nothing like pornography and is comparing apples to oranges.

Ah...Halloween. A wonderful time of ghosts and goblins. Children dressed up as their favorite mass-marketed television, movie and comic book characters. Trick or treating for as much candy as possible, and telling scary stories at night...

This is a story about three kids. Eight year old twins Billy and Katie, dressed up as Batman and a princess, respectively. Their older brother, sixteen year old Roger, is dressed up as...a teenager.

Billy and Katie are mapping out strategies to get as much candy as possible. Roger, on the other hand, simply wants to get some free candy. He's young enough to still want the spoils of Halloween treasure each year, but old enough for dressing up in a costume to be beneath him.

As the night progresses, Billy and Katie are reaping the rewards of trick or treating with bags close to overflowing and Roger has a paltry handful from his nonchallant attitude. Towards the end of the evening they arrive at nice Mr. Obama's house. Mr. Obama is very generous to the three children. At first, the kids are all happy. Then Mr. Obama notices the discrepancy in the children's bags.

Mr. Obama proceeds to remove candy from Billy's and Katie's bags and place the candy in Roger's bag. "There, now everyone's equal," exclaims, Mr. Obama. Roger is ecstatic. Billy and Katie...not so much.

The story is fiction, but the analogy is spot-on with the direction this country is most likely headed in. We're being pushed in a direction in which hard work is punished, and idleness is rewarded. This isn't the American Dream as was intended, but a twisted version of it. For all the discussion regarding socialism, the policies are very similar:

All socialists advocate the creation of an egalitarian society, in which wealth and power are distributed more evenly.

In addition, the actions in this country are eeriely close to the predictions of the father of communism, Karl Marx:

...Socialism would be achieved via class struggle and a proletarian revolution which represents the transitional stage between capitalism and communism.

America deserves better in the coming years, although whether that happens is yet to be seen.

Tonight's infomercial buy from Barack Obama was interesting, but fell flat when looking at the bigger picture. First, the only folks who will be swayed by the piece were those already in the Obama camp. The infomercial disappointed me on a couple levels. First, it wasn't broadcast in HD. You've spent roughly $1 million for each network to air the spot, and couldn't even do it in HD? The money I have isn't even close to that, and I've got a camcorder that does 1080p. Second, it wasn't really an infomercial. Billy Mays didn't make a guest appearance, nor did the Rice brothers (and yes, I know that one of them passed away):


In all seriousness, the spot just seemed like a waste of money. Americans who go out of their way to watch this special probably have followed some other facts before it. Fact checks have already been released by the Associated Press regarding his spin.

THE SPIN: "That's why my health care plan includes improving information technology, requires coverage for preventive care and pre-existing conditions and lowers health care costs for the typical family by $2,500 a year."

THE FACTS: His plan does not lower premiums by $2,500, or any set amount. Obama hopes that by spending $50 billion over five years on electronic medical records and by improving access to proven disease management programs, among other steps, consumers will end up saving money. He uses an optimistic analysis to suggest cost reductions in national health care spending could amount to the equivalent of $2,500 for a family of four. Many economists are skeptical those savings can be achieved, but even if they are, it's not a certainty that every dollar would be passed on to consumers in the form of lower premiums.

THE SPIN: "I've offered spending cuts above and beyond their cost."

THE FACTS: Independent analysts say both Obama and Republican John McCain would deepen the deficit. The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates Obama's policy proposals would add a net $428 billion to the deficit over four years - and that analysis accepts the savings he claims from spending cuts. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, whose other findings have been quoted approvingly by the Obama campaign, says: "Both John McCain and Barack Obama have proposed tax plans that would substantially increase the national debt over the next 10 years." The analysis goes on to say: "Neither candidate's plan would significantly increase economic growth unless offset by spending cuts or tax increases that the campaigns have not specified."

THE SPIN: "Here's what I'll do. Cut taxes for every working family making less than $200,000 a year. Give businesses a tax credit for every new employee that they hire right here in the U.S. over the next two years and eliminate tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. Help homeowners who are making a good faith effort to pay their mortgages, by freezing foreclosures for 90 days. And just like after 9-11, we'll provide low-cost loans to help small businesses pay their workers and keep their doors open. "

THE FACTS: His proposals - the tax cuts, the low-cost loans, the $15 billion a year he promises for alternative energy, and more - cost money, and the country could be facing a record $1 trillion deficit next year. Indeed, Obama recently acknowledged - although not in his commercial - that: "The next president will have to scale back his agenda and some of his proposals."

THE SPIN: "I also believe every American has a right to affordable health care."

THE FACTS: That belief should not be confused with a guarantee of health coverage for all. He makes no such promise. Obama hinted as much in the ad when he said about the problem of the uninsured: "I want to start doing something about it." He would mandate coverage for children but not adults. His program is aimed at making insurance more affordable by offering the choice of government-subsidized coverage similar to that in a plan for federal employees and other steps, including requiring larger employers to share costs of insuring workers.

THE SPIN: "We are currently spending $10 billion a month in Iraq, when they have a $79 billion surplus. It seems to me that if we're going to be strong at home as well as strong abroad that we've got to look at bringing that war to a close." These lines in the ad were taken from a debate with McCain.

THE FACTS: Obama was once and very often definitive about getting combat troops out in 16 months (At times during the primaries, he promised to do so within a year). More recently, without backing away explicitly from the 16-month withdrawal pledge, he has talked of the need for flexibility. In the primaries, it would have been a jarring departure for him to have said merely that "we've got to look at" ending the war. As for Iraq's surplus, it's true that Iraq could end up with a surplus that large, but that hasn't happened yet.

I'm an avid TV watcher...perhaps a bit too much. Of all the shows I watch, I've somehow found more to add to the weekly lineup. The first two shows are on HBO on Sunday night.

True Blood is a show about vampires in Louisiana. The premise is that vampires have always been with us, and have finally stepped out of the shadows and integrated with society...to a point. The title comes from a synthetic drink the Japanese invented that supposedly gives the vampires the same benefits of human blood. I'm somewhat torn on the show. Some weeks it seems very interesting, and other weeks I'm just not feeling it. I probably wouldn't lose much sleep if the show was canceled however.

Little Britain USA is a comedy sketch show, but requires a taste for British humor. The show's two starts, Matt Lucas and David Walliams play various characters a la a two man Saturday Night Live. It all depends on the type of comedy preferred, but the show is quite amusing. Some of my favorite skits are the bodybuilders, the lady and the dog, and finally, the Prime Minister and President one.

Ah, the updated Knight Rider. Bad Acting? Check. A super badass car? Check. The show isn't going to win any awards for well...anything. The show is simply a fun escape from reality. They've upped the ante from the original version and added some sex appeal with Michael's love interest and Asian tech girl. A couple things make the show fail however - First, the main character's name is Mike Traceur. They came up with a bogus storyline in one of the first couple episodes to change it to Michael Knight. Next, they changed the car into a Mustang. Finally, the car goes a little overboard, not with the technology, but the morphing into "attack mode" and an F-150, which is simply stupid.

Life on Mars is an interesting show. I've only seen the first episode, but the premise of a cop in 2008 getting hit by a car and waking up in 1973, and then being a cop in that era, all while trying to determine which reality is real, or if the 1973 reality is a dream, coma, drug hallucination or something else. I'm hoping it doesn't go the way of Journeyman this season, but with Michael Imperioli and Harvey Keitel headlining the show, perhaps it won't.

Last, but not least, Crusoe is the final show I've added to my weekly lineup. As the name implies, it is based upon the Daniel Defoe novel, Robinson Crusoe. The main character is shipwrecked and stranded on an island. He has one companion, a "savage" named Friday who he saved. Crusoe is somewhat of a genius with the ability to invent things in a MacGyver like fashion. I'm likening it to an old fashioned lost, without all the conspiracy theory garbage. It also adds the only Friday show to my lineup, but Friday isn't generally a strong TV night, so I'm curious if the top brass will move it to a better spot.

ABC's Orlando affiliate station, WFTV had an interview with Joe Biden in which some tough question were asked regarding Obama's spreading the wealth around comments and if they are concerned with the socialist themes and comparisons to Karl Marx.

The Obama campaign issued the following statement regarding the interview:

There's nothing wrong with tough questions, but reporters have the very important job of sharing the truth with the public -- not misleading the American people with false information. Senator Biden handled the interview well; however, the anchor was completely unprofessional. Senator Biden's wife is not running for elected office, and there are many other stations in the Orlando television market that would gladly conduct a respectful and factual interview with her.

This cancellation is non-negotiable, and further opportunities for your station to interview with this campaign are unlikely, at best for the duration of the remaining days until the election.

Using bully tactics to limit interviews which ask tough questions question which you deem to be misleading? Let the American people decide if Obama's policies are what direction they want the country to go in. The media has been fawning over the Obama candidacy the whole campaign, so when reporters are actually trying to investigate claims, don't write them off as attacks from the far right.

You can see the video below:

While there has been much talk about Joe Biden's comments at a Seattle fundraiser:

Mark my words - It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. The world is looking. We're about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America.

Watch. We're going to have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.

And he's going to need help . . . to stand with him. Because it's not going to be apparent initially; it's not going to be apparent that we're right.

My problem is not what Biden said - he's extremely prone to gaffes and says stupid things given the opportunity. The problem is that his words are very scary after the previous Wednesday officials from both campaigns met with the Bush Administration to discuss a smooth transition to the next administration due to the terror threats that exist in our current political climate.

Did Biden perhaps slip that something was going to happen after the election that intelligence agencies have alluded to? Regardless of what group is in power, this brings a whole new element in to play as to what Biden was referring to. A terrorist attack? One world currency? Further global economic woes?

Biden was speaking to a group of supporters at this fundraiser. As that was the case, what was meant by the phrase it's not going to be apparent that we're right? Something to do with a war? Perhaps the realization that no matter what administration is in power, they'll be so backed in to a corner that the choices available for what to do from a foreign policy perspective are slim to none.

The McCain camp bringing up how this crisis is to test Obama's mettle is not what worries me, but rather that such a scenario is being talked about, and more importantly from the side that talks about it happening if they win.

This ACORN fiasco is getting out of hand. Obama may not be responsible for these apparent pieces of voter registration fraud. Yes, during the debate he said they were apparent frauds, not actual frauds. In any event, the proof of the voter fraud is insurmountable now.

While the extreme left is playing this off as Republican tactics to disenfranchise voters, the fraud being perpretrated by those involved is anything but. Currently, the FBI is now investigating ACORN for voter fraud, showing it is much more than partisan politics.

If the partisianship is coming from either side, it would be from the Democrats. Ohio's Secretary of State, a Democrat, is doing everything she can to stop investigating the voter fraud in the state, by appealing a ruling which forces the state to do more to help counties determine if registrations are valid.

This isn't a state such as California or Texas which are virtual locks for their respective candidate come election day. This is the state that determined the 2004 election and is once again at the forefront of the battleground states up for grabs. It isn't even like there were a few fraudulent forms turned in - roughly 200,000 - let that sink in for just a moment - TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND voter registrations are under suspicion in Ohio, out of six hundred thousand new ones. Imagine if an auto maker released a new car that had a failure rate of 33%. Where is the outrage regarding this in the media?

Via Drudge and Politico...

Glenn Beck has signed a multi-year agreement to join FOX News, announced Roger Ailes, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FOX News. Beginning next spring, Beck will host FOX News Channel’s (FNC) 5 PM/ET weekday program as well as a weekend show on the network.

Currently, Beck serves as the host of Glenn Beck, a talk show on CNN’s Headline News which has grown more than 200% in viewership in both the 7pm and 9pm timeslots since its 2006 debut. He also hosts a daily radio show The Glenn Beck Program which is syndicated via Premiere Radio Networks to more than 300 stations nationwide as well as XM Satellite Radio, and ranks as the third most listened to radio talk show in America among adults 25-54.

In making the announcement, Ailes said, “As we embark on a new political landscape, Glenn’s thought provoking commentary will complement an already stellar line-up of stars at FOX News”

I'm curious as to what format the show will follow. I usually catch the CNN HN version of his show at 7PM while driving via XM. That'll simply switch to Fox News in the Spring. Wonder if he'll mention it at all tonight...doubtful though - announcing a jump to a competititor when it is still months away sounds a bit classless.

Well, the debates are all finished now. This was probably the best debate out of the three. Finally we got into some of the meat and potatoes regarding the economic policies of each candidate, which is fitting since they both released their respective plans this week.

I think the most telling aspect of this debate was the references to "Joe the Plumber." Joe epitomizes the American Dream - work hard, bust your butt, and succeed and become wealthy. This is where the candidates' policies take vastly different directions in how to fix and manage the economy.

Senator McCain supports lower taxes for all Americans, regardless of income levels. Senator McCain believes that only the lowest income Americans should receive tax breaks, and falsely refers to it as 95% of Americans. The problem with this logic is that of those 95% who make less than $250,000 per year, a good portion of them pay zero income tax, thus reducing the amount to somewhere around 50% of Americans. In addition, if you aren't paying taxes, you can't get a tax cut. Having a check sent out to you isn't a tax cut - it's welfare, plain and simple.

Senator Obama is in favor of trickle up economics, in which if the lower class is doing good, then it will help the higher income earners as well. However, logic, and history dictate that things don't flow uphill, they flow down. Think of the person employing you. Are they rich, or poor? The old saying goes - I've never worked for a poor man. The rich folks with small businesses are the ones creating jobs in the country. If you are making a certain amount of money and are taxed more on it, you'll cut spending and possibly jobs. Higher taxes and this Robin Hood mentality are not the ideals that America was founded on.

I thought this McCain's best debate, and also Obama's worst. I'm still not sold on McCain, but I am sold against Obama. Both of these candidates have the ability to destroy our country, just at different paces, and along different paths. Only time will tell if we make the correct decision on November 4th. The Canadians, however, don't have to worry about that - they made the correct decision by re-electing Prime Minister Harper. So congrats Canada, at least one country in North America is doing something right politically.

Without further adieu, here is the full audio from the debate...