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Amy Silverman’s “Love the War, Neglect the Warrior: His fame’s based on his POW status, but Senator John McCain’s made a point of voting against fellow veterans," tells the story of McCain’s voting record on support for war veterans, and how various veterans’ groups and retired military personnel feel about him: Most vet special-interest groups decline to officially take sides (even VoteVets hasn’t made a presidential endorsement). But VoteVets is among many veterans groups to note the discrepancy between John McCain’s talk and his actions. ...

Last night Otto was barking at something while inside the house. This isn’t unusual, but what was unusual was that he didn’t run out into the backyard to bark. I was trying to get to sleep early in order to deal with 4 a.m. irrigation, and he came upstairs and continued to bark. Kat went outside to see if there was an animal outside (such as a cat that spends a lot of time in our front yard), and heard a dog barking nearby that was too close to be one of the neighbor dogs. She got a flashlight and went out to find a dog trapped in the Highline Canal, struggling to get out, but the sides were too steep. The dog’s front paws were bloody from the effort. She managed to get a leash around its neck to try to pull him out, but he resisted. She called the Arizona Humane Society to get someone to come take him (and help get him out if we were unable to manage it)–since he’s an injured dog, this was a case they are permitted to deal with. (If a stray dog is over 6 months old and uninjured, Maricopa County Animal Care & Control is the only entity legally permitted to take them.) I went and got a ladder and put it into the water to see if he could use it to pull himself up, but he just used it to hold himself in place. When the Arizona Humane Society arrived, they had a dog snare which, combined with the leash, we were able to use to pull the dog to safety. He was dried off and willingly jumped into the kennel on the truck. The dog had a collar, but no tags. Kat will be putting his photo up on Pets911 this morning. Thanks to Otto’s barking, this dog avoided the fate of another whose skeleton was pulled out of the canal by our house, in the same location, earlier this year. ...

“Captain Disillusion” has produced a re-edited version of a news story about a ghost caught on a gas station security camera that is much better than the original. Historical Comments Einzige (2008-10-30): Hilarious!

Here’s a nice set of graphs from the New York Times that shows various economic metrics by President and party majority in the Senate and House of Representatives. For the budget surplus vs. deficit, there seems to be a benefit to having one party in the presidency and another party in control of Congress. In general, it looks like Republicans in the presidency and the Senate produce bad results… (Via the Big Picture blog.)

There are reports that Sarah Palin is “going rogue” by continually going off message and clashing with key McCain aides. One McCain aide reports: “She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone,” said this McCain adviser. “She does not have any relationships of trust with any of us, her family or anyone else. “Also, she is playing for her own future and sees herself as the next leader of the party. Remember: Divas trust only unto themselves, as they see themselves as the beginning and end of all wisdom."This is not the kind of person who should be in a position of political leadership in a representative democracy–perhaps in a banana republic, but not a first-world nation. (I do agree with her that “robocalls”–prerecorded political advertisements–are extremely annoying.)

Sarah Palin says that Bill Ayers counts as a domestic terrorist for setting off bombs, but declines to apply the term to those who set off bombs to blow up abortion clinics: WILLIAMS: Are we changing – it’s been said that to give it a vaguely post-9/11 hint, using that word that we don’t normally associate with domestic crimes. Are we changing the definition? Are the people who set fire to American cities during the ’60s terrorists in – under this definition? Is an abortion clinic bomber a terrorist under this definition, Governor? ...

Via the Reason blog: The 1976 U.S. Supreme Court case of U.S. v. Martinez-Fuerte established an exception to the Fourth Amendment, allowing the federal government to establish roadblock checkpoints within 100 miles of U.S. borders to stop people and search for illegal immigrants and smuggling. The ACLU notes that 190 million people live within 100 miles of U.S. borders, providing this helpful map. (Although Lake Michigan is entirely within U.S. boundaries, by treaty Canada is allowed full navigation rights to the lake–so it’s not clear if that 100-mile boundary would actually be as in the ACLU’s map around Lake Michigan.) There are currently 33 checkpoints in operation within the boundary area. Here’s some video footage of one of them in Arizona: (Via Checkpoint USA, which has numerous videos of interactions at one of these temporary checkpoints.) ...

Daniel Zubairi, one of McCain’s state leaders for Maryland, stepped forward to publicly criticize a person who was criticizing Obama and claiming that he’s tainted because of a Muslim background. CNN wanted to put Zubairi on air, but the McCain campaign said no. (Via Daily Kos.)

Former George W. Bush press secretary Scott McClellan says he’s voting for Obama: “From the very beginning I have said I am going to support the candidate that has the best chance for changing the way Washington works and getting things done and I will be voting for Barack Obama and clapping,” McClellan told new CNN Host D.L. Hughley.

Arizona ballot proposition 101, the Medical Choice for Arizona amendment, says this: Be it enacted by the People of Arizona: 1. Article II, Section 36: Constitution of Arizona is proposed to be added as follows if approved by the voters and on proclamation of the Governor: ARTICLE II, SECTION 36. BECAUSE ALL PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT THEIR HEALTH CARE, NO LAW SHALL BE PASSED THAT RESTRICTS A PERSON’S FREEDOM OF CHOICE OF PRIVATE HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS OR PRIVATE PLANS OF ANY TYPE. NO LAW SHALL INTERFERE WITH A PERSON’S OR ENTITY’S RIGHT TO PAY DIRECTLY FOR LAWFUL MEDICAL SERVICES, NOR SHALL ANY LAW IMPOSE A PENALTY OR FINE, OF ANY TYPE, FOR CHOOSING TO OBTAIN OR DECLINE HEALTH CARE COVERAGE OR FOR PARTICIPATION IN ANY PARTICULAR HEALTH CARE SYSTEM OR PLAN. ...