A triple shot of weird from the New York Times. Let's start with "Obama has many ties to Fannie Mae, AIG, Lobbyists, and Domestic Terrorists." Huh? Oh, sorry: McCain and Team Have Many Ties to Gambling Industry

Senator John McCain was on a roll. In a room reserved for high-stakes gamblers at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, he tossed $100 chips around a hot craps table. When the marathon session ended around 2:30 a.m., the Arizona senator and his entourage emerged with thousands of dollars in winnings.

As a two-time chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, Mr. McCain has done more than any other member of Congress to shape the laws governing America's casinos, helping to transform the once-sleepy Indian gambling business into a $26-billion-a-year behemoth with 423 casinos across the country. He has won praise as a champion of economic development and self-governance on reservations.

As factions of the ferociously competitive gambling industry have vied for an edge, they have found it advantageous to cultivate a relationship with Mr. McCain or hire someone who has one, according to an examination based on more than 70 interviews and thousands of pages of documents.

Mr. McCain portrays himself as a Washington maverick unswayed by special interests, referring recently to lobbyists as "birds of prey." Yet in his current campaign, more than 40 fund-raisers and top advisers have lobbied or worked for an array of gambling interests -- including tribal and Las Vegas casinos, lottery companies and online poker purveyors.

A "nicely" written article by the Times, with a mix of "look at the good McCain has done for these Indians!" and "hmm, he sure seems like he does quite a bit with lobbyists and to increase gambling in this country, which is bad!" A long, long, long page A1 article.

Why? What is the point, other then to subtely paint McCain as a gambling addict hell bent on taking lobbyist money to make American's into gamblers.

Massachusetts Proposal Would Repeal Income Tax

....Amid the whirlwind presidential election, Massachusetts has a ballot contest of its own this November that could drastically alter -- some would say cripple -- state government.

At issue is Question 1, which would eliminate the state income tax. It would save the average taxpayer about $3,600 a year. Annual revenue from the tax is about $12.5 billion, roughly 45 percent of the state's budget of about $28 billion.

Let's see: the state with two of the most Liberal Senators, one a failed presidential candidate who liked to talk about tax cuts for the rich, and the other the Lion of the Senate, who never met a tax increase he didn't like, wants to eliminate the State income tax. This is a state with 10 House seats, and all ten are Democrats. Massively liberal/progressive. If they think this is a good idea, maybe the rest of the country should consider it.

And last, but not least, but certainly most insane, the Grey Lady editorial board, the sense of the entire paper, goes nutroots

Electronic voting machines are notoriously unreliable, but their defenders insist that they can be trusted because they are rigorously tested before they are certified for use. Now Congressional investigators have issued a report confirming that the federal certification program needs work.

The Election Assistance Commission says it wants to do better. Congress should monitor its progress and make sure that the certification system is strengthened. Still, the best way to ensure the integrity of the vote is for Congress to require voter-verified paper records for every electronic ballot cast.

In other words, watch out for those wascally Republicans, who are going to attempt to steal the vote for a 3rd straight presidential election. Maybe they should be looking at their own side first.

Crossed at Pirate's Cove