There have been a number of stories about McCain lying. Granted, McCain has made a number of false and conflicting statements about his past beliefs and even his past behavior. But that does not mean he is lying.

To lie one must be cognizant that what you are telling people is false. While President Reagan told many untrue stories, he was not lying. As we now know, this was the early stages of his Alzheimer’s. Reagan Alzheimer’s was interfering with his ability to remember accurately and separate the facts of his life from the fiction of his movies. I suspect a similar problem is distorting McCain’s memory.

January 20, 2001, Bush took an oath to protect us from foreign enemies. The outgoing Clinton administration had warned Bush terrorist groups, and specifically al Qaeda, where our most serious foreign threat.

After Clinton’s warning, Bush downgraded our counter-terrorism program. For nine months he delayed scheduling a meeting on the al Qaeda threat. The meeting took place after Bush finished his month long August vacation. It was too late, al Qaeda struck one week later.

There are stories and diaries on who will/should or not speak at the Conventions.

For Republicans, Bush will likely speak early then rushed out of Minnesota. Cheney will stay in his bunker.

On the Democrat side we have Hillary doing Tuesday evening and at least one dairy at this side saying Edwards should join Cheney in the bunker.

After yesterday’s beating for my Tennessee Snark, I’m reluctant to post a diary today. But the Louisville Courier-Journal published my letter on Mitch McConnel and oil prices that I thought you might enjoy - after the jump.

But for those worried that my brother would disown me or even cheered him on to physically harm me, he has responded to my email. He liked it. I them gave him the KOS url to check out your comments.

Brother agreed with Sotally Tober and Chicagoa that the snark was so obvious. He thinks you were a bit mean and need to lighten up.

Brother Steve has invited me down next week to bike, play some table tennis, and laugh.

Steve and I have been close since childhood. We shared a bedroom all the years we lived with our parents. We lived together one year in college. We email multiple times every day. We visit each other as often as possible. However, we are 150 miles apart, have busy lives, and with gas prices at $4/gallon the visits are more rare.

And now there is a new problem - I'm just plain scared to visit him.

Below is the letter I just sent to my brother and his family.

Is he being set up for a big smack down?

Like so many of you, I keep wondering why McCain seems to be getting a free ride from the press.

It is the morning after, and I still don’t get it.

Why would Obama vote to give Bush and his lackeys amnesty?

And it is far more than amnesty - this legislation can hide the facts and truth of criminal behavior from the American public.

Rather than fight against FISA’s amnesty for law breakers, maybe we should extend amnesty for people who really deserve amnesty - people who are in prison for smoking pot or carrying signs that read, "McCain = Bush."

People are always breaking the law and in only a small minority of these violations are the "criminals" punished. Most drivers have violated traffic laws but few are caught. I jaywalked last week and escaped punishment.

I realize coaches and analysts claim the big games are won with defense. And certainly, defense is important. But you also need an offense. How many games have been lost trying hang onto a thin lead?

So it is with Obama’s campaign as another diary notes and Frank Rich suggested Sunday.

Sorry about the short diary but I just could not believe what I was seeing as I was walking (no gas used) to Borders Books (I had a 40% off coupon) to buy Collateral Damage: American's War Against Iraqi Civilians by Chris Hedges and Liala Al-Arian.

I've only read the first few pages but already it is a must read that I am seriously considering assigning in my Social Problems class for Fall 08.

What are those red lines under Barack and Obama? Hillary, Clinton, John, and McCain are not underlined in red.

Barack and Obama are not spillin airs!

KOS needs to add Barack and Obama to the Blog's dictionary.

And while adding Barack and Obama how about adding the list after the jump.

No, I’m not talking about President or Vice President. But how can the party get Clinton and her supporters to get behind Obama for the general election?

There are two important roles opening soon that can be more important than the Presidency - roles that Clinton could fill.

President Bush has been so unfairly criticized for failing to support the troops he sent to occupy Iraq. Recent revelations of his sacrifice for the troops should illicit apologies and shut up these critics.

For years critics harped that Bush took more vacations than any President in history yet never found time to attend one funeral of our fallen warriors. But it did not stop there. Returning soldiers themselves embarrassed our Commander-in-Chief with petty criticisms about long delays, inadequate care, roach and rat infested rooms, and cutbacks in Veterans Health Services.

Last night I fired off an email to friends and family in various parts of the country that gas in Louisville hit $3.999 per gallon and asked what it was in their area. The front page photo of this morning’s Courier-Journal has a gas sign with $3.999 price and a story about the impact of rising gas prices.

Yesterday, our Sociology faculty had a teaching workshop in the morning. Afterwards, three of us decided to get Obama tickets for his appearance at our university - Indiana University Southeast in New Albany which is just across the river from Louisville, KY. which had just been announced for the following day.

The event was to be held in our largest place - the gymnasium which holds nearly 3,700. Chelsea Clinton had appeared weeks earlier but she was put into a smaller room that probably holds several hundred at most. I missed the event but even Obama supporters had high praise for Chelsea - she had a strong command of facts and issues.

Back to Obama after the jump.

The AP and CNN are reporting that nearly 200 people (137 children) have been taken from the Texas ranch of religious leader of a polygamist sect.

This diary is directed toward all of you "worry warts" out there who think the continued race between Obama and Clinton will doom the Democrats in the Fall election.

Don’t worry; be happy! It will not play out that way.

I matured and loved my experiences at the University of Iowa. I received a great education, became politically aware, meet my mate, and changed the direction of my life.

The administration disappointed me in their support of the Vietnam War and punishment of anti-war demonstrators. I will not go into it here, but the University of Iowa administration did a number of unethical, if not illegal, actions to punish students and faculty who opposed the war.

Move ahead to 2008.