Trampled flat

Richard Schiff: Who Knew?

2008-11-07T14:15:00.000-08:00

Richard Schiff, the actor from The West Wing, possibly the best show ever aired on teevee, has a remarkable piece on HuffPo. You should just click that link and read it.

My wife made me canvass for Obama; here's what I learned - Yahoo! News

2008-11-03T07:32:00.000-08:00

This is really good. You should just read it...

Back in the USSR!

2008-10-20T12:26:00.000-07:00

Ben Smith tells us: McCain camp hits up Russian envoy

Russia's permanent mission to the UN has received a letter from U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain asking for financial support of his election campaign, the mission said in a statement on Monday.

"We have received a letter from Senator John McCain with a request for a financial donation to his presidential election campaign. In this respect we have to reiterate that neither Russia's permanent mission to the UN nor the Russian government or its officials finance political activities in foreign countries," the statement said.

According to Ruslan Bakhtin, press secretary of the Russian mission, the letter dated September 29 and signed by McCain, was addressed to Vitaly Churkin, Russia's envoy to the UN, and arrived on October 16.

The ambassador's title was not included in the letter, and was not clear why the letter had taken over two weeks to arrive.

Enclosed was a request for a donation of up to $5,000 to McCain's election campaign to be returned with a check or permission to withdraw the money from the donor's credit card until October 24.

I can't believe this. This was probably a massive mistake (I hope). Even so, it could be a very embarrassing event in an already embarrassing campaign.

God I love this...

2008-10-16T08:06:00.000-07:00

I laughed and laughed... Thanks Senator for a great way to add some humor to my day. (Too bad it had to be at your expense)

Chickens coming home to roost...

2008-10-15T07:12:00.000-07:00

CNN Political Ticker: Buckley leaves National Review after Obama endorsement � - Blogs from CNN.com

(CNN) — Christopher Buckley, the son of conservative icon William F. Buckley, said Tuesday he's resigned from the conservative National Review days after endorsing Barack Obama's White House bid, among the most powerful symbols yet of the conservative discontent expressed this election cycle.

In an online column, Buckley said he had decided to offer his resignation from the magazine his father founded after hundreds of readers and some National Review colleagues expressed outrage he was backing the Illinois senator.

"While I regret this development, I am not in mourning, for I no longer have any clear idea what, exactly, the modern conservative movement stands for," Buckley wrote.

"Eight years of 'conservative' government has brought us a doubled national debt, ruinous expansion of entitlement programs, bridges to nowhere, poster boy Jack Abramoff and an ill-premised, ill-waged war conducted by politicians of breathtaking arrogance. As a sideshow, it brought us a truly obscene attempt at federal intervention in the Terry Schiavo case," he also wrote.

I am amazed. The thought that the son of the modern conservative movement could make this kind of a statement at this time in the election cycle is absolutely breathtaking. I applaud him for his reasonable view on the bigger picture. Welcome Christopher, We're glad you are here.

Troopergate report: Palin abused power: Gov. Sarah Palin | adn.com

2008-10-10T18:09:00.000-07:00

Troopergate report: Palin abused power: Gov. Sarah Palin | adn.com:

"A legislative investigation has concluded that Gov. Sarah Palin abused her power in pushing for the firing of an Alaska state trooper who was once married to her sister.

The report by investigator Steve Branchflower was made public late this afternoon by a 12-0 vote of the Legislative Council, which authorized the investigation."

Exclusive: Obama buys half-hour of network primetime--The Live Feed

2008-10-09T14:24:00.000-07:00

The Live Feed has the Exclusive:

Barack Obama has purchased a half-hour of airtime on CBS, sources confirm.

The Obama campaign will air a half-hour primetime special on Wednesday, Oct. 29, at 8 p.m.

Sources say the Obama camp is also in talks with NBC and Fox. NBC is said to be very near a deal. With Fox, the matter is likely to remain uncertain as the time period could conflict with Game 6 of the World Series.

A CBS spokesperson declined comment. The buy will push comedy "The New Adventures of Old Christine" to 8:30 p.m. and pre-empt "Gary Unmarried." The buy is being placed by Washington-based ad firm GMMB.

The direct purchase of such a large block of national airtime right before an election used to be more commonplace before campaigns began to focus their end game strategies exclusively on battleground states. Such a move is not without precedent in modern presidential politics, however -- Ross Perot did a similar purchase in 1992.

Margaret and Helen

2008-10-08T15:43:00.000-07:00

Margaret and Helen Have a blog. and it might just be one of the best I have read. there are not many posts but those that are there are great. Go take a look!

Where the hell did McCain go?!

2008-10-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

Debate Audience Members were caught off guard when John McCain left immediately after the debate last night:

“McCain leaving right afterward was pretty shocking to me – even some of the big McCain fans among us were really surprised he did that,” Ms. Jackson said. “I thought the Obamas came off like real people much more in the end.”

Ms. Trella added: for, “I was very impressed that the Obamas stayed til the very end, shook everyone’s hand, and just seemed very accessible. I think they won some people over by just sticking around and seeming happy to talk more.”

I saw this last night while I was watching the end of the debate. I kept asking my wife "Where the hell is McCain?" "Did he leave?"

Apparently he did, and lost a chance to talk to the people who might just have turned the night for him.

Wherein You Hear the Words "John McCain" and "Ultra Right Wing Death Squads" In the Same Context

2008-10-07T08:52:00.000-07:00

The AP has this little story that may gain some traction...

AP) GOP presidential nominee John McCain has past connections to a private group that supplied aid to guerrillas seeking to overthrow the leftist government of Nicaragua in the Iran-Contra affair.

McCain's ties are facing renewed scrutiny after his campaign criticized Barack Obama for his link to a former radical who engaged in violent acts 40 years ago.

The U.S. Council for World Freedom was part of an international organization linked to former Nazi collaborators and ultra-right-wing death squads in Central America. The group was dedicated to stamping out communism around the globe.

No... Seriously? Does that say Nazi collaborators and ultra-right-wing death squads? and what was McCain's job? Oh right... He was on the BOARD OF DIRECTORS!

McCain Lawyer's Up!

2008-10-06T13:45:00.000-07:00

Eric Kleefeld at TPM has the report of the conference call heard round the world!:

"On a conference call with reporters this afternoon, held in response to the Obama campaign's ramped-up attacks on McCain's involvement in the scandal, the campaign brought out attorney John Dowd, who served as McCain's counsel at the time. Dowd declared that he vehemently disagreed with the judgment of the Senate Ethics Committee that McCain had made some serious mistakes. 'That's not something that as his counsel I accepted,' Dowd said."

That's quite a reversal of the story coming from McCain. HAsn't anyone ever told him that involving your lawyer on media calls makes you look like you have something to hide? Am I alone in seeing this as a really bad call? (Pun intended...)

Best. Comment. Evah.

2008-10-06T09:11:00.000-07:00

jaycee, Ventura, CA (Sent Monday, October 06, 2008 9:35 AM) - msnbc.com

"So let’s review John McCain’s maverick brand of experienced leadership during the current financial crisis. First he reflexively pulls out his old stump speech line and reassures everyone that the fundamentals of the economy are strong. Whoops. He says the crisis does not warrant bailing out insurance giant American International Group, only to reverse course the very next day calling the rescue of AIG “regrettable, but unavoidable.” Then he decides he needs to look decisive and blames it all on the SEC chairman, as though we can hang the entire global financial mess around the neck of a single goat and drive it into the wilderness. Maybe he thought it would divert attention from his own role in creating the lax regulatory environment that allowed this mess to develop.

With his scapegoating gambit failing to attract much of a following, John decides he’s really going to take charge and refuses to campaign or debate until a bailout agreement is reached. Or until he turns blue. He makes a dramatic return to Washington to force a meeting with the president and the principal negotiators so he could work some that old bipartisan maverick magic. The meeting degenerates into a shouting match that derails the process. McCain fails to even take a stand on the wildly divergent Republican views expressed during a meeting that he called in order to look like he’s taking charge. With his big move going nowhere, John reverses course and decides he will debate and resume campaigning without an agreement after all.

After losing the debate John heads right back to Washington for the weekend, determined this time to jump into the driver’s seat. He issues a high-minded call to put aside partisanship while pointing his finger at Barack Obama, whom he now claims was square in the middle of the Washington culture of lobbying and influence peddling. Never mind that for months John’s been desperately trying to paint Obama as the inexperienced guy who started running for president within weeks of arriving in Washington.

John makes a big show over the weekend of working the phones and scrambling around to the front of the Republican pack so it looks like he’s in the lead. Monday morning he takes credit for bringing his troops to save the day. Problem is, John hasn’t even noticed that 2/3 of his troops wandered off down a side street along the way. The bill goes down to defeat after John has already declared victory. A bad habit of his.

In stark contrast to the flailing floundering maverick, Barack Obama has again demonstrated that he possesses the intelligence, temperament, and resolve to steer through troubled waters with a steady hand. He understands that a leader must recognize when intervention will help and when it will hurt, a lesson John McCain seems to have missed in all those years of experience. One of many such lessons. If all John’s experience can’t help him make good decisions, then how much is it really worth? The guy is plain unreliable and his chaotic decision-making process makes him a dangerous choice for president in today’s complex and threatening world.

Couldn't have said it better myself....

The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

2008-10-06T08:57:00.000-07:00

Andrew Sullivan is a bit preoccupied with this but it does bear some looking into. The story here is quite sensational and not just a little bit of a privacy invasion. I also am not too sure if I would have the cojones to really ask about it myself but there are enough mysteries now to get my interest. It seems that the latest in the Palin clan has no record of his birth at the hospital that he was supposed to be born at.

The birth in question has all of the ringing of truth you might expect but there has been no certificate. Nothing that might shut up the other crazy left wingers that are so into this. It seems that if you really wanted to put this pernicious rumor to rest you could just get the document and publish it. I mean they gave up their tax returns and all, why not just slam the door on this? I originally had no doubt that this was all a load of hooey dreamed up by some on my side of the aisle that couldn't take her seriously but the fact that there are no records of this birth ever having occurred is disturbing....

Why not the joker?

2008-09-25T08:58:00.001-07:00

Via Wonkette and from points outward on the intertubes....

Best. Parody. Evah.

Fantastic!

2008-09-25T07:20:00.000-07:00

Dave gets to the senator for dissing him last night...

The other shoe.

2008-09-24T16:16:00.000-07:00

Ouch... This is going to leave a mark at the checkout counter...:

"In a world exclusive The NATIONAL ENQUIRER names GOP VP Candidate Sarah Palin's secret lover!

No less than three members of the man’s family including one by sworn affidavit have claimed that Sarah Palin engaged in an extramarital affair with husband Todd’s former business partner, Brad Hanson."

I shit you not.

McCain jumps shark, suspends campaign.

2008-09-24T14:56:00.000-07:00

Stop me if you've heard this one from CNN.com...

Is John McCain freaking nuts?! I have been shocked and amazed by some crazy shit before during this campaign season but this takes the topper. He has called a time out not only on his campaign but possibly on the debates as well. I have no idea whether he thinks that this is a presidential looking move but to me it surely looks like a cut and run from the debates, especially as he was in debate prep at the time.

Look, Mr. "The-economy-is-not-my-strong-suit" McCain is not going to ride into town and save the government from itself as a model for bipartisan unity. He is not going to do anything but inject a lot of presidential politics into what is already looking like a knock-down-drag-out fight between congress and the white house on a subject that he has little familiarity with. I appreciate the chutzpah but I can do without the grandstanding.

Please senator, sit down and take your meds. This will all iron itself out with the help from the other congressmen and women. Seriously.

Fucking brilliant!

2008-09-19T13:58:00.000-07:00

CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive - Palin’s transparency proposal already exists in D.C. � - Blogs from CNN.com: "CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (CNN) – Sarah Palin likes to tell voters around the country about how she “put the government checkbook online” in Alaska. On Thursday, Palin suggested she would take that same proposal to Washington.

“We’re going to do a few new things also,” she said at a rally in Cedar Rapids. “For instance, as Alaska’s governor, I put the government’s checkbook online so that people can see where their money’s going. We’ll bring that kind of transparency, that responsibility, and accountability back. We’re going to bring that back to D.C.”

There’s just one problem with proposing to put the federal checkbook online – somebody’s already done it. His name is Barack Obama."

Todd Palin and the question of authorized access

2008-09-17T09:45:00.000-07:00

Salon.com has a very good and scary article on Sarah Palin's husband.

It brings up a point that has been nagging me for weeks. How did Todd Palin get the power to put pressure on the police commissioner to fire that trooper? I mean according to law Todd Palin has absolutely no authority to ask for anything in the government (excepting as any other normal citizen would).

Add to that the fact that he is routinely copied on emails that go to the Governor on policy and even personnel issues and you have some very weird politics indeed. Imagine that. There is a guy who is not even on the payroll of the state that has potential access to personnel records of state employees.

He is not the Governor! He is a citizen.

Adding even more to this, there have been several requests by concerned citizens and journalists to view the questioned emails via freedom of information requests and they have been denied. The reasoning behind the refusal? The very Bush-like "Executive Privilege." But Todd Palin is not a member of the executive branch. He is not even an employee of the state of Alaska. How does he get to see those emails and other private citizens are denied? This is a double standard that cannot be denied.

There is a real problem here. I hope to hear more about this as we go forward. Ask some questions.

That's not experience we can believe in...

2008-09-12T11:28:00.000-07:00

From The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan:

"I have had a strong and a long relationship on national security, I've been involved in every national crisis that this nation has faced since Beirut, I understand the issues, I understand and appreciate the enormity of the challenge we face from radical Islamic extremism. I am prepared. I am prepared. I need no on-the-job training. I wasn't a mayor for a short period of time. I wasn't a governor for a short period of time,' - Senator John McCain, October, 2007."

How many more lies can we take?

2008-09-12T08:34:00.000-07:00

Yahoo! News Brings us more in the ongoing trainwreck that is the Palin campaign. It seems that she just can't open her mouth without outright lying. This time she is lying about HER OWN STATEMENTS from just last year. And what's more, she has just dared the press to tell her when she said the things she said!

"Show me where I have ever said that there's absolute proof that nothing that man has ever conducted or engaged in has had any effect or no effect on climate change. I have not said that," Palin told ABC News in an interview broadcast Thursday and Friday.

The daily show is going to have a field day...

Here's a bit of advice to the Governor: STOP LYING! it is really easy to catch you on it. You may be following the lead of your computer illiterate running mate and not expect that anyone will be able to fact check your responses but here's the news flash: We can!

Matt Damon

2008-09-11T09:32:00.000-07:00

Via Ben Smith at Politico Via CBS

Giblets is back!

2008-09-10T14:26:00.000-07:00

I quote in it's beautiful entirety:

By Giblets,

Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Sarah Palin!
Well there's a brand new political superstar on the scene and she's tough as nails and the media won't leave her alone and she's a rough-and-tumble Alaskan hockey mom and why are they asking all these questions and she is the pure reincarnation of the invincible Anglo-Saxon frontier earth mother and stop picking on her!

So maybe Sarah Palin doesn't have all that much "experience." Maybe she doesn't pay much attention to your fancy-pants "foreign policy" or "domestic policy" or "policy." Maybe she's "crazy" and "corrupt" and was picked by a "vetting process" that consisted of "tossing darts at a phone book in the middle of an all-night Ambien-and-Ketamine binge." But maybe that's just because Sarah Palin's just too busy being a real American to hang around with your namby-pamby liberal candidates with their arugula lattes and their east coast Ivy League universities and their "qualifications" while they tax the Jesus Fetus to pay for gay Muslim healthcare! Well Sarah Palin understands that being vice-president takes more than just book-smarts or regular-smarts or knowing what a vice president does! It takes gumption and spunk and other made-up words that hearken back to another time - a realer time - a whiter time - back when men were men and women were men and great big hairy-chested frontiersmen of the plains wrestled oxen and caribou and the savage Injun Man in their mighty conquest of the West before succumbing to explosive amoebic dysentery! And with the help of God and millions of dollars in energy industry donations, Sarah Palin will give us that dysentery again!

VALUES.
As a Jesus-fearing moose-hunting hockey-mom mother of five, Sarah Palin understands real American values, because she is a real American just like you, only with much more money and power and a tiny invisible fairy that lives in her brain and tells her to ban books and blow up Muslims. Sarah Palin understands that the key to America's success is personal responsibility, and the key to personal responsibility is getting lots of money from oil companies and the federal government while you enforce other people's personal responsibility! Oh, you wanted state funding to help with your out-of-wedlock Sin Child? Shoulda thoughta that before you decided to not be born to Sarah Palin!

Sarah Palin will also ban abortion, 'cause in the hardscrabble up-by-the-bootstraps wilderness of the Alaskan suburbs, they don't have abortion. They also do not have adequate access to health care, birth control, or equal pay for equal work, as it turns out.

MAVERICKNESS.
As a moose-hunting Jesus-fearing hockey-mom mother of five who hunts moose, Sarah Palin isn't some petty Washington bureaucrat. She's a petty Alaskan bureaucrat, and she's gonna shake things up in Washington! For her first reform she will pose for photographs with a gun and a stuffed moose head! For her second reform she will say something bold and brassy. For her third reform she will give birth at a live press conference to six eagle scouts, three peregrine falcons and an American mastodon, rear them in the Christian faith and release them into the wild before hunting them down, shooting them and mounting their heads in the Roosevelt Room!

Now some of you are saying "oh Giblets these aren't actual reforms" because you are boring and stupid and I hate you. But if you think about it, Sarah Palin would be reforming Washington just by being elected and finally giving a voice to marginalized white Christian evangelicals everywhere. She will also re-ban abortion, in case abortion got away the first time.

ENVIRONMENTALNESS.
As a Jesus-fearing moose-hunting hockey-mom mother of five who hunts moose for Jesus, Sarah Palin is kin to the wild outdoors and appreciates its bountiful splendor as she is gunning it down from her airplane. Sarah Palin understands that America is dangerously addicted to oil, and that the only cure is more oil. She also understands that nature is our natural enemy, created by a malevolent Satan to come between us and our God-given oil deposits with its hateful, clean water and its foul, pristine air. But Sarah Palin also also knows that we've got to leave this earth behind for our children, at least until we can find a way to drill for oil in our children. Sarah Palin is committed to exploring Baby Trig's vast and abundant petroleum reserves.

Sarah Palin may not know if global warming is man-made. She may not know if global warming is real. She may not know what global warming is. But if global warming is caused by abortions, Sarah Palin will fight it - by banning abortion, just in case the first couple times didn't take.

COMMANDERNESS.
As a hockey-playing moose-hunting Jesus-fearing hockey-mom mother of five who plays hockey, Sarah Palin lives in Alaska, which is just a couple thousand miles away from Russia and the Red Chinese, giving her valuable insight into their inscrutable foreign ways. Every day for forty-four years Sarah Palin has gotten up and thought to herself, "Hmmm, the weather is cold today - and I bet the weather is similarly cold in Russia at this latitude." Isn't it about time we had a vice-president who understands the climatological grievances of our most deadliest frenemies? Think about it! But not for very long!

Alaska is also close to the International Date Line, giving Sarah Palin the power to traverse the distance between Today and Yesterday at will and making her the Wizard of Speed and Time. She's sassy and white and ready to lead, people! And to ban abortion. Just look at that blastocyst! How can you say no!

___

We now return to our regularly scheduled program...

OMFG!!!! DONT HIT THAT ON SWITCH!!!!

2008-09-09T16:49:00.000-07:00

You would think that the Large Hadron Collider was going to turn the earth into a scorched mass of coal or something! I mean look at this headline from CNN that I just pulled off the website! Talk about not knowing your ass from your proton! I mean what do they expect? that scientists don't know what will happen?! OH CRAP! We're all GOING TO DIE!!!!

Really? Is that what constitutes scientific journalism now days?

Well I for one am really excited. I can't wait to see if the energies that the LHC can accomplish will be enough to finally show us the elusive Higgs Boson or if any of the myriad other near unity energy subatomic particles will be proven to exist. The next year or two are going to usher in huge amounts of understanding about our current model of the universe. It is going to be a fantastic amount of discovery.

If we all don't die of course.

I just can't keep this up...

2008-09-08T09:52:00.000-07:00

So depressing. I have been looking for anything that might be a political story that has anything to do with another candidate that Sarah Palin. I have not been able to find it. So it looks like I will just take a break from the political reporting today and hang back. Misters Obama and McCain might get an article in here somewhere but it looks like the entire focus of the national press corps is on Palin. I have officially had enough of her. I await McCain and Obama stories to get back into the fray.

Perhaps there will be LOLCats or a good bit of humor to put up here. If not then I may just not post.

I have no words

2008-09-07T18:44:00.001-07:00

This is the list of books Palin tried to have banned. As many of you will notice it is a hit parade for book burners.

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
Blubber by Judy Blume
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Canterbury Tales by Chaucer
Carrie by Stephen King
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Christine by Stephen King
Confessions by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Cujo by Stephen King
Curses, Hexes, and Spells by Daniel Cohen
Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Peck
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
Decameron by Boccaccio
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Fallen Angels by Walter Myers
Fanny Hill (Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure) by John Cleland
Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Forever by Judy Blume
Grendel by John Champlin Gardner
Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
Have to Go by Robert Munsch
Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Impressions edited by Jack Booth
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
It’s Okay if You Don’t Love Me by Norma Klein
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
Little Red Riding Hood by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Love is One of the Choices by Norma Klein
Lysistrata by Aristophanes
More Scary Stories in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz
My Brother Sam Is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
My House by Nikki Giovanni
My Friend Flicka by Mary O’Hara
Night Chills by Dean Koontz
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
One Day in The Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Ordinary People by Judith Guest
Our Bodies, Ourselves by Boston Women’s Health Collective
Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl
Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones by Alvin Schwartz
Scary Stories in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz
Separate Peace by John Knowles
Silas Marner by George Eliot
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
The Bastard by John Jakes
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
The Devil’s Alternative by Frederick Forsyth
The Figure in the Shadows by John Bellairs
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Snyder
The Learning Tree by Gordon Parks
The Living Bible by William C. Bower
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
The New Teenage Body Book by Kathy McCoy and Charles Wibbelsman
The Pigman by Paul Zindel
The Seduction of Peter S. by Lawrence Sanders
The Shining by Stephen King
The Witches by Roald Dahl
The Witches of Worm by Zilpha Snyder
Then Again, Maybe I Won’t by Judy Blume
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary by the Merriam-Webster Editorial Staff
Witches, Pumpkins, and Grinning Ghosts: The Story of the Halloween Symbols by Edna Barth

Let them eat cake!

2008-09-05T12:41:00.000-07:00

This is not the kind of attention you want to attract when the average person in the USA makes as little as we do:

"Friday may be the start of New York's Fashion Week, but couture has been in the Minnesota convention hall all week.

It kicked off on Monday with Cindy McCain and First Lady Laura Bush in Oscar de la Renta.

Vanity Fair editors estimated that McCain's fierce saffron shirt dress with the popped collar, diamond earrings, four-strand pearl necklace, white Chanel watch and strappy shoes totaled up to $313,100."

Oh you can't be serious!

2008-09-05T12:30:00.000-07:00

Shorter Andrew Sullivan: Here We Go...

Todd Palin's former business partner files an emergency motion to have his divorce papers sealed. Oh God.

this is an amazing read!

2008-09-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

Ben Smith at Politico.com brings us this diatribe against Palin:

I have seen a number of disturbing reports about the VP pick of the republican party but this is so thorough, thoughtful and complete that it is really just staggering. Here's ben describing his vetting of the letter:

've received some 50 copies of a long e-mail from a woman named Anne Kilkenny of Wasilla, and it may be the most potent attack on Sarah Palin out there, bouncing around the Internet at the viral speed of an Obama-Muslim rumor.

The Anchorage Daily News confirms its authenticity and describes her as a "stay-at-home mom, letter-to-the-editor writer and longtime watcher of [Mat-Su] Valley politics" who has been deluged with e-mail as she become's Palin's leading local critic.

She says she clashed with Palin over her 1996 "attempt at censorship," a reported suggested to ban books at a local library, which Palin later said wasn't a serious proposal.

The letter mostly contains undisputed facts, and while it's occasionally positive — "she's smart" — it offers a bit of an alternate, and mostly hostile, history to the campaign biography.

The letter itself is truly a masterwork. It is very detailed and seen from a total insiders view. Palin has always made me think that she had some fishy ideas about managing people and institutions but this puts a lot of truth to the "feelings" To wit:

During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had given rise to a recall campaign.

Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a "fiscal conservative". During her 6 years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over 33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation (1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they benefited residents.

The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration weren't enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece of property that the City didn't even have clear title to, that was still in litigation 7 yrs later--to the delight of the lawyers involved!

There's more! Oh yes, there is so much more.... Read it here...

Those cheeky Republicans!

2008-09-05T09:58:00.000-07:00

TheHill.com has this great nugget where Rep Westmorland calls Obama "Uppity."

Westmoreland was discussing vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's speech with reporters outside the House chamber and was asked to compare her with Michelle Obama.

"Just from what little I’ve seen of her and Mr. Obama, Sen. Obama, they're a member of an elitist-class individual that thinks that they're uppity," Westmoreland said.

Asked to clarify that he used the word “uppity,” Westmoreland said, “Uppity, yeah.”

Well! It sure is nice to see that the old codewords for racism are finally just being done away with. Yep! They're coming out and just saying it now!

Wow! they don't want you to know anything about their pick

2008-09-05T09:23:00.000-07:00

Hit this You Tube link to see what the McCain Campaign thinks about americans learning anything about Their VP pick.

The say "Who cares?! Nobody wants to know anything else about her and we certainly won't allow her to talk to anyone like you!"

An truly awesome performance from the campaign to make everyone feel like they are being heard... NOT!

Lilly White...

2008-09-05T09:06:00.000-07:00

The RNC has a problem with diversity. There isn't any.

Thirty-six blacks out of 2,380 conventioneers, says today's WaPo.

Wow. How are they going to spin that to the minority voters? Have they just given up? You would think that they would at least pretend to be inclusive if only to show future generations that they were not all total bigots.

Pretty amazing stuf

2008-09-05T08:56:00.000-07:00

The Jed Report has this great bit that Howard Fineman said after the McCain speech last night. It seems that Palin is not going to be campaigning with McCain this week after all. Lets look in:

Howard Fineman reports a top McCain adviser tells him that Palin is going to be taking a "timeout" from the campaign trail through the middle of next week. According to Fineman, Palin will use the time to "begin the education of Sarah Palin." Apparently, the excuse will be that she needs to attend to personal business, including seeing her son off to Iraq.

Fineman says they want to make sure she understands John McCain's positions on issues and the issues she is going to need to deal with as a vice presidential candidate. Most notably, she won't be doing any substantial media interviews until she returns to the trail, which could be at least as late as next Wednesday.

Sounds like they have a serious problem if they are taking her completely off the reservation for the most important campaign week of the season. I doubt that they will find any solace from the media in AK though as there are already a huge number of investigative reporters in her hometown right this minute that would love to get a chance to bag her.

Best. Comment. Ever.

2008-09-05T07:17:00.000-07:00

In the WAPO story "All About Sarah" :

"Having grown up in New England, I'm an ice hockey fan. Back in the early to mid-70s, teams had players called goons. The Boston Bruins' goon was Derek Sanderson. The goon, with no appreciable offensive skills, had only one job, and it was this - to pick a fight with the opponent's best player and have both end up in the penalty box, thereby giving the losing team a chance to win. When the goon came out, the crowd went wild.

Sarah Palin is the GOP's goon. No substance whatsoever, and engaged for no other reason than to win at any cost.

Posted by: Bob B | September 5, 2008 12:47 AM"

2008-09-04T22:34:00.000-07:00

So I had to ask if this was appropriate behavior.., I know the whole thing screams "NO!" but there is actually a more deep thought here. Is it OK according to the laws of the USA and, more to the point the Flag Code of the USA to wear...THAT?

The answer it would seem is no...

The U.S. Flag Code, section 4-(d) states: "The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery...."

I suppose that it could go on to state "Even if you are a super conservative right wing whore you should not wear that even if you were going out to a Kid Rock concert!" But no... Especially if you were hoping to be the Vice President of the United States of America, you should not wear the American Flag to cover your tits and ass. I may be a screaming liberal who is ranting away into this good night, but I would never do that to our national symbol. And I wouldn't let my friends do it either.

LATE UPDATE: SO this is totally fake. I have been taken in by too easy a target. Snopes.com has busted this myth of Sarah Palin but the flag code is the real deal. (But it is Scetion 8-d not 4-d. Sorry.)

2008-09-03T07:23:00.000-07:00

A great article from my local paper the Seattle Times:

It looks like Sarah Palin might not be as reformist as she has made it out that she is.

"But earmarks have never been a dirty word in Alaska, a huge state dotted with small communities that have enormous dollar needs for sewers, roads and other projects.

Instead, earmarks — pet projects that members of Congress fund but that no federal agency has requested — have become a mainstay of political life here, and one that Palin embraced from early on in her career as a mayor of Wasilla to the governor's mansion in Juneau.

Just this year, she sent to Sen. Ted. Stevens, R-Alaska, a proposal for 31 earmarks totaling $197 million — more, per person, than any other state.

Her presidential running mate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., does not sponsor earmarks, calling the practice of doling out favors, often with scant oversight, 'disgraceful.'"

Mayor Palin: Tell me if you've heard this one...

2008-09-02T11:29:00.000-07:00

In the article "Mayor Palin: A Rough Record" - TIME has this quote:

"Stein says that as mayor, Palin continued to inject religious beliefs into her policy at times. 'She asked the library how she could go about banning books,' he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them. 'The librarian was aghast.' That woman, Mary Ellen Baker, couldn't be reached for comment, but news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire Baker for not giving 'full support' to the mayor."

Haven't I heard that song before somewhere...

talk about keeping your enemies closer!

2008-09-02T10:25:00.000-07:00

Jake Tapper at ABC News has this about the McCain Campaign:

"Former officials of Sen. John McCain's 2000 campaign expressed shock and disbelief Monday to learn than the GOP presidential nominee had hired South Carolina political consultant Tucker Eskew.

Eskew, along with Warren Tompkins and Neal Rhodes, were key members of then-Gov. George W. Bush's South Carolina team during the 2000 primaries. McCain and his team long held Bush, Tompkins, Rhodes and Eskew responsible for the various smears against McCain and his family in the Palmetto state during that contentious contest."

I find it amazing that the campaign would hire the one guy probably the most responsible for the most egregious and nasty smear attacks on John McCain, or indeed, any candidate in recent memory. It is all a very classic pattern in GOP circles. Slime and retreat. Rinse & repeat.

Finally an admission!

2008-09-02T08:50:00.000-07:00

The Anchorage Daily News has this nugget from the attorney representing (at the taxpayers expense) the Governor of Alaska in the troopergate case:

"'Our concern is that Hollis French turns into Ken Starr and uses public money to pursue a political vendetta rather than truly pursue an honest inquiry into an alleged ethics issue,' Van Flein said in an interview."

Does that mean that the republicans are finally admitting that the Ken Starr "investigation" was no more or less than a partisan witch hunt? Looks like it does.

Compassionate conservatism part deux

2008-09-02T07:49:00.000-07:00

CBS News has this little piece:

"Republican John McCain, whose running mate disclosed that her unmarried 17-year-old daughter is pregnant, has opposed proposals to spend federal money on teen-pregnancy prevention programs and voted to require poor teen mothers to stay in school or lose their benefits."

Sure is nice to know that the two parts of the GOP ticket are in such Sync with each other isn't it?

Oh dear Jesus god make it stop!

2008-09-02T07:42:00.000-07:00

Now ABC News has more in the continuing saga of Palin.

French says the investigation will also seek to learn how the Governor's office obtained confidential information from her ex-brother-in-law's personnel file.

"If she was involved, it would be a violation of state law," said French.

If this is what they mean by a "reform candidate" in Alaska, what is the rest of the political establishment like?!

But wait, there'smore!

2008-09-02T07:28:00.000-07:00

WaPo gets into the act:

As mayor of Wasilla, however, Palin oversaw the hiring of Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh, an Anchorage-based law firm with close ties to Alaska's most senior Republicans: Rep. Don Young and Sen. Ted Stevens, who was indicted in July on charges of accepting illegal gifts. The Wasilla account was handled by the former chief of staff to Stevens, Steven W. Silver, who is a partner in the firm.

...

Palin and the Wasilla City Council increased Silver's fee from $24,000 to $36,000 a year by 2001, Senate records show.

Soon after, the city benefited from additional earmarks: $500,000 for a mental health center, $500,000 for the purchase of federal land and $450,000 to rehabilitate an agricultural processing facility. Then there was the $15 million rail project, intended to connect Wasilla with the town of Girdwood, where Stevens has a house.

The Washington trip is now an annual event for Wasilla officials.

Read the whole thing here

the hits keep coming!

2008-09-02T07:17:00.000-07:00

From that same NYTimes.com article::

"With time running out — and as Mr. McCain discarded two safer choices, Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, as too predictable — he turned to Ms. Palin. He had his first face-to-face interview with her on Thursday and offered her the job moments later. Advisers to Mr. Pawlenty and another of the finalists on Mr. McCain’s list described an intensive vetting process for those candidates that lasted one to two months.

“They didn’t seriously consider her until four or five days from the time she was picked, before she was asked, maybe the Thursday or Friday before,” said a Republican close to the campaign. “This was really kind of rushed at the end, because John didn’t get what he wanted. He wanted to do Joe or Ridge.”

The mind staggers.

Properly Vetted

2008-09-02T07:12:00.000-07:00

NYTimes.com:

"Aides to Mr. McCain said they had a team on the ground in Alaska now to look more thoroughly into Ms. Palin’s background. A Republican with ties to the campaign said the team assigned to vet Ms. Palin in Alaska had not arrived there until Thursday, a day before Mr. McCain stunned the political world with his vice-presidential choice. The campaign was still calling Republican operatives as late as Sunday night asking them to go to Alaska to deal with the unexpected candidacy of Ms. Palin."

I need say no more...

All McCain all the time...

2008-08-29T09:29:00.000-07:00

So it happened just the way the McCain campaign wanted it to. They have effectively blasted Obama's historic speech of last night completely off the front pages of every major news outlet in America by announcing Palin. I know that they were hoping for this but I am so amazed that it do so soon. By no later than 8:30 am I could not see Obama's speech as a top story on any of my major-outlet news links.

Impressive.

More on Palin

2008-08-29T08:16:00.000-07:00

CNN.com: Has this little nugget about Palin. It looks like her hands may not be as clean as one might hope in her position.

"Palin's term has not been without controversy. A legislative investigation is looking into allegations that Palin fired Alaska's public safety commissioner because he refused to fire the governor's former brother-in-law, a state trooper.

Palin acknowledged that a member of her staff made a call to a trooper in which the staffer suggested he was speaking for the governor.

Palin has admitted that the call could be interpreted as pressure to fire state trooper Mike Wooten, who was locked in a child-custody battle with Palin's sister.

'I am truly disappointed and disturbed to learn that a member of this administration contacted the Department of Public Safety regarding Trooper Wooten,' Palin said. 'At no time did I authorize any member of my staff to do so.'

Palin suspended the staffer who made the call."

We will definitely have to watch how this one plays out. It looks like her personal life gets very confused with her public life. It might be seen by some as vindictive and spiteful. It appears on first blush that she was caught doing something blatantly unethical and threw her staffer under the bus to save her political skin.

McCain Picks Palin

2008-08-29T08:05:00.000-07:00

Over at the Washington Post The Fix have the news that everyone is going to be talking about today about a little known governor from a tiny town in Alaska who is now going to be McCains running mate. It seems like this is a very astute choice, but it certainly comes with some serious risks. She is not just an unknown but a total unknown. She has no experience at all on the national stage. Both of these issues could be either a hinderance or a massive blessing for her I am very excited to see how they choose to introduce her to the world.

I send letters...

2008-08-27T08:50:00.001-07:00

I sent the following letter to Luke Esser of the Washington State GOP.

Washington State GOP
Luke Esser, Chairman
Via email

Dear Luke,

Well, it was certainly unfortunate that some "volunteer" found his or her way to the evergreen state fair booth with the offensive and divisive $3 bills depicting the democratic candidate as a cartoon muslim. It was truly more unfortunate that that volunteer was "selling" them on your behalf. (As reported by the Seattle Times today.) Well I now know the way you guys operate.

"Asking for forgiveness is so much easier than asking for permission..."

The only trouble is that it just doesn't jibe with all of those ethics and morals you so heavily tout in your national and local ads. You are supposed to be the party of family values, of goodness and right. Instead we all see what you are. The party of win-at-all-costs, of the dirty trick, of working the angles and of asking for forgiveness after it gets out of hand.

You have been the leaders in the morally bankrupt race-to-the-bottom that has typified the culture wars that you have so fervently tried to wage. Well I am sick of it. There was a time that I had been persuaded to see your side in these races, that I voted both for republican and democratic office holders in local politics. That time has passed. You have lost my confidence, my respect and my vote.

You, as chairman have the moral responsibility to lead and to make right what is wrong in this state and this country. I don't see that happening. It makes me sad to think that I have been, by the actions of your party, limited to a single party future, but so be it.

Sincerely,

Thor Radford

Shoreline, WA

This all comes from an incident I heard about as I drove in to work this morning. I was listening to NPR and a local story caught my attention about how the Snohomish county GOP was handing out $3 bills with Obama's face on them in arab headdress and with camels and palm trees in the background. Seems they couldn't think of anything substantive to say about the dem candidate and instead just wanted to slur him in the only way they knew how.

I send letters...

2008-08-27T08:50:00.000-07:00

I sent the following letter to Luke Esser of the Washington State GOP.

Washington State GOP
Luke Esser, Chairman
Via email

Dear Luke,

Well, it was certainly unfortunate that some "volunteer" found his or her way to the evergreen state fair booth with the offensive and divisive $3 bills depicting the democratic candidate as a cartoon muslim. It was truly more unfortunate that that volunteer was "selling" them on your behalf. (As reported by the Seattle Times today.) Well I now know the way you guys operate.

"Asking for forgiveness is so much easier than asking for permission..."

The only trouble is that it just doesn't jibe with all of those ethics and morals you so heavily tout in your national and local ads. You are supposed to be the party of family values, of goodness and right. Instead we all see what you are. The party of win-at-all-costs, of the dirty trick, of working the angles and of asking for forgiveness after it gets out of hand.

You have been the leaders in the morally bankrupt race-to-the-bottom that has typified the culture wars that you have so fervently tried to wage. Well I am sick of it. There was a time that I had been persuaded to see your side in these races, that I voted both for republican and democratic office holders in local politics. That time has passed. You have lost my confidence, my respect and my vote.

You, as chairman have the moral responsibility to lead and to make right what is wrong in this state and this country. I don't see that happening. It makes me sad to think that I have been, by the actions of your party, limited to a single party future, but so be it.

Sincerely,

Thor Radford

Shoreline, WA

Prepare for the GOP Onslaught!

2008-08-26T10:14:00.000-07:00

CNN's story "Online dirty tricks may mar U.S. elections" Paints a pretty clear picture of what is coming in the final days of campaign 2008. They detail a litany of voter tampering and intimidation tactics but interestingly they don't make any judgement about where those tactics originated.

Virtually all of the issues discussed in the article were attempts by the GOP or it's operatives to disenfranchise Democratic voters in swing states. Make no mistake. The GOP doesn't want you to vote unless you are a middle class white male who is a registered Republican. They will do anything to make sure that others will not vote. Keep that in mind when you read about how your name has been purged from the voter rolls and you cannot vote in the national elections.

The GOP or it's operatives will lie and cheat in any way they can to win. The old boys network is all up to speed and in full effect; ready to drop the voter suppression on an unsuspecting public.

Holy Shit! - Bush & Co gut the Endangered Species Act

2008-08-11T17:40:00.000-07:00

CNN.com has the mother of all environmental nightmares right here. It seems that GW Bush and his cronies in the Dept of the Interior have found a way to make every Republican's wettest dreams come true!

RIP Randy Pauch

2008-07-25T11:09:00.000-07:00

Yahoo! News Carries this story of the professor who created the "Last Lecture."

Now it is not often that I am taken by a story like this but in the case of Randy Pauch I have been absolutely overwhelmed. The story and his way of telling it with absolute frankness and humility was a true modern drama. His advice for how to live and the example he set will live on into future generations. He will truly be missed.

God bless.

Could Iraq be the reason we don't have enough troops in Afghanistan?

2008-07-16T07:53:00.000-07:00

The AP has this story about how the US military has been forced to retreat from a base in eastern Afghanistan and run for cover. This all comes as we are asking the question of whether or not the boondoggle that is the Iraq war has cost our mission in Afghanistan more than time. It looks from what is being reported here that the situation on the ground in Afghanistan is getting worse by the day.

U.S. and Afghan troops have abandoned a remote outpost in eastern Afghanistan where militants killed nine American soldiers this week, officials said Wednesday.

Compounding the military setback, insurgents quickly seized the village of Wanat in Nuristan province after driving out the handful of police left behind to defend government offices, Afghan officials said.

The US troops reportedly handed the local cops 20 guns and basically said "Fend for yourselves" against 200 or so heavily armed Taliban militants.

Does that sound like the worlds best managed and most advanced military? Not to me either. It sounds more like this administration has too much on it's plate to get the job done.

Obama On Iraq

2008-07-14T07:33:00.000-07:00

Barack Obama has a great Op-Ed in the NYT.

Just read it.

Vero Possumus - Did I just see that?

2008-06-23T07:49:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true. In a speech this weekend, Barack Obama unveiled his latest marketing tool. It is a large and stylized version of the presidential seal that Mr Obama has in front of the podium or lectern where he delivers his speeches.

To be honest I thought of this type of thing a few years ago and was very amazed that it hadn't been tried. In a way I am very happy that it is Obama that has opened up this can of worms because his design department did a great job with it and now everyone who follows suit will be seen to be copying him. I may be in the minority on this but I would bet that there are few people who will even really notice except as a subliminal nod to his "presidential-ness."

I guess they say that you have to dress for the job you want. This is in some way what Mr. Obama is doing with the seal. It will remain to be seen whether it will be effective, but I have my bet that it will.

George Carlin Passes

2008-06-23T07:12:00.000-07:00

CNN.com has the story that I headr on NPR on my way in to work this morning. George Carlin has passed away. He will be deeply missed. I loved his humor and his biting sarcasm. He left his mark on the world with his "Seven Words" but and showed a generation of comics how it was done.

Political Radar: Gore Backs Obama's Presidential Run

2008-06-16T13:38:00.000-07:00

ABC News has the latest on Obama's endorsement count and it's one higher this evening. The big guy has spoken. Al Gore will endorse Barack Obama for the Dem nomination.

I do a little unscientific research...

2008-06-16T10:08:00.000-07:00

If you go to YouTube and search for "McCain" you are innundated with videos that make fun of the presidential candidate in every manner that the intertubes has to offer. It goes on for pages. In fact to find any video posted on You Tube that is not overtly critical of John McCain you have to go to the second page of offerings and then there are really no more than one or two. The content is more than a little bit tilted against him.

In contrast, if you look up "Obama," you get a significantly different type of video offering. There are hundreds of highly complimentary videos posted that tell the story of Barack Obama in many different ways.

Is this an omen? I don't know. It is obvious that the digerati and the You Tube users demographic is much more in tune with Obama and much more likely to deride the accomplishments of McCain. There may not be too much value in this information but, then again, there may. I mean by this that people are obviously taking the time to create these videos and upload them to You Tube. Inherent in that level of activity is a perceived dissatisfaction with the McCain campaign and what it represents. That in itself is very illuminating.

Food for thought.

Now for some better news.

2008-06-13T16:42:00.000-07:00

Shakesville gives us the cockles-warmer-of-the-day. Really great story.

Katherine Patrick, 18, tells her parents she has to talk to them about something serious, then comes out to them; her mother laughs with relief; her father, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, tells her they love her no matter what and arranges an interview with a gay publication to come out publicly. Father and daughter plan to march together tomorrow in Boston's Pride Parade.

Now THAT is parenting done right!

‘McCain Cribs’ Tours The Straight Talk Express

2008-06-13T13:55:00.000-07:00

Via Wonkette comes the best piece of dear-god-make-it-stop McCain crazyness. In an effort to "relate" to the "younger crowd" the McCain for Preznit team has turned out an MTV cribs style look into the "Straight Talk" Express. If you feel like getting a chuckle you can follow the above link to Wonkette and go from there to points McCain. It's pretty funny.

It must be all of that California Tolernace

2008-06-13T13:28:00.000-07:00

Kern County is going out of the wedding business.

You heard right. If you want to get married in Kern County you will be out of luck as of this weekend.

Its seems that the County Clerk doesn't want to allow Gays to get married there so she has declared that there won't be any more civil weddings at the courthouse. None.

Here is the piece in it's entirety:

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - Heterosexual couples are rushing to get married in a conservative California county that plans to halt all civil wedding ceremonies as gay marriage is set to be legalized.

Kern County Clerk Ann Barnett says Friday is the last day the county will perform civil weddings.

Starting Tuesday, when the California Supreme Court's order legalizing same-sex marriage takes effect, Kern will issue new gender-neutral marriage licenses as required by law. But couples seeking to get hitched will have to go somewhere else for the ceremony.

Barnett says the increased demand for ceremonies would overwhelm her staff and pose office security risks. She made the announcement after learning she could not marry only couples of her choosing.

I guess that's her way of making sure that bigotry and hatred are indeed the family values that Kern County are founded upon. The county elders must be proud.

NBC's Tim Russert dead at 58 - U.S. news- msnbc.com

2008-06-13T12:57:00.000-07:00

NBCIs reportign that Tim Russert has died of a sudden heart attack.

He was a powerful figure in the political scene. He will be missed. Our thoughts go out to his family and colleagues

Holy shit!

2008-06-13T10:50:00.000-07:00

Looks like we have a job of work to educate some Party officials about the candidate.

The following appeared as a reason for Fred Hobbs of TN not to endorse Obama:

Maybe [it’s] the same reason I don’t want to — I don’t exactly approve of a lot of the things he stands for and I’m not sure we know enough about him,” Hobbs said when asked why he thought Davis wasn’t endorsing Obama. “He’s got some bad connections, and he may be terrorist connected for all I can tell. It sounds kind of like he may be.”

You might think that Mr. Hobbs was a died-in-the-wool Republican or at the very least an Independent, but you'd be wrong. Fred Hobbs is a member of the TN State Democratic Executive Committee and a superdelegate.

If this is how the mainstream southern white Democratic leaders see the presumptive nominee this far into a presidential campaign the party is in deep shit. Obama is going to need to dust off all of his considerable skills and speechmaking prowess to drill into the southern/appalachia states that he is a true blue American, and he needs to do it fast.

It will remain to be seen if there will be any traction in those states with mainstream whites but I know that this comment will spur on the conversation about who Mr. Obama is and why he would make a great leader. Not to mention that calling the leader of your party possibly "terrorist connected" may result in some "reshuffling" of the local superdelegate and committee membership in the future.

Get ready for an interesting next few months in the south!

What is it with these guys?

2008-06-12T13:31:00.000-07:00

Via WLKY in Louisville

There has always been, it seems, a fascination of the GOP with "family values," but they seem to be the people who are the most likely to be closeted gays, and in this case pretty forceful about getting what they want. Behold the antics of one Glenn Murphy Jr., former chairman of the Clark county, IN. Republican party...

Police reports said Murphy shared a bunk bed with his victim, a 22-year-old who had had too much to drink, and the next morning the victim said he awoke to find Murphy performing a sex act on him. The victim said he told Murphy to stop and pushed him away.
Prosecutor Stanley Levco said other incidents involving Murphy would have been presented as evidence had the case gone to trial. A Clarksville police report shows Murphy was involved in a similar incident in 1988, but no charges were filed.

It is really interesting that those who are so righteous about their values are often the most egregious violators of the trust of others. Wish I were surprised by this these days.

Hypocrites.

Fox News: Michelle Obama is "Obama's Baby Mama"

2008-06-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Fox News has done it again. Seriously. "Obama's Baby Mama?" I now qualify as an outraged liberal.

STFU Fox News! Racist fucktards.

Keeping the fight going in the right direction

2008-06-12T07:29:00.000-07:00

Rather than facing a growing rumor mill and the inevitable backpedaling and re-education that that can cause, the Barack Obama campaign has createdFighttheSmears.com, a fact checking section of the main campaign site that can be used to preemptively dispel the most common rumors about the candidate. So far there are only four entries on the page but look for it to grow as we go into the general election. There is a change for people to sign up and help to "spread the truth." We may be seeing a new weapon in the battle over how the democrats fight back against rumors and innuendo in the media and the blogosphere. It will be interesting to see how effective this is in the long run but just seeing a politician that puts the most horrible smears against him up for the world to see and debunks them on his own public website is a great encouragement.

Fafblog Returns!

2008-06-11T10:34:00.000-07:00

Fafblog! the whole world's only source for Fafblog. has returned! Back from the brink of destruction it has returned with vim, vigor and a heavy dose of Gibletsian humor. Giblets, Fafnir and the Medium Lobster are back to turn over your head with interesting anecdotes about the state of the world.

Oh well done, fair Fafblog! We have missed you!

I'm Voting Republican

2008-06-11T10:29:00.000-07:00

No Not really.

But here's a great video that talks about the big republican agenda pretty well.

Take a look.

John McCain 2008 - John McCain for GOLF?!

2008-06-05T16:04:00.000-07:00

John McCain's 2008 website has it all folks! Obama and Iraq, The decision center, and what's that? Golf Gear? Yep! He has himself a full line of golf products including tees, a towel and also... Yes you guessed it balls and a sack! I guess we all get the idea of what GOP supporters really need this year don't we? More balls in a nice big ball sack.

I think the democrats have taken them all this election cycle.

Holy crap! Mr Law and order is actually a total douche!

2008-03-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

The New York Times has the latest scandal in government that I honestly have to say shocks and saddens me. NY Governor Eliot Spitzer has been implicated in a prostitution ring being investigated in Washington DC.

The Juice:

Just last week, federal prosecutors arrested four people in connection with an expensive prostitution operation. Administration officials would not say that this was the ring with which the governor had become involved.

But a person with knowledge of the governor’s role said that the person believes the governor is one of the men identified as clients in court papers.

The governor’s travel records show that he was in Washington in mid-February. One of the clients described in court papers arranged to meet with a prostitute who was part of the ring, the Emperors Club VIP on the night of Feb. 13.

I am very disappointed here. I had the great hope that Spitzers election to governor would usher in a new phase of politics without corruption. Looks like he is just another douche who can't keep it in his pants...

and on the day before valentines day too...

This looks like a story I should look into...

2008-02-22T12:53:00.000-08:00

CBS's 60 Minutes is saying that they have a GOP operative from AL that has told them that none other than e presidential chief of staff Karl Rove asked her personally to take dirty pictures of sitting Democratic governor Don Siegelman. The operative, Jill Simpson said that even though she was assigned to get the photos she found no evidence of infidelity on the part of the governor in spite of months of observation.

Apparently when that didn't work Rove just found a prosecutor who would play ball. Siegleman was convicted of bribery in a case that is at the very least highly controversial. According to the CBS report

Siegelman was convicted of bribery in a case that has drawn criticism from Democrats and Republicans. In fact, 52 former states’ attorneys general from both political parties petitioned Congress to investigate Siegelman’s case, resulting in hearings held last fall.

"I haven’t seen a case with this many red flags on it that pointed towards a real injustice being done," Grant Woods, the former Republican attorney general of Arizona and one of those who petitioned Congress, tells Pelley. "I personally believe that what happened here is that they targeted Don Siegelman because they could not beat him fair and square."

That sounds like our turdblossom all right....

Oh shit not again!

2008-02-22T10:39:00.000-08:00

Nader to discuss election plans - Yahoo! News

Nothing would give me gas faster than this guy doing it again. Get out of the way Ralph! You do nothing but stroke your ego and ruin the rest of the race!

FEC Warns McCain on Campaign Spending - washingtonpost.com

2008-02-22T10:32:00.000-08:00

The WAPO has this story today about the possible trouble that John McCain may be getting into with the FEC. It seems that he has asked to be released from the presidential public financing system. The chairman of the FEC, David M. Mason, a Republican though says, in effect, "hold on!"

"Mason's letter raises two issues as the basis for his position. One is that the six-member commission lacks a quorum, with four vacancies because of a Senate deadlock over President Bush's nominees for the seats. Mason said the FEC would need to vote on McCain's request to leave the system, which is not possible without a quorum. Until that can happen, the candidate will have to remain within the system, he said.

The second issue is more complicated. It involves a $1 million loan McCain obtained from a Bethesda bank in January. The bank was worried about his ability to repay the loan if he exited the federal financing program and started to lose in the primary race. McCain promised the bank that, if that happened, he would reapply for matching money and offer those as collateral for the loan. While McCain's aides have argued that the campaign was careful to make sure that they technically complied with the rules, Mason indicated that the question needs further FEC review."

Funny that a guy like McCain, who was and still is the champion of campaign finance reform would stoop to trying to game the system so blatantly.

Poll Dancing: Hillary Hijinx (hijacks?)

2008-02-22T10:16:00.000-08:00

Evan Smith at Poll Dancing says that HC is preparing to press very hard on the seating of the delegates from FL and MI. I am sure I am not alone in thinking that this is a bad idea that will backfire in a major way on Mrs Clinton.

Here are the relevant bits from his interview:

There’s been a lot of talk about what your campaign would do should it get to the convention. Would you commit today to honoring the agreement made earlier not to seat the Michigan and Florida delegations?

Let’s talk about the agreement. The only agreement I entered into was not to campaign in Michigan and Florida. It had nothing to do with not seating the delegates. I think that’s an important distinction.

...

So your intention is to press this issue?

Yes, it is. Yes, it is. It’s in large measure because both the voters and elected officials in Michigan and Florida feel so strongly about this. Senator Bill Nelson, of Florida, early on in the process actually sued because he thinks it’s absurd on its face that 1.7 million Democrats who eventually voted would basically be disregarded, and I agree with him about that.

So, to paraphrase what is going on here, Mrs Clinton signed an agreement before any of the primaries had even begun that said that she would not campaign in either FL or MI and she was aware that the DNC had forbidden these states from seating their delegates LONG BEFORE THE EVENT. She is now saying that the DNC should change the rules and seat those delegates even though in MI hers was the only name on the ballot! Gee! That seems fair...

Nobody likes a sore loser.

That Line

2008-02-22T09:16:00.000-08:00

TPM's Josh Marshall and reader CG found This little nugget in the history of the Clinton campaign.... The Bill CLinton campaign!

"Clinton, 92: "The hits that I took in this election are nothing compared to the hits the people of this state and this country have been taking for a long time."

Hillary Clinton, tonight: "You know, the hits I’ve taken in life are nothing compared to what goes on every single day in the lives of people across our country."

Plagiarism indeed... Next topic please!

half. a. million. donors.

2008-02-20T16:12:00.000-08:00

Holy shit. This is in the last six weeks....

Now THATS how it's done!

2008-02-20T13:52:00.000-08:00

Kudos galore for the 1,000 Prairie View students and the 1000 more of their friends and family who decided to march the 7.6 miles to the only polling place in their Texas county. Taking democracy back from backwards local governments is a proud tradition. Keep it up!

Via Crooks and Liars

Department of: "It's about damned time!"

2007-07-26T09:14:00.000-07:00

Via ABC News: we learn that the Senate Judiciary Committee is calling for a special counsel to investigate Gonzales' testimony in congress this week. They are asking to look into the possibility that the AG perjured himself.

This administration is so fucked that even the AG can't be trusted to uphold the rule of law. If anyone comes close to suggesting that the Republican party is a party of Law and Order, they are going to get shouted down by me... These people have blackened the name of the USA both here and abroad.

What a disgrace.

The Kristol has cracked....

2007-07-16T09:10:00.000-07:00

In his Op-Ed "Why Bush Will Be A Winner" At the washingtonpost.com Bill Kristol holds his distorted lens once more up to the harsh light of reality and sees... exactly what he wants to see.

As one of the principal architects of the deeply flawed and disturbingly reality-free Iraq Policy, he is in no position to change course now. He at least gave himself a bit of a way out in the lede:

I suppose I'll merely expose myself to harmless ridicule if I make the following assertion: George W. Bush's presidency will probably be a successful one.

Ahh Bill, how we always expected that kind of thing from you. It's almost cute now....

Things we knew were happeingin but couldn't prove till now...

2007-07-12T10:32:00.000-07:00

Agence France Presse runs a great story featuring the formaer US surgeon general Dr. Richard Carmona who is blasting the administration this week for hiding major studies on passinv smoking and downplaying others.

For a long time I have known that the Bush administration has been skewing their science and sometime outright lying about nedical and scientific information, but I never thought that a Bush appointee would come right out and say it. Wonder of wonders! I stand amazed.

Miers just ain't coming...

2007-07-11T13:26:00.000-07:00

In this article Laurie Kellmanstartes

"Manning, in turn, notified committee chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., that Miers would not show up Thursday to answer questions about the White House role in the firings of eight federal prosecutors over the winter."

Heh! I didn't know you could just refuse to show up!

(hint to Miers: you can't! They call that Contempt of Congress...)

Touche David Vitter!

2007-07-11T09:58:00.000-07:00

The Nations David Corn on the recent outing of David Vitter, one-time Clinton impeachment advocate and strong Family Values candidate for utilizing the services of the famous DC Madame.

The big point:

...

In considering impeachment, Vitter asserted, Congress had to judge Clinton on moral terms. Decrying the law professors' failure to see this, Vitter observed, "Is that the level of moral relatively [sic] and vacuousness we have come to?" If no "meaningful action" were to be taken against Clinton, Vitter wrote, "his leadership will only further drain any sense of values left to our political culture."

Strong words. Now that Vitter, who entered the House of Representatives in 1999 after winning a special election to fill the seat of Representative Bob Livingston (who resigned after being caught in an adultery scandal) and who was elected senator in 2004, has admitted he placed a phone call to the so-called DC Madam, his constituents can only wonder if he will hold himself to the same standards he sought to apply to Bill Clinton.

...

Makes me grin just a little. :-)

Thompson just a talented actor? I think not!

2007-07-05T08:50:00.000-07:00

In this interesting piece for The Boston Globe Michael Kranish brings up some interesting history that I was totally unaware of.

Fred Thompson (yes that one) tipped off the Nixon administration several times that the Watergate investigators were getting close to certain people or things. In fact he may have been the reason for the the notorious gap in the tapes that we have all heard so much about. It seems that the existence of the tapes and their value to the investigators was leaked to the administration a day before it was made public. This gave them all the time thry needed to get rid of the evidence.

Does that sound presidentail to you? If you are a Republican, you bet it does!

From the files of "Who couldn't see this coming?"

2007-07-02T16:01:00.000-07:00

WAPO says: President Bush Commutes Libby's Sentence Nothing to see here! Go back about your business!

I just thought it might have been given a little more time, you know just to give the semblance of legitimacy... Oh yeah this is the Bush administration we're talking about here... I forgot.

Anne Coulter Gets PWN3D!

2007-06-26T20:26:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth Edwards just up and PWN3S! Ann coulter in this exchange on a live taping of Hardball with Chris Matthews. The relevant bits are captured here by TPM and YouTubed for handy viewing.

Just click it.

Sweet response to the below entry...

2007-06-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

Illinois Congressman Rahm Emanuel is on a mission.

HE decided that if Vice President Cheney doesn't want to say his office is a part of the executive branch, then maybe we should take him at his word... And defund the VP's staff and offices in the next fiscal year. After all, if there's not really anone on the VP's office who is a member of the executive branch why should we pay for them?

Way to go Rahm!

The Blotter

2007-06-22T10:02:00.000-07:00

The Blotter has the story of the latest Power grab in the Cheney Assministration. Honestly I have mostly stopped posting here over the last several months as my life has fundimentally changes but this got me back.

Take a look at this:

Vice President Dick Cheney has asserted his office is not a part of the executive branch of the U.S. government, and therefore not bound by a presidential order governing the protection of classified information by government agencies, according to a new letter from Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., to Cheney

Too Much!

Thank the good lord in heaven above!

2006-11-30T20:36:00.000-08:00

Just follow this link.
You'll be soooo glad you did...

Hat tip to the general

Finally Victory!

2006-11-10T14:49:00.000-08:00

I have been so very pleased with this last weeks wins in both the house and senate that I thought I'd just post a quick note to give thanks for all of the work that everyone did in getting out to vote and kicking the bums out! Great job troops!

On to the future!

From the fantastic folks at the California GOP

2006-10-19T07:42:00.000-07:00

ABC News: AG: Voter Warning Linked to GOP Campaign:

"SANTA ANA, Calif. Oct 19, 2006 (AP)

State investigators have linked a Republican campaign to letters sent to thousands of Orange County Hispanics warning them they could go to jail or be deported if they vote next month, a spokesman for the attorney general said.

'We have identified where we believe the mailing list was obtained,' said Nathan Barankin, spokesman for Attorney General Bill Lockyer.

He declined to identify the specific Republican campaign Wednesday, citing the ongoing investigation. The Los Angeles Times and The Orange County Register both reported Thursday that the investigation appeared to be focused on the campaign of Tan D. Nguyen, a Republican challenger to Democratic U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez.

The letter, written in Spanish, tells recipients: 'You are advised that if your residence in this country is illegal or you are an immigrant, voting in a federal election is a crime that could result in jail time.'

In fact, immigrants who are naturalized U.S. citizens can vote."

Hmmm...... I wonder what would be said if this were being done by Democrats. Voter intimidation is a rancid thing..... The GOP is on it's way out.

The turning of the worm.... ?

2006-10-10T07:28:00.000-07:00

According to this ABC News piece,: By GARY LANGER
Oct. 9, 2006, there is a tidal force at work in favor of the dems in the upcoming midterm elections. the image at right shows the generic polling results for a Democrat/Republican breakdown in the house races. to hear Gary tell it:

An unpopular war led by a beleaguered president has pushed the Republican Party back to a deep deficit in voter preferences. But the Mark Foley scandal, while it hasn't helped, is a distant concern, with many doubting that the Democrats would've handled it any better.
The scandal's likeliest impact is that it forces the Republicans off the anti-terrorism message that remains their best push back against the broad discontent with the war in Iraq. The scandal has erased the minor gains the Republicans showed around the 9/11 anniversary."

Ther's more in there as the article goes on for four pages detailing the carnage. I am happy to hear it but I also know that we have been here before.... We have been the predicted winners many times in the past few election cycles and have been beaten back at the last minute each time... But hey, the pre-negotiated low gas prices sure are nice!

The end of the fucking universe!

2006-09-15T11:10:00.000-07:00

That does it! I can't take no more! it's all over with when David Hasselhoff has his own blog! and they call it... wait for it.. the HOFF BLOG!

Somebody shoot me right between the eyes....

Who couldn't see this coming...

2006-08-09T07:02:00.000-07:00

The Washington Post is reporting that the Bush administration is prepparing to amend the War Crimes act to allow senior administration officials and CIA officers a free pass on the cruel and degrading behavior that they condoned in the Global war on Terror.

To wit:

Officials say the amendments would alter a U.S. law passed in the mid-1990s that criminalized violations of the Geneva Conventions, a set of international treaties governing military conduct in wartime. The conventions generally bar the cruel, humiliating and degrading treatment of wartime prisoners without spelling out what all those terms mean.

The draft U.S. amendments to the War Crimes Act would narrow the scope of potential criminal prosecutions to 10 specific categories of illegal acts against detainees during a war, including torture, murder, rape and hostage-taking.

Left off the list would be what the Geneva Conventions refer to as "outrages upon [the] personal dignity" of a prisoner and deliberately humiliating acts -- such as the forced nakedness, use of dog leashes and wearing of women's underwear seen at the U.S.-run Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq -- that fall short of torture.

"People have gotten worried, thinking that it's quite likely they might be under a microscope," said a U.S. official. Foreigners are using accusations of unlawful U.S. behavior as a way to rein in American power, the official said, and the amendments are partly meant to fend this off.

As an aside, Isn't the law supposed to make it more difficult to break existing laws? Isn't it designed so that people are held accountable for their actions? Well, it is, and apparently that scares the shit out of this administration.

Man talk about fighting for peace...

2006-07-25T13:59:00.000-07:00

The Australian runs a piece this week saying that the Noble peace laureate Betty Williams 'could kill' Goerge W. Bush.

Just when you thought you'd heard it all.

Actually, her speech, delivered in front of a group of school children, was a very impassioned plea to preserve human life. Just look:

Campaigning on the rights of young people at the Earth Dialogues forum, being held in Brisbane, Ms Williams spoke passionately about the deaths of innocent children during wartime, particularly in the Middle East, and lambasted Mr Bush.

"I have a very hard time with this word 'non-violence', because I don't believe that I am non-violent," said Ms Williams, 64.

"Right now, I would love to kill George Bush." Her young audience at the Brisbane City Hall clapped and cheered.

"I don't know how I ever got a Nobel Peace Prize, because when I see children die the anger in me is just beyond belief. It's our duty as human beings, whatever age we are, to become the protectors of human life."

I actually kind of love her a bit for having the courage to say something like that but I am sure that she is off the christmas card list at he White House this year. I don't advocate violence of any kind, much less against a sitting president but there comes a point that the policies of a few endanger the many. I believe that the oligarchy on power in DC is dangerous in that way.

Here in the US we have abetter way to handle our political difficulties though. It's called elections.

Ok this is really creepy...

2006-07-20T12:52:00.000-07:00

BAGnewsNotes leads us where it's all sunshine and roses. That's right to the Israel/Lebanon border where the unthinkable is happening every day now and where the IDF is apparently pimping out 10 year old girls for PR. This images says it all.

I have a certain interest in all of this mideast hullabaloo. My best friend has a fiancee in Lebanon and through her talking about him with me I feel like I have family there. He and his family are scared. They are non combatants and they are living in constant fear. It has been unbearable for my friend and so it has become for me too. To make light of the uncertainty and cruel nature of war in general is disgusting to me but to use children to do it is just downright creepy. C'mon people! I don't need to be reminded how we Americains sometimes choose allies who are one the wrong side of human decency. I really don't.

Best. Teaser. Image. Ever.

2006-05-25T10:23:00.000-07:00

Har har! Leave it to Brian Ross' team to come up with this one! Man! The wingers are tearing him a new one right now on the Hastert thing but this is one great image he has up.

Ken Lay, Guilty as a bastard...

2006-05-25T10:15:00.000-07:00

If you haven't been living under a rock this morning you know that Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling Were convicted today of cooking the books at Enron. It' sall over the internets but if you want to see for yourself feel free to click the link.

It's nice to see corporate america being held to account for their misdeeds. Hopefully this will keep other corporate bigwigs from engaging in future shenanagans.

Damn! Everyones in the crosshairs!

2006-05-24T15:58:00.000-07:00

ABC's "The Blotter" Has a bit of titillating information about House Speaker Denny Hastert...

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert, is under investigation by the FBI, which is seeking to determine his role in an ongoing public corruption probe into members of Congress, ABC News has learned from high level official sources.

Federal officials say the information implicating Hastert was developed from convicted lobbyists who are now cooperating with the government.

Part of the investigation involves a letter Hastert wrote three years ago, urging the Secretary of the Interior to block a casino on an Indian reservation that would have competed with other tribes.

The other tribes were represented by convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff who reportedly has provided details of his dealings with Hastert as part of his plea agreement with the government.

The letter was written shortly after a fund-raiser for Hastert at a restaurant owned by Abramoff. Abramoff and his clients contributed more than $26,000 at the time.

Interesting...

Wherein I agree completely with George Will (Isn't that a sign of the apocalypse?)

2006-05-18T12:26:00.000-07:00

In his column today at WAPO entitled Who Isn't A 'Values Voter'? Conservative pundit George Will has started making a whol elot of sense and has revealed a very large rift that has been steadily developing between the social conservatives and the fiscal conservatives. This is truly worth a read.

Looking into the text you can clearly see the new dynamic that is ripping at the core of the GOP: The lockstep of conservatives is becoming broken by factional infighting between the socials and the fiscals. This missive from Will is another in the salvo between the religeous right and the wall-street right, and in so being, it hits a very accurate mark.

He is parsing conservative language in a way that no democrat has yet done effectively and he has a pedigree that no one can dispute. All in all it is an interesting turning point in the conversation but I am sure that Mr. Will will be right back on the attack on liberal ideals once the social conservative threat has abated.

What is it with San Diego anyway?

2006-05-18T09:28:00.000-07:00

Yahoo! News is running this little piece headlined "Where Does Brian Bilbray Really Live?" bringing our attention to another problem of fraud in the San Diego GOP. It's almost impossible to believe but it seems that there is now a GOP candidtate that is posibly misstating his residence in order to run for office in SD. His neighbors are on to him:

Neighbors told 10News they rarely ever see Bilbray at the house, which is his mother?s home.

"He comes here occasionally to see his mother like boys will do, but he doesn't live here," said neighbor Frank Knudsen.

"If he does live here, he must leave late at night and come back early in the morning," said neighbor Bill Rider.

Another man, who lives right next door, said he wondered when people would catch on that Bilbray does not live here.

Hmmm... It seems that they think that anything goes down there in San Diego these days. Interesting.