Monday, December 1, 2008

OK, I give up. I'm obsessed.



I've realized that the majority of this blog has contained articles about Sarah Palin. I can't even help myself- I find this woman to be a fascinating combination of the worst that politicians have to offer us, and the clearest portrait of how celebrity can suck a person's soul dry.

political- Sarah's in deeper trouble than she realizes, but only if the Alaskan legislature retains its collective scrotum when it reconvenes in January. This Troopergate thing is not really going away, and I wish it wouldn't. I can only hope that Alaska has more fiber in their system than does the American legislation- I fear Bush will never be held accountable for his war crimes. However, he may be punishing himself; it looks like he's started drinking again. Can't say as I blame him- if I were him I'd be drinking too.

celebrity- However, Sarah is shameless- and hasn't spent a single day in her state's capital since the election. "My prediction is that for at least the next two years Sarah is going to keep her show on the road because that will be a lot more fun than being Governor of a backwater state that spends most of its time as far out of the limelight in which Sarah has been basking as North and South Dakota do." -Donald Craig Mitchell

The above-referenced article is lengthy, but lays out a great analysis of Sarah Palin, Political Critter. I devoutly hope for her public shaming- it will renew my hope that America just doesn't put up with bullshit, no matter how pretty the bag it comes in.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Tucson's Gay Marriage Ban Protest

Saturday, November 15, Tucson AZ

Several dozen folk came out at marched through Downtown Tucson yesterday to protest the passing of Proposition 8 in California and Proposition 102 here in Arizona. Here are some pictures from the event.
























Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Let's Hear It for Fast Eddie!

So, about a week before the campaign ended, I stopped writing for a little while. I wanted to just absorb all the history swirling around me, and simply experience what we were all caught up in, our creation: the American Experiment.
Psh, I could have saved myself the pretension- the only result of my grand esoteric experiment is that I watched just as much news as ever, read blogs with the same voracity as before, and developed a nice little lazy avoidance habit with my writing. Bad dilettante, bad!
So, since I'm not one to mess with Fast Eddie, I shall recount my doings as may be of interest.

Since the tuxedo nazis, I have worked for Pima County as an Election Official. This was a long day, starting the night before, when I met Janet the Polling Station Inspector. She was in charge of the whole thing. She lives in my neighborhood a few streets away. At 7:30 on Monday night, we're all standing around the door (me and a few other workers for our precinct) waiting to get in and set up the voting place. Long story short, the key wasn't there and the chick who had it was just sitting down to dinner st Mimi's (and you know how slow that place is).
I went to Trader Joe's to pick up some lunchy snacktime fun, plus some coffee for the morning. I was talking to a friend working the register, and had told him about the next day. One of his colleagues totally overheard, and surprised me with a bouquet of little irises when I was paying the tab! "Thank you for working for Democracy," she actually said. I was a bit chuffed, no lie.

So I get there, and for the next 14 hours I participated in the machinery of American electoral government. I would detail what I did, but it was fairly dull; i had people fill out a lot of forms about it though, if their id wasn't on the money. People I knew from the neighborhood came in and voted all day, and those I didn't know Janet was quick to dial me in on. She's lived in the neighborhood a billion years, and was a great person to get to know. So, at the end of the day, when we're all running around like idiots to count this, seal that, and certify the other, I did get to know exactly how my precinct voted. I had to sign the tape to help make it official ( o the heady nectar of power. o be still my heart.) Without going into details and setting the werewolves on myself, I will say that Obama was the favored candidate in my precinct with a ratio of 5:1.
I was so exhausted when I got home at 8:30 PM that it was all I could do to stay awake through the returns and the speeches. McCain's concession speech was simply, I want to say sublime, but that's not the right word really. I will say that whoever cribbed Shakespeare's line from the Scottish play had the right of it: "Nothing became his campaign like the leaving of it." It was a gracious, noble speech, and I read a great blog explaining why (I just spent twenty minutes I'll never get back again trying to find it. Sorry). I even swiped it while I was chatting with my eyebrow waxer: I posited that McCain's speech was so smooth and elegant because he was no longer at war with himself. Assuming he was a truly noble person, this campaign had to taste like mud in his mouth. Once it was over, and he could step away from the swinish tactics of his staff and advisers, he was a much more relaxed human, and his demeanor showed it.
Obama's speech was less memorable, oddly; he was his smooth articulate suave self, and that's as it should be.

There's the most sublime line of the night: that's as it should be.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Article by AP, Picture by Lavender


Obama Assassination Plot Disrupted By ATF


Federal agents have broken up a plot to assassinate Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. and shoot or decapitate 102 black people in a Tennessee murder spree, the ATF said Monday Oct. 27, 2008. In court records unsealed Monday, federal agents said they disrupted plans to rob a gun store and target a predominantly African-American high school by two neo-Nazi skinheads. The men, Daniel Cowart, 20, of Bells, Tenn., and Paul Schlesselman 18, of West Helena, Ark., are being held without bond.

WASHINGTON — Two white supremacists allegedly plotted to go on a national killing spree, shooting and decapitating black people and ultimately targeting Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, federal authorities said Monday.

In all, the two men whom officials described as neo-Nazi skinheads planned to kill 88 people _ 14 by beheading, according to documents unsealed in U.S. District Court in Jackson, Tenn. The numbers 88 and 14 are symbolic in the white supremacist community.

The spree, which initially targeted an unidentified predominantly African-American school, was to end with the two men driving toward Obama, "shooting at him from the windows," the court documents show.

"Both individuals stated they would dress in all-white tuxedos and wear top hats during the assassination attempt," the court complaint states. "Both individuals further stated they knew they would and were willing to die during this attempt."

click through title for full article...



Might Mccain lose his own home state?


you betcha! We should only be so lucky. Keep it up, clear thinkers! Don't let this old fool drag our country away from the light!

Please note in this handy- dandy map that Arizona is sliding further and further away from "strong Republican" to "barely Republican." Sorry I cut the key off, but you can click through and check the polls yourself on this great site.

I'm just ecstatic that Arizona, at this late date, is all of a sudden a swing state forcing defense on the part of the McCain Campaign.

Friday, October 24, 2008

When Will We Stop Scapegoating the Black Man?


I know several black men. Some are goofy, some are smooth, some are uptight, some are chill. None of them are so illiterate that they would carve a backwards B in some girl's face, and none are so criminal (or political!) that they would do so because they were robbing a girl or because she was a McCain supporter.

Oh wait, this stupid hooker did this to herself.

From the AP story: A McCain campaign volunteer who reported that a tall black man robbed her and then cut a "B" onto her cheek after seeing a McCain bumper sticker on her car has been given a polygraph test because of "inconsistencies" in her story, police said.

Good job, Mayella Ewell.
Good job, Susan Smith.
Good job, Ashley Todd.

Guess what this is! This is Ashley Todd's myspace screenshot. If her tag line doesn't say it all, then there ain't no more to say.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Pointing Fingers Part II- a pictorial


top: a shot of the garbage bags from the Democratic Convention
below: KSDK -- A NewsChannel 5 Photojournalist shot video of a crew taking down the American flag after Sen. McCain's campaign rally in New Town-St. Charles Monday.

In the video, you see the crane lower the flag to the ground and then a crewman cut rope connected to the flag.

Yet another example of right-wing hypocrisy.So the Democrats can't throw out the mini flags from the convention, but the Republicans can drag a house-sized flag on the ground for all to see? God, I can't stand John McCain's lousy campaign.

McCain Employing GOP Operative Accused Of Voter Registration Fraud


So, the Rovian attack technique has been honed so sharp it's cutting itself. Every time the McCain campaign points a finger at Senator Obama, it ends up pointing itself right into trouble. First, there were the Reverend issues; Wright ended up looking mighty sane and stable after seeing Hagee and the witch doctor's separate antics with both halves of the Republican ticket. Then, when that didn't stick, they trotted Bill Ayers out. This didn't work, since McCain has G Gordon Liddy hanging around his neck, and Sarah pals around with (read: married to) a member of an organization whose sole purpose was to secede from the union! If that ain't anti- American, then there is no such thing. Finally, the voter fraud issue: Acorn, whose paid flunkies tried to weasel out of actually working to register voters, filled out a bunch of crap. They handed the crap in and got their eight bucks an hour, whatever. The difference is that Acorn handed all the forms in, whereas this asshole's organization actually threw registrations they didn't like (read: Democratic) into the trash.

If McCain were to shut up, maybe he could stop the precipitous slide into hell that his campaign has become; every time he tries to open his mouth he just punches himself in the face. Sad.
About John McCain
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

I love her filthy mouth.



The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

The Posi and the Aggro


posi: Barack Obama really clarified and specified his position on Rove V Wade, and explained the rationale by which he shall choose Supreme Court Justices.

aggro: John McCain used "quotey fingers" to make his points.

posi: Barack Obama finally was able to reply to the scurrilous Ayers horseshit, and put it to bed for everybody but the Republican Campain flacks.


aggro: John McCain actually brought up William Ayers, only to have the issue smoothly deflected by Senator Smooth. Obama is right. America doesn't give a shit about Bill Ayers, not when every penny that doesn't go in the tank ends up on the table.

posi: Every aggravation is the opportunity to cultivate patience, and I am so grateful to the McCain campaign for the opportunities they've given me this evening I. could. just. spit. The eyerolling, blinking grimacing, and spastic twitching complemented the shark-glazed eyes and the gnashing teeth. These displays of histrionics were unwelcome, unpleasant, and in the end, un-Presidential

aggro: John McCain interrupted Barack Obama at least three times, out of sheer petulance. Weak!

posi: Barack Obama handled himself better than I would have, and exactly how one would expect a President to behave.

aggro: My mother in law is a bit ill, so I came down to make fried chicken and hand out for a couple of days. This isn't the aggro. The aggro is that my in-laws, including my brother-in-law, are all dyed-in-the-wool Republicans, and my b.i.l. is actually a 28%er. I had to watch the debate here, on their turf. They couldn't find MSNBC on the cable listing. It wasn't there. I RAN for the Internet the second the debate was done.

Maxi-posi-blue ribbon-winner of the night: I kept my cool and didn't throw my shoes at anyone, not even the b.i.l. If Obama can maintain his composure in the face of that raging jackanape McCain, I can do no less with my own family that I pretty much love to death.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

McCain Hires SPIES.

OK, here's how it works:

When a candidate for the Presidency gets this close to the election, it's a 50/50 chance that he's going to win. That means he's got a team to help him transition from campaigning mode to administrative mode. You don't want the same tactics for a campaign as an administration; GB43 never really made that transition and look at the screaming success that the last eight years have been.

SO I come back from picking up groceries (egg noodles $1.79, eggs $1.81, Saltines $2.59) and punch up Huffpoo, and the headline screams,

EXCLUSIVE... MCCAIN'S TRANSITION CHIEF AIDED SADDAM HUSSEIN

Wha?! are you kidding? John McCain would NEVER hire someone who'd worked on behalf of America's enemies, would he? So I read the article:

William Timmons, the Washington lobbyist who John McCain has named to head his presidential transition team, aided an influence effort on behalf of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to ease international sanctions against his regime.

The two lobbyists who Timmons worked closely with over a five year period on the lobbying campaign later either pleaded guilty to or were convicted of federal criminal charges that they had acted as unregistered agents of Saddam Hussein's government.

So, John McCain has someone who lobbied for Saddam Hussein heading his post-election transition team working to ease him into the White House. John McCain hired spies. Thank God his chances of winning the election recede further from the shore of reality every single day. Tomorrow's debate should put the final nail in the coffin.

If he has the balls to mention Ayers or Wright tomorrow, then he should be struck by lightning for being a hypocritical liar liar liar.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

I couldn't ask for a better reality check

Honestly, it's lame to just cut and paste, but this is the most concise and perspective restoring way to put it.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/

A HISTORIC TICKET.... Now that Sarah Palin has been found to have abused her powers, violated state ethics, and lied about it, I did a little digging and found an interesting historical footnote.

The McCain/Palin ticket is the first in American history in which both candidates were found to have violated ethics standards before a national election.

McCain, of course, was admonished by Senate Ethics Committee "for exercising 'poor judgment' for intervening" with federal regulators on behalf of Charles Keating, as part of the infamous Keating Five scandal.

And now McCain's running mate has also been found to have violated state ethics laws and abused the powers of her office, as part of the "Troopergate" scandal.

The nation has had 102 major-party tickets covering 51 presidential elections over more than two centuries. And we've never had a ticket in which both candidates on the same ticket were responsible for ethics violations before a national election. McCain/Palin is the first.

It makes the whole "reform" pitch a little more difficult, doesn't it?

From (via NYT) the Nutmeg State

October 11, 2008

Gay Marriage Is Ruled Legal in Connecticut

A sharply divided Connecticut Supreme Court struck down the state’s civil union law on Friday and ruled that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. Connecticut thus joins Massachusetts and California as the only states to have legalized gay marriages.

The ruling, which cannot be appealed and is to take effect on Oct. 28, held that a state law limiting marriage to heterosexual couples, and a civil union law intended to provide all the rights and privileges of marriage to same-sex couples, violated the constitutional guarantees of equal protection under the law.

Striking at the heart of discriminatory traditions in America, the court — in language that often rose above the legal landscape into realms of social justice for a new century — recalled that laws in the not-so-distant past barred interracial marriages, excluded women from occupations and official duties, and relegated blacks to separate but supposedly equal public facilities.


Huzzah! Connecticut finally steps the hell up! Remember, kids- states do each other the courtesy of recognizing the validity of others' state laws. As go these three, so go the other forty-seven- and in twenty more years, we'll shake our heads in amazement that we ever fought against a natural, legal, fair, American state of affairs.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Sarah Palin Broke the Public Trust!


Ladies and gentlemen, can we really stomach the idea of a Vice President who has been found to have abused her power in the Governor's Office of one of the United States of America? For all those who aren't taking this seriously enough to see beyond her "hotness," I hope this crosses the line.

Here's a passage from the Branchflower Report.

Ye gawds. I shudder to contemplate the remaining wingnuts who would actually cleave to such a candidate as this.



Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Memo To Media: The Palin Rape-Kit Story Has Not Been "Debunked"


For the sake of mothers, daughters, sisters- this callousness is part and parcel of of the same callousness that led her during the debate to gloss over Biden's genuine moment at the mention of his family's tragedy with a load of maverick-ey.



She is not a woman's friend.
The fact that her role in the policy is ambiguous is exactly why we need unfettered access to putting her little toes to the journalistic fire. She has no right to aspire to the pinnacle of the American Experiment without the American people knowing exactly where she stands, and how she emotes when she stands there. I want to watch her reaction to a true press conference such as will be the DUTY of an executive of this land.

She staggers me. Truly. I am facinated with the political creature she is, and the environment that formed and shaped her. Once she's no longer a clear and present danger, we as Americans and those fascinated with history will have the leisure to explore her and vet her entirely.
About Wash Post
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

The Empty Campaign of John McCain


This is an excellent article to take into account pre-debate. Thanks to the author for an intelligent and insightful analysis of the McCain campaign mindset.
About John McCain
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Monday, October 6, 2008

McCain's Own 60's Radical Pal

See? You want to play the association game, go right ahead. This guy would be a traitor in McCain's book today; there's no way he'd associate with him now. If you did bring it up, it'd be the whole POW smokescreen machine gearing up in short order.



McCain eats his PWN face.
About John McCain
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

McCain's Tattered Remains (of his dignity)


When you have to send your Vice Presidential pick out to declare that your opponent "pals around with domestic terrorists," you've hit a new low. When you can eat your own words for breakfast and they taste like crow sausage, you've hit a new low.


John McCain's goal in the first debate was to discredit Senator Obama as a credible Commander in Chief and elevate the issue of foreign policy and national security. He didn't come close. Absent a domestic terror attack the economy will remain the number one issue in the race, and there is little Senator McCain can do to make up his gap with Senator Obama on it. Oh, Senator McCain will try to make issues of Bill Ayers and Tony Rezko and Rev. Wright, and that might hurt Senator Obama around the margins -- but it will not prevent him from winning. The economy is simply bigger than the rogues gallery that John McCain is conjuring up.
from the New Republic

This is why he sends out the lipstick pitbull to smear Obama's "associations." However, for every association he smears, Obama can answer back. Wanna pull out Bill Ayers? Great. We've got the Alaskan Independence Party. Wanna dredge up Reverend Wright? Okeedokee, we've got Hagee and that witch-craft preacher from Africa if you want to go that route.

But here's the thing- we DON'T want to go that route; we'll win with honor and concern for the business of America if we don't. "It's a dangerous road, but we have no choice," a top McCain strategist told the Daily News. "If we keep talking about the economic crisis, we're going to lose.

Yes. The Republicans are going to lose, and every day this becomes a little more inevitable. If McCain is really so desperate as to go down the Negative Nancy primrose path, then all we can say to him is, "John, don't worry: It will all be over in a month."

Friday, October 3, 2008

Palin On Fox News: Couric Annoyed Me


The questions that Katie Couric peppered her with were designed for one thing and one thing only- to present to the American people a deeper view of her intellectual capacity and education. The fact that she could not even reference the Supreme Court decision that lowered the damages that Exxon would pay for the Exxon-Valdez spill in her own state( in her own state!) only shows the paucity of substance that is, in the end, all she's got.

doggone it!

http://fortunelegalpad.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/07-219.pdf
About Sarah Palin
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Post Debate Exhalation


The most deeply scary thing was how Sarah Palin wants to expand post-Cheney Vice Presidential powers. This goes beyond the Constitutional scope and sweep of the office of the Vice Presidency.

The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.

This is a woman who tried to pass off her ignorance of the duties of the Vice Presidency as a "Lame Joke." The worst thing as VP that Cheney did was shoot his friend in the face. The last thing we need is a administration that follows along the primrose path to hell that Cheney has engineered America's destiny along lo this many years.

What about warrantless wiretapping? Isn't shredding the First Amendment damage enough to understand that the Vice President must be an ancillary figure working to support the President's policies until such unfortunate time that s/he must take on the duties of the President?

OK, so she didn't spin her head around and vomit pea soup. Ok so they coached her and schooled her and crammed her like a Christmas goose. But she didn't win. It only confirmed for me that the Republican ticket will continue to lead our country down the path it sinks today.

Hopes and Anticipation

There are times when the political waters of America become so muddied and toxic that I cannot choose to wade through them; my soul gets sickened and my heart weighs down.

Tonight will not be one of those nights. I look forward to Sarah being Sarah, and I truly hope that she's got more to say than a bunch of generalities and quicksand-shifting answers that say nothing, deflecting from the original question.

I hope Joe Biden treats her courteously, since he'll know that she'll hang herself if he lets her. I also hope that he makes at least one or two witticisms that give the pundits something to giggle over.

I hope it's as dramatic as I want it to be!

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Before the Thrilla in Manilla

I bet Muhammed Ali was wound up too. The press have been warning of Palin's "glittering generalities," in which she blankets her response time with filler static that connects with the audience so that they feel that they "could have a beer with ole Sarah Six-pack. The bar of expectation has been set so low that if she shows up and actually speaks in coherent sentences the Republicans are going to claim a win for her.

Even if she shows up and "holds her own" she's going to lose, since McCain is killing his own campaign with his monkeyshines this week during the economic meltdown negotiations. If she Courics it up, then that will simply kill the Republican's hopes all the sooner. Is it wrong, after eight years of screaming incompetency, to hope that they eat their hearts out?

Stay tuned for tomorrows hijinks!

Friday, September 26, 2008

The First Presidential Debate























6pm- Keith Olbermann confirms the presence of both candidates are in the building.

Moderated by Jim Lehrer

they're slipping some of the economy in, along with the theme of foreign affairs.

Obama takes the first go a tthe economic question right off the bat. MCain isn't laying down the principles to fix it like Obama did. (4 points) He's blathering about bipartisanship and brings it back (indirectly) to drilling oil.

Obama brings it to regulations. He's going to tee off on McCain's record, shortly.

what the hell does world war two have to do with whether or not he's going to vote for the plan?

McCain hasn't answered a question directly yet. (6:15)

6:18 now it's tit for tat on government spending.

6:31 McCain isn't answering how he would change his priorities, but Obama's dodging a bit too..

6:36 cucumber & ranch dip mmmmmm.... WHy isn't Obama going after McCain's record? Take the reins and go on the attack??

ahhh, there we go. 90% agreement with bush bush bush

mcCAIN's blathering about iraq and the success of the surge-
obama better come back with the fallacy of the iraq war all together...

6:42 ok he did. Home run!

6:48 still talking about Iraq, and the surge and whether or not the whole thing was necessary or not

6:52 moved on to afghanistan. THey're pretty much tit for tat still- this will be decided in the media... American voters need to decided between two totally different views.

THe Huffpoo liveblog is pretty good...

6:59 M Cain's distracting with the soldier/bracelet story... "I've got a bracelet too," says Obama.

7:08 McCain can't pronounce Ack madinijas (sp)

7:17 Steve from TVNewser: Scorecard from CNN HD analysts (two libs, two conserv. two independ): 34 positive for McCain, 52 positive for Obama THis is the merits versus rhetoric thing. Could it be that merit wins out?

7:20 Why won't Lerher shut McCain up? He's running all over this thing.

7:22 We've moved from Iraq to Afghanistan to Pakistan to Iran and now on to Russia- McCain's winning on sheer rudeness of debate rules. This moderator is LOUSY. Total empty chair.

7:24 Finally Obama brings up McCain's record 23 votes against alternative energy.

Barack Obama is on the defensive, performance-wise

7:31 we're now overtime. Obama's finishing by reminding us that Bin Laden is still out there, and brining up the trillion dollar debt we owe China, and they're helping those we deal with...

7:37 Holy shizer, JOHN MCCAIN ENDED WITH THE P.O.W THING!!

Asshat of the Week

Delusional Arrogance in Action. This ad was pulled from a screenshot of the Wall Street Journal online.


Ye gawds. Here's the list of bone-headed moves that McCain pulled this week.

He suspends his campaign, but forgets to tell any of his field operatives, who keep operations running as usual. Senior moment or example of mendacity?

He bails out of the debate, declaring that the economic situation was far more important and that his presence was needed in Washington. Washington, who'd been working on it just fine all week without him, gets all derailed, and the deal they'd worked goes right down the pooper. Chris Dodd dismissed John McCain's arrival and participation as a "photo-op" and "political theater." I thought he was being generous.

Today he bails back into the debate, realizing that all he's done is paint himself into a corner- if he ditches the debate he gives Obama and hour and a half of free primetime television coverage, and showing up makes him insincere and waffly.

Stick a fork in this poor bastard- by the time he's done, only the dyed-in-the-wool koolaid drinkers are going to vote for him. This election is way too portentious to not choose the best man for the job, putting all kinds of ideologies, religions, and second-tier issues aside. Our country's infrastructure is collapsing around us, and this guy's worried about spending more money on the failed Iraq war.

(Screw the Iraqis. It's time for us to put America first, and let them stand up or not, as they're able. )

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Wicca is one thing, State Witchcraft is another

Hooray! Sarah Palin has her own Pastor Problem. This is equal-opportunity stupidism, but let's be serious. It's one thing for a Reverend Wright to rail against America's policies, but when you throw Reverend Hagee's anti-Semitic rants and Rev. Thomas Muthee's cries for God in the Departments of Education and the Hollywood Establishment (read: Jews) then we have a more fundamental problem. While Reverend Wright had no business using his pulpit as a place to castigate his country from, I find it more disturbing that this snake-oil salesman wants to inject God into the running of government. Hollywood is more than capable of resisting religious dogma- "The Passion of the Christ" may have done landslide business, but I honestly went to see it to measure the splatter patterns. Is that wrong?.

Witchcraft? Really? The only witchery I see here is the determination by this lil updo-wearing Governor is to inject her close-minded world-view into the American political structure. That is unacceptable.

The following is pulled from Mudflats, and Alaskan blog that has been ballooning into national prominence as a result Palin's nomination.

Palin and the Witch Hunter - Chapter II.

25 09 2008


We have not seen the last of the witch hunter. We know Pastor Thomas Muthee was back in Wasilla this past weekend, and I posted a link previously of Sarah Palin recounting the time that Pastor Muthee had prayed over her, but now a video of the actual event has surfaced. Do not, I repeat do not watch this if you plan on sleeping any time soon. It’s a long clip, but here are the highlights:

2:57 - First mention of Sarah

5:00 - We need God to ‘take over the education system.’

5:27 - We need God to ‘take over the media’ and Hollywood itself.

6:08 - We need the government run by born-again Christians.

6:58 - Praying for Sarah to become governor (Doesn’t this impact their tax-exempt status? Anyone?)

7:12 - Sarah herself enters and is “prayed upon”.

8:38 - Another witchcraft reference.

Oh boy. The suspension of Mcain’s campaign, the beyond devastating Couric interview, Return of the Witch Hunter and the takeover of every facet of society by God, and the (strangely credible these days) National Enquirer releasing a story about an affair with Todd’s business partner…all in 24 hours. Not a good day for the McCain-Palin campaign.

It appears as if Pastor Muthee is working hard to fulfill the vision statement of his church, known as “The Prayer Cave”:

“Touching lives for total community transformation, thereby taking cities and nations.”

Resistance is futile, Wasilla. You have been assimilated. I wonder if Palin mentioned “taking cities and nations” for God during her chat yesterday with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai?

I’ll be sleeping with the lights on tonight.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

What Else Would President McCain Postpone in a Crisis?


McCain's choice to call for a suspension of Friday's debate is the stupidest thing on the planet. This is the point at which a true President would want the opportunity to present his viewpoint to the AMerican people without any delay and as clearly and concisely as possible. The idea that we should delay this debate is cowardly- one of the greatest things about this American experiment of a country of ours is that the turn of events isn't what determines the succession of our government- it's the will of the people.
About John McCain
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Monday, September 22, 2008

Sarah Palin- Extremist at the Clinic

Soon after the book controversy, Bess found himself again at odds with Palin and her fellow evangelicals. In 1996, evangelical churches mounted a vigorous campaign to take over the local hospital's community board and ban abortion from the valley. When they succeeded, Bess and Dr. Susan Lemagie, a Palmer OB-GYN, fought back, filing suit on behalf of a local woman who had been forced to travel to Seattle for an abortion. The case was finally decided by the Alaska Supreme Court, which ruled that the hospital must provide valley women with the abortion option.

At one point during the hospital battle, passions ran so hot that local antiabortion activists organized a boisterous picket line outside Dr. Lemagie's office, in an unassuming professional building across from Palmer's Little League field. According to Bess and another community activist, among the protesters trying to disrupt the physician's practice that day was Sarah Palin.

read the rest of the article here


Is this who you want representing you when it comes to reproductive health in America? I don't trust this woman with her own daughter's uterus, never mind my own.

Richard Cizik is one of the country's most powerful and outspoken Christian evangelical leaders. He happens to be a Republican, and he has known the GOP's presidential nominee for many years. "I thought John McCain was a principled person," Cizik says. "But John McCain has backed off, not just on climate change but on torture and a sensible tax policy -- in other words, he's not the John McCain of 2000. ... He seems to be waffling on issue after issue.

It's not illogical for someone to conclude that John McCain is going to be more like George Bush than John McCain is going to be like John McCain in 2000."

rest of the article here

Wow, it really tells you something if the Evangelical Right is turning its nose up at John McCain. We can disagree on issues, we can disagree on policies, we can disagree on the direction we think this country ought to take; what seems to hold the center is the fact that good judgment, honorable ethical behavior and the undeniable sense of rightness that comes from working honestly for the public good never really goes out of style.

John McCain has become a joke, and a sad shell of the politician he used to be. Unfortunately, the politician he used to be was a member of the Keating Five.

We need to finish this stupid election and get to the business of the American People!


Saturday, September 20, 2008

Don't Forget Joltin' Joe!

Here's the first few paragraphs on today's New York Times article on Joe Biden. He's been shuffled aside for ole Caribou Barbie, and it's a shame. He's got a lot to say. Please feel free to click on the headline and read the rest of the article; it's pretty awesome.


Meanwhile, the Other No. 2 Keeps On Punching

FLAT ROCK, Mich. — As the economy reels, Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. — the Other Running Mate — has been absolutely butchering Senator John McCain across the Rust Belt this week. It is not clear who has noticed.

“John is so out of touch, he just has no idea,” charged Mr. Biden, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, who called his “old, dear friend” someone who “just doesn’t think,” who is behaving in a repugnant manner and who is peddling “Republican garbage,” and malarkey.

The older woman who introduced him at a rally here called Mr. Biden’s Republican counterpart, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, a “bucket of fluff,” and he rewarded the woman as he took the microphone with an “I love you” and a gentle kiss on the head.

“If I sound angry, it’s because I am angry,” Mr. Biden told a few hundred people gathered at a high school football field. Yes, he sounds angry, yelling through his stump speeches, flailing his arms and telling a (supportive) member of the audience to “Shush up, will you?” (“I’m kidding,” he added, but did not sound it.)

But the reality for Mr. Biden is that while running mates are second-fiddlers by definition, the phenomenon of Ms. Palin has rendered him something of a fourth or fifth fiddle. It is not like last month, when reporters swarmed Mr. Biden’s Delaware home and delegates swooned at the Democratic convention. He is now trailed by just a few national reporters, and struggling to break through in a race marked by historic firsts, political celebrities and charismatic newcomers — none named Joe Biden.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Gender and God

This morning, as is occasionally my wont, I called Stephanie's show so that I could respond to the two right-wing callers that she had on during the bottom of the 6am hour. After chatting with Becks for a few minutes (gawd I love that gal!), I held on 'till I had to hang up. Being on the Stephanie Miller show is fun, but as of yet it doesn't pay; teaching high school does. I had to drop the line to go to work.

The first caller I had wanted to respond to was a woman who rapidly became unhinged as she berated Stephanie for bashing first Hillary, and then Palin. The point I was going to make is that while we still work for gender parity in this country, while women still on average make .77 the dollars that men in equivalent positions to, that is not an excuse to scream "sexism!" every time someone takes issue with a female politician's stance. I respected Hillary enough to appreciate her achievements and disagree with her viewpoints. Gender has never had aught to do with it. I respected her enough as a woman to disregard her gender as a candidate.

Then we get to right wing tool caller #2: This guy comes on and declares that he's a pro-choice evangelical, and that's why he's voting for Sarah Palin. Now, it's his right as an American to vote under any premise he chooses, but to suggest that Sarah Palin is a woman's candidate because she is female merely continues the disparaging monolithic thinking that keeps women back. I get very nervous when people start talking about Jesus Christ and the government- there are lots of passages that our Founding Fathers wrote that discourage this kind of theocratic thinking.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Since there shall be no law respecting the establishment of a religion, I cast a weary eye at Americans who choose their candidate on the basis of shared faith. I find it tiresome, and short-sighted. I find it foolish, and against the interest of the American people's business of government.

So did, apparently, the Founding Fathers (from Article VI of the Constitution):
"The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."

no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States... no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States... no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

Should we make Sarah Palin and her tribe of glazed-over freaks write this on the blackboard a thousand times?

Thursday, September 18, 2008

From Daily Kos today



This is a relief! This is the kind of ad we've been waiting for, and all of us gun-shy liberals thought that we would fight fair (be wusses) and not hit the Republicans hard on their screw ups. Tragically, we've found our voice because it's gotten to the point of the end of America as we know it if we don't stop them hijacking the Constitution. From Karl Rove refusing to appear before Congress to "Palin/McCain" running out the clock on Troopergate, it looks like the tone-deaf Republicans are going to finish this one up in fine Neocon style.Deny deny deny! Lie! Lie! Lie! How fabulous that we're starting, starting to evince an immunity to their wretched contempt for America and her Constitution.

The Mental Acuity Issue Looms

OK, so on both Huffpoo & Daily Kos, we've got McCain's mental condition under question:

When asked about Spain and Zapatero, by a Spanish reporter for a Spanish newspaper, McCain responded about Mexico and Latin America. A reader suggested something that Josh had already considered, that perhaps McCain thought the reporter was talking about the Zapatistas in Mexico, the guerilla group. But that's not possible as the reporter clearly said she was talking about Spain and Spain's leader, Zapatero. She told McCain this twice. Let me tell you exactly what she asked McCain (per the translation):
"Senator, finally, let's talk about Spain. If you're elected president, would you invite President Zapatero to meet with you in the White House?"
McCain then gives this odd answer about America's friends and America's enemies. He also, oddly, talks about Mexico (why Mexico? The question was about Spain) and how he'd invite friendly leaders to the White House. She then asks him again, would that invitation include President Zapatero? He says again that he'd have to review relations first, blah blah. She then says again, "so you'd have to wait to see, so would you meet with him in the White House?" He again repeats his weird statement about friends and enemies. McCain also throws in, oddly, to the Spanish reporter, when she's asking him about meeting the Spanish president, a line about the importance of our relationship with Latin America (this is now the second time he answered a question about meeting the president of Spain with an answer about Latin America). She then says to McCain one last time:
"Okay, but I'm talking about Europe - the president of Spain, would you meet with him?"
This time, there was no room for confusion. McCain then gives this very bizarre answer:
"I will meet with any leader who has the same principles and philosophy as us in terms of human rights, democracy, and freedom and I will stand up to those who do not."

If this doesn't scare the living crap out of rationally minded thinking people, then we are doomed, and a generation of swine will truly take us over.

O Hunter, wherefore art thou when we have need of thee?

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

I wish I could embed this

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1185304443/bctid1799203760

please watch!



and a great big fat shout-out to "shock is all in your head" from the myspace for finding me the code button! Woot!

It's the Economy, Stoopid.

"Just imagine if Bush and McCain had had their way and privatized Social Security," said Brown. "People would have seen their private social security accounts just disintegrate the last two days. And imagine what that would mean in rural America, urban America, suburban America and small town America?"
read the whole article here

Dear God, what a close shave we had with that one. Privatizing Social Security would have brought this economic meltdown home to a lot more kitchen tables than it's currently doing now, but at what cost? There'd be no damn food on the table; we would probably end up with breadlines just like we had during the Great Depression.

John McCain is a fraud. He's for responsible fiscal regulation and the "cleaning up of Wall Street and Washington" the same way the sea isn't very wet. Now that the Keating Five are coming up in conversation (and mark my words, we're less than 24 hours away from the national headlines reminding us of this piece of history) perhaps this "maverick" bullshit will finally be put to rest.
The Senator is too old, too sick, too bought and too paid for to be the President of the America I pray to see continue on into the future. His thinking is dead-ended and flawed; his approach is false and cynical.

Hell, he won't even tell us how sick he is; before ANYONE votes for this fossil, they should be aware of how close Palin is to seeing Russia nuked from her house.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

George Bush Let Companies (plural!) Go Down the Pipe Too!



Here is a link to George Bush's corporate failures.

Sarah Palin couldn't run a watch.

This would cut my meager income even further

and my insurance blows wad as it is.


"...the McCain health plan would treat employer-paid health benefits as income that employees would have to pay taxes on. "

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/16/opinion/16herbert.html?th&emc=th

and 20 million more Americans would lose their health insurance as a result of this plan, bringing the total up to about 70 miliion, or

TWENTY PERCENT OF THE COUNTRY!!!

John McCain Believes The Key To Health Care Reform Is To Restore Control To The Patients Themselves. We want a system of health care in which everyone can afford and acquire the treatment and preventative care they need. Health care should be available to all and not limited by where you work or how much you make. Families should be in charge of their health care dollars and have more control over care.
-from John McCain .com

What this means is that not only will families have to work for a living, they'll have to do their own research and get their own insurance on their own time, without the benefit of bulk purchase that employer-based benefits bring.

I would love to see John McCain get medical care like the rest of us- he'd be decrepit in about six months.

Don't forget, he's rich, and married an heiress who will pay all his medical bills, depsite his Senatorual coverage. He knows regular Americans as those he can use and scrape off his shoe.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Responsible Media Management

Hi kids, it's time to play "watch what you step in!" I'm your host, Lavender Pitt, and I'm here to tell you a little story about what happens when you express your opinion. First, a little background:

Anti-Palin rally organizers receive threats

by Lori Tipton
Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008

ANCHORAGE, Alaska-- Opponents of Gov. Sarah Palin's policies are being threatened.

Alaska Women Reject Palin, a local group that opposes the Republican vice presidential candidate, on Wednesday announced plans to host an anti-Palin rally this weekend.

Since that announcement organizers say they've received intimidating messages.

A press release for the Reject Palin rally went out to practically every media outlet in town Wednesday. And one talk radio host decided to share the names and phones numbers of the two contacts on-air.

That decision has left organizers feeling somewhat fearful of practicing their First Amendment rights.

KBYR talk radio host Eddie Burke admits he is a conservative and a "Palinista."

But on Wednesday Burke resorted to name calling when he found out Alaska Women Reject Palin planned to host a Saturday rally.

"They're a bunch of socialist maggots, that's what I'm going to call them -- socialist maggots, that's what they are, a bunch of socialist baby-killing maggots," said Burke.

Please feel free to click on the title for a link to the full story; however, this is not the point of the story. I emailed the station casually with the following email:

From: Rai Goldin
Sent: Sunday, September 14, 2008 5:09 PM
Subject: Eddie Burke's right to swing his fist

end's at the tip of people's noses, ans he is responsible for every harrassing phonecall those women reveived. He had no right to give out those people's phone numbers and he should bloody well be fired for working against the public's safety.

Rachel Goldin
Tucson AZ

Please note that all embarrassing punctuation mistakes on my part have not been edited out of this edition; sometimes veracity trumps accuracy! I figured I'd get no reply, or at best a boilerplate generic acknowledgment. Instead, this is what I got:
From: "myopinion@kbyr.com"
To: Rai Goldin
Sent: Sunday, September 14, 2008 8:55:53 PM
Subject: Re: Eddie Burke's right to swing his fist

weaaaaa....y dont you cry a little more....it is called free speech for a reason....go cry to your mom...not to us

I was floored by this response, as it confirmed my worst-nightmare fears about the kind of wing-nut loonies they let play with the transmitter when they get snowed in up there. Alaska's finally getting the kind of attention that one of the fifty United States ought to get; some journalists are blossoming under the light, but other media outlets seem to wither under the glare. I thought I'd have to write this one off, and sent a reply indicating as such:

From: Rai Goldin
Sent: Monday, September 15, 2008 4:45 AM
Subject: Re: Eddie Burke's right to swing his fist

Wow, are you representing a broadcast radio show? Or do you let staffers' middleschoolers answer the mail?! I thought I was reaching a media outlet; sorry, my mistake.

This was, as I figured, the end of the nonsense; but lo, another email just fluttered my way, from the general manager of the station:

Rai,
I do not know who sent that message, I will check our records and see who was here then. But it is station policy not to give out numbers and Eddie will be punished accordingly.
Again sorry for the previous email.
Justin McDonald-GM

I thanked him for his concern in the matter, and let him know I was very interested in the follow-up for the conclusion of the matter. If and when I receive any more correspondence, I shall let you know.

A few points:
  1. Eddie Burke does not have the right to give out people's numbers on the air with an implicit go-ahead to call them up and give them a hard time
  2. This is an abuse of the freedom of speech- any emotional wear and tear these anti-Palin organizers got as a result of Mr. Brke's actions are a responsibility that is at his feet.
  3. The anit-Palin organization was bigger than her welcome -home rally, and is being under-reported as of this hour by the mainstream media.
*sigh*



Sunday, September 14, 2008

Psh. It's just too easy.


And the women of Alaska seem to agree with me. This is an amazing article covering the anti-Sarah-Palin demonstration that ' surely going to send a note along to ole Keefy to make sure he covers tomorrow. Like he's pay attention to ME. However, we need to make sure someone is paying attention to the women of Alaska:

"Never, have I seen anything like it in my 17 and a half years living in Anchorage. The organizers had someone walk the rally with a counter, and they clicked off well over 1400 people (not including the 90 counter-demonstrators). This was the biggest political rally ever, in the history of the state. I was absolutely stunned. The second most amazing thing is how many people honked and gave the thumbs up as they drove by. And even those that didn’t honk looked wide-eyed and awe-struck at the huge crowd that was growing by the minute. This just doesn’t happen here."

It does when a horrorshow like Palin shows up on the scene.
Read the whole story here.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Is It Sexist To Want The Person Flying The Plane To Be A Pilot?


Kathleen Reardon is one wise muppet. It's a shame that there are those who have turned it around and asked the same question with the word "racist" substituted for sexist; the truth of the matter is that with the treatment that Presidential candidates receive, America's best and brightest wouldn't touch politics with a ten-foot pole.
About Sarah Palin
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Panic at the Disco

In 2000, Al Gore was too polite to come back to the dirty tricks of the Right, and George Bush won (albeit by theft). In 2004 John Kerry was too weak to combat the lies of the swiftboat bullshit. I feel a sense of desperation building amongst the Democrats of my acquaintance; are we really going to be too nice to win? If John McCain wins this election, this country will deserve the resulting chaos that it will reap.

John McCain's ads are full of lies, and the lies are starting to stick. This puts the Democrats at a distinct disadvantage, since the base will discount it, the Republicans will buy it as gospel, and the Independents will be left to filter through the noise and static that results. Obama wants porn in the classroom? Sounds like a great ad. Obama's going to raise taxes everywhere? No problem, get it out there. For some reason, the lies are starting to stick, whereas the truth is dismissed as unimportant. It's enough to break your heart.

What kills me is Obama's lack of punch back. I want him so much to stand up and scream to the world that these are lies, lies, lies, and that theses people are simply selling a bill of goods to the American people yet again, and that we can't let fear blind us to the damage that the Republicans will do yet again. Why will the press not expose them for what it is?

ABC's softball interview is going to be a load of crap. Gibson isn't going to hold her toes to the fire, and this is a symptom of the spinelessness of the current media. The intelligentsia is all on the net, both on the left and the right, and the sheeple who rely on the mainstream media are being led around by the nose.

I wish relying on facts and records were enough for people to see through the spin and lies that is the Republicans' stock-in-trade; I wish national election were run like state elections in Arizona. Keep them clean, and give them free air-time on an equal basis, and no outside money at all!

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

This is the most astonishing thing.

http://mensnewsdaily.com/2008/09/08/why-women-bash-sarah-palin-marc-h-rudov/

a sample:

Women bash Sarah Palin because she has shattered the farce of the glass ceiling, and now there’s no place for them to hide. Sarah Palin is living proof that women derive their power through guts, brains, raw talent, and achievement — as true equals to men — not through victimhood. Moreover, Sarah Palin has achieved success while expressing love and admiration for her husband, anathema to the misandrist underpinning of fascistic feminism.

Sarah Palin has exposed the truth about feminism, which has for decades kept women dysfunctionally addicted to victimhood and viciously cast men as their enemies.

Instead of disempoweringly “pursuing” equality through whining and lobbying, women, who already enjoy more rights and privileges than men, can emulate Sarah Palin to demonstrate it. Will they?

The scary thing about this article is that it is well researched and well-supported. It's the conclusions he draws, and the caliber of commentators he attracts that make for the real nightmare.

A Timely Reminder

New edwarvir See Profile I'm a Fan of edwarvir permalink

Bliggers stop talking about the Baracuda and let's beat up the Media
and Methuselah until she comes out and Meets the Press. As long as
we blog about her he gets what he wants to keep the spotlight off of HIM

He didn't vett her we don't know her and she must come out and answer
questions. Lets keep talking about him and him being unprepared to tell
us what he is going to do for us besides start a WAR. Leave her alone
Blog his old head off. Attack him for not telling us what he is going to do
to get this economy back on track. Him and his buddies destroyed our
economy and don't let him forget it. for mintute.

Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 08:03 PM on 09/09/2008
- New Darwinita See Profile I'm a Fan of Darwinita permalink

Wow, this is a great reminder. Good post.

Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 08:48 PM on 09/09/2008

Monday, September 8, 2008

How Did the RNC Insult Troops and Veterans? Let Me Count the Ways...


"I was deployed in the Persian Gulf when Clinton took office. The vast majority of the guys I was with did not like Clinton. They especially didn't like him after that "don't ask, don't tell" CRAP!

Then the SOB began butchering the military. A lot of good men had to hit the unemployment line after that."



So what about all the Arabic-speaking translators who were fired from the military 'cuz they're gay? THERE's and example of making sure we utilize America's resources best.



As for your questions, do your own damn homework. I'm not going to educate you under your guise of "debate."
About Republican Convention
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Sarah Palin and the "Women's" Vote


No one's arguing about Sarah Palin's view on her reproductive choices- obviously she practices what she believes. My sympathy for her ends at MY uterus. She would legislate my choice away, and after that, she's no woman's friend to me.



Good for NOW for seeing through McCain's cheap and cynical ploy. a) it gives them the opportunity to prove that just because a candidate is female they don't automatically get the gender vote- women do not vote monolithically. b) they're true to their mission statement, no matter what gender the threat is.



I signed up for their email today. Sarah Palin is no representative of me.
About Sarah Palin
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

done with snark, but hey...

Jam For Us Today, None For You Tomorrow

I am very strongly against the slut-shaming spectacle to which Sarah and Bristol Palin have been subjected. This continues the disturbing virulent misogyny directed at Hillary Clinton. No woman should be a target for this kind of bigotry and hatred.
Posted by: Zrusilla | September 02, 2008 at 10:49 PM

This is in response to an article con the California NOW blogsite that really questions whether or not the newly-minted Republican acceptance of teenage pregnancy is political hypocrisy or merely dangerous to the reproductive rights of women everywhere (it's both).

Abstinence-only sex education has never worked as well as informed and sober discussion of sex and its consequences. If a girl making a big choice on the cusp of womanhood has been denied relevant, scientific information on human sexuality and disease-preventative measures, then using the sanctity of life to force her down a path she may not be ready for is a cruelty that the Republican Party wants to legislate and judiciate down our throats as a nation.

What hasn't been discussed as much is the unfairness to ole Levi, the boyfriend in these circumstances. Quite frankly, does anyone think that he is enjoying the consequences of that sweaty evening in the backseat? Based on his former myspace page comments, I seriously doubt it. I mean, honestly, sporting a new tattoo and canoodling with your infant to-be brother-in-law is never going to convince anyone that you're not feeling like a fly in amber, watching the world around you drip over your life and freeze you where you are.

If these two are the product of abstinese only sex-ed, then please Lord, educate them chidrens
quick!



PS: this is hilarious