THIS is what you get in the big cities ... VOTERS!
Obama draws 100,000 in St Louis (and doesn't have to inflate the numbers for the press, John.)
I wonder how many of these folks hate America?
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Tell Sara Palin ...
THIS is what you get in the big cities ... VOTERS!
Obama draws 100,000 in St Louis (and doesn't have to inflate the numbers for the press, John.)
I wonder how many of these folks hate America?
Joe the Plumber
... is finding that, in this political climate, his 15 minutes of fame involves a 13 minute of rectal exam.
(Thank you, Bill Maher.)
(Thank you, Bill Maher.)
Friday, October 17, 2008
Joe McCarthy in lipstick
... or get the video after the jump.
In case you're interested in who Joe McCarthy was, you can find out here ... or here if you don't like Wikipedia.
What's happening here?
So a canvasser goes to a woman's door in Washington, Pennsylvania. Knocks. Woman answers. Knocker asks who she's planning to vote for. She isn't sure, has to ask her husband who she's voting for. Husband is off in another room watching some game. Canvasser hears him yell back, "We're votin' for the n***er!"
Woman turns back to canvasser, and says brightly and matter of factly: "We're voting for the n***er."
... from the FiveThirtyEight blog site.
If these folks aren't a slam-dunk for McCain, what are the odds? Really ...
Woman turns back to canvasser, and says brightly and matter of factly: "We're voting for the n***er."
... from the FiveThirtyEight blog site.
If these folks aren't a slam-dunk for McCain, what are the odds? Really ...
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Too Good to be True!
John McCain did great tonight in the debate. But every time John mentioned “Joe the Plumber,” some of us in the campaign banged our heads against the wall. If Steve Schmidt had any hair left, I hear he would have been pulling it out tonight. He reportedly screamed at John’s debate prep team tonight (out of earshot of reporters, of course). “You idiots - he’s related to Charles Keating… of the Keating Five scandal!” They thought they had a real live Joe Six-Pack who’s spurned Barack Obama’s tax plan. But what they forgot to do was check on Joe Wurzelbacher’s background.
Turns out that Joe Wurzelbacher from the Toledo event is a close relative of Robert Wurzelbacher of Milford, Ohio. Who’s Robert Wurzelbacher? Only Charles Keating’s son-in-law and the former senior vice president of American Continental, the parent company of the infamous Lincoln Savings and Loan. The now retired elder Wurzelbacher is also a major contributor to Republican causes giving well over $10,000 in the last few years.
... the rest after the jump.
Second guessing
McCain: Yes. Sen. Obama, I am not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago. I'm going to give a new direction to this economy in this country.
Obama: John, if you really wanted to reform George Bush's policies, as you now claim, perhaps you should have run against him four years ago.
Obama: John, if you really wanted to reform George Bush's policies, as you now claim, perhaps you should have run against him four years ago.
Perspective
In these troubled economic times, its might be a good idea to take a step back and think through what we're doing. The following quote from Ellen Goodman might help to provide a little perspective in our daily lives:
Ellen Goodman is a Pulitzer prize winning columnist, author, speaker, and commentator who refuses to call herself a pundit. Ellen has long been a chronicler of social change in America.
... more after the jump.
"Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for - in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it."
Ellen Goodman is a Pulitzer prize winning columnist, author, speaker, and commentator who refuses to call herself a pundit. Ellen has long been a chronicler of social change in America.
... more after the jump.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
The Final Presidential Debate is Tonight
The third and final presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain will be held at Hofstra University on Long Island tonight. This may be McCain's last chance to really do some damage to Obama. So far, all the polls have said Obama/Biden have beaten McCain/Palin 3 out of 3, so McCain is going to have to pull a rabbit out of the hat. The two men will be sitting together at a table with the moderator, Bob Schieffer of CBS News. If McCain really attacks Obama, camera shots will show him getting nasty to a guy sitting right next to him and the independents won't like it. If he is civil and just discusses the issues politely, it won't change the dynamic of the race. It is going to be tough for him.
Get the rest on Electoral-Vote.com after the jump.
Other polling site worth visiting include:
-- Fiverthirtyeight.com, named for the fact there are 538 electoral votes in the Electoral College (and taking 270 to win).
-- PollingReport.com General Election Trial Heats
-- Pollster.com (pretty charts)
-- and bet some bucks on the outcome at InTrade.
Get the rest on Electoral-Vote.com after the jump.
Other polling site worth visiting include:
-- Fiverthirtyeight.com, named for the fact there are 538 electoral votes in the Electoral College (and taking 270 to win).
-- PollingReport.com General Election Trial Heats
-- Pollster.com (pretty charts)
-- and bet some bucks on the outcome at InTrade.
Message from the Queen
... to the citizens of the United States of America, from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
In light of your failure in recent years to elect (or even nominate) competent candidates for President of the United States of America and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence with immediate effect.
(look up 'revocation' in the Oxford English Dictionary.)
Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all
states, commonwealths, and territories (excepting Kansas, which she does not fancy).
Your new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections.
Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire will be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.
To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are
introduced with immediate effect:
1. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour,' 'favour,' 'labour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix '-ize' will be replaced by the suffix '-ise.' Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up 'vocabulary' in the Oxford English Dictionary.)
2, Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as "like" and 'you know' is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S. English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter 'u'' and the elimination of '-ize.'
3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.
4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you are not ready to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you cannot sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you are not ready to shoot grouse.
5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. A permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.
7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly $10.00 per US gallon. Get used to it.
8. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.
9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable, as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth (and look at what that did for them). Henceforth, American beer will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.
10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.
11. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football, that which you call soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).
12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries.
13. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.
14. An internal revenue agent (tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due since 1776.
15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m., using proper cups, with saucers (never mugs), with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes, and with strawberries (with cream) when in season.
God Save the Queen!
In light of your failure in recent years to elect (or even nominate) competent candidates for President of the United States of America and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence with immediate effect.
(look up 'revocation' in the Oxford English Dictionary.)
Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all
states, commonwealths, and territories (excepting Kansas, which she does not fancy).
Your new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections.
Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire will be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.
To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are
introduced with immediate effect:
1. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour,' 'favour,' 'labour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix '-ize' will be replaced by the suffix '-ise.' Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up 'vocabulary' in the Oxford English Dictionary.)
2, Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as "like" and 'you know' is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S. English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter 'u'' and the elimination of '-ize.'
3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.
4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you are not ready to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you cannot sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you are not ready to shoot grouse.
5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. A permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.
7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly $10.00 per US gallon. Get used to it.
8. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.
9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable, as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth (and look at what that did for them). Henceforth, American beer will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.
10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.
11. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football, that which you call soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).
12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries.
13. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.
14. An internal revenue agent (tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due since 1776.
15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m., using proper cups, with saucers (never mugs), with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes, and with strawberries (with cream) when in season.
God Save the Queen!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Christopher Buckley gives one finger salute to McCain's brand of Conservativeism
... endorses Obama, gets a taste of what the Right-wingnut fringe is really like.
Christopher Buckley, in an exclusive for The Daily Beast, explains why he left The National Review, the magazine his father founded.
... after the jump.
I wonder if Joe Lieberman got death threats?
For anyone interested, here's Buckley's column endorsing Obama and that got the Right-wingnut's panties in a twist.
A side note: Wilcox is a town about 70-75 miles east of Tucson, Arizona. It's a quiet little farming/ranching town and home of the Rex Allen Cowboy Museum. Last night (Monday night) some real 'Merkins got together to paint the walls of a local merchant's store with Swastikas and anti-Obama slogans. The rumor around town was that it was done because the merchant was
a.) black and
b.) probably going to vote for Obama
There are people on the right and there are people on the Right. How is it that those on the right can tolerate those on the Right?
Again, I'm embarrassed.
Christopher Buckley, in an exclusive for The Daily Beast, explains why he left The National Review, the magazine his father founded.
... after the jump.
I wonder if Joe Lieberman got death threats?
For anyone interested, here's Buckley's column endorsing Obama and that got the Right-wingnut's panties in a twist.
A side note: Wilcox is a town about 70-75 miles east of Tucson, Arizona. It's a quiet little farming/ranching town and home of the Rex Allen Cowboy Museum. Last night (Monday night) some real 'Merkins got together to paint the walls of a local merchant's store with Swastikas and anti-Obama slogans. The rumor around town was that it was done because the merchant was
a.) black and
b.) probably going to vote for Obama
There are people on the right and there are people on the Right. How is it that those on the right can tolerate those on the Right?
Again, I'm embarrassed.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Taking Pride
In our ignorance
Our xenophobia
Our bigotry
Our narrowness
Our lack of awareness
We're 'Merkins an' we hain't votin' fer no n!gg#&!
I don't know about you but I'm embarrassed.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
It's an historic ticket!
frm Steve Benen's Political Animal
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.
... the rest after the click.
... and its the Reform ticket ... how ironic!
But not so ironic when you consider it's brought to you by the same folks who gave us
-- The Patriot Act that undermines the Constitution;
-- The Clean Air Act that deregulates many polluters;
-- a slew of Pro-Marriage acts in states across the country that limit marriage
-- voter initiative called "Majority Rules" here in Arizona that purportedly supports voter initiatives by regarding anyone who doesn't vote as a "no" vote thereby making it impossible to pass a voter initiative in the State of Arizona;
-- and an almost unending list of other acts that say they do one thing when, in fact, they do exactly the opposite.
Ironic, isn't it?
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.
... the rest after the click.
... and its the Reform ticket ... how ironic!
But not so ironic when you consider it's brought to you by the same folks who gave us
-- The Patriot Act that undermines the Constitution;
-- The Clean Air Act that deregulates many polluters;
-- a slew of Pro-Marriage acts in states across the country that limit marriage
-- voter initiative called "Majority Rules" here in Arizona that purportedly supports voter initiatives by regarding anyone who doesn't vote as a "no" vote thereby making it impossible to pass a voter initiative in the State of Arizona;
-- and an almost unending list of other acts that say they do one thing when, in fact, they do exactly the opposite.
Ironic, isn't it?
Political Mergers: Nazis and Republicans Singing Kumbaya Around the Burning Cross
Given that the current economic upheaval is being compared to the Great Depression of the 1930s and that was presaged by economic the upheavals in Germany during the 1920s that resulted from their defeat in the First World War, I thought the following piece from Jesus' General was an interesting perspective and analysis.
Comparisons between Nazis and Republicans are sometimes appropriate and sometimes inappropriate, but in all cases it's only supposed to be on an abstracted level that compares polices or attitudes. The comparisons aren't supposed to be direct and immediate because Republicans aren't supposed to be actual Nazis or actual fascists, yet in their struggle to overcome all possibility of satirization, Republicans appear to be trying to become just that. In some cases, Republicans are accepting genuine neo-Nazi white supremacists in leadership roles in the Party. In other cases, rank-and-file Republicans are expressing Nazi-like hatred of outsiders and minorities that would give even Himmler warm fuzzies.
The most outrageous example would be the two elected Republican precinct delegates in Michigan who are genuine neo-Nazis. One, Kyle Bristow, openly embraces the support of the Council for Conservative Citizens and the designation of his blog as "pro-white." Better known examples would be the behavior of people attending the campaign rallies for John McCain and Sarah Palin.
Their conservative "base" is shouting out that Obama is a "terrorist" who should be "killed" and that he is guilty of "treason." At another McCain/Palin event, one conservative family brought an Obama doll to show that he's a "puppet," but their child was explicitly instructed that "you need gloves" just to touch it. In addition to the "terrorist" label we also find him being called a "Communist and a Marxist." Given how conservative his economic policies are, I don't think American conservatives know what real communism is anymore.
... the rest after the click.
They say "it can't happen here" but that's only because they are not aware of how insidious scapegoating and xenophobia can be. Couple this with events over the last eight years that have seen an erosion of he Constitution, the raising of large private armies (Blackwater, in particular), concentration camps (Gitmo) and the rise of a self perpetuating military-industrial complex - the time is ripe for a change - and not necessarily a change for the better. It can happen here. It's as simple as that.
Comparisons between Nazis and Republicans are sometimes appropriate and sometimes inappropriate, but in all cases it's only supposed to be on an abstracted level that compares polices or attitudes. The comparisons aren't supposed to be direct and immediate because Republicans aren't supposed to be actual Nazis or actual fascists, yet in their struggle to overcome all possibility of satirization, Republicans appear to be trying to become just that. In some cases, Republicans are accepting genuine neo-Nazi white supremacists in leadership roles in the Party. In other cases, rank-and-file Republicans are expressing Nazi-like hatred of outsiders and minorities that would give even Himmler warm fuzzies.
The most outrageous example would be the two elected Republican precinct delegates in Michigan who are genuine neo-Nazis. One, Kyle Bristow, openly embraces the support of the Council for Conservative Citizens and the designation of his blog as "pro-white." Better known examples would be the behavior of people attending the campaign rallies for John McCain and Sarah Palin.
Their conservative "base" is shouting out that Obama is a "terrorist" who should be "killed" and that he is guilty of "treason." At another McCain/Palin event, one conservative family brought an Obama doll to show that he's a "puppet," but their child was explicitly instructed that "you need gloves" just to touch it. In addition to the "terrorist" label we also find him being called a "Communist and a Marxist." Given how conservative his economic policies are, I don't think American conservatives know what real communism is anymore.
... the rest after the click.
They say "it can't happen here" but that's only because they are not aware of how insidious scapegoating and xenophobia can be. Couple this with events over the last eight years that have seen an erosion of he Constitution, the raising of large private armies (Blackwater, in particular), concentration camps (Gitmo) and the rise of a self perpetuating military-industrial complex - the time is ripe for a change - and not necessarily a change for the better. It can happen here. It's as simple as that.
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