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Friday, January 28, 2022

Open Thread – Salt Water

“The cure for everything is salt water – sweat, tears, or the sea.” ~Isak Dinesen

 

I’ll be heading out to sea for a couple days, Mudflatters, but fear not. I shall bring back treasures to share.

Shannyn and Linda to hold down the fort – check.

Dog/House sitters – check.

Cameras – check.

Laptop – check.

Brian the moose – on his own.

So, as my dad used to say, “Do good.  Avoid evil.”  And leave me lots of good links so I can catch up on the goings on in the world when I get back!

Comments

comments

Comments
79 Responses to “Open Thread – Salt Water”
  1. benlomond2 says:

    A moment of reflection , for those who fought and died on the beaches of Normandy , June 6, 1944.

  2. OMG says:

    This is a fantastic column that calls Palin out for the fraud that she is:

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/sarah-palins-revisionist-ride/2011/06/06/AGVMGbKH_story.html

  3. merrycricket says:

    Question…. Copper River wild caught salmon, appropriate, responsible, sustainable? Yay or nay? I don’t get salmon much so I haven’t been paying attention to where it should come from in order to be responsible. Any one of you mudpups got an opinion?

    • Alaska Pi says:

      is a good choice- some companies there better than others but a good choice

  4. mike from iowa says:

    I lay on that mirrored sky,a restless sailor….waiting. I love to listen to the creaks and groans from wooden sailing ships at anchor. I don’t mind the sound of gulls or ship’s bells. I could even learn to like the salty sea spray,if I didn’t have to get near a large body of water.

  5. Mo says:

    Holy cow, here’s a good one from Frank Schaeffer:

    Palin perfected the “art” of Evangelical self-banishment and then took victimhood to new levels of success by cashing in on white lower-middle-class resentment of America’s elites. She might as well have run under the slogan “I’m as dumb as you are!”

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-schaeffer/sarah-palin-professional-_b_871439.html

    • OMG says:

      Mr. Schaeffer knows what he’s talking about. Let’s hope he still has a voice with some in his former flock.

  6. Baker's Dozen says:

    Strauss-Klein and the differences between French and American judicial systems.

    http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2011/0606/US-court-system-confounds-French-as-Dominique-Strauss-Kahn-pleads-not-guilty

  7. Mag the Mick says:

    Palin is refusing to admit she got it wrong, and her followers have tried to change certain facts on Wikipedia to “confirm” her version. For now, she’s a laughing stock, but what would happen if, some morning, we woke up and found out that all the facts have been changed? This is how dictators gain power in part, by putting out enough propaganda to chnge the general narrative of history. This is one reason the Tea Baggers are dangrous and why we have to stay watchful.

    • OMG says:

      Her fans already believe everything she tells them and sadly the fringe (fueled by ignorance and hate) in the US has grown significantly over the years.

    • CarolE says:

      Carol E. Sharp Basile
      “When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross,” wrote Sinclair Lewis in 1935.

      Carol E. Sharp Basile
      http://www.rense.com/general37/char.htm

      Fourteen Defining Characteristics Of Fascism
      http://www.rense.com

    • mike from iowa says:

      I hate to bugger your week,but are you in the path of forest fires in Arizona? If so,maybe you could move around a little. You are making me nervous.

      • Mag the Mick says:

        Hah – I’M making YOU nervous? Try living downwind from the third biggest fire in the state and smelling the smoke and ash while knowing that beautiful country is being torched and lots of critters are dying. This is traditionally a very difficult time in Arizona. The temperatures rise, the humidity and dew point disappear, and the howling winds just do not stop. We are all on edge and waiting desperately for the monsoon to start. Here in Bisbee, we are fairly immune from fires, as we are surrounded by miles of mining waste. Nothing to burn here.

        And to top all this off, we are facing another statewide catastrophe: Sarah Palin.

        I can get away from the fires, but I’m afraid Palin is inescapable.

  8. OMG says:

    The award winning Washington Post Fact Checker takes a look at all Palin’s Revere statements:

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/sarah-palins-midnight-ride-twice-over/2011/06/06/AGIsoJKH_blog.html

    • aussiegal77 says:

      To quote Joe Scarborough – “Everything is a gotcha question with her,”

      I LOVE that the original question was:

      “What have you seen so far today, and what are you going to take away from your visit?”

      She didn’t have to go into all of that about Revere and the Second Amendment – to me, it seems like an obvious pander to the NRA crowd. Because the whole freaking point of the bus tour was to CAMPAIGN.

      I mean, seriously, there’s gonna come a day when a reporter asks her “How are you, Ms Palin?” and she’ll say it was a gotcha question.

      • pacos_gal says:

        Gotcha = when you don’t know an answer and wish no one had ever asked you the question

        AKA = Palin “gotcha”

  9. OMG says:

    A former Bush administration speech writer sees the Palin film and gives his critique:

    http://www.salon.com/news/politics/sarah_palin/index.html?story=/politics/war_room/2011/06/06/sarah_palin_movie

  10. Martha says:

    Saracudda Rewrites History
    by Anne Sweeney

    Listen my children and you shall hear
    Of political crises so severe
    Our nation is threatened as never before
    By the specter of Ignorance at our door

    It isn’t al Qaeda that poses a threat
    Not Korea or Iran nor China and Nyet,
    There’s little from Russia that we have to fear
    Our liberty’s foes are located here.

    The danger is coming – a terrible blight
    It’s the Princess of Darkness, the Queen of the Right
    Sarah Palin is loose and it’s more than her views
    Or her spreading her lies all over Faux News

    We thought her stupidity couldn’t be more
    The election debacle, the media whore
    The PACS and the clothes, the untalented daughter
    And Levi, the First Dude and wildlife to slaughter

    There’s drilling and shilling her book and her state
    Sarah Palin’s Alaska – Oh give me a break!
    The endorsements of candidates ready to run
    They were all to the right of Attila the Hun

    She doesn’t let anything stand in her way
    Mamma Grizzly will vanquish that (b)witch Tina Fey
    And Katy, and Rachel and Sawyer who dare
    To suggest she’s got nothing ‘neath that pile of hair

    She’s immune to ridicule, truth or good sense
    She’s got her supporters all equally dense
    The Tea Party loves her, what else does she need
    They will back her whatever her word or her deed

    How far she has gone to me is a mystery
    How can you explain this reversal of history?
    So Revere warned the British, my goodness who knew?
    We will rewrite the textbooks, the word will get through!

    Paul Revere was a traitor, Tea Baggers will claim
    They will join stupid Sarah in trashing his name
    And if liberals in Boston should start to protest,
    We have ways of dealing – Saracudda knows best

    And what of the Minutemen swooping like eagles?
    They were from Arizona and hunting illegals
    And Samuel Adams, we must make it clear
    He did go to Harvard, so don’t drink his beer

    Bunker Hill was a victory, The Redcoats were routed
    The truth of that statement can never be doubted
    And the Boston Tea Party – oh here’s to our cause!
    It was all about taxes, and Obama’s laws

    Founding Fathers were Christians so put on your blinkers
    And ignore all the guys who were really freethinkers
    For thinking’s not part of Sarah’s new quest
    Rousing rabble and lying is what she does best

    And as the Know Nothings do flock to her flag
    Abandon all hope, for this ignorant hag
    Will be quick to throw us right under the bus
    We have met the enemy – you betcha. She’s us.

  11. CO almost native says:

    A classic from todays’ Daily Dish!

    “Palinism Defined

    Re: Paul Revere et al. A summary:

    ‘To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them, to use logic against logic, to repudiate morality while laying claim to it, to believe that democracy was impossible and that the Party was the guardian of democracy, to forget, whatever it was necessary to forget, then to draw it back into memory again at the moment when it was needed, and then promptly to forget it again, and above all, to apply the same process to the process itself — that was the ultimate subtlety; consciously to induce unconsciousness, and then, once again, to become unconscious of the act of hypnosis you had just performed. Even to understand the word ‘doublethink’ involved the use of doublethink.”

    Get used to it until you are so numb you simply surrender.’

  12. mike from iowa says:

    How many birds of a feather does it take to be smarter than a former half-guv of America’s forty ninth state?

    • Riverwoman says:

      Stuck together, or individually?

    • thatcrowwoman says:

      Tweety-bird is smarter than a former half-guv of America’s forty ninth state.

      Big Bird is Way smarter than a former half-guv of America’s forty ninth state.

      just sayin’ 😉

  13. Martha says:

    The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has a new petition, follow the link at the bottom to sign the petition if you want.

    Please pass this around and would appreciate it very much if Mudflats saw fit to make a short post out of this. Thanks.

    Teach Sarah Palin a History Lesson

    During her bus tour, Sarah Palin was yammerin’ away to reporters about how Paul Revere rode through the streets, ringin’ a bell to warn the British to stay away and keep their red-coated hands off Americans’ guns. Huh? That’s certainly not the historical account WE remember.

    If Sarah Palin’s going to be a presidential candidate, she needs to bone up on her American history, and we’re ready to help.

    We’re going to send her a copy of “A Picture Book of Paul Revere.”

    Would you like to help? Add your name, and we’ll be sure Sarah has you to thank for her newfound knowledge.

    http://www.dscc.org/act?action_KEY=195

  14. Wallflower says:

    If you have the time and are amused by this sort of thing, check out the reviews and the comments on Amazon. Two commenters named Audrey and Zascha, professed champions of Alaska’s former part-term governor, are obsessively following the reviews and comments and trying to plant talking points and rumors to defuse the book’s power. One rumor is that the author had “a school-boy crush” on the Half-Gov—who was, and I quote, “happily married.”

    When confronted by another poster, both Audrey and Zascha claimed to be paid directly by the Half-Gov; “and it’s very lucrative,” they both said, but I would guess if they’re anything, they’re volunteers. It’s rare for me to read a book that describes certain behavior, and then see the behavior played out, exactly as described, over the book itself!

  15. Ripley in CT says:

    AKM, I knew you’d face backlash, but I never dreamed it would come from someone inside AK, on the “same team”. I certainly hope the originator of this, over on FDL during the Q&A (I watched it happen, too) has checked out every book on his shelf to see which authors donate how much money to which causes.

    Same goes for those who insist of denigrating Jeanne’s hard work. You better look in the mirror very hard before you throw stones and make false accusations.

    • MinNJ says:

      With you, Ripley. Hear, hear.

    • bubbles says:

      yup. this isn’t the first time this *person* got jiggy wit AKM. i defriended the critter. don’t like him.

  16. Martha says:

    I guess everyone knows by now, that if you search the hashtag #Palinhistory on Twitter, you’ll find some very funny stuff..(AKM has contributed)..here is one of my fav’s from today:

    @Wolfrum
    William K. Wolfrum
    “Gen. Patton warned the Germans with bells and said “we have guns” and then ran away.” #Palinhistory

    • Elsie says:

      Thanks for adding that. I never think to look at Twitter, but that link today takes us to a lot of funny comments.

  17. mike from iowa says:

    I feel a Dreamboat Annie interlude coming and I’m powerless to stop it. I don’t want it to stop. I feel sad for Brian that he couldn’t accompany the brave sailors and mayhaps find new worlds where moose aren’t on the menu. Maybe an island where there are no predators or humans that wish him harm. For AKM I hope you find some peace and peaceful rest so when you return you can proceed to kick Palin’s can down the street. Look,I can see whitecaps from my place. I’m getting a little queasy. Oh how I hate large bodies of water.

  18. Juneaudream says:

    I see each of us..in the picture-shadows..we ARE..water. We are..’called’..to water in any form..because it ‘calls’ to our ..actual..material/content. A teardrop..for another..followed by a hug..and the warmth of..understanding..and the grip-of-a-hug..to comfort. The hug..relays to our deepest senses, all of them..the added protection…of others..gathered to ..watchover. Let us..’not’ Storm..but gather in Peace..and sustain..each other….yes..we ARE..Water…

  19. slipstream says:

    “Do good. Avoid evil.”

    Remember, we use our super powers always for good, never for evil.

    • benlomond2 says:

      Slip… Is your super hero costume at the cleaner’s again ?
      The buttoned flap on the back of those red longjohns is a dead giveaway everytime ! 🙂

  20. Mo says:

    Hate your job, have abusive boss/coworkers, but can’t quit because you need the medical insurance?

    http://rortybomb.wordpress.com/2011/06/06/full-employment-quits-and-private-tyrannies/

    Worth wading through. You can do it.

  21. Mo says:

    Drag your kids around like human shields, and this is what happens…with your _fans_, no less:

    http://www.oliverwillis.com/2011/06/06/conservative-site-creepily-channels-piper-palin/

    Beyond creepy.

  22. Rivrat says:

    Well said WakeUpAmerica, but what’s also interesting here is that Palinbots are trying to change Wikipedia’s Paul Revere entry to match what she said about his ride that night. So if history doesn’t match what the idiot says, change history. It doesn’t bother the education board down in Texas either! So if it’s her lying or just being stoopid, her minions will back her.
    And it would be so easy to open a history book or read the Cliff Notes or look on the intertubes.
    I hope she hires tutors for her girls home school or boy are they going to have a warped view of the world.

    • Elsie says:

      “…boy are they going to have a warped view of the world.”

      Too late, I’m afraid.

      Rilly.
      Also and too.

      • GoI3ig says:

        Correct you are. Remember last year the little darlings were posting on facebook that other schoolmates were gay, and just hated them because they are rich? The Palins remind me of the Beverly Hillbillies minus the comedy and the charm.

        • MinNJ says:

          Grace is not a word that they know.

          • Elsie says:

            …much less practice. Ever.

            However, if you look in the dictionary under “nasty”, “belligerent”, “prideful”, “vile”, and trash”, you’ll find photos of the whole Palin clan, minus little Tri-g, who seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth.

        • mike from iowa says:

          Were you aware of the politics in place behind the Bev Hillbillies? Miss Jane was a Democrat and was running for state assembly or some such office and Jed Clampett was making tv ads disparaging his for mer co-star. I remember it got kinda ugly. Anyway she was defeated in part because of Buddy Ebsen. Who woulda thunk it?

  23. OMG says:

    Palin continues to lie about her record (even after those same lies were disputed in the 2008 campaign):

    “”My record in Alaska, especially when it comes to oil and gas development and being in charge of about 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of energy, I know there that my record is very strong. And cleaning up some ethics problems that we had in state government, which I’m sure other governors have faced too, cleaning up the ethical problems we had in Alaska, that’s part of a strong record too,” Palin told reporters in Gettysburg, Pa., a stop on her bus tour, which ended Friday

    “Alaska is actually responsible for 2.6 percent of the nation’s total energy production, ranking 12th among the states, according to the most recent figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. It is more like 11 percent of the nation’s total crude oil production, second behind Texas, the EIA reports”

    Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/06/06/2253251/palin-losing-favor-with-alaskans.html

    • WakeUpAmerica says:

      All RATIONAL people already know that if the Tundra Turd’s lips ar moving, she’s lying. Nuff said.

    • Baker's Dozen says:

      Can’t get the link to work

  24. Snoskred says:

    Listen guys.. the following is my opinion, which I am entitled to. I am taking off my admin/moderator hat to say this.

    I’m a little bit sad about what happened on the previous thread with regard to accusations made about Frank Bailey donating his book earnings.

    I think that AKM has made it pretty easy for people to contact her when they have any kind of question about anything. She has an email address and you can send her email anytime when you have questions.

    In future, if someone decides to make any kind of accusations regarding anything that involves AKM or anyone AKM has been involved with in any way, might I suggest the following –

    – instead of posting about gossip, rumors, or unfounded speculation here on a thread and making a big deal about something which 99% of the time turns out to be completely untrue –

    that people email AKM directly and get the truth from the horses mouth rather than some horses rear?

    Frankly, if the person who started these rumors said grass was green, I would strongly encourage everyone to go out in their yard and double check. And how cowardly of them to do it under a different name than what they are usually known by!

    Surely by now we all know AKM well enough to know she will be 100% honest with us if we ask her about something. We’ve experienced it many times in the past, have we not?

    If you happened to miss AKM clearly stating the truth about this crazy rumor, you will want to click here to see it.

    • benlomond2 says:

      well said, Snos !

    • Nan (aka roswellborn) says:

      I saw that happening yesterday and was really stunned at how fast it happened and how intense the reaction – to something that was only speculation a few minutes before.

      We really don’t need to go off the deep end every time someone sneezes (unlike certain ‘bots’ we know of). Just reach for a tissue and move along.

      (loved the part in boldface – ha!)

      thanks for the reminder, snos. Looks like we do need it sometimes.

    • Alaska Pi says:

      In partial, defense of “the person who started these rumors” the second screen name is well known to many of us as is the tendency to blurt out in a confrontational manner. It’s part of his human charm AND failings
      Beyond that , this whole upset has been sad to watch.
      Thank you Snoskred for this reminder .
      Thank you AKM for being who you are and the work you do.

    • Forty Watt says:

      Snos, as always, nails it. 😀

      Have a wonderful time, AKM.

    • Mo says:

      On the bright side, it encouraged me to actually make that donation to our local Planned Parenthood that I was only thinking about before.

      And I did buy the Kindle edition of Blind Allegiance – which is a gripping and insightful read, no ands, buts, or excuses.

      • GA Peach says:

        “True friends stab you in the front.” Oscar Wilde

        Thanks, Snos. I appreciate you and what you do here.

    • Irishgirl says:

      Hear, hear!

    • MinNJ says:

      I rely on your erudition and wisdom, Snoks. Well said. I didn’t see it, but love for you here, always.

    • mike from iowa says:

      I sincerely hope for the sake of all that cooler heads will and have prevailed.

    • Enjay in E MT says:

      Agree’d Snoskred –

      I read Blind Allegiance and didn’t recall seeing anything about “proceeds donated to” Even so, Frank is free to do whatever he wants with his book proceeds. Regardless, I still would have purchased it since it’s a great story, well written and has AKM as part of the writing process.
      I am not so ridged in my political leanings that would prevent me from educating myself about a danger to society & government, even if a few dollars may be going to something I don’t support.

      Looks like someone was trying to stir up a hornets nest to prevent book sales

      • tigerwine says:

        Enjay – we think alike.Even though I would be disappointed in Frank, it’s his money. It’s like my mom always told me: when you give a gift to someone, it’s theirs to do with what they want. Sure, you are hurt when you see that gift in their garage sale, and not gracing their home, but that’s the way it is.

    • CO almost native says:

      Bravo! And I agree with you, Nan (rosewellborn)- not on who said it, but on how fast it exploded. People! Take everything you read on the ‘net with a grain of salt ! (sorry, couldn’t resist 😉 )

    • Lee says:

      Snoskred, you are great to do this. As for me I just try to ignore false rumor, and let it die. Of course, in the chatter world it can go on awhile.

      People talking without thinking
      People listening without hearing …. On and on it goes.

    • bubbles says:

      i have been aware that many have a hate on for AKM. it is because the woman can WRITE.
      don’t get me wrong. lot’s of people can write and write very well but they can’t make you get up in the morning and want to know “what is that AKM doing and saying today.?”
      they can’t make you care. they can’t make you want to help; to make a difference.
      they cannot for the world assemble a community of activists who care for the hungry and the homeless; bring solace to the sick and disabled and uplift the bereaved and the sorrowful.
      that’s why i continue to comment; to seek positive reinforcement among like minded people.
      for those who have outgrown the Flats i say bon voyage and fare thee well. the world is a big place and the things you have learned here will stand you in good stead in the days and years to come. none of us will remain here forever but whenever and wherever we meet we will remember all that we accomplished here: and be exceedingly glad that once upon a time we were Mudpuppies

    • leenie17 says:

      Having not heard the rumor or read the book, I did not comment on that particular topic. However, having been a follower of our dear AKM for a couple of years now, I was skeptical that she would have any part is supporting something so against her values.

      Thanks, Snoskred, for your words of wisdom and for reminding us to think and to question before we accuse.

    • MonaLisa (inCT) says:

      I was more than dismayed myself at how the thread unfolded. Thanks, Snos! You said what I couldn’t.

      (I was also, in my Pollyanna-ish way, thinking that even if it IS true, his doing so would give $P’s single-issue-supporters some pause before they reject the book out of hand. I thought Bailey might be putting his money where his mouth is, something $arah herself never did unless it was at midnight 12/31 for the tax write-off. This book needs to be read by EVERYbody, not just us.)

      I’m proud of this community, for the passionate protection of our (shared!) ideals. But Faith, mudpeeps!

  25. Dagian says:

    Have lots of fun and share the photos with us.

    Be safe!

  26. Alaska Pi says:

    thatcrowwoman-

    I finally found it!
    Make it Rain!
    I wanna believe…
    Make it Rain!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rF3YQ5WajJk
    —————-
    have fun AKM!

  27. benlomond2 says:

    having just got back from a week at sea, I can attest to the soothing effects on one’s psyche. Landbound issues seem to just melt away with the gentle rocking of the ship and the sound of the waves. ….of course, if the waves are crashing on top of the ship and the sound of the wind is howling thru the rigging, the landbound issues dissappear REALLY fast !!! 🙂

  28. thatcrowwoman says:

    L’Shalom
    and safe home.
    {{{{{AKM}}}}}