Open Thread
OK, everyone who wants to be on that boat, raise your hand.
November 17, 2024
Thursday, August 3, 2023
The Quitter Returns! -Monday, March 21, 2022
Putting the goober in gubernatorial -Friday, January 28, 2022
OK, everyone who wants to be on that boat, raise your hand.
SP being de-witched while running for governor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwkb9_zB2Pg&NR=1
Any one of these will do just fine.
Houses in remote places.
http://i.imgur.com/AHAm1.jpg
Beautiful picture! I have my hand raised. Guess we can’t all fit in it that little boat….darn. I’ll just have to go there metaphysically. 🙂
So, is Murkowski running or not? Doesn’t she have a deadline in two days?
(h/t to P’Gates)http://m.missoulian.com/news/local/article_a11347f6-beae-11df-b098-001cc4c03286.html
“I love my country and I love our system, but government can’t fix the problems – government is the problem,” she said. “Government can’t dry a tear or lend a shoulder or put back together a family, or country or state.” Healing, she said, is a matter of God and neighbors helping neighbors. Teen Challenge’s success rate in doing just that – healing and helping – is far beyond scientific comprehension, she said. “Faith-based prescription is so effective, that’s why government doesn’t like it,” Palin said. Teen Challenge is an organization that should be celebrated and used as a role model for all of America, she said. Describing it as “part church, part school and part hard work,” the group doesn’t rely on taxpayer money. “It’s neighbor helping neighbor, the way America used to be,” she said, “and we need to get back to that.”
Oh, yeah? What about the government’s “Faith-Based” initiatives under Bush? What about the tax deductions people get for donating? That’s a government subsidy, Grifter Granny.
You know what I don’t like? Paying for anything that has to do with you, Politifact’s Liar of the Year.
I heard a great story on “Speaking of Faith” show on NPR yesterday. They were discussing faith based initiatives and how people give to charities. When we give to charity we often pick who, when, how much and sometimes what for. The guy talking made a good point about how giving to charity is fine but it is about charity (which makes the giver feel good) and not about JUSTICE (which is about doing what is RIGHT to make the world a more equitable place).
I distrust “faith based initiatives” because there are often strings attached (sort of like getting a free weekend at a resort if you go and listen to the hard-core selling talk of the time share people).
Goodness, she is trotting out the W “neighborhood” crap again. I believe in neighbors helping neighbors, but I live in an urban area. People never seem to be home at the same time long enough to get to know each other, plus everyone is a little wary of getting too close to renters. What W & Sarah do is simply dredge up sentiment and talk about how it used to be, hardly ever about how it is and why.
I’m getting weary of politicians whose only skill is to play upon emotional triggers. That’s why I was so thrilled to see Obama come forth as a candidate. He can draw upon emotion, but prefers to address voters with intelligence discourse and reasoned responses to problems.
Sarah Palin Cuts Robocalls For ‘Mama Grizzly’ Candidates In Delaware, New Hampshire
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/13/sarah-palin-cuts-robocall_n_714734.html
I wish the content of all robocalls had to be made public in writing. It would be interesting to see how many slurs are in them. We’ve had a few truly vicious ones during the W era.
Anybody know if there are Scott McAdams pins out there?
Democrats Invoking Palin to Stir Base
Two architects of the Obama campaign told Iowa Democrats that the party’s best fund-raiser is the former Alaska governor.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/14/us/politics/14zelenyweb.html?_r=1&hp
So….I’m driving through town early this morning and suddenly I realize why my eyes are no longer bleeding. All of the giant Lisa Murkowski signs are gone! There were so many before the primaries that there was literally no street that one could turn down without one’s eyes being assualted. They are all gone. All that are left are 2 yellow Don Young signs and one Parnell sign. The only Joe Miller sign that I have seen is one in front of the local tavern (about 3 miles from my house) which I have refused to set foot in for 3 years since a new (and very unpleasant) owner took over. I don’t know how he manages to stay open as no one local will go there for anything. Verrrrrry interesting.
LoveMydogs, do you think this is a sign that Murkowski might pull a Scozzafava and back Adams, versus running as an Independent? Or is she busy x-ing out the R and inserting I on her signs?
No Rs on her original signs. She cannot run as an I. There is rumor of her thinking about running as an L (Libertarian) but that is very unlikely. Then ther is the possibility of running as a write in candidate but that is very risky. No one knows ehat she will do. The interesting part is that her signs have NOT been replaced by the lily white Joe Schmoe signs…. thank goodness.
Bet the Parnell sign is mostly beige. 😉
Nope leenie- all RED.
Absolutely gorgeous photo….is it Butterfly Lake about 20 minutes north of Anchorage by float plane?
Isn’t it really sad when you get death threats because of who you support,no matter who it is or which party it is for?
I prefer my kayak, but will take the row boat!
Fun political cartoon
http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary
I don’t know. Shouldn’t that cartoon have the ‘public’ supporting the BACKS of the wimpy senators (the conservadems/blue dogs or whatever they’re called) – ie. Identify the ONES with weak backbones?
Those “Second Amendment Remedies” of Palin and Angle at used as a threat against those who would support moderate GOP candidates:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/13/delaware-gop-chair-threat_n_714525.html
Ok, so I’m impatient – when do we get the Beckapalooza Post-game wrap-up?
I’m waiting ‘impatiently’ too. ; )
Also, I like the serenity of the picture, BUT you couldn’t get me in that boat if you paid me! Open stretches of water give me the heebie-jeebies.
I just called the EPA to tell them to stop issuing permits for coal companies to blow apart America’s mountains for coal. Please give them a quick call to tell them to veto all future permits for mountaintop removal coal mining. I explained that the Spruce Mine in WV would be the largest ever permit for mountaintop removal, which, in my opinion, should be outlawed entirely. The number I called was 202-564-4700. If, like me, you have a mobile phone, there are no long distance charges, and the call shouldn’t take longer than a minute.
Go here to take action: http://act.ran.org/action/spruce_call_in
If you want to learn more about this important issue, visit http://ran.org/content/mountaintop-removal-american-tragedy.
Thanks so much!
I agree, mountain top removal sucks big time. Thanks for the phone number and the links! Will follow your advice.
Zyxomma, you were right. It takes no time at all to do, and you are treated respectfully. I did, however, ask the young man who was Administrator Jackson’s assistant to take down my name (which slowly spelled) and my city-state info just in case. I could hear him sigh as I more less followed the script suggested. I hope his sighs were the result of having had a lot of calls today.
Miss Wasilla her “alaska will make America secure” ignores the reality, of course. The ONLY security is getting off fossil fuels altogether.
I agree and, at the minimum escalate the rate we ween ourselves off them. Big oil, big coal and the nuclear industry have invested so much money into lobbying and buying votes that it’s more difficult than ever at a time when we need to get off fossil fuels more than ever before. Tragic.
What is needed is to show some backbone in pushing back against the crazies–here’s one union’s attempt to do just that:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/13/aflcio-sends-out-two-mill_n_714449.html
Go unions! I would like to see all unions get behind this.
I wonder why they didn’t send anything against Miller. Are there many union workers in Alaska?
The Koch brothers may buy yet another candidate onto the November election slate.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/13/new-poll-shows-odonnellca_n_714249.html
The Tea Party Express dropped a quarter of a million dollars into Republican Senate primary race in Delaware.
Christine “Thou Shall Not Masturbate” O’Donnell has jumped ahead of the long-favored (by double digits) Mike Castle for the GOP slot. Sad to say, Castle was known as a moderate Representative and Governor.
What is it with conservatives and sex? I realize the fundamentalist evangelicals seem to have a serious mistrust, aversion, and perverted fascination with sex in almost all of its forms, but really, the majority of likely voters in Delaware are going to go with this Palin pick?
She’s had a rather quirky if not downright scandalous past with jobs and finances, but seems best known for her crusading against masturbation. I mean, who really cares as long as it’s not done in public? Gees, I wonder how she would try to get that prohibition into law, let alone enforce against it.
So that makes a nice threesome the Kochs are backing: Angle in NV, Miller in AL, and O’Donnell in DE.
Goodness, it’s about the best freak show money can buy, isn’t it?
Sorry AKM, that photo is so serene and yet here I go off the dock, splashing around creating waves, but how can one not considering the crazies passing for candidates and all the money backing them.
WHO the heck votes for theses people ???….it is scary !!
The is so much polarization now that no matter how ignorant or actually insane the candidate is, it is all about WINNING and no one would vote for the other party ever.
“He-he-he-he… she said masturbation. I’m gonna vote for her. She said masterbation.”
Yup, obviously the wise and clear thinking of a rising third-grader; shock-value potty-mouth talk is still part of their experientially-limited mentality and surely brings in hours of sniggering fun. beth.
You know, it’s very scary to me how these absolute NOBODIES are getting lifted into public prominence by this wave of Tea Party insanity.
I hadn’t heard of Christine O’Donnell so just googled her and read the Wikipedia article and a few other things. I was shocked. She is nothing, nothing! No experience that might qualify her for public office! An ultraconservative opinionated Catholic and “marketing consultant” with a pretty face, a big mouth, and a bad record of paying her bills. That’s all she is. But she managed to get the attention of the Right Wing money machine and now she might end up being a Senator.
One thing is clear: she certainly seems to know how to “market” herself!
How do we stop the Right Wing money machine from “electing” our representatives? That’s my question….
You know, after Citizens United, I don’t know if we can unless Congress passes campaign finance reform that will limit corporations to set amounts as they do individuals. Problem is, most of the money goes into PR.
I’d love to see some way to limit broadcast ads – or at the very least some sort of enforcement mechanism that fines the organizations and politicians if their ads, in whatever form, misrepresent facts or outright lie. I think I may be just wishful thinking, though.
Unfortunately, the very people who would need to vote to pass campaign finance reform are those who benefit the most. There will never be major reform because the politicians would be giving up too much money for themselves, and they’re clearly not willing to do that. I suspect there were many embarassing happy dances done in the halls of Congress when the Citizens United decision was handed down. Ohhh, to have a video camera that day!
Citizens United was such a terrible decision…. I hope Congress will pass something useful but I’m not holding my breath… And I, too, would love to see some sort of mechanism in that prevent the complete outright LIES being told. Too bad the Fairness Doctrine went away during the Reagan years. 🙁
Thank you for the lovely desktop background photo. 🙂
Since Newt (or is it Neut?) is back in the news, I’ve decided to resurrect a song I wrote in 1995. Sadly, it is still 100% relevant and I haven’t had to change a single word of the lyrics.
Contract 2010
Contract With America
I Guess It’s Pretty Cool!
Unless Your Folks Are Rich
Don’t Get To Go To School.
Contract With America
Began Pre-’95.
Don’t Want National Healthcare
To Keep The Poor Alive.
Contract With America
Everyone Needs A Gun.
In Case The Poor Rise Up
We’ll Have A Little Fun.
Contract With America
Ain’t Welfare A Bitch?
Eliminate For Everyone
Except, Of Course, The Rich.
Chorus: Trickle Down (4X)
Contract With America
Preys On Our Hates & Fears
Just Vote The GOP
Ignore Poor Children’s Tears
Contract With America
It’s Really Quite A Scare
They Brought In The Elephants
Clowns Already There.
Chorus: Trickle Down (4X)
Contract ON America
I Guess It’s Pretty Cruel
If You Think About It,
It’s Not The Golden Rule.
Is Sarah planning on announcing another family pregnancy?
LOL – gosh, I almost hope so. That jacket yesterday sure made us wonder. I guess she’ll have to start breaking out the skin-tight, short shirts again to quash any rumors. It’s time for her to start showing the goods more anyway if she’s going to announce a run for the Presidency. After all, that pretty much the reason she attracted the following she has – figure, God, guns, motherhood, blah, blah, blah. Let’s see some skin, Sarah. You are really, rilly good at managing that.
Sorry, it must be Snark Day. Did anyone else get the memo?
I’m so full of snark I’m afraid to speak.
Hand up! (I prefer sailboats, too, but that view would be worth rowing for.)
TRENDING: Palin talks presidential announcement
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/13/trending-palin-talks-presidential-announcement/#more-121849
“When Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck teamed up for a September 11 commemoration in Alaska over the weekend, the talk-radio host couldn’t help but ask the former vice presidential nominee if she was going to run for president.
Palin deflected the question, according to the Anchorage Daily News, but did say where she would make her big announcement, that is, if there is a big announcement to make.
“If there is going to be some big national announcement I’m going to do it where it’s most worthy. I’m going to do something big, even bigger than Glenn Beck. It’s going to happen on the Bob and Mark show,” she said, referencing Alaska’s KWHL’s talk radio show.”
And that’s where it would deserve to be made, on a small local station that nobody notices.
Do you think she was joking? Surely she realizes that making an announcement through that little radio station actually undermines her claim to want to represent the entire country?
Isn’t the Bob and Mark show the one Piper called into last week?
Is it an ultra-conservative show?
“most worthy”…..isn’t that a bit narcissistic? Oh wait, of course it is.
Little has been seen in the US about the Imam’s blame of Sarah Palin for Islamaphobia but papers across Canada and others around the world are picking this up:
http://www.nationalpost.com/todays-paper/Imam+blames+fear+Islam+politicians+such+Palin/3515717/story.html
if these nut jobs get any power it will only get worse
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/13/new-poll-shows-odonnellca_n_714249.html
and i guess Angel is still pretty close to Reid in the polls
I’d like to know where the Tea Partiers are getting the wads of cash to pass out; not tens and hundreds, but hundreds of thousands. Koch Brothers, anyone? Why isn’t the MSM picking up on this? Surely they don’t believe the grassrooters are funding all of these races across the country…do the math, people!
It absolutely floors me that anyone with a single working brain cell who’s seen the speeches and interviews (and escape sprints) of Angle could possibly consider voting for her.
Sigh…
Imam Rauf is a wise man. I wish our media would give his comments wider play. He’s right, Palin has been leading the charge though she’s not the only simpleton to do so. I regret that a few Democrats such as Reid have failed to back Imman Rauf and President Obama. It is a short-sighted perspective.
More people need to call Palin on her hate-mongering because it is wider in scope than Islam issues. Now that Newt is in hyper-drive (I really think that man believes he can be President – insane!), we all need to call them out on their views and statements. They are beyond embarrassing; they are endangering our troops and our country by voicing their misinformed and uninformed hatred.
Once again, OMG, you’ve given us an article we all need to read. It’s sad, though, that we have to hear certain things through overseas news media rather than our own.
Don’t watch the US news as it is never accurate. More so is European and Canada. We must look like absolute idiots to other countries and it is not because of President Obama. Just as Alaska is appearing to the rest of our country due to our ‘idiot’ resident, Sarah Palin.
…I’ll get back in the boat , AFTER I’ve grilled up these fish I’ve already caught….it’s obviously well after sunrise ! 🙂 pass me that pot of coffee, will ya ?
I’m with you. Except for the fish. What else do you have?
Beautiful dog. Is that a photo of yours?
Yup! That’s one of our pups. Now a lot bigger.
Gorgeous! Looks friendly, too.
I’ve got both hands raised and eyes to heaven, too.
Incredible picture, thank you AKM.
“Twinkling in the sky is a diamond star of 10 billion trillion trillion carats, astronomers have discovered.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/3492919.stm
Wow! A crystallized white dwarf, how cool is that?
First, a beautiful photograph of a peaceful-looking lake from AKM, and now this from austintx. We are spoiled with wonders. Thanks austin for sharing that article.
Austin please go get me that diamond. i likes it lots.. also. too. i want go on that boat…with a picnic basket, plenty lemonade and my Alaskan Mudpeeps.
Bubbles, I am picturing you in a pretty hat and with a parasol, also too.
Bubbles has the most amazing smile and she would look gorgeous with a hat and parasol. I have had the privilege of meeting her. I hope to do so again.
((((IrishGirl))))
Wow. Bubbles and AustinTx, in a boat on the Alaskan lake, Bubbles using a lacy parasol to keep the bright sun off her cheeks— and blinding people and animals within a five mile radius with the winkie on her finger.
Now there’s a picture… 😉
absolutely laugh out loud funny!!! me in a parasol and a hat and a big old winkie on my pinky!!!
Don’t forget the chocolate chip cookies. Or brownies. Either one is acceptable but a picnic basket sans chocolate is just wrong!
Right away , dear.
I’ll bring some Tito’s Handmade Vodka to mix with the lemonade also , too.
LOL!!
Beautiful lake! Prefer sailboats, sorry.
What is not beautiful, though, was the exchange I just heard on Morning Joe (again, I hate this program but my husband likes to laugh at it). One of the guests was Andrew Card – remember that miserable you-know-what – well, he was asked what he thought of Newt’s crazed comments about President Obama (the Kenyan anti-colonial view) and how Obama was accused of pulling off one big con by representing himself as being the kind of person as a candidate that is not as a President. B.S. big time.
Joe Scarborough, of course, made jokes about how Newt meant Obama was from Kenyon College – yeah, well, if you’re not laughing, you know I wasn’t either and neither was anyone else even though Joe kept at it.
Card, however, called Newt “one of the great intellectual minds of the Republican Party.” OMG.
Well, I guess after spending all that time around both George H. Bush and then George W. Bush, Newt would look rather intelligent. For those who’ve forgotten – Card was also Head of the White House Iraq Group. We all know how intelligent that was.
So, if Newt is regarded by some in the GOP as one of its greatest minds – how is it any Republican ever gets elected? They were all gloating about how they are taking back the House and Senate. Harrumph.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2010_09/025625.php
Thanks for link, CityKid. Loved it.
Newt is the fraud, masquerading as he is as a sane person. Guess that disguise goes for a couple or a dozen of Republicans or Tea Partiers we mention here now and again. Newt seems to follow Palin’s word salad template for a speech — but he throws in words and phrases he thinks marks him as a deep thinker. Goodness, no wonder he is on the pudgy-side. He is so full of himself (and other odious ingredients).
When I think of Newt, for some strange reason I always associate him with Alvin Toffler, author of “Future Shlock (errr Future Shock). Sorry, I can’t help myself.
Sleepers.
Yeah, Newt did seem infatuated by Toffler back in the 90’s, but Toffler’s theories are responsible for so many catch-phrases and concepts that we take for granted now that I am loath to condemn him simply because a simpleton like Newt tried to catch a ride on his coattails.
OK – I read Toffler’s original opus, “Future Schlock” (it made him a pile of cash), but I’ve always thought that Langdon Winner’s book AUTONOMOUS TECHNOLOGY (MIT 1977) provides a much more sane look at the spin on our brave new world. In short – Toffler was spouting a lot of hype in order to sell his books and get lots of corporate speaking engagements.
Haven’t read Winner’s book. Will check to see if my library has a copy. Thanks for the referral to it.
Man, that Langdon Winner book is a tough one to find locally. Put it on interlibary loan. I read the reviews on amazon but was drawn to his other book, The Whale and the Reactor because of the reviews and comments that seem to draw me in quicker.Is it more accessible in terms of grasping his points about the intertwining of technology and politics or did his views evolve in the second book?
Sorry to get so involved in this, but I am very interested in the way politics and the internet interrelate and influence each other so I am hopeful your suggestion of Winner will give me a firmer foundation for thinking about those questions.
Excellent read.
Incredible article! thank you for posting the link
“So, if Newt is regarded by some in the GOP as one of its greatest minds – how is it any Republican ever gets elected? ”
Because there are enough people who are brainwashed by Fauxnews and the rightwing nutjobs and blindly pull the lever for whatever name they’re told to. They’re very obedient and follow directions well but just don’t ask them to think for themselves or defend their opinions. They’re great at repeating the talking points ad nauseum but can’t explain them or offer any proof of the absurd lies they believe and repeat.
It’s a scary part of democracy.
raising my hand…
but heading to the library.
It’s all good.
L’Shalom, all.
As Palin, Beck and Newt bang the drums of fear, it’s good to know that their rhetoric, as always, is hollow and basically not at all true:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/12/AR2010091202886.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
Great article, OMG! One of his ending points sure rang true: ” . . .it has become an article of faith [on the right] that we are gravely threatened by vast swarms of Islamic terrorists, many within the country.” As he says, too bad that faith is founded upon fear, not fact.
Here is sarah’s hero , Ronald Reagan.
http://i.imgur.com/IwQPU.jpg
I forgot all about that! Well, it sure feeds into my comment below at #11. I don’t see how anyone can accuse a Republican President of being intellectual or perceptive.
That photo should get lots of publicity!!! Saint Ronald and the Taliban!
Love your proposed caption, Katie.
Hey austintx — oh, ye of the mad finding skilz on the googles… Can you find any details about when RR said this [other than “1985”] and what the occasion was? The quote and photo are incredibly delicious, but seem almost too good to be true — almost as if the photo had had a quote ‘retrofitted’ to it, so it could suit later (current) purposes. [Does that make sense?]
I’d just hate to sidle up next to someone in the Saint Ronnie Adoration Club and in my most confidential voice, tell them: “You know, Ronald Reagan said the Afghan Taliban were gentlemen and the moral equivalent to our Founding Fathers…” if all I have to back the statement up is ‘well, I saw a photo and that’s what it said Ronnie said in 1985.’ (YouknowwhatImean,Vern?) beth.
It looks like he said it about the Nicarauan Contras
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reagan/peopleevents/pande08.html
Yeah – seems like ‘favorite’ similies are used with great frequency…and interchangeably by those who are inclined to be meme-driven, BuffaloGal. I’m still having trouble, though, finding an *exact* source for the quote. The timeline fits [1985] and Saint Ronnie’s actions/speeches re: the Mujahidin seem to corroborate the sentiment, but I’m still not too sure…
I found the linked on a blog [which, coincidently, starts off with the photo in question]; it definitely shows ‘which way’ Saint Ronnie and Congress were leaning during those times re: the Afghan Freedom Fighters — “Proclamation 5034—Afghanistan Day, 1983; By the President of the United States of America, 21 March 1983” : http://open.salon.com/blog/devilgrrl/2009/10/20/from_the_memory_hole_ronald_reagan_praises_the_taliban#comment_947778
I also found this report of the alleged statement (from 10 October 2001 — again, 5+/- years *after* the fact):
———————————————–
Jamal is fond of remembering a certain scene at the White House in the mid-’80s, when Ronald Reagan – with his unfliching Californian eye for drama – was receiving a bunch of bearded and rugged frontier characters in the Oval Office: they were the Afghan mujahideen fighting the mighty Red Army of the “Evil Empire”, the Soviet Union. Reagan on that occasion proclaimed the mujahideen “the moral equivalent of the Founding Fathers”. Among these mujahideen a place could easily be found for a certain Arab millionaire named Osama bin Laden. [/snip]
http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/CJ10Df01.html
———————————————–
And would he have specifically said “Taliban” (as is on the photo) or is someone *inferring* it –all these years on– from what he [might have said] about the *Mujahidin*?
Dang, I wish I could find the source of the photo (date, location, etc.) but *more* importantly, the details (context, date, location, etc.) of Saint Ronnie’s {alleged} Taliban quote. Arrrrgh! beth.
Looks like BuffaloGal has the poop. All I found was the picture , with no info.
Also , too…….
http://i.imgur.com/Mb6Xs.jpg
Gorgeous. Where I am, all the water is muddy brown. This is lovely!
Media Matters with Bob McChesney.
Glenn was previously a constitutional law and civil rights litigator in New York. He is the author of two New York Times Bestselling books: “How Would a Patriot Act?” (May, 2006), a critique of the Bush administration’s use of executive power, and “A Tragic Legacy” (June, 2007), which examines the Bush legacy. His most recent book, “Great American Hypocrites”, examines the manipulative electoral tactics used by the GOP and propagated by the establishment press, and was released in April, 2008, by Random House/Crown.
http://will.illinois.edu/mediamatters/show/sunday-september-12th-2010/
Am going to listen to this later today. Thanks for sending it. I would not known about it otherwise.
And they say ‘but both sides do it’. In fact, the Republicans ARE the champions of misinformation and propaganda. Can you imagine a Democratic front organized enough to even raise a challenge?
me too
I’d rather float my boat on Lake Clark.
Oh oh oh! Me! Me! Me! I wannna be on it! Pick me! Pick me! Please, pretty please with sugar on top!
I wouldn’t say no.
Me!