Open Thread – Holey Signs
After posting last night’s open thread, I thought it might be fun to post the rest in the series of road signs that got riddled with lead. Seriously, what else is there to do on the long drive between Anchorage and the Valley?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9KC7uhMY9s
H0ly sign, Batman!
http://vi.sualize.us/view/a4fec74257b6a7d4e45955e2fee3ff70/
Holy sign, Batman!
http://www.pollsb.com/photos_handler/o/196124-best_batman_robin.jpg
Here is a great article on the reading of the Constitution tomorrow by Chris Weigant. He aptly points out that there will be certain parts that will most certainly be “uncomfortable” for the Republican and the tea baggers to not only hear but actually read outloud. Lol! Great read! I hope our bagger friends learn a whole lot tomorrow when this is read in Congress.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-weigant/reading-the-constitution_b_805012.html
Seriously now,these people can read?
Here’s a great little animation, on John Bull (your typical Englishman) visiting France:
http://www.nypl.org/audiovideo/mounseer-nongtongpaw?utm_source=eNewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=NYPLNews201101&utm_campaign=NYPLNews
It’s really cute, and I genuinely enjoyed it.
Guns discourage thoughtful discourse. Witness Pakistan. (sigh)
Now for something completely different (and a little fun)
Jay Leno: “For the first time since June, President Obama’s approval rating is back over 50 percent. But how frustrating is that for him? For the past 23 months, he’s been busting his butt to keep campaign promises. … He says ‘screw it’ and goes to Hawaii for 10 days, plays golf [and] he’s popular again!”
Interesting times in Washington as the GOP prescribes the reading of the Constitution. Take a look a this post by Greg Sargent:
Posted at 12:14 PM ET, 01/ 5/2011
The Tea Party does not own the Constitution
By Greg Sargent
Now that we’ve learned that Michele Bachmann is mulling a run for president, it’s worth taking a quick look at how she views the Constitution. Unsurprisingly, this leading Tea Party warrior queen seems to share the impression many Tea Partyers harbor that they are the true intellectual and political heirs of the founding document:
She said she believes that the Constitution was a guide to paring down expansive government powers. “The words of the Constitution mean what they say they mean,” she said. She described the Constitution as “the organic, original document” that “gives life to a nation.”
I’m glad Bachmann has conceded that the Constitution is “organic,” since so many Tea Partyers seem to view it as holy scripture, rather than as a flawed and ever-evolving framework for the ongoing American arguments that originated with the founding and coninue to this day. But Bachmann’s view — also shared by many Tea Partyers — of the document as an expression of nothing but hostility to government power is also off the mark.
Check out the interesting rebuttal to this view from legal scolar Garrett Epps, who advises House members set to read the Constitution to listen to what it actually says:
If the Members actually listen, they may notice that the document they are hearing is nationalistic, not state-oriented; concerned with giving Congress power, not taking it away; forward-looking, not nostalgic for the past; aimed creating a new government that can solve new problems, not freezing in place an old one that must fold its hands while the nation declines.
Of course, Tea Partyers will disagree with this interpretation. But this is precisely the point: The Constitution is a framework for ongoing disagreement and argument about the federal government’s proper role and the proper limits on its power, not a pronouncement from on-high that is meant to end the discussion one way or the other.
The high-profile reading of the Constitution tomorrow in the House offers a good opportunity to undercut the lingering presumption of contemporary conservatives and Tea Partyers that they somehow own the nation’s founding document.:
They don’t own it. I do. I bought it for $4.95 at Barnes and Noble. It’s here on my desk.
I have it too. I bought it when we were in Washington, D.C., at the National Archives book shop.
I don’t think most of those who scream the loudest have really read it. Or if they did, it was very selective reading. And I thought it was interesting that they are going to leave out the parts that refer to slaves because they will read the ammendments that corrected those horrific parts of our early history. If they want to read it, fine. But read all of it and deal with ALL of it.
For all the times I heard strict constructionist muttered by lame brain Bush- will someone please point to the words “electronic surveillance” as a constitutional right of the Potus?It’s got to be in there somewhere or else-horror of horrors-Bush lied to us.
It’s the same kind of selective reading done by many of the most enthusiastic bible quoters. They only quote the parts that support their particular point of view and conveniently ignore the rest.
The people who are shouting about this also forget that the framers of the Constitution WANTED the document to change over the years. They recognized that life in this country would be very different in the future and they actually created the process that allows and even encourages revision when the times require it. Those ‘strict constructionists’ contradict themselves by the vey nature of their argument. If, as they claim, they want to follow the Constitution the way the founders envisioned it, they also must accept the intention of the Ammendment process. But that’s not the part they want to pay attention to because it goes against their poltical talking points.
Sigh…nothing new there.
I, too, own a copy. For a while (during both Bush administrations), I took to carrying it with me everywhere I went.
Say it ain’t so…Ann Coulter tweeted the ‘r’ word. Surly Palin is about to let her have it in 3,2………………..
Then again maybe it’s OK for ultra right wingers to use it…I know it was OK for Rush, so maybe Coulter gets a pass as well.
http://www.businessinsider.com/will-sarah-palin-call-for-ann-coulters-head-over-retard-tweet-2011-1
Well we know it’s not Sarah shooting up those signs! Twenty thousand dollars of ammo later…in your wildest dreams could you ever hit that poor little sign.
Take a break if you haven’t already, and enjoy the post from Rogues Galley Kennel on winning the Gin Gin 200, including a great video of Joseph’s team getting way excited to get back on the trail.
http://anonymousbloggers.wordpress.com/2011/01/04/going-rogue%E2%80%A6one-dog-at-a-time/
Needless to say, especially here, that Alaskans are tired of the stupid show and the Un-alaskan family who acts like they’ve never been in the outdoors with nary a clue as to what to do. We want our real Alaska back, and mushing is a big part of that!
Oh gag, Michelle probably has visions of “Michelle Bachmann’s Minnesota” dancing in her head, (believe me, there’s a whole lot of room for dancing in there) and she’s measuring her place for a turret and a studio. I do believe if those two twitty women lived near each other for any length of time, a feud over who is more stupid would arise. How could that possibly be settled? It’s a theoretical feud of epic proportions.
I heard its possible that SOH Boner from where ever might offer Palin the Ambassadorship to Penguinland down under so she could teach the penguins the pageant walk and help them clean up after themselves. She is eminently quailified in one of those two fields. She gets to take a flake from Minn. and one dip^&*( from Iowa(name rhymes with ding) She will be able to waive all federal and world laws so she can kill all bears and wolves in AA as she wishes. Dems demanded she be placed on one way flight asap as their gesture towards bi-partisanship. More/less later.
I too wonder why this is such a sport in Alaska. When we take a drive we note the signs that aren’t hole ridden as there are so few. And, I wonder when it is done? It is kind of weird to think people pull their guns out their car windows and just go at it!
They’re drunk. Or stoned. I’m not joking.
Milwaukee may have topped the list of alcoholic cities this year, but Anchorage is #9.
Since this is an Open Thread, I want to pause and give a tip of the hat to rocker Gerry Rafferty, who died yesterday. “Stuck In The Middle With You”, “Baker Street”, and “Right Down The LIne” figured prominently in the soundtrack of my life in the 70’s, and “Baker Street” is one of the most beautiful evocations of urban loneliness ever created. Thanks for the tunes, Ger, and rest in peace.
Good call, Mag. The album “City to City” which includes “Baker Street” would be on my list of the 25 best pop albums ever cut. And the saxophone solo by Raphael Ravenscroft on “Baker Street” is simply the best pop sax cut ever.
Alcoholism cut short Rafferty’s very promising career, but he left us some wonderful music.
Hats off to Rafferty and others that are gone. Although my hearing is almost gone and music doesn’t sound at all familiar,I can hear and feel the sax on Baker Street. I’m getting a chill from remembering what was.
He was one of my favorites. Sad to hear of his passing.
Here’s Baker Street:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkS169P_Eeo
Thanks for the memories and shine on, Gerry.
(glad to be Stuck in the Middle with all y’all)
Michele Bachmann running for Pres???? God—–all we need is another Ding-Bat in the frey!
Can’t remember where I saw it but someone surmised that she was actually on a scouting mission for a Palin/Bachman ticket.
Ugh – that thought just put a damper on my day. It’s not that I think voters are stupid enough to vote the two of them into office, and together no less, but I just hate the thought of having to listen to either one of them through a presidential election. And I hate the thought that we would continue to discuss issues that don’t help our country in any way.
“And I hate the thought that we would continue to discuss issues that don’t help our country in any way.”
And that is the point. Keep the conversation away from the real issues that matter.
Back in the early 1990’s I moved from Chicago to Denver.. I was amazed to find that almost every street sign, metal billboard, trail marker, everything on and off major or minor highways, all of them were riddled with bullet holes… I was astounded… I stayed there for almost 15 years and it got a little better but I’ll bet that for every two signs that the CDOT replaced, at least 1 of them got blasted again 3-4 weeks after they went up…
For states, these signs are NOT CHEAP either…
Michele
Sorry for posting this here, it is totally off topic. I visit your site everyday and have sent a lot of my friends here, but I am a lurker, never posted a comment. Did I miss the rest of the palin book you were reviewing? You were close to the end but I didn’t see a post wrapping it up. It went to the 12 days of Christmas. I admit it was more a curiosity of watching a train wreck, I certainly am not going to read it myself to see the ending, but was hoping you would finish it for me 😉 Thanks for your great blog!
It’s coming! Had to cleanse the frontal lobes before the final push. :0) AKM
thanks for the reply, I totally understand the need to cleanse part before finishing – so far it has been brutal 😉
Sorry to notify you,but, in Iowa you never,ever see roadsigns shot up by hooligans. They are shot up by board-certified and licensed graduates of hunter safety courses. Probably lifetime NRA members and faithful followers of the Motor City Madman,Ted Bundy…er I mean that other Ted,uh Haggard,no,you know who I mean. They even desecrate the holy shrine of implement crossing signs with tractors and combines. Make it stop for the love of humanity.
Oh, gag.
From CNN:
When Rep. Michele Bachmann heads to Iowa later this month, she just might have a potential presidential campaign on her mind.
“She’s not taking anything off the table, her focus remains on Minnesota’s 6th District, but she hasn’t ruled anything out,” Doug Sachtleben, Bachmann’s communications director, told CNN.
Bachmann, who is beginning her third term, will head to the Hawkeye State on January 21 to deliver a keynote address in Des Moines at an event sponsored by the Iowans for Tax Relief. It’s also expected the Tea Party darling will meet privately with Iowa political operatives to discuss a potential presidential bid.
News that Bachmann is considering an Oval Office run was first reported by ABC.
The outspoken congresswoman was among the first conservatives to embrace the Tea Party movement and has remained one of its staunchest allies in Congress. Last year she formed the House Tea Party Caucus and is usually a staple at Tea Party-backed events throughout the country. Bachmann is also a political ally of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, herself a Tea Party favorite who is mulling a presidential bid.
While little known to the broader electorate, Bachmann would enter the presidential race as a relatively familiar face to the Republican base. Her constant presence at conservative conferences in Washington and her at-times eyebrow-raising comments have all but made her a national figure among many Republican stalwarts – as well as a constant target of Democrats.
Most recently, Bachmann took heat for falsely claiming on CNN that President Obama’s India trip in November was costing taxpayers $200 million a day. In another controversial comment, she called on the media in 2008 to investigate congressmen to “find out if they are pro-America or anti-America.”
It’s previously been speculated that Bachmann is mulling a 2012 Senate bid in Minnesota to challenge the incumbent Democrat, Amy Klobuchar. Either way, a trip to Iowa is a surefire way to raise any politician’s profile – whatever the ambitions may be.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/01/05/bachmann-considering-white-house-bid/
Greg Sargent wrote a commentary about this too. Here is what several readers wrote about it:
“Tea Party view of the Constitution is actually closer to what the Articles of Confederation tried to do.”
Exactly!
“And we all know how well that worked out.”
I honestly don’t think most of them do know how that worked out. (Trade and business came to a near standstill as states started issuing their own currency and enacting their own tariffs. Foreign countries began to give up on doing trade with the U.S. as no one knew what was going on when the ship docked.)
Posted by: Alex3 | January 5, 2011 12:29 PM
Bachmann is a huge fundraiser. She got more money than any other House candidate. Big business if fully behind her. Clark also was a good fund raiser but it wasn’t enough to over come the huge amount the Bagger/Con cabal put behind the Batsh*t crazy one.
http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/elections.php?cycle=2010&cid=N00027493&type=C
Love this news. Now Miss Wasilla has competition and Bachman has like 23 foster kids and in her 60’s wierdly younger looking.
Mother Jones is continuing its coverage about the inordinate length of time Alaska is taking to give up the Palin emails. I’m not providing a link, because I don’t want to contribute to the “Palin stories are SO popular” meme.
Palin has some splaining to do….
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/05/AR2011010501697.html
Gay republicans (sounds like a oxymoron doesn’t it?) laud Palin’s re-tweet (about DADT) while others balk at her support of gay rights. I hope this issue continues to bubble because I want to see how she attempts to lie her way out of it.
I thought gay republicans were very common? They were in Anchorage 25+ years ago – that’s somehow associated in my mind with log cabins. I think that’s when I found out Abe Lincoln had many male sleeping partners over the years. And bromances.
Standing in the Wasilla Carrs’ checkout line I saw where Sarah Palin has a ” Lesbian Secret “.
It was one of the headlines on the National Enquirer, but they tend to have real news for some reason. sorry I cannot stop snickering considering there it was for all of Wasilla to see. BUT I do believe the Lesbian Secret part
I got in a slow line this weekend. It turns out that the NE is reminding readers that her daughters are name callers and she seems to approve of the behavior.
And I hope she has to spill some word salad over this. She is her own worse enemy.
Another day, another right wing health care lie uncovered:
http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-cohn/80868/fda-avastin-rationing-health-reform
The drug in question, Avastin, was one that my husband was given when he had colon cancer. It seemed to work, but I think it was the one that had side effects that he couldn’t tolerate and they put him on something older that had a proven history of being effective.
Like the article says, I really wish that those who yell from the right would bother to do even a smattering of research before they open their mouths.
I was a participant in a 2007 clinical trial for Avastin for Breast Cancer. My blood pressure shot up to 180/100 and ended up in the ER. I’ve been on BP medicine ever since.
Avastin can be rough. Many people with end stage breast cancer wouldn’t be able to tolerate it. It is hard on the heart. I had many heart tests throughout that trial and since. I was early stage and I got the regular standard of chemo plus the Avastin. There is no definitive proof it did any more good than if I had had just the standard.
I really hate to see the right try to politicize BC. It is the drug co who plays a huge part in the problem of Avastin. When I was in the trial, there was no cost. For those who were paying in 2007, it was $11,000 per single dose every 3 weeks.
Same thing happens in Iowa too. A member of our church was shot–dead as he sat in his living room. Stray bullet! High powered rifles are sooooo dangerous! The shooter was never found.
After grinning at this sign today..I am jus a lil startled..that the locals didn’t wrench it off, and turn it..pointing..skyward. Yeah..curious ’bout that…. 😉
Ah,the memories!
A couple years ago hubby and I decided to take a tent camping trip from the Kenai Peninsula to Paxson, up the Denali Highway to Cantwell, and then back.
We had a contest to see who could find the first sign that was NOT shot out.
No winner.
It actually got a little frighteneing, thinking about the jacka***** out there shooting on the roads.
Hopefully they were all a better aim than Quittypants.
Good use of our state resources, eh?
This is a crime, people.
And better spellers, too!
Miss Demeanor & the Felons is one of my favorite band names!
A Koch brother gets booed!
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/01/04/brooklyn-boos-koch/
Just Desserts!
I love the ballet, and used to subscribe (full disclosure: danced in my youth). I’ve seen enough Nutcrackers to last a lifetime, and skipped ABT’s performance of it at BAM, even though my cousin is a member of the company. I was heartsick to find that the New York State Theatre (part of the complex called Lincoln Center) has been re-named after David Koch, who contributed a great deal of money for naming rights. It’s hard to go to a theater named after such a disgrace to the human race.
I know how you feel. Once I learned of Disney politics it’s been hard to enjoy their stuff. I loved Disney as a kid. We got a sour taste in high school when we couldn’t do our grad night there because they did not allow males with hair touching the collar in the park. Later I learned just how Reich they were.
Quandary, that. We owe a lot of our finer museums, theaters, parks, etc to the very wealthy. Some are gifts given because of a passion for the project, others as PR stunts to get people’s attention away from the ugly stuff. Rockefeller (the original one) gave away dimes on the street not because he was a good guy, but because his PR man gave him the idea to get people to forget that his thugs had just massacred an entire workers camp at one of his mines at Ludlow, Colorado.
I have been saying it is time to bring back SHUNNING as a weapon. These guys give money to the arts to be accepted, though financial criminals.
I was very happy to see this.
See them in the Carolinas, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and the Sunshine State, also, too…
I’m going out on a speculative limb here and thinking we can probably find them anywhere there are guns and signs. Land of the free and home of the brave, eh?
Lord love a duck.
Be careful out there, and let’s learn something today.
L’Shalom.
thatcrowwoman
What, No GA? I’ll have to start looking!
Here’s to ya, CrowWoman!
At least we don’t have to worry about signs attacking us. I think we’re covered.
I guess “dem dare signs don’t run as fast as dose darn rabbits!”
Saw lots of these kinds of signs growing up in Texas, too! It’s an interesting phenomenon.
Heh.
Why people do this mystifies me as much as the weird tacking of catfish heads to fence posts here in Kansas. Are these some rites of passage? You know, from dumb to dumber.
What IS with the fishheads? Wonder if you ever saw the junk yard place on k-10 just west of Cedar Creek that had HUNDREDS of fish…whole ones…nailed to the power poles?