Oyster Roundup!
~Thick and fast they came at last and more, and more, and more!
The Magic Bus
Yes, that’s really the name of the bus that will be taking people to Kenai tomorrow to testify at the one and only public hearing regarding the proposed Pac-Rim Chuitna coal project. For those not going on the bus (leaving Midtown Sagaya at 1:15pm), you can submit your comments to: russell.kirkham@alaska.gov but it MUST be done by 5pm on Wednesday, January 19. You don’t need to know every little detail to make your feelings known. All you have to know is that there ought to be a law against mining through a salmon stream. The Chuitna is the spawning ground for hundreds of thousands of salmon, and the toxic mine sludge that would pour into Cook Inlet right across from Anchorage would measure in at 7 million gallons a day. For more on my trip last summer to the proposed mine site, click HERE. Even if you don’t fish the Chuitna, your salmon from the Deshka, the Little Su, Ship Creek, and all points up the Inlet will all have to swim right through the runoff. I’d rather mine be marinated in teriyaki instead of mine waste… but that’s just me. I’ll be blogging from the bus and beyond.
Few have such a legacy – The Peace Corps, The Special Olympics, the war on poverty, Head Start, Foster Grandparents. The Great Society would not have been half so great without the influence of Shriver. Dead at 95, but his works live on.
In total nineteen homeless men and women died on the streets of Anchorage in the twelve month period between 7 May 2009 and 18 April 2010. This amounts to almost 5% of the total homeless population in Anchorage, estimated at about 400 persons. In total, the number of homeless deaths in the streets exceeded that annual homicide total for the city. For a visitor, the death rate is shocking. The topology of death on the streets is stark: park benches, scrub land, roadside ditches and even a rubbish compactor. Each case is depressing in itself, but cumulatively it creates a litany of a desolate urban wasteland.
A solo exhibition by photographer Dirk Spennemann will open Friday, January 21 and run through February 13 at Out North Theater. In a five hour time span, chasing the fleeting light of Alaska winter, he took photos of the locations where each of these unfortunate souls lost their lives. The mayor of their city said upon learning of the death of a homeless man who was accidentally killed by the compactor in the dumpster where he was sleeping to get out of the cold, “It’s not something that has an instant cure, unfortunately. There’s always going to be people that choose a certain lifestyle that results in tragic deaths like this.” Mayor Dan Sullivan calls homelessness a “lifestyle choice.” I call it a tragedy.
Nobody likes a frozen pipe. This can be a problem in the interior of Alaska in January. But the worst kind of frozen pipe is the 800-mile long one that transports oil from Alaska’s North Slope to the Port of Valdez. A series of shutdowns because of leaks have plagued the beleaguered pipe, and start up in cold conditions can be touchy. Ice and buildup in cold temperatures and with reduced oil flow can cause blockages and pump failure.
On Tuesday, Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, called for a congressional hearing on the future of the 33-year old pipeline, which carries about 11 percent of domestic oil production.
With the flow of the oil from North Slope fields declining, “we need to focus on how we keep this vital piece of infrastructure healthy, whole and an economic asset,” Begich said in his letter requesting a Senate Commerce Committee hearing this spring.
I know. Wishful thinking. But it feels good to say it anyway. Give it a try. Nobody’s looking. I’ll say it with you… “Sit down and SHUT UP!” Wasn’t that nice?
Just like trying to start up the pipeline after it’s been off for a while, I couldn’t quite bring myself to come off a hiatus with a transcript of the latest giant Caesar sized bowl of Palin word salad. But you can click the link on the title to see her interview with Sean Hannity, and to enjoy the take of Stephen Stromberg at the Washington Post.
Last week, Sarah Palin bit back at those who claim that she has contributed to a nasty tone in American politics. She started with praise for vigorous, free and respectful debate. Then she accused her opponents of arguing in bad faith, and she drew parallels between her critics and centuries of anti-Semitic murderers.
Apparently she didn’t see the irony, even after dozens of commentaries — not just from the left, but from centrists and conservatives — discussed it. Because Palin went on Fox News’s “Sean Hannity Show” on Monday night and praised the calm exchange of ideas — and then again insisted that her critics aren’t acting in good faith.
I’ll be on The Magic Bus in spirit (and it’s my least favorite way to travel), if not in person. I’ve sent my comments to all, and hope the mine never gets a permit.
How the eff did Sullivan get to be mayor? May he be homeless in his next lifetime.
As for Sowah, no comment except that Cobert’s excerpt was brilliant. Thanks for posting.
I have heard that it is too much — the magic bus.
“May he be homeless in his next lifetime.”
No, it would hurt him more (and might kick start his heart) if it happened to one of his CHILDREN. Not that I wish harm on them, but I think it would take *that*.
Wow, no churches step up with this issue, in Anchorage? I’m guessing that the bigger the marquee, the smaller the hearts contained therein. (Referring to Wasilla Bible Church, naturally.)
Or (and?) the Anchorage Baptist Temple.
Just followed a link on another blog to an article in the National Enquirer on Todd Palin. Won’t post it here because, well, even though the NE did get it right with Edwards, it is still the NE.
I couldn’t read the story because the font was blurry and so small in the image, but what I fear is that the story will play into Sarah’s carefully crafted and tended Victim persona. Poor Sarah, her followers will say whether or not they believe the story is true or not. It works to put her into the victim category either way.
Sometimes I think that even if someone published a photo of her and one of her female staff together engaging in hot sex, it wouldn’t make a difference to her core. It might even make her more popular. Heck, if she did that, I wouldn’t even mind her publishing her “looking back” memoir – not that I’d read it, but I wouldn’t mind it so much.
I am so very tired of this woman and her family. I hope she declares, gets crushed in the GOP primary and retires to Lake Lucille to savor its delights in reflective silence.
Big oops – was messing around with editing on my last comment – and that last sentence in the next to the last paragraph is misplaced and sure makes my comment way off from the direction I meant. Sure did not mean it read as it does above. Please, please remember I might get snarky now and again, but I don’t intend to sound – well, nasty. Good grief, I am sooo embarrassed.
Ahem: last paragraph should read:
I am so very tired of this woman and her family. I hope she declares, gets crushed in the GOP primary and retires to Lake Lucille to savor its delights in reflective silence. Heck, if she did that, I wouldn’t even mind her publishing her “looking back” memoir – not that I’d read it, but I wouldn’t mind it so much.
Oh, but it was *much * funnier the first way!
Ooooh, Perez Hilton highlights C4Palin’s attempted “money bomb” for Palin (can’t they do anything without some kind of violent imagery?).
http://perezhilton.com/2011-01-19-sarah-palin-favorability-rating-takes-a-hit-after-arizona-shooting
Irishgirl…I finally got to watch the Colbert Report and The Daily Show from last night. Both were brilliant!
Yes, they were! 🙂
Sorry to hear about the miserable death rate among the homeless. I imagine that could be somewhat true throughout the country. I hope the new healthcare law being diparaged by the repubs will help mitigate some of these problems. The Glass Castle was a very interesting read.
I’m also hoping that sista sarah takes advantage of some mental health care so she can have some years of peace ahead. She’s dangerously close to choking on all that bile for no apparent benefit to anyone.
Here’s some more good news. Goodness knows we can use it.
Hospital visitation rights for same-sex partners now required by federal rules
By Ed O’Keefe
Nearly all hospitals this week are extending visitation rights to the partners of gay men and lesbians under new federal rules that officially enact a key piece of the Obama administration’s continuing efforts to expand the rights of gay Americans.
The federal regulations, which apply to hospitals receiving Medicaid and Medicare funding, state that health-care institutions may not prohibit visitation rights based on sexual orientation. In the past, hospital often barred visitors not related to an incapacitated patient by blood or marriage. Gay rights groups also complained that many hospitals didn’t allow same-sex partners to designate each other as someone eligible to make major medical decisions for them if they are injured or seriously ill.
The new regulations went into effect Tuesday. Any hospital found to be violating the new rules risks losing federal funding, usually a major source of revenue.
I was not aware of this new law. It certainly is a step in the right direction.
Regarding the homeless in Alaska. It never occurred to me that there was no shelter for the homeless there. Of course there are people who prefer, for whatever reason, to live on the streets. That does not mean that they should not be offered a warm, dry place when the temperatures are life threatening.
There are no shelters for thye homless in such an enviroment????Our churches even open doors during the winter or coldest months as shelters for the homeless.Don’t they do that in Anchorage?If not ow can theycall themselves christians
Churches and other groups do the same thing here on the Gulf Coast of Florida… and all the TV and radio stations make regular announcements of what shelters are open where and when during “extreme” weather.
If it happens in Florida, I’m really surprised if it doesn’t happen in Anchorage. Isn’t Prevo’s great big church with lots of red-shirt members there? and surely they are not the only house of worship in the faith community of Anchorage… Oy, vey.
It doesn’t happen in Anchorage. I don’t know of any church that opens their doors to the homeless in inclement weather.
We have the Brother Francis shelter and if I understand correctly, you have to be sober to get a cot for the night – if you are inebriated you don’t get a bed there.
We also have Bean’s Cafe as the soup kitchen. I don’t know that the churches offer any meals for the homeless.
So glad to hear this! It is outrageous to deny a loved one access in times of illness or injury. I am hopeful this signals the beginning of the end of yet another hateful form of discrimination. Loving and being loved is rare enough; we should nurture it in all its forms.
Love is healing for both the patient and their visitors. Thank goodness for and a special blessing on the Obama administration for making this change happen. I hope it brings relief to many people.
“Love is healing for both the patient and their visitors.”
We are seeing an example of this every day in the news with Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. I doubt that her recovery would be moving along nearly as quickly without the constant support of her husband and other family and friends. The positive energy and emotional support of loved ones can make all the difference to a critically ill or injured patient.
I was following this too. Such good news, another step forward.
Sargent Shriver was a great person. The lagacy of the Peace Corp lives on.
Sending a message to Gov. Kirkham did give me a feeling of doing something to stop the rape of a very important environmently sensitive place.
I am afraid that we will have Sarah Palin in our face for a long time. Lets just make sure she has no important political office. I would like to know where the most of her $ is coming from.
What Mayor Sullivan doesn’t realize, is that it’s not enough to put people into shelters or apartments, they must receive treatment for whatever addiction or mental illness that might have put or kept them on the streets.
Besides, in this economy, who really believes that everyone on the streets is there because they want to be? There are people there because they have no where else to go. Once you lose an address, you lose a lot of ways to get help and get back on your feet. Homelessness is not as simple as Simpleton Sullivan would have us believe.
So true. I see people every week at my local food bank where I volunteer. Yes, there are some who are homeless and have been for a long time and they don’t seem to want something different. But there are young women and teens who are homeless because the home where they lived was worse than what they will find living in their car or on the street or couch surfing (staying with a friend then going to a different friend when they wear out their welcome). And worst of all there are families, families with young children or teens who should be in school. Sometimes there are families with babies. I can’t imagine what that is like to not have a home. And I especially can’t imagine what it is like to have children living in a tent or in a car.
Most of them are not there by choice. But once they lose a job and a home, it can be very hard to get that back. Renting requires a deposit and often requires first and last month rent as well. That’s a big amount for a person or family to come up with when they can’t get a job because they don’t have an address or a place to wash their clothes or take a shower.
It’s a cycle that is hard to break. But it’s something that all cities need to address. It’s just wrong to let people live in such poverty with so little hope.
The movie, The Soloist, based on a real homeless man’s story, is probably the best way to get a glimpse of what that life is like and why some are seemingly stuck there. The interesting thing about the movie is that the scenes that show homeless people at a center has street people from LA rather than actors. Good choice as most actors couldn’t manage that level of believability.
I like the fact that it doesn’t sugar coat how terribly hard mental illness can be to treat properly, let alone continue to treat. Plus the effects on the family and friends of those affected. There’s no magic wand…
For what it’s worth, I thought “A Beautiful Mind” glossed over WAYYYY too much and relied far too heavily on the “the love of a good woman (man) will prevail!” theme. It’s that sort of thing that puts family members in danger if someone IS psychotic. (It’s not limited to those who are not trained or licensed therapists or psychiatrists either.)
“Mental illness affects all stripes
The recently released movie “The Soloist” imparts viewers with a better understanding of mental illness and a deeper empathy for the millions of Americans and thousands of New Jerseyans affected by it.
The movie puts a face on schizophrenia, in particular, and raises awareness of the daunting challenges faced by the 2 million people in our country affected by it.
All too often films perpetuate an unfortunate stigma that dehumanizes people with mental illness, reducing them to comic caricatures and tagging them with ugly, hurtful names. But movies like “The Soloist” and “A Beautiful Mind” remind us that real people battling mental illness — like people with any other disease — are complex human beings with a variety of talents and traits.
They could be a brilliant mathematician, a gifted musician or the homeless man on the street.
They could be your brother, my sister, our neighbors, and they deserve the same respect we would give any other human being.
Celina Gray, executive director, Governors Council on Mental Health Stigma”
May I make a distinction, Dagian?
Psychotic and mentally ill are not the same. One can be schizophrenic for example, without being psychotic. Psychotic is defined as being a harm to oneself or others. It is an additional diagnosis with a mental disorder.
One can be diagnosed as mentally ill without being psychotic. It does make intuitive sense that if one is psychotic, a harm to oneself or others, one is mentally or physically disturbed.
IMO $arah Palin IS psychotic, because the results of her actions do have a harmful impact upon others.
I agree with you that “A Beautiful Mind” glossed over quite a bit – such that a schizotypic or schizophrenic would recognize the ‘implications’ of the disease, such as having only one wall in the office with the articles and lines between them, where the fact is the whole room would have been jammed with the articles. If not their whole house.
Hi Bretta,
Yes, I know that too; but obviously what I wrote was unclear.
Actually, I would use the term psychopath (or sociopath) rather than psychotic regarding $P. The other term would be antisocial personality disorder (sociopath).
I think that the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) is still the one of the best ways to winnow the sociopaths from the psychopaths.
“One can be diagnosed as mentally ill without being psychotic.”
Naturally–there are any number of mental illnesses after all. Depression is probably one that most people would recognize; bipolar disorder is another one that has been discussed more and more recently.
I also very much disliked “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden” which also oversold the benefits of psychotherapy and didn’t address the medications that were becoming available at the time, plus the author may not have fit today’s diagnosis of schizophrenia (probably severely depressed). The grounds were beautiful, but my mother didn’t shed tears when it was shut down. (Although we were all shocked when it burned to the ground, the building WAS beautiful and so were the trees.) Nor did many other psychiatric nurses who put time in at that place. Sadly, there are ugly condominiums there now. Just what Rockville needs–more ugly buildings.
*sighs*
I took it that “psychotic” in Dagian’s post was merely one example.
Chestnut Lodge was unnamed, but featured in the book “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden”. I forgot to mention the “where”.
I saw a program on the homeless in California,people living in their cars because they lost their homes or their buildings were foreclosed on and the can’t make enough to pay first last and security deposits even though most they showed were working. That was the purpose of the program to show why working people were homeless.My former employer hired two people that lived in a camp ground near us.They had no other place to go but a tent.Another old friend I just found out her daughter and her the last they were heard from were living on the beaches in Florida.If that isn’t a sad state of affairs I don’t know what is.
Well said.
When I took on my mother nearly a year ago we had to live in the “Homeless Hilton” – a hotel in Spenard – for three months. We couldn’t find an apartment that would take a wheelchair person; Alaska Senior Housing wouldn’t let her have a home because she didn’t have enough income (exceeded the limits with mine – but she can’t live alone) and we can’t afford the $7,500 a month for the nursing home.
She isn’t eligible for Medicaid until three years after my father’s been dead. My sister and I have had to do hundreds of hours of labor spending thousands of dollars to get their home saleable to get any trust money for her support. We have no idea, in this economy, how long it will take the place to sell in WA.
We weren’t homeless because we wanted to be – we aren’t addicts or drunks or mentally ill. Just a quadriplegic with no money. I’ve been a good advocate for her but most homeless people (IMO) don’t have an advocate to help them.
Sullivan really shows his ignorance.
Here’s his name:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faron_Hall
Although it always sounds crass to say it, there are some people who are ingrained into the lifestyle of living on the streets, just as some people get institutionalized when living in jail for a long period of time – they don’t know how to function in any other setting.
There was one case in Winnipeg of a homeless man who jumped off a bridge to save a drowning boy, one of the rewards he got was a free apartment. A year later he saved another drowning person under the same bridge – he wasn’t living in the free apartment because he felt trapped in the four walls.
Some people wouldn’t live on the streets if given a choice – some people don’t know any other way to live. However, generalizing in this case is wrong. That doesn’t mean you have an excuse to avoid trying to help those who want out. That’s callous and stupid reasoning.
Jeannette Walls’ parents lived thusly, as chronicled in “The Glass Castle”.
Comparing and contrasting Sargent Shriver to Princess Wind Between her Ears–always a gift.
Class, accomplishments, modesty, brains, drive and steel…
In addition, here is Glen Kessler’s take: Myths and facts about ‘Obamacare’
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2011/01/health_care_myths.html
Another USNews take on Palin: She’s right and everyone else is wrong (at least according to her):
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/robert-schlesinger/2011/01/18/sarah-palin-reloads-on-blood-libel-2
Peter Fenn, of US News, suggests that Palin’s prospects are now nil in winning the GOP primary. I wish I was as confident. The American electorate’s memory is short and if Palin hires the right puppet master, she might still shock us. Let’s just hope that she continues to run her own show.
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/Peter-Fenn/2011/01/19/arizona-shooting-bungle-sinks-sarah-palins-2012-presidential-bid.html
Just for fun and giggles (and, okay, a sense of curiosity), I looked up Palin’s natal chart a while back. I’d done the same for George W. Bush, and one of the astrologers had nailed him as regards his problem with his parents and his inability to admit a mistake and the like. Anyway, with Palin, one of the charts said she was abnormally close to her father, was stubborn and would/could not accept advice and many other traits we now recognize as truly part of her personality.
This chart had been done in 2008 just after she’d announced. What intrigued, amazed, and scared me was the prediction that she would destroy her standing in 2010 but rise again in 2012. Your comment reminded me of this, and I have to admit, I am not yet convinced her political career is over.
It’s amazing what the right PR makeover can do. After all, we continue to buy products we know aren’t that good or good for us just because a “New, Improved” is stamped on the package. Mind you, it would take a lot of improvement (okay, a miracle) to get most of us to buy the Palin pooh, but hey, history is full of scary examples where stranger things have happened.
May the astrologer’s prediction hold true – Palin is too self-assured and stubborn to take anyone’s advice and will direct her own path. That alone should keep her in the dustbin. As far as rising in 2012, well, she has already fallen quite a distance and it appears she is intent upon going further down. Maybe we’ll just see the glint off her glasses and hear a tiny echo of her voice on a rare occasion in 2012 as she tries to haul herself up out of the hole she is digging herself now.
The one thing I am counting on, if I count on that natal chart at all, is that it did not mention she would ever, ever be President. Whew!
Maybe she’ll get her own talk radio show in 2012.
Now, that’s a scary thought. I wonder if you can adjust the audio settings enough to filter out the screech factor. Still, she’d fit right in with some of the trash talkers.
I hope, though, that she discredits herself enough that she can’t even con her way into talk radio. Maybe event the crazed fringe will have had enough of her by then. One can only hope.
I’m with you on that…I’ve reached a point where I simply want her to fade into obscurity and be remembered only for the punch lines that she inspired.
Maybe she and rush limburger(snark) can co host his show!!!!
“The American electorate’s memory is short…”
Squirrel!
I join Kat in loving the “Peach Corps.” Perhaps a snack is in order? Your enthusiasm for the Magic Bus ride may have caused you to shortchange your breakfast.
Sent an email to russell per your request. Hope it joins many, many others and will make a cumulative, positive difference. Can’t hurt.
Mayor Sullivan is proving himself to be a callous, cruel person who has no moral right to hold power over others. He seems insensitive to the plight of others less fortunate than himself. The death count amongst the homeless is shameful – why can’t the city offer shelter? Sullivan ensured the city could afford a Zamboni, after all. Surely, those the lives of those people were more precious than an ice machine for sports?
Good for Senator Begich! I hope he gets help for the oil pipe infrastructure.
As for Sarah – well, she is her doing her level best to shut herself down. More power to her for that goal. May she succeed beyond our wildest dreams. We would all appreciate if if she put herself out of business.
I don’t know about Anchorage, but in our area we have about a dozen hard-core homeless who are ‘by choice’ on the streets. For whatever reason, they are not comfortable living in shelters — even overnight. Our community, from the Mayor on down, accepts their decision and works *with* it when the weather gets nasty. Admittedly, here in the south, we don’t have the extreme cold Anc has, but it still gets downright cold and dangerous for anyone to be hunkered down under a bridge; that being the case, we make ‘allowances’ for our Dozen. When bad weather is on its way (nasty storms, big cold, huge heat) our city and county law enforcement officers get in touch with our homeless (usually +/- 35 at any given time) to let them know what is coming and to see if they want transport to a shelter (we’ve 2 in the immediate area.) Arrangements are made if they want to be sheltered. For those who don’t want to, ie our Dozen, the officers make sure they’ve got clothing appropriate for what’s coming at them. And during ‘the weather’, the officers, bless their hearts, make it a point to check with each of the Dozen at least once ever 24-hours to make sure things are OK. I don’t know if the Mayor(s) or the community is the driving force (which came first: the chicken or the egg?), but –knock wood– we’ve not had any of our homeless die because of the weather in decades. Our law enforcement does a bang-up job with this, truly, community effort. beth.
In my California county we do have people who do not, or cannot, stay in a shelter. Some have been banned because of their behavior, some are frightened of the shelters and some don’t want to follow the rules. Many of these people who avoid shelters “by choice” have untreated mental illness.
We also have people, including families with children, who get turned away because the shelters are full. This is not a “choice” to sleep in a doorway or on the sidewalk.
Our county is full of generous people including a faith-based group called “Friends Outdoors” who donate blankets, coats and sleeping bags, and law enforcment does pass those out. The underlying problems are a bad economy, untreated mental illess and high housing costs, even now.
Oops! Thanks. (palms on face)
Hi AKM-
Sorry I haven’t come around much lately. I just found out about your mom- and wanted to express my condolences. I read your tribute to her, and it was very touching.
Just saw your “Twins all growed up” entry- and it reminded me of why I came here two years ago.
God Bless and good luck
Ed Rollins weighs in on Newt and Palin:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/01/19/rollins.palin.gingrich/
You know, when I hear Rollins and others talk about having the pros “who know the game” handle a perspective candidate, I can’t help but think of the wolf in sheep’s clothing image from childhood tales. It’s like saying, let the PR folks cloth an inferior mind with shiny sayings, trendy clothes, and great photo ops – hiding the decay and lack of substance within. I am tired of having candidates packaged for slick sales jobs.
I am glad Sarah is being herself. We need others to be like her – show all their warts, bumps, and miserable lack of talent.
That said, even Newt with all his new-found wealth cannot shine his hide up enough to make himself palatable for those hungry for a neo-conservative of his ilk.
For all her desire to hide herself, to run away from real journalistic interaction, Sarah shows more than enough to turn us off. Imagine if she were interviewed by real journalists? Wow, the mind boggles. It’s bad now. It could be much worse.
For Rollins to essentially tell her to quiet down after Newt told her to slow down and think, is truly indicative of how seriously Palin in injuring herself amongst the GOP old guard. She needs them even if she doesn’t know it or want to admit it. If she barely had them before, she is truly losing them now.
Let’s hope that more influential people in the GOP “man up”.
I think the real issue is that even if Scarah flames out they will have another come in with better “packaging” but with the same agenda. Murdoch and the Saudi Royal Family have deep pockets to create another “front person”.
I like the Colbert piece above because he actually mentions some of the “policy” that SP and others stand for.
thank you FanCa. that is the whole problem with focusing on Palin. she is just a distraction. what Murdoch and the royal Saudi family are doing in this country is beyond me.Murdoch, Talibani and the Koch brothers belong in Guantanamo as much as anyone does and so do their political allies.
it is a damned shame. there is a baby buried in the ground today. all her organs dispersed around the country to others so they may live and these bastids are still here. palin whining and crying and wringing her blood soaked hands while the media pretends they had nothing to do with fact that she has been given a pass and a platform to spread stupid all around this country. i am outraged. i will not sit down. i will not shut up. i will not make common cause with people who vote in ignorant sociopaths and then expect my President to pull this country through the hell he inherited from the conservative/evangelical republicans. so yes Sarah you sit down and you shut up! i demand it. and i hope that the rest of the people who read this blog will demand it also in the coming months.
I so agree with you. Palin’s nasty chitchat for the past two plus years HAS influenced how many people in the U.S. are feeling and acting out. The media is as much to blame for passing on this woman’s crap. It just makes me sick that they have tried to give her a pass….hopefully, it won’t work!
Say it, Bubs, say it! This is so true. The media has much to answer for in her case; not as much as McCain, but very nearly and it keeps going on. Once they stop covering her every tweet and burp, she will be the has-been she needs to become.
I watched a biography of Sargent Shriver yesterday. He was a fantastic man we could all learn from. Here’s a small nit picky thing – The Peace Corps truly is a “Peach” of a program. =)
Love those Oyster roundups Thanks!
Stephen Colbert on Mika and Palin. It’s good. 🙂
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/371413/january-18-2011/mika-brzezinski-experiences-palin-fatigue
ARGH…I have to wait to watch since it will be available much later in Canada.
That was great! I saw it last night and really enjoyed seeing it again. Thanks for the link. A good way to start the day as we wait for the Winter Storm Warning to become reality – up to nine inches by tomorrow morning here in northeastern KS. Off to the stores to lay-in supplies.
Oh, that’s not good. I love Lawrence and I had fun in the snow when I lived in the dorm and didn’t have a car. However, later when I did, driving was a real challenge with all the hills.
I just saw a little clip of the Daily Show last night (again, I have to wait a few hours before the entire episode is available in Canada). The clip I saw dealt with the Hannity/Palin pity party where Hannity said that he never observed Palin complaining about her treatment.
He also thought (or so he said) she had released her long whiney video with the teleprompter reflecting in her glasses the day before the memorials. And, I don’t believe she corrected him. So, I guess he doesn’t get high marks for observational skills.
Who are you going to believe? Palin and Hannity or your own ears?
Said so well! Thank you Stephen Colbert!