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Oyster Roundup – Doritos, Cocktails, a Bitter Pill and more…


~Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more, and more!

Google for Pebble?

It doesn’t seem possible that a company which has always been known for its progressive leanings, and whose slogan was “don’t be evil” could be supporting a project like The Pebble Mine. The first hint should have been the Google logo plastered next to the Fox one at the GOP debate last week. Then, The Huffington Post broke the bad news in their article featured with the scarlet front page banner simply stating – Google Goes Red.

The shift in political strategy comes as Google faces a serious antitrust threat, punctuated by a high-profile hearing on the company held Wednesday afternoon in the Senate. But Google’s investment in the infrastructure of the conservative movement goes much deeper than what’s been reported this summer.

The company known for its progressive politics is now giving money to the Heritage Foundation, the American Enterprise Institute, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Republican Governors Association, the GOP firm The David All Group, Crossroads Strategies, the Republican Attorneys General Association and the Republican State Leadership Committee, among others.

Yup, not only the virulently homophobic Heritage Foundation, but the Koch-funded climate change deniers we wrote about at the Mudflats who have made it their personal mission to promote misinformation about the Pebble Mine project, encourage support of it, and petition Senator Maria Cantwell to revoke her “No Peblle” stance. These people are bad news. Why Google chose not political neutrality, but to financially support several of the most loathsome institutions I can think of, I don’t know. But I do know that I got rid of my gmail account, and my default search engine is now Bing.

Don’t look now… She’s gaining…or not

Here’s a bit of information (in case you missed it) from the “political-horror-comedy-news” genre. A recent Marist McClatchy poll asked some questions about head-to-head matchups against Barack Obama in 2012. There’s no gentle way of putting this, so I’m just going to rip the Band-Aid right off:

The biggest gain came for Palin, the former Alaska governor who hasn’t yet announced whether she’ll jump into the fast-changing race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

After trailing Obama by more than 20 percentage points in polls all year, the new national survey, taken Sept. 13-14, found her trailing the president by just 5 points, 49-44 percent. The key reason: She now leads Obama among independents, a sharp turnaround.

Some progressives are cheering an Obama-Palin match-up. Others think that just having her in play, however remote the chance she’d ever get elected, is too much. With current members of the GOP field clobbering each other (and themselves) with 2x4s, those candidates who haven’t yet declared (like Palin, and NJ Governor Chris Christie) may feel emboldened to step up to the plate.

Then again, if you believe the recent CNN poll, Palin is tied in the field with Ron Paul and Herman Cain at a feeble 7 percent. So, what do we know? Not much…

Scaling the Heights

After God expressed his displeasure, via earthquake, that Virginia and the surrounding environs have not legalized same-sex marriage, and that EPA Head Lisa Jackson had not invoked 404(c) of the Clean Water Act and stopped Pebble Mine, (hey, it’s as good as any theory) there were several large cracks that appeared on the Washington Monument. Until today, nobody had taken an up close look. But when you need someone to rappel down the face of a 555-foot high marble monument, who do you call? That’s right – a Denali Park Ranger will lead a group this morning as they check out the damage. Some of the cracks, which all appeared to be located in the top 100 feet of the world’s tallest obelisk, were 1/4 inch wide, and allowed daylight to shine into the interior of the monument. The monument is structurally sound, but no word yet when tourists will be allowed back in.

Thank you, nice lady!

It’s always a tense moment when the Google alert set for your name pops up with new material. It could go one of two ways. This time it went the good way, and I discovered a lovely little blog that is currently reviewing Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin. It put a smile on my face, so I just wanted to say thanks to Bodie Parkhurst at Magic Dog Press for taking the time to read, reflect and review.

Here’s the thing: had this been a hatchet job, I would not be writing this. Had this been a hymn to Sarah Palin I would not be writing this. But this book is something else entirely–I found myself understanding Sarah Palin better as a person. I found myself thinking about the person Bailey portrays in the beginning of her campaign for governor, the source of her appeal for Alaskans, her commitment to serving the people. I felt sad as he chronicles how that person, and that team of volunteers, lost their vision, and got caught up in the very things they swore to oppose in the beginning.

This is a book worth reading, not only because Mr. Bailey has a unique perspective, but because his observations beg discussion not only for what they say about Sarah Palin and her team of core supporters, but because of what they say about the rest of us. I’m going to be blogging about this for a few days–I hope you enjoy it; and I do suggest you buy the book.

 

Crunch all you want…

Last year, snack food devotees mourned the loss of Morrie Yohai (90), inventor of the Cheez Doodle. This week, Arch West, founder of Doritos takes his place in the pantheon of late great snack food icons. He was 97. In what seems like a fitting gesture, his family will sprinkle Doritos at the grave site in Dallas during the service on October 1. “He’ll love it,” said daughter Jana Hacker of Allen, Texas.

Caulking and Cocktails?

If you’re looking for something to do Friday, October 7, check out the latest fun from the Alaska Conservation Alliance. From 3-7pm, at Bernie’s Bungalow you can tip back a cold one and play with caulk. It’s almost impossible not to write “wackiness will ensue.” There will be a demonstration about best practices in energy efficiency, a caulking demonstration, and a chance for you to participate in a “Caulking Art Contest.” You will need to register for the contest in advance, as I’m sure it’s not a commitment they want non-designated drivers making at the spur of the moment. For more details on the event, and to register for some fun with caulk, click the link in the title.

Comments

comments

Comments
41 Responses to “Oyster Roundup – Doritos, Cocktails, a Bitter Pill and more…”
  1. Dagian says:

    This has been bugging me for some time and I really do NOT know the answer.

    Shouldn’t Sarah Palin properly be addressed as Mrs. Palin (or Ms. Palin), rather than ‘ex-Governor’ or ‘Governor’?

    She’s not the current officeholder, so she’s not the governor. Upon resignation prior to ending an entire term, wouldn’t she revert to Mrs. or Ms. Palin?

  2. Marion Delgado says:

    If you’re using Safari, you should try pop-search – which can very conveniently let you try on a search bar for a very large number of search engines. http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=2011030211104561

  3. Marion Delgado says:

    Bing is Microsoft, which works with Baidu and the Chinese government to censor the internet. Gates is pushing for the privatization of American schools. His two main public policy science gurus, Nathan Myrhvlold and Vaclav Smil, are climate science denialists. That Microsoft admittedly is behind the antitrust attack on Google makes it completely corrupt and meaningless. Were it not for US government – our tax dollars – Microsoft would have gotten the full brunt of antitrust rulings against it, we cushioned them. MSFT hired Ralph Reed, founder of the Christian Coalition, at a time when he was one of W’s campaign managers, to be one of their PR execs. You could go on and on. If you like Bing better, cool. I use mostly Google, but also Yahoo, and Yandex (Russian language search). Google gives to what it perceives to be all sides in an amoral fashion – like any other big corporation. Instead of believing a corporation when it ostentatiously tells itself publicly
    “don’t be evil” tell yourself “don’t be gullible.” And if it’s a political boycott, use Yahoo. They’re too small to cause much harm.

  4. yukonbushgrma says:

    Really concerned about Palin possibly running.

    I’ve been concerned for a couple of years now: her ego, her tweets, makes sure she stays in the news, stages trips etc. to make sure she’s in the news …. and most of all, her PAC’s solicitations of $$ right up to the present.

    I think she and her team are energized by the fact that Bachmann is down in the polls and Perry isn’t looking good either. She’ll think she is “the Saviour” and jump in at the last minute.

    I’m not sure if she’ll do it as a Repub or 3rd Party, but I still think she might do it. Scares me to death.

  5. Zyxomma says:

    Problems with Bing, too. MicroSoft is not exactly a model of goodness. Don’t know which way to turn, yet.

  6. Kath the Scrappy says:

    Thanks AKM (and everyone else!) for the info.

    – Have now closed my Gmail acct (which I’ve never used, LOL it only had 4 messages since 2009).

    – Have switched to DuckDuckGo as my permanent search engine.

  7. tallimat says:

    BING it is.

  8. ks sunflower says:

    BTW, I forgot to comment on the passing of the Cheese Doodle and the Doritos inventors. Loved the idea and comment by the Doritos inventor’s daughter. Great sense of humor, that.

    Uh-oh, now I am hungry for both. Oh, AKM, what have you done? I was doing so well avoiding snack foods. Hmmm – oh, well, I guess I could chalk it up to honoring their memories.

  9. ks sunflower says:

    So, I don’t care for yahoo or hotmail as email accounts though I use them both for political petitions and business junk mail, so if I close down my gmail accounts anyone have a suggestion for a reliable, secure free email provider that provides a large online accumulation of emails?

    I also use findlaw, but it is truly not geared to frequent use because it is so basic.

    Please, if you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them. I want to disassociate from goggle as much as possible. Thanks for any ideas.

  10. CanadianGuy25 says:

    So you deleted the Google email and search engine, but kept Google Alert?

  11. Moose Pucky says:

    Okay, what’s the alternative to Google News? Yes, their “top news” headlines, even the topics I choose myself, have been pathetically red lately. Pucky’s suspicions are now confirmed.

    As for that Palin/Obama poll, it only shows that independents aren’t all that “independent”.

  12. Baker's Dozen says:

    I just wrote to Google under “success stories.” My success is changing my search engine to bing. Over the next few days, I will find other places for my other stuff. My many, many email accounts may take longer.

  13. Rich (in name only) in Reno says:

    Re: Google Going Red

    Here in Nevada, those who go around giving lrage amounts of money to those who will service them are known as “johns.”

    • mikefromiowa says:

      That is so true. When we refer to Senate-whores from another political persuasion we can just call them John, Much simpler than actually remembering their names.

  14. Laurainnorcal says:

    Outstanding post today. Umm, I wasn’t aware of the antitrust threat to Google. Will definitely find out more about that. And yes, I choked on my wine when I saw Google’s logo next to Fox’s at the debate. I’m wondering how all the college kids are feeling about their dive into such a comprehensive hell hole. I have queries into my daughters at USC and UA (Tuscaloosa).

    Thanks for turning us on to Magic Dog. So encouraging to know there’s more of us out there.

    Great search engine info in comments too! Thanks!

  15. rm says:

    ALERT:

    Palin is going to be on Greta tonight! Get ur popcorn ready.

    • bubbles says:

      anyone know what happened to the eagerly awaited Beehive Beauty Salon reality show? the Beehive is where Sarah gets her pretty on and those gorgeous hairstyles she wears. also. too. i got two big bags of popcorn and a bottle Baileys and so far the show is a no show. heheh. oh well. guess i will have to wait for young miss Palin’s debut as Bristol the Pistol Whipping Badass Babe of Beverly Hills. should be a gas.

      • Baker's Dozen says:

        Gas is right. Puffed up, bloated, smelly, oleaginous. Bet Mike from Iowa can help us out and explain more about gas.

        But I think it’s “Bristle, the Water Pistol Whimping BadCrass Baby of Skid Row.”

      • ks sunflower says:

        I read somewhere that the beauty salon show had only two episodes and concluded the night both were run, one after the other. I haven’t searched the net to verify that, but I would not be surprised.

      • Martha Unalaska Yard Sign says:

        Why, the auditions behind the scenes are right here! The show premiered Tues night, but who needs the show when you have a more realistically fake version of Jessica’s Last Strand?

        http://theperilsofpalins.wordpress.com/2011/09/15/jessicas-last-strand-piled-high-you-betcha/

      • mikefromiowa says:

        What I could find out was there were only two episodes filmed,and according to TLC tv schedule,one was aired on Sept. 20th and the other one on the 27th.(last night) No other info and I couldn’t get on their home page to ask what happened. Not that it breaks Mikey’s little heart.

    • benlomond2 says:

      oooo… that should be fun… saw Rachel M this evening, she had Steve Schimdt (McCain campagan manger) and Bush’s press Sec…. both of them slamming Palin as a certifible Crazy Person… wonder if she’ll say something about it…… 🙂

      • yukonbushgrma says:

        Yes! It was Nicolle Wallace, and she and Schmidt were VERY close to Palin after Palin got the VP nomination. Wallace has written a new book, fiction, “It’s Classified” — you can find it on Amazon. Even though it’s fiction, I’m sure there are some kernels of truth in it ……

  16. mikefromiowa says:

    I just read an article from Yahoo News that says Sly Stone of Sly and the Family Stone-made beautiful music in the late 60’s-early 70’s-is homeless and living in a white van on the streets of Los Angeles. Our Nation could stand a heavy dose of “Everyday People” played over and over until wingnuts eventually would “get it.” On bus trips in high school for baseball games we listened to Sly and Co. as our adopted theme music right smack in the middle of America. Hell Yeah!.

  17. ks sunflower says:

    Well, thanks to a comment on an article about the sell-out Google, I found a new search engine that some may want to try. It is a secure search engine that does not track your searches and does not tie any personally identifiable information to your search.

    I do use Bing, but I am having a blast using DuckDuckGo. It’s fun to mix-it-up. Bing is, after all, Microsoft, and I still have some qualms about it. Still, what’s a girl supposed to do? For now, I cycle between Bing, DuckDuckGo and, for foodie stuff, I use http://foodblogsearch.com/ just for fun.

    https://duckduckgo.com/about.html

    On its site, you will find many reputable sites endorsing it. I’d never thought about using an https (secure) search engine – heck, I’d not even heard of one before this.

    Be sure to check out the Goodies link. Lots of fun ways to search.

    • 1smartcanerican™ says:

      Thanks ks sunflower – I’ve changed my search engine to duckduckgo – and I love the name also, too! 🙂

  18. Hmph, who would ever have thought that Google would do that. I’ve been using Bing as my search engine for a while – I like the pictures every day and it works as well as Google. But the one thing I have from Google that I find very handy, and will have to work hard to give up, is the Google tool bar. The feature I like and use is the Bookmarks button. It’s so much easier to find sites I go to every day than going through my very long list of “Favorites”. My goal now is to transition to something more workable than my long Favorites list and then I’ll delete my google tool bar. Unfortunately, my blogspot is connected to Google, and I’m not willing to give that up. At least, not yet.

    * * * * *
    Sarah Palin and Chris Christie are just two more crazies to add to the list of the repub crazies we’ve been seeing. That they are being encouraged to jump in to the race at this late date is more confirmation that there are a lot of republicans out there who aren’t impressed by those running. My fear is that they won’t vote for the republican who wins the nomination and because everyone know they aren’t voting the progressives won’t vote, thinking they don’t need to do it. And we could end up with one of the crazies instead of President Obama.

  19. LibertyLover says:

    “Caulking and cocktails” link appears to be broken.

  20. bubbles says:

    Google has gone to the Devil? what can we do? should we write the executive officers? will it make a difference if we tell why we are leaving their search engine? here is the link i found listing the names of their management team.

    http://www.google.com/about/corporate/company/execs.html
    what shall we do pups?

  21. mikefromiowa says:

    I gotta ask-if there would be billions of gallons of toxic,poisonous water behind an extremely high and long dam,for possibly fifty years(give or take a decade or two) what happens to all this waste when the operation ceases to exist? Is it gonna sit there? Will the mines be forced(chuckle) to rehabillitate the waste water? Do citizens get stuck with the mess because it is too expensive for the owners to clean up and may force them into bankruptcy? On another level,anyone that has travelled in their state to their state’s capitol,or anyone travelling to our Nation’s capitol: is there an unseen deadline where a politician’s loyalties switch from his/her constituents to korporate amerika’s best interests? It seems that once a pol is clear of his/her district,their loyalties switch from helping the people that elected them to self-preservation at the public trough.Now I got a headache.