Palin’s Book & My Xmas Pilgrimage to Wasilla
Christmas Eve was a bitter night. Despite my best efforts, I knew it wasn’t going to happen. I was not going to make it through blogging all of Sarah Palin’s Christmas book, Good Tidings and Great Joy, before the big day. There just wasn’t enough eggnog in the world to keep up the pace. I had debated at one point handling this predicament like that children’s hide-and-seek trick, where they’re supposed to count to a hundred before they come find you. “One, two, skip a few, ninety-nine, one hundred!” Chapter 1, almost done, skip the crap, I’m fin-ished! But I…
Good Tidings & Great Pain, Top 10 Atrocities Ch. 4
Yes, I’ve seen it. I have seen Dan Savage’s review of Palin’s book. It’s been sent to me on Facebook, posted to my wall, sent to the Mudflats page, emailed to me, tweeted at me, left in comments. It’s very funny. Dan Savage got off easy. That’s all I’m saying. Spoiler Alert: His husband threw the book away before he’d even gotten to Chapter 1. He wrote a review of the introduction. I wish I had Dan Savage’s husband, but Dan Savage was the better man and got him first. And so here I sit, egg nog in hand, as…
Palin, Ducks & Free Speech
OK, so I guess I’m writing this. I tried really hard not to, but if one more person screamed, “First Amendment!” in defense of this self proclaimed hillbilly, I think I’d cry. [Sidenote: Can I say that if you get a paycheck from the Arts and Entertainment Network, you immediately lose your ‘hillbilly’ creds.] The Half Hearted Governor Sarah Palin dressed in camo, that she claims she wears ‘all’ the time went on Fox News to bloviate: “This is all about freedom, free speech, you know, so many American families have spilled blood and treasure to guarantee Phil Robertson and…
Parnell Gets Paid Back by Appointee
Hey! Here’s a little something. It’s the fastest game of connect the dots ever! Check it out. What could it be? GOP administrative hinkiness? Ethical bankruptcy? Sean Parnell asshattery? I guess we’ll just have to connect the dots and see. 1st Dot: Governor Sean Parnell apointed Tom McGrath to be a member of the State Compensation Commission. 2nd Dot: McGrath recommended giving Sean Parnell a pay raise. 3rd Dot: McGrath is holding a fundraiser for Sean Parnell. See? There he is in the right hand column, among the other ethically challenged “hosts” like Randy Reudrich, Dan Coffey, and Chris Birch. A man is known…
Tea Party X-Mas Gifts
We’ve all got one in our family. A teabagger. Outside of the John Water’s reference that makes me giggle everytime I hear the word, we all know what that means… Arguments over Obamacare, Obamaphones, Obama birth certificates and other Obama related tragedies. Unfortunately it’s the Holidays, so you’ll need to buy this lovely human being that is somehow related to you a gift. The latest Chomsky book isn’t going to work, and neither is a t-shirt from TheMudflats.net [wink]. That’s why I’ve complied a list of some sure fire gifts for that angry at the world for making him white in…
Good Tidings & Great Pain – The Rill Dill
The invisible war is come. It is insidious. It lurks out of your conscious mind, weaving its evil spell. You don’t even know it’s happening because the War on Christmas is cleverly disguised… as Christmas itself. It’s like the monster under your bed, disguised as a sock. Or that person following your car five miles back that you never really see. But ohhhhh, he’s there. It’s all designed to lull you into believing that monsters don’t exist, and that the CIA is not following you to the mall. Clever. Veeeeery clever. But not clever enough for Sarah Palin. We’re still…
Parnell: Progressive Activist of the Year
We’re coming to the close of 2013, and top 10 lists are coming out of our ears. Top movies, albums, people (The pope! Time’s Person of the Year!). We seem to feel compelled to wrap up our year in nice little boxes. I have my own list I’d like to trot out. Hang on just a minute. Last week the governor released state revenue projections and his budget. His projections are based on the information oil companies give the state about how much of that sweet oil they plan to send down the pipeline. The administration takes those numbers and…
Parnell Should Choose Support for Youth
In 2011 the state conceded that its protection system to discover child abuse and neglect, and lead foster youth to greater success, was in need of improvement. It came up with a cost-effective request: What if they filled the massive staffing gaps at the Office of Children’s Services (OCS), which investigates these cases, with lower-cost support staff rather than Masters-level social workers? That would free social workers to do their fieldwork, and let lower-cost employees do their paper and administrative work. The governor needs to govern and find efficiencies, rather than excuses to ignore our child protection system or his…
Good Tidings & Great Pain – Blogging Sarah Palin’s Christmas Book, Ch. 3
Remember when you were a kid, and starting to get excited about Christmas, but not really thinking about gifts yet, and some delightful aunt, or your grandma sent you something in the mail – a big oversized envelope with more than one stamp – and said you could open it early? Maybe this didn’t happen to you, so you can borrow my memory if you need to. What could this surprise envelope be? And with a mandate to open early? Too good to be true. Inside was an advent calendar. A beautiful Christmas scene printed on it – a Christmas…
Hashtag Mead Treadwell Staff Fail
It’s one of the most important and highly watched Senate races in the nation. Alaska is one of five states that went for Mitt Romney in 2012, and for which there is a Democratic Senator up for re-election next year. It’s a power seat, with the potential to tip the balance and change the country. Despite that fact, the Republicans who have lined up to take on incumbent Democrat Mark Begich seem a bit lackluster. And the one lacking the most luster seems to be the one who would be most likely to pose a real challenge to Begich in…