What an absolute shock this story was when I found it. Not even a week after the presidential election, and already, the red states are showing their asses in small, yet remarkably unrefined ways. WLBT TV reports on officials at Puckett Attendance Center telling a woman's daughters that they were only allowed to mention President-elect Barack Obama in history class. Not in any other class, nor in the hallways, but only in history class. No word on whether or not this mysterious decision applies to the cafeteria, the buses, or the parking lot. Only in red state Mississippi, where yes, they did go for Sen. John McCain, could politics collide with limericks in just this fashion:
"There once was a school in Puckett,
that didn't like the election and said fuck it..."
I'm not exactly a poet laureate, so I'll allow you to finish it, if you can. Hell, email me your best shot, and I'll reprint it here.
Naturally, when the girls' mother called the school, rightfully so, with a little "what the hell?," no explanation was given, nor was any school official ready to speak with WLBT when they called for some answers. Personally, I don't think any explanation is needed. Mississippi is a state full of hicks, always has been, always will be, and you'd be hard pressed to argue, based on the actions of the apparently bitter muckety mucks at the Puckett Attendance Center.
Showing posts with label John McCain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John McCain. Show all posts
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Now the questions begin
Well, I guess I put it off long enough. Then again, with scores of other writers and journalists weighing in on Tuesday's historic elections in today's Sunday newspapers, it's not like I'm waiting until February to really get started on dissecting Sen. Barack Obama's rise to become the President-elect of the United States.
It's fairly obvious to see how Obama won this election. Organization, fund-raising, staying on message, and avoiding the destructive attack tone of campaigning were points of order the Obama team clearly understood better than the slipshod McCain team. From the selection of an utterly unqualified and borderline incompetent running mate, to a stubborn insistence on attacking personal associations that McCain himself was just as close to, the Republicans could not have done a better job of laying down in the road as rush hour was beginning. The party's collapse into chaos has been striking, and more than a little fun to watch, as I haven't seen this much feeding upon itself than the time the four cannibals got caught at a REALLY long red light. If Sarah Palin is really being touted as the new face of the GOP, expect a lot more of the same four years from now. Whackjob, which is closer than most people understand, was more generous than I would have been, and is a lot more generous than I have, in fact been.
As for our new President-elect, the critics, bloggers, and journalists have been quick to start questioning whether or not change is really coming. Come on, people...it took a grand total of three days for me to see a commercial touting a Barack Obama commemorative coin. Made me wonder how many John McCain coins that company had to melt down on Wednesday morning, and how appropriate a term is melt down, considering how the last five or six weeks of the McCain-Palin, or Palin-Voices in her head campaigns went.
Granted, I can admit to a little skepticism. Some of the financial all-star team advising Obama throughout the campaign were already more than a little suspect, given their past roles in the deregulation of the financial industries that played a large part in getting us to the state we're in now. Paul Volcker? Robert Rubin? Larry freakin' Summers? I cannot argue against bringing in people with experience, but sometimes you simply need to hire new guards to work the room, not the guys who helped case the joint in the first place.
Much was made of President-elect Obama's first press conference last week, in which there was some fluff material about the selection of the new dog (or dogs, possibly) for the Obama children, and a humorous moment when Obama made an offhand joke about the reputed fondness for seances by former first lady Nancy Reagan, which Obama later said he called and apologized for. Me personally, I would not have done that. Not that I am entirely an unapologetic person, but let's get serious people, seances? I notice none of them included getting in touch with her husband's mind, after it went off to the great unknown during his second term.
As the first full week of the Obama-elect era winds down, I do find it promising that his transition advisers have compiled a substantial list of Bush administration moves that could be reversed, overturned, or simply tossed on the leaf fire out back. Key on this list are matters involving climate change, stem cell research, and reproductive rights. While I'm sure the religious nutcake factions of the right-wing are wringing hands, gnashing and weeping, and maybe even going to the Florida extent of praying and fasting on courthouse steps (we all saw how well that worked for those nimrods, in their hopes of getting an abortion opponent in the White House), the crucial matter is climate change. Anything our next president does in that neighborhood should start with tackling a repeal of the Clear Skies Act, and working with Congress to overturn the rollbacks enacted on the Clean Air Act.
I congratulate our new President, and I sincerely wish him the best of luck in the pursuit of his agenda, as most anything would be an improvement on the last eight years, just so long as he doesn't allow the ghosts of administrations past to whisper too loudly in his ear. We the people apparently craved change, as evidenced by the vote (for the record, I voted for neither Obama or McCain), but the bottom line for your next four years will be how you tread the very fine line between change we can believe in and just more of the business-as-usual politics this country settled for throughout this decade.
It's fairly obvious to see how Obama won this election. Organization, fund-raising, staying on message, and avoiding the destructive attack tone of campaigning were points of order the Obama team clearly understood better than the slipshod McCain team. From the selection of an utterly unqualified and borderline incompetent running mate, to a stubborn insistence on attacking personal associations that McCain himself was just as close to, the Republicans could not have done a better job of laying down in the road as rush hour was beginning. The party's collapse into chaos has been striking, and more than a little fun to watch, as I haven't seen this much feeding upon itself than the time the four cannibals got caught at a REALLY long red light. If Sarah Palin is really being touted as the new face of the GOP, expect a lot more of the same four years from now. Whackjob, which is closer than most people understand, was more generous than I would have been, and is a lot more generous than I have, in fact been.
As for our new President-elect, the critics, bloggers, and journalists have been quick to start questioning whether or not change is really coming. Come on, people...it took a grand total of three days for me to see a commercial touting a Barack Obama commemorative coin. Made me wonder how many John McCain coins that company had to melt down on Wednesday morning, and how appropriate a term is melt down, considering how the last five or six weeks of the McCain-Palin, or Palin-Voices in her head campaigns went.
Granted, I can admit to a little skepticism. Some of the financial all-star team advising Obama throughout the campaign were already more than a little suspect, given their past roles in the deregulation of the financial industries that played a large part in getting us to the state we're in now. Paul Volcker? Robert Rubin? Larry freakin' Summers? I cannot argue against bringing in people with experience, but sometimes you simply need to hire new guards to work the room, not the guys who helped case the joint in the first place.
Much was made of President-elect Obama's first press conference last week, in which there was some fluff material about the selection of the new dog (or dogs, possibly) for the Obama children, and a humorous moment when Obama made an offhand joke about the reputed fondness for seances by former first lady Nancy Reagan, which Obama later said he called and apologized for. Me personally, I would not have done that. Not that I am entirely an unapologetic person, but let's get serious people, seances? I notice none of them included getting in touch with her husband's mind, after it went off to the great unknown during his second term.
As the first full week of the Obama-elect era winds down, I do find it promising that his transition advisers have compiled a substantial list of Bush administration moves that could be reversed, overturned, or simply tossed on the leaf fire out back. Key on this list are matters involving climate change, stem cell research, and reproductive rights. While I'm sure the religious nutcake factions of the right-wing are wringing hands, gnashing and weeping, and maybe even going to the Florida extent of praying and fasting on courthouse steps (we all saw how well that worked for those nimrods, in their hopes of getting an abortion opponent in the White House), the crucial matter is climate change. Anything our next president does in that neighborhood should start with tackling a repeal of the Clear Skies Act, and working with Congress to overturn the rollbacks enacted on the Clean Air Act.
I congratulate our new President, and I sincerely wish him the best of luck in the pursuit of his agenda, as most anything would be an improvement on the last eight years, just so long as he doesn't allow the ghosts of administrations past to whisper too loudly in his ear. We the people apparently craved change, as evidenced by the vote (for the record, I voted for neither Obama or McCain), but the bottom line for your next four years will be how you tread the very fine line between change we can believe in and just more of the business-as-usual politics this country settled for throughout this decade.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
So, will all his friends be voting dumbass that night?
Rumor is building that country music legend Hank Williams, Jr. is seriously kicking around the notion of running for a U.S. Senate seat in Tennessee. While I shake my head slightly and roll my eyes, I'll, as always, allow you a moment at home to facepalm.
Williams, who has made appearances at ten McCain-Palin campaign stops, says he's quite motivated. Might as well be motivated by something other than reworking the lyrics to his hits to fit the flailing Republican presidential ticket or the intro to Monday Night Football, but come on, this?
While he hasn't taken any kind of formal action, like setting up an exploratory committee, he has reportedly been in contact with former Senators Bill Frist and Fred Thompson. Damn, I'm starting to think that faceplant he took off a mountain may have done more damage that originally thought. First, he hitches his wagon to the McCain-Palin campaign, the most inept presidential campaign in political history, and then he looks up Bill Frist and Fred Thompson for advice? Bill Frist, a doctor who famously tried to diagnose someone from what he saw on a freakin' videotape, and Fred Thompson, a capable actor whose brief flirtation with running for President proved he wouldn't even play a credible President on TV? Bottom line, Hank: leave the family tradition where it belongs, behind a guitar on a stage somewhere. Seriously.
Williams, who has made appearances at ten McCain-Palin campaign stops, says he's quite motivated. Might as well be motivated by something other than reworking the lyrics to his hits to fit the flailing Republican presidential ticket or the intro to Monday Night Football, but come on, this?
While he hasn't taken any kind of formal action, like setting up an exploratory committee, he has reportedly been in contact with former Senators Bill Frist and Fred Thompson. Damn, I'm starting to think that faceplant he took off a mountain may have done more damage that originally thought. First, he hitches his wagon to the McCain-Palin campaign, the most inept presidential campaign in political history, and then he looks up Bill Frist and Fred Thompson for advice? Bill Frist, a doctor who famously tried to diagnose someone from what he saw on a freakin' videotape, and Fred Thompson, a capable actor whose brief flirtation with running for President proved he wouldn't even play a credible President on TV? Bottom line, Hank: leave the family tradition where it belongs, behind a guitar on a stage somewhere. Seriously.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Probably Uncalled For Episode 71 Recap
Regarding the schmuck in Thomas Township, Michigan who got arrested for getting Bill and Monica with a car wash's vacuum cleaner...damn, buddy, I know times are tough financially for a lot of people here at the present, and 75 cents for a hummer, mechanical or otherwise, may be a hell of a deal, but if I may be so bold, just save up and buy a fucking Dustbuster. The people at Big Lots are not going to automatically assume you are in the market for a cheap companion that swallows, so you can check your social phobias, if any, at the door. An awkward 911 call kind of pales in comparison to spending a night in lock-up, although I'm sure you enthralled the holding cell with the woeful tale of love gone wrong in a car wash parking lot. You should be counting your lucky stars they didn't identify you in the news piece, dumbass...
I said it last night on the show, and I will say it again here- it sure seems like John McCain is already trying out bits and pieces of his concession speech, doesn't it? Already planning on going back to Arizona and serving out your Senate term? That does not sound like a man confident of his chances, and with 12 days to go, it's starting to look like you may have to leverage whatever political capital you have left to even keep your Senate seat, when it's all said and done...
To Frank Armstrong of Clearwater, Florida, the guy who says his Lexus was singled out for vandalism over the McCain-Palin sticker: uh, yeah...maybe if more than just your car was hit by the tools who scratched stuff in the paint, burned it with cigarettes, put a burned flag on the hood, and possibly drained the snake on it, and all cars involved had McCain-Palin stickers on it, then you might have a legitimate bitch. Yours was the only car? Sounds to me like you might have been a douchebag to begin with, political preferences aside...
Glad to see this election is already going to be handcuffed in some shape or fashion by all the hand-wringing over potential vote fraud, dirty tricks in registration, and purging of voter rolls. Anyone has to try and figure out why voter turnout in our country is so low (we are ranked 114th in the world in that category, by way of comparison, Cambodia is ranked 2nd in the world, and they do not have compulsory voting, either), look to the never-ending bullshit that has engulfed our country's "democratic" system of voting. No third parties are given anything resembling a level playing field, the rules become more confusing and/or petty each and every election cycle, and to say the very least, the removal of the process from non-partisan hands does nothing to ensure the bullshit will just get higher and more pungent on every lap...I mean, we have all seen what happens when a career-building, politically motivated Secretary of State (not naming names, Katherine Harris), gets in the mix...
The one change I am starting to hope for more than anything else in the aftermath of this election is Sarah Palin fading back into the woodwork in Alaska. Never before have I seen someone so ill-equipped to handle the national political stage. She makes Dan Quayle look like he discovered the Theory of Relativity, and she even makes Dubya look like he at least knows what he's doing, even though it's mostly been wrong and damn near criminal (and that's the stuff that wasn't flat criminal). Raving idiots like Palin and Rep. Michelle Bachman of Minnesota are the reason I said the cause of women in political roles is being set back for generations to come, and the more they talk, the more it seems like they are bending over backwards to prove me right. These know-nothing desperate housewife wannabes are perhaps the great new unseen danger in the political arena, and you don't even need a Saturday Night Live sketch to see that...
Which disturbs me more about "Great" Britain...that you need a license to throw away the fucking plastic wrap your brown bag lunch, or that doctors in the country need a new helping hand to figure out whether or not a patient is, in fact, dead? Neither. It's the fact they are still considered a world power of any sort. The nation has well went past even being a parody of themselves, and if it weren't for a handful of comedians and actors, they would have no export of any value, other than dumbass news stories for me to rip apart on my show each and every week...
What civic planning fucking genius puts a prison next door to a kindergarten? What moron allows a kindergarten to open next to a prison? Man, and to think, Brazil is on the verge of becoming a major player on the world stage due to their huge energy resources...then again, rather not think about that for the time being...
Switzerland feels it needs to pass a constitutional amendment to protect the dignity of plants? Allow me to facepalm briefly...what's next, People for the Ethical Treatment of Lettuce? Oh well, can't say too much...it's not like the United States has managed to come through on that "all men (or women) created equal" shit they've been touting for 200+ years now. Curious, though...what's the penalty for picking a wildflower from the side of the road? Are we talking a fine, or is there a jail term involved for violating the civil rights of a plant?...
Jeffrey Goldberg, the guy who has made a bit of a name for himself by going through airports coast-to-coast circumventing their security measures, most recently boarding a flight from Minneapolis-St.Paul International to Washington, DC with an Osama Bin Laden t-shirt on and a fake boarding pass with no photo ID on him, has to be applauded for showing us the business-as-usual operations of the Transportation Security Administration. For a country whose government has went above and beyond in playing the fear card in racheting up "homeland security," this is hardly a shock. Borders are not secure, shipping ports are not secure, and so on and so forth. What I want to know is, while Goldberg's quest may be noble, what did he have to Google up to find an "inflatable Arafat doll," and did he use a fake name to order it? There's exposing lax security, and then there's having your name linked to that kind of purchase...
My condolences to the private investigators in Australia...I mean, it had to be a tough life already, getting laid in the name of the common good, but now, just a promise of sex for money is evidence enough? I sense a sudden drop-off in the numbers of PI's doing their thing, so to speak, down under, so to speak...
Great show again, as always, in my less-than-humble opinion. Quick shout outs to friends of the show Jennifer Dunn, dealing with an illness in the family, and Tinkerbell, who has been hospitalized for illness the last couple of days and may be facing surgery. I told Jennifer I have no use for organized religion, but for both these longtime friends of myself and co-host ppdingles, I'll pray for them, and I would ask that fans and listeners of the show would keep them in their thoughts and prayers as well. See you all next week, for an all-new episode.
I said it last night on the show, and I will say it again here- it sure seems like John McCain is already trying out bits and pieces of his concession speech, doesn't it? Already planning on going back to Arizona and serving out your Senate term? That does not sound like a man confident of his chances, and with 12 days to go, it's starting to look like you may have to leverage whatever political capital you have left to even keep your Senate seat, when it's all said and done...
To Frank Armstrong of Clearwater, Florida, the guy who says his Lexus was singled out for vandalism over the McCain-Palin sticker: uh, yeah...maybe if more than just your car was hit by the tools who scratched stuff in the paint, burned it with cigarettes, put a burned flag on the hood, and possibly drained the snake on it, and all cars involved had McCain-Palin stickers on it, then you might have a legitimate bitch. Yours was the only car? Sounds to me like you might have been a douchebag to begin with, political preferences aside...
Glad to see this election is already going to be handcuffed in some shape or fashion by all the hand-wringing over potential vote fraud, dirty tricks in registration, and purging of voter rolls. Anyone has to try and figure out why voter turnout in our country is so low (we are ranked 114th in the world in that category, by way of comparison, Cambodia is ranked 2nd in the world, and they do not have compulsory voting, either), look to the never-ending bullshit that has engulfed our country's "democratic" system of voting. No third parties are given anything resembling a level playing field, the rules become more confusing and/or petty each and every election cycle, and to say the very least, the removal of the process from non-partisan hands does nothing to ensure the bullshit will just get higher and more pungent on every lap...I mean, we have all seen what happens when a career-building, politically motivated Secretary of State (not naming names, Katherine Harris), gets in the mix...
The one change I am starting to hope for more than anything else in the aftermath of this election is Sarah Palin fading back into the woodwork in Alaska. Never before have I seen someone so ill-equipped to handle the national political stage. She makes Dan Quayle look like he discovered the Theory of Relativity, and she even makes Dubya look like he at least knows what he's doing, even though it's mostly been wrong and damn near criminal (and that's the stuff that wasn't flat criminal). Raving idiots like Palin and Rep. Michelle Bachman of Minnesota are the reason I said the cause of women in political roles is being set back for generations to come, and the more they talk, the more it seems like they are bending over backwards to prove me right. These know-nothing desperate housewife wannabes are perhaps the great new unseen danger in the political arena, and you don't even need a Saturday Night Live sketch to see that...
Which disturbs me more about "Great" Britain...that you need a license to throw away the fucking plastic wrap your brown bag lunch, or that doctors in the country need a new helping hand to figure out whether or not a patient is, in fact, dead? Neither. It's the fact they are still considered a world power of any sort. The nation has well went past even being a parody of themselves, and if it weren't for a handful of comedians and actors, they would have no export of any value, other than dumbass news stories for me to rip apart on my show each and every week...
What civic planning fucking genius puts a prison next door to a kindergarten? What moron allows a kindergarten to open next to a prison? Man, and to think, Brazil is on the verge of becoming a major player on the world stage due to their huge energy resources...then again, rather not think about that for the time being...
Switzerland feels it needs to pass a constitutional amendment to protect the dignity of plants? Allow me to facepalm briefly...what's next, People for the Ethical Treatment of Lettuce? Oh well, can't say too much...it's not like the United States has managed to come through on that "all men (or women) created equal" shit they've been touting for 200+ years now. Curious, though...what's the penalty for picking a wildflower from the side of the road? Are we talking a fine, or is there a jail term involved for violating the civil rights of a plant?...
Jeffrey Goldberg, the guy who has made a bit of a name for himself by going through airports coast-to-coast circumventing their security measures, most recently boarding a flight from Minneapolis-St.Paul International to Washington, DC with an Osama Bin Laden t-shirt on and a fake boarding pass with no photo ID on him, has to be applauded for showing us the business-as-usual operations of the Transportation Security Administration. For a country whose government has went above and beyond in playing the fear card in racheting up "homeland security," this is hardly a shock. Borders are not secure, shipping ports are not secure, and so on and so forth. What I want to know is, while Goldberg's quest may be noble, what did he have to Google up to find an "inflatable Arafat doll," and did he use a fake name to order it? There's exposing lax security, and then there's having your name linked to that kind of purchase...
My condolences to the private investigators in Australia...I mean, it had to be a tough life already, getting laid in the name of the common good, but now, just a promise of sex for money is evidence enough? I sense a sudden drop-off in the numbers of PI's doing their thing, so to speak, down under, so to speak...
Great show again, as always, in my less-than-humble opinion. Quick shout outs to friends of the show Jennifer Dunn, dealing with an illness in the family, and Tinkerbell, who has been hospitalized for illness the last couple of days and may be facing surgery. I told Jennifer I have no use for organized religion, but for both these longtime friends of myself and co-host ppdingles, I'll pray for them, and I would ask that fans and listeners of the show would keep them in their thoughts and prayers as well. See you all next week, for an all-new episode.
Monday, October 20, 2008
What the...?
Well, folks, tomorrow leaves only two weeks until the end of the longest presidential election campaign I believe this country has ever seen. Also, one of the dirtiest on behalf of the Republican Party. John McCain and Sarah Palin (they have both dishonored and disgraced their individual titles, and I am not going to put them in) have redefined the words slime and sleaze as we know them!
Now, of all things for a Republican to complain of, McCain says Obama has raised too much money! And since everyone knows that too much money corrupts and causes scandal, I would say if anyone would know this, it would be a Republican, not the least to say a woman who has been found to have violated state ethics standards and a former member of the Keating 5!
Now, of all things for a Republican to complain of, McCain says Obama has raised too much money! And since everyone knows that too much money corrupts and causes scandal, I would say if anyone would know this, it would be a Republican, not the least to say a woman who has been found to have violated state ethics standards and a former member of the Keating 5!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Palin's reflection of herself? Yeah, don't stare too long...
Kathleen Parker wrote in her syndicated column yesterday wondering how the mainstream media can improve their image. Other than actually acting like most journalists used to, I can't think of a more solid, or to the point answer.
Worrying about Barack Obama's so-called connection with former 60's radical William Ayers, but nary touching a stone about the governor of Alaska not only addressing the convention of a secessionist group (of which her husband was, and may yet still be a member of) and letting the group know to "keep up the good work" could be a good starting point. That the sitting governor of a state apparently agrees with the stances of a group that wants the very state he or she runs should be more of a focus than that of a charity board, on whom both Democrats and Republicans have served in the past.
Wringing hands over Barack Obama's attendance of a church whose pastor has occasionally made what could be considered inflammatory remarks in the past should pale slightly in comparison with Palin's one-time (or current, I keep losing the scorecard) pastor, who flat honestly believes in witchcraft, or John McCain's past endorsements from some the most half-baked elements of intolerance disguised as representatives of Christianity. If anything, credit could be extended to Palin for somehow making the case that we might be able to accept a Wiccan or Pagan practitioner in the White House. After all, witchcraft is as witchcraft does, I suppose.
The concept that Sarah Palin knows very little about important policy areas such as foreign policy may be brushed off, in comparison with presidents and vice-presidents past, although to the best of my knowledge, none of the previous ever used "well, I have heard of them before" as an answer to questions of capability. I have heard of base jumping, but you'll never get my pale white behind on the ledge of a skyscraper, parachute or otherwise, so I hardly think my mere knowledge qualifies me to run a base jump association. Rather, it is her more-than-apparent flexibility with the nutcases who attend her rallies yelling "kill him!" in reference to one of her opponents. It would be far less disconcerting if Palin were simply just in favor of succession from the nation by Alaska than in trying her level-headed best to get a presidential candidate shot.
It is Parker's opinion that Palin's supporters see themselves in her, and ultimately, how frightening could that wind up being, given the people that Palin herself has been palling around with? Parker asserts that Palin's "lack of polish and knowledge feels like an absence of slickness and glibness" to her supporters.
That's just flat wrong. After eight years of an administration utterly void of slickness, that perpetuation cannot be allowed to continue unchecked. Glibness? That might be great fodder for a cocktail party, but hardly in relation to the White House. Palin's got polish, folks, but let's not kid ourselves here. She's been polished with a dangerously crazy rag, and we are already seeing more than enough evidence of how the fumes have gotten to her.
Worrying about Barack Obama's so-called connection with former 60's radical William Ayers, but nary touching a stone about the governor of Alaska not only addressing the convention of a secessionist group (of which her husband was, and may yet still be a member of) and letting the group know to "keep up the good work" could be a good starting point. That the sitting governor of a state apparently agrees with the stances of a group that wants the very state he or she runs should be more of a focus than that of a charity board, on whom both Democrats and Republicans have served in the past.
Wringing hands over Barack Obama's attendance of a church whose pastor has occasionally made what could be considered inflammatory remarks in the past should pale slightly in comparison with Palin's one-time (or current, I keep losing the scorecard) pastor, who flat honestly believes in witchcraft, or John McCain's past endorsements from some the most half-baked elements of intolerance disguised as representatives of Christianity. If anything, credit could be extended to Palin for somehow making the case that we might be able to accept a Wiccan or Pagan practitioner in the White House. After all, witchcraft is as witchcraft does, I suppose.
The concept that Sarah Palin knows very little about important policy areas such as foreign policy may be brushed off, in comparison with presidents and vice-presidents past, although to the best of my knowledge, none of the previous ever used "well, I have heard of them before" as an answer to questions of capability. I have heard of base jumping, but you'll never get my pale white behind on the ledge of a skyscraper, parachute or otherwise, so I hardly think my mere knowledge qualifies me to run a base jump association. Rather, it is her more-than-apparent flexibility with the nutcases who attend her rallies yelling "kill him!" in reference to one of her opponents. It would be far less disconcerting if Palin were simply just in favor of succession from the nation by Alaska than in trying her level-headed best to get a presidential candidate shot.
It is Parker's opinion that Palin's supporters see themselves in her, and ultimately, how frightening could that wind up being, given the people that Palin herself has been palling around with? Parker asserts that Palin's "lack of polish and knowledge feels like an absence of slickness and glibness" to her supporters.
That's just flat wrong. After eight years of an administration utterly void of slickness, that perpetuation cannot be allowed to continue unchecked. Glibness? That might be great fodder for a cocktail party, but hardly in relation to the White House. Palin's got polish, folks, but let's not kid ourselves here. She's been polished with a dangerously crazy rag, and we are already seeing more than enough evidence of how the fumes have gotten to her.
Monday, October 13, 2008
McCain's search for comprehension
I wonder when the epiphany is going to strike...I truly wonder when that day between now and the first Tuesday of November arrives, and the light bulb fires up over John McCain's head, and the realization finally sets in.
"I couldn't have done a better job of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory if I was the 'B' fighter in a Don King pay-per-view main event."
Granted, that may not be what the Senator from Arizona has flash through his head verbatim, but it probably won't be that far from the truth. As the 2008 presidential election winds down, do you think McCain is starting to compile his mental laundry list of what went wrong? I mean, let's not kid ourselves here, we're talking about a guy who went from being a Republican candidate I would have potentially voted for in 2000 to just another poorly sewn-together Dubya knock-off...a flip-flopping, rambling, clueless man stuck firmly in the grasp of denial.
Was it hiring an all-star team of utter douchebags to run your campaign? Was it picking the original Desperate Housewife as your running mate? Was it briefly (or still, I can't keep track of my scorecard) running the dirtiest campaign of the televised political era? What will be the one thing McCain chalks up as the reason he finds himself sitting in whichever the hell house it will be on November 5, drinking Ovaltine and bottom shelf vodka and celebrating a second-place finish?
Was it letting his wife give stump speeches when she was not busy swiping recipes from every other website she could get her hands on? Was it his running mate setting back the cause of women in politics for decades to come? Was it the leading conservatives, from George Will to Bill Kristol to Kathleen Parker to even Newt friggin' Gingrich falling all over themselves to proclaim that, in fact, this shit is bananas? I guess we'll have to wait until November 5, cause if I tried to individually list all the possible causes, that's how long I'd be sitting here typing.
"I couldn't have done a better job of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory if I was the 'B' fighter in a Don King pay-per-view main event."
Granted, that may not be what the Senator from Arizona has flash through his head verbatim, but it probably won't be that far from the truth. As the 2008 presidential election winds down, do you think McCain is starting to compile his mental laundry list of what went wrong? I mean, let's not kid ourselves here, we're talking about a guy who went from being a Republican candidate I would have potentially voted for in 2000 to just another poorly sewn-together Dubya knock-off...a flip-flopping, rambling, clueless man stuck firmly in the grasp of denial.
Was it hiring an all-star team of utter douchebags to run your campaign? Was it picking the original Desperate Housewife as your running mate? Was it briefly (or still, I can't keep track of my scorecard) running the dirtiest campaign of the televised political era? What will be the one thing McCain chalks up as the reason he finds himself sitting in whichever the hell house it will be on November 5, drinking Ovaltine and bottom shelf vodka and celebrating a second-place finish?
Was it letting his wife give stump speeches when she was not busy swiping recipes from every other website she could get her hands on? Was it his running mate setting back the cause of women in politics for decades to come? Was it the leading conservatives, from George Will to Bill Kristol to Kathleen Parker to even Newt friggin' Gingrich falling all over themselves to proclaim that, in fact, this shit is bananas? I guess we'll have to wait until November 5, cause if I tried to individually list all the possible causes, that's how long I'd be sitting here typing.
Friday, September 26, 2008
The boning we're taking pales to the screwing we're in store for
Oh, well, business as usual. This eternal campaign rolls on and on, and the longer it lasts, the more certain I am that at this point it really doesn't matter who wins, this country is SCREWED!
You've got John McCain, who wants to grandstand with our economy to get elected. You've got one Vice-Presidential nominee who is as bad as Dick Cheney, only female. And last but not least you have another running mate who is playing bashful, just like he's not sure this is where he wants to be.
You've got a Congress who can't seem to do anything! Republicans acting like Democrats used to, Democrats doing a good imitation of wimps, and the total sum of all this business as usual - nothing getting done.
WE can't even immigrate to another country, no one wants Americans. And if we tried to do it illegally, you can damn sure bet the bank, we'd be tossed out on our asses!
Guess all we can do is sit back and wait for the chips to fall where they may.
You've got John McCain, who wants to grandstand with our economy to get elected. You've got one Vice-Presidential nominee who is as bad as Dick Cheney, only female. And last but not least you have another running mate who is playing bashful, just like he's not sure this is where he wants to be.
You've got a Congress who can't seem to do anything! Republicans acting like Democrats used to, Democrats doing a good imitation of wimps, and the total sum of all this business as usual - nothing getting done.
WE can't even immigrate to another country, no one wants Americans. And if we tried to do it illegally, you can damn sure bet the bank, we'd be tossed out on our asses!
Guess all we can do is sit back and wait for the chips to fall where they may.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Does this guy own a Farking calendar?
I know from personal experience, as a blogger and author, that sometimes I've encountered a slow news week or writer's block, where you just don't have that much to work with. Given the way last week went, as I was without power for over five days due to remnants of Hurricane Ike kicking Kentuckiana's ass, the inability to react to current events and post to the blogs was irritating, but I countered by writing up a 6,000 word or so piece, which we plan on releasing as an ebook in the coming weeks. Not only did I keep busy, but I managed to at least stay current.
More than I can say for some of the submitters to Fark.com, the popular website that collects news stories from all corners of the Internet, offering often hysterical comments next to the link. (In the interest of full disclosure, my May 15, 2008 article, "These numbers wouldn't even make sense if you were high" was submitted by a reader to the site, no doubt thanks to a reference to Fark in the article).
Today, in between football games and checking on my fantasy teams, I was perusing Fark (a daily ritual for me), when I saw the story of some clerk with a single-digit IQ accepting a $200 bill featuring President and idiot savant (sans savant) George W. Bush, giving back $50 in change on a grocery purchase in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. I thought this story sounded familiar...
...and for good reason, I would discover upon closer examination. The story in question was from June 1, 2007.
WTF? I'm guessing that not only does that Farker not own a calendar, but also is not very political, as there is a veritable treasure trove of stories, either involving John McCain's latest round of "What I meant to say was..." or Sarah Palin's newest asshat behavior (and trust me, folks, there is hardly a shortage of those going around). The fans of Fark would no doubt enjoy those more that rehashing some nonsense that happened over a fucking year ago.
Maybe Fark could use a "classic" or "archive" tag to go along with "stupid" or "asinine."
More than I can say for some of the submitters to Fark.com, the popular website that collects news stories from all corners of the Internet, offering often hysterical comments next to the link. (In the interest of full disclosure, my May 15, 2008 article, "These numbers wouldn't even make sense if you were high" was submitted by a reader to the site, no doubt thanks to a reference to Fark in the article).
Today, in between football games and checking on my fantasy teams, I was perusing Fark (a daily ritual for me), when I saw the story of some clerk with a single-digit IQ accepting a $200 bill featuring President and idiot savant (sans savant) George W. Bush, giving back $50 in change on a grocery purchase in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. I thought this story sounded familiar...
...and for good reason, I would discover upon closer examination. The story in question was from June 1, 2007.
WTF? I'm guessing that not only does that Farker not own a calendar, but also is not very political, as there is a veritable treasure trove of stories, either involving John McCain's latest round of "What I meant to say was..." or Sarah Palin's newest asshat behavior (and trust me, folks, there is hardly a shortage of those going around). The fans of Fark would no doubt enjoy those more that rehashing some nonsense that happened over a fucking year ago.
Maybe Fark could use a "classic" or "archive" tag to go along with "stupid" or "asinine."
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Saturday morning political post
Sometimes, you get the impression Republicans in Alaska are hoping Sarah Palin will get elected Vice-President because they are Republicans, and others, because she will be in D.C. more than Alaska. At least they hope, one way or another, I suppose. The Senate Judiciary Committee in Alaska voted 3-2 to issue 13 subpoenas in their Troopergate investigation, including one to Todd Palin. The Republican-controlled committee had one member jump party line to help the vote pass, and wouldn't you just know it would be Charles Huggins, who represents Wasilla. And this after the President of the State Senate, another Republican, said in no uncertain terms what she thought of Palin's...ahem...qualification to be Vice-President. Although, when you think about it, doesn't this make Huggins a maverick, a maverick's maverick, and someone who is willing to battle his own party in the battle against corruption, therefore, being absolutely qualified for that position as well? Maybe we can get GOP big wig to give him the precursory 15 minute lookover...
...as for John McCain, he seems to be further distancing himself from reality, recently remarking that running mate Sarah Palin "knows more about energy than probably anyone else in the United States of America." Holy damn, Senator, are you shitting me? I'm sure your family may enjoy when you gather around the fire of whichever home it is you currently remember owning and spin tall tales, but could somebody squeaky toy you back to the here and now, cause that certainly isn't the dumbest thing you've ever said, but it certainly is the dumbest thing you said this week...
...Amazing how little time to took for Obama to retaliate in the mudslinging. Not that anybody can blame him, but his recent "When you hear John McCain talking about putting 'Country First,' it's fair to ask- which country?," does sound like it could be questioning McCain's patriotism, although it is doubtful that was the context of the remark. After all, it's not like McCain's done a lot to keep jobs from leaving the country left and right...
...Finally, since it's hard enough for Libertarians to get any coverage, Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr recently scored with a shot across Sarah Palin's bow during the 15th Annual Funniest Celebrity in Washington Contest Wednesday night at the DC Improv club. Barr's line? "Does anybody know what the difference between a bulldog and a hockey mom is?""The bulldog gets vetted!" Damn shame he isn't going to win, although I do like the fact he's polling high in several states thus far in the campaign. The fundraiser also featured former presidential candidate (although eventual contest winner) Mike Huckabee.
...as for John McCain, he seems to be further distancing himself from reality, recently remarking that running mate Sarah Palin "knows more about energy than probably anyone else in the United States of America." Holy damn, Senator, are you shitting me? I'm sure your family may enjoy when you gather around the fire of whichever home it is you currently remember owning and spin tall tales, but could somebody squeaky toy you back to the here and now, cause that certainly isn't the dumbest thing you've ever said, but it certainly is the dumbest thing you said this week...
...Amazing how little time to took for Obama to retaliate in the mudslinging. Not that anybody can blame him, but his recent "When you hear John McCain talking about putting 'Country First,' it's fair to ask- which country?," does sound like it could be questioning McCain's patriotism, although it is doubtful that was the context of the remark. After all, it's not like McCain's done a lot to keep jobs from leaving the country left and right...
...Finally, since it's hard enough for Libertarians to get any coverage, Libertarian presidential candidate Bob Barr recently scored with a shot across Sarah Palin's bow during the 15th Annual Funniest Celebrity in Washington Contest Wednesday night at the DC Improv club. Barr's line? "Does anybody know what the difference between a bulldog and a hockey mom is?""The bulldog gets vetted!" Damn shame he isn't going to win, although I do like the fact he's polling high in several states thus far in the campaign. The fundraiser also featured former presidential candidate (although eventual contest winner) Mike Huckabee.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Cause I'm Mom, Damnit #6
My son says I have been slacking off on my writing, and it's true, but the news is just so depressing you get tired of writing about it.
Like Sarah Palin. I tell you, I am already sick of the name and wish I had never heard it. For the love of God, you would think she is the second coming of Joan of Arc or a female Pied Piper, when all she is, is a politician! We all know a politician will say anything to get elected, then not recall anything they've said once in office.
As I've said before, just get this election over with. If we get McCain/Palin, the rich will get richer, and the poor will get poorer. If we get Obama/Biden, I don't think we'll see much change, because Congress runs this country, and we've seen their performance over the last eight years.
This country was formed in part because its citizens did not like taxation without representation, and two hundred years later, we still have taxation without representation!
So really, all we can look forward to us business as usual, we just have to watch and listen to all the games before we get there!
Like Sarah Palin. I tell you, I am already sick of the name and wish I had never heard it. For the love of God, you would think she is the second coming of Joan of Arc or a female Pied Piper, when all she is, is a politician! We all know a politician will say anything to get elected, then not recall anything they've said once in office.
As I've said before, just get this election over with. If we get McCain/Palin, the rich will get richer, and the poor will get poorer. If we get Obama/Biden, I don't think we'll see much change, because Congress runs this country, and we've seen their performance over the last eight years.
This country was formed in part because its citizens did not like taxation without representation, and two hundred years later, we still have taxation without representation!
So really, all we can look forward to us business as usual, we just have to watch and listen to all the games before we get there!
Monday, September 1, 2008
When did the Palin's marriage vows include sharing the Governor's duties?
I keep meaning to write about something besides politics, but there is just so much happening, that I must comment on.
Case in point, a governor who uses the power of her position, to wash her family's dirty laundry in public! But bear in mind, so far all we are getting is her and her family's version of exactly what has happened- apparently you had better not get on her wrong side- can't wait for this soap opera to get to the White House if she and John McCain should get elected.
I also thought Sarah Palin is Governor of Alaska, but apparently her husband has been getting in on the action in some small but still inappropriate ways. According to news reports, Todd Palin invited Walter Monegan, Public Safety Commissioner (whom his wife appointed) to the Governor's mansion in January 2007 to ask him to look into his ex-brother-in-law, state trooper Mike Wooten's case. He was told the case was closed. This was then followed up by Gov. Palin in cell phone calls and emails, leading to this last July, when Monegan was fired because she wanted "to go in a different direction," or in other words, a direction she could more easily influence.
So if she and McCain are elected, are we going to have two Vice-Presidents?
Case in point, a governor who uses the power of her position, to wash her family's dirty laundry in public! But bear in mind, so far all we are getting is her and her family's version of exactly what has happened- apparently you had better not get on her wrong side- can't wait for this soap opera to get to the White House if she and John McCain should get elected.
I also thought Sarah Palin is Governor of Alaska, but apparently her husband has been getting in on the action in some small but still inappropriate ways. According to news reports, Todd Palin invited Walter Monegan, Public Safety Commissioner (whom his wife appointed) to the Governor's mansion in January 2007 to ask him to look into his ex-brother-in-law, state trooper Mike Wooten's case. He was told the case was closed. This was then followed up by Gov. Palin in cell phone calls and emails, leading to this last July, when Monegan was fired because she wanted "to go in a different direction," or in other words, a direction she could more easily influence.
So if she and McCain are elected, are we going to have two Vice-Presidents?
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Wonder if this interrupted helping McCain blow out the candles on his birthday cake?
While John McCain was having Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin metaphorically jump from his birthday cake yesterday, announcing her puzzling selection as the GOP vice-presidential candidate, President Bush was attempting to look busy, you know, now that the sand's almost run through the hourglass on his presidency (and thank God or your personal deity of choice for that).
Early this morning, according to reports from the AP, Bush was in contact with the governors of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas, co-ordinating efforts to brace for the impending arrival of Hurricane Gustav, which has hit wind speeds of up to 120mph as it prepares to bitchslap Cuba on its way to the United States. White House yeshole Scott Stanzel said Bush told the governors of those states they'd have the full support of the federal government.
I'm sure that made a lot of people feel better- as they were getting the fuck out of Dodge, so to speak. I'll bet the consensus is simple "keep your jacked-up FEMA trailers, and go read to some kids or something." I'm sure Bush could use a little help on his phonics, and who better to assist than some NCLB "success" stories? Of course, knowing our, ahem, president, he'll wind up bringing a pop-up book with him.
Here's to hoping for the best for the Gulf Coast, although personally, I think they're fucked...
Early this morning, according to reports from the AP, Bush was in contact with the governors of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas, co-ordinating efforts to brace for the impending arrival of Hurricane Gustav, which has hit wind speeds of up to 120mph as it prepares to bitchslap Cuba on its way to the United States. White House yeshole Scott Stanzel said Bush told the governors of those states they'd have the full support of the federal government.
I'm sure that made a lot of people feel better- as they were getting the fuck out of Dodge, so to speak. I'll bet the consensus is simple "keep your jacked-up FEMA trailers, and go read to some kids or something." I'm sure Bush could use a little help on his phonics, and who better to assist than some NCLB "success" stories? Of course, knowing our, ahem, president, he'll wind up bringing a pop-up book with him.
Here's to hoping for the best for the Gulf Coast, although personally, I think they're fucked...
Look out! I think she may be rabid!
Well, John McCain unveiled his choice for his running mate yesterday, and I must say he apparently picked very well. The moment his pick, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, got in front of cameras and microphones, she started flip-flopping on what she's done or not done!
But to my way of thinking, what is really frightening about her is the way they kept saying she is rabid anti-abortion, rabid this and rabid that...
Rabid is just another word for fanatical, and after the last eight years, that is just what we do not need in the White House, be it President or Vice-President!
But to my way of thinking, what is really frightening about her is the way they kept saying she is rabid anti-abortion, rabid this and rabid that...
Rabid is just another word for fanatical, and after the last eight years, that is just what we do not need in the White House, be it President or Vice-President!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
A continued disservice?
I read an excellent column in the Courier-Journal this morning entitled "Listen to Hillary, not the silence of Ellen James," by Pam Platt. In the column she discussed how the women's suffrage movement, that eventually gained women the right to vote, started long before the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920.
If women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony had been as easily discouraged as it seems some of Hillary's followers apparently are, we'd probably still be working toward gaining the right for women to vote.
As the column pointed out, Hillary's supporters can do as the women in The World According to Garp and cut their tongues out, i.e. vote for John McCain in pique, or they can continue to strive to see a woman elected President!
As I am sure everyone has heard- Rome was not built in a day. Women's equality has evolved over a long period of time, and is still doing so.
Don't blow it now, ladies!
If women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony had been as easily discouraged as it seems some of Hillary's followers apparently are, we'd probably still be working toward gaining the right for women to vote.
As the column pointed out, Hillary's supporters can do as the women in The World According to Garp and cut their tongues out, i.e. vote for John McCain in pique, or they can continue to strive to see a woman elected President!
As I am sure everyone has heard- Rome was not built in a day. Women's equality has evolved over a long period of time, and is still doing so.
Don't blow it now, ladies!
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Cause I'm Mom, Damnit! #5
I will just never understand people- some of the very same people who have complained long and loud about the Bush administration say they will vote for John McCain rather than Barack Obama! If they do this, they might as well have kept quiet the last eight years.
In case someone has forgotten to tell them, there is an alternative, vote for Bob Barr, Libertarian Party candidate for President!
I think it is pretty obvious that if John McCain is elected president, he will find a way to restore the draft. Can this country never learn from its mistakes? You would think that Vietnam and now the current quagmire in Iraq and Afghanistan would have brought this point home once and for all!
I think all Americans know, even those who don't wish to admit it, that the Bush administration has thoroughly trashed America's image on the world stage.
Now we have the ongoing hoopla of a presidential campaign that has gone on seven steps past forever! I have heard the media make less ballyhoo over Oscar nominees than has been reported on the identity of the potential Democratic vice-presidential pick for Obama. Instead of covering the issues that really matter to the majority of Americans, they let one candidate slide on pretty well everything.
John McCain apparently believes that having been a prisoner of war for 5 1/2 years, 35 to 40 years ago, makes him the only one qualified to be President! I, although never a POW, served 6 years in the United States Army, 35 to 40 years ago, so am I equally qualified to be President?
It just gets more and more ludicrous day by day that a man whose yearly budget for his servants is more than most 20 Americans combined even make in a year, and this is a guy who isn't even sure of how many houses he has, doesn't know what kind of car he drives, and he is supposed to be able to lead this country out of quagmires both military and financial? I think not!
In case someone has forgotten to tell them, there is an alternative, vote for Bob Barr, Libertarian Party candidate for President!
I think it is pretty obvious that if John McCain is elected president, he will find a way to restore the draft. Can this country never learn from its mistakes? You would think that Vietnam and now the current quagmire in Iraq and Afghanistan would have brought this point home once and for all!
I think all Americans know, even those who don't wish to admit it, that the Bush administration has thoroughly trashed America's image on the world stage.
Now we have the ongoing hoopla of a presidential campaign that has gone on seven steps past forever! I have heard the media make less ballyhoo over Oscar nominees than has been reported on the identity of the potential Democratic vice-presidential pick for Obama. Instead of covering the issues that really matter to the majority of Americans, they let one candidate slide on pretty well everything.
John McCain apparently believes that having been a prisoner of war for 5 1/2 years, 35 to 40 years ago, makes him the only one qualified to be President! I, although never a POW, served 6 years in the United States Army, 35 to 40 years ago, so am I equally qualified to be President?
It just gets more and more ludicrous day by day that a man whose yearly budget for his servants is more than most 20 Americans combined even make in a year, and this is a guy who isn't even sure of how many houses he has, doesn't know what kind of car he drives, and he is supposed to be able to lead this country out of quagmires both military and financial? I think not!
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