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Live Blogging the Presidential Debate, October 7, 2008
2008-10-08 03:08:00 McCain claims he?s strong at town hall style debates, but he seems tightly wound and awkwardMcCain stands too close to people he is addressingBoth candidates have an annoying tendency to punctuate each emphasized word with a hand gesture, timing the emphasis words with thehand gesture--wish they'd stop thatTom Brokow strikes me as a little too elderly to be effective, maybe a touch forgetfulEver notice that McCain has an awkward gait? I know he was injured during his time as a POWWhy does McCain wear his suits so that there is way too much space under the arms. They don't fit correctly.What does the bailout mean to me question Obama answered beautifully, also getting in a dig at McCainEw. I do not like the way McCain walks around while Obama is speaking, does a gritted teeth, tight smile, and looks away--like a student who dislikes his teacherHow much of the votes of ordinary people depends on how likeable or unlikeable the candidates are? Certainly, Gore got a lot of flack for th... More About: Presidential , Blogging , Debate , Live , Progressive Politics
Palin v. Biden: Unamused by the Howdy Doody Schtick, Goshdarnit
2008-10-03 18:37:00 On Sarah PalinReagan in a skirt, laying on the homespun, Howdy Doody schtick THICK?that is what went through my head as I cringed and suffered though almost every Sarah Palin answer in last night's debate. If you could call spewing talking points, flirting with the audience, and milking the I'm-just-a-regular-gal thing answering questions. Sarah Palin's version of answering pattern goes something like this "Generality, generality, I know how it feels [wink, wink, smile, smile], generality." Functionally stupid is the best way I can characterize how Sarah Palin comes across, although I never could have conceived of the idea until I got a stomach full of it with Bush. Not low-IQ or utterly ignorant exactly, but perhaps unable to think in terms of specifics. Locked into a generalities-only schema. Functional stupidity is a sort of banality of fuzzy thinking that also swirled around the German leaders of WWII?they stuck to generalities and were able to get away with all manner of atr... More About: Progressive Politics , Election 2008 , Biden
?But Palin's an Excellent Debater??WTF? Advice to Biden
2008-10-01 15:14:00 Normal 0 false false false /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Normal 0 false false false /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-f... More About: Advice , Election 2008 , Biden , Excellent
Financial Bailout Super-duper Crib Sheet
2008-10-01 01:56:00 Thanks, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, my utter, hands-down favorite U.S. politico. I would do anything for this man and I do mean anything (but alas, his wife is gorgeous). Here's what he has to say by way of a quickie but not tricky shorthand for the financial crisis and the bailout. It rings true to me. If nothing else, remember this choice soundbite?Profits are capitalized, Losses are socialized. Sound fair to you?Here is a very quick explanation of the $700 billion bailout within the context of the mechanics of our monetary and banking system: The taxpayers loan money to the banks. But the taxpayers do not have the money. So we have to borrow it from the banks to give it back to the banks. But the banks do not have the money to loan to the government. So they create it into existence (through a mechanism called fractional reserve) and then loan it to us, at interest, so we can then give it back to them. Confused? This is the system. This is the standard mechanism used to expand th... More About: Financial , Super , Sheet , Progressive Politics , Crib
Who Won the Debate? Obama Respectful to McCain, McCain Disses Obama
2008-09-27 16:33:00 One of the more interesting commentaries about the first presidential debate, this exchange picks up on John McCain's lack of eye contact (very noticeable during the 90 minutes) and the way McCain seemed to turn a cold shoulder or even diss Obama , who could not be a more worthy opponent. For my part, I noticed more the way Obama did deal well with including and respecting McCain, during even the more heated moments (too few for me). Obama repeated throughout the night, "John is absolutely right about . . . " In fact, I actually wished he'd been more pugnacious toward McCain. But he came off as more of a John Kerry with sharp teeth (and how I loved his pointed rejoinders).For the next presidential debate, I'd suggest Obama come up with a few choice anecdotes (people love that Reaganesque storytelling shtick), some more sound bites to sprinkle in as a preacher would (we need something repeatable--a chorus, if you will), and a few full-on jabs. Intellectually, though, I couldn't ha... More About: Debate , Election 2008
McCain Camp Declares McCain the Debate Winner Prior to Debate
2008-09-26 19:15:00 John McCain clearly has some media publishers eating out of his wrinkled hand. This morning, hours before the Presidential Debate scheduled for tonight, the Wall Street Journal online edition, broadcast this Internet ad, declaring, "McCain Wins Debate! Paid for by McCain?Palin 2008." (Thanks, WashingtonPost.com for scooping this.)Shut up! McCain's staffers have extrasensory perception and can tell the outcome of an event that has not happened yet? Then I suggest they head straight to Las Vegas, do not pass Go, do not collect $200. Their fortunes would be better rewarded (one would think) at legitimate gambling enterprises rather than in political prognostication. I am not making this up.Here's the screenshot, complete with the time/date stamp in the lower right-hand corner. This reminds me of the announcements that Building 7 of the World Trade Center was demolished, er, imploded because of a fire before that event happened, too. The media shapes us. The tail wags the dog.Then, fr... More About: Election 2008 , Camp , Winner
Good Samaritan vs. Schmuck: Would You Help out a Stranger Who Just Needed a
2008-09-25 23:21:00 A new writing colleague of mine asked this question . . .Today at a NYC bar I sat beside a man, total stranger, a local schoolteacher, who discovered he'd lost his ATM/debt card and he had a $14 tab. I paid it, with tip, gave him my address and asked him to send me the money. I did this once before, similar situation in NYC, same amount, $20 and was repaid within a week or so by mail. If he does, great. If not, seemed like the right choice -- it could happen to any of us.Would you do this? Why not? Has anyone done it for you?My answer . . .Yes. Because somewhere lurking in the back of my cobwebbed ego is an impression of myself as being a "good buy." Good guys share, right? It also gives you a little kick of good-will resonance afterward. And I like the Golden Rule?it makes sense to me. But mostly, I like myself better with an open rather than a closed heart.That being said, not every monetary-aid-to-a-stranger event is a positive one. When my hubby and I were in Rome for our honey... More About: Personal , Questions
Got Gas? Not If You Live in Western North Carolina
2008-09-24 20:08:00 Blank Normal 0 false false false st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Weird stuff going on in Asheville, North Carolina , my hometown. No one has any gasoline, my 87-year-old dad called to report. I thought he was just being a bit senile, then I checked online--it's true. Hurricane Ike has disrupted the flow of gas to the mountains, and citizens are lined up--and in some cases fighting--over limited gas supplies: Asheville Citizen-Times Paper Reporting on Gas Shortages They do expect the... More About: Live , Alternative Energy
Bye-bye Wall Street and R.I.P., Hank Paulson Seeks to Crown Himself King vi
2008-09-23 21:33:00 So how about this financial crisis? I'm having a hard time thinking of what to say about it other than good-freakin'-grief, and a grammar school graduate could have seen this one coming. When our neighbors down the street were able to get a loan one year ago, even after it was discovered one of them had falsified--yes, falsified--her social security number (I think the family patriarch finally co-signed the loan). And the feds are snatching the underwear from fellow taxpayers to save those guys who get white-glove chauffeured to work on Wall Street , who packaged and sold mortgage-backed securities based on those toxic loans. SHEESH!28 years of deregulation, with the financial movers and the Republicans in bed with each other the whole time--and we folks on the bottom rung are left wearing fig leaves, soon to be bereft of $700 billion and a law that allows the US Treasury Secretary to do whatever he so chooses at any time. If Henry Paulson, formerly a good guy at Goldman Sa... More About: Progressive Politics , Election 2008
Brad Pitt Donates to Effort to Stop California Gay Marriage Ban Proposal
2008-09-18 18:22:00 Brad Pitt announced that he is donating $100,000 of his personal money to support the effort to fight a gay marriage ban in California , I know, I know, we have legal marriage between gay partners in California, but an initiative is putting this on the ballot for voters to decide if the gay marriage allowance should be overruled--ack! The only other state where gay marriage is legal is Massachusetts.Here's what Pitt said, "Because no one has the right to deny another their life, even though they disagree with it, because everyone has the right to live the life they so desire if it doesn't harm another and because discrimination has no place in America, my vote will be for equality and against Proposition 8."Here, here, Mr. Pitt, and thanks very much for your support. And please, California voters, let's trounce this foolishness. On November 4, vote NO on Prop 8. More About: Marriage , Brad Pitt , Proposal , Gay Marriage
U.S. Financial Meltdown: McCain Says "Fundamentals of the Economy Still Str
2008-09-15 19:30:00 Normal 0 false false false st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Dear Senator McCain, Here is the status of your "Still Strong Economy ," circa Monday, September 15, 2008, also known as Black Monday: Lehman Brothers, a 158-year-old bank, with $60 Billion in failed real estate holdings, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. This is the largest single bankruptcy in history.Merrill-Lynch got gobbled up by Bank of America?for $50 Billion in?not money, but equities?STOCKS.The Dow Jo... More About: Financial
Palin Reveals Her Pale, White, Anti-Gay Underbelly
2008-09-07 18:53:00 Does not take much scratching beneath the surface of the smiling beauty queen facade to reveal the Medieval leanings of John McCain's vice presidential running mate. Sarah Dan-Quayle-in-a-Ponytail Palin has plenty of ties and outright and assertions of an anti-gay atitude.Here's what On Top Magazine found out about Palin?that she: Does not support hate crime legislation Does not support:spousal benefits for gay couples Attempts to "preserve the definition of marriage as defined in the Constitution" Has links to anti-gay groups, including connections to anti-gay Phyllis Schlafly and Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann Her church attempts to reform gays, with a God can "transform the lives of those impacted by homosexuality" message, and believes gay people can be made straight via "group discussions, counseling, Bible reading and prayer." More About: White , Progressive Politics , Election 2008 , Pale , Anti
It's So Fun Impalin' Palin
2008-09-04 21:40:00 v:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} Normal 0 false false false st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Normal 0 false false false st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-... More About: Progressive Politics , Election 2008
Free Speech Denied to Protestors in Minneapolis-St. Paul During RNC Convent
2008-09-01 00:50:00 Normal 0 false false false /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} First Amendment right to free speech guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution? Wait a second??Stop throwing the Constitution in my face. It's just a goddamned piece of paper!? after all, according to President George W. Bush. But does he speak for the Republican party? News has been leaked via independent media that planned peaceful protests during the Republican Convention this week are being shut down ahead of time, with absurd claims by the police of "violations of fire code,... More About: Free , Progressive Politics , Free Speech , Paul , Election 2008
Palin's Baby Not Her Own?
2008-08-31 18:28:00 Evidence is mounting that McCain's VP running mate pick, Sarah Palin, may have faked her pregnancy in order to cover up the pregnancy of her 16-year-old daughter. Fact or fiction? You decide: * Palin's staff completely shocked upon learning she is pregnant, which she announced at what would have been her fifth month * Photos of Palin during what would have been her third trimester show a svelte Palin who remarkably does not show her baby bump * Palin's 16-year-old daughter, Bristol, took five months off from her private Catholic school during the period Palin was supposedly pregnant. Bristol's diagnosis? Infectious mononucleosis, more affectionately known as mono, which would normally cause a medical absence for somewhere between a few weeks and a month and a half at most. * Photos of Bristol at the beginning of what would have been her own pregnancy, although by no means conclusive, do show a slight bump. * And the most damning of all, at eight month's pregnant--a fu... More About: Baby , Progressive Politics
John McCain Chooses His Dan Quayle: Political Lightweight Alaska Gov. Sara
2008-08-29 18:08:00 Just goes to show you, the polls rule the politics, the tale wags the dog. With questionable backing from women who might be deluded enough to vote for a candidate from the Grand Old [white, male, middle-aged] Patrician party, John McCain has thrown out a desperate left jab, choosing as his running mate a completely inexperienced (two years as the Alaska state governor--golly, that's somethin'!), political lightweight in Sarah Palin.If you stack Palin, who is charming, young, and enormously popular in her home state (she decries a woman's right to choose abortion, and is an avid hunter--kind of an Annie Oakley with a little more responsibility) up against Delaware Senator Joe Biden, with his 20-some years of experience in the Senate, with missions to countries all over the globe, as the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, it's like putting Evander Holyfield in the ring with PeeWee Herman--ludicrous at best. And there goes McCain's chance to bray on and on about his own ... More About: Political , Progressive Politics , Election 2008
Got a Traffic Ticket in the Mail for a Right on Red at an Automated Enforce
2008-08-27 17:55:00 How I Fought Big Brother and WonA few months ago I got a surprise in the mail?a lovely packet of information about an alleged traffic violation in which I had turned right on red at one of those ubiquitous signals that features an automated traffic enforcement set-up. Two sheets of photos of me making the dreaded right on red movement, links to the video footage of me doing the same, and scary legal language about bail and appearing in court, and I better hurry up and pay the?get this?astronomical fine of $371 in order to avoid all that ugliness.So did I lie down and let the city roll over on me? Am I a well-behaved woman? Hell, no. Not in this incarnation, anyway. I did what any other cheapskate would do who feels unjustly put-upon by a totalitarian Big Brother-type system?I conducted research on the Internet. And boy, did I get an eyeful.Plenty of other folks in my same situation, plenty of other municipalities with questionably legal automated traffic enforcement systems that, lo... More About: Mail , Traffic , Ticket , Automated
Congrats to Joe and Hurray for Dems Everywhere!
2008-08-23 17:04:00 Amidst all the speculation, some of it clearly my own, Obama made his choice, and voila! It was the obvious one, Delaware Senator Joe Biden. Oh, well. At least it's done. And at least it's a choice of someone so well known, it won't be easy to pick him apart. Now, I it's my turn to goof off--forget about politics for a bit--go to yoga class with my five-year-old, congratulate myself on getting my $371 right-on-red traffic ticket dismissed (more on that soon, I promise), and watch and lots of Olympics. More About: Personal , Progressive Politics
Obama's Veep-stakes: Bill Richardson? Wesley Clark?
2008-08-22 16:52:00 Normal 0 false false false st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} The political punditry announced last week that the VP running list for Barack Obama had been narrowed down to a carefully pruned four names: Tim KaineJoe BidenEvan BayhKathleen Sebelius Now each of them has some aspect that makes them imperfectly desirable: Tim Kaine?less experienced and less well-known than the other optionsJoe Biden?too obvious, too handsome, might outshine the boss, claimed he's "not the guy... More About: Bill Richardson , Progressive Politics , Wesley Clark , Richardson , Bill
Getting to Know You, Getting to Know All About You?Whether You Like It or N
2008-08-20 22:21:00 From time to time I get forwarded these sappy personal questionnaire thingies, wherein you are supposed to answer each personal question, erase the previous answers, and type in your own?then subject it to all you hapless friends who probably neither care nor have the time to do it, much less read yours. So, only if you are bored, only if you have a sort of voyeuristic instinct (which I definitely do) should you read the following. But, these are my honest, honest answers. If not, please skip this post and submit your answers to my three latest polls.Thank you,Tum~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~1. What time did you get up this morning? 8:00 am, after a restless night, spent half beside my husband and half with my five-year-old, comforting her 2. Diamonds or Pearls? Diamonds! You could always sell them and buy buckets of pearls. 3. What two things do you always have with you? My M.A.C. Chili lipstick (the perfect red for a red-haired chick) and my key wallet 4. What is your favorite TV show?... More About: Personal
Polls, Polls, Polls
2008-08-19 23:47:00 Noticed that I have been getting a little slap-happy about polls, polls, and more polls on here? Blogger has a new polling tool that is too fun to use. And sometimes I really don't have a fanatical opinion about an issue and would like to hear what everyone else is thinking first. So please indulge my poll-mania, and share your thoughts in the three polls below:Barack Obama's VP pickPunishment for Russian invasion of GeorgiaChinese women's underage gymnast controversy More About: Polls
Ralph Lauren Has Always Sucked, But No More So Than Now
2008-08-11 19:40:00 Shameful U.S. Olympics Team Opening Ceremonies Uniforms Blare Polo Brand and Ape Other Preppy Looks No, it's not just that Ralph Lauren copied British, Italian, and other countries' proletariat looks for his design (if you can call copy-catting a design) of the US Olympic team opening ceremonies uniforms?Lauren has always been a copycat. In much the same was as Bill Gates got his start, yup, Ralph Lauren has always made his name by echoing the work of, well, others. Preppy? Hasn't it been done at UK prep schools for generations? And to choose Lauren, who has had nothing original to say in fashion ever, as the designer to represent something quintessentially American was as foolhardy as to choose Taco Bell to come up with a new dish. (Everything they make is basically a rehash of tortillas, ground beef, beans, lettuce, and cheese. How many different ways can you serve up those ingredients?) So we got what we asked for. Blah British yacht club preppy, circa 1940s. Whoopee. And we... More About: Beauty , Fashion
John Edwards Admits to Canoodling: Poor Elizabeth!
2008-08-08 23:43:00 Edwards finally admitted to the affair with Rielle Hunter. The schmuck! His beloved wife, who had two of his babies while she was in her 50s--that's TWO--and gave up a bright law career to be his baby mama--dying of breast cancer, and he's off canoodling some dried-up, bleach-at-home scab. I mean, c'mon. When The Enquirer broke the whole story, I tried not to believe it. But then I read Wonkette.com, and I realized it was all gonna come back to bite Edwards on the butt. Poor Elizabeth Edwards is all I gotta say. Schmuck! Guess the equation is:Charismatic man + power = sex-as-an-addiction. Ack.In a rare (yes, RARE) gossipy mood, my girlfriend and I speculated why it is that it's often the less-attractive women those charistmatic men go for. Perhaps they are thinking, ew, she REALLY digs me--and she's not going to go rat on me. Something like that. Probably it's even more elemental--the skirt who is most available and most fawning WINS! (Is that fawning or fauning?)I ... More About: Personal , John Edwards , Celebrities , John , Edwards
Anthrax versus the Patriot Act: Score One for Anthrax in the Death of Scien
2008-08-07 00:02:00 Dr. Francis A. Boyle of the University of Illinois at Champaign, from his book, Biowarfare and Terrorism: ?Could it truly be coincidental that two of the primary intended victims of the terrorist anthrax attacks?Senators Daschle and Leahy?were holding up the speedy passage of the pre-planned USA Patriot Act?an Act which provided the federal government with unprecedented powers in relation to U.S. citizens and institutions?? Go up against the mighty Patriot Act and you shall die. Not only would the anthrax offense have been effective had the intended victims succumbed, but the subsequent scare the whole anthrax form of invisible bio-terrorism?no matter the success or failure of the mission?would served as a fear-enforced shaper of the desired outcome either way. The Patriot Act had to be passed, and no one could stand in the way. And it worked.The downside of using anthrax as a weapon is that the weapon itself, like a nuclear bomb or the Ebola virus, must be wielded by a scientist.... More About: Death , Progressive Politics , Versus , Score
UPDATE: Monstrous Creature of No Known Breed Washes Ashore Near Long Island
2008-08-04 00:11:00 The image above was apparently taken of a mysterious creature that washed ashore recently in Montauk, Long Island (now alliteratively dubbed the "Montauk Monster"). My first thought was, Oh, that?s a Photoshopped faux-rat. The only references I can find of it online are some blogs, replete with jokes, others are suggesting it's viral marketing for a site called CryptidsAreReal.com. So I have no evidence of whether this is dubious or ominous.From time to time, unusual and unidentifiable creatures do wash up on an occasional shore, as documented here.Look closely at the photo, though. Are those things arms/Or is they legs? Is that a beak on the snout and a long, plump, rodent-like body? Aren?t rats often the subjects of animal testing? Or what about a skinned raccoon (as shown in the photo below).What all makes the story less curious and more frightening is that there does happen to be a ?Bio-Safety Level 4 (BSL-4) research facility on nearby Plum Island. The BSL-4 conducts secretive... More About: Anti-War , Update , Long Island
Wal-Mart Wants YOU to Vote Republican!
2008-08-01 17:57:00 Wal-Mart upper management is making a concerted effort to sway its workforce to vote Republican . Yes, it's true. (And once upon a fairy tail, partisan politics and big business were not in bed with each other.) The argument Wal-Mart is preaching is that, ew, should a Democratic administration?not to name any names?take power, new laws would be enacted that would, heaven forbid!, make it easier for employees to join unions.Now, what's so evil about unions? Plenty, from Wal-Mart?s greedy, beady eyes. Unions directly steal from their bottom line. Poor leetle gazillionaires. Like I am supposed to be sympathetic for the uber-rich patricians and take food from the proletariat mouths of the low-wage, uninsured masses who have to work at Wal-Mart stores?So be a good little worker, now, and don't complain about minimum wage jobs, unreported forced overtime hours, lack of health care benefits, rampant sexism, and do support your wealthy overlords by voting Republican, by all means! Meanwhi... More About: Vote , Progressive Politics
Iowans Arrested While Arresting Rove: Iowa, the Coolest State in the Union
2008-07-28 17:18:00 Normal 0 false false false st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Normal 0 false false false st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt;... More About: Arrested , Union , World Politics , Iowa , Anti-War
Kucinich, the Rock Star of Progressive Politics, Testifies in Bush Impeachm
2008-07-25 23:09:00 Normal 0 false false false st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Normal 0 false false false st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt;... More About: Progressive , Politics , Bush , Rock Star , Rock
Send Blessings to Obama as He Tours Assassinatable Sites
2008-07-23 16:08:00 Meetings with Israeli, Palestinian, Afghanistani, and Jordanian leaders cram the itinerary of Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama over the last few days, with more to come. (Keeping his image unbesmirched, he skipped rubbing elbows with leaders of Saudi Arabia and the UAE?doesn't look good to those suffering with high petrol prices at home). Scary places where scary stuff can happen (except for Jordan, which sounds like the oasis of calm sanity in the Middle East.)Already one attack has taken place near where Obama was staying in Jerusalem. Granted, it was the the same modus (grabbing a bulldozer and running over cars) and the same perpetrator as a previous attack (this time he was shot dead). But, only a few miles from where Obama laid his head? Frightening. I, for one, will be glad when Obama returns to U.S. soil?not that that was any help to the four actual presidents who were assassinated here at home. Safe is a relative term. But what scares me most is the possibili... More About: Tours , Sites , Anti-War , Blessings
Merely Tasteless? Or an Outrageous Slur Disguised as Urbane Humor?
More articles from this author:2008-07-14 16:09:00 The New Yorker. The bastion of all things clever, urbane, adroit, and satirical. The magazine?s latest cover shows,?Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, dressed as Muslim terrorists standing in the Oval Office with a portrait of Osama Bin Laden hanging on the wall. An American flag burns in the fireplace in the background. The magazine claimed that it was a satirical lampoon of the caricature that right-wing critics have tried to create.?Dripping with witty satire? Or sheer malice? Images are more powerful than words, though, and surely the editors knew the effect their image might have on those who would never read the article (18 pages long?have you read it?) but would pass around the image. The more controversial, the more the image gets seared into our retinas. The more the image haunts us with it?s slurs, the more damage it could do.From HuffPost:?Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton called it ?tasteless and offensive? and, according to Jake Tapp... More About: Humor , Progressive Politics , Outrageous 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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