unrepentant old hippie

Update bookmarks

2008-11-18T09:01:00.001-08:00

I'm so very, very weak...

2008-11-14T15:59:00.012-08:00

Who knew?

But so what? Life goes on. Thanks to all who kept checking in to see if anything was happening here, even the ones who think I'm an idiot but for some reason were compelled to check here every day anyway. (I check FD daily, so why not.)

I've got a new location I've been experimenting with and I'm not sure if it's ready for Prime Time (in fact, I'm pretty sure it's not) but that's the way it goes. So for good or bad or ugly, here it is.

I lied

2008-11-06T11:54:00.004-08:00

I know I said the chorus of exploding right-wingnut heads would be enough to keep me amused for awhile, but really, uh... I lied. It's not enough. I'm tired. For good or ill, this koolade drinker is riding off on her sparkly pink Unicorn of Hope & Change and JoyJoyJoy. Thanks for reading...

The gift that keeps on giving

2008-11-06T08:37:00.004-08:00

Looks like the Sarah Palin Saga might be just warming up:

"Sarah Palin wasn't aware that Africa was a continent and she and her brood behaved like a band of "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast," aides to Republican John McCain are telling prominent news organizations.
Less than 24 hours after McCain lost the presidential election to Democrat Barack Obama, those close to him apparently wasted no time burning up the phone lines to dish the dirt on Palin, the Alaska governor who portrayed herself as a sensible hockey Mom when she was chosen the Arizona senator's running mate in late August.

If the anonymous McCain insiders are to be believed, Palin, a 44-year-old mother of five, was unaware that Africa was a continent, arguing that South Africa was simply a region of the larger country of Africa.

She also didn't know the three countries that are in the North American Free Trade Agreement, namely Canada, the U.S. and Mexico." [...]
"On Wednesday in Phoenix, Palin said: "There is absolutely no diva in me."

Nonetheless, a Republican party lawyer is reportedly heading to Alaska to inventory and retrieve the clothes still in Palin's possession." (emphasis mine)

And once more for the road because it's worth the pixels:

"...she and her brood behaved like a band of "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast"

Whenever I think I might take a break from blogging, these things come along... "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!"

(h/t reality bites in the comments)

Now that the presidential election is over

2008-11-05T13:58:00.000-08:00

I'll really miss this kind of batshittery:

"NEWSWEEK has also learned that Palin's shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported."

MORE than $150,000? You're shittin' me:

"One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family—clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill.

But after she burned through the campaign's clothing budget, she stopped, right?

Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband.

Oh well, at least all the clothing was given to charity... wasn't it?

Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast," and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books."

Hold the phone! Run that by me again?

"An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast..."

The Wasilla Hillbilly in 2012? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

President-Elect Obama

2008-11-04T20:11:00.001-08:00

That is all.

Ballot Measures to watch today (UPDATED)

2008-11-04T08:50:00.004-08:00

**WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!**
U.S. ELECTION POST AHEAD!!!

For those not interested in the history being made today, that was your chance to exercise your right to click. Please, I want you to. Onward...

Apart from the presidential election, there are some important ballot measures being voted on today:

Prop 8 (California): This hideous little initiative, backed by a ton of religious right money, would rescind equal marriage in California, thereby protecting the Institution Of Marriage from whatever the fuck it is they think gay people will *do* to it. If it passes, Prop 8 would not only deny these citizens a basic human right, but will also throw a lot of married couples into limbo where their marriages are no longer recognized. And why not? It's just the Christian thing to do.

UPDATE: Bigotry won. Prop 8 passed, by a small margin.

Prop 4 (California): This anti-abortion measure would legislate parental consent for abortion. We need to remember our kids are individuals with rights of their own, including the right to privacy, and if our daughters can't trust us to know they're facing an unwanted pregnancy, there might be a good reason. Also, like all these nitpicky anti-choice laws, this just gets a foot in the door to further restrictive legislation.

UPDATE: Failed, 53-47.

Prop 48 (Colorado): This is one of the more idiotic anti-abortion initiatives to come along so far, and that's really saying something. Prop 48 would define a fertilized egg as a "person", with all the restrictions on abortion and contraception that definition engenders.

UPDATE: Failed, 72-27 (about the same margin as a similar measure failed by last time around -- ya think?)

Prop 11 (South Dakota): This is an outright ban on abortion, except in cases where it's necessary to save the woman's life. (How generous.) South Dakotans voted down a similar initiative 2 years ago -- ya think!? But anti-choicers just keep grinding away with no compunction about the taxpayers' money they waste on this bullshit.

UPDATE: Failed, 55-45

They're all in the west, so it's unlikely we'll know whether they passed or (hopefully) failed until the wee hours of tomorrow morning. But it's something else to watch for after the presidential race has been called.
Reproductive choice won, but marriage equality lost. I wonder what will happen to the couples already married? Prop 8 is retroactive, which if I'm not mistaken nullifies their marriages. Nice. I can't imagine people being any more vicious and petty.

PROP 8 UPDATE II: The No Side is not conceding yet. Good for them -- do not concede until every. last. vote. is counted.

PROP 8 UPDATE III: Passed, 52-48. What an embarrassment to all straight people. I am so sorry. I can only say: do not give up. Equality demands it.

What if they gave a culture war and nobody came?

2008-11-03T10:15:00.003-08:00

Why was the "Culture War" scenario such an epic failure this election cycle? Whether the GOP wins or loses tomorrow, there's no question that this aspect of their campaign didn't work as well as it has in the past. While Sarah Palin might have electrified the superstitious, anti-intellectual, pro-ignorance, abortion-obsessed nutcase faction of the GOP base, it was reflected in only the briefest of upticks in the polls. The economy could be partly to blame, but could it also be that the whole "culture war" narrative has run its course, and there just aren't enough people who care about that bullshit anymore?:

"In 2000, in the wake of an economic boom and a sex scandal that led to a president's impeachment, 22 percent of Americans told exit pollsters that "moral values" were their biggest concern, compared with only 19 percent who cited the economy.
Today, according to a recent Newsweek poll, the economy is up to 44 percent and "issues like abortion, guns and same-sex marriage" down to only 6 percent. It's no coincidence that Palin's popularity has plummeted as the financial crisis has taken center stage. From her championing of small-town America to her efforts to link Barack Obama to former domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, Palin is treading a path well-worn by Republicans in recent decades. She's depicting the campaign as a struggle between the culturally familiar and the culturally threatening, the culturally traditional and the culturally exotic. But Obama has dismissed those attacks as irrelevant, and the public, focused nervously on the economic collapse, has largely tuned them out.
Palin's attacks are also failing because of generational change. The long-running, internecine baby boomer cultural feud just isn't that relevant to Americans who came of age after the civil rights, gay rights and feminist revolutions." (emphasis mine)

And it's about fucking time.

Kerry was ahead in 2004

2008-11-03T05:43:00.003-08:00

I'm no psychologist but I know an Obama Derangement Syndrome*-driven pre-election nervous breakdown when I see one, and that is what seems to be in progress at our favourite fetus fetishist's blog as the spectre of an Obama victory looms on the American electoral horizon. All weekend long, SUZANNE's been feverishly cranking out desperate and furious posts that vacillate between painting a macabre picture of a post-Obama world awash in aborted fetuses and reminding everyone that there's still hope: John Kerry was ahead in the 2004 polls, too. Indeed he was, as you can see by the Electoral Vote projection for this day in 2004:

Then there's today's projection:

Proving that there's "ahead" and then there's "AHEAD!!!11!!".

*Affliction named by JABbering Stooge

A portent

2008-11-01T20:15:00.005-07:00

Goin' rogue, you betcha:

At a boisterous Sarah Palin rally in Polk City, Florida on Saturday afternoon, one name was surprisingly absent from the campaign décor — John McCain’s.

Choosing a running mate just because she'll attract the people who hate your guts can't really end any other way, can it? Palin has already set her sights on 2012 -- and if she's the future of the GOP, it has no future.

Question of the Day

2008-11-01T14:39:00.002-07:00

Why does Dick Cheney hate John McCain?

And where's Georgie? He's been keeping pretty quiet since he said this. Loosen that muzzle! Let Georgie exercise his First Amendment rights! Speak, Georgie, SPEAK!

Et tu, Jonathon?

2008-11-01T11:15:00.004-07:00

As the US election campaign winds down, Canadian wingnuts are weighing in. Some are still in Denial, clinging to the tired old bullshit about the Biased Lie-beral Media and Obama's -- cue Hallowe'en music -- "past associations". Some have progressed to the Anger stage, blaming McCain for running a stupid campaign. And some... are rooting for Obama?? Here they are, in all their wingnutty glory.

The warped:

"One wonders how often Michelle sees Mona Khalidi these days? Do they go for coffee once in a while? I hope so. Should old acquaintance be forgot? No, but it happens. People outgrow each other; they develop different interests. One may develop an interest in becoming First Lady.
Mona's husband is Rashid Khalidi, a Palestinian-American academic. Republican candidate John McCain has described Professor Khalidi as an erstwhile spokesman for the Palestinian Liberation Organization. When Obama was chummy with ex-Weather Underground terrorist Bill "I don't regret setting bombs" Ayers, who sat with Barack on the board of an "anti-poverty" charity called the Woods Foundation, they gave money to the American-Arab Action Network, run by Mona. The Khalidis and the Obamas socialized, and in 2000 the Khaldis hosted a polical fundraiser for the future Democratic presidential nominee."

The bitter:

"If it looks hopeless now, hours before voting day, it is McCain himself who has made it so.
It was McCain who never offered a coherent economic program. It was McCain who pronounced the fundamentals of the economy “sound” on the very day that Lehman Brothers collapsed. It was McCain who could not defend his own healthcare plan in toe-to-toe debate with Barack Obama. It was McCain who was ultimately responsible for a campaign that emphasized stunts and tactics over policy and strategy.

As a decision-maker, McCain proved himself impulsive and emotional, hasty and over-personal — and the revelation of those faults has frightened many voters at a time of economic anxiety."

The twisted:

"Whereas, Mr. Obama was from his political beginnings the darling of a Chicago political machine, notorious for both corruption, and harbouring radicals. His very smoothness and articulacy, even his blackness, made him their golden boy, assuring him of financial patronage along his way."

The incarcerated:

"Over the last 60 years in the United States, the governing party has usually changed after two terms. The stylistic shortcomings of the second Bush administration, McCain’s blunderbuss campaign and the financial crisis have all reinforced that likelihood. Under the Mephistophelean influence of the most biased media coverage of a U.S. election since Barry Goldwater in 1964, Obama’s peculiar associations have been downplayed and McCain has been portrayed as serving up a smear-job for raising them at all."

The... sane??:

"The tipping point came during last Tuesday's presidential debate, when I heard the GOP candidate tell Americans that he wants to take US$300-billion of taxpayer money and use it to pay off the mortgages of private citizens. I know these are rough times. But what kind of "conservative" seeks to socialize the financial risk freely taken on by millions of Americans through arm's-length home loans?"

[...] "Finally, there's Sarah Palin. I'll admit that I was a fan when she was first named to the Republican ticket. She was funny and down to earth, and she gave a great speech at the GOP convention. Even when it was clear she was overmatched in her debate with Biden, I still stuck with her -- because I saw her on her own terms: as a stick in the craw of smug, secular, big-city liberal elites.
But then I realized that this was the only reason I liked her. After a few weeks, I began to focus on the idea of her as a (potential) U. S. Commander-in-Chief. On the crucial question of whether I would actually want this woman to be running the most powerful nation on earth, I really couldn't, in my heart, answer yes.
I suspect that many conservatives who profess to believe that Palin would make a great leader have secretly come around to the same view as me -- but their tribal political reflex won't let them admit as much.
That's an understandable gut reaction. But voting should be done with the head, not the belly. Count me among the millions of self-described right-wingers rooting -- this time--for the guy on the left."

I bet Mama 's getting out the wooden spoon for that!

Whoever wins on Tuesday

2008-11-01T09:13:00.003-07:00

Georgie is still in power for another 76 days. That's Political Capital, bitches, and he intends to spend it like a drunken sailor:

"The White House is working to enact a wide array of federal regulations, many of which would weaken government rules aimed at protecting consumers and the environment, before President Bush leaves office in January.

The new rules would be among the most controversial deregulatory steps of the Bush era and could be difficult for his successor to undo. Some would ease or lift constraints on private industry, including power plants, mines and farms.

Those and other regulations would help clear obstacles to some commercial ocean-fishing activities, ease controls on emissions of pollutants that contribute to global warming, relax drinking-water standards and lift a key restriction on mountaintop coal mining."

The Ghost of Georgie will be rattling his chains for some time to come.

On Prop 8

2008-10-31T22:53:00.007-07:00

Next Tuesday, Americans will be voting for more than just a new administration. In some states, there are a few ugly little ballot measures that will be voted on at the same time. One of these is "Proposition 8", a California proposal to ban same-sex marriage. Prop 8 has gotten a lot of attention and support from the usual religious right suspects -- in spite of the fact that it's a state initiative, money for the campaign to convince Californians to vote "Yes" to Prop 8 has been pouring in from bigots across the land.

There's some pretty paranoid and hateful propaganda being disseminated by Prop 8 supporters, the latest being the claim that equal marriage somehow undermines religious freedom and free speech. No, don't even try to understand the tortured logic needed to draw such a conclusion -- a more straightforward interpretation of what Prop 8 proponents are really saying is offered up by Ann Althouse:

"I think he means to say that if same-sex marriage remains a legal right, enshrined in state constitutional law, then homosexual relationships will come to be regarded normal and good, and, consequently, anyone who objects to them will start to look like a bigot who should not be permitted to have his way. Thus, in order to preserve the right to discriminate against gay people and to keep schools from teaching children that gay couples are perfectly nice and so forth -- all things Broyles wants -- it's important to outlaw gay marriage, because it will be a powerful force in changing perceptions about gay people and those who think gay people are doing something terribly wrong."

Bigots!? Who knew!!???

UPDATE (Nov.1st): Still hideously close, but the good guys seem to be winning (50-47).

Happy Hallowe'en

2008-10-31T22:29:00.003-07:00

Hopeful Hallowe'en.

(from yeswecarve)

Stood up

2008-10-30T16:10:00.004-07:00

Poor John McCain: stood up by Joe the Plumber!

Maybe JTP was busy in the studio, cutting his new country music record.

Or maybe not -- maybe JTP's been chosen to be Sarah Palin's new running mate and they're off campaigning somewhere else -- without John. Hey, it wouldn't be much weirder than anything else that's happened in McCain's bizarre campaign.

Let this be a warning

2008-10-30T15:57:00.004-07:00

Arrgghh!

USians, whatever you do on Tuesday, don't forget to VOTE!!!

(via ellroon)

Look out, Obama

2008-10-30T12:22:00.003-07:00

Here comes the kitchen sink! BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

"Granted, it's probably (okay, certainly) not true. But if that crazy person who runs Atlas Shrugged is right and Barack Obama really is the son of Malcolm X, that would make my day. Honestly, who wouldn't give Malcolm props for that one? And think there's anyway we can fit Tupac into the bloodline? Or maybe Obama actually is Tupac? You know that whole shooting was some bullshit, right?
Incidentally, I see no reason to stop with Malcolm. History is full of great Xs for Barack Obama to be related to. Professor X, which would explain why millions of white people lose their minds in his presence. Weapon X, which would explain the adamantium grafted onto his skeleton. XML, which would explain why it's so easy to structure his data. I'm sure there are others. And if anyone felt like Photoshopping Obama into an X-Men uniform to a) help illustrate this post and b) brighten my day, I'd certainly be grateful."

The fab almost-forty

2008-10-30T12:00:00.005-07:00

Behold the fabulous fabulousity of Harper's new gay cabinet!

Dobson predicts grim future

2008-10-30T06:12:00.004-07:00

Freak out! Sensing that his undue influence on government is about to come to an apocalyptic end in short order, James Dobson of Focus on the Family has been feverishly firing out frighteningly hysterical missives that predict the Horrors to come should Barack Obama win the US election five (5) days from now. "An Obama Nation is an Abomination!" Some of Dobson's dire predictions include:

"Terrorist strikes on four American cities. Russia rolling into Eastern Europe. Israel hit by a nuclear bomb. Gay marriage in every state. The end of the Boy Scouts.

All are plausible scenarios if Democrat Barack Obama is elected president, according to a new addition to the campaign conversation called "Letter from 2012 in Obama's America," produced by the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family Action."

Terrorist attacks, Putin rearing his head, gay boy scouts, and that's just the beginning. There's also the soon-to-be liberal-leaning SCOTUS, abortion up a month after birth, and the old favourite that Focus on the Family freaks so love to revel in, Religious Persecution. BOOM! POW! Stand back! Fundie heads across the USA are exploding like pin-pricked balloons.

But not everyone's buying Dobson's dubious snake oil, says one Obama-con:

""It looks like, walks like, talks like and smells like desperation to me," said the Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell of Houston, an Obama supporter who backed President Bush in the past two elections. The Methodist pastor called the 2012 letter "false and ridiculous." He said it showed that some Christian conservative leaders fear that Obama's faith-based appeals to voters are working."

Dobson's right about one thing, though: the future is looking pretty grim... for HIM. Bye-bye, dickhead, get familiar with the political wilderness. Lay in lots of supplies, you'll be out there a loooooooooooooong time.

Psst -- First one's for free

2008-10-29T19:12:00.008-07:00

This is one of the most irritating sites I've surfed onto lately, so naturally I had to share it.

It's an anti-drug campaign from the Oslo Department of Health in Norway, and it's supposed to simulate what certain drugs feel like. (Or what your computer would feel like if it was on drugs, ha.) I won't say how realistic it is on the usual grounds of possible incrimination etc.

Go ahead, try it.

(via adfreak)

Manhattan Mini-Storage strikes again

2008-10-29T18:26:00.004-07:00

Remember these controversial bus shelter and outdoor poster ads from Manhattan Mini-Storage?:

Here's their latest one:

The hands! That's perfect. Little details like that are what makes a good ad great.

(via feministing)

Haloscan issues

2008-10-29T17:22:00.002-07:00

Haloscan seems to have gone nuts again, with difficulty posting comments, comments disappearing, etc. Bear with it, it'll straighten itself out in due course.

Demanding

2008-10-29T14:23:00.004-07:00

Cue the outra-- err, crickets?

2008-10-29T11:25:00.009-07:00

Remember how some folks had their panties in such a painful twist over Stephane Dion's use of the apparently unusable phrase "Never Again"?

If that got them so torqued up, they must REALLY be choked about this:

Hello?? HELLO!!??

Party unity

2008-10-28T21:56:00.002-07:00

their arse:

"The divisions in the McCain-Palin campaign continue to widen with one senior McCain aide telling Mike Allen that Gov. Sarah Palin is "a whack job."

Meanwhile, George Stephanopoulos said this about the "demoralized" McCain campaign on ABC News this morning: "Palin is going to be the most vivid chapter of the McCain campaign's post-mortem... Those loyal to McCain believe they have been unfairly blamed for over-handling Palin. They say they did the best they could with what they got.""

I can't make the popcorn fast enough...

Strategic media placement at its finest

2008-10-28T18:01:00.006-07:00

In media-buying lingo it's called "roadblocking", and it doesn't get much better than this:

" Barack Obama will focus on the economy and how his tax plans would help the middle class in a half-hour political infomercial Wednesday night."

"The program will air at 8 p.m. EDT on NBC, CBS, Fox, Univision, BET, MSNBC and TV One, and at various times in other time zones. Obama is scheduled to be speaking during that time at a rally in Florida."

The scheduling on several stations simultaneously effectively "blocks" the time period in the eastern time zone. Then there's the positioning -- the infomercial is scheduled to run just before the last 3 innings of rained-out Game 5 of the World Series (pushed back to accomodate the infomercial scheduling). Which is even better when you consider who's playing -- the Philadelphia Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays. Meaning fans in Florida and Pennsylvania, two extremely important swing states, will catch Obama's closing comments when they tune in.

In advertising that's called "hitting one out of the park".

Breaking: McKenna won't run for LPC leadership

2008-10-28T13:03:00.004-07:00

Just announced on CBC (link to follow). !!GOOD!!!!

UPDATE: Link

Check out the Google search page:

First!

Republicat?

2008-10-28T07:15:00.003-07:00

GOPussy?

(shamelessly swiped from daily kos)

Anything to win

2008-10-28T07:05:00.003-07:00

Anything:

"A phony State Board of Elections flier advising Republicans to vote on Nov. 4 and Democrats on Nov. 5 is being circulated in several Hampton Roads localities, according to state elections officials.

In fact, Election Day, for voters of all political stripes, remains Nov. 4."

For people who constantly scream about how democracy is so great that it needs to be forced on other countries, they certainly do a good job of subverting it.

(h/t: dkos)

Conservatism's core principles

2008-10-28T06:24:00.001-07:00

Contemplating the long road back from the political wilderness to which the GOP will almost certainly be consigned next week, in the WaPo yesterday former Bush administration strategic advisor Peter Wehner argues that conservatives must stay the course with their "core principles":

"But saying that conservatism is in better shape than the GOP is not to say it doesn't face challenges. It would be silly and self-defeating for Republicans to repudiate conservatism's core principles of a strong national defense, limited government, constitutionalism and protection for unborn children."

Pardon? As Andrew Sullivan points out, there's something wrong with that sentence.

The first three "core principles" are general approaches to governing, but the last one is a specific policy, not a "core principle". (And ironically, it runs counter to the real conservative core principle of limited government and less state intrusion into the private lives of citizens.) The fact that an anti-abortion stance is being identified as a "core conservative principle" is indicative of the religious right's long-term influence on the GOP. When the rebuilding process begins, Republicans would do well to remember that the religious right is in no small part responsible for making the GOP what it is today: unelectable.

Wrong and stupid

2008-10-27T21:26:00.004-07:00

Uh, guys? I realize this is the last week of what seems like a 200-year-long election campaign and everyone's cracking up a little, but whoa. This isn't what your side does, it's what the other guys do:

"A Halloween decoration showing a mannequin dressed as vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin hanging by a noose from the roof of a West Hollywood home is drawing giggles from some passers-by and gasps of outrage from others.

The mannequin is dressed in brunet wig, glasses and a red business suit. Another mannequin dressed as John McCain emerges from a flaming chimney."

The flaming chimney thing is sort of funny, considering the current state of the GOP's house (although a sinking ship might be more appropriate). The mannequin hanging from a noose, however, is just unacceptable for all kinds of reasons, one of the foremost being that it's what they do. Sure, the case could be made that "they started it" with the feeble-minded, hate-fueled rhetoric at their rallies, but it behooves your side to resist sinking to their level. Even on Hallowe'en.

Desperation

2008-10-27T09:38:00.005-07:00

Shorter GOP staffer: "That morally-bankrupt, thieving Democrat erased the tape from the bug we illicitly planted on his podium to catch any off-the-record gaffes he might make during a debate! Arrest him, officer!"

"Last week, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) squared off in a debate with Democratic challenger Bruce Lunsford. But on Lunsford's podium a GOP operative had placed a small voice recorder, presumably to pick up some off-mic comments Lunsford might make -- apparently a violation of the debate rules.

(The recorder itself -- sans recording -- was eventually returned.)" [...]
"And now St. Onge and the chairman of McConnell's campaign have filed a criminal complaint against Lunsford for petty larceny and destruction of property -- because of the erasure." (emphasis smirkingly mine)

Isn't this a little like calling the cops to report that someone ripped off your drug stash?

And Mitch McConnell... Mitch McConnell... hmmm... Oh yes, that fine upstanding example of GOP values.

Prison break

2008-10-27T08:00:00.002-07:00

Too funny:

Were you thinking "Jump! Jump!" near the end?

(via andrew sullivan)

Turkey break

2008-10-26T16:42:00.004-07:00

I spotted them in the back yard last night at dusk. Two adults, a female and a young male (gray), with one baby turkey:

Picture time's over. They head back to the bushes:

About half an hour later, the two adults were up in the usual tree, settling in for the night. I guess they hide the baby in their nest in the bushes, where hopefully he stays safer than his 3 missing siblings did.

T-minus 10

2008-10-25T22:30:00.005-07:00

With 9 days of campaigning to go, this isn't the kind of news the McCain campaign wants to hear:

"This is not the time when John McCain can afford a bad polling day. And yet he's had perhaps his worst one of the year.

The national trackers were essentially a push -- three moved toward Obama, two toward McCain, two were flat -- but the action today is at the state level. And boy, there is a lot of action: 29 new state polls entering our database. And many of them contain great news for Obama."

This is no anomaly. After weeks of consistently favourable and upward-trending polls, Obama is probably past "dead girl/live boy" territory and reaching the point where it's almost a mathematical impossibility for him to lose. GOP ship-jumping continues apace, and while the deserters name a variety of reasons for their defections, the common thread is... wait for it... aww, you guessed it! -- Sarah Palin:

"It may yet turn out differently, but at this stage in the campaign for the White House it appears that if John McCain loses in November the turning point will not be the financial crisis hitting in late September but his choice of Sarah Palin as his veep in late August.Two new national polls show that voters cite that choice as the main reason they have turned from McCain."

Yes indeedy, even the women voters to whom Palin was supposed to appeal are saying "Thanks, but no thanks!":

"A whopping 60% of women aged 50 and younger have a negative view of Mrs Palin, according to a poll released by the Pew Research Centre on October 21st. Mrs Palin has also had only a fleeting impact on white women. After the Republican convention white women favoured Mr McCain over Mr Obama by 51% to 40%, according to Gallup. They now favour Mr Obama by 47% to 46%."

But like blind pigs relentlessly searching for non-existent acorns, remaining Palin enthusiasts steadfastly accuse McCain of being the weak candidate. But what can you expect? Pretty much all that's left still standing of the GOP are no-minds, zealots, sanctimonious bible-thumping whackadoos and fetus freaks, so the logic that the Palin pick was insulting to women and radioactive to moderate conservatives doesn't register.

And the repercussions of the ill-conceived campaign will be felt long after November 4th -- it has conservatives deeply divided:

"Conservatives are at each other's throats, and here's what's revealing about how divided they are: The critics of John McCain and the critics of Sarah Palin represent entirely different camps." [...]

"A Pew Research Center survey this week found that among political independents, Palin's unfavorable rating has almost doubled since mid-September, from 27 to 50 percent. Whatever enthusiasm Palin inspired among conservative ideologues is more than offset by middle-of-the-road defections."

Add to that the tension within the McCain campaign itself: between McCain and Palin, between Palin and campaign advisors, between the advisors themselves, one of whom has jumped ship, and wow: not exactly the calm steady hand you want at the steering wheel of state. Republicans, who've used "divide and conquer" tactics with great success for years, now find themselves divided and likely on the verge of being conquered, and ironically, not because of anything their opposition has done but because of what they've allowed themselves to become.

Bye-bye, dickhead

2008-10-25T20:48:00.002-07:00

Another fetus fetishizing fuckwad gets his just desserts:

"The appeal of an anti-abortionist who refuses to file income tax returns in protest of government-funded abortions was dismissed by a New Brunswick Court of Queens Bench judge on Friday.
David Little, 62, formerly of Fredericton, but now living on Prince Edward Island, was convicted last year for failing to file tax returns for the years 2000, 2001 and 2002." [...]
"Outside the court, Little vowed to continue to fight his case all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada if necessary.
"It's either we're going to win here or I'm going to be in jail until I rot, because I am never going to file again until the law is changed.""

Speaking of taxes and taxpayers' money, I wonder how much of it is being squandered on your extended exercise in judicial futility, Mr. Little? Here's how it works, douche: when I can choose which religious organizations I pick up the tax-exempt slack for, you can choose which medical procedures your fraction-of-a-cent goes toward funding. Until then, shut the fuck up and stop wasting my tax dollars on your personal persecution high.

Wassup

2008-10-25T20:22:00.001-07:00

This is just brilliant:

For context, ACR has the original "Wassup".

It must be good stuff

2008-10-25T18:45:00.002-07:00

I want some of whatever this guy's on.

We interrupt this program for an important

2008-10-23T17:31:00.004-07:00

kitteh-mash!
zzzzzzzzz....
We now return you to our regularly-scheduled programming.

No dog in the fight

2008-10-23T10:07:00.000-07:00

but I can't help being moved by US election stories like this:

"For me the most moving moment came when the family in front of me, comprising probably 4 generations of voters (including an 18 year old girl voting for her first time and a 90-something hunched-over grandmother), got their turn to vote. When the old woman left the voting booth she made it about halfway to the door before collapsing in a nearby chair, where she began weeping uncontrollably. When we rushed over to help we realized that she wasn't in trouble at all but she had not truly believed, until she left the booth, that she would ever live long enough to cast a vote for an African-American for president."

No matter who wins on November 4th, some pretty awesome history is being made.

Political Compass - updated update

2008-10-22T13:49:00.032-07:00

Last February, I took the Political Compass test and posted it here, then added some commenters who also took it. This is where we stood:

I just now took it again to see if anything's changed, and it appears that I'm slightly more libertarian, and further right(!?):The change might reflect my fury about the economic situation and the bailout of the Wall Street greedsters in particular, (which, even though it doesn't affect me directly, still made me want to upchuck).

Take the test, I'll add you to the chart and we'll see where everyone stands. If you want to play, just leave your result (the economic/social numbers) in the comments.
UPDATE: The quadrants have been named!

UPDATE II: Chart revised to add some context. (Jan from the Bruce is charting out how well we match our political parties here.)

No time for a press conference, but...

2008-10-22T12:18:00.004-07:00

she has time to talk to this guy.

It's understandable that politicians like to talk to "friendlies" sometimes, but all the time? And nobody but friendlies? That the US media puts up with this and continues to cover her speeches and rallies is baffling.

(via TBogg)

The endorsement nobody wants

2008-10-22T08:34:00.004-07:00

According to the SITE Intelligence group (a private investigative service that monitors websites), McCain/Palin is the ticket of choice among web-surfing al qaeda supporters:

"Al-Qaida supporters suggested in a Web site message this week they would welcome a pre-election terror attack on the U.S. as a way to usher in a McCain presidency.
The message was posted Monday on the password-protected al-Hesbah Web site. It says if al-Qaida wants to exhaust the United States militarily and economically, "impetuous" Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain is the better choice."

It's almost time for another bin Laden videotape to surface... I give it a week.

More of a liability than Georgie

2008-10-22T03:52:00.004-07:00

The Number One Concern that USian voters have about John McCain is -- his age? Nope. His policies? Guess again. The top concern voters have about John McCain is... his running mate!:

"AmericaBlog flags a stunning finding in the new NBC/Wall St. Journal poll:
Now, Palin's qualifications to be president rank as voters' top concern about McCain's candidacy -- ahead of continuing President Bush's policies, enacting economic policies that only benefit the rich and keeping too high of a troop presence in Iraq.

Respondents were read a list of things and were asked to pick the two that most concern them about McCain. Thirty-four percent named Palin, versus only 23% for the runner-up, which was that it seems likely he'd continue Bush's policies.

That would seem to suggest that Palin may have become a greater liability for McCain than Bush." (emphasis mine)

After all those months of trying to put some distance between McCain and the Bush Administration, the McCain campaign picks as a VP the only person on the planet who'd actually be more of a liability than Georgie. Heckofajob!!

McVety: officially obsessed with homosexuality

2008-10-21T19:33:00.012-07:00

Today our favourite religious right whackjob, Chuck McVety, issued a spittle-flecked screed declaring that "Canada is now officially a homosexual country".

This little outburst was initiated by a gorgeous Norval Morrisseau painting with the sinister title "Androgyny", installed last month at the Governor-General's residence at Rideau Hall:

"On September 18, 2008 a new artwork was installed in the Rideau Hall Ballroom. Created by world-renowned Canadian Aboriginal artist Norval Morrisseau, the painting, entitled Androgyny, replaces Charlottetown Revisited..." [...]

In Androgyny, Morrisseau represents the Ojibway shaman’s world view, showing a thriving and bountiful world in which all the diverse elements are in perfect balance."

From that, McVety goes right off his rocker to arrive at this pretzel of a reaction to the painting:

"The Governor General’s website describes the giant 20 foot mural as follows: “In the Okanagan, as in many Native tribes, the order of life learning is that you are born without sex and as a child, through learning, you move toward full capacity as either male or female. Only when appropriately prepared for the role do you become a man or woman. The natural progression into parenthood provides immense learning from each other, the love, compassion and cooperation necessary to maintain family and community. Finally as an elder you emerge as both male and female, a complete human, with all skills and capacities complete.” Does the Governor General actually believe that in order to be a complete human you must be both male and female?"

"...Many universities now talk about “self identified men and women” suggesting that it is discriminatory to label someone male or female unless they chose to identify themselves as a specific gender. Such political correctness has slithered all the way to the top, and now a mural depicting this insanity adorns the official seat of power of the Country of Canada.

This concept is not new. Adolph Hitler’s Nazi Party appointed Dr. Carl Jung as their head of the International General Medical Society for Psychotherapy. He taught the concept that in the uncouncious of man is anima (femininity) and in the uncouncious of woman is animus (masculinity). Dr. Jung westernized this concept from the teachings of the Dali Lama in the Tibetan Book of the Dead."

Whoa, that's a pretty impressive segue: from a painting to Gays to Nazis to the Tibetan Book of the Dead... what, no Morgentaler?

In closing the spittle really starts to fly, and -- holy fucking shit! Stand back!:

Some would suggest that “Androgyny” is only a mural. However, when you consider that the Governor General will officially invest governmental power in the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers in the shaddow [sic] of this homosexual background, the only conclusion is that Canada is “officially” a homosexual country." (emphasis mine)

(And look at the map -- we're a "top".)

Seriously, the only conclusion I can draw from this deranged little diatribe is that Chuck is "officially" obsessed, and that obsession is about to blow his closet door right off its hinges in an explosion of spit, sweat and semen and a great puff of greasy, stenchy smoke. Move away people, give him room!

LPC -- Just say NO to McKenna

2008-10-21T17:29:00.001-07:00

The Liberal Party of Canada is a progressive party, right? And that means they look out for womens' rights, correct? So they're pro-choice, no? Well, not so fast.

Those of us who were following Bill C-484 (the "Kicking Abortion's Ass" bill) expected the Conservatives to vote for it en masse, but were dismayed to find that it was actually a small contingent of socially conservative Liberals whose votes helped the nefarious thing get past its second reading.

Now Dion is stepping aside and a new Liberal leader being sought, and one of the names that's come up is Frank McKenna. It's bad enough that the Liberals harbour some socially conservative MPs, but now they're considering a virulently anti-choice leader? I concur with Birth Pangs:

"Birth Pangs readers will remember that New Brunswick is Canada’s answer to Kansas. A place so benighted that the provincial government flouts the Canada Health Act and refuses to pay for abortions unless they are carried out in a hospital with the APPROVAL OF TWO DOCTORS. A place so uncaring about women’s rights that said provincial government is being sued by Dr Henry Morgentaler — he of the Order of Canada — to secure the same rights for New Brunswick women as for other Canadian women.
And Frank McKenna had a lot to do with what is the matter with New Brunswick."

Just imagine how McKenna as Liberal leader would respond the next time another Bill C-484 comes around (and it will -- the fetus fetishists probably started lobbying for some MP to put forward another Private Member's Bill the minute the election was over). If the LPC is a progressive party, it needs a progressive leader, not a dinosaur who opposes womens' reproductive freedom. Not only that, but the LPC caucus needs to get its shit all in one bag as far as where it stands on stealth legislation that erodes abortion rights. Smarten up, Libs.

Political Compass

2008-10-21T08:30:00.002-07:00

As the US election rumbles into its final 2 weeks, the name-calling from the right has become shriller and stupider than ever. Wingnuts on both sides of the 49th have taken to continually and inaccurately and irritatingly referring to Barack Obama as a "Marxist" and a "Socialist". Therefore, I thought it would be instructive to take a look at where all the parties and candidates, Canadian and USian, stand on the Political Compass.

First, Canada's political parties:

Stephen Harper is to the left of his own party:

Now here's the chart for the US election, with Stephen Harper added to show where he stands in relation to the American candidates. And... whoops! Harpercons take note: Barack Obama is just slightly more Marxist than Stephen Harper (but not nearly as Marxist as the Pope).

Worth repeating

2008-10-20T22:49:00.002-07:00

The Rev speaks, you listen.

2008-10-20T19:03:00.002-07:00

Kittehs

2008-10-20T12:25:00.006-07:00

Yesterday was the kittens' 5 month birthday. Mr. Black is almost as big as his mom at this point, but Mr. Blue is still kitten-sized at only about 2/3 the size of Mr. Black, if that. The runt of the litter. Here they are relaxing together:

And they've made friends -- or at least, come to an agreement -- with the dog. In face-to-face encounters, the kittens immediately arch and spit, but the dog now understands what this means, and the kittens seem to know they've got the upper paw. No more hiding under the couch when the dog is around:

It's a peaceful coexistence for the most part. The dog has figured out that in any conflict between dog and cat, she will lose. The cats have somehow made her forget all about that "1500 pounds of jaw pressure" thing. What ingenious and sneaky creatures!

Dion announces he'll step down (later)

2008-10-20T11:20:00.003-07:00

Kady O'Malley liveblogs his speech here.

Sad. Where do the Liberals go from here, I wonder.

*UPDATE: He'll step down when an interim leader is decided, not immediately. Whenever.

Meet the Press

2008-10-19T06:07:00.004-07:00

Colin Powell just endorsed Obama. Is this important? You betcha.

UPDATE: CNN:

"Former Secretary of State Colin Powell announced Sunday that he will be voting for Sen. Barack Obama, citing the Democrat's "ability to inspire" and the "inclusive nature of his campaign."" [...]

"Powell said he questioned Sen. John McCain's judgment in picking Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate because he doesn't think she is ready to be president.
He also said he was disappointed with some of McCain's campaign tactics, such as bringing up Obama's ties to former 1960s radical Bill Ayers."

Youtube's up:

Stick a fork in McCain/Palin, they're done.

Now that's a rally

2008-10-18T21:42:00.006-07:00

This is what 100,000 people looks like:

St. Louis Missouri must not be one of them pro-America areas.

Class act

2008-10-18T13:30:00.004-07:00

We already know SaWah's a classless moron, and apparently her hubby "the first dude" isn't averse to slopping around in the same sty and stirring up the same shit as she does. Here's the Toddster holding a sign at a rally in Minnesota:

Hahaha ha ha... "Charles Manson Was A Community Organizer", what a knee-slapper. Addressing the drooling, grunting crowd, Todd said he was "just glad to be a part of the McCain/Palin ticket"... huh? Hello? What's he running for??

Ugly

2008-10-18T12:19:00.005-07:00

Behold Duh Base at a Palin rally:

As dense as these people are, they're not so cataclysmically dull that they're unaware of the screwing over they get on a daily basis... by someone. So they glare out at a hostile world with astonished resentment until *someone* tells them who to blame, all the better if it's a symbol of something they already despise, and they become an ignorant army of blind, stupid rage.

That's why it's so important that they and their political puppet masters be taken out of play.

Dion expected to step down Monday

2008-10-18T05:36:00.002-07:00

Really, this time. Unless he changes his mind over the weekend, Stephane Dion has called a press conference for Monday where it's expected he will step down:

"Stéphane Dion's short and troubled career as the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada is expected to come to an end on Monday.
Liberal insiders say that unless Mr. Dion changes his mind over the weekend, he will be stepping down, having been persuaded to show himself and his family some mercy after nearly two years of being punched around in the political arena.
Mr. Dion, who vowed in the closing days of the election campaign that "I am not a quitter," had wanted to remain opposition leader, fight for his leadership and face an automatic postelection leadership review in May.
However, during several days of secluded reflection and consultation with party officials, friends and colleagues, the 53-year-old Montreal MP was persuaded that such a battle would create turmoil in the party, would cost too much money and could fail."

It's the only reasonable course. There's no point in Dion carrying on to a leadership review that he couldn't possibly survive, at the helm of a party that's lining up behind him not in support but to push him overboard. Delaying the inevitable would only cause more disarray and damage to the Liberal brand.

The Liberals need to prove to supporters and to the electorate that they're a viable and robust party rather than rigor-mortised roadkill on the Canadian political highway. That won't happen as long as their leader is Harper's punching bag.

The Obama endorsements come rolling in

2008-10-17T20:30:00.004-07:00

And some are from unexpected places -- like conservative radio talk show host Michael Smerconish:

"John McCain is an honorable man who has served his country well. But he will not get my vote. For the first time since registering as a Republican 28 years ago, I'm voting for a Democrat for president."

...and the conservative Chicago Tribune, which has never endorsed a Democrat for president since being founded in 1847:

"On Nov. 4 we're going to elect a president to lead us through a perilous time and restore in us a common sense of national purpose.

The strongest candidate to do that is Sen. Barack Obama. The Tribune is proud to endorse him today for president of the United States."

...and quite possibly before the weekend is out, another well-known and respected conservative will add his name to the growing list of conservative endorsements of Obama -- former Bush Secretary of State Colin Powell:

"It now seems beyond doubt that Colin Powell will endorse Barack Obama and thereby hammer the final nail in the coffin of the Republican campaign to hold onto the White House."

Check out Editor & Publisher's list of newspaper endorsements -- 55 for Obama to 16 for McCain, and some of the papers endorsing Obama endorsed Bush last time around.

Something amazing is happening.

Friday funnies

2008-10-17T12:06:00.003-07:00

The photo that will go down as one of the funniest in electoral history. From Americablog's photoshop contest:

More.

Anti-Palin ad

2008-10-17T11:44:00.002-07:00

Intense:

More here.

Let's talk about civility

2008-10-17T11:20:00.002-07:00

and how all those stories about angry, out-of-control wingnuts at Palin rallies are just so much bullshit.

Right. Now that the media is considered fair game for the Hate Talk Express and its spittle-flecked supporters, maybe it's time they simply refused to cover any of Palin's rallies or speeches. Why give this idiot and her brain-damaged constituency any free publicity?

Plumbers for Obama

2008-10-17T10:45:00.004-07:00

Never mind Joe the Plumber, here's Al the Plumber:

"South side plumber Al Knapinski says when he watched the debate Wednesday night he felt like the candidates were talking to him. He says he was very interested in many of the issues they discussed." [...]

"From where he sits, the future looks bleak. The cost of plumbing supplies is going up, and customers are reluctant to get work done.

“I can only hope in time the economy corrects itself and there’ll be a bigger demand for service plumbers and that's what I’ll be doing now,” Al said.

This election, Al says he's voting his pocket book. He's supporting Barack Obama because he thinks he has the best vision for America."

Our plumber's plumbier than your plumber!

Spin, for the unobservant

2008-10-17T09:36:00.006-07:00

What the -- !?? There's an excited discussion at FD this morning, precipitated by a CBS poll that indicates McCain and Obama are tied:

SHRIEEEK! McCain closed the gap!!?? The excitement spiraled into arguments about the comparative merits of polls, Kerry/Bush polls from 2004, McCain's stellar performance in this week's debate, and the JoeThePlumber Effect. Hope... Yes! we! can! Except...

Hope springs eternal

2008-10-16T12:52:00.009-07:00

at FD. First, there's the set-up:

Then there's Reality's vicious drop-kick to the crotch:

"John McCain did great tonight in the debate. But every time John mentioned “Joe the Plumber,” some of us in the campaign banged our heads against the wall. If Steve Schmidt had any hair left, I hear he would have been pulling it out tonight. He reportedly screamed at John’s debate prep team tonight (out of earshot of reporters, of course). “You idiots - he’s related to Charles Keating… of the Keating Five scandal!” They thought they had a real live Joe Six-Pack who’s spurned Barack Obama’s tax plan. But what they forgot to do was check on Joe Wurzelbacher’s background." (emphasis mine)

The Keating Five? Oh, that Keating Five.

"Joe the Plumber" aka Joe Wurzelbacher, is related to Charles Keating's son-in-law, Robert Wurzelbacher. And Joe doesn't have a plumbing license. And he's not even registered to vote.

Memo to GOP strategists: if you're going to plant operatives at Obama rallies, at least find people whose suspiciously partisan backgrounds can't be Googled in 3.2 seconds. (Note to FDers: D'oh!)

UPDATE: HAHAHAHAHA!

OOPS! UPDATE II: Mea culpa. It appears this guy isn't related to Keating after all. (Changed link to C&L where the original link was posted, in case they update.) Nothing to see here! D'oh! (h/t BJD in the comments)

Also there's this -- the primary source of this story is a known hoaxster.

But my original point still stands -- given that Joe the Plumber has a last name that prompted speculation about the Keating Five, he is anything but helpful to McCain, and it was a mistake to feature him in the debate.

(h/t JA Baker)

From after the debate

2008-10-16T10:39:00.004-07:00

Caption this:

(From yahoo, h/t heretic in the comments)

And in the US of A

2008-10-16T04:24:00.006-07:00

Today's Electoral College projections from Electoral-Vote:

Yikes! Of course, it's important to remember the "lagging factor" with state polls, which don't come in as often as national polls. Some of these projections are based on weeks-old data (although by now, they'd all reflect reaction to the economic mess). Still, it's probably safe to say that Obama is well into "dead girl/live boy" territory.

What next -- Part II

2008-10-16T03:28:00.005-07:00

What a difference a day makes:

"Stephane Dion is expected to announce today that he will step aside as leader of Canada's Liberal Party following a loss in this week's federal election, the Toronto Star reported."

Too bad, because I think he's actually capable in the ways that count -- it's just that at this time and in this political environment, voters apparently want someone who's capable in the ways that don't count.

WTF? UPDATE: Dion won't step down. (CBC changed the article at the link, so I replaced it with a Bloomberg article. Bad CBC -- updating is okay, down the memory hole isn't.)

McAngry

2008-10-15T20:07:00.009-07:00

The final Presidential debate has come and gone, for good or ill, and although it wasn't a rout like the last one, Obama still won hands down.

It was a pivotal debate for McCain, who was sweating out of every orifice. He was aggressive at first, but things started going wrong very quickly when the discussion turned to the negativity of his campaign and rallies. McCain's descent into degradation and insanity was rapid. He was sorry. He wasn't sorry. His feelings were hurt. The Obama campaign was all negative, and the McCain campaign was all about the economy. He finally lost his grip completely and spiraled into McAngry, rolling his eyes, sneering and jeering, lying, interrupting, talking past, over and through Obama. McUgly, McDesperate and McDone.

As for Obama, his was a fine, if a bit policy-wonky, performance. He repeatedly steered the demented McNasty away from personal attacks and back to the issues. But by far his best moment was when he was able to answer, straight-faced, the question "Is Sarah Palin qualified to be President?". Now that's an achievement. Just for being able to do that, Obama won.

But don't take my word for it. Uncommitted voters polled also give it to Obama:
CBS: 53 - 22
CNN: 58 - 31
Survey USA: 56 - 28

McFucked.

Secret Service investigating

2008-10-15T11:27:00.003-07:00

The Secret Service is investigating the person who screamed "Kill him!" yesterday at the Palin rally in Pennsylvania:

"The U.S. Secret Service is investigating a threatening remark directed at Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama during a political event in Scranton.The agency followed up on a report in The Times-Tribune that a member of the crowd shouted, "Kill him!" after one mention of Mr. Obama's name during a rally Tuesday for Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin."

NOW will McCain tell this numb bitch to stop her vitriolic, hate-mongering diatribes? Maybe that's the real reason they have the SS at her events -- to deal with all the drooling nutbar GOP supporters who get spun out by the rhetoric.

What next?

2008-10-15T10:17:00.002-07:00

Given the NEW New Government we woke up with this morning (meet the New New Government, same as the Old New Government), there's obviously some work that needs to be done to remedy the stasis in Canadian politics. What?

Liberal leadership review? (Hate to say it but "Dion is not a leader". Nice guy, but not a leader.) Who? Who's our Obama?

Coalition left-ish party? (Pretty extreme and unlikely, and according to yesterday's numbers, no guarantee of electoral success since the CPC won more ridings than the Liberals, NDP and Greens combined.)

New strategy for progressive parties, like maybe, uh, start attacking the CPC instead of each other?

Or how about every voter just shows up at the next election and refuses their ballots on the grounds that nobody deserves their vote? (Heh -- a dream of mine, just had to throw it in there.)

Discuss.

Networks call Conservative minority

2008-10-14T19:28:00.005-07:00

Well that was exciting! So nothing has changed, except that Harper has extended his mandate by a couple of years.

How much money did this cost us!?!??

UPDATE: In other news, the CPC's Naked Mayor lost her bid for the seat in Skeena-Bulkley Valley. (Just thought you'd want to know.)

READ EM & WEEP: By the numbers:
CPC - 143
Liberal - 77
BQ - 49
NDP - 37
IND - 2

Holy cow, only 12 seats shy of a majority for the Cons. And some of these races are squeakers -- Keith Martin was re-elected for the Libs in Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca by 68 votes!? Yikes!

Attention British Columbian voters

2008-10-14T16:58:00.003-07:00

Ross K has a post up on endangered BC ridings that require strategic voting action.

Sorry this is so late, but I've been sick in bed all day (I voted in the advance polls thank god, so I didn't have to drag my ass out to vote), but anyone on their way out the door to vote might want to have a look at this first.

Then get out there and stop those cons!

"Kill him!" again

2008-10-14T12:44:00.005-07:00

In Pennsylvania today, the Hate Talk Express motors on:

"Chris Hackett addressed the increasingly feisty crowd as they await the arrival of Gov. Palin.Each time the Republican candidate for the seat in the 10th Congressional District mentioned Barack Obama the crowd booed loudly.

One man screamed "kill him!"

Supporters have been noted shouting “kill him,” “terrorist,” “off with his head” and other equally incendiary terms about Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. Others have directly suggested Mr. Obama is a Muslim, which he is not, or a traitor. Some comments even drew rebuke from Republican presidential nominee John McCain."

As far as McCain's "rebuke", too little too late, I'm afraid -- if he really wanted to return a modicum of civility to his campaign, he'd stop Palin from telling the lies that get these cretins all torqued up. But he isn't stopping her and she's too dishonest to even admit that her diatribes are the lowest kind of hate-mongering. From Huffpo, here's a video compilation of some of the hate going on at GOP rallies:

.
And it's spreading...

Frum gets spanked

2008-10-14T04:20:00.003-07:00

You'd think that being the ex-Bush speechwriter who came up with the term "axis of evil" would be pretty solid conservative cred. But David Frum is feeling the wrath of readers and fellow NROers who accuse him of being a latte-sipping tool of the Liberal Media, all because he expressed his low opinion of bozo VP candidate Sarah Palin. Frum responds to his tormenters:

"Do my correspondents (and now my Corner colleagues) truly believe that - but for my pitiful media and social ambitions - nobody in America would have noticeed that Sarah Palin cannot speak three coherent consecutive words about finance or economics?" [...]
"Possibly it is bad form for me to acknowledge this reality. As one of my correspondents wrote this very morning:

PLEASE KEEP YOUR REMARKS TO YOURSELF! Nobody but Democrats wants to hear them.

Well he may have a point.

Perhaps it is our job at NRO is tell our readers only what they want to hear, without much regard to whether it is true. Perhaps it is our duty just to keep smiling and to insist that everything is dandy - that John McCain's economic policies make sense, that his selection of Sarah Palin was an act of statesmanship, that she herself is the second coming of Anna Schwartz, and that nobody but an over-educated snob would ever suggest otherwise." (emphasis mine)

Now you're catching on, Dave. That free speech thing? Nah. Only when it toes the party line. Otherwise all bets are off, you red tory bastard.

(via andrew sullivan)

McCain campaign: turning down the vitriol volume

2008-10-14T04:09:00.002-07:00

And why not? A picture says a thousand words.

Et tu, Hitch?

2008-10-13T11:39:00.003-07:00

Christopher Hitchens isn't exactly a conservative, he's more of a liberal hawk who's been onside with conservatives on issues like the war in Iraq and terrorism. This should have made the moderate, hawkish conservative McCain a natural choice for him, but today he endorses Obama:

"On "the issues" in these closing weeks, there really isn't a very sharp or highly noticeable distinction to be made between the two nominees, and their "debates" have been cramped and boring affairs as a result. But the difference in character and temperament has become plainer by the day, and there is no decent way of avoiding the fact. Last week's so-called town-hall event showed Sen. John McCain to be someone suffering from an increasingly obvious and embarrassing deficit, both cognitive and physical. And the only public events that have so far featured his absurd choice of running mate have shown her to be a deceiving and unscrupulous woman utterly unversed in any of the needful political discourses but easily trained to utter preposterous lies and to appeal to the basest element of her audience." [...]

"The most insulting thing that a politician can do is to compel you to ask yourself: "What does he take me for?" Precisely this question is provoked by the selection of Gov. Sarah Palin. I wrote not long ago that it was not right to condescend to her just because of her provincial roots or her piety, let alone her slight flirtatiousness, but really her conduct since then has been a national disgrace. It turns out that none of her early claims to political courage was founded in fact, and it further turns out that some of the untested rumors about her—her vindictiveness in local quarrels, her bizarre religious and political affiliations—were very well-founded, indeed. Moreover, given the nasty and lowly task of stirring up the whack-job fringe of the party's right wing and of recycling patent falsehoods about Obama's position on Afghanistan, she has drawn upon the only talent that she apparently possesses." (emphasis mine)

Ouch.

Countdown to Election Day

2008-10-13T10:02:00.001-07:00

Yes, there is an election going on in Canada tomorrow. I admit to being completely and utterly mesmerized by the election south of the border -- in part because of the drama, but also because whatever they do affects the world, which means us. This is no doubt one of the reasons Harper chose the timing he did -- get the thing over with while nobody's paying attention.

But I am paying attention, and something that really stands out about this election is the diversity of those who are unimpressed with Harper. That includes the usual -- liberals, greens, NDPers -- but also social conservatives, who appear to be staging a bit of a revolt. Perpetually-aggrieved Socons are unhappy with Harper because he won't address their pet issues, and they rightly feel that helping to give him a majority would just prove to him that he can continue to ignore them. Some are talking about voting CHP, some about forming another party. Excellent ideas if you ask me! No, seriously.

Why not? If there was a real socon alternative, they could vote for it and stop asking why their issues are always ignored -- the reason would be glaringly obvious, since they'd have no chance of winning a seat anywhere. The CPC could return to red tory glory, the only viable form of Canadian conservatism. Whoever held power could stop wasting time and taxpayers' money farting around with idiocy like "fetal homicide" bills and concentrate on the real issues -- hello the economy? Everybody's happy!

Up is down, war is peace...

2008-10-13T08:37:00.005-07:00

... and Sarah Palin has been cleared of any legal wrongdoing.

It's already common knowledge that Palin lies a lot, but now she's wandering into serious DSM-IV territory. Taste the crazy:

"It's fair to say that Trooper-Gate hasn't exactly burnished Sarah Palin's reputation for honesty. And in a conference call she gave Saturday to respond to the legislature's report on the affair released Friday night, that reputation took another hit.
Palin opened her remarks by declaring:
I'm very very pleased to be cleared of any legal wrongdoing ... any hint of any kind of unethical activity there.
But of course, it's simply untrue that the report cleared Palin of legal wrongdoing or unethical activity." (emphasis mine)

Can you say "narcissistic personality disorder"? How about "fucked up"?

Et tu, Redstate?

2008-10-12T22:58:00.004-07:00

When you've lost ~~Wingnut Central~~ Redstate, it's all over, baby:

"RedState co-founder Joshua Trevino writes on his blog that he can't bring himself to vote for the Republican ticket:
'In the end, I couldn't do it. My California ballot arrived in the mail today, and I opened it fully intending to vote for John McCain. I filled out the state propositions first -- yes on 8, no on everything proposing a new bond or new spending -- then the local offices, straight Republican excepting Kevin Johnson for (nonpartisan) Sacramento mayor. Finally, the vote for President of the United States: an academic exercise in California, where Barack Obama will surely win by a crushing margin. But good citizenship demands voting as if it matters. Do I believe in John McCain? Not as much as I used to. Do I believe in Sarah Palin? Despite my early enthusiasm for her, now not at all. Do I believe in the national Republican Party? Not in the slightest -- even though I see no meaningful alternative to it'."

The GOP is imploding.

Miserable lying douchebag

2008-10-12T21:18:00.003-07:00

Satisfied for the moment with the level of spittle-flecked, foaming-at-the-mouth hatred she's whipped up in the GOP's racist base, Sarah Palin turns her attention to the anti-abortion lunatics, who as we all know have absolutely no history of spinning out and spiraling into violence. Working the stage and her rabid audience with yet another hysterical anti-Obama tirade yesterday in Pennsylvania, Palin conjured up visions of babies left to die on hospital floors by the order of the Bad Black Man:

"The GOP Vice-Presidential nominee saved her most scathing assault when talking about the Born Alive Protection Act, “Most troubling though, most troubling even, is that as a State Senator, Barack Obama wouldn’t even stand up for the rights of infants born alive during an abortion. These infants, often babies with special needs, they’re simply left to die. And in 2002, Congress unanimously passed a federal law to require medical care,” Palin said. “They are living breathing babies. But Sen. Obama describes them as pre-viable.”

Palin added, “Sen. Obama is a politician who has long since left behind even the middle ground on the issue of life.”"

And Sarah Palin is a politician who has long since left behind even the middle ground on the issue of Truth.

As ridiculous as it is, the terrible, pearl-clutching tale of how Obama opposed the "Born Alive" bill because he "favours infanticide" (of course!) has been flogged relentlessly by anti-choice organizations like National Right to ~~Lie~~ Life, who even made TV commercials about it. Launch the swiftboats! Just one little problem: the story is thoroughly debunked bullshit.

Obama voted against the "Born Alive" bill because it was so poorly-crafted. He's on record as stating that he'd support a similar bill as long as it was worded in such a way that it didn't endanger abortion rights. But of course that's what pisses them off, those who disseminate these odious lies, isn't it?

So Palin lied -- again -- for the sole purpose of ratcheting up the hate. Again. If Senator McCain is sincere about wanting to dial down the vitriol, he needs to let the rest of his campaign in on it. And if he really wants to do the right thing, unceremoniously dumping Palin from the ticket and kicking her lying douchebag ass back to Alaska to answer for her dishonesty up there would be a good start.

The Hate Talk Express

2008-10-11T22:34:00.005-07:00

The McCain campaign, and particularly Palin, wrenched open a putrid can of worms with their over-the-top, racially-tinged rhetoric last week. It was just a dog-whistle, but the low-functioning cretins who make up the GOP's base got the message loud and clear, and they're responding in kind:

"As the crowd cheered at a Sarah Palin rally this morning in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a man in the audience grinned as he held up a stuffed monkey doll with a Barack Obama bumper sticker wrapped across its forehead." [...]

"After Palin finished her remarks this morning, the man holding the stuffed monkey seemed to notice that a video camera was pointed at him, at which point he removed the Obama sticker from the doll’s head and crumpling it up in his hand."

You bought it, you own it -- "buy the ticket, take the ride" (as HST would say). Nice work, McCain/Palin.

"Hockey Mom" Palin booed at Flyers' game

2008-10-11T20:23:00.004-07:00

Alright hockey fans:

"Although many Philadelphia Flyers fans cheered and clapped as Sarah Palin took to the ice at the Wachovia Center on Saturday night to drop the ceremonial puck kicking off this town's NHL season, their warm reception was no match for the 90 seconds of sustained booing that rumbled through the arena, drowning out most of the cheers in support of the Republican vice presidential nominee.
As Palin stepped onto the ice before a capacity crowd to drop the puck, joined by her daughters Willow and Piper, the arena's jumbotron flashed a futile message to the thousands of notoriously harsh Philadelphia sports fans in attendance.

"Flyers fans, show Philadelphia's class and welcome America's #1 hockey mom, Sarah Palin," the massive electronic message board pleaded, to little effect. Booing quickly erupted when the smiling candidate emerged from a tunnel leading onto the ice, muffling the applause of any Palin supporters in the crowd.

Some in the audience simply gave her a thumbs down gesture. Others called her names."

Called her names!? Ha, she's lucky nobody beaned her with a squid. Here:

If you've been out all week giving hideously incendiary speeches to partisan audiences, it seems like a no-brainer that some of the audience at a non-political event (at least half, according to the polls) will probably be the very people you've been slagging. Common sense would dictate leaving the kids back in the stands, no?

Morgentaler Derangement Syndrome

2008-10-11T19:14:00.001-07:00

Whoever could have predicted that yesterday's Order of Canada investiture ceremony would raise such sound and fury among the fetus fetishists? Anyone who knows that they harbour a Morgentaler obsession of such brain-damaged magnitude that it can only be called "Morgentaler Derangement Syndrome"... that's who.

Having already directed their impotent rage in turns at the Governor-General, then the Order of Canada selection committee, then Chief Justice McLachlin, all in vain, yesterday's ceremony flipped them back into outrage mode and they're gunning for the GG again. Religious crackpot Deborah Gyapong SHRIEEEEEKS:

"Today, on the day preceding Thanksgiving Weekend, she gives this award to a man whose activism has contributed to the deaths of more than 2 million unborn children. A man who brags about personally aborting about 100,000 babies.

This woman must go. Her term must be rescinded." (emphasis mine)

Fuck off. Just fuck right off. Gyapong is either direly dull-witted or sleazily disingenuous (or more likely some nefarious combination of the two) and just trying to whip up a little more outrage among the cerebrally-deprived. By now it's common knowledge that the Governor-General has nothing to do with the nuts and bolts of the Order of Canada selection process -- she just announces the recipients and pins the medals on their lapels. That hasn't changed in the last 3 months in spite of all the spittle-flecked, drool-stained letters (and worse) that were sent to her by these delusional nutbars. For them to demand that her term be rescinded is a new nadir of assholishness.

If this is all they've got, to point and scream at someone they've already been proven wrong in pointing and screaming at, I (dis)respectfully suggest that it's long past time they faced reality and got the fuck over it. Freedom won. Liberty won. Privacy won. Choice won. Shut the fuck up and deal with it, douchebags.

Heckofajob, McCain/Palin

2008-10-11T14:22:00.002-07:00

Obama breaks 50% nationally:

What goes around comes around.

Troopergate report: McCain campaign responds

2008-10-11T03:46:00.005-07:00

Shorter McCainiacs: "Hey, unless there's a law against sleazy, slimy, unethical douchebaggery, Sarah Palin hasn't done anything wrong... and besides, the whole thing is a vast left-wing conspiracy." :

""Today's report shows that the Governor acted within her proper and lawful authority in the reassignment of Walt Monegan," said Palin spokeswoman Meg Stapelton. "The report also illustrates what we've known all along: this was a partisan led inquiry run by Obama supporters.""

Sure. Nothing to see here. That's why the McCain campaign has had lawyers up in Alaska for weeks, working feverishly around the clock to stall the report's publication.

From the OC investiture ceremony

2008-10-11T02:30:00.001-07:00

The anti-abortion freaks have posted a few photos of their whiny little protests against yesterday's Order of Canada investiture ceremony that included Dr. Henry Morgentaler, but there's really only one picture that counts:

(From Canada.com)

Speaking of Dr. Morgentaler's award, OC recipient and former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour summed it up best:

"In the specific case of Dr. Morgentaler, I think he represents values that Canadians should be happy to celebrate: courage, passion, dedication, personal service to a cause that obviously has been a controversial one."

Get the picture, fetus fetishists?

But but but

2008-10-10T18:31:00.004-07:00

but yesterday the McCain campaign cleared her!!!:

"Report reveals Palin abused power...
A 263-page report that was released following a six-hour hearing reveals that investigator Steve Branchflower concluded that Mrs Palin was guilty of violating state ethics rules for public officials.

The investigator said Mrs Palin had allowed her husband Todd Palin to use the Alaska Governor's office and its resources to pressure officials to sack trooper Mike Wooten, her former brother-in-law."

Say it ain't so, Sarah, say it ain't so! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

UPDATE: From TPM Muck, all you ever wanted to know about Troopergate. HAHAHAHAHA!

Gasp! swoon

2008-10-10T07:59:00.001-07:00

That was the sound of a thousand fetus fetishists stumbling toward the fainting couch and losing consciousness. Oh boo hoo hoo!:

"Abortion-rights activist Dr. Henry Morgentaler was expected to receive his Order of Canada award on Friday at a ceremony in Quebec City.

Governor General Michaëlle Jean will present Morgentaler with the honour at the Citadel. Morgentaler, 85, is among 20 Canadians to receive the award."

The CBC article hasn't even been up for an hour and already 37 comments... only 37?? That doesn't seem like a lot, considering half of them are from pro-choicers. Maybe everyone else is still out cold after the Big Faint.

I am watching it live on TV right this very minute -- Dr. M got the medal, to applause. Fait accompli! All the petitions, all the astroturfed complaints to the Supreme Court, all the freeped polls, all the demands to revoke, all the urging of other OC recipients to return their medals (ten (10) returned so far, 3 from beyond the grave)... all for nada.

Canada is a pro-choice nation. Res ipsa loquitur.

Congratulations, Dr. Morgentaler. You are a hero.

"Call off the pitbull."

2008-10-10T06:59:00.005-07:00

When more reasonable conservatives take issue with Sarah Palin's bogus attacks on Barack Obama, you know things have gone too far:

"The McCain campaign knows that Obama isn't a Muslim or a terrorist, but they're willing to help a certain kind of voter think he is. Just the way certain South Carolinians in 2000 were allowed to think that McCain's adopted daughter from Bangladesh was his illegitimate black child.

But words can have more serious consequences than lost votes and we've already had a glimpse of the Palin effect.

The Post's Dana Milbank reported that media representatives in Clearwater were greeted with taunts, thunder sticks and profanity. One Palin supporter shouted an epithet at an African-American soundman and said, "Sit down, boy."

McCain may want to call off his pit bull before this war escalates."

No kidding. Palin's recent speeches are dog-whistling every brain-damaged racist scumbag in the Republican constituency and whipping them into a shrieking frenzy. That kind of wretched, vicious hate-mongering should instantly disqualify her from being the Wasilla dog-catcher, let alone VP of the United States.

On Dion and "gaffes"

2008-10-10T05:49:00.005-07:00

So Dion had an awkward interview moment -- part of an interview that was supposed to have been re-done and not aired -- and over that the CPC, enabled by CTV, goes apeshit? Their reaction seems a little mean-spirited and overwrought to me. And the National Post (yes, that National Post) concurs:

"Liberal leader Stephane Dion misunderstands a complicated question and the Conservatives trot out leader Stephen Harper to declare it the definitive proof this Liberal leader is unfit to serve as prime minister." [...]

"Aside from the questionable ethics of CTV airing a segment when both Mr. Dion and interviewer Steve Murphy twice agreed to restart the interview to clarify the question, this is a damning insight into how desperate the Conservatives have become in their battle to belittle a Liberal leader they never dreamed could pose a threat to their government.

Before showing the unedited video that both sides had agreed not to air, CTV host Mike Duffy urged Canadians to fire up their video recorders to capture a moment he predicted would haunt the Liberal leader for the rest of the campaign."

The CPC called this election thinking they'd sail straight to victory and a majority government. Now they're not so sure they'll even win a minority, and this kind of picky nastiness just highlights their rapidly-evaporating confidence. But hey, looks good on them to show their true colours, however inadvertently.

Oh yeah, and Mike Duffy is a douchebag and CTV blows dead bears.

The real reason the economy is tanking

2008-10-10T05:30:00.000-07:00

Sex addiction? Yes, YES, OH YES!!!:

"David Duchovny just checked out of sex-addiction rehab, and his lawyer says treatment was a success. But while the "Californication" star is doing better, the problem may be getting worse here in New York.
Local sex therapists are seeing an increase in patients from the finance field, and a link between the dipping Dow and bad behavior." (emphasis mine)

As the Dow crashes and burns, social conservatives finally raise their eyes from the crotches of the nation and can't help noticing the economic disaster unfolding all around them. Yet even so, they still find a way to stay focused on SEX. Sex addiction? Pot, meet kettle.

From the "Last-Ditch Effort" Department

2008-10-09T21:42:00.004-07:00

Feverish appeals to stall it notwithstanding, the dreaded ethics committee report on "Troopergate" will be released tomorrow. The report, which details the investigation into whether Sarah Palin abused the power of the Governor's office, has had the McCain campaign unloading in its collective pants -- but wait! Palin's been exonerated... by the McCain campaign?:

"Trying to head off a potentially embarrassing state ethics report on GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, campaign officials released their own report Thursday that clears her of any wrongdoing." [...]

"Lawmakers are expected to release their own findings Friday. Campaign officials have yet to see that report — the result of an investigation that began before she was tapped as McCain's running mate — but said the investigation has falsely portrayed a legitimate policy dispute between a governor and her commissioner as something inappropriate."

Bill Clinton must be kicking his own ass around the block for not coming up with this brilliant vindication tactic when he was being investigated. Seriously though, isn't it ironic that this supposed "investigation" by the McCain campaign is something they really should have done, except maybe two or three months ago? As part of the, you know, vetting process?

Tomorrow should be fun.

HAHAHAHAHAHA!

2008-10-09T08:33:00.001-07:00

Just go read. (But down the coffee first.)

Your morning SHRIEEEEEEEK!!!

2008-10-09T07:28:00.008-07:00

My "lifeshite" tab is starting to jiggle and jerk and rumble as though it's trying to jump right off my bookmarks bar! That can only mean it's time to pop the corks again, because surely the Apocalypse is upon us:

SHRIEEEEEEEKohmygawdshrieeEEEEEK!!!!

"Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) the political arm of the pro-life movement has led the public outcry against the nomination with a petition of over 30,000 Canadians, commissioning the largest poll in the country on the subject..."

They're sure getting their money's worth out of the MASSIVE poll. Too bad, suckahs, we won. You lost. Own it. Get over it. Have a glass of champers...

HAHAHAHAHAHA! Congratulations, Dr. Morgentaler!

NOT TOTAL LOSERS UPDATE: Birth Pangs is all over it, baby!

I wish I could vote for

2008-10-08T20:32:00.000-07:00

That One.

Whoa

2008-10-08T20:16:00.002-07:00

McCain's losing it. "My fellow prisoners"?

Watch Gov. Mooseburger's face just after he says it. Yikes.

Daily Gallups

2008-10-08T17:03:00.003-07:00

D'oh!

Eleven (11) points ahead! Looks like Governor Mooseburgers isn't the driving force the GOP thought she'd be... unless by "driving" you mean "driving" sane conservatives away. Pobrecita! Better start praying that Scalia doesn't decide to retire, fetus fetishists. HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Bragging break

2008-10-08T16:13:00.005-07:00

I just wanted to take a break from the political ranting and raving to brag on my little brother, who just ran a 5k race with a finish time of 23:30:05 -- that is about a 7.5 minute mile, a very respectable time, especially for someone who just started running this year! As a long-time distance runner (who's never even come close to a 7.5 minute mile -- I ran an 8 minute mile once and puked), I am very proud of him! This is him crossing the finish line (the 23:36 is gun time, which includes the time it takes to get to the starting line):

He's flyin', baby, his feet are right off the ground! Wooohoooo!

Okay, back to politics.

What Friedman said

2008-10-08T11:01:00.002-07:00

The inventor of the Friedman Unit tells it like it is on flailin' Palin:

"How in the world can conservative commentators write with a straight face that this woman should be vice president of the United States? Do these people understand what serious trouble our country is in right now?"

The short answer is, of course they understand, they just don't give a shit.

I'm listening to Rush right now, and he is pissed. Pissed that McCain lost the debate last night. Pissed that the ridiculous "Ayers story" isn't getting more play (thanks to the "Drive-By Media", of course). Pissed that the GOP's electoral chances are relentlessly swirling in the bowl, something that's unlikely to change unless Obama kills and eats a litter of puppies on live network TV.

Yet a caller just said "At least we've got Sarah Palin" -- *GAG* -- and Rush concurred, going on to berate the GOP for trying to appeal to "moderate conservatives". (Huh!? With a nutcase like Palin?? Hahahaha, oh please.)

I think they know good and damn well how ridiculous Palin is -- how could they not? -- but their livelihoods depend on perpetuating the "culture wars" bullshit and she's perfect for it. If conservatives and liberals were to start working together to fix REAL problems like the economy, and that is what it will take, the Limbaughs, Hannitys, O'Reillys and Coulters would quickly find their careers on the same trajectory as the GOP's election campaign.

Shout-out

2008-10-08T10:19:00.003-07:00

for my homegirls at Birth Pangs, still not getting picked up by the Progressive Bloggers feed. Why not go give them a read.