Sarah Palin v the polar bear: who will survive?

This is from The Guardian:

The financial crisis may be dominating the US presidential campaign, but the season's most intriguing political battle is shaping up as a straightforward fight for survival between two old foes: Sarah Palin and the polar bear. When the US government decided to classify Ursus maritimus as an endangered species earlier in the year, Palin sued in attempt to overturn the ruling, fearing the label would deter oil and gas exploration in Alaska. The case of Palin v Polar bear will be heard in January. Here's how the contenders size up:

Range

Polar bear: Found across the Arctic regions of five countries; the US, Canada, Russia, Norway and Greenland.

Sarah Palin: Not quite as well travelled. Lives within sight of Russia, but has never ventured there, possibly because of diminishing sea ice.

Conservation status

Polar bear: Vulnerable, largely due to climatic change and the resulting habitat loss.

Palin: Also vulnerable, because of a lack of experience and controversial stances on abortion, creationism, global warming, same-sex marriage and the environment.

Predatory armoury

Polar bear: Possesses razor-sharp teeth, a powerful build and a sense of smell that can detect a seal a mile away under three feet of snow. Still unlikely to triumph in a direct confrontation with Palin however, unless the Alaska legislature suddenly decides to uphold the right to arm bears.

Palin: Licensed gun-owner, avid hunter and crack shot. Palin also supports a policy of shooting wolves from helicopters in order to increase the Alaskan moose population so that Alaskans can shoot more moose. Deadly.

Impact of climate change

Polar bear: Length of hunting season has diminished, birth rates have fallen and it now has insufficient fat reserves.

Palin: None observed.

Biggest supporters

Polar bear: Greenpeace, the US department of the interior, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the US Geological Survey.

Palin: Hockey moms, the National Rifle Association, rightwing fundamentalist Christians, climate change deniers, the oil industry, God (endorsement unconfirmed).

Biggest threat to survival

Polar bear: Sarah Palin.

Palin: Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden, feminism, belated national reality check brought on by global economic crisis.

Ruggles is opening a restaurant right around the corner from my house. It says on the door that it's Houston's only certified green restaurant. That's pretty exciting.
Ike update: All of the debris and all of the bags of leaves have been picked up on my street!
All of the lights on my way to work are working!
I'm taking care of my neighbor's beautiful dog named Zoe this weekend. I'm also feeding their fish and giving their 2 turtles kale. There is supposed to be a cat too but I haven't seen her yet.

Farmers Markets

Here is a neat little graph showing the increase in Farmers Markets over the last few years.

Rice has a really nice farmers market on Tuesday afternoons from 3:30-7 in the stadium parking lot. There is one vendor who sells delicious gelato. I know this because my Ike evacuee brought some home last week. Here is a link to the website:

http://www.houstonfarmersmarket.org/

More Bigotry in the News

Four students at George Fox University, a Christian (why am I not surprised) University in Oregon have been suspended for hanging a cardboard cutout of Barack Obama from a tree on campus. A message on the cutout said "Act Six Reject" which refers to a scholarship plan for minority and low income students at Christian colleges. The FBI is investigating the action to see if any civil rights were violated.

Another GOP Bigot

This is what Didi Lima, co-chair of McCain's Nevada Hispanic Leadership Team and Republican spokesperson for the Republican party in Nevada said:



"We don't want (Hispanics) to become the new African-American community," Lima told The Associated Press. "And that's what the Democratic Party is going to do to them, create more programs and give them handouts, food stamps and checks for this and checks for that. We don't want that."
"I'm very much afraid that the Democratic Party is going to do the same thing that they did with the African-American culture and make them all dependent on the government and we don't want that."



This is so disgusting and so insulting to so many people I don't even know what to say. My only suggestion is that we vote for the party that doesn't trash our country and the economy. That way fewer people will need "handouts, foodstamps and checks for this and that."

Guess who's not coming to dinner

Guess who's not coming to dinner
By Roger Ebert
I do not like you, John McCain. My feeling has nothing to do with issues. It has to do with common courtesy. During the debate, you refused to look Barack Obama in the eye. Indeed, you refused to look at him at all. Even when the two of you shook hands at the start, you used your eyes only to locate his hand, and then gazed past him as you shook it.
Obama is my guy. If you are rude to him, you are rude to me. If you came to dinner at my house and refused to look at or speak with one of my guests, that would be bad manners and I would be offended. Same thing if I went to your house. During the debate, you were America's guest.
What was your problem? Do you hold this man in such contempt that you cannot bear to gaze upon him? Will you not even speak to him directly? Do you think he doesn't have the right to be running for President? Were you angry because after you said you wouldn't attend the debate, he said a President should be able to concern himself with two things at the same time? He was right. The proof is, you were there. Were you angry with him because he called your bluff?
During the debate, Jim Lehrer repeatedly called upon both candidates to speak directly to each other. Obama looked at you. He addressed you as "John," which as a fellow senator is his privilege. His body language was open. You stared straight ahead, or at Lehrer, or into space. Your jaw was clinched. You had a tight little smile, or a grimace, or a little shake of your head.
I had to do two things at once while watching the debate. I had to listen to what was being said. And I had to process your rigid and contemptuous behavior. If you were at a wedding and the father of the groom refused to look at or speak to the bride, how would that make you feel? Especially if you were the father of the bride?
You made a TV commercial showing the moments Obama agreed with you. Everybody knows he did. Did his agreement show honesty, or weakness? It is significant that you said it proved he was not ready to lead. What is the better leadership quality: (1) Willingness to listen to your opponent, and keep an open mind? (2) Rigidly ignoring him? Which of the two of you better demonstrated the bipartisan spirit you say you represent? Was there anything he said that you agreed with? Could you have brought yourself to say so?
I'm not the only one who noticed your odd, hostile behavior. Just about everybody did. I'm sure many of your supporters must have sensed the tension. Before the debate, pundits were wondering if you might explode in a display of your famous temper. I think we saw that happen, all right, but it was an implosion. I have instructed my wife to exclude you from any future dinner parties.

Sarah Palin

My prediction is that she will need to "spend more time with her family" in the next week or so and McCain will be choosing a new VP. She is pathetic joke which anyone paying attention knew from the start. Now people from her own party are asking her to step down. This is just another mistake in judgement by McCain and another reason why this man shouldn't be president.

Confused?

I have no idea who wrote this but it is definitely worth reading:

I'm a little confused. Let me get this straight...

If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you’re “exotic, different.”

Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, a quintessential American story.

If your name is Barack, you’re a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you’re a maverick.

Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.

Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you’re well-grounded.

If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate’s Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran’s Affairs committees, you don’t have any real leadership experience.

If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you’re qualified to become the country’s second highest ranking executive.

If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you’re not a real Christian.

If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you’re a Christian.

If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.

If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state’s school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you’re very responsible.

If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family’s values don’t represent America’s.

If your husband is nicknamed “First Dude,” with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

OK, much clearer now.

Bumblebee Bat

I don't know what to say about the situation in this country that hasn't already been said so on to a lighter topic, the Bumblebee Bat.

I had never heard of this bat until the Decider in Technical Services mentioned it yesterday. The Bumblebee Bat or Kitti's Hog-nosed bat is the world's smallest bat and one of the smallest mammals in the world. It resides in Western Thailand and Southeast Burma in limestone caves along rivers and is on the endangered species list.

HCPL has several copies of the book Hello, Bumblebee Bat by Darrin P. Lunde. The call number is: J 599.4 Lun

Stuff White People Like (the book)

There will be a talk and book signing event on Friday, October 17th at 7:00 pm at the Borders at 3025 Kirby, which is right by my house.

Anthem for Obama

Happy Peace Day

Martha Stewart

I love Martha Stewart and would love to find a t-shirt that says WWMD. Her magazine always has some eco friendly tips on reusing or repurposing things. I particularly like the idea in this picture of making a tiered tray for cookies out of old dinner plates and tea cups glued together.

Hagel on Palin

"She doesn't have any foreign policy credentials," Hagel said in an interview. "You get a passport for the first time in your life last year? I mean, I don't know what you can say. You can't say anything."...
"I think they ought to be just honest about it and stop the nonsense about, 'I look out my window and I see Russia and so therefore I know something about Russia,'" he said. "That kind of thing is insulting to the American people."

Nice to hear a Republican like Chuck Hagel put country over politics and say what others in his party won't.

The Brain in McCain Under Strain About Spain

This amusing title is from the Sydney Morning Herald. You can read the entire article here:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/us-election/the-brain-in-mccain-under-strain-about-spain/2008/09/19/1221331207145.html

When asked if he would be inviting Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to the White House after becoming president McCain responded "I would be willing to meet with those leaders who are friends and want to work with us in a cooperative fashion." He then said something about Mexican President Calderon. The reporter then reminded McCain that he was talking about Spain to which McCain responded "I know the issues, I know the leaders." He then went on to say "All I can tell you is that I have a clear record of working with leaders in the hemisphere that are friends with us and standing up to those who are not and that's judged on the basis of the importance of our relationship with Latin America and the entire region."

Spain is a NATO ally located in Europe, not in the Western Hemisphere. Zapatero has been in office 4 years. Spain sent 1,000 troops to fight in Afghanistan with the United States and in 2004 was the target of an Al Qaeda attack which killed almost 200 and injured more than 2,000.

Hunker Down

We've all heard this phrase a lot lately so I decided to see what it means and what its origin is. I found this explanation on World Wide Words.

It sounds like the most typically American of phrases, but it seems originally to have been Scots, first recorded in the eighteenth century.
Nobody seems to know exactly what its origin is, though it has been suggested it’s linked to the Old Norse huka, to squat; that would make it a close cousin of old Dutch huiken and modern German hocken, meaning to squat or crouch, which makes sense. That’s certainly what’s meant by the word in American English, in phrases like hunker down or on your hunkers.
The Oxford English Dictionary has a fine description of how to hunker: “squat, with the haunches, knees, and ankles acutely bent, so as to bring the hams near the heels, and throw the whole weight upon the fore part of the feet”. The advantage of this position is that you’re not only crouched close to the ground, so presenting a small target for whatever the universe chooses to throw at you, but you’re also ready to move at a moment’s notice.
Hunker down has also taken on the sense of to hide, hide out, or take shelter, whatever position you choose to do it in. This was a south-western US dialect form that was popularised by President Johnson in the mid 1960s. Despite its Scots ancestry, hunker is rare in standard British English.

This sign is on Greenbriar close to the Southwest Frwy. I guess the beer would be hot. Centerpoint has a new map on their web site with estimated dates for restoration of electricity. It isn't going to make anybody happy. The only good thing is that we are having unusually cool weather. http://www.centerpointenergy.com/staticfiles/CNP/Common/SiteAssets/doc/Est.%20Restore%209.17%202pm.pdf

Red Neck Tank Top

Sarah Palin and Westbrook Pegler

This was written by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and was posted on The Huffington Post under the title Governor Palin's Reading List:
Fascist writer Westbrook Pegler, an avowed racist who Sarah Palin approvingly quoted in her acceptance speech for the moral superiority of small town values, expressed his fervent hope about my father, Robert F. Kennedy, as he contemplated his own run for the presidency in 1965, that "some white patriot of the Southern tier will spatter his spoonful of brains in public premises before the snow flies."
It might be worth asking Governor Palin for a tally of the other favorites from her reading list.

And here is a link to a post by Erica Jong, also on the Huffington Post, and definitely worth reading:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/erica-jong/not-that-stupid-erica-jon_b_126184.html

Saturday Night Live

Takes one to know one

Bush declares Texas a disaster.

Ike Pictures on Flickr

Here are some pictures I took while out walking the dogs this afternoon:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14145194@N04/

Ike

Anderson Cooper may be downtown but fourdogmom has Upper Kirby covered. These are views from my front yard.

Ike is still coming through. The power went off around 10 but came on at 7 this am. Still lots of wind and rain but I'm hoping the worst is over. Lot of debris in the yard and very anxious dogs but it looks like we might make it through with minimal damage.

Bear Washes Ashore on Galveston Island

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4085llz2SYI

When I checked the predicted wind mph in my zip yesterday it was 95. Today it's down to 74 so I'm feeling a little better. Gotta go move the plants. This will probably be my last blog for awhile.

From The Daily Kos

Cheers and Jeers: Thursday
by Bill in Portland Maine
Thu Sep 11, 2008 at 04:12:53 AM PDT
From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE...
Questions
When he was warned in the August 6, 2001 PDB, "Bin Laden Determined to Strike In US", why did the president do nothing except tell the guy who delivered it to him, "All right, you've covered your ass, now"? Why did Rudy Giuliani put the anti-terrorism command center in the World Trade Center against the advice of experts who knew better? Why did the president sit in that Florida classroom for several minutes after being told "America is under attack"? Could there be any greater examples of heroism than the passengers who fought back on Flight 93, the rescue teams at the Pentagon, or the NYPD and NYFD responders who ran into the towers without hesitation? Father Mychal Judge: Saint...or Supersaint? - Why did firefighters have faulty radios instead of dependable ones, Mr. Giuliani? Was it really necessary for the president to tell us to go shopping? Why were rescue workers at Ground Zero told by the EPA director that the air was safe to breathe when it wasn't? When rescue workers got horribly sick from breathing contaminated air, why were so many given perfunctory treatment and then left to fend for themselves? Why did Rudy Giuliani say he "was at the site as often, if not more, than most of the workers," when he only visited the site for 29 hours over a span of 41 visits? - When Glenn Beck---one of the most respected figures in the Republican party---said, "When I see a 9/11 victim family on television, or whatever, I'm just like, 'Oh shut up!' I'm so sick of them because they're always complaining," why wasn't he banished into obscurity? - When the president stressed the importance of safeguarding our ports and vital infrastructure, why did he take so long actually safeguarding them? Are they much safer today? When the president called for greater security at airports, why was there such a lopsided focus on passengers and very little on cargo until recently? When we found out that most of the hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, why did the president continue holding hands with their leaders? Why were habeas corpus rights suspended years after the attacks of 9/11, when the country wasn't in a state of rebellion or invasion? When Congress found out the president had broken the law before 9/11 by snooping on American citizens without warrants, why did they patch up the law to make his---and the phone companies'---illegal activities retroactively legal? The president nominated Bernard Kerik to be the head of Homeland Security...and he wasn't joking??? - When Ann Coulter---one of the most respected figures in the Republican party---said, "These broads are millionaires, lionized on TV and in articles about them, reveling in their status as celebrities and stalked by grief-arazzis. I've never seen people enjoying their husbands' deaths so much," why wasn't she banished into obscurity? - When Bush had bin Laden in his sights at Tora Bora, why didn’t he take the shot? Why were we told repeatedly that Saddam Hussein was partly responsible for the attacks when he had nothing to do with them? When we needed more troops to vanquish the Taliban in Afghanistan, why did we invade Iraq? If we're winning the "War on terror," why hasn't the color-coded terror alert level changed from Yellow to Green or Blue in 2,382 days? How unspeakably crude was it for the Republican party to exploit the 9/11 attacks in a promotional video during their convention in St. Paul? Why hasn't the president caught Osama bin Laden? - When Jerry Falwell---one of the most respected figures in the Republican party---got on TV and said, "I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen'," why wasn't he defrocked and sent to work in soup kitchens for the rest of his life? - Why is there still a giant hole in the ground in Lower Manhattan? - Are terrorists pricks, or what? - Are politicians who use fear to scare citizens into submission pricks, or what? - Will the shock ever wear off? -

These are a few of my favorite things

IKE

I didn't get to sleep last night until midnight and woke up at 4. After I walked the dogs I went to the store and bought the last of the D batteries, food, water, and gas. I'm as prepared as can be. Houston is probably going to get hit hard. We are on the dirty side and it keeps getting closer to us. My area is not in an evacuation area and we are actually encouraged to stay but all the coastal areas around here are under mandatory evacuation. Half the people I work with are under mandatory evacuation and aren't at work. We have tomorrow off. The 7th anniversary of 9/11 isn't being mentioned by anyone including the local news because we are so focused on Ike. I thought that after it happened it would always be a special day to remember because of the way everyone came together but bush has ruined that too. I hope someday I will be able to feel proud of my country again.

I new friend of mine has some wonderful pictures of Obama with First Americans and some pictures of a war protest she attended last week. This is her page: http://www.snypers-world.blogspot.com/

Pray away the gay

Palin's church want to "pray away the gay" Even if we could, why would we want to? I can't believe people are going to vote for this idiot. If I thought it would work, I would pray away Bush, Cheney, Rove...

First Americans for Obama

I found this picture on The Daily Kos.

Funny Blogs

I just discovered this incredibly funny blog and added it to my bloglines account. The comments are almost as funny as the pictures.
http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/

Here is another funny blog, The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks
http://quotation-marks.blogspot.com/

Laura Bush

Everytime this woman opens her mouth I wonder what drug she's is taking and if I can get enough to get me through the next 138 days. Here is a quote from a speech she gave at the RNC in defense of her husband's presidency:
"In Afghanistan and Iraq, 50 million people are now living in freedom. And let's not forget that President Bush kept the American people safe."

I'm pretty sure that the vast majority of the 50 million people living in Iraq and Afghanistan would disagree with you Laura. And if I remember correctly, 911 happened during you husband's presidency so he didn't exactly keep the American people safe. Your husband and his other wife Condi ignored the warnings that might have prevented the attacks on September 11th. Now more Americans have died as a result of your husband's lies about Iraq than lost their lives on 911. Not a very good record.

Palin's nicknames

Thanks to Kel Munger who compiled this list of nicknames.


Caribou Barbie


Tundra Barbie


Gidget the Gunslinger


Moosemeat Mama


Cruella


Governor Jesus Camp


Hurricane Sarah


Half-baked Alaska


Fertilla the Huntress


Secessionist Sarah (a reference to her involvement with the Alaska Independence Party)


Spiro Igloo


The Iditabroad


Grannie Moosebreath


Dan Quail in a ponytail


Bloodsport Barbie


Wasilly Putty


June Cleavage


Barracuda Sarah


Desperate McCain’s Housewife


Trophy Veep


Palin Comparison (to just about any nominee, but especially to Hillary)


Miss Deadliest Catch


Footnote

Ladybug's Legacy

There is an interesting story in my neighborhood newspaper this week about the danger of the artificial sweetener, xylitol, to dogs. Emma Cate Graham found this out the hard way when her Norwich Terrior puppy Ladybug accidentally injested some Icebreakers gum, which contains xylitol, and died of major organ failure. Shortly after her death, Emma Cate decided to start a campaign to educate others about the dangers of xylitol. She has a website http://www.ladybugslegacy.org/ with pictures of Ladybug and information about xylitol. It also includes a link to a printable flyer for distribution to the pet community.

The website isn't up yet but should be by the end of the week.

Here is a link to the article

http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2008/08/31/memorial_examiner/news/me_emma_cate.txt

Palin 451

Time Magazine has an interesting article which includes a paragraph about how Palin tried to find out out to ban books. Here is the link: http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1837918,00.html

Here is the part about book banning:
Former Wasilla mayor John Stein says that as mayor, Palin continued to inject religious beliefs into her policy at times. "She asked the library how she could go about banning books," he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them. "The librarian was aghast." The librarian, Mary Ellen Baker, couldn't be reached for comment, but news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire her for not giving "full support" to the mayor.

Banned Books week is September 27–October 4, 2008

Alaska First Alaska Always

That is the motto of the Alaskan Independence Party, a party that since the 1970s has been trying to pass a law allowing Alaskans to vote on seceding from the United States. Rumors have been flying around ever since Sarah Palin was chosen as McCain's VP running mate that she was a member of the fringe group and today ABC confirms that the rumors are indeed true. While she is now a registered Republican she and her husband attended the AIP convention in 1994. The AIP motto seems to contradict McCain's motto of Country First and also reinforces the idea that McCain did little to vet Palin before he choose her.



Here is more from the AIP platform:


Amending the Constitution of the State of Alaska so as to re-establish the rights of all Alaskan residents to entry upon all public lands within the state, and to acquire private property interest there in, under fair and reasonable conditions. Such property interest shall include surface and sub-surface patent.


Foster a constitutional amendment abolishing and prohibiting all property taxes.


Seeking the complete repatriation of the public lands, held by the federal government, to the state and people of Alaska.



I feel pretty sure that before this is all over with, Sarah Palin will decide that she needs to "spend more time with her family" and McCain will have a more suitable candidate chosen for him by the powers that be.

Steve Bell Cartoon

More hypocrisy from McCain

According to reports, McCain is furious that liberal bloggers spread rumors about Palin's 17 year old pregnant daughter, forcing Palin to issue a statement regarding her daughter's pregnancy. McCain thinks it is inappropriate to bring the candidates children into the campaign. I totally agree, and so does Obama who issued a statement saying families, especially children are off-limits and that he would fire any of his staff who engaged in spreading rumors about the candidates families.
This is just another example of the hypocrisy on McCain's part. When the Clinton's were in office he told reporters that Chelsea Cinton was ugly because Janet Reno was her father. It can't get much worse than that.

Laura Bush

Laura Bush warned democrats to stay away from anti Palin sexism in an interview with fixed news today.
Laura, I know you aren't as stupid as you husband but apparently some of it has rubbed off on you. People who care about this country are not going to vote for Palin because of her lack of experience and her views on issues that most of us care about.
Here is a short list of some of her views and accomplishments:
1. Wants to teach creationism in school.
2. Wants to take away a woman's right to choose.
3. Against stem cell research.
4. Against benefits for same sex partners.
5. Doesn't think global warming is man made.
6. Supports drilling for oil in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge (there's a reason it's called a refuge)
7. Opposes a windfalls profit tax on oil companies.
8. Hates polar bears (ok, I made that up, but she does want to take them off the endangered list)
9. Claims to be a fiscal conservative but put her little town of Wasilla (about 9,000 residents) 20 million in debt while mayor.
10. Supported the bridge to nowhere before she didn't support it.
11. Troopgate scandal (google it)
12. The gun and hunting thing.

For all you people who still think Republicans are the family value party: If she is so into children and mothering how could she return to work 3 days after giving birth to her latest child? I don't know anyone who does that. Especially after giving birth to a child with special needs. And who is going to parent her growing brood of children including her grandchild, conceived out of wedlock by her 17 year old daughter, if she is elected VP or God help us becomes president. Family values isn't just about having children, it's about taking care of them after they are born and taking care of the world so that all children have a chance. Ignoring global warming and bombing the hell out of innocent families, even if they aren't your faith (Pentecostal, btw), isn't good family values.


It's not sexism that cost Hillary the nomination (for me it was her support of your husband's stupid war) and it's not sexism that will cost McCain/Palin the election. It's the issues. So just STFU. Hasn't your family caused enough damage? Go back to Crawford or wherever you came from and take your skanky daughters and your mass murderer of a husband with you.
(Sorry Crawford)

Now this is scary

Have No Fear McSame is Here

"ST. PAUL, Minn. - Likely GOP presidential nominee John McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, are traveling to Mississippi on Sunday to check on people getting prepared for Hurricane Gustav. [...]
Aides say McCain and his wife Cindy will join Palin in traveling to Jackson, Miss., Sunday at the invitation of Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour because of concerns about people threatened by the storm [...]
The McCains and Palin will receive a briefing at the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency — a permanent operations center monitoring hurricane response"

Bush and Dick

I just heard on MSNBC that bush and dick won't be attending the RNC. Good news for the Republicans not to have these two unpopular people there. It also makes it look like these two scum actually give a damn, which of course any thinking person knows isn't true.
A commentator on MSNBC just called it a "blessing" for McCain.

An Open Letter to God, from Michael Moore

Mike's Letter

Sunday, August 31st, 2008An Open Letter to God, from Michael Moore

Dear God,
The other night, the Rev. James Dobson's ministry asked all believers to pray for a storm on Thursday night so that the Obama acceptance speech outdoors in Denver would have to be canceled.
I see that You have answered Rev. Dobson's prayers -- except the storm You have sent to earth is not over Denver, but on its way to New Orleans! In fact, You have scheduled it to hit Louisiana at exactly the moment that George W. Bush is to deliver his speech at the Republican National Convention.
Now, heavenly Father, we all know You have a great sense of humor and impeccable timing. To send a hurricane on the third anniversary of the Katrina disaster AND right at the beginning of the Republican Convention was, at first blush, a stroke of divine irony. I don't blame You, I know You're angry that the Republicans tried to blame YOU for Katrina by calling it an "Act of God" -- when the truth was that the hurricane itself caused few casualties in New Orleans. Over a thousand people died because of the mistakes and neglect caused by humans, not You.
Some of us tried to help after Katrina hit, while Bush ate cake with McCain and twiddled his thumbs. I closed my office in New York and sent my entire staff down to New Orleans to help. I asked people on my website to contribute to the relief effort I organized -- and I ended up sending over two million dollars in donations, food, water, and supplies (collected from thousands of fans) to New Orleans while Bush's FEMA ice trucks were still driving around Maine three weeks later.
But this past Thursday night, the Washington Post reported that the Republicans had begun making plans to possibly postpone the convention. The AP had reported that there were no shelters set up in New Orleans for this storm, and that the levee repairs have not been adequate. In other words, as the great Ronald Reagan would say, "There you go again!"
So the last thing John McCain and the Republicans needed was to have a split-screen on TVs across America: one side with Bush and McCain partying in St. Paul, and on the other side of the screen, live footage of their Republican administration screwing up once again while New Orleans drowns.
So, yes, You have scared the Jesus, Mary and Joseph out of them, and more than a few million of your followers tip their hats to You.
But now it appears that You haven't been having just a little fun with Bush & Co. It appears that Hurricane Gustav is truly heading to New Orleans and the Gulf coast. We hear You, O Lord, loud and clear, just as we did when Rev. Falwell said You made 9/11 happen because of all those gays and abortions. We beseech You, O Merciful One, not to punish us again as Pat Robertson said You did by giving us Katrina because of America's "wholesale slaughter of unborn children." His sentiments were echoed by other Republicans in 2005.
So this is my plea to you: Don't do this to Louisiana again. The Republicans got your message. They are scrambling and doing the best they can to get planes, trains and buses to New Orleans so that everyone can get out. They haven't sent the entire Louisiana National Guard to Iraq this time -- they are already patrolling the city streets. And, in a nod to I don't know what, Bush's head of FEMA has named a man to help manage the federal government's response. His name is W. Michael Moore. I kid you not, heavenly Father. They have sent a man with both my name AND W's to help save the Gulf Coast.
So please God, let the storm die out at sea. It's done enough damage already. If you do this one favor for me, I promise not to invoke your name again. I'll leave that to the followers of Rev. Dobson and to those gathering this week in St. Paul.
Your faithful servant and former seminarian,
Michael MooreMMFlint@aol.comMichaelMoore.com
P.S. To all of God's fellow children who are reading this, the city of New Orleans has not yet recovered from Katrina. Please click here for a list of things you can do to help our brothers and sisters on the Gulf Coast. And, if you do live along the Gulf Coast, please take all necessary safety precautions immediately.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?id=229Generated on: Sunday 31st of August 2008 10:24:56 AM

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Limbaugh

This is from The Daily Kos:

John McCain has a tough decision to make. Will he denounce Rush Limbaugh and the Republican National Committee? Limbaugh for his incredible insensitivity in using the issue of Sarah Palin's son having Down Syndrome to attack Barack Obama, and the RNC for thinking that it had potential.
Conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh boosted Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's pro-life position and mocked Barack Obama on his radio show yesterday with a make-believe riff in which Obama asked Palin "When you found out your baby would be born with Down syndrome, did you consider killing it before or after the due date?"
Limbaugh's "humor" caught the fancy of the Republican National Committee, which, in an internal e-mail, proposed using the bit in a YouTube clip.
The e-mail, which was sent to RNC Communications Director Danny Diaz, and mistakenly to a Tribune reporter, was titled "wow...good YouTube potential..."
Will McCain denounce this? Or is this just another thing that he "can't control"?

McCain Palin Video

Check out this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qUVQDmLf7s

Let them eat cake

Seeing this picture reminded me of something that I had forgotten. After Katrina hit New Orleans, all that was on TV and the Internet for a week were pictures of people waiting for help at the Convention Center, the Superdome, and on rooftops. Everyday I thought they would be rescued but everyday it was the same. No help came. This went on for almost a week. I remember wanting to talk to some of my friends and we talked about having dinner together but none of us felt like it was right to go out to eat when people so close to us were in this deplorable situation. I don't personally know anyone who wasn't terribly upset by the scenes we witnessed daily on the news and the overall mood was similar to the mood after 911. When help finally came and buses of people poured into our city I was so relieved and proud of what our mayor, Bill White had done, opening the Astrodome and the Convention Center for New Orleans residents. And I was so proud of all the volunteers who gave time and money to help these people.
Unfortunately, the 2 people in this picture didn't feel the same way. McCain celebrated his birthday with Bush both grinning like they didn't have a care in the world, which I guess they didn't. This was right in the middle of the Katrina crisis on August 29th. Bush has no conscience. For a long time I thought McCain was an honorable person. Now I think they both represent the very worst in our society and I don't want them representing me or my country any longer.

Bad choice for women

Here is a statement from Kim Gandy, NOW PAC Chair on Sarah Palin:

"Sen. John McCain's choice of Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate is a cynical effort to appeal to disappointed Hillary Clinton voters and get them to vote, ultimately, against their own self-interest.

Gov. Palin may be the second woman vice-presidential candidate on a major party ticket, but she is not the right woman. Sadly, she is a woman who opposes women's rights, just like John McCain.

The fact that Palin is a mother of five who has a 4-month-old baby, a woman who is juggling work and family responsibilities, will speak to many women. But will Palin speak FOR women? Based on her record and her stated positions, the answer is clearly No.

In a gubernatorial debate, Palin stated emphatically that her opposition to abortion was so great, so total, that even if her teenage daughter was impregnated by a rapist, she would "choose life" -- meaning apparently that she would not permit her daughter to have an abortion.

Palin also had to withdraw her appointment of a top public safety commissioner who had been reprimanded for sexual harassment, although Palin had been warned about his background through letters by the sexual harassment complainant.

What McCain does not understand is that women supported Hillary Clinton not just because she was a woman, but because she was a champion on their issues. They will surely not find Sarah Palin to be an advocate for women.

Sen. Joe Biden is the VP candidate who appeals to women, with his authorship and championing of landmark domestic violence legislation, support for pay equity, and advocacy for women around the world.

Finally, as the chair of NOW's Political Action Committee, I am frequently asked whether NOW supports women candidates just because they are women. This gives me an opportunity to once again answer that question with an emphatic 'No.' We recognize the importance of having women's rights supporters at every level but, like Sarah Palin, not every woman supports women's rights."

Bad choice for the environment

Here is a statement by Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund:

“Senator McCain’s choice for a running mate is beyond belief. By choosing Sarah Palin, McCain has clearly made a decision to continue the Bush legacy of destructive environmental policies.
Sarah Palin, whose husband works for BP (formerly British Petroleum), has repeatedly put special interests first when it comes to the environment. In her scant two years as governor, she has lobbied aggressively to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, pushed for more drilling off of Alaska’s coasts, and put special interests above science. Ms. Palin has made it clear through her actions that she is unwilling to do even as much as the Bush administration to address the impacts of global warming. Her most recent effort has been to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the polar bear from the endangered species list, putting Big Oil before sound science. As unbelievable as this may sound, this actually puts her to the right of the Bush administration.
This is Senator McCain’s first significant choice in building his executive team and it’s a bad one. It has to raise serious doubts in the minds of voters about John McCain’s commitment to conservation, to addressing the impacts of global warming and to ensuring our country ends its dependency on oil.”