Posts
The Birmingham Church Bombing
6 hours ago
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Bill and Hillary
Last Christmas, my son Shawn gave me the Hillary Nutcracker. This year, he completed the set with the Bill Clinton Corkscrew. Who could ask for anything more!
Protest at Red Lobster on Sunday
It seems to me that if you're going to discriminate against a whole class of people, like the Mormon church, Rick Warren and the other Prop 8 supporters did in California, you should be required to apply a little intellectual rigor to your argument, especially if you're basing your argument on God's wishes as stated in the Bible.
According to "God," a "man lying with another man" is an abomination. I haven't completed my research yet, but I don't believe he had any objections to women lying together. He also said that eating shellfish is an abomination. If we're going to discriminate against a very large class of people to the extent that we deny them the right to express one of the most basic needs of human nature, their love for another person, based on one or two short lines in the Bible, why aren't we picketing Red Lobster? These people are denying homosexuals the right to marry, then going off to Sunday dinner at Red Lobster! As much as I love shrimp and lobster, I think they should be outlawed. If the religous right is going to deny homosexuals the right to marry based on "God's word" then we should deny them the right to eat shrimp and lobster based on "God's word." It just seems fair and intellectually honest. What do you think?
According to "God," a "man lying with another man" is an abomination. I haven't completed my research yet, but I don't believe he had any objections to women lying together. He also said that eating shellfish is an abomination. If we're going to discriminate against a very large class of people to the extent that we deny them the right to express one of the most basic needs of human nature, their love for another person, based on one or two short lines in the Bible, why aren't we picketing Red Lobster? These people are denying homosexuals the right to marry, then going off to Sunday dinner at Red Lobster! As much as I love shrimp and lobster, I think they should be outlawed. If the religous right is going to deny homosexuals the right to marry based on "God's word" then we should deny them the right to eat shrimp and lobster based on "God's word." It just seems fair and intellectually honest. What do you think?
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Obama's Leadership
It's a joy to watch Obama putting his vision together in a calm, rational way that attempts to bring everyone together. Read the about his latest initiative:
President-elect Barack Obama, in a message being emailed out on Wednesday, is calling on supporters, as well as those who likely didn't back him in the election, to use the day prior to his inauguration to volunteer en masse for local community causes.
The National Day of Service, as it is being called, will fall on Martin Luther King Day -- itself a federally designated day for community volunteerism. But it's easy to imagine how this upcoming January 19th will be historic in the scope of participation.
For starters, Obama is soliciting partnerships from both ideological allies and adversaries -- from MoveOn.org to Focus on the Family -- as well as groups regularly engaged in community service and others that have never done it before.
Moreover, the approach, an aide says, will be very much bottom up: prospective volunteers will be asked to sign up for the project of their choice, regardless of whether or not it directly corresponds to Obama's political agenda. Finally, the president-elect is bringing to the table the type of organizing tools that make these enterprises work; in addition to an email being blasted out to his massive email list on Wednesday, the inaugural committee is launching a website sometime after the New Year that will help visitors network and instruct them about opportunities in their local neighborhoods.
It is the type of social interaction that buoyed Obama's primary and presidential candidacies, only this time applied to service, not politics.
Read his letter here.
President-elect Barack Obama, in a message being emailed out on Wednesday, is calling on supporters, as well as those who likely didn't back him in the election, to use the day prior to his inauguration to volunteer en masse for local community causes.
The National Day of Service, as it is being called, will fall on Martin Luther King Day -- itself a federally designated day for community volunteerism. But it's easy to imagine how this upcoming January 19th will be historic in the scope of participation.
For starters, Obama is soliciting partnerships from both ideological allies and adversaries -- from MoveOn.org to Focus on the Family -- as well as groups regularly engaged in community service and others that have never done it before.
Moreover, the approach, an aide says, will be very much bottom up: prospective volunteers will be asked to sign up for the project of their choice, regardless of whether or not it directly corresponds to Obama's political agenda. Finally, the president-elect is bringing to the table the type of organizing tools that make these enterprises work; in addition to an email being blasted out to his massive email list on Wednesday, the inaugural committee is launching a website sometime after the New Year that will help visitors network and instruct them about opportunities in their local neighborhoods.
It is the type of social interaction that buoyed Obama's primary and presidential candidacies, only this time applied to service, not politics.
Read his letter here.
Don't Flush While Seated on Toilet
Garrison Keillor is always good for a smile, profound insights into life, and even poetry. However, in this article, he offers a bit of practical advice that could help you avoid unnecessary delays if you're flying during this holiday season.
Read it here.
Read it here.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Do You Think This Will Make Her Feel Better?
After Ameneh Bahrami turned down his marriage proposal, Majid Movahedi attempted to change her mind -- by stalking her and threatening to kill himself. When those approaches didn't win over his unrequited love, the spurned stalker approached her in a busy public park in Tehran and poured a bucket of acid on her head. "It felt like my head was stuck in a bowl of boiling water," Bahrami told the Washington Post. "I bent forward to allow the stuff to drip off my face, but the pain was intolerable. I fell on the pavement, screaming for help." Despite a series of surgeries, the 31-year-old was left blind and disfigured.
Her attacker confessed to the acid attack, explaining that he did it "so that she would be mine forever," and was jailed -- but Bahrami refused to accept the usual monetary remuneration for the crime. Instead, she asked for eye-for-an-eye retribution. "[The head of Iran's judiciary] really pressed me to demand blood money instead of retribution. He explained that such a sentence would cause lots of bad publicity for Iran. But I refused," she said. Last month, an Iranian judge sentenced Movahedi to five drops of acid in each of his eyes.
The Post, which does a nice job of profiling Bahrami, reports that "the implementation of corporal punishments allowed under Islamic law, including lashing, amputation and stoning, has often provoked controversy in Iran, where many people have decried such sentences as barbaric." But this case has received an unusual outpouring of sympathy, and "protest has been muted because people have been moved by Bahrami's story."
Some, including Bahrami, believe that this punishment will prevent future acid attacks. She says: "At an age at which I should be putting on a wedding dress, I am asking for someone's eyes to be dripped with acid. I am doing that because I don't want this to happen to any other women." Somehow, I seriously doubt that Movahedi's punishment will accomplish that.
It's also worth taking note of Movahedi's response to his sentencing: He "said that he still loved Bahrami but that if she asked for his eyes to be taken out, he would seek the same punishment for her." As they say about eye-for-an-eye...
Tracy Clark-Flory
Salon.com
Her attacker confessed to the acid attack, explaining that he did it "so that she would be mine forever," and was jailed -- but Bahrami refused to accept the usual monetary remuneration for the crime. Instead, she asked for eye-for-an-eye retribution. "[The head of Iran's judiciary] really pressed me to demand blood money instead of retribution. He explained that such a sentence would cause lots of bad publicity for Iran. But I refused," she said. Last month, an Iranian judge sentenced Movahedi to five drops of acid in each of his eyes.
The Post, which does a nice job of profiling Bahrami, reports that "the implementation of corporal punishments allowed under Islamic law, including lashing, amputation and stoning, has often provoked controversy in Iran, where many people have decried such sentences as barbaric." But this case has received an unusual outpouring of sympathy, and "protest has been muted because people have been moved by Bahrami's story."
Some, including Bahrami, believe that this punishment will prevent future acid attacks. She says: "At an age at which I should be putting on a wedding dress, I am asking for someone's eyes to be dripped with acid. I am doing that because I don't want this to happen to any other women." Somehow, I seriously doubt that Movahedi's punishment will accomplish that.
It's also worth taking note of Movahedi's response to his sentencing: He "said that he still loved Bahrami but that if she asked for his eyes to be taken out, he would seek the same punishment for her." As they say about eye-for-an-eye...
Tracy Clark-Flory
Salon.com
Hooray for Newt Gingrich
Never thought I'd have anything nice to say about Newt Gingrich, but he went way up in my estimation with this letter to the Republican National Committee. Maybe acting like a grown-up will catch on!
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich sent a rather scathing letter to Mike Duncan on Tuesday, accusing the RNC chairman of engaging in "a destructive distraction" by attempting to tie Barack Obama to Rod Blagojevich. In particular, Gingrich hit the RNC for putting out a web ad that made it seem as if the President-elect was hiding a nefarious chapter of his personal history with the embattled Illinois Governor.
"The RNC should pull the ad down immediately," Gingrich writes.
I was saddened to learn that at a time of national trial, when a president-elect is preparing to take office in the midst of the worst financial crisis in over seventy years, that the Republican National Committee is engaged in the sort of negative, attack politics that the voters rejected in the 2006 and 2008 election cycles.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich sent a rather scathing letter to Mike Duncan on Tuesday, accusing the RNC chairman of engaging in "a destructive distraction" by attempting to tie Barack Obama to Rod Blagojevich. In particular, Gingrich hit the RNC for putting out a web ad that made it seem as if the President-elect was hiding a nefarious chapter of his personal history with the embattled Illinois Governor.
"The RNC should pull the ad down immediately," Gingrich writes.
I was saddened to learn that at a time of national trial, when a president-elect is preparing to take office in the midst of the worst financial crisis in over seventy years, that the Republican National Committee is engaged in the sort of negative, attack politics that the voters rejected in the 2006 and 2008 election cycles.
He Speaks for Many of Us
This is the guy who threw his shoes at Bush in Iraq. He has become a legend, and he's now known as the Shoe Thrower. While we should never condone any form of violence, don't you secretly admire this guy!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Here's What They Do When You're Not Looking
Congress wanted to guarantee that the $700 billion financial bailout would limit the eye-popping pay of Wall Street executives, so lawmakers included a mechanism for reviewing executive compensation and penalizing firms that break the rules.
But at the last minute, the Bush administration insisted on a one-sentence change to the provision, congressional aides said. The change stipulated that the penalty would apply only to firms that received bailout funds by selling troubled assets to the government in an auction, which was the way the Treasury Department had said it planned to use the money.
Now, however, the small change looks more like a giant loophole, according to lawmakers and legal experts. In a reversal, the Bush administration has not used auctions for any of the $335 billion committed so far from the rescue package, nor does it plan to use them in the future. Lawmakers and legal experts say the change has effectively repealed the only enforcement mechanism in the law dealing with lavish pay for top executives.
The rest of the story.
But at the last minute, the Bush administration insisted on a one-sentence change to the provision, congressional aides said. The change stipulated that the penalty would apply only to firms that received bailout funds by selling troubled assets to the government in an auction, which was the way the Treasury Department had said it planned to use the money.
Now, however, the small change looks more like a giant loophole, according to lawmakers and legal experts. In a reversal, the Bush administration has not used auctions for any of the $335 billion committed so far from the rescue package, nor does it plan to use them in the future. Lawmakers and legal experts say the change has effectively repealed the only enforcement mechanism in the law dealing with lavish pay for top executives.
The rest of the story.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Bill Moyers and Glenn Greenwald
Glenn Greenwald talked with Bill Moyers Friday night about the rule of law and how it was perverted by the Bush administration. Here is an excerpt from that interview. The full interview can be seen here, and like all of Bill Moyers' interviews, it's worth a 30-minute investment. Greenwald is an articulate and intelligent person who can help you see past the sound bytes that form our opinions about what's going on.
You'll also find a link to an excellent three-minute clip by Naom Chomsky explaining how mainstream television's demand for "concision" -- which shapes how the overwhelming majority of Americans receive their "news" -- precludes any meaningful examination or challenging of prevailing political orthodoxies.
BILL MOYERS: To be fair, you make a strong case in here that we have to stand up to extremism but that we have to protect our own constitutional principles while we do. And as I read both of these books, it is the sense that out of this Manichean view there came this whole notion that you say is alien to America, this unitary executive powers of the presidency. Have I stated that right?
GLENN GREENWALD: You have. Let’s just quickly describe in the most dispassionate terms, as few of euphemisms, as possible, where we are and what has happened over the last eight years. We have a law in place that says it is a felony offense punishable by five years in prison or a $10,000 fine to eavesdrop on American citizens without warrants. We have laws in place that say that it is a felony punishable by decades in prison to subject detainees in our custody to treatment that violates the Geneva Conventions or that is inhumane or coercive.
We know that the president and his top aides have violated these laws. The facts are indisputable that they’ve done so. And yet as a country, as a political class, we’re deciding basically in unison that the president and our highest political officials are free to break the most serious laws that we have, that our citizens have enacted, with complete impunity, without consequences, without being held accountable under the law.
And when you juxtapose that with the fact that we are a country that has probably the most merciless criminal justice system on the planet when it comes to ordinary Americans. We imprison more of our population than any country in the world. We have less than five percent of the world’s population. And yet 25 percent almost of prisoners worldwide are inside the United States.
What you have is a two-tiered system of justice where ordinary Americans are subjected to the most merciless criminal justice system in the world. They break the law. The full weight of the criminal justice system comes crashing down upon them. But our political class, the same elites who have imposed that incredibly harsh framework on ordinary Americans, have essentially exempted themselves and the leaders of that political class from the law.
They have license to break the law. That’s what we’re deciding now as we say George Bush and his top advisors shouldn’t be investigated let alone prosecuted for the laws that we know that they’ve broken. And I can’t think of anything more damaging to our country because the rule of law is the lynchpin of everything we have.
You'll also find a link to an excellent three-minute clip by Naom Chomsky explaining how mainstream television's demand for "concision" -- which shapes how the overwhelming majority of Americans receive their "news" -- precludes any meaningful examination or challenging of prevailing political orthodoxies.
BILL MOYERS: To be fair, you make a strong case in here that we have to stand up to extremism but that we have to protect our own constitutional principles while we do. And as I read both of these books, it is the sense that out of this Manichean view there came this whole notion that you say is alien to America, this unitary executive powers of the presidency. Have I stated that right?
GLENN GREENWALD: You have. Let’s just quickly describe in the most dispassionate terms, as few of euphemisms, as possible, where we are and what has happened over the last eight years. We have a law in place that says it is a felony offense punishable by five years in prison or a $10,000 fine to eavesdrop on American citizens without warrants. We have laws in place that say that it is a felony punishable by decades in prison to subject detainees in our custody to treatment that violates the Geneva Conventions or that is inhumane or coercive.
We know that the president and his top aides have violated these laws. The facts are indisputable that they’ve done so. And yet as a country, as a political class, we’re deciding basically in unison that the president and our highest political officials are free to break the most serious laws that we have, that our citizens have enacted, with complete impunity, without consequences, without being held accountable under the law.
And when you juxtapose that with the fact that we are a country that has probably the most merciless criminal justice system on the planet when it comes to ordinary Americans. We imprison more of our population than any country in the world. We have less than five percent of the world’s population. And yet 25 percent almost of prisoners worldwide are inside the United States.
What you have is a two-tiered system of justice where ordinary Americans are subjected to the most merciless criminal justice system in the world. They break the law. The full weight of the criminal justice system comes crashing down upon them. But our political class, the same elites who have imposed that incredibly harsh framework on ordinary Americans, have essentially exempted themselves and the leaders of that political class from the law.
They have license to break the law. That’s what we’re deciding now as we say George Bush and his top advisors shouldn’t be investigated let alone prosecuted for the laws that we know that they’ve broken. And I can’t think of anything more damaging to our country because the rule of law is the lynchpin of everything we have.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Sick Meryl Streep
Every once in a while, we see genuine, spontaneous humor on TV. This clip from David Letterman's show is hilarious if you followed his response to McCain's cancellation during the campaign.
Blogoyevich's Seat
Conan O'Brien had a great line last line. He said that Illinois Governor, Rod Blogoyevich was arrested for trying to sell Obama's seat to the highest bidder. Now he's going to prison where his seat will be sold to the highest bidder!
Friday, December 12, 2008
Remember These Names
Corker, Shelby, and DeMint are three far-right lawmakers from the Deep South who are responsible for blocking the auto bailout. Remember the Deep South? That's where the only slash of red remained after the election.
They continued their opposition in spite of White House support for the bail-out and Cheney's admonition that failure to support the bill would label them the "Herbert Hoover Party."
They continued their opposition in spite of White House support for the bail-out and Cheney's admonition that failure to support the bill would label them the "Herbert Hoover Party."
More Thoughts
Isn't it interesting that we will spend almost a trillion dollars to destroy another country, and we won't spend $14 billion to save our most important industry.
Auto Bailout the Death of the Republican Party?
If people are paying attention, they will see the true colors of the Republican party today. In spite of the efforts to broaden the base and appeal to all Americans, the veneer has been stripped away leaving the true nature of the party for all to see . . . if they're paying attention. They have blocked the auto industry bailout over one sticking point - the refusal of the unions to cut their pay immediately. The unions agreed to a cut in 2012, but the Republicans said no. They have always wanted to bust the unions. Now they're going to get their way with a scorched earth policy that will bust the unions and the auto industry. As the toilet makes its last gurgling sound while sucking down the industry and thousands of employees, let's hope we see these despicable, fat, rich ideologues go down with them. Good riddance!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Colin Powell is a Reality Based Republican
Colin Powell provides an intelligent and realistic assessment of the Republican party today. Smart man.
Bush is Back!
From Salon.com this morning comes this lovely little article about bush!
Dec. 11, 2008 | Recently someone forwarded me an invitation to a cheeky Inauguration Day event called "Shave the Date." As organizer Kristen Chase explains on her Web site, "Show your love for your country, and as you watch our new president take his oath and feel your satin undies against your smooth nether region, you can take pride in knowing you've rid your world of bush once and for all."
Read the rest of the story. It's worth it.
Dec. 11, 2008 | Recently someone forwarded me an invitation to a cheeky Inauguration Day event called "Shave the Date." As organizer Kristen Chase explains on her Web site, "Show your love for your country, and as you watch our new president take his oath and feel your satin undies against your smooth nether region, you can take pride in knowing you've rid your world of bush once and for all."
Read the rest of the story. It's worth it.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Jon Stewart and Mike Huckabee on Gay Marriage
Jon Stewart is as smart as he is funny. This is a great debate with Mike Huckabee about Gay marriage.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
We Really Do Create Our Own Reality
More from the folks with the most difficult job in the world - the Bush Legacy Project. History? What the Hell! Just rewrite it.
From Salon.com today:
The White House has put out talking points for top administration officials, telling them how to describe President Bush's time in office, the Los Angeles Times reports. Notably, the talking points make no mention of the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, the Iraq intelligence failures, the abuses of Abu Ghraib or the recent housing market collapse.
According to the Times, the "Speech Topper on the Bush Record" presents the administration as an "unalloyed success." During the current financial crisis, Bush "responded with bold measures to prevent an economic meltdown." The memo also claims Bush bolstered the economy with his 2001 tax cuts, kept the country safe after Sept. 11 and curbed AIDS in Africa. No mention of saving puppies from burning apartment buildings, however.
The real kicker comes at the end.
"Above all, George W. Bush promised to uphold the honor and the dignity of his office. And through all the challenges and trials of his time in office, that is a charge that our president has kept."
In Republican Speak, this means he didn't get a blow job in the Oval Office - or didn't get caught at it.
From Salon.com today:
The White House has put out talking points for top administration officials, telling them how to describe President Bush's time in office, the Los Angeles Times reports. Notably, the talking points make no mention of the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, the Iraq intelligence failures, the abuses of Abu Ghraib or the recent housing market collapse.
According to the Times, the "Speech Topper on the Bush Record" presents the administration as an "unalloyed success." During the current financial crisis, Bush "responded with bold measures to prevent an economic meltdown." The memo also claims Bush bolstered the economy with his 2001 tax cuts, kept the country safe after Sept. 11 and curbed AIDS in Africa. No mention of saving puppies from burning apartment buildings, however.
The real kicker comes at the end.
"Above all, George W. Bush promised to uphold the honor and the dignity of his office. And through all the challenges and trials of his time in office, that is a charge that our president has kept."
In Republican Speak, this means he didn't get a blow job in the Oval Office - or didn't get caught at it.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Can You Imagine Bush Ever Saying Something Like This?
An excerpt from Obama's appearance on Meet the Press this morning.
"Part of what I’m hoping to introduce as the next president is a new ethic of responsibility, where we say that, if you’re laying off workers, the least you can do when you’re making $25 million a year is give up some of your compensation and some of your bonuses, figure out ways in which workers maybe have to take a pay cut, but they can still keep their jobs, they can still keep their health care, and they can still stay in their homes."
"Part of what I’m hoping to introduce as the next president is a new ethic of responsibility, where we say that, if you’re laying off workers, the least you can do when you’re making $25 million a year is give up some of your compensation and some of your bonuses, figure out ways in which workers maybe have to take a pay cut, but they can still keep their jobs, they can still keep their health care, and they can still stay in their homes."
What is Wrong With These People?
Why are these people so obsessed with carrying firearms? There's a move in Texas to change the law to allow people to pack their heat out in the open - just like the wild west. I don't know if they're paranoid, insecure or both. Now, the Bush administration has overturned the ban on firearms in National Parks. What is wrong with these people? The existing law required the gun to be unloaded and not easily accessible. These people want to carry a loaded pistol while they're enjoying these beautiful parks. We're going to hear reports of park rangers finding dead animals in the park. Why else is it so important to carry a loaded gun around in a park?
Read the rest of the story here.
Read the rest of the story here.
It's Cool to be Smart Once Again
Here's an excerpt from Obama's appearance on Meet the Press this morning. The days of celebrating and tolerating ignorance are over!
"Part of what we want to do is to open up the White House and remind people this is the people's house," Obama told NBC's Tom Brokaw during a "Meet the Press" interview taped Saturday in Chicago.
"There is an incredible bully pulpit to be used when it comes to, for example, education: Yes, we're going to have an education policy; yes, we're going to be putting more money into school construction. But ultimately we want to talk about parents reading to their kids. We want to invite kids from local schools into the White House."
The president-elect said his administration is interested in "elevating science once again, and having lectures in the White House where people are talking about traveling to the stars or breaking down atoms, inspiring our youth to get a sense of what discovery is all about."
"Thinking about the diversity of our culture and inviting jazz musicians and classical musicians and poetry readings in the White House so that once again we appreciate this incredible tapestry that's America," he said.
"Historically, what has always brought us through hard times is that national character, that sense of optimism, that willingness to look forward, that sense that better days are ahead," Obama said. "I think that our art and our culture, our science--you know, that's the essence of what makes America special, and we want to project that as much as possible in the White House."
"Part of what we want to do is to open up the White House and remind people this is the people's house," Obama told NBC's Tom Brokaw during a "Meet the Press" interview taped Saturday in Chicago.
"There is an incredible bully pulpit to be used when it comes to, for example, education: Yes, we're going to have an education policy; yes, we're going to be putting more money into school construction. But ultimately we want to talk about parents reading to their kids. We want to invite kids from local schools into the White House."
The president-elect said his administration is interested in "elevating science once again, and having lectures in the White House where people are talking about traveling to the stars or breaking down atoms, inspiring our youth to get a sense of what discovery is all about."
"Thinking about the diversity of our culture and inviting jazz musicians and classical musicians and poetry readings in the White House so that once again we appreciate this incredible tapestry that's America," he said.
"Historically, what has always brought us through hard times is that national character, that sense of optimism, that willingness to look forward, that sense that better days are ahead," Obama said. "I think that our art and our culture, our science--you know, that's the essence of what makes America special, and we want to project that as much as possible in the White House."
Bush Moving to a Progressive Neighborhood
George Bush has bought a home in the wealthy part of Dallas known as Preston Hollow. Until 2000, the neighborhood association's covenant said only white people were allowed to live there, though an exception was made for servants. The document, enacted in 1956, reads:
"Said property shall be used and occupied by white persons only except these covenants shall not prevent occupancy by domestic servants of different race or nationality in the employ of a tenant."
I don't know the full history of this, but can you just imagine the mindset of a group of people who would allow a covenant like that to remain in place until 2000 after all the pain and turmoil of the civil rights movement, not to mention the laws that were enacted as a result of it. It would be interesting to know what caused the covenant to be removed in 2000, but I doubt that it was a sudden awakening of social conscience and sense of justice. More likely it was forced on them. These will be Bush's new neighbors. I suppose it's a good place for him to live.
"Said property shall be used and occupied by white persons only except these covenants shall not prevent occupancy by domestic servants of different race or nationality in the employ of a tenant."
I don't know the full history of this, but can you just imagine the mindset of a group of people who would allow a covenant like that to remain in place until 2000 after all the pain and turmoil of the civil rights movement, not to mention the laws that were enacted as a result of it. It would be interesting to know what caused the covenant to be removed in 2000, but I doubt that it was a sudden awakening of social conscience and sense of justice. More likely it was forced on them. These will be Bush's new neighbors. I suppose it's a good place for him to live.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
if You're Interested . . .
If, like Sarah Palin, you're still interested in Bill Ayers, read this New York Times article written by him about his past and his association with Obama. He explains why he remained silent during the election, the "palling around" accusations, and the extent of his relationship with Obama.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/06/opinion/06ayers.html?ref=opinion
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/06/opinion/06ayers.html?ref=opinion
Two Different Ideologies at Workl
We're beginning to see some dramatic differences between Conservative and Progressive ideology. Although Obama is more pragmatic than ideological, he still has a definite world view of government's role in society, and we're beginning to see it in action now.
Conservatives generally have a contempt for government. That's one of the reasons they govern so badly. Would you put a CEO in charge of your company who believed the company was incapable of performing effectively, and in addition believed that the company shouldn't perform effectively? Of course not. But we elect presidents who believe that about our government. When Reagan made his famous statement that government is not the solution to the problem, it is the problem, he activated a conservative archetype that caused millions of people to rise up like zombies and worship him as if he had suddenly discovered some profound truth. That belief still exists among too many people. We see it in the inaction of the Bush administration in so many cases. And, we're seeing the opposite of that ideology in Obama's purposeful planning and decision making that will make the government an important instrument of change in all of our lives.
Government is not some evil entity that is separate from us. Government is us! Good government is not the problem. It is the solution.
Conservatives generally have a contempt for government. That's one of the reasons they govern so badly. Would you put a CEO in charge of your company who believed the company was incapable of performing effectively, and in addition believed that the company shouldn't perform effectively? Of course not. But we elect presidents who believe that about our government. When Reagan made his famous statement that government is not the solution to the problem, it is the problem, he activated a conservative archetype that caused millions of people to rise up like zombies and worship him as if he had suddenly discovered some profound truth. That belief still exists among too many people. We see it in the inaction of the Bush administration in so many cases. And, we're seeing the opposite of that ideology in Obama's purposeful planning and decision making that will make the government an important instrument of change in all of our lives.
Government is not some evil entity that is separate from us. Government is us! Good government is not the problem. It is the solution.
Friday, December 5, 2008
What's Up With Hillary's Lips?
What's going on with Hillary's lips? She looks different in all of her photos since the election. Botox?
Remember John Edward's Haircut?
Remember the stink from the Republicans about John Edward's $400 haircut? Palin puts him to shame. She's still in the news. She won't go away. We're going to have to put up with her for a long, long time.
Following yesterday's report on an additional $30,000 in "accessories" spending by Governor Sarah Palin during the Presidential campaign, the New York Times has information on the money made by her makeup artist and hair stylist:
Gov. Sarah Palin's traveling makeup artist was paid $68,400 for roughly two months of work, according to a new campaign finance report filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Ms. Palin's makeup artist, Amy Strozzi -- who was nominated for an Emmy award for her cosmetics work on the television show "So You Think You Can Dance?" -- was paid $32,400 by Senator John McCain's presidential campaign between Oct. 16 and Nov. 24, the period covered by the most recent reports filed with the commission.
This amount came on top of the $36,000 she had already been paid in previous reports, dating back to September.
In addition, Ms. Palin's traveling hair stylist, Angela Lew, was paid a total of $42,225, with $23,400 coming during the period covered by the latest reports to the commission, which were due at midnight on Thursday.
Following yesterday's report on an additional $30,000 in "accessories" spending by Governor Sarah Palin during the Presidential campaign, the New York Times has information on the money made by her makeup artist and hair stylist:
Gov. Sarah Palin's traveling makeup artist was paid $68,400 for roughly two months of work, according to a new campaign finance report filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Ms. Palin's makeup artist, Amy Strozzi -- who was nominated for an Emmy award for her cosmetics work on the television show "So You Think You Can Dance?" -- was paid $32,400 by Senator John McCain's presidential campaign between Oct. 16 and Nov. 24, the period covered by the most recent reports filed with the commission.
This amount came on top of the $36,000 she had already been paid in previous reports, dating back to September.
In addition, Ms. Palin's traveling hair stylist, Angela Lew, was paid a total of $42,225, with $23,400 coming during the period covered by the latest reports to the commission, which were due at midnight on Thursday.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
This is Putting Lipstick on a Pig
There's a legacy team at work in the White House rewriting history to make Bush look better than he is. That's a big job, but Karl Rove is part of the project. Fortunately, we have people like Jon Stewart who will keep slapping him in the face with the truth while making us laugh. There's no way to make this guy look good. That would really be putting lipstick on a pig.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Karma
SEDALIA, Mo. — A hunter bagged a big buck on the second day of firearms season, but the kill caused him a lot of pain. Randy Goodman, 49, said he thought two well-placed shots with his .270-caliber rifle had killed the buck on Nov. 19. Goodman said the deer looked dead to him, but seconds later the nine-point, 240-pound animal came to life.
The buck rose up, knocked Goodman down and attacked him with his antlers in what the veteran hunter called "15 seconds of hell." The deer ran a short distance and went down, and died after Goodman fired two more shots.
Soon Goodman started feeling dizzy and noticed his vest was soaked in blood.
So he reached his truck and drove to a hospital, where he received seven staples in his scalp and was treated for a slight concussion and bruises.
The buck rose up, knocked Goodman down and attacked him with his antlers in what the veteran hunter called "15 seconds of hell." The deer ran a short distance and went down, and died after Goodman fired two more shots.
Soon Goodman started feeling dizzy and noticed his vest was soaked in blood.
So he reached his truck and drove to a hospital, where he received seven staples in his scalp and was treated for a slight concussion and bruises.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Democrats Always Needed John Wayne
I've always had a theory that one of the reasons that Democrats are perceived as being soft on national defense is because a lot of them look soft. You could line up the entire House of Representatives and Senate and pick out the Republicans and Democrats on appearance alone with about 90% accuracy. When people are scared, they don't care about intellectuals. They want John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson. Never underestimate the superficiality of the American public. It's all about appearances and packaging.
Bush has that fake, macho swagger. Rumsfeld had that leathery look and toughness about him. Cheney looks like Dr. Evil. You may disagree with them, but they project an attitude of toughness. I love Obama, but frankly, he looks like somebody you would probably wouldn't be afraid to fight in a bar. Now, the Dems are getting it. Look at Obama's new national security advisor, Marine General James Jones. Is that a Republican, "Don't F*** with me" look or what? Welcome back, John Wayne!
Bush has that fake, macho swagger. Rumsfeld had that leathery look and toughness about him. Cheney looks like Dr. Evil. You may disagree with them, but they project an attitude of toughness. I love Obama, but frankly, he looks like somebody you would probably wouldn't be afraid to fight in a bar. Now, the Dems are getting it. Look at Obama's new national security advisor, Marine General James Jones. Is that a Republican, "Don't F*** with me" look or what? Welcome back, John Wayne!
We've Come a Long Way in 53 Years
On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, a 42-year-old African American woman who worked as a seamstress, boarded this Montgomery City bus to go home from work. On this bus on that day, Rosa Parks initiated a new era in the American quest for freedom and equality.
She sat near the middle of the bus, just behind the 10 seats reserved for whites. Soon all of the seats in the bus were filled. When a white man entered the bus, the driver (following the standard practice of segregation) insisted that all four blacks sitting just behind the white section give up their seats so that the man could sit there. Mrs. Parks, who was an active member of the local NAACP, quietly refused to give up her seat.
Her action was spontaneous and not pre-meditated, although her previous civil rights involvement and strong sense of justice were obvious influences. "When I made that decision," she said later, “I knew that I had the strength of my ancestors with me.”
She was arrested and convicted of violating the laws of segregation, known as “Jim Crow laws.” Mrs. Parks appealed her conviction and thus formally challenged the legality of segregation.
At the same time, local civil rights activists initiated a boycott of the Montgomery bus system. In cities across the South, segregated bus companies were daily reminders of the inequities of American society. Since African Americans made up about 75 percent of the riders in Montgomery, the boycott posed a serious economic threat to the company and a social threat to white rule in the city.
A group named the Montgomery Improvement Association, composed of local activists and ministers, organized the boycott. As their leader, they chose a young Baptist minister who was new to Montgomery: Martin Luther King, Jr. Sparked by Mrs. Parks’ action, the boycott lasted 381 days, into December 1956 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the segregation law was unconstitutional and the Montgomery buses were integrated. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was the beginning of a revolutionary era of non-violent mass protests in support of civil rights in the United States.
It was not just an accident that the civil rights movement began on a city bus. In a famous 1896 case involving a black man on a train, Plessy v. Ferguson, the U.S. Supreme Court enunciated the “separate but equal” rationale for Jim Crow. Of course, facilities and treatment were never equal.
Under Jim Crow customs and laws, it was relatively easy to separate the races in every area of life except transportation. Bus and train companies couldn’t afford separate cars and so blacks and whites had to occupy the same space.
Thus, transportation was one the most volatile arenas for race relations in the South. Mrs. Parks remembers going to elementary school in Pine Level, Alabama, where buses took white kids to the new school but black kids had to walk to their school.
“I'd see the bus pass every day,” she said. “But to me, that was a way of life; we had no choice but to accept what was the custom. The bus was among the first ways I realized there was a black world and a white world” (emphasis added).
Montgomery’s Jim Crow customs were particularly harsh and gave bus drivers great latitude in making decisions on where people could sit. The law even gave bus drivers the authority to carry guns to enforce their edicts. Mrs. Parks’ attorney Fred Gray remembered, “Virtually every African-American person in Montgomery had some negative experience with the buses. But we had no choice. We had to use the buses for transportation.”
Civil rights advocates had outlawed Jim Crow in interstate train travel, and blacks in several Southern cities attacked the practice of segregated bus systems. There had been a bus boycott in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1953, but black leaders compromised before making real gains. Joann Robinson, a black university professor and activist in Montgomery, had suggested the idea of a bus boycott months before the Parks arrest.
Two other women had been arrested on buses in Montgomery before Parks and were considered by black leaders as potential clients for challenging the law. However, both were rejected because black leaders felt they would not gain white support. When she heard that the well-respected Rosa Parks had been arrested, one Montgomery African American woman exclaimed, “They’ve messed with the wrong one now.”
In the South, city buses were lightning rods for civil rights activists. It took someone with the courage and character of Rosa Parks to strike with lightning. And it required the commitment of the entire African American community to fan the flames ignited by that lightning into the fires of the civil rights revolution.
Source: http://www.thehenryford.org/exhibits/rosaparks/story.asp
She sat near the middle of the bus, just behind the 10 seats reserved for whites. Soon all of the seats in the bus were filled. When a white man entered the bus, the driver (following the standard practice of segregation) insisted that all four blacks sitting just behind the white section give up their seats so that the man could sit there. Mrs. Parks, who was an active member of the local NAACP, quietly refused to give up her seat.
Her action was spontaneous and not pre-meditated, although her previous civil rights involvement and strong sense of justice were obvious influences. "When I made that decision," she said later, “I knew that I had the strength of my ancestors with me.”
She was arrested and convicted of violating the laws of segregation, known as “Jim Crow laws.” Mrs. Parks appealed her conviction and thus formally challenged the legality of segregation.
At the same time, local civil rights activists initiated a boycott of the Montgomery bus system. In cities across the South, segregated bus companies were daily reminders of the inequities of American society. Since African Americans made up about 75 percent of the riders in Montgomery, the boycott posed a serious economic threat to the company and a social threat to white rule in the city.
A group named the Montgomery Improvement Association, composed of local activists and ministers, organized the boycott. As their leader, they chose a young Baptist minister who was new to Montgomery: Martin Luther King, Jr. Sparked by Mrs. Parks’ action, the boycott lasted 381 days, into December 1956 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the segregation law was unconstitutional and the Montgomery buses were integrated. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was the beginning of a revolutionary era of non-violent mass protests in support of civil rights in the United States.
It was not just an accident that the civil rights movement began on a city bus. In a famous 1896 case involving a black man on a train, Plessy v. Ferguson, the U.S. Supreme Court enunciated the “separate but equal” rationale for Jim Crow. Of course, facilities and treatment were never equal.
Under Jim Crow customs and laws, it was relatively easy to separate the races in every area of life except transportation. Bus and train companies couldn’t afford separate cars and so blacks and whites had to occupy the same space.
Thus, transportation was one the most volatile arenas for race relations in the South. Mrs. Parks remembers going to elementary school in Pine Level, Alabama, where buses took white kids to the new school but black kids had to walk to their school.
“I'd see the bus pass every day,” she said. “But to me, that was a way of life; we had no choice but to accept what was the custom. The bus was among the first ways I realized there was a black world and a white world” (emphasis added).
Montgomery’s Jim Crow customs were particularly harsh and gave bus drivers great latitude in making decisions on where people could sit. The law even gave bus drivers the authority to carry guns to enforce their edicts. Mrs. Parks’ attorney Fred Gray remembered, “Virtually every African-American person in Montgomery had some negative experience with the buses. But we had no choice. We had to use the buses for transportation.”
Civil rights advocates had outlawed Jim Crow in interstate train travel, and blacks in several Southern cities attacked the practice of segregated bus systems. There had been a bus boycott in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1953, but black leaders compromised before making real gains. Joann Robinson, a black university professor and activist in Montgomery, had suggested the idea of a bus boycott months before the Parks arrest.
Two other women had been arrested on buses in Montgomery before Parks and were considered by black leaders as potential clients for challenging the law. However, both were rejected because black leaders felt they would not gain white support. When she heard that the well-respected Rosa Parks had been arrested, one Montgomery African American woman exclaimed, “They’ve messed with the wrong one now.”
In the South, city buses were lightning rods for civil rights activists. It took someone with the courage and character of Rosa Parks to strike with lightning. And it required the commitment of the entire African American community to fan the flames ignited by that lightning into the fires of the civil rights revolution.
Source: http://www.thehenryford.org/exhibits/rosaparks/story.asp
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Palin Still Represents Many Republicans and Their Ideology
Sarah Palin would be old news, not worth commenting on, if it weren't for the fact that she is, by some accounts, the de facto leader of the Republican party. Here's an article from an Alaska newspaper that speaks volumes about her character, ideology as well as the party she represents. When Republicans put so much stock in service to country, sends their own sons and daughters to war, then turn around and reject a man like Max Cleland and support a man like Saxby Chambliss, it makes you wonder about where their head is. Never mind. I know where there head is. I'm happy to say that many Republicans find Saxby Chambliss a despicable person. That's encouraging.
by Matt Zencey
Gov. Sarah Palin is putting her conservative Republican fame to work in Georgia, stumping for Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, who is in a tough runoff for re-election.
I wonder if she knows the true measure of the man she is eagerly helping.
Chambliss was elected to the Senate in 2002 by running one of the most reprehensible campaigns of modern times. He was up against incumbent Democrat Sen. Max Cleland, a Vietnam War veteran who lost both legs and his right arm to a grenade during that conflict.
Chambliss avoided serving in Vietnam. He got four student draft deferments, and when his number finally came up, he was medically disqualified with knee troubles.
In the best Karl Rove fashion, Chambliss the draft-evader attacked Cleland the war hero for being soft on terrorism. Distorting Cleland’s votes about workplace rules for the new Homeland Security Department employees, Chambliss portrayed him as a tool of terrorists like Osama bin Laden.
Here’s how the Almanac of American Politics (2006) described it:
“Chambliss ran an ad, much attacked in the press, showing pictures of Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and Max Cleland, and saying that Cleland 'voted against the President’s vital homeland security efforts 11 times.’” (Those “vital homeland security efforts” Cleland opposed were intended to strip homeland security employees of union rights and other workplace protections.)
The man who couldn’t bring himself to serve in the military said a man who left three limbs behind in war was a weakling who would turn the country over to terrorists.
Chambliss was a congressman during the 9-11 attacks. Congressional Quarterly’s “Politics in America 2006” noted that Congressman Chambliss “quipped that one route to security would be for local sheriffs to 'arrest every Muslim that comes across the state line.’”
So there you have the fine American that Palin is trying to re-elect to the U.S. Senate.
Gov. Palin’s eldest joined the Army and has been deployed to Iraq. As a justifiably proud military mom, she might ask herself why she is using her conservative star power to support such a reprehensible Republican chicken hawk.
by Matt Zencey
Gov. Sarah Palin is putting her conservative Republican fame to work in Georgia, stumping for Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, who is in a tough runoff for re-election.
I wonder if she knows the true measure of the man she is eagerly helping.
Chambliss was elected to the Senate in 2002 by running one of the most reprehensible campaigns of modern times. He was up against incumbent Democrat Sen. Max Cleland, a Vietnam War veteran who lost both legs and his right arm to a grenade during that conflict.
Chambliss avoided serving in Vietnam. He got four student draft deferments, and when his number finally came up, he was medically disqualified with knee troubles.
In the best Karl Rove fashion, Chambliss the draft-evader attacked Cleland the war hero for being soft on terrorism. Distorting Cleland’s votes about workplace rules for the new Homeland Security Department employees, Chambliss portrayed him as a tool of terrorists like Osama bin Laden.
Here’s how the Almanac of American Politics (2006) described it:
“Chambliss ran an ad, much attacked in the press, showing pictures of Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and Max Cleland, and saying that Cleland 'voted against the President’s vital homeland security efforts 11 times.’” (Those “vital homeland security efforts” Cleland opposed were intended to strip homeland security employees of union rights and other workplace protections.)
The man who couldn’t bring himself to serve in the military said a man who left three limbs behind in war was a weakling who would turn the country over to terrorists.
Chambliss was a congressman during the 9-11 attacks. Congressional Quarterly’s “Politics in America 2006” noted that Congressman Chambliss “quipped that one route to security would be for local sheriffs to 'arrest every Muslim that comes across the state line.’”
So there you have the fine American that Palin is trying to re-elect to the U.S. Senate.
Gov. Palin’s eldest joined the Army and has been deployed to Iraq. As a justifiably proud military mom, she might ask herself why she is using her conservative star power to support such a reprehensible Republican chicken hawk.
Why Do We Give These People Tax Exemptions?
Parishioners of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Modesto have been told they should consider going to confession if they voted for Barack Obama, because of the president-elect's position condoning abortion.
"If you are one of the 54 percent of Catholics who voted for a pro-abortion candidate, you were clear on his position and you knew the gravity of the question, I urge you to go to confession before receiving communion. Don't risk losing your state of grace by receiving sacrilegiously," the Rev. Joseph Illo, pastor of St. Joseph's, wrote in a letter dated Nov. 21.
The letter was sent to more than 15,000 members of the St. Joseph's parish. It is one of 34 parishes in the Stockton Diocese, which has more than 200,000 members in Stanislaus, San Joaquin and four other counties.
Illo also delivered this message in a homily.
The rest of the story.
"If you are one of the 54 percent of Catholics who voted for a pro-abortion candidate, you were clear on his position and you knew the gravity of the question, I urge you to go to confession before receiving communion. Don't risk losing your state of grace by receiving sacrilegiously," the Rev. Joseph Illo, pastor of St. Joseph's, wrote in a letter dated Nov. 21.
The letter was sent to more than 15,000 members of the St. Joseph's parish. It is one of 34 parishes in the Stockton Diocese, which has more than 200,000 members in Stanislaus, San Joaquin and four other counties.
Illo also delivered this message in a homily.
The rest of the story.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Sorry Excuse for a President
It's a good thing Bush isn't any smarter than he is. A person with any degree of intelligence would have a hard time living with the fact that their bad judgment, ignorance and arrogance have been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. Now he'll continue to add to that legacy after he leaves office. From the New York Times today:
WASHINGTON — The Labor Department is racing to complete a new rule, strenuously opposed by President-elect Barack Obama, that would make it much harder for the government to regulate toxic substances and hazardous chemicals to which workers are exposed on the job.
The rule, which has strong support from business groups, says that in assessing the risk from a particular substance, federal agencies should gather and analyze “industry-by-industry evidence” of employees’ exposure to it during their working lives. The proposal would, in many cases, add a step to the lengthy process of developing standards to protect workers’ health.
The rest of the story.
WASHINGTON — The Labor Department is racing to complete a new rule, strenuously opposed by President-elect Barack Obama, that would make it much harder for the government to regulate toxic substances and hazardous chemicals to which workers are exposed on the job.
The rule, which has strong support from business groups, says that in assessing the risk from a particular substance, federal agencies should gather and analyze “industry-by-industry evidence” of employees’ exposure to it during their working lives. The proposal would, in many cases, add a step to the lengthy process of developing standards to protect workers’ health.
The rest of the story.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Bush Brings a New Meaning to Shallow
WASHINGTON — President George W. Bush is relishing the chance to see "the klieg lights shift somewhere else," although he admits he'll miss perks like White House cooking and flying on Air Force One.
"Frankly, I'm not going to miss the limelight all that much," Bush said in an intimate family conversation with his sister, Doro Bush Koch, about how he'll feel when he leaves the White House to make way for Barack Obama on Jan. 20.
"Been a fabulous experience to be president," Bush told Doro in the conversation recorded for the oral-history organization StoryCorps. But he said he'll be ready to go when the time comes.
Bush did acknowledge in the Nov. 12 conversation _ aired Thursday on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" _ that he would miss the trips on the presidential jet and not having to worry about traffic. He and first lady Laura Bush both agreed in the talk that they would miss the chefs at the Executive Mansion, but disagreed about who would be in charge of meals when they move back to Texas in January.
"I'm sure I'm going to lose a lot of weight, because Laura's going to be the cook," Bush deadpanned. The first lady responded, "You're going to be the person grilling, though, I think."
The president also said he would miss spending time with his sister, who lives in the District of Columbia area.
"This is a job which, you know, obviously had a lot of stress to it; it has a lot of pressure," Bush said. "But when you're around your family at all, all that pales."
Since 2003, the nonprofit StoryCorps has helped people record nearly 25,000 interviews at stationary booths in New York and with mobile operations traveling around the country. Participants receive a CD of their 40-minute interview, and all recordings are archived at the Library of Congress.
"Frankly, I'm not going to miss the limelight all that much," Bush said in an intimate family conversation with his sister, Doro Bush Koch, about how he'll feel when he leaves the White House to make way for Barack Obama on Jan. 20.
"Been a fabulous experience to be president," Bush told Doro in the conversation recorded for the oral-history organization StoryCorps. But he said he'll be ready to go when the time comes.
Bush did acknowledge in the Nov. 12 conversation _ aired Thursday on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" _ that he would miss the trips on the presidential jet and not having to worry about traffic. He and first lady Laura Bush both agreed in the talk that they would miss the chefs at the Executive Mansion, but disagreed about who would be in charge of meals when they move back to Texas in January.
"I'm sure I'm going to lose a lot of weight, because Laura's going to be the cook," Bush deadpanned. The first lady responded, "You're going to be the person grilling, though, I think."
The president also said he would miss spending time with his sister, who lives in the District of Columbia area.
"This is a job which, you know, obviously had a lot of stress to it; it has a lot of pressure," Bush said. "But when you're around your family at all, all that pales."
Since 2003, the nonprofit StoryCorps has helped people record nearly 25,000 interviews at stationary booths in New York and with mobile operations traveling around the country. Participants receive a CD of their 40-minute interview, and all recordings are archived at the Library of Congress.
Symbolism is Important
On Wednesday,
George Bush pardoned a turkey.
Barack Obama held a news conference on the economy and visited a food bank in Chicago.
George Bush pardoned a turkey.
Barack Obama held a news conference on the economy and visited a food bank in Chicago.
Let's Hear it For Old People
This one makes me want to keep taking my vitamins and exercising. Obama has named Paul Volker, 81, as the head of his Economic Recovery Advisory Board. It's about time we stopped throwing away wisdom and experience.
An Easy Thanksgiving List This Year
We have a lot to be thankful for today.
We have a president who can speak in complete, coherent sentences.
We have a first lady who isn't forced to keep her mouth shut and hide her intelligence.
We have a first family that can serve as a wonderful role model for others.
We have a president who can inspire us to find the better part of our nature.
We have real people running our country.
That's something to be thankful for!
Watch Michelle and Barack talk about Thanksgiving and their children..
We have a president who can speak in complete, coherent sentences.
We have a first lady who isn't forced to keep her mouth shut and hide her intelligence.
We have a first family that can serve as a wonderful role model for others.
We have a president who can inspire us to find the better part of our nature.
We have real people running our country.
That's something to be thankful for!
Watch Michelle and Barack talk about Thanksgiving and their children..
I Don't Like Joe Lieberman
The more you know about Joe Lieberman, the more undesirable he becomes. When Al Gore selected him for his VP, I thought he made a good choice. Now, I question Gore's judgement.
Shortly after Bush was appointed to the presidency in 2000, Lieberman was sucking up to him. Now, he's sucking up to Obama after trashing him throughout the campaign. This article from the Washington Post reveals that he was providing financial support to other Republican candidates in addition to McCain.
Obama's desire for reconciliation is admirable, but I wonder when it's time to tell someone they just don't belong. If the Democrats do end up with a 60 vote majority, he's going to be the sixtieth vote. Some of the most important cliff-hangers will depend on him. Maybe Obama is giving us all an important lesson in forgiveness and pragmatism, but this one is hard to swallow.
He sounds like a cartoon character. Is it Deputy Dawg with that whiney, nasal voice?
Shortly after Bush was appointed to the presidency in 2000, Lieberman was sucking up to him. Now, he's sucking up to Obama after trashing him throughout the campaign. This article from the Washington Post reveals that he was providing financial support to other Republican candidates in addition to McCain.
Obama's desire for reconciliation is admirable, but I wonder when it's time to tell someone they just don't belong. If the Democrats do end up with a 60 vote majority, he's going to be the sixtieth vote. Some of the most important cliff-hangers will depend on him. Maybe Obama is giving us all an important lesson in forgiveness and pragmatism, but this one is hard to swallow.
He sounds like a cartoon character. Is it Deputy Dawg with that whiney, nasal voice?
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Real Men Don't Have Girly Dogs
Maybe Obama isn't a true liberal in touch with his feminine side. He sounds more like a Bush Republican here. Maybe it's a strategic move to win over some of the Bush/McCain supporters. As they say, the Republicans are the Daddy party, and the Democrats are the Mommy party.
Remember when Daddy Bush said he didn't like broccoli? Big uproar from the Broccoli Council and broccoli lovers everywhere. They considered themselves dissed. I'll bet Obama will get lots of flack from the owners of little yappy, girly dogs!
From The Politico - November 26, 2008
Barbara Walters interviewed the Obamas, due to air tonight, and of course the topics of doggies came up. She, along with millions of Americans, actually sent Michelle Obama a picture of her beloved Havanese dog, Cha Cha Cha. (We're not kidding.)
Here's the back and forth between Obama and Bawbwa:
Obama: "Cha Cha?"
Bawbwa: "It's short for Cha Cha Cha."
O: "What is a Havanese?"
B: "It's like a little terrier and they're non-allergenic and they're the sweetest dogs.."
O: [Face suddenly changes.] "It's like a little yappy dog?"
Michelle: "Don't criticize."
O: "It, like, sits in your lap and things?"
M: "It's a cute dog."
O: "It sounds kinda like a girly dog."
M: "We're girls. We have a houseful of girls."
O [with hand gestures]: "We're going to have a big rambunctious dog, of some sort."
Remember when Daddy Bush said he didn't like broccoli? Big uproar from the Broccoli Council and broccoli lovers everywhere. They considered themselves dissed. I'll bet Obama will get lots of flack from the owners of little yappy, girly dogs!
From The Politico - November 26, 2008
Barbara Walters interviewed the Obamas, due to air tonight, and of course the topics of doggies came up. She, along with millions of Americans, actually sent Michelle Obama a picture of her beloved Havanese dog, Cha Cha Cha. (We're not kidding.)
Here's the back and forth between Obama and Bawbwa:
Obama: "Cha Cha?"
Bawbwa: "It's short for Cha Cha Cha."
O: "What is a Havanese?"
B: "It's like a little terrier and they're non-allergenic and they're the sweetest dogs.."
O: [Face suddenly changes.] "It's like a little yappy dog?"
Michelle: "Don't criticize."
O: "It, like, sits in your lap and things?"
M: "It's a cute dog."
O: "It sounds kinda like a girly dog."
M: "We're girls. We have a houseful of girls."
O [with hand gestures]: "We're going to have a big rambunctious dog, of some sort."
Obama and the Kids
Just watched an excerpt of Barbara Walters' interview with President Obama and Michelle. We might as well call him President Obama because he's acting as president, and the country is responding to him as president. Bush is more than a Lame Duck - he's just lame. Always has been.
Michelle said that she has instructed the White House staff to let the kids make up their own beds and clean up their own rooms. When Walters looked surprised, she said, "Why not? That's what they do now at home." It's going to be a wonderful four years, isn't it!
Michelle said that she has instructed the White House staff to let the kids make up their own beds and clean up their own rooms. When Walters looked surprised, she said, "Why not? That's what they do now at home." It's going to be a wonderful four years, isn't it!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Yes! There is a God
I don't like to celebrate anyone's misfortune, but this item in today's news caused my heart to leap with joy. It seems that Ann Coulter broke her jaw and will have her mouth wired shut. It didn't say how she broke it, but I wouldn't be surprised if somebody punched her out!
Of course she can still write. Too bad she didn't break her fingers.
Bush is Giving Us The Finger on the Way Out
It's not time to start singing "Happy Days are Here Again." Watch this seven-minute segment to find out some of the sneaky things Bush is doing that will make him hard to forget after January 20.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
It's Nice to Have a President Again
Bush is basically MIA during the most difficult time our country has faced in my lifetime. Obama is filling that leadership gap. The markets are watching his every move. Yesterday, it went up almost 500 points after he picked Tim Geithner for Treasury Secretary. January 20, can't get here soon enough.
Friday, November 21, 2008
It's Not Alright
My good friend, Alexandra, who is an accomplished wordsmith and editor has adopted the word, "alright" which is not really a word. It's not alright to use this form.
Usage Note: Despite the appearance of the form alright in works of such well-known writers as Langston Hughes and James Joyce, the single word spelling has never been accepted as standard. This is peculiar, since similar fusions such as already and altogether have never raised any objections. The difference may lie in the fact that already and altogether became single words back in the Middle Ages, whereas alright has only been around for a little more than a century and was called out by language critics as a misspelling. Consequently, one who uses alright, especially in formal writing, runs the risk that readers may view it as an error or as the willful breaking of convention.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Usage Note: Despite the appearance of the form alright in works of such well-known writers as Langston Hughes and James Joyce, the single word spelling has never been accepted as standard. This is peculiar, since similar fusions such as already and altogether have never raised any objections. The difference may lie in the fact that already and altogether became single words back in the Middle Ages, whereas alright has only been around for a little more than a century and was called out by language critics as a misspelling. Consequently, one who uses alright, especially in formal writing, runs the risk that readers may view it as an error or as the willful breaking of convention.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
SPCEL
I want to start The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to the English Language. Let's start with "lay" and "lie."
You don't lay down to take a nap. You lie down to take a nap.
"Lay your head on my shoulder. Lay your warm and tender body next to mine." This Country-Western song got it right.
I think this battle has been lost, but somebody has to stand up for the elites. Anybody out there want to adopt a word and be its guardian?
Want to know more about this word - click here.
You don't lay down to take a nap. You lie down to take a nap.
"Lay your head on my shoulder. Lay your warm and tender body next to mine." This Country-Western song got it right.
I think this battle has been lost, but somebody has to stand up for the elites. Anybody out there want to adopt a word and be its guardian?
Want to know more about this word - click here.
It's time to Come Out of the Closet
There's no better time than now to take back the word, "Liberal," and wear it proudly. Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter and all the other right-wing talk-radio wackos have stolen the word and demonized it over the years. But, they just got slapped in the face with it . . . hard.
I just returned from a three-day motorcycle trip to Big Bend with eight of my riding buddies. They're all Republicans. I'm their token Liberal. They tolerate me. I tolerate them. We try not to talk about it much because it creates too much conflict. They're good friends, and I value their friendship. But, this time, they were in a dither, convinced that the world is coming to an end, and we're going to be a third-world country in three years. So, we all got drunk around a great outdoor fireplace in Marathon, Texas and discussed our respective points of view.
Since I'm on the winning side now, I can be magnanimous and listen with the intent to understand rather than to be understood. It's taken me a long time to realize that it's futile to try to be understood when it comes to politics. The best one can hope for is to understand the other's point of view.
It was a good conversation. I learned some things and got a better understanding of them. As I suspected, most of their concern is around money and taxes. They're convinced that Obama is going to take everything away from them. Only one of the group makes more than $250,000 per year, so this is confusing. But, I kept my mouth shut and listened most of the time. They all agreed that we have a moral obligation to help those who have real needs, but there is great resentment and anger toward those who, in their opinion, fit the mold of Reagan's Welfare Cadillac story. Incidentally, Reagan made that up about the woman who drove up to the welfare office in her Cadillac to get her food stamps, but it has become the symbol for those on the right. All of them seemed to have a personal story about someone who worked the system or was too lazy to work that shaped their world view.
They also view government as a separate evil entity that is forcing them to do things against their will. I tried to discuss my view, that government is us, with no success.
It was a successful evening. The conversation ended peacefully, and we were still speaking to each other the next morning. I learned that it is much better to seek to understand than it is to seek to be understood.
It's time to come out of the closet and say, "You're damn right I'm a Liberal and proud of it." Listen to John F. Kennedy, accepting the endorsement of his presidential candidacy by New York's Liberal Party on Sept. 14, 1960:
What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label "Liberal?" If by "Liberal" they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of "Liberal." But if by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal."
I just returned from a three-day motorcycle trip to Big Bend with eight of my riding buddies. They're all Republicans. I'm their token Liberal. They tolerate me. I tolerate them. We try not to talk about it much because it creates too much conflict. They're good friends, and I value their friendship. But, this time, they were in a dither, convinced that the world is coming to an end, and we're going to be a third-world country in three years. So, we all got drunk around a great outdoor fireplace in Marathon, Texas and discussed our respective points of view.
Since I'm on the winning side now, I can be magnanimous and listen with the intent to understand rather than to be understood. It's taken me a long time to realize that it's futile to try to be understood when it comes to politics. The best one can hope for is to understand the other's point of view.
It was a good conversation. I learned some things and got a better understanding of them. As I suspected, most of their concern is around money and taxes. They're convinced that Obama is going to take everything away from them. Only one of the group makes more than $250,000 per year, so this is confusing. But, I kept my mouth shut and listened most of the time. They all agreed that we have a moral obligation to help those who have real needs, but there is great resentment and anger toward those who, in their opinion, fit the mold of Reagan's Welfare Cadillac story. Incidentally, Reagan made that up about the woman who drove up to the welfare office in her Cadillac to get her food stamps, but it has become the symbol for those on the right. All of them seemed to have a personal story about someone who worked the system or was too lazy to work that shaped their world view.
They also view government as a separate evil entity that is forcing them to do things against their will. I tried to discuss my view, that government is us, with no success.
It was a successful evening. The conversation ended peacefully, and we were still speaking to each other the next morning. I learned that it is much better to seek to understand than it is to seek to be understood.
It's time to come out of the closet and say, "You're damn right I'm a Liberal and proud of it." Listen to John F. Kennedy, accepting the endorsement of his presidential candidacy by New York's Liberal Party on Sept. 14, 1960:
What do our opponents mean when they apply to us the label "Liberal?" If by "Liberal" they mean, as they want people to believe, someone who is soft in his policies abroad, who is against local government, and who is unconcerned with the taxpayer's dollar, then the record of this party and its members demonstrate that we are not that kind of "Liberal." But if by a "Liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say I'm a "Liberal."
Sarah Counts Her Blessings . . . . . The Turkeys Don't
At first, this looks like a Saturday Night Live skit with Tina Fey, then you realize that, OMG, it's real. Sarah Palin is being interviewed in Alaska while turkeys are being slaughtered in the background. You can't believe this until you see it.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Obama's Odd Speaking Style Concerns Americans
In the first two weeks since the election, President-elect Barack Obama has broken with a tradition established over the past eight years through his controversial use of complete sentences, political observers say.
Millions of Americans who watched Mr. Obama's appearance on CBS's 60 Minutes on Sunday witnessed the president-elect's unorthodox verbal tick, which had Mr. Obama employing grammatically correct sentences virtually every time he opened his mouth.
The rest of the story.
Millions of Americans who watched Mr. Obama's appearance on CBS's 60 Minutes on Sunday witnessed the president-elect's unorthodox verbal tick, which had Mr. Obama employing grammatically correct sentences virtually every time he opened his mouth.
The rest of the story.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Obama's First Weekly Radio/Video Chat
it's interesting that he didn't end this talk with the standard "God Bless America" which is fine with me, but I'll bet the religious right will have something to say about this. I'm closer to Rev. Wright on this. Why should we ask God to bless America when there's so much suffering around the world, much of it caused by us.
Friday, November 14, 2008
It's Tough Out There
THE WHITE HOUSE
OFFICE OF THE FIRST LADY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 14, 2008
MENU FOR THE DINNER IN HONOR OF THE SUMMIT ON FINANCIAL MARKETS AND THE WORLD ECONOMY
Fruitwood-smoked Quail with Quince Gastrique
Quinoa Risotto
Landmark Chardonnay “Damaris Reserve” 2006
Thyme-roasted Rack of Lamb
Tomato, Fennel and Eggplant Fondue
Chanterelle Jus
Shafer Cabernet “Hillside Select” 2003
Lolla Rosa, Red Oak and Endive
Cider Vinaigrette
Baked Vermont Brie with Walnut Crostini
Pear Torte
Huckleberry Sauce
Chandon Étoile Rosé
OFFICE OF THE FIRST LADY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 14, 2008
MENU FOR THE DINNER IN HONOR OF THE SUMMIT ON FINANCIAL MARKETS AND THE WORLD ECONOMY
Fruitwood-smoked Quail with Quince Gastrique
Quinoa Risotto
Landmark Chardonnay “Damaris Reserve” 2006
Thyme-roasted Rack of Lamb
Tomato, Fennel and Eggplant Fondue
Chanterelle Jus
Shafer Cabernet “Hillside Select” 2003
Lolla Rosa, Red Oak and Endive
Cider Vinaigrette
Baked Vermont Brie with Walnut Crostini
Pear Torte
Huckleberry Sauce
Chandon Étoile Rosé
Just When You Thought Sanity Had Returned - Joe the Plumber Gets a Book Deal
I can't wait.
"Everyone came at me to write a book. They had dollar signs in their eyes. '101 Things Joe the Plumber Knows' or some stupid s--- like that. Excuse me, I am sorry," he said. "You know I will get behind something solid, but I won't get behind fluff. I won't cash in, and when people do read the book they will figure out that I didn't cash in. At least I hope they figure that out."
The book, called "Joe the Plumber -- Fighting for the American Dream," is to be released by a group called PearlGate Publishing and other small publishing houses.
"I am not going to a conglomerate that way we actually can get the economy jump started. Like there is five publishing companies in Michigan. There's a couple down in Texas. They are small ones that can handle like 10 or 15,000 copies. I can go to a big one that could handle a million or two. But they don't need the help. They are already rich. So that's spreading the wealth to me," he said.
"Everyone came at me to write a book. They had dollar signs in their eyes. '101 Things Joe the Plumber Knows' or some stupid s--- like that. Excuse me, I am sorry," he said. "You know I will get behind something solid, but I won't get behind fluff. I won't cash in, and when people do read the book they will figure out that I didn't cash in. At least I hope they figure that out."
The book, called "Joe the Plumber -- Fighting for the American Dream," is to be released by a group called PearlGate Publishing and other small publishing houses.
"I am not going to a conglomerate that way we actually can get the economy jump started. Like there is five publishing companies in Michigan. There's a couple down in Texas. They are small ones that can handle like 10 or 15,000 copies. I can go to a big one that could handle a million or two. But they don't need the help. They are already rich. So that's spreading the wealth to me," he said.
What's Wrong With These Southern States?
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina Roman Catholic priest has told his parishioners that they should refrain from receiving Holy Communion if they voted for Barack Obama because the Democratic president-elect supports abortion, and supporting him "constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil."
The Rev. Jay Scott Newman said in a letter distributed Sunday to parishioners at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Greenville that they are putting their souls at risk if they take Holy Communion before doing penance for their vote.
The rest of the story.
They destroyed Jeremiah Wright for speaking out against asking God to bless all the babies we've killed in Iraq, but this crap goes on forever. I wonder how these folks earn their way back to communion. I guess they have to wait until the next election, then vote for a Republican. I try to be tolerant, but these people are just neanderthals. Oh yeah, don't forget that we're subsidizing these churches with the tax breaks they get.
The Rev. Jay Scott Newman said in a letter distributed Sunday to parishioners at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Greenville that they are putting their souls at risk if they take Holy Communion before doing penance for their vote.
The rest of the story.
They destroyed Jeremiah Wright for speaking out against asking God to bless all the babies we've killed in Iraq, but this crap goes on forever. I wonder how these folks earn their way back to communion. I guess they have to wait until the next election, then vote for a Republican. I try to be tolerant, but these people are just neanderthals. Oh yeah, don't forget that we're subsidizing these churches with the tax breaks they get.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Governor Goodhair for President
I just caught a quick video of Sarah Palin at the Governor's Conference today. She was doing a news conference with Rick Perry, Governor of Texas. I wonder why Rick Perry isn't in the game for the presidency. It seems that Republicans are all about appearances - at least appearances that match up to the old Ozzie and Harriet archetypes that the older generation has encoded in their brain cells.
Rick Perry has a movie star persona. The late Mollie Ivins used to call him Governor Goodhair. He has that macho demeanor with sort of a James Bond look about him. Since the party is supposed to be drifting without a leader now, other than Palin, I think he would be a great choice. Can you just imagine him with Palin in 2012. It would be like Ken and Barbie. It would be like watching the Academy Awards for a couple of years. Let's start a draft Perry movement. All that beauty would be dazzling!
Rick Perry has a movie star persona. The late Mollie Ivins used to call him Governor Goodhair. He has that macho demeanor with sort of a James Bond look about him. Since the party is supposed to be drifting without a leader now, other than Palin, I think he would be a great choice. Can you just imagine him with Palin in 2012. It would be like Ken and Barbie. It would be like watching the Academy Awards for a couple of years. Let's start a draft Perry movement. All that beauty would be dazzling!
Will We Make it to January 20?
The incompetence of this administration has no end. After eight years, you would think they could get something right. That's what we get for putting people in charge of government who fundamentally hate government. This item from today's news combined with the seemingly endless decline of the stock market just makes you want to cry.
In the six weeks since lawmakers approved the Treasury's massive bailout of financial firms, the government has poured money into the country's largest banks, recruited smaller banks into the program and repeatedly widened its scope to cover yet other types of businesses, from insurers to consumer lenders.
Yet for all this activity, no formal action has been taken to fill the independent oversight posts established by Congress when it approved the bailout to prevent corruption and government waste. Nor has the first monitoring report required by lawmakers been completed, though the initial deadline has passed.
"It's a mess," said Eric M. Thorson, the Treasury Department's inspector general, who has been working to oversee the bailout program until the newly created position of special inspector general is filled. "I don't think anyone understands right now how we're going to do proper oversight of this thing."
The rest of the story.
In the six weeks since lawmakers approved the Treasury's massive bailout of financial firms, the government has poured money into the country's largest banks, recruited smaller banks into the program and repeatedly widened its scope to cover yet other types of businesses, from insurers to consumer lenders.
Yet for all this activity, no formal action has been taken to fill the independent oversight posts established by Congress when it approved the bailout to prevent corruption and government waste. Nor has the first monitoring report required by lawmakers been completed, though the initial deadline has passed.
"It's a mess," said Eric M. Thorson, the Treasury Department's inspector general, who has been working to oversee the bailout program until the newly created position of special inspector general is filled. "I don't think anyone understands right now how we're going to do proper oversight of this thing."
The rest of the story.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Keith Olberman on Prop 8
Whether you're for, against, or just don't care about gay marriage, you should listen to Keith Olberman's comments. We took a giant step forward against racial discrimination on November 4, but we have a long way to go with other forms.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Do You Believe Her?
According to Sarah Palin, all of those things that have been said about her are false. Do you believe her?
The First of Many Goodbyes
The American Prospect - November 11, 2008 - Paul Waldman
The opening paragraph:
Just over two years into George W. Bush’s presidency, The American Prospect featured Bush on its cover under the headline, "The Most Dangerous President Ever." At the time, some probably thought it a bit over the top. But nearly six years later, it's worth taking a moment to reflect on the multifaceted burden that will soon be lifted from our collective shoulders.
Read what's in between
The closing paragraph:
This presidency is finally over. We can say goodbye to an administration whose misdeeds have piled so high that the size of the mountain no longer shocks us. In our lifetimes, we will see administrations of varying degrees of competence and integrity, some we'll agree with and some we won't. But we will probably never see another quite like the one now finally reaching its end, so mind-boggling a parade of incompetence and malice, dishonesty, and immorality. So at last -- at long, long last -- we can say goodbye.
And good riddance.
The opening paragraph:
Just over two years into George W. Bush’s presidency, The American Prospect featured Bush on its cover under the headline, "The Most Dangerous President Ever." At the time, some probably thought it a bit over the top. But nearly six years later, it's worth taking a moment to reflect on the multifaceted burden that will soon be lifted from our collective shoulders.
Read what's in between
The closing paragraph:
This presidency is finally over. We can say goodbye to an administration whose misdeeds have piled so high that the size of the mountain no longer shocks us. In our lifetimes, we will see administrations of varying degrees of competence and integrity, some we'll agree with and some we won't. But we will probably never see another quite like the one now finally reaching its end, so mind-boggling a parade of incompetence and malice, dishonesty, and immorality. So at last -- at long, long last -- we can say goodbye.
And good riddance.
Monday, November 10, 2008
What is Wrong With These People?
WASHINGTON — A Republican congressman from Georgia said Monday he fears that President-elect Obama will establish a Gestapo-like security force to impose a Marxist dictatorship.
The rest of the story . . . . if you can stomach it.
The rest of the story . . . . if you can stomach it.
Obama is Following Through on His Promise to Unite
President-elect Barack Obama has informed party officials that he wants Joe Lieberman to continue caucusing with the Democrats in the 111th Congress, Senate aides tell the Huffington Post.
The rest of the story.
The rest of the story.
A Letter to the Red States
Since the election, I've been trying to find the better part of my nature and see everyone as a big happy family that can sit around the campfire and sing Kumbaya together, but the dark side of my nature takes over every now and then, and I want to gloat and point fingers. My good friend Elizabeth sent me this letter, written before the election, that activated my dark side. I couldn't resist.
Dear Red States:
If you manage to steal this election, too, we've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the
other Blue States with us. In case you aren't aware, that includes California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California.
To sum up briefly: You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states. We get stem cell research and the best beaches. We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood.
We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom.
We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss.
We get 85% of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama.
We get two-thirds of the tax revenue, you get to make the red states pay their fair share.
Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22% lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms.
Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets
coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq, and hope that the WMDs turn up, but we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's Quagmire.
With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80% of the country's fresh water, more than 90% of the pineapple and lettuce, 92% of the nation's fresh fruit, 95% of America's quality wines, 90% of all cheese, 90% of the high tech industry, 95% of the corn and soybeans (thanks Iowa!), most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools plus Stanford, Cal Tech, UCLA, Berkeley and MIT.
With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88% of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92% of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100% of the tornadoes, 90% of them hurricanes, 99% of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100% of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia.
We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you.
Additionally, 38% of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62% believe life is sacred unless
we're discussing the war, the death penalty or gun laws, 44% say that evolution is only a theory, 53% that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61% of you crazy bastards believe you are people with higher morals then we lefties.
Finally, we're taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed they grow in Mexico.
Dear Red States:
If you manage to steal this election, too, we've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the
other Blue States with us. In case you aren't aware, that includes California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California.
To sum up briefly: You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states. We get stem cell research and the best beaches. We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood.
We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom.
We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss.
We get 85% of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama.
We get two-thirds of the tax revenue, you get to make the red states pay their fair share.
Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22% lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms.
Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they're apparently willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if you don't show pictures of their children's caskets
coming home. We do wish you success in Iraq, and hope that the WMDs turn up, but we're not willing to spend our resources in Bush's Quagmire.
With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80% of the country's fresh water, more than 90% of the pineapple and lettuce, 92% of the nation's fresh fruit, 95% of America's quality wines, 90% of all cheese, 90% of the high tech industry, 95% of the corn and soybeans (thanks Iowa!), most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools plus Stanford, Cal Tech, UCLA, Berkeley and MIT.
With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88% of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92% of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100% of the tornadoes, 90% of them hurricanes, 99% of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100% of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia.
We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you.
Additionally, 38% of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62% believe life is sacred unless
we're discussing the war, the death penalty or gun laws, 44% say that evolution is only a theory, 53% that Saddam was involved in 9/11 and 61% of you crazy bastards believe you are people with higher morals then we lefties.
Finally, we're taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed they grow in Mexico.
Is Sarah Palin the Republican Moses?
Polls show that more than half of the Republican party is looking to Sarah Palin as their leader. That's an indication of how intellectually bankrupt the party has become. True conservatism is a valid and necessary ideology for our society. It has an intellectual foundation created by some of the great thinkers of history. But, it has been corrupted by the neocons and George Bush and turned into a mere elaboration of the 60's bumper sticker that said, "America! Love it or Leave It."
It's a good thing that Rove didn't create his permanent majority, but in some ways, a permanent Democratic majority could be undesirable as well. We need the intelligent checks and balances that were designed into the constitution.
The Democrats shouldn't start dancing on the Republicans grave yet. A creepy hand could come up and grab them.
It's a good thing that Rove didn't create his permanent majority, but in some ways, a permanent Democratic majority could be undesirable as well. We need the intelligent checks and balances that were designed into the constitution.
The Democrats shouldn't start dancing on the Republicans grave yet. A creepy hand could come up and grab them.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Young, Handsome, and Suntanned
Every country has their embarrassing leader.
ROME — Italians never quite know whether to laugh or cry at Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. But many reacted with incredulity and outrage after the prime minister, visiting Moscow on Thursday, amiably called the first African-American president-elect in United States history “young, handsome and suntanned.”
Read the rest of the story.
ROME — Italians never quite know whether to laugh or cry at Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. But many reacted with incredulity and outrage after the prime minister, visiting Moscow on Thursday, amiably called the first African-American president-elect in United States history “young, handsome and suntanned.”
Read the rest of the story.
2008 Voting Trends
This post comes from my son Patrick who is a very astute observer of the political scene. I hope his prediction about Texas is right.
This map breaks down the voting trends of counties in the 2008 election. Blue means the county voted more Democrat than in 2004, and red means more Republican than 2004.
There is a lot of blue on this map. The democrats did an amazing job of making inroads into traditional Republican strongholds this year.
If you look at Texas on this map, you'll see the southwest part of the state is a lovely shade of blue. I believe that this represents a real problem for Republicans in future elections. The hispanic population continues to grow, and they continue to break for Democrats (67% to 31%, an increase of 14 points from 2004). I predict that in a few election cycles, Texas will no longer be considered a Republican stronghold, and could very well go blue.
This map breaks down the voting trends of counties in the 2008 election. Blue means the county voted more Democrat than in 2004, and red means more Republican than 2004.
There is a lot of blue on this map. The democrats did an amazing job of making inroads into traditional Republican strongholds this year.
If you look at Texas on this map, you'll see the southwest part of the state is a lovely shade of blue. I believe that this represents a real problem for Republicans in future elections. The hispanic population continues to grow, and they continue to break for Democrats (67% to 31%, an increase of 14 points from 2004). I predict that in a few election cycles, Texas will no longer be considered a Republican stronghold, and could very well go blue.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Viagra Substitute
DENVER — Sales of handguns, rifles and ammunition have surged in the last week, according to gun store owners around the nation who describe a wave of buyers concerned that an Obama administration will curtail their right to bear arms.
“He’s a gun-snatcher,” said Jim Pruett, owner of Jim Pruett’s Guns and Ammo in northwest Houston, which was packed with shoppers on Thursday.
“He wants to take our guns from us and create a socialist society policed by his own police force,” added Mr. Pruett, a former radio personality, of President-elect Barack Obama.
Read the rest of the story.
“He’s a gun-snatcher,” said Jim Pruett, owner of Jim Pruett’s Guns and Ammo in northwest Houston, which was packed with shoppers on Thursday.
“He wants to take our guns from us and create a socialist society policed by his own police force,” added Mr. Pruett, a former radio personality, of President-elect Barack Obama.
Read the rest of the story.
What a Great Role Model!
There's an old adage that says we can always find the time to do what's important to us. Looking at Obama's schedule for today gives us an insight into what's important to him. It's been a long time since I've had a president who inspired me to be a better person. How about you?
The Obama Team sent out the President-elect's schedule for today that includes the list of economic advisers he'll be meeting with:
This morning, President-elect Barack Obama will attend parent teacher conferences at his daughters' school with his wife Michelle.
After a meeting with Vice President-elect Joe Biden, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and the Transition Economic Advisory Board, President-elect Obama will hold a 1:30 p.m. (central) press conference at the Hilton Chicago. He will also attend additional transition meetings, receive his daily intelligence briefing, record the Democratic Radio Address, and return additional post-election political and protocol calls.
The Transition Economic Advisory Board will help guide the work of the Obama-Biden transition team in developing a strong set of policies to respond to the economic crisis. The Board includes:
· David Bonior (Member House of Representatives 1977-2003)
· Warren Buffett (Chairman and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway)-will participate via speakerphone
· Roel Campos (former SEC Commissioner)
· William Daley (Chairman of the Midwest, JP Morgan Chase; Former Secretary, U.S. Dept of Commerce, 1997-2000)
· William Donaldson (Former Chairman of the SEC 2003-2005)
· Roger Ferguson (President and CEO, TIAA-CREF and former Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve)
· Jennifer Granholm (Governor, State of Michigan)
· Anne Mulcahy (Chairman and CEO, Xerox)
· Richard Parsons (Chairman of the Board, Time Warner)
· Penny Pritzker (CEO, Classic Residence by Hyatt)
· Robert Reich (University of California, Berkeley; Former Secretary, U.S. Dept of Labor, 1993-1997)
· Robert Rubin (Chairman and Director of the Executive Committee, Citigroup; Former Secretary, U.S. Dept of Treasury, 1995-1999)
· Eric Schmidt (Chairman and CEO, Google)
· Lawrence Summers (Harvard University; Managing Director, D.E. Shaw; Former Secretary, U.S. Dept of Treasury, 1999-2001)
· Laura Tyson (Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley; Former Chairman, National Economic Council, 1995-1996; Former Chairman, President's Council of Economic Advisors, 1993-1995)
· Antonio Villaraigosa (Mayor, City of Los Angeles)
· Paul Volcker (Former Chairman, U.S. Federal Reserve 1979-1987)
The Obama Team sent out the President-elect's schedule for today that includes the list of economic advisers he'll be meeting with:
This morning, President-elect Barack Obama will attend parent teacher conferences at his daughters' school with his wife Michelle.
After a meeting with Vice President-elect Joe Biden, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and the Transition Economic Advisory Board, President-elect Obama will hold a 1:30 p.m. (central) press conference at the Hilton Chicago. He will also attend additional transition meetings, receive his daily intelligence briefing, record the Democratic Radio Address, and return additional post-election political and protocol calls.
The Transition Economic Advisory Board will help guide the work of the Obama-Biden transition team in developing a strong set of policies to respond to the economic crisis. The Board includes:
· David Bonior (Member House of Representatives 1977-2003)
· Warren Buffett (Chairman and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway)-will participate via speakerphone
· Roel Campos (former SEC Commissioner)
· William Daley (Chairman of the Midwest, JP Morgan Chase; Former Secretary, U.S. Dept of Commerce, 1997-2000)
· William Donaldson (Former Chairman of the SEC 2003-2005)
· Roger Ferguson (President and CEO, TIAA-CREF and former Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve)
· Jennifer Granholm (Governor, State of Michigan)
· Anne Mulcahy (Chairman and CEO, Xerox)
· Richard Parsons (Chairman of the Board, Time Warner)
· Penny Pritzker (CEO, Classic Residence by Hyatt)
· Robert Reich (University of California, Berkeley; Former Secretary, U.S. Dept of Labor, 1993-1997)
· Robert Rubin (Chairman and Director of the Executive Committee, Citigroup; Former Secretary, U.S. Dept of Treasury, 1995-1999)
· Eric Schmidt (Chairman and CEO, Google)
· Lawrence Summers (Harvard University; Managing Director, D.E. Shaw; Former Secretary, U.S. Dept of Treasury, 1999-2001)
· Laura Tyson (Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley; Former Chairman, National Economic Council, 1995-1996; Former Chairman, President's Council of Economic Advisors, 1993-1995)
· Antonio Villaraigosa (Mayor, City of Los Angeles)
· Paul Volcker (Former Chairman, U.S. Federal Reserve 1979-1987)
Thursday, November 6, 2008
The Final Numbers
If you like to analyze the numbers, this is a pretty good link. Nice big, red and blue map with a columns of numbers showing electoral and popular vote for each state.
The bad news, for me, out of this election is that Texas is still solidly red. McCain took 55% of the popular vote to Obama's 44%. It's not easy being blue in a red state like Texas. But, on the bright side, it's probably better than being in Louisianna or Mississippi. And, if Obama can win the election, Texas can turn blue someday.
The bad news, for me, out of this election is that Texas is still solidly red. McCain took 55% of the popular vote to Obama's 44%. It's not easy being blue in a red state like Texas. But, on the bright side, it's probably better than being in Louisianna or Mississippi. And, if Obama can win the election, Texas can turn blue someday.
Elizabeth Hasselbeck Redeems Herself
An article on Salon.com relates this incident on The View. Quite a change from the normal yelling matches. In so many cases, Obama has tapped into the noble spirit of humanity, causing even his enemies to stand in awe of his accomplishment.
When her daughter asked who lost, Hasselbeck says, she responded steadily: "No one lost today." No kidding, this from the woman who just yesterday defended the McCain-Palin ticket almost to the point of tears. Then she launches into a gracious concession:
Today, seriously, and God knows I fought hard on the other side, but today is a victory for this country to have Barack Obama be our next president, the first black president, the first black first lady and family … I will get in a long line of supporters -- because I wasn't the first -- but I will jump in that line and support our president because that is what, as an American, I believe we should do
When her daughter asked who lost, Hasselbeck says, she responded steadily: "No one lost today." No kidding, this from the woman who just yesterday defended the McCain-Palin ticket almost to the point of tears. Then she launches into a gracious concession:
Today, seriously, and God knows I fought hard on the other side, but today is a victory for this country to have Barack Obama be our next president, the first black president, the first black first lady and family … I will get in a long line of supporters -- because I wasn't the first -- but I will jump in that line and support our president because that is what, as an American, I believe we should do
I'm Mad as Hell and I'm Not Going to Take it Anymore
Remember the movie, Network? It took eight years of abuse to get most of the country to the point where we decided we weren't going to take it anymore. We need to sharpen up our letter writing skills and keep a positive anger glowing. If and when our elected representatives start to block progress by partisan bickering and ideological BS, we need to stick our head out the window and yell.
Half of us who live in Texas still aren't represented in congress. Don't forget that. We need to participate.
Half of us who live in Texas still aren't represented in congress. Don't forget that. We need to participate.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Checks and Balances Still Intact
There is one important thing that Obama can learn from George Bush. He made essentially the same promise that Obama made in his victory speech below, but not nearly as eloquently. He promised to be a uniter, not a divider. As soon as he was elected, he ignored half of the country and became president for the other half. That is what has destroyed the Republican party, and it will take them years to rebuild it. Obama, and the congress, must not mistake this for a mandate to turn hard left like bush turned hard right. It was an electoral landslide but the popular vote is still split. Half the country doesn't want him to be president. Just look at the numbers in the red states. McCain won by double digits in most of them.
I'm glad the Democrats didn't get their fillibuster-proof majority. The Democrats now have control of the executive and legislative branch of the government with the checks and balances left intact. Obama used the word, "immaturity" in his speech. Good choice of words. Let's hope they can all act like grown-ups now and get something done.
Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, We are not enemies, but friends...though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.
I'm glad the Democrats didn't get their fillibuster-proof majority. The Democrats now have control of the executive and legislative branch of the government with the checks and balances left intact. Obama used the word, "immaturity" in his speech. Good choice of words. Let's hope they can all act like grown-ups now and get something done.
Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, We are not enemies, but friends...though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.
Where Was She During The Campaign?
Sarah Palin is relaxed, coherent and downright charming in this interview. Her accent is toned down. She's not trying to be cute and sexy. What happened to her? How could she have blown those early interviews? Either she was so uptight about being thrust on to the national stage or she was poorly managed. I suspect a little of both.
Red States are Still Red
If you look at the numbers in those red states, they were strong for McCain. Not even close in some cases. Jackie and Dunlap show us what they must be feeling this morning.
Inspirational Overload
As always, Garrison Keillor writes beautifully. I always choke up a bit when I read his articles, but this one did me in along with the glow of what happened last night. One can only take so much inspiration in twenty-four hours.
Now that the fight is over, I think I will make a greater effort to understand the conservative mind. I find myself being as mean spirited on my side as they are on theirs, and president-elect Obama has inspired me to get beyond that. The other day I was reading a news article about one of Palin's rallies, and they quoted a man who, after being presented with a rational argument about Obama, said, "I don't give a damn. I'll never vote for a black man." I immediately went on an internal rant about the ignorance of this man and everyone around him until I realized that I have said, "I don't give a damn. I'll never vote for a Republican." In some ways, my prejudice was just as bad as his. Listening to our new president last night, I realized that we have to make a greater effort to understand each other and improve the quality of our dialogue.
It's not going away, so I'll have plenty of opportunities to practice. I live in Texas. Read this article by John Derbyshire of the National Review Online and contrast it with Keillor's article. If McCain had won last night, I wonder if I would be writing something similar.
I ride a Harley. Several years ago, I wore a denim vest with a huge American flag on the back like many Harley riders. When George Bush was elected eight years ago, I put it in the closet and I haven't worn it since. I think I'll start wearing it again.
Now that the fight is over, I think I will make a greater effort to understand the conservative mind. I find myself being as mean spirited on my side as they are on theirs, and president-elect Obama has inspired me to get beyond that. The other day I was reading a news article about one of Palin's rallies, and they quoted a man who, after being presented with a rational argument about Obama, said, "I don't give a damn. I'll never vote for a black man." I immediately went on an internal rant about the ignorance of this man and everyone around him until I realized that I have said, "I don't give a damn. I'll never vote for a Republican." In some ways, my prejudice was just as bad as his. Listening to our new president last night, I realized that we have to make a greater effort to understand each other and improve the quality of our dialogue.
It's not going away, so I'll have plenty of opportunities to practice. I live in Texas. Read this article by John Derbyshire of the National Review Online and contrast it with Keillor's article. If McCain had won last night, I wonder if I would be writing something similar.
I ride a Harley. Several years ago, I wore a denim vest with a huge American flag on the back like many Harley riders. When George Bush was elected eight years ago, I put it in the closet and I haven't worn it since. I think I'll start wearing it again.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
So Little Time - So Much Damage
While Americans eagerly vote for the next president, here’s a sobering reminder: As of Tuesday, George W. Bush still has 77 days left in the White House — and he’s not wasting a minute.
Read the rest of the New York Times editorial. Unfortunately, it will take some of the glow off what's about to happen tonight. As the NYT puts it, he's "taking a wrecking ball" to the White House. We can't get rid of this ignorant man soon enough.
Read the rest of the New York Times editorial. Unfortunately, it will take some of the glow off what's about to happen tonight. As the NYT puts it, he's "taking a wrecking ball" to the White House. We can't get rid of this ignorant man soon enough.
Gallup Pollster Says McCain Win Exceptionally Improbable
"There is no reason in history to suggest Obama won't win," said Frank Newport of Gallup. "All you can go by is history and compare our last polling that we have done before the election and the actual outcome in the presidential election... We have most polls showing Obama with a statistically significant lead nationally and also in these states. If he were to lose, it will be the first time since World War II something like this has happened. Now, keep in mind. It's a small sample, less than 20 elections, but it would be very unusual, in fact, exceptional... improbable."
Karl Rove Predicts Big Obama Win
Winner: Obama
Electoral College: Obama 338 McCain 200
Rove writes on his website:
The final Rove & Co. electoral map of the 2008 election cycle points to a 338-200 Barack Obama electoral vote victory over John McCain tomorrow, the largest electoral margin since 1996. All remaining toss-up states have been allocated to the candidate leading in them, with Florida (27 EV) going to Obama, and Indiana (11 EV), Missouri (11 EV), North Carolina (15 EV), and North Dakota (3 EV) going to McCain. The two candidates are in a dead heat in Missouri and North Carolina, but they go to McCain because the most recent polls conducted over this past weekend show him narrowly ahead. Florida, too, could end up in McCain's column since he's benefited from recent movement in the state.
Electoral College: Obama 338 McCain 200
Rove writes on his website:
The final Rove & Co. electoral map of the 2008 election cycle points to a 338-200 Barack Obama electoral vote victory over John McCain tomorrow, the largest electoral margin since 1996. All remaining toss-up states have been allocated to the candidate leading in them, with Florida (27 EV) going to Obama, and Indiana (11 EV), Missouri (11 EV), North Carolina (15 EV), and North Dakota (3 EV) going to McCain. The two candidates are in a dead heat in Missouri and North Carolina, but they go to McCain because the most recent polls conducted over this past weekend show him narrowly ahead. Florida, too, could end up in McCain's column since he's benefited from recent movement in the state.
The Returns Are In . . . . for Dixville Notch, NH
All 21 residents of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire have voted and they went for Obama 15 to 6.
Monday, November 3, 2008
The Final Polls
Click here for a comprehensive analysis of the final polls before the big day tomorrow.
A Little Straight Talk From Obama
Here's an excerpt from an MTV interview with Obama today. The interviewer's name is Sway. They were taking questions online:
Sway: Our next question comes from Eric out of Huntington Beach, California: "There are numerous cultures and subcultures in the United States today. Powers-that-be set statutes with monetary penalty on how people wear their clothes. Do you find it intrusive on civil liberties to create such ordinances?" And you know I got 'locks.
Obama: I wasn't going to pass a law, man. You look tight.
Sway: I know people have piercings, tattoos. Eric, in particular, is talking about a ban on sagging pants. Do feel like people should be penalized?
Obama: Here is my attitude: I think people passing a law against people wearing sagging pants is a waste of time. We should be focused on creating jobs, improving our schools, health care, dealing with the war in Iraq, and anybody, any public official, that is worrying about sagging pants probably needs to spend some time focusing on real problems out there. Having said that, brothers should pull up their pants. You are walking by your mother, your grandmother, your underwear is showing. What's wrong with that? Come on. There are some issues that we face, that you don't have to pass a law, but that doesn't mean folks can't have some sense and some respect for other people and, you know, some people might not want to see your underwear — I'm one of them.
Sway: In regards to piercings, tattoos, I had a friend who worked for UPS and he had 'locks. He almost lost his job, but he fought for it. In regards to those things, how do you feel?
Obama: It's one thing if an employer discriminates on the basis of gender or sexual orientation or, obviously, race or ethnicity. I think employers can set standards. Now you got 'locks, but it looks clean, man, it's tight, and my little girl has twists, Malia, and to me, it looks great. Obviously I would be upset if she were discriminated against on that basis. On the other hand, if you are working at a fancy store and you show up to work in jeans and a shirt and you have a tatoo across your neck like Mike Tyson, for them to say, you know, "That is not the kind of image we are trying to project," obviously, that is in their rights as well. I think any business has the right to say, "This is the kind of tone we want to set," as long as they aren't discriminating on the basis of things people can't control.
Sway: Our next question comes from Eric out of Huntington Beach, California: "There are numerous cultures and subcultures in the United States today. Powers-that-be set statutes with monetary penalty on how people wear their clothes. Do you find it intrusive on civil liberties to create such ordinances?" And you know I got 'locks.
Obama: I wasn't going to pass a law, man. You look tight.
Sway: I know people have piercings, tattoos. Eric, in particular, is talking about a ban on sagging pants. Do feel like people should be penalized?
Obama: Here is my attitude: I think people passing a law against people wearing sagging pants is a waste of time. We should be focused on creating jobs, improving our schools, health care, dealing with the war in Iraq, and anybody, any public official, that is worrying about sagging pants probably needs to spend some time focusing on real problems out there. Having said that, brothers should pull up their pants. You are walking by your mother, your grandmother, your underwear is showing. What's wrong with that? Come on. There are some issues that we face, that you don't have to pass a law, but that doesn't mean folks can't have some sense and some respect for other people and, you know, some people might not want to see your underwear — I'm one of them.
Sway: In regards to piercings, tattoos, I had a friend who worked for UPS and he had 'locks. He almost lost his job, but he fought for it. In regards to those things, how do you feel?
Obama: It's one thing if an employer discriminates on the basis of gender or sexual orientation or, obviously, race or ethnicity. I think employers can set standards. Now you got 'locks, but it looks clean, man, it's tight, and my little girl has twists, Malia, and to me, it looks great. Obviously I would be upset if she were discriminated against on that basis. On the other hand, if you are working at a fancy store and you show up to work in jeans and a shirt and you have a tatoo across your neck like Mike Tyson, for them to say, you know, "That is not the kind of image we are trying to project," obviously, that is in their rights as well. I think any business has the right to say, "This is the kind of tone we want to set," as long as they aren't discriminating on the basis of things people can't control.
Dick Cheney's Hometown Paper Endorses Obama
Dick Cheney's hometown paper in Wyoming, the Casper Star-Tribune, switched to Obama.
It is a foregone conclusion that Wyoming's three electoral votes will go to Sen. John McCain. It would be easy for the Star-Tribune to simply agree with the majority of voters in this red state and endorse the Republican candidate for president.
But this isn't an ordinary election, and Sen. Barack Obama has the potential to be an extraordinary leader at a time we desperately need one. The next occupant of the White House will inherit a national economy that's collapsing and two wars our nation has been fighting for years, depleting valuable resources we need to fix a multitude of domestic problems. Far too many of our nation's citizens live paycheck to paycheck, worried about whether they'll have a job next week or if a medical crisis will bankrupt them.
What America needs most in these troubled times is a president who will move the country in a positive direction. The candidate who is most likely to chart a new course that will lead us to better days is Obama. Moreover, he is the best candidate for Wyoming ...
Two of the best ways to judge presidential candidates is by looking at how they conduct their campaigns and who they select as vice president. On both fronts, Obama wins impressively.
We may not always agree with Sen. Joe Biden's decisions, but Obama tapped him to bring valuable foreign policy experience to the ticket. There is no question that the longtime senator is capable of serving as president if needed.
McCain's selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, however, shows extremely poor judgment. She has shown repeatedly that she is simply not ready to fill McCain's shoes.
Obama's advisers are extremely capable leaders. It's good to know that he turns to the likes of Warren Buffett for financial matters and retired Gen. Colin Powell on military issues. With his emphasis on diplomacy along with a commitment to protecting America, Obama gives us our best hope of regaining the respect of other nations.
If the John McCain of 2000 saw today's counterpart, he wouldn't recognize himself. McCain is no longer a GOP maverick, or the war hero whose principles were unwavering. He has flip-flopped on issues ranging from tax cuts to torture in an effort to win over the conservative base of his party. He has waged a dismal campaign based on fear and divisiveness.
We don't agree with Obama on several issues. There is no evidence that raising taxes on any segment of the population has ever stimulated the economy. He should reject this part of his economic plan.
But his campaign has been an honorable one that has focused on inclusiveness and hope. The three presidential debates showed Obama to be a calm, thoughtful leader with a unique vision of the future. The contrast with his opponent, who seemed angry and erratic, could not have been more stark or more telling.
We endorse Barack Obama for president.
It is a foregone conclusion that Wyoming's three electoral votes will go to Sen. John McCain. It would be easy for the Star-Tribune to simply agree with the majority of voters in this red state and endorse the Republican candidate for president.
But this isn't an ordinary election, and Sen. Barack Obama has the potential to be an extraordinary leader at a time we desperately need one. The next occupant of the White House will inherit a national economy that's collapsing and two wars our nation has been fighting for years, depleting valuable resources we need to fix a multitude of domestic problems. Far too many of our nation's citizens live paycheck to paycheck, worried about whether they'll have a job next week or if a medical crisis will bankrupt them.
What America needs most in these troubled times is a president who will move the country in a positive direction. The candidate who is most likely to chart a new course that will lead us to better days is Obama. Moreover, he is the best candidate for Wyoming ...
Two of the best ways to judge presidential candidates is by looking at how they conduct their campaigns and who they select as vice president. On both fronts, Obama wins impressively.
We may not always agree with Sen. Joe Biden's decisions, but Obama tapped him to bring valuable foreign policy experience to the ticket. There is no question that the longtime senator is capable of serving as president if needed.
McCain's selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, however, shows extremely poor judgment. She has shown repeatedly that she is simply not ready to fill McCain's shoes.
Obama's advisers are extremely capable leaders. It's good to know that he turns to the likes of Warren Buffett for financial matters and retired Gen. Colin Powell on military issues. With his emphasis on diplomacy along with a commitment to protecting America, Obama gives us our best hope of regaining the respect of other nations.
If the John McCain of 2000 saw today's counterpart, he wouldn't recognize himself. McCain is no longer a GOP maverick, or the war hero whose principles were unwavering. He has flip-flopped on issues ranging from tax cuts to torture in an effort to win over the conservative base of his party. He has waged a dismal campaign based on fear and divisiveness.
We don't agree with Obama on several issues. There is no evidence that raising taxes on any segment of the population has ever stimulated the economy. He should reject this part of his economic plan.
But his campaign has been an honorable one that has focused on inclusiveness and hope. The three presidential debates showed Obama to be a calm, thoughtful leader with a unique vision of the future. The contrast with his opponent, who seemed angry and erratic, could not have been more stark or more telling.
We endorse Barack Obama for president.
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