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.

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.

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.

Top Ten George Bush Moments

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.

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.

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..

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?

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."

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.