God Help Us

Shameful:

"She told me that the gas was sprayed into the room where the babies and children were being kept while their mothers prayed together their Ramadan prayers. Panicked mothers ran for their babies, crying for their children so they could flee from the gas that was burning their eyes and throats and lungs. She grabbed her youngest in her arms and grabbed the hand of her other daughter, moving with the others to exit the building and the irritating substance there.

The paramedic said the young one was in shock, and gave her oxygen to help her breathe. The child couldn't stop sobbing.

This didn't happen in some far away place -- but right here in Dayton, and to my friends. Many of the Iraqi refugees were praying together at the Mosque Friday evening. People that I know and love."

Actually, fuck that. Fuck shameful. This is America of the Limbaughs, Malkins, Coulters et al., as cowardly as Klan. What are we to glean from this, aside from the kind of motherfuckers who would attack CHILDREN who have done NOTHING, who came from IRAQ, to be safe and free, are the same kind of motherfuckers who would bomb a Sunday School.

This is Old Mean America at its most despicable.

Blood in the Water

Again, I don't want to be the DeShaun Jackson of blogging, but our friends over at Bamapachyderm, well, are not happy:

"I don’t give up. I always fight to the last breath. However, there comes a time when it becomes obvious what is happening to you and now, it cannot be denied anymore: Obama has taken a stranglehold on this election. I have had this feeling since Friday night and I still think the same thing. Obama’s lead is fatal and won’t be overcome by McCain."

I use the term "friends" because I always found their irascibility charming, if not their politics. Plus, they like cool music. I never understood their unwillingness to hear disagreements (I got called a hippy, then banned after two non confrontational comments).

Nevertheless, they are the Republican Faithful, as much as the Daily Kos folks are the Democratic Faithful, and if all hope is lost over there...

I'm not saying that we should start uncorking yet, but we may be the ones dancing in the streets afterall...

Flintstones Theology: One 72 Year Old Heartbeat Away

Just when you thought the Yukon Barbie brain damage couldn't get any worse:

"Palin told him that 'dinosaurs and humans walked the Earth at the same time', Munger said. When he asked her about prehistoric fossils and tracks dating back millions of years, Palin said 'she had seen pictures of human footprints inside the tracks'...".

Folks, if you take umbrage, I'm sorry, but she's Bush with tits. Somebody has got to say it.

Haven't you had enough of this stupid shit yet?

Ditch Mitch

Our effort to get rid of old rubberstamp is smelling sweet:

"Considering the reliability of the pollster, this is the best result of the cycle for Democrat Bruce Lunsford's campaign, and it could not have come at a better time; Mason-Dixon shows Lunsford trailing his Goliath, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, by one single point."

Let's hope that trend continues. McConnell has whored his constituents long enough.

Kairos

Was anybody else annoyed with McCain's refusal to make eye contact with Obama at the debate. What kind of juvenile shit is that? Guess that's some Mav'rick shit I just don't understand. No doubt, the moronic far right probably loved that.

Nevertheless, it is poignant that the goatfuck that is our current economic crisis, the result of the the corporatist policies disguised as "conservatism", policies that McCain espouses, took away his strong suit, foreign policy. Chickens...welcome home.

So...who won. The polls are pretty clear that McCain lost this debate. Clear to everyone, except Roger Simon, who may have been fantasing about McCain as Miss Congeniality.

Thoughts?

Paul Newman Dead

I just heard. There won't be anymore like this one.

NICO

John Cale et al. on the Icon:

"Being in the late Sixties with Nico was great. From the band’s point of view, we were all entranced by being on the Exploding Plastic Inevitable tour and all the kerfuffle and pizzazz that went along with it. Touring the US was surreal. Nico loved driving the Winnebago and one time we were stopped by the state police who thought that we had kidnapped the chief of police’s daughter. They eventually let us go, having spent most of the time in awe of Nico’s stunning looks. "

Nausea

"I can't say I feel relieved or satisfied, just the opposite, I am crushed. Only my goal is reached: I know what I have to know; I have understood all that has happened to me since January. The Nausea has not left me and I don't believe it will leave me so soon; but I no longer have to bear it, it is no longer an illness or a passing fit: it is I" (Sartre Nausea).

Not such a good idea, afterall, eh Mav'rick?

If go get in the wayback machine, you'll remember that this isn't the first time McCain ducked a debate.

I don't really want to be DeShaun Jackson of blogging, but is anybody getting the sense that things may be unraveling in the G.O.P. This is no comfort, for, unfortunately for the G.O.P, it has become the Right Wing, and a desperate Right Wing is a dangerous.

Hang on.

Debate Delayed?: "Country First"

Wow...


"The Obama campaign said Obama had called McCain around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday to propose that they issue a joint statement in support of a package to help fix the economy as soon as possible. McCain called back six hours later and agreed to the idea of the statement, the Obama campaign said. McCain's statement was issued to the media a few minutes later."


Obama reaches out to McCain this morning about the economy, reaches out to McCain this afternoon, and now, he wants to suspend his campaign to go back to Washington to work on this bill.

I agree that they should be directly involved with this important legislation. I would applaud McCain here, but I just have a feeling that McCain's stepping through the ropes to get a respite.

Update: Jaysus...you can smell the desperation. Is this it? Are buying time for the Pitbull Palin? It makes sense: I wouldn't want this spare intellectual make weight going up against Biden, either.

I wish I knew we could do this, though. We could have asked the New York Giants to postpone the game, and that would have given the Bengals time to work on blocking.

Letterman says it best:

"David Letterman tells audience that McCain called him today to tell him he had to rush back to DC to deal with the economy...

Then in the middle of the taping Dave got word that McCain was, in fact just down the street being interviewed by Katie Couric. Dave even cut over to the live video of the interview, and said, 'Hey Senator, can I give you a ride home?'

'He can’t run the campaign because the economy is cratering? Fine, put in your second string quarterback, Sara Palin. Where is she?'

'What are you going to do if you’re elected and things get tough? Suspend being president? We’ve got a guy like that now!'”

Update to the Update: Jon Sheperd puts it all in perspective:

"What the fuck y'all?!!! Get his on a damn blog.

Senator John McCain suspends his presidential campaign until a more convenient time? The man who's been campaigning on toughness and being 'ready on day one' needs to suspend operations and return to Washington. I find it interesting that this decision comes on the same day Reuters releases a poll showing Obama up 9 points in a poll of likely voters. This seems an empty gesture, a 'drop back and punt' strategy aimed at distracting the public long enough for the inept McCain team to re-brand itself, yet again.

The last time we had a financial crisis like the current was the Savings and Loan scandal of late 1980's. How quickly the phrase, 'Keating Five' and McCain's involvement escapes our collective memories. Perhaps the Obama campaign deserves credit for not raising the issue, or perhaps they should raise it. People need to know McCain's missteps.

Voters should remember that the last financial crisis saw Mr. McCain amidst the players in the scandal. Now that things have gotten even tougher on this 'nation of whiners', he cowers on the Straight Talk Express with his team of lobbyists and Washington insiders until the clouds pass? You don't get to take a break. This isn't an Aaron Sorkin TV drama about the White House, Mr. McCain. It's the real thing. This is not leadership. It's just more of the same.

McCain recently bragged about his anti-regulation record. We now see what that deregulation brings. He says, 'change is coming'. If this is how he handles the financial markets, his election to the highest office in the land will see you and I with nothing more than that in our pockets."

Slacker Uprising

Now Available.

Debate on Friday

I just wonder how stark the contrast will be? Predictions?

Here's some additional stuff.

Quote, poor judgment

Alter makes an excellent point about this; in light of the capitalist goat fuck (Jesus, when Pat Buchanan calls you a "Capitalist Pig" ...jeeeeeezzzzzzuuuuussss!), why the hell isn't anyone asking the hard questions about the Keating Five, McSame's "asterisk", as he would like you to believe;

"I was judged eventually, after three years, of using, quote, poor judgment, and I agree with that assessment."

[For the uninitiated, the Keating Five are not anything remotely like the Jackson Five, though they could be thought of as the exact opposite of the MC5, if that helps...]

[Update: The Keating Five in Ramones time]

Poor judgment.

Like his VP pick? Or his automatonic support of an illegal and immoral war?

Maybe it was when he embraced the man that slandered him in 2000, and the scorched earth politics he represents, in his own power grab.

Saying that he displayed poor judgment would imply there was ever an instance of him displaying "good judgment", and frankly, aside from deciding to serve his country as a Navy Pilot, I see very little evidence of "good judgment".

And while we are on the topic of "judgment", is this guy you want running an economy in near meltdown, because he aided and abetted a smaller version of this years ago? Does practice make perfect?

If by "reform" he means "remake" through his "considered" judgment, I have to believe that Americans are smarter than that.

(GOP) White Privilege

In case you are still confused:

"White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because 'every family has challenges', even as black and Latino families with similar 'challenges' are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.

White privilege is when you can call yourself a 'fuckin’ redneck', like Bristol Palin’s boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you'll 'kick their fuckin' ass', and talk about how you like to 'shoot shit' for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug."

I wished the writer had addressed the economic inequities here as well, rather than paint with such a broad brush. Money, regardless of ethnicity, tends to transform "irresponsibility" into "challenge".

Nevertheless, a shrewd read on the GOP bullshit machine.

via Sunset Sea

"Voting Irregularities"

This, as I had previously posted, is obscene beyond words:

"Responding to allegations that Republican Party officials in Macomb County, Michigan plan to use home foreclosure lists to challenge voters at the polls in November, the Obama Campaign and the Democratic National Committee filed a lawsuit on Tuesday in federal court to prevent what they contended was an illegal practice."

By The Way: The Republicans Did This...

Who do you love?


Try to remember this as you contemplate your children's future.

It's Almost Like She's VP already

"The presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain is trying to put to rest the ethical controversy that's come to be known as "Troopergate," releasing e-mails supporting Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's contention that she dismissed her public safety commissioner over budget disagreements, not because he wouldn't fire her ex-brother-in-law.

And, the campaign says, Palin is unlikely to speak with an investigator hired by the state legislature to look into the matter."

Oh yeah...then there's this intriguing little development...

"'Some members of Palin's administration were focused on the issue of sexual violence. Officials in the Department of Public Safety were devising an ambitious, multi-million-dollar initiative to seriously tackle sex crimes in the state...'

Whew! Thank God.

'...but Palin's office put the plan on hold in July.'

Damn! Why the hell would she do that?!

'Days later, Palin fired its chief proponent, Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan, after he declined to dismiss a state trooper Palin accused of threatening her own family members. Palin has said she fired Monegan because she wanted to move his department in a 'new direction', and he was not being 'a team player on budgeting issues'. The dismissal is now at the center of a hotly-contested investigation by the state legislature'."

Outage

Maybe a long night, folks.

Yikes

Wasn't this a Twilight Zone episode?

Ain't No Right

And I have no power.

No power.

Power to the people, say I.

A blogging refugee, looking for the power.

Kind of like an Electric Gypsy, just looking for a place to charge my phone, my mp3 player, except without the motorcycles, the red leather pants, the perjorative terminology and the cocaine. Evidentally, Phil Lewis is asserting that he is an Electric Gypsy, whereas I'm more of a rover looking for Electricity. Maybe more like a refugee, then...

Actually, that's not the only hyperbole. My home did not get blown down, though I did have some mini-blinds that got damaged. And I missed the game, though, evidentally, I wasn't really "missing" it at all.

So what do you do when you lose power in a windstorm?

Well, you shove all perishables into the freezer. Then you eat the last of the turkey salami, the arugula, and the last of the light ranch dressing. You drink a beer, but discover that it, too, is warm-ish, and not appealing. You curse yourself for not having ice on hand, nor a cooler. Then you read all of A Grand Guy: The Life and Art of Terry Southern before the sun goes down.

You decide to listen to music, but realize your mp3 player is stone dead. Phone is close to death as well. You open all the windows because your place is stuffy and humid. You decide to go to bed early, but you can't sleep because the Bumpeses next door decide that this is a good time to drink themselves even stupider than they are normally, and yell and talk shit to each other until the wee hours. Then a fire truck parks right in front of your building, and turns its lights on, which, as luck would have it, are right in eyeline from your bed.

So I wander here, to my office, to see what is up in the world.

The media, by and large, have been in the bag for McCain since the beginning, and one has to wonder when Obama's counter attacks and his message might get through. Certainly, they scrutinize every goddamn thing he says, advancing a fairly standard idiom into a sexist slam because, well, McSame says its so, while ignoring the fairly obvious: It's the economy, stupid, and this should be the death knell for McSame's ignoble campaign, yet, with fifty-some days left, there's so much more potential bullshit for the media to shovel, for McSame to savor, and for the rest of us, to suffer.

More here.

Change We Absolutely, Positively, Do Not Need

After watching the Palin interview with Charlie Gibson, one thing is clear: She represents a shift from Bush, because she doesn't even know what the Bush Doctrine is. Cluelessness, afterall, is a form of deniability.

The ostensible Presidential candidate (you get the feeling people are really voting for her? Is she the female Cheney?) continues to struggle with, um, questions. His newest non sequitor: Energy!

Finally, the GOP, in its continuing descent into the slime pit, has an interesting idea for the people of Michigan: If you have lost your house, then you have lost your vote.

"Man, You're Like Some Guy In A Comic Book"

This ditty cycled up on my mp3 player this morning, and I'd thought I'd share. Kind of appropriate, no?

via The Deacon

Self Correcting Conservatives

via Digby:

"It's probably too late to make the message of conservative failure stick at this point. It is now a 60 day dogfight fight between a gifted, young African American reformer and a grizzled old veteran ... reformer. The Republicans are "coming home" even in the face of their massive, nearly unprecedented disaster at governance over the past eight years because there's no price to pay as far as anyone's concerned --- the Republican brand is 'self-correcting'."

Shillin' The Rubes: Open Letter To The Heartland (again)

A few days ago, I saw the Sarah/ McSame Old Time Travellin Medicine Show roll its filthy bullshit caked wheels into Lebanon, OH and watched, for a few moments. Sarah Palin "shilled the rubes" with some of Grandpa's Gen-u-whine Irradiated Bullshit, and chucked some red meat to the faithful. Crypto platitudes, a bunch of "simple gal" posing. Anybody else get the impression she's the Celia Hodes of Alaska.

She's good, that's for sure, at this particular line of work. One which doesn't require too much in the way of conviction or belief. Look good, and throw the platitudes. The People will eat it up.

Which is something I don't understand about the contemporary variety of the so-called conservative, and its various sub-cultures: There is nothing in this rhetoric that can be called useful information about any positions. There is not one telling fact about who Palin is aside from the demonstrable lies that are supposed to make her seem human. The rest of the speeches that weird code word language that, apparently, are composed entirely of idiotic cliches about "government being the problem, not the solution", "Washington insiders", etc.

Let me clear this up right away: As it stands now, no thanks to the Republican George Bush, this is still more or less a representative democracy, thus, separating yourself from you government, while giving you the feeling that you, too, possess the coveted Cheney deniability , in fact only underscores that galling notion that you, we, are responsible for the mess we are in, because we elected them, and let them run amok, knowing they were crooked, while we stuffed out faces at Friday's and worried about crabgrass (or boys kissing each other, for that matter).

This has to be even more distressing for these so called "conservatives", knowing that good guy they all wanted to drink beer with has imperiled the lawn that so concerned you in 2000 and 2004, reduced your Friday's visits and, oh yeah, exploited the idealism of your children and their desire to do good, and planted their asses in Fallujah . By the way, they grew the government too.

Yet, some how, the cognitive dissonance continues. The biracial kid who went to Columbia and Harvard on his own steam, the one raised by his mother and grandparents, is the elitist, and the product of the Naval Academy is a "regular" guy.

Palin, on the other hand, is, ostensibly, more like regular people, because of her rather modest beginning, compared to McCain's Southern Aristocratic background. However, don't be fooled by that small town talk, and the "aw shucks" front. She is slick, and it is politically useful to exploit this.

See, you have every right to be pissed off, and to mistrust Washington, and wonder what the hell you did to deserve the rotten luck you've gotten. But this isn't luck at all, but policy, and this policy is Bush. This policy is what passes for "Conservativism" these days, but these people aren't "Conservatives" at all. They do not care about your rights. They do not care about the free market. They do not care about small government. They do not share your values.The only value you share is that they value your vote, too, and exploit your beliefs through pandering to get it. They do not care about your family. McCain is Bush. Palin is Cheney. Don't believe the hype.

We deserve better.

Love of The Common People

Culture of Corruption

Ah yes...the agent of change indeed:

"Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a 'per diem' allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business."

The Iceberg

What a charming person:

“'So Sambo beat the bitch!'

This is how Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin described Barack Obama’s win over Hillary Clinton to political colleagues in a restaurant a few days after Obama locked up the Democratic Party presidential nomination."

via Nathan

She was for the bridge before she was against it

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - It garnered big applause in her first speech as Republican John McCain's vice presidential pick, but Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's assertion that she rejected Congressional funds for the so-called "bridge to nowhere" has upset many Alaskans. Read on.

Political Bullshit: Potty Mouth Peggy Edition

Wow...

Damage

An October Surprise McCain doesn't want:

"The Alaska state senator running an investigation of Gov. Palin says the McCain campaign is using stall tactics to prevent him from releasing his final report by Oct. 31, four days before the November election.

'It's likely to be damaging to the Governor's administration', said Senator Hollis French, a Democrat, appointed the project manager for a bi-partisan State Senate Legislative Counsel Committee investigation of claims that Palin abused her office to get the Alaska public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, fired."

In Honor of the Republican National Convention