Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Sarah Palin: Dinosaurs and humans lived together.

I'm wondering how Saturday Night Live is going to handle this. From the Los Angeles Times:

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 (emphasis mine)...
(Story hat tip: Countdown with Keith Olbermann)

(Image: Pharyngula)

Fox "News:" Credibility-free zone.

SNL humiliates Palin--by quoting her near-verbatim

Can someone start playing taps over this candidacy, please?

Anchorage Daily News hammers Palin

Good for them. Go here for video of this chick's dishonesty.

HT: Sullivan.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Taxi to the Dark Side

Premiering Sept. 29th on HBO:



HT: Sullivan

Bill Maher on John McCain's foreign policy

I watched most of the debate last night. Some people would say that McCain was stronger on foreign policy than Obama, but I say McCain was more stubborn, and that Obama has an appreciation for the intricacies of Middle Eastern politics. Bill Maher might have put it best...six months ago:

I don't care if John McCain is better than Bush on global warming or torture or campaign finance, because he's exactly the same as Bush on the war. They both don't get the same thing.

That, as long as we're setting up shop in the heart of the Arab world, we're not keeping America safer. Bin Laden goes ballistic over cartoons in Danish newspapers. And "Goober" and "Grandpa" want to put up a Hooters in Fallujah.

They don't hate us for our freedom. They hate us for our fiefdom. Winning the war on terror comes down to this: what will make us safer from pissed-off Arab teenagers who are willing to die? There are a number of good answers to that question, but occupying their land for the next hundred years is not one of them.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Presidential debate: the overlooked point II.

Oh, and we all forgot about Katie Couric's interview with Sarah Palin for a while, didn't we? That's a relief. I hope she was watching so she can at least have an idea of how it's supposed to be done.

Presidential debate: the overlooked point.

McCain nodded to Ted Kennedy in his opening remarks, saying "the Lion of the Senate" was in the hospital and offering well-wishes.

Kennedy's fine, such as he can be with brain cancer. Yahoo! News reports he suffered a mild seizure and was treated and released.

My own thoughts on Sarah Palin

I've been blasting this...creature for quite some time, now, and I've been using a bunch of other people's quotes to do so. So following this barb from Kathleen Parker, I'll toss in my own:

"If BS were currency, Palin could bail out Wall Street herself."
Say it, sistah.

All right. I am in no position to criticize women in this country for pulling for one of their own. I respect that. But Sarah Palin is simply a less-qualified version of Hillary Clinton who looks better in a bikini (sorry for the mental image). Clinton at least has all kinds of national ties, had a form of access to the oval office, and saw how the real political world works. And that wasn't enough to qualify her, either. Her record in the Senate proved that she might be a competent Senator, but when it comes to being the leader of a whole campaign organization, she surrounded herself with stool pigeons and shameless dirtbags. Palin has been shielded entirely from talking to anyone spontaneously.

If gender or race were the only consideration, I'd be voting for John McCain. I'm not. Competence has to count, too.

Palin doesn't have it.

She's actually an insult to feminism, in that while she earned her right to be the mayor of Wasilla, and she won the governor's post in Alaska, she was picked for qualities besides whatever inherent skills or abilities she might have.

And I remember what Molly Ivins said about Newt Gingrich in a Rolling Stone piece: nincompoopery has never been a bar to high political office. So just because she won at the local level, where the media attention (let's be honest) tends to not be as good or as critical, that doesn't mean the BS will pass the sniff test of Dave Letterman or anyone else at the national level.

Just look at McCain himself. He's gotten by with being a good guy to have a drink with for all of these years. People deferred to him because of his POW status, etc. while not looking too closely at his political record (Keating Five notwithstanding).

But now that Wall Street is in danger of melting faster than Sarah Palin's ice caps, people are starting to do more than just take a snapshot of McCain's voting record. It's a non-stop prison searchlight. And what people are finding out is that McCain basically obeys anyone who pays him a lot of money to get the government off their cases. Including the latest generation of robber barons.

James Fallows on Palin-Couric

Money quote:

Couric deserves better ratings for the CBS news based on the steely relentlessness of her questions. Unlike Charlie Gibson, and unlike Joe Biden in a (possible!) future debate, she has no background complications of the older white man bullying the younger, attractive woman. She was a professional woman who has clearly earned her position grilling someone whose bona fides she cleared doubted.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Dave Letterman's pasting of John McCain

Epic. Win. I haven't laughed this hard in a long time. After the day I had at work, I needed this. Thanks, Dave.

From Countdown:



From YouTube:



Man, he just gets more and more steamed as it goes on. I'd really like to have gotten Letterman drunk afterward and heard what he had to say without cameras rolling.

Site of the day.

Klingons for Jesus.

Someone needs some fan mail. This is good.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Lieberman faces censure by Conn. Democrats

Looks like Joe "Benedict Arnold" Lieberman might be facing censure by the Connecticut Democratic Party. He lost his own primary in 2006, won his Senate seat on an "Independent" ticket, and caucuses with the D's in the Senate. But he's got his tongue so far up John McCain's ass, he can almost taste that beer Cindy's family brews. And speaking at the Republican National Convention was the last straw:

The resolution says Lieberman's actions are "extraordinary disloyalty to countless Connecticut Democrats without whom his career as an elected official would never have been possible" and calls on state Democrats to ask him to resign from the party.

(Audrey) Blondin said Lieberman's speech at the Republican National Convention, in which he praised McCain and criticized Democrat Barack Obama, convinced her that state Democrats needed to take a stand.

Traslation: speak at the RNC if you want, but not as a registered Democrat. And lest you feel sorry for Jiltin' Joe:

"Honestly, I thought that was the kind of thing that happened only in the former Soviet Union. I understand that people are unhappy, but, you know, I'm doing something that I really believe."
Makes me want to puke in my soup. This is the worst kind of politician; he's willing to throw away any number of years of party affiliation because he hopes to be a big player--maybe even cabinet-level player--in a McCain administration, if he can only lick Mac's fingers for a handout. He knows the Obama administration wouldn't give him the time of day in comparison. And then he goes and compares the Democrats to the commies for calling him on his bullshit.

And he's Jewish!!!

Uh, Joe, did you bother to look up the term "pogrom" before you compared your own party members to the people who used to persecute your kindred? Never mind resigning from the Democrats, resign from the Senate. Before you resign completely from the human race.

One more reason to vote for Obama:

The British journal Nature:

Do you believe that evolution by means of natural selection is a sufficient explanation for the variety and complexity of life on Earth? Should intelligent design, or some derivative thereof, be taught in science class in public schools?

Obama: I believe in evolution, and I support the strong consensus of the scientific community that evolution is scientifically validated. I do not believe it is helpful to our students to cloud discussions of science with non-scientific theories like intelligent design that are not subject to experimental scrutiny.
Sarah Palin: Teach the controversy (code for the anti-evolution crowd).

Vote.

Campbell Brown: Free Sarah Palin

'Bout time someone said it:

Now, the glory days of CNN are long gone, but Brown is right: if anyone's guilty of sexism when it comes to Palin, it's the McCain people. But hey, Mac himself once "affectionately" called Cindy a c-nt. Tough love, huh? Of course, when she can afford a $300,000 outfit, I guess it's all sticks and stones.

The next person I'd like to see make this call is Hillary Clinton. That'll never happen. Is Margaret Thatcher available for an interview?
---
Update: There's been speculation that Brown might have been regurgitating McCain talking points about how "tough" Sarah Palin is. Which opens them up to the reposte: there's a difference between being tough and being a bully.

Why we need to rethink our drug policy

This story from MSNBC, about a lady who had lived on the lam for 32 years (you read that right) after escaping from prison.

(Susan) LeFevre, who was just 19 when arrested on a heroin charge, said she never expected to get 10 years in prison when she agreed to plead guilty in 1974. She climbed a prison fence in 1976, helped by her grandfather.

"I felt like I wanted to vindicate myself," LeFevre said of the escape. "I wasn't involved in drug trafficking at all. I was a recreational user."

Never mind the concept of a "recreational" heroin user (I'm of the opinion that recreational and heroin are a contradiction), 10 years for possession?!? Only in America (and other third world-minded nations) could being an addict--which is a disease, I might remind you--be considered a crime.

Cripes.

And good for the judge for recognizing that 32 years of looking over her shoulder is punishment enough. I'm of the opinion that any judge who wants to sentence someone to prison should be forced to spend a week or two incarcerated themselves to see what it's like.

Open letter to Barack Obama: will you appoint an addiction specialist as our next drug czar, please? We've had enough meathead generals in that post.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

The 12 lies of Sarah Palin

Direct from Andrew Sullivan. Don't trust this chick.

Vote.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Donate to Planned Parenthood in Sarah Palin's name

I'm bogarting this wholesale from my dear friend, Heather:

Instead of (in addition to?) us all sending around emails about how horrible she is, let's all make a donation to Planned Parenthood. In Sarah Palin's name. And here's the good part: when you make a donation to PP in her name, they'll send her a card telling her that the donation has been made in her honor.
Here's the link to the Planned Parenthood website:

https://secure. ga0. org/02/pp10000_inhonor

Be sure to use the pulldown menu for Honorary or Memorial Donations, rather than just 'Donate Online'.


You'll need to fill in the address to let PP know where to send the "in Sarah Palin's honor" card.
I suggest you use the address for the McCain campaign headquarters, which is:


McCain for President
1235 S. Clark Street
1st Floor
Arlington , VA 22202

Imagine the shoe on the other foot

A brilliant article on why Creationism should NOT be taught in public schools.

HT: RichardDawkins.net

Why do we want this person in charge of nuclear weapons?

An outstanding article from Sam Harris on Sarah Palin. Money quote:

There is no question that if President McCain chokes on a spare rib and Palin becomes the first woman president, she and her supporters will believe that God, in all his majesty and wisdom, has brought it to pass. Why would God give Sarah Palin a job she isn't ready for? He wouldn't. Everything happens for a reason. Palin seems perfectly willing to stake the welfare of our country—even the welfare of our species—as collateral in her own personal journey of faith. Of course, McCain has made the same unconscionable wager on his personal journey to the White House.

Remember: this chick believes the Rapture will occur in HER LIFETIME, and that it will begin in the Middle East.

Vote.

HT: RichardDawkins.net

Sunday, September 21, 2008

McCain twerp gets grilled over lies--by Fox News

You read that right.

Even "Fixed Noise" as Keith Olbermann would call them is calling the McCain campaign on their outright lies.

Go here to watch a McDrone get pwned by one of Fox's typically hot blonde reporters. And in all honesty, I would have loved to have seen that morning meeting with Megyan Kelly to see what her marching orders were. "Megyan, we need to at least make ourselves look like a legitimate news organization, so go out there and ask questions the other outlets should be asking these hacks. It'll make us look good by comparison."

HT: Ed Brayton.

Republicans want to control your ovaries

One of the best blog posts PZ Myers ever had. It's about the R's attempts to control women by banning Plan B. This post shows Myers unquestionable mastery of biology and his unabashed, self-proclaimed "godless liberal" sensibilities. I'd prefer the term libertarian, but the point is, fight these evil bastards who think they can tell you how you can and cannot control your reproduction. Money quote:

It is a form of birth control that tells the woman's ovaries to hold off on releasing any eggs for a short while. It's called emergency contraception, because it is used by a woman who has, for whatever reason (rape, a broken condom, misplaced enthusiasm, second thoughts, anything) had unwanted sperm in her reproductive tract, and she wants to make sure that this isn't the moment her ovaries happen to pop a follicle.

Plan B is not an abortion.

Plan B doesn't help if one is already pregnant, and it doesn't affect any implanted zygotes....You'd have to be insane to object to Plan B.

Emphasis mine.

So, you think this is just liberal paranoia? Think again...the Bush-tards will do anything to mess with you.

Vote.

Open letter to Sarah Palin

Epic. Win.

(Stolen/borrowed from the blog of my friend, Chelsea...)

Dear Sarah,

Congratulations on becoming the Vice Presidential nominee for the Republican Party in the upcoming election. It is a great thing to see a woman on the GOP ticket. Your candidacy is a truly historic event.

Still - let us not mince words. You were selected because of your gender. The GOP decided that you would appeal to female voters, especially middle aged white women. Women like me.

I watched your speech last night. You emphasized your small town experience and lifestyle as part of your appeal. I’m from an even smaller town than you are. I’m a wife, and a mother. We have some things in common.

You lost me when you ridiculed Barack Obama’s experience as a community organizer. I’m a community organizer, Sarah. I spent much of 2004 knocking on people’s doors in NH, to get them to register to vote. It was a non-partisan effort. Much of my work was in the city of Berlin, NH, which has a population of approximately 10,000 people. In 2004, Berlin’s voter turnout was 92% in most wards, thanks to community organizers. I don’t view the work we all did to ensure participation in the democratic process as being something that you, or your party should dismiss as unimportant, or contemptible.

Community organizing has a long, proud tradition. Community organizers started the Civil Rights movement. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a triumph of community organizing – and done without modern technology. The people of Montgomery met at night after work, in churches and planned their strategy. After a little over a year, they won the fight, and buses in Montgomery were no longer segregated.

Another triumph of community organizing is responsible for you being where you are today. Without the women’s suffrage movement, you would never have even been Mayor of Wasilla. You would be home, having babies, with no right to own property, no right to sign a contract, and no right to vote. You would be chattel. Beginning with the Declaration of Sentiments, that proclaimed “all men and women are created equal” to the very end, where Alice Paul and the National Women’s Party ensured the passage of the 19th Amendment, you owe your presence on the national stage to those women. Some of those women were jailed and tortured to win you the right to vote. Those women -those community organizers you spoke of last night with such seething contempt.

I don’t accept your contempt, Sarah. I don’t accept your glib premise that somehow community organizing is a sport for elitists. I’m betting that the community organizers of the Red Cross would agree.

Sincerely,

Susan Bruce

Jackson, NH (population 835)

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Sarah Palin's witch-hunter

Once again, I'm not making this up.

John McCain's economic cynicism

So, what does it say about your week as a Republican presidential candidate when the Wall Street Journal calls you on the carpet?

Quote of the day--baseball edition

OK, so Oakland A's designated hitter Jack Cust, as of this writing, is hitting .228 with 29 home runs and 70 RBI. Not bad--for a double-A player. He also just set the American League record with 187 strikeouts in a season. He doesn't play defense to have any impact on the game in that half of the inning. What does his manager, Bob Geren, have to say about him?

"I feel good every time he's up there."
Did this guy ever work for AIG?

Quote of the day.

"They don't hate us for our freedom, they hate us for our airstrikes."

Bill Maher, on Islamic extremists.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Sniffing out a pathological liar

How many of these things remind you of McPalin?

1. Exaggerates things that are ridiculous.

2. One-upping. Whatever you do, this person can do it better.

3. They "construct" a reality around themselves.

4. Because these people don't value honesty, a lot of times they will not value loyalty. So watch what you tell them.

5. They may be somewhat of a hypochondriac.

6. Obviously, they will contradict what they say. This will become very clear over time. They usually aren't smart enough to keep track of so many lies (who would be?).
Obviously, not McSarah. Oh, and one more thing:
"They lie about even the smallest things."
Like, ohidunno, teleprompters?

Sarah Palin: Not so special

(Hold the phone on the outrage, Keith. Updates below)

Turns out Mrs. Downs Syndrome Mommy allegedly cut funding for the Alaska Special Olympics. IN HALF.



Well, maybe. FactCheck.org doesn't have anything on this one way or another. My guess: yes, there was a gubernatorial veto on the funding. The REAL context is, where else could she have affected that funding?

But then I realize, this is the same chick who lied about the teleprompter. If you lie when you have nothing to gain and a lot to lose, you are a pathological liar.
---
Update: Bloomberg confirms Palin cut the S.O. budget.
--
Update #2: ThinkProgress.org shows Palin did, indeed, cut $275,000 out of the budget, but only proposed slashing their budget in half. Careful, Keith, you're treading on thin O'Reilly ice, here.
---
Update #3: Looks like, according to KTUU.com, Palin did, indeed increase the S.O's budget by $25,000. However, that amount was only half of what the S.O. sought from Alaska. And a (hard to believe) Democrat has some pretty fair-minded words about Palin's record on this issue:

"I don't think there are many people in the Alaska disability community that would say she's been a champion for them," said Sen. Bill Wielechowski, an Anchorage Democrat. "And maybe she's changing her position on that, and I think that's a good thing....It's been a mixed bag....There are certainly funds provided for some things for Special Olympics and there were other things that were cut."

So, the bottom line is that Palin:

  1. Increased the budget by $25,000.
  2. Increased it by only half as much as the Special Olympics wanted.
  3. Did so after cutting an additional $275,000 and talked about chopping the operational budget in half.

Still looks like anything but a tireless crusader to the cause (and I'd be willing to bet a lot of this happened before Trig was born. How much work did Michael J. Fox do for ALS before his own diagnosis?)

I think it looks like Palin could have been more generous than she was. I mean, it's not like the people of Alaska aren't rolling in $1,200 checks, now, are they?

And Olbermann has pledged to donate $100 bucks for every lie Palin tells between now and the election to the Special Olympics. Maybe they'll end up with all that money after all...

Charity Navigator Website

A very useful tool in finding out how well your favorite charity is raising and managing money. As I'm writing this, I'm wearing the silicone wristbands of two notable charities: the LiveStrong Foundation for cancer research, and the National Multiple Sclerosis Foundation (national office in New York). So let's take a look at FY 2006.


National MS Society (3 out of 4 stars):

LiveStrong (3 out of 4 stars):
One more squib here: The American Cancer Society has an overall rating of 48.11.

Draw your own conclusions.

A smart woman's take on Sarah Palin

Not that I'm underestimating Sarah Palin's intelligence, nor her ruthlessness. She's still an amoral twerp who will say absolutely anything to get elected. But this interview on Keith Olbermann's Countdown the other night speaks volumes:

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Sarah the lying "Christian"

I think I'm going to write a song to that effect. The Los Angeles Times calls BS on Palin's "no, thanks" comments:

While seeking votes, she told Ketchikan residents she backed the 'bridge to nowhere.' As governor, she spent the money elsewhere and moved ahead with a $26-million road to the nonexistent bridge.
This lying sack of santorum is starting to leak all over the place.

Ban the Electoral College.

What's that, you say? We need to get rid of the Electoral College (pause for chorus of the Heavenly Host..)

Hell, yes, we need to get rid of it. Remember Florida in 2000?

http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/

Liberals: Stand up and be counted!

Wow. Just wow.

Matt Yglesias trumpets this article by NY Times writer Bob Herbert. Man, what a piece...

It would take volumes to adequately cover the enhancements to the quality of American lives and the greatness of American society that have been wrought by people whose politics were unabashedly liberal. It is a track record that deserves to be celebrated, not ridiculed or scorned.
Take a bow, sir.

A political parable for McCain/Palin

I don't remember where I first read this, but I think the message is clear.

There was an Indian boy who was roaming the hills near his home. He came across a rattlesnake stuck in the crook of a tree limb, unable to free itself.

"Here, boy; come help get me down from this tree," said the snake.

"But you're a rattlesnake," said the boy, "how can I be sure you won't strike out at me?"

"I give you my word I will not," said the snake.

Whereupon the boy went over to the tree, gently worked the snake free of the fork in the tree limb, carried it to a nearby rock, and set it down easily.

Whereupon, the snake, in return, whipped its head around and struck the boy, sinking its fangs into his arm.

The boy cried out as the snake began to slither away, "But you promised!"

The snake looked back coolly.

"You knew what I was when you picked me up. You have no right to complain."

Vote.

Republican congressman calls Palin "a stretch."

You think?

Nebraska Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel said his party's vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, lacks foreign policy experience and called it a "stretch" to say she's qualified to be president.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Quote of the campaign.

I'm lifting this one from Sullivan verbatim:

"Yesterday, John McCain actually said that if he's president that he'll take on, and I quote, 'the old boys network in Washington.' Now I'm not making this up. This is somebody who's been in Congress for twenty-six years, who put seven of the most powerful Washington lobbyists in charge of his campaign. And now he tells us that he's the one who's gonna' to take on the old boys network. The old boys network? In the McCain campaign that's called a staff meeting. Come, on!
--Barack Obama

Quote of the day

From a commenter on ERV:

Q. What's the difference between Rush Limbaugh and the Hindenburg?

A. One is a giant, flaming Nazi gasbag, and the other was a dirigible.

Palin credits prayers of a Kenyan witch-hunter for her success.

No, I'm not making this up...

The pastor whose prayer Sarah Palin says helped her to become governor of Alaska founded his ministry with a witchhunt against a Kenyan woman who he accused of causing car accidents through demonic spells.
And there's video footage of her giving him that credit, filmed in her Church this past Summer. And yeah, it sounds like a left-wing version of Ann Coulter just making shit up. But the Times of London?

So, how does one go about obtaining Canadian citizenship? Seriously, the fact that people are even thinking of electing this...this creature makes me despair for a country I love so much. These gooney-birds are nauseating.

HT: Sullivan.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

USOC: We're sorry

In more ways than one:

In a letter to cyclists Mike Friedman, Bobby Lea, Sarah Hammer and Jennie Reed, USOC Chief Executive Officer James E. Scherr said, “We apologize if you felt that the USOC or your National Governing Body did not appropriately support you through this incident, and you should rest assured it was not our intent.”
And you gotta love the fact that an 18-year-old, Taylor Phinney, was able to call BS on these people better than anyone:
"A doctor from the USOC sent a note saying, 'You should wear these masks in all transportation centers.' The fact that the USOC didn't back that wasn't very cool."
In short, the USOC should have kept its collective pie hole shut.

The dirt on McCain in one convenient package

BOOKMARK THIS AND USE IT!

Remember, this race is a dead heat with a slight edge to McCain in the popular vote.

DO YOUR PART!

John McCain would have hired Bush, Cheney.

From the horse's mouth:

Still want to vote for him?

Sunday, September 14, 2008

John McCain supports torture

Let's get this understood right here and now: torture is immoral, illegal, and ineffective in gathering good intelligence. But Americans now defend torture to a higher degree than any other civilized nation on Earth. According to a survey cited by Andrew Sullivan, 2 out of every 3 people in China denounce torture under all circumstances. 66%. In America, the number is 53%.

That's sickening.

And Sullivan hammers home one more point:

McCain was once a torture victim, but since 2006 has supported the torture of prisoners by the CIA. In fact, prisoners across the world who have been tortured by the CIA in the last two years can, in the terror of their cells, know that John McCain made it possible, by caving into the war criminals in the White House in 2006.
(Sullivan is referring to the Military Commissions Act of 2006. McCain in favor, Obama opposed.).

I have a personal story to share on this, and again, I won't name names. I had a conversation earlier this year with someone close to me who is a traditional Republican and conservative. I mentioned in so many words that I hated George W. Bush for what he had done to this country and its reputation. I was scolded for using the word hate, and told that such a feeling was "not Christian of you." (This was before I became more vocal about my atheistic mindset). But then I tried to counter-attack by pointing out the fact that we tortured people in Guantanimo. This...person then proceeded to all but shout me down by demanding to know, "Were you there? WERE YOU THERE?!" Apparently eyewitness accounts are all that is acceptable for this devout Catholic who takes on faith the fact of Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascention into Heaven.

More from Sullivan on "Christian virtues."
(T)he key segment of the pro-torture enthusiasts are evangelical Christians. Yes: evangelical Christians are now the greatest supporters of doing to prisoners what was once done to Christ.
(Sullivan is Catholic, himself)

I have spoken to this person several times since. I have not yet demanded an apology. I am waiting patiently for one. I have also not forgiven, nor will I until and unless one is forthcoming.

The record of the Bush administration speaks for itself. They are shameless torture-mongers. And we have let them get away with it.

But so has John McCain. And for that reason alone, I will never vote for him. All the other reasons are simply icing on the cake.

PS: That means you, too, Senator Grassley. You need to be held accountable, too.

Pope preaches against "pagan" love of money and power.

Does the term "projection" mean anything to you, Ratzinger?

"Benedict was making his first visit as pontiff to the French capital, renowned for its luxury goods, fashion sense and cultural riches."
I'd be willing to bet a few items of furniture in my house that the fucker was also in town to do a little shopping. Because we know what kind of shoes the guy prefers, right? Prada. With a fetish for expensive shoes and garish outfits that this clown has, the only question is when the accusations of dick-sucking are going to come out.

Fucking hypocrite. There are fewer things uglier than a man who has no material cares in the world, who can have fur-trimmed garments tailored to fit his body and done so at his convenience, to stand in front of an audience of commoners and to condemn materialism.

Anybody want to lay bets that they passed around a collection plate? And that these sheep in the audience did their holy duty by filling it?

I was struck by this sentence, however:
The 260,000 or so people who gathered on the lawns of the Esplanade des Invalides displayed a joyful outpouring of faith for this traditionally Roman Catholic country, which has witnessed a sharp decline in churchgoing in recent years.
That makes me happy. Maybe if the collections drop off enough, Ratz will have to settle for Gucci.

BTW: I refer to this dope as Ratzinger rather than Benedict (except in blockquotes) because I refuse to help glamorize a criminal by referring to his self-appointed alias. It made Pretty Boy Floyd and Billy the Kid a lot less scummy, and I'm not playing that game with some (alleged) child-molester-protector like THIS piece of garbage.

HT: RichardDawkins.net

Ricky Jay card tricks

Man, do I wish I could do stuff like this. You have to watch all the way to the end, or you'll never know what you've missed:



HT: Ed Brayton

Friday, September 12, 2008

Quote of the day.

When asked by Keith Olbermann on whether she would face any hard-hitting questions between now and her debate,

"Unlikely, and I would expect Rachael Ray to ask more piercing questions about her moose stew."

Richard Wolffe, Senior Editor, Newsweek, on Sarah Palin

Video: McCain's lies exposed.

Planned Parenthood on McCain



Via Sullivan

The View destroys McCain

Holy mackerel. I might have to revise my opinion of this show after this...

The ladies of "The View" confronted John McCain today for lying in recent attack ads. In arguably his toughest interview yet, View co-host Joy Behar asked McCain:

"There are ads running from your campaign... Now we know that those two ads are untrue, they are lies. And yet, you at the end of it say you approve these messages. Do you really approve these?" Barbara then threw in her condemnation, by telling McCain: "You, yourself said the same thing about putting lipstick on a pig..."

GO HERE!! RIGHT NOW!!

Charlie Gibson interview with Palin

I just called Gibson a lap dog in my previous post, but the fact of the matter is that Gibson is actually the right person to be interviewing the lipstick-laden pit bull. For the simple reason: he's the type of interviewer who will give Palin the chance to give herself ample rope with which to hang herself. She's already leaving herself wide open to criticism and a review of her record. So all Gibson needs to do is get her to answer questions openly (if not honestly--she's been coached too well for that) and then the REAL reporters out there (in the blogosphere and the few remaining in the media) will pounce all over the inconsistencies and outright lies. So we'll see how the pit bull handles the wolf pack.

Oh, gee, I hope I'm not being sexist...

Speaking of which, here's what I'd like to see. If the McCain camp is hiding behind charges of sexism (a deliberate dodge and one of the reasons they chose this chick) I'd like to see Palin agree to a press conference with an all-female press corps. Let's let, say, Cokie Roberts ask Sarah Palin why her family should be off limits when she's trying to limit--if not eliminate--reproductive rights for families all over the country. Have Andrea Mitchell ask why her daughter's pregnancy should be off limits when she's trying to limit the availabillity of contraceptives to teenagers all over the country. Have a lesbian like Rachael Maddow ask Palin why she still belongs to a church that is marketing a "pray away the gay" program. Hell, toss in Robin Roberts to ask her why the latest attack ad about Obama allegedly supporting comprehensive sex ed for Kindergartners fits in with her views about abstinence-only education, and how well that worked with her own kid.

Here's the question I'd ask if I could:

"Governor Palin, you've stated that you are proud of your daughter and her decision to bear and raise her child, noting the fact that she came up with that decision herself. Would you also have been proud of her if her decision had been to have an abortion?"

John McCain is a coward

Now McCain isn't doing press conferences, either:

"McCain’s new campaign strategy: staged rallies with thousands of supporters. Since announcing Sarah Palin as his VP choice on August 29, McCain’s has appeared at 11 rallies with his new running mate where both members of the ticket delivered a 10-15 minute stump speech."
And no press conferences (A certain lap dog named Charlie Gibson doesn't count, either. Real reporters use GMA as a springboard, not a career stop). You know, Matt Damon was right about one thing: these people seek to hold the activation codes of the US nuclear arsenal. My take: anyone who wants that much power and responsibility and doesn't feel they need to be accountable to answering tough questions from the people over whom they would hold that power doesn't deserve to ask those people for their votes.

HT: Sullivan.
---
One other thing: if the Republicans want to claim sexism, the best way to counter that is to have her hold a press conference of nothing but female reporters. Maybe Cokie Roberts could provide an excellent counter to Charlie Gibson.

Palin's phony phaith

Sorry for the alliteration, but it's my blog: sue me. Money quote from Sullivan:

"(H)er faith has been a political tool in her career. She will use it when it helps - as in getting to be Mayor of Wasilla and governor of Alaska - and drop it when its in her way. There is something truly, deeply Rovian about Sarah Palin."
Full commentary, including analysis from an Evangelical calling BS on Palin, here.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Matt Damon on Sarah Palin

"I need to know if she really thinks dinosaurs were here 4,000 years ago. That's important....Because she's going to have the nuclear codes."

Matt Damon, "political analyst"

Palin has not pushed for teaching creationism in Alaska's schools. She has said that students should be allowed to "debate both sides" of the evolution question, but she also said creationism "doesn't have to be part of the curriculum."

FactCheck.org

"Teach both. You know, don't be afraid of information....Healthy debate is so important and it's so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both. And you know, I say this too as the daughter of a science teacher. Growing up with being so privileged and blessed to be given a lot of information on, on both sides of the subject -- creationism and evolution. It's been a healthy foundation for me. But don't be afraid of information and let kids debate both sides."

Sarah Palin, quoted by the Anchorage Daily News, cited by Michael Paulson

What to believe? I think you don't just open the idea of creationism in schools to let the kids decide, you do it in the context of showing them that this is an antiquated way of thinking that is shamefully being shoved on us by the shameless. THAT'S the context in which I'd like to see creationism taught in public schools. And NOT in a science class, either...stick to science.

Quote of the day II

As if crystal-balling, he imagines himself as president, his aides informing him every day that 1,500 Americans have died from the illness. “Imagine if I go to sleep [in the White House] and I wake up the next day and they come in the afternoon and aides say, ‘Another 1,500 died today, sir.’ I can figure that out. That’s a f---ing problem! So there’s 1,500 … 1,500 … 1,500 … I mean, after 20, 30, 40 years of that, people start to take that as just part of the deal. And it shouldn’t be.”

Vanity Fair
interview with Lance Armstrong

Quote of the day.

"(The Large Hadron Collider is) like NASCAR for nerds — they get to spin things together at high speed and smash them together."

Dr. PZ Myers

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

If I had a Bible, it would be The Onion

It bears repeating, but it's your patriotic duty as an American to love this place:

"Evolutionists Flock to Darwin-Shaped Wall Stain."

McCain: The hell with integrity, I've got an election to win!

McCain has finally gone too far. His latest TV ad tries to say that Barak Obama favors comprehensive sex-education for kindergartners, a shameless attempt to make Obama out to be a lech. FactCheck.org says otherwise:

The ad refers to a bill Obama supported in the Illinois state Senate to update the sex education curriculum and make it "medically accurate." It would have lowered the age at which students would begin what the bill termed "comprehensive sex education" to include kindergarten. But it mandated the instruction be "age-appropriate" for kindergarteners when addressing topics such as sexually transmitted diseases. The bill also would have granted parents the opportunity to remove their children from the class without question:
SB 99: However, no pupil shall be required to take or participate in any family life class or course on HIV AIDS or family life instruction if his parent or guardian submits written objection thereto, and refusal to take or participate in such course or program shall not be reason for suspension or expulsion of such pupil.
The bill also called for all sex education course materials to include information that would help students recognize, among other activities, inappropriate touching, sexual assault and rape.
A spokesman for Obama puts it bluntly, and good for them:
"Last week, John McCain told Time magazine he couldn’t define what honor was. Now we know why."
Open letter to Joseph McCarthy John McCain: Have you no shame, sir?

HT: Sullivan (who calls it "despicable". Here, here).

The wisdom of Ambrose Bierce

From The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary...

Christian n. One who believes the New Testament is a divinely inspired book admirably suited to the spiritual needs of his neighbor. One who follows the teachings of Christ insofar as they are not inconsistent with a life of sin.

The power of the Holy Spirit (tm)

The REALLY scary thing is, these people are allowed to vote, drive automobiles, and own guns; all without a psychological evaluation.

And what do you want to bet the pastor did NOT pay his own way...?

Monday, September 8, 2008

This carbon thing is going too far.

Wait for it...

A...

carbon-...

fiber...

RACK!!!!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Fellow POW accuses McCain of exploiting his capture

Only a former POW could do this with credibility, but boy, is it about time someone did...

"John McCain's temperament makes it clear that he is not cut out to be President of the United States."
HT: Ed Brayton.

Jon Stewart on John McCain

Yet again, I'm struck by two things: How much of a man-crush I have on Jon Stewart, and how pathetic it is that this country's best news show is a comedy program.

HT: Pharyngula

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Jon Stewart on Sarah Palin

I have a man-crush on Jon Stewart...

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Mark Twain: "The War Prayer"

Pete, here's one for you.

(You MUST read it through to the final line).