Virginia GOP e-mails feature Zombie Obama with bullet hole in his head.

Courtesy of Raw Story:

Virginia Republicans spent Monday in damage control after the state party was forced to condemn an email sent around to some of its supporters featuring a zombie collage that depicted President Barack Obama shot in the head. 

In what’s clearly a Halloween-themed mailer, an image of a zombie hoard from The Walking Dead comic books, several other pieces of zombie art including a photo of Obama supporters and a jack-o-lantern are spaced apart by the defaced portraits of President Obama and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). 

Obama’s render, a modification of his campaign’s famous “Hope” poster by artist Shepard Fairey, is seen zombified, making him appear severely wounded. There’s a bullet hole in his forehead, and his brain is exposed.

Let me just say that I am a huge fan of the Walking Dead series, but that in no way excuses the depiction of the President with a bullet hole in his head.

Have these people no sense of history? Have they never heard of John F. Kennedy, or Martin Luther King Jr.? I mean for God's sake this man is BOTH a symbol for black Americans like MLK, AND a progressive President like Kennedy. showing an illustration with a bullet in his head is the unbelievably insensitive!

In my opinion it appears that they used the zombie motif, and the excuse of Halloween, to depict an image that secretly pleases them, hoping they could hide behind the zombification of his image and the holiday to hide their intent.

Herman Cain: "I never sexually harrassed anyone!" Now where have I heard a similar denial before?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I don't think Cain helped himself much there. I mean mopping your brow while answering questions about sexual harassment is not an image you want played over and over again people's television sets while running for the GOP nomination. Am I wrong?

NBC had this up after Cain's denial:

NBC News has confirmed that one woman received a settlement from the National Restaurant Association after complaining about inappropriate sexual conduct by Herman Cain. 

NBC News is not disclosing the name of the woman nor characterizing who she is.

Michael Smerconish, who I only occasionally agree with, made an excellent point this morning, saying that IF Herman Cain was the head of the National Restaurant Association at the time the hush money was paid out, he would have HAD to have known the payments were made.

Which means that Cain, who we know has difficulty with the truth, may have just lied himself into a corner.

And don't forget this, if the NRA and Cain had not had something to hide, they would NEVER have paid these women anything. Let's face it if the NRA was not somehow complicit, or were not pressured by Cain and his attorneys, they would have sent Cain packing and held a press conference afterward telling the whole world that their company does NOT tolerate this kind of behavior, even from the man at the top.

In other words, if Cain thinks this is about to blow over he is in for a rude awakening.

Did he learn nothing from seeing Bill Clinton get impeached? It is always the lies and coverup that ultimately does you in.

Which President has done the most to encourage growth in the US energy industry? Are you thinking Ronald Reagan or George Bush? Wrong again!

"You oil executives see my tie? That is an indication of the future of energy in this country. Deal with it!"

Courtesy of Chron.com:

Advocates for the U.S. energy industry routinely say they wish President Obama would pursue pro-growth energy policies. Well, he has been, and not just for the likes of fallen green giants like Solyndra. Under Obama, the traditional U.S. energy sector is flourishing. The domestic energy sector is experiencing its largest growth since the halcyon days of the 1950s and 1960s. As importantly, we're growing in the right directions. 

For the first time in decades, we are seeing sustained increases in U.S. oil production and decreases in oil consumption, which means imports are dropping. 

U.S. domestic oil production is up an incredible 14 percent since Obama took office. A few years ago we imported nearly two-thirds of our petroleum products. Today we import less than half. The reduction in imports means tens of billions of dollars now stay in our own economy. 

But it's not just oil: dry natural gas production is up 16 percent, natural gas liquids are up 26 percent, solar generation is up 14 percent and wind generation is up 59 percent. Even production of coal - supposedly the main target of Obama's policies - is flat over that same time period. There are even headlines blaring that U.S. refining capacity is at the highest point in decades, exceeding levels achieved under recent Republican administrations. All of this growth produces royalties and taxes to address our budget challenges. 

Despite the numbers, many in the energy industry describe Obama as if he's intent on making us freeze in the dark. They'd have us believe Obama and his team are singlehandedly killing the American energy industry. 

The facts tell a different story: This is a pro-energy president.

And that my friends is the difference between having a comprehensive energy policy, and just coming up with bumper sticker slogans like "Drill Baby, Drill."

By the way if anybody is standing near Sarah Palin when she reads this I will pay serious money for a picture of the look on her face at this news.

Though in my minds eye, it will look something like this:

Let's face it this is YET another area where the Republicans simply have no ammunition to use against the President. I swear if this jobs crisis turns around before the election, all the Republican candidate will be able to do is point at his face and say "Yeah, but at least I'M white!"

Okay kiddies tell your Uncle Gryphen the name of YOUR favorite horror film in celebration of this All Hallow's Eve.

I believe I have mentioned before that I was torn between starting this political blog or a blog dedicated to movies.  However due to my fixation at the time on Kerry's loss to George W. Bush, and my anger at the Iraq war, politics won out.

However I remain a true fan of the cinema and watch dozens, and dozens of movies a year. And my favorite ones are, you guessed it, horror movies.

These last few days my television has been playing nothing but non-stop horror, from the Halloween series, to The Omen, and even including back to back viewings of both the original and updated version of "The Fog." (Yeah, you're right, neither one was very good.)

So I got to wondering. exactly what is YOUR favorite horror movie my IM friends?

Here let me start you off with my favorite horror genre:

The Werewolf movie.

My favorite in that category:

American Werewolf in London.

And my favorite scene (Okay if you are at work you are going to DEFINITELY have to wait to watch this clip until after you get home. It contains inappropriate language, a truly epic and disturbing werewolf roar, and a brutal attack scene. You have been warned.):

One of the best scenes ever filmed for a horror movie in my opinion. Though to be honest it was almost a toss up between that one and the amazing John Landis directed transformation scene, featuring the unparalleled make up of Rick Baker. (Just a bit of trivia, werewolf movies live and die based on their transformation scenes.)

So tell me you ghouls and goblins, what was the movie that scarred YOUR psyche and kept you up at night?

Herman Cain spokesman J.D. Gordon responds to Politco story.

"I am not going to come out and say 'I did not have sexually suggestive contact with those women' but it is inferred by my spokesman's carefully worded non-denial."

As you read in my post last night Herman Cain has been accused of "sexually suggestive behaviors" directed at, at least, two female employees from his past.

Late last night his spokesman issued this response:

Inside the Beltway media attacks Cain (Nice title. Not overly defensive or anything.)

Fearing the message of Herman Cain who is shaking up the political landscape in Washington, Inside the Beltway media have begun to launch unsubstantiated personal attacks on Cain. 

Dredging up thinly sourced allegations stemming from Mr. Cain’s tenure as the Chief Executive Officer at the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, political trade press are now casting aspersions on his character and spreading rumors that never stood up to the facts. 

Since Washington establishment critics haven't had much luck in attacking Mr. Cain's ideas to fix a bad economy and create jobs, they are trying to attack him in any way they can. 

Sadly, we’ve seen this movie played out before – a prominent Conservative targeted by liberals simply because they disagree with his politics. 

Mr. Cain -- and all Americans, deserve better.

Okay I read it twice, but perhaps I missed it, where is the denial that Cain every engaged in any "sexually suggestive behaviors?"  And is it just me, or this statement a little vague, and carefully worded?

It appears to me that the Cain campaign is relying on the legal agreements those women signed to keep them quiet, while they just wait for this story to blow over.

Sorry folks, as far as I am concerned there is a STILL a very high likelihood that Herman Cain is "Guilty, Guilty, Guilty!"

The negative hits keep on coming for Herman Cain who is now being accused of "sexually suggestive behavior" by two female employees from his past.

"You know until I see a picture I don't know if I was a sleazeball to them or not!"

Courtesy of Politico:

During Herman Cain’s tenure as the head of the National Restaurant Association in the 1990s, at least two female employees complained to colleagues and senior association officials about inappropriate behavior by Cain, ultimately leaving their jobs at the trade group, multiple sources confirm to POLITICO. 

The women complained of sexually suggestive behavior by Cain that made them angry and uncomfortable, the sources said, and they signed agreements with the restaurant group that gave them financial payouts to leave the association. The agreements also included language that bars the women from talking about their departures. 

In a series of comments over the past 10 days, Cain and his campaign repeatedly declined to respond directly about whether he ever faced allegations of sexual harassment at the restaurant association. They have also declined to address questions about specific reporting confirming that there were financial settlements in two cases in which women leveled complaints. 

I would like to give Herb Cain the benefit of the doubt here but apparently even when given the chance to refute the allegations Cain simply cannot do so.

The latest statement came from Cain himself. In a tense sidewalk encounter Sunday morning outside the Washington bureau of CBS News — where the Republican contender had just completed an interview on “Face the Nation” — Cain evaded a series of questions about sexual harassment allegations. 

Cain said he has “had thousands of people working for me” at different businesses over the years and could not comment “until I see some facts or some concrete evidence.” His campaign staff was given the name of one woman who complained last week, and it was repeated to Cain on Sunday. He responded, “I am not going to comment on that. 

He was then asked, “Have you ever been accused, sir, in your life of harassment by a woman?” 

He breathed audibly, glared at the reporter and stayed silent for several seconds. After the question was repeated three times, he responded by asking the reporter, “Have you ever been accused of sexual harassment?” 

WTF?  Is that his answer?

Let me see if I have this straight. 

Herman Cain has had "thousands of people working for" him in the past, so he CANNOT answer whether or not he was sexually inappropriate with any of them until he sees "some facts or concrete evidence?"

Not to put too fine of a point on this, but doesn't that essentially say that in the past he WAS guilty of sexually suggestive behaviors, but is not sure he is guilty of sexually suggestive behaviors in THIS particular circumstance?

Here let me break it down for you. I have worked much of my life in occupations where there were always more women than men.  So ask me if I have ever been accused of, or brought up on charges of, sexually suggestive behaviors.

Nope.  And I don't even have to know which job, or which fellow employee, you might be talking about.

So in my opinion, considering Cain's refusal to answer with a straight forward denial, he is "Guilty, Guilty, Guilty!"

Let's see how long he holds onto that lead in the polls now!

I can see Mitt Romney's new campaign slogan now: "Hey I don't say sexually suggestive things to women and I don't give drunken speeches. How do you like me now, GOP?"

New definition for heartless: Throw a Halloween themed party at the expense of those your law firm threw out into the streets.

Courtesy of TPM:

A New York Times opinion column from Joe Nocera out on Saturday tells the story of last year’s Halloween Party at the law firm called Steven J. Baum, a practice outside Buffalo that the column refers to as a “foreclosure mill.” The firm thought that they would celebrate last Halloween by throwing a homeless-themed party, complete with the staff dressing costumes that made them look destitute and signs describing the various faux problems their characters had. One sign seems to read “Will Worke For Food [sic]” and photos show part of an office named “Baum Estates.” 

The pictures were sent to Nocera by a former employee of the firm. Nocera described their conversation like this: 

When we spoke later, she added that the snapshots are an accurate representation of the firm’s mind-set. “There is this really cavalier attitude,” she said. “It doesn’t matter that people are going to lose their homes.” Nor does the firm try to help people get mortgage modifications; the pressure, always, is to foreclose.

This firm in particular seems to have quite a history of foreclosing on homes that they had NO right to foreclose on.

I guess we should really not be that surprised to learn they thought so little of the people whose lives they destroyed that they would mock them by throwing a party, the theme of which was built around the devastation that they so callously visited upon them.

Hopefully Karma is paying attention.

While delivering speech in New Hampshire on Friday, Governor Perry lets "Little Rickie" out to play.

Rick Perry often comes off as a bumbling, easily pissed off version of George Bush in debates, but in this speech he seems to have pulled that stick right out of his ass, and possibly used it as a swizzle stick.

Mugging for the crowd, giggling like a schoolgirl, and occasionally lisping or yelling out at the audience, the speech was, if nothing else, entertaining. But possibly not for the reasons the campaign might have hoped that it would be entertaining.

Perry spokesperson Mark Miner said the Governor was filled with passion about the issues.  I wonder if that "passion" came on the rocks, or with a beer back?

(H/T to the Huffington Post.) Is it wrong that I would REALLY like this version of Rick Perry to show up in the next debate? I think it would be a hoot!

Palin-bots form support groups to help each other get over disappointment that their idol quit on them yet again.

Courtesy of ABC News:

Sarah Palin’s most passionate supporters held an online forum today to assess what they should do going forward, now that the former Alaska governor has announced she won’t enter the GOP 2012 field. 

Participants of the forum, called Grizzlyfest, came together for three hours to praise Palin, plot how they will continue their grassroots political organizing in 2012, and how they will choose 2012 candidates after Palin stunned the group last month when she announced she would not seek the GOP nomination. The running theme of the event was that despite their chosen candidate’s decision, they will stay active in conservative politics. 

Josh Painter, who runs the blog Texans for Sarah Palin, acknowledged that many supporters he knew were still “coming out of shock” at Palin’s decision, but that Grizzlyfest was an “excellent opportunity” to assess “where we are and where we are going.” 

The forum at times sounded like a support group aimed at re-energizing the group who had devoted so much time to supporting Palin — some even moving to early states to campaign for the non-candidate — convinced she would run for president.

Wow, that is just sad. 

But what can I say? We tried to tell these morons what was about to happen to them, and in response they called us "haters" and told us "You'll see, when she announces YOU will be the ones eating your words!"

Uh huh. Well you just can't help some people.

Anyhow I took dip in the Sea O'Pee for the first time in a month or so, just to see how this "Grizzlyfest" thing came off, and stumbled onto this bit of comedy gold:

We just wanted everyone to know that Governor Palin tried really hard to call into the Grizzly Fest Summit today. Unfortunately, there is an issue with Blog Talk Radio that we didn’t know about previously. Alaskans cannot get through to Blog Talk Radio shows (which is the format we used for Grizzly Fest) using the normal line that those of us in the lower-48 use. Due to technical difficulties, Governor Palin was unable to join us but it wasn’t for lack of trying. As I said, she did try and for a long time I might add. Please note that we were able to talk to Chuck Heath Jr. in Alaska because we called him. 

To those of you who asked whether Governor Palin was the “mystery guest” for the third hour, you are correct. That was who we were waiting for to wrap up the summit.

I'm sorry what?  The "Blog Talk Radio" cannot be used by Alaskans?  Well isn't that a rather ironic coincidence?

Not to be a skeptic, but if they could call Chuck Jr. why could they not have also called the Palin household? And if she has not deigned them important enough to share her home number with them, couldn't Chuck have called on their behalf? He is her brother after all.

Because, and once again trying not to be a skeptic here, it kind of sounds like she blew them off, like she has blown off so many before them, and they are just making excuses to cover up for the fact that she considers them insignificant annoyances that she no longer has any use for.

As a matter of fact, I would be willing to bet that she actually spends more time monitoring THIS blog, then she ever spends visiting the Sea O'Pee.

I mean let's be serious, if you are REALLY talking about "defunct" websites, then I think the Sea O'Pee certainly meets that criteria. Don't you agree?

Do you know how the GOP Presidential candidates are always talking about repealing Obamacare if they get elected? Yeah, you know not so much!

"Did you promise to repeal Obamacare on Day One? Yeah me too! Idiots will believe anything!"

Courtesy of Bloomberg Businessweek:

The Republicans competing for the White House can agree on one thing: They all say they’ll get rid of Barack Obama’s health-care law. Mitt Romney says it will be his first official act. On Day One as President, he’ll issue waivers to all 50 states so they can disregard the law’s requirements, he said in the Oct. 11 GOP debate in New Hampshire. “I also say we have to repeal Obamacare, and I will do that on Day Two.” 

No, he won’t. It’s a killer applause line for Republican audiences, but scrapping the Affordable Care Act would not be nearly as straightforward as Romney and his White House rivals make it sound. 

Let’s say Romney wins the election. As President, he wouldn’t have the power to issue an executive order abolishing the health-care law. Instead, he hopes to exploit a provision in the existing statute allowing states to seek waivers if they set up health-care programs that provide coverage similar to the federal government’s. Romney says he’ll grant such waivers to every state right away. 

It’s not that simple. Under the law, the state waivers don’t take effect until 2017. Romney can issue them early—they just won’t do anything. There is nothing in the statute that would let Romney issue blank-check waivers immediately, says Robert Laszewski, president of Health Policy & Strategy Associates, an insurance industry consulting firm. “You can’t make up the law as you go along.” 

Lanhee Chen, Romney’s policy director, says the campaign is trying to figure out if there’s a way to move that date forward or to bypass the law’s requirements before 2017. Even if that’s not possible, Chen says the waivers still have value. “If states got the waivers at the start of the Romney Administration, they would be able to make appropriate plans,” he says. “We believe it’s important to pursue a state-based approach that focuses on health-care costs and gives states the power and the flexibility to do what’s best for their citizens.” 

Congress could pass a bill moving up the date of the waivers, but that won’t happen before the election. Senators Scott Brown (R-Mass.) and Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who has pushed for states to write their own reforms, are trying to shift the effective date of the waivers to 2014. So far the plan hasn’t gone anywhere—and won’t as long as Democrats control the Senate—which means Romney’s chances of delivering on his promise to let states opt out on Day One are essentially zero. Says Joseph Antos, a health policy analyst with the conservative American Enterprise Institute: “It’s going to be a Biblical Day One, which could last several years.”

What? The Republicans are lying to their constituents and making promises they cannot possibly keep.

Shocked!  That's what I am, shocked!

And here's the funny thing, President Obama has known they can't do a damn thing all along. He is just waiting for the general election to rub it in the face of whoever gets stuck being the GOP candidate.

Sucks for you Romney!

President Obama proves he's a socialist by offering free handouts to children.

Well I guess there is not denying it now, since the whole thing was caught on video.

It looks to me like the President was thoroughly enjoying himself.

(H/T to The Obama Diary.)

P.S. On a personal note I have to admit that I LOVE Halloween, and have spent much of my free time watching horror marathons on cable. It kind of interferes with a my blogging a little as I am always distracted by what is about to jump out and get the teenagers on my TV.

It's about time. Herman Cain gets the bad lip reading treatment.

"It's like needles come through grapes now, and I refuse to eat 2,000 beans to build trust in these crazy cyborgs!"

Damn, these things crack me up! I understand they would like to do the same for Sarah Palin, but really why bother?

Where are you in the 7 billion?

This tool will allow you to find where you fit in the more than 7 billion people currently populating this overcrowded planet.

I was number 3,019,000,552 and I was flabbergasted to see how steeply the population grew after my arrival on this orb in 1960.

Personally I do not understand how anybody who is aware of these numbers, and the rapidity with which the population is growing, could advocate that EVERY child conceived should be born, or argue AGAINST sex education or readily available birth control.

The population is expected to grow to over 9 billion by the year 2070, yet these conservatives seem to believe that if an egg becomes fertilized then everything must be done to add that potential human to the huge mob overrunning this planet and decimating its resources, even if the mother thinks otherwise.

That just seems unbelievably ignorant, arrogant, and fatally short sighted in my view.

Some much needed good news for the 2012 elections.

Courtesy of Public Policy Polling:

On Thursday, the House Majority PAC released 12 polls in 12 targeted Republican House districts in the states of Arkansas, California, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Each of the House districts polled has completed the redistricting process. The polls were conducted between October 19-23rd by Public Policy Polling (PPP). 

These post-redistricting polls demonstrate that Democrats will have a slew of opportunities as we seek to pick up 25 seats and win back the House including against Republicans who previously had safe districts. 

“These polls illustrate that Republican incumbents running in swing districts across the country are in serious trouble and Republican control of the House is in serious jeopardy,” said Alixandria Lapp, Executive Director of the House Majority PAC. “Come next November, voters will hold House Republicans accountable for failing to fight for middle class families.”

I am by NO means convinced that this gives us anything except the slimmest of chances to start electing to Congress real competent progressive lawmakers. But any chance is better than no chance, and this is definitely our chance to clean up the mess made by the Teabaggers who were elected in 2010, and start the process moving forward again.

I have long believed that if the President can rely on strong Democratic support during his second term he might just have the opportunity to be the kind of President that even the most left wing of the party have wanted him to become.

Personally I am pretty impressed so far, but there are a number of policies that I desperately want changed, and problems I desperately want solved.  If the President can deliver on a significant portion of them, then the Dems might in fact have a better than even shot at holding onto the office in 2016 as well.

But don't forget the Teabaggers and their corporate sugar daddies are prepared to throw truckloads of money into these upcoming elections, and to smear everybody that emerges from the liberal left within an inch of their lives. So we are going to have to do a lot more than just show up on election day, we are going to have to get involved NOW!

Sarah Palin's message to fellow Wasilla High student from 1981, pretty much sums her up in a nutshell if you ask me.

According to Jezebel.com THIS was a young Sarah Palin's message to a fellow Wasilla Warrior in their yearbook.

How many times have we seen a similar mixed message from Palin?

Here we have the now familiar mean girl sexually tinged name calling, followed by clearly facetiously stated good wishes, with a judgmental bookend remark aimed at insinuating a decadent lifestyle. And to top it all off Sister Sarah then adds a mocking Christian sign off. (I believe in the parlance of the Wasilla Assembly of God, that is Chistian-speak for  "Fuck You!")

And people wonder why those living in Wasilla have such terrible things to say about her.

Go figure.

"I can't believe that jerk off  showed them my signature in his yearbook. Well what do you expect from a flippin' drunk?"

State of Alaska drops charges against Schaeffer Cox and his fellow murderous militia members.

Michael O. Anderson

Courtesy of Fairbanks News Miner:

The state of Alaska is dismissing all charges against five Fairbanks-area defendants in the “241” murder conspiracy case. Federal charges against four of the defendants remain in place. 

The decision is based on a recent court ruling that keeps prosecutors from using secret FBI recordings made without a search warrant. The charges against militia leader Schaeffer Cox and the others cannot be refiled in state court, Assistant District Attorney Dwayne McConnell said. 

The dismissed charges include many of the most serious charges, including conspiracy to commit murder. State prosecutors had alleged all five defendants were participating in a plan to kill Alaska State Troopers and state court officials. 

All of the five defendants except Michael O. Anderson remain jailed without bail on separate federal charges. As of 1 p.m. today, Anderson remained in custody at Fairbanks Correctional Center, according to the jail’s records, although the dismissal appears on the Alaska Court System website. Anderson faces no other criminal charges in state court, according to the website. 

Leave it up to Alaska to err on the side of the criminal once again.

Makes me wonder who might be pressuring who to let these assholes off the hook. Don't forget that Cox has been linked to Joe Miller, Sarah Palin, and even Congressman Don Young.

Just three days ago four more of his supporters were arrested for tax evasion in Washington. And thanks to the internet his videos have attracted even more batshit crazy followers since his arrest. He, and his followers, are clearly a danger to law enforcement professionals, his fellow Alaskans, and anybody who helped the Federal government build their case against him.

My source called yesterday to tell me that the Feds were caught completely flat footed by the state, and had no idea they were about to drop the charges.

I am also told that the Federal charges are very strong, and that all, except Michael Anderson (The man who gathered the information on the potential victims), will remain locked up until the Federal trial.

Apparently the Feds are also trying to keep Anderson behind bars as well, but it is not looking real good at this time.

I think this is a pretty good way to close out our Friday. Don't you?

Psst, can you keep a secret? Good, because I have chapter three of "The Wild Ride" for you to read. But remember, don't tell Sarah!

"Dammit! I thought I stopped this book?"

I will not bore with all of the drama that has erupted around the release of this book (actually to be honest I CAN'T bore you it yet), but have no fear as it is still on track to be released in the very near future. 

There are still last minute pieces of information being added and some behind the scenes dealings with the assholes currently trying to keep it out of your hands. But I have been assured that, come hell or high water, the book is ABSOLUTELY going to be released!

I have been very fortunate to have read seven chapters so far, and personally I am psyched!

I asked if I could share some of it with you and was told that I could, but that I needed to avoid giving away the more hush hush portions.  So I chose to share Chapter Three which is an overview of the mountain of evidence that leaves no doubt that Palin faked her last pregnancy, and then offers the pathetic excuses offered by Palin-bots to refute that evidence.

So with no further ado, let me present Chapter Three of The Wild Ride entitled "The Devil's Details."

"I'm telling you a lie in a vicious effort that you will repeat my lie over and over until it becomes true" – Lady Gaga 

There are multiple irregularities in Palin's pregnancy story and birth history. Some of these irregularities are simply curious (for example, her abruptly canceling her security detail less than 24 hours before she went to Texas on April 16th, and taking only Todd) and others border on the inexplicable (for example, the failure of the flight attendants to notice that she was pregnant as she returned to Alaska on April 18th,, in spite of the fact that a photo allegedly taken only five days earlier showed an advanced stage of pregnancy.) 

Any of these taken alone might be no more than an odd footnote retained in the memory of a few Alaskans. However, when all the anomalies are taken together, presented coherently, and dissected matter-of-factly, one gets a story that becomes so unlikely, so implausible, and so bizarre that it defies all statistical odds that it might be true. 

Okay, I'll bite. What emotion does THIS picture of Sarah Palin evoke?

In response to this post I put up early this morning (And which you can see by scrolling down to the first post of the day) some super-duper Palin supporter decided to call me out for not being fair.

Anonymous said... 

The Sarah I know and love, such heart and soul. 

http://sarahpalinandcommondecency.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/308397_275904595769973_100000513049736_1089752_6876319_n.jpg 

If you'd pull your head OUT of your armpit and live a non-judging, decent life that doesn't revolve around listening to a bunch of jealous liars, YOUD see her for who she REALLY is too, someone you'd adore. 

3:06 AM

First I would like to point out that my post had NOTHING to do with Sarah Palin. (And in fact I did not write anything about her all day yesterday.) Second I would like to point out that the post this is in response to went up at 3:00 AM, and that the above comment arrived SIX MINUTES LATER! Almost as if somebody was carefully monitoring my blog, just waiting for the opportunity to slam an anti-Palin post.

I assume when nothing materialized they just got bored and decided to defend her anyhow by sending a picture and comparing her interactions with children to the President's.

So okay, if they REALLY think I am being unfair to Palin, by NOT mentioning her or posting her picture, let me rectify that.

You can scroll down two posts to see the picture of our President with the little girl which I posted earlier, and then come back and compare it to THIS picture.

Now let me pose the same question about this picture, that I posed about that Obama picture:  

So tell me, what do you feel? 

There you go little Palin fairy tale troll, are you happy now?

Lawrence O'Donnell takes on Mississippi's Initiative 26, which if passed might make illegal the use of In Vitro Fertilization and birth control.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I have to say that the pro-Initiative 26 advertisement that O'Donnell started this segment with, REALLY creeped me out in a major way. The idea that life begins at conception is a purposeful oversimplification of what constitutes "life." It is the first, and obvious step, towards completely removing a woman's control over her own body.

The Democratic lawmakers in Mississippi will absolutely regret letting this initiative pass. And so ultimately will the women of Mississippi.

Leaders should inspire. Clearly this one does.

I stared at this picture for quite a long time yesterday.  As I did I was somewhat amazed at the number of emotions that it evoked within me.

For me it is just one of those pictures that the more you look at it, the more it says.

Which got me to wondering if it had that same effect on everybody.

So tell me, what do you feel?

Progressive Democrats deliver 30,000 petitions of support for the 99% percent to Speaker Boehner's office, only to find that he will not allow access.

I cannot say I am at all surprised to see the John Boehner chooses to hide behind his female aides rather than to come out and face the people who he is supposed  to be representing. Lately it seems that the color that best represents the Republicans is not red, it's yellow.

You can add your voice to those supporting the 99% by signing the petition at this link.

Courtesy of Rolling Stone Magazine: "Rick Perry: Best Little Whore in Texas."

Oh this is good stuff!

Matt Tiabbi does not hold back in his evisceration Perry as a candidate, nor does he hold back on his denouncement of a campaign with the same ethical standards employed by a two dollar crack whore on the streets of Laredo.

Here is just a taste from the pages of Rolling Stone:

By the time Perry shows up, I'm jazzed and ready for history. You always want to remember the first time you see the possible next president in person. But as every young person knows, the first time is not always a pleasant experience. Perry lumbers onstage looking exceedingly well-groomed, but also ashen and exhausted, like a funeral director with a hangover. 

In a voice so subdued and halting that I think he must be sick, he launches into his speech, which consists of the following elements: a halfhearted football joke about Texas A&M that would have embarrassed a true fan like George W. Bush, worn bromides about liberals creating a nanny state, a few lines about jobs in Texas, and a promise to repeal "as much of Obamacare as I can" on his first day in the White House. 

"I will try," he says, "to make Washington, D.C., as inconsequential in your life as I can." 

Then he waves and walks offstage. The whole thing has taken barely 10 minutes. 

I can't believe it, and neither can the assembled crowd of Georgia conservatives, who hesitate before breaking into polite applause. I feel like a high school cheerleader who just had her leg jizzed on in the back of a convertible. That's it? It's over? That was Rick Perry's stump speech? 

"Low energy, low substance," sighs Justin Ryan, one of the conference attendees. "That's sort of the candidate in general." 

But this is America, remember, where one should never underestimate shallow. And Rick Perry brings shallow to a new level. He is very gifted in that regard. He could be the Adolf Hitler of shallow. 

Oh yeah!  That's the stuff!

I will not give away any more of this brilliant article so you are going to have to click the link and read it for yourself.  Trust me, you will not be disappointed.

For the more adventurous and hardy among you I present a seven minute You Tube video of Rick Perry campaign commercials, which plays kind of like a John Wayne inspired snuff film for brain cells.

How far did you make it?

I am vaguely proud to reveal that I managed to watch the whole thing, from his early days as a male model type right off the pages of Rent Boy, to his time flogging sausages while running for Agriculture Commissioner, right through his George Bush mini-me period while running for Lt. Governor, to his campaign for Governor where he pretended to care about eduction, teacher pay, and health care.

Yep essentially what I learned is that Rick Perry loves him some political props, whether they be horses, small children, his carefully made up and coiffed beard wife, or a thick juicy piece of succulent sausage.

Rick Perry, realizing he "don't talk good," may decide to skip future debates. How...Presidential of him?

Apparently this is not the first time Perry has refused to debate.

Courtesy of CBS News:

There appears to be consensus in the Rick Perry campaign that skipping some future debates may be the best strategy for the Texas governor. 

In an interview Wednesday with CNN's John King, Perry's communications director Ray Sullivan said it would be impossible for Perry to participate in all of the remaining debates scheduled to take place before the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses. 

"There have been eight Republican debates, we've done five," Sullivan said. "There are somewhere around 18 debates pending. There is no way to do all of them, particularly as the elections are rapidly approaching in Iowa and New Hampshire." 

Earlier in the day, another Perry spokesman, Mark Miner, made a similar comment to Politico, saying that with primaries and caucuses around the corner, "you have to use your time accordingly." 

Perry, who frequently self-deprecates his skills as a debater, on Tuesdaytold Bill O'Reilly that he might have made a mistake participating in the debates because they were designed to spur fighting among the candidates. In his campaigns for Texas governor, Perry was known for ducking debates. Perry and his advisers are chafing over the time debate preparations are taking for him chance to interact with voters -- or donors. 

Both Miner and Sullivan said that Perry would participate in the next debate, set for Nov. 9 in Michigan. But afterwards, neither advisor is making promises about where Perry will or won't participate.

So essentially Perry is taking a page right out of he Sarah Palin "playbook for success."

I believe it says on page one: "Avoid standing next to more competent politicians on the stage, and discussing things you simply will NEVER understand. But if you have no choice, make sure to wink a lot and call them 'Joe'."

Lets' face it Perry, who barely has a chance NOW of beating Romney, will have NO chance if he drops out of the debates early. I mean come on, he should at least go down fighting!

What do they say in Texas? Oh yeah, "Remember the Alamo!"

It kind of shames the memories of those fine, brave, testosterone driven Texans, who refused to surrender right up until a Mexican bayonet plunged through their breastbone, for Rick Perry to go hide under his bed at the thought of having to stand on a stage and explain to the American people that he is NOT just a dipshit from Texas, and that if they will give him the chance he can lead this country with the same competence on display during the George W. Bush administration.

And who doesn't want to see a return to that?

Besides, how bad was Perry's debate performance really?

You know, maybe Perry has a point.

After their acts of aggression toward the protestors the other day the Oakland police might have a serious problem. A problem with members of the United States Marine Corps!

Courtesy of Business Insider:

Marines around the world are outraged by the injuries inflicted by police on Scott Olsen at Tuesday's Occupy Oakland protests. 

The following picture is taken from the Reddit thread "How I feel, as a United States Marine, about what occurred in Oakland." 

This man is not alone. In the five hours since the thread went up there have been over 600 comments. 

The overreaction by the Oakland police may turn out to be a turning point in the OWS movement. The outpouring of anger directed at the police has come from all quarters, and it has been matched by reinvigorated support for the protestors.

Rachel Maddow helps to put these protests in a historical perspective.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The revolution has begun.

Stripped of their culture, their way of life, and even their very identity, for many Alaskan natives suicide represents a sweet release from constant emotional pain.

The following is an excerpt from testimony provided by Evon Peter a former Neetsaii Gwich’in chief, and submitted to the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, which I found over at the Alaska Dispatch.

This is only an excerpt and I strongly urge you to read the rest by clicking the link.

I should also warn you that this may be difficult for some to read this early in the day, and I apologize ahead of time for your emotional discomfort. However I believe that if you truly want to understand the complicated situation facing the Native people of Alaska that you must hear what Chief Peter bravely shared with the Senate.

Within my culture, we speak from personal experience because that is the story we know best. Our stories shape who we are and reflect the learnings we have garnered about life. They also enable us to identify our relationships to one another. Additionally, in order to fully address the complexity of suicide in Alaska Native communities, time must be taken to briefly detail a history of colonization. This history may not initially seem relevant, yet is inextricably connected to the breakdown of the cultural, political, spiritual, and social fabric that sustained Alaska Native peoples for thousands of years prior to western colonization. 

Research has shown that colonization is one of the single largest factors driving the abnormally high suicide rates within an Indigenous population.1 Therefore, in order to fully engage in the battle against suicide in Alaska Native communities it is crucial to ask a couple questions: Just what is colonization? And how has the colonization of Alaska impacted Alaska Native populations historically and in the current time? I will attempt to answer parts of these questions through sharing with you part of my story, how I am here before you today. 

I was born to a Gwich’in and Koyukon mother and a Jewish father. I lost my father to divorce when I was five and I did not see him again before he died, for these reasons I was raised as a Gwich’in person from my earliest memories. But my story begins further back; my grandmother was adopted at a young age after losing her parents to disease -- one of several diseases that had caused a great number of deaths among Alaska Native people between 1870 and 1950. As a child, following the adoption, my grandmother was sexually abused by men in her new community, and she did not realize until adulthood that this was not a normal part of what childhood was supposed to be. This later weighed heavily on her relationship with my grandfather and their ability to raise my aunts, uncles, and mother in a secure and openly loving way. 

Like many Alaska Native people of my grandmother and mother’s generation, my mother endured the emotional, psychological, spiritual, cultural, and physical duress of a rapid transition from a traditional way of life on the land to the 21st-century “city life.” Federal policy and practices, implemented through schools and some churches, enforced the assimilation of Native peoples through the direct and indirect eradication of rights, language, culture, and philosophy. My mother’s generation was born into a world that immediately told her, both in popular culture and in government policies, that she must change. 

The policies and practices of colonization brought with them the social illnesses of sexual abuse, alcoholism, and neglect, which can be passed from one generation to the next. This is often referred to as intergenerational trauma, which equates to an experience of post-traumatic stress disorder among many Alaska Native people. In many ways, my mother’s generation was born with the scars of assaults carried out in previous generations of our ancestry as the colonizing culture attempted the eradication of who we are and the undermining of our control over our destiny as a people. 

These multiple layers of stress and pain associated with generations of assault, abuse, and loss are all too easily numbed with alcohol and drugs. Yet drugs and alcohol do not heal the pains, they amplify it. Alaska Native communities have seen an epidemic of drug and alcohol abuse, which has resulted in continuations of the cycles of social illness and suicides. My family has not been immune to this; my story, until recently, was not an exception to this cycle.

As I stated before there is much, much more and if you have been moved by what you read so far, I urge you to continue reading over at Alaska Dispatch.

Now as many of you may, or may not, know I have written about the shameful history of how the Alaskan natives were treated before, as well as the racism that many of them face on the streets of Anchorage today.

As a Caucasian living in Alaska, this topic brings me great shame, and through my job I have found myself dealing with the fallout that has resulted from this complete lack of respect for our indigenous people more times than I can count.

Chief Peter is absolutely correct in identifying the forced assimilation of the native people as the key factor in understanding why they are taking their lives in such overwhelming numbers today.

This started with the missionaries who came to Alaska to teach the "savages" the loving message of Jesus Christ, and in so doing gave the children in their care Biblical names because their native names felt pagan and wrong to the ears of the nuns and missionaries who ran the schools.

Later these schools would be replaced with more secular schools, but the abuse continued.

When American style schools were started in Alaskan communities, the idea was to wipe out Native culture - to undermine connections with spiritual worlds, lands and waters, and to break the feelings of individuals and groups that are the essence of a culture. The agenda was to "civilize the Natives" and to make them more like the white settlers. Any beliefs that Natives had that involved understanding the world differently, or defining their place in the world as separate and apart from the white settlers was not allowed in school. English only language policies were strictly enforced, and punished anyone speaking in a Native language. Those policies erased Native languages from schools and from some communities as well. Schools disparaged Native language, food, dress and customs. At the same time the curriculum of the schools and the teachers taught students to view the world from a Western point of view. Policies were aimed at the hearts of students. Feelings of inferiority and shame were associated with things Native. Good grades and rewards were associated with things Western. This was a tough message delivered by a powerful system. 

I don't know how anybody can read that last paragraph and not feel incredible pain for the way these amazing human beings  were treated. We owe the indigenous people of my state more than we can ever repay, and I believe the suggestion that Evon Peter made at the end of his written testimony was more than fair.

I would like to suggest that an equal, if not greater, scale of investment that was put into eradicating our cultures and assimilating Alaska Native peoples into western ways be invested into healing, wellness, and leadership development to help us recover.

Considering how wealthy the state of Alaska has become off of the oil retrieved from the land these proud people once called home, and how inhumane they were treated in the not too distant past, don't you think we owe them at least this much?

A graphic that clearly explains the GOP's strategy of sabotage. Update!

Click to enlarge image.

Update: If you click here you can see an enlarged version of the graphic. I apologize that it was so hard to read. 

Iraq veteran injured by projectile during Oakland protests. Update!

Courtesy of the Associate Press:

A clash between Oakland police and Occupy Wall Street protesters left an Iraq War veteran in critical condition Wednesday after a projectile struck him in a conflict that came as tensions intensified over demonstrators' encampments across the San Francisco Bay Area. 

Scott Olsen, 24, suffered a fractured skull Tuesday in a march with other protesters toward City Hall, said Dottie Guy, of the Iraq Veterans Against the War. The demonstrators had been making an attempt to re-establish a presence in the area of a disbanded protesters' camp when they were met by officers in riot gear. 

Several small skirmishes broke out and officers cleared the area by firing tear gas after police say protesters threw rocks and bottles at them. It's not known exactly what type of object struck Olsen in the chaos, though Guy's group alleges it was a police projectile. 

Multiple attempts to reach Oakland police by The Associated Press were unsuccessful ahead of a late afternoon news conference. Guy said also it wasn't immediately clear whether Olsen, a network administrator in Daly City, would need surgery. "It's still too early to tell," Guy said. "We're hoping for the best."

As it turns out the Mayor clearly realized that this incident did not make her police force look very good and offered an olive branch of sorts:

Oakland city officials are allowing Occupy Wall Street protesters back into a plaza where police raided and cleared a 15-day-old encampment, but they will continue prohibiting people from spending the night there. 

Mayor Jean Quan announced the conciliatory gesture Wednesday, hours after officers in riot gear clashed with and fired tear gas at demonstrators who had tried to re-establish the disbanded camp. 

Quan says Oakland supports the protesters' goals, but had to act when a small number of them threw rocks, paint and bottles at the police.

If indeed the Oakland police support the protests, you would think they would exercise extreme caution before firing projectiles of ANY kind into a crowd of Americans protesting on their behalf.

I worry that as these protests continue we will see more incidents like this which might cause some gatherings to escalate into actual riots, which of course would totally feed right into the meme that is currently being created by the Right Wing to dismiss these protestors as radicals determined to wreak havoc, cause vandalism, and physically attack authority figures.

I still want them to continue, and totally support the protestors, but I think perhaps they might start to prepare to kick troublemakers out and police their groups in order to keep local law enforcement from finding an excuse to do it THEIR way.

If there are any protestors reading here I would like to know if efforts have been made to anticipate and deal with participants who might get caught up in the moment and do something to invite aggression from the police. Because I have to say that it is starting to look like the police in a number of these cities are losing their patience, and might start looking for ANY reason to disperse these crowds while using increasing aggressive measures to achieve that result.

Update: I just received this video in my e-mail.  I think it provides some very disturbing perspective on what happened to Iraq vet Scott Olsen in Oakland today. It is hard to argue that this incident was accidental if the police are caught on film throwing tear gas canisters directly AT the protestors.

For those of you who missed President Obama on Leno last night.

Click here to watch the entire interview.

I thought the President did a good job of delivering his political message, telling the American public that he was still working for them, and demonstrating his sense of humor as well.

And for those of you who are especially drawn to the humanity of our President you should know that he also found time to do this earlier in the day.

Courtesy of SF Gate:  

Moments after landing at San Francisco International Airport on Air Force One, Obama greeted San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee before making a beeline to a crowd of well-wishers on the tarmac. 

Obama spotted 6-month-old Josie Knight, who was crying while being held by her mother, Gina Odom, 37, of Oakland. Odom, a real estate agent who had received an invitation to meet Obama, had dressed her daughter in her prettiest pink outfit for the occasion. 

"It's OK," the president said repeatedly, taking the squalling infant into his arms. 

The baby didn't seem to know what was going on and cried for a moment longer before calming. Obama bounced gently and held her for about 10 seconds before flashing a smile and returning her to Odom. 

To be honest I have always REALLY disliked the artificiality of the "politician kissing the baby"approach to campaigning. However it never feels that the President is doing this for show, but rather that he really just likes children. And clearly they really like him right back.

In my eyes that is a sign of character which NO amount of campaign money can artificially simulate.

Margaret Cho on Bristol Palin: "She has grown up to be quite a homophobic person. Where did that come from? " Anybody want to answer that question for Margaret?

Courtesy of The News Tribune:

On “Dancing With the Stars,” you had some conflict with Bristol Palin. What happened? 

She has grown up to be quite a homophobic person. Where did that come from? I knew she didn’t want to do the show. She’s really quite a private person. But Sarah Palin had forced her to because Sarah blamed her for losing the 2008 election. So I had to tell everybody about that because it’s really good gossip and it’s funny and it’s true. She got very furious with me, or actually her mother’s speech writer got really furious with me in a long, obtuse homophobic rant at me. I can’t believe Bristol would sign her name to that because first, she can’t read, and she doesn’t know that many words.

Okay that is not only funny but also completely accurate concerning Bristol's response to a posting on Cho's blog. For those who may have forgotten back then Margaret said the following:

Why did Bristol do Dancing with the Stars? I heard from someone who really should know (really should seriously know the dirt really really) that the only reason Bristol was on the show was because Sarah Palin forced her to do it. Sarah supposedly blames Bristol harshly and openly (in the circles that I heard it from) for not winning the election, and so she told Bristol she “owed” it to her to do DWTS so that “America would fall in love with her again” and make it possible for Sarah Palin to run in 2012 with America behind her all the way. Instead of being supposedly “handicapped” by the presence of her teen mom daughter, now Bristol is going to be an “asset” – a celebrity beloved for her dancing. I am sure the show wasn’t in on this (but who knows anything really). 

Although I don’t agree with the family’s politics at all, I really like Bristol as a person. She’s warm and incredibly supportive, and I think that she looks beautiful out on the dance floor. It’s heartbreaking that people are so awful to her about her weight. I think she looks fantastic, and why does everybody think they have a right to comment on our bodies? What are young girls going to take away from that? If people call her fat what kind of impact does that have on women who have similar body types – which is most of us??!! Still, it is a dance competition, and so I am sure that people feel they have the right to judge bodies and not just ability. That’s just wrong. 

Bristol is learning. She improved a lot, in my opinion. Her tango was fierce and really the best dance she did. You really do learn to dance in this competition! I am proud of her for shaking her ass! But keep in mind there are other forces at work here and it’s not just for the love of dance. 

Now I am scared I am going to wake up with a decapitated moose head in my bed.

Actually much of that is quite complimentary to Bristol, but since she dared to reveal a truth about why Bristol was on DWTS, which really pissed Bristol/Sarah/"The dark forces behind Sarah" off, clearly she needed to be taught a lesson and so Bristol/RAM/"The dark forces behind Sarah" responded on Bristol's fake Facebook page. Here is but a taste to give you some idea of the accuracy of Cho's statement in the interview:

Lawrence O'Donnell discusses the oddity that is Herman Cain and two of the strangest campaign ads of this political season.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

I actually was going to post that second ad yesterday, but had trouble coming up with anything coherent to write about it, and later just became too busy to go back and try again.

As you can see by Lawrence and Jonathon Capehart's response I was far from the ONLY person rendered speechless. I still contend that Herman Cain is a bright shiny object meant to distract us, and that he is only playing the part of a Presidential candidate, with no actual desire to even have the job. Essentially Sarah Palin in black face.

Meet the inspiration for the Occupy Wall Street movement, Elizabeth Warren.

Courtesy of the Daily Beast:

Elizabeth Warren is running for office in the most high-profile race in the country not involving Barack Obama. It’s a position that calls for some tact. So what does she think about the Occupy Wall Street protests that are roiling the country? 

“I created much of the intellectual foundation for what they do,” she says. “I support what they do.” 

Warren’s boast isn’t bluster: As a professor of commercial law at Harvard and the force behind Obama’s consumer-protection bureau, Warren has been one of the most articulate voices challenging the excesses of Wall Street. Still, she enjoys an outsize celebrity for an academic and bureaucrat: a favorite guest of Jon Stewart, Warren, 62, has become a hero to the left, a villain to the right, and a fascination for everyone in between. Now that she is challenging Massachusetts Republican Sen. Scott Brown, she has emerged this year as a poster child for what some of America loves, and an increasing swath of America hates, about the president. 

No one else has Warren’s gift to send the right into a sputtering frenzy.

I KNEW I liked these protesters!

Elizabeth Warren may end up being just about the best hope for the future of progressives in this country.

Which is surprising when you consider the following:

For all those quaking on the right at the sight of an ascendant Warren, rest easy. Warren’s no lefty. In fact, Warren was a registered Republican into her 40s. When it comes to ideology, Warren makes for a rotten heir to Kennedy. 

“I was a Republican because I thought that those were the people who best supported markets. I think that is not true anymore,” Warren says. “I was a Republican at a time when I felt like there was a problem that the markets were under a lot more strain. It worried me whether or not the government played too activist a role.” 

It wasn’t until later in life, when Warren was 46, that she had her political awakening. At the time, she was serving on a committee recommending changes to the nation’s bankruptcy laws. Until then, Warren says, “I said, ‘No, no, no, not for me on the politics.' ” 

Warren decided then, in 1995, she could no longer retreat into the ivory tower. “I can’t just leave this to people who are going to wreck the lives of millions of American families if they get the chance,” she says. “I waded in.”

You know there may be no better Democrat, than a reformed Republican. Warren is smart, fearless, and determined to make a positive change in this country. And if she is not completely deprogrammed from her conservative past she is certainly light years away from the anti-women's rights, anti-middle class, anti-intellectual conservatives that we have seen far too much of lately.

As far as I am concerned Warren embodies much of what I hope to see from future candidates in this country, regardless of which political party they emerge from. Especially potential candidates like Elizabeth Warren who clearly scares the hell out of the corporations who are pulling the puppet strings of the vast number of our current politicians, on BOTH sides of the partisan divide.

"Not Disappointed by President Obama" as explained by author Jake Lamar.

I don't think that there is anything I can add to Mr. Lamar's words.  He said it quite beautifully.

Supposedly liberal website predicts Sarah Palin victory in 2016.

This according to OpEd News:

SarahPAC went right on collecting cash while rumors swirled about whether or not the darling of the tea party would mount a 2012 presidential campaign. That continuing fund-raising convinced many politicos that Sarah Palin would enter the fray and fight for next year's GOP nomination. But by choosing not to run in 2012, Gov. Palin showed she was thinking one step ahead of most observers. As she told Greta Van Susteren, "I believe that at this time I can be more effective in a decisive role to help elect other true public servants to office." 

That is to say, if the GOP can simply prevent resounding Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, and keep President Obama's legislative agenda handcuffed, Palin will be in prime position to be elected our 45th president in November 2016. 

Despite a stagnant American economy and festering unemployment, President Obama is taking in more money --by a lot--than any of his Republican rivals. Is he vulnerable to defeat in 2012? Yes, vulnerable. But between his burgeoning campaign warchest and the flagging popularity of those on both sides of the aisle, the smart money is still on his likely re-election. A pragmatic Sarah Palin knows it isn't time to strike. Nominees only get one shot in the general, and she doesn't want to waste hers now. She sees that 2016 could very well be a Republican cakewalk if the GOP plays its cards right, and that is where she has her laser focus.

So long as Democrats do not both have control of the House as well as 60 Senators, and it seems a near-certainty they will not, Republicans should be able to prevent President Obama from accomplishing any of his policy initiatives. So long as his attempts to repair a flailing economy are frustrated, and high unemployment rates are strategically maintained, the court of public opinion will deem his an unproductive, ineffective eight years and the GOP nominee will coast to a 2016 victory in much the way Obama did in 2008. 

Gov. Palin knows the winning play is also the patient one. It should be relatively easy, with the political savvy House and Senate Republicans have already shown they possess, to continue hamstringing President Obama's stabs at the "hope and change" he sold to voters in 2008. 

A patriot like Sarah Palin knows the national political stage is set for a patient pragmatist. And in about five years President Palin will be rewarded. 

This is the kind of talk that literally makes my head feel like it will explode. And supposedly this is from a LIBERAL website!

OpEd News describes itself as "progressive, tough, and liberal."  However perhaps they should focus on being "intelligent, well researched, reality based." 

I am in absolute agree that if the progressives don't pull their collective heads out of their collective asses and help elect some good Democrats for the Congress and Senate in 2012, that the Repugs will DEFINITELY play "rope-a-dope" with the President until 2016.

And YES that means their candidate, whoever that may be, will have their best chance ever of taking back the White House.

However the idea that Palin will be able to take advantage of that opening is laughable on its face.

Number one the Republicans are NEVER going to throw away such a golden opportunity to get a strong, intelligent, conservative into office after Obama's second term. And those qualifications leave the Grizzled Mama completely out in the cold.

Second in another five years the vile old crone will look like a dried up old prune, and the only thing that got her any national attention at all, her looks, will no longer even be enough to get her a free drink at closing time in the Mugshot Saloon in Wasilla.

And third what the hell is this talk about a "patient pragmatist?"

Do they know NOTHING about Sarah Palin?

The woman is one of the most impulsive, over reactive, and careless people to ever ever into the world of politics. Which makes me believe that the author of this piece, Rico Rhodes, must either be joking, high, or both.

I mean seriously, what the hell is wrong with some people? Are they TRYING to give the children of America nightmares?

By the way, as you can imagine, this piece is sending the Palin-bots into an frenzy of excitement. Dip-shits.

A wake up call for those who believe that Republicans have a better shot at solving the job crisis than President Obama.

Courtesy of the Daily Kos:

Given that these Representatives were elected to pass job creation bills so needed by our country, what has the House been doing this past year? Well, mostly they have occupied themselves with a variety of social, moral, and value issues that concern (as noted above) only 2% of the American people. The Congressional Research Service ( CRS a non-partisan arm of Congress that tracks such things) offers an appalling look at our current Congress’ activities. They have introduced 44 bills on abortion (one just the other day reaffirming existing legislation on this subject). 99 on religion. 71 on family relationships. 36 on marriage. 67 on firearms and gun control. 552 on taxation—and though most were to reduce taxes, there have been no significant changes on tax law with all time invested and bills introduced. And finally a massive 445 bills on “government investigations”. 

There is a category labeled “job creation legislation” originated by Congress, and tracked by the CRS. In that category the CRS reported: “No bills at this time. The Congressional Research Service has not tagged any bills in the current session of Congress with this issue area”. If ever the analogy of “rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic” was apt, this is it!

And I am sure that I need not remind most of you that the reason for this terrible jobs market in the first place is the lingering devastation left over from one of the worst Republican administrations in American history, the Bush administration.

The Republicans have nothing to offer except either more of the same, or obstructionism for any Democratic program that might actually have a chance of easing the burden and ultimately solving the crisis.

There is an election coming soon my friends, so I hope we can put aside any doubts, or sense of disappointment, and start working to keep the GOP out of the Oval office to give ourselves at least some chance of finally getting our country up out of the ditch that George Bush drunkenly drove us into with the Republicans cheering him on.

If you can't beat them, join them. The embracing of "Obamacare."

Since the Republicans are in the business of relabeling anything they hate, or fear, the administration has decided to embrace the word "Obamacare" and cut through the mountain of misinformation to explain exactly what it does for Americans.

If you visit this website it will give you the rundown of ten things that "Obamacare" does to improve access to health care in this country.

One of the most important in my opinion is this one:

NO DENIAL OF COVERAGE BASED ON PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS. 

 In 2010, Obamacare made it illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage to children under the age of 19 based on a pre-existing condition. In 2014, insurance companies cannot refuse to sell coverage or renew policies to anyone based on a pre-existing condition.

That was a huge concession from the health care companies.  And yes I know it would all have been better if we could have done away with the insurance companies altogether and simply expanded Medicare for all, but the realists among us also realize that was not politically viable, and recognize the accomplishment that "Obamacare" represents.

Personally I always view health care reform as a work in progress.  I believe that President Obama has a long term goal which he is not sharing publicly, and if we can get him re-elected and provide a cushion of Democratic Congressional support for his plans, that we will see his end game play out before 2016.

Everybody mark November 5th on your calendars. It just might be a VERY big day in America.

Courtesy of Raw Story:

In a video statement carried recently by several official channels maintained by members of the hacker activist group “Anonymous,” a digitally generated voice explains that the online collective has decided to take down the Fox News website on Nov. 5th of this year. 

The date, Nov. 5, is significant for its dramatic placement in the film and comic book “V for Vendetta,” about a freedom-loving terrorist who destroys an authoritarian government that’s come to power in the U.K. “Remember, remember the 5th of November,” is his saying, hearkening back to the “Gunpowder plot” of 1604, in which the terrorist Guy Fawkes was captured and executed for his attempt to blow up Parliament. 

The mask used by the Guy Fawkes character in “V for Vendetta” has also become a ubiquitous symbol for “Anonymous.” 

To mark this 5th of November, the latest “Anonymous” video points to the network’s “continued propaganda against the occupations” as reason for vowing to “destroy the Fox News website.” 

“Since they will not stop ridiculing the occupiers, we will simply shut them down,” the digitized voice explains, adding that an Anonymous-driven “propaganda campaign” against Fox News would follow. 

“Fox News, your time has come,” it concludes. “Operation Fox Hunt. November 5th. May the hunt begin.”

I will admit to having conflicted feelings concerning "Anonymous,"  but if they can pull this off they will forever be heroes in my book.

In my opinion, considering the damage that Fox News has done to journalism, politics, and the future of our nation, NOTHING short of physical harm, or murder, should be considered off limits in taking them down.

By the way have any of you ever seen my avatar on Twitter?

A hint...

Remember, remember, the Fifth of November, 

the Gunpowder Treason and Plot. 

I know of no reason 

why the Gunpowder Treason 

should ever be forgot...