God, Guts, & Sarah Palin

I Have Moved

2011-03-29T08:21:00.002-05:00

Well, this is actually kind of sad. This will be my last post here at the old blogspot. I've copied most of my stuff over to my new digs, but this site will stay up as an archive. And I put up the old header again since that's what it was for most of the time over here. On the new site I figure I should try and match my url.

Join me at my new website here. Not that hard. Just drop the blogspot. :-)

(sniff) Bye old site:

The AP Issues a Blistering Fact-Check of Obama's Speech

2011-03-28T23:41:00.000-05:00

I do believe I'm grinning. So awesome to see the media do their job for once. AP:

Here is a look at some of Obama's assertions in his address to the nation Monday, and how they compare with the facts:

[...]

OBAMA: Seeking to justify military intervention, the president said the U.S. has "an important strategic interest in preventing Gadhafi from overrunning those who oppose him. A massacre would have driven thousands of additional refugees across Libya's borders, putting enormous strains on the peaceful - yet fragile - transitions in Egypt and Tunisia." He added: "I am convinced that a failure to act in Libya would have carried a far greater price for America."

THE FACTS: Obama did not wait to make that case to Congress, despite his past statements that presidents should get congressional authorization before taking the country to war, absent a threat to the nation that cannot wait.

"The president does not have the power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation," he told The Boston Globe in 2007 in his presidential campaign. "History has shown us time and again ... that military action is most successful when it is authorized and supported by the legislative branch."

Obama's defense secretary, Robert Gates, said Sunday that the crisis in Libya "was not a vital national interest to the United States, but it was an interest."

___

OBAMA: "And tonight, I can report that we have stopped Gadhafi's deadly advance."

THE FACTS: The weeklong international barrage has disabled Libya's air defenses, communications networks and supply chains. But Gadhafi's ground forces remain a potent threat to the rebels and civilians, according to U.S. military officials.

Army Gen. Carter Ham, the top American officer overseeing the mission, told The New York Times on Monday that "the regime still overmatches opposition forces militarily. The regime possesses the capability to roll them back very quickly. Coalition air power is the major reason that has not happened."

Only small numbers of Gadhafi's troops have defected to the opposition, Ham said.

At the Pentagon, Vice Adm. William Gortney, staff director for the Joint Chiefs, said the rebels are not well organized. "It is not a very robust organization," he said. "So any gain that they make is tenuous based on that."

___

OBAMA: "Some nations may be able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. The United States of America is different. And as president, I refused to wait for the images of slaughter and mass graves before taking action."

THE FACTS: Mass violence against civilians has also been escalating elsewhere, without any U.S. military intervention anticipated.

More than 1 million people have fled the Ivory Coast, where the U.N. says forces loyal to the incumbent leader, Laurent Gbagbo, have used heavy weapons against the population and more than 460 killings have been confirmed of supporters of the internationally recognized president, Alassane Ouattara.

The Obama administration says Gbagbo and Gadhafi have both lost their legitimacy to rule. But only one is under attack from the U.S.

Presidents typically pick their fights according to the crisis and circumstances at hand, not any consistent doctrine about when to use force in one place and not another. They have been criticized for doing so — by Obama himself.

In his pre-presidential book "The Audacity of Hope," Obama said the U.S. will lack international legitimacy if it intervenes militarily "without a well-articulated strategy that the public supports and the world understands."

He questioned: "Why invade Iraq and not North Korea or Burma? Why intervene in Bosnia and not Darfur?"

Now, such questions are coming at him.

Read the whole thing here.

Malia Litman Thinks Someone (Palin) Paid Me to Make a Video

2011-03-28T07:49:00.008-05:00

This is hilarious.

Check it out:

These videos demonstrate the fraud that was intentionally created and promoted by the Palin.

This Video, “Happy Anniversary Todd and Sarah” demonstrated the attempt to create the impression of a perfect couple. I guess that “fire in her belly to serve Alaska” burned out??!!!

These videos reveal the original impression created by the National Enquirer Story that was quashed by the fraudulent and misleading Press Release of the APD.

I'm not sure what she's trying to say here. "Palin" is kinda left hanging. Did she mean "Palin supporters" (she'd probably say "cult") or "the Palins"? Or maybe there's a strange creature known as "the Palin" that I just don't know about.

However, from the comments, I'm thinking she meant the Palins themselves were behind it:

ROFL

I made that video, what, two years ago? Almost. The Palin's anniversary was coming up and someone in the comments at C4P said that someone should make a video with "You're Still the One" as the music bed. I thought it was a good idea, and this was my attempt:

If Palin paid for that she should get her money back. Saaaappy. Still, I like it. Of course there are some things I would change now. Never completely satisfied with a project. There's also a link right to this blog in the video description. Wouldn't have taken that much detective work to figure out where it came from.

But in Malia's brain, a fan video (made by me) was all part of Palin's evil plan to make it look like she has a happy marriage, when in reality, she and Todd hate each other!!!!

For the record, the video cost nothing. All it took was a song, a Google image search, and Windows Movie Maker. But I certainly wouldn't turn down a few bucks. C'mon Sarah, where's my check? ;-)

This is my reward:

Screw you, Muslim Cleric!

2011-03-27T19:45:00.004-05:00

Or Mullah, random guy with an opinion, whatever you are:

When he starts talking down to her, don't you just want to kick him in the balls?

Oh, brother. A disturbing version of "Camptown Ladies" is now playing in my head.

"Kick the cleric in the balls,

"Doo-dah. Doo-dah...."

Catchy.

Ayers was Joking

2011-03-27T18:32:00.004-05:00

WND posted a story yesterday that has since been picked up by various places, including the American Thinker. (At least, I think that's how it started. WND is the first place I saw it. Too lazy to look it up further.) The proverbial "nail in the coffin."

"Ayers admits that he wrote Dreams from my Father!"

Watch the video:

I don't know about you, but to me, that was a joke. He was mocking the accusation that he wrote the book. The American Thinker describes it as -

Bill Ayers volunteered that yes indeed he had written the acclaimed Barack Obama memoir, Dreams from My Father....

Not surprisingly, Ayers retreated into irony as he ended the session. "Yeah, yeah," he said after confirming again that he wrote Dreams, "And if you help me prove it, I'll split the royalties with you. Thank you very much."

With his final comment, the Ayers-friendly audience laughed in relief. The media will laugh nervously upon seeing the video as well. The White House will not.

Um, no. The straight-face part was to set up the funny part, which he then delivered. Full joke.

Maybe American Thinker is right and this was a shot over Obama's bow:

As was obvious in his speech at Montclair, Ayers does not like the application of force in Libya, and this may have been his own way of retaliating. Consider it a shot across Obama's bow. The White House will.

It just doesn't look like that to me. But hey, I could be wrong.

Did Ayers write Dreams from my Father? I don't know. Don't really care which fruity guy wrote the fruity book. Although I fail to understand why the guy who bombed government buildings is allowed into a classroom. Why is he not in jail for the rest of his natural life?

It also never ceases to amaze me how Palin-haters are always accusing her of wanting to violently overthrow the government or some such horseradish and yet they loooooove Obama, the dude who kicked off his political career in the living room of a guy who wanted to violently overthrow the state, and actually blew stuff up in that attempt.

June 1974, the Weather Underground released a 151-page volume titled Prairie Fire, which stated: "We are a guerrilla organization [...] We are communist women and men underground in the United States [...]"

Ferraro on Palin - Video Compilation

2011-03-27T06:45:00.001-05:00

Via PalinTV:

Geraldine Ferraro was a liberal Democrat who disagreed with Governor Palin on most of the issues, was sometimes critical of Palin, and voted for Obama/Biden in 2008. However, she respected Palin as a fellow woman in politics. Here are some of the more positive things Ferraro had to say about Palin:

Photos of Palin and Ferraro at Fox together here.

Photos: Ferraro and Palin on Fox

2011-03-26T22:23:00.002-05:00

Click to "embiggen":

Governor Palin Talks to Koel Rinchet in India

2011-03-25T12:16:00.001-05:00

Governor Palin was interviewed for a talk show called "On the Couch with Koel" while she was in India.

Via PalinTV.

Mark Levin to Conservatives on Libya - "Come on boys and girls, let's get our thinking straight"

2011-03-23T07:47:00.000-05:00

Personally, I'm fine with us going in there and blowing up Mr. Creepy Face. But I hope we stick to doing it from the air. Enforce the no-fly zone, and that's it.

Without further ado, the Great One:

Sarah Palin Visits Israel - Day Two Roundup - Update IV

2011-03-21T19:54:00.012-05:00

CS Monitor:

In the first two years of Obama's tenure, diplomatic relations between the Jewish state and the US have been tense because of disagreements over the peace process with the Palestinians.

That makes prospective Republican challengers in 2012 even more attractive to leaders of Israel’s ideological right wing. During a tour of Israel a month and a half ago, Mr. Huckabee visited Jewish settlements in the West Bank with the figures from the Yesha Council, the umbrella leadership of the settlers. Yesterday, Palin toured the Western Wall tunnels in Jerusalem’s Old City with parliament member Danny Danon, a staunch advocate of the settlers.

"We have a lot of common ground,’’ said Mr. Danon, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party. "It is more important to have more Republican leaders coming to Israel and learning the issues with their own eyes. Leaders like them who support Israel unconditionally make for a great asset. We should support this relationship."

Israel National News:

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin concluded her visit to Israel on Monday by visiting Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his family. The Palin couple arrived at the Prime Minister’s official residence for a dinner which was defined as personal rather than political and was based on the Israeli cuisine.

Palin, who is known for her uncompromising support for the State of Israel, told Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, that she was received warmly by the Israelis and also told them all about her tour of the country, which included seeing sites in Jerusalem (such as the Kotel)and the Dead Sea. In most places, Palin saw firsthand the atmosphere of the holiday of Purim, and the Netanyahu couple told the potential candidate for President of the United States all about the Book of Esther and the traditions of Purim.

Before leaving, Palin signed the Prime Minister’s residence guestbook and wrote: “Such an amazing country! G-d bless you. May our connection continue to grow and strengthen.”

Guardian:

Sarah Palin apparently had second thoughts about crossing an Israeli checkpoint on Monday to visit Bethlehem during a three-day visit to Jerusalem.

The former governor of Alaska pulled up to the checkpoint run by the Israeli border police to the south of Jerusalem in a white people carrier, with her husband, Todd, her assistant and Israeli guides.

None of the occupants left the car nor did they speak to the police officers at the checkpoint, according to photographers at the scene. They then turned around and drove away. A spokesman for the Israeli police said there was no incident at the checkpoint and a spokesman for the Israeli army said that Palin's group had not co-ordinated a visit to the occupied Palestinian territory.

Palin's group then stopped at a nearby Greek Orthodox monastery before returning to her hotel in the centre of west Jerusalem from where they later continued their tour of the city.

Tourists need to carry passports to cross checkpoints into the occupied Palestinian territory and Israelis are not normally permitted to enter areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority, such as Bethlehem.

From the checkpoint Palin would have been able to see the high concrete walls that separate Bethlehem from Jerusalem.

Second thoughts, or since they hadn't talked to the Israel army to co-ordinate a visit, it's possible that there was no intention to go any further in the first place. "There's Bethlehem. There's the wall. Okay, now let's go see the rest of the country."

Profile of Palin's tour guide here.

Palin apparently plans to go back to Israel for a full week soon.

Jerusalem Post:

Former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her husband Todd concluded their brief first visit to Israel on Monday by meeting Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara at his official residence in Jerusalem.

Ahead of the meeting, Netanyahu’s office checked with Palin to see whether they could expand it to a full reception for her with other politicians and aides, but she politely declined.

In an effort to keep her visit as private as possible, Palin also declined all requests for interviews and did her best to avoid the media as she toured the Mount of Olives and Christian sites in Jerusalem on Monday.

Palin was due to leave Israel early Tuesday morning.

In private conversations, she vowed to return soon – for a full week – and said she would meet with more politicians and the media then.

J Street officials, who are in Israel for a meeting of the Knesset Diaspora Affairs Committee, complained on Monday that Netanyahu had refused a request to meet with them but had chosen to meet with Palin.

More pics here.

Update -
Pics via Danny Danon's FB page:

Caption:

Sarah Palin and I discussed U.S. policy in the Middle East peace process and Netanyahu’s upcoming political speech. On this topic I asked Palin to move the blame from PM Netanyahu to Abbas' leadership. “A leadership in which people can cut the throats of children in their sleep, it is that leadership that must prove that you can make peace with them. Obama's pressure on PM Netanyahu is hurtful to Israel and its citizens. "

Caption:

In the Western Wall tunnels

Someone also snagged a pic of Palin and posted it via Twitter.

Update II -

More via Daily Mail:

Palin told them she wouldn't be able to visit Nazarath or Bethlehem during her brief stay, but promised to be back.

The U.S former vice presidential candidate was later seen heading to Bethlehem when her vehicle suddenly turned around at an Israeli checkpoint.
Photographers at the scene said no one got out of the car before it went back in the direction of Jerusalem.

It is not clear why the decision was made to turn back. Bethlehem is under Palestinian control and Israelis need permission to enter it.
The Israeli military authority that coordinates West Bank access for foreign dignitaries confirmed it had received no request from Palin's team re a visit to the holy city of Jesus's birth, according to The London Independent.

[...]

A visit to Israel, a key U.S. ally, has become almost a rite of passage for potential Republican candidates at a time of strained relations between the U.S. and Israeli governments.

Israel is a key American ally in a volatile region and a top concern for Jewish voters and pro-Israel Christian groups in the U.S.

[...]

Netanyahu has had a rocky relationship with Mr Obama over Israel's settlement building in the West Bank and the lack of progress in peacemaking.

Danon said the Republican candidates' embrace of Israel offers an alternative to Mr Obama's combative approach.

Update III:

Great thoughts from the Legal Insurrection:

“Why are you apologizing all the time?”

With that single sentence made to her Israeli hosts, Sarah Palin demonstrated a greater understanding of the problems confronting Israel than the collective wisdom of all the J.D.'s, Ph.D's, and Masters of International Affairs in the Obama administration combined.

The question was profound, as simple as it were, because it addressed the narrative of perpetual Palestinian victimization and grievance.

The NY Times covers Palin's trip and can't resist reminding readers of all the negatives they can pack into one story:

She was accompanied by Danny Danon, a rightist deputy speaker of Parliament from the Likud Party and chairman of World Likud. Mr. Danon, a vocal proponent of settlement expansion and a sharp critic of the Obama administration, said on Monday that he and Ms. Palin discussed problems in the area relating to Muslims and the fact that Jews are barred from praying atop the Temple Mount.

He was referring to the plateau above the Western Wall revered by Jews as the site where their ancient temples once stood, and by Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary, the compound that now houses the Al Aksa Mosque and the golden Dome of the Rock.

Mr. Danon said in a telephone interview that he and Ms. Palin did not discuss the settlement issue. But he said that he told her about the deadly Palestinian riots that broke out after Israel opened an exit to the tunnel in the Via Dolorosa in 1996. Some 70 Palestinians and 17 Israeli soldiers were killed in the violence; Israel had opened the exit surreptitiously, without coordinating with the Muslim authorities, in an area that is religiously and politically sensitive. The Old City lies in territory that Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war. Israel annexed that part of Jerusalem after the war, but the move was never internally recognized.

[...]

Ms. Palin is strongly identified as the voice of the conservative Tea Partiers, some of whom want to cut American foreign aid, including to Israel, a major recipient.

That might give pause to many Israelis. But asked about the aid issue, Mr. Danon said that he had “not heard anything like that” from Ms. Palin.

If the author of that article had bothered to do a modicum of research, they would know that Palin supports aid to Israel. She has said so recently:

CBN discusses Palin's trip.

Great pieces at Commentary Magazine here and here.

Update IV:

PalinTV has a compilation of all the video coverage of Palin's trip to Israel here.

Morons

2011-03-21T18:36:00.002-05:00

So Kathy Griffin is joking about supposed death threats delivered to her by supposed Palin supporters.

Now, I personally don't know any Palin supporters who would do such a thing, but if you did, what are you, nuts?

I don't care if the woman is scum walking, you don't threaten to kill her. Morons.

Tammy Bruce: Palin Goes Abroad

2011-03-21T05:24:00.000-05:00

Tammy was generous enough to make this week's Palin Report public. This is a small snippet. You can listen to the whole report here.

And if you're not already a member, be sure to join the Tammy Army.

Palin Visits Israel Roundup

2011-03-20T19:15:00.001-05:00

Dektau:

Sporting what appears to be a necklace with the Jewish symbol of a Star of David, the Alaska resident visited the Western Wall, the holiest place where Jews can pray.

She also toured Jerusalem’s Old City and is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

“Israel is absolutely beautiful and it is overwhelming to see and touch the cornerstone of our faith and I am so grateful to be here,” the devout Christian told reporters. “I’m very thankful to know that the Israeli and American link will grow in strength as we seek peace along with you.”

Despite meeting with the country’s leader, she is technically traveling as a private citizen and has been coy about whether she hopes to be traveling as something other than that come 2012.

“I don’t think there needs to be a rush to get out there as a declared candidate,” she said earlier this week. “It’s a life-changing decision.”

Jerusalem Post:

Palin and her husband Todd arrived for a two-day visit on Sunday afternoon and toured the Western Wall and its adjacent tunnels. They will visit the Old City again on Monday, tour Gesthsemane and the Mount of Olives, and have dinner with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara at their official residence in Jerusalem.

[...]

World Likud chairman and Likud MK Danny Danon and Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz served as Palin’s tour guides on Sunday night. Palin was told that Jews were not allowed to pray openly on the Temple Mount and about the Arab riots that accompanied Netanyahu’s decision to authorize the creation of an exit from the Western Wall tunnels in 1996.

“Why are you apologizing all the time?” Palin asked her guides....

“It’s overwhelming to be able to see and touch the cornerstone of our faith,” Palin told reporters upon exiting the tunnels. “I’m so thankful to be able to be here, and I’m thankful to know the Israel-American connection will grow and strengthen as the peace negotiations continue.”

Rabinowitz said that Palin prayed at the point closest to the Holy of Holies and left a note with a personal prayer....“She said that she absolutely supports Israel and that America is the biggest friend that Israel has,” Rabinowitz said.

When Rabinowitz shared the story of Purim with Palin, she told him it was especially meaningful to be at the Kotel on Purim.

Danon said that Palin’s visit to the Western Wall Tunnels was very exciting.

“She really connected to the story of the Jewish nation,” Danon said. “She knows the material but there’s nothing like standing in front of those big stones and hearing about the connection. I know that she loves Israel, and after a visit like this, she has a personal connection to the Western Wall.

[...]

“She didn’t go into diplomatic issues, but I can clearly say from the questions she asked in relation to our conflict here with the Muslims in these holy sites that she knows that we are right and that the Muslims are just claiming things for provocation and they’re not right,” Danon said.

Israel National News:

MK Danny Danon (Likud) and Kotel Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovich accompanied Palin on a tour of the Kotel and Kotel Tunnels.

[...]

Danon asked Palin to try and convince world audiences that the blame for lack of progress on a peace agreement should be shifted to the PA's Mahmoud Abbas. "A leadership that churns out people who are capable of slitting children's throats as they sleep is the one that needs to prove that peace can be made with it. [U.S. President Barack] Obama's pressure on Netanyahu hurts Israel and its citizens," he added.

Ynetnews:

Palin began her trip by visiting the Western Wall in Jerusalem, where she met with the Rabbi of the Western Wall, Shmuel Rabinovitch, who escorted her on part of her a tour.

Rabinovitch said Palin obliged his request to not walk along the Western Wall square so as to not disturb the reading of the scrolls at the time.

Rabinovitch mentioned that Palin shared her views on United States-Israel relations, saying she believes there are no disagreements between the two countries. She also voiced her "absolute" support of Israel.

"We're happy to accommodate Jews and non-Jews visiting the Western Wall. You could feel Palin's love towards the people of Israel and her great interest in the story of Purim," said Rabinovitch.

[...]

The former Alaskan governor is a possible candidate in the 2012 presidential election, and as such a visit to Israel has become an imperative stop on a candidate's way to the White House. She is also known for her enthusiastic support of Israel, even in difficult times.

YidwithLID:

Palin's support of Israel is not new and/or shocking news. What is interesting is when you compare her pro-Israel stance and that of the last two GOP nominees, McCain and President Bush to the Anti-Israel stances of President Obama and the previous nominee Senator Kerry. If one is to be truly honest it is apparent that GOP has become pro-Israel party.

Aaron Klein will be on Fox and Friends tomorrow morning to talk about Palin's trip to Israel.

Will update as more becomes available.

Slideshow:

Find more photos like this on Team Sarah

Videos:

Ynet:

Update:

More video:

The Threat to Alaska's Oil Tax System, ACES

2011-03-18T12:19:00.003-05:00

There's currently an operation underway to give billions of dollars back to the oil companies in Alaska, undermining the tax system passed under Governor Palin's administration known as ACES (Alaska's Clear and Equitable Share). These are things that are good to understand especially since we're talking about Governor Palin's record.

Bob and Mark explain a little bit of what's happening:

Here's a link to the pdf of the Tax Foundation's Alaska ranking.

And they talked about it with Senator Wielechowski this morning:

When Bob and Mark talk about the pipeline being owned and tariffs, etc... they're referring to the fact that the oil line in Alaska is controlled by the Big Three oil companies, Exxon, BP, and ConocoPhilips. They charge other smaller companies a tariff to ship their oil in the pipeline. This is why Governor Palin was so adamant about the natural gas pipeline being built by a separate entity like TransCanada.

Learn more in Sarah Takes on Big Oil.

Rush: "Obama's Destroying the Freaking Country!"

2011-03-16T09:00:00.001-05:00

Rush defends Palin and expresses his frustration with the media and the conservative intellectual elite.

Cracks me up when he kinda freaks out there, hollering and saying he'd vote for Elmer Fudd if he were going up against Obama. Utter exasperation on Rush's part. I don't see him get like that very often.

Senator Who Fled WI Wants to Amend Constitution So No One Else Has To

2011-03-16T04:36:00.002-05:00

Via Madison:

One of the Wisconsin 14 is working on a law that would prevent other lawmakers from stopping legislation by running away and hiding — a move that could be seen as an olive branch to angry members of the GOP.

Sen. Tim Cullen, D-Janesville, a key member of the Democratic senators who fled the state in a failed effort to stall Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill, said Tuesday he was drafting a state constitutional amendment that would allow the Legislature to vote on and pass fiscal bills with a simple majority. The constitution requires each house to have three-fifths of all members present to vote on bills that have a fiscal impact.

[...]

“I was part of creating this divide,” Cullen said. “I need to be part of fixing it.”

Mark Belling:

The guy in the pic is Tim Cullen. Maybe there are nefarious intentions (likely, these are Democrats) or maybe Cullen just got homesick in Illinois and doesn't want to do that ever again.

I can't envision a scenario where Republicans would flee anyway. I'd be more interested in hearing the reason the law requires a three-fifths majority vote now and the consequences a simple majority requirement would have. Seems to me that if the object were to prevent fleeing to avoid a vote, they could pass a law that would prohibit that action and provide means for replacing any who would flee (most likely by gubernatorial appointment), rather than amend the quorum requirements.

Palin vs. Ailes?

2011-03-14T00:30:00.006-05:00

In typical tabloid fashion, the NY Mag is trying to create a feud between Palin and her boss at Fox, Roger Ailes:

Before Sarah Palin posted her infamous “Blood Libel” video on Facebook on January 12, she placed a call to Fox News chairman Roger Ailes. In the wake of the Tucson massacre, Palin was fuming that the media was blaming her heated rhetoric for the actions of a madman that left six people dead and thirteen others injured, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

Palin told Ailes she wanted to respond, according to a person with knowledge of the call. It wasn’t fair the media was making this about her. Ailes told Palin that she should stay quiet.

“Lie low,” he said. “There’s no need to inject yourself into the story.”

Palin told Ailes that other people had given her that same advice. Her lawyer Bob Barnett is said to have cautioned her about getting involved. The consensus in some corners of Palin's camp was that she faced considerable risks if she spoke out.

But, this being Sarah Palin, she did it anyway.

Ailes was not pleased with her decision, which turned out to be a political debacle for Palin, especially her use of the historically loaded term "blood libel" to describe the actions of the media. “The Tucson thing was horrible,” said a person familiar with Ailes’s thinking. "Before she responded, she was making herself look like a victim. She was winning. She went out and did the blood libel thing, and Roger is thinking, 'Why did you call me for advice?'”

Ailes’s displeasure matters, not only because his network is a holding pen for Republican candidates-in-waiting, but because he is paying Palin a hefty $1 million annual salary while she strings out her decision over whether to run for president.

I've lost track of all the "feuds at Fox" stories that have cropped up the last couple of years. First there was Palin was trying to take Beck's time slot, then Beck was trying to take O'Reilly's, then dogs were sleeping with cats, er, something... Odds are this story isn't even true, but for the sake of argument let's just assume that it is.

First off, the media blowback over the "blood libel thing" never ceases to amaze me. They act as if that's all she said. As if accusing her of having blood on her hands wasn't enough, they had to twist her response as a final kick in the teeth. (You can watch her entire response here.) And the faux outrage over her use of the phrase massively ticks me off. Dennis Prager's response to it is my fave.

Secondly, I see no reason to say anything bad about Ailes in this case. Hey, if someone asked me for my opinion and then went and did the opposite, I'd probably say the same thing to myself. "Why did you even ask me?" I'm sure Governor Palin sought the advice of many people and eventually went with what she thought was best.

What's ironic is that the liberals often refer to Palin as a Fox tool. Evidently this is not the case. She has a mind of her own. As Tony Lee points out:

Ps: Ailes being "mad" at Palin for lay viewer: says she is not Ailes/FoxNews puppet, actually can help her.

Once again, her opponents present contradictory narratives. Is she a Fox News tool or is she an opponent of Fox News?

Thirdly, I have to disagree with Ailes' advice. Palin had to say something. People tend to forget that things were still running very hot against her when she made that video. They calmed down a tad after the President made his speech, but that was in large part because she had already responded. And responding was not "injecting herself" into the story. The media had her tried and convicted for mass murder before the bodies were cold. They injected her into it for four days before she finally said something. John Ziegler best sums up my reaction to the idiotic "she injected herself into it" bull.

It's impossible to know what would have happened if they had tried a different strategy. Hindsight's 20/20. Palin did the best that could have been done in a no-win situation.

What they're really trying to do here is create buzz about a wedge between Palin and Ailes while conveniently bringing up Arizona again. But get real; there's no way Ailes would toss Palin out the door just because she didn't take his advice once. All of this faux "concern" about, "uh-oh, Palin's in trouble," is ridiculous on its face given that she's been a frequent presence on Fox since that time.

If she terminates with Fox or vice versa and runs for President, it's because she's running for President, not because of Tucson. If she doesn't run, you can pretty much bet Ailes will give his front teeth to keep her. If Roger really wanted to fire Palin because of a personal vendetta, she would have been out the door with Santorum. Would have been the perfect excuse.

Rand Paul Thanks @SarahPalinUSA

2011-03-11T10:59:00.002-06:00

Last night on Hannity, Governor Palin said that the GOP in Congress needs to cut more, and she gave a shout-out to Rand Paul:

Rand Paul responded today on Twitter:

@SarahPalinUSA Thanks for recommending we take a more serious look @ budget cuts. #WethePeople understand the gravity of the budget problem

More Rand Paul goodness here.

Rush: Wisconsin Vote was Completely Legal; This is How It's Done

2011-03-11T09:10:00.000-06:00

Rush: Wisconsin is the Warm-Up

2011-03-10T18:02:00.000-06:00

Rush talks about the death threats the GOP in Wisconsin is getting and says that Wisconsin is just the beginning. Wait until it gets to the welfare state:

Scenes from the Heath Home

2011-03-09T12:55:00.000-06:00

I grabbed some neat screencaps of the BBC's tour of Chuck and Sally Heath's home. You can watch the tour here.

Bob and Mark Talk about Palin and Alaska

2011-03-09T12:13:00.000-06:00

From this morning on the Bob and Mark Show:

Bob Lester was also interviewed by the BBC at what appears to be the start of the Iron Dog race. They asked his opinion on whether Sarah will run and if she could win. He doesn't think she'll run (that's nothing new. He's held that opinion for a long time now), but if she does run, she will win. The interview is here. Bob is at 1:10. Tracey of Alaskans4Palin is on right before him.

Bob and Mark Talk about Palin and Alaska

2011-03-09T11:29:00.006-06:00

From this morning on the Bob and Mark Show:

Can We Go Back to Boring Now?

2011-03-01T18:53:00.007-06:00

About a week ago, I was thrilled with all of the excitement of Scott Walker vs. the Unions. The first interesting thing that has happened in this state, probably in my lifetime.

Fast forward to today. Every single commercial break is littered with anti-Walker commercials, on radio and television. Now we're getting two or three phone calls a day urging us to oppose Walker. Next time they call, I'm just going to scream at the top of my lungs: "SHUT THE F*** UP!!" (What? That's an "L-I-P" behind those asterisks. Get your mind out of the gutter.)

I'm about ready to go Office Space on my radio and tv. I welcome the 2012 apocalypse. Bring it on. Anything to end this torture.

The unions must be swimming in cash to afford all this. Maybe they should give some of that dues money back to those poor little teachers, those working people they claim to be on the side of, instead of doing their level best to drive this working person out of her ever-loving mind.

Can we go back to boring now? Thanks.

2011 Iron Dog Slideshow

2011-02-28T09:10:00.000-06:00

Enjoy:

Find more photos like this on Team Sarah

The Bailey Book - Updated

2011-02-23T11:29:00.012-06:00

All I have to say about the Bailey manuscript is that I wish people could see the emails all by themselves without the hilarious spin Bailey and his fellow Palin-haters put on them. They make Palin look good, for crying out loud. I actually think I like her more now.

Are they real? Are they not? I don't know. I, personally, am assuming they are until there's info to the contrary. You can do the opposite; to each his own.

It's not really a book about Palin; it's a book about Bailey. In a nutshell: "I was once a blind Palinbot, but now I see. Now listen to me whine for about 500 pages."

And the writing is bad. I mean, really bad. Trash it based on overdramatic crappiness alone.

As for Bailey, a psychologist could have a field day. I'm thinking a thesis is in order.

I really don't get this guy. I'm thinking that Devon and Morris sat him down and pulled all the info they could out of him. Then they sat down and reverse engineered the book. They started with all the negative things they want to get out there about Palin and used what Bailey gave them to prove those points. I mean, I really laughed through half of it. It was like reading Palingates. Take a few facts, add copious amounts of manure and stir.

I have to say, they left no meme unturned.

Heh. Bailey is like Lisa Graas to the tenth power. I think that's the best way to describe him.

Update: Pretty much. Via Sheya.com -

Paul Ryan Explains Obama's Budget on Mark Levin

2011-02-16T00:10:00.001-06:00

Excitement in the Badger State - Update

2011-02-15T20:30:00.007-06:00

I woke up this morning to the sound of an AFL-CIO radio ad calling on people to stand up against our new governor, Scott Walker.

Walker was the Milwaukee County Executive before this. Not living anywhere near Milwaukee, I didn't know anything about him, but he struck me as a pretty low-key guy. Figured he might do a good job, but he would have all the excitement of a Tim Pawlenty. Par for the course around here.

Or not.

Hundreds gather for protest at Walker's house

We're what, a month beyond inauguration and he's already trying to take away collective bargaining rights from public unions, or something. I don't know all the details yet, but the AFL-CIO is running radio ads. "Call your legsiators, tell them to vote no..."

This is exciting.

And check this out, Ieshu Griffin is one of the people running for Walker's old seat. She ran in the November elections on the slogan, "I ain't no white man's b**ch." Yeah, she didn't make it. LOL. But that is an awesome slogan.

Usually it's boring as milk around here.

Here's Walker today explaining some of what's going on:

Update - I just talked to a friend of mine who used to live in Milwaukee. He told me that Walker was low key, but he kicked a** at the same time when he was the county exec.

Update II - Okay, short version. From what I gather, Walker wants to have public employees put some of their own paycheck toward their pension fund and to pay a greater percentage of their own health insurance premiums. And that new percentage would still only be half the national average. This would go a long way toward balancing the budget. If they don't do this, they'll probably have to lay off more than 1,000 people instead. And yes, people are literally walking out of school to protest this.

Two Cents

2011-02-15T00:58:00.006-06:00

Just wanted to give my two cents on some of recent events. Keep 'em, throw 'em away.. whatever.

First, John Thune. I know some are upset at his CPAC line about how he hasn't gone on any book tours or done any reality shows. Taking the Palin aspect out of it, I feel kinda sorry for the guy. The line could have been funny if his comedic timing didn't suck.

Pitiful. Just pitiful. Why anyone thinks the dude has a snowball's chance is beyond me.

In other irrelevant news, I hear Levi's sister is posing in Playboy. Apparently to get college money. Hey, it's good dough. If you don't have a moral code that says you shouldn't pose nude in magazines, go for it. Why not? I would have advised something a little less extreme. Maybe like a loan, but that's just me.

Don't really want to stir up a controversy that's already over with, but I think the Santorum thing was way overblown. If Santorum really wanted to trash her, he had his chance after the Hannity interview. But he didn't take it. He's not a threat to Palin, my goodness. The guy would be lucky to get 1% of the vote. JMHO.

On the whole FB post, possible mistake on the numbers thing, I don't care enough about the details of proposed budgets to look it up. Did she make a mistake? I don't know. Who cares if she did?

I think we've got to get away from this line of thinking that Palin cannot make mistakes. She's human. It's not like she can do no wrong. Holding her to a standard that high is grossly unfair. No one can operate under a burden like that for very long. Why are we afraid of mistakes? "The media holds her to a different standard." Yes they do. And they will whether she makes a mistake or not, so what difference does it make?

And does anybody know what this is? Is it a hoax or just freaky?

Anyway, just a few thoughts rolling around in my brain. Probably only worth about two cents.

What if Palin Doesn't Run?

2011-02-07T02:05:00.003-06:00

Someone asked me yesterday what I would do if Palin decided not to run for President.

Hm. Well, it'd be kind of anti-climactic. I expect that I would maybe type up a blog post about it, then pop some popcorn and watch a movie. (shrug)

Who would I support instead? No one I can think of. Probably one of the little guys that doesn't stand a chance. I can't support Romney. Honestly? I'd probably just forget the 2012 Presidential race. I definitely wouldn't put any time or effort into it. There's only one person I feel passionately enough about to actively support and that's Palin. Depending on who the nominee ended up being, I might show up to vote on election day, but that'd be about it.

I'd probably take a break from politics for a good long while. And then when it got maybe a few months out from the election, I'd do what I could to elect conservatives to the House and Senate. That would probably be my priority. Try and give the legislature enough votes to override a Presidential veto. I haven't run the numbers to see if that would be possible, but I honestly don't think anyone but Palin has a snowball's chance of beating Obama, so I'd focus my energy on putting in a Congress to check and balance him. And override him if possible.

Or maybe take a trip, see the world. Ya never know.

Palin: "From my Cold, Dead Lips"

2011-02-04T10:59:00.003-06:00

I ran across this letter to the editor that Sarah Palin wrote in 2002:

"San Francisco judges forbidding our Pledge of Allegiance? They will take the phrase "under God" away from me when my cold, dead lips can no longer utter those words. God bless America."

Sarah Palin
Mayor, City of Wasilla
President, Alaska Conference of Mayors

Short. To the point. Love it.

She was commenting on this story.

Longer version here.

"No Palin" February

2011-02-01T03:32:00.005-06:00

So Dana Milbank (whoever that is) wants to ignore Palin for a month. Okay. Who cares? Let him. He just bashes her all the time anyway. If he wants to stop PDSing for a month, that's fine by me. The rest of the media is more than welcome to join him. Maybe instead they could fact check the sitting POTUS for once. Just a thought.

Obama's Sputnik Moment

2011-02-01T01:10:00.016-06:00

How did "this is our generation's Sputnik moment" get past the proof-readers? We could argue all day about what Obama meant and Palin's reply and the Soviet Union, blah, blah, blahdey blah. The thing that had me scratching my head was how that line got past first draft in the first place.

I guess what Obama was trying to say is that we should rise to this occasion and come back and create a bunch of jobs, etc... It just came across horribly wrong. Sputnik moment? Really? The brain conjurs up images of Russians and space races and the U.S. generally freaking out. Not the best imagery.

People like Glenn Beck will use 9/12 as a way to inspire people. "Remember the way we were on 9/12. United, etc..." Fine. We need a 9/12 moment, so to speak. But you know what would have butchered that point entirely? Saying that we need a "9/11 moment." Bad, bad, very bad. But that's esentially what Obama did.

If he had wanted it to sound all inspirational, his speechwriters should have gone with "we need an Apollo moment." Duh. "Sputnik moment" makes it sound like he wants the Russians to start another space race. I'll pass. We got a lot of manufacturing jobs out of WWII, but it'd be really dumb for the President to say, "We need a World War moment."

But more than that, (and this was Palin's point) Obama was using the Sputnik thing to encourage government "investment" (like the brilliant stimulus package funding) to spur new job creation. Because that worked out so well the first time. We're pretty much right back where we were two years ago, only now we're a few hundred billion in debt. Terrific.

Yes, threats will sometimes spur us onto new heights of innovation. Sometimes the biggest technological strides are born out of wars. The internet was intially something used by the military (we have the Russians to thank, actually. See Sputnik). But that only works when there's an actual threat. And it's really rich for this President to try and use this kind of imagery when he seems bent on promoting the idea that America is not exceptional and NASA is there for Muslim outreach, or something.

Besides, had Obama been President when Russia launched Sputnik, does anybody really doubt that he would have just reclined and said, "Whatever"? I don't see him being the "we need to now go to the moon!" type. He'd probably launch into some diatribe about how the Russians deserve to go to space just as much as anyone else, and anyone who worries about it is a bitter-clingy bigot. "You just hate Russians!"

You know what our threat is today? A debt large enough to swallow us whole. And crazy government spending isn't going to make that one go away.

P.S. Can you imagine if Palin had said we need a Sputnik moment? Oy. The press would have eaten her alive...

Project Part One

2011-01-29T18:32:00.000-06:00

So here's part one of a year-long project. Well, not really. I haven't exactly been working on it non-stop. It turned into a "project to do in my spare time" endeavor and there hasn't been a whole lot of spare time this past year.

I basically just went and downloaded all of the emails from the Todd/MSNBC email dump, the one where the media termed the First Dude the "shadow governor." Then I read all of them. Then I went back and separated them out into different categories and broke them down from there.

Here's the most boring category: "Flight Information." It's basically just emails detailing (you guessed it) flight information for Todd and others. Other emails had flight info in them, but these are pretty much just strictly flight info (heh, like I said only other dorks like me will care about this stuff). You can download it here. The folder includes the emails in the category and a document breaking them down.

BTW, Erika Fagerstrom was kind of like the house manager for the Governor's mansion in Juneau. You can see her here.

Time Machine - December 1, 2006

2011-01-27T09:34:00.000-06:00

This is a cool press conference from before Palin was sworn in as Governor. She was announcing a round of cabinet appointments.

Chief of Staff – Mike Tibbles

Director of Legislative Affairs – John Bitney

Director of Communications – Meg Stapleton

Commissioner of Revenue – Pat Galvin

Commissioner of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs – Major General Craig Campbell (reappointment)

I especially like what Craig Campbell had to say. Lots of laughs too. Wish I had video. Especially at the end where she's like, "Raise your hand if you're a Democrat." That Sarah Palin, she's a funny lady.

Fluffy Bunny Sweeps the Country

2011-01-26T11:02:00.000-06:00

Bill589:

Now I wasn’t going to keep harping on this. At least not until crazy Ed goes away too. But when Glenn Beck began his show last night holding a fuzzy bunny and speaking fuzzy bunny thoughts, I wondered, “Could this be merely coincidence?”

I think not:

No! No, Glenn. Bad Glenn.

Okay, good Glenn. That's more like it.

Glenn's bunny isn't quite as fluffy as what I had in mind. That must be why his thoughts went awry toward the end. Not fluffy enough.

I was thinking more like...

Or, if you prefer (more in keeping with the theme), Barbaric Bunny:

Or Ninja Bunny:

Biiiiiig Bunny:

The Bunny Revolution continues to sweep the country. Think like the Bunny. Be the Bunny. Preferably a Fluffy Bunny.

(Don't worry, we shall resume our regularly scheduled programming shortly...)

Well, whaddya know? It works!

2011-01-22T08:25:00.004-06:00

Last night I turned on tv, and there was Olbermann. Still there. Still crazy. I thought, ‘All those fluffy bunny thoughts for nothing’ - until I read today he’ll be off the air soon. I guess sometimes you just have to be patient with those fluffy bunny thoughts. Next, Mr. Ed.

- Bill589

You're welcome.

Reagan? Wise. Dumbnik...

2011-01-11T20:17:00.004-06:00

Nugget from the Gipper:

‎"We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions." -Ronald Reagan

Sheriff Dumbnik: "The political climate made him do it..."

Shameless

2011-01-10T04:18:00.020-06:00

Forgive my language. I'm too angry to asterisk.

I am beyond sickened by what I’ve witnessed in the last two days. I woke up hours after the shooting had taken place. Didn’t even have time to absorb the tragedy before my Google alerts flooded with accusations that Palin had blood on her hands. Excuse me, was there any evidence of that, whatsoever? Did they have any facts at their disposal that would have led them to the conclusion that this kid’s actions had anything to do with Palin at all?

No. They did it anyway. The accusations I’ve seen, people saying, “You got what you wanted, your political enemy was gunned down; hope you’re happy now that a 9-year-old is dead,” insinuating that the Tea Party and Palin wanted them dead or something. Are people out of their ever-loving minds? Governor Palin has a nine-year-old daughter, does anyone honestly believe she would want anything like this? If you do, you’re sick. What the hell is wrong with you?

“She put crosshairs on Giffords, she put crosshairs on Giffords!” is the useful idiot rant nowadays.

For the sake of argument, let’s call them crosshairs. It doesn’t matter. Crosshairs, bullseyes, symbols, whatever. All are perfectly acceptable. Am I upset that the Democrats used election maps with bullseyes on them? No. Everyone with a brain in their head knows that the usage is entirely metaphorical. The charge of "inciting violence" was baseless to begin with. It was always media bullcrap designed to distract and put Palin on the defensive.

Palin “targeted” Gifford's district and 19 other districts as ripe for the taking in the November 2010 elections. This was perfectly acceptable, par for the political course, and it had nothing to do with wanting anyone dead. No one can intellectually honestly claim that Palin was trying to incite any kind of violence. And the Gov even clarified in speeches just in case anyone, like, ya know, a reporter, was too stupid to figure it out on their own. "Your votes are your arms... no violence..."

And do not talk to me about toning down the rhetoric if you're a Palin-hater. Heaven knows you people wish for Palin's rape, death, imprisonment, and pretty much anything else ugly that you can think of on a regular basis.

And now it comes out that the shooter was a lefty in high school and has been obsessed with Giffords since 2007, long before Palin ever arrived on the scene. Beyond any political bent, he’s just nuts. So wacky that his college professor was afraid that the kid would bring a gun to class. He’s been a ticking time bomb for a couple of years. It’s not Palin’s fault; it’s not the Daily Kos’s fault; it’s not the political climate’s fault. It’s the fault of the maniac who decided to go shoot a bunch of people. Period.

There will always be loons in the world, and no amount of free-speech-trampling by Congressmen who claim to just be trying to "tone down the rhetoric" is going to change that. Leftists are unashamedly using a terrible tragedy to further their own political agendas and smear their political enemies. Shameless and disgusting.

Meanwhile, people are dead while others fight for their lives, and it’s all getting lost in this political bullcrap. And I am sorry, truly sorry to even have to put up a post like this. Our focus right now should be on the victims and their families and on bringing the shooter to justice, not political finger-pointing of any kind.

So before I sign off, let me take this opportunity to say that I lend my prayers to the thousands already being said for those still struggling to hold on to life and for the families of those who lost loved ones. It's a miracle that Giffords survived at all.

If you would like to send a get-well email to Congresswoman Giffords: giffordswellwishes@gmail.com

Joe Miller Talks to Bob and Mark - 1-3-11

2011-01-07T06:45:00.001-06:00

I don't know if you could put me in the "big fan of Joe Miller" column. I don't dislike the man, but I'm not really a fan either.

Bob cut ads for Murkowski during the race. Not sure where Mark stood on the race, but Bob was a definite Lisa fan. In any case, I thought this was a pretty good interview.

Violence!!!

2011-01-04T20:33:00.004-06:00

Check out the bumper sticker some leftists designed with my new Republican Governor in mind:

They later re-designed it:

Love this quote:

But then after it hit the Intertubes, the right, led by State Representative Robin Vos (R-Crybaby) started whining that it was violent somehow. I suppose, if you have a propensity towards violence, anything appears violent.

Yeah. Sure. A train running into a guy's brain and what appears to be a blood spatter (although you might argue it's symbolic for train noise).... No one would think that was violent. /s

As for the previous thing about "Walker said he would 'fight back.' Violence!!!" oh, please. Lefties brought up a completely unrelated incident. "Barrett was once beaten up..." And that's relevant to the very commom rhetoric of "fight back" how, exactly?

Anyway. Whatever. I'm not shocked and outraged, I just can't believe they thought that first bumper sticker was anywhere near a good idea.

Scott Walker was sworn in yesterday. We'll see how he does.

But-But-But, Can She Win?

2011-01-03T18:31:00.007-06:00

This seems to be the new media narrative. Probably half of my Google alerts are filled with "But can she win?"

I imagine them saying this with an exaggerated look of concern on their faces. "I, I just don't know, gang. I mean, she's got a lot going for her, but can she actually win?"

I'd do an exaggerated "I don't know!" and bite my nails, but they're not sitting across from me, so it's kind of pointless.

Can Romney win? I doubt it. Can Gingrich win? I doubt it ten times more than I doubt Romney winning. Let's say the economy picks up by mid-2011. Could any Republican beat Obama then? But maybe we'll find ourselves in the middle of WWIII by then. Who knows? Maybe my Dad's sister's husband could beat Obama in 2012. (I just found out at Christmas dinner that he's the mayor of his town. Has been for years. Hilarious, I just found out a week ago.)

This is all completely pointless. Pence seems to be the fallback guy for those who want a conservative who's not Sarah Palin. But Pence is most likely going to run for Governor, not President, as well he should. Pence is a good guy, but he's a representative. If he wants to run for Prez, I say go for it, but I'd like someone with some executive experience.

The only reason all these stories are out is to make people stop supporting Palin for President, of course. If you have legitimate worries, that's fine. It's normal, even. But we're not even in a campaign yet. Just wait.

And does anybody believe all these Huckabee polls? Huckabee would lose in a landslide.

There are two people who, if they became the nominee, I wouldn't bother to vote for in the general: Romney and Huckabee. I'd rather fight Obama tooth and nail for another four years. And that's not me being petty. That's me genuinely not wanting either of those guys in the White House. The government health care guy and Mr. Nanny State. Yeah, I'll pass.

Palin Lied About Her Tweet?

2010-12-30T07:18:00.004-06:00

I see all these "news stories" about how Palin lied in her Alaska series about the "refudiate" thing by claiming it was a typo. Here's what they say she said:

"I pressed an F instead of a P and people freaked out," said Sarah, pointing out that her blunder was the second-most-searched word on Google trends. "Make lemonade out of lemons," said Sarah.

What about that is a lie, exactly? Where does she say it was a typo? She pressed an F instead of a P and people freaked out. That's just factual, people. If she didn't press an F instead of a P, we wouldn't be wasting time on this garbage.

She pressed an F instead of a P. She did.

Refudiation

2010-12-27T20:14:00.012-06:00

In the latest episode of Sarah Palin's Alaska, we get to ride along as Sarah tells Todd that her typo has become the number 2 search on Yahoo. It's a quite funny moment.

And of course the media is all, "She tries to explain away 'refudiate,' but don't forget! She said it once before the typo as well."

Get real. So she said the wrong word once before in an interview. Do you honestly think she was sitting in the van thinking, "Oh, you know what? I said it wrong once in an interview." As if anyone other than loser bloggers even noticed.

Yeah, I totally remember all the times I've ever misspoken. (eye roll)

The 'refudiate' thing actually happened while they were shooting this episode. She called into the Bob and Mark show after they went logging and talked to them about it.

This whole thing is just funny. That a typo would make international news is absolutely hysterical. And that the media takes itself seriously when it makes this kind of story a priority is priceless. I mean, how stupid is that?

Sometimes conservatives are all, "Why doesn't the media trumpet Obama's flubs like they did Bush's or like they do Palin's?"

Honestly, the way they treat Obama's flubs is the way they should treat everyone's. Look, the man's human, he's going to mess up from time to time (this is for his gaffes, not his stuttering and stammering and "uh-uh-uh"-ing), so what? We're just tired of the double standard. Obama can mess up from now until doomsday and they'll make excuses for him. Heaven forbid a Republican misspeak. They'll be branded for life.

Although, come on. That "corpseman" thing was funny. Much better than "nukular."

And full disclosure: I said "refudiate" before Palin ever tweeted it. Rolls off the tongue with much more ease. Not in the dictionary? Oh, well. Now it is. :-) And I know I heard other people say it before too.

And I proudly say "ain't." Much to the chagrin of my old grammar teacher. "It's not a word." Yeah, whatever. I say it, you know what it means, it's a word, okay? Period. End of story.

But that's just me.

So thank you, Palin for making it acceptable to say "refudiate." It was the better version all along.

Good for Bristol

2010-12-27T07:50:00.001-06:00

Rumblings of it were first heard on an entertainment website last week: Bristol is thinking about buying a house in Arizona. Also potentially has a new boyfriend and wants more kids.

Well, turns out that the first one was true. The girl payed cash for a five bedroom house in Arizona. Nice. Very nice. Most websites are wondering "why" she did it. Why? It's Arizona. It's warm. That's my theory.

As for the other two things, I have no idea. Sounds like the guy's got a job anyway, so that's good. A marked improvement. And does she want more kids? I don't know. Who cares? Let her have fifty if she wants.

Rumors that she's looking at college in Arizona too.

Cash for a house at 20. Sweeeet.

Merry Christmas! - Christmas Favorites

2010-12-21T09:21:00.000-06:00

I'm going to take off for a few days. I leave you with some (some; I couldn't possibly list them all) of my Christmas favorites. Merry Christmas!

I used to watch this when I was little. I'd forgotten all about it before I stumbled across it on Hulu:

More goodness here.

E-mail Motherlode

2010-12-20T07:59:00.004-06:00

It's not often that I link to a Mother Jones post, but this one interested me. It's part window into just how much of a pain the e-mail requests have been to the state of Alaska, part reporter complaining about not getting the e-mails right away despite the fact that it's an enormous pain.

First off, REALLY? You asked for ALL e-mails sent to and from and copied to Governor Palin during her whole tenure as Governor????

I sent Palin's office a request for all emails written by her, received by her, or cc'ed to her during her tenure as governor. In subsequent weeks other news organizations, including the Associated Press and MSNBC.com, the state Democratic Party, and individuals (such as Alaskan citizen watchdog Andree McLeod) filed similar requests.

You couldn't narrow it down a tad? That's insane. Do you have any idea how many emails go back and forth in a day, let alone two and a half years (at that point)? Good golly, miss molly.

Corn (the author of the article) also takes the time to complain about Palin using private e-mail accounts. Kinda fails to mention that she was cleared of wrongdoing in that area. No rules against it.

I just hope that whenever (if ever) they get all their e-mails, that they release them to the public.

Speaking of which, you know that Todd e-mail dump that I said about a year ago I would break down? Yeah, I'm finishing that up. That was a fraction of what this guy requested. I ended up putting it on the back burner many times to actual pressing business. I hope to have it up at the end of the holidays. The only reason I'm doing it is because I said I would. I doubt anyone really cares anymore. It's the kind of thing only I and maybe two other people on earth would find interesting.

I confess that if they ever do get those e-mails though, I want to read them. I'm curious that way. I'd never ask for all of them like that though. That's nuts.

Palin Meets Marlee Matlin

2010-12-17T23:01:00.001-06:00

Cool story over on Zap2It:

On Wednesday (Dec. 15), in a break in her trailer between takes during a guest-starring appearance on CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," tentatively scheduled to air on Thursday, Feb. 3, Matlin tells Zap2it in sign language, through an interpreter, "My opinion on Bristol is that I really applaud her. I saw, from the very beginning, that she wasn't a good dancer, but she had her own identity. She didn't give a f**k that she was the daughter of Sarah Palin, and I could see that.

"Then I saw, week-by-week, the transformation of her really blossoming. She didn't deserve to be the top winner, she didn't deserve that, but I think she she deserved to be in the third slot -- maybe fourth spot would have been better. I didn't think Brandy should have been knocked off.

"She did come a long way. I mean, that's what the show is about -- be a crummy dancer or have no talent at all and grow. There was evidence of that. I got a chance to tell her mother, in an elevator, in New York."

Turns out that fate brought together Matlin and the former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice-presidential candidate, who is now a Fox News contributor and has her own documentary series, "Sarah Palin's Alaska," airing Sunday on TLC.

"I was in the elevator already," says Matlin, "and she walked in, without a bodyguard. She and her husband walked in. I said, 'Well, well, Mrs. Palin,' and she turned around, 'Marlee Matlin!' I said, 'Hello, it's nice to meet you.' And she said, 'You speak very clearly.' And she said, 'My son is learning to sign, the son with Down's Syndrome.'

"And I said, 'I heard that, and I think that's great.' We spoke as two mothers back and forth. Then I said to her how proud I was of Bristol, and that she should be, too, and I told her why, with my observation.

"She said, 'Thank you, thank you, thank you,' and gave me a hug. Elevator opened, and she walked out. My interpreter said that he heard her say, 'Wow!'

"You understand, I don't support her politics, but as a woman and as a mother, yes, just like any other mother. And she's really pretty."

Reached by email, Gov. Palin recalls the encounter, writing, "That is so nice! She was so gracious when we met, and we got to talk about Trig learning sign language. Having that small but meaningful connection was sweetly surreal. I have always admired Marlee."

I honestly have no clue who Marlee Matlin is. Don't really care. Just a cute story.

Kate: "Sarah, All Hail You, Amazon Woman"

2010-12-14T01:16:00.000-06:00

When the news first came out that Kate was going to be on Sarah Palin's show, I was really, really hoping it was an unfounded rumor.

But come on, this is hilarious:

Not to rag on Kate. She provided us with a lot of laughter last night.

Palin in Haiti with Samaritan's Purse - Update

2010-12-12T10:11:00.002-06:00

Governor Palin and Greta van Susteren are in Haiti with Samaritan's purse to:

Encourage the people of Haiti and bring awareness to the needs that still exist there.

Slideshow:

Find more photos like this on Team Sarah

Stories here and here.

And a word to those who say, "She's only doing this for a photo-op! She doesn't really care about Haiti!"

Who do you care about? Her being there is drawing attention to the cholera problem and to the good work of charities like Samaritan's Purse. What difference does it make to you why she's there if it's doing good? You should put your disdain for Palin on the back burner to the suffering in Haiti. Kudos to Democrats with brains:

Update - More pictures have been added to the slideshow. I think as I add them they go to the end, so you'll have to skip ahead.

"America by Heart" Not Selling Well? - Update

2010-12-11T07:54:00.005-06:00

In what universe?

The book has been doing extremely well. I don't think anyone expected it to do as well as Going Rogue. And there's no way it's going to surpass the tell-all of a former President. Coming in second was pretty d*** good.

Also, confession here. When I first heard about the new book, it was exciting, sure. But the description of the book didn't exactly thrill me. A collection of quotes and inspiring essays? Um, okay. Love Palin, but I can look up quotes on the Internet. And I already love America and believe in its founding principles, so not much of a point in reading it just to reinforce my own beliefs. I bought two copies, pretty much just to have them. With Going Rogue I bought ten or twelve and handed them out as Christmas presents.

The book isn't just a collection of essays or quotes, however. It's really a book of philosophy. The heart of America. What makes it tick? It's kind of a letter to the next generation. And there's plenty of original Palin material, it's not just an amalgamation of other people's works. You should read it twice to fully appreciate it.

I guess my point is that if a die hard like me kinda went "eh," then lower-than-Going-Rogue book sales don't mean much of anything with regards to Palin's "luster."

Update: On second thought, that a book basically marketed as a collection of quotes is doing as well as it is actually might say something about Palin's "luster." Something pretty good.

Glenn Beck: Palin Was A Blessing to Me

2010-12-09T07:36:00.007-06:00

Aw, sweet. The image of Glenn falling into the depths of despair and Palin having to talk him back from the brink is kinda funny to me. Glenn's such a pessimist sometimes and Sarah strikes me as an eternal optimist. "We're all gonna die!! The machine!! Tokyo...!!!"

"Now, Glenn, it's going to be okay. Calm down there, buddy. Just stay in the game."

Love the end with Pat Gray.

I'm the same way. I don't mind watching other people shoot and butcher things, but I'm not a big hunter myself. I have a gun and enjoy shooting targets, but I don't like to kill anything unless I have to. My dad bagged three deer in a week this last season and he's been bugging me to go out hunting with him lately. Maybe I'll give it a try next year. I don't know. I'm the kind of person who will catch the bee and put it outside on a flower rather than just swat it with a fly swatter.

Update:

Seriously though, with regards to a "machine" and all that. Are there guys sitting in a smoke-filled room somewhere plotting to take over the world? I don't know. Maybe. Does it worry me? No. This may sound really corny, but when it comes down to it, my hope doesn't lie in this world. (Yeah, that sounded corny. Oh, well. ;)

Psalm 2 -

The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,

Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh...

Yeah, He's not too worried about it. I'll stick by the One laughing at those guys.

Palin Knows Where the Next Battle Is

2010-12-07T20:00:00.001-06:00

Business Week:

Now that the tax fight is over, Sarah Palin has quickly zoomed to the next huge issue: The possible bailout of insolvent states.

In a post on her Facebook titled Bailouts Reward Bad Behavior, she slams the idea of helping fiscally reckless states (like California, whose finances have deteriorated under the stewardship of her enemy Arnold Schwarzenegger), while talking up the finances of Alaska (not mentioning, of course, the incredible oil bounty it sits on).

Anyway, she's shrewd. This is an issue that will probably grow, and she recognize that. Here's her post.

Love the mantra of, "Sure Alaska's doing great, but they're sitting on oil!"

Uh-huh. And California isn't? What, California just can't develop its own resources and cut some of their ridiculous spending to help balance the budget? Spare me.

California's too busy shutting off water to farmers to save a minnow. They don't have time to fix their sinking economy. Should be really fun under Jerry Brown.

FB excerpt:

My home state made the switch from defined benefits to a defined contribution system, and as governor, I introduced a number of measures to build on that successful transition, while also addressing the issue of the remaining funding shortfall by prioritizing budgets to wrap our financial arms around this too-long ignored debt problem.

When my state ran a surplus because we incentivized businesses, I didn’t spend it on fun and glamorous pet projects for lawmakers – though that would have made me quite popular with the earmark crowd. In fact, I vetoed more excessive spending than any governor in our state’s history, and I used the state’s surplus to bring our financial house in order by paying down our unfunded pension plans that some other governors wanted to ignore. This fiscal prudence didn’t make me popular with the state legislature.

In addition to vetoing hundreds of millions of dollars in wasteful spending, I put billions of dollars into savings accounts for future rainy days, much like most American families do in responsibly planning for the future. I also enacted a hiring freeze and brought the education budget under control through a commitment to forward-funding.

I returned much of the surplus back to the people (it was their money to start with!) through tax relief and energy rebates. I had proven as the mayor of the fastest growing city in the state that tax cuts incentivize business growth, and though the state legislature overrode some of my veto cuts and thwarted an additional tax relief request of mine, the public was supportive of efforts to rein in its government.

It’s one thing to veto spending and reduce the size of government when your state is broke. I did it when my state was flush with revenue from a surplus – though I had to fight politicians who wanted to spend like there was no tomorrow. It’s not easy to tell people no and make them act fiscally responsible and cut spending when the money is rolling in and your state is only 50 years shy of being a territory and everyone is yelling at you to spend while the money is there to build.

My point is, if I could fight this fight in Alaska at a time of surplus, then other governors can and should be able to do the same at a time when their states are facing bankruptcy and postponing this fight is no longer an option.

"I returned much of the surplus back to the people (it was their money to start with!) through tax relief and energy rebates."

Silly Sarah, breaking with centuries of tradition.

Bristol Palin Answers Margaret Cho - Update III - Cho Admits It Was Just A Rumor

2010-12-04T23:34:00.015-06:00

Up until yesterday, I'd always had a lot of respect for Bristol Palin. After all, 17 years old, pregnant for the whole world to see, raising a kid, engagement falls apart, ex goes out and starts trashing the family for money... it's amazing she's still sane. Were there times when I wondered about her choices? Oh, yeah. And when I first heard about DWTS, I thought it was a horrible idea, but she proved me wrong on that one. More has happened in her life the past few years than most sixty year olds have had to deal with. So, respect? Check.

But it was only yesterday that I really started liking her. Anybody that gets a kick out of someone calling Keith Olbermann a "dick" is cool. The end.

And now there's this. I was hoping she'd maybe give a short statement to someone after that Cho thing picked up way more steam than it ever should have, but this is ten times better. Go check it out on her FB page if you can. I know some people get errors though or can't get into Facebook, so here's the note:

I met so many interesting people on Dancing With The Stars. It was an incredible experience that I will cherish the rest of my life. I have explained my own motivations for accepting the invitation to dance, which included the simple fact that I was ready to get out of my comfort zone and try something new and challenging. I thought dancing would also be a great way to exercise--and it was. I thought it would boost my confidence--and it did. Notably absent from this calculus were political considerations. You want to talk politics, talk to my mom. You want to talk rumba, waltz and the beautiful Spanish paso doble, I'm your girl (but if you want to talk to the expert, call Mark).

So with this in mind I was somewhat taken aback to read about me in a blog by my friend and fellow contestant, Margaret Cho. In a post she called "Pistol Whipped" she wrote 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 . . . for not winning the election,and so she told Bristol she "owed" it to her to do DWTS . . . ." Let me shamelessly steal from Saturday Night Live: "Really, Margaret? Really?"

I will give my friend credit for creativity, and extra points for getting so many "facts" wrong in so few sentences. Let me be blunt: my mom did not "force" me to go on DWTS. She did not ask me either. The show approached me. I thought about it. I made the decision. After first worrying for me in terms of being exposed to those who hate us for what we believe in, both my mom and my dad became my number one supporters. Anyone who watched the show could tell I performed better, and I felt better about myself, when they were in the audience. I wanted to make them both proud, but politics had nothing to do with it. Loving my parents had everything to do with it.

It saddens me that people would think that my mom would "blame" me for anything that occurred in the 2008 election--much less "harshly" and "openly." I think that canard (there, I said it again), has been floating around since then also. I will set the record straight, though my mom already did in her bestselling book "Going Rogue"; there were a number of reasons President Obama won in 2008, but the primary reason was that the economy was starting to falter and the majority of voters thought Obama could do a better job than my mom and John McCain. It turns out, two years later, the majority of voters were wrong, but we can talk about that another time. The point is, I seriously doubt anyone who considers herself a student of American politics truly believes I impacted even one vote in that election.

There you have it. Why do I want to set the record straight? Because it is this type of hurtful and false narrative that people promote to make my mom look bad. For 20 years my mom had my back--and for the rest of my life I will have hers.

To my friend Margaret Cho, if you ever have a question, call me girlfriend. Don't ever rely on "sources" who claim to know me or my family. You will be taken every time. And we need to talk. You say you "don't agree with the family's politics at all" but I say, if you understood that commonsense conservative values supports the right of individuals like you, like all of us, to live our lives with less government interference and more independence, you would embrace us faster than KD Lang at an Indigo Girls concert.

P.S. If you want to baby-sit Tripp, I could use a night off.

Bristol Palin

Like.

I'm over here twiddling my thumbs because C4P is still down.

(cue a blonde whining that she never gets to babysit in 3, 2, ....)

Update - By the way, the title was:

"CHA-CHA-CHA to CHO-CHO-CHO--HERE'S A HINT: THREE DOG NIGHT"

In other words, "Mama told me not to come."

Update II:

Cho responded, by the way. Of course, as a comedian she'll probably use this stuff to keep her name in the news. Everybody's figured out by now that all you have to do is drop your name next to "Palin" and you'll get a headline. That's one reason why I hoped Bristol wouldn't slam Cho personally if she did respond. No need to start a Bristol/Cho war. As if the Palins don't have enough to deal with already.

I wouldn't call Bristol's response "freaking out," not by a long shot. I can't believe anybody would be stupid enough to believe Cho's story, but a good chunk of Americans don't believe we landed on the moon, so I suppose anything's possible. As much as I try to stay away from the mantra "people are stupid," the more I see the way people just blindly accept the media narratives and don't logically think through these things, the more I'm tempted to just say it. People are stupid.

Update III:

Okay, hopefully this is the last I'll say about this, but I found a more expanded version of Cho's reaction.

Now she's basically saying "It's just gossip. I was just reporting gossip, I don't know if it's true or not and I'm not going to retract it because I was just reporting gossip. I just want to stop Palin from becoming President. And Bristol's cool!"

Well, at least she's honest. Her tweet kinda contradicts that statement, but whatever. "It's the truth! Well, no, actually it was just gossip. I was just being the town crier. I want to stop Sarah Palin!"

So she admits it was a rumor. I guess I'll let it go then. Unless something else pops up.

Bristol Palin and John Ziegler Slam Keith Olbermann on BAM - Updated

2010-12-03T13:22:00.017-06:00

Bristol responds to being named the "Worst Person in the World" for her work with the Candies Foundation:

John Ziegler calls in as well, comments on Olby, and chats with Bristol. Bristol also responds to the rumor that her Dad might go on DWTS:

Update - Just figured I'd click on my stats, and I'm wondering where the thousands of people came from....

Ah, C4P link. And Hot Air? That would explain it. I'd have tidied up the place if I'd known y'all were coming. :)

Update II:

By the way, BAM stands for Bob and Mark, for anyone unfamiliar with these guys. Go here for a lot more of their stuff with the Palins - http://www.palintv.com/category/shows/bobmark/. They're rock station DJ's and aren't exactly rated "G" so if you listen live to their station online, consider yourself warned. The earlier stuff is what's most interesting to me. This is one of my favorites, from October of 2006 when Sarah was still running for Governor:

Update III:

Since people are still checking out this post, I figured I'd put in a plug for Ziegler. He recently re-released the movie "Media Malpractice: How Obama Got Elected and Palin was Targeted."

Go here for more information. I believe you can order it VOD now too.

Here's an interview he did with Bob and Mark upon the movie's re-release:

Oh, and if you see any bull circulating around about BAM, it probably has to do with this episode. Hilarious lefties getting their panties in a wad over nothing. The whole affair was taken out of context as well, little clips being pulled out of the larger story to create a scandal. Bob and Mark are rock station DJ's, all right? They play to a harder core demographic.

They're also two of the biggest hearted guys I've ever listened to. Not too long ago they did a radio drive to help a terminally ill woman get a fence built in her backyard so she could keep her dog. (I think it was a fence. Might have needed a ramp or something too). Someone called in and told them about the girl having to give her dog up, they got on the radio and got the volunteers and the materials and everything. Then they interviewed the girl and Bob practically broke down in tears right there. Mark had to take over for him because he couldn't even talk.

Some Scenes from "Salmon Run"

2010-11-28T23:57:00.001-06:00

If you missed tonight's episode of Sarah Palin's Alaska, check your guide and be sure to catch a replay. It's probably the best episode so far. I think at the end of the day, episode one is going to turn out to be the worst of the series. (That's another way of saying that they keep getting better and I wish the 5 million tuned in for tonight's episode instead of the first one.)

In this clip, Todd plays with little Trig:

And here, Sarah and Piper meet their little cousin Matthew, a relative on Todd's side of the family:

Kids on TV

2010-11-28T23:01:00.003-06:00

Transcript:

GLENN: But the one thing that my wife and I were talking about is the exposure of your family. And I know the press has exposed the family, but you don't seem to have a problem with that. What do you think the effect of all of this is on your kids?

SARAH PALIN: Well, I'm just dealing with reality knowing that they're not going to let up until the collective will of the people is to remind the press that kids should be off limits. And in our case that just isn't happening yet. So I deal with the reality as it is and remind my kids that maybe in our culture there's not a lot of justice in terms of kids being left alone to just be kids and make mistakes but learn as they go and overcome challenges, you know. My kids have the same story as every other kid in this world.

GLENN: But my kids are left alone. I mean, but I just don't, I don't ever, ever put them in front of a camera. You know, anybody takes a picture of my kids, I go all TSA on them.

SARAH PALIN: Yeah, here's the deal. Here's the deal, what we got ourselves into, I guess, was there on the national stage, literally there at the GOP convention when I, being so proud of my family, bringing them on stage like every other politician has done since the beginning of time, being charged then with exploiting my kids and here I'm looking around going, wait, every other candidate, every male candidate brings their family on stage, proverbially and literally. So having done that. And then from there just sort of a different standard that's been applied in terms of the accusations that there's been exploitation or using the kids for whatever. Then, Glenn, having to correct the record and try to change the narrative into what the truth is about my family. So constantly being on defense and having to sort of counterattack the things that they say. That's the position that we're in.

--------------

What Glenn is trying to question is the apparent contradiction of saying "leave my kids alone" and then putting your kids on a tv show.

First of all, I happen to be of the opinion that just because kids are visible doesn't mean they're fair game. I think it's absurd that people call Trig names and rag on Willow and Piper and use the "well they're out there" line as an excuse. It's no excuse, sorry.

Glenn, as a protective father himself, is trying to figure out the rationale of having your kids "out there" but at the same time wanting to protect them from all the bull. If you really want to shelter them, shouldn't you keep them, well, sheltered?

I think the point Palin was trying to make with her answer is this. When she first came onto the scene, she did what every other politician does - introduced her family. (I covered this before here.) Because no one had a clue who she was or who they were, a huge media vetting process kicked into gear, and apparently, they didn't consider the kids to be off limits.

People found her family fascinating. Some began attacking the kids or using the kids to attack their mom. A lot of rumors got started and a lot of conclusions were drawn about the kids and the family that weren't true. The haters attempted to paint the family as some kind of a freak show, and because the majority of the American public didn't know any better, many bought into that perception. How do you combat that? Do you just let the world continue thinking it, or do you let them in and show them what really goes on?

That's what this is. It's an attempt to correct the mischaracterization.

Grown adults who use the kids being on TV as an excuse to attack the kids boggle my mind. Now, Bristol is an exception. She herself has chosen to put herself in the spotlight. She's also a 20 year-old single mother who's more than capable of handling herself. Doesn't mean the stuff coming at her isn't disgusting; I'm just saying that there's no expectation that she won't be fodder for late-night jokes, etc...

Hmm - Update

2010-11-28T18:57:00.005-06:00

Mediaite has a piece up on the Willow Facebook thingy, more specifically, on Mama Palin's reaction to it. My general position on this whole thing is that Willow is 16 years old and off limits. People say, "Oh, but she was in the TV show." So? I love how people seem to think that because the kid is visible then you're perfectly justified in saying whatever you want about them. Tripp and Trig are in the show too. Will TMZ be doing an expose' on Piper now? Bristol's an entirely different matter. She has put herself out there.

As for what actually occurred on the Facebook page, let's just say I've heard ten times worse in high school hallways (one of the reasons why I don't think you could pay me enough to get me to send my kids to a public school). Maybe I've seen one too many flame wars on the internet the last two years and am desensitized. That could also be a factor.

From Mediaite:

Palin is absolutely correct that the children of politicians ought to be off-limits to the media, or at least, that there ought to be a high bar set for newsworthiness. Similarly, Palin’s skill as a parent should not be considered fair game. Neither subject has any relevance to Palin’s career as a politician, or as a media figure, and decency dictates that they remain private.

What is relevant, though, is how Palin chose to respond to the incident.

Here’s a transcript of the relevant portion:

People probably think that my greatest frustration is the lies that are told in the tabloids and on hateful blogs full of anonymous sources about my family … and there are constant everyday lies that we have to read that are out there in the public. But my family and I…thick skin…we can take it, you know…we can take what the haters say despite the fact that there’s injustice in the situation.

I mean, look at the other day. Willow, finally, my 16 year old, she had had it up to here with somebody saying very, very hateful things about the family and saying mean things about her little brother Trig, and Willow finally responded and she used a bad word when she responded in defense of her family. And her response became national news, even hard news copy it turned into, so that’s ridiculous and I had to explain to her, “Willow, there is no justice here but you have to just zip your lip and let’s move forward.”

Perhaps most glaring is the fact that, in an interview in which she promises to restore journalism, Palin gets her facts wrong. The exchange to which she refers contains nary a mention of Trig Palin, and was touched off by a single negative comment about Palin’s reality show, Sarah Palin’s Alaska. Palin would have been perfectly justified had she chosen not to get into the details of the story, but since she did, she ought to have described them accurately.

Here's the Facebook exchange. It does indeed appear that the whole thing stemmed from a guy saying "Sarah Palin's Alaska is failing sooo hard right now." One of the more mild things anyone has ever said about the Palin family. Trig is nowhere to be found. (Now, if my mom were doing something like this and one of my facebook "friends" didn't like it, I may have reacted too, maybe with a few less swear words.)

Now, a couple of things here. First off, the Palin kids can't fight back against most of the cr** they get handed on a daily basis. This may have been a case of the straw that broke the camel's back. I've been tempted to do this myself a time or two. Frustrated to the extreme and I end up dumping all over someone or something that didn't have much to do at all with the real reason why I was upset. Maybe Willow saw something somewhere else that got her all riled up and she dumped all over this guy instead (but Bristol responded first, so I'm not sure how that works. But she gets cr** from all corners too). That's one option.

Another observation is that this is a screencap of one Facebook page, and it looks to me like the conversation is incomplete. Maybe it is complete, but there are some things that don't quite fit.

For example, notice how Willow talks to Matt when Matt hasn't even said anything yet. That doesn't make a whole lot of sense unless this conversation was also happening on other people's Facebook pages or this was a continuation of a previous conversation. There's a possibility that we're not getting the full picture here.

Yeah, this is all total speculation. :)

If it's none of the above, then maybe little cub pulled the wool over Mama Grizzly's eyes. That's what I would try to do, are you kidding me? You wiggle out of it however you can when you're that age.

If the FB screencap is indeed complete and none of my other options are legitimate (which I don't think I'll ever have any way of knowing) then I call BS on Mama's Grizzly's answer and wonder if she actually read the exchange.

I don't say any of this to disparage the Palin kids, on the contrary. As you'll see tonight in the third episode of Sarah Palin's Alaska, the kids are typical kids and Willow's pretty awesome. I'm just trying to sort out fact from fiction and get a grasp on what's actually happening here.

Chicago Meet-Up

2010-11-15T07:52:00.003-06:00

I'm sure the C4P Meet-up Committee will have something to say about the ordinary barbarians' descent on Chicago, but in the meantime, here's my story.

This was my first meet-up, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I was a little nervous about meeting the people behind the avatars, but that nervousness dissipated when I ran into Nicole as we left to go have pizza. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Kelsey--" No time for anything else. She was already giving me a big ole' hug. And the whole experience just got better from there.

We walked to the pizza place. Sapwolf brought some of his huge Sarah posters and walked with them prominently displayed down the streets of Chicago. Gotta admire that guy's boldness. He let me have one of the post cards he had picked up from a Sarah Palin's Alaksa screening, so that was really cool.

There were at least a few PUMA's in our midst. Nicole, being a recovering democrat herself, was very excited to hear that. I ended up sitting across from Ron Devito and Nicole, and between hrh and someone I'm calling, "the Vegetarian." I run screaming from vegetables so it comes in handy to have a vegetarian in the vicinity. They can eat all the stuff that I refuse to touch. ;-)

S.E. Cupp was there signing books and we were all eating and chatting happily away, when a guy in another part of the restaurant realized that we were Palin supporters. He started yelling something to the effect of: "Sarah Palin's a moron!" The first time we ignored it, but he did it again, if not three times. Not surprising. It was Chicago, after all. I'm actually kind of shocked that no one else backed him up on it. He was a lone heckling wolf.

Well, Nicole being the spunky lady that she is jumped to her feet and pointed to herself and others around the table yelling, "Former Democrat! Former Democrat! Former Democrat!" Somewhere along the line the rest of us burst into a short chorus of "Sarah! Sarah! Sarah!" It all died down quickly.

After the dinner, Mia found the guy. He said that he just likes to cause trouble. Not wanting to leave the place with any hard feelings, Mia offered to buy him a drink. I believe he accepted.

We walked back to the hotel and who was standing outside? Tammy Bruce. We informed her of what had happened and she told us to answer with, "We believe in the Mayan calendar. The world is going to end for liberals in 2012 with two words: President Palin."

Yeah, baby!

Dr. Gina Loudon stayed up with us in the lobby that night just talking about Palin and telling us her own theories about how the 2012 race will shape up. She repeated much of what she said in her speech, and I'm sure someone will post the speeches, so I won't reiterate it.

All of the speakers were amazing and so great for coming. But at the end of the day, there's no doubt that Tammy was the barn burner. (Side note, I got to ride in a cab with Thomas of Palin Promotions, Nicole, and the one and only Tammy Bruce. How cool is that?)

Saturday night we had dinner in a separate room of a restaurant. Tammy was the last speaker of the event and man, she let everybody have it. I get the feeling that she's not too fond of Karl Rove. Just a wee bit of a feeling. ;-)

Tammy picks up on the almost instinctive (dare I say, Providential?) nature of this whole thing better than anyone else I know. When the speeches are posted, you have got to watch hers, at least. Hers and Loudon's were my faves, but they were all great.

I kept an eye on the waiters during Tammy's speech. They didn't have much to do at that point, but a few of them hung around the back anyway and you could tell they were listening. It is Chicago, so I wasn't sure how they were taking it, but after she was done they clapped like crazy. I didn't see the next part, but I've heard from others that when Tammy went up to buy a drink later, the guy told her that it was on him. Maybe there's some hope for Chicago yet.

After dinner, this barbarian hit the hay, but I hear that many of my peers stayed up well into the wee hours of Sunday morning chatting in the lobby, and that Tammy stopped by to chat for awhile herself.

I don't have time to go into all the great people that I met, or the Governor's call (yes, she called in). If there's anyone I didn't say "hi" to, I apologize. I'm not the most outgoing person in the world, but if I hang around Nicole long enough, maybe some of her personality will rub off on me. :-)

Oh, and I met a fellow Norwegian, an actual true Norwegian who was born in Norway and moved here. Sweet.

Let's just say that it was definitely worth it and my hat is off big time to the people who put it all together. If at all possible, I'll be at the next meet-up, that's for sure. Gotta hang with my fellow barbarians.

Bristol Palin on the Bob and Mark Show - Nov 9, 2010

2010-11-10T08:31:00.000-06:00

Bristol was on the Bob and Mark show yesterday morning. She addresses the "Tea Party votes are keeping her on!" thing at the end:

Oh, and she made it by the way. Kurt Warner got the boot.

SPAlaska

2010-11-08T09:27:00.000-06:00

Here are the latest three pics I could find, courtesy of Brittany at Team Sarah:

Love this one ^^^.

And some nice photoshop work too -

Not enough room to post 'em all, so here's a slideshow of what pics have surfaced so far.

Find more photos like this on Team Sarah

The New Yorker

2010-11-08T04:27:00.003-06:00

Nancy Franklin (whoever that is) wrote a review of "Sarah Palin's Alaska" for the New Yorker. Take a moment to be impressed by the number of commas in the first sentence:

When it was announced, in the spring, that Sarah Palin would be making a reality show about Alaska, the state she grew up in and then, last year, blew off, by resigning the governorship, I’m sure I winced and groaned and rolled my eyes, before hanging my head, shaking it, and emitting a deep sigh, and then repeating the sequence several times.

Magnificent. Meghan McCain would be proud. I won't bother covering the entire article as its mostly Ms. Franklin trying to impress her audience with how very smart she thinks she is, but here are a few things that stuck out to me.

And what could Palin’s agenda possibly be? Supposedly, it was to show us the wonders of Alaska (the show is called “Sarah Palin’s Alaska,” after all), to acquaint us with the state’s resources and its people, and, to some extent, with her own family.

Well, you just answered your own question, Nancy. That's exactly what the show is about. To take the Lower 48 on a tour of Alaska and to give us some fun behind-the-scenes glimpses into the Palin's lives in the process. It's good, clean, family-friendly entertainment. The election's over. Can't we just forget all that for awhile? Relax and enjoy, Nancy. Just breathe... Apparently not.

Moreover, you might ask, how seriously will people take her as a political candidate—a Presidential candidate—once she has participated in a reality show? ....

But if Palin fails to win elective office in the future it probably won’t be because she did a reality show; it will be because of real-world reality—a shift in the political climate or a strong opponent.

Since the sitting President appears on reality shows, I don't think anybody really cares. Times are changin'. As for appearing "Presidential," this show isn't about that. If Palin wants to look Presidential she'll run for President and look that way. That's not the point of the show. Oh, sure, sometimes she'll say something political. She can't divorce herself entirely from that aspect of her life, but those moments are few and far between.

Why she thought that was a good idea, considering that she complained regularly about the media’s intrusion into her family life when she was John McCain’s running mate in 2008 (while, at the same time, frequently putting her children on display), is a mystery.

Actually, I recall her being upset when people would attack the kids. That's about it.

Palin has an interesting family background, which she describes in her book “Going Rogue,” and I was hoping that she might explore that, and that she might reveal something profound about her avowed love of nature. I’ve seen only one episode of the show so far, but I’m not optimistic. We do meet her parents, but nearly every other moment comes across as calculated—including, in the first episode, the absence of her daughter Bristol—and we find out nothing about Alaska that we didn’t learn in elementary school. I know that some Americans think Palin is stupid, but I never realized that she thinks we’re stupid.

Well, given some of what she heard in the 2008 campaign, I wouldn't be surprised if she thought the Lower 48 was completely ignorant when it comes to Alaska. At least Ms Franklin finds Palin's family background interesting.

Ms. Franklin's idea that the absence of Bristol from the first episode is somehow "calculated" is weird. Bristol is in the show, just not the first ep. They seem to have done the show largely on the fly; whoever was around or wanted to tag along went on the various adventures. Apparently Bristol wasn't available to go glacier-climbing. Odd thing for Ms. Franklin to even bring up.

When a bear growls, Palin says, “You hear that? That is a growl.” And then, “Wow.” And then “Wow” again. And then “Wow” again.

And your play-by-play commentary is truly fascinating. I think I just fell asleep for a split second.

Next, we go to Denali National Park. This time, Palin’s sixteen-year-old, Willow, gets dragged along, but when weather forces the plane to turn back, and the Palins have to postpone for a day, Willow is allowed to beg off. (“My back hurts,” she says. Right. What probably hurts is that she’s stuck in this family.

Either Ms. Franklin has no kids or has never been a teenager herself. I used to beg off of things all the time, usually just so I could have the house to myself for a couple of hours. Why that's fun when you're a teenager, I don't know, but it is.

I can’t say what Palin is really up to with this show. She seems to want viewers to think that she’s conflicted about public life. She says that she’d “rather be doing this than in some stuffy old political office” and “a poor day of fishin’ beats even a great day of work.” In that spirit, I wish Palin many, many days—years—of fishin’, starting now.

"a poor day of fishin’ beats even a great day of work.."

I think my Dad has that bumper sticker.

You know, it is genuinely more fun to be out enjoying the great outdoors than it is to be cooped up inside pushing papers around. Try not to overthink this, Nancy.

You're a TV critic. It's your job to write Lefty, snarky pieces for the New Yorker. I get that. But, Nancy, if you're serious about this article, then I think you've forgotten how to just kick back and enjoy life. Relax, grab some popcorn, try to put aside your snark for an hour and watch it again. You'll enjoy it.

Crazy Candidates - UPDATE

2010-11-05T23:52:00.015-05:00

A co-worker and I were discussing the election on November 1st. The conclusion: "If the GOP wins 65 seats they'll say that if it hadn't been for Palin they'd have won 66." Same kind of sentiment with regards to the Senate. Apparently the largest gains in recent GOP history aren't enough. If Palin would just go away we could have more!

As far as I'm concerned the GOP should be on its knees humbly thanking their Maker for another chance. Either do it right this time or hit the highway for good as far as I'm concerned. Trust has been broken.

I'm satisifed with the election results. Re-taking the Senate was not something I wanted anyway. I want the GOP to stay hungry. What did we gain, 6 seats? I think it was 6. I don't think we lost any.

The WaPo has taken it upon itself to bemoan the GOP's election losses:

Even a vast political victory does not change an iron law of politics: The quality of candidates matters. Serious, mainstream Republican Senate candidates could have won in Delaware and Nevada. But Christine O'Donnell was not serious. And Sharron Angle - warning of "Second Amendment remedies" in case of political loss - was not mainstream. Weak, poorly vetted Senate candidates were the main reason that while Republican gains in the House were historic - the largest in 72 years - gains in the Senate were not.

O'Donnell and Angle were gifts of Sen. Jim DeMint and Sarah Palin to their party. Tea Party enthusiasm and shallow ideological purity were supposed to be better than outdated, "establishment" attributes such as achievement, wisdom or qualification. This approach to politics is expected of DeMint, who has gained national prominence by accusing his Republican colleagues of compromise. Coming from Palin, however, it is a threat to the Republican future.

Ah, yes. That achievement, wisdom and qualification that lead us to brilliant proposals like cap and trade.

O'Donnell and Angle were gifts of DeMint and Palin? I don't know DeMint's political history so I won't get into that, but I will address the Palin aspect.

Palin never endorsed Angle in the primary. She didn't endorse anyone in the primary, although her Dad and brother stumped for Danny Tarkanian. After the primary who was she supposed to support, Harry Reid? I will be the first to say that Angle made mistakes, but that's what happens when you're a rookie candidate. The Tea Party has brought many political newbies to the forefront, and they're just getting started. They'll be back.

As for O'Donnell, Palin endorsed her I think a few days before the primary. I'm all for crediting Palin for her endorsement power, but the truth is that O'Donnell probably would have beaten Castle anyway. O'Donnell was then facing an uphill battle for Joe Biden's old seat in a deep blue state against everyone, including Republican organizations who would have left her hung out to dry entirely if it had not been for the rage of the party base at that idea.

Mr. Gerson assumes that if we had run Mike Castles in Nevada and Delaware that they would have won. How he knows this is anybody's guess, but my personal opinion is that we've already got a couple moderate RINO headaches to deal with. Definitely don't want one more named Mike Castle.

Gerson continues:

Palin's support for O'Donnell showed poor political judgment. But Palin went further, also endorsing Constitution Party gubernatorial candidate Tom Tancredo in Colorado, one of the most divisive figures in American politics.

Gerson will note that Colorado's governorship went to a Democrat. After winning the Republican primary, Dan Maes went on to implode with people un-endorsing him left and right. Endorsing Tancredo was a last-ditch attempt to save the Governor's mansion from the Dems. It didn't work anyway. The Democrat got 51%, Tancredo came in second with 37% and Maes got a whopping 11%. Even if Maes and Tancredo had morphed into one guy the Democrat still would have won. I'm sure someone can find some way to blame Palin for that too.

I seem to recall President Obama praising left-wing nut Alan Grayson as an outstanding member of Congress last year. Grayson lost by 18 points to Palin endorsee Daniel Webster last Tuesday. I wonder when Gerson will write an article about Dems concerned about Grayson or Pelosi and Obama's support for them.

The whole thing is silly. When it comes down to it you rally around your teammate, no matter how "nutty" the media makes them out to be (unless they're truly insane with people locked in their basement).

Yes, Gerson, quality of candidate does matter. That I will agree with. Now please explain to me how Mr. "This War is Lost" Reid is of better quality than Sharron Angle or Christine O'Donnell.

Hindsight is 20/20. Conservatives will evaluate their performances this year, figure out what worked and what didn't and come back later even stronger. In the meantime, for Pete's sake, we did great. Don't get bogged down by the two or three losses. You can't win 'em all.

At least all this talk of extremism gives me an excuse to watch this video again:

UPDATE: RAM (Rebecca Mansour who works for Palin) pretty much confirms my explanation of the Angle and Tancredo situations on Twitter:

FTR: Palin didn't endorse anyone in the NV GOP Senate primary.But she got behind Angle when she won - just as all good conservatives should.

FTR: Palin endorsed Tancredo days before the election (when the GOP candidate was polling at 5%).

Media Malpractice Re-Release

2010-11-04T18:45:00.001-05:00

John Ziegler was on the Bob and Mark Show this morning talking about his documentary on the media coverage of Obama vs. Palin in 2008. It's about to be re-released and is now available on satellite as Video on Demand. Direct TV has it for sure, supposedly through April of next year. You can find it in their listings. If you haven't seen it yet, I would encourage you to watch it on demand as it's cheaper than buying the DVD. But I'm not sure what all the VOD presentation will include. Probably just the movie itself. I doubt it will have the special feature of Ziegler's entire, unedited Palin interview which is on the DVD.

Anyway, he had a fun conversation with Bob and Mark:

I know Ziegler gets a little crazy sometimes, but I'll keep promoting the movie because it is a nice takedown of the media in 2008. He even includes a section on the Katie Couric interview. I highly recommend it.

Website here - http://howobamagotelected.com/

The Election

2010-11-03T06:54:00.001-05:00

Well, the results are in, most of them anyway.

First off, I want to say that this is the first time I've ever actually gone to the polls in a general election. Before I've always had to do absentee or early. It was kinda cool.

For once I'm actually pretty proud of Wisconsin (channeling Michelle Obama). Doyle is out!! Woot!! Scott Walker is in. I don't know much about Walker. He's famous in another part of the state, but the people I know from that part of the state say he's fantastic. Here's hoping that he cleans up that cesspool in Madison. They describe him as a kind of Chris Christie without the in-your-face attitude or the big gaping liberal holes.

Ron Johnson made it too. My guy didn't win for Congress though. Oh, well. It was kind of a long shot that he would anyway.

As for the rest of the country, I'm satisfied. Won the House, not the Senate, exactly like I hoped. Palin's candidates did pretty well. A few major bummers like Jackie Walorski. I was hoping she would get it. Ruth McClung lost too, but she came really close considering the Democrat district she was running in. Last I saw she only lost by 2 points. That's pretty amazing. I still think there's a future for that girl.

Ayotte won big time! So much for Palin killing off her chances. O'Donnell lost, but I don't think that's a huge surprise. Exit polls show Castle would have lost too, so whoopde. I clung to a shred of hope that Christine could pull it off, but it was a long shot.

California elected Jerry Brown. LOL!!! Now that's funny. From a safe distance in a state far away, I have to say I'm getting ready to enjoy the show. The man is a fruitcake.

I wish Fiorina could have pulled it off, but if California would elect Brown (I mean, really???) then I don't think there was much hope for anybody but Boxer. (Brown, really???)

Nevada though gets my head shake of the evening. With unemployment through the roof you seriously voted back in Harry Reid? I expect that kind of reckless behavior from CA, but the land of the casinos? You couldn't take a chance on Angle?

On the bright side, we'll have "Dingy Harry" to kick around for another few years.

It looks like a chunk of Alaska Democrats voted for Murkowski. I don't think that race will be decided for awhile yet, but it doesn't look good for Miller at this point. Oh, well. Hope he pulls it off, but he really caught lightning in a bottle when he won the primary. Lisa's supporters stayed home before because no one thought he had a chance. They weren't going to make the same mistake twice, and McAdams was a weak enough candidate that Dems were willing to vote for Lisa just to screw Miller.

That's my theory anyway. I could be wrong. I know people will start saying this means Alaska rejects Palin or whatever, but I know a couple of guys who were leaning Murky, one was definitely supporting Murky, and these guys are also big Palinistas. Do the names "Bob and Mark" ring a bell?

Let 'em spin it however they want. What we got out of this was a revelation of what Lisa is really made of, and it ain't pretty. That alone was worth the price of admission.

But, I'm going off the assumption that he lost. Like I said, we won't know for awhile yet.

All in all, a good day. Lost some, won a lot. Lots of great people headed for Congress. Rand Paul, Sean Duffy, and Allen West just to name a few. This is going to be fun.

Mockeries

2010-10-30T02:18:00.000-05:00

Operation Alaska Chaos. I have to say, it warmed the cackles of my cold, cold heart when I read about a woman carting an oxygen tank behind her as she went to sign up as a write-in candidate for Senate in Alaska. She was upset that the state was allowing a list of the write-in candidates. She signed up herself as a form of protest. I think I'd vote for that woman if I wasn't vested in Miller for Palin's sake.

Oh, I know, Miller's a great guy, but still. Only in Alaska. If I lived there, you'd better believe I would have signed up. (sigh) I think it's awesome.

As for Lisa calling it a mockery of the process, you're the mockery, Lisa. This is to protest the lows that you're so willing to stoop to. Heaven forbid you lose that seat. If you can do it, they can do it. Period. I hope you get your butt kicked next Tuesday.

The court came back and said that the list will only be available on a restricted basis or something. In other words, if someone comes up and specifically asks for help in spelling a certain name, they can help the person with the correct spelling. Not sure how I feel about that.

But here's what I do know: Lisa has been running as a write-in candidate for quite some time now. If you are bent on writing in her name and you don't know how to spell it at this point.... Let's just say I have no sympathy for you.

DWTS - Sarah and Bristol Video, the Dance, and Backstage

2010-10-26T05:11:00.000-05:00

First off, paparazzi vid. What a life, sitting up high somewhere waiting for a celebrity to walk by. Sarah gets out of the car with Trig and another lady has Tripp. Tripp throws a few punches:

The Tango:

After the show:

Photos: Sarah and Trig at Rally

2010-10-23T13:40:00.002-05:00

Slideshow:

Find more photos like this on Team Sarah

Klavan on Culture: The Extremists are Coming!!!

2010-10-21T14:54:00.002-05:00

This is awesome:

Qualifications - Update

2010-10-19T00:40:00.008-05:00

http://newsminer.com/bookmark/9959325

So very sorry to vent here, but to post a comment there you gotta go through this whole sign-up process now and it's just not worth it.

I just wanted to take apart the troll logic for a moment.

No qualifications required other than live in the city limits for a year, etc... And the trolls yuk it up.

Um, yeah. That's pretty much the case for every office in America. You know there aren't really any "qualification requirements" to be President either, right? You just gotta be a natural-born citizen and 35 or older. Tens of millions of US citizens meet those requirements. Doesn't mean they, or Levi, have a snowball's chance in a very hot place of being elected to anything.

Palin-haters have the maturity level of two-year-olds. My apologies to those currently going through the Terrible Twos.

The implication of course is that this means being Mayor is no big deal, therefore Palin is no big deal, etc... Heh. Sure, Levi. You just keep telling yourself that when you get a total of two votes on election day.

Jealous, jealous little boy.

Update -

I decided to look it up because I suspected you have to spend a certain amount of time in the US to qualify to run for Prez, and sure enough - http://www.presidentsusa.net/qualifications.html.

Have to live here for 14 years.

Speeches and TLC

2010-10-17T19:35:00.005-05:00

Howdy. What's up?

Sorry I don't keep up here as much as I should. I've taken to using Twitter lately instead of the blog to fire off my random thoughts. You can follow me @barbaricblog if you don't already.

Palin's speech in Anaheim last night was awesome. The best (IMHO) since the RNC convention. I absolutely loved when she took on the Delta smelt. People are more important than a two-inch fish.

I think my favorite part (besides the fish) was when she told the media that she would invoke Reagan: "Again, and again, and again, and again..."

Like rubbing salt in the wound. I could feel liberals wincing.

It also set me to thinking about how great Reagan really was. We have his example to look back on; he pioneered.

I'm not comfortable with calling Palin "Reagan reincarnate" or Thatcher or anyone else. I see similarities with them and many others and often make comparisons, but Palin is also her own unique self.

In other news, TLC has new pics out, in case you haven't seen them yet.

Find more photos like this on Team Sarah

I can hear the criticism now. "She doesn't actually do those things, it's just for the reality show!"

Uh-huh. Sure. Exhibits C, D, E, & F.

I'm sure way back when Sarah Palin was, ya know, four or five and her Dad was teaching her how to skin a seal she was thinking, "Better get my bonafides down for the reality/travelogue show that I'll do someday." Right.

Now, I'm sure her schedule is far too packed to go hunting or fishing every day, especially over the past few years since her political career really ramped up, but the idea that she wasn't raised to know the outdoors and that she never hunts or fishes is patently absurd and easily disproven, so shut your PDSing traps all ye who hail gossip in Vanity Fair articles as the gospel truth. (Wow. That was a long and possibly grammatically incorrect sentence. Grammar. Pffft.)

I sent this clip to my parents, and my mom sent it to all of her friends. I might actually talk her into watching the show:

Bristol and Tripp on DWTS

2010-10-13T09:35:00.000-05:00

This was just too cute to not screencap:

Find more photos like this on Team Sarah

Bristol in Fargo

2010-10-08T23:18:00.005-05:00

Drove all day Thursday from my home to Fargo, ND and back. I was curious to hear what Bristol had to say and I've been itching to get out of the house for a change. A road trip on a beautiful, crisp autumn day seemed like just the ticket. And it was a beautiful ride. Autumn colors, Minnesota lakes all over the place, sky clear and as blue as blue can be making the water equally as blue, contrasting with the trees. Crisp, but not too cold.

Once I got to Fargo, it took me 20 minutes to find the Holiday Inn where she was speaking, but I need not have rushed. They said they got about 200 more people than they planned for and the line was still long. I estimate that they started half an hour late because of it. All in all, over 1,000 in attendance.

Unlike the last time I went to a Palin event, I didn't take any notes. You can't really enjoy it when you take notes, so if I get a few quotes wrong... Consider this my disclaimer.

First off, the Perry Center seems like a wonderful organization. Patricia Larson, the Administrator of Perry Center, choked up a number of times telling the story of how the Center was founded and her involvment in the ministry. Basically, they're a home for girls ages 12 to 23 (although exceptions are made for other ages) who get pregnant and don't know what to do.

Patricia told the story of how she graduated college just before the passage of Roe vs. Wade. She never really thought about abortion until she heard that an abortion clinic was being opened nearby. Inside she felt that this was very wrong, but she wasn't sure how to help. Her husband (she calls him the idea man) was away doing ministry work at the time. He called her up soon after and said, "Well, I did it." He had put an ad in the personal section of the paper:

"Pregnant? Call us first."

That was it. About six people responded in just the first week. Patricia found herself in the business of helping overnight, encouraging these young women, telling them that they are not junk, their lives have meaning. The baby they're carrying is not a mistake, it's a life God wants to use. Don't throw it away; there are other options.

One day a doctor came up to Patricia at church and offered to do whatever he could in addition to his regular practice. His name was Dave Perry. He often delivered the babies free of charge and sometimes provided emergency medical treatment to girls who were suffering from a botched abortion.

One of the more heart-wrenching parts of the story was when Patricia told of the first time she ever held signs in front of their local abortion clinic. It wasn't something she wanted to do; she felt that her strengths laid elsewhere, but she got talked into trying it for at least one hour.

The hour was almost up with her opinion unchanged, when a big Cadillac pulled up in front of the clinic. A well-to-do man and his wife got out of the front seat, went around to the back, and pulled their daughter out. She looked to be about 15. She was sobbing. "Someone help! I don't want to kill my baby, don't make me kill my baby!" They drug her in anyway.

That was it. Patricia was in with both feet, even for sign-waving.

Learn more about the Perry Center and about how you can help - http://www.perrycenter.org/

They showed this video in the introduction:

Perry Center V 2 from Tim Larson on Vimeo.

Anyway, on to Paliny things.

Scott Hennen, a regional conservative radio celebrity, was the Master of Ceremonies. He got fired up. I wish I had video of his introduction alone. He was praising Sarah Palin up and down, Bristol as well. C4P linked the interview he had done with Bristol earlier that day.

He told about how he was down and bored to tears in August of 2008 with McCain. "Is this the best we've got?"

He was talking to a friend of his, and his friend turned to him and said, "Don't you know the Barracuda?" Scott said no. His friend proceeded to tell him about the Governor of Alaska, former basketball player nicknamed 'the Barracuda.'

About a week later, she was announced as John McCain's VP pick.

I wish I could remember everything he said, but here's an example:

When something needs fixing, who do you call? "Moooooom!!!"

Deficits, government out of control... "Mooooooom!!!"

We're all here for a reason. That's her reason. That's why she's here.

He had me grinnin' from ear to ear. His speech was about as close you can get to an endorsement without technically endorsing. It was also so cute the way he talked about wanting Tripp to play hockey for the North Dakota Sioux. (That also reminded me of this stupidity. I demand they ban the "Fighting Irish!" stereotype as well /s. I'm sorry, but "Fighting Sioux" is a compliment. It's cool. What do you want to be called, the Knitting Sioux?)

Anyway....

Bristol got up after a couple more speakers. She was pretty nervous, I think. Not big-time outwardly, but she's shy by nature. It manifested itself in her speaking softly. An audience of 1,000+ has got to be nerve-wracking (I absolutely hated my speech classes). The audience was eager to cheer Bristol on and encourage her in her efforts. It had a feeling of them being there for her just as much, if not more, as her being there for them.

Hm, what to tell? There are a couple of really cute anecdotes she shared, but I'm not sure how detailed I should get. Janne has a general rundown.

She said she believes life begins at conception. She talked briefly about Baby Doe, the child with down syndrome who was left to starve to death. The man who pressured Congress to adopt the Baby Doe Law to make sure something like that would never happen again, Dr. Koop, talks about it and Reagan here. Ted Kennedy actually deserves a pat on the back for his role in the process as well.

She emphasized that her family was your typical, middle American family. The fact that the media looks at her family as if they came from another planet just shows you how out of touch the media really is. She talked about how, when she got pregnant, one of the things that made it so hard was everything else that was going on in their lives at the time. Big Brother about to go off to a war zone, a brand-new baby brother in the house, already-hectic schedules, etc... And now this.

Okay, I have to share a couple of the cute anecdotes, and then I'll leave it at that.

This wasn't her first trip to North Dakota. Track went to a hockey camp at UND, and Bristol said that they all hopped in the mini van and drove down to surprise him.

(According to Sarah at Faulker University, they were ready to do the same thing for Bristol. Just hop in the camper, drive down, and park alongside Bristol's place. I love how they don't seem to give a second thought to what anyone else would think about it. It's their family; it's what they do. They show up for each other.)

One more story. She said that at one of her basketball games, her dad showed up in the middle still in his hunting camo. He had just skinned a moose. He might have looked a little out of place but for the fact that he was in good company; Mom had arrived still in her camo a few minutes before.

The audience was really cool. Seemed like there were a lot of churches present, and again, it was like they were there to really encourage Bristol. Scott Hennen emphasized that God has a plan for Bristol and for Tripp. There's nothing like a salt-of-the-earth old church guy throwing his arm around you when you're young and telling you that you've got purpose. You're going to do something great for God one day.

At the very end, Scott got up again and made a pitch to donate to the Perry Center. Then a local pastor gave the closing prayer. He said that they had come up with the idea that they should pray for Bristol, and that's exactly what they did.

Todd Palin Responds

2010-10-06T12:01:00.003-05:00

Via the Weekly Standard:

My family has worked hard in supporting Joe Miller, so when I heard he'd said something less than supportive of my wife's efforts, I responded. But it turns out we'd gotten our wires crossed and Joe hadn't said anything like what I'd been told. So there's no story here except the fact that the press put our personal emails online again, and again couldn't even be bothered to conceal our email addresses or take any steps to protect our privacy.

Ha! See? Miscommunication that they worked out quickly and got on with their lives. Big whoop.

I'll confess, I never bothered to look at the picture of the e-mail; I just read the text elsewhere so I had no idea they didn't black out the e-mail addresses. Swine.

P.S. I would assume Joe had a particular strategy in mind as well that Todd probably wasn't in on at the time of the interview. Bottom line, whatever it was was already worked out a long time ago between Miller and the Palins, and the Palins support Miller. Period.

As for any "leakers," Joe needs to figure out what happened and fix it.

The E-Mail

2010-10-06T10:05:00.005-05:00

This whole Todd Palin e-mailing Joe Miller thing is so funny to me. Joe is supposed to be on Megyn Kelly today, so I guess we'll see what he has to say about it.

In politics, people get heated, get misinformation, fight about strategy, etc... No big flippin' deal. You think everyone in Romney's camp are always huggin' and kissin'? (I hope not. That would be a little disturbing.)

I could probe anybody's e-mail account and take one e-mail and conclude one thing. But then if you looked at further replies, clarifications, etc... you come up with a different picture. In politics people go back and forth about stuff all the time. This was a private communication. Todd was ticked off in the heat of the moment and told Joe what he thought about it. Obviously, it blew over. Big whoop.

I didn't have a problem with the way Joe answered the question, but I can understand Todd's response. "What, you couldn't just say "Yes"? Would that have been too hard after she practically put her political life on the line for you?"

The e-mail happened a couple weeks ago. The Palins have done many things to support Joe since then; Todd went on the radio to support him the day before this e-mail was leaked. This was old news to them. Obviously they cleared up whatever miscommunication had occurred, worked it all out, and moved on.

As for Joe forwarding it to his staff saying something like, "This is what we have to deal with. Look at the misconstruction..." I think that ticked off a couple of Palin people, but that's probably what the leak was meant to accomplish. The only reason I could think of that Joe would even forward that to his staff was to serve as an example of how things could be taken out of context. "See? This is what we have to deal with. Look at how things can be misconstrued..."

I could be wrong about that. We'll see what Joe says today, if he even talks about this at all.

Well, at least we have proof now that Sarah Palin writes her own FB posts. And apparently Todd loves his wife. Who'da thunk it?

"She'd be a Great President"

2010-10-03T23:27:00.001-05:00

Short, but good. A caller on Mark Levin's recent Palin interview:

Mahatma Beck

2010-10-03T07:07:00.001-05:00

Some have been wondering what's up with Beck lately. Apparently, he's turning into Gandhi:

A Couple of Pics

2010-09-30T05:47:00.000-05:00

A couple more pics from 8-28:

Yes, Prime Minister

2010-09-29T06:27:00.000-05:00

From the British show "Yes, Prime Minister" -

I love these.

PuffPo - Update

2010-09-25T00:58:00.007-05:00

When all else fails drag out the "She's a bad mother!" meme.

I see that some lady over at the HuffPo who apparently finds it difficult to balance her private and professional life and therefore sees anyone who can as being evil, has penned a piece slamming Bristol for doing DWTS. She's so obviously neglecting Tripp by doing this.

Ironically, that stupid article comes out at virtually the same time that an issue of In Touch hits the stands (yes, I sold my soul again and bought another tabloid) with a Bristol Palin interview that focuses on single motherhood.

Yeah, he looks miserable and neglected. /s

Part of the article:

Bristol Palin... [is] clearly a natural when it comes to her most important job: being a good mother to 21-month-old Tripp. While a makeup artist dusts shadow above her sparkling brown eyes....Bristol cuddles her son and coaxes him to sip his juice. "You were thirsty!" she exclaims to the blonde-haired, beaming boy who claps and shouts "Mama!" as he finishes his drink.

The latest round of rumors (that Bristol would rather focus on fame than on spending time with her son) are far from true. "It's a made-up story by people who know that it's going to sting," Bristol fumes. "I'm with Tripp every day. I'm a working single mom."

A couple more excerpts:

"It's a juggling act for sure," she says.... I have full physical custody and he's with me 99.9% of the time.... [While in LA for DWTS] We went to a Dodgers game...and I took him to the pier yesterday. It was the first time he's ever been on a beach, so he was freaking out about the sand."

And Tripp has evidently been watching Grandpa, 'cause in addition to his hockey sticks and other boyish things, he has a baby doll.

"It just cracks me up," Bristol says. "I never thought he'd want to pat a baby on the back."

Todd made it cool. ;)

That's all I'll post. You'll have to go buy it if you want the cute pics and stuff.

As for the Puff Piece, it includes such gems as:

I read she [Sarah] flew home from a Republican Governors Association in Texas, an 8-9 hour flight, to deliver Trig after going into pre-term labor....Perhaps bearing him in Alaska would prevent future "Birther" questions when he runs for governor?

Yeeeah. Does she really need to be smacked down? She pretty much makes a fool out of herself.

She seems to take issue with the idea that the Palin girls are "supermoms" which I find odd since neither one of them claim to be. Bristol says it's a juggling act and a lot of work. Sarah says there's no way she could do all she does without the help of her family. I mean, she's got a full-time Dad at home, ya know.

Update -

It doesn't even make sense on the surface. Back home, Bristol worked a 9-5 job. She gets off practice for DWTS at 3. She's probably spending about the same amount of time with Tripp now as she did when she was in Alaska. Or more. Bristol's "celebrity" status probably allows her to spend more time with her son than the average single mom, so the whole argument is just ridiculous.

One More... Bristol and Mark on the Bob and Mark Show

2010-09-22T10:11:00.002-05:00

Okay, one last post and then I am gone, baby.

Bristol and Mark called into the Bob and Mark Show this morning:

Bored

2010-09-22T01:51:00.000-05:00

Well, it's that time of "day." When I'm up and most everyone else has turned off the computer and settled in for a good night's sleep. (Sigh) And I'm bored.

So I figured I'd throw up a blog post. I haven't done much on here lately. What to talk about...

Found a couple cute pics the other day. I've seen one before, but a smaller version.

Click to make 'em bigger.

Still working on the Todd e-mails. I'm almost done with that project. I literally have at least four projects going on, at least two of which nobody knows about. Yeah. My brain is computer-fried.

I'm going to take a few days off. Probably be back on Friday or Saturday. I need to step back and go do something else for a little while. Recharge.

Okay, I'm going to leave you alone now. I'll post something that's actually worth posting after I've actually had some sleep. See y'all later.

(In honor of Christine O'Donnell) -

Todd Palin at the Gathering of the Eagles

2010-09-20T06:44:00.000-05:00

Todd dropped by this event the other day. The guy who made the video made a slight typo. I'm sure you'll catch it. ;)

Palin, According to a Democrat

2010-09-18T08:28:00.001-05:00

This was posted on a C4P thread last night. I thought it was worth saving. By "RefudiateObama2012" -

Every once in a while I visit the Indiana University Water Cooler Discussion board. Today I saw a post over there that I thought would be of interest here. Keep in mind that most of the posters there are ultra liberal, so I'm sure it made their heads explode.

Here it is:

CO. Hoosier, I'm not even sure that I can be classified as a "Palin fan", but I am kind of an observer. An old school buddy of mine has worked within the Alaska legislature for the last twenty years or so. He's a registered Democrat and has worked on projects that allowed him to cross paths with her going back when she was a city commissioner, as the mayor, and as the governor.

He told me that the picture painted of her as a mindless ideologue is about 180 degrees off base. He said that over the years, he'd probably dealt with her a couple of dozen times and that her input and/or decisions were always supported by law and not by personal beliefs.

The thing he told me about her that really peaked my interest of her was her ability to process information and then to quickly forge a plan with the information she was given. He said she was a living, breathing CPM chart. He said he had seen her on multiple occasions on a variety of subjects instantly absorb input from others and then respond with cogent solutions to problems. He said if you put her in a room with a bunch of people, the chances would be great that she'd be the smartest one in the room.

He told me that when he saw her debacle with Katie Couric, his first thought was, "who is that Sarah Palin imposter?" He said that was not the Sarah Palin he had worked with for years. He was sure that the interview was highly edited. It came out later that there was almost six hours of the interview that people didn't see.

He told me that if I really wanted to get a feel of who she is and how she dealt with powerful people, I should read the book, "Sarah Takes On Big Oil". It was released in October, 2008 and written by two of the state's top oil & gas editors. The lady they described had no fear to stand toe-to-toe with heavyweights and leave them slinking away with their tales between their legs. She told them that she was the advocate of the citizens of Alaska and there would be no deal making that would adversely affect them. The big boys at Exxon-Mobile and BP folded like a cheap suit.

One other thing he told me that still amazes him was how she managed to get people to work together. According to him, she could take two people with opposing opinions, sit down with them, listen to them, offer her solutions, and both guys would leave happy and not feeling that they had compromised their position at all.

He laughed at the "she doesn't read" meme. He said it is well known in the capitol that she was a voracious reader. She truly did read most of the national mags and newspapers, mostly on line, as well as a dozen or so energy trade magazines. According to him, there were stories about how she would take home stacks of papers and reports to prepare for a next-morning meeting and it was as if every word of those reports were stamped into her brain when she sat down at the meeting.

He told me not to be fooled by her syntax or her colloquialisms because they were not a fair barometer of her smarts. He said if people would just listen and not try to read between the lines, she was easy to understand. He said he'd love to see her and Obama in a debate about energy or even healthcare. He said she'd clean his clock. He even said that if she were given a day or two to prepare for a debate on foreign affairs, his money would still be on her.

He said she was the epitome of a leader. She assembled her staff, listened to their advice, allowed opposing ideas to be heard, and then acted accordingly. As a manager, she advocated making a plan based on the best info available, budgeting the plan, working the plan, measuring results, and quickly adjusting the plan if it was determined it wasn't working as expected. She believed in the First Law of Holes.

He thought her biggest struggles in the 2008 campaign were the product of trying to endorse McCain's positions on issues. She was able to voice her dissenting opinion on ANWR because her views were known, but on everything else she was expected to toe the McCain line. He said that she lacked the ability to shovel crap and sell it as perfume.

He reminded me that anyone who denies the accuracy of her "death panel" metaphor should go back and read her exact words, both her initial FB post and her rebuttal of Obama's attack on her words. He said "read what she wrote, not what someone wrote or said what she wrote". Her words in those posts have already been proven to be true.

He said that "divisive" is not a word that should be used to describe her. He said that was just a simple use of Alinsky's rule #13. He said, "look at all the issues. Her position is in line with the majority on virtually all of them".

He told me she wasn't perfect, but if I read something or heard something that was negative, I should check it out a little closer. He shared a lot more, but I'm afraid I've already rambled on for too long.

Should she run in 2012? I really don't know. Would I vote for her? It depends who she's running against. Will she drive the agenda if she doesn't run? Yes, for a long time.

Rush Limbaugh: The Republicans with Gonads are the Women!

2010-09-16T13:25:00.003-05:00

From Wednesday:

Beck - Not Ashamed to Profit

2010-09-15T13:54:00.000-05:00

From this past Monday. Beck had just gotten back from vacation, and he was a little ticked:

Palin in Montana

2010-09-15T09:34:00.001-05:00

Before her speech in Missoula. I believe the tall guy is Ken Miller, MT Governor candidate:

Palin Country

2010-09-15T04:50:00.000-05:00

Bob and Mark yesterday morning talking about the Palin/Beck rally and other stuff. Right before the audio starts, Bob had just said that he'd visited some people down South, and it was "Palin Country":

You Can Change the World

2010-09-13T21:43:00.004-05:00

Building on the theme of the Restoring Honor rally and my subsequent stumbling across the words of John Adams' grandson, I now bring you something from 1951.

The general idea is that the 2010 elections are extremely important, but they're not enough. This tells us that we must be the kind of populace that will produce great leaders. And the following video is a message that it's not enough to sit around and complain. All it takes for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.

This was a movie made in 1951. It stars many big Hollywood names of the time, specifically Jack Benny, Eddie Anderson (most everyone called him Rochester), Bing Crosby, Loretta Young, Irene Dunne, Bob Hope, William Holden, and others. Bing was a Catholic, Jack was a non-practicing Jew, and I'm not sure about the others. The point is that even though I'm sure they all disagreed on the finer points of their faith, or lack thereof, none of them shied away from the idea that Divine Providence had a hand in shaping our nation.

If you have time, watch it all the way to the end where Jack reads the words of Lincoln. That's my favorite part.

My Favorite Sea Birds

2010-09-13T04:00:00.000-05:00

My favorite "sea birds" make their cameo at 2:52:

Flashback: Glenn Endorses Palin for 2008

2010-09-13T01:05:00.002-05:00

He couldn't bring himself to vote for McCain, but he could get behind Palin.

October 27, 2008:

Wasilla Rally

2010-09-11T18:28:00.001-05:00

Palin dropped by a Wasilla rally to remember 9/11 this afternoon:
----------------

She then asked all military veterans to stand and led a round of huge applause before saying, "It's really, really good to be home, and tonight I think I'll see some of you at the Glenn Beck event."

The rally was a prelude to Saturday evening's Glenn Beck event in Anchorage. Palin is scheduled to make an appearance alongside Beck tonight.

The former governor's short speech focused on freedom and values. She said Alaska is "the most perfect state in the nation," that "there is no place I would rather be," and "It's our pioneer spirit that America needs more of."

It is unusual for Palin to make a public appearance in Alaska. She appeared at a National Rifle Association rally shortly after she resigned as governor last July, and has had at least one public book signing. Other than those, and a few sightings while staring in a reality television show about the state, she's kept a low profile here. Today might be an indication that that might start changing and that she might begin to try to re-ingratiate herself to Alaskans, some of whom feel betrayed after she quit her job as governor.

After her speech, Palin stepped off the stage and began a long round of handshakes and autograph signing, where she shook hands with everyone from Mead Treadwell to Sam Little, and signed everything from copies of her book to the back of a little girl's shirt to a small rock that a middle-aged woman handed her with a smile.

The crowd was happy and excited to be so close to their former governor, pressing close to shake her hand and get a quick picture. When a reporter asked Palin to identify the biggest threat to the U.S., she answered "Our debt, which is a natural security issue," before turning back to her admiring fans. Palin's daughter, Piper, quickly became bored with the whole scene and asked her mother when they could go.

As Palin walked outside the sports center into the bright Wasilla sun and stepped up into a black Escalade, men standing in the parking lot yelled out "Praying for you!" and "Love you, Sarah!"
--------------------

Let me read that part again:

As Palin walked outside the sports center into the bright Wasilla sun and stepped up into a black Escalade, men standing in the parking lot yelled out "Praying for you!" and "Love you, Sarah!"

I thought everyone in Wasilla hated her. The "undercurrent of fear" thing. Weird.

2012 and Recessions

2010-09-11T16:59:00.000-05:00

Some random thoughts.

I've noticed a few columns today about how Palin might be a superstar (at least they're conceding that point now), but she could never be President. After all, she'll have to prove she's better than the others running.

First off, one of the reasons I support her is because of the others running. They stink.

Secondly, if you think we're going to work our butts off to put conservatives in Congress for a change, and then willingly hand over the White House to Mr. Romneycare, you're out of your mind. I will actively work against Mitt Romney, even if he becomes the nominee. I don't believe he has any real respect for the Constitution or for the boundaries of his office. This is one quality that I know Palin possesses, and it's what solidified my support of her in the first place.

As for her being Governor for two and a half years, I say this. Would it have been better if she'd been able to get a couple of terms under her belt? I think so. But I also know that she did the right thing given the situation she found herself in. Oh, they'll holler "quitter!" from now until Doomsday. Let them. It doesn't matter.

As for whether or not she can perform in debates, they have no idea what they're dealing with. I personally believe the Katie Couric interview was a blessing in disguise. She is underestimated. Many refuse to see beyond it and will be crushed as a result.

I won't say anymore until it actually becomes necessary.

Now, my other random thought for the day: recessions.

I actually don't mind recessions too much. Honestly, I think they're necessary. If we grew and grew and grew all the time.... I think we'd be horrible people, eventually. Every so often you've got to burst that bubble, deflate a little bit, get back to what really matters, learn that you're not invincible.

Speaking as a young person, I'm actually thrilled that real estate and other things went down. I mean, come on. No way I could have afforded much of anything with the way the market was going.

Good times are good, but they often lead to excess. We should be teaching things like hard work and thrift in our classrooms, and those good old-fashioned princples that say things like, "Don't buy what you can't afford."

Only through good morality lies lasting prosperity.

Mark Levin's Audio Tribute to 9/11

2010-09-11T07:30:00.002-05:00

"Let us remember":

9/11

2010-09-11T06:47:00.000-05:00

Erin Andrews Has Some Advice for Bristol

2010-09-10T06:42:00.005-05:00

Don't ask me who Erin Andrews is, I have no idea. But she seems nice:

Selective Religious Outrage

2010-09-09T04:58:00.001-05:00

Article:

I should start by stating the obvious, Pastor Terry Jones is an idiot. The other obvious point is that most media outlets are selective in their religious outrage.

Is burning the Koran the Christian thing to do? Of course not. In doing so Pastor Jones and his Dove Center set back the image of Evangelicals substantially.

Then again, that’s the joy some folks in the media get from speaking to Evangelicals, especially ones with a southern accent. It’s a case of “Hey everybody, look at this hillbillie I found! Why he’s even got a Bible!”

As for media selectivity in religious outrage I’m waiting for the endless stream of stories about Pakistani gunmen killing Christians in the name of Islam.

Haven’t heard of this?

Odd if you haven’t because it is a fairly regular occurrence. When I was a weekend news editor for an all-news radio station I remember these stories coming across the wire on a regular basis. They still do but they don’t get nearly the play.

Here’s just a few recent headlines:

Family in hiding following accusations of blasphemy

Update: Christian exonerated of blasphemy charges

Two Christian girls raped in Punjab

Christian nursing student brutally assaulted

Two Christians murdered after accusations of blasphemy

Churches attacked by Islamic militants

Muslims kill Christian woman and children

Family rescued from mob, accused of blasphemy

Those are just the headlines from one country since July 1st.

A Christian group based in Canada keeps track of all of this, not just in Muslim countries where Christians are the minority, but anywhere Christians are persecuted.

Much of what takes place is horrific and barbaric but it won’t make the news wheel of endless repetition on CBC or CTV.

Why would they show those stories when got a pastor with a southern drawl to put on TV.

Go to the article for links to the stories.

I think this episode does a lot to demonstrate that going to Saudi Arabia, bowing to people, etc... in the end accomplishes nothing. One looney pastor and they're out to get us again.

Comment on Hot Air:

"It is the duty of Muslims to react,” said Mohammad Mukhtar, a cleric and candidate for the Afghan parliament in the Sept. 18 election. “When their holy book Quran gets burned in public, then there is nothing left. If this happens, I think the first and most important reaction will be that wherever Americans are seen, they will be killed. No matter where they will be in the world they will be killed.”

This is what our men and women overseas are fighting for???????

picklesgap on September 8, 2010 at 9:06 PM

Ann Coulter: Bonfire of the Insanities

2010-09-09T01:55:00.002-05:00

First, I would also like to say something about burning stuff in general. I'm not sure how to phrase this. Hopefully it makes sense.

Acts 19:18-19

And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds.

Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all [men]: and they counted the price of them, and found [it] fifty thousand [pieces] of silver.

The general idea with the burning of, in that case, witchcraft/sorcery type stuff, is that it was once a part of those people's lives. Now that they'd gotten right with God, they wanted to destroy that part of their lives, a symbolic bridge being burned, so to speak. Never going back.

Every now and then it happens today. Growing up, I heard stories of how former druggies would get saved and flush all their drugs down the toilet. Or rockers would destroy all their old albums. Or former Satanists would burn all their old books. It's a personal cleansing thing. A destruction of your old life. Turning your back on it, burning it all away.

But the whole, "Let's burn Korans to make a statement" thing is different. It's a protest. Aren't liberals usually the ones who burn things, like the American flag, in protest? Besides, if the Telegraph can be believed, the pastor sounds kinda nuts.

And now, I leave you with Ann Coulter:
---------------------------

In response to Gen David Petraeus' denunciation of Florida pastor Terry Jones' right to engage in a symbolic protest of the 9/11 attacks by burning copies of the Quran this Sept. 11, President Obama said: "Let me be clear: As a citizen, and as president, I believe that members of the Dove World Outreach Center have the same right to freedom of speech and religion as anyone else in this country."

Gov. Charlie Crist of Florida lauded Obama's remarks, saying America is "a place where you're supposed to be able to practice your religion without the government telling you you can't."

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg called Obama's words a "clarion defense of the freedom of religion" -- and also claimed that he had recently run into a filthy jihadist who actually supported the Quran-burning!

Keith Olbermann read the poem "First they came ..." on air in defense of the Quran-burners, nearly bringing himself to tears at his own profundity.

No wait, my mistake. This is what liberals said about the ground zero mosque only five minutes ago when they were posing as First Amendment absolutists. Suddenly, they've developed amnesia when it comes to the free-speech right to burn a Quran.

Weirdly, conservatives who opposed building the mosque at ground zero are also against the Quran burning. (Except in my case. It turns out I'm for it, but mostly because burning Qurans will contribute to global warming.)

Liberals couldn't care less about the First Amendment. To the contrary, censoring speech and religion is the left's specialty! (Any religion other than Islam.)

They promote speech codes, hate crimes, free speech zones (known as "America" off college campuses), and go around the country yanking every reference to God from the public square via endless lawsuits by the ACLU.

Whenever you see a liberal choking up over our precious constitutional rights, you can be sure we're talking about the rights of Muslims at ground zero, "God Hates Fags" funeral protesters, strippers, The New York Times publishing classified documents, pornographers, child molesters, murderers, traitors, saboteurs, terrorists, flag-burners (but not Quran-burners!) or women living on National Endowment of the Arts grants by stuffing yams into their orifices on stage.

Speaking of lying dwarfs, last week on "The Daily Show" Bloomberg claimed he was having a hamburger with his "girlfriend" when a man came up to him and said of the ground zero mosque: "I just got back from two tours fighting overseas for America. This is what we were all fighting for. You go and keep at it."

We're fighting for the right of Muslims to build mosques at ground zero? I thought we were trying to keep Muslims AWAY from our skyscrapers. (What an embarrassing misunderstanding.) PLEASE PULL THE TROOPS OUT IMMEDIATELY.

But back to the main issue: Was Bloomberg having a $150 Burger Double Truffle at DB Bistro Moderne or a more sensible $30 burger at the 21 Club when he bumped into his imaginary veteran? With the pint-sized mayor shrieking at the sight of a saltshaker, I assume he wasn't having a Hardee's No. 4 Combo Meal.

Adding an element of realism to his little vignette, Bloomberg said: "I got a hamburger and a pickle and a potato chip or something."

A potato chip? Translation: "I don't know what I was eating, because I'm making this whole story up -- I wouldn't be caught dead eating 'a potato chip' or any other picaresque garnish favored by the peasants." At least Bloomberg didn't claim the man who walked up to him took credit for setting the Times Square bomb because he was a tea partier upset about ObamaCare -- as Sherlock Bloomberg had so presciently speculated at the time.

Gen. Petraeus objected to the Quran-burning protest on the grounds that it could be used by radical jihadists to recruit Muslims to attack Americans.

This is what liberals say whenever we do anything displeasing to the enemy -- invade Iraq, hold captured terrorists in Guantanamo, interrogate captured jihadists or publish Muhammad cartoons. Is there a website somewhere listing everything that encourages terrorist recruiting?

If the general's main objective is to hamper jihadist recruiting, may I respectfully suggest unconditional surrender? Because on his theory, you know what would really kill the terrorists' recruiting ability? If we adopted Sharia law!

But wait -- weren't we assured by Fire Island's head of national security, Andrew Sullivan, that if America elected a "brown-skinned man whose father was an African, who grew up in Indonesia and Hawaii, who attended a majority-Muslim school as a boy," the terrorists would look like a bunch of lunkheads and be unable to recruit?

It didn't work out that way. There have been more terrorist attacks on U.S. soil by these allegedly calmed Muslims in Obama's first 18 months in office than in the six years under Bush after he invaded Iraq.

Also, as I recall, there was no Guantanamo, no Afghanistan war and no Iraq war on Sept. 10, 2001. And yet, somehow, Osama bin Ladin had no trouble recruiting back then. Can we retire the "it will help them recruit" argument yet?

The reason not to burn Qurans is that it's unkind -- not to jihadists, but to Muslims who mean us no harm. The same goes for building a mosque at ground zero -- in both cases, it's not a question of anyone's "rights," it's just a nasty thing to do.

Obama and Born Alive

2010-09-08T09:58:00.002-05:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

And I suppose it never occurs to people that these babies are also alive in their mother's womb before an abortion doctor kills them, whether or not they manage to survive it and are born still alive.

Thought for the Day

2010-09-08T05:10:00.000-05:00

"I have sometimes asked myself whether my country is the better for my having lived at all? I do not know that it is. I have been the instrument of doing the following things; but they would have been done by others; some of them, perhaps, a little better."

–Thomas Jefferson, 1800