Archive for the 'mccain' Category

Weekend Links

Things that caught my eye recently…

• Oh, Sarah Palin, why do you make me think of you and your horrible inadequacy?!? I don’t deserve that (more here!).

• The world in lego!

• Sesame Street made a joke, the wingnuts freaked out and Colbert had some fun. Honestly, I have no use for Sesame Street or the muppets since that horrible Elmo made his debut, but cut the shaggy rags a break — it was a freakin’ rhyme.

• These photographers color outside of the lines.

Islands seen from space.

• Al Gore (the thinner version!) visited The Daily Show last week.

• Where are you getting your Thanksgiving turkey and how much will you pay for it? Years ago, when Emmie was a bleeding-heart teenager, she announced that she would not be eating any Thanksgiving turkey unless it had been a happy bird who had lived a good life. I said ok, I’ll give it a whirl, and picked up a free-range, organic bird (and took some long, deep breaths to get me past the sticker shock). I cooked it up and was amazed at how much more moist and delicious the turkey was that year, and have paid the premium prices ever since. It really is better meat.

The History of Birth Control.

Leviticus also said…

US Exclaves.

• This link is a bit older, but I loves me some Sarah Vowell!

Letters of Note.

Al Franken has gotten to work (he’s not funny (much) — he’s just really good).

Feed the World!

• In America, people of all faiths are welcome here to worship Jesus in their own way.

What’s happening to American conservatism?!?

A difficult goodbye.

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Good Reading

A lot of people think the internet is shortening our attention spans to the point where we won’t read anything that takes more than two minutes of our time. If that applies to you, then you might want to just move along. But if you can still focus on something for more time than it takes to watch a YouTube video, here’s some interesting stuff:

Requiem for a Maverick — a post-mortem on the McCain campaign.

Our Mutual Joy — Opponents of gay marriage often cite Scripture. But what the Bible teaches about love argues for the other side.

And one more — which technically isn’t long-format, but since it’s a month’s worth of blog posts, it might as well be — One Dollar Diet Project (here’s the premise and scroll down here for Day One).

Enjoy!

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Yikes!

This is a pretty damning commentary — and it’s brought to us by Fox”News” (and more specifically, Papa Bear Bill)!!!

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Dear John,

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What the hell?

Palin only just released her medical records a medical records summary. No kidding.

I don’t get it.

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Be Still My Heart!

UPDATE: The video here no longer works — WMG has removed their content from YouTube, so it is no longer available. This is as good a time as any to remind you that until the evil bastards who make up the RIAA stop acting as though the consumer is their enemy, you should go elsewhere for your music (unfortunately, Paul Simon’s wonderful song is not available in an RIAA-free version, so if you want a copy, you can always head down to your local music resale shop and buy a CD so you can rip it yourself).

I had MSNBC tuned in while I was fixing some dinner a little while ago and all of a sudden, I heard Paul Simon’s voice singing. I spun around and there on the TV was a shot of some dude tying his shoe while Paul was singing American Tune — one of my favorite Simon songs. I have to admit that one of my first thoughts was “oh nooooos! Please, it can’t be true! I don’t want to live in a world where Paul Freakin’ Simon is a sell-out! Nooooo!” But then, as I watched, it quickly dawned on me that this wasn’t a commercial — it was a political ad. As I watched, the hair on my neck started to stand up, and there at the end with the lyric, “I wonder what’s gone wrong,” I saw a picture of Bush and McCain.

Just beautiful.

And because it’s such lovely, gentle song that is a joy to behold, here’s the whole thing:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

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Palin Punk’d! (No vetting, no preconditions!)

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Finally putting the concerns of women where they belong…

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Elitism

This is making the rounds lately via email and it’s not a minor point. Not if you’re one of those people who wants your surgeon to be a med school graduate and — beyond any of the anti-intellectual BS that tends to follow this issue around — there’s a good reason for wanting your surgeon to be a med school graduate.

Barack Obama:

Columbia University – B.A.
Political Science with a Specialization in International Relations.

Harvard – Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude

John McCain:

United States Naval Academy – Class rank: 894 of 899

Joseph Biden:

University of Delaware – B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science.

Syracuse University College of Law – Juris Doctor (J.D.)

Sarah Palin:

Hawaii Pacific University – 1 semester

North Idaho College – 2 semesters – general study

University of Idaho – 2 semesters – journalism

Matanuska-Susitna College – 1 semester

University of Idaho – 3 semesters – B.A. in Journalism

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Anchorage Daily News

In today’s edition of the paper, they endorse Barack Obama:

Gov. Palin’s nomination clearly alters the landscape for Alaskans as we survey this race for the presidency — but it does not overwhelm all other judgment. The election, after all is said and done, is not about Sarah Palin, and our sober view is that her running mate, Sen. John McCain, is the wrong choice for president at this critical time for our nation.

Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, brings far more promise to the office. In a time of grave economic crisis, he displays thoughtful analysis, enlists wise counsel and operates with a cool, steady hand.

On the most important issue of the day, Sen. Obama is a clear choice.

The unqualified endorsement of Sen. Obama by a seasoned, respected soldier and diplomat like Gen. Colin Powell, a Republican icon, should reassure all Americans that the Democratic candidate will pass muster as commander in chief.

Oh, yeah, and there’s that little matter of the home team governor…

Gov. Palin has shown the country why she has been so successful in her young political career. Passionate, charismatic and indefatigable, she draws huge crowds and sows excitement in her wake. She has made it clear she’s a force to be reckoned with, and you can be sure politicians and political professionals across the country have taken note. Her future, in Alaska and on the national stage, seems certain to be played out in the limelight.

Yet despite her formidable gifts, few who have worked closely with the governor would argue she is truly ready to assume command of the most important, powerful nation on earth. To step in and juggle the demands of an economic meltdown, two deadly wars and a deteriorating climate crisis would stretch the governor beyond her range. Like picking Sen. McCain for president, putting her one 72-year-old heartbeat from the leadership of the free world is just too risky at this time.

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