Seriously, happy Canada Day to the nation that proves Republicans wrong left and right: you have gun control, gay marriage, national health care, and decriminalized pot, and you have yet to be struck from the face of the Earth by angry Jesus. Congratulations! I live in envy.
@pantsless economist...access RESTORED: What up, Canucks? Happy Canada day - I will be studying all day like a freight train, so eat a hamburger and hoist a mojito for me!
@Little Green Frog: Just read Ebert's review and it was lovely. There are few things in life that give me more pleasure than reading poor reviews of bad movies.
I continue to hold out hope for a functional opposition party, because America kind of needs it. Aside from anything else, I fear that the Blue Dog Democrats will feel they're allowed to fill the role if the Republicans don't stop acting like half-brained wankstains. Damn it.
Of course this must be why it felt like the grown-ups weren't in charge for 8 years -- the GOP appears to have a worrying dearth of grown-ups. This is like that point in the playdate when the parents say "You know what? We have to let them work it out. They have to learn how to work things out," and go to the kitchen for more coffee. COME OUT OF THE KITCHEN, RESPONSIBLE REPUBLICANS!!
@ellaesther: I agree. I pretty much figure any true democracy needs a functioning opposition party, what with absolute power corrupting absolutely and all that.
So I second your call. Responsible Republicans...it's time to come out of the kitchen!
@ellaesther: Completely, completely agree. I was raised a Liberal Democrat. I identify as a Liberal, as does my brother. The one thing we both steadfastly believe in is a functioning democracy where all views, opinions, and voices are heard. I truly want the Republican party to get its act together and start acting like it cares about its members and constituents. I want them to weed out the hate-mongering, racists. They are so fractured and so lost. And the ones that do dissent? Don't have the guts to stand up to their fellow Republicans cut the crap out. It's utterly sad and utterly pathetic.
I want a Republican party in America, I just don't want this one.
I just don't understand people who appear to be hoping for a terrorist attack in order to prove that the country's not safe with a democrat at the helm.
@dianersb was bit by a zombie: Lest anyone remind them that BUSH was president during the last (and worst) terrorist attack. I cannot wrap my head around people continuing to ignore that important fact.
Beyond that, Cheney can STFU about keeping us safe afterwards too. London, Madrid, anyone? They were all attacks related to our presence in Iraq. I think that qualifies as keeping no one safe.
@dianersb was bit by a zombie: yeah, it's especially bullshit due to the amount of time he and the rest of his blathering ilk spend trying to do the unpatriotic, "you are trying to make america less safe" witch hunt. and it's a sad day when the vile mouthpieces of the republican party think that the only way they will gain traction with voters is if there is a massive terrorist attack. not through policy, not through good governance, not through inspiration or ideas, but through death. fuck that.
Not only does she not get a pass, she has harmed the status of women in politics. I worry that every hard-won step Hillary Rodham Clinton made as a terrific female candidate has been swept over by this ignorant egotist.
I'm rereading Studs Terkel's "Race," and a woman makes the point, early on, that if you appoint someone to a position solely as a token, you harm the person who comes along and has earned that job, making it that much harder for her to succeed. I'm afraid that's what Palin will have done. And worse yet, if it is, it's a win for the Republican party anyway, as their entire agenda has always struck me as anti-woman. She'll have done their bidding through her own incompetence.
@Sunflowercat: I get the concern, but I think that while she's been for a few months the most prominent woman in politics, as her (very long) 15 minutes fade away, all those other prominent women are still there, with a batch of new ones taking office soon. If anything, she's hurt the republican woman brand, but the democratic women look even better by comparison.
@MegSpencer: I hope you're right. I despise her so much it's hard for me to let go of it -- she's exactly like someone I used to work for: ignorant and hateful with a little handful of power. It's an ugly combination and seeing it on a national scale did nothing for my anger management issues.
@Sunflowercat: On the other hand, I think Clinton is used to illustrate a stark contrast to Palin. If Palin was our only example of a woman making waves in politics, I'd be a little more concerned. At this point I think Palin is to most, a bad dream. Clinton set the bar pretty high.
@Sunflowercat: I think it would be worse if women had voted republican in greater numbers - then there'd be grounds for talking heads to say that we "fell for her" or whatever. But Obama won the ladies, so that argument doesn't hold water.
@shewar: And there are plenty of other strong women in politics (Snowe and Pelosi to name two) who will no doubt offset any damage Palin may have done.
I see the Governor returning to her kingdom and staying there -- I think her foray into politics in the lower 48 told her it was not a nice place to be.
I don't think these attacks against Palin are sexist. Maybe because I worked in politics. I have never heard of a candidate refusing to do interview prep. Or of a candidate for national office not knowing Africa was not a continent. If she were a man and was this difficult we would have been hearing the same thing.
Remember after Hillary lost and we heard all about how Mark Penn and Ickes HATED each other and their battles for power?
Sorry Palin does not get a pass because she is a woman....that is sexist.
@nyc-caribbean-ragazza: Sorry Palin does not get a pass because she is a woman....that is sexist.
I'm not sure anyone's saying that attacking her is sexist. I think that what's sexist is the type of things they're focused on. It's one thing to call her a shameless egomaniac and another to call her a diva. It's one thing to call her out for being ill-informed and anti-intellectual and another to call her a clotheshorse (the spending of campaign funds was problematic, but if the campaign wants to criticize her for something, they have far bigger and better things to use). The point is their criticisms seem to be downplaying the fact that she was a politician instead of criticizing her approach to the campaign itself. That's what's sexist.
Remember John Edward's hair cut...and that was his own money. I don't think saying she refused interview prep, NAFTA etc. is sexist. If Palin was a man and we were hearing all these things about him we wouldn't be so quick to defend him. And believe we would be hearing about it.
How a candidate approach a campaign is important and she failed. Like I said she should have never been picked but once it went down she should have been about the ticket, not herself.
@nyc-caribbean-ragazza: Remember John Edward's hair cut...and that was his own money. I don't think saying she refused interview prep, NAFTA etc. is sexist. I don't, either. Those aren't the things I'm referring to. I thought the fuss over John Edwards' hair cut was dumb and I said so at the time to anyone who would listen.
I don't remember anyone else having anything to attack him for then, except his relative youth. People generally harp on stupid things when they can't think of weightier things to throw around. That's not the case with Sarah Palin. Talk about her refusing interview prep. Talk about her lack of knowledge about NAFTA. I defended those kinds of attacks in my original comment.
Using diva as a smear is more gender-specific. Talk about the clothes in the context of her abusing the campaign money and talk about it in the context of her having a history of abusing power-- that's not sexist. However, using the shopping thing as a way to give the impression that that's what she was in it for because that's what chicks do; they shop, and they're divas and they're too emotional on the campaign trail? Those things seem to be attempts not only to smear her (which I approve of, and aren't really even smears because they're true) but to diminish the fact that she's a politician and emphasize that she's just some dumb chick.
She's not just some dumb chick. She's an anti-intellectual, power hungry, corrupt politician. Those are harsh words that I approve of that would be applied to her if she were a man. Let's use those. Not diva. She's not a pop singer.
@robot ninja spy: new and improved, less ranty! Thanks, Obam...: However, using the shopping thing as a way to give the impression that that's what she was in it for because that's what chicks do; they shop, and they're divas and they're too emotional on the campaign trail? Those things seem to be attempts not only to smear her (which I approve of, and aren't really even smears because they're true)
Okay, I was unclear here. The part that's true is not the stuff in the beginning of that sentence, but the stuff I wrote about before that.
"And now I have a mental vision of the McCain campaign as a baby calf, crying inside its cowl after having been deposited, bloody and foul, onto the barn room floor." And baby calves all over the world are offended.
I can't express how happy I am that McCain's handlers picked Palin.
His staff speaking out now has nothing to do with McCain. Like Yellow Dog said they are free agents. And remember she tried to blame them for the clothes disaster.
I'm glad they are talking. What is wrong with her? She thought she would speak at his concession speech? I'm just blown away by her ill directed "moxie".
@nyc-caribbean-ragazza: I'm torn between thinking it's all in poor taste and supporting it with the hope it will prevent her from ever returning to the national stage.
But she's certainly not the only one to blame for the failed campaign. I realize McCain's staff is trying to salvage their careers, but come on, this is kind of embarrassing.
@shewar: I didn't think he was a gracious loser! I thought his concession speech talked about race in way that was creepy and vaguely marginalizing. (Not that he shouldn't have mentioned race, but that it was kind of passive aggressive for it to be basically the first thing he mentioned.)
@samethingwedoeverynightpinky: I'm with you. McCain doesn't think it's awesome that a black man was elected president. He said it because he knew he was expected to, but was so bitterly sarcastic during his campaign that I am not about to think him gracious now.
I will stop publicly despising Palin just long enough to say I really, really hope Robert Kennedy Jr. ends up as head of the EPA. That's the best prediction for any post I've heard of yet.
07/01/09
COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY.
I mean, really: poorly sourced, too gossipy, giving SP a reason to complain about how she is treated, and keeping her in the national news.
07/01/09
Yes, I do believe that is what it is like inside Glenn becks head EVERY DAY.
07/01/09
07/01/09
07/01/09
07/01/09
Can't wait for my road trip up there this summer :D
07/01/09
Lots of Canadians don't watch hockey!
07/01/09
/kidding
Seriously, happy Canada Day to the nation that proves Republicans wrong left and right: you have gun control, gay marriage, national health care, and decriminalized pot, and you have yet to be struck from the face of the Earth by angry Jesus. Congratulations! I live in envy.
07/01/09
07/01/09
07/01/09
Also, this made my life:
Remember how IO9 described the Transformers movie? That's what Beck experiences, in his mind, every day.
It's funny because it's true.
07/01/09
07/01/09
07/01/09
07/01/09
Of course this must be why it felt like the grown-ups weren't in charge for 8 years -- the GOP appears to have a worrying dearth of grown-ups. This is like that point in the playdate when the parents say "You know what? We have to let them work it out. They have to learn how to work things out," and go to the kitchen for more coffee. COME OUT OF THE KITCHEN, RESPONSIBLE REPUBLICANS!!
Damn it!
07/01/09
So I second your call. Responsible Republicans...it's time to come out of the kitchen!
07/01/09
I want a Republican party in America, I just don't want this one.
07/01/09
07/01/09
I just don't understand people who appear to be hoping for a terrorist attack in order to prove that the country's not safe with a democrat at the helm.
07/01/09
Beyond that, Cheney can STFU about keeping us safe afterwards too. London, Madrid, anyone? They were all attacks related to our presence in Iraq. I think that qualifies as keeping no one safe.
07/01/09
07/01/09
07/01/09
11/06/08
[video.yahoo.com]
11/06/08
I'm rereading Studs Terkel's "Race," and a woman makes the point, early on, that if you appoint someone to a position solely as a token, you harm the person who comes along and has earned that job, making it that much harder for her to succeed. I'm afraid that's what Palin will have done. And worse yet, if it is, it's a win for the Republican party anyway, as their entire agenda has always struck me as anti-woman. She'll have done their bidding through her own incompetence.
11/06/08
11/06/08
11/06/08
11/06/08
11/06/08
I see the Governor returning to her kingdom and staying there -- I think her foray into politics in the lower 48 told her it was not a nice place to be.
11/06/08
Remember after Hillary lost and we heard all about how Mark Penn and Ickes HATED each other and their battles for power?
Sorry Palin does not get a pass because she is a woman....that is sexist.
11/06/08
I'm not sure anyone's saying that attacking her is sexist. I think that what's sexist is the type of things they're focused on. It's one thing to call her a shameless egomaniac and another to call her a diva. It's one thing to call her out for being ill-informed and anti-intellectual and another to call her a clotheshorse (the spending of campaign funds was problematic, but if the campaign wants to criticize her for something, they have far bigger and better things to use). The point is their criticisms seem to be downplaying the fact that she was a politician instead of criticizing her approach to the campaign itself. That's what's sexist.
11/06/08
Remember John Edward's hair cut...and that was his own money. I don't think saying she refused interview prep, NAFTA etc. is sexist. If Palin was a man and we were hearing all these things about him we wouldn't be so quick to defend him. And believe we would be hearing about it.
How a candidate approach a campaign is important and she failed. Like I said she should have never been picked but once it went down she should have been about the ticket, not herself.
11/06/08
Well neither are any of us. Seriously, try to understand what exactly people are claiming.
11/06/08
I don't remember anyone else having anything to attack him for then, except his relative youth. People generally harp on stupid things when they can't think of weightier things to throw around. That's not the case with Sarah Palin. Talk about her refusing interview prep. Talk about her lack of knowledge about NAFTA. I defended those kinds of attacks in my original comment.
Using diva as a smear is more gender-specific. Talk about the clothes in the context of her abusing the campaign money and talk about it in the context of her having a history of abusing power-- that's not sexist. However, using the shopping thing as a way to give the impression that that's what she was in it for because that's what chicks do; they shop, and they're divas and they're too emotional on the campaign trail? Those things seem to be attempts not only to smear her (which I approve of, and aren't really even smears because they're true) but to diminish the fact that she's a politician and emphasize that she's just some dumb chick.
She's not just some dumb chick. She's an anti-intellectual, power hungry, corrupt politician. Those are harsh words that I approve of that would be applied to her if she were a man. Let's use those. Not diva. She's not a pop singer.
11/06/08
Okay, I was unclear here. The part that's true is not the stuff in the beginning of that sentence, but the stuff I wrote about before that.
11/06/08
And baby calves all over the world are offended.
I can't express how happy I am that McCain's handlers picked Palin.
11/06/08
11/06/08
11/06/08
His staff speaking out now has nothing to do with McCain. Like Yellow Dog said they are free agents. And remember she tried to blame them for the clothes disaster.
I'm glad they are talking. What is wrong with her? She thought she would speak at his concession speech? I'm just blown away by her ill directed "moxie".
11/06/08
But she's certainly not the only one to blame for the failed campaign. I realize McCain's staff is trying to salvage their careers, but come on, this is kind of embarrassing.
11/06/08
11/06/08
11/06/08
This has had me in hysterics ALL morning.
11/06/08
11/06/08
11/06/08