MSNBC's increasingly paranoid Keith Olbermann is threatening to quit unless his bosses beef up his security, sources say. With the possible exception of his MSNBC colleagues, I can't think of anyone who would want to waste the ammunition.
Olbermann - upset to be anchoring at the Democratic National Convention from an outdoor set near Denver's train station - "announced that his bosses [had] better find a more secure location for him to broadcast from at the Republican National Convention [in St. Paul, Minn.] or he's not going," one insider said. "He thinks someone will assassinate him." MSNBC had no comment. Why? Surely he hasn't managed to offend any Muslims, has he?
Even before he left New York, the biggest mouth at MSNBC was worried about his safety. When a car was late to take him to the airport, Olbermann threatened via e-mail to stay home, another insider told Page Six. The blowhard whined to producers, "I could have been attacked on the street." I might hit him in the face with a pie if I happened to be holding one.
Olbermann is also allegedly throwing his weight around to muzzle Republican analyst Mike Murphy. On Wednesday, after two days of being bumped, the Time columnist was finally put on the air, but Olbermann was caught on an open microphone demanding, "Let's wrap him up, all right?" The only thing Obie is wrapping up is his career.
Olbermann and Chris Matthews - big Barack Obama supporters - stopped bickering between themselves long enough Tuesday to attack former Hillary Clinton aide Howard Wolfson, who is now a commentator on arch rival Fox News. Matthews called him a "little toy soldier waiting on the shelf." Olbermann piled on: "Tokyo Rose was the thought that came to my mind." He probably approves of an activist media pioneer like Tokyo Rose so this line is a bit confusing, kind of like a terror-loving moonbat like Ward Churchill calling people "little Eichmanns."
Wolfson responded: "I'm not gonna take any lectures on how to be a good Democrat from two people who spent the last two years relentlessly attacking Bill and Hillary Clinton . . . It's unfortunate that a news organization with a great tradition like NBC has been taken over by those kinds of antics." As I said yesterday, the media death spiral is accelerating. People like Olbermann aren't the disease, they are the symptoms.
Connie Chung, a former news star of both MSNBC and CBS, told The Wall Street Journal yesterday, "They have to just grow up." MSNBC is looking more like Lord of the Flies every day.
#1
AC, don't use that graphic of Robert Shaw for a story about that POS Olbermann. Shaw was a fine actor who was extraordinarily capable and who had mastered his craft.
Olbermann, on the other hand, is a complete wanker who was a jerk at ESPN and who has become even worse at his current employer. He doesn't deserve to have Shaw's picture on this story. Please use some lib idiot like Martin Sheen, or most of the rest of Hollyweird.
#2
But Musso, the screen presence of a fine performer like Shaw is probably what a loathesome hack like Overbight fears most. We are attacking his innermost fears here.
#4
Hell I want to clone this moonbat. His "style" will hasten the end of liberalism. Bet he gets bad service at Denny's in St Paul and cries: "RIGHT WING CONSPIRACY". Its like a comedy show but not on comedy central.
#11
AC, don't use that graphic of Robert Shaw for a story about that POS Olbermann. Shaw was a fine actor who was extraordinarily capable and who had mastered his craft.
One of the best "old school" fight scene EVER, IMHO, along with the "Emperor of the North" final and the "They live!"'s tribute to the "Quiet man" brawl : enjoy!
#16
AC, don't use that graphic of Robert Shaw for a story about that POS Olbermann. Shaw was a fine actor who was extraordinarily capable and who had mastered his craft.
Shaw played a KGB assassin in The Spy Who Loved Me. The pic in the article is from that movie.
Clashes have erupted between fighters loyal to rebel leader Laurent Nkunda and the army in the east of Democratic Republic of Congo, the UN says. Both sides have blamed each other for starting the fighting, which lasted several hours.
The UN mission told the BBC 18 rebels had been admitted to hospital, while AFP news agency said 50 government soldiers were also receiving treatment. It is the heaviest fighting in the east since a January peace deal.
Congo groups 're-arming'
Earlier this month, US and European Union diplomats warned that the situation in eastern DR Congo was becoming increasingly tense and that all sides were rearming. Human rights groups said that tens of thousands of people were fleeing as the situation in the area deteriorated.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/29/2008 00:00 ||
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EAGER Prince Harry has urged Army bosses to return him to the front line in Afghanistan. The soldier royal, third in line to the throne, had a successful first tour of duty in the war zone earlier this year. Now he is desperate to go back for another encounter with hostile Taliban forces.
Harry, 23, and members of his Blues and Royals regiment will resume training at Windsor's Combermere Barracks next week. The Prince will not immediately prepare for war but concentrate on normal regimental duties.
A Blues and Royals source said last night: "Harry has made no secret of the fact he wants to be there when the regiment returns to the front line next year. He said the experience of leading his men into battle is one he hopes he can repeat.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Give 'em 'ell, Harry!
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
08/29/2008 9:52 Comments ||
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#2
If it weren't for his looks you'd start wondering about his father
Posted by: European Conservative ||
08/29/2008 9:56 Comments ||
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#3
If the Army had any sense they'd give him the chance. Seems to me they'd be better off with a heroic veteran on the throne. Or perhaps they have already become EUropeans.
#4
When I think of heaven (Deliver me in a black-winged bird)
I think of flying down into a sea of pens and feathers
and all other instruments of faith and sex and God
In the belly of a black-winged bird
Don't try to feed me
I've been here before and I deserve a little more
I belong in the service of the Queen
I belong anywhere but in between
She's been crying I've been thinking
And I am the Rain King
They are ethnicly and linguisticly deffierent from the Russians and will never be more that 2nd class citizens in Russia.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
08/29/2008 16:26 Comments ||
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#3
Dunno if there's a meter, Spike, but here's a "Master of the Obvious" graphic.
And you're right - it definitely goes here. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/29/2008 16:43 Comments ||
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#4
Wonder how long the Russians have until SO becomes another Chechnya? Plus, the Ossetians have burnt their bridges to the West by acting as Russia's beard, so they won't have a lot of sympathizers when it hits the fan.
#5
ION TOPIX/ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK > BALANCE OF FORCES [Post Russo-Georgian War = Russia, US-NATO/WEST] IN ARMENIA'S ADVANTAGE + ARMENIA FAVORS PRESENCE OF WESTERN AND RUSSIAN FORCES IN GEORGIA; + ANKARA: TURKIC, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS MEET TO DISCUSS CAUCASUS PLAN + WILL TURKEY WITHDRAW FROM NATO?
* WAFF.com > RUSSIA'S STRENGTHS [few] AND WEAKNESSES [many] IN THE GLOBAL GAME + ITS PAYUP DAY IN RUSSIA/ FEARS OF ISOLATIONISM AS INVESTORS FLEE RUSSIA. "For the first time since the Crimean War, RUSS HAS NO ALLIES ...RUSS IS ENCIRCLED BY COUNTRIES [includ NEW FORMER SSRS] THAT ARE EITHER SUSPICIOUS OR ALIENATED AND VERY ANGRY [at Russia]". RUSS wid its struggling economy is VERY CHEAP RIGHT NOW + HIGH STAKES GEOPOL GAMBLE, HENCE IS ALSO A HIGH-STAKES ECON + INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT GAMBLE.
* WORLD MIL FORUM > THE WEST IS STRATEGICALLY WRONG [vv Russia]IN GEORGIA
The US-West's TRUE/REAL STRATEGIC CHOICE IN GEORGIA IS WHETHER ITS PRIMARY GEOPOL-GLOBAL CHALLENGE IS VIA THE ISLAMIC WORLD [Radicalism], OR FROM CHINA - the USA in particular needs one to offset or counter the other. CHINA moreso than USA is actually the BIG WINNER VV 9-11 + GWOT - Contin US suppor for ISRAEL = GEOPOL GIFT TO CHINA + CHINA'S AGENDA.
IRONY > Post-COLD WAR/9-11 MANY LESSOR WORLD POWERS + THIRD WORLD NATIONS DESIRE TO ENAGGE IN PROACTIVE, CONTRUCTIVE DIALOGUE AND ENGAGEMENT WID THE US-WEST, BUT THE US-WEST DOES NOT HAVE ANY VIABLE LT STRATEGY FOR GLOBAL COMPROMISE + MUTUAL COOPERATION, ONLY FOR [ENFORCED]MAINTENANCE OF ARCHAIC AND INCREASINGLY OBSOLETE TRADITIONAL OR HISTORICAL EURO-CENTRIC POSITIONS.
IOW, US-WEST > ARE INDEED FIGHTING A DE FACTO WAR FOR GLOBALISM + NEW WORLD ORDER BUT DOESN'T KNOW WHAT IT MEANS NOR HOW TO IMPLEMENT THESE CONCEPTS, ETC. WIDOUT RECOURSE TO ANTIQUITIOUS WARFARE = IMPERIALISM???
#6
TOPIX > ALL QUIET ON THE SOUTHERN FRONT [Caucasus]. Christian Georgia likes Muslim Azerbaijan [mostly Turkic] as a "Strategic Partner" but mistrusts fellow Christian Armenia, But everyone is suspicous of Russia.; + KAZAKHISTAN TO SEEK CLOSER RELATIONS WITH MONGOLIA.
Lest we fergit, TURKEY VERSUS IRAN VYING FOR POLE POSITION IN CENTRAL ASIA/CAUCASUSIA AND FORMER SSRS. CHINA > UIGHUR INSTABILITY in WESTERN CHINA + GENERAL ISLAMIST THREAT TO INDIA + NORTH ASIA.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has accused the US of provoking the conflict in Georgia, possibly for domestic election purposes.
You just knew it hadda be our fault.
Mr Putin told CNN US citizens were "in the area" during the conflict over South Ossetia and were "taking direct orders from their leaders".
He said his defence officials had told him the provocation was to benefit one of the US presidential candidates. The White House dismissed the allegations as "not rational".
Georgia tried to retake the Russian-backed separatist region of South Ossetia this month by force after a series of clashes. Russian forces subsequently launched a counter-attack and the conflict ended with the ejection of Georgian troops from both South Ossetia and another rebel region, Abkhazia, and an EU-brokered ceasefire.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
'Comrade' Putin's mask is all the way off -- back in the U.S.S.R.
Posted by: Mark Espinola ||
08/29/2008 4:24 Comments ||
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#2
The madness of 1991 - 2008 is ending. World is goint to business as usual.
"The participants ... underscore the need for respect of the historical and cultural traditions of each country and each people, and for efforts aimed at preserving the unity of the state and its territorial integrity."
China and several Central Asian nations rebuffed Russia's hopes of international support for its actions in Georgia, issuing a statement Thursday denouncing the use of force and calling for the respect of every country's territorial integrity.
A joint declaration from the six-member Shanghai Cooperation Organization also offered some support for Russia's "active role in promoting peace" following a cease-fire, but overall it appeared to increase Moscow's international isolation.
Russia's search for support in Asia had raised fears that the alliance would turn the furor over Georgia into a broader confrontation between East and West, pitting the U.S. and Europe against their two main Cold War foes.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had appealed to the Asian alliance, which is made up of China, Russia and four ex-Soviet Central Asian nations, for unanimous support of Moscow's response to Georgia's "aggression."
But the alliance, which was created in 2001 to improve regional coordination on terrorism and border security, opted to take a neutral position and urged all sides to resolve the conflict through "peaceful dialogue." "The participants ... underscore the need for respect of the historical and cultural traditions of each country and each people, and for efforts aimed at preserving the unity of the state and its territorial integrity," the alliance's statement said.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/29/2008 00:00 ||
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RUSSIA last night provoked fresh fears of a Cold War by boasting it has tested a new long-range nuclear missile. MoscowÂ’s military chiefs revealed their Topol intercontinental stealth rocket had been fired successfully.
The chilling declaration was aimed at sparking international alarm about the conflict in the Caucasus, diplomats claimed. Foreign Secretary David Miliband tried to calm the crisis by saying no country wants “all-out war” with Russia. But he admitted the invasion of Georgia has brought an end to peace in Europe.
Russia’s Interfax agency said: “The experimental warhead section of the rocket hit its pre-determined target with high accuracy at the firing range.”
The RS-12M Topol, designed to dodge defence systems, has a range of 6,125 miles — enough to reach Britain — with a 550-kiloton warhead capable of devastating a 14-mile wide area. It was launched from the spaceport at Plesetsk to the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia’s Far East.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
...Would this be the same Topol that they've successfully test-fired - IIRC - once , and now suddenly it works like a charm?
Can probably find it in the bargain aisle, right next to the Iranian 300 mph torpedo.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/29/2008 6:37 Comments ||
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#2
I think you mean the Bulava SLBM. This is the Topol-M ICBM.
The missile booster fired for a shorter-than-usual duration in placing the dummy warhead and re-entry vehicle into space. The warhead then dropped down to a lower trajectory and was able to maneuver.
U.S. officials confirmed some characteristics of the new missile warhead based on an analysis of the Nov. 1 flight test, which was first reported earlier this month by several Russian news organizations.
Unlike current ballistic warheads that do not alter their flight paths sharply once they reach space, the new warhead can change course and range while traveling at speeds estimated at about 3 miles per second, the officials said.
Posted by: john frum ||
08/29/2008 6:55 Comments ||
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(AKI) - One hundred and thirty-five illegal immigrants , including women and children, landed overnight on the southern coast of Sardinia aboard nine wooden boats. All are reported to be Algerian.
The illegal migrants have been intercepted by police and transferred to the island's temporary holding centre in Cagliari. It is the largest single landing of illegal immigrants in Sardinia ever.
Italian coastguard on Thursday intercepted a motorised dinghy with 55 migrants on board 10 nautical miles off the southern Sicilian coast. The migrants, who include six women, were transferred to Agrigento.
As many as 71 African migrants died in the Mediterranean Sea between Sicily and Malta, according to eight of their companions who were rescued by a fishing vessel late on Wednesday. Most are reported to be Sudanese.
The people smugglers' boat set sail from Zuwara on the Libyan coast 10 days ago, but ran out of food and water and lost its engine in rough seas before sinking. Some of those aboard died of exhaustion, hunger and dehydration and others threw themselves overboard, survivors said. The other victims, including a small child and four pregnant women drowned, according to the surviving passengers. Maltese authorities are reportedly combing the area where the boat sank, some 40 nautical miles south of Malta, to search for signs of the missing.
"If the numbers of people who lost their lives are confirmed, this would be a tragedy at sea comparable to an air disaster," said spokeswoman for the United Nations refugee agency the UNHCR, Laura Boldrini.
A total of 380 people died in the Sicilian Channel from January to June this year, according to medical charity Doctors without Borders, compared with 500 in 2007.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/29/2008 00:00 ||
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Sen. John McCain has picked Alaska Gov. Sarah as his running mate, a senior McCain campaign official told CNN on Friday. Palin, 44, who's in her first term as governor, is a pioneering figure in Alaska, the first woman and the youngest person to hold the state's top political job.
She catapulted to the post with a strong reputation as a political outsider, forged during her stint in local politics. She was mayor and a council member of the small town of Wasila and was chairman of the state Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which regulates Alaska's oil and gas resources, in 2003 and 2004.
The conservative Palin defeated two so-called political insiders to win the governor's job -- incumbent Gov. Frank Murkowski in the GOP primary and former two-term Democratic Gov. Tony Knowles in the 2006 general election.
Palin made her name in part by backing tough ethical standards for politicians. During the first legislative session after her election, her administration passed a state ethics law overhaul. Palin has been focused on energy and natural resource policy during her short stint in office, and is known for her support of drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, a position opposed by McCain but supported by many grass-roots Republicans.
Her biography on the state governor's Web site says one of the two major pieces of legislation passed during her first legislative session was a competitive process to construct a gas pipeline.
Palin started Alaska's Petroleum Systems Integrity Office -- an oversight and maintenance agency for the state's oil and gas equipment, facilities and infrastructure. She created the Climate Change Subcabinet that would forge a climate change strategy, according to the biography. At present, Palin chairs the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, a multistate panel "that promotes the conservation and efficient recovery of domestic oil and natural gas resources while protecting health, safety and the environment," the biography says.
She has been named chair of the National Governors Association's Natural Resources Committee. That panel is focused on legislation to make sure that federal policies take state priorities into account in agriculture, energy, environmental protection and natural resource management.
She is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association and takes part in two of Alaska's popular pastimes -- fishing and hunting.
The governor's biography says Palin's other priorities have been "education and workforce development, public health and safety, and transportation and infrastructure development."
The biography touts other achievements during her time as governor -- the investment of $5 billion in state savings, overhauling educational funding, and implementing a program to help low-income elderly Alaskans.
#3
McCain is inside Bambi's decision loop as Johnny just got all of Clinton's pissed off supporters and Bambi doesn't dare attack Palin as he drudges up all the anger about Clinton.
Bambi is going down in flames.
#6
She is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association
There was no way in Hell I'd have ever voted for Bama anyway, but this selection not only assures my vote, it gets me to reach in my pocket for some cash to help the GOP. Vote this ticket in and our guns are safe for another eight years.
#11
<i>If McCain crokes and she becomes Pontus, can she handle pressure? </i>
She took on corruption and entrenched interests in the Republican party when there was public oil/gas money at stake -- and won. Yeah, I think she'll do fine.
#12
And if McCain is elected, and dies or becomes incapacitated while in office, Palin becomes the first woman president!
You will be able to hear Hillary's scream throughout the entire country.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
08/29/2008 11:44 Comments ||
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#13
My wife is going nutz with happy-ness! She's driving right now so I hope she doesn't crash....
Yes he is. Is it just me or is McCain running one of the canniest campaigns in recent memory over the last month or so? If I didn't know better I'd swear that Bill Clinton and Karl Rove were holed up in an office somewhere calling the shots.
She worked on a crab boat. Ever seen Deadliest Catch? She can handle it.
I love this! Just love it!
Posted by: Mike ||
08/29/2008 11:49 Comments ||
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#16
Actually I was just trying to channel Michelle Obama in #7. McCain has given conservative plenty indigestion in the past, but this decision has me grinning like a school girl and believing that he could actually win this election.
Posted by: Scott R ||
08/29/2008 11:50 Comments ||
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#17
So now BO, whose the candidate of change? You picked a 30 year Washington insider for veep. Your proposals will result in more power being centralized in Washington and higher taxes. What's new about that? Same old, same old donk stuff of the last century.
#18
The Dems must have been caught off guard, because their talking hack on CNN just said that she doesn't have enough experience to be president. Lol! He then talked about the experience that the Obama/Biden TEAM brings to the ticket, seemingly oblivious to the fact that McCain and Palin are also a team. Then they talked about her how her only accomplishment was to raise taxes.
lol! McCain's choice is brilliant!! In order to talk down Palin, they have to point to their own weaknesses. Too funny.
I went to the DU to check reaction and they are busing sniping about her hair, her downs syndrome child, and her lack of experience.
Of course, for libs, the whole cognitive disconnect of complaining about her lack of experience seems to totally escape them.
What seemed to stump the DU'ers the most was that her husband is a native American.
I actually have changed my opinion of McCain. He just might make a good president afterall.
#19
First reactions in "Figaro" (France's conservative newspaper) are enthusiastic.
For the record: A couple months ago even at Figaro site readers were very Obamaniacs and many seemd to think Obama's election was aforegone conclusion and advised McCain to just retire.
For the record two: This weekone of Fiagro's leadiong commenters told that Obama's election would be a good thing because it would weaken America.
#21
McCain is crazy - like a fox that is. Nobody is talking about Obama's speech. The wind came right out of the sails. Everything will be about Palin today. And when the Obama camp brings up experience they can check the mirror. She's MORE QUALIFIED and has MORE EXPERIENCE than Obama!. Way to go!
Posted by: ed ||
08/29/2008 12:08 Comments ||
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#23
For the record two: This weekone of Fiagro's leadiong commenters told that Obama's election would be a good thing because it would weaken America.
I don't do newspaper forums, because I don't care nor read newspaper, and care even less for their readers & forumers, but I do read blogs, and this has been a reccurring idea thrown around in righwing blogs comments : elect obama, 'cause everything that weakens America is good for Europe.
#24
If George Bush was able somehow to come up with bin Laden or his second in command unicorn Zawahiri, I'd be laughing all the way to the polls in November. The air would be sucked out of BO's campaign.
The one who tiold that was not some anonymous crazy reader (possibly a leftist wnting to troll). It was Alexandre Adler ie one of the heavy weights in Figaro staff. Too bad for him. Four more years!!!!
#27
I'm listening to her right now. I've not heard her speak before. She's good. One of her sons is deploying to Iraq soon. I didn't know that. Her husband is a handsome man. The Democrats must be going nuts. They really don't have anything to attack her on.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/29/2008 12:39 Comments ||
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#28
JFM, dude! Adler said that?
I really like Adler... he's ALWAYS wrong and full of it, he's in the pay of the iranian MM (figuratively speaking, he's got vested business interest into iran, according to what I recall reading in Iranresist), he's getting fatter and fatter every passing year, his wife is a washed out, sold-out french philosopher as we all hate them, he's irremediably tainted by althusser's marxist worldview... BUT, he's a GREAT storyteller, and while I was still watching teevee, I really enjoyed his appearances. I knew he has a regular geopolitical column in the figaro, but the last ones I read were about 2004? or so.
Main drawback? She lacks experience, only 2 years as an executive running Alaska.
But politically speaking, she hits all the right notes: strongly pro-life, pro-military (has a son going ot Iraq, also visited troops at Landstuhl unlike Obama), lifetime NRA member, hunter (for real, not Kerry style), anti-earmarks, in favor of drilling ANWR, tough on crime, "hockey mom" (vice Obama & Michelle Harvard Millionare Lawyer), and the list goes on. On top of that she is a good speaker, strong woman, and very photogenic.
Some real red-meat there for the abortion issue: she has a downs syndrome kid that she kept versus the Obama situation: The law Obama voted against allowing medical care for infants born after a botched abotions was due to a case where a downs syndrome child born alive from a late-term abortion was left to die in a utility closet.
Politically, for me, other than experience she's better than McCain.
And think what this sets up if McCain turns it in at 1 term:
#32
. . . think what this sets up if McCain turns it in at 1 term:
PALIN/JINDAL 2012
'Spook, you took the words right outta my PDA!
Posted by: Mike ||
08/29/2008 13:18 Comments ||
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#33
Isn't she the one who filed suit against the EPA for placing Polar Bears on the Endangered Species list?
I watched an interview with her. Seems very intelligent and sharp. Doesn't hurt to be pretty too.
From her bio...
Palin conflicted with the city’s staff and administrators who had stood by her predecessor, leading opponents to call her “Sarah Barracuda,” reviving a nickname she earned on the basketball court for her fierce and adversarial style.
#37
Her two years of actual govt executive experience isn't much but its two more years than McCain, Biden and Obama have combined (unless you count Obama's 3 years of experience running the Chicago Annanberg Education Challenge-Scam).
#38
Game, set, match. Move over John Kerry, another noodle-armed elitist loser fixing to take a seat on the backbench Nov. 3.
Posted by: regular joe ||
08/29/2008 13:35 Comments ||
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#39
As a mother to 2 children with special needs, wife to a USMC that served in the Pursian Gulf, Board member to a special needs group, and over all soccer mom type - THIS ROCKS!
#44
One thing I love about this is how it just plain demonstrates McCain's political chops.
Want to talk about Gov. Palin's 'inexperience'? Sure, let's have that talk, Senator Obama.
Want to talk 'reform'? Let's compare Palin taking on the Pub establishment in Alaska versus Obama never once challenging Rich Daley.
Want to talk the 'economy'? Let's compare Palin and her handling of Alaska versus Obama and Biden's record in the Senate.
Want to talk 'energy policy'? Let's compare the oil Governor versus the tire-inflation Senator.
Bring. It. On.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/29/2008 13:57 Comments ||
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#45
It is freakin' hilarious reading all the Obamites squawk about her "lack of experience" on the WaPo article linked by Drudge this morning.
Apparently, you need more experience to be "a heartbeat away" from the presidency than to be the actual president! Logic that only a Dem could understand...
Posted by: Dar ||
08/29/2008 14:01 Comments ||
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#46
I never voted for McCain when I lived in Arizona. I swore I wouldn't do it for President.
I take it back now. Go Sarah!
(Gotta get a bumper sticker for my Subaru. That oughta get some people good and agitated!! ;) )
Posted by: Swamp Blondie in the Cornfields ||
08/29/2008 14:03 Comments ||
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#47
You nailed it Steve. Behind the stealthy smile, McCain is a Type "A" junkyard dog and he'll be running with a young, dynamic Type "A" just like him! If something happens to McCain and she has to step up to the plate, she's got dozens of seasoned beltway insiders which she can pull to be the VP.
#51
I never voted for McCain when I lived in Arizona.
Ditto. But it's impossible to miss the irony of McCain being the one to potentially halt the 20 year slide of the Republican Party away from Reagan's ideals. Palin is a perfect pick in that respect and win or lose this time around she's now a perpetual contender and at the epicenter of Republican politics for likely as long as she chooses to remain there.
#57
This shot is going to make heads explode all across the P.E.T.A. landscape. How often do you see something like that and think to youself, "Y'know, there's a really good chance that she actually shot that bear."
#58
The lib posters at SF GATE are going nuts. Their childish reactions to this pick are a riot. That is confirmation that this was an outstanding pick. Irony is not lost on those folks...one wrote that the Russians would be laughing at this pick and that they would only respect "serious" opponents like Obama/Biden. LOL!
#64
#60 way to go CNN CNN's John Roberts: Palin Might Neglect Her Disabled Infant?
Posted by Beavis 2008-08-29 15:14|| Front Page|| ||Comments Top
The irony here is too rich. How caring they are at CNN. Baby "Trig" would have never seen the light of day left to the leftest abortion crowd at Turnerville.
Sarah Louise Palin (IPA: /peɪlɪn/; born February 11, 1964) is the retarded governor of Alaska, and the presumptive Republican vice presidential nominee for the November 2008 election.
#70
As you Rantburgers can imagine, the talk this morning up here in Alaska is Sarah Palin as VP pick to John McCain. I think that she is a good choice. Without some spark into the campaign, McCain's candidacy seems to be lackluster and just cruising along. People are aching for leadership that they can put their support to, and not the typical MSM pablum crap being fed now.
Sarah has done pretty well in shaking up the Good Olde Boy network up here, with a little help from the FBI and their hunger for legislators' files, heh heh.
Her husband is a blue collar guy, and they are good down to earth people. In fact, IIRC, last month, Sarah was driving her Suburban to an office from their home in Wasilla and got rear ended at a stop light. Not hurt, not major damage. She also shows up at meetings on her own.
She recently got a $100 million energy fund set up for alternative energy sources in Alaska to get us off of high cost fossil fuels. There is an energy source inventory being done for every community in Alaska. Everything is on the table--hydro, biomass, coal, nuclear, wind, solar, tidal, etc. She got the ball rolling.
Other things happening in the state:
1. Sen. Ted Stevens won his primary election 2:1 over Dave Cuddy, despite Ted's indictment.
2. The race between Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell and incumbent Rep. Don Young is too close to call. Young is leading Parnell by 150 votes, that is 0.015% right now. There are a sh*tload of questioned and absentee ballots yet to be counted, included mine. I voted questioned ballot at Slana, Alaska, out in the middle of nowhere on Tuesday. Google it, heh.
So if Don Young loses and Parnell wins the primary and the general election, and if Sarah Palin becomes VP, then we have some interesting scrambling to do in the state govt.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/29/2008 15:56 Comments ||
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#71
My first thought as well! The fantastic endorsement she and Slick gave The One netted them a handsome campaign financial recovery I'm sure.
#72
Palin is going to bloody Plugs nose big time without even laying a hand on him
Posted by: Steven ||
08/29/2008 16:03 Comments ||
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#73
On the experience question, running the state of Alaska vs combing implanted hair, gives one pause.
Posted by: Steven ||
08/29/2008 16:10 Comments ||
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#74
If McCain and Palin go after the energy issue and do a comprehensive plan with a positive message, the dems will be left behind like a road killed cow t*rd.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
08/29/2008 16:11 Comments ||
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One month from now, the Palin pick has proven a bonanza for the McCain campaign. A large chunk of Hillary's 18 million voters have been won over. Conservatives are unified and energized, and the previously-undiscovered "Maxim magazine vote" is suddenly giving McCain large margins among young males.
Joe Biden will disappear from the campaign trail, and we will later learn it was to see a doctor. A previously-undiscovered, vaguely ominous health issue will be discovered, and Biden will sadly announce that he cannot continue as Obama's running mate. With a sudden need for a new one, Obama will turn... to Hillary Clinton.
#76
Sarah Louise Palin (IPA: /peɪlɪn/; born February 11, 1964) is the retarded governor of Alaska, and the presumptive Republican vice presidential nominee for the November 2008 election.
Perhaps I am too devious but I wouldn't have it fixed. Moonbats (who would vote for Obama anyway) could think it is a great idea but real voters would be angered by such lowliness.
#77
Wow, she's terrific. I think John McCain is a better leader than many (including me) have previously thought. Someone had to break that glass ceiling, and McCain had the guts. Running on reform and principle, strong military, energy independence, is smart and the right thing to do. So, I'll take back everything I ever said about him that was less than complimentary. Besides, I was going to vote for McCain before I knew who he'd pick for VP. And I like his wife, too.
#78
This is a great pick, I don't see a downside to it. This just may prove to be the little bit that McCain needed to get over the top & best Barry O this fall.
Plus she's a good looking gal. ;)
Posted by: Jefferson ||
08/29/2008 16:53 Comments ||
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#79
It sure was an upper after dealing with the DNC convention here in Denver this week. Icky . . . and it totally pissed me off that Obama was blabbing stuff he doesn't believe in and can't deliver, and was deceiving average people that just want good stuff to happen, people that want a better world. I talked with some of them, and I just didn't have the heart to tell these elderly black people that Obaba was just a slick and corrupt politician from CHICAGO (which says it all).
#80
the squealers are out in force. Our local paper's editorial writer has a blog - his usual posts get 3 or 4 comments (at most) - he posted about Palin and got 436 comments at last check.... LOL - was there a convention last night? Nice move, Maverick
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/29/2008 17:30 Comments ||
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#81
I admire Palin's personal bio and political principles. I was aware of her background previously and I look forward to hearing her speak.
However, I would not underestimate the extent to which the joint issue of McCain's age and Palin's relative inexperience will resonate with the public as Obama's campaign will relentlessly focus on this.
The fact that she represents a non-swing state with few electoral votes is a minor quibble (although the pick of Biden has little geographic significance as well, and in this media-saturated day and age geography seems to matter less).
Overall, this selection could be a game-changer. Palin is female and a true heartland American in roots and spirit, the kind of person I am proud to have represent me.
#92
Eric, I hadn't ment to be unfair to Biden. His deficiencies speak for themselves. Truly, I didn't know he had a son in Iraq.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/29/2008 19:05 Comments ||
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#93
Mike N.: AOSHQ already did the VPILF thread..just dipped in to Matthews "Hardball" and they were wrapping themslves in spasms over her "lack of experience". Apparently, irony is dead
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/29/2008 19:17 Comments ||
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#94
#54 AlanC: "Was going to vote for McCain barely. Now I may have to donate!"
I know what you mean - I was more about keeping Obamie the Commie out of the Oval Office than anything else. After the announcement, I donated $100 through a link that AllahPundit at Hot Air gave.
And just for grins and giggles, named AllahPundit as the friend who had recommended the donation site to me. :-D
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/29/2008 19:24 Comments ||
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#95
"age and Palin's relative inexperience will resonate with the public as Obama's campaign will relentlessly focus on this."
And how will they escape the fact that SHE has more exectuve experience than ANY of the candidates?
SH has been a governor of the largest state (geocraphically) in the US. What has Obama run other than a continuous campaign since he was elected 3 years ago to the senate?
They want to play that game, they are more than welcome to do so.
They have both visited IrRaq the same number of times.
Unlike Obama, she has gotten laws passed, budgets made, and has achieved the construction of a gas pipeline that will help with the energy crisis. What has Obama done?
Lets put the pictures side by side of thier visits to the wounded troops in Landstuhl.
Opps sorry - there are NONE from Obamessiah who would rather play rockstar at a Nazi memorial.
And she backed the surge, Obama has yet to sadmit he was completely wrong.
Also, unliek Obama, she has worked on trade agreements that would open up exports for Alaska and the US. Any word on a treaty Obama has worked on?
My OPINION: I think that reasoning is bullshit - and its typical of the "beltway" mentality the Manhattan and DC insider "Country club" types have - and that's what has destroyed the GOP, that same smarmy self-satisified insider crap that has cost the GOP their majority in 06 and was about to cost them this election too. They are too concerned about power, and not concerned about doign whats right. her stand on ethics, her cahsing down and breaking up the old boy network is a MAJOR threat to the COuntry CLub Repubs griip on GOP power, so they are now running scared, just like they did from Reagan in 76. Fecking pigs, they need to die and let the grass roots conseravties run the part again like we did in 80 - and 94.
#100
On other thing to consider: VA Gov Tim Kaine was a credible and respectable pick that was considered by the press to be one of the best choices fo Obama. Yet he has pricesly the same amount of executive and foreign policy experience Palin has - so tell me how he is qualified and she is not?
#101
Spook, the MSM will spin anything at this point to try to smear her. McCain outflanked 'em and is threatening to cut the dhimocrats off from one of their most important support bases. Women.
They are running scared and Republicans know it. We smell liberal blood in the water.
#102
She has an awful lot of courage to take this on. Daily Kos is already trying to smear her. Okay, I just have to diary about this, although in many ways this falls into the "none of our business category".
But it appears that Pallin's last child, a baby with Down's syndrome, may not be hers. It may be that of her teenage daughter.
Here's a link just to get you started:
http://www.adn.com/...
These people have no soul. Vicious, demons of Satan, they are.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/29/2008 20:47 Comments ||
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#103
This is terrible... how can anyone STILL pretend that global warming is not happening? I wish that he had chosen otherwise -- or that she is prepared to learn... . We have too little money to fix EVERYTHING that climate breaks. Triage is applied in an emergency to allow the most globally beneficial use of inadequate resources. There will be severe climate disruptions, which will be left untreated because they will be recognized as able to recover autonomously. Selected climatically-induced emergencies where tax-payersÂ’ money can reduce suffering will be funded. Last, and most sadly, there may be even situations where unlimited funds cannot reverse impacts and the limited funds are deemed better deployed on other projects for more go to
[website removed by mod. This isn't a place to advertise websites.]
#104
I read one of the "hit" pieces on her and it involved her discussing the danger of her ex brother-in-law. Bozo is a state trooper who tazed his own 10 yr kid (at his request) and made a thrtening phone call to her sister. Hmmm That all you got? She is just too cute. I will also be donating and buying a Vets for McCain hat.
#105
Thanks for posting that video, OS. I found myself getting emotional during McCain's speech introducing Gov. Palin, and I thought her speech was very, very good. The part about "the women of America aren't finished yet" is going to blow the doors off the Dems this year.
My hat is off to John McCain. What a brilliant, brilliant move this was! Maybe Bismarck was right: God DOES have a special providence for fools, drunks and the United States of America!
#106
Excellent! My first trip to the sinktrap! I'll drink to that!
Posted by: Mike N. ||
08/29/2008 21:43 Comments ||
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#107
Swamp Blondie, what was your problem with my comment? It had the virtue of being true; Capt. Beau Biden, Del. Nat. Guard. will be heading to Iraq soon. I'm in favor of arguing with my political opponents, but I will do so fairly. Both Palin and Biden have children reporting for duty there soon; may they both serve our country with honor, and may they not be used as political footballs by us.
Posted by: Eric Jablow ||
08/29/2008 21:53 Comments ||
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#108
I think our foul mouthed troll showed up at 88 and was deleted, moving the comments all back one. I can't see anybody having an issue with what you said.
#1
Pawlenty just announced on Minneapolis radio this morning that he'd be at their state fair today, not in Ohio. K.B. Hutchinson similarly annonced last night in Big D, that she'd be in Texas today, all day long. Romney was in Caleephorneeaa yesterday, but he might be winging easterly right now.
#2
Hmmmm. Now Romney says he has not been selected. There's chirping about a charter flight now in the air from Anchorage to Dayton. Is Sarah Palin the one ? I hope not. Fiorina would be better. Just not Joltin' Joe Lieberman.
Posted by: Mike ||
08/29/2008 9:06 Comments ||
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#6
If it is Palin.....he's got a big chunk of the PUMA vote, that's for sure!
Posted by: Swamp Blondie in the Cornfields ||
08/29/2008 9:31 Comments ||
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#7
I'm good with Palin. At this point in the race, with McCain even or just behind in the polls at a time historically where the dhimocrats were up by 10 points, he can be a little adventurous with his choice. As long as he doesn't put the proverbial gun in his mouth by picking Liberman, a unusual choice could pay off in spades.
If he chooses Palin, I think Obama will be in for a serious ass whoopin'. She is smart, well spoken, well liked and with no baggage and fits with McCain's election points very well. Throw on the fact she is a woman and the Clinton supporters will vote for her. The fact she is pretty doesn't hurt either.
#8
McCain would be an idiot to pick Fiorina. She was truly hated at HP and she trashed a great company to boot. If she were nominated, there would be lines of people, Republicans, waiting to trash her on NPR and MSNBC.
#9
My two cents: Palin would be an outstanding pick. Smart, tough, personable, good record in Alaska politics. Sure hope she's vetted properly.
Posted by: Steve White ||
08/29/2008 10:01 Comments ||
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#10
Steve,
I fully agree with your wish. That said, I think McCain would stand back and dare Obama to attack Palin. The LAST thing Bama wants is to resurrect the shallowly buried corpse of his anti-Hillary misogeny. He or Kinnock Biden jump on Sarah Palin, there won't be one woman in 100 who will vote for Bama. He'll make McGovern's 72 butt-kicking look like a good turnout by comparison.
I'm just beginning to believe that Rush was right: he said this would be a banner year for Republicans and darned if it isn't beginning to look like it just might be. It's almost certainly not going to be the disaster everyone was predicting six months ago.
#11
I'll admit Fiorina messed up her years at the top of HP but even if she had done everything right, the company would still have problems. The company has about doubled in market value since she left but some of that is due to fixes she put in the last year she was CEO.
#13
The LAST thing Obama wants is to resurrect the shallowly buried corpse of his anti-Hillary misogyny.
I would agree. And if McCain picks her, it shows he is far, far inside Obama's decision loop and Bambi is about to go down in flames.
Never try to out-decide a fighter pilot in tense situations.
Posted by: Caesar Glort3087 ||
08/29/2008 10:51 Comments ||
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#19
John McCain tapped little-known Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be his vice presidential running mate, two senior campaign officials told The Associated Press on Friday. A formal announcement was expected within a few hours at a campaign rally in swing-state Ohio.
#20
Born in Idaho, Palin moved to Alaska with her parents, to Charles and Sally Heath, when she was 3 months old. She grew up in Wasilla, just outside of Anchorage, and played on the Wasilla state championship girlsÂ’ basketball team. She was crowned Miss Wasilla in 1984 and was a runner-up in the Miss Alaska pageant.
Palin studied journalism and political science at the University of Idaho and graduated in 1987. She eloped with her high school boyfriend, Todd Palin, in 1988 to save money on an expensive wedding. She helped out in her husbandÂ’s family commercial fishing business and appeared occasionally as a television sportscaster.
Palin won a seat on the Wasilla City Council in 1992 as a new face and a new voice, and by opposing tax increases. Four years later she was elected mayor at 32 by knocking off a three-term incumbent. At the end of her second term, party leaders encouraged her to enter the 2002 race for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor. Against veteran legislators with far more experience, Palin finished second by fewer than 2,000 votes, making a name for herself in statewide politics. She was elected AlaskaÂ’s youngest and first woman governor in 2006.
Sarah and Todd Palin have five children: boys Track, 19, and Trig, 4 months, and daughters Bristol, 17, Willow, 13, and Piper, 7. Track Palin joined the Army last September and will deploy to Iraq on Sept. 11. Palin gave birth to Trig, who has Down syndrome, in April and returned to work three days later.
Palin will be the second female vice presidential candidate from a major political party. The first was New York Rep. Geraldine Ferrarro, who was Walter MondaleÂ’s Democratic running mate in 1984.
#26
Well, hate to interrupt the party, but a 44 year old woman with very minimal experience, a journalism degree and a four month old baby she'll be dealing with while sitting at Security Council meetings exhausted from being up at night with the baby and four other kids, scares the hell out of me. The thought of her possibly becoming president is a total turn-off to me...What the heck was John McCain thinking? Sorry, this female Republican can't bring herself to vote for either party this year. Which party is more out of touch? Hard to say...
#27
Ooh, in four years presidential candidate Palin can tap Bobby Jindal or Mike Steele as her VP (or vice versa), and watch the Democrats seriously tie themselves in knots -- Hillary Clinton will be pwned!
McCain had my vote anyway -- I'm single issue until the WOT has been won -- but the next two months will be fun!!
#28
...a four month old baby she'll be dealing with while sitting at Security Council meetings exhausted from being up at night with the baby and four other kids...
But yet she has done well as Governor, Mayor, and council member. Sorry, your argument has no meat.
Sorry, this female Republican can't bring herself to vote for either party this year.
Considering the lack of real substantive argument from above, I think you are a lefty male troll sitting at the Obama HQ. Bring up a real argument or go home to your mama's basement.
#29
Churt5804, governors and vice presidents hire nannies to stay up with babies at night. Shoot, I had an au pair to share the burden with for my second child, born after we moved to Germany, and I was merely a housewife married to a middle manager.
#30
Besides which, Governor Palin has two teenage daughters - built in babysitters. (I know that teenage daughters hate that term. My daughter in law was 14 or 15 when her sister was born.)
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
08/29/2008 13:22 Comments ||
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#31
Darth Vader, your attempts to quash other viewpoints is pathetic. I thought this forum tried to uphold free speech.
Trailing Wife, I am well aware of how people make childcare arrangements.
Sorry to pop your bubble, but I believe the Republicans have just handed over the country to the Democrats...and that's a scary thought. But revel in your fantasies...
I have read this forum for years...but it has become tiresome lately ...guess you've managed to weed out anyone who doesn't think in lockstep with yourselves. Bye.
#32
I invited you to offer a good argument since your previous argument was mush, not quash your viewpoint. Instead, you cry like a liberal. You sound like Moveon.org and so far sound like them. I really want to hear a good, sound argument on why you are against Palin instead of sexist views. You got any?
Well, if you don't, don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.
#33
Darth, you make my point for me..I don't need to give you any arguments, the decision has already been made...it is my viewpoint and you can't stomach it and will continue to quash it.... so sad, this was at one time a good forum...enjoyed your comments Fred...
#34
I have read this forum for years...but it has become tiresome lately ...guess you've managed to weed out anyone who doesn't think in lockstep with yourselves. Bye.
Posted by Churt5804 2008-08-29 13:37
Yup! I remember all those postings from Churt5804 over the years.....
And BTW, its GOVERNOR Palin. She's ran her husband's fishing company, been a Mayor, and is now a GOVERNOR. She even took on her own party and won pushed through actual ethics reform (unlike Queen Nancy) and is against earmarks. A lifetime member of the NRA.
Sounds good to me. Too bad we can't reverse the ticket.
Obama? Lets see.... oh yes.... he was chairperson on a government cash giveaway (along with a unrepentant former terrorist) which failed miserably. And ZERO accomplishments in Congress.
#36
It isn't the fact I can't stomach it, I find it to be sexist and completely lacking in fact as her record shoots your lame argument down. Apparently you don't have a good argument that is worth debating.
Please leave then and go whine to the DailyKos kiddies.
#37
There will be a contingent that makes the same argument Churt5804 does. The key is that her conclusion is to sit out the election rather than vote for the other guy. It was quite brave for a lurker to make something like this her first post, and y'all must admit she was polite and non-confrontational, sharing her opinion for informational purposes rather than leaping into argument.
Churt5804, please remember that Rantburgers tend to be a rather rough'n'tumble group, who generally leap on ideas with teeth and claws bared... and expect to be met by the same. ;-)
#38
Alaska is no small state - not in square miles but oil, fishing, minerals etc. Minimal experience is a first term senator who spent half that term campaigning. I'll take Palin no problem. As far as her having children, I thought this election was about the children?1!% Besides, the father will be around to raise the kids, right. Chirp Churt, can't disagree with you about party perspectives but one party has concrete views and one is full of ether.
Leaving after one thread and not sticking up for your point. Bye then.
#40
I like Palin and think she'd be a great candidate in a decade or so but doesn't anyone care about experience anymore? Not only is McCain throwing that card away but he's putting a two year Governor in the on-deck circle.
She might bring social conservatives back into the fold but will she really have appeal to Hillary voters who may not be able to look beyond her Pro-Life stance?
I hope I'm wrong but I think there is a bit of overly exuberant thinking going on because everyone is so happy McCain didn't pick another Rino (or Lieberman).
Please, someone convince me her experience is more than two years as a Governor and/or that the VP experience doesn't matter so much (when the President is in his 70s and a cancer-survivor).
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
08/29/2008 17:09 Comments ||
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#42
Sarah Palin has been the head of a private company, city council member, Mayor of a small town, and Governor of a wealthy large state that borders 2 foreign countries (Canada and Russia). WAY more experience than Obambi and she is the number 2 on the ticket, not the Presidential candidate. This just adds depth to the McCain ticket, as well as relative youth and obvious vigor (you don't have 5 children and be a weakling).
#43
Palin is a little risky, but a brilliant choice IMO.
She's smart, strong, articulate, has forced a corrupt and bloated AK party to reform, has a sound 20 yr marriage and is as genuine as they come.
Alaskans tend to be generalists, not coastal professional specialists. Don't let her resume put you off - let's see how she handles the pressure of the debates. If she does as well as I think she will she will be a major asset.
And her interracial marriage goes a long way to neutralizing the 'racist' argument.
#44
The more I see of Palin, the better I like her. I went to bed last night thinking I was, like Winston Churchill after Pearl Harbor, "sleeping the sleep of the saved and thankful." There's nothing risky about this move; it was a truly brilliant counterpunch to the Dems and has nailed them solidly in the solar plexus. I've never seen a candidate for either party in any election pull this much support so soon. This woman looks like the second coming of the sainted Margaret Thatcher.
McCain/Palin walks away with this one. The Dems spend the next eight years weeping, wailing and gnashing their teeth.
#45
The Democrats are completely un-nerved. All they can do is cry "No Experience" but they really need to look at their own candidate. They made their bed and now don't want it.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/29/2008 19:38 Comments ||
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#46
NPR was crying, even the positive-mccain voice: the play action pass.
Posted by: Rambler in California ||
08/29/2008 19:58 Comments ||
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#48
If the Palin run causes a self destruct among the woman and minority demcocrat voting blocks, it may effectively destroy a viable democrat party.
If so, I DO hope that republicans have learned their lesson on earmarks and pork.
We need smaller government, not a new boss/old boss change in management.
#4
Hey, they really believe him when he says these things. Otherwise, what kind of Messiah would he be? And what kind of apostles don't believe their master?
#9
And the stars are ga-ga, as we knew they would be...
DENVER - First word on Barack Obama's historic nomination acceptance speech from a bevy of celebrities in attendance was decidedly partisan: "It was excellent," Black Eyed Peas singer Fergie said. "It was amazing."
"Incredible," said Jessica Alba simply, before joining Fergie, Rosario Dawson, Wilmer Valderrama and Kerry Washington at a private exit from Invesco Field. Alba was at the speech with husband Cash Warren.
Other celebrities in attendance included George Lucas with girlfriend Mellody Hardon and his daughter, Forest Whitaker with wife Keisha and Star Jones, and Daniel Dae Kim of "Lost," who posed for pictures with the Hawaii delegation.
Next for Obama and his celebrity backers? "What I hope happens is the country doesn't forget the jubilation and excitement that's been generated here," Kim said. "And I hope it turns into something that changes the world."
will.i.am performed his speech-song "Yes We Can" with John Legend during the run-up to Obama's speech. Susan Sarandon and Anne Hathaway sang along in the stands as Sheryl Crow performed "Change is Gonna Come," and crooner Michael McDonald prompted many a flag wave with his rendition of "America the Beautiful."
Oprah Winfrey left Denver with the candidate she wanted, but reportedly without her eyelashes. The talk-show host said she was moved to tears by Obama's speech. And those must've been some serious tears. "I cried my eyelashes off," she said in the bowels of Invesco Field, moments after Obama accepted the nomination for president before an estimated 84,000 people.
"I think it's the most powerful thing I have ever experienced," she added, calling Obama's words "transcendent." On the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a Dream Speech," Winfrey compared Obama's words to those of the civil-rights leader, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. "He's not an African-American candidate," she said. "He's a candidate for Americans."
Winfrey threw her support behind Obama early — even before the Democratic primaries got under way last year. She's stayed active since, hosting rallies and fundraisers that even Obama has acknowledged have given him a boost.
#14
I was a bit overwhelmed by the preliminaries in which about 20 people each used the phrase "Barack Obama knows..." about 20 times. Apparently he knows everything.
"The economy is in turmoil."
Fact: Second quarter results show we're not even in a recession.
"The price of gasoline is skyrocketing."
Fact: It has been dropping for a month.
"world-class education"
Fact: We have been pressuring more and more kids to go to college when in fact many of them are not cut out for it. Half of all kids have IQ's at or below 100. And we actually need people to be clerks, plumbers, electricians, etc. -- who don't need college or the student loan debt.
"Tens of millions of people are without health insurance"
Fact: Some of them are like the woman pet store owner from Florida who "testified" last night -- they CHOSE to not carry insurance. She opened a second store instead of taking care of her family's needs. Some are healthy young singles who think they are invincible. Some are people between jobs for a very short period. Some are illegal aliens who need to be sent home.
"veterans are living on the streets"
Fact: Wasn't this was debunked years ago? The small rate of veterans living on the streets isn't much different that the rate of non-veterans when all the demographics are considered? Are we going to reverse the trend away from psychiatric hospitals by forcing them off the streets, incarcerating them, and forcing them to take their meds?
"make government more efficient"
Fact: Clinton assigned Gore to do that. Did he do his job?
"100 mpg hybrid cars"
Fact: Even if they could make them, Democrat SUV-owners won't want them due to their small size and load capacity.
"wind and solar"
Fact: Ted Kennedy didn't want wind power in his neighborhood.
"jobs making high-efficiency American cars"
Fact: Obama would have to prevent auto imports to guarantee those jobs, thus denying Americans access to competitive prices and probably initiating harmful international trade wars.
"community service to pay for college"
Fact: Where I live, $4,000 will get you community college and you have to live at home and limit yourself to a two-year associates degree.
"nobody knows when life begins"
Fact: Everybody who ever used a condom knows when life begins.
#16
I have not gone on a rant in a while because, basically, the big oh does it for me (nice photoshop, I'd buy a drink for the artist - the arugula/olive branch is brilliant). Keep in mind he had a month to deliver this speech and it still comes off as lukewarm. As he prepares to tour our country followers of hIM can look to clooney and say, "Obama, where are thou?". On a personal note I think he oratory skills in comparison make President Bush sound like Patrick Stewart (no offense Mr. President, loved what you did in Greensburg, my uncle met you there).
Read the script, he wrote his own counter-arguments.
"I realize that I am not the likeliest candidate for this office. I don't fit the typical pedigree"
Did he just say that he is the least experienced candidate ever, or is this just another of his cheap ploys.
"Tonight we are gathered here in this magnificent stadium in Denver because we still have a dream,"
You, sir, are no Martin Luther King, jr.
Sen., Joseph Biden of Delaware, was brutally frank about the Democrats' chances in an appearance before one state's delegation. "This is not hyperbole: We cannot win without Pennsylvania," he said.
The bitter voter bloc? I see that Mr. Biden didn't care enough about PA to work there. Must be more money in DE politics.
To shouts of "Yes we can," Democrats nominated Barack Obama on Wednesday as their presidential candidate in a historic first for a black American, backed by his ex-rivals Bill and Hillary Clinton.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/29/2008 00:00 ||
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(AKI) - Hundreds of Christians have taken refuge in the jungles of the Indian state of Orissa after deadly violence between Christians and Hindus claimed at least 12 lives. Several days of communal clashes have caused widespread chaos and authorities imposed a curfew and ordered security forces to shoot violators on sight.
Up to 30 churches and orphanages were reported to have been attacked in the violence that erupted after the killing of Hindu leader, Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati allegedly by Christians at the weekend. The Missionaries of Charity Fathers, founded by Mother Teresa of Calcutta (now known as Kolkata), on Thursday expressed shock and dismay about what was happening in Orissa.
One priest, who declined to be named told Adnkronos International (AKI) by telephone that schools in some states, including Kerala, a small state in the south of India, were closed on Thursday to protest against what had happened. "All over India the schools were closed today to protest against the violence," he told AKI by telephone. "Some of our sisters are hiding in the jungles."
He said more protests were being planned by Christians in various parts of the country, including Kolkata.
The Missionaries of Charity Fathers and the Missionaries of Charity Sisters, founded by Mother Teresa, have more than 550 missions throughout India and provide food and other aid for thousands of people.
On Wednesday Pope Benedict XVI "firmly condemned" the fighting and urged the state's residents to re-establish peaceful cohabitation and harmony.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
There are a slew of Christian orphananges in that area.
(AKI) - By Syed Saleem Shahzad - Hundreds of lawyers and political activists on Thursday staged angry protests across Pakistan calling for the reinstatement of all the judges sacked by former president Pervez Musharraf.
The lawyers' protests took place in major cities including Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore, and underline the precarious state of Pakistan's embattled government.
One of the main coalition partners, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz led by Nawaz Sharif withdrew from the coalition on Monday over the government's failure to restore the sacked judges.
Apparently on the verge of collapse, the government is fighting an increasingly desperate battle with militants in the lawless northwest provinces amid a nationwide economic meltdown.
An angry mob destroyed posters bearing photos of the ruling Pakistan People's Party leader Asif Ali Zardari, widower of the assassinated Benazir Bhutto. They also torched billboards and shouted slogans against him. Some carried black flags as they blocked key roads for two hours in the capital, Islamabad.
"Hey! We need those black flags in Denver!"
Zardari's clearance on Thursday by the electoral commission as a presidential candidate, along with retired Justice Saeeduzaman and Senator Mushahid Hussain, did not sway the protesters. Nor was their anger placated by the unfreezing of 60 million dollars of Zardari's assets held in Swiss bank accounts after Pakistan informed the Swiss courts it was no longer investigating his finances.
Zardari's accounts were frozen in 1997 at the request of Pakistani authorities probing allegations that he had received bribes while he was a government official and Bhutto was Prime Minister. "Asif should review his decision to side with the establishment and Washington, otherwise he will be a hate figure in Pakistan, as Musharraf was a few days ago," a lawyer and leader of the Pakistan Muslim League party Syed Hafizuddin told AKI.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/29/2008 00:00 ||
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Iraq and China signed a $3 billion deal this week to develop a major Iraqi oil field, the first major commercial oil contract with a foreign company since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
The 20-year agreement calls for state-owned China National Petroleum Corp. to begin producing 25,000 barrels of oil a day, then gradually increase to 125,000 a day, said Asim Jihad, a spokesman for the Iraqi Oil Ministry. The contract revamps a deal the Chinese company reached with Saddam Hussein in 1997 to develop the Ahdab oil field in Wasit province, south of Baghdad near the Iranian border. But unlike that deal, which called for China to share in the revenues, the current contract is based on a fixed-fee structure.
Western oil companies this summer came close to reaching an agreement with the Oil Ministry to return to Iraq. Those deals were for smaller technical service contracts that involved giving advice on how to boost production. The China deal is a contract that is more lucrative and involves large-scale development of the field.
The deal with China rebuts concerns that the U.S. government was manipulating the process to benefit American corporations, Jihad said. "We hope this will refute all the rumors that say the American companies are the only ones benefiting from the American occupation," he said. The contract also requires China to build a major electrical station in the area to help boost Iraq's overworked power grid.
There was a post about this on Rantburg recently, but the details in this article are different.
#3
The Democrats want to bar US companies from bidding on Iraqi contracts. What would you expect the Iraqis to do? Not to worry, though. Russia got a slice of the pie before the Chinese did.
Muslims embrace economic globalization as long as it doesn't mean that Western influences will snuff out their cultural identity, the head of a U.S.-based research and polling group said Wednesday.
"In the process of economic globalization, Muslims are not separatists," Steven Kull, head of the World Public Opinion (WPO) think-tank and polling organization, told AFP, commenting on the results of a broad study published Wednesday. "Economic integration with the world, they say, is a positive thing but they don't want it to undermine their cultural identity," he said.
WPO polled more than 5,200 respondents over six weeks in January and February this year in predominantly Muslim Azerbaijan, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, the Palestinian Territories and Turkey.
Nigerian Muslims, who make up around half the population of the west African nation, were also included in the survey to assess Muslims' positions on globalization and international trade.
Large majorities in Nigeria and Egypt said globalization, "especially the increasing connections of our economy with others around the world," was "mostly good" for their country, the poll showed. Sixty-three percent of Azerbaijanis, 61 percent of Iranians and Indonesians and 58 percent of Palestinians shared that view.
In Turkey, those in favor of globalization were not in a majority but they still outnumbered opponents of the trend by 39 percent to 28 percent.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents (64 percent on average for all the countries in the survey) saw international trade as beneficial to their country, the poll showed.
"But while there is evidence that Muslims do not want their culture to be changed to become like Western culture, we have found that they do want to be involved" in the global economy, he said. "Negative feelings toward the U.S. and, to a lesser extent, European countries, are widely seen as hostility toward the process of globalization, of the inroads of the West into Muslim societies," said Kull.
A poll conducted last year by WPO in Egypt, Indonesia, Morocco and Pakistan showed that around three-quarters of respondents in all four countries endorsed the goal of keeping Western values out of Islamic countries.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
A poll conducted last year by WPO in Egypt, Indonesia, Morocco and Pakistan showed that around three-quarters of respondents in all four countries endorsed the goal of keeping Western values out of Islamic countries.
And that's why all Muslim countries are Turd World Countries.
#2
Tipper: That is true, but I can understand the poll result. Anyone, no matter what nation/culture/creed would say the same thing. I know I feel the same way. It's a matter of what feels good is what is comfortable.
Of course, when you live in the most peaceful and prosperous society in the world, the sentiment does make a bit more sense.
A small group of pagans pledged Thursday to hold a protest prayer among the ruined Acropolis temples, more than 1,500 years after Christians stamped out worship of the ancient Greek gods.
Group spokeswoman Doretta Peppa said the worshippers would pray Sunday to Athena _ goddess of wisdom and patron of ancient Athens _ to protect the 2,500-year-old site. Peppa said followers of the old religion object to the removal last year of hundreds of sculptural masterpieces from a tiny museum on the Acropolis to a large new building under the citadel.
In a statement, her group, Ellinais, described the landmark glass and concrete structure as "an incredible architectural monstrosity that insults (Greece's) cultural heritage."
The $190 million building is where Greece hopes one day to display the Elgin Marbles beside the other Parthenon sculptures. Greek officials have said it will open next month, displaying some 4,000 artifacts. The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon temple by Scottish diplomat Lord Elgin in the 19th century, when Greece was still an unwilling part of the Ottoman empire. The British Museum has repeatedly rejected Greek calls for their return.
Peppa told The Associated Press she would prefer the Acropolis sculptures to have stayed at the ancient temples _ from where they were removed by Greece over the past 30 years to stop erosion from Athens' polluted air. "But even if we accept a new museum was needed ... it should be in a style close to that of the ancient buildings," she said. "It's not a museum of modern art."
Peppa's Athens-based group, Ellinais, is campaigning to revive ancient religion and has defied Culture Ministry bans to hold prayers at several ancient temples. She said she would not seek state permission for the ceremony, to be held near the ancient Parthenon temple, built between 447-432 B.C. in honor of Athena. "We will just sing three hymns. It won't be a big ceremony," Peppa said. "I don't know how many of us will be there. People are afraid. The fact is that we are subject to religious persecution."
Christianity took hold in Greece in the 4th century. Roman Emperor Theodosius wiped out the last vestige of the Olympian gods when he abolished the Olympic Games in 394 A.D. The Parthenon was converted into a Christian church in the 5th century A.D.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/29/2008 00:00 ||
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#2
Pagans are the most annoying wingnuts in the french wingnut blogosphere; basically, those are people blaming all the european woes on the "alien religion(s) of the desert" saying that Europe must return to its roots... by erasing 1500+ years of Christianity, and going back to an "heritage" that never was preserved in any way and which is at BEST a total re-invention...
Not to mention that the vast majority of the neo-pagans are LEFTIST and/or new agers (with theosophy or gnostiscism thrown in), and that the whole idea of that wingnut minority of an already fringe minority somehow regenerating the soul of Europe through the worship of odin, wotan or toutatis is pretty flimsy when looked at objectively...
But, still, they blame Christianity (excuse me, Xtianity). Well, could be worse, they could be wiccans...
#4
Not to mention that the vast majority of the neo-pagans are LEFTIST and/or new agers (with theosophy or gnostiscism thrown in), and that the whole idea of that wingnut minority of an already fringe minority somehow regenerating the soul of Europe through the worship of odin, wotan or toutatis is pretty flimsy when looked at objectively...
#8
The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon temple by Scottish diplomat Lord Elgin in the 19th century, when Greece was still an unwilling part of the Ottoman empire.
Would this be the same time period when the persians used the Athenian acropolis as an ammunition dump?
Personally, Apollo is a shitcan way cooler than mo. Not afraid of his own reflection or anything.
#10
The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon temple by Scottish diplomat Lord Elgin in the 19th century, when Greece was still an unwilling part of the Ottoman empire.
Lesson never mess with Lord Elgin in Pigeye. He's got a quality shooter and a bad, bad laggie.
#1
And there is no periscope, either. Instead, a photonics mast transmits a live image of the surface onto a computer screen. Crewmembers are able to see 360 degrees around the sub.
ARLINGTON, Virginia (CNN) -- The Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery is at the center of combat between preservationists and cemetery officials. The giant marble sarcophagus marking the location of unknown U.S. service members has been battling the elements since it opened to the public in 1932. More than 70 years later, it is showing the scars, with cracks encircling it.
The sarcophagus contains the remains of three unknown service members who were killed in World War I, World War II and the Korean War. The remains of a fourth service member, who died during the Vietnam War, were removed from the tomb and identified in 1998.
On its most famous inscription -- "Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God" -- a crack cuts diagonally across the words. Those scars are at the center of a debate: Should the memorial be fixed or replaced with a replica?
"The overall appearance of the memorial is not what it should be and we know this is a problem," said John C. Metzler Jr., the superintendent of Arlington National Cemetery.
As the cracks worsen, cemetery officials say, the threat of a degraded monument will detract from the dignity and respect afforded to those buried at what many consider the nation's most sacred site. They would like an exact replica made with similar marble.
Historical preservationists say it should not be replaced and that the cracks should simply be fixed as needed. "A replica is not the same thing as the original," said John Hildreth of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a leading historical preservation organization.
Located high on a hill overlooking Washington on the Virginia side of the Potomac River, the Tomb of the Unknowns is diligently looked after by the U.S. military's ceremonial Old Guard 24 hours a day. Cemetery officials estimate more than 4 million people visit the cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknowns every year, making it one of the most popular destinations in the Washington area.
Since the early 1960s, the marble walls that make up the main monument at the Tomb have been developing fissures from natural cracking, made worse by Washington's brutal quick freezes and thaws. The cracks have been slowly growing each year, threatening the look and delicate carvings on the front of the structure rarely seen by the public. The monument has undergone two repairs, one in 1975 and the last one in 1989, with grout used as filler. Since then, other significant cracks have appeared."The cracks continue to grow. And I can't predict what the weather is going to continue to do to the monument," Metzler said.
For years, Arlington National Cemetery, which falls under the control of the Department of the Army, has been looking to replace the 48-ton monument and its fault lines with one that is virtually identical. Metzler says following the rules of the National Historic Preservation Act and locating unblemished marble that will hold up to the weather has slowed the replacement process.
The possibility of replacement -- which the cemetery said would not disturb the actual tombs encasing the remains -- has outraged preservationists. Hildreth's group, the Washington-based National Trust for Historic Preservation, and its allies successfully lobbied Congress to force the cemetery to examine all repair options."Cemetery officials heard our concerns and were not very receptive to changing their plans," Hildreth said. "If they were to replace the monument with the same marble material, it would eventually start cracking again."
Metzler and cemetery officials reported back to Congress this month and decided to continue to repair the cracks as needed -- but will still pursue replacing the monument entirely, if requirements to the National Historic Preservation Act can be met."For now, we will intermittently repair the monument with grouting process that should hold for several years at a time," Metzler told CNN.
The report said cemetery officials believe the "cracks cannot be repaired indefinitely without the monument acquiring a patched, worn and shabby appearance, which is the antithesis of its purpose and contrary to [Arlington National Cemetery's] mission of maintaining a dignified, fitting memorial to our country's fallen soldiers." Metzler said it is impossible to say when or if the memorial would be replaced because it hinges on whether all of the criteria are met in the Preservation Act.
The National Trust contends that the cost of repairing it far outweighs the cost replacing the structure. The cemetery's report to Congress lists a replacement and related costs could total $2.2 million, while the cost for a one-time repair would be about $65,000. I for one don't care what it costs. Just do it right.
#1
Make a new one, put the old one in a museum and call it a fucking day.
Those men laid to rest deserve more than a dick waving contest by bureaucrats. And as tu said, we don't care what it costs, just get it done right.
#2
Put a building around it, a roof over it, to stabilize temperature shifts and keep it out of the weather. Make the building a nice one, but plan on replacing it when it deteriorates.
Problem solved.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/29/2008 14:26 Comments ||
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#3
They made it of marble? That was stupid. Marble is fine in a hot climate without acid rain, say pre-Industrial Revolution Rome. The idiots should have made it out of granite originally. Short term, enclose the thing. Then decide whether or not to replace it with something in the same design but an appropriate material. Or a different design -- 1932 isn't exactly antiquity, and it's a tomb, not a holy relic.
#6
I thought this was settled over five years ago, but I obviously underestimated the foot dragging talents of the Washington Bureaucracy. Maybe they're waiting for the Yule Quarry to close again so they won't have to decide.
...(In 2002), John Haines, a retired Chevrolet dealer from Glenwood Springs, Colorado, was thumbing through his hometown newspaper when an article about a local business caught his attention.
Arlington National Cemetery's largest and most famous monument, the Tomb of the Unknowns, had developed extensive cracks after seven decades of exposure to harsh winters. At the government's request, Yule Marble Quarry in nearby Marble, Colorado, which had supplied the original white gold-veined marble for the sarcophagus, was searching for a 55-ton stone to replace the cracked one.
Haines, who never served in the military and has never even visited the cemetery, decided that he would like to pay for the new stone. It would, he said, honor those who "have given their lives for our freedom."
A large block of replacement marble has been quarried and $70,000 set aside to pay for it, Haines said recently. But even though the U.S. Army accepted his donation offer in 2002, it is not clear if the stone or his money will ever be used.
Things stalled, in part because a fundamental question has not yet been answered: Should the cracked stone be replaced?
Some argue that it is more respectful to let nature take its course on the tomb, which marks the graves of three never-identified soldiers from World Wars I and II and the Korean War. (An unknown soldier interred from the Vietnam War eventually was identified.)
Other issues, including a mandatory government bidding process and requirements imposed by the 1966 Historic Preservation Act, have turned what Haines thought would be a simple act of generosity into a source of frustration.
The final call is up to cemetery officials, who are deciding among four options: replace the stone, repair it, repair the tomb while procuring a replacement stone, or do nothing.
During July and August they have been accepting suggestions from the public on what should be done. So far, at least one organization and 249 individuals have offered comments.
Large cracks in the memorial, dedicated in November 1932, were first recorded in 1963. The horizontal fissures, then spanning a total of 34 feet, are now more than 10 feet longer and wrap all the way around the tomb's midsection. The lines cut through the shoulders of the three Greek figures (representing Valor, Victory and Peace) adorning the east wall of the block and run diagonally across the words inscribed on the west: "Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God."
Cemetery superintendent John Metzler said that hairline cracks probably formed when the marble was quarried -- at that time, quarry workers did not have the diamond-cut saws now in use -- and were deepened by the freezing and thawing of moisture over the decades.
A 1990 report by Oehrlein & Associates, a Washington architectural firm that specializes in historic preservation, concluded that the cracks will keep lengthening and widening, becoming continuous throughout the stone by 2010.
Because of the tomb's historic and cultural significance, the cemetery is required to seek comments from the public before making a decision.
While searching for the above information I ran across these links which may be of interest to some of you: Source
#7
National Historic Site requirements trigger Sec'ty of Interior Section 106 regs (from one who sadly knows). These are not project-stops, just uber-hurdles that have to be overcome while listening (or pretending...) to everyone from concerned intelligent citizen to fricken' street trash, I mean "urban activists". Good luck
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/29/2008 18:22 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
MSNBC's increasingly paranoid Keith Olbermann is threatening to quit unless his bosses beef up his security, sources say.
EAGER Prince Harry has urged Army bosses to return him to the front line in Afghanistan. The soldier royal, third in line to the throne, had a successful first tour of duty in the war zone earlier this year. Now he is desperate to go back for another encounter with hostile Taliban forces.
RUSSIA last night provoked fresh fears of a Cold War by boasting it has tested a new long-range nuclear missile. MoscowÂ’s military chiefs revealed their Topol intercontinental stealth rocket had been fired successfully.
Sen. John McCain has picked Alaska Gov. Sarah as his running mate, a senior McCain campaign official told CNN on Friday. Palin, 44, who's in her first term as governor, is a pioneering figure in Alaska, the first woman and the youngest person to hold the state's top political job.
To shouts of "Yes we can," Democrats nominated Barack Obama on Wednesday as their presidential candidate in a historic first for a black American, backed by his ex-rivals Bill and Hillary Clinton.
(AKI) - By Syed Saleem Shahzad - Hundreds of lawyers and political activists on Thursday staged angry protests across Pakistan calling for the reinstatement of all the judges sacked by former president Pervez Musharraf.
Iraq and China signed a $3 billion deal this week to develop a major Iraqi oil field, the first major commercial oil contract with a foreign company since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
ARLINGTON, Virginia (CNN) -- The Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery is at the center of combat between preservationists and cemetery officials. The giant marble sarcophagus marking the location of unknown U.S. service members has been battling the elements since it opened to the public in 1932. More than 70 years later, it is showing the scars, with cracks encircling it.
