Sarah Palin is ordinary. Yes. Ordinary. Our country, and the world, is populated by millions of women just like her... worker ants, carrying astonishing loads many times their body weight, building, building, nourishing, nourishing, organizing, organizing. The worker-ant is a pattern of Nature. An ordinary one. A usual one. Not an odd, strange, once in a lifetime … [Read more...] about Sarah Palin, Ordinary Iron Fist in the Velvet Glove
The Browser’s a Lie
Google sure picked some interesting inspirations for its new browser logo. … [Read more...] about The Browser’s a Lie
We Said It Here First
We've said it here before and now Marc Ambinder asks it: Does the McCain campaign think that their ticket can win if they go to war with the press 60 days out? There's another implication here. If the McCain campaign does go to war with the press and that's partly why they win, it'll be one more election that is won in American politics on a side issue, by demonizing … [Read more...] about We Said It Here First
Party, Platform, and Palin: The Triumph of Theocracy in the GOP
TNR's John Judis, in the Twin Cities for the GOP convention, explains Palin's appeal, and how McCain has sold out to the theocrats: The convention's first two days have been a conservative love-fest for McCain’s vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin. McCain's handlers have also allowed social conservatives free reign in writing this year's Republican platform. McCain … [Read more...] about Party, Platform, and Palin: The Triumph of Theocracy in the GOP
Live from the RNC Yet Again
It's a different time nearly every day, since we have to keep up with the shifting schedule on the floor there, but Cindy and I will take to the airwaves at 2 pm eastern today with yet another edition of Mid Stream Radio as Cindy reports to us live from St. Paul. She's been catching the speeches, roping in some interview candidates and is currently attending a blogger luncheon … [Read more...] about Live from the RNC Yet Again
The View From Minnesota: Day 2
In between real life, I've taken in some of the events taking place here in the Twin Cities during the Republican National Convention. Yesterday, I went to the "Big Tent Event" hosted by Log Cabin Republicans. (I'm been a member of Log Cabin and past present of the Minnesota Chapter.) We heard speeches from the likes of Jim Kolbe, the former member of Congress and an out gay … [Read more...] about The View From Minnesota: Day 2
Filling A Gap
Why the press should thank Republican nominee-to-be Sen. John McCain. … [Read more...] about Filling A Gap
Civil Rights Roundup: 09/03/08
Your daily dose of civil rights and related news Backlash over the Postville raid may be prompting the government to change its immigration enforcement tactics somewhat. Orange County Register: The diversity given by immigration is a source of strength, not weakness, to our nation. Same-sex marriage: good for the economy. How long until "pro-family" groups start up … [Read more...] about Civil Rights Roundup: 09/03/08
Did John McCain Listen to Bill Kristol—Selectively?
Sometimes I am critical of conservative Bill Kristol and his New York Times columns---like 99.9 percent of the time. But, when credit is due, I am not loath to give it. And that is the case today. I happened to be revisiting his August 4, 2008, New York Times column, where Kristol gave the McCain campaign some advice on "How to Pick a V.P." Lo and behold, John … [Read more...] about Did John McCain Listen to Bill Kristol—Selectively?
More Negative News Trouble For Sarah Palin
Yet another unflattering story is out about Republican Sen. John McCain's Vice Presidential pick Gov. Sarah Palin -- and whether or not it pans out and has "legs," it's yet one more indication of how the fact that while there is debate over how thoroughly McCain vetted Palin, she is most-assuredly going to be vetted by the mainstream media and tabloid press now. ABC News … [Read more...] about More Negative News Trouble For Sarah Palin
The Lemonade Stand Fallacy
I've written on the executive experience canard before. But since GOP operatives insist on pushing this absurd line of reasoning to justify Sarah Palin's "greater qualification for office than Obama or Biden (or presumably McCain)", let me offer another frame of reference: Running a Lemonade Stand. To run a lemonade stand you need to know where to place the stand, how to … [Read more...] about The Lemonade Stand Fallacy
Shotgun Wedding
RJ Matson, The New York Observer … [Read more...] about Shotgun Wedding
The Vile Stench of Holy Hypocrisy: Mommy Palin, Family Values & Sexual Politics
I would normally defer to Barack Obama's view that candidates' families are off limits, something that right-wing bloviators have not afforded his wife. But Sarah Palin deserves no such consideration because this gun-packing, gay-bashing hypocrite of a mommy has made so-called family values a centerpiece of her politics, inevitably shining a harsh light on wayward daughter … [Read more...] about The Vile Stench of Holy Hypocrisy: Mommy Palin, Family Values & Sexual Politics
Quote Of The Day: The Defense of Sarah Palin
MSNBC's First Read gives us our political Quote of the Day on a major effort to defend GOP Senator John McCain's Vice Presidential pick Gov. Sara Palin in the face of unhelpful media coverage by...going on the offensive: Early this morning, McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds announced that the campaign today “will launch a forward leaning effort to counter the shameless smears … [Read more...] about Quote Of The Day: The Defense of Sarah Palin
Glass Ceiling
Larry Wright, The Detroit News … [Read more...] about Glass Ceiling
Waiting for Sarah Palin
There is a sort of kabuki theater going on between GOP stalwarts and the media right now over Sarah Palin. That her appointment completely undercuts McCain's "experience" argument has caused otherwise sane Republicans to make fools of themselves by arguing that her leadership of the Alaska National Guard qualifies as national security experience, that her "executive experience" … [Read more...] about Waiting for Sarah Palin
The GOP’s Talking Points On The Palin Family
They're out -- which is to be expected -- and here they are. … [Read more...] about The GOP’s Talking Points On The Palin Family
A Look At Last Night’s Republican Convention Speeches
From Booker Rising's Shay, inside the convention hall... Note towards the end about how some of Sen. Joe Lieberman's speech raised eyebrows. … [Read more...] about A Look At Last Night’s Republican Convention Speeches
They Didn’t Start the Revolution Without Him
While most eyes were fixed on St. Paul and the McCain-Palin festival, a not very quiet throng of Ron Paul supporting Republicans, Libertarians and independents of similar bent gathered across the river in Minneapolis for the Ron Paul convention. A sold out house awaited the diminutive Texas Republican, where more than ten thousand tickets were sold in advance for $17.76 and … [Read more...] about They Didn’t Start the Revolution Without Him
Is Sarah Palin Going To Be Going, Going Gone?
If John McCain's Trainwreck Express can make it through the next few days without going off the rails, then running mate Sarah Palin probably will survive. But if the revelations continue to roll in -- from Palin's thuggery as a small-town mayor and big-state governor, that she couldn't even operate a car wash without running afoul of the law, her problematic religious … [Read more...] about Is Sarah Palin Going To Be Going, Going Gone?