The Times They Are (Potentially) a-Changin'

Via the Sydney Morning Herald, Obama Grabs Big Leads in Key Battleground States.

Democrat Barack Obama is building widening leads in the three key battleground states of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, new polls released on Wednesday show.

The latest figures show the Illinois senator is gaining momentum on Republican John McCain as the rivals dash back to Washington to vote on a $US700 billion ($882 billion) Wall Street bail-out package.

The Quinnipiac University study suggests Obama won Friday's presidential debate and that McCain's vice presidential running mate Sarah Palin is suffering from sliding popularity after a stunning initial impact on the race.

They also indicate that voters trust Obama more to handle the financial crisis rocking the US economy, and he seems to be convincing Americans he is ready to be president.

"It is difficult to find a modern competitive presidential race that has swung so dramatically, so quickly and so sharply this late in the campaign," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac polling institute.

The surveys show that in Pennsylvania, Obama leads McCain by a gaping 54 per cent to 39 per cent after the debate, compared with 49 per cent to 43 per cent before the debate.

He is up 51 per cent to 43 per cent in swing state Florida, compared to a 49 to 43 per cent lead before Friday's first of three high-stakes presidential debates.

And in Ohio, Obama is up eight points, 50 per cent to 42 per cent, after having led by 49 per cent to 42 per cent before the clash in Mississippi.

The trio of swing states - which have a history of going either Republican or Democrat and swinging presidential elections - are vital stepping stones to the White House on November 4. . .

DO EXACTLY WHAT WE SAY AND NOBODY WILL GET HURT

Yes, they're holding their gunses to our headses.

They're saying "Do exactly what we say about this financial crisis and nobody will get hurt."

They will pull the trigger on us anyway.

So what's at stake?

The Fate of the Nation


Just. Say. No.


------
Yo, who dunnit? That would be -- Dirty Bush. The Breadcrumb Trail Passes through a SECRET POWER PLACE at The Out of Joint Times.

Clueless: The Vicious Mrs. (Palin) Waxes Eloquent On Her Foreign Policy Experience

Really, one just can't get enough of Mrs. Palin's hubris. One just can't.

One must play this tape again and again and again, deeply savoring her boundless egotism, going far beyond the borders and boundaries of them furrin' countries like Russia and Canada, understanding how important it is to be the chief executive of a state that furriner Vlad Putin sometimes flies over.

Breathtaking.

Everyone should have his or her very own empty-headed 21st-century sex object Trophy VEEP for whom ignorance is true bliss, should he or she not?

Oh, but wait.

Don't miss this reprise: Sarah Palin Drives Her Handlers Insane During the Couric Interview.

And via Jesus' General, the incomparable Tina Fey & Amy Poehler on SNL. But do watch the first two clips first.


-------
And lookee here, from Alaska Mudflats: McCain Camp Realizes Palin is Clueless. Has one not been calling her "clueless" for some time? One has. (And one has called it a hideous insult to all American women and all American man, of course.)
Plus, at Kos, I'm with litigatormom.
And via VastLeft, here's Arthur Silber on the current financial crisis, and more. Please send Arthur Silber some money. There's an Amazon box on his blog.

Obama Making Big Gains on McCain

Via Hominid Views.

Obama
95.8% probability of winning
Mean of 294 electoral votes

McCain
4.2% probability of winning
Mean of 244 electoral votes

Via The Sydney Morning Herald, Obama Up Nine Points on McCain.

Also via the Sydney Morning Herald, Debates, Round One: Obama Takes Narrow Lead.

CNN polls found that men scored the debate 46 to 42 per cent for Senator McCain, but 59 per cent of women thought Senator Obama had won, to 39 per cent for Senator McCain.

You go, girlz!

McCain Wins Debate He Chickened Out Of! (Then Chickened Back In To)

See, they do create their own reality!

Playing the Apocalypse Card

Official No Blood for Hubris' prognostication on Dirty Bush's upcoming financial disaster cash for trash speech.

It will say:

Be afraid!

Be verry afraid!

DO EXACTLY WHAT WE SAY AND NO ONE WILL GET HURT.

(Update: one was right! BUSH: Bailout Now or Suffer More Later.)



But I'm thinking -- sure, Preznit Toad-Exploder, that fear-hype worked oh so well after 9/11 when the national psyche had wicked bad PTSD -- numbing and avoidance; hyperarousal (anxiety panic hypervigilance irritability angry outbursts insomnia tantruming aggression); flashbacks and nightmares.

Ergo = Rush to War.

But that was seven years ago.

Now, I'm thinkin' we're ready, and that it's now more like -- fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, you can't get fooled again.

Eh?

------

Here's a great catch via democommie on Mrs. Palin, Head of Skate.

McCain's Racist Comment On Obama

So I've been rl crazy busy and we're back to blogging lite, but I could not resist sharing my revulsion re: McCain's saying he is tired of "catching the spears" from Obama.

Really, John.

In America, it's fine to be openly sexist, but not openly racist, dude.

Who brought you up?

The Vicious Mrs. (Palin) -- Georgia On Her Mind?

It's hard not to be painfully amused when the increasingly desperate Repubs offer a set of idiotic photo-ops as proof positive of their featherweight Talibangelical Trophy VEEP candidate's foreign policy expertise.

It's gone beyond insulting.

It's hilarious.

You think this Palin skirt is a little light, do you?

B-b-but, she she's been photographed sitting in the very same same room with Karzai! She even asked him the name of his kid!! How diplomatic is that, eh? Wow!

“What is his name?” Ms. Palin was heard to ask, as she met with Mr. Karzai in the suite of a midtown hotel, according to a pool report.

“Mirwais,” Mr. Karzai replied. “Mirwais, which means, ‘The Light of the House.’”

“Oh nice,” Palin responded.

“He is the only one we have,” Mr. Karzai said.

You think this Palin broad is a bit braindead, do you?

B-b-but, she's been photographed sitting right next to [coughwarcriminalcough] Henry Kissinger!!

"As photographers were led in, Mr. Kissinger could be heard saying that he gave someone “a lot of credit for what he did in Georgia,” according to a reporter who was allowed to watch.

“Good, good,’’ Ms. Palin said. “And you’ll give me more insight on that, also, hunh? Good.”

The photographers were ushered out. When Ms. Palin emerged from the building, a news producer asked her how it went, and she mouthed the words, “It was great.”"

Hey, I'll give you some more insight on that, Sarah.

And it'll be great. Here goes: all your non-blinking loudmouth god-given ready-to-VEEP confidence is more like lipstick on a big fat hideous ego, hunh?

---
This is fun. Campbell Brown calls on the McCain to stop its own sexist treatment of its Trophy VEEP: FREE SARAH PALIN!! I couldn't agree more.

A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall

Via the Sydney Morning Herald, Angry Voters Back Obama to Fix Crisis

Wall Street Gets Drunk, We Get the Hangover, from democommie at Polrant.

Imperial Presidency, Imperial Treasury & It's Still the Stupidity, Stupid

Why You Should Hate the Treasury Bailout Proposal at naked capitalism (hat-tip to reader A.T.).

Quelle Surprise! Traders Say Dollar May Be "Crushed" By Bailout Plan

Also at Kos, Stirling Newberry's The Way Forward, against the bailout.

Arthur Silber, Now Don't Go Slashing Your Wrists Or Nothing.

Explaining the repeal of Glass-Steagall (and quite properly blaming it all on the Republicans), we have Back to 1929 With John McSame and the Greedheads (And a warm welcome to blogtopia to The Out of Joint Times!)

Obama opposes blank check for errant fat cats.

Scarecrow at FDL via Jesus' General.

Not to mention, courtesy of the Sydney Morning Herald, and more probably courtesy of the crash and bailout, Obama Surges Ahead of McCain.

For anti-bailout action, FEDUP USA.

They Want My Vote. And Yet: Just How Offensive Can They Get? Answer: Very

Are these people deliberately trying to be offensive? Or are they just working for Karl Rove?

How To Scam the Skanky Bitches into Voting for BO.

Feh.

(Spits.)

--
hat tip to VastLeft

More On the Palin-Dominionist Theocrat Connection

Must-read from dogemperor of DailyKos.

From Salon, an article called "Sarah Palin, Faith-Based Mayor," which details Palin's support of a very creepy Talibangelical social infiltration campaign, which includes teaching innocent Americans to submit unquestioningly to authorities. Sound familiar? It sure did to me. (And no, I'm not making this up. I don't have to. I never have to.)

Official No Blood for Hubris Mental Health Interlude

I THINK YOU'RE THE FATHER OF ONE OF MY KIDS

A guy goes to the supermarket and notices a very attractive woman waving at him. She says, "Hello!" He's rather taken aback because he can't place where he knows her from. So he says, "Do you know me?" To which she replies, "I think you're the father of one of my kids.'" Now his mind travels back to the one and only time he has ever been unfaithful to his wife and asks, "Are you the stripper from the bachelor party that I made love to on the pool table with all my buddies watching while your partner whipped my butt with wet celery???" She looks deep into his eyes and says calmly, "No, I'm your son's teacher."

Black Comic Introduces McCain

Jonathan Bines at the New York Observer.

Protect your keyboards!

Bushist Fascists Have Scaredy-Cat DNA

They just can't help it.

Vote with your fear: the politics of DNA

LOS ANGELES: Diehard liberals and conservatives aren't made; they're born. It's in their DNA.

That's the suggestion of a study by a group of researchers who wanted to see if there was a biological basis for people's political attitudes.

They found that opinions on contentious issues such as gun control, pacifism and capital punishment are strongly associated with physiological traits that are probably present at birth.

The key is the differing levels of fear that people naturally feel.

The researchers, whose findings were published yesterday in the journal Science, looked at 46 people who fell into two camps: liberals who supported foreign aid, immigration, pacifism and gun control; and conservatives who advocated defence spending, capital punishment, patriotism and the Iraq war.

Subjects were shown a series of images that included a bloody face, maggots in a wound and a spider on a frightened face. A device measured the electrical conductance of their skin, a physiological reaction that indicates fear.

In a second experiment, researchers measured blinks - another indicator of fear - as subjects responded to blasts of noise.

People with strongly conservative views were three times more fearful than staunch liberals.

Witch Hunter Who Prayed Paliin Into Office Returns to Wasilla

It's Pastor Muthee!

He's a real witch-hunter. No, really. He is.

He's a real witch-hunter and he's into theocracy! No, really. He is.

Story from Alaska Mudflats.

The official vision statement of Muthee’s church (taken directly from the website) is…are you ready? …

"Touching lives for total community transformation, thereby taking cities and nations."

Taking cities and nations? Most of us would like our cities and nation to stay just where they are, thankyouverymuch.

Haha.

Damn Furriners: Whats In a Name?

Probably John McCain could see Spain from his POW hut?

GOP Group Pushes Anti-Obama Push-Polling in Five Swing States

More and more deja vu all over again, again, this time in Michigan.

And the wider push-poll story.

We've all been plagued at home by calls from telemarketers. Worse, however, is when a research firm, working at the behest of an unidentified political organization, rings you up for the ostensible purpose of conducting a poll, but actually with the intention of circulating half-truths and rumors about a targeted candidate.

Which is precisely what happened earlier this week, when 750 Jewish voters in five key states - Florida, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio and Michigan - picked up their phones to discover that a firm called Research Strategies was on the line and eager to gauge the voters' feelings about Barack Obama. The first bunch of questions were fairly innocuous, but, as the minutes passed, some of the voters became so upset by the questions - and suspicious of the questioner - that they began to take careful notes. Unfortunately for Research Strategies, some of the note-takers shared their findings yesterday with journalists. Also unfortunately for Research Strategies, one of those note-takers happened to be Jonathan Cohn, a frequent contributor to The New Republic.

In other words, the firm got busted for doing something that was supposed to stay under the radar. And the firm's confidential client - whose identity will be revealed shortly - got busted as well. It's worth examining this episode, because this is how hardball is played, far away from the stump speeches and TV ads.

Here's Ben Smith of Politico on the GOP group behind anti-Obama push-polling.

Here's A Fun Story on How Bushist Fascism Brought Us Not Only Moral Bankruptcy But Fiscal Bankruptcy As Well

Tum-ti-tum-ti-tum.

Some call it deregulation.

Some call it lawlessness.

But hey, greed is good.

The Vicious Mrs. (Palin) On Hubris At No Blood for Hubris

Yes, one is so sorry, one can't currently figure out how to post this here, here, but here's the best one can currently do.

; )

Wilson Research Strategies, Fox News Link to Push Polls -- Plus More Push-Polling

Curiouser and curiouser.

Gregg Chadwick continues our little homespun push-poll story . . . . positing a link to the Republican-connected Wilson Research Strategies, and to Fox News political analyst Chris Wilson who is oh well, you know, what a surprise, also the founder and CEO of Wilson Research Strategies! Hmm.

Meanwhile, Ben Smith at Politico has been gathering more push-poll complaints, including that of surprised & careful note-taking push-poll-ee Jonathan Cohn of the New Republic.

They really do think we're stupid, do they not?

------

P.S. I hear that my original source for the original push-poll story will appear on NBC News tomorrow (Thursday) night.
Well, "w00t!", blogtopia!! (Yup, Skippy coined it).

Clueless: Lying About Iraq, Lying About Troopergate

From the Irish Times, McCain Campaign Admits Palin Never Visited Iraq.

And here's the Troopergate guy saying that the vicious Mrs. Palin is lying about that, too.

And from Salon, a little about book-banning, which Palin said she didn't do but others say otherwise, oh and about her pro-government-forced-maternity activities and anti-gay and pro-creationism in public schools kinda stuff.

From the Sydney Morning Herald, Press Picks Over Litter of Lies on the Palin trail.

And here's the vicious Mrs. (Palin) admitting that she will not cooperate in the Troopergate ethics probe, although previously she had said that she would. Hmm.

Roveian Push-Poll Targets FL Voters to Smear Obama

It is deja vu all over again, again.

PT Key West resident Dr. Joelna Marcus received a phone call today. She was asked if she is Jewish, and she replied in the affirmative.

She was asked if she was religious.

She was then asked if her opinion of Barack Obama would change if she knew that Obama had given lots and lots of money to the PLO.


Sounds like liar John McCain's Smear-Talk Express, not unlike Ol' Man River, just keeps rollin' along.


----
Update: Another FL voter (from Gainesville) has revealed he too received a similar push-poll call.
And here's a push-poll recipient from PA. (Scroll down).

Oh, lookee, it's us and our very own story re-told at HuffPo! But they don't say it's our story. ; ( Alas. Ah well. One must practice non-attachment, must one not? This is, after all, a buddhist blog! ; )

Clueless: Making Rape Survivors Pay --- For Their Rape Kits

The vicious Mrs. Palin strikes again.

Yeah, let's re-victimize rape victims. Why not?



Oh, and here's the vicious Mrs. Palin hiring unqualified friends for plum positions while firing her political opponents.

Hat tip to democommie, ALASKA WOMEN REJECT PALIN RALLY IS HUGE.

Here's Tina Fey as Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live.

Sex is McCain's Political Weapon.

Clueless: NO BLINKING

Yes, Trophy VEEP Sarah Palin, you've got that right.

The most important qualifications to be the leader of the free world are:

1. NO BLINKING

2. Repetition of meaningless catch phrases.

3. Shameless lying.



Someone at the Sydney Morning Herald thinks that the vicious Mrs. Palin will become our Fearless Leader.

Clueless

More fun stuff from Sarah Palin (who some have called "The Vicious Mrs." )

Someone who former GOP Senator Lincoln Chaffee dismisses as "a cocky whacko."

Though the party is mostly keeping her safely muzzled, Sarah deigned to grant an interview to ABC News, trying to razzle-dazzle Charlie Gibson into thinking she has some sort of major grasp of foreign policy, whilst repeating pre-digested-cud buzzwords about pro-life/pro-war no blinking confidence ready I'm ready I'm ready pick me pick me pick me in a desperate attempt to appear the nuanced policy wonk she is so very not.

Over-confident much, Sarah?

O-kay, lil' lady. Go shoot a moose.

And we'll see about making our way through your blizzard of lies.

In the meantime, one finds oneself continuing to be amused by the self-professed pro-life (oh?) Mrs. Palin being so often photographed with dead things.

Hmm.




---
I also enjoyed reading this story in the the New York Times, where Palin was repeatedly referred to as "Ms. Palin." Throughout the primary campaign, the NY Times referred to Senator Hillary Clinton not as Ms. Clinton nor as Senator Clinton, but as "Mrs. Clinton," btw. While always reporting on her hair and makeup. But today's story doesn't mention "Ms. Palin's" hair or makeup, not once. Is this progress? Preferential treatment?

JOHN MCCAIN TOTALLY SUCKS UP TO NAMBLA

Not smart, Johnny-boy.

Just not smart.

Oh, and for those of you who are not yet au fait with McCain's recent and very ill-advised Obama-bashing ad?

Not to worry.

It's like waaay okay to pander to/suck up to organized pedophiles.

Such as, some say, NAMBLA.

THEY don't want anyone teaching kindergartners (and younger) the difference between "good touch" and "bad touch," either!!
Be-leeve you ME! I mean, it's not like pedophiles intentionally target really young children because besides being so fun it's way harder to get a really little kid to testify and be believed in court, is it not?

Not to mention not teaching little kids about body safety as in "Say No! Go! And Tell!"


I mean, why would pedophiles want that kinda stuff to be taught to little kids?

'Cuz, like, you know, then they'd get, like, you know, caught!

But McCain's way more of a relaxed, devil-may-care laissez-faire libertarian when it comes to pedophilia, apparently.

Hmm.

Say . . ..

Sucking up to pedophiles is sort of like so very harmonious with the vicious Mrs. Palin, who remains so very very enthralled with protecting a rapist's all -important right to breed! Wow!

"Bushist Fascist Family Values." Wow!

Breathtaking.

But not in a good way.



----
(Oh, and pardon me if I'm a bit on the rag tonight, dears, I just got back from a compulsory community-organizer-ish event where I saw not for the first time of course, more actual pix of the actual effects of actual child sexual abuse including incestuous abuse of really really little children, and actual pix of actual child physical abuse, and actual pix of ultra-ongoing domestic violence including accounts of spousal murder, and you know all that bleeding heart librul jazz. So why should I not get all pissy about it, eh? )

------
PS Hello, boys and girls!
Let's have a contest!
Who can identify the pedophile in the picture above?
Kudos to the winner! Lotsa kudos. A whole bowful of kudos!
------
And Omigod, here's a related link at Kos..

La Lutte Continue, Chris Matthews Edition

Not very instant karma for the mega-deserving Chris Matthews, but karma nonetheless.

Talibangelical Palin: A Dominionist for All Seasons?

Hat tip to reader A.T., here's a charming and fully-sourced article on just how Talibangelical Sarah Palin actually is.

Short answer?

Very.

More on McCain and The Vicious Mrs. (Palin)

Via democommie, Former POW: McCain Not Fit to Be President.
and "Sarah Palin's Big Sleazy Safari."

Here's a link that mentions the Ann Kilkenny email on Palin. And here's the actual email on the Vicious Mrs.

Ooh, and here's the Alaskan Mudflats blog, with some thoughts on The Vicious Mrs. (Palin) seeing things through jihad-colored glasses. Hmm.

Gloria Steinem in the LA Times, "Palin: Wrong Woman, Wrong Message."

From the Sydney Morning Herald, McCain Condemns the Bush Era.. (As if he hadn't helped to get Bush get into office not once but twice, and fully supported Dirty Bush's morally and fiscally bankrupt policies every step of the way?).

NYT's Frank Rich on Palin and McCain's Shotgun Marriage.

Via RawStory, how about Alaskans Speak (In a Frightened Whisper): Palin Is "Racist, Sexist, Vindictive and Mean."

And, last but not least, via Jesus' General, Miss Poppy Dixon on "Christians Pray for McCain's Death." Ah, imprecatory prayer! Don't knock it till you've tried it, people!

Hey. Does Talibangelical Pitbull Sarah Palin Make Dick Cheney Look Like the 14th Dalai Lama?

And remember - - Sarah Palin thinks herself "Pro-Life"!


So yes, in answer to your unasked question, I had lots of fun listening to the RNC's evening of unbelievably offensive speakers, and I emerged unbelievably offended. Mrs. Palin seems to be not merely a Trophy VEEP, but a rabid krypto-Dominionist, a stealth candidate who in her hidden heart of hearts would very much like to replace our separation-of-church-and-state Democracy with an authoritarian fundamentalist theocracy because well God told her to.

I particularly enjoyed her speech trashing the rule of law and constitutional rights. Very amusing, Sarah. Haha

McCain/Palin = even worse than Bush/Cheney -- if you can wrap your mind around that. Gakk.


------
Via RawStory, from Reuters Can Palin Also Galvanize the US Left?
Here's a story on keeping Palin muzzled for the entire campaign (lol), "No Questions, Please," apparently the key Republican strategy to prevent their vicious Mrs. from imprudently revealing her ultra-mega-rightwing looniness (as in "Shut up, bitch!").
Hat tip to Jesus' General, from Blue Oregon: On Sarah Palin, Family Values, and me
And from Slate, "Bristol's Body, Sarah's Choice."

Talibangelical Palin: Dobson's Choice

Well, guess what?

The Republican party is now being run by James Dobson.

You remember Dr. Dobson.

James Dobson, the guy who (himself an adult survivor of childhood physical abuse) advocates the whipping of infants with real whips, the belt-beating of one's "beloved" (sic) Dachshund Siggie, and advocates having grown men shower naked with little boys to compare penis sizes so the little boy won't grow up to be homosexual.*

No, I'm not making this up. I don't have to. I never have to.

So, it seems that war hero POW John McCain, a manly man if ever there was one, was not man enough to stand strong on his choice for Vice-President of the United States. Seems McCain wanted Joe Lieberman or Tom Ridge. But the Talibangelicals, led by James "Dogbeater" Dobson, wouldn't let him.

So McCain caved.

That's not very manly.

The Talibangelicals wouldn't back either Lieberman or Ridge because both of them oppose government-forced maternity. And that's the cutting edge this year, and that's why Mrs. Sarah Palin is Dobson's choice. (Oh, and in case you were wondering, Mrs. Palin's chosen church is scrubbing its website so no one can do a Rev. Wright thing on her and find out about all her Talibangelical views. Um, can you say 'consciousness of guilt'? I can.)

How Talibangelical is Mrs. Palin?

Very.

Talibangelical enough to fire the Wasilla town librarian for resisting her efforts to ban books that she, Mrs. Palin, found morally or socially objectionable.

Which behavior happens to be morally and socially objectionable to me.

How about you?


P.S. Is Mrs. Palin a Dominionist? Just askin'.

--------
The original link appears to have been scrubbed, but here's a little clip: -- 'James Dobson even wrote a treatise on how fathers can cure their children of homosexuality, including the following tips: "He can teach him to pound a square wooden peg into a square hole in a pegboard. He can even take his son with him into the shower, where the boy cannot help but notice that Dad has a penis, just like his, only bigger."'

The GOP Trophy-VEEP Pick: Defending the Indefensible

A little befuddled, that GOP spokesman.

Maybe he's just seen this story from the Sydney Morning Herald about Sarah Palin's controversial church. There's a link to a video clip that's well worth a watch, too.

Oh, and you might enjoy the Sarah Palin Sexism Watch. I certainly do!

Oh, and because unplanned pregnancy leading to a shotgun wedding is just a family matter, I won't discuss it here, not even the context of the Trophy VEEP's opposition to programs for teen mothers and to non-abstinence-only sex education for teens. Oh, and I won't mention how selecting a life partner on the basis of accidental fertility leading to random parenthood especially when one of the partners doesn't actually want children, is a pretty random approach to, um, you know, marriage.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the (Vanna) White House

Well, first off, one will not be discussing the safety or effectiveness of the Abstinence-Only approach to sex non-education.

Nor will one be discussing the continuing drowning of polar bears, because there are still so many of them.

But one might enjoy this piece on Sarah Palin, from the Sydney Morning Herald.

(I loved the dead moose picture best.)

Oh, and here's Scarborough, Buchanan et al., on Sarah Palin:



And here's Pat Buchanan lying through his teeth about the Palin pick, and denying he ever said all the things that he said in the above clip. Republicans must be so irked about YouTube.

Want to Choose Your Partner in Pakistan, Ladies? No, We'd Rather Just Bury You Alive

PAKISTANI TEENS BURIED ALIVE FOR 'CHOOSING HUSBANDS'

A Pakistani politician has defended a decision to bury five women alive because they wanted to choose their own husbands.

01 Sep 2008

Israr Ullah Zehri, who represents Baluchistan province, told a stunned parliament that northwestern tribesman had done nothing wrong in first shooting the women and then dumping them in a ditch.

"These are centuries-old traditions, and I will continue to defend them," he said.

"Only those who indulge in immoral acts should be afraid."

The women, three of whom were teenagers and whose "crime" was that they wished to choose who to marry, were still breathing as mud and stones were shovelled over their bodies, according to Human Rights Watch.

The three girls, thought to be aged between 16 and 18, were kidnapped by a group of men from their Umrani tribe and murdered in Baba Kot, a remote village in Jafferabad district.

According to some reports, Baluchistan government vehicles were used to abduct the girls, and the killing was overseen by a tribal chief who is the brother of a provincial minister from the ruling Pakistan People's Party.

Some accounts said that two older relatives had tried to intervene, but they too were shot and buried alive with the teenagers.

More than six weeks after the deaths no one has been arrested and human rights groups have accused local authorities of trying to cover up the executions.

Mr Zehri told parliament that a fuss should not be made over the killings, however several politicians stood up in protest, describing the so-called honour killings as "barbaric".

Human Rights Watch described the murders as a "heinous criminal offence". . .

"Surely the government should be seeking the murderers, not protect (them) through some dark conspiracy of silence. The fact the act was 'kept quiet' means the government sympathises with such doings," an editorial said.

Choice?


Nope.

Palin Palin Palin

Silicon Valley Moms blog on Sarah Palin, You Scare Me.

Palintology

ABC News on Palin & Polar Bears.

I don't mind that she's an ex-beauty queen. I have zero problem with that.

I mind that when McCain asked her to be his running mate, she actually said yes.

On Whether One Is Playing : a) The Eye-Candy Card b) The Lightweight Card c) The Vagina Card d) All of the Above

Answer: D.

All of the above.

So I have recently received a virtual "Shut Up, Bitch!" card from a commenter who thinks I, as a female, should shut up about Sarah Palin, as she, too is a female.

And that my asking if Mrs. Palin is running for Vice-President or Vice-Prom Queen is sexist. Or something. (Though when during the primary, I frequently asked whether Barack Obama was running for Prom King I received no similar criticism, as I recall).

Somehow I should be shutting up about Palin because -- what? All of a sudden we don't want to be picking on a gurrrl? But we've been picking on gurrls 4-ever! NOW, you want we should stop? I feel sure that that is just what Karl Rove had in mind with this pick! Using reverse sexism as a Teflon-ing ploy. (He's such a clever dude, is he not?)

Anyhow, to this sub-section of gentle readers: if you think the choice of Sarah Palin as Trophy VEEP is not a hideous insult to all women (and men), then, you know, like, go for it.

w00t!




Via the New York Times, "Drawing Women's Attention, Maybe Not Allegiance, interviews with some pro-Palinists, and plenty of women who, like me, think this pick a shameless pandering insult.
Via The Sydney Morning Herald, Palin A Better Shot Than Cheney

Sarah Palin
Trophy VEEP
McCain/Palin

McCain's Trophy VEEP ChickPick: A Hideous Insult to All Women. Oh & To All Men, Too

So if Karl Rove thought that putting pro-government-forced maternity advocate, mother of five, Rush Limbaugh-appointed "babe," lovely cute oh so charming vagino-American Alaska Governor Sarah Palin on the John McCain ticket was going to win over the heart and mind of this die-hard Clintonista, he's got another think coming. (Oh, and this is for Paul L., "All-Out Battle For Women's Votes.)

I don't mind that they're running a female. I think that's kind of cute. Especially coming from the nappy-headed ho, dumpy-wife-dumping, cunt-calling section of the universe.

But running a national and international experience-free person who would be heartbeat away from the Presidency of the United States, leading a world super-power in an age where conflicts can erupt into wars in which whole countries are at risk?

Because of her gender? Her external appearance?

Her willingness to bear five children? Her charm and gumption? Her hardscrabble rise from PTA mom way up the Alaskan ladder of success? Her ability to moose-hunt/duck-hunt?

Hunh?

I mean, really. What were they thinking?

It's like they've chosen her as Trophy VEEP because of her feel-good teddy-bear vibes:

“[Sarah Palin] wouldn’t have articulated one coherent policy and people would just be fawning all over her,” said Andrew Halcro, a Republican turned independent, who along with Tony Knowles, a Democrat, ran against Ms. Palin for governor in 2006. “Tony and I looked at each other and it was, like, this isn’t about policy or Alaska issues, this is about people’s most basic instincts: ‘I like you, and you make me feel good.’ ”

Ee-ew.

How cynical is that? How sexist is that?

Answer: very.

Sarah's choice proves Obama's point that John McCain doesn't get it while it has also had the surprising (to me) effect of slingshotting me right into BHO's arms at last. (Hmm.)

The Republicans just don't get it.

Not that we ever thought they did, mind you.

On the upside, it does add humor to an otherwise dull day. I see in the New York Times that Mrs. Palin, while pro-death penalty, stills calls herself "pro-life." Haha.

Even though Mrs. Palin totally opposes reproductive freedom, she claims to be a "feminist." Yo. That's like claiming to be a pro-boiling-beings-in-oil buddhist, is it not?

Jeeez.

Oh, and there are those (and you know who you are) who think that this choice is NOT an insult to all women, in particular, not to conservative and independent women.

As recently as last month, Ms. Palin appeared to dismiss the importance of the vice presidency in an interview with Larry Kudlow of CNBC, who asked her about her prospects for the job.

Don't skip the clips!




McCain has picked a woman because she is a woman. A conservative woman. A young, physically-attractive Talibangelical homeschooling anti-science creationist conservative woman. What a great package for a Trophy VEEP. (Ooh! NBFH just coined it!!)


McCain has passed over more experienced, less photogenic conservative and independent women. (And men).

Now, you perhaps think that that is not insulting to all women. (Not to mention all men.)

But I strongly disagree. Looks over competence? Why is that not insulting? Shallow much? We electing a Vice-Prom Queen?



----
Faux Feminism at Washington Monthly, with more people who find Palin an insulting pick.
Sarah Palin: Sleight of Gender, at Vanity Fair.
Oh. And here's another uppity broad who thinks it's the Palin choice is an insult to women.
Deb della Piana on Who Does John McCain Think He's Fooling?
MSNBC

Blast from the past -- it's not about hillary, it's about us.
Goodbye to All That No. 2, by Robin Morgan.

Sarah Palin
Trophy VEEP
McCain/Palin

Rove, POW John Pander to POWs -- One Giant Snark-Step Onward for All Vagino-Americans!

I noticed earlier that Karl "Miss Piggy" Rove, unlike his tone-deaf Democratic party counterparts, was oddly attuned and aware of the karma-cause-&-effect thing re: POWs, as in Pissed-Off Women Democrats (a group of which I am, and continue to be, a proud example).

That's why Rove's "Why Not Hillary?" ad was so effective. And, at least to me, unexpected.

As in, oh, what, someone's paying attention?

And that someone would be -- Karl Rove? Ouch!

I think it is a very pleasant thing that John McCain has picked his VP according to her genitalia. I mean, why not?

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in various alienated sections of vagino-american blogtopia, a section of blogtopia whose spontaneous-arising I joined in, cheering.

Moi, I think it may actually piss off the people who are already actually and very reasonably pissed off, even more. (And if it doesn't, it should).

But it may surprise Miss Piggy by pissing them off in sort of a different, and perhaps 180 degree anti-pandering direction. Possibly inspiring some deep revulsion. (And don't forget Palin's being a card-carrying Feminist For Government-Forced Maternity [coughchokecough]).

I for one certainly am finding McCain's choice of Sarah Palin particularly, unconscionably, despicably, almost deliciously repellent.

Am I alone in this? I think not.

We shall see.

But from where I am, this pick is vilely sexist, and a hideous insult to all women.





Hat tip to Jesus' General, a little something about what Sarah Palin may be doing in addition to so cleverly possessing the requisite vagina.
Frogette at ragebot with McCain Picks A Chick, hat-tip to Kvatch.

Sarah Palin
Trophy VEEP
McCain/Palin

U-S-A, U-S-A Denver: Leg Shackles, Pepper Spray, Gitmoesque Frigid Air, Sleep Deprivation. Constitution? Just a Piece O' Paper

From the Denver Post, Mobile edition.
YOUNG PROTESTER DESCRIBES DETENTION

Editor's note: The following is a firsthand account from Martin, a young Colorado protester arrested Monday evening when police in riot gear surrounded a group of 100-200 protesters as they marched on 15th Street between Court and Cleveland Place.

"The first thing I really noticed was at Civic Center Park when I was in the 'Food Not Bombs' area. The police seemed to be ready for conflict. They walked through the 'Food Not Bombs' crowd, which was a peaceful group, holding their weapons out and looking at people, really intensely, trying to intimidate everyone. It made us all a little worried.

"I was planning to march with the group that night. We all had different reasons for being there. I was marching to make people aware that they should be worried about our civil rights being stripped systematically right now, and show people that habeas corpus is six feet under. I just think the time we live in has so many deep-rooted problems that I don't understand how people can NOT protest. I'd never been arrested before, and I have no criminal record or significant run-ins with the law.

"The group first gathered outside the City-County building, getting ready to march, but the police blockaded us. I didn't see the pepper spray there, but the whole group decided to retreat because we didn't want to be encircled by the police. So we went to the promenade and crossed onto 15th Street, linking arms, trying to stay as tight as we could and stay together.

"Everything happened really fast. We knew there were police behind us, and that presence was growing larger, with more police, but then suddenly there were police in front of us at the other end of the block. Shortly after that, the police encircled us. A lot of people were able to escape before they closed the circle, but the rest of us were inside, along with a journalist from Brooklyn, and a woman who started writing on her laptop about what was happening, and some photographers. There were many people who weren't protesters, just citizens, who were in the encircled group.

"We moved to the sidewalk - a few people stayed in the street - because we didn't want a confrontation, but it didn't matter.

"People started pleading: 'Let me go,' 'I want to go home.' The police started using the pepper spray. Some of the police on horses were whacking people with their batons. I was told later that the police were telling us to disperse, but I didn't hear them say that. And where would we go? The police were all around us, not letting us leave.

"We asked why we were being detained, but they wouldn't talk to us. They told us to sit down, and we sat down.

"Then they said that anyone with a photo I.D. could show it and be let out of the circle, and anyone without I.D. would be arrested. I saw a handful of people hold up their I.D., and police walked up to them, grabbed them and took them out. I don't know if they were arrested.

"They set up an arrest squad - two police per protester, and talked about who to pick - 'Get this one with the bandana' or 'Get that one in the black.' They were targeting individuals.

"The arrest process was: The two officers picked you up, searched you, took your bag and everything except your money. They put you in blue plastic handcuffs and walked you to a line where you stood in front of a camera, holding a placard with the charges against you, and then there was footage of the officer who'd arrested you. All I can remember is the officer claimed I'd done some things I had not done - said I'd thrown rocks, which I didn't do; I didn't see anyone with rocks. I asked him why he said that when I hadn't done it. His answers were vague, ambiguous.

"Then I was taken to another area, loaded onto a bus that took us to a warehouse in a Denver industrial park. There were Special Operations Response Team police there, who took our pictures again, printed both hands - not just the fingers, but our whole hand rolled onto the ink - and did a medical check. Then they assigned us to different chain-link cages, maybe 15 feet by 15 feet, all chain link, with a padlock. Between 10 and 20 of us were in one of those cages. Females and males were separated.

"They pumped in cold air, in these big white tubes, all night and all day the next day. It was freezing in there. I was lucky; I had a jacket, but other people were in shorts and T-shirts. We asked them to turn off the cold air, but they didn't.

"Eventually they put all of us in metal leg shackles, and re-handcuffed us in pairs, with our right hands together — right hand to right hand - so it was difficult to move. . .

"We were utterly confused. We did not understand why we were being detained. We hadn't been read our Miranda rights. We didn't know what we'd done to merit such a violent response, or why the Special Operations police were needed.

"After they shackled us, they put us in a van with no windows, and took us to the courthouse, where we were supposed to speak with a judge to hear the charges against us. We were still handcuffed, right hand to right hand. They took us in an elevator that went up to a jail cell, and we were told to watch a video of a judge telling us our rights, through the bars. It was surreal, like being in a futuristic movie, like "1984" or "A Clockwork Orange."

"Eventually, at about 2 a.m., we got to see a real judge, who explained our rights to us, and explained the charges. There was a lawyer, an angel, who explained everything in plain language. There were five charges against me: Blocking a public thoroughfare, not abiding an order to disperse, throwing rocks and missiles, loitering, and begging. At times, I had begged them for water, when we were sitting down on 15th Street before going through the arrest process.

"The attorney explained we had three choices: Plead guilty and post a $300 bond ($500 if you were from out of state), or accept a plea bargain that dropped all the charges but one that you had to pay $141 for, or plead not guilty and either post your own bail or wait in jail till your court date. But nobody had given us a court date. So I took the plea bargain, because I didn't have the money for bail.

"Then they walked us out of the courthouse, and we saw another group from the protest walking in. We were the first group to meet with a judge and a lawyer.

"Then they took us back to the warehouse. The only place to sleep was on a chair, if you got one, or on the concrete floor.

"I was really worried because I could not get any responses from the police. We kept asking how long we'd be there, when the bus was coming, and they'd keep saying, 'It's coming.' It felt inhumane, utterly terrifying. If they'd answered some of our questions, I think people would've been less terrified, less frightened, but I think the police were intentionally fatiguing us. They'd keep us for long periods of time in one cage, and then re-handcuff us and move us to another cell, as if something was about to change, but it didn't. It was all psychological.

"In the cells, we talked to each other about where we were from, the places we'd been, and if we'd been in situations before. We reassured each other of our rights, made sure everyone knew the People's Law Project hotline number, and that it was really important to get names and badge numbers. . . .

"I got out on Tuesday around noon. We learned we were the first wave of protesters to make it all the way through the process — 7 p.m. last night to noon today. . . .

Update here at Democracy Now.
More here.
Hat tip to anon for update links, top pic.

It's the Stupidity, Stupid!!

Hoist on his own petard, is our John.

Who is btw a POW.

And he's also old. A little older than Biden. I don't agree with playing the ageist card except oh dear I seem to have just played it, have I not? Guess I'm just a little sensitive on the oldness is inherently badness theme. Oh?

I prefer to make decisions based not on um you know sheer ageism gender bias shapeism racism classism blah blah, but rely more on the stupid/not stupid/adequate/smart/f*cking brilliant policy continuum.

But hey that's just me.

.

(Hat tip to Jacqueline Gens of poetrymind and Advice from Abu Shri for this fine Robert Greenwald video.

AP Reports on Hillary Clinton's DNC Speech Before She Gives It

Ah, our darling media whore media.

We love them so, do we not?



Department of Possible Light at End of Tunnel, Unity Pony Entebbe Rescue Edition? Hat-tip to anon. ; )

And also, It's Hillary's Night! Hat-tip, again, to anon. ;)

With Friends Like These, Who Needs - - oh, & then there's Rove, Who Seems To Be the Only One Feeling Some People's Pain. Isn't That Ironic?

Eric Alterman, on The Hillary Diehards

A bawling, mewling, puking David Sirota on "Does it Always Have to Be About the Clintons?"

The "Get Over It!" Scratching Post.

CDS Sports

The Disturbing Rise of the Hillary Harridans: The Madwoman in the Blogosphere

Clinton Dead-Enders

Here's a HuffPo dude who first calls Clintonists "virulent" and THEN asks for their votes, for the sake of Party Unity!

This is not how to win my vote.

No, Actually.

Oh, and this.

And don't forget, boys and girls! The Clintons are racist and pro-assassinationist!

No, really! They are! They are!

Send Arthur Silber Money Or I'll Rip The Spangles Off Of Unity Pony and Paste Them On Cindy McCain

Why?

Because -- he's waaay leftier than thou.

Because he writes stuff like PSSST--WHILE YOU WERE GIBBERING, THE RULING CLASS RIGGED THE GAME AND WON EVERYTHING:

And this: DEATH MATCH; IF THE WORDS DON'T KILL YOU, THE BOMBS WILL


And: HOW DEEPLY STUPID CAN PROGRESSIVES MAKE THEMSELVES

And this: OH ARTHUR YOU'RE JUST CRAZY

Just for starters.

And -- because he needs it. And because we needs to support one of our own.

Lost in Translation (or, You Do Not Have to be Hit to be Abused, Sweetie?)

Hello, boys and girls. Let's have some fun with language!

I'm choosing adjectives and nouns from two sources today: Dahlia' Lithwick's piece in Slate, "The Madwoman in the Blogosphere" (nb. that would be me, btw) and Michele Goldberg's "Three A.M. for Feminism," all about "Clinton dead-enders and the crisis in the women's movement."

Keep in mind that this language is coming from two supposedly liberal progressive Democratic women.

Ready to mix and match?

PICK ONE FROM COLUMN A AND ONE FROM COLUMN B

A.------------------------------------------------------------- B.

disgruntled ------------------------------------------------bitch
bitter -----------------------------------------------------madwoman
irrational ----------------------------------------------pyromaniac
hurt ---------------------------------------------------martyr
angry ---------------------------------------------------victim
rejected -------------------------------------------------harridan
unstable -------------------------------------------------hysteric
petulant ----------------------------------------------she-devil
lunatic ---------------------------------------------------dead-ender
wicked
emotional
self-referential (not THAT!)
mad
old
irrationally destructive
toxic
middle-aged


(Forgive my inability to get the columns lined up right.)

O-kay.


How many combinations were you able to make, boyz and girlz?

"Toxic bitch"? "Middle-aged she-devil"? "Self-referential pyromaniac"?

This is a contest, faithful readers!

The grand prize is -- a bushel basketful of that singularly bitter high-priced vegetable, arugula!

And the question is: WHAT IS THE POINT OF MY POSTING THESE LISTS?

.

[An important piece from Avedon Carol at Side-show, "this is not an instruction in how to vote" (hat tip to Corrente)]
{Campaign updates at Corrente.}

The Audacity Of Rove

Well, as a big-time hillary harridan I had intended to just STFU like a good little girl & get totally over it (over what?), and keep on privately snivelling in my beer whilst simultaneously whistling and pretending that lalalala nothing is wrong, it's all good, it doesn't matter, out of my hands, nothing to do with me, it is what is is, que sera sera, la-di-da, la-di-da, la-di-da, and utterly totally completely stuffing my feeeeeeelings (oh, would that be stuffing one's feelings as in "numbing & avoidance" one of the three main symptom categories that define PTSD? why yes it would!) and never write another word on the subject ever ever ever ever ever ever ever.

That was my plan.

And then I saw this:

New McCain Ad Hits Obama For Not Picking Hillary As Veep

And I thought to myself, "Ouch."

Then I thought "Wow."

Then I thought, "This must be Rove."

Then I thought, "Wow."

Then I thought, "Ouch," again.


Sez TPM (and do note TPM's swipe at "embittered" Clintonistas, they just can't stop slamming us can they? because it's all our fault/hillary's fault tum-ti-tum-tum so there) here.

John McCain is up with his second spot in two days hitting Obama over his veep choice, this one whacking him for not picking Hilllary:

The spot makes a kind of double-barreled bid for embittered Hillary voters: It fuses criticism of the fact that he "passed over" her with an airing of her attacks on him during the primary, arguing that he didn't choose her because of that criticism."

PICTURE OF HILLARY

FEMALE VOICEOVER: She won millions of votes.

But isn't on his ticket.

Why?



Ouch.

Round one to you, Karl.

.

Plus Milosz re: It's Not the End of the World Hillary Harridan Bitchez So Get Over It & btw STFU

Wasn't I talking about the O.J. Simpson verdict just the other day?

Hmm.

Well, anyway.

Must be time for more Milosz.

A SONG ON THE END OF THE WORLD

On the day the world ends
A bee circles a clover,
A fisherman mends a glimmering net.
Happy porpoises jump in the sea,
By the rainspout young sparrows are playing
And the snake is gold-skinned as it should always be.


On the day the world ends
Women walk through the fields under their umbrellas,
A drunkard grows sleepy at the edge of a lawn,
Vegetable peddlers shout in the street
And a yellow-sailed boat comes nearer the island,
The voice of a violin lasts in the air
And leads into a starry night.


And those who expected lightning and thunder
Are disappointed.
And those who expected signs and archangels' trumps
Do not believe it is happening now.
As long as the sun and the moon are above,
As long as the bumblebee visits a rose,
As long as rosy infants are born
No one believes it is happening now.


Only a white-haired old man, who would be a prophet
Yet is not a prophet, for he's much too busy,
Repeats while he binds his tomatoes:
There will be no other end of the world,
There will be no other end of the world.


---Czeslaw Milosz, Warsaw, 1944

Your Tax Dollars at Work: Torture At Gitmo

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- An Algerian prisoner at Guantanamo Bay has accused his guards of using [water torture] on him, his lawyer said Friday, marking the first allegation that the harsh interrogation technique was used at the U.S. military base.

A human rights commission of the Organization of American States, after being informed of the alleged abuse, said Friday that it has asked the U.S. State Department to ensure that Djamel Ameziane is not mistreated and receives medical care.

Officials at Guantanamo and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but they have said repeatedly that all Guantanamo detainees are treated humanely.

Ameziane, who has been imprisoned at Guantanamo since February 2002 without being charged with crimes, told his lawyer Wells Dixon that guards at the base placed a water hose between his nose and mouth and ran it for several minutes. Ameziane said they repeated the procedure several times, nearly suffocating him.

"I had the impression that my head was sinking in water," Ameziane, 41, wrote his lawyer. "I still have psychological injuries, up to this day. Simply thinking of it gives me the chills."

According to Ameziane's account, during the same incident the guards applied pepper spray all over his body, hosed him down, and left him shackled and shivering in wet clothes in front of an air conditioner in an interrogation room.

Confessed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and at least two other "high-value" detainees imprisoned at the base in southeast Cuba were waterboarded -- an interrogation tactic that produces the sensation of drowning -- but they were waterboarded at CIA secret prisons before they were transferred to Guantanamo.

Dixon said in a telephone interview the alleged abuse happened early during Ameziane's confinement at Guantanamo.

"He was held down and someone essentially shoved a hose in his face, forcing a stream of water down his nose, mouth and into his lungs I guess," Dixon said.

Lawyers with the Center for Constitutional Rights, a law group that represents scores of Guantanamo detainees, on Aug. 6 filed a petition on behalf of Ameziane with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Washington, asking that it intercede with the U.S. to protect the detainee.

The group said the commission, which is an autonomous organ of the OAS, agreed and issued "urgent precautionary measures" with the U.S. on Wednesday.

An official with the OAS-affiliated group confirmed it has asked the State Department to ensure he is treated humanely, given medical treatment and not transferred to a country where he could be tortured.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is empowered to request that a member state adopt specific "precautionary measures" to prevent human rights abuses, but can also urge the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to order that measures be taken, and can submit cases to the court. The United States is a member of the OAS.

Via Raw Story, link here.

Moving Right Along: Dirty Bush Backs Anti-Choice Rule

New Bush rule: Doctors can refuse to give women abortions

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration on Thursday proposed stronger job protections for doctors and other health care workers who refuse to participate in abortions because of religious or moral objections. . . .

"Freedom of conscience is not to be surrendered upon issuance of a medical degree," said Leavitt. "This nation was built on a foundation of free speech. The first principle of free speech is protected conscience."

The proposed rule, which applies to institutions receiving government money, would require as many as 584,000 employers ranging from major hospitals to doctors' offices and nursing homes to certify in writing that they are complying with several federal laws that protect the conscience rights of health care workers. Violations could lead to a loss of government funding and legal action to recoup federal money already paid.

Abortion foes called it a victory for the First Amendment, but abortion rights supporters said they feared the rule could stretch the definition of abortion to include birth control, and served notice that they intend to challenge the administration.

"Women's ability to manage their own health care is at risk of being compromised by politics and ideology," Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement.

Abortion rights groups had complained that earlier drafts contained vague language that might block access to birth control, and they said the latest version has not addressed all of their concerns."

Yes, such a problem these days in America, doctors and nurses being forced at gunpoint to perform abortions against their will. All-pervasive. Unlike child abuse in America. Just ask James Dobson.









More here.

Hope & Fear & Unity Pony DeathWatch

I remember waiting for the O.J. Simpson verdict to be announced.

I remember how I felt after it was announced, too.

Waiting for Obama's VP announcement is triggering traumatic memories of that period of on-tenterhooks waiting.

I'm really worried for my party, and for my country, hoping for the best and fearing the worst.

And I'm not the only one.

I'm not.

Nope.