No More Mangers: Talibangelicals Celebrate Torture Death of Christ By Selling Christmas-Spirit-y Electric Burning Crosses

You just can't make this shit up.


Hat tip to Balloon Juice.

Closing Gitmo: Inadmissable Evidence, Inconvenient Torturees

Good article from the BBC on issues facing Obama re: closing Gitmo.

"Legal problems

The legal problems involved in trying terrorist suspects have not yet been resolved. Some say that the prisoners should simply be brought before normal US courts. It is thought there are about 50 or so prisoners who might face trial, out of the 255 or so in the camp.

A new system would also come under the close scrutiny of the US courts and a case against it would probably go right up to the Supreme Court to test its constitutionality

The problem is that evidence against them might have obtained either through coercion, or even torture, or from foreign agencies which have used similar methods.

Some of this evidence might be admitted in a trial before a military tribunal. So might hearsay evidence, in which someone relates what he or she was told, if the military judge decides that it would have "probative value to a reasonable person".

But neither would be acceptable under the normal rules of US courts.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, for example, charged at Guantanamo with responsibility for the 9/11 attacks, was subject to waterboarding. It is true that he has expressed a wish to die but a civilian court in the US might not admit evidence against him gathered at Guantanamo Bay. Then what happens? It is hard to see him simply being released.

There is also the problem of whether the source of some evidence should be withheld from the prisoner."

And what are they going to do with all the prisoners they've driven mad?

See Torturing Democracy.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Yes.

That is the correct answer.

Bob Somerby Gets It

Three prostrations with folded hands to Bob Somerby. No, really, for Somerby takes media whore media whore misogynists to task at the Daily Howler:

"OLBERMANN: Wow. I mean, to what degree is that the other prominent Republican governors who got some passing mention during this campaign, with an eye towards 2012—Jindal, Pawlenty, Crist? Is there any sense that any of them are forming a power base behind Palin? Or are they intending to, you know, cut her up like a Roman dictator and smuggle her out under their robes?

CARLSON: Ha, ha. Well, they only say that quietly, Keith."

Sorry, but that’s very strange. A few months ago, Olbermann apologized for picturing Hillary Clinton getting beaten up by a bunch of goons behind locked doors. This week, he was picturing Sarah Palin getting cut up into pieces.

Within moments, he mockingly compared her to Lindsay Lohan—then, to Dizzy Dean.

It’s always surprising to see the way such fellows discuss the women they hate. They seem to find it hard to do so without picturing violence or turning to overt, gender-based derision. In our view, Palin is a remarkably underwhelming figure, in ways which are quite easy to define. You don’t have to compare her to Lohan, or picture her being killed—unless your skills are remarkably weak, or you simply enjoy hating women. But MSNBC has trafficked, for many years, in weird, remarkable woman-loathing. And when it comes to their new uber-star, it seems he’s gotta have it.

But then, [t]here’s Archie Bunker—sorry, Josh Marshall—letting us know, just yesterday, who the latest “dingbat” is. Without even bothering to report what this new “dingbat” actually said!

But so it goes as progressive intellectual standards spiral steadily downward. Olbermann’s performance on Wednesday’s show was an unfortunate case in point. He performed in ways which used to define the woeful standards of pseudo-con talk. . . .

What can you say about a guy who can’t lay out Palin’s obvious weaknesses without resorting to gender-based trashing? But most strikingly, Olbermann’s instinct for violent imagery doesn’t seem to want to quit. This is bad for progressive interests, and it’s bad for young men and young women. We’d have to say it’s just plain bad for the world in which we all live.

Can someone explain why “progressive” leaders can’t seem to quit this kind of talk?

Anglachel's Journal: Women They Love To Hate.

Perhaps more to the point, why don't we have more men like Bob Somerby unflinchingly calling out the misogyny of people like Olbermann?

Hmm. I don't know why we don't.

Why don't we?

Election Euphoria Over, Back to Samsara As Usual

Lee couple arrested on charges of child abuse after boy's ear partially detached.



[Mom and] Teen [BF] Charged As Adult In 2-Year-Old's Beating

New details are coming out about the mother and teenager arrested in a horrific case of alleged child abuse in Pahrump that left a 2 - year - old boy in critical condition.
28 - year - old Michaele Griffin is facing felony child abuse charges.
Her 16 - year - old boyfriend, Danny Linville, was booked on attempted murder. Linville is being charged as an adult.

Daycare Provider Charged With Child Abuse

A day care provider in Rugby is accused of striking, kicking or throwing six children in her care.

Afghan Schoolgirl Attacked With Acid for Daring to Attend School Will Return to Classes

KABUL (Reuters) - A victim of an acid attack on schoolgirls in Afghanistan said Saturday she was determined to stay in school and finish her education even if that meant risking death.

The girl, who gave her name as just Shamsia, was the most seriously injured of a group of girls attacked outside their school by unidentified men in the southern city of Kandahar on Wednesday.

"I'll continue my schooling even if they try to kill me. I won't stop going to school," Shamsia said from her bed at Afghanistan's main military hospital in Kabul.

A Shout-Out "w00t!" to Americans United for the Separation of Church & State

One is seriously considering metaphorically renditioning Talibangelical pin-up gov and cheeky, winky ex-Trophy VEEP Sarah Palin forcibly metaphorically to induct her into Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, a fine bunch of separationists who organized a fab blogger meet-up in DC recently, at which many fab bloggers actually met up (including the divine Flying Corrente Brothers VastLeft and Lambert, BlueGal, Dr. Zaius, PZ of Pharyngula, tristero, Ed of Dispatches from the Culture Wars, the divine Jesus' General, et al.) to frolick and to gambol, to say the least. It was inspiring.

Many many thanks to Beth Corbin and AU.

Bush Admin to Obama: Shutting Down Gitmo "Won't Be Easy"

Not as easy as leading the US into moral and fiscal bankrupcty, anyhow.

Bushist Fascist Operative Compares Palin-McCain Infighting to "Middle School Girls' Clique"

Bet them operatives don't recognize that as a sexist frame, either, do they?

Not that one minds. "Circular firing squad" works, too.

"Sarah Palin is sorting through her luggage working out what clothes belong to her and what do not, her spokesman said yesterday. [hey shouldn't that be "spokeswoman"? Or "spokesmodel"?]

Meg Stapleton added that the Alaskan governor was coming under unfair attack from a 'firing squad' of anonymous John McCain staffers in a frenzy of finger-pointing.

'It’s a circling firing squad,' said Ms Stapleton.

In a string of damaging briefings, it was claimed that Mrs Palin had spent 'tens of thousands' more on her clothes than budgeted for, that she once met McCain aides dressed in nothing but a towel and that she did not know Africa was a continent.

She was also unable to name the nations in the vitally important North American Free Trade Agreement. There are only three - her own, its northern neighbour Canada and its southern neighbour Mexico. "

Hat-tip to reader AT.

News Flash: God To Show Palin "The Way"

Hmm.
Didn't He do that last Tuesday?

Rightwing Culture War To Die Terrible Death

Republican Party Sees Some Kinda Light: MUTATE OR DIE.

Via the Sydney Morning Herald:

"The Republican Party must abandon its 'stringently right wing' positions on gay marriage, abortion and immigration or it could be banished to the political wilderness by the American people for decades, says the deputy director of a conservative think tank.

As the recriminations over the Republicans' defeat in last week's elections continued, the deputy director of the Hoover Institution, David Brady, said the party had moved too far to the right, leaving behind a significant proportion of its supporter base, and that more would leave unless the party returned to the centre.

"In order for the Republicans to win again they have to drop the anti-gay, anti-immigrant, strict pro-life, no-abortion social positions they have taken," said Professor Brady, who is in Australia as a visiting fellow at the United States Studies Centre at Sydney University.

"They have to drop those things and move to the centre where the American voters are. Look at gay marriage - support for gay marriage in America is going up; it's not going down. It's a similar situation if you're pro-life. The majority in America has been pro-choice for a while, and it's not moving anywhere."

Using a series of internet surveys to determine voter preferences, the Hoover Institution found that 8 per cent of the Republican base had [already] shifted towards the Democratic Party since 2004."

Obama, Lama

As is said:

May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness.

May all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.

May all beings never be apart from the great happiness that is free from suffering.

May all beings remain in the great evenness of mind free from passion, aggression,and ignorance.

w00t!


hat-tip for pic to The Out of Joint Times.

US Votes To End Bush Nightmare

"Americans, frightened and frustrated, have rejected the party of George Bush and have made a leap of faith with Barack Obama, writes the Herald's Political Editor Peter Hartcher. . .

Today, the US has voted to reject the nightmare of George Bush's America and has elected . . .[the] fairy tale.

Americans are more pessimistic today than at the time of any election in four decades. . . .

The economy was the dominant issue for 63 per cent of voters, according to exit polls.

The Bush Administration has given the US two recessions now, and two unfinished wars.

Of a panel of 100 US presidential historians, 61 have voted Bush as the worst president in 2¼ centuries.

He is the most unpopular in the history of US opinion polling.

Americans have rejected the party of Bush and embraced a candidate who, in many ways, is his exact opposite.

He is not only youthful and black, articulate and cosmopolitan, he's also well to the left of Bush on many key issues.

'Bush and the economy were the fundamental dynamics of this election," observed the commentator E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post.'"

Must be the right day to quit drowning government in Grover Norquist's bathtub.

Update, via Talk:Left: A Few More Election Results




Why Sarah Palin May Be the Last In a Line of Culture Warriors, via the Sydney Morning Herald.

US Votes to Reject Bush Nightmare, Via the Sydney Morning Herald.

Praise from around the world.

Election Day -- So Far, So Good. (Or Maybe Not)

So I was at the local polls at 7:10 AM, and the line of voters snaked all around the building. It took me an hour to vote, and it usually takes five minutes. Town clerk is expecting 100% turnout of registered voters in this tiny village of 2,212. I was looking around the line to see who was coming out -- seemed like lots of golfers and construction workers. Hm.

Friend T in DC arrived at his polling place at 6:40 AM, and it took him an hour to vote. He said the mood was upbeat there.


We'll see.


-----
Update:

Hat-tip to Kvatch: Election Protection has received >50,000 calls as of 4:29 PM EST complaining of problems with voting in multiple states. See also OurVoteLive.

My favorite so far:

UPDATE (4:05 p.m.): Heather Smith of Rock the Vote reports that youth voters have received the following deceptive text message:

Due to long lines today, all Obama voters are asked to vote on Wednesday. Thank you for your cooperation.

Then there's this, out of sight, out of mind ballots for New englanders.

And from Hominid Views:

Probability of Obama winning 100.0%

Probability of McCain winning 0.0%

Recovery from Bushist Fascism: An Anecdote

From reader AT:

"Anecdote for you.

I told you I was going to phone bank today -- out in Bethesda. The headquarters was overflowing so much that by 1 PM, both the HQ and the first two satellite locations were full and they had to open a third satellite -- and by 4 PM, that one too was overflowing. This, btw, in Maryland -- which is not a swing state.

O'Malley, the Governor came by -- and walked around the room and shook hands with maybe 100 people or more -- wearing a tee shirt and jeans and a leather bomber jacket... and afterwards gave a 3 minute speech

Now, I'm a cynic..., but even I was taken by it....

He said this thing's not in the bag yet -- that we're only up four points in PA and four in Ohio -- but how proud he was of Maryland -- that of the 1.4 million calls made into Virginia, 385,00 came "from the Free State of Maryland...!" -- and that "we would take our country back, not to be proven right..., but to be proven worthy of our citizenship...." -- it was really electric.... And so we spent the hours calling into Virginia and Ohio --

Of course..., I'll gladly take 52-48 in both PA and OH....:

So here's a tune to give us luck in Ohio.

"


P.S. I (NBFH) would also like to add that fully 99 44/100% of my closest friends are and have been seriously involved this year on some level, most of them actually phone-banking and/or canvassing door-to-door for the Democratic ticket, an experience I have never ever had in prior elections. So something's definitely up. And not necessarily all about Obama, but about us.

Quoth Preznit Toad-Exploder's Toadies: All Those Things That Were His Fault Weren't Really His Fault

" . . . [I]nside and outside the administration . . . upbeat talk masks disappointment and frustration among many White House staffers, who believe Bush's reputation has been unfairly maligned for a series of calamities -- from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to the financial crisis -- that were beyond his control and which he handled well. GOP nominee John McCain's escalating attacks on Bush's tenure have added to irritation, these people said.

Ha.

The fault lies not in the stars, but in George Bush.

To wit:

9/11 (for ignoring Clinton's warnings)

Fiscal bankruptcy (for pissing away the Clinton surplus, then drowning the budget in Grover Norquist's bathtub).

Moral bankruptcy (starting a war based on lies about WMDs in the service of an Oedipal conflict between Dubya and Dubya's Daddy, making torture patriotic, killing a million people, ignoring habeas corpus, stuffing government with Talibangelical crazies, etc.).

Etc., etc., etc.

Cowboy up, George. It really is all your fault.

Another Reason Why One Loves Robin Morgan

Sarah Palin a feminist? Palin being supported by feminists?

Oh, puh-leeese.

It's as laughable as Elizabeth Hasselbeck using the word "sexist" in a sentence (coughchokecough) recently. Yuh, and Limbaugh's a feminist, too. Yikes.

"Spalinists traipse around with their candidate, grinning and applauding her, sometimes getting paraded out to take a bow at a rally. They sound off about how she’s the target of sexism. (She is. D’uh. But being a victim of misogyny does not necessarily a feminist make—or we’d never have had Liddy Dole. Or Britney Spears.)"

Robin Morgan.

Yep, what she says.

Somali Rape Victim Stoned to Death for Having Been Raped

Yes, it is samsara as usual.

Oh, and it turns out that the rape victim who was stoned to death for having been raped was 13 years old.

Official No Blood for Hubris Mental Health Interlude

Mm. Maybe it's pre-election nerves/anticipation, maybe it's a whiplash injury following being rear-ended a while back, maybe it's an anniversary reaction to a death threat at work this time last year, maybe-who knows-maybe, but one finds oneself in an odd, bardo-like subjective space. Time to change the subject and perhaps one's mood?

Thus:

"Today, John McCain campaigned in the Ohio town of Defiance. Next comes Anger, then, finally, Acceptance." --Jay Leno

"And McCain says he's ready for Halloween. McCain says he's going to wear a Barack Obama mask and go as a socialist." --Jay Leno

"And a lot of juicy gossip on the campaign trail. Insiders of the McCain campaign say that Sarah Palin has gone rogue. Republicans are complaining that she's not listening to their advice, she's not taking their notes and she's going off on her own and saying whatever she wants. And then when the campaign was asked what they like best about her, 'She's a maverick!'" --Jay Leno

"And Republicans now say that the $150,000 worth of clothes they bought for Sarah Palin will probably go to a charity. Charity, is that a good idea? Isn't that kind of counterproductive? I mean, you're going to give a homeless woman your spare change when she's wearing a Dolce & Gabbana jacket and Jimmy Choo shoes, you know?" --Jay Leno

"It’s a little cold and windy outside, isn’t it today? It’s so cold today that Sarah Palin was putting ChapStick on a pit bull." --David Letterman

"John McCain was on Larry King’s show last night, and it got kind of awkward when Larry had to tell John McCain that 72 percent of his ex-wives were for Obama." --David Letterman

"And have you seen Sarah Palin and John McCain. I mean if you look at them, it’s kind of interesting. He looks like the elderly husband who would have her followed by a private detective. A little bit, don’t you think?" --David Letterman

"But here's what I like about John McCain. He's an optimist. Always sees the glass as half full of his teeth." --David Letterman

"And how about last night, when Barack Obama had his half hour infomercial TV special. I mean, thank God! It’s about time this guy got some media coverage, don’t you think?" --David Letterman

"But I thought it was one of those heartwarming infomercials. It had a wonderful ending. In the final scene Barack Obama is adopted by Angelina Jolie." --David Letterman

"This week out on the campaign trail, John McCain called Barack Obama a socialist, and President Bush defended Barack Obama. But see, again, I don't think President Bush really understands. Like, he told McCain, he said, 'When you're president, you get a lot of visitors to the White House. You have to be a good socialist. It's good manners'" --Jay Leno


------
Non sequitur: Even At Costliest School, Unease Over Downturn.

Oh And BTW The Clintons Are Racists, Etc.

When Windmills Attack, Is It Quixotic to Notice?

Not to mention Anglachel on Losers.

Sarah Palin Creatively Re-Interprets The Constitution

What would one do without Sarah Palin? I mean, really. What would one do?

Here, she asserts her newfound right to attack Barack Obama without fear of vicious horrid reprisals from the media in the form of them daring to question her wisdom in attacking him.

That's pretty creative.

Glenn Greenwald calls her assertion "so dumb that it hurts."

She's quite the fascist, really, is she not?


Growing Doubts On Palin Take a Toll, Poll Finds.

Mainstream Media Finally Notices Stealth Talibangelical Palin

Better late than never?

"Struggle to the Death for the . . . Soul (sic) of the [Republican] Party"

Mm. If it had a soul, that would frame well.

From the party that brought us moral AND fiscal bankruptcy! A fight to the death!


A civil war in which insufficiently rightwing very rightwing rightwingers get excommunicated, and the litmus test is -- Sarah Palin!

Sarah who? Oh you know, the winky mavericky demagoguey stealth Talibangelical! The pro-government-forced maternity gal with pesky ethics and grammar issues.

But, wait, it gets better! Sarah Palin then turns into Ronald Reagan! No, really, she does!

From the Guardian UK:

But the real bile has been saved for those conservatives who have balked at the selection of Sarah Palin.

In addition to Mr Frum, who thinks her not ready to be president, Peggy Noonan, Ronald Reagan's greatest speechwriter and a columnist with the Wall Street Journal, condemned Mr McCain's running mate as a "symptom and expression of a new vulgarisation of American politics." Conservative columnist David Brooks called her a "fatal cancer to the Republican Party".

The backlash that ensued last week revealed the fault lines of the coming civil war.

Rush Limbaugh, the doyen of right wing talk radio hosts, denounced Noonan, Brooks and Frum. Neconservative writer Charles Krauthammer condemned "the rush of wet-fingered conservatives leaping to Barack Obama", while fellow columnist Tony Blankley said that instead of collaborating in heralding Mr Obama's arrival they should be fighting "in a struggle to the political death for the soul of the country".

During the primaries the Democratic Party was bitterly divided between Barack Obama's "latte liberals" and Hillary Clinton's heartland supporters, but now the same cultural division threatens to tear the Republican Party apart.

Jim Nuzzo, a White House aide to the first President Bush, dismissed Mrs Palin's critics as "cocktail party conservatives" who "give aid and comfort to the enemy".

He told The Sunday Telegraph: "There's going to be a bloodbath. A lot of people are going to be excommunicated. David Brooks and David Frum and Peggy Noonan are dead people in the Republican Party. The litmus test will be: where did you stand on Palin?"

Mr Frum thinks that Mrs Palin's brand of cultural conservatism appeals only to a dwindling number of voters.

He said: "She emerges from this election as the probable frontrunner for the 2012 nomination. Her supporters vastly outnumber her critics. But it will be extremely difficult for her to win the presidency."

Mr Nuzzo, who believes this election is not a re-run of the 1980 Reagan revolution but of 1976, when an ageing Gerald Ford lost a close contest and then ceded the leadership of the Republican Party to Mr Reagan.

He said: "Win or lose, there is a ready made conservative candidate waiting in the wings. Sarah Palin is not the new Iain Duncan Smith, she is the new Ronald Reagan." On the accuracy of that judgment, perhaps, rests the future of the Republican Party.

---
Full Metal Meltdown.

Indiana Robo-Call Workers Rise Up, Refuse to Pitch RNC Smears

Sounds like they're mad as hell, and they're not gonna take it any more.

"Nina Williams, a stay-at-home mom in Lake County, Indiana, tells us that her daughter recently called her from her job at [a robo-call] center, upset that she had been asked to read a script attacking Obama for being "dangerously weak on crime," "coddling criminals," and for voting against "protecting children from danger."

Williams' daughter told her that up to 40 of her co-workers had refused to read the script, and had left the call center after supervisors told them that they would have to either read the call or leave, Williams says."

Shades of this previous recent RNC smear-fest:.

"Hello, I'm calling for John McCain and the RNC, because Democrats are dangerously weak on crime. Barack Obama has voted against tougher penalties for street gangs, drug-related crimes, and protecting children from danger. Barack Obama and his liberal allies have a disturbing history of coddling criminals so we can't trust their judgment to keep our families safe. This call was paid for by the Republican National Committee and McCain-Palin 2008 at 866 558-5591. Thank you, bye."

The workers in Indiana who refused to repeat the smear-script had to pay for it -- losing many hours of work. Sounds like in the end they made the right call.

Go Ahead, Elizabeth Hasselbeck: Make My Day!

One assumes that one's fearless readers will automatically understand why one finds perky spokesmodel 'n rightwing- semi-sex-object TV "personality" Elizabeth Hasselbeck's viewpoint so desperately hilarious.



(And one does wonder about that shade of lime green, yep, one does.)

Prayer Warrior Sarah Palin's Witch-Hunter #2: Mary Glazier

Practice the virtue of patience for the first 45 seconds, at which time the fun begins.

Then check out Palin in My Prayer Group, Says Witch-Hunter #2, by troutfishing. And guess what, the New York Times has finally noticed that something's up. Took them awhile.

Hat-tip to Jesus' General.

Wonderment Du Jour

Sarah Palin. George W. Bush.

Both passionate right-wingers.

Both hard-core Talibangelicals.

Both possessing some personal charm (apparently).

Both clueless about policy.

Both spouting continuous propaganda platitudes.

Both saying un-f*cking-believably stupid things in public.

Both speaking English as if it were a second language.

Both word-salad-ing up the wazoo.


It is sticking to Mrs. Palin.

Didn't stick to Dan Quayle. And it has never stuck to Mr. Bush -- even as he drowned this country in Grover Norquist's bathtub.

Even as he lead his country deeper and deeper into moral and fiscal bankruptcy.


Why might that be, boys and girls?

Thoughts?

"Bitter Infighting Over 'diva' Palin."

Department of Too True, Too True

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

The Republican team views the spending story as irrelevant.

"It doesn't matter that Palin's costing us a fortune for her wardrobe," one insider said. "What matters is that she's costing us the election."

Well, w00t!!

Mm. And besides that, the Trophy VEEP now wants to go rogue.

YO! Karl ROVE's Dressing Caribou Barbie!!! (& he has SUCH good taste! He's just a WIZARD with f*-me heels & those cunning lil' jackets! Ooh!)

So, boys and girls, who bought and paid for the Neiman Marcus/Saks 5th/Barney's/Bloomie's/Atelier upscale uptown clothes for Caribou Barbie's Excellent Sexist Sex-Object Trophy VEEP Makeover?

Why, that would be one Jeff Larson!

One of Karl Rove's perception management boys!

Quelle surprise!

Plus ca change plus c'est la meme f*ckin' chose!

Update: Palin Defends Designer Clothes Tab via the Sydney Morning Herald. Hint -- it's not about the money, it's all about sexism, and remember boys and girls, Sarah said on NBC yesterday that she's NOT a feminist! (While being a member of "Feminists (sic) for Life (sic)")



[insert massively inappropriate Palinwink -- here ---]

PS. Seems like John McCain spent over $12K on a make-up artist just last month. Sure beats those $400 Dem haircuts the Pubbies made such a stink about, eh? Palin spent over $13K last month for her make-up artist. They're both such regular Joes, are they not?

No Blood for Hubris Defends Caribou Barbie

Okay, I meant what I said in the post below, but this take is sexist, ergo wrong:"Republicans Disgusted at Palin's $150,000 Shopping Spree"?
Puh-leese.

Be disgusted at the Republican National Committee, not Palin. Her pricey wardrobe was part of the RNC agenda, not Palin's personal agenda. They make-overed her into their sex-object Trophy VEEP. They, not she, deserve blame. (Mrs. Real Pro-America, of course, deserves blame in many other areas. And perhaps for giving her consent, as reader anon points out.)

Dressing Caribou Barbie

Look, people -- do everyday hometown cookie-bakin' anti-feminazi pro-government-forced maternity Talibangelical gurrls just like to have fun?

You betcha!

[insert inappropriate wink -- here --]

Sydney Morning Herald:

Republicans spend a motza* dressing Palin

WASHINGTON: Financial records show the Republican National Committee has spent more than $US 150,000 . . . on clothes for vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, the political news website Politico has reported.

The Republicans' main campaign and fund-raising organ spent tens of thousands at high-end stores such as Bloomingdale's and Barney's in New York, Saks Fifth Avenue in St Louis and New York and Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis, the website said. The committee also spent $US4716 on hair and make-up during September, Politico reported.

Those kinds of expenditures did not appear in the committee's financial disclosure records before the Alaska Governor was added to John McCain's ticket in August, it said.

Politico said it reviewed the committee's September monthly financial disclosure report and found a new category, "campaign accessories", included in the report of "itemised co-ordinated expenditures" . . .

Another $US4902 was "spent at Atelier, a high-class shopping destination for men", Politico noted. The spending on Mrs Palin's image emerged at the same time as reports that she has charged the state for her children to travel with her on official visits, including to events where they were not invited, and later amended expense reports to specify that they were on official business.

Mrs Palin has charged the state $US21,012 for her three daughters' commercial flights. The charges included costs for her daughters to join Mrs Palin to watch their father in a snowmobile race.

Let's hear it for perception management! w00t!

---
motza -
mot·ser /ˈmɒtsər/

–noun Australian Slang.

a large amount of money, esp. a sum won in gambling.
Also, motzer, motza.

[Origin: 1940–45; perh. alter. of Polari medzers, medzies, metzes money, pl. of medzer, madzer halfpenny, ult. < It mezzo half, mezzo]

"Stop Wasting Time With This Pig"

Guess I picked the wrong day to quit complaining about saving Western civilization (sic) through torture and savagery, eh?

I love primary sources. Check out the link to actual army documents, above (that would be "savagery').

In the meantime, ponder what it means that someone in the army thought this shit up, wrote this shit down, and made a whole shitty actual manual out of it.

It's filled with helpful directions on just the right way to hurt others.

Maybe you have to be a f*cking card-carrying buddhist to think this is totally perversely inherently morally f*cked up but I sure hope not.

Here's a teeny sample:

"The statement 'stop wasting time with this pig' means to discontinue the current training tactic and take a break."

"Us" and "them." There's a theme here. See, once you label them as "pigs" they ain't human, so you can do to them whatever you f*cking like, mm-kay? Well not just what you like. You can do whatever the manual says you can do.

There's a whole section on "DEGRADATION." This includes three sub-sections, the "insult slap," the "stomach slap," and "stripping." The insult slap target is right below the cheekbone, and you have to stop doing it if the detainee tries to duck. No really. The stomach slap is used to shock and intimidate the detainee. Stripping "consists of forceful removal of detainees' clothing. In addition to degradation of the detainee, stripping can be used to demonstrate the omnipotence of the captor [ licensed clinician part of NBFH raises an eyebrow, says neutrally, "Oh? Tell me more." here] or to debilitate the detainee."

Then, there's "PHYSICAL DEBILITATION TACTICS." These get written down in log-books. If you write stuff down it makes it official and ok, see.

Anyhow, there are more fun sections, so I'll be talking about that later, but first I have to go to work. I look forward to describing one stress position, kneeling on the ground with one's arms out holding weights. I like that one in particular because it resembles the way some abusive parents torture children, who then grow up and see me and ask me why their parents did that to them.



And pardon me while I complain as well about information suppression, PBS not daring to air the documentary "Torturing Democracy" before the election because well you know somebody in the pro-torture crowd might be offended by an anti-torture show and complain and/or somebody might have to actually deal with what we have actually done and/or why would we want an informed electorate anyway, eh? Lets just go with mob rule. Namaste to PBS, yep, my tax dollars at work supporting suppression of information about torture yep you betcha (wink wink).

Hat-tip to reader AT.

Girl Set Alight for Wearing Lipstick

Yes, you read that right.

"An 11-year-old girl has been set on fire by a relative in India's northern city of Jaipur for wearing lipstick and being inappropriately dressed.

Police say the girl suffered burns over 90 per cent of her body and her chances of survival are bleak.

They've arrested her great uncle who allegedly poured kerosene on the girl and set her alight yesterday.

Investigators say the 55-year-old man, a conservative Muslim, told the police he was enraged at the girl wearing lipstick and being scantily dressed.

But relatives have accused the man of trying to molest the girl and setting her on fire when she objected."

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Send money to Arthur Silber, who is in so need of it and who writes so well.

The Vicious Mrs. (Palin) Goes Ever So Anti-American

"We believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America, being here with all of you hard working very patriotic, um, very, um, pro-America areas of this great nation.



"This is where we find the kindness and the goodness and the courage of everyday Americans. Those who are running our factories and teaching our kids and growing our food and are fighting our wars for us. Those who are protecting us in uniform. Those who are protecting the virtues of freedom."
-- Sarah Palin in North Carolina

Well, that says it all.

There's "us."

And there's "them."

On the upside, the Palin pick seems to be hurting McCain.

Even among Republicans:

In what read more like an obituary than a commentary, Peggy Noonan wrote in the Wall Street Journal: "In the end the Palin candidacy is a symptom and expression of a new vulgarization in American politics. It's no good, not for conservatism and not for the country. And yes, it is a mark against John McCain, against his judgment and idealism."

(Well, I wouldn't say a "new" vulgarization, actually.)

And among Jewish women voters in Florida:

"[University of Florida political scientist Ken Wald points out that] 'among middle-class Jewish career women in particular, there's a resentment bordering on rage that somebody so obviously unqualified was appointed on the assumption that she would appeal to women. As women of accomplishment, they deeply resent the pandering and take it quite personally.'"

So we'll see.

Update: Guy Who Lied to UN Security Council About WMDs Endorses Obama

Department of "Oh, Puh-LEEZE"

Gag me with a spoon.

WHITE BOOMER WOMEN VOTERS PRIZED.
"Both the McCain and Obama campaigns are courting this voting bloc."

Oh. Right. And don't forget, these old broads are "feisty" but "persuadable."

Hat-tip to VastLeft.

Racist Bigot Pride With a Side Order of Deep-Fried Sociopathy Goes Global

Via the Sydney Morning Herald, Racist Image of Obama.

"A local Republican group has distributed a newsletter picturing Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on a fake $US10 bill adorned with a watermelon, ribs and a bucket of fried chicken.

The drawing harked back to racist images from decades ago in America that featured caricatures of blacks eating watermelon and other Southern foods, often suggesting they were lazy or unclean.

Linking Senator Obama, who is the first black presidential nominee of a major US political party, to such stereotypes drew denunciations from various Republican officials."

"Palin Rally Attendee Assaults Reporter," hat-tip to reader AT.

Let's Hear It For Racist Bigot Pride With a Side Order of Deep-Fried Sociopathy

I'm at work, so I can't do much right now.

But I couldn't resist this charmer.

Then there's Joe Six-Pack Speaks, at Jesus' General.

McCain Rally Preacher Erroneously Calls Buddha a "god," Prays to Christian God to Save God's Rep By Causing McCain Victory

Just another day in samsara as usual, home of passion, aggression and -- ignorance.

How offensive is this guy's total ignorance about Buddhism in particular to this card-carrying Buddhist? Mm -- very. (But in a dharmic context.) Plus his um wacko attitude toward several other religions.

Who does he think he is?

Oh, right. He's just being proud and godly, not totally incorrect and repulsive and wicked arrogant. Yuh. Blessed are the meek, dude.

Another fake Christian in need of remedial Sunday School.

Sigh. One of so many.



Dharmic context:**

13.

Even if someone cuts your head off
For having done nothing wrong,
To take on that person's negativities
Through the power of compassion
Is the practice of a bodhisattva.

Hat-tip to Jesus' General

and to TPM.

Cross-posted at Buddhist Jihad.

Todd Palin: Alaska's "Shadow Governor"

Via the Sydney Morning Herald: Todd Palin: The 'Shadow Governor'.

Hat-tip to Mr. NBFH.

RJ Eskow's "GOP's Defense: She Shot The Sheriff But She Did Not Shoot the Deputy."

There's Something Really Really Wrong With These People

More ugly Americans.

Ugly American Bushist fascists, that is, via reader AT, from Blogger Interrupted.

Thoughts on the McCain/Palin Mobs.

McCain/Palin Mobs Part 2, Woman's Child Says of Barrack, You Need Gloves to Touch Him.

John Lewis, Sowing the Seeds of Hatred and Division.

Via Austin Cline at Jesus' General: Political Mergers: Nazis & Republicans Singing Kumbaya Around the Burning Cross.

Throw the Bums Out

Via the Sydney Morning Herald, Obama Soars Ahead of McCain in Polls.

The magazine [Newsweek] reported 86 per cent of the 1212 voters polled said they are dissatisfied with how things were going in the United States. The economy was the biggest concern with 48 per cent. When asked which candidate would better handle a number of issues, Senator Obama topped every category except national security and terrorism.

"For context on just how toxic these numbers could be for the Republican Party, consider that in October 2006, weeks before the Democrats swept control of both houses of Congress, only 61 per cent of voters expressed dissatisfaction," Newsweek wrote.

Stats from Hominid Views, here.

Troopergate: Palin Abused Power

Via Alaska Mudflats:

Finding Number One:

For the reasons explained in section IV of this report, I find that Governor Sarah Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act. Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) provides

“The legislature reaffirms that each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust.”

Via the Sydney Morning Herald: Here goes. Watch out for the spin. In all probability, God told her to do it, which would make it all ok, ok?

Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin abused her position as Alaska Governor by pressuring officials to dismiss a state trooper, an investigator's report said.

In a 263-page report released on Friday by Alaska's Legislative Council following a six-hour closed doors hearing, investigator Steve Branchflower said Palin was guilty of violating ethics rules for public officials.

The investigator said Palin had allowed her husband Todd Palin to use the Alaska Governor's office and its resources to pressure officials to fire state trooper Mike Wooten, her former brother-in-law.

"Governor Palin knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda, to wit: to get Trooper Michael Wooten fired," the report said.

There's Something Really Wrong With These People

Ah, a lineful of Bushist fascists.

So sweet. So kind. So very Christian.



Are they not?

Don't they make you want to save Western Civilization? From itself?


(hat-tip to reader AT)

McCain and Palin's Lynch-Mob Tactics

More about Bushist fascist mobbism.

Anger at McCain Rally: More Ugly Americans

Still more. Still ugly.

Sarah Goes & Investigates Herself re: Troopergate: Finds Self Innocent on All Charges!

Yep. It's true. Palin has found that she didn't do it. Via Alaska Mudflats.

And it's not just Sarah.: McCain Camp Clears Palin of Wrongdoing in Troopergate.

But, then there's this at the NY Times: In all, the commissioner [Monegan] and his aides were contacted about Trooper Wooten three dozen times over 19 months by the governor, her husband and seven administration officials, interviews and documents show.

Oh!


-----
Update: Palin Abused Power re Troopergate.
(I saw this on local TV, can't find it on the internets tubes yet. Working on it.)

Obama Widens Lead on McCain; Palin Unfavorables Rise

Via the Sydney Morning Herald. Via Hominid Views.

One is not okay with the vicious Mrs. Palin's continuing race-baiting, either. No time to address this at length, but one can visualize Sarah Palin dancing around like Anita from West Side Story, and singing, "Stick to your own kind! One of your own kind!"

Here's David Brooks (a Republican, I think?) calling Palin "a fatal cancer to the Republican party." Now that's harsh.

Hat-tip to reader AT, more on Palin's Talibangelical connections.

Fiscal Bankruptcy, Moral Bankruptcy, & The Long Road Ahead

Now that we're all drowning in Grover Norquist's scum-filled Bushist fascist bathtub, what is to be done?

Stirling Newberry's Like A Bear in A China Shop.

Now Do You See What I Mean?

Yuh, Trophy VEEP.

Said so. Think so. Trophy as in sex object.

Doing trophy things apparently on purpose. Which is, you know, not okay, but is completely inappropriate. [Insert inappropriate winking and sparkly-smile here. We ARE really running for Prom Queen! Ohh! Vote for ME!]

Catch this wet-dream moment from Rich Lowry of the National Review, an adult male person, a grown-up kinda guy, who apparently still resides in Animal House.* Free of shame. Lost in a huge erotic fog, due to Palin's wink winks. And Sparkly-smile. (God Lowry must be a cheap date. ;))

Projecting through the Screen [Rich Lowry]

A very wise TV executive once told me that the key to TV is projecting through the screen. It's one of the keys to the success of, say, a Bill O'Reilly, who comes through the screen and grabs you by the throat.

Palin too projects through the screen like crazy.

I'm sure I'm not the only male in America who, when Palin dropped her first wink, sat up a little straighter on the couch and said, "Hey, I think she just winked at me."

And her smile.

By the end, when she clearly knew she was doing well, it was so sparkling it was almost mesmerizing.

It sent little starbursts through the screen and ricocheting around the living rooms of America.

This is a quality that can't be learned; it's either something you have or you don't, and man, she's got it.

Yuh, he "sat up a little straighter on the couch," did he?

Was that Rich standing up, or . . ..?

Never mind.

I feel exactly the same way about Dick Cheney.

No really.

I do.

; )


(that would be a wink, there. ; ) )




------
* [Animal House, as in demonstrating a total lack of sexual sophistication]
Oh, and here's a nasty sexist screed from Belinda of Time Magazine on why some women (like oneself?) so dislike Palin. Surprise answer: because we are women, and women are just such bitches. End of story. Nothing about facts, just feelings. You know how broads are.

Moral Bankruptcy, Fiscal Bankruptcy, Mental Bankruptcy -- Dirty Bush's Excellent [Mis]Adventure Trifecta

So why is no one really mad at Dirty Bush? Why have we no pitchfork-waving crowds outside the White House?

Lack of imagination?

Never mind.

Let's think about Addie Polk, the 90-year old who shot herself in the chest when she was about to be evicted from her home.

Fannie Mae has now forgiven her.

But -- have we forgiven Fannie Mae? What about Goldman Sachs?

CNN) -- Fannie Mae said it will set aside the loan of a woman who shot herself as sheriff's deputies tried to evict her from her foreclosed home.

Fannie Mae foreclosed on the Akron, Ohio, home of Addie Polk, 90, after acquiring the mortgage in 2007.

Addie Polk, 90, of Akron, Ohio, became a symbol of the nation's home mortgage crisis when she was hospitalized after shooting herself at least twice in the upper body Wednesday afternoon.

On Friday, Fannie Mae spokesman Brian Faith said the mortgage association had decided to halt action against Polk and sign the property "outright" to her.

"We're going to forgive whatever outstanding balance she had on the loan and give her the house," Faith said. "Given the circumstances, we think it's appropriate."

Residents of Akron have rallied behind Polk, who is being treated at Akron General Medical Center. She was listed in critical condition Friday afternoon, according to Akron City Council President Marco Sommerville.

U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, mentioned Polk on the House floor Friday during debate over the latest economic rescue proposal.

"This bill does nothing for the Addie Polks of the world," Kucinich said after telling her story. "This bill fails to address the fact that millions of homeowners are facing foreclosure, are facing the loss of their home. This bill will take care of Wall Street, and the market may go up for a few days, but democracy is going downhill."

I agree with Dennis.

And while we're on the subject of the Bush/Cheney/McCain/Palin Ruination of America, here's something about ruination by homelessness. That should perk people up, no?

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (AP) -- The number of homeless families in Massachusetts has surged -- a spike that has overwhelmed the state's shelter capacity and forced it to again place homeless families in motels.

The number of homeless families living in Massachusetts motels skyrocketed in September 2008.

Driving the increase is the sour economy, rising energy costs, escalating unemployment and shortage of affordable housing. For the first time, the state is tracking how many families are winding up homeless due to foreclosures.

"You're seeing a perfect storm," said Robyn Frost, executive director of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless. . .

In just the past 12 months, the number of homeless families living in Massachusetts motels has skyrocketed from 17 in September 2007 to 550 in September 2008. That's on top of another 1,800 or so families in shelters . . .

Massachusetts isn't alone. Advocates for the homeless say that while statistics are still sketchy, many areas are reporting increases in the number of homeless families. . .As of midweek there were 588 families in 29 hotels across the state. . .

The state is also starting to track foreclosures as a cause for homelessness. That typically occurs when a multifamily home or apartment building is foreclosed on and the tenants are evicted, sometimes losing their security deposit in the process, making it harder to come up with the rent for a new apartment.

Frost said the state should focus on creating more housing vouchers to get homeless families into permanent homes quickly.

"If people are permanently housed, kids get education and parents can keep their jobs," she said. "Without vouchers you're going to continue to see this storm."

A brief teaching on karma, cause and effect: DOW PLUNGES DESPITE BAILOUT.

Jesus' General on Obama's Associations, via Swiftboaters for McCain.

VastLeft's Monday Morning Under-Rated Two-Hit Wonder Wall Street Shuffle.

Robin Morgan, When Sisterhood Is Suicide.

Nan Rhyner, Sarah Palin, How DARE You?

SNL -- Tina Fey Does The VEEP Debate. w00t!

So the unbelievably introverted Mr. & Mrs. NBFH attended an actual social event yesterday, one that featured many of Mr. NBFH's former work colleagues, most of whom self-identify as Republicans.

NBFH had been (she thought) very successfully making small talk with Mrs. Y, the wife of an ex-Marine colonel, mostly by nodding & saying, "mm" which is what for NBFH passes for social skills.

All seemed well until the name of Sarah Palin came up, and Mrs. Y said, cheerily, "Sarah Palin! Now isn't she a breath of fresh air?!!"

NBFH was struck dumb, frozen like a moose in the headlights.

No nod. No "mm." No nothin'.

Just a sort of hysterical choking sound as NBFH totally bit her tongue, forced a half-smile, and revealed an sudden urgent need to go find her hubby, lest she actually say to Mrs. Y what she actually thinks about the perky Mrs. Palin. Which would have been very bad manners? ; ) (Or perhaps would have been an actual breath of fresh air?)

Sarah Palin : deep : : Sylvia Plath : perky

["sarah palin'" is to "deep" as "sylvia plath" is to "perky"]


Well, I'm glad that's over.

I'm glad that Biden did well.

And I wish I knew why the Trophy VEEP, at least according to the CNN Ohio voter response meters, seemed to get away with a whole lot of extra-crunchy bullshit.

Um, because it was charming extra-crunchy bullshit?

Well, that's the Trophy part, no?

You betcha!

Thanks to the internets tubes, dudes, you, too, along with all-important American dudettes, can apparently spontaneously generate a whole passel of charmingly inane Palinian bullshit propaganda phrase prose poetry.

You can do it because we're America, here, hey, Joe-six-pack-hockey-mom reform reform greed change families fear furriners terrists Putin newspapers mooses bookburn witch-hunting regular-folks-wth-stock-portfolio talibangelical babe Ahmedinejad and so why not?

Plus -- Spain!

(INSERT DUBIOUSLY ADORABLE ACTUALLY INAPPROPRIATE BORDERING ON OFFENSIVE WINK HERE)

Try the "Sarah Palin Fictional Quotes Generator" and Interview Palin.

The way that I have understood the world is on a much more local level than been the good old boy network that has been the Washington elite.

— Sarah Palin Fictional Quote Generator v1.0

Mmm.

How long has she been at this, did she say? Um, like, five weeks?

-----

Kathleen Parker Skewers Sarah Palin

One has had a crazy busy week, without time to catch up on Kathleen Parker's Republicans-eating-their-own piece on Sarah Palin until just now.

One does not like Kathleen Parker, btw, due mainly to her being a feeble right-wing shrieky sexist Schlafly-ian hack and perhaps for other reasons as well.

Nonetheless, this is fun.

Palin filibusters. She repeats words, filling space with deadwood. Cut the verbiage and there’s not much content there. Here’s but one example of many from her interview with Hannity: “Well, there is a danger in allowing some obsessive partisanship to get into the issue that we’re talking about today. And that’s something that John McCain, too, his track record, proving that he can work both sides of the aisle, he can surpass the partisanship that must be surpassed to deal with an issue like this.”

When Couric pointed to polls showing that the financial crisis had boosted Obama’s numbers, Palin blustered wordily: “I’m not looking at poll numbers. What I think Americans at the end of the day are going to be able to go back and look at track records and see who’s more apt to be talking about solutions and wishing for and hoping for solutions for some opportunity to change, and who’s actually done it?”

If BS were currency, Palin could bail out Wall Street herself.

Mmm.



-------------
Via the Sydney Morning Herald, Everyday Joe-Six-Pack American Palin takes 20K stock hit.