Blog Title of the Day: Andrew Sullivan

The Dish sez "Holy Shit!" regarding the Kos poll that has McCain and Obama in a dead heat IN ARIZONA!!

Appalachian History: Every woman in my place is bound to feel blue too

Appalachian History: Every woman in my place is bound to feel blue too

"I get full o' good liquor, walk the streets all night,
I put my man out if he don't act right.

Wild women don't worry,
Wild Women Don't Get the Blues"

I've always loved that Ida Cox song, even used to have a "Wild Women Don't Get the Blues" bumper sticker, was happy to discover this article (and eclectic, well-researched, interesting blog!)

Obama Shining Knight for TV Networks

NYT reported yesterday that the "infomercial on behalf of Mr. Obama was a smashing ratings success on Wednesday night, proving to be more popular than even the final game of the World Series — and last season’s finale of “American Idol.”

Well, I'm surprised that the networks were surprised:

“I was shocked by the number Obama was able to draw,” said Leslie Moonves, the chairman of CBS. “It’s just a stunning number.”

On CBS, the infomercial was seen by about 8.6 million viewers, a number that topped the show CBS usually runs on Wednesday night at 8, “Old Christine,” which averages about 7.2 million.

But this is the part that is shocking:

On NBC, the disparity was even greater. Its regular show there, “Knight Rider,” has been averaging just under 7 million viewers. Mr. Obama pulled in 9.8 million for his half-hour special.

Seven million people watch Knight Rider? No accounting for taste, as they say.

Obama Devotion

At yesterday's drenched rally in PA, Obama shared this allegory:

John McCain has ridden shotgun as George Bush has driven our economy towards a cliff, and now he wants to take the wheel and step on the gas.

My fave pics of that rally this morning are in the NY Times:

by Doug Mills:



... and by Damon Winter:



And a sampler of The Closing Argument:

Pennsylvania, that’s what hope is about – the belief deep down inside us of us that we can do better than we’re doing right now, that there better days ahead, if we’re willing to work for it. If we’re willing to shed our fears and our doubts, if we’re willing to reach down deep inside us, when times are tough, when it’s cold, when it’s rainy, when it’s hard - that’s when we stand up, that’s when we reach for a better future. And if all of you are willing to be just as determined as you are today, if all of you go out on election day, if all of you get your friends and your neighbors, your co-workers, if you are determined to bring about a better America, then I promise you this, we will not just win Pennsylvania, we will win this general election and you can I together, we’re gonna change this country and change this world.

Spread Gen-We Like A Virus

How can an old lady like me get this out to everyone under 30? I can't. But if I am reaching even one person under 30, maybe you can help spread this message like a virus. The best I can do is sit here feeling somewhat exonerated for having lived a life in opposition to the version of the American Dream that my Boomer generation ended up pursuing after they forgot all about Peace Love and Woodstock....

Comment of the Day:

Michael Crowley posted this with the caption "America, 2008" on TNR:

[photo since removed from tnr.com -- it had depicted a small blond boy fist-bumping with Obama standing next to a limousine on airport tarmac]

A little ways down, "williamyard" comments in a perfect parody of the ignorant electorate who so irk me:

What's the big deal? The Terrorist fist-bumping yet another albino Negro midget? Tell me something I don't already know.

Let me guess: the albino Negro midget's father came from "Kenya"--as in the People's Republic of Kenya.

How many times has the albino Negro midget registered to vote? Four? Six? It's anybody's guess.

Ten-to-one he's connected with all that offshore money pouring into the Obama campaign.

Methinks the midget won't be so keen on fist-bumping the Terrorist once he finds out his taxes are doubling so William Ayers can have convicted Negro felons teach highschoolers how to perform forced abortions on their Christian mothers under portraits of Malcolm X and Timothy Leary.

I've tried to point all this out, time and time again, but the MSM has ignored me. Meanwhile, CBS infiltrates Sarah Palin's campaign staff and her favorability ratings start tanking. And you won't hear CBS reporting on Obama's plans to pardon Charles Manson, now, will you? Coincidence?

I read this morning that Ahmadenijad has taken ill...just a little over a week before the U.S. election. How conveeeenient.

Tampa Bay hides the "Devil" in its name, Nate Silver predicts they'll win 200 games, meanwhile every Beltway "expert" is now quoting Fivethirtyeight, and the "Rays" are in the World Series.

Connect the fucking dots, people.

Wanting to know/read more about/by williamyard, I clicked on his username and got a great late-night style laugh off this one:

No, the campaign is not about the issues. Nor should it be.

As we can all agree, if elected President, B. Hussein Obama will in short order appoint Cindy Sheehan Secretary of Defense and will.i.am Ambassador to Iran, and summarily enslave Hillary delegates and force them to paint the White House black. It's true, because I read it on the Internet.

Moreover, there is nothing in the United States Constitution that prohibits a phantom from becoming President; thus there's nothing to stop John McCain from revealing that he is in fact Casper the Friendly Ghost and that he has arrived to save America from the Illinois Infidel and appoint Joe Lieberman as our next Barney Rubble.

The GOP is already in talks with Major League Baseball to distribute Sarah Palin Bobbleheads at this year's Fall Classic.

You laugh. Once upon a time, you probably laughed at the Tampa Bay Rays. They exorcised the Devil, and now look where they are.

Laugh or cry: exactly how is McCain not Bush??

Fave Bloggers: Alex Pareene

I encountered Pareene for the first time today in my meanderings around the Web, and he instantly hit my list of Fave Bloggers.

Sampler, from "Wait, What's Up with ACORN?":

Matt Drudge, who controls your news with an iron opera glove, is leading today with the news that ACORN registered Mickey Mouse to vote. Ha ha ha. Honestly, what the hell's the deal with the ACORN story and why are right-wingers already clinging to it like guns and religion? Sigh. We'll try to explain.

What is ACORN??
An evil group that exists to organize poor people into a violent militia and overthrow the government via "voting." Or basically a lobbying group for low- and middle-income families, either one....

What do they do?
They started as a radical group dedicated to getting welfare recipients and underemployed non-welfare recipients together to demand socialist things like free lunches for kids and emergency room care. Now they lobby Democrats for terrorist things like raising the minimum wage and forcing the government to subsidize affordable housing. Also they organize voter registration drives....

What are my talking points for when crazy relatives argue that ACORN stole the election?
...More importantly, the election can't be stolen if it hasn't happened yet, and voter registration fraud does not explain in any way a double digit lead for a candidate in national tracking polls. Like, wtf, how are you making this argument, are you slow?...

Good Republicans (yes many do exist!)

Hero of the Day: Colonel Vandeveld; Villian of the Day: The Pentagon

The New York Times reports today that charges have been dropped against five Guantánamo detainees for lack of evidence, and that the prosecutor in all five cases has stepped down, "saying there were systemic problems with the fairness of the military prosecutions there":

The Pentagon’s decision to dismiss the cases comes after the former prosecutor, Colonel Vandeveld, said in a military commission filing that he had ethics questions about prosecution procedures for notifying the defense about information favorable to detainees. He called the procedures “appalling” and “incomplete and unreliable.”

The Pentagon earns Villian of the Day status because even without any charges pending against the detainees, they will not be released. (Friendly Combatant reminded me, "That's nothing new," but I still confer V of the D status on our military leaders and/or the White House officials giving them such directives).

Honorable mention award for Hero of the Day goes to Reprieve and to other organizations who are providing legal defense to Guantánamo detainees.

Laugh or cry: Comedy Central on Wasilla

Sullivan's face of the day

Pop quiz: Which man can you see being President of our United States? (Click entry title)

Appalachians for Obama

This is rather long but so sweet, I wish I knew who these folks were so we could all send them our thanks. Lyrics will scroll past at the end.



I love how she flicks a piece of popcorn to the dog every now & then ...

The Only Idea That Makes Any Sense

There may be a bailout plan that both Liberals and Conservatives could live with....

For the past week I have found myself wondering why nobody has been talking about saving the credit markets by means of making good on delinquent mortgages. This seems such an obvious fix, and I was gratified to see the idea written up by Jonathan G.S. Koppell and William N. Goetzmann ("The Trickle-Up Bailout") in today's Washington Post. I would think it an easier sell to Conservatives for the taxpayers to loan money to private citizens with real property as the collateral, as opposed to merely throwing freshly printed dollars at bad paper.

But there are two enormous additional benefits to the idea that are not mentioned in the article. First, by slowing or stopping the rate at which homes are being vacated, property values in American communities will stop hemorrhaging and perhaps even recover to some extent. Second, by taking action to prevent wide-scale homelessness and destitution as a result of the mortgage crisis, America would not only be in concordance with our fundamental sense of humaneness, but will also spare itself untold further costs, which I also have not heard considered in the ongoing debates.

A worker without a home is unlikely to hold his or her job for long and we will see unemployment costs rise. Families without anywhere to go will need shelter. Children dispossessed of their homes, with unemployed or severely financially distressed parents, need free school lunches, medical services, and, it is likely, more educational and psychological/emotional support from society at large.

Bail out Wall Street alone, and our next crisis will be a scenario reminiscent of the depths of the Great Depression, complete with caravans, shanty-towns and mass hunger. Loan money to homeowners, and not only are the taxpayers more likely to see some return on their money but we will avert to a huge extent the costs that nobody is talking about. And just maybe feel a lot better about our collective character as well.