What A Hoot

Humor.

The best way to point out how unhinged they are.

Smugly Is As Smugly Does

By now you've probably heard that the "Tea Party" Republican candidate for Senate in Delaware has been mocked endlessly for correctly pointing out in a debate that the "separation of church and state" is NOT in the US Constitution or the amendments thereof.

But did you hear about the lefty pig pile on Sarah Palin about 1773? Yep, the lefties don't even know when the Boston Tea Party took place.

Smug is ugly. Idiots who are both wrong and smugly arrogant are especially offensive.

Primarily

Our primary elections are next Tuesday, June 8th, and in South Carolina we vote on every office. There is no registration by party in South Carolina. A registered voter goes in on primary day and asks for the Republican or Democrat program for the voting computer. (Every precinct in the state uses identical electronic voting machines, by the way.) Voting in the Democrat primary in statewide races is like picking the Washington Nationals to win the World Series: a pointless activity.

So, though I've never been a registered Republican in my 38 years of voting, I'll ask for the Republican ballot and vote among over 30 candidates in a dozen or so races. DeMint for Senate of course, Mulvaney for the right to knock off John Spratt this November, Loftis for State Treasurer and on and on and on.

But the race that suddenly got national attention a few weeks ago is for Governor. Two of the candidates had run and won statewide office before: McMaster the current AG, and Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer. (In SC the Lt. Gov. does NOT run with the Governor like the US President/ Vice President. I've seen some outside reports that assumed that Andre Bauer was Governor Sanford's "running mate." That's not true.) As statewide office holders McMaster and Bauer polled ahead of Gresham Barrett, a US Representative from an Upstate district, and Nikki Haley, a state representative, on name recognition if nothing else.

Then a few things happened to upset the old boy network that wanted a Bauer win at best or, at least, a McMaster/ Bauer run-off. And, when you talk about The Old Boys, in South Carolina you're talking about Sanford enemy Jake Knotts and his crew.

Jake Knotts

First a few groups started to throw support and funding behind Sanford protege Haley. That helped her a bit, but nothing like what happened when Governor Sarah Palin left the NRA convention in Charlotte and stopped in Columbia to endorse Nikki.

Polls after the Palin endorsement showed Nikki Haley leaping from 4th to 1st. McMaster was now running second and that meant ol' Jake Knotts had a problem-- his boy Andre was out of the running and wouldn't even make the June 22nd run-off. But, coincidentally I'm sure, slime started oozing out of the dark corners of the state. First a hapless blogger leveled a dirty smear without any evidence. When that seemed to go nowhere a Bauer aide leveled a similar, sad, laughable attack on Haley. Since there was no evidence for this one either the electorate seemed to be seeing through it.

So, desperate, Knotts last night played trump. He intimated, in public on an Internet radio program that Nikki Haley isn't the Methodist she claimsto be, in fact ol' Jake said that like Obama, she's a "raghead." The exact quote: “We already got one raghead in the White House. We don’t need another in the Governor’s Mansion.”

And so this is what the mighty fixer Jake Knotts has come to as he sees Andre Bauer's ascendancy in grave doubt. See, with his boy Bauer in the Governor's chair Jake and his crowd would be dippin' even deeper into the emptying trough down in Columbia. Since the office of Governor is weak by design in South Carolina (see: carpetbaggers and scalawags post- War Between The States for the reason) even a Mark Sanford or Nikki Haley can't keep the oily Knotts crew from their corruption. But the difference between a Haley vetoing their schemes and a Bauer rubber-stamping them is big. Big enough for Jake Knotts to pull out everything his ugly mind can think of-- but will the voters fall for the sleaze and insult campaign next Tuesday?

The days of guys like John Spratt and Jake Knotts are coming to an end. We hope it starts Tuesday June 8th. That would be change we can believe in.

UPDATE: Nikki Haley got 49% of the vote. Her closest competitor, who she will meet in a 6/22 runoff, was 27 percentage points behind. Jake's boy, Andre Bauer, finished dead last.

From 4th To 1st

In March Rasmussen Reports found that in the Republican primary race for Governor of our state Nikki Haley was out of the running in 4th place with 12% support.

Thursday they released their latest data and Haley has jumped to a double digit lead over the field. So... what happened in the meantime? A few things, but chiefly, this:

If no candidate reaches 50% in the June 8th primary election the top two will be in a run-off.

Enough to Hack Ya Off

The kid who illegally accessed Sarah Palin's Yahoo e-mail account back in 2008 is on trial and facing 50 years in jail.

The AP has written a story about the trial and somehow leaves out that the kid is the son of an elected Democrat in Tennessee, Mike Kernell.

About Last Saturday

Saturday night Sarah Palin took time off from her book tour (31 stops in 25 states) to speak to the assembled media at the Gridiron Club dinner in DC. Andrew Malcolm at the LA Times reports that her approval numbers are now within a point of Lord Obama's. Here's the transcript of her remarks at the Gridiron dinner:

Text of Remarks by ex-Gov. Sarah Palin to the Gridiron Club, Dec. 5, 2009

Good evening. It’s great to be in Washington and I am loving the weather. I braved the elements and went out for a jog! Or, as Newsweek calls it, a cover-shoot.

It’s a privilege to be here tonight at the Washington DC Barnes & Noble. Tonight, I'll be reading excerpts from my new book. Perhaps you’ve heard of it? “Going Rogue” ... wasn’t sure if I’d go with that title and somebody suggested I follow the East Coast selfhelp trend and go with, “How To Look Like A Million Bucks…For Only 150 Grand.” Todd liked, “The Audacity of North Slope.” Hey, I considered not having a title at all. I’ve said it before, but you Beltway types just don’t seem to get it. You don’t need a title to make an impact.

But anyway, let’s get started. I’ll begin my first reading on Page 209. It was pitch black when we touched down in Arizona late on August 27, 2008. The next morning we drove to John McCain’s ranch in Sedona. John was waiting on the porch. Before he can say a word, I tell him, I'm quoting now:I know why I’m here, and I’m ready. But, I'm worried. The cost of credit protection for the largest U.S. banks is rising precipitously. Have you given any thought to the run on the entities in the parallel banking system? Do you realize the vulnerability created when these institutions borrow short term in liquid markets to invest long term in illiquid assets? John said, “You betcha!” I thought, “You betcha?” Who talks that way?Well, sometimes you just have to trust your instincts. When you don’t, you end up in places like this.

Who would have guessed that I’d be palling around with this group? At least now I can put a face to all the newspapers I read. It is good to be here and in front of this audience of elite journalists and intellectuals. Or, as I call it, a death panel.

To be honest, I had some serious reservations about coming to visit your cozy little club. The Gridiron still hasn’t offered membership to anyone from my hometown paper in Wasilla, the Matanuska-Susitna Valley Frontiersman. And my dad thought it was just a plain bad idea to leave the book tour for some football game. He might have a point!

I’ve been touring this great, great land of ours over the last few weeks. I have to say, the view is much better from inside the bus, than under it! But really, I am thrilled to be with you. And I’d like to thank the Gridiron for the invitation and Dick Cooper for his introduction. To paraphrase John F. Kennedy, this has to be the most extraordinary collection of people who have gathered to viciously attack me since the last corporate gathering at CBS.

Despite what you have read, or more likely, despite what you have written, I do feel a real bond with all of you. I studied journalism, earned a communications degree and for a time only wanted to be a journalist. I was even a television sportscaster back home. I’m guessing some of you probably got your start the exact same way… once there was television.

Let me get back to the book. I know that many of you are still upset because I wouldn’t play that silly Washington game. You know, the one where all of you read a book in its entirety, from the first page of the index to the last. But think about it, because you actually had to read the whole book in the vein hope of finding your name, you now know all about Denali, mom, dad, ungulate eyeballs, slaying salmon on the Nushagak and Ugashik near Alegnigak, where we make AGOOTAK and moose chili!

You’re welcome.

Still, I want to do something very special for this audience of Washington elite. So, I’ll read from the index--which I chose not to include in the hardback. Would you believe me if I said I didn’t include it because we wanted to save trees? Under A we have…Alaska, media not understanding. Pages 1-432. Under B…Biased media. Pages 1-432 And under C…Conservative media. See acknowledgments.

I’ll stop there.I know this can be a long night, and as I understand it, we’re going to break with a Gridiron tradition. Normally, the Democrat speaker would deliver a speech after me. But instead, John McCain’s campaign staff asked if they could use that time for a rebuttal. A lot has been made of a few campaign relationships. The closeness. The warm fuzzy feelings. John and I both agree all those staffers should just move past it. It’s history. Let’s just say, if I ever need a bald campaign manager, it appears all I’m left with is James Carville. I don’t want to say that I’ve burned a bridge, but I know all about cancelling a bridge to nowhere.

That Democrat speaker I referred to is, of course, the one-and-only Barney Frank. And I’m the controversial one? Barney, the nation owes you and the government a debt. A huge, historic, unbelievable debt.

But, it’s good to be here with you, Mr. Chairman. Because by Chairman, I don’t just mean the House Financial Services Committee. As far as I can tell, Barney’s also the Chair of AIG, CITI, and the Bank of America. I don’t want to say that the U.S. Government is taking over the role of the private sector, but I have to admit, on the flight here, thumbing through a magazine and looking at a photo of President Obama with the President of China, the person next to me pointed at it and said, “Hu’s a communist.” I thought they were asking a question.

Still, when I see this administration in action, I can’t help think of what might have been. I could be the Vice President overseeing the signing of bailout checks. And Joe Biden would be on the road, selling his new book, "Going Rogaine." Speaking of books….Did I mention mine? “Going Rogue” Makes a great stocking stuffer. Available now at a bookstore near you. Hey, I have to pay for my campaign vetting bill somehow.

Really, the response has been great. So I’ll close by reading a final passage. Page 403:I’ve been asked a lot lately, “Where are you going next?’Good question!Wherever I go I know that, as with anyone in the public eye, I’ll continue to have my share of disagreements with those in the media. Maybe even more than my share. It will come as no surprise that I don’t think I was always treated fairly, or equally.But despite that, I respect the media very much. It’s important. A free press allows for vigorous debate! And that debate is absolutely vital for our democracy.So as hard as it can sometimes be, we must all look past personal grievances. We must move beyond petty politics. And we must allow these incredibly talented and hard-working women and men to ask the hard questions and hold us, and our government, accountable.Because their mission is as true as the sun rising over the Talkeetna and Susitna Mountains.

OK – so none of that is actually in the book. Not a word. But I do believe it! And I believe we live in a beautiful country blessed with so many different people who want the best for their children, families and for our great nation. I’m so proud to be an American. And that is what I’ll be talking about when I travel to, really where I’m headed. No better place than here to announce where I’m going. I’m going to Iowa! I’ll be there tomorrow from noon to 3:00 pm at the Barnes & Noble on Sergeant Road in Sioux City. Come early. Long lines are expected.

Thank you everyone. God Bless the U.S.A!

In The Dark But Gettin' Ever Dimmer

The gang over at Big Hollywood directed me to Variety magazine today. I used to subscribe to and actually read Variety as part of my work duties in olden times. (Yikes!) So I figured it might be funny to see what they had to snark about Governor Palin's bye-bye speech.

Having worked in Hollywood I find it amusing to see how little the troops there know about most of the USA. This Variety column did not disappoint. But far better are the comments after--- the first one was so dead solid perfect I wish I'd written it.

Here are excerpts from the clueless column:

July 26 Sarah Palin's Attack on Twig-like Hollywood Starlets
Sarah Palin's farewell address as Alaska governor contained the standard conservative targets of big government, the media and Hollywood, but it's the latter where Palin forged new ground.
She didn't just attack the industry elite, but the wafer-thin starlet elite who embrace vegetarianism and have age-defying figures.
Her comments came about halfway through her speech, when she warned the state's residents of Hollywood's penchant for targeting Second Amendment gun rights.
"You are going to see anti-hunting, anti-second amendment circuses from Hollywood," she said. "And here's how they do it. They use these delicate, tiny, very talented celebrity starlets. They use Alaska as a fund-raising tool for their anti-Second Amendment causes." The crowd clapped.
Then came the line that got one of her biggest cheers. "By the way, Hollywood needs to know. We eat, therefore we hunt."

......

... perhaps Palin's motives were some kind of ingenious populism: the very same checkout counter magazines that have hounded her family also routinely obsess about celebrity weight loss and gain. In other words, stir up the resentment among anyone who's ever tried and failed to obtain unobtainable physiques.
She did spend a greater portion of her speech talking about energy, one of her signature issues, as well as criticisms of the federal stimulus package. But like her pre-Independence Day bombshell announcement that she was resigning, there were parts of this speech that were just incoherent, a stream-of-consciousness recitation of her accomplishments and resentments as if she were posting it on Twitter.
Take this part, in which she addresses the state's tradition of independence and living off the land:
"We would roll up our sleeves and we would diligently sow and reap. And we can still do this, to carve wealth out of the wilderness, and make our living out of the water, with strong hands and innovative minds, now with smarter technology. It is what our first people and our parents did. It worked, because they worked."

Palin thrives on being unpolished, but even that is of little help it you can't understand what you are saying. Her persona came through at the Republican National Convention, in what was regarded as her best speech on the national stage, but that was a fully scripted endeavor.
More problematic is the fact that she is leaving office period. Again, she cast her reasons for departing the governorship early as a desire not to play it "politics as usual" and bide her time as a lame duck. It's an argument that can just as easily be twisted the other way, that your very status as a lame duck makes you more valuable, because you are more likely to make decisions without reelection considerations. In a Republican primary, that will be held against her, from Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota in particular. He's a likely presidential candidate in 2012 and also a lame duck governor. But he remains in office.

"We eat, therefore we hunt" was an amusing line --- something you can envision on a bumper sticker. But if it is a higher office she is seeking, campaigns aren't won or lost based on the support or opposition to Hollywood, as much attention as the industry gets when it makes a foray into the political arena.

Before I could even point out how coherent and sane the "incoherent" passage was, others beat me to it. Take a look:

Comments

I'm afraid that this writer's own intelligence is to be questioned here. That sentence that seemed so elusive to him or here made perfect sense to me. But then again, like Governor Palin, my IQ is higher than the average turnip in California.
Actually it was a rather good restating of Fredrick Jackson Turner's Westward Expansionist theory of history.

But since the writer's intellect and education seems to be rather limited, like much of Hollywood, let me explain it in simple terms for you. I promise to try and keep the words small:
"We would roll up our sleeves and we would diligently sow and reap."
In past, people worked hard on family farms, and in other industries. They made plans, worked toward them and profited from that hard work.

"And we can still do this, to carve wealth out of the wilderness, and make our living out of the water, with strong hands and innovative minds, now with smarter technology."
People (that is people in fly-over country who feed the rest of you wastes of oxygen) can and still do this. They find new areas of need, and find a way to fill those needs. They work at sea, and on the land. They work hard, and they work smart, and they use the new technology (I'm hoping this word isn't too big for you) to make the work more profitable.

"It is what our first people and our parents did. It worked, because they worked."
This is what the first pioneers did, and what our past generations did. They were successful because of their hard work and their dedication.

What she is saying is that same spirit is still alive today in the farms and fields, factories, and small business across America. Those people are still working and they are the people that matter, because they are the people who pay the bills for the country- not the brain dead little starlets who spout off at the mouth about subjects they are unqualified to give an opinion on.
I suggest next time you avoid political thought. It is obviously too difficult for you. Next time just drink your kool ade and think of 0bama. You seem incapable of grasping much else.
Posted by: Asatruteacher July 26, 2009 at 09:56 PM

....

And this is why many Americans are pissed off. You guys don't get it! When your homes, jobs and family security are in danger WE DON'T NEED FANCY POLISHED SPEECHES-JUST THE FACTS. This whole article was about style not substance. And what was so hard to understand?! WORK! That was the point of her speech. Our country wasn't built on savvy politicians and shiny suits. It was built on the backs of hard workers. This is why I'm ashamed to be a New Yorker. You guys from the two left coasts are elitist snobs and you're the ones out of touch! Keep tring to figure Palin out, all the while your golden President with the perfect teleprompter speeches will keep on tumbling down the polls because of his FAILED POLICIES THAT YOU VOYED FOR. When your energy bills, grocery receipts, taxes, insurance skyrocket, you only have yourself to blame because Palin warned you. OBAMA IS A FAILURE-THAT'S A FACT.
Posted by: LisaBK July 26, 2009 at 10:27 PM

....

Asatruteacher - thank you. The paragraph in question was perfectly clear to me as well, but the notion of "working" may be an alien concept to those whose primary occupation is playing make-believe on TV.
Posted by: J R July 26, 2009 at 10:53 PM

....

what she is saying is pretty darn clear to me. but when the only "rolling up your sleeves" your used to is when you are purchasing your lattes from starbucks, I can see how you missed the point.
Posted by: sharise parviz July 27, 2009 at 04:18 AM

....

If this isn't EXACTLY the same type of snobbish, snarky, pseudo-intelligent hackery that Sarah and most conservatives have been fighting against for years then I don't know what is. It still floors me just how much the majority of people in entertainment and the press just don't get it.
Amazing.
Posted by: Tim Hathaway of NC July 27, 2009 at 06:12 AM

....

Theodore Levitt once wrote a business masterpiece, "Marketing Myopia." It describes how the railroad industry thought it was in the railroad business instead of the broader transportation business.
I suspect that B-school students may now be writing something similar to that about the entertainment/news industry's myopia about most of the rest of America.
Based on polling that shows the entertainment/news industry's credibility declining I would have to say that it is headed for a brick wall obscured by its own brand of marketing myopia.
You people just don't get it. So many twigs in your industry, and I don't just refer to the so-called "talent," seem to think that success in pretending (which is really what acting is all about) and the adulation heaped by limited minds automatically translates into a carte blanche to waltz into the limelight and opine on complex issues.
Enough already. Go back to pretending and leave complex issues to those who have actually spent adequate time to understand and manage them.
Posted by: Maggio July 27, 2009 at 06:24 AM
....

The article was worthless but the comments are pure gold.

Posted by: Frazetta_girl July 27, 2009 at 07:36 AM

They don't get it. And they never will.

I am so happy I got out of there while I could still think straight.

Tweetwatch

Here's something from Gov. Palin's Twitter site overnight, cleaned up slightly from Twitterish writing:

Great day w/bear management wildlife biologists; much to see in wild territory incl amazing creatures w/mama bears' ... raw instinct to protect & provide for her young; She sees danger?She brazenly rises up on strong hind legs, growls Don't Touch My Cubs & the species survives

Mama bear doesn't look 2 anyone else 2 hand her anything; biologists say she works harder than males, is provider/protector for the future

Yes it was another outstanding day in AK seeing things the rest of America should see;applicable life lessons we're blessed to see firsthand.

And...

Planning inauguration w/LtGov in 10 days, Frbanks. W/same cabinet, same positive pro-AK agenda it's all good, consistent success bc everyone elected is replaceable; Ak WILL progress! + side benefit=10 dys til less politically correct twitters fly frm my fingertps outside State site

July 4th Salvo

One of the things that drove supporters crazy about George W. Bush was his reluctance to fight back against all sorts of lunatic rhetoric directed at him. He saw the Presidency as a position from which one does not descend to engage in fisticuffs with critics.

As Governor Palin exits her state job in Alaska she shows that her nature is, um, somewhat different. In the 24 hours after her announcement a great deal of unresearched speculation went out over the air and Internet. Her attorney has told an Alaskan left wing blogger, The NYTimes, MSNBC, The WashPost and Puffington Host that they are on notice and will be subject to legal action for defamation. The four page letter is here.

Some people called her a "quitter."

Amusing.

Imagine for a moment that you knew you could make in one night, giving a 45 minute speech in Houston, what you made in an entire year as governor. Now imagine that, when your children are attacked by pundits and comedians you can make such speech actionable as a private citizen. You might not win any lawsuits, but then the lefties who have filed more than a dozen harassing suits against you in the past year haven't won either. The payback might be too sweet and way too lucrative to pass up.

Is she running for president? Probably. Some day. But first it's time for fun and profit. Lots of profit. There are opinion-shapers in America who make many millions a year through radio, books, TV, and speeches. None of them would take the pay cut to run for public office. Sarah Palin found herself on the other side of that equation: working for chump change when there are tens of millions of dollars on the table.

No Lame Duck For Her

We went looking for freedom this Independence Day weekend and this afternoon Liberty appeared.

I'm surprised that some people on TV this afternoon don't think she just started her 2012 campaign.

Now back to the national celebration of a child molester.

Another Tired Old Lefty

The sad, angry, washed-up, TV comedian Dave Letterman offered an apology of sorts for joking about Willow Palin being raped in Yankee Stadium by A Rod during a ballgame. He said he wasn't talking about 14 year old Willow but her older sister, Bristol. I guess there are degrees of outrageous creepy behavior and it is, in his mind, less egregious making a rape joke about an 18 year old than a 14 year old. That's his story and he's sticking to it, ensconced in his Manhattan limousine liberal echo chamber.

What does Todd Palin think about this?

"Any ‘jokes’ about raping my 14-year-old are despicable. Alaskans know it, and I believe the rest of the world knows it, too."

John Ziegler asked Governor Sarah Palin about it and she dismissed the out-of-it TV yakker as "old" and "pathetic." In a prepared statement she later said:

"Acceptance of inappropriate sexual comments about an underage girl, who could be anyone's daughter, contributes to the atrociously high rate of sexual exploitation of minors by older men who use and abuse others."

Letterman used the forum of his low-rated TV program last night to invite Governor Palin on as a guest. He even invited Todd to come along, although he said it would be better if he didn't accompany her. No doubt it would be a ratings bonanza for the sad jerk.

But the show I'd watch on Pay-Per-View is Todd and Dave 1 on 1 in the ring. No holds barred. We'd really see how funny that knee-slapper about raping a 14 year old is then.

-----------

By the way, if you haven't seen Ziegler's documentary on the 2008 campaign, "Media Malpractice" it's still available.

UPDATE: Governor Palin issued a further statement today re: the "perverted comments of a 62 year old male celebrity" about their 14 year old daughter and his subsequent invitation to come on his little-watched TV program.

"The Palins have no intention of providing a ratings boost for David Letterman by appearing on his show. Plus, it would be wise to keep Willow away from David Letterman."-- Palin PAC spokesperson Meghan Stapleton

There's a Difference

While Lord ObamaPrompter is going on late night talk shows to make fun of special needs children Governor Sarah Palin is sending a video to the Boise, Idaho Special Olympics.

There are wise-ass punks and then there are good-hearted people in this world. Unfortunately being a smartass got this guy a long way in the world and now we are all paying for him being in way over his head.

In Her Own Words

If you've been reading Big Hollywood from Day 1 you've probably already seen this first part of an interview with Governor Palin. It comes from a documentary being made by John Ziegler about how the legacy media promoted the candidacy of Barack Obama.

10 Big Stories

Just to be contrary I waited until 1/2/2009 to do my Top 10 stories. I'm not real concerned about the order of these and I'm even less concerned about any arbitrary rules. Here's a list of 10 big stories.

1. US & coalition partners win Operation Iraqi Freedom, commonly called The Iraq War, and nobody notices because it doesn't fit the conventional wisdom and it could cause people to question the idea of voting for an anti-war candidate when the war he was "anti" has already been won.

2. A harsh market correction caused by needed de-leveraging in the home lending sector is turned into a global financial crisis through government intervention. And... the intervention is just getting started.

3. A rookie, freshman US Senator from Illinois beats the Democrat field in proportionally awarded primary sweepstakes. Barack Obama then goes on to beat a Republican whose name escapes us.

4. Governor Sarah Palin, heretofore little known outside of Alaska, bursts onto the national scene and scares the crap out of Democrats and their handmaidens in the legacy media. Their vicious attacks on her are assuring to Conservatives since the Republican candidate for President, old whatzhisname, was a long-term darling of the same media and anathema to Libertarian-leaning Conservatives.

5. The bull market in oil trading ends just when "experts" are predicting confidently that oil will continue up to $200 pb. and gasoline to $10/ gallon. Before year-end oil will break under $40 pb and draw a chart that looks like someone fell in a mineshaft. And... a gallon of regular goes for $1.34 in my neighborhood where last August it was $3.97. Nobody seems happy about it-- at least not to the extent they were angry about it in August. Curious.

6. The UAW pimps out the CEO's of GM, Ford and Chrysler and the Detroit 3 go beg the US Congress to hand over taxpayer money to them. A handful of Conservative Senators block Congress from doing that so the President of the US whips out the people's wallet and drops the T.A.R.P. Visa card on the table--- with big strings attached. The UAW swipes the card, says a brief thanks to the POTUS and a loud prayer for the coming of Obama (a half billion dollars from unions making for a nice I.O.U.) and then says there will be no strings as far as they're concerned.

7. Russia invades Georgia and the West yawns. Before year-end Russia tells the Ukraine that their nat gas supplies will be cut off during extreme cold. Meanwhile, Israel responds to Hamas provocation and the world howls.

8. Mumbai, India is attacked by Islamic terrorists. Tension with Pakistan, already high, is ramped up.

9. Scandals: Liberal Democrat Bernie Madoff is nabbed for running a Ponzi scheme and most of his victims are other LibDems and their charities... Democrat Guv Blago of very blue IL is nabbed for running a pay-for-play scheme to fill Obama's old seat... Republican pork king Ted Stevens is nabbed for taking a bit of free work from a contractor without pay... Liberal Democrat Gov. Spitzer of deep blue NY is nabbed for fiddling with a pay-for-play call girl... Liberal Democrat John Edwards is nabbed for fiddling with a girl who isn't his wife-- but he seems to have been paying for his play too... Dodd, Schumer, & Barney Frank are up to their ears in causing the financial meltdown, yet are now the guys presiding over Congress's efforts to "get to the bottom of this scandal." I'm sure I missed a hundred or so other scandals. Oh yeah, the Chinese gymnast girls were only 14 years old and that mattered more to most Americans than any of the others just listed.

10. China hosts the Olympics and the world press attends and meekly peddles the Chinese government's PR packets to their home countries. The opening ceremonies are breathtaking and a bit unsettling.

Sarah Smiled On Saxby

Senator Saxby C. gives credit where it's due for his landslide victory yesterday.

The Big Guns

Senator Saxby Chambliss is in a runoff election December 2nd in our neighboring state Georgia.

It looks like he's bringing in the biggest howitzer on the battlefield for campaigning the day before the vote:

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin will join Saxby for four public rallies across the state on Monday, December 1st:

8:30 am in Augusta

11:00 am in Savannah

1:30 pm in Perry-- (agricultural center)

4:00 pm in north metro Atlanta

All the guys have been in campaigning... Mitt, Huck, Giuliani, McCain, Billy Clinton, Gore-- Lord Obama has even cut a TV ad for the Dem candidate, whoever he is, and so on.

Step aside, boys.

News From The Front

For the moment we are on a brief furlough from our "black bag" operations. We were in the field at a location that can't be fully disclosed. However, we were deployed close enough to "Joe The Plumber" that we could see the Media Forces barrage and hear the explosions on his position from our foxhole. On October 29th the operatives in our sector got an uplifting visit from Governor Palin!

Make it worth sumpthin'! Grind 'em into the boards!

You hockey fans, ya gotta love this from Coatsey's Corner in Philly.

What, Me Worry?

As long as the Bill Ayers problem wasn't being mentioned by the McCain campaign Team Obama didn't address it. It was just something the right wing nuts on talk radio and the blogs worried about. Then this weekend Governor Palin dropped William Ayers like a Weather Underground nail bomb into the bloodstream of the daily campaign. And the initial response from the Obama campaign was quite telling. They attacked the McCain campaign for changing the subject from "the economy." They held with that and got help from the handmaiden media with tut-tut articles that BXO and Bill weren't "close." Non-answer answers. Non-denial denials.

But Governor Palin hammers away at it at every campaign stop to thunderous roars from tens of thousands of voters. Even the friendly dinosaur media has had to at least ask Obama's handlers about it obliquely. So, what's the new spin on Bill Ayers from Axelrod, the man behind the Wizard of O's curtain? The New York Post got this: Barack Obama's top political adviser said today Obama "didn't know the history" of unrepentant bomber William Ayers' activities in the violent Weather Underground movement when the candidate attended a political event at Ayers' home in 1995. "When he went he certainly didn't know the history," chief Obama strategist David Axelrod told CNN - arguing for the first time since the story surfaced early this year that Obama was unaware of Ayers' past.
"There's no evidence that they're close," Axelrod added.

"No evidence" is weaselly-- like "no controlling legal authority." But, seriously, what kind of an Alfred E. Newman do you have to be to have liberal arts/ law degrees from two Ivy League institutions and not know enough about the 1960's & 70's in America to be aware of the Weather Underground? And, by the way, Senator, your wife brought Ayers in to be a guest speaker where she worked. Did she not know he had committed what you now call "despicable acts?" Is Michelle Obama that dense too? Frankly, they are lying. In Hyde Park, IL one can pal around with domestic terrorists, racist pastors, and political fixers and still get elected. But that's The Chicago Way and it doesn't play so well out in the larger country.

Governor Palin, what do you have top say about this latest twist in the road?

Speaking at events in Florida, Palin pointed to Axelrod's latest comments, saying, "Today they're saying for the first time that Barack Obama didn't know back then about Ayers' radical background."
"Wait a minute," Palin said. "He didn't know a few months ago that he had launched his political career in the living room of a domestic terrorist?"

UPDATE: Dirty Harry links to a CNN piece on the depth of the Ayers/Obama connection here.

Bringin' It

15,000 in Carson, California.
Thanks to We Love Gov. Sarah... for this picture and more. Click to see fun in the California sun.



And here's a bit on the NYTimes whitewash at The Corner.
We'll all turn blue waiting for the dinosaur media to ask The Barrack of Obama these simple questions. Does McCain have the guts to ask them in their next "debates?"