wordsmithlind

“I don’t know…reporters.”  Another classic quote from Sarah Palin, this being her response to Katie Couric’s question about her citing the proximity to Russia as foreign policy experience.  Watching Palin is just torturous, between her “um’s”, her stutters and stammers, and her off-rhythm speech patterns, the Republican stare in her eyes cannot cover up for the fact that this woman has no clue as to what she is talking about. 

“Our next door neighbors are foreign countries in the state that I am the executive of.”

Going by Palin’s logic that Alaska’s neighbors are foreign countries (Canada does pose a large threat these days), George W. Bush must have been a foreign policy expert as well while governor of Texas.  And I like how she slipped Putin’s name in there, as if the Russians aren’t pissed at the US enough, now this idiot goes on national television and says, “As Putin rears his head and comes into the airspace of the United States of America, where, where do they go?  It’s Alaska, it’s just right over the border.”

Her speech patterns, facial expressions, and her “Aren’t you an idiot for not understanding this” demeanor is oddly familiar…I’m reminded of another person that Karl Rove issued into Presidency…

Please watch and laugh and then cry as she has a chance at becoming VP and ultimately President.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv6CRObROV0

Oh yeah, can anybody really take someone serious who is wearing a Barbie-pink blazer?  

I just saw a certified “hockey mom” on the Today Show say, “If someone is going to lead this country, they have to have served.”  Naturally she is a McCain supporter.  I couldn’t help think of the irony of this woman’s statement; she probably voted for Bush instead of Kerry in ‘04, and then Bush over Gore in ’00.  These are just speculations, but there is a good chance that they are true.  Then I thought of the list of President’s who have not served: George W. Bush (going AWOL in the Texas Air National Guard does not count), Bill Clinton, FDR, Herbert Hoover, Calvin Coolidge, Warren G. Harding, Woodrow Wilson, Taft, Cleveland, Van Buren, John Quincy Adams, and John Adams.  Then guys like Lincoln, Carter, and Reagan served but never saw combat, making the argument irrelevant.  Of course the thoughtless rebuttal would be, “Times are different, this is a time of war.”  But that again makes no sense being that Wilson served as President during WWI without any military experience and W has been President for the past eight years, entering the US into countless combat situations all without any real experience. 

I think of the line from McCain’s RNC acceptance speech that went along the lines of, “I know how to win wars,” and I laugh.  Did he not serve in Vietnam?  And did he not get captured by the enemy?  And then was he not released until after the war was all but lost?  Does anyone else not see how ironic this is?  If there is anyone that does not ‘know how to win wars’ it is McCain.  If there is anyone that does not know how to fight, it is McCain.  If there is anyone anybody should vote for, it is Obama.     

Is anybody else sick of McCain and his attempts at looking as if he is above the pettiness of partisan politics?  First it was his rescue efforts for Gustav, and now he is trying to delay the scheduled debate with Obama on Friday because “We must meet as Americans, not as Democrats or Republicans, and we must meet until this crisis is resolved,” to help insure that the economic crisis gets taken care of.  I don’t know if the old dog realizes that he nor Obama are the President yet, and neither of them has complete control over what is happening.  Yes, they can go to the Senate floor and put forth a proposal and cast a vote, but the Bush Administration has to deal with this first.  Isn’t McCain the same guy who basically said Obama chickened out to his town hall debates, and now he is looking to back out of this hugely advertised and televised debate?  And is the one hour of debate time, on a Friday, going to take that much of McCain’s attention away from the economic crisis that he cannot focus on both?  Is he too old to multi-task?  If so then I do not know if he is fit for the President.  If this is a sign of what his presidency would be like—stalling, procrastination, aversion—then the United States is in for four more long years. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080924/ap_on_el_pr/mccain

Palin boycotts the media, the media boycotts her; that is what Palin and her handlers get for hiding her from the public.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20080923/pl_politico/13783;_ylt=AvtPnJsSUPVilylXNoATvWZsnwcF

I believe the American public has had enough super-secret politics thanks to the Bush Administration (Is Cheney still alive?), and now Sarah Palin and her handlers are looking to continue this trend.  Her past is shady enough, and now she is looking to keep her present just as cloudy.  This shows her lack of respect for the American public and all the other Hockey/Wal-Mart/Maxed-out/whatever moms are out there.  It appears that Palin’s theory is that the more dumb and uninformed the American public is the more likely it is going to vote a McCain/Palin ticket.

 A false quote in a condescending tone: “Only a McCain/Palin ticket can keep you, the American voters, uninformed and ignorant, and only then can these United States truly be great.  God bless you, and God bless America!”

Another sad stray from our political circus ‘08.  Here is another attempt at getting paid on the side.  It did not work out as planned, so here is for all to read for free……………………

In Family Guy Patriot Games, Peter becomes a star for the New England Patriots after meeting Tom Brady at his 25^th high school reunion.  Peter’s ridiculous antics spoof the many aspects of professional football (Peter repeatedly spanking a player for a job well-done, a towel fight in the shower with Tom Brady, and his terrible attempt at acting in his role in a television commercial).  The episode hits a low spot about halfway through when Peter goes into a lengthy (almost two and a half minutes) and not so funny song and dance number to put extra, unneeded emphasis on his showboating ways.  Family Guy Patriot Games gets back on course when Peter is booted from the Patriots and is traded to the hilariously named London Silly Nannies, the worst football team in all of Europe.  Peter then goes on to pump the Silly Nannies full of steroids and then challenge the New England Patriots to a grudge match.             

I found the Stewie and Brian storyline in Family Guy Patriot Games to be much funnier than the main story and it completely steals this episode.  With Stewie acting as a bookie and Brian the gambler refusing to pay, Stewie gives Brian’s life a hilarious living hell with Goodfellas style beatings, demanding “Where’s my money, man!  You got ‘til five o’clock, you hear me, you ‘til five o’clock…clean yourself up.”  I think these are some of the funniest Stewie and Brian interactions (and bloodiest) in the history of the show.  After repeated beatings, Brian finally pays up only to torture Stewie with the knowledge that revenge is inevitably on the way.

Family Guy Patriot Games is not the funniest episode ever, but it does deliver all that is expected from a Family Guy episode with its jump-cut jokes and its senseless storyline.  

With all the banks crashing and the federal government buying them up with taxpayer’s money, does that mean that we are all part owners of Freddie Mac and AIG and the rest?  The funny thing about all of this is that isn’t state ownership of the financial system one of the most important parts of communism—that dreaded disease that plagued the eastern world for the greater part of the 20^th century?  The Left originally saw the Bush Administration as the ultimate enemy of leftist politics and those learning towards socialism and even further.  Now, due to the seeds planted with the banking/credit crisis, the Bush Administration may end up becoming the heroes of the Left.  It could end up that upon hindsight, Bush’s terrible presidency will lead the country to the socialist/communist state that many feel it is destined to become.  By buying the banks, maybe in the future we will see “The People’s Bank,” a state-owned banking system as a direct result of all of this.  Maybe before Bush is out he will buy up other industries and socialize them.  Someday there might actually be a Bush statue in Washington in honor of the creator of the People’s States of America. 

Are “Maxed-out Moms” the same as “Wal-Mart Moms”?  And what happened to “Hockey Moms”?  They were the replacement to “NASCAR dads”, right?  And they in turn replaced “Soccer Moms”?  So who existed before them? 

Another brilliant news piece from Yahoo! News courtesy of, I believe, TIME, goes into great detail of the newest of election-focused “Moms” category (link below).  Unfortunately for the American public, the ‘non-college-educated white women are the ultimate swing voters and the ultimate late deciders,’ and unfortunately for the rest of us, these people could decide the election and thus the future of the country.  If this is the case, it looks like it could be another four more years of Wal-Mart politics and ever cheapening policies.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080918/us_time/maxedoutmoms

According to a New York Times article from Sunday, September 14, Sarah Palin is attempting to sue “the federal government to block the listing of the bears as endangered.”  Her argument is that Alaskan state scientists have found that global warming will have “no ill effects” on the bears.  University of Alaska professor, Rick Steiner, sought the information of the scientists by obtaining the emails “through a federal records request.”  To no surprise, Mr. Steiner found that the scientists did in fact state that the polar bears were in danger and that Sarah Palin lied and is now in the process of bringing a false suit against the federal government.  If this is any indication of the way things would be with her in office, the Bush Administration might end up coming in second place as the worst administration in the history of the United States. 

Now, why would Palin lie about the status of polar bears?  In a state where one-third of its economy is based on oil, that is a good start.  In addition, her desire to drill in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in an effort to free the US from its dependency on foreign oil is another.  A third could be that she wants to take a high-powered rifle out into the artic and do some legal polar bear hunting with her NRA buddies.  I don’t know the answer, but I wouldn’t ask Sarah Palin for it, you are guaranteed not to get the truth. 

I wonder if McCain’s decision to choose Palin as VP-candidate is part of his economic plan.  As has been ever so slightly mentioned in the media, McCain voted against the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act*** which in an essence would close any loopholes in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 thus truly insuring equal pay for equal work.  In this day and age, how can anyone be against equal work for equal pay based on sex, race, religion, or any other inequality?  Apparently McCain is fine with this (along with 41 others in the Senate) and it seems as if Palin has no problem with this either being that she is standing alongside this man.  As a woman, regardless of political affiliation, you would think she would stand up for what is right and just—namely, equality.  Instead she sticks with her backwards 1950’s politics.  I wonder if she is going to be willing to take a pay cut if she gets into the White House; currently Cheney is receiving $208,100 per year.  Now Lilly Ledbetter was making 40% less than her male co-workers for the same work, so that would make Palin’s salary $124,860.  Hey, sorry Palin, that’s just the way the world works according to McCain and yourself and your outdated politics.  I quote Palin by saying it is “God’s will.”

 ***Senate: Yea-56, Nay-42 House: Yea-225, Nay-199 Failed a procedural vote in the Senate which required a 60-vote supermajority: 04.23.08The Legislation: The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other anti-discrimination laws to clarify at which points in time discriminatory actions qualify as an “unlawful employment practice.” According to the legislation, unlawful conduct occurs when: “(1) a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice is adopted; (2) an individual becomes subject to the decision or practice; or (3) an individual is affected by application of the decision or practice, including each time compensation is paid.” The law further states that individuals may receive back pay as compensation for discrimination that occurred up to two years preceding the filing of a charge. 

A sad stray from Palin for a day, but more of her to come in the future.  I wrote this in hopes of making a couple of bucks on the side.  Naturally it didn’t work so here it is……………… 

Disney and Pixar created a gem of a movie when they created Ratatouille.  Winner of the 2008 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film of the Year, Ratatouille entertained and awed viewers of all ages with its outstanding animation, jazzy score, and its heart-warming tale of a rat and his dreams of becoming a chef.  Like all Pixar releases, Ratatouille is given the family friendly “G” rating, though some of the jokes will fly over the heads of the younger crowd.  Yet unlike the movie, the DVD focuses its attention more on adults and the parents of the youngsters who otherwise will love this film.

            The Ratatouille DVD includes the innocent alien short film Lifted, which once again people of all ages will enjoy.  Aside from this, the rest of the DVD steers the fun away from the younger crowd.  The humorous and informational PSA, Your Friend the Rat, puts Remy and Emile as hosts and narrators of a brief history lesson in the relationship between humans and rats.  Even as it is fun to look at, the content of this short is much too heavy even though it is done in a light manner.  Young children will grow bored of this, older elementary children may enjoy it, and adults will find it extremely interesting.  The actual “Bonus Features” make no attempt at attracting children, as one of the four features is a 13-minute “conversation” with the director.  The other “Bonus Features” are deleted scenes completed for the DVD release of Ratatouille.  Adults will find these interesting as the segments are filled with voice-overs and interviews explaining the scenes, but a child will not hesitate to hit the skip button.

            The overall look of the DVD is fun with animated menu screens and music from the movie.  Parents should not avoid this movie just because the DVD features are not aimed solely at children; the movie alone is worth the purchase of the Ratatouille DVD.