Some graffiti on the outside of Cheapo Records. This must be a band name or something, but I couldn't find them on the internet. Could be a garage/kid band.
Might be a takeoff on this band's name. (They seem to play here every SXSW). I see their genres listed are Hardcore, Queercore, and Screamo.
Screamo is wiki-defined using terms like Crunkcore, Powerviolence, and nintendocore. Music genres now need an entire dictionary. I wonder how many new terms are invented every day? It would definitely outpace Sarah Palin's book she is writing, called "Words and other stuff I made up."*
I know that the Obama administration has been an occasional disappointment in varying degrees for progressives. Any moderate is not going to match my ideals because I'm a liberal, and there were no liberals in the Presidential race after Kucinich left it... and I doubt that a liberal will ever make it to Party nominee again in my lifetime, but... that being said, let's look at McCain here.
With his hot temper and belligerence, he is absolutely unfit to hold the office of POTUS (and plenty of lesser jobs too), imagine a President so old, incompetent, flying off the handle in fits of rage, and not in the best health, and if imagining him as Pres isn't frightening enough then there's the prospect of Vice President Palin. Let that thought simmer, and then boil.
My frustration with current events has been mostly with Congress, mostly with the childish and infuriating tactics of the Republicans, but also with quite a few Democrats. Yes, a lot of them in both Parties need to thrown out, but this "throw 'em all out" sentiment is causing the surge of the extreme fringe nuts (generally lumped together as the Tea Party) to actually make it to the (R) nomination. The only way to prevent these extreme freaks from taking over it to VOTE. Just do it. Get your butt to the polls. Vote against them.
You've probably heard that tasty tidbit about Sarah Palin's book tour that she's doing by bus... except that her traveling on the bus is a hoax and is really using a $4000 per hour private jet to get from place to place, then riding the bus to and from the airport and bookseller for appearances' sake. [daily beast]
They don't know exactly who is paying for the jet, except for one little jaunt when Billy Graham's son, Franklin, allegedly used funds from his Christian charity Samaritan's Purse to fly her over for dinner. I wonder how their supporters feel about that?
A "driveway moment*" yesterday on NPR's Fresh Air: The guest was Max Blumenthal, author of Republican Gomorrah: Inside the Movement that Shattered the Party. I haven’t read the book, but based on this interview it sounds like a really interesting book.
One of the ‘founding fathers” of the rightwing fringe movement that he discusses is R.J. Rushdoony, who, among other things, wanted to establish a Christian totalitarian theocracy using the Law of the Old Testament (which would very much resemble the Islamic theocracies whose barbaric policies are so repugnant to anyone who loves freedom, featuring such things as a death penalty for immoral women or homosexuality, etc.). Another major player he talks about is James Dobson and his tactics (who many people call “Reverend”, but actually not a Reverend at all), including causing Sarah Palin to be put on the McCain ticket. Then there’s (I’m ashamed to say, “Austin’s own”) Alex Jones, who has these paranoids convinced that Obama’s about to herd them into internment camps under the guise of FEMA.
Here are a couple of Blumenthal’s videos that he has taken in the very belly of the beast.
Gun Show Nation (Inside Anti-Obama Extremist Gun Culture)
Theocracy Now! Convention 2007
*driveway moment: when what's on the radio is so good that you continue to listen in the car after you reach your destination.
You know there's some chatter about Sarah Palin headin' up a brand new goin' rogue political Party, and every Party needs a name. Go on over to The Mudflats and Vote!! I contributed one of the offerings (no, not the one in the title) but can't even pick the best one, they are all so good.
Again, if Sarah Palin can’t take the heat, she should stay in Alaska. And if she going to turn her children into political tools they will become just as much fair game as any other person. If she truly wants her kids to be protected from the media, she wouldn’t have made them part of the Presidential campaign, dressed them up in clothing and assessories paid for by political donors [screen snagged HuffPo] (if that’s a leather handbag, it could easily have cost $700-$1000), and trotted them out at every event. Now Bristol, a victim of the failed “abstinence only” championed by her mother and people like her mother, is the teen ambassador for the Candie's Foundation. Here she in on the cover of People Mag, showing the world how great it can be to be sporting a beautiful baby on your graduation day. (Oh wait – she’s supposed to be trying to discourage other teens from emulating her. Way to not do that, Bristol.) Candie’s is known for helping teens look as slutty as possible, and they have Britney Spears as their spokesmodel – another paragon of inspiration when it comes to motherhood and what NOT to do. (This is as hypocritical as the tobacco companies claiming that they don’t want young people to smoke). There’s nothing wrong with looking slutty or being slutty – but there IS something wrong with bringing another person into the world just because you didn’t take precautions – especially if you are putting yourself on a pedestal as a public model for best behavior.
Update: Ms. Palin has apparently accepted David Letterman’s very lengthy and thorough apology – and hopefully will call off her league of pit-bulls calling for his resignation. While media people like G. Gordon Liddy, Rush Limbaugh, Hannity, O’Reilly, Ann Coulter continue on unapologetically after all the hate-speech that is partly responsible for incitement of domestic terrorism and murder, it’s pretty amazing what Letterman has willingly put himself through over a crude, tasteless joke.
Pelt her with virtual snowballs, that is (as she has already turned as many critters into pelts as she can). It's a game posted by the PETA people, and lets you take shots at some animal unfriendly favorites (also including Charlton Heston). Palin appears in the 4th level of the game (which is easy to reach. If I can do it, anyone can. I stink at games).
The funnest part of it is that Palin is super pissed about it and threatens to sue them if they don't take down the game. Anything that pisses her off that much is a big Bonus Point for me. She probably thinks it's a brutal and vicious attack on her, but it's really pretty tame (and I'm sure she wouldn't object if it were credit cards being thrown at her).
During the 3 minutes of this TV interview with Sarah Palin, 2 turkeys are killed in the background. You may have seen a blurred-out version on MSNBC or elsewhere, but this one is not.
The purpose of her appearance there was to pardon a turkey, but this makes it all seem very surreal.
Hot off the press, straight from the Devil's Workshop. I really should try to focus more on getting some real work done.
Actually, things are looking up. It looks like Stevens has lost, so there will not be any substitute Republicans taking his place in the Senate after he wins and they expel him. She will be back though, back down here in the lower 48. The Republicans don't really have anyone else who's that strong. All in good time... all in good time.
It was never her intention to keep any of that stuff, but maybe the RNC will take pity and let 'em keep the silk shorts - it gets cold up there in Alaska - huntin', fishin'... unless they need them back for the next candidates to wear. It's important to have good-lookin' underwear if you're running for something big... and just remember... it's the Democrats that love to spend that money.
[source] On top of the $150,000 first outlined in Federal Election Commission filings, Palin spent "tens of thousands of dollars" on additional clothing, makeup and jewelry for herself and her family, including $40,000 in luxury goods for her husband, Todd, our colleague Michael Shear reports. The campaign was charged for silk boxer shorts, spray tanners and 13 suitcases to carry all the designer clothes, according to two GOP insiders.
ADDENDUM: Kids' underwear too?
[source] Her father, Chuck Heath, said Palin spent part of the weekend going through her clothing to determine what belongs to the Republican Party.
"She was just frantically ... trying to sort stuff out," Heath said. "That's the problem, you know, the kids lose underwear, and everything has to be accounted for. Nothing goes right back to normal."
Every year our Austin Chronicle comes up with a scary mask for their cover that you can actually use if you want - cut out the eyeholes and glue it to cardboard. This year it's a twofer - The Monster and The Bride. If you want to download these, go here, and select pages 1 and 3. Format is PDF.
Ooops! I can't believe they admitted this, but Palin's campaign says that Russian officials arrived in Alaska on Monday to discuss energy, but she wasn't told about it. You'd think they (the Russians) would have wanted the USA's Foremost Energy Expert* in attendance, but their meetings were with others.
[source] DOVER, New Hampshire (CNN) – The campaign of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said the Alaska governor was unaware of a visit by Russian energy officials to Anchorage on Monday.
Eight high-level officials from Gazprom, Russia’s state-controlled energy conglomerate, traveled to Anchorage earlier this week to meet with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources and the chief executive of ConocoPhillips to discuss energy projects and the possibility of expanding into new markets.
* as McCain says he believes, and that this expertise gives her the national security experience that she should have.
Defenders of Wildlife has produced this ad about Sarah Palin's promotion of cruel aerial hunting of wolves and other wildlife, even offering a bounty of $150 for delivery of the left foreleg of a wolf.
Dick Cheney in lipstick? Something tells me she could put his cold-heartedness to shame. At least he doesn't disguise his behind a perky personality.
Found via HuffPo, questionaire filled out by gubernatorial candidates in Alaska 2006:
Question: Are you offended by the phrase "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?
Palin: Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I'll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance.
[source] The pledge, of course, was not written until 1892 and the words "under God" were not added until the 1950s.
Basic information on the Pledge of Allegiance can be found in a search that takes only a few seconds, and might be recommended for people who want to hold office in this country.
Some graffiti on the outside of Cheapo Records. This must be a band name or something, but I couldn't find them on the internet. Could be a garage/kid band.
