Speaking of helping people

Pipe down, kid, some of us are trying to listen to the grown-ups.

I bet he was biding his time with that one ready to fly for a while.

If so, his luck is tremendous, because I just posted the plagiarized George Carlin quote that prompted robinred's masterpiece on a lark because someone just happened to use the phrase "cheerleader for abortion" a few posts upthread.

And here we go: Georgia Republican House member gets explicit with the "Obama's too elitist" theme - those Negroes are too uppity.

Look--if he doesn't like being called "uppity," then "that boy" shouldn't be running for president.

So how does this work tonight? Is McCain up against the start of the NFL season? Are they going to cut in during the game? I can't really tell from NBC's website.

"that boy" shouldn't be running for president.

Don't you mean Pres-O-Dent?

I heard Palin's speech over the radio, so my take may be a little different--she's not a bad speaker, but she's also nothing special. Her voice does come through clearly, and she inflects the way most people who are successful in broadcast work inflect, which is to say her inflection summons attention, but seems slightly disconnected from the emphasis the meaning of the words themselves require. She's very slightly nasal, and her voice is also a little flat, as though it was intended for a lower volume, and that she was projecting to the back of the crowd gave it a slightly strained quality for that reason.

Ms. SugarBear's from North Dakota and I've spent some time there and developed a pretty good handle on the NoDak accent. Palin's is very similar. Need to research or be educated why.

And here we go: Georgia Republican House member gets explicit with the "Obama's too elitist" theme - those Negroes are too uppity.

But is he clean and articulate?

But is he clean and articulate?

Yes. And of course, a natural athlete.

I didn't really notice Palin's northern accent. I'm guessing this had to do with (1) my focusing more on her sneering tone than the accent it was delivered in, and (2) the fact that I do a lot of business travel to Minnesota, where I hear *real* northern accents (like, "Fargo"-esque accents) on a regular basis.

Westmoreland's the same guy who wanted to have the 10 commandments posted in every public school classroom and when Stephen Colbert asked him to name them, he couldn't name one. Not one.

RDF.

Maybe Obama's elitist but you should see that black boy dance.

Westmoreland's the same guy who wanted to have the 10 commandments posted in every public school classroom and when Stephen Colbert asked him to name them, he couldn't name one. Not one.

How the hell can ANYONE who's lived his whole life in the United States (let alone an evangelical crusader type) not name a commandment? Shite, I haven't practiced a religion in about 25 years, and I can probably name most of them off the top of my head.

Let's see--thou shalt not:
kill
steal
bear false witness against thy neighbor
commit adultery
covet

thou shalt:
remember the sabbath and keep it holy
honor thy father and mother

That's it, off the top of my head in less than a minute. How'd I do?

Westmoreland's the same guy who wanted to have the 10 commandments posted in every public school classroom and when Stephen Colbert asked him to name them, he couldn't name one. Not one.

Really?

That's awful. (no sarc)

Maybe Obama's elitist but you should see that black boy dance.

And let me guess--your shoes have never been shinier.

Seriously--who can't come up with "Thou shalt not kill?" Not wanting to belabor the (obvious) point, but feck's sake.

Here it is:

Congressman Westmoreland

Actually, he got a couple of the obvious ones and it was public buildings he wanted to hang them in, not schools.

That's it, off the top of my head in less than a minute. How'd I do?

You're sure to burn in hell, retro.

You're sure to burn in hell, retro.

Even after spouting 7 commandments? No wonder I lost faith in religion.

BTW, there are two covets: wives and goods.

Lord, I can understand adultery but if just coveting your neighbor's wife is a sin, we're all gonna burn, baby, burn.

I remember when I was in early grade school and we were learning the 10 commandments, I asked one of the nuns what adultery was and all she did was blush. I didn't quite know why she was blushing but figured out I accidentally stepped on a landmine.

Classic.

Seriously--who can't come up with "Thou shalt not kill?" Not wanting to belabor the (obvious) point, but feck's sake.

Isn't it "murder" instead of "kill," though?

Here they are:

1. You shall have no other gods before me
2. You shall not take the Lord's name in vain
3. Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy
4. Honor your father and mother
5. You shall not kill
6. You shall not commit adultery
7. You shall not steal
8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor
9. You shall not covet your neighbor's goods
10. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife

I hate to admit it but I done em all at one time or another except murder.

Isn't it "murder" instead of "kill," though?

That's how it's commonly interpreted but I think the straight translation is "kill".

That's how it's commonly interpreted but I think the straight translation is "kill".

If you go back to the earliest available texts, it even more direct. It's not even "You shall not kill", it's just "No kill".

Game is starting earlier tonight to accomodate the convention. If there are delays in the game, the RNC may have to audible until it's over so McCain can start.

Isn't it "murder" instead of "kill," though?

According to this site, the word used in the Hebrew - "ratsakh" - applies only to illegal killing (e.g. murder), but also notes that murder can be figurative as well as literal (e.g. slander or gossip can be "murder" in the Hebraic sense even though no one's life is terminated).

-- MWE

I grew up in Fargo and my parents' accents are a little like Palin's. I know there are many scandanavians in both the upper Midwest and Alaska. Her accent also sounds like it was filtered through Canadian since her oo's sound more like boot (Canadian) than soot (scandanavian). I didnt notice if she tended to chop th's to a hard t, which is a dead giveaway for a Norwegian.

If you go back to the earliest available texts, it even more direct. It's not even "You shall not kill", it's just "No kill".

Fair enough, and that's responsive, but now I'll direct my question to context instead of focusing on the literal word "kill": How is the word intended?

EDIT: Thanks, Mike.

Fair enough, and that's responsive, but now I'll direct my question to context instead of focusing on the literal word "kill": How is the word intended?

What exactly do you have in mind, Ray?

I'm detecting a trend:

Georgia Republican Rep. Lynn Westmoreland used the racially-tinged term "uppity" to describe Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama Thursday.

Westmoreland was discussing vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's speech with reporters outside the House chamber and was asked to compare her with Michelle Obama.

"Just from what little I’ve seen of her and Mr. Obama, Sen. Obama, they're a member of an elitist-class individual that thinks that they're uppity," Westmoreland said.

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said that Obama's middle name – Hussein – is relevant to the public discourse surrounding his candidacy, saying in March that if Obama were elected, "Then the radical Islamists, the al Qaeda, the radical Islamists and their supporters, will be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on Sept. 11 because they will declare victory in this War on Terror."

At an April 12 event in his district, Kentucky Rep. Geoff Davis (R) said of Obama: “I’m going to tell you something: That boy’s finger does not need to be on the button. He could not make a decision in that simulation that related to a nuclear threat to this country.”

Since we know that the McCain gang will go substantially further than Hillary's cortege in reviling Obama, how bad do we think it's going to get?

And this one, immediately after which the Democrats should have begun calling McCain out, calling him cowardly, disgusting, disgraceful, etc. McCain: Obama is "willing to lose a war to win an election".

"they're a member of an elitist-class individual that thinks that they're uppity" still has me chuckling. That this is the same fellow who could name all of three commandments after insisting on their posting in court houses--what does that say about his constituents?

"Need to research or be educated why."

She went to school in Idaho. Maybe the accents are similar?

BTW, there are two covets: wives and goods.

I think it was originally "thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's ass," but that made it confusing as to whether it was his wife or his goods they were talking about.

I think it was originally "thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's ass," but that made it confusing as to whether it was his wife or his goods they were talking about.

So that's why the Catholic Church is against gay marriage...

*sniff, sniff*

Yeah, smells like Petco.

Isn't it "murder" instead of "kill," though?

That's how it's commonly interpreted but I think the straight translation is "kill".

As usual, Kevin has things backwards. It's commonly listed as "kill," but the original hebrew is clearly "murder." The words are completely distinct, and translating it as "kill" wouldn't make any sense, because there are several places where killing is commanded.

EDIT: I see Mike beat me, except I wouldn't quote from a Jews-for-Jesus site. In any case, it's not exactly wrong, but there are direct commandments against lashon hora (gossip) which derive from Leviticus "Do not go about as a talebearer among your people."

and translating it as "kill" wouldn't make any sense, because there are several places where killing is commanded.

Yea, because the book isn't contradictory anywhere else (rolls eyes)

The "boy" and "uppity" stuff is not so good.

I'm detecting a trend:

Since we know that the McCain gang will go substantially further than Hillary's cortege in reviling Obama, how bad do we think it's going to get?

Openly? Not very- because this type of stuff is not going to help McCain- and the Repubs being a fairy disciplined party will do avery good job of putting a clamp on it once it becomes an open issue- which it will

The "boy" and "uppity" stuff is not so good.

Especially since the full conversation went as follows:

“Honestly, I’ve never paid that much attention to Michelle Obama,” Westmoreland said. “Just what little I’ve seen of her and Senator [Barack] Obama, is that they’re a member of an elitist class . . . that thinks that they’re uppity.”

The 58-year-old, Atlanta-born congressman declined to elaborate further, though he did repeat one part of his comment when asked to clarify.

“Uppity, you said?” he was asked.

“Yeah, uppity,” Westmoreland replied.

So they gave him a chance to change it, or back off, and he just repeated himself. That's not going to go over well.

Like the Obama campaign response:


“Sounds like Rep. Westmoreland should be careful throwing stones from his candidate's eight glass houses,” said Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor.

The Republicans can never win based upon the issues, which are basically Bush policies pushed with more gusto, so they'll go for the tried-and-true from here on out -- rallying the base on red-meat issues and repeating over and over in one form or another: Obama is a scary Black man with a Islamic background and Ebonic name.

And I hate to tell you, it will almost certainly work well enough to get McCain in the WH. I'd love to be proven wrong, but in a country full of people in denial, they are most in denial about race. A woman I work with from Ohio said his name scared her off, and another Ohioan Hillaryite feels like Obama played the race card on Hillary which means she'll never vote for him, though she opposed him as an empty suit from the beginning.

Have to admit I find it very ironic that midwestern racism is what will likely do Obama in, not the Southern variety.

This country as a whole would rather have four more years of Bush III than one day of Mr. Black President.

And at a deep primal level, the Republicans understand that human beings are much more easily moved by fear than any other emotion.

So they gave him a chance to change it, or back off, and he just repeated himself. That's not going to go over well.

We're talking about a guy who grew up in the Atlanta area and graduated HS the year King was shot. So he knows well the context of that word.

Have to admit I find it very ironic that midwestern racism is what will likely do Obama in, not the Southern variety.

How do you define the midwest?

Obama has all but put away Iowa, Wisconsin looks like it won't be a contest, he's pulling away in Minnesota, Indiana looks like it could legitimately be reachable, Michigan leans Obama, and he's clinging to a slight lead in Ohio. Even Missouri is in single digits.

Of course, Alex is correct.

But I'm holding out the hope that the Bush admin. is so odious that the racists will hold their nose and let Obama squeak through somehow.

I find it very ironic that midwestern racism is what will likely do Obama in, not the Southern variety.

In my experience, having spent time in both regions, Midwestern racism runs deeper and is more insidious than it is in the South.

-- MWE

Ohio is always key, and I'll believe Obama will win it when he actually does do so. Of course, Kerry won Ohio and it didn't do him any good. Missouri -- not happening. Indiana, site of rebirth of the Klan, no way. Upper midwest -- good chance.

Looking back for highlights in today's thread, this is the first that stuck out from David:

In any case, I think we're safe in saying that this isn't likely to be -- as exuberant Democrats were talking just a couple of days ago -- "Eagleton II."

The most prominent politician who mentioned Eagleton, and back before Palin's press release on Monday, was none other than Libertarian candidate for Pres Bob Barr.

David obviously prefers Republican talking points to Libertarian ones.

Obama has all but put away Iowa, Wisconsin looks like it won't be a contest, he's pulling away in Minnesota, Indiana looks like it could legitimately be reachable, Michigan leans Obama, and he's clinging to a slight lead in Ohio. Even Missouri is in single digits.

He leads in the most recent polling in North Dakota, of all places.

Of course, Kerry won Ohio and it didn't do him any good.

Not unless you mean that in the "Gore won Florida" sense. Bush won Ohio twice. Indeed, no Republican has ever won the white house without winning Ohio.

Heh...

Westmoreland's spokesperson has issued a statement:

Westmoreland’s press secretary later clarifies, says it was meant to be “an adjective for elitism.”

Sure, you know -- like '#######' is just an adjective for '######'

Looks like an Iraq Veterans Against the War protestor got into the upper tier of seats. Held up a sign saying "McCain Votes Against Vets" and shouted something that caused the crowd to try to shout him down with "USA" chants.

Translation for any Republican-speak challenged voters out there on Westmoreland's comment:

If that ####### ni**er gets elected, I'm quitting my job and moving to Canada.

And FWIW, in state-by-state polling, Obama leads in enough states to take the electoral college even without MO or IN. (I agree he's unlikely to win IN, though a new Gauge-Howey poll has him trailing only 45-43 there. I think he's probably more likely to win MO, though the spread's bigger there right now.)

It's way too early to even speculate how things will shake out, but what we know now doesn't support the notion that the racist vote will be decisive on a national level, which is not to deny that it exists.

BTW, I assume since this thread is the great BTF intersection of politics and baseball, I assume everyone's a regular Nate Silver reader at fivethirtyeight, right?

Here are his current MW state projections:

IA: O +8.6
IL: O +17.3
IN: M +4.1
MI: O +3.5
MN: O +8.5
MO: M +3.4
OH: O +1.3
WI: O +9.4

FWIW, and independent poll conducted show that troops overseas are contributing 6 to 1 for Obama over McCain.

Many Southerners have had to openly confront their racist history -- pretty much impossible to deny it, pretty obvious even today in small towns across the South where the railroad tracks still separate Black and White. (Though middle- and upper-class Blacks can and do live in middle- and upper-class white neighborhoods in most parts of the South. I know I was very racially aware from an early age, and grateful that my parents taught me racism was wrong. And I know it's a cliche, but the black woman who kept me as a small child still has a very special place in my heart -- I'm watering up as I write that. I'm by no means perfectly enlightened when it comes to race, but I've always felt a deep emotional connection to Black folks... for one reason, I've always felt like an outsider in mainstream society.

In the Midwest, and I can't speak from personal experience, blacks are to this day redlined and intimidated from moving into many white neighborhoods, and to a great extent Blacks do not live outside large cities when you venture very far north. I stand to be corrected on that last sentence, but it's easier to be in denial about race when you've grown up in monochrome surroundings.

Just a personal observation. Again, I'm sure I could be contradicted on any overgeneralization I made extrapolating beyond my own experience.

If that ####### ni**er gets elected, I'm quitting my job and moving to Canada.

And won't THAT be a sad day for all that's good and decent in this country.

BTW, I assume since this thread is the great BTF intersection of politics and baseball, I assume everyone's a regular Nate Silver reader at fivethirtyeight, right?

Yeah, and electoral-vote.com.

She went to school in Idaho. Maybe the accents are similar?

Nope. Not at all.

Just a personal observation. Again, I'm sure I could be contradicted on any overgeneralization I made extrapolating beyond my own experience.

No, it's completely true.

I went to school in a small NW Indiana town... during all 12 years in the system, I had one African-American classmate -- and that was for all of a single semester.... and this wasn't that long ago.

In the Midwest, and I can't speak from personal experience, blacks are to this day redlined and intimidated from moving into many white neighborhoods, and to a great extent Blacks do not live outside large cities when you venture very far north. I stand to be corrected on that last sentence, but it's easier to be in denial about race when you've grown up in monochrome surroundings.

I've lived in the midwest most of my life, and most of that time in a smallish city. I've spent a lot of time working in rural parts of Michigan, and I don't really disagree with anything you've said. It's just hard to figure out how it's all going to fit into the electoral calculus. Michigan has virulently racist pockets (Livingston County, midway between Lansing and Detroit, is pretty much Klan heaven, and there are some other areas that aren't much better), and vast swaths of it are almost entirely white, but it of course has one overwhelmingly black city of a million or so, along with a handful of smaller cities that are pretty diverse (though its second largest city, Grand Rapids, is pretty white for a city of its size). And despite the racism found in parts, Michigan is a big union state whose economy has been hit very hard in recent years, and the economy is of course a key (if not THE key) issue in this election.

I suspect much the same could be said of Ohio, though Ohio has the Appalachian component that Michigan doesn't, and that's a demographic that overwhelmingly rejected Obama during the primaries.

Another interesting thing about Michigan is its own unique "bible belt" on the western side of the state--the heavily Dutch Reformed region that's strongest in the corridor roughly from Holland to Grand Rapids, but which has a pretty heavy presence throughout the west side. That demographic is very, very, VERY Republican.

Michigan just has a lot of interesting racial, economic and religious components, which make it a tough state to call a lot of the time.

FWIW, and independent poll conducted show that troops overseas are contributing 6 to 1 for Obama over McCain.

Source?

McCain: Fire the teachers!

What's funny is that I've worked with several women from Ohio, and the only one who dislikes McCain and would vote Obama is from hillbilly stock.

Voters told pollsters this year that they even saw Democrats as stronger on a signature GOP issue – terrorism. Further, an analysis in August by the Center for Responsive Politics found that US troops overseas had donated six times as much money to Obama as they had to McCain, a Vietnam prisoner of war whose father and grandfather had been admirals.

I want to see a cut to Bristol Palin chanting "Drill, baby, drill."

McCain might be a great guy but he's a boring public speaker.

I want to see a cut to Bristol Palin chanting "Drill, baby, drill."

You mean Levi Johnston, don't you?

If my daughter ever came home with someone like Levi Johnston, I'd, I'd... well, I'd probably either kill her, or me, or her and me. Or her and me and him.

No, I'd kill just him.

Caught a glimpse of MSNBC with Chris Matthews saying Palin transferred colleges about six times in six years before graduating from Idaho-Moscow.

Have to admit I'm getting bored with this kind of thing now; after last night's speech, and after reading of Palin's Rethuglican behavior towards civil servants, she's just another rightwing pol who'd try to finish pretty much every ill-conceived Bush policy going, and would have no qualms about the means for achieving that end.

I like her screwy personal background. That makes her attractive to me, and something Dems would do well to consider in trotting out these kinds of personal details. I know I had fun with it, but I'm done now.

Though when bunyon comes back, I'm going to ask him if his mom was trying to seduce him with the Ayn Rand reading material.

You mean Levi Johnston, don't you?

No, Bristol. She'd be chanting it TO Levi, obviously.

How come Ann Coulter hasn't given a speech yet?

She's a mainstream Republican.

I like her screwy personal background. That makes her attractive to me

Yeah, I'd probably bonk her if I was drunk and my wife wasn't around.

Though when bunyon comes back, I'm going to ask him if his mom was trying to seduce him with the Ayn Rand reading material.

Eew. Just...eew.

McCain is going to ask Democrats and Independents to serve with him?

Well, he just lost the base he's been trying to woo with his VP pick.

This McCain message is nothing like we've heard the last few days. He's like the anti-Republican.

Yeah, there's no left-wing circle jerk on BBTF.

And with Kevin involved, the emphasis is on the jerk.

Breaking the 9/11 taboo

When the Republicans have nothing left to sell, they'll always have fear.

Yeah, there's no left-wing circle jerk on BBTF.

You're just jealous we always leave you alone in your basement when the fun starts.

Nieporent: half albino, half dwarf.

Since that linked article above was short, here it is in full:

ST. PAUL -- One of the most enduring taboos in American politics, the airing of graphic images from the September 11 attacks in a partisan context, died today. It was nearly seven years old.

The informal prohibition, which had been occasionally threatened by political ads in recent years, was pronounced dead at approximately 7:40 CST, when a video aired before delegates at the Republican National Convention included slow-motion footage of a plane striking the World Trade Center, the towers' subsequent collapse, and smoke emerging from the Pentagon.

The September 11 precedent was one of the few surviving campaign-season taboos. It is survived by direct comparisons of one's opponents to Hitler.

We've sure come a long way from the days of "we have nothing to fear, but fear itself."

And, of course, it should not be forgotten that it was the Republicans who were in the White House when those planes struck.

When the Republicans have nothing left to sell, they'll always have fear.

That's right. Telling you that you're going to lose your job which is going to be sent overseas isn't about fear. Telling you that you might have to pay for your own health care or that you might lose your home or that you might not be allowed to have abortions -- none of that is about fear. Telling you that Bush's policies have made us less safe and helped Al Qaeda recruit -- not about fear. IOKIYAD, I guess.

Former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson completely trashed the speech on MSNBC a few minutes ago.

Was it that bad, Chip? I fell asleep halfway through.

Yeah, there's no left-wing circle jerk on BBTF.

Man, over and over and over again with this. That's really starting to sound like you choked on your whine and cheese and need a wahmbulance to come save you. We're sorry there aren't more like you around, ok?

David, how do you feel about the above-mentioned quotes regarding Obama being "uppity" and "that boy"? I would have brought it up earlier but as I get screeched at for being a race-baiter normally, I feel like the comments above by folks like JC now give me decent enough reason.

A problem? Can it be explained away in your opinion?

I'll say this about John McCain:

I really wish he, and not Bush, had been elected in 2000. I think the country might be a much better place.

I really wish he, and not Bush, had been elected in 2000. I think the country might be a much better place.

This is probably true.

Now I'm REALLY ####### depressed.

Thanks for the source, kevin.

No, I'd kill just him.

My inner economist prefers this version.

...was pronounced dead at approximately 7:40 CST, when a video aired before delegates at the Republican National Convention included slow-motion footage of a plane striking the World Trade Center, the towers' subsequent collapse, and smoke emerging from the Pentagon.

And, of course, it should not be forgotten that it was the Republicans who were in the White House when those planes struck.

Isn't this like including in your application for a job you really, really want a video showing footage of how you shot yourself in the leg in order to get out of the Army? That the Democrats haven't played to the hilt that this happened on the Republicans' watch is astonishing. I know I've been channeling Karl Rove from time to time, but the pr!ck had a pretty good winning streak with some of the ugliest product on the market. The Republicans are going to win the general with an approach that says in essence, 'Don't let the Dems win cause we let Osama blow up the World Trade Center, and if they win, the World Trade Center might get blowed up.'

The part of me that occasionally can't turn away from shark attack footage really wants to see what ads the Republicans are going to be airing three nights before the election.

I did like the touch of having McCain walk out of a halo at the beginning. As well as the bit in the video about the fire on the USS Forrestal that suggested he had been allowed to survive for a reason. Not like the 134 guys who died. And they say Obama is the one acting like the anointed one?

Yeah, there's no left-wing circle jerk on BBTF.

Man, over and over and over again with this. That's really starting to sound like you choked on your whine and cheese and need a wahmbulance to come save you. We're sorry there aren't more like you around, ok?

This whine really is like the guys on the short bus complaining that their bus is short. There's a reason why there're fewer of you, kiddo. I don't know why Dems don't crack on Republicans like our boy here for all the moaning they do: moaning about the media's treatment of Palin, moaning about the media's treatment of the vetting process, whining about the Campbell interview, then there's McCain's gutless ducking of a CNN interview... Plouffe doesn't seem to get that what worked in the primary (barely) isn't going to work in the general. It's 2000 all over again, when the Democrats couldn't win in a time of peace and prosperity against a minimally qualified clown with a slick ad campaign because they thought that light and reason would win the day.

As well as the bit in the video about the fire on the USS Forrestal that suggested he had been allowed to survive for a reason. Not like the 134 guys who died. And they say Obama is the one acting like the anointed one?

That's a pretty fair description of the RNC video. Here's what the narrator said:

He was on the... USS Forrestal where, strapped into the cockpit awaiting his turn for takeoff, a missile accidentally fired from the nearby F4 phantom and hit a fuel tank. The fire burned for 13 hours. 134 men lost their lives. John McCain's life was somehow spared. Perhaps he had more to do...

Lassus,

The Geoff Davis "that boy" thing had very little long-term traction, so this won't either--the reason being that Obama supporters, much less Obama himself, would get hammered for complaining much about it, and, obviously, the Republicans themselves won't talk about it unless they have to. A reporter will ask McCain about it tomorrow, he'll denounce it, and that will be pretty much be it. When Obama gets asked about it, he will say something generic and bland, and that will be that. Further, I don't think what Westmoreland says will affect anybody's vote. Obama needs to avoid any more controversy surrounding race issues as do the Repubs.

As alluded to upthread, it is the more subtle, unstated racism that may affect the outcome--not the attitudes of guys like Lynn Westmoreland. If polls show Obama up a few heading into the last couple of days and he then loses, some people--pols, media and at the netroots level--will blame covert racism. If he wins narrowly, some people will say it was "liberal white guilt" that got him elected. Both themes may be opened up more down the stretch, as people get more nervous and emotional, and as pol operatives on whichever side feels it slipping away get more desperate.

As far the "liberal circle jerk" "issue", since Nieporent posts so often, this thread has been Nieporent vs. a bunch of Obama supporters for long stretches, so I can see why he is whiny. But as always, there are several righties around and/or doing drive-bys.

Anyone who had me cheap on their BBTF Fantasy team should dump me fast--apparently #3077 was my peak.

Props to DiPerna for 3191.

It's like eating Frito's: I can't stop.

Welcome to The People's Republic of Alaska

Welcome to the People’s Republic of Alaska, where every resident this year will get a $3,200 payout, thanks in no small measure to the efforts of Sarah Palin, the state’s Republican governor. That’s $22,400 for a family of seven, like Palin’s. Since 1982, the Alaska Permanent Fund, which invests oil revenues from state lands, has paid out a dividend on invested oil loot to everyone who has been in the state for a year. But Palin upped the ante by joining with Democrats and some recalcitrant Republican state legislators to share in oil company windfall profits, further fattening state tax revenue and permitting an additional payout in tax funds to residents.

No wonder she is popular with voters in a state whose residents pay no income or sales taxes but are blessed with state coffers rolling in cash at a time when all other states are suffering. Indeed, when the oil companies pay more taxes to the state of Alaska, they get to write that off against their federal tax obligation, leaving the rest of us to make up the shortfall.

Hey! Does Sarah want some of that fat and free federal money? Hang on, Alaska!

Props to DiPerna for 3191.

Yup.

David, how do you feel about the above-mentioned quotes regarding Obama being "uppity" and "that boy"? I would have brought it up earlier but as I get screeched at for being a race-baiter normally, I feel like the comments above by folks like JC now give me decent enough reason.

I feel like Westmoreland is an idiot. I thought it was pretty well established he was an idiot after the Ten Commandments thing. Every party has some morons; Westmoreland is definitely on the GOP's list. High up. Whether he's a racist as well as an idiot, I don't know. Whether he's pandering to racists or just an idiot, I don't know. I'm confident on the idiot part. I'd find it hard to dispute the racism part if you wanted to make the charge.

As far the "liberal circle jerk" "issue", since Nieporent posts so often, this thread has been Nieporent vs. a bunch of Obama supporters for long stretches, so I can see why he is whiny. But as always, there are several righties around and/or doing drive-bys.

I don't mind the Nieporent vs. a bunch of Obama supporters for long stretches, when it's the thoughtful posters here. It's the long stretches of thoughtless Obama support posts, dragged down by Kevin and Alex, that lead to my complaints.

EDIT: And, of course, Arkitekton, who has never met a far left talking point he couldn't make dumber.

No, there was no "windfall profits tax."

Former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson completely trashed the speech on MSNBC a few minutes ago.

I'm only about 15 minutes into his speech (I'm watching in tivoland). So far this is how I'd sum it up:

"My friends... my friends... my friends... I'm on your side... my friends... Don't fall asleep... my friends... Wake up... my friends."

There's a drinking game in there somewhere.

"My friends... my friends... my friends... I'm on your side... my friends... Don't fall asleep... my friends... Wake up... my friends."

Criswell: Greetings, my friend. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future..."

Why do I too often get the feeling David's posts originate from here?

Only a few of my comments are truly thoughtless, though I admit the quotient is higher on this thread due to too much dependence on outside links... and insomnia. And politics is not my best subject.

Just wait 'til I reconnect with my dreamworld.

And Ray, you've wandered off message. ;>

I've now finished watching his speech. To sum up the rest:

"My friends... I can reach across the aisle... My friends... stand with me... my friends."

My god, he does give a boring, dry speech (though in fairness his last 30 seconds were energetic). Without Palin, the Republican base would be sleepwalking through this election.