Does it ever end?
It was recently revealed, through the magic of campaign financial disclosure, that $150,000 was spent on wardrobe and accessories for Sarah and family. Which, from the convention to election day is over $2,000 a day in clothing. Hockey Mom indeed.
But what gem surfaced this morning?
Who would you guess is the highest paid staff member on the McCain-Palin team?
A hot economic advisor?
Campaign manager for Ohio?
Makeup artist?
That is right, the highest paid staff member is Palin's makeup artist. Amy Strozzi picked up $22,800 in the first two weeks of October as Palin's traveling makeup artist. To put that in perspective, McCain's top foreign policy advisor only made $12,500 in the same period.
McCain's new campaign slogan: MILF the vote!
James's Journal
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10/24/2008 10:56 #46298
WTF McCain-Palin?10/23/2008 16:37 #46282
On a happier noteSo, I find it difficult to not get angry sometimes. And I don't fault myself for getting angry. The trick isn't never being angry, but dispelling that anger. And so, to no longer be angry at Sarah "me so awesome for not aborting fake person" Palin I just had to look at this video.
You should watch it, even if it looks familiar. Trust me.
You should watch it, even if it looks familiar. Trust me.
metalpeter - 10/24/08 18:16
That was awesome
That was awesome
libertad - 10/24/08 09:07
OMG it is the scary black man that carved the B on that poor little girl in PA!
OMG it is the scary black man that carved the B on that poor little girl in PA!
tinypliny - 10/23/08 19:53
HAHAHAH.. That was so awesome. :)
HAHAHAH.. That was so awesome. :)
james - 10/23/08 17:17
After all the money my parents spent on braces? No way!
After all the money my parents spent on braces? No way!
jason - 10/23/08 17:16
Ah, alright. I'm glad you aren't gnashing your chompers. Whaling in the dark, ha
Ah, alright. I'm glad you aren't gnashing your chompers. Whaling in the dark, ha
james - 10/23/08 17:07
I have a right to my emotional responses. But it seems like there is a difference between my actual emotional response and a perceived emotional response. There was no gnashing of teeth and wailing in the dark. Just an angry estrip post.
I first typed "whaling in the dark" and then corrected my error. But that image makes me giggle.
I have a right to my emotional responses. But it seems like there is a difference between my actual emotional response and a perceived emotional response. There was no gnashing of teeth and wailing in the dark. Just an angry estrip post.
- note
I first typed "whaling in the dark" and then corrected my error. But that image makes me giggle.
jason - 10/23/08 17:02
Nobody should have the kind of control over you where they get you that pissed off, especially not a politician. They have no scruples.
Nobody should have the kind of control over you where they get you that pissed off, especially not a politician. They have no scruples.
10/23/2008 14:29 #46278
Palin: I'm so AWESOME!Way to go Sarah Palin!
You are such a great, principled woman. You could of had an abortion, but you didn't! You would have been tempted to abort one of those horrible, ugly, demi-human's with Down's syndrome. But you are so filled with conviction that you didn't kill this disgusting offspring.
maybe I am just a little pissed off at this woman, maybe I am a little sensitive about this issue lately, maybe it is the way this article was framed. But these remarks do not come off well, as if there was doubt that an absolute stance against abortion applied to other human beings we value less.
You are such a great, principled woman. You could of had an abortion, but you didn't! You would have been tempted to abort one of those horrible, ugly, demi-human's with Down's syndrome. But you are so filled with conviction that you didn't kill this disgusting offspring.
Dobson reminded Palin that he sent her a letter after her infant son, Trig was born saying the baby's birth was "a powerful testimony" to the "sanctity of human life." Trig was born 6 months ago with Down Syndrome.
She told Dobson that Trig's birth was "an opportunity for me to really be walking the walk, and not just talking the talk" on her opposition to abortion.
maybe I am just a little pissed off at this woman, maybe I am a little sensitive about this issue lately, maybe it is the way this article was framed. But these remarks do not come off well, as if there was doubt that an absolute stance against abortion applied to other human beings we value less.
gardenmama - 10/23/08 16:55
Absolutely with you on that - mom could use a little humility and compassion. I have alway had the same difficulty with the limiting access issue - it's a brutal class distinction that frequently makes me want to just scream.
Absolutely with you on that - mom could use a little humility and compassion. I have alway had the same difficulty with the limiting access issue - it's a brutal class distinction that frequently makes me want to just scream.
james - 10/23/08 16:48
Mr.Mike. She is a voice by proxy. Because of her genetic closeness to Trig she is magically an advocate. And having lived with this for six months I doubt she has any real idea what to advocate for, not that her life's entirety has given her particular insight into much of anything.
G-Mama: That is why I have always found the state's right argument to be false. Limiting access only grants access to those with the means to obtain them. And while I don't believe in a utopia where anyone can get anything, this is an unnecessary restriction. I will say for Trig though, how great that he is born into a family that can afford to give him a high-quality life that families of lesser means can't afford. Good for him. I hope he teaches his mother a little humility and compassion.
Mr.Mike. She is a voice by proxy. Because of her genetic closeness to Trig she is magically an advocate. And having lived with this for six months I doubt she has any real idea what to advocate for, not that her life's entirety has given her particular insight into much of anything.
G-Mama: That is why I have always found the state's right argument to be false. Limiting access only grants access to those with the means to obtain them. And while I don't believe in a utopia where anyone can get anything, this is an unnecessary restriction. I will say for Trig though, how great that he is born into a family that can afford to give him a high-quality life that families of lesser means can't afford. Good for him. I hope he teaches his mother a little humility and compassion.
gardenmama - 10/23/08 16:31
Maybe it's because I'm a woman, but it seems to me that the real point here is, she had a CHOICE. She can blow her own horn, and so can everyone else who wants to - but she still had a CHOICE!!!
Maybe someone else wouldn't have made the same decision because they know how difficult it can be on a family and on the individual with a disability, or because they just don't feel they have what it takes to give a child what it may need (disabled child or not). Life is different when you have money and power and can access what you and your children need.
Maybe it's because I'm a woman, but it seems to me that the real point here is, she had a CHOICE. She can blow her own horn, and so can everyone else who wants to - but she still had a CHOICE!!!
Maybe someone else wouldn't have made the same decision because they know how difficult it can be on a family and on the individual with a disability, or because they just don't feel they have what it takes to give a child what it may need (disabled child or not). Life is different when you have money and power and can access what you and your children need.
mrmike - 10/23/08 15:52
I don't know. I'm the sibling of two special needs guys and she isn't the advcocate that my folks could used when my brothers were young. Only six months in, she is just starting down a what is going to be a tough road for parents, child, and the whole family. I don't say this to denigrate but it rings sort of hollow at the moment. If you are an advocate, you advocate. To pronounce yourself as going to be a voice seems a little empty. Be a voice, that brings people in and would give her some actual credibility.
I don't know. I'm the sibling of two special needs guys and she isn't the advcocate that my folks could used when my brothers were young. Only six months in, she is just starting down a what is going to be a tough road for parents, child, and the whole family. I don't say this to denigrate but it rings sort of hollow at the moment. If you are an advocate, you advocate. To pronounce yourself as going to be a voice seems a little empty. Be a voice, that brings people in and would give her some actual credibility.
jason - 10/23/08 15:23
I don't particularly like John Roberts pretty much immediately talking about Trig's paternity, or Capitalists talking about how he and others like him are a financial burden to society, or any of that stuff.
I don't think anyone should be given "credit" for not destroying their baby. Okay Sarah, yeah you walk the walk, that's nice I guess, but most parents don't destroy their children. Oooh fer sure!
I don't particularly like John Roberts pretty much immediately talking about Trig's paternity, or Capitalists talking about how he and others like him are a financial burden to society, or any of that stuff.
I don't think anyone should be given "credit" for not destroying their baby. Okay Sarah, yeah you walk the walk, that's nice I guess, but most parents don't destroy their children. Oooh fer sure!
james - 10/23/08 15:04
Bravo, way to not abort a disgusting retard!
I don't think the value of an individual is any less because they have Down's syndrome (and I am not implying that you do). But there is an element to these stories that prop up the notion that they are worth less.
And this baby has been on a non-stop PR campaign for mommy dearest since the convention. She is using him constantly to talk about abortion, and that I find deplorable. "See, I should have flushed it but I didn't! Way to go me." barf.
Bravo, way to not abort a disgusting retard!
I don't think the value of an individual is any less because they have Down's syndrome (and I am not implying that you do). But there is an element to these stories that prop up the notion that they are worth less.
And this baby has been on a non-stop PR campaign for mommy dearest since the convention. She is using him constantly to talk about abortion, and that I find deplorable. "See, I should have flushed it but I didn't! Way to go me." barf.
joshua - 10/23/08 14:56
I think she should be applauded for that particular choice she made. She did do the hard thing, after all. I don't think the insinuation is too unreasonable, given that it seems that many people might not have made the same choice knowing the truth about the health of the baby.
We know you are chafing at the mentioning of the lady's name, but c'mon man. Please set it aside for just a second!
I think she should be applauded for that particular choice she made. She did do the hard thing, after all. I don't think the insinuation is too unreasonable, given that it seems that many people might not have made the same choice knowing the truth about the health of the baby.
We know you are chafing at the mentioning of the lady's name, but c'mon man. Please set it aside for just a second!
10/23/2008 09:13 #46269
Jacob BronowskiThere has been some chatter about Carl Sagan's Cosmos being available online in the chatter pannel, which got me thinking.
The first series that got me hooked on these epic, far reaching TV series was Jacob Bronowski's The Ascent of Man. He was a prominent mathematician, but his mind was not bound by mere numbers. He was more of a numbers-based anthropologist, able to dissect what it is to be human through the lens of science. Much like one of my favorite authors, Lauren Eisley.
The Ascent of Man talked about not just science, but the scientific mind and the unraveling of the human story. Filmed at the height of cold war tension, the series is an appeal to the scientific reason which both brought us to the verge of annihilation, and could being us back. Here is the final clip, where Bronowski goes to Auschwitz, where many of his friends and family members were killed.
It is one of the most moving pieces of film I have ever seen.
The first series that got me hooked on these epic, far reaching TV series was Jacob Bronowski's The Ascent of Man. He was a prominent mathematician, but his mind was not bound by mere numbers. He was more of a numbers-based anthropologist, able to dissect what it is to be human through the lens of science. Much like one of my favorite authors, Lauren Eisley.
The Ascent of Man talked about not just science, but the scientific mind and the unraveling of the human story. Filmed at the height of cold war tension, the series is an appeal to the scientific reason which both brought us to the verge of annihilation, and could being us back. Here is the final clip, where Bronowski goes to Auschwitz, where many of his friends and family members were killed.
It is one of the most moving pieces of film I have ever seen.
tinypliny - 10/23/08 19:43
Very cool indeed. And I find myself agreeing with everything he says. Science is about knowing that we are just human and rejoicing in that knowledge for the better.
Very cool indeed. And I find myself agreeing with everything he says. Science is about knowing that we are just human and rejoicing in that knowledge for the better.
jason - 10/23/08 11:22
Damn, James. I think you've turned me on to a series I'm really going to enjoy. Thanks a bunch.
Damn, James. I think you've turned me on to a series I'm really going to enjoy. Thanks a bunch.
james - 10/23/08 11:16
That is what I love about the series and something I think the current angry-atheist movement could learn from. If religion, as they contend, is a symptom of ignorance, why not fight ignorance? Ignorance does not infect only the religious and it is ignorance, not religion, that perpetrates crimes of faith.
That is what I love about the series and something I think the current angry-atheist movement could learn from. If religion, as they contend, is a symptom of ignorance, why not fight ignorance? Ignorance does not infect only the religious and it is ignorance, not religion, that perpetrates crimes of faith.
drew - 10/23/08 11:06
This is a great clip. It's not a science v. religion thing, or a right v. left thing, it's arrogance and certainty v. humility and inquiry.
This is a great clip. It's not a science v. religion thing, or a right v. left thing, it's arrogance and certainty v. humility and inquiry.
james - 10/23/08 09:23
It isn't a good TV series unless there is that cold war hullabaloo. My favorite series are
1)The Ascent of Man
2)Connections
3)Cosmos
and all three are just brimming with atom bomb terror.
It isn't a good TV series unless there is that cold war hullabaloo. My favorite series are
1)The Ascent of Man
2)Connections
3)Cosmos
and all three are just brimming with atom bomb terror.
jason - 10/23/08 09:16
I'm sure you noticed this too, but watching Cosmos it really seemed like Sagan thought we were really going to blow each other all to hell.
I'm sure you noticed this too, but watching Cosmos it really seemed like Sagan thought we were really going to blow each other all to hell.
10/22/2008 19:27 #46257
Fucking Idiot in Chief.I have said it before and I will say it again, John McCain should have fired his entire political operation months ago. Look at that scarf!
I guess while in Neiman Marcus spending $115,000.00 she asked the sales clerk "I need a political scarf, the one for my party. Is that the one with the Elephant or the Donkey?"
and the good clerk said hiding the smile "The donkey, definitely the donkey. You betch'ya."
gardenmama - 10/23/08 16:50
Re: libertad's comment - "How many are LEFT?" LEFT - that's hysterical!
Re: libertad's comment - "How many are LEFT?" LEFT - that's hysterical!
james - 10/23/08 11:06
Well Taddykins, she dropped 150k at a few different retailers. NM, Macy's, Saks, to name a few. I am not sure if she picked up this gem at any of those, but it is hilarious to speculate.
Well Taddykins, she dropped 150k at a few different retailers. NM, Macy's, Saks, to name a few. I am not sure if she picked up this gem at any of those, but it is hilarious to speculate.
fellyconnelly - 10/23/08 11:00
hahahahaha awesome!
hahahahaha awesome!
libertad - 10/23/08 10:55
No luck on the website. I'm thinking about calling them with a super femme voice and say "I just have to have that scarf that Sarah Palin was wearing at the latest rally. How many are left?!"
No luck on the website. I'm thinking about calling them with a super femme voice and say "I just have to have that scarf that Sarah Palin was wearing at the latest rally. How many are left?!"
libertad - 10/23/08 10:50
Thank you for a great laugh. I didn't even notice the donkeys at first because I was so taken aback by the absolutely hideous scarf itself. Now I wonder if they have that listed on their website...
Thank you for a great laugh. I didn't even notice the donkeys at first because I was so taken aback by the absolutely hideous scarf itself. Now I wonder if they have that listed on their website...
jason - 10/23/08 09:12
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA......HAHAHAHAHA. Unbelievable.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA......HAHAHAHAHA. Unbelievable.
james - 10/22/08 22:11
Paul: the story isn't fake. It was all in the campaign's financial disclosure reports.
But christ she must be dumb.
Paul: the story isn't fake. It was all in the campaign's financial disclosure reports.
But christ she must be dumb.
paul - 10/22/08 22:04
Is that for real? It seriously blows my mind that she can be so dumb. I mean even if the story is fake about the shopping experience, she is wearing a red, white, and blue donkey scarf that says vote on it, lol.
Is that for real? It seriously blows my mind that she can be so dumb. I mean even if the story is fake about the shopping experience, she is wearing a red, white, and blue donkey scarf that says vote on it, lol.
gardenmama - 10/22/08 19:58
I'd say definitely an ASS!
I'd say definitely an ASS!
janelle - 10/22/08 19:33
Or a goat??
Or a goat??
tinypliny - 10/22/08 19:33
Hahaha... $115K in erroneous scarves.
Hahaha... $115K in erroneous scarves.
janelle - 10/22/08 19:32
Maybe they are moose or caribou.
Maybe they are moose or caribou.
That's because the makeup artist has done a better job than the foreign policy advisor at making her look good. And the stuff the makeup artist has to say is way more interesting too - you betcha!
Why Why Why, didn't *I* go to beauty-make-up school? I make much less than that in a YEAR!