A Time for Change

“I live in GA and Saxby is one of the most disgusting people I have ever seen. The sad part is when you get out to the rural parts of GA, people vote for him because he is a “good” “God-fearing” man. In fact he is just a nasty S.O.B.”  YouTube comment 

Ludicrous.  Just like a bad penny, she keeps turning up.  This time, she is fundraising in the heart of the deep south, Georgia. Tomorrow she will do walkabouts and grand tours of Savannah, Augusta, Perry and Atlanta in an attempt to bring out the base for the runoff for the senate between Saxby Chambliss and Jim Martin.  In case you don’t know who Saxby Chambliss is, he used the above ad to defeat a decorated war veteran who lost three limbs in defense of this country.  Chambliss himself is a draft dodger who somehow hoodwinked Georgia citizens into voting  for him as Senator because somehow a draft dodger would be tougher on terrorism than a decorated war veteran.  Makes sense, right?

Well, it is ludicrous that the military mom, Sarah Palin, would campaign for this cad, given her stance on support for troops who have fought for our country. But he seems to be in line with the “clueless” Republican party line about the economy:

Chambliss stated in July 2008, “We may not be in a recession. I don’t know what that term means.”

Sounds very similar to McCain’s old line that “the fundamentals of the economy are strong” and he didn’t know much about the economy either.

Sadly, Barack  Obama will not campaign for Jim Martin, but Ludacris the rap star, will appear to help get out the vote for Jim Martin. 

There will no doubt be a mad media frenzy around Sarah Palin tomorrow as she, once again, enters the national spotlight this time, hopefully, no turkey killing in sight.  

George W. Bush. 43rd President of the United States, will leave a legacy, but it is not likely to be the one that he desires.

His entitlement to the Presidency was questioned by a long process of ballot examination in Florida, including multiple legal contests in state and federal court, and finally a decision by the United States Supreme Court.  On his inaugural day, protesters carried signs saying: “His Fradulency, “Bush Stole It,” “Hail to the Thief,” “His Agenda Lost.” “The Grinch Who Stole the Election” and “Dumbya is Illegitimable.”   He promised to include those who did not vote for him.  He didn’t.

Prior to 9/11, polls showed an overall poor image of 43 with the lowest public opinion ratings in years.  He had taken more time off than most Presidents in the past 35 years, he seemed disengaged and had fallen far short of his promise of inclusion and was ineffective at pushing through legislation.

On 9/11, after he had been informed of the attacks on the World Trade Center, he sat there with a blank look on his face.  When he finally did leave, he kept popping up at stops that his plane made in the US instead of flying directly to NY or Washington as most of his predecessors would have done.  Leadership went missing.

He acted like a cowboy and strutted around Washington, telling reporters that he would “smoke out” Osama Bin Laden.  He talked about a “crusade” against terror, which inflamed Muslims.  His administration used 9/11 as an excuse to enact laws stripping US citizens of their Constitutional rights and which the administration would use to brutally torture prisoners.  

When a reporter asked his Press Secretary a question shortly after 9/11, his press secretary warned the reporter about questioning the presidency as if that were treason.  I am too young to know what McCarthyism was like, but it sure seemed similar.  A democracy thrives when questions are raised and a debate over the issues ensues.  Bush was not interested in a democracy though.

More power was given to one man and his behind the scenes VP who ruled the roost from an undisclosed location than ever before.

He ordered the military to invade Afghanistan and then failed to finish that war when he started another. His administration lied about the need for the war in Iraq.  He declared “Mission Accomplished” with a political propaganda fly by at a cost of more than a million dollars to taxpayers.  The war was far from over and that mission has not yet been accomplished.

His VP “outed” a spy, putting her life in danger.  

He has singularly driven the country into financial ruin with the largest deficits on record after he inherited a surplus from Bill Clinton. 

In the midst of the worst financial crisis that our country has seen since the Great Depression, he found time in his “busy” schedule to give National Public Radio an interview about his presidency.  CNN reports that:

…he hopes his legacy is evaluated on success in the War in Iraq, America’s efforts to combat AIDS, and the passage of Medicare legislation in 2003.

“I’d like to be a President (known) as somebody who liberated 50 million people and helped achieve peace; that focused on individuals rather than process; that rallied people to serve their neighbor; that led an effort to help relieve HIV/AIDS and malaria on places like the continent of Africa; that helped elderly people get prescription drugs and Medicare as a part of the basic package; that came to Washington, D.C., with a set of political statements and worked as hard as I possibly could to do what I told the American people I would do,” Bush said.

In the same wide-ranging interview, Bush said it was a “fabulous experience to be president,” but said he would not miss being in the daily spotlight.

“This is a job which, you know, obviously had a lot of stress to it; it has a lot of pressure,” he said.

The man is delusional.  He came in like a cowboy strutting his stuff and acting like because this country has been considered a superpower for a long time, that Americans could exist in the world in a vacuum.  He squandered every bit of good will we had from the world after 9/11 to start a war that has clearly benefited his and his VP’s cronies and that has cost the country dearly in terms of loss of lives and economically.

As one of the least effective Presidents ever on record, his legacy will show that he delegated almost everything to those in his administration because when it really came down to it, he just didn’t have a clue.  

Mob of Christmas Shopers at Wal-Mart Shortly Before Incident

Black Friday resulted in death at a Long Island Wal-Mart early this morning when a frenzied mob of Christmas shoppers pushed the doors off their hinges to get inside to bargain shop, crushing a temproray Wal-Mart employee to death who was near the door.  The New York Times reports:

A half-dozen Wal-Mart employees lined up in the entryway trying to hold back the crowd by pushing against the locked sliding doors, but they were overwhelmed by the force of the crowd…

As the doors snapped open and people streamed in, several people fell on top of one another. The 34-year-old employee who died was at the bottom of the pile, the police said.

Earlier in the evening the police had come to assist with crowd control, but were called away to deal with other similar situations at other area stores.  The crowd had been gathering since 9:00 p.m. Thanksgiving evening until it grew to 2,000.  At approximately 5:00 a.m. 

…a crowd of 2,000 anxious shoppers started pushing, shoving and piling against the locked sliding glass doors of the Wal-Mart in Valley Stream, N.Y… The shoppers broke the doors off their hinges and surged in, toppling a 34-year-old temporary employee who had been waiting with other workers in the store’s entryway.

People did not stop to help the employee as he lay on the ground, and they pushed against other Wal-Mart workers who were trying to aid the man. The crowd kept running into the store even after the police arrived, jostling and pushing officers who were trying to perform CPR, the police said.

“They were like a stampede,” said Nassau Det. Lt. Michael Fleming. “Hundreds of people walked past him, over him or around him.”

The employee, who was not identified, was taken from the Wal-Mart to nearby Franklin Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 6:03 a.m., the police said.  The police said that three other shoppers were injured and a 28-year-old woman who was eight months pregnant was taken to the hospital for observation.

Other reports have stated that even after the Wal-Mart workers asked the shoppers to leave the store, they did not leave and continued shopping.

Wal-Mart stated, “The safety and security of our customers and associates is our top priority,” Wal-Mart said in a statement.

The Police said that the store “could have done more” to prevent the incident.

“I’ve heard other people call this an accident, but it’s not,” he said. “This certainly was foreseeable.”

My question is, why not just open the doors when you could clearly see the crowd getting antsy.  What’s the harm of selling early?  On the other hand, how could those people not stop to help?  What a horrible senseless tragedy.  What is the price of a bargain? A human life.

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Fivethirtyeight.com says that Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC’s Hardball, is hiring staff for a senate run in 2010. He would be running to fill Arlen Spector’s seat in Pennsylvania.  If Spector runs again, he will be 80 in 2010.  Apparently, he has negotiated with Obama staffers to assist him with his campaign.  Preliminary public polling shows Matthews behind Spector due to the fact that there is less name recognition.  Democrats thus appear poised and ready to continue to challenge Repubican held Senate seats.

Democrats have a mandate yet some have expressed concern that a Democratic majority in the House, and possibly a filibuster-proof Senate, may lead Democrats to pursue “left-leaning” legislation rather than following a more centrist approach.  Republicans often used House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid as lightening rods to instill fear in voters that a Democratic majority will “socialize” the country.  

Will Democrats make the same mistakes that Republicans did when they gained a majority and forgot who they represent by leaning farther and farther right and away from the majority’s center?  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi acknowledged after the election that ”The country must be governed from the middle. I say that being a proud progressive Democrat in the Congress of the United States and as Speaker of the House.”  

The fact is that more of the country has become “socialized” under George Bush, including some of the nations largest banks and insurance companies.  

Republicans are also already playing the same old fear-based mantra that some sort of national health care is socialistic, will cause inordinate problems with getting health care and other associated evils.  Well, as the auto industry has demonstrated, if we do not do something about health care and fast, we will not be able to compete with other countries in the world who do not have to shoulder the massive burden of health care costs in the US for its employees.  Our businesses simply cannot afford to continue to pay for the burden of health care.  I do realize that this would be an expensive fix for our government to make, but if you look at the history of how we have gone into deficits before and why, think about it.  

The savings and loan crisis from about 1986 through 1991 was the failure of 747 savings and loan associations, which was, at the time. the gratest failure of banking institutions since the Great Depression. That economic crisis is estimated at $152 billion.  This bailout caused the national deficit to increase until Bill Clinton balanced the budget and managed to acquire a surplus through the remainder of his term in office. Wars and increased spending on items focused on the Cold War drove the national debt up.

Most of the spending has been on Social Security and Medicaid, two programs that Americans would hardly be willing to do without today.  Given the havoc that the market has wrought on 401(K)s, many people are either relying on that income or may not have any choice but to rely on that in lieu of the retirements funds that they thought they had acquired.

The country has no choice but to spend now to put into place what nees to be done to make the United States more competitive in the world.  Health care must be addressed, we must move from a consuming economy that relies solely on spending to making things, but unless health care and other items are addressed to make us more competitive, that will not happen.

So where do Democrats go from here?  Targeted spending to jolt the economy back, save the flailing auto industry, spend on making us a green economy, roll back the Bush ta cuts that was the largest transfer of wealth from the middle class to the wealthy on record and once Americans are back to work and paying taxes again, get the budget balanced.

What other choice do we have?

Malay Desai, a correspondent for the Mumbai Mirror, told Al Jazeera: “There are reports of panic on the roads.

“Not all of the members of the planned operation have been gunned down yet, a lot of them are still roaming around the streets in Mumbai, firing at will and creating panic among the people of Mumbai.”

He confirmed that there had been a blast outside the city’s airport, saying it was a “peak time for flights coming from the West to Mumbai”.

A group calling itself the Deccan Mujahedeen claimed responsibility for the attack, the AFP news reported, but Mahan Abedin, an insurgency analyst, told Al Jazeera: “At this stage, that name does not necessarily mean that much. I’ve never heard of that group.”

Speaking from Mumbai, Al Jazeera’s Riz Khan said: “This was a serious attack by people armed with AK47s.

The chief of the police anti-terrorist squad was  killed in the attacks [Reuters]

“The police were taken by surprise … they are not equipped for this. The attacks would have been organised as they struck several areas at once.”He said landmarks and heavily populated areas had come under attack.

“Seeing these two major landmarks – the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels – on fire is psychologically damaging for people in India and is comparable to the affects the September 11 attacks had on Americans in 2001.”

One woman, who gave her name as Souad, escaped an attack on the Oberoi hotel in the city.

She told Al Jazeera: “We heard no alarms, nothing. My husband opened the door and we couldn’t see outside – it was so dark with all the smoke – we couldn’t breathe.

“We were on the 17th floor of the hotel and we used towels to protect ourselves and then ran and got a taxi and then we just drove as far away as we could.”

Police said there were reports of shootings in other parts of the city, including some in five-star hotels.

Al Jazeera’s Matt McClure said: “There was at least five attacks – the largest on a Mumbai railstation and there were three on large, luxury hotels.

“It seems clear what the intent is here – to sow fear and leave people worried and thinking ‘nowhere is safe’.

Terrorists are still in Chabad House and are holding a number of Israeli hostages. Among those being held is Rabbi Gabriel Holtzberg, the city’s envoy for the Jewish community. An Israeli rescue team is supposedly either on its way to  or already in Mumbai (depending on the news station) presumably to assist with or perform rescue operations.  A series of bombs have gone off in the early morning hours.  CNN has just reported fighting and a helicopter near the house.

Indian broadcasting Network reports that there is a siege at Mumbai’s Nariman House, which is the home of the Chabad-Lubovitch center.  Israel’s Haaretz.com reports

Israel’s Foreign Ministry early Thursday morning said it is attempting to locate an unspecified number of Israeli nationals missing in the Indian city of Mumbai. Members of the Israeli consulate staff were conducting searches in Mumbai hospitals for injured or missing Israelis, Israel Radio reported.

Indian and Bahraini media reported Wednesday night that gunfire was heard at Nariman House, a building believed to be owned by Chabad. On its Web site, Chabad expressed concern over the welfare of its representative to Mumbai, Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, and his wife, Rivka Holtzberg, who have not been heard from since the attacks.

Chabad said its personnel are “working closely with the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the U.S. government” to locate the Holtzbergs and other missing persons in the Chabad House area.

Mumbai’s Chabad House is said to be a popular stop for Israeli tourists. The Holtzbergs offer visitors a host of programs, including providing kosher food.

Indian officials still cannot confirm whether the terrorists are in the Taj Mahal and Oberoi Hotels.

There is not much in formation about the terrorists or why they attacked Mumbai.  Some blogs and message boards from people in India are claiming that the Indian security was caught completely off guard and were slow to respond.  I am sure that for those who were caught in the crossfire or those who had loved ones in the middle of the terror, no action could have occurred soon enough.  

On an interesting note, once the terror started, CNN reports that people started using the social network to communicate eyewitness accounts, provide updates and to pass along information.  It is estimated that 80 Tweets (messages) were sent to Twitter every 5 seconds.  Such a use of Twitter no one could have imagined.  First-hand accounts of the deadly Mumbai attacks are pouring in on Twitter, Flickr, and other social media.

See Twitter accounts which are being updated minute by minute, including Mumbai and BreakingNewz.

There are also Google maps of the attack sites and posts on http://mumbai.metblogs.com/.

The above was taken from a combination of the New York Times, MSNBC, Al Jazeera, Fox and CNN.  Streaming video can be seen from the CNN website and a number of other sits on the web.

Thank you all for reading my blog.  I have not been around that long so I really appreciate all of you dropping by to check out my view on the world.  I feel that we are all lucky this year.  Thank goodness that John McCain picked Sarah Palin for a running mate.  She was the catapult who brought people like me to vote for Obama.  Perhaps, more than anything, that whole episode showed us that it is very easy to see what we do not want out of our political leaders, but not so easy to identify what we do want.  

So far I have been pleased with Obama’s message of finding a common ground.  As I explain in the pages, Time, Change and Defining Moments, the great leaders of our country have recognized that as a “purple” America, we can do just about anything that we try to accomplish.  We have shown that when we pull together we have defied all odds, including sending a man to the moon in less than a decade.  I am really confident that we can meet and surpass the challenges that face us with courage, dignity and grace.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday today!

Merry Channukah from the White House!  According to CNN, the White House sent out beautiful cards with a lovely snow scene and a horse drawn carriage bringing a Christmas tree to the White House.  It was a beautiful card except it was used as an invititation for American Jewish leaders to a Channukah reception. Or maybe a Channukah Bush reception. Apparently, it was an unintentional snafu.  Hmmm. So 43 goes out on the same note he came in on, one mistake after the other…

The Leoppold Restaurant, site of one of the terror attacks

It was the worst night of my life,”

Member of Australian Film Crew who was in New York on 9/11 describing the events at the Taj Mahal Hotel

CNN reports that approximately 26 young terrorists suspected to be from Pakistan entered the city by boat, captured vehicles, including a police vehicle, and randomly shot at crowds on their way to several locations in the city. They fired shots and lobbed grenades at the city’s central rail station prior to entering several luxury hotels where Americans are known to stay.

According to one interview of an eyewitness on CNN, an Australian film crew had just checked into the Taj Mahal and had left the lobby to meet up with other members of the group when they heard shots coming from the lobby. One of the party interviewed live this morning explained that they immediately sought a hiding place where they hunkered down.  There they heard the screams of others being dragged up the stairs by the terrorists. They also heard blasts and gun fire.  Determined to find a way out, members of the hotel staff assisted them in locating an escape route.

The film crew member interviewed by CNN reported that she had been in New York during 9/11, but that this was much more frightening to her because the 9/11 attacks were focused in one area and the New York police and firemen kept everyone well advised and calm.  In this situation, police presence was virtually nonexistent and there were multiple attacks all over the city.

Another eyewitness, Anthony Rose, reports that the terrorists executed people in the lobby execution style and lobbed grenades at doors to gain entrance.  

 In addition to the Taj Mahal Hotel, the terrorists also entered the Hotel Oberoi where they held hostages that were recently released this morning.  They are also holding hostages in the Chabad house where several Jewish families live. They also attacked a hospital. The Indian authorities have uncovered explosives planted in a restaurant and on a boat, indicating that the plan included an even more widespread terror attack.

CNN reported live that a woman escaped with a child from the Chabad House, but the fact that the child’s clothes were blood soaked speaks volumes about the horror of what happened there.  

Those who escaped from the hotels report numerous bodies in the hallways.  Once the city currently under siege has been secured, the death toll will likely mount from the over 100 reported dead to date and the over 300 injured.  If you are concerned about any loved one who may be in Mumbai, you are urged to cntact the State Department.

It appears that the attacks were focused on Americans and British.  The British Foreign Minister has already made a statement calling for Pakistan and India to come to terms.  Other world leaders have condemned the attacks.  

Given that CNN reported that the Indian Navy had boarded a Pakistani vessel, and that the terrorists spoke Punjab,  There is concern that if Indian officials connect this widespread assault on India’s financial center that there will be serious repercussions.  Relations between India and Pakistan have been strained for years due to a dispute between the two countries over Kashmir, which borders both countries.  Kashmir is a predominantly Muslim state within India, which is primarily Hindu.  “This conflict, between two of the world’s most populous countries, both with nuclear capability has the ominous potential to escalate into theater nuclear war, or beyond,” reports a website discussing flashpoints around the world. 

See the following for more information:

http://www.flashpoints.info/countries-conflicts/Kashmir-India_vs_Pakistan-web/Kashmir-India_vs_briefing.html

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/11/27/india.attacks/index.html

As evidence that the GOP is looking to cash in on Sarah Palin’s popularity, the Boston Herald today announced that she would campaign in Georgia with Saxby Chambliss on the eve of the runoff with Jim Martin.  Palin will join Chambliss for four public rallies Monday in Augusta, Savannah, Perry and Atlanta in a closely watched runoff against Democrat Jim Martin. The runoff is crucial to the Democrats hopes of obtaining a filibuster proof majority.  More importantly to me than even that is the fact that the man is a deplorable person who should never be in any office, much less the senate.  

Saxby Chambliss was elected in 2004 by running television commercials against Max Cleland, a decorated war veteran, linking him to Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden.  John McCain condemned the ad at the time as reprehensible.  It was not true and everyone knows it.  ThinkProgress.Org cites to an interview with Andrea Mitchell showing that he is till defending this deplorable campaign stunt.

MITCHELL: Do you have any regrets in retrospect?

CHAMBLISS: You know, Andrea, that ad is truthful in every way. […] He voted against George Bush eleven times on the issue of homeland security. […] You have to remember the two most notable terrorists in the world at that point in time were Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. We were trying to protect the homeland. We were trying to create an agency that was going to protect Americans and in fact we did that, we did it without Cleland’s vote.

According to ThinkProgress.Org says that the ads were not truthful:

Chambliss claims that Cleland voted against vital homeland security efforts but in fact, Cleland was voting against a provision in a homeland security measure that would have stripped away the collective bargaining rights of federal employees — many of whom would form the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Of course, Cleland’s homeland security votes in no way linked him to either bin Laden or Saddam.

Cleland not only voted to authorize the use of military force in Afghanistan after Sept. 11, 2001, but he also co-sponsored legislation introduced in May 2002 that called for the creation of a cabinet-level DHS.

Thus, Chambliss’s claims that the attack ad was “very fair” and “truthful in every way” ring hollow. Even John McCain knows that.

It will be very interesting to see how she campaigns this time.  Will she be as hatefully divisive as she was on the campaign trail with McCain?  My guess would be yes.  I think that is Sarah being Sarah.  We’ll just have to  wait and see…but it is quite clear that the party is counting on her to seal the deal.

This man represents everything that has been wrong, wrong, wrong with the Repiblican party and he deserves to lose.  Wake up Georgia!  I can only cross my fingers that this shameful, hateful man is not elected again.

Ok, I admit it. I just can’t get over those Gallup and Rasmussen poll numbers that I wrote about on Sunday. Sarah Palin is by far the most popular Republican in the country and even Republican-leaning independents would like to see her run in 2012.  Wow! According to the Draft Sarah Palin for President 2012 website, of the 800 speaking engagements worldwide that she has to choose from, she has accepted one at the Conservative Political Action Committee 2009 Conference in February. They have high hopes for her:

“It’s obvious that she is the Reagan heir apparent, and so it is fitting that she follow in his footsteps,” Republican activist and “Team Sarah” member LaDonna Hale Curzon said Wednesday. “At CPAC 1975, one speech initiated the conservative comeback. That speech was by Ronald Reagan. I would like to see Governor Palin do the same at CPAC 2009.”

… I have to confess: I am absolutely baffled by the continued GOP support for Palin. I do not get it. My best guess is that those who support her have a very different concept of the presidency than I do. I see the president as someone who actually has to run the country, so I value traits such as competence and knowledge. They see the presidency in more symbolic terms, which means they value those candidates who epitomize America as they wish to see it.

I acknowledge that those are not mutually exclusive categories, that every candidate represents a mixture of pragmatism and symbolism. It’s just a question of which is more important to you as a voter, and to my mind Palin backers have by definition stated that competence and knowledge are less important to them.

So I agree with Bookman.  The answer is that  competence and knowledge are less important to Sarah Palin’s base than what they think she represents. The only real explanantion for Ruthie Kelly’s reference to Sarah Palin as “a beacon of greatness flickering” and that “in time Gov. Palin’s greatness will be USA’s finest light…It’s Christmas present to the world” is a disconnect with reality that I am having an exceedingly hard time wrapping my mind around. I suppose I favor competence and knowledge over symbolism and fantasy.

The party of Lincoln looks to this lady as their great hope for 2012. If that were ever to occur, perish the thought, I think that a Palin administration would end up just like the current outgoing administration or worse, if that is even possible. She would be a politician in a position well over her level of competency and one where she would also completely delegate the important functions of her job to others.  

That brings me to my next question.  Don’t we want a President who is more than a symbol?  

Those poor turkeys did not die in vain!  They have exposed Sarah Palin for who she actually is.  The turkey incident was reported here earlier, both Day 1 and Day 2. Now on the 3rd day news coverage continues, and when our economy is tanking no less!  BUT there was a great post that I wanted to share.

News flash to the GOP and PAC, Sarah Palin (really known as Barbie) is nothing more than a liar.

The wack-job is once again denying reality. Here’s a sane person:

Scott Jensen is the one who filmed the scene. He’s local station KTUU’s award winning chief photographer. He told CC from KUDO radio yesterday that Sarah Palin, who was standing next to her personal assistant throughout the entire interview, chose the spot on which she stood for the “turkey slaughter interview” that quickly went viral on the internet, and received wide coverage in the news media. The turkey slaughter was already underway when the governor chose the spot. The photographer pointed out what was going on and asked her if she wanted to move. She said, “No worries.”

But Palin is now denying all of it, and implicitly calling the photographer a liar:

“The [Alaska] governor did not know it was going on behind her,” Palin’s spokesperson tells ET of the reportedly grisly scene at Triple D Farm & Hatchery outside Wasilla. Cameras captured Palin extending the annual Thanksgiving pardon to one turkey while a farm hand slaughtered the bird’s feathered friends in the background.

Who are you going to believe: Palin or your lyin’ eyes?

What nonsense.  Barbie was given the option to make her interview more attractive (even though coherence was not a viable option) and instead chose to stand in front of turkeys actually being slaughtered.  Who was she thinking of Joe the plumber or Tito the builder?  Goodness knows she wasn’t think of decorum.  She won’t even let her F-ups die.  Let’s put it on the record that PAC is not helping.  That they would dare to create a commercial praising her (previous post) while showing a cooked turkey?  Somebody please get a clue.

Dear Lord, please save us from idiots.

Thank you ChamayO! The devil is in those darn details thats for sure. I’m just sayin’ that thanks ta people like you, Sarah Palin is exposed for who she is- a leavin’ of the “g” off the end of her senences, gun totin’, Darwin-hating, fibber!  Oh Jeez.

President-Elect Obama’s Senior Political Advisor told Fox News that he will not be taking a role similar to the one that Karl Rove had during George Bush’s administration.  Well, as much as I like David Axelrod, I do appreciate that it is Barack Obama who will be making decisions and not Axelrod!

Crock pot? Yeah, that’s what I said.  Apparently the Governor has turned into an international celebrity, turkey beheading interview aside.  CNN reports that while the Governor has beeen crunching numbers (sure) for her budget, her staff has been fielding calls from the likes of the William Morris Agency, listening to offers to host a TV show, taking telephone calls from all news channels, receiving dozens of book deal, documentary and movie deal offers.  She is considering (gasp) 800, yes, 800, requests for appearances from December through 2009, with 75% coming from out of state.  Hmmm.  That might prompt another Wasillan to file an ethics complaint.  State ethics rules may stand in the way of the millions that she could earn from book deals, movie offers and appearance fees.  Alaskans are also already complaining because the Governor has let things slip.  Strangely, she skipped an education conference, but found time to pardon a turkey!?  No wonder they are complaining! Ah, her fellow Wasillans will keep her on her toes!

Michael Steel, the person who wants to try to resurrect the GOP by taking charge of the RNC wants to meet with her.  Her spokesman claims that she has invitations to make appearances in 20 foreign countries and over 200 media requests for interviews around the globe. Can you imagine a trip overseas?  It would be the Governor’s “European Vacation.”  I can just see it now, standing with the Queen at Windsor Castle, which is on a site outside of London originally established in 1070, looking around and saying to the Queen as planes from nearby Heathrow go by, “Now why did they go buildin’ a nice place like this so close to that darn airport?”  

“Experts” are happy to give her advice to take things slowly. Alaskans would probably agree.  She will have a hard time balancing her work as Governor of Alaska with all of the media and public appearance requests. (Alaska is never going to get that darn gas pipeline built.)  In the midst of this media flurry, CNN reports that a big wig Hollywood publicist says that she needs to pace herself because “She wants a career made in a Crock-Pot, not a microwave.”  Well, a career made in a crock pot for a real crack pot.  Go figure.  Anyway, I think she’ll opt for the microwave.