So, if I told you that an 84-year old Senator was on trial for seven felony counts of failure to disclose gifts and home renovations on his Senate financial disclosure forms, and then I told you that he wore a panda tie to the trial, and then I told you that his estranged best friend, now turned key witness for the prosecution, told a wistful story about how the two of them used to go to “boot camp” together in the desert southwest, and walk around eating hardly anything but drinking wine as a weight loss strategy…. you’d probably have to do a mental rewind. You’d ask me to repeat myself, and you’d listen again and then start to think I’d been hitting the wine myself, or at the very least was relating a weird dream in that way you do when you first wake up.
But, you’d be wrong on both counts. This is all very, strangely true. The witness in question is none other than former oil services company Veco’s former CEO, Bill Allen. And Bill and Ted’s excellent adventure really did happen.
“Allen described meeting Stevens for the first time in the early 1980s at fundraisers and events for Republican Frank Murkowski, who was running for the U.S. Senate and went on to a term as Alaska governor. Allen spoke wistfully of their former “close, personal friendship” and how they used to go to “boot camp” in the desert Southwest – where they would walk around, eating little and drinking only wine, “trying to get some pounds off.”
While Allen testified, Stevens looked down at the table, writing. It didn’t appear the two former friends ever made eye contact.”
I don’t know that wandering in the desert drinking wine is the most effective weight loss strategy, but it does get points for creativity….unless the dehydrated alcoholic heat stroke gets you. Ah, the hazards of “boot camp.”
And the panda tie? I can’t explain it. Stevens has been infamous in the past for wearing another tie, featuring the Incredible Hulk (no I’m not kidding), on the Senate floor. That’s when many Alaskans collectively sink down in their chairs with a hand over their faces trying to act like he’s not our Senator. Stevens even has a collection of Incredible Hulk memorabilia in his Senate office. The Hulk is his totem animal. Maybe the panda was meant to metaphorically show the court that deep down he’s just a big ol’ teddy bear? The Hulk can be a bit intimidating, and you could imagine him being in shackles… but a panda? No jury could be that cruel.
Most of the rest of the Stevens trial has been all about…home renovations. Electricians, photos of plugs, blueprints, telephone lines, contractors….kind of a snooze. But Bill Allen definitely spiced things up a bit.
The conversation also turned to some of the unreported gifts that Stevens has received from Allen and Veco: gift baskets, a $30,000 fish sculpture, engraved guns, a sled dog puppy, a generator to save the Stevens’ chalet from potential Y2K issues, and a foot-sewn doll. If you are more convinced than ever that I’m making this up, feel free to check HERE, where they are live blogging the Stevens trial.
Mudflats 
WOW!! How about that Katie Couric interview? She couldn’t even name a SINGLE Supreme Court decision other than Roe v Wade?? THIS is the person McCain feels “qualified” to be his VP???
LOL!
strange things happen in the northern lights….
Oh well, if you folks up there re-elect him it should be easy for the people who are taking the new citizenship test to be citizens fo the USA. They have to name only one of their senators and Stevens name will be easy to remember.
Sarah can’t name one periodical or newspaper she might have read, so she is not reading anything about Ted.
I wonder what she is reading?
Strange things happen under political lights.
What in goddess name is a “foot-sewn doll”?
Yes, we definitely need a pic to go along with the description of a “foot-sewn doll”. How would you possibly sew with your feet? You Alaskan’s apparently have more talent than the lower-48! LOL
Are John McCain’s pants on fire yet? How about Ted’s? How about Sarah’s?
They should be in flames by now.
People with disabled hands often learn to do many things with their feet that the rest of us do with our hands. It can be quite inspiring, so please don’t belittle this ability that some are required to develop.
So, now the conservatives are are claiming that Gwen Ifill is not impartial because she’s writing a book that includes Obama. Is that the best they can do to postpone the debate? Do you think they’ll try to make a big deal out of this so she can claim that it wasn’t fair? Sad and pathetic.
She couldn’t remember another court decision because she didn’t know any. Funny she didn’t Katie Couric, i’ll look that up and get back to ya!.
I remember when Kennedy was President and a woman with no arms knit him a sweater with her feet.
Tomorrow night is going to be huge…
http://andthisismyamerica.com/2008/10/01/the-x-factor/
Palins interview should be the standard:
Wouldn’t television interviews be so much more enriching, if more of the interviewers insisted on answers to their questions, instead of moving down the list of questions after the person in front of them stop moving their mouth. Sometimes I watch interviews and wonder why do you let them slip through these questions, why do they always allow them to stay on their talking points.
Katie is doing her job, and I hope they let her do more interview. I know that Sarah is low fruit, but hey, wouldn’t it be great for a few of the big league politician and experts were knocked off the talking points more consistently
1. The reason that Sarah did not name any of the magazines or papers that she reads, is not because she doesn’t know. It is because she is afraid the media will make fun of her and/or tear her apart. She is absolutely terrified of any misstep.
2. The reason she brought Willow on the Couric interview(Remember Katie meeting Sarah at the hotel, and upon seeing Willow say”I didn’t know you’d being joining us” Is because Sarah was trusting Katies’ motherly ways, and hoping Katie would not put her on the spot in front of Willow.
Just my two cents
Forgive me for changing the subject, but the Bailout Bill is going to be announced any minute – and McCain has not made a pre-vote statement. is anyone else nervous about this? I believe he’s getting ready to “razzle-dazzle” us all again with a mighty flip-flop and vote nay, thereby leaving Ovama holding the bag. Am I just being super-paranoid?1? I hope someone is communicating with Obama right now!!
Back in the day I walked the desert high on peyote
Maybe that’s why I didn’t turn out to be a crook like these DB’s
I learn something new every day on Mudflats. Today: foot-sewn dolls. I take my metaphoric hat off to anyone who can sew with hands, let alone feet. That is why my pants today had the hem pinned up.
Be sure to look at the side-by-side, Palin and Biden, that ran on CBS News. It will be a regular series: “Vice Presidential Questions.” I will say no more. See for yourself. I can’t get the URL to turn into a link, but you can copy and paste. Check back tomorrow; there will be more.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/01/eveningnews/main4493062.shtml
Ahah! A doll sewn by foot. That makes some sense. I am aware there are a number of foot painters and foot potters and there may well be all kinds of other foot craftspersons/ artists. Foot seamstress is not a stretch by any means.
I was picturing a foot sewn to a doll, which just struck me as gruesome.
do foot-sewn dolls smell bad ???
“Am I just being super-paranoid?”
Joan, you aren’t the only one waiting for the next surprise…I’m going to need a prescription for Paxil before this thing is over.
Joan (16:21:27) :
Forgive me for changing the subject, but the Bailout Bill is going to be announced any minute – and McCain has not made a pre-vote statement. is anyone else nervous about this? I believe he’s getting ready to “razzle-dazzle” us all again with a mighty flip-flop and vote nay, thereby leaving Ovama holding the bag. Am I just being super-paranoid?1? I hope someone is communicating with Obama right now!!
So what? The country needs a President that can handle anything thrown at him with aplomb. If MCCAIN can beat the pants off Obama then it wouldn’t have mattered anyway who wins the election. And I say this knowing full well Gore did NOT lose the election 8 years ago. If McCain gets in like Bush did and Obama doesn’t fight back tooth and nail (unlike Gore who folded for the “good of the country”), refer to the first statement above. I’ll never understand how condoning voter fraud is for “the good of the country”.
ok…was just watching K.O. (I am seriously in love with that man!) anyway….call me crazy, but shouldn’t the governor of alaska at the very LEAST be able to remember exxon v. baker??
Rachel Maddow just supplied lyrics to the talent tape where SHHNMN is playing flute!
Hilarious! 🙂
Has anyone else seen this?
Someone circulated this very long ranting email to me today; I don’t know why. It finishes something like “if you agree with me, send this to all your friends” or whatever, so I guess the sender agrees.
It looks like the usual crap rolled out at this time in the cycle. “Terrorism, terrorism, terrorism………” because McCain’s afraid to mouthe the word. BTW has anyone but me noticed it’s now “America and her allies” from the McSame camp these days? Sarah nearly forgot to add it yesterday – I thought she was going to say it twice in a row to make up for it. 😉
LETTER FROM AN ANGRY WOMAN!!
I don’t know who wrote it but she should have signed
it. Some powerful words. This woman should run for
president!
Written by a housewife from New Jersey and sounds like
it! This is one ticked off lady.
“Are we fighting a war on terror or aren’t we?
Was it or was it not started by Islamic people who brought
it to our shores on September 11, 2001?
Were people from all over the world, mostly Americans,
not brutally murdered that day, in downtown Manhattan,
across the Potomac from our nation’s capitol and in a
field in Pennsylvania?
Did nearly three thousand men, women and children die a
horrible, burning or crushing death that day, or didn’t
they?
and it goes on and on and on ….. and of course invokes Jesus in the last line.
(The response I broadcast was “FOUR MORE WARS!” I think that would have got the message across)
Got into the Forum just now. Looks pretty quiet.
Joan (16:21:27) :
You may be right. If McC could pull it off, he would, but he’ll have a lot of explaining to do…after all, he suspended (not) his campaign for this most important bail out.
Okay… back to Ted Stevens… testimony of Allen shows Stevens received gifts without noting them on financial disclosure forms. Bravo! That’s what should get him convicted. Sad that happens to an 84 y.o. man, but the corrupt need to pay the piper. And the IRS man for not reporting the value of those gifts. In addition, I have a recollection that gifts with a value in excess of $30,000 (fish sculpture) have additional reporting requirements – which Stevens also apparently failed to pay attention to.
Now, back to Palin and troopergate. I can see if she and McCain lose on November 4 that someone is going to come looking at her a bit closer. Especially a criminal investigator from DOJ who will not be under political pressure to ignore the possible criminal wrong-doing involved in administering political pressuring a claims adjuster to unlawfully deny a legitimate insurance claim. What Munlee testified Todd and Sarah Palin did is not only reprehensible – regardless of the character of the claimant – but also at the heart of political corruption.
Hey! Wasn’t it her claim that she took on the Alaska political establishment and… what was that word?? Oh, yeah. Reform.
Reform my ass. She’s as corrupt as all those guys she supposedly took on under the cover of reforming the system. What a load of road apples. Sarah Palin is no reformer. She’s just a corrupt politician of a different gender.
Deb (17:06:01) :
ok…was just watching K.O. (I am seriously in love with that man!) anyway….call me crazy, but shouldn’t the governor of alaska at the very LEAST be able to remember exxon v. baker??
I cannot stand when they call her an energy expert ! Not one person has asked a question about anything but oil and drilling for oil.
you alaskan’s are making texas politicians look normal….and trust me..that’s very scary..
I didn’t think SP sounded as clueless as usual tonight in Couric’s news. She was asked to name a SC decision with which she DISAGREED, not just to name any decision. Perhaps she has agreed with the other decisions. I’m worried. I can’t bear the thought of McCain/Palin winning this election, but if she doesn’t bomb tomorrow night, it will be harder for Barack to defeat them. And I think her coaching sessions might be working; she sure sounded less clueless tonight than she did last week. : (
Regi (17:27:42) :
Deb (17:06:01) :
I cannot stand when they call her an energy expert ! Not one person has asked a question about anything but oil and drilling for oil.
_____________
I think the only oil she is familiar with is Olive Oyl – I find they’re rather similar when it comes to ‘verbiage’ tones
Hey Mudflatters! I started crafting me a little Sarah Palin drinking game for tomorrow night’s debate. Wasn’t feeling as inspired as usual, and I’m sure I left a few gems out. I knew if anyone would have some brilliance to add it would be you lot, so I posted the thing early. If you’re so inclined, check it out, and drop off your suggestions; best ones will be duly incorporated by early afternoon tomorrow, when I have to run off and save seats at the theater and get that pitcher of beer ordered up. Cheers!
http://angryxer.wordpress.com/2008/10/01/sarah-palin-veep-debate-drinking-game/
@Sue…I have to disagree. Palin had NO clue about any other supreme court decision. She has to be able to answer questions with depth tomorrow night. The nation isnt Alaska…the issues are far more broad than she can enunciate.
lol…they are probably cramming her head so full of crap that she will get her answers all mixed up. There have been McCain aides who have stated that the practice sessions have been awful. I honestly dont see how she can redeem herself unless she has been allowing the public to view her as a dunce in order to fool Biden.
McCain did vote yes for the bailout.
Odd that Little Mistress Sunshine would forget that Dumbya got to be El Presidente because of a Supreme Court Decision.
Frankly, if I were Sarah (please God, no!) Paling, I would hire Tina Fey to sub for me. Odds are she’d do a bang-up job.
Laurie – you have to remember that to Sarah Palin, Alaska is the nation. Given her past ties to the Alaska Independence Party, I just cannot see her being able to view it any other way. Anything else just shuts down whatever thought process that might be in that vacuum under that behive.
VP – sexist as it may sound, but Tina Fey is prettier, smarter and a heck of a lot more funny than Sarah Palin could ever hope to be. Probably more honest about herself, too.
A few extraneous thoughts-
Have you noticed that when SWWNBN has been asked about RAPE KIT STORY, she has said at least twice (Ithink the sources are the Charlee interview and the Frontiersman email interview) she would never approve of charging a woman who was raped for an “evidence-gathering kit.” What I think she is saying without OUTRIGHT LYING is that she did know about that charge for rape kits but since they apparently included morning after pills/emergency contraception, she did not want govt to pay for them. An “evidence-gathering kit” has been the specific wording both times she has responded. Gathering evidence does not include other support/help for rape victim.
To the question on previous thread about breastfeeding and Trig- IF (big IF for me) she was breastfeeding Trig when she was announced as nominee, I am confident that ended pronto as she got busy with road trips, prep work, etc. She seems to have no qualms lying about her activities in other matters, so I have no doubt she could lie about if she was breastfeeding too. Obviously, it is her choice to breast or formula feed, it is the lying that would bother me. I know women can return to work, pump, etc. but I also know you need privacy, peace, and TIME to maintain a milk supply for a five month old. During the RNC, I kept thinking about this. Also, she REALLY does not look to be lactating any longer- even if she was before. Having a small frame and having nursed three children, I know you can see the difference when baby is weaned. Of course, this is nobody’s business, but it is interesting to ponder as a mom, especially because she went off during the People magazine interview (early on) to either breastfeed or pump…I just was not buying it.
Sorry to be so off topic but I saw the question earlier today and did not have time to write.
Angryxer,
I just went to you site and read your post…too funny. I think you just might need more then one pitcher of beer. I hope that we can all get thru this Election and Economy without major damage to our livers.
If Only They Could All Vote-This will tell ya what is needed in the world-
From The Nation:
The outcome of the presidential race — as well as the resolution of the economic crisis — will have major implications around the world. So the Economist magazine has decided to poll the world, country-by-country, to try to get a sense of where the globe stands on the US presidential contest.
Using a nifty new online tool that goes so far as to redraw the electoral map, all 195 of the world’s countries (including the US) are given a say in the election’s outcome. As in America, each country has been allocated a minimum of three electoral-college votes with extra votes provided in proportion to population size. With over 6.5 billion people enfranchised, the result is a much larger electoral college of 9,875 votes.
The results to date are somewhat astonishing – Obama is leading McCain by a landslide of 8,192 electoral votes to 3! The only country in the world voting for McCain is Andorra! If only Economist readers ruled the world! Seriously though, it is interesting that the readers of the free-market bible of the English-speaking world are so overwhelmingly in support of Obama. Check out the map and cast your vote. Voting in the Global Electoral College closes at midnight on November 1st.
plwalsh (17:20:19) :
Got into the Forum just now. Looks pretty quiet.
What do you expect when the forum is even less reliable than the New Mudflats? Eventually people get tired of the error messages and give up. If it ain’t broke don’t try to fix it now becomes if it is broke, give it up and meet on the “Old Mudflats”…works just fine.
Ron
Came across this today:
Which of these points are her handlers not following? Like, hey, you know, all of them?
Nasty little me sure hopes so :o)
bPoint – Thank you for such a great laugh! 8192 to 3 ! Don’t you just love it. As an aside, I wonder what is wrong with Andorra?
Sorry, that link didn’t post right. Opens the page when you click on any of it though, go figure.
VP, Flat Earth Society (18:08:56) :
Check to see if a McCain or Palin relative is on vacation in Andorra?
Sarah calls Charles Gibson and Katie Couric unethical…..Really!
Asked Tuesday by radio host Hugh Hewitt if she agreed that interviews with ABC’s Charles Gibson and CBS’ Couric were designed to embarrass her, Palin replied: “Well, I have a degree in journalism also, so it surprises me that so much has changed since I received my education in journalistic ethics all those years ago.”
Maybe Ted Stevens can set up a weight loss camp in the desert if he gets booted from the Senate. That was a strange and somewhat disturbing little story.
InJuneau aka Wrangler Tractor (15:51:38) :
People with disabled hands often learn to do many things with their feet that the rest of us do with our hands. It can be quite inspiring, so please don’t belittle this ability that some are required to develop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please don’t be insulted. While you are absolutely correct, the phrase “foot-sewn doll” is a bit out of the norm. It’s confusing. It’s only when one really stops and thinks that one can remember the extraordinary things people without use of their hands can do with their feet. The movie My Left Foot is a perfect example.
I think it’s just the simple matter of a phrase that is foreign to most. It’s also a bit bizarre to list among the extravagant gifts Stevens accepted. A $30,000 sculpture and a foot-sewn doll just don’t seem to go together.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It calmed my nerves a bit to see Katie Couric pose the same question to Biden and Palin and get such different answers. Biden was composed and concise. Palin was flustered and pulling words out of everywhere and anywhere. A bit sad that she had to go to back to Roe v. Wade, but not so sad that I didn’t laugh. Had she just said she’s a federalist and feels any decisions that take power away from the states are ones with which she has trouble, she might have saved herself.
Sarah Palin doesn’t know much about Ethics. If she knew so much about journalism, why was she not prepared for her interviews? It would seem that she would have had an upper hand in knowing how journalists think and would be ready for the questions they asked. This just shows that she apparently wasn’t a good journalism student either.
Hi Carolyn,
Thanks! Yes, safe to say there will be more than one pitcher for the evening. I definitely need an Obama victory so I can get some real detox going Nov 5 (or 6th, after victory parties.) My sensitive little nervous system and sense of ethics really can’t take this much lying and hypocrisy every single freaking day. Thank the gods for the Mudflatter oasis, and the gathering storm of people who recognize all the horseshit for what it is (to mix various & sundry metaphors).
http://www.economist.com/vote2008/index.cfm
Link to the Economist’s global poll – check out each country.
Had she just said she’s a federalist and feels any decisions that take power away from the states are ones with which she has trouble, she might have saved herself.
Well, no. That would be an anti-federalist view.
Actually walking around in the desert is a great weight loss plan. However from personal experience beer is a better beverage, but harder to carry.
Between watching the video of McCain’s speech today with the strange facial twitch and having to be helped to find his way off the stage, and seeing his close-to-the-surface boil in the editorial board interview today, with his eye doing quite a twitch —
I’d say this “Old Faithful” geyser is about to blow!
To be fair, the Supreme Court question, was which decisions to you disagree with. I wouldn’t expect her to disagree with Bush v. Gore (I think that’s the right order) I do wonder why the Exxon Decision didn’t spring to her mind as she had apparently criticized it in the past.
I do agree with whomever said she is afraid to be wrong for fear people will make fun. Gotta wonder if that won’t take it’ toll tomorrow.
I do like my wine, but wandering in the desert does seem more like a beer outing to me. You could also wear those beer helmets.
I’m having visions of the twitching Chief Inspector Dreyfus in the Pink Panther!!
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/23316912/makebelieve_maverick/print
The one MUST READ article. Very long but VERY important. Will be in the Oct 16 issue of Rolling Stone
If there were not Supreme Court decisions that she didn’t agree with, then she should have said, “well here are some examples of cases that I do agree with, such as……” This would have demonstrated that she had some understanding of Supreme Court cases and allowed her to connect with voters on another issue, not just Roe v Wade.
Even Dubya could remember Dred Scott enough to say it was bad.
!t will be 11 a.m. in Australia when the debate happens, and I have to drive in the afternoon, so I have to modify angryxer’s drinking protocol.
I was thinking I might have ‘elevenses’ (a Brit morning tea tradition). I will have the choice of sipping/guzzling tea, and nibbling/biting into chocolate eclairs.
I hope she doesn’t talk too much. 😀
If SP really was a poli sci major, is it reasonable to think she might have recalled the Dred Scott decision as one she might have been opposed to?
Ok, maybe she gets really nervous being interviewed for national TV, but won’t there be times when she needs to think on her feet as (God forbid) president?
I keep trying to give her some credit, to try to understand what her appeal is, but I just can’t see it…. sigh. Looking at McNasty’s interview yesterday with the Des Moines Register’s editorial board, the Rolling Stone article, the various SP interviews, her acceptance speech, the NYT article about how vindictive she is… all I see is a really dangerous combination to be in charge. And I really don’t understand how people still support either of them.
Well sure she coulda shoulda but again to be fair, she isn’t a lawyer, and I wouldn’t expect her to be able to cite cases by name. As you say responsiblecitizen08 she could have named some things she agreed with, say the recent gun rights case or something, but of all the questions she has flubbed, I guess this one bothers me less then some of the others.
I’m actually happy to hear she believes in the constitutional right to privacy.
The woman is such case.
Psh, I’m just sad that they dragged a puppy into their sick, sick wine-drinking, panda-tie-wearing, games. Shame on them.
I was a poli sci minor, and I remember the Dred Scott case. And I’m 4 years older than she is, so even more of my brain cells have been lost to the ravages of time.
@schnauzer
I’d agree with you except for the fact that she was a poli sci minor. I mis-spoke in my previous comment. I was an International Relations minor, and I had to take a class in constitutional law. I don’t buy it. She should have at least been able to cite the Exxon case, especially since she’s from Alaska, where the spill that led to the case happened, and since energy is supposed to be her strong suit, and since she had very recently expressed her disagreement with the decision. It just doesn’t wash.
Wasn’t BUSH vs GORE a supreme court decision??!!
Dred Scott was another that came to my mind immediately as well.
Sorry, Sarah, no lifelines. No calls to friends. You blew it.
Seems that in Alaska, state governing revolves around the oil and energy industry.
The New York Times is reporting that :
Aussie Puck Mule Revlon Red Palin (17:18:14)
Someone circulated this very long ranting email to me today…
“LETTER FROM AN ANGRY WOMAN!! I don’t know who wrote it but she should have signed it. Some powerful words. This woman should run for
president!…Written by a housewife from New Jersey and sounds like
it! This is one ticked off lady.”
___________________________________________________________
This letter has been making the rounds for awhile. Last spring I researched it and posted about it on another forum I belong to, because someone posted the whole thing on that forum. I’ve excerpted my previous answer here:
Because I was interested in finding who wrote the ‘unsigned’ letter from an angry woman, I poked around online. It took a few tries, but I finally came up with this on snopes.com. The letter seems to be a version of the ‘I’ll care if…’ statement posted at
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/foster.asp
(Urban Legends Reference Pages © 1995-2008 by Barbara and David P. Mikkelson)
The snopes website says that the article has come to be attributed to a Pam Foster (the ‘angry woman’), but it is actually the work of Doug Patton, a freelance columnist and political speechwriter. The e-mail-circulated version [shown on the snopes page] leaves off his two opening paragraphs and adds a closing statement that wasn’t in his original (“I don’t give a sheet either about those sheet heads!”), but it is otherwise a faithful copy of his article, which was first published on the gopusa.com web site on 6 June 2005 under the title “Ask Me if I Care About ‘Mishandling’ of Koran” and which has since been reproduced on a number of other web sites.
The snopes article also includes a communication from Pam Foster herself, explaining how her name got associated with the piece.
The version posted here [on my other forum] has a longer added closing paragraph – compare with Doug Patton’s original here: http://www.gopusa.com/commentary/dpatton/2005/dp_0606p.shtml
(more info at the snopes address)
Aussie Puck,
Elevenses sounds like an excellent variation on the theme. Mmmm, chocolate eclairs.
Most comforting to know that Mudflatters the world round will be viewing the debate live.
@mizkay spackle camshaft (18:55:12)
Thank you so much, I just knew it wasn’t legit.
H
Listen what McCain says in this interview, it’s at 56:49 into the interview;
I’m starting to really get nervous about this man.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080930/NEWS09/80930049
Who can’t name Brown v Board of Education off the top of their heads? Or heck, why couldn’t she discuss the general thrust of major supreme court arguments even if she couldn’t remember their names? Can Palin not even discuss issues?
Glad to find you again, AKM. Haven’t been able to access the site for over 24 hours (since the New Yorker cover appeared). Happy to be back wallowing in the mud again.
angryxer – You disagree with Brown? Tsk.
I do agree she could at least have babbled about activist judges etc., but really, I’m much more horrified by the fact that she could name a newspaper or two. But then I was a Library Science Major.
Sadly, there are many people that cannot name a Supreme Court ruling that they agree or disagree with, for that matter. I could name a few off the top of my head, but I also had parents that did not tolerate ignorance or incompetence. I think we may have been reared differently. That being said, this is the most forgivable of the episodes of her not being able to answer a question. The fact that she could not name a court case that she agreed with is even more telling to me. She is not skilled enough to turn the question around to show her strength. From what I can see, her strengths are being really sarcastic and folksy.
What about this Supreme Court decision? She did this interview in June, 2008. Did she not know what she was talking about?
RE: the Supreme Court case question..
I would not necessarily expect the average citizen to be able to name a SCC other than Roe v Wade- but this is someone RUNNING FOR VP! I WOULD expect that person to know a bit more.
AND given the Baker v Exxon (which directly impacted AK and which sh issued a statement against) I would have thought THAT case might come to mind…
Sure there was Brown v Education that older ppl might remember… but everyobe who watches all thos cop shows on TV should remember MIRANDA!
hello- Miranda rights..
wh well
ah good point.. Couric did say a case SP did not agree with.. That was probably a set up for the Exxon case…
ppl DO agree with Brown, Mirands etc. But giver SP’s rambling answers- never quite answering what was asked, had she named ANY other cases- even ones she AGREED with, she might have gotten points.
But your point is good. The question was cases she did NOT agree with…
Mea culpa
angryxer:
At your page you have “If she says, AGAIN, that she has foreign policy experience because of her proximity to Alaska, drink. Twice.”
You meant proximity to Russia, right?
Yep. She could have babbled something about prayer in school, or Exxon or something and looked less foolish, but the cases you disagree with IS significantly harder. Hell equal pay for equal work, er no probably that would be bad.
The lady is still a light weight and I for one hope she continues to babble tomorrow night (It’s my birthday, and Sarah is the gift that keeps on giving)
And if you max out the size, you can almost see the teleprompter reflecting in her glasses:
Schnauzer: hey now, them’s fighting words! Take back yer libelous ways. Of course I don’t disagree w/Brown. Where’d you get that??
NoCalGal, I was thinking Miranda too. Plus Loving v. Virginia, which was in the news a bunch a few months ago b/c of the anniversary of the decision… Even if the question was about decisions she disagreed with but couldn’t think of any, she could have discussed dissenting opinions that she took issue with. Anything on actual issues! But as you and others have pointed out, why on god’s green earth Palin couldn’t discuss the Baker v Exxon that she obviously was intimately acquainted with is an utter mystery.
[…] Apparently Allen and Stevens were such close friends that they: used to go to “boot camp” in the desert Southwest – where they would walk around, eating little and drinking only wine, “trying to get some pounds off.” [ADN via Mudflats] […]
Just 3 months ago Sarah Palin was very upset with the decision the Supreme Court made about Exon Valdez. She made a public comment about how she did not agree with their overturning the jury’s verdict. 3 months ago and she couldn’t even remember that case and it involved her state. It makes you wonder if everyday someone gives her a paper and tells her this is what you will say today. She does not have a clue.
Steve– yikes! glaring typo. eek. I don’t usually miss those. Thanks, will fix now.
New post re: the delivery of the petition!
schnauzer (19:32:23) :
Happy Birthday, you! Hope you get a great gift, now let me see… 🙂
At your page you have “If she says, AGAIN, that she has foreign policy experience because of her proximity to Alaska, drink. Twice.”
You meant proximity to Russia, right?
=======================
This is Sarah Palin. She’ll probably say Alaska and then accuse the moderator of bias for asking if she meant Russia.
Even if she couldn’t remember case names, I think a lot of people would be satisfied with “well, the one that took prayers out of school” or “I don’t agree with any of their rulings on flag-burning”. The humming and hawing and non-answer is what’s offputting.
Most annoying new trend from the attack squads – whining about how she’s not prepared cause she wasn’t planning on moving up from Gov, or she’s only had a month to learn stuff and it’s not fair cause Biden was on the campaign trail for months.
No one put a gun to her head and forced her to accept the nomination if she wasn’t prepared to handle it. I wouldn’t be surprised after this if there are some rule changes in how VPs are selected.
Thanks, Bella– fixed! I had rewritten it a bit, and missed that whale of a typo earlier.
Very true that no one put a gun to her head to accept the nom; what we’ve learned about her in these past few weeks suggests someone with overreaching ambition, who wanted the power too much to say no, even though she wasn’t qualified. So that’s where I hit a snag in feeling sorry for her as she starts crashing & burning. Enough GOP hubris already!
angryxer (19:40:20) :
Schnauzer: hey now, them’s fighting words! Take back yer libelous ways. Of course I don’t disagree w/Brown. Where’d you get that??
Well the assignment was to name court decisions that you disagreed with, so…
Don’t get me wrong, I think anyone aspiring to high office (say anything more powerful than chair of the church bake sale) should have an understanding of the history and laws of this great county. I just hate to see us get accused of picking on someone when we don’t have the whole story. Beat on her about Exxon, mock her for undercutting the argument against Roe v. Wade by coming out for a right to privacy, bring up poor old Dred Scott, but you have to admit that for Biden this was a gimme, for Palin, not so much.
Now I need to go shower, I feel icky somehow.
Thanks for the bday wishes Cassie Jeep Pike Palin (Wish I were Trout) I’ll let you know if I get what I asked for.
Evening all ~~
am getting on late again — nice to see Mudflats back up in running – even if it is in the original state. Was having withdrawals last night .
Am looking at the CNN Electorial map — even Montana is looking PINK instead of RED !
Estimates show 250 Obama 189 McCain
If Palin falls on her face tomorrow — I’ll have to make another donation to Obama – and AKM
The story of Gwen Ifils book originally broke back in July. The moderators were agreed upon in mid-August. The story of Ifils upcoming book is very old news — just another lame, whiney-baby move by McPain…
French fries dipped in a chocolate shake anyone?
As a poli sci minor she should have known Plessy v Ferguson (separate but equal) which was overturned by Brown v Board of Education of Topeka …. landmark cases even taught in gov’t 101. Of course I once had a student say that Plessy v. Ferguson was the guy who invented levis. Shrug. They might be related.
I’ve said it before. Sarah thinks knowing information is for losers. She learns enough buzz words and slogans and doesn’t bother her “pretty little head” with anything more. Nothing worse than an aging beauty queen who depends on the kindness of strangers (male) to fill in the blanks for her.
Schnauzer, fair enough– clarification that it was cases she disagreed with, not just major decisions, she was asked to name, duly noted. Still, that’s an awfully small drop in the much larger bucket of the problem. Your word choices are very telling– “beat on,” “mock”? Makes her sound like she’s a victim. Which I’m quite sure no one would be worried about if she were a guy. (Of course, no man this unqualified would have been picked in the first place, shameless gender-card pander that it was.)
And what do you mean by “you have to admit that for Biden this was a gimme, for Palin, not so much.”? Main point here: IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A GIMME FOR ANYONE WHO WOULD BE VICE PRESIDENT. If that question is too hard for her, she should be disqualified. Period.
Thanks for noticing Montana. We’re trying to turn the state blue. It’s exciting to live here & actually have my vote matter.
I love this blog. Everyone is so intelligent, spirited AND civil. Prior to his race against Obama, I actually didn’t mind McCain. My opinion of him certainly has changed in the last few months. He’s really no different than any of the Repubs.
At least Democrats can admit mistakes – that makes them more trustworthy by 1000 fold in my book.
Keep up the wonderful work AKM & all the great comments mudpuppies!
Did you see Tester on Hardball tonight — he is so fun to watch? I do like him, don’t agree with him all the time, but like his honesty & integrity
I live in Metro Detroit and we’ve been living through the Kwame Kilpatrick (now former mayor of Detroit) text, sex, and outright theft scandal (not to mention murder) – in which each development manages to exceed the previous for unbelievability.
However, I have to say, that after reading this website, Alaskan politics just may give Metro Detroit a run for its money when it comes to corruption.
Ours looks to be (somewhat) on the path now towards getting cleaned up, and I hope the same soon holds true for yours. Alaska is a great state with wonderful people and simply deserves better.
Advice from various people at WAPO on how the debates should go. Basically they say Palin should attack, attack, attack. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/01/AR2008100102652.html
Regarding Ted Stevens (remember Ted? This is a post about Ted)
the panda and hulk ties are nowhere near as embarrassing as watching him pick his nose on C-span during the Lewinski/impeachment hearings….truly his finest hour.
Sorry to say I don’t believe that Alaskans will vote him out. Don Young may be done for this time – finally, but Uncle Ted will probably win his election, even if found guilty and removed from the ticket.
He has brought so much bacon home to this state over the years, that a lot of my neighbors are willing to spot him the odd $30,000 sculpture.
angryxer
And what do you mean by “you have to admit that for Biden this was a gimme, for Palin, not so much.”? Main point here: IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A GIMME FOR ANYONE WHO WOULD BE VICE PRESIDENT. If that question is too hard for her, she should be disqualified. Period.
I’m not disagreeing with you on the basic idea that the candidate is a menace. That she is woefully unqualified. But…
When I say “for Biden it was a gimme” I mean Biden was able to talk about his own bill. Palin couldn’t even come up with an issue still yet an actual case. Yes this does cause one to have grave doubts about her readiness, as well it should. Saying she couldn’t come up with Brown v. Board or Bush v. Gore doesn’t make that case and makes you look silly, because, well, she didn’t disagree with those, see? (now I don’t believe she has any feelings one way or the other about them, but it’s an easy defense for her supporters to make)
When I say you should beat up on her for the right reasons, that’s just what I mean. You don’t want to be a swiftboater making smears and telling lies or near lies. God knows there is plenty of clean dry ammo laying around not this wet damaged stuff that could just go off in your face.
I live in South Dakota which has like a 90% chance of going for McCain. But, there are 100s if not 1000s of people who are feeling queasy about the McCain / Palin ticket right now. I am trying to push as many of those as I can into pairing their votes for Stephine Herseth Sandlin & Tim Johnson (our D Congress critters) with a vote for Obama / Biden. That may just happen for a lot of them, but it’s not going to happen if the folks who feel “she’s one of us” decide shes not getting a fair hearing.
Turning SD purple, one voter at a time.
just read on reuters:
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE4915CL20081002?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=22&sp=true
This is Wikipedia on the origin of French fries. My guess is that the name is a confusion between Belgian and French cuisines on the part of Americans, whether or not this happened during World War I or earlier. The French definitely do NOT take credit for them, as this entry indicates!
Belgium
Belgians claim that “French” fries are in fact Belgian, but definitive evidence for the origin is difficult to present. Belgian historian Jo Gerard recounts that potatoes were already fried in 1680 in the Spanish Netherlands, in the area of “the Meuse valley between Dinant and Liège, Belgium. The poor inhabitants of this region allegedly had the custom of accompanying their meals with small fried fish, but when the river was frozen and they were unable to fish, they cut potatoes lengthwise and fried them in oil to accompany their meals.”[11][12][13]
The Dutch concur with a Southern Netherlandish or Belgian origin when referring to Vlaamse frieten (‘Flemish fries’). In 1857, the newspaper Courrier de Verviers devotes an article to Fritz (assumed pun with ‘frites’), a Belgian entrepreneur selling French fries at fairs, calling them “le roi des pommes de terre frites” (The king of fried potatoes). In 1862, a stall selling French fried potatoes (see frietkot) called “Max en Fritz” was established near Het Steen in Antwerp.[14][12]
A Belgian legend claims that the term “French” was introduced when British or American soldiers arrived in Belgium during World War I, and consequently tasted Belgian fries. They supposedly called them “French”, as it was the official language of the Belgian Army at that time.[12] But the term “French fried potatoes” had been in use in America long before the Great War.[citation needed]
Whether or not Belgians invented them, “frites” became the national snack and a substantial part of both national dishes — making the Belgians their largest per capita consumers[citation needed] in Europe, and their “symbolic” creators.
[edit] France
Many Americans attribute the dish to France — although in France they are almost exclusively thought of as Belgian — and offer as evidence a notation by U.S. President Thomas Jefferson. “Pommes de terre frites à cru, en petites tranches” (“Potatoes deep-fried while raw, in small cuttings”) are noted in a manuscript in Thomas Jefferson’s hand (circa 1801-1809) and the recipe almost certainly comes from his French chef, Honoré Julien.[4]Hess, Karen (2005), “The Origin of French Fries”, PPC (Petits Propos Culinaires), journal of food studies and food history (3×/year by Prospect Books, Devon) (68): p. 39, It is worth noting, though, that France had recently annexed what is now Belgium, and would retain control over it until the Congress of Vienna of 1815 brought it under Dutch control.[15] In addition, from 1813[16] on, recipes for what can be described as French fries, occur in popular American cookbooks. By the late 1850s, one of these mentions the term “French fried potatoes”.[17]
Recipes for fried potatoes (not clearly specified how) in French cookbooks date back at least to Menon’s Les soupers de la cour (1755). It is true that eating potatoes was promoted in France by Parmentier, but he did not mention fried potatoes in particular. And the name of the dish in languages other than English does not refer to France; in French, they are simply called “pommes de terres frites” or, more commonly, simply “pommes frites” or ‘frites’.
So, if I told you that an a Senator lived to be 84 and didn’t commit at least 7 felonies what would you say?
-Mike James
http://andthisismyamerica.com/
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