Palin

Sarah Palin's Gubermail, the email that was sent or received from her office during her aborted term as Governor of Alaska, will be release to the public any minute now. Some news agencies such as the Washington Post have set up web sites to have readers sift through the trove of trouble and find what they may.

Even a smart and effective, but otherwise boring and well behaved politician will have Wieners of some sort in his or her email. Sarah is a dumbass with questionable family relationships. Actually, I feel sorry for her.

Well, not really. In fact, not even a little. Palin is part of the coalition of politicians who insist that while they and their should be afforded all possible liberties no one else should. Anti-choice, for instance, is a clear invasion of privacy. Reading official emails, not so much. Except when it is. And we shall see soon enough.

Stay tuned.

Anyway, if there is even a fraction of what could be there, this will be the termination of Sarah Palin's presidential bid. Maybe next time around.

source

gregladen Fri, 06/10/2011 - 07:23

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Palin

1. It's been redacted of ostensibly private, non-official correspondence by the state.

2. Palin's lawyers were allowed to go over the redacted version looking for anything additional that could be redacted for privacy reasons, and apparently failed to find anything, which means that the Alaskan government has been aggressive in their redaction efforts.

I don't expect much more to come out of this than was already known from Todd Palin's e-mails. The fact that he was taking an active role in government hasn't hurt Palin's reputation at all (it's already extremely low ...)

There are those that saw her interview with Katie Couric and thought she came across as smart and witty. There's no end to how delusional folks can be.

A smoking gun would be nice but I do not expect it because of the pre-vetting and/or deletions. Too bad we won't get the unexpurgated version. Also too bad we couldn't get John McCain's VP Vetting Group or Sarah herself to vet them... we'd be in for a collective treat, also. In this Great Country Of Ours, the Real America.

Nah, her career is not over. Even if something grossly illegal/immoral comes out, her supporters will say something like "it was planted." She has a cult following and although (I hope) she's unelectable, she has the media power to crap all over the political landscape of our country.

From the first page of emails, bullets for a discussion with the press were redacted as "privileged or personal material". Unlikely anything interesting is left after the state and palin lawyers got finished with thier black pens.

Governor Palin,
Here are some bullets that might be useful in your discussion with the press following your first
day of meetings with the corporations & organizations with an interest in the gas pipeline
project.
Privileged or Personal Material Redacted
Pat Galvin, Kurtis Gibson and I collaborated on these comments. I hope these are useful.

Nah, her career is not over. Even if something grossly illegal/immoral comes out, her supporters will say something like "it was planted."

Time for Sarah Palin excuse bingo? Or has that already been done?

Mike.

You, sir, are a dumbass.

Just thought I'd let you know.

Perhaps you can improve.

Even if she emailed naked pictures of herself, Rep. Weiner isn't resigning and his political career hasn't ended. So, why should hers?

So far, it looks like it's helping her.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2733038/posts?page=1

comments via #9.. leave me in despair
These people can type (sort of) and thus read and listen, yet they still drive on to a catastrophe.
I fear our children will cower under theocracy instead of flowering in reality.

We all must rail on against the forces of belief.
Belief is evil ... If you âbelieveâ something, it means you have ceased thinking about it, you have just filed it away as âfixedâ.
Science is not âFixedâ / by definition it cannot be "fixed" thus is able to wind its way towards truth (as an asymptote).

Palin had reputation amongst Alaskans for rampant and rabid racism, as bad about social issues as she is about religion.

She was infamous for calling the native Alaskans "arctic arabs". And her comments about Obama speak for themselves. (Yes, the source of the claim was never verified, but given how Palin behaves and talks, it's credible.)

http://www.laprogressive.com/election-reform-campaigns/alaskans-speak-i…

http://thepoliticalcurmudgeon.blogspot.com/2008/09/sarah-palin-and-me.h…

Palin was part of Ted Steven's and the republicans' rampant corruption in Alaska, like "the bridge to nowhere" and other pork. If you thought George Bu**sh** was an uneducated rube and a stooge puppet, you ain't seen nothing yet.

If it turns out that she was sending strangers photographs of her genitalia, what would that prove? That she is dumb? This is already common knowledge, and it is not a disqualification from holding public office (unfortunately).

What's with the redaction?

Weren't some Republicans all over the emails of college professors and others to make sure they weren't using university email services for personal communications? They want it both ways â¦ and get it.

Timberwolf, I was thinking the same thing. No one seems to notice that the Alaskan State House and the Alaskan Republican Party seem to share an email address. That is actually worse than personal use of email which in my view is no biggie .... you can use your work phone to call home to check on the kiddies now and then, after all. But conducting the business of your personal poetical career using electrons paid for by the all suffering tax payers (mostly not in Alaskan because Alaska is a welfare state) is a bit of a problem. I want my money back.

How to choose a president

gregladen — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 07:53:57 +0000

How to choose a president

"I gotta make a choice and go with the intelligent woman who's every bit as attractive"

That's what Michele Bachmann's new high-powered advisor, Ed Rollins told Politico the other day.

This is perfect. We are being asked, by the Bachmann campaign, to chose between Bachmann and Palin using the following decision chain:

1) Is the candidate attractive? (Yes/No)

...2a) If No, reject candidate.

...2b) If Yes: Is the candidate intelligent?

......3a) If no, reject candidate.

......3b) If yes, vote for candidate.

And this is supposed to lead us to select Michel Bachmann over Sarah Palin? And that is how we are supposed to pick the leader of the United States?

This comment by Rollins, who directed the Huckabee campaign and Reagan-Bush '84 and numerous others, is part of what is being called a "spat" (I suppose that's a reference to the term "cat fight" which I'm sure everyone is trying to not say) that erupted yesterday between Bachmann and Palin (or at least, their campaigns).

Bachmann's manager said "Sarah has not been serious over the last couple of years. She got the vice presidential thing handed to her. She didn't go to work in the sense of trying to gain more substance. She gave up her governorship."

To this the Palin campaign has responded by demanding an apology, according to the morning news shows. Meanwhile ...

On Wednesday, Michael Glassner, Palin's chief of staff, responded with a statement of his own: "Beltway political strategist Ed Rollins has a long, long track record of taking high profile jobs and promptly sticking his foot in his mouth."

Rollins also told Politico: "I don't think Palin runs, and if she does, we will deal with it. There obviously is a trend in the media to link them. In the long run we want Palin and her people as our allies."

Good luck with that.

Source: Stuff I heard on the TV and this story in the Washington Post.

gregladen Thu, 06/09/2011 - 03:53

Tags

Election 2012

Michele Bachmann

Palin

And this is supposed to lead us to select Michel Bachmann over Sarah Palin?

Hell no!

Draft Condi! :)

Sorry, I almost forgot the obligatory pic.

I think the Bachmann campaign is making a blunder in criticizing Palin at this point. It's nowhere near a done deal that Palin is going to run -- many people put the odds below 50/50. And whoever the GOP nominee is, she is going to need the support of the millions of rabid/vapid Palin fans out there, you betcha. Implying that Palin is dumb is a bad move at this point.

This is doubly true for Bachmann, who cannot really run an effective "I'm smrter 'n you" campaign at this point. I could see a Republican candidate going for the endzone and trying to appeal to serious conservatives, while leaving the Tea Party idiots in the dust. It would probably fail, but it's a legitimate tactic. But Bachmann's not going to be able to run that kind of a campaign, she needs the support of the idiots -- and calling Palin stupid or ugly is going to undermine that goal.

I think Obama has a really good shot at 2012, I simply cannot see any of the Republican candidates mounting a reasonable challenge. Maybe Pawlenty. He's just crazy right-winger enough to appeal to the teabaggers, but just mainstream enough that serious conservatives might not have a heart attack voting for him. So hopefully the nominee won't be him :)

James Sweet @ #2:

I could see a Republican candidate going for the endzone and trying to appeal to serious conservatives, while leaving the Tea Party idiots in the dust.

And despite the Teabaggers' whining and raving about real conservatism and not voting for Mitt Romney under any circumstances - as long as Obama is black they're still going to vote for whoever gets the GOP nomination, even if it's Fred Karger. The trick is getting through the primaries, after that the Baggers will be in the bag. Unless, of course, one of the Tea Party favorites runs as an independent, but I don't really see that happening right now.

That's the problem with the overheated rhetoric - you can't tell your followers that Obama is the anti-Christian Fifth Horseman of the Communist Gay Apocalypse and then expect them to sit out the election because the GOP chosen one is slightly to the left of the right edge.

I'm assuming that Michele Bachmann will run as an indy if she is not nominate by the Republicans. All indications point in that direction, including the fact that god told her to be president, and that she's essentially a founder of the tea party which sees itself as independent.

Actually, neither is very attractive when they screw up their faces at real questions or are sneering their praise-the lord-Jeebus horseshit.

As far as intelligence, My 4 year old granddaughter far surpasses either of those two empty headed morans.

If Bachmann provides Palin with some opportunities to make some big money giving speaches, all will be forgiven.

Here's a handy guide:
http://people-press.org/2011/06/02/republican-candidates-stir-little-en… (last chart on the first page)

The only open question to me is which will be the candidate for President and which will be the candidate for Vice President

Oh, no, that made it look like I was supporting both of them. What I mean to say is that I can't wait to see the way that contest is settled. Targets? Wrestling? Bear Skinning?

Andrew: "I can't wait to see the way that contest is settled."

Well, they'll have a serious debate on American history and the relative merits of various political philosophies O_o

Then arm wrestle.

NewEnglandBob(no 6)wrote "As far as intelligence, My 4 year old granddaughter far surpasses either of those two empty headed morans".

The PROPER Teabag spelling is Maroon, please!

I think you might be unintentionally insulting your grand-daughter. Comparing her to Bimbo and Bimbette is setting the bar very low, no?

The GOP is going to win this one when, during a debate, Sarah and Bachmann have a classic cat fight, fall into a conveniently placed mud puddle, and suffer a highly improbable series of wardrobe failures that leaves nothing to the imagination but avoid censorship because, technically, all that was shown was mud.

I thought he meant he'd vote for Tina Fey.

Sarah Palin Responds to Crosshairs Maneno

gregladen — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 11:54:57 +0000

Sarah Palin Responds to Crosshairs Maneno

First, watch this:

Mention of crosshairs at 2:20.

Then, Gabby got her head shot through with a bullet.

Then (blood libel phrase is at ca 3:20) :

Notice how she forgets to use the term "alleged" ... so much for the fifth amendment. Notice the very intense attempt circumscribe responsibility and rip the event from context.

She is obviously FOS when she disavows her own responsibility, but at least she is repeatedly saying that debate should be peaceful. That does in fact knock the legs out of her overall rhetoric and will be used against her in the future by other teabaggers. It may also separate her from Michele Bachmann, who is mentally incapable of sticking with a non-violent position.

She spends way more time whinging about the post-tragedy finger pointing and relatively little on the tragedy itself.

She hits all the hot button issues, denigrates Democratic party proposals, mentions 9/11, and prays her ass off. As expected.

This is probably the best she can do.

For reference, here's Palin' Tea Party Speech:

gregladen Wed, 01/12/2011 - 06:54

Tags

A Jew gets shot in the head and Sarah Palin taking some criticism is the equivalent of the medieval blood libel. I suppose the criticism she's getting for using the phrase "blood libel" is exactly the same as the Bataan death march.

Or, more to the point, Arizona's first Jewish House member gets shot in the head, and Sarah Palin responds by using a virulently anti-Semitic phrase as a dog whistle to the rabid Right.

Alba... if that's you, i haven't seen you in a long time... =]

I keep commenting on Facebook when your Tweets crosspost there, but I don't think you see them.

No matter what she says, the message is always the same; 'I, Sarah Palin, am the real victim here.' In this case, not the dead and wounded, not the families, but Sarah.

@Alba - I mean further back than that. Did you used to post on the old DefCon blogs?

http://digitalcuttlefish.blogspot.com/2011/01/individual-responsibility…

Palm Springs man charged with threatening congressman

Greg, your embedded widescreen youtube videos are cut off. Since other scienceblogs.com blogs don't have this problem, I guess you just need to add an embed parameter or something.

I didn't know you could pile that much bullshit into 7 minutes an 43 seconds. Where do you begin? I suggest with idea that after 9/11 we resisted the desire to trade our freedom for security. Isn't it directly after 9/11 we stupidly passed the "Patriot Act" and tossed shitloads of our freedom in the dustbin?

Owen comment 10

"I didn't know you could pile that much bullshit into 7 minutes an 43 seconds. Where do you begin?"

That was nothing, she piled 59 minutes and 11 seconds into hr Tea Party speech.

Of course in her view the assassin's greatest crime was that for about 24 hours she wasn't the center of everyone's attention.

Attention whores are sensitive y'know.

The author John Scalzi has posted a handy "Palin Equivalence Filter" to help us all understand her better:

http://whatever.scalzi.com/2011/01/12/yeah-no/

if we ignore palin, do you think she will just go away. I mean, I don't care about her. Enough is enough. Every story that has to do with her gives her more publicity and validates her presence, well, she probably thinks so.

The first three sentences were an expression of sympathy.

The delivery was weird. All these strange head tossings, facial contortions, lip smacking and flinching. I am fairly certain a psychologist would say her heart was not in it.

Then after 32 seconds, the politics start; "Our country(head toss), our exceptional country". Downhill from there on. and after 1min 45sec, it is in full "Me! Me! Me!" mode she is.

If you, the American people, elect that woman to any office, you cannot say that you did not know. She is proudly and utterly ignorant, and a shameless opportunist.

We were warned....

gregladen — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:29:57 +0000

We were warned....

gregladen Mon, 11/23/2009 - 11:29

Tags

Palin

No work?

Nope, doesn't work. Embedding disabled, then "copyright infringement" on the linked page. Wah.

Ahah! Is it this one?

yeah, youtube says can't watch it in this country. just where are you posting from?

It got pulled

Google "Youtube SNL Palin 2012" to find the latest bootlegged SNL spoof on Palin.

It is very funny.

It is just OK. It is no "samurai warrior" or "Coke- no Pepsi"

Going Rogue: An American Life

gregladen — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 11:18:53 +0000

Going Rogue: An American Life

Going Rogue: An American Life is the name of Sarah Palin's new book, due out on November 17th.

Here's the publisher's summary:

From her humble beginnings to her time in the spotlight as the first female Republican Vice Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin has led an extraordinary life. Going Rogue will recount her political experiences, her time as Mayor of Wasilla and as the first female governor of Alaska, as well as her rapid rise on the national stage during the 2008 campaign. Additionally, she'll share insights into the personal challenges she's faced including balancing her time as a working mother, recognizing the war's impact with her son serving combat in Iraq, having a child with a disability and supporting her teenage daughter through an unplanned pregnancy.
Palin has received much attention through the media, but never before has her complete story been told in her own words. The memoir will be both a personal and political chronicle of her life.

gregladen Sat, 10/03/2009 - 07:18

Tags

Gotta love the Amazon suggestion:

Buy Going Rogue: An American Life and get Catastrophe at an additional 5% off Amazon.com's everyday low price.

Some people wear boxers, some people wear briefs, but Sarah Palin goes Rogue - see ignorance at its most distilled!

The must miss book this holiday season.

It will probably both sell well in the true believers circles. The main volume will be purchased in bulk by conservative think tanks and working groups as part of their welfare for party faithful program, typical purchase is one or two thousand doorstops per organization. Combined it, despite its vapid contents, may reach the best sellers lists. Which is the point.

Typical scam is that the book only gets published when the pre orders reach a certain point. The politician who gets set up in such a deal gets a generous advance and the help of one or more of the more popular ghost writers. The book comes out and is primarily sold to the usual organizations who purchase it as both welfare and a back door campaign contribution.

The ability to undertake such a scam and the profits from it cement the loyalty the wider organization. And there is every chance that Sarah Palin will be able to add "bestselling author" to her CV. Many a monitor and keyboard will be soiled by spewed a drink.

I can't remember, is "retarded" still considered an unacceptable term in book reviews?

Did Palin's ghostwriter get a flat fee or a share in the action? Inquiring minds are curious.

FYI: One of yesterday's highlihgts in adn.com (anchorage daily news) was Todd Palin resigned from bp.

If it's truly in her words, the publisher will have saved a bundle by only having to buy one period. Though those savings were probably more than balanced out by having to buy commas, dashes, and elipses by the truck load. Also.

NewEnglandBob, I thought that was called "going commando."

Now Sarah Palin and I will have one thing in common - neither one of us will ever read her book!

The book has a second title you know:

"Being Crazy: Life as a nutcase"

the honest title is of course:

"Sarah Palin: a Quitter's Life"

Oh, gosh. I SO cannot believe I am going to say thisâ¦

" a working mother, recognizing the war's impact with her son serving combat in Iraq, having a child with a disability and supporting her teenage daughter through an unplanned pregnancy."

This is a lot my tsuris than I have in my life for sure.

I still won't read the book, though. Well, maybe. I mean 'keep your enemies closer' comes to mind.

Oh, hell.

I keep misreading the title of the book as Going Rouge.

And that was before I saw Ms. Palin wearing a red shirt on the book cover. What bright spark thought that was a good idea?

of course, we all know that some definition of a rogue are: a criminal, a thief, a scoundrel - seems apt to me. I guess you can she she also went rogue when she cut loose from her handlers and opened her mouth, letting the world see how vacuous she truly is.

Palin fails to impress world

gregladen — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 06:20:16 +0000

Palin fails to impress world

Sarah Palin gave her first speech outside the US, to the CLSA Investors Forum, in Tokyo, on Reqaganomics, China and Human Rights, Tibet, and the economices of the United States and Asia. She apparently also covered Alaskan Moose. The speech was 90 minutes long. Several people left early, there was apparently some kind of non-disclosure agreement because the press could not get most people to issue any kind of opinion, and those who did opine were generally non-committal with some mildly positive, some mildly negative. Opinions gleaned from the CNN story:

"I can't say I was actually impressed," said Mel Goode, a business developer from New York who lives in Hong Kong. "She speaks well -- a broad spectrum of what her beliefs are, family views.
"She didn't get (into) anything too harsh ... just kept it, five children, my husband's here, we believe in what Asia's doing, America has a way to go to get itself back together, Reaganism."

"She did speak about the political implications of China's rise on Asia and the region, and China with America," he said. "I was quite impressed by her knowledge. It seemed like she did her homework now, this time around."

One of the most interesting features of the speech was the fact that it and the entire visit were kept in secrecy. People involved in the process generally declined interviews, or fi they were interviewed, they claimed ignorance. Apparently this secrecy was a condition of Palin giving the speech. "She has chosen to come here to speak to our clients on the condition that it would be closed to media so she could therefore have a candid conversation with investors as opposed to using this as a PR trip to promote herself globally."

But seriously, folks....

gregladen Wed, 09/23/2009 - 02:20

Tags

Palin

Republicans

Whose hand was actually in that puppet?

So when will we hear the thunderous denunciations from those Patriots in the loonysphere over Traitor Palin and her clandestine meetings with Red Chinese agents in Japan, a nation with a vast socialist healthcare system with all the deathcamps and blood sacrifices which that entails?

Ezactly Captain, as I recall the Rethugrican position for the previous eight years was that unelected, non-government persons (like former POTUS Carter & Clinton) shouldn't be allowed to interfer with international trade or politics.

Of course her handlers could be setting up an October Surprise ploy like Reagan did before he was elected.

Apparently this secrecy was a condition of Palin giving the speech.

Someone wanted her to talk badly enough to concede to demands?

By most of the sources I have read, tt was actually fairly well recived.

Of course her handlers could be setting up an October Surprise ploy like Reagan did before he was elected.

an October Surprise ploy â¦ really? You mean the batshit conspiracy theory that George H W Bush flew an SR-71 to Paris, met with an Israeli middleman for 45 minuets, negotiated with said middleman for the Iranians to hold off releasing the hostages until after the election, and then flew that same SR-71 back to the US for a campaign rally. A theory, and all of its ludicrously inane counterparts, that were to torn to pieces by two separate congressional investigations (led by Democrats to boot) and any number of investigative reports.

The âreality based communityâ could use an injection of reality.

This is the second time in as many days that I've heard that a conservative pundit did not want his speech publicized. It's like they're ashamed or afraid or something.

It was probably like listening to a high school prom queen give a speech. Inane and vapidly scripted, thus explaining the early departures from mind sucking boredom and disbelief this could've been someone almost POTUS. If the press had been allowed it would've been ripped apart for sure. There's probably lots of buyer's remorse from the attendees but tons of money made by the event coordinators.

There's ample enough evidence of outside arrangements with the Iranian Islamic coup government regarding the Iran hostages release timing during/after '80 elections without some cockamamy SR-71 story. Never heard of that one but then anyone can make that up and post it redherring real facts pointing to the treason done. Thank goodness the IranContra underhandedness is beyond reproach for Repugs to play 'wild conspiracy' accusations with that. Their political history is rife with anti-American policies to harm this country and fatten their wallets.

"Grass is green"
"Things fall down"
"Palin fails to impress world"
"Lightbulbs are bright when turned on"

I've heard some of the more negative comments, and the ones who left had nothing good to say about her knowledge, or her speech. The ones they've quoted said she talked about herself mostly, and made it seem like it was an "Invest Alaska" speech. She did say that if the press were involved she would have had changed her speech. Ya' think?

I do find it funny that the Cult of Reagan is so predominant. The way to bring the country back together is Alzheimers, jelly beans, astrologers, a failed economic plan, and illegal arms deals with terrorists. With a mix like that, how can you go wrong?

"Someone wanted her to talk badly..."

And, it seems, they got their wish.

Why do Palin and Bachmann have the same regional accent?

gregladen — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:22:58 +0000

Why do Palin and Bachmann have the same regional accent?

Well, there are different theories on this, and one is that there is a regional accent that runs from the great Lakes across central and western Canada and the norther Tier of the US. That's my theory, and I think it is correct. Furthermore, I think this accent is the product of Native American and Euro-Immigrant interaction int he 19th century through the depression.

But that theory, as with many of my theories, gets the White Folks mad because it attributes a feature they hold dear to subaltren little brown people and they tend to find that annoying.

Now we have a new theory that is not in conflict with mine but is more detailed.:

"...The reason Bachmann and Palin share a regional accent: A government-relief program in the 1930s populated Palin's home region in Alaska's Mat-Su Valley with Minnesotans..."

I like this theory because it is annoying, like my theory, but for different reasons. Teabag-dunking-luving Bachmann and Palin share a trait that comes from their similar backgrounds as the products of government assistance programs. Or at least linked through such a program.

So, what I'd like to know now, to balance the Palin-Bachmann level of government support they can attribute their very existence to, is what portion of Bachmann's income has been from the government over her lifetime. Now she works for the government. Before being in Congress she .... oh, she worked for the government. But before that job? Oh, she worked for the government. But what about when she was a stay at home mom back in the day? Well, actually, fostering several dozen children as she did, she was essentially working for the welfare department, wasn't she?

gregladen Tue, 08/11/2009 - 08:22

Tags

Michele Bachmann

Palin

Or it might be Intermittent Gunderson Syndrome. :-)

Was Bachmann really a foster parent? Usually I admire and praise people who do that, but in this case, I just feel bad for those kids.

Foster parent for 23 children.

All I know is that I have a similar accent (first learned to speak in Idaho, grew up in Wisconsin), and it cost me a job interview during the election cycle. Grr!

23? Good god! Isn't there a limit?

The Matanuska Colony is one of the great founding legends of Alaska. The 203 families were made up almost equal sized contingents from Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota with one family from Oklahoma thrown in for no apparent reason. Most of the colonists gave up and moved back to the lower forty eight in the first few years. By 1965, only twenty of the families were still farming in the valley. I've heard that there is a little pocket of people in the Mat-Su Borough with a Great Lakes accent, but in the twenty years I lived in Anchorage, I never met one. It's possible that Palin was part of that pocket, but Heath (her maiden name) is not on the list of colonist families.

What one wants here is someone with a properly trained ear, who can tell if Bachmann and Palin relly have thesame accent, as opposed to similar ones, and identify where it comes from.

Where's Henry Higgins when you need him?

Foster care is a racket. A state sanctioned quasi-criminal enterprise that primarily benefits women. Due to a near-complete lack of oversight, and definitional biases that put children into the "care" of women who by all definitions are 'abnormal,'and deviant, foster kids largely grow up nearly as fucked up as if they had stayed with their original parents.

Dude, Palin's from fucking Idaho. Although she moved to Alaska pre-speech, her parents are Idahoans.

And your point is, CPP?

but Heath (her maiden name)

Her unmarried name, you mean? ;-) I highly doubt she was a maiden.

Dude, Palin's from fucking Idaho. Although she moved to Alaska pre-speech, her parents are Idahoans.

CPP go fuck your fucking self. All you are is a trolling douche who rarely (if ever) adds anything to any conversation. Much like I'm doing now.

Health Care Protests: Obama Responds

gregladen — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:30:51 +0000

Health Care Protests: Obama Responds

It probably helps that Sarah Palin came out with an over the top statement on her facebook page.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

gregladen Mon, 08/10/2009 - 15:30

Tags

Palin

Republicans

I wish she would just go away.

I would like to see President Obama go on the offensive with this. He needs to campaign for health care reform even harder than he did for the Presidency. President Obama needs to get out there, visit every state, and face these liars down.

I wish they would all just go away.

Giving people the time to read through and analyze the document would help. I got a copy from here and the first impression I got was, legislation needs some serious formatting reform.

Still, it is available, but it is long, it is involved, and while I haven't really had the chance to give it a good reading, I would not be surprised to find contradictions and errors.

This is really something that needs to be discussed, honestly and openly. Accusing the other side of all sorts of nefarious misdeeds is no help at all. Sarah Palin did err in her statement, that I shall acknowledge. But, when people have no real knowledge of what a document says, of course they are going to make mistakes regarding that.

The problem with the Health Care Bill is that it covers too much. It does too much. I see sections in the bill that would improve health care and government coverage thereof, but crammed all together into one package makes it hard to study, hard to assess, and hard to discuss. Instead of a series of bills we could discuss, enact, or reject in a reasonable amount of time after debate between reasonable people; we get a bloated lump of paper too big to study and too big to assimilate in the allotted time.

Add in the demonization both sides are putting on. Accusing those you disagree with of being monsters and depraved. I don't need to accuse President Obama of being elected illegally to be against his programs and policies. Being a natural born citizen of the U.S. does not make him automatically right about a subject. (Besides which, even if he had been born in Kenya, his mother, being a natural born citizen of the United States herself and 18 years of age at the time of his birth, would make him a natural born citizen. So even if the Birthers could prove he was born in a foreign land, they would still not have proven he is not a natural born citizen.)

As far as I can see medical reform must first start with legal reform. Tightening the rules of evidence in civil cases, putting a mechanism in place to determine if a case has any merit and should go to trial. Extending the right to declare a case frivelous and a litigant vexatious to all courts would be a good idea. Jury reform is a must in any case. As you can see, it's not just a matter of establishing the principle of "loser pays".

Getting insurance out of the business of covering all medical expenses is another goal of mine. When people don't have to pay for something directly they lose sight of the costs. No coverage of basic medical care. Doctor visits, antibiotics, antiseptics, things like that. Reserve medical insurance for catastrophic and long term conditions. In addition, base fees and other payments on ability to pay.

Though in the long run the only sure way to lower health care costs is by coming up with better, thus less expensive treatments. Tuberculosis used to be very expensive to treat, with antibiotics the cost of treatment dropped to a pittance compared to the old costs. Come up with better ways to treat cancer, heart conditions, stroke etc. and you will---and we have---see costs fall.

I could go on about how self-destructive some people are, and how that affects health care costs and health care availability. I could go on about how we use facilities such as emergency rooms has changed how we use basic medical care and utilize access to our doctors. But this comment of mine has gone on far enough.

The point I really want to make is, don't demonize. Don't demonize the other because he is against what you're for. Don't demonize the other because he demonizes you. It's annoying, it's a waste of time, and it annoys the demon.

I would be curious as to what demonization the left has accused the right of doing.
As someone who has lived in the UK, Australia and the US, I just want to say one thing. National health care does not mean to private health care. Both the UK and Australia have private insurance. You get private elective health coverage faster (sometimes) but mostly it's for other things, such as a private room etc. in addition to the government care. Those with ultra big bucks travel to the USA-while those in the USA with no bucks die on the street.

Alan, if reporting the facts equates to demonizing, that's hardly the fault of the person doing the reporting. And people in the U.S. have hardly lost sight of the cost of health care. That's precisely why so many of them do without it.

I would like to see President Obama go on the offensive with this.

It must be hard to go on the offensive about this, when you started out by walking into negotiations with the insurance industry and ceding ground from the get-go. Obama and the Democrats are fighting a PR battle over the merits of a government role in health coverage. They might as well have had the balls to actually propose such a plan, since that, predictably, is where the fight has ended up.

As far as I can see medical reform must first start with legal reform.

This really isn't about "medical" reform. It's about insurance reform. Even if the bogeyman of "frivolous lawsuits" had any merit, the issue of the cost of delivery of care is not what's preventing people from getting the care they need. With the current system in place or with the Democrat's proposed "reform," any cost-saving would simply mean higher profits for insurers.

When people don't have to pay for something directly they lose sight of the costs.

This must be an example of a statement that that has such solid internal logic that one need not even look to the real world for verification. I mean, I pay absolutely nothing in premiums, and my co-pays are minuscule. So, naturally, I spend all my free time at the freaking doctor's office because that's my idea of a good time. Same with my coworkers, who also enjoy the great health coverage. Nothing ever gets done in our organization because everyone's living it up, getting checkups and antibiotics. Please. Go out and meet some real human beings.

No coverage of basic medical care. Doctor visits, antibiotics, antiseptics, things like that.

Because it's in the interest of public health (not to mention the continued functioning of our glorious system of free enterprise) to have a large chunk of the populace ill, infirm & hacking germs at us all the time.

Getting insurance out of the business of covering all medical expenses is another goal of mine.

Mine too. I'd like them to be out of the business of covering all medically-necessary care completely. I know what a doctor does. I know what nurse does. I know what techs and orderlies do. I can't figure out what health care service insurance companies provide, but somehow they make a killing by standing between people and their health care, and charging for access.

We will be able to cover everyone - and make sure that everyone actually has access to the care they're covered for - by streamlining the payment process, eliminating the wasteful, profiteering insurance companies, and having Medicare make all payments.

Stephanie,

The Left has accused the Right of being racist and Nazis. The Right has accused the Left of wanting to murder old folks, and of being Nazis themselves. That is the demonization i'm talking about.

The big problem I see in this debate is that people are saying things about the legislation without sourcing their statements. Take the accusation from the Right that the bill calls for killing old people. Apparently that comes from a section where the Feds are supposed to set up a mechanism whereby requests for treatment are to be assessed and approved or declined based on quality of life issues etc. It might be in there, it may not. But, the sheer size of the thing makes it hard to find out where it is, much less if it does what people are saying it does.

Insurance, public and private, already approves and denies treatment when it decides to pay for a treatment or not. Justify it however you want, that's what insurance is doing. The fear from certain quarters is that this will become formalized should the bill pass, and the criteria of effectiveness and appropriateness will be joined by an age criterium. Namely, is the patient too old to benefit from the treatment?

Equating Obama to Hitler is rather stupid, he's more like Mussolini. Calling the Right a bunch of Nazis is rather stupid as well, they're acting more like Anarchists. Invective does nothing to advance the argument, and far more to retard or even reverse it.

Passions get intense in situations like this, but acting out on your anger without direction is counterproductive. Learn how to use your anger effectively and you'll make more headway than you are now.

You said,

Because it's in the interest of public health (not to mention the continued functioning of our glorious system of free enterprise) to have a large chunk of the populace ill, infirm & hacking germs at us all the time.

Are you saying that basic care costs more than people can afford? Where do you live that the cost of basic health care has gotten so high?

Crazy Christian Preacher: Palin will be president, Obama is evil

gregladen — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:57:17 +0000

Crazy Christian Preacher: Palin will be president, Obama is evil

And a few words about Michele Bachamann. Oh, and he makes the claim that Dan Quail was brilliant. Brilliant!

Man, this guy sure does know how to babble. At least he admits that he is a moron several times.

More details and analysis here, at DMB.

gregladen Wed, 07/08/2009 - 06:57

Tags

Michele Bachmann

Palin

Republicans

What a dimwitted fuckwad this guy is. He is clueless.

He needs to kill himself immediatly, so he can go get his fictitious rewards in the delusional afterlife.

The religious delusions have a built-in insulation against that kind of thinking -- that suicide is a cardinal sin that will damn your soul. So, yeah. Ain't going to happen. And anyway, I agree he's a dimwitted waste of carbon and oxygen and resources, but we shouldn't be in the business of deciding who gets to live and who gets to die. Rather than trying to "weed" humanity, we should focus on preventing people from becoming so insulated from thought in the first place that they crystallize into this particular form of asshole.