Gone Fishin'

Off to the piney woods in search of some much-needed R&R. May check in from time to time. Or not. Have a good end of July!

Better than Velvet Elvis

Not to horn in on Instaputz territory, but it’s necessary to note that some wingnut bloggers are bewailing the ejection of a “Free Market Warrior” kiosk from a North Carolina mall, including Karl Rove’s favorite blogger.

Why is it necessary to note this utterly predictable kerfluffle? Because it provides an opportunity to mock some of the merchandise Free Market Warrior offers, such as this:

And to compare it unfavorably to this:

Seriously, do people really purchase such items? (I mean the "GOP President Jigsaw Puzzle," of course -- not the iconic "Dogs Playing Poker" painting, which is prominently displayed in all God-fearing homes.)

[Cross-posted at Rumproast]

Momsense

Good Morning America (curses upon them for refusing to allow video embedding) interviewed Secretary of State Clinton yesterday in New Delhi. Secretary Clinton had a fascinating take on several topics, including the manufactured controversy over her alleged “marginalization:”

President Obama's former rival in the Democratic presidential race scoffed at recent reports that she had been marginalized.

"How can it frustrate me, it's so ridiculous, there's no basis for it," Clinton said when asked whether she is frustrated by reports of marginalization.

"I could not be more satisfied working with the president," she said.

That blunt response won’t stop roosters from taking credit for crowing up the sunrise, but there it is.

Unlike Fox News military analyst Ralph Peters, Secretary Clinton believes captured American soldier Bowe Bergdahl is worth saving:

Clinton told ABC News the United States is "doing everything we can to locate him and free him."

"It's just outrageous," she said. "It's a real sign of desperation and inappropriate criminal behavior on the parts of these terrorist groups, so we are going to do everything we can to get him."

Clinton said she was not free to talk about whether the soldier, Army Pvt. Bowe Bergdahl, was still in Afghanistan. But she repeated her offer to welcome anyone supporting the Taliban to lay down their arms.

My favorite part of the interview was when Clinton described the new philosophy for dealing with North Korea:

Another major problem the secretary faces is North Korea, which has tested missiles and has been relentless in its pursuit of nuclear weapon capability. Clinton acknowledged that the Obama administration has shifted its approach toward North Korea by not responding to its provocations.

"We weren't going to give the North Koreans the satisfaction they were looking for, which was ... to elevate them again to center stage," she told ABC. "What we've seen, constant demand for attention. Maybe it's the mother in me or the experience that I've had with small children and unruly teenagers and people who are demanding attention. Don't give it to them. They don't deserve it. They are acting out to send a message that we're not interested in receiving."

Clinton added that she doesn't know whether North Korea will go ahead and launch a long-range missile but, surprisingly, downplayed any threat from the country.

"We understand their capabilities, which are not all that great frankly, their military doesn't pose a threat to us," she said. "We know our allies -- Japan and South Korea -- are very concerned. They watch what we watch and we know what's really going on there."

Lord knows I’m no diplomat, but this is a refreshing change from the Bush era approach of pretending every tin-horn despot and blustering bully was an existential threat. I’m so glad the grown-ups are back in charge.

[Cross-posted at Rumproast]

All-Star Delusions

Last night, the president threw the ceremonial first pitch at the All Star Game in St. Louis. It was hard to assess the quality of the pitch thanks to Fox’s shitty camera angle. But as Steve M. over at No More Mr. Nice Blog notes, wingnut codpiece worshipers like Gateway Pundit quickly dubbed it a “sissy pitch” and compared it unfavorably to the Worst President Ever’s post-9/11 toss. Because that’s what really matters.

And in fairness, I think former Andover cheerleader George W. Bush did throw a better pitch than former Punahou School basketball team stand-out Barack Obama, though it was hard to be sure thanks to the geniuses at Fox.

But was Obama roundly booed as the mouth-breathers are claiming? You be the judge:



I’d call it a mixed reception – some cheers, some boos – and not too surprising in a state McCain carried by less than 1 percentage point. Now this is booing:



And this. Also:



[Cross-posted at Rumproast]

Pugilistic Pegs Pummels Palin

Ho ho ho, wingnut smack-down alert! I knew from the moment she literally called bullshit on the Palin pick that Peggy Noonan wasn’t wholeheartedly on board the SS Sarah. But damn! Magic dolphin believer and Reagan saddle-sniffer though she is, Pegs sees the Wingnut Thrillah from Wasilla's true colors:

In television interviews she was out of her depth in a shallow pool. She was limited in her ability to explain and defend her positions, and sometimes in knowing them. She couldn't say what she read because she didn't read anything. She was utterly unconcerned by all this and seemed in fact rather proud of it: It was evidence of her authenticity. She experienced criticism as both partisan and cruel because she could see no truth in any of it. She wasn't thoughtful enough to know she wasn't thoughtful enough. Her presentation up to the end has been scattered, illogical, manipulative and self-referential to the point of self-reverence. "I'm not wired that way," "I'm not a quitter," "I'm standing up for our values." I'm, I'm, I'm.

In another age it might not have been terrible, but here and now it was actually rather horrifying.

Then Pegs demolishes fellow wingnuts’ Palin reclamation project recommendations with a series of jabs and a roundhouse punch in the snoot:

"She makes the Republican Party look inclusive." She makes the party look stupid, a party of the easily manipulated.

"She shows our ingenuous interest in all classes." She shows your cynicism.

"Now she can prepare herself for higher office by studying up, reading in, boning up on the issues." Mrs. Palin's supporters have been ordering her to spend the next two years reflecting and pondering. But she is a ponder-free zone. She can memorize the names of the presidents of Pakistan, but she is not going to be able to know how to think about Pakistan. Why do her supporters not see this? Maybe they think "not thoughtful" is a working-class trope!

"The media did her in." Her lack of any appropriate modesty did her in.

Yowza! Pegs is the Shep Smith of the Wall Street Journal opinion page. Rock on, sistah!

[Cross-posted at Rumproast]

Guest Post: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton

[Editor's note: We are extremely honored to have Secretary of State Clinton here at our humble blog. Take it away, Madam Secretary!]

I’m right here, pinheads!

By the Honorable Hillary Clinton, United States Secretary of State

My fellow Americans, I’ve been extremely busy lately, working hard to move this administration’s agenda forward all over the world. About a week and a half ago, I met with Israeli Foreign Minister Lieberman about freezing settlement expansions, which are often a roadblock to peace in that troubled part of the world.

To emphasize our focus on a two-state solution and promote economic development in the region, I also spoke with Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the Palestinian Authority Salam Fayyad last week.

And today I’m meeting with the rightful President of Honduras. My goal is to underscore this administration’s support for that nation’s duly elected leader, who was recently ousted in an unlawful military coup.

I was scheduled to visit Italy and Greece late last month to attend meetings with Group of Eight counterparts on Iran, the Middle East peace process and the Afghanistan War and to participate in a meeting with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe about tensions between Russia and Georgia. However, I had to cancel that trip because I’m recovering from surgery on my elbow.

In light of all these activities and the success this administration has had in defusing tension throughout the world in the wake of George W. Bush’s disastrous presidency – success I was instrumental in achieving – you’d think I’d get some credit and recognition, if not from my political enemies, at least from those who say they support me, right? Wrong.

According to this nitwit and her “sources” at Michelle Malkin’s Hot Air blog, I’m not one of the most powerful women on earth and a tireless advocate for peace and prosperity around the globe. According to her, I am a helpless victim of dastardly men, locked away in a tower like Rapunzel.

Talk about insulting and demeaning. Yeah, those folks at The New Agenda have “got my back” alright – I can feel their shivs. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a meeting with President Zelaya to attend. Someone tell Barack it's time to remove the shackles.

What does Sarah Palin's resignation mean for women in politics?

Nothing. This is all about Palin. I see several possibilities:

1. Maybe she’s resigning ahead of a scandal.
2. Maybe she’s leveraging her current high profile to rake in some speaking fees and / or do a Huckabee-style Fox show rather than dealing with the nasty business of governing.
3. Maybe she wants to get the hell out of Alaska before the snow flies.
4. Maybe she wants to concentrate on her family.
5. Maybe she wants to start a Palin Defense League and go after her critics.
6. Maybe she’s following her well-established pattern and bailing to go after a bigger job.
7. Maybe she’s surrounded by sycophants who didn’t tell her how this would look.

Her resignation might mean any or all of this. But what it doesn’t mean is that poor old Palin was driven out of politics by mean old sexism. It doesn’t mean we’ve reverted back to Mayberry circa 1960.

This is Sarah the Barracuda we’re talking about. The sitting governor who yucked it up with a pair of shock jocks as they called an opponent (and cancer survivor) a “bitch” and a “cancer” and implied the opponent didn’t like her own children. The candidate who eagerly joined ancient sexist and crude jokester McCain’s campaign.

And we're supposed to believe Palin got the vapors over a comedian making a tasteless joke and photoshop job on a blog? Yeah, right. Pardon me if I fail to lock arms with the wounded sisterhood over Palin’s exit from the Alaska governor’s office, which some would have us believe is “a dark moment for our country:”

What am I going to tell my daughter?

That was the first thing that popped into my mind this afternoon after watching Governor Palin step down.

My 11 year-old daughter adores Sarah Palin. She is too young to understand pro-choice and pro-life. The difference between drilling and being environmentally cautions. My daughter looks at Sarah Palin and she sees herself.

Forgive a mother’s brag, but my almost-11-year-old daughter seems to be a little more politically astute. She doesn’t totally get the pro-choice and pro-life thing, but she knows it’s an important issue that sharply divides conservatives and liberals. (I had to explain that to her 5 years ago when one of her friends -- whose parents’ views closely mirror those of the Palins -- told her she shouldn’t vote for John Kerry in the elementary school’s mock election because Kerry thinks it’s okay to “kill babies.” Thanks for making me explain abortion to a 1st grader, wingnut assholes!)

As a junior activist in the local “Save the Manatee” organization, my kiddo understands environmental issues pretty well. She thought Palin’s “drill, baby, drill!” shtick was both dumb and short-sighted.

Who knows -- the kid might rebel and disgrace us someday by growing up to be a Republican activist or country music singer. But the point is, even at that age, kids are capable of understanding the basic stuff and comprehending why people might disagree vociferously -- and even call each other names, which we adults learned on the playground, after all.

Palin -- and Hillary Clinton even more so, in my opinion -- were subjected to sexist attacks during their campaigns. Big fat duh there. Obama was subjected to racist attacks. Again, duh. That’s wrong, and it should be called out when it happens.

But to act as if the latest melodrama from a wingnut flake blots out the noon-day sun and dashes hope for women and girls nationwide is, well, stupid and hysterical.* I didn’t agree with Palin about much during the campaign, but there is some truth to what she said here.

Palin knows how to rev up her fan base, so she’ll no doubt run with the martyrdom meme if it gains traction. But this Vagina-American ain’t buying it. I hope to see a woman president someday, but one who supports women’s issues (like the Ledbetter Act, for example), not George W. Bush in drag. Even my 10-year-old kid gets that.

*I am aware that “melodramatic,” “flake,” “stupid” and “hysterical” can be used as slurs against women. They can also be earned labels for either sex. And in this case, they are.

[H/T: Wonkette. Cross-posted at Rumproast]