http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/ezraklein_archive?month=10&year=2008&base_name=the_best_t hing_ive_read_all_ca
you are the media you consume.
106-year-old voter chooses Obama
Sister Cecilia Gaudette, who last voted for President Eisenhower in 1952, has registered to vote and says she will vote for Democrat Barack Obama. Although hard of hearing, she keeps herself informed by reading newspapers and watching TV at the convent. "I'm encouraged by Senator Obama," she says. "I've never met him, but he seems to be a good man with a good private life. That's the first thing. Then he must be able to govern," she adds. Sitting in her modest office in the convent where she has lived for the past 50 years, the diminutive nun appears uninterested in the row inside the American Catholic church over Senator Obama's support for pro-choice policies on abortion. Asked about her hopes for the US under an Obama presidency, she says: "Peace abroad. I don't worry about the Iraq war because I can't do anything about it. Lord knows how it will end." "It is very complicated," she said. "Those Eastern people are not like we are."
Although hard of hearing, she keeps herself informed by reading newspapers and watching TV at the convent.
"I'm encouraged by Senator Obama," she says.
"I've never met him, but he seems to be a good man with a good private life. That's the first thing. Then he must be able to govern," she adds.
Sitting in her modest office in the convent where she has lived for the past 50 years, the diminutive nun appears uninterested in the row inside the American Catholic church over Senator Obama's support for pro-choice policies on abortion.
Asked about her hopes for the US under an Obama presidency, she says: "Peace abroad. I don't worry about the Iraq war because I can't do anything about it. Lord knows how it will end."
"It is very complicated," she said. "Those Eastern people are not like we are."
Alrighty then!
BTW, I very much agree with the dude who can't stand Obama but will vote for him anyway because he wants the government to take over the banks and WallMart. Pretty much sums up my position. :D "Pretending that you already know the answer when you don't is not actually very helpful." ~Migeru.
Russia's Putin gets tiger cub for his birthday
MOSCOW (AP) -- There's no doubt what Vladimir Putin's favorite birthday present is this year -- a rare Ussuri tiger cub. State television showed the Russian prime minister tenderly petting the 2-month-old female cub Friday at his residence outside Moscow. The cub, weighing about 20 pounds, was curled up in a wicker basket with a tiger-print cushion. Putin said a good home will be found for the tiger, presumably in a zoo or wildlife preserve. He hasn't decided what to call her, but is leaning toward Mashenka or Milashka. Putin refused to say who gave him the cub for his 56th birthday, which was Tuesday. He called Russian journalists to his country home late Thursday without telling them why. Past midnight, after asking them "not to make noise, make a clatter or squeal," Putin ushered the curious journalists into the room where the tiger cub was waiting. As president and now prime minister, Putin is known for his tough talk and macho image. But children and animals seem to bring out a softer side. His dog, a Labrador retriever named Koni, is often with him, even during meetings with world leaders. He told journalists that Koni has not met the tiger cub. In August, Putin had occasion to pet a full-grown female Ussuri tiger after shooting her with a tranquilizer gun. He was visiting a wildlife preserve in Russia's Far East and shot the 5-year-old tiger as part of a program to track the rare cats, also known as the Siberian, Amur or Manchurian tiger. Once the tiger was asleep, Putin placed a collar with a GPS tracking system around her neck. Television footage showed him patting her cheek.
State television showed the Russian prime minister tenderly petting the 2-month-old female cub Friday at his residence outside Moscow. The cub, weighing about 20 pounds, was curled up in a wicker basket with a tiger-print cushion.
Putin said a good home will be found for the tiger, presumably in a zoo or wildlife preserve. He hasn't decided what to call her, but is leaning toward Mashenka or Milashka.
Putin refused to say who gave him the cub for his 56th birthday, which was Tuesday.
He called Russian journalists to his country home late Thursday without telling them why. Past midnight, after asking them "not to make noise, make a clatter or squeal," Putin ushered the curious journalists into the room where the tiger cub was waiting.
As president and now prime minister, Putin is known for his tough talk and macho image. But children and animals seem to bring out a softer side.
His dog, a Labrador retriever named Koni, is often with him, even during meetings with world leaders. He told journalists that Koni has not met the tiger cub.
In August, Putin had occasion to pet a full-grown female Ussuri tiger after shooting her with a tranquilizer gun. He was visiting a wildlife preserve in Russia's Far East and shot the 5-year-old tiger as part of a program to track the rare cats, also known as the Siberian, Amur or Manchurian tiger.
Once the tiger was asleep, Putin placed a collar with a GPS tracking system around her neck. Television footage showed him patting her cheek.
Being at the Salon was a mess, as I was attending a formal dinner with my wife for her association, and had to leave before the main course. And I only finished reading the book in the plane the day before, and my first impression was negative (thankfully, I got word from a common friend that DeVine's a good guy).
But the conversation itself in the Salon went well, and was pretty constructive. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
Use the money to pay off the national debt.
I'm Drew J Jones, and I approved this message. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
We could give you Essex, I suppose.
Yet.... Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
I'm trying to think up an European parallel to those two loons -- but can't... *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
;) Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
I really wish you did not feel the need to repeat that. I fail to see how it is informative or funny.
I disagree, and I think you're taking it far too seriously. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
Listen: Neither "magic" nor "negro" explain Obama's weird cult of popularity. They are both made-up ideas, simplistic concepts to explain complicated realities. I don't mind crass, offensive stuff if it makes you sit up and think (like Bill Hicks or Matt Taibbi.) But this does just the opposite; it discourages reflection. Much easier to accept that we're all under some magical charm instead of accepting that maybe we just sleep better with someone who assures us we are good people on a valid mission (America! Democracy! City on a Hill!) even though we currently appear to be destroying everything in our path, including ourselves. We need to be told we're better than this. Barack tells us we're better than this. Much easier to feel good about voting for a black man (see, we're not racist anymore!) than make any personal sacrifices for the underclass who have suffered most because of their perceived race (many of whom we're currently blaming for having the audacity to try to own a home when their employers refuse to pay them enough to afford one thereby causing a complete global financial meltdown). If Obama can be elected, we don't need to feel so much guilt about those people living in the ghettos. Nothing magic about it. He meets our national identity needs and looks fabulous doing it.
Also, you know that if some old white man got up at a McCain rally and referred to Obama as "the magic negro" we would all be freaking out. "Pretending that you already know the answer when you don't is not actually very helpful." ~Migeru.
Also, you know that if some old white man got up at a McCain rally and referred to Obama as "the magic negro" we would all be freaking out.
The term was popularized by Rush Limbaugh, and I've used it consistently as a means to mocking him and those who think like him.
And I don't disagree with what you wrote. I've noted elements of it in the past. But -- and you've done this many times -- you're taking something I've said and warping it into something it most certainly is not. It's not meant to be informative. Funny? Yes. You don't think it's funny. Fair enough. Even if you find it offensive, you could simply say so, and, as I responded to Fran, I would've responded in the same way to you.
You think it's destructive. Fair enough. Say so in the original response instead of blowing what I thought was pretty clearly meant as a harmless joke (as in every. other. case.) so out of proportion. Not everything has to have some great meaning, poemless. At least not as I see things. You apparently disagree, and that's your problem, not mine. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
It came up here sometime early in the summer. I posted the youtube video of the Al Sharpton imitator singing "Barack the magic negro..." on Limbaugh's show.
