Open Thread - Tuesday

Amy sent me a lovely picture. It shows that pigs may not fly, but they swim very nicely...

Thank you, Amy. They're very cute.

Sarah Palin could win first prize in a talent show

The Palins magical history tour

Sarah Palin decorated a bus to embark on a tour, but doesn't want to disrupt people's vacations. She's playing hide-and-seek with the media, which guarantees maximum coverage, as nobody knows where the circus is going to turn up next. The stupid media fell for it and are all scrambling from one place to another, asking her idiotic questions about her record and her prospects. The media should have done some homework about her record and ask some decent questions instead of letting her frame the narrative.

Yesterday she told reporters that she quit as governor because of all the frivolous ethics complaints:



In 2009 she told Bill O'Reilly something completely different.



The media lets Sarah Palin get away with changing her stories time and time again, as long as they get some face time with her. She stated that a possible campaign will be unconventional and has made it very clear that she won't have a proper interview with a proper journalist. Whether she talks to the media or not, she sells copy, she generates hits and keeps the media bosses happy and their bank accounts healthy.



It's seems easy to dismiss Sarah Palin, she looks ridiculous and talks gibberish, but there's a serious side to all this.

We're all too familiar with Sarah Palin's real story on this blog and can't take her seriously as a candidate for anything. But the US is a big country, there are too many low information people out there who are entitled to vote. There are still too many racist people who can't stomach the idea of having a black president. There are the dreaded Diebold machines and corrupt politicians who will manipulate elections. George W Bush was elected twice... The majority of the media don't take their job seriously anymore and treat a profoundly ignorant celebrity as a serious politician. Sarah Palin as a candidate is a real possibility.

The political discourse in the US has deteriorated quite considerably in the past two years and the deciding factors for who gets chosen to run and who will ultimately win has become a third rate talent show, just the kind of competition the likes of Sarah Palin could win. She created an attractive act, where politics is reduced to slogans and her colourful personality shines through. What people see are her clothes, her hair, her hunting, fishing, climbing and biker stunts, her "Real American" persona, her family, the regular mother and housewife with a fire in her belly. Her opponent is boring in comparison. He's serious and talks in complete sentences, uses too many long words, dresses and behaves appropriately.

The possibility that the election of the president of the most powerful and influential country in the world could be decided in an inane talent show frightens and disgusts me.

A colourful, exciting act

Open Thread - Monday

We had a trip around France yesterday, so let's have some French music to go with it.

This is happy video. People of all ages, shapes and sizes enjoying a good dance!



I'll include the lyrics, even though they're in French...

Danse tant que tu peux danser, danse autour de la terre,
Libre comme un poisson dans l'eau, comme un oiseau dans l'air,
Léger comme le vent qui danse dans les arbres
Ou le mât d'un bateau qui danse sous la vague.

Danse tant que tu peux danser sur les pavés, sur l'herbe,
Sur une table de bistrot, à l'ombre des tavernes.
Viens, laisse-toi porter par toutes les musiques
Qui sortent d'un piano ou d'un vieux tourne-disque.

Danse tant que tu peux danser, danse autour de la terre,
Danse dans les bras de Céline ou Thomas,
Danse pour retrouver l'amour et la folie,
Danse pour éblouir ton âme qui s'ennuie.

Danse tant que tu peux danser, danse autour de la terre,
Pour ne plus porter sur ton dos la mort et la misère
Et tu verras jaillir les sources souterraines,
Et les torrents de joie qui coulent dans tes veines.

Danse tant que tu peux danser, danse autour de la terre,
Danse pour qu'un printemps nouveau balaye les hivers.
Danse comme l'on vit, danse comme l'on aime,
Danse comme on écrit sur les murs un poème.

Danse tant que tu peux danser, danse autour de la terre,
Danse tant que tu peux danser. Viens, le bal est ouvert !
Danse tant que tu peux danser, danse autour de la terre,
Danse tant que tu peux danser. Viens, le bal est ouvert !

Remembering...

Our reader Grasshopper made this a long time ago and today he remembered to send it to me. It speaks for itself.

Thank you, Grasshopper.

Thank you to the fallen.

Sarah Palin, so demure and dignified! (Pigs might fly)

Sarah Palin's appearance at the Rolling Thunder event is still dominating the news about her, so here's a round-up of the day's idiotic quotes and the best pictures.

Sunday, May 29, 2011
"I love that smell of the emissions." - Sarah Palin

Drill Baby Drill!

Yes, it makes sense... Acid rain is great!

Further quotable moments:



It's very hard to get quotes, it was the usual word salad. Was she getting upset towards the end of the interview?

We all agree that she highjacked the event, so let's just have a pictorial. Thanks to all who sent links to the Reuters photos.

Not very nice hair

You can't do very much with it

Yes, Sarah, it's a mess

No sunglasses, Bristol?

Piper is growing up too fast...

A big cross appears for a photo-op

Bristol at the rally

Bristol before the rally

I can't help being frivolous today. Bristol's face seems to be settling down. It looks a bit better than it did at the Candies event, don't you think?

Bristol at the Candies event

Finally, I would like to highlight a lovely tribute to Sarah Palin's emissions quote, by reader Mellybel.

Very fitting!

Very wise...

Open Thread - Sunday

Today we're going on a gastronomic tour of France, courtesy of Humming Charlie. [Charlie sent us a photo of a terracotta cat she spotted on the same trip, which featured in an earlier open thread.]

I added photos of the places so we can picture Humming Charlie walking, eating and taking the beauty of this country in its full glory.

Chinon

Rocamadour

Sarlat

Conques

Millau

Mont Ventoux

Suzette

Villefranche-sur-Saone

Champs Elysees

Charlie sent these pictures thinking of my other blog, Do I Smell Burning, which is abandoned at the moment. No worries, we have the daily open threads to share anything...

Thank you, Humming Charlie. This trip made me hungry!

Sarah Palin - the shameless opportunist rides again - BONUS PHOTO

I'm too disgusted and can't find the words to comment on this woman right now. Strangely enough, Fox News caption asks if it's Rolling Thunder or Stolen Thunder.

Why did the guy stress it's not a campaign event? Is the bus tour part of her campaign? I thought it was a non-political educational tour...

So far, I've spotted Bristol, Piper and Todd . The whole family makes me sick, but Sarah Palin's voice in this clip is particularly revolting.

Yes, she did highjack the event, as expected. She doesn't have any shame and there's nothing or nobody she won't use for her own ends.

Over to you. Your comments will be a lot better than anything I can say at the moment.

BONUS PHOTO

It never fails....

(H/T to UQ)

Sarah Palin - Venom, Paranoia and Opportunism

An article by Paul Jenkins on the ADN paints an interesting picture of Sarah Palin, even though he criticizes Frank Bailey quite harshly. Jenkins contrasts the "truth" as shown in the film "The Undefeated" and the truer picture that may (or may not) emerge when the long awaited government e-mails are released.

Enter Bannon [the film maker]. Forget the painfully obvious Goebbels shots and ask yourself this: Which of the two scheduled releases -- the emails or the propaganda film -- do you think is most likely to provide the truer picture of the lovely Sarah P.? Which will do her the most damage if she decides to stop playing coy and announce for the presidency she can see from her new house in Arizona?

The emails are going to be -- if released in readable form after passing through lawyers' hands and being scrubbed by the governor's office -- delicious. There likely will be little good news in them for her. Having read only snippets of emails in Palin staffer Frank Bailey's book, "Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin," or "Hey, I Got Emails Nobody Else Can Get and I Can Make Some Dough," the venom, bullying, intimidation, absolute paranoia and craziness of the Palin administration spins off the pages.

I'm afraid that nearly three years is plenty of time to redact, lose and tinker with these e-mails, so there won't be much left to offer a true picture of the quitter governor. The simple fact that these e-mails were not released promptly, considering Palin's very short tenure as governor, tells a good story, even if the e-mails won't. It indicates that she had a lot to hide, open and transparent that she is...

Reminded of her transparent opportunism, I wonder if we'll catch a glimpse of the newest biker chick in town along the Rolling Thunder route.

Rolling Thunder schedule

North Pentagon Parking Lot, Arlington, VA. Opens 7:00 am on the Sunday before the Monday observing Memorial Day.

The 2011 run takes place on Sunday, May 29th.

The run departs the parking lot at noon and takes several hours (from start to finish) to complete. The area police have many streets restricted so the only entry is via the North Pentagon parking lot.

What am I saying? Of course we'll hear something about Sarah Palin at the Rolling Thunder event! After all, Memorial Day is all about her. Everything is about her.

Even Fox News agrees that she's trying to steal the Rolling Thunder.

Open Thread - Saturday

As we've been talking about motorcycles, Pallottine reminded me of a photo he sent me a while back. I goes very well with the present theme...

Pallottine wrote:

Here is my mother-in-law, all 4ft7in, of her. Nancy is 89 yrs old. Her parents came from Palermo, Sicily. She was back in New Jersey visiting family. She was not just posing for this pic, but actually cruised the area around Hackensack and the Jersey shore. The fella up front is her nephew Billy, an undercover detective.

Nancy is a fine lady, Pallottine. She may be physically small, but has great stature in other ways. Thank you for sharing.

[A little note to my dear friends: The target has been reached, so please don't send any more donations, yes? Thank you all very very much!]

Sarah Palin was invited to insult the memory of veterans after all

The controversy about Sarah Palin and the Rolling Thunder event continues. Rebecca Mansour had been tweeting songs up to May 17 and has been silent since then, so somebody else had to tweet on Sarah Palin's behalf. Enter Ben Smith, of Politico:

He links to his own article explaining that Sarah WAS invited after all. Very neat.

Only it doesn't cut any ice with veterans who regard this event with the respect it deserves. One of our readers feels very strongly about it:

The last time I was at the Wall (ten trips and counting) it held me there, captive in my grief and memories as I painstakingly ran my fingers through the engravings of the names of fifteen men I knew, served with and in several cases carried their lifeless bodies to the medevac. I wept and shook and was comforted by several Vets or family members, most of whose eyes were as wet and swollen as mine. Being inside the perimeter of the Wall is an emotional event for many people, more so if you know a name or names. Now Sarah Palin is coming, intent on making this somber and emotional day into a media circus. In that regard she has already hijacked the MSM from the true purpose of Memorial Day. This is not about her, this is about honoring people who made the ultimate sacrifice. Instead the press will cover her, throwing in meaningless crap about the real activities of the day. She needs to stop, these men and women died for our freedom and she intends to hijack that for her own personal gain and to feed her low or absent self esteem? Please someone stop her from showing up.

As for the Alaska Veterans who supposedly invited her to ride and speak. Have you no brains? What were you thinking she would do with this? Did you invite your REAL Governor? Lt. Gov? Did you invite you Senators? Representatives? NO, you didn't, you invited a media whore politician whose only claim to fame is she is a failed half term governor and loser as the VP candidate in the last national election. Do you have any idea, of course you do. You KNEW she would accept because it would give her a chance to run her mouth in political discourse. Yet this day is NOT about politics so why invite the biggest political whore on the planet? You did it because someone paid you off or called in a favor. Your actions are as disrespectful to the men and women who served with you and paid the ultimate sacrifice, maybe in some instances giving their lives to protect you. How dare you politicize this event? HOW DARE YOU?

Other people, not necessarily veterans, made their views known in the comments section of Ben Smith's post:

"Sorry but I'm NOT taking my harley to ride in a teabaggers bike rally to kick off the traitor's fake campaign along with her successionist (sic) hubby Todd. UNAMERICAN and a slap in the face to Vets!"

"The NATIONAL organizer said she wasn't invited and not speaking. Her staff has been known for covering for her after screw ups. I'm sure Joseph N. Fields III doesn't speak for the national organization. Hopefully she's only getting herself overexposed again. You in the political press are sick to fall for her schtick once again."

"Palin wants to exploit Rolling Thunder for her own benefit, something she does to her own kids. Bet she'll spare no expense on the publicity. It's all image for Sarah and no substance."

"She was invited by the head of a veterans advisory council in Alaska who is a friend of Palin's and a political appointee. While he is a well-respected veteran in some circles, being invited by an individual is not the same as being invited by an "Alaska Veterans Group." After all, an official State of Alaska advisory board did not- and these days would not- invite Sarah Palin to anything. An individual who happens to be a member of the advisory council did. ps Can you imagine what Palin would do if someone was trying to crash her party?"

"Rolling Thunder began as a way to draw attention to all the MIAs. Lets not forget those who did not come home and who remain unaccounted for. Gov Pallin has become a distraction and should drop out of the ride."

Sarah Palin said her tour, which kicks off at the Rolling Thunder rally, is not political, but the gaudy decorations on her bus include a clear invitation for people to follow the tour on www.sarahpac.com. She claims her aim is to educate Americans about the enduring truths that made the country great, blah blah blah.

PAC stands for Political Action Committee. It's not an entertainement committee, it's not an education committee (I can't see that Sarah Palin could possibly educate anybody on anything, let alone when the word truth is mentioned).

Her POLITICAL Action Committee put out an ad for the tour.



The fact that her "non-political" tour will start by insulting the memory of so many, hijacking a genuine event organized by people who don't have time for Sarah Palin and her circus, doesn't bode well for the rest of the tour.

As her tour progresses, she will insult many more people and the intelligence of those who actually know their history.

Open Thread - Friday

Let's visit Grasshopper's garden again. He tells me he's particularly fascinated with the deep colour of the pansies. It feels like a very peaceful garden, a lovely place to sit, read a book and listen to the birds.

I confess I'm green with envy... we live in an apartment!

Thanks for sharing, Grasshopper.