The Gay Thing: Arizona Joins Marriage Equality States; Alaska Re-Joins

Well, well, well. As my favorite blogger Joe Jervis at Joe.My.God. is fond of saying, "Zoom, zoom." We've basically racked up 12 states in 12 days into the marriage equality camp. That puts us--unless my math is wrong--at 31 states plus Washington DC with same-sex marriage! 19 (plus Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, etc.) to go!

These two states are particularly shadenfreude-filled, because both states have had a lot of anti-gay animus from the GOP leadership. A hearty Nelson Muntz "Ha ha!" to anyone feeling even a modicum of discomfort over this subject. And perhaps, in addition to the futility of obstruction seen in Nevada and Idaho, this will illustrate to other states that are dragging their feet. It's quite simply a waste of money to try to delay any longer, particularly in any state where a Circuit Court has already ruled. Texas, Louisiana, Ohio. . .your circuits haven't ruled yet, so you have a (tiny) ledge to stand on here. But I wouldn't throw much of the budget at it, if I were you.

[Excerpt]

Supreme Court Allows Gay Marriage In Alaska

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday allowed gay marriage in Alaska to go into effect, increasing the number of U.S. states that permit gay marriage to 31. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

[Excerpt]

Judge strikes down Arizona's ban on gay marriage

A federal judge has cleared the way for legally recognized gay marriages in Arizona by ruling that the state's ban on same-sex unions is unconstitutional. The ruling Friday by U.S. District Judge John Sedwick bars state officials from enforcing a 1996 state law and a 2008 voter-approved constitutional amendment that outlawed gay marriage. . .

Read more at: MSN/AP

Sarah Palin Hillbilly Hoedown Turns into Drunken Brawl

Keep it classy, Sarah. Image from source, Raw Story

Please tell me there's video. . .

[Excerpt]

Anchorage police confirm Palin family involved in heated Saturday night brawl
 
The Palin family was reportedly involved in a messy fistfight on Saturday night that involved at least 20 people in Anchorage, Alaska at an event sponsored by the annual Iron Dog snowmobile race. Details are still sketchy, but Wonkette.com reported Thursday morning that a spokesperson for the Anchorage Police Department confirmed that members of the Palin family were involved in a public fight in Anchorage on Saturday night, but that no arrests were made because no one pressed charges. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

Right Wing World: Sarah Palin Advocates Impeachment

You know, because when it comes to matters as serious as the impeachment of the President of the United States, I always look to half-term, half-wit governors from states with a population that is dwarfed by 17 US cities. I'm aware that I should ignore this shrill, past-her-prime mean girl, as attention (and money) is what she thrives on. But as long as Right Wing World looks to this clueless twit as some sort of political guru [get better heroes!], she's not going away. And when she stirs up shit, it tends to splatter around.

So, Palin adds her endorsement of the idea of impeachment. Someone will have to explain to her that it doesn't involve actual peaches, I suppose. Her reasoning seems sort of screwy to me. But we know from the Bill Clinton impeachment that the right will use absolutely anything as a reason. It's not so much an impeachment for a specific reason, but one just for the sake of it. Just like last time. But last time, it just made Clinton more popular, set his wife on a wave of sympathy and congratulations, and probably lead to the upcoming candidacy of Hillary Clinton.

But, I'm telling you. When Nancy Pelosi said, "impeachment is off the table," in regard to George W. Bush, the right should have taken that great gift, and returned the favor. Because if any president deserved impeachment, it was Dubya.

Image from source, NewsCorpse

[Excerpt]

Impeachment Fever: America Rejected Sarah Palin, Now She Rejects America
 
The “Quitta From Wasilla” is making headlines again by displaying symptoms of acute Obama Derangement Syndrome. Sarah Palin, the 2008 GOP nominee for Vice-President, who was soundly rejected by American voters, is now calling for the impeachment of President Obama (again), who was elected twice with significant majorities. . .

Read more at: NewsCorpse

Koch Brothers Behind Huge Anti-ObamaCare Effort

One of the weirder ironies of today's politics is the fact that conservatives hate "ObamaCare," have done everything they could to sabotage it, kill it, disparage it. . .and yet they continue to pretend they're upset that it has been beset with problems as it ramps up. And they're not finished yet, oh no! The Koch Brothers--the right's version of George Soros, except there are two of them, and they work against Americans' best interests--are putting big money into fighting the ACA behind the scenes.

They're actively trying to prevent people from enrolling, down to the level of asking for pledges. This continuing sabotage works in multiple ways. The negative advertising continues to make the ACA seem like a bad thing, and if they're successful in preventing people from signing up, they can help ensure that it actually has a harder time shaping up. And yet, the Kochs still do all of this mostly from the shadows. The average American doesn't know that "Americans for Prosperity" or "FreedomWorks" exist, and if they do, they just think they're patriotic-sounding organizations.

It makes you wonder exactly what's in it for the Kochs if a bunch of Americans don't have affordable health care. What good does a bunch of sick, bankrupted Americans to the Kochs? Or is it enough to try to make the President look bad?  And there's a deeper question I keep coming back to, with the Kochs, Sheldon Adelson, Foster Friess, Rupert Murdoch and so many of these conservative billionaire benefactors: why do these impossibly rich old men care so much about being just a bit richer? You know what, at least George Soros contributes to causes that don't line his already stuffed pocketbook.
 

Right Wing World: Sarah Palin/Louie Gohmert 2016?

This is submitted without comment, except to say that FreeRepublic.com is basically Tea Party Central, and this is a direct screen grab from that site. And to say that This. Would be. Hilarious.

 

Wonkette Wins The Internet for Their Sarah Palin Senate Story

Seriously, they win. I cannot improve upon their headline, nor their summation. So, let's get on with it.

[Excerpt]

Idiot Half-Term Governor Pretends To Consider Applying For Senator Gig Of State That Still Hates Her

Good news, America! Her ex-royal highness of the meth capital of Alaska and the poster child for why teaching “abstinence only” to your gaggle of children will just make you a grandma that much faster has deigned to make words that sound like she will maybe possibly consider thinking about potentially mulling an attempt at getting the folks up thar in Alaska who still can’t get the bitter taste of her stupid out of their mouths. . .

Read more at Wonkette

Sarah Palin for Senate?

Image from Wonkette

Never ready to admit that one of their unlikely heroes has lost whatever luster he/she had, it looks like Sarah Palin's name is being floated on the right, for Senate. Hopefully, this is just the wishful thinking of some Alaska tea baggers. On the other hand, as difficult as it can be to tolerate Palin when she's in the spotlight, she's a comedic goldmine. Actually, I thought that vein had been completely tapped out, but that's because she has no real reason to be in the spotlight these days. To be fair, she ran her 15 minutes out to 4+ years. Now, she's only good for trolling Twitter with the occasional faux outrage bomb. But if she ran for Senate? Suddenly--even though her qualifications and abilities are very, very limited--she's relevant. Ugh.

Do I really have to get back in the habit of trying to translate her authentic frontier gibberish again?

[Excerpt]

Alaska Teabaggers Find Exciting Fresh New Face For U.S. Senate (It Is Sarah Palin)
The Tea Party Leadership Fund — wait, what? teabaggers are still a thing? apparently, yes, all both of ‘em — has an AWESOME new plan to save ‘Merica from Harry Reid and the Dumbocrats, and it’s so simple, it can’t fail. It goes like this: 1) Make a website. 2) Use it to encourage other “Tea Party Americans” to draft Sarah Palin for Alaska’s Senate seat. 3) Capitalist gold-plated big gulp-sipping freedom unicorns for everyone! . . .

Read more at: Wonkette

Joe Miller Just Won't Give Up

I don't really care about Alaska politics, but anyone would have to admit that after the Harry Reid/Sharron Angle battle here in Nevada, the Senate race in Alaska was one of the more interesting of the 2010 election. Lisa Murkowski's write-in campaign was historic, even if the results were down to the wire.  In close elections, the person perceived to be the winner is usually the winner. So, it is important to keep the thing in the air, to make it seem as though you are the winner, even if you don't know.

If you're George W. Bush, you get lucky, and the United States Supreme Court appoints you to office (but no precedent, just this once!). If you're Al Franken, you're lucky enough to both be certified the winner, and be running against a hardcore douche nozzle like the odeous Norm Coleman, who nobody wants to win anyway. If you're Joe Miller in Alaska, I guess you're just hoping for the tea party and Sarah Barracuda Palin to be enough to drag you over the finish line.

But mostly, I'm just running this piece because the folks at DailyKos picked the perfect video clip to run with it.

[Excerpt]

AK-Sen: It's not over until he runs out of courts.

As Joe Miller's statement yesterday makes clear, his quest to have the courts overturn the results of his failed election bid isn't over yet. While he won't stop Murkowski's victory from being certified and her being re-sworn in next week, he's leaving the door open for his continuing federal court challenge to undermine the basis of her victory and, he hopes, an ultimate certification in his favor which the Senate would accept. . .

Read more at: Daily Kos

Barbara Bush Thinks Sarah Palin Should Stay in Alaska

Me too, Bar, me too.  Because [chuckle] I think it would work out quite well for her.

Does Murkowski Win Mean Palin Ain't All That? And a Bag of Moose Chips?

Image from source, CNN

I wasn't going to comment on this story again, unless something big happened. But the headline just kind of spoke to me. Thanks to Stupid Monkey Planet for the link.

[Excerpt]

Murkowski victory a stinging rebuke to Palin and extreme partisans

Sen. Lisa Murkowski's win should be a wake-up call for the Republican Party.
The Alaska senator's courageous decision to fight on after losing a closed partisan primary was rewarded with the first write-in Senate victory in a half-century. It is a stinging rebuke to Sarah Palin by her fellow Alaskans. . .

Read more at: CNN

Lisa Murkowski Defeats Joe Miller in Alaska Senate Race

Image from source, Huffington Post

So is a Nelson Muntz "Ha ha!" moment or a Lisa Simpson "Meh?"  More meh, I guess, since the party that would win the Alaska Senate seat was never in dispute. What was unusual was that Lisa Murkowski lost her Republican primary, and still managed to win on a write-in vote. That almost never happens. But the ha ha comes in when you consider that Joe Miller was almost as big a nut as Sharron Angle and Christine O'Donnell. All Sarah Palin endorsements, and all losers. Okay, so that's a BIG ha ha moment.

[Excerpt]

Lisa Murkowski Defeats Joe Miller In 2010 Alaska Senate Race



History, the GOP, the tea party, Sarah Palin and her own mouthful of a name worked against her. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski conquered them all Wednesday, becoming the first Senate candidate in more than 50 years to win a write-in campaign. . .
 
Read more at: Huffington Post

FOX "News" Crew Mocks Sarah Palin's Alaska During Station Break

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

Does the Tea Party Even Understand Their Own Position on Things?

Whenever I've had an argument with a staunch, FOX "News"-watchin,' Sarah Palin-lovin,' tea baggin' conservative, I've found them to be very emphatic on their positions. But if you ask one, or perhaps two follow-up questions, they dither. They get exasperated, flap their hands, and act as though everybody knows what they're trying to say, so why should they have to say it?  It may be an overgeneralization, but it is at least common that many do not have a depth of knowledge on very many issues. They know their position--usually in a catchy soundbite--and maybe a couple of nuggets of information that might have a feeling of truthiness.  But then they sputter out.

This is usual behavior for low information voters, but these folks listen to Glenn Beck every danged day, right? He's supposed to be a font of heretofore undiscovered information. But they're only hearing the high (or low) points.  Somehow, armed with vagaries and buzzwords, these folks have managed to take control of the political message this election season.  It's a little scary.  But let me show you what I mean.

Here's Rachel Maddow up in Alaska, talking to a bunch of Joe Miller supporters. Now, right away, any conservative reader is saying, oh, SURE, MAD-COW.  But put aside your taunts and silly insults, and find one single thing that Maddow says or does that is unfair or unbalanced here.  And watch these people dither.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Rachel Maddow Interviews Alaska's Joe Miller

Score one for Rachel Maddow, considering that after her last interview with a Republican (Oregon's Art Robinson) didn't go so well. I figured it would be a looong time before she got another chance. This one plays like a scene from The West Wing, with Rachel interviewing Miller while they walk. He's probably just trying to get away from her, which he ultimately does. But I don't think anyone could say that she didn't give a fair interview.

Levi Johnston for Mayor of Wasilla: A Bridge to Somewhere!

Run, Levi, run!



Found at: Joe.My.God.

Levi Johnston. . .Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska?

Image from source, HuffPost

Hahahahaha! Oh, it hurts! They may call this kid dumb, but I can't think of many other ways he could cut to the heart of Sarah Palin, or at least her resume. Please tell me that Kathy Griffin put him up to this!

[Excerpt]

Mayor Levi Johnston? Wasilla Campaign Part Of Reality Show
From Playgirl to ... politico?


That's right: Levi Johnston's manager, Tank Jones, is confirming a report that Johnston is planning to run for city office in his hometown of Wasilla, Alaska, as part of a reality TV show. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Sarah Palin: "Worst Governor Ever!"

Well, duh.  Also.

Sarah Palin Constructs Ugly Fence to Keep Out Evil Journalist

Image from source, The Mudflats

I don't know if the journalist who moved next door to Sarah Palin has any nefarious intent. Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't. But Sarah's response was spectacularly white trash, wasn't it? That's one doozy of a fence right there.  And yeah, this may be a non-story, the kind of thing Sarah pumps up to keep her name on the tips of our tongues across this great country of ours. All of 'em! Also, too.  But the writeup below is ten kinds of funny, and the commentary is even funnier. Dig in, have a good time.  Because while Sarah Palin looves attention, I don't think she likes it much when we point and laugh.

[Excerpt]

Photo of the Day: Palin’s Fencetrosity

Well, here’s the new fence. It’s quite the… fencetrosity. The whole thing has the look of someone taking an already high fence, and then finding another fence like it only of a different color, and stapling that fence on to the other fence, only a couple feet higher, creating some kind of awkward layered fence hybrid that looks like it may topple over at any moment. And it’s far more horrible looking from her side, than from the neighbor’s side. That’ll show ‘em.


Read more at: The Mudflats

EDITED TO ADD: My favorite assessment of Sarah Palin. . .

Sarah Palin's Alaska!

Couldn't resist. . .

Even Alaska Doesn't Want Sarah Palin to be President

Image from source, HuffPost

If she can't make it there, can she make it anywhere?

[Excerpt]

Sarah Palin 2012 Opposed By Majority Of Alaskans

A majority of Alaskans would oppose Sarah Palin if she were to run for the presidency in 2012, according to some intriguing if not surprising poll numbers released on Tuesday.



A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in Alaska found 48 percent of respondents said they would not vote for their former governor in a 2012 presidential election. Just 41 percent said they would vote for Palin. Eleven percent said they were undecided. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Thanks to my friend Tracy for the link.