Motley Moose – Archive

There’s nothing like a long road trip for allowing time to think. Many, if not most, of the thoughts are silly or nonsensical. However, some seem worth sharing.

Pre-trip thought: God, I love Google Maps.

9:30 pm – 1 am CST

The trip from Memphis, Tennessee to Genesee county Michigan is 800 miles. The first portion runs east on I-40 from Memphis to Nashville. This leg of the trip is a little over 200 miles. It seems longer. I came to the conclusion that it feels longer, because it is running east instead of north. It doesn’t feel like the trip back to Michigan begins until you get to Nashville. No wonder it seems so long.

Another thought that came to me through this stretch is that Tennessee is a beautiful state with more than its share of bigots and small-minded people. The Tennessee Republican Party gives the Texas Republican Party a close race for the most offensive state political party in the country.

Sarah Palin loves Alaska!  She’s a true-blue loyalist, fighting for her folks at home!  

Or, no, it can’t be…

AKMudraker at MudFlats has this story for us:  

GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is effectively turning over questions about her record as Alaska’s governor to John McCain’s political campaign, part of an ambitious Republican strategy to limit embarrassing disclosures and carefully shape her image for voters in the rest of the country.

This is not going over well in Alaska.  I’ll use my usual caveat that there are lots of Alaskans who happily subscribe to the “Sarah right or wrong” mentality, and will continue to do so.  However, the progressive take on this whole latest mess is only slightly short of taking torches and pitchforks and surrounding the Attorney General’s office, demanding an end to the stonewalling.  I’ve watched Alaskan progressives that I personally know go from saying, “Wow! I can’t believe I voted for a Republican!” to, “She’s doing OK.  I don’t agree with everything, but I don’t regret my vote” to being so furiously seething angry they just can’t say anything.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/3…

Looking pretty good:

When asked why we were attacked on 9/11, Sarah Palin answered because the terrorists hate our freedoms.  While she has been derided for her lack of foreign policy experience, she may have come up with the most innovative program yet to deter terrorists: taking those freedoms away.  

Just like many Middle Eastern countries, Mayor Palin punished the women of Wasilla for reporting rape.  Her administration charged them substantial fees for the rape kits used to prove the crime. After being attacked, a Wasilla woman could look forward to being billed up to $1200 in return for a grueling forensic pelvic exam.

Sarah Palin has provided the ultimate example of why a female candidate is no substitute for a candidate who cares about women.  Compare Palin and Biden’s records on violence against women, an issue on which both sides normally agree.  The political right may not always prioritize the cause, but it does not disagree that domestic violence is destructive of families and that rape is fundamentally wrong.  Yet Palin sailed right past apathy to downright punishment of women for reporting rapes.  

Good morning everyone!

John McCain supported the privatization of Social Security.  While I strongly and emphatically opposed such a notion, I honestly don’t mind disagreeing with the other side on actual policy.  I was thrilled beyond words that President Bush’s odious effort failed spectacularly, but at least it was a discussion of actual policy.  Score one for intelligent discourse and all that.

But remember how this privatization was going to work.  These people wanted to hand over control of a large portion of Social Security to the very same firms that are either out of business, going out of business, or in danger of going out of business.

Guys, we need this to be the number one talking point.

Much has been made over the past few days about Obama taking McCain to the mat on the economy, and rightfully so.  The pundits are worried.    Can Obama seize the moment?  Can he make his plan resonate with the American people?  Can he get to the “kitchen table issues?”  A first response will come in the form of a two minute ad that will be airing beginning today.  

Much has been made over the past few days about Obama taking McCain to the mat on the economy, and rightfully so.  The pundits are worried.    Can Obama seize the moment?  Can he make his plan resonate with the American people?  Can he get to the “kitchen table issues?”  A first response will come in the form of a two minute ad that will be airing beginning today.  

I wasn’t phased when the federal government stepped in to help Bear Sterns.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are quasi-governmental institutions. It makes total sense that the government would step in to help out.

Today, I learned that AIG is too big to fail. Fair enough. I don’t have a problem taking steps to avoid a global financial crisis.

The policies that George Bush and John McCain have pursued have finally resulted in World Peace and harmony between the United States and Muslim extremists.

Today in Yemen, Islamic Jihad celebrated the New World Order of tolerance and understanding by exploding a “car gift” outside the gates of the US embassy in Yemen.