Motley Moose – Archive

Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

Archive for January 2009

Moosieness

How long have you been sitting out there reading this and other blogs? Have you spoken up? Have you ever participated in one of these political websites?

Years ago I would check in with Kos and read the front page. I never really considered getting involved. I did not have a computer at home so would occasionally surf whenever I had free time at work.

After purchasing a computer a few years ago, I began to take more interest in what the internet has to offer. This brought me back to kos, salon, politico and so on. Kos was too big for me to feel safe to post. Additionally, I found that I did not care for the tone at kos any longer. I finally found MyDD and felt at home there for much of the primaries.

Hollede :: Moosiness  

I am astonished that I did not start posting on MyDD until late winter of 2008. I finally felt I had something to say and to be perfectly honest, I am not especially proud of some of my first comments. Ah, the primary wars. Will I ever feel so alive again?

I enjoyed MyDD until is became apparent that it descending into a dysfunctional site and the unhealthy elements were pulling me in.

Motley Moose came along at exactly the right time for me. In July or August I was invited to join a group of amazing people to start this blog. I am still humbled that I have been given this opportunity and hope that I have been able to adequitely serve this community. All of you have given me gifts beyond articulation. I wish I could participate more and return to serious discourse again, but for now I will remain Hollede, and hopefully help people laugh, sing and dance.

 

Sexy and Mysterious : I should really STFU now

Open Mouth, Insert Foot.

C’mon, admit ittttttttttt.

It has happened to you.  Probably when:

a) you don’t know anybody

b) you think you are hot shit.

Mix and match but it boils down to these 2 basic principles and you are on your way to doucheville.

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You know what I’m talking about. Normally your partner/family member gives you the disapproving look …

… while you are left with the Emoticons--oops Pictures, Images and Photos/I’m sorry’ eyes.

WIRED handed out the 2008 awards.

2 of my faves:

Two top Clinton strategists , Mandy Grunwald and Mark Penn stuck their old shoes in their mouths in November, 2007 – but the proof didn’t come until this year.

In November, they looked at Obama’s supporters in at an open political event in Iowa, and dismissed them. “Only a few of their people look like they could vote in any state,” Penn said. “Our people look like caucus-goers,” Grunwald said, “and his people look like they are 18. Penn said they look like Facebook.”

Take that deadenders!1!!

Whoops …

You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it’s not surprising then that they get bitter , they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

Heh. It happens to everybody and we’ve all had our moments when we say things we wish we could take back.

I’ll save my story for the comments but share your stories and lets laugh at each others expense and past humiliation.

My lounge diaries will now be a series titled Sexy and Mysterious starring the sexy and mysterious Spaceman Spiff.

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I’m sticking to what I know best ( rambling and thinking I’m funny ) and try to take a less serious look at shit. I’ll be handing out free candy to all that stop by and chill. Of course, my diaries are always open to thread jacking and going off topic. Consider them open threads if you’d like.

In that spirit, I’m sharing my first “real words” on this blog.

Some things just don’t have a point.

Kind of like there is no point for that maroon or olive green crayon. You know what I’m talking about. The olive green one that no-one ever uses and just sits there in the box until the entire fucking box is filled with the crappy pink, horrible browns and stupid olive green ones. And what the hell are you going to draw in maroon, pink and olive green? A Purple Striped Pink Polka Dot Dem? ( LOL!) Fuck! You get what I’m saying? No use for it, but you can’t run away from it either. It’s just there. The elephant in the room.  You’ve got to color between the lines and you have to deal with that dark mucus looking crayon if you want to get anything done. Eventually you’ll have to deal with it. Always up in your face. Fucking turd colored crayon. It would be great if that was just it. I could just pop that sucker in the microwave and delight myself with….

all.

the.

pretty.

colors.

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Shout out to Stipes! We miss you bro!

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, A Smart Choice?

Crossposted at MyDD and C4ODemocrats

So did you notice who was standing behind Kirsten Gillibrand and Governor Patterson and clapping away enthusiastically during the announcement of her appointment today? It was former NY Senator D'Amato, the Republican powerhouse who propelled the relatively unknown Pataki to the Governor's house at Albany. As soon as KG's name was announced, D'Amato's protege Republican Congressman Peter King put out a Press release which showed he is taking two steps backwards now from an almost certain Senate run at 2010. So what's going on?

NewsDay Article

Even Tweety and his talking heads were perplexed in his Hardball program today. (It is another question as to how poorly researched are these so called opinion makers and talking heads in our Cable Shows these days). Gillibrand, as it turns out is an interesting choice as noted in the following NYTimes article.

NYTimes Article

She comes from a politically connected family; her father is a prominent state lobbyist who once had close ties to former Gov. George E. Pataki, a Republican, and her grandmother was prominent in the formidable Albany Democratic machine. Ms. Gillibrand worked as an intern for a Republican senator, Alfonse M. D'Amato, and clerked for a federal judge appointed by President Ronald Reagan.

She actually interned for D'Amato and her dad was very close to Pataki..on the other hand she is very close to Hillary Clinton (having access to the Clinton donor machine), Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. Her politics is complex and intriguing. She is pro-choice, pro gay marriage, wants to withdraw troops from Iraq, opposes privatization of Social Security, but on the other hand is pro-gun (highly rated by NRA) and opposed the Wall Street bailout…

 Her politics, perhaps reflecting her conservative district, cannot be easily charted along a left-right axis. She earned a high rating from the National Rifle Association and opposed efforts to extend state drivers' licenses to illegal immigrants. At the same time, she favors abortion rights, voted to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq and to extend middle-class tax cuts, and she has opposed privatizing Social Security. She raises large sums of money from Wall Street, but voted against the first bailout bill last fall; that vote angered some Democratic leaders in Congress.

Alan Van Capelle, the executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, a gay rights group, said that he spoke by phone with Representative Gillibrand on Thursday night and that she spoke in favor of same-sex marriage. This would make her the first United States senator from New York to endorse gay marriage; Charles E. Schumer, the state's senior senator, opposes it.

“She spoke eloquently about the 1,324 rights that are denied to same-sex couples in New York,” Mr. Van Capelle said.

An aide to Ms. Gillibrand confirmed that she supports gay marriage.

She was an outspoken supporter of Mrs. Clinton's presidential campaign and has drawn financial support from prominent women's groups in Washington, not least Emily's List.

She has insisted, to the point of annoying Congressional colleagues, on openness in government, posting a “Sunlight Report” on her Congressional Web site listing her meetings with lobbyists as well as the names of individuals seeking government grants known as earmarks.

So what did Paterson's appointment of KG actually do? Surely it neutralized a strong challenge from Republicans (or at least one branch of the Repubs) during 2010 GE. On the other hand, it had angered a branch of the Democratic Party. But I think Paterson made a calculation that Cuomo will remember his failed bid in 2002 primaries against McCall when he angered several Black leaders in NY. So Cuomo may not challenge Paterson as a payback in 2010 Gubernatorial primaries, after all. As for Cuomo challenging KG, consider this, KG worked as a special counsel for Andrew Cuomo during Clinton Administration when he was the HUD Secretary…the only missing card is Guilani…and KG is very enthusiastic, publishes her daily schedule on her webpage, openly list her earmarks (Talk about open Government), and is a phenomenal fundraiser. With Clinton and Schumer supporting KG along with the Governor, I think Cuomo will think twice before challenging KG to a primary.

Well so folks, Paterson's move may not be as politically naive and bumbling as the TV talking heads are making out to be..I would wait and see ….

The Lounge: Favourite & Hate…

Okay – its Friday and really cold.  Since I’ve had a craving for pizza lately, I think its apt for the group here to share.

Favourite Foods and Most Hated politician…

For me its easy – no question favourite food:  Avocado

I can eat it until I’m sick, from guacamole to sushi – avocado rocks my world.  Too bad its one of the most fattening foods around.

As to Most Hated politician – also no question:  Mike Harris

From privatizing roads, water and utility services to over all corruption and is viewed by many as Ontario’s version of Bush.

What about you?

Beyond Controversy – BRIEFLY UPDATED

For some reason, thanks to these wonderful blogs, I often follow American media and newspapers more than English ones these days. Mostly it’s for the good. But I wonder if this would ever make it onto an American Network.

It’s from Channel 4 News which, along with BBC Newsnight, is the most respected current affairs show on TV. I actually only caught it thanks to the blogosphere. But there’s a big problem here…  

Moosiness

How long have you been sitting out there reading this and other blogs? Have you ever spoken up? Would you like to participate in one of these political websites?

Years ago I would check in with Kos and read the front page. I never really considered getting involved. I did not have a computer at home, and would occasionally surf whenever I had free time at work.

After purchasing a computer a few years ago, I began to take more interest in what the internet has to offer. This brought me back to Kos, Salon, Politico and so on. Kos was too big for me to feel safe to post. Additionally, I found that I did not care much for the tone there any longer. I finally found MyDD in late 2007 and felt at home there for much of the primaries.

Comments on Google and Privacy

I wrote this post on my own blog as a follow-up to a previous post about Facebook, Internet advertising, and privacy. I think there’s definitely a political side to these concerns, though, so I wanted to share it with the political blogs too. Your feedback is very welcome!

It’s also my first post here. Hi everyone! Anyway, here goes:

I have a lot of personal affection for Google. They’re a pretty cool company, they have a nice Northern California vibe, they do a lot of good, I like the April Fool’s jokes, I think they’d be a fun place to work, and just yesterday I noticed myself gushing about how awesome is Google Calculator (answer: very awesome). But, as I mentioned in my Facebook post from a few weeks ago, I also have significant reservations about Google that I would like to put in writing. So, please follow me below the fold for more!

Thank God the Grownups are Here

Finally, the drapes are ripped open and the cobwebs are being swept up and checked out. And a new feeling of openness is in the air.

Ooop! So not everyone is happy. Why is John Cornyn holding up Eric Holder’s nomination again?

I really wish someone would make me a picture of all of them in their future orange onesies and encased in leg and waist irons. Set to music. Oh hell, make me like musicals, and do a freaking Broadway show of the future bush chain gang.