Yep, that's what Jon Stewart said at the top of his show where he introduced Harry Markopolos on his March 8th show. Markopolos is the fellow who (back in 2000) blew the whistle on Bernie Madoff.
The man who spent nearly a decade trying to blow the whistle on what appears to be the largest Ponzi scheme in history has achieved a kind of hero status within the investment world. He is poised to reap both fame and fortune from a disaster that has cost the investors of Bernard L. Madoff as much as $50 billion.
So, would you be surprised to learn that Sarah Palin has two sets of rules, the ones she preaches (that she wants you to live by), and another (easier, for the empowered elite, by which lives)? No? I didn't think so.
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin -- who has gone to great lengths to hype the supposed dangers of a big government takeover of American health care -- admitted over the weekend that she used to get her treatment in Canada's single-payer system.
"We used to hustle over the border for health care we received in Canada," Palin said in her first Canadian appearance since stepping down as governor of Alaska. "And I think now, isn't that ironic?"
OK, now this one is just fun. We just learned that ex-Governatrix, Sarah Palin's recent appearance on The Tonight Show (with old/new host Jay Leno) was digitally altered to make her appear more appealing. Yep, that's right, according to an individual who was in the audience, she totally bombed in her stand-up routine, and was not nearly the media darling that she appeared to be during the ham-handed, softball interview.
"Who needs teleprompters when a studio can simply insert canned laughter?
I've dealt with sound engineering for 30 years, as a film maker, interviewer, musician, working with master reel to reel tapes/decks at EMS Music in Seattle in the 80's as a sound duplication engineer, or setting sound levels for my and other bands in live situations at shows. I won a Hollywood award for animation in 2000. I know sound. And it's my opinion that audio portions of Sarah Palin's March 2nd appearance on Jay Leno's Tonight show were added or amplified, edited before broadcast to make it appear that Sarah Palin was more welcome than she was.
I know. I was there."
Makes you wonder how much of what we "witness" on TV has been faked (yes, I'm talking to you Fox News)
"They added laughter where there was none during uncomfortable portions. Well, there was some laughter. Mine, of derision. During those pregnant pauses in her performance I was laughing long and loud, couldn't help myself as much of what she was saying was utterly surreal, ridiculous, hypocritical - nonsense, spewed platitudes, pushed buttons. I was seriously thinking of leaving as it was getting hysterically unfunny.
After sitting through the taping of the show in the studio I can recount many portions where there was little or no laughter or response, but at the later broadcast they are smoothed over with applause and laughter that WERE NOT THERE at the taping. Groans, hoots, grumbling, or just dead silence - all missing."
Oh yeah, truth in reporting makes us want to add that the person who made this blogpost, was not only a former resident of Alaska (says he live there for 12 years), but is no fan of Palin.
This just in, Sarah Palin is on the dole...Apparently ex-Governatrix Sarah Palin and her over-blown entourage of assistants, nannies, and security folk, descended "like locusts" on an Oscar swag suite, gloming onto freebies in a binge that "practically cleaned the place out," celebrity gossips reported today. Apparently, the former Alaska Gov's pigout included jewels from Pascal Mouawad, watches by Skagen and a fancy new hairdo for her daughter Willow. Witnesses said that the new coiffure came courtesy of Erick Orellana, Jennifer Aniston's longtime hairstylist.
The Los Angeles Times reported Palin was supposed to donate all of her gift items back to the Silver Spoon Oscar Suite for auction, as well as $1,700 of her own cash, in support of Red Cross efforts in Haiti and Chile.
The entertainment news outlet quoted an unnamed vendor who said that as many as 20 people from the Palin camp swarmed the event.
Nice to know that she is still thinking like a politician, "If i can see it it is mine. If I can put it in my pocket it's mine. If one of my people can pick it up and carry it out, it's is mine!"
No really, United States Senator Jim Bunning, (R) Kentucky is delaying a deal in Congress to extend unemployment benefits. Some states will be hit harder than others if Congress doesn't act to reinstate benefits that Brunning doesn't want you to have.
As long as Jim Bunning delays a deal in Congress to extend unemployment benefits, states around the country will see unemployed Americans start to lose those benefits.
But seven states will be hit harder than any others: Florida, New York, Texas, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Georgia.
All of them will see an average 10,000 or more workers each week lose their benefits this month if Senator Bunning continues to hold up legislation, according to the National Employment Law Project (NELP), a New York-based advocacy group for employment rights of lower-wage workers.
Some folks have to work extra hard at being ass-hats, Jim Bunning isnt one of them. To him it seems to come natural.
Yep, you read that right, there is (finally) a backlash to the nonsense of the Tea party Movement. Unlike their "counterparts" (and fools like Jim Bunning). Here is a salient, reasonable pitch for the movement.
According to the party's Mission Statement:
The Coffee Party Movement gives voice to Americans who want to see cooperation in government. We recognize that the federal government is not the enemy of the people, but the expression of our collective will, and that we must participate in the democratic process in order to address the challenges that we face as Americans. As voters and grassroots volunteers, we will support leaders who work toward positive solutions, and hold accountable those who obstruct them.
As reported by The Washington Post, the Coffee Party movement movement is being positioned as an Alternative to the stances of Tea Party members. Currently is is a fast-growing movement on Facebook.
As I've said on a number of occasions, I can't help but to feel that if a universally acknowledged plan that was accepted by everyone to solve the Heath Care issue in this country was proposed by a Democrat the Republican Party would unilaterally shoot it down. Needless to say I feel that the reverse is also true that is the exact same plan were proposed, but by a Republican, the Democrats would poke holes in it.
Well, take a look at what the Republicans are currently doing (as filtered through the camera lens of The Daily Show, and Jon Stewart's satiric wit.
No, no, I'm not talking about the Jon Stewart smack-down of the right-wing(nut) demagogue talking heads (including former Dark Lord...er VP Dick Chaney Glen Beck) along with their cronies who addressed the CPAC convention in DC. OK, OK, I'm sure that they are all not nutjobs, and that some of them believe the nonsense they spout, but I can't imagine that any of the speakers at this "Woodstock for Conservatives" actually do.
...a political movement that represents the interests of ordinary people in their roles as taxpayers, consumers, employees, citizens, and parents. To coin a phrase, progressivism champions government "of the people, by the people, for the people."Given this mission, one might expect all democracies to be made up predominantly of one or another Progressive parties. Unfortunately, this isn't the case.
And if retrograde thinkers like Glen Beck have their way they won't
As for Liberals being the enemy, I refer you all to comments made by Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits, who was elected President of the US during the final season of The West Wing). Here is an exchange between him and Arnold Vinick (Republican candidate for President, during that same show), that took place during a "televised" debate between the two candidates.
Santos: It's true. Republicans have tried to turn liberal into a bad word. Well, liberals ended slavery in this country. Vinick: A Republican President ended slavery. Santos: Yes, a liberal Republican; what happened to them, Senator? They got run out of your party! What did liberals do that was so offensive to the Republican Party? I'll tell you what they did. Liberals got women the right to vote. Liberals got African-Americans the right to vote. Liberals created Social Security and lifted millions of elderly people out of poverty. Liberals ended segregation. Liberals passed the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act. Liberals created Medicare. Liberals passed the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act. What did Conservatives do? They opposed them on every one of those things, every one. So when you try to hurl that label at my feet, 'Liberal,' as if it were something to be ashamed of, something dirty, something to run away from, it won't work, Senator, because I will pick up that label and I will wear it as a badge of honor.
Personally, I don't consider myself to be a liberal. I'm a conservative. I was when I originally declared as a Republican, and I still was nearly 30 years later when I left to join the Democrat party. I didn't change, the party did.
I sincerely believe that we are basically a nation of centrists, but that there is so much dissension between the extremes ends of the political spectrum that if a Democrat were to develop the ideally-perfect plan to end all of the problems in the US, that (even if absolutely everyone agreed that it was the ideal solution), the Republicans would block it from passing.
Conversely, if a Republican were to propose that exact same ideally-perfect plan, that (again, even if absolutely everyone agreed that it was the ideal solution), the Democrats would block it from passing. I feel that what passes for governing in this country is really about blocking any idea that isn't "ours," because somehow it is perceived that doing nothing is better than allowing "the other guy" to get credit for doing the right thing.
Anyone who has either seen the 1977 version of (what was once) Star Wars (and is now Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope), or has seen any of the subsequent DVDs of this classic bit of Sci-Fi space opera will appreciate this bit of silliness.
True, it is a tad long (clocking in at nearly 20 minutes), but it is really well worth it for the true Star Wars Geek.
I urge you t not only watch it all, but, well, sit through the end credits for the cut tag-out at the end.
By now you've all heard how the ex-Governatrix (over) reacted to the Valentine's Day episode of The Family Guy, well, as it turns out, the actress (Andrea Fay Friedman) who voiced "Ellen" — the character who was depicted as having Down syndrome — actually does have Down syndrome herself.
Friedman recently responded to Palin's comments on Fox by saying:
My name is Andrea Fay Friedman. I was born with Down syndrome. I played the role of Ellen on the "Extra Large Medium" episode of Family Guy that was broadcast on Valentine's day. Although they gave me red hair on the show, I am really a blonde. I also wore a red wig for my role in " Smudge" but I was a blonde in "Life Goes On". I guess former Governor Palin does not have a sense of humor. I thought the line "I am the daughter of the former governor of Alaska" was very funny. I think the word is "sarcasm".
Friedman then continued her comments by taking the opportunity to deliver her own little Gibb's-slap to Alaska's ex-Governatrix by saying:
In my family we think laughing is good. My parents raised me to have a sense of humor and to live a normal life. My mother did not carry me around under her arm like a loaf of French bread the way former Governor Palin carries her son Trig around looking for sympathy and votes.
So, I'm going about my day yesterday, and I see this little bit of nonsense from the Bill O'Reilly show.
It seems that this past Tuesday night, the ex-Governoratrix appeared on O’Reilly's show in her capacity as a Fox News analyst, and was questioned about an episode of The Family Guy in which a female character with Down syndrome is on a date with Chris and says that her mother is the former governor of Alaska. As you all know, Palin, resigned from that post last year, has a son, Trig, who has Down syndrome.
After showing the clip from the episode, O’Reilly asked Palin, “It’s pretty nasty, is it not?”
Palin replied, “This world is full of cruel, cold-hearted people who would do such a thing.”
The odd thing about this bit, for this observer is that, well, to anyone who has watched more than the odd clip or two of the show knows that it is safe to say that, as Chris is something of a brain-dead moron, and his father, Peter is — quite literally — too stupid to live (and was once declared retarded on the show) are both probably more mentally handicapped than the Down syndrome gal on the date with Chris.
Seth McFarlane (the show's creator) has literally mocked every target in his sights, so to say that he is a hater, seems, well, a bit odd. Further, every episode holds virtually every cast member (especially Peter) up for ridicule. So, when watching you have to look past what you are seeing, to try and see what McFarlane is really saying.
What this (and various other tactics from the Right) seem to indicate the lopsided notion that free speech is for everyone, so long as you agree with what we have to say. This was never clearer than in the Presidential campaign when Former Secretary of State, Colin Powell came out in support of Obama, and the Republican spin machine stepped up to say that "Real West Virginians" were squarely behind McCain.
Such a dick move is the way these people try to discredit anyone who disagrees with them, as if there is only one opinion and it ids theirs. Sure you want to spin the story to you, but I'm so tired of the way they try to do it by running the other guy down. This is such a juvenile way to do it, and well, it is really starting to backfire.
Needless to say, Family Guy Rules, ad Palin (and O'Reilly) are tools.
Yeah, everyone likes to kick a loser when they are down, and well, these days, everyone's favorite target seems to be the ex-Govenatrix herself, and well, we'd feel sorry for her, but, well she we know that she seems to invite this type of firestorm on herself, all by herself, even without the "assistance" of the "Liberal, elite media".
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, in a nod to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, wrote a faux shopping list on his hand in dark pen Tuesday in response to reports over the weekend that Palin had written notes to herself during the Tea Party Convention this past weekend.
By way of comparison, I want to point out that if a student had done this (write answers on their hand) in school, during a test, they would have, in all probability, been suspended and flunked the test. The least thing she could have done was to apologize for having committed such a gaff, but she didn't. Nope, she came out the next day with the words "Hi Mom" written on her hand for the cameras to catch.
You just know that if a Democrat had done that she wouldn't have found it nearly as funny.
I can't help but to think that the Republican party so deserves this bimbo.
Yeah, yeah, I know that Walt posted a link to this in his response to an earlier post, but I felt that it was so funny (I nearly wet myself when watching it live last night), that I felt that it deserved its own post.
