World News Korner

I thought I would share my favorite Halloween themed music video with you.

The director, John Landis, was also responsible for some of my favorite movies of the seventies and eighties like Animal House, An American Werewolf in London and The Blues Brothers.

And the video holds a very special place in my daughter's heart because it was instrumental in getting her interested in theater and movie making.

We had an old VHS tape of "The Making of Thriller" lying around the house that she found when she was two years old. That damn thing played non-stop for weeks, but the interesting thing is that she was just as fascinated with the behind the scenes makeup, choreography, and special effects, as she was with the actual music video itself.

Since then she has been fascinated with the way movies are made, and is now involved in making them herself.

Now if you will excuse me I think there are some scary creatures at my door.

I wonder what they want?

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Our new friend Kenny Pick's Turn Up the Night radio show starts in a few minutes (7-10 PM Eastern time) and there was some talk of discussing not only more about Sarah Palin but also perhaps a mention or two of our favorite blog.

Anyhow if you are interested, and able, you can click here to listen to the show.

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Courtesy of Salon:

Consider the remarkable number of races that remain tossups at this late stage. According to RealClearPolitics’ polling averages, less than three points separate the candidates in Alaska, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Kansas, Georgia, and Iowa. Moreover, based on pollsters’ recent history of overestimating GOP strength and underestimating Hispanic turnout, there’s reason to believe that the Colorado Senate race is even closer than the 3.6 point edge held by Republican Cory Gardner over Democratic Sen. Mark Udall suggests. The razor-thin margins that separate the candidates in these contests all but ensure that at a clear victor won’t emerge in at least one or two of them on election night. Accordingly, some candidates, including Iowa GOPer Joni Ernst and Republican Thom Tillis and Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan in North Carolina, are gearing up for weeks-long legal battles.

Meanwhile, up in Alaska, where Democratic Sen. Mark Begich appears to be making something of a comeback, the state’s time lag and relatively slow vote-counting process mean that a winner probably won’t be declared until November 5 at the earliest. In 2008, Begich wasn’t proclaimed the winner of his race against Sen. Ted Stevens until two weeks after Election Day. Though polls suggested Begich was headed to an easy victory, he ultimately only won by a point. Observers expect the Democrat’s race against Republican Dan Sullivan this year to be similarly close.

Add it all up, and it’s increasingly clear that political junkies hoping for a firm Senate result next Tuesday night will probably find themselves disappointed. At this point, the likeliest scenario for a definitive election night answer is a GOP wave. If Republican Scott Brown knocks off Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in New Hampshire early Tuesday night, for instance, that portends an excellent night for the Republicans and substantially increases the odds that the GOP will have 51 Senate seats in its column by the end of the night. Despite polls indicating a tightening race, however, Brown’s ceiling of support appears to be roughly 48 percent, and a new survey showing Shaheen with an eight point lead underscores the likelihood that she’ll ultimately hold on.

So fasten your seat belts — it could be a bumpy few weeks.

You know I am a tried and true TV watcher, and I get really sucked into the reality of my favorite shows sometimes.

For instance I about jumped out of my skin when the Mountain suddenly gained the upper hand during his epic battle with Prince Oberyn Martell. (NSFW gore.) And I was on the edge of my seat during that Terminus Slaughter Scene. (More gore.) But I have no doubt that all of that will seem like nothing compared to my stress level while waiting for the votes to be counted and the elections to finally be decided.

There is just so much hanging in the balance here.

Part of me wants to have confidence in the voting public. but then the other part of me thinks "Fuck those people they never know what's good for them." So you see I am conflicted.

It's an easy choice folks. Either we embrace the future, and cast our votes to move the country toward a brighter tomorrow. Or we allow fear and cowardice to rule the day and choose once again to give power to the party of "You have to be this white, and this male, to ride this ride."

How hard of a choice is that?

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From the Urban Cowpie's Facebook page:

I love to tease our Texan relatives and friends that they're living down in our "Little Sister State of Texas!" I do love your state, and you are blessed to have Greg Abbott there as such a strong leader. He's fighting to defend freedom! Like Alaska, Texas is all about personal and economic liberty. But did you know President Obama is determined to undermine that with a “blue takeover” he envisions? Well, thankfully Greg Abbott will assure that won’t happen. Support a true patriot and proven leader as your next governor, and send a message to Team Obama at the same time: Texas—and the nation—will NOT go the way of any liberal state! Please find a polling location in your county before early voting ends tomorrow.

And, by the way, this Greg Abbot campaign sign is the best I've seen yet!

Oh yeah, that's just adorable.

Well unlike Rob Maness at least Abbott has a better than even chance of winning his race. In fact right now he is leading Wendy Davis by over 15 points.

You're just breaking my heart Texas, you really are.

You know you can tell a lot about a candidate by the friends he keeps. Besides Palin Abbott has been cozying up to a certain poopy pants pedophile (Warning link takes you to WND):

I already got my invitation to Greg Abbott’s victory party for the evening of Nov. 4 as we celebrate his landslide victory over Wendy Davis as the new and well-deserved governor of the Great Republic of Texas.

This Texas race is a microcosm of elections across the country. Thank God there are still way more Texans that stand in defiance of the lying, scamming, America-hating, Texas-hating scammers and scoundrels that infest and steer the Wendy Davis campaign of deception.

Oh yeah, he's a gem.

But come on, if an endorsement from Sarah Palin AND Ted Nugent is not enough to sink your campaign, what does that say about your state?

I am beginning to wonder if Texas is a lost cause for liberals, despite the demographic shifts.

And Jon Stewart of the Daily Show shares my concerns.

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"She doesn't look so damn smart to me."

Courtesy of Newsmax:

Republican political strategist Dick Morris shrugged off the news that former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin might run for office again, telling Newsmax TV on Wednesday that there's a new and improved Palin on the campaign trail these days — and her name is Joni Ernst.

"Ernst is Sarah Palin, but with much more in the way of gray cells," Morris told "MidPoint" host Ed Berliner, calling Iowa's Republican candidate for the Senate "one of the superstars of American politics."

Wow, a smart Sarah Palin. That's the kind of thing that gives children nightmares here in Alaska.

Dick Morris at one time was all in for Sarah Palin, but then he seemed to get over her. (Perhaps he saw her without her makeup or something.)

More recently Morris has become the political analyst who cannot get anything right.

Though I have to say that on this one he is undoubtedly correct.

I think that Joni Ernst IS just as much of a wing nut as Sarah Palin.

And as for the intelligence thing, well damn who isn't smarter than Klondike Kardashian?

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As everybody who visits here regularly already knows, one of the consistent charges leveled at commenters here and myself, is that we lie about conservatives and are hateful people who attack people "we don't even know."

The point is also made that liberals are the worst when it comes to saying hateful things on the internet.

Of course that is completely false.

I am not saying that liberals are always paragons of virtue who never say a cross word about anyone, because of course that would be a lie. However if you REALLY want to see some ugliness you have to go no further than any number of Right Wing news outlets and blogs all over the internet.

Which is exactly what a writer over at a site called Propaganda Check did.

They went to Breitbart.com. And this is what they found in the comments section:

Oh and did I mention the racism? Yeah, there is a LOT of racism.

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To play video click the Gohmert

"People have said to me 'Stephen you gotta understand you don't even know your history. You're dumb, you're dense. You're a mental midget with an IQ of a butter dish whose mind is a black hole that sucks all surrounding thought into it in an infinite singularity of pure stupidity. Stephen I'm surprised you can dress yourself. I bet you have to rub peanut butter inside your lips to remember to open your mouth to breathe. I have never met, and I hope to never meet again, a man so pervasively, astoundingly, unyieldingly, ignorant.' To which I say well then you haven't met Louis Gohmert."

God that was a thing of beauty.

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Courtesy of CBS Detroit:

A planned event on creationism at Michigan State University is raising concerns among faculty and graduate students.

The Saturday conference includes workshops such as “The Big Bang is Fake” and “Hitler’s Worldview,” on how evolution influenced the views of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, MLive.com reported.

The Origin Summit is sponsored by the organization Creation Summit, which aims to promote creationism in places it feels have banned teaching it.

The conference will focus on scientific evidence that points to creationism instead of religious doctrine, according to Creation Summit executive director Mike Smith.

“We want to show the scientific evidence that shows intelligent design,” he said. “We’re not coming to the campus to promote Bible verses or sermons.”

First off there is no scientific evidence that "points to Creationism." That in fact would be an impossibility. (I am working on a post that will explain why that is.)

Secondly unless this "conference" is presented in a similar fashion to how one might allow KKK members to give a speech to students simply so that their arguments can be picked apart and demonstrated to be fatuous, then there is no reason to allow this bullshit anywhere near university students.

And thirdly the idea that Hitler's holocaust was the fault of Charles Darwin is false.

The "Social Darwinism" that Hitler may or may not have embraced, was the result of a misunderstanding of Charles Darwin's work, and was not something that he created or promoted. Which might explain why Hitler never once mentioned Darwin in any of his writings.

If one is looking for the origin of Hitler's distrust and even hatred for the Jews, that is as simple as can be.


If one is looking for reasons to hate their fellow man, that is rarely found in scientific research. But religion is fairly saturated with them.



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So that ad appeared on Palin's Facebook page again followed by this:

Here's a man of true grit and a servant's heart who knows full well when road kill needs to go. Our government must have the values we see in Col. Rob Maness to function properly. I hope Louisianans will send him to Washington because he’s the real deal – heck he fixes his own truck and he’ll do the same in Washington to fix the broken machine there!

Palin then links to an article over at Real Clear Politics, which quotes her as saying:

“Like a gator in the swamp, Col. Rob Maness may have been seen as sharply lurking, but is now ready to pounce,” Palin said in the statement. “It is time. This is the election that will be the shocker on Tuesday.”

What?

The Real Clear Politics article then goes on to say this:

According to the latest RealClearPolitics average of polls, Maness (9 percent) is trailing far behind Landrieu (38 percent) and Cassidy (33.8 percent) in Louisiana’s “jungle primary” system, in which all candidates appear on the same general election ballot, regardless of party.

If no candidate receives 50 percent of the vote on Tuesday -- a scenario that appears likely -- the top two finishers will square off in a Dec. 6 runoff.

So once again, to be clear, Maness has NO shot at winning this election in November, or in being one of the two candidates who will face off again in December.

So as I have mentioned before I simply do not get WHY Palin is so hell bent on promoting this guy well past his sell by date. She has promoted plenty of other candidates, but never it seems with this much aggression, especially when he has virtually NO chance of winning.

Which begs the question, what's in it for her?

And to be honest her fawning is getting kind of ludicrous. If she were a household dog, she would be humping this guy's leg 24/7.

Even for a Palin, that is pretty pathetic.

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Wow, what a dick!

Here is how Raw Story covered this exchange:

A New Jersey activist and Hurricane Sandy survivor filmed during a confrontation with Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Wednesday accused his administration of short-changing a $1.1 billion federal relief package meant to help residents.

“Only 20 percent of those dollars have gotten to the people,” James Keady told MSNBC host Chris Hayes. “Of the $1.1 billion, $219 million has gone out. That means that the governor and his staff in Trenton are sitting on $800 million.”

According to Keady’s advocacy group, Finish The Job, Christie’s administration has mismanaged the Rehabilitation, Reconstruction, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) while boasting about its success in the public eye.

“Photo ops, Christie, President Obama, everybody walking on the beach, kumbaya, giving the hugs,” he said.

Keady faced off with Christie as the governor gave a speech in Belmar commemorating two years since the hurricane devastated New Jersey. Video of the encounter shows Keady standing in front of Christie bearing a sign saying, “Get Sandy families back in their homes,” prompting Christie to berate him from the stage.

“I’m glad you had your day to show off, but we’re the ones who are here to actually do the work,” Christie told him. “So turn around and get your 15 minutes of fame and then maybe take your jacket off and roll up your sleeves and do something for the people of this state.”

By the way it seems that in a contest as to who has rolled up their sleeves and done something for the people of this state, that this James Keady guy is miles ahead of Chris Christie:

“When the hurricane happened, I actually took a month off from work, dropped everything and volunteered to help clean out peoples’ homes,” James Keady told MSNBC host Chris Hayes. “It actually reached the point within a day or two [that] the borough gave me a borough dump truck running all the clean-up crews all over town.”

You know there has always been this criticism of President Obama that he is a little TOO cool, and does not express his emotion enough for people to relate to him.

But I do not think for a second that that means they would rather replace him with a wannabe "Sopranos" stand in wielding a temper that would make Joe Pesci say "Hey calm the fuck down."

Christie is angry man with virtually no filter. That might play in New Jersey but would do him no favors in the national arena.

After all what's he gonna do, leave a panda head, in China Premier Li Keqiang's bed?

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Okay so just for fun I tool a jaunt over to the Brancy's blog to see what's up in the land of denial.

As it turns out Nancy French and Bristol, assuming Bristol has read what it printed under her name, are very, very upset at an article in the Daily Mail about a 69 year old woman's heartbreaking admission that she wishes she had never had her Down syndrome son, now 47 years old.

Here is what Brancy had to say:

I can’t even believe what I just read. Gillian Relf, the mother of a 47-year-old man with Down syndrome, publicly said she wishes she’d had an abortion. Her son has made her life so difficult, she wishes he had never been allowed to live.

Can you actually claim to love someone and wish they were dead at the same time?

If that’s not horrifying enough, she spoke “in support of the 92 per cent of women who choose to abort their babies after discovering they have Down’s syndrome.” Parents of children with Down syndrome (including my own parents!) have shown the greatest demonstration of selfless love I’ve ever seen. To read this mom’s statements that are so opposite is just stunning.

Actually I think that any person who has sat at the bedside of a dying loved one knows exactly what it is like to love somebody and wish them dead at the same time. At some point their pain is just impossible to endure and all you want is for them to find peace, even if it means you will never have them in your life again.

Brancy goes on to say this:

My family probably wouldn’t have chosen to have a child with Down syndrome. But God gave us Trig – and our family wouldn’t be complete without him! Now, I realize that kids with Down syndrome are amazing and wonderful – we are soooooo blessed to have him in our lives.

Actually that is a lie. Her family absolutely DID choose to have Trig in their lives. He is not Sarah's child, and I have no reason to believe that he is Bristol's child, so yes he was absolutely brought into the family as a choice. (Hopefully I will have more on that at a later date.)

By the way the woman, Gillian Relf, anticipated this response and this is what she said in the article:

But I'd challenge any one of them to walk a mile in the shoes of mothers like me, saddled for life as I am, with a needy, difficult, exasperating child who will never grow up, before they judge us. They should experience how it feels to parent a grown man, who is no more able to care for himself than a toddler - and at a time of life when your children should, all things being equal, be taking care of you. They should know how it feels to live every single day under a crushing weight of guilt. They should know how it feels to watch Stephen's constant suffering and witness the almost daily destruction wreaked on all our lives.

As you all know I actually work with children and parents who are dealing with Down syndrome, FAS, ADHD, Reactive Attachment Disorder, PTSD, Mental Retardation, etc., and I can tell you that wishing not to have had a child with such complicated and disruptive issues is almost universal among the parents.

They don't always say it out loud to support staff, but they certainly discuss it in private, and sometimes you can simply see it written all over their faces.

The idea that all babies are a gift from God and that HE will provide you with the strength to deal with any complications which might arise is happy holy horseshit.

The truth is that sometimes these parents simply have to give up and walk away, and put their children into residential facilities or foster homes. Sometime they mistreat their children out of sheer frustration, even though they realize it is not the child's fault. And sometimes they contemplate, or actually follow through with, plans to take their own lives. (One of the worse cases I ever dealt with.)

We have already seen that Sarah is having significant trouble parenting Trig, and let me tell you that is only going to get worse, especially when he hits his teen years.

I predict right here and now that Trig ends up in a facility, either in state or out, that will care for him within the next ten years or so.

Simply put neither Sarah Palin, or any of her family members, have the intelligence or patience to deal with a Down syndrome child for the long haul.

And that is why judging this poor woman, who has spent the last 47 years selflessly putting her child's needs above her own, should never be done by the likes of Bristol Palin.

OR her internet doppelganger.

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