Voices Crazy: Always a class act

Today DooHickey asserts that Barack Obama will be stuck down by an angel of the Lord, die, and be eaten by worms. Why? Oh, who knows. There's some Youtube video that explains it all, plus he's pro-choice.

Were he one of my history students, I would spend some time criticizing his muddled logic. But he's not, so enjoy the crazy.

KELO Discusses Hunt's Case

The Blurring of Church and State

To read the press release from the Americans United for Separation of Church and State, go here.

And in related news...

The Rapid City Journal reports that Leslee Unruh, along with Bishop Blase Cupich of the Catholic Diocese of Rapid City, will speak at the upcoming opening of the Rapid City Vote Yes for Theocracy office.

Funny, this all comes the week of the release of Bill Maher's examination of religion in the US, Religulous. You have to watch this trailer if you haven't already. Unfortunately, it's unlikely that it'll come to Sioux Falls, but if it does, get out and see it -- it won't last long.

Woman's Reproductive Organs are Deadly Weapons?

A district court judge ruled recently that a woman's reproductive organs are "deadly weapons," and ordered (probably illegally) that the woman be sterilized.


This story is admittedly complicated. As a pro-choice woman, I want women to have healthy babies when that's possible, and apparently for the woman involved, her track record there is mixed.


But let's get real here: calling her reproductive organs "deadly weapons" is CRAZY.

Allowing a judge to permenantly determine who should or shouldn't be allowed to reproduce is a very, very dangerous slope. What's to keep them from ordering the sterilization of women who work while they're pregnant? Or what's to keep an anti-choice judge from saying that pro-choice women shouldn't be able to have children?


This judge is clearly on a mission. He even said that he's using this woman to send a message. What's the message: cure yourself of cocaine addiction, or the government will sterilize you?! How tragic.

Trans and Allies for Obama!

Stonewall Democrats has launched a great way to give to Obama, and build some political power for the transgender community as well.

Stonewall has launched a Trans for Obama fundraising page on ActBlue. This is a great way to increase trans visibility, so when the election is over, we can point to exact dollars that the trans community and its allies brought in.

That. Is. Huge.

Whether you identify as trans or a trans ally, this is a win-win. You get to help make sure that we're not all crying in our beers the day after election day, and help demonstrate the power of the trans community and its supporters--all at the same time!

Giving money to Obama, especially through this page, is also great way to kill time while you're waiting for the SD Supreme Court decision on Jaba the Hunt's sketchy donor hiding. Whether you can give $250, $100, $50, $25 or even $10, make sure you give something. Right. Now.

Will Justice Prevail?

As previously mentioned, today the high court heard the case against Roger "Money-funnelling" Hunt. According to KELO, the justices have been asked to name the donor and Hunt's legal team presented their arguments. So now we wait. Will justice prevail?

Check back for updates as we follow the story!

It doesn't have to be this way.

This video actually made me physically ill. *shudder*

Paul Newman

As a general rule, I don't get too worked up over celebrity deaths, but this Voices Crazy post about Paul Newman is just too hilarious to pass up.

A quick perusal of the right-wing blogosphere suggests that he has been adopted after his death as a right-wing icon because of his fifty-year marriage to Joanne Woodward. (A hint: lots of people on the left side of the political spectrum are committed to their marriages as well.) DooHickey has this to say:

A sad note this weekend with the death of Paul Newman. Here's what needs to be celebrated… this man was faithful to his wife Joanne Woodward, for 50 years...Thousands of times this weekend news reporters are using this line… "he had one of Hollywood's rare long-term marriages." You don't say?! Right now Hollywood is leading the charge in a full on assualt on the institution of marriage. Just last night I was flipping through the channels with my teenagers and a commerical came on advertising a new show this fall called "Californication." It is about exactly what it sounds like it's about.
The ACLU is leading the oppression and silencing of the majority of Americans who believe marriage is between one man and one women for one life.

Hilariously, DooHickey knows so little about Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward that he's completely unaware of the fact that both spouses have been ardent supporters of gay rights and - gasp!! - same sex marriage. I guess he'll need to find a new hero.

And the Most Ridiculous Yard Sign Award Goes To...

I like the picture of the 1 year old baby -- nice touch and totally accurate!

McCain Wants Families to Decide!

McLame on healthcare during tonight's debate:

I want the families to make the decisions between themselves and their doctors, not the federal government.

The Right to "Bare" Arms?

The South Dakota Family Policy Council, our statewide arm of Focus on the Family, released their voter's guide yesterday.


Among some pretty non-shocking things contained within, I noticed a seriously hilarious typo.


On each version of the voter's guide, there's a legend explaining each question on the survey. Question 5 asks candidates about how they feel about the right to "bare" arms on college campuses.


It appears the SDFPC is very passionate about supporting tank tops on college campuses. Great job, guys.

Someone's Weekend's Gonna Suck!

That's right. Roger "Money-Funnelling" Hunt heads back to court on Monday! That outta give us all something to cheers to this weekend -- the "Promising Future" of Jaba the Hunt.

DakotaWoman opposes IM 11.

Since VYFL & crew brag about the fact that totally obvious people - Leslee and Allan Unruh, Operation Rescue, Focus on the Family - are supporting IM 11, I thought you all would want to know:

I received my absentee ballot in the mail today, and I voted no on IM 11.

Let's be sure to issue a press release about this, ladies...

KSFY story

Tiffany and Chris Campbell were on KSFY last night, further explaining the procedure they used to save their son. Since there still seems to be a lot of confusion on the anti-choice side about this situation, I'll quote extensively from the story, in the hopes that the Campbells can put the issue to rest in their own words:

"I don't know what procedure was done for this young lady who had the Twin to Twin Transfusion," Dr. Ridder said. "But the procedure that's nationally accepted now would not be declared an abortion."

Dr. Ridder is referring to a laser procedure designed to separate the blood vessels between connected twins. It's intended to save the life of both twins, meaning it would not violate the proposed ban. But the Campbell's say the laser procedure was not what their doctors recommended.

"We went through the testing to qualify for this laser procedure," Tiffany Campbell's husband Chris Campbell said. "We found out we really weren't good candidates for the procedure."

Instead, the Campbell's say their doctor's gave them a different option with better odds for saving one of their sons. The procedure is called Selective Cord Coagulation and involves stopping blood flow to the smaller twin through the umbilical cord. It led to the decision Tiffany addresses in her commercial.

..."If it's someone's advice to kill your offspring, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense," Ridder said. "And the studies prove out that it is not the healthiest choice."

Tiffany says, in her case, it was the healthiest choice, and if there was a better option, she says she would have taken it in a heartbeat.

A fabulous e-mailer had the following to say:

Dakota Values has no idea what they are talking about. Section 2 of Measure 11 is very explicit.
Any person who knowingly performs any procedure upon a pregnant woman, or uses any instrument upon a pregnant woman…with the intent of causing the termination of the life of an unborn human being is guilty of performing an illegal abortion. In the case of the Campbells' an 18-guage radiofrequency needle was inserted through the abdomen of the mother and targeted the umbilical cord with the specific intent to end the life of the sicker twin. It was an intentional death. Everyone knew what was going to be done in the operating room.

Seriously, this issue needs to be put to rest now. The procedure that the Campbells chose with their doctor would be outlawed in South Dakota if IM 11 passed. It's a bad law and the voters shouldn't approve it. Period. End of discussion.

Some Wednesday Night Links

Sherry Kolb's columns at FindLaw are really great. My dad just bought me her book, When Sex Counts: Making Babies and Making Law. Anyway, I think her latest column about the pro-life view of sex has some really great insights.

David Letterman on John McCain: "What are you going to do if you're elected and things get tough? Suspend being president? We've got a guy like that now!"

Have I mentioned that I'm totally in love with Robert Reich? I'm not even joking. Don't tell my husband.

Finally, I Heart Recycling.

McCain playing politics with the economy...what a non-shocker.

CNN is reporting that McCain is 'suspending his campaign' and wants to postpone the debate until after the crisis is over.

He claims he wants to go back to Washington, to be part of the negotiations on the bailout.



That's funny...I think I recall a few days ago when John McCain said that "the fundamentals of our economy are strong." A couple days ago, McCain seemed gung-ho about the debates. What's changed in the last 48 hours, besides his poll numbers? This has political stunt written all over it.


This is absolutely the worst time to have someone who doesn't understand the economy to be jumping into economic negotiations that could make or break us. McCain should do us all a favor and stay the hell out of DC.



Incidentally, the Obama campaign is saying they're proceeding as planned. The University of Mississippi, which is hosting the debate, hasn't gotten any official word. Here's their official statement, as of right now:

The University of Mississippi is going forward with the preparation
for the debate. We are ready to host the debate, and we expect the
debate to occur as planned.

At present, the University has received no notification of any change
in the timing or venue of the debate.

We have been notified by the Commission on Presidential Debates that
we are proceeding as scheduled.

We will keep you posted as information becomes available.

Check back for updates, folks.

TV ad

Voices Crazy and Dakota Values are freaking out, so it must be pretty effective:

Closets are for Clothes.

Thank the Lord -- Clay Aiken has finally come out.

Oh, snap.

Dakota Values getting a smack down.

From the Texas Children's Hospital's Fetal Care Center, on twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome:

Selective cord coagulation
In some cases, a couple may make the difficult decision to proceed with the purposeful loss of one twin to save the other twin. This procedure is used when laser ablation of the connecting vessels is not possible or if one of the twins is so close to death that laser ablation would likely not be successful. By stopping the flow in the cord of the dying twin, the other twin can be protected from the consequences of its sibling’s death. The procedure is performed through the use of a special forceps that is placed into the amniotic sac of the recipient twin while watching with ultrasound. The umbilical cord is then grasped and electrical current is applied to burn (coagulate) the blood vessels in the cord so that the blood flow will stop to this fetus. The communication between the fetuses is definitively ended; however, this eliminates the chance of survival for one of the twins. Complications of this procedure include premature delivery and premature rupture of the membranes. Rupture of the membranes has been reported to occur in about 20 percent of cases. Survival of the one remaining fetus can be expected in 85 percent of cases.

I'm not sure what about this procedure would be "unintentional" or how exactly it would be allowed under RL 6/IM 11. I'm also unsure how this would be something other than a standard medical procedure. If the VYFL crowd has any interest whatsoever in factual evidence (ha) this should put the debate to rest.

IM 11 would severely limit the options of families who face this heartbreaking complication. There's no respect for women and families - no compassion - in this law.

Female pastors......oh, the scandal!

CNN has a video story today about a Christian store in Atlanta that pulled a scandalous magazine from its shelves, for "not being consistent with Scripture."

What was so scandalously inconsistent, you ask?

The cover story was a feature on 5 female pastors.

Here's the video:




It's hilarious to me (and by hilarious, I mean RIDICULOUS) that many of the same conservative Christians who staunchly oppose allowing women to serve as pastors are the same ones salivating over Sarah Palin "breaking the glass ceiling."

How they even do all this with a straight face, I'll never know.

Joel Dykstra Cardboard Cut-Out Scares the Hell Outta SFans

If anyone was driving near the intersection of 41st Street and Louise Avenue in Sioux Falls this morning, they might have been surprised and highly distracted by what was a freakishly scary sight: amongst the hoards of pre-teens waving Chris Lien signs, someone stood waving Joel Dykstra himself. Yes, a Joel cardboard cut-out was out on the town...and it was entirely creepy.

Next phase of Dykstra campaign: design full-scale Joel robot. Goal: make worth a damn commercial and double whiny complaints about Johnson to voting public by E-Day.

Voices Crazy continues to miss the point

In today's Washington Post, Peter Slevin writes about this year's abortion ban, and some of the people whom we typically associate with this debate - Leslee Unruh, Steve DooHickey, Marvin Buehner, Carol Ball - are quoted extensively. Tiffany Campbell, however, is a new face on the scene, and her story really seems to confuse the VYFL extremists.

They assert that there are "modern medical procedures that are used to save the children" who suffer from twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. What would those be, VYFL? They never mention them.

They go on to say "There is no reason for a doctor to deliberately kill one of the twins in an effort to save one of them, and physicians do not do so as part of accepted standards of medical practice," but as Campbell suggests in the Post article, they chose to *intentionally* intervene and terminate in order to save the twin who had a chance to survive. This is clearly criminalized under Measure 11. Incidentally, Campbell was dealing with this situation during the 2006 Referred Law 6 campaign, and VYFL campaigners told her then that her procedure would have been permitted under RL6, which is even more of a lie.

I've met Campbell, and neither she nor her doctor misunderstand this law. VYFL and their wackjob supporters, however, are unwilling to face the consequences of passing a black-and-white law that attempts to legislate a shades-of-gray issue like abortion.

West River Readers -- Check It Out

The Business of Being Born, Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein's documentary about birth options, midwives, homebirth, and the industry that's grown up around childbearing is showing at the Elks on Monday at 6:30 p.m. The movie will be followed by a panel discussion featuring a midwife, labor and delivery nurse, a family that has given birth at home and a family that has hospital births. Both That Girl and I found this film really interesting. It didn't convince me that I wanted to give birth in my bathtub, but it did really make me think about the way we treat birth in this country and whether the many interventions we now think of as 'standard' really benefit mother and baby. So check it out if you have a chance!

If women's bellies were transparent...

Flying Tomato Farms weighs in on the burning question currently being asked in the anti-choice blogosphere:

This is the “Big Brother” society these anti-choice folks yearn for. It’s not enough for them, apparently, to believe that their God can see into every aspect of our lives and thoughts; they want to see into it, too. They want control over our lives and our bodies from cradle to grave.

Correction: They want control over women's lives and bodies from cradle to grave.

Yep. Pretty much. So, as Cory suggests in the comments, we could discuss these types of substantive issues in the lead-up to the election, or we could talk about fetus soup and fetus cosmetics, the current favorite topics over at Church at the Gate.

I have a feeling DooHickey and crew are attempting to distract South Dakotans from the issue at hand.

Fetus cosmetics?

We at Dakota Women can't make this stuff up. Courtesy of Voices Crazy:

I do know that this is where abortion is going if somebody doesn't stop it … fetal farming, paying Asian women $200 to carry a child to 20 weeks and then aborting it for parts or to use in making cosmetics. This is all underway in the world already. How great is the darkness.

They also discuss how the Chinese may or may not eat fetus soup. Racism, misogyny, and general insanity. Keep it up.

Surreal

The big question among the antis these days:

If a woman's belly were transparent would abortion still be legal?

It would take a lot of time to unpack the misogyny (and that's not a word I use lightly) behind a question like this, but here's a start. If women were pieces of furniture, living china cabinets with windows in their bellies to showcase their reproductive organs, would abortion still be legal? It seems to me like that's the type of world the VYFL crazies are hoping for. If only every woman had to reveal the contents of her uterus at all times, hey, maybe they *could* unleash that misogynist utopia they've always dreamed of and people would buy into it. Who knows.

But it seems like this is the crux of the entire debate. As much as Steve, Bob, and the Vote Yes wackos hate it, women's "bellies" aren't transparent, and what happens there is our personal concern. Not Steve Hickey's. Not Bob Ellis's. Not the Unruhs'. Not Vote Yes for Life's. Not the South Dakota Legislature's.

(Incidentally, I want to redirect you to that Voices Crazy link where they continue to earn their name. Stay classy, folks. Always love to see that care and compassion for women who've had abortions.)

VY = Hypocrites

I just want it to be known that VY participated in a national tele-'rally' on Wednesday night where both (Non)Dr. Allen Unruh and Phil Burress of Citizens for Community Values (hilarious, BTW) called for ANY AND ALL OUTSIDE PEOPLE AND MONEY to come 'a pourin' in to SD! The VYers (especially you, Steve) are huge proponents of talking about how they're 100% SD from the funds to the people and how Healthy Families is just a huge hole of national ACLU-ing and the "Hollywood elite," so I just had to point this out. Nevermind the pending lawsuit of a one Mr. Roger Hunt. It's still unclear if almost 1 mil came from in or outta state in 2006. Let's not forget that, guys. Anywho...


Other highlights of the call:

* Leslee went off on a rant about how she always wants to give up, but Allen keeps "pushing, pushing, pushing." Yeah, when Leslee's guilt profiteering pays the bills and tour the world, that's pretty understandable.

* Lots and lots of technological problems. They kept trying to play some recording and it was a huge techo-mess. I'm sure lots of participants dropped off the call during that ridiculousness. Uh, sign from God? Anyone?

* Leslee was kept on a tight muzzle. Allen did most of the SD talking. As if we didn't see that one coming. She must've been talking into the speaker phone outside of her cage. Release date: November 5th.

Palin Name Generator

Ever wonder what your name would be if non-feminist, Gov. Sarah Palin named you? With her name resume revealing Track, Bristol, Piper, Willow, and Trig, you gotta wonder. Well, wonder no more. There's actually a Palin baby name generator that can be found here.

What would the contributors of DW be named, you ask?

Kelsey: Stick Freedom Palin
Anna: Beretta Hockey Palin
Angie: Jeep Pike Palin
Lil' ol me: Geese Whalebone Palin

And these people make fun of Barack?!

Brace Yourself, Kids!

Hold onto your hats! Are you sitting down? You should be.

I've got some news that's going to turn your whole world upside down.

Ready?

Okay. Here goes:


Operation Rescue endorsed Crazy Initiated Measure 11.


Operation Rescue, of course, was to thank for many of the fetus trucks driving around South Dakota in 2006, and I'm sure they'll bring them right back this time.


Can you believe they endorsed this measure?! I sure as heck can't!


This "endorsement" comes as the latest in a long line of crazy obvious "endorsements." As ThatGirl has mentioned before, their list reads like a who's-who of right wing craziness, including Tony Perkins, who runs the right-wing Family Research Council, Donald Wildmon, who runs the SUPER right-wing American Family Association, and of course, our very own Leslee Unruh..


But man....Operation Rescue? Crazy!


Actually, as I'm looking at VoteYesForBeatingADeadHorse's endorsement page, it looks like a lot of mostly old, white guys to me. Color me not surprised.

Hey McCain, Al Gore Called--He Wants His Ridiculous Claim Back

John McCain, who doesn't use the Internet or email, and refers to himself as "illiterate" in that area, thinks he invented the BlackBerry.

BlackBerry devices were developed in Canada. By these people. Not John McCain.

Perhaps Gramps had another one of his senior moments, and forgot that he didn't actually invent the BlackBerry. Maybe.


...But is that the guy you want running the country?


I can't put it any better than the Obama campaign. Spokesperson Bill Burton said "If John McCain hadn't said that 'the fundamentals of our economy are strong' on the day of one of our nation's worst financial crises, the claim that he invented the BlackBerry would have been the most preposterous thing said all week."

20 million Americans set to lose health coverage under McCain plan

Bob Herbert points us to the substantive policy issues we're not discussing while the press eats up McCain's campaign of fake outrage.

[T]he McCain health plan would treat employer-paid health benefits as income that employees would have to pay taxes on.

“It means your employer is going to have to make an estimate on how much the employer is paying for health insurance on your behalf, and you are going to have to pay taxes on that money,” said Sherry Glied, an economist who chairs the Department of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

Ms. Glied is one of the four scholars who have just completed an independent joint study of the plan. Their findings are being published on the Web site of the policy journal, Health Affairs.

According to the study: “The McCain plan will force millions of Americans into the weakest segment of the private insurance system — the nongroup market — where cost-sharing is high, covered services are limited and people will lose access to benefits they have now.”

The net effect of the plan, the study said, “almost certainly will be to increase family costs for medical care.”

...The whole idea of the McCain plan is to get families out of employer-paid health coverage and into the health insurance marketplace, where naked competition is supposed to take care of all ills. (We’re seeing in the Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch fiascos just how well the unfettered marketplace has been working.)

Taxing employer-paid health benefits is the first step in this transition, the equivalent of injecting poison into the system. It’s the beginning of the end.

Of course, as Melissa MacEwan points out, McCain has been the recipient of government health care for his entire life, but, you know, whatever. This is just one reason why he would be a disaster as president.

Our Ad Can Beat Up Your Ad!

Early Voting Open in Just 1 Week!

Here's a nice little PSA from Feminist Majority to help us countdown to voting season. Starting next Tuesday, September 23, vote early by absentee or in person at your County Admin building during business hours. Spread the word!

High Five, Alaska!

This post from Feministing about Alaskans protesting Sarah Palin does my heart good. Hey Alaska, few people understand what you're going through better than your sisters here in South Dakota. People all over the country feel like they can speak for you, judge you on the basis of a few crazies, and make assumptions and jokes based on the size of your state. It blows. But that's why gatherings like this and South Dakota's Women4Women Day are so important. They say, "Hey world -- you don't speak for us. We have our own voice and we're going to use it!"

McCain's View

So John McCain made an appearance on The View this morning, which is chock-full of hilarity.

The ladies -- specifically Barbara Walters and Whoppi -- asked some really hard-hitting questions about Palin, the kind of justices McCain would appoint, separation of church and state, the economy, and how McCain will engage young people.

Part #1:






Part #2: Check out Whoppi's question at 5:35. Love it.






Part 3:




My favorite quote: "My interpretation of the Constitution is that the United States Supreme Court interprets the Constitution of the United States."

So...does that mean he'll stop trying to interpret the Constitution all by himself, then? That would probably be best for all of us.

Television Revolution!

I like TV. I really do. But my husband isn't really a TV guy, so I haven't had cable for the last eight years. Those of you who do have cable may not know this, but come February 2009, TV will basically stop those of us who get an over-the-air signal. But there's hope! You get this sweet $40 coupon from the government and you buy this great digital converter and *BOOM* you suddenly have a signal you never would've dreamed of from an antenna. Seriously, it's very exciting. John McCain has sort of ruined 30 Rock for me, but oh, is the picture clear!

So thanks, FCC. Well done!

VY Begins Shoving Abortion Down SDans Throats...Again!

Yesterday marked the first day in a long time that Vote Yes to Allow Leslee Out of Her Cage got back on their abortion horse in hopes to exhaust South Dakotans to the point of voting with them this election season.

The attempt at earned media through the press conference announcing The Lampstand Project, a newly organized network of churches that will refer women to the Alpha Center, likely didn't get the traction VY was hoping. Does this mean they're going to pray for "'fairness' in the media" again?

Both KSFY and the Argus had the standard, "one side says this...and the other says this" format, with very little to no new information, KSFY talking to a pro-choice woman and an anti-choice man -- how about that?!

Then, VY posted their first "round" of ads today with an accompanying press release. Watch it below.



If they're going to play the 'reasonable' card, I'm guessing Les' will be spending the duration of the election season in her underground lair...or will she?!

Nonetheless, get ready for another circus, folks.

Letter to the Obama Campaign

Dear Obama Campaign,

Please read this article before we lose the election.

Love,
The World

Virginity Auction Funds Graduate School...and Leslee Unruh Dies A Little Inside

I just read that 21-year-old "Natalie Dylan" (a pseudonym, of course) is auctioning off her virginity to pay for graduate school, so she can afford her degree and do so without working like a fiend throughout the process. How's she going about this, you ask? Well, rejected from eBay, she's doing everything through a legal brothel in Nevada called the Bunny Ranch (also the site of a very enlightening HBO documentary called Cathouse, which, admittedly, I've seen). Owner Dennis Hof had this to say about it:

Natalie is a very smart girl. All she wants to do is get her master's degree in family and marriage counseling and be a psychologist. She's selling her virginity to accomplish that. She's smart enough to sell it. This is empowering her."

So, what would Abstinence Crusader, Leslee "More Babies!" Unruh, say about such a thing? We could only guess...but I'm sure it's along the lines of "I'm crazy...blah blah blah...condoms kill...blah blah blah...the Bunny Ranch hurts women...blah blah blah...abstinence works every single time...blah blah blah..."

To read the whole story, go here.

Fitting

Poll: Bullshit Is Most Important Issue For 2008 Voters

Happy (belated) Grandparent's Day!

I know I'm a couple days late on this, but in light of this past Sunday being Grandparent's Day, I'd like to take a moment to wish a Happy Grandparent's Day to everyone's favorite old Grandpa:

McCain: Defender of Women Since.....well, never.

Clearly, John McCain is a jovial, spry old guy.

In fact, based on his age and past comments, it looks like he's clearly well-acquainted with hokey old phrases and jokes.

Check out how HILARIOUSLY McCain joked about a woman wanting to be raped.

Or even better: Check out how he joked about bombing Iran! Comedic gold!

Even while John "I think rape is hilarious!" McCain is being his jovial self, he's a staunch defender of women. That must be why he's so upset about Obama using the "disparaging" lipstick-on-a-pig line, supposedly in reference to McCain's VP pick, right?

Right?

Oh wait. John "I voted with Bush 90% of the time!" McCain used the exact same phrase back in October 2007 and again in February 2008, to refer to Hillary Clinton's health care plan (and eventually, to her).

Can someone point me toward a good reason McCain thinks it's okay for him to use it, but not okay for his opponent?


Could it be because he's desperate?

Could it be that he's had another of his 'senior moments,' and forgot that he used the same phrase six months ago?

Could it be because he knows he can't win on the issues, so he has to make up this fake controversy?

Could it be because the American people are getting a good look at him, and he's afraid they won't vote for a guy who shoves disabled vets? Or who calls his wife the c-word?

ACLU SD Has Some Shaking In Their Straight Jackets

KELO's recent announcement that the ACLU is opening a new office in South Dakota has the Crazy Right in a bit of a tizzy. Between Dakota Voices's "ACLU Launches SD Invasion" and Steve Whackjob's call to mobilize against the new office's opening and harass anyone who's involved in it, it seems that the ACLU doesn't actually have to do anything to scare the bejeezus out of these guys.

I look forward to what newly appointed Exec. Director Robert Doody, young lawyer badass and Indian law extraordinaire, will bring to our state, and with that, I'm sure we can look forward to some serious entertainment in the blogosphere...per usual.

Bye Bye 'Barracuda!'

Ah, music controversy abounds.

The use of Heart's "Barracuda" at the RNC has snowballed into some interesting developments. Heart members/sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson recently emailed out a beautiful statement saying,

Sarah Palin's views and values in NO WAY represent us as American women. We ask that our song 'Barracuda' no longer be used to promote her image. The song 'Barracuda' was written in the late 70s as a scathing rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, particularly for women. (The 'barracuda' represented the business.) While Heart did not and would not authorize the use of their song at the RNC, there's irony in Republican strategists' choice to make use of it there.

So, not only did this further spotlight many women's opposition to the Palin representation, but it also made the Republicans look doubly stupid for choosing a song that contains a liberal message.

Now Comedy Central's decided to launch a "Help Sarah Palin Find a New Theme Song" discussion. Go here if you want to submit an idea or read some of the other ones.

My pick: Gretchen Wilson's "Redneck Woman." Considering Wilson performed at the RNC, the assumption would be that she's on the same political page as Palin, so there's that. I also happen to think the lyrics are he-larious!

Lady O Says "Hell No!"

It was recently reported that talk show host/world ruler, Oprah, said that Sarah Palin is not welcome as a guest on her show...that is, until after the November election. As you could imagine, this has really put a damper on the Republican plan to hypnotize the female elecorate into thinking that Sarah Palin values women.

Hasn't anyone learned: if The Big O's against you, you're as good as O-ver?! I think Kathy Griffin said it best when she said "I don't think we vote anymore. I think Oprah just picks the president."

Peas in a Weirdly Capitalized Pod

Last month, That Girl commented on the crazy German-style capitalization going on over at Dakota Values. Tonight, as I'm trying to find McCain's energy plan for class (it's under The Economy if you're interested), I find that he's got a webmaster with a similar problem. While I suppose it's possible that the kid with the Mickey Mouse tie works for the McCain campaign, I'm going to guess it's two separate people with a similarly loose grasp on the written word. Which begs the question: how can conservatives demand that everyone in America learn to speak English when so many of them don't seem to have figured out how to write it? Food for thought.

Of Open Mics and Shiny Baubles

What does Peggy Noonan think about Sarah Palin? Depends when you ask.


(If you haven't checked out Infomania yet, do it now!)

Also, check out Vanity Fair's breakdown of Cindy McCain's super spendy convention outfit.

To Cindy McCain, $300,000 is the price of an outfit.

To most Americans, $300,000 buys ...

... one and a half houses, given the national median home price of $206,500.

Or my entire block in Vermillion, SD. Seriously Cindy -- send me your earrings. It's my dream to be able to make sure no one under twenty-five rents the houses next to me.

Best church sign

At Havens Corner Church in Blacklick, Ohio:

I Kissed a Girl, and I Liked It - Then I Went to Hell

McLame's the New Golf!

John McCain: Putting People to Sleep for 200 Years...

Palin not focus group-ing well.

Michigan Independent voters weren't happy with the negativity in Palin's speech. One voter described it as "not even a speech I would expect for someone running for the local PTA, much less for vice president." Another said "Nothing worked for me. I found her barrage of snide remarks and distortions to be a major turnoff. She is not a class act. The most important point she made is that she will be an effective attack dog."

Female Clinton supporters in Nevada were slightly more impressed, but only slightly:

In the "married" group, when one attendee kicked off the discussion by saying "she's a good speaker, and a crowd pleaser," the rest of the room articulated their agreement. "I didn't expect to be as impressed as I was," said another respondent. But then another woman added: "Once she started mudslinging, I thought, it's the same old crap as other politicians. McCain used her to get the women's vote. And she's using McCain."

"Thank you," another woman responded. "That really upset me; there was no need for that. It was snippy."

The unmarried group also voiced similar objections to the harsh, partisan edge of Palin's remarks. "I'm not impressed with her at all as a person," one said, citing her "finger pointing" and general sarcasm after the group had generally agreed that she was a talented public speaker.

Still not all focus group members thought Palin came off too harsh. "She didn't seem very aggressive to me at all," said one unmarried participant.

But in both groups, narrow majorities said they held a more negative view of Palin after her speech. "She comes off pretty cutthroat," said one.

None of them, incidentally, agreed with her stand on abortion.

I also hope Gloria Steinem's latest LA Times column gets women's attention.

VYFL is praying for us.

They want us to "experience unrest in [our] hearts."

Sorry, folks. No unrest here.

Palin Speech Live Blog!

What happens when DakotaWomen meet on G-Chat and watch Sarah Palin's convention speech from three different cities? See below!

9:29 PM Kelsey: Aren't you excited for this speech? :)

That Girl: Oh, you betcha.

Kelsey: My favorites tonight so far: "DRILL, BABY! DRILL!"

That Girl: I'm sure it's going to be a real treat.

9:30 PM Kelsey: Also, the idea that taxes are too confusing. You know you can do them on H&R Block for free...but only if you make under $50k, so I suppose most of the people of the convention are out.

That Girl: Uh, yeah. I'd say the majority of this convention is out on that one.

9:31 PM Kelsey: Did you see the guy in the Abe Lincoln costume? I think he escaped for a Vote Yes for Life commercial.

9:32 PM That Girl: I think you're right.

Kelsey: They're doing some weird HandyCam work on PBS. It's making me a little sea sick.

That Girl: I've switched over, so I'm there now.

9:33 PM I always love when they throw in the middle initial. You know, it makes it SO much more official!

Kelsey: What does the 'S' in John S. McCain stand for?

Senile?

9:34 PM Todd finally rangled that baby away from Cindy.

9:35 PM That Girl: Well, it's key to have camera shots with lots of different people holding him, so of course.

Kelsey: The baby daddy got a hair cut!

That Girl: I'd love to have audio of what her kids are saying during this!

Kelsey: Or is he the brother? I can't tell.

That Girl: That's the bro.

Kelsey: They've all got crazy names. I can't keep them straight.

That Girl: The baby daddy has a shaggy 'do.

9:36 PM Miliary mention #1.

Kelsey: I think that almost counts as two.

That Girl: I'll give you that.

9:37 PM Kelsey: Oh, I think he did get a haircut.

That Girl: Oh, the hand holding is a nice touch.

Kelsey: Oh, she's just like the rest of us!

9:38 PM Their family is imperfect, just like yours!

That Girl: Oh, Todd that just got a DUI? Him?

Kelsey: Oh, time to pass the baby!

9:39 PM That Girl: It's hard to smile at everyone with a baby in your arms, silly!

Kelsey: Whoa, she just said he was in a union. I hope the crowd doesn't attack him.

That Girl: Oh man! Did you see that elderly lady? She was going ape shit for this guy!

9:40 PM Faux feminism. Here it starts...

Kelsey: Now that John Edwards is a big cheater, elderly ladies need somebody to love;)

That Girl: Do they shake hands on cue?

Kelsey: Okay, if I was going to vote for her, it would be because she just said "haberdasher!"

9:41 PM That Girl: So, is her family going to stay living in AK if McLame's elected?

Hockey mom mention #1

Kelsey: I don't think so. But I guess I don't know where the VP normally lives.

9:42 PM That Girl: And the media gets charged with 'sexism' if they mention lipstick like on Steve Whackjob's latest post, yet Palin herself can? Huh?

9:43 PM Oh, she didn't!

Kelsey: Oh man, another slam at community organizers.

That Girl: Someone's getting hauled out? What's happening?!

9:44 PM Kelsey: I guess giving the people a voice isn't a job...

That Girl: Must be the Palin Fever (aka psychotic breakdown).

Kelsey: RaceTrack doesn't seem convinced.

Oh yeah, John McCain has never changed his position...

9:45 PM That Girl: Uh, corruption, earmarks, etc. -- not a member of political establishment?

Excquise me?!

Kelsey: It's better because her political establishment isn't in DC.

It's Sin City!

9:46 PM Have you seen this blog from someone in Alaska? It's awesome:
http://mudflats.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/what-is-mccain-thinking-one-alaskans-perspective/

9:47 PM That Girl: I'm going to have to read that for sure. Looks amazing!

Ugh, if Palin's SO, SO experienced, then why isn't she running at the top of the ticket?!

9:48 PM Kelsey: I'm glad someone is giving some Alaskan perspective. We in SD know how much it sucks to have people talk about you without ever listening to you.

That Girl: Agreed.

9:49 PM Steve Hickey has got some competition for Comedian of the Year!

me: Haha

That Girl: Oh, veto? Like your line-item veto against helping teen moms? That one?

Glad you brought that up.

9:51 PM How can this Best Governor in history have gone under the radar for so long?!

Kelsey: Wait, the oil lobby doesn't have any power any more?

I thought Mike Rounds was the Best Governor in history...

That Girl: Exactly.

9:52 PM Not only is she that, but clearly also an expert of foreign policy.

9:53 PM Kelsey: I'm sure she wrote this speech herself between driving kids to hockey.

That Girl: Did you also see that apparently Huckabee made SEVERAL historic flubs in his speech?

me: Really?

That Girl: I didn't catch it, but he said something about how Abe Lincoln founded the Republican party.

9:54 PM Kelsey: Oh yeah, I did catch that. I'm sure that guy in the Lincoln costume was like, "Yeah!"

That Girl: Oh, it was the costume guy's moment!

Kelsey: People were probably slapping him on the back.

That Girl: He probably went balls crazy over that one.

9:55 PM He was like "See! I told you all that there'd be a reason for me to wear this ridiculous costume! Take that!"

Kelsey: Have you seen any other costumes?

That Girl: Does McLame's mom even know where she is? She just looked very, very confused.

Kelsey: Handycam!

9:56 PM That Girl: I've seen some ridiculous hats, but no other costumes. To be fair, though, the DNC also brought some hilarious headwear.

Kelsey: What is it with conventions??

That Girl: Yeah, saving the planet is HILARIOUS!

9:57 PM Kelsey: Almost as hilarious as being a COMMUNITY ORGANIZER! Ha!

That Girl: What's Palin's academic background?

Kelsey: Oh man, reading people their rights is soooo un-American.

That Girl: YEAH!

Kelsey: I'm not sure. She went to college in Ohio, I think.

9:58 PM We should just get rid of trials and throw people in jail for lookin' funny.

I love the people wearing pearls and yelling, "Boooo!"

9:59 PM Oo, best quote I've seen today, from filmmaker Albert Brooks: "Do we want a president who cannot communicate to their own child that possibly having a baby a year after you get your driver's license is not the smartest thing to do? Is this the new way for women to break the glass ceiling? To have their daughters throw their babies at it?" Ha!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/albert-brooks/anyone-can-become-preside_b_123017.html

10:00 PM That Girl: Let's see if anyone gets asked if they think that Palin is qualified to be president if anything happened to McLame. Last night, it was classic.

10:01 PM Everyone made little attempt to make their avoidence look like anything but.

Kelsey: Earlier they were talking to Romney and Huckabee supporters. They tried, but they did not seem sold on Palin.

10:02 PM I think she just challenged Obama to a fight. Four o'clock! Down by the bandshell!

That Girl: Ha ha!

10:03 PM Yeah, you're right. McCain is so exciting. Uh, Colbert anyone?!

Kelsey: Poor Cindy McCain. She wants to make expressions, but the botox will not let her!

That Girl: Man, community organizer mention # 2.7 million.

10:04 PM But just last night, Fred Thompson said that being a POW doesn't qualify someone for pres. So, which one is it?!

Kelsey: Military mention number 3 billion.

10:04 PM Anna has joined

Anna: oh hello there.

That Girl: Like I said, this whole convention has been one giant cluster fuck of chaotic message contradictions.

Kelsey: Welcome to the Palin liveblog!

That Girl: Buckle in!

10:05 PM Kelsey: So far: Military good. Community organizer bad. Haberdasher awesome.

That Girl: LOL!

Anna: She is really sassy about the community organizer thing, isn't she

That Girl: Evil mention #1.

10:06 PM Well, Rudy "Lisp-o-rama" really paved the way on that one.

She just took the ball and ran with it!

Hmmm. Sounds like a one Ms. Unruh, doesn't it?!

"Talking the ball and running with it," that is.

10:07 PM Anna: Was John McCain once a POW?

I'm not clear about this

That Girl: Yeah, I didn't know either.

I'm changing my vote.

Kelsey: I think he was a member of NOW. Maybe that's what you're thinking of.

10:08 PM That Girl: Oh definitely.

Anna: LOL "for a lifetime John McCain has inspired with his deeds." I love all these Republicans forgetting how pissed off they were when he talked to John Kerry.

That Girl: "God bless America!"

I was typing that BEFORE she started, for the record.

Anna: Oh, there was mount rushmore with the American flag.

Kelsey: John Kerry is a turncoat, though...

10:09 PM That Girl: Did she just signal her Pageant sister, Cindo?

Anna: Oh, hey, there's the fam.

That Girl: Of course.

Kelsey: Damn you, Sarah Palin! Damn you for ruining Tina Fey for me!

Now she's holding the baby!

Anna: That boyfriend looks about as comfortable as those pictures of cats wearing human clothes.

10:10 PM That Girl: I knew, knew, knew they'd give the baby back to her!

Anna: He had that exact look on his face for much of the speech

Kelsey: Everyone else in the crowd has had a chance to hold it.

That Girl: Creepy grandpa hug!

Kelsey: And she's done. Baby is crowd surfing now.

Anna: OH HEY THERE'S JOHN wooooooooooo

10:11 PM This is the closest thing to enthusiasm I've seen out of these delegates all week.

That Girl: Palin's youngest daughter has been pretty hilarious this whole time.

Kelsey: Oh man, is he going to talk? I don't think I care. I go to Bingo -- I get to hear plenty of elderly guys ramble.

That Girl: Creepy heart hug!

Anna: She looks like his daughter.

10:12 PM That Girl: Cue talking to all the kids.

Kelsey: I saw a livejournal icon with a picture of Anna Nicole and her old dude husband that said, "McCain/Palin 2008"

That Girl: Oh, snap!

The waving flag as a background is seriously too much!

10:13 PM Kelsey: I actually have the same thing at home.

That Girl: Didn't someone tell Levi to lose the gum? Holy death chew! He's going to damage his jaw with hard chomping.

Kelsey: I bet it's chew:P

That Girl: Alright. What the hell is going on?

10:14 PM Anna: oh my god

Kelsey: Oh no, McCain's wondered off. I hope he doesn't get lost.

Anna: C-span just cut to a woman in the audience, crying

That Girl: Oh man, MSNBC is showing shots of crying women.

Ha ha!

IT'S EVERYWHERE!

Kelsey: PBS is too classy for that:)

Okay: Palin-palooza! Final thoughts?

10:15 PM That Girl: I'm going to first say that my mind is not blown.

She seemed to have kept the "I'm the new Hillary" talk to a minimum.

10:16 PM Anna: She didn't say much of anything about why she should actually be vice-president. The "tee-hee, what is a community organizer??" thing was old the first time Rudy did it.

10:17 PM That Girl: I hope she uses that condescending tone during the debates.

Anna: also p.s., some country-western singers are doing a part spoken-word performance of the national anthem

Kelsey: And they're making fun of community organizers??

That Girl: So I hear.

I heard that one of the bands that played last night after-hours was actually called "Hookers and Blow" and no, I'm not kidding.

Kelsey: I tried to find them on MySpace. No luck.

10:18 PM Anna: whoa, there is a McCain song.

That Girl: That's too bad. I was going to ask them to play at my shotgun wedding.

Anna: "We're all just raisin' McCain."

10:19 PM Kelsey: Well I was impressed. She almost won me over. Then I put down the crack pipe.

That Girl: Yeah, and remembered that you want equal pay to your male counterparts.

Kelsey: Also, my final link for the night: http://jezebel.com/5044279/why-bristol-palins-pregnancy-should-be-fair-game-to-pundits-if-not-democrats

10:20 PM That Girl: Oh gimme a break: this nutso lady on TV just said that "when I heard the Star Spangled Banner, I knew that the McCain/Palin ticket was...blah blah blah."

10:21 PM Kelsey: sigh

That Girl: They need to let some oxygen in that place.

These people are high!

Take a walk, lady.

Kelsey: On Hookers and Blow!

10:22 PM That Girl: Clearly.

Anna: It is funny to see these old white people dancing to that "if the house is a-rockin" song

That Girl: Earlier I saw people square dancing!

10:23 PM Kelsey: Well, you can't beat that.

In 10 Years? Am I Wrong?

Top 5 Repub Convention Annoyances: Day 1

1. Is there any diversity in the Republican Party? It seemed like a gathering of the white Americans to me. I even got a text from a friend of mine who works in HR, saying "It's all white people!" This is the kind of stuff that makes me very proud to be a Democrat!

2. The whole convention seems to be pretty clearly avoiding mention of the Republican Party, Bush 2, or the last friggin’ 8 years! It’s like it never happened…only IT DID! Having watched last night, you’d seriously think that our last president was either Reagan or GHWB, especially with Bush 1 delivering his brief, lame-o speech via satellite and the Dick-ster also not being in the house. Anyway, reminder Republicans: the last 8 years DID happen…and they sucked a royal amount of shit. Lots of us remember that, even if you don't.

3. The Republicans, having been in boredom hibernation until last Friday, are clearly trying to co-opt the Democratic message, now in more ways than one. In the spirit of how the antis have tried to co-opt a ‘feminist’ message against abortion, the Rs are doing the same thing with a ‘feminist’ message for Palin and a message of ‘change’ for McLame. It’s just plain ridiculous. Quit trying to convince the American people that just because Palin’s a woman, she’s comparable to Hillary and just because it’s a DIFFERENT Republican, there will be different policies in Washington. Both are provably untrue. Get off the jealously trip and get your own ideas, you unoriginal bastards.

4. McLame’s rash decision to select Palin as Veep…or should I say, his team of advisors’ decisions?! So, it comes out that Sarah Palin was only vetted briefly on Wednesday night before the Thursday request for her to join McLame. As if we didn’t know that it was a campaign-saving grace to bring the McLame camp back from the dead. That’s exactly what I want in a commander-in-chief: someone who makes last minute decisions and can’t stand his ground. So much for being an “experienced” and “maverick/don’t take any shit” kind of guy. SD Watch has more on the story. And I also loved that when any R was asked on camera last night if Sarah Palin was ready to be president in case something happened to McLame, every single one of them avoided the question and responded with something like “McCain’s in great health, so that’s not gonna happen blah blah blah.” Exactly.

5. I had a Brock Greenfield and Lee Schoenbeck spotting on MSNBC during the Laura Bush “My husband’s not really a total f*** up” speech. They looked bored.

The Long Awaited Bristol Palin Post

I'm loving this press release sent out by the Abstinence Clearinghouse about the Bristol Palin (Seriously? Someone went to the Gwenyth Paltrow school of baby naming) pregnancy. It starts out praising Sarah Palin for how she's 'handled' her daughter getting knocked up. I guess because she didn't kick her out of the house or something. But read a little further and you get the feeling that Leslee and Co. aren't really that comfortable with this whole situation.
Unruh concludes,

"I think one thing remains clear through this all – parents should be the primary sex educators of their children and when a child makes choices other than the message they have been given by the parents, it doesn't mean the message is a bad one. We know of thousands of young people who have waited. Wouldn't it be nice if the media spent as much time showing the success stories of those who have waited until they are married as those who have made mistakes?"

Translation: "Please stop paying attention to this. It makes us look like failures."

I'm not sure there's any way to know how Gov. Palin 'handled' anything. However, since The Abstinence Clearinghouse feels comfortable sending out press releases about Palin's parenting, I don't see any reason not to comment on the part of this whole thing that I find truly insane: the fact that they keep announcing that this girl is going to marry the baby-daddy. If I had told my mother that I wanted to get married at 17, she would've sent me to a convent – and rightly so. Considering how much people piss and moan about the sanctity of marriage, you'd think they'd be a little less comfortable with the idea of teenagers entering into a supposedly life-long commitment. I know it makes everyone feel better to marry off the unwed mothers, but these kind of situations reveal the hypocrisy that I think we all know is there: most of the time, “family values” is more about appearances than happy, healthy families.

Edit: Check out this great column on why teenage motherhood and marriage isn't all sunshine and lollipops.

Love It

Oh my.

Well, it's official. Pastor DooHickey has up and lost his ever lovin' mind.

I suspect this is the same scenario as the disproven Michael Bell letter, where some crony of DooHickey's thinks up some bizarre thing, attributes it to the Campaign for Healthy Families, and then DooHickey disseminates information about it on the internet.

Consider it the 2008 version of VoteYesForLife's fake outrage over yard sign vandalism.

I operate on Judge Judy's sage advice: "If it doesn't make sense, it never happened." I mean, let's think about this: why would the Campaign for Healthy Families send supporters to LifeLight wearing shirts saying "Eat a Queer Fetus for Jesus" and handing out pro-choice tracts to concert-goers? What would they hope to accomplish? It makes no sense at all, right?

Then it probably never happened, at least not as DooHickey presents it to his readers.