Thanksgiving Palin

Beware, dead animals ahead

Prop 8 Special Comment

http://sfist.com/attachments/SFist_Brock/prop%208%20hot%20guy.jpg

a little silly for your prop8 woes

Photos

The Beginning, and the end.

Before I drift off to a lullaby sleep, however plagued I am by the possible passing of Prop 8, I cannot help but thank everyone for making this presidential election happen. By everyone I mean every intelligent, caring person I know or do not know. Every person insulted by the Palin pick, discouraged by the ever changing face of John McCain, inspired by the first good man to lead this country in a VERY long time, riveted by the voice of everything they dreamed but could not believe was possible here, brought to action in a process that once stole their voice and left them feeling meaningless, and finally, joined together in a united front against the sickening slope of republican ideology. Many tears and many beers later, I can finally rest.

I thank Barack Obama for allowing me to sleep easy, knowing that this country is one that I can remain a citizen of, much less bring children up in. (Sorry Canada) I thank his family. I am so glad that such a loving family is moving into the white house. I hope their new shelter dog pees all over the rug Cheney put his feet upon. The hippie in me is coming out full force, and I bid you farewell with a "peace, love, and happiness." Lets keep it coming and be the change we want to see. Love,
Margaret

7 pm PST

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Obama Wins Dixville Notch, NH, The First Place To Vote

DIXVILLE NOTCH, N.H. — Barack Obama came up a big winner in the presidential race in Dixville Notch and Hart's Location, N.H., where tradition of having the first Election Day ballots tallied lives on.

Democrat Obama defeated Republican John McCain by a count of 15 to 6 in Dixville Notch, where a loud whoop accompanied the announcement in Tuesday's first minutes. The town of Hart's Location reported 17 votes for Obama, 10 for McCain and two for write-in Ron Paul. Independent Ralph Nader was on both towns' ballots but got no votes.

"I'm not going to say I wasn't surprised," said Obama supporter Tanner Nelson Tillotson, whose name was drawn from a bowl to make him Dixville Notch's first voter.

With 115 residents between them, Dixville Notch and Hart's Location get every eligible voter to the polls beginning at midnight on Election Day. Between them, the towns have been enjoying their first-vote status since 1948.

Being first means something to residents of the Granite State, home of the nation's earliest presidential primary and the central focus _ however briefly _ of the vote-watching nation's attention every four years.

Town Clerk Rick Erwin said Dixville Notch is proud of its tradition, but added, "The most important thing is that we exemplify a 100 percent vote."

Dixville Notch resident Peter Johnson said the early bird electoral exercise "is fun." A former naval aviator, Johnson said he was voting for McCain, but added, "I think both candidates are excellent people."

Voting was carried out in a room in a local hotel festooned with political memorabilia from campaigns long past. Each voter gets an individual booth so there are no lines at the magic hour. The votes were quickly counted, announced and recorded on a posterboard that proclaims, "First in the Nation, Dixville Notch."

Poll Closing Times

“And there must be something about San Francisco and he because it’s like I heard on Fox News today, it’s like a truth serum where when he’s there, he seems to be more candid, and remember it was there that he talked about, there you go, the bitter clingers, the cling-ons, all of us, I guess, you know holding on to religion and guns and, um, so something about he being there in San Francisco." Sarah Palin ragging on all that is holy. Later Sarah!

the palin edit.....

thank you maggie for the awesome voters guide!!!! you rule!!!

California Voter Guide for Every Sensible Democrat

Hello all!

The days are dwindling toward the fateful moments of November 4th. I hope everyone has registered properly. Some of you may even be involved at the polls ensuring an election free from voter suppression. I have been asked by numerous people about early voting and have also been collecting information about the San Francisco initiatives as well as statewide ballot measures which have been the source of much media attention/confusion. This is a one stop source for California residents (at least I think I covered all bases) in need of early voting info as well as what to vote for and against. Please let me know if there is anything I left out. VOTE EARLY if you can!

Further questions? Problems with voting?
Call Election Protection at 1-866-OUR-VOTE
For more information on the upcoming election in SF, visit the Department of Elections web site or call (415) 554-4375.

FOR THOSE L.A. PERSONS, THIS IS FOR YOU:
Los Angeles residents have two options to vote early in California: apply for an absentee mail-in ballot, go to the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder’s Office in Norwalk. Voters can fill out a ballot at 12400 Imperial Highway for the November 4th election.

SAN FRANCISCO VOTERS
*Early voting began in SF October 6, 2008 on the ground floor of City Hall.
you can do so up until Nov. 4th at:
City Hall Rm 48
Grove St & Polk St
San Francisco CA 94102
Hours: 8a-5p; General Early Voting: 10-6 through Election Day

*The last day to request a vote-by-mail is October 28, 2008.

The Department of Elections has mailed the Voter Information Pamphlet & Sample Ballot. The Voter Information Pamphlet provides important election information and includes candidate statements for local contests and summaries of local ballot measures. On the back cover you can find the location of your polling place and an application for a Vote-by-Mail ballot. The Voter Information Pamphlet and your sample ballot are also available online.

Information on the statewide measures can be found in the Voter Information Guide, which is sent by the California Secretary of State.
Furthermore, a list of links is provided below for measure endorsements and more detailed info.

Ranked-Choice Voting
For the upcoming election, San Francisco voters who live in Supervisorial Districts 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9 and 11 will use ranked-choice voting to elect their Member of the Board of Supervisors. Ranked-choice voting allows voters to rank up to three candidates for the same office. This eliminates the need for a separate run off election.

WEBSITES
Dep't Of Elections Website
Declare Yourself
Voter Registration lookup Tool

ENDORSEMENTS AND SUCH
Who is endorsing what
The Guardian/The Best!
Sacramento Bee
League of Women Voters
L.A. Times

And finally, my picks:
President: Obama duh.
Congress, District 6: LYNN WOOLSEY
Congress, District 7: GEORGE MILLER
Congress, District 8: CINDY SHEEHAN, a protest vote against Pelosi.
Congress, District 13: PETE STARK
Superior Court, Seat 12: GERARDO SANDOVAL (Get rid of Mellon, PLEASE)
State Senate, District 3: MARK LENO
State Senate, District 9: LONI HANCOCK
State Assembly, District 12: FIONA MA
State Assembly, District 13: TOM AMMIANO
State Assembly, District 14: NANCY SKINNER

SAN FRANCISCO
Board of Supervisors
District 1: ERIC MAR
District 3: DAVID CHIU, DENISE MCCARTHY, TONY GANTNER
District 4: DAVE FERGUSON
District 5: ROSS MIRKARIMI
District 7: SEAN ELSBERND
District 9: DAVID CAMPOS, ERIC QUEZADA, MARK SANCHEZ
District 11: JOHN AVALOS, RANDY KNOX, JULIO RAMOS

Board of Education
SANDRA FEWER
NORMAN YEE
BARBARA LOPEZ
KIMBERLY WICOFF

Community College Board
MILTON MARKS
CHRIS JACKSON
BRUCE WOLFE

BART Board of Directors
District 7: LYNETTE SWEET
District 9: TOM RADULOVICH

STATE PROPOSITIONS
Proposition 1A
High-speed rail bond: YES

Proposition 2
Farm animal protections: YES

Proposition 3
Children's hospital bonds: NO, with many reservations!

Proposition 4
Parental notification and wait period for abortion: NO

Proposition 5
Treatment instead of jail: YES

Proposition 6
Prison spending: NO

Proposition 7
Renewable-energy generation: NO, with many reservations!

Proposition 8
Ban on same-sex marriage: NO

Proposition 9
Restrictions on parole: NO

Proposition 10
Alternative-fuel vehicles bond: NO

Proposition 11
Redistricting commission: NO

Proposition 12
Veterans bond act: YES

SAN FRANCISCO MEASURES

Proposition A
San Francisco General Hospital bonds: YES

Proposition B
Affordable housing fund: YES

Proposition C
Ban city employees from commissions: NO

Proposition D
Financing Pier 70 waterfront district: YES

Proposition E
Recall reform: YES

Proposition F
Mayoral election in even-numbered years: YES

Proposition G
Retirement system credit for unpaid parental leave: YES

Proposition H
Clean Energy Act: YES

Proposition I
Independent ratepayer advocate: NO

Proposition J
Historic preservation commission: YES

Proposition K
Decriminalizing sex work: YES

Proposition L
Funding the Community Justice Center: NO

Proposition M
Tenants' rights: YES

Proposition N
Real property transfer tax: YES

Proposition O
Emergency response fee: YES

Proposition P
Transportation Authority changes: NO

Proposition Q
Modifying the payroll tax: YES, HOWever...I recently received the following info:
Prop Q is a tax increase on the small businesses that are the lifeblood of our city. It is disguised as a tax cut, but is really a substantial tax increase on businesses with as few as 3 or 4 employees. Prop Q redefines 'payroll', deviating from the state and federal definitions so that the City can start charging a 1.5% income tax on the profits of small businesses. This money goes from the pockets of small businesses to the City's general funds. It is bad tax policy and bad economic policy.


Proposition R
Naming sewage plant after Bush: NO

Proposition S
Budget set-aside policy: NO

Proposition T
Free and low-cost substance abuse treatment: YES

Proposition U
Defunding the Iraq War: YES

Proposition V
Bringing back JROTC: NO

Ok, I am done. Hooray, 3 hours later, you guys better read this stuff!

are you better off?....

this is a website, made by the talented people i work with......
mega-awesome......
http://www.betteroff08.com/

Keith Olbermann's Special Comment: Divisive Politics is Anti-American

Thank you Keith,
Your voice cuts to the ugly parts that can no longer be hidden.
Your ardent follower,
Margaret

a jelly doughnut, telling it like it is....

everyone gets....

See more Hayden Panettiere videos at Funny or Die

The Great Schlep

The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.

government IS the problem

Download this bitches

Around minute 45 there is a special section for Edison....

Republicrats

The old version of Republican and Democrat no longer apply. It's not about actual issues anymore. It's about blue and red. It's about us and them. It's about Olbermann and O'Reilly. Why isn't Obama debating Ron Paul or Ralph Nader? Why isn't anybody paying attention to the actual substance (or lack-therof) in this polical campaign?

Don't take it from me. Take it from the son of William F. Buckley.

"This campaign has changed John McCain," Buckley wrote. "It has made him inauthentic. A once-first class temperament has become irascible and snarly; his positions change, and lack coherence; he makes unrealistic promises, such as balancing the federal budget 'by the end of my first term.' Who, really, believes that?

"Then there was the self-dramatizing and feckless suspension of his campaign over the financial crisis," Buckley added. "His ninth-inning attack ads are mean-spirited and pointless. And finally, not to belabor it, there was the Palin nomination. What on earth can he have been thinking?"

But Buckley made clear he's not just voting against McCain, praising Obama for his "first-class temperament and first-class intellect.

Republicans are the new Democrats.

If we have to move to Canada...

I hate red eyes

It's Wednesday morning. 4:28 AM PDT. I am sitting at the airport in Dulles. Not sleeping. Surfing the internet for pundit opinions on the debate.

Who won?

Who lost?

Who cares?

I'm an addict.

P.S. Please Please Please stop talking about clean coal like it's actually something real.

palin in 60 seconds

too perfect....



whos got your goodies!?
im onna roll today

the word game....

Link: Keating Economics Documentary

http://www.barackobama.com/images/keating/keatingeconomics.mov

post-debate syndrome

An everlasting cringe took a hold of me while watching the vice presidential debate the other night, amidst a room full of my close friends. We all knew that Palin was a wind-up doll (the cute, winking kind). With her mind crammed full of McCain campaign one-liners, two liners, and zingers that will sound great when taken out of context and played as sound bytes on Fox news, a full on shudder emerged as Palin puked her first words. No, you may not call him Joe. Discomfort extended throughout the painful process, with tivo to exacerbate the issue (many pause and bitch sessions). To say the least, it took us almost 3 hours to watch. One person had to leave the room (you can guess who). WE knew better, but I am afraid that by this point I can recognize the rhetoric that ramps up the right wing repubs like nothing else. I was saddened at the realization. Some people were actually cheering her on, somewhere, hopefully far from me but nonetheless. The shudder turned into fear.

Where does this country draw the line? Why do some people run blindly into walls? Should we have a special school somewhere that teaches common sense? I am ready for this to be over, as I am tired of being let down by the stubborn ignorance that is plaguing us. I sound a bit extreme, but extremities are inevitable in this dog and pony show. At least we get Tina Fey to come back around and give us a laugh again.

Palin Debate Flow Chart

Thanks Katie!

Estrogen Blog

When I was in high school, I excelled in math and science. I remember talking to my guidance councilor about my future career options and he suggested I become a math teacher. I became an electrical engineer. Now while this choice certainly wasn't average, there is nothing really extraordinary about it. Plenty of people are electrical engineers. And most of them are probably better at it than I am. But whenever I mention that this is my career of choice I generally get a look of surprise followed by one of the following responses:

"You don't LOOK like an electrical engineer"
"Well you are the prettiest electrical engineer I've ever seen."
"Wow. That must have been really tough. Weren't you like the only girl?"

Although I do not attribute any of the above statements to sexism, they do point to a kind of gender stereotyping that can be dangerous. Throughout school and my career I have experienced a significant amount of sexism. Most of it was subtle. I always tried to deal with it internally. There were probably times I should have been more vocal, but it IS intimidating being a minority. And you come up with defense mechanisms that may or may not be in your best interest.

Now I have been and Obama supporter since I started paying attention, but I loved Hillary Clinton. I didn't always love the way she ran her campaign. But I loved how intelligent and well spoken she was. I loved the way that she was representing women in politics. I understand why so many women felt so passionately about her. And this may be an unpopular thing to say, but I thought that she had every right to call people out on sexism when she did. I realize that it was part of the political game, but I don’t think that she used the so-called "gender card" lightly. That is something that I could relate to.

That is why it is so excruciating for me to watch this Sarah Palin debacle. She is pretty. She is popular. She is everything that Hillary is not. But that is not what this is about. This is about the future of our country. This is about our environment and our freedom of choice. This is about our jobs and our troops overseas. And John McCain has essentially nominated Paris Hilton as his running-mate. I'm sick. I'm sick of watching the right abuse the "gender card" after crucifying Clinton for even mentioning it. I'm sick of wathing the left refer to her as a "Bimbo". I'm sick of watching Katie Couric cringe while she gets caught up in Palin's nonsense.

Sarah Palin is ignorant. She is small minded. She is uneducated. She CANNOT represent my gender in politics. She CANNOT be the one that young girls and women look up to. This is a huge setback for women in politics. I think that this Slate.com article sums it up pretty well:

"But Palin's gender is at the center of another set of reactions I've been hearing and reading among women who don't support her ticket, filled with ambivalence over how bad she is. Laugh at the Tina Fey parodies that make Palin ridiculous just by quoting her verbatim. And then cry. When Palin tanks, it's good for the country if you want Obama and Biden to win, but it's bad for the future of women in national politics. I'm in this boat, too. Should we feel sorry for Sarah Palin? No. But if she fails miserably, we might be excused for feeling a bit sorry for ourselves.

Palin is the most prominent woman on the political stage at the moment. By taking unprepared hesitancy and lack of preparation to a sentence-stopping level, she's yanking us back to the old assumption that women can't hack it at these heights. We know that's not true—we've just watched Hillary Clinton power through a campaign with a masterful grasp of policy and detail. Clinton lost in part because she was the girl grind. Complex sentences, the names of Supreme Court cases, and bizarre warnings about foreign heads of state invading our airspace weren't her problem. The fear now is that Palin is the anti-Hillary and that her lack of competence threatens to undo what the Democratic primary did for women. Palin won't bust through the ceiling that has Hillary's 18 million cracks in it. She'll give men an excuse to replace it with a new one."

Um, what???

Last night I watched the Katie Couric interviews with Sarah Palin. A few days back I tried to read the transcripts. It made me feel illiterate. I seriously thought that maybe I forgot how sentences are supposed to go together. So I decided to put myself through the pain of actually watching the interviews. It turns out my ability to form and understand sentences is in tact. However, the same cannot be said for our favorite Alaskan Governor.

From the Time article Sarah Palin's Foreign Policy Follies

"A number of commentators, including The Atlantic's James Fallows and Slate's Christopher Beam, have said that Palin resembled, in Beam's words, "a high-schooler trying to BS her way through a book report," which is an insult to both high-schoolers and B.S. Palin's answers were hesitant, convoluted and at times — like when she appeared to suggest that Vladimir Putin might be preparing a one-man airborne invasion of Alaska — downright loony"

John Kerry on McCain's actual involvement in bailout negotiations-FOX

On the heels of the announcement that a deal has tentatively been struck to bail out Wall Street, John Kerry appeared on Fox News Sunday and put John McCain’s campaign-suspending stunt into perspective:

"Barack Obama was in constant touch with Secretary Paulson almost every single day, sometimes several times a day for the last two weeks. Barack Obama was the first person to speak and lay out at that meeting at the White House for about seven or eight minutes the entire parameters of what we had resolved. John McCain, when offered the opportunity to speak, passed, didn’t speak until the very end, and when he spoke, did not offer a solution and did not say what he would support. The fact is that on a Monday of about a week ago, John McCain said the fundamentals of our economy are strong. Within a few days, John McCain was suspending his campaign because of the greatest crisis since World War II. He suspended his campaign and it took him 22 hours to get from New York to Washington, a one-hour flight, had time to go do Katie Couric in an interview, had time to give a speech to the Clinton millennium, and when he got here, he wound up — I mean, he said he was going to interrupt his campaign to come down and save the negotiations. Most people believe what he did was interrupt the negotiations to come down and save his campaign."

Sarah Palin is a Dude

In the spirit of the debate, a post

When you are feeling angry, just watch this to cheer up!

Shall I start watching SNL again? I think so!

Sweeeeet SNL skit.

September 18, 2008
Palin's transparency proposal already exists in D.C.
From CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby

Sarah Palin says she will bring the same kind of transparency she brought to Alaska to Washington, D.C..

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (CNN) – Sarah Palin likes to tell voters around the country about how she “put the government checkbook online” in Alaska. On Thursday, Palin suggested she would take that same proposal to Washington.

“We’re going to do a few new things also,” she said at a rally in Cedar Rapids. “For instance, as Alaska’s governor, I put the government’s checkbook online so that people can see where their money’s going. We’ll bring that kind of transparency, that responsibility, and accountability back. We’re going to bring that back to D.C.”

There’s just one problem with proposing to put the federal checkbook online – somebody’s already done it. His name is Barack Obama.

In 2006 and 2007, Obama teamed up with Republican Sen. Tom Coburn to pass the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, also known as “Google for Government.” The act created a free, searchable web site – USASpending.gov — that discloses to the public all federal grants, contracts, loans and insurance payments.

In June of this year, Obama and Coburn introduced new Senate legislation to expand the information available online to include details on earmarks, competitive bidding, criminal activities, audit disputes and other government information.

Palin might also have noted that her running mate, John McCain, was an original co-sponsor of the 2006 transparency bill that became law.

UPDATE: A campaign spokesperson insisted that Palin was referring not to that specific proposal, but rather to "that kind of transparency in general."

will this man ever cease to be a genius?!?!

STING!!!!!!

Sarah Palin Won't Blink

Do yourself a favor

Educate
Yourself
Make Your Own
Decisions

Please Read

I am overworked with school and have not had time to write anything of substance. I am delighted to find that someone else summed up my feelings, beliefs and disgust quite eloquently and much more extensively than I could. PLEASE check it out :)
M

http://www.redroom.com/blog/tim-wise/this-your-nation-white-privilege

Chris Matthews Battles Nancy Pfotenhauer Over Economic Fundamentals

I wish I could have tripped Nancy on her way out of the building. Can't the repubes come up with more than a one-liner these days?

What have you become?

Missing Bill

Last night I watched a show on PBS about past presidential debates. It started covering Carter and Ford and went all the way through Bush/Kerry. But the worst part was watching the Bush/Gore debates. Mostly because it was like watching the republicans today. All venom. No Substance. We have had eight years of death, greed and hatred. It has not served us. We are not safer. We are not economically sound. Our dollar is weak. We can't afford health care. The division of wealth grows wider and wider. And despite all the suffering it seems like nobody has learned from the mistakes of the current administration.

My favorite part of the debate was when Jim Lehrer started talking about the budget surplus. Yes you heard me right. I said surplus. The conversation went something like this:

JL: "One of the problems facing the next president is the current budget surplus. Right now there is a $230 Billion surplus and it is estimated that we will have a $4.5 Trillion surplus by the year 2010. What will you do with this surplus?"

AG: "Well Jim, I will put it back into the hands of hard working Americans. I will create programs that support social security, provide health care, address our environmental concerns and I will cut taxes for the middle class."

GWB: "That is ridiculous Al. Here's what I'm going to do. First, I will take that money and start a war that we cannot win based on false pretenses. Then I will give a large chunk of it to Haliburton and other companies that I'm in bed with. Then I will take what's left over, turn it into gold coins and fill up an entire room in my house with them so I can swim around in them like Scrooge McDuck. Heh heh heh heh heh."

2000: $230 Billion Surplus
2008: $418 Billion Deficit

Thank you G Dubs

Tina Fey Rocks Sarah Palin

biters

how come mccain/palin got cali tv adds, spouting about how they're republican fighters....and "real" change mavericks!?!?? how bout' you get your own campain slogan? how bout.....instead of watering down all your politics....you say what you really want......more war, more oil, more jesus......more of the same, same, same........just be honest......here, how bout i start..........this elections repulican ticket is an ancient, dust farting, war monger, fogey who can't lift his arms very high....... and a nincompoop, sad attempt at diversity, silly, empty vessel for campain slogans........ahhh....now doesnt that feel better....

Palin Interview Part 1,2 (spooky)

Part II

A favorite!

My First Blog!

If Palin ever gets near the office of president, I am leaving this severely crippled country. So yes, I am biased, but I will try to post and distribute unbiased info. It may seem biased but that is only because Palin is a pathetic attempt to pull one over on us. Her stupidity really shines through so it is hard to cast her in a good light. Read up!