Colbert responds to the National Organization For
Marriage

post from Daily Kos on 17 April 2009 11:50:05 PM. © Daily Kos

The Colbert Coalition’s Anti-Gay Marriage Ad:

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he-National-Organization-For-Marriage

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Friday Stuff

post from The Liberal Doomsayer on 17 April 2009 11:50:00 PM. © The Liberal Doomsayer

Stephen Colbert does it again...

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30cThe Colbert Coalition's Anti-Gay Marriage Ad colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor NASA Name Contest

...and praise be, the weekend is here too.

video details and more

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Unpopular and ineffective Sarkozy rips world
leaders

post from AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth on 17 April 2009 11:47:00 PM. © AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth

Oh the irony. Unable to accomplish anything of significance despite big promises, Sarko is now criticizing other world leaders including Obama. Maybe this is how he thinks it will be possible to get his own approval above 40% or somehow help make him more popular. Heck, if it helps him accomplish something - anything at all - go for it. To say that he has been a disappointment to those who voted for him would be an understatement. For those who voted against him or abstained he's been even worse.

According to those present at the lunch, an intra-parliamentary group of 24 politicians working on the global financial crisis, the host's unusual political candour began with the US president, whose star status and media adulation he is understood to envy.

"He said that Obama had a subtle intelligence but that he was recently elected and had never run a state or an authority before," Jean-Pierre Brard, a Communist MP, told the Guardian. Another guest quoted Sarkozy in the Libération newspaper as saying: "There are numerous things on which he [Obama] hasn't got a position and ... he is not always up to scratch with decisions and efficiency."

Enjoying his chance to cast himself as the hero of the global fight against the downturn, Sarkozy ploughed on with some barbed comments about Merkel's leadership during the crisis.

There is a belief here that he's been at the forefront of the crisis despite campaigning and then starting his term promoting "the American model." It's a nice story and many believe it but it's difficult to see the facts that support this theory.

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Nutball Arcana

post from Talking Points Memo on 17 April 2009 11:38:00 PM. © Talking Points Memo

We asked some experts about Tom DeLay's double-bank shot plan to get Texas done seceded out of the USA. [...]

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Want to Have Great Sex Smoke a Joint

post from uncomfortably numb on 17 April 2009 11:33:00 PM. © uncomfortably numb

Marijuana has been used as an aphrodisiac for thousands of years. So what exactly is it about weed that turns people on?By Josey Vogels, My Messy Bedroom.Marijuana has been used as an aphrodisiac for thousands of years.The ancient Indian Ayurvedic medicine systems used cannabis to increase libido, produce long-lasting erections, delay ejaculation, facilitate lubrication and loosen inhibitions.Some Tantric sex practitioners drink a substance called bhang, a sort of spiced marijuana...

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How Many Times Have You Watched Susan Boyle

post from TalkLeft on 17 April 2009 11:19:00 PM. © TalkLeft

Via Jane Hamsher@ Twitter:

So how many times have you watched Susan Boyle?

My answer: At least six, I never get tired of watching it. She was great on Larry King Live tonight as well. I don't know which I like watching more, her singing or the judges' and audience reaction to her when she first started to sing. (Video link here.)

It's great that one person can make so many people in so many countries smile. More than 30 million viewers on You Tube in under a week. I wonder if that's a record.

The reaction among commenters here the other night were terrific. I'm reprinting a few below: [More...]

Anne:

I had chills when she opened her mouth and that beautiful voice came out.

Inspector Gadget:

The world needed a touch of what's real right now. I thought she had a special joy inside her during the introductory interviews (backstage and on stage). She did not show any uneasiness in who she is at all. People who judge by appearance miss a great deal in life, IMHO.

Befuddled Voter:

What a once in a lifetime voice.

MoBlue:

From mockery to amazement in the blink of an eye. Talent wins out. What a fantastic concept.

BocaJeff:

When I first saw the clip and watched the judges and audience reactions grow from dismissal to grand acceptance I swear the smile on my face was from ear to ear and then some. What a gift she has given to everyone - first her voice and then the lesson to never, ever judge a book by its cover...

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Former Miss New Jersey Speaks Out For Medical
Marijuana

post from uncomfortably numb on 17 April 2009 11:18:00 PM. © uncomfortably numb

From MikeCann.netA former Miss New Jersey has put down her tiara and is ready to fight for the legalization of medical marijuana.Georgine DiMaria, 24, said as a child her asthma was so severe that it left her bedridden, forcing her to be homeschooled. ?When you can?t breathe, nothing else matters,? she said.When DiMaria learned that her uncle in South Carolina had used marijuana as part of his treatment for cancer, DiMaria investigated it herself. It helped her immensely, she said. Because...

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Media Matters: What if Fox News threw a tea
party and nobody came

post from Media Matters for America on 17 April 2009 11:16:40 PM. © Media Matters for America

While millions of people were scrambling to make it to the post office by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, far, far fewer showed up at Fox News' Tax Day Tea Parties. Media Matters for America extensively documented the incessant promotion of the tea parties by Fox News and its anchors and contributors. In fact, in the 10 days leading up to the protests, Fox News aired 107 ads promoting them. And in addition to encouraging its viewers to attend the protests, Fox News announced that viewers who couldn't[...]

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So, You Want To Be Vice President

File this one under, you've got to be kidding me:

John McCain’s lead vice presidential vetter said Friday that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin “impressed” in her interview, knocking the senator’s most important questions “out of the park.”

Apparently he didn't ask her what newspapers she read.

So, what were those "most important" questions?

A.B. Culvahouse, a powerful Washington lawyer and former counsel to President Reagan, told an audience of Republican lawyers that for McCain, selecting a vice president came down to three questions: Why do you want to be vice president? Are you prepared to use nuclear weapons? And the CIA has identified Osama bin Laden, but if you take the shot there will be multiple civilian casualties. Do you take the shot?

Here is a recently released copy of the questionnaire:

Sarah Palin's Vice Presidential Questionairre

Sarah Palin's Vice Presidential Questionnaire

And it should be noted that John McCain was willing to put this country at risk when he chose Palin to be a 72-year old heartbeat away:

The Republican attorney recalled that after the vetting process McCain asked him for his “bottom line” on picking Palin. “John,” Culvahouse said, “high risk, high reward.”

“You shouldn’t have told me that,” McCain responded. “I’ve been a risk taker all my life.”

Good call, John. And I say that in all sincerity.

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Department of Book Reports: Tone Deaf in Bangkok
(and other places)

Tone Deaf in Bangkok (and other places) by Janet Brown (Things Asian Press, $12.95)
I was looking around for a book to tell you about, when I saw that our friend Janet's book has just been published. We've known Janet from back when she was the children's bookbuyer at Tower Books, and later travel books at Elliott Bay Books. In the middle there, she spent some years in Thailand and fell in live with the country. As we were moving last year, she was busy packing up her Seattle life to return to her beloved Bangkok. You can visit her blog to get a real picture of what is happening there right now. I read about the drive-by shooting of Sondhi Limthongkul earlier this morning, before any US media were reporting the incident.

Janet writes beautifully about her newly adopted country:

?The road took us through flat,open fields that were a waterless under an unbroken sweep of sky. Grassland held haystacks that looked like giant wasps nests,small temples that were Grecianly chaste in their simplicity, and trees that were so picturesquely placed that it seemed as though they had been positioned by a landscape architect. Emerald green rice paddies were contained by borders as precise as picture frames, and a huge pond filled with lotus filled the horizon.?

And on leaving Seattle:

"I live, at this point in my life, in the ideal American city. Seattle is small enough to be friendly, large enough to be urban, and is surrounded by enough natural beauty to launch a million calendars. Its inhabitants can walk to work, drink the tap water, and pass by a dog without worrying that it might be rabid. It's a city without dengue fever, avian flu, malaria, or leprosy. The temperature rarely goes above ninety degrees or much below freezing. Tourists come to the bookstore where I work, raving about this place, and it takes everything I have to keep from saying, "Thanks. Glad you like it. It bores me silly."

I can't help it. I've been warped for life. I've given my heart and whatever might pass for my soul to a city that is infamous around the world for its sin, pollution, and political chicanery. It's such a filthy place that I've scraped dirt from my skin while sitting in an apartment fifteen minutes after having taken a shower, and I've had to pick my way down neighborhood thoroughfares to avoid stepping in dog shit. The air tastes like a cigarette and frequently smells far worse. Most people can't wait to leave it, and I can't wait to return. Yes, it's true. I'm thoroughly besotted with Bangkok.

Like all lifelong relationships, this one has its flaws. It certainly wasn't love at first sight or a whirlwind romance, and I've tried to file divorce papers more than once, but I've always come crawling back."

I found a preview at googlebooks, and you can also see the pictures there. Tone Deaf in Bangkok is available at Jackson Street Books, and of course fine indies everywhere!

Here's something cool if you know someone who has trouble reading a computer screen. Load this widget into the tool bar and you can activate it on any blog or website. I know a couple people with failing eyesight and I'll be passing it along.

Later today, we'll have live music at Virtual Jackson Street Books. Nick Northman will play between 5 & 6pm, (PDT/SL) Nick's music can be heard at his myspace. Get a Second Life this afternoon and join us! IM Dano Bookmite or Michele Mgresh if you need help.