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5. | south dakota | ||
A wonderful state with four actual seasons, often unpredictable and running together which makes life interesting. Also the home of a wonderful college named NSU with amazing professors and music programs! Yeah! I love South Dakota!
1. | South Dakota | ||
A state that isn't half as bad as people make it sound. Sure, they have their rednecks, but that only fills a eleventh of the state's popularity. Sioux Falls is probably the most civilized part of SF. South Dakota is not a hick state.
2. | south dakota | ||
South Dakota isn't what everyone thinks it is. I mean, sure, we have our rednecks and our crazy people.. but thats not what makes our state. How many of you big city people could wave to a complete stranger and not get the middle finger waved at you? In South Dakota the people are friendly and welcoming. Everyone thinks that all we have is Mt. Rushmore.. but thats not it. We have some of the best hunting in the country, not to mention some of the prettiest scenery! And no, we don't still live in teepees.. we have technology just like everyone else. So when you're ready to appreciate the beautiful things in life.. come to South Dakota. Jane: "Lets go to South Dakota for our next vacation!"
Richard: "Whats in South Dakota?" Jane: "Hunting, fishing, Mt. Rushmore, The Badlands, Storybook Land, the prettiest scenery and so much more! Theres lots to do in South Dakota!" |
3. | south dakota | ||
fuck you all!!! south dakota is awesome!! you wouldn't know unless you lived there, and i live there!! no we are not just a bunch of fat farmers, we actually have a life and do have modern day things like any other state. so shut the fuck up!!! you don't know south dakota SD may have a small population, but kiss my ass
4. | south dakota | ||
South Dakota isn't all hicks and Indian Casinos. I assure you, i'm most definently not a fat farmer. I can't stand farms or livestock. It's an actual place, with actual people. Yes, we have technology just the same as New York or Los Angeles. We even have colored television!! WoaHHh! S.D. does have Mt. Rushmore, whatever, it's not like we're totally proud of it or anything. It means as much to us as it does to you. Yes, the badlands are pretty bland, not too special. But at the end of the day, we brush our teeth and go to sleep just like you and there's things to do here aswell if you stop sterotyping it all as hickville. Chris: Dude, let's road trip to the Black Hills.
John: No way man. It's so boring. South Dakota is gay. Chris: Nah. It's pretty much the best place ever. |
6. | South Dakota | ||
Place where we do indeed have technology. Sure, our population is small, but the people are actually friendly. Yes, we do have quite a few rednecks but that's not the entire state... And nobody here cares about Mt. Rushmore or the corn palace, we think of it just the same as the rest of you....kinda lame.... and btw, you think we love all you tourists either???? it annoys the hell out of us in the summer! Person 1: Hey dude let's go diss on a state that we've only been to on the stupid vacations our parents make us go on.
Person 2: You mean somewhere like South Dakota, where all the tourists go to see Mt. Rushmore and where all the locals hate us? Person 1: Yep, pretty much... |
7. | South Dakota | ||
If you start your journey in western South Dakota, Rapid City is the
largest city in that part of our state. It has one of our major airports and it is located along Interstate 90. You'll find a wonderful variety of city parks, hiking and biking trails, The Journey Museum, shopping, and events throughout the year. Rapid City is the hub from which you can tour several attractions in western South Dakota. As you travel south out of Rapid City, one of the first major attractions is Reptile Gardens on Highway 16. They have educational shows that include birds of prey, alligator wrestling, and information on various snakes from around the world. They also have birds and tortoises. Nearby is Bear Country USA , a drive-through wildlife park, which also includes other wild animals like lions. They have a great visitor center that is at the end of the park's drive-through route. Continuing south, the next major attraction is our most famous attraction - Mount Rushmore National Memorial on Highway 244. There are park rangers who give guided tours; they have a visitor center with park officials on duty; and there is a dining room and gift shop at the Memorial. The museum has interactive exhibits, a theater with films about carving the mountain, a walking trail, and a patriotic evening lighting ceremony. Not too far away is a mountain carving in progress that pays tribute to many Native American tribes in North America. You can learn more about this... |


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- Ingredients A-Z
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Ingredients by
Dolmades (Stuffed Vine Leaves)
You will find the vine leaves for this favourite easy recipe in packets in supermarkets.
Serves 4, or 6 as a starter
Conversions |
Need help with conversions? |
Equipment |
You will also need a 2 pint (1.2 litre) lidded, flameproof casserole. |
First, soak the vine leaves in boiling water for 20 minutes, then drain and spread out each leaf flat – vein side uppermost. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the pine nuts until golden. Then add the cooked rice, one-third of the tomatoes, the purée, half the oregano, the mint, parsley, cinnamon and garlic. Stir well, then cook for 2 minutes.
Now add the lemon juice and season. Spoon a dessertspoonful of the mixture on to the stalk end of a leaf and fold once, pressing the filling to a sausage shape. Then tuck in the sides of the leaf and roll it up to make a tight, cylindrical parcel.
When all the leaves are filled, spoon half of the leftover tomatoes into the casserole. Now pack the dolmades in and spoon the remaining tomatoes and oregano on top. Add a seasoning of salt and pepper, pour over 2½ fl oz (65 ml) water, put a lid on and simmer very gently for 1 hour. Serve hot or cold with the juices spooned over.
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Today's post is brought to you live from Colorado Springs! In order to pack for this mini-vacation, I had to dig out all of my winter clothes. All was going well until I made an unfortunate discovery: one of the buttons on my favorite coat came off. Button in one hand, coat in the other, did I know how to fix it? Absolutely not.
You see, this is where my friend Caroline could've really lent a hand. Caroline grew up by her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother's side; three women who knew and believed women can be domestic AND empowered. That they can make a home AND a career. And that they can be good at both.
Recently, I spent a morning with Caroline to photograph her beautiful face and document her work in the kitchen for her new website (coming soon): Domestic Darlin': Modern Messages for the Domestically Challenged. The purpose of the site is to teach basic domestic skills to other women who may not have had the luxury of hands-on learning in the home, or simply haven't developed confidence in these areas. Caroline believes every woman can master domestic skills, they just need a little guidance and direction to get started.
I really believe that as young women, there are certain little, simple skills that go a long way towards make your home a warm, welcoming place for you, your friends, and/or your family. And the ability to create that environment lends itself toward creating happy memories and stronger family ties. What makes our generation of women so strong is that we can do anything. But in getting to this point, and fighting through feminism, homemaking acquired a certain stigma. I've even made snide comments about girls who go to college for their "MRS degree."
Three generations taught Caroline everything she knows about sewing buttons, baking from scratch, arranging flowers and so much more. A large part of her childhood was spent in the kitchen: baking bread with her great-grandmother, cakes with her grandmother and learning from (and actually meeting!) Martha Stewart with her mom. Growing up in her home, the kitchen was the gathering place, more than a TV or family room.
The women in my family have carried on very strong, domestic traditions, but are still very independent, intelligent women. I remember finding a button of my great grandmother's (Randy Duncan) that said "A woman's place is in the House…and the Senate, and the Oval Office." She was a super feminist for her time!
Lessons coming soon on the Domestic Darlin's website. Until then, if you're interested in learning more or want to ask Caroline a question directly, follow her on Twitter @crfabacher or @adomesticdarlin. While you're at it, you might want to ask her for the brownie recipe she used the day of this shoot. They are seriously the best brownies I've ever had in my LIFE! I know I'm looking forward to following the DD's work, and picking up a few new skills of my own! Who knows, maybe I'll even be able to fix this coat button.


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breaking news
Dothan Police Are on the Hunt for a Woman for Fraudulent Credit Card Use
Police need your help in locating a woman who is wanted for fraudulent use of a credit card.
Dothan Woman Arrested for Forgery
On April 3, 2013 the Dothan Police Department made a felony arrest following the investigation of a forgery complaint.
Arrest Brings Burglary Case to a Close
On April 8, 2013 Calvin Cochran Jr. was taken into custody on a first degree Burglary charge.
Need Help? Want to Help? A Local Program Can Help
There are over 16,000 nonprofit, state, faith-based and community organizations in Alabama that provide a number of specialized services.
Sixteen Schools Honored with National Excellence in Urban Education Awards
The National Center for Urban School Transformation at San Diego State University announced sixteen schools as winners of its 2013 National Excellence in Urban Education...
U.S. Representative Martha Roby Releases Statemen on Obama's Budget Proposal
U.S. Representative Martha Roby reacted to President Obama's budget proposal in the following statement.
Roby Introduces Bill to Provide Working Families More Time Flexibility
House Republicans, led by Representative Martha Roby introduced legislation that will remove an unnecessary federal restriction on the private sector and help Americans better balance family...
Two Dothan Teachers Among Best In Alabama
Tracy Pruitt and Barbie Nelson in running to become Alabama Teacher of the Year.
ACES to host Youth Entrepreneur Conference at 4-H Center
The Alabama Cooperative Extension System in collaboration with Auburn University and Tuskegee University will hold its first Youth Entrepreneurship Conference.
Career Countdown Career Development and Money Management Program
The Alabama Cooperative Extension System will conduct the Career Countdown for Northview High School Ninth Grade students.


text:
Search IssueA green building, also known as a sustainable building, is a structure that is designed, built, renovated, operated, or reused
in an ecological and resource-efficient manner. Green buildings are designed to meet
certain objectives such as protecting occupant health; improving employee productivity;
using energy, water, and other resources more efficiently; and reducing the overall impact
to the environment. A green building may cost more up front, but saves through lower oper../MORE
related issues +ADD construction (general).. , building technology.. , sustainable architecture.. , green building.. , adobe architecture.. , earthbag construction.. , ecourbanism.. , art and sustainability.. , green roofs.. , green walls, vertical gar.. , energy and form.. , bioclimatic cities.. , ecological design.. , bioclimatic design.. , sustainable design.. , related buildings +ADD
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Last weekend, the town of Roseboro celebrated the start of May with a community event — the May Day Affair — on Saturday, May 4. One of the major highlights of the community day was a 5K run created and organized by Roseboro Elementary School.
Race participants began putting foot to pavement at 9 a.m., beginning and ending the run on Railroad Street between the town's park and the Railroad Street Steakhouse.
"We had 119 people register for the run and 101 showed up and actually ran," shared Jessica Eason, guidance counselor at Roseboro Elementary and one of the race's main organizers.
Thrilled with the good turnout, Eason noted that all ages and levels of experience were represented in the race. "All ages were invited to participate. I think the youngest one we had to register was a six year old and the oldest was probably in their seventies. Age didn't matter and neither did ability. You didn't have to run. We had some walkers."
It was appropriate for community members of every age to be involved given how the idea for Roseboro's first 5K came about.
Girls on the Run/Team P.R.I.D.E., an after-school program in its first year at Roseboro Elementary, was the inspiration for the community race.
According to Eason, Girls on the Run is a YMCA program out of Wilmington and Team P.R.I.D.E. is the Roseboro Elementary's team. "We are the first school in this area to do this program and it's a wonderful. The girls love it."
P.R.I.D.E. stands for positive, respectful, independent, determined, and extraordinary, all characteristics the school wants its young female students to possess.
"There is a whole curriculum that goes with the program. It teaches the girls that it is okay to be yourself. You don't have to be a follower. You can step out of the box and be who you are," explained Eason. "It really helps them develop character, and then of course there is the running and exercise aspect of it."
Thanks to the after-school program, many girls at Roseboro Elementary have discovered their love for running and for being part of a team, and they were excited to be able to participate in a 5K right in their hometown and with all their friends and family.
"I was very excited about our race! I was proud of myself because I didn't give up," said third-grader Emily Flores. "I love being a part of Team P.R.I.D.E. because I have fun and get to exercise. I am sad that it is over."
"I was excited about our race on Saturday. I was ready to win," added fellow third-grader Breanna Smith. "I learned through Team P.R.I.D.E. I can trust the girls on my team."
"The race was a life-changing experience and it felt like we were helping something grow or get better," noted fifth-grader Rolonda Parker.
Race participants paid $25 to register to run prior to the day of the race or $35 to register on the day of the race. The registration fee included a Running with P.R.I.D.E. T-shirt and bracelet.
Although she did not have a final total yet, Eason shared that "we should have raised about $1,500" and explained that the funds will go toward keeping the Girls on the Run/ Team P.R.I.D.E. after-school program going at the school.
"We want to be able to pay for our kids to be involved in the program. We don't want them to have to worry about having to pay for it," noted Eason, adding that the school would also like to start the boys' version of the same after-school program which is known as Stride.
The positive effects that Team P.R.I.D.E is having on the students involved is obvious, made very clear by the girls' enthusiasm for the program.
"Team PRIDE means a whole lot to me. At the race I felt like, 'I can do this.' I never gave up as I have full faith in me. Nobody can stop me. I will always be myself," shared fourth grader Ashlee Spates.
Fellow fourth-grader Dakota Brennan added that "Team P.R.I.D.E. is a place to have fun and get to know other people. It teaches us that there are positive and negative things in life. Team PRIDE also keeps us fit and healthy."
"Girls on the Run/Team P.R.I.D.E. has been such a wonderful group to be in and I'm so happy that I could be in it. I hope it lasts a very long time so others could experience it," attested fifth grader Zanaya Brown.
Thanks to the community's support and involvement, Team P.R.I.D.E. is set to be fixture at Roseboro Elementary for years to come, something the coaches are equally excited about.
"I was extremely pleased with the dedication and hard work that Team P.R.I.D.E. has shown to put this race together, and very excited with the community's participation and support. I hope it continues to help this annual event grow every year," said the school's P.E. teacher Megan Strickland.
"I was so proud of all the girls on Saturday. They were dedicated and determined to finish the race. Team P.R.I.D.E. has been a wonderful experience for our girls at RES and I look forward to watching this program grow and prosper each year," added fourth grade teacher Betsy Autry.
Fellow fourth-grade teacher Randi Kay McMillan shared, "I am very proud of the hard work and dedication these girls have put in over the last year. This program has helped these girls grow so much and learn that it's okay to be yourself. The look of accomplishment they have on their faces once they finish makes every minute in this program worth it."
Roseboro Elementary principal Tonya Colwell couldn't be prouder of the new program and attested to positive impact it is having on everyone involved."Team P.R.I.D.E. has been an awesome program for the participants as well as the coaches. The girls have definitely moved forward throughout the year. Witnessing them having had the opportunity to experience places that they have never been and being a part of the first Team P.R.I.D.E. run are a couple highlights of my year."
"I would like to thank the Town of Roseboro, our 5k participants, parents, and numerous volunteers for the role they played in helping Team PRIDE put on this event. A special thank you to our RES Team PRIDE coaches Jessica Eason, Betsy Autry, Megan Strickland, Ashley Honeycutt, and Randi Kaye McMillan. These ladies put in countless hours, week after week, to ensure that our girls were always moving forward. The 5k run was a huge undertaking but these coaches had a vision and they worked diligently to make it come to reality," continued Colwell. "It is our hope that we will be able to include more students next year."
As decision-makers for the town of Roseboro, the town commissioners were "so excited when the teachers from Roseboro Elementary presented their 5K idea," shared commissioner Alice Butler, grateful for the school's active and positive involvement in the community. "They did a wonderful job organizing it and also had a great turn-out. These teachers literally went the extra mile for their students. Seeing all the smiles on the participants was a sure sign that everyone enjoyed it and we hope this was just the first of many 5K runs in Roseboro."
Lauren Williams can be reached at 910-592-8137, ext. 117 or via email at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Himesh Reshammiya will disappear as a hero after his upcoming movie Karzzzz ??? This is absolutely wrong! Himesh will be seen not in one, two or three but four… Read more


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Helsinki, Finland, 12-14 September 2012. Organized by EC, hosted by STUK, and co-sponsored by WHO.
Vienna, Austria, 20-21 September 2012. Organized by the ESR.
San Juan, Puerto Rico, 30 September - 03 October 2012.
Bonn, Germany, 2 December 2012. Organized by WHO, hosted by BMU. For information please send an email to: firstname.lastname@example.com
Bonn, Germany, 2 December 2012. Jointly organized by ICNIRP and WHO, hosted by BMU
Bonn, Germany, 3-7 December 2012. Organized by the IAEA, co-sponsored by WHO, hosted by BMU.
Poznan, Poland, 4-6 June 2013.
Geneva, Switzerland, 23-27 June 2014
Barcelona, Spain, 07-12 September 2014
Radiation Programme Department of Public Health and Environment World Health Organization CH1211 Geneva 27 Switzerland


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The Emancipation
Design by Kneil Melicano
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darkitten on Mar 20, 2013 at 15:57:38
would loveto have one of these lunchbags. please make them again!
lanaco on Feb 28, 2013 at 02:31:28
I'm having the same trouble with requesting a reprint for the lunchbox. These look Awesome and would love to have one to use for work :) Please make more lunchboxes!!!
Charliieee on Feb 26, 2013 at 19:26:35
I want it!! Why doesn't the request reprint option work for this lunch bag? Someone should fix that ;) heehee
nallukka on Nov 26, 2012 at 17:42:41
This is beautiful! I'm not crazy about the rainbow cloud scarf design or the yeah attitude despite loving rainbow straps and the orange and blue but the liberty/freedom is really beautiful-more artistic designs less fluff please. I'd REALLY love Threadless to partner with the bag makers who have those (effective, USA made) stay hot/stay cold 3hour bags that come in normal and gigantic size-I can put 3half gallons of egg nog, cheeses, yogurt, and more in the big but have both sizes to prevent squishing anything.
justtrin on Nov 8, 2012 at 16:25:48
Im trying to request it but it only let me do it as tshirts .. i want this!
gateflanga on Oct 23, 2012 at 14:47:07
I wish these went into production again, would love to get one.
Diablo 3 Mouse Pad Review
Diablo 3 Mouse Review
Diablo 3 Speed Review
Argidy on Oct 21, 2012 at 19:44:10
Is there *any* way to get one of these? Threadless seems to have stopped all production of lunch bags, and I only learned about this after it had been sold out.
robotulism on May 3, 2012 at 15:38:04
Please please bring these back!! I love them so much! I would actually think about bringing my own lunch to work if I had one. See? You'll be making me healthier and the world greener! Win-win!
Bad Dolly on Apr 10, 2012 at 12:10:17
more lunch bags!
NSgirl on Apr 3, 2012 at 12:40:14
I love the idea of lunch bags. Bring more designs or at least reprint this one.
bluesandie on Jan 19, 2012 at 15:14:59
awwwwwwwwwwww man this is so cool looking, hope this gets reprinted soon ;)
OmenMink on Dec 22, 2011 at 22:00:29
Sold out? Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy??? :(
bouvarida on Oct 21, 2011 at 16:16:15
I love the idea of lunch bags, for both adults and children. It would be nice to see an enlarged picture of the image on each of the lunch bags though, so one can see the image design more closely.


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Cycling Tours
Sort by: A-Z NewestBike About
ike About was first established in 1996 in the Adelaide Hills, South Australia, with the [...]
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Bike Asia
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BIKE BUFFS Sydney Bicycle Tours
We are a Bicycle Tour Company that offers Day Tours, Twilight Tours, and Corporate/Private Tours [...]
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Hotel Milano & Helvetia, Via Milano 2 Riccione, Milan, Agrigento, n/a, Italy
Bike Mongolia
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From fun cycling tours to educational programs promoting cycling in every way. – Bike Hire [...]
PO Box 944, Tewantin, Queensland, 4565, Australia
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We provide carbon fiber bike rentals for cycling in these areas in France: Burgundy, Pyrenees, [...]
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The Bike World Explores Myanmar Inn is situated at #10F Khabaung Rd, Hlaing Township in Yangon, [...]
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13 Karaiskaki St, Athens, 105 54, Greece
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Bikeit You'll Likeit specialise in French cycle holidays in the Creuse area of central France. [...]
2 Place de l'Hotel de Ville, Auzances, France, 23700, France


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The Chrome Kursk is an ideal low profile cycling shoe designed for riders who want one pair of shoes to cope with their
commute and work day, and who don't want to change their shoes off the bike for a seamless transition from cycling to walking. Built with all of the support and details you need for riding, like a lace shoe garage, a reflective rear, and a board-lasted sole with a fiberglass shank, yet flexible enough to provide a natural walking gait off the bike. Fit: Narrow fit is true to sizeMade of Chrome's 1,000 denier Cordura with back-padding100% vulcanized constructionLow ...
The Quoc Pham New Fixed Shoe is a traditional touring style, hand lasted bicycle shoe, with a natural leather upper and rubber sole. The latest iteration of the highly popular Quoc Pham Fixed Shoe, the 'New' model offers a timeless track style design with a slighter wider arc to the lacing area.The New Fixed is crafted with natural leather upper that offers many advantages of a synthetic construction. Leather breathes, neutralises odours, softens and moulds to fit the wearer. Furthermore, it is warm and wind resistant in cold weather yet cool and absorbent in summer.Quoc Pham shoes ...
The Chrome Kursk Midway Shoe is an ideal cycling shoe for the rider looking for a seamless transition from cycling to walking.Built as tough as Chrome's Messenger Bags, the Chrome Kursk Midway fuses Cordura with durable suede, and at the rear, rocks a rear reflective tab for low light visibility. Stiff enough to provide a powerful pedal stroke, the Midway still maintains sufficient flex to allow a natural walking gait away from two wheels.Buy these if you don't want to have to change your shoes off the bike, wherever the day may take you.Fit: Narrow fit is true to size. Order the same ...
The Chrome Lower Southside shoe offers the urban cyclist a low profile silhouette alongside breathable side panels, an oiled full-grain leather outer and a latex wedge in the heel for impact cushioning. Non-SPD, so really designed for cyclists who ride flat pedals with or without pedal cages, the Lower Southside's non bikey looks make it an ideal city cycling shoe for wherever the day takes you. Oiled full-grain leather with lightweight, breathable Polyester quartersBlown rubber midsole wedge for maximum comfortUnderstated leather punch eyelets with one steel eyelet at ankleEmbossed Chrome ...
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text: The Birth of a Nation Declaration of Independence and U.S. Coin Collector Set features a beautiful facsimile of the Declaration of Independence, one of the most important documents in the United States. It comes mounted in an exquisite wood frame. The set also includes three 1776-1976 Bicentennial coins that pay tribute to the 200th anniversary of America's beginnings. Set includes: Facsimile of the Declaration of Independence, 3 Bicentennial coins, The Eisenhower Dollar, The JFK Half Dollar, The Washington Quarter, Certificate of Authenticity. A perfect gift for a history enthusiast or as an addition to any child's coin collection. For all ages. Beautiful facsimile of the Declaration Comes mounted in an exquisite wood frame Set also includes 3 1776-1976 Bicentennial coins Certificate of authenticity included For all ages


text:
Serigraph (silk screen) is a fine art term used in the reproduction of an image. Special paper is used to keep the integrity of the original design and the colors. Each print is offered framed and double matted. Sliding hardware is used for ease in hanging. Each print is signed and numbered by the artist, Mordechai Rosenstein. Prints are also available unframed.
*NEW* All serigraphs are also available hand done in 3-D! Click here for a demonstration
(click image to enlarge)


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Plaid Blanket for BabiesBy: Bernat Let the baby cuddle up in this soft blanket with cheerful colors appropriate for a boy or girl. Yellow, blue and green create the soft plaid in this knitting baby blanket pattern from Bernat Yarns. Knit blankets made great gifts for baby showers.
Measurement: Gauge: 13 sts and 24 rows = 4" (10 cm) in stocking st.
Finishing: Sew squares tog using flat seam to form blanket 6 squares wide by 8 squares long (see Diagram). Upper edging: With RS of work facing and A, pick up and knit 14 sts across each square along top edge of Blanket. 84 sts. Left side edging: With RS of work facing and A, starting at upper left corner, pick up and knit 3 sts along side of Upper Edging, 14 sts across each square down side of Blanket. 115 sts. Embroider Plaid Lines: With B, embroider chain stitch to complete thin plaid lines (matching dotted lines in Diagram). Related Products to Buy from CutRateCrafts.com - save 15-30% |
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Thanks for the info!
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17 posts
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Re: SK-3005Is there some way I can get a pic of the mount or some dimensions so I can make sure it will work in the spot I have planed?
Thanks Mike
Re: SK-3005Hate to be a bother but were you able to get any pic's or dimensions on the SKA-850 panel?
Thanks Mike
Re: SK-3005The Panel is
3.5 Tall 7.75 wide 4.75 deep The outer surface of the panel is a rough black coating.
Re: SK-3005Thanks for the info, I have ordered one and think it will work in the cabnet where I plan to put the control box..
Re: SK-3005Received the panel mount yesterday and installed the control box, works very well but one thing that I would suggest is that for the price Winegard include the (4) counter sunk black mounting screws in the box.
Re: SK-3005I am not sure how we missed that.
I will see to it that they are included in the future.
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Sickened at the prospect that a victory for reformist Mir-Hossein Mousavi in the Iranian presidential election might have led to better relations with the United States, neoconservatives here and their fellow war hawks in Israel are celebrating the dubious victory of hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Yes, this is true: Right-wingers in America and Israel don't want peace with Iran, nor do they want anyone to get the impression that President Obama's efforts at engagement with Iran might actually work, nor do they give a damn about the Iranian people. Mad Mahmoud is the man neocons love to hate, and they're as happy as clams that their guy found a way to steal the election.
Had Mousavi won the Iranian election as many in Iran and around the world hoped, it would likely have signalled a new and more positive direction for U.S.-Iranian relations as well as providing support for the "Obama Doctrine" of engagement with Iran and others in the Muslim world with which America's relations have been troubled. Such a development would at the same time have undercut the neocon attitude of hostility and suspicion toward Iran, as well as undercutting the right-wing Israeli government's aggressive stance toward Iran. As we know, neocons can tolerate peace only when it is imposed with an iron fist or the heel of a jackboot, and the prospect of peace through diplomacy in the Greater Middle East must surely have given them nightmares the rest of us could scarcely imagine.
In the run-up to the Iranian election last week, Daniel Pipes of the right-wing Middle East Forum came right out and admitted in a speech at the right-wing Heritage Foundation that he would actually vote for Ahmadinejad if he were allowed to vote in Iran (video). This speech was followed by a June 12 blog post by Pipes in which he reiterated that he was "rooting for Ahmadinejad" based on the twisted logic that the fundamentalist clerics who really rule Iran will always be our enemies and it's better to have an Iranian president we can really hate than "a sweet-talking Mousavi" who lulls us into thinking we can be friends. Never mind the aspirations or even basic human rights of the Iranian people; never mind anyone's desire for peace in the Greater Middle East. I've long had a pretty strong distaste for Daniel Pipes, but following this admission I'm more convinced of his utter vileness than ever. This is, after all, a man who has publicly advocated for the profiling and internment of Muslims in America, and who considers Israeli and Palestinian existence mutually exclusive (see Sourcewatch). As we leave the age of the neocons behind, I look forward to watching Pipes and others like him slide into the bitter, drooling irrelevance and oblivion they deserve.
The American Enterprise Institute's equally malignant Michael Rubin likewise told Kathryn Jean Lopez at the National Review that it might be better for Ahmadinejad to win, because a Mousavi win might give Obama and the rest of us the impression that diplomacy was actually working. Painting Iran as inherently and hopelessly evil, Rubin said of the Iranian election that should Mousavi win "it would be easier for Obama to believe that Iran really was figuratively unclenching a fist when, in fact, it had its other hand hidden under its cloak, grasping a dagger." James Taranto strikes a similar tone in the Wall Street Journal, warning against the "eagerness to see Obama's feel-good foreign-policy approach succeed."
Now that the Iranian election appears to be over, right-wingers will be tripping over themselves in the rush to use Ahmadinejad's victory against Obama. In fact, once and future Republican U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney has already piped up, saying that Ahmadinejad's win is proof that Obama's "policy of going around the world and apologizing for America is not working." These losers obviously have nothing left but the hope that Obama will fail, or can at least be said to have failed. I look forward to watching Romney and his party lose again in 2012.
Right-wingers in Israel, meanwhile, have been making noises very similar to their American bedfellows, and appear to see nothing good for themselves in any warming of relations between the U.S. and Iran, as observed by M.J. Rosenberg at TPM. From Israel in the run-up to the Iranian election Yaakov Katz wrote in the Jerusalem Post that members of the Israeli defense establishment were "silently praying" for an Ahmadinejad victory, fearing that a Mousavi win would result in decreased pressure on Iran and its nuclear program. Now that Ahmadinejad appears to have successfully stolen the election, Israeli officials and their allies in America are calling for renewed pressure on Iran. Meanwhile, Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff write in Haaretz that an Ahmadinejad victory is actually preferable for Israel because a Mousavi win would only "paste an attractive mask on the face of Iranian nuclear ambitions."
I suspect we'll hear more of this in days to come from eager neocons on both sides of the Atlantic. Obama's policy of engagement will work, however, and is working, as evidenced by the overwhelmingly positive reaction to his Cairo speech, by the Lebanese election results, by the reform movement in Iran, and by the likelihood that Ahmadinejad kept his office only through vote-rigging, suppression, and intimidation. Obama will succeed, and once he has neocons like Daniel Pipes can take up residence in the dustbin of history where they belong.
Mark C. Eades
As Iranians go to the polls to elect a president, American neoconservatives are openly rooting not for moderate reform candidate and former prime minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi but for anti-U.S. hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. This is an obvious sign both of the neocons' preference for conflict over peace between the U.S. and Iran and of the generally bankrupt state of conservatism in America, reduced now to banking on failure for the Obama administration (see Huffington Post, Rachel Maddow).
Should the reformist Mousavi win the Iranian election and become president, it would likely signal a new and more positive direction for U.S.-Iranian relations as well as providing support for the "Obama Doctrine" of engagement with Iran and other adversaries. Such a development would at the same time undercut the neocon attitude of hostility and suspicion toward Iran, as well as undercutting the right-wing Israeli government's aggressive stance toward Iran. Indeed right-wingers in Israel like those in America appear to see nothing good for themselves in any warming of relations between the U.S. and Iran, as observed by M.J. Rosenberg at TPM and Yaakov Katz at the Jerusalem Post.
The unpleasant fellow you see pictured here is Daniel Pipes of the right-wing Middle East Forum, a raging neocon who said in a speech this week at the Heritage Foundation that he would vote for Ahmadinejad if he were allowed to vote in Iran (video). The American Enterprise Institute's Michael Rubin likewise told Kathryn Jean Lopez at the National Review that it could be better for Ahmadinejad to win, because a Mousavi win might give Obama the impression that diplomacy was working. Painting Iran as inherently and hopelessly evil, Rubin said of the Iranian election that "should someone more soft-spoken and less defiant -- someone like former prime minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi -- win, it would be easier for Obama to believe that Iran really was figuratively unclenching a fist when, in fact, it had it had its other hand hidden under its cloak, grasping a dagger."
Without so openly rooting for Ahmadinejad, other neocons are playing down the significance of a possible Mousavi victory, obviously worried that a shift in power will signal a fresh start for U.S.-Iranian relations that could leave American and Israeli hawks out in the cold. The same right-wing pundits who constantly point out Ahmadinejad's bad behavior as reasons to confront Iran now argue that it doesn't matter who the president of Iran is. Martin Peretz wrote at the New New Republic: "We've known for a long time that elected leaders do not carry the weight of those who have been anointed." Ilan Berman likewise wrote at the American Spectator: "Whoever ends up becoming president will have little real power -- and even less influence over Iran's geostrategic direction."
The prospect of peace in the Greater Middle East must give sociopaths like these nightmares the rest of us could scarcely imagine.
Mark C. Eades
Shawna Forde, leader of Minutemen American Defense, is one of three individuals arrested June 12 by sheriff's detectives in Pima County, Arizona, for the murder of a Mexican American man and his nine-year-old daughter.
Based in Washington State, Forde's group is one of several border militia groups nationwide that refer to themselves as "Minutemen," including also the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, of which Forde is also a former leader. Profiles on Forde and her anti-immigrant activities are available from the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League.
According to authorities, Forde and her two accomplices, Jason Eugene Bush and Albert Robert Gaxiola, broke into the home of Raul Flores and his family in Arivaca AZ on May 30th, apparently in the commission of a robbery. The invaders reportedly shot all three members of the Flores family who were present at the time, killing the father and daughter and leaving the mother wounded. While Bush is the suspected gunman in the shootings, investigators say Forde was the mastermind of the operation. Nine-year-old murder victim Brisenia Flores is pictured here from the local Green Valley News:
Forde is listed as the National Executive Director of Minuteman American Defense on the group's website, and the Arizona Daily Star reports that Bush, nicknamed "Gunny," is the group's Operations Director. The three are charged with two counts of first-degree murder in addition to burglary and aggravated assault charges.
The Minuteman American Defense website and blog contains numerous photos of Forde and friends at Minuteman and "Tea Party" events, including an Apr. 15 event in Phoenix at which Forde's favorite protest sign was one reading "Stop the Obama-Nation of America." The site also includes descriptions of immigrants as violent criminals, drug addicts, and "Subhuman Mexicans." Here is a photo of Forde in full border vigilante gear from the Anti-Defamation League:
Forde's mother tells the Everett WA Herald that she was not surprised to hear of her daughter's arrest since she had previously talked of staging home invasions: "She sat here and said that she was going to start a group where they went down and start taking things away from the Mexican mafia...," Forde's mother recalled, "...She was going to kick in their doors and take away the money and the drugs." Forde's mother also says that her daughter called her a few hours after the shootings May 30 and reported that she was taking refuge in a "safe house" in Arivaca: "I'm in hiding," Forde told her mother, "You won't believe what is going down here.... The mafia, they are kicking down doors and they are shooting people and they are looking for me."
Pima County sheriff's lieutenant Michael O'Connor told the local Sahuarita Sun that the killings were an "assassination," and said the killers were also looking for Flores' other daughter, who was not at home at time of the killings. Sheriff Clarence W. Dupnik, meanwhile, said that Forde as "at best a pyschopath" (KOLD, KOMO, KVOA, Seattle Post-Intelligencer).
Mark C. Eades
Under pressure from the private medical industry Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana has flip-flopped on the public health care option she once supported. In a letter to Health Care for America Now (HCAN) dated April 11, 2009, Landrieu clearly stated her support for a public insurance option. This week, however, Landrieu withdrew her support for the public option, saying "I don't think it's the right way to go."
Landrieu's reversal on the public option can only be the result of pressure from the medical industry, including the American Medical Association (AMA), insurance, and pharmaceutical interests dedicated to keeping health care in for-profit hands. As the Huffington Post observes based on figures from the Center for Responsive Politics, Landrieu has collected a career total of $1,668,693 in campaign contributions from private health insurance and health care interests. This total includes $607,616 from "health professionals" (i.e., the AMA), $401,731 from insurance interests, $269,645 from hospitals and nursing homes, $224,696 from the pharmaceutical and health products industry, and $165,005 from health services/HMOs (see also Think Progress, Blue Herald).
Tell Senator Landrieu what you think of Democrats who act like Republicans, betraying the people they are sworn to serve in favor of big-money special interests. Louisiana residents can use a contact form at Landrieu's official website. Residents of other states and/or those who don't want to mess with the form can e-mail Landrieu directly at: firstname.lastname@example.com.
Mark C. Eades
Much is being made in the media of the current tension between the Obama administration and the right-wing government in Tel Aviv on the issue of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, and I fully expect that coverage of Israeli reaction to the tough line on settlements taken by Obama in his Cairo speech will focus on the negative. Equally important but likely to receive far less attention is the applause and support Obama is receiving from Israeli progressives, many of whom are as critical of the settlements as their counterparts in the West.
A sampling of progressive Israeli opinion on Obama and his stand on the settlement issue includes the following from Gideon Levy in Haaretz, predicting hopefully that Binyamin Netanyahu and his right-wing government will ultimately have no choice but to acquiesce to Obama's demands:
"Washington will decide the fate of the West Bank settlements, and we can only hope it insists on their evacuation. Obama standing firm beside the revolutionary Mideast policy he has begun will light the torch of hope here, too. The battle of the titans, Netanyahu and Obama, is little more than a farce - let us recall the fable of the elephant and the bee, or the frog and the ox. Not all creatures can become as great as they think. Let's also be realistic: An Israeli prime minister has no option of saying no to America once Washington has dug in its heels. Netanyahu knows this better than anyone, and the time has come to explain as much to his 'patriotic' coalition allies.... Time is short but the keys are in the ignition, President Obama. Drive on to peace."
Barak Ravid also in Haaretz provides the following comments from progressive Members of the Knesset:
Kadima MK Ze'ev Boim said that "Obama's speech is yet another proof that Netanyahu miscalculated the foreign policy of the new American administration."
"The President's take on the Palestinian question is similar to Kadima's, and it's a shame that narrow political considerations prevented the Israeli government from espousing the two-state solution which is the only one that can ensure a Jewish and democratic existence in Israel."
Kadima MK Yohanan Plesner said that "Israel could benefit from the America's improved image in the Arab world and leverage it to forge a regional coalition, together with the moderate Arab countries, to counter Iran, but instead the government is engaged in marginal debates on outposts."
Minority Affairs Minister Avishay Braverman (Labor) said that Obama was right that the world's common enemy is extremism and that finding a common strategy is the way to defeat it.
"We should adopt a similar strategy in Jewish-Arab and religious-secular relations, as well as vis-a-vis the Palestinians," Braverman said. "We are committed to the two-state solution."
Meretz leader Haim Oron, for his part, welcomed Obama's speech. He said it was filled with inspiration, optimism and vision.
"The speech is the feat of enlightenment," he said.
Negative reaction to Obama's speech from right-wing Israelis, meanwhile, has been predictably harsh. Most outspoken in their opposition to Obama are settlers themselves and their leaders, whose hysterical, lowbrow rhetoric strongly echoes that of right-wing Americans. Like their teabagging U.S. counterparts, right-wing Israelis have taken to throwing Obama's middle name around as an epithet, accusing him of being a closet Muslim and of betraying Israel. Organizers of a right-wing protest outside the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem had the following to say in a press release reported by Arutz Sheva:
"Barack Hussein Obama! Hands off the land of Israel! You cannot appease the Islamic lust for conquest by selling down the Jews and their Biblical homeland."
Settler leaders quoted in Y-Net likewise said that "Hussein Obama opted to adopt the Arab's bogus versions over the Jewish truth" and that Obama's speech "pandered to Islam." Sound familiar?
Reader comments in Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post make it clear that right-wing Israelis and right-wing Americans are finding each other and connecting online, sharing their hatred of Arabs and their contempt of Obama, and hatching all manner of hysterical theories on the coming end of civilization as we know it. Before long American news audiences may see images of their president burned in effigy not by Palestinians in a Gaza refugee camp but by right-wing Israelis in a West Bank settlement. On the other hand, the enthusiastic support Obama continues to receive from Israeli progressives sounds a hopeful note both for the peace effort and for the future of the U.S.-Israeli relationship.
Right-wing hack Glenn Beck has taken on his Fox News talk show to spreading paranoid fantasies of a coming totalitarian America, total economic collapse, and an armed citizens' uprising in defense of the constitution. On the Feb. 20 installment of his "War Room" segment, Beck and a paranoid panel of guests raised the spectre of the "bubba effect," a rise of individual militias across America in response to liberal tyranny, and suggested that America is on the verge of civil war.
The segment is pure melodrama, beginning with a warning that some might find the material disturbing and advising viewer discretion. Beck then opens with a nightmare vision of the year 2014 in Barack Obama's America: All US banks have been nationalized, Beck predicts; unemployment stands at between 12 and 20 percent; the Dow is trading at around 2800; the real estate market has collapsed; the government and unions control most business; and America's credit rating has been severely downgraded. As Beck and his guests continue, the picture gets worse: Since the Democratic victories of 2006 and 2008, the segment suggests, the USA we used to know has been transformed into the Islamic Socialist Republic of Obamistan, where income tax rates have risen to between eighty and ninety-five percent, and where we all must live in fear of the Obamist secret police who will soon be coming to take away our guns and bibles. Beck and his guests predict a Mad Max-like environment in America's cities, which have become no-go zones controlled by armed gangs presumably of angry blacks and illegal aliens. Meanwhile, the disenfranchised and betrayed "bubbas" of America's heartland have taken to setting up armed, self-sufficient communities hostile to outsiders, and to preparing for civil war.
Finally, Beck asks his guests how such a situation might be defused, and they suggest provocatively that perhaps it should not be defused at all but encouraged, since it is government that is at fault and such an uprising would be an uprising against tyranny in defense of the constitution. At this Beck feigns shock and surprise, though his barely-masked excitement at the prospect says he is really just playing along as his guests more-or-less openly advocate the armed overthrow of the US government. Indeed earlier that day on Fox, Beck had played the sad and fearful prophet of doom, showing us his shaking hands to prove how afraid he is at the prospect of civil war in America, and warning us: "You need to prepare."
I wonder how many "bubbas" who watched Beck's show are, even now, stocking up on guns, ammo, and survival supplies for the coming apocalypse: Ka-ching!
President Barack Obama's interview this week with Arab news network Al-Arabiya appears to have been a success. The president's first interview since taking office, his appearance with the network's Washington bureau chief Hisham Melhem was an effort to extend a hand of friendship to the Arab and Muslim world, and included Obama's acknowledgment that Americans "have not been perfect" in their dealings with that world:
"My job is to communicate to the American people that the Muslim world is filled with extraordinary people who simply want to live their lives and see their children live better lives...," Obama told Melhem in the interview, "...My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy. We sometimes make mistakes. We have not been perfect. But if you look at the track record, as you say, America was not born as a colonial power, and that the same respect and partnership that America had with the Muslim world as recently as twenty or thirty years ago, there's no reason why we can't restore that. And that I think is going to be an important task."
Obama's interview included a re-statement of his committments both to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and to follow through on his promise to address the Muslim world from a Muslim capital during his first months in office. It also included an aknowledgment of his own personal connections to the Muslim world -- connections for which Republican bigots viciously attacked Obama during the 2008 campaign, but which can hardly hurt him now as he begins the work of repairing US relations with the Muslim world:
"My job is to communicate the fact that the United States has a stake in the well-being of the Muslim world, that the language we use has to be a language of respect. I have Muslim members of my family. I have lived in Muslim countries.... And so what I want to communicate is the fact that in all my travels throughout the Muslim world, what I've come to understand is that regardless of your faith -- and America is a country of Muslims, Jews, Christians, non-believers -- regardless of your faith, people all have certain common hopes and common dreams."
Obama's interview with Al-Arabiya comes as his new Mideast envoy, former senator George Mitchell, heads to the region to restart a peace process long neglected by Obama's predecessor, and follows his contact with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas immediately after his inauguration Jan. 20. Obama's overtures to the Muslim world are certain to offend many conservatives, who regard Arabs and Muslims with extreme hostility and suspicion, and who think that the only people in the Middle East we ought to be talking with are the Israelis. Many of these were deeply offended when Obama's first call to a foreign leader was to the Palestinian president instead of his Israeli counterpart, and are likely to be equally offended that his first interview was with Al-Arabiya instead of the Jerusalem Post.
I say tough cookies for them. Elections have consequences. While President Obama has neither said nor done anything to suggest that he is about to "abandon" Israel (as I'm certain his conservative critics would love to charge), he clearly recognizes that a Mideast policy based on an exclusive relationship with Israel and on callous disregard of Arab concerns has not worked. The time for change has come, and from where I sit it looks like President Obama is off to a damn good start.
See also Washington Post, Youtube.
(Your Tax Dollars at Work in the Middle East)
The state of Israel is facing charges of war crimes following the slaughter of innocent civilians including hundreds of children in its recent campaign against Palestinian militants on the Gaza Strip. Israel's powerful ally, the United States, also faces charges of complicity in the slaughter as Palestinians declare: "This Damage Made in USA."
UN human rights expert Richard Falk said on Thursday that the recent Israeli military operation on the Gaza Strip "raises the specter of systematic war crimes" and needs to be investigated. Falk told journalists in Geneva from his home in California that he had little doubt as to the "unavoidably inhuman character of a large-scale military operation of the sort that Israel has initiated... against an essentially defenseless population." Charging that "unlawful targets have been selected" by Israeli forces during the fighting, Falk insisted that Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip including children and the wounded were effectively trapped in a war zone and prevented from fleeing.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has issued demands for a full explanation of "outrageous" Israeli attacks on UN facilities on the Gaza Strip including a school used as a refuge for civilians, killing dozens. The UN chief noted that Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert had promised to provide results of an Israeli inquiry into the attacks "on an urgent basis" and said he would then decide on "appropriate follow-up action." On January 12, the 47-member UN Human Rights Council voted by a large majority to launch an investigation into "grave" human rights violations by Israeli forces against Palestinians. Israel is also facing questions from human rights groups regarding the use of illegal weapons, including white phosphorus munitions, against Palestinian civilians on the Gaza Strip.
These charges come amid renewed calls for a global boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel from groups such as the Global BDS Movement. Recently, Canadian journalist Naomi Klein wrote in support of such a boycott: "The best strategy to end the increasingly bloody occupation is for Israel to become the target of the kind of global movement that put an end to apartheid in South Africa." Some are also calling for a boycott of US exports for its continuing support of Israeli actions against Palestinians.
The Palestinian death toll from Israel's recent war on Gaza currently stands at around 1300, most of whom were innocent civilians, and around a third of whom were children. Ten Israeli soldiers and three civilians were killed in Israel during the same period, an indicator of Israel's massively disproportionate response to Palestinian attacks on Israelis. A total of twenty-eight Israelis have been killed by Palestinian rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip since 2001, a tiny fraction of the number of Palestinians killed in Israel's recent Gaza actions alone. These numbers echo casualty figures from the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict which consistently show innocent Palestinian dead including children massively outnumbering Israelis.
Rocket attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip deserve both condemnation by the international community and a proportionate response by Israel. The killing of one Israeli in a rocket attack does not, however, entitle Israel to respond by slaughtering twenty, thirty, or forty innocent Palestinian civilians. Such slaughter, furthermore, will no more stop Hamas' rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip than it stopped Hezbollah's rocket attacks from Lebanon in 2006. Just as Hezbollah could declare victory in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war simply by surviving to fight another day, so Hamas can declare victory in Gaza this day. Meanwhile, Israel increasingly becomes a pariah state in the eyes of the world, as does the United States for its complicity in the slaughter. Ever-growing anger particularly in the Arab world serves America's national security interests no better than it serves Israel's.
Behold, America: Your tax dollars at work in the Middle East.
Out of the tragedy of Gaza, perhaps, will come renewed opportunity to hold Israel accountable for its actions, to press for a new US policy on the Middle East, for peace, and for an end to Israel's long and bloody occupation of the Palestinian Territories. Boycott, divestment, and sanctions efforts such as those promoted by the Global BDS Movement have a proven track record of success as in the case of South Africa, and deserve our support. UN efforts to hold Israel accountable for its actions also deserve our support, but are likely to require UN Security Council action of the type America with its power of veto most often and most notoriously obstructs. Pressure, therefore, needs to be applied to the White House and Congress for a new US approach to the conflict and a new US attitude in the UN Security Council. Whether our new ambassador to the UN offers active support with a "yes" vote or passive permission by abstaining on UN efforts to hold Israel accountable for its actions, our message to the new administration regarding these efforts can be stated clearly and briefly as follows: NO VETO!
Sources: Agence France Presse, Time, Los Angeles Times, Haaretz, New Straits Times, Bay Area Indymedia, B'Tselem, Human Rights Watch.
Slide show: Gaza Massacre by Sabbah.
Photo gallery: Child victims of Gaza violence.
Contact your US Representative
On the night of Nov. 22, a group of Israeli settlers descended on the Jerusalem home of Palestinian resident Fatima al-Daoudi while the owner was away visiting relatives, changing the locks on the gates and putting a metal sheet over an open-air porch built in by the al-Daoudi family in 1948. Although an eviction order was obtained by the al-Daoudi family and the settlers removed, the order was only temporary and the settlers are expected to return, eventually to stay as the al-Daoudi family is forced to seek housing elsewhere. Residents of the same house since 1930, the al-Daoudi family now faces the prospect of joining the many other Palestinian residents of Jerusalem who, like those in the neighboring West Bank, have been turned into homeless refugees by expanding Israeli settlements (PNN).
Despite US and international protests, a similar fate recently befell the family of Mohammed al-Kurd and his wife Fawzieh, residents of their East Jerusalem home since 1956. Evicted in a pre-dawn raid by Israeli police, the al-Kurd family was forced to move into a tent on private land rented from a Palestinian neighbor while Israeli settlers moved into their home of more than fifty years. Israeli harassment against the family continued, however, including repeated demolition of the tent in which they had been forced to live despite its location on private Palestinian land. To make matters worse, Mr. al-Kurd suffered from complications related to diabetes, of which he finally passed away on Nov. 23. As Mrs. al-Kurd, her children, and her grandchildren mourn Mr. al-Kurd's death, the family's future remains in question (PNN, BBC, AFP, Haaretz, AIC).
As Haaretz reported prior to the al-Kurds' eviction from their home, the US filed an official protest with Israel for acts against Palestinians including the eviction of the al-Kurd family and harassment of Palestinian residents by Israeli settlers in the West Bank. The US complaint was obviously ignored. Such complaints from US officials including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have grown more frequent in recent months according to a separate Haaretz report, drawing the ire of some Israeli officials, who suggest the US is meddling in local affairs that are none of its business. Despite overriding US concern for Israeli interests and massive US aid to Israel, it would seem that the Israelis have little regard for US and international opinion on the human rights of Palestinians. Billions of your tax dollars go to Israel each year, yet even the most restrained US complaints against settlement expansion and abuse of Palestinians go ignored by those who are supposedly America's best friends and a beacon of democracy in the Middle East. Meanwhile, anger toward both Israel and America festers throughout the Arab world.
President-elect Obama has told us that "the time for change has come." Has the time come for this long, sad state of affairs to change?
After our stunning Election Day sweep of the White House and Congress, Democrats still have one remaining opportunity to finish 2008 with a win. Even as Senate races pending recounts in Minnesota and Alaska hang in the balance favoring Democrats, one Senate runoff in Georgia remains offering Democrats the possibility of a 60% majority in the upper house of Congress. Recent polls show the Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss (pictured on left) holding a narrow lead over Democratic challenger Jim Martin (pictured on right) with just two weeks to go until the Dec. 2 runoff.
Chambliss remains infamous for his attacks on Democratic opponent Max Cleland in 2002, including an ad showing pictures of disabled Vietnam veteran Cleland along with pictures of Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, suggesting dishonestly that Cleland would allow terrorists like those who struck America on 9/11 to strike America again. Chambliss' GOP colleague John McCain called the ad "reprehensible" and "worse than disgraceful" for its attack on the patriotism of a man who lost three limbs fighting for the United States in Vietnam. Ever ready to flip on previously-held principles, however, McCain appears to have forgiven Chambliss for his attack on McCain's fellow Vietnam veteran, and is currently campaigning for Chambliss in Georgia. A noted chicken-hawk, Chambliss avoided service in Vietnam with five student deferments and a medical deferment for a "football knee."
Chambliss is also infamous for his remark, shortly following the 9/11 attacks, that Georgia ought to "arrest every Muslim that crosses the state line."
This year, Chambliss took to race-baiting in the effort to stem a Democratic tide in Georgia that threatened both to unseat Chambliss himself and to deliver the state's electoral votes for Barack Obama. As in other Deep South states, Democratic voters in Georgia are largely African American while white voters tend strongly to vote Republican. Unlike in other regions of the United States this year, white voters in the Deep South broke even more strongly Republican this year than in previous years, owing to racial antipathy toward Obama. Meanwhile, African American voters in Georgia turned out in massive numbers for Obama, producing an electoral result strongly divided along racial lines, and holding McCain's ultimate Georgia victory to a relatively narrow 5.2 percentage points.
Fearing the loss both of his own Senate seat and of his state to the Democrats owing to heavy African American voter turnout, Chambliss not-so-subtly warned his conservative white base of this on more than one occasion as a way of getting them to the polls. In one instance during early voting in Georgia featuring huge African American turnout as expected, Politico quotes Chambliss telling his white supporters that "the other folks are voting" as a warning that they too had better get out and vote. In another instance, Chambliss told the New York Times that the "rush to the polls by African-Americans" in Georgia "has also got our side energized, [because] they see what is happening." Finally, after failing on Nov. 4 to reach the 50% majority required under Georgia law to avoid a runoff, Chambliss again referred in a Fox News interview to the "high percentage of minority vote" this year and the the fact that "we weren't able to get enough of our folks out on Election Day."
Saxby Chambliss is a liar, a bigot, and a disgrace. In 2001, he openly suggested collective punishment of Muslims for the 9/11 attacks. In 2002, he won his Senate seat by shamefully attacking the patriotism of a disabled veteran in a time of fear shortly following 9/11. This year, he used race-baiting in the attempt to save his own Senate seat and keep Georgia in the Republican column. His Democratic challenger, Jim Martin, is a Vietnam veteran, an accomplished legal scholar, and served for 18 years as a Georgia state legislator. Readers are encouraged to visit Jim Martin's campaign website, to contribute there or at Act Blue to Martin's campaign, to spread the word to other Democrats, and to contact Georgia voters on Martin's behalf.
Still reeling from the punishing defeat handed to them by victorious Democrats on Election Day, Republicans are licking their wounds and debating their strategy for a comeback. As Democrats and progressives celebrate our hard-won victory, we should also be keeping an eye on our vanquished opponents and preparing to remain on the offensive against them, whatever comeback road they attempt to pursue. For the sake of the future, we cannot allow a repeat of 1980, 1994, or 2000.
Most observers see two major possibilities for the GOP. One is that the party could stick with its rural, white, ultra-conservative base and become the party of the far right, thus alienating moderates, independents, and swing voters, many of whom would likely migrate to the Democratic Party and join the ranks of conservative-leaning "Blue Dogs" like Virginia senator Jim Webb. The other possibility is that the GOP could move toward a more moderate and less ideological, center-right position that could make it more attractive to independents and swing voters but at the same time would tend to alienate the conservative base. Neither is an exceedingly attractive option for the GOP, since either would likely result in the loss of one or another key Republican voting block. The electoral success of Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II depended upon a united Republican coalition of social conservatives, fiscal conservatives, defense hawks, and "Reagan Democrats." That coalition has now fallen apart.
I personally hope the Republicans will take the former choice, stick with their demented base, and become a far-right fringe party doomed to increasing irrelevance as old bigots die off and their children discard the prejudices, fears, and hatreds of the past. This is what may well happen if far-right blowhards like Rush Limbaugh have their way, warning their shell-shocked followers now against a moderate takeover of the GOP led by once-and-future-maverick John McCain and other hands-across-the-aisle types, whose ranks will seek to purge the party of "real conservatives" like Sarah Palin and those who identify with her. Never exceedingly popular among those on the far right, McCain is already being branded a defeatist and a traitor by the Limbaugh-Palin crowd, who are incensed by the attacks on Palin now coming from within the McCain camp itself, and who increasingly regret that McCain was ever nominated even as they are in his debt for giving them "their Sarah." Meanwhile, angry dittoheads at RedState.com have launched a bitter assault on Palin's Republican critics called "Operation Leper," and appear poised to advocate for Palin as a presidential candidate for 2012 and/or 2016. Perhaps we will see a full-fledged Palin faction form within the Republican Party in opposition to the forces of Republican moderation, leading to an all-out faction fight and perhaps even a split in the party. I sincerely hope so.
If, on the other hand, the Republicans choose the path of moderation, returning perhaps to the GOP of Eisenhower and Goldwater, our work could be a little more difficult. This possibility highlights the importance of maintaining the center-to-left coalition that enabled us to win in 2006 and 2008 just as their center-to-right coalition enabled Republicans to win in 1980, 1994, and 2000, as it raises the risk of swing voters swinging back to the Republican side if they are not happy with the job Democrats are doing in Washington. Those of us such as myself who are on the Left of the Democratic Party will have to balance our expectation of having a place at the table with the realization that the rest of the country isn't with us just yet. At least in the near term, the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress will have to govern more-or-less from the center, and at the same time will have to prove that they are more capable of governing the country effectively than their opponents. Given the dominance of the far-right in today's GOP and its dependence on the conservative base, however, owing in part to the fact that so many moderate Republicans have either left the party or been voted out of office, I wonder how realistic or likely a route this second option actually is. I could be wrong, but I suspect hopefully that our opponents will remain in the funk they are currently in for quite some time to come.
Whatever course they may ulimately choose to take, our task as Democrats is to stop any GOP comeback dead in its tracks before it even starts. Democrats must remain on the offensive and must remain focused on solidifying and building our congressional majority in 2010, re-electing President Obama in 2012, and putting another Democrat in the White House in 2016. We must aggressively go after not only Republican congressional seats but also state and local offices nationwide. Grassroots Democratic organizing, voter registration, fundraising, and media activism are key to this, as is maintaining a strong center-to-left coalition through effective, balanced governance. We must demonstrate to the Republicans that they are dealing with a new, much tougher, much more aggressive and effective Democratic Party: a Democratic Party that won't be so easy to kick around as in the past, a Democratic Party whose days of whining about mean old swiftboating Republicans are over.
If we are to avoid a repeat of the last eight years or something even worse, no Republican comeback can ever be allowed to happen.
For Democrats, Barack Obama's stunning victory last night over John McCain brought a seemingly endless and often bitter presidential campaign battle to a welcome end. Obama's victory came as cause for relief and for celebration, as did Democratic gains in the Senate and the House of Representatives. When our first African American president takes office in January, Democrats will enjoy a position of authority in Washington we have not held since a brief period from 1992 to 1994. Many progressives are saying now that the era of conservative dominance in America beginning with the rise of the "New Right" in the 1970s and the Reagan victory in 1980 has now come at last to an end, that the long Republican nightmare is over, and I too am hopeful that this is so. While we celebrate and look ahead to the Obama Era, however, we should also remember that just as power can be won so it can also be lost, as it was in 1980, 1994, and 2000.
Each end is also a beginning; and so the end of Campaign 2008 and the end of Republican rule is also the beginning of something, but of what? Are we at the doorstep of a bold new progressive age that begins with Obama and extends into infinity, or of another brief Democratic reign to end again with a bitter Republican resurgence? Now that we have successfully driven the Republicans from power, how do we keep them from coming back, as we know we must if we are to avoid a repeat of the past eight years? A Republican resurgence would be a disaster, not only for Democrats and progressives, but for America and the world. The Karl Roves and Dick Cheneys of the world are not going anywhere. They will simply retreat to their think tanks and begin cooking up plans to retake power, just as they did during the Clinton years. Their success must be prevented by any and all means at our disposal.
While progressives will surely have a place at the table in the new administration, we cannot expect that the Left will or should dominate the Obama agenda at least in the near term. I would consider myself to be well on the Left of the Democratic Party, and I'm happy that progressives will have a voice in the new administration, but I feel pretty certain that Obama will have to govern more-or-less from the center if he is to avoid creating a whole new generation of "Reagan Democrats." I am hopeful that it may now be possible for progressives not simply to move the government to the left but to actually move the country to the left, and to create a new progressive America free of the politics of Reagan and Bush. In order for this to happen, however, Democrats in Washington will first have to prove themselves capable of governing the country effectively and satisfactorily in the eyes of their constituents. Once conservative-leaning, "soft" Democrats see that liberals aren't so bad after all, they will be much more likely to elect Democrats to Congress in 2010, to re-elect President Obama in 2012, to put another Democrat in the White House in 2016, and to listen to progressive ideas in the meantime with an open mind. While Democrats in Washington focus on effective governance, they and Democratic activists including us in the netroots must also focus on maintaining the gains we have made and on making further gains in election cycles to come. We cannot afford a repeat of 1980, 1994, or 2000.
Meanwhile, a whole new generation of first-time Democratic voters has been brought into the electorate, and this new Democratic base must be maintained and built at a grassroots level. Because of a far less reliable base of Democratic voters in previous elections, a hardcore Republican base of social conservatives, neo-cons, bigots, and xenophobes was allowed to dominate American politics for the better part of thirty years. This can never be allowed to happen again. Republicans who cannot be persuaded to go Democratic must be isolated and outvoted. In the immediate term, this means building a broad new Democratic base that includes centrists and even moderate conservatives in addition to progressives and the Left: not an easy task. The brilliant success of the Obama campaign in doing precisely that, however, can be credited in great part to Obama's experience as a community organizer in Chicago - experience that will serve the Democratic Party's organizing efforts well in the years to come.
Indeed if anyone is up the difficult tasks which surely lie ahead, I think it is our new president-elect. Throughout his campaign, he has shown himself to be a steady, focused, and disciplined political leader: not bad traits if one wishes to be an effective and successful president. More importantly, Obama possesses clear vision and a spirit of idealism that could not contrast more with the cynicism of the era that has just ended. He also possesses a strong, committed base of grassroots support that is ready for the battles to come. I for one look forward with hope and confidence to the road ahead.
If like me you are not old enough to have voted in 1960, or if you are old enough and voted for John F. Kennedy as you should have, try and imagine how it would feel if you had voted for Richard Nixon instead.
Imagine watching Kennedy's rise, in life and in death, to take his place among America's greatest presidents, knowing that you could have voted for him but didn't; and imagine then watching Nixon's descent to take his place among the worst, knowing that you voted for him perhaps not just once but two or even three times.
Imagine watching the secret bombing of Cambodia revealed, watching the sad tale of Watergate unfold, and watching Nixon's resignation in disgrace. Imagine looking back from the vantage point of 1974 and thinking of how you might have voted differently in 1960, of how at that pivotal point in time you made an unwise decision and ended up on the wrong side of history.
Now imagine how things might have been if lots more people had made the same mistake as you in 1960 and John F. Kennedy, one of America's greatest presidents, had never been elected. Imagine a world without President Kennedy.
Then, if you can bear repeating such a tragic error in judgment, go ahead and vote for John McCain.
Four days before Election Day 2008, I drove with a friend from my home in the San Francisco Bay Area to Henderson, Nevada, just outside Las Vegas, for a rally with Barack Obama. We arrived in Las Vegas on the Friday night preceding the Saturday morning event, which also happened to be Halloween. With little else to do before driving out to Henderson to take our places among the first in line for the Obama rally, we did what any other visitor does on a Friday night in Vegas: We went to the Strip. This was of course a strange prelude to the Saturday morning event, as apolitical a beginning to a political weekend as I can imagine. Surprisingly, among the crowds of revelers along the Strip in almost any kind of costume one can imagine, I didn't see a single Barack Obama, John McCain, Joe Biden, or Sarah Palin. As always, Vegas seemed to occupy a world entirely its own.
Once we tired of the Strip, we drove the few miles out to Henderson on the southern edge of metropolitan Las Vegas and located the rally site, a local high school football stadium. By two or three o'clock in the morning, dedicated Obama supporters were already taking their places in line at the gate, and we soon took our places among them. I personally had never "camped out" for any kind of event, be it a political rally, rock concert, or movie premiere, but at this event I had no intention of being any further from the front than I had to be. Our diligence paid off, and once the gates were opened we and other early arrivals were able to take places along the rope line in front of a crowd that grew to number around 15,000 (see BarackObama.com, Las Vegas Review-Journal; photos available also at Flickr).
Obama's 25-minute speech contained many of the same points he has made throughout his campaign, but lacked nothing in excitement for being what one might describe as a "standard Obama stump speech" with a little extra dose of urgency just three days before Election Day. Introduced by Nevada's own Senate majority leader Harry Reid, Obama arrived at the podium to wild applause and screams of support, the energy all positive. I couldn't help but take wonder at how the overwhelmingly positive atmosphere at this event contrasted the ugly rage, bitterness, and hate we have all seen on video from McCain/Palin rallies. The one time booing started at the mention of John McCain, Obama reminded the crowd as at other rallies recently, "You don't need to boo. You just need to vote."
In his speech Obama reminded his supporters that the election has yet to be won: "Don't believe for a second this election is over. Don't think for a minute that power concedes. We have to work like our future depends on it in these last few days, because it does. But I know this, Nevada: The time for change has come." As he spoke, the tiny silhouettes of police and/or Secret Service lookouts could be seen atop buildings and other high points around the rally site, just in case anyone should wish to harm the Democratic nominee. Secret Service agents also patrolled the crowd and shared the open space between Obama's stage and the rope line with news photographers taking rapid-fire shots both of Obama up at the podium and of the cheering crowd. A helicopter circled over the rally site, too high to tell whether it was a news helicopter or police.
For us and others at the front of the crowd, the climax of the event came at the close of Obama's speech, as he began to make his way along the rope line to depart. Surrounded by Secret Service agents and rapid-firing news photographers, Obama moved along the rope line shaking hands, kissing babies, and thanking his supporters. The Secret Service agents pushed back against the metal barriers as the crowd surged forward to get a glimpse of Obama or shake his hand. My friend and I suddenly found ourselves with little room to move or even breathe as Obama approached and the crowd pressed in around us, holding their hands out in hopes of getting a handshake with the man they hope will be the next President of United States. We both did get handshakes with Obama when he finally arrived at our place along the rope line, and when my turn came I looked into Obama's face and told him the first thing I could think of to say: "You are going to be a great president." Obama looked back at me and said in all sincerity, "Thank you." Then he was gone.
Finally, as Obama moved away from us along the rope line shaking more hands and kissing more babies, we got a chance also to shake hands with Harry Reid. Having previously shaken hands with Ted Kennedy at an Obama event in Oakland just before the California primary, I can now say with pride that I have shaken hands with three of the people Republicans most love to hate in the world. One of those hands, I hope, will soon be holding the keys to the White House.
Following the failure of their "Bill Ayres Strategy" to cause major problems for Barack Obama, John McCain and Sarah Palin have stumbled upon a new bogeyman from Obama's past to sow suspicion in voters' minds: Rashid Khalidi, a Middle East history professor at Columbia University, whose ties to the Middle East and the Palestinian exile community include no evidence whatsoever of terrorist activity or support. The McCain/Palin campaign has decided, however, that Khalidi is a shadowy figure with suspicious ties to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and with whom Barack Obama has a suspicious relationship because the two apparently attended a dinner together and said nice things about each other. I guess that means Obama has been "palling around with terrorists" again.
What John McCain seems to have forgotten, however (in addition to the number of homes he owns), is that he has far deeper ties to Khalidi than Obama has. While he served as chairman of the International Republican Institute (IRI) during the 1990s, McCain distributed several grants to the Palestinian research center co-founded by Khalidi, including one worth nearly half a million dollars. A 1998 tax filing for the IRI shows a $448,873 grant to Khalidi's Center for Palestine Research and Studies for work in the West Bank (see grant number 5180, "West Bank: CPRS," on page 14 of this PDF.) The relationship between McCain and Khalidi extends back as far as 1993, when McCain joined the IRI as chairman in January. The IRI helped fund several research projects by Khalidi's organization in the Palestinian Territories that year, including over 30 public opinion polls and a study of "sociopolitical attitudes" among Palestinians. Khalidi's organization has also received financial support from the American Academy for Arts and Sciences, the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the National Foundation for Democracy, none of which are known for funding terrorist organizations (see Huffington Post, Chicago Tribune, MSNBC).
Rashid Khalidi's only offense is that he has published opinions on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict with which strong supporters of Israel might disagree, and with which Barack Obama has in fact expressed disagreement. The right to express opinions with which other people might disagree is guaranteed by the US Constitution, and is a cornerstone of modern higher education - a fact John McCain seems to have forgotten, just as he forgot how many homes he he owns and how many grants he issued to Khalidi's organization back in the '90s.
How many more times must we listen to John McCain and Sarah Palin make sad, desperate attempts to pin other people's words and deeds on Barack Obama? Simply knowing someone doesn't make you responsible for whatever that person might have said or done in the past. Neither Bill Ayres nor Rashid Khalidi are advising Obama, serving on his campaign, or likely to serve in his administration. End of story.
The threat of GOP voter suppression and election theft is as great as ever this election year, and perhaps even greater as Republicans grow desperate to head off what appears likely to be a crushing defeat on Nov. 4. While Republicans hurl baseless accusations of voter fraud at Democrats and progressives who seek to build turnout, the fact remains that it is the GOP which has repeatedly sought to suppress voting in order to win elections. Republicans have used and continue to use a variety of methods to disenfranchise likely Democratic voters, including disqualification, deception, and intimidation.
Methods of voter suppression used by Republicans and the threat they pose this election year were recently discussed by Andrew Gumbel at The Nation as well as by Peter Rothberg. Meanwhile, Roberto Lovato discusses what we can all do to protect our votes on Election Day and after. The Brennan Center for Justice documents and reports incidents of voter suppression nationwide for public information. Reports on voter suppression activities have also recently appeared in the New York Times and at CNN.
The Election Protection coalition (1-866-OUR-VOTE) is a nonpartisan organization formed to ensure that all voters have an equal opportunity to participate in the political process. Through their website and voter hotline Election Protection provides live, up-to-the-minute information and advice on voting conditions nationwide as well as taking reports of irregularities from voters. No Voter Left Behind (NVLB) is a Democratic organization founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to fight GOP efforts at voter suppression and election theft. NVLB also provides extensive information on GOP voter suppression methods and on how Democrats can protect their votes as well as taking reports of irregularities. In addition to offering direct assistance to voters, Election Protection and NVLB seek donors and volunteers to support their efforts.
Mark C. Eades
Republicans are once again playing one of the oldest tricks in the book to try and stop Democrats from voting on Election Day. In at least two states, according to reports from Virginia and California, Republicans have attempted to convince Democrats that they should vote on Nov. 5 instead of Nov. 4 due to heavy turnout expected.
In fact, Election Day for all voters everywhere regardless of party affiliation remains Nov. 4.
In Hampton Roads, Virginia, a phony State Board of Elections flier has been distributed advising that, due to heavy turnout expected this year, Republicans are to vote on Nov. 4 and Democrats on Nov. 5. The flier, dated Oct. 24, features the state board logo and state seal, and indicates that an emergency session of the Virginia General Assembly has adopted emergency voting regulations designating separate voting days for Republican and Democratic voters to ease the load on local voting precincts.
The Virginia elections board has stated that the flier is a forgery, and state police are investigating (Virginian-Pilot).
Meanwhile, in Bakersfield, California, conservative radio host Jaz McKay of station KNZR likewise recently told listeners that Democrats should vote Nov. 5 instead of Nov. 4 because of expected heavy turnout. Asked by the county elections chief to stop misleading voters, McKay claimed it was a joke (see Bakersfield Californian).
These are but two cases of this particular trick that I have come across, but it has been tried many times before in many places, and I don't doubt that it will turn up again somewhere between now and Election Day.
Hollywood composer Danny Elfman (famous for "The Simpsons" theme and scores to Tim Burton films) has produced a new ad for the last week of the presidential race revealing his greatest fear: a President Sarah Palin. Focusing on the possibility that John McCain might not even finish his first term as president if elected due to age and health concerns, Elfman eerily morphs a slow-motion image of McCain speaking into an image of Palin succeeding him. Here is the transcript.
"These are troubled times in a volatile world. With unprecedented crises at home and abroad, we need sound judgment and a steady hand to lead the most powerful nation on Earth. John McCain's age and continuing battle with cancer makes the liklihood of him not completing his term higher than any president in American history. President Sarah Palin. Think about it."
Elfman is seeking support to air the ad in swing states during the final days before the election. Readers are encouraged to visit OurGreatestFear.org, watch the ad, contribute if possible, and pass it on.
A new video posted to Youtube shows McCain/Palin supporters spewing racism and hate at peaceful pro-Obama demonstrators outside a McCain/Palin rally Oct. 27 in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. One older gentleman early in the video shouts "Bomb Obama!" at the videographer and Obama supporters. Asked by the videographer what that means, the man says, "Get rid of him," then gestures indicating this means assassinating Obama. A younger man holding a "Democrats for McCain" sign says, when asked why he supports McCain, "I'd never vote for a black man." Another young man declares, "I do not want a black man running my country." Among women at the rally, one says she is against Obama because "his associations and his judgment are not American," repeating the Obama-as-foreigner meme. Another older gentleman also repeats this idea, insisting that Obama was born in Kenya, not the United States, and asking for his birth certificate (ample proof exists that Obama was born in the US state of Hawaii). Other rallygoers shout various combinations of "Barack Hussein Obama" in addition to the usual charges that Obama is a "terrorist" and a "baby killer." If we needed more proof that racism and hate are indeed running rampant in the grassroots Republican ranks, this is it. The video is credited to the Pennsylvania progressive organization Keystone Progress.
The last thing Republicans needed a week before Election Day was yet another high-profile GOP scandal coming to fruition and reminding voters of the "culture of corruption" they voted to end just two years ago. This is exactly what Republicans got yesterday, however, when Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska was convicted on federal corruption charges. Following more than a decade of Republican rule on Capitol Hill, the GOP scandals of 2005-2006 would be greatly to blame for the loss of the House and Senate to Democrats in Nov. 2006. As he now joins Tom DeLay, Bob Ney, and Randy "Duke" Cunningham in the Republican gallery of disgraced lawmakers, Ted Stevens may contribute greatly in turn to the Republican defeat of 2008.
The likely loss of Stevens' Senate seat to a Democrat and the shadow his conviction may cast over other congressional GOP campaigns are not the only worries this latest scandal presents for Republicans as Election Day approaches. Stevens is also a problem for the Republican presidential campaign, owing in particular to his ties to Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin. However she might seek to distance herself from her fellow Alaskan now, Palin shares an extensive history with Stevens in Alaska politics, including a stint for Palin as director of an independent 527 group organized by Stevens. Palin's relationship with Stevens is detailed in a video from the Anchorage Daily News including a joint news conference with the two from July 2008 and Stevens' endorsement of Palin for governor in 2006.
Between 2003 and 2005, Palin served as one of three directors of "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Sevice, Inc.," a 527 group authorized to raise unlimited funds from corporate donors and designed according to the Washington Post "to serve as a political boot camp for Republican women in the state." While perfectly legal, Palin's service in Stevens' group does conflict somewhat with her presidential running mate John McCain's official position that 527s should be abolished and with the McCain/Palin claim to be maverick reformers (see also Rolling Stone, Think Progress).
Following Palin's service with his 527 group, Stevens endorsed Palin in her run for governor of Alaska in 2006, while both Stevens and Palin were supporting the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere" project that Palin now disavows. Stevens' endorsement for Palin is preserved in a video which Palin removed from her gubernatorial campaign website shortly following her pick as McCain's vice-presidential running mate, but which may still be viewed at Youtube and in the Anchorage Daily News video on Stevens and Palin.
Previously, as mayor of tiny Wasilla, Alaska, between 1996 and 2002, Palin hired a Washington lobbying firm headed by Steven W. Silver, a former chief of staff to Ted Stevens. Silver's firm helped secure $27 million in congressional earmarks for Wasilla during Palin's tenure as mayor - a hefty sum for a town of only 7000 residents, and a further contradiction to Palin's claim of being a maverick reformer (Washington Post).
Palin is also associated with the Alaska-based oil pipeline company VECO Corporation and its former CEO, Bill Allen, who has pled guilty to bribing Alaska legislators including Ted Stevens' son Ben. Remodeling work organized by VECO on Ted Stevens' home is among the more than $250,000 in gifts and services Stevens has now been convicted of accepting from wealthy friends in exchange for political favors. When Sarah Palin ran for Lieutenant Governor of Alaska in 2002, she received $5,000 from VECO officials and/or their wives, including $500 directly from Bill Allen, accounting for 10% of her campaign fund (Anchorage Daily News).
So it looks like Sarah Palin has some "palling around" problems of her own with convicted felons to explain. This is, of course, in addition to Troopergate, the untaxed per diems Governor Palin recieved while at home with her family, and vacation travel for her kids billed to the taxpayers of Alaska, which voters must think about between now and next Tuesday. Do we really want Sarah Palin's Alaska coming to Washington?


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