StallNine: Spirit of the blog

Assabassador?

I received an email from a friend announcing that John Bolton quit and maybe I should apply to be the next UN Assabassador. I think it was a typo. There are only three "a"s in Assbassador.

Bush as substitute teacher

This commentary by Aaron Freeman made me smile on my drive home. I think my favorite part was when Hugo Chavez (the student) called Bush (the substitute teacher), "el diablo". Or at least that was the part where I laughed out loud the loudest. But I don't think Dr. Codswallop will enjoy the part about France taking over for a while so we can throw spit balls...

Have you had enough?

This was made BEFORE it came to light that the GOP leadership (yes, Denny Hastert included) knowingly let a sexual predator spend time with teenagers working in Congress. Five years after Mark Foley (R-FL until last Friday when he resigned amid the breaking scandal) was first known to have sent inappropriate emails to 16 and 17 year old males, there will now be an investigation. Why wasn't Foley kept from the teenagers? Or even more appropriately, turned in to the Ethics Committee or better yet, the police? Well, it might have cost some votes. Nice. Real great. Next time the GOP tries cramming their "values" down my throat I'm going to scream. Josh Marshall and John Aravosis have been all over this.

So ask yourself, have you had enough?! I sure as hell have.

Video produced by Howie Klein. And yes, he rocks!

Why does Joe hate Mac users?

So I finally figured out why I can't access Joe Lieberman's sparkly new website that debuted yesterday. It's because I'm one of those dreaded Mac users. I'm still getting the old Joe page with the following message:

Welcome to Joe2006.com! We'll be re-launching our full website soon to bring you the latest news and updates from the campaign...

But apparently I can view the comments (from at least one thread) through haloscan. (H/t Jon Kantrowitz at My Left Nutmeg.) A good read, indeed. Man, I love snark. And if you're not able to see the comments, let's just say the commenters aren't so happy with Joe.

I hope the journalists who are looking into the "hacking" of Joe's site on primary day are also looking into why the Lamont campaign is stopping Mac users from viewing Joe's site.

Update 10:45pm: Joe's new site is now Mac-accessible. I can't wait to vote for Ned!

Ew, indeed

So, thanks to Atrios, I found myself watching Lieberman's newest ad on youtube. Ew, indeed! Even if you don't watch the video, make sure to read the comments posted. They're awesome! My favorites (most of which are in response to the hypnotic woman asking us to "think about the good things"):

THINK ABOUT GOOD THINGS?!!!
OK - I am thinking about a Democratic Congress impeaching Bush....
Ahhhhh - that's the stuff...
-americanexile

Good God, that ad is horrible.
"Just sit back and think about...good stuff" ?
No, not Iraq!
No, not soldiers being maimed and killed!
No, not Iran or North Korea!
No, not health care!
No, not history debt!
No, not job security!
No, not gas prices!
No, not ineffectual leadership!
Just...think of Joe Lieberman, relaxing on the beach. Then, if you live in CT, VOTE him out in NOVEMBER and plunk his ass down in the sand, so he can get started on his own list of "good stuff" to think about.
Wait, don't fall asleep, Connecticut voters! Feel The Joementum!!
-mrCurmudgeon

A setting sun... the perfect image for a career that's about to end.
Plus, bonus points for indirectly attacking your opponent in an ad that whines about negative attack ads.
-johnno22

Terror

Despite what Joe Lieberman says, I really don't support terrorists. For real. In fact, I really don't like terrorists at all. Which is why I'm supporting Ned Lamont. See, the "War on Terror" that we're fighting is actually creating more, not fewer terrorists. So why the hell isn't anyone in the mainstream media calling Lieberman on his bs?

Oh, and by the way:

WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 — The Department of Homeland Security has taken significant steps since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to make it much harder to turn a plane into a flying weapon. But a nearly obsessive focus on the previous attacks may have prevented the federal government from combating new threats effectively, terrorism experts and former agency officials say.

...

The nation is still at risk from the same “failure of imagination” cited by the 9/11 commission as having contributed to the success of the 2001 attack, several argued. (emphasis mine)

But how can that be?? I mean, the Republicans are in conrol, how can things be less safe? And (via Atrios) John in DC reminds us the anthrax scare happened after 9/11 and still no resolution. But I guess that was soo 2001 so who cares...unless it can be used for political purposes to help the Repubs! Right.

Three days, three Lieber-encounters

I returned to the site of my first Lieber-encounter (Waldbaum's in West Hartford) to see if the Lieber-people were still collecting petitions...

Aug.2. After work. I wanted to see if they were still collecting signatures (and I needed something to eat). This time there was a man collecting signatures (no sign of the woman from Monday). Following the script he was asking people to "put Joe Lieberman on the ballot". However, he had no problem mentioning that this was in case Lieberman loses in the Primary. When I asked where he was from he said Missouri and pointed to his witness and said the witness was from CT. He asked where I was from (I said West Hartford) and if I would sign. The other day I didn't sign because I didn't want to help their cause (by signing my real name) or sign a false name (which would cause more work for the people reviewing the signatures). But despite my qualms, this time I did sign mainly to see if they would check my ID. They did not ask for ID or anything else after I signed. The witness didn't say anything the whole time, just watched while Mr. Missouri did the talking.

The Lieberman setup is at the exit door. They had a table out with a bunch of clipboards with petitions. I think each petition was for a different town (as it should be). You'll notice a complete absence of any Lieberman signs, shirts, etc. From a few feet away, unless you overheard them, you wouldn't know why they were collecting signatures. No signage. No nothing.

Is the tide turning?

Holy cow, even the media seems to be turning! Throughout the past month, there has been a Lieberman article featured on the front page of the online version of the Courant almost every day. Lamont sometimes got second article treatment. Today, the feature article is for Lamont covering his most excellent ad campaign. (See the newest ad here.) Even better, the second article calls Lieberman on his claims that he singlehandedly saved Electric Boat from closing. Course, my little theory is based on the online version and my memory so I could be wrong. I don't get the paper paper and I'm late for work as it is, so no time for, you know, real research, so feel free to tell me if I'm wrong.

Two days, two Lieber-encounters

July 31. Lunchtime. Waldbaum's @ Bishop's Corner in West Hartford. Three characters: me, Lieberman petition gatherer, Lieberman petition gatherer's witness. Paraphrased but an accurate account of the event.

Me: Hi. What are you collecting signatures for?
LPG: To put Joe Lieberman on the ballot.
Me thinking to myself: That's odd, Joe IS on the ballot -- for the Democratic Primary.
LPG: Would you like to sign?
Me: Why would I want to sign the petition when Lieberman is leaving the Democratic party? [Next time I have to ask sounding all confused: But I thought Joe Lieberman was on the ballot for the Democratic Primary?]
Me: Do you support Lieberman?
LPG: Yeah.
Me: Where are you from?
LPG: [Pause.] Missouri but my witness is from CT.
LPGW: [Waves.]
Me: Do you support Lieberman? Why are you here?
LPG: This is what I do. [Gather petitions.]
Me: Oh. [Walk away annoyed that I didn't ask if she supports the war.]

If you haven't heard, Lieberman won't answer questions about the petition gathering for his Independent campaign. My encounter was consistent with the Courant's account where I was told that they wanted to "put Lieberman on the ballot" with no reference to a specific election or party.

August 1. Quick stop between day-job and Lamont-volunteering. Subway store in West Hartford. Three characters: me, Paid Lieberman Youth 1, Paid Lieberman Youth 2. Pulling into the parking lot I see a van with a Lieberman sign on it. As I walk into the store I see PLY1 and PLY2 getting ready to order their sandwiches. They are wearing Vote for Joe on Aug. 8 / Lieberman forever t-shirts. Okay, I didn't see the word "forever" but the t-shirts were pretty obnoxious. Do you think the shirts were union? The following is my account-- the quotes may not be exact but I feel I captured the spirit of the conversation.

Me: Hi, do you guys support Lieberman?
PLY1 and PLY2 both look at me but don't say anything.
Me: Are you going to vote for Lieberman?
PLY1: This is just a job.
PLY2: I'm not registered to vote.
PLY1: I'm not registered to vote either. Maybe if I register but this is just a job.
Me: Where are you from?
PLY1: Rocky Hill. [CT]
PLY2: Hartford. [CT]
Me: Do you support the war?
PLY2: No. My dad was in Kuwait. I don't support the war.
Me: Do you know that Lieberman supports the war? He thinks things are going well in Iraq.
PLY2: I don't agree with Lieberman on the war. I don't agree with him on that.
Sandwich Artist: [Okay, there are 4 characters.] Can I help you?
All orders complete. PLY1 disappeared. PLY2 and I are walking out of the store.
Me to PLY2: If you do register to vote, I think you should vote for Ned Lamont. He thinks that we should get out of Iraq [PLY2 nods yes] and we should focus on education and jobs and healthcare.

Both PLY1 and PLY2 seemed like good kids (age 18-20, maybe younger?) and our discussion was casual, not at all a debate. I took the approach of trying to figure out their stance and why they were working for Lieberman rather than trying to argue. It seemed like the right approach. PLY1 seemed not to care much about the election other than getting paid. PLY2 seemed  concerned when I brought up the war and healthcare. I don't know if he'll vote but if he does, I'm confident he'll vote for Lamont. I certainly didn't get the sense that either cared at all about Lieberman's campaign.

I can't wait to vote for Ned Lamont!

"They just think chicken soup is codeword for a bomb"

Check out this animated cartoon celebrating all that is the NSA. Thanks to Cozumel, a commenter at Firedoglake, for showing me the way.