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Good point Galraen,
I feel Canada's political choices are basically nil, and then I look at those in the UK and I'm not sure which country has it worse off. Tony Blair removed Labour so far from its roots that he severed the party from anything even remotely recognisable. And in Britain, what are the alternatives? The Tories? The Liberal Democrats? My family over there supports the Liberal Democrats because they'd never vote Conservative and they are utterly disgusted by what Labour has become.

[QUOTE=Moonbiter]Anyways, it's only a matter of hours, and despite the sarcasm and seeming levity of this thread at times, I think this is a strong contender for the SYM Awards as best thread in 2008. OY! FINNLAND! SLUTA SUPA NU, PEKKA and get to it![/QUOTE]

Seconded!!!

And about that laundry.. I don't suppose you'd have any luck persuading your other half you were momentarily under a D&D spell and you were convinced everyone in the family had been transformed into a small troop of Gnomish bards?

Well, I wish America and the world best of luck, and think I'll leave you with this little news nugget:

Warning: A certain word might offend some people.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viVAAy_qkx0"]This is what it's all about[/url]

I adore The Onion (as you can tell by the fact that I have posted many links to their website), and I enjoy making jokes about serious issues. So don't take this wrong way:

If you want to see how serious this election is and what's really at stake, then it's worth listening to what the candidates have to say. I think the following speech by Barack Obama (one week ago) did a pretty good job of spelling it out:

YouTube - Barack Obama: Closing Argument (Full Speech)

How can anyone who listens to that speech call Obama "un-American" and a "socialist" and a "terrorist"? They're proving what a bunch of sleazy, reptilian-brain crackpots they really are.

Personally, I haven't invested much time and energy in this election. I've kept up with the news fairly well, but I haven't gotten into the nitty-gritty of policy analysis or the real-life "BS" that The Onion so cleverly skewered. Obama has held a pretty solid lead in the polls, so I haven't been biting my nails. I'm glad it will be over soon. Hopefully, that means that Sarah Palin will get less exposure in the news, but it also means that the mudslinging against Obama has only just begun. If and when he becomes President, you can be sure that conservatives who wholeheartedly supported Bush's atrocities will be calling for Obama's impeachment and trying to put limits on Presidential power and declaring that he is a "failure" before he even takes the oath of office. It's going to be very nasty. But stay as cheerful as you can while victory is in sight.

VonDondu wrote:
YouTube - Barack Obama: Closing Argument (Full Speech)

How can anyone who listens to that speech call Obama "un-American" and a "socialist" and a "terrorist"? They're proving what a bunch of sleazy, reptilian-brain crackpots they really are.

Personally, I haven't invested much time and energy in this election. I've kept up with the news fairly well, but I haven't gotten into the nitty-gritty of policy analysis or the real-life "BS" that The Onion so cleverly skewered. Obama has held a pretty solid lead in the polls, so I haven't been biting my nails. I'm glad it will be over soon. Hopefully, that means that Sarah Palin will get less exposure in the news, but it also means that the mudslinging against Obama has only just begun. If and when he becomes President, you can be sure that conservatives who wholeheartedly supported Bush's atrocities will be calling for Obama's impeachment and trying to put limits on Presidential power and declaring that he is a "failure" before he even takes the oath of office. It's going to be very nasty. But stay as cheerful as you can while victory is in sight.

You echo my sentiments in some respects, though I wish I had your calm. After the last US election, despite very different circumstances, I remain nervous.

I have watched that 'Closing Argument' video several times now and it stirs me as much as Obama's speech at the convention.

I also believe that the Republicans, in anticipation of their own defeat, will have been plotting smear tactics against Obama since at least the DNC. Just wait for trumped up scandals, lies and nastiness.. Of this I have no doubt whatsoever.

The following post clearly takes the form of a postscript:

While the thought of Palin as VP absolutely horrified me to the core, over the last couple of days I have found myself disgusted at the behaviour of the Republican Party. [url="http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/11/06/ec.campbell.brown.palin.cnn"]This[/url] CNN video clip sums up my feelings on the matter pretty well.

Here are some of the latest rumors from McCain campaign staff members who have a beef with Sarah Palin:

Reliable Source - More Dirt on Sarah Palin's Fancy Duds

They would have us believe that Palin, a self-described "tax cutter" and "ethics reformer", loves to spend other people's money on herself and her family every chance she gets. That's the same thing that a lot of people in Alaska say about her. I'd like to hear what Republican donors think of these allegations. Palin denies it all, of course.

By the way, "Reliable Source" is the name of the column, but not necessarily an accurate description of it.

It would be interesting to know how accurate or inaccurate any of this is.

I suppose, regardless of how reliable the stories are, they shouldn't come as a surprise because this seems to be coming from the same people who smeared McCain when he ran against Bush and who also played a large part in the nastiness of the recent election.

The first "$150,000 worth of clothes" we heard about was reported to the FEC (Federal Election Commission), so we know at least that much of the story is true. The McCain camp insisted that all of the clothing would be donated to charity at the end of the campaign. It would be interesting to see whether Palin actually does that. But if I were a charitable institution, I think I would pass on the used baby clothes and the underwear.

VonDondu wrote:The first "$150,000 worth of clothes" we heard about was reported to the FEC (Federal Election Commission), so we know at least that much of the story is true. The McCain camp insisted that all of the clothing would be donated to charity at the end of the campaign. It would be interesting to see whether Palin actually does that. But if I were a charitable institution, I think I would pass on the used baby clothes and the underwear.

Yep, I'm wondering if Palin will in fact donate her haul to charity as well...
But oh come now, those Oscar de la Renta baby clothes and diapers are probably the height of fashion in some quarters...

maybe she will auction them off and give the proceeds to a charity who will help a problem such as the fact that many people in haiti eat dirt, lard, salt cookies for food and don't even have enough of them? I'm not joking.

Claudius wrote:maybe she will auction them off and give the proceeds to a charity who will help a problem such as the fact that many people in haiti eat dirt, lard, salt cookies for food and don't even have enough of them? I'm not joking.

In all seriousness, she could probably auction them off on EBay and they'd bring in a fortune. And yes, using the proceeds to help build sustainable infrastructure somewhere like Haiti would be a step in the right direction... but I highly doubt it would happen.

dragon wench wrote:In all seriousness, she could probably auction them off on EBay and they'd bring in a fortune...

eBay does not allow people to sell used underwear on eBay. But some people sell photos of used underwear.

Here's a story from the Associated Press that appeared at the Fox News website:

Palin Sorts Through Wardrobe to Return RNC-Bought Clothes - FOXNews.com

It's not clear exactly what will happen to the clothing that Palin can actually manage to find (apparently, some of the children's underwear was misplaced during their travels on the campaign trail), but the article reveals the following:

"RNC lawyers have been discussing with Palin whether what's left of the clothing and accessories purchased for her on the campaign trail will go to charity, back to stores or be paid for by Palin, a McCain-Palin campaign official said Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity..."


The article also reveals:

"In an interview with the Anchorage Daily News, Palin faulted the policies of the Bush administration for the defeat of the Republican ticket, and said, 'It's amazing that we did as well as we did.'

"[She continued], ''I think the Republican ticket represented too much of the status quo, too much of what had gone on in these last eight years, that Americans were kind of shaking their heads like going, wait a minute, how did we run up a $10 trillion debt in a Republican administration? How have there been blunders with war strategy under a Republican administration?""

In case you're intrigued by that, you can read the original source in the Anchorage Daily News, but unfortunately, it doesn't add very much:

Palin blames Bush policies for GOP defeat | adn.com

My favorite quote is this:

"'I'm like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I'm like, don't let me miss the open door,' Palin said in an interview with Fox News on Monday."

However, the rest of you might think this line is even better:

"And in a bit of familiarity, Heath said he brought a pot of moose chili to Palin's house this past weekend."

(I have no room to laugh at that, since I receive gifts of deer chili from time to time.)

I'd say something about rats and sinking ships but in this case it is hard to tell who the rats are and who represents the ship.

Or, put another way: "circular firing squad"

dragon wench wrote:Or, put another way: "circular firing squad"

Is THAT what they're calling it nowadays?

VonDondu wrote:<snip>
My favorite quote is this:

"'I'm like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I'm like, don't let me miss the open door,' Palin said in an interview with Fox News on Monday."
<snip>

I'm like, OK, how did she not, you know, become like the Vice, you know, like president of the, you know, states of America under, you know the God-person in the sky......

Go Palin 2000 and, like, 12, you know.....




Perhaps it is an attempt to be hip with the teen-mall rats of USA cause they're the ones who can "like, you know" almost vote in 2012, by speaking their language.

I just read this [url="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-schaeffer/sarah-palin-will-never-be_b_143036.html"]Huffington Post Article[/url]
What is extraordinary is that it was written by a former Republican who used to go on hard-core Christian radio as a pitchman for the GOP....

dragon wench wrote:What is extraordinary is that it was written by a former Republican who used to go on hard-core Christian radio as a pitchman for the GOP....

What seems extraordinary to me is that, for a self-proclaimed Obama supporter who seems to believe that he himself is a reasonable, levelheaded person (since he self-consciously sets himself apart from the anti-intellectual hillbillies of the Republican party), he sure does sound like a sore winner. One thing that Obama is trying to teach his supporters is that you should always treat your political opponents with respect. That's how Obama intends to "change the tone" in Washington and the country as a whole. Frank Schaeffer hasn't learned that yet. He needs to get over his anger and contempt. If the Republicans are going to fade away (as Schaeffer claims they will), then let them fade away quietly. Obama won. It's time to move on.

In case anyone is still interested in how much money the McCain campaign spent on Sarah Palin's beautification (not to be confused with "beatification"), the Republicans have reported more expenses to the Federal Election Commission. In other words, this isn't just speculation; the numbers are real.

McCain Campaign Spent $110,000 on Palin’s Stylists - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com

In roughly a two month period, they spent:
Approximately $180,000 for clothing and accessories (including stuff for her husband and kids)
Approximately $68,000 for makeup artistry
Approximately $42,000 for hair styling
Nearly $300,000 total

It must be nice to receive such lavish treatment at other people's expense, and I don't really care how the McCain campaign spent its campaign contributions (it doesn't look like they hired hit men or had big drug parties or anything like that). But there's no way in hell that Sarah Palin can pretend to be a modest, frugal person.