I see the author 'Anne' doesn't sign her last name. That could be written by any Obamatron. - Peter Simard
Peter, if you read the letter, she says "If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny +
Alaska), you will find references to my participation in local
government, education, and PTA/parent organizations." A NY Times article also quotes her: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09... - Paul Buchheit
Her "loyalty above competence" description actually sounds a lot like GWB or HRC (and many other politicians I'm sure). - Paul Buchheit
Her letter is obviously authentic -- she fought Palin's attempts to ban books at the local library and fire the librarian. Apparently the author is on Palin's permanent enemies list for standing up for free speech and against censorship. She may be able to enlighten us about which books Palin wanted to ban. Are there any would-be book banners on Friendfeed? Why would anyone who values free speech support Sarah Palin? - Sean McBride
I can't believe that McCain actually found a woman who would NOT draw Hillary supporters! - Gabe Schaffer
I saw the NY Times article but she's attributed as Ann, not Anne. I like the content of this letter and do not support Palin in the slightest. But I want to ensure this isn't cooked up. There's plenty of other stuff that is incontrovertible. - AJ Kohn
"She’s not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas
or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren’t generated by
her or her staff. Ideas weren’t evaluated on their merits, but on the
basis of who proposed them." - j1m
Sarah Palin is proof positive that the Republican Party is now dominated by stupidity, ignorance and fanaticism. Is this statement in the least controversial? Palin, the Christian fundamentalist book censor, doesn't even know basic American history. She believes the Pledge of Allegiance (with the phrase "under God") was written by the American Founding Founders!! :) Jefferson, Franklin, Paine, Madison and the rest of the celestial crew would dismiss Palin and her confederates as utter dunces. - Sean McBride
Is this for real? "Perhaps the most famous consumer of rodent cheese is US President, George W Bush. And although he cannot spell, pronounce, or even remember it, Fromage des Merdes is said to be his favourite." - Sanjeev Singh
"Ask yourself, why drop that personal bombshell when a simply picture, like we all have from out kids, of the family gathered around Mom holding the baby in the hospital bed would have sufficed? Or the birth certificate could easily have been released. Case closed. Scully and Mulder go home." - Jason Toney via Bookmarklet
LOL, you really can't get enough of her. *that* photo is hilarious - Melissa
Like, simply for the "water breakgate" headline :-) - Duncan Riley
actually, now I've read it, it's a damn fine read, articulating very solid points and questions - Duncan Riley
Great pull quote, Jason. Outing her kid makes no sense. This reeks. - Ayşe E.
I just call so much shenanigans. Everything about Water Breakgate smells wrong. And if Palin's birth timeline is accurate, her judgment is so suspect, she can't possibly be presidential material. - Jason Toney
And McCain's judgment, too. Clearly an 11th-hr panic pick. 84,000 folks cheering on an amazing candidate on Thursday night, and all he can do in response is this bizarre sop to the Republican base. *freak out* - Ayşe E.
"A recently California study estimates that to make 500 phone books, you need the pulp from somewhere between 17-31 trees; you need about 7,000 gallons of water, and you need enough kilowatt hours of power to run a three-bedroom home for about 3-6 months. (And that’s not even taking into account the gasoline you need to truck those books right to your doorstep.)" - Ken Norton
Just watch out for a backlash if too many sensationalized poorly researched posts continue to come out. - Jim McCusker
What a rorschach for politics in our era. Yeah the left loons went overboard. But, they're not running for president. The guy who is running proved that he's a rash, shoot-from-the-hip, tactical genius and strategic idiot and gave us a definitive lesson about why we can't afford him anywhere near the White House. - Michael Markman
I read /heard 10 lawyers are on their way to Alaska to go through more records -- before MSM gets there. Need to find source. - LPH
Just because Obama did not have the guts to choose Hilary, don't get on McCain. - Thomas Capote via twhirl
I'm sure this is a nice belief on the left - but the Repiblican base is thrilled. With Obama in full damage contol mode apologizing for the attacks of his staff Palin is doing just fine. The base is energized, the "change" rhetoric is defanged and every attack on Palin's lack of experience just makes the case against Obama stronger. - Soulhuntre via twhirl
I think people's reactions shows just how much it's assumed that McCain will just drop dead during his first term. I don't think there is any way to counter that view from undecideds, besides getting younger. - Robert Haas
The 3rd and 4th points are basically the same. But all Presidents and VP's need OTJ Trainin. Sen Obama and Sen B iden will need it if they are elected. Sen McCain and Sen Palin will need it if they are. - ChiliMac via twhirl
My first reaction to the news was WTF? Now I find myself curious to find out more about Palin and what she is bringing to this election campaign. I have no idea how she can impact the demographics, especially for women voters and working-class blokes. Something tells me she is very bright, very quick. and effective. I also don't want her within arms-length of appointing Supremes or advancing other strongly-held conservative/fundamentalist policies. McCain never had my vote, and still doesn't, but I am eager to see how Palin responds to this opportunity and continues on the public scene. - Dennis E. Hamilton
Dang. Now the Republicans have secured those all important Alaska electoral vote (s?) - Steve Follmer via twhirl
Ya worried Dave? How about a President who has never managed any city or state? - Thomas Capote via twhirl
I wasn't worried but now that McCain has locked down those 3 electoral votes (out of 538) I have really broken out in a cold sweat. Ya gotta hand it to McCain nobody saw this coup coming... - Steve Follmer via twhirl
Yeah, and let's not forget, how about a President Obama who was never runner up for Miss Alaska or never won Miss Congeniality. I am sure thinking now that someone like Palin nee Wasilla, those skills could really turn the tide in Iraq or Georgia... - Steve Follmer via twhirl
"I'd love to hear some enterprising political reporter who travels with the McCain campaign to ask the senator, "In the event of a tragedy or national calamity, and a President McCain were unable to carry out his duties, who does John McCain believe is the single best, most trustworthy, most capable, most reliable person in the entire United States to lead the free world?"" exactly! i've been watching GOP talking heads on TV but nobody can answer this question with a straight face. go figure. - ~C4Chaos
.Sarah Palin [profile] abortion- animal rights- big oil+ Christian fundamentalism+ Christian Zionism- creationism+ environmentalism- global warming activism- hunting+ intelligent design+ Iraq War~ Israel? neoconservatism- Patrick Buchanan+ Ron Paul+ science- - Sean McBride
Chaos - the Legally Blonde factor -- never underestimate it. - Sean McBride
Instead of jumping to the question of who is most qualified if the president dies, how about we still try to answer who the most qualified President would be? Obama still isn't it, and Biden doesn't make up for that short-coming by any means. - Ernie Oporto
He's not playing the mean game correctly. You're supposed to do it with push poll phone calls from unnamed "polling" comanies, or leaflets on windshields, or 527 ads you can disavow. "Approved by McC?" -- approved by a loser! - Dave Winer
He should really choose The Count from Seaseme Street for his VP... "5,6,7... 7 houses HAHAHA" - John Worthington
it is fine, divide and conquer, this is how the game is played. we don't have a candidate that knows any other way. change is not enough. - Gregory Lent
That's got to be a new record in the arena of panic-induced manipulative scumbaggery. So it's nice to see the McCain campaign showing a little initiative and really reaching for superiority in *something*. At the same time, that's precisely the sort of tactic that lights fires under a certain type of voter. I'm morbidly curious to see how that plays out for them. - Derrick Burns
Derrick -- right -- be careful about motivating your opponents too well. - Dave Winer
This is how the game works. It's up to the Obama Nation to find a way to handle this without acknowledging this douche-baggery. - Jonathan (Vacation Boy)
I think a McCain-Clinton ticket would wildly amusing. - Mot Faerin
who would have thought an Obama-McCain general election would be so wholly negative? Not I. What the hell has happened to John McCain? Just ambition, is that all? - Christopher Galtenberg
with reference to LBJ's favorite joke, "Let's start a rumor that John McCain fucks pigs... - Steve Follmer via twhirl
Glass houses, bay-bee. Good luck with that. - Chris Baskind
i hear whit romney is mccheney's running mate and they both fuck pigs - Dave Winer
I hope Obama will spend almost every dime on running TV commercials in the small towns of America where people are not "connected" and read local opinion newspapers to counteract this super-low behavior from McCain. - Andrew Baron
the ad aside, i don't think the underlying question is very controversial. why Biden over Clinton? not a surprising question from people who voted for Clinton, so just answer it and have done, i say. - idnan
Just like Obama, Clinton said the same, she's not in this to be Vice President. She wouldn't have accepted if asked. She wants to be President. - Adam Turetzky
this could so quickly descend into playground fighting! "No you!" - alphaxion
@Adam just so, but to assimilate the Clinton voters that needs a little polish and presentation. then this McC attack becomes moot, and we can have a rest until the next campaign sally. - idnan
This is what I hate about the presidential election. The issues are never the issues. - David Finch
@davidfinch ,,, which is why no one can convince me that politics is important - Gregory Lent
Ah, yeah, McCain, and the minute I see YOU hugging an asp, you'll get my vote! - MiniMage via NoiseRiver
interesting strategy. they totally photoshop'd his turkey chin at the end - Ryan
Smart advertising... sorry "the truth hurts" - Ron Emrick
"Google today launched a new site dubbed Power Readers in Politics, and the McCain and Obama campaigns are using it to highlight news stories and blog posts, sharing content on behalf of their candidates. " - newsjunk.com
"All this extraordinary feat requires, says the new study, is for scientists to harness a mysterious and poorly understood cosmic antigravity force, called dark energy." Oh, is that all? Pffft! That should take a weekend to work out, right? - Joshua M. Neff
Good point Joshua - I bet you agree, that we should focus on the Battlestar Galactica "jump" as a means of travel insted, right? - Migger
OK, now I'm going to have to re-visit Asimov to see how exactly he handled the whole traveling thing. Why? Asimov was scary good at predicting future tech, only what he saw as a couple hundred years away is now. - Stupid Blogger (aka Tina)
I dislike taxes as much as everyone else, but I always pay my bills. How else can we as a country pay our bills without the taxes? Debts always come due and the responsible thing to do is to suck it up and pay 'em. - Kevin C. Tofel
Here in Canada we understand the relationship between our tax dollars and the quality of living that we enjoy. Ordinary citizens do not have to expect to go bankrupt if they develop health problems - they are covered. Children of all social classes receive a good education. If you make a lot of money, you pay more taxes. Whether the rich are responsible with their spending is thier own problem. - melmcbride
Correction - in Canada ordinary citizens can go bankrupt if they develop health problems - I know people who have. There is NO single tier health care system in Canada. Tell me that the next time you have to pay out of pocket for prescription medication, or hand over your VISA at the emergency or they won't admit you because the ambulance ride costs money...or you have to go to Buffalo for an MRI and pay $$$...sorry to vent but I keep seeing these misconceptions and I'm getting a little tired of it. - Kevin Cearns
Kevin: You can promote your version of Canada, I'll promote mine. The liberals helped to destroy our healthcare system and now the conservatives are finishing the job. Others: my view (above) is the progressive NDP position on healthcare. Kevin's is the standard party line Tory view. Tommy Douglas outlined the real reasons for healthcare crisis long ago http://www.healthcoalition.ca/... - melmcbride
I hate oversimplified commentary like this. I am not going to defend current government spending, because that bugs me to no end. But, the idea that Clinton was responsible for a surplus is laughable. Read this link for a little enlightenment. http://www.letxa.com/articles/... - Jeremy Hall
I don't particularly hold to any party vision. And I'm not promoting a version of Canada. I'm merely pointing out fact. It is one thing to aspire to a particular reality, another entirely to assume that reality already exists. - Kevin Cearns
Kevin: A fine point. And I'm sure you know that many conservatives and republicans would agree with. There is no question that healthcare is in crisis. I think where we all differ is in our vision of the solution. I am not against some forms of privatisation. But the current models aren't very good ones. Thanks for the exchange. You seem equally passionate about your perspective - people should be passionate about this issue. - melmcbride
You as well....Thanks for the conversation. - Kevin Cearns
While this is forgivable in a person -- if I were as tired and stressed as he is, I'd probably do this kind of thing every single time I had to field two questions in a row -- this is just not tolerable in a candidate for president, who will, if elected (unless he's Reagan or Shrub), presumably have far more stressful moments on the job, and will need the mental stamina to stay with it. - Tegan Dowling
McCain is freakin' me out.... how can this guy be a Presidential candidate...wow! - Susan Beebe
This seems mean-spirited to me. I'm an Obama supporter and this just seems to be picking on the old guy. He's taking questions that aren't planted and he has to think about his answers. Give him a break. - Patrick
It's not a senior moment. That's the Straight Talk Express coming off the rails again. - Chris Baskind
i dont get the multiple camera angles. Was he taking a dump in his shorts while trying to answer the question? - Rodfather
Patrick: You're a gentleman, and your point is well-taken. But he's a pro, and should be able to handle that. - Chris Baskind
Patrick: I'm a republican - the fact that the guy can't answer the question about his campaign claiming Obama plays the race card is a joke. The fact that he can't speak articulately to his work to promote racially equality across his career with ease is either shameful or truly sad - take your pick. Every day I get closer to crossing party lines. I just want someone I can believe in - is that too much to ask? - Morgan
Yeah, everyone has a moment like that. I'm 38 and that happens to me all the time. I blank out. Imagine answering questions all the time, all day long. This is just dumb to pile on this one video, and I'm an Obama supporter. - Jim Kukral
poor guy. like others on this thread i don't take this against McCain. i'd be out of words myself if i'm in McCain's (or Obama's) shoes. i can't imagine the stress that these two candidates are subjected to 24/7. that said, there's a op-ed on NYTimes by Bob Herbert reminding people that John McCain as a maverick is just a myth. see http://bit.ly/3UGRPz - ~C4Chaos
And Saturday, and Sunday, and Monday...and everyday. - Jim Stanger
It'd be one thing if this was an isolated instance. How about the one where they ask about Carly's stand on birth control? Also, it's okay to have this happen but it's what you do that is crucial. Lose your place, don't ah, um, hem - that's not going to cut it as President. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that question?" would do nicely, cover any mental lapses and give time to process. - AJ Kohn
I like obama and i don't like this video. Those were non trivial questions asked in intelligent language spoken quickly in a row. I'm 36 and I could easily have gotten mixed up too. Posting this is no better than running brittney and paris in a video with obama as a "dog whistle". C'mon dave, you can do better. - Adrian Bye
Nobody is going to post a video of McCain here unless it shows him in a bad light. McCain is as articulate as most politicians but all you will see here are videos like the one shown. - Michael Tefft
Adrian, then you shouldn't be president either. - Dave Winer
I just posted 3 Obama gaff videos out of a number available on YouTube. Nobody, not even Obama, is perfect. - Michael Tefft
True nobody is perfect, it's just that McSame is worse than Bush at gaffing himself. - JMac of Earth
The President might as well be called the Public Speaker in Chief. This stuff IS important. At least 2/3 of the job is about eloquently passing along a message that someone else has created - Nicholas Molnar
I think it's a shame that so much attention is played to such moments - on both sides. No one is perfect for sure, but these two both stand for more of the same - big government, high spending, way too much interfering in our lives, a slide toward a European style nanny state. - Ian May
ugh. when isn't he having a senior moment? - edythe
McCain still looks like a freakin' super genius next to the shrub. - Tad - just Tad
That's right, Obama is not perfect. But he's fit and 46, and McCain has had cancer and is 71. Big difference, health-wise. You may not like it, but it's true. - Dave Winer
Another thing to look into -- I don't think McCain was all that smart, even when he was younger and in better health. We need to find out more about that. - Dave Winer
Eh - I was a big fan of McCain back in 2000. If it was McCain in 2000 vs Obama today I'd have a lot of thinking to do. - Tad - just Tad
It's not McCain's senior moments that worry me, it's his lack of knowledge of foreign affairs, geography, etc. AND his temper. I also think he obsessed with military defeat due to his past trauma. - Rod Bauer via twhirl
I hate his hypocrisy. He makes a big deal about how he's always put his country first, and then he runs that fucked up ad that makes the presidency about Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. He'll fuck the country just so he can win an election. That's the Republican Party. They should just disband they're such sad fucks. - Dave Winer
don't like mccain, but this just seems like human error. which everyone does in some way. not so good to attack for this. better to attack for substance. also think we do need younger president. things too intense right now. not sure about obama either. think we are in a huge mess. - terra210
Dave, I like your insightful commentary. I'll bet you were on the debate team in college. - Michael Tefft
Thats just sad. Look at Crist's face. He must be thinking what have I done? I bailed on blocking offshore drilling for this guy???? - Brad Nickel
For the apologists, there is no excuse for this. If you want to be President you have to always be on. The entire friggin world expects it and acts upon your every word and facial expression. This is worse than Reagen in his 2nd term. Once I would say he was thinking about something else, but this happens everytime he faces a tough question about his record! - Brad Nickel
Interesting that something as stupid and insignificant as this gets 30 comments, while a story of real substance and meaning such as the Antrax investigation gets not one bit of discussion. I think some conclusions can be made about that. - Christopher Dickens
@Christopher Dickens. Yes, I guess it means you are a genius and all us others are mere mortals. Is there an alter I can worship you at? - Michael Tefft
The only reason I'm thinking about getting cable hooked up at my house is sports. I can watch almost all of the rest of my television via my apple tv and my pc hooked ot my tv. - Andrew Burd
It will be interesting to see if the NFL make this programming available to those of us outside the US - Matt Hooper
I am curious if this will be a full-blown online feed of the games or like the free live feeds that they started doing late last season. Those were a little frustrating, since more than 50% of the time it was not showing the game at all. - Mark Warren
Mark, it will be one game a week -- only the Sunday night games broadcast via NBC. - Robert Seidman
I get that. What I mean is- they did something very similar last year. I believe it was just the Sunday Night game. But most of the time, it was in an NFL.com studio and they had analysts talking about the game instead of just showing the game. - Mark Warren
why they can't follow mlb's lead... oh yah, they are greedy and controlling. - Tim Hoeck
Mark, unlike last year this will allegedly be the same feed of the game that broadcasts on NBC. Tim Hoeck. You bet. MLB extra innings is available on cable, satellite and online. But NFL Sunday Ticket is only available via DirecTV which pays more than a little bit for that exclusive. For a few reasons I'm guessing within a few years it will be similar to MLB. - Robert Seidman
I like this idea but NFL is best experienced in HD - Andrew Smith
Andrew, I couldn't find the details on the stream quality, but absolutely, for the ultimate switch it has to be HD. It's a start anyway... - Duncan Riley
Okay, cool. Thanks for the clarification, Robert. Andrew- I agree. Once I saw it in HD, it's hard to watch a game any other way. Although, I found myself suffering through more than one Dolphins game last year via SOPcast. - Mark Warren
Duncan, sports in HD via the net will be tricky. You can get LOST in HD via the net and it looks as good as the HD version on the DVR or on-demand, but you can't compress sports as much without pixilation and the simultaneous demand for live sporting events is nothing like the demand for TV shows. - Robert Seidman
Robert, agreed, tech still has to catch up. But don't think that smart folk aren't already experimenting with ways to do this. - Duncan Riley
As soon as they figure it out, broadband providers will set up bandwidth quotas and charge you for more to make sure they get their cut. - Jason Carreira
so is it impossible to interact rationally with the trolls? must they simply be blocked? - Ňicķ
in my experience rational and troll don't tend to go together - they're motivated by something different than non-trolls nick - mike "glemak" dunn
yes.... so aggressive and so defensive at the same time.... so self-righteous.... its depressing actually.... - Ňicķ
I don't usually block anyone (one person I blocked for a little bit), but I have moderated/deleted about 10-15 comments, usually when comments mess up the flow or are very inappropriate. - Mitchell Tsai
No matter what, people are people. I've been mugged at gun point twice, and both times I asked for my drivers license back explaining they're a pain to replace. Both times I received my drivers license back. - Mitchell Tsai
agreed wow mitchell - also, i don't block that much (more often i use hide) i just block the obvious that are irritating just to irritate - life's to short & places like ff have to much positive potential - mike "glemak" dunn
I'm waiting for the trolls to arrive and comment on this ha ha - melmcbride
this was a tongue in cheek post of course but i have noticed this magnetic effect for years now, since my earliest online experiences - trollism not to be confused w/ those having differences of opinion, that's a healthy part of any conversation - mike "glemak" dunn
Yep, trolls are mainly not worth the effort, IMO. - Ken Kennedy
la & sf mitchell - scary stuff, having spent lots of time in both cities (plus currently nyc) never outside the realm of possibility - mike "glemak" dunn
I've flown 680,000 miles around the world in the past 5 years. Except for war zones, failed countries, etc..., the US is one of the most dangerous countries in the world. - Mitchell Tsai
Overdue piece Mike. Thanks. I watched several services disintegrate over the past few weeks and finally gave in to 'block'. As you said, life's too short. The key is to not feed it (except possibly as you did just now). Don't recognize it. Don't answer it. If we ignore them, maybe they'll just go away? - Charlie Anzman
agreed charlie, ignoring is best but also don't think they'll ever go away either - mike "glemak" dunn
One final thought (having just read one). Stop mentioning them by name in your posts. - Charlie Anzman
agreed charlie, have noticed that too which was one of the points in my post - takes two to tango - also, i've seen some folks directly call someone a troll but when i read what's being labeled "trollish" its simply a very strong differing of opinions thus someone (usually a popular person) is overreacting... - mike "glemak" dunn
thanks jeremiah - it really was just a humorous observation :) - mike "glemak" dunn
Mike: I like what you said about not confusing differing or strong opinions with trolling. Dissent doesn't get a lot of airplay these days (something we could use more of) against a Niagara of hype. So it's important to reinforce this distinction. I'm pretty sure everybody in Friend Feed has a good idea of who the real trolls are but it's worth repeating your point above. - melmcbride
agreed melanie - a very important part of learning is the art of listening to both sides, like-minded and dissenting - mike "glemak" dunn
My particular tactic is the more trollish they become, rather than ignore them I respond ever more briefly. I find that nothing bugs and deflates a troll more than when they spend 2 hours writing an invective filled response to them then you acknowledge them and respond in 6 or 10 words. It works better than ignoring them. - Dave Slusher via twhirl
