Wednesday, September 3, 2008

ROCK STAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

34 comments:

Nikki said...

Be careful with that rock star label. Politicians shouldn't be celebrities. John McCain will get you for that.

Trixie said...

I have to say, regardless of my thoughts on Palin, she did deliver a fantastic speech last night. I didnt like everything, but did realize that the republican party has a good orator now that can battle the greatness of Obama.

Yet, I also have to say, those who feel that we should leave her family out of this race only needs to watch her speech, and how she herself decided that her family should be introduced, therefore, we should be able to discuss her family as well.

that baby boy, though, was cute as can be!

and as Nikki said, be careful about the rock star status...its what gets obama in trouble all the time!

luculent
web-justice.blogspot.com

Nikki said...

A few fact checks on Palin's speech, plus other Republican comments (not saying Dems ALWAYS get it right, either, so people don't freak out and get all defensive):

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080904/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_fact_check


And for everyone is touting her executive experience as commander of the Alaska National Guard, you might be interested in this:

http://vetvoice.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=1829

Pat Austin Becker said...

Re: the Yahoo fact check article (and sorry if I'm brief but I'm exhausted!)

I still disagree with his tax increases. As an OVERALL economic plan, it is standard democrat platform issue and has always proved unsuccessful. With economics it is a BIG picture (over my head, to be sure) and you can't look at just this tax or that tax. I disagree with his plan.

As far as the legislation issue, and remembering that she is NOT RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT (despite the heartbeat away thing), and Obama IS, it is important to remember he only was in the Senate for 163 days so he really hasn't had time to do much. And to be fair, his books, at least the first one, was written before he became Senator. But I agree with the fact that he hasn't accomplished much and it still does not change the fact that he voted "present" in the Illinois legislature 130 times which is the same as "I'm here, but I can't decide."

On the Huckabee quote about number of votes v. number of votes Biden got, I'm wondering if he meant percentage wise? Not sure about that, but either way, SHE didn't claim that. Are we now holding Palin responsible for the words out of the mouths of other politicians?

Pat Austin Becker said...

Caution taken, but good grief she rocked the house. LOVED it. The VP debates ought to be interesting!

Sarah said...

I swear I wasn't copying you with my post! I just realized we used the same picture!

Anonymous said...

You republicans, if the McCain controllers (I say this because he wasnt allowed to pick his guy - Lieberman) would have picked a rock, we would be hearing, ohhhh how stable, very solid, it can smash right through glass. Then a reporter asks the rock a question and it just sits there, we would hear about the liberal media attacked - how dare they. Its just VP it doesnt matter at all - but that Biden pick - ooooh my the worst ever, thats not change. The hyprocrisy of the republicans nauseates me. Its like 1984's doublespeak, good is bad, but our bad is good. Rock Star is Bad... YAAAA! We have a rock Star, its good.

I think the worst of this situation is watching all these lemming republicans quacking in line whatever buzzword they are fed and walk over the edge of the cliff - there are too many of these uninformed - uneducated masses and they pull the country down with them. On a positive note this discussion is in vain, Obama will win. The future is bright, not the gloom and doom that the republicans hold so dear.

Thats it for my incoherent rant, that latte did the trick.

Anonymous said...

Luculent, a great speech is one that we will hear in sounds bites decades from now, not a bunch of oratory with no substance - trying to bash her opponent. She did deliver the speech under tremendous pressure and avoiding the train wreck, again that doesn't qualify as a "great" speech. I do give her that, she didn't screw up, that will be later, when she debates Biden. She will have to resort to more meaningless words that do not relate to the question then scream sexism.

Pat Austin Becker said...

Now, now Anonymous. We resist generalities here; not ALL republicans are uniformed, uneducated lemmings. There are probably just as many democratic lemmings! :)

You seriously want me to believe every democratic voter is educated, informed and non-lemming? Seriously?

Thanks for contributing to our debate though!

Nikki said...

Well, I will say Anonymous has a point. I agree that the hypocrisy of many of the Republicans in jumping on this Palin bandwagon is astonishing. Just for McCain to scream about experience, experience, experience and foreign policy credentials for so long (and bash Obama for his lack of said credentials) and then to go pick this relatively unknown governor who BARELY fits that bill (and doesn't add anything to his foreign policy bill) just boggles my mind. I'm trying to understand the choice, but I still see it as nothing more than a PR move and a cheap ploy to lure women voters, which is frankly just insulting. Again, I'm trying to learn more and see the positives she brings (despite the fact that I disagree with 90% of what she stands for), but so far I'm not there.

Nikki said...

Where are you??? I just IM'd you and you're not responding.

Anonymous said...

On tax increases... Clinton balanced the budget with his tax table in eight short years. I thought that was impossible at the time, They had the debt clock - projections were measured in decades to pay it off. He left office and handed W a surplus. In eight short years W ran up the debt to record levels in less than eight years. Clinton the economy boomed, the fed had to take measures to cool it down - keep it from over-heating. The future was bright, technological advancements, innovation, the USA was a leader. W then decides to stagnate the economy, keeps in in a constant state of near recession, with the occasional depression possibility. Puts a halt to science and allow foreign nations to become the leaders. I guess in republican speak, this is good. Reagan ran record deficits, then Bush Senior, now W has put them to shame. Now 20 cents of every tax dollar goes to interest, with most of that financed by foreign powers such as China and Saudi Arabia. This again is a good thing. Being indebted to foreign influence is great. Palin is wonderful - can someone explain to her again what the VP does, she doesn't know. I would love to hear her how would she change the world question in her beauty contest. She didnt win, so it was probably worse than Miss South Carolina - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj3iNxZ8Dww

Pat Austin Becker said...

"The future was bright, technological advancements, innovation, the USA was a leader."

Oh yeah, that must have been when Al Gore invented the internet.

Anonymous said...

Dear So It goes... These posts are not meant to be hateful and i apologize if they come off that way, i am lacking on the social skills and my writing is probably 6th grade level. But i am a very informed citizen. I put the breakdown on uninformed straight ticket voters around 40% each. This 2 party is destroying the country. When the neo-conservatives took over the republican party it was all over. They resorted to childish smear tactics that work, they have tilted the balance through propaganda agencies like FOX, just enough to deceive the 20% of the independents in the middle to hold on to power. McCain was a victim of Roves schemes in 2000 and I thought that was one of the most appalling acts in modern politics. They attacked his military record, while W had daddy pull some strings and let him dodge. It worked. Its is working now. You sound intelligent yet you hop on the wagon. I cant even begin to understand the mind of someone who would vote republican after an administration like the current one. This admistration is the worst in the history of politics in America, the most corrupt ever. Yet they still are voting, being sucked into the same thing again. This tells me its ingrained in them. They went through one of the worst ever and want more. And its the same on both sides, this wouldnt happen on the democratic side, but if they did suffer through a disaster like Bush, there would still be diehards out there.

Vote for Ron Paul. Be a true Republican - one with morals.

Pat Austin Becker said...

Dear Anonymous,
I AM intelligent. I am not a lemming. I have done MY research as you have yours. I respect your right to vote as you do and I am certain you respect mine. We don't have to agree on candidates! Hell, we don't even have to agree on the issues! I like my candidates and I like their positions. I dislike lots of Democratic policies and I revile the Clintons. Talk about nauseating. To each his own. Aren't we happy to to live in a country where we can do that! :)

Pat Austin Becker said...

"Vote for Ron Paul. Be a true Republican - one with morals."

Oh and dude, I HAVE morals.

:)

Trixie said...

wow...I take off for a minute and all hell breaks loose in here! lol, j/k.

I have a response drafted at work, so I will make this one short and leave the other one for in the morning.

First, "Oh yeah, that must have been when Al Gore invented the internet." c'mon Pat, Al Gore never said that and has taken the flack for it for how long? This is the type of rhetoric that republicans typically spit out, and I honestly dont consider you a typical republican (from me, Pat, thats a compliment lol). Take a look at this.

Second, i still believe she delivered a great speech. Infamous, no. Great, yes.

Third, I believe you have morals. You just dont know better....(had to quote that, have been dying to since barack said that last week about mccaint). But in seriousness, I do think you are voting the way you vote for what you consider the best future. I just wish Palin wasnt part of that ticket.

Fourth....please, please, please...lets not attack the clintons. I understand that most republicans are hostile against the clintons....I would be too if my party was in office for a zillion years, and the other side came in and fixed things in 8 years. but the facts are the facts. surplus, check. jobs, check. well, thats until GW took office. But I wont get into that, as the bushs are yalls clintons. fair is fair.

btw, pat. how was your first day back at school? your a teacher, correct? Was it chaotic with all the aftermath of Gustav? Glad yall are ok!

more to come, when I get back to the office!

luculent
web-justice.blogspot.com

btw..thought this would be short, but it wasnt. teehee

Pat Austin Becker said...

Glad you're back!

And hey, the Algore comment was a joke; trying to lighten up Anonymous. Quite intense. And HE brought up the Clinton's, not me! :)

School was fine - LOVE these two day work weeks! Can me make that permanent? Please? I could do it.

Trixie said...

btw...I hope you dont mind, but I linked you on my blog, and even gave ya a shout out...kind of... :)

about an hour left. lets hope your guy gives a good speech. I would hate for him to be overpowered by the new gal...

is gal sexist? sorry...new female...new vp candidate that is opposite sex as the pres candidate.....or, as she said, hockey mom.... :)

Pat Austin Becker said...

Aww that's way cool! I'm gonna link you up too! :)

I will say this; I'd hate to be Johnny Mac and follow that speech. I don't care WHAT Mr. Anonymous says, I loved it!

I'm cool with "gal." Rush calls her the Babe. That might be too far!

BASummy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Nikki said...

Did some research on the "present" voting record. Here's what I found:

Obama cast 4,000 votes in the Illinois Senate and used the present vote to protest bills that he believed had been drafted unconstitutionally or as part of a broader legislative strategy.

In Illinois, political experts say voting present is a relatively common way for lawmakers to express disapproval of a measure.

As for voting records (which I know the issue is "present" voting but just for kicks):
110th Congress Missed Votes
-McCain: missed 63.8% (407 votes missed; 231 votes cast)
-Obama: missed 45.5% (290 votes missed, 348 votes cast)

As you probably know, Arizona doesn't allow "present" voting. It is only used in Colorado, Delaware, Massachusetts, Missouri, and Texas. And sort of in Hawaii.

So, really, I see the frustration but I can understand the "present" vote if it means he's in favor of a bill (so doesn't want to vote "no") but feels parts of it are unconstitutional (so he can't vote "yes").

And who knows what McCain's "present" voting record would be if he had the option, but he doesn't, so it's like comparing apples to...nothing, I guess?

Mary Frances Archer said...

**Puke** So she's really good at speaking. WOW. Neat. Ironic that the Republicans keep saying about Obama "so he speaks well - so? just words". Hey- at least he writes his speeches too. ;)

Mary Frances Archer said...

how can you say "despite the heartbeat away thing"? you can't say that!! that MATTERS!

Pat Austin Becker said...

I know it matters; of course it matters. I was terrified when Algore was veep.

Trixie said...

see, your just wrong for the al gore comments....but Ill let it slide...only cause this mccaint speech just put me to sleep!!!

:)

luculent

Nikki said...

I wasn't the biggest Al Gore fan back when he was running but I do think he deserves to be commended for all the work he has done to help raise awareness for the environment. I really respect his involvement and commitment on that issue.

Pat Austin Becker said...

Well, it is hard for Johnny Mac to follow the dynamo Barracuda as a speaker, but when he got past the rhetoric and told his story I was moved. We've heard everyone else tell it every ten minutes, and it was just moving to hear it from him. Plus, I loved his shout out to Cindy. It might have been obligatory but I thought it was sincere and I just like her. Such a humanitarian - my gawd.

Nikki said...

I didn't watch. I tried to; I really did, but I got too bored.

Anonymous said...

OK. The caffeine has worn off. I have taken my chill pills. I will try to craft my posts with little more care so they dont come off as obnoxious ramblings.I would like to ask you Pat, can you list me the things that draw you to the republican side of things? These things really fascinate me and I love to hear what makes people tick on the political side of things. I also just read that you are a high school English teacher - and a devoted republican - that is interesting. Is it family tradition - parents were Repubs? Peers you grew up with? or your values just match this particular party?

My values dont really fit a party, excluding Bush, I feel fiscal conservatism is the strongest asset the republicans had. That doesnt exist any more, so i am not sure what they stand for. In the Past Republicans were elected to stop the wars, Eisenhower with Korea and Nixon with Vietnam. They believed in small government and individual rights. W has expanded the govt. the most since LBJs Great Society. W has stripped even more rights from the citizens with the patriot act. So it seems the (R)s have lost their way. I cant tell you who they are any longer and listening to Palin and the campaign, all i get is they aren't Obama, i really wanted some substance. I have read Obamas Promise to America and I dont see what you could have against any of his policies, unless you make over 600,000 a year. So... Are you pro-McCain or Anti Obama?

I think this was interesting - part of McCains speech seemed to be a confessional for Ws actions. Trying to distance himself. I think this could be a brilliant move - to break away. It was interesting to see the audiences silent reaction. He spoke of having a transparent administration, that one caught my attention. That was a very bold strategy - it seemed honest.

Pat Austin Becker said...

Well, under the Palin post was the free-for-all Nikki and I had going; that might explain my stand a little bit. http://soitgoesinshreveport.blogspot.com/2008/08/getting-to-know-sarah-palin.html
Or at least until I can get home from work this evening and get more specific if necessary.

My values are more in line with the Republican party and always have been, those as I explained to Luculent, I lean to the center on some issues (pro-choice, for example). That's not the only issue on the table for me though, but I know for some voters it is. As Luculent and I were discussing (under the same post), some voters are single-issue voters. I'm not.

I'm not pro-McCain so much(he wasn't my first pick) and not even anti-Obama because that sounds personal. I disagree with some of Obama's plans and I have other issues with him.

I don't agree with everything GW has done but I support a lot of it. I'm FOR the Patriot Act.

I don't vote or align with a political party based on family "tradition." I know my values and research my candidates and make up my own mind regardless of what party they are with.

I can get more into this later if the other post doesn't clear things up. I can explain my position but don't have to defend it; I'm sure you understand what I mean by that. I'm not trying to be snippy but it's 5:30 a.m. and I gotta get hopping!

Trixie said...

I know your precious daughter, nickelodeon, posted this as well (yay, thanks nikki!), but I have to post it here too...just way too funny...

http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=184086

Mary Frances Archer said...

you're for the PATRIOT ACT? **dies a little inside**

Pat Austin Becker said...

You bet I am! If W wants to listen in on my phone conversations, bring it on. Do I think it helps curb terrorism or has deterred terrorist attacks? Yes I do. To me, that's just priorities. I am for the Patriot Act.