The Mad Rants of an Unconventional Soccer Mom

So…things have been pretty sucky the last couple of weeks. Between the never ending problems in my house, soccer, volunteering at the campaign office, and the crisis in the markets causing absolute chaos at work, I haven’t had the time or the inclination to write.

I do miss writing – it’s therapeutic for me. Hell, maybe that’s why I have been feeling so crappy lately! Maybe if I started writing again I would feel better!?! I just wish there was more time in a day – make that free time!

Defenders of Wildlife have an ad up in swing states that hits Wolf Slayer on...slaying wolves. It hits her on the disgusting practice of aerial hunting.

It’s no secret that I don’t like hunting at all. I hope my sons never partake in it. But I do understand that there are ethical hunters who also are great stewards of the woods and wildlife. I do understand that there are times when hunting may be warranted – like when deer need to be culled to prevent disease in over-populated areas where they would otherwise starve. I do understand ranchers wanting to protect their herds. That’s not what this is about. This is about exterminating wolves. This is about the slaughter of a beautiful animal.

Warning: This is not for the faint of heart.



This ad literally hurt my heart to watch, but I think it is really going to be effective. It’s the kind of truth people need to see. What’s being allowed to happen is barbaric and idiotic.

I hope this gives independent fence-straddling animal lover weighing his/her choices between McCain and Obama something to think about. It should also give a gut-check to women by taking off the shine of the “PTA Mom” imagine. What type of person would want to offer a bounty for the severed foreleg of a wolf? And what about hunters…I wonder what their reaction will be to this ad. Do they really respect “canned hunts” or fishing with dynamite? Wouldn’t real hunts see it as unfair and unsportsmanlike? There is no sport to this type of "hunting". It serves no purpose other than to satisfy blood hunger.

The National Hurricane Center has warned residents of Galveston, Texas, that they "face certain death" if they do not flee before Hurricane Ike comes ashore from the Gulf of Mexico.

Ike will hit Texas within the next few hours. This is one big-ass storm. I can't even imagine. According to the weather service it is 900 miles wide and its tropical storm-force winds extended up to 275 miles -- the length of the Texas coastline -- from its center, for a total reach of about 550 miles. Un-freak'n-believable!

And after all the warnings and all the begging:

Galveston officials said as many as 40 percent of the city's 58,000 residents ignored the evacuation order.

These people are on a tiny stretch of land that will be decimated. I don't get it! Why didn't they get the hell out? They are talking about a twenty foot storm surge. That's a tsunami. Do they all have a death wish?!?

I'm afraid this is going to be a horrible tragedy. I hope I’m wrong.

News Week dropped a bombshell of a article this morning about Wolf Slayer's character:

An Anchorage judge three years ago warned Sarah Palin and members of her family to stop "disparaging" the reputation of Alaska State Trooper Michael Wooten, who at the time was undergoing a bitter separation and divorce from Palin's sister Molly.

This is before she became governor. Seriously, is there any doubt that this woman didn't use her power as head of the state to destroy this man, as is now alleged in the "troopergate" scandal?

Court documents show that Judge Suddock was disturbed by the alleged attacks by Palin and her family members on Wooten's behavior and character. "Disparaging will not be tolerated—it is a form of child abuse," the judge told a settlement hearing in October 2005, according to typed notes of the proceedings. The judge added: "Relatives cannot disparage either. If occurs [sic] the parent needs to set boundaries for their relatives."

Do they really want to keep putting her out there as the poster child for Republican "family values". She's looking down right white-trash to me.

"It is the mother's [Hackett's] responsibility to set boundaries for her relatives and insure [sic] they respect them, and the disparagement by either parent, or their surrogates is emotional child abuse," Judge Suddock wrote. He added that: "If the court finds it is necessary due to disparagement in the Mat-Su Valley [the area north of Anchorage where Palin and her extended family live], for the children's best interests, it [the court] will not hesitate to order custody to the father and a move into Anchorage."

No wonder that awful, completely FALSE ad came out of the McBush campaign yesterday claiming that Barrack wanted to teach kindergartners sex-ed. They knew this was coming and wanted to blunt the blow. But my guess is that Barack and Joe have never been warned by a judge that they were committing potential child abuse. Can't say that about the GOP ticket!

So far, 4155 families have lost a loved one in Iraq. 584 families have lost a loved one in Afghanistan. And there are tens of thousands of injured soldiers and yet, Megan McCain says: "No one knows what war is like other than my family. Period."



There are millions of familes thru this nation's history that know war or have paid a price in war, not just McBush. I really believe that he and his family honors his service, but do not honor the service of others. His voting record on Veteran issues prove that.

He recent fought against (but didn't bother to show up to vote on) the bi-patisan Webb/Hagel GI Bill. He said bill was "too generous". This bill would have allowed that if you did 3 tours (that's three years in Iraq) and want to get out and go to school, you could with the help of the VA. Did these soldiers not give enough to this country? Do they not deserve a good education?

He also just voted against the bipartisan Webb/Hagel Dwell Time Amendment which would have required troops to be home for the same amount of time as they are deployed. We have soldiers that are being made to return to Iraq for a third tour just 90 days after they had returned home to their families.

Throughout his Senate career he could have championed veteran's issues. As a high profile National hero, he should have championed veteran's issues. He did not. Instead he voted against increasing veterans and military health care 29 times that I could find. Maybe, just maybe, if he would have supported them we would have fully staffed VA hospitals. Instead we have VA hospitals closing, and the conditions at Walter Reed have became a national disgrace.

I believe our soldiers deserve better. Too bad McBush doesn't. Period.

Another in the line of drip-drip mini-scandals that, framed correctly by the Democrats, should completely destroy the Wolf Slayer's claims of being a different kind of Republican and a Reformer:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a "per diem" allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business.

The governor also has charged the state for travel expenses to take her children on official out-of-town missions. And her husband, Todd, has billed the state for expenses and a daily allowance for trips he makes on official business for his wife.

So not only is she an incompetent, fact-avoiding, zealot, but she is personally corrupt as well.

She wrote some form of "Lodging -- own residence" or "Lodging -- Wasilla residence" more than 30 times at the same time she took a per diem, according to the reports. In two dozen undated amendments to the reports, the governor deleted the reference to staying in her home but still charged the per diem.

This woman is a diva. She fires people who look at her wrong -- literally. She feels entitled to being reimbursed for own home. She charged tax payers 707 dollars a night to take her daughter to NY. She just another Republican robbing the tax payers, just like Frank Murkowski, who she replaced. How does this make her any different than Murkowski? I guess it's the lipstick.

Finally! And they used the "L" word!  This is EXACTLY what we need. Wonderfully done. Now we need another one like it Every. Single. Day. Call them out on all their lies and don't let them control the agenda. 

On Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008, Palin the Wolf Slayer and Rudy Giuliani dismissed the work of all community activists by ridiculing the contributions of Barack Obama in his younger days on the South Side of Chicago.

They were truly some of the most arrogant, anti-reformist statements I have ever heard. Do all of these people, including my own family running with this latest talking point, even know what it is that they are all snaring at? Do they know what role community organizers have played in the history of this country?

Let’s start out by explaining just what it was that Barack chose to do as a twenty four year old – the thing that is soooo mockable to the GOP. Barack left a job on Wall Street to come to Chicago to work for Developing Communities Project, a church-based community organization on the South Side. During his three years as the director he set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization which fought with the City of Chicago to get Chicago Public Schools and housing developments cleaned of asbestos. He had thirteen employees working for him and a budget of nearly half a million dollars. So in his early twenties he was successfully LEADING. But he knew he could only do so much in the position he was in, so he returned to school. When he graduated from Harvard at the top of his class he returned to Chicago. He became a Civil Rights Attorney at a small law firm specializing in civil rights litigation and neighborhood economic development. He was still fighting for the underprivileged.

Please explain to me how the work he did helping the disadvantaged was not honorable? He could have continued making big bucks on Wall Street; he could have became a corporate lawyer. Instead he decided that he would rather actually do something to improve the lives of those facing discrimination and hard times.

In the history of this country there have been others that had chosen to be community organizers. Here a just a couple examples, but where would we be without their contributions to society:

Susan B. Anthony organized the fight to guarantee women's suffrage in the United States by giving public speeches and uniting with fellow advocates of change.

Martin Luther King Jr. organized to end racial segregation and discrimination by inspiring this nation to come together.

Dorothy Day organized the Catholic Worker movement to help the poor and homeless, and promote social justice.

Hell, the founding fathers of this country were community organizers. John and Samuel Adams organized their communities and made the case for Independence.

It was community organizers who created this country. And it has been community organizers, throughout this country's history, that have been responsible for progressive change -- the change that allows Wolf Slayer to be the first GOP female VP candidate, albeit spouting brainless venom.

So I'll take the first community organizer as President ANY DAY over some person with so-called "executive experience" who remains ignorant and clueless about one of the most honorable professions, in my view, we have in this country.

Methinks it’s going to be a rough day at work on Monday:

WASHINGTON — Senior officials from the Bush administration and the Federal Reserve on Friday informed top executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance giants, that the government was preparing to seize the two companies and place them in a conservatorship, officials and company executives briefed on the discussions said.

Yet another example of private companies gobbling up all the profits and saddling the taxpayers with the risks. And another example of the failure of a free market with too-little regulation. And what is it that they want to do with social security? Oh yeah, right…privatize it. Doesn’t that make you feel secure? And what is it that McBush said? My friends the fundamentals of our economy are strong...This is just a mental recession. I guess I should stop being such a whiner.

Seriously though, I think we will be seeing some big banks collapse in the very near term and loans will be non-existent. This is going to continue to be a bumpy ride.

Last night during the biggest speech of his life, McBush used the backdrop of a beautiful building. An odd choice, right? I mean, he has been getting beat up about not knowing how many luxury houses he owns. Why would he want to remind everyone of one of his many, many gaffes?

Well, as it turns out, the building is Walter Reed. As in Walter Reed Middle School! You think they would learn to use “the google” a little better. Then maybe they would have downloaded the right picture…the one of Walter Reed Medical Center.

And the school is none too happy about it:

"It has been brought to the school's attention that a picture of the front of our school, Walter Reed Middle School, was used as a backdrop at the Republican National Convention. Permission to use the front of our school for the Republican National Convention was not given by our school nor is the use of our school's picture an endorsement of any political party or view."

It’s funny; the incompetent fool claims to care so much about our wounded soldiers but no one in his campaign could spot the difference between the hospital where we send our wounded soldiers and some middle school in North Hollywood. I guess next time, if they want to get it right, they need to do a little more research before they try to use our troops as a tasteless politcal prop.

And one other thing: have you noticed that no one wants McBush to use their property, but yet he keeps dong it without permission? So far that I know of he has been smacked around by John Mellencamp, Bruce Springsteen, Mike Meyers, Frankie Valli, Van Halen, Jackson Browne, and now today by both Heart and Walter Reed Middle.

After watching four days of the vitriol and spitefulness that was the Republican Convention I am more energized to fight for what I believe in. We must keep going and keep pushing back against the negativity that is the Republican Party. They have nothing to offer but lies, fear, and hatred. They cannot be allowed to bully themselves into the White House again. They want us to cower in a corner and vote against our own best interest. But not this time. 

Thank you Hillary for channeling Harriet Tubman and reminding me of how important this fight is and that I can't become discouraged:

This is the story of America. Of women and men who defy the odds and never give up.
How do we give this country back to them?
By following the example of a brave New Yorker, a woman who risked her life to shepherd slaves along the Underground Railroad.
And on that path to freedom, Harriet Tubman had one piece of advice.
If you hear the dogs, keep going.
If you see the torches in the woods, keep going.
If they're shouting after you, keep going.
Don't ever stop. Keep going.
If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.
Even in the darkest of moments, ordinary Americans have found the faith to keep going.
I've seen it in you. I've seen it in our teachers and firefighters, nurses and police officers, small business owners and union workers, the men and women of our military -- you always keep going.
We are Americans. We're not big on quitting.
But remember, before we can keep going, we have to get going by electing Barack Obama president.

A drinking game. Everytime McBush says "My friends" during his speech tonight let's drink a shot. My guess is I'll be passed out from either bordom or alcohol poisoning within the first five minutes.

Last night McBush said this:

"President Clinton had opportunities to get Osama bin Laden. President Bush had opportunities to get Osama bin Laden. I know how to do it and I'll do it," he told ABC's "World News" in an interview.

Did he just call Shrub…who he supports 95% of the time…a failure?

In any case, if he already knows how to capture bin Laden, then why in the hell has he not shared his little secret with is good buddy? That seems like information that would be valuable to our national security. And everyone should be asking him why he letting our soldiers die when he has the secret knowledge to stop it! How’s that for being patriotic? Sounds to me like he is putting his political ambitions before the good of the country, doesn’t it? McCain would rather win an election than capture the most wanted man in the world.

He’s either a grandiose jackass that thinks we're going to fall for his Nixonian bullshit or a traitor. Either way, he should be called on it.

For what it is worth. The Wolf Slayer did what she needed to last night. She went out there and proved that she can read a teleprompter of a speech that was prepared by Bush’s speech writer week’s ago for someone else. Yes, she made it her own by once again putting her family on display. But to be honest, she is a master at the art of the “pause” and she played to crowd well. I have to give her credit for that. That’s something that even a lot of very seasoned politicians can’t do - like McBush. He’s awful at reading the crowd.

She also undoubtedly solidified the fundie nut-job part of the republican base. Up until last night they weren’t energized by the idea of a McBush presidency. They loved her (again, will someone explain to me just when minors having pre-marital sex became acceptable to the religious nut-jobs?).

But beyond that her speech was just platitudes. She was smug, sarcastic, and nasty, without offering any reason to actually vote for the republican ticket. And she once again told bold faced lies to the American people (that’s a whole other posting).

Do you know what I hope people realize? That’s all they have! They are running on the exact same policies of the current administration and their only hope is that no one notices and no one questions them on it. The one thing that to GOP has perfected is the art of “branding”. They are master marketers. They sold George Bush, the colossal failure, twice! And now they’re trying to sell us the “maverick” and the “reformer”.

Will the American people buy it? Time will tell, but I hope not. I hope they are paying attention this time. I hope they have noticed that there has been not one mention of the economy or how they attend to fix it. I hope they will notice that there has been absolutely no mention of how they plan to change the direction of the country. They can’t win on the issues and they know it. All they can do is lie and attack Obama on what are really their own weaknesses. They are just empty suits and trying to sell to same old, same old and hoping to get away with it once again.

Poor Wolf Slayer. She is now the victim of the mean, mean, evil, chauvinist left and the press and they’re not going to take it!:

ST. PAUL -- Female Republicans embraced identity politics with gusto today, touting the virtues of presumptive vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and suggesting that any attempts to question her qualifications amounted to blatant sexism.

In a "hear me roar"-style press conference, a parade of elected officials and GOP operatives issued a lengthy defense of the Alaska governor's credentials, and former Massachusetts governor Jane Swift said Palin has been the target of "an outrageous smear campaign."

"She has taken on the corrupt special interests in Washington and Alaska. She has stood up for families and made a difference," Swift said. "She is more prepared than Barack Obama to be the president of the United States. ... The Republican Party will not stand by while Sarah Palin is subjected to sexist attacks."

Boo, fu*k'n hoo!  The Republican Party, that after 196 years, finally got around to putting a woman on the ticket? The Republican Party whose platform is that women should not have the right to choose what happens to her own body? The Republican Party that has nominated the man who said this about Chelsea Clinton…the man who called his wife a C*nt…the man who told a joke about a woman being raped by an ape. Righhht, they really care about women and would never degrade them.

And I wonder what the Wolf Slayer will say about this line of defense since she had no problem ripping Clinton when she tried that defense:

During the primary Sarah Palin chided Hillary Clinton for complaining about sexism.

"She does herself a disservice to even mention it, really," Palin said. "When I hear a statement like that coming from a woman candidate with any kind of perceived whine about that excess criticism, or maybe a sharper microscope put on her, I think, 'Man, that doesn't do us any good, women in politics, or women in general, trying to progress this country,'" Palin said. "I don't think it bodes well for her."

Crickets... I guess she's not a maverick after all.  She's just a girl and you better play nice with her or she's going to cry.  I sure hope if she becomes VP (god forbid) that Putin plays nice with her and doesn't make her cry.  We wouldn't want her smearing all that make-up.

Suppose Barack Obama had a pregnant 17 year old daughter and her “baby’s daddy” was some black 18 year old angry high school drop out. What do you think the GOP talking points would be? Would we hear what a blessing it is?  How

GAWD…I want to puke. Really. And now we have Cindy, the pill popping thief, sitting with the happy couple at the convention playing with the other baby. What message does this send to young teens? That it glamorous to drop out of school, get knock’d up and have a shot gun wedding?

And if this is supposed to be a private family affair then why in the HELL is the McBush campaign making a circus out of it and blaming it on the press and those evil liberal that have no respect for the Palin family?

Say one thing and do another. The Christian way.

Gotta love the open mic. It's the only time you can get a real sense of how the pundits actually feel. And when you've lost Peggy Noonan, you've got a problem. She has genuine conservative bona fides. She probably is fuming that her old party taken over by a bunch of wacko, nut-job, zealot theocrats.



I must say this made me happy, but I'm also a little pissed at Chucky T. If this is really what he thinks, then he has been full of shit on the air for the last few days. Quit pandering and do your frack'n job as a political analyst!

The Washington Post is on fire tonight. Here's their latest reporting:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee who revealed Monday that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant, earlier this year used her line-item veto to slash funding for a state program benefiting teen mothers in need of a place to live.

Honestly, at first this was fun to me.  The woman is a real nut-job and it was amusing watching McBush try to spin all of the stuff they missed while "vetting" her.  Now I am just pissed and worried that there is a chance that people might actually vote this ticket in.  I mean Shrub did get selected twice and we are still using diebold voting machines.

According to Passage House's web site, its purpose is to provide "young mothers a place to live with their babies for up to eighteen months while they gain the necessary skills and resources to change their lives" and help teen moms "become productive, successful, independent adults who create and provide a stable environment for themselves and their families."

So this asshole, holier-than-thou nut-job who, as is turns out, was knocked up before she eloped...who believes she has a right to dictate what a woman can and cannot do with her own body...who voted to refuse sex education in schools, and who wants to deny access to protection for teens is now responsible for throwing young mothers and their babies out on to the streets. How very FUCKING Christian of her! I just love how every life is “precious” to them…at least while it is in the womb. After that who cares if the kid starves to death or is homeless or is sent off to die in a war so that Cheney's oil buddies can make a pretty penny.

I am so tired of rules and religious convictions only applying to certain people. If you're the governor and your daughter gets knocked up, she can go live in one of your three houses.  If you're some poor girl with no family you get no empathy, no compassion. They call you a sinner and kick you to the curb.

CNN is reporting that McBush is taking his ball and going home. He has canceled the interview that he had lined up with Larry King and is said to now be boycotting CNN. He's all pissy that reporters are actually starting to do their job and have dared to ask questions about if the Wolf Slayer is qualified on national security issues.

And the McBush camp also essentially said today that until the media plays nice, they won't let anyone interview the Wolf Slayer. No MTP. No Face the Nation. Nice. So we all just get to guess whether she's qualified (not).

Here's the interview that their panties are in a wad over:



Any one with two brain cells to rub together can figure out that she has zero relevant "Commander in Chief" experience like they are trying to push. In Fact, here is what the general who runs the Alaska National Guard says:

Maj. Gen. Craig Campbell, adjutant general of the Alaska National Guard... said he and Palin play no role in national defense activities, even when they involve the Alaska National Guard. The entire operation is under federal control, and the governor is not briefed on situations.

Another talking point debuked.

I’m watching or rather trying to keep my eyes open during the Republican Convention. These people are ridiculous and really boring. Keith just broke in with new “breaking” news being reported at the Washington Post about the Wolf Slayer. Apparently the Palins were part owner in a car wash that got shut down by the State for operating illegally:

State records show the business ran into trouble with Alaska's division of corporations business and professional licensing after Palin became governor of the state in 2006.

A Feb. 11, 2007 letter to the governor's business partner advises that the car wash had "not filed its biennial report and/or paid its biennial fees," which were more than a year overdue.

The warning letter was written on state letterhead, which carried Palin's name at the top, next to the state seal.

On April 3, 2007, the state went further and issued a "certificate of involuntary dissolution" because of the car wash's failure to file its report and pay state licensing fees.

Good God this woman is an incompetent nutcase! I'm laughing so damn much these last few days over this woman. It will be fun over the next few nights to watch the Republicans defend her tooth and nail, when in the end she’s either going to drop out because she needed to “spend for time with her family” or get the kick in the ass from the campaign. I really don’t see her making it until November.

You know, I really I am starting to feel sorry for The Onion.  How are they going to top this in it's ridiculousness?

I love the pink boas!  I  have to wonder though, when the party organizers were ordering Hookers & Blow do you think they knew they were getting a band?!?

The 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is pregnant, Palin said on Monday in an announcement intended to knock down rumors by liberal bloggers that Palin faked her own pregnancy to cover up for her child.

Bristol Palin, one of Alaska Gov. Palin's five children with her husband, Todd, is about five months pregnant and is going to keep the child and marry the father, the Palins said in a statement released by the campaign of Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

Hummm…I wonder if Bible-thumpers have more pregnant teen kids than those of us who actually teach responsibility to our kids? 

But anyway...the real reason I even touched on this and the real story here is that abstinence only education doesn't work.  It's unrealistic and dangerous.  Preaching religion, abstinence, and "just say no", does a great disservice to kids.  Teenagers are going to have sex. You cannot control human nature with prayer and freaky, creepy Purity Balls. What tennagers need is to be educated on how to protect themselves from diseases and unwanted pregnancies.

And I really, really feel sorry for this girl. Can you imagine how awful this must be for her? She is faced with the daunting task of raising a child and doesn’t deserve to have her personal life exposed to the entire world because of her mother’s political aspirations. I wish her the best of luck.

Btw…I also want to point out that Palin opposes any use of birth control by married couples – condoms included. How well do you think that is going to play with Hillary supporters and your average soccer mom? I don’t think too well.