Exurban League

Queen bee or Kingmaker?

kcreight@gmail.com (Kevin) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 16:30:00 GMT

I agree with all of those who say Sarah Palin is done for 2012: You can't pull a stunt like this and expect the media to forgive you, especially the same media that spent all year last year trying to tear you down.

I didn't think she had a shot at 2012 anyways: The hatred of Sarah Palin with the halls of liberal power is far too palpable and ferocious for her to overcome, no matter how plucky and resourceful she is. However, she could still play an important role in 2012 by endorsing and campaigning for a candidate early on in the 2012 campaign and/or becoming the next Jack Kemp/Newt Gingrinch of the GOP.

If Tim Pawlenty or Mitt Romney picked up Palin's endorsement right from the start of the campaign, it would immediately cement their support among the GOP base and effectively cut off any chance of a Huckabee nomination. Palin's nomination re-invigorated McCain's with the GOP base last year: Imagine what would happen if that energy were present from the start of the Presidential campaign season. The Romney campaign should be on the Plain's doorstep the minute her resignation becomes effective with a customized Remington M700 in one hand and the keys to a tricked-out Arctic Cat in the other (chocolate and roses don't cut it with a family who's into snowmobiling and moose-hunting).

Palin also has the chance to be the voice of one crying in the wilderness for today's GOP, much like Kemp was for Reagan and Gingrich was for the '94 Congress. Kemp showed the world that you could be a free-enterprise capitalist and still care for your fellow man, and Gingrich stood astride the Clintonian "Third Way" in Congress and yelled "STOP!".

Palin may never be President. But that doesn't mean she won't be the most powerful woman inside the GOP.

On the other hand, Palin's former campaign manager isn't giving up on her chances for 2012:

So you don't think she's done with politics--that she's just throwing in the towel?

Absolutely no way in hell. Hell will freeze over before that happens. She’s like a bloodhound. Once she gets the scent, she's never going to let it go. She gets what she wants or dies trying. She wants to be president now that she has a following.

Either way, Sarah Palin has managed to inject herself into the limelight for yet another news cycle. Not bad for a no-nothing housewife from the middle of nowhere...

Saturday Movie Blogging - Apollo 13

kcreight@gmail.com (Kevin) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:18:00 GMT

America at it's best: Doing things that no other country in the world could do and overcoming any and all obstacles in the way.

Happy Fourth.

P.S. When I grow up, I want to be just like Gene Krantz.

Without the vests, of course.

Useful Idiot.

inklingcd@yahoo.com (Jon) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:10:00 GMT

Colin Powell is shocked, shocked to discover that Barack Obama is exactly who conservatives said he was last year:

Colin Powell, one of President Obama's most prominent Republican supporters, expressed concern Friday that the president's ambitious blitz of costly initiatives may be enlarging the size of government and the federal debt too much.

"I'm concerned at the number of programs that are being presented, the bills associated with these programs and the additional government that will be needed to execute them," Mr. Powell said in an excerpt of an interview with CNN's John King, released by the network Friday morning.

Mr. Powell, a retired U.S. army general who rose to political prominence after a long and accomplished military career, said that health care reform and many of Mr. Obama's other initiatives are "important" to Americans.

But, he said, "one of the cautions that has to be given to the president -- and I've talked to some of his people about this -- is that you can't have so many things on the table that you can't absorb it all."

"And we can't pay for it all," said Mr. Powell, who was the first African-American to serve as secretary of state, under former President George W. Bush. He was also national security adviser to President Reagan, and was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George H.W. Bush from 1989 to 1993.

Why is it that so many of the "smart," "sophisticated" Republicans are so easily and repeatedly fooled, while us knuckle-dragging right-wing morons figured out Obama was a hard leftist a year before the election? To further highlight Powell's ideological befuddlement, CNN played an excerpt from Powell's 1996 speech at the Republican Convention:

"The federal government has become too large and too intrusive in our lives," Mr. Powell said then. "We can no longer afford solutions to our problems that result in more entitlements, higher taxes to pay for them, more bureaucracy to run them, and fewer results to show for it."

Mr. Powell said that now that he still believes what he said then, but that he would put it in different terms now.

"I don't like slogans anymore like 'limited government.' That's not the right answer. The right answer is, give me a government that works," he said. "Keep it as small as possible. Keep the tax burden on the American people as small as possible, but at the same time, have government that is solving the problems of the people."

So he thought voting for the most liberal member of the U.S. Senate was the best way to achieve a small government and low tax rate. And they called Bush dumb?

General, you got played like a dime-store kazoo. Your belated chagrin is cold comfort for the party that you abandoned.

Bugs Bunny, domestic terrorist

kcreight@gmail.com (Kevin) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:36:00 GMT

Just look at him, clinging to his guns and love of country. Such behavior should immediately be reported to DHS.

Have a Happy Fourth tomorrow.

Watching from the sidelines

kcreight@gmail.com (Kevin) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:42:00 GMT

Today is one of those days I'm glad this blog doesn't cover Arizona politics to any great detail: There's a nasty Red-on-Red fight going on right now between Governor Jan Brewer and Senate President Bob Burns over the state budget.

Espressopundit has the low-down on all the nastiness, and brother, is it getting nasty. Good job, Arizona GOP, you've managed to do what I thought was impossible: You're even more petulant and childish than the Democrats in Washington.

Quote of the Day, 7/3.

inklingcd@yahoo.com (Jon) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:27:00 GMT

"You are not going to wake up in the morning and discover he is crying in Argentina."
-- Charles Krauthammer on Mitt Romney.

An announcement

kcreight@gmail.com (Kevin) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:44:00 GMT

Just like the Washington Post, I too am willing to arrange meetings with any and all of the important people I know, starting at the modest price of $25,000.

Although why anyone would want to spend that amount of money just to meet the assistant principal of a middle school is quite beyond me.

I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords

kcreight@gmail.com (Kevin) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:39:00 GMT

Mega-colony of Argentinian ants takes over the world.

In a related item, Barack Obama announced he was extending an outreach to the moderate Linepithema community and looking forward to a vigorous debate with the ants regarding their possible future as the dominant species on the planet.

Don't just see a movie, see a moving picture.

inklingcd@yahoo.com (Jon) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:29:00 GMT

July 4th weekend is usually a time for good-ol' shoot-'em-up, splodey-boom-boom popcorn fare. But if you want to deeply impact the direction of Hollywood, consider seeing another type of movie:

The Stoning of Soraya M. is a "Schindler's List" for a new generation — a film that starkly exposes the brutality of a regime that is almost impossible for the modern Western mind to comprehend, but is true nonetheless. It won't be seen as that, I fear, by the elites in modern American culture. After all, it condemns an immoral Iranian culture and power structure the enlightened President Obama is trying to respectfully engage...

If The Stoning of Soraya M. has one enduring message, it is that Iran under Sharia Law is as savage, brutal and unfree as any society in modern memory. And the fact that this is happening to women (and men) in Iran, even today, should be an international shame. These atrocities have to end. And it is perhaps divine providence that this film debuts in the same month that young Iranians are taking to the streets and enduring the bullets of their oppressors to topple their barbaric regime.

Needless to say, liberal movie critics are shocked and appalled since the bad guys are neither Evangelical Christians nor American soldiers. If this film finds a strong audience, maybe Hollywood will reconsider their lazy tropes and go-to bogeymen.

(Via Infinite Monkeys)

Headline of the day

kcreight@gmail.com (Kevin) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:14:00 GMT

"Female gang may have killed midget wrestlers"

Now there's a Russ Meyer film just *waiting* to happen.

A really inconvenient truth

kcreight@gmail.com (Kevin) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 19:32:00 GMT

Last month was one of the coolest Junes on record.

I ain't complainin', although the humidity is a bit hard to bear at times, but I wonder who we should blame for our nicer weather? If the temperature goes up, it's because of global warming. If the temperature goes down, it's because of global warming.

Who do we blame if the temperature stays the same?

I expect Al Gore will accuse manbearjavelina of being behind all this somehow.

Wheels within wheels.

inklingcd@yahoo.com (Jon) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:10:00 GMT

Gov. Romney unveiling his portrait. The real Romney
is the one on the right, asking for an oil can.

The official portrait of Gov. Mitt Romney was unveiled in the Massachusetts State House last night. Oddly, the painting was more lifelike than the actual Mitt Romney:

Former Gov. Mitt Romney returned to the State House last night for the unveiling of his official portrait, one that portrays him as a devoted husband and an architect of the state’s first-in-the-nation universal health care law.

Painted by New Hampshire artist Richard Whitney and funded by Romney’s campaign account, the $30,000 portrait depicts the governor seated at the front edge of his desk wearing his trademark business suit. Beside him is a small framed photo of his wife, Ann, and a copy of the health care reform law he called his greatest achievement.

In the gold-framed painting, behind the seated Romney there is another gold-framed painting. It's hard to make out, but it's actually a painting of Romney unveiling his official portrait. And within that painting, another even smaller painting.

Like the famed Hasselhoffian Recursion, Mitt is gonna Blow. Your. Mind.

Happy Canada Day!

kcreight@gmail.com (Kevin) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:21:00 GMT

Quote of the Day, 06/30 Edition

kcreight@gmail.com (Kevin) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:48:00 GMT

"Obama says he's looking forward to working with Al Franken. And why not? They wouldn't be where they are today if not for Lorne Michaels."

- Jim Treacher, via Twitter

Justice for Harold Fish

kcreight@gmail.com (Kevin) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:40:00 GMT

Finally.

When even MSNBC is leaning towards calling it a self-defense shooting, you can be pretty sure it was a wrongful conviction.

Senator Stuart Smalley (D), Minnesota

kcreight@gmail.com (Kevin) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:35:00 GMT

Thank goodness Al Franken is now a Senator. We need more calm, rational voices of reason like him on Capitol Hill, and quickly.

What the Rightosphere is thinking.

inklingcd@yahoo.com (Jon) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:56:00 GMT

John Hawkins of Right Wing News recently polled right-of-center bloggers (including yours truly) on Gov. Mark Sanford, global wamring, health care and other issues of the day. See how your viewpoints line up!

Road trip!

kcreight@gmail.com (Kevin) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:52:00 GMT

Vox is looking to do another Arizona blogger get-together, this time out in the wild, wild West Side.

I figure it's our turn. Besides, we East End Boys could swing by Cabela's on the way out there to look at all the bright, shiny toys we can't afford.

Leave your ideas for time and place in the comments at her blog.

Mama, they took my Kodachrome away

kcreight@gmail.com (Kevin) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:07:00 GMT

Fortune magazine marks the passing of this iconic film with a retrospective of 60 years of photos from its archives.

Never did like that Paul Simon song that much, but it seemed appropriate here.

I shot a lot of Kodachrome as a kid on photo-trips alongside my Dad as we followed the CP through the Rockies , but I pretty much didn't shoot it anymore once I turned pro. You couldn't clip-test it and the colors were always too much on the red side, but it's fantastic as a photojournalism film, hence it's widespread use by Nat'l Geo.

Obama announces 'Seeing Green' energy initiative

inklingcd@yahoo.com (Jon) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:36:00 GMT

In a media first, the president's speech was broadcast and photographed
using only night-vision technology with the help of about 300 candles.

Aiming to keep the focus on climate change legislation, President Barack Obama put in a plug for administration efforts to drastically reduce energy use by lamps and lighting equipment.

In the past, the president emphasized using CFLs, LEDs and other low-energy bulbs to reduce the nation's carbon footprint. But today Obama asked American consumers to remove light bulbs altogether and use night vision goggles instead.

"I know night vision goggles may not seem sexy, but this simple action holds enormous promise." the president said, equipped with the high-tech eyewear. "Seven percent of all the energy consumed in America is used to light our homes and businesses," he continued, standing with the also-goggled Energy Secretary Steven Chu at the White House.

Not since Jimmy Carter famously wore a sweater for a televised address has a president employed outerwear to promote a reduction in personal energy use.

Obama said his "Seeing Green" goggle initiative would result in substantial savings between 2012 and 2042, saving consumers up to $4 billion annually, conserving enough energy to power every U.S. home for 10 months, reducing emissions equal to the amount produced by 166 cars a year, and eliminating the need for as many as 14 coal-fired power plants.

Due to the goggles' significant charging requirements, powering the devices will cost approximately $12 billion annually, but the president considers this a small price for a lamp-free world.

"To avoid environmental collapse, some politicians want you to walk around in the dark while others want to do nothing at all," Obama said. "But my solution uses common sense and the latest technology to improve life for all Americans."

Government-issued goggles will be available for purchase online or at regional Department of Energy and ACORN offices. Those earning less than $67,000 per year will be issued federal rebates to cover most of the $1,459 fee. OSHA standards require replacement every six months.