On a day when she schlepped it over to an Alaskan poultry farm to pardon a turkey, Gov. Moron gave an impromptu news conference as those she failed to pardon were... well... just watch...
By the way, we finally found video of her talent portion of the Miss Wasilla pageant.
It is astounding that the anti-choice set was so emphatic in its support of the pro-death ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palin.
Since the foolish U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, according to a new British study by the Opinion Research Business, more than one million Iraqis have met violent deaths.
That figure exceeds the death toll of the Rwandan genocide of 1994. It is also more than midway to the number who were slain in the infamous Killing Fields of Cambodia during the 1970s.
Yet it appears that McCain and his ilk ain't had enough yet. Despite being utterly unable to define 'victory,' they don't want troops to leave until those undefinable measures are met.
How the hell are the rest of us supposed to respond to that?
At least 67 million of us knew what to do, but the other 58.5 million... Just can't understand them.
John McCain's campaign manager has settled into some work for which he is uniquely suited.
Scarlet had a mishap. Go to about 2:30 on the video to see it.
She could have kept it quiet and destroyed the footage, but she shared it on YouTube to serve as a warning to children. She explains her actions.
More than 4 million people have now seen Scarlet's misadventure. And they show their appreciation with racuous laughter.
One dude was particularly impressed.
And now comes the remix.
Thank you Scarlet.
As college kids, Jackie & Fritz made several trips to Detroit, which, like any city, looks like a gleaming, glittery place at night.
But the morning drive to the edge of the city was always an eye-opener. It looked like a war-torn country with its burned-out buildings, the result of the 1967 riots, barely standing to serve as a canvas for spraypaint taggers. A stop sign, in the middle of the city, was so riddled with bullet holes it was recognizable only by its shape.
As the population dwindled to half its size in a half-century, the murder rate rose and the tax base eroded. Casket business was brisk while mortar board business plummeted. "Over the years, I have gone to more funerals than graduations," said one mother whose three sons had each been shot.
People weren't the only ones to abandon the Motor City. Reportedly, not a single nationwide grocery chain operates within city limits. The unemployment rate is over 15 percent while two-in-five residents live below the poverty line.
Now the question the media is asking is, "Do we give up on Detroit?"
Jackie & Fritz want to know why they paid no mind in the last two or three decades. It wasn't as if the city's problems weren't well known. It is like they've swooped in on Motown's crumpled, nearly lifeless body, hemorrhaging from massive wounds, some self-inflicted. Gasping for life-sustaining air, a microphone in its face, it is asked, "You gonna change or die?"
They should have cared to ask that a long time ago.
Saturday Jackie & Fritz wrote about a phrase that has trivialized tragedy.
As of late it has been used ad nauseum on television and radio and in print. Rush Limbaugh. Mika Brzezinski. Even Bill O'Reilly and Joy Behar got in an argument about who was doing the drinking. It has been popping up in newspapers (try here or here). And in press conferences (here).
Today Jackie & Fritz were sent to an amazing project on the San Diego State University website, where the members of the Peoples Temple who died in a Guyanese jungle are personalized with photos and stories. One of the survivors who lost her mother, four children and an uncle in the massacre wrote about it.
"Being on guard for comments about Peoples Temple has just become a way of life," wrote Juanell Smart. "I brace myself against news reports about cults because showing a picture of all the dead bodies is an easy way for the media to describe a cult. Just this summer, during CNN’s coverage of the Democratic National Convention, one of the newsman made the 'Drinking the Kool-Aid' comment. How insensitive, and it never ends."
Those photos are her children -- Tinetra Fain, Alfred Smart, Scott Smart and Teri Smart. Tinetra, the oldest, turned 20 just days before she died. On what would have been her 49th birthday, Tinetra's mother posted a message to her on the SDSU site.
"I remember how you would tilt your head to the side and smile with your lips tightly closed -- melted my heart because sometimes your eyes would be filled with sadness and at other times happiness. Did I tell you enough how very much I loved you and how very proud I was of you?"
Ever thought of going outside and running down the street?
Well, Jackie & Fritz haven’t either, but they would like to pose this question -- Why simply run down the street when you can spend an assload of money, jump on a mobile traffic hazard that handles like shit and run down the street?
That’s what Alex Astilean wants you to do, because he is the one who makes the money in that senseless deal. Who is Astilean? He is one of the creators of SpeedFit and the first sentence of his online bio references the Cuban Missile Crisis. The second brings up notorious Romanian despot Nicolaie Ceausescu. The third talks of his hunger and persecution as a child.
That led to the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, when he claims he was barred from competition by his homeland for refusing to spy on his teammates. So he became a cab driver, construction worker and New York City public school teacher before embarking on a career of training celebrities. If you concede that Bianca Jagger, Marla Maples and Charlie Rose are celebrities.
And, of course, that led to the SpeedFit line of products. Enjoy:
There is a phrase that has seeped into the culture in recent years that hasn't been sitting well with Jackie & Fritz. Not terribly original, it is overused and, most importantly, hurtful to a vast number of Americans.
During this campaign cycle, "You're Drinking the Kool-Aid" became a constant refrain of Hillary Clinton supporters before seeping into the media, where it turned into a favorite of the conservative punditry.
It is, of course, meant to describe someone mindlessly following a cult. Used to convey some manner of self-superiority, it is intended to paint others as weak-willed and dull-minded. Funny shit, huh?
It comes from an event that took place 30 years next week in the jungle of Guyana, where 909 members of the Peoples Temple met their deaths at the hands of a madman. They were poisoned, forced to drink Kool-Aid laced with cyanide after cult leader Jim Jones ordered the shooting of a California congressional delegation which had flown to Jonestown to inspect the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project.
Temple members killed five people at the Port Kaituma airstrip, including Congressman Leo Ryan, the first member of Congress in the history of the United States to be murdered in the line of duty.
Ryan's trip had been prompted after word trickled back to relatives that the activities of the cult were growing increasingly bizarre, including talk of revolutionary suicide.
After the congressman and others were killed, Jones followed through with the annihilation of his followers. Many were forced to comply, including children, some just infants. It was the greatest loss of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster until Sept. 11 and perhaps more mystifying.
The slaughter of innocent Americans shouldn't be the genesis of what some think are cute catch phrases. What if you had a mother or a son or a lifelong friend who really drank that Kool-Aid at the barrel end of a rifle?
Maybe 20 years from now those who giggly talk of drinking the Kool-Aid will come up with a side-splitting way to describe the people who died in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Hope that doesn't hit too close to home.
Hello Sarah,
I have heard you've been talking without a filter about how you are looking for a door that I might leave open for you.
I was so frightened by the thought of you becoming the queen of the stupid in D.C., I immediately ensured that Mark Begich would defeat Ted Stevens up there in Alaska.
Please, consider that a shut door. And consider losing to a black man with a Arabic name by nine million votes as another shut door.
How many signs do you need?
Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter,
P.S. -- Katie Couric and Trig were also signs.
Like most photographers, Richard Renaldi is fascinated by the ordinary. That inspired his series Bus Travelers. And that experience inspired yet another quirky series.
"I found myself for the first time making large format portraits of people who didn't know each other," he said. "These images most often took the form of two or more strangers sitting on the same bench, waiting for a bus. It took some directing and orchestrating on my part, as people need to participate actively in the process of being photographed with a view camera."
That led to a strange request. He began to ask the strangers to touch each other.
"I decided I wanted the images to explore how notions of trust, love, social conventions, and taboos are expressed through body language," said Renaldi. "After that it was really just getting up the courage to actually go out and do it."
To see Touching Strangers, please click here.
Jackie & Fritz wanted to document the moment at 11:02 pm Eastern on Nov. 4, 2008, when Barack Obama became the President- Elect of the United States of America. Celebrations -- spontaneous and planned -- sprung up all over the world and digital video cameras captured a wide range of festivities. This site has put up videos from six continents, 13 countries, 46 states, the District of Columbia and a few unknown locations. If you have video documentation from the following states -- North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming -- let us know! AND if you shot one of the videos below, please click here.
