WTF?
September 1st, 2008 | Uncategorized
I just went to Democracy Now to see what was going on with the RNC convention, which seems to have been called on account of hurricane, and there’s this big bulletin that Amy Goodman got arrested.
Also, in today’s broadcast there’s a quote from Sarah Palin’s own mother-in-law: “I’m not sure what she brings to the ticket, other than that she’s a woman and a conservative.”
58 Responses to “WTF?”
ABC News has posted a news article to the effect that Sarah Palin was a member of the Alaskan Independence Party in the 1990’s. Their motto: “Alaska First; Alaska Always!”.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/09/members-of-frin.html
WTF is right!! I tried calling the numbers to demand their release – the jail number is busy, and Chris Rider’s mailbox is full and not accepting messages. Good taste of the McCain leadership – I want to see the mainstream press all over this. Terry Gross’s room searched??? Jeeeeeezus help us – defeat these idiots!!!
Oops – Michelle Gross – sorry bout that
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/9/1/st_paul_police_conduct_mass_pre
Here’s video of Amy Goodman being arrested.
Sarah Palin is a member of an Alaskan secessionist group, as well. Not sure if it’s the same as above. Hope folks are beginning to understand that McCain’s “Maverick” label actually translates to “utterly unpredictable with serious anger control issues and disrespect for women”.
Maggie Jochild:
Yep, they are the same. This is gettin’ weird…
Oops. The video link above is farkaktah. Here’s the right Youtube link.
It was bad down there today. I stayed out of the fracas, but there were 130 (reported) arrests, tear gassing, rubber bullets, pepper spray…they basically trapped people by backing them up against the river and then forcing them to walk into clouds of tear gas. Scary shit.
Can someone explain something to me (I tried to get some understanding from the DailyKos people, and I’m sorry, the majority of them are deeply, deeply, troubled people)?
Sarah Palin’s one of the “moral crowd.” You know the type. They’re better than you. They’re able to control their urges better than you. They pull themselves up by their bootstraps better than you. Etc. These are the people who continuously have their noses in personal matters: what goes on in your bedroom, whether you use birth control, etc.
This “moral” attitude leads to many, many, many, many people having to confront tremendous hardships: Woman can’t get birth control at CVS (but she can still buy cigarettes there), gets knocked up, can’t keep the baby or afford pregnancy care, can’t get an abortion because all the abortion doctors have been chased out of the state. Has the kid, resents the hell out of the situation, has to take a second job to pay for the things the kid needs, etc.
She goes through all that because of the policies that the Sarah Palins of the world allow to come into being.
So why, exactly, is making Sarah Palin sit down at the Misery Table she helped set and have a double-helping of the same kind of crap all the rest of the people have to choke down every day, off limits? Why does Barack Obama disapprove of forcing the Compassionate Conservatives to sit there and have a few spoonfuls of the same guff we’ve all been forced to swallow for most of the last 30 years?
WTF??!! is right! Why was she arrested?! I watched the video (thanks Maggie) and I don’t get it.
(Also? I have a bumper sticker on my car that reads simply “wtf?” next to a picture of Dubya.)
Others have already made the comparison of Palin to Atwood’s Serena Joy, which I think is spot on, but when I see people like her, I also think of the Oogie Boogie Man. You know, from Nightmare Before Christmas. He just looked like a blob, but when he was unzipped, all these bugs and rot fell out – a (sort of) benign facade held together by nothing but decay. That’s what I see when I look at Palin’s photograph – pretty face, but good God, looks what lurks beneath. Now I have to go read to see wtf’s happening with Amy Goodman.
Amen, Alex.
I heard that Sarah Palin’s 17 year old unwed daughter is pregnant, but she’s keeping it and planning on marrying the father so of course the conservatives will spin it as pro-life propaganda.
Lovely.
Dkos encourages misogyny, which makes too many of them suspect, IMHO.
Obama’s being a good politician. The mainstream media, the National Enquirer, TMZ, etc. will go after the salacious details of Palin’s life just as they obsessed about Anna Nicole Smith, and with just as much comprehension of sexism or politics as they showed there. Let it play out on those grounds, and keep Democrat noses clean by staying focused on the ISSUES. On the issues, Obama is far, far better than McCain.
We need to not be comparing Obama and Palin (he’s run a campaign longer than she’s been governor, he went to Europe and blew ’em away while she’s only gotten a passport this year, etc.) because he’s Presidential material and she’s only a VP candidate. We need to compare Obama with McCain.
At this point, I think it’s likely that the Repub leadership is hoping and praying they can pin enough Palin outcry to Democratic sources that they can claim withdrawing her from nomination is OUR fault, not a dumbass decision in the first place for McCain to have made. We have to not give them that ammunition. We have enough material to work with, anyhow: McCain’s tax plan will actually worsen the burden on working people, he plans to keep us in Iraq and start a war with Iran, he’s pro torture (of all fucking people), etc.
And as for Palin, stick to the reproductive rights meme — do you share her policies of no abortion even in case of rape and incest, no birth control of any kind (which no funding for it), no funding for social services such as for disabled kids, using governmental power to retaliate for personal issues, advocating secssion of individual states, protecting the rights of right white guys in airplanes to gun down wolves and bears, not believing in global warming, wanting Creationism taught in public schools…There’s plenty without wading into moral shaming, which will only leave shit sticking to our own shoes. When she asks for privacy for her and her family, give it to her but make the point that privacy regarding reproductive decisions is the right of EVERY woman, and let it sit there.
Ginjoint, Crooks and Liars has a post with more information about Amy Goodman’s arrest. Apparently she heard her producers were being arrested, ran out of the Convention to find out why, and was arrested herself.
If you go to Salon.com read Glenn Greenwald’s blog. He has been keeping up with all the stuff going on in the Twin Cities and has a video of Goodman’s arrest. The latest I heard was that she has been released.
As usual there are a lot of conflicting reports about what went down.
Painful to see her being roughed up and violated like that. Makes my heart race. Hell the woman faced down the Indonesian military while Timorese protesters were gunned down around her in the Dili massacre. But this. Ugh.
So I just got back from a radical experiment (not) – no computer for the entire month of August. Yes I checked email a (very) few times at the Wellfleet Public Library (home to Howard Zinn). But I gotta say it was a great slowing down of life (and I read 3 books! — including Jeanette Winterson’s “Written on the Body” and “Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui” – made me think of this blog & AB). OK nuff bout me I gotta lotta catching up to do. I just watched Holly’s compostBirkenstock video and hope there’s a sequel. That made me very happy (also reading Aunt Soozie’s comment about stiletto crocs for AB’s superhero).
Sobering words from Maggie Jochild. Impt to stand clear of the sexism and misogyny surrounding the Palin candidacy. Would we vote against a man who was the father of a newborn child as not fit for public office, for instance (many would say yes and would not vote for him), etc.
Unfortunately, I can’t hear the name “Bristol” without giggling. It’s that rhyming slang again.
Alex: Bristol–>crystal–>the kid’s using (or the parents named her for their favorite recreational pharmaceutical)?
No, Suz. In Cockney rhyming slang, you say the first word of a two-word phrase whose second word rhymes with the disguised word. “Bristol” Fairbank Daily News-Miner.
Something went wrong there, I think because I used some angle-brackets. Once more, this time with feeling: “Bristol” [comes from] “Bristol City” [comes from] “Titty”.
And, about poor Bristol, you should see the nasty poo going down in my hometown newspaper, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (see the comments).
(posting from work)
While we’re on the subject of British humour, here’s a great example:
“I said, ‘Would you like an innuendo?’ and she said ‘Yes’, so I gave her one.”
Thanks for the link, Maggie. I’m grinding my teeth right now – between the illegal arrests in the Twin Cities, to Palin (just Palin, and everything she represents) – I’m going to give myself a splitting headache. I’ve already posted several comments in response to articles in the Chicago Trib, all before 7 a.m. Maybe it’s for the best that I’ll be at work all day, firewalled from any news source.
And Maggie? Thanks for bringing up the sexism and misogyny of some men on the left. I’ve seen it and experienced it, and it carries with it its own unique betrayal – and disappointment.
the MN police seem to have lost their marbles….they have detained/arrested anyone who isn’t republican. i foresee lots of lawsuits against them after all this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh4iv3k1feU
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/30/rnc.protest/?iref=mpstoryview
Amy Goodman already has video out about her arrest, bless her journalistic heart, available here.
Also, Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake has a fascinating post just up, The Revolution Will Be Twittered, about how the Coldsnap legal collective, ACLU observors and Uptake video photojournalists used instant communications in Minneapolis to make sure police violence was never able to be wielded in isolation, unwitnessed. Gave me a chill to read it, remembering my old days of terror at the sounds of approaching cops during demos and riots: Technology R Us.
Well, apparently we can’t leave a comment here with more than one functioning URL, so I’ll split my message currently in moderation in two and post them one after another, because it’s breaking news on topic with this thread.
Amy Goodman already has video out about her arrest, bless her journalistic heart, available here.
Also, Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake has a fascinating post just up, The Revolution Will Be Twittered, about how the Coldsnap legal collective, ACLU observors and Uptake video photojournalists used instant communications in Minneapolis to make sure police violence was never able to be wielded in isolation, unwitnessed. Gave me a chill to read it, remembering my old days of terror at the sounds of approaching cops during demos and riots: Technology R Us.
Hey Alison-
I thought I would let you know that one of your ideas was a big hit at the anti-war demonstration and march in St. Paul yesterday. While making an impromptu sign, I took a cue from the comic you drew about the protests of the 2004 Republican National Convention, and made a sign that said “STOP TORTURING PEOPLE YOU FREAKS.” It was wildly popular with the crowd there- Many, many people complimented me and asked to take my picture, and I got interviewed by CNN for it. But I don’t feel like I can take credit for it, so I thought I’d let you know! I’ll send you a picture if you want.
But don’t forget that the Democrats shut down dissent in Denver too, as they have for past conventions. The whole notion of “free speech zones” ought to be repugnant in a free society. The Dems may be the lesser evil, but they’re still evil.
Saw a picture of a guy caving in a window at the protest — bandanna, short military haircut — are there “outside agitators” ratcheting up the violence and allowing the cops to go wild, as there were in Seattle during the WTO riots?
DeLandDeLakes, I’m glad your sign was a big hit, but I stole it from someone else–it was an actual placard from the 04 RNC protest march.
I agree, Duncan. Lesser evil for now, because the survival of the planet depends on government which at least acknowledges global warming.
I wonder what Palin’s next move will be – adopt the child of an 11 year old incest victim who was denied an abortion under her leadership?
If I were the guy who is supposed to be the father of Bristol’s baby, I’d:
1. Get a reversible vasectomy
2. Demand a paternity test
3. Move to Canada if the baby isn’t mine
4. Change my name
5. Fake my death
6. Change my name again
And, the ultimate form of flattery. Imitation. http://pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF176-The_Throbblefoot_Aquarium.jpg
Hey, DeLandDeLakes, did you see where the rerouted 16 & 50 go, since it’s not the Capital right now? I couldn’t figure it out from the metrotransit site (we skipped the march due to worries about 3 year olds & tear gas).
MC – the police and FBI were courting informants and training undercover officers months ahead of the RNC, there are some published reports about it. Also there are a lot of people who came in from out of town, though very few of them would have advocated anything more than bannering/sidewalk painting.
But I have to say we have our own homegrown idiots – it can be hard to tell an undercover trying to incite violence from a random macho stupidhead (not that breaking windows is violence, just that it’s dumb.) That doesn’t mean it’s OK to arrest people pre-emptively or break down doors on knock warrants (knock = someone has to open the door, no-knock is issued if the judge thinks door-kicking-in is justified.)
If you really want to know if you have agitators among you, start looking around at shoes. Case in point, this little jewel from Canada:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/emiliep/1206638928/
Maggie Jochild, “which at least acknowledges global warming.” Well, I hope Obama/Biden will do more than Clinton/Gore did, who simply ignored the Tokyo accords. Then we can bash peaceful demonstrators and kill ragheads, in a cool, clean environment.
If Palin wanted to “address the rumors” regarding little Trig, why not just release his birth certificate, or her own medical info? Why throw her teen-age daughter under the bus?
Funny, but it’s times like this that I really miss the strip—I wonder what Clarice is thinking right now?
Rosa,
Here’s what I know- I successfully caught the 16 from Emerald & University in Minneapolis to the Capitol yesterday morning (that’s on the 1st,) but that same afternoon I waited so long for a bus that I wound up riding my bike all the way home. According to MetroTransit’s website, the buses are still running all the way up to Robert St., but the run times may be messed up. Good thinking not bringing your kids into that mess- my S.O. and I saw people downtown with babies in bike trailers and were just like, “Um, don’t go that way.” I don’t know what the hell they thought would be going on down there.
Alison, no matter who had the idea for that sign, your comic transmitted the germ of the idea to me- it lives on!
I liked the protestors dressed in ball gowns with the “I Miss America” sashes…
The violence around the RNC is kind of shocking. “Nice” Minneapolis had cops all over the Powderhorn neighborhood…
re: Palin – I thought the Republicans were AGAINST affirmative action??? Aren’t their right wing wack-jobs against women working outside the home, too?
It’s going to be a long few months.
J.
I think it’s ironic that Rush Limbaugh called for riots and violence at the Democratic convention, and now the conflict (not riots, but still conflict) is happening at the Republican convention.
‘MC – the police and FBI were courting informants and training undercover officers months ahead of the RNC, there are some published reports about it.’
The fact that the protesters were thoroughly infiltrated by the police adds an important dimension to the Soviet-style police raids last weekend (they already knew what was there) and to the violence which occurred on the streets (which may have been instigated in part, if not largely by provocateurs).
The really interesting thing to me, though, was that the MSM carefully refrained from publicizing the police raids until they could present them in the context of the subsequent street violence and the police interpretation of it. I expect the police to brutalize and intimidate people, but I thought the voluntary, virtually total submission of the media was more ominous than usual.
C’mon, everyone. Think about everything you’ve seen the Republican machinery do over the past 30 or so years. Reagan, Willie Horton, all of it. These people are the ne plus ultra of message massage and controlling the discussion.
Does McCain’s campaign sound — at all — like these people have any sort of control at all? I am very anxious. It’s like someone at a poker game who bets any old way because he’s got a gun in his vest and he’s simply going to hold up the table at the end of the evening. Pair of deuces? Bet the table limit.
Dweeb, it could be the shoes were purchased at a military surplus store. Some people like the cop/soldier look…
That’s good to know, DeLandDeLakes. We may drive over for the Peace Island event tomorrow afternoon.
j.t.b., are you in Powderhorn? We live right by Powderhorn Park, a block north of the MayDay Cafe. There are a lot of cops, but there always are, I can’t tell if it’s actually more than usual around here.
Dweeb, the way MSP undercovers are clothed is, they arrest somebody with the look they want (bust a bunch of people after a hip hop show, or a punk show, or a vegan unlicensed restaurant), let them go with no charges but their clothes have been mysteriously lost. Or at least they used to do that, back in the early ’00s. Their shoes will be indistinguishable, usually.
Palin belonged to the Alaskan Independence Party in the 1990’s? Ummm…isn’t calling for sessesion from the country NOT very patriotic? Is she Alaska first or America first? For that matter, as an Evangelical Christian, isn’t it supposed to be God first? So which is it?
There’ll be one more scandal — a big one — and then, son/grandson in arms, cleaned up son-in-law-to-be next to her knocked up daughter, she’ll expalin (ha, there’s a typo) that she is leaving the race not because she’s a corrupt hoodlum but because she has always sacrificed for her family, like all good Republican women should.
This will allow for the false meme of “Look at how those mean, mean liberals chased that woman away from politics. Just like they did to that shrinking violet, Hillary Clinton. Poor John McCain. Now he has to grab at whoever he can find! How unkind. The man was in a cage for 5 and 1/2 years as a POW.”
I can’t believe we’re missing out on what Mo and Syd and the rest of the dykes and other sundries have to say about this!!!
I know—I really miss the strip at election time…just sayin’…
OK,here are some possible scenarios:
Mo is ranting and raving about McBush and McPalin,Sydney views the election season with an air of detached irony,while still trying to concentrate on writing her book,and Lois decides to demonstrate only at the Denver convention. Jasmine’s powers of persuasion had something to do with this,so they could enjoy some well-deserved vacation time together. Janis finally caves and joins her mom and Clarice in support of Obama. JR brings assorted political buttons to sharing time at day care.
But still,it is a (collective)house divided.Stuart is fed up,not fired up,with the Demopubs,works enthusiastically for Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney and gets a part-time job at Bounders. Sparrow agrees,but is too worn about from all the travel for her job,and leaves the politicking to him,as long as he doesn’t argue at the dinner table with the household.
Anyone want to pick up from here?
From the Newsminer site linked above, amidst much angry, roiling argument of the relevance of Bristol Palin’s pregnancy:
“Hey folks, at least she’s not a lesbian! :)”
Ha!
That’s what OUR camp gets to say with relief: Thank g*d she’s not a lesbian!
Mary Cheney was hard enough to swallow.
I read it more as a joke on the right, who are in all likelihood sub-consciously thinking something along the lines of “Shit, we look a bit hypocritical, don’t we, with this 17-year-old girl knocked up thanks to abstinence ed…. But HEY! At least she’s a lezzo. Now THAT would be embarrassing.”
It was a bit of comic relief that came right when it was needed.
I meant NOT a lezzo. Not a lezzo.
Thank you, Feminista! These people (characters) are important to us. We need their support during this excruciating political season and you gave us a glimpse of what that would look like.
Thank you Maggie Jochild for your incisive political commentary. Concerning Palin’s personal life: “When she asks for privacy for her and her family, give it to her but make the point that privacy regarding reproductive decisions is the right of EVERY woman, and let it sit there.” Brilliant advice!
Feminista, I have trouble understanding why you picture Stuart as a Green Party supporter. I recall that during the primary season earlier this year, the commenters (including you?) assumed that Stuart would be a Green or a Nader supporter, even though Alison depicted him consistently and explicitly in Hillary’s camp. I think that has some significance, like indicating the myopia of Dems, but I’m too weary to figure it out.
Duncan,you’re right,Stuart supported Clinton. But Cynthia M.makes a cunning,compelling case for non-compromise,and our sensitive man’s always been to the left of the Demos. When Mo settles down,she will have to make a choice,too.
I’ve decided to continue voting for Green local people,but am supporting Obama. And having burned out on phone banking & door-to-door canvassing back in the 80s,I’ve decided to help with voter registration of new citizens. It’ll be at an event organized by immigrants and refugees.
I’m trying to imagine what the Dykes TWOF would be saying about Sarah Palin, who now has a much better chance of becoming the first female president than H. Clinton does. It’s like missing Tim Russert… Mo, Stu, Ginger, and Clarice, come out of retirement and tell me I’m not alone in my terror… tell me we’ll get through this…
At least The Daily Show is a bit of a salve…
Oh, and Rachel Maddow has her own TV show now… YEA!!!