Mind the Foamyness

Posted on September 5, 2008    Posted by      85 Comments

Just a reminder to folks: Just because we’re at an interesting point in the political cycle for both sides is not an excuse for you folks to start losing your shit at each other in the comment threads. If I wanted to watch people lose their shit in comment threads, I could go to Little Green Footballs or Daily Kos.

So remember: when talking about politics, be polite and kind to other people in the comment threads, even if they’re completely and totally wrong. Beat on the politicians and take the air out of arguments other people post, but if you go personal on other commenters, that’s when I’m going to have to break out the Loving Mallet of Correction.

Also remember that this site gets lots of people of all sorts of political persuasion visiting, including persuasions that aren’t mine, and I see that as a feature, not a bug. Also, you know what? Each of them are my guests. Please don’t be rude to my guests. Because then I might be compelled to be rude to you. And as we all know, I’m really good at being rude. Plus I can delete and/or ban your ass, so you can’t be rude back. It’ll just be me laughing and pointing. No one wants that.

Finally: When in doubt, read the site disclaimer and comment policy. They are your friends.

I know this will be the last time I have to bring this up this entire election cycle.

Category: Uncategorized    

85 Comments on “Mind the Foamyness”

  4. Yes, I know. I just can’t get tone across in writing, which is why you’re the writer and I’m not. The petulant whining just didn’t come through like I’d hoped.

  5. You might want to rename that Loving Mallet of Correction. Some people will find the name intriguing and wish to know more.

    I mean, I know *I* do. In the sense of being keenly interested in observing its effects on others, but still.

  8. For a second I thought you said the mullet.

    I don’t know if I could handle that.

  13. “I know this will be the last time I have to bring this up this entire election cycle.”

    John Scalzi – incurable optimist

  14. Thanks, John. I find foamyness the single biggest turn-off for most widely-read blogs. I really appreciate that you are willing to maintain a sense of civility in your comments section, as well as in your posts.

    I (and my blood pressure) thank you.

  15. John — “The things we know, that are not so ….” I hope the mallet has a sturdy handle, and good shock protection for your wrist!

  16. John, you should have also directed them to read this post as well. This reminded people that claiming “my opinion is common sense, yours is politics” is self-deluding crap.

    http://scalzi.com/whatever/002984.html

    You’ve never been above shameless self-promotion… especially when it’s good stuff. Really, really good in this case.

    Another good feature of your blog.

  17. Hey guys! Did you know McCain was a POW? Freaky.

    And he could have been released early if he would tape bacon to his fellow captives on camera, but he refused to stoop that low.

    Now that I know he’s a war hero, I am really back on the fence on who to vote for.

    Jeez…stupid informative conventions.

  19. It’s ironically named.

    I got that. But still…I can’t imagine you wielding it without a 70’s-style bowm-chicka-bowm-bowm style soundtrack in the background. Just practice safe malleting, is all.

  23. My favorite line of the entire week:

    Also remember that this site gets lots of people of all sorts of political persuasion visiting, including persuasions that aren’t mine, and I see that as a feature, not a bug

    This, to me, is one of the reasons why Whatever remains an interesting blog, worth visiting and participating in. Mr. Scalzi certainly has his own opinions about things, and is not afraid to argue them.

    But he also doesn’t use his power as site owner and operator to “win” discussions or political debate by censoring, banning, etc. As long as people can be even-tempered about things, they can express political ideas and opinions as they see fit. This encourages (to my mind) a more mature and grown up discussion on any issue.

    Even if Mr. Scalzi disagrees with the opinions being put forth.

    IMHO this is remarkable in the era of Free Republic, Democratic Underground, Daily Kos, Michelle Malkin, etc, etc.

    That someone of a certain point of view could welcome and even protect the ability of others to express a contra point of view, and see the value in different ideas expressed differently; without automatically reaching for the admin tools and effecting bans, deletes, etc; and gloating in the process.

    I’ve seen too many blogs that do this, and I want to thank Mr. Scalzi for not succumbing to the temptation to turn Whatever into an echoing hallway for people who think and feel and believe precisely as he does.

    And I am sure he is tempted, from time to time.

    Okay, enough butt-kissing. Just wanted to say it.

  24. For a second I thought you said the mullet.

    That’s only brought out when the Mallet proves inadequate. Shudder. Fear the Mullet.

  25. By the way, just finished Zoe’s Tale. It’s a really really good book. Thanks for writing it an’ stuff!

    So how long ’till High Castle, anyway?

  29. I know I jawed off a bit (again) in the last couple of days. I do hope I didn’t tick anyone off or cause offence. I mean, if I was planning to be offensive, that would be different. And stuff. But I didn’t. So. Yeah.

  33. A quote I came across a few days ago (which, ironically, also fits in with the above comment about music):

    “Harmony is two different notes agreeing to disagree.” (from a JTH newsletter)

    Also – does this Loving Mallet have a sound effect to go with it? Every moderator weapon should have a sound effect! :D

  34. “I know this will be the last time I have to bring this up this entire election cycle.”

    Good luck with that :)

    Seriously, it’ll be great if you can get everyone to play nice together. Usually you can, but elections seem like a flame-happy time everywhere.

  38. Anyone else notice how one’s political beliefs have become the new American religion? There is an inverse relationship between touchiness and how central a questioned belief is in someone’s schema. Religion used to be the central schema for most, and now it seems to be politics.
    And, as an aside, I personally *like* seeing you verbally deflate idiocy.

    “It’ll just be me laughing and pointing.”

    Too…many…jokes. (Unfortunately most directed back at me.)

  39. “I know this will be the last time I have to bring this up this entire election cycle.”

    “God Himself cannot sink this ship!”

  40. I apologize if I contributed to any foamy-ness (or even egged someone else on to same), and I’ll take my malleting like a man… ;)

  42. Noah, yes, I think that’s apt. Shorn of traditional faith, the American mind has adopted new faiths.

    I think that speaks to a broad and probably unconscious need on the part of most people to hold something sacred, and put it on a special pedestal in their lives, as a thing to believe in or from which to derive hope. Conversely, that thing might also be a hated thing, upon which to pour endless contempt.

    In addition to new Gods, we also adopt new Devils.

    Some people define themselves almost entirely by who or what they claim to despise.

  44. Man, I didn’t know you cared that much about the election. The cycle is just starting now, but it’ll be over soon. So do you think Harper, Dion, or Layton would make the best Prime Minister?

  47. Stop using the loving mallet of correction to deny me of my 1st amendment rights. ;-)

    As for us Wacky Canadians, one month ago we did not know were going to go to an election. It appears that the campaign will start on Monday and it will be over before you have had your election. That may be a feature of our system, unless you happen to be a political junkie like myself; then it is a bug.

    One thing I learned on Tuesday: with Sarah Palin’s connections to the Alaska Independence Party, “Sarah Palin” may be the English translation for “Gilles Duceppe”. If anyone finds that funny, you are as sad as I am.

    Cheers
    Andrew

  48. This is why, as someone who definitely doesn’t agree with Scalzi politically, I post and read here. I will say that some of the threads have gotten on the edge, which has made me not want to respond.

    It’s actually quite fun to debate things as long as everyone’s following rule number one.

  49. Science Fiction fans seem to have no particular politcal allegiances on the internet. I have seen DailyKos postings about Battlestar Galactica (Bush & Co are the Cylons and the New Caprica occupation is Iraq!) and I’ve seen the National Review folks discuss conservative memes in Firefly and Star Trek (TNG). Volokh Conspiracy actively discussed military law versus civilian law from Battlestar Galactica. I found out about Scalzi from libertarian Republican Glenn Reynolds, who is a huge sci-fi fan and supporter. He pimps Scalzi frequently, even though the two seem to have little in common politically.

    My theory is that people who discuss politics online are all geeks, whether lefty geeks or righty geeks, and geeks like sci-fi.

  51. Skip:

    “It’s actually quite fun to debate things as long as everyone’s following rule number one.”

    Er, “Don’t talk about Fight Club?”

  54. I was thinking “Never attend a gunfight without bringing a gun; if you are a Marine, a gun whose caliber begins with .4”

  56. What I find amusing, Jardine, is that even with the complaints of “eternal election” in the MSM, we’re still going to be in and out and done between “convention” and “election”.

    And our poor, Victorian method of putting “X” on paper and having them hand-counted at 2000 Eastern is still going to get a valid, accurate answer faster on October whatever than November whatever. And when there’s a debate, or the particular race is too close, we’ll have the tools to do the recount and those will get done in a couple of hours, a couple of days later, too.

    However, my province’s result is pre-Ordained, so I’m using my vote to give money to the party I want to hear more from (SO glad I no longer live in Harper’s/Manning’s riding).

  57. I’m sorry…polite political discourse? I know what the words mean, but you’re stringing them together in strange new ways.

  61. Someone take McCain’s purple jacket and Obama’s green jacket and switch them. Quick, before Ivanova switches from yelling and shooting at the TV to dropping N-bombs on broadcast station sites….

  62. Noah @ 38
    To some it’s still religion: Moral Majority, Religious Right, Dominionists

    FWIW, the “Mullet of Correction” does have a counter – “Cowbell of Distraction-ness”
    So sayeth Brother Battle Axe of Courteous Humanitarianism

  63. I like it here because of the “mallet” and other tools in John’s anti-troll handbook. I stopped and read the post on Politics along the way, giggled, and came back here feeling ready to tilt at the windmill of politics once again.

    I’m going to hope that the mallet of correction never falls on me and if I ever start sliding into the “domain of being a Dick” one of my friends here at Whatever gives me an elbow in the ribs, and says “stop being a dick”

    Seriously though, when it seems that the foaminess is rising and the signal to noise ratio is bad, I don’t comment. I don’t like to feed trolls cause they always come back for seconds and I don’t feel I always hit the mark between snarky and contempt as well as I’d like, especially when I’m a little pissed at what someone said.
    My judgment sucks when I’m pissed. I figure most everyone’s does so I try to hold back. I’m trying to go by what Thumper was reminded about by his mom in Bambi. “If you can’t say something nice…”

    I hope this doesn’t sound sanctimonious, I’m just trying to keep from ever being a troll or other vile denizen of the interweb.

    Kate at #30 I don’t know if you’ve been bad or not, but I like what you have to say in 9/5/08’s post on your site. I would guess that with minor variations, a large percentage of people are where you are right now if they were honest with themselves.

    I like Obama, don’t like Biden. I don’t care for McCain much, like Palin. I guess it means I don’t like old warhorse representatives of the major parties and hope for something new even though their point of view differs.

  65. You people are all just prejudiced against my foamyness. It’s my right to Free Speech to be foamy! All of you.. umm. . John Scalzis… are just.. um.. bother. The kids are watching “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” in the background, I just can’t keep my head together to rant properly. Well, except about TMNT, and that just comes off sounding like another Grandpa Simpson story.

  66. Things would be so simple if I could run this election. Instead of ballots, voters use guns. The candidate with the fewest casualties wins. At last, a Nader presidency!

    Right, what other pressing issues can I solve for you lot?

  67. If the below (forwarded to me from English Lit teacher and educational leader Grace Hamilton) is accurate, then (Hugo winner, Nebula winner) Professor Geoffrey Landis is right. We Science Fiction and Fantasy authors must align against the existential threat who would ban these books of our genre:

    * A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
    * A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
    * Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
    * Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
    * Carrie by Stephen King
    * Christine by Stephen King
    * Cujo by Stephen King
    * Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes
    * Grendel by John Champlin Gardner
    * Harry Potter and the Sorcereror’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
    * Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
    * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
    * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
    * James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
    * Night Chills by Dean Koontz
    * Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
    * Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs
    * The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
    * The Figure in the Shadows by John Bellairs
    * The Pigman by Paul Zindel

    Let me interrupt myself: the two books Guv Sarah Barracuda Palin would
    ban that most warn us against her ilk are:
    * The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
    * One Day in The Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn

    She’s a pretty, strong, confident woman whom I find admirable in many ways. But her policies align with Hitler and Stalin and Mao where I care most.

    Anyone on this list who is registered Republican need to think long and hard: country or party? Civilization or Nazi Fundamentalism?

    I, for one, do not want to live under the American Taliban, however sexy the Ayatollah may be.

    Oh the shark has pretty teeth dear,
    Buddha shows them pearly white
    Just a scythe has barracuda dear
    And she keeps it out of sight.

    — Jonathan Vos Post

    >>>—– Forwarded Message —-
    >>>From: Merkle Lou Ann
    >>>Sent: Friday, September 5, 2008 12:50:04 PM
    >>>Subject:
    >>>
    >>>Sarah Palin’s book ban list and Chris Hedges on “American Fascists”
    >>>
    >>>When fascism comes to America, it will be
    >>>wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross.
    >>> Sinclair Lewis, 1935
    >>>
    >>>Below is a list of the books Sarah Palin tried
    >>>to have banned from the Wasilla, Alaska
    >>>Library. When I was in Anchorage two years
    >>>ago, residents of Wasilla I met described the
    >>>place as a growing, more-and-more suburban
    >>>community north of Anchorage. In her speech,
    >>>Palin called the area “the valley.” Mayor
    >>>Palin would seem to be a strong force in the
    >>>suburbanization of the village of
    >>>Wasilla. When the Wasilla librarian refused
    >>>to trash these books, Mayor Palin tried to
    >>>have her fired. This caused a stir in Wasilla
    >>>which then turned into a drive to protect the
    >>>librarian. Some of my favorite examples of
    >>>American literature are on this list. This is
    >>>the act of a patriotic American? No, this is
    >>>the act of a religious fundamentalist trying
    >>>to squeeze herself into the role of a mythic
    >>>frontier American. The attempt to ban
    >>>American literary masterpieces like Catcher In
    >>>The Rye, Grapes Of Wrath, To Kill A
    >>>Mockingbird, Death Of A Salesman, Leaves Of
    >>>Grass, As I Lay Dying, Huckleberry Finn, Catch
    >>>22 and Tarzan indicates, flags and Bible
    >>>citations aside, her ascendance to national
    >>>power would be downright un-American. In the
    >>>realm of Rovian political marketing and the
    >>>unfolding effort to win the Presidency not
    >>>with ideas but with a cult of personality,
    >>>McCain is the humiliated warrior ready to “go
    >>>to the gates of hell” to preserve American
    >>>exceptionalism and Sarah Palin is his fascist
    >>>”bride,” a mythic frontier mom able to shoot,
    >>>gut and cook a moose while nurturing her
    >>>family who has said publicly our war in Iraq
    >>>is supported by God and people should pray to
    >>>God to get the Alaska gas pipeline approved.
    >>>
    >>>This is a pivotal moment in American history,
    >>>and we all need to expose this cult of
    >>>personality for what it is, a cynical sham. Please pass this on far and
    wide.
    >>>
    >>>John Grant
    >>>
    >>>This list is taken from the official minutes of the Wasilla Library
    Board.
    >>>
    >>>A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
    >>>A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L¢Engle
    >>>Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden
    >>>As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
    >>>Blubber by Judy Blume
    >>>Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
    >>>Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
    >>>Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
    >>>Carrie by Stephen King
    >>>Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
    >>>Christine by Stephen King
    >>>Confessions by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
    >>>Cujo by Stephen King
    >>>Curses, Hexes, and Spells by Daniel Cohen
    >>>Daddy¢s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
    >>>Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Peck
    >>>Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
    >>>Decameron by Boccaccio
    >>>East of Eden by John Steinbeck
    >>>Fallen Angels by Walter Myers
    >>>Fanny Hill (Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure) by John Cleland
    >>>Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes
    >>>Forever by Judy Blume
    >>>Grendel by John Champlin Gardner
    >>>Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
    >>>Harry Potter and the Sorcerer¢s Stone by J.K. Rowling
    >>>Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
    >>>Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
    >>>Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
    >>>Have to Go by Robert Munsch
    >>>Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
    >>>How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
    >>>Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
    >>>I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
    >>>Impressions edited by Jack Booth
    >>>In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
    >>>It¢s Okay if You Don¢t Love Me by Norma Klein
    >>>James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
    >>>Lady Chatterley¢s Lover by D.H. Lawrence
    >>>Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
    >>>Little Red Riding Hood by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
    >>>Lord of the Flies by William Golding
    >>>Love is One of the Choices by Norma Klein
    >>>Lysistrata by Aristophanes
    >>>More Scary Stories in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz
    >>>My Brother Sam Is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
    >>>My House by Nikki Giovanni
    >>>My Friend Flicka by Mary O¢Hara
    >>>Night Chills by Dean Koontz
    >>>Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
    >>>On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
    >>>One Day in The Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
    >>>One Flew Over The Cuckoo¢s Nest by Ken Kesey
    >>>One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
    >>>Ordinary People by Judith Guest
    >>>Our Bodies, Ourselves by Boston Women¢s Health Collective
    >>>Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
    >>>Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl
    >>>Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones by Alvin Schwartz
    >>>Scary Stories in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz
    >>>Separate Peace by John Knowles
    >>>Silas Marner by George Eliot
    >>>Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
    >>>Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs
    >>>The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
    >>>The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
    >>>The Bastard by John Jakes
    >>>The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
    >>>The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
    >>>The Color Purple by Alice Walker
    >>>The Devil¢s Alternative by Frederick Forsyth
    >>>The Figure in the Shadows by John Bellairs
    >>>The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
    >>>The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
    >>>The Handmaid¢s Tale by Margaret Atwood
    >>>The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Snyder
    >>>The Learning Tree by Gordon Parks
    >>>The Living Bible by William C. Bower
    >>>The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare
    >>>The New Teenage Body Book by Kathy McCoy and Charles Wibbelsman
    >>>The Pigman by Paul Zindel
    >>>The Seduction of Peter S. by Lawrence Sanders
    >>>The Shining by Stephen King
    >>>The Witches by Roald Dahl
    >>>The Witches of Worm by Zilpha Snyder
    >>>Then Again, Maybe I Won¢t by Judy Blume
    >>>To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
    >>>Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
    >>>Webster¢s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary by
    >>>the Merriam-Webster Editorial Staff
    >>>Witches, Pumpkins, and Grinning Ghosts:

  68. To Jonathan Vos Post

    That is even more reason to fear her dark powers…she managed to ban books (Harry Potter) that had not even been written at the time this supposedly happened. The incident you are talking about to supposedly took place in 1996 when she was elected mayor. The 1st Harry Potter Book was published in 1998.

    But golly, this came from an English lit teacher! So it must be true! Kind of like how BushHitler used a secret weapon based in Alaska to cause the Tsunami that hit Thailand…no doubt Sarah was in on that too!

    She did fire the librarian and a bunch of other city political appointees who opposed her election bid. There is no doubt that is hardball politics that could lead to some bitterness directed against her.

    But unless she can see into the future you’ve been punked by a generic banned book list being attributed to her.

  69. Jonathan Vos Post at #67:

    I’m no Palin supporter, but that list is just a list of commonly banned books that someone claimed Palin tried to ban, and it has been going around the internet.

    For example, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was published in 2000. Palin fired the librarian in 1994.

    The facts about Palin are plenty damning without bringing in false flags the Republicans can use to discredit criticism of her.

  70. Cebu Yokel at #68:

    Palin fired the librarian after she had three separate discussions with the librarian about banning books, and the librarian made it clear that she would not stand for removing any books from the library.

    http://tinyurl.com/6gqhdg

    “In December 1996, Emmons told her hometown newspaper, the Frontiersman, that Palin three times asked her — starting before she was sworn in — about possibly removing objectionable books from the library if the need arose.

    Emmons told the Frontiersman she flatly refused to consider any kind of censorship. Emmons, now Mary Ellen Baker, is on vacation from her current job in Fairbanks and did not return e-mail or telephone messages left for her Wednesday.

    When the matter came up for the second time in October 1996, during a City Council meeting, Anne Kilkenny, a Wasilla housewife who often attends council meetings, was there.

    Like many Alaskans, Kilkenny calls the governor by her first name.

    “Sarah said to Mary Ellen, ‘What would your response be if I asked you to remove some books from the collection?” Kilkenny said.

    “I was shocked. Mary Ellen sat up straight and said something along the line of, ‘The books in the Wasilla Library collection were selected on the basis of national selection criteria for libraries of this size, and I would absolutely resist all efforts to ban books.’”

    Palin didn’t mention specific books at that meeting, Kilkenny said.”

    So no, there’s no actual list of books. That doesn’t change the fact that Sarah Palin wanted to remove books from the library, and fired the librarian for not allowing it.

  71. Of course the bitter fired librarian political opponent wouldn’t have any reason to make that up….just like the corrupt Republican governor she defeated would have no reason to denounce her.

    And I note you didn’t address her secret Tsunami powers…unless that can be debunked she will lose her Southeast Asian support for sure.

    Of course I guess a Swiftboating is OK as long as it’s aimed at the right people.

    When you take on a corrupt political machine you make some bitter enemies. Of course Obama wouldn’t know anything about that.

  73. Cebu @ 71: Of course I guess a Swiftboating is OK as long as it’s aimed at the right people.

    Well, the Republicans certainly felt justified to do that in 2004. I’m just sayin’… ;)

  74. To Irene –

    Ah, Irene…classic left wing media spin and selective quoting. It goes like this:

    Cebu Yokel: Did Palin demand books be banned?

    Irene: “…the librarian made it up…”

    It must be true, it was in your post. A Mr. Moore has used this technique to great effect in his “documentaries”.

    I’m not familiar with this “Mad Magazine” you are quoting…is it a political journal?

    It’s just funny that liberals and socialists can’t just oppose her because she is anti-choice, wants lower taxes, and is an NRA member etc…all the issues that people care about and it is reasonable to disagree on. She has to be a fascist theocrat about to impose a mind controlling dictatorship after wearing a sophisticated pregnancy simulation suit to hide the true paternity of last child. All the while spewing hatred of Yupik people while eating out, as her Yupik husband looked on, I suppose wallowing in self hatred.

    But I guess that is part of being an apostle of tolerance…every one who disagrees with you is not only wrong but an evil fascist about to enslave us all.

  75. To David –

    You must have missed my point about her…she has taken on a corrupt Republican establishment that needed to have their asses kicked. I don’t make the argument that everything every Republican does is good.

    I guess your point is that if Republicans do something bad, then Democrats should too.

    Maybe it would be better if both parties cleaned house rather than supporting corrupt machine politics.

  76. Cebu @ 74,75
    Going after low hanging republican fruit in a republican primary does not make her a “Reformer”. If you look at her actions rather than her rhetoric, her tax policy is the traditional republican one: lower taxes on the wealthy and large corporations, raise the taz load on the ordinary person. Her tax policy actions have shown themselves to be nothing more than the discredited “flat tax” scheme. A person that can start with a town with no debt (pop. aprox. 6,000-) and end in less than 6 years with a debt of over $22 million and an eminent domain case that a competant administrator would have easly avoided, is not a policy wiz. Note her comment after becoming Mayor that managing a budget of $6 million and 50 employees is not rocket science. Note also that within a year of her election, they had to hire a town manager to do her job related nuts and bolts for her.

    One item I recently found out about: as Mayor, Palin abolished the building codes in her area. As anybody in the construction industry can tell you, what this does is increase the profits of the developers and increase the risks to life and safety of the general public (especially in a quake prone area like Alaska). Bad judgement, this is why we have building codes in the first place: people died.

  77. It’s just funny that liberals and socialists can’t just oppose her because she is anti-choice

    Well, which state pays its inhabitants a yearly stipend for doing absolutely nothing?

  78. To Irene –
    Ah, Irene…classic left wing media spin and selective quoting

    Didn’t answer the charge.

    The media reports seem clear enough.

  79. To Gwangung –

    Well, I long for the days of Bill Clinton’s Democratic party…I voted for him twice, and the economic prosperity the country enjoyed under his administration has never been equalled. Just look at what the stock market did, and the wage gains that the average person got. He was a true centrist that did more for this country than any other president we have ever had.

    I sat out the next 2 elections, since they featured a global warming kook, the poser Kerry, and the slack jawed idiot Bush. I’m one of the swing voters that the far left hates.

    Hillary would have gotten the country back on track again, and the Democrats would be up by 20 points if she had been nominated, or was vice president nominee.

    Unfortunately the Democrats have been taken over by the Marxist Obama. I disagree with a lot of Palin’s positions…I’m pro choice, support equal rights for gays, and wish we had a surplus like in the Clinton days.

    But the vicious sexism that has taken over the Democratic party, seen in how they treated Hillary has pissed me off.

    I don’t like many of Palin’s views, but the completely lunatic charges that the far left makes against her are just a symptom how the Daily Kos crowd has taken over this party.

    Palin in ’08, Hillary in ’12. Thats the ticket.

  80. Cebu, do you get McCain points for this post?

    And if you think Obama is a Marxist, you’ve never met a Marxist in your life.

  81. We made it to comment 67 until someone blew the friendly politics vibe. Frankly, I think 67 is pretty good!

  82. I’m one of the swing voters that the far left hates.

    Actually, since you sat out the last two elections, the far left LOVES you. So does the far right. Wingnut voting blocs benefit when those who don’t agree with them sit out.

  83. My candidate is better than your candidate. And if you don’t agree with me, you are a big boogerhead.

    (Don’t worry, John. My wife keeps a Loving Mallet of Correction on hand. I can be difficult to live with sometimes.)

  85. This brochure will explain DNA and the related identification, preservation, and collection issues that every law enforcement officer should know. ,

WHATEVER


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September 2008
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Whatever Holiday Gift Guide 2023!

Need gifts for the holidays? The Whatever gift guide has you covered! Click on the links below for books, crafts, art and other cool stuff!
11/27: Traditionally Published Books
11/28: Non-Traditionally Published Books
11/29: Crafts, Art, Music and More
11/30: Fan Recommendations (Books and more)
12/1: Charities
Holiday music from Matthew Ryan and me. Visit Matthew's Bandcamp for more music from him.
The Big Idea

What's the Big Idea? Authors explaining the the big ideas behind their latest works, in their own words. See the latest Big Ideas!

Authors/Editors/Publicists: for information on how to participate, click here.

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Click this link -- and you'll be taken to a random Whatever entry in the archive. Which one will you get? Got me!
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