Palin Relaxing With Her Snuggie

Sarah Palin has written a book called Going Rogue.
It hits book stores today.
It’s being called a memoir of her life.

I’m sorry, a memoir? It’s not like she has this great history behind her life as a hockey Mom and ex Governor of Alaska. And certainly her political career has been beyond laughable.

So the question now is…
will Palin’s book end up on the bestseller list? Or go over like a fart in church?

Besides the obvious that will plague this book, (Palin’s lack of popularity) I read that her book was ghostwritten by Lynn Vincent. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot!
Why you ask? Whos’ Lynn Vincent?

Lovely Lynn is not only the ghostwriter of Sarah’s book, she is pretty cozy with well known, white supremacist, Robert Stacy McCain (no relation to McCain the maverick) and she co-wrote a book with him. 

Some snippettes The First Post about Lynn and Robert Stacy McCain,

She (Lynn) is also staunchly anti-gay, backing the controversial vote to re-criminalise gay marriage in California, and – this is where Palin and her publishers might have drawn the line, but didn’t – she is closely associated with a well-known white supremacist.

He is Robert Stacey NcCain, a former editor at the Washington Times, a paper he left two years ago after a steaming row with a colleague.

Another Vincent collaboration was with a retired general, William Boykin, former head of the US Army’s Special Forces Command. He described his career mission as to defeat Satan in order to save America as a Christian country. “We are hated because we are a nation of believers,” he said.

“Defeat Satan to save America as a Christian country”?
Yikes! What year is this again?

As mentioned previously, Lynn is also a credited author on Robert Stacy McCain’s book, “Donkey Cons: Sex, Crime, and Corruption in the Democratic Party”. Again, just lovely.

According to a comment left on Little Green Footballs

After resigning as governor in late July, Palin spent most of August in San Diego working with Vincent on the book, “Going Rogue: An American Life.” Rumors swirled about Palin sightings at Vincent’s condo complex in north San Diego County. Palin reportedly was joined here by her family and top aide, Meghan Stapleton. This month, Palin huddled with her editors in New York.

So out of all the ghostwriters that Palin had to choose from, she picked Lynne Vincent? As always, Palin shows her brilliance. And to think that she ran for VP. *shudders*

What did Mark Halperin of Time have to say about Going Rogue?

Based on discussions with various sources who have seen or been briefed on the book’s contents, here’s what you can expect from “Going Rogue”:

* just five chapters—but they are very, very long.

* some score settling with McCain aides she believes ill-served her (names will be named).

* a hearty bashing of the national media.

* an account of how her upbringing shaped her maverick sensibilities.

* a testimonial to the importance of faith in her life.

* a warm and personal tone, written in Palin’s own voice, despite the involvement of a collaborator.

Two things not in the book:

* Don’t look for hefty policy prescriptions.

* Once source who has seen  “Going Rogue” says it does not include an index.  That would give Palin a subtle revenge on the party’s Washington establishment, whose members tend to flip to the back pages and scan for their own names. If they want to know what Sarah Palin has to say about them, they will have to buy the book—and read the whole thing.

Let’s recap, shall we?
She picked a ghostwriter who is anti gay, who is a creationist, and who has has teamed up with white supremacist Robert Stacy McCain.
There’s nothing in the book on policy. (well no surprise, she can’t write what she doesn’t know)
There are FIVE chapters in her book with NO index.
She bashes the media big time, even though they are the ones who put her on the map.
She throws people she once worked with under the bus, and adds a touch of holy rolling goodness.

WOW! COUNT ME OUT.

Now according to Comcast News,

Palin doesn’t elaborate on her book compensation, describing the $1.25 million figure only as a “retainer” that appears to be a reference to her lucrative advance.

So $1.25 big ones for a ghostwritten ”memior”?
Again… wow!

I think once the right wingers are done buying Palin’s crappy book, (Elisabeth Hasselback probably camped out at Barnes and Nobles last night) this book may be headed right for the bargain bin.

Although it would make quite the dandy door stop! Gotcha!

Everyone has their own taste when it comes to music.

What may be considered music to one’s ears, may be considered simply torturous to others. Just because I feel that Michael Bolton sounds like a cat getting skinned alive, and that his music is some sort of cruel joke to all of mankind, doesn’t mean that some other tone deaf person has to agree with me.

One thing is for certain, whether it is the sweet voice of Bonnie Raitt or the overrated raspy voice of Bruce who stepped in it Springsteen… if it is played at decibels to make you feel that your ears are going to bleed and it is played over and over… it can be quite torturous no matter who it is.

Everyone is aware that the prisoners at Gitmo (Guantánamo Bay) were needlessly tortured by water boarding along with other degrading and unspeakable acts. 

One of the methods used was music played repeatedly and at ear piercing levels. The songs used and some of the artists who made that music are not too happy to say the least. How would you feel if one of your songs was used to torture someone? I am sure you would be horrified.

Well, Michael Stipe of REM, along with twenty or so other artists have aired their disgust, and have banned together and formed Close Gitmo Now.   

A little info on Gitmo first, before we get into which performers are saying Gitmo has to go.

Gitmo has held nearly 800 detainees in it’s history. An alarming majority of those detainees were never charged, nor went to trial. Only THREE of those detainees have ever been convicted of a crime.To keep Gitmo open is costing tax payers MILLIONS.

So what did the spokesman for the CIA say when it came to using music as torture?
He said nuh-uh.

George Little, a CIA spokesman said:

“music was used only for security, rather than “punitive purposes”

And in a 2005 CIA document, it stated,

“loud music or white noise was needed “to mask sound and prevent communication among detainees”

So what tunes and artists made it to the Gitmo “top 20″?

According to the National Security Archive, they used anything from the Meow Mix jingle, to the Barney theme song. They used such artists as Marylin Manson to Britney Spears. Although the Meow Mix jingle and the Barney theme song both make me cringe and is enough to drive anyone buggy, at ANY volume… I wonder if the Meow Mix or the Barney people have a problem with the fact their music was used at Gitmo? I haven’t heard anything from either of them and I have to say, if they don’t have a problem with it, then I have a problem with them.

Why would they use the Meow Mix jingle and the Barney theme if it was just “to mask sound and prevent communication among detainees”?
And why were detainees subjected to “variable light patterns” while this music was played? Is the CIA going to say they wanted to have a disco effect for the detainees? Although it really wouldn’t surprise me in the least.

If the CIA claims are true, then why didn’t they just use classical music at non dangerous levels without light patterns? The term liar liar pants on fire comes to mind.

Another little pesky factor besides the CIA not having the permission of the artists to use their music, is the fact that the artist’s music was used as an interrogation tool.

So which artists are pissed and saying close Gitmo now ?
Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Brown, REM, Pearl Jam, Roseanne Cash just to name a few.

Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Brown

Roseanne Cash recently appeared on The Daily Show with John Stewart to tell everyone about the petition they have created which people can sign at www.closegitmonow.org

The BBC recently reported:

REM call for Guantanamo closure

Rock bands including Pearl Jam and REM have joined a coalition of musicians to support the US president’s efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay prison.

The National Campaign to Close Guantanamo, which also includes former military officers, launched on Tuesday.

Many of the artists who have signed up are angry that their music was used as an interrogation tool in the jail.

But CIA spokesman George Little said music was used only for security, rather than “punitive purposes”.

In a statement, REM said: “We have spent the past 30 years supporting causes related to peace and justice. To now learn that some of our friends’ music may have been used as part of the torture tactics without their consent or knowledge, is horrific. It’s anti-American, period.”

Other artists to sign up to the coalition include Jackson Browne, Steve Earle, Roseanne Cash, Billy Bragg, Bonnie Raitt and Rage Against The Machine.

On behalf of the campaign, the National Security Archive in Washington is filing a Freedom of Information Act request seeking classified records that detail the use of loud music as an interrogation device.

‘Terrify and punish’

A report published in November 2008 by the Senate Armed Services Committee report, has already made several references to the technique.

In one case interrogators played records to “stress” a prisoner, Mohamedou Ould Slahi, who believed music was forbidden.

In 2003, he was questioned while being “exposed to variable lighting patterns” and repeated plays of a song called Let the Bodies Hit the Floor by the band Drowning Pool.

Jayne Huckerby, from New York University’s Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, said loud music was also played at clandestine prisons run by the CIA.

Following an early information request, Ms Huckerby received a CIA document dated December 2005 in which the agency explained that the use of loud music or white noise was needed “to mask sound and prevent communication among detainees”.

She argued that such sounds were not a “benign security tool,” but a way “to humiliate, terrify, punish, disorient and deprive detainees of sleep, in violation of international law”.

According to the National Security Archive, tracks by AC/DC, Britney Spears, the Bee Gees and Marilyn Manson were used at Guantanamo.

The Meow mix cat food jingle, the Barney theme song and an assortment of Sesame Street tunes also were played into detainees’ cells.

But the CIA insisted any music was played “at levels far below a live rock band”.

And Major Diana Haynie, a spokeswoman for Joint Task Force Guantanamo, said loud music has not been used with detainees since the fall of 2003.

Barack Obama pledged to close the Guantanamo detention camp by January, but Republican opposition in Congress has made fulfilling that promise look less likely.

 

So one of the reasons that Gitmo remains open is due to Republican opposition?
Although I am certianly not surprised by this…. WHY ARE THEY OPPOSED?
What reasons could the Republicans have to want to keep Gitmo going?

The NY Times stated that the estimated annual cost to operate Guantánamo Bay is anywhere from $90 million to $118 million. There are 226 detainees left at Gitmo. That is a cost of $400.000 to $520.000 per detainee. To incarcerate a prisoner in a supermax prison would be $75,000 in the US. Is anyone paying attention to this simple math? Get the facts

At a time when the US is in such an economic mess due to the carnage that was left behind by the lovely Bush administration, perhaps the millions of dollars spent on keeping Gitmo open can be used elsewhere? Ya think?

Now before our comment section turns into a shouting match between Republicans and Democrats…..
and people telling me to get my facts straight, (I only report what is out there) remember that this article is about how horrible it was to use an artist’s music to torture people AND the fact that their music was used without their consent. Not to mention what it costs to keep Gitmo going.

So if you have a comment about Close Gitmo Now or the musicians who started the petition, then that is fine. But if you want to argue about what Obama has done or not done to clean up Bush’s mess that he left behind, or the BS spin and scare tactics that the Republicans are using when it comes to the health care plan, (you know who you are, you silly teabaggers) OR if you are a Michael Bolton fan, then please go argue elsewhere. *SNICKER*

Can’t We All Just Get Along?

Wow!  Just when I thought I was all done hearing about what a buffoon Bush is, and being tickled silly that this idiot is no longer our President, I hear that he snubbed J.K. Rowling, author of all the Harry Potter books because and get this… the books encouraged WITCHRAFT!

OMG!! Are you freakin’ kidding me?
Where was Bush’s head at? The Salem Witch Trials of 1692?

Gee, too bad stoning and hanging for suspicion of “witchcraft” was outlawed, hey Dubya?
I guess there’s always water boarding… oh wait, that’s right your veto on outlawing waterboarding thankfully failed. Sorry you out of luck Dubya!

Hey Dubya…. by the way…
Just how on earth does one encourage witchcraft from a children’s book, you dumb ass?
They weren’t written by Aliester Crowley for crying out loud!

Eonline wrote:

Noted Muggle/compassionate conservative George W. Bush was apparently a devout Harry Potter hater.

The former commander in chief wasn’t about to honor J.K. Rowling, the talent behind the book series, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom…and for quite the logical reason.

“People in the White House…actually object[ed] to giving the author J.K. Rowling a presidential medal because the Harry Potter books encouraged witchcraft,” writes former Bush speechwriter Matt Latimer in his book, Speech-less: Tales of a White House Survivor.

That’s right. Good ol’ Dubya and his administration dissed the mega-selling British author, refusing to let her join the ranks of James A. Michener, Harper Lee and John Steinbeck. (Guess he figured the Secret Service could handle any Avada Kedavra curse flung his way.)

Bush distributed 81 medals during his time in office, mostly to war-related allies.

The medals went to mostly war-realted allies? Gee, why am I not surprised?

Now I am not outraged that this author didn’t receive a medal.
I am outraged over the REASON why she didn’t receive a medal.

Long winded rant alert!
Deep breath…..
If any of you right wingers out there need proof that Bush is an idiotic, over conservative, totally incompetent FOOL that was jointly responsible along with his bunch of deluded administrators for putting this country in a total cluster f*ck, (and I am being kind) then here’s some further proof of the total idiocy that enveloped the White House!

And in the sheer brilliance of George W. Bush …
Only one of many of his pearls of wisdom… and I quote:

“Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, And so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we”

Will Ferrell, Thomas Lennon (Lt. Jim Dangle on Reno 911), and Don Faison (Kirk from Scrubs) and a host of other celebs got together to convey their message against the super rich health care executives by starring in this Public Service Announcement (spoof video) which was listed on Funny Or Die. 

It was sponsored by MoveOn.Org which started out in 1988 as an email group and blossomed, well, more like exploded. As of 2009, MoveOn has a membership of 5.2 million, with 20 full-time and 20 part-time staffers. Not too shabby!
Wikipedia says MoveOn.Org is:

An American non-profit progressive, liberal public policy advocacy group and political action committee which has raised millions of dollars for candidates of the Democratic Party in the United States. Formed in response to the impeachment of President Bill Clinton,it has been cited in some accounts as a factor which helped propel the Democratic Party to power in the 2006 midterm elections.

This video received two million views in two days! It’s funny stuff!

Examiner.com wrote:

Celebrity PSA video about Obama’s health insurance plan gets 2 million views in 2 days.
With celebrities like Will Ferrell, John Hamm and Donald Faison opening the video with a “Something terrible is happening” chant.

“Health insurance executives are getting a bad rap,” Will Ferrell explains, dead pan.

“We need to remember who the real victims are,” Donald Faison, best known for his role in Clueless, says.

John Hamm fades into the viral video in black and white and explains: “Health insurance executives.”

A variety of stars then go on to explain in fits of sarcasm that if their little boy falls off his bike, he should pay for it himself and stop whining.

The US is in a complete tug of war over the skyrocketing health care costs and Obama’s plans to fix it. This video is a refreshing and funny look at just how wrong it is to keep padding the pockets of these health insurance companies.

I wish there were more PSA announcements that would show just how ridiculous it is to not support a total change in the health care system. 

Obama may not have all the answers right now. Hell, he has been in office for less than a year, and I am not saying everything he does will go right, but people are expecting miracles right off the bat in a very short time. They seem to have a very short memory of the mess that was left behind. The US citizens’ impatience totally boggles my mind. 

My wish is for Democrats and Republicans to ban together and fix what has been so wrong for so long.
Oh to dream…