Strollerderby : conservatives

Ann Coulter Says Single Moms Are Bad For Society

Brett Singer — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 04:31:00 GMT

Ann Coulter, the woman who once called John Edwards a "faggot" and then defended it by saying that it wasn't a gay slur, has now turned her warped mind to single mothers.

Coulter has been out promoting her new book, "Guilty: Liberal 'Victims' and Their Assault on America." She is a bizarre creature who appears to exist purely to spew venom at the world. It's not clear what possible purpose she has on this planet other than to sell her own books and appear on talk shows, which, in turn, helps her sell her own books. The promotional pattern is the same every time – "make outrageous statement in book, repeat statement on a channel other than Fox News, then go on Fox News and defend the statement." And it works – her latest tome is currently number 21 overall on Amazon.com.

One of her latest "points" is that single motherhood has now become "acceptable," despite the "fact" that it is "a recipe to create criminals, strippers, rapists, murderers." Nice.

Over on The View, Coulter was her usual charming self. She attacked Barbara Walters for the way she read the book aloud, and actually did a very nice job of playing the victim, accusing The View co-hosts of attacking her while she wasn't there. Unfortunately, everyone on The View talks at the same time so it's hard to tell what was being said during most of this clip. But it does mark the first time I can honestly say that I agree with Elisabeth Hasselbeck. (Thanks to Sassy Smith for posting this clip over at Famecrawler.)

As someone who was raised by a single mother, I have nothing but respect for any parent, male or female, who is raising a child alone. I'm married, we're lucky enough to have grandparents who live nearby, and I'm still exhausted. I often ask my mother what the hell she did with me during school vacations and half days. She always says that she "figured something out." In other words, she did what she had to do because she was a mother. That's it. What exactly would Ann Coulter like these single mothers to do? Give their kids up for adoption? Get a mail-order husband?

There are one or two words that I don't like to use. One of them fits really Coulter well. It starts with a "c". And I don't mean "cookie".

Source: Famecrawler

Image: Amazon.com

Video: Ann Coulter Makes Elisabeth Hasselbeck Seem Sane

Linda Ellerbee Says Kids Should Skip School To Watch Inauguration

Parents Criticize Schools for Celebrating Inauguration

New Pro Vaccine Book Author Getting Death Threats

Kid Named Hitler Taken From His Parents By Family Services

N-Word Flies at Palin Rally

Brett Singer — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:00:00 GMT

This is really ugly.

I hope that whomever you happen to be voting for, this isn't something you can condone.

As the blog We Are Respectable Negroes (the name comes from the Forty Acres and a Mule document) puts it: "It seems that Barack Obama was finally called a 'nigger' at a recent Republican presidential rally."

Palin will get a lot of flack for not responding, and while I can't argue otherwise, I don't know what she should have said. (In a Palin voice: "Oh, come on now! That's a bad thing to say!") Then again, how do you stand in front of a crowd that screams out something like that?

Michelle Malkin is claiming that the person was actually shouting, "Redistributor!"

Yes, of course. I make that mistake all the time.

(Aside: in case anyone is planning to leave a comment along the lines of, "What about that Sarah Palin hanging effigy? Why aren't you railing against that?" It's terrible and should be taken down immediately.)

I'll ask you -- what do you think you heard? I actually closed my eyes so I couldn't see the captioning on the video. Send the kids out of the room and tell us what you think was said.

Source: We Are Respectable Negroes, MichelleMalkin.com

Babble Talk: The Candidates Health Plans

Palin's Ohio Rallies Reveal Frightening Misconceptions about Barack Obama are Alive and Thriving

Morning News: Malia Obama Tells Dad 'Don't Mess With My TV'

Breaking News -- Obama Assassination Plot Thwarted

Babble Podcast for October 27th, 2008

Which Candidate Has The Best Name?

Flip Flopping on Palin's Kids

Palin Speaks Out On Special Needs Trusts

Joe the racist plumber?

Dudes for Palin: Vote for the Hot Chick!

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 19:30:00 GMT

It may not surprise you to learn that, according to the New York Times, “dudes” constitute Sarah Palin’s most vocal supporters. But it may disturb you to learn what these men have to say about her.

Although Palin was ostensibly chosen for her anticipated appeal to women, the former beauty contestant has (gasp!) won over far more men than women, with her initial approval ratings at 44 percent among men and 36 percent among women. (Those numbers have since dropped considerably, down to 31 percent among men.)

Even as many conservatives fault Palin for being, to put it nicely, not “serious” enough, Joe Sixpacks can’t get enough of her. One of Palin's female supporters acknowledged that Palin rallies are about “70-30, maybe 65-35, men to women.” Among the shout-outs that Palin routinely receives at her rallies are cries of, “You tell ‘em babe!” and “You rock me out, Sarah!” Some men sport “Proud to vote for a hot chick” buttons, while others carry “Dudes for Palin” signs.

Palin apparently loves the testosterone-charged rock concert atmosphere of her rallies. After entering a rally to the heading-banging tunes of AC/DC, she told the crowd, “That was kinda cool.” She has also introduced her husband as “Alaska’s First Dude.”

At least one Palin supporter interviewed by the Times admitted that he came to a Palin rally “just to look at her.” He wisely chose to remain anonymous. Let’s hope he realizes that, just as it’s embarrassing to admit to supporting a political candidate simply because of her appearance, actually voting an inexperienced, scandal-plagued woman into the White House simply because she’s “beautiful” at a time in which our country is engaged in two wars, is widely hated throughout the world, and is in the early stages of widespread economic collapse, would be an unforgivably inane decision.

Dudes, if you want to stare at hot chicks, watch Desperate Housewives.

Photo: New York Times

How much is Sarah Palin worth?

Brett Singer — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:00:00 GMT

One of Sarah Palin's claims during the debate was that she was "Joe Six-Pack" (shouldn't that be Jane Six-Pack?), part of her folksy, "I'm just like you, America" thing.

So I thought I'd find out just how much money she actually had.

In the past, I've never been terribly interested in Presidential candidates' financial disclosures. This is probably because I assume that if someone has reached a point where they can run for President or Vice-President of the United States, they probably have a few bucks. But when Palin made her claim at the debate last week, my curiosity was piqued.

Sarah Palin and her family seem to be on the lower end of the political wealth spectrum. According to their tax returns, "The Palins paid $22,721 in taxes on $166,080 adjusted gross income last year."

I couldn't open the PDF file provided by the McCampaign (here it is if you want to try: PDF link), so I dug a little more and found Palin's financial disclosure forms from when she ran for office in Alaska. In addition to her family's income, they have investments that look like they total about $200,000. I say "about" because the money is in various funds and the value fluctuates, especially these days. Plus the form is from 2007, so who knows what her money is in now. So maybe the value is between $100,000 and $200,000, depending on the day.
(Note: here is the site where I found the link to her return, which is available here as a PDF file.)

Does that make her rich? Not really. She has five children, and Bristol has one on the way. However, if you include "the estimated value of their property and investments…[the Palins] appear to be worth at least $1.2 million," according to ABC News. I admit that I'm not sure if this number is accurate, but it sounds plausible. Palin and her husband also have no credit card debt, unlike most Americans. Bottom line: even if you go with a low-ball estimate, the Palin family are not exactly living paycheck to paycheck.

What's the point of this exercise? Palin may claim to be "Joe Six-Pack", but I think she's more "Jane Case of Wine." That's fine with me, by the way. But why lie about it?

Image: ABC News

Obama not sure how long he's been married

Morning News: Who's Winning With Only 30 Days Left?

Scrooge McDuck explains inflation

Giant Palin Poster

They say: Sarah Palin should step down

Palin: Women Who Don't Support Other Women Go to Hell

McCain Talks to the Gays: Part Two, Adoption

Should We Raise Little Democrats or Republicans?

Virginia Teachers Get Flack for Pro-Obama Email

Palin's Email Hacked and posted online; UPDATE: Anonymous Hacker Speaks

Giant Palin Poster

Brett Singer — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:00:00 GMT

When I was a kid, I had posters on my walls. The biggest were of Reggie Jackson (great New York Yankee hitter from the late 1970's) and Superman (Christopher Reeve).

This over five foot high Sarah Palin poster is presumably for adults, but I'm not sure if that's better or worse. That is, if it's for children, what child wants this on their wall? And if it's for adults, why is an adult hanging a gigantic poster of the Vice-Presidential candidate on their wall? Even my Reggie Jackson poster wasn't that huge.

To be fair, you can order in three sizes: 12 inches ($19.99 for 4 – such a deal!), 48 inches ($49.99) or 5' 6" ($69.99, described as "life-sized").

Order now for guaranteed Chanukah delivery! (Note: I made that up. Although in theory, it's probably true.)

Source/Image: wallmonkeys.com

Dora the Conservative

Hillary Clinton on Repro Rights

Sarah Silverman says: make granny vote for Obama

Enormous baby sculpture

Palin should read Internet for Dummies

Sarah Palin Makes Repeat SNL Appearance!

Muppet Op-Art

They say: keep your money under your mattress

Important news stories depicted by five year olds

McCain said lipstick on a pig to Hillary

So – who ya voting for?

Sarah Palin, Sportscaster

They say: Sarah Palin should step down

Brett Singer — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 21:50:00 GMT

A few they's are saying it, including "Prominent conservative columnist Kathleen Parker," who was a big fan of McCain's VP choice a few weeks ago.

See, if the Democrats had done this, you would have heard a chorus of "Flip! Flop!" But hey, what's bad for you is good for me, right?

In a column dated September 15, 2008, Parker wrote, "Both a frontier woman and beauty queen, the square-jawed Palin not only neutralized the sisterhood, but she animated the brotherhood. Men are suddenly riveted as never before by the frontal lobes of the vice-presidential candidates." In a column at NationalReview.com dated September 26, 2008, Parker writes that Palin is, "out of her league." Other comments about the woman she thought was just ducky a couple of weeks ago: "If BS were currency, Palin could bail out Wall Street herself." (Emphasis added, for obvious reasons.)

So how can Palin get out of this gracefully? "She can bow out for personal reasons, perhaps because she wants to spend more time with her newborn. No one would criticize a mother who puts her family first." Gawker says that this is how we all got permission to be sexist. That sounds about right to me. No one with any sense is saying that Palin isn't qualified to be Veep because she lacks a Y chromosome. It's because she seems to have no idea what is going on in the world, or even a working knowledge of John McCain's record. Also, it needs to be said that Parker is suggesting that Palin blatantly lie about her reasons for dropping out in order to engender sympathy. Hey, maybe she could cry a little bit too! That'll really make the men weak in the knees!

It's worth noting that other writers are calling for Palin to go back to Alaska and keep an eye on Russia, including Peggy Noonan, David Brooks, George Will, and David Frum.

In closing, here are a couple of the numerous comments from the CNN article:

"Palin should take a flying leap."
Followed by:
"Be nice. She could just float away on her own HOT AIR!"

This one makes no sense at all:
"Let the smear campaign continue…"

Um, how is it a "smear campaign" when writers who support McCain are calling for Palin to get out of the race?

This one is my favorite:
"Ah.. the link was just to some little blog site. Sort of ironic when a tiny blog site says that someone is out-of-their-league."

Dude. That "some little blog site" is the NATIONAL REVIEW.

Same comment, gets better:
"Kathleen Parker needs to READ what the job of VP actually is. A squid with one brain cell would be over qualified for that job! The major thing you need to do is stay awake in the Senate."

Riiiight. Except that the "P" is VP stands for PRESIDENT. As in "next in line to be leader of the free world." Nuclear codes. (Or, as Palin would say, Nook-you-lehr codes.) That type of thing.

Lastly, it's worth pointing out that some random person at Yahoo! Answers was posting the "Should Palin step down?" question three weeks ago. Meaning that perhaps, at times, commentators, even nationally syndicated ones, can be a bit slow on the uptake.

Source/Image: CNN
Other Source: Gawker

Read more:

Sarah Silverman says: make granny vote for Obama

Are your kids aware of the election?

Palin family online - real or fake?

Vice Stay-at-Home "Dude" ... or Something

Sarah Palin, Sportscaster

Muppet Op-Art

Sarah Palin Has A Penchant for Really Beautiful Scarves and More Tidbits For Those Obsessed

Dora the Conservative

McCain, Palin oppose teen pregnancy aid and sex education

Teaching Abstinence Doesn’t Work: Palin’s Preggo Kid.

So – who ya voting for?

Palin's Email Hacked and posted online; UPDATE: Anonymous Hacker Speaks

What Bristol Palin Can Expect, After Baby Algebra

Sarah Palin's Daughter Caught Doing Drugs On Tape

Morning News: Bipolar Markets, Campaigns, Now in Manic Phase

Maxed Out Moms Leaning Towards McCain & Palin

Morning News: No One Told Hillary That Palin Would be There!

Another 8 year old on the terrorist watch list

Dora the Conservative

Brett Singer — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:15:00 GMT

Every now and then Republicans do something to remind the world why anyone would ever want to vote for them. Also, sometimes elected officials sound like children's television characters.

What the hell am I talking about?

CNN reports that, "House conservatives urged Congress on Tuesday to 'take a breath' and consider other alternatives before rushing to pass a $700 billion plan to bail out Wall Street, a measure the White House says must pass by the end of the week."

Some Republicans are saying, hey. Guys. Let's look at things a little bit more closely before we commit close to one TRILLION dollars (insert Dr. Evil finger here) and potentially make a bad problem even worse.

That advice… it sounds familiar… where have I heard it before?

Oh! That's right. Dora The Explorer. She likes to "stop and think" when things start moving too fast. Hmmm…

Source: CNN, image: commonsensemedia, plus Photoshop

Sarah Palin, Sportscaster

Palin family online - real or fake?

Palin for aerial wolf hunting

Palin's Email Hacked and posted online; UPDATE: Anonymous Hacker Speaks

Was Trig Palin drugged?

McCain said lipstick on a pig to Hillary

Are your kids aware of the election?

So – who ya voting for?

Morning News: Nope, No Improvements. Nation Still Falling Apart.

Nanny Market Shaken Up By Current Financial Woes

Shawn Johnson, Democrat? (UPDATE: Now with video)

Beau Biden almost made me cry

McCain, Palin oppose teen pregnancy aid and sex education

Elizabeth Edwards slammed for keeping hubby's affair a secret

Man ejected from Yankee Stadium for lack of patriotism

Dadcentric endorses Obama

7 year old on terrorist list

Another 8 year old on the terrorist watch list

Awww…a baby otter… (when the going gets tough, the tough go and look at pictures of baby animals)

Family Movie Night – Happy Feet

Brett Singer — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 20:30:00 GMT

I'm particularly glad to have a chance to write something about this one. While it certainly has its flaws, there are some parts that are terrific.

"Happy Feet" is about a bunch of penguins. According to the movie, each penguin has a "heart song" that develops over time; by singing it, the non-flying birds mate, make more non-flying birds, and life goes on. Mumble, though, is different. When he sings, he sounds like a cross between an elephant seal and fingernails being dragged across a chalkboard. He can, however, do a mean tap dance (the incomparable Savion Glover provides the audio for his fancy footwork). This does not endear him to the tribe, and even his parents would rather he be somewhere else. So, like Rudolph before him, he leaves, eventually meeting up with a group of Hispanic penguins (more on this later), and going on a journey to find out why there aren't as many fish to eat as there once were.

By far the best aspect of "Happy Feet" is the music. It came out in 2006, and by that point the novelty of the "mash-up" trend in music had peaked in popularity. The tunes here aren't original, but the songs chosen, and the arrangements used, are so clever that I was mesmerized. The opening number features Prince's "Kiss", blended together with Elvis' "Heartbreak Hotel", with little musical quotations from Salt N' Pepa ("Let's talk about eggs, bay-bee" – slight lyric change there), Lionel Richie ("Hello"), and even Mr. Mister ("Broken Wings"). If that sounds horrible, give it a try, because in my opinion it works. The animation is also top-notch, almost on a level with Pixar's. This also means that the scarier parts (killer whale attacks, elephant seals, and so on) are that much more frightening, but neither of my kids seemed to mind.

This film generated a ton of controversy from the conservative quarters of the country because of its extremely blunt pro-environment message. While I personally agree with what they were saying, it does get very heavy-handed towards the end of the film, and inserting actual humans is strange, although I have to admit that it is effective. If you look at some of the user reviews on Amazon, there are various complaints that this is not a "happy" film at all. That's not entirely without merit; one character almost chokes to death on plastic soda rings, and there are those icy predators that always seem ready to munch on Mumble and his pals. But again, the proof is in the kids, and both of my boys were fine with the "less happy" parts.

Speaking of those pals, I'm always a little bit surprised about the way certain races are portrayed in animated movies aimed at children. In this case, Mumble hooks up with a group of short penguins who like to whistle at girls ("Ay, mami!") and speak with thick Hispanic accents. He calls them "the amigos" in case anyone misses the joke. Their leader, Ramon, is played by Robin Williams, who also plays a Barry White-style penguin who sits atop a tower of pebbles dispensing advice. Not to be overly politically correct, but this sort of thing happens all the time: the Black and Hispanic hyenas in "The Lion King" are another example (and of course, there are all of these). It's not enough to un-recommend the movie but it's worth mentioning. I'm also not a big Robin Williams fan, but I know other people can't get enough of him. Having him play two somewhat racially insensitive characters in one film is almost too much, but the animation, music and tap dancing more than make up for it (I'm a big Savion Glover fan).

Bottom line: some truly great moments (the music, animation and tapping) offset some weird ones (the ultra-heavy-handed environmental message). Recommended, unless your political sensibilities run heavily to the right, in which case this film will probably make your head explode.

image: Amazon.com

Family Movie Night: Meet The Robinsons

Volleyball hasn’t come a long way, baby

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Children opposed to healthcare (Onion Video)

5 reasons it's a good thing I had boys

Hunka hunka burnin Barbie

Retarded movie boycott

Upcoming Sesame Street Guests

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The Dark Knight -- parents strongly cautioned (to go see it)

S&M Barbie

Hulk want puny blogger to review Hulk movie

Political Nanny: White Talk, Blackface ... Barf

Madeline Holler — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 20:06:00 GMT

All that sexist energy Hillary Clinton revved up seems to have been poured into going after Barack Obama's minority status. Seriously, can't pundits and politicians get past the fact that great leadership doesn't have to come in a white guy package?

A couple of examples from this last week:

(1) This is just heartbreaking. Ralph Nader, defender of the voiceless, smart guy, articulate guy (!) sums up Obama's positions this way: "he's talking white." Huh? What does that even mean? Here's what he said more fully (from the Rocky Mountain News):

"There's only one thing different about Barack Obama when it comes to being a Democratic presidential candidate. He's half African-American," Nader said. "Whether that will make any difference, I don't know. I haven't heard him have a strong crackdown on economic exploitation in the ghettos. Payday loans, predatory lending, asbestos, lead. What's keeping him from doing that? Is it because he wants to talk white? He doesn't want to appear like Jesse Jackson? We'll see all that play out in the next few months and if he gets elected afterwards."

Obama hit back later saying it was Nader's attempt to draw attention to his third-party. Nader's got an arsenal of real things to say, so why go there, Ralph, why?

(2) Speaking to the LA Times, conservative agent provocateur Grover Norquist described Barack Obama as "John Kerry with a tan." How ever did he keep himself from invoking "blackface"? Norquist's director of communication called to do damage control.

Chris Rock could be Barack Obama's running mate

Photo: mistupid.com

Political Nanny: Snippet from Hillary/O'Reilly Interview

Madeline Holler — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:36:00 GMT

He goes there. But then, we all knew he would. Here's Bill O'Reilly baiting Hillary to talk about Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Notice, he asks her "as an American ...," he says "you're an American, I'm an American, he's an American." I guess the appropriate response is: an therefore protected by the 1st Amendment (lucky for you Bill). Alas, that was not her response.

We'll bring other highlights as they come. Or watch tonight yourself (no, don't give FOX the ratings).

For a real Q&A, go here.

[via TPM]

NBC Pulls '30 Rock' from Family Hour to protect our American way of life

Brett Singer — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 13:00:00 GMT

In a move that defies all logic, NBC has moved Tina Fey's sitcom '30 Rock' from the 8pm-9pm "family hour" to Thursdays at 9:30pm (which I suppose is the "Manson Family Hour"). Why, you ask?

MILFs.

That's right, MILFs. More specifically, a reality show parody that was part of the episode aired on April 10. If you want to see what the fuss is about, you can watch the full episode - legally - at the end of this post. I just did, and it's reasonably amusing. It also did not, to the best of my knowledge, cause the downfall of Western civilization, or even a mild tumult in some kid's ant farm.

Despite the pullage, NBC is hardly backing away from all things MILFy, or at least all things MILF Islandy. For example, for a mere $24, you can buy a MILF Island t-shirt. It's also not the first time '30 Rock' has mentioned the faux reality series (that would be October of 2007), although it does seem to be the first time that large numbers of people noticed.

This site actually spins the story to imply that the 9:30pm time slot is "more prestigious" than 8:30pm. That sounds very Jack Donaghy to me.

In a Babble interview to promote the upcoming film 'Baby Mama', '30 Rock' creator Tina Fey said, "Often times in our writer's room I'll say, 'Oh, this is going to be on at 8:41 p.m. - lets back off of it a little bit.'" Amy Poehler, Fey's co-star in 'Baby Mama' who isn't involved with '30 Rock', said, "I love ruining family time." Sadly, she'll have to wait until the fall to do so; that's when NBC says '30 Rock' will go back to 8:30pm. Unless someone complains, in which case they'll take it off the air. (I'm kidding. But you never know.)

Here, watch it for yourself. Is this really so awful?

image: Wikipedia