October 2008
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God awful →
NEW YORK, NY October 31, 2008 — According to Covenant House, from January to September more than 100 young moms with dozens of kids showed up asking for help, after city officials told them they were too young to access the shelter system.
City Councilman Lewis Fidler held a hearing on the issue recently, and told of an 18-year-old, pregnant with triplets, who was turned away from a Bronx...
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Studs Terkel dead →
(via azspot)
In arts school, we created a theatrical production based on Working. We interviewed people about their jobs, transcribed their words, and arranged them into unusual scenes, juxtaposing two or three characters who shared the stage but didn’t interact.
I interviewed a great many people and although I got some poignant material, I wanted a bit of juice, so I forged an interview...
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Nora...you win!
ruhnay:
I will blog my trip to Iowa for my cousin Nora and anyone else that wants to hear about it!
The Obama campaign is deploying my cousin Renee to Iowa and she’s going to blog the trip (because I demanded it).
I am such a good influence.
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I ain’t afraid of no ghost.
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Panic attack
Stay strong, grapefruite! Breath. Then send your aunt “The Conservative Christian Case for Supporting Obama” (via Azspot). But don’t just send her the link. Copy and paste it. They like long emails. Bonus: lots of Bible talk!
I opened my email this morning and had ten emails from my aunt who lives in a small town in Missouri. Their content is crushing me… everything you’d...
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With Ambitious Campaign, Obama Is Both Big Spender... →
This article should be prefaced with this statement: “Having opted out of public financing, Mr. Obama has spent far more than the combined total spent by President Bush and Senator John Kerry in 2004, according to Federal Election Commission records.”
Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign has collected a record-shattering $640 million, but only two of his staff members are...
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“I tell you what, Rachel, you notice I think we’re winning right now, so...”
– Obama to Maddow on why he’s calling out McCain and Bush but not conservative ideology.
Rachel on Barack: “If he was any more relaxed I would have thought he was on Ambien.”
Two dinner party dream guests! I’ve got seats at my Thanksgiving table for y’all, just putting...
Test
G’morning y’all I’m testing somethin
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Top 10 Farting Animals →
1. Termites 2. Camels 3. Zebras 4. Sheep 5. Cows 6. Elephants 7. Labradors/Retrievers 8. Humans (vegetarians) 9. Humans (non-vegetarians) 10. Gerbils
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“It was nasty, very nasty, but it was wonderful.”
– Lil Wayne on helping to deliver his son. “I held the left leg the whole time,” he said. Not sure what that means, but I appreciate his honesty.
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“By the end of the week, he’ll be accusing me of being a secret Communist...”
– Barack Obama, today.
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“Historically I’ve found that Republicans are more game with sketches than...”
– Seth Meyers on writing SNL sketches that include candidates for office. He said that Palin and her campaign were “very game” about the script for this skit.
“Kerry said you can pick either a Mr. August, a Mr. October, or a Mr. January. In...”
– David Wade on VP picks. He was Kerry’s press secretary and is now serving in that role for Biden. (“Biden’s Brief.”)
Palin is an August pick (shakes up a flailing campaign).
Edwards is an October pick (a good campaigner that plays well to certain groups or states).
Walter...
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“[A] quasi-criminal organization.”
– The Republican National Committee’s chief counsel, Sean Cairncross, on ACORN. Three words: Pot. Kettle. Black.
ACORN is fighting back, rightfully, with “a 30-second television ad on Wednesday meant to spotlight voter suppression tactics that Democrats say Republicans have been pursuing in...
I’m going through Percocet withdrawal and it’s not fun. Jitters, anxiety, and all.
I know if I can just get through today….
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A brief history of real-people political ads →
With commentary from documentary filmmaker Errol Morris, who created ads for People in the Middle for Obama.
Btw, I really like their logo.
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Twist and Shout! →
I’m probably late to this, but check out Project Bueller. They’re recreating the big dance scene this Friday in the Village parade! If you want to be a part, here are your instructions.
My Halloween plans just changed. :)
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Just like a reliable savings account, good old... →
New Yorkers got a harsh dose of calorie reality this summer when restaurants with 15 or more outlets were forced to post the calorie content of food next to the price. The resulting sticker shock has brought parts of a great city to its knees, often to do push-ups….
Starbucks, for example, claims to have saved the nation 17 billion calories since last October by swapping 2 percent milk...
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“When you love someone, you’ve gotta trust them. There’s no other way. You’ve got...”
– Robert De Niro, in Casino (via whokilled)
In 1912, J. P. Morgan testified before Congress that in investment decisions, trust trumps collateral. “The first thing is character,” he said. “A man I do not trust could not get money from me on all the bonds of Christendom.” (The...
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Red State, Blue State; Red Car, Blue Car →
Jan Adams quotes a study by Kelley Blue Book:
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) rates high among domestic and luxury owners. Among the domestic brands, owners of GMC (61 percent), Chevrolet (60 percent), Buick and Dodge (each at 58 percent), as well as Ford (57 percent) vehicles are the highest in favor of McCain. In the luxury vehicle segment, McCain leads among Lexus, BMW, and Lincoln owners at 52...
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“Was America ready for a black baseball player in the 40s? No, but Jackie...”
– Chris Rock speaking on the reluctance of some whites to vote for Obama. (via cajunboy)
Love this quote. A Pennsylvania union member said he’s used this line while trying to convince other unions guys to vote for Obama.
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TRICKING AND TREATING IN YORK, PA
fredgraver:
This weekend, I experienced Democracy, as Claire McCaskil put it, “at its full-throated best.” The problem is, of course, that full-throated Democracy often sounds a lot more like the first two American Idol episodes, and not the finale….
Check out his full post, especially if you’ll be doing GOTV work.
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“Rosa sat, so Martin could stand. Martin stood, so Obama could run. Obama is...”
– An African-American man from St Louis on NPR.
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“It’s wonderful to fool the pundits because we’re going to win in Pennsylvania.”
– John McCain
Not so fast, Mister!
Jane and I have reached our goal and we’re hitting the road to Wilkes-Barre at first light on Saturday.
Thanks to everyone who supported us! Stay tuned for updates from the trail.
Obama's not a Marxist, he's not an Ivy League...
At least a third of the people I’ve spoken to in the Obama campaign have posh British accents.
I think he’s in cahoots with them to unsign the Declaration of Independence and make us a colony again. He may even be in the lap of the Queen.
The Infidelity Index
According to economic legend, skirts get shorter when the stock markets are up. More recently, it has been argued that women buy more cosmetics when the economy is down because a small luxury purchase feels good when you can’t make big ones.
Reading a Times article about the rising rates of marital infidelity in American marriages, I got to thinking that it, too, could be linked to the...
Voting Rights & Elections | Brennan Center for... →
bunnynico:
The Center maintains a detailed catalogue, “Voter Suppression Incidents 2008,” which is updated regularly.
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“Twitter has also become a social activist tool for socialists, human rights...”
– In a report on how terrorists could use cell phones and online networks to organize attacks, the Federation of American Scientists warns: BEWARE THE TWITTER.
Heard on The Rachel Maddow Show. She quipped: “Sounds like a Maddow family reunion.”
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Obama is up TWENTY-TWO points! →
But I must admit, the margin of error is unusually large. It’s the pugs, see. They can barely keep their eyeballs in their head, let alone answer a simple poll.
Thanks to Brian for passing this along.
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Digital Blindness
biteofpythias muses on the theory that the brains of habitual Internet users are evolving — or in any case, changing:
one wonders what risks this poses for other cognitive capacities such as spatial awareness… the next thing you know these technological “evolvers” will be thinking about some new idea and start being hit by automobiles they never saw coming.
You have no idea how close to...
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Ground Game →
This American Life goes to Pennsylvania, a battleground within a battleground, to figure out why, and how, John McCain and Barack Obama both think they can win there. And we get to know the ordinary people who’ve become the candidates’ most forceful foot soldiers.
A must-listen for anyone who will be doing some door-knocking or phone-calling in this last week. Hearing how union volunteers deal...
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The Stink in Farts Controls Blood Pressure →
My father has a good heart (literally). And now I understand why.
Via rockuboff.
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"A Gloomy Happiness" →
If you’re like me and adore bittersweet songs, you might enjoy this eclectic playlist from Lucas Grabeel, who is apparently in a little movie called High School Musical 3.
(Does that mean there was a One and Two?)