O RLY?

Attacks, praise stretch truth at GOP convention
By JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press Writer
Wed Sep 3, 11:48 PM ET



ST. PAUL, Minn. - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her Republican supporters held back little Wednesday as they issued dismissive attacks on Barack Obama and flattering praise on her credentials to be vice president. In some cases, the reproach and the praise stretched the truth.

Some examples:

PALIN: "I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending ... and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress. I told the Congress 'thanks but no thanks' for that Bridge to Nowhere."

THE FACTS: As mayor of Wasilla, Palin hired a lobbyist and traveled to Washington annually to support earmarks for the town totaling $27 million. In her two years as governor, Alaska has requested nearly $750 million in special federal spending, by far the largest per-capita request in the nation. While Palin notes she rejected plans to build a $398 million bridge from Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents and an airport, that opposition came only after the plan was ridiculed nationally as a "bridge to nowhere."

PALIN: "There is much to like and admire about our opponent. But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform — not even in the state senate."

THE FACTS: Compared to McCain and his two decades in the Senate, Obama does have a more meager record. But he has worked with Republicans to pass legislation that expanded efforts to intercept illegal shipments of weapons of mass destruction and to help destroy conventional weapons stockpiles. The legislation became law last year. To demean that accomplishment would be to also demean the work of Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, a respected foreign policy voice in the Senate. In Illinois, he was the leader on two big, contentious measures in Illinois: studying racial profiling by police and requiring recordings of interrogations in potential death penalty cases. He also successfully co-sponsored major ethics reform legislation.

PALIN: "The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes, raise payroll taxes, raise investment income taxes, raise the death tax, raise business taxes, and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars."

THE FACTS: The Tax Policy Center, a think tank run jointly by the Brookings Institution and the Urban Institute, concluded that Obama's plan would increase after-tax income for middle-income taxpayers by about 5 percent by 2012, or nearly $2,200 annually. McCain's plan, which cuts taxes across all income levels, would raise after tax-income for middle-income taxpayers by 3 percent, the center concluded.

Obama would provide $80 billion in tax breaks, mainly for poor workers and the elderly, including tripling the Earned Income Tax Credit for minimum-wage workers and higher credits for larger families.

He also would raise income taxes, capital gains and dividend taxes on the wealthiest. He would raise payroll taxes on taxpayers with incomes above $250,000, and he would raise corporate taxes. Small businesses that make more than $250,000 a year would see taxes rise.

MCCAIN: "She's been governor of our largest state, in charge of 20 percent of America's energy supply ... She's responsible for 20 percent of the nation's energy supply. I'm entertained by the comparison and I hope we can keep making that comparison that running a political campaign is somehow comparable to being the executive of the largest state in America," he said in an interview with ABC News' Charles Gibson.

THE FACTS: McCain's phrasing exaggerates both claims. Palin is governor of a state that ranks second nationally in crude oil production, but she's no more "responsible" for that resource than President Bush was when he was governor of Texas, another oil-producing state. In fact, her primary power is the ability to tax oil, which she did in concert with the Alaska Legislature. And where Alaska is the largest state in America, McCain could as easily have called it the 47th largest state — by population.

MCCAIN: "She's the commander of the Alaska National Guard. ... She has been in charge, and she has had national security as one of her primary responsibilities," he said on ABC.

THE FACTS: While governors are in charge of their state guard units, that authority ends whenever those units are called to actual military service. When guard units are deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, for example, they assume those duties under "federal status," which means they report to the Defense Department, not their governors. Alaska's national guard units have a total of about 4,200 personnel, among the smallest of state guard organizations.

FORMER ARKANSAS GOV. MIKE HUCKABEE: Palin "got more votes running for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska than Joe Biden got running for president of the United States."

THE FACTS: A whopper. Palin got 616 votes in the 1996 mayor's election, and got 909 in her 1999 re-election race, for a total of 1,525. Biden dropped out of the race after the Iowa caucuses, but he still got 76,165 votes in 23 states and the District of Columbia where he was on the ballot during the 2008 presidential primaries.

FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOV. MITT ROMNEY: "We need change, all right — change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington! We have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington — throw out the big-government liberals, and elect John McCain and Sarah Palin."

THE FACTS: A Back-to-the-Future moment. George W. Bush, a conservative Republican, has been president for nearly eight years. And until last year, Republicans controlled Congress. Only since January 2007 have Democrats have been in charge of the House and Senate.

___

Associated Press Writer Jim Drinkard in Washington contributed to this report.

Things McCain & Bush hope you'll forget

Republicans are hoping that when Americans watch this week's Republican convention, we'll forget about the last eight years.

So we (MoveOn.org) have put together this list of the Bush administration's "accomplishments."

It's actually shocking, even when you've lived through it. Take a moment to read it and pass it along:

Misleading about Iraq's WMD

Implying a connection between Saddam and 9/11
Launching a war that's killed 4,150 Americans and wounded more than 30,000

Challenging Iraqi insurgents to attack U.S. troops: "Bring 'em on"

Granting no-bid contracts to Halliburton in Iraq

Failing to respond to Hurricane Katrina

Hiring unqualified crony to run FEMA

Praising crony's performance: "Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job"

Neglecting reconstruction of New Orleans' homes and levees

Promising American troops would be greeted as liberators
Declaring "Mission Accomplished" and later blaming the banner on troops
Cherry-picking facts about WMDs in Iraq, then blaming the CIA

Promising the Iraq war would lower gas prices

Claiming the Iraqi insurgency was in its "last throes" in 2005

Allowing Osama Bin Laden to escape

Launching a war that's killed countless Iraqi civilians

Using Terri Schiavo for political gain

Attempting to alter Constitution to allow discrimination against gay people

Wiretapping our phones without court order

Fighting to privatize Social Security

Stealing the 2000 election (remember Katherine Harris, voter purges, and the Supreme Court?)

Concealing the pre-9/11 Presidential Daily Briefing entitled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S."

Ignoring security at nuclear plants after 9/11

Battling the wall between church and state

Enforcing abstinence-only programs in public schools

Doing too little to halt genocide in Darfur

Trying to slash funding for PBS and NPR

Rejecting the Kyoto Treaty to stop climate change

Giving tax cuts to the rich in a time of war

Failing seniors with the costly Medicare prescription drug benefit

Suppressing the vote in the 2004 elections (remember Diebold and long lines in Ohio?)

Swiftboating John Kerry

Outing CIA agent Valerie Plame to retaliate for truth about Iraq's WMDs

Telling the 45 million uninsured Americans to just go to the emergency room

Spending $341 million a day in Iraq

Neglecting wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Medical Center

Allowing Afghanistan to fall into chaos, with the Taliban and al Qaeda regaining control

Pressuring PBS to carry pro-government propaganda

Paying columnists like Armstrong Williams to promote government policies

Creating fake news reels to promote the controversial Medicare law

Holding prisoners without trial at Guantanamo Ba

Covering up torture at Abu Ghraib

Breaking the Geneva Conventions

Appointing extreme right-wing Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito

Forcing the Patriot Act into law

Firing federal prosecutors who failed to accuse Democrats of voting fraud

Turning a budget surplus into massive budget deficit

Letting more than a million homes go into foreclosure—the highest rate ever recorded

Watching as bank failures surge

Setting the record for most days on vacation by any president in U.S. history

Losing 2.7 million manufacturing jobs

Presiding over Enron scandal—the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history

Increasing nuclear threat by withdrawing from Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with Russia

Appointing John Bolton as U.N. ambassador despite his promise to dismantle the U.N.

Holding secret meetings with Exxon Mobil, Conoco, Shell, and BP to set energy policy

Letting gas prices double while resisting fuel efficiency and clean energy

Cat vs. Toilet Paper

via

Barack Obama

Acceptance speech at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado at the Democratic National Convention.

I graduated in 93, but this is funny & this, too!

9 Reasons It’s Better To Be A College Freshman Now Than It Was In 1998.
School is back in session, everyone. How was your summer? Ten years ago this week, I was a teenager entering my first semester as a college freshman. Here are 9 reasons why this year’s college freshman have it a lot better than I did back in 1998.

1. It was almost impossible to stalk people.
Some chick in your lecture hall is hot? Now you can just hop Online and see all of her naughty Halloween photos from last year on Facebook. You can also take part in the newfangled fad of telling everyone in the universe what you’re doing RIGHT NOW. Hiding in the bushes outside of someone’s dorm window is so ’90s.

2. We had to go to the library.
Don’t cry to me because your T.A. won’t let you use Wikipedia as a source for your paper. Only six nerdy eighth graders knew how to use Google in 1998. I think I used Alta Vista. Ewww. The rest of the time I had to get an actual book from the actual library for whatever bullshit my rhetoric teacher wanted me to write about. Double ewww.

Go here to see the rest, it's hilarious!

And, in response, and before my time...

How about those from 1978:

1) We had photo albums, and our computers used punch cards

2) We went to the library but think about what’s in books that are over 30 yrs old.

3) Our dorm room shared a phone in the hall

4) We had a common room on the ground floor to watch tv.. by the way.. who shot JR ?

5) We were buying LP’s ( and recording our friends music on cassette tapes )

6) Roughly the last time the Pgh Pirates had a winning season

7) We were still watching the original Star Wars (along with Rocky Horror and Kentucky Fried Movie)

8) People occasionally hijaced a plane, but nobody got hurt.

9) We had to tell people they sucked in person.

Perspective is everything I guess


via Miss Cellania

A good treatise on politics

via

Drunk Animals in Africa

Too much of "Amarula" can give a terrible hangover even to hardy African animals:

I now know why Pot is illegal

I knew some of this before from extensive reading, but I was at Curious? Read and read an article from here and learned how durable hemp cloth is. Also look at all the things hemp can do:

And can you believe this cloth is over 200 years old after being used and used?

Even George Washington grew hemp and said "Make the most of the hemp seed and sow it everywhere."
So why is this helpful and fun ;) plant illegal?
The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, let the federal government get its foot in the door of drug policy. Prior to this date the States had the right to determine drug policy. This Act has led to peeing in a cup as a condition of employment. We are the only country in the world where free people do this.
You can find a lot more information on this subject out there and at the Hemp Museum.

New Site Found!

It's called Amy Oops! and she has a lot of great funny stuff. Check it out.

What do you call it?

click for bigger
via

How man & woman think

A guy named Roger is attracted to a woman named Elaine. He asks her out to a movie; she accepts; they have a pretty good time. A few nights later he asks her out to dinner, and again they enjoy themselves. They continue to see each other regularly, and after a while neither one of them is seeing anybody else.

And then, one evening when they’re driving home, a thought occurs to Elaine, and, without really thinking, she says it aloud: Do you realize that, as of tonight, we’ve been seeing each other for exactly six months?

And then there is silence in the car. To Elaine, it seems like a very loud silence. She thinks to herself: Geez, I wonder if it bothers him that I said that. Maybe he’s been feeling confined by our relationship; maybe he thinks I’m trying to push him into some kind of commitment that he doesn’t want, or isn’t sure of.

And Roger is thinking: Gosh. Six months.


And Elaine is thinking: But, hey, I’m not so sure I want this kind of relationship, either. Sometimes I wish I had a little more space, so I’d have time to think about whether I really want us to keep going the way we are, moving steadily toward… I mean, where are we going? Are we just going to keep seeing each other at this level of intimacy? Are we heading toward marriage? Toward children? Toward a lifetime together? Am I ready for that level of commitment? Do I really even know this person?

And Roger is thinking: … so that means it was… let’s see … February when we started going out, which was right after I had the car at the dealer’s, which means … lemme check the odometer … whoa! I am way overdue for an oil change here.

And Elaine is thinking: he’s upset. I can see it on his face. Maybe I’m reading this completely wrong. Maybe he wants more from our relationship, more intimacy, more commitment; maybe he has sensed — even before I sensed it — that I was feeling some reservations. Yes, I bet that’s it. That’s why he’s so reluctant to say anything about his own feelings. He’s afraid of being rejected.

And Roger is thinking: And I’m gonna have them look at the transmission again. I don’t care what those morons say, it’s still not shifting right. And they better not try to blame it on the cold weather this time. What cold weather? It’s 87 degrees out, and this thing is shifting like a darn garbage truck, and I paid those incompetent thieves $600.

And Elaine is thinking: He’s angry. And I don’t blame him. I’d be angry, too. God, I feel so guilty, putting him through this, but I can’t help the way I feel. I’m just not sure.

And Roger is thinking: They’ll probably say it’s only a 90 day warranty. That’s exactly what they’re gonna say, the scumbags.

And Elaine is thinking: Maybe I’m just too idealistic, waiting for a knight to come riding up on his white horse, when I’m sitting right next to a perfectly good person, a person I enjoy being with, a person I truly do care about, a person who seems to truly care about me. A person who is in pain because of my self-centered, schoolgirl romantic
fantasy.

And Roger is thinking: Warranty? They want a warranty? I’ll give them a darn warranty. I’ll take their warranty and stick it right up their…

“Roger”, Elaine says aloud.

“What?”, says Roger, startled.

“Please don’t torture yourself like this,” she says, her eyes beginning to brim with tears. “Maybe I should never have .. Oh God, I feel so…”(She breaks down, sobbing.)

“What?” says Roger. “I’m such a fool,” Elaine sobs. “I mean, I know there’s no knight. I really know that. It’s silly. There’s no knight, and there’s no horse.”

“There’s no horse?” says Roger.

“You think I’m a fool, don’t you?” Elaine says.

“No!” says Roger, glad to finally know the correct answer.

“It’s just that … It’s that I … I need some time”, Elaine says.

(There is a 15 second pause while Roger, thinking as fast as he can, tries to come up with a safe response. Finally he comes up with one that he thinks might work.)

“Yes,” he says.

(Elaine, deeply moved, touches his hand.)

“Oh Roger, do you really feel that way?” she says.

“What way?” says Roger.

“That way about time,” says Elaine.

“Oh,” says Roger. “Yes.”

(Elaine turns to face him and gazes deeply into his eyes, causing him to become very nervous about what she might say next, especially if it involves a horse. At last she speaks.)

“Thank you, Roger”, she says.

“Thank you,” says Roger.

Then he takes her home, and she lies on her bed, a conflicted tortured soul, and weeps until dawn, whereas when Roger gets back to his place, he opens a bag of Doritos, turns on the TV, and immediately becomes deeply involved in a rerun of a tennis match between two Czechoslovakians he never heard of. A tiny voice in the far recesses of his mind tells him that something major was going on back there in the car, but he is pretty sure there is no way he would ever understand what, and so he figures it’s better if he doesn’t think about it. (This is also Roger’s policy regarding world hunger.)

The next day Elaine will call her closest friend, or perhaps two of them, and they will talk about this situation for six straight hours. In painstaking detail, they will analyze everything she said and everything he said, going over it time and time again, exploring every word, expression, and gesture for nuances of meaning, considering
every possible ramification. They will continue to discuss this subject, off and on, for weeks, maybe months, never reaching any definite conclusions, but never getting bored with it, either.

Meanwhile, Roger, while playing racquetball one day with a mutual friend of his and Elaine’s, will pause just before serving, frown, and say: “Norm, you’ve known Elaine longer than I have. Did she ever own a horse?”

via

Where was I for so long?

Just sick with a horrible headache. I'll be posting again, now.

Pint for a quid? So 20th Century!

Locals at a village pub in Norfolk are beating the credit crunch by bartering home-grown produce for pints.

The Pigs public house, in Edgefield, near Holt, encourages drinkers to contribute to its traditional food menu in return for free alcohol.

A sign placed inside the pub reads: "If you grow, breed, shoot or steal anything that may look at home on our menu, bring it in and let's do a deal."



Where's that? (via Google Maps)


Pints have been exchanged for a kilo of potatoes, three whole mackerel and a kilo of fresh fruit. Locally shot rabbits, pheasants and pigeons have also been exchanged for beer.

Manager Cloe Wasey, 24, said the offer has been a success as people have started to feel the credit crunch.

"Someone will say 'that rabbit tasted great' and we say 'here, meet the person who shot it'. It's also a challenge for the chef to make the most of the ingredients."

Via Nothing to do with Arbroath. Source, with news video.

Davezilla

Has a great caption contest today.

Also, check out the link, Top 10 Creative Responses To Junk Mail
and the video, Russian press conference invaded by flying penis!

*This* is the leader of the free world?!?

Barack Obama, save us!

New Site Found!

It's called the Daily WTF and this post is particularly hilarious, be prepared to ROFLMAO!

Burn After Reading

There's a new film from the Coen brothers coming out 09/12/2008 called Burn After Reading. I'm so excited about this! Go to the site and watch the trailer and I know you will be as well.

Starring: Brad Pitt, George Clooney, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and others.

New Comic found

link

TV Bloopers

via

and here's part one, via youtube.com


Mythbusters Blooper & Outtakes

50 Ways to save gas

"Hypermiling" is the term for altering your driving habits in order to get the most miles per gallon of gas. Let's face it, gas prices are outrageous and the economy as a whole is being affected. If you are having trouble making ends meet and want to get the most out of your gas money, follow the 50 hypermiling tips below.

Before You Drive

There are a few things you can do before you start your drive that will aid your hypermiling. Follow the tips below.

Consider a Stick Shift - So few young adults even know how to drive a stick shift these days. However, a manual car allows you to shift more efficiently for hypermiling.

Trade in Your Whale - If you are driving a huge, gas-guzzling beast, then you should consider something smaller and more fuel efficient.

Lighten Your Load - Remove any heavy items from your car, particularly items in your trunk. This excess weight will slow you down and waist more energy.

Remove Luggage Racks - Anything on your roof will cause wind resistance, including the metal racks.

Keep Your Tank Half-Full - By keeping your tank full at all times, you are always carrying around extra weight. Sometimes, you can reduce 50-100 pounds by avoiding a full tank.

Comparison Shop - No, don't drive around town looking for the best prices. That wastes gas! Instead use anonline guide to the cheapest fuel in your area.

Choose Gas Wisely - The cheapest gas may not be your best option for saving money. Conduct some research to determine what the proper grade is for your vehicle.

Fuel Up Early - It is believed that when you fuel up your car during the coolest part of the day, this prevents expansion and you will ultimately purchase more gas for your money.

Plan Your Route - Be smart in your driving by making a plan to avoid high-traffic, congested areas, as well as areas with a large fluctuation in speed limits.

Don't Top Off - By overfilling your gas tank, you may cause gas to spill out, thus losing more money.

Tune Up - Routine tune-ups and oil changes may help to prevent major engine and transmission issues that can affect your gas mileage.

Change Air Filter - When was the last time you changed out your air filter? This can greatly affect your gas mileage.

Check the Tires - Proper tire pressure can help you drive more effectively and save gas by preventing undo strain on your engine.

Save Fuel Receipts - By tracking your fuel consumption, you will learn what techniques works best for getting the most gas mileage.

Consider a Fuel Economy Monitor - Believe it or not, there are high-tech gadgets available that effectively track your fuel usage. Some people even build their own. Knowledge is power when hypermiling and every little bit helps.

General Driving Tips
These hypermiling tips are useful for any driving situation, regardless of location or weather.

Leave Early - In order to prevent both speeding and traffic, you should leave for your trip with plenty of time to spare. If you have normal office hours, try to beat morning traffic by an hour.

Drive Steady - Try to keep your car at a consistent speed. Unnecessary acceleration and late braking is both dangerous and fuel inefficient.

Pretend You're on a Bike - When you are bicycling, you coast down hills and conserve as much energy as you can while going uphill. Accelerate your car as if you are riding a bicycle.

Avoid 4-Wheel Drive - This function, although handy for getting you out of tough jams, uses a lot of gas. Try to avoid using 4-wheel drive as much as possible.

Avoid Aggression - Do not drive angry and do not try to keep up with those who are speeding. As a hypermiler, you must adopt a calculating, zen attitude about driving and leave the emotion at home.

Do Not "Rev" - Never "rev" your engine if you can help it. This just expends unnecessary gas.

Avoid Drive-Thrus - Avoiding these will improve your waistline and your bottom line. Drive-thrus require a lot of idling from your car. Just park and go into the restaurant if you must have fast food.

Keep Your Hands and Feet Still - The more you weave in and out of traffic or move your foot back and forth between the accelerator and brake, the more gas you waste.

Use Only the Right Foot - You should have learned this in Driver's Ed, but some people use both feet to pedal. This can cause you to hit the brake and accelerator at the same time, wasting gas.

Drive Barefoot - While you are technically not supposed to do this, some hypermilers feel it helps them to finely tune their car's braking and accelerating.

Ride the Wind - If you can find a good tailwind to plan your trip around, let the wind work to your advantage. Do not, however, tailgate a larger vehicle (also known as "drafting").

Keep it Under 40 - Whenever, possible, that is. Driving over 40 miles per hour pits your car against gas-guzzling wind resistance.

Turn of the A/C - While this isn't practical in some areas, turning off the air conditioner can save gas. If it is hot outside, try turning it off for only a few minutes at a time.

Avoid Rocky Roads - If you find yourself on a rocky road, you may be wasting gas. Seek out the smoothest surface possible to drive on.

Use Overdrive - If you have an automatic vehicle, that is.

Mind Your Fuel Cap - Many people lose gas from evaporation because their fuel caps are loose or missing.

City Driving

Keep Moving - While this isn't always advisable or safe, you should try to keep your car in constant motion while driving around the city. Avoid areas where you know there are lot of stop signs and traffic lights.

Pay Attention to Light Changes - You may wish to slow down for a red light ahead of time so that by the time you reach the car behind you, the light turns green and you don't have to stop completely. Do not do this if it holds anyone up behind you, of course.

Reduce Idle Time - If you must leave your car idling for several seconds or more, you can put your car in neutral and turn off the engine. This can be a bit dangerous in certain situations, however.

Highway Driving

Find a Slow Buddy - Amazingly, driving below or at the speed limit can sometimes get you run over on the highway. Find someone else who is driving as slow as you and get behind his or her car (at a safe distance, of course).

Do Not Speed - Not only will this save you money on citations, you will get more miles per gallon at 55 miles per hour than you will at 70 miles per hour.

Keep Your Windows Up - This reduces wind resistance and makes your car more aerodynamic.

Turn Off Your Lights - Granted, you should only do this when it is safe, but it can save gas on the highway.

Close the Sunroof - Yes, the weather might be beautiful, but high gas prices are not. Keep the sunroof closed at high speeds.

Set Cruise Control - Although this function can actually waste gas on hills, it is very useful for those of us with a naturally lead foot. If you can't keep yourself under a certain speed and you are on a somewhat flat road, set the cruise control.

Parking
Yes, even the way you park can affect your gas mileage. Below are few easy tips to follow.

Park Backwards - In other words, you should park so that you can drive away in the forward position, thus eliminating the need to use the reverse gear.

Park in the Shade - Parking in the shade keeps the inside of the car cooler and makes it easier to keep the air conditioning off. In older vehicles, parking in the shade will also reduce gas evaporation.

Time Your Departure - Do not start up your engine again until you have the opportunity to pull out and drive. Otherwise, you will idle.

Park Far Away - How much gas are you wasting at the mall or grocery store while driving around, searching for the closest spot? Just park the car and walk it -- you know you could use the exercise anyway.

Adjust While Parked - Don't wait until you start your engine to put on your seatbelt and adjust the seat and mirrors. This wastes unneeded gas.

Bad Weather
Driving conditions change during bad weather and so must your hypermiling techniques.

Avoid Driving in the Snow - Snowy roads are not only dangerous, they cause heavy resistance and will affect your fuel economy.

Use Snow Tires Wisely - If bad weather calls for snow tires and you have to travel, be safe and use them. However, be sure to remove them promptly when the weather clears.

Remove Ice from Car - Ice is heavy and can accumulate on your car quickly. Knock off any icicles in order to prevent more drag.

Don't Warm Up - Most cars today can start and drive in cold weather immediately. Therefore, you should just bundle up and leave rather than idling in the driveway until the car is warm.

Postpone Cold Trips - When your engine and tires are cold, they lose fuel efficiency. If you can help it, avoid trips in the cold.

via