An anagram.

As in Christian taliban.  

n/t

Palin tells ABC's Gibson that Russia was unprovoked when it invaded Georgia.  From what I've read, I doubt that's true.  It's too bad Gibson didn't ask Palin how she knows what she claims she knows.  It seemed to me that Palin wasn't sufficiently tutored on the conflict, and she ad libbed what she thought was the appropriate anti-Russian position.  If, as Palin claims, what Americans want most is change, it would be a nice change to have a humble VP who could admit when she doesn't know the answer to a question.  It's also incredibly depressing to hear her pronounce "nuclear" like Bush does - new cue lure.

It's hogwash, bunk, bupkis, bullsh!t, etc.

This is a complicated situation. Nobody has romantic visions of what Putin's Russia is (except maybe the Soul-Seer himself). But multi-ethnic factionism in these states is a way of life, thanks to decades or even centuries of rivalry and unnatural state lines. The people in Abkhazia and Ossetia were unhappy about the way they were being treated by the central Georgian government, and many of those people have more Russian ties. Georgia provoked, or at least unnecessarily antagonized, the gigantic nuclear power that it shares a border with. Not smart. Moreover, the US government and free agents like Randy Scheunemann may have used their own influence to in fact provoke Georgia to do so.

Now, Sarah Palin comes out and says we should consider starting a war with a nuclear power over former Soviet satellite states like Georgia, Armenia, or the Ukraine? ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME? This is the ultimate window into John McCain's foreign policy, of course, and it's why we have to attack Sarah Palin as well.

This is what is at stake this election. Neo-con fantasies run amok, without even the 'restraining' influences of a chastened George W. Bush/Condi Rice. Scary, scary stuff.

[Just riffing off your start, Joel, not saying you believe what Palin's trying to sell.]

No problem Ron1.  I didn't think you thought I believed Palin's baloney.  It's shocking that about half the electorate thinks it would be acceptable to have Palin a heartbeat away from the Presidency.  My own pet theory about why the current Administration has been such a disaster is that Bush never had what it takes and had to outsource much of his power to Cheney who's been both reckless and unaccountable with that power.  If, God forbid, Palin ever became President, even more power would have to be given to unaccountable others.  Steve Clemons of thewashingtonnote.com wouldn't come out and use the word "coup," but he seemed to be implying it a week or so ago.

When asked if I would accept the position of candidate for VP, I said yes immediatly, because you can't blink, you can reflect, you can't question.  Just like I would do when confronted with a tough military situation, I wouldn't question, I wouldn't think, I would just react.  We're on a mission...Gods mission.

She frightens me.

with 12 city/18 highway MPG, it's a perfect symbol for the Republican energy "plan". Why make something more efficient when you can just suck more gas down? Plus what's good for the oil companies is good for Alaska's budget.

Denali is actually a first name used in Russia (yes, it's also a National Park but that might be a subterfuge)....With the Cold War starting up again, wouldn't it be just like those Ruskies to put one "of their own" into the Vice President's office?  Has anyone actually  SEEN her birth certificate?  Could it be that she might really have been born just a bit further West?  If people have seen the birth certificate, how do we know it wasn't photoshopped?   Inquiring minds want to know.

more and more the GOP=WAR; they are the War Party, not the Republican Party, and should perhaps be referred to that way. They have been totally co-opted by the defense industry and their sidekicks, the petroleum industry. Republicans are indeed the Merchants of Death---- this was a catch phase against the armaments manufacturers after World War I, when there was a popular movement which blamed the armaments corporations for engineering the start of the war---- Skoda, Krupp, and so on.  

Given the Republican insistence on their "Culture of Life" slogan, and given how often they actually mean the exact opposite of what they say (as in Blue Skies legislation), then it is plausible to call them "Merchants of Death". If Obama was so inclined, that would make a terrific short ad. Wouldn't that cause a scramble!