Saturday, December 29, 2007

John Edwards takes a final swipe at Sen. Barack Obama, who he says may be living in never-never land


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Yesterday morning at a forum for undecided voters in Independence, Iowa—and there must be plenty of undecideds, the way the polls swing back and forth—Ex-Senator John Edwards repeated his criticism of Barack Obama, saying that any candidate who thinks he or she can invite corporate America to the table and achieve real results for Americans "is living in never-never land."

In a wide-ranging interview with ABC News Friday afternoon, the former North Carolina senator labeled as "ridiculous" the comments made by the Obama campaign linking Ex-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination to Sen. Hillary Clinton's vote to authorize the use of force against Iraq. On the other hand, he did embrace Sen. Barack Obama's politics over Clinton's, and said that an anti-Obama flier from a pro-Clinton union was "misleading" and "deceptive."

I like Obama, but I like him best for Vice-President paired with (in descending order) Joe Biden, John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, or Bill Richardson. On the other hand, he's not a bad senator, missing plenty of votes this election season notwithstanding...
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The angels are weeping. . .

The angels are weeping today, for Benazir Bhutto, her family, and Pakistan itself, and for the six members of the Anderson family of Carnation, Washington (near Seattle), who were gunned down on Christmas Eve by their daughter/sister/aunt and her boyfriend


click the weeping angels to enlarge


"They were my family, too, you know?" Joe McEnroe told a Seattle Times reporter in a jailhouse interview. He may face death for the Carnation slayings.



And the angels weep for Benazir Bhutto, who was not perfect, but who had become a sort of JFK-figure of hope/beacon of light to the mess that is Pakistan.
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Thursday, December 27, 2007

Benazir Bhutto Assassinated in Pakistan



Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday by an attacker who shot her after a campaign rally. The killer then blew himself up; at least he got that part right.



Like Benazir or not (and she admittedly has a whiff of corruption too), this is not good. Pakistan sits smack dab in the middle of the powder keg; situated between Afghanistan, Iran, India and China, Pakistan is the second largest Muslim country in the world, and stability there is central to world peace.



The prime ministerial elections are just around the corner, and the next government is crucial —especially with current president General Pervez Musharraf [US buddy and George Bush ally]accused of blocking two former PMs—Bhutto and rival Nawaz Sharif—from running with the use of controversial legislation. If you are Nawaz Sharif, this has to be a sleepless night.

A photo 30 seconds before Benazir Bhutto
was gunned down

Bhutto's death stoked chaos and a wave of "civil unrest" across Pakitstan. President Musharif, vowed to obtain justice. Of course he did...not long after he popped the cork on a bottle of Dom Perignon— However, we all know he was no fan of Benazir. Obviously no one wants rioting in an already volatile country that happens to be a member of the nuclear-capable club. They are a critical U.S. ally in the war on terror. President Musharraf has functioned as a George Bush lapdog, and it was clear Benazir would not be on the boat. Do I think President George W. Bush was involved in the assassination? Absolutely not. Do I think he took the same tact as Phil Leotardo's capos on The Sopranos? Maybe. Do I think George Bush said to Musharraf "You do what you gotta do?" Maybe.

Benazir Bhutto became the first female prime minister in the Muslim world when she was elected in 1988 at the age of 35. She was deposed in 1990, re-elected in 1993, and ousted again in 1996 amid charges of corruption and mismanagement. She said the charges were politically motivated...but in 1999 she chose, right or wrong, to stay in exile rather than go home and face the music.

Bhutto, 54, will be buried alongside the grave of her father, former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was removed from power in a 1977 junta and executed.
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Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Painting--> President Bush: Hear No Evil


Click Dubyah to enlarge...

At the Press Conference, President Bush indicates that he refuses to entertain any further questions.

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Are Obama and Huck in a tailspin?



In what has to be her best Christmas gift this year, an ARG poll released this week seems to show Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton with a comeback double-digit lead over Senator Barack Hussein Obama among likely caucus-goers.

Clinton and Obama were in a dead heat in last week’s American Research Group poll. In the new survey (December 20-23), she leads the Illinois senator by 15% (34 to 19). If you account for sampling errors, Obama is now in a statistical tie for second place with Ex-Senator John Edwards, who has 20 percent of the vote.

Last week, Mike Huckabee was ahead of Mitt Romney by an 11-point margin. . .but the new poll puts the two back in a statistical tie, 23 to 21 percent, followed by John McCain at 17%, Rudy Giuliani with 14 percent, and even Ron Paul has climbed to 10 %, up from 4 % last week. Man, if Ron Paul is doubling his numbers Huck, Mitt, Crazy John, and Rudy "Queeg" Giuliani must really be blowing it!
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Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Joseph not the father?

Modern DNA testing recently revealed what Joseph probably already knew: that he was not the actual father of Jesus Christ. Knowing she was a virgin might have been the big tip-off.



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Santa in repose


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Monday, December 24, 2007

A collection of some of The Onion's best "Weekender" parodies


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The Onion often published parodies of the "Weekender," a magazine based on the beloved/thoraway Parade Magazine. Here is a collection of some of their gems, and a recent cover as well...


click to enlarge (you must!)
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Sunday, December 23, 2007

Jeri Kehn Thompson On The Road/All This Is That's Comprehensive Jeri Kehn Coverage Continues With New Photos


Jeri Kehn charming The Heat



Fred intervenes, possibly to prevent a frisking

As you know, recently we've closely followed the campaign of Jeri Kehn Thompson and her husband Fred (or, at least some aspects of that campaign).


click to enlarge Fred, Hayden, Jeri
and Samuel Thompson


On Stage Together

Jeri Kehn Thompson (born September 30, 1966) is a former media consultant to a Washington law firm, who also worked for the Republican Senate Conference and the Republican National Committee. Ms. Thompson is married to Fred Thompson, ExSenator, attorney, actor, and struggling 2008 Republican Presidential Candidate. According to many reports Ms. Thompson is not a trophy wife, or arm candy. She urged her husband to run, helped recruit some of his key staffer, and according to Michelle Cottle (Jeri Rigged: The machinations of Mrs. Fred Thompson", The New Republic, 2007-10-22), has also been responsible for the dismissal of other staff members.


Jeri conducts a babe-off in Florida

On Stage Again


Jeri campaigns in Iowa in a cowboy hat


At the firemen's insistence, Jeri Kehn swaps her
cowboy hat for a firefighter's helmet

Although Jeri Kehn is 24 years younger than the Ex-Senator, most people don't consider it a deal-breaker. After all, Frances Folsom Cleveland was 27 years younger than President Grover Cleveland, and Julia Gardiner Tyler was 30 years younger than President John Tyler.
But that's not an issue, really. After it's almost criminally late start, Thompson has drawn fire for his anemic fund-raising and campaign schedules. It's now widely acknowledged that the senator is having a tough time conveying--and generating!--enthusiasm for his bid. The conventional wisdom says that Thompson's heart isn't in the fight. Even if she can sell herself to voters, can she sell them on a husband that seems to not much care about closing the deal?

Other recent appearances by Jeri Kehn on All This Is That:

Even Jeri Kehn can't resuscitate her husband's wheezing, tubercular campaign (but it's fun to watch while she tries)
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Saturday, December 22, 2007

Painting: The waterfall


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John Edwards/Andrew Young: Who's the father of the "love child"?

Obviously this alleged John Edwards scandal is based on some pretty flimsy evidence. . .wouldn't it have erupted in the mainstream press if there was even a whiff of an affair? Even Matt Drudge backed away from the story. The enquirer does lay out a plausible story, wth many notable gaps, including another man, Andrew Young, claiming paternity of the "love child:"

"Presidential candidate John Edwards is caught up in a love child scandal, a blockbuster ENQUIRER investigation has discovered.The ENQUIRER has learned exclusively that Rielle Hunter, a woman linked to Edwards in a cheating scandal earlier this year, is more than six months pregnant — and she's told a close confidante that Edwards is the father of her baby!The ENQUIRER's political bombshell comes just weeks after Edwards emphatically denied having an affair with Rielle, who formerly worked on his campaign and told another close pal that she was romantically involved with the married ex-senator.The ENQUIRER has now confirmed not only that Rielle is expecting, but that she's gone into hiding with the help of a former aide to Edwards. The visibly pregnant blonde has relocated from the New York area to Chapel Hill, N.C., where she is living in an upscale gated community near political operative Andrew Young, who's been extremely close to Edwards for years and was a key official in his presidential campaign.
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