thank you readers…
…for making my blog the 26,568,679th most trafficked site on the web. (Per Alexa.com) I always knew I was popular.
this is palin
Confidently speaking about Darfur:
“My concern has been the atrocities there in Darfur and the relevance to me with that issue as we spoke about Africa and some of the countries there that were kind of the people succumbing to the dictators and the corruption of some collapsed governments on the continent, the relevance was Alaska’s investment in Darfur with some of our permanent fund dollars.”
Uh…right. More here.
search like it’s 1999
And by 1999, I mean 2001. In celebration of its 10th anniversary, Google has released its oldest available index (1998 was the actual year of the founding, but technical difficulties forced Google to release the first non-buggy year, 2001). Type in “Barack Obama” and the first listing you get is his Senate page. The second listing is a mere mention of him as a participant on a panel. Type in “Sarah Palin” and you don’t even get any listings. Pretty interesting!
Check it out at: Google.com/search2001.html
miro for me
UCBerkeley is reinstating a very cool program that allows students to borrow original works of art from the school’s extensive collection to hang in their dorm rooms. Amazingly, the pieces available include pictures from masters Georges Braque and Max Ernst. At a time when Millenials find more interest online than in museums, I applaud Cal’s Graphics Art Loan Collection program in its efforts to expose and encourage interest in the fine arts.
biden for veep!
No idea if he will be, but I just remember liking him during the Democratic primaries. Given my awesome memory, I can’t recall those reasons, other than the fact that he is very refreshingly direct and doesn’t wheedle and waddle around as normal politicians do.
Incidentally, David Brooks of the Times also wrote an op-ed today wishing for Biden’s veepness.
On a similar note, kudos to Obama for deciding to text his decision out. Smart way to continue his mastery of campaigning via technology. Sneaky way to get people’s cell phone numbers and other personal information.
the new switzerland
Qatar is quickly becoming the Middle East’s mediator of choice, pledging allegiances to everyone and no one at the same time.
I love this quote from an unnamed former Qatari official: “The idea is to try to keep everybody happy – or if we can’t, to keep everybody reasonably unhappy.”
Nice.
NO!
Sales of Spam are up, given the rising costs of food (including meat). Oscar Meyer is having a hey day with double-digit revenue growth of its Deli Fresh cold cuts.
I generally try and stay away from meat…and I most definitely abhor processed meat like Spam or lunchmeat. I even hate thinking about its existence. Haven’t you noticed that lunchmeat is rainbow colored, translucent, slimy and just all around gross?
People: you need to eat more fresh fruits and veggies. Then, when meat prices go up – it doesn’t matter! Because you barely eat that anyway! Good!
Government: you need to stop subsidizing the big crops for fuel and animal feed, and pour the $ into helping farmers who plant fresh produce.
YES!
I caught a spelling error in the NYTimes! The word “too” is spelled as “two.” Hopefully it will be fixed by the time anyone of you (nonexistent) readers get around to clicking on the link. This is a triumphant day indeed 
I just emailed them to call out this little error.
Is it strange that I derive great joy from this?
oh. my. gosh.
I literally just exclaimed, “Who the f– is this??” after reading this article in The Washington Post.
It’s not often that I speak to myself.
This Charlotte Allen figure writes in her op-ed, “We Scream, We Swoon, how Dumb Can We Get?” that:
“[I] wonder whether women — I should say, “we women,” of course — aren’t the weaker sex after all. Or even the stupid sex, our brains permanently occluded by random emotions, psychosomatic flailings and distraction by the superficial.”
and…
“The theory that women are the dumber sex — or at least the sex that gets into more car accidents — is amply supported by neurological and standardized-testing evidence.”
and finally:
“Then we could shriek and swoon and gossip and read chick lit to our hearts’ content and not mind the fact that way down deep, we are . . . kind of dim.”
WHO IS THIS??? Incredible. I fight urges to call myself a feminist, because I think feminists are oft-characterized as angry, tempestuous women. And I’m not. But how can a woman be so brazen to write such a horrifying article? And what male editor at the Post let it pass through to press?
And slightly related, the Center for Media and Public Affairs reports that from 12/16 to 2/19, the three major networks aired newscasts that were 84% positive for Obama and 53% for Clinton. Sad.
yes, change
As thrilled as I am that Clinton took California tonight, I must write about my disgust with Bush. This isn’t even in relation to anything he’s done recently and is old news, so do pardon the nascent political knowledge.
So John McCain is being very conscious about his childrens’ participation in this 2008 campaign. It is most likely a reaction to Bush’s villainous smear campaign against McCain’s adopted Bangladeshi daughter, Bridget, prior to the 2000 primaries in South Carolina. Orchestrated by Karl Rove, Bush’s camp accused McCain of fathering an illegitimate black child, and planted the obscenely false notion in voters’ minds through push polling. McCain was flooded with calls saying that he should be ashamed about Bridget, and the color of her skin.
I had heard the basics of this story a bit ago, but never did any real digging until tonight. Bridget was eight when she heard what the public was saying about her…and discovered it on her own when she randomly Googled her name one night. I can’t believe anyone would so desperately stir up such a disgusting lie, to win an election. As much as I like Clinton and Obama, I’ve lately been thinking about all McCain has weathered and almost want to vote for him out of respect come November. Almost.
