Seeking Refuge in Farmville

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Thursday January 21, 2010 · 6:15 AM PST

2010/01/21 · 06:15

I was psyched a few weeks ago to regain my Trusted User status – it made me feel integrated in the Daily Kos community that I both enjoyed and respected. But in the aftermath of the Massachusetts meltdown, I’ve found myself spending a lot more time at Farmville. It is a peaceful online place where the bleating of sheep is much more pleasing than the shrill ranting of disillusioned progressives.

I’ve refrained from commenting in any diaries for several days, opting to let my thoughts coalesce while tending to my crops. And I have reached a conclusion that will no doubt be poorly received by many kossacks: Folks, a lot of you are out of touch with the national pulse.

writerkirk

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Wednesday December 23, 2009 · 7:53 AM PST

2009/12/23 · 07:53

It appears that a recent acquisition signals that Exxon is serious about targeting shale gas.

Why this is a troubling development from the folks who brought us the Valdez oil spill below the fold.

writerkirk

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Friday December 11, 2009 · 5:32 AM PST

2009/12/11 · 05:32

Amid all of hand-wringing and complaining about our president, I thought I would offer my own opinions on how Obama is doing. I don't expect this diary will make that much of an impact on others' views, but there are some things that I need to express.

writerkirk

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Monday November 09, 2009 · 6:27 AM PST

2009/11/09 · 06:27

The pissing match between Iran and the US escalates this morning, according to CNN.

Iran will charge three American hikers who strayed into the country with espionage, a Tehran prosecutor said Monday.

The announcement comes only days after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met privately with the families Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal, who were detained along the Iran-Iraq border at the end of July.

Tehran's prosecutor for the Public and Revolution Court, Dr. Abbas Ja'afari Dolatabadi, announced the charges in an interview with the official Iranian news agency IRNA.

writerkirk

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Friday July 17, 2009 · 10:56 AM PDT

2009/07/17 · 10:56

Gov. Mark Sanford's spokesman has quit.

Joel Sawyer, the communications director who told the media that his boss was hiking the Appalachian Trail when Sanford was actually seeing his mistress in Argentina, announced his decision today.

I fully expect more top aides to leave in the upcoming weeks and months as they recognize that Sanford is now the nation's most impotent state executive.

Meanwhile Sanford is out of the state again this week on a trip with his wife.

Whitewash? State agency says Sanford is not a crook w/update

writerkirk

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Thursday July 02, 2009 · 12:05 PM PDT

2009/07/02 · 12:05

In an almost unbelievable display of investigative haste, the head of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Department earlier today cleared his boss, Gov. Mark Sanford, of any criminal wrongdoing during repeated rendezvous with his Argentinian lover.

The Greenville News reports that

State Law Enforcement Division chief Reggie Lloyd said this afternoon that a review of Gov. Mark Sanford’s travel has turned up "absolutely no evidence or suggestion" that public money was used inappropriately or that a crime was committed.

Update: Worried that she is being overshadowed, Mrs. Sanford releases a new statement, saying

Gov. Mark Sanford’s actions are "inexcusable" and that she has been "angry" with her husband, but that she’s willing to forgive him and pursue "reconciliation over time."

writerkirk

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Thursday June 25, 2009 · 3:04 PM PDT

2009/06/25 · 15:04

Disgraced Gov. Mark Sanford will fork over $10,000 that taxpayers spent on a trip to Argentina last year during which he spent time with his paramour, The Greenville News reports.

writerkirk

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Wednesday June 24, 2009 · 5:21 AM PDT

2009/06/24 · 05:21

Latest update: Mark Sanford, South Carolina's MIA governor, pops up at the Atlanta airport this morning and tells a reporter that he was returning from a solitary getaway in Argentina. Here's the exclusive story in the State

So no naked hiking on the AT? Just driving along the coast to recharge.
And then trying to sneak home through Atlanta to avoid reporters?

This just gets stranger by the hour. All I can conclude is WTF?

Breaking: SC Supremes tell Gov. Sanford to take the cash

writerkirk

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Thursday June 04, 2009 · 12:55 PM PDT

2009/06/04 · 12:55

Good news for teachers and students in South Carolina:
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/...

South Carolina's high court has ordered Republican Gov. Mark Sanford to request $700 million in federal stimulus money, which would head primarily to cash-strapped schools over the next two years.

The state Supreme Court issued its ruling Thursday, a day after hearing arguments in Sanford's legal fight to reject the money. The anti-bailout governor refused to take the cash even after legislators passed a budget requiring him to do so.

Sanford has said that he wouldn't appeal the ruling, so we'll see if he sticks to his word. He made a lot of political hay on this topic while causing a lot of angst here in the Palmetto State. Hard to believe that the GOP-controlled Legislature was the source of common sense on this topic.

Football and Furloughs in South Carolina

writerkirk

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Tuesday December 02, 2008 · 1:09 PM PST

2008/12/02 · 13:09

My wife works as a clinical psychologist at a state psychiatric hospital near Anderson, South Carolina. Just before leaving work last night, she received an email announcing that she and the rest of the care-giving staff will be required to take a three-day unpaid furlough at some point before June due to state budget cuts.

Less than an hour later, Clemson University held a news conference to introduce Dabo Swinney as its new head football coach. He received a five-year contract with a salary in excess of $1 million annually.

"I’d have done this job for free," Swinney, 39, said.

RSS

Seeking Refuge in Farmville

Even worse than a lump of coal

Reality as I see it

Breaking: Iran to charge U.S. hikers with spying

Rats Fleeing From Sanford's Sinking Ship

Whitewash? State agency says Sanford is not a crook w/update

Sanford to repay taxpayers for Argentina junket

Breaking: Sanford says he was in Buenos Aires

Breaking: SC Supremes tell Gov. Sanford to take the cash

Football and Furloughs in South Carolina