Mitt's Ill-fated Victory Celebration

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Thursday November 08, 2012 · 3:06 PM PST

2012/11/08 · 15:06

The Boston Globe reports that Mitt was so excited about being president, he arranged for a fireworks display over the Harbor:

A permit filed with the City of Boston said the detonation could occur any time between 7 p.m. Tuesday, just after the first polls closed, and 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, which ended up being just before Romney conceded the race.

Unfortunately, the night didn't go as planned:

Instead, Atlas Professional Fireworks Displays unloaded the pyrotechnics from mortars set up on a barge near the Bank of America Pavilion and carted them back to its headquarters in Jaffrey, N.H.

To be fair, Obama also considered fireworks for his 2008 victory speech, but in the end he canceled them because

"Given the sobriety of the times, he didn’t feel they were appropriate," senior adviser David Axelrod tells ABC News.

Fireworks weren't the only part of the celebration Mitt got a head start on,

Romney had tapped former Utah Governor Mike Leavitt to lead his transition planning, and screen shots of a transition website were captured Wednesday by Political Wire’s Taegan Goddard.
“Smaller, Simpler, Smarter,” was the motto, and a quote from “President-elect Romney” read: “I’m excited about our prospects as a nation. My priority is putting people back to work.”

To everyone who doomed these celebration plans, by volunteering, donating, calling, or voting, the world owes you a thank you. Reading this article makes me feel like I'm looking over the edge of a tall building, like we've just safely stepped back from a precipice. Not because the fireworks themselves would have been so destructive, but the phrase "President-elect Romney" is one I never want to hear again. Read More

An informed decision on Adderall

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Saturday May 02, 2009 · 10:13 AM PDT

2009/05/02 · 10:13

A recent article in the New Yorker addresses the use of what they call ``cognitive enhancers" on college campuses and among professionals.

Adderall, a stimulant composed of mixed amphetamine salts, is commonly prescribed for children and adults who have been given a diagnosis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. But in recent years Adderall and Ritalin, another stimulant, have been adopted as cognitive enhancers: drugs that high-functioning, overcommitted people take to become higher-functioning and more overcommitted.

http://

Poll

115 votes Show Results

Have you ever taken stimulants like adderall, provigil, etc?

115 votes Vote Now!

Have you ever taken stimulants like adderall, provigil, etc?

Yes, and I had a legitimate prescription for them.

34 votes

Once or twice.

9 votes

For an extended period to help me get my work done - but I was able to stop.

10 votes

Yes, and I grew dependent on them.

4 votes

Yes and I've been treated for addiction.

1 vote

No, never.

57 votes

Obama fever

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Monday October 06, 2008 · 7:47 PM PDT

2008/10/06 · 19:47

We've been hearing on Kos a lot about more conservative places where people are slowly moving to Obama - I've been canvassing in my home city, Philadelphia, where people are really fired up about Obama, and this excitement is bringing people together from totally different backgrounds in a way I've never been witness to before.

I wrote a poem about it that I thought I'd share, just in case it inspires someone else to start volunteering. I'm not a poet by trade, but I do like to dabble every so often. Please, if you live in a place gripped by Obama fever, it will be so exciting - and if you live somewhere else it will be doubly important. Everything good you've heard about volunteering is true!

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Saturday October 04, 2008 · 6:57 PM PDT

2008/10/04 · 18:57

All right, all right, settle down guys. I can't waste all day turning you jokers into powerful right-wing propaganda operatives. To review the point of yesterday's lesson: people talk about what a genius I am, but actually I just rely on classic techniques that have been around for centuries. Has everyone finished yesterday's assignment, to bring in an ad or soundbyte from the McCain-Palin campaign; that corresponds to a type of propaganda off the list of commonly used techniques? What? How did you lose the list, DRILLZ4PALIN? It's online, at wikipedia's page on propaganda.

Let's get started. We'll see how far we can get today and then resume next time.

Poll

265 votes Show Results

sleaziest tactic covered so far?

265 votes Vote Now!

sleaziest tactic covered so far?

ad hominem

18 votes

ad nauseam

10 votes

appeal to authority

2 votes

appeal to fear

66 votes

appeal to prejudice

78 votes

bandwagon

0 votes

black and white fallacy

21 votes

beautiful people

5 votes

big lie

49 votes

common man

16 votes

Canvassing today in West Philly (my first time!)

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Sunday September 28, 2008 · 5:17 PM PDT

2008/09/28 · 17:17

A few weeks ago I posted this diary, asking for advice on volunteering - I was nervous but determined to help out. Lots of kossacks posted very helpful ideas and reassuring stories. So what happened?

The weekend directly after the diary I actually didn't make it to the volunteer office - my nerves got the better of me.

The weekend after that my husband and I went to the Center City, Philadelphia Office and they asked us to register people to vote. We stood out near the main train station and asked passersby if they were registered. The only problem - the area was saturated with Obama volunteers, and we actually were asked several times by other Obama volunteers whether we were registered. We registered a few people - but overall the experience wasn't that satisfying.

But this weekend...

triptych

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Friday September 26, 2008 · 2:39 PM PDT

2008/09/26 · 14:39

This diary is pretty much for "gotcha" purposes - but I wanted to point out (and I haven't seen it yet discussed, apologies if it has been) that actually Sarah Palin doesn't seem to know very much about Russia either. She claimed yesterday in her interview with Couric that (I'll paraphrase, for the reader's wellbeing) when Putin flew into the U.S. he flew over Alaska, and that consequently she had foreign policy experience. Maybe she didn't remember that the capital of Russia, Moscow, from whence one can assume Putin usually departs, is in the eastern European part of the country:

A simple map Sarah Palin should glance at

which means that flights from Moscow to D.C. are transatlantic.

Poll

83 votes Show Results

Have you been to Russia?

83 votes Vote Now!

Have you been to Russia?

Yes

21 votes

62 votes

Palin speaks to my inner child

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Sunday September 14, 2008 · 5:08 PM PDT

2008/09/14 · 17:08

The whole time that Sarah P. has been on the scene I've been wondering - why am I so drawn to her, even as I'm horrified and terrified that she might be in any position of power, even as I'm offended that John McCain would think he could fool us with someone of such ignorance, why don't I change the channel, why don't I read about something more important, why don't I talk about something more interesting, why can't I take my eyes and ears off her? I am pretty sure it's not because she's physically attractive - I'm a straight woman, and there are lots of women in the world that I find more aesthetically pleasing than Sarah P. Besides, even if someone seems stunning when you first meet them, an unpleasant personality can make them seem less and less attractive physically. I don't think its because she's "charming" or "charismatic" - to tell the truth her demeanor is really grating to me.

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Saturday September 13, 2008 · 1:38 PM PDT

2008/09/13 · 13:38

The McCain-Palin meme that they are going to reform a corrupt Washington, while keeping with traditional conservative values, has obviously resonated with many voters. But there seems to be a disconnect between the problems voters are facing and the solutions the Republican ticket offers. John McCain and Sarah Palin have focused on wasteful spending, specifically pork barrel projects, but exactly how will cutting pork barrel spending improve the economy, improve our standing overseas, resolve the situation in Iraq, prevent another 9/11, provide better health care coverage, repair our crumbling infrastructure, give everyone who wants one a college education, or stimulate American science and technology? Are earmarks really the "Mary Poppins Carpet Bag" of wasted cash, holding potential solution after solution for all our budget issues? The implication, that the money they save through cutting earmarks will be passed on to the taxpayer through successful, non-wasteful programs, and through taxcuts - is not actually made explicit in their rhetoric. Perhaps because this implication does not match up with the taxcuts and policies that actually constitute the McCain platform... but it's a nice idea.

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Friday September 12, 2008 · 12:47 PM PDT

2008/09/12 · 12:47

Over the last several months I've given at least $500 to the Obama campaign (all I could afford)- and I keep telling myself that I will volunteer, but until now my hesitations about what's involved have kept me from doing so. I'm not particularly at ease with people I haven't met before, and I can get a little worked up over political issues. Palin's interview last night absolutely terrified me - realizing that there is even the possibility that this woman could become president is like noticing I'm standing on the edge of a tall building. Suddenly my absolute number one priority is getting to the Philadelphia office tomorrow to volunteer, but just to allay some of my fears I thought I'd ask some of you veteran volunteers some questions. Please leave your thoughts on any or all of the questions in the comments below - or if not on a specific question, any hints would be welcome. I'd especially appreciate anecdotes on tactics that worked well (or horribly).

Poll

31 votes Show Results

I will be volunteering this weekend:

31 votes Vote Now!

I will be volunteering this weekend:

yes, in Philadelphia

2 votes

yes, in another urban area

8 votes

yes, in a non-urban area

9 votes

not this weekend

12 votes

Beyond hypocrisy

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Saturday June 21, 2008 · 7:59 PM PDT

2008/06/21 · 19:59

History is full of men and women who didn't always live up to the grand messages they put forth. You could call this hypocrisy, and many do. But unfortunately those with the most beautiful dreams are not always those with the purest life. The failings of a man to meet his ideal should not reflect upon the worthiness of that ideal or the gift he has given others by sharing it - it reflects on the man alone.

Poll

29 votes Show Results

The Iraq "mistake" is a

29 votes Vote Now!

The Iraq "mistake" is a

Collosal Cockup

17 votes

Magnificent Mistep

1 vote

Bunyanesque Blunder

3 votes

Stupendous Slipup

0 votes

Elephantine Error

6 votes

Frightful Faux Pas

2 votes

please forward - this could save a life!

triptych

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Tuesday June 17, 2008 · 5:55 AM PDT

2008/06/17 · 05:55

My husband and I tried our hand at a new and exploding genre tonight - the political chain letter. We picked a random topic (in this case the gas tax holiday) and ran with it. Our guidelines were that we couldn't technically lie about anything that had happened in the past, but we could make things as dramatic as we liked. Here's the result...

Poll

39 votes Show Results

What sources of information are more reliable than chain emails?

39 votes Vote Now!

What sources of information are more reliable than chain emails?

Junior Jumble in comics section

3 votes

Fortune Cookie

10 votes

Comments scratched on public bathroom stall

11 votes

Your drunk uncle at your cousin's wedding

3 votes

Confessions gathered through Bush techniques

6 votes

Nothing - I would bet my health insurance on the accuracy of chain letters

6 votes

Why Obama is different

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Sunday June 08, 2008 · 12:14 PM PDT

2008/06/08 · 12:14

I keep hearing the sentiment from non-supporters that Obama is naive, that he doesn't have a record of bringing about big changes in government- essentially that there's no reason we should trust him. After all, a lot of candidates campaign on the premise of "change" and usually nothing gets done. So I thought I'd outline the ways in which I think Obama is different from your standard politician promising change.

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Mitt's Ill-fated Victory Celebration

An informed decision on Adderall

Obama fever

What I overheard at Rove University

Canvassing today in West Philly (my first time!)

Putin probably flies over the Atlantic, not Russia

Palin speaks to my inner child

Why is this election suddenly about earmarks?

Nervous about volunteering - but even more nervous about war with Russia

Beyond hypocrisy

please forward - this could save a life!

Why Obama is different