Matt Smith, Doctor Who and My Snickers Bar

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Tuesday August 09, 2011 · 11:11 AM PDT

2011/08/09 · 11:11

Thought I'd share this with everyone. To give credit, I saw it on this site by a cartoonist named Carl Ray.

As someone who at times wonders if there's a light at the end of the tunnel, I found this story inspiring and I hope you do, too. Here's a sample:

Things seemed pretty hopeless that day, and the weather wasn’t helping. It was gray and windy, early spring. I was sitting in my van, waiting outside the school to pick up my 9-year-old son, but my thoughts were a million miles away, in the same spot that they usually were. I was unemployed, and when you’re unemployed, all you can think about is money; as in, where am I going to get the money to pay my bills? Not just the bills coming up, but the bills that are already overdue, the bills I’m getting calls about all day, every day, every hour. I dreaded those calls to the point that I actually jumped whenever the phone rang. The stress is unrelenting and it grinds away at your soul, lives in the pit of your stomach.
As I sat there obsessing on my dire financial situation, despairing in the knowledge that none of my resumes were being answered, the van door quickly slid open and my son bounded into his seat. I looked back at him. He was wearing a huge smile, beaming with pride.

“Dad! Dad! We played sparkle today and Bryce came in second.”

“Oh, that’s nice, Sam.”

He grinned. “Wanna know who came in first?”

“Sure”, I said, playing along.

“I did, Dad! And look what I got!” He reached into his backpack and produced a blue piece of paper. “It’s a coupon for a free ice cream cone!”

“Wow, Sam! That’s great!”

To Sam, getting an ice cream cone was like winning the lottery. All was well in his world! His excitement gave me a moment in life to savor, a moment when I could share in his happiness. And with that, we were off to Dairy Queen; he with his coupon and I with a smile. It was a huge emotional lift, just when I needed it most.

I’ve got a great job now and things are much better, but I’ll never forget that moment. It’s great to have a son to spend time with.

The rest of the story can be found here.

Snark - What the heck is an "Obama Zombie"?

dogwhistle

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Thursday February 18, 2010 · 12:39 PM PST

2010/02/18 · 12:39

I heard that some young up-and-comer at CPAC, Jason Mattera, has written a book called, "Obama Zombies: How the Liberal Machine Brainwashed My Generation".

The book hasn't been released yet, so we're all left to try and guess what an "Obama Zombie" is, what they look like, or if we've even seen one.

Here's one possibility.

What do you think an "Obama Zombie" looks like?

Dipping a toe in the Cesspool

dogwhistle

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Wednesday February 10, 2010 · 9:55 AM PST

2010/02/10 · 09:55

Please Note: I realize this diary is something of a statement of the obvious, but it's to make a point.

"Follow the money", Deep Throat told Bob Woodward. Why are Democrats so impotent? Why is it that even with a supermajority in the Congress, Democrats couldn't pass healthcare reform?

We all know about Max Baucus not even giving single payer so much as a mention and how he has coincidentally received millions in campaign donations from the health insurance industry. What about the rest of Congress?

dogwhistle

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Saturday February 06, 2010 · 12:04 PM PST

2010/02/06 · 12:04

I've had a few days to process the primary results here in Illinois and it's left me depressed. Not about the knife-wielding hooker-beater we nominated for Lieutenant Governor, that kind of stupidity happens from time to time.

No, I'm talking about the sense that we're fooling ourselves. We worked our butts off to get a Democratic majority in Congress, and nothing happened. So we re-doubled our efforts, increased the majority to a supermajority and elected a Democratic president who espoused our ideals. The result? Nothing. Nothing, unless you count the frustration of progressives everywhere. The inaction by this government has been incredible, not counting the yeoman work that was done to help Wall Street.

dogwhistle

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Thursday February 04, 2010 · 6:47 PM PST

2010/02/04 · 18:47

I woke up today in my Peoria, Illinois, home to be greeted with the news that Democrats' freshly minted Lt. Gov. nominee was arrested in a domestic violence case back in 2005; when he slammed his then-girlfriend's head against a wall and put a knife to her throat. And did I mention she was a prostitute? But he had an excuse. He apparently had an erratic temper due to injecting steroids, which may be the reason he would blow up and threaten to give his wife (yes, apparently he was married around the same time) STDs from the women he'd been sleeping around with (and had even brought home to their bed).

dogwhistle

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Thursday November 06, 2008 · 1:25 PM PST

2008/11/06 · 13:25

While the rest of the nation zigged in the Democratic direction, my district (IL-18) zagged and elected a Republican to an open seat. My guess is you'll be hearing a lot about him.

Aaron Schock, hailed by his predecessor Ray LaHood as the new "poster child" for the GOP, is set to become the youngest member of Congress at 27. His story is the stuff of legend, to paraphrase Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis. Schock ran at 19 to become a member of the District 150 School Board in Peoria and later became it's president. Granted, the president's spot is on a rotational basis, but that part gets conveniently skipped over when reciting his rise, as is the messy firing of a superintendent that Schock helped install and the fact that the District was still a huge mess when he left for the General Assembly.

dogwhistle

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Thursday October 30, 2008 · 3:18 PM PDT

2008/10/30 · 15:18

Only in the Heartland could a disqualification from a state fair hog contest (10 years ago) qualify as an October Surprise.

From the Quincy Herald-Whig:

[Democratic Congressional Candidate] Colleen Callahan said political foes are bringing up an old state fair disqualification in an effort to keep her from gaining ground in the 18th District congressional race.

...

The swine in question was entered in the barrow class, but judges and other competitors protested that the swine had an undescended testicle, which disqualified it from competition.

The hard-hitting expose continues:

dogwhistle

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Tuesday October 21, 2008 · 1:02 PM PDT

2008/10/21 · 13:02

In the race for Illinois' 18th, Aaron Schock (R) today received the endorsements of 116 mayors from cities and villages across the district. The press conference soon devolved into a love-in, as evidenced in the following snippet from the Peoria Pundit:

dogwhistle

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Wednesday September 10, 2008 · 10:09 AM PDT

2008/09/10 · 10:09

Well, that didn't take long. A one-hour debate and the campaign's probably over.

PEORIA — The three candidates for Illinois’ 18th Congressional District squared off this morning in the race’s first debate.

...Democrat Colleen Callahan responded to a question asking what unpopular or controversial issue she would champion by saying she would re-institute the draft [emphasis added], saying it would be the "fairest way" to rebuild the military stressed from handling the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. ...

"I know my campaign staff isn’t going to like me saying say this," Callahan said.

I'd say she's right on that count.

Callahan did add an caveat, though, saying time spent in the military could be swapped for another form of service.

Still, any form of service, military or otherwise won't go over well when it's compulsory.

Colleen Callahan was a long shot to win anyway, but I'd have to say that after this she has no chance.

IL-18: Schock fears truant students more than armed ones.

dogwhistle

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Tuesday September 09, 2008 · 10:02 AM PDT

2008/09/09 · 10:02

A quick check of Aaron Schock's voting record in the Illinois General Assembly shows how someone can gain a 100% rating from the NRA.

dogwhistle

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Sunday August 31, 2008 · 9:50 PM PDT

2008/08/31 · 21:50

Fox News would've been all over this if it had been Hillary and Chelsea.

I see it mentioned on here very often that Fox will spread anything damaging to Obama, regardless of its veracity - Obama's a Muslim, he's not an American, blah, blah. They live by the old saying - Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

Likewise, if it this story had been about Hillary and Chelsea and had come out during the primaries, this place would be going nuts with righteous indignation.

Call me naive, but if there's any truth to this, I think it will come out. Unless someone has some solid evidence, let's stay focussed and stick to debating the issues, regardless of how much we may want this to be true.

Creating our own echo chamber for rumors doesn't help anything. I've read it on here several times how there are no viral e-mails out there about McCain the way there are about Obama and that it showed how we have a higher standard. Let's prove it and resist the temptation to obsess on this story. It's more than likely to turn out to be so much conspiracy theory. The more weight we give it, the worse we'll look.

Let's get back to business. I want to win!

U.S. Diving Team was robbed! [Video]

dogwhistle

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Wednesday August 20, 2008 · 2:12 PM PDT

2008/08/20 · 14:12

Move over Nastia Liukin. Take a number Alicia Sacremone. Yet another Olympic athlete has a beef with the judges. This time, it's a diver.

I can't believe this didn't win gold last night. Check out the video from NBC Sports.

The commentators said that the most difficult dive is the reverse 1½ somersault with 4½ twists. But for my money, it's the "Triple Lindy".

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Matt Smith, Doctor Who and My Snickers Bar

Snark - What the heck is an "Obama Zombie"?

Dipping a toe in the Cesspool

Who's the fool?

IL Lt. Gov. Nominee beat up a hooker, threatened wife with STD

GOP's Face of the Future on MSNBC at 4:30PM EST

IL-18: An Undescended Pig Testicle scandal (seriously)

IL-18: Schock (R) hailed by Peoria Mayor as "Legend"

IL-18: Callahan comes out in favor of the draft at this morning's debate

IL-18: Schock fears truant students more than armed ones.

What if Fox had run a "fake pregnancy" story about Hillary and Chelsea?

U.S. Diving Team was robbed! [Video]