It's good to be Queen. Especially in Ohio.

I just hope there are enough observers at the polls to dampen the instances of fraud in this election--because the accusations will be flying from both sides. No matter who wins.

Shine, perishing Republic.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 11:59 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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BUMPED: Still a few hundred shy of my goal! Scroll down for new posts.

I just heard from the Nevada organizers, and they'd like me to come out and act as a poll observer, to keep things fair, and/or assist with their "get out the vote" effort.

I can manage this if I stay at a Motel 6 (or the equivalent), and if I can get $20-$40 from each of my regular readers.

I know that you all know I'm broke. I'm willing to contribute my time, but I'll need your help with housing and gasoline.

I eat next to nothing when I'm doing political travel, and since I'm driving out there I can load the car up with cheap snacks: apples and Luna bars have worked well when I'm playing "Girl Reporter." They'll also work fine for long days of getting out the vote (they tell me I may be at it for 10-12 hours a day). And I'll drink some milk each day, and take my vitamins.

But I cannot do this unless I raise $500-$700 from readers over the next week. (The more you give, the longer I can stay. They'd like me for ten days, but if I can stay there for a week it'll still help them out enormously.)

This is the most important election in a very long time—for economic reasons as much as for national security reasons. So please hit my tip jar, and send me out into the desert.

Thank you!

UPDATE: Bumped; I'm only halfway there, so keep those donations rolling in. No, I'm not going out there if I have to sleep in my car. Not in the high desert. If McCain loses Nevada and you didn't send me out there . . . well, you wouldn't want that on your conscience, now, would you? (Bumping this back up.)

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1 Okay, I chipped in. If you wind up not going to Nevada, spend it on gin with my blessings.

Posted by: Gordon at October 16, 2008 08:33 PM (52nKX)

2 Gregory, you can contribute as much as you'd like-no laws to consider here. You don't even have to use those fake names like Will Good and Ixvbdf. In fact, don't. PayPal, unlike the Democratic Party, has rules and standards. Ask all your friends to join the fun. Spread the word throughout all of Asia. It just might keep the economic miracle alive.

Posted by: Darrell at October 17, 2008 11:27 PM (XHJjx)

3 Or Mickey Mouse, eh, Darrell? Yeah, since I didn't hear back from Attila herself, I went ahead and hit the tipjar. But I'm still waiting for the pot sweetener [hint, hint]. PS Does anyone else notice the chequerboard pattern she uses in her comment boxes? Because I can't really see it on my LCD screen...

Posted by: Gregory at October 18, 2008 06:30 AM (N8lCm)

4 The checkerboard pattern shows in IE 7. It's doesn't appear when using Firefox 3.0.3. "Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn't it?" the plumber asked, complaining that he was being taxed "more and more for fulfilling the American dream." It's not that I want to punish your success," Obama responded. "I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they've got a chance for success too ... I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody." "So instead of cutting taxes with a kitchen knife we'll butter it up with wealth and spread it around like we earned it," the Democratic candidate continued. "It's a patented foreign blend that is guaranteed to help improve my standing in the polls, but it's made with 100% pure American taxpayer sweat, which once again shows how taxes can be patriotic." When asked to clarify how exactly this plan was going to work, Obama, who is currently ahead in the polls, explained that it was "quite simple: everyone will be contributing according to his abilities and consuming according to his needs, while special observers will be making sure that a worker's contribution does not go above or below the approved list of his abilities. Special distributors will also be making sure that a worker's needs do not exceed the quota based on the availability of the WealthSpread™ formula." "And, of course, there will also be watchers who will watch these watchers, and the watchers who will watch those watchers, and so on - leading to a full guaranteed employment for everybody." "What's not to vote for?" Obama finished as he was cheered on by a group of supporters wearing blue pins with the Obama logo and the words "Journalists for Obama." http://thepeoplescube.com/red/viewtopic.php?t=2417

Posted by: Darrell at October 18, 2008 12:11 PM (aMI3H)

5 Asking for money from your community, very socialist of you Attila. What ever happened to personal responsibility. Taking care of yourself, every chance you get you are ready for a handout, just like the banks, just like the special interest groups, nice example you are setting here. Just kidding, I'll pitch in. Azmat

Posted by: Azmat Hussain at October 23, 2008 12:01 PM (ZVMDn)

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Ace meditates on is various possible permutations, racial and not.

Two nights ago I was in Old Town Pasadena, and a guy with a clipboard in his hand was looking for prey, so I kept my head down; I wasn't in the mood. But he made eye contact with another guy closer to his age—some 20-something hipster and asked brightly, "would you like to register for Obama?"

"Already working for him," the other kid replied. By then I was safely past, but I couldn't help but wonder whether Kid #2 is an Obama supporter at all, or whether he's discovered that this is the best way to gracefully disengage from such encounters.

I don't think that anyone who lives on either Coast, or in a college town, is going to be shouting it to the rooftops that they're voting for someone who has an "R" after his or her name.

And I think the polls are more meaningless in this particular election than they usually are, which is saying quite a lot.

Hey—have I mentioned lately that the Log Cabin Republicans are endorsing McCain, who refuses to allow gay-baiting in his campaign?

Meanwhile, the PUMAs are on the prowl; they may not want to be confrontational with their friends, but I don't think they're big fans of the misogyny in the Democratic party.

And there are plenty of black people who are voting with their brains—not their melanin.

Remember the story of the Florida panhandle in the 2000 election: voters in that second Fla time zone didn't bother showing up, because the media called the state for Gore before the polls closed in the panhandle. Had all the panhandle voters showed up, Florida never would have been disputed, and the nation wouldn't have had to suffer through "Bush v. Gore," the Supreme Court having to step in, the cries of "Hail to the Thief," and "He's Not My President." All that angst, all the drama. So unnecessary.

Vote. No matter what you read on the internet, see on television, or hear on the radio. No matter what state is called for whom. Just vote, vote, vote.

YOU ARE THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE; VOTE!

Posted by: Attila Girl at 12:40 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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for animation aficionados, and
Freakazoid! fans in particular.

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What a surprise.

I'm sure we'll be hearing an apology from the mainstream media and from Barack Obama himself (after all, he brought it up in the debate last night). But he'll be wearing his "Sarah Palin Is a Cunt" T-Shirt, so I may find myself doubting his sincerity.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 11:09 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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. . . speaks.

I suspect this guy is about to get trashed like a Bill Clinton girlfriend; the media will party like it's 1999.

Via AllahP at Hot Air.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 10:57 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I love that guy.

h/t: Scumbucket, over at Rusty's site.

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It's like I just didn't let myself see it too clearly, or something:

h/t: Gregory.

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Via AllahP at Hot Air, who has a Fox News interview with Frank Luntz up about how effective this ad has been shown to be.

Apparently, Let Freedom Ring produces great negative ads about Obama. Here's another one:

I got a suggestion for you whiney, let's-give-up-now, we're-doomed-to-socialism bloggers: take these viral. After all, the average voter will actually be paying attention by . . . well, by Halloween or so.

Plenty of time to ejicate 'em.

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. . . gave me 27 Lunestas, because he's concerned about the "profile" of Ambien for "long-term use."

I told him I'd heard that Lunesta can leave a bad taste in one's mouth—even to the point of making food taste bad.

But I shall give it a try. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe next week.

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I trust that G-d will see to it that one of the following people show up, so that I don't cuss too much:

• The Stern Twin, who does not like to see her mother smoke, drink and cuss; nor her mother's associates. When we do, she gives us Stern Looks.*

• Baldilocks. Every time I cussed at the Palin rally (and the bloggers' "afterparty") the weekend before last she was able to point to a nearby child who might have overheard me. Eventually I realized that Juliette has a supernatural ability to transport children under the age of ten at will—provided someone in uses the F-word in her presence.

And it turns out that I used the F-word a lot. Who knew?

*The Stern Twin—whom I love as much as My Twin—always makes me think of this poem:

ON HEARING THAT THE STUDENTS OF
OUR NEW UNIVERSITY HAVE JOINED THE
AGITATION AGAINST IMMORAL LITERATURE

Where, where but here have Pride and Truth,
That long to give themselves for wage,
To shake their wicked sides at youth
Restraining reckless middle-age?
—W.B. Yeats

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it'll be too soon. Would you guys buck the hell up?

Grow a pair, goddammit. Testes, ovaries. I don't care: grow a couple of twin warts somewhere near your collarbone, for all I care. But grow something.

If I wanted to hang out with Eeyore, I would have bought myself a stuffed fucking animal, wouldn't I?

Posted by: Attila Girl at 10:20 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Leftists are being told not to let "them" steal votes.

Mickey Mouse is concerned; animated characters have a history of being underrepresented at the polls in any event. It's rumored that Hanna-Barbera characters will be especially hard-hit by voter fraud, such as we often see when nonexistent people aren't allowed to vote. Fortunately, ACORN is on the case.

Via Frank of America, who is considering taking me off his mail list, but can probably be bought off with a drink so we can continue using each other for oppo research.

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How fun. (And, as a reader reminds me—NOT SAFE FOR WORK!)

Make fun of the Bay Area all you want, but some of them aren't so full of themselves that they can't have a little good, clean fun by taking off their clothes.

There are worse things that people do for recreation.

I believe I may have an unusual number of friends who are nudists. Of course, I may also have a higher-than usual proportion of left-handed friends.

Too bad the next President isn't going to be a nudist. Somehow, that prospect would fill me with a wicked glee.

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says it isn't over until it's over.

[T]he latest Gallup tracking poll reveals that there are nearly twice as many undecided voters this year than there were in the last presidential election. The Investor's Business Daily/TIPP poll (which was closest to the mark in predicting the 2004 outcome -- 0.4% off the actual result) now says this is a three-point race.

This week also brought a reminder that Sen. Obama hasn't closed the sale. The Washington Post/ABC poll found 45% of voters still don't think he's qualified to be president, about the same number who doubted his qualifications in March.

This is seven points more than George W. Bush's highest reading in 2000 and the worst since Michael Dukakis's 56% unqualified rating in 1988. It explains why Mr. Obama has ignored Democratic giddiness and done two things to keep victory from slipping away.

First, he is using his money to try to keep John McCain from gaining traction. The Obama campaign raised $67 million in September and may be on track to raise $100 million in October. Sen. McCain opted last month for roughly $85 million in public financing, giving him less than half of Mr. Obama's funds for the campaign's final two months. Even with robust Republican National Committee fund raising to augment his spending, Mr. McCain is at a severe financial disadvantage.

So Mr. Obama is spending $35 million on TV this week versus the McCain/RNC total of $17 million. Mr. Obama is outspending Mr. McCain on TV in Virginia by a ratio of 4 to 1, in Florida by 3 to 1, and in Missouri and Nevada by better than 2 to 1. The disparity is likely to grow in the campaign's final weeks.

Money alone, however, won't decide the contest. John Kerry and the Democrats outspent Mr. Bush and the GOP in 2004 by $121 million and still lost.

Mr. Obama's other strategy is to do all he can to look presidential, including buying very expensive half-hour slots to address the country next week. He wants to give a serious, Oval-Office type address. This is smart. People appreciate Mr. Obama's empathy on the economy, but as they take a long look at what he wants to do about it, they will be less impressed, especially if Mr. McCain draws sharp contrasts with clear policy proposals.

Mr. Obama is trying to make the case that his lack of experience or record should not disqualify him. But in doing so, he seems to recognize that the U.S. is still a center-right country. His TV ads promise tax cuts and his radio ads savage Mr. McCain's health-care plan as a tax increase. It's a startling campaign conversion for the most liberal member of the Senate. We'll know on Election Day if he is able to get away with it.

My emphasis.

I know I'm in the minority, but I still think "no." This depends partly on whether people can bring themselves to believe this "tax cuts" nonsense. If they remember the Clinton years, they'll be skeptical: the economy was healthy during the Clinton Administration despite his tax cuts, not because of them. Raising them now <>would drive us into a recession.

Similarly, Mr. McCain appears to be making three important course corrections. First, he and Gov. Sarah Palin are sharpening their stump speeches so their sound bites come off well on TV. Gone are offhand remarks and awkward comments read from notes perched on a podium. In are teleprompters and carefully crafted arguments. Mr. McCain is also more at ease than before and has an ebullient, come-from-behind underdog optimism that will serve him well in the final weeks.

Certainly better than Obama's smart-ass smile did tonight. That was coasting, and McCain was right to point out that polish isn't everything: one must listen to a person's actual words.

Second, Mr. McCain is shaping a story line that draws on well-founded concerns about Mr. Obama's lack of record or experience. Mr. McCain is also bowing to reality and devoting most of his time to the economy. His narrative is [that] he's the conservative reformer who'll lead and work hard to get things done, while Mr. Obama is the tax-and-spend liberal who's unprepared to lead and unwilling to act.

Mr. McCain is hitting Mr. Obama for wanting to raise taxes in difficult economic times, especially on small business and for the purpose of redistributing income, and for having lavish spending plans at a time when the economy is faltering. He's criticizing Mr. Obama for lingering on the sidelines while Mr. McCain dove in to help pass a rescue plan, necessary no matter how distasteful. And he's attacking Mr. Obama for not joining the fight in 2005 when reformers like Mr. McCain tried to rein in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Mr. McCain's other adjustment is his schedule. His campaign understands the dire circumstances it faces and is narrowing his travels almost exclusively to Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Missouri, Colorado and Nevada. If he carries those states, while losing only Iowa and New Mexico from the GOP's 2004 total, Mr. McCain will carry 274 Electoral College votes and the White House. It's threading the needle, but it's come to that.

This task, while not impossible, will be difficult.

There's a lot of negativity out there, and I think in some cases it comes down to ego: people would prefer to be proven correct, and they cannot help but keep track of the polls, biased as these may be.

That isn't how you win. You win by winning, not by throwing negativity around.

American people trust McCain in a way that they do not trust "Senator Government" (a big "thank you" here to Senator McCain's unconscious mind). The race will be be razor-thin, but McCain will still take it.

h/t: Hot Air.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 07:52 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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He says, "a plague on both your houses."

And who can blame him?

Posted by: Attila Girl at 07:33 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Right here.

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And he's fun and cuddly, too! He appears to travel around with a friend a lot of the time. (Is that Mrs. Squirrel? And how big is the extended squirrel family?)

Harry Smith of CBS talks to Mr. and Mrs. Squirrel about corruption in ACORN, and its troubling ties to Barack Obama throughout his political career.

Mr. Squirrel and his friends have a serious message, though:

We are a group of concerned squirrels traveling around the country in an effort to highlight Barack ObamaÂ’s relationship with ACORN, a group that is being investigated for wide-scale voter fraud. Some examples of ObamaÂ’s connections with ACORN include:

• The Obama campaign paying more than $800,000 to ACORN for Get-Out-The Vote efforts;

• the campaign having originally “misrepresented” the groupÂ’s work to the FEC;

• Obama having sought out and received the endorsement of ACORNÂ’s political arm during the Democratic Primary, The Woods Fund (on whose Board Of Directors Obama served);

• [Obama] having given almost $200,000 in grants to ACORN;

• Obama having directed Project Vote and later having taught classes for “future leaders identified by ACORN and the Centers for New Horizons”;

• Obama having been a member of a team of lawyers who represented ACORN in a suit against the state of Illinois.

To see read more about Senator ObamaÂ’s relationship with ACORN, visit Obama's Acorn Tree!

Okay! I will!

See? Even the most fervent Obama supporters have questions about ACORN!

Via Jonathan Martin, via Memeorandum.

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I always get a lot of search traffic this time of year for this classic Planck's Constant post. It originally ran two years ago, and it's got some great ideas/fine gourd-based artwork in it.*

* Okay. I don't think pumpkins are gourds, though I know that gourds were used in previous incarnations of the tradition. (My understanding is that root vegetables were carved in Ireland, which seems appropriate enough.) But "fine summer-squash-based artwork" seemed a bit unwieldy. Anyone have good ideas for recasting that last sentence in my entry? I don't seem to have any linguistic dexterity today.

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Iowahawk's hipster "guest columnists," wearing their "Sarah Palin Is a Cunt" T-shirts, lay it on the line:

Think about it. With Barack Obama in office, assholes like us will fade into a distant unpleasant memory. Don't get us wrong, we'll still be hanging around, probably as junior staffers in some federal arts agency. But you have our word on it -- we'll be practically invisible. No more C-word t shirts, no more intersection blockades, no more vandalism until the next election cycle. Nosirree, we'll be timid and well-behaved and quiet as church mice, working away on grant proposals. We think you will also be pleased to know that under Obama, negative news stories and the steady flow of shitty anti-American war movies will virtually disappear overnight.

We know what you're thinking -- "that sounds awesome, but what about the angry right wingers? Won't they suddenly start storming congressional hearings and vandalizing military recruiting stations? Won't they start producing Obama assassination fantasy plays at the local college?" Don't worry, as members of the incoming Administration, we will identify any potential troublemakers and prosecute them to the full extent of President Obama's new civility laws. And with the re-establishment of the Fairness Doctrine, you won't have to worry about accidentally tuning into right wing hate radio.

But it's a democracy, so by all means feel free to vote for McCain. But don't forget what we're capable of. Do you really think we'll give it a rest? Do you really think we've pegged our ugly-o-meter? Hey, friend-o, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

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