Could this possibly be the last rambling, incoherent speech we'll ever hear from Sarah Palin? Say it ain't so, Joe!
No. It isn't. But Sarah Palin did give her farewell to Alaska speech today. Let's look at some excerpts:
What an absolutely beautiful day it is, and it is my honor to speak to all Alaskans, to our Alaskan family this last time as your governor. And it is always great to be in Fairbanks. The rugged rugged hardy people that live up here and some of the most patriotic people whom you will ever know live here
Also my husband and his buddies that want to secede from the Union.
And getting up here I say it is the best road trip in America soaring through nature's finest show. Denali, the great one, soaring under the midnight sun.
Yes, Denali. The Mountain that soars. Soaring is flying, right? Just checking.
And then in the summertime such extreme summertime about a hundred and fifty degrees hotter than just some months ago, than just some months from now, with fireweed blooming along the frost heaves and merciless rivers that are rushing and carving and reminding us that here, Mother Nature wins.
Until we kick Mother Nature in the shins and start drilling, baby, drilling!
It is as throughout all Alaska that big wild good life teeming along the road that is north to the future.
If this is our future, get me Doctor Kervorkian!
And it is our men and women in uniform securing it, and we are facing tough challenges in America with some seeming to just be Hell bent maybe on tearing down our nation, perpetuating some pessimism, and suggesting American apologetics
a⋅pol⋅o⋅get⋅ics
/əˌpɒləˈdʒɛtɪks/Show Spelled Pronunciation–noun (used with a singular verb) the branch of theology concerned with the defense or proof of Christianity.
And first, some straight talk
aka lies and gibberish
some straight talk for some, just some in the media because another right protected for all of us is freedom of the press, and you all have such important jobs reporting facts and informing the electorate, and exerting power to influence.
Exerting power to influence? That's a thing, right?
Democracy depends on you, and that is why, that's why our troops are willing to die for you.
Many a soldier's dying words have been "this one's for you, Frank Rich of the New York Times!"
So, how 'bout in honor of the American soldier, ya quite makin' things up.
'Cuz makin' shit up is my bit! You don't see me stealin' yer "dispassionate reporting of the facts" routine, do ya?
and one other thing for the media, our new governor has a very nice family too, so leave his kids alone.
See, if I disguise a jab at the press as concern for someone else's family, it makes me seem kinda noble. Never mind that I have trotted my kids out anywhere there was a camera for the last two years.
OK, today is a beautiful day and today as we swear in Sean Parnell, no one will be happier than I to witness by God's grace Alaskans with strength of character advancing our beloved state. Sean has that.
Has what?
Don't forget Alaskans you are the resource owners per our constitution
And the workers must own the means of production! Power to the people!
Let me tell you, Alaskans really need to stick together on this with new leadership in this area especially, encouraging new leadership... got to stiffen your spine to do what's right for Alaska when the pressure mounts, because you're going to see anti-hunting, anti-second amendment circuses from Hollywood and here's how they do it.
They use these delicate, tiny, very talented celebrity starlets, they use Alaska as a fundraising tool for their anti-second amendment causes. Stand strong, and remind them patriots will protect our guaranteed, individual right to bear arms, and by the way, Hollywood needs to know, we eat, therefore we hunt.
Many Alaskans would face starvation if not allowed to shoot wolves from a helicopter!
but nothing, nothing could have succeeded without my right-hand man Kris Perry. She is the sharpest, boldest, hardest-working partner. Kris is my right-hand man and much success is due to Kris.
Oh, was I not supposed to mention that she's a man? Sorry Kris!
Alaskans will remember that years ago, remember we sported the old bumper sticker that said, "Alaska. We Don't Give a Darn How They Do It Outside?" Do you remember that? I remember that, and remember it was because we would be different. We'd roll up our sleeves, and we would diligently sow and reap
Using our Old-Testament-era agricultural techniques, praying that a plague of locusts might not descend upon us.
and we can still do this to carve wealth out of the wilderness and make our living on the water, with strong hands and innovative minds, now with smarter technology.
All of which was developed in the lower 48 and paid for largely by Federal R & D grants.
We must be prudent and persistent and press for the people's right to responsibly develop God-given resources for the maximum benefit of the people.
From each according to his ability to each according to his need!
And we have come so far in just 50 years. We're no longer a frontier outpost on the periphery of the world's greatest nation.
Now we're a frontier outpost on the periphery of Canada.
Alaska will lead with energy, we will prove you can be both pro-development and pro-environment, because no one loves their clean air and their land and their wildlife and their water more than an Alaskan. We will protect it.
Now start drilling! And get my helicopter, I'm gonna go shoot me some wolves!
Yes, America must look north to the future for security, for energy independence, for our strategic location on the globe. Alaska is the gate-keeper of the continent.
'Cuz some Siberian motherfuckers might try crossing the Berings Strait, fighting their way through Canada down into Oregon, then across the Great Plains, and next thing ya know, they're attackin' the White House!
some still are choosing not to hear why I made the decision to chart a new course to advance the state. And it should be so obvious to you. (indicating heckler) It is because I love Alaska this much, sir
I love Alaska far too much to leave her in the hands of a vapid, uninformed political dilettante with delusions of grandeur and a persecution complex.
with this decision now, I will be able to fight even harder for you, for what is right, for truth. And I have never felt like you need a title to do that.
Vote for me. Palin 2012!
when I took the oath to serve you, I promised...remember I promised to steadfastly and doggedly guard the interests of this great state like that grizzly guards her cubs, as a mother naturally guards her own.
As a mother protects her underaged daughter from getting knocked up by a hillbilly meth-cooker, um, never mind!
And I will keep that vow wherever the road may lead. Todd and I, and Track, Bristol, Tripp, Willow, Piper, Trig...I think I got 'em all.
Goddammit, can't you media types quit talking about my family!
We will forever be so grateful for the honor of our lifetime to have served you.
Not grateful enough to finish out "our" term, but y'know, thanks!
And so on. . . . .
Sarah, we hardly knew ye! Or more to the point, we hardly knew what the fuck ye were talking about!
(Here's a link to some video highlights on Gawker)
Michele Bachmann (R-Insanistan) is trying to scare people away from a National health care plan, and this is what she comes up with:
we taxpayers will subsidize that government option, and that government option will be 30%-40% cheaper than any private plan out there. It will probably offer equal or better benefits than any plan, but cheaper.
Here's the audio:
Michele Bachmann is so freakin stupid she makes my head hurt. I can not believe that the people of Minnesota actually thought that she was someone who should represent them in Congress. She actually gives a pretty good argument FOR a national health care plan while thinking that she is arguing against it. Then she warns that the government plan will put private insurers out of business, as if that should horrify us. Oh, God no! Not poor little Aetna! Not Health Net! Oh, the humanity! Anyone who has has to deal with a health insurance company already wishes the SOB's would go out of business and their Executives should die broke, alone and unloved.
Then, because she is Michele Bachmann and there's only so long she can go without spouting loony conspiracy theories, she claims that once a person reaches 55 years of age, they will be forced to go to their doctor for euthanasia. Looks like someone thinks that "Logan's Run" was a documentary.
People of Minnesota: You need to rid yourself of this fatuous, slow-witted, deranged sideshow of a representative. Vote for anyone else in 2010. You're making Oklahoma look good and that's hard to pull off.
1. "Friends" was a hit TV show and continues to be successful in syndication. Has there ever been a less-funny show than "Friends?" (Yes, "Small Wonder," but other than that) And what an obnoxious cast! Hey, I'm Matt Perry. I have a lame sarcastic wisecrack that isn't funny for every situation. I'm David Schwimmer. I whine. Seriously, that's all I do is whine like an adenoidal middle-schooler and they actually pay me! A lot! Hi, I'm Lisa Kudrow. I pretend to be impossibly stupid. Yeah, I know we already have Matt LeBlanc to act semi-retarded, but I guess we needed two people to act like the kind of slow-witted dullard that could never survive in the real world (outside of the Alaska Statehouse). I'm Courtney Cox. I'm completely non-descript in every way. One time, I danced with Bruce Springsteen. And I used to be on Family Ties, I think. Or maybe growing pains? No, Family Ties. Yeah. So there's that. I'm one of the writers here on the show. My job is to make sure that every punchline can be seen coming a mile away. Down Main Street. In a cab. There won't be anything remotely amusing, I guess is what I'm getting at. Hey, Perry--say something using the word "so" inappropriately, and emphasize the word "so."
Um, Ok, Hey writer, you are so not getting your contract renewed!
And cue laugh track!
Look how kooky we are!
2. The hipster douchebags of the ATL manage to choke down this foul-tasting, repugnant swill and pretend to enjoy it "ironically"Oh, um,Atlanta hipster douchebags, FYI, the sanFrancisco hipster douchebags were doing the PBR / trucker hat faux-redneck thing like 10 years ago. So, um, yeah. Just cut it out. It's not funny.
3. Some people honestly think that we have a health care system worth defending. Or that we have a system at all. Because we don't. There is no system. Some people get health care via their employers, some get it from the government (Medicare, the VA, etc) some have to buy it on their own, and way too many just don't have health insurance at all. And all of us who do have some sort of private insurance are at the mercy of people whose job it is to find ways for the company NOT to pay for things.
Who honestly thinks that it's a good idea to put your health in the hands of companies whose only way to make profits is to avoid paying for medical procedures? How does that even make sense? If you want your car fixed, you take it to a mechanic who gets money by fixing cars. You don't take it to someone who gets money from you up front, then tries to weasel out of doing any repairs and just keep your money. No other business works like insurance. The insurance companies have to deny payment in order to stay in business. So you really can't blame them for doing what businesses do. Businesses try to turn profits. That is all they do. You can't expect them to operate at a loss just because you need to, oh let's say stay alive. That's fine. That's what businesses do. But that's why businesses should not be running health care. Foxes eat chickens. That's how they stay alive, by eating smaller, weaker animals. You don't blame the fox, but you also don't put him in charge of your chicken coop. Some things are just too important to be left to the whims of the market. Like the police. Or the fire department. Or the military. So we fund these things with tax dollars. A certain portion of everyone's taxes goes to pay for having a fire department. And if your house catches fire, the fire department comes and puts it out. They don't ask how much you paid. They don't put out your neighbor's fire first because he made more money and therefore paid more taxes than you did. They just put out fires. And nobody complains about "socialist, government-run fire departments." Nobody complains about our socialized police protection. Does anyone think that we should disband their city's government-run police department and have everyone hire their own private security guards? Of course not. So why when it comes to medical care do so many people think that private for-profit insurance companies would do a better job than a single-payer government-administered health plan?
Every civilized country in the world has a national health plan but us. And you hear a lot of horror stories about these plans from apologists for the big insurance companies. For some perspective, see this article from the always insightful "Womanist Musings" written by an actual Canadian.
(if you don't want to spend the time looking at the boring numbers, what it boils down to is other countries [Brittain, Japan, France] spend less money on healthcare than we do, they have better coverage than we do, and they live longer than we do.)
United States
Population: 302 million
Life expectancy at birth: 78.1
Health spending as part of GDP: 15.3%
System type: Employer-employee based (54%) and government funding (46%). Government covers all older adults and the disabled (Medicare), the poor (Medicaid), veterans, government employees and Native Americans.
Coverage: 82% of people under 65; 100% of people 65 or over.
Average annual per-person spending: Total: $6,402. Breakdown: $2,884 by government; $2,676 for private insurance, with 52% paid by employers, 48% paid by employees; $842 by consumer out-of-pocket
Great Britain
Population: 61 million
Life expectancy at birth: 79
Health spending as part of GDP: 8.3%
System type: Tax-funded, government-run.
Coverage: Universal coverage. All citizens and legal residents.
Average annual per-person spending: Total: $2,723. Breakdown: $2,371 by government; $352 on supplemental private insurance, OTC drugs, direct payments to doctors.
Japan
Population: 127.7 million
Life expectancy at birth: 82.1
Health spending as part of GDP: 8%
System type: Universal coverage. Compulsory employer-employee financed national health insurance (52%); government-paid program for people over 70, the poor and small businesses.
Coverage: 100 % -- all citizens and legal residents.
Average annual per-person spending: Total: $2,358 Breakdown: $1,927 by government; $71 on private insurance; $360 consumer out-of-pocket
France
Population: 61.7 million
Life expectancy at birth: 80.3
Health spending as part of GDP: 11.1%
System type: Universal coverage. Employment-based system, with supplemental private insurance.
Coverage: 100%
Average annual per-person spending: Total: $3,374. Breakdown: $2,693 by government, $448 on private insurance, $233 consumer out-of-pocket
4. some guys still insist on combing their hair into "faux-hawks" (By the way, I believe that I coined the term faux-hawk several years ago when the style first became popular among San Francisco waiters)