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March 28, 2024

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Friday, January 28, 2022

Oyster Roundup – On Inbreeding, Moose Cheese, and GOP Muppets

~Thick and fast they came at last, and more, and more, and more!

 

Brilliant Public Relations from the Coal Industry

So, a study comes out that was done in coal mining areas in West Virginia, where mountaintop removal threatens the health of residents, devastates ecosystems and leaves the “Mountain State” far less mountainous than it once was. The study says that women who live in coal mining areas have a greater risk of having children with birth defects. But industry lawyers say that it may not be the toxins associated with coal mining, it may be the INBREEDING. Wow.

Considering Alaska still allows first cousins to marry, I can only imagine what kind of awesome ad campaign awaits us from the Pebble Partnership and others when their mining fallout has consequences.

 

Best. Tweet. Ever.

Thanks to the inimitable Andy Borowitz for the best tweet ever. He notes:

“If the next Republican debate were performed entirely with Muppets no one would notice.”

Say Cheese!

The most expensive cheese in the world isn’t French, or Swiss. It’s $500/lb. and its Swedish. No, it’s not from some exotic fjord cow, or blonde sheep… It’s moose cheese. I know. Wow. Let that sink in a minute. That means someone actually has to milk a moose. I don’t know about you, but I know a lot of people and I know a lot of moose, but I don’t know a lot of people who are willing to attempt milking a moose. But, in Sweden, such hardy souls exist in the form of Christer and Ulla Johannson who milk three cow moose who were orphaned as calves and have been lovingly raised on a 59 acre moose dairy farm named “The Moose House.” About 660 pounds of cheese are made per year. “Fortunately, they know and love us, because they weigh about 1,100 pounds,’ said Johannson.

This is Alaska

You’ve got to love a newspaper article that begins, “Police aren’t sure why a drunk woman broke into an East Anchorage home early Tuesday and tried to steal a 77-year-old woman’s pug…” (Hint: Maybe because she was drunk). But no shrinking violet was the Alaskan senior, and victim of the pug thievery. She chased down the drunken dognapper in her pickup truck. Dog and owner are happily reunited.

The Undefudiated Comes to Alaska?

Stephen Bannon, the filmmaker of the Sarah Palin puffumentary “The Undefeated” has high hopes for the film.

He’s shooting for the kind of crowds that Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11” brought in. The most successful documentary of all time, “Fahrenheit 9/11” grossed more than $222 million internationally and won some 26 awards, including the prestigious Palm d’Or at Cannes.

Having seen the film, I hope Mr. Bannon doesn’t hold his breath for the Palm d’Or. Well, actually…

The Alaska Dispatch speculates about whether the film will be shown in Alaska or not. Apparently “a lot of research” was done to find out exactly where Palin is still popular. She seems to have a few strongholds in places like Houston, Phoenix and Kennesaw, Georgia. Strongholds in Alaska? Not so much. Her current negatives are well over 50%.

Comments

comments

Comments
52 Responses to “Oyster Roundup – On Inbreeding, Moose Cheese, and GOP Muppets”
  1. beth says:

    Oh, Lord — she’s dusted off one of her gems and is using it again:
    “““““““““““““
    During an appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity” on Wednesday night, Sarah Palin sent a strong message to Republicans on the issue of raising the nation’s deficit limit.

    “We cannot default, but we cannot afford to retreat right now either,” the former Alaska governor said. “Now is not time to retreat, it’s time to reload.”

    She continued, “We reload with reality by giving facts and numbers to the American public so that those of us across the United States can start chiming in and letting our representatives know that we will not capitulate.”

    From here: “Sarah Palin On Debt Ceiling: It’s ‘Not Time To Retreat, It’s Time To Reload’ (VIDEO)”
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/13/sarah-palin-debt-ceiling_n_897873.html#comments
    “““““““““““““
    The beyotch of a woman is truly getting on my LAST nerve! beth.

    • leenie17 says:

      You would think that, with her crosshairs connection to Gabby Giffords and the tragedy in Tucson (SIX people died, Sarah!), SOMEone would have told her to retire that retreat/reload cliche for good.

      But, of course, she would never listen to them anyway.

      Is she ever going to just go away?

      • OMG says:

        Luckily she seems to be fading beyond Fox and FB…the only place I’ve seen reference to her ‘reload’ statement this morning was on Politico. Not long ago, every news outlet would have led with her comments. Of course, I haven’t checked CNN yet as they usually give her all the air time she needs.

  2. GypsyGirl says:

    For the last 2 1/2 years, my husband has owned a convenience store and the price of the regular tall/giant single Slim Jims has not changed. This is with both the wholesale price for one box and the box with the small/short Slim Jims. And while the company does not print the price on the package, generally they run at $1.19 to $1.29 just as the spokesperson stated. With the mini ones, you’ll see them priced at either 25 or 29 cents a piece or 4/$1.00 or 5/$1.00 depending on the store owners.
    And mind you that the price still did not rise in June ’09 when there was a fire in the N.C. factory which was caused by a gas explosion. While we couldn’t get our hands on them for a few months where we purchase our supplies, we did take note that the price did not go up when they went back into production.
    Now another company that has the same product, does print the price on the product packaging is also $1.29 for the large one that’s the same size as the giant Slim Jim. Which means that no store owner can charge less or more then the printed price on the package.

    Ergo, PAYME PAYlin is, as usual, talking out of her ass.

  3. aussiegal77 says:

    Muppets! hahaha so true!

  4. aussiegal77 says:

    One of the great strengths of the British parliamentary system, in my mind, is Question Time. Here is a link (it’s 32 mins but most of the action is in the first 10 to 20 mins) to today’s Question Time as David Cameron fields questions from his own bench and from the opposition about the Murdoch scandal. It is a sight to behold and I have to say, Cameron handled himself very well under the circumstances:

    http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2011/07/cameron-cuts-murdoch-loose.html

    I for one would LOVE to see this type of practice here in the US. I have no doubts that President Barack Obama would take these Question Time sessions in his stride. After all – he already fielded questions from the GOP last year on healthcare reform. Question Time is a wonderful test of any politicians grasp of the issues in their district and provides the opportunity to ensure these issues are getting the proper attention. Plus – CSPAN would be WAY more entertaining =D

    Now……imagine Palin at Question Time……..

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! Yeah, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing either.

    • ks sunflower says:

      I love watching the discussion in England’s Parliament on C-Span. There is a lively, articulate, sometimes rather breathtaking give and take. Our politicians get a free ride in comparison.

      People like Palin, Bachmann, Boehner, McConnell and their ilk would never be able to think on their feet fast enough to appear reasonable or even competent. I think they would wet themselves with fear and frustration. What fun it would be – – plus, often, not always, you get to see a person’s true character when under pressure such as is seen in these sessions.

      • aussiegal77 says:

        Absolutely agree. I can think of many of the GOP loud mouths whimpering in fear at the very thought of having to answer questions on the spot, live with just your notes.

  5. leenie17 says:

    I am simply astonished at the words that are now coming out of Yertle the Turtle McConnell’s mouth these days. He MUST have had a complete mental breakdown to actually say what he’s saying in public. I have no doubt he’s been muttering this stuff to himself for years, but now he’s actually admitting it on record.

    Ready for this latest bit of…I don’t even know what to call it?

    He’s decided that, since the Republicans can’t get everything their way, all of the time, we should just rewrite the Constitution and get rid of elections.

    Seriously. That’s what he said. On the Senate floor this morning.

    “The Constitution must be amended to keep the government in check. We’ve tried persuasion. We’ve tried negotiations. We’re tried elections. Nothing has worked.”

    http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/07/13/267791/mcconnell-hates-democracy/

    Because, really, who needs free elections? Just because millions of people in this country and all over the world have sacrificed their lives to achieve what we have had for 200+ years, doesn’t mean we should have to keep it this way. If you have those silly free elections and just anyone is allowed to vote, then sometimes the ‘wrong kind’ of people get elected and we simply can’t have that. If you can’t win the fair way, then cheat. If that doesn’t work, just change the rules so you end up the winner, no matter what. I suppose he thinks that we should just have our representatives (ALL conservative, of course) appointed by…well, probably the Koch brothers since they seem to be in charge of the Republican party anyway.

    And these are the LEADERS of our government??? Bring on the Muppets…PLEASE!!!

    • beth says:

      Another goodie from Mitch:

      “I refuse to help Barack Obama get reelected by marching Republican­s into a position where we have co-ownersh­ip of a bad economy,” — McConnell

      So, rather than admit we are ALL in this *together*­, he would rather see the economy go from [its current] “bad” to the inevitable and exponentia­lly *worse*?

      Is he really that petty?

      Does he really hold that much animosity towards Obama that he’d rather see our nation tank than work to help repair it?

      Gee, what a fine leader is McConnell — what a fine example he sets for our government and our citizens. Not! beth.

      • leenie17 says:

        I read that one too. Seems to me the Republicans already have the great majority of the ‘ownership’ of this bad economy since Shrub and his Band of Merry Idiots put us here in the first place. Certainly the Dems had some part in it but the greatest responsibility lies directly in the shoulders of the Republicans. Americans don’t have THAT short a memory!

        Oh, that’s right…deficits don’t matter until a Democrat (and he’s a black man, too!) gets into the White House!

        And as for your question – “Is he really that petty?” – Ummmm, yes!

      • Moose Pucky says:

        Yes, he is really that petty.

    • John says:

      Just because millions of people disagree with him is no reason why he shouldn’t get his way. The Koch brothers et al have promised they can stay in congress and appear to be important as long as the big business gets to make all the decisions, and we need to get rid of those silly elections to make sure that happens.

    • ks sunflower says:

      lennie, your reference to the infamous Koch brothers seeming to be in charge of the Republican party resonated with me.

      Look at this. The Kochs are no longer even trying to hide, nor are the bought-and-paid for politicians like Kansas Govenor Brownback. Brownback did an end-run around our Kansas Attorney General to hire the Kochs’ attorneys to fifth a challenge to their anti-Planned Parenthood agenda.

      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/12/kansas-planned-parenthood-koch-brothers_n_896348.html

      The Kochs are running things – certainly here in Kansas. To my dismay, no one seems to outraged – other than the few progressives in the state. I am almost vibrating with frustration that no one seems to be paying attention. I think the apathy is why the Koch are becoming more less careful in covering their tracks They seem to think they have a clear path in front of them to take over.

    • Riverwoman says:

      After all the persuasion and negotiations that have not worked, just exactly WHO does McConnell think is going to get together and agree on the language to be included in a re-written constitution? One tea-bagger in the group, and the writing would end at “We the People” because there would be endless bickering about which people should be allowed to have constitutional rights.

  6. Zyxomma says:

    Moose cheese! That’s a shocker. Since my only encounter with a moose in the wild was seeing a lovely cow at a few yards’ distance (in Maine, on a detour from a hiking trail), I’m not at all surprised that it’s the world’s most costly cheese. Considering the height of the lovely lady I saw, I could only milk a moose if I stood on a ladder!

    • Man_from_Unk says:

      Moose cheese is costly because you don’t get gallons when you milk a moose. I’ve heard that you can get less than a quart a day. Besides that, moose are not bred to be giving milk like milk cows are. I wonder if the moose are given a special diet in order to provide enough milk for 220 pounds of cheese a year – mooseoids.

      • mike from iowa says:

        joe-ks.com/archives_jul2004/Moose_Cheese.htm The three mooses have names and you can read about them at this site.

  7. Cassie Jeep says:

    A little OT, but the US Women’s soccer team beat France 3-1 and are headed to the World Cup final on Sunday!

  8. CO almost native says:

    Bachmann may end up the winner in uber-evangelical Iowa, but her huband’s controversial clinic should put her Presidential hopes in the dumper.

    • Dagian says:

      I sure hope it does. They’re both twisted, but I think he may be just a bit more so.

      Maybe someone should tell JK Rowling that over here, Bellatrix succeeded in marrying Voldemort!

    • Simple Mind says:

      The problem, as Nate Silver and alot of other pollsters are pointing out, is that the Republican Party is more than any time in recent history becoming dependent upon a single group, the very conservative. Moderates are objects of derision and have been staying home. Romney could easily be leading in the overall party polls but if the wackadoodles are the ones who come out to vote ……… Not necessarily a bad thing for Progressives. A Presidential campaign is a long, hard road. Once the press is no longer distracted by sideshows like “Godfather Pizza” Cain and “My State is Shut Down” Pawlenty, Bachmann’s history of wackiness would come to the fore. I mean, anyone can hit a home run on any given day, but if you are Obama, would you rather run against Romney or Bachmann?

  9. beth says:

    Any one else notice how totally different our two favorite (R)/Tea Bagging women react when called out on a specific blatant lie(s)? Quite interesting…

    To be sure, if it’s only a partial lie, Missy QuittyPants will become highly indignant and will (try to) convolute it on both Twitter and Facebook, but if it’s an out-and-out whopper that she’s called on, she does one of two things: 1) goes completely silent for days -sometimes weeks- on end, or, 2) *without* [<— and this is important!] mentioning what triggered it, she will cloak herself in the Victim Mantle and Tweet/Fb how mean and hateful the LSM, bloggers, Left, etc. is, but that she has tough skin and can take it. And then she’ll go silent for a few days.

    Bachmann, on the other hand, absolutely ignores any call out of any degree of lie. She just plows right over any call for a correction or explanation — it’s as if no objection was ever raised at all! And she’s a master at it.

    Watch her plow right over poor Bob Scheffer; he tries, valiantly, to get her to own up to a whopper, but she keeps right on charging on with what she wants to talk about. The whole clip is interesting, but it’s at min 3:54 where we see a prime example of her modus operandi. Here: “Michele Bachmann Avoids Answering Questions?” — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnFO1RwTIrM&feature=related

    All things considered, I think I prefer Missy QuittyPant’s ‘style’ — at least with her, there’s silence. With Bachmann, there is full-bore getting out of *her* agenda; people will only hear what she says, not what she doesn’t say or hear the calling out. Of the two, I think, Bachmann is much more the dangerous. beth.

    • Simple Mind says:

      There’s an old, old saying in public relations that if a reporter asks you a question you don’t want to answer, just answer the question you wanted the reporter to ask. Its called controlling your message. Almost every successful public figure has mastered the trick. Palin’s problem is that this method requires some ability to think on your feet so as to make it less obvious that you are avoiding the question. Instead of leaving the annoying question behind her in the dust to be forgotten, Palin has to gnaw at it until she renders some gobbledy gook on Facebook, thereby reminding everyone of the original question.

  10. leenie17 says:

    Oh, please! The Muppets could run Congress better than the Republicans who are in there now!

    The latest idiocy???

    “Senate Republicans are considering a “resolution of disapproval” to express their displeasure with President Barack Obama’s stand on debt negotiations that are growing increasingly testy.”

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/12/obama-resolution-of-disapproval_n_895703.html

    So, the Republican solution to the deadlock that could send the entire world free-falling into economic collapse? Instead of finding a way to resolve this potential catastrophe, let’s all stop what we’re doing and make an official proclamation to tell the President we don’t like him (because he hasn’t figured THAT out already!). Maybe we can even stick our tongues out when we hand it to him. That’ll show HIM!!!

    What’s that you say? The resolution will never pass in the Senate because those rotten ol’ Democrats are in charge? Well, maybe we can blow some raspberries at them ’cause they’re just meanies!

    Good grief, are there ANY adults left in the Republican party???

    • CO almost native says:

      I agree- I’d pay to watch a Muppet debate, in place of the current Know-Nothings.

      • Dagian says:

        Me too. At least it would be witty & clever, and the puppets (and puppeteers) are more pleasing to the senses than most politicians.

        • InJuneau says:

          And the guys from the box (why can’t I ever remember their names) would be the best!

          • beth says:

            Gadzooks but Henson was clever! I loved watching The Muppets when our chicadees were younger.

            Statler and Waldorf are the two guys in the box who make comment on the show (some say they were the original trolls!) — they’re named after two famous NY hotels. Waldorf’s wife is named Astoria. beth.

        • leenie17 says:

          Extremely talented and funny people produced that show. I loved how it was always written on two levels – one for the kids and another for the adults.

          I always had a soft spot for Professor Honeydew and Beaker. I have a profoundly deaf student who, when she vocalizes (it’s not really intelligible speech unless you know her REALLY well!), she sounds just like Beaker!

  11. LibertyLover says:

    The only theater that Palin’s movie is playing in the Phoenix area happens to be about 2 miles from where I live. I live in a conservative area, but not THAT conservative. I’ll try to go to the theater on Friday and see how the traffic is for the opening. I suspect more people will be seeing Harry Potter than the Queen of the Wasilla Hillbillies.

    • Ripley in CT says:

      Get pictures 🙂

    • You’ll probably have no difficulty telling which movie they are seeing. 😉

      I know which one I’m going to see. Of course, I don’t think I have to worry about any of my local theaters being sullied with the quitter queen’s presence, in any form.

    • Mag the Mick says:

      If La Palin SHOULD show up, they’d probably think she was a Potter fan dressed as Bellatrix Lestrange, and they’d just shuttle her off into the line with all the other costumed kids.

  12. libby says:

    Ah…Kennesaw, GA…right down the road from me and home to several friends who don’t have a clue.

    Interesting fact: “Kennesaw once again was in the news on May 1, 1982, when the city unanimously passed a law requiring “every head of household to maintain a firearm together with ammunition.”

    Fits right in with Snowdrift Snookie’s worldview.

  13. Ripley in CT says:

    The story about the 77 year-old woman. That could definitely be my mother, except she’s only 73 and she doesn’t live in AK, she lives in FL, the opposite corner.

    She had a bait and switch pulled off on her in a department store last week. A man asked her if “this shirt would fit his mother” and his woman friend lifted my mom’s wallet out of her purse.

    My brother’s response was,”You didn’t pull out your gun?”

    My mom has a permit to carry. She does sometimes. Wouldn’t that have been something! Chasing down two people in a Bell’s department store brandishing a weapon. When I talked to her about it, I asked her if they got her license. She said no, that her license is in her badge case, with her pistol permit. So, minimally, they don’t know where she lives. But woe to the thief that tries to break into her home… she packs. 😀 Then she told me she wished she would have caught the one who grabbed her goods because “they would have been on the floor in a hot minute”. She knows “stuff”. And I believe she would have taken a woman down. Of course, my mother and her 73 year-old bravado, said she could have “taken the guy because he couldn’t have been more than 5’6″ tall”. Atta girl!

    They did manage to charge $700 at Walmart and another $300 at Walgreens, but 7-11 turned them away! This was all in about an hour’s time.

    Watch out for those grammas…. they’ll put a whoopin’ on ya.

  14. OMG says:

    Uh Oh…Palin gets another “False” on the truthometer with her insane Slim Jim quote from her Newsweek puff piece:

    “Still, even if Todd Palin paid more for his snack food fix, it doesn’t support Sarah Palin’s argument that food prices are skyrocketing. Food prices — an always-volatile sector — are indeed going up, and that may or may not be a worry for the longer term. However, food prices are not rising by anything approaching 169 percent. Her anecdote offers spice, but not a lot of meat. We rate it False.”

    The whole entry is worth a read:
    http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/jul/11/sarah-palin/sarah-palin-says-price-slim-jims-has-risen-169-per/

    • Buffalogal says:

      While shopping yesterday I took a peek at the prices for dried meat products. All of them seem to be pretty much where they were at the beginning of winter. I did notice that the price of cheese in a can is noticeably higher though, so that’s probably going to make a dent in their fancy entertaining budget.

      And If they’re “always eating that jerky stuff” , find a regular store and stock up for goodness sake. It’s $4 for a can of 16 and I bet a Costco could offer a gianormous case for $30. Better yet,they could get a dehydrater and start making their own from all of those huntin’ kills she’s always makin’. They could even offer any extra as SarahPac donation incentives. Donate (another) $100 and get your very own, “Sarah’s Jerky” . Yep. It’d work !

  15. jimzmum says:

    Kentucky has a very good Anti-Mountaintop Removal organization, too. Sadly, Big Coal has had the Commonwealth in it’s grip for so long that this battle is going to perhaps take decades. The regulations for returning strip-mined land to a healthy growth platform are still routinely ignored, and nothing ever is done about it.

  16. GoI3ig says:

    I thought Propaganda films went out of style in the 40’s?

  17. Annonnie says:

    LOL at the “moose cheese”. Goat cheese (feta) is about as wild as I want to get. And say, I’ll bet if someone did a mockumentary about Quitler, it would really sell hugely and get some awards, too. She has to settle for (maybe) a Razzie, but the judges might quit halfway through the selection before they got to her. Loser.