Thursday, July 31, 2008

Arrogant And Out Of Touch

Eighty-seven year old Alaska Republican Senator Ted Stevens -- a long-time and energetic supporter of drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) -- has been indicted for lying about gifts received an oilfield contractor. Reportedly, the gifts included a deck for his house and a kitchen remodel. Setting aside for moment that ordinary people take out second mortgages for such home improvements, consider the spectacle of a United States Senator making himself look like Tony Soprano. That a politician sells himself is no big surprise, but I'm always struck by how cheap a price the ones that do put on their integrity and reputation. The corruption of Alaska Republicans has been a story in the Pacific Northwest for a couple of years now and Stevens has a well-deserved reputation for pettiness and arrogance, but this is nonetheless a seedy and shabby close to a 40-year Senate career...

Speaking of arrogance, Johnny Wattles claims that Barack Obama is arrogant and out of touch.  Johnny W. may have a point, as these photos from Obama's Seattle rally earlier this year clearly demonstrate:




Here, Johnny shows off his version of the common touch:

Just what is he reaching for, anyway? For variations on the same theme, click here.

New Orleans pays a call on Deer Island, Maine to great effect. We went to Deer Island twice when I was a kid. I still remember my father and I and couple of my brothers joining the postman on a boat called the "Palmer Day" as he made his rounds among the surrounding smaller islands...

Tonight, we're checking out the Red Stick Ramblers at St. Edwards's Park in Kirkland. Why is a state park named after a saint? It used to be a Catholic seminary, and the seminary building is still there...

3 comments:

Foxessa said...

"Palmer Day?"

Was the boat named for Earl Palmer?

Love, C.

mouse (aka kimy) said...

the crap out of the mcsame campaign makes me sick

w's current jabs about the dems refusing to permit opening domestic drilling is making me see red!

the think progress pics certainly paint a nice cozy relationship between w and johnny....

ted stevens - tony soprano - hey their initials are the same!

have fun at the red stick ramblers

K. said...

Dunno who the boat was named for. I was 11 or 12 at the time -- sheesh, it was the Summer of Love! -- and the name was something that stuck in my mind.

I just looked up Earl Palmer, and would love to believe that Earl's reputation made it to Deer Island...