Palin the ignoramus.

From Daily Kos

For many parents of children with disabilities, the most valuable thing of all is information. Early identification of a cognitive or other disorder, especially autism, can make a life-changing difference.

Palin claimed that the amount that Congress spends on earmarks "is more than the shortfall to fully fund IDEA." She then ridiculed some of the projects — such as "fruit fly research" — saying they have little or no value:

Where does a lot of that earmark money end up anyway? [...] You’ve heard about some of these pet projects they really don’t make a whole lot of sense and sometimes these dollars go to projects that have little or nothing to do with the public good. Things like fruit fly research in Paris, France. I kid you not.

Damn those earmarks! Wasting good money on fruit fly research:

[S]cientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have shown that a protein called neurexin is required for..nerve cell connections to form and function correctly.
The discovery, made in Drosophila fruit flies may lead to advances in understanding autism spectrum disorders, as recently, human neurexins have been identified as a genetic risk factor for autism.

Oh. Never mind.

Do you understand now why we know Creationists are complete dumplings?

Palin the complete and utter fucktard:Ayers is a terrorist; abortion clinic bombers? Not so much.

WHat she said

It seems to me they may be a little confused about the terms "maverick" and "reformer." That's not surprising, since they're also confused about the term "domestic terrorist:"

In her interview with NBC’s Brian Williams, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said that Bill Ayers is “no question” a terrorist because he sought to destroy the U.S. Capitol and the Pentagon. Palin, however, refused to apply the same label to abortion clinic bombers:

Q: Is an abortion clinic bomber a terrorist, under this definition, governor?
PALIN: (Sigh). There’s no question that Bill Ayers via his own admittance was one who sought to destroy our U.S. Capitol and our Pentagon. That is a domestic terrorist. There’s no question there. Now, others who would want to engage in harming innocent Americans or facilities that uh, it would be unacceptable. I don’t know if you’re going to use the word terrorist there.

Steve Benen helps them out:

I was curious about the dictionary definition of the word: "The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons." Sounds about right.

Given this, we have an organized group of activists who feel justified killing American physicians and bombing hundreds of doctors' offices on U.S. soil because they don't like a legal, medical procedure. "I don't know if you're gonna use the word 'terrorist' there." Why, pray tell, not? And does John McCain, who sat silently during the exchange, agree with this?

Actually, he might. ThinkProgress noted a couple of weeks ago that McCain has "repeatedly voted against protecting Americans from domestic terrorists carrying out violence at abortion clinics."

There's a striking disconnect here. Obama has denounced Ayers' crimes, and labeled Ayers' acts "terrorism." The Republican ticket, however, is reluctant to do the same when it comes to a different kind of domestic terrorism.

Of course. Republicons believe that terrorists either must be brown or leftist. Right-wing white people cannot possibly be terrorists. Neither would William Ayers, if he'd donated to the McCain campaign.

Moar Voting Shenanigans

Via: The Brad Blog

So about three years ago in Florida...

GOP's law created long voting lines
Three years ago, legislators passed a huge elections bill (HB 1567). Some changes were voter-friendly, such as allowing anyone to request an absentee ballot without having to give a reason why. The bill also limited early voting to eight hours a day, and to no more than eight hours on a weekend. That did away with 12-hour early voting sessions for people who work long hours.
The law also limited early voting sites to elections offices, libraries and city halls even though elections officials wanted to use other sites.
...Rep. Ron Reagan, R-Bradenton, said Friday. "The whole purpose behind it was to have uniformity."

Naturally...

Pinellas' early voting setup favors the GOP

By encouraging absentee ballots and limiting access to early voting, Pinellas Supervisor of Elections Deb Clark has chosen a path that favors Republicans in November's election.
[...]
Clark said there's nothing partisan about her support for absentees. They're far more convenient for voters, she said, allowing them to fill out ballots at their leisure and not worry about taking time from work or standing in line.
[...]
Clark began to experiment with early voting in 2004, after it was made an option by the state Legislature. By the 2006 primary, Pinellas offered 11 locations.

Arguing that early voting's impact on overall turnout can't justify the costs involved - roughly $250,000 for a countywide election - Clark's office largely abandoned the practice and has pushed absentee ballots.
Since the general election in 2006, early voting has been offered only at the supervisor's offices in Clearwater, Largo and St. Petersburg.
Darryl Paulson, a professor of government at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, said this probably has put Republicans over the top in some elections.
Having seen big gains in new Democratic registrations, Sen. Barack Obama is encouraging supporters to vote early.
The Obama campaign, the national president of the League of Women Voters and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor have all called on Clark to open more early voting sites, but she has stood firm.

( Naturally. And their excuse now that early voting is a fucking nightmare? )