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WITH YOUR CORRESPONDENT WRAPPED UP AS HE WAS IN OTHER PRESSING TOPICS OF IMPORTANCE in the previous posting today, he forgot to include the daily dose of The Scoop from the Minnesota State Fair Daily News--today, coming from Day 3 (Saturday, 23 August):

Happy anniversary to Marek and Peggy Kopec of the Flavored Cotton Candy Booth--33 years of marriage and 23 at the fair!

Go ahead, Amy in competition get that foreign language henna tattoo and see what happens ...

Smalls--I'll put five bucks on it that you barely TOWER over five feet, 5' 1 no chance!--TJ

Brigid--Have you checked the gas lately--Anonymous

A great big State Fair thank you to everyone in Creative Activities for the Spam-tastic Buffet! From the Payroll Lady and Spam lover. You guys are the best!

How about posting "Recommended by Fairchild and Fairborne" signage in such venues so preferred?--L.E.R., Winona (Fairchild and Fairborne's fan)

The Education Superintendent is a "happy" man once again now that Patty is leading the daily parade!!

When Lyle Puppe vs. Karen Frost, Karen Frost wins

Steve Roland--you are my hero, a knight in shining armor. Thank you for rescuing me! Signed ... Damsel in a golf cart mess.

BD you get the good person of the day award!

Happy belated birthday Teflon from the silly girls in marketing who forgot to put this in yesterday's news!

BES your rain boots are sharp!

Jack Pixley missed the first day of the fair this year! For 30 years his chimney sweep booth has been in the Home Improvement building and rarely misses a day, especially the opener!

Go Bob Go! You rock!

(Hopefully, such will be back in the regular posting tomorrow. My apologies for having to make The Compleat Scoop a separate posting today because of oversight.)

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DID YOU HEAR WHAT PEGGY NOONAN AND JOHN McCAIN CAMPAIGN AIDE MIKE MURPHY WERE SAYING ABOUT McCAIN'S PRESIDENTIAL PICK SARAH PALIN on NBC the other night, live and on camera?

If not, here's the actual unexpurgated segment, thanks to YouTube (and, ultimately, MoveOn.org):

Not to mention a transcript of the proceedings, With Necessary Omissions:

Mike Murphy, former McCain advisor: You know, because I come out of the blue swing state governor work. Engler, Whitman, Thompson, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush. And these guys, this is all like how you want to (inaudible) this race. You know, just run it up. And it's not gonna work.

Peggy Noonan, former Reagan speechwriter: It's over.

Murphy: Still, McCain can give a version of the Lieberman speech to do himself some good.

NBC's Chuck Todd: Don't you think the Palin pick was insulting to Kay Bailey Hutchinson, too (inaudible)

Noonan: I saw Kay this morning.

Murphy: They're all bummed out.

Todd: I mean, is she really the most qualified woman they could have turned to?

Noonan: The most qualified? No. I think they went for this, excuse me, political [N4BSK] about narratives and (inaudible) the picture.

Murphy: I totally agree.

Noonan: Every time the Republicans do that because that's not where they live and it's not what they're good at and they blow it.

Murphy: You know what's really the worst thing about it? The greatness of McCain is no cynicism and this is cynical.

Todd: And as you called it, gimmicky.

And in light of Ms. Noonan's use of a Bad Word on air in these remarks (and without electronic delay, besides!), how will the so-called "Parents' Television Council" respond to the FCC?

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THIS PARTICULARLY EMBARRASSING GAFFE FOR THE CONSERVATIVE-DOMINATED MAINSTREAM MEDIA brings to mind a discredited Urban Legend involving the well-known childrens' radio host "Uncle Don" in New York (with similar versions involving kiddie show hosts on stations in Philadelphia, Cleveland and San Francisco) who, after signing off on his show one evening, remarked sotto voce (thinking all along that his microphone had been switched off) "Are we off? Good ... I guess that'll hold the little bastards."

Yet, for some reason or another, the remarks were heard live on air, prompting all manner of indignant phone calls and telegrams to the station as led to the show's immediate cancellation and the host in disgrace.

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THE RELIGIOPOLITICAL RIGHT AND ITS DROOGS ARE OBVIOUSLY NOT VERY HAPPY ABOUT A RECENT FLORIDA SUPREME COURT RULING removing two Proposed Constitutional Amendments from the November ballot paper serving their misguided articles of faith and little else.

Let the following press release from the Anti-Defamation League elaborate further:

ADL Hails Court's Striking of Amendments 7 & 9 from Florida Ballot as a Victory for Religious Freedom

Boca Raton, FL, September 3, 2008 …. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today hailed a Florida Supreme Court decision which has "safeguarded the religious freedom of all Floridians."  The Court's ruling struck down two pernicious proposed amendments that would have substantially rewritten the Florida Constitution and its protection of religion. 

 

Andrew Rosenkranz, ADL Florida Regional Director, said:

 

The Florida Supreme Court has acted decisively to stop this onslaught on our religious freedom.  In rebuking the activist Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, the Court acted prudently and has safeguarded the religious freedom of all Floridians.

 

In this case, ADL acted as legal counsel in conjunction with the Florida Education Association and other like-minded organizations.

 

The proposed amendments that were struck down resulted from the 2007-08 term of the Florida Taxation and Budget Reform Commission (TBRC).   The order underscores the Court's agreement with ADL's argument that the TBRC exceeded its constitutional authority in seeking to place Amendments 7 and 9 before Florida voters.  The TBRC has the limited authority to place on the ballot constitutional amendments addressing "taxation" and "state budgetary process." A formal opinion will be forthcoming from the Court.

 

Amendment 7 would have eliminated long-established religious freedom protections from the Florida Constitution. It would also have rewritten the Florida Constitution to require Florida taxpayers to support religious organizations, religious discrimination in hiring, and proselytizing.   Amendment 9 would have altered the Florida Constitution to authorize, if not mandate, the State to fund private schools through vouchers or other means.

 

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.

Let this be lesson to such seeing "educational reform" as a coded euphemism for "targeted" voucher programmes designed, first and foremost, as a blackmailing weapon against "chronic and habitual welfare cases***lacking Healthy and Proper Moral Compass" who are all the more resigned to free public schools for their primary education.

And, second, to favour so-called "Christian Academies" placing Traditional Values above Core Skills to the point where scholastic performance is likely to suffer, reinforced by mandatory paramilitary instruction and nude swimming which is nothing more than a ruse for aquaphile child pornography whose proceeds go back to the school (and for which all manner of ruses are deployed to avoid suspicions that a "Christian Academy" would engage in such untoward acts, deeds and exploits).

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COULD IT BE THAT THE WHOLE IDEA OF OUTSOURCING JOBS OFFSHORE MAY HAVE BACKFIRED to the point where companies are now having second thoughts about the whole idea in the first place?

Witness what the World Business Review on the BBC World Service earlier today had to say about the subject, noting where the issue had become an Indecision 2008 such in and of itself ... that, and noting where companies are now actually returning these jobs stateside thanks to such factors as:

• Increased fuel and transportation costs;
• Any cost savings presumed to ensue by moving labour-intensive operations to low-wage economies like those of China and India actually being transient and/or illusory over time, thanks largely to currency fluctuations and even political considerations;
• Resentment on the part of "right-thinking Americans" (usually those hard-wired in their acceptance of Fox Prolefeed as their main source of news and information) to offshore call centres and helpdesks staffed by such speaking heavily-accented English; and
• China, curently the major producer of export cheapjack for the "morally superior" American market (especially so Wally World and the various dollar-store chains), already seeing serious problems on its part which could make outsourcing less than viable without warning, among them:
  • threats to its power structure from within, or so anecdotal reports have suggested;
  • potentially serious disruptions to supply chains following large-scale earthquakes or other major natural disasters, especially where factories were constructed with sub-standard materials as could prove fatal in earthquakes such as those which struck Sichwuan province earlier this year; and
  • the likelihood of Beijing diverting essential resources to assisting North Korean refugees as their economy and society deteriorate all the further into chaos and ruin, not to mention uncertainty.

Which makes you wonder whether this news would be of greater benefit to the McCain/Palin ticket, or that of Obama/Biden. Reader, what would you think?

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NOU DIT KAN VERTEL WORD, as they'd say in Bloemfontein:

This past summer, The Big Story in the Waterpark Capital of the World (as in Wisconsin Dells) was the sudden drainage of Lake Delton following flooding in the wake of heavy rains back in June, forcing the Tommy Bartlett Show to remain landlocked for the first time in its 56-year run and resort owners on its shores trying to keep things afloat in the process.

Which got all the attention.

One story which, somehow, didn't get noticed in its wake was where a number of ticket offers for Noah's Ark (America's Largest Waterpark) could be had on eBay from time to time throughout the just-concluded season, notwithstanding where the tickets contained on the back, among other caveats to buyers, "void if resold."

Which was enough to prompt Your Correspondent to send e-mails from time to time throughout alerting America's Largest Waterpark to such acts, deeds and exploits unauthorised, whereby they were able to obtain the serial numbers of the tickets on offer through online auctions (or, in some cases, through the Buy It Now facility) and, in effect, void them so such could not be used for admission into Noah's. (In other words, if someone managed to have one of the tickets as had serial numbers on their "hot list," and tried to use same for admission, such was to be intercepted and the situation explained.)

As season went on, investigations by Noah's Ark and outside auditors discovered where a substantial quantity of admission tickets had been stolen in what amounted to an "inside job," with the stolen tickets "fenced" to a select group of eBay auction sellers for them to resell online under such ruses as "family emergency prevents our using them this season,""vacation plans changed," that sort of thing, to conceal the swindle. And as season's close approached, the ring was busted, with numerous such auctions shut down and charges likely to ensue in the courts.

And all because of some clever vigilance on Your Correspondent's part, never mind where misguided psychiatrists and sheltered-workshop supervisors were forever advising him that such actions as above summarised:

• were nothing more than "narking and invasion of privacy" as was "selfish and unwarranted;"
• "showed reckless and utter disregard for the traditional rights, privileges and powers of others, especially such in positions of authority, power, confidence and trust," said rights being "recognised by unwritten tradition and habit" (as in common law); and
• could be sufficent grounds to prevent my being able to find work, or otherwise revoke eligibility for welfare and Social Security benefits (as if suggesting that continued eligibility therefor requires an ignorant stupidity being exercised constantly for the sake of those in positions of power and authority).

It's my understanding that a Suitable Reward is being prepared by Noah's Ark to acknowledge my honesty and vigilance throughout.

(Similar procedures were applied when it came to offers on eBay involving Riverview Park and Waterworld and the Tommy Bartlett Show, the latter having to give tickets out to companies to give away to employees and loyal customers just to keep the name before the public. And similar actions are expected to be taken, with response likely to be forthcoming as well.)

Now you know.

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FIRST OFF, TELL ME IF THE RATHER ARROGANT-LOOKING GUY IN THIS BILLBOARD FOR A BEIJING HOSPITAL SPECIALIST IN CERTAIN LOATHSOME DISORDERS looks like one Rush Limbaugh in appearence.

In any event, Your Correspondent feels it noteworthy to mention where, for some reason or another, The Exaggerator has seen @ least two hits to this website today from that of the League of the South, a neo-Confederate seccessionist movement; this by way of traffic counts from SiteMeter.com, which this site uses to track weblog traffic.

Which is up there with:

more the engrish!

THE NOTION OF CERTAIN BLOGGERS LIKE YOUR CORRESPONDENT (OR, AS HIS FRAUDULENCY DESCRIBED IT TO THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION, "THE ANGRY LEFT") being a Clear and Present Danger to Our Antient and Pecuilar Soverignty and Soverign Identity as a Nation, methinks, is taking it over the top.

Especially from an element seeing journalism as nothing more than a tool which should serve the State's Greater Collective Good above all else, preferably through a greater emphasis upon propaganda above the facts (recall, for example, Nazi Germany's pornographically lurid weekly tabloid Der Sturmer, whose anti-Semitism was of a crude and spineless, "written-so-you-can-understand-it" stylee).

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AND TALK ABOUT DOUBLETHINK EXTRAORDINAIRE: The Log Cabin Republicans, a group of GLBTQ Republicans, gave their endorsement to the McCain/Palin Presidential ticket, notwithstanding its equating homosexuals as a Retrograde Species of Humanity and homosexuality as a Travesty and Perversion of Nature.

Let's not forget that the Nazis and the apartheid regime in South Africa staunchly opposed homosexuals and homosexuality as violating the Natural Order.

Did you spot the doublethink?

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VICE-PRESIDENT CHENEY IS LABOURING UNDER THE SAME DELUDED BELIEF FOX PROLEFEED HAD RECENTLY THAT IMPORTED OIL AND NATURAL GAS OF AZERBAIJANI ORIGIN (via the Caspian Sea, which is the only ocean lacking a natural outlet) is one with American energy self-sufficency, no doubt explaining the urgency of his talks in Baku with the Azerbaijani leadership on ways to defend its antient and pecuilar soverignty and soverign identity against renewed Russian territorial aggression as was shown most recently in the South Ossetia and Abkhazia districts of Georgia.

Which, as it turns out, have been declared "soverign entities" by Russia in a stylee not unlike apartheid South Africa's infamous "bantustan republics" of Bophutswana, Ciskei, Transkei and Venda--i.e., recognised as soverign only by its slavemasters.

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THE REMNANTS OF HURRICANE GUSTAV ARE PROVIDING THE SOUTHERN PLAINS AND THE LOWER BIBLE BELT WITH SOME RATHER UNNECESSARY(?) RAIN, doubtless including Branson and its idealised Muzikschaukultur preferred by the cultural-conservative camp as the One True Acme and Perfection of Amerikanischer Realkultur and its acid test.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Hanna (not to be confused with Hannah Montana or Hanna-Barbera) is over the Bahamas in transit to the Georgia-South Carolina region (preferably the likes of such areas preferred by the Christian Exodus Movement in the latter), Hurricane Ike is over Hispaniola with Cuba in its sights, and Tropical Storm Josephine is not that far behind.

No wonder the Elmer Gantry movement must be anxious all the more about opportunities for seeking Divine Wrath and Judgement, especially upon Cuba; the better to hasten a Spontaneous Popular Uprising against the Communist regime as would bring about not so much democracy (as Fox Prolefeed, already given exclusive coverage rights, wants us all to believe) as a Corporatist/Scientologist regime creating the aura of responsible government based on a "pure" free-market capitalist model.

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JAPANESE MEDIA REPORTS HATH IT THAT THE NORTH KOREANS ARE REASSEMBLING, BY WAY OF BACK-DOOR TACTICS, their atomic reactor among the Azaleas of Yongbyon after agreeing earlier this year with the United States to dissassemble said reactor and renounce its atomic-weapons programmes.

No wonder official North Korean propaganda is forever insisting that The Rest of the World is somehow "backward" and "impoverished" when in fact it's probably nothing but a case of officially-sponsored projection in propaganda form.

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NOW, THE SCOOP FROM DAY 2 OF THE JUST-CONCLUDED MINNESOTA STATE FAIR 2008, from the pages of the Minnesota State Fair Daily News:

Audrey, it's day 2 and ATT loves you!

Teflon: you rock my socks off!

Thank you to Kermit for the goodies from the gals in the payroll dept!

A big State Fair welcome to the Ed Deemer family. Now in its 5th generation of fair goers. Susie, Ed, Wendy, Chris, Angie, Olivia and Adam. Same old camper in the campgrounds. Thanks Bebe!

Make sure you say hi to B. O. B. in finance.

BD: thanks for the Tide stick, such a help!

Karen how many tums have you popped so far?

Can't wait to meet you Florian!

Andy: Let's see who can eat more calories in one day

Keep up the great work Steve

There are some grade-A creepers out there, better watch out!

To the Taste of the Fair Fairchild--you have small hands--BD

BES--Hope the evil trolls are under control--J&B

Sara--those Pickle Pops sure taste like pickles!

Ash--Hope you have a great visit to TGMnGT--L

KF--We don't know about you, but oxen are our favorite animals--your favorite mktg interns

BD--Congrats on the promotion! Sure didn't take much, but I'm proud of you anyways--JR

BES--loving the pumps

TJ--are you sure you're five feet tall? There has been some speculation ...

We love the scoop!--PQ girls

More to come.

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CONCLUDING WITH SOME PURELY PERSONAL PIFFLE: After nearly a year online with cable-based Internet on a leased modem @ 1.5 Mb/second, Your Correspondent has chosen to take on his own cable-Internet modem (a Motorola SURFboard, know) @ double the download speed of previously: 3 Mb/second.

Which, on a monthly basis, after the modem is paid for, will be slightly more than what he paid for (again, monthly) for 1.5 Mb/sec. Internet and the lease on the modem.

Even more interesting is where the local cable Internet supplier with whom Your Correspondent has his Information Stuporbahn connexion supplied some cable for what essentially was a DIY setup on the new modem, what with their installers rather busy having to fill installation requests among the collegiate crowd @ Winona State University, St. Mary's University of Minnesota and Minnesota State College/Southeast Technical to the point of orders being subject otherwise to delays.  

IN CASE YOU ASK ABOUT THE TITLE, SUCH IS INTENDED AS A TRIBUTE TO FILM TRAILER VOICEOVER ANNOUNCER DON LaFONTAINE, whose death @ the age of 68 years has been announced.

Mr. LaFontaine popularised the line "In a world where ..." to the point of its becoming catchphrase, thanks to his frequent use thereof in film trailers which he narrated in his rich baritone.

The Exaggerator extends its sympathies to the LaFontaine family.

*************

FIRST OFF, YOUR ATTENTION IS CALLED TO THE FOLLOWING VIDEO FROM BRAVE NEW PAC, which features Vietnam War POW Dr. Philip Butler explaining the clear and present dangers inherent in GOP Presidential wannabe John McCain's invoking his POW acts, deeds and exploits for political gain to the point of their being hackneyed and losing effectiveness:

(As a matter of fact, the whole notion of John McCain's invoking his POW adventures and experiences ad nauseum risks becoming all the more hackneyed, thereby creating a vacuum which Democratic Presidential wannabe Barack Obama will want to exploit. Perhaps even more hackneyed than the excesses of jingoist patriotism following 9/11's Unfortunate Events.)

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AND TALK ABOUT TITILLATION FOR THE SAKE OF POLITICS: ABC News revealeth where delegates @ the Republican National Convention in the Twin Cities went into full-on debauchka mode notwithstanding appeals by the GOP leadership to hold more somber celebrations in light of Hurricane Gustav's imminent devastation, preferably to include collections for Red Cross disaster relief:

So what gives?

And--to use one of the GOP's preferred catchphrases against Bill Clinton--"where's the outrage?!"

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RETURNING TO JOHN McCAIN FOR THE NONCE, RIGHT WING WATCH REVEALS JUST HOW the GOP Presidential candidate presumptive (to be formally "confirmed" tomorrow night @ Xcel Energy Centre) may have committed a flip-flop to outdo all his well-documented such--as in moving away from taking on the worst excesses of pseudoreligious "ministry" to becoming nothing more than their best and most faithful droog (or so they hope):

Back in 2000, John McCain solidified his "maverick" reputation by lambasting the Religious Right, labeling Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell "agents of intolerance" and decrying the Right's role within the Republican Party:

They are corrupting influences on religion and politics, and those who practice them in the name of religion or in the name of the Republican Party or in the name of America shame our faith, our party and our country.

Since then, McCain has been working hard to get back in their good graces, though the Right has been openly skeptical and their support for him has been lukewarm at best.  But all of that changed with his decision to name relative-unknown Sarah Palin as his running mate.

I can say without exaggeration that, in all my years of watching the Right, I have never seen them as excited about anything as they are about the Palin nomination.  Nor, for that matter, have I ever seen a prominent politician more blatantly capitulate to their demands:

James Dobson, Focus on the Family:  "A lot of people were praying, and I believe Sarah Palin is God's answer."

James Dobson: "[A]n outstanding choice that should be extremely reassuring to the conservative base of his party."

James Dobson:  I have only endorsed one presidential candidate in my life and that was George Bush in the second term after I had watched him for four years … So I'm very reluctant to do that … But I can tell you that if I had to go into the [voting booth today], I would pull that lever.

Tony Perkins, Family Research Council: "Senator McCain made an outstanding pick."

Connie Mackey, FRCAction:  "I am elated with Senator McCain's choice."

Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel: "Absolutely brilliant choice."

Richard Land: "Governor Palin will delight the Republican base."

Rick Scarborough, Vision America, "I'm elated. I think it's a superb choice."

Ralph Reed: "They're beyond ecstatic. This is a home run."

Gary Bauer, American Values: "[A] grand slam home run."

Phyllis Schlafly, Eagle Forum: "She is the best possible choice."

Janet Folger, Faith2Action: "[T]he selection of Sarah Palin is more than 'Brilliant!' 'Electrifying!' and 'Energizing!' The selection of Sarah Palin will lead to words like: 'Rejuvenating!' 'Victory!' and 'Landslide!'"

Wendy Wright, Concerned Women for America: "Governor Palin will change the dynamics of the entire presidential race."

Janice Shaw Crouse, CWA's Beverly LaHaye Institute: "She is an outstanding woman who will be an excellent role model for the nation's young people."

David Barton, Wallbuilders: "The talk won't be about, 'look at Sarah Palin' as much as 'look at what McCain's choice of Palin says about McCain's core beliefs."

Jonathan Falwell: "John McCain made it very clear that his administration was going to be a pro-life administration, and he proved that's his belief and his passion today with the choice of Sarah Palin."

Jerry Falwell, Jr.: "I think it's a brilliant choice."

Charmaine Yoest, Americans United for Life: "And then when [Palin] was announced — it was like you couldn't breathe. [We] were grabbing each other and jumping up and down."

Gary Marx, Judicial Confirmation Network: "I can tell you that this pick tells millions in the base of the party that they can trust McCain. More specifically that they can trust him with Supreme Court picks and other key appointments'"

David Keene, American Conservative Union: "The selection of Governor Palin is great news for conservatives, for the party and for the country. I predict any conservatives who have been lukewarm thus far in their support of the McCain candidacy will work their hearts out between now and November for the McCain-Palin ticket."

In eight years, John McCain has gone from attacking the Right's "corrupting influences on religion and politics" to answering James Dobson's prayers. Absolutely remarkable.

Perhaps it was time to ask Sen. McCain what explains this flip-flop on support from the Religiopolitical Right--and for Right-Thinking Americans to "swift-boat" McCain with in the now-compressed campaign schedule heading into Election Day.

============

AND WITH THE REVELATIONS ABOUT THE 17-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER OF JOHN McCAIN'S VICE-PRESIDENTIAL DROOG, ALASKAN GOVERNOR SARAH PALIN, being great with child, the ConWeb is milking the doublethink angle on this story for great benefit, as per ConWebBlog:

Jacob S. Lybbert writes in a Sept. 1 NewsBusters post:

I think I've got it now. These are the MSM rules when dealing with the personal lives of national candidates and/or members of their family:

Given the chance to publicly embarrass and humiliate a Republican candidate's 17 year old daughter, do it.

If it's a moralizing former Democratic candidate for president, well, leave that to the National Enquirer.

Today, to head off the many tawdry rumors being passed back and forth between the Daily Kos diarists and their plagiarists in the MSM, the McCain camp announced that Governor Sarah Palin's 17 year old daughter, Bristol, is pregnant.

Um, when did the MSM report on any of the Palin pregnancy rumors? (The Times of London, right-leaning and Murdoch-owned, doesn't count.) Indeed, this story didn't make the MSM until the McCain camp made this announcement about the daughter's pregnancy.

Nevertheless, Lybbert goes on:

Unfortunately for the Palin's, they can count on increased scrutiny and criticism of their parenting and their daughter. Stay tuned as the schaedenfreudists of the left laugh about the "irony" of a social conservative with a pregnant daughter. The truth is, these types of things happen to the best of parents--even parents like the Palins.

How does Lybbert know that Sarah Palin and her husband are "the best of parents"? he doesn't say.

Besides, this newfound laid-back treatment of pregnant teenagers conflicts with the MRC's previous attitude on the subject. From MRC chief Brent Bozell's Dec. 28, 2007, column:

The year ended with the news that Britney's 16-year-old sister Jamie Lynn Spears, a star of the children's channel Nickelodeon, was pregnant.

Had the youngest Spears sister been cast as a tawdry teenage tramp on "Desperate Housewives," her real-world behavior would be seen as less scandalous. But Jamie Lynn Spears has been a fairly wholesome star on Nickelodeon since she joined the kiddie sketch-comedy show "All That" at the tender age of 11. She's currently the cool title character of the show "Zoey 101," set at a boarding school, a show watched by millions of grade-schoolers. So much for role models.

At the center of this vortex is the mother, Lynne Spears, who had her publishing contract "delayed indefinitely" for a book on parenting celebrity children, now that it's painfully apparent she doesn't know diddly about parenting celebrity children. The Spears family and their long trail of tabloid embarrassments make them some of 2007's biggest losers.

Got that? Jamie Lynn Spears is a "loser," but Bristol Palin is being unfairly embarrassed in public, even though both engaged in the exact same behavior.

UPDATE: Mark Finkelstein weighs in: "Yes, teenagers have sex, including children of the prominent and pro-life. Does ABC mean to imply that Sarah Palin is [a] poor mother? Bristol Palin ... is keeping the baby and marrying the father. Shouldn't we be celebrating those choices and the mother who instilled the values they reflect?" We wonder: Did Finkelstein celebrate Jamie Lynn Spears' choice?

As if that weren't enough, satirst Betty Bowers weighs in on her weblog, "The No Sin Zone," thus:

Candidate for "Vice" President Sarah Palin has finally fessed up that her unmarried teenage daughter has been running around town having unprotected sex. Truly, the Lord Jesus is showing us two things by this sad example of teenage harlotry:

1.  That a mother who also engages in sexual activity outside of a traditional, Christian marriage (if you doubt this, check out the birthday of Sarah's first son — April 20, 1989 — and the date she and her handsome hubby eloped — August 29, 1988!) sets an appalling example for her own children.  Indeed, studies from Focus on the Family have proven that harlot mothers wind up with harlot daughters 93.4% of the time.  Similar studies by the godly gals at Concerned Women for America have concluded that these poor, impressionable girls learn to strut, show inappropriate décolletage and beguile like pushy prostitutes in their very own living rooms.

2.  And a mother who values her career (to the point of abandoning a newborn to campaign 24-7 for a new job in another state) above raising her precious family should not be surprised when she FINALLY steps back inside her family home (if she remembers the address) to find that it has been filled with bastards in her shocking absence!

And, honestly, what is happening to our once-godly country when REPUBLICANS are getting all giddy over a unrepentant harlot?  I expect Demoncrats to go for that nonsense, but not the party of God.  Please join me in praying to the Lord Jesus that Mr. McCain kick this trash to the curb!

(Could we please have some independent, peer-reviewed substantiation of the studies in question about such women born in Sin all the more likely to live in a state of Sin?)

(Which brings to mind the fact that the Los Angeles Public Library actually banned Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan of the Apes in 1929 because "Tarzan and Jane were living together in Sin.") 

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AND SO TODAY, SCHOOLS ACROSS MINNESOTA AND WISCONSIN BEGIN THE 2008-2009 SCHOOLS TERM in what could be seeing Interesting Times ahead, and then some.

As if that weren't enough, TGMnGT 2008 ended yesterday with a final head count of 1,693,263 visitors passing through the gates during its 12-day run, a gain of 11,585 visitors on last year but 69,713 shy of the all-time record of 1,762,976 back in 2001.

Those 1,693,263 visitors breaks down to an average of 141,105 visitors/day, further breaking down to 8,819/hour (allowing for the outside gates being open 16 hours/day) ... 147/minute ... or 2.45/second. And with 15 gates into the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, crowd control managed to proceed smoothly and efficently to achieve such numbers as discussed without serious problems. (For the record, the Saturday of the Labour Day weekend is usually the busiest, seeing 209,399 visitors this year; in contrast, the Tuesday and/or Wednesday thereof is slowest, with the latter being this year's slowest in the attendance department--88,288 through the gates.) 

As for next year's edition of TGMnGT, mark your calendars for 27 August to 7 September (Labour Day), inclusive.

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MEANWHILE, YOUR CORRESPONDENT CONTINUES A TRADITION ESTABLISHED @ HIS PREVIOUS BLOG FOLLOWING THE MINNESOTA STATE FAIR, as in featuring The Compleat Scoop Day-by-Day from the Minnesota State Fair Daily News, a two-page house organ on legal-size paper for State Fair workers, concessionaires and gadabouts.

Basically, "The Scoop" is a back-page compendium of chatty items submitted by the readership, or reasonable facsimile thereof.

And "The Scoop" from Opening Day (Thursday, 21 August) went thus:

Kermit Bischoff is back on machinery hill. He couldn't get his cell phone to work all morning and hehad everyone trying to figure out what was wrong. We found out finally that the man forgot to put a battery in it. It figures, he turns 80 on Aug. 24 so you'd better come in soon to say hello while he still knows your name.

For all your first aid needs be sure to check out Snyders on the fairgrounds.

Happy 53rd Wedding Anniversary to Joe and Ann Fox!

Happy Day 1 to Florian at Home Improvement from three generations of Daily News reporters who think you're the greatest!

I heard Fairborne and Fairchild were in fine form at the Taste of the Fair ... but what is it with the really small hands?

Good old woodcarver Bob is back on Machinery Hill. He apologized for looking so scruffy, dirty, unkept and unshaven (a general mess) while he was setting up. Heck, we thought he looked better than usual. You gotta hand it to him, though, he's going to keep coming back until he gets that woodcarving thing mastered. He will be cleanly shaved opening day and done correctly.

Be sure to watch out for flying squirrels RG!

How was AV TJ??

(More in this department tomorrow.)

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ALTHOUGH HURRICANE GUSTAV SAW MUCH LESS IN THE DEVASTATION DEPARTMENT THAN KATRINA DID UPON NEW ORLEANS THREE YEARS PREVIOUS, The Big Easy's Mayor Ray Nagin is urging the evacuated not to return until @ least Thursday; the better so city crews can clean up debris and check for damage and utility crews can restore service.

But then, on the other hand, the same areas of the Mississippi Gulf Coast as are recovering from Katrina (or trying to) saw their share of damage from Gustav's rain and winds, meaning that Biloxi/Gulfport may have all the harder times trying to rebuild in a cost-efficent manner consistent with free-market principles and characteristics.

As for how much relief will be needed for the afflicted of Louisana, Mississippi and Texas--notwithstanding the appeals of the GOP's Inner Circle for donations to the Red Cross as forced the first day of their confab in the Twin Cities to be limited to essentials, you have to wonder if relief agencies will deliberately withhold relief supplies from those who made good faith efforts to request help, and without good cause or justification. (Motherdear has this particular opine when it comes to the Red Cross, in contrast to the Salvation Army's relief efforts.)

Which just goes to show you what kind of mindset the Greater Conservative Agenda's Zealots and True Believers (Good Christians All, remember?) have when it comes to social welfare: Videlicet, deemphasising cash benefits as "wasteful, inefficent and counterproductive" in favour of an "in-kind" approach emphasising "industry, self-reliance, personal responsibility, thrift based on cash economy and a wholesome and simple home life" where ignorance and stupidity are seen as virtuous.

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STICKING WITH THE GOP'S CONFAB FOR THE MOMENT, IT'S EMERGED THAT THE UNMARRIED, 17-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER OF VICE-PRESIDENTIAL WANNABE SARAH PALIN has a nine months' dropsy and is expected to carry the child to term and marry the one who impregnated her.

On the other hand, Ms. Palin is a major supporter of the Junior Anti-Sex League having chapters in public schools to preach the doctrine that sex wastes physical energies necessary for Christian Witness work.

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NEXT THURSDAY WILL BE THE SEVEN-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNFORTUNATE EVENTS OF 9/11 ... no doubt guaranteed to be a major week of celebration among the forces of "healthy, patriotic" hate as a show of Christian Love.

Hate Week, in other words.

Not to mention the potential for using the Columbus Day observance as a Global Day of Solidarity for the Persecuted White Christian Peoples of European-American Heritage, as well as raising funds for front groups as are really diverting donations thus raised to their white-supremacist masters through innocent-looking street collections.

One likely cause: The "complete and final" evacution and resettlement of the Afrikaner Peoples of South Africa from Clear and Present Risk of Persecution by a Communist-Influenced Black Regime, to be further reinforced by appeals close to the traditional Day of the Vow observance on 16 December, a Holy of Holies among Unreconstructed Afrikanerdom and their Fellow Travellers among racists, bigots and the Archie Bunker/Alf Garnett crowd generally.

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WANNA BUY YOUR VERY OWN WEB DOMAIN?

Your Correspondent has decided to put up for sale, by way of this blog entry, the Internet domain thedailyphosdex.ws to a good party. The main reason behind this sale is to get rid of some debts on my part absent the likelihood of my coming into money within measurable distance, if the price is right.

Generously reasonable offers for the domain will be considered by e-mail, especially considering where the top-level domain of .ws is one of those you don't see much of in widespread use. Please let me know if you're interested in buying, and name your price--especially so one in @ least four figures. 

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HAT TIP TO "SANDY" OFF THE MESSAGE BOARDS @ HATEWATCH, THE SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTRE'S BLOG, for calling attention to these videos off YouTube as reveal a dark and dangerous side to Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the Vice-Presidential choice of John McCain.

As in associations with the Alaska Independence Party, an Xtreme Right organisation with weird and unwholesome associations as include connexions to "militia" and "patriot" elements--and @ whose meetings these videos were made, revealing just how low Sarah Palin may be among the Dregs of Society as could be our nation's undoing @ the expense of the so-called "New World Order:"

Such videos need to be seen to be believed--and shared, come to think of it--vis-a-vis the clear and present danger of political depravity Sarah Palin may impose upon Our Beloved Nation in case she winds up assuming the Presidential role, and the powers and duties it carries.

Especially so considering John McCain's having hints of dementia which could pose their own antient and pecuilar dangers to Our Antient and Pecuilar Soverignty and Soverign Identity as a Nation, never mind the most paranoid in this respect suggesting that it's really the liberals who are prepared to sell Our Birthright to the "Evil Empire" of the "New World Order" just as Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for bread and soup ... or Judas sold the Christus to the Roman authorities for 30 pieces of silver, which he laundered in the collections of the Temple to avoid arousing suspicions (and would eventually go towards buying the Potter's Field for burial of strangers).

Or what exactly stands in the way of sharing political dynamite of the highest order such as this? Fear of Persecution and Betrayal?