Social Justice Warriors Are Starting to Get Out of Hand

A Spanish translator says his version of a poem read at President Joe Biden's inauguration was rejected because he had the wrong "profile".

22-year-old Amanda Gorman was the youngest poet ever to perform at a presidential inauguration in January.  Her five-minute poem ("The Hill We Climb"), received praise from around the world following months of debate about racial justice in the US and abroad.  Víctor Obiols, whose previous work includes translations of Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde, was asked to translate Gorman's poem and a foreword by Oprah Winfrey into Catalan. But after he completed the project, the publishers said they wanted a translator who was "a woman, young, activist and preferably black".

The poem's Dutch translator also recently stepped down after online criticism.  Dutch poet Marieke Lucas Rijneveld was a "dream candidate", who at 29 became the youngest author to win the International Booker prize in 2020 with debut novel The Discomfort of Evening. Outspoken on issues including gender equality and mental health, Rijneveld identifies as non-binary and uses the pronouns they/them.  But we was forced out after an outcry because the renowned author is not black.

The editor of Barcelona publisher Univers told reporters that after the translation was complete, the company received a request from the U.S. publisher Viking Books for the work to be carried out by a female activist with African-American origins, if possible.  The decision came after a controversy in the Netherlands that a white poet had been chosen to translate The Hill We Climb into Dutch.

"They did not question my abilities," Víctor Obiols said, noting that the publisher had promised to pay him for his work.  "But if I cannot translate a poet because she is a woman, young, black, an American of the 21st Century, neither can I translate Homer because I am not a Greek of the eighth century BC. Or could not have translated Shakespeare because I am not a 16th-Century Englishman," he added.

No new translator has been announced for the project.

 

New Reality Star For the Cartoon Network?

Campaign Theater

Shame The Lame Dame of the Blame Game

Partial-term Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was not happy today when her interview on NBC deviated away from the topic of the Iowa caucuses and toward her son's recent arrest.

Palin's son Track, who was arrested two weeks ago on weapons and domestic violence charges, is a veteran of the Iraq War. Palin suggested shortly after the arrest that President Barack Obama may be to blame because he does not offer veterans the respect they deserve:

But my son, like so many others, they come back a bit different, they come back hardened, they come back wondering if there is that respect for what it is that their fellow soldiers and airmen and every other member of the military, so sacrificially have given to this country, and that starts from the top, it’s a shame that our military personnel even have to wonder, if they have to question if they’re respected anymore. It starts from the top, the question, though, that comes from our own president, where they have to look at him and wonder: do you know what we go through, do you know what we’re trying to do to secure America and to secure the freedoms that have been bequeathed us!

But veterans who know the damaging effects of PTSD quickly came down on Palin's rhetoric, making it clear that her son's domestic violence charge shouldn't be used as a platform to politicize a condition that affects more than 10 percent of the U.S. military.  "Palin is using PTSD as an excuse to shift blame away from her son's domestic violence," said Brandon Friedman, the former digital media director for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Matt Miller, the chief policy officer for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said Palin used PTSD as a "crutch" for her son's domestic violence. Instead of politicizing the suffering of veterans, Palin could have instead sought help for him.

As for Obama's alleged apathy on veterans' issues, Miller said that simply isn't true. Just last year, Obama signed a bipartisan bill to improve veterans' access to mental health resources. And the Veterans Affairs budget is at an all-time high.  "It's ironic that people like Sarah Palin are in the party of 'personal responsibility' but as soon as someone in her family is arrested for domestic violence, it's Obama's fault," Friedman said.

More Coherent Than Her Speech

The New GOP

Trump Hump

Making The Case For A Brain Transplant

Sarah Palin delivered a stunningly incoherent speech at the Iowa Freedom Summit in Des Moines this past weekend.   Here's an excerpt:

"Things must change for our government. Look at it. It isn’t too big to fail. It’s too big to succeed! It's too big to succeed, so we can afford no retreads or nothing will change with the same people and same policies that got us into the status quo. Another Latin word, status quo, and it stands for, ‘Man, the middle-class everyday Americans are really gettin’ taken for a ride.’ That's status quo, and GOP leaders, by the way, y'know the man can only ride ya when your back is bent. So strengthen it. Then the man can't ride ya, America won't be taken for a ride, because so much is at stake and we can't afford politicians playing games like nothing more is at stake than, oh, maybe just the next standing of theirs in the next election."

Palin went on, referring to Obama as an "overgrown little boy" and saying that the political left "are the ones who really discriminate and divide on color and class and sex."   The New York Daily News tried to cut the ex-governor a break, reporting that Palin's teleprompter froze, forcing her to ad-lib some of her remarks.

Palin Pack Parties, Packing Punches

The Palin clan stirred up some good old-fashioned shit last weekend, instigating a run-in at a friend's 50th birthday party.  It all started when the Palins caught sight of 20-year-old Willow's ex boyfriend Connor Cleary.  Track Palin (the eldest son) started things off by trading blows with Cleary on the from lawn.  When Cleary's father Steve tried to break the boys up, Todd Palin began to choke him. Papa Palin got the worst of it, eventually walking away with bruises and a bloody nose. 

As all hell started breaking loose, the failed vice-presidential candidate was seen nearly crawling on top of people to get involved in the altercation.  As things started to settle down, Korey Klingenmeyer (who hosted the party) politely asked the Palins to leave.

That's when Bristol Palin calmly stood up, brought her arm back and cold-cocked Klingenmeyer right in the face.  Bristol repeated the maneuver six more times before Klingenmeyer was able to push her off him.   Sarah began screaming profanities at everyone, telling bystanders "You know who we are, don’t you?"'

With the party now winding down, Track Palin stood out in front of the house with his shirt off, flipping his middle finger at people as they left the house.  The Palin clan eventually rolled themselves into their stretch Hummer, and left as well.

Tweet From A Twit

Sarah Palin entertained us yet again with her failure to comprehend current events.  She tweeted the following earlier today: 

The IRS is closed for the day, feel free to use your phones.
— Sarah Palin (@SarahPalinUSA) May 24, 2013

It's unclear how the IRS is connected to anything having to do with phones, but it's likely that Palin was confusing that scandal with the controversy over the DOJ's seizure of two months' worth of Associated Press phone records in 2012.   Oops!

Joke Of The Day: Sarah Palin Calls Obama "Inexperienced"

For the most part, I've been ignoring the Silly Filly Wasilla Hillbilly-- she lost her most recent election, she doesn't have a real job and she really doesn't say or do anything that is newsworthy. But this one is too unbelievable to let pass without comment.

Palin-- who's only private sector job (EVER) was 1 1/2 years as a sports journalist . . . who quit her job as Alaskan governor halfway thru her term . . . who has never started, owned or run a business . . . who has never been to graduate school of any kind . . . who has never run a non-profit organization or been a community leader . . . who has never held any federal office or served in any federal position . . . says that President Obama-- former community activist, lawyer, university professor, Illinois state senator, U.S. Senator and current Leader Of The Free World . . . is "inexperienced" in the private sector and government . . .

Please stop laughing and pick yourself up off the floor before you hurt yourself.

Palin Failin' Geography

Perhaps geographically-challenged Sarah Palin should reconsider that Discovery Channel series.  On the heels of mis-identifying Kodiak Island as the largest island in the U.S. (that would actually be Hawaii), Sister Sarah has goofed again.  Here's what popped up on her Twitter feed today:

The problem? "Sweettooth" doesn't exist on Denali (aka, Mount McKinley).  She might mean "Sugartooth," but even then, climbers who know the area are scratching their heads. "Sugartooth" is a multi-day, highly technical climb on sheer rock.  The Alaskan outdoor blogosphere is understandably taking Palin to task for 1) claiming to be an Alaskan mountain woman without even knowing the names of the places she's going, and 2) exploiting their state in a selfish bid for spotlight.

Of course, she might "refudiate" her tweet.  But for me, it's just more proof of what a blithering idiot this woman is.

Ethically-Challenged Sarah-- But We Already Knew That, Right?

Nearly a year after she quit her governorship of Alaska, Sarah Palin was found guilty today of another breach of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act involving her so-called Alaska Fund Trust (AFT), which she established as a private "legal defense fund" while governor.

Timothy Petumenos, independent counsel for the Alaska Personnel Board issued his findings from the Adventure Room of the Captain Cook Hotel in downtown Anchorage.  In an extremely detailed finding, Petumenos ruled that "the Trust itself, as ultimately conceived, violates the Ethics Act."

The finding is a stinging rebuke to Palin, who must now return more than $386,000 in contributions to the AFT.  It also forces her longtime political crony Kirstan Cole to be removed from serving as Trustee of the fund.  Perhaps most significantly, Petumenos demanded that "all donors to the Trust, whether they donated before or after the resignation, must be publicly disclosed."

Andree Mcleod, the Anchorage-based government watchdog who has filed five Ethics Act complaints against Palin issued a statement today:

    "I've spent more than two years trying to shed light on many of Palin's wrongdoings while governor. Her typical response: to vilify and deride Alaskans who only wanted to hold her accountable for her misconduct; this should give people pause.  Never has a governor lowered the bar as low as Palin has when she breached the public's trust over and over again. Her arrogance, sense of entitlement and recklessness while doing the people's business sets a very bad precedent."

Palin: Environmentalists To Blame For Oil Disaster

Sarah Palin is blaming "extreme 'environmentalists'" for causing the gulf oil disaster that has been unfolding for over a month. Her logic is that because environmentalists push for tougher drilling regulations onshore in places like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge it forces oil companies to explore deeper offshore drilling which has more risks.  I am so dumbfounded all I can think to write is what an absolutely moron this Palin bitch is.  Please, oh please nominate her in 2012 . . .

Tweety Bird

Sister Sarah has so many thoughts on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill-- it just takes a while for her to learn from others what she is supposed to think about any particular issue.  Her latest tweet:

So it's the evil foreign-owned companies that shouldn't be trusted (the same company, by the way, which employed hubby Todd for 18 years).  And of course, if you're a victim of the spill, you shouldn't trust the insurance companies if they try to make a settlement with you. 

Spill, Baby, Spill

When that Exxon Valdez thing happened, you know-- it was right in Sarah's owned backyard and she helped clean it up with a hockey stick and some pom-poms. And since she knows exactly what is going on, maybe she should think about carting her butt down there to help clean the crap up. Or maybe she should think things through before advocating for risky practices mere miles offshore of sensitive wetlands and wildlife. Dumb cunt.

Small-Minded Beat Up On Small Fry

Wonkette had a great post today on Sarah Palin's continued efforts to stomp a college prankster into the ground. And this is the woman that some (misguided) folks want to elevate to the presidency.

Former University of Tennessee student David Kernell faces up to 50 years in federal prison if convicted of identity theft, mail fraud and two other felony charges. His lawyer has called the case a prank, not a crime. Kernell improperly gained access to Palin’s e-mail account in September 2008 by correctly providing her birth date and ZIP code and correctly answering that Wasilla is where she met her husband.

From the blog post bylined, "Common Street Trash":

This dumb college student will probably go to jail for 50 years for easily guessing [Palin's] e-mail password hint using the rare knowledge he acquired reading the first sentence or two of her Wikipedia page. The judge will want to impress her for a lipstick-smooched autographed photo.

Sarah Palin is now using her vast political knowledge and expertise as one of America’s greatest leaders to help brutally prosecute a dumb college student who figured out her incredibly easy e-mail password hint two years ago and uploaded a few screen shots to some web forum leading to a day or two of pranks which meant nothing in the end and probably just boosted her career through faux-victimization, the only weapon in her arsenal; she is awful.

Asked outside court if she thought the charges against Kernell were excessive, Palin said, “I don’t know, but I do think there should be consequences for bad behavior.”

Community service sounds about right. In fact an out-of-court settlement of “a few bucks for Willow’s gas money” would be harsh enough. Especially since it was not “hacking” or “mail fraud.” There were no Soviets named “Boris” cracking nuclear launch codes.

The Daily Dude Is Back, But Palin Is Still Here

OK, I'm back. Let's start off with a little humor about an unfortunate national joke: