If you're in/around NYC, come and celebrate the good doctor's spanking new show.

Monday, Sept. 8
Festivities begin at 8:00pm, continue until ??
Jake's Saloon
202 9th Ave. (b/t 22 and 23 Sts.) - there are two other Jake's locations, this one's the newest of the three
212-366-5110

I've got omazingo and possibly Passing Shot in for the festivities. If anyone else is game, give a holler here to let me know. Jake's has requested a rough head count.

When you get to Jake's, you can find us any of the following ways:

(a) ask for The Rachel Maddow Show party and/or chemgirl
(b) look for me: short, brown hair, 5'4", dressed in "professor clothes" (i.e., blue oxford shirt, khakis)
(c) look for my friends: other people in professor clothes
(d) look for Rachel's head on a big-arse 52" plasma screen TV - although you may see Keith's big head if you arrive b/t 8-9pm; we'll probably be the only people not tuned to Monday Night Football

I am more interested in how McCain’s VP choice, Gov. Sarah Palin, makes decisions. I am interested in Sara Palin’s JUDGMENT. Especially since I do NOT know her, I can only assess the decisions that she has made affecting her life. Accepting her official story that Trigg is her son and not her grandson, surprising her co-workers of her pregnancy, I have questions that are not being addressed by or glossed over the TV media. THE REAL ISSUE: Why did Sarah decide to take so long to see a doctor when her water started leaking? That was risky, dangerous for both her and her child. Why take the risk? What kind of risk will she take as commander in chief? What kind of risk will she take with my life and the lives of the American people?

(http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/30/121350/137/486/580223)
On Friday, April 18th, 2008, Sarah and her husband Todd were in Dallas, Texas for a Republican Governor's Convention. They had been in town for three days already, but Sarah had yet to give her keynote speaker address on energy policy. Then early Friday morning at 4:00am, Sarah began leaking amniotic fluid. Instead of checking into a hospital, she instead made a call to her doctor, and delivered the keynote speech.
"I was not going to miss that speech," she says.
She rushed so quickly from the podium afterwards that Texas Gov. Rick Perry nervously asked if she was about to deliver the baby then.
The oddities only grow from here on, as instead of rushing to a Dallas medical facility that could treat a mother who's amniotic fluid has been draining for hours on end (made even more crucial due to the fact that this is occurring a full month prematurely), Sarah & Todd instead opted to... Fly all the way back from Texas to Alaska. A dangerous choice, as with each pregnancy (once again, in this case after four previous), a mother's window of labor to delivery grows shorter and shorter.
Aboard Alaska Airlines, the flight lasted for eight hours, with an additional landing in Seattle. The majority of commercial airlines require mothers seven months pregnant to provide a doctor's letter to fly, but Sarah did not inform the airline of her condition. Alaska Airlines is one of the few airlines that do not require such a notice, despite the possibility of an emergency landings being required in such scenarios.
… Eight months pregnant. A 6.2 pound fetus. No one notices a visible trace. By the third trimester, a perfectly fit woman not wearing anything less than a space suit should be easily spotted as pregnant. Not in Sarah's case.
The plane then made a landing in Anchorage, Alaska. Does Sarah then visit a medical facility that can accommodate a premature birth in Alaska's most equipped city? No. She drives 45 minutes away, to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, right outside the small village she used to govern as Mayor, Wasilla. Trig Palin is then delivered one month premature, Friday night. Sarah returned to work after three days.
The inherent need to absolutely have Trig delivered in a remote and possibly ill-equipped facility for premature deliveries, where Sarah would likely have numerous contacts and pull, does not sit well. The doctor, Cathy Baldwin-Johnson, approving of all of these actions borders on malpractice. Not treating leaking amniotic fluid causes infections, and time is of the essence after water breaks.

What the heck?
(http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/31/145838/319/386/581332)

the revelation that after landing in Anchorage, Sarah drove past both Providence and Anchorage Regional, facilities ideal for premature deliveries, as both are equipped with neonatal intensive care units (NCIU). The doctor who supposedly approved of Sarah taking such risks, and later delivered Trig? Cathy Baldwin-Johnson, who has since been scrubbed from the Mt-Su Regional Medical Center website.

Is this Dr.Johnson the mother of the Levi Johnson that knocked up the daughter of Sarah Palen?

It's an interesting and potentially insightful theory about the possibility of Mrs. Palin's son being not her son and instead her grandson, and I'm sure took a bit of web sleuthing on your part, and it may be even correct! But with all do respect, who cares.

If you are gong to look at this woman and try to find fault with her by saying that she has taken her daughter's severely handicapped son into her own care and try to find fault with that, I think perhaps you should join the Pat Robertson blog site... if there is one... (assuming those people even know how to use computers).

In a sudden twist of reality, on this matter I agree with Obama's statement, and strongly second it, leave the children out of it.

If you actually think that a woman potentially taking care of a child that is not hers is in any way a bad thing, then you've been living on the Upper West Side too long and need to turn on Jerry Springer for a minute and remember what country you live in.

Besides, Sarah Palin, (aside from rising from nowhere-dom and now being euphemistically called, to my unsurprising disbelief, a VPILF on the web... think MILF with a Veep), has so many greater 'problems', that one of the left leaning species might want to try, however hopelessly, to focus their ever so divided attention on some of the more obvious ones, instead of actually potentially bringing about a story that in the end will only endear her to the only people who will like her anyway. Speaking Biblically, picture specs and logs in thy brothers eyes and apply that to her life.

What, of my own personally (unimportant) pet peeve, bothers me is that the cult of personality that is American Politics has stumped to an even greater low. It was like 2 days ago that no one even knew who she was, and now she's standing there shaking ferverently shaking grasping hands like Eddie Van Halen after a rock concert at a Van Hagar re-union tour.

How are these dumb-asses now so enthralled with her? She's the new true Paris Hilton of National politics, and I'm not sure that's a bad thing for the GOP? If she beats up on Biden in the debates, which is already being framed as her just simply showing up, than Obama is in a bit of trouble. The media can sing the 'girl beats up a boy' song all the way to the election... There's nothing like watching clips of an emasculated, once was tough guy, to show the right that once again, ‘skinny’ Obama and his white errand boy can't hold their own in a bar fight against a half cocked old man and his crossed eyed All American Mommy doll.

As for McCain’s decision to add her to the ticket, all I can say is that there is only two things at play here, either John McCain is trying to win an election, or he's trying to loose one. Either way it's bad.

lol omg...a bit stupid but also priceless ( the uneducated(???) black American commenting on the 'no black people' in Alaska, etc...) Reminds me of the time ten years ago in San Fran, when a young black American asked me if Canada had any black people. I was like?!!! What, ...just let me quote part of a GREEN DAY song, "I don't want to be an American Idiot..."...everyone can sing along.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thmueS0ngAs
Diddy Blog...ouch.

ps. there are idiot white people, yellow people, purple people...but, when sucessful people like DIDDY post on youtube, with actual power behind him, he should do a tiny tiny bit of fact checking. Not expecting him to be a Rhodes Scholar, but he does ask young people to vote, and with his power and popularity he owes Alaska a bit of respect, at least do a google one off search dude. He also owes himself a bit of respect. For example, if I posted an opinion about Irish people on youtube in a political international context, I would have at the verrrrrrrrrrrrry least checked my facts.

His blog is funny, correct and incorrect. Which unfortunately makes it stoopid.

oh ya in Oklahoma once, a white American asked me if I spoke CANADIAN.

mmmmmmmmmm............ I have yet to meet an Italian, French or Spanish person ask me either of those questions.
There is something wrong with the water there right?! In the USA, that is.

I hope there is a full video podcast too! I live in Ireland so it's the only way I could see it!

Also, I'm not sure if there is a name for the show yet... but my suggestion...

NewsCrunch! (with Rachel Maddow)

I definitely had a bit of a panic this morning when I could not load the podcast before my morning commute. Keep us posted.

Are John McCain, Sara Palin and the Republicans are so desperate to win the White House that are now willing to sacrifice Palin’s her 17 years old pregnant daughter for the Republican party? If what John McCain says is true that he and his team knew of the five month pregnancy of Sara Palin’s daughter and that it didn’t matter to them then that should be a chilling thought to all Americans. John McCain has shown that he is willing to put a 17 years old child and her unborn baby front a center of is campaign to win the White House. Sara Palin has shown that she is willing to sacrifice her daughter at the expense of her family and her daughter’s boy friends emotional well being. Using this girl as a badge of honor for the Republicans is about the lowest thing I have ever heard of. It is despicable. John McCain, Sara Palin, her husband and the Republican party should be ashamed of themselves. I now know what they think of my son and daughter.

It is hard enough being a teenager today. There aren’t many things harder than being teenager while pregnant. I have a 15 year old daughter and I could never ask her to put herself in the national spotlight if she were pregnant so I could win the White House. During the last trimester of the daughters pregnancy her mother will be on the campaign trail preaching family values when she should be at home showing family values. In 3-4 months when the baby arrives were will 17 year old daughters mother be? At the Learning Annex taking a crash course in foreign affairs? This girl will an emotional wreck. I’m not even mentioning the intense scrutiny of Palin’s other kids will now get over this – Wow!

Sara Palin already has a four month down syndrome baby and now her 17 year old is having a baby and she has stated that she doesn’t even know the job requirements for the Vice President’s office and she still wants to be VP? Are you kidding me? Sara Palin’s emotional state should be questioned. Obliviously her career is more important than her family. This is new face of the Republican party? The Republican’s new face of America? Ambition over family - the Republican ticket.

I am stunned.

Nick Catran-Whitney
Woodland Hills , CA

angrrygrrl wants to know if Rachel will bring up the unbelievable mistreatment of protesters and (non Republican) press journalists during the RNC. A

It was reported today in NYT that shortly after becoming mayor, former city officials and Wasilla residents said, Ms. Palin approached the town librarian about the possibility of banning some books, though she never followed through and it was unclear which books or passages were in question.

Ann Kilkenny, a Democrat who said she attended every City Council meeting in Ms. Palin’s first year in office, said Ms. Palin brought up the idea of banning some books at one meeting. “They were somehow morally or socially objectionable to her,” Ms. Kilkenny said.

The librarian, Mary Ellen Emmons, pledged to “resist all efforts at censorship,” Ms. Kilkenny recalled. Ms. Palin fired Ms. Emmons shortly after taking office but changed course after residents made a strong show of support.

THE NEGLECTED STORY - an election in perspective

The neglected story and the most important story is the loss of the fourth estate in American politic. The republicans attack on the so-called liberal media performing biased reporting has dire consequences.

I believe the heads of the news media must come together for a press conference, if they agree with me.

The current republican contradictions and the attack on the media lump all media together. The republican campaign has the nuance and the wherewithal to understand the difference between news media and tabloid, fact and fiction, truth and un-truth. We recognize cultural differences and perspectives. However, the republican contradictions and claims of unfair treatment use these cultural differences and perspectives to explain away their unreasonable disagreement with evident facts and truths.

The behavior by the republican party will ultimately erode and perhaps eliminate the role of a free press in American society. By not distinguishing between serious news reporting and tabloid reporting they have equated all information has equal. Therefore, there is not truth or fact. There is only subjective noise. If, we sound alarmist, we are alarmed. As with a round earth, and the earth’s orbit around the sun; our claim is indisputably evident. Some calling us alarmist would demand nothing. However, we now have come together to state unequivocally the erosion and eventual death of the fourth estate from American Institutions is well under way. Action is required. Action is demanded.

As leaders in this important institution of American tradition, a guarantor of freedom, we ask the American public to demand more, to ask more, and to be more.

We believe that to continue down this destructive path to attempt to equate all information as equal must be pushed back by the republican party itself or by the American electorate.

You can find it at:

http://trmslistenerswiki.wetpaint.com/

I have little details on the Austin and Seattle parties, so if anyone here happens to know more, please update the info.... all you have to do is sign up! Also, feel free to add a new one if you want to.