Like Sarah Palin, Only African-American

When tea bagger and fired CEO Rick Scott chose Florida Rep. Jennifer Carroll as his running mate, it was obvious that he did so for cynical reasons. Seeing the pair go before the press confirms it. Carroll has no idea what an “Arizona-style immigration law” is, and asks the reporter to explain it to her. Scott goes from seething with annoyed indulgence (his usual posture with the press and voters) to looking concerned as Carroll’s lack of knowledge on the topic is exposed. For the record, Carroll was born in Trinidad.

Petraeus Says Christian Extremists are Putting Troops at Risk

BookBurningPlans by a tiny Gainesville, Fla. church to burn Qurans on Sept. 11 were condemned by a guy who knows how to act toward Islam. Gen. David Petraeus is pleading with the Christian extremists to tone it down or put American troops at risk.

“It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort,” Gen. Petraeus said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. “It is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems. Not just here, but everywhere in the world we are engaged with the Islamic community.”

Hundreds of Afghans attended a demonstration in Kabul on Monday to protest the plans of Florida pastor Terry Jones, who has said he will burn the Quran on Sept. 11…

Military officials fear the protests are likely to spread beyond Kabul to other Afghan cities. In interviews with various media outlets, Mr. Jones has denied his protest will put troops in danger. Mr. Jones has been denied a permit for the demonstration but has said he plans to go forward with his protest anyway.

Meanwhile, people in Gainesville — home of the flagship University of Florida and its law school, and one of the few places in that part of the state that still elects Democrats — struggled to both condemn the 50-member church and to defend it.

This faux commercial for the event sums up the absurdity in Pastor Jones’ position.

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Obligatory Crowd Inflation Numbers Begin After Tea Party Rally

78,000 — 96,000

— CBS News estimates of crowd size at Mormon Glenn Beck’s Restoring Honor rally in Washington on Aug. 28, based on work commissioned by CBS from AirPhotosLive. The company uses photos taken from tethered balloons shot at the peak of the crowd, which are then broken into 2-D and 3-D grids, and the individuals counted.

Tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands

— Figure quoted by NBC Nightly News

More than 100,000

— ABCNews.com

Crowd Attending Beck Rally Estimated at Over 500,000

— FOX News headline

As low as 300,000 and as big as 650,000

— Glenn Beck on FOX News Sunday

“We’re not going to let anyone get away with saying there were less than a million here today – because we were witnesses.”

— Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.)

Verbatim

Sarah Palin has done a great dance all over the 1st Amendment this week, first over the proposed NYC Islamic Center and the insensitivity of it. Then about Dr. Laura and her freedom to speak insensitively.

Commentor “citizen x” on a Florida newspaper letter to the editor about Republican governor candidate Rick Scott’s new anti freedom of religion TV ad

More Americans Believe Obama is a Muslim

1 in 5

–The number of Americans (18 percent) who mistakenly think Pres. Obama is a Muslim, according to a Pew Research poll conducted before his comments on the Islamic community center in downtown Manhattan. A Time Magazine poll taken after his comments showed 25 percent of Americans now think Obama is a Muslim.

Palin Headliner Moved to Smaller Venue Due to Sluggish Response

heroicmediaAre people finally growing weary of chronically aggrieved snark? Or do they just not care to toss hundred dollar bills at Sarah Palin anymore?

Slow ticket sales have bumped Sarah Palin’s appearance next week in Jacksonville to a smaller venue.

“An Evening of Hope with Sarah Palin” was moved from the 2,936-seat Moran Theatre to the 609-seat Terry Theatre…Mark Nelson, Florida director for Heroic Media, said the event was moved to the Terry Theatre because there weren’t enough tickets sold to hold it in the larger Moran.

“We would rather have a packed theater than a theater that’s not so packed,” Nelson said.

Yes, I just imagine those 600 people sharing that 3,000-seat theater would feel a little silly at the money they wasted. Money? Let’s talk. Preferred seating is $100 but a few general admission tickets are also available for $50. But if you’re willing to be a sponsor, you can buy all the Palin you want.

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