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Friday, September 05, 2008

The Stuff I Didn't Get To -- 9/5/08

McCain in front of photo of Walter Reed Middle School
The danger of relying on Google's image search


-Headline of the day-
"Green Screen Mystery Solved."

A lot of people were wondering what was up with the green backdrop during McCain's speech last night. Turns out that the backdrop wasn't actually solid green, but a detail from a larger image. Specifically, a lawn.

But the lawn of what, you might ask? It was the lawn of Walter Reed Middle School in North Hollywood, CA. Walter Reed, Walter Reed... why does that ring a bell?

Could it be that someone mistook Walter Reed Middle for Walter Reed Army Medical Center? Could that actually happen?

It kind of looks like it could, because Walter Reed Middle School doesn't have a damned thing to do with John McCain. You know, your average person wouldn't screw up a slide show -- that's something that takes real talent. (Daily Kos, via reddit)


-Heart doesn't heart Palin-
The sisters who aren't really sisters, Ann and Nancy Wilson of the band Heart, aren't fans of Sarah Palin. This despite the fact that she seems to be a fan of theirs. The '70s power ballad duo sent a cease and desist letter to the McCain/Palin campaign over their use of their song "Barracuda."

GI Johnny and Caribou Barbie had been using the song as a reference to Palin's nickname as a basketball player, Sarah "Barracuda" -- which is a little confusing, since you'd expect a barracuda to suck at basketball, not being able to breath or not having arms and legs and all.

"The Republican campaign did not ask for permission to use the song, nor would they have been granted that permission," the rock goddesses said in a press release. "We have asked the Republican campaign publicly not to use our music. We hope our wishes will be honored."

Screw off, says Team McCain. According to TMZ, "Twenty minutes after we posted this story, the GOP ended the evening after McCain's speech with the song, 'Barracuda.'"

This isn't the first time McCain's said, "Screw copyright." He's been sued for misusing Jackson Browne's "Running on Empty."

For the record, the official McCain/Palin stand on copyright:

John McCain Will Protect The Creative Industries From Piracy. The entertainment industry is both a vital sector of the domestic economy and among the largest U.S. exporters. While the Internet has provided tremendous opportunity for the creators of copyrighted works, including music and movies, to distribute their works around the world at low cost, it has also given rise to a global epidemic of piracy. John McCain supports efforts to crack down on piracy, both on the Internet and off.


Call it flip-flop #3,480,731. (TMZ)


-Freudian slip on a banana peel-
"Because John Bush…because John McCain is very much his own man."
--Former Homeland Security head Tom Ridge.

Not only does Bush come immediately to Tom's mind when talking about McCain, but he comes immediately to mind when talking about McCain's independence.

Rarely has a Freudian slip revealed so much. (Crooks and Liars, with video)

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