Thousands gather as Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin lead controversial Washington rally by By William Lowther in Washington

Civil rights leaders condemned the rally as an attempt to "hijack" the anniversary of Martin Luther King's iconic "I Have A Dream" speech made exactly 47 years ago from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Mr Beck claimed it was "pure coincidence" that his rally – also centred on the Lincoln Memorial – just happened to fall on the anniversary of what many consider to be the greatest of all civil rights speeches.

Rev Al Sharpton, the fiery black leader who has engendered his own share of controversy, organised a rival rally a few miles away that culminated in a march to the future site of a King Memorial, within shouting distance of the Beck rally.

There was a heavy police and security presence and as the two rallies ended, on an almost perfect Washington summer's day, there were no reports of clashes despite earlier fears of conflict.


Read more at Telegraph.co.uk

(Photo/Wikipedia Commons: Beck at the Time 100 Gala, May 4, 2010)

Sarah doesn't speak for me (video) and other Grizzly madness

In rebuttal to Sarah Palin's 'Mama Grizzlies' video below, this video by EMILY's List, a national political group dedicated to electing pro-choice progressive women according to Politics Daily was posted on YouTube.

Women dressed in Mama Grizzly costumes take on Sarah Palin's campaign to co-opt what the thesaurus would call female courage, determination, firmness, fortitude, grit, guts, hardihood, heart, intestinal fortitude, mettle, moral fiber, nerve, pluck, resolution, resolve, spunk, stamina, steadfastness, tenacity, toughness , will, willpower and all around Mama Bear goodness. For shame Sarah. Save some grizzliness for the wimpy liberal girls!

Anyhoo, what do you think about all this grizzly madness?

It's a good thing the gulf shrimp aren't tainted -- I'd hate to be forced to eat at the Bubba Gump Slug Company. `Stephen Colbert/Stephenathome Twitter page

Sarah Palin's 'Mama Grizzlies' video

For those of you who have not been privy to Sarah Palin's 'Mama Grizzlies' video, here it is.

Obama and the "Ground Zero Mosque" By Nick Baumann

(Photo/Wiki: The World Trade Center site 17 days after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Buildings surrounding the site of the collapsed towers are fitted with mesh to prevent further damage and large construction vehicles are being used to clear debris.)


Well, it worked. Since late spring, the right wing has been harping on the Cordoba House project, a proposed Muslim cultural center (not a mosque; a cultural center with some worship space) that would occupy a building two blocks from Ground Zero in downtown Manhattan. Conservatives were certainly hoping the story would grab the public's attention (and hurt liberals), but most national Democrats refrained from addressing the issue for most of the summer.

A few weeks ago, the right's gambit seemed to have failed. The controversy was

Read more at MotherJones.com

Tom Brokaw's Greatest Generation w/ Aaron Neville from Comedy Central's Big Lake

Tom Brokaw's Greatest Generation w/ Aaron Neville from Comedy Central's Big Lake

You can be about love or hate

You can be about love or hate. There are no other choices. Unless you are a politician. Then you can be about ambivalance, ambiguity, panegyric rhetoric and rigamarole. The rest of us can only be about love or hate.

Sarah Palin's Mama Grizzly Coalition

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Sarah Palin's Mama Grizzly Coalition
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Kristen Schaal describes Sarah Palin's political strategy of invoking the power of mama grizzlies.
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Fidel Castro commandeers Twitter's trending topics list

Quips and tweets of bewilderment took "Fidel Castro" to the top of the Trending Topics list on Twitter. Fidel Castro made an appearance on Cuban current events program "Mesa Redonda," or "Round Table," in which the former Cuban leader discussed the state of affairs between the United States, Iran, and South Korea, as well as the risk of imminent war and nuclear holocaust.

Strong Twitter reaction to Sean Penn Hugo Chavez

Twitter was less interested with Fidel Castro's political views and more bemused by his reappearance after seemingly fallen off the face of the Earth since his intestinal surgery back in 2006. Not only did Castro return to the political spotlight - for a moment, at least - but he took Twitter's trending topics list by storm for the day too, much to everyone's surprise. Not too shabby for an 83 year-old ex-dictator.

Read more at Examiner.com


Photo: Fidel Castro at a press conference in Washington D.C., April 15, 1959. (Wikipedia)

Frienemies by Mark Fiore

Al and Tipper Gore separate: Twitter fears for the internet

Forty years of marriage is no small feat, which makes Al and Tipper Gore's reported separation both saddening and shocking. While many tweets express sympathy and disappointment, there is no shortage of tweets that make light of the situation, joking about the future of the the internet now that the couple has split.

This joke is inspired by the urban legend that Al Gore "invented" the internet, following a statement he gave in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer back in 1999 that was taken out of context.

Fidel Castro commandeers Twitter's trending topics list

For forty years, the marriage of Al and Tipper Gore revealed no signs of trouble: not even a hint of scandal. The abrupt change of heart suggests some trouble between them, but whether this is a recent development or born through years of drifting apart, no one can guess.

Read more on Examiner.com

Photo: Official portrait, 1994, 45th Vice President of the United States. In office
January 20, 1993 – January 20, 2001. (Wiki)

Dalai Lama gets positive reaction on Twitter: watch interview with Ann Curry

The Dalai Lama continues to generate positive responses on Twitter while he uses the platform to circumvent the Chinese government and to spread words of compassion. The Dalai Lama sat down with fellow Twitter user, Ann Curry for his first ever morning show interview. Watch the interview below.

Shakira, George Lopez, Ricky Martin and more tweet against Arizona

On Friday the Dalai Lama used Twitter to answer questions from Chinese web users who have been shut out of an open discussion on the internet about Tibet by their government. "I personally have no demands -- my main concerns are the problems with Tibetan culture and the religion and environment of the Tibetan people," he said during the Twitter Q&A.

According to the AFP, “Nearly 12,000 people selected the 250 questions by online voting done on a Google Moderator site, which was blocked in China on Thursday.”

Tweets:

- @tinybuddha, "See the positive side, the potential, and make an effort." ~Dalai Lama

Read more at Examiner.com