Very Curious

What's happening now seems very curious to me.

1. Until just a few days or weeks ago, the stock market was coming back and making gains. In the background, our economy was on the brink of disaster. So the big shots in Wall Street must not even know what's up.

2. The US House of Representatives just voted down the $700 billion bailout plan. The Republicans were the reason why it failed. Why would you take a vote unless you knew it was going to pass? Is there a time limit? I don't think so. Very odd to vote for something this hideous unless you know it's a done deal.

3. The reason I believe it was voted down, other than the fact that the bailout is complete crap, is that the Representatives actually are afraid of the public this time. They are deathly afraid of not being re-elected. And the election is only a few days away. If we weren't so close to the election, I don't think the pressure would be as intense. They know that we have little to no attention span.

4. How odd that the will of the people is actually being heard in Washington when the pull of going outside on their playground to go on "recess" is so very very strong.

I Have Gas

For the past three days I have been driving around looking for gas.

Atlanta doesn't have any gas.

You can find a station here or there and I mean 3-4 miles from each other with gas but the problem is the lines are really really long.

So today we go out on our daily search for gas because the tank is getting really low. We're spending so much gas looking for gas. And there it is. Low and behold a gas station with gas and only 7 or so cars in each line for gas. "Go in there" I yell. It was very exciting.

So we fill up. And I mean fill up. There wasn't another drop going in that tank. Just as we're done, the girl behind us in this Saturn station wagon is having a nuclear meltdown. Her window is down and all I hear is GD this and F that. I think that she's all freaked out because someone cut her off or some drama to do with her place in line. Noooooooo. That's not it. Guess who got the last drop of gas at that station? Meeeee. Yipeeeeee.

How can Atlanta run out of gas?

I know the reasons but helloooo...this is 2008.

The First Debate....No Mud Wrestling...Darn it

Well I'm glad that McCain showed up. That would have been a big let down to not have the first debate.

Jim Lehrer seemed slightly ridiculous trying to get them to talk to each other in the beginning. He backed off of that and towards the end they did loosen up and sparred with each other a bit.

I thought they both did OK. That's it. OK. Nobody bombed. Nobody really shined.

Sometimes I couldn't follow McCain and sometimes Obama was so boring my mind drifted and I had to rewind the TIVO to see what he said.

They both are dramatically different in their views. Occasionally that came out...a little bit.....but not much.

Too much political talk and not enough real talk.

Here Come the Chickens. To Roost. In Your Home.

The chickens have come home to roost.

Our corrupt government is bought and paid for by corporations. If there was any doubt about that, I would hope that those doubts have all been removed.

Below is a chart from USA Today that list the amount of campaign contributions that each member of the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate banking committee received since 1989 or from the first campaign cycle the member ran.

Senator Chris Dodd, Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee received 13 million dollars in contributions from the banking industry.

So let's engage in a little bit of 3rd grade logic.

We are just about to enter The Great Depression II.

This is caused by rampant greed and unchecked business practices of Wall Street financial firms.

The entity that writes the playbook, ie laws, that the industry must follow is Congress.

The head of this powerful committee that writes the playbook is Chris Dodd.

Senator Dodd received $13 MILLION dollars in bribes, I mean campaign contributions from the very people he is supposed to regulate.

And Chris Dodd and all of the other criminals in Congress would have us believe that there is no correlation to $13 MILLION dollars in contributions and the laws that they write for that industry.

Well boys and girls, that lie has been blown out of the water and exposed for what it is. The people in Congress are responsible for this mess and they are criminals. They are no better than a police officer who takes bribes from drug dealers to look the other way. They should all have lengthy prison sentences in a Super Max prison.

I'm glad that finally the sleeping apathetic masses might have been aroused from our collective stupor and are going to do something. Our outrage and indignation is so justified. The gall of Congress to try to pass this piece of crap $700 BILLION bailout in 3 days so that they can go on recess and campaign to get re-elected. And recess is the right word. Just what a third grader would do. Go on recess. They all need to go to the Principal's office for an ass whoopin.

So this is it.

Our country has been destroyed by the criminals in Congress.

I really hope that We the People get off of our butts and do something.




Industries' donations to committees' lawmakers

Campaign contributions to members of the House Financial Services Committee and the Senate banking committee since 1989 or from the first campaign cycle the member ran successfully for Congress. Financial services contributions include donations from the political action committees of companies in the finance, insurance and real estate industries as well as individual contributions from their employees:

Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs

Member, party, state Financial services contributions Total contributions Finance contributions' percentage of total

Chris Dodd, chairman, D-Conn. $13,163,356 $43,344,186 30.3%
Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.{+1} $12,793,446 $46,362,049 27.6%
Richard Shelby, ranking member, R-Ala. $4,240,502 $20,741,533 20.4%
Evan Bayh, D-Ind.{+1} $3,971,396 $23,910,036 16.6%
Robert Menendez, D-N.J. $3,820,822 $26,087,972 14.6%
Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C. $3,285,529 $30,528,042 10.8%
Mel Martinez, R-Fla.{+1} $2,896,435 $16,088,801 18%
Tim Johnson, D-S.D.{+1} $2,782,143 $16,364,546 17%
Jack Reed, D-R.I.{+1} $2,686,232 $13,147,550 20.4%
Bob Corker, R-Tenn. $2,422,829 $21,122,955 11.5%
Jim Bunning, R-Ky.{+1} $2,417,585 $17,402,562 13.9%
Tom Carper, D-Del.{+1} $2,097,718 $8,306,428 25.2%
Bob Bennett, R-Utah $1,864,292 $10,546,194 17.7%
Chuck Hagel, R-Neb.{+1} $1,610,616 $8,408,360 19.2%
Wayne Allard, R-Colo.{+1} $1,447,500 $9,103,388 15.9%
Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio $1,432,581 $17,364,119 8.3%
Mike Crapo, R-Idaho{+1} $1,278,842 $7,058,045 18.1%
Mike Enzi, R-Wyo. $943,894 $4,303,148 21.9%
Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii $549,095 $6,428,013 8.5%


House Financial Services Committee

Member, party, state Financial services contributions Total contributions Finance contributions' percentage of total
Spencer Bachus, ranking member, R-Ala. $3,579,199 $8,478,461 42.2%
Christopher Shays, R-Conn. $2,876,206 $12,760,606 22.5%
Deborah Pryce, R-Ohio{+1} $2,805,109 $9,644,584 29.1%
Paul Kanjorksi, D-Pa.{+1} $2,718,472 $6,526,370 41.6%
Barney Frank, chairman, D-Mass. $2,430,361 $7,800,282 31.1%
Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y.{+1} $2,390,461 $8,206,424 29.1%
Ed Royce, R-Calif. $2,353,853 $8,114,893 29%
Mike Castle, R-Del. $2,328,012 $7,591,986 30.7%
Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas $1,950,421 $6,284,449 31%
Dennis Moore, D-Kan. $1,934,779 $10,545,735 18.3%
Ron Paul, R-Texas{+1} $1,659,559 $50,054,595 3.3%
Melissa Bean, D-Ill. $1,573,756 $8,913,613 17.7%
Geoff Davis, R-Ky. $1,547,657 $9,372,768 16.5%
Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y. $1,504,140 $9,395,930 16%
Brad Sherman, D-Calif. $1,462,636 $7,839,873 18.7%
Jim Gerlach, R-Pa. $1,453,549 $9,203,665 15.8%
Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.{+1} $1,442,572 $9,471,708 15.2%
Don Manzullo, R-Ill. $1,304,319 $7,495,724 17.4%
Judy Biggert, R-Ill.{+1} $1,300,677 $4,812,163 27%
Pete King, R-N.Y. $1,271,665 $6,709,578 19%
Tom Feeney, R-Fla. $1,260,480 $5,705,257 22.1%
Steven LaTourette, R-Ohio $1,196,373 $8,637,211 13.9%
Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y. $1,165,525 $5,400,152 21.6%
Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas $1,151,274 $5,515,655 20.9%
Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y. $1,015,432 $3,657,984 27.8%
Scott Garrett, R-N.J. $996,899 $5,224,439 19%
Walter Jones, R-N.C. $961,533 $6,452,439 14.9%
David Scott, D-Ga. $911,504 $4,287,122 21.3%
Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y. $908,045 $10,052,787 9%
Frank Lucas, R-Okla. $859,878 $4,267,888 20.1%
Michael Capuano, D-Mass. $813,176 $4,402,712 18.5%
Tom Price, R-Ga. $796,743 $5,628,466 14.2%
Ron Klein, D-Fla. $789,238 $3,320,808 23.8%
Patrick McHenry, R-N.C. $786,000 $3,581,370 21.9%
Mel Watt, D-N.C.{+1} $780,278 $3,784,876 20.6%
Brad Miller, D-N.C. $770,481 $4,652,256 16.6%
Stephen Lynch, D-Mass. $765,494 $5,707,556 13.4%
John Campbell, R-Calif. $745,635 $2,993,097 24.9%
Rubén Hinojosa, D-Texas. $735,536 $4,100,872 17.9%
Adam Putnam, R-Fla. $730,298 $4,985,933 14.6%
J. Gresham Barrett, R-S.C. $691,667 $3,553,083 19.5%
Gary Miller, R-Calif.{+1} $690,788 $3,364,982 20.5%
Steve Pearce, R-N.M. $685,047 $7,996,707 8.6%
Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill.{+1} $661,907 $3,629,409 18.2%
Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Fla. $649,129 $3,197,019 20.3%
Thaddeus McCotter, R-Mich. $576,404 $3,778,990 15.3%
Tim Mahoney, D-Fla. $495,415 $2,553,626 19.4%
Chris Murphy, D-Conn. $493,332 $2,307,762 21.4%
Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn. $482,275 $4,366,497 11%
Joe Baca, D-Calif. $460,832 $4,124,421 11.2%
Kenny Marchant, R-Texas $449,813 $1,921,414 23.4%
Peter Roskam, R-Ill. $431,766 $1,806,944 23.9 %
Michele Bachmann, R-Minn. $363,705 $2,176,100 16.7 %
Maxine Waters, D-Calif.{+1} $359,445 $3,687,508 9.7%
Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo. $341,185 $1,419,818 24%
Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo. $313,549 $2,589,538 12.1%
Wm. Lacy Clay, D-Mo. $290,100 $2,393,701 12.1%
Paul Hodes, D-N.H. $259,522 $1,618,766 16%
Gwen Moore, D-Wis. $254,879 $2,086,326 12.2%
Joe Donnelly, D-Ind. $219,956 $1,580,631 13.9%
Dean Heller, R-Nev. $190,252 $1,242,583 15.3%
Al Green, D-Texas $183,265 $1,500,075 12.2%
Jackie Speier, D-Calif. $183,099 $1,290,807 14.1%
Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. $173,112 $736,447 23.5 %
Bill Foster, D-Ill. $161,936 $3,911,647 4%
Charlie Wilson, D-Ohio $146,819 $609,691 24%
Andre Carson, D-Ind. $137,400 $1,306,787 10.5%
Don Cazayoux, D-La. $112,300 $2,039,860 5.5%
Keith Ellison, D-Minn. $90,365 $1,138,378 7.9%
Travis Childers, D-Miss. $68,050 $1,315,736 5.2%
1 - Chairperson or ranking member of a subcommittee

Sources: Sunlight Foundation, Center for Responsive Politics, House Committee on Financial Services, Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs

That didn't take long

Our country was founded 232 years ago. A blank slate. All of the trees were here. The air and water was clean. The USA had no debt. Just the animals, bugs and the Indians.

Now we have an economy that is almost on life support and after this bailout, an 11 trillion dollar national debt.

What a great deal. Start from a blank slate. You can make the country whatever you want. And we did and it's a mess.

Too bad that my Grandfather is not alive to see this.

He was 18 at the beginning of the Great Depression and he was always ready for the next one. When my Grandmother would go to a restaurant, step back. Because she's going to put all of the rolls, sugar and whatever else she can get in her purse.

My Grandfather used to have shoe boxes full of $20 bills. At sometime after the Depression, you could live for a month I think he used to say on $20. So he was ready.

Now 232 years later here we are. 700 billion dollars in bad loans. Running out of oil. At the mercy of the Arab oil men. Medicare and Social Security are almost broke. Aren't you glad that we didn't privatize Social Security and put all of our money in the stock market?

Is there some way we can take a mulligan, turn back the clock 232 years and have a do over?

And I got stung on the face by a bee yesterday.

McCain's Brillant Smoke Screen

Now that was a very smart move.

McCain is diving in the polls and people think that Obama is better on economic issues than McCain. And no one is paying any attention to the Presidential campaign. How can you? The US economy is going off a cliff.

So what to do?

Suspend the campaign. Stop it in its tracks and go to Washington. Never fear. McCain is here.

Without McCain and Obama in Washington, there are still 98 senators and 435 representatives left to figure this out. Neither one of them are on the committees that are in charge of crafting the solution, aka the bailout.

McCain isn't the President. Obama isn't either. This is all for show. But McCain put Obama in a bad spot. McCain got Bush to call both of them to Washington to have coffee and Twinkies to talk about this mess. So now Obama is hosed. He has to go along with the McCain delay and go to Washington.

Now the debates will be delayed. There are only 40 days until election day. Short of WW III or another 9/11, everything should stay on track and McCain and Obama need to stay out of Washington and get this campaign over.

Comparison

Here is an email I received:

* If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're 'exotic, different.'

* Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, a quintessential American story.

* If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

* Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you're a maverick.

* Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.

* Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.

* If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a constitutional law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.

* If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with fewer than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.

* If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.

* If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.

* If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.

* If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.

* If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in aprestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's.

* If your husband is nicknamed 'First Dude', with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

The Bush Economic Doctrine

Bush's economic philosophy is to let he market work however it wants and let the chips fall where they may.

Lenders can give mortgage loans to people with:

no credit, no income verification, no money down, interest only loans and adjustable rate mortgages, and loan, loan to everyone. Don't worry about any consequences or whether or not you can pay....borrow, borrow, borrow.

So we let Wall Street rape, pillage and plunder the US Economy and it's citizens. Let greed take over and let's all get rich. No rules. No regulations. Let lenders loan out 30 times their assets. That makes sense, right? To Bush it does. Let the market work. And once the "market works" and all of the Wall Street types have made their millions and destroyed our economy, they walk away to Palm Beach, the Gov'ment steps in, and you and I get to pay the bill.

In Bush's latest news conference he said that his gut tells him to let the markets work this out and for the government to not interfere and to do nothing. But his economic advisers told that all of this was inter-related. And gosh darn it, it might hurt real people (especially when we enter a depression). I can't believe that he admitted on TV that he is essentially clueless on how the economy or Wall Street works. The light bulb finally came on in his dimly lit brain.

So Bush finally got it and this weekend, the federal government, is going to act.

And it's only going to cost us $700 billion.

You're doing a good job Bushy.

Welcome to the Soviet Union

Well this is fun.

We are in the 6th year of a war in Iraq and Afghanistan because our "leaders" failed to recognize the warning signs of an attack and failed to do anything about it.

We are now in an economic meltdown because our government is so corrupt and run by lobbyists and big corporations that our "leaders" have done nothing to regulate anything or recognize what a mess was coming. And who knows what is coming down the road.

So what is the fix?

You as the taxpayer are now the proud owner of an insurance company. AIG.

They have bailed out numerous financial institutions.

They've loaned themselves worthless money by firing up the printing presses to the tune of $50 billion.

And now the US Government wants to start an agency that will buy crappy, worthless home loans from the lenders so that the lenders would now have money to loan again. And by doing so people would be able to stay in their homes. Yippee. Bailout everything and everyone.

Cool. So now everything is going to be owned by the federal government. Insurance companies. My house loan. Everything. Just like in the old Soviet Union. All because of the criminal neglect of our "leaders". Once they're done federalizing the private sector and all of the dust settles, the police should go to Washington, put all of the criminal legislators in prison, which would be most of them, and let's start over. That's the way the communists would have done it. Arrest everyone and start over. If we're going to be like the USSR we might as well get the whole enchilada.

So here's what I want.

I want a bailout too. Couple million would be OK for me. And since we're going to be the USSR, I want a new pilot uniform. One with alot of medals, a really big hat, a rope on the side and preferably, if at all possible, a large feather in my cap.

Root Canal Fun...What Do Poor People Do?

I went to my dentist a few months ago and he said that the two root canals that I had done 12 years ago needed to be redone because they weren't done right the first time.

So he sends me to a specialist. An endodontist. I didn't know there was such a thing.

I go see him and he says yep, we need to do those again. One hour for each one and we'll do them in two separate appointments because it sucks to keep your mouth open for two hours. I agree with that. I tell him if we're going to do this I need the gas and I want it on high.

So in I go for my appointment and I am about to pass out because I am a big baby and I remember what it was like when they did these the first time. Not fun. He had a hard time getting me numb. Not this time. This guy was really good. I was so high I didn't care what he did. While listening to my Ipod while he would tell me to move this way or that....I couldn't hear a word he was saying but I just nodded as I drooled in my gas induced stupor. 30 minutes into the appointment he comes in (I had no idea he had left) and says, we've just had a cancellation and would you like to do both of these today. I think I made some sort of noise that he took as a yes. Of course it was a yes because like I said, I was way high. Bombed.

Two hours later and I'm done. Well that wasn't so bad. A nice prescription for Vicodin and an antibiotic.

I took the Vicodin that day and didn't need it after that. My mouth is really sore and every once in a while, for no apparent reason, I feel like someone is putting an ice pick in my jaw, in that tooth, and then it goes away. He said that was normal.

The antibiotic is evil. Let's just put it this way. You need to be within 2 minutes of a rest room at all times. Get the picture?

I have what I think is crappy dental insurance. It only pays for $2500/year. Maybe that's good. Who knows.

But here's the problem. Guess how much Dr. Frankenstein charges for a 1 hour root canal? $1000. Hello? One thousand dollars. So that brings our grand total to $2000 for two hours work. I should have been a Dentist.

I am also supposed to get the two crowns replaced. My regular dentist needs a new 7 series BMW. But since I just blew through $2000 of my $2500 coverage, those will have to wait until next year.

So, let's say I'm poor. Or not even poor, I just don't have dental insurance. Or maybe I do and I can't afford the $660 I had to pay Dr. Frankenstein for my portion. That's a lot of money. What do you do? Evidently the approved solution for those who can't pay is......pull the tooth out. Yuk......

Boy am I thankful I can pay.

Susan Powter

Do you remember this lady? The stop the insanity diet lady with the white hair?

I found this on Youtube. It's one of her infomercials.

What I find fascinating about her is that the people who are in the audience are staring at her like she is a deity that just beamed down from another planet. They are mesmerized by her. I know it's an infomercial but regular people worshipped her too. She has no credentials to talk about weight loss yet people hang on every word. Like she just discovered gravity. How can we be that gullible? How does a single person have that much charisma to captivate people like that?

More Air Force Buffoonery

There aren't words to express how happy I am that I'm not on active duty in the USAF.

The Air Force is really a mess.

They sent those nukes to Louisiana and no one knew it. The base that did it failed their re-inspection. It goes on and on.

So they fire the Secretary of the Air Force and the USAF Chief of Staff. The big kahuna. The chief of staff is the number one Air Force guy. And the new guy's name is General Norman Schwartz. Pictured above in his dress blue uniform.

Our country is at war. So the previous generals decided that all air force personnel would wear the Battle Dress Uniform, BDUs. Same as the old fatigues. The green things. Pilots always wore flight suits. When I was on active duty, I don't even think I had the blue uniform.

So General Schwartz gets all of his 4 star generals together for a big pow wow to figure out what is wrong with the USAF. After much discussion, here is what they've come up with.

Every Monday, all USAF personnel will wear the full class A uniform. The long sleeve blue shirt, tie, coat and blue pants. This is to remind the USAF boys and girls that they are in the USAF and of their USAF heritage.

This is the single most stupid thing I've ever heard of. Well, I'd have to think about that. The USAF is very good at doing stupid things. If you want to destroy morale very quickly, have the troops wear that very uncomfortable, hot, ill-fitting, poorly made blue uniform. When they get out of their cars in Phoenix, Las Vegas or any other place that is really hot and put that coat on, I sure hope that the hospital is on full alert and the ambulances are standing by, because they are going to drop like flies due to heat stroke. But at least as they are falling down and going unconscious, they will hopefully remember their USAF heritage.

Dear all USAF personnel currently on active duty. You have my sincerest condolences.

Lipstick on a Pig

Obama was speaking at a rally and compared John McCain saying he was different from George Bush as to "putting lipstick on a pig". In other words, you can dress it up and put a different spin on it, but it's the same old Bush.

McCain now has an ad out saying that Obama was referring to Palin when he said that. It could seem that way if you only show the lipstick on a pig quote. It could apply to anyone. But it didn't. It referred to McCain and Bush. And anyone with an IQ above 50 would know that. It's obvious. It's what he said.

So now McCain is a blatant liar. Not just distorting the truth a little bit. Or spinning and shading the story to his advantage. He is a liar.

Why would I vote for him? Why vote a liar? How can he be trusted? It's despicable.

9/11

Seven years later and it's over.

Last year, as I remember, the networks had much more coverage of the 9/11 remembrance ceremonies, etc. Now there's just a little blurb and it's right back to Regis and Kelly.

Of course it's not over for the families of the 3,000 who were murdered. Never will be. But for the rest of America, it's just a weird day on the calendar when everything changed. Take your shoes off and basically get naked going through airport security. No liquids brought through security. A lot changed that day. The whole world changed. 4,000 soldiers dead in the Iraq war.

But alot remains the same. No secondary barrier for cockpit doors on airliners. Unsecured Mexican border. Most of the 9/11 commission report findings ignored.

You know what you be good for Americans? I have the whole 9/11 day on tape. Started taping it about 3 minutes after the first plane went in. Very eerie to watch it. That's what American TV should show on 9/11. They should show the live coverage of when we were attacked. Then we should have a discussion of where we stand now and what the government has done to fix things.

That would be a good way to remember 9/11.

Can you Say 'Sexist"?

THE LAST WORD by Anna Quindlen

Can You Say ‘Sexist’?

If you're a Republican, you'd better learn. The right wing that trashed the women's movement suddenly finds its inner feminist.

Hypocrisy is only bad when it is improperly used.
—George Bernard Shaw

I never thought I would live long enough to see the day when the Republican presidential candidate would cite membership in the PTA as evidence of executive experience, when the far right would laud the full-time working mothers of newborns, when social conservatives would stare down teenage pregnancy and replace their pursed-lip accusations of promiscuity with hosannas about choosing life.

The Republican Party has undergone a surprising metamorphosis since Sarah Palin was chosen as its vice presidential candidate. In Palin I recognize a fellow traveler, a woman whose life would have been impossible just a few decades ago. If she had been born 30 years earlier, the PTA would likely have been her last stop, not her first. Her political ascendancy is a direct result of the women's movement, which has changed the world utterly for women of all persuasions. It is therefore notable that Palin has found her home in a party, and in a wing of that party, that for many years has reviled, repelled and sought to roll back the very changes that led her to the Alaska Statehouse.

But expediency is an astonishing thing, and conservative Republicans have suddenly embraced the assertion that women can do it all, even those conservative Republicans who have made careers out of trashing that notion. James Dobson of Focus on the Family once had staffers on his hot line saying, "Dr. Dobson recommends that mothers of young children stay at home as much as possible." He now applauds a woman who was back at work three days after her son, who has Down syndrome, was born.

Even to state that simple fact resulted in outrage among those at the convention, who screamed double standard. But the double standard was mainly theirs. The governor was aggressively marketed in terms of her maternity, yet questions about how she managed to mother five and lead the state were dismissed as sexist. The governor's two years leading Alaska, which in terms of citizens served is the equivalent of being mayor of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., was said to be the linchpin of her appointment, but questions about her breadth of experience were dismissed as sexist. Her surrogates wanted the press to write about mooseburgers and ignore how the governor had once pursued the kind of earmarked federal funds she now insists are anathema to her. Conservatives have probably used the word "sexist" more in the past week than they have in the past 50 years.

This would all have been entertaining if it were not such rank hypocrisy. These are people who have inveighed against affirmative action, a version of which undoubtedly played a part in this selection. These are people who inveighed against personal attacks on their new nominee when the wingnuts of their own party elevated such attacks to a fine art by accusing Hillary Rodham Clinton of fictitious misdeeds ranging from treason to murder. To try to suggest Sarah Palin might garner the Hillary Clinton vote, that one woman is just the same as another, that biology trumps ideology, is the ultimate evidence of true sexism, and I hope Senator Clinton will travel the country and say so.

Amid the drumbeat of female Amazonian competence occasioned by the Palin nomination ran one deeply discordant assumption, the assumption that women are strong and smart and sure and yet neither sentient nor moral enough to decide what to do if they are pregnant under difficult circumstances. The governor has talked about the choice she and her pregnant teenage daughter have made, but would deny other women the right to make their own choices. She talks about fighting the old boys' network and corrupt politicians, but would turn over the private reproductive decisions of American women to both. This is not choosing life. It is choosing unwarranted intrusion into the family lives of women. Which, ironically, is exactly what the Republicans accused the press of doing in the case of Governor Palin.

When Democrat James Carville said he found the choice of Palin perplexing on the merits, Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann said she found that "offensive to American women." I found her offense offensive to American women, since at its core was the notion that Governor Palin should not and could not be judged by the same standards as her male counterparts. In fact, all the cries of sexism suggested that, yet again, the Republicans had underestimated the ability of women to lead; when the governor finally took center stage, it was clear that she needed no protections or excuses. If she is as sharp and self-assured as her convention speech, the first thing she will do, in the parlance of the sport she played under the nickname "Sarah Barracuda," is to slam-dunk the notion that she can't take an elbow. She certainly knows how to give one.

John McCain has been no advocate for women; when asked during the primaries, on the subject of Senator Clinton, "How do we beat the bitch?" he responded, "Excellent question." (Note to the GOP: that IS sexist.) He has been either hostile or clueless on issues like contraceptive funding, workplace protections and aid to poor mothers. And his running mate will likely walk in lock step with him on all those things. But she could certainly help move the inevitable tide of women's rights, the tide that has floated her own boat, by demanding that she be honored with the same tough scrutiny the guys in this race get. Which was, in case these improbable born-again friends of feminism missed it, the entire point of the exercise in the first place.

McCain and Obama's Promises

I hate to be cynical, but you know what I would like to see? I'll tell ya.

The candidates are making speeches as fast as they can. And they're promising very specific things that they will do if elected. John McCain, for example, says that he will veto every spending bill that comes across his desk that is stuffed with pork. And he will publish the names of the evil pork barrel doers so that they will become famous evil villains for the American people. I think that's a great idea. I don't think he'll do it, but it's a good idea.

So here's what I would like to see. A 2 hour TV special of speeches made in the last few presidential campaigns that included all of the promises made to the us, the citizens. And how many of those promises ever came true? The percentage would have to be very, very low. I'm sure Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan et al promised some real good ones. And once the election is over, it's what? You talkin to me? I didn't say that. Call the secret service and have this infidel arrested.

Why isn't there any accountability for what's said and promised? Why doesn't the other party show us what the incumbent bunch promised and didn't deliver? Because they're as guilty as well and they sure don't want to start that game. Why doesn't the media hold them responsible? Maybe it's better to forget and live in our stupor. Much less cynical that way.

Presidential Debates

Good thing that Obama and McCain don't have to debate this guy.

McCain's Speech

I just finished watching McCain's speech on my TIVO. Did I tell you that I love TIVO? I do.

I thought he was good. The best part of it was that he wasn't mean spirited. He didn't really bash Obama or anybody.

He is a major war hero. I give him one million gold stars for his courage and what he endured. There is no one, except those that have gone through it, that know what he went through and what courage it took to come out on the other side with his honor still intact.

The first 3/4 of the speech was really boring. He is not a good speaker. It reminded me of that movie "Election". He sounded like the jock played by Chris Kline when he gave his speech to be class president.

But the last 1/4 of the speech when he told his POW story and all that fighting talk about fighting for your country, I was ready to get my gun and fight those damn commies. Where are they? Let me go get em. That was really good. The music really makes me want to go thump someone upside their commie little head.

Where is my Xanax?

Palin's Speech

Palin did a really good job giving her speech. There was a lot riding on that speech and she really came through. I would have been so nervous that when I opened my mouth, I'm not sure any sound would have come out at all.

I don't agree with much of what she said. She made Obama seem like an Al-Qaeda, Communist, good for nothing sympathizer. He isn't. And she made me feel that if I voted for Obama, I was an Al-Qaeda, Communist, good for nothing sympathizer. I'm not.

I can't even fathom her being the President of the United States of America.

So if McCain wins, Senator McCain, please, live long and prosper.

Happiness=TIVO

This could be the happiest day of my life. Or at least the recent past.

I love TIVO. Love it.


The problem is that Direct TV and TIVO used to be married. Then they got divorced and Direct TV would no longer let TIVO in on the secret of Direct HD TV. So, your HD TIVO did not work with Direct TV. This was becoming a problem because I hate Comcast with a passion and I moderately like Direct TV. But TIVO HD did work with Comcast. So, I can either stay with Direct TV, get HD and keep my non-HD TIVO or I can go with Comcast and get HD, and a HD TIVO and get incredibly crappy customer service. I chose Direct TV. The Direct TV HD DVR is not an option since it is a huge piece of junk. Poorly designed. Yuk.

But today, my prayers have been answered. Direct TV and TIVO are getting remarried. And my Direct TV HD TIVO will be ready next summer.

Yeahhhhhh.

They want to go back home

Gustav didn't turn out to be so bad after all. That's very good news for New Orleans.

There is some speculation that Pat Robertson conjured up the hurricane to save George Bush and Cheney from speaking in person at the Republican convention. I'm investigating that further.

So most of the residents of New Orleans evacuate like they're told to do. The storm is over, not much flooding, tired of staying with family members or in some nasty hotel and it's time to come home. "Whew honey, let's go home. This hotel room and kids are driving me crazy. Let' see if our house is still standing".

So you load the kids, the dog up and head home. You endure long lines for gas and traffic in gridlock. You see a police checkpoint ahead. You think, good idea. Keep the gawkers and people who don't live here away for a few days. Not so fast Francis. They're keeping you out. Yes, you, a resident of New Orleans is not allowed to return. At least, not yet. Too bad they didn't bother to tell anyone this. Just let them drive back, get in a line of 2 million cars and then turn them around one by one.

Mayor Ray Nagin's plan was to get the infrastructure up and running and then let the "citizens" back in. You know, the people who pay the taxes, live there and elected him. He was going to let them come back in about 4 or 5 days. That was the plan until the line of 2 million cars was so overwhelming he just said, screw it, let em in. Now the people that the government evacuated with buses will be back....maybe in a week. They're really hosed. Staying in a shelter and the bus ain't comin back for a week. Nice.

So here's the problem with Nagin's plan.

Getting people to evacuate was only possible because of their memories of Katrina. Not because you had a mandatory evacuation. And now that Gustav wasn't that bad and especially because you won't let the citizens back in....guess when they will evacuate again Mr. Mayor? Never. That's right. There might be 4 people evacuated next time. People aren't stupid. If you're not going to let them back in, they ain't leavin.

Stand by for the next one New Orleans. I hope it's a long time from now.

Governor Sarah Palin Announces She's a Lesbian

Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin announced today that she is going to be a lesbian. She said that when she considered the positive response from James Dobson and the conservatives in the Republican Party concerning her daughter's pregnancy she knew that this was the right thing to do. "I talked to my husband about this and we both agree", said Palin. "I do look like Karen from Will and Grace and dog gone it, everyone has been so nice to us about our daughter and everything, I just thought this would be something fun and festive to try. I just think this is a great way to get those gays to vote for me too. And if I don't get elected, I'll ditch the whole lesbo thing. I still plan to stay with my husband while I'm gay. Of course he'll be in Alaska and I'll be gaying it up in Washington, so no harm, no foul. I just want to thank again the Republicans and especially James Dobson for allowing me the courage to try the gay thing."

John McCain, of course, knew of Palin's decision to be gay before he picked her as his running mate.

Calling Jerry Springer

Has the Presidential race just become the Jerry Springer show?

This is unbelievable.

VP candidtate Sarah Palin announced today that her 17 year old unwed daughter is 5 months pregnant. As Astro from the Jetson's would say, "Ruhhh Roehhhh".

First, this is tragic and I'm sorry for their family.

Here's what James Dobson said:

Focus on the Family founder James Dobson issued a statement commending the Palins for "for not just talking about their pro-life and pro-family values, but living them out even in the midst of trying circumstances."

That has to be the most disingenuous statement I have heard in a long time. If this were Biden's daughter, Dobson wouldn't have the same reaction. And again, how is it family values to have the mother ditch her 5 month old special needs baby and now her 17 year old pregnant daughter? How is that a family value? Who's going to raise the kid? Who's going to support the daughter while she is pregnant? Not the mother because she's got to campaign. If Palin were a man I would think the same thing. They've got bigger fish to fry than doing the Vice-President thing.

McCain claims that he knew about this before he picked her. Ugggggh. Please, please John stop lying. You went to the US Naval Academy and at one time had a modicum of integrity. I guess not anymore. They asked McCain on a Sunday morning show if he picked Palin because she was a woman and it would help him get Hillary voters. He said absolutely not. Liar liar liar.

I would say that when McCain found out that Palin's daughter was great with child, he had to change his Depends.

And what a great time to announce this. Right in the middle of New Orleans getting hammered by hurricane Gustav.

Unbelievable.


Now back to Jerry Springer.