Four More Reasons

Here they are folks, four more reasons, courtesy of Bill Press, not to vote for McCain this November:

#95: John McCain is too old to run the country. He'll be 72 this year. Back in 2000, he admitted to PBS's Jim Lehrer he's too old to be president.

#96: John McCain does not support the GI Bill. He's against giving our veterans full scholarships to college upon returning from service.

#97: John McCain has bad judgement related to the people he cozies up to. He was endorsed by, and was good friends with John Hagee—it took him three months to reject the endorsement! What other type of people might he get close to when he's president?

#98: John McCain doesn't know Shiite from Shinola. Even Joe Lieberman corrected him when he mixed up Shiites and Sunnis.

Poll Vault

Speaking of polls, the Pew Research Center's latest has Obama with a solid lead over Clinton (54 percent to 41 percent nationally). Last month, the two were about equal.

Meanwhile, we hope things will be winding down come next week, when Puerto Rico phones in its primary results on Sunday. (Burning question—Will Ricky Martin's endorsement of Clinton today give her the island's nod?) Tuesday the final two democratic primaries happen in Montana and South Dakota. And then it is all over but the shouting.

And day three of the McClellan lynching goes on. Scotty is all over the TV, appearing on The Today Show this morning and popping up with my buddy Olbermann tonight. 

While the White House may be puzzled by all this, what I am puzzled by is the near riot that apparently broke out in NYC when promoters of the Sex and the City movie oversold tickets to the premiere. Listen ladies, I am pretty darn excited about this movie—feminism be damned—but methinks you might need to rethink some of your priorities if you are willing to riot over a movie ticket. I love SJP and all the other ladies, but really?

Strange days indeed.

Lower, Lower

How low can he go? Pretty dang low apparently. Bush's latest poll numbers give him a disapproval rating of 71%, higher than any other sitting president has had since these polls were first conducted. He currently has a higher disapproval rating than Nixon did before he resigned (66%).

Give the man a beer. Oh, wait—he doesn't drink anymore, supposedly. Might be time to start again buddy. Are you sure that Barney and the wifey are still on your side?

Truman was the previous all-time record holder for the highest disapproval at a measly 67% in January 1952.

Read all about it here: www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/01/bush.poll.

Beam Me Up Scotty

As you would expect the GOP has their panties ALL in a bunch about Scott McClellan's new book—What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and What's Wrong with Washington.

McClellan apparently takes the Bush II White House to task on the Iraq War and its post-Katrina efforts, but not without a lovely stab at the liberal media. In reference to the war: "In this case, the 'liberal media' didn't live up to its reputation. If it had, the country would have been better served."

Now I will be the first to admit that the media has let themselves be kowtowed by Bush and his cronies one too many times, however when you are constantly getting hammered with the tag of the "liberal media," as well as being flagged as unpatriotic for even appearing to question anything Bush utters, it is understandable that the media watchdogs may roll over and play dead. Don't make it right, just makes it explainable.

Apparently the White House is "puzzled" by McClellan's book. Well it certainly isn't the first thing to confuse them and something tells me with only seven months to go (praise Jesus!) it won't be the last.

And something also tells me that 'ole Dubya no longer feels this way:

One of these days, he [McClellan] and I are going to be rocking in chairs in Texas talking about the good old days of his time as the press secretary. And I can assure you, I will feel the same way then that I feel now, [when McClellan resigned] that I can say to Scott, job well done.

That Explains SO Much

See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda.

George W. Bush

May 2005

Greece

242 day left.

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Appalachia?

Obama does seem to be suffering from a lack of love in the more rural areas of our great nation. While my initial reaction is to chalk that up to the latent racism that still courses through our nation, their are others that would disagree with me. 

One of those others, Dee Davis recently wrote about this topic from a true insider's perspective, she is the president of the Center for Rural Strategies in Whitesburg, KY. One of Ms. Davis' points is how little Obama visited states like West Virginia and Kentucky and how all of those visits were in the larger, urban areas of the state.

I think this links back a bit to my earlier post this week, Family Ties. What we are not comfortable with or what we are ashamed of we tend to try and avoid. Now I know that Obama's mother struggled financially at times, but I don't think he is avoiding these rural voters because he identifies with him from his own past that he is ashamed of. Rather I think that as Davis indicates in her article, he just isn't that comfortable in these parts of the countries.

That is something he has got to get over. Again, Davis makes the point that these voters are ripe for the plucking—they have suffered a lot from the recent economic issues and according to polls are not happy with the direction we are heading as a nation. Obama's best bet is to get out there, show his face and talk to these people, give them a reason to believe in him, because if he doesn't, they likely won't come to him on their own.

The Talking Cure

The GOP, through the efforts of Bush and McCain, are trying to stir up a debate about whether talking to our enemies (countries like Iran, North Korea and Cuba) is a good or bad thing.

Salon's founder, David Talbot, phrased it this way in an article today that seeks to connect this election to the one in 1964:

Is talking with our enemies a sign of strong and intelligent—or weak and deluded—leadership?

Obviously, McCain thinks that talking to them is insane and Obama thinks that it is our best bet.

Talbot cites this quote from John F. Kennedy:

the United States is neither omnipotent or omniscient, that we cannot impose our will upon the other 94 percent of mankind, that we cannot right every wrong or reverse each adversity and that therefore there cannot be an American solution to every world problem. 

So, dear readers, what do you think? Is it a danger to talk to our "enemies" or is that the only way to avert disaster?

Beholden

Per radio host Bill Press, who is compiling a list of 101 reasons to NOT vote for John McCain:

#101 

John McCain's connection with Lobbyists. In particular his connection with Thomas Loeffler who recently resigned from McCain's campaign because of his lobbyist connections. 

This is the fourth resignation of this sort in the McCain camp. Isn't this the man that was all about saying he was not beholden to lobbyists?

Family Ties

Life has conspired to keep me from posting, but if I were to be honest I have been avoiding it because I knew I wanted to delve into the personal a bit before segueing into the political. It may not appear this way, but I do try to keep this whole blog adventure on a somewhat non-personal level, but the recent death of my friend's mother and my subsequent experience at the visitation and funeral have made me a bit reflective. So bear with me.

The service was Baptist and in a more rural location. The funeral home that hosted the visitation had several other viewings going on at the same time. It was definitely not my element. The crowd outside the funeral home smoking were a country set to say the least and I was actually a bit uncomfortable and waited to go in until friends showed up. But then a friend, Big T I think it was, made a reference to my father, who most definitely came from a country set. And that got me to thinking on the drive home.

My mom's background was most solidly middle class in a typical 1950s way, at least that is my impression. But my dad's was working class, blue collar poor, no two ways about it. And here I sit in all my WASPy glory conveniently denying that half of my dna is firmly grounded in this working class, poor background. If you were speaking in evolutionary terms, I am merely an amphibian traversing betwixt and between the primordial sludge and dry land. Yet there I was in my skirt and heels looking down my nose at people dressed in jeans and t-shirts, all of us in this place to either mourn or comfort those who are mourning. Frankly, I have no right.

Don't fret, I am bringing this back to the political. So all this self reflection and analysis got me thinking about what parts of ourselves we repress when it comes to political issues—both for the average voters and for those actually running for office. Of course nowadays it is harder than ever to deny bits of your past. In our 24-hour, seven-day a week media world, there is no escaping a camera and a listening ear. The flip side is how much does where we come from influence our political thinking? While there are certainly rich people who are democrats and who want to give back and give a leg up to the poor, there are also plenty of people born to privilege who have no interest in sharing the wealth. And there are people from poorer backgrounds who are solid republicans seemingly unaware that the GOP's tax breaks rarely affect their income.

So what about you? Are there parts of your background that you try to ignore or move past and how has that influenced your political stances?

Last, but Not Least

Oh yeah, John Edwards endorsed Obama. Notably absent from the event in Michigan was Elizabeth Edwards. Perhaps the Edwards' house is split on this decision?

Now, you all know I love me some John Edwards, and in a way I am not surprised by this announcement in the least. I just hope that it has the desired effect, to boost Obama with the white working class voters, that not only seem to lean toward Clinton, but who seemed less than enthused by him in West Virginia earlier this week.

But then again, that may have less to do with the inside of the man, than his outside—unfortunately. And I am afraid that no endorsement is going to combat that.

Ouch!

This one smarts. Obama calls a female reporter sweetie. Not cool.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4STLISLdxi4

Poetically Speaking

This is from the poem, "We Collect Gull Feathers" by Timothy Young:

I want to keep my fingers in my pocket,

because everything moves on here,

except that sweet pain of love that knows

he's growing up to leave me.

I Heart Olbermann

If dude doesn't stroke out from the force of his anger towards Dubya, he has a heart of steel. No offense to the spouse, who will always be number one in my heart, but dang if Keith Olbermann doesn't get me hot and bothered when he does one of his special comments.

And last night's was a doozy. Mainly focusing on Bush's statement that he gave up golf in support of the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, Olbermann expresses in his oh-so-eloquent way, that not only is this sort of "sacrifice" a joke, but it isn't even one that Bush is honest about. (Bush claims to have given up golf in August of 2003, but there are images of him still playing as late as October 2003.) Olbermann addresses Bush's arrogance about the war by telling him that the war in Iraq isn't about him or his grief as more and more Americans come home in boxes.

He finishes his rant by saying: "Shut the hell up!" And sounding like he was much more inclined to say shut the fuck up.

If you are in the mood to get stirred up, you can watch the clip here.

Fuzzy Logic

Remember this guy? When I posted about the threatening of the polar bear many months ago, the Bush administration was still dragging it's heels about declaring the animals endangered. After missing a legal deadline in January to protect the bears, whose habits are literally melting beneath their feet due to climate change, the Department of the Interior grudgingly gave the bears threatened status—yesterday. But with a caveat of course, courtesy of Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne:

Listing the polar bears as 'threatened' can reduce avoidable losses of polar bears, but it should not open the door to using the ESA [Endangered Species Act] to regulate greenhouse gases from automobiles, power plants and other sources.

No Dirk, we wouldn't want that, now would we? Not after your department tried to delay a decision until the end of June, which was only stopped when a judge forced you to make a decision, declaring the foot dragging illegal, by May 15. That would be today. Nice job, boys. Way to wait until the last possible moment.

Dazed and Conflicted

As everyone expected Clinton annihilated Obama in West Virginia, 67 percent to 26 percent. Not pretty. But in a state where only five percent of the population is black and, I would hazard a guess that the majority are middle class or lower in terms of economics, is that all that surprising?

What is more worrisome, I think, is the blatant racism that many of the voters polled from the state seem to offer. I get that voting for a black man is scary for a lot of people, many of my immediate family included, but it is not the sign of the apocalypse that many seem to think it is. Obama doesn't have to win West Virginia to win the election, but wouldn't it be nice if he could win over those who are just holding the color of his skin against him?

Speaking of apocalypses, what the freak is going on in our world? First Myanmar (aka Burma) and the catastrophe there, which the government doesn't seem to want any outside aid for, and then the earthquake in China. The number of people killed by these two events is staggering, not to mention the volume of those still living that are affected by the tragedies. I have to admit that when things like this happen on that kind of scale I am stymied for a suitable reaction or response.

Meanwhile, small disasters strike at home everyday. And while we know they don't compare on any scale to the mass causalities of Myanmar or China, when a friend loses a parent it hits with the force of a thousand earthquakes. And that is all I can say about that now.

B in my Bonnet

Or should I say a W?

Buried within my local paper today was a delightful tidbit about my beloved alma mater—Furman University. Apparently, somewhere around 2002, the University stopped using outside speakers for the commencement address, instead having seniors submit a paper and then the graduating class picked their fave.

This year things will be a bit different. George W. Bush is slated to speak as a result of the efforts of South Carolina's governor who contacted the White House. Then the White House contacted the University's president, David Shi. The possibility of Bush speaking was put toward whatever board at Furman approves this sort of thing and it was agreed that they didn't want to pass up the chance to have a sitting president speak (the University's first ever).

Of course, many of the students and faculty do not see it that way. A petition with more than 200 signatures was created by the student body and faculty to protest W's presence. You can read the petition here. 

The petition states that "Under ordinary circumstances, it would be an honor for Furman University to be visited by the President of the United States. However, these are not ordinary circumstances." Indeed.

So far the petition has not led to the university canceling Bush's speech and something tells me it won't, but I made sure to contact the alumni office and express my disapproval of the decision to have him speak and my decision to not honor the donation pledge I had made as a result. I will be also contacting the alumni I keep in touch with to urge them to do the same. I hate to penalize the University, but my only power here is with money.

Deep Thoughts by Broad Minded

I was reading the advice column on Salon today, and while the question that Cary Tennis was addressing had nothing whatsoever to do with politics it struck me as an interesting way to look at the candidates and the way this whole process has been unfolding. I don't know if it is just me, paying more attention as I have grown older, or if the way elections play out has really been changing, but it does seem like there has been some sort of shift, from when I first voted for president in 1992.

Anyway, this is what Tennis said:

We are all more than one thing. We all desire more than we have. We all harbor desires that push against boundaries. We all have impulses that we cannot act on because of the consequences. The way to live a civilized, compassionate life is to remain alert to these things and thus grow wise about their nature.

Believe it or not, I have a tendency to be a bit of a cock-eyed optimist. I generally try to batter that in sarcasm and deep fry in in irony (I am a southerner). But apparently my crispy, crunchy outer coating sometimes flakes off. What are you gonna do?

But in having gotten called out recently for floating happy rhetoric with perhaps less substance than some of you desire behind it, Mr. Tennis' remarks somehow seemed fitting. 

Somewhere inside, politicians are still people, just like you and me. And they are more than one thing, just like we are. I am southern, but that is not all that I am. I am a woman, but more than that. I am a writer, but that means different things to different people. The people running for president must want that position in a way that few of us can imagine. Just think about something that you have wanted more than anything and not been sure you were going to get—and I mean something big, not a flat screen tv. I know I have been in that position and it will drive you to do and think and feel things that you never thought you would. Desire is strange like that. 

I don't really know what I am saying here, but it is just something that made me think. Maybe it will make you think too.

Fun Facts

Well before I head out for the step-spawn's graduation I will leave you with a few fun facts to ponder over the weekend.

• The Bush Library Foundation lets their rights to the Web address, GeorgeWBushLibrary.com lapse and someone else has grabbed it up.
• Continued global may cause a shortage of beer worldwide.
• 81% of Americans think the country is on the wrong track.
• 17 states are suing the EPA because the EPA isn't regulating carbon pollution as the Supreme Court has mandated them to.
• Retired General Tommy Franks has been added to the corporate board of Chuck E. Cheese.

And from our esteemed leader himself, when asked in May 2006 what had been the best moment in his presidency thus far:

I would say the best moment of all was when I caught a seven and a half pound largemouth bass in my lake.

257 days left folks.

Well Spoken

Here is the video of Obama's speech last night and the powerful ending of it is below. It is long - about 22 minutes, but the part where he talks about his own family history and the opportunities that America gave him and his family and his wife's family is pretty powerful.

"The question, then, is not what kind of campaign they'll run, it's what kind of campaign we will run. It's what we will do to make this year different. I didn't get into this race thinking that I could avoid this kind of politics, but I am running for president because this is the time to end it.

"We will end it this time not because I'm perfect—I think by now this campaign has reminded all of us of that . . . We will end it by telling the truth—forcefully, repeatedly, confidently—and by trusting that the American people will embrace the need for change . . .

"So don't ever forget that this election is not about me, or any candidate. Don't ever forget that this campaign is about you—about your hopes, about your dreams, about your struggles, about securing your portion of the American dream.

"Don't ever forget that we have a choice in this country—that we can choose not to be divided, that we can choose not to be afraid, that we can still choose this moment to finally come together and solve the problems we've talked about all those other years in all those other elections.

"This time can be different than all the rest. This time we can face down those who say our road is too long, that our climb is too steep, that we can no longer achieve the change that we seek. This is our time to answer the call that so many generations of Americans have answered before—by insisting that by hard work, and by sacrifice, the American dream will endure.

Estate Planning

I am sure you are all aware of the results from yesterday's primaries in my little neck of the woods as well as northwards in Indiana. Clinton did not fare well and even though she eked out a win in Indiana, it was not the decisive one she needed. Now I don't anticipate her pulling out until after the remaining contests have come and gone, but my opinion now is that she is just staying in to keep things feisty. More power to her, but I think it might be time to start practicing saying "President Obama."

Meanwhile I saw something that intrigued me today, the Los Angeles City Council has approved restrictions on the size of homes in the city's flatlands. (Having only been to LA once or twice, I admittedly am not familiar with which part of the city this is.) You can read the whole deal online at the LA Times. The general gist though is that these enormous McMansions are being built and causing neighborhoods to resemble fields of monopoly boards, just stucco box after box. Even still, the house size limit will be 3,000 to 4,000 square feet. Now I know I live in a Cracker Jack box, but seriously people! That is like three times the size of my house, unless you have a gazillion kids, what do you need all that space for?

Some of you may be aware of my "disinterest" in newer style homes. I prefer older homes with all the neat quirks of personality, good and bad, that they offer (i.e. non-existent closet space—bad; really cool moldings and archways—good). I don't have a lot of sympathy for the folks that are building these oversized nightmares. I think of them as squatting, permanent Hummers, if you will. But the think that I think is most interesting about this article is the neighbors of these yea-whoos who talked to the city council about how these monstrosities have impaired their lives and communities, dwarfing their homes and taking away their privacy.

A man (or woman's!) home is his/her castle, but I mean that metaphorically.

Did you?

Election Day

In case you need help remembering who to vote for tomorrow:

www.folduscandidate.com.

And this guy? Would not be my choice.

Planetary Alignment

You may be asking yourself right now what amazing cosmic event has transpired to make me post on the weekend. Not event, gentle reader, EVENTS!

The day was starting off well to begin with because the husband and I had a rare weekend date planned. Oh joy, rapture, bliss. But little did I know that things could only get better.

At the gym, I happened to glance up from my treadmill screen to look at the people walking by in front of me on the track—a man in a ball cap and a woman. The man looked oddly familiar and then almost instantaneously it hit me! It was CHRIS DAUGHTRY from American Idol. Aside from seeing John Cleese at a play in England, this is my only celebrity sighting. And if I hadn't of looked like ass, I might have made an ass of myself and jumped off the treadmill and run him down. As it was, I tried to play it cool, while desperately scanning the gym to see if I could spot him again. And upon leaving I got confirmation at the front desk that it was indeed him.

So that would have to be the highlight of any day, right? But oh no, about 20 minutes ago it got even better. I answered the phone and was asked to participate in a telephone political poll. And I am not ashamed to admit that this excited me even more than seeing Chris Daughtry a mere three feet away from my own sweatiness.

Either the planets are in alignment or this is Christmas in May. I guess my grandmother was right, things do happen in threes.

Quote of the day

It is so pleasant to come across people more stupid than ourselves. We love them at once for being so.

Jerome K. Jerome

52

That is the number of US soldiers killed in Iraq from April 1, 2008 to April 30, 2008. The war doesn't seem to be getting much "play" these days so I think it is important to continue to highlight these things. April 2008 was the deadliest month in the war since last September.

Yesterday also marked the fifth anniversary of Dubya's ridiculous Mission Accomplished speech. Yes, if the mission was to have thousands of Americans die, oil prices to skyrocket, the US to loss its shirt economically-speaking in Iraq and the country to be so tired of this unnecessary war that they now mostly try to forget it is happening, then yes, the mission has been accomplished.

Speaking of the money we are pouring into Iraq, CNN reports that the US has spent more than $47 billion on reconstruction in Iraq since 2003 (when Bush played dress up in the flight suit). Senators Levin and Warner are questioning when Iraq is going to start paying for some of the reconstruction themselves, considering that by estimates from the US State Dept and the Iraqi Oil Ministry, the country is expected to bring in AT LEAST $100 billion in oil revenues from 2007 through the end of 2008.

Finally, in case you missed this, a 30-year old soldier, husband and father of two died in Afghanistan Tuesday. Sgt. 1st Class David L. McDowell was on his SEVENTH tour of duty. This is wrong on so many levels. First, while I know that the guy signed up for this, does anyone really sign up for that? And even if he had made it home alive and healthy, would he have ever been the same person again? 

Maybe I am just in a bad mood today, but this war and the current administration make me sick (and that is me saying that after my cup of starbucks to cheer me up). Now everybody join me in a rousing chorus of Lee Greenwoods seminal hit "Proud to be an American."

Locally Speaking, The Finale

As I have bemoaned in the comments, if not in previous posts, the local media outlets don't see to be doing a bang up job of reporting and informing North Carolinians on the upcoming primary.

This morning I located the following site, www.unctv.org/election.index.html, which seems to more than make up for the other outlets shortcomings. Yeah public television! My tax dollars at work.

So go there and you can find out about everyone running in your district from the US President race down to the NC State Auditor race (really!). I will wait while you squeal with joy.

On to the race for NC Lieutenant Governor. There are eight candidates, four democrats and four republicans, so I am going to keep this relatively short and sweet. The democrats are: Dan Besse, Hampton Dellinger, Walter Dalton and Pat Smathers. The republicans are: Timothy Cook, Greg Dority, Robert Pittenger, Jim Snyder.

I have actually met Dan Besse on several occasions. He seems nice and low key, very into women's rights. He goes into a lot of detail on his Web site, so I will just cherry pick what interests me. Under education he talks about moving away from teaching for tests; he wants to develop a co-op pool for health insurance that small businesses can join; he has served in several environmental positions, such as the NC Environmental Management Commission and wants to emphasize recycling.

Hampton Dellinger seems like a snappy, young'un with lots of motivation, but I think his Web site is a bit hazy on his stands. In his issues section he highlights some specific things like raising the compulsory school age in NC or his opposition to the Navy's OLF site in the eastern part of the state, but he doesn't seem to go any further, like "this is what I think we should do for the environment." He's been Deputy Attorney General and served in the Clinton Administration. On the UNCTV site he says in his state that he supports a woman's right to choose and affirmative action.

Walter Dalton has served in the NC Senate since 1996.  His daddy was a state senator as well. Dalton's Web site says he has supported the SCHIP program in the state and also worked to get funds for the UNC Cancer Center. He authored the character education bill which when I looked that up said it was all about "instilling core, ethical values." Frankly that creeps me out a bit. But then he sponsored something called the Home Protection Pilot that lets NC workers who have lost their jobs take out no interest loans to pay their mortgages and gives them 120 days to avoid foreclosure. So that is cool. I can't find any mention of women's rights issue or anything, but he does sound decent on the environment.

The final dem is Pat Smathers. A fellow capricorn, Smathers served as Mayor of Canton and was in the National Guard for more than 25 years. On his site, he doesn't go into much detail about his plans but describes each city in the state as links in a chain and each must be strong (he's a poet!). Basically he seems to want to give some power back to the local communities to try and fix their issues because they are the ones closest to the issues not someone in Raleigh.

Whew! Now the republicans.

Timothy Cook doesn't appear to have a Web site, an article in the News & Observer says he has run twice before and lost and has held no other public office. He is an industrial chemist and says he helped create biodiesel. The article also mentions he was convicted of a misdemeanor assault charge, but as long as he stays out of trouble there is no judgement, he says he's innocent.

Next. Greg Dority, a widower with a young daughter (I am just going to get the heart string-factor out of the way first), has done security work with ABC News and after the Gulf War did security field work in the Balkans and Caucuses. He has brief snippets about illegal immigration and state spending under issues on his Web site, but nothing indepth. Not that I will be voting republican here, but that seems to me to be a problem.

Robert Pittenger is a NC State Senator. On his Web site he mentions his efforts to champion medical malpractice reform as well as his efforts to halt illegal immigration by banning contracts to companies that knowingly employ illegal aliens. Under issues, taxes he mentions getting rid of incentives to lure big companies to NC because of our favorable business tax climate rating. He introduced a bill that would limit the damages that could be put on health care providers for liability claims. He of course mentions the church he attends at the bottom of his About Robert page.

Jim Snyder has served as a NC state representative. His Web site details his issues, which include a right to bear arms paragraph and a section on the rights of the unborn. Sorry you know me, that pretty much ends it for me right there. You can read more for yourself if you like. And like all the other GOP Lt. Gov. candidates he seems to be still married to his high school sweetheart. Awww.

Dang! I am worn out now. You guys are on your own. Go look at the UNCTV site and get informed and VOTE on Tuesday. Or I will come after you!