Tickets Available

If you are interested in catching McCain's speech today. Tickets are still available (and yet the fire marshals closed down the arena last night for Obama when the crowd reached 84,000—interesting . . .).

www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/08/28/ddn082808tickets.html

Change

First a bit on Al Gore. He started off strong and kept going I thought:

One of the greatest gifts of our democracy is the opportunity it offers us every four years to change course.

It's not a guarantee; it's only an opportunity.

The question facing us, simply put, is will we seize this opportunity for change?

It was nice to see his sense of humor come out last night too:

Today, we face essentially the same choice we faced in 2000, though it may be even more obvious now, because John McCain, a man who has earned our respect on many levels, is now openly endorsing the policies of the Bush-Cheney White House and promising to actually continue them, the same policies all over again.

Hey, I believe in recycling, but that's ridiculous.

For multiple reasons, (especially after today's vp announcement) Obama was on target last night when he said McCain just doesn't get it. I liked this play on the ownership society the GOP is fond of, saying that it really means you are on your own. And I thought he did a good job of explaining point by point what his goals would be during his presidency (to quiet the naysayers who think he has no plan). His jab at McCain saying he is a celebrity was nice too—calling in the facts of the life his grandparents led and the work he has done. 

Like Biden, Obama brought up the issue of equal pay, which got a round of applause from yours truly. His nod to personal responsibility in terms of what is required to move our country forward was well aimed, as was the remark toward patriotism not belonging to any party—"So I've got news for you, John McCain. We all put our country first." Hear! Hear!

Finally, early on in the speech Obama made a point of calling McCain out and I feel he kept that up throughout, right until the end when he referenced making a big election about small things because the GOP has nothing else to run on. But in the beginning I think he said it best:

If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament, and judgment, to serve as the next commander in chief, that's a debate I'm ready to have.

Desperation . . .

 . . . the world's worst cologne.

Rumors are swirling about McCain's VP pick. Romney is fund raising in California. Minnesota Governor Pawlenty has said it ain't him and supposedly Leiberman is sunning his callow, traitorous backside on some private beach.

But the first term governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, was seen at an airport near to where McCain is set to announce his running mate today in Ohio.

Way to pander to the ladies Johnny boy. What McCain doesn't seem to get is it isn't about having a woman, any woman, on the ticket for most feminists (or at least in this Femi-nazi's humble opinion) it is about having the right woman.

Now that is a foreign policy debate I want to see, Palin vs. Biden. Something tells me it will be a knock out in the first round.

Equal Pay

I forgot to mention in my earlier post about Biden's speech that I was especially impressed by his reference to Obama insuring that women received equal pay. This is an issue near and dear to my heart. In case you weren't aware, women average 77 cents to every dollar that a man earns.

Go ahead and do the math, gentle readers, I will wait.

So how much more would your salary be if only you had a penis? I know the increase I would see. And why? What makes a man more worthy? Is it because he is the "family breadwinner." Not so fast, I work and my husband is a stay at home dad. Is it because he is better educated? Not so fast, I have a masters degree.

There isn't a real reason out there why men today, in the 21st century, are still earning more than women. Women are as qualified, as capable, and as smart as any man. And I just hope that Obama and Biden stick to their guns on this issue.

Bringing the House Down

Bill Clinton does love the spotlight. And boy did he deserve it last night. His speech at the convention was old school Clinton, the reason why I was so inspired by him all the way back in the early 90s as a college student. That man could charm the habit off a nun.

One of my favorite lines of his from the night, and there were many, was:

"people have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power." 

I also like when he alluded to people saying he was too young and inexperienced when he ran, like they are saying with Obama.

John Kerry's speech was none-too-shabby either. The break down of McCain the Senator and McCain the Candidate was good. I thought this was one of the better lines from his speech: "This election is a chance for America to tell the merchants of fear and division: you don't decide who loves this country; you don't decide who is a patriot; you don't decide whose service counts and whose doesn't."

Finally, I thought Biden's speech was good overall, but it didn't seem to have as many lines in it that made me say "right on." That being said, I thought this part of his speech was particularly strong:

Like millions of Americans, they're asking questions as profound as they are ordinary. Questions they never thought they would have to ask:

* Should mom move in with us now that dad is gone?
* Fifty, sixty, seventy dollars to fill up the car?
* Winter's coming. How we gonna pay the heating bills?
* Another year and no raise?
* Did you hear the company may be cutting our health care?
* Now, we owe more on the house than it's worth. How are we going to send the kids to college?
* How are we gonna be able to retire?

That's the America that George Bush has left us, and that's the future John McCain will give us. These are not isolated discussions among families down on their luck. These are common stories among middle-class people who worked hard and played by the rules on the promise that their tomorrows would be better than their yesterdays.

That promise is the bedrock of America. It defines who we are as a people. And now it's in jeopardy. I know it. You know it. But John McCain doesn't get it.

Barack Obama gets it. Like many of us, Barack worked his way up. His is a great American story.

And I did like his Freudian slip saying Bush when he meant McCain. That was classic. 

Now tonight, the main event.

Today's Funny

I received this in an email from Creative Kerfuffle today and damn if it didn't make me laugh out loud. Thanks CK.

2008 Democrat National Convention

Schedule of Events

7:00 pm   OPENING FLAG BURNING

7:15 pm   PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE U.N.

7:20 pm   Ted Kennedy  PROPOSES A TOAST

7:25 pm   NONRELIGIOUS PRAYER AND WORSHIP - Jesse Jackson & Al Sharpton

7:45 pm   CEREMONIAL TREE HUGGING - Darryl Hannah

7:55 pm   Ted Kennedy  PROPOSES A TOAST

8:00 pm   HOW I INVENTED THE INTERNET -  Al Gore

8:15 pm   GAY WEDDING PLANNING -   Rosie O'Donnell

8:35 pm   Ted Kennedy  PROPOSES A TOAST

8:40 pm   OUR TROOPS ARE WAR CRIMINALS - John Kerry

9.00 pm   MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR SADDAM AND HIS SONS - Cindy Sheehan and Susan Sarandon

10:00 pm    ANSWERING MACHINE ETIQUETTE - Alec Baldwin

11:00 pm   Ted Kennedy  PROPOSES A TOAST

11:05 pm   COLLECTION FOR THE OSAMA BIN LADEN KIDNEY TRANSPLANT FUND - Barbara Streisand

11:15 pm   FREE THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS FROM GUANTANAMO BAY - Sean Penn

11:30 pm   OVAL OFFICE AFFAIRS - William Jefferson Clinton

11:45 pm    Ted Kennedy  PROPOSES A TOAST

11:50 pm   HOW GEORGE BUSH BROUGHT DOWN THE WORLD TRADE TOWERS - Howard Dean

12:15 am   TRUTH IN BROADCASTING AWARD - Presented to Dan Rather by Michael Moore

12:25 am   Ted Kennedy  PROPOSES A TOAST

12:30 am   SATELLITE ADDRESS - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

12:45 am   NOMINATION OF BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA - Nancy Pelosi

1:00 am   Ted Kennedy  PROPOSES A TOAST

1:05 am   CORONATION OF BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA 

1:30 am   Ted Kennedy  PROPOSES A TOAST

1:35 am    Bill Clinton asks Ted Kennedy to drive Hillary home

 

More Love for Garrison Keillor

From today's column on Salon:

People have lots of questions about Barack Obama and that's as it should be. The man inspires curiosity. The problem for McCain is that Barack explains himself so well. Those people jamming basketball arenas aren't going there to look at his shoes. If you listen to the man speak, you're likely to vote for him. If you listen to McCain, you're reminded of your great-uncle Elmer hashing over the injustice of MacArthur getting canned by Harry Truman. Who cares?

And then there is the Current Occupant. He's kept quiet for a while, cutting brush, playing speed golf, treadmilling, but he's bound to emerge in the fall, make a speech, issue a statement, do something, and this will not be good for McCain.

America has paid a terrible price for one family's decision to take a boy out of the public schools of Midland, Texas, and send him off to Chutney or Amway or whatever his prep school was called, and then to Yale, where he picked up a permanent grudge against people who were smarter than he. A Yalie who learned to pass for redneck, a Methodist who learned to pass for evangelical, he was cut out for politics, but what a lousy administrator and what a dull, uninspiring leader. Fewer people want more bushiness than want to see the return of infantile paralysis. And the truth is marching on.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantsuit

Humor. Check.

Unity. Check.

Patriotism. Check.

Emotional. Check.

Straight talk. Check.

I would say that Hillary Clinton nailed it. "No way. No how. No McCain."

I love how she asked the audience if they were in the campaign for her or for all the Americans who feel invisible. Nice. The shout out to Bill and his ability to balance the budget was nice too—especially the cut away to him smiling. The audience calling out "No" when she started hammering McCain was pretty cool too. And as she got really geared up, she got my blood pumping, the crowd's too and you could see that "you go girl" twinkle in Bill's eye.

My favorite part was towards the end though, and it was what pulled on my heartstrings:

"My mother was born before women could vote. But in this election my daughter got to vote for her mother for President.

This is the story of America. Of women and men who defy the odds and never give up.

How do we give this country back to them?"

And damn skippy if that crazy, scrappy little elfin Dennis Kucinich didn't give 'em hell. When he said "Are you ready for November?" I really thought he was going to say are you ready to rumble! It was a fitting tribute to the late Stephanie Tubbs Jones, and I have to give it to the little guy, he was on fire.

Wonder what Bill will say tonight? And Biden. Something tells me the gloves will be off.

Poll Up My Butt

We all have one, the family member who sends us chain emails that make our blood boil. I have one that recently sent me one saying John Lennon was killed because he said the Beatles were bigger than God. 

NO ONE TALKS SMACK ABOUT THE BEATLES.

Anyway, this particular relative of mine is at it again and I am afraid the spouse may hurt him or her at the most or start an email war at the least.

The latest include an email to get us to vote in an MSNBC poll about taking "In God We Trust" off US currency. And of course urging all the "good christians" to go vote to keep the phrase.

Here's the link:

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10103521/

I will just let you guess how I voted . . . 

A Bit More

Well I have listened to all of Michelle Obama's speech and here is the honest truth folks—I teared up no less than five times. She is either that good or it is official and I am the biggest sap in the world. And both may be true.

I also listened to Ted Kennedy's speech and I must admit that his sheer presence was moving, as was watching Maria Shriver wipe the tears from her face. The man has had a long and occasionally questionable career, but knowing what he faces it is good to see him have a chance to go out doing what he loves and does best.

The spouse has been giving me snippets throughout the day on the media's comments about last night. And I must agree with my friend who emailed me today about some of the commentators inherent prejudices or biases showing through. For shame, you who would call yourself journalists. Your job is to be objective, it is mine to spout opinions.

That being said, apparently some yahoo on Fox made some comment about the Obama's youngest daughter and how chatty she was last night at the end of her mom's speech and how it came across as coaxed. This person (who I haven't been able to nail down who it is yet—sorry for the I heard from a friend who heard it from so-and-so nature of this) then implied that this was often a sign of a child who has been abused. The audacity! That girl is six or thereabouts? I think she is just a precocious kid, nothing more, nothing less. Fox News is insidious and evil.

And another point my friend mentioned and I myself have been vexed by—what is this nonsense about polls carrying so much weight. First of all, in this day and age, a LOT of people only have cell phones. Cell phone numbers are not included in polls. So that is a large portion of the population, mostly younger voters, whose opinions are not being counted. The spouse is boning up on his conspiracy theories these days and he thinks that the media is deliberately trying to make it sound like the race is close to keep things interesting for them so they have something to talk about.

I don't know what to think to be honest. All I remember is a Nike ad that was out when I was in college that I laminated and hung on my dorm room wall:

 

A WOMAN IS OFTEN MEASURED BY THE THINGS SHE CANNOT CONTROL. SHE IS MEASURED BY THE WAY HER BODY CURVES OR DOESN'T CURVE, BY WHERE SHE IS FLAT OR STRAIGHT OR ROUND. SHE IS MEASURED BY 36-24-36 AND INCHES AND AGES AND NUMBERS, BY ALL THE OUTSIDE THINGS THAT DON'T EVER ADD UP TO WHO SHE IS ON THE INSIDE. AND SO IF A WOMAN IS TO BE MEASURED LET HER BE MEASURED BY THE THINGS SHE CAN CONTROL, BY WHO SHE IS AND WHO SHE IS TRYING TO BECOME. BECAUSE AS EVERY WOMAN KNOWS, MEASUREMENTS ARE ONLY STATISTICS. AND STATISTICS LIE.

From the Floor

I missed last night's convention kick off (Bad political blogger, I know!). I am diligently reading and listening to catch up and share my thoughts with you later. 

I just read this bit from Michelle Obama's speech and if it doesn't bring a tear to your eye then you are a much tougher nut to crack than 'ole broad here (but then I may be getting soft in my dotage . . .).

"And one day, they [the Obama's two daughers]—and your sons and daughters—will tell their own children about what we did together in this election ... How this time, in this great country—where a girl from the South Side of Chicago can go to college and law school, and the son of a single mother from Hawaii can go all the way to the White House—we committed ourselves to building the world as it should be."

Damn skippy. Pass the tissue.

Suffering No More

Per The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor:

It was on this day in 1920 that the 19th Amendment was formally incorporated into the U.S. Constitution. It proclaimed, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." It ended more than 70 years of struggle by the suffragist movement.

It had passed through the House and Senate. At first, it looked like the amendment was not going to make it. And then, a 24-year-old legislator from Tennessee, Harry Burn, decided to vote for the amendment at the last minute because his mother wanted him to. And Tennessee became the 36th state to approve suffrage for women.

They sent the certified record of the Tennessee vote to Washington, D.C., and it arrived on August 26, 1920. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby signed the proclamation that morning at 8 a.m. at his home. There was no ceremony of any kind, and no photographers were there to capture the moment. And none of the leaders of the woman suffrage movement were present to see him do it. Colby just finished his cup of coffee and signed the document with a regular, steel pen. Then he said, "I turn to the women of America and say: 'You may now fire when you are ready. You have been enfranchised.'

God bless Harry Burn and Bainbridge Colby. I hope their mama's, wives and daughters were proud no matter what their motivations were for doing what they did.

Matin' Time

I have a confession to make: I may not be as technologically savvy as you, gentle reader, may have believed.

See I tried to sign up Friday for the email alert from the Obama camp about the VP pick. Frankly I just couldn't bloody take it anymore. I hate not knowing things. Although I love a surprise. Go figure.

Well, Friday evening rolled around and no email. I checked several times while we were out at a friend's and before I went to bed. The spouse had heard that it might come in the wee hours of the a.m. He suggested I put the phone on my bedside table—since he suggested it and that eliminated him from mocking me for it, I did just that. I woke up several times in the night and checked the phone. Nothing. So apparently I didn't do something right when I signed up or I did it too late.

I did have an email that arrived about 5 a.m. announcing that Biden was the pick.

So . . . I like Biden. He has a big mouth which I frankly kind of like even if it has gotten him into trouble on occasion. To be crass, he has a good story, raising his sons alone for a while, remarrying an obviously smart woman. And he is ranked the 99th of the 100 senators in terms of wealth. Something that warms the empty coffers of my heart.

If Saturday's speech is any indication, Biden can be the so-called "attack dog" that Obama needs. I LOVE that he went after McCain using McCain's own words. Killer.

Yes, he is an old, white guy who has been in Washington forever. But Obama probably needed to pick someone that could alleviate the whole "he's not experienced" argument. Biden is anything but inexperienced.

So that is my two cents for the moment. We'll see how the convention goes this week.

Make Your Own Candidate

Yes I am bored. But yet this is kinda cool.

From Etsy:

This kit includes everything you need to make a Barack Obama bust out of wool. You get several colors of wool roving, a foam safety cube, one barbed felting needle and easy to follow instructions.

The Barack Obama kit is an advanced needlefelting kit. We'd recommend starting with one of our other kits first, before attempting Obama, unless you have needlefelting experience.

Check out all of Fancy Tiger's super cute kits!!

Enough Already

Just tell us who it is!

Listen, I know it is Friday afternoon and I am bored out of my gourd, but seriously, I can't take it anymore. I can't take not knowing, I can't take the endless speculation, I can't take the second guessing from everyone about information we don't even know yet.

Dear god just put us out of our misery and say it already.

Off with the Gloves

Well doggie. Looks like Obama is fixin' to play a bit rougher. Yahoo!!!

The first video is from a speech he gave in Chester, Va. yesterday after he picked up some peaches down the street from me. (I will pause while you hum the line from the Steve Miller Band song, you know you want to . . .). I think I know how many houses I have, how about ya'll?

The next video is Obama's latest ad. The last line is a serious burn. I highly recommend you take the 30 seconds and watch. Nice job, dems, nice job.

Biding Our Time

So do you think that the inclusion of Joe Biden in Obama's little jaunt to Florida means he is the VP pick?

Rumor has it we will know today . . .

And dang, dang, double dang. How ill am I that I missed out on Obama's secret stop to my neck of the woods. Alas.

Home on the Range

And you thought you were having a hard time paying for just one home . . . .

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 18, 2008

AFL-CIO AND SEIU TEAM UP WITH BRAVE NEW FILMS TO TELL PUBLIC THAT MULTIMILLIONAIRE JOHN MCCAIN IS THE REAL ELITIST

LOS ANGELES -- This morning, Brave New Films distributed to its list of 500,000 people a new online video meant to bring attention to John McCain's exorbitant personal wealth. "McCain's Mansions: The Real Elitist" makes the case that McCain's privilege and affluence put him out of touch with the struggles of ordinary working Americans in a recession economy. The video, which features pictures of six of McCain's ten estates, follows on the heels of a mailer with the same message sent by the AFL-CIO to 50,000 retired union members last week.

Something Happened on the Way to the Forum

Well, well, well. McCain and Obama sat down Saturday evening with Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church out in the land of fruits and nuts (as my father always affectionately refers to California) to talk about why they want to be president.

WHAT THE FREAKIN', FRACKIN', FUCKITY FUCK?

Listen, I have no problem with these two men being asked the questions that "Pastor Rick" asked. I have a problem with the fact that "Pastor Rick" was the one doing the asking. Was Carrot Top booked? All this shows me is that the religious right has truly hijacked our country.

Admittedly, Warren asked real questions, so I have to applaud him for that. But I do not think it is even remotely appropriate for two political candidates to be selling themselves in such a forum at all. I don't want my candidates coming to talk to me from my church's pulpit anymore than I want my minister advising said leaders on foreign policy.

Some commentators have mentioned that Obama seemed off his game. This was not apparent to me, but then I am biased, so I would be interested to see if other people thought this as well. I will say that my impression was that Obama actually answered the questions with some thought and McCain seemed to be throwing out campaign sound bites from note cards. Many of his answers were just too black and white for my liking, especially when things started heading into the whole abortion/gay marriage arena. And when McCain slammed all four of the more liberal Supreme Court justices without missing a beat, my head just about exploded. Obama actually had the decency to say complimentary things about Scalia and Roberts, even though he obviously disagrees with many of their stances. Now that is class people.

One thing that I keep wishing some candidate, any candidate would bring up is the reality behind late term abortions. Obama did get some points for saying that pro choice people are not pro abortion, but everyone makes it sound like someone getting a late term abortion was just too lazy to do it earlier on. Now I don't have stats on this, but from off the reading I have done about this, off the top of my head I know that late term abortions are rare things to begin with. And while I can't say this with 100% certainty, but I would wager that 99.9% of these late term abortion are because giving birth will either kill the mother, the baby is already dead and they don't want the mother to have to continue to carry it and give birth, or the baby has such a defect that it will die shortly after birth.

Either way, I don't want to be the one to tell that woman and her family that she can't terminate that pregnancy. I can't even imagine the pain of walking around nine months pregnant knowing the baby is dead or will be after birth and having strangers and acquaintances ask when I was due, etc. That is inhuman. But then I guess McCain won't ever have that experience and those like him who are against these procedures don't consider that important.

Sorry to get off track, but that really chaps my ass.

Happy Monday.

By the Way

In guess you, my gentle readers, truly read this blog for insight or because you value my opinion (!), here is a round up of my thoughts, musings and reactions to some of the big pictures items going on lately.

1.  Clinton's name being put up at the Democratic Convention.

This is fine. No I am not worried that some delegates will go to her side and then there won't be a clear winner. Unbunch your panties people. This is merely a gesture of good will; it is clearly within the rules; and it won't cause any problems and will hopefully unruffle some feathers. Now if those crazy old broads who keep calling into CSPAN in the morning would stop saying they are voting for McCain now that Clinton isn't the nominee, we could get down to the business of electing a democrat this November.

2.  Russia vs. Georgia. Who's the bad guy here?

Unfortunately, my sense is it isn't that easy. Georgia's president doesn't appear to be the nicest individual on the block, but that doesn't mean that Russia's interests in invading are all that altruistic. I am afraid I can't speak about this in any more detail without just making shit up. But I can say this, apparently the current U.S. administration and Republican presidential nominee, McCain, have not been taking their daily does of irony factor. All these statements about it not being right to invade a sovereign nation in the 21st century from these jokers are just plain asinine. See for yourself here, and here.

3. The Olympics

I'm sorry I just don't care. Not to mention they come on past my bedtime. 'Nuff said.

Speaking of Vacation Days . . .

A couple of posts back (By the Numbers) I mentioned that the number of vacation days our esteemed leader has taken since rounding first"winning" the 2000 election and stealing second moving into the White House way back in January of 2001. Apparently I might have been a bit off on my data.

Olbermann's Countdown gave the number as being a bit closer to 2.5 years. And yes you read that right—TWO AND A HALF YEARS. I will leave you alone a minute while you weep silently to yourself in your cubicle.

Here's a tissue, now suck it up. If you can stand it, read more about the breakdown of this figure here.

Enjoy your two day weekend!

Rest for the Weary

Now this is a cause I think all of us should get behind. The good folks at Right2Vacation.org are giving us even more reasons as to why taking a break from work (a paid break mind you) is important. Here's a few facts for this Friday:

• 52% of workers took less than a week off, 65% of workers took less than 2 weeks off, and 78% of workers took less than 3 weeks off.
  
• The U.S. is the only industrialized nation without a minimum annual leave statute.
  
• 25% of Americans receive no paid vacation leave. Only 69% of lower-wage workers get any paid vacation leave.
  
• Men who don't take regular vacations are 32% more likely to die of heart attacks, and 21% more likely to die early of all causes. Women have 50% more risk of heart attack.
  
• Every European worker gets at least four weeks of paid vacation by law. Yet the Euro is rising while the dollar is falling.
  
• Stress and burnout at work cost the US economy over $300 billion a year.
  

Now how exactly we go about changing our corporate culture to allow this sort of thing I admittedly have no idea. But I sure do enjoy thinking about four weeks of vacation a year . . .

Losing My Religion

I am a busy girl this week folks, so when I catch my breath there will be more, but in the meantime here are some snippet's from Matt Taibbi's article in the August 7, 2008 issue of Rolling Stone that made me laugh out loud. The article deals with McCain's efforts to woo the religious right. Dude has a way with the words . . .

"The whole braying-to-the-moon, born-again Promise Keeper act perfected by the Bushes and Huckabees of the world is as alien to his sensibility as an Iron John man-poetry retreat. Sitting here in the North Phoenix Baptist pews, he has a look on his face like he'd just as well suck a cock as do an alter call. It's one of his most likable qualities."

Later, Taibbi says this:

"McCain is so bad at this game that when it came time for him to pick an evangelical date for the prom, he chose the one preacher crazy enough to make even trailer-dwelling Southerners nervous—John Hagee, a beach-ball-shaped apocalypse merchant whose views on Catholicism would raise eyebrows at a Klan meeting."

Teehee.

Thoughts on Infidelity

Salon has a new reader forum called Open Salon. I haven't poked around much, but apparently readers can post things, etc. sort of like an open blog. Salon editor Joan Walsh was digesting the John Edwards news and referenced something from Open Salon that was posted by a woman whose husband was a cancer survivor. This lady's comments, as someone who has dealt with that kind of emotional upheaval and trauma, made me re-evaluate my thoughts on Edwards. I am still pissed as hell, but perhaps my expectations are too high. [After all my horoscope yesterday told me to "Let go of idealistic notions about how people should behave."]

An excerpt:

"Both partners may be just sick to death of sickness. And that's the first thing my husband said when I mentioned John Edwards' confession. He said, maybe Edwards had an affair because he just wanted things to be normal again. Maybe he was tired of cancer and treatment.

"My first thought was that maybe one or both of them just couldn't see a way to reconnect erotically after breast cancer. Speaking only for myself again, when I had a scare with an unclear mammogram -- one that took months to clear up -- I felt profoundly alienated from my body as a source of pleasure. And I didn't even have cancer, just a bad case of paranoia!

"Maybe having an affair when your spouse has just faced down mortality is a way of affirming your own survival. Maybe it's a form of denial about your partner's mortality, and your own. This might be just an extension of the stereotypical mid-life crisis -- but cranked up to eleven.

"And maybe, with the pressures of raising two young kids and running for president the Edwards[es] just hadn't yet figured out how to be a couple together again. My husband and I struggled enough, and we only had two little kids and a couple of university jobs.

"In the end, why John Edwards strayed will remain a mystery to everyone outside his family, and that's only right. They deserve their privacy. Elizabeth has asked for privacy as they work through this. A marriage should remain a mystery to everyone outside it."

Infidelity in the News

I am equal parts outraged and saddened at the news that John Edwards did in fact have an affair several years ago.

Not only did I truly admire the man, but his wife has proven to be an inspiration and to see her spirit and devotion to him and their shared causes disrespected in such an appalling manner truly shakes my belief in the goodness of people.

I can't imagine what Edwards was thinking that justified such actions and I am heart sick that on top of her illness and the tragedy of her son, Wade's death, Elizabeth Edwards has had to also deal with infidelity. Her decision to stay with her husband is hers alone and I make no judgements on that. My disdain is reserved exclusively for her husband. I am not sure I will be able to so quickly forgive or forget.

By the Numbers

506

The number of vacation days Bush has taken thus far in his almost 8 years in office.

134

The number of visits Bush has made since taking office (actually a record for any president).

Jon Stewart cited these numbers the other day on The Daily Show and then asked if maybe Bush just didn't like being in the White House after all? Makes you wonder.

Feminist Rant

Normally I don't post from home because frankly I spend enough time in front of the computer at work everyday, but today I arrived home and within the days' mail was a wedding announcement from my cousin. It was addressed to the X's. I will give you a moment while you figure out what is wrong with that.

Everybody got it? Yep, I didn't change my last name when the husband and I married. There is no Mrs. in the house. I am a MS.!!!! When I got the wedding announcement from this cousin and his prospective bride, I was cool, they didn't know. So I sent a note, with my full name on the return address. The wedding present I ordered from Target came from me, my credit card, again with my full name on the packing slip. And yet, it still hasn't sunk in.

Listen, I am not such a feminist nazi that I can't cut people some slack. I try to smile at the old people who think my son is a girl because he doesn't have a crew cut. I give people one shot to get my name wrong before I expect them to correct themselves on the assumption that I blissfully turned my back on the name that took me through college, grad school, the first five years of my career and the first 29 years of my life. This is, after all, the 21st century folks. Shouldn't we be asking about these things by now and not ASSUMING? And I do assume that if you are family you might catch on to this a bit quicker, especially if the person is themselves under the age of 30.

But then people still think it is appropriate to sound saddened when a woman over 30 tells them she isn't married or to give the same reaction to a married woman over 40 who doesn't have kids. Sometimes these are choices people, not cruel twists of fate. And if by chance they are cruel twists of fate, well here is some lemon juice that you can pour on that wound that you just stabbed repeatedly. Dear God they should be teaching etiquette and manners in school nowadays.

Don't assume people, or as my least favorite boss used to be oh-so fond of telling me "You make an ass of you and me."

Hitting the Rim

Many moons ago, the Bush White House "discovered" a letter from Iraqi security chief Tahir Jalil Habbush to Saddam Hussein. The letter showed a link between al-Qaida and Saddam Hussein—Mohammad Atta (lead man on September 11) had trained in Iraq and  al-Qaida had been involved with some mysterious shipments from Niger to Iraq, which were believed to contain yellow cake uranium. Dubya and the boys (sorry Condi) viewed this as the "slam dunk" they needed to make their case for invading Iraq.

As Ron Suskind has been so kind to back up with fact what many of us have long believed, this letter wasn't quite kosher. Point of fact, it was a bald-faced lie. This week his book, The Way of the World: A Story of Truth and Hope in an Age of Extremism, detailing the events leading up to this letter as well as the aftermath was published. Suskind's sources are two former CIA officials—Rob Richer and John Maguire— who have said CIA Director George Tenet ordered them to create the forged document. And yes he has the men's interviews on tape.

Richer and Maguire have made a statement. First from Richer:

I never received direction from George Tenet or anyone else in my chain of command to fabricate a document ... as outlined in Mr. Suskind's book. 

Richer, the CIA's former deputy director of clandestine operations, then added that he had spoken with Maguire (former head of the CIA's Iraq Operations Group at the time), currently in Iraq on a consultant basis, who gave permission to state the following on his behalf:

I never received any instruction from then Chief/NE Rob Richer or any other officer in my chain of command instructing me to fabricate such a letter. Further, I have no knowledge to the origins of the letter and as to how it circulated in Iraq.

And of course the Bush folk issued their own statement, courtesy of the White House deputy press secretary Tony Fratto. "The notion that the White House directed anyone to forge a letter from Habbush to Saddam Hussein is absurd."

Bless Dennis Kucinich's heart. He must be salivating over the possibility of his impeachment motions against Bush and Cheney actually gaining some traction. Now of course, between the denials of the sources and no smoking gun other than said sources memories, those less inclined to believe in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy might cry foul over Suskind's allegations.

But really folks, do you put anything past Dubya and the boys at this point? Ain't nothing straight about those boys except the creases in their pants. They are crooked and would lie to their own mothers.

Now if the Bush administration had actually paid attention to what Habbush, their source was saying, rather than what they wanted him to say, it looks like we could have avoided this whole debacle (not that avoiding war was ever something Dubya was interested in–he had a stiffie to be a "War Time President" as soon as the Supreme Court handed him the keys to the White House). Suskind notes that in January 2003 (the letter appeared in September of the same year) Habbush told British Intelligence that Saddam's nuclear program and chemical weapon stockpile were a thing of the past–the distant past, Saddam kibboshed them TWELVE years earlier.

Tenet's response to this news, "They're (the Bush Administration) not going to like this downtown." The information that Habbush supplied went away.

Salon offers a pretty even handed review of the book, which is about much more, good and bad, than this one episode—in fact the forged letter gotcha doesn't appear until page 370.

And last night's Countdown with Keith Olbermann had an exclusive with Suskind as well, it is about 13 minutes long if you have the time.

Tuesday Filler

Gentle readers, I am brain dead and bored. Not a pretty combination. Perhaps it was the bacchanalia of the spawn's birthday this weekend. Perhaps it was the fine dining experience I enjoyed last evening. Perhaps it is because I am a lazy git. No matter the cause, the end result is I HAVE NOTHING TO SAY.

And yet I feel guilt at the recent sporadic spate of my posts.

So to honor your continued devotion, I bring you this snippet from an episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart last week. Enjoy. After all, tomorrow is another day.

Race Days

We all knew it was a matter of time, but I kind of thought that things might hold steady on the race issue until closer to the election. But au contraire. It would seem that the end of July was a fitting time for both camps to declare the race card played.

Now I am not sure that I buy that either McCain or Obama have really brought race into things. I will say that I think McCain has been reading a bit too much from Rove's playbook before bedtime, he has gone negative after pledging not to back in April. David Shuster commented in the last several days on MSNBC that they only chance McCain has in this election is to go negative.

Frankly I don't get why people fall for this. Do you really want to live your life ruled by your fears? Let's face it, the economy blows right now, something I believe is the creation of Bush's tax cuts to the wealthy. After all that trickle down shit didn't work in the 80s with Reagan, why in hell did Dubya think it would work for him? Oh wait, he didn't, he just didn't care as long as his buddies, and more importantly his donors, were getting richer.

Life is too short, in my opinion, to be walking around like chicken little. I would rather be optimistic and hope that with some effort we can make things better and fall on my face, then sit back like the McCain camp and just assume that everything is shit and always will be, so vote Republican. Not a ringing endorsement for these ears.

But back to race. The other thing that has been bugging me all week is this talk after Obama's European tour that he is arrogant and "uppity." I have lived in the south my entire life and I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that "uppity" is just white code for a black person thinking they are as good as the white man. And God forbid any black person think they are worthy of the office of president. Like how when you say something negative about someone but soften it by first saying "Bless her heart." For instance, "My brother, bless is heart, isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer." All that means is my brother is a dip shit, albeit a blessed one.

Look we have had someone in office for over seven years now who treats it like a joke, isn't it time we had someone who took the job seriously? Wasn't the whole point of Obama's trip to show that he was president material? And then the press and others want to blast him for acting too presidential? I give up.