Love, Exciting and New

Why someone ever decided that a fat baby with wings was the best emblem to celebrate romantic love is beyond me. Anyone with a baby (or for that matter a kid) knows that trying to get your romance on with a wee one around is a challenge that involves the UN, NATO, some good locks and the ability to get the job done quick. And that is on a good day. But per usual, I digress. Tomorrow is that acclaimed day ala Hallmark—Valentine's Day. And seeing how romance is on the brain, whether you like it or not, at this time of year it seemed an apt time to finally ponder the whole John Edwards debacle.

Maybe it was because I came of age when Clinton took his sax to the airwaves and wooed me via MTV (back when the station played music and not homages to self absorbed brainless twats with tight bums and short attention spans), maybe it is just some genetic abnormality that makes me prone to believe the lofty rhetoric of any earnest liberal, maybe it is even a subconscious rejection of having Jesse Helms represent my beloved state for low those many years. The reason remains a mystery, but the result is that I fell for John Edwards—hook, line and sinker. I don't mean I found him physically attractive, I mean he is fine, but a bit too pretty and polished for my taste, rather I bought all of his "Two Americas," his belief that he could lead our country in the right direction. Sadly, I still believe all of that, and I still believe that he believed it as well. The tragedy is that his political beliefs are not quite enough to balance out his moral depravity, at least not in the eyes of most Americans.

If this were another country, say the oft vilified France, maybe Edwards indiscretions, subsequent love child and his wife's eventual abandonment of him wouldn't have mattered in terms of his political career. Sadly, our American puritanical streak is more evident than the roots on a trailer park blonde. My fellow countrymen can't seem to separate what a person does between the sheets and what they can do in their careers. Right or wrong that is the way it is.

What is so disappointing about the Edwards case is not so much that he cheated, then lied over and over again to his wife who has had enough bad news to last several lifetimes, it is that he had the hubris to think that it wouldn't matter to the American people and that if he had won the Democratic nomination that he wouldn't have been handing the election to the Republican candidate (in this case McCain and his brainless bimbette, Sarah Palin). That is truly inexcusable to me. If he loved his country, he would never put us in that position, especially not after being put through eight years of Dubya whose high jinks nearly tore our country apart.

Don't get me wrong, I am horrified about what Edwards did to his family, and for what? Vanity? Surely he didn't love that woman? But if he did, wouldn't it have been better to be upfront with his wife than try and deceive her? But speculating about all of that is futile, it is private and up to the Edwards' to handle amongst themselves. Andrew Young's book The Politician exposed not only Edwards' indiscretion, but also indicated that Elizabeth Edwards learned of the affair and then proceeded to encourage her husband to continue his then-presidential run. I have always been a big fan of Elizabeth Edwards and was saddened when her cancer reoccurred and even more upset that her husband would do this to her, but if Young's claims are true, she is in her own way just as culpable as her husband in potentially leading our country astray. And dang, that just makes me sad.

I will still wake up tomorrow and naively believe that people are good and that somewhere out there a politician exists who can be honest and who will work hard to do what is best for his/her constituents. But I would be lying if I said that my optimism isn't bruised.

Political Terrorists and Death Panels

Once again I am compelled to say that the Democrats need to get off their asses and grow a set. Gentle reader, the nonsense that the GOP is saying in regards to the healthcare plan put out there by President Obama is crazy, and the biggest loon of them all—Sarah Palin—decided to add her measly two cents the other day on Facebook. Come on people, I thought Facebook was for sharing your thoughts on the latest box office offerings and letting your 200 closest "friends" know what you ate for lunch, not implying that the President want's to off your developmentally disabled spawn. But I have been wrong before.

So Palin says that the healthcare plan will create death panels that will determine whether the infirmed or disabled will be allowed to live or die. Hogwash. The stuff that Palin and her buddies in the Republican party are coming up with are so off base as to be laughable, but the problem is the Democrats aren't busting their chops on this. Maybe they are waiting for the lunacy to die down, but meanwhile, the lunatics are growing in number.

Take for instant these town hall meetings where middle aged, lower to middle class white people are asking for their country back. Well I have to agree with Mr. Maher on this one, what they mean is they want their country back from the black guy. Nice, huh?

But speaking of growing a set, the Dems could take a page from Hillary Clinton who when questioned recently about John Bolton's response to her husband's efforts to return the two American journalist being held in N. Korea, laughed uproariously, and then said basically that what had been done was far from out of the ordinary. See for yourself below:



Now that is what I call balls, ladies and gentleman. More democrats need to pay attention to her easy, breezy way of just blowing off the GOP as ridiculous fossils that are out of touch with reality.

But getting to the political terrorists part of things. Steven Pearlstein wrote recently in The Washington Post, about the Republican's efforts to derail heathcare efforts:

The recent attacks by Republican leaders and their ideological fellow-travelers on the effort to reform the health-care system have been so misleading, so disingenuous, that they could only spring from a cynical effort to gain partisan political advantage. By poisoning the political well, they've given up any pretense of being the loyal opposition. They've become political terrorists, willing to say or do anything to prevent the country from reaching a consensus on one of its most serious domestic problems.

The Congress may be taking a break, but this ain't over yet. Far from it.

Republicans Gone Wild

Like most of the world I was surprised and immensely curious about Sarah Palin's decision to leave office. Part of me gets her wanting to focus on her family if that is in fact the true reason, but something in my gut says no. If that were the case, why wouldn't she have quit before her son was born? Why wouldn't she have never accepted the VP nod from McCain? There is too much raw ambition in this woman for her to simply be quitting because it isn't convenient for her family and their lives. As far as the media attention goes, the Palins have more than courted that in my opinion, so I can't really give her a pass on that one either. I mean what did she think would happen in our media-saturated culture that thinks it is ok to tour the home of a dead pop star, a home that he no longer lives in and is devoid of furniture or personal effects? I mean what does that even tell us about him or us other than that we are extreme voyeurs with souls that may no longer be worthy of redemption?

But back on topic. You can't rationally expect to be the first Republican female vice presidential candidate, especially one with five kids, one of whom is a pregnant teenager and another who is special needs, and not expect to get some media attention. If you thought it would be otherwise you are either in deep denial or delusional. Sarah Palin, may of course, be both of those things, but I strongly suspect she is a bit more canny than that. Lord knows I hate to give a Republican too much credit, but she has to have some smarts to have gotten where she is. So yes, I think that there is much more going on with her resignation than simply wanting to spend more time with her family. The other day the spouse saw a Romney/Palin sticker. So I wouldn't count Palin out in the political arena just yet.

Meanwhile, across the country another Republican governor should be resigning and isn't yet. What is with these dude's in the GOP not being able to keep it in their pants? But hey, at least Mark Sanford has found his soulmate right? Glad that his wife and sons weren't inconvenienced by his little affair of the heart. Just like with Palin, I think there is more going on here than we know about now. First, they tell us they don't know where he is, then he is hiking, but no one can contact him for days over Father's Day weekend. Finally he says he was in Argentina and is having an affair. And he supposedly used some tax payer money to fund his little love jaunts south of the border. But he doesn't want the state of South Carolina to take any of the bailout money, explain that logic to me. I hope Mrs. Sanford sticks it to the Governor but good, he deserves whatever she does to him.

Finally, Norm Coleman has decided to back down in the Minnesota senators race, after eight months, countless legal wrangling efforts, and the state Supreme Court saying that Franken was the winner. How gracious of him. If I remember correctly he said something about not wanting to divide the state anymore. Wow! Really—not having a junior senator for eight months was divisive enough for you?

It is amazing how much trouble the Republicans can get into in less than a month when you are just minding your own business and living life. Don't make me have to start paying more attention boys and girls . . .

So It Has Come to This

For the second time in the last several months, an effigy of Barack Obama was found on a college campus. The first, back in September showed up at George Fox University in Oregon and yesterday it happened at the University of Kentucky (to be be Sarah Palin was hung in effigy at a home in West Hollywood, California).

Read more here, here and here.

Saved by Salon

Just when I was beginning to panic about what I was going to post today, Salon comes along and saves me (thank god there are only two more days in this month—next time I decide to do this post every day for a month thing I am SO picking February and not in a leap year . . .).

First, a clip from The Daily Show where Samantha Bee tells McCain just where he can stick his air quotes for women's health:

And then this, where a hockey mom does a Sarah Palin-inspired version of Don't Cry for Me Argentina. It's a tad long and the middle is hard to decipher in parts, but the beginning and end are best and it can be summed up with this snippet of lyrics: My kid plays hockey, and I wear lipstick/ but I'm a thinker, and you're a dipstick.

Doing My Part

I saw this over the weekend and in addition had a friend send the Daily Kos link to it This is worth checking out because it just illustrates the crazy notions rattling around in Palin's skull. I mean come on, a bomber is a bomber and thus a terrorist. I don't care if they are in Israel blowing themselves up in a market or in Arkansas targeting an abortion clinic. Same difference in my book.

The Hot Lady & the Tiger Woods Guy

Will Ferrell almost makes me think I might miss Bush when he leaves office . . . nope, I was wrong.

Today's Palin

From the Know Your Constitution corner:

Olbermann calls Palin on not knowing what the real duties of the VP are. And it ain't making policy in the Senate.

From the Hockey Mom/Joe Six Pack corner:

The RNC has apparently spend $150,000 to clothe Palin and her family at Saks, Neiman Marcus and Barneys. Not to shabby, does that mean the rest of us "real Americans" get to cast aside Target, Old Navy and other bargain-esque retailers? Hey, I'm all for that. Should I just send the bills to the RNC or McCain personally? I don't think every item of clothing in my house, mine, the spouse's and the spawn's, would equal $150,000 and trust me folks I like to shop. But it's okay, because the RNC swears the clothes will get donated to charity after the campaign is over.

Saturday Night Palin

Apparently Governor Sarah Palin does at least have a sense of humor. Although the two sketches she appeared in on Saturday's episode of SNL, where brief and didn't require her to do much more than be herself, (something most of the country, admittedly, hasn't seen much of) she at least did that with some grace. So I will give her some credit for that.

And then I heard about an interview that Palin gave to a CBN reporter. In guess you don't know, the CBN is the Christian Broadcasting Network. Yep, that's right folks, Palin won't do a press conference and has only done two interviews with any of the Big Three networks, but she has time for CBN. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. So that credit I extended to Palin in the previous paragraph—gotta take that back. Sorry Sarah.

Game Time

A friend sent me this link and it is a fun little game of "what if" to play on a lovely fall day. Enjoy!

www.palinaspresident.us

Plumbing the Depths

To steal a line from my spouse "Bob the Builder is pissed that he wasn't mentioned."

But more on that later.

First, could Grampy McCan't have blinked anymore last night during the first part of the debate. I actually found it rather distracting.

McCain showcased a level of animosity last night that I thought was palpable. I would be curious to know what my undecided or GOP-loving readers felt in that regard. I disagree with Salon editor Joan Walsh's take that he was less grumpy than in earlier debates. I think he was worse actually. 

Obama was his usual cool-as-a-cucumber self, even when the subject of his so-called "terrorist ties." McCain's efforts to put Congressman  John Lewis' statement about McCain's rhetoric on the same level as what the crowds have been shouting at McCain/Palin rallies was reprehensible in my eyes. I don't feel one lick of pity for McCain for being called out on inciting violence in his those demented sorts that show up at his campaign events. Face folks, there are some unstable people out there and McCain has been around the block enough times to know this. To act in the manner that he and Palin have without regard for that fact is dangerous and shameful.

And then there was the incessant references to "Joe the Plumber."  Frankly I thought the first awkward reference to this man by McCain was more than sufficient but to keep hammering at it was ridiculous. How the GOP thinks we can get out of this financial mess without raising someone's taxes is beyond me. I know that isn't what folks want to hear, and apparently Palin thinks paying taxes is unpatriotic, but the simple fact is that without more revenue coming in our country is going to head down shit creek even faster than we already are.

Obama was classy when he had the opening to trash Palin, which I think was a good idea. McCain was a little less kind to his longtime colleague Joe Biden. One of McCain's biggest faux pas of the night, in my eyes, was using the word "cockamamie" to describe Biden. Way to just hand that crotchety old man sign around your own neck Johnny.

Apparently by calling it a night at 10pm I missed the one reference to abortion in any of the three debates, but from what I have read thus far, that didn't exactly work out so well for McCain either.

I am glad that the debates are over frankly, a sentiment that I would imagine the McCain camp shares this morning as well. While the GOP and their FOXNews related sycophants might be spinning the debate this morning to say McCain won, I think the rest of the world knows the truth. 

A Little Ditty

Dangerous Territory

In the past week the McCain/Palin ticket has decided on a course of action that is at the least tasteless and at the most extremely dangerous. I am speaking of the urging/inciting/not dissuading their "followers" to shout out terrorist and worse when they mention Obama. (Caveat—things finally came to enough of a head that Friday McCain did tell one person at a townhall they had nothing to "fear" from Obama and took away the mic when another person said he was a Muslim. McCain said he wasn't—yeah! (not), but then my larger issue is WHAT THE FUCK WOULD IT MATTER IF HE WERE?????)

Let's face it folks, there are many out there who are still extremely bigoted. Even those of us who like to think of ourselves as "enlightened" perhaps harbor moments of shame about our own occasional racist lapses. But the behavior at the McCain/Palin rallies in the last week are shameful.

For those of you who may still be on the fence, these are things I hope you consider. Do you want a candidate that is ok with blatant racism? That is willing to potentially risk a fellow American's very life simply because his skin color is different. In my heart I had hoped we were beyond that; in my head I know that we still have years to go and miles to walk in each others shoes.

Today's Funny

This made me giggle. And yet also scared the shit out of me . . .

Faker

Who does she think she is—Madonna?

Here is a lovely mash up of Palin with the Fargo-esque accent and sans the chipper you betcha tones. It's short, about a minute and a half.

Phoning It In

Since I know tomorrow's post debate posting will be lengthy and I am feeling lazy, I am going to let Keith Olbermann do my work for me today. It is always good fun to watch him get riled up and last night's special comment was a bit less righteous indignation and a bit more humor. So without further ado, Mr. Olbermann:

Albright Responds

Albright's office sent this statement to Salon:

"Though I am flattered that Governor Palin has chosen to cite me as a source of wisdom, what I said had nothing to do with politics. This is yet another example of McCain and Palin distorting the truth, and all the more reason to remember that this campaign is not about gender, it is about which candidate has an agenda that will improve the lives of all Americans, including women.

"The truth is, if you care about the status of women in our society and in our troubled economy, the best choice by far is Obama-Biden."

That's all there is, there isn't any more.

Who Are These Women?

Let me say first that Shelly Mandell might want to go ahead and say goodbye to her days as the LA NOW chapter president. Something tells me that her fellow members at the state, and certainly at the national level will be none too pleased with her recent cozying up to Sarah Palin at an event this weekend in California. "America, this is what a feminist looks like" my ass. And as for the boos she got when she mentioned she had been a lifelong democrat—for shame to the booers and for shame to Mandell, there is no way you can be for Palin and have truly been a democrat.

But my real ire is reserved, yet again for Mrs. Palin. (I do so wish the woman would just go away, blogging about her is starting to become some sort of unhealthy addiction. I can't not do it, because she keeps acting the fool, but I hate to acknowledge her either. Ugh.)

After Ms. Mandell's lovely introduction, Governor Palin decided to comment on the quote she found on her morning Starbucks cup. I have actually seen the quote before and it is (of course) a personal favorite:

"There is a place in hell reserved for women who don’t help other women.” Madeleine Albright

Except of course Palin got it wrong and said support instead of help. Thus implying that any women who are against her should be going to H-E-double hockey sticks. Oh jeez.

Palin, I wouldn't mess with Albright. Not only is she brilliant, but I think she could kick your ass handedly. I would watch my back if I were you.

The M Word

A co-worker went to the trouble of finding all of Palin’s maverick quotes from the debate, per the transcript:

He has been the maverick. He has ruffled feathers.

A team of mavericks, of course we're not going to agree on 100 percent of everything.

And John McCain has been the consummate maverick in the Senate over all these years.

Also, John McCain's maverick position that he's in, that's really prompt up to and indicated by the supporters that he has.

And I've joined this team that is a team of mavericks with John McCain, also, with his track record of reform, where we're known for putting partisan politics aside to just get the job done.

I think that's why we need to send the maverick from the Senate and put him in the White House, and I'm happy to join him there.

Back-at-cha!

The Wink: