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.