Rehash

Two bloggers on opposite sides of the globe had posts about the election night here in the good ole U S of A that made me stop and reflect for a moment.  

A Kiwi blogger whom I adore asked her readers...where were you when you heard?  Much like the cultural milestones of where you were when you heard of the assassination of JFK (not born yet), when you heard that Princess Di had passed away (in front of my TV at home, I woke to it on a crawl across the bottom of the screen) when you found out about 9/11 (working for ye olde evile bank, and worried to death for a friend who is a flight attendant) she thinks that Obama's election might, in time, come to garner the same question.

It was another Yankee blogger who had a map from the New York Times that showed an amazing shift from red to blue.  Much more than red states vs blue states, this breaks it down by county, and shows a nearly completely blue map.  I'm astonished at the shift in the republican vs democrat numbers, look at those percentage differences!

I was at home on election night, reading more of Duma Key by Stephen King, DH sound asleep beside me.  (That book is still scaring the crap out of me.)  I turned the television on around 9 PM, with the sound off so as not to wake him, and surfed between CNN, NBC, ABC and Headline News.  I can't watch Fox News even without sound.  When I turned it off to try to get some sleep, the count was 199 to 69 on CNN, and 124 to 90-something everywhere else.  

About two hours later, I woke up thirsty and starving, and went to find some small thing to eat. On my way back to bed, I stopped and turned the TV on in our loft, closing the door so I could watch for a minute with some sound.  When the channel tuned in (it takes a sec on the TV in the loft) my stomach flopped when I saw the electoral college numbers had shot to over 300 for Obama and weren't that much higher than they had been two hours earlier for McCain.  

I felt like maybe I'd had the wind knocked out of me.  I had very high hopes leading in to the election for just exactly that result, but I wasn't sure it would turn out this way.  Just because I hoped hard, that didn't mean much.

I left it on and continued to watch until President-Elect Obama took the stage at Grant Park in Chicago with his wife and daughters and made his speech.  Call me an old cornball, but when they came out together, holding hands and their little girls skipping, I burst into tears.  I continued to sob my way through the rest of his speech.  I've watched it a few more times on YouTube, hell, I posted it here, too, and I'm still getting chills every time I watch it.

My favorite line might be the bit about how the victory belongs to the people.  Or maybe the the line about how 2 centuries later, this remains a government of, for, and by the people.  Or the line about the enduring power of our ideals.  I haven't felt that way for eight long years; I've felt like my voice has been ignored.  

I've told people (regarding W) "He isn't MY president."  That's grossly unfair, I know.  The president is the president, is the president, whether or not you voted for him or agree with him.  I know.  The thing about W, though, besides the fact that I think he's not the brightest bulb in the box, or besides the fact that he didn't win the 2000 presidential election, he had the presidency handed to him by judges beholden to his dad, and besides the fact that he's led in the wrong direction for so long is that I disagreed with almost everything he's done as president.  (No, I'm not bitter, why do you ask?)

I'm sure that I won't agree with everything that President Obama does; I certainly didn't agree with everything Bill Clinton did.  There are some very un-reasonable expectations for his presidency.  We aren't known for being the most...um...patient of people.  I'm sure that if the economic situation doesn't improve soon, he'll be in for a terrible few months.  But I am so full of hope.  So sure that things will get better.  I hope I'm right.

I'm NOT the only one.

I have not ever, to date, had a post that was just song lyrics. Yes, I'll print bits of songs, a chorus or a few lines that I think are appropriate to the situation.

But.

I saw a video while I was on the elliptical at the gym and it brought me nearly to tears, so I'm going to embed the video and print the lyrics, and let that speak for itself. Watch the video. Spend the four minutes that it would usually take you to read one of my long-winded posts.

I can't imagine that someone would not find it deeply moving.




Dear Mr. President,
Come take a walk with me.
Let's pretend we're just two people and
You're not better than me.
I'd like to ask you some questions if we can speak honestly.

What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the street?
Who do you pray for at night before you go to sleep?
What do you feel when you look in the mirror?
Are you proud?

How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Can you even look me in the eye
And tell me why?

Dear Mr. President,
Were you a lonely boy?
Are you a lonely boy?
Are you a lonely boy?
How can you say
No child is left behind?
We're not dumb and we're not blind.
They're all sitting in your cells
While you pave the road to hell.

What kind of father would take his own daughter's rights away?
And what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay?
I can only imagine what the first lady has to say
You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine.

How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Can you even look me in the eye?

Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Minimum wage with a baby on the way
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Building a bed out of a cardboard box
Let me tell you 'bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
You don't know nothing 'bout hard work
Hard work
Hard work
Oh

How do you sleep at night?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Dear Mr. President,
You'd never take a walk with me.
Would you?

Really, didn't we have enough of this during the 80s?

The BBC reported today that President Idiot is moving forward again with Star Wars, the space missile defense system that is too stupid for words. Expensive, non-functional, asinine, and yet, the Idiot At The White House insists that we need it. Um? Dude, he crazy.

The Beeb is radically opposed to Star Wars, and rightly so. At billions of dollars cost with no end in sight, Star Wars has yet to accomplish a single of its objectives. Several tests have been conducted over the years with media invitees, and it never frigging works.

What a clusterfuck. Do we need this? No. A thousand gallons of no. Remind me again, who elected this fool? Oh, right....no one. During the 2000 presidential election season, the Supreme Court made a mockery of the electoral college system and installed W, who was NOT elected by popular vote. Yep, that still pisses me off, seven years later.

And just look what he's done with his appointment; he dragged the country into wars on two continents, pushed women's rights back 30 years or so, eroded your civil rights and turned the economy to complete shit. Heck of a job there, Mr. President.

Being thoughtful about Pres Idiot's War On Terror

I heard several speeches today from military veterans in advance of Monday’s observance of Veteran’s Day. Listening to people who have actually served in the country’s military was a humbling experience, especially for someone who is adamantly opposed to the war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan, as well as W’s idiot war on terrorism. (what the hell does that mean anyway?)

There were veterans of nearly every major conflict over the last 50 years, including an adorable old fella who stormed the beaches at Normandy, in attendance. Two Vietnam veterans and a 59-year-old veteran of operation Iraqi Freedom gave speeches. All of them were excellent speakers, and most of them refrained from political commentary.

I have said many times before that I support the people who are in uniform, even while being opposed to where they are stationed and their missions. I know full well that all of the current military personnel have volunteered to be where they are. Some of them may have been forced by circumstances, lack of opportunities, to join the military, however many of them voluntarily stay in the military long after their original enlistment is up. They are extraordinarily proud of the work that they do. Rightfully so, because what they’re doing is damn difficult.

I don’t think that we should be in Iraq. Period. It is my belief that if there were no oil in Iraq, we would not be there. It is also my belief that we are creating a bigger mess the longer that we’re there, and it is not belief but simple fact that we are creating an entire generation of people who despise the United States.

But the speeches today made me see things from another point of view. I was astonished to learn that more than half of the country’s homeless people are veterans. That statistic is disgusting. Deeply. Whether or not you agree with any conflict (and I disagree with most of them) the country has a responsibility to care for those who have put their lives on the line to protect it.

I was also astonished to learn that funding for the veterans administration is not an automatic thing. Congress must allocate funds to pay for health care for veterans, physical or mental, annually. We all know how well Congress does its work.

The gentleman who just returned from Iraq talked about the media’s coverage of the conflict. According to him, the media is 110% on when it comes to the coverage in Iraq, however they are only reporting 10 to 15% of the story. Apparently, there are plenty of good things happening there that no one talks about. I find that difficult to believe. Every day, there are reports of more very young soldiers dying. The government does not keep statistics on the deaths of Iraqi civilians who die needlessly either in the crossfire or from mistakes made on bombing runs. Yes, the insurgents kill innocent civilians too, but the insurgent’s cause is not my concern. I think that the military should be held to a higher standard of accountability, especially when the claims of being the most technologically advanced military force in the world are constant.

The fact is that we can’t leave Iraq now. But as I whispered to a friend during these speeches when someone asked when we’ll be out of there…I think everyone will come home when my friend’s kids are grandparents. What a quagmire. It is a weirdling line that I’m walking here…admire the selfless service of all of the military branches, despise the conflicts, opposed to the policy.

I know my own mind, anyway.

On a completely unrelated note, the voice recognition software IS learning. I dictated this up until a few paragraphs ago, and the errors were very few. Teh technology is teh cool.

Politic

Ms. Condee has been in the middle east in the last week or so, trying to work with the Israelis and the Palestinians on a peace deal. I have this to say to the Idiot Administration about that. Too little, too late, boyos.

When President Idiot took the helm of the country after not being elected in free and fair elections in 2000, he abandoned utterly the efforts that the Clinton administration had been working on, and consequently, the progress that had been made under the democratic president regressed to the stage that we're stalled at now.

There were such high hopes at the end of the Clinton administration; remember the photo of Clinton beaming in the background as Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat shook hands on the White House lawn? This one?

We're more than 10 years past that point, it grieves me to note. A child born on the day that photo was taken would be 14 years old now.

When W walked away from any negotiations between Israel and Palestine shortly after taking office, I personally saw it as a betrayal, a betrayal of the hopes of many who uneasily share the lands surrounding Jerusalem. A betrayal of the promise of peace that this country is supposed to stand for. And a betrayal of the memory of Rabin, killed by a sniper's bullet.

The questions about who is right and who is wrong in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict don't interest me much. Ask either side about why they both want the city of Jerusalem, and both will answer, "Because we were there first." There is no way to solve such a disagreement. We can't go back in time and discover who first began building a city there, and I don't think we're ever going to have a substantive answer anyway. The ultimate question, as far as I'm concerned, is how long do all of them, Muslims, Christians, and Jews, want to fight about it? It is beyond my ability to comprehend that anyone would WANT to live under the conditions that they do, no matter which side of the debate you sit on. The Israelis fear for their lives when they leave their homes. So do the Palestinians. Arabic Christians don't have it any easier.

Of course, there are extremists on all sides, and unfortunately not everyone does want peace. That's why these negotiations are so important; it is too bad that the Idiot administration hasn't been able to see that until now. And they even admit it! Here's a direct quote from the woman herself..."This is the most serious effort to try to end this conflict in many, many years," says Rice.

If I felt betrayed by the administration walking away from peace negotiations, can you imagine how I felt when they began banging the drums of war? The reasons that part of the Islamic world hates the west are many and varied, but our involvement or lack thereof in Israel is part of it.

At least they're doing something, no matter how late and how little. Finally.

This Location has been Relocated.

Sounds like something President Idiot would say, doesn't it? It was on a sign of a bank branch that I saw yesterday, but it made me think of the Idiot in the White House, too. As I listened to his speech and he stumbled over several words, made several grammar errors, I marveled all over again that this man was elected leader of the free world. (Well, he was duly elected the second time around. The first time he was installed in the White House was a mockery of the democratic election process. But I digress.)

I listen to his speeches because I can't bear to look at him. At least hearing his disembodied voice is not as bad as watching him. WhiteHouse.Gov has the audio stream, and what they claim is the text of the speech here, but the text does not match the spoken word at all. I wonder what that's all about.

After watching the CNN special I saw the other day about Islam, I understand a bit better why Iraqis aren't happy that we're there. Hell, I'M not happy that we're there. I think the soldiers need to come home.

But here's a bit of a quote from the speech, with commentary from me in parenthesis:

"Failure in Iraq would be a disaster for the United States. The consequences of failure are clear. Radical Islamic extremists would grow in strength and gain new recruits. (he stumbles two or three times over the word grow, but let's do ignore that for a second.) They would be in a better position to topple moderate governments, create chaos in the region, and use oil revenues to fund their ambitions. Iran would be emboldened in its pursuit of nuclear weapons. (He STILL mispronounces nuclear! Mrgh!) Our enemies would have a safe haven from which to plan and launch attacks on the American people. On September the 11th, 2001, we saw what a refuge for extremists on the other side of the world could bring to the streets of our own cities. For the safety of our people, America MUST succeed in Iraq.

It is the same, tired, old Republican wheeze about 'defeat them over there or we'll have to defeat them here.' Which, for the record, I don't really believe. I do not believe that we haven't had another attack on 'American soil' (Blessed Mother, how I hate that phrase) because we're fighting wars in two countries. I believe they haven't hit American interests here or abroad again because they're biding their time and trying to brew up something more terrible than September 11th was. I do most emphatically not think that we are safer today than we were on September 10, 2001. After all, what has changed?

The Terror Alert System? Please. More like a hysteria-inducing way of making it look like you're doing something. The Department of Homeland Security? Urgh. Department of the Fatherland, anyone? We needed another large governmental institution? Riiight. Why haven't they found Osama? It is like playing a worldwide game of "Where's Waldo?" The United States has the best technology in the world; why can't they find him? They record *my* telephone conversations with my family overseas and analyze them for terrorist activity. Terrorist activity coming from Sweden. As if. Sweden has been a neutral country for a long, long, long time. We talk about family and work and how much we miss one another. There's ALLL kinds of incriminating information being passed along there. But they can't find one man and his entourage of attendants in the hills in Pakistan.

And let's not talk about how many young soldiers, the average age of which is about 19, have died needlessly. W gets in to that a bit near the end of his speech, urging the people of America to support the troops; I do. I support the young men and women who are serving their country. I don't support the war. There is a very clear difference.

There's just one more thing. The final paragraph of the speech leaves me scratching my head over what the hell he means. Read it for your self, and see if it makes any better sense to you.

...yet times of testing reveal the character of a nation. And throughout our history, Americans have always defied the pessimists and seen our faith in freedom redeemed. Now America is engaged in a new struggle, that will set the course for a new century. We can, and we will prevail. We go forward with trust that the author of liberty will guide us through these trying hours. Thank you, and good night.

I'm not sure what he means at all about 'the author of liberty'. Liberty is NOT a uniquely American concept. I know that; I'm sure you do too. I'm not confident HE knows that. Is he, in some oblique way, referencing God? Or does he mean a particular writer? He's good at obfuscatory, anyway.

I'll leave the annoying grammar mistakes alone; we all know that he can't speak English well. I've resigned myself to the fact that he just sounds like a moron every time he opens his mouth. You'd think there would be an Office of Official Grammar to make sure that he manages to at least sound like English is his first language.

This comes as a surprise to no one.

There's a Jimmy Buffet song that I'm fond of which is about partying on an Olympic scale. The chorus is about the 'last man standing' at a party. I am actually a lot less of a partier than I make myself out to be, but the song is fun. I'm reminded of the song when I think about President Idiot these days; he's just about the last man standing in his administration, isn't he?

Poor Georgie-Porgie-Pudding-and-Pie! First Rummy, then Carl Rove stepped down, Al Gonzales is headed back to Texas...

Alberto Gonzales resigned today. The beleaguered AG has been the subject of much controversy in recent months, between his inability to recall the events leading up to the firing of 9 US Attorneys and the wiretaps without warrants that are apparently OK with the Idiot Administration.

I disliked John Ashcroft lots and lots and lots, so I didn't have much bad to say when Gonzales was appointed AG. But the warrant-less wiretap program really rubbed me the wrong way and the firing of the US Attorneys was the icing on the cake.

A friend's blog had a remark a few weeks ago about a lame-ass ignorant overgrown frat-brat talking about the American flag being the symbol of freedom worldwide. Under this administration, however, I think the flag has become less and less of a symbol of freedom and more and more a symbol of the blatant disregard for the Constitution that the Idiot Administration shows at every single opportunity. Gonzales has become the face of that, simply by being the head of the DOJ.

President Idiot's speechifying today adds insult to injury. Here's a quote:
"It's sad that we live in a time when a talented and honorable person like Alberto Gonzales is impeded from doing important work because his good name was dragged through the mud for political reasons." And then there's this, the President referring to Gonzales as "a man of integrity, decency and principle." Really? Integrity? I wonder what planet President Idiot lives on, because on the planet where I live, his actions have not been those of a man with integrity.

Again, I say thank goodness that W's not eligible for a third term.

Malcontent.

I want to complain about the government today. This is hardly something new for me, but the several disjointed stories that bred this morning's discontent cover a wide array of issues.

First, on NPR's website, I noticed a story about xeriscaping, and when I clicked on the link it took me to Ketzel Levine's blog. Levine hosts an NPR program called "Talking Plants," and I consider her an expert in matters gardening. The city of Tempe, Arizona, took exception to one couple's dry and dead lawn. Now, let's think a minute. Tempe, Arizona is in the middle of a desert, right? Does grass, green, verdant, golf-course grass grow in the desert? No? Why, then, would you waste an extreme amount of water to grow a green lawn?

It would seem to me that the City of Tempe passed regs about having nice yards to avoid people having six junker cars on their front lawns up on cinderblocks. Not to bitch at people who don't want to waste water. It irks me that government gets involved in cases like this. What's next, the city fathers telling you what color you can paint your front door? Yeesh.

Next I saw a bit on Headline News about President Idiot. He was treated for Lyme disease in 2006; this information was only released today. This administration has never met a delaying tactic, a manner of stonewalling the free press that they didn't like. See my "Backwards Bush" counter over there in the sidebar? Thank whatever you hold holy that he's NOT eligible for a third term, I might lose my mind. Some more.

Then there's the fella who is an American citizen but was "mistakenly" deported to Mexico. Fan-tas-tique job there. I've said before that the Department of Homeland Security just smacks too much of Nazi Germany for my tastes. What's next, a department of the Fatherland? We needed another large governmental agency? Riiiiiight. Seems to me that all they do is stir up unnecessary hysteria. What's the terror alert level today? Who the hell cares?

Finally, in the roundup of all the news that's fit to make you ill is the FEMA trailers that some Katrina victims are still living in. The folks still stuck in them are suicidal and extraordinarily depressed. Gee, I wonder why.

Add to all of this the fact that it is 94 bazillion degrees outside (yes, that's a real number, it IS 94 bazillion!) overcast, cloudy and muggy enough to take your breath away, and it isn't any surprise that I'm feeling a bit malcontent today.

Probably because I've been at home for most of this summer, it seems to me that I can't remember a nicer summer, weather-wise, in recent history. I attribute that mostly to the fact that I'm noticing more since I have more free time. Until about a week ago, it was sunny, warm but not too hot, and dry. Perfect for lying by the pool and reading Harry Potter. But in the last week, the humidity has shot through the roof and it has rained every day. We desperately needed the rain, but I sure could do without the gloomy skies that are usually more typical of say, November, here in Ohio.

Since he's the decider and all...

I was listening to the BBC today and heard President Idiot say something unfortunate. Well, really something unfortunate comes out of his mouth every time he speaks, so that's not unusual, is it? But this in particular riled me up.

Apparently, President Doofus would like the Palestinians and the Israelis to get started on peace negotiations again. Fantastic. Progress, finally, after he completely abandoned the whole process shortly after taking office and destroying the progress that Clinton had managed to make. So, yes, I'm thrilled that he's finally interested in doing something.

However.

Here's an excerpt from his speechifying, copied and pasted directly from WhiteHouse.gov.

I call on the Palestinian people to elect new leaders, leaders not compromised by terror. I call upon them to build a practicing democracy, based on tolerance and liberty. If the Palestinian people actively pursue these goals, America and the world will actively support their efforts. If the Palestinian people meet these goals, they will be able to reach agreement with Israel and Egypt and Jordan on security and other arrangements for independence.

And when the Palestinian people have new leaders, new institutions and new security arrangements with their neighbors, the United States of America will support the creation of a Palestinian state whose borders and certain aspects of its sovereignty will be provisional until resolved as part of a final settlement in the Middle East.

In the interest of truth and fairness, I will admit that I don't really completely disagree with him here. Or, not exactly. Here's the thing. The Palestinians elected Hamas in free and fair elections. Let me say that again. No one is contesting the elections that made Hamas the majority leaders in Palestine. It is a tad, just a tad, silly for President Idiot to suggest that the Palestinians need to elect new leaders when the ones they have were freely elected. Like Hamas, don't like Hamas, that really isn't the point. The fact is that these ARE the leaders chosen by the people.

If you truly are interested in the whole world having democratic governments, then you can't suggest to them that hey, y'know those folks that you elected? Well, see, yes, there's a problem. We don't like them.

Get a grip. You do the best job that you can with the resources that you have available to you. In this instance, it means negotiating with the PLO, Hamas, Israel, and any and everyone else that will get the peace process working again. Do you have to like it? No. Does it need done anyway? Yep. Get to it!

Happy Blog-Birthday To Me!

Today marks two years since I started blogging. So much has changed in my own life. And so little has changed with the Idiot Administration.

A woman's right to choose is more tenuous than ever, thanks to the resignation of Sandra Day O'Connor and the death of Chief Justice Rehnquist. The court made a big shift to the conservative side with President Idiot's appointment of John Roberts and Sam Alito.

We still have more than 500 days left in the Idiot Administration. Thank whatever you hold holy that he's not eligible for a third term, I'd have to emigrate. The lasting damage that he's already done to the environment, our civil liberties, the standing of the United States in the rest world and women's rights is quite enough.

How ironic is it that my blog anniversary is also President Idiot's birthday? I'm fairly entertained by that.

I'm Entertained.

I went to the doctor's today. Dr. H, my family doctor. I made the appointment several weeks ago at his request when he upped the dosage on my anti-depressants.

Have I mentioned that I adore Dr. H? Yeah, once or twice, I think. Besides the fact that he actually listens to me, and he's easy on the eyes, when you're in his office you get his complete, undivided attention. Which is why I don't mind waiting in his office for sometimes an hour or more.

Today, after the nurse weighed me (woot, the Dr.'s office scale shows a number lower than the YMCA's!) I asked something I've been meaning to ask for several years now. "Can you measure me?" I asked her. "I have no idea how tall I am."

"Sure," she said, pointing out the heretofore unnoticed wall chart. I have been telling people for many, many years that I am 5'4", but the last time I know for certain that I was measured was when I was about 15. More years ago than I care to admit. So she had me remove my high heels, and stand up against the wall, urged me to press the small of my back more firmly into the wall, (twice) and announced that I am 5'6".

Really? I had no idea. But I am vastly entertained. My parents are tall people, Dad is 6', Mum is 5'8", the sibs are 5'8" and 5'9", and DH is 6'1". So I'm used to being the short one. Dad often teases me by encouraging me to "stand up" when we're taking group photos...when I am in fact already standing. (Either learn how to deal with the constant teasing in the household or learn how to STFU, them's the rules.)

My posture is really good, though, and people have been telling me for years that they thought I was taller than 5'4". My usual response to that is that I stand up straight, I carry myself well, and with my personality being as forceful as it is, people assume that I am taller. Plus I wear heels every single day.

Yoga and Pilate's have made my muscles longer, leaner, stronger, and made me think even more about standing up with my shoulders back. I can't slouch, it makes my shoulders sore. Sitting on the ground with no spinal support isn't painful anymore, and I can sit still longer without pain.

All of this makes me think about how far I've come in my quest to be in better shape, be thin like I once was, to avoid the familial legacy of hypertension, diabetes, and bad joints. And yet, how far I have to go. Thirty pounds lighter, in better shape than I've been perhaps since my early teens, and still, at least another thirty pounds to go. Discouraging.

The process of re-framing that the shrink was talking about last week means (looked it up, finally) that you turn things around, from negatives to positives, and so if I'm truly in that process, then I should be able to look at the additional 30-40 pounds that I need to lose as a challenge, as something that keeps me motivated. I'm not quite there yet, able to keep the motivation high by re-framing. But I am working on it.

In the news today, President Idiot commuted Scooter's sentence. This is something that DH and I actually agree on, wonder of wonders. Our political viewpoints are so diverse that we never talk politics. But when he noticed this news on Fox, he said, "You've GOT to be kidding me." I looked up from my MySpacing and read the ticker on the bottom of the screen and let out my own howl of frustration. I hate that I was right about what the Idiot Administration was going to do about this, although my timing was off. I thought W would do it right before he left office. But by doing it on July 3, he was clever, because the news cycle will move on to July 4th celebrations and fireworks, and Scooter will be forgotten.

Isn't that a damn shame? He should do the time. Herregud, if PARIS HILTON had to spend some time behind bars, then so should Scooter. God, I despise this administration.

If you're in the States, I wish you a wonderful 4th of July.

The Idiot Abroad

President Idiot is touring Europe, expected back in the good ole US of A tonight. As I spent most of the weekend getting re-acquainted with the sunshine, I didn't spend too much time listening to or watching the news. I did see on Headline News this morning that the people of Albania welcomed him with open arms. Yikes.

I was on the elliptical machine this morning, not running on the treadmill. I've given myself shin splints by pushing the running too far, too fast, so I've had to find other things to do to keep my heart rate up until the shin splints heal. But just like when I'm on the treadmill, I was watching the television without sound, so I am just guessing here, but I'd bet that the Albania media is a tightly controlled thing, and that the news there isn't a free press. Because that's the only explanation that I can come up with for why they would be the only European nation to not greet President Idiot with mass protests, flag burning, and by burning him in effigy.

In another country, he gave a great non-answer to Bulgarian concerns about the missal defense system, the so-called "Star Wars" crap that his administration resurrected from the trash heap at NASA, which is where it should have stayed. He told the Bulgarians that any missal defense system would protect against "long-range" missals, that it wouldn't help them anyway. Way to ease some fears, there, W!

Who the hell elected him, anyway?








There's much fandom insanity on MySpace today as an escape from politicking, if you're interested.

Listening to: "Peace On Earth" U2

How cool is Bono?

Way cool! NPR had an interview with the man himself on Morning Edition today. I am a huge U2 fan, but more than that, Bono's activism is so inspiring. Sure, he can make a greater impact than the average Joe, being a rock star and all, but the One.org organization that he's involved in touches millions. Even one of the J-man fan sites that I participate in has a "Make Poverty History" banner. I added one today, as I am finally beginning to understand HTML coding and was able to get it to work. I'm adding it to my MySpace, too. When we come together to work for a common cause, we can accomplish amazing things.

Once upon a time, I even saw that in my own community. It is a long and involved story, too personal for an anonymous blogger to share, even for me. That must seem strange, that I'm perfectly willing to share with the world my struggles with mental illness but not an inspiring tale of a community coming together. Sorry. You'll just have to take my word for it, that I've seen when people come together for a common cause, even here in the rustbelt, great things can happen.

I find it amazing and even a little awe-inspiring that even President Idiot and Condee listen to Bono. The interview on Morning Edition talked about a slight problem with Italy, and how the Italian Prime Minister also listens to him.

When you go to a U2 concert, as I did about 2 years ago, Bono spends no small amount of time talking to the crowd about his political issues. I went to see them with a close friend in Cleveland, at an arena that is now called "The Q," which holds 20,500 people. The concert was sold out. So every night that U2 is on stage somewhere, you can assume that they've got an audience of between 15,000 and 25,000 people. That's a lot of ears that Bono gets to bend. U2 live is one of the greatest shows I've ever seen.

Interesting, isn't it, that only a select few of rock royalty or megastars in the other entertainment genres get involved in things like this?

I just don't get it.

And I probably never will.

The constitution of the United States sets up the doctrine of separation of CHURCH and STATE. To quote the founding fathers:

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States. (United States Constitution, Article VI)

Therefore it is with great dismay that I listened to a report on NPR's Morning Edition on Tuesday morning, about the Democratic presidential hopefuls coming together in a "debate" of sorts which was moderated by CNN's Soledad O'Brien. The focus of the debate? The faith of each candidate.

Personally, I don't give a crap what religion my political leaders are. I care about their stance on abortion and on women's rights, and I will vote for a pro-choice candidate every single time, all other things being equal about two candidates.

But after nearly eight years with President Idiot (who takes every opportunity to mention his own faith) at the helm, it seems to me that the line is blurred more than ever before between church and state. Certainly you hear lots more religion talk, what with those "faith-based" initiatives; and usually when we're talking religion in the media, we're talking Christianity and ignoring every other faith that exists. Don't get me started on that.

What I truly do not understand is why a politician's faith is at issue at all. Who cares? Tell me what you're going to do about poverty, about the fiasco in Iraq, about equal rights for women, about how you're going to protect a woman's right to choose, what you plan to do about America's dependence on oil, what you're going to do about the environment, if you're elected. Don't tell me about your faith, because not only do I not care if you're Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, Muslim, whatever, I am not interested in hearing about it.

I know that the freedom of religion is not at all the same thing as freedom from religion. I'd like to live in a fully secular society, but even our money says, "In God We Trust" so I'm pretty sure that isn't going to happen anytime soon. But can we PLEASE stick to the issues for the coming presidential election and leave the personal stuff about each candidate out? Please?

Scooter's been sentenced t'JAIL!

Scooter Libby has been sentenced to 30 months in jail for being the biggest blabbermouth in history. Also perhaps the most forgetful person in history, his testimony recorded in depositions that were played at his trial were rife with "I don't recall(s)" and "I don't remember(s)."

I have said before that I firmly believe that President Idiot will pardon Scooter either as one of his last official acts as president in 2009 or more likely that he will issue a pardon before Scooter even serves one day in jail.

I think he should go to jail. I think he should serve every single day of his sentence. I don't think he ought to get any special treatment because he is famous (or infamous, as the case may be). He had no right to leak the name of a CIA agent, but he did it anyway. Then, when he was caught out, he worked hard to obstruct the investigation into his wrongdoing.

I feel for the agent that he outed. Here she was, pursuing her chosen career, by all accounts she was good at it and liked it, and the Idiot Administration fucks it up for her. Thank Yew Dubya! Way to go!

However, I also think that the Veep should have been charged with something, (don't ask me what, I'm not a legal expert) because I'd be willing to bet Paris Hilton's inheritance that Scooter didn't come up with the brilliant plan to out Ms. Plame all by his lonesome little self, I'm sure that plan came from on high.

There are 593 days left in the Bush presidency. I found a countdown clock!

Extraordinary Rendition

I have wanted to write about this for a long while, but stayed out of the debate until now. This is the process by which the American government has been taking accused terrorists to a third country, not the accused's homeland and not the United States, to interrogate them. This practice is so incredibly counter to every ideal this country was founded on. Let's just toss the Geneva Conventions completely aside, shall we? The Idiot Administration is not only complacent in this program, but an advocate of it. NPR had two stories on Morning Edition that talked about this unbelievable situation, the first about the ACLU suing a Boeing subsidiary.

As more and more of the process is exposed to the light of day, it becomes more and more horrifying. Not only did the government do this, but they had help from civilian companies, even support. Jeppesen Dataplan is accused by the American Civil Liberties Union of actively assisting the CIA by doing what Jeppesen does every day, which is provide logistical support to help maximize fuel economy and fastest flight plan routes for civilian and government contracts. In short, the lawsuit is about a company profiting from torture, which thankfully IS still illegal, even though the Idiot Administration seems to think that torture itself is all right.

There is a village in Texas missing its idiot! Personally, I can not wait until he goes back to Crawford, settles on his ranch, and disappears from public life. That statement alone is probably enough to get me an FBI file, sigh. Being anti-Bush is not the same as being anti-American. I get so tired of explaining that.

The second thing Morning Edition broadcast about this reprehensible program was about the European viewpoint. Sylvia Poggioli had a report about a conference that took place in Italy, on counter-terrorism. Did you know that Italy has indicted 26 Americans accused of kidnapping in connection to the extraordinary rendition program? Which is awesome, even if they never do get to prosecute the case. The Europeans are particularly critical of extraordinary rendition, (as well they should be. So should we all.) and of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. Their view is that ER is no different than government sanctioned kidnapping and torture.

They used a phrase in the report that particularly amused me, "ghost prisons." And while I know what they mean is the off-the-books secret detention facilities that the CIA apparently has all over the world, it made me giggle because I wonder if they have EMF readers.

The end of that report had a quote that I'd like to highlight, where one of the interviewees said that whoever the next president of the United States is, damage control and restoring US credibility with Europe and the Muslim world will be one of the first priorities. We can only hope.

About time, doncha think?

NPR reported on All Things Considered yesterday afternoon that the Idiot Administration has finally seen fit to impose some sanctions on Sudan for the conflict and slaughter of civilians in the Darfur region. Way to step up to the plate, there, Mr. President!! This has been going on for only four years before you decided to make some tougher regulations.

NPR's piece made the very interesting point that the Idiot Admin has been talking about doing something in Darfur for a long time, but not suiting the deeds to the words. Miss Condee has given speeches, W has said a thing or two, but not until NOW have they decided that they ought to do something more? And is it enough? Hardly, in my ever so humble.

Cynical girl inside my head would like to take a moment to note that the administration probably needs to distract the public yet again from the fact that they can't find Osama and that the wars on both fronts, in Iraq and Afghanistan are not going so well. (How many more people need to die in Iraq before there are some policy changes?) Or p'haps because W's poll numbers are down again and they think they're going to get points from a target demographic by looking like they're doing something.

Three other things I'd like to mention, all not remotely connected to this topic.

NPR has also been doing a series about soldiers and post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, which has made for RIVETING listening. Daniel Zwerdling, the reporter, has a wonderful voice that only adds to the experience. Give it a listen.

Not from NPR, but PRI (public radio international) comes This American Life, which is a amazing radio program. I spent some time in the car yesterday and since I've subscribed to the podcasts, I have about 4 that I haven't listened to. Rather than try to explain the amazing thing that TAL is, I'm just going to have to write a whole post about it another day. Stay tuned for that.

Finally, I'm very pleased to say that yesterday I ran 1.2 miles in 13 minutes, 47 seconds. Which was awesome. A bit painful. Considering when I started working out in October that the two flights of stairs to the cardio studio at the gym made me winded, this is most excellent.

American citizen held in Iranian jail

NPR had a story this morning about an American woman who is being held in an Iranian jail, accused of being a spy. She's been prevented from leaving Iran for four months.

Considering the fuss that was made over the Brits who were held by Iran earlier this year, I am surprised that this is the first time that I've heard about this.

My disparaging thought is that because this is one woman, female, that they're not going to make a fuss over it, but I honestly think it far more likely that there hasn't been a huge fuss because this woman was born in Iran and became a naturalized American citizen. Which admittedly, isn't all that much less disparaging, really.

Haleh Esfandiari is the director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center, which without Googling I'm guessing is a Washington DC think-tank. Lemme check. Wow, my own powers of intellect amaze me sometimes. From their own website:

The Center is the living, national memorial to President Wilson established by Congress in 1968 and headquartered in Washington, D.C. It is a nonpartisan institution, supported by public and private funds, engaged in the study of national and world affairs. The Center establishes and maintains a lively, neutral forum for free and informed dialogue. (Source)


Living under a totalitarian regime must be terrifying. While I joke quite a bit about President Idiot being a dictator, truth is that even with the erosions of personal freedoms we've endured under his tenure in Washington we still have due process. Ms. Esfandiari's attorneys have yet to be able to speak with her, and the news today was that the Iranian government fully intends to charge her with espionage. Unreal.

Treading into personal opinion here, it seems to me that the religious leaders who make up Iran's de facto government can't handle a successful and well-educated woman, which is why they've arrested her.

I hope sincerely that the Idiot Administration gets involved here to negotiate her release. I'm thinking positive thoughts for her and her family.

Where have all the cowboys gone?

I saw Linkin Park's new video on MTV whilst on the treadmill this morning. I frequently watch MTV or VH1 with no sound, and so my impressions of the videos tend to differ from what they end up being like with sound. The song is "What I've Done," and the vid (on the link) shows environmental disasters of epic proportions. Towards the end, there are some shots of Mother Theresa, JFK, and Ghandi, and watching that, I was struck that I don't know who the environmental leaders of the day are. Or the voices of my generation. Who are our heroes?

Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth was a wake-up call to many, but I'm sorry, Mr. Gore, I just don't see you as a great leader of our day. It goes almost without saying that I hardly see W as a leader either. If we're going to stay in the political arena, I'll mention the fact that I worked for the Kerry campaign in 2004 because I saw him as the much lesser of two evils, not because I greatly admired him. I haven't yet made up my mind who to vote for in the Democratic primary, nearly a year from now, but that certainly isn't for lack of exposure to the candidates. They're EVERYWHERE.

I greatly admired Madeline Allbright, as Secretary of State in the Clinton Administration, but she's not in the public eye right now. Kim Gandy, current head of NOW is someone I admire. I think she's very courageous, but she isn't going to stand for election any time soon.

Maybe it is because I'm so terribly depressed, in fact, it is highly likely that it is exactly because I'm depressed, that I can't see a leader, man or woman, who is going to help America clean up its environmental mess, its economic mess, or who speaks for my generation. Sports stars, musicians, and actors get far more attention than say, Greenpeace or Amnesty International, or the World Wildlife Fund, for that matter. I can hardly claim to be exempt from or immune to that celebrity hype, being as addicted as I am to The Superficial and Go Fug Yourself, not to mention my teeny, tiny, itsy-bitsy, little, insignificant crush on Jensen Ackles.

And now I've made myself laugh, so that's at least a more positive outlook for the day.

But, really. Seriously, dude. Who are the young leaders? Who do you admire?

Random News Notes

Two completely disjointed things that I want to talk about, and this will be a comparatively short, for me anyway, post.

First is this news about Senate majority leader Harry Reid, who said yesterday that The Most Meaningless War Ever (tm) has been lost. The White House shot back that they thought his comments were 'disturbing'. I'm chuckling because I agree with the White House, but not in the way they mean. I find Senator Reid's remarks very disturbing because HE'S RIGHT! Did we tell President Idiot over and over and over that an escalation of troops wouldn't work? We did. Did he listen? He did not. Is it a catastrophe? Yep. Are we surprised? Nope.

Next, I was up much, much too late last night talking online about the new episode of Supernatural that aired yesterday FINALLY, after a month-long hiatus. After the episode aired and I did my traditional re-watch of the tape of it (since I miss bits of dialog, being deaf) I had on Headline News as background noise.

I glanced up from the laptop, where I was busily typing away to a cadre of other hard-core nuts, oh, I mean fangirls, to find a clip of Neil Patrick Harris on the Ellen Show at one point. He came out. First, Neil, GOOD FOR YOU, I love that the culture here in the States is becoming more and more accepting of homosexuality and that you feel comfortable enough to take that step. Next, duh, 'cause I knew that.

But the bubble-head on Headline News just had to make some dumb ass remark about "Wow, and he plays such a ladies' man on How I Met Your Mother." IT IS CALLED ACTING HONEY, EVER HEARD OF IT? You're an entertainment reporter. Yeesh. NPH is one of the good ones. I don't watch his current show, but he's been in a bunch of things that I liked, and he's good at what he does. Is it so unfathomable that a gay man could play a ladies' man? Herregud!

Speaking of TV watching, I would like to squee endlessly about last night's SN episode, but since I am a complete freak about this show, there are a few details that bugged me. (I lied, there are three things to talk about today.) For the other fangirls who check my website, because the rest of you? Are going to be real lost in about ten seconds and for most of the rest of the post....

I get really annoyed when they stray from the mytharc for a whole episode. Less than one sentence's mention of Heart, nothing at all about the YED...and a few other things about the episode that bothered me. It would take Sam 6 HOURS of watching dailies to figure out that the Latinating was for real? Have we forgotten that he was up for a full ride law school scholarship at Stanford? Law school, Latin...and the fact that BDW tutored them in this stuff from the time Sam was 6 months old on. Anyway. My point is: Continuity of the storyline!!!! Argh! Sam is supposed to be super-smart. And psychic.

Dean and the food, again. Haven't we beat that horse to a bloody, gruesome death yet? Not that I ever get tired of looking at Jensen's lips, but enough with the food already.

Metallicar was missing from this episode, and I felt its absence keenly. A late-model, bright yellow Mustang convertible did not make up for the lack of Metallicar, although it did help a little.

A thing or two that really made me laugh...Jared's non-verbals at the mention of Gilmore Girls, OMG that was funny. His facial expressions when he figures out just what Dean's been up to with Tara/Wendy, priceless. Priceless, I tell you. Dean, getting the girl, love that. Never enough of that in any of the episodes. Dean, getting dressed as he comes out of the trailer at the end of the episode and his hair's a big mess. (Resisting the urge to suggest that there should be a lot fewer layers of clothing...resisting...) I like that Dean wasn't all angst-y and tortured in this episode. I suppose I want it both ways, mytharc, which equals angst, and Dean-the-pickup-artist. That's a pretty tall order, but I expect fantastic things from the show. And when it works? It really works. The fact that they "salted & burned" in this episode, yay!!! There hasn't been near enough of that or shooting things in the face with rock salt this season. That rocked. Oh, and Dean's a total fanboy when it comes to horror movies, that, THAT is fantastically funny. The in-jokes about acting, the film and television industry were cute, too. I caught a whole bunch of them, but I'm sure I didn't see them all, having not ever really worked in TV. The ones I did pick up on were howlers. Which is why I can't wait until TWoP posts the recap, I'm sure that they'll catch a bunch more of them. TWoP's recapper for SN is hysterical.


All right, all right, enough already. Two paragraphs about politics/news, more or less, and too much ranting about my hopeless addiction. Must. Stop. Now. I'm not crazy. Really. I am a serious political blogger. I AM!!!


(Lucy, dear, if you have to tell the good people that...well, it is a little like declaring, "I'm a classy broad!" or asking how much something costs...if you have to ask, you can't afford it. If you have to TELL them that you're a serious politico....) ~.~