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2010-07-28T19:31:00.004-05:00

Well, it's been almost a year since I last posted here. I just haven't had the time and/or energy for blogging. I have discovered microblogging, however, so if anyone happens to stumble upon this blog, follow me on Twitter (@tiff_ellis). My views haven't changed any, but I tend to keep it around 140 characters these days.

I'm Back (to Indoctrinate your Children)

2009-09-03T00:57:00.004-05:00

Ok, I am sufficiently outraged as to start blogging again. I took a break for a while (a long while), partly because of school, because I moved, and honestly, because I didn't have much to complain about for a while. True, I've been quite disappointed by the reaction of many Central Texans to Obama's election, but not enough to write too much about it. Let me clarify that statement. I do not expect everyone to bow down and worship Obama. Many of his hard-core supporters think there are some things that he could be doing differently. No, I am simply sick of the fearmongering that is swirling about. I'm tired of Obama's critics tossing out a few political catchphrases designed to get their based good and riled up, and then listening to the ensuing chaos.

One more qualification: I was a Bush-basher. I have a bumper sticker on my car that reads "So the Dixie Chicks were right after all." I was an informed Bush-basher, however. I can handle debate; I can handle disagreement. What I can't handle is the ignorance. If all you've heard is the Fox News version, then please either a.) sit down and shut the up, or b.) do some more research. If you've learned some things about what you are bitching about, and still have the same opinion, bring it on. I'd love to talk to you. If neither choice a. nor b. applies to you, get a hobby or something. Join a monastery and take a vow of silence. Learn to knit...anything but this.

What's gotten me so annoyed is the uproar over Obama's address to students on Tuesday. I'm hearing people saying they are pulling their kids out of school that day. There are so many reasons why this is ridiculous. First of all, my understanding is that the speech is going to be a standard, "hey-kids-stay-in-school-don't-do-drugs" kinda thing. I remember watching George H.W. Bush do the same thing when I was in 1st-2nd grade. There may have been an uproar then, but I was a little to young to join in on the fun. Anyway, unless Obama will be sending subliminal messages to the kiddies, I highly doubt that any of them are going to be receiving instructions on how to get a quickie abortion, join the gay rights movement, hug a treee, or become a Socialist. The message is to do well in school, which, ironically, is best achieved by having good attendance. So, go to school on Tuesday, kids.

All in all, I think this is a minor thing that will hopefully blow over. We have bigger fish to fry. It's not worth getting this upset over. We've got some real problems to fix.

On a side note, I'm going to try to post more often, now that I'm settled at my new school and in my new apartment. Before, I kinda wanted people to read and comment my blog, now I don't care. This is just an outlet for my frustrations. If you like it great, if not...that's also great. This is going to be my equivalent of a punching bag from now on.

I needed a vacation...

2008-12-31T00:20:00.002-06:00

So i realize that i haven't posted in about a month. In the past month, I have barely even watched the news or read the paper. There has just been too much to do. With the holidays, and finals, and falling for a Republican, there has just been too much going on in my life. I am ready to join the real world again, so I will do my best to catch up and start posting again. Since I've been gone, I do know that Hillary got the Secretary of State position and Governor Blagojevich got arrested. I haven't been living under a rock, after all...
Anyway, for the one person who might read this, expect new stuff soon.

Still Alive

2008-11-30T03:13:00.001-06:00

On the slim chance that anyone reads this blog, here's a message. I'm still alive. Busy with work, and school, and life in general, but still alive. There will hopefully be new stuff soon.

Senate Race Update: 1 down, 2 to go

2008-11-22T14:37:00.005-06:00

Okay, this is old news, but I've been busy. Mark Begich has won the Alaska Senate race. On Thursday, Ted Stevens said goodbye to his lengthy career in the Senate. Every other senator that spoke gave him glowing praise, as well. In fact, many of his colleagues who had rallied for his resignation gave very moving tributes to Stevens.

Anyway, Mark Begich, a relatively conservative Democrat, will take over for Alaska. This gives the Democrats (including Lieberman) a 58-42 advantage in the Senate. This means that we still need Franken to win the recount in Minnesota and Martin to win the runoff in Georgia.

As of right now, it appears that Franken has cut into Coleman's lead slightly. However, the end appears to be nowhere in sight, as counting is not expected to be finished and reported until December 5th. Then litigation begins. This one may not be decided until next year.

In Georgia, both candidates are still trying to raise money and jockey for position. The runoff will be hold on December 2, with turnout expected to be much lower than that of the general election. It is arguable whether this favors Chambliss or Martin. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

The positive here is that Begich pulled off the victory in Alaska. Besides the obvious Democratic win, there are other advantages to this. Had Stevens been elected, and then subsequently expelled from the Senate, there was talk of Sarah Palin taking over his seat. Needless to say, that could have been disastrous. Entertaining, but disastrous.

Quotes of the Week

2008-11-22T11:17:00.000-06:00

Seth Meyers on SNL's Weekend Update:

It's official, for the next four years, it will be pronounced nu-cle-ar.
Barack Obama met with Hillary Clinton on Friday to see if she would be interested in a role in his administration. "Of course," said Hillary. "I'll take president."

Kathleen Parker, in a column entitled "Giving Up on God.":

Simply put: Armband religion is killing the Republican Party. And, the truth -- as long as we're setting ourselves free -- is that if one were to eavesdrop on private conversations among the party intelligentsia, one would hear precisely that.

The choir has become absurdly off-key, and many Republicans know it.

But they need those votes!

So it has been for the Grand Old Party since the 1980s or so, as it has become increasingly beholden to an element that used to be relegated to wooden crates on street corners.

Short break as writer ties blindfold and smokes her last cigarette.

Conan O'Brien:

The Republican party is considering naming the first African-American chairman in their party's history. Isn't that incredible? That's big news. First African-American, yeah. Yeah, unfortunately, Republicans are having a hard time
finding an African-American who's white.

And since it's been a busy week towards the end of the semester, and I have spent more time reading my textbooks than the newspaper, here's a letter that I wrote to the Waco Trib:

One thing that this year’s election has proven is that the White House can be won without the South. With the exception of North Carolina, Virginia and Florida, southern states were largely irrelevant in the presidential race. Even without these southern battleground states, Barack Obama would have won the presidency hands down.

Some of us are quite eager to “join the Union,” as Dwight Allman, associate professor of political science at Baylor, put it. Others, judging from the blatant racism that has been apparent in Central Texas since the election, are clearly hell-bent on maintaining the world’s image of Texans as a bunch of reckless, arrogant rednecks.

Part of what makes our country so great is that we can disagree with each other and not have civil war break out in the streets. What we cannot do is continue to try to resuscitate the South as it was during the actual Civil War.

A co-worker told me the other day that the South would “rise again.” Without getting into the unspeakable violence that happened in the years following the Civil War, I wonder why there are some who insist on deepening the divide that has already split this nation.

Despite the chance for a fresh start, there are some seemingly “average” people who have chosen to participate in old-fashioned Southern racism rather than listening to reason. It is evident that we have not yet reached total racial equality. To move into the 21st century, along with the rest of the nation, we must let the Old South’s legacy of racism and hate die quietly and find a way to come together.

Palin Book Deal?

2008-11-17T09:36:00.003-06:00

Apparently, there are rumors that Sarah Palin is close to being offered a book deal. While I seriously doubt that she would actually be putting pen to paper-- imagine a book longer than War and Peace that never made a single point-- she could make millions from this.

So, that got me thinking. If Palin were to "write" a book, what would the title be. I have some suggestions:

The Audacity of False Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming My Dignity

Dreams from Joe the Plumber: A Story of Fake Plumbers and Socialism

To Kill an Elephant

Of Moose and Men

The Five People You Meet at Neiman Marcus

Sarah Palin and the Order of the Dead Elephant

Her Eyes were Watching Russia (From Alaska, of course.)

The Sour Grapes of Wrath

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Mavericks

Much Ado About Nothin', You Betcha!

The Maverick, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

2012 (Think 1984...she will describe how Obama will destroy society by 2012, and why we should elect her to fix it.)

And here are a few that have already been taken, but would have been perfect:

A Confederacy of Dunces

Things Fall Apart

The Comedy of Errors

Three Senate Races Still Unresolved

2008-11-15T11:49:00.000-06:00

As of today, there are still three Senate races that are undecided.

The most surprising undecided race, to me at least, in the Alaska Senate seat. For a while, it looked like Ted Stevens was going to pull it off. Now, however, Mark Begich is leading by a slim, but growing margin. According to Alaska's Secretary of State's Division of Elections, Begich has 138959 votes and Stevens has 137937. As of yesterday, Begich was up by 1022. Counting will resume on Tuesday, and it seems that the precincts which have not been counted are likely to go for Begich. Hopefully, we will know one way or the other then.

In Minnesota, a recount is looking inevitable. Norm Coleman, with 1211565 votes, holds a 206 vote lead over Al Franken, who has 1211359, according to Minnesota's Secretary of State. For right now, Coleman and his supporters are claiming victory, but, with the number of contested votes that are likely to be re-examined, things could change. Unfortunately, this one will probably not have a final result until the middle of December.

Georgia's race between Saxby Chambliss and Jim Martin is headed for a run-off. Out of 3,752,579 votes in the general election, Chambliss got 1,867,090, Martin got 1,757,419, the Libertarian candidate got 128,002, and write-in candidates got a whopping 68. Since neither Chambliss nor Martin got a majority of the vote, Georgia voters will have to try it again on December 2. Chambliss beat Martin by 109,671 votes in the general election. Hypothetically, if everyone who voted in the general election came out for the run-off, and almost all of the third-party voters voted this time for Jim Martin, he would pull it off. However, I think turnout will be significantly lower for this election, and I'm afraid that many of those who show up will be the Chambliss faithful. Obama gave a lot of down-ballot races a huge boost, so if Obama voters don't show up for Martin, I don't think he has much of a chance. We shall see, however. Check out Jim Martin's official site for ways to help.

If the Democrats take all three of these seats, we will reach the magic number of 60. With wins by Mark Udall in Colorado, Kay Hagan in North Carolina, Jeff Merkley in Oregon, Jeanne Shaheen in New Hampshire, Mark Warner in Virginia, and Tom Udall in New Mexico, the Democrats hold 57 seats, counting Lieberman, which is another story in itself. Depending on how these races turn out, and how the Lieberman issue is dealt with, the Democrats may still be looking at a 60- seat majority when the new Senate comes to order.

Quotes of the Week

2008-11-15T05:35:00.000-06:00

Dwight D. Allman, associate professor of political science at Baylor, in a letter to the Waco Trib:

The Civil War is truly over. It’s time for us all to join the Union.

Conan O'Brien:

This is true, according to a new report, I was reading this today in the paper, thousands of pregnant mothers in this country are planning to name their baby Barack. That's true. Yeah, after hearing this, Sarah Palin told Bristol, "Don't even think about it."

Keith Olbermann, on Proposition 8 passing in California:

If you voted for this Proposition or support those who did or the sentiment they expressed, I have some questions, because, truly, I do not understand. Why does this matter to you? What is it to you? In a time of impermanence and fly-by-night relationships, these people over here want the same chance at permanence and happiness that is your option. They don't want to deny you yours. They don't want to take anything away from you. They want what you want—a chance to be a little less alone in the world.

Fred Barnes, on Barack Obama:

For the time being anyway, he's a colossus astride the continent, the most commanding political presence since Ronald Reagan. ...He's the star. Republicans are extras. If they attract attnetion, it's likely to be because they've done something the media considers outrageous or dumb.

Rep. Paul Ryan (R- Wyoming):

We've got to stop being the angry white guy party.

Melivin R. Volkert, Hillsboro resident, in a letter to the Waco Trib:

Some folks in these parts like to expound in local public venues on what
wonderful Christians they are. They suggest if other folks were to vote like they do, perhaps they could win the favor of the Lord as well.

Any time a platform based on hope and promise defeats a platform based on hate and fear, it should be celebrated by Christians around the world.

God blessed America after eight years in the wasteland.

Rachel Maddow, on Mark Begich taking the lead over Ted Stevens in the Alaska Senate race:

So, we're not going to elect a convicted felon to the Senate? One glass ceiling not broken in this election, I guess.

What my favorite bigots have been up to...

2008-11-11T23:15:00.006-06:00

With all the attention surrounding the actual candidates this year, I almost forgot about some of my favorite crazy people. I mentioned in an earlier post that I hadn't heard much from Ann Coulter. None of the newspapers that I read publish her anymore, and, during the election, I did not care enough about her to go online. However, since there isn't much going on right now, I thought I would scope out the reaction of some of my favorite crazies to Obama's election.

Ann Coulter. Such a sore loser. She is a bit upset over the Obama, victory, but mainly because the Republicans blew it. Wow, she almost sounds like a Democrat. Anyway, Coulter is planted firmly on the Palin bandwagon (of course), think Colin Powell's endorsement was meant to be be sarcastic, and refers to Obama only as "B. Hussein Obama." Here's more of what she had to say:

After showing nearly superhuman restraint throughout this campaign, which was lost the night McCain won the California primary, I am now liberated to announce that all I care about is hunting down and punishing every Republican who voted for McCain in the primaries. I have a list and am prepared to produce the names of every person who told me he was voting for McCain to the proper authorities.

Ok, now she sounds like a Republican again. I was getting worried...

Fred Phelps. The pastor of Westboro Baptist "Church" is an anti-homosexual nutjob who is mostly known for picketing soldiers' funerals. Some trademark picket signs that the church uses are: God Hates Fags, You're Going to Hell, Thank God for Dead Soldiers, AIDS Cures Fags, and Priests Rape Boys. He is so extreme that it is impossible to take him seriously, but people do. He mostly hides behind the First Amendment (as is his right), but federal and state laws have been enacted to keep him and his crazies a certain distance away from cemeteries.

The Westboro Baptist Church's website (godhatesfags.com, ironically) is another joke that uses inflammatory language and twisted Bible verses to get the point across. The main message is, big surprise, that God hates fags.

Anyway, according to Wikipedia, Phelps is a Democrat that supported Al Gore. Another joke. But anyway, I expected the response to Barack Obama's win to be less than positive. Since no one really takes this man seriously anymore, I haven't seen him on the news or anything, but he has preached several sermons in which Obama is mentioned.

Of course, they believe that Obama is the anti-christ and Phelps even calls him an "evil, black Nimrod."

Ted Nugent. He is one of the few "columnists" that I physically cannot stand to read. I can handle Ann Coulter, I can handle Michelle Malkin, hell, I can even watch Bill O'Reilly from time to time. Ted Nugent, however, pisses me off. He writes blatantly racist crap in the Waco Trib all the time, and they still refer to him affectionately as "Nuge." It makes me shudder.

Here are samples from a recent column where he outlined who has a soul and who does not:

It is soulless to purchase blingbling, tobacco, booze and more, then claim that you can't afford a sandwich and an apple for your kid's school lunch — then to ask the government to waste some more tax dollars on your so-called needs.

Let me translate. The term "blingbling," as used here by this ignorant bastard, is code for "I'm about to start bashing black people."

You have no soul, Barack Obama, to borrow a page from Mao Tse-Tung to "take those profits . . ." from an American corporation and redistribute it to your blingbling-infested, irresponsible constituents.

I'll translate for the ignorant redneck once again. "Blingbling infested, irresponsible constituents," in Nugent's world, equals black people. After all, don't we now know that only black people voted for Obama?

I haven't seen an official response to Obama's election yet, mayne Nugent in too busy purchasing guns and stockpiling food, but here is some of what he wrote a couple of days before Election Day:

...the good governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, has proven to be a bureaucrat-stomping, status quo-destroying political warrior. Everybody I know is genuinely moved by her defiance of the old-guard politicos.

Ah. How did I know that he would be a Palin fan?

People who are too cowardly to associate their names with their opinions. I use my real name on this blog, and that might be stupid, but at least I am willing to stand up for my opinions. Sarah Palin kinda had a point when she said that the anonymous bloggers who bashed her continually were cowards. Here are more examples:

A noose is hung from a tree at Baylor University.
An Obama cutout is hung from a tree on the University of Kentucky campus. (for the record, I disapprove of the person who hung a cutout of Sarah Palin and depicted John McCain in flames as Halloween decorations, as well).
Anti-Obama graffiti is found on Purdue's campus.

Why are so many of the cowardly incidents happening on college campuses? Young people are supposed to be the tolerant ones. You have a right to free speech, but you cross the line when you threaten someone. Nooses hanging from trees, especially in the South, are threats. I've said this before.

Some people have this gut reaction to Obama that they cannot quote describe. It's not that they disagree with his politics, but there's just "something about him." That's the official answer, anyway. How about, from now on, we just call it what it is: good old-fashioned Southern racism. You can complain about our next president all you want, and you have a right to hate him based on his skin color, I suppose. I disagree with this vehemently, and I think it makes you less than a person, but I can't help how you feel. Just stop using euphemisms and admit that you are racist. Admitting you have a problem is the first step, after all.

Doc Anderson on Dr. Phil

2008-11-11T12:46:00.003-06:00

State Rep. Charles "Doc" Anderson, Waco's favorite Republican veterinarian, will appear on the "Dr. Phil Show" today at 3:00. He filed a bill Monday to ban the drug Salvia, and will discuss its effects on the show.

Salvia is a hallucinogenic drug that is currently legal in Texas, and can be purchased over-the-counter here in Waco and other parts of Texas. I don't know much about it, and have obviously never used it, but check out Wikipedia for more information.

Honestly, I'm a little apathetic about drug related issues, becuase I don't do drugs, and have never really been affected by them positively or negatively. I tend to think that marijuana should be legalized, just becuase I have know a lot of people who smoke weed that lead productive lives, and are not "hooked" or tempted to try harder drugs. I do think, however, that if it ever was legalized, employers should be able to ban its use among their employees. I also believe that jail sentences for crack and powder cocaine should be standardized because sentences for crack, which is mostly used by low-income minority users, are much harsher. I am definitely not a warrior against drugs, but I don't want to see rampant drug use, either.

Salvia seems to me like a mix between marijuana and LSD, depending on which side you ask. Anderson has proposed before (unsuccessfully) that salvia "dealers" could pay up to $100,000 in fines and receive up to life in prison. His current bill (House Bill 126, if you care to know), if passed, would make it a Class A misdemeanor for use or possession, with escalating penalties for subsequent convictions or large amounts.

Honestly, I really have no opinion on this issue. My one complaint is that we have other things to worry about beside the recreational use of a drug that doesn't really seem to be a widespread problem. However, State Reps have already filed bills on incendiary issues such as abortion, immigration, education, and taxes, so I bet we'll be seeing what is important soon enough.

Obama the Dictator

2008-11-11T12:06:00.006-06:00

Rep. Paul Broun, of Georgia, has said that he is afraid that Obama will be a dictator, and that he is planning to use a Gestapo-like police force to help him achieve dictatorship. From the Associated Press:

Broun said he was not fear-mongering but wants to warn people that the
nation could be going down that path.

How is saying that Obama is leading down the same path the Hitler led Germany not fearmongering?

Broun goes on to say:

We can't be lulled into complacency. You have to remember that Adolf Hitler was elected in a democratic Germany. I'm not comparing him to Adolf Hitler. What I'm saying is there is the potential of going down that road.

That's like saying, "I'm not gonna compare Obama to Hitler, but hey, this guy's a lot like Hitler."

Obama did say that he supported civilian support for our military, to help in postwar construction, but he was talking about using reserve units. This idea has been supported by W. himself. Has anyone,besides maybe this idiot, ever considered the Army National Guard to be a Gestapo-like police force? Probably not.

Then he begins to rant about gun control. It has been widely reported that gun sales are way up, because rednecks are losing their damn minds, thinking Obama's going to take their guns away. Obama supports "common sense" gun laws, which means he'll probably only focus on assault weapons and concealed handguns.

Ok, here's my position on gun control. If you are a hunter and use hunting rifles for game, great. You shoot for sport, fine. If you feel that you need protection, and are trained to use a handgun, go for it. Get a license if you carry it with you. But why does any law-abiding citizen need an assault rifle? There may be perfectly valid reasons for this, but I can't think of any.

So, Broun will continue the fearmongering, yes, it is fearmongering, that was such a vital part of the Republican campaign. Most of the rest of us will get behind our new president and wait for a new day to come.

Liberal Wish List

2008-11-10T20:20:00.003-06:00

I keep reading about the long legislative liberal wish list that Obama faces at the start of his term. Sorry for the alliteration.

Some of the items on the list include:

Repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Besides the discriminatory nature of this policy, can we really afford to kick qualified people out of our armed forces based solely on their sexual orientation? It seems that most military personnel are not opposed to the idea of gays serving openly in the military. Even if some are not accepting of this idea, we all have to work with people that we may not necessarily agree with. Diversity should be encouraged, not outlawed.

Extending voting rights to some ex-convicts. This is not an issue that I feel strongly about, but I'm not sure that we need to disqualify people from voting just because they have a felony conviction. I do feel that if convicted felons are allowed to serve in the U.S. Senate (this means you. Ted Stevens), that it is hypocritical not to allow them to vote. OK, I suppose that, in principle, we do not want murderers picking our next president, but people make mistakes. I'm not an expert on voting laws from state to state, but it seems that it varies. If ballots include elections for both federal and state positions, this needs to be standardized.

Offering paid sick days to more workers. This is not really something that applies to me. I have a job that offers personal days and vacation time, and I am generally satisfied with that. I wouldn't argue against more, but I don't really need it. However, if we want to get people off of welfare and keep them working, this is important. For example, you cannot receive most government-assistance, such as food stamps, if you make too much money, so the people that utilize these services do not usually have great jobs. They are often employed by places that do not offer benefits or paid days off. So, what happens to a single mother, working at a fast-food restaurant, when she has to take her sick child to the doctor? If she is able to keep her job, she loses a day's worth of pay. I don't think I even have to say that many people cannot afford to lose a day's pay. I couldn't, and I'm single with no kids. Offering sick days to more people can help them get back on their feet and stay there.

Closing the wage gap between men and women. Women still make less than men. Unless all women are doing a truly sub-par job at whatever they do, this is unacceptable. Pay should be based on performance, not gender.

Overruling state restrictions on abortion. Laws concerning abortion vary from state to state. Some consider state restrictions to be a way of chipping away at the validity of Roe v. Wade. Some states require parental consent or notification, others don't. Some states are trying to ban abortion in all cases except in "extreme cases" where the mother's life is at stake. My argument is that the government has no grounds to ban abortion until they stand up for sex education. Not the abstinence-only programs, but programs with an emphasis on birth control and prevention of STDs.

Extending a hate crimes bill to cover crimes against gays on the basis of sexual orientation. I've heard the argument that every crime is a hate crime, but a person should not fear for his or her life because they are a member of a certain demographic. People are murdered everyday, but most of the time it is random or because of a personal conflict. I am not minimizing the loss of any life, but a person should be able to walk down a street without fear of attack based on skin color, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. James Byrd was not killed at random, nor was Matthew Shepard. Those were hate crimes.

Expanding access to birth control and family planning. The best way to reduce the number of abortions performed is to offer more family planning services. Abstinence-only programs do not work. I hate to play the Bristol Palin card, but it applies. Furthermore, rich young women can afford to travel across state lines to bypass state abortions laws, the poor cannot. So, in states where birth control is downplayed and abortion is heavily restricted, we will continue the endless cycle of poverty.

Standardizing sentencing for crack cocaine vs. powder cocaine. The fact is, crack is a problem in inner cities. So, most users of crack cocaine are poor and black. The sentences for crack use are stiffer than those for powder cocaine, the drug of choice for rich cocaine users. So, poor, black drug users spend more time in jail than rich, white offenders. Plus, without being able to afford a decent lawyer, jail sentences can be even longer. I'm not condoning drug use, but we should make the consequences equal for all offenders.

Providing a path to citizenship for those living in America illegally. Scare tactics will never work to solve our immigration problem. If you threaten to deport a person, do you think they will cooperate? No matter how you feel about illegal immigration, it is impossible to scare them into leaving. We need to secure our border, work with immigrants, and develop a system to help them gain citizenship. Also, we need to address why illegal immigration is such a big problem. Building a big ass fence is not the answer, and it will not work. To quote Arizona governor, Janet Napolitano, "you show me a 50-foot wall, and I'll show you a 51-foot ladder."

Advancing stem cell research. Bush has repeatedly shot down efforts to expand stem cell research in the U.S. Look, scientists are not playing Frankenstein here. They are trying to cure Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and other devastating diseases. Instead of funding stem cell research, we are funding a war that has yielded resulted in real lives lost, men and women who had families and friends, not just embryos sitting on a shelf, unwanted, in a fertility clinic somewhere, waiting to be discarded.

Protecting the environment. Bush is widely considered to have been the worst president, environmentally, ever. He has basically treated the environment as a giant neverending landfill. We need to do better.

Sarah Palin goes through her closet...

2008-11-10T19:45:00.003-06:00

It seems that Sarah Palin has been getting down to business since returning to Wasilla. She's been going through stacks of clothes trying to determine what's hers and what belongs to the RNC. It seems that she has been urgently trying to get this matter resolved. Here's what her father, Chuck Heath, had to say:

She was just frantically ... trying to sort stuff out. That's the problem, you know, the kids lose underwear, and everything has to be accounted for.

The problem, you know, is that kids lose underwear? I don't even know what the hell that means, but I get it. Palin is trying to make sure that her image is not tarnished further by returning everything that was bought for her. I wonder if she would have been so frantic if this had not developed into such a major controversy. I guess we'll never know...

Also, Palin said that the failed policies of the Bush administration are the primary reason that the Repulicans lost the election.

I think the Republican ticket represented too much of the status quo, too much of what had gone on in these last eight years, that Americans were kind of shaking their heads like going, wait a minute, how did we run up a $10 trillion debt in a Republican administration? How have there been blunders with war strategy under a Republican administration? If we're talking change, we want to get far away from what it was that the present administration represented and that is to a great degree what the Republican Party at the time had been representing.

First off, congrats to Governor Palin for improving her grammar some. I could mostly understand what she was saying here. Secondly, it is just me, or does she sound a bit like Barack Obama here? Finally, is this whole wardrobe scandal not indicative of just what has gone wrong in the last eight years? Spending $150,ooo on clothes during a campaign is not a good sign. If a candidate manages a campaign poorly, is it wrong to assume that they may handle the presidency poorly, as well?

Finally, it does seem that Palin's supporters have their priorities straight. The most pressing question on one Wasilla citizens's mind is this:

What's our vision for her hair?

Way to focus on what's important.

Molly Ivins Called It

2008-11-10T00:46:00.008-06:00

"You know, that young man could be president some day."

This is what the late Texas liberal said of Barack Obama at the 2004 DNC, where he burst onto the national scene.

I had not really gotten into politics by then, and I never really appreciated Molly Ivins while she was alive. However, since I have caught the political bug, I have read quite a bit of what she wrote, and I am saddened that she did not live to see what transpired Tuesday night.

Since she's no longer around to comment on history being made, here is a collection of some of my favorite Molly Ivins quotes:

Next time I tell you someone from Texas should not be president of the United States, please pay attention.

God, we should have listened.

We always said that if Hollywood ever needed somebody to play the role of God Almighty, they ought to get Barbara Jordan.

That's from a PBS tribute to Barbara Jordan, shortly after her death in 1996:

What you need is sustained outrage...there's far too much unthinking respect given to authority.

How true.

Satire is traditionally the weapon of the powerless against the powerful. I only aim at the powerful. When satire is aimed at the powerless, it is not only cruel -- it's vulgar.

That's why I took so much pleasure in the mass mocking of Republicans this year. It was well deserved.

It is possible to read the history of this country as one long struggle to extend the liberties established in our Constitution to everyone in America.

It is my hope that "we the people" will one day include everyone. We have took a big step forward, as well as a step back this week.

Any nation that can survive what we have lately in the way of government, is on the high road to permanent glory.

No joke.

We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war. Raise hell. Think of something to make the ridiculous look ridiculous. Make our troops know we're for them and trying to get them out of there.

That's from the last column she wrote before she died in 2007.

I believe all Southern liberals come from the same starting point -- race. Once you figure out they are lying to you about race, you start to question everything.

I couldn't agree with this more. I always remember learning about black history in February, but it was a very watered down version. It was not until very recently that I started digging deeper for the truth. To all of you people who still sport the rebel flag, know this: the South has an ugly and shameful past. You might want to think twice about clinging so desperately to it.

In 2004, Molly Ivins's prediction of a President Obama may have been far-fetched, but on Tuesday, we made it happen. Honestly, I am still in awe of what has happened.

Falls and McLennan County Election Results

2008-11-08T22:07:00.013-06:00

Here is a summary of the election results for Falls County, where I live. Pay attention to the numbers in red; we'll get to them in a minute.

President
John McCain: 59.35%
Barack Obama: 39.62%
Margin: 19.73%

U.S. Senate
John Cornyn: 59.17%
Rick Noriega: 39.28%
Margin: 19.89%

U.S. Representative, District 31
John Carter: 59.75%
Brian P. Ruiz: 38.56
Margin: 21.19%

Railroad Commissioner
Michael Williams: 49.76%
Mark Thompson: 47.54%
Margin: 2.22%

Supreme Court, Chief Justice
Wallace Jefferson: 49.73%
Jim Jordan: 47.14%
Margin: 2.59%

Supreme Court, Place 7
Dale Wainwright: 48.64%
Sam Houston: 47.94%
Margin: 0.7%

Supreme Court, Place 8
Phil Johnson: 52.32%
Linda Reyna Yanez: 44.72%
Margin: 7.6%

Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 3
Tom Price: 50.26%
Susan Strawn: 47.06%
Margin: 3.2%

Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 4
Paul Womack: 53.16%
J.R. Molina: 43.81%
Margin: 9.35%

Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 9
Cathy Cochran: 81.91%
William Strange (Libertarian): 18.08%
Margin: 63.83%

State Representative, District 57
Jim Dunnam: 86.03%
Neill Snider (Libertarian): 13.96%
Margin: 72.07%

10th Court of Appeals, Place 2
Rex Davis: 53.50%
Richard Ferguson: 46.49%
Margin: 7.01%

Now for McLennan County.

President
John McCain: 60.19%
Barack Obama: 39.16%
Margin: 21.03%

U.S. Senate
John Cornyn: 61.31%
Rick Noriega: 37.31%
Margin: 24.00%

U.S. Representative, District 17
Rob Curnock: 39.96%
Chet Edwards: 59.29%
Margin: 19.33%

Railroad Commissioner
Michael Williams: 56.70%
Mark Thompson: 40.88%
Margin: 15.82%

Supreme Court, Chief Justice
Wallace Jefferson: 57.60%
Jim Jordan: 40.36%
Margin: 17.24%

Supreme Court, Place 7
Dale Wainwright: 55.25%
Sam Houston: 42.73%
Margin: 12.52%

Supreme Court, Place 8
Phil Johnson: 58.18%
Linda Reyna Yanez: 39.84%
Margin: 18.34%

Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 3
Tom Price: 56.47%
Susan Strawn: 41.07%
Margin: 15.40%

Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 4
Paul Womack: 58.26%
J.R. Molina: 39.64%
Margin: 18.62%

Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 9
Cathy Cochran: 87.76%
William Strange (Libertarian): 12.23%
Margin: 75.53%

State Representative, District 56
Doc Anderson: 86.56
David Meine (Libertarian): 13.43%
Margin: 73.13

State Representative, District 57
Jim Dunnam: 92.11%
Neill Snider (Libertarian): 7.88%
Margin: 84.23%

10th Court of Appeals, Place 2
Rex Davis: 59.79%
Richard Ferguson: 40.20%
Margin: 19.59%

Ok, that was the boring part, I promise. I need to say this before I go any further: I am not a statistician or a political analyst by any means, but I need to do some math.

You see, there are some numbers that stick out to me. Alright, the average margin of victory of Republicans over Democrats in Falls County is 9.285%. In McLennan County, it's 18.19%. For these averages, I excluded races in which a Republican or Democrat was running against a Libertarian because, no offense to Libertarians, but these races were, and usually are, blowouts.

It is my opinion that the down-ballot results are a pretty good way to tell how a county is divided, as far as political parties go. The fact is, most voters are not all that educated on who is running for office, other than the folks at the top of the ticket. Furthermore, I believe that the most "unknown" races are judicial elections. After all, presidential candidates, senators, and representatives know that they must keep their constituents happy to either win office or remain there, so they stay pretty visible througout the campaign season.

So, let's look at the numbers for the judicial races. In both counties, Republicans won every race. In the three Supreme Court places, and the three places on the Court of Criminal Appeals, all six Republican incumbents remained in office. In Falls County the average margin of victory for Republicans in judicial races was 5.08%. In McLennan County, it was just about 17%.

Alright, I am going to try to make this make sense. I am not trying to say that all voters in McLennan or Falls County are uneducated, but I can tell you that there was virtually no campaigning done here for the Supreme Court and none at all for the Court of Criminal Appeals. So, unless you made a point to research the candidates, there would be no way to know much about them. So what's an uninformed voter to do? I can think of three things.

One, vote straight ticket. Two, vote for candidates that you have heard of somewhere before. Three, vote for those who have nice-sounding names.

I think that a little bit of all of these things happened. Falls County is the perfect example of this. We are a small, poor county that does not receive much attention from "outsiders." With so few voters, there's really no reason to campaign here; it wouldn't have a big enough impact. So, when I see election results from my county, I wonder why people voted the way they did.

My argument is that most voters voted straight-ticket along party lines, unless there is something about a candidate that a voter deems unacceptable. The races that I think are most indicative of the political alignment of Falls County were: Railroad Commissioner, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Place 7 of the Supreme Court, and Place 3 of the Supreme Court. These elections were all decided by margins between 0.7 and 3.2 percent, with Republicans holding a slight advantage.

What about the other judicial races? The Democrat lost Place 8 of the Supreme Court by 7.6 percentage points, and Place 4 of the Court of Criminal Appeals by 9.35 percentage points.

Why were these particular races determined by a larger margin than seemingly equivalent elections? Example: what voter knows the difference in candidates of Place 2 vs. Place 8 of the Supreme Court? My argument is that some voters voted not only along party lines, but along racial lines, as well. The candidates that lost by the larger margins were Linda Reyna Yanez and J.R. Molina. Molina was widely described as an unfit candidate, but Linda Yanez was praised and endorsed by major state newspapers.

Let's do some more math. In races (including for president, excluding Libertarians, in Falls County only) where there was no well-known minority or candidate with an "ethnic-sounding" name, the Republican margin of victory was 3.38%. This seems to indicate that the county is pretty well evenly divided along party lines. However, in the presidential election and in races where a candidate with a Hispanic name, the margin was 15.6%. For the record, even though this seems more apparent in Falls County, the margin for a race without a minority in McLennan County was 15.51% and, for races with a minority Democratic candidate, it was 20.51%.

Also for the record, I did not factor Michael Williams's, Wallace Jefferson's or Dale Wainwright's race into this. They are all black Republicans, but, as there was so little campaigning done around here, it is doubtful that voters knew this. Also, they were incumbents and easily won their races.

So, while I am definitely not a "numbers" person, I recognized a trend. I may be reading too much into this, but I have seen so much racism in the days since the elcetion that these results jumped out to me.

Is there an solution to this problem? Probably not. Until racial sterotypes and prejudice are eliminated, and people make it a point to become informed, I doubt that we will see voters voting solely on the issues. There will always those who vote based on the way a person's name sounds. In all fairness, it seems that Democratic judge Sam Houston received a modest boost in numbers, likely because of his name. On the other hand, it also appears that Susan Strawn lost by a larger number than some of the other judicial candidates. Was it maybe because people voted for the male candidate over the female? We'll probably never know.

In conclusion, though there is nothing official about these observations, it is a sad commentary on the state of racial relations in Texas. I'm not black, and I will never understand what it is like to be black, but I am saddened by the reaction that I have witnessed in Central Texas to Obama's election, and I will not stop trying to fix it. I keep harping on the race issue, but let me say this once and for all: racism didn't end with Obama's election. We may have made progress, but there is still a long way to go.

This is a must read

2008-11-07T13:18:00.002-06:00

From the Washington Post:

A Butler Well Served by This Election

Here are some snippets:

For more than three decades Eugene Allen worked in the White House, a black man unknown to the headlines. During some of those years, harsh segregation laws lay upon the land. He trekked home every night, his wife, Helene, keeping him
out of her kitchen. At the White House, he worked closer to the dirty dishes than to the large desk in the Oval Office. Helene didn't care; she just beamed with pride.

Allen worked in the White House kitchen and as a butler through eight administrations, and never missed a day of work.

First lady Nancy Reagan came looking for him in the kitchen one day. She wanted to remind him about the upcoming dinner for West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. He told her he was well ahead in the planning and had already picked out the china. But she told him he would not be working that night. "She said, 'You and Helene are coming to the state dinner as guests of President Reagan and myself.' I'm telling you! I believe I'm the only butler to get invited to a state dinner."

The couple was proud to finally be able to vote for a black candidate for president, and had planned all of their Election Day activites.

They talked about praying to help Barack Obama get to the White House. They'd go vote together. She'd lean on her cane with one hand, and on him with the other, while walking down to the precinct. And she'd get supper going afterward. They'd gone over their Election Day plans more than once.

"Imagine," she said.

"That's right," he said.

This was not to be, however.

On Monday Helene had a doctor's appointment. Gene woke and nudged her once, then again. He shuffled around to her side of the bed. He nudged Helene again. He was all alone.

"I woke up and my wife didn't," he said later.

Some friends and family members rushed over. He wanted to make coffee. They had to shoo the butler out of the kitchen.

The lady whom he married 65 years ago will be buried today.

The butler cast his vote for Obama on Tuesday. He so missed telling his Helene about the black man bound for the Oval Office.

One of these things is not like the others...

2008-11-07T12:59:00.003-06:00

So far, so good.

Photos from Matador Pulse and Yahoo!

Karl Rove to speak in Dallas

2008-11-07T12:26:00.002-06:00

While reading the newspaper, I see an ad featuring my least favorite Pillsbury Doughboy lookalike. Apparently, Karl Rove is set to speak at the Dallas/Fort Worth Committee for Heritage Lecture on Novemberr 11. This is sponsored by the Heritage Foundation.

Is it just me, or does this sound like a white supremacy group?

I know the Heritage Foundation is a "conservative think-tank" officially, but something about the word "heritage" being associated with the lovely headshot of Rove that I am looking at doesn't sit right with me. It reminds me of people who make homemade porn, and label the tapes with something really boring, like "Quilting with Edna" or something like that (no offense to any quilters out there).

Why Baylor's in the news...

2008-11-07T10:37:00.006-06:00

Here's a hint: It's not because they won a football game.

The day after the election, there were reports of a few racially-charged incidents at Baylor University. Apparently, a noose was found hanging in a tree on campus. Also, several students had a bonfire with Obama signs in a barbeque pit near the dorms. Finally, perhaps fueled by the first two incidents, a shouting match between what I have heard described as a group of white students and a group of black students resulted in police being called. No one was injured, but one student described the confrontation as being "filled with hate."

First of all, I do not think that burning Obama signs in a barbeque pit is inherently racist. I could potentially envision bitter and immature people burning Hillary Clinton signs if she had ended up as the Democratic nominee and eventual president-elect. These students may have had racial motivations for burning the signs, but this was not made clear. However, this does nothing to improve Baylor's image, or Waco's either, for that matter. Waco will be forever associated with the Branch Davidians, Daivd Koresh, and Mount Carmel. Waco citizens will have to deal with this stigma forever.

As for the shouting match between students, I do not know how it started or what was said, but tensions have been running high since the election. Campus police seem to have handled the situation well, and no one was hurt. Racial slurs may have been thrown around, but, consitutionally, we have the right to free speech. I will revere the right to free speech until I die, with one exception that I have mentioned before: speech that incites violence.

A noose hanging from a tree on the day after we have elected our first black president is not a prank or practical joke. It is a threat. Baylor needs to investigate this incident, and take swift and decisive action. The person who did this, if they are a student, should be expelled. The atmosphere around the Waco area has been tense enough for the past couple of days, and an incident like this could be enough to cause the situation to ignite. There is nothing funny about lynching, which has been a tragic part of Waco's not-too-distant past.

In 1916, Jesse Washington was lynched in Waco for the rape and murder of a white woman. Whether he actually committed the crime or not is questionable. In 1916, this did not matter. A trial was held and Washington was convicted. On his way to jail, he was swept away by a mob of Waco citizens. He was then hanged and burned to death. One person who was there later wrote:

The boy was beaten and dragged to the suspension bridge spanning the Brazos River. Thousands roared, "Burn him!" Bonfire preparations were already under way in the public square, where Washington was beaten with shovels and bricks.Fifteen thousand men, women, and children packed the square. They climbed up poles and onto the tops of cars, hung from windows, and sat on each other's shoulders. Children were lifted by their parents into the air. Washington was castrated, and his ears were cut off. A tree supported the iron chain that lifted him above the fire of boxes and sticks. Wailing, the boy attempted to climb the skillet-hot chain. For this the men cut off his fingers. The executioners repeatedly lowered the boy into the flames and hoisted him out again. With each repetition, a mighty shout was raised.

This incident has become known as "The Waco Horror."

Washington is believed to have still been alive in this photo.

This image was made into a postcard that said, "This is the barbecue we had last night...Your son, Joe."

This is what a noose hanging from a tree at a college campus in the South, in Waco, represents. Baylor needs to take a stand.

Warm Fuzzies and Quotes of the Week

2008-11-06T23:23:00.015-06:00

Since so much of my attention has been focused recently on the negative reaction to Obama's election, I need to redirect my thoughts to what has happened.

Obama won. Americans went to the polls and picked our next president by a large margin. No recounts, no intervention from the Supreme Court. He won this thing fair and square.

So, since I've been on the defensive pretty much since the results came in, here is a collection of things that have inspired me, made me laugh, or caused me to think.

Barack Obama, in his victory speech:

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled – Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It’s the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

Michael Gerson, former Bush speechwriter:

I suspect I will have many substantive criticisms of the new administration, beginning soon enough. Today I have only one message for Barack Obama, who will be our president, my president: Hail to the chief.

Rudy Giuliani, on whether he would support Obama:

You know what happens tomorrow morning when this is all over, or tomorrow afternoon, or whenever, or tonight? We all become Americans, and we support Barack Obama or John McCain 100 percent. Because if they fail, we fail.

Brian Williams, calling the election:

11 PM on the East Coast. We're back on the air and we have news. There will be young children in the White House for the first time since the Kennedy generation. An African-American has broken the barrier as old as the republic; an astonishing candidate, an astonishing campaign. A seismic shift in American politics.

Iman Bibars, Egyptian women's activist and, often, "sharp" critic of the U.S.:

When Obama won, I felt it was the return of the American Dream. I just cried
through the whole thing, because it gave me hope that the good guy will win, in
a world where good people don't normally win.

What some folks call impossible is just stuff they haven't seen before.
--What Dreams May Come.

And Men Have Lost Their Reason...

2008-11-06T01:50:00.004-06:00

Let me preface what I am about to say with this statement: I support freedom of speech. The First Amendment has kept me out of a lot of trouble. As a liberal voter in a solidly red state, my opinion is not often shared by my neighbors, coworkers, or even family members. Free speech is an essential right in American, and while I may disagree, sometimes vehemently, with you, I respect your right to say what's on your mind.

The one exception to this liberty is when a person abuses their right to free speech to incite a riot or violent activity. For example, we all know that it is widely accepted to be wrong to yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater. Another example that I have witnessed in the last 24 hours is promoting, encouraging, or condoning violence against a public official, namely our President-elect, Barack Obama.

I work in a small-town grocery store to pay my way through college. Today, the day after we elected our first black president, the sheer hatred that I saw coming from so-called "good" people absolutely floored me.

I lost count of how many times I was forced to listen to racial epithets and violent tirades. You see, I cannot afford to lose my job. I was stuck, behind a counter, as person after person took shot after shot at everything I believe in.

One lady referred to yesterday as "The Day America Died." I think she might have been right, not because we elected Barack Obama to be our next president, but because of people like her refuse to move on. It is because of people like this ignorant woman, who probably couldn't give one valid reason for using this phrase, other than that it was likely to incite anger, that we cannot get over our differences.

I have engaged in plenty of name-calling and mudslinging throughout this campaign, trying to gain support for my candidate. I admit that. I have gotten into heated arguments over issues and policies. What I did not do was attack McCain's patriotism or his service to our country. I believe that McCain tried to keep his campaign focused on tangible issues (healthcare, taxes, Iraq, etc.), but it was impossible. A group of his supporters, not all of them, but the group that has bullied our nation into submission the last eight years would simply not let this be a clean fight. We were bombarded attacks on Obama's character. He's a Muslim...He's a Socialist...He kills babies...He pals around with terrorists. These are all incendiary accusations that are meant to invoke fear. There is no truth here, but these allegations can be spun to look suspiciously like the truth. For example, 23 percent of Texans believe that Obama is a Muslim. Minimal research shows that this is untrue. However, a closed mind does not wish to dig deeper. Barack Obama doesn't sound like he comes from around here, so he must be a Muslim. The Socialist label? How many people who have called Obama a socialist even know what the hell socialism is? My guess is not many.

I have defended Obama's ideas and proposed policies. The election is over and decided, and I will rest my case for a while. What I cannot abide is this unadulterated hatred that has become apparent in the past day or so. When I woke up this morning, Obama's victory speech was still fresh on my mind, and I thought we might actually see change for the better. After a long day of dealing with bigots, however, I am disheartened. I do not know what the day after was like in other more progressive states, or parts of my state, but it was a sad day for my part of Texas today.

Yes We Did

2008-11-05T00:07:00.004-06:00

I just got back from watching history.

There will be time for analysis and criticism later. For now, I just want to reiterate how proud I am to be an American. As I watched Obama give his victory speech tonight, I couldn't help but feel that my future, all of our futures, had somehow depended on this election.

Looking at the crowd at Grant Park in Chicago was awe-inspiring. Actually, it was just inspiring. People of all ages, races, and ideologies gathered to watch history. As Obama thanked his supporters, I forgot all about the partisan sniping and attacks of the past few months. Obama praised John McCain as a great American, and I believed him. I decided that all of the complaints that I have about this election, the Republican Party, and politics in general could wait until tomorrow. I sincerely hope that we can all get behind Obama to make America, as my hero Barbara Jordan once put it, "as good as its promise."

There is one thing that cannot wait until tomorrow, however. I cannot abide the contined racism and fearmongering that some sore losers are still participating in. As the night progressed, and an Obama victory seemed inevitable, I began to get phone calls and text messages from people that I know who are small-minded bigots.

"I wonder if there might be an assassination attempt tonight," one wrote. Another, "Lol he is winning because of sympathy vote his mom died of cancer [sic]." One more, "I swear if Obama wins, someone is gonna hang him!!"

As much as listening to Obama speak tonight makes me feel like I should be better than stooping to the level of racist and ignorant people, I cannot emphasize strongly enough that this is unacceptable. I want to go on one of my usual foul-mouthed tirades, but I cannot. My only consolation is that ~~one day, you people will burn in hell~~ I saw tonight that there is still good in this country, and that if we work together, we can change things for the better.

Election Night Notes

2008-11-04T18:08:00.007-06:00

I'm going to post notes throughout the night, while I am near my computer. I'm going out for a while to watch the results over pizza and beer, but here's what's going on now.

McCain is projected to have won Kentucky. No surprise there. Obama has Vermont. Again, not a surprise. So far: Obama 3, McCain 8.

In the Senate, Lindsey Graham (R) and Mark Warner (D) are projected winners.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indiana, Ohio, and North Carolina are all still early to call.

Kay Hagan has a slight advantage over Liddy Dole in North Carolina. I hope Hagan can pull this one off.

Jay Rockefeller (D) keeps his Senate seat in West Virginia. So fars, the Democrats have a net gain of one seat.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
McConnell (R), Chambliss (R), and Shaheen (D) are leading in their respective Senate races. If this holds, it will mean the net gain of another seat for the Democrats.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
South Carolina has been called for McCain, as predicted. So far, there have been no surprises and no drama. We do get to watch McCain talk on a plane though, but we can't hear a word he is saying. It's kinda nice. Obama 3, McCain 16.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Obama has Pennsylvania! He also New Hampshire, Delaware, D.C., Illinois, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey. McCain gets Oklahoma, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Pennsylvania is a huge win for Obama. It was a blue state in '04, but we needed to keep it that way. Florida and Ohio are still too early to call. God, this is nerve-wracking.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Texas, Mark Thompson is currently leading Republican incumbent Michael Williams for Railroad Commissioner. Maybe he will prove me wrong.

Ok, I'm going to go out for a while to calm my nerves... Go Obama!

The suspense is killing me!

2008-11-04T16:31:00.003-06:00

Ok, I voted. I've tried to get everyone that I know to vote, which is a risky move, considering that i live 20 miles south of Waco, Texas, and that most people that I know are hard-core Republicans. There really is nothing meaningful left to be done. All I can do now is sit here, listen to the same old stories on the news, and wait.

Can't we just close the polls now and find out who our next president is? Well, I probably shouldn't joke about that, or I might give the Republicans a new voter suppression method...

I Voted

2008-11-04T12:15:00.004-06:00

I just got back from voting, and things went pretty smoothly. I had a whole 3 people in front of me. Don't be alarmed. Turnout wasn't low, I just live in a tiny county (Falls county, if you care to know).

I did not vote straight ticket, because I get some strange satisfaction in actually voting for an individual that I have researched and read about. It's like taking a test that you have really studied for.

Anyway, I have to admit that I did not vote for every Democrat on the ballot. There were a couple of races that I was really torn over. I was the dreaded undecided voter. It's not quite as dramatic to be undecided over railroad commissioner or a judge for the Court of Criminal Appeals, however.

So, here's how it went.

At the top of the ballot, there was no question as to who I was going to vote for. Obama/Biden all the way. Ditto on our Senate race. I support Noriega. Although he may not have the experience that Cornyn does, should we really consider experience as a Bush yes-man a positive thing?

For U.S. House, I voted for the Democrat, Brian P. Ruiz, over incumbent John Carter. For State House, I picked Democratic incumbent, Jim Dunnam, who was opposed only by a Libertarian candidate.

There was little anxiety over my Texas Supreme Court picks, as I had decided a while ago to support Jordan, Yanez, and Houston. My only reservation is that current Chief Justice, Wallace Jefferson, a Republican, seems to be doing a resectable job. However, I find it unacceptable that the Texas Supreme Court is currently composed of 9 Republicans and 0 Democrats. We need to even things up a bit.

For the Court of Criminal Appeals, I wholly support Susan Strawn against Tom Price for Place 3, but I was torn over the other Democrat, J.R. Molina. Almost all descriptions of him lead me to believe that he may not be fit to hold office. The incumbent, Paul Womack, has been described in much the same way. I considered voting for the Libertarian candidate for Place 4, Dave Howard, but he really did nothing to let us get to know him. In two questionnaires that I read, he failed to provide a response. So, I voted for Molina just for the sheer fact that the Court of Criminal Appeals is just as unbalanced as the Supreme Court. They also need to even things up. For Place 9, I voted for the Libertarian William Strange, because there was no Democratic candidate, and, no offense to any Libertarians out there, but he doesn't sound like a nutjob.

Another race that I was torn over was for Railroad Commissioner. The incumbent is Michael Williams, a Republican. His opponents are Mark Thompson (D), a therapist for the blind and disabled, and Dave Howard (L). The Democrat, Thompson, is running for Railroad Commissioner because he feels that the commission has done nothing to improve pipeline safety. Every major Texas newspaper that I have read has endorsed Williams, and I honestly felt like I couldn't criticize Sarah Palin for being unqualified if I voted for someone who had never worked in the energy industry. With all of the criticism that the Democrats have been taking about blindly following Obama because of his lofty rhetoric and desire for change, I didn't want to vote for someone based on anything other than his or her qualifications. So (gasp!) I voted for a Republican.

For the 10th Court of Appeals, I voted for Democrat Richard Ferguson over Republican Rex Davis, who has signs EVERYWHERE. Ferguson has worked for the court for about three years, and, once again, will bring a balance of opinion to our court system.

The final races are the county races, and it is likely that no one cares about Falls County. But, I did add two more Republicans to my total here, as I voted for one unopposed Republican constable who has done a good job, and I picked the Republican incumbent for county commissioner, who also seems to do a good job.

More Crazy from the State Board of Ed

2008-11-03T23:33:00.005-06:00

Cynthia Noland Dunbar, a member of the conservative gang on the Texas State Board of Education, recently wrote an article for the Christian Worldview Network. She began by saying, "Can we truly even imagine an America under an Obama Administration? I sincerely believe that an Obama Administration would ultimately mean one thing…the end of America as we know her."

Ok, so she's going for the Republican-invoking-fear thing. That's great. Also, the accusation that Obama is going to destroy American really only appeals to the uneducated, and since Dunbar is a member of the State Board of Education, she knows just how badly the board has failed, and that there are a whole lot of uneducated people in Texas.

Next, she says, "I cannot understand how we can potentially elect a man who most likely has violated the Constitution in his very attempt to serve as Commander and Chief."

I'm going to agree with Rachel Maddow here, and say that a Republican complaining about the violation of the Constitution can be compared to Colonel Sanders fighting for chicken rights.

Dunbar's argument is that Obama is not an American citizen because of time spent in Indonesia as a child. This fits right in with the whole Republican strategy of trying to make God-fearin' real Americans afraid of the foreigner socialist that is trying to take all their hard-earned money.

She then goes on to say that the courts will do nothing about this because of "our own militant leftist Judicial Branch." Excuse me? Bush has appointed only the most hard-core right-wingers to serve on the Federal bench during his administration. Dunbar needs to look no further than our own state to see that the judicial branch is definitely not militantly leftist.

Dunbar continues to ramble on and on about how if Obama is elected, the country will naturally be under martial law, but offers no evidence or even possible scenarios to back this up. It's pretty much, Obama is elected, and then, boom, martial law.

She closes with this: "I fear for our great nation and her potential demise should we as Americans elect Sen. Obama. I shall take no joy in saying 'I told you so' if Obama gets elected. But just for the record, remember, 'I told you so.'"

Alright, this is the person who helps decide what your children will learn. How blind are we that we will elect a person who seems mentally unstable and full of hate to serve in a position that affects kids? Unfortunately, Dunbar's seat is not up for election this year, but when it is, we need to get her out of there.

My Maps...

2008-11-03T14:25:00.008-06:00

Okay, this is what I would like to happen. It may be a bit of a stretch in some states, but this is my prediction:Looks pretty good, right? But take away the "too close to call" states of Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, and North Dakota, and here's what you get:

We're still okay, but what if McCain gets other battleground states, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, and Virginia?

This is why it's so important to get out there and vote. This thing is not over, it could still go either way. While the last map is probably a stretch for the Republicans, it is possible. So vote, people!

I used the Scenario Builder from CQ Politics to make my maps. If you want poll numbers and more, check out:

CQ Politics

The Cook Political Report

Tomorrow is the Day!

2008-11-03T13:18:00.003-06:00

It is hard to describe how I am feeling right now. In less than 24 hours, I will cast my vote (I know, I should have voted early...) in what has been called the most important election of any of our lifetimes. The only thing that I can think of to compare this feeling to is the feeling that I used to have on the night before Christmas as a kid.

But now I am an adult, and things don't get me quite as excited as they used to. I consider myself cynical, jaded, and over-analytical, and yet, I am inspired.

Some say that it is all a con, this "Yes We Can" message. They say that we are being fooled by a man who is offering false hope for change. We are accused of either not knowing or ignoring the facts, and voting for our candidate based on his oratory skills or his skin color.

Whatever you think about Barack Obama and his supporters, you must admit this: We have come a long way. There was a time in our (very recent) history when Obama, as a black man, or Hillary Clinton, as a woman, could not even vote. Now, in 2008, both candidates very viable to be the leader of the free world. That is a step in the right direction.

What about those who refuse to step into this milennium? There are still people, lifelong Democrats, who vehemently oppose Barack Obama. Some people that I know consider themselves yellow dog Democrats but are voting for McCain. When I ask them why, they cannot come up with an answer. I don't think I am alone in assuming that their opposition is race-based.

So, even though we still have our Civil War holdouts, Texas especially, we are making progress. No matter which way the election goes tomorrow, we have made our mark on history. People have stood together and proclaimed that things are about to change. Politics will no longer be the "good ol' boys club" that it always has been. Some of us, who have never been interested before, are paying attention. We have learned that we have a voice and that there are people to speak for us.

No matter what happens tomorrow, things are going to change.

We'll Miss You, Sarah

2008-11-02T22:47:00.004-06:00

Well. it's almost done. An election that has been two years in the making is about to come to a close. In just a little over a day, voters will go to the polls and potentially make history. The odds are looking good that Barack Obama will be elected as the next President of the United States. Without being overconfident, I am filled with hope for the direction in which our country is headed. However, there is one thing that makes me a little sad.

Where will Sarah Palin go?

Will she return to Alaska and fade back into obscurity or will she stick around, as some are predicting, to keep her name in the hat for 2012? I, for one, hope that she goes back to moose hunting in the Arctic. However, there is a part of me that will miss her and all of her Palinisms.

You see, I wanted to like Sarah Palin. Maybe it's the fact that she is a woman, and since there are so few women in positions of power that I subconsciously want her to succeed. But I supported Obama over Hillary, so I'm not one to vote for a woman just "because." It might have something to do with her hockey mom image, and the resolve that it must take to raise a disabled child, I don't know.

So, yeah, what's left of the small part of me that wants to conform, wants to like Sarah Palin. However, the rest of me roots for the underdog, the "other." Sarah Palin may claim to be a Washington outsider, but she stands for everything that is wrong with our current government. She is a bully, she is ignorant, and she is unwilling to listen to those who give her advice, trying to keep her from making a fool of herself. Though Sarah Palin looks like an All-American mom, she goes against everything I believe in, and that is why I cannot like her.

That being said, Sarah Palin's path to GOP glory has been about the most hilarious thing that I have ever seen. She puts George W. Bush to shame in the mis-speaking department. As a tribute to the woman that I will thoroughly miss making fun of, here are some of my favorite Palin moments.

1.) Tina Fey. First, there was the "Nonpartisan Message" from Sarah Palin (Tina Fey) and Hillary Clinton (Amy Poehler). At the time, I thought it was one of the funniest things that I have ever seen. Then came the spoof of the Couric interview, followed by the Vice Presidential debate, and the meeting between the real and the fake Palins. There was also the QVC spot with fake Palin and fake McCain. Tina Fey has OWNED Sarah Palin, you betcha. Check out NBC.com for videos of the hilarity.

2.)The interview with Charlie Gibson. This is the first time we had the chance to become acquainted with Palin's uncanny knack for answering questions without actually answering them, or even really understanding them. For example, consider the question, asked by Gibson, "When I asked John McCain about your national security credentials, he cited the fact you have command of the Alaskan National Guard and Alaska is close to Russia. Are those sufficient credentials?" Simple yes or no question. Her reply? "But it is about reform of government. And it’s about putting government back on the side of the people. And that has much to do with foreign policy and national security issues." Ok, she mentions about four different talking points, and yet, no answer. Not all of us are sheep, Governor. And, of course, this interview is where Tina Fey's famous line, "I can see Russia from my house" is derived from.

3.)The Couric interview. Much like her first major interview, this was pretty much a disaster for the Republicans. Here, we learn that Palin reads all of the newspapers, not some, but "all of 'em, any of 'em that have been in front of me over all these years." Also, she defended Alaska's proximity to Russia as foreign policy experience.

4.)Alaskan women hold an anti-Palin rally. I found this on Snopes. Apparently, there are some women in Alaska who are not big fans of their governor. Check out the page to see pictures. My favorite signs are "Hockey Mama for Obama" and "The Alaska Disasta." I love it.

5.)Thanks, but no thanks. We all know that Palin supported the Bridge to Nowhere before she opposed it but, by God, she stuck to her story as long as possible.

6.)Say it ain't so, Joe! Palin's excessive usage of first names or nicknames sometimes strikes me as being condescending (Can I call you Joe?). It reminds me of Bush (You're doing a heck of a job, Brownie). Anyway, this debate was full of this fake familiarity. Here's a snippet from her debate with Biden:

"Say it ain't so, Joe, there you go again pointing backwards again. You preferenced your whole comment with the Bush administration. Now doggone it, let's look ahead and tell Americans what we have to plan to do for them in the future. You mentioned education and I'm glad you did. I know education you are passionate about with your wife being a teacher for 30 years, and god bless her. Her reward is in heaven, right? I say, too, with education, America needs to be putting a lot more focus on that and our schools have got to be really ramped up in terms of the funding that they are deserving. Teachers needed to be paid more. I come from a house full of school teachers. My grandma was, my dad who is in the audience today, he's a schoolteacher, had been for many years. My brother, who I think is the best schoolteacher in the year, and here's a shout-out to all those third graders at Gladys Wood Elementary School, you get extra credit for watching the debate."

Gotta love it.

7.) Palin Goes Rogue!!! A slew of McCain aides recently came out semi-publicly saying that Palin has become unmanageable, and will not stick to her script. She has disagreed with McCain over pulling out of Michigan and the robocall issue. Here's what one so-called McCain supporter said:

"She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone. She does not have any
relationships of trust with any of us, her family or anyone else. Also, she is
playing for her own future and sees herself as the next leader of the party.
Remember: Divas trust only unto themselves, as they see themselves as the
beginning and end of all wisdom."

Wow, divas trust only unto themselves. I'm sure that's in the Bible somewhere...

8.) The Palin-McCain White House? At one rally, Palin reversed the order of the names on the ticket. Freudian slip, perhaps?

9.) A special place in hell... Palin misquoted Madeline Albright as saying, 'There's a place in Hell reserved for women who don't support other women." So, I'm going to hell? Great, first Palin says that I'm not a real American, now I'm going to hell. This definitely hasn't been my year...

10.) The wink. No matter what she says, the wink seals the deal. For Palin-supporters, the wink is reassuring, and makes them feel comfortable with her. For the rest of us, the wink means, here we go, another four years of this...Bush's giggle has been too much, four years of McCain's leadership alongside Palin's wink might just kill me.

That's all for tonight, but I have a lot more coming tomorrow, on Election Day Eve. I am going to have trouble sleeping until the results are in. The excitement (and worry) is just too much.

2 Days...

2008-11-02T01:02:00.004-05:00

Here are some random thoughts and questions with two days to go:

As much as I appreciate the extra hour that comes with Daylight Savings time, I bet the candidates and the press enjoy it so much more. It has been a long, hard battle for both sides.
How are there still undecided voters? We have been inundated with information, debates, facts, lies, and negative ads for months now. Make up your damn mind, the suspense is killing us.
If Ralph Nader ruins this for us, I think he should be forced to be Bush's new roommate when he leaves Washington.
Where has Ann Coulter been? I mostly read Texas newspapers, but even before they stopped printing her stuff, she was all over talk shows and the news. The only time that I have heard her name mentioned this year was in the tragic case of Ann Pressley, the anchorwoman who was beaten to death in her home in October. Pressley played Coulter in "W."
If Sarah Palin really donates all of her campaign clothes to charity after the election, we are about to start seeing some really sharp dressed poor people.
Dick Cheney endorsed McCain yesterday. Isn't that a little bit like getting Satan's stamp of approval? Obama said, "I'd like to congratulate Sen. McCain on this endorsement, because he really earned it. That endorsement didn't come easy." Wow, I wonder if you actually have to shoot somebody to win Cheney's endorsement.
I never really appreciated Bill Clinton until he was gone. It's been kinda fun having him around again. I'm sure, of course, that all of his supporters are getting tired of having to lock up their daughters, but, hey, everyone has to sacrifice.
McCain was just on "Larry King: Live." Topics included techniques for keeping punks off your lawn, the best brands of prune juice, and their lives during the Civil War. Those were the days.
This election could help bring back "Celebrity Death Match." Of course, there's Obama vs. McCain. but think of the other possibilties. Colin Powell vs. Joe the Plumber. Hillary Clinton vs. Sarah Palin. Michelle Obama vs. Cindy McCain. Bill Clinton vs. Ted Stevens. Oprah vs. Elizabeth Hasselbeck. The possibilities really are endless.

Stolen Yard Signs

2008-10-31T23:00:00.005-05:00

One issue that has gotten a lot of press this election year is the stolen yard sign issue. I'm pretty sure that petty, childish people will always use this tactic to get "revenge" for the opposing views of their neighbors, but it seems to have been happening with increasing frequency lately. This was actually an issue on the Opinion page of the Waco Trib this morning. Bill Whitaker mentioned that a huge McCain-Palin signs was stolen from the McLennan County Republican Headquarters, until the party chairman, M.A. Taylor "complained mightily to the press." The sign was returned.

Anyway, I definitely don't condone stealing yard signs or bumper stickers. I live in a solidly Republican area, and I am just waiting for the day when I walk out to my car and see my two Obama stickers and my "So, the Dixie Chicks were right after all" sticker gone. So, while I may grumble at people who display Republican stuff, I would never infringe on someone's right to free speech that way.

Not everyone thinks this way. There have been numerous examples of people stealing signs during this election. There are videos on YouTube, stories on the news, and stories that I have heard from friends and others. I even talked to someone today who confessed to removing a McCain sticker from an old lady's car.

Shannon Bennett, from Austin, found an interesting way to deal with this problem. After having Obama yard signs stolen, Bennett took 12 cans of spray paint and made her entire lawn into an Obama sign, saying, "They might think it's extreme, but I think it's extreme to come into my yard and take something that belongs to me, so I wanted to express myself."

Here is the result:

Ah, indignation and spray paint are a nice combination.

Quotes of the Week

2008-10-31T10:49:00.008-05:00

Liz Carpenter, former press secretary to Lady Bird Johnson and Hillary supporter, in the Dallas Morning News:

"Hillary has made scores of speeches supporting Mr. Obama. If she can get over her loss, so can we. Any Democrat who considers supporting John McCain must count the cost of such a vote: Four more years of Bush policies, the continuation of the war in Iraq, expanded tax cuts for the rich, no progress in health care reform, right-wing Supreme Court justices and a vice president who is profoundly unprepared to be president. Sarah Palin is against everything the women's movement stands for: She may be female in gender, but she's a good old boy at heart."

Maureen Dowd's screenplay, "The Maverick Wears Prada," in the New York Times, about the Republican wardrobe scandal. In the end, Palin goes AWOL, and McCain doesn't want to find her, saying:

"For my End of Days, I'd prefer to finish the race with Lieberman."

Arnold Garcia in the Austin American-Statesman, on Palin and McCain's claims that they are average people:

"Maybe we ought to be asking ourselves this question: Do you want the people who are only "average" running the country? Do you really want that cigarette-sucking loudmouth on the next stool running health policy? Or that "average" slug in the next cubicle running foreign policy? Don't you want people making the big decisions to be above average?"

Rachel Maddow, responding to state senator senator Kit Bond (R- Missouri) who said this at a Sarah Palin rally: "(Obama) said,...I want judges who have a heart, have an empathy for the teenage mom, the minority, the gay, the disabled.'"

"A couple things, first, a Republican complaining about mistreatment of the Constitution after these last eight years? It's kind of like Colonel Sanders arguing for chicken rights. Second, if a judge has empathy, that's not legal? And third, forgive me here but, the gay? Senator Kit Bond warning us off of compassion for the gay? You know it's not catching, right? It's not like the measles."

John McCain, coming to the realization the Joe the Plumber may have stood him up:

"Joe`s with us today.
Joe, where are you?
Where is Joe? Is Joe here with us today?
Joe, I thought you were here today.
All right. Well, you`re all Joe the plumbers, so all of you stand up and say..."

Kay Hagan (D- North Carolina) gives Elizabeth Dole (R- North Carolina) a biblical bitch slap, after Dole put out an ad that seems to suggest that Hagan said that there was no God:

"Sure, politics is a tough business, but I approved this message because my campaign is about creating jobs and fixing our economy, not bearing false witness against fellow Christians."

Michael Goldfarb, a McCain aide, failing miserably at the guilt by association game. Check out part of the transcript:

Sanchez: Now, is the -- I need to parse this out as best I can from you, Michael. The fact that John McCain's organization gave $448,000 to this group that was founded by Mr. Khalidi, is there no reason for some to be critical of as well just as some might be critical of Barack Obama for being at a meeting with some girl read a poem for example?
Goldfarb: Look. You are missing the point again, Rick. The point is that Barack Obama has a long track record of being around anti-Semitic and anti-Israel and anti-American rhetoric.
Sanchez: Can you name one other person besides Khalidi who he hangs around that is anti-Semitic?
Goldfarb: Yes, he pals around with William Ayers.
Sanchez: No, no, the question I asked you is that can you name one other person who he hangs around with who is anti-Semitic? Because that is what you said.
Goldfarb: Look, we know there are people who Barack Obama has been in hot water--
Sanchez: Michael, I asked you the name one person. One.
Goldfarb: Rick --
Sanchez: You said he hangs around with people who are anti-Semitic. Okay. Khalidi and name other people that we all know about?
Goldfarb: And Rick, we both know who number two is.
Sanchez: Who? Would you tell us?
Goldfarb: No, Rick, I think we all know who we are talking about here.
Sanchez: Somebody who is anti-Semitic that he hangs around with.
Goldfarb: I think we all know who we are talking about.
Sanchez: Say it.
Goldfarb: I think we all know who we're talking about, Rick.
Sanchez: Well, you say that his policies differ from Barack Obama and many other people, and either way, we have the leave it at that.

Dear Joe the Plumber,

2008-10-29T23:00:00.003-05:00

You have had your fifteen minutes, now please shut the hell up.

You have implied that Barack Obama is anti-American, and you are the one that started this whole socialism thing. Now, I see a picture of you in the paper this morning, standing in front of a row of U.S. flags agreeing that a vote for Obama is a vote for the death of Israel.

I was one of the people who thought that it was unfair that you were attacked because of the attention that McCain gave you during the last debate. I didn't think it was fair that your background was investigated and personal information about was published in newspapers and on the Internet.

Now the gloves are off, Joe.

You don't agree with Obama, fine. But please stop throwing out these buzzwords for hateful, ignorant people to latch on to. You sparked the "Obama is a socialist trend" and now people who have no concept of what socialism even is are practically calling for his head. This is the kind of behavior that prevailed when good old Joe McCarthy was running the show, and I thought we were past that. Apparently not.

Now you are an expert on Israel? Wow, the Republican Party must do one hell of a job of teaching foreign policy. Did you have the same teacher as Sarah Palin? Can you see Israel from Ohio?

Anyway, while I originally thought that it was a low blow to go after you, Joe, I am going to suggest that you are anti-American. Here's why:

You apparently don't pay your taxes. It is our obligation as Americans to pay taxes, why should you be any different? Furthermore, why should you be concerned about Obama's tax plans if you aren't going to pay them anyway?

You're not even real. Your real name is Samuel Wurzelbacher. You're not a licensed plumber. "Joe the Plumber" is a character that John McCain invented to win votes (kind of like Sarah Palin). You were used by the Republican Party and are now making an ass of yourself by playing along (kind of like Sarah Palin). When this election is over, you will be chewed up and spit out by the same people who made you famous (kind of like Sarah Palin).

You're bald. Maybe you're a skinhead. Are you a Nazi, Mr. Wurzlebacher? Are you secretly hoping that Obama's impending win will doom the nation of Israel? Are you anti-Semitic, Joe?

No? Well, you have to admit that these allegations of being anti-American are inflammatory and don't paint a very pretty picture of you, Joe. They are probably also false. But, for an uninformed person reading this, this might sound plausible. This is what you (and others, many others) have done to Senator Obama. By planting the seeds of fear in ignorant minds, you have helped create an unstable, distrustful environment in America. Come on, Joe, we've had enough of that. It's time to come together.

You are in the public eye now. Don't be like every other ignorant jackass that only spews talking points and knows nothing of the facts (once again, kind of like Sarah Palin). If you disagree with Obama, that's great. That's what makes America so wonderful: we can have respectful and informed disagreements without having to provoke fear or incite violence.

Sincerely,

Everyone who is tired of listening to ignorant, empty words.

***UPDATE*** Okay, I was only joking that Joe is a skinhead, but apparently I am out of touch with what people are talking about, because there is a ton of stuff out there that he is a "raging skinhead plumber." This is likely just due to his bald head, but I still stand by my intial request that he shut the hell up.

McCain Gets Picked On

2008-10-28T22:30:00.004-05:00

According to the Center for Media and Public Affairs, Jay Leno and Dave Letterman have made fun of McCain or Palin 475 times since September 1, compared to 69 times for Obama and Biden. Some feel that this is unfair, and provides further evidence that the "liberal media" is a threat. They think that late-night TV hosts should pick on both candidates equally. McCain and Palin supporters really can't see what's so funny.

Really?

Just look at the way the candidates carry themselves. Obama seems to glide across a stage, and we all know how eloquent he is. McCain shuffles a bit, and appears disoriented at times. Let's just face it, he's old. Even McCain jokes about his age. I'm sorry, but old people are funny.

How about when McCain jokingly called that kid a "little jerk?" Am I the only person who envisions him on his front porch, in his robe, shaking his fist, screaming at kids to get the hell off his damn lawn?

What about the fact that he skipped past many seemingly qualified candidates to select Sarah Palin, a caricature of a real person, as his running mate?

Speaking of Sarah Palin, I could literally go on all day, but I'll just give you a few reasons why she is such a great target. Let's start with the whole being able to see Russia from her house thing.

Then there's the accent. One common fact that we have learned from both the Clinton and Bush presidencies, it's that regional accents get a lot of play on Saturday Night Live.

The interviews. Sure, she's done better recently, but those first two interviews with Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric were priceless.

The Bridge to Nowhere. "I said 'thanks, but no thanks' to the bridge to nowhere." No, you didn't! Even after this Palin claim was widely accepted to be false, she hammered it home. That kind of cluelessness, or outright deceitfulness, is pretty funny, although she probably could have taught Bill Clinton a thing or two about sticking to his lie.

The guns. There's a reason that all of the animals in Wasilla, Alaska run like the wind when Palin comes home: because she will hunt them down and kill them. Check out Betty White calling Palin "one crazy bitch," after noting that Palin is shooting down all of McCain's messenger pigeons, thus disrupting campaign communications.

There are many more things that I could list, but you get the idea. Most of these jokes are all in good fun, of course, but I think comedy is an outlet. I think a lot of people feel that the country has been run by a gang of bullies for the last eight years, so why not pick on those who have picked on us? Maybe the Republican Party has been targeted as the primary butt of the joke for a reason: they deserve it.

I don't think I have heard a better explanation of this as the one Wanda Sykes gave on the Tonight Show when describing the differences in the Democratic and Republican conventions. Here's what she said:

"Well, you know, I watched the convention. You know, watching
the Democratic Convention, it felt like America. You know, it
looked like America. It was hopeful and it was positive and, you know, everybody
holding hands. And then I watched the Republican Convention. It was like
watching a meeting in Dr. Evil's lair."

I think the argument here is that the Republicans are out of touch with the people, and for this, they have been laughed at...continually. I, for one, do not feel guilty about this at all, and if by some chance, the fact that McCain and Palin have been picked on more is what causes them to lose, so be it. They brought it upon themselves.

Things Keep Getting Nasty

2008-10-28T22:05:00.004-05:00

On Monday, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and Representative Pete Sessions spoke to a crowd of 100,000 supporters in Dallas on Monday. Wait, that was Obama in Colorado. Ok, Hutchison and Sessions spoke to a crowd of 100 supporters in Dallas on Monday. According to the Dallas Morning News, things got ugly when one man holding a "Rick Noriega for U.S. Senate" sign yelled "Change!" continuously during Hutchison's speech.

Alright, this must have been annoying, but this is America, and technically, the Constitution and Bill of Rights still apply (despite Bush's best efforts). We do still have freedom of speech.

However, three elderly Republicans took it upon themselves to shut this guy up. One man spit in his face while screaming for him to go to hell. One lady yelled "shut up, shut up, shut up," while another attempted to take his sign. Sessions repotedly asked the man, "Aren't you glad your mommy and daddy take care of you? You couldn't hold a job if you had to."

How old are you Congressman, three?

First of all, I hope Sessions was not implying that the man must be unable to hold down a job based on his attendance at the rally. If that's the case, then he also just insulted the thousands, um, hundreds, ok, dozens of Republicans that were there to support him. Unfortunately, since the protester declined to give his name, we may never know if he is capable of staying employed, or not.

Also, while I can sympathize with not wanting to hear someone shouting remarks at a political rally that you disagree with, getting physical is not the answer. I realize that three geriatric Republicans are not going to do much damage, but the fact is, there are going to be times in life when people disagree with each other. Sometimes we just have to keep our mouths shut (and our hand to ourselves) and accept our differences.

At this point in the campaign, I find it highly unlikely that any informed voter will change his or her mind. They've looked at the issues, decided where they stand, and picked a candidate. Most of our differences now are based on our fundamental beliefs. I would be just as unlikely to vote for a conservative Republican as my grandmother would be to vote for a liberal Democrat but, for God's sake, we would never get into a fist fight over it.

I'm not saying that we cannot continue to engage in political debates (even heated ones), but incidents like the one that happened in Dallas do nothing but cause stress and raise blood pressure. Republicans have already been blamed for most of the country's problems. Do they really want to be responsible for the health problems and hypertension of our senior citizens? Chill out, people.

Can We Get to 60?

2008-10-28T01:23:00.007-05:00

The U.S. Senate is currently composed of 49 Republicans and 49 Democrats, with two Independents that caucus with the Democrats. This gives the Democrats a slight 51-49 majority. In order to get things done, and be able to stop a Republican filibuster, we need 60 Senate seats (okay, you've heard all this before). So, with 5 Republicans retiring, and 18 up for re-election, there is a possibility that this will happen. However, there are several crucial races that the Democrats must win to reach this magic number.

Here are all of the Senate seats up for election this year:

Current Senator: Lamar Alexander (R- Tennessee)
Who's running: Bob Tuke (D)
Prediction: Alexander.

Current Senator: Wayne Allard (R-Colorado) Allard is retiring after this term.
Who's running: Bob Schaffer (R) and Mark Udall (D)
Prediction: Udall.

Current Senator: John Barasso (R- Wyoming)
Who's running: Nick Carter (D)
Prediction: Barasso.

Current Senator: Max Baucus (D- Montana)
Who's running: Bob Kelleher (R)
Prediction: Baucus.

Current Senator: Joe Biden (D- Delaware)
Who's running: Christine O'Donnell
Prediction: Biden. Even if (when) Obama takes the White House, and Biden becomes VP, a sucessor will be appointed by the governor.

Current Senator: Saxby Chambliss (R- Georgia)
Who's running: Jim Martin (D)
Prediction: Martin. This one is close, however, and probably leaning Republican, but a win will help the Democrats to reach the magic number.

Current Senator: Thad Cochran (R- Mississippi)
Who's running: Erik R. Fleming (D)
Prediction: Cochran.

Current Senator: Norm Coleman (R- Minnesota)
Who's running: Al Franken (D), and a lot of other people.
Prediction: Franken. This one is going to be a nailbiter. The polls have gone back and forth, but I am going to be optimistic, because we need this one.

Current Senator: Susan M. Collins (R- Maine)
Who's running: Tom Allen (D)
Prediction: Collins.

Current Senator: John Cornyn (R- Texas)
Who's running: Rick Noriega (D)
Prediction: Cornyn. As much as I would like to see Texas go blue, I think Cornyn's going to pull this one off.

Current Senator: Larry Craig (R- Idaho) Craig is retiring this year, due to his "wide stance."
Who's running: Jim Risch (R) and Larry LaRocco (D)
Prediction: Risch.

Current Senator: Elizabeth Dole (R- North Carolina)
Who's running: Kay Hagan (D)
Prediction: Hagan. This is going to be one to watch. The polls are showing what looks like a dead heat, and the media has reported that Elizabeth Dole is "running scared."

Current Senator: Pete V. Domenici (R - New Mexico) Domenici is retiring after this term.
Who's running: Steve Pearce (R) and Tom Udall (D)
Prediction: Udall.

Current Senator: Dick Durbin (D- Illinois)
Who's running: Steve Sauerberg (R)
Prediction: Durbin.

Current Senator: Michael B. Enzi (R- Wyoming)
Who's running: Chris Rothfuss (D)
Prediction: Enzi.

Current Senator: Lindsey Graham (R- South Carolina)
Who's running: Bob Conley (D)
Prediction: Graham.

Current Senator: Chuck Hagel (R- Nevada) Hagel is retiring after this term.
Who's running: Mike Johanns (R) and Scott Kleeb (D)
Prediction: Johanns.

Current Senator: Tom Harkin (D- Iowa)
Who's running: Christopher Reed (R)
Prediction: Harkin.

Current Senator: Jim Inhofe (R- Oklahoma)
Who's running: Andrew Rice (D)
Prediction: Inhofe.

Current Senator: Tim Johnson (D- South Dakota)
Who's running: Joel Dykstra (R)
Prediction: Johnson.

Current Senator: John Kerry (D- Massachusetts)
Who's running: Jeff Beatty (R)
Prediction: Kerry.

Current Senator: Mary Landrieu (D- Louisiana)
Who's running: John N. Kennedy (R)
Prediction: Landrieu. This one will be close, however. Kennedy was recruited by Karl Rove to run against Landrieu, so there's no telling what might happen.

Current Senator: Frank R. Lautenberg (D- New Jersey)
Who's running: Dick Zimmer (R)
Prediction: Lautenberg.

Current Senator: Carl Levin (D- Michigan)
Who's running: Jack Hoogendyk (R)
Prediction: Levin.

Current Senator: Mitch McConnell (R- Kentucky)
Who's running: Bruce Lunsford (D)
Prediction: McConnell. This one may be close, however.

Current Senator: Mark L. Pryor- (D- Arkansas)
Who's running: Rebekah Kennedy (Green Party)
Prediction: Pryor. Since there is no Republican running against Pryor, I'd say his odds are pretty good, even in Arkansas.

Current Senator: Jack Reed (D- Rhode Island)
Who's running: Robert Tingle (R)
Prediction: Reed.

Current Senator: Pat Roberts (R- Kansas)
Who's running: Jim Slattery (D)
Prediction: Roberts.

Current Senator: Jay Rockefeller (D- West Virginia)
Who's running: Jay Wolfe (R)
Prediction: Rockefeller.

Current Senator: Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama)
Who's running: Vivian Davis Figures (D)
Prediction: Sessions.

Current Senator: Gordon H. Smith (R- Oregon)
Who's running: Jeff Merkley (D)
Prediction: Merkley. This is another one to watch, and will be close. Once again, I am going be be optimistic, and call it for the Democrats.

Current Senator: Ted Stevens (R-Alaska)
Who's running: Mark Begich (D)
Prediction: Begich. With the whole being-convicted-of-a-felony thing going against him, there is no way that Stevens should win re-election. However, Democrats have blown it before...

Current Senator: John E. Sununu (R-New Hampshire)
Who's running: Jeanne Shaheen (D)
Prediction: Shaheen. This is another close one, but Shaheen seems to have a slight advantage in recent polls.

Current Senator: John Warner- (R- Virginia) Warner is retiring after this term.
Who's running: Jim Gilmore (R) and Mark Warner (D)
Prediction: Mark Warner. It looks like the Republicans have given up on this one.

Current Senator: Roger Wicker (R- Mississippi)
Who's running: Ronnie Musgrove (D)
Prediction: Musgrove. This one seems to be another toss-up, but as always, I am an eternal optimist.

If all of the Democratic incumbents keep their seats, which they should, and they gain the seats held by Stevens, Allard, Sununu, Domenici, and John Warner, they will have 56 seats (if I have done my math correctly). This number should be easily attainable, but there is also the possibility of winning the seats held by Coleman, Wicker, Dole, Smith, and possibly even Chambliss. This brings us to 61, which would is probably a little far-fetched, but would be nice. I'm not a political analyst, so check out these sites for more information:

Senate.gov
Wikipedia
CQ Politics
The Cook Political Report
The Rothenberg Political Report

Ted Stevens Found Guilty

2008-10-27T23:45:00.003-05:00

Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens was found guilty on seven counts of corruption Monday. He says he'll appeal, maintains his innocence, blah, blah, blah.

What does this mean?

For starters, the odds that he will win re-election have...let's just say, decreased. A felony conviction, even with the political climate of the last eight years is generally frowned upon. I will be writing more about the Senate races, along with the significance of the magic number 60, in the next day or so. However, one thing that bothers me is that Stevens is even allowed to continue to be a U.S. Senator.

Convicted felons are not allowed to vote. It should follow, logically, that they wouldn't be allowed to hold elected office. Impeached presidents aren't. However, unless a two-thirds majority votes to expel a senator convicted of a felony, he or she is allowed to keep their seat.

This being said, I don't think Ted Stevens will win re-election. But, if he does, let this be a lesson to you, kiddies: It doesn't matter if you commit a felony, you can still be a U.S. senator.

Dear Republicans...

2008-10-27T23:09:00.005-05:00

Listen guys, I really don't want you to win this election. I think you have had your turn, and you screwed things up big time. But, do you know that you haven't lost yet? With all of the buzz about Sarah Palin "going rogue," anonymous members of the McCain campaign have been coming out of the woodwork pointing fingers. Can't you at least wait until the election is over until you start the blame game?

I'm not going to complain, because every pointed finger and every accusation is a nail in your coffin. However, you guys are really starting to plan for the loss. Here is what one McCain aide (who is said to be a former member of Mitt Romney's campaign) said:

"Sarah Palin is a lightweight, she won't be the first, not even the third, person people will think of when it comes to 2012. The only serious candidate ready to challenge to lead the Republican Party is Mitt Romney. He's in charge on November 5th."

Okay, even when things are going badly, I think it is best to maintain a positive appearance. The above quote is just one example of how you guys have abandoned hopes of winning this race. However, when the day is done, I am still a strong Obama supporter who chuckles just a little bit every time I see something like this. If you guys want to hand it over to us, that's great. The Democrats have been laughed at in recent years for the uncanny knack for blowing elections, but it looks like the tides are turning.

Thanks for doing all the work for us,

Tiff

P.S.: Since you're throwing in the towel, did you really have to put the Jeremiah Wright ads back on the air up north? It's just making you look silly.

Electing Texas Judges

2008-10-27T20:15:00.002-05:00

The two highest courts in Texas the Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals are currently controlled by Republicans. Controlled is nowhere near a strong enough word to describe the Republican dominance of Texas courts.

The Supreme Court is composed of nine justices, currently, all of whom are Republicans. They are:

Wallace Jefferson, Chief Justice
Don R. Willett
Harriet O'Neill
David M. Medina
Paul W. Green
Nathan Hecht
Dale Wainwright
Phil Johnson
Scott A. Brister

The Court of Criminal Appeals is also composed entirely of Republican judges. They are:

Sharon Keller, Presiding Judge
Lawrence Meyers
Tom Price
Paul Womack
Cheryl Johnson
Michael E. Keasler
Barbara Parker Hervey
Charles Holcomb
Cathy Cochran

OK, I may secretly wish that all elected officials were Democrats, but, in reality, that wouldn't be fair. An all Democrat Congress, Senate, White House, and judiciary may serve my interests, but many citizens would be left out. While, I don't agree with most Republican/conservative beliefs, I still feel that all members of society should have a voice.

So, how fair is it that 18 out of 18 of the highest judges in the state are all members of the same party? How fair is it that these judges vote unanimously a good part of the time? I think that issues that are important enough to be brought before these courts of last resort deserves to be viewed from a more diverse perspective. There are four worthy Democrats running for election to Texas's two highest courts this year.

Susan Strawn, Jim Jordan, Sam Houston, Linda Reyna Yanez

Let's start with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which deals with criminal matters. There has been quite a bit of controversy recently surrounding this court. The biggest scandal was the execution of Michael Richard, who was denied a last-minute appeal by Presiding Judge, Sharon Keller because it came in after 5 o'clock. Apparently, even in matters of life and death, closing time is closing time. I'm not going to get into whether the Richard was guilty or innocent, or whether the death penalty is right or wrong, but when there is even an inkling of doubt about anything surrounding a death penalty case, I don't think it is too much to ask that a judge stay at the office a little bit late.

This year's election for the Court of Criminal Appeals really doesn't offer much hope for the prospect of immediate change. There is only one candidate that seems to have potential to bring about this change. Susan Strawn, who is running for Place 3, has been endorsed by the Austin American Statesman, The Dallas Morning News, the Houston Chronicle, and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

When asked about the Michael Richard case, Strawn said, "I would have accepted the appeal. One of the principles of our justice system is that the courts are open 24/7. There may be sanctions for unexcused late or frivolous appeals, but these sanctions should fall on the lawyers, not the defendant."

Strawn is running against Tom Price, who is more moderate than many of the right-wing judges on the court, but seems to have a reputation more for his absences than what he has done as a judge.

The two other spots up for election are Place 4, which is currently held by Paul Womack, and Place 9, held by Cathy Cochran. J.R. Molina, a perennial candidate is running against Womack, but has not been endorsed by any major Texas news service. He has been mostly unavailable for interviews and really hasn't campaigned much. According to the Austin American-Statesman, neither man is "fit to hold office." There is no Democrat running against Cochran; her lone challenger is William Strange III, a Libertarian.

Now for the Supreme Court. The three Democrats trying to gain a spot on the all-Republican Supreme Court are Jim Jordan for Chief Justice, Sam Houston for Place 7, and Linda Reyna Yanez for Place 8.

Wallace Jefferson, the current Chief Justice, has done a respectable jobs by almost all accounts. In Place 7, Dale Wainwright has also done his job adequately, with the exception that he is slow and backlogged. In Place 8, Phil Johnson also seems to be doing a good enough job.

However, it is unacceptable that the Texas Supreme Court is so willing to overturn the verdict of juries. They have sided with the defendant 87 percent of the time. This has often benefitted big businesses who, after the Supreme Court rulings, get out of having to pay large settlements.

The Democratic challengers all have solid backgrounds in the judicial system. Despite the argument that judges should not be selected because of their political party affiliations, this is how Texas does it, and this, I admit, is how I am voting this year. All of the candidates seem to be equal besides their party affiliations. If there was a candidate on the Democratic side that was completely unfit to hold office (as J.R. Molina has been said to be) I would not recommend that person. However all three Democrats are good choices, and the need to balance the Texas Supreme Court is valid.

Sam Houston has been endorsed by The Dallas Morning News, the Austin American-Statesman, and the Waco Tribune Herald. Linda Yanez has been endorsed by the Houston Chronicle and the Waco Tribune Herald.

Another issue, which will likely not be changed anytime soon, is whether judges should be elected at all. Many voters know very little about the records of the judges that they are voting for, and vote with their party. It has been suggested by some (including Wallace Jefferson) that the legislature appoint judges, and then the voters decide whether to keep them. Another suggestion (supported by Sam Houston) is that judicial elections be held separately from the general election. Strangely enough, it seems that current member of the Republican high courts do not think that there is anything wrong with the system that put them there.

I am not an expert on legal matters, but Texas Courts have been entirely too one-sided for entirely too long. It is time to bring some diversity to the courts and let the Democrats play.

John McCain's Top Ten Mistakes

2008-10-26T15:54:00.009-05:00

The Dallas Morning News printed "McCain's 10 worst ideas" (from foreignpolicy.com) today. Here they are:

Creating a League of Democracies- This could undermine the U.N., according to Thomas Carothers in the July/August issue of Foreign Policy)

Calling for a gas-tax holiday- This would potentially increase demand, which would raise the price of gas, and wouldn't really save us that much money.

Flip-flopping on immigration- McCain was once (to quote Tina Fey as Sarah Palin) pretty "mavericky" on the issue. Now, he sticks to the typical Republican line, "securing borders first," without actually addressing the causes of illegal immigration.

Supporting abstinence-only education and the global gag rule- Okay, people, your kids are having sex. There, I said it. There is no reason that they should suffer for the rest of their lives because they were never taught how to be safe.

Drilling our way out of the oil crisis- One, haven't we destroyed the environment enough? Two, the oil that we drill for today will not make its way to our gas tanks anywhere in the immediate future. By the time that happens, we should have those flying cars that they have been promising us forever.

Balancing the budget through victory in the war on terror- McCain is against setting a timetable for getting out of Iraq, and once said that we would be there for 100 years, if need be. So, it's kinda hard to understand how we are going to save money here.

Making the Bush tax cuts permanent- This is something he has flip-flopped on, as well, saying in 2004, that he did not support the Bush tax cuts "because of the disproportional amount that went to the wealthiest Americans."

Calling for 45 nuclear power plants- This is another plan that will not really have an impact in the immediate future. Sure, we need to be looking toward the future, but there are other avenues to explore.

Backing cap-and-trade without a 100 percent auction- McCain's plan could lead to some businesses getting "sweetheart deals."

Requiring a three-fifths majority to raise taxes- This has not had great results at the state level, so probably wouldn't work federally.

So, these are McCain's 10 worst ideas? I agree that these are all bad ideas, but I think I can do better. Did they really not mention Sarah Palin? With all due respect to the writers at Foreign Policy and their serious journalism, here is my (humorous) take on some of McCain's worst ideas.

Hugging Bush. Seriously, Senator McCain, have you never heard of a side hug?

Using Joe the Plumber's name in vain. Okay, Joe may or may not have been recruited by the Republicans to ask the question heard 'round the world. That's not really important. Joe, if in fact that is his real name (which, as has been recently revealed, is not), has had all of his dirty laundry aired to the public. We know all of his secrets. He's not a licensed plumber, he owes back taxes, and he feels pretty when he puts on his wife's nightie. Who cares? Shouldn't we be worrying about the important things, like the fact that our economy is falling to pieces?

Referring to Obama as "That One." Besides being condescending, this remark pissed a lot of people off. McCain probably did not mean to be insulting, but this reflects poorly on his people skills. I would prefer a president that can be confrontational without being childish.

Blowing off Letterman. Is it just me, or did Letterman absolutely lay the smackdown on McCain? I know that most people laughed at Letterman's reaction to McCain canceling his initial appearance on the show, but check out the transcript. He interrogated McCain about Sarah Palin, McCain's negative campaigning tactics, and much more. Here's part of it:

DL: No, no. I’m just getting started! Now she’s (Sarah Palin) also, she’s the one, I think who says that Barack Obama pals around with terrorists. Has she in fact said that at rallies?
JM: I don’t…yes. And he did. And refused to acknowledge the fact.
DL: Who did he pal around with?
JM: William Ayers who said on 9/11 that he wished that he’d bombed more. OK? His wife was on the Top 10 of FBI’s Most Wanted.
DL: But this all took place…when he was active, Barack Obama was eight years old.
JM: Eight years old. And Mr. Ayers in 2001, September 11, 2001, said, “I wished I had bombed more.” It’s an unrep—
DL: But what is that relationship?
JM: It’s all we need to know. Senator Clinton said, “We need to know about the relationship.” First he said he was just a guy in the neighborhood. And so it’s a matter of trusting the word of someone.
DL: I know. I know.
JM: That’s all.
DL: But you will also admit that we cannot really control who we interact with in our lives 100%.
JM: How long we interact with them and how we interact with them…But the point in this campaign is the economy, the economy and the economy.
DL: But did you not have a relationship with Gordon Liddy?
JM: I met him, you know, I mean…
DL: Didn’t you attend a fund raiser at his house?
JM: Gordon Liddy’s?
DL: How about that Tina Fey?
JM: I know Gordon Liddy. He paid his debt. He went to prison, he paid his debt, as people do. I’m not in any way embarrassed to know Gordon Liddy. And his son, who is also a good friend and supporter of mine.
DL: But you understand that the same case could be made of your relationship with him as being made with William Ayers.
JM: Everything about any relationship that I’ve had I will make completely open and give a complete accounting of. Senator Obama said that he was a guy who lived in the neighborhood. OK, it was more than that.
DL: They served on a committee at one point.
JM: Yes, that gave $230,000 to ACORN which is now involved in what may be one of the great voter frauds in history. It could be. We need to know.
DL: Are they double dating? Are they going to dinner? What are they doing? Are they driving cross country?
JM: Maybe going to Denny’s. Who knows? The Grand Slam…
DL: Now she said “pals around with terrorists.” OK, so alright. Let’s say we give her William Ayers. He was eight and William Ayers was 29. But they palled around.
JM: There’s millions of word said in the campaign. Come on!
DL: But that’s where we live. In politics, isn’t it?
JM: Millions of words. Yes indeed. Look, let’s…

Drum roll, please...

Sarah Palin! If you have read anything that I have posted here, you know how I feel about this woman. She is horrifyingly unqualified and is just a pretty face recruited to reel in uneducated voters. I'm not going to go on and on about Palin (right now), but even McCain has to question his decision for her to be his running-mate when he sees how she is dragging his numbers down.

Honestly, I wanted to list Sarah Palin as every one of McCain's mistakes, but I felt it might be a bit redundant. After all, people vote mostly for the person at the top of the ticket, and the race is between McCain and Obama. The point is, McCain has made mistakes, as has Obama, and I choose to make fun of McCain. See? This is democracy in action, or maybe perhaps its just boredom in action...

Republicans for Obama

2008-10-26T00:33:00.005-05:00

Several high-profile Republicans (or maybe recovering Republicans) have endorsed Obama in the past few weeks and months. Perhaps the two biggest surprises recently have been the endorsements of Former Bush Secretary of State, Colin Powell and Former Bush Press Secretary, and son of Carole Keeton Strayhorn (former Republican Texas State Comptroller who ran against her party in the 2006 gubernatorial election) Scott McLellan. These Obama Republicans have often been dubbed "Obamacans" by some. Republicans for Obama includes a comprehensive lists of some of the most important Republican and conservative endorsements. This list includes Powell, McLellan, and several other elected officials, government officials, and columnists, along with their reasons for supporting Obama.

There is the occasional apology to the Republican Party.

Richard Riordan (former mayor of L.A.) said, "I'm still a Republican, but I still will always vote for the person who I think will do the best job."

However, for the most part, the prevaling theme seems to be that Obama is a unifier who will work with both parties toward the common goal of improving our nation.

Michael Smerconish (columnist for the Philadelphia Enquirer) said, "...an Obama presidency holds the greatest chance for unifying us here at home and restoring our prestige around the globe."

Susan Eisenhower (Ike's granddaughter) said, "Given Obama's support among young people, I believe that he will be most invested in defending the interests of these rising generations and, therefore, the long-term interests of this nation as a whole."

Some others cite McCain's "temperament," and lack of judgment, especially in selecting Sarah Palin to be his nominee for VP. Others believe that McCain will be an extension of the disaster that has been the Bush administration.

Whatever the reason, there are some Republicans switching teams. Democrats flocking to the polls to vote for Reagan in the 80s were part of the reason that Reagan had such success. I don't think that Republicans will come out in droves for Obama, but having a few high-profile party members come out for Obama helps to eliminate fear, in the minds of some voters, that Obama is an unthinkable choice.

I was attacked by an old white guy in a suit.

2008-10-25T16:00:00.003-05:00

Ok, so I was at the ATM the other night, and an investment banker who had apparently lost everything robbed me at knifepoint. And, if that wasn't bad enough, as he was leaving he turned back and saw the Obama sticker on the back of my car. Ummm, then he said something like, "You're gonna be McCain's now," and punched me in the face. Or the back of the head. Okay, he punched me in the back of the head, and as I was lying facedown on the pavement, he carved a "J" into my cheek. Wait, he punched me in the face, and carved a "J" into the back of my head, or my cheek. Maybe I wasn't at the ATM at all. Okay, so I was leaving work the other night when a crazy old man carved Sarah Palin's initials into my forehead, stole my car, kidnapped me and took me to Alaska...so I could see Russia. I swear.

Wait, maybe that didn't happen.

However, Ashley Todd, a McCain volunteer from Texas (why are all the crazies from Texas?) claimed that she was mugged at knifepoint in Pittsburgh while at the ATM. The attacker, a tall black man with patent leather shoes, stole Todd's money, and was leaving the scene when he saw that she had a McCain sticker on her car. Apparently, this angered the assailant so badly that he punched Todd in the back of the head, and carved a "B" on her cheek. After refusing medical attention, Todd received quite a bit of attention. For starters, she received calls from McCain and Palin themselves, wishing her a speedy recovery. Also, she received lots of attention from law enforcement when some of the details of her story didn't quite make sense.

As of yesterday, the media and police are saying that the whole story is false. Todd carved the "B" on her own face, and according to The Smoking Gun, she posted the message, "Stubbornly searching for a bank of america to avoid ATM fees" to Twitter right before the attack. And shortly after, she mentioned that she had been on the "wrong side of Pittsburgh." I suppose that she thought this would set the scence for a made-up mugging...

So this girl is crazy and her story is fake, and a little comical. Still, this just underscores the point that some of us have been making all along, that most attacks on Obama from McCain supporters (not McCain himself) are based on race and fear, and not his politics. Think about it. I'm sure that there are some people who believed that this "attack" actually happened. Maybe Ashley Todd thinks that if some people believe that she was attacked by a rabid Obama supporter, that they will be afraid of similar attacks.

My God, if Obama is elected, maybe people like the guy with the knife and patent leather shoes will run the government. I bet this attacker was a Muslim, as well.

Anyway, I didn't really get mugged by an old white guy in a suit, but maybe, just maybe, if enough people believe that I did, I will get a call from Obama...

With all the buzz about what Palin's been wearing...

2008-10-24T11:13:00.005-05:00

Ah, Sarah Palin, you make it too easy.

Here's a picture (from jezebel.com) of Palin wearing a donkey-emblazoned scarf at a recent rally.

So, while some Palin-supporters are arguing that someone gave the scarf to her at the rally, and while I agree that this Republican fashion faux pas is not as important as her views on how to be an executive, this is just one more strike against Sarah Palin.

Have we not learned our lesson from Bush?

Sure, some of these little mistakes are cute or funny on the campaign trail, but what happens if Sarah Palin has to step up and be president? Do we want another four years of mispronunciations (it's nu-cle-ar, for God's sake) and "misunderestimations?"

I am warning you, Sarah Palin is George W. Bush with a Yankee accent.

Rolling Stone Interview with Barack Obama

2008-10-24T11:06:00.005-05:00

The latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine features a half-hour interview with Obama about "how George W. Bush screwed up, why John McCain turned ugly, and what he's learned from Bill Clinton." The interview captures both Obama's enthusiasm and exhaustion, and, of course, outlines Obama's plans for Iraq, the economy and the White House.

Here are some of the highlights.

RS: The campaign has taken a nasty turn in the past few weeks. Has it changed your opinion of McCain personally, the way he's run his campaign?
Obama: I just think he wants to win. And I think he's decided that the environment's not a good one for Republicans, so he's going to do what he thinks is necessary. I am surprised that he would hire people who are aonnected to the same kind of destructive politics that bush directed at him in 2000.
RS: Were you disturbed by the disdain he exhibited toward you during the first debate?
Obama: No. I think that's a sign that we must be doing pretty well.

RS: Is there anything you feel you can learn from him (Bill Clinton), as a candidate and as a person?
Obama: Oh, I've already learned a lot from him...Bill Clinton did a lot to make Democrats seem like they were in touch with the ordinary aspirations of a great number of Americans. That, I think, stopped the hemorrhaging of independent voters and Reagan Democrats into the Republican Party, and gave us the space and the opportunity to start reaching out to them. So I'm still in debt to Bill Clinton for what he accomplished.

If you're in the White House and could install any one play toy--bowling alley, water polo--what would it be?

Obama: Basketball court. If we can get an indoor basketball court, I'd be happy.

Obama on education: One of the ironic things about the war in Iraq, as well as this Treasury rescue plan, is that it reminds us that when we feel a sense of urgency about something, we spend an awful lot of money. And the amount of money required to educate every child and send them to college pales in comparison to the amount of money that we're spending on things that could have been avoided had we made better decisions.

Obama on being underestimated: No point in having them see you coming.

Random interview quotes: GQ says I'm pretty well-dressed, but Michelle scoffs at this because she sees patches on my pants.

...this is going to be a transistional moment for the United States. We have these moments periodically. Obviously, I wish that the Bush administration had not run things into the ground so bad, but no matter what, we would have had some big decisions to make (at the beginning of his potential presidency).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While there is really nothing new in this interview, and while it probably won't change any minds, it's still a good read. The interview took place on Barack and Michelle Obama's 16th anniversary, and Obama jokes about the present that he got for his wife, saying that she may or may not like it. Plus, Obama's admission to owning a worn-out pair of shoes and patched pants provides a nice contrast to the extravagant Republican wardrobe.

Also, as a broke and struggling college student, I enjoyed reading more about his plans for education, which include a $4,000 tuition credit in exchange for 100 hours of community service. I think this is a fair exchange, and will provide young people with a more balanced college experience.

Evolution and the Texas SBOE

2008-10-21T12:51:00.012-05:00

This year, as in previous years, there is a debate raging over evolution vs. creation, which to some, myself included, boils down to whether we choose to enfore the separation of church and state. Science curriculum is about to undergo a major change, and the current practice of teaching the "strengths and weaknesses" of scientific theories may not stand. This method, while providing education about theories like evolution, also opens the door for the study of the supernatural. Since schools ultimately have to meet standards set by the government, the separation of church and state applies here. This is not to say that schools should cold and godless places for children, but the rights of religious minorites should be protected. Much of the debate surrounding this year's election of the State Board of Education reflects this.

According to The League of Women Voters part of the SBOE's job is to "establish goals for the public school system and adopts and promotes four-year plans for meeting those goals." Oh, and they don't get paid for it. So, this seems to be a thankless job that doesn't pay the bills, and sometimes involves controversial decisions. Here are the candidates in this year's race:

District 2: composed of Aransas, Calhoun, Cameron, Goliad, Hidalgo, Jackson, Kennedy, Kleberg, Matagorda, Nueces, Refugio, San Patricio, Victoria, Wharton, and Willacy counties.

Peter Johnston (R)- supports discussing "strengths and weaknesses" of any theory, and said "let the fittest theory survive." So, has hope that evolution might be disproven.
Mary Helen Berlanga (D)- according to Texas Monthly, once called fellow board member, Don McLeroy "criminally insane." Read more about McLeroy later. She might be right. Says in the LWV Voter Guide," The most pressing issue is how the board is being run by a majority of individuals with a very narrow social conservative agenda."

District 6: composed of Harris county.

Terri Leo (R)- one of the more conservative members of the current board.
Mary Ann Bryan (L)-A true Libertarian, wants all of the decisions to be left to individual schools, saying about the evolution issue, " it's terrible that the State Board of Education even has to consider this question."

District 7: composed of Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston, Harris, and Jefferson counties.

David Bradley (R)
Laura Ewing (D)- Has a well organized website, good and rational ideas, and seems the complete opposite of her opponent, David Bradley, who seems like a total nutjob.
Richard Johnson (L)

District 8: composed of Angelina, Bowie, Cass, Gregg, Hardin, Harrison, Jasper, Liberty, Marion, Montgomery, Morris, Nacogdoches, Newton, Orange, Panola, Polk, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Smith, Trinity, and Tyler counties.

Barbara Cargill (R)- East Texas conservative who will probably be reelected. It doesn't look like her opponent is putting up much of a fight. Supports the "strengths and weaknesses" method of teaching evolution.
Kim Stroman (L)

District 11: composed of Ellis, Johnson, Parker, and Tarrant counties.

Patricia Hardy (R)- She seems to be a swing vote on the board. Hardy is a Republican, but not a rabid conservative.
Bruce Beckman (L)- Says that, in addition to supporting the separation of church and state, he also supports the separation of "science and state." This sounds nice; why not keep the government out of science classrooms, but do we really want to keep science out of the government? Isn't that what George W. Bush has done? Let's destroy the environment, deny global warming, and pretend that the earth is 6,000 years old. That idea works both ways.

District 13: composed of Dallas and Tarrant counties.

Cindy Werner (R)- Supports teaching the "strengths and weaknesses" of scientific theories. Hate to keep bringing this up, but this seems to be the Republican State Board of Ed member's equivalent of pleading the fifth.
Mavis Best Knight (D)- Supports sex education, lowering the drop-out rate, is against teaching Intelligent Design, and basically opposes most of what the conservative "bloc" supports. In short, she sounds like a perfectly rational person.

District 14: composed of Archer, Bell, Bosque, Clay, Comanche, Cooke, Coryell, Denton, Eastland, Erath, Grayson, Hamilton, Hill, Hood, Jack, Lampasas, McLennan, Mills, Montague, Palo Pinto, Somervell, Stephens, Wichita, Wise, and Young counties.

Gail Lowe (R)- Blah, blah, blah, strengths and weaknesses...more on her later...
Edra Bogle (D)- What a cool lady! I would like to meet Edra Bogle. First of all, she actually provides examples for the evolution question, saying that the evidence is everywhere, from fossils to drug-resistant bacteria. She mentions that U.S. students trail the international community in science scores, and that we need to catch up to stay competitive. Is against "teaching to the test," and has a strong educational background. Led the way, as a chair of a local PFLAG chapter, to pass an anti-bullying and anti-discrimination policy at local schools.
Here's a quote from her website:

"Do we want to be like those “scientists” of the Renaissance who rejected heliocentrism—the belief that the earth goes around the sun? What would our understanding of the universe be like if we still taught that the earth is fixed in place at the center of everything, and that the planets and stars revolve around it? Copernicus developed mathematical reasons refuting this belief in the early 1500’s, but was forced to recant. Over a century later Galileo was held under house arrest by the Inquisition for advocating Copernican theory, in spite of the evidence supplied by better telescopes. Not until well along into the 1700’s was the overwhelming evidence that the earth revolves around the sun accepted."

I wish I could vote for her.

John Shuey (L)- He calls evolution the "single most important scientific discovery ever," and seems to have some good ideas, but, if I lived 20 miles to the south, my vote would solidly be for Bogle.

This is the race that is getting the most attention in my area. I am actually not voting for this one, since apparently the District that my county falls under is not being contested this year. However, there have been several letters to the editor that I have noticed about Gail Lowe and her views about evolution.

Here is what she had to say on the topic:

"Evolution continues to be a prevailing theory in science. For almost 20 years Texas has required high school biology students to learn about evolution and the strengths and limitations of this theory. I support that position."--from the LWV Voter Guide

Hmmm. She doesn't seem to be a cheerleader for evolution, but she isn't arguing against it, at least not here. Let's take a closer look.

The SBOE is currently composed of 15 members, 10 Republicans and 5 Democrats, and some of them are running for reelection in this year's race. They are:

District 1: Rene Nunez (D)
District 2: Mary Helen Berlanga (D)
District 3: Rick Agosto (D)
District 4: Lawrence A. Allen, Jr. (D)
District 5: Ken Mercer (R)
District 6: Terri Leo (R)
District 7: David Bradley (R)
District 8: Barbara Cargill (R)
District 9: Don McLeroy (R)
District 10: Cynthia Noland Dunbar (R)
District 11: Patricia Hardy (R)
District 12: Geraldine Miller (R)
District 13: Mavis Best Knight (D)
District 14: Gail Lowe (R)
District 15: Bob Craig (R)

It was mentioned in the Dallas Morning News that there is a "seven-member bloc from the far right" already in place on the board. The election of one more social conservative has some worried that we will begin to see evolution being replaced by creationism in schools, abstinence-only education, and so on. Is this a valid concern?

A little research seems to show that the seven right-wingers are:

Don McLeroy. His argument for teaching creationism in schools is that "what can stop science is an irrefutable preconception. Anytime you attempt to limit possible explanations in science, it is then that you get your science stopper." So since anything is possible in science, by his reasoning, we could teach any creation story in science classes. Why not teach the Hindu story of creation or a Native American story? The answer is that, while believers of these faiths have...well, faith, there is nothing scientific to study here. Why should we assume that everyone has faith in the Christian story of creation? There are countless creation stories out there, and until we have empirical evidence to support any of them, they shouldn't be taught in science classes.
Gail Lowe. Her website doesn't offer much substance, but says that she is for traditional values, and so on. So, here are some of her achievements. She was named "Conservative of the Year" by the Lampasas County Conservative Club, a "nonpartisan" organization, which I'm sure is just loaded with Democrats and she supports the First Amendment, but believes that it is not a school's "duty" to teach religion, but also supports elective Bible courses. She does not seem to support the teaching of any other religious text.
Cynthia Noland Dunbar
Barbara Cargill
Terri Leo
David Bradley. One of his more childish displays was to rip a book apart and "reject" it.
Ken Mercer

Texas Monthly recently posted a quiz about the SBOE that you can check out here. Check out a few sample questions and answers.

In March the board debated creating a book list of more than 150 literary works that would be recommended for the classroom. After some critics noted the small number of works by authors from different cultures, McLeroy told the San Antonio Express-News, “You really don’t want Chinese books with a bunch of crazy Chinese words in them. Why should you take a child’s time trying to learn a word that they’ll never ever use again?” Which of the following Chinese words or phrases did McLeroy admit could be useful for a child to learn?

A. Chow mein.

B. Kung Fu Panda.

C. Adios, mofo.

D. Ni hao ma? (How are you?)

Why did former Republican board member Cynthia Thornton, who did not run for reelection in 2006, request and receive extra security from the armed Capitol guards at board meetings?

A. She had received death threats from the radical pro-evolution group the Darwinners.

B. A socially conservative Republican member had physically threatened her for not voting in a bloc.

C. She was concerned that the crowds of angry protesters who frequently attend the board meetings were likely to riot.

D. She had become convinced that a gorilla was stalking her.

I did not originally intend for this post to be so long; I just wanted to give a rundown of what I thought was one of the more boring races in this election. However, I found that the races for the SBOE are quite interesting. As a biology major, the evolution issue is near and dear to my heart, and I hope that we will elect board members who will defend it.

Colin Powell Endorses Barack Obama

2008-10-20T14:08:00.000-05:00

General Colin Powell, Bush's former Secretary of State and a moderate Republican, officially endorsed Barack Obama on Meet the Press Sunday morning. Here is part of what he said:

"So, when I look at all of this and I think back to my Army career, we've got two individuals, either one of them could be a good president. But which is the president that we need now? Which is the individual that serves the needs of the nation for the next period of time? And I come to the conclusion that because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities--and we have to take that into account--as well as his substance--he has both style and substance--he has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president. I think he is a transformational figure. He is a new generation coming into the world--onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Senator Barack Obama."

Read the entire transcript here.

This news has started a tidal wave of discussion from both sides. Most Obama supporters (myself included) are excited about this endorsement, while many McCain supporters view it as a loss. This endorsement has brought about some controversy, however.

One article states that Powell's support of Obama actually hurts the Democrats because Powell's views are too conservative to help Obama out. I actually think that being endorsed by a Republican, and a former member of the Bush administration, is a huge testimony to Obama's ability to reach across party lines and attract a wide variety of support.

At the other end of the spectrum, there is Rush Limbaugh. I don't usually pay attention to Rush because I know it will only piss me off, but here is what he said:

"Okay. Transformational figure, that term is being thrown around as though messianic, all kinds of great new things, this change and so forth. Transformational can be bad as well. Why is Palin not transformational? Why is it only Obama? That proves, for the rest of you in the media, if you didn't hear it the first time, Powell, nomination of Obama is about race, R-A-C-E, it is about race, and you can quote me."

I'm not even going to go into that. Rush Limbaugh is just a jackass.

All in all, I do not believe that Powell's support of Obama is a "game-changer," as they say, but I don't think it hurts Obama. Colin Powell is a true war hero and patriot. I think he, like many others, acted on false information in initially going along with invading Iraq, but he has, in my eyes, redeemed himself. He was seemingly the lone opponent of the war in the first place, and tried to talk Bush out of going to war, but he was simply outnumbered. He has been called "The Reluctant Warrior" because of his preference of diplomacy over military action. In fact, his "test" for military involvement, known by some as the "Powell Doctrine," includes questions as to whether all other non-violent measures have been considered, whether there is a valid exit strategy, and whether military action is supported by the American people and the international community.

While some are saying that Powell's conservative views are more of a liability for Obama, my opinion is that he is just barely a Republican. My understanding is that Powell, a career military man, was a reluctant politician. He had to choose a party, and he chose the GOP. However, unlike most of his fellow Republicans, he is pro-choice, in favor of gun control, and supports rights for detainees. During his time as a member of the Bush administration, he often tangled with Cheney and Rumsfeld. Finally, in a move that makes me want to high five the old soldier, Powell repotedly called the neoconservatives in the Bush administration a bunch of "fucking crazies." He expressed concern in yesterday's interview that the Republican party was moving too far to the right, and that McCain's pick of Sarah Palin as his vice president was evidence of that.

For those of you who are tired of this election being about race and religion (think of all the "Obama's a Muslim" concerns) here is what General Powell had to say:

"I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, "He's a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists." This is not the way we should be doing it in America. I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards--Purple Heart, Bronze Star--showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life. Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I'm troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions."

So with all the buzz about the buzz surrounding the Powell endorsement, some are wondering if there is a spot in an Obama administration for the general. Obama said this morning that he would have a role in the administration. I think that serving under Obama would be the ultimate redemption for Colin Powell and the chance to make things right in Iraq.

So you think you know who's running for president?

2008-10-19T04:06:00.000-05:00

I picked up a copy of the League of Women Voters Guide to the ’08 General Election today. My first surprise was that there are some men in the League of Women Voters. That’s not really important, just interesting. Anyway, I always knew there were write-in candidates in presidential elections, but no one really pays that much attention to them. So, although, I have made up my mind (Go Obama!), I thought I would do some research on the write-ins and the Libertarian on the ticket. Here they are:

Bob Barr (Libertarian)

VP: Wayne Allyn Root

My understanding of the Libertarian Party is that they support minimal government and strong civil liberties. So they are kinda like socially liberal Republicans, or maybe fiscally conservative Democrats, or…something like that. So, when I’m reading about Bob Barr, this year’s Libertarian nominee, I’m wondering why he isn’t just a conservative Republican. This is the guy who was a leader in the Clinton impeachment. Oral sex could technically be considered a civil liberty, and yet, Barr led the way in trying to oust Clinton. He has also voted to outlaw medical marijuana, voted FOR the Patriot Act, FOR the Defense of Marriage Act, FOR the Iraq War, and FOR banning certain religious practices in the military. Most of these things he has come to regret. Here’s an interesting tidbit: Barr appeared in the movie Borat.

Ralph Nader (Independent/Independent-Ecology Party/Peace & Freedom Party/Natural Law Party)

VP: Matt Gonzales

Honestly, I really don’t have a strong opinion about Ralph Nader. I think the good and the bad cancel each other out. All of the “good” stuff that he advocates, alternative energy, conservation, safety in the workplace, disability rights, clean drinking water, women’s rights, and the list goes on, can’t help me get over the perception that he somehow stole the Presidency from the Democrats in 2000. I was way too young to get it then, but looking back, and thinking about how differently things might have been had Gore won Florida, makes me a little angry. I know every analyst says that Bush would have won anyway, but still…It seems that Ralph Nader is a good guy that stands up for those who often can’t stand up for themselves, but let’s hope that he doesn’t get too many of Obama’s votes...

Brian Moore (Socialist Party USA)

VP: Stewart Alexander

Before reading about this party, I wasn’t sure that Socialism was even a valid political party in the U.S. Basically, Brian Moore is antiwar, supports socialized medicine, boosting the employment rate, and providing housing for all citizens. Moore comes from a humanitarian background, working in the Peace Corps in his youth. The former Democrat has called for the impeachment of Bush and Cheney. The problems with Socialism include poorer quality healthcare, even if it is more affordable, and a drop in “morale” in workers. The argument is that if everyone is guaranteed their slice of the pie, why work for it? A classless society seems nice on paper, but it doesn’t really work. We do have a problem with the rich getting richer while the poor struggle, and Obama did use the phrase “spread the wealth around,” but he’s not a Socialist. Obama wants to stop giving tax breaks to the rich. In a Socialist society, there would be no rich at all. Even for a broke college student like me, I don’t think that putting an end to the American Dream is the answer.

Alan Keyes (Independent/American Independent Party/America’s Independent Party)

VP: Wiley Drake

Where to start? Keyes has run three times for president, in 1996, 2000, and 2008. Needless to say, he hasn’t won yet. He also ran for the U.S. Senate in Illinois, despite never having lived in the state, and despite criticizing Hillary Clinton for doing just about the same thing when she ran for the Senate as a New Yorker. He lost the Senate race, by a landslide, by an up-and-coming politician named…Barack Obama. The Obama-Keyes race got pretty ugly, according to Obama in The Audacity of Hope, so maybe Keyes is out for a little revenge in 08? But then again, maybe not. Anyway, dude’s a little bit crazy, and has seen his share of controversy in his political career. Finally, something that’s not relevant, only ironic: like all good conservatives, he has a lesbian daughter that he has reportedly disowned.

Cynthia McKinney (Green Party)

VP: Rosa Clemente

Cynthia McKinney takes a lot of interesting positions. To me, it seems that she has constantly teetered on the edge of insanity during her congressional career. For instance, she has proposed that details regarding the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. be made available to the public. Okay, this makes sense. People should be able to learn more about the death of a historical and inspirational figure…I can see that. Then, however, she goes through the same motions for Tupac Shakur. Maybe she was trying to make the point that we invest too much time worrying about celebrities, or maybe she was trying to suggest that Tupac isn’t dead. After all, new music from him surfaces all the time, but I just think that with all of the things we have going on, the war, the economy, whatever, don’t we have better things to worry about? She, like Brian Moore, has introduced articles to impeach Bush and Cheney, and she did the same for Condoleezza Rice.

Jonathan Allen (Independent/HeartQuake)

Can’t find too many specifics on this guy, other than that he is a businessman, who believes that his candidacy is a breath of fresh air from the broken two-party system that we currently have and that, if voters really want change, they should vote for him. I don’t think there is anything wrong with running for president just for the hell of it…unless you actually win. Then people have to listen to you stumble through speeches for eight long years wondering if all Texans are retarded, and watch an ill-conceived war unfold that never should have happened. Then I have a problem with it.

Chuck Baldwin (Constitution Party)

VP: Darrell L. Castle

Without knowing anything about this guy, or the Constitution Party, I was thinking that someone who represents a party with the word “Constitution” in its name might have some good ideas. I was wrong. It seems that Baldwin is against most of the “good” things that we associate with our Constitution (remember when it was more than a “goddamned piece of paper?”). Here are some things and people that this candidate opposes:

abortion
women in the military
Barack Obama
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Abraham Lincoln (according to Baldwin, he is one of the two worst presidents in history, alongside Woodrow Wilson.)

Okay, so he sounds like your average conservative. And a racist. But here are some more people that he is against:

George W. Bush (too liberal)
Dick Cheney
John McCain
Sarah Palin
Jerry Falwell (doesn’t it seem like Falwell would be right up his alley?)
Mike Huckabee.

So, what does he like? Apparently, racial profiling and the Confederacy. This guy sounds quite unpleasant…The more I read about him, the more I like Sarah Palin (gasp!) Oh, and he’s a Baptist minister. I wonder how many of his parishioners are convinced that they are going straight to hell?

Thaddeus Hill (Madisonian Federalist Party)

I’m not even sure this guy has a website, or a MySpace, or anything, but why not run for president anyway? I can almost hear the drunken conversation at the frat party now... "What the hell? It’ll be fun! And Madisonian Federalism sounds smart, so let’s go for it!!!" I wonder if someone has to do a shot everytime the economy is mentioned?

Some other “notable” candidates that are either on the ballot or are qualified write-ins in other states are:

Charles Jay (Boston Tea Party/Personal Choice Party)
Ran in 2004 with a female porn star, strongly advocates gambling. Although most of his campaign seems to be a joke, he is an advocate of getting young people involved in the political process. That’s respectable enough.

Jack Grimes (United Fascist Union)
I am hoping to God that this is meant to be satirical…Hopefully, if this guy was serious he could at least afford his own domain name.

Jonathon “The Impaler” Sharkey (Vampire, Witches, and Pagan Party)
This one’s pretty self-explanatory.

Gene Amondson (Prohibition Party)
I didn’t really even have to look this one up to know that I don’t like it. His website does have video of him being interviewed by Jon Stewart, which should be pretty funny, but, at least to me, prohibition is nothing to joke about.

Cris Ericson (Marijuana Party)
This is super-self-explanatory.

So, while I fully support Barack Obama, and encourage you to do the same, this is just to let you know that there are options. While they range from amusing to horrifying, isn’t is great that, as Americans, we are free to run for the highest political office in the land under almost any platform that we choose? I think that says a lot about us a nation. Also, no matter how stupid the rest of the world considers us, we should hold our heads high knowing that, at least this time, one of these idiots will (most likely) not be elected.

League of Women Voters
List of Independent, Third Party, and Write-In Candidates
And, of course, Wikipedia

This is the first of what will probably be many rants during the next few weeks...

2008-10-19T03:49:00.000-05:00

**Disclaimer: For those of you that are tired of hearing me bitch about politics (specifically about Republicans), please do yourself a favor, and don't read this. I don't really care if you read it anyway, but I just need to blow off some steam. This way is better than telling the first person that I see at work, or school, or whatever, and risking offending someone.**

I have seen several things in the past few days that have really pissed me off. Here they are.

1.) Blatant Racism Directed Towards Barack Obama

The late Barbara Jordan once said, "One thing is clear to me: We, as human beings, must be willing to accept people who are different from ourselves." That was 1994.

Fast forward to 2008. A man holds a monkey doll with an Obama sticker at a McCain rally. Another man screams "kill him" when Obama's name is mentioned. At another rally, a woman insists that Obama is an "Arab," despite McCain's half-hearted attempts to convince her otherwise. At Sarah Palin's speaking events, things are getting even nastier and, apparently, speaking out against racism is not something that she has rehearsed.

I am not suggesting that McCain himself is a racist, but by taking his campaign negative, abandoning the issues, and questioning not only Obama's character, but seemingly his very essence, McCain has basically invited the crazies and the racists to come out of the woodwork. It is probably for the best that the congresswoman is no longer around to see how little progress we have made.

2.) Sarah Palin Shutting Down a Protester

At one of Palin's rallies the other day, some guy yelled out something, probably about the war in Iraq. She responded by saying something like, "Bless your heart, my son is fighting in Iraq for your right to protest."

Okay, let me first say that I support our troops 100%. That is precisely the reason that I would like to see them out of Iraq. We are not fighting for our saftey, or for our rights; we are fighting because Bush wanted to fight.

I hear people say that our soldiers are dying in Iraq so we can have free speech, or so that we can listen to dirty music, or whatever conservatives are complaining about at the moment, and this is a great soundbite in support of the war. But think about it critically for a moment. Iraq did not attack us on 9/11. Plus, and this is what gets me the most, our right to free speech was granted in 1791 when the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution. Freedom of speech is not something that we are fighting to obtain; we already have it, and it has been around a long time.* Has Sarah Palin never heard of the 1960s? Or the 1970s?

While I admire her son (and Joe Biden's son) and every other person who has chosen to serve in the armed forces, I would rather see them home. They are fighting because people who have had everything handed to them their entire lives decided that they would fight. It's not about free speech or any other American ideal.

*Proof: an anti-war poem written in 1933, "The Unknown Soldier" by Billy Rose. Part of it goes: "I wonder if the kings, who planned it all/ Are really satisfied?/ They played their game of checkers/ And eleven million died."
I guess history really does repeat itself.

3.) Shut Up and Sing

I watched "Shut Up and Sing," a documentary about the aftermath of Natalie Maines's (of the Dixie Chicks) comment that she was ashamed that President Bush was from Texas. First off, this happened in 2003, when his approval ratings were sky high. People went crazy. They burned Dixie Chicks CDs, held protests, and made death threats. One old hillbilly made a remark to the effect of "Free speech is great as long as you don't criticize the government." That's what the Nazis said.

Anyway, Bush is doing so great in the public opinion arena lately, so the Dixie Chicks have mostly been forgiven. But I am still appalled that people freaked out so much. I hate to say this, but their fans (probably about the same demographic as NASCAR fans) are ignorant. I am from the South, but many Southerners make my skin crawl. True, I have a bit of an accent, but I don't think like a Texan at all. I have to question the intelligence and overall competence of a person who, in 2008, is still afraid of those who are different from themselves. Speaking of that...keep reading.

4.) Rebel Flags...Everywhere

If I never see a confederate flag again, I would be just fine. People who wear them, have them over the gun rack in their truck, or have tattoos of them say that it's not a racist thing, it's a historical reminder of the South. Ok, you ignorant hick, what was the Civil War about? Southerners thought they had the right to own people and use them as workhorses. Oh, that is something to be proud of. I want someone to explain to me exactly what Southern pride is, and why it has nothing to do with racism because I don't buy it. So you like country music, ride horses, and have a Texas drawl? Okay, but why must you revive a symbol that should have died a long time ago?

Oh, and by the way, the South probably isn't gonna rise again...Someone told me that the other day, and I wondered what that meant. I hear it all the time, and I know where it comes from, but really, the only literal meaning that I can take from that is that Southerners want to own slaves again. That's really the only thing that they lost in the Civil War and haven't gotten back...
Ignorant, inbred rednecks...

5.) Sarah Palin...In General

Okay, she's pretty. She's a hockey mom, with 75 children, that can see Russia from her house. Good for her. She is also barely literate and completely incompetent. You people are afraid of Obama? Imagine life with Sarah Palin in the White House. Imagine Dick Cheney, only not as smart, and continually winking at you as she screws you over. If anything were to happen, and McCain was unable to lead, this woman would be our PRESIDENT. I don't think that people realize that. Most people think that the VP is unimportant...until they have to step up and lead. Sarah Palin's looks or parental status do not qualify her to be the leader of the free world.
We can't take another four years of this...we would have the same president with a different accent.

Ok, I'm done and I feel much better, until I have to watch Fox "news" at the gym, or read an editorial that pisses me off. In that case, as Sarah Palin would say with a wink, I'll get back to ya!

My first post!!!

2008-10-19T03:42:00.000-05:00

Ok, I have recently realized that my MySpace was getting to be a bit too politically charged lately. With all of the excitement surrounding the presidential race, and what is turning into a vice-presidential race, I realize that I might have gone overboard with the political ranting blogs. I'm sorry (not really, but it sounds nice).

I have decided to put all of my thoughts about the upcoming election here instead of on my MySpace blog. This is where I will post all of my daily thoughts on current events. I will continue to post any major exciting (or depressing) news on MySpace, but I am going to put all of the boring stuff that no one really cares about here. Enjoy!