A little spillover from my political angst

So.... Those of you who have been keeping tabs with me these days will probably know that I have been a little bit overly obsessed with all of the recent political coverage. I decided that rather than sound off on my friends, I would rant here, where folks can choose to ignore me if they so please... I've been meaning to get back into blogging a little bit too - hopefully I will also find a way to update this horrible color scheme.

So I was roaming around checking the headlines and stumbled across a political op ed article on CNN. See the full article here, if ya want...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/23/navarrette.liberals/index.html


This article stunk so much that I just could not resist poking a bit of fun at it. I will be the first to admit that in the last few weeks, I have done my fair share of Palin bashing. Does this speak to my inherent subliminal sexism? Perhaps, but I don't think so, given that I was a pretty firm Clinton supporter before she lost the bid to Obama.


I started out by writing a counter response, but then just decided to scrap it and just go straight for the jugular. A cut and paste job. The original article is in italics, my comments interspersed.


By Ruben Navarrette Jr.
SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- I thought liberals were supposed to be good-hearted, open-minded and non-judgmental.

Tell that to the angry Left's favorite piñata, Sarah Palin. As far as liberals are concerned, Palin can do no right just as Barack Obama and Joe Biden can do no wrong. In fact, Biden is catching more passes than an NFL wide receiver.


As Palin herself pointed out in a recent CNN interview, imagine if she had been the one to imply that electing Obama would invite calamity. Biden does it, and the media shrug.


Actually... The reason that Biden is getting a "pass" on this one is that, even when trying your absolute hardest to rip Biden's comments out of context, you can still, at best, say that he is "implying" something. Go on to listen to/read the rest of the speech and what you'll actually find is that the real "implication" is that our foreign policy is at a rough spot right now and trouble could come from a number of places throughout the world. The reason us rabid liberals love to make fun of Palin so much is that she can manage to make herself seem idiotic and out of touch in half a sentence, no nuance or inferences needed. Furthermore, when placed in the full context of the paragraph of garbled "speech", these memorable quotes only become more precious.


I also thought the Democratic Party was supposed to go to bat for the little guy, the everyday Joe the Plumber.


I just do not get this whole "everyday Joe the Plumber". Tagging a common name to an uncommon person does not a populist argument make. "Sam the Janitor. Jane the Receptionist."


How about George the President? Or Sally-Sue the Albanian Arms Dealer?


I know everyday Kens who are middle class, then I know of Kens who swindle billions of dollars from corporate giants. I know everyday gay Craigs earning a normal wage, then I know closeted, sexually-repressed, self-hating senator Craigs, pulling down hundreds of thousands a year.


The truth is in the details, dearie.


Tell that to Joe Wurzelbacher, the Ohio resident who got his 15 minutes -- and 40 lashes -- because he dared question Obama about his tax plan. Obama insists that the plan would raise taxes only on those Americans earning more than $250,000 per year. It was then Obama made his clumsy "spread the wealth" comment.


Uhm... Sure its trite, but no really, how many plumbers do you know who make 250k each year? American median household income in 2007: $48,200.


My favorite populist BS moment was the whole "Sue the Teacher" moment from the McCain campaign.


Sue the 250k Teacher?!?!


I need say no more....


What was Joe thinking: that we live in a democracy where everyday Americans who pay the salaries of elected officials can dare question their policies? That just isn't done.


To prove it, the elites who run the Democratic Party -- along with their surrogates in the media and organized labor -- went after the plumber.


This argument is so tiresome. I'm real sure that Barrack Obama taped this interview, against the will of "Joe the Plumber", fed it to the Republicans and then forced John McCain to mention it at least a dozen times during the debates. McCain and his supporters are the ones making this an issue.


If Obama had discussed the unicorns and leprechauns that populate his backyard, but mentioned them so many times during the debate so as to make it sound like fact, would Fox News just throw its hands up in defeat, never to question it?


We now know that Samuel Joe Wurzelbacher owes back taxes, doesn't have a plumbing license (he told the Associated Press he doesn't need one because he works for someone else's company), and may not be registered to vote.


Sheeit! And ma jest tole me there ain't no Santa Clas neither!


Commenting on a CNN.com story, one condescending reader wrote that Joe the Plumber should pipe down and "get back in my bathroom and unclog the toilet."


Oh my... How awful and mean... Good thing online public message boards and chat rooms are usually known for their well-informed commentary and sweet sentimentality:


"McCain is a Hero. Obama was/still is a Terrorist." cubelynn of Florida -FoxNews.com


"Obama's plan will save thousands of dollars for every nursing home and hospitals. Under this exclusive coverage, any senior citizen who reaches the minimum age of 70 years old will be required to be detained and taken to one of the Soylent Green Program Plants to be processed into little green crackers that are edible, packaged and sent back to area hospitals and nursing homes, where they will be given to existing senior citizens to eat." spankythemonkey -FoxNews.com


"fuck you techies r such fag char" 69Satan666 to me. - Battle.net


Even Biden and Obama got in a few licks. Biden quipped to Jay Leno that Democrats wanted to take care of "Joe-the-real-plumber-with-a-license," and Obama sarcastically asked supporters, "how many plumbers do you know making $250,000 a year?" The implication being that Joe the Plumber isn't who he pretends to be.


I refer you to your own statement. You know, the one two sentences back. ("We now know that Samuel Joe Wurzelbacher owes back taxes, doesn't have a plumbing license (he told the Associated Press he doesn't need one because he works for someone else's company), and may not be registered to vote.")


Oh yeah. Also, he doesn't make 250k, nor will he if he buys the small business he was mentioning. So yeah, I guess Obama was probably "implying" something like that.


What worries me is that the Democrats aren't what they pretend to be.

Obama supporters like to talk about how the Democratic presidential nominee has lived the American Dream. So why is it to so hard for them to conceive of a situation where someone dreams of earning more money a few years from now than they earn today. Has Barack Obama consumed all the social mobility this country has to offer, so there isn't any left for the rest of us?


This argument is so bankrupt I don't even know where to begin.


Now, the Obama-Biden boosters have refocused their attention on their earlier irritant, Sarah Palin.


The latest media template is that the vice presidential nominee is a drag on the GOP ticket. Pundits detect a backlash, not just among Democrats who love to hate Sarah Palin but also among women, independents and seniors. They cite polls showing Palin with an unfavorable rating of 50 percent.


So what? We're in the post-Clinton, post-Bush era of polarization where any politician with a pulse -- Sorry, Joe Biden -- will be loved by half the country and hated by the other half.


Wait... Was that a dig at Biden's age? Lets take a poll: Raise your hand if you think Navarrette was "implying" that Biden is too old to potentially be president. Oh... Sorry McCain, I didn't see you standing there.


It's surreal. Before McCain put Palin on the ticket, he was getting 200 people at campaign rallies, and now, when he appears when Palin, he gets 20,000. Yes, definitely a drag.


McCain oversold it when he said Palin was the most qualified vice presidential candidate in recent history.


You think?


Better than Dick Cheney?


Please dear Baby Jebus...


Could she be worse?


... for the love of all that is holy....


Obama might have paid Biden the same compliment if his running mate hadn't already told supporters that Hillary Clinton would have been a better choice.


Yeah.... Too bad that Obama didn't let the DNCC make his decision for him. I gotta say, McCain really showed how "maverick-y" he could be in picking Palin. Nothing says 'independence of thought' like picking a VP whom you've never met, but whom just happens to be a veritable second-coming for the ultra-religious Right. Especially when its a demographic you've decried as toxic to the Republican party throughout your career.


Then there is the faux-scandal that the Republican National Committee shelled out $150,000 in the past several weeks on Palin and her family for campaign wardrobe, accessories, makeup, etc.


Many Americans don't see why it's a story. Fellow hockey mom Page Growney of New Canaan, Conn., asked The Associated Press, "What did you want to see her in, a turtleneck from L.L. Bean?"


Who the hell is Page Growney? But no, taken at face value, not much of a story. But when you are running on a platform of fierce "maverick" reform and "substance over style", it becomes a bit more significant. Let the woman be herself for goodness sake. The woman is a self-proclaimed "bulldog with lipstick", a "Barracuda". Don't primp her up like your life-size porcelain doll. We're already apparently holding her hand when it comes to talking aloud* (see below), do we really need to teach her how to dress herself too? I mean, this is the second-in-command for the most powerful position in the world, we can expect some basic life skills beyond that of potty training, right?


Sexism cuts both ways. It is as stupid and backward to shield Palin like she is too fragile or too incompetent to handle herself as it is to judge her on her looks and housekeeping skills. My political dream woman is to be both seen AND heard.


Still, we're told, this tempest in a Gucci bag has some Republicans worrying that shopping sprees at Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue might undermine Palin's everywoman image. To think, just last month, the criticism was that Sarah the Moose Hunter wasn't sufficiently sophisticated or glamorous. Now her wardrobe signals the hockey mom is high-maintenance.


Just how many more caricatures -- some of them contradictory -- can we expect the left to throw at Sarah Palin before time runs out on this election?


Not many, it is to be hoped. Time, thankfully, has grown very short.


-D








*As of Sept 26, here are a few stats. These figures are old, but Palin has still not held any news conferences and has only appeared on a couple more interviews, usually with McCain in tow or with very conservative-friendly hosts. (http://www.usnews.com/articles/opinion/2008/09/26/data-points-sarah-palin-in-the-media.html) Biden, in stark contrast, is well over a hundred interviews by now, and they aren't all with Michael Moore.
0 : Number of news conferences Sarah Palin has held since her selection as Republican VP nominee on August 29


3 : Number of interviews Palin has granted (with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and Katie Couric)


1: Number of times Palin has answered questions from the reporters who follow her on the campaign trail


4: Number of news conferences Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden has held since August 29


89: Number of interviews Biden has granted since August 29

The Best of Times

Life is just really great right now... I don't have too much to say about it (I guess that is the difference, when one is content there seems little need to rant about it), but right now everything is just coming up roses!

Long time.. No write

So... I was browsing some of my old haunts of other people's live journals and looked up Charlie's (my ex) journal - which I told him that I wouldn't be looking at anymore about 3 years ago when he rejected my offer to take him to see Wicked along with Usman. At the time I was pretty pissed at some of the things he wrote about me and what he suspected my motives were and I decided just to stop reading about him and his life so that I wouldn't get tangled up in any drama. I can see his point in retrospect, though it makes me sad that he could think I am such a manipulative bitch. so... I did stop reading for a long time, until about 6 months ago when I wondered what was going on with him and snuck a peek at his journal - cuz, lets be honest, once you've been that involved with someone, you never really will ever stop thinking and wondering about them. So, just now I ran across a post of his that was talking about a lousy night that he had and how in a moment of vulnerability he remembered some of his exes (including me) and was feeling forgettable and unlovable. I decided to take a chance on a potential storm of drama and write something in his journal (which he probably doesn't think that I read anymore and would therefore be safe to post potentially embarassing thoughts). I guess I wanted just to let him know that we're all human here and that we all have moments like that. And most of all, that he is certainly not a forgettable sort of fellow. So, although I posted anonymously and he might not figure out that it is from me, I wanted to post something equally telling and vulnerable on my journal. That way I don't feel like such a cad for still trying to eavesdrop in on his life after all of this time. So here it is. This little "gem" of a short writing comes from about 3 weeks ago when I woke up at 4am from a dream where I glimpsed Charlie in a crowd or in a passing car window or something. So it isn't even like we had a conversation or did anything, yet I was so riled up from the memories that it brought to my mind that I couldn't get back to sleep. I decided to write a little something (at 4am, mind you) in case I want some "human" material for that novel I am going to write some day. (ha ha) So I guess I was trying to be poetic or something at the time... See if you can't crack my 'insidious code' for who "C" and "Him" represent. Its a toughy! "It was no longer the urgency of violent dreams that pulled Him from his sleep but the persistent uncertainty that followed recall of an old friend or lover. Having been cast back into the past during an unguarded moment by his treacherous mind, He found it difficult to detach himself from the thoughts that bubbled to the surface. Memories dislodged from the mud beneath normally stagnant waters. Had he properly atoned for some grievance committed? Did he owe another the forgiveness withheld from him? But most of all, He found he could not shake the bitter-sweet blend of anger and nostalgia that followed from his memory of his former lover. Had he been justified in his betrayal of C? He felt a self-righteous rage at such thoughts of accountability. Of course He had His reasons. Every betrayal is but a mirror of trespasses that went before it. Yet a life training His mind for scientific objectivity left him suspicious of his own emotions and even His memories. The truth could be buried beneath a weave of tangled neurons. The past could be lost in the maze of connections, obscured by the glittery explosion of a thousand synapses firing. The inner working of His own mind was obscure, oddly apart for something so intimate. Did C wake at night tormented by such dreams? Did His face, merely glimpsed in a crowd or through the window of a passing car, wrench C from his slumber? This was perhaps the most insidious thought of them all..." Anyway, "C", you were, and never will be, "easily forgotten" or "so easily cast aside". I wouldn't ever want to forget or be able to completely cast off someone who was so important to me for such a long time in my life, no matter how lousy the ending was for both of us.

Pride

So, last weekend I spent pretty much the entire weekend volunteering for Pride and have been meaning to post about it for quite some time now. Pride this year was a fair bit of drama. Not awful or anything, I'd say that last year there was more issue with the personalities that were involved and this year there was more issue with the disorganization. Due to a shift in the coordinator of Pride, there were a few (to be expected) flub-ups in terms of getting things all coordinated, and so a few mistakes were made. (one particularly bad oversight involved me attempting to direct traffic away from the parade site, and a number of rather large people, in rather large SUVs telling me that they would run me over if I didn't get out of their way) But overall, the Pride was a success! It is odd now. I still volunteer at Pride, and I do get a sense of accomplishment about the work I do for this event. But now, the actual event means so much less to me. I now live Pride vicariously, through my memory of my former self. I recall the first time that I went to Pride, I was just blown away (not literally, you sickos!). I remember how incredible the feeling was, to feel like I was surrounded by a crowd of people who understood me and supported me. I was so new to gay culture then, and all of the drag queens, leather men and just plain 'ole vanilla queers were such novelty. It wasn't as though I could identify with everyone in the crowd of people that I met, but it didn't matter. I felt unified with the community, and for probably the first time, I felt accepted. It all sounds so terribly corny, but it is true. Pride is still an affirming event for me, but these days I guess my need is just so much less. Several years ago, I anxiously sought out a community that I could call my own. To see the thousands of people gathered at our small Lansing event meant something much deeper. Now, I suppose that I don't really need that anymore. Of course I still seek acceptance from society in general, but the pursuit no longer feels as desperate as it did then. I tend to forget the meaning that Pride once had to me, but I do hope that somewhere, amidst the drunken crowds, there is another person to whom Pride still means the world.

It's raining 300 men

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pi2t58CRmbU
I have to post this, if for no other reason than to appall Ben.

On family...

In lab... Waiting for an incubation and friends to be ready to hang out... So I am just farting around a bit... So, my mom was in town this last weekend and I got to take off work and hang out with her for almost 2.5 days solid. Everyone asks me, "so what did you and your mom go out to see/do?" and they are generally surprised to hear that we didn't really go out all that much, just mostly hung out and talked to one another. When I tell people this, I occasionally get a look of pity or comments about how looking after my mother for a weekend sounds like a chore compared to what I could have been doing. But what people don't understand is that I have a very unusual mother... When I say that I didn't go out and do all that much, I do mean that we really only went out to eat for a little while on Friday evening (FYI, if you go to Zodiac, order the appetizers... phenomenal) and mostly either bumed around the house or went to talk over coffee. Which is true, but is also a bit misleading. You see, when my mom comes over, she packs a few things. Namely, the first thing to be unpacked from mom's luggage when we arrived back at the house was her Playstation II. And her huge dance pad. On Friday morning, we were waiting outside of the nearest GameStop. As soon as they opened, we were in and my mom was picking out a dance mat for me, to replace the ones that had worn out on her last visit. So, we get the pads and truck on back to my house where we proceed to dance the afternoon away to "Go West", "It's Raining Men", " and other such Dance Dance Revolution Classics. When we tire, mid-afternoonish, we head to the kitchen... We're parched... So, we skip the light refreshments and head straight for the Cosmos. Then, with slightly less coordination, we resume DDR. When mom comes to town, it is like one of my best friends is here for a visit. But unlike my other friend's visits, I have every excuse to tell my boss to take off some time and relax. Basically, these are some of my most treasured weekends, ever. And if that makes me a momma's boy. So be it.

Oh the nail-biting suspense!!!

So... Browsing CNN.com today I happened to run into this gem of a story: http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/07/paris.hilton/index.html Which, in a nutshell basically sez: "Your countries' legal system is a mockery of anything resembling justice. You'd best get yourself a lawyer pronto and stay on his/her good side at all costs (i.e. feed them tons of money). Because, when the shit hits the fan, if you are rich and your lawyer is smooth, you can get away with whatever you damn well please. Pay no mind to the fact that everyone in the country is probably aware of your guilt, and watching you buy your way out of your responsibilites as a citizen. Your legal system = sham." Or... If you take the narrow-minded, more literal meaning of the article, it tells you that Paris is getting out of jail for "medical reasons" (you can't see me, but I am miming really big exaggerated 'air quotes' right now...) and will serve the rest of her jail sentence under house arrest... in Beverly Hills... in her mansion... So naturally, I was thrown into a deep depression which was only alleviated by happening to run into this article: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/06/08/arts/NA-A-E-CEL-US-Paris-Hilton.php Which in a nutshell tells you that there just might be a God who is out there and paying some attention... And even She doesn't like Paris Hilton... But mind you, though this story has a happy ending, the end does not necessarily justify the means... To find the second article I actually had to go to Google, click on the box and delibrately type the words: "Paris Hilton" ... I suddenly feel like some dirty thirteen-year-old straight boy who just heard of Paris' porno vid... I am ashamed...