Monday Morning Ewwwww!

The is the last thing I needed to see at 7:10 AM on a Monday. So, naturally I had to share it via Jesus' General and BuzzFeed.

Sarah Palin: Radio Vixen

I can't help but wonder if Sarah Palin really wants to be President of the United States of America (I'm sure she wouldn't turn it down) or if winning the lottery by virtue of being picked as John McCain's running mate has simply fueled an insatiable desire for being in the limelight, and making money. Tons of it if she can just get herself a damn talk show on radio.

God knows she loves to talk and tweet. And $100 million, $200 million, whatever salary she could procure, even $20 million, pays a hell of a lot better than being governor of Alaska.

I almost wish someone would hire her so we could keep Captain Kirk in a paying gig to offset the madness.

Tired of Shootin' Moose: The Virtual Outhouse Is Open!

The Good News: Sarah Palin is resigning as Governor of Alaska at the end of this month, and even before completing her first term in office.

The Bad News: We may be seeing a lot more of her down here in the lower 48 where life is apparently more to her liking. For one thing, they don't have a Neiman-Marcus, a Bloomingdales, or a Saks Fifth Avenue in Alaska.

By leaving office early, Ms. Palin, a 45-year-old mother of five, will be able to travel around the country more freely and not be constrained by the duties and responsibilities of being a governor.

And I guess she's just tired of sittin' around with nothin' much to do except look at Russia.

So as a tribute to Palin and her decision, I'm resurrecting a Virtual Outhouse from last year for an encore.

2012 (As Opposed to 2112)

While watching Keith Olbermann tonight I had a revelation. The Republican Party has a surprise in store for the 2012 elections. Forget Huckabee, forget Romney. Texas Governor Rick "Goodhair" Perry appears to be positioning himself as well as Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (literally and figuratively at the Republican Governors meeting in Miami) as the surprise "leader" for the next (s)election cycle.

The big question is, who will be down ticket? My guess is: Palin.

Perry seems to have a handle on things.

Perry/Palin

Palin/Perry

Both sort of have a ring to them. But I can't for the life of me imagine Perry dealing with a Palin/Perry ticket, nor can I imagine Palin dealing with a Perry/Palin ticket.

Bring it on.

Let the brutish pouts begin.

No, dear Google, I didn't. British poets will be covered in a later post.

Sarah Palin's Dude Cult

Although I find it hard to believe, I'm sure there are still a few people out there who feel a Sarah Palin vice presidency (or presidency) would be a triumphant moment for women and the feminist movement. Surely those numbers are dwindling as rapidly as my 401k value.

It was obvious McCain selected her as his running mate in order to appeal to women. As with so many other McCain strategies, what we see happening is the polar opposite. Sarah Palin has achieved cult status among the real he-men. The ones who ooze testosterone.

Photo credit: Michael Conroy/Associated Press

It is not unusual for fans of Sarah Palin to shout out to the Alaska governor in the midst of her stump speeches. It is noteworthy, however, that the crowds are heavily male.

[...]

At the height of Palinmania, soon after she made her national debut in September, Ms. Palin’s popularity among men was striking. Her favorability ratings were higher among men than women (44 percent to 36 percent), according to a New York Times poll, even though she was chosen in part because of her expected appeal to women.

I will now bombard you with excerpts from the rallies as reported in today's New York Times.

“Katie Couric and Tina Fey are going to do their thing, but it doesn’t bother me at all,” said Rob McLain, an insurance agent from Avon, Ind., who attended a packed Palin rally at an amphitheatre in Indiana on Friday night. Mr. McLain wore a “Proud to be voting for a hot chick” button and was joined by his wife, Shannan (“Read my lipstick” button on lapel), and his 6-week-old son, Jaxon (“Nobama” button on beanie).

[...]

“This is not a ladies campaign,” declared Linda Teegan at a rally in Weirs Beach, N.H., on Wednesday. She was taking a crowd snapshot. “There seem to be lots and lots of guys here,” she said. “I’d guess 70-30, maybe 65-35, men to women. It’s quite noticeable to me.”

[...]

“You tell ’em baby,” a man yelled out at a rally Wednesday night on a high school football field in Salem, N.H.

[...]

Her recent events drew scruffy high-schoolers in backward baseball caps, tank-topped bikers in bandanas and long-bearded veterans in berets. They crashed the rope line for photos and autographs. “Marry me, Sarah,” a man implored in Weirs Beach, N.H.

[...]

“She’s beautiful,” said a man wearing a John Deere T-shirt in Weirs Beach. “I came here to look at her,” he said, and his admiration for Ms. Palin’s appearance became more and more animated. Sheepish over his ogling, he declined to give his real name (“Just call me ‘John Deere’ ”).

[...]

“They bear us children, they risk their lives to give us birth, so maybe it’s time we let a woman lead us,” said Larry Hawkins, a former truck driver attending a rally late Thursday at Elon University in North Carolina. Mr. Hawkins said he would rather vote for Ms. Palin than for “McCain and Obama combined.”

Men have done plenty to mess up the country, he said. “The sexual drives and big egos of male leaders have gotten in the way of politics in this country.” Mr. Hawkins said he talked to fellow truckers, and a lot of them feel the same way. “They think it’s time for a woman, too,” he said. “This one. Palin is our kind of woman.”

Right. So here we have a bunch of men with strong sex drives and a sordid fetish for a woman offering up more of the same tired crap, saying she's just what we need to fix the mistakes of male leaders.

It was not so long ago when these same people were highly critical of Obama's cult following and celebrity status.

“You guys are great,” [Palin] said while signing autographs.

Yeah, you tell 'em, baby.

By the way, these politicians work for us. They are not here to entertain us. Signing autographs while interviewing for a job is not professional. That applies to all the candidates. It is infuriating.

I Am Supporting the "Terrorist"

How pathetic of the McCain/Palin campaign to harp on this terrorist shtick. Their true colors are showing now and they aren't red, white & blue. More like black & blue.

"You still alive out there?"

Last debate coming right up.

Is that a microphone in your pants or are you happy to see me?

No photos today because Photobucket appears to be on strike against the god of kona.

Unglued

The VP debate is over. Did I come unhinged last night? You betcha.

Did I hear "Joe Sixpack" and "hockey moms" enough times to choke on my own vomit? Darn right I did.

Sarah Palin can rub me raw and chap my ass in a way no other politician has since George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. But it was this exchange in the debate which fired up my thrusters:

BIDEN: Absolutely. Do I support granting same-sex benefits? Absolutely positively. Look, in an Obama-Biden administration, there will be absolutely no distinction from a constitutional standpoint or a legal standpoint between a same-sex and a heterosexual couple.

The fact of the matter is that under the Constitution we should be granted -- same-sex couples should be able to have visitation rights in the hospitals, joint ownership of property, life insurance policies, et cetera. That's only fair.

It's what the Constitution calls for. And so we do support it. We do support making sure that committed couples in a same-sex marriage are guaranteed the same constitutional benefits as it relates to their property rights, their rights of visitation, their rights to insurance, their rights of ownership as heterosexual couples do.

IFILL: Governor, would you support expanding that beyond Alaska to the rest of the nation?

PALIN: Well, not if it goes closer and closer towards redefining the traditional definition of marriage between one man and one woman. And unfortunately that's sometimes where those steps lead.

But I also want to clarify, if there's any kind of suggestion at all from my answer that I would be anything but tolerant of adults in America choosing their partners, choosing relationships that they deem best for themselves, you know, I am tolerant and I have a very diverse family and group of friends and even within that group you would see some who may not agree with me on this issue, some very dear friends who don't agree with me on this issue.

But in that tolerance also, no one would ever propose, not in a McCain-Palin administration, to do anything to prohibit, say, visitations in a hospital or contracts being signed, negotiated between parties.

But I will tell Americans straight up that I don't support defining marriage as anything but between one man and one woman, and I think through nuances we can go round and round about what that actually means.

But I'm being as straight up with Americans as I can in my non- support for anything but a traditional definition of marriage.

IFILL: Let's try to avoid nuance, Senator. Do you support gay marriage?

BIDEN: No. Barack Obama nor I support redefining from a civil side what constitutes marriage. We do not support that. That is basically the decision to be able to be able to be left to faiths and people who practice their faiths the determination what you call it.

The bottom line though is, and I'm glad to hear the governor, I take her at her word, obviously, that she think there should be no civil rights distinction, none whatsoever, between a committed gay couple and a committed heterosexual couple. If that's the case, we really don't have a difference.

Many people have argued, and I strongly support this notion, that the government should get out of the marriage business. Provide civil unions for all and leave marriage alone. Let the churches decide if they want to perform marriage ceremonies for same sex couples or not. I have no problem at all with that notion. What bothers me is that it's never on the table in a debate. What we hear is a resounding "NO" from politicians when the issue of gay marriage is presented.

To say I'm fed up with this is obviously an understatement. I'm tired of my orientation being treated as if it is one of the top five problems facing the country. I'm tired of being kicked in the gut. I'm tired of watching Congress scramble all over themselves trying to pass a $700 billion bailout package, now laced with enough pork to feed an army, while simultaneously refusing to provide equality to LGBTQ taxpayers. And speaking of army, I'm tired of a military still embarrassed that gays and lesbians are serving in their ranks. I'm tired of politicians unwilling to take a step to rectify that problem.

And I do not want to wait 55 years to have my relationship with my partner recognized and validated. txrad is not my roommate.

Now, regarding Cynthia McKinney. It is refreshing to go to a candidate's website and see the word "equality." Do I think she has a chance in hell of being elected? Of course not. Am I really going to "throw away" my vote? I don't even know if she's on the ballot in Texas. However, this being Texas, and thanks to the electoral college, does it matter? I might as well write in the name Dennis Kucinich, although I have no idea how you write in a name on an electronic touch-screen.

As for Biden answering the gay marriage question with a "no," it was his tone as much as anything which set me off: the immediate snarl and a resolute no. He might as well have added who in their right mind would support undermining such a bedrock sacred institution as marriage?

The reality is that, despite my emotional meltdown last night, I'll most likely vote for the Obama/Biden ticket simply to send a message to the nation that not all Texans are gung-ho supporters of a Bush failure, nor are we eager for four or eight more years of the same disaster. Obama and Biden may not be able to save the nation but it's pretty darn clear they are a better choice than the McCain/Palin ticket.

However, on most of the issues, I am far more closely aligned with the McKinney/Clemente ticket. It would be nice if someday I could be as enthusiastic in voting for a pair which have a chance of winning. It is refreshing to see candidates who speak the truth and are unashamed of their beliefs and who refuse to pander to a lower common denominator, be it Joe Sixpack or soccer moms, who never have to give a second thought to their spousal hospital visitation rights or pay taxes on their partners' health insurance coverage simply because of their orientation.

Debacle Debate Night!

I think the designated cocktail this evening should be absinthe.

However, I'm lacking that stuff so it'll just be tequila and beer for me and txrad as we prepare soul food (he prepares most of it; I do the corn bread) and await the night we've all been waiting for: the one, the only, Joe Biden vs Sarah Palin, live from St. Louis.

"Sarah Wins"

Honestly, I wish I could see the face on that ignoramus. I always like to keep a running tally of what stupid people look like so I can be more aware while milling about in public.

I like that Abraham Lincoln holding the Obama sign!

Anyhoo, come on in, vent your frustrations throughout the debate, or throughout the night. I'll probably post a few konagems as the night wears on and the tequila kicks in.

Update: You both lost me on the gay marriage and gay rights issue. Fuck both of you. Right up the ass.

Chivalry Be Damned

I've had nothing provoking me to post all day today and was wondering if anything was going to inspire me. And then txrad and I started watching Hardball with Chris Matthews. We got our hot buttons pushed hard.

Chris had two guests he was interviewing, both women. The discussion was Sarah Palin (who else?) and he asked his guests if it would be appropriate for Joe Biden to assist Sarah Palin with her chair, as in helping her pull it to the table I suppose, and both of the guests said that would be perfectly acceptable.

This is a topic I have had on my to-blog-about list for a long time and had forgotten about it.

First, Joe, don't do it. If Governor Palin can't handle her chair at a debate, how can she handle the nation, or Alaska for that matter?

I have never understood this business of guys going on dates, and their special lady friends stay seated in the car until Mr. Casanova comes around to open it, extending a hand to assist her in making a graceful exit.

It's one thing to not let a door close in some one's face, opposite sex or not, when entering or leaving a building, but this over-the-top behavior of treating women with dignity (i.e. treating them like they have no abilities to perform basic functions like opening a car door and getting out, or pulling their chair to a table) has got to stop.

And speaking for no one but myself, I hope he treats Sarah Palin at the debate exactly as he would treat Mike Huckabee or Mitt Romney, neither of whom I'm guessing would need any assistance with their chairs.

48 Hours

And counting.

By this time on Thursday night we should be getting another really good snapshot of Tina Fey Sarah Palin. I can't tell them apart. Honest to God.

She can't name a single newspaper or magazine that she reads but she "has a vast variety of sources."

And it ended there.

I dunno. Anchorage Daily News perhaps? New York Times? USA Today? US News & World Report? Newsweek? Seventeen? (Is that one still around??)

Just pick one, for fuck's sake!

"All of 'em" doesn't count.

The VP Debate Should Be Interesting

Is it Thursday yet?

"Palin's a master at spending 45 seconds telling you what color the sky is," he adds, "and people will say, 'That's the greatest thing I ever heard.'"

Quote from Andrew Halcro, one of Palin's opponents in the Alaska governor's race.

Country First; Vetting Tacos Second; Vetting Donuts Third

Found at one of my favorite joints...Cannablog.

"They found me on the Google like ... THAT!"

The 9/11 Game

The Republican Party can go to hell. Want to use 9/11 images to make a case for the election?

The McCain/Palin ticket needs to go down like this.

A Conversation with My Mother

I honestly didn't expect this from my soon-to-be 85-year-old mother.

Me: Did you think McCain lost his mind or what?

Mom: Sarah Palin? I think she makes the most sense of all of them.

Me: You can't be serious! McCain is probably going to drop dead before his first term ends and she'll be the president!

Mom: Well, Obama is probably going to get assassinated.

Me: At least we'd have Biden who has some experience.

Mom: I can't stand Biden. And Palin is Governor of Alaska with an 80% approval rating.

Sigh. If my mother gets her way we certainly won't be seeing any positive change in this country in her lifetime. None whatsoever. But then, we can't even agree on the definition of positive change. So.. at least she'd go out on a high note.

This is bewildering to me.

Sarah Palin: A Clear Choice for Feminists?

Via Toast, who finds some amusement in the fact that some who call themselves feminists are impressed enough with Sarah Palin's feminist credentials to support her as the VP choice.

Now that Palin can be heard giggling as two shock jocks have called Senator Lyda Green, an opponent of Palin's, a "cancer" and a "bitch," we know she's the real McCoy. Or maybe that's some funny shit up in heavily-Republican Alaska.

One Nation Under Ignorance

I have come to the conclusion that a good number of European immigrants who settled this land were not exactly the best representatives of their gene pool.

Granted, I already wasn't in a great mood this morning after rolling to the edge of the bed and planting my feet squarely into a pile of cat vomit as I arose from my not-so-peaceful slumber.

And the sight of an 18-inch tapeworm hanging from Sweet Pea's anus was another bad start to the morning.

All that aside, walking out to the street to pick up the Sunday New York Times would ultimately prove to be the most annoying aspect of my morning.

I simply cannot grasp the concept that so many Americans are straddling the political fence between Barack Obama and John McCain. It makes no sense to me whatsoever. How many people do you know who are undecided on key issues such as abortion, gay rights, Iraq, and the economy?

The differences between the two candidates are as stark as night and day, or if you prefer, black and white.

And yet, I read quote after quote from Americans in this article who simply can't decide. Am I asking too much to expect a little common sense? It's as if there are no issues, only empty, meaningless labels such as "maverick." Just read this.

Judith France and her daughter Holly France-Kremin have been torn about their choice for president ever since Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton lost the Democratic nomination to Senator Barack Obama. Now Senator John McCain has made up their minds, but in different ways, by his surprise pick of Sarah Palin, the little-known Alaska governor, as his Republican running mate.

“It made me like McCain a little more,” said Judith France, 62, of Thornville, Ohio. “They always say he was a maverick, and this made me think, well, he really is. He went all the way to Alaska — there aren’t that many people up there, they don’t have that many electoral votes — and he picked this person. I know people will say she’s inexperienced. But she’s been a governor for 20 months. That’s more experience than Obama has.”

Judith needs to brush up on her facts. Or maybe the Republicans will seize upon that inaccurate statement and use it in campaign ads. Who knows. But Barack Obama served in the Illinois Senate from 1997 until 2004 and has been a US Senator from Illinois since 2004. Do the math. That's a hell of a lot more than 20 months. Maybe Judith doesn't know the difference between months and years.

Thank God her daughter seems to have a brain and is putting it to good use.

Ms. France-Kremin, 36, who lives nearby in Dublin, an affluent suburb of Columbus, likewise has qualms about the seasoning of Mr. Obama, a first-term United States senator after eight years as a state senator. But she also strongly favors abortion rights, and Ms. Palin — more prominently than Mr. McCain — does not.

“That sealed my decision,” said Ms. France-Kremin, who added that she would no longer consider voting for Mr. McCain.

For our next exhibit, we go to another suburban outpost where a vacant mentality apparently abounds.

Shopping at a suburban mall in Michigan on Friday, Cathy Gates, 40, a registered Republican and a mother of two who calls herself a “football mom,” said that the Palin pick was “a big risk” but that it “makes me feel a little better” about voting for Mr. McCain.

“She does appeal to me,” Ms. Gates said. “You would feel she has the same values as you. Having a child with Down syndrome, and being the governor, and she calls herself a hockey mom. I was impressed. She’s very pretty and seems very smart. I hope it works out.”

Some Democratic-leaning women, as well, welcomed Mr. McCain’s barrier-breaking choice as some consolation after their dashed hopes of having a woman at the top of the ticket.

“I wish the Democratic Party had the courage” to pick a woman, said Kimberly Myers, a retired transit worker in Pittsburgh who supported Mrs. Clinton in Pennsylvania’s primary and said she now planned to vote for Mr. McCain.

Ms. Myers said she also saw a bonus in the choice of Ms. Palin: “The fact that she’s a working mom will send a message to America that you don’t have to choose children over career.”

Pardon me, but there's a county to run here. This should not be about thinking a candidate is cool because she calls herself a soccer mom and you're a football mom. But she's "very pretty" so there you have it.

As word of the Palin choice spread, some women said they were intrigued by what they saw as her unusual mix of last-frontier pioneer and suburban supermom. She is a sportswoman, hunter and onetime local beauty queen who married her high school sweetheart, as well as a self-described hockey mom and PTA member.

"Supermom?" Please. This all might be relevant if she was running for mayor again. It is not relevant for someone running for governor and it's sure as hell not relevant for someone on a VP ticket in these trying times.

But wait. There's more! By the time I was near the end of the first section of the paper I was prepared to breathe a sigh of relief and I ran head-on into Peter Applebome's Our Towns column, and this excerpt made the milk in my coffee curdle instantly.

Michelle Drury watched Barack Obama’s speech Thursday night and she swooned.

“I think the guy’s amazing,” Ms. Drury, a registered nurse from nearby Beacon Falls, said on Friday over the low buzz at the Valley Diner in Connecticut’s blue-collar Naugatuck Valley. “I thought he gave a great speech. To be honest, I can’t turn my eyes from him when he’s on. For a 41-year-old, getting-divorced woman, he’s a hottie. I thought he laid out a phenomenal plan and finally told us a lot about himself.”

And whom will she be voting for in November? John McCain.

“I’ve loved watching Obama emerge and evolve, but I don’t vote based on the swing of the fever,” said Ms. Drury, a mother of three who said she thinks of herself as a liberal Republican. “He put out a lot of great words, but we live in a very dangerous world, and I just don’t think Obama’s ready yet. I think he will eventually be a great president, but not yet.”

A liberal Republican, huh? What does that mean exactly? Because from where I stand in the political spectrum, Barack Obama is closer to a liberal Republican than John McCain. Part of the reason we live in a dangerous world is because of the failed policies of President Bush. And John McCain vows to continue trotting down that path. And this "liberal Republican" lives in Connecticut! Wait until we get to some thoughts of the non-so-liberal Republicans in the deep South.

The idea of a member of our armed services not even paying attention is baffling. I suppose that's worse than the tendency to ignore the fact that we have issues facing us.

And then there were the customary wonders of American indifference. Mike Palmieri, 23, is in the Army at Fort Drum in upstate New York and then headed to Afghanistan. You might think he’d have a stake in things, but he said that politics was not his thing and that he was not paying attention. There was the woman who declined to give her name who didn’t know who was running for president.

The person most in limbo seemed to be Geraldine Peter of Ansonia, a Clinton voter in the primary who’s not sure if she will vote for Mr. Obama. She said she would take a longer look at the Republicans with Mrs. Palin on the ticket.

Whatever. This makes me want to cancel my subscription and live in a cave.

William Safire alone is reason enough.

A stern editor could have improved the 4,500-word acceptance by cutting a thousand words of populist boilerplate and partisan-pleasing shots that offend centrists.

Asshat.

Periodically, When I'm Feeling Down I Get Angry

J. Goff at I am Jack’s Non-Blog says this is what Obama needs:

- LESS SYCOPHANTS.

- LESS SEXISM

- LESS TALK

- MORE SUBSTANCE, i.e.:

- MORE EXPLICITLY PROGRESSIVE POLICIES

- LESS HYPE.

I don't believe those are listed in order of importance. I get the distinct impression the #1 issue is sexism. Visit any widely-read feminist blog, find a post about sexism in politics or the media, and watch the fireworks fly in the comment threads.

All of us progressives are, and should be, angry about a multitude of issues. I've been angry since J. Goff was still in his mother's womb, so trust me when I say I'm in touch with what needs to change in this nation.

I'm also a realist on some level and I know there is never going to be the perfect candidate running for any political office. There are 300 million Americans and 300 million different ideas about how to address the problems, let alone fix them! The question is this: are we going to start correcting even a few of them in 2009, or are we going to allow a single hot-button issue to destroy what may be our best hope for real leadership in our lifetime? Or am I just spewing more "hype?"

How many angry feminists does it take to swing an election the wrong way as the result of voting one's conscience or not voting at all? Who knows. This may be a year in which we learn the answer. Feminists don't like having the guilt-card played on them, nor would anyone else. And they are quick to point out that their individual vote is their individual personal choice and their business. I wholeheartedly agree. But there is a "but."

Since I brought up womb earlier, let me tell you what I think.

What you do with your body is your own business and I'm fighting hard to keep that right for you. How you cast your vote is your own business and I'm fighting hard to make certain that vote is, at the very least, actually counted. Your reproductive choices, even as a group of millions, have no recognizable impact on my life whatsoever. On the other hand, your vote as a group most definitely impacts my life and the lives of millions of others who are desperately seeking a new direction for the US. And this is where I get mightily annoyed with some of my feminist colleagues for the same reason I feel raging anger at fundamentalists and other neocons who make the election about preserving the sanctity of marriage and putting God back in the classroom. John McCain picked Sarah Palin for several reasons and I can assure you her position against reproductive freedom was right near the top of that list.

Regardless of who wins in November, even if it's Cynthia McKinney, we are going to be fighting sexism, racism, misogyny, capital punishment, corruption, lobbyists, offshore drilling, global warming, creationists, homophobia, discrimination against the transgendered, right-wing radio hosts, immigration policies, the loss of jobs, warmongering for profit, and a host of whackjobs in every corner of Congress. And I'm certain I didn't name at least 40 other injustices.

In a reply to a commenter on his post, J. Goff had this to say:

I will die for my country. I will not vote for Obama, though, until he starts talking progressively instead of dealing with centralist bullshit.

Unfortunately, due to the nature of politics these days, "centralist bullshit" is what we put up with until such time as a progressive cloaked in "centralist bullshit" can get elected. Politicians will do and say what they have to in order to appeal to the greatest number of voters. And that, much to my never ending dismay, is always going to involve a move to the "center" which is particularly irksome when the current center resides at the 35 yard line of the opposing team thanks largely to almost 30 years of Reagan and the Bush family. Sadly, Clinton didn't move that center as much as he could and should have.

I have spent the bulk of my voting life as a single-issue conscience voter. When I learned that Obama and Biden are both supporters of capital punishment I wasn't sure I could cast my ballot for that ticket. But this year I realized we have too much at stake for me to walk away in disgust. (I will not support them financially with any donation; I have to draw the line somewhere.)

J. Goff does have the benefit of being 25 which is young enough to hope for another chance or two for change in his lifetime even if this one isn't viewed by him as worth it because the candidate is perceived to be throwing women under the bus. (Or supports strapping people -- mostly black men -- into an electric chair, or pumping them with a toxic cocktail.)

Perhaps when J. Goff is my age, 48, and realizing that nothing much has changed, he'll also be getting fast and furiously fed up with waiting for.... something...before reaching retirement age.

I don't like taking baby steps and I really don't like even small compromise when it comes to politics this year. But I am taking a leap of faith because I am desperate for a glimpse of something different, an improvement, a sign of intelligent life in the White House. Being able to relax for awhile without worrying that a member of the Supreme Court is going to drop dead under a Bush or McCain watch is a nice perk.

Under all these circumstances, I am frankly astonished that sexism seems to be a focal point of the resistance to Obama given the fact that sexism is ingrained in our culture. It's not like the guy is out peddling this garbage although I am dismayed if his supporters are doing it.

It's great that the issue is finally getting more attention this year than I've ever seen in previous years, even if it is limited mostly to genuine feminist blogs (as opposed to say, a feminist group like Palin's Feminists for Life. But positive change has to start somewhere. And we must continue to push and fight for the changes we so sorely need. The ultimate question is: which candidate is most likely to listen?

In the end, if McCain is victorious, he and Sarah Palin (only the VP for as long as McCain's ticker keeps ticking) will shred this country for another four years, and it could even be worse than 8 years under Bush. I firmly believe it would be worse.

Such a victory could easily send a signal to future Democrats that the only way to have a chance of being elected is to move more to the right.

Or it could make Democrats so angry, and maybe enough moderate Republicans, to finally swing this country around in the 2012 elections with a progressive candidate who is more explicit with his or her policies, and never, ever says anything remotely sexist, and manages to finally unite the left and center as one big happy family.

I'm not banking on the latter. That's what I was certain 2004 was supposed to be.

Let's ALL get out this November, stand before that touch-screen and vote your conscience, be it McCain/Palin, Obama/Biden, McKinney/Clemente, or another. All I ask is that you let your conscience consider the bigger picture.

If the election tilts to McCain by a slim margin in one state, just don't tell me, or the millions of others who are ready to seize this moment, not to get angry if a few thousand voters in that state were refusing to support Obama because of a dogwhistle.

A Musical Dedication to Sarah Barracuda

But first, some humor. This has been a surreal day.

John McCain having a Sarah Palin fantasy. She may not have Cindy's money but... Cindy's money is hers anyway. Fucking prenups!

Get a fucking room!

I am predicting that on Wednesday morning after election day, that home-schooling, pro-oil drilling, anti-abortion, global warming denier, will be heading back north to resume her normal routine activities.

Clear and Present Dangerous Pandering

Wow. McCain has gone and done it now.

What a clever man. Somebody will make history regardless of the winner. So let's see how many of those Hillary hold-outs are going to be running to the McCain camp now that he had the balls to choose Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate.

Palin has a strong anti-abortion record, and her selection was praised warmly by social conservatives whose support Mccain needs to prevail in the campaign for the White House.

Great. Just what we need: a woman who wants to restrict the reproductive rights of women.

McCain needs to shut up about Obama's experience now.

In an announcement, McCain's campaign said that Palin, who has been governor less than two years, "has the record of reform and bipartisanship that others can only speak of.

[...]

A self-styled hockey mom and political reformer, Pallin was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, population 6,500, until she became governor.

Again, I'll say wow. The choice in November could not possibly be more clear.


Update: I found this comment in a thread at Pam's House Blend.

If 72 year old McCain can't finish his term, we would have 44 year old Barracuda, two year governor of Alaska and former mayor of Wasilla!

Perfect. Now I can't get the song out of my head...

All we need now is for a hurricane to hit New Orleans during the Republican convention. Get ready for a ride.