The Revolution Circa 2010

Tonight's the night-----TEA PARTY!!!!!!!!

The first convention for this new party is being held in Nashville TN. At more than $500 a ticket it costs a lot more than those other revolutionary venues like Woodstock in 1969, Chicago's Grant Park in 1968, or John Lennon's Toronto or Paris hotel rooms. And the list of speakers and topics, and the workshops!!!!

But the keynote speaker---former Alaska governor, wolf slaughterer, and moose cleaner Sarah Palin. This time without a lead-in from Tina Fey. I'm sure her performance will be more than worth the price of admission. Or not.

Isn't it amazing how John Lennon foretold this movement in his song Revolution---"you tell me it's the institution/ well you know/ you better free your mind instead." The tea-partiers are so full of original, thoughtful slogans--Obama care is socialized medicine; If you think health care is expensive now, wait until it's free; Let's take back America for Americans. But my personal favorite is when those choruses of retirees all chant for the government to keep its hands off their Medicare.

Maybe John was wrong----he assumed they had minds that they could free.

Strategy??

Doesn't the resignation of Sarah Palin as Governor of Alaska remind us of that famous statement by Richard M Nixon after losing an election in CA---"You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore"? Is the 'Cuda attempting the same strategy? After all, Nixon went on to win the presidency a few years later. He spent the intervening years as a grand old strategist for the G O P. That sounds like what Sarah plans to do.

But the soon-to-be-former governor needs to rethink this strategy. Nixon was coming off eight years as vice president to Eisenhower and a failed, but close, run for president against JFK. Palin comes off a trouncing as the vice-presidential candidate in a somewhat more decisive victory for the Democratic opponent. The current Republican party is more about vice than presidents. The ethical issues of the Palin regime may be somewhat resolved but many feel there is a smoking gun which really prompted this incredible move by Sarah Palin. Only time will tell but it would come as no surprise that the Pride of Wasilla wasn't responsible for a bigger turn-over than the assist she is claiming.

In Passing

We take note of the passing of Karl Malden. I always thought he was a talented and versatile performer, playing priest (On the Waterfront as counselor to Marlon Brando, The West Wing-- confessor to President Bartlet), policeman (LT Mike Stone in The Streets of San Francisco, mentor to the young Michael Douglas pre-Catherine Zeta-Jones) and soldier (General Omar Bradley in Patton). Malden's career spanned almost 70 years. Long live Mladen Sekulovich!!!!!

Noted on BBC, Fox News, the N Y Times, as well as other web sites----

Palin to Resign as Governor of Alaska

The Times states that Palin would be free to travel more and that she believes she can "effect positive change outside of government." It notes that the governor of Minnesota will not seek re-election so he might pursue other opportunities, including a possible run for the presidency in 2012.

But Sarah is resigning effective the end of July 2009. Her term ends in 2010. Ever since her performance as John McCain's running mate in the failed campaign for president in 2008, Palin has been dogged by allegations of ethics questions and the resignations of key state officials. Given the recent less than stellar performances of other Republican presidential front running possibilities like Senator Ensign and Governor Sanford, don't be too surprised if there's a little more to this story than is being bandied about this Independence Day weekend. And MSNBC has a Lock-Up marathon scheduled---they did break in for this so maybe they are a news channel.......

Republican redux

So the Obama budget passed both houses of Congress by the biggest margins since the 1990's.  And the Republican counter-budget had 38% of that party's members vote NO.  I find it hard to understand how tax cuts for the upper-most 1% and a five-year spending freeze are good for the present economy and the situation in which most Americans who aren't super-rich find themselves.   Haven't we just been through eight years of these policies that didn't work?? And how does Mitch McConnell, Senate Republican leader, seize the moral high ground on spending?  Wasn't it the Bush administration with a Republican majority in BOTH houses of Congress that turned a multi-million dollar surplus into a trillion-dollar deficit and that's with the Iraq and Afghan wars OFF THE BOOKS---not included in the budget numbers!!!!  A significant part of the present budget's deficit is putting those conflicts' costs into the budget.

So I guess it's Republican Red Ducks, not redux.  And Sarah the avionic wolf butcher wants to have a special election in Alaska now that Ted Stevens has had his conviction vacated.  Wasn't it the Justice Dept. under Bush that blew that case so badly??  Might be time to bring back the Whigs---after all, slavery has been abolished legally and the Union has been preserved---Now the Republicans can truly say "Mission Accomplished."   And go away.................

And after the latest tragedy in Binghamton NY, isn't it long past time we made assault weapons and other forms of automatic weapons illegal??  After all, I don't know of one hunter who thinks it's sporting to go after deer with an AK-47. 

Feeling Republican

So I guess I'm feeling a little Republican these days.  First, poor old Rick Waggoner of GM losing his job because he couldn't get restructuring right on his salary of $1.00 a year.   Wonder if that mean old socialist Democrat, President Obama, would have insisted on sacking him if he took a few million in bonus payments....?????

But really, there are good things about the Republicans.  I mean, their first president was a master politician, especially beating out senators and governors for that first presidential nomination when he couldn't even beat a two-faced Democratic senator from Illinois for the senate seat.  Yep, an old rail-splitter became the nominee in 1860 and came from nowhere to win the presidency.  I'm reading Doris Kearns Goodwin's excellent book, Team of Rivals.  It hearkens back to the founding of the Republican Party.  They were pretty smart men---watching the Michael Steele follies leaves me aghast!!!  And did you see McCain throw Sarah under the bus??  She would have been a heartbeat away if he'd won and now he needs to see who'll be competing..........

But the best part about my new found republicanism is (are you ready for this?????)-----

totally enjoying Stephen Colbert's Ameri-cone Dream ice cream from Ben & Jerry's.  I wonder if Obama Wham-a will be forthcoming, or maybe Jon Stewart's Cramer-Creamed Hash??? 

Of Pirates and Spinners

Captain 'Roid is really pissed off. When last seen, the intrepid Captain was begging her mother to make a new flag for the CPS Nargle proclaiming the "End of the United Nations." According to a report on tonight's BBC America newscast, the UN has signed some declaration allowing countries to pursue the pirates onto Somalian land. Now admittedly, Somalia is a failed state and its sovereignty is open to debate. But to allow other countries, including Iran, China, Great Britain, and the US (talk about politics and pirates making strange bedfellows!!!!) to invade in pursuit of the pirates?? Hopefully all those military men will review Blackhawk Down before doing the same foolish thing.....And why does the US, beacon of religious freedom and defender of the right to democratic processes, so fear an Islamic government in Somalia?? Isn't Islam one of the "Great Religions" alongside Christianity, Judaism, Taoism, Buddhism, etc?? Or is all this "Islamic terrorists are radical extremists" just a smoke screen and the US is really at war with Muslims-----shades of Richard the Lion-Heart and the Crusades...........

Do you remember The Spinners from the '70's and that massively "great" song "Rubber Band Man"?? Actually, I detest that song but all the "oldies" stations seem fixated on it.

But those aren't "the spinners" I'm writing about. I'm thinking about the auto-bailout/union busters and whether the Kennedys are more deserving of power as a dynasty than the Clintons, if MSNBC be believed.

GM and Chrysler are doing worse than Packard did in the 1950's. They hemorrhage cash, blowing through billions a month. Their management has been about as in tune to the needs of the average buyer and the concerns about the deleterious effects of automotive emissions on the decaying of the Earth's atmosphere as Bush and Cheney have been to telling the truth about Al-Qaeda in Iraq, let alone the total misinterpretation of the WMD intelligence.
Now, depending whom one reads, we are either headed for, or are already in, the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. The government has bailed out the financial fat-cats but balks at doing the same for the auto-making fat-cats. The problem is that there are a lot of not-so-fat-cats that would be a lot more hurt by the death of the Big 3. About 1 in 10 American jobs is tied to the auto industry---from parts providers to transportation firms to the workers at the car plants themselves. If we want to see Great Depression type unemployment numbers (like around 25%), then let's allow the Big 3 shut down and add that 10% who lose their jobs to the present 11% without jobs. (I realize the current "official" unemployment rate is about 6% but that does NOT include part-time employees who'd like full-time jobs or those who have stopped trying to find work. That number is over 11%.) That's 21% unemployment. Wouldn't take many, if any, more Citibank job cuts to put us well over that 25% threshold.

But some Senators blame all the failings of the auto industry on the wage disparity between the union workers up north and the non-union laborers in the foreign plants south of the Mason-Dixon line. Taking a real crisis and scapegoating people who will lose their livelihoods to avoid taking action while changing the focus of the argument to something totally non-related is major SPIN!! Even if a UAW member makes $71.00 an hour, that's only $150,000/year!!! And that's nowhere near what an executive at either an auto maker or a financial firm makes!!!! As a matter of fact, it's 1.5% of the 10-million dollar paychecks and bonuses common in executive suites or a Major League Baseball locker room. So let's not blame the union. Deny the bail-out if you don't think management can turn around these companies but let's stop the b.s.

So Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg threw her hat into the ring for the US Senate seat formerly warmed by former first-lady Hilary Clinton (all this assumes she gets confirmed for Secretary of State and resigns). Caroline has a lot going for her. First, her maiden name is Kennedy. She's the only surviving child of JFK and Jackie. She's a major upgrade in looks from Mrs. Clinton and I think she's also better looking than Sarah McPalin (remember her??). So give her the job already. But first we need to watch interminable hours of every Clintonista with an axe to grind and all the MSNBC "analysts" and commentators who need to justify their salaries since the election is over stir up controversy. Who cares if Andrew Cuomo is divorced from one of Caroline's cousins?? What possible effect does it have on her qualifications for the Senate, which are about the same as Hilary's when she was first elected----a member of a family that was in the White House as well as being a lawyer. And Caroline even had a pony at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue!!!!
So enjoy "Rubber Band Man" when you hear it and wish we only had to deal with the musical Spinners instead of the bozo spinners masquerading as learned gentlemen. Hang on to your money and hope January 20 comes faster. But keep your shoes handy just in case...........

11/4 Hangover

The election is done. I heard a story on NPR Wednesday night that Kenya had declared Thursday a national holiday because of the election of Barack Obama as president of the U.S. One segment reported that people went to the grave of Obama's father and chanted that he had sired a king. I didn't think the popular vote margin was quite that large, but I do believe that it's a good thing for America's image around the globe.

Congratulations to Auntie Bucksnort!!! Her granddaughter Paloma Luz had a tropical storm named after her---Paloma is bearing down on the Caymans and Cuba as I write this Thursday evening. Way to go Dove Light!!!!!!!!!!! But now the Pirate Dogs want to storm NOAA---their idea is to get the National Weather Service to name hurricanes from the BACK of the alphabet. Some muttering from the Captain about Weetzie being more potent than a Dove..................Gotta let those dogs out more during the day.

Watching MSNBC post-election. I can't believe the stories coming out about Sarah Palin. I may not be a fan of hers, but to state that she doesn't know the countries in North America (U.S., Canada, and Mexico), the ones that make up NAFTA, or that she doesn't know Africa is a continent, not a country, all that seems a little over the top. She obviously doesn't care to share what knowledge she might possess---witness the Katie Couric interview question about what magazines or newspapers she reads---all of them, whatever they put in front of me was the response. I don't think anybody (Keith "Big Head" Olbermann excepted) would laugh too hard if she admitted to Fins and Feathers Alaska or the Anchorage Daily News. Maybe US, People, Time or Newsweek. But everything?? Come on. This woman is a master politician and apparently quite the manipulator. Really says something negative about John McCain's campaign that they pick her to be "a heartbeat away" from the presidency and then throw her under the bus when they lose. Shame on the McCain campaign and aren't we glad we didn't elect such a pathetically poor decision maker as our leader?

Time Travel

Driving on the highway the other day, a perfect confluence of events punctured the space-time continuum and transported me back to when long hair for men was ok and my guitar strap was red with white doves alternating with white peace symbols.

The radio was playing Ohio by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. As the vocal wailed "Four dead in Ohio" I passed a pick-up with a bumper sticker reading America, Love It or Leave It. Serious flashback, man.........................Today, we'd say Blue or Red, Joe the Plumber or "palin around with terrorists". ( I meant to spell it that way!!!!)

Why there are people who "'oppose your interests' and 'really believe that if they can make you afraid enough or angry enough, you can be tricked into voting against yourself. It is all part of the same contempt, and [on Election Day] you can show them the mistake they have made.' The debate wasn't between left or right, but between 'the politics of fear and the politics of trust. One says: you are encircled by monstrous dangers. Give us power over your freedom so we may protect you. The other says: the world is a baffling and hazardous place, but it can be shaped to the will of men...cast your vote for trust, not just in leaders or policies, but trusting your fellow citizens, in the ancient tradition of this home for freedom and, most of all, for trust in yourself."

If that don't sound like the Bush/Cheney era and the tone of the 2008 presidential campaign, I don't know what would. Divisiveness, the culture wars, an unpopular military action overseas, fear of terrorism and crime......The above is from Nixonland by Rick Perlstein on pgs.536-537. The context is a televised speech by then Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine exhorting voters to cast their ballots the next day for Democratic candidates. The fear-mongers were Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew. And their speeches and approaches would be so familiar to John McCain and Sarah Palin----because they are the same. And for me, Edmund Muskie's words ring as true today as when he spoke them on that evening in 1970.

Vote early if you can (I did) and please vote with your head, not your fears!!!!!

Another Roller Coaster

So another roller coaster week comes to a close. The president addressed the nation about the economy and caused the Dow to fall and our retirement investments to lose value. I'd estimate he's causing me to add 2 months to my planned retirement date every time he opens his fool mouth!!!!! Enough already----let's inaugurate the winner of Nov. 4 on Nov. 5 before W can wreak any more havoc.

Then Saturday Night Live---Sarah "'Cuda" Palin and Sarah "Tina Fey" Palin on the same screen. Holy secret identity crisis!!!!! That's like Superman and Clark Kent or Batman and Bruce Wayne appearing in the same frame!!!!!!!!!!!! Will this nation ever recover................

Next, there was Meet the Press on Sunday. Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama. But even more tellingly, he emphasized what America is all about. It makes no difference if a candidate is Arab, Muslim, black, or a veteran, old, white, and out of touch. As long as he's an American and eligible for the presidency. Powell showed more sense with his observations than either candidate has shown with their attacks. Maybe McCain's biggest error was not getting him for V.P. Or perhaps it's a sign of how low the Republican Party has sunk that it could not field him as their candidate.

Thursday night was miraculous. Not only do los socquitos rojos thrive on being 3 games down, they came back in 2 innings from SEVEN runs down as well!!!!! And they won Saturday!!!!! Isn't it a foregone conclusion who will win Sunday and sweep the Phillies in 4???? Like there's any suspense left to the baseball season.........

Space Cadet

Talk about appropriate venues for campaign appearances!!!! Sarah Palin (click on the link and click on objects around the picture, especially the door on the left---do that several times!! Save the red phone for last.) has a rally scheduled for Sunday in Roswell New Mexico.


For the uninitiated, Roswell is the home of the only UFO crash that yielded an alien body. Even the McDonald's has an alien and flying saucer theme. The creature was whisked off to Area 51 in the Nevada desert for scientists in the employ of the US Air Force to examine and experiment on. I kid you not--here's proof:

Down that dirt road is the crash site, now on private property. The sign has the contact info for the tour company that can show you the site. Guess beef prices were down and this guy needed something to hold him over...............

Speaking of abductions, shouldn't the government and Wall Street do that to the formerly lame-, now dead-duck President W? Have you noticed that the biggest drops in the Dow this past week all came on days when George W. spoke to the American people about the economic crisis and how his government's actions would get us through it!! Maybe the 'Cuda-Pit Bull-Hockey Mom should go to Wall Street and W can visit Roswell. Then we'd know there was really extraterrestrial life because I'm sure he's a fish those UFO pilots would throw back!!!!!!!!

The Last Debate

OK, I'm sure you've all been deluged with the analysis and commentary about the last presidential debate Wednesday night. So what have I got to add? Probably not much, but............
As the Pirate Dogs and I watched the candidates, we noticed a couple of statements that screamed out for some further exposition but as of this posting I haven't seen any---in the N Y Times, on MSNBC, the BBC, FoxNews, etc.

First, does John McCain really equate Down's Syndrome with autism??? And does the fact that Sarah Palin has a Down's baby make her one of the world's foremost authorities on autism and special education as Mr McCain stated???

Second, did anyone else out there catch the bit about making people who serve in the army teachers without making them go through all the rigors of certification?? Does John McCain believe that any veteran can teach?? Enlistment standards are so low that they waive high school graduation and minor drug offenses!!!!! I think BETTER teachers are what's needed, not just more of them.

Don't forget to pay attention to reason and think before you vote. The Pirate Dogs are counting on you since they can't get that armament ship and take over in DC.

Flashback

"We see Americans dying on distant battlefields abroad...We see Americans hating each other...at home. And as we see and hear these things, millions of Americans cry out in anguish. Did we come all this way for this?...When the strongest nation in the world can be tied down for four years in a war...with no end in sight; When the richest nation in the world cannot manage its own economy; And when the president of the United States cannot travel abroad or to any major city at home without fear of a hostile demonstration-then it's time for new leadership for the United States of America...My friends, America is a great nation. And it is time we started to act like a great nation around the world."


So did John McCain say this? Or Barack Obama? Maybe Joe Biden? In my humble opinion it seems to exhibit too much understanding of our times to come from Sarah Palin.


The answer is---NONE OF THE ABOVE. The quote is excerpted from Richard Milhous Nixon's speech accepting the 1968 Republican nomination for president of the United States as reported in the book Nixonland by Rick Perlstein (pgs 304-305).


The parallels to 1968 just keep on manifesting themselves. Obama "pals around" with terrorists according to Ms. Palin. Did she, or anyone else in the McCain organization, note that the terrorist, Bill Ayers, formerly with the Weather Underground who botched a couple of bombings when Obama was 8 years old, was named citizen of the year in Chicago in 1997? For helping with educational reform in the City of Chicago---serving on the same board as Obama? Which educational kudos have the Republican ticket won? And do you, watching your retirement funds bleed away into the bank accounts of the stupor-rich like Cheney, W, and, yes, John McCain, really care about this issue??? If you do, then you deserve what's happened to you.

Syndromes

Syndromes seem to be in the forefront around here this week. The Pirate Dogs' look-out has SDS, the Captain has SDS, and even I was SDS. And they're all different syndromes!!!!!!!!

Weets is part chihuahua so she is very noisy and aggressive---Small Dog Syndrome.
'Roid has the foulest breath in the western world, the result of a peculiar and disgusting habit I won't go into here--Stinky Dog Syndrome.
And this blogger was fairly radical in his younger years, even joining Students for a Democratic Society in college.
So why all the "syndrome-icity" this particular week??
How's your 401-k? How's your trust in the sitting government to get us on the right track? If you have any syndromes, now's the time to give them free reign. Loosen that halter and give them their head.



I think I've decided on the elections. Paris Hilton for Prez, Tina Fey for VP. (Although Gina Gershon does a good job as well.) Paris makes sense on the environment and the pool-side shots could be inspiring as well as profitable for the government. Sales of her exploits would dwarf the tax cuts of either main-stream candidate and could result in a surplus. Tina does a better Palin than Sarahcuda. Only problem is after she gets elected, where would she get her material? No worry though, the current VP candidate has just regurgitated the same lines since she was nominated. Is there really that big a difference between 6 weeks and 4 (or 8) years??
Hey, after this week we need to exhibit a sense of humor more than ever.

In a more serious vein, I'm currently reading Nixonland by Rick Perlstein. The sub-title pretty much summarizes the premise--"The rise of a president and the fracturing of America." I'm only about a quarter of the way through the 800-plus pages but the parallels from the 1968 campaign to today's are striking and, for me, terrifying. I have watched film of the current Republican rallies where either of the candidates whipped up the crowd to the point of denouncing the Democratic nominee as an Arab, a terrorist, or, even worse, calling for his head. First off, pandering to racism and fear is Nixonian. That's a large part of how he won. The "Silent Majority", "law and order", the menace of racial warfare. Have we learned nothing in 40 years? Watching McPalin is remembering Tricky Dick and Spiro. I've long felt that the Baby Boomers squandered their potential with their pursuit of riches pre-empting the idealism of the counter-culture. Now we pay for it with the Republican attacks that, let's face it, are racist without saying that word. I've seen comments on other blogs where people wrote about their fathers saying "Good, they shot another Kennedy" about RFK's assassination in 1968. I can remember comments about how "that uppity nigger" Martin Luther King got what was coming to him, also in 1968. I get the same feelings of foreboding listening to some of the McPalin supporters today. And I try to remember that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" but still there's this thing in he back of my mind..............a motorcade in Dallas, Nov 22 1963....

See http://zeesgowest.blogspot.com/ post for October 11 for a powerful video. We can take back this country. We can undo what Nixon spawned and W has promulgated.

WE ARE THE ANSWER!!!!!!!!!!!!

Time for a Break

And if my beloved Boston Red Sox and the L A Dodgers survive early October and both make it to the Fall Classic, then the Soquitos Rojo will face Joe Torre, Manny Ramirez, Derek Lowe, and maybe even Nomar Garciaparra. Talk about "wheel in the sky keeps on turning".....



The Captain is having rear knee problems. She now has a new nickname, Ratso Roido, after my favorite Dustin Hoffman character, for which he really deserved the Oscar as best actor:

For those unfamiliar with this film, he's the one on the right, Ratso Rizzo. The guy on the left is Angelina Jolie's father.

A list of websites or magazines I read or visit regularly---unlike Saracuda, I don't have a problem letting you know where I get my information:

The Atlantic http://www.theatlantic.com/ (The Atlantic Monthly has been around over 100 years. I've subscribed to the print edition for years.)

The Economist http://www.economist.com/ (socially liberal, financially conservative with an English perspective-- I subscribe to the print edition as well as online)

The National Review http://www.nationalreview.com (William F. Buckley started this in the '60's. Conservative and well-written. It's ok to be right-wing as long as you think.)

The Nation http://www.thenation.com/ (Left as it gets but well written and thoughtful)

The New Republic http://www.tnr.com/ (Dates back to the counter-culture but also well thought out.)

And of course, the national newspaper of record, The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/ (The op-eds are intelligent, thought-provoking, and very well written.)

Please be informed on the FACTS before you vote. This is the most important election since 1968 and, like the Congress on the bail-out/rescue, we really need to get this correct!!!! Normally I'd say "right" but I don't think that's the proper direction............

Remember, the Pirate Dogs depend on you because they can't vote and they love you.

TWTW

This is the week that was. Just phenomenal. From the campaign gaffes to the Wall Street melt-down.
As today's New York Times says---the sound of the bubble bursting. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/weekinreview/21leonhardt.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper&oref=slogin
I've long subscribed to the theory that when a country/economic entity begins to make money by making money, i.e., letting the financial sector become dominant over the manufacturing or other sectors of the economy, decline results. The dotcom correction, the housing bubble, the trade deficit, and now the latest financial snafus illustrate this. I wonder how many people with money in various funds, saving for their retirement, can define financial derivatives, cdo's, tranches, hedge funds, or the myriad other "financial products" they are involved with, wittingly or not. Let alone understand them. And now the government is going to spend something like $700BILLION to $1TRILLION to buy these tarnished "investment instruments". That's OUR money!!!!! If the Federal Government can raise this money for the purpose of rescuing financiers-turned-gamblers it can certainly raise this sum to fully fund the Social Security endowment and Medicare so poor working people don't have to trust their retirement savings to those same gamblers, which is what the privatization of Social Security is. I believe the money would be better spent in this way and in reimbursing small investors for their losses thanks to the financial mismanagement of their investments by these same gamblers. John McCain has voted to privatise Social Security. He still believes in this. I'm sure Sarahcuda has some canned response along the same lines.

I live in a region of the country where "NOBAMA08" bumper stickers significantly outnumber the ones that read "IF YOU ARE NOT OUTRAGED YOU ARE NOT PAYING ATTENTION." Perhaps this week will get more of these people to pay attention.

Equal Time

First, a word about comments. I moderate the comments on this blog. I try to be fair and reasonable and I hope that readers who honor this blog with comments do so in the spirit of the blog--open discussion, expanding the mind, and a little fun. So I don't allow comments from "Anonymous" to appear. I've had a couple from this moniker and they were personal attacks like you're an eastern liberal and why don't you move back there. I welcome and encourage comments on any post but please keep them in the spirit of the blog. Even if you don't agree with something that appears, present your arguments. I pledge to try to be fair and as impartial as I can be when moderating comments. And the Pirate Dogs promise too.....

About the Republican convention--I found I was glad I had a mute button. Sarah Palin was impressive in front of the microphones. But I got sort of bored by the rest of the speakers. From Mitt complaining about "liberal Washington"(!!!!?!!!?!!) to Rudy's almost-imitation of a hockey mom (pitbull, no lipstick) to the endless paeans to John McCain's bravery and maverick credentials--my father was a hero in WWII and he was not qualified to run for president. There was so much about patriotism, strength under the duress of torture, and maverick tendencies that I almost thought they weren't going to nominate McCain but had switched to Mel Gibson, who played all those roles (lead character in The Patriot, tortured in Braveheart, and the inimitable "the name is Brett" Maverick). Then I remembered he was born in Australia, so they must have been talking about McCain.

I have always respected John McCain, his service in the Navy and the Senate. I think I even wrote in his name on my ballot in 2000. But he wasn't a ship captain or exec, he was a fighter pilot. This plays well with his maverick identity but not his leadership as an officer. That experience was negligible in that he didn't have command responsibilities like Ike or JFK. His votes over the last year against the environment, against the prohibition of torture, against the new GI Bill, and for the misguided efforts in Iraq have eroded this respect and, for me, raised doubts about the very independence he so promotes. As for Sarahcuda, I hope I soon hear what she thinks rather than the same canned sound bites from the convention she has so far uttered at every whistle stop. And I don't think it's sexist to want answers to her feelings on God and government, or the internet rumor that her son only joined the army because the other option was jail on a vandalism charge. It's out there and should be addressed. After all, it's as least as relevant as Obama's having attended madrassas. "Sauce for the goose, Saavik." (Leonard "Spock" Nimoy to Kirstie "Lt Saavik" Alley in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)