The Storyteller

6:45pm: Obama is making a ash of himself.
Coal ash storage sites are being classified and kept secret.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31327223//ns/us_news-environmentwid=18298287

Now, maybe I'm remembering wrong, God knows my memeory is sheer crap, but does anyone else remember Obama campaigning on promises of 'transparency of government'? I'm quite sure he said that, how about you?

Here again we see President Obama handing ammunition to the Republicans. Now let's see if they have the brains to use it. Hell, even one of Obama's fellow Democrats is questioning this.

As to why he would do this...well, he was all about 'clean coal' during his campaign, something that even I had a tough time buying. If the ash storage sites are classified, then environmental impact reports can't be done.

6:59pm: Our kids are not that stupid, no matter what the media tells you!
You know, I've about had it with all these studies that lament how very far behind American children are in their learning. That we rank anywhere from 12th to 24th (or lower) among industrialized nations in scholastic advancement. And the media reports it as if it were absolute, unimpeachable fact.

It brings to mind the wisdom of Benjamin Disraeli, famously quoted by Samuel Clemens. There three kinds of lies: Lies, damned lies, and statistics.

Let me clue you in to a little-known secret about these studies. Among the industrialized nations that measure the educational levels of their young, we do one thing almost none of the rest do. We include our under-achieving students in the figures. From the 4.0 valedictorian to the kid who got a 0.0 in everything but Phys Ed, all are included in our studies.

Other countries, especially the Asian nations, include only what we would consider B students at the lowest. By somewhere in junior high years (by our standards) a lot of countries have weeded out their less capable students and sent them to trade schools or out into the fields as laborers. And yes, that still happens in the 21st century in most places that aren't America.

Are our schools having trouble with money issues and keeping good teachers during the financial hard times? Yes, no question. Are our students dismally behind in education, are they drooling idiots compared to those allegedly superior non-Americans? No. Our children are still among the smartest in the world, if the statistics be jettisoned and the truth be known.

So whenever you see the media carping on how woefully behind our kids are, or how our educational system has failed entirely, remember they are lying to you. They either have an agenda to push, or lying to the people has become standard procedure to the point they just can't help themselves.

3:03pm: Political Commentary, 1 June 2009
So here it is, the issue that will determine, come 2012, whether Obama gets a second term or if the Republicans regain control of the White House.

General Motors is filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection. As part of GM’s restructuring, some of its shares will be owned by the Government. President Obama promises that, once the company is back on its feet, the Government will divest itself of its shares, selling them on the open market, hopefully giving the NYSE a boost when it happens.

The Republicans don’t like this one bit, and I have to admit, this is one Independent who agrees. When Government gains ownership of industry, the first step has been taken toward Socialism, just like good old Mother Russia back in the day.

If Barak likes the view from the Oval Office, he’d better see to it that his stated objective happens before the next Presidential Election.

It will play out one of two ways. The first scenario is that it all happens the way Obama predicts; GM comes out of it, their books go into the black again, and the Government sells its shares at a tidy profit, putting money in the State’s coffers while getting the heck out of private enterprise. The Repubs are shown to be obstructionists, crying wolf and applying the ‘Socialist’ label where it isn’t needed. The Right goes to the polls with egg on its face and defeat in its future.

Scenario number two, either GM is still on the rocks or it has gotten better but the Government hasn’t sold off its shares. Either way it works out the same; the Republican Presidential Candidate can accuse the Obama Administration of having and carrying out a provable Socialist agenda. The Right stands a strong chance of winning if everyone is looking at Obama and seeing a Hammer and Sickle.

Now, there will be other factors, to be sure. The progress of the war against al-Qaida, how Obama handles North Korea in the short and long term, judicial nominees, etc. But this is the one that will resonate the loudest. Obama took the Presidency by promising to fix the economy without resorting to outright Socialism. We will remember that promise, and hold him to it come 2012.

And, of course, the Republican Party needs to get back on message. They need to jettison the likes of Limbaugh, Coulter, Cheney, and Buchanan. It’s not that they need to veer away from the Right Wing entirely. But they need to engage people, not enrage them. Personal insults, petty sniping, and angry shouting will get them nowhere. Go after the policies, not the people. Show how Republicanism is the better model, rather that just say ‘Oh, them Democrats is wrong and evil!’ That’s how Reagan did it, that’s what works. Obama won by capturing the spirit of JFK; the Right needs to recapture the spirit of Ronald Reagan if they want to regain power. Before they can regain the White House, they must regain the confidence and trust of the American people. If the Republicans stay where they’re at now, they’ll lose, and they will deserve to lose.

3:13pm: Memorial Day Remembrance
Back when I was about 15 years old, I went to the cemetery with my Dad on Memorial Day. He was putting flowers on the graves of his mother and father. As we went back to the car, he noticed a grave that was all but obscured by a bush that had grown over it. Enough of the stone showed that he recognized it as a veteran's grave.

Pulling some branches back, he saw that it was someone he had known when he was young. He remembered a big kid named Marion Vermeer, a tall, muscular young man who made sure that the local bullies left the kids of his neighborhood alone. He'd been a quiet boy with a friendly disposition. When the Japanese decided to roll the dice and attack Pearl Harbor, Marion had tried to sign up right away, but had to wait until he was old enough.

He joined the Marines, and all the kids from the neighborhood said that the Japs were in for it now, with Marion coming after them, he'd show them what Americans were like when riled. He served at the Battle of Peleliu with the First Marine Division. He then went with that Division to the Battle of Okinawa.

According to accounts of his death, he'd barely gotten his rifle prepared to fire before a Japanese bullet killed him. He fell on 25 May 1945.

Years later, his grave lay all but forgotten. His family had moved on or passed away. Dad was not about to let this man go unremembered. He grabbed some clippers out of the trunk of the car (my Dad's trunk is a little like Batman's utility belt or Santa's bag; whatever you want or need is magically there) and started hacking back the bush.

The sexton of that particular graveyard, a loudmouth little town crazy, came out intending to yell at my Dad about how he wasn't allowed to do that. Evidently, he was used to people respecting his authority just because he had a reputation as a troublemaker. Dad was less than impressed. He lit into the fool, accusing him of dereliction of duty, telling him that the man under that headstone was an American hero, and it was disgraceful to see that some idiot had let the grave be overgrown. He said that if that bush wasn't gone the next time he came, he'd contact that American Legion, the local VFW, and the Marine Corps if that's what it took.

Next time we went there, on the following Veteran's Day, the bush was gone, and Private Vermeer's grave had recently been polished.

Ever since then, on Memorial Day and Veteran's Day, I go there to make sure the grave is in good condition and to put a flag there. It's a tradition I'm passing along to my kids. This fallen veteran is not just another name; he was a man known to my Father. Dad was proud to have known him and called him friend. He will not be forgotten.

3:50pm: So, the Government needs money, hmmm?
I have some ideas.

1) Legalize marijuana and opium...With these two on the market and available (pot sold at liquor stores, opium available through prescription from your Primary Care Provider), the market for harder stuff will see a slight drop, and the War on Drugs can stop spending money trying to eliminate drugs that are provided by nature. Not having to lock up people for Marijuana (not to mention freeing those in jail for pot crimes) will free up prison space. Between the savings in reducing the drug war and the revenue from taxing pot and opium, the boost to the economy will be something to see.

2) Force Christian Churches to obey Matthew 22:21...The Christian Church in America has become an increasingly political animal. They tell their congregants to vote for particular cantidates (usually right-wing Republicans), they protest such ideas as treating gays like regular people and letting women make personal medical choices. Basically, they want buy-in to the political world. I say, let them have it. All they have to do is stop ignoring one of Christ's specific teachings. 'Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's.' If Jesus wanted people to pay their taxes to a tyrannical, invading government, surely he would want his people to pay taxes to a Government that allows them all the rights and priveledges they ask for. Make them pay back taxes just going back 10 years and the State's coffers will be full.

3) Congressional Pay Cuts...Now, I don't suggest that our Federal Representatives and Senators should work for minimum wage. But right now, rank-and-file congresspersons pull in $174,000 per year. With 435 Representatives and 100 Senators, that's $53.5 million per year, and they all get six year terms. And that's just what average congressmen get, not high-ranking memebers of committees or lifelong Senators like Kennedy. Face it, if you think Ted Kennedy or Hillary Clinton are only bringing in $174,000 per year, you're dreaming.

I propose a pay cut to $100,000 per year, regardless of seniority or influence. And make them pay their staff out of that money. Now, I know the savings would be nothing compared to the money the Federal Government is used to dealing with. But we're in an economy where every little bit helps. We're asked to make sacrifices, and we're about to the point of taking most of the bank managers and many of our elected officials and sacrificing them on a bonfire. Maybe having to take a big old pay cut of their own would give them some insight into what Americans are dealing with.

It's not about the money...it's about sending a message.

9:49pm: Oh, that's just GREAT!
So my treasonous immune system has failed me again, and I have what I hope to God is just a bad cold. Sore throat, phlegmy cough, sinuses clogged, recurring headaches, and feeling generally like death warmed over.

I check out my local newspaper's website and see that the first confirmed case of Swine Flu in my county has been diagnosed. Do I have great timing, or what?

Now, I know that the media has blown the whole thing way out of proportion, but with any flu outbreak, the at-risk people are the very young, the very old, and...cue ominous music...those with compromised immune systems. At almost 40, I'm neither a neonate nor an elder, but that last factor? I'm the poster child for crappy immune systems.

If I wake up with a snout and a curly tail, I'll let ya all know.

11:31am: The New Star Trek…
As a lifelong Trek fan, my initial opinion of the new film is…it freaking ROCKS!

Note that I call myself a Trek fan rather than a Trekkie or Trekker. This is because I see Star Trek as an entertainment, not a lifestyle or a religion. If you don’t take Trek canon too seriously, this film will blow you away. If you’re one of those who think Star Trek is the be all end all of your life…the film might just do you in.

Warning: Spoilers under the cut.

( The Final Frontier )

Beam yourself to your local cinema and enjoy! I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

5:24pm: Mad Pride
It seems there is a movement afoot to get people with mental illnesses to embrace and celebrate their conditions rather than seek a cure or treatment. In case you think I'm making that up, here's an article from Newsweek:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/195694

Now, is it just me, or does this seem like a Really Bad Idea? I'm all for the social stigma attached to mental illness being removed, but this is taking it too far. Being psychologically imbalanced is not a lifestyle choice. The person who is the subject of the article is schizophrenic; while yoga and avoiding caffine and sugar may help for awhile, as sure as the tides rise and fall the day will come when he has an episode where me might hurt himself or someone else. Does his right to embrace his differences give him the right to be a potential danger to society?

A comparison is made with the Icarus Project to deaf activists who refuse cochlear implants, who instead embrace their deafness and have even accused the medical establishment of trying to eliminate 'deaf culture'. Again, I wish I was making this up. I first heard about deaf activism from an episode of 'ER', and I thought that the writers had gone too far this time. Turns out the movement is real. As someone who has been disabled all his life, I cannot for the life of me understand the notion that being handicapped is a lifestyle. I'd give five years off the end of my life to be normal, to not have joint pain, to see perfectly, to not have an immune system that either goes overboard or gives up the fight entirely.

Being disabled, either physically or mentally, does not make you an X-Man! Trying to treat or cure your condition is not attempted genocide! Treating your mental illness is not mind control!

Maybe I think this way because I support the idea of Transhumanism (the use of genetic engineering and cybernetics to improve the human condition). Maybe it's because I have common freaking sense.

Opinions?

10:50pm: The dog lived, so it's funny...
For your consideration, the epic tale of Tinker Bell, the Amazing Flying Chihuahua!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090428/ap_on_fe_st/odd_chihuahua_touchdown

Brings to mind what comic Ron White said about hurricane-force winds; the problem ain't THAT the wind is blowing, it's WHAT the wind is blowing.

What would have made this story perfect is if someone had gotten it on film, then 'shopped a red cape on the dog. Look, up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane, it's...SUPERWIENER!

And come on, with a name like Tinker Bell, the dog was destined to fly. She'd still be up there, but she must have lost her happy thoughts. Or hit a tree, whatever came first.

As if the story couldn't be weirder, they found Tink using a pet psychic. Oy vey. Yes, I'm reading the dog's thoughts now, she's thinking 'OH MY GOD WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED AAAHHHHH!'

Hand to God, it'll be weeks before I get the image of a Chihuahua flying though the air out of my head. Tinker Bell survived, so that makes this the funniest news story I've seen in years.

11:04am: Happy Easter!
Yes, today we celebrate the day that Jesus came out of his tomb and brought everybody little chocolate crosses. Or maybe he saw his shadow and went back in, indicating two thousand years of gross stupidity. Something like that.

Saw a sign the other day that made me wish I had a portable readerboard so I could make a rebuttal. The sign said 'Without Jesus there would be no Easter.' My response would have been 'There would instead be Ostara, where we celebrate Spring without someone having to die first.'

Along with all the chocolate eggs and bunnies at WalMart, I saw actual chocolate crosses for sale. Being the sick, twisted, delightfully sacreligious person I am, I have a great idea for future chocolate crucifixes: put an actual chocolate Jesus on them, with rasberry filling so he actually bleeds from his hands and feet when you poke him! Yes, some Christians will call it blasphemy, but as sure as the sun rises in the east, they would sell by the millions, with Pagans loving the blasphemy and holy-rolling hellfire and dalmations Christians saying that the spirit of Gawd is in the candy or some damned thing.

Anyway, enjoy the holiday. And remember, there was an Easter before there was a Jesus, so grab the chocolate and colored eggs and celebrate!

9:10pm: Open mouth, insert whole damn leg
Years ago, I read a humorous commentary (I think by Dave Barry) that theorized the Oval Office had a Stupid Ray secretly installed in it. Otherwise intelligent men would be elected to office and get zapped, turning them into idiots.

It still works, apparently. Must be good equipment, sitting unused and unneeded for eight years, but the Oval Office Stupid Ray has struck again.

Bad enough that a sitting President would go on the Tonight Show in the first place, but to make a supposedly funny remark about the Special Olympics? That's cold. Not to mention low.

His most ardent defenders will no doubt point out that he was attempting to make fun of himself. The comment was about his own bowling skills, or lack thereof. He said his abilities in that sport were "like the Special Olympics or something." White House mouthpieces have said the comment wasn't meant to offend. Intended or not, it was very offensive. And a press release from the White House staff ain't gonna cut it.

Taxpayer money going to bank executives. Our Navy ships being harassed by the Russians and Chinese without any significant response from the White House. Now jokes at the expense of the mentally disabled. I had such hope when Obama was elected, now that hope is all but gone.

12:12am: Steroids rant
I've been offline for awhile because my computer's motherboard went bye-bye a couple weeks ago. And, of course, since I had no outlet for commentary, all kinds of irritating stuff came up in the news. For now I'll focus on just one topic: steroids in baseball.

Alex Rodriguez came out of the steroid closet, and baseball fandom is shitting its collective pants. Now, I'm no huge fan of baseball; my local team is the Seattle Mariners, and it's hard to get worked up for a team that strives so hard to be utter crap. Still, I enjoy an occasional game, and sometimes even work up a half-assed interest in the World Series. So I say this in total sincerity.

Who the hell gives a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut if baseball players, or any other type of athelete, uses performance-enhancing drugs?

Look, the fans come out to see not just a good game, but to see records broken. They want to be able to say 'Yeah, I was there when A-Rod scored his 10,000th home run'. They don't just want to see the same thing season after season. And the hard truth is that there is a limit to what even the best physical conditioning and endless hours of practice can achieve. The fans aren't willing to wait for human evolution to breed the Perfect Athelete, so to fill the stadiums, today's sports stars have to start finding new ways to improve their perfomance.

And enough already with the whole asterix* next to the records of those who took steroids. You want to put a mark next to every baseball player who used some kind of drug? Then your asterix button is gonna be worn out. Care to guess how many of the revered sports heroes of yesteryear were jacked on speed? Or a good hard snort of cocaine? Hell, in the days of Babe Ruth, a good portion of the players came onto the field with enough alcohol in their systems to kill a horse. (OK, Jack Daniels ain't exactly a performance enhancer, but it still kind of follows; how good a batter did you need to be if the pitcher was seeing double?)

And while I'm on a tear about drugs and sports, how about that Michael Phelps dude? Oh my GAWD, we can't have him as a role model, he took a drag of marijuana! The horror, the HORROR! Why, no good can ever come of such a person...whoa, wait a damn minute here, haven't our last three freaking PRESIDENTS been guilty of drug use? What's the deal with poor Phelps being turned into a whippin' boy for the anti-drug crowd? It was just POT, for heaven's sake, something that ought to be legalized anyhow. Taking a toke in no way changes the fact that he is an impressive athelete.

More commentary on news and media bullshit to come. Stay tuned.

5:51pm: I should get paid for my predictions
OK, way back on September 3rd, when Sarah Palin was still kind of new to the National scene, I put forth the theory that Palin got the VP nomination so that when Obama won the election, the blame could fall to someone other than McCain. At the time, it sounded like a bit of an out-there conspiracy theory.

Now it seems I'm not paranoid, I'm a visionary.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/06/campbell.brown.palin/index.html?iref=newssearch

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Politics/story?id=6202218&page=1

Yes, the long knives have come out, and Palin is on the cutting board. What a shock, eh?

12:05am: And here I was hoping for Bogart...

Your result for The Classic Leading Man Test...

Jimmy Stewart

You scored 21% Tough, 0% Roguish, 52% Friendly, and 29% Charming!

Take The Classic Leading Man Test at HelloQuizzy

9:18pm: Amazing! An intellectually stimulating online quiz...

Your result for What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test...

Simple, Progressive, and Sensual

20 Ukiyo-e, 10 Islamic, 12 Impressionist, -28 Cubist, -32 Abstract and 18 Renaissance!

Take What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test at HelloQuizzy

12:48pm: The Self-Destruction of the Conservative Right
In the fight between the GOP Elephant and the Democrat Donkey, the Donkey is winning. Thing is, he's winning by default, not by anything he's doing.

Ask almost anybody who's voting against the Right this election cycle and most will not talk of issues or positions, but of how cheap, low, and dirty the Republicans have gotten.

Colin Powell, retired General in the US Army and former Secretary of State, a man who worked for both Bush Administrations, came out in support of Obama, explaining that it was because of the choices McCain has made. He specified that had race been an issue, he'd have come out in support of Obama months ago. Still, the Conservatives all lash out with allegations of racism, that Powell is only supporting Obama because they're both black. This allegation is supported by none other than Rush Limbaugh, the voice of the modern Conservative movement.

By that logic, Limbaugh is only supporting McCain because McCain is a white guy. To suggest that a man like Colin Powell would put race above national interst is insulting. If the same allegation were aimed at Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton, sure, I'd buy it. But not of General Powell.

What might hurt the Right worse than the Powell endorsment is a comment about said endorsment from none other than Newt Gingrich, who said "What that just did in one sound-bite -- is it eliminated the experience argument." I wonder how soon the Republican Right will turn on Gingrich?

They turned on Christopher Buckley, conservative commentator and son of William F. Buckley, when Christopher came out in support of Obama. They canceled his column in The National Review, which he is part owner of. I realize they have every right to do it, but it shows once again that the Right wants no debate or questioning; agree with them or pay the price. Again, The National Review has the right to turn on Buckley...but it shows a large lack of class.

The GOP Elephant is committing suicide. The Dem Donkey has only to stand back and let the Elephant fall.

1:13pm: If it weren't for bad luck, he'd have no luck at all.
While most analysts tend to give Obama the victory in last night's final debate, many commentators were impressed with McCain's impassioned references to 'Joe the Plumber', a blue-collar, working class American who voiced concern to Obama about the Democrat's economic plan. McCain used Joe the Plumber as his rallying point, to show that he is in touch with the common man. This, they thought, might be the big turning point John McCain needed.

And, perhaps inevitably, the crap hit the fans this morning.

Joe the Plumber isn't a licensed plumber.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27207215/

Joe the Plumber owes over a grand in unpaid taxes, and makes little enough to benefit from Obama's proposed tax plan.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Vote2008/story?id=6047360&page=1

McCain can't even pick an average citizen to identify with without it blowing up in his face. I'm not a supporter of McCain, but I swear I'm starting to feel almost sorry for him. With his luck, if he kicked an empty tin can it would turn out to be a roadside bomb.

One other thing, and I'm surprised the media hasn't jumped on it. A few days ago, McCain tried to calm things down at a town meeting rally he was at, and an old woman was voicing fear about Obama, saying he was 'an Arab'. MacCain shook his head and told the her 'No, ma'am, he's a decent man, a family man, a citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with.'

I know he probably didn't mean it that way, but it sounds for all the world like he just dissed everyone of Arab descent. That Arab men aren't descent, family-loving men, that if you're of Arab descent, you can't be an American citizen. Again, I don't think that's what he meant, but he's on a live microphone in front of the whole country now; he needs to think about what he's saying and how he's saying it.

When it's all said and done, McCain didn't score a major victory last night. The numbers for Obama/Biden are really high. If Barak Obama and Joe Biden can keep on message and not say anything stupid, they've won.

2:28pm: Trick or Treat!

My LiveJournal Trick-or-Treat Haul
zorn24601 goes trick-or-treating, dressed up as zombie.
a_rose_rabbit tricks you! You get a toothbrush.
amazonpriestess tricks you! You get a rotten egg.
chris_sawyer gives you 15 pink licorice-flavoured jawbreakers.
desiringavalon gives you 2 blue grape-flavoured jawbreakers.
embersilversnow gives you 7 brown apple-flavoured gummy worms.
mrsrobinson gives you 5 white lime-flavoured pieces of bubblegum.
nichy gives you 1 brown strawberry-flavoured pieces of taffy.
tomcatshanger gives you 12 dark blue passionfruit-flavoured pieces of bubblegum.
webgodd_s gives you 15 yellow lime-flavoured pieces of bubblegum.
wych gives you 9 teal watermelon-flavoured gumdrops.
zorn24601 ends up with 66 pieces of candy, a toothbrush, and a rotten egg.
Go trick-or-treating! Username:
Another fun meme brought to you by rfreebern.

7:31am: It's always someone else's fault, isn't it?
If you know me at all, you know that few people love a good conspiracy theory more than I do. I'll generally give any paranoid weirdness a good looking over without completely rejecting it.

This, however, is just plain silliness. From the Internet Movie Datatbase website:

__________________________________

Was Conservative Comedy Sabotaged?


The producers of the liberal-bashing satire An American Carol claimed Tuesday that they had received reports of "ticket fraud," and suggested that it could be the reason why the film's weekend box-office figures were so low. On the film's official website, a notice asked those who attended the movie, "Please check your ticket. If you were in fact one of those people that were "mistakenly" sold a ticket for another movie please fill out the form below. Hold on to your ticket so we can have proof." The notice continued: "If you have noticed other irregularities with the theaters in your area please let us know in the comment section below. For instance, Rated R film rating (when in fact we are rated PG-13), posters not being up, not being listed on the marquee, image or focus problems, sound issues, etc." By today (Wednesday), the notice had been removed from the site but remained cached on Google.

______________________________________


Your stupid, unfunny comedy gets poor ticket sales...and it's all a plot against the Conservative Right? Sorry, but this takes the 'Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy' to literally unbelievable levels.

Accept it, dingbats, your movie sucked. Any film that has Paris Hilton and Bill O'Reilly in it obviously ain't Oscar material.

7:07pm: The 2nd Presidential Debate
Opinions are kind of mixed about how well either candidate did, but most seem to agree that while Obama won by a small margin, that was probably enough. McCain didn't produce a dramatic, game-changing win, and that may be all she wrote for the McCampaign. All Obama and Biden have to do is get through October and the first three days of November without saying or doing anything stupid, and they will likely take the election. The third debate will not likely be anything but a rehash of what we've already seen and heard, and chances are viewer ratings will be low for it.

One criticism of McCain that I don't agree with is how people are taking his comment about 'This one' in reference to Barak Obama. Some are taking it to be a racial slur along the lines of 'You people'. This is completely false. McCain's words were not brought on by racism.

It was senility. He forgot who he was debating.

5:10pm: Dirty Politics
OK, so Sarah Palin made some stupid remarks about Obama's ties to an old, washed-up terrorist. She claimed that he was 'pals' with William Ayers, a former member of the radical group The Weathermen. Such claims have proven to be exaggerated, if not completely false.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/10/05/fact-check-is-obama-palling-around-with-terrorists/

Good sense would suggest that the McCain/Palin Campaign drop the issue and look for another avenue to attack Obama. But let's face it, good sense isn't easily found in the Republican Party these days. Taking the attitude of 'The Truth is what we say it is!', McCain and Palin insist on harping on the subject, saying that Palin's proven misstatements are 'true facts'.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/05/campaign.wrap/index.html

On one level, it's a good strategy because it takes the attention off the economy, an issue that McCain simply can't deal with. The McCain/Palin economic plan seems to be John standing around looking grumpy and confused and Sarah winking at the camera in hopes that flirting will make us forget the problem. But the whole mindset that whatever they say becomes the truth is starting to annoy the average American. And cheap smear tactics when a real issue is on the minds of most voters is only going to alienate them in the end.

8:12pm: The McCain/Palin Campaign Strategy
Maybe by now you've figured out McCain's game plan as well. The main tactics seem to be Evade, Dodge, and Avoid All Questions.

I've seen McCain campaigners ignore media questions and refuse to answer direct inquiries. Palin has been treated like she doesn't need to talk to the media; she'll just put on her best soccer-mom smile and we'll all go ga-ga for her.

During the Republican National Convention, McCain was scheduled to be on Larry King Live, but backed out at the last minute. The reason given was that earler in the day, a member of McCain campaign staff was interviewed by a CNN reporter who refused to let a question go unanswered. The McCampaign was so insensed at having to actually ANSWER A QUESTION, Senator McCain refused to go on King's show. (By the way, the question was never answered; the McCampaigner left the set rather than continue the interview.)

Now McCain wants to cancel the first Presidential Debate. According to the McCampaign, it's so that he and Obama can return to Congress and help end the current economic crisis.

From the polls and message boards I've seen, he's not fooling many people.

McCain's biggest weakness so far has been his inability to address the nation's economic woes. Obama has accused McCain of being out of touch with what average Americans are going through, and it's a criticism that McCain has a hard time refuting. He's put forth no real economic plan, he's just tried to poke holes in Obama's plan. He doesn't want to go back to Congress to help the economy, he wants to continue avoiding hard questions. He knows that the economy is the top issue for voters, and that in a debate with Obama on that issue he'd lose like a high school football team taking on the 1972 Miami Dolphins.

John McCain won't step up and actually answer questions, and now he wants to evade the Debates. As the comedian Christopher Titus says, 'Step up, or step aside.' Which is McCain going to do?

10:37am: Annoying f***ing article...
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=5817998&page=1

People like this Lee Dye humanoid really piss me off. Extraterrestrial intelligence and paranormal manifestations are all, according to Dye and some science geek named Lewis Wolpert, 'clearly false'.

Prove it.

Closed-minded people say they don't believe in ghosts. Why not? Because SCIENCE says they don't exist. As if that statement was immune to rebuttal.

Science, as we know it today, is an intellectual discipline around 200 years old that relies heavily on machines. Machines measure a phenomenon, machines codify it, machines prove the existence of a thing. And since we have no machine that definitively proves the presence of non-corporeal entities, clearly they do not exist.

By that rationalization, nothing was radioactive before Geiger invented his Counter, and until Richter invented his scale, there were no earthquakes.

Now, the argument that would follow mine would probably be, 'But tons of people have experienced earthquakes and radioactive materials! How many have REALLY seen ghosts?'

From the earliest cave paintings to first-hand accounts being posted on the Internet as you are reading this, people have been reporting encounters with spiritual entities. Stories of ghosts in the real world go back anywhere from 10,000 to 50,000 years, depending on how old human civilization is.

I have personally encountered ghosts (that I could see) twice in my life and encountered two psychics whose abilities I could not explain. In comparison, I've been in one earthquake that I could feel, and I've never been in the same room with something that would register on the Geiger radiation meter.

As for ETs visiting Earth...why is that so hard to believe? Again, there are uncountable first-hand accounts and enough photos that can't be debunked to suggest that the phenomenon is real. And why shouldn't it be possible? Why can't there be any number of offworld races whose technology far outstrips ours? Are we so arrogant as to think that if WE can't break the Light Speed barrier, it can't be done? We are a remote planet on the outer edge of our galaxy. What makes us think that we are the first race in the history of the Universe (or the Galaxy, or even our Spiral Arm) to achieve spacefaring technology? It's just human arrogance and fear of the unknown that drives people to disbelieve in the UFO phenomenon.


There are more things in heaven and earth, Dye and Wolpert, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

4:26pm: No, Sarah, you are not immune
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26743182

Awww, those nasty-wasty people at SNL hurt poor Mrs. Palin's feewings. Don't they know that she's special, that her failings should be ignored, that her lies should be taken as truth without question, that she's a beauty queen who's so much better than anyone in the world?

So Sarah Palin can't take a bit of humor at her expense, eh? Well, tough shit. Political satire is an older tradition in America than baseball and apple pie. If you can't take it with a smile, or at least with the dignity to just ignore it, you have no place in National politics.

No, Sarah, you ain't that special. You do not rate special treatment. You'll get what every other politician in this country gets; scrutiny, hard questions, and satire at your expense.

10:36pm: Think the whole Palin thing can't get any worse? Think again.
This one might just be the issue that blows McCain's campaign right the hell out of the water.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=5784496

Charging the rape victims for gathering evidence? Wouldn't it be more just, more fair, more morally sound to wait until the scum rapist is caught and bill him for it? Because this just sends the message that the woman needs to pay for what happened to her. It shifts the liability, and by implication the blame, to her. As a man who knows hardly any women who haven't been the victim of rape, this one makes me actively angry.

And there is just no way to put a good spin on this for Palin. It is almost impossible for her to not know this was going on. And even if you believe she didn't, that doesn't help her cause. She was the mayor; it was HER JOB to know what the police in her city were doing to the victims of violent sexual assault. If it took the intervention of the State Legistlature to end this practice, it shows that 1) she was complicit in the practice, or 2) she is the worst government administrator in the world.

At this point, I would vote for the ticket of Sauron/Saruman before voting for McCain/Palin.