Fight the Minitrue

I ♥ the White House Flickr

2009-05-19T12:16:00.000-07:00

"President Barack Obama bends over so the son of a White House staff member can pat his head during a family visit to the Oval Office May 8, 2009. The youngster wanted to see if the President's haircut felt like his own." (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

How amazing is this?

1. Inspiring role model moment to the MAX.
2. Obama is officially the most wonderful guy evar.
3. This photo was released by the white house, on the official flickr photo stream---talk about transparency--

White House Flickr

Shoe love.

2009-02-05T23:22:00.000-08:00

I don't think there is anything as chic as a smart pair of flats.

Here are some recent items of lust and/or disgust via a Zappos round up:

Gorgeous Sigerson Morrison nude patent leather with gunmetal beads. I've been on the hunt recently for a pair of camel flats to match the camel tote bag i've been sporting (an amazing thrift store find with Marisa in the Haight in SF over Thanksgiving). These are probably too fancy to match the aesthetic of the beat up tote, but they are beautiful. Down to $248 from $444 on zappos.com. Still not exactly recession pricing. It makes me sad that the almost across-the-board beautifully designed S.M. flats are still not affordable, even on discount websites. Wah wahh.

I'd like these Kate Spade moccasins a lot better if they didn't have that dumb bow.

I've been eyeing these Dolce & Gabbana violet flats for a while. Can't decide if I love them or hate them. I tend to think Dolce is kind of trashytrash looking, but I like the punchyness of these.

I know I just trash talked the Kate Spade bow, but I pretty much love the proportion of bow-to-shoe on these Tapeet flats. I never could resist a fuschia shoe (I may or may not be wearing some as we speak). But I would like them better if they weren't cut outs.

LOVE these Elie Taharis. Really would like a pair. They come in lots o' colors, as well as in a patent finish, but I really dig the gray suede.

And finally, these heinous Marc Jacobs. These are not whimsical, these are some rubber fugness that really disturb me.

Tha end.

Beer Review: Nautical Nut Brown Ale

2009-02-05T01:39:00.000-08:00

So I'm always on the quest for the nuttiest beer I can find. There's something about a toasty aftertaste that drives me to great lengths.

Chose this one at Father's Office the other night after a long day: Nautical Nut Brown Ale by AleSmith Brewing Company. Has an off-white head, and smells amazing--very nutty--hazelnut. The taste was good but not nearly so much nut was present as a chocolate, toasty taste. Very smooth, and got better with warmth. Complex, well-balanced. A good brown ale, but heavy on toffee/caramel/chocolate flavors.

look: 4
smell: 5
taste: 4
feel: 4.5
drink: 4

A-/4.3

Etta James is pissed

2009-02-04T16:25:00.000-08:00

...that Beyonce sang "At Last" for the Obama's first dance of the Inaugural Balls. I was pissed too. Beyonce did what she could with the song, but considering the epic and historic Etta James version, it seemed weird to me that Beyonce was allowed to yodel through it.

Etta told a concert audience in Seattle:

Etta told the audience, "You know, YOUR President, the one with the big ears-he ain’t my President–had that woman singing for him at his Inauguration. She’s going to get her ass whooped. How dare Beyonce sing MY song that I been singing forever. Now I’m going to sing it for y’all….”

if you wanna watch the video of Beyonce, click here.

(dlisted)

"The Life of Jesus in Cats"

2009-02-04T16:18:00.001-08:00

why does this exist? anybody?

(jezebel)

Lolcat Tuesday!

2009-01-13T17:19:00.000-08:00

I've been on a bit of a blogging hiatus---I'm losing my mind with opera rehearsals at the moment--all the more reason to blog the long hours away!

I don't usually like non-lolcatspeak in my lolcat pictures, but this one made me giggle.

Top 10 Judge Judy Moments of 2008

2008-12-23T13:46:00.000-08:00

10.) "Madam, If You Can Enjoy The Bedroom With Your Boyfriend, You Can Get A Job!"

9.) Judge Judy Says "Whatevs" To Spreading Herpes On The Internet

8.) A Stoner's Love For Judge Judy Is Unrequited

7.) Judge Judy Hates Screaming When She Has Laryngitis

6.) The Judge Judy Earthquake Episode

5.) Judge Judy To Crazy Eyes Lady: "Stop Looking At Me Like That!"

4.) Judge Judy Explains The Difference Between An "Accident" And "On Purpose" To Confused Litigant

3.) Judge Judy And The Case Of The Urinary Tract Infection

2.) Judge Judy Is Totally Justified In Calling This Woman A Moron Three Times

1.) Judge Judy Teaches Wife Beater To Have Respect For Women

Head on over to JEZEBEL to watch the compiled clips.

When Philosophers Date...

2008-12-22T00:15:00.000-08:00

because i love existentialist jokes just as much as the next girl....

(I stumbled upon the following floating about the internet. If you don’t watch daytime TV, you need to be told that this is an imagined transcript of Jerry Springer’s interview show, which often gets out of hand.)

Crowd: Jer-ry! Jer-ry! Jer-ry!

Jerry: Today’s guests are here because they can’t agree on fundamental principles of epistemology and ontology. I’d like to welcome Todd to the show.

Todd enters from backstage.

Jerry: Hello, Todd.

Todd: Hi, Jerry.

Jerry: (reading from card) So, Todd, you’re here to tell your girlfriend something. What is it?

Todd: Well, Jerry, my girlfriend Ursula and I have been going out for three years now. We did everything together. We were really inseparable. But then she discovered post-Marxist political and literary theory, and it’s been nothing but fighting ever since.

Jerry: Why is that?

Todd: You see, Jerry, I’m a traditional Cartesian rationalist. I believe that the individual self, the “I” or ego is the foundation of all metaphysics. She, on the other hand, believes that the contemporary self is a socially constructed, multi-faceted subjectivity reflecting the political and economic realities of late capitalist consumerist discourse.

Crowd: Ooooohhhh!

Todd: I know! I know! Is that infantile, or what?

Jerry: So what do you want to tell her today?

Todd: I want to tell her that unless she ditches the post-modernism, we’re through. I just can’t go on having a relationship with a woman who doesn’t believe I exist.

Jerry: Well, you’re going to get your chance. Here’s Ursula!

Ursula storms onstage and charges up to Todd.

Ursula: Patriarchal colonizer!

She slaps him viciously. Todd leaps up, but the security guys pull them apart before things can go any further.

Ursula: Don’t listen to him! Logic is a male hysteria! Rationality equals oppression and the silencing of marginalized voices!

Todd: The classical methodology of rational dialectic is our only road to truth! Don’t try to deny it!

Ursula: You and your dialectic! That’s how it’s been through our whole relationship, Jerry. Mindless repetition of the post-Enlightenment meta-narrative. “You have to start with radical doubt, Ursula”. “Post-structuralism is just classical sceptical thought recast in the language of semiotics, Ursula”.

Crowd: Booo! Booo!

Jerry: Well, Ursula, come on. Don’t you agree that the roots of contemporary neo-Leftism simply have to be sought in Enlightenment political philosophy?

Ursula: History is the discourse of powerful centrally located voices marginalizing and de-scribing the sub-altern!

Todd: See what I have to put up with? Do you know what it’s like living with someone who sees sex as a metaphoric demonstration of the anti-feminist violence implicit in the discourse of the dominant power structure? It’s terrible. She just lies there and thinks of Andrea Dworkin. That’s why we never do it any more.

Crowd: Wooooo!

Ursula: You liar! Why don’t you tell them how you haven’t been able to get it up for the past three months because you couldn’t decide if your penis truly had essential Being, or was simply a manifestation of Mind?

Todd: Wait a minute! Wait a minute!

Ursula: It’s true!

Jerry: Well, I don’t think we’re going to solve this one right away. Our next guests are Louis and Tina. And Tina has a little confession to make!

Louis and Tina come onstage. Todd and Ursula continue bickering in the background.

Jerry: Tina, you are… (reads cards) … an existentialist, is that right?

Tina: That’s right, Jerry. And Louis is, too.

Jerry: And what did you want to tell Louis today?

Tina: Jerry, today I want to tell him…

Jerry: Talk to Louis. Talk to him.

Crowd hushes.

Tina: Louis… I’ve loved you for a long time…

Louis: I love you, too, Tina.

Tina: Louis, you know I agree with you that existence precedes essence, but… well, I just want to tell you I’ve been reading Nietzsche lately, and I don’t think I can agree with your egalitarian politics any more.

Crowd: Wooooo! Woooooo!

Louis: (shocked and disbelieving) Tina, this is crazy. You know that Sartre clarified all this way back in the 40’s.

Tina: But he didn’t take into account Nietzsche’s radical critique of democratic morality, Louis. I’m sorry. I can’t ignore the contradiction any longer!

Louis: You got these ideas from Victor, didn’t you? Didn’t you?

Tina: Don’t you bring up Victor! I only turned to him when I saw you were seeing that dominatrix! I needed a real man! An Ueber-man!

Louis: (sobbing) I couldn’t help it. It was my burden of freedom. It was too much!

Jerry: We’ve got someone here who might have something to add. Bring out .. Victor!

Victor enters. He walks up to Louis and sticks a finger in his face.

Victor: Louis, you’re a classic post-Christian intellectual. Weak to the core!

Louis: (through tears) You can kiss my Marxist ass, Reactionary Boy!

Victor: Herd animal!

Louis: Lackey!

Louis throws a chair at Victor; they lock horns and wrestle. The crowd goes wild. After a long struggle, the security guys pry them apart.

Jerry: Okay, okay. It’s time for questions from the audience. Go ahead, sir.

Audience member: Okay, this is for Tina. Tina, I just wanna know how you can call yourself an existentialist, and still agree with Nietzsche’s doctrine of the Uebermensch. Doesn’t that imply a belief in intrinsic essences that is in direct contradiction with the fundamental principles of existentialism?

Tina: No! No! It doesn’t. We can be equal in potential, without being equal in eventual personal quality. It’s a question of Becoming, not Being.

Audience member: That’s just disguised essentialism! You’re no existentialist!

Tina: I am so!

Audience member: You’re no existentialist!

Tina: I am so an existentialist, bitch!

Ursula stands and interjects.

Ursula: What does it [bleep] matter? Existentialism is just a cover for late capitalist anti-feminism! Look at how Sartre treated Simone de Beauvoir!

Women in the crowd cheer and stomp.

Tina: [Bleep] you! Fat-ass Foucauldian ho!

Ursula: You only wish you were smart enough to understand Foucault, bitch!

Tina: You the bitch!

Ursula: No, you the bitch!

Tina: Whatever! Whatever!

Jerry: We’ll be right back with a final thought! Stay with us!

Commercial break for debt-consolidation loans, ITT Technical Institute, and Psychic Alliance Hotline.

Jerry: Hi! Welcome back. I just want to thank all our guests for being here, and say that I hope you’re able to work through your differences and find happiness, if indeed happiness can be extracted from the dismal miasma of warring primal hormonal impulses we call human relationship.

(turns to the camera)

Well, we all think philosophy is just fun and games. Semiotics, deconstruction, Lacanian post-Freudian psychoanalysis, it all seems like good, clean fun. But when the heart gets involved, all our painfully acquired metaphysical insights go right out the window, and we’re reduced to battling it out like rutting chimpanzees. It’s not
pretty.

If you’re in a relationship, and differences over the fundamental principles of your respective subjectivities are making things difficult, maybe it’s time to move on. Find someone new, someone who will accept you and the way your laughably limited human intelligence chooses to codify and rationalize the chaos of existence. After all, in the absence of a clear, unquestionable revelation from God, that’s all we’re all doing anyway. So remember: take care of yourselves - and each other.

Announcer: Be sure to tune in next time, when KKK strippers battle it out with transvestite omnisexual porn stars! Tomorrow on Springer!

the monkey cage

Elisabeth Hasselbeck's 25 Most Annoying Moments

2008-12-18T00:47:00.000-08:00

As compiled by Tracie from Jezebel.com. If I happen to watch a segment of the View online (because a., it's on before i'm up, and b., the only thing i use my tv for is sega genesis marathons), I usually have to struggle to get through it because Hasselcrack's arguments are so mind-numbingly-rage-inducingly awful, and she talks over everyone else. But Jezebel has compiled this great video that highlights her worst moments quickly, keeping the rage at a minimum and the scornful laughter at a maximum. Whoo!

JUMP! to watch the clip.

American Women Vs. Saudi Women: What We Can and Can't Do

2008-12-16T13:34:00.000-08:00

The blog American Bedu recently compiled a list of things that Saudi women can and can't do. That blog was followed today by the women of Jezebel compiling their own list for American women. Feel free to add to the list in the comments.

Saudi Women Can:

-Work
-Have their own bank accounts
-Have their own businesses
-Own properties
-Own businesses
-Make investments
-Have their own driver
-Own a car

Saudi Women Cannot:

-Drive
-Sponsor a non-Saudi husband for residency in the Kingdom
-Visit a graveyard
-Attend Friday prayers in a mosque unless there is a women's section
-Be alone with an unrelated man who is not a "sanctioned" relative
-Travel alone without the approval of the male mahrem

American Women Can:

-Drive
-Vote
-Run for President
-Join the Navy
-Compete in the Olympics (but not in boxing)
-Top the New York Times Best Seller List
-Become men

American Women Cannot:

-Walk alone at night without fear of being assaulted
-Buy birth control pills without a prescription (except Plan B)
-Marry another woman (except in MA and CT)
-Be a Navy SEAL
-Play professional baseball
-Get fat without apologizing for it
-Look plain without getting shit for it
-Look hot or get drunk without "asking for it"
-Be aggressive in school or the workplace without being labeled a "bitch"

Now add your own!

Lolcat Tuesday!

2008-12-16T13:09:00.001-08:00

Cum Shot? Bailey's Irish Cream Ad? Why Not Both?!

2008-12-16T12:56:00.000-08:00

Bailey's wins our hearts and minds with a new advertisement featuring a pale creamy liquid splashing onto pink feminine lips. Nothing like a little misogyny in the afternoon. Clip embedded below.

Find more videos like this on AdGabber

Honestly, Who Throws A Shoe??!

2008-12-14T15:48:00.000-08:00

I'm so happy something has finally happened in the world to warrant this post title.
Everybody's favorite president, G. Dub, was giving a surprise press conference in Iraq with the Iraqi Prime Minister when an Iraqi reporter threw both of his shoes at him. The reporter then yelled, "This is a farewell kiss, dog". Charming. I love that all the news outlets are reporting that in Arab culture, it's a "sign of disrespect to throw shoes"---it's not like Americans throw shoes at each other to show their unwavering support. I think it's actually a pretty easily translated action. Not that I condone it. I have enough disrespect for G. Dub to throw all of my many capitalist nation granting shoes at him, but I think it's not the most couth move. I get it, he wants the world to know how much Iraqis hate the American occupation. Got it. Point taken. He totally just effed it up for all the other Middle Eastern reporters though. The secret service is so going to make them all wear elastic foot covers, a la hospital slippers. HA.

Clip embedded--if you can't see it, the link is below.

shoe throwing mo fo

"Religion is much more of a choice than homosexuality is".

2008-12-10T11:24:00.001-08:00

Jon Stewart took Mike Huckabee to task on gay marriage last night on the Daily Show. Huckabee was interviewed for a solid 14 minutes--my guess is Huckabee stipulated a certain amount of time in order to come on the show, and Stewart in return spent almost half of the interview punching holes in Huckabee's religious rhetoric. When Stewart brings up the fact that marriage used be defined as between two people of the same race, making a platform on "traditional" (i.e., non-evolving) marriage, bunk, Huckabee makes the argument that it's not the same thing because black people don't "choose" to be black. AWESOMENESS.
Clip embedded below. If you're reading this post on facebook, click the link to watch the clip.

Huckabee on the Daily Show

Lolcat Tuesday!

2008-12-09T10:45:00.001-08:00

This Ain't Yur Gramma's Lamp

2008-12-08T17:51:00.000-08:00

weburbanist.com featured an article today on 20 new ideas in lighting design. it's pretty neat, ranging from lamps designed to look like torn wallpaper with a soft glow of light pouring from the tear, to a rather morbid neon hanging noose lamp. The lighting pictured is of fields of acrylic tubes filled with optical fibers...sure beats strings of icicle lights...

more websites to check religiously

2008-12-08T00:49:00.000-08:00

So I've been a religious fan of passiveaggressivenotes.com for quite a while now. I've been the recipient of many a passive aggressive note in my lifetime, so reading them when they're not directed at me is extremely enjoyable. I was reading the WTF? page of the site, and lo and behold, there were some recommended sites that turned out to be AWESOME:

apostrophe abuse AND the "blog" of "unnecessary" quotation marks

if you enjoy PAN at all you will like these--they sho' tickled me!

I picked some various posts from both blogs this week...

The Real Bill Ayers

2008-12-06T10:18:00.000-08:00

William Ayers steps out into the New York Times.

The Real Bill Ayers
by William Ayers
published 12.05.08

IN the recently concluded presidential race, I was unwillingly thrust upon the stage and asked to play a role in a profoundly dishonest drama. I refused, and here’s why.

Unable to challenge the content of Barack Obama’s campaign, his opponents invented a narrative about a young politician who emerged from nowhere, a man of charm, intelligence and skill, but with an exotic background and a strange name. The refrain was a question: “What do we really know about this man?”

Secondary characters in the narrative included an African-American preacher with a fiery style, a Palestinian scholar and an “unrepentant domestic terrorist.” Linking the candidate with these supposedly shadowy characters, and ferreting out every imagined secret tie and dark affiliation, became big news.

I was cast in the “unrepentant terrorist” role; I felt at times like the enemy projected onto a large screen in the “Two Minutes Hate” scene from George Orwell’s “1984,” when the faithful gathered in a frenzy of fear and loathing.

With the mainstream news media and the blogosphere caught in the pre-election excitement, I saw no viable path to a rational discussion. Rather than step clumsily into the sound-bite culture, I turned away whenever the microphones were thrust into my face. I sat it out.

Now that the election is over, I want to say as plainly as I can that the character invented to serve this drama wasn’t me, not even close. Here are the facts:

I never killed or injured anyone. I did join the civil rights movement in the mid-1960s, and later resisted the draft and was arrested in nonviolent demonstrations. I became a full-time antiwar organizer for Students for a Democratic Society. In 1970, I co-founded the Weather Underground, an organization that was created after an accidental explosion that claimed the lives of three of our comrades in Greenwich Village. The Weather Underground went on to take responsibility for placing several small bombs in empty offices — the ones at the Pentagon and the United States Capitol were the most notorious — as an illegal and unpopular war consumed the nation.

The Weather Underground crossed lines of legality, of propriety and perhaps even of common sense. Our effectiveness can be — and still is being — debated. We did carry out symbolic acts of extreme vandalism directed at monuments to war and racism, and the attacks on property, never on people, were meant to respect human life and convey outrage and determination to end the Vietnam war.

Peaceful protests had failed to stop the war. So we issued a screaming response. But it was not terrorism; we were not engaged in a campaign to kill and injure people indiscriminately, spreading fear and suffering for political ends.

I cannot imagine engaging in actions of that kind today. And for the past 40 years, I’ve been teaching and writing about the unique value and potential of every human life, and the need to realize that potential through education.

I have regrets, of course — including mistakes of excess and failures of imagination, posturing and posing, inflated and heated rhetoric, blind sectarianism and a lot else. No one can reach my age with their eyes even partly open and not have hundreds of regrets. The responsibility for the risks we posed to others in some of our most extreme actions in those underground years never leaves my thoughts for long.

The antiwar movement in all its commitment, all its sacrifice and determination, could not stop the violence unleashed against Vietnam. And therein lies cause for real regret.

We — the broad “we” — wrote letters, marched, talked to young men at induction centers, surrounded the Pentagon and lay down in front of troop trains. Yet we were inadequate to end the killing of three million Vietnamese and almost 60,000 Americans during a 10-year war.

The dishonesty of the narrative about Mr. Obama during the campaign went a step further with its assumption that if you can place two people in the same room at the same time, or if you can show that they held a conversation, shared a cup of coffee, took the bus downtown together or had any of a thousand other associations, then you have demonstrated that they share ideas, policies, outlook, influences and, especially, responsibility for each other’s behavior. There is a long and sad history of guilt by association in our political culture, and at crucial times we’ve been unable to rise above it.

President-elect Obama and I sat on a board together; we lived in the same diverse and yet close-knit community; we sometimes passed in the bookstore. We didn’t pal around, and I had nothing to do with his positions. I knew him as well as thousands of others did, and like millions of others, I wish I knew him better.

Demonization, guilt by association, and the politics of fear did not triumph, not this time. Let’s hope they never will again. And let’s hope we might now assert that in our wildly diverse society, talking and listening to the widest range of people is not a sin, but a virtue.

William Ayers, a professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is the author of “Fugitive Days” and a co-author of the forthcoming “Race Course.”

Prop 8: The Musical!

2008-12-03T10:31:00.000-08:00

a star studded cast sums up the evils of prop 8 via song and dance.

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

although, as funny as this it, didn't it come about 6 weeks too late?

BANKSY

2008-12-03T00:54:00.000-08:00

So i'm super late to the Banksy party.

Banksy is apparently one of the most subversive and articulate artists of our time. His medium of choice is stencil graffiti on walls and buildings in major cities around the world. His aesthetic is the clean lines and detail of stencil art, and his tone is satirical, political, and sometimes anarchistic.

A friend of mine showed me his book "Wall and Piece", which showcases Banksy's art, around last Thanksgiving and I immediately loved it. But, I apparently forgot about him until my favorite "urban explorer" photog Xavier Nuez wrote a blurb about him and stencil artist Roadsworth on his blog last week.

Banksy is now famous around the world. He has pulled off such stunts as adding his own work to the British Museum of Art (it took something like a week for it to be noticed by museum staff, and it was eventually added to the permanent collection), replacing 500 of Paris Hilton's CDs with original (and rather biting) cover art and jacket, and stenciling a number of rather profound works on the wall that divides Israel from Palestine. His work is a social commentary, one that is most poignant given it's context. There is a great article from last year on weburbanist.

I've also embedded a bbc video about the elusive Banksy. It's about 8 minutes long but pretty fascinating. It showcases some of his most famous works.

Lolcat Tuesday!

2008-12-02T10:53:00.000-08:00

oldest lolcat ever! found in an antique shop, dates back to 1905. the caption says "what's delaying my dinner?"

Obama Cabinet Run-down.

2008-12-01T23:58:00.000-08:00

Secretary of State: NY Senator Hillary Clinton
A small town girl.
Srsly tho, I am stoked about that one. Shh to the h8ers.

Defense Secretary: Robert Gates(a continuation from the Bush admin)
Gates is one of the few to handle the same post in two prez admins. He was def a huge step up from Donald Rumsfeld. He was high up in the CIA during the Iran-Contra scandal, but his involvement/awareness was never proven.

Nat’l Security Adviser: retired Marine Gen. Jim Jones (also a continuation)
Besides having a great name, Jim Jones is also extremely photogenic! Jones is generally reported to be a bipartisan figure who is down with both Robert Gates and H. Clinton.

Secretary of Homeland Security: AZ Gov. Janet Napolitano
Border state gov. gets to deal with immigration and border security on a nat’l level. Makes sense. I do not envy her new job. GL janet.

Attorney General: Eric Holder
Has been opposed to the bush admin’s enforcement of the patriot act and nsa surveilance, and is in favor of closing down gitmo. I’m a big fan.
If confirmed, will be the first AfAm Attorney General. Obama totes just picked him cuz he’s black. jk. /he does kind of look like Steadman, right?

United Nations ambassador: Susan Rice
Stanford, Rhodes Scholar, blah blah blah. Don’t know that much about her except for those allegations a couple years ago that it was totes her fault that we didn’t catch Bin Laden when he was in Sudan pre-9/11. if you want to read all that gossip hit up wikipedia, I’m tiyurd.

Spaghetti Cat (cat cat cat cat cat)

2008-12-01T19:43:00.001-08:00

spaghetti cat's world domination is imminent.

President-Elect First Weekly Address

2008-11-15T09:27:00.000-08:00

Prez-elect Obama, how can we come down off our election high if you keep being so consistently awesome??

Lolcat Tuesday!

2008-11-11T01:12:00.000-08:00

is it just me or does this totally look like peabody's cat, hand, and hair? has she been secretly lolcatting??!

Felicity Dahl talks about her husband in the Guardian

2008-11-09T19:12:00.000-08:00

In one of her rare interviews, Roald Dahl's widow talks candidly about "the love of her life" and what they went through to be together. I would be an entirely different person if my childhood hadn't been shaped by the wonders of Roald Dahl's imagination. Entirely.

"Felicity, known to her friends and family as Liccy (pronounced Lissy), rarely gives interviews. The requests come in a steady stream, but remembering is an emotive business and she is extremely busy running the Roald Dahl Foundation, a grant-giving charity that aims to help children in the areas of literacy, neurology and haematology. The foundation is about to launch a series of free concerts at Kings Place in London, featuring orchestral versions of Dahl's stories.

Today, however, she has agreed to speak in order to publicise the inaugural Roald Dahl Funny Prize, to be awarded on Thursday to this year's most humorous children's book. The prize, organised by the charity Booktrust, is being judged by a panel that includes Michael Rosen, the Children's Laureate, and Dahl's granddaughter, model Sophie Dahl.

'People often ask me, "Did he tell lots of jokes?"' says Felicity. 'No. It is in his writing, in his descriptions of things. It was a hidden, subversive humour, not a comedian telling jokes.

'Children were his friends, that's what kept him going. The fact that they loved his stories and would then go on to read Biggles and everything else - that, to him, was a miracle. He said, "I feel a bit like a pop star."'

She says he would have been horrified by the erosion of children's imaginations by computer games. 'I think [computer] games are absolutely appalling. A child is never left on their own with nothing, so that they have to create their world. The Game Boys and that ghastly stuff have come in and they are absolutely like this...' She does an impression of a goggle-eyed teen staring at a hand-held screen. 'Roald would have had a fit at that."

You can read the full article in the guardian.

Melissa Etheridge Says "You Can Forget My Taxes"

2008-11-06T22:34:00.000-08:00

Academy Award-Winning and Grammy Award-Winning singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge declared that she will not be paying CA state taxes thanks to Prop. 8 declaring her and all other Gay and Lesbians, less than full citizens with equal rights.

"Okay. So Prop 8 passed. Alright, I get it. 51% of you think that I am a second class citizen. Alright then. So my wife, uh I mean, roommate? Girlfriend? Special lady friend? You are gonna have to help me here because I am not sure what to call her now. Anyways, she and I are not allowed the same right under the state constitution as any other citizen. Okay, so I am taking that to mean I do not have to pay my state taxes because I am not a full citizen. I mean that would just be wrong, to make someone pay taxes and not give them the same rights, sounds sort of like that taxation without representation thing from the history books.
Okay, cool I don't mean to get too personal here but there is a lot I can do with the extra half a million dollars that I will be keeping instead of handing it over to the state of California. Oh, and I am sure Ellen will be a little excited to keep her bazillion bucks that she pays in taxes too. Wow, come to think of it, there are quite a few of us fortunate gay folks that will be having some extra cash this year. What recession? We're gay! I am sure there will be a little box on the tax forms now single, married, divorced, gay, check here if you are gay, yeah, that's not so bad. Of course all of the waiters and hairdressers and UPS workers and gym teachers and such, they won't have to pay their taxes either."

Full article in the daily beast.

Tralalalalala.

2008-11-06T10:27:00.000-08:00

Gail Collins, in her succinctly hilarious way sums it up this morning in the NYTimes today.

Tralalalalala.
We are only thinking cheerful thoughts today, people. America did good. Enjoy.
Even if you voted for John McCain, be happy. You’ve got the best of all worlds. Today, you can bask in the realization that there are billions of people around the planet who loathed our country last week but are now in awe of its capacity to rise above historic fears and prejudices, that once again, the United States will have a president the world wants to follow.
Then later, when things get screwed up, you can point out that it’s not your fault.
About the inevitable disasters: I am sorry to tell you, excited youth of America, that Barack Obama is going to make mistakes. And the country’s broke. Perhaps we should have mentioned this before. But let’s leave all that to 2009. When somebody runs one of the best presidential campaigns ever, he deserves a little time to enjoy the sweet spot between achievement of a goal and the arrival of the consequences.
Let’s hear it for the voters. Good turnout, guys — especially you Virginians who stood in line for seven hours. A professor at George Mason University who studies this sort of thing claims that there hasn’t been such a high participation level since 1908. You could turn out to be the ever-elusive answer to the question: “Name one thing that Barack Obama has in common with William Howard Taft?”
Let’s hear it for Hillary Clinton, who lost but made the country comfortable with the idea of a woman as chief executive. And Joe Biden, who actually ran a disciplined campaign, given his truly exceptional capacity to say weird things.
And let’s give a shout-out to John McCain. As desperate as he was, he still passed up opportunities to poke hard at the nation’s fault lines of race, religion and region — although he has probably created a permanent gap between the rest of us and segments of the country who feel under imminent threat from Bill Ayers.
McCain ran a dreadful campaign, but it’s over. Give the guy a break. He was stuck with George Bush. And the Republican Party. And the fact that he was constitutionally incapable of giving a decent speech. The road was hard, but he soldiered on and did a lovely concession Tuesday night. Kudos.
Sarah Palin did go over the top with her small towns vs. the world mantra. However, she does get credit for giving us a real understanding of the difference between a moose and a caribou.
O.K., there is nothing positive to say about Sarah Palin. And Alaska, are you re-electing Ted Stevens? What’s going on there? Did you actually believe him when he said that the court verdict was still up in the air? On the day after he was found guilty? By the way, if Stevens does win, it will be with about 106,000 votes. In total. There are more people than that in my immediate neighborhood! What kind of state is this, anyway?
But we’re in a good mood, so let’s forget Alaska. Instead, we’ll contemplate the fact that North Carolina tossed Elizabeth Dole out of office despite her ad campaign aimed at convincing the state that her opponent, Kay Hagan, was an atheist. This was accomplished, you may remember, through the creative strategy of showing Hagan’s picture along with another woman’s voice saying: “There is no God!” If Dole had won, by the next election we would have been bombarded with ads that appeared to show candidates saying “I support adultery!” or “Let’s kill the puppies!” Now that won’t happen. Thank you, North Carolina.
By the way, I believe that during the campaign McCain’s great friend Senator Lindsey Graham said something along the line of promising to drown himself if North Carolina went for Obama. I believe I speak for us all, Senator Graham, when I say that we are feeling extremely mellow today and you do not have to follow through.
Congratulations to Senator Susan Collins on her re-election. The entire moderate Republican caucus in the Senate may now wind up consisting of women from Maine. As Maine goes, so go the Supreme Court nominations.
Finally, on behalf of the baby-boom generation, I would like to hear a little round of applause before we cede the stage to the people who were too young to go to Woodstock and would appreciate not having to listen to the stories about it anymore. It looks as though we will be represented in history by only two presidents, one of whom is George W. Bush. Bummer.
The boomers didn’t win any wars and that business about being self-involved was not entirely unfounded. On the other hand, they made the nation get serious about the idea of everybody being created equal. And now American children are going to grow up unaware that there’s anything novel in an African-American president or a woman running for the White House.
We’ll settle for that.

The Blame Game Begins

2008-11-06T02:46:00.000-08:00

As wacko as Sarah Palin is, McCain's defeat does not lay at her feet. His defeat was caused by his dramatic transformation from funny, outspoken, bipartisan hater of corruption, to GOP extrem-o base-panderer. Srsly. Obama was inclusive, and McCain followed that Republican strategy of the last 20 years: divide and conquer. FUCK THAT. Divided we fail. Which thankfully, many, many Americans realized.
So anyway, this shit is not Palin's fault. Sure she is totally backwards. But picking her did not sink that campaign.
Watch the clip to see some post-election McCain camp finger-pointing.

Maya Angelou Sums it Up

2008-11-05T12:25:00.001-08:00

I DARE YOU not to cry during this video.

Watch CBS Videos Online

Still I Rise

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

Maya Angelou

Lolcat Tuesday!

2008-11-05T10:26:00.000-08:00

(on a wednesday)

OBAMA WINS WITH 349 ELECTORAL VOTES

2008-11-05T00:59:00.000-08:00

Well, the impossible, the inconceivable, the unbelievable has happened. Barack Obama has been elected the 44th President of the United States of America. I watched his speech in a bar, surrounded by ecstatic, unbelieving people, most of us brimming with tears. Between his Lincoln quotes and his thanking of the generation that "rejected the myth of it's own apathy", I have not had many happier moments than that. Never have I been more proud to be an American.

Take a moment and think about what we have done, and where we are going. Just incredible.

OBAMA VOTE ART PROJECT

2008-11-02T01:15:00.001-07:00

So, I have this idea.

This Election Cycle has been exhausting. After two years of ups and downs and speculation and ugly politicking, we're all just about over it. But this election is also the most historic and poignant moment of our young lives. This election, and the popular uprising by our generation to elect Barack Obama, will be taught in the text books that our children will read. How powerful a moment this is, that our generation, OUR generation has been the face of change on so many fronts, with this election the culmination of our empowerment. It may sound silly now, but our generation has changed the function of communication itself, with the rise of Facebook and Youtube--we enabled those inventions to succeed--we identified them as a tool for young people, and then utilized them in a way that no one could have imagined 4 years ago, when we were graduating from high school. And now, with this election, we have finally turned on the light of our intellect and our mobility, to drown out the deafening darkness of apathy. If Barack Obama is elected President of the United States on Tuesday, we will have done it.

I'm hoping to construct a major art project that will capture this sentiment. It will be centered on us.

I'm writing this note to ask a favor of everyone who reads it. I would like to get my hands on as many pictures of people in their voting booths as possible--in the act of voting. That means, digicam, picture phone, polaroid--any way that you can capture the act of voting for Barack Obama. Twisting to get your face in a self taken with a voting machine isn't necessary--just hands and screens, fingers and provisional ballots--- whatever you want to get in the picture to document your vote. Some polling places won't have curtains or booths, especially in states with electronic voting, but don't let that discourage you from taking a subtle camera phone picture. Especially since, in this day and age of computer voting, having a picture record of your vote isn't a terrible idea anyway.

I understand that some people may want to just privately experience their vote, and not have any kind of subtle camera work to worry about. But considering how powerful a compilation of this kind could be, and how fluidly we can all pull out our iphones and snap a quick picture, I beg you to try. I would love to create a lasting expression of how much we have all put into this.

Please please! Consider contributing your vote to this project. Email me pictures at tracyerincox@mac.com
You can also join the OBAMA VOTE ART PROJECT group on Facebook for discussions on the topic.

Thank you, and happy voting!

Obama Noms on Babies

2008-10-28T20:54:00.000-07:00

this website, Yes We Can (Hold Babies) is pretty awesome.

Happy Birthday Hillary

2008-10-27T12:22:00.001-07:00

Hillary Clinton turned 61 yesterday---I've posted her badass DNC speech in her honor.

The GOP Has Figured Out Liberal Feminists

2008-10-22T17:21:00.000-07:00

reason #427 to love Rachel Maddow:

Chris Matthews Doesn't Pfuck around with Pfotenhauer on the Subject of VP Responsibility

2008-10-22T16:41:00.000-07:00

"I guess despite her trip through Neiman's and Sak's she still didn't pick up a copy of the Constitution".

I guess Chris Matthews has finally had it with the BS he keeps getting served by Nancy Pfotenhauer among other McCain camp reps---he actually calls her out when she tries to avoid answering him by changing the subject---and Bill Burton from the Obama camp doesn't really know what to do, so he just kind of sits silently and occasionally starts laughing....if I were you I'd skip the first 3:30, which is just more dumb talk about Palin's wardrobe (can I get a WHO CARES?)

Lolcat Tuesday!

2008-10-21T19:36:00.001-07:00

To keep myself from posting lolcat pictures constantly, I've arbitrarily decided to poast ay cuple on tsdays frm nowe ahn.

I Just Realized: Sarah Palin is a Mean Girl

2008-10-21T18:09:00.000-07:00

Joe Biden said recently that an Obama Administration would face an international crisis the first 6 months in office.

Palin made note of that comment at a rally in Reno, NV today:

Gov. Sarah Palin suggested today that Barack Obama is unprepared to serve as commander in chief, laying out scenarios she said made the country vulnerable to an international crisis under his leadership.

Palin fed off the words of Obama's running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, who said Sunday that Obama would be challenged by an international crisis in his first six months of office. During a rally at the Reno Convention Center, Palin listed four scenarios "that would place our country at risk in an Obama administration," including sitting down with dictators and sending American troops to Pakistan over the objections of the country's leader.

"But I guess the looming crisis that most worries the Obama campaign right now is Joe Biden's next speaking engagement," Palin said. "Let's call that crisis scenario number five."

Seriously, did McCain Campaign advisors come up with this schtick for her to ignore issues and spend her time thinking of nasty things to say at rallies? Or is that just her own brilliance?

Jezebel.com put a nice perspective on it thanks to CNN:

Oh, and while she's running around mocking Joe Biden's statement that the Obama Administration might face an international crisis, CNN pointed out that the Cuban Missile Crisis started off Kennedy's Administration; the fall of Saigon, Ford's; the first World Trade Center bombing, Clinton's; and 9/11, Bush's. Silly facts.

I'm starting to think that, because Sarah Palin is clearly a Mean Girl, and since Tina Fey wrote Mean Girls, Palin is actually just Tina Fey spewing her own brilliant parody of the worst kind of bigoted, inexperienced, woman-hating GOP candidate that could possibly exist. Anybody with me?

(hotline), (jezebel)

7 Ways to Make Sure Your Vote is Counted

2008-10-21T12:45:00.000-07:00

This list was written by Megan of Jezebel in her article, "Voter Suppression And You: A Guide For Unreal Americans" in Jezebel today. The full article details many of the current efforts by the GOP to disenfranchise Democratic voters. Don't let it happen this time!

1. Vote early, preferably in person. Most of the people who will be out and about to mount challenges will be doing this on Election Day proper. This also gives you a chance to makes sure you are registered properly and challenge back if anything is wrong.
2. Insist on a paper trail. Many states have this as an option now, but in some it's only upon request. Request.
3. Don't wear anything that signals your voting preferences. Some states have little-used laws that prevent "electioneering" in polling places, and there have been signals that the folks there to challenge some voters will be challenging people wearing Obama stuff. Leave it at home or in your car.
4. Bring picture ID. Your state may or may not require that you have it, but it is one good way to verify your identity and residency if challenged. If your address isn't up-to-date, many states can issue free temporary change-of-address cards, or just do the paperwork to get it officially changed today.
5. Stand your ground, politely. The point of a challenge is to keep you from voting, and they can win in two ways. The easiest thing to do — which is why they're doing it — is to embarrass you into leaving. Fuck that. If you can't win the challenge at the moment, demand a provisional ballot and a written explanation of what you need to do to make sure that it is counted. Speak only to official poll workers, and ignore the partisan hack if s/he tries to "help."
6. Ask for help. If there is a problem with your electronic machine, do not press done and leave the polling place. Insist that a poll worker help you until your vote is cast correctly. If it cannot be, tell them they need to request assistance from the appropriate authorities and refuse to leave or cast your ballot until the problem is corrected. If you leave, you've probably already lost. Do not forget to have a paper trail.
7. Ask for more help The Brennan Center For Justice, among other groups, will have lawyers on hand to take reports of problems and offer legal assistance by called 1-866-OUR-VOTE. Use it if you have to. Hopefully you won't have to.

David Sedaris Has a Way With Words

2008-10-21T10:50:00.000-07:00

David Sedaris offers this analogy to help us understand undecided voters: "I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. 'Can I interest you in the chicken?' she asks. 'Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broken glass in it?' To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked."

(the new yorker)

Daily Show Rage: "What the Pfuck?"

2008-10-21T10:19:00.000-07:00

Last night's episode of the Daily Show was even better than usual, thanks to Jon Stewart's rage over the separate comments by Palin and McCain advisor Nancy Pfotenhauer about small town America being the "real America". I read various reports over the weekend of Stewart giving a speech to a college audience in Boston and reacting to the Palin statement with a very clear, "Fuck you", so I was wondering how censored his reaction to the statement would be on Comedy Central. Well, thankfully for us, his rage didn't seem to subside before Monday's show, as proven by his repeated conclusion that Palin's statement would mean that September 11th happened in "fake America" (and that bin Laden was going to be mad when he realized that he bombed the wrong America!)

Rage on, Jon! We're right there with ya!

Click here to watch the full episode.

Palin Rally Racists of the Week

2008-10-20T01:56:00.001-07:00

Thank the Immigrants

2008-10-20T01:03:00.000-07:00

So it turns out, California is not a reliably blue state because of those gay Jews in Hollywood, or those gay atheists in San Francisco! According to Brian Beutler and Ezra Klein, conservatives can now have a new reason to hate the first and second generation Latinos in California: they vote Democratic, and are a big reason why CA goes blue. It makes sense though--looking at the several images I stole from Ezra, it's easy to see that the farther you get from the coast (disregarding San Diego), the more conservative it gets. Point being, there are a lot of white voters in CA who vote Republican, and Bush had a 5 point margin among white voters in 2004. Thank you, hefty Latino minority, for keeping CA blue.

Amy Poehler rocks my world.

2008-10-19T13:53:00.000-07:00

I'm glad that Sarah came off as mostly stiff on SNL last night---she left most of the funny stuff to tina fey and amy poehler. The opening skit was actually so stiff that it made me uncomfortable for the most part, but this amy poehler rap is pretty much the funniest thing ever:

Powell Endorses Obama on Meet the Press

2008-10-19T13:46:00.000-07:00

NYT Profile of Cindy McCain outrages McCain camp

2008-10-18T19:22:00.000-07:00

McCain spokesman Michael Goldfarb has labeled the piece, "gutter journalism", but it actually does a pretty good job of humanizing the Stepford Cindy McCain.

article after the JUMP.

Sarah Haskins explains the Disney Princesses.

2008-10-18T00:29:00.001-07:00

they so do have daddy issues.

Obama Advertises on Virtual Billboard in Online Game

2008-10-14T21:48:00.001-07:00

A first for a presidential candidate--but as Jalopnik.com says: Have no fear, McCain is advertising on Yo-Yos!"

Barack Obama has begun advertising on billboards within the virtual world of an online video game in what appears to be a first for a presidential campaign. Players of the online racing video game Burnout Paradise on the Xbox 360 Live network noticed billboards promoting Barack Obama and the website VoteForChange.com, which helps people determine how to register to vote and where to vote.

(jalopnik)

ACORN-bashing=preemptive delegitimization of an Obama win

2008-10-14T21:31:00.000-07:00

Gawker's amusing and informative FAQ on ACORN:

"OK so what's up with everyone suddenly talking about ACORN?

As we said, nuttier conservatives have been on the ACORN-bashing bandwagon for years now. That it's finally trickled up to Drudge and Fox means they're scared they're losing the election and they need to preemptively delegitimize Obama.

What are my talking points for when crazy relatives argue that ACORN stole the election?

What we're dealing with so far is minor voter registration fraud. The questionable registrations number in the double digits in most states, and most of them have been flagged and caught by either ACORN themselves or election officials. Furthermore in many places the false registrations are required by law to be submitted anyway, so that ACORN isn't guilty of, say, tossing out the forms of Republicans they sign up. They do try to flag the fake ones as fake, but regardless, the fake ones are still being caught. Also: voter registration fraud does not coherently lead to voter fraud, because if you register one man 75 times, how will he vote 75 times, exactly?

More importantly, the election can't be stolen if it hasn't happened yet, and voter registration fraud does not explain in any way a double digit lead for a candidate in national tracking polls. Like, wtf, how are you making this argument, are you slow? ACORN registering Mickey Mouse is why Barack Obama is up 12 in Pennsylvania? Ok, sure, whatever you say".

FAQ: Wait, What's Up With ACORN?

Rachel Maddow calls Palin a liar face.

2008-10-14T20:51:00.000-07:00

As far as pundits go, Maddow is pretty much the bomb.

See here the unabashed lying of Sarah Palin:

NO on Prop. 4

2008-10-13T15:59:00.000-07:00

What I don't understand is how Californians keep rejecting issues, and the same issues keep making their way onto ballots. Abortion opponents have now put the issue of parental notification on the ballot for the THIRD TIME IN FOUR YEARS.
The last time I voted against this, I sat down to think it through before the vote. If I had gotten pregnant at 15, I would have probably done anything I could to avoid telling my parents. Even if that meant an unsafe or self-induced abortion. Imagine the plight of the molested teenager, pregnant with a father or stepfather's baby, having to notify her parents in order to obtain an abortion.

It is my belief that anti-abortion groups promote this idea so strongly because they believe that notifying the parents of pregnant minors will lower abortion rates. This it will not do. Prop. 4 would simply raise the number of bootleg abortions, if you will. Unsafe, unsanctioned, across state lines, self-induced. I would hope that if I were ever a mother, and my teenage daughter faced this, that she would trust me enough to talk to me about it. But if she didn't, for whatever reason, I would much rather my daughter have a safe, legal abortion that I don't know about, than a dangerous, illegal, black market one that I don't know about. Wouldn't you?

Abortion Rights on the Ballot, Again

Vote No on Prop. 4

Bob Herbert sums it up once again

2008-10-11T15:58:00.001-07:00

"The lesson for Americans suffused with anxiety and dread over the crackup of the financial markets is that the way you vote matters, that there are real-world consequences when you go into a voting booth and cast that ballot. For the nitwits who vote for the man or woman they’d most like to have over for dinner, or hang out at a barbecue with, I suggest you take a look at how well your 401(k) is doing, or how easy it will be to meet the mortgage this month, or whether the college fund you’ve been trying to build for your kids is as robust as you’d like it to be.

Voters in the George W. Bush era gave the Republican Party nearly complete control of the federal government. Now the financial markets are in turmoil, top government and corporate leaders are on the verge of panic and scholars are dusting off treatises that analyzed the causes of the Great Depression.

Mr. Bush was never viewed as a policy or intellectual heavyweight. But he seemed like a nicer guy to a lot of voters than Al Gore.

It’s not just the economy. While the United States has been fighting a useless and irresponsible war in Iraq, Afghanistan — the home base of the terrorists who struck us on 9/11 — has been allowed to fall into a state of chaos. Osama bin Laden is still at large. New Orleans is still on its knees. And so on.

Voting has consequences.

I don’t for a moment think that the Democratic Party has been free of egregious problems. But there are two things I find remarkable about the G.O.P., and especially its more conservative wing, which is now about all there is.

The first is how wrong conservative Republicans have been on so many profoundly important matters for so many years. The second is how the G.O.P. has nevertheless been able to persuade so many voters of modest means that its wrongheaded, favor-the-rich, country-be-damned approach was not only good for working Americans, but was the patriotic way to go.

Remember voodoo economics? That was the derisive term George H.W. Bush used for Ronald Reagan’s fantasy that he could simultaneously increase defense spending, cut taxes and balance the budget. After Reagan became president (with Mr. Bush as his vice president) the budget deficit — surprise, surprise — soared.

In a moment of unusual candor, Reagan’s own chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Martin Feldstein, gave three reasons for the growth of the deficit: the president’s tax cuts, the increased defense spending and the interest on the expanding national debt.

These were the self-proclaimed fiscal conservatives who were behaving so profligately. The budget was balanced and a surplus realized under Bill Clinton, but soon the “fiscal conservatives” were back in the driver’s seat. “Deficits don’t matter,” said Dick Cheney, and the wildest, most reckless of economic rides was on.

Americans, including the Joe Sixpacks, soccer moms and hockey moms, were repeatedly told that the benefits lavished on the highfliers would trickle down to them. Someday.

Just as they were wrong about trickle down, conservative Republican politicians and their closest buddies in the commentariat have been wrong on one important national issue after another, from Social Security (conservatives opposed it from the start and have been trying to undermine it ever since) to Medicare (Ronald Reagan saw it as the first wave of socialism) to the environment, energy policy and global warming.

When the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to the discoverers of the link between chlorofluorocarbons and ozone depletion, Tom DeLay, a Republican who would go on to wield enormous power as majority leader in the House, mocked the award as the “Nobel Appeasement Prize.”

Mr. Reagan, the ultimate political hero of so many Republicans, opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In response to the historic Brown v. Board of Education school-desegregation ruling, William F. Buckley, the ultimate intellectual hero of so many Republicans, asserted that whites, being superior, were well within their rights to discriminate against blacks.

“The White community is so entitled,” he wrote, “because, for the time being, it is the advanced race...” He would later repudiate that sentiment, but only after it was clear that his racist view was harmful to himself.

The G.O.P. has done a great job masking the terrible consequences of much that it has stood for over the decades. Now the mask has slipped. As we survey the wreckage of the American economy and the real-life suffering associated with the financial crackup of 2008, it would be well for voters to draw upon the lessons of history and think more seriously about the consequences of the ballots they may cast in the future."
NY Times

SCARY

2008-10-11T14:17:00.000-07:00

Barack Obama is a terrorist. Ask any McCain supporter, they'll tell you.

They Hate Our Freedoms

2008-10-03T02:30:00.001-07:00

www.declareyourself.com

2008-10-02T02:20:00.001-07:00

Sarah Palin Flute Magic

2008-10-02T02:12:00.000-07:00

If you ever watch a video on this blog, please click on this one to watch Sarah Palin playing the flute in the 1983 Miss Alaska competition. I couldn't watch it all the way through, but I'll give you a dollar if you can

Hasselbeck vs. Walters 10.01.08

2008-10-02T01:47:00.000-07:00

Babs calls Hasselcrack's ass out on defending Sarah Palin, asking her the fair question of why she thinks Palin would make a good president. Hasselcrack's response:

"Well, since I've been studying for this pop quiz forever, I — tell me why Barack Obama is qualified. I mean, give me three tangible things he has done."

Mmm, I like my fallacious arguments short and sweet and delivered by conservative women. Which is good, considering that there seems to be a surplus of such arguments in the current world. The View certainly does the Republican side a disservice by having the insanely ill-reasoned Hasselbeck defending their side in opposition to the fairly articulate and issue-educated Goldberg, Behar, and Walters. It's all part of Babs secret plan to take over the world. Clip below.

BAILOUT FAILS TO PASS THE HOUSE

2008-09-29T14:35:00.000-07:00

House Rejects Bailout Package, 228-205; Stocks Plunge

SNL, round two: "Katie, I'd like to use one of my life-lines."

2008-09-29T02:04:00.000-07:00

Tina Fey reprises her brilliant role as Sarah Palin. Stick with it to the half way mark, when it starts to get amazing. I totally LOL'd.

The Tax Foundation finds errors by both candidates during first debate

2008-09-29T01:57:00.000-07:00

"Although the first debate was originally supposed to be about foreign policy, due to the current financial situation in the United States, the economy was the issue for the first half hour of the debate. In the economic portion of the debate, both Sens. Obama and McCain made some statements about taxes that played somewhat loose with the facts. Let's take a look at a few of these courtesy of CNN's transcript"...

JUMP

"You're absolutely right, John."

2008-09-27T16:07:00.001-07:00

Perhaps the first time a candidate has accused another candidate of being too agreeable.

Obama disagrees with McCain on HUGE, over-arching policy issues, so clipping together sound bytes of Obama being polite during the debate makes what point, exactly?

Levis joins the money throw-down to support the gays/gayelles

2008-09-27T15:57:00.000-07:00

"Levi Strauss and Co. is joining the battle to strike down California's discriminatory Prop 8, which seeks to deny gays and lesbians the right to marry.

The forward-thinking jean company had donated $25,000 to Equality for All, the coalition leading the No On 8 campaign.

In doing so, Levi's continues its tradition of civil rights support. In the 1940s, the company ceased the practice of segregation within its factories and more recently the company was one of the first Fortune 500 company to offer health benefits to the domestic partners of its unmarried employees".

perez hilton

lolcat duznt undrstan wy looke allmos sayme heiyt duhring debayte

2008-09-27T15:49:00.000-07:00

Barack Obama: 6'1"
John McCain: 5'7"

Paul Newman dies of cancer at 83

2008-09-27T11:44:00.000-07:00

I've had this picture above my desk for the last couple of weeks that I tore out of last month's Vanity Fair--it's of Newman and his wife Joanne Woodward in 1963.

Great actor, great man.

Click here for a link to a wonderful audio slideshow from the new york times.

McCain back on for debate

2008-09-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

The New York Times reports:

Senator John McCain’s campaign said Friday morning that he will attend tonight’s debate with Senator Barack Obama at the University of Mississippi, reversing his earlier call to postpone the debate so he could participate in the Congressional negotiations over the $700 billion bailout plan for financial firms.
Moments after Senator McCain ended several of days of suspense and announced that he would participate in the debate after all, the doors of his campaign plane were opened and the steps were down, as Mr. Obama’s 757 idled nearby on the runway at Ronald Reagan National Airport outside Washington, according to a pool report. Both planes were set to arrive in Memphis on Friday afternoon.

National Review calls for Palin to pull out

2008-09-26T11:29:00.000-07:00

Even the National Review is calling Palin out as an inappropriate possible-president.

Palin’s recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League.

No one hates saying that more than I do. Like so many women, I’ve been pulling for Palin, wishing her the best, hoping she will perform brilliantly. I’ve also noticed that I watch her interviews with the held breath of an anxious parent, my finger poised over the mute button in case it gets too painful. Unfortunately, it often does. My cringe reflex is exhausted.

obviously I have never felt the same way about Palin as this republican journalist has. but i would have no objection to her pulling out of the race:

McCain can’t repudiate his choice for running mate. He not only risks the wrath of the GOP’s unforgiving base, but he invites others to second-guess his executive decision-making ability....

...Only Palin can save McCain, her party, and the country she loves. She can bow out for personal reasons, perhaps because she wants to spend more time with her newborn. No one would criticize a mother who puts her family first.

Do it for your country.

full article

UUUhhhhh, MCCAIN-FEINGOLD, MAYBE???

2008-09-26T00:39:00.000-07:00

so, Katie Couric, the soft-ball lobbing tv journalist if ever there was one, asks Sarah Palin to provide a specific example of when McCain has pushed for more regulation in the last 26 years. and she says,

"I'll try to find some and bring them to you".

as opposed to mentioning that one bill that had a bigger impact than any other single thing that mccain has done in his entire career, and also happened to be one of the biggest reforms of campaign financing (via REGULATION) ever.

The best part about watching this video for me was, thinking back to 2002, the year that McCain-Feingold was made into a law, when I was but a sophomore in high school, working for Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA) on her student advisory board, writing a report on the bill. I knew more about McCain-Feingold in the year when I still wasn't allowed to have a boy in my room with the door closed, than Sarah Palin knows NOW. And I think my cat may have actually been to more states/countries than her. Okay that last part was an exaggeration, but it comes pretty close.

click HERE for the clip.

The Biggest Load of Political Bulls**t I've Heard Since Bush said FEMA was doing a good job with Katrina

2008-09-25T23:57:00.000-07:00

So I'm actually grateful to McCain for this week. He did something even more transparently politicky than taking an inexperienced nutjob of a backwoods Alaskan woman as his VP pick in order to fire up those bible-thumpin, rifle-totin' GOPers/steal attention and momentum from Obama.

McCain suspended his campaign in order to fly to D.C. where he is "needed" to help solve the financial crisis. Included in this suspension is a possible no-show for the highly anticipated first debate with Obama.

Please keep in mind:

(A) McCain is not even on the committee that is dealing with the issue
(B) McCain's financial background/expertise is pretty much zilch.
(C) McCain is the most absent Senator of the 110th Congress, having missed 64% of the votes since January 2007 (more than Tim Johnson, who um, had a stroke) (Washington Post).
(D) He tanked in the polls this week. concidence?
(E) Congressional lawmakers came to terms on the bailout package today, several hours before McCain finished his speech at teh Clinton Global Initiative and flew to Washington to rescue the American Economy (NY Times).
(F) McCain's "suspension" saved him $1 million dollars in ads, and generated a shitload of earned media. ie., he didn't stop campaigning, he merely stopped paying for tv time (huffington post).
(G) As of Friday morning, 12:17 AM PST, the McCain camp still hasn't announced whether or not he will debate Obama Friday night, having declared that the answer depends on the state of the bailout agreement.

In my opinion, this move makes McCain look like a complete idiot. It looks like, not only is he reluctant to debate Obama, but he went about avoiding that debate in one of the most transparent maneuvers I've seen in a loooong time. If I didn't object to the word "pussy" being used as a derogatory term I would TOTALLY CALL HIM ONE.

But, at least I haven't thought about Sarah Palin for like a good 36 hours.

Here's the latest New York Times article about it all.

There's the Bill Clinton we know and love!

2008-09-24T10:05:00.000-07:00

It only took Jon Stewart to bring back Bill's charming self.

Why donating to Planned Parenthood in Sarah Palin's name isn't a good idea.

2008-09-18T00:25:00.000-07:00

"Okay, guys, we've been getting a lot of emails about a campaign to "fight back against the McCain Campaign's hateful policies toward women" by donating to Planned Parenthood in Sarah Palin's name. Megan has this to say: "The problem with this idea is that Obama forewent public financing on the basis of relying on donors — big and small — to continue giving him money. If people give the $5 or $10 to PPFA instead and send cards to McCain's office, you're just notifying him how much money Obama is losing. Heck, I wouldn't put it past a Republican operative for starting the chain, especially since it doesn't encourage donations to PPFA's PAC, which can spend the money to run ads about the candidates/reproductive rights, but to the organization itself, which cannot. Please be careful about forwarding this along. If something like this really went viral, it could do a lot of damage." Maybe we should save the donations/cards in case the GOP gets elected?"

(Jezebel)

The Daily Show: The Candidates hold a Generic-Off

2008-09-17T11:47:00.000-07:00

What Would Judge Judy Do?

2008-09-17T11:23:00.001-07:00

Man I love Judge Judy. This is a clip from her on the View last week, explaining her thoughts on Sarah Palin, among other things. It's especially good because she and Bawbawa are actually friends, so Babs actually seems genuine throughout.

The best part is when JJ is saying that whether or not Palin personally supports embryonic stem cell research should be irrelevant, because it's not her job to enforce that belief on the American people, it's the job of the elected legislators. At which point Hasselcrack kind of mumbles, "well she has a duty to the American people". I don't think JJ heard her, because Babs abruptly changes the subject to avoid JJ laying down the ultimate smackdown on Hasselcrack's dumb Republican ass.

(Jezebel)

Republican Faux-Populism will lose us this election

2008-09-16T22:01:00.000-07:00

David Brooks is so right on in this article. What strikes me is his point that it's the liberal reaction to Palin: hatred, fear, snobbery, and condescension that is hurting us. The McCain Campaign will stretch this faux-populism as far as it can go, snatching in independent voters who have been offended by liberal condescension to Palin, who they view as a "regular person".

Sarah Palin has many virtues. If you wanted someone to destroy a corrupt establishment, she’d be your woman. But the constructive act of governance is another matter. She has not been engaged in national issues, does not have a repertoire of historic patterns and, like President Bush, she seems to compensate for her lack of experience with brashness and excessive decisiveness.

The idea that “the people” will take on and destroy “the establishment” is a utopian fantasy that corrupted the left before it corrupted the right. Surely the response to the current crisis of authority is not to throw away standards of experience and prudence, but to select leaders who have those qualities but not the smug condescension that has so marked the reaction to the Palin nomination in the first place.

Full article on nytimes.com after the jump.
JUMP!

Obama Scoffs at McCain Economic Panel

2008-09-16T14:40:00.000-07:00

Jeff Zeleny of the New York Times poliblog, The Caucus, writes:

“Instead of offering up concrete plans to solve these issues, Senator McCain offered up the oldest Washington stunt in the book –- you pass the buck to a commission to study the problem,” Mr. Obama told an audience here. “But here’s the thing – this isn’t 9/11.”

Mr. McCain, in a round of morning television interviews, proposed creating a panel to study the upheaval on Wall Street similar to the one that investigated the Sept. 11 attacks. Such a group, he said, could “get to the bottom of this and get it fixed.”

It’s hard to understand how Senator McCain is going to get us out of this crisis by doing the same things with the same old players,” Mr. Obama told a cheering crowd of about 2,000 people here. “Make no mistake: my opponent is running for four more years of policies that will throw the economy further out of balance. His outrage at Wall Street would be more convincing if he wasn’t offering them more tax cuts.”

full article

One of my favorite Jezebel features: Crappy Hour

2008-09-16T13:53:00.000-07:00

The original Wonkette, Ann Marie Cox (no relation :) and Jezebel Megan Carpentier have a classic AIM convo about Bristol Palin's tanning bed, Tucker Bounds being a sado-masochist, and how Republicans don't have any idea what feminism is, but have somehow co-opted the word "sexism" as their own original experience.

ANA MARIE: There's some kind of segue between Julia and this about Tucker Bounds, but I'm still coffee-less, so I'll let you make it. They really need to stop sending the twelve-year-old intern out to the morning shows. Or cable shows, I mean. I think I was thinking "morning show" because he's getting his ass kicked, in all cases, by heavily rougued faux-next-girls! GIRLS!

MEGAN: Actually, the man just needs to, like, fucking prepare before he goes. Your candidate is out lying like he's Dick Cheney or something, you gotta put your big boy panties on just like Ari Fleischer did and take it. I think the real problem is that Tucker Bounds likes getting spanked by hot women.

ANA MARIE: YOU CAN TOTALLY TELL. He totally knows the shit the campaign is trying to pull and just enjoys being called on it. "TELL ME AGAIN HOW WE LIE, CAMPBELL. MAKE IT HURT."

MEGAN: "I know I've been naughty, Megyn. Tell me I've been naughty."

click here for the hilarious full convo.

Michelle Obama is blogging again

2008-09-16T13:16:00.000-07:00

Michelle's 2nd ever blog post sums up the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which John McCain is AGAINST. Remember that time that John McCain said that women just need more education and training to close the pay gap? Yah, not voting for him.

Click here to read Michelle's blog.

Jeremiah Wright is to Obama as Phil Gram is to......

2008-09-16T01:02:00.000-07:00

MCCAIN!

This Gawker article makes the point that McCain's relationship with Phil Gram might end up hurting him even more than Obama's relationship with Jeremiah Wright did. Phil Gram is the former senator who happens to be McCain's main economic guru, and who also happens to be a major proponent of predatory lending (i.e., the main cause of this whole "verge of dramatic economic depression thing" that's going on right now).

So the United States is entering financial turmoil, what with all of our banks collapsing and the world's largest insurance company needing a bailout from the State of New York and the stock market tumbling and thousands of fancy jobs on the line. Honestly, though, let's get to the heart of the matter: will this news secretly (or openly!) thrill political partisans? It seems, on its face, that news of Wall Street turmoil helps Senator Barack Obama. And why not? The initial careful ventures into political exploitation of this maybe-catastrophe are already underway. How will it play out?....

Click here for the full article.

Behind-the-scenes fierce-ness

2008-09-16T00:28:00.000-07:00

A fantastic behind-the-scenes photo diary of Christian Siriano's show, by his photographer boyfriend, Brad Walsh.

Slide show from Jezebel after the JUMP!

The McCain Campaign's Sacrificial Lamb

2008-09-15T23:46:00.000-07:00

Tucker Bounds, the sacrificial aide from the McCain campaign, continued to take beatings from various network anchors. It is such a pleasure to watch journalists do their jobs.

OMG!!! Fox News called out the McCain campaign's lying-ass ads that say, (erroneously) that (1) Obama plans to raise taxes for the middle class, and (2) Obama supported a bill for sex ed for kindergardeners (um, hello! it was a bill about sexual predator education so that kids know not to get in the strange man's car for candy! UGH!). Something is wrong when it takes Fox to call you out on your effing lies.

Campbell Brown goes to town. This one's my favorite. Her mocking smile when he blatantly dodges her questions makes me love her.

Uhhhhhh, SamRo and LiLo are more logical and articulate than the Republican VP Nominee....

2008-09-15T01:31:00.000-07:00

Our favorite Gayelles took to Ronson's official blog to write their thoughts on Palin. And most of it is intelligent. WTF?

"I really cannot bite my tongue anymore when it comes to Sarah Palin.

I couldn't be more supportive of a woman in office, but let's face it, it comes down to the person, and their beliefs, male or female.

Is it a sin to be gay? Should it be a sin to be straight? Or to use birth control? Or to have sex before marriage? Or even to have a child out of wedlock?

I find it quite interesting that a woman who now is running to be second in command of the United States, only 4 years ago had aspirations to be a television anchor. Which is probably all she is qualified to be... Also interesting that she got her passport in 2006.. And that she is not fond of environmental protection considering she's FOR drilling for oil in some of our protected land.... Well hey, if she wants to drill for oil, she should DO IT IN HER OWN backyard. This really shows me her complete lack of real preparation to become the second most powerful person in this country."

Jump to the full blog here

Bob Herbert of the NY Times rips S.P. a new one

2008-09-15T00:26:00.000-07:00

“Do you believe in the Bush doctrine?” Mr. Gibson asked during the interview. Ms. Palin looked like an unprepared student who wanted nothing so much as to escape this encounter with the school principal.

Clueless, she asked, “In what respect, Charlie?”

“Well, what do you interpret it to be?” said Mr. Gibson.

“His worldview?” asked Ms. Palin.

Later, in the spin zones of cable TV, commentators repeatedly made the point that there are probably very few voters — some specifically mentioned “hockey moms” — who could explain the Bush doctrine. But that’s exactly the reason we have such long and intense campaigns. You want to find the individuals who best understand these issues, who will address them in sophisticated and creative ways that enhance the well-being of the nation.

The Bush doctrine, which flung open the doors to the catastrophe in Iraq, was such a fundamental aspect of the administration’s foreign policy that it staggers the imagination that we could have someone no further than a whisper away from the White House who doesn’t even know what it is.

You can’t imagine that John McCain or Barack Obama or Joe Biden or Hillary Clinton or Joe Lieberman would not know what the Bush doctrine is. But Sarah Palin? Absolutely clueless.

Ms. Palin’s problem is not that she was mayor of a small town or has only been in the Alaska governor’s office a short while. Her problem (and now ours) is that she is not well versed on the critical matters confronting the country at one of the most crucial turning points in its history.

Full article after the jump

Gov. Palin: not so good at reporting all her income on her tax return

2008-09-14T21:29:00.000-07:00

The Washington Post wrote last week:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a "per diem" allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business.
The governor also has charged the state for travel expenses to take her children on official out-of-town missions. And her husband, Todd, has billed the state for expenses and a daily allowance for trips he makes on official business for his wife.

Palin, who earns $125,000 a year, claimed and received $16,951 as her allowance, which officials say was permitted because her official "duty station" is Juneau, according to an analysis of her travel documents by The Washington Post.

The governor's daughters and husband charged the state $43,490 to travel, and many of the trips were between their house in Wasilla and Juneau, the capital city 600 miles away, the documents show.

Jack Bog interprets exactly why this is not okay, in his blog post last Wednesday, entitled, Governor Palin, your tax return, please

Whether these charges were legitimate under Alaska rules and regulations, I haven't a clue. Certainly there are questions about their propriety. (Perhaps we could track down Emilie Boyles and see what she thinks.) But I do know something about the federal income tax consequences of fringe benefits, and it certainly appears to me based on the published reports that some, if not most, of these "per diems" should have been included as income on the Palins' federal income tax return. If they weren't, something's wrong.
"Per diem" allowances received by an employee can legally be omitted from her gross income if they constitute reimbursements for amounts that the employee could have deducted as business expenses had the employee paid for them out-of-pocket and not been reimbursed. Thus, for Palin, the tax question would appear to boil down to whether, had she not been reimbursed for the $60,441 of travel, meals, and lodging expenses, she could have legitimately taken business deductions for them.

It does not appear that such deductions would have been allowable for any amounts attributable to travel by her husband and children. Section 274(m)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code strictly forbids deductions for bringing spouses and dependents along on business travel unless the spouses and dependents (a) are employees of the taxpayer (here, the taxpayer is the governor), (b) are travelling for a bona fide business purpose, and (c) would otherwise be entitled to deduct the travel on their own tax returns. Unless Palin's spouse and kids are also her employees and she can show that they were away on their own businesses, their expenses would not be deductible by the governor. And therefore she cannot exclude from income any per diems attributable to any of them. (By the way, since she's the employee, the income would be required to be reported on her own return, not her kids'.)

As for her own travel, Palin could also run into tax problems. Only travel "away from home" qualifies for tax exclusion (or deduction), and for this purpose, one's "home" is generally the principal place of one's business. In this case, the governor reportedly works out of offices in both Anchorage and Juneau, but since she has only one state job, she can declare only one of those as her tax "home." If Juneau is her tax "home" (which would seem to be the case, since that's the capital), she cannot exclude or deduct meals and lodging expenses incurred in Juneau, and if Anchorage is her tax "home," she cannot exclude or deduct such expenses incurred in Anchorage or Wasilla. If she got per diem reimbursements for stays in both places, stays in only one place would appear to be excludible or deductible. And perhaps more importantly, the cost of regular commuting between one's residence and one's tax "home" is not deductible at all, no matter how long the distance between them; it is certainly possible that Palin's treks between the two locales are simply long-distance commuting for tax purposes.

Kathy Griffin wins another Emmy!

2008-09-14T21:06:00.000-07:00

My heroine and/or model for acceptable behavior won another centerpiece for her dining room table yesterday at the Creative Arts ceremony. Good for her. Unfortunately, there was no "Suck it, Jesus" comment this time, since apparently she doesn't want to get pulled from being a presenter next week at the main Primetime show.

"No way!" she gasped in her seat when she heard her name called as winner. Upon arriving at the podium, she gasped, "Well, well, well! Here we go again, f—ers. Here we go again!" Looking around the auditorium, she acknowledged some celebs in the audience, adding, "Hanks, Gandolfini — what the f—! I'm not going to tell anyone to suck it. I would make love to this thing if I could."

video below of her awesome speech last year

(LAT)

In case you missed the Palin/Clinton opener to SNL last night

2008-09-14T17:11:00.000-07:00

Christian Siriano ain't no tickety-tack-tranny-mess

2008-09-14T01:35:00.000-07:00

So, it turns out, Project Runway has actually produced a designer that is going to be a mogul. Christian Siriano's Spring 2009 collection is gooooorgeous. Click here to view the New York Post's slide show of the collection.

Because who wouldn't want a Sarah Palin wig?

2008-09-14T00:51:00.001-07:00

buh. wigsalon.com announced their new line of wigs & hair pieces reflecting the style of Sarah Palin. my birthday is on october 10th folks.

(Gawker)

Sara Benincasa as Sarah Palin

2008-09-13T02:40:00.000-07:00

"ya just kidnapped some dogs, I think, is whatcha did."

it almost captures the idiocy.

tax plans, in your face

2008-09-13T01:42:00.000-07:00

I think I might just print this sucker out and laminate it, so that every time a GOPer tries to tell me that Obamataxes are going to hurt me as a taxpayer, I can just smack this on their forehead. Srsly. You will pay less taxes under Obama unless you make more that $600,000/year. In which case you need to shut the eff up and help this country with those greenbacks.

(washington post)

Professor Obama is sooo dreamy!

2008-09-13T01:17:00.000-07:00

check out this wicked constitutional law exam given by Prof. Obama at the University of Chicago School of Law in 1997. I want Sarah Palin to take it.

Man, this is the time.

2008-09-12T23:20:00.001-07:00

So, I've been meaning to start blogging again. And Sarah Palin really inspired me to do so. Her cuckoo-ness lit a fire under my ass to add my 2 cents to the blogosphere. I hope this blog to eventually be a conglomeration of all of the pop-culture goings on that I chew on everyday, but for the next 8 weeks, it will most likely be centered on the Presidential scramble.

I am so scared. I was a Hillary-ite. I believed her to be extremely qualified, extremely smart, and ruthless enough in that Clinton way to get what needed to be done, accomplished. I guess I'm just a bit too cynical to have been able to jump on the Obama train from the start. I viewed him as incredibly inspiring, but I was never convinced that he knew all the dirty tricks that Clinton did. He may know them, but for the most part, he doesn't use them. And I thought that counted him out in the long run. For Democratic voters, it certainly didn't. But now we are 2 months out from the General Election, and those Independent voters will decide this election. Those are the voters who don't necessarily have policy loyalties. They will be voting based on the televised debates and the commercials that run in their respective states. We gotta' get 'em. It is thrilling to be a young person in this country at this moment, because finally my generation has moved beyond apathy. Bush did a bad enough job, that suddenly, we all give a shit. Which is effing awesome.