Just to cap my lame and miniature analysis of the great DNC I must say that was some speech last night. I thought that when I saw him speak at the 2004 convention and about every other speech I have ever seen him give. What is exciting about him is that people like him in a way that transcends even Bill Clin-ton. Some have criticized that he is "acting like a rock star" but you have to wonder is that a result of some sort of planned calibration? Are we being manipulated into treating him like a rock star? Or is it simply that people really like him and he, as a result, is popular? Weird, ain't it? Actually liking a candidate.
Any rate, I feel much better about having some idea of what he intends to do, pie in the sky as much of it was, it was inspiring. It was poignant and he came off presidential. Much more than he has up to this point. I am pretty excited about the debates. However, I have doubts. It's not inexperience, diva-ness or anything else critical of Obama it's a respectful hatred of the republicans. I had nary a doubt John Kerry would win in 2004 (incidentally HE gave a great speech at the convention this week as well!) as I just could not comprehend that anyone was still down with Bush in 2004. Election fraud possibilities aside, I was quite wrong and that day is seared into my memory as much a painful way as numerous other personal tragedies in my life and I ain't believing in Barack until he is taking that oath of office and this Double U nightmare is over.
That's in simple terms, it is actually a bit more than that as I am actually not a registered Democrat but an independent and that's the reason why I often nod mournfully when I hear someone saying there's no difference between McCain and Obama policy and so on is because at the end of the day both parties answer to the same corporate masters. It's sounds conspiratorial and paranoid and so on but it is the sad truth. I need to wrap this topic up but I will leave you with one simple place online that has kept me from sending money or committing to one candidate vs another. Click on this. And even better read this.
i know, scary, spoiler, and whatever else you would like to regurgitate from the TV news at me but I, for one, think it would be nice to have a valid third party (or more) and Nader is actually more about change than either big ticket people.
That needed to be said; on the other hand...Could it be this is the black JFK we have all been dreaming about? Despite the deliberate attempt to make a real convention look like Aaron Sorkin wrote it and that perhaps we ARE being manipulated, was it merely a coincidence that Obama's "greatest speech ever EVER" was on the anniversary of another certain famous speech? None the less, something HAS to be said about sitting at home, watching TV on a Thursday in late August and seeing one of those history book moments unfold. I mean, we've had a couple of those in this decade so perhaps it isn't as overwhelming anymore but it also needs to be said that Obama ain't yer typical candidate. Sure, sure he does and says typical things (ethanol? really?) and even parrots dubya (clean coal energy, "harnessing" nuclear power) but he answered criticism in a way we're not used to seeing democrats do. He inspired, he made even cynical me dare to wonder, "what if." And by the end of the speech I was truly impressed with him and with the notion that I could go from HUGE DOUBTS on Tuesday to feeling alright about this Thursday.
Of course, the republicans are not going to just lie down so McCain announced first thing Friday who his Veep is going to be and she is SUPERMILF from Alaska. Most scoffed and said she brings Obama's weaknesses to his ticket...but...she sure is pretty to look at! WHOOO-WEEE! I AM SUCKER FOR BRUNETTES IN GLASSES!!! As soon as that announcment was dropped every interent headline everywhere was all Palin and you had to poke around to find some stuff about the "greatest convention speech ever EVER!" Funny how they pulled that off.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
I guess empty rhetoric is better than nothing
So, just as a quick addendum to my last bitchy rant about the DNC I must say that they did manage to quell down the "see how super sweet we are!" into a more "Here's what needs to happen" message at the next couple nights of the big convention. I mean, I don't nor won't have a clear idea of exactly how they intend to do what they claim they want to do BUT at least they gave a lot of lip service to the future, to the reasons why the Big O needs to win this fall and so on. I was even quite impressed with both Clin-TONS and there fine, articulate and energized speeches. I even watched John Kerry report for duty on CSPAN and thought it was one of the best speeches of HIS career. Does that mean I am now on the Obama-wagon and think they got it "in the bag" come November? Not really, not yet. I do feel better about perhaps voting for B.O. then I did on Monday but still kind of agree with the final line of a John Oliver's 'Daily Show' report I saw last night, I shall paraphrase as I don't recall the precise wording but essentially..."The Democratic conventioneers are exiting the building with a revitalized sense of hope and purpose for the future as they march ever closer to the inevitable crushing defeat come November."
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Obama bin Biden
In trying to get back "into blogging" I am going to do a little political ranting...I will make with the funny but I need to get warmed up first.
Folks who know me know that I tend to follow the political stuff or at least I used to quite seriously. I mean, I never handed our fliers in the mall or joined a phone bank or anything, but the "post 9/11 world" had lead me to become somewhat of a junkie. A habit that started to fade in 2004 and these days I seem barely connected anymore. Oh sure, I read the random political blog here and there still, keep up with the "headlines" online during your average day but political junkie I am no longer (replaced that intentionally with a new found love of baseball and football). Which explains why I am not ringing bells and screaming atop the mountains about this, "the new most important election EVER in history", 2008 election.
Sure, sure I was a little more on board in the spring which was largely and nearly exclusively fueled my own personal, dislike of one Hillary Clinton (as Presidential candidate anyhow) and I was firmly ensconced on the Barack band-wagon...Easy enough to do for this Illinoisian who still stupidly resides in Crook County...But now that Hillary is not the "one" and that seemingly endless brou-ha-ha has faded away I have suddenly found myself wanting. For what, exactly, I don't know...I had no real expectation outside of not wanting Hil-dawg and I kind of like that whole Hope/Change agenda Barack was riding. However, here we are in late August as of this writing and tonight is DAY 2 of the Dem's BIG TIME, CONVENTIONAPALOOZA and guess what I don't know? Anything specifically that Barack, along with new chum Joe Biden, have in store for us. I hear lots of hope talk and new direction talk and in my heart of hearts I want to believe that they will win and they will seriously make it happen. Yet that skeptical voice; the one who saw this in 2004 with Juan Kerry who, "reported for duty" and then was asked to leave, the same voice that saw everyone's favorite Texas Guvner elected and then re-elected to apparently see just how close to the brink he could drive our fine country to is now asking what, if anything, are the Dem's planning to do IF they win?
Note I said IF. That skeptical voice does not deem this election a given. In fact, I believe it is actually MORE likely that McCain will win because significant percentages of our population (or better said, "almost all") are fucking stupid (myself included) and still believe shit they are told on TV news (among 1,000 other reasons) and the Dem's seem to be acting as if this one's "in the bag." Need proof? Did you watch any of the Democratic Convention last night? I was one of the two or three who watched some of it and guess what I learned? Michelle Obama is a real nice lady, Lots of people like Ted Kennedy, and conventions are apparently energetic and exciting even though everyone on TV looks as if they are sitting in a large room with some signs and doing nothing but staring blankly forward and yawing...a lot.
I have received several e-mails from various "liberal servers" (Al Franken, Huffington Post, Move ON, etc.) and all were telling me just how exciting it is at the convention and how they all can feel the energy of the GREAT, BIG CHANGE that is coming and it's in the wind and blah blah blah...Didn't feel it. Didn't see it. Didn't hear it...Though I will agree that something definitely is blowing. And God dammit if I ain't a just a little bit concerned that IF (another big IF) Barack bin Biden can win the big one that we will see some sort of dismal sequel to the Jimmy Carter administration where the only thing that gets done is more gridlock and the general blame for everything in the world will gradually moved to Barack and then we will be watching the world's most historic and exciting convention of all time part 2 where we will send in Hillary to "clean up Barack's mess" or whatever.
We are currently living under the absolute worst President in (at least) recent history with a stupendously long list of horrible shit that will stick around to fuck us up for the foreseeable future. We have a congress, already supposedly Democratic, that can do nothing but aide and abet the worst President ever EVER. Illegal wars, abolished amendments (so long to the 4th), torture, non-stop lies and propaganda, an apparently failing economy...Not to mention that there's also that whole energy/climate crisis looming ahead in a way that if one employed the elephant in the living room metaphor one may wonder if, at this stage in the game, if it's more a tiny living room on top of a giant elephant. So, I reiterate, what did I learn about any of that in last night's convention? Not a fucking word. Not that I need the Dems to come off like the Republicans and get all mean and nasty but some fucking honesty and discussion that our much desired hope and change will require some real, hard work and it is time to roll up the sleeves and shit like that and maybe some good,old fashioned, "Here's what we plan to do!" talk. Is that too much to ask?
I think Barack and Michelle are nice folks and I saw that they really want me to think that because they are just so helpful and normal and they just love their parents and their parents love them and it is so lovely and awesome!!!
I.
Give.
A Fuck.
I am not normal, helpful and near as I can tell my family wouldn't cross a street to put me out if I were on fire but even my crazy, poorly adjusted ass can tell that shit, as far as this country and maybe even planet (read habitat) is concerned, is royally...HUGELY...nay...UNIVERSE SIZE-EDLY FUCKED UP! I, for what it's worth, would probably have some sort of message that might seem to speak to all, or even SOME, of the above and more for my convention. But shit, what do I know?
Folks who know me know that I tend to follow the political stuff or at least I used to quite seriously. I mean, I never handed our fliers in the mall or joined a phone bank or anything, but the "post 9/11 world" had lead me to become somewhat of a junkie. A habit that started to fade in 2004 and these days I seem barely connected anymore. Oh sure, I read the random political blog here and there still, keep up with the "headlines" online during your average day but political junkie I am no longer (replaced that intentionally with a new found love of baseball and football). Which explains why I am not ringing bells and screaming atop the mountains about this, "the new most important election EVER in history", 2008 election.
Sure, sure I was a little more on board in the spring which was largely and nearly exclusively fueled my own personal, dislike of one Hillary Clinton (as Presidential candidate anyhow) and I was firmly ensconced on the Barack band-wagon...Easy enough to do for this Illinoisian who still stupidly resides in Crook County...But now that Hillary is not the "one" and that seemingly endless brou-ha-ha has faded away I have suddenly found myself wanting. For what, exactly, I don't know...I had no real expectation outside of not wanting Hil-dawg and I kind of like that whole Hope/Change agenda Barack was riding. However, here we are in late August as of this writing and tonight is DAY 2 of the Dem's BIG TIME, CONVENTIONAPALOOZA and guess what I don't know? Anything specifically that Barack, along with new chum Joe Biden, have in store for us. I hear lots of hope talk and new direction talk and in my heart of hearts I want to believe that they will win and they will seriously make it happen. Yet that skeptical voice; the one who saw this in 2004 with Juan Kerry who, "reported for duty" and then was asked to leave, the same voice that saw everyone's favorite Texas Guvner elected and then re-elected to apparently see just how close to the brink he could drive our fine country to is now asking what, if anything, are the Dem's planning to do IF they win?
Note I said IF. That skeptical voice does not deem this election a given. In fact, I believe it is actually MORE likely that McCain will win because significant percentages of our population (or better said, "almost all") are fucking stupid (myself included) and still believe shit they are told on TV news (among 1,000 other reasons) and the Dem's seem to be acting as if this one's "in the bag." Need proof? Did you watch any of the Democratic Convention last night? I was one of the two or three who watched some of it and guess what I learned? Michelle Obama is a real nice lady, Lots of people like Ted Kennedy, and conventions are apparently energetic and exciting even though everyone on TV looks as if they are sitting in a large room with some signs and doing nothing but staring blankly forward and yawing...a lot.
I have received several e-mails from various "liberal servers" (Al Franken, Huffington Post, Move ON, etc.) and all were telling me just how exciting it is at the convention and how they all can feel the energy of the GREAT, BIG CHANGE that is coming and it's in the wind and blah blah blah...Didn't feel it. Didn't see it. Didn't hear it...Though I will agree that something definitely is blowing. And God dammit if I ain't a just a little bit concerned that IF (another big IF) Barack bin Biden can win the big one that we will see some sort of dismal sequel to the Jimmy Carter administration where the only thing that gets done is more gridlock and the general blame for everything in the world will gradually moved to Barack and then we will be watching the world's most historic and exciting convention of all time part 2 where we will send in Hillary to "clean up Barack's mess" or whatever.
We are currently living under the absolute worst President in (at least) recent history with a stupendously long list of horrible shit that will stick around to fuck us up for the foreseeable future. We have a congress, already supposedly Democratic, that can do nothing but aide and abet the worst President ever EVER. Illegal wars, abolished amendments (so long to the 4th), torture, non-stop lies and propaganda, an apparently failing economy...Not to mention that there's also that whole energy/climate crisis looming ahead in a way that if one employed the elephant in the living room metaphor one may wonder if, at this stage in the game, if it's more a tiny living room on top of a giant elephant. So, I reiterate, what did I learn about any of that in last night's convention? Not a fucking word. Not that I need the Dems to come off like the Republicans and get all mean and nasty but some fucking honesty and discussion that our much desired hope and change will require some real, hard work and it is time to roll up the sleeves and shit like that and maybe some good,old fashioned, "Here's what we plan to do!" talk. Is that too much to ask?
I think Barack and Michelle are nice folks and I saw that they really want me to think that because they are just so helpful and normal and they just love their parents and their parents love them and it is so lovely and awesome!!!
I.
Give.
A Fuck.
I am not normal, helpful and near as I can tell my family wouldn't cross a street to put me out if I were on fire but even my crazy, poorly adjusted ass can tell that shit, as far as this country and maybe even planet (read habitat) is concerned, is royally...HUGELY...nay...UNIVERSE SIZE-EDLY FUCKED UP! I, for what it's worth, would probably have some sort of message that might seem to speak to all, or even SOME, of the above and more for my convention. But shit, what do I know?
Monday, August 25, 2008
Who sucks at updating their blog? I do.
Yes indeed.
It's extra funny as I actually posted on this thing months ago "announcing" that I intended to begin blogging regularly here on this fine, fine blogger blog I made all the way back in two thousand five (Peppridge Farm remembers); and how many glorious posts have I made since? Nada! Not even my illustrious MySpace blog has seen much love since the spring. I guess I have simply lost my passion/interest in this whole internet thing. MySpace has found itself an online ghetto and it's replacement seems to not have a blogging feature...Though I am sure Facebook has something comparable somewhere or it will in the form of some sort of annoying "application."
Anywho, IF (note, big "if") I do decide to post some musings I intend to plop them on this here site. As it stands, this blog was originally intended to be for writings of the fictional variety and I wanted to keep my MySpacer as more a journal. Lately, I have come to realize that it don't fuckin' matter what I post where as I am not my own freaking virtual library organized by subject and so forth (see other dead blog about politics floating in the Lycos network somewhere) and now adays I am more interested in scaling down to one or two places that I actually, occasionally, irregularly, When-I-Feel-Like-It, post whatever...and one of them might be here...? Though you know there's trouble when you visit a blog and the most recent posts are months apart and dwell largely on discussing what will but hasn't been posted rather than anything actually interesting to read. So, rather than offer another round of un-kept promise I will just mention that IF I get an urge, and hopefully I will, I will come back here and post something that sucks less than this. Ciao.
It's extra funny as I actually posted on this thing months ago "announcing" that I intended to begin blogging regularly here on this fine, fine blogger blog I made all the way back in two thousand five (Peppridge Farm remembers); and how many glorious posts have I made since? Nada! Not even my illustrious MySpace blog has seen much love since the spring. I guess I have simply lost my passion/interest in this whole internet thing. MySpace has found itself an online ghetto and it's replacement seems to not have a blogging feature...Though I am sure Facebook has something comparable somewhere or it will in the form of some sort of annoying "application."
Anywho, IF (note, big "if") I do decide to post some musings I intend to plop them on this here site. As it stands, this blog was originally intended to be for writings of the fictional variety and I wanted to keep my MySpacer as more a journal. Lately, I have come to realize that it don't fuckin' matter what I post where as I am not my own freaking virtual library organized by subject and so forth (see other dead blog about politics floating in the Lycos network somewhere) and now adays I am more interested in scaling down to one or two places that I actually, occasionally, irregularly, When-I-Feel-Like-It, post whatever...and one of them might be here...? Though you know there's trouble when you visit a blog and the most recent posts are months apart and dwell largely on discussing what will but hasn't been posted rather than anything actually interesting to read. So, rather than offer another round of un-kept promise I will just mention that IF I get an urge, and hopefully I will, I will come back here and post something that sucks less than this. Ciao.
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