Our eyes are open

There's a madman looking at you

And he wants to take your soul

There's a madman with a mad plan

And he's dancing at your door

Oh, what to do, oh

What to do

When the walls are built to crumble

There's a madman with a mad plan

And he waits for us to stumble

Oh, but our eyes are open

Yeah, they're really open

I say we rob from the rich

And blow down the door

On to the next

To dance with the poor

Jump on my shoulders

You can jump on my shoulders

~~ “Jump On My Shoulders” by AWOLNATION

Today (technically yesterday) was my birthday and it was a very pleasant one!

After running a couple of errands (my favorite clerk at the grocery store said, “Nice to see you!”), I did some of my favorite things. I listened to some great music and discovered some new stuff; I watered my plants and picked a bunch of cherry tomatoes and another zucchini; I finalized plans for us to meet up with some of my favorite people in the world Wednesday night; I watched some video of James Comey and petted the kitty. Sheeba was a happy cat.

What??

I wore some of my favorite things, including one of my “Lordy I hope there are tapes” t-shirts (yes, I have two), a pair of Daryl Dixon socks, and my book earrings that are the cover of The Stand. For a while, when it was warm in the afternoon, I was able to walk around without pants. What can I say? Little things make me happy.

Then I got some beautiful roses from Ken and opened my cards, and they all made me smile.

Throughout the day, I got well wishes from so many of my family and friends on Facebook and I think I managed to respond to each and every one! If I missed a couple, it is entirely my fault. There was a smile on my face for pretty much the entire day and that is nothing to sneeze at, my friends!

The absolute best thing, the thing that made me cry happy tears, was that this year, Facebook suggested a thing where you can “donate” your birthday to the cause of your choice. I got that notice about a week and a half ago, and after vacillating between Planned Parenthood and the Southern Poverty Law Center, I chose the latter. I donate to PP often and in the wake of Charlottesville, I thought the SPLC was an important cause to champion.

Facebook suggests a goal of $200 to start out with, but I wanted to go low-ball. I figured that maybe people would donate a buck or two, and if enough of my friends did that, it would mount up pretty quickly. So I set my goal at $50.

I was stunned when my very first donation was $50! I had already met my goal!

Today got even better. Multiple people donated today and as I write this, my family and friends have donated $370 to the SPLC and I am absolutely blown away. (I thanked everyone there, so I won’t repeat the thanks here.)

There are still three days left, so if you want to donate to my birthday fundraiser, you can do so here!

This was a small (but wonderful) reminder of the generosity of people and we are seeing that played out exponentially when it comes to our friends in Texas and on the Gulf Coast. It seems like lately we have been seeing the worst of humanity, so the generosity of my friends today and the generosity of the American people to our fellow citizens in Texas has been beyond uplifting. It has, for the moment, restored my faith in humanity.

I still believe that our innate goodness will win and I still believe that there are more of us than there are of them.

A huge and heartfelt thank you to everyone who donated today, whether to my fundraiser or to organizations like the Red Cross. This has been a wonderful reminder that we are stronger together and that when we help each other, we can do good, and sometimes even great, things.

Peace, love, and gratitude to all who choose to make a positive difference.

My Tuppence Worth

I’m sure you all know that Trump has chosen my Governor, Mike Pence, as his running mate. A few friends from other states have asked me for my opinion and experience with having Pence as the Governor of Indiana. This was my comment to one of them, and I thought I’d share it here with a little light editing.

~~

I don't hate the guy personally because he does seem to be a somewhat decent man who is no fan of negative campaigning. His campaigns have generally focused on the "issues" (I put that in quotes for a reason, as you'll see) rather than on mud-slinging and attacking his opponent on a personal level.

For that reason, it amazes me that he would align himself with Trump. Not only do they not agree on many things (Pence is pro-trade, called Trump's ban on Muslims unconstitutional, for a couple of examples), I would imagine that Pence finds Trump distasteful, vulgar, and immoral on many levels. The only thing that occurs to me is that he is positioning himself for his own White House bid, something everyone figured he would attempt eventually. He is also in a very tight race for re-election, and there has been some speculation that he was lobbying for the VP slot because he was afraid he wasn't going to be re-elected. I think there is probably some merit in that.

Having said all that, I can tell you that I find his policies abhorrent. I can't begin to tell you the way he's screwed my state over. His tax cuts have hurt our public schools terribly. The Democrats in the Statehouse have been pushing for an infrastructure bill because our roads and bridges are crumbling. Over 10% of our bridges have been deemed structurally deficient. The Repubs in the Statehouse refuse to consider it and Trump refuses to lead on the issue.

Instead, he focuses on social issues. As you know, even when in Congress, he constantly tried to defund Planned Parenthood. His policies have seriously harmed the organization in Indiana. I read just yesterday that several clinics are closing, including the one I used in Muncie while at Ball State. That's right, a clinic in a college town is closing! I couldn't believe it.

There was the recent bill he signed about fetuses having to be buried or incinerated that was halted as unconstitutional by a federal judge. That bill led to the Periods for Pence site, in which women asked him questions about their periods and checked in when their flow was particularly heavy, and so forth. It's been quite amusing to watch.

Then there was the "state-run news website" that he attempted to pay for with state funds. He seemed completely clueless as to why that was a bad thing or why it goes against freedom of the press.

And of course, there was the famous Religious Freedom Restoration Act that he signed into law, making us a laughing stock of the world and costing our state MILLIONS in tourist dollars and new business. Again, he seemed utterly shocked by the pushback from both citizens and businesses, despite intensive lobbying by huge corporations like Eli Lilly who repeatedly said that it would be very bad for business. When he finally got the message and had our Congress add a non-discrimination clause in there, the Christian conservatives who had pushed him on it felt betrayed. So they were mad at him, too. In short, it was a complete clusterfuck, and he seemed completely gobsmacked by the whole thing.

Along with many of my friends, I called the Governor's office (after assuring that my Democrat legislators were going to vote against the RFRA bill...didn't matter, because our Statehouse is in Repub hands) to voice my opposition to the bill. I was unable to get through to the Governor's office. The phone rang and rang and rang, with no option to leave a voice message. I truly believe that they were just not answering the phone.

In his time in office, I can think of one good thing that he has done: he expanded Medicaid under the ACA in Indiana. He had to tweak it his own way, but it was approved by the Federal government and it has helped a lot of Hoosiers. So I'll give him that.

But otherwise, his policies and attitudes and willingness to push his religious beliefs on my entire state, even at the expense of the civil and reproductive rights of certain groups of Hoosiers, makes my skin crawl. I was looking forward to booting him out of office this fall. My wish came a little early! But we need to make sure that he doesn't get anywhere near the White House.

One additional thing (although this is long enough). I don't know if you happened to see the 60 Minutes interview with Trump and Pence last night. It was laughable. Pence was completely deferential to Trump, to the point of where he let him answer questions for him even when he was asked one directly, and often seemed to look to Trump as if asking permission to speak. Trump said, "It's okay, you can answer that." It was UNREAL.

So I will sum him up by saying that he's a right-wing, ultra-conservative toady who wants to push policies that further his Christian right agenda, even when they trample the Constitution that he claims to love so much.

Down the Rabbit Hole

When logic and proportion

Have fallen sloppy dead

And the White Knight is talking backwards

And the Red Queen's off with her head

~~ “White Rabbit,” Jefferson Airplane

Today my friend Dan said to me, “I never thought I’d see you at a Cruz rally!”

Neither did I, Dan. Neither did I.

In an unusual and unlikely turn of events, Indiana is surprisingly important in this year’s primary race, at least the Republican one (Hillary’s got it wrapped up on the Democratic side...it’s all over but the shoutin’). With our late primary date, we usually don’t get a whole lot of attention, either from the media or from the candidates. Getting all this attention is a mixed bag. We have to deal with phone calls (yay for caller ID!) and lots of political ads, but we also get candidates actually stumping in our state. That doesn’t happen very often, and for a political junkie like me, it’s total catnip.

So when my friend Cassie posted that she got a ticket for the Cruz rally here in our town, I thought, “You know what? I’m going, too!” (Neither of us are Cruz supporters or Republicans, by the way.) I got my free ticket and headed up late this afternoon.

It was quite an experience. The first thing I saw when I walked in was that line of posters up there. It was truly a WTF moment. (I snagged one of the double-sided posters on the way out. How could I not?) It was a good-sized crowd, although not a particularly large place, and although Hoosier Nice isn’t quite at the level of Minnesota Nice, it’s pretty damn close. Everyone was polite and nice. And very pale. Seriously, I think I saw maybe two people of color at the most. Not a diverse crowd at all, although Cassie and I were surprised at the number of younger people.

I was happy to find Cassie right away and meet a long-time Facebook friend in real life! Thanks for saving me a seat, Cassie! I also found Dan pretty quickly, as he was part of the press cadre and was busy talking to people and getting some pictures. We didn’t get to talk for long, but agreed that we need to make some time to do that! He snapped a couple of pictures of me and Cassie.

The rally began with a prayer—ahem—and the pledge of allegiance. Cassie and I stood but remained silent. I find the reciting of the pledge of allegiance kind of odd, although I know it’s common in both Republican and Democratic rallies. I’m not sure why we are supposed to do that. It’s a grade school thing that I don’t really feel the need to do. I’m an American, for Pete’s sake. Why do I have to pledge my allegiance?

Anyway, it was an awkward start to a rally that grew increasingly uncomfortable. First was Carly Fiorina. She is actually a very good speaker, if you ignore her content. She is very much the “attack dog” for Cruz. I won’t make any judgments about why he chose a running mate when he is obviously losing this nomination race. Wait, I think I will! Seriously, what the fuck, man? You don’t choose a running mate until you’re the actual nominee! As the media is saying, it is very much an act of desperation.

Then it was the main attraction, if you can call Ted Cruz an “attraction.” It was basically the stump speech I’ve seen him giving as I’ve watched coverage of these primaries. Some of the same lame jokes and one-liners that I’ve already heard. Hillary’s going to jail, the Washington establishment, blah blah blah. The crowd didn’t seem that into it at first, but as the rally went on, people started getting a little more agitated. Some of the biggest applause lines were that he would “repeal Obamacare” (can’t do that on your own, man) and that on Day One, he would “tear up” the Iran nuclear deal (can’t do that, either). Probably the biggest “boo-getter” was a mention of Planned Parenthood. That just made me sad.

Cassie stuck around and got her picture with Cruz and Fiorina—she told Cruz that she likes Planned Parenthood...way to go, Cassie!—but I really needed to get out of there. It’s hard to describe what I was feeling by the end of this rally. I felt very alone, but was happy to be sitting next to Cassie for the moral support. I felt a bit of despair that so many people were eating all this up. And oh, the irony of Carly Fiorina talking about losing jobs to Mexico! She said, “I know where the jobs are going.” Yeah, so do those 30,000 people you laid off! The hatred for the Affordable Care Act, the hatred for Planned Parenthood, the hatred for Hillary Clinton...it was just a big fat Hate Fest. I felt like a Stranger in a Strange Land, and I definitely did NOT grok this.

I’m glad I went but it was a little damaging to my psyche. I’ll bounce back! I guess I’d better, because I got tickets to go see the Vulgar Talking Yam (hat tip to Charlie Pierce) himself on Monday. I feel reassured that Ken is planning on going with me. A while after I got those tickets, I found out that Bernie Sanders is also going to stop here, on Sunday. I just can’t do it, though. I need my quiet Sunday and I will spend the afternoon girding my loins for Monday. I honestly don’t know if we’ll be able to get in and I am not standing in line for hours.

We have a backup plan, though. Food and beers at Brew Werks! Victory with a capital V!

And so it begins

MILWAUKEE – President Obama has opened the first significant lead of the 2012 campaign in the nation's dozen top battleground states, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds, boosted by a huge shift of women to his side.

In the fifth Swing States survey taken since last fall, Obama leads Republican front-runner Mitt Romney 51%-42% among registered voters just a month after the president had trailed him by two percentage points.

The biggest change came among women under 50. In mid-February, just under half of those voters supported Obama. Now more than six in 10 do while Romney's support among them has dropped by 14 points, to 30%. The president leads him 2-1 in this group.

…

Obama campaign manager Jim Messina says Romney's promise to "end Planned Parenthood" — the former Massachusetts governor says he wants to eliminate federal funding for the group — and his endorsement of an amendment that would allow employers to refuse to cover contraception in health care plans have created "severe problems" for him in the general election.

"Romney's run to the right may be winning him Tea Party votes," Messina said in an interview, but he says it's demonstrated that "American women can't trust Romney to stand up for them."

Read the full article here.

When the Republicans started with their bullshit against women, I mentioned that in the 2008 election, women made up 53% of those who voted, and that we were not going to forget this.

Well, right on, Sisters! [fist in the air] We have received your message loud and clear, Republicans, and we are responding accordingly. Millions of women use Planned Parenthood every year, with only a small percentage of that for the purpose of abortions; they do good work in providing basic health care to millions of American women. The threat of cutting off all funds to the organization is seriously not cool. A bill introduced by a Republican legislator in Arizona would allow businesses to require a doctor’s note to show that a woman was using birth control for medical purposes, not for birth control. There is some talk of allowing employers to not pay for birth control if they have a “moral objection” to it. Perhaps they would like to accompany us to our doctors’ appointments to ensure that we don’t discuss anything they deem to be out of line or “morally objectionable.” Or maybe someone from the RNC will observe during my next pelvic exam, just to make sure I don’t deviate from acceptable topics, and so they can get a rundown on the general state of my uterus.

We are paying attention, and we are not liking what we’re seeing. I’m sure that Mittens will pivot to the center in the general election, and he’ll try to say that he didn’t mean it that way, or that he was taken out of context, and he’ll try to pretend that he cares about women’s health. He doesn’t. There is videotape to prove it. Women don’t forget much, or haven’t you figured that out yet, Mittens? We’re listening to what you are saying now. And we’ll be voting in November. You can put THAT in your ballot box and stuff it.

In a white womb with black curtains

Suddenly, it’s the ‘80s all over again. And not in a big hair, New Wave, Duran Duran, fun kind of way.

When the teabaggers started making noise, I remember telling friends that it was like revisiting the ‘80s culture wars. Reagan was in power, and that’s when groups like the Moral Majority (Linda Richman: Why the Moral Majority is neither moral nor the majority. Discuss.) and Ralph Reed’s Christian Coalition started pushing their social agenda. I think most of us thought that we’d put much of that behind us, and were able to reach a point of live-and-let-live (although with much work yet to be done, including equal rights for all citizens).

We were wrong. When I started seeing so many of the teabaggers exhibiting racist and homophobic behavior (not all...I said ‘many’), I was immediately reminded of the bad things we had to deal with in the ‘80s. Not only are they back, they’ve expanded their war to include the reproductive rights of women, even beyond the issue of abortion.

I won’t provide excessive details here. I think most of you have read about it. Long story short: President Obama’s Affordable Care Act included a provision that employers would provide contraception at no charge and with no copay; a bunch of Catholics and Catholic organizations objected; a bunch of politicians jumped on board and said it was a ‘war on religion’; President Obama offered a compromise in which Catholic or other religious organizations would not have to provide contraceptives as part of their health care plan, but the insurance companies that are their providers would provide it directly to employees and be responsible for the cost. Most people seemed to think that was a fair compromise, including some Catholic health care advocacy groups, but the Catholic bishops were not mollified, and the politicians were off and running.

War on religion? No. War on women? YES. The Virginia legislature recently passed a ‘personhood’ law as well as a law requiring women who are seeking an abortion to submit to a transvaginal ultrasound, an invasive procedure that is medically unnecessary in most cases, and certainly not part of a routine exam. One of Rick Santorum’s biggest financial backers made a tired old joke about aspirin being good and inexpensive birth control, because the woman holds it between her knees. Get it? So the slut doesn’t open her legs to tempt all those fine young men. Hardee har har. Rush Limbaugh characterized women who want contraceptives as those “who do nothing but have sex mindlessly day in and day out and to whom birth control is only a means of eliminating consequences.”

A congressional hearing designed to discuss whether the contraceptives provision was legal and constitutional was chaired by Darrel Issa. The witnesses at the table included men affiliated with Catholic groups that opposed the compromise. The key word there would be MEN. Not one woman was there. In fact, the woman scheduled to speak about how she has to take birth control pills because she has an ovarian cyst was denied by Issa, because he said she did not qualify as an “expert.” Of course, all those priests are experts on female reproductive health!

I’ve heard some male politicians say that if women want birth control, they can pay for it themselves. When you’re struggling to put food on the table, birth control is not exactly inexpensive. You need to have a doctor’s visit to get a prescription, you need follow-up care, and it’s not all that easy to get whether you have insurance or not. Many Republicans want to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood, which provides preventive health care to millions of women who don’t have insurance. To couch it in simple economic terms, for every government dollar spent on contraception, almost four dollars is saved in Medicaid costs because of unplanned pregnancies.

Looking at it from a health perspective, family planning makes for healthier women and babies, in ways both medically and financially. There are times in a woman’s or a couple’s life when an unplanned pregnancy just isn’t feasible. A planned pregnancy means a healthier economic atmosphere, one in which the child is provided for adequately. An unplanned pregnancy for a young woman in college could keep her, as well as the father, from obtaining a degree. Why the hell am I trying to convince anyone? Women have the right to contraceptives for numerous reasons. If you dispute that, you’re just dumb, and you should go away. Seriously. (Here is a good article about why contraceptive coverage is important. Go read that.)

I’ve also heard some people—who am I kidding? It was men—say that if people don’t want to have a baby, they should just not engage in sex. Here’s a quarter, folks. Buy a ticket to the 21st century, okay? It’s got to be kind of boring back where you’re living. Get real.

If the Republicans want to continue down this idiotic road, I have a proposal. If you allow employers to not provide contraceptives to women based on moral or religious objections, I think you should also bar insurance companies from paying for vasectomies (a cheaper and less invasive procedure than a tubal ligation) AND from paying for erectile dysfunction medications. Last time I checked, it wasn’t all that easy to get pregnant without a boner being present, and I’m guessing that the majority of men asking for Viagra or Cialis aren’t doing so because they’ve got procreation on their minds. They might not be entirely happy about having their boner pills taken away.

Here’s something else to keep in mind. In the 2008 election, women made up 54% of the voters. We are paying attention. And if you continue to wage this war on our hard-fought reproductive rights, we will make our voices heard this November. You can bet the sperm bank on it.

Liberal amounts of food

It’s a foodie entry! I haven’t done one of these in ages. Before I get to that, some news of note.

Yesterday started out pretty sad. I cried over the story about the young Emperor Penguin who lost his way from Antarctica and ended up on a New Zealand beach. The hope was that he’d head home as soon as possible, but instead he (the gender is arbitrary, as they haven’t determined that yet) stuck around. He began eating sand, apparently thinking it was snow, and became lethargic. Finally, the authorities intervened and popped him into an ice-filled cooler and carted him off to the zoo in Wellington. They’ve been trying to flush the sand out of his system, and have him hooked up to an IV to rehydrate. A friend of mine from New Zealand sent me a link to a story that said the young penguin (They’re calling him Happy Feet. Awww!) was doing better. He’s not out of the woods yet, but I remain hopeful that he will be okay. The attention this story is getting shows that people love penguins. How can you not? They’re adorable! I’m wishing for your speedy recovery, little friend!

Then came the news of the death of Peter Falk. I had heard that he was in poor health (it turns out that he had Alzheimer’s), but it was still sad news. Everyone loved his Columbo character, but one of my favorite comedy movies is “The In-Laws.” I started watching it again last night (I’ll finish it when I eat dinner tonight). He was a wonderful actor, and he left a legacy of many great performances. He will be missed.

I needed some good news after such sadness. The first of it came in the form of a federal judge saying that Indiana’s defunding of Planned Parenthood is illegal. YES! The state says they will challenge the ruling, but Governor Daniels has said that he will abide by the court ruling. So what are you going to do, Mitch? I’m sure this isn’t the end of it. But today Planned Parenthood began treating Medicaid patients again. This is a temporary victory that I hope will be made permanent.

Next was New York’s historic vote to allow same sex marriage! And there was much celebrating! The vote passed with several Republican votes, so maybe, just maybe, we’re finally on the right track in allowing equal rights for all of our citizens. We’ve got a long ways to go, but New York is a biggie. Congratulations, New York! Let’s keep it going!

Then in today’s paper, I saw that Indiana’s immigrant bill was also blocked as illegal (so to speak). I’m happy to see some pushback against these laws, and I think there are several states (including my own) that need to go back and read the Constitution again. I suggest paying special attention to Article VI, also known as the Supremacy Clause. It’s kind of a big deal.

Okay, on to the food part! Ken was on a business trip this week, and not only did I get busy and get a lot of cleaning and projects done, I got to cook some eggplant! Many of you know that when Ken goes on a trip, it’s my chance to cook myself some eggplant. I love the stuff, but Ken...not so much. (That’s putting it mildly!)

I had found a new recipe on the Hunts website: Eggplant Parm Rolls, and I was looking forward to trying it. (In the interest of not making this too long, I’ll just provide the link to the recipe. There seem to be a lot of other good ones there.) Here are some pictures and commentary, followed by a few things I did differently.

You have to slice the eggplant lengthwise into quarter-inch slices. It went pretty well until the last couple of slices…that was hard!

This is the start of the sauce. Onions (Vidalias…yay!), garlic, and sliced zucchini. I also tossed in a few scraps of eggplant that were left over from slicing them (sans skin).

Tomatoes added, along with salt, pepper, and a little sugar.

Grilling the eggplant. You could probably broil or fry the slices, too, but I recommend grilling for that sort of charred taste.

My wine choice. I usually prefer Cabernets, but I decided to go with this Merlot because…yes, the bottle was pretty. Not an expensive wine, but reds can be stashed away for a few years, and they just get better with time!

The cheese filling: ricotta, Parmesan, eggs, and fresh basil.

The assembled eggplant rolls. I had a little extra cheese mixture, so I just put it in the middle of them.

Then you spoon the sauce over the rolls, and put mini-marshmallows on it! No, that’s actually perline fresh mozzarella, and that was my mistake. I was thinking that the mozzarella went in the filling, so I thought the tiny balls would be better. I should have gotten the big ball and sliced it for the topping. It was still tasty, though.

Out of the oven and melty. Sitting for a few minutes to get a little more “solid.” This was initially a little juicy. I don’t know if it was because of the zucchini, or what. It specifically says to not drain the tomatoes, but I might drain at least one of the cans in the future.

Chow time! (Pardon the cord at the top of the picture. That’s my Rock Band microphone.)

Okay, here is where I strayed from the recipe. It calls for two large eggplants. I decided to cut the recipe in half, so only got one. It still made eight rolls, and I realized early on that I was still going to need the full amount of cheese filling and sauce. It calls for a can of stewed tomatoes, and I only got one of those, so I used an additional can of diced tomatoes. I didn’t use a full cup of fresh basil, maybe only a half a cup. I think a full cup would have made it even more flavorful. I used a slightly smaller dish than called for in the recipe, and it was pretty full. I really think two large eggplants is too much for the sauce and filling amounts provided in the recipe.

My assessment: very good, but not quite as good as Eggplant Parmigiana (still my favorite). Next time, I think I will peel the eggplant. The skin adds a nice color, but it was a little on the tough side, and I think I would prefer to not have that toughness. I peel it when I make Eggplant Parmigiana, and I think this dish would be a little better with the eggplant peeled (although perhaps less visually appealing). Also, I sprayed the eggplant slices all at once with cooking spray, before I heated up the grill pan. I should have known better, because I know how eggplant soaks up oil. By the time I got ready to put the slices on the pan, the spray had completely absorbed! I had to spray them all again before I put them on the grill pan.

I had it again last night, and I think it was better than the night I first made it. Sometimes it seems like flavors blend better together after sitting for a bit. I’ll be eating it again tonight, so maybe it will be even better!

There is nothing complicated about this recipe (I don’t think so, anyway), but it does take a little time. Probably the most strenuous thing was hand-grating the Parmesan cheese. But DO use real Parmesan, not the Kraft grated stuff, as well as fresh mozzarella as opposed to the block stuff. The flavors are completely different and so much better.

Will I make this again? Yes! Highly recommended if you like eggplant and zucchini. It’s a meatless dish, but I kind of like that once in a while, and the cheese should give you plenty of protein. If you make it, let me know how yours turned out, and what you think. Or what your family thinks, if you dare to make it for them!

That’s entertainment

Tonight I listened to a live stream on a Rochester, Indiana radio station of a debate between the candidates vying for the 2nd Congressional seat. This might not be of much interest to the vast majority of my friends here, although I do plan on speaking about the bigger picture. If you don't want to read about any of this, I am totally cool with that.

The candidates are the incumbent Democrat, Joe Donnelly, who is one of the "blue dogs." I'm not thrilled with the blue dog bullshit, but all in all, Joe has been a concerned and responsive Congressman. I don't agree with all of his positions, but I like him overall, and he is a Democrat voice in the Hoosier sea of red. The Libertarian candidate is Mark Vogel, a pharmacy student at Purdue. The Republican candidate is Jackie Walorski, a teabagger darlin' endorsed by Sarah Palin. (I tried to find a picture of all three of them, but to no avail. Vogel doesn't stand a snowball's chance in hell, so I don't think a picture is necessary.)

I've made no bones about my utter loathing of Walorski, so I won't even pretend to be objective on this. However, I did take notes on the debate, and will write a few words here. My pal Milwaukee Dan #1 messaged me, said that he was taking notes, and that he was such a geek...I said I took notes, too, so I guess we're political geeks together! He then coined the term "Politigeek," and I think it's obvious that I qualify.

Here are several of the topics and the candidates' takes on them.

• Drug legalization: None of them were advocates, but all of them brought up meth and heroin. I cracked up. No one is advocating the legalization of meth and heroin. Come on! The question is obviously about the legalization of marijuana, but each of them sidestepped it and brought up freakin' meth. It was ludicrous.
• Abortion: Once again, Walorski tried to say that the health care bill allows for federal funds for abortion. Obama signed an executive order attached to the bill saying that federal funds would not be used for abortion, and that is the only reason that Donnelly, a pro-life, devout Catholic, voted for it. It's true that such an executive order can be easily changed, but to say that Donnelly voted for federal funds for abortion is completely wrong. At one point during Walorski's criticism of Donnelly, the crowd began to boo. In one of the most interesting moments of the debate, Donnelly took charge and said that no matter what the opinions here, everyone needs to remain respectful and respect the debate forum and all those involved. I thought that showed real leadership and real class.
• The United Nations: Both Walorski and Vogel said they want the United States out of the UN. Donnelly said that there is nothing wrong with sitting down and talking with people; Walorski said something about how inviting Ahmedinijad here, on U.S. soil, to speak at the UN is somehow legitimizing Iran's policies. On the contrary, I think that hearing Ahmedinijad talk about how there are no homosexuals in Iran simply showed how idiotic that regime is. The sort of isolationism espoused by Walorski, Vogel, and others really bothers me. We're all connected now, folks, like it or not. We have to try to deal with nations that we don't like, and simply ignoring them does not work. We can't just pick up our ball and go home.
• Privatization of Social Security: Walorski has said in the past that she was for it. There is tape of her saying it. Now she says no, she doesn't want that. The tapes don't lie. She also said that the new budget starts in January; the fiscal year starts in October. That was a dumb mistake.
• Stem cell research: Vogel and Walorski an emphatic "no," with little elaboration. Donnelly a "no" on embryonic stem cell research. I don't agree with him on that, but he did go on to say that he is for other stem cell research, including that on skin cells that can be converted to stem cells. I applaud his knowledge of recent research that has converted epidermal cells to stem cells. I can't remember if it was this topic in which Walorski mentioned how she tried to shut down Planned Parenthood in Indiana, but she was obviously very proud of that. Ugh.
• 14th Amendment: Walorski and Vogel did the expected anti-immigrant thing. Donnelly is anti-amnesty (another thing I disagree with him on) but said that he absolutely does not support any change in the Constitution.
• "Ground Zero Mosque": Amusing that someone asked this question. All candidates were pretty much in agreement that this was a property/state issue. Those of us in Indiana shouldn't really have a say in what those in New York decide about their own issues, anymore than those in New York should have a say in ours. However, the Libertarian candidate got off on a tangent about how the "federal government has attacked Christianity." Big load of horseshit. I don't think anyone is asking the federal government to step in and say that a Christian church shouldn't be built somewhere! More kudos to Donnelly for mentioning the Catholic convent that went up on the grounds of Auschwitz; he used it as an example of how something was moved because it was inappropriate, although it didn't happen for quite some time after some protested the convent there. Religious symbols weren't removed for 15 years after the establishment of the Carmelite convent. Still, I was impressed that he knew about it.
• Afghanistan: Walorski went off on a major tangent about spending, taxes, blah blah blah, then got burned by Vogel when it was his turn to respond: "Just want to make sure this question is about Afghanistan?" He got laughter and applause for that.
• Jobs: This was mentioned several times throughout the evening, because one county in this district, Elkhart, got hit really hard with unemployment. It was up to about 20% for a while. Donnelly has helped to bring jobs to the area with some big contracts for electric vehicles. He also got part of the stimulus money to the area, and helped to save a few thousand jobs in Kokomo, which is a huge vehicle manufacturing area. When he mentioned that, a huge cheer went up from the crowd, so I can only assume that there were some Kokomo people in the house.
• Education: Both Vogel and Walorski have called for the elimination of the Department of Education. Donnelly talked about the increase in Pell grants, the lowering of school loan interest rates, and the expanded GI bill, all of which he supported. When Walorski's rebuttal came, she said, "Okay, Joe, tell the truth---" and he immediately interrupted her and said, "I already did," and he got plenty of applause for that.

I have one more point here that I am choosing to set apart from those above. This happened early in the debate, with a question about global warming. Donnelly said that he is against cap and trade, and I don't feel that I can really speak to that until I learn more about it, and I know that I will need to. However, Walorski's answer summed up her philosophy, as well as the teabaggers', perfectly. She said that when it comes to global warming, she doesn't listen to the "liberal elitists." She goes around the area and talks to Hoosier farmers, and she thinks they know best what is happening with climate change, and she trusts THEM.

That's right. She trusts Hoosier farmers over climatologists to inform her about global warming.

For me, that was a Sarah Palin Fruit Fly moment. The fact that Walorski would reject science, scientists, and scientific findings and trust in what Hoosier farmers have to say is just...I'm sorry...I'm laughing. It is beyond ludicrous. I've known a few Hoosier farmers in my lifetime. I've known some smart ones. But while they might know about when to plant, if the soil is too wet to plant, and about what the weather has been like for the past couple of decades while they've been farming, that doesn't mean that they are experts on global warming. Holy shit, I could not believe my ears when she said that! I really shouldn't be surprised, though. This seems to dovetail nicely with the sentiment among some that opinions count for more than intelligence and knowledge. "I don't care about your fancy book learnin' and your goldurn scientific statistics! I'm a Hoosier farmer, by gum, and I know what I see!" Give me a fucking break. And Walorski can suck it for her troglodyte attitude that personal observation counts for more than scientific observation.

Okay! That is my take on the debate. There is another one (televised!) between these three candidates on Wednesday night, and I'll be watching it. I probably won't go in depth like I did with this one, but maybe there will be something new and interesting, and I'll comment on that.

I know that this race doesn't mean much to most of my readers, but it is a big deal around here. I would like to use this as an illustration as to why it is important to take an interest, and why it is important to be informed and vote! Especially when it comes to national elections. The winner of the race in my district will be going to Washington and making decisions for our entire country. I guarantee that I will do my part to make sure that Walorski won't be making decisions for all of you. I wouldn't wish her on my worst enemy, let alone my friends!

VOTE!

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss

Most teabaggin' folks I encounter online seem to react badly to a few things. First is being called a teabagger, although they were the ones who started calling themselves that before someone informed them of the meaning that most of the rest of us already knew about. Second is being called a racist. As Bill Maher said, "There are two things that teabaggers hate. One is being called a racist. The second is black people." Ha!

Another thing I've noticed they don't like is someone saying that they're overly concerned about social issues or value judgments. "Oh no," they protest, "our main concern is with big government and out-of-control spending! That is what we're all about!"

I think we can put that little delusion to rest right now. Over the weekend, the Family Research Council held their Values Voters Summit. I understand that this was not a Tea Party-sponsored event, but virtually every speaker was kissing some major teabagger ass, so to speak. Many of them mentioned the Tea Party, and teabaggin'-talk abounded. Make no mistake about it. The teabaggers are firmly committed to values voting and social issues. Check it out.

Newt Gingrich:

On the one front, we have a secular socialist machine led by Obama, Pelosi and Reid. And on the other front, we have radical Islamists who would fundamentally change this country into a system none of us in this room would recognize.

This is not about religious liberty, if they want to build that mosque in the South Bronx, frankly they need the jobs. But I am totally opposed to any effort to impose Sharia on the United States, and we should have a federal law that says under no circumstance, in any jurisdiction in the United States, will Sharia be used in any court to apply to any judgment made about American law.

Actually, Newt, there already is a federal law on the books that prohibits the government from promoting Sharia law, or any other religious law. It's called the First Amendment.

Sen. Jim DeMint:

There is a relationship, and I think there is a strong faith component in the Tea Party movement. But it's very different than what I've seen before or of things like the Moral Majority. They're not pushing religion. They're not even pushing morality. They just consider bankruptcy as a moral issue.

They are most definitely pushing religion and their definition of morality. And bankruptcy is a moral issue? I know there are some people that overspend and live beyond their means. But 60% of bankruptcies in this country are due to medical bills. I've had relatives who were brought to that point because of their medical bills. DeMint and his cronies are once again painting those who declare bankruptcy or draw unemployment or get food stamps and welfare as lazy and devoid of morals.

More DeMint:

We know what’s happening in this country. We know that this idea that you need to separate your politics from your religion and from your values and from your economics, it just doesn’t work because America is the most prosperous, the most compassionate, the strongest nation in the history of the world because it rests on a set of principles that sit on a foundation of Judeo-Christian values.

Think about what Judeo-Christian values do in that environment. The people that believe that they’re accountable to God, and because of that, they’re honest. They have integrity. They care about others. They practice charity. They’re volunteers. They have a strong work ethic. They’re not only self-controlled and responsible for themselves, but they feel a responsibility for those around them. They’re committed to marriage and family and their church.

Think about a nation where millions of people are like that. They don’t need a big government to control them. These are the people that build our community and build our strength and have the vision for what works in our country. But think about a culture that doesn’t have the values, the restraint of being accountable to God.

We see it all over the world. We don’t have to guess at what it looks like, where your economy works with bribes and corruption. Your politics is completely corrupt because the people have no values and morals. And then you need a bigger and bigger government to control a violent people, a violent and disruptive people.

This is such a huge steaming pile of bullshit that it's difficult to address it all. Let's just say that I know plenty of non-religious people who have integrity and have a strong work ethic, who volunteer and help others, not because they fear the punishment of God, but because it's a good thing to help your fellow human being and your community. I would also like to mention a few "men of God": Jim and Tammy Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, Robert Tilton, Ted Haggard, Benny Hinn, Paul and Jan Crouch...need I go on?

Sen. Jim Inhofe:

I didn't think it'd work at that time, but it did. It was called Don't Ask, Don't Tell. And some of you - if you are gay and you want to serve in the military, they don't ask you about it, you don't tell it, you're not doing it openly so that the problems that we all know about. And I think that they mentioned it in my introduction that I was an Army veteran, and I think any of the veterans in this room - I don't have to tell you the problems that would happen if you have an open gay situation there, where it allows people to use the military as a forum for their liberal agenda.

A forum for their liberal agenda? Oh, you mean gays who sign up for our volunteer military and go overseas to fight and die for their country? Is that the liberal agenda you're talking about, Jimmeh?

This from an NPR reporter interviewing a summit attendee:

Mr. Todd Dexter: I think the truth is, these people care very deeply about pro-life issues, care very deeply about the sanctity of marriage and kind of the moral values that we believe are the foundation of our country.

Reporter: You mean the Tea Party believes that?

Mr. Dexter: I believe so. I believe many do. It may not always be the official position. But those who go to those rallies, they very much embrace that.

Reporter: Dexter has attended Tea Party events. Pollsters bear out his assertion that no matter what slogans the Tea Party vocalizes, a large majority of their members happen to be anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage.

Former Senator and Internet sensation Rick Santorum:

And what is necessary in our society if we are to be free? Well, our founders had it right. John Adams said, our constitution is made – our constitution is made for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the governance of any other. You see, we can only be free as long as we are virtuous. And we can only be virtuous as look as there are vibrant faiths in the public square.

Go into the neighborhoods in America where there is a lack of virtue. What will you find? Two things. You will find no families, no mothers and fathers together in marriage and you will find government everywhere. Police, social service agencies, why? Because without faith, family and virtue, government takes over.

I would like to know his definitions of morality and virtue. Apparently it does not include anyone who is not religious, and it does not include single parents. And darn those pesky police and social services meddling in the people's business!

Batshit crazy Rep. Michele Bachmann:

I think the one thing that these high-and-mighty types, part of the ruling class here in Washington, D.C., just don’t seem to understand – they live at the wine-and-cheese parties, you know, here in D.C. As for me, I prefer tea parties, just so you know.

No social agenda in that quote, but it shows her embrace of the teabaggers. It also highlights a recurrent theme in this summit, the "Washington elites," the "high-and-mighty types," attendin' their wine and cheese parties, actin' all high-falutin' and fancy. Like an education is a bad thing. I suppose for some of these people it is, because it makes them realize their inadequacies. That's one of the worst things, in my opinion, to have come out of this peculiar movement: the idea that it's a bad thing to be an intellectual, or to rely on logic and education rather than instincts and a religious text.

Mike Huckabee:

The basic idea is that there is no such thing as a person who is more valuable than another, that all of us have the same intrinsic worth. that no person is worth more because of his last name, or land ownership, or occupation, or who his father was or grandfather was. Or what city he came from, or what color he is, or what gender he or she may be.

We know that every life is important before God and to each other. And we know that marriage matters. We know that marriage hasn't changed, that it still means what it means.

Note the glaring omission of sexual orientation. In the Huckster's world, I guess there are no homosexuals, and if there are, they aren't deserving of the same rights, and they don't have the same "intrinsic worth" as the rest of us.

Then there is Indiana Congressman Mike Pence, who won the straw poll for the Republican nominee in 2012:

A political party that would govern this great nation must be able to handle more than one issue at a time. We must focus on our fiscal crisis and support our troops. We must work to create jobs and protect innocent human life and defend traditional marriage. To those who say that marriage is not relevant to our budget crisis, I say you would not be able to print enough money in a thousand years to pay for the government that you would need if the family continues to collapse.

To those who say we should focus on cutting spending, I say, okay. Let’s start by denying all federal funding for abortion at home and abroad. You want to find savings? Let's cut funding to research that destroys human embryos in the name of science and let’s deny any and all funding to Planned Parenthood of America.

That is all horrible, but I find his desire to end funding for Planned Parenthood especially egregious. The vast majority of clinics do not perform abortions; Planned Parenthood provides basic health care including Pap smears and family planning for millions of women. It also works hard to educate young women about birth control and STI prevention. Calling for no funds for Planned Parenthood is like throwing the baby out with the bath water. So to speak.

As if all of these things didn't make it clear that the teabaggers are all about the social issues, not just about being anti-government, part of the straw poll included a question about what issue is most important to them:

1. Abortion
2. Government spending
3. Repeal of “Obamacare”
4. Protection of religious liberty
5. National Security

I think that says it all right there. I also wonder why "protection of religious liberty" is in the top five. No one--no one--is trying to stop anyone from worshiping the way they wish to. Unless it's these people who would stop a cultural center being built a couple of blocks away from the Ground Zero site because someone of a different religion is building it. Keeping this group's fundamental religious beliefs--I'm talking about the teabaggers here--out of our government does not constitute persecution. They do not get to dictate what the rest of us must believe. They do not get to legislate based on the ten commandments or anything else in the Bible. They do not get to decide what is moral and what isn't, based upon their religious beliefs.

This reminds me of Jerry Falwell's creation of the Moral Majority in the '80's, and Ralph Reed and the Christian Coalition in the '90's. There is nothing wrong with anyone and everyone getting involved in politics, but these groups would insert their religion into the political landscape, and I have a problem with that. Their religion is not everyone's religion. They cannot and must not speak for all in this country. We've been through this before; they are offering nothing new.

For any teabagger who says it's not about religion and social issues, that it's all about economics...I beg to differ. The GOP is obviously courting the teabaggers, and in the process, they are taking us back to the culture wars of the '80s and '90s. The problem is that they would be the deciders on everyone's morality, not just their own.

This country is no longer the domain of rich white Republican men. We are a diverse nation, and will not and cannot return to how these people would define us. We are more than that, much more. I don't want these teabaggers running my country and discriminating against my friends because they love someone these people think it is wrong to love. I don't want them hating my friends because they look different. I don't want them censoring me because I don't believe the way they do, or dictating how I and my female friends deal with our bodies.

We've been there and done that, and I'll take progress over regress any day.