American Idiot

Yes, I feel quite a letdown today, but the sun came up, and we have beer in the fridge.

~~ Ken

I had a quiet day at home as I reflected on and processed what happened Tuesday night.

Boy, I sure called that one wrong, didn’t I? I take zero pleasure in the fact that it wasn’t just me. Almost everyone was wrong about it—the pollsters and the pundits—and they get paid to do that stuff!

To say that I am heartsick doesn’t do it justice. I am also disgusted, appalled, and embarrassed. What might be the biggest blow is that my eternal optimism and unwavering belief in the innate goodness of humanity has been shaken. I truly did believe that we would find our better angels.

But we didn’t. Some of us did. But not enough.

I’ve seen enough recrimination to last a lifetime today. Everyone wants to lay blame. I’m not going to target any particular group of people or any age group. We failed collectively as a country. We allowed our paranoia and fear and hatred to cloud our reason and judgment. Many of us did our part by contributing and voting and advocating for reason. But this didn’t happen overnight. The Republican party has been fomenting this unrest and anger for years, and this is the culmination of that effort. Should we have made more of an effort to speak out long before this? Would it have made a difference? Or was the worldwide sweep of nativism and populism inevitable in our country, too?

I honestly have no idea and it’s above my pay grade, anyway. All I know is that this is where we are right now.

So what do we do now? I have a couple of ideas.

First, we must speak out. I fear that a massive wave of bigotry, sexism, and hatred has been unleashed. We’ve seen some very ugly scenes lately and I am afraid that we will see more. I know that a lot of us have not been afraid to stand up for someone who is being bullied or abused. We must have zero tolerance for any such behavior. If you see it happening, make your stand! (With regards to Stephen King and my all-time favorite book, The Stand. I might be due for yet another read of it, because there are lessons to be learned and relearned there.) Those who are most vulnerable among us will be under attack and all of us must stand up, speak out, and defend and protect them. We must not let hatred become routine or ignored.

Second, we must speak out against policies that are antithetical to what we believe. We have elected a new president whose policies (what little he has proposed) I find absurd and whose personal behavior I find repugnant. But he has been elected president. That is reality, and unlike most of his supporters, I’m a big fan of reality. I will respect the office. I will no longer call him the Yam, the Vulgar Talking Yam, Yamboy, or any of the other things I’ve called him. (Tool, Asshole, A-hole, and many others.) I will refer to him as the president or as Trump. Not even Mr. Trump. He doesn’t have any respect for women, so why should I have respect for him as a Mister?

I’m not going to call him names, because as Michelle Obama said, “When they go low, we go high.” It drove us all crazy when people called President Obama and Michelle names, right? So I’m not going to resort to those tactics. However, while I am forced to accept that he is the elected president, I absolutely, unequivocally and forever reject his brand of hatred.

I refuse it. I will speak out against it whenever I see it. I will post about his lies and misdeeds (and there will be many...have you been paying attention?), I will post about the lawsuits against him, I will post as much as I want, when I want. All based in fact, of course, because I don’t traffic in conspiracy theories.

I know many of us feel disheartened and bereft. I felt that today, too. (The nausea was a side effect.) But listen to me and know this: we are not done. We have work to do and it begins with us. Speak out. Do not be ruled by the politics of fear. Reject bigotry, sexism, homophobia, and hatred of any kind. Do not let this negate your belief in what is true, what is right, and what is just. They have not taken those things from us...we still have them. They have not taken our country from us...it is still ours, too.

We still have a voice. Let’s use it.

This song has never been more appropriate.

Because

Can’t touch this.

~~ M.C. Hammer

Because of that doctor in North Dakota who, when I was trying to draw blood from a male patient, put his hands around my waist and said to the patient, “I bet it doesn’t hurt as much when they’re as pretty as this one!”

Because of that guy in the lab who went around telling anyone who would listen exactly what he what he wanted to do to me.

Because of my ex-husband who, when saying he’d meet us back at the house, reached in the passenger side window and grabbed my boob in front of my sister-in-law.

Because of the guy in the bar who kept pushing his dick into my back until I turned around and told him to back the fuck off.

Because of the guy in college who didn’t back off when I said no and held me down until I physically pushed him off of me and got out of the room, and then kept coming to my dorm room and I had to hide in the closet while my roommate told him I wasn’t there.

Because of the narcissist I dated for five years and after I broke it off with him, I found out that he was dating several other women at the same time.

Because of another ex-boyfriend who called me a stupid cunt, and another ex who called me a cold-hearted bitch. (Why? Because I didn’t go to pieces when I broke it off with him. How dare I!)

Because of the online assholes who have called me things like “little lady” and said that I should get off my back, quit smoking pot, and get a job.

Because of every woman who has been belittled, dismissed, or assaulted, every woman who has had to put up with an asshole who thinks that he somehow has a right to treat us this way.

And because of every man who does not treat women that way and respects us as equals.

This is why Hillary Rodham Clinton needs to kick some Trump ass on November 8th.

Why I’m With Her

A Facebook friend posted this on my timeline this morning:

Hey, I want to start this out that I really like you. I respect your opinion. I look forward to reading what you are up to and what you are thinking. I watched the debates. I know where you stand on the politcal side and I respect your opinion. I want to ask you a few questions. I don't want you to defriend me. I just don't know how you can lean towards Clinton.? Trump is no better than she is. I also know that you like Obama as well. That is your opinion and I respect that. I voted for him as well. A couple of observations. Hillary is talking about bringing back jobs back from other countries. Correct me if I am wrong? When Perot was running, he had mentioned, if AFTA is passed? We are going to hear the sucking sounds of all of our jobs are going to other countries. Clinton passed those laws. Now, Hillary is going to try to bring them back? My Mom lived in ARK when he was Gov. He pulled some shady deals back then. The people wanted him out. They got their way and he headed to Washington. Respectfully waiting your response. Thanks in advance.

Instead of responding there, I thought I would just do a blog entry and answer it here. I am overdue for this endorsement, anyway! I’ll take everything one-by-one.

First, thank you for respecting my opinion and asking about my thoughts on the matter.

I’m not sure why you are wondering how I can “lean towards Clinton.” It’s pretty obvious that I’m a Democrat and tend to vote that way. I have occasionally cast votes for principled Republicans, like Richard Lugar. Trump is not a principled Republican. In fact, I’m not even sure he’s a Republican. (Sometimes I wonder if he’s a human being, but the lizard people conspiracy theory can wait for another day.)

I support Democratic policies. Democrats care about things like climate change, education, marriage equality, women’s reproductive rights, healthcare for all, lifting people out of poverty and helping them with security nets, creating jobs, increasing taxes on the wealthiest among us while giving tax breaks to the middle class and the poor, as well as numerous other issues. I believe that our federal government can be a vital part of moving our country forward and ensuring that all Americans have a fair chance. I align almost completely with Democrats and very rarely with Republicans.

Why wouldn’t I vote for the Democrat? Especially one who has proven to be eminently qualified for the job? Secretary Clinton has spent her life working to help others, whether as First Lady of Arkansas, First Lady of the United States, United States Senator, or Secretary of State. She is smart, I believe she cares about Americans, she knows how to keep her cool even when everyone around her is losing their shit, and she does the hard work necessary to be informed about every issue. Everything the Republicans have thrown against her over the years has proven to be a big ol’ nothingburger. I honestly don’t know what has driven the extreme hatred of her on the right—and even sometimes on the left—but I don’t doubt that there is an element of misogyny among many of her detractors. Not all...some just don’t like her. I’m not sure what has driven that, either, but it’s obvious that those people will never change their opinions and I’m done arguing with them.

Contrast that with the know-nothing Trump, who seems to wallow in his own ignorance. Anyone who knows me well knows that a quality I despise in people is willful ignorance. It’s one thing to admit that you don’t know something but want to learn about it and quite another to admit it and say that you don’t care and don’t need to know. If you are running for the most powerful position in the world, yes, you DO need to know. He is a misogynistic, sexist bully who thinks that women are nothing more than bags of meat for him to grope as he sees fit. Only if they are of a certain age, though. Once they get past a certain point, it’s time to ditch ‘em!

Trump talks about how a vote for Clinton is a vote for a third Obama term. I say, “Yes, please!” Contrary to what Trump would have you believe, we’re doing pretty well after two terms of President Obama. Unemployment is way down, the deficit has been drastically reduced, the stock market is doing well, and millions of Americans now have access to healthcare. Do we have problems we need to address? Of course! When do we not? I’d much rather have the cool hand of Hillary Clinton at the helm than a bloviating, sexist pig who doesn’t pay his fair share in taxes and who has the temperament of a toddler throwing a temper tantrum.

As for NAFTA or other trade agreements causing a massive loss of American manufacturing jobs? Nope. Most analyses show that it’s due to an increase in productivity and automation. Many parts are made in the U.S., so even if cars are assembled in Mexico, there are still American workers doing those jobs here. I’m also not sure why that is germane to my support of Hillary Clinton. NAFTA was passed by Bill Clinton’s administration, and Hillary is the one running for President in 2016. Not Bill.

Anecdotal “evidence” that goes something like “I have a friend who worked with a guy who was a cop in Arkansas when the Clintons were in office” mean nothing to me. That’s like a game of telephone and it’s how urban legends take root and get told as factual. I prefer to deal with facts.

The statement I see from some friends on both the left and the right that Hillary and Trump are equally as bad is absurd. Fact-checkers have rated her the most honest of recent politicians, second only to President Obama. The least honest? Trump. This is long enough, so I don’t even want to go into why Trump is a danger to our Constitution, our country, and possibly even the world. He is a demagogue and a dictator wanna-be who would be, to use one of his favorite words, a disaster.

To sum up, I am not just “leaning” towards Clinton. I am also not voting against Trump. I am enthusiastically and happily supporting Hillary Rodham Clinton and I will be proud to cast my vote for her and proud to call her Madam President.

I’m Beth and I approve this message.

She gave him enough rope

Well, that first debate happened.

At the risk of sounding braggadocious, I think I called it pretty well!

Secretary Clinton did indeed go after him on his questionable wealth (not that he isn’t really stinking rich...he’s just not as rich as he claims to be) as well as his unwillingness to release his tax returns. She needled him about that “small loan” from his Pops...you know, the $14 million one. She got under his skin by repeatedly calling him “Donald,” rather than Mr. Trump or Donald J. Trump as he demands of his acolytes.

He held his own for about 15 minutes and then the wheels on the Trump Train fell off. He became increasingly irrational and unhinged and by the end of the debate, I know that I wasn’t the only one questioning his sanity.

Which rhymes with Hannity, whom someone needs to call. Why doesn’t anyone call Sean Hannity?? Poor Sean. Call him!

By all accounts, Trump chose not to prepare for the debate, at least in the usual way. His Yampaigners tried to get him to practice, but the guy seems to have the attention span of a toddler. As well as the oratory skills of one.

I’m sure the Yampaign will attempt to get him to work on a little more debate prep before the next one, but I wonder if they have actually spoken with their candidate, or watched him over the past year. It’s easy to make your candidate jump through hoops and read from a teleprompter, but when he has to think on his feet, he has a bit of a problem, doesn’t he? Good luck with that debate prep and we’ll see you in the next round.

I don’t want to just bash the Yam, though (not a euphemism). I want to praise Hillary Clinton for knowing her shit, studying for the debate, and for striking the absolute right demeanor in dealing with this faux populist buffoon. She showed a total command of the facts and an unflappable stoicism in the face of the Yam’s attempts to interrupt and dominate the conversation. I honestly don’t know of any woman who hasn’t experienced a man talking over her, which is one of my pet peeves. Hillary handled it better than I do, that’s for sure!

The Yam’s closing remarks about how he wanted to level some nasty attacks against Clinton but he’s such a kind, thoughtful guy who didn’t want to hurt her feelings that he took the high road and chose not to...all I can say is “Crackuh, PLEASE!”

That was all about the first President Clinton’s infidelities. We all know about them and they are not a secret. That was 20 years ago or more and Bill and Hillary Clinton have apparently worked out everything in whatever way they chose to do so. I am quite certain that the Yam won’t hesitate to bring that up in the second debate, and hey, good luck with that. I guarantee that Hillary will be ready for that line of attack and will deliver one hell of an epic smackdown in response. Dan Savage has advice for Hillary better than anything I could write myself.

The Yam made a valiant yet stupid effort to tell his supporters that he won the debate...all the online polls said so! Sadly, many of his supporters are so gullible that they think that unscientific online polls are accurate.

Every thinking person knows the truth, though. Donald—hey, can I call ya Donald?

She cleaned your clock.

TFS

Hey, T.V. child, look into my eyes.

Here by intervention, I want your attention.

Promotion boy in a suit and tie; he wants you to use it.

You're too shot to loose it.

It's pumpin' down the cable like never so before.

A cola manufacturer is sponsoring the war.

Here comes the news with love from me to you.   

~~ “Too Much Information” by Duran Duran

Illustration by Edel Rodriguez for TIME

The other day I posted about how it must be exhausting for journalists to cover Trump. I dubbed it Trump Fatigue Syndrome and have decided that I seem to be suffering a mild case myself. I would list the symptoms as an almost visceral disgust that is exacerbated with each outrageous remark (no immunity is built up, apparently); vertigo from trying to follow his numerous stances on issues and his attempts to explain why he didn’t mean what actually came out of his mouth; a sense of shock that anyone in this country thinks he is capable of performing the duties required of the President of the United States; and a general malaise that often makes the victim think, “How can I continue to listen to this? How much more of this can I take?”

I reached that point this week. What did it for me? It was his patently absurd comments about President Obama, as well as Hillary Clinton, being the “founder” and “MVP,” respectively, of ISIS. Anyone with a half a brain and an Internet connection can find out in a matter of moments that it was a ridiculous claim. Now, if he had made the argument that President Obama’s policies and actions in the world, as well as Hillary’s as Secretary of State, had contributed to a strengthening of ISIS, that might be a reasonable argument. (I think it’s a wrong one, but at least it’s a coherent argument.) In fact, conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt gave him the chance to say exactly that (leading questions much, Hugh?) in an interview. Nope. Nope nope nope. Trump said he meant exactly what he said, that Obama and Hillary were the founders of ISIS. Which is, again, absurd.

After saying multiple times that he meant exactly what he said, the next morning he tweeted out that he was being sarcastic and the media or anyone criticizing him for his remarks is too dumb to understand sarcasm.

No, we understand sarcasm, Yamboy. That is not what you were doing. A charitable term would be hyperbole, and hyperbolic claims happen often in politics. I think a better term would be a LIE. A big, fat, fact-checkable lie.

This was all ridiculous enough, but later that day at a rally, he riffed on this again, essentially saying, “Come on, it was sarcasm! Or WAS it?!” Yep, he walked it back again and said that maybe he wasn’t being sarcastic at all.

This was the point where I said, “Oh, for Pete’s sake. I’m turning it back to the Olympics.” For all his supporters’ talk about how they like him because he “tells it like it is,” he sure goes back and forth a lot, doesn’t he? So what was the deal? Was he making a joke, being sarcastic, or wasn’t he? What’s it gonna be, boy? Yes...or...no?

I grow exceedingly weary of his naughty schoolboy antics. He is an absurd candidate and doesn’t have the temperament or knowledge to lead our country. It’s not enough to surround yourself with “good people...the best people.” You have to have at least a basic understanding of our government and of how to behave diplomatically and realize that words have meanings as well as consequences. You know...WOOOORDS. Those things you put together to make sentences, Donald. Of course, some are better at it than others.

I’ll keep posting stories about him and about the election on Facebook and Twitter. It’s kind of my thing this time of year.  I am also not going to take anything for granted and will do what I can to make sure that Hillary Clinton wins the election. But you know what I’ve decided? Trump is BORING. His shtick is as stale as that of a 70-year-old washed up comedian playing the Catskills. His attitude is that of a bratty four-year-old who doesn’t get his way. “Waaaaah, Hillary’s gonna cheat. Waaaaah, the Khans were mean to me.” Grow the fuck up, Donald. We’ve got shit to do in this country and your ridiculous antics and non-existent and/or unworkable plans aren’t contributing to solutions.

We’ll be subjected to this for the next three months and when you lose—because you’re going to be a big LOSER—I’m sure you’ll whine and cry about how things were rigged against you, but we’ll all know that you lost to a GIRL. Then you can go take your nice long vacation and we’ll go about getting said shit done.

Paper Gods

And when the final curtain finally comes down

We'll all be in the party room, no wiser as to how

The total human race became a basket case

It's nothing to lose face about, it's really not our place to doubt it

~~ Duran Duran, “Paper Gods”

Maybe not the total human race, but apparently a sizable portion of the American electorate has become basket cases.

It seems that the Republican party is on track to nominate Donald Trump (AKA the Vulgar Talking Yam, according to Charlie Pierce) for president. I find myself vacillating between laughter and despair.

I find it dismaying that anyone can fall for this scam artist’s lines and believe that he would be, in any way, good for our country. Even more dismaying is that I don’t doubt that I have family members who are supporting him. I honestly question their judgment, their intelligence, and even their basic sense of humanity.

I’m trying to maintain a sense of humor about it and I can laugh when I see Trump answer questions about where he is getting his advice concerning foreign policy by saying, “I’m speaking with myself. I have a very good brain.” But it’s getting harder and harder to find the humor in any American embracing this unqualified, narcissistic, misogynistic, demagogic, bullying TOOL.

It’s easy to think that the Democratic nominee (who looks increasingly likely to be Hillary Clinton) will have an easy time in defeating him. I take nothing for granted and none of my fellow Democrats should, either. It is vital that we ensure that this schoolyard bully gets nowhere near the White House. Not only are his proposals absurd, he would destroy any good will around the world that President Obama has generated.

I don’t know about you, but being a laughingstock does not not sit well with me. The thought of our entire country becoming a laughingstock for electing this buffoon is abhorrent.

The primaries aren’t over yet, but we are edging closer. Let’s make sure that we aren’t edging closer to the abyss.

Reading List:

It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis

Christian Nation: A Novel by Frederic C. Rich

Hit me baby, one more time

Ahhh, what a glorious evening was last night, and what an enjoyable day today.

I’m tired, because I was so wired last night that I was up until 4 am. I did next to nothing today, other than reading through the analyses and various takes on what happened, the demographics, and so forth. I kept the TV off all day, I didn’t feel like talking to anyone, and I just enjoyed the moment as I read my fill. I didn’t even spend a whole lot of time on Facebook, reading various reactions. I needed the time to regroup, take it all in, and let out the mental breath I’d been holding for about two freakin’ years! Whew!

I gave myself 24 hours to gloat, and I’ve posted a few items today that were definitely of that ilk. I’m not a mean-spirited person, for the most part, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t ecstatic that President Obama not only won four more years, but did so by beating one of the most cynical, mendacious candidates I’ve seen in some time. There have been times when I felt rather sorry for a losing candidate; I even had a twinge of that in 2008, because despite my anger at McCain for foisting the Grifter Palin upon us, he gave a decent and honorable concession speech.

Not so Romney. For some reason, he refused to make the phone call to President Obama for about an hour and a half after the race had already been called by the networks (if not Karl Rove, haha). When Romney finally did give his speech, I found it to be perfunctory and stiff, and it reeked of the attitude that he truly felt that he was entitled to win, and in fact, believed up until the end that he would. Most accounts say that he had not written a concession speech, only a victory speech. I believe this might be a classic case of hubris and nemesis. I can cut him some slack on the tone of it, I suppose; it’s not easy to lose. However, McCain (as well as Hillary Clinton, when she conceded the Democratic nomination to Obama) showed that concession speeches can be gracious and that the person who didn’t win can do so with decency and strength. Romney’s concession speech showed little of that.

It’s all a moot point, of course. Mittens is toast. I would be very surprised if he runs for office again. The endless parsing of the votes and the breakdown of the demographics have already begun. (Note to Republicans: your white guy base is dwindling.) It’s been fascinating to watch not only the demographics, but the hilarious freak-outs of various right wing pundits and “celebrities.” Donald “The Dorito” [thanks for the nickname, Holly!] Trump called for a revolution (at least until someone apparently told him that that might be considered treason, and he removed that tweet), batshit crazy bobblehead Victoria Jackson cried that America had died, and pants-shitting draft dodger Ted Nugent called Obama supporters pimps, whores, welfare brats, and “subhuman varmints.” I would like to give the Republican party a word of advice: until you start condemning these wingnuts, calling them out for their hyperbole and hatred, and start signalling that you do not find such rhetoric acceptable, you are going to continue to hemorrhage supporters. As long as you continue to build your coalition on white, conservative, religious-motivated voters, you will continue to hemorrhage supporters. And unless you let go of your death grip on your bibles and your religious-based social attitudes, you will continue to hemorrhage supporters. Don’t believe me? Fine. Just keep going the way you’re going. In about a decade or so, we’ll see how that is going for you, okay?

Another interesting takeaway from this was the rise of the statistics gurus. My own “personal” guru (at least the one I’ve been reading since the last election) is Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight blog. For the past three months or so, it has been a daily check for me. It’s even become a joke among liberals who were wigging out about Obama’s chances for re-election: Keep calm and check Nate Silver. Nate took a lot of flak from the right wing pundits (and even a few on the left) who felt that gut instinct would triumph over statistics and math. Peggy Noonan (insert Seinfeldian ‘Noooonan’ here) based her declaration that it was going to be an overwhelming victory for Romney on seeing lots of Romney yard signs in a particular neighborhood. Mm-hm. Maybe they feel that their jobs are threatened? No worries...the world will always need talking heads. But the complete refusal of so many to accept the polls and/or the math—and even the reality—was rather mind-boggling to me. Nate, who bases his statistical model on all the polls that are taken, both nationally and statewide, was fully and completely vindicated when he successfully predicted the outcome of every single state. (Florida still hasn’t been called, but it seems that Obama is going to win it.) In the last two elections, that makes him 99/100 when it comes to calling the states. I think a whole lot of people owe Nate Silver a big fucking apology today!

As for predictions, I made mine back in early September, with a political email group I am involved with. Here was mine:

Obama 326

Romney 212

Obama wins OH, PA, WI, CO, NV, VA, FL, NH

Romney wins NC, IA, MO

The only one I got wrong was Iowa. If I had made my prediction more recently, I would have put Iowa in the Obama camp, as well, but that’s the problem with making your prediction so early on! Again, they haven’t called Florida yet, but it looks likely Obama. When that happens, it will be Obama 332, Romney 206. I’m more than a little pleased with myself! But I owe it all to Nate Silver. So for those who kicked sand in Nate’s face, just stop it, you guys! Leave Nate alone!

So that’s that. This concludes my period of gloating, and now I’m ready to move on and help to make shit happen. I don’t wish Mitt Romney or his family any ill, but I can honestly say that I’m very glad he lost. I did not find him a likable candidate, nor an honorable one. (Please note that I specifically used the word ‘candidate,’ not ‘person.’ I don’t know him as a person, so I don’t feel that I can make that inference.) There is plenty of work to be done, and I hope that our legislative branch will get off their asses and start doing it. I foresee many letters and emails in my future, as I try to keep their feet to the fire.

After all, we all want what is best for the country, right? I think we can all agree on that. We might disagree on how to go about it, but as Joe Biden said in his debate with Paul Ryan, “Facts matter, Martha.” Just ask Nate Silver.

Excoriated

In my previous entry, I wrote about why I support President Obama. In this entry, I’m going to write about why I do not support Mitt Romney.

I could go into detail about the many of his policies with which I disagree, or about how I disagree on a very basic level with his vision of our country, especially concerning those who are less fortunate; I could also talk about his embrace of trickle-down economics, even though that cute little experiment has failed miserably for going on four decades now. Honestly, what does it take to get people to understand that lower tax rates don’t create jobs and drive the economy? It’s all about demand for goods and services. So there are deep philosophical differences I have with Governor Romney.

But as I was thinking about all of this, I realized that I could distill my dislike for Romney into one simple phrase: he lacks a core.

He may have that when it comes to his faith, and he probably has it when it comes to his family. When it comes to policies, however, he has no core. We’ve seen his frequent changes over the years in almost everything he’s dealt with. NBC published a fairly lengthy article on Romney’s changes on foreign policy over the years. And that is just foreign policy! It doesn’t include his many changing stances on marriage equality, abortion, and as far as I can tell, virtually every other issue he has encountered in his entire political life. As the saying goes, you’ve got to stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything.

This goes beyond simple evolution of stances on issues; I think we all grow and learn and change as we get more experience. For example, I’ve written before about my change from supporting civil unions only to full-on support for marriage equality. However, you won’t see me changing my stance on that again...ever. That was the culmination of years of thought, the exchange of ideas, and simply knowing and loving several gay people over the course of years. No...Romney’s changes happen frequently, and oddly enough, seem to coincide with his political campaigns. As candidate for Governor and Senator of the decidedly liberal Massachusetts, he took a moderate, even left-of-center stance; in the presidential primaries, he moved far to the right according to the dictates of the far-right factions of today’s Republican party; as the Republican nominee, he is distancing himself from those remarks—some made just weeks ago!—in order to court the moderates and independents. His head is spinning faster than Linda Blair’s in “The Exorcist.”

I can appreciate the changes that people experience in their lives and that cause their stances on issues to evolve. What I can’t appreciate, and actually abhor, is anyone who engages in crass attempts to change the core of their convictions based on popular opinion, or based on what particular bloc of voters they happen to be courting that day. I find this sort of blatant ass-kissing deplorable. It speaks very strongly to me of the character of a person, and makes me question their ability to make proper decisions. I’ve always hated a bullshit artist, and I can spot them a mile away. Mitt Romney reminds me of drunken frat boys trying to get into my pants in college, saying whatever they thought would appeal to me in order to get there.

America, Mitt Romney wants to get into your pants. Show some respect for yourself and walk away. You really don’t want to take that Walk of Shame on November 7th.

The Big Day

I woke up when Ken was getting ready for work, and my mind started racing, so I've been up since about 6:30! I'm so wigged out, and hope I can calm down. We've got a long ways to go before we start getting results. I think Indiana's polls are one of the first to close (6 AM-6 PM), along with maybe Kentucky. Milwaukee Dan #1 thinks that if they declare Indiana for Obama early, it will be a landslide for Obama. We both think that's unlikely, but it's possible. If they declare Indiana for McCain early, it will be close. If they don't declare Indiana for McCain by 10 PM, he's in big trouble. Just my opinions on Indiana. I told Ken last night, "We can be a litmus test!" I believe he called me a nerd at that point.

So if you haven't voted already, I hope you have plans to do so! I heard from my pal LJ in Ohio, and she said she had to wait about 20 minutes--not too bad. We've got perfect weather here in the Midwest, with record high temperatures forecast, so bad weather is not an excuse! Heck, this year, a freakin' monsoon wouldn't be an excuse!

There's a little email group I've been a part of for the past couple of months (it includes Sheria and Marc), and a couple of weeks ago, we had a chance to submit our predictions. I gave my electoral college vote as Obama 318, McCain 220. I saw later than Arianna Huffington gave the same numbers, as well as Alex Castellanos, one of the Republican consultants on CNN. We'll see if Arianna, Alex, and I called it! Or how close we are.

My Mom called yesterday to find out if the piano got here okay. She asked if I'd played it yet, and I said, "Oh yeah!" She must have sensed something in my voice, and said, "Did it all come back to you?" I said, "It did! Except I need to practice a lot." I'm not kidding, she seemed so happy to hear that...it made ME happy! She went on to tell me that while she really doesn't have any regrets in her life, the one thing that she's always wished she was able to learn was to play the piano. She said it's just something that you'll always have, and she thinks it would be so wonderful to be able to sit down and play. Aww. So I'm really glad that I got the piano back, and I'm playing, and that Mom and Dad know that they've given me a wonderful gift!

We went on to talk about the election, of course. I think she's as relieved as anyone that it's almost over. However, she's mad at Arnold Schwarzenegger for his comments at a McCain rally about how Obama needs to beef up his skinny legs and arms, and she thinks it's wrong to be attacking someone's appearance like that. She said, "I want to write him a letter and tell him so! I wonder how I could do that?" So later, I found the California state website, which contained a link to the Governor's website. There at the bottom was a place to email the Governor. I sent that on to Dad and asked him to help Mom send an email (she wants nothing to do with the computer). I'd sure love to see what Mom has to say to the Governator!

Getting back to normal...or what passes for it

I'm up earlier than I usually am, because this morning my piano is being delivered! It's been at my niece's house, and we finally have a place to put it so we made arrangements to have it moved over. Mom and Dad gave it to me many years ago, but I ended up in an apartment that didn't really have a place for it, so it ended up with my sister, then her daughter and her husband bought their house from them, so poor Mr. Piano has been around the block, and lonely for a long time! I'll write more about it later. I think Mom and Dad wanted me to have it because I'm the one who played it the most. Diana was already out of the house, and Susie was in nursing school, so I probably spent the most time with it.

Hey, the black bean soup turned out great! Ken put more chili powder in his, but it was just right for me. The blend of flavors was really good. I'll have to find another soup to try!

We finished watching "Hostel II" last night. I can't remember when I last said this, or IF I've ever said it, but...don't see this movie. I found nothing whatsoever that would redeem it in any way, shape, or form. It is a vile piece of cinematography. It was almost unwatchable, and there were a couple of times where I almost said I couldn't watch any more of it. I soldiered through, but I absolutely cannot recommend this to anyone. In fact, just the opposite. I recommend that you NOT see it. Yes, it was that bad. Quentin Tarentino made one of my favorite movies, "Pulp Fiction." Now it seems he has made one that is probably my least favorite, "Hostel II." Jeez, find some middle ground, will you, Quentin?

Milwaukee Dan #3 left me a comment about my political letter to my undecided friends. He wrote that he'd be glad on Wednesday when he can stop by here without wincing and ducking. Ha ha! I wrote back and said that frankly, so will I, and I thanked him for being a good sport. My brain is just about fried from all this stuff. Yesterday, I took an "election quiz" that was on AOL. Here are my results. That's right, a perfect score. That tells me that I'm probably a little too caught up in it all, and I'll be happy to leave the anxiety behind. There's definitely excitement there, too, but it's time to be done.

In fact, that letter to my friends was probably the last thing I'll write about it, until results start coming in tomorrow. It was sort of my closing argument. Unless something really big happens today, like we find out one of the candidates is an alien or something. (And I'm not going to speculate on who I think might be an alien! But her name kind of rhymes with alien. Hahaha! Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

I'm really looking forward to getting back into reading for fun, and I've got plenty to occupy me. Books, magazines, and getting back into the book club (I took a hiatus during the election season). There are letters to be written, piano to be relearned, songs to be sung...! Scratch that last one. Anyhoo, I feel like I'm getting ready to rejoin the human race. How exciting!