Oops, she did it again

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Oct. 21) - Gov. Sarah Palin charged the state for her children to travel with her, including to events where they were not invited, and later amended expense reports to specify that they were on official business.

Whoops! Quick! Somebody call Marge Gunderson to investigate! You betcha! ("Fargo" is one of my all-time favorites, by the way. End a' story!)

You can read the full article here. It should be becoming increasingly clear to everyone--and polls show that it is--that this woman was not properly vetted by McCain's campaign, and that she is no "reformer."

The other news yesterday was that she explained that the Vice-President is "in charge of" the Senate, and can work to get laws passed that are part of the administration's plan. The way I understand it, the VP does not have a say in legislative matters, unless it is to break a tie. While obviously the VP is going to deal with the Senate, she gave the impression in this interview (as well as in the debate) that she wanted to expand the VP's role. I reeeeeally don't think that's such a good idea....

It was pretty funny, because we were watching Chris Matthews on MSNBC, and one of the people he had on was Pat Buchanan. (ack) Apparently this interview was about asking questions that were submitted by second or third graders, and the VP question was one submitted by a kid, then posed by the reporter. Buchanan kept saying "She was talking to a second grader!" and Matthews kept saying, "No, she wasn't, she was talking to a reporter" and Buchanan would say, "It was a second grader!" Sheesh, sheer insanity. First of all, she WAS talking to a reporter, but my bigger question was, "So it's okay to lie to second graders about our government?" I wonder what the cutoff is. Junior high? High school graduate? That's when you can start telling them the truth? I suspect that for the course of this campaign, age limits for when to stop lying have been completely suspended!

Oh, and did you see this? The RNC has so far spent more than $150,000 on clothing and accessories for Palin and her family, at Saks in St. Louis and New York, and Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis. I don't know about y'all, but I don't think I've spent $150,000 on clothes in my LIFE. Considering that some people are finding it tough to put food on the table and to keep a roof over their family's heads, that seems a little...UNaverage to me. Hey, when they go back to Alaska in November, do you think they get to keep the wardrobe as a lovely parting gift?

I've been feeling feisty the past couple of days. Could you tell? Must be all that evil rock and roll I listen to. It's giving me ideas!

If I don't get to your journals blogs today, I will as soon as I can. Tonight we've got the Huckabee speech to go to. I'll give you a report tomorrow. In fact, I was even thinking of taking along a little notepad and pen, and playing Girl Reporter. That way I can be accurate for you. Oh boy, I get to play Liberal Elite Media! Yippee!

There's that feistiness again.

What do you say now, Joe?

I don't know all the details, such as who exactly has done this, but I just heard on CNN that a group of concerned citizens has started a fundraising drive to raise money for everyone's favorite non-celebrity du jour, Joe the Plumber.

Apparently they have raised enough money to pay Joe's back taxes, as well as the fees required to obtain a plumber's license. (As far as completing the apprenticeship and training necessary to qualify, it seems that is squarely upon Joe's shoulders.)

I have to wonder...how does Joe feel about "spreading the wealth around" now? Is he going to refuse the money? After all, he didn't EARN it, did he? Seems to me that Joe just might be taking WELFARE here!

ARRGGGHHHH! At first, I was mildly irritated by the guy and the unwarranted coverage he received from the candidates and the press. As more came out about him, the more irritated I got, but I figured he'd go away eventually. Now I think my head is going to explode.

It was obvious from the beginning that the guy just doesn't get it when it comes to what taxes are for. As Colin Powell pointed out, taxes are, for all intents and purposes, a redistribution of wealth. They pay for our schools, our highways, our military--from which we all benefit--and yes, to fund government programs for those who need help. Is there abuse of some of that? Absolutely. Should we stop offering to help those in need? No way. Doofus Joe says that Obama's plan to raise taxes on those in the top 5% of earners in this country, despite the fact that Joe is NOWHERE NEAR that level, smacks of "socialism." How do you feel about the bailout, Joe? How do you feel about the government investing in our BANKS, which is edging very close to nationalization of our financial system? Huh, Joe? TELL US!

[panting]

If you want to salvage a tiny little shred of whatever credibility you think you have, JOE, you'll say "Thanks but no thanks" to those people who felt something called [air quotes] compassion [end air quotes] for you and your plight, and out of the goodness of their hearts--something you seem to have lost along the way, JOE--contributed money to help YOU. Tell them, JOE, that you believe in working for your money, and you realize that it's up to you to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and work your way out of the hole you've gotten yourself into. Tell them that you, in all good conscience, cannot accept that sort of handout. Tell them that while, like Blanche DuBois, you appreciate the kindness of strangers, you just can't accept their money because it would be like accepting WELFARE.

Go on. Tell 'em, JOE. [poking my cyber finger into his cyber chest]

Yeah. That's what I thought.

SCORE!

Man, did I ever score big at Circuit City today! I intended to only get 3 movies to flesh out, if you will, our horror movie collection, but they had some great titles! And I promise, I'm done buying movies for a while--we've got plenty to keep us occupied for some time! I even put one back--"Bram Stoker's Dracula." Good, but not one of my absolute favorites.

In addition to the classics "Fright Night" and "Carrie," I got the relatively new "1408," one I haven't seen yet.

They also had the remake of "The Hills Have Eyes" (haven't seen that one yet, either), "Hostel Part II" (the first one was really good and creepy, and this is the unrated version of the sequel...uh oh), "Thirteen Ghosts" (haven't heard much about that remake yet, but it looks intriguing...didn't a fellow Spotter recently write about this movie?), and I was thrilled to find another old classic: Clive Barker's "Hellraiser." I think Ken may not have seen that one, so that's a must-watch soon!

I LOVE Clive Barker's writing--it's some of the most unusual and downright out-there stuff in the past couple of decades. Much of it is more fantasy than horror, but he can ratchet up the Creep-o-meter as well as anyone, and "Hellraiser" is a great example of that. Pinhead and the other Cenobites are the stuff of nightmares. (Personally, I found Chatterbox and Butterball creepier than Pinhead, though.)

What is it with me and horror movies, you ask? Hey, thanks for asking! I'll tell you: I'm not really sure. I know that I've loved them ever since I was a little girl, watching the Creature Feature in our darkened basement. It's something that I have thought about before, because people have wondered how I can watch some of this gruesome stuff. I guess it's because I have a clear delineation in my mind of what is real and what is fake (Much like the "real America" that Palin is speaking about lately, apparently as opposed to...what? Faux America?), and I know that these things aren't real. I think it's the same reason why some of us find roller coasters so horrifyingly exhilarating...you're pushing the envelope, you're taking a risk, it feels as though you might die...but it's all in fun and it's all safe.

Watching a horror movie is like that for me. It's fun to get a little scared, have that rush of adrenaline, imagine how scary it would be to be in such a situation, but you're doing it all from the cozy comfort of your couch. You can turn the light on when it's over. It's an experiment in terror that is controlled by you. The fright is mixed with laughter, because you know it's not real, and you can laugh at yourself because you jumped when someone clamped their hand on your shoulder. (KEN!)

I think that's some fun stuff, and that's why I love creeeeeepy moooooovies. Heh heh heh....

Desperation

A short note before I get to a movie review. Based on a recent comment, I want to reiterate that while I may have differences with various candidates and their policies, I in no way want any harm to come to ANY candidate, and I do not condone any wish for such harm to be visited upon them. I just do not operate that way.

Now to the movie!

There wasn't much on last night, so we watched one of our new movies: "Desperation." (And no, it's not a movie about the McCain campaign. You knew I couldn't resist, didn't you?) Desperation is not a state of mind here, it's a desert town.

This is based on Stephen King's novel of the same name, and King also wrote the screenplay. It was released in 2006 as a TV movie...I'm not sure how we missed it! Maybe we were on vacation.

I thought it was a lot of fun, and it stuck fairly close to the novel--not surprising, since King wrote the screenplay. I can't imagine he'd enjoy screwing up his own storyline!

It begins with every road tripper's worst nightmare: getting pulled over in some desolate location by a cop who ends up being a complete and utter psychopath. But this cop is no ordinary psychopath...he inserts strange utterances into his conversations with his prisoners, words like "Can tah" and "Tak!" Something seems to be happening to him physically. Decay? Melting? Is his face actually...splitting?! Turns out he's not just psycho...something has gotten a hold of him. He's already thrown a few other travelers into Desperation's town jail, including a young boy and his family. David has been through a tough time lately, including watching his good friend almost die in a bicycle accident. David makes a deal with God that if his friend's life is spared, he'll do whatever God wants him to do. Another one of the prisoners is John Edward Marinville, a writer who spent time in Viet Nam as a war correspondent...and who has some demons of his own to confront.

As the questions begin to be answered, we find that the locus of the problem is Desperation's mine, known as the China Pit. After being closed for many years, it's been reopened, and there is a disturbing history there that has been awakened. Part of the problem is that whatever lives in the China Pit can take over various bodies until it wears them out and must find another host, as well as commanding various desert denizens such as snakes, scorpions, wolves, cougars, and coyotes, who keep our scared and trapped travelers from escaping the town.

Sacrifices will be made, and young David must face the pain of reality and loss. What will HE have to sacrifice?

I enjoyed it quite a bit. I really like Tom Skerrit, and it was a nice surprise to see Steven Weber (one of the brothers on "Wings") as one of the main characters. It was fairly cheesy, but as you all should know by now, I LIKE cheese in my movies! I'm also enjoying watching scary movies lately, because it's just that time of year. What am I saying? It's always the right time for a scary movie!

In fact, I see that Circuit City has its usual sale on movies, and they're heavy on the scary ones this week. Yes, I'll be making a trip to pick up a couple of my favorites: "Fright Night" (vampires!) and "Carrie" (telekinesis! proms! AGGHHH!), as well as one that I haven't seen yet, but I hear is pretty good: "1408," based on a Stephen King story and starring John Cusack. Haunted hotel room, anyone?

I love October! Or should I say...SHOCKtober?! Bwah hah hah hahhhhh!

LFA

I don't know if you all saw my friend Dan's comment, so I wanted to make sure you did:

Beth, your blog item about me and the pic and life at Ball State was too cool and a great birthday treat! I figured your entry would be short and sweet. Silly me! The entry was great! And just as cool as the photo and entry were all the friendly comments from your friends about my birthday. The coincidence of my birthday and the photo and your entry have left me nearly speechless! To all who wished me a happy birthday, thank you Big Time.

-dan(Formerly Guido;Currently CatManDude)

Thanks from me, too, for the nice birthday wishes for my friend. He got to see what a nice bunch you are. Hmm, he's a journalism major, maybe I can get him to start writing a blog...!

Do you all remember when we heard Karl Rove speak at the Economics Club dinner a while back? I wrote that even though it was Rove, it was pretty interesting, and I managed to not implode. Well, I had a note from Ken this morning that he got a pair of tickets for the next speaker, this Wednesday: Mike Huckabee.

If it seems like it's all about Republican speakers at this club, that's only because they can't have speakers who are currently in office, so there's a cycle of when an administration comes to an end, they get those speakers. Next year they're hoping to get Pres. Bush, and then Condi Rice. When the Clinton administration came to an end, they had Pres. Clinton and other Democrats. (I think before he announced he was running for President, they had Barack Obama.) It's definitely a conservative bunch, but they make it clear that they are nonpartisan, at least as far as choosing speakers.

I think I'll enjoy hearing Huckabee speak. I hear he's a pretty good speaker, and he impressed me a couple of times during the primaries. (When talking about allowing children of illegal immigrants to go to school, some of his fellow candidates said, in effect, no way, and Huckabee said, "We [the country] are better than that.") I'm also very pleased that this is happening just a couple of weeks before the election. It will be interesting to get his take on it. He has to know that things aren't looking good for their guy. Let's just hope the food isn't barfy this time, but I'm not going to get my hopes up!

Speaking of "their guy," I saw a video this morning of FoxNews's Chris Wallace interviewing McCain. Wallace asked him if he thought the choice of Sarah Palin was dragging down the campaign, or something like that. McCain said no, absolutely not, and "as a cold political calculation, I could not be more pleased." He went on to say that "she's a direct counterpoint to the liberal feminist agenda for America."

Dammit! He figured us out! For years, my sistahs and I have managed to keep our liberal feminist agenda (heretofore known as LFA) under the radar, but that crafty John McCain somehow infiltrated our ranks and now he's telling everyone about the LFA! Darn you, John McCain! [shaking fist] We would have gotten away with it if it weren't for you and your meddling!

This could ruin everything. All my early work with my great-niece might now be for naught. I started when she was just tiny, whispering things in her ear as she lay in her crib...things like, "Equal pay for equal work" and "Girls can be scientists." And it was working, too--she wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up. As soon as she got old enough to officially join the club, I was going to get my free toaster oven! (For each one we "turn," we get a toaster oven.) I've been trying to spread the word (quietly, of course), and I was doing so well that I was getting close to reaching LEFA status! (Liberal ELITE Feminist Agenda)

I just don't know what's going to happen now. I'm afraid we might have to go deep underground. But I shouldn't fret too much. We have an emergency plan for just such a scenario. I can't go into great detail, but have you ever seen the movie "The Stepford Wives"? Or do you remember the FemBots in the Austin Powers movies? Our contingency plan is based on that model. I guess I'm going to have to go shopping soon for dresses with Peter Pan collars, and Mary Jane shoes. A few years of that should lull everyone into thinking that there is no threat from uppity women who don't know their place.

So, John McCain, you get the temporary victory in this battle [she said as she stroked her cat], with your formidable anti-feminist Sarah Palin weapon. You've made me angry, and when Beth gets angry, Sheeba gets upset. And when Sheeba gets upset, people DIE!* But rest assured, the war continues. We won't give up, Mr. McCain. We'll be right here, watching you, and our struggle will go on!

*This is a joke. An Austin Powers reference, to be specific.

Get your red hots, right here!

Today in our local paper, there was an article about voter registration problems. Apparently there is a situation in Lake County (home of Gary) in Indiana, and the article went on to talk about problems with college students voting. Some kids are considered out-of-state students, but registered successfully to vote in Indiana, only to find that their student ID wasn't enough to qualify as the necessary ID for voting. (Indiana has recently passed a law that requires photo ID--driver's licence or other government-issued ID--for voting. I don't have a problem with that, and you can obtain free photo ID from the BMV [on the QT and ASAP!...sorry, I couldn't resist adding a few more acronyms], but I think a legitimate college ID card should also count.)

The article said that there have been attempts to allow college students to vote early, including on the campus of my alma mater (and Dan's), Ball State:

In Delaware County, Ball State University officials asked election officials to set up an early voting center on campus for the general election, but GOP officials objected and the site was not approved. Delaware County Republican Party Chair Kaye Whitehead told The Star Press of Muncie that a campus site could encourage voting by uninformed students easily swayed by freebies like hot dogs.

Exsqueeze me? I guess Ms. Whitehead (hmmmm) thinks that not only are college students a bunch of uninformed cretins, she also believes that students at Ball State are so hard up for food and so malnourished that they can be enticed by the prospect--and perhaps the aroma--of free hot dogs. Sort of like the Pied Piper, but with wienies.

Ms. Whitehead's comment has to be about the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I find it indicative of the attitudes of the party officials and administrators (not members...hell, I'M a registered Republican) that they would block the chance to let college students vote early, because they believe they're "uninformed" and "easily swayed" by something like free food. Are you kidding me? Free beer, maybe, but free hot dogs? Get real.

Here's some information for you, Ms. Whitehead. Anyone that is 18 years of age can vote, and it is not your job to decide if they are "uninformed" (or hard up for food). They have every right to vote that you do, and they have every right to vote early, just like you, and just like me. The fact that they reside on campus has nothing to do with their ability, right, or intelligence when it comes to voting.

This morning, Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama for President. Part of his thought process, as he explained it, was the choice of Sarah Palin as McCain's running mate; part of it was the negative tack that McCain's campaign has taken in the past few weeks; part was the reaction and bearing of the candidates in response to the economic meltdown; and part of it was that he sees his party trending towards exclusion rather than inclusion. To reiterate, I believe Powell's statements are his own condemnation of the GOP platform, not the majority of Republicans, and let me say it again: Beth <--registered Republican. Hearing a Republican county official say that college students are uninformed and swayed by free hot dogs actually makes me laugh. As Ricky Ricardo would say, "It's just so reeediculous!" Wake up!

The Return of Guido

No, not the Guido you all know (and who has been so helpful in moving us over to Blogger). I've got a Guido of my own.

Dan (Guido was a nickname) and I met back in college, at Ball State. We lived in the same building, although it wasn't really a coed dorm. The guys lived on the bottom four floors, in Hurst, and the gals lived on the top four floors, in Mysch. There was a curfew, but there was also a fire door between the fourth and fifth floors. How long do you think it took for our friends in Hurst to disable the alarm? Ha!

Whew, we all had some wild times, let me tell you. Dan (AKA Guido) and his roommate Jeff (AKA Lance), Steve (AKA Leroy), and various other friends and characters...Paul and Pam, Andy and Little Sue, Shannon, Melanie (who ended up being one of my roommates when we moved off-campus), that crazy guy who bit off someone's ear (I think he died several years ago)...Barb, Sharon, Lori...as I wrote to Dan the other day, sometimes it all seems like a blur.

I've lost touch with Dan off and on, but we're back in touch now. I'm glad we've remained friends, and we've had some good laughs lately.

One of them was over this picture. I have very few pictures from college, but my friend Sharon got this one of me and Dan in my dorm room. If I recall, this was right before the school year ended, and this was our last hurrah of the year. Gee, do you think we were having a good time? Dan has a look on his face like, "Damn paparazzi!" and I've got a look like I'm about ready to keel over. Notice all the pictures on the wall behind my bed. I had a bunch of the Police, and I see Jim Morrison and Peter Wolf of the J. Geils Band back there. My 8-track player is on the shelf above my bed, and Dan is holding an album. That would be a VINYL album.

Dan had never seen this picture, and when I scanned and sent it to him, he got such a kick out of it. It kind of made us reflect on that time, on how we've changed and where we've ended up. I'm very happy where I am at right now, and Dan seems to be happy, too. But looking back at our college days...I suppose that was really the last time I didn't really have a care in the world. Yes, I went to class and kept my grades up to keep my small scholarship, and earned my degree, but beyond that, a whole lifetime was ahead of me, and I felt that happiness was mine for the taking. As the saying goes, shit happens, and it happens to all of us...that's just part of life, and to be expected. To have those college years in which we made the transition from being kids to being on the verge of adulthood was, in retrospect, a wonderful gift.

I haven't seen Dan for a few years now--I think the last time was when I lived in Indianapolis--and maybe we can remedy that soon. He tells me that I don't seem to have changed much (he hasn't seen the white strands popping up in my hair and the laugh lines around my eyes!), but he says he's got a beard now, and salt and pepper hair that is more salt than pepper. Ha ha! Hard to believe it's been over 25 years since this picture was taken, and it's a little unnerving to realize that. But it's all good.

I hope you'll all join me in wishing my friend Dan a very happy birthday today. He turns 46 today, and I can divulge that because I'm older. Just a little bit. Only 50 days.