It's a lover-ly day today in the Bay Area. I'd step outside, but the wind would probably blow me two blocks away! It is gusty! The first thing I'd like to share is the following quote, taken from today's San Francisco Chronicle: "On Friday, McCain found himself in a tricky balancing act- booed by supporters at a Minnesota rally when he urged them to 'be respectful' of the Illinois senator, even challenging one woman who said she didn't trust Obama because 'he's an Arab.'" Two things: 1) McCain's supporters have definitely crossed the line of reason. They won't even be respectful to Obama? Yelling out "terrorist" and "liar" at a rally is despicable. If this were the Middle Ages, that would be acceptable, but this is 21st century America. Those taunts should be reserved for the playground. Oh wait, I just explained it to myself. 2) Obama is an Arab?? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! The second thing I'd like to share is this: Question --> Why is the price of bananas going up? Relevant answer --> That's because bananas are no longer in season and have to be imported. Irrelevant answer --> The price of grapefruit is going up too! Question --> Why did McCain approve of the Paris Hilton/Britney Spears/Barack Obama ad? Relevant answer --> That's because McCain wanted to associate characters of ill-repute with the senator. Irrelevant answer --> Well, Obama's ads are worse!! The third thing I'd like to share with you today is, GOVERNOR PALIN HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY OF ABUSING HER POWER!! That is just.. despicable. (I know, I seriously should get a thesaurus.) Abuse of power that I have personally witnessed have fallen into two categories: 1) Giving themselves bonuses, such as longer lunch breaks, shorter work days, and longer vacations. 2) Working their subordinates significantly harder than his predecessor. Of course, using one's power of office to accomplish things outside of one's responsibilities and duties isn't new, but it's just so... GRRR!!! How can people do that?! You have to admit though, what Sarah Palin did takes guts. It takes guts to trample on your moral compass, ignore your moral values, and do something as ridiculously childish as trying to get your ex-brother-in-law canned just because he was mean to your sister. Seriously?? That is something you do in high school, not in government. Palin's ex-brother-in-law has shown irresponsibility related to his work. He has shown aggression, has been caught drinking on the job, among other things. Those things that happened were dealt with accordingly when they happened. Sure, the consequences were not severe enough, but they were dealt with and the case was closed. So really, Palin had no good excuse to try to get him fired after the fact. Do you really want this kind of woman to be the Vice President? Imagine what she could do for all the rich individuals and businesses. If they just pad her pocket a little, she might do them favors... OR if she has a beef with one of them she'll work to destroy them, which will affect more than just the powerful players, but also all the innocent employees under them. Tsk tsk. The thought of Palin having abused her executive powers to deal with her own petty problems makes me so mad! Anyway, I'm glad she's been caught. I hope the voters will really take this news to heart because this would spell even bigger problems should she make it to a higher office. No further action has been taken as it will go to Alaska's legislature. I quote from the San Francisco Chronicle: "The legislative committee unanimously began the investigation in July. Palin had promised to cooperate, but after becoming McCain's running mate, she changed course, saying the inquiry was politically tainted." Hmmmmmmm... Suspicious!

So I heard Woody on the radio (I have a love-hate relationship with The Woody Show on Live 105 in San Francisco) say that McCain is a hero. "Just look at what he went through as a POW" or something to that effect. It's hard to know where the truth is nowadays. The only news outlets I find worth reading nowadays are BBC and the Associated Press.. except the latter is scattered across a hundred newspapers so I have to click and click and click and click to get the news. Lately, when it comes to politics, I've been reading less of what I used to (Huff Post, NYT, CNN) and more of neutral-party sites like FactCheck.org. Thank goodness someone came up with that because Democrats and Republicans alike can go to that site and also PolitiFact and get their information without accusing somebody (or everybody) of bias. Anyway, after hearing that on the radio, I thought about that Rolling Stone article I read that revealed so much about John McCain. A hero? Let's see what Tim Dickinson had to say: 1) "Although he would soon regale The New York Times with tales of the heroism of the brave enlisted men who "stayed to help the pilots fight the fire," McCain took no part in dousing the flames himself. After going belowdecks and briefly helping sailors who were frantically trying to unload bombs from an elevator to the flight deck, McCain retreated to the safety of the "ready room," where off-duty pilots spent their noncombat hours talking trash and playing poker." 2) "McCain performed adequately on the Oriskany. On October 25th, 1967, he bombed a pair of Soviet MiGs parked on an airfield outside Hanoi. His record was now even. Enemy planes destroyed by McCain: two. American planes destroyed by McCain: two." 3) "But during the course of his medical treatment, McCain followed through on his offer of military information. Only two weeks after his capture, the North Vietnamese press issued a report — picked up by The New York Times — in which McCain was quoted as saying that the war was "moving to the advantage of North Vietnam and the United States appears to be isolated." He also provided the name of his ship, the number of raids he had flown, his squadron number and the target of his final raid." 4) "'John allows the media to make him out to be the hero POW, which he knows is absolutely not true, to further his political goals," says Butler. "John was just one of about 600 guys. He was nothing unusual. He was just another POW.'" 5) "'It took guts to go through that and to come out reasonably intact and able to pick up the pieces of your life and move on," says Wilkerson, Colin Powell's former chief of staff, who has known McCain since the 1980s. "It is unquestionably a demonstration of the character of the man. But I don't think that it is a special qualification for being president of the United States. In some respects, I'm not sure that's the kind of character I want sitting in the Oval Office.'" Yes, he was a hero- he did shoot down two enemy planes, after all. So were the other 600 guys who were imprisoned in Hanoi. That doesn't make him any more qualified than Barack Obama. Yes, McCain has significantly more Senate experience than Obama- that SHOULD make him more qualified, right? Well, this maverick has changed his game since his run for the White House began- so much for being a maverick, eh?- and condoned mudslinging (by not speaking out against Sarah Palin's mudslinging) even though very early on he spoke out against it, and THAT negates his edge over Obama, IMHO. Oh, and the TV ad he approved that put Paris Hilton's and Britney Spears' pictures next to Obama's picture. Don't call me childish and then say that THAT move isn't childish. If you are a McCain supporter, please explain that ad to me. It's okay to say that it doesn't make sense; that's an explanation too. The whole "it's time to have a hockey mom in the White House" gag is getting old and lame. I have known plenty of soccer moms (I was a Girl Scout, after all- plenty of Girl Scout moms too!), but they were all very active and effective in their communities and the various committees and councils for school, local government, etc., but that doesn't mean they should all run for mayor or governor or VP! I remember Morgan's mom studied political science in college. Nikki's mom graduated from college too. Gee, both of them probably would make a much better VP than Palin! *LOL*

http://jezebel.com/5060704/the-sarah-palin-non+photoshop-chop-fox-news-wants-to-alter-your-reality Are the Republicans getting SO desperate that they'll go after Newsweek over a MAGAZINE COVER?? Seriously. And the fact is that Republicans are throwing a hissy fit over it because they are becoming increasingly desperate. After all, the Republicans HAVE begun playing the race card (what does him being Black have anything to do with being the President??) and trying to make a drama of Obama's association with that guy who did all that stuff in the sixties (can't remember his name now, and they served on some board for some education-related thing), even though Obama was not yet 10-years-old in the sixties. Republicans make fun of Democrats for being a bunch of peace-loving tree-hugging hippies, but let's look at the Republicans. Who do they have on their side? 1) Elizabeth Hasselbeck. Enough said. 2) The blonde anchorwoman of Fox News. She covered McCain's nomination acceptance speech, and between segments, she was constantly touching up her make-up and hair (it's on Youtube). 3) Jon Voigt. There are just as many conservative Democrats as there are libertarian Republicans, so I don't know why Democrats and Republicans are portrayed as separate whole entities. I would gladly french-kiss a tree over having a conversation with the whiny-voiced Elizabitch (have you ever noticed that whenever she throws a hissy fit or gets mad at someone, she never makes eye contact with her/them?). If I were in those many situations on The View where Elizabitch throws a hissy fit, I would do what guys do and change the subject and pretend she wasn't even talking. That makes women SO MAD (and I've tried it, and it works). Of course, that doesn't make for good TV unless you enjoy watching Elizabitch break down into tears.. which I do. :) Desperate people are sad pitiful people. Hillary Clinton did the whole mudslinging thing, and now the Republicans.. which comes to no surprise, actually. John McCain doesn't strike me as the sort who would make a good President. It's funny that Sarah Palin has been promoting this Joe Six-Pack thing because I would much rather invite Obama over for a barbecue than McCain. Obama is a friendly, even-tempered, level-headed sorta guy who would probably ask to take over the grill. McCain has proven himself to be hot-headed (he has admitted it on air!) and fake (have you heard him laugh and smile during the debates?). I wouldn't want to invite McCain to my barbecue if there's a risk of him throwing the ketchup and mustard bottles at me if I undercook the hot dogs. Barack Hussein Obama? PUH-LEEZE. First he was criticized for attending a Christian church led by a controversial pastor, now the Republicans are insinuating that he's Muslim? So if he's Christian he's bad, and if he's not Christian he's still bad? How stupid! MCCAIN/PALIN NEEDS TO BE PUT TO SLEEP. P.S. Can anyone imagine Cindy McCain being the First Lady? Here's a rich spoiled brat who spend something like $15k on her Republican nomination acceptance speech outfit, and she's expected to inspire women across the country? HA! I have a feeling she's gonna be a really inactive First Lady, whereas Michelle Obama would be a welcome face to any school on any coast, private and public!

"Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly?" McCain asked. "Because her father is Janet Reno!" Isn't that horrible?? It's bad enough (for him) that his political stands don't benefit the people who need help the most, but he turns out to have a pretty lousy personality as well. I read that bit from the Rolling Stone's article about that side of McCain few people know, called "Make-Believe Maverick" by Tim Dickinson. It's a riveting piece. [update] I read more Rolling Stone political pieces. Dang, I wish I can write as well as those writers. When I was younger and in college, I contemplated becoming a fiction author, but I don't think I have what it takes. When I get inspired, I have to write down everything as quickly as I can because I'd forget it in half a day or the next day. I know this for a fact and I have thirty drafts to prove it. I'm just no good at opinion pieces. My mind flits so fast from thought to thought that the end-product just comes off as shallow. I know my weaknesses, but I don't really know how to fix it. I think writers can be built, but talent is like a cup: if you have it, it can be filled (fulfilled is the more appropriate word), but if you don't, then all the nurturing in the world can't make you as good as those who are naturally talented. I can write, but I'll never win any literary award. I can play musical instruments too, but I'll never be some amazing soloist playing with top orchestras (have you listened to the classical radio program where young rising classical stars are showcased??). See, there I go again, flitting to other ideas! I can't even stay on the same track! [/update]