That sound you hear is the Republican National Committee shooting itself in both feet.
On the (round) heels of the scandal surrounding a visit by GOP officials to a bondage club, now comes word that an RNC mailing mistakenly lists a phone number that leads to a sex-talk line.
Full story here.
The more I learn about Barack Obama, the more I like him. Today, the Associated Press reports that the one food Obama hates is beets.
I'm with you, Mr. President-elect. No beets for me, thanks.
While it may seem frivolous, the traditional transition story about the first family's favorite foods always is a hit with readers. The AP says the Obamas are "foodies" who enjoy eating out and have wide-ranging tastes.
Still-President Bush likes anything as long as it's meat.
Read the full story here.
Congratulations to America on its election of Barack Obama.
Growing up in the South in the 1960s and 70s, I never dreamed that we'd one day leap the racial divide in such dramatic fashion. We can only hope that this presidency will help people give up all those old ideas about our differences and embrace the ways that we're all alike.
Obama's election also is a reaction to the past eight years of mismanagement and greed. It's time we take back our country from the corporate overlords who have cynically played off people's fears and biases as they've lined their own pockets. It's time that we lead the world by example rather than by military muscle. It's time for government to once again put the people first.
Tuesday's election was a good start.
I'm proud to say that I not only voted today, but I acted like a red-blooded American maverick and wrote in a candidate for Redding City Council.
Food for Thought cartoonist and all-around wiseguy Phil Fountain got my vote. As his bumper stickers say, he is "Not Insane," unlike so many politicians, and he promises not to show up for the council meetings. That can only be an improvement.
Read Phil's latest plea for votes here and his always-entertaining blog here.
I'm not one for conspiracy theories. Oh, no. I would never argue that falling gasoline prices in recent weeks are the result of Big Oil trying to help Republicans stay in office in Tuesday's election. And I won't predict that the prices will shoot back up after the voting's all done.
But I plan to top off my tank on Tuesday. And I suggest you do the same. Just in case.
Just noticed that Google Ads is putting a "Vote Yes on Proposition 8" ad on this blog. This ad does not represent my opinion. Please vote NO on Proposition 8 in tomorrow's election.
Gay people should have the same right to marry as the rest of us. Nuff said.
Despite recent vows to improve his performance, Dad has seen his approval ratings slip to the lowest level in years, according to the latest household poll.
Just 25 percent of the population thinks Dad is doing an "excellent" or "good" job in office, poll results show. Fifty percent -- largely teen-aged sons -- find his performance to be lacking. The canine portion of the household refused to comment.
Dad fared best with the lone female respondent, though her approval was pegged not so much to his overall job performance, but to the more ephemeral quality of "hunkiness," the survey found.
Pollsters blamed the low numbers on a series of missteps and natural disasters that have battered Dad's administration.
For example, few respondents approve of Dad's recent decision to set school-night curfews. The majority said they considered that move a mistake, and Dad's overall handling of filial recreation to be a low point in his administration.
Though Dad can't be held responsible for a recent rainstorm that devastated party plans, 50 percent blame him for the slowness of the emergency response that followed. Household members expressed little confidence that social lives could recover from the storm without great infusions of cash from Dad.
On the economic front, approval ratings hit record lows. Circumstances have forced Dad into new levels of deficit spending with little hope of recovery. Seventy-five percent of respondents found Dad's income level too low, and a similar number expressed dismay at how spending has soared.
Dad's administration has blamed the spending on emergency measures -- car repairs, dog surgery -- not to mention the overall hit the household economy has taken from skyrocketing gasoline prices. But critics noted that travel and entertainment expenses are on the rise as well, and put the blame firmly on Dad.
Even the canine component, which benefited from the recent expenditure of hundreds of dollars for vet bills, showed little gratitude. That respondent's attitude seemed typical of detractors: Dad's problems are of no concern as long as the dog's own food bowl is full. This is the result of the welfare state that has evolved within the household.
Respondents found that Dad's spending on foodstuffs showed a definite bias against sweets, beef jerky and Mountain Dew, with too much of the family budget going toward items -- such as beer -- deemed not useful by younger respondents.
A majority said that Dad leaves vital domestic housekeeping undone while "vacationing" in front of televised sporting events.
Just how far Dad's popularity has fallen was best illustrated in the parts of the survey that asked about his personal qualities. Less than 50 percent of respondents called him a strong and decisive leader, and a smaller percentage actually laughed out loud at the question. Only 25 percent said Dad cares about people like themselves, and a like number found him "trustworthy." The canine respondent indicated Dad still was the "alpha male," though others disagreed.
An administration spokesman said Dad expects to see a turnaround in his poll numbers soon. First, there's the issue of transportation to school events, which always gives him a seasonal "bump" in popularity. Secondly, several major out-of-town trips are planned, and Dad usually benefits from the statistical phenomenon known as "absence makes the heart grow fonder." If all else fails, Christmas is just around the corner.
"As a proud American, I plan to tackle the major projects affecting the well-being of this household," an apparently undaunted Dad said in a prepared statement. "Just as soon as football season is over."
Remember that footage of Sarah Palin asking what the vice president does? Sure, she was joking around, and that was weeks before she was picked to run for the job, so we can cut her some slack. By now, she's bound to know what the job entails--
Not so fast.
This week, a third-grader in Denver posed the question again, and Palin said the vice president is the president's "team mate" who's there to help the president push his agenda. She also said the VP "runs the Senate," which will come as news to the senators, since the only time the vice president gets to vote in the Senate is in the event of a tie.
Someone get this woman a copy of the Constitution.
Full story here.
Last night, my wife and I attended a campaign gathering for Jeff Morris, who's running for Congress here in Northern California, and we both came away impressed. Kelly wrote about the bright and well-spoken candidate here.
Morris would make an able replacement for ineffective incumbent Wally Herger, who acts like President Bush's personal lapdog. Good boy, Wally, now run along.
Facts about Joe the Plumber, who was invoked 26 times by Republican candidate John McCain in this week's presidential debate:
--He's not a licensed plumber.
--He's a registered Republican, though he denied it.
--He owes back taxes and there's a lien on his property for unpaid bills.
--He's on YouTube spouting about liberal conspiracies and calling Social Security a "joke."
--He admits he asked Democratic candidate Barack Obama about taxes because he was trying to trip him up.
--He compared Obama's "tap-dancing" on the tax issue to the late Sammy Davis Jr.
Doesn't anyone in the McCain campaign vet these people (Joe, Sarah Palin) before the candidate trots them out as All-American archetypes? Are the Rovian Republicans so cynical that they think the public doesn't care about the facts?
Lots of stories about Joe in the media and on the Internet today including this one, which points out that Joe already has given more media interviews than Palin.
The Republican Party's county chapter in Sacramento, CA, has removed from its website text and pictures that compared Democratic candidate Barack Obama to terrorist Osama bin Laden.
The images showed Obama in a turban, and said, "The difference between Osama and Obama is just a little B.S." The website also said, "Waterboard Barack Obama."
This inflammatory crap was removed at the request of the state Republican Party. We can only hope the rats responsible are removed from their roles in the party as well.
Full story here.
Somebody please tell Sarah Palin that the very last attribute we want in a vice president (much less a president in these troubled times) is "spunky."
;-)
Loved this quote regarding John McCain's selection of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin: "I've spent more time shopping for a car than he spent choosing a potential president."
That's Democratic political analyst Dan Payne, who wrote a scathing op-ed piece in the Boston Globe about all the unpleasant baggage the Alaska governor brings to the McCain campaign. If you want a quick review, this is a good place to start.
Read it here.
In case you haven't heard: You can now get a posable action-figure doll of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
A company called herobuilders.com has released the $30 doll, complete with glasses and up-do, in three models. In one version, she's dressed in normal clothes. But in the other two, it appears the dollmakers have stuck her head on other dolls' bodies. One's dressed just like Angelina Jolie in "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," complete with trenchcoat and a pistol in a strap-on thigh holster. The other's done up like a sexy schoolgirl a la Britney Spears.
No word on when we can expect a doll of a dead caribou to pose with her.
For the record, the company also makes dolls of presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama (but not Sen. Joe Biden). They also have one of former candidate John Edwards wearing a T-shirt that says "Rogue."
Full story (with photos) here and a million other places on the Internet.
Oh, my. First, it was Jesse Jackson whispering about snipping off parts of Barack Obama's anatomy. Today, Republican talking heads Mike Murphy and Peggy Noonan were caught on open mikes on MSNBC, saying the presidential race is "over" because of John McCain's "cynical" selection of running mate Sarah Palin.
Murphy and Noonan, who are veteran Republican pundits, were caught talking during a commercial break about McCain's campaign falling for the "narrative" of a working mom on the ticket, but picking the wrong one. Republicans at the national convention are described as being "bummed" over the selection of Palin.
See/hear it for yourself here.
I'm sure first-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has many fine qualities and a good future in politics. Sen. John McCain wouldn't pick her as his running mate just because of her gender; the Republicans would never be that transparent and cynical, right?
But Americans are sick and tired of Big Oil running this country and running away with huge profits while the rest of us have to choose between a fill-up and food. On that score, Palin looks like another Dick Cheney.
She supports drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, she is against a windfall profits tax on oil companies, and she opposes listing polar bears as a threatened species because it might interfere with oil exploration. Oh, and her husband works for an oil company.
Word is that Palin is also an enthusiastic hunter. A note to her friends: Skip the hunting trips. Remember that guy Cheney shot in the face?
Full story here.
Republican presidential candidate John McCain must not worry too much about sounding antiquated. He told the New York Times here that he doesn't know how to log onto the Internet and gets his wife or aides do it for him when he wants to read something online.
He also said he's never used e-mail and has "never felt the particular need to e-mail."
That's okay. I've never felt the particular need to use a quill pen.
With gasoline prices at record highs, a trip to the pumps can feel like a particularly efficient mugging. You stop at a gas station with an empty tank and leave with empty pockets.
Oil companies attribute higher prices to the war in Iraq and other overseas scares, but we consumers aren't so easily fooled. With Texas oilmen running the federal government, it's a pretty safe bet that domestic price-gouging will continue to be "overlooked."
Oilmen hope higher fuel prices will make military action in the Middle East and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge seem like good ideas to Americans who hear their life savings ding-ding into their gas tanks. We'll bomb our way out of high prices, or we'll plunder the Earth in search of more fuel. And caribou don't get to vote, except in Florida.
All the protest marches and angry e-mails in the world probably can't stop our nation's drive to slake its oil-thirst, or the ever-rising prices. So what's a consumer to do? Use less gasoline.
There's never been a better time, for instance, to work at home. Cut the daily commute out of your life, and you consume less gas. The money you save can be used for purchases for your home office, such as snack food.
Not everyone can work at home, of course. And, even people who don't commute to a job find they must drive sometimes. Children need rides. Face-to-face appointments must be kept. It's easier to ferry groceries home in a car, particularly if you're transporting large amounts of snack food.
But there are ways to cut our fuel consumption. Here are some to consider:
--Try human power. Walking, for example. Bicycles, skates, scooters, skateboards. Not only will you save on gas, but you'll get some exercise. Better to burn those snack-food calories than to burn gasoline.
--Public transportation can be more relaxing than a grueling commute. If you don't have to pay attention to the road, you can spend time reading or napping or exchanging ideas with your fellow passengers. These discussions can be lively. On a bus, you often hear passengers communicating about topics such as personal hygiene, DUI histories, psychotropic medications or each other's parentage.
--Try hitchhiking. If you think the people on the bus are scary, wait until you see who picks you up.
--Carpooling saves gasoline, and you can save even more if you make excuses for not driving whenever it's your turn. You can skip several turns by having your car "in the shop" before your fellow carpoolers catch on and dump you on the shoulder of the road.
--If you have children, much of your gasoline consumption undoubtedly goes to transporting them to after-school activities. Tell your kids such events have been canceled. Once they figure out you're lying, tell them it's their "patriotic duty" to stay home and save gas. If that still doesn't work, try this phrase: "We'll go as soon as you pony up your allowance for Premium Unleaded."
--Park your car and turn off the engine when communicating on your mobile phone. If you insist on using your car for a phone booth, you can at least sit still while you're doing it. Not only will you save fuel, but it'll be safer for the rest of us.
--Drive a more fuel-efficient vehicle. Much has been written about giant SUVs and how much gas they consume. Most people who drive SUVs don't need all that four-wheel-drive power and cargo room because they never take them outside the city limits. They drive SUVs because they think such vehicles are "cool." (Note: SUV is not pronounced "suave.")
Smaller vehicles not only get more miles per gallon, they're easier to push when you run out of gas altogether.
Or, follow my example and drive an aged minivan. It may not be fuel-efficient, but you'll be less tempted to cruise around aimlessly because someone might see you. Plus, if it runs out of gas, you can just abandon it.
And walk away.
How come nobody questions why Hillary Clinton doesn't wear a flag pin with her pantsuits?
Stupid fashion arguments should apply equally to all candidates.
