Don't Abuse The Opportunity

The people of the united states have spoken for change, but the popular vote shows just how tough the job for President Elect Obama will be. There is now the risk that the Democrats will copy the Republicans and abuse the control of the executive and legislative branches of our government. It is up to us to make sure they do not. Control of these branches does not mean the people want the Democrats to do whatever they want. We have the opportunity to keep the democrats from punishing big business, small business, and the wealthy while opening the door to opportunity for those who have been denied a future for so long now. (It will be up to them to go through the opened door.) On the other hand Arizonans have decided to write bigotry into the state constitution. Although this does not change the current situation, it uses the constitution to guarantee that basic rights are only for the special ones. I guess fear still rules.

Rant Rant Rant Rant Rant

It is finally election day, and I am avoiding watching any returns for at least another hour. Despite my respect for the so called maverick, I find myself preferring the Senator from Illinois. This is largely due to the demaverickization Senator McCain has gone through over the past two to three years. Instead of taking a centrist approach to positions, he has moved far to the right in order to appease the far right portion of the republican base. In short he has become more of a gelding. His selection of Governor Palin pushed me offer the edge to the left. I would love to watch a hockey game with the woman, but when she spews statements about what God gave the United States (oil, natural gas, wind, etc.) and what we are entitled (mandated) to do with it, I realize that if she is allowed influence in the Oval Office, that science will be set back another 30 years. Given the past eight years that would place technology in this country somewhere in the middle of the twelfth century. We can not advance as a society when our leaders ridicule or ignore chemistry, physics and biology. That is part of the reason I have looked to the left. There are others, but I am more moderate on those views. I seriously believe that if the right retains control of the executive branch, we will live in fear, lose freedoms, and return to the days of destroyed federal and state constitutions ala Arizona proposition 102. I'm as mad as hell over this crap and did something about it. I voted.

And They Shall Be Termed Equini - even if it is wrong.

It seems that the cable company is blaming solar radiation interference for the reduced reception on some of the channels we subscribe to. The nerve! Did they suddenly become astrophysicists or something? They also say this occurs around the equini - what is the plural of equinox? This drop in service was most annoying last evening when I was watching the Coyotes/Anaslime game. Tracing the puck on our small T.V. set is hard enough without a 2 second outage every 5 minutes, so I propose drastic action. I suggest we either ban the sun, or simply skip over the equini. Or better yet, we should get McCain-Palin to blame the Democrats. This is exactly what they will do unless the Obama folks defuse the Ayers/Wright/Rebel of the day pseudo connections. (I promised some type of jab against the Dems.) As more of these pseudo connections are brought to life, Senator Obama will need to be more detailed in the relationships. I think the Republicans are grab-bagging, but it seems to be working for them. The republicans are also milking the MYTH of the evil liberal media to their full benefit. The Democrats are caving, and the media is adjusting their coverage in a way that only Rupert Murdoch would be proud of. Just in case you are wondering: I find both the McCain-Palin and Obama-Biden camps to have strong points and weak points. I am a registered Independant and politically am between the two camps, but am weary of the influence of the FAR FAR right "Do as we say, think what we tell you, pray ONLY what we pray" philosophy. I am also tired of the Democrats "give us your money and we will redistribute it for you." mentality.

Oh, according to the Astronomical Dictionary it is equinoxes. I can't believe I was wrong.

The C Word

In order to pretend to be open minded, I have been watching the debates. Unfortunately, I have found them to be one long dual campaign ad, he said - he said - she said - he said fest. Add food, drinks, drugs and a twister mat and we would have one big dysfunctional orgy. Anyway, I thought I had heard it all before during one of Governor Palin's answers that was an answer to something other than the question asked. Caution: flaming liberal rant ahead! She was spewing the normal republican mantra of DRILL DRILL DRILL EVERYWHERE EVERYWHERE EVERYWHERE NOW NOW NOW! when she inserted the obligatory mention of energy sources other than oil when this came out of her mouth:

So even in dealing with climate change, it's all the more reason that we have an "all of the above" approach, tapping into alternative sources of energy and conserving fuel, conserving our petroleum products and our hydrocarbons so that we can clean up this planet and deal with climate change.

She actually said: "conserving fuel, conserving our petroleum products and our hydrocarbons so that we can clean up this planet and deal with climate change.'

Republican Governor married to an employee of big oil say what?

"conserving our petroleum products..."

Again?

conserving

There has not been a politician seeking to get elected that has used that word in 28 years, and he paid dearly for it. I was shocked, surprised, flummoxed, and almost impressed.

But, I soon knew it was not a dream when the chant for "Drill, baby drill!" returned.

The evening progressed without a re-utterance of the word. Not even from Senator Biden.

I am part owner of several global corporations!

Well, the last half of the week has been much less hostile to the stock market than the first half, and my portfolio seems to have grown, at least in number of things owned. It seems I am now part owner of AIG and a whole bunch of mortgages of a whole bunch of banks. I will keep telling myself this, and ignore that what I own is a sack of manure wrapped in pretty foil paper. Some economists believe that is things go well, this may be good for the taxpayer/investors. I will continue to tell myself that I own things I didn't before. It also seems that the maverick that is for small government and deregulation is also for another bureaucracy to regulate the private sector. Ain't election years great.

Political Question and comments.

If it is appropriate for a politician to boast about the activities of one of their children in the armed services, is it also appropriate to discuss the less savory activities of another one of their children?

Also, at the very least, it was STUPID to use any cliche involving farm animals and lipstick. I know this is old news, but...

My mom was a "hockey mom", drove herself to work, and cooked meals for the family, so where is her nomination?

Why are the Republicans getting major kudos for doing what the Democrats did TWENTY FOUR years ago, and why are the Democrats too chicken to point this out?

The Power of Thought

Yesterday while we were treating our daughter to the high quality nutrition that only McDonald's can provide, a McCain-Palin rally came on the television. Another patron asked if we were Republicans, and was quite pleased at my wife's response, but dissapointed to find me to be an independant. He said "That's too bad, you should be a Republican." Although I said "Oh, well.," I thought why should I be a Republican when I can be something else and think for myself. In reality, I also have problems with the Democrats - stay tuned for my jabs on them.

When Dyslexia Strikes

Okay, so I haven't blogged in a few days, but the wife and daughter have been using the laptop and I have been watching the DEM and REP convention speeches and all. I am speeched out! I am more jaded than ever, and am sick of the misinformation, lies, and nonsense told by all speakers at both conventions. I think as punishment that McCain should be forced to run with Biden, and Obama should be forced to run with Palin. For added effect, they should shift positions on the ticket. As an observation, the font/graphics on the McCain/Palin comes across as either McCain - Pain or McCain - Plain when the posters are waved around. Am I the only one to have noticed this?

WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD IDIOMS

Tuesday I was listening to THE WORLD on NPR and found a humorous use of an idiom. Simon Montlake was reporting on Anwar Ibrahim, a Malaysian MP (Member of Parliment) who was convicted of sodomy in 1998. He denies the charges, which is not the funny part. The reporter artfully mentioned that when he was jailed in 1998, his wife "Kept the seat warm for him." My mind which resides several levels below the gutter, made a connection between the charges and a warm seat. It sounded much more refined when spoken with Simon Montlake's British accent.

More Politics and More Hockey

So the DNC rules committee decided that the voters in Florida and Michigan are worth half a vote. I am reminded of a Monty Python skit about pet licenses and "Eric the Half a Bee." This halving of the delegate was to punish the states for holding their primaries earlier than Feb. 5th. Enter the New Hampshire question. Although NH by state law must have the first primary, they moved their primary to an earlier date, but suffered no penalty. Did NH violate DNC rules by moving their primary to an earlier date? If so, why not penalize them as well? Also what does the penalty prove?

Game 4 ended Det 2, Pens 1. Det leads series 3-1. %$##@!#$!

Stuck in the Middle

The Democrats nomination process is starting to begin to start to wind down. The mud slinging continues, but with less passion, and smaller dirt clods with less manure. I expect that in three weeks or so the factions will coalesce and start to make nice, just in time for the real mud bowl. I hate to admit that as the process has gone on, I have paid less and less attention to the whole pagent. Perhaps because I am neither a Democrat, nor a Republican and have no voice until the general election. Of course I made this choice, or maybe it is because I felt that the Democrats had little room for a white, heterosexual, middle class, white collar, male and left that party. On the other hand, the Republicans are reluctant to make room for those who refuse to cram one specific religious philosophy down the throat of the populace.

The Politics of Sports

So it seems that many are confused as to why Obama and Clinton continue to sling mud at eachother. I believe it is because they are Democrats and that is what Democrats do. My 8th grade government teacher once told the class that after seeing how the Democrats worked and how the Republicans worked that he prefered the Democrats because they liked to argue. He went on to suggest that Republicans strive for a consensus, no matter what the consensus. He made some "enemies" that day, but his analysis has stayed with me for over 30 years. The Democrats love a fight for the sake of a fight - they will even pick one with eachother. It isn't as if the object of the game is to fight, but when the opportunity presents itself a fight will break out. In short, Democrats play hockey and Republicans do the seventh inning stretch thing. If you are wondering where I stand - I played hockey when I was a kid. I still believe it is the greatest sport ever. However, I frequently vote for baseball fans.