babbling blue

Dear American Media,

Wow, it was quite an election cycle, wasn’t it? I can tell you had a lot of fun with it. You got to try out your new toys (hello, holograms). You got to examine each candidate under a microscope, and find all their weaknesses and flaws. You got to play and replay clips of the many zingers and verbal foibles (and there were some doozies). Good times, good times.

And hey, we appreciate your work on this. Really, we do. I felt very informed throughout the whole process. Thanks!

But the election is over. There there. . . it’s OK, the next one will be coming up before you know it! In the mean time, you have some pretty big things to cover. Like the whole global economic crisis, the crumbling automotive industry in the U.S., and the various appointments coming down the line from our president-elect. (By the way, why do all your tickers refer to him as “President-Elect Obama”? I think everyone knows who he is, so you can be a bit more concise if you want to.) It’s a time to look ahead, not behind.

Not behind, to Sarah Palin. You know what? She said some pretty mean things about you guys during the last couple months. At least, I think she did; I confess I only understood about 30% of what came out of her mouth. But I’m pretty sure there was some bashin’ of the mainstream media goin’ on there.

Yet you guys still seem to be fascinated by her. You’re doing interviews left and right (or right and right), taking favorability opinion polls, and generally covering the little spat between her and McCain’s staff as it’s significant. Why? Why continue the pain? For yourselves, and for us.

The best thing for the American people is for Sarah Palin to fade back into the obscurity that she should never have left in the first place. Don’t give her interviews, don’t take polls, don’t talk to people about her. Forget her, and move on. Let Palin just be a brief blot on the timeline of American history. It’s all she deserves. And think of it this way, since she was so doggone mean to you: Sarah Palin is an attention whore, and there is no better way to get back at an attention whore than to ignore her.

So please, American media, just leave Sarah Palin alone. For the good of America. . . heck, for the good of humanity. Let her raise her family and live out her days in the backwaters of America’s least fourth least populous (and coldest) state. And that’s it.

Thank you for your time!

Sincerely,
Josh aka “blueaura”

The Top 5 Reasons To Vote In Illinois*
Or: Why It Still Means A Thing Even If It Ain’t Got That Swing
*Or any non swing-state

1. Big margin = big mandate. The popular vote doesn’t put anyone in the White House, but it effects what presidents can do when they get there. Want Obama to be able to actually do the stuff he’s been talking about? Pass universal health care? End the war? Then we need a landslide.
2. The other things on the ballot matter! For example: Congress. Without more support in the House and Senate, Obama will have a hard time getting progressive laws passed. Plus, there are other important local races and ballot questions in some places.
3. If you don’t vote, everyone can find out. Voting records are public. (Not who you voted for, just whether you voted.) Pretty soon, finding out whether you voted could be as easy as Googling you.
4. Help make history. You could cast one of the votes that elect the first African-American president. If we win, we’ll tell our grandchildren about this election, and they’ll tell their grandchildren. Do you really want to have to explain to your great-great-grandchildren that you were just too busy to vote in the most important election in your lifetime?
5. People died so you’d have the right to vote. Self-government—voting to choose our own leaders—is the original American dream. We are heir to a centuries-long struggle for freedom: the American revolution, and the battles to extend the franchise to those without property, to women, to people of color, and to young people. This year, many will still be denied their right to vote. For those of us who have that right, it’s precious. If we waste it, we dishonor those who fought for it and those who fight still.

For information on how, where and when to vote: www.voteforchange.com

(Blatantly ripped off from MoveOn.org.)

If you didn’t vote early (and I did not), get your butt out there tomorrow and cast your ballot! Or else I’ll kick it.

For those who don’t know, there is a proposition on the ballot in California that seeks to amend the state constitution to make gay marriage illegal. I don’t even want to get into this right now because I get too worked up. The proponents of Prop 8 are spinning it as being about education, and trying to convince people this is the only way to keep their kids from being brainwashed in school that it’s good to be gay. They are dumping millions of dollars into airing their misleading ads, and Prop 8 is in danger of passing. I’ve donated to the No On Prop 8 campaign. They still need money, so please give them some ASAP. Even a small amount can help.

No On Prop 8

A conservative Chicago Tribune columnist wrote that she believed Sarah Palin was unqualified, and should step down. The result was an inbox full of hate mail, and even threats. Sad, very sad.

Allow me to introduce myself. I am a traitor and an idiot. Also, my mother should have aborted me and left me in a Dumpster, but since she didn’t, I should “off” myself. Those are just a few nuggets randomly selected from thousands of e-mails written in response to my column suggesting that Sarah Palin is out of her league and should step down.

read more | digg story

You know you were a bit out of it in the morning when you use the restroom at work and discover first that your underwear are on inside-out and second that you missed a belt loop on your pants.

Maybe I need to start getting more sleep.

Have no fear, John McCain is going to fix the economy, everyone! We are in good hands.

John McCain is going to put aside his campaign (and he wants to postpone tomorrow’s debate) to roll up his sleeves and work on the economy. John McCain who:

• Said “The issue of economics is something that I’ve really never understood as well as I should.” (Boston Globe, 12/18/07)
• Had as his chief economic guru Phil Gramm, who played a crucial role in causing the current mortgage crisis.

John McCain wants to put aside politics and get back to work.

Back to work is right. McCain hasn’t voted* in Congress since April 8th, 2008. As of May 12th he had already missed 99 votes this year. I’m too lazy to count how many since, but the total should be in the neighborhood of 180. McCain hasn’t sponsored a bill since April 17th, 2008. He has co-sponsored a number of them, but didn’t show up to vote for them! So that’s what Sarah Palin meant when she said our “Do-Nothing Senate“!

I’m sure the American people will sleep better at night knowing that you’re on the case, Johnny boy!

*(excludes possible “voice votes”)

Here’s something on the lighter side! This is from an English web site on “eating and drinking”, which are two of my favorite things. I got it from the blog of a cyber-acquaintance, another Josh.

Source

Below is a list of 100 things that I think every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food - but a good omnivore should really try it all.

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:
(Note: With very few exceptions, I no longer eat fish or seafood, so that eliminates a number of things)

1. Venison (won’t eat it now)
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding (gross!)
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp (Might have tried this as a kid, but I don’t recall)
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi (”How will you find a husband if you can’t make aloo gobi?”)
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream (I think I have anyway)
21. Heirloom tomatoes (not to my knowledge)
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
Read the rest of this entry »

I haven’t been blogging much about politics, or at all really. I have just really lost all my enthusiasm for this election. I was a firm Obama supporter, but I am not any more. I will most likely vote for him in November, but being in Illinois it doesn’t really matter. I still think he’s better than McCain, but . . . well, I was really hoping to not have to choose the candidate that I thought was less bad for the first time since I started voting. Now, that’s how I’m feeling again. Obama has demonstrated himself to be a standard politician in reformer’s clothing, and not even a particularly shrewd one.

At some point Obama started drifting (or some say veering) to the right. That made me nervous. Then he did something that really turned me off. After saying he would vote against it, he turned around and voted for the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. I don’t want to go off on a tangent on FISA 2008, but suffice it to say there were a number of bad things in there, not just retro-active telecom immunity. That’s for another post.

Anyway, Obama has been called pragmatic (most recently by Joe Biden, I believe), and some would argue that his vote was politically necessary. I argue that as Americans, our civil liberties are not pawns to be sacrificed on the political chess board. They are the foundation of this country. Voting for the amendments upset a lot of people. There is a group on my.barackobama.com with more than 23,000 voters, created to urge Senator Obama to vote against telecom immunity in FISA.

And now we know his Veep candidate. Joe Biden. Biden has been called a blowhard, a wind bag and a number of other things. While he’s probably not a bad guy, he his enamored with the sound of his own voice and is–as such people often are–inclined to say some pretty stupid things, and get recorded doing it. Biden is known as Credit Card Joe and Senator MBNA because of his support for that wretched bankruptcy law written by the credit card industry, and more. And last but not least, he’s been in the Senate for 35 years. Hardly the symbol of CHANGE that Obama is trying to promote. In many ways, Joe Biden epitomizes the D.C. establishment that so many of us believe is FAILING this country so miserably.

After all that build up, the Biden announcement was a total disappointment. When the press leaked it late Friday, I hoped beyond hope that it was a fake out, and someone better would be announced soon. But I woke up Saturday morning and saw a text message from the Obama campaign that Biden was indeed his running mate. Blah.

So you see, I’m just finding it hard to care. I don’t want to just write bitchy blog posts, but I’m hard pressed for any other material.

Just found out about this… Tor is giving away free fantasy and sci-fi ebooks (and some high-res wallpapers) in a variety of formats through this coming Sunday, July 27th. There are no strings attached, no registration required. The selection isn’t huge, and I am not familiar with most of the books, but I recognize a number of the authors. Free is free, so I’ll probably grab them now and check them out at some point. To me, there is no substitute for a real, paper book. . . but I’m willing to give this new-fangled electronic book thingie a shot.

Click here for the goodies!

If you use gmail (if not, why not?) and Firefox 3 (If you use Firefox, you should upgrade. If you use IE you should use Firefox! Why, because I freakin’ said so! Plus, it’s better.) you can set up Firefox so that mailto: links will open in Gmail, rather than Outlook Express or whatever stupid email client you probably don’t use.

To see how, go to this post on the Gmail Blog. It’s easy!