Really, I’ve got nothing.
Update [2008-9-19 0:21:15 by BooMan]: But this is interesting.
About The Author
BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
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Recent Comments
Did you have birthday cake?
Is it BooMan’s birthday today??
Are you looking for some chocolate frosting?
My mom used to make me spice cake with mocha frosting – my all-time favorite.
I used to get spice cake on my birthday – with spice frosting. Loved it. Miss that, now that you mention it!
Watch the cake, girlfriend! In moderation, okay, but remember your goal! :o}
By the way, recently I joined a local gym (the membership subsidized by our firm) with a colleague of mine who describes herself as a “big girl”. She felt intimidated because she figured everyone there would be a lot younger than she is and horribly slim and fit, and did not want to go by herself. It is great for me to maintain and even improve my level of fitness (I am very careful about my diet, and used to work out compulsively), and it is good for her not to have to go alone, and by the way we have seen plenty of older and “bigger” people than she expected. She is watching her diet, and losing, though slowly (which is the best way), but it is a struggle every single day. So, I get it, even if it is second hand.
I have something for you. Watch “The Mentalist” this fall. Good new show on CBS. I saw the pilot last week – very intriguing. Good backstory, good actors, good writing. A rare triple threat on network TV.
And I’m also eager to see “My Own Worst Enemy” – re a spy who has been programmed to forget he IS one. Hmmm. Sounds like the sixties all over again.
at the intersection of sex and politics, you find completely odd things like this:
Will you be live blogging the meetings? 😉
probably a lot more fun that what I have planned. But I’m not really very kinky or very anarchic.
What a difference a few days makes, eh?
I’m still trying to figure out what the hell happened to cause this massive shift in the polls. It started before the stock market crash, although I’m sure that was gasoline on the fire.
Meh, I’ll take it one way or another.
Probably no one single explanation, though the ones I like are:
I’d like to think McCain’s lousy “The Original Mavericks” ad has been pushing him down in the polls, but I bet people find it more effective than I do. To me the whole ad sounds like an overly pretentious pitch for a buddy-cop movie – it makes me laugh as I watch it even as I get ticked off about the lies in the ad. But then I already have an image in my head of the McCain/Palin ticket as a sitcom, so that probably makes the pretentiousness seem funnier than it really is.
or…
1)Tina Fey
2)SNL
3)”I can see Russia from my front door”
Another perspective on current events: This is Your Nation on White Privilege
A sampling:
“White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because ‘every family has challenges,’ even as black and Latino families with similar “challenges” are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.”
It’s definitely an interesting read. My initial thought though, is that while there is much truth to the essence of his writing, his specific examples aren’t the best. Once you start dealing in national politics, I’d ascribe it more to ‘Republican media privilege’ as opposed to ‘white privilege.’
On the other hand, maybe it is exactly because of the way that the media treats rich white (usually Republican) people that these differences in societal perception exist in the first place.
I guess I’m not sure which is the chicken and which is the egg, if that makes sense.
New tell all piece coming to The Nation on the real McCain POW story. 9,000 word piece by Sydney Schanberg
I refuse to feel sorry for him but sheesh are the chickens coming home to roost.
It will be interesting to see the extent to which the corporate media ignores this. Olbermann and/or Rachel Maddow will doubtless pick it up though, which will make it harder for the rest of the media to ignore.
Booman:
“Really, I’ve got nothing.”
Neither do McCain/Palin.
Well, I’ve got something.
The Defenders of Wildlife 30 second very disturbing ad on Palin’s fondness for aerial hunting of wolves and bears has been airing in Ohio and Florida thanks to donations from around 14,000 people (including me). Next goal is to collect enough money to air it in Michigan.
I have a personal story to tell about the effectiveness of this ad. A long time friend of mine, who is an animal lover, was extremely taken with Palin (even though he is a determined secularist and does not agree with her religious or political views). We fought violently over this issue every time we talked to the point that it was almost threatening our friendship. I sent him a link to the Defenders of Wildlife ad, and now he finds her absolutely disgusting and cannot stop talking negatively about her. When I asked him what changed his mind about her he said it was the wolf video without any doubt.
This ad will accomplish two things: 1) It will make anyone who cares about humane treatment of animals and/or sensible, humane and ethical management of wildlife think twice about supporting Palin. 2) It will bring awareness to this horrifically brutal practice in which the animals are terrorized sometimes for hours, tormented, and then given a terrifying, confusing, and painfully lengthy death.
To view the ad (warning you that it is quite graphic and very disturbing unless you are as devoid of empathy as Palin and her ilk appear to be), go here.
To make a small or large contribution to help ensure the ad is aired as widely as possible, go here.
From both a humanistic and a shamanistic viewpoint, I am horrified at Governor Palin’s stand on wolf hunting from the air. This is without doubt a barbaric attitude and, IMHO, completely disqualifies her from the position of vice-president.
What was Senator McCain thinking in selecting her or was he just worn out from the rigors of his recent campaigns? Lately, he seems to be making more gaffes and downright stupid statements like his recent assessment on the fundamentals of our crisis ridden economy.
Thanks for the address on the group sponsoring that magnificent ad. Just made a contribution.
Happy Bday Boomnan! In my personal talks with members of Obama’s camp, they have a consensus that when they talk about a race that it is a losing issue for them.