Bonus: Texas Music Series

We're going to San Antone!

A Library. Really?

Received this in an email from my brother the other day:


The George W Bush Presidential Library is now in the planning stages. You'll want to be one of the first to make a contribution to this man's legacy. The Library will include:

• The Hurricane Katrina Room, which is still under construction.
• The Alberto Gonzales Room, where you can't remember anything.
• The Texas Air National Guard Room, where you won't have to even show up.
• The Walter Reed Hospital Room, where they won't let you in.
• The Guantanamo Bay Room, where they won't let you out.
• The Weapons of Mass Destruction Room (which they're still trying to locate).
• The Iraq War Room, where after you complete your first tour, they will make you go back for second, third, fourth, and sometimes fifth tours.
• The Dick Cheney Room, in the famous undisclosed location, complete with shooting gallery.

Plans also include:

• The K-Street Project Gift Shop, where you can buy (or just steal) an election.
• The Airport Men's Room, where you can meet some of your favorite Republican Senators.
• To highlight the President's accomplishments, the museum will have an electron microscope to help you locate them.
• Last, but not least, there will be an entire floor devoted to a 7/8 scale model of the President's ego.

We may be going to Texas soon, but won't be stopping here anytime soon.

Texas Music Series: Joe Ely and the Crickets

Here's a shout-out from Lubbock, brought to all of you by request of my homie.

Bush Declares Himself Dictator

He's finally gone and done what he's wanted to do for the past 7+ years - name himself dictator. And he has the wardrobe to prove it!

Actually, this is an AP picture from his recent travels in Africa, but WTF reason would he have for actually donning these duds? Who knows how that man's brain works? Let us all just be grateful he's got less than a year left to torment us.

Texas Music Series

In honor of our forthcoming visit to Texas, let's take a look at famous artists from the Lone Star state. Here's one of my favorites. If you have a suggestion for upcoming features, let me know! Because there are so many to choose from, this series may take a while.

A Debate?

Are there any differences between Senator Obama and Senator Clinton? Nah, very little when it comes to policy. They both want universal health care, tax breaks for the middle class, a sensible immigration policy, a more diplomatic foreign policy, ending the war in short order, etc. etc.

So when they debate, the two candidates spend an ridiculous amount of time saying: "I agree with Senator Clinton," and "I agree with Senator Obama." So what's the difference between them...because it sure ain't policy.

It's called style.

It's called change.

It's called not-Clinton.

Sorry, Hillary, but so long as the conversation stays in the "I agree with Senator Obama" space, you're going to lose the nomination. It's not that I want them to disagree, it's just that there's nothing she can do at this point to change the game.

And that makes me happy.

But, I really have to be sure that my support of Senator Obama does not denigrate Mrs. Clinton, who is a strong candidate, a thoughtful person, a brilliant Senator. If it wasn't for Senator Obama, there's a good chance I'd be rooting her on right about now. While I have strong feelings about President Clinton's role in the Senator's campaign and potential presidency, and I'm not a fan of dynastic politics, it is important that we not lose sight of her many contributions. And, I feel strongly that we NOT tear her down, while supporting Senator Obama.

Personally, I look forward to many long years of rooting Senator Clinton on - in the Senate.*




*I remember having a T-shirt back in college that said "A Woman's Place is in the House...and the Senate." In those days, having the possibility of a woman running for president and being taken seriously, was a mere pipedream. Or maybe it was the pipe I was smoking??

Wheeeeeee!

So, he did it again! Barack is projected to be the winner in Wisconsin tonight - great news for all of us looking forward into the 21st century and hoping for some change in the politics as usual. I am so looking forward to Senator Obama taking on Grandpa McBush in November - he'll wipe the floor up with the old geezer.

Now it's time for Texas, Ohio, Vermont and Rhode Island to bring it home.

Will Texas Do It?

Well, this is interesting! Obama has pretty much caught up to Billary in this recent CNN poll from Texas! It's now Clinton 50, Obama 48. This could be the one that helps put HRC out of her misery. If so, I will have to figure out a suitable gift of gratitude when we go to Austin in April!

And just to prove I can keep an eye on both sides, I understand Grandpa McCain decided he would take the "no new taxes" pledge on the day that his colleague, Bush 41, endorses him. That worked out really well for him, no? What a great harbinger of things to come. Pretty funny timing, if you ask me.

PS: JD, you're also responsible for making sure Vermont votes properly, too!

Happy Pitchers and Catchers-Reporting Day!

As a palette cleaner from the politics of the day, I give you Jonathan Papelbon, the happiest man on earth. He held court at the first day of spring training for the World Champion Boston Red Sox, waxing poetic on everything from traveling to Japan to play ball, driving down the Florida highway to spring training, whether the ball from the final out of the World Series was really chewed up by his dog, and probably a million other things, most of which likely would be unsuitable for children.

Have I mentioned how much I adore Paps? I love his lightheartedness and childlike approach to life. But what I like even more is THAT face - the one he uses to stare down opposing batters. It's the face of a psychotic, and he uses it to help put himself into a trance of epic proportions. It's the face of the last out of the 2007 World Series. And just when I had finally gotten over the celebratory Riverdancing of last fall, he's back on our TVs marking the opening of Spring Training 2008.

Let the games begin!

*Photo at top from AP and is probably the best one I've ever seen of Mr. P; second photo from Sports Illustrated.

The Audacity of Gloom

Grandpa McCain Is The Nominee

Although McCain might be the very least objectionable GOoPer that could have been nominated this year, I can't imagine voting for anyone whose major claim to fame, seemingly, is that he enlisted as a foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution. Ask anyone under 35 what the hell that actually means and I bet you'd get a blank stare.

Frankly, voting for Grandpa McW is only going to give us another four years of Bush-iness, minus the waterboarding. Well, maybe that's enough for some people, but I would like to see the country attempt to do something a little more, shall we say, ambitious. Perhaps try to fix health care, try to fix our cities (New Orleans, anyone?), fix our schools, fix the WAR! And by fix it, I mean end that ridiculous fiasco. No, Grandpa McCain thinks it would be just fine to stay in Iraq for another hundred years. If I had young'ens in the house, I'd start worrying right here and right now.

I would dearly love to see either of the Democrats debate Pops McW. Imagine a vigorous, healthy, energetic Obama standing tall next to McW, who would look even more pale than he already does (sorry, I couldn't resist). Imagine Grandpa debating Hillary while she runs rings around him with facts and figures at her fingertips. After this week's Super Bowl, I guess we learned that there are no such things as sure bets in anything, but I certainly like our chances.

Unlike the conventional wisdom of the MSM punditry, I think having Hillary and Barack debate (so long as it's relatively polite) for another month is not necessarily a bad thing. Having them both talking the good talk, demonostrating their command of the issues could be a very positive development, while Grandpa goes around chasing the right wingers like that comedian, Rush Limbaugh, and scaring the shit out of everyone with his tough talk. Ahhhh, this is going to be fun!

And one final thing...why the hell do you not see Grandpa without his bodyguards Senators Lieberman and Graham? Is this a campaign or a buddy movie?

*image courtesy of NoMcW.com

Kumbaya!

Driving to my polling place at the Town Garage, I got a little misty-eyed over going in to vote for a choice between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. It occurred to me that this is a huge deal, and one that we should stop and take note. Maybe it's a good sign that not much has made, in large measure, to the fact that there is NO viable white man on the ballot for the Democrats.

But, I ask you to stop and think about that...drink it in:

THERE.IS.NO.WHITE.MAN.ON.THE.BALLOT.IN.THE.
DEMOCRATIC.PRESIDENTIAL.PRIMARY.

This is more than amazing. For younger voters, this probably doesn't seem all that unusual, I suppose. They've seen women and African Americans in every kind of role imaginable - in fact, so much that it's hardly even noteworthy. But, for those of us who experienced the women's and civil rights movements first-hand, I can attest that this is indeed a historic occasion.

These Kumbaya-like thoughts were rattling around in my brain when I arrived at my destination and saw a black man leaving the polling place. It was all I could do to keep myself from hugging him when we passed one another. Then, as I waited in line, an African American woman fell in line behind me. I wanted to turn and ask her who she was voting for, but I contained myself. As I awaited my turn to slip my vote into the collection slot, there was an Indian woman with two children. As the 5-year-old boy watched me check out, I was thankful that he would experience an entirely different kind of voting experience than people my age have.

So, who did I vote for? Well, you know that's a BIG secret.




PS: Lest someone assume I am totally a Pollyanna, on my drive home I also mused about who I would waterboard if I could choose any one person. I'll let you chew on that one for a while and add your own choices, if you so desire. :)

Today's Sermon: Yes We Can

Time to let go of yesterday and try and make tomorrow a little brighter. Vote your economic self-interest; vote for hope; vote for Democrats; vote Obama. Vote.

Remember the War?

There appears to be further evidence that the so-called "surge" might just be moving the trouble from Baghdad and the larger cities of Iraq to outlying areas, rather than actually ending the war. In January, there was a rise in the number of American service members killed. This is from McClatchy News Service:

"A total of 3,942 American service members have been killed in Iraq as of Thursday, according to icasualties.org, an independent Web site that tracks the statistics.

U.S. officials in Iraq said the death toll had risen because the military was targeting armed groups that had been driven out of Baghdad and Al-Anbar by the increase in American troops.

In January, the military launched a major offensive in northeastern Diyala province, where nine service members were killed. In addition, the United States moved troops to the northwestern Ninevah province, which has become an Al-Qaida in Iraq stronghold. Seven service members were killed there in January, compared with four in December.

The fact that more Americans have been killed in those provinces has some fretting that the United States is fighting another round of "whack-a-mole," a term that Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., once used to describe chasing insurgents and terrorists from one part of Iraq to another."

How long will it take for Republicans to figure out that there needs to be a political solution to the war? Sending more good young people to die in an endless loop of tragedy does nothing, except perhaps make Muslims and others around the world hate America even more. Like mischievous children, the insurgents want us to chase them - for the attention it brings to their cause. Like an inexperienced babysitter, the Chimp fell for this behavior in 2003. Perhaps we should elect some actual ADULTS next time, eh?

Stop the war. Elect Democrats.



PS: The Left Curve poll to determine the Democratic nominee has closed. Final results: Obama 10; Clinton 5; Edwards 2. Thanks to everyone for your participation...