We're still here!

Well, the new Hadron Collider has been tested, and despite some fears that it would actually destroy the earth, we're all still here. There were actually worries that this test could trigger a black hole that would swallow the earth, or something.

But so far, the tests have been going well.

Well, they haven't actually bashed anything together yet, I guess, but you can check out the liveblog here, from the folks at Cosmic Variance.

Bad Credit Ads

I really dislike the FreeCreditReport.com ads - you know, with the weird-looking guy singing about how he has to live in his in-laws basement because his new wife has bad credit, or he has to drive a jalopy becuase he didn't check his credit first? They are SO ANNOYING.

I do, however, hate him less now that I know he's a French Canadian actor lipsynching to words he doesn't really understand (he's not fluent in English).

That makes them sort of charming, in a weird way.

It's about Time!

Lieberman has been kicked out of the Democratic caucus lunches and meetings. Considering that he's one of the Republican's biggest cheerleaders (and spoke at the RNC, and not in support of the democratic candidate), all I can say is, it's about time.

He became and "independent" because he couldn't get support for a presidential nod from the Dems, but at least said he was going to caucus --and thus support -- the Democrats. But the reality has been quite different. Old Joe has an ideology far closer to the R than the D, if you ask me, and apparently this was the last straw. He had ceased to be a "colleague" for quite awhile.

Of course, his people say he voluntarily left. Not true. Reid booted him. Hah!

Technically Ethical

While this is technically allowed, I wouldn't feel to terribly comfortable charging expenses to my client for a night that I spent at home, in my own bed, working from my own desk. This is something I do often, so it's not a hypothetical in my case: I'd have no problem expensing the travel from home to work site, but expenses while at home? Uh, no.

This seems backwards. Rules or no rules, it seems very odd. What's the scoop elsewhere for government servants?

This is permitted in Alaska (I assume because of the vast distances involved and sparcity of population centers), but the previous Governer had the same travel patterns and didn't claim the expenses for working from home. Do any others?

Can't have it both ways

Declaring that clergy “have a constitutional right to endorse political candidates from their pulpits, the socially conservative Alliance Defense Fund is recruiting several dozen pastors to do just that on Sept. 28, in defiance of Internal Revenue Service rules.” [TP]

Yes, of course they do - they can pretty much say whatever they want to in church. Endorse a candidate, go ahead. I fully support churches exercising their right to free speech from their own pulpits.

But then, of course, they must lose the lovely federal tax exemption that they have gladly accepted, on the condition that they do not act in a political manner. As soon as they give up their tax exempt status, go for it.Say whatever you want.

Can't have it both ways. Become a political entity - pay taxes, like every other political entity. Churches should get no special treatment.

Scottish/Celtic Festival

We actually managed to catch the last day of the Scottish/Celtic Festival in Estes Park, CO today -- what fun! The weather was perfect, the drive up was lovely, and we had the chance to listen to the massed pipe band, military bands from the Navy and West Point(including the "Party Band" from the Marine Corp and over a hundred bagpipers playing Amazing Grace and Scotland the Brave.

There were a ton of people. Watching all the men in kilts was a nice afternoon's work, and we even got to see some caber tossing.

I'll post some pics as soon as I can snag them off the camera!

Talking about who?

"You know that choices presidential nominees make for a running mate say a lot about them," Palin said. "And when our opponent made his choice, he went for a fine man, a decent man. Sen. Biden can claim many chairmanships across many many years in Washington, and certainly many friends in the Washinton establishment. But even those admirers would not be able to call him agent of change."

--Sarah Palin, 9/6/08.

Hey! Doesn't that description - "many years in Washington...many friends in the washington establishment" also describe McCain?

Perfectly?

I guess McCain can't be an agent of change, either.

Gobbledegook

I wonder where the video is of Palin speaking in tongues. Wouldn't that play well with the Republican base?

Until a few years ago (when she got involved in politics and was apparently looking for something a bit more mainstream, I guess), she was a member of the pentacostal church- specifically, Assembly of God.

Speaking in tongues is one of the sixteen fundamental truths of her faith.

8. The Initial Physical Evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit - The baptism of believers in the Holy Spirit is witnessed by the initial physical sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives them utterance. (Acts 2:4). The speaking in tongues in this instance is the same in essence as the gift of tongues, but is different in purpose and use. (1 Corinthians 12:4-10, 1 Corinthians 12:28)

That's way too crazy. Not too much in common with the regular mainstream evangelicals. That sort of weirdness starts pinging even their weird-o-meter. No wonder the campaign is downplaying her actual religious beliefs and peddling this soft-sell "shes just like you" schtick.

We may Starve

For the past few months, the Adorable Husband and I have been going to Entree Vous and getting frozen entrees for about half of the month, so we can eat at home more. With our schedules, we usually end up going out too much, or eating crap at home, since neither one of us really has the energy or inclination to cook anything.

Enter Entres Vous (or Supper Solutions, or any of the other 'come and make it here and bring it home'-types of meal services.) Good meal options, good price, the convenience of a 30-minute dinner prep. Pick something out of the fridge, and bake or grill. Love it!

We haven't had anything yet that we didn't really like -- you can view their monthly menus here-- and it's a great solution for just the two us. We stock up on frozen veggies (or fresh in the summer) and voila! Dinner.

But the one near us CLOSED! They apparently closed three of the five franchises in Denver! There is still one in Superior, but it's not convenient.

What a ridiculously tiny first-world sort of problem, eh? The company that prepares and packages my fresh dinners for me, is not convenient anymore.

It is to weep! Pity me.

Fighting for the LIttle Guy

Obama asks:

The question I have for them is Why would that kind of work (community organizer) be ridiculous? Who are they fighting for? What are they advocating for?

McCain answers:

I fight for Americans. I fight for you. I fight for Bill and Sue Nebe from Farmington Hills, Michigan, who lost their real estate investments in the bad housing market.

THIS is who he fights for? They lost their real estate investments? That doesn't even compute to the average American. The bad housing market has pushed people out of their homes, and the best example he can come up with is someone who lost real-estate investments? And, oh wait, appears to be in the real estate business?

Yeah, McCain gets it! He understands the little person, the common man who makes less than $5 million a year and invests in real estate!

I'm feeling the love, I really am.

Roomba Competition?

From Cuteoverload, a fun place to spend a few minutes if you're stressed out by all this political stuff.

I'm pretty sure this is a bunny. Or maybe a cat...

Used Food

This made me laugh today (another from Failblog.org) because we once had a store in town that sold slightly-expired food stuffs and damaged goods. Dented cans, week-old bread, that sort of stuff.

We used to call it the "Used Food Store".

All we Deserve to Know

The teleprompter did NOT break during Palin's speech last night, as was reported by a few right-wing bloggers, touting her extraordinary memory and grace under pressure. She's a smooth speaker, I'll give her that, but she wasn't "winging it", like the 'pubs would have you believe.

Geesh.

Of course, the McCain campaign announced today that she won't be doing any interviews or any unscripted events at all -- she'll just read speeches that are written for her by the campaign over the next few weeks; once she gets back into the campaign at all after going to "school", I guess. Wow, they must have a lot of respect and confidence in her abilities, eh?

We'll be carefully told everything we need to know about her, in a carefully choreographed manner. Apparently, being able to give a speech is qualification enough, and we don't "need" to know what her positions are or what she knows.

According to Nicole Wallace of the McCain campaign, the American people don't care whether Sarah Palin can answer specific questions about foreign and domestic policy. According to Wallace -- in an appearance I did with her this morning on Joe Scarborough's show -- the American people will learn all they need to know (and all they deserve to know) from Palin's scripted speeches and choreographed appearances on the campaign trail and in campaign ads.
[from TIME.com - go watch the video]

I don't know about you, but that attitude scares me. Shouldn't we expect transparency and substance from our politicians? I know I do.

Daily Show Rocks

Double standard? You decide...

Turning off CNN

Sorry for the ranting in the previous couple of posts about politics. I made the mistake of turning on CNN for the last few days to catch the highlights of the conventions.

It all just pisses me off so much that I'm instituting a self-imposed news moratorium. I get nauseated watching the RNC, frustrated watching the DNC, and end up yelling at the lies and fakery of political ads. I feel sorry for any canvassers or telephone polls that call here, it isn't pretty. I don't think I've ever been this angry about politics -- I just can't imagine another four years like the last eight. I just can't.

So, while I may watch the news and such, I'll try not to actually post much here. You all can do your own reading and watching and fact checking.

It's all just Truthiness

Truthout.org goes through the lies in the speeches last night at the RNC convention.

If I hear the "I opposed the bridge-to-nowhere" one more time, I'm going to scream. No, she didn't. And when it was finally killed, Alaska kept all the money for 'other projects'. Didn't save a penny there. And as for the new talking point about "command experience" -- nope. She has never issued any orders to the Alaska National Guard - she can't. While she has limited control over their deployment for in-state emergencies, those decisions are handled by the State Department (although with her approval in some cases). Once the ANG is sent overseas, the governor has absolutely no authority. Period. So all this "she's the CiC of the Guard is spin. Just stop it.

Where was the uplifting message of their vision? Where was the outline of their plans? Where was one moment of illumination of what kind of leaders these people will be? All I heard was petty snarking. Jon Stewart was right: the GOP may love America, but they hate half the people living in it. And now, the stage is set so nicely for any criticism of Palin to be "sexist" -- because they simply cannot imagine that there might be some other reason to dislike her. Oh, no, can't make any comments about her job performance, that would be picking on a poor, defenseless woman. I can't imagine how you can argue she's fit to be VP at the same time you say she needs protecting from those big, bad democrats who are going to chew her up and spit her out over policy issues and decisionmaking.

It's funny, though, since it's remarkably easy to find them arguing that other women (Hillary, for example) need to just suck it up and handle it and not cry sexism, if they want to be in politics. Are these people unaware that there are machines nowadays that can actually (gasp!) record their comments? Do they not think that the double-standard they are applying is going to be noticed? Gah.

It frightens me that there are people out there who hear this, and believe every word without checking anything on their own. Gotta fact check, people! On both sides.

Low Crawling

So, as I noted earlier in the 'new carpet' post, we have decided that the carpeted living room and dining a room are off-limits to Uulaq when we're gone. For the moment, we've just put two of the kitchen chairs across the entry to the living room and are keeping the dining room door closed.

It works beautifully for Uulaq.

However, I walked out this morning to see Berit happily chewing a bone in the living room. Oh, says I, how did you get in there?

Well, she proceeded to show me -- low crawling under the kitchen chair, while wagging maniacally. She was SO PROUD of herself. (It's a really blurry picture, she moves pretty fast!)

Is anyone watching?

I'm sure these "claims" by the Republican speakers last night will start the email rounds soon.

• OBAMA WILL RAISE TAXES
• OBAMA NEVER REACHED ACROSS THE AISLE ON ANY PIECE OF LEGISLATION
• PALIN HAS MORE EXPERIENCE THAN OBAMA
  
• OBAMA CUT OFF FUNDING FOR OUR TROOPS ON THE BATTLEFIELD

It took less than a minute to find the truth under all the spin. Yeah, yeah, politics is about half-truths and saying what people want to hear, but some basic honesty would be nice, you know? If you look at the world in bright primary colors and simple one-syllable words, well, I guess this sort of "truth" might appeal to you. Nuance really isn't a skill at this level, is it?

Yes, taxes will go up -- if you make more than 250K a year. While that probably does affect the delegates at the convention, it doesn't touch 95% of the people who vote republican. Neither income nor capital gains taxes would affect them. And, of course, closing corporate tax loopholes will piss off a big part of the Republican support base. So, technically true fpr about 5% of the people, but certainly not the gasping, breathless threat of "Obama will raise YOUR taxes" that is presented. Unless, well, the RNC assumes that everyone is making that much money.

Never reached across the aisle. Flat-out false. He worked with Sen. Coburn to track Federal spending, and with Sen. Lugar on a non-proliferation Law, among others. Maybe he didn't reach across the aisle to agree wholeheartedly with the Republicans, but to say he does not work with the other side is false. Then again, for the last eight years, bipartisan meant agreeing with the Republicans and Bush. I don't know how much of Obama's speech on "working together" we can take as face value, I hope it's true.

And cut funding for troops? Well, I suppose you could spin it that way -- if by not voting on an appropriations and military funding bill that didn't include some sort of plan to withdraw from Iraq (as did many other Senators) is "voting against funding for the troops" . That's skating on pretty thin ice. If that's the criteria, we should take a look at the stuff that everyone else has "voted against" in the past-- like voting against funding education when it's got to much pork attached to it that it's a farce, or voting against veterans because the law didn't include enough support for huge spending increases in other areas. But, spin is everything. Characterizing this as a vote against the troops is misleading -- especially since there is a huge double standard here.

Then again, the fact that legislation is often festooned with various and unrelated bits of law -- funding pork barrel projects in a social security bill, adding wording to ban a contraceptive in a law creating parkland, that sort of thing. Have you ever read the bills proposed? By the time they make it through committee, most of them have a few pages of special legislation added. Can't veto a bill the funds the government for another year just because you don't like a line item that provides funding for something else -- or maybe you do, then you are criticized for shutting down government. Maybe the first law that everyone should consider is that every single line in a bill has to have the same topic.

And, if we want to look at "not supporting the troops" lets not lose sight of the fact that the current administration has refused to support pay increases, GI bill expansion, and has cut funding for VA hospitals among other things. What, you say? Well, that's just spin as well, isn't it? He didn't "cut" funding, he just didn't allocate as much as was requested; but he did strongly oppose raises and increased benefits for our troops, is that "voting against our troops"? What about opposing the GI bill? Pot, meet kettle.

And as for Palin having "more experience", that is laughable. Oh, wait, they're touting her "executive experience'. Apparently being governor of a state with the population of Memphis, TN is awfully important, and being the mayor of a town with 7K people has given her so much more experience than someone who has taught constitutional law, been a sendator in Illinois for eight years, and a US senator for four - and on the Foreign Relations Committee --....but wait! They are claiming Palin has foreign affairs experience because she lived near Russia. And she has command experience as CiC of the National Guard in Alaska (which is untrue, but the way - the governer has extremely limited powers to control the ANG) Oh! And she was in the PTA. And John McCain is a POW? Who knew? (please inject as much sarcasm as you can into that particular sentence. It seems to be trotted out against every criticism.)

Gah. I need to stop listening to CNN during the day. I avoided all but the final acceptance speech of the Democratic Convention, I should certainly stay away from the Republican one, or I'm going to be a Miss Bitchypants for the next week or so.

New Carpet

We finally succumbed. We've talked about recarpeting the the house in the next few years -- since we've moved in, Uulaq has had issues and occassionally peed in the dining room when she's left alone. Why that room, we don't know-- maybe it's the least-used part of the house and she figured it wasn't "den".

We know that she has some physical issues that make this a common occurrence - not only is she getting older but the has some long-term damage from chronic UTIs. At any rate, we had resigned ourselves to dealing with it and responded with frequent carpet cleanings and medication to make this a bit easier. We would replace the carpet after we lost her. Sounds a bit macabre, I know, sorry.

But this weekend was particularly bad (the Adorable husband cleaned the carpets again, and the wet carpet just reeks of dog pee). Nope, we can't wait any longer. This needs to be fixed. Now.

So, off to search for carpet -- you'd think that we'd be used to this sort of endeavor by now! At least we mostly agree on color and type of carpet -- we found a lovely cafe-au-lait color twist at Carpet Mill outlets and they're coming to measure the living room and dining room today. Just the two rooms -- we'll do the rest of the house later, I think. I'm planning on extending the wood floor into my office, and we are considering bamboo flooring on the first floor.

Oy. And all this started because I decided I was tired of the 18-year-old couch.

And this was the plan?

I've heard multiple times in the past few days that McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate will "bring over the disillusioned Hillary voters" and would bring the woman voters to the republican ticket.

I'm not a particularly vehement Hillary supporter (I don't hate her, i don't like her), but would someone please explain why I would suddenly vote for McCain because he has a woman running mate? Why would I change my vote to support an anti-abortion, anti-gay-rights, anti-woman, anti-contraception, anti-science, anti-environment, anti-conservation, pro-oil, pro-corporation, dominionist, stupendously unqualified woman?

Because she has a vagina?

That's just insulting. I don't vote for someone because they share the same genitalia, I vote for them because I agree with their positions and plans. That anyone thought women would suddenly flock to the party ticket because it has (gasp!) a woman on it, is just plan idiotic. There is absolutely nothing about this woman that appeals to me as a voter. Women (and men) were not supportive of Hillary because she's a woman, they supported her because they liked her policies and views. That's going to change? Bah.

I'm sure it will appeal to some cross-section of society that was looking for a fundamentalist, religious candidate that shared their values -- but to think that women would suddenly change their minds to support her just because she's a woman, is ludicrous.

Way to make that first "presidential decision".