Thank you Phillip

I would not be blogging were it not for my wonderfully generous Administrator, the wizard, my guru, and the blogger known as Sitenoise, and my friend Phillip. He has taught me everything I know about the "intertubes" (thank you Ted Stevens for that tube explanation for the internet). But more importantly he's the handyman I've always dreamed of. I always thought if a man can't fix it (whatever "it" is) he's not worth knowing. I know this is chauvinist, but I'm old and came of age in the moments before the modern women's movement got going. I can do a lot of things, but I can't fix my plumbing, rewire anything, or wield a chainsaw. Yet--I have hopes that before I die I will be able to wield a chainsaw, and better yet, own my own. Neither can I find my photos when my Iphoto application tells me that yes, seconds ago I had over 800 photos, but now I have none.

Shock of almost any sort makes my brain go whaky. Kind of like Sarah Palin has become "a whack job" to aids in the McInsane/Impailin campaign, my brain became a whack job yesterday when all my photos disappeared in an instant. I figured Phillip was probably having a lovely Friday evening, and so, when I composed my email to him, I tried to keep the panic and desperation out of my voice. I am trying to learn not to scream at men in my email, as I have alienated one good friend and come close to it with Phillip. Swearing in all caps, bold and italics, does not endear me to my men friends--all three of them. So, as the evening wore on, my brain got slower and slower heading for complete shut-down. By 11:00 I was so stupid I was trying to watch a Bond movie on On Demand. It was droning on--explosions and car chases, and lovely damsels in distress was all I could discern and it was oddly unexciting. It was probably during this portion of the evening when Phillip tried to contact me. I couldn't hear anything but the cottony crash and bang of the movie, so missed him last night. But even if I had heard the ring of the voice chat thingy, I wouldn't have been able to talk coherently. That is what the sudden onset of depression does to me. It's almost as if I can hear the circuits fizzing out and the whole mechanism slowly grinding to a halt with a dull and fuzzy sound that ends in nothing.

This morning, around noon, after I'd had one cup of coffee, Phillip called. I didn't time him, but within a few minutes he had restored my photos. Then he restored my flock application and with that taught me how to put my favorite, daily reads on RSS feed. What a man. So, thank you Phillip. It's so nice to know a handy man. I owe you cookies darling--chocolate chip or peanut butter?

Accepted Political Wisdom

How did we get to be so stupid? How is it possible that people earning less that $40,000. a year think that tax breaks for the very rich are in their best interest? And what made us so stupid? Reality TV is part of my guess at an answer to that. But seriously, folks, my friends, when did poor people start thinking of themselves as the citizens who would benefit from cuts to Capital Gains taxes. And how is it possible that we buy the notion that millionaires have taxable earned income? When did the Estate Tax become the Death Tax, and how stupid are we that we think Estate Taxes will have any effect on us with our one small house mortgaged up to the chimney? We must be just about the dumbest bunch of idiots on the planet.

"(Rich Republican "experts") will tell us", as McCain has repeatedly warned in his speeches, that "spreading the money around" is a bad idea that has been tried, as he put it, by the "far-left liberals." They will whine and moan about "tax and spend" and offer predictions of doom at every percentage increase in marginal rates on the very rich.

Unless Americans understand how the economy has worked -- and how this country was built in the past century -- it is entirely possible that those false prophets will once again block changes that the nation has needed for decades. That understanding should include a review of some very recent history, too.

Will anyone besides the pundits remember what happened then and why it is still relevant now? Not unless Obama himself educates the public -- as he alone now seems able to do. The country is undergoing a teachable moment that is certain to last for many painful months -- and if the new president doesn't seize that opportunity, then his adversaries surely will.

What Obama needs to explain, over and over again, is that Democratic economic programs have succeeded in promoting growth precisely because they distribute national wealth more widely than the Republican tradition of trickle-down. The numbers have told the story for decades -- and the statistics detailing the Clinton administration's success and the Bush administration's failure have only reinforced the narrative.

Consider the cumulative performance of the stock market. Until this year, the best data available showed that on average, equities increased in value by more than 12 percent during Democratic administrations, and by around 8 percent when Republicans were in power. The largest gains in the past 80 years occurred under FDR, Truman, Johnson and Clinton -- and when the awful declines of the past few months are factored in, the Democratic record will look even better.

For the moment, scaring voters is no longer so easy. The Republican administration is nationalizing financial institutions and Republican economists are demanding big federal spending initiatives. But if Obama wants to avoid the defeats of Clinton's first two years, he must consistently remind Americans what has succeeded and who has failed -- and why.

And Especially for Susan

Brubeck as you've never heard him played before.

For Tengrain and Susan

I have a bottle of Bourbon and something nice to smoke. So I invite my two jazz loving friends, Tengrain and Susan, to spend a late Halloween evening with me listening to a great jazz vocalist play one of my favorite songs in Paris. What could be nicer. The embed has been disabled on this one some you will just have to click this link.

Real Life

There's a storm blowing in. All the leaves are finally off the big green ash tree. Melea has raked and bagged most of them. We worked together on my little third of the property together. She seems to see me as elderly now, and is a bit overly solicitous. And I'm a bit overly motherly. So in the end she does most of the work, and I sit in a chair, smoke and sip my latte, and warn her to be careful. If she stays, the property will be hers. If not, she'll get a goodly chunk of change. As it is, the big house and grounds are her responsibility. If something goes seriously wrong, she tells me, I arrange for someone to fix it, and I pay for it. But the tasks of upkeep and cleaning are hers. And she does a lovely job. We look quite respectable.

But today, with rain coming, I needed to do some final outside chores and she's gone. I now feel sore and tired and plan to soak in the tub before I retire for the evening to watch news non-stop.

I took pictures of the bare limbs of the green ash tree, uploaded them to my files and while trying to post one, deleted all my photos. Yes, that's right. ALL MY PHOTOS! Happy Halloween fuckers. If this is a cosmic trick without a treat, I'm not amused.

I gave my 1986 Jetta to a friend today. When I went to the DMV to get my new old car registered and get plates for it, I discovered that my old bank had a lean on my old old car. I thought I might just drive over there and park it in their lot, take the keys to them and tell them they have just repossessed a filthy 1986 Jetta. Congratulations Big Bank, it's all yours. But it was easy breezy to get them to sign off on the title. No money changed hands. I like that kind of transaction.

The Kitty Caucus

Diva Jood this one's for you. Happy Birthday. And for Dcup, whose Pussies for Peace are working hard to help us claw our way to the White House.

If I Were President

Now This Is Scary

Stella the excellent blogger at Swiftspeech, and the first person to tell me I write like Dorothy Parker, left a comment at my place with this link. I think this is scary, so in honor of one more stupid holiday where nobody gets a day off with pay, I present the real vampire.
Art by cartoonist Alex Roth.

Alaskans for Obama

The Ageless Hippie Chick, Linda Sama finds the good stuff. Please go check the rest of the links in her story. Lazy woman that I am I'm only stealing the YouTube part.

What Halloween Means To Me

Well, nothing really. I hate costume parties. I spent too many years having to wear some kind of costume and mask daily. I never could leave my house without the full drag required of a professional beauty. When I was working it was hose, high heels, the right undies (seamless flesh colored bra and flesh colored thong) and big name designer label clothing. Every season required a new wardrobe of shoes for shows and photos, the monthly expense of a good hair-cut and color. Every season required the right costume jewelry, and accessories. But it was the applying of the make-up (as much part of the costume as any other item) that made me hate Halloween. My hairdresser and his boyfriend always came to me to get them ready for Halloween parties. Since we were about the same size, I would dress them both in drag and apply the necessary make-up to turn them into the tart of their dreams. I had wigs, hair pieces, hats, gloves. I only drew the line at shoes. It grew tiresome. Then my mother went crazy and required my full time attention, and then I went crazy and stopped caring about any of that crap.

Another reason I hated Halloween was that it seemed (for grown-ups) to be the perfect occasion to wear a disguise, go to a party, drink too much and act like an asshole.

If you were to trace my distaste for Halloween back to its roots, you would find a three year old dressed as a ghost with a gold cardboard crown on top of her sheet covered head, holes for eyes, nose, and mouth. She carried a bag and was to be taken around the neighborhood by her brothers and returned home safely before the boys went off by themselves. They lost her somewhere along the way. She lost her crown, she lost her bag of candy, and was finally taken home by a lady who lived in the neighborhood. And to add insult to injury, this little girl was called a crybaby by her mother when finally delivered to the door by the kind neighbor. All our neurosis can be traced to our childhood and our siblings and our parents. So in some respect, we never grow up, never grow up, never grow up.

OK, So I Lied

Well, I asked my administrator. He'll help me get slick and tricky. It is Halloween isn't it?

I Need Help

When I have no ideas I visit you and steal yours. Have you noticed that? Sometimes I ask, or merely inform you. Sometimes I steal from you without a bye-your-leave. No comment, nada, niente, zip, zero zilch nothin'. Like a thief in the night. But really, it's time I learned some of the tricks of your trade. For instance, where do you find the lovely pictures that illustrate your excellent posts? I know there are sources, but where are they? All the pictures I have access to were taken by me, and I'm not really much of a photographer. And how many photos of my books or dogs or gazebo can I post before you start to scream, "No, stop. I can't take it anymore?"

I have an administrator who worked hard to get me this far and I will be eternally grateful. But it's crunch time for anyone trying to make a living being self employed, or at least so I presume. I'm trying not to bother him. I miss him, but I will survive. I will answer when he calls, but I won't ask him to help me do something as simple as this. Christ I mean, if Randal can do it, so can I. Anyhow, where do the pictures come from? There must be an archive somewhere out there in the tubes. Speaking of tubes, I'm kind of going to miss Ted Stevens. Everyone loves that nugget of him shouting "NO!' in response to some perfectly respectful request for comment. I could use a photo of Ted right in here somewhere with text wrapping around it as if I knew what I was doing. Know what I mean?

Dcup as helped me far too often. She's busy. Dusty is busy but has helped me so much. Randal owes me, but is so into his man things that I doubt he'll tell me how. I want to learn the strike over, the trademark symbol, how to punctuate in French and where do you get those pictures? I can't always delight you with a purloined post. I need to get creative.

A Song for Sarah

McCain/Palin the Real Socialists

A New Map for the Red States and the Blue States

Dear Red States:

We've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us. In case you aren't aware, that includes California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe this split will be beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new country of New California.

To sum up briefly: You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states. We get stem cell research and the best beaches. We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood. We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom. We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss. We get 85 percent of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama. We get two-thirds of the tax revenue, you get to make the red states pay
their fair share.

Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and anti-war, and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you need people to fight, ask your evangelicals.

With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80 percent of the country's fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple and lettuce, 92 percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 95 percent of America's quality wines (you can serve French wines at state dinners) 90 percent of all cheese, 90 percent of the high tech industry, most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools plus Stanford, Cal Tech and MIT. With the Red States, on the other hand, you will have to cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans (and their projected health care costs), 92 percent of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly 100 percent of the tornadoes, 90 percent of the hurricanes, 99 percent of all Southern Baptists, virtually 100 percent of all televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia. We get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you.

Additionally, 38 percent of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually swallowed by a whale, 62 percent believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the death penalty or gun laws, 44 percent say that evolution is only a theory, 53 percent that Sadam was involved in 9/11... and 61 percent of you crazy bastards believe you
are people with higher morals then we lefties.

Finally, we're taking the good pot, too. You can have that dirt weed they grow in Mexico.

Peace out,

Blue States

Hug and a H/T to Bob and Dusty for this lil gem. ;)

The Real Mavericks

I have "borrowed" this from The Unruly Mob or Les Enrages.org. I'm obviously learning the art of the embed. But what the hell. Watch it twice.

For Liquid Illusion

My dear friend, Liquid Illusion has written a gorgeous poem. Take a look. While I was there, this was the musical accompaniment.

I've Got A Bad Case of Schadenfreude

Yes, I admit it. I have schadenfreude. I've waited oh so long for this, and now it's so good. McCain and Palin are at each other's throats, "Diva," "Old Fart," "Rogue"--what did you expect you senile old man? It's too sweet. Ted Stevens was convicted of 7 , yes that's seven, felonies, yes dear, felonies. Five years in the pokey for each. The timing couldn't be better. It's looking bad for all of them, and for me it's time for schadenfreude. Sing it to me. Where's my stein? That bullet proof majority in the Senate's looking easier and easier a hill to climb.

I paid my bill at Comcast today and usually that's a drag. But the clerk who waited on me (after I waited for her for eighteen minutes) said, "I'll sure be glad when the election is over, and I'm really hoping for change." We did the famous terrorist fist bump while rather loudly whispering Obama. Paying Comcast didn't hurt so much this month. I hope she doesn't get fired.

A friend of mine who lives next door came home from work. She stopped in for a smoke. She asked me if I'd seen the bumper sticker "MOBAMA, Mormons for Obama," and we did a fist bump too. Ah, schadenfreude is good. Wish I were a beer drinker, I'd have swung by the liquor store for a nice German Pilsner. I'd have a toast to Schadenfreude!

My Email to Rachel Maddow

I used to be a fan of Keith's. I even set my Ichat to say I was "Unavailable, Watching Keith." Oh I still like Keith. But I used to love him. He was mine and many of the bloggers I visit also claimed Keith was theirs. It's looked like maybe the female bloggers were going to have a blog off to claim Keith. I first noticed you as a guest on C Matthews, then more and more often a regular on Keith's show. I started sending MSNBC email begging them to give you a show. Once I saw them put you on a panel with Morning Joe, who was so incredibly rude and dismissive to you I wanted to slap the @#$@! out of him. Sadly I could not reach through the screen or he'd have been on his back wondering what hit him. It was the incredible arrogance of a man who thinks he 's the smartest guy in the world but has just discovered that the little lady has him beat by miles. Pat Buchannon does that same kind of thing. And I know no one wants to tell them to shut up, since they are talking over you, as this might look condescending to you. Anyway, I love your show so much, Keith's not so important in my life anymore. Oh yeah, I still love him. I always watch. But once a night is just fine. But as I have said on my blog, Utah Savage, Watching Rachel once is nice, but twice is better. It's not just cheerleading. There are many female bloggers out here who have professed our love for Keith for at least the last year. Now we all want to claim you as our real and only true love. Most of us are women with husbands, children and even pets. But we loves us some Rachel. (I'm the prettiest)

I have one small complaint. Please call your old, and I mean Old, uncle Pat once a month or so if you must. But please, please, never have the old mummy on your show again. He's every bit as big a blowhard as Morning Joe, only Pat's embalmed isn't he?

Love your show,
Peggy Pendleton
Aka Utah Savage

Republican Defections So Far

This is a list of Republicans who are supporting Obama

Jim Leach, Former Congressman from Iowa

"For me, the national interest comes before party concerns, particularly internationally. We do need a new direction in American policy, and Obama has a sense of that."

Lincoln Chafee, Former United States Senator from Rhode Island

"As I look at the candidates in order who to vote for, certainly my kind of conservatism was reflected with Senator Obama, and those points are that we're fiscally conservative, we care about revenues matching expenditures, we also care about the environment, I think it's a traditional conservative value to care about clean air and clean water."

William Weld, Former Governor of Massachusetts

"It's not often you get a guy with his combination of qualities, chief among which I would say is the deep sense of calm he displays, and I think that's a product of his equally deep intelligence."

Arne Carlson, Former Governor of Minnesota

"I think we have in Barack Obama the clear possibility of a truly great president. I would contend that it's the most important election of my lifetime."

Wayne Gilchrest, Congressman from Maryland

"We can't use four more years of the same kind of policy that's somewhat haphazard, which leads to recklessness."

Larry Pressler, Former Senator from South Dakota

"I just got the feeling that Obama will be able to handle this financial crisis better, and I like his financial team of [former Treasury Secretary Robert] Rubin and [former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul] Volcker better."

Richard Riordan, Former Mayor of Los Angeles

"I'm still a Republican, but I still will always vote for the person who I think will do the best job."

Lowell Weicker, Former Governor and Senator from Connecticut

"At issue is not the partisan politics of two parties, rather the image we have of ourselves as Americans. Senator Obama brings wisdom, kindness, and common sense to what is both his and our quest for a better America."

Jim Whitaker, Fairbanks, Alaska Mayor

"If we are as a nation concerned with energy, then our consideration should be a national energy policy that is not predicated on crude oil 50 years into the future. We need to get to it, and I think Barack Obama is very clear in that regard."

Linwood Holton, Former Governor of Virginia

"Obama has a brain, and he isn't afraid to use it."

Government Officials:

Colin Powell, Secretary of State under Bush 43

"...he has met the standard of being a sucessful president, being an exceptional president. I think he is a transformational figure. He is a new generation coming into the world-- onto the world state, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Senator Barack Obama."

Douglas Kmiec, Head of the Office of Legal Counsel under Reagan & Bush 41

"I was first attracted to government by Ronald Reagan, who lives in our national memory as a great leader and an inspiring communicator. Senator Obama has these gifts as well, but of course, more rhetorical flourish without substance would be worth little. Is there more to Senator Obama? I believe there is."

Charles Fried, Solicitor General of the United States under Reagan

"I admire Senator McCain and was glad to help in his campaign, and to be listed as doing so; but when I concluded that I must vote for Obama for the reason states in my letter, I felt it wrong to appear to be recommending to others a vote that I was not prepared to cast myself."

Jackson M. Andrews, Republican Counsel to the U.S. Senate

"Barack Obama is a thoughtful visionary leader who as President will end the decline of American law, liberty, and fiscal responsibility that are the hallmarks of the extremist policies of the current Administration, now adopted by John McCain."

Susan Eisenhower, Granddaughter of President Eisenhower & President of the Eisenhower Group

"Given Obama's support among young people, I believe that he will be most invested in defending the interests of these rising generations and, therefore, the long-term interests of this nation as a whole."

Francis Fukuyama, Advisor to President Reagan

"...Obama probably has the greatest promise of delivering a different kind of politics."

Rita Hauser, Former White House intelligence advisor under George W. Bush

"McCain will continue the wrong-headed foreign policy decisions of Bush, while Obama will take us in a new direction."

Larry Hunter, Former President Reagan Policy Advisor

"I suspect Obama is more free-market friendly than he lets on. He taught at the University of Chicago, a hotbed of right-of-center thought. His economic advisers, notably Austan Goolsbee, recognize that ordinary citizens stand to gain more from open markets than from government meddling."

Scott McClellan, Former Press Secretary to President George W. Bush

"From the beginning I have said I am going to support the candidate that has the best chance for changing the way Washington works and getting things done and I will be voting for Barack Obama and clapping."

Bill Ruckelshaus, served in the Nixon and Reagan administrations

"I'm not against McCain, I'm for Obama."

Ken Adelman, served in the Ford administration

"The most important decision John McCain made in his long campaign was deciding on a running mate. That decision showed appalling lack of judgment... that selection contradicted McCain's main two, and best two, themes for his campaign-- Country First, and experience counts. Neither can he credibly claim, post-Palin pick."

Lilibet Hagel, Wife of Republican Senator Chuck Hagel

"This election is not about fighting phantom issues churned out by a top-notch slander machine. Most important, it is not about distracting the public-- you and me-- with whatever slurs someone thinks will stick."

Columnists and Academics:

Jeffrey Hart, National Review Senior Editor

"It turns out that these political parties are not always either liberal or conservative, Democratic or Republican. The Democrat, under certain conditions, can be the conservative."

Andrew Bacevich, Professor of International Relations at Boston University

"For conservatives, Obama represents a sliver of hope. McCain represents none at all. The choice turns out to be an easy one."

David Friedman, Economist and son of Milton and Rose Friedman

"I hope Obama wins. President Bush has clearly been a disaster from the standpoint of libertarians and conservatives because he has presided over an astonishing rise in government spending."

Christopher Buckley, Son of National Review founder William F. Buckley & former NR columnist

"Obama has in him-- I think, despite his sometimes airy-fairy 'We are the people we have been waiting for' silly rehtoric-- the potential to be a good, perhaps even great leader. He is, it seems clear enough, what the historical moment seems to be calling for."

Andrew Sullivan, Columnist for the Atlantic Monthly

"Obama's legislative record, speeches, and the way he has run his campaign reveal, I think, a very even temperament, a very sound judgment, and an intelligent pragmatism. Prudence is a word that is not inappropriate to him."

Wick Alison, Former publisher of the National Review

"I made the maximum donation to John McCain during the primaries, when there was still hope he might come to his senses. But I now see that Obama is almost the ideal candidate for this moment in American history."

Michael Smerconish, Columnist for the Philadelphia Enquirer

"...an Obama presidency holds the greatest chance for unifying us here at home and restoring our prestige around the globe."

CC Goldwater, Granddaughter of Barry Goldwater

"Nothing about the Republican tickets offers the hope America needs to regain its standing in the world, that's why we're going to support Barack Obama."

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