Ding Dong the Witch is Dead

I almost couldn't believe it when I opened up my e-mail and saw the WSJ alert on Karl Rove's resignation. I thought he would stay until the bloody end. But perhaps he realizes that he has already inflicted the maximum amount of carnage possible on this country. After all, a sinking ship can't really attack those around them. Or perhaps, more simply, Rove is trying to protect whatever is left of his legacy as a brilliant political strategist. The 2006 mid-term elections did not leave much. But it is unlikely he would have survived the remaining one year plus unscathed. If I was Bush though, I would be a little hurt by Rove's resignation. The Captain is supposed to stay with his ship, even when it is sinking. Apparently, Karl Rove was one of the few who missed Leo and Kate's 'Titanic'. I wonder how long it will be before Cheney and Condi take the last life raft. So it appears that without his most vociferous pit bull, Bush is being backed even further into a corner.

Somehow the current state of Bush's administration reminds me a bit of Richard the III, abandoned by his men on the battle field, alone and without a horse. I wonder when Bush will be willing to trade his "kingdom for a horse". Both men cut rather pathetic figures, but strangely Richard the III, who allegedly murdered his nephews and tried to marry his niece, is more sympathetic to me. I guess that goes to show what I think of GWB.

The Tragedy of TV Summers and Other Nonsense

After the mosquitoes come out, summer evenings end up being nothing more than a huge bore. To make matters worse, there is absolutely nothing on TV. It's like going to the mall with money and the intent to shop and finding nothing to buy or going to the candy store and finding it closed or just full of sugar free crap. Honestly, the state of summer television is truly distressing, unless you are a fan of random reality TV like Joey Fat-one and the 'Singing Bee'. I think there has only been one interesting show this summer, and that is 'Psych'. It has Charlie from the 'West Wing'. He's so cute, I just want to pat him on the head.

In other related nonsense, I had the opportunity to watch Poker on a 46" LCD HDTV. I am not sure that Poker does the TV justice. I am also not sure why anyone would watch such crap. It is just as bad as bowling. As for the commentators. I almost pity the fools, what did they do to deserve such a gig, and do they have writers or do they come up with their own inane drivel? God, I miss the fall. I miss football. I miss real sports!

I can't begin to tell you how excited I was to see 'Wicked'. I read the book and loved it, and while I had heard mixed reviews about the musical's fidelity to the novel, I was hoping... well talk about misplaced hope. The musical destroys the book. Utterly and completely. And the songs, I am sure they were good, if only I could have made out the words. Definitely not the super fabulous production I was hoping for.

I have been trying to pay attention to the latest administration scandals, but quite frankly Alberto Gonzalez spews so much garbage, I just can't keep it straight. In fact, listening to him talk gives me a headache. I wonder if that is why GWB keeps him around... he annoys people so much, they forget that they should really be frustrated by the president who condones his very existence.

Oh, and about Harry Potter. What was up with the LOTR theme? How could they let ***** kill *********. It was supposed to be ******* dammit! And *** and ******** and ***** and ***** could JK have been any more predictable? Yeah, and the whole thing with the elder wand? How was its master *****? I thought for sure it would have been ***** or *****. Gotta say, I was a little let down by the whole production. So much for Harry and Luna ending up together forever or the raising of the dead with the end of the Dark Lord. Sigh...

Long Time No See

Wow! I have been gone for a month... and no one has noticed. Talk about tragic. I guess I am just a blip in the realm of the internet.

So what to write about there is all kinds of craziness going on...

Politics: I guess Bush is worried that Chancellor Merkel might try spank him and so has come up with his ridiculous Dilbert-esque plan of holding multi-year meetings to potentially address the potential problem of climate change. Oh and then there is the whole Iraq War timeline that never was. Literally sometimes I think the news is more like a comedy sketch than a report on the state of our reality.

Entertainment: I have seen several movies in the past week including Pirates of the Caribbean Take III and The Namesake. The former sucked big time. A pirate king? an octopus pirate? a voodoo Calypso? I was bored half way through the movie, but are you allowed to leave a sold out movie? The Namesake was relatively speaking better. But I didn't get the mother? I mean she did nothing except cook all the time. Yeah, was not loving that. And the slutty librarian. I didn't dig her either.

Sports: It is my belief that basketball players should be covered by SI more than People magazine. But apparently Tony Parker breaks the mold. In any case, the Pistons are giving me a serious case of ulceritis. And the Spurs irritate the crap out of me. Here's to hoping Game 5 keeps LeBron in check.

Books: I finished reading Never Let Me Go. It was good. But sad, but good. On the other hand, The Time Traveller's Wife, I was less thrilled about.

Sex, Lies, and Money

So what is worse? Sleeping with a moderately pudgy, clingy, twenty-something in the Oval Office? Or getting your groove on with an moderately pudgy, graying, forty-something at the World Bank? Two seats of power. Two very different men, and two very different mistresses. Which is worse? Aesthetically neither couple seems particularly pleasing - Bill and Monica. The blue dress? Yuck! Wolfie and Shaha - I think I vomited in my mouth. I also think according to Bill's technical definition, they may actually have had "s-e-x".

I am not sure what Bush means when he says Wolfie acted in "good faith" regarding his companion. Is that "good faith" like the "good faith" Bush had in WMD in Iraq? or the "good faith" when he at Putin gazed lovingly into each other's eyes? And since when does someone's mistress get to be called a companion? Monica was never spared the ignominy. Why should Shaha be?

Random aside: I wonder if Shaha if of two minds about this though. Remember how Jennifer got mad when Angelina called her Brad's best friend in her Vanity Fair interview. As if Brad somehow viewed Jen as, I guess, asexual. Well talk about choosing a sanitized word. Companion brings up images of old women, spinsters, and chaperons. While they have all but admitted to gettin' it on, the word companion helps us forget.

Anyway, back to the 50% salary bump for his consort? Not even Monica got that and she let the leader of the free world score. All expenses paid trips to Iraq? Now I for one would have preferred Bora Bora, but you know those neo-con types, they'd probably prefer Tora Bora. While I don't begrudge Wolfie and Shaha their little sexcapades could they not do it on the tax payer dime?

And finally, if Wolfie is, and he clearly is, guilty of sleeping with a subordinate, lying about it, covering it up, and giving her huge amounts of money that is not his - then should he not be punished? Clinton did all the same, except unlike Wolfie he does not need to pay people to sleep with him, and he nearly got impeached. It seems only fitting that Mr. Wolfowitz should have to suffer the same.

Just in terms of full disclosure, I almost felt sort of bad writing this, because I just finished reading the article on Wolfowitz in the New Yorker and he really doesn't seem that bad...

Catching Myself Up

Is it just me or are you too getting bored of this never ending game of chicken between President Bush and the Democratic Congress? So I get that Bush doesn't take ultimatums well, wonder if there is some history there between him and Pappy Bush, but threatening to veto a bill to fund our troops seems ludicrous and more than a little petty. The repeated need to prove that he is the boss is getting old. Seriously, if I didn't know better I would guess he has all the insecurities of a short, pudgy, and balding middle age man. Still as much as I may despise GWB, he is not alone in this. The Democrats need to avoid squandering whatever advantage they have gained in these past elections by not turning into the Newt Gingrich congress of the late-90s. The rhetoric between the president and Congress is reminiscent of the Gingrich led government shutdown, only with much higher stakes. So instead of letting John Edwards and Barack Obama rant on about an immediate and complete withdrawal, Democrats should tone it down and develop a realistic solution that doesn't involve a massive showdown between the executive and legislative branches.

Apparently it is possible to swiftboat your way into an appointed office. Just ask Sam Fox. $50,000 worth of anti-Kerry swiftboating ads got him Belgium. Go Bush and the recess appointment. I wonder if I make a $1000 contribution to One More Term for Bush if he'll let me have the Congo... it's GDP is 1/20th of Belgium...

Some still believe the third time is a charm. Kirk Kerkorian first tried to take over Chrysler almost a decade ago in a buyout partnership with Lee Iacocca. When that failed he sold his shares. Then he bought a stake in General Motors, only to sell it, when his dream of created an automotive behemoth (e.g., the merge of Nissan, Renault, and GM) did not come to fruition. Gee, like that's a surprise. And now Tracinda is back at it again, looking to buyout Chrysler from its German parents for a mere $4.5bn. Now it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that the auto industry is troubled, but $4.5bn does seem absurdly low. The fact that Kerkorian was willing to offer over $20bn just 12 years ago only proves that he is low-balling DaimlerChrysler. That is $1.3bn on value disappearing on an annualized basis. It would be interesting to assess Chrysler's liquidation value, I would not be surprised if it hovered around the $5bn range.

Obama "Yo Mama"

Ok. No idea why I wrote that. But Obama does in fact rhyme with Yo Mama.

As of late, I have not spent much time blogging about politics. But it is time to get back to it. Quite frankly besides the entire Republican party, George Bush, Dick Cheney, and the I. Lewis Libby (do we know what the I stands for yet?) trial drama, nothing annoys me quite as much as the media's love affair with Barack Obama.

Why is the media so in love with the man? Honestly, they are pimping him out as some sort of liberal pin-up. It is disturbing that on the basis of one good speech (years ago at the DNC convention) and one state-wide win (a predictable win over Alan Keyes. Anyone, and I mean anyone could beat Keyes), liberals have united around him. Well, liberals minus me that is.

It is my personal belief that Obama lacks the experience needed to be president. His lack of foreign policy experience is most glaring, but he also, in my opinion, lacks national domestic policy experience. Not to mention the fact that Obama has never run a political body. He has no gubernatorial experience, nor does he chair any of the caucuses or committees on the Hill. Obama has little in the way of responsibility. The buck does not stop with him, not even for his Illinois constituents who may turn more frequently to their Governor or their Senior Senator.

George W, as much as I dislike him, was the Governor of Texas before becoming president. He beat a formidable opponent in Ann Richardson. He also ran a state (although arguably not really by himself). While I dislike most of what I hear him say, I do believe that George W theoretically has the training to be president. He has the experience of managing a budget, of dealing with foreign policy issues (well maybe just Mexico... and unsuccessfully with Canda when he applied the death penalty to one of their citizens), and of having the responsibility for final decisions. Obama has none of that.

The general consensus is that Senators cannot win presidential elections because their voting records are long and often contradictory and rife with skeletons. Obama, given his short tenure, does not yet have to face this issue, which may be the impetus behind his candidacy. But it is a trifle disingenuous for him to take advantage of his Democratic competitors' voting records, specifically with regards to the war in Iraq. In fact, on this point, I find Barack to be beyond irritating. Everyone and their mother who was not in the US Congress at the time would now (upon reflection) say, they never would have voted for the war in Iraq. It is an easy statement to make, and there is absolutely no way to test the validity of the statement. The question is now what would you do? And to my knowledge Obama has offered little in the way of ideas and more lip service to a disenchanted, seemingly disenfranchised Democratic base. Bush's surge is likely not the right way to go, but neither is Obama's proposed pull out. Once the US pulls out, Iran will pull in to the Shiite South, the Kurds will break away leading Turkey to join in the tussle, and the Saudis might feel compelled to step in and save their Sunni brethren. If Obama want to talk about how this is a war we should not be in, that's great. But the fact is we are there, so tell me please how do we get out?

I can be unbiased enough to realize that many of you may believe me to be over harsh on Obama. The fact is that most politician are guilty of playing the "Iraq game". However in the case of Obama, it is a particular irritant since he never had any skin in the game. My disillusionment with his candidacy would diminish significantly if the man would just give me some real ideas with some real detail.

And the ruckus the media are making now out of Biden's comments on Obama being a, and I paraphrase, "great African-American candidate" is ridiculous. The media, in paying obeisance to Obama, is indulging in the exact same behavior that in many ways led this country into Iraq. Talk about your blind spots.

Musings on the State of the Union

Here is my attempt at a stream of consciousness entry...

Wow. Talk about a pick me up for GWB. His approval ratings are sub-zero, but he gets applause every 20 seconds.

41st month of uninterrupted job growth? Who is he kidding? Jobs at Wal-Mart and McDs maybe.
Wages are rising? are you sure you are talking about real wages?
Yikes, some one in the audience is wearing a pale pink suit. Horrors!

Laura Bush looks like she has got botoxed. Talk about a frozen smile. And what is with the Gwen Stefani lips?

I wonder if Hillary's pearls are real? They are really big and very unpresidental. I doubt GWB would ever wear them.

Why are politicians ugly? Why does Dick Cheney look constipated?

Synchronous water drinking by Cheney and Bush? Coincidence... I think not.

It's so funny, only half the audience is giving Bush a standing ovation. But I suppose that is better than the 35% of the American public who approves of him.

I wonder if GWB has ever considered a brow lift. He should consider it.

"Succeed in Iraq" - what does that really mean? I need a definition. Ooooh. Only the Republicans are standing up. Nancy Pelosi looks like she sucked on a lemon. Or maybe she is trying to make her cheek bones look better.

Ok. So it was good of him to plug Darfur and Burma. It's a shame the Chinese and Russians won't let us do anything there.

This is boring...

A Three Ring Circus?

What are the Democrats up to? No one appears to have a coherent agenda, but everyone seems to be ready, willing, and able to throw their hat in the ring? Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Barack Obama, and Bill Richardson have all announced their intent to run (or at least start an exploratory committee which really amounts to the same thing), and the party (what a pun!) is only just getting started.

And it isn't even the Democrats who have been caught up in this maelstrom. Even Republicans, who have seen their President get repeatedly bruised in polls, seem to be chomping at the bit. What ever is going around must be contagious because the Republican party is fielding at least three candidates John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Sam Brownback. Quite frankly, I wouldn't be surprised to see someone like Chuck Hagel join in as well, especially given the fact that he has been on every possible news show denouncing the President's "new" surge strategy for Iraq.

I suppose Americans should be thankful for all the selection they are being given in the coming election. Although quite frankly, the election is still another two years from now and I would much prefer our elected officials to focus on solving social security, the war in Iraq, and health care than feel out potential, ill-fated runs for the presidency. But then again that's just me...

Even with all this "selection" I do not feel like I have much "choice". Both parties are increasingly controlled by their base. John McCain is a perfect example of this. What happened to the maverick from elections past? He is turning into a patsy for the Christian Coalition and other right wing groups. And besides wanting a withdrawl of some variety, I do not even know what the Democrats stand for anymore. So forgive me for not being too excited about the fact that we could have our female president. Or our first African-American president. Or our first Hispanic president. Or if Joe Liebermann runs, our first Jewish president. Or our oldest president (septuagenarians for McCain). Let's face it, regardless of who wins, it will be a first!

Who will ultimately win the election is a mystery to me. But I am pretty sure on who will not win the election.

1. Hillary Clinton - I think Republicans and even moderate Democrats break out in hives at the mere mention of her name. Although she was the first lady of Arkansas, I doubt she would win the state now. Sure Hillary can win the Democratic primary and get the nod, but there is no way she will ever win a national election.

2. Mitt Romney - First off his name is very unpresidential. Second, he is a Mormon, and while I am for religious tolerance and the Bill of Rights, etc. etc., I am not sure how no caffeine and polygamy will play with the rest of America. Not to mention the fact that he can't seem to make his mind up about gays, and I think the Republican base may think he is bipolar.

3. Barack Obama - Obama to me appears to be a media creation and sensation. He gave one, albeit awesome, speech and the Democratic convention and is now some how ready to be president? He hasn't even completed his first term in the Senate and before that he was just a State Senator. If Tennessee was any sort of referendum on whether America is ready for a black president, then we as a country failed miserably. Harold Ford's loss does not portend well for Obama. To top it of his middle name is Hussein, there are only two worse middle names Saddam and Osama. And Obama rhymes with Osama. Imagine the field day Karl Rove and his lackeys could have with that.

4. All those other senators out there like Sam Brownback - Senators historically crash and burn in elections. Think Bob Dole of Viagra fame and John Kerry of the infamous flip-flops. The last senator who won a presidential election was John F. Kennedy. That was almost 50 years ago and rumor has it that daddy and Al Capone bought the Oval Office for him!

Saturday Commentary: football, hypocrisy, and politics

College Football
What weekend is complete without a little football? Well it looks like Ohio St. and UMich will stay on top. In fact, the divide between the best and the rest only seems to be growing. And as much as it pains me to see UMich as one of the best, I am proud of the Big Ten. If the BCS title game is between anyone other than UMich or OSU at this point, it will be an utter travesty!

Other potential contenders for a BCS title just do not stack up... here's why.

• N0. 3 Louisville: If only they hadn't lost to Rutgers. But even then, they did not deserve the chance. With the mess they made at the end of the game, and my generally low opinion of the Big East, Louisville just isn't a National Champion.
• No. 4 Texas: Texas could come back and beat Kansas state, but it'll be tough. And the fact that they are so far down, does not make them look like an attractive National Champion.
• No. 5 Auburn: Another one of those, if only situations, except this time I actually feel rather bad for Auburn. But their loss to Georgia was nowhere near close in my opinion.
• No. 6 Florida: With Auburn and Louisville's losses, Florida is likely to move up to either No. 3 or No. 4. But Florida already has one loss to Auburn, and barely got by South Carolina. If Auburn isn't good enough to play in the big game, why is Florida?
• No. 7 USC: It'll be interesting to watch what happens in their game against Oregon. But as before, I maintain that USC's schedule is far too easy, and they already lost to Arizona St. At least have the decency to lose to a ranked team.
• No. 8 Cal: While I am inclined to think Arizona just got lucky, Cal has had one too many losses. Multiple losses in the PAC-10 are certainly not acceptable.
• No. 9 Notre Dame: The Irish have definitely rebounded since the ass-whooping they got at the hands of UMich. But it's easy to stay unbeaten when you play the cellar-dwellers of all the major conferences. Besides which, I have serious questions about the quality of the ND defense. They beat Air Force, but allowed them to get 400yds of offense. Notre Dame's real test is coming up at USC.

So suppose, Ohio St. and Michigan meet next week and then again in the National Championship game. It is likely that they would split the games... and then who would be the Champ? It's one of those things that makes you go hmmmm...

Fat Suits and Fake Empathy
Tyra Banks tried this awhile back, and it annoyed me then too. (Check it out.) But I randomly had ET on , and they had Vanessa Minello (Nick Lachey's new girl) in a fat suit, dressed ala Ugly Betty. And poor Ugly Vanessa, she was crying and sad because people were not talking to her. The punch line was, "you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover". Are you for real ET? You are in the business of judging people for the way they look. And would Pretty Vanessa even consider dating a guy with questionable fashion sense who was carrying an extra hundred pounds. Talk about hypocritical!

Germany and the Donald
Poor Donald Rumsfeld. First, he is ignominiously fired by Bush, before Virginia is even conceded. Then he is forced to plaster a fake sort of Rumsfeldian smile on his face as Bush announces Gates as the new Secretary of Defense. Now he is facing potential charges in Germany for war crimes associated with torture at Abu Ghraib.

Now I am not a fan of Rumsfeld, but war crimes do seem to be a bit unnecessary, and more than anything a way for some German politicians to gain a couple points in the polls. And although Rumsfeld may have a head of stone, and be prone to idiocies including statements like "it [the war] is complex for people to comprehend" (see my older entry for more Rumsfeldisms), he is not the real problem. The Cheney-Rove duo is the real problem within this administration and this country, and sadly it looks like they are not going anywhere for the next two years.

Election Night

So it's election night, and there is nothing on TV except political pundits. But I did stumble across this interesting show, "The Papdits". It's basically a rather comed-ish sketch about a bunch of FOB Kashmiri's coming to America. I recommend checking it out.

Well on to topics of more substance... the election!

• Rick Santorum is gone. I don't care what David Brooks says, I say 'good riddance'! Republicans are generally in my belief a bit nutters, but Santorum with his, I don't believe in evolution, I believe in the Lord of the Rings bullshit bullshit, was certifiable.
• Poor Lincoln Chafee is gone. I do feel rather bad for him. He seemed like a decent guy, and I am inclined to think he actually thought about his votes. His voting record certainly suggests it. Collateral damage I suppose... sucks that he's the one who got bashed. But in some ways the Bush administration can't be crying much about this once since Chafee never really towed the party line effectively.
• George Macaca Allen is apparently still going to be around. Oh the frustration. Usually the racists in office (the exception being Strom Thurmond) have either apologized or are in the closet about it. Allen apparently likes to embrace all with his bigotedness.
• Michigan appears to be safe... for now! and the women came out strong. Granholm and Stabenow are both being called as winners. The big disappointment, in my mind, is that Mike Rogers may actually win. The guy is just a big waste of space in Washington, and that says a lot considering the extent of wasted space in that city.

So the talking heads on MSNBC, or maybe its just Joe Scarborough, seem to think the Democrats that are winning are "new", conservative, pseudo-Republican Democrats. But I am not sure that is really the case... sure Casey (PA), Tester (MT), and Webb (VA) are all on the conservative side. Hell Webb used to be Regan's Secretary of Navy (or something like that). But there are plenty of liberal Democrats campaigning out there, for instance Ned Lamont (though I guess he lost to Lieberman) and Sherrod Brown (who beat DeWine).

Incidentally, I know nothing about Tester, except that he has a really bad crew-cut, but I really hope he beats Conrad Burns. I blogged about Burns before. I can't stand the guy. He's barely educated and it comes out in spades with regards to his comments on fire fighters, abortion, etc. etc.

I am more than a little concerned about Nancy Pelosi becoming Speaker of the House. The Republicans call her 'the liberal from San Francisco'. While that may be a bit harsh, I do think there is some truth to it. She reminds me a bit of Howard Dean. She can appeal to the Democratic base in large urban areas, but other than that, she is not centrist enough. Oh, and I think she might be petty, in that way only women tend to excel at. Pelosi apparently has some tiff with Jane Harmon, the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee. Therefore, an experienced woman will no longer have a ranking position on one of the most important committees in the House. I have a problem with that!

While this Election has already made me happy, there is a big elephant in the room (no pun intended) - what are the Democrats going to do about Iraq? Everyone seems to have a different idea. From time tables, to unilateral pull-out (e.g., cut-and-run), to stay the course (ala Bush-Lieberman)... will they ever agree? I am not sure... and can Howard Dean and Nancy Pelosi make them? I think not. While I am happy the Democrats won, if they can't get their shit together, there won't be a Democrat in the white house in 2008.

Crazy Clown Lady

Remember Katherine Harris from the 2000 election that wasn't. She was the one with the orange, cake-like make-up who allowed Jeb Bush to hand the election to his brother. And now the crazy, orange heiress (I guess that explains her fascination with orange make-up) has decided to run for a Florida Senate seat. It really is an unfortunate decision on her part, and I feel rather sorry for her. Here's why

• Her own party has withdrawn support for her - Republicans are stupid, but apparently not stupid enough to support her
• She is polling at 29%... that makes this like the least competitive race in America.
• None of the 22 daily newspapers in Florida support her.
• Her former campaign manager says working for her is like being in "insanity camp".
• She makes no sense. Generally, Republicans make no sense. What was Rick Santorum's LOTR comment all about anyway? But Katherine Harris makes even less sense. Her solution to solving the Social Security insolvency problem is to end the Social Security tax - huh?
• Not only is her make-up still bad, but her plastic surgeon is apparently smoking crack because her face ain't pretty!

Incidentally, check out http://www.whitehouse.org/ it is definitely not like http://www.whitehouse.gov/.

Why Does Everyone Love John McCain?

Why does everyone love John McCain? I just don't understand it. Anytime the 2008 election comes up, people make the same comments (that I too am guilty of):

• Hillary Clinton is going to win the Democratic primary.
• Hillary Clinton cannot win the South.
• Barack Obama will win the Democratic primary.
• Barack Obama will be the Vice Presidential candidate (the first African American Vice Presidential candidate).
• John McCain will win the Republican primary and the election.

People seem to have this bizarre belief that McCain is a maverick, that he is not really that conservative, that he'll pick a Democratic running mate, etc. Personally, I think, Stephen Colbert got it right when he said, and I paraphrase, John McCain is such a maverick, he eats his salad with a desert fork.

Here are some, in my opinion, little known facts about John McCain.

• Does not believe in a woman's right to choose and believes Roe vs. Wade should be overturned.
• Voted NO on investigating contracts awarded in Iraq and Afghanistan (because clearly Haliburton deserved all the money for no results).
• Graduated 5th from the bottom of his class at the Naval Academy which is apparently a McCain tradition of sorts (makes you wonder if he is smarter than G.W. Bush or just has better speech writers)
• Voted NO on raising the minimum wage from $6.25 to $7.25 (easy decision when your wife's heir to an Anheuser-Busch distribution dynasty and you haven't worked a day in your life)
• Voted NO on background checks at gun shows (because a criminal would never try to buy a gun at a gun show. who are you kidding??)
• Voted NO on adding sexual orientation to the list of hate crimes and does not believe in gay marriages
• Has limited interest in alternative energy options like ethanol, which are "not worth it" (tell that to the Brazilians who run the majority of their cars on that stuff and are hence less dependent on foreign oil).
• Caved on his anti-torture beliefs to reach a compromise with the president that allowed for reinterpretation of the Geneva Conventions (as a former POW himself, I am sure this must have pained McCain because now our enemies can cite our behavior to rationalize their own, but of all those in Congress McCain had the most leverage to push the administration to obey international rules/norms that have been in place for a half century).

Don't get me wrong for all the McCain "cons" I have listed, I think he is generally a decent person. He has spoken out in favor of campaign finance reform and against pork barrel spending. He together with a few others (e.g. Arlen Specter) have helped check the growing extremism of the Republican party. These are things I can respect. However, unlike most, they do not make me see him as a political savior. McCain has bent over backwards a few too many times to gain entry to the Republican fold. It is hard for me to see him as a straight-shooter now. That being said, I am not convinced that I won't vote for McCain in 2008, nor am I convinced that I will vote for him. He'll have to re-earn my vote!

Things That Make You Go...

Ugh!

• The Tigers for mucking it up yet again to go 1-3 in the World Series. In fact they were so bad that they were accused of playing like the "Michigan State football team". The next game is in Detroit, hopefully they will be able to pull something off.


• Republicans because they exist. In all honesty, it's really hard for me to think of a Republican I actually like amidst all this election year nonsense. Rarely are their ever any positive ads on TV, but I have found a few particularly annoying: Rick Santorum's new ads portraying Bob Casey as an Axis of Evil lover (because clearly all Dems are), Kerry Healey's ad against Devon Patrick is eerily similar to the Willie Horton ad the elder Bush used against Dukakis, the RNC ads against Harold Ford that are clearly in poor taste if not an attempt at race baiting (so much for the Republican outreach, apparently the Southern strategy is alive and well)


• Bill O'Reilly on Oprah! How can the Queen of Talk even consider giving him such a platform. I hope the audience gives it to him good!

Huh?

• Rick Santorum's Lord of the Rings analogy. I am confused. Bush and Cheney are Frodo and Samwise? which is which? Cheney probably bears more of a physical resemblance to Samwise. I wonder if Santorum has heard any of the discussion about Frodo and Sam's "relationship". It could offend his tender sensibilities. Also which character is he? and Ork? Check out Colbert's thoughts on it.

"As the hobbits are going up Mount Doom, the Eye of Mordor is being drawn somewhere else. It's being drawn to Iraq and it's not being drawn to the U.S. You know what? I want to keep it on Iraq. I don't want the Eye to come back here to the United States."

• The NFL in Los Angeles. The NFL wants a team to move to L.A. in order to keep the number of teams even at 24. Here are the critical questions in my opinions. Which team is going to move? What will their name be? What will their colors be? And what's the price tag? cuz I wanna buy. In all seriousness though, L.A. already has two basketball teams, an ice hockey team, and two baseball teams. They don't need anymore!

Yeah!

• Barney Frank for saying that when a party is in power for too long it tends to become corrupt regardless of whether they are Republican or Democrat.


• 'Ugly Betty' for being funny! My new favorite show