Time to let go of our antiquated agrarian nostalgia.

Slate has an interesting article up about American perceptions of what is "real" American and what is not, the Alaska vs. Hawaii argument. Read the full article here. I agree that there's a certain amount of romance left to the country lifestyle, but it's time to stop pandering to one demographic more than the others. Go where the voters are!

... Alaska leans Republican while Hawaii leans Democratic, and the GOP long ago intimidated the media into believing that only Republican strongholds represent the "real America." These Republican strongholds are usually sparsely populated, and I suppose the media's been sold on the idea that because the United States started out as an agrarian nation, rural areas are somehow more authentic than urban ones.

But if it's really true, as Palin said in the debate, that Americans are tired of "constantly looking backwards," then perhaps it's time we noticed that, as Rachael Larimore points out in Slate's "XX Factor" blog, 80 percent of the U.S. population lives in metropolitan areas. We city-dwellers make no claim to being more "authentically American" than Alaskans or the inhabitants of any of this country's many other big open spaces. But we are, by dispassionate numerical reckoning, more typical. And while most people probably don't think of Hawaii as an urban state, 70 percent of its 1.3 million inhabitants live in and around Honolulu, the state's biggest city. In Alaska, by contrast, only 42 percent of its 670,000 inhabitants live in and around Anchorage, that state's biggest city. So if either of the last two states admitted to the union has any claim to being more characteristic of the nation as a whole, it's Hawaii, not Alaska.

Palin, a "master... of nonanswers"? Why, Andrew Halcro, you don't say! Tomorrow's much speculated upon Veep debate should be interesting, although already predictable: everyone's going to hit on the fact that she's vague and noncommittal to her answers, that Biden struggles to make an impact when compared to his press-ready opponent, that we didn't learn anything new from either candidate or their positions. I learned a thing or two about "feminism" this past weekend at the Women's Policy Summit and I'm looking forward to seeing how she shines as a feminist, though I do think it's unfair that a woman running for office can't just openly say that she isn't one.

Debating the debate... and then what?

Last night my sweet buddy Erik came over to my place with two bottles of Barefoot bubbly, and we successfully managed to distract my poor roommate from her night of quiet reading with our own drinking game (drink every time Obama says "optimism", drink every time McCain says "experience"), but after a while we just decided to drink liberally. The whole thing was pretty painful. I was excited to hear a lot more about foreign policy topics, since that was the theme for the debate, but if you watched it, you will have noticed that the topic du jour was only marginally touched. So on this, the sad day of Paul Newman's death at 83, I'd like to quote another actor-activist...

The result is another frustrating piece of American media that is at once far too polite, and at the same time, dismissive of an American public's need to know anything beyond jingoistic self-aggrandizement.
- Sean Penn, via HuffPo (Read the full post)

Food for thought, or just a better way of wording my frustration...

Palin on Couric: like nails on a chalkboard...

These days, one can't turn a corner without someone pointing out the flaws in Republican Veep hopeful Sarah Palin's thought process and logic. It's a familiar echo from 2000 and 2004 when the people rallied behind a momentous outcry, "Really? THIS GUY? Really? But look at what he said..." which is when young idealists either learned or failed to learn that people vote predictably along party lines, not based on "best choice". So it does just about as much damage to point out the obvious lack of information displayed by one Gov. Sarah Palin in public, like in this interview with CBS's Katie Couric:

But it's still kind of fun.

I am loving her incredibly noncommittal vague answers, and that when asked for a more thorough explanation, she repeats her originally vague response. I love that she points out McCain's "track record of leadership" as a positive toward new regulations, even though his "track record" is proven to be anti-regulation. When pressed on the moratorium on foreclosures, she doesn't give a single actual answer, and instead opts for a long list of political buzz words (phrases that momentarily stun the listener but when looked at closer, mean nothing): "see these amendments implemented", "leadership qualities and pragmatism", "multifaceted solution", "comprehensive long-term solution". Just who preps this woman before her scheduled public appearances? I've watched enough of the West Wing to know that's an invaluable position she might consider hiring for...

For our joint masochistic pleasure, here is another clip from this interview that I just can't bear to embed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8Km8L3FBWI Palin shows her unwavering support for Israel... no matter what! And don't get me wrong, fellow Jews, US aide to and alliance with Israel is as important to me as it is to anyone, but where do we draw the line? When do we say, "If you're going to bring this down to good guys vs. bad guys... literally... maybe we might be better off without you pigeonholing our area of the world?"

What we really should be asking, and where we should be pointing fingers, is "who is responsible for this current economic clusterfuck we're in?" No more of this "let's find a solution together" bullshit, because that obviously has had no merit. And to McCain supporters readily pointing out his 2005 co-sponsorship of a bill for increased Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac regulation? Beware of Greeks bearing gifts, my friends, for his attempt to reform the government’s involvement in lending three years ago actually gave the institutions a free year sans regulation and the ability to further "exploit their subsidies". Last I remember, "exploit" is not a favorable phrase. Maybe they're "bad guys", and we should let clear-sighted Sarah Palin clue us in. You see, she is an expert in "bad guys"...

Battleground Colorado...

Full article: http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2008/09/23/battleground-colorado/

New citizen Fernando Torres is among the many reasons for Democratic optimism. He will cast his first vote this year, and says Obama will get it because he believes he is more in touch with the struggles of working class voters.

Oh Hillary...

Where was this months ago? http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/06/07/clinton.unity/index.html

Things Younger Than McCain

It's no secret that Republican nominee for America's Next Top Chef Commander-in-Chief is older than dirt... but did you know he's older than duct tape? Penicillin? The area code? The polio vaccine? THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE?? You get the idea.

Getting a little political in preparations for the CDC...

A note to those who need to be reminded: if you are in the news, any news, and lie about the circumstances of an event which was filmed, you will get caught, and rightly and embarassingly so. So please take a lesson from Senator Clinton's fumble and save us, the watchful general public, the secondhand embarassment.

Also this - http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/25/opinion/25brooks.html - Great article that can be summarized as: Lady, when will ya quit?