After watching the debate, I'd say Sarah Palin is much better...

... better at filibustering.
... better at avoiding the question.
... better at changing the subject to a question she can actually answer.
... better at terrifying me that she could be the next U.S. president.

She's better at all of the above, but I'm still not falling for her B.S.

She's a fake that compensates for her shortcomings by mixing aggression, an air of self-confidence, and tired platitudes about small-town life. She's an insult to the women's movement, not an example. She didn't break the glass ceiling, John McCain opened it for her and she's clearly struggling to keep from falling back through. If I were a woman fighting for equal rights I wouldn't want the icon of my purpose to be an unqualified hack that tries to squirm out of tough situations by changing the subject and acting cute (I wouldn't want her as my running mate, either). When she uses her breathy, soothing voice, peppered with neighborly colloquialisms I don't feel a connection to her, I feel patronized. She is hand-picked windowdressing, chosen soley for P.R. purposes.

I'm not saying she's a bad politician. I'm saying that she's misjudged the way that politics works in the big league. Being a woman, she'll have a hard enough time earning the respect of many foreign leaders that see women as second-class citizens in their own countries. No hardened politician (U.S. or otherwise) sitting at the bargaining table wants to hear small-town catch phrases and soccer mom metaphors. And substituting "yes, that's correct" with "you betcha" won't score any points either. This isn't a Robin Williams movie where the oddball teacher comes in and turns everyone around with a new and exciting approach to life. Maverick or not, a single rookie in D.C. isn't going to change the political zeitgeist overnight.

Some Palin highlights...

Her statement to the moderator of last night's debate:

"I may not answer the question the way you want to hear, but I'll talk straight to the American people and let them know my track record."

That's not being a maverick, that's being uncooperative, and selfishly abusing the debate forum .

On her gaffes during Katey Couric's interviews:

"I guess I have to apologize for being a bit annoyed, but that’s also an indication about being outside that Washington elite, outside that media elite also, and just wanting to talk to Americans without the filter and let them know what we stand for."

"Man, no matter what you say you are gonna get clobbered," Palin told Fox about her heavily-scrutinized performance. "You choose to answer you are going to get clobbered on the answer. If you choose to pivot and try to go onto another subject that you believe Americans want to hear about, you get clobbered for that too."

Welcome to the jungle, Sarah.

I'm not saying she'll never be ready for the White House. She just isn't ready right now, and she would make a horrible vice-president if put into that office today. She said during the debate, "...and how long have I been at this, like five weeks?." Like, yeah. Totally like five weeks, girlfriend. Instead of hindering her credibility by cramming for her potential role in office and relying on gimmicks, she should spend the next four years planning for the 2012 election. She just might have a shot.

Patriot's Day? Not really.

About 7 years ago our retarded cowboy president decided to whore patriotism by declaring September 11 "Patriots' Day." What is a patriot? A patriot willingly risks all for his or her country.

It's not someone that gets caught in the crossfire of a crime. That's just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

This guy is NOT a patriot. He's a victim:





Nope, these aren't patriots either. They're heroes. They get my full respect and deserve to be recognized for it, but being a firefighter does not make someone patriotic.



This guy is definitely not a patriot. He turned out to be just another 9/11 whore.



And speaking of 9/11 whores, while the real heroes of Flight 93 were planning to overthrow the terrorists, Todd Beamer was on the phone, talking to his wife. He said, "Let's Roll," and his wife wrote a book about it. And she made a ton of money for it too.



9/11 should not be called "Patriots' Day." The day had nothing to do with patriotism.
A patriot willingly risks all for his or her country.
THIS IS A PATRIOT:



That's a man I would salute. A man to whom I would willingly give my seat or place in line. That man is a patriot.

Those that cannot do, teach.

So I guess that means I cannot do computers. Which is a roundabout way of saying that I picked up a teaching job. Beginning in a couple of weeks I'll be teaching beginning computers to the residents of a retirement community. It's a good gig. Two classes a week at 1 hour & 15 minutes each, 40 bucks per class. They'll be back to back on Wednesday afternoons, so I'll be sacrificing an afternoon per week for $80.00 a pop.

The downside is that I've never taught a class, so I'll be groping my way through it for the first couple of weeks. Meh. If it doesn't work out I can always quit.

Excellent drum intros

"Painkiller" by Judas Priest
"Where Eagles Dare" by Iron Maiden
"Over the Mountain" by Ozzy Osborne
"Mystic Rhythms" by Rush
"Rock n Roll" by Led Zepellin
"D'yr Mak'r" by Led Zepellin

Stupid People shouldn't breed.

From the Palm Beach Post

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

A Lake Worth, Florida woman balanced a 3-year-old girl on the roof of her car before driving around the parking lot of a Marathon grocery store on Tuesday, Monroe County authorities said.

Brenda Bouschet, 54, of Lake Worth was arrested on a child abuse charge after worried onlookers called deputies to the Publix shopping center, according to a statement circulated by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.

"Bouschet told deputies she didn't understand why she was wrong to place the 3-year-old girl on the roof of the car and drive her white 2006 Lexus around the parking lot," the statement said. "She said she was just giving the child some air and letting her have fun."

The statement didn't specify how Bouschet and the 3-year-old were related.

Bouschet was taken to the Monroe County jail.

The little girl was returned to her mother.

What'd I do today?

Started the day visiting the doctor for a follow-up on my bloodwork. Cholesterol is down, Triglycerides are WAY up (almost double normal). Diagnosis: put down the donuts and pasta, get off your fat American butt, and exercise. And eat a green thing. Every day, eat a green thing. My words, not his, but the message is the same.

After a long nap (3½ hours long!) I washed the car and detailed the interior. Needs wax, but it was too late to get into that. Maybe Sunday.

What to eat for dinner? Well, I had some eggs and sausage in the fridge; why not have breakfast for dinner? That's always fun, so I did. Then I typed in my blog all night.

Dog Day Afternoon

My birthday was last week. 43, big whoop. It was actually on Monday, but we celebrated it on Sunday because that's when everyone could come by. And by everyone I mean my Mom, my sister, her boyfriend, and his daughter.

It was a nice afternoon. Alexandra (the boyfriend's 3 year-old daughter) entertained us by singing "Wheels on the Bus" and the chorus of "Tomorrow, Tomorrow" from the movie "Annie", while strumming (beating on) my guitar. It's OK - it's an old guitar. My Mom (who lives over 100 miles away) also brought her two Cairn Terriers, Riley and Katey. Alexandra later got the toys from her Happy Meal and some stuffed animals and put on a puppet show for the dogs. They seemed entertained as well.

After they left, my friend Terri came over and she, my Mom, and I went to Bennigan's for dinner. We had fun, and when we got back we found that the crazy lady across the street had backed into Terri's car, crushing in the door. So instead of spending the evening eating cake and ice cream we spent it standing in the street, giving a report to the police and getting bit by mosquitoes. We finished things up right about when Terri would have been leaving anyway.

Bedtime. I took the couch, and Mom slept in my bed. The plan was to get up Monday morning, have breakfast, then cut and hem the curtains I bought for the living room. Since I don't know the first thing about sewing, it was actually going to be Mom doing the curtains while I watch or play with the cats or something. She brought down her sewing machine so it wouldn't take long. Afterward we were going to take the dogs to the dog park.

That was the plan. At 2:30 in the morning Riley woke up choking. His tongue was turning blue so we jumped in the car rushed him to an emergency vet about 7 miles away. I was doing 95mph where the speed limit is 50, but it was 2:30 on a Monday morning, so the cop risk was low. Riley actually died on the way, but my Mom gave him mouth-to-snout resuscitation and revived him long enough to get to the vet. We were relieved when the vet told us she had him stabilized, but that was just the good news. She found that there had been a tumor in his throat that had hemorrhaged and swollen, which was why he was choking. They couldn't remove the tumor there, they would have to do a tracheotomy, then he would have to go to St. Petersburg (about 35 miles away) for the surgery. Assuming that went well we would then have to deal with whatever extent the tumor had affected the rest of him. This would all be very stressfull for the dog, and he's 12 twelve years old, so my mother made the decision to have him euthanized. It was hard, but I was glad I was there to support my mother. It was a long ride home.

Obviously, the plan of doing curtains and going to the dog park was off the table. I followed Mom to her house and buried Riley for her. I stayed the night and left the next morning. I've had better birthdays.