I have some half-finished posts started over the past few weeks. I've got some photos collected to show you places I've been going. But I've been lazy. Now I'm in week two of just sleeping, reading, not working and not posting. I got this fab silk nightgown and cashmere robe for Christmas so may never even get dressed again. All I have to offer is this nice holiday version of the Wind Wakers tune, which apparently is a video game that has something to do with the Legend of Zelda. I know nothing about video games, but can see that this version is performed by some guy with a spit curl hair cut kinda like Peter Petrelli on season one of Heroes. I do know all about season one of Heroes because SugarPieHoneyBunch got a new Blu-ray dvd player so now we get instant Netflix and plan to catch up on all of the tv series that we didn't pay attention to but now are an important part of popular culture. Like Heroes and Weeds and Mad Men.
It's another weekend, another week of bad news. In the Reuters photo above, a mother and child walk past burned out cars in Greece, where street riots continued all week after police killed a 15-year-old during demonstrations against job losses, wage cuts, and pension reforms. 20% of Greeks live in poverty. On Friday, demonstrations spread to France, Spain, Germany and Denmark.
Here at home, the Republicans blocked the economic package that would at least delay a major auto layoff, demanding that autoworkers first make economic concessions. The global stock market fell. The White House Treasury said it will step in. “A precipitous collapse of this industry would have a severe impact on our economy and it would be irresponsible to further weaken and destabilise our economy at this time,” said Dana Perino, White House spokeswoman. The global market rose again.
Gwen Ifill asked, "so how did this happen and where do we go from here?" At least she asked the right question. I found the best analysis of what went wrong and why Detroit matters on the BBC UK news site.
What a lot of junk talk in the air. Some suggest U.S. auto workers should be willing to lower incomes to be more comparable to the incomes of Japanese auto workers. Or maybe comparable to the incomes of auto workers in the south. Some professors are grumbling that lower educated workers seem to be making more than highly educated academics.
I've been a professor. Professors work a lot harder than most people believe. Sometimes they have to grade papers while trying to watch Sunday football. But professor salaries are based on 9 or 10-month contracts and they make more if the take work during summer semesters. Even professors make more in the unionized north than in the south.
And did you know that the "hourly compensation" numbers being tossed around are not hourly wages? They are hourly production costs that include all wages, shift differentials, overtime, benefits, pension plans, health insurance, and payroll taxes. The $70-75 an hour number being tossed around includes all of those costs to current employees plus "legacy costs" - payments made to retired autoworkers who have pensions and health benefits.
In reality, unionized American auto workers make more like $14-35 an hour, have health insurance, and pensions. A series of negotiations over past decades have held back pay raises in return for protected benefits. In the 2007 contract, new hires start at $14 an hour. Employees with seniority make $28. In the 1980's autoworkers were asked to make a "shared sacrifice" for the sake of the American economy. They did. Recently Ford executives explained that executives are no longer expected to share the sacrifice. The current high salaries for Detroit auto executives are calculated on the basis of global profits from plants like the newUS auto factories in Mexico. Hey, I have an idea - let's save the economy by lowering all of our salaries to be more competitive with Mexican workers.
Anyone else notice how quickly the tv talking heads' indignation at the Big 3 execs arriving in their private jets was shifted to indignation at the idea that American factory workers should make a decent living?
I say, wrongly accused.
somebody wrote me a nasty letter but they didn't sign their name i think i know who wrote it well i recognize that hand its getting warm oh so warm so warm on a winters day
im reading backwards on this page hoping to defend me if the devil comes ive been wrongly accused ive been wrongly accused Wrongly Accused, by Otis Taylor
Okay, this morning we got dressed by noon. Any minute now we'll head out and start Christmas shopping. After yesterday's contemplative musings on the holidays and the economy, it's time to shop.
Here's a bit of inspiration to prepare for traipsing about the town.
If little Brain Storm can do it, so can we!
Now make a list. And check it twice. Avoid the distracting bits of junk. No shopping for yourself along the way. Keep your focus on the goal and your eyes on the prize. So, we're definitely going to Wake Up Little Suzie and the National Gallery and maybe the Smithsonian and the National Building Museum. And if they don't complete the job, it's on to the Torpedo Factory.
Sing that title to the tune of Deck the Halls. Because now I'm daydreaming about the holiday season. Thanksgiving last weekend was great. Drive drive drive (layover at the Somerset Hampton Inn) drive drive to Pittsburgh. We spent a warm and cozy day with family and honorary family. We marched in the crock pot parade past my sister's traditional upside down Thanksgiving tree (more about that some time) and then lined those crock babies up on her buffet next to the grand turkey platter. We saw Spamalot at the Benedum, then had dinner on the Mount with a table by the window and a gorgeous view of the Golden Triangle. Then a Sunday drive drive drive drive drive (eat at the goofy Breezewood Gateway) drive drive back to D.C.
This weekend should be spent joyfully buying Christmas gifts. But honestly, this giving and getting of stuff lost its luster for me when I learned that there may be no Santa Claus. No workshop in the North Pole, no busy elves, no flying reindeer orbiting the earth on their way to my house. Then the department store windows filled with mechanical moving dolls in holiday settings gradually disappeared as I grew up. Now it's just shopping lists, malls, parking lots, and wallets. Where's the magic?
So instead I've been reading online news and views. Uh oh. re re re re
It's official. We've been in a recession for one year now. The fundamentals of our economy are not exactly sound. We've cut interest rates, bailed out Wall Street, kinda sorta half-nationalized some banks, and will probably need to do something big for industries like auto. Why? Well, failure in the auto industry would likely result in "one to three million jobs lost, perhaps permanently, at the worst possible moment." So says Paul Krugman in a Huffington Post interview.
de de de re
This isn't official, but maybe the year-old recession is moving aside for a full-on depression. Krugman has been saying no. But when HP asks if recent weeks are changing his opinion, he answers, "Yes -- the numbers on the real economy, stuff like retail sales, industrial production, imports, exports, have been coming in even worse than I expected. So right now it looks as if the economy is really falling off a cliff. This makes me less sure than I was that even strong support measures will pull us out of the dive."
Half a million people were laid off in November. Expect more next week, then a break because no one wants to lay people off on the week before Christmas. But just how bad is half a million in one month? Here it is on the scale of recent big one-month layoffs, created from the Dec 5 Business Week.
Worst month in the 1990-91 recession: 306,000 Worst month in the 2001 recession: 325,000 May 1980, worst month in the 1908-82 recession: 431,000 November 2008: 533,000 December 1974, worst in the 1973-75 recession: 602,000
But this article in the same issue of Business Week says Friday's bad news about the layoffs produced a good day on the stock market. Apparently, layoffs are often at their worst just before a recession ends. And stock buyers figure that more people hurt by layoffs will mean more support for stronger government action to bolster the economy. Maybe 533,000 will be our worst month in this re de. Maybe we won't lose those one million auto jobs.
Which makes me wonder how our current 6.7% unemployment rate compares to other redepressions. According to this Dec 3 article in Fortune the peak of a redepression is generally worse than this.
November 2008: 6.7% Peak of the 1973-75 recession: 9% Peak of the 1981-82 recession: 10.8% Peak of the Great Depression of 1930-1932: 25%
Which makes me wonder what was behind the other redepressions?
Great Depression of 1930-1939: complete banking collapse without insurance 1973-75 recession: oil crisis 1981-82 recession: deliberately high interest rates used to control inflation 1990-91 recession: collapse of junk bond market, savings and loan crisis 2008-?? recession: collapse of housing market, mortgage and credit crisis And what's the difference between a re and a de?
Well, apparently economic downturns were always called depressions until the big one came along. So it was named The Great. Ever since, we call these things recessions because they aren't nearly that bad. And most believe The Great can't happen again because we've got Federal Deposit Insurance (FDIC) and we learned not to let banking just collapse. Okay, we did let the federal banking regulations slide stupidly, but maybe we'll put them back now. We might let the auto industry collapse, or maybe just see what happens if we lose one or two of the big three. But hey, now we've got Social Security and a safety net for the unemployed. Okay, we let that safety net slide too while we argued about who was and was not deserving of safety. But maybe we'll put some of that back now. Maybe we'll try nationalized Freddie, Fanny and a nationalized auto industry.
Surely there are still animated window displays somewhere... OMG look at Macy's in New York. It's actually creepy and depressing.
Or don't look at Macy's. Let's just go where they still do it right.
Thank you, Canada.
I'll buy gifts tomorrow. Maybe I can search youtube for more window displays and then shop online. Amazon.com is looking rather festive with cute candy canes decorating their banner. But first, I'll go to Wake Up Little Suzie, our wonderful neighborhood gift shop. If I can't find something for everyone there, I'll head downtown to the museum shops. I'll buy a street corner Christmas tree. Maybe a wreath and some holly, too. I'll bring the ornaments up from our storage unit in the parking garage. It is good to deck the halls.
I feel so blessed to have... no, no, wait. If there is a God, I don't think that s/he spends time making sure that I am supplied with great electronics.
As a result of 50+ years of good choices, good fortune, good karma and hard work I get to spend weekend mornings in my wireless city condo, next to my loving husband, cozy in our robes, macBooks in our laps. No, no, wait. If I have great computer stuff and you have a dumb Dell, I don't mean that you aren't making good choices and don't have good karma and aren't working hard enough.
Nevermind. The kitties are snoring nearby, coffee is at hand, our cd-less invisible music collection is flowing through our magical wireless rooms and nothing interrupts our serene internet browsing of the blogs except when we say to each other, "this is great I'll send you the link." Which all brings me to this new discovery. 2008 Best Canadian Blogs
You very likely do other things with your life and don't have time to check out all of the nominees, so I'll make this easy by sharing my own picks from the only categories that I care about. Best Canadian Sports blog - FoodCourtLunch. I'm linking you straight to General Tao's The Year in Sports. Great video and funny barstool banter in the comments between General Tao, Chief Wahoo, Weed Against Speed, and Lars. Best Canadian Activity Blog - Yarn Harlot. In my dream of being a more productive person living a better life, I knit, purl and crochet instead of type, read and browse. Stephanie is just amazing. The socks, the philosophy, the explanation of the Canadian system of government, and the inspirational Knitters Without Borders. Best Canadian Cultural/Entertainment Blog - Mike's Bloggity Blog. Huh. Canadians have their own tv shows and stuff but they also watch ER. That's all sort of interesting. But I'm linking you straight to the nominee for Best Canadian Blog Post - The Comb-over Revolution.
Best Canadian Feminist Blog - Anti-Choice is Anti-Awesome. This daily life blog comes from a 24-year-old coordinator of volunteers at one of Canada's Morgentaler Clinics. Dr. Morgentaler is an 85-year-old holocaust survivor who performed abortions in Canada when they were illegal, was repeatedly charged-acquitted-charged (add in some "pro-life" death threats and clinic bombings) until Canadian law changed. In 2008 he was named to the Order of Canada in recognition of his work for women's health care and humanitarianism. Carry on, next generation of volunteers. Best Canadian Photo/Art Blog - Animal Effigy. Photos by Dani, animal effigist and ceramic duck owner.
Best Canadian Humor Blog - Useless Advice from Useless Men. Not sure what to do about computer engineer friends who may be ninjas with mystical powers and may be mad at you? Then you should be reading this Q&A a day from the advice columnist who at lease once signed off with "any more useless and I'd be a cat." I love uselessness. Especially on Saturdays.
The rest of the categories didn't grab me. There is a political category, but even the Canadian knitting bloggers are writing about Stephen Harper right now. I noticed that there is no category for best food blog. Positively un-American and I consider our Canadian brothers and sisters to be fellow North Americans. So I'll just remind everyone about Canadian Dreena Burton's Viva Le Vegan blog. Maybe the 2009 Canadian blog awards will help me find less famous foodies.
Canadian or American, it looks like hard times ahead for bloggers that no karma or hard work can prevent. Fortunately, President Elect Obama seems to understand that investment in social infrastructure is essential if we are to hold our economy together. I am looking forward to a nation of wireless cities, beginning here in our great capitol district. I think we will survive if I can just hold onto my MacBook Air, iphone, apple TV, and a decent headset. But I am counting on free wireless when our condo converts to a homeless shelter.
Uh-oh, it's past noon. Damn. The coffee pot is empty and we're out of Cheerios. I guess I'll go see what's new on my blogline feeds.
So after Comicon I signed up for the Dharma Wants You recruitment game thing, but then wasn't really interested in the alternate reality game (that's ARG to those of you into this kind of thing) so I forgot all about it. Now I'm interested again, because I got this special email inviting me to use my special password to see the sneak preview of season 5!!!
In a November 25th video posted on Dark UFO Carlton and Cuse blamed the demise of the game on the economy. I guess they couldn't pay the mortgage or stock dropped or something. But all's well, because they promised to send special content to us recruits. Woo-hoo!! If you think I'm sharing my password here, with just anybody, you are so wrong.
I went straight to the Dharma Wants You site and downloaded my dossier. My test scores were pretty crappy. 100 for honesty and integrity. 0 for everything else, perhaps because I didn't bother to take the rest of the tests. I've been assigned as a cook.
A little disappointing. But even worse, I visited the abc site and I saw that the same sneak preview video is posted right there for all Losties to enjoy with no Dharma recruit password required! Also, of course, on youtube. Here it is.
Dang. I thought I was so special and all. It's off to the kitchen for me, where I plan to cook with great honesty and integrity.
Ugh. Bad economy, hiring freeze, more work for fewer people, 8-10 hour days become 10-12 hour days, I'll just take this work home tonight becomes maybe I can finish this up over the weekend, and office closed for the holidays means an opportunity to work on those big projects... I might catch up if I work real hard.
But just remember
Marmoset, it's the failing global economy, stupid. You can't fix it by spinning faster. Days are gonna be like this.
It's sunny, breezy and gorgeous in D.C. today. The balcony doors are open, the air blowing in over Rock Creek Park smells great. We're planning an afternoon out and about the town.
But first, let's intensify the mood with some music from Alison Sudol and A Fine Frenzy.
My friends and I still break into big smiles over Obama's election. But we're also wondering what happened in California, where Proposition 8 proposed to ban gay marriage and won by 52% of the statewide vote. That's a pretty close vote. Some say that the Black vote could have made the difference and that African Americans did not stand up for the civil rights of others. Some gay folks are just plain pissed off. I waded through the data and I've drawn 4 conclusions.
1. Prop 8 won because California is a red, conservative state. 82% of White Republicans and 85% of all conservatives voted for Prop 8. Conservatives were 30% of the vote. Even moderates (44% of the vote) had only a slight majority (53%) for gay right to marriage. The stereotype of California as liberal is not real. California has been a Republican, conservative state since the Reagan years.
2. Racial politics doesn't really explain this vote. A large majority of Blacks (70%) voted against gay right to marriage. The Root's Kai Wright makes a strong case that anti-gay attitudes are doing terrible harm to the Black community. But African Americans were only 10% of the total California vote. There just aren't enough African Americans in California to determine the outcome of this vote. Whites made up 63% of total votes, significantly more than their percentage of the population, but had only a very slight majority (51%) for gay right to marriage.
You can skip to my conclusion #3 or read the CNN exit poll, statewide break down here. Remember "yes" means "ban gay marriage in California."
All Men: 53% Yes (46% of the total vote) All Women: 52% Yes (54% of the total vote)
White Men: 51% Yes (31% of total) White Women: 53% Yes (32% of total) All Whites: 49% Yes (63% of the total, 51% for gay right to marriage)
Latino Men: 54% Yes (8% of total) Latino Women: 52% Yes (11% of total) All Latinos: 53% Yes (18% of total vote)
Black men: N/A Black women: 75%, (6% of total vote) All African Americans: 70% (10% of total vote, strong majority against gay marriage)
All Asians: 49% Yes (6% of total vote, 51% for gay right to marriage)
All other: 51% Yes (9% of total)
So it was very close in all groups, except African Americans. But there just aren't enough African Americans in California to determine the outcome of this vote. Shanikka breaks down the population.
African Americans are 13% of the national population but only 6% of the entire California population and the percentage is falling. The California population breakdown is:
43.1% non-Hispanic whites 35.9% Latinos 12.4% Asians 6.2% Black
3. Judging by the California vote, the debate about the right to gay marriage divides Americans by age, education, political identity and religion at least as much as it divides by race. Supporters of the right of gays to marry are young, well-educated, liberal-minded, optimistic about race relations and optimistic about an Obama presidency. People who are not church goers or do not identify with any particular religion are overwhelmingly (90%) in support of the right of gays to marry.
Again, read details from the CNN poll here or skip to #4. The following groups voted no on Prop 8, meaning they voted for gay right to marriage:
People with post-graduate degrees (60% voted no) People who strongly disapprove of the war in Iraq (60% voted no) People who disapprove of Bush and believe McCain would continue his policies (60-65%) 18-29 year olds (61%) First-time voters (62%) People who believe race relations are going to get much better (61-64%) Democrats (64%) Unmarried people (64%) People who felt excited or optimistic about the possibility of Obama's election (60-63%). People who felt scared by the prospect of McCain's election (66%) People who live in the San Francisco Bay Area (66%) People who voted for Obama (68%) People who also oppose off-shore drilling (68%) People who think Obama's positions are "about right" (69%) Liberals (78%) White Democrats (79%) People who are not church-goers (83%) or identify as "no religion" (90%)
4. Blaming Blacks for not standing up for the civil rights of gays is just confusing the issue. On Nov. 4th Arizona, California and Florida all banned gay marriage. Arkansas banned gay couples from adopting children. Did the Black vote lose the battle in all of these states? Is it so surprising that these bans pass in a few politically conservative states?
Let's keep the argument straight. This is a simple, national civil rights issue. It is so because our society uses marriage as a legal mechanism to gain a set of fundamental rights that every American couple or family needs. We could decide to nationally recognize civil unions as the way to access couple and family rights, letting churches do whatever they want and letting people choose church marriages if they want. Most European nations did this over the past decade. Or we can allow gay couples to marry. If we do neither, we are denying basic civil rights to Americans on the basis of discrimination.
Coretta Scott King: "Gay and lesbian people have families, and their families should have legal protection, whether by marriage or civil union. A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages is a form of gay bashing, and it would do nothing at all to protect traditional marriages."
John Lewis: "In 1948, when I was 8 years old, 30 states had bans on interracial marriage, courts had upheld the bans many times, and 90 percent of the public disapproved of those marriages, saying they were against the definition of marriage, against God's law. But that year, the California Supreme Court became the first court in America to strike down such a ban. ...We hurt our fellow citizens and our community when we deny gay people civil marriage and its protections and responsibilities."
Mildred Loving: "Not a day goes by that I don't think of Richard and our love, our right to marry, and how much it meant to me to have that freedom to marry the person precious to me, even if others thought he was the 'wrong kind of person' for me to marry. ...I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard's and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the fairness, and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight seek in life. I support the freedom to marry for all. That's what Loving, and loving, are all about."
Don't know who she is? The 1967 case of Loving vs. Virginia overturned state law against mixed race marriage.
It's real we did it Pennsylvania showed it's true colors -- we showed the world and each other: oh yes we can! America and Americans can be this good. I'm working in Texas this week and watched the Dallas democrats party. A diverse group of people, tears, smiles, hugs, and a man who touched his heart and said "I'm a part of this one." A beautiful thing anywhere but maybe especially in Texas.
Still, I wish I could've been in D.C. - we voted 93% for Obama!!
Ahhh, a wonderful lazy Sunday. So lazy that I stayed in pajamas all day, reading, doing laundry, brushing cats, doing my nails, packing and organizing for my week of conference travel ahead... and listening to my current favorite song.
But let's say when deciding how to vote, you prefer a straight up objective, intelligent interview. I don't mean objective as in: Pretend I'm smart but somehow have no opinions. I mean objective as in: I'll tell you my perspective so that you can take it into consideration. I don't mean interview as in: Let's shout, call names, repeat our talking points even if they aren't quite true because the end justifies the means and by the end I mean as long as I win in the end.
I mean a real conversation about things that matter, discussed as if you know they matter. As if you are actually listening to each other and could hear something that worth considering. There are lots of good interviews on the Rachel Maddow website, including her interview with Dan Rather. He sets the junk-talk aside and says, look we have two candidates who are both qualified to be President. What matters is their politics.
The best interviews of this campaign may be this series of interviews Maddow did with Obama in this last week. It's no secret that she's a liberal. She's also a great interviewer.
Gov. Palin doesn't understand why 60% of women don't support her. ABC News
Jezebel thinks it just might be Palin's political positions on "pay equity, abortion, health care, taxes, the environment, energy exploration, foreign policy or who should pay for the forensic exams after a woman is raped."
Conservative radio host Bill Bennet thinks the problem is those liberal feminists. "I don’t know which drives them more crazy. Let me give you three things that I think drive them crazy, and you don’t have to comment. That’s she’s very attractive, that she’s very competent, or that she’s very happy. You know, as a human being." Notice Bennet offered, "you don't have to comment." But Republican campaign guy Rick Davis jumped right into it with, "Yeah, all of the above." You can listen here if you can stand the whole minute or so.
I guess it's a women are from Venus thing. But here's what I just love. Apparently 60% of American women are now liberal feminists! 2. Crumpy
Meanwhile, you guys from Mars don't have to vote based on political positions either. I can suggest three reasons why many conservative men don't support Obama. He’s very attractive, he’s very competent, and he’s very happy. You know, as a human being. And he can dance.
That would be the emotional crisis I experienced in my living room chair watching Sunday afternoon football. Yay, the Eagles won. Yay, Washington won. Damn, the Steelers lost. And more damn, I kept on seeing this extremely stupid - I mean scary - McCain ad.
Think about it. Obama's experience is legislative. Not executive. Now McCain's experience is... let me think a minute. Oh yeah, legislative. And military. Not executive. But that means no matter who we elect, our next President will be without executive experience when facing his first crisis in The Oval Office Chair! Da-da-da-dum!!
Now I'm really scared. We need a President with some serious executive experience. Presidential type executive experience. OMG, now it is so clear that the safest person to elect as president would be a past president. No, wait a minute. They're all too old. Did the Reagans have some kids who grew up to be executives? If Chelsea becomes an executive and then later wants to run... stop, get a grip. Who can save us now?
Okay, really. Calm down. The Vice President might have some influence on the man in The Chair. Maybe we can find an experienced mayor who earned the confidence of the common Joes back home in say, Alaska. Oh! Oh! I know one! Damn again. In other news today The Anchorage Daily News endorsed Obama. In fact, the executive skills of the executive from Alaska are so mavericky, so roguey that she doesn't inspire the support of own campaign team. I don't think madame executive diva is exactly who we are looking for.
Wait, wait, I've got it. We can look at the executive decision-making skills being used by the candidates right now, while they are campaigning. Let's take a look at their campaign strategies.
Obama is using the skills that just might win an election or say, lead a nation. Stay calm under attack, offer us ads that define the issues we need to face and propose intelligent solutions.
OMG. Did Joe Biden really say FDR talked about the depression on television in 1929 when he should have said he was on radio in 1933? Read all about it. Or don't. Because...
OMG. Did Holly Todd, college student from Texas, really tell Pittsburgh police that a great big Black man who was an Obama suppporter assaulted her, punched her in the back of the head, knocked her to the ground, told her “you are going to be a Barack supporter,” and kicked her while threatening “to teach her a lesson for being a McCain supporter." Did she really say that he then sat on her chest, pinned her hands down with his knees and scratched a backward letter “B” into her face with a dull knife? Um, why would anyone go to the trouble of scratching a letter backwards? But if you were a very sad case of a person, cutting the letter B into your own cheek in a mirror, wouldn't the letter B come out backwards? Read all about it.
Yes. Both of these things are true. Except one is not such a big deal. TV. Radio. 1929. 1933. That would be Biden's mistake. It was a dumb gaffe, but Biden knows what FDR did, said and stood for. The backwards-B-mugger thing is a horrible, sad, sick story. Holly Todd worked in New York for the College Republican National Committee before moving two weeks ago to Pennsylvania, where her duties included recruiting college students to the McCain-Palin campaign. "I don't know, McCain is down in the polls, maybe this is a boost to get him up a little bit," said Mark Billings. "I don't know, maybe she had some personal problems or something."
And tonight Sarah Palin showed up to campaign in my high school alma mater. Big crowd. Cheers. As far as I can tell, her talk was mostly about Joe Namath and Bill Ayers and wanting a president who spent 30-some years in the military. Thankfully we got a little more substance this week from another Vietnam vet, General Colin Powell.
and if you do too, go to the abc LOST site and let the new short videos run,
or let Doc Artz take you straight to the Season 5 promo.
For me, it's all about Ben, Locke, Michael, Rousseau and Alpert. Glad to see that the show is still about more than Kate-Jack-Sawyer. Because come on. In that triangle, it's all about Sawyer. I knew that when I was 16. And I met my Sawyer when I was 19. And my Sawyer still comes home to me. Sawyer is a consistent hero - and he's funny, too. If I need a doctor, I can make an appointment. I don't need a husband or a TV show for that.
Let's visit two Main Streets, just to make sure that we are all getting a little dose of reality.
First, a visit to Main Street in Wasilla, Alaska.
Now lets visit the main street of my hometown of Beaver, Pennsylvania. Oh, look who showed up to get in touch with a little reality on main street. We have big news in our little town of Beaver. That's my sister's blog. She still lives in our hometown. Yep, the main street of our hometown is a two lane road, a few traffic lights, lots of churches, and a park that has a lovely gazebo. The tallest buildings are 3-4 stories high and a few cars wide. There's also a historic revolutionary war fort, Ft. Macintosh, along River Road.
Beaver, PA, a real American small town with a real main street. 4,775 people. 96.44% White, 2.64% African American, 0.88% Hispanic or Latino, 0.27% Asian, 0.13% Native American, 0.27% from other races, 0.25% from two or more races. Median household income $42,113. Median family income $57,208. Males had a median income of $43,198 versus $26,709 for females. Per capita income $24,003. About 3.7% of families and 4.9% of the population live below the poverty line. Small town, predominantly white, working people. Fought in every American war beginning with the American Revolution.
Here's the whole speech, in our lovely main street gazebo, beginning with a dose of reality from some small town steelworkers.
Stumbling around the internet this morning I found this campaign ad for Obama. Virginia bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley has been around, knows what's what, and gets right to the point.
Which led me to some Stanley Brothers music. First, live with Alison Kraus singing O Angel Band. About the hard-to-understand-but-must-be-funny opening banter: Youtube commenters who were at the concert say that Stanley tells Kraus, "It's good to have you." She replies, "oh, it's good to be had."
And here's the Stanley Brothers doing It Takes a Worried Man on Rainbow Quest, Pete Seeger's 1965 tv show.
One more, here's the same song, same show, but with a young Johnny Cash and June Carter.
There's lots more of this show on youtube, including June telling the story of their trip to entertain the troops in Asia. In Korea, she did her usual trick of tossing out the mike and pulling it back to her. But this time... Well she tells it best right here. Then they sing their favorite Native American protest song.
Bein' country and supportin' the troops ain't necessarily bein' conservative. (Wink, smile.) And that's our history lesson for today.
Sarah Palin says Washington is full of elite insiders who need a touch of "main street Wasilla." Really? Guess what, Madame Governor. Members of Congress, the White House staff, lobbyists, and federal bureaucrats aren't city people from Washington. They come from big and small towns all over the country. Geesh. Duh. How dumb can... oh, never mind.
But if Sarah Palin says one more time that Washington (and New York, California, Boston, New England...) is out of touch with "real" America, I'm gonna scream. Oh wait, I don't have to! Thank you, Joe Biden, for saying that we are all tired, tired, tired of this crap. Just how much of America does she not like? How much of America does she not count as "real"? How exactly would that work as Vice President?
So here's a bit of Washington reality for Main Street. Washington residents are regular people, living in an American city. Politicians in Washington are elected legislators who work here and live somewhere else. Anne Applebaum wrote a nice response to Palin's anti-Washington talk in the Washington Post.
"Although there are plenty of native Washingtonians working as doctors or cabdrivers or bank managers, most of the people who actually control the city's most famous institutions -- Congress, the White House, the federal government -- weren't born in Washington. Like Sarah Palin, they are from "in the heartland," in places like Wasilla, and it is the values of the heartland and Wasilla that they must be therefore presumed to embody."read more...
What happens in Washington when there is a political shake up? Well, right now real Washingtonians are watching as a pack of visiting, elite, political insiders from Texas go back home.
Karl Rove the primary author of President Bush's two successful national campaigns and perhaps the most influential and controversial presidential strategist of his generation, became the latest Bush adviser to head for the door, announcing that he will resign Aug. 31.
Alberto Gonzalez' departure means that almost none of the Texans who came to town with Bush still hold influential positions in the administration. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, his education adviser in Texas and a former White House staffer, is the most prominent exception.
David Dunn will be leaving his position as Chief of Staff to the U.S. Department of Education effective October 3, 2008 to serve as Executive Director of the newly formed Texas Charter Schools Association (TCSA)
Lawrence A. Warder will be leaving two positions he has held—acting chief operating officer of Federal Student Aid (FSA) and chief financial officer—effective October 10 and returning home to Texas.
I do love cuteoverload. But this one really kind of creeps me out, because it reminds me so much of the plight of Bob and Millie Frasier, average young New Yorkers who Stopover in a Quiet Town.
Oh man, is this the best election campaign ever? Well, the best ever for comedy? Here's another great one, this time from Saturday Night Live. Surely you noticed that Sarah Palin developed her look by studying the smart-strong-hot Tina Fey...
Isn't it wonderful that anyone can be president, if you want it bad enough?
And now surely you are asking, "WTF does flurge mean?" Well, Hillary and I both googled it. The spelling is not yet stable, but it seems to mean flush+purge as in get rid of or remove.
But WTF does MILF mean? Mother's I'd Like to... that's all you need to know. If you can't imagine the rest, I'm proud of you and would like to know how old you are and where you hail from. Sorry, I'm not telling what WTF means either.
I, for one, have never referred to Sarah Palin in that MILF way. And I can promise her that I never will.
You know, really, we should not even be talking about Sarah Palin. Because it's sexist to talk about the experience or character of candidates for office if the candidate for office is a woman. You didn't know that?
I don't have the nerves for these shouting heads politics shows, but this clip is necessary viewing. Watch Chris Matthews push the question of whether the latest McCain attack ad is really saying that Obama called Palin a pig and that Katie Couric does not approve.
So, to sum up. McCain used the same "lipstick on a pig" reference twice right after naming Hillary Clinton. No one accused him of calling Hillary a pig. One of McCain's (female) campaign strategists wrote a book called Lipstick on a Pig that advises politicians on how and when to use the phrase. And now McCain produced and tossed out an ad that implies it is sexist if Obama uses the phrase and that Obama is calling Palin a pig.
Finally, What's-his-name McCain guy on the show says, no, McCain isn't really saying that Obama is calling Palin a pig. No, What's-his-name isn't really saying so either. So what's up with the ad? Apparently, McCain may not exactly be responsible for the ads that include him saying, "I am John McCain and I approve this message." Apparently, our nation is threatened by rogue McCain ad producers. Also, apparently, McCain is powerless to do anything about it. But he's ready to lead some other stuff.
Hurricanes Gustav and Hanna have moved on. It's a lovely day and the birds are back. Which makes me wonder, "What's it like to be a bird?" In this short documentary, the birds explain it all.
You know. That thing that the Palin family women should have the right to make for themselves... government should just stay out of it... that thing that is personal... that is very personal... what do you call it?
No comment. Well, okay. One comment. Thankfully, feminists have a sense of humor. You go, Samantha Bee!
New Orleans, by The Highwaymen. That's Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Kris Kristofferson.
Labor Day was beautiful here in D.C. It looks like Gustav will not bring disaster on the scale of Katrina, though I'm sure many people lost much and there are days of rain and flooding and more hurricanes ahead.
Our two possible next presidents responded differently. Both posted ways to volunteer on their campaign websites. McCain headed to Mississippi, apparently to make sure there will be photos of himself helping someone. Obama visited Iowa after the flooding emergency there settled. He says "the important thing to do now is to stay clear of the area until things have settled down... The thing that I always am concerned about in the middle of a storm is whether we're drawing resources away from folks on the ground because the Secret Service and various security requirements sometimes it pulls police, fire and other departments away from concentrating on the job."
In Katrina, many of the people who didn't get out in time either didn't have transportation or delayed because they were trying to find a way to save their pets. This time New Orleans and Louisiana mobilized. A fleet of buses and Amtrak trains evacuated people who don't have cars. Volunteers helped evacuate animals. A few more weekend thoughts about our possible future presidents. They have very different approaches to building our national infrastructure, all summarized right here.
In 2007, McCain and Bush opposed the $23 billion Water Resources Development Act, which funded improvements to rivers, harbors, levees and flood control projects. Congress overrode Bush's veto and the bill passed. In 2002, McCain proposed abolishing Amtrak and privatizing our rail system.
Obama supported the 2007 Water Resources Development Act. He also proposes to strengthen urban infrastructure, highways, public transportation, bike paths, pedestrian friendly streets, and increase funding to Amtrak.
I've always loved the children's book, Millions of Cats. Who knew there is a woman living the life? And she's not a crazy cat lady. She just runs the best animal shelter ever.
Cat House on Kings
And One Baby Panda
This zoo in Japan is not the best shelter, but it is a protected place for the birth of a baby panda - don't miss the first second or two!
Drinking without being thirsty and making love at any time, Madame, are the only things that distinguish us from other animals. - Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, The Marriage of Figaro, 1784, translated
Believe it or not, I rarely watch TV unless there are new LOST episodes involved or I am in the mood for Stewart & Colbert. But I've just spent two weeks watching the Olympics and now the the Democratic national convention. Watching the convention is fascinating, especially if you cut out the nitwit pundits and take it in straight for yourself on C-Span.
I have a few friends back home in Pennsylvania who supported Hillary Clinton and now say that they are wavering between Obama and McCain. So watch and learn for yourself. I'll just share some highlights here for those of us who know that "women's issues" matter for all of us, including men.
A conversation with NOW past-president Eleanor Smeal
McCain's own words
A conversation with current NOW president Kim Gandy
A few more words from McCain
How does Hillary Clinton feel about McCain's attempt to use her to elect himself?
So think for yourself, but don't think that a vote for McCain is somehow a vote for Hillary Clinton or for women. Were you watching? No way. No how. No McCain. Boom shaka laka laka boom. Burn baby burn. Hilary had a nice soundtrack. Missed it? You can watch the whole speech on C-SPAN.
It's about time I give the Beijing Summer games some deep thought. I've been watching daily and I have a lot of questions.
1. Why do I love China? 2. Why does the fuss about Michael Phelps bug me so much? 3. Why do the beach volleyball women wear sports bra bikinis but the beach volleyball men, the indoor volleyball men and indoor women wear shorts and tank tops? 4. Are all medalists really from the U.S., Europe and China? Or is that an accident of my viewing times? Or a product of biased media coverage? Or will the second week of events open up a wider international competition?
Let's start with the question I can answer. Why does the fuss about Michael Phelps bug me so much?
I like Michael Phelps. I enjoy a personal story about the life of an Olympic athlete. It builds a human connection to the rest of us couch potatoes. Sure, Michael eats 5 breakfasts for breakfast. But he has a mom and two sisters and they all look like my kind of people. They wear their hearts on their sleeves and allow their emotions to play all over their faces. Mom's proud of him and he's proud of her. He loves that as a single mom she went to graduate school. Her late nights working as a school principal were a positive influence on the kids, inspiring them to work hard at something they care about. I like all of that.
Now here's what bugs me. Phelps is the greatest swimmer ever so let's just stop there and have a big party. Do we really need to pretend that the number of golds makes Phelps the greatest Olympian ever? What's harder, 8 golds for swimming 8 ways or one all around gold that requires excellence in different gymnastic events? I don't know. What other sport has 8 very similar events? I don't know. But I'm starting a new campaign. I want to get the world on board for track sprints 8 ways. I don't actually know much about track either, so I suggest that the 8 events should be sprints forward, backward, waving your arms over your head, skipping, hopping in a potato sack, holding an egg on a spoon in your mouth, balancing a water balloon on your head, and finally building up to that last gold medal for the best silly walk. It's okay if one of these is a relay.
Ahh, July means the LOST producers' panel at Comic Con. In their style, Cuse and Lindelof give us what some might call mild spoilers but I call teasers and clues. Now your average movie review is full of serious spoilers. Why don't critics give spoiler warnings on their movie reviews? Anyway, here's balm for those midsummer LOST cravings. And maybe a summer ARG to play.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
The Dharma Video
George Bush is President. Time is the essence. Ready to sign up? Dharma wants you.
________________________________________________________________ Here's my catch of highlights and clues.
Part 1: Dharma is reforming and recruiting. Get ready for your ARST - Aptitude, Recruitability and Suitability Test.
Part 2: The new Dharma recruits need secret training. Nope, the island did not move during the earlier hatch implosion. We have not seen the last of Jin or Locke, but then death is a relative thing. Yep, there will be 2 more seasons, starting in February 2009 and February 2010.
Part 3: We will see Rousseau's story, but don't expect the old flashbacks and flashforwards. A new approach is coming. Vincent the dog is fine. A woman is at Comic Con and she asks a question! Oh yeah, and the special guest appears.
Part 4: Yes, Kate will see Sawyer again. (But then Desmond can time travel and see people in the past again. And Hurley has seen Charlie again. And Jack has seen his father again.) Faraday is okay, but fate may not be so kind to the non-line-speakers in the zodiac boat. Keep an eye on Faraday's little black notebook. Gotta love Stewart!
Part 5: Richard Alpert is quite old. We will see him barefoot in the very near future. Remember that the man in the coffin was named Jeremy Bentham, who invented the panopticon? Are the people on the island being watched and if so, do they know who is watching them? What the heck happened back there in the new recruit training?
Apparently people really like to make lists of stereotypes about our own types. They are pretty funny and it is good to laugh at yourself, yes? Take your pick:
So it's over now. The book is out. What did it all mean? Back in February NPR asked the big daddy of them all. (White people like NPR.) Surely, someone is writing a dissertation on all this.
I'm the type of person who thinks a life focused on a career is a selfish life wasted. When someone leaves the room because it's time to go to work, I call out, "don't work too hard." That said, I love my work. And I love doing it a little better. Lately, I'm trying out these ideas.
Recently I was in one of those conversations comparing the virtues of reading the news online versus reading the print edition of your local paper. To each her own of course, but here's my current morning paper.
First, I like to wake up with some nice and easy stuff. Cute Overload Horoscopes It's nice to know that there's never a really bad day for a Taurus.
Then, some different perspectives on the news. The Root The BBC Small Town Papers My hometown paper. It's great to be from a town whose letters to the editor include, "Remember to use your turn signals" next to "Let's Disarm the Nuclear Arsenal."
That makes me wonder what Mav and Steph were doing last night. 3191
I spend an hour or two waking up, but now it's gotta be time to go to work. Living in DC, I take the Metro everywhere and hardly ever turn on a radio. This makes me miss NPR. But if it's a weekend morning with time to loiter, it's time to pick a show. Any show. NPR
You may be thinking, "what no food section?" Ah, that's another post. See Yum. Western Spaghetti and food porn.
- the best by PESfilm, IMHO. Plenty more on YouTube.
What is it about photos of food and ramblings about eating? Someday, someone will explain the phenomenon of Food Porn. In the meantime, enjoy. Foodgawker Tastespotting
My sister sent me these personality quizzes. We can't resist them. It turns out I'm a dreamer who likes to sleep a lot. I am not sure that this is exactly something to brag about. I suspect that both my mother and my soul mate have already noticed this about me.
Now, this comes as more of a surprise:
I'm a Porsche 911!
You have a classic style, but you're up-to-date with the latest technology. You're ambitious, competitive, and you love to win. Performance, precision, and prestige - you're one of the elite,and you know it.
