Losing Bingo Squares

If you had "Maverick" or "Palin" on your Bingo card for last nights debate- you were out of luck. Perhaps Tina Fey's last parody saved us from the Maverick crap.

Did anyone else notice that McCain seem to age over the 90 minute debate? He appeared to be physically limping by the end. And what was up with the furious note taking? He had his Sharpie out before the first question was asked.

Oh, Poor Joe!

Sorry, but this is embarrassing...The Bidens contributed an average of $369 annually in charitable gifts.

While the Center for Responsive Politics shows Sen. Biden with a negative worth. Is he just another example of borrowing money just to get by in America, or is this the personal debt he's incurred while running for offices, or what, really??? Figures like this give me pause to literally look out the window and ponder what goes on out there in the world. It's interesting to browse around at the Center for Responsive Politics for investments, liabilities, and income of our electeds.

$165K annual congressional salary seems like it might be nice, but I also assume it would put you in a position to give at least a whole percent of your income, not to mention tithing. I'm going to assume from this that Mr. Biden is not a church-goer.

Now while it's a fact that the poorest of our country gives the greatest percent of their income, our congresspersons' earnings put them in the top 0.23% of world earners, per the previously featured 'richness' calculator.

Candidates on Service

If you missed the televised coverage, here are 8 video segments letting the 2 candidates say their piece on national service, following up on the issue of TIME that promoted national service.

I'm biased, but I thought McCain was creepy, off-message, and avoided articulating any specifics, while Obama eloquently spoke about his superior knowledge and specific plans regarding the issue while reaching out to say that government and military service are equally important as community service. I did think that the interview questions left much to be desired; I thought they were biased towards Obama's views and also let the candidates talk about whatever they wanted.

$1 Billion Wish List

What could America do with $1 billion dollars...my rough estimate of what will be raised and spent on the presidential race (open to more accurate figures here):

Reduce this year's contribution to the deficit
Buy 10,000 prosthetics for Iraqi war veterans
Seed the National Housing Trust Fund
Add $3 to everyone's stimulus check
Incentivize wind energy
Shore up our Social Security savings

Links

Steinem Op Ed: Sarah Palin shares nothing but a chromosome with Hillary Clinton.
And why we heart Jon Stewart:

Palin on the Rocks

I am not really a fan of Drinking Liberally since their juvenile attacks on RC back in 2006 but I happen to catch this one in my junk inbox today and thought it was clever.

Palin on the Rocks: The Official Drinking Liberally Sarah Palin Convention
Speech Drinking Game

Take a Sip when She Says:
- faith
- Barack Obama
- abortion
- pregnancy
- She claims that "the media" is attacking her family
- She makes reference to being governor of Alaska
- She talks about the sanctity of life
- She makes a positive reference to Hillary Clinton
- She mentions Cindy McCain

Take a Gulp when:
- She claims that "the Democrats/Democrat party" is attacking her
party
- She makes reference to being a beauty queen
- She uses a down-homey aphorism
- She makes a positive reference to Geraldine Ferraro
- She calls Obama a Muslim
- She references her relationship with God
- She mentions the lack of a vetting process

Chug when:
- She claims that Joe Biden is attacking her family
- She makes reference to being a tv sports anchor
- She says that she "won't apologize" for something (e.g. her family, being
who she is, being a christian, etc.)
- She makes a positive reference to Gloria Steinem

Celebratory Toast if:
- She forgets a line/stumbles through a line
- She tries a joke about her inexperience

Finish Your Drink if:
- She is replaced by Phyllis Schlafly
- She mentions VPILF
- She claims that Barack Obama is attacking her family
- She makes reference to being a secessionist and/or under
investigation
- She makes a positive reference to Andrea Dworkin

Crowd Control Bingo (or the missing Seuss book)

Yesterday JB & I went downtown to the Anti-War protest and the Green Fest. We saw...

Cops on foot
Cops on foot with dogs
Cops in cars
Cops in SUVs
Cops on the outside of SUVs
Cops on bicycles
Cops on motorcycles
Cops on motorbikes
Cops on horses
Cops on ponies
Cops in golf carts
Cops on Segways

John McCain is not benign

The customer in front of me and the 20 something cashier at Sunflower- a self described "Hil-dog"- were venting about street closures to allow protests during the convention. I made the mistake of engaging in the conversation. "Hil-dog" doesn't think it is fair (1) that protesters don't have free range and then (2) that the closures will prevent his free range access to bars. He had some whine about those of us who aren't going to vote for Obama why should we be inconvenienced. And so I said something like you can't let McCain win and he says, "Oh, it's just McCain. It's not like it is Romney."

WTF. John McCain is not benign. Does he think just because McCain is a frequent guest on The Daily Show that it is not big deal if he gets elected? Especially this kid in his early 20s. Did you hear that McCain said he "does not disagree" with a townhall supporter earlier this week who called for a Draft? You think street closures next week are inconvenient. Try being deployed to Iraq! And you think we have freedom of speech issues now? What do you see happening with McCain's appointment to the Supreme Court? Heard of Roe-v-Wade?

People scare me.

Other people's posts

Propagandist Complains of Propaganda
How 90s of Them
Rove & Stephanopoulos

Buying Votes?? Help Me Understand....

As lifted from NYT commentary on the latest political endorsement,
"(Obama)has been giving the max. amount allowed to the superdelegates. Obama has given 3 times as much as Clinton. He has given $710,900 to superdelegates, and Clinton’s (sic) has given $236,100."

Okay, so not that I'm completely oblivious to the influence of money on politics, but could someone enlighten me about these contributions? Are they to the individuals who are superdelegates or to their personal or employment entities, say, a state government office where they are employed or a new climate change nonprofit that's seeking $300 million? And can anyone construct for me a scenario in which these are anything other than payoffs to secure votes????

Last question--isn't buying votes illegal?

The PNC....You Saw it Here First

Sometimes-Craft-AR needs to get a life. But when she wins the Post prize (a t-shirt, BTW) in the Peeps contest, you can say you know her.

Check Your Facts on the Race

Check your political facts here.

Yay! Let the political fisticuffs begin!

Not that I get to vote in the Congressional District 2 race, but if I did Jared Polis would definitely be off the list. The first strike was that stupid Amendment 41 debacle and now it looks like Mike Miles is one of his biggest supporters. Yep, that jackass that ran for US Senate in 2004, lost the primary with Salazar (more like bitch-slaped with 25% of the vote), then continued to attack Salazar during the general election race against Coors. This is so sad, beacuse Jared is a good guy who has done a ton of good for Colorado, but naiveté is naiveté. And jackass endorsements are jackass endorsements.

Plus, I'm a bit appauled that he would attack Fitz-Gerald for two votes on resolutions that were being touted as "support the troops" statements. Geez, it's not like she put something in the constitution that denies scholarships to the children of state employees. Nope, that was Jared.

The world thru Daily Show tinted lenses...

JB & I find we watch more and more tv thru Daily Show tinted lenses- watching for the moments which will jump from the "real news" to the much more enjoyable Jon Stewart recap of the world. This was especially true last night as we watched the CNN and You Tube Dem Debates. Will the "melting snowman" who asked about Global Warming make it? Or is that just too damn obvious?What about the TN rednecks' question about Al Gore? Perhaps the scrolling caption on the screen, Is Obama black enough, Hilary feminine enough?

I can't remember who said it first, perhaps Rebeckspe?, but I like the "other half" of the Edwards better than John. John's answer to gay marriage of "Elizabeth supports it" was annoying... almost as annoying as his comment that if people weren't going to vote for Hilary b/c she was a woman or Obama b/c he is black, that Edwards didn't want their votes. Come On. Dude- we all know you will take any racist, sexist votes you can get. Sorry, DHP, SNG, & other Edwards supporters but his charm is wearing thin. Obama lost some points on the public school question (sent his kids to private school b/c it was only 5 minutes from the house). Also, Obama seems to think that Romney is a threat. And can we just get pull Mike Gravel and Dennis Kucinich off the stage! Gong! Your 15 minutes is over. Shut up already.

Oh Joy. A similar debate sponsored by CNN and YouTube for the nine Republican candidates is scheduled for Sept. 17.