A wrong decision is better than indecision.

Today has been spent in the discussion about Sarah Palin's "historic" nomination for VP by the Republican party.(*)

Much of the discussion has centered around the question of whether Palin has the experience and the qualifications to be Vice President or, in the chance that McCain chokes on a piece of chicken at the Old Country Buffet, President of the United States.

Excuse me but isn't this the wrong fucking question? Because personally I don't really care about who the Republicans nominate to be Vice President. They could nominate Tony Fucking Soprano for all I care. It still wouldn't solve the problem that their PRESIDENTIAL nominee is an intemperate, senile old man with little to no grasp of economics or foreign policy.

Screw Sarah Palin's qualifications. John McCain isn't qualified to be President. What does it matter who he chooses to serve with him?


(*I assume by "historic" they mean over twenty years after the Democrats had actually broken that particular taboo. Historic as in "we've advanced as far as the twentieth century." Next thing you no they'll be making the historic move of changing their party's platform to allow women to wear skirts that show their ankles. Assholes.)

Alright, Leroy, who is the one and only master?

I haven't much if anything about race in this election even though the issue's been hanging out that, surfacing occasionally in the primary and threaded subtextually through much of McCain's "celebrity" attacks on Obama.

I certainly think that race and racism, just like the sexism Hillary Clinton's faced, are important. It's just that as important as those issues are to me the more immediate issues for me in this election are ending the war in Iraq and restoring the constitution to this country.

In those moments where I step back and consider what the Clinton and Obama candidacies have represented for the Democratic party and the country as a whole, I'm a more than a little bit stunned at the implications. I get the same sort of feeling of awe that I got when I watched those Berliners partying on top of that giant spray-painted cement wall twenty years ago. We are watching history unfold in real time.

Last night the Democratic party nominated an African-American guy to be the President of the United States. I could sit here and complain that it took far too long (it surely did) and that the Democratic party regularly lets us down on every issue from privacy to national security (it sure does) but, for now, I'm going to bask in the fact that we got something really, really right.

I've read a number of people over the last year express similar sentiments; that they'd never expected to see this in their lifetimes. Put me in that category. I've never been so happy to be so wrong.

Don't even get me started as to what would happen if Obama actually wins the Presidency. I'm fairly certain my head would explode.


(On the Last Dragon quote - R.I.P. Sho'Nuff who died last week. I chose that quote because of the line directly after it in which our hero Leroy answers "I am." He then proceeds to kick Sho'Nuff's ass.)

Now I see this clearly. My whole life is pointed in one direction.

More bits...

I don't know why and I don't even know what it is but I really wanted the Arte y Pico award and was really tickled when Doctor Zaius tapped me to win it.



The origin of the award is here.

Because I'm always the bridesmaid when this is passed around I think I'm just about the last one on our little circle of friends that recieved this thing. As such I really don't think there's anybody on my blogroll that hasn't been to this dance already. If I'm wrong please let me know and I'll tap you right away.

----------------------------------------------

Hillary Clinton's speech was great. The only thing I would've liked was more digs on McCain. That problem isn't isolated to Clinton. It's something I've been complaining about regarding the convention since before it began.

----------------------------------

Having said that- Clinton and Montana Gov. Schweitzer and two of the stand out lines with regards to McCain. Clinton had the great "Twin Cities" jab and Schweitzer had a good line with regards to drilling for oil in John McCain's back yards "if he could remember where they are."

Humor is great but the fact of the matter is negative ads work and the Republicans are going to turn their entire four day convention into one big negative ad against Obama. I guess it's up to Biden tonight to go for the throat because there's no doubt Obama won't throw much red meat into his speech tomorrow night.

----------------------------------

I'm muting the network hosts altogether. They're worthless and it just gets my blood pressure up.

---------------------------------

I can't find the article now but I read something yesterday that labeled House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer as a "partisan firebrand." I got a chuckle out of that. Most of know Hoyer as the chief capitulator representing the Blue Dogs. He's all hat and no cattle.

----------------------------------

At an outside press conference Nancy Pelosi was confronted by a group of McCain supporters shouting "drill now!" Her response? "Can I drill your brain?" Sure it's juvenile but I like it.

----------------------------------

I won't be watching the Republican convention. Their candidate, and their party, are bankrupt in every sense of the word. I'll be declaring next week Animal Blogging Week and in honor of that I'll post some great pictures of a doe and her fawns that wandered into our camp while we were camping a couple of weeks ago.

We do not train to be merciful here. Mercy is for the weak. Here, in the streets, in competition: A man confronts you, he is the enemy.

A bunch of other miscellaneous stuff---

Pop star Madonna pisses off John McCain. As would be expected conservatives are throwing a hissy fit. How those guys can see themselves as muy macho while they whine like children who've just had their favorite toy taken away every time someone looks sideways at their candidate just escapes me.

-----------------------------------------------

I watched some of the convention last night. A few observations--

It can't be emphasized enough that the talking heads suck. Most of the rest of the progressive blogsphere has talked about how the chattering hosts were simply clueless about everything they consider themselves "experts" on (I laughed out loud last night at a comment Charlie Gibson made about being a "political junky.")

My personal annoyance was how apologetic the media seemed at having to cover the dirty old democratic convention in the first place. Having to show Michelle Obama's biographical video sent the ABC hosts into a tizzy of warnings that the video was produced by democrats and they promise to show videos produced by republicans at the GOP convention next week. Never has the conservative domestication of the media been more apparent. Those guys are afraid of their own shadow.

------------------------------------------

Kennedy's speech had me in tears. I couldn't shake the feeling this is the last time we're going to see that guy in action. The Kennedy's have become nothing but a punchline to the right in this country but to me they're still heroes.

-----------------------------------------

Shut up about the Clinton/ Obama spat already. There's no there, there. The media want to create a damned story line where none exists.

------------------------------------------

Michelle Obama's speech had me AND my oldest daughter in tears. It's too bad she had to devote part of it to explaining to the audience why she loves America. In a rational world that wouldn't even be in question. We don't live in a rational world.

-------------------------------------------

I'm hoping that tonight and tomorrow night are the nights they trash McCain. Because he must be trashed. No mercy. Cobra Kai!

You know, a basketball hero around here is treated like a god.

I just heard word that former Trailblazer Kevin Duckworth passed away suddenly while at the coast to teach a children's basketball camp. R.I.P. Kevin.

If you don't recall the former Blazer center he was a big guy that made Shaquille O'neal look graceful. He didn't so much shoot as try and drill the ball through the hoop. Indeed it often appeared as if he was playing prison ball instead of hoops.

Duckworth was part of the last Blazer team of greatness which included Clyde Drexler. They, and Kevin, were a class act. Rest in peace big guy.

Life. Don't talk to me about life.

If you live in the Portland area please consider heading by Cosmic Monkey comics and signing the petition to rename 42nd Avenue into "Douglas Adams Blvd."

Sure, it's not the most urgent cause in the world but it would bring a little joy to the world.

Or you could just be a strag.

Whenever we get too high-hat and too sophisticated for flag-waving, some thug nation decides we're a push-over all ready to be blackjacked.

Dean's quick advice to the Democrats on how to have a successful convention--

Wrap it in the flag - Dems get killed every convention on this simple issue. Old glory needs to be EVERYWHERE. Not just on the giant digital display but actual flags. Flags need to permeate the crowd, clutter the stage and fill every nook and cranny of the center.

Make it about McCain - I'll never forget the talk leading up to both of the last major party conventions that they would be kindler, gentler affairs that focused on their own candidate. Instead both conventions would up focusing on Kerry- one buiding him up then the other trashing him. Dems need to trash McCain in at least a 60/40 ration to talking about Obama.

Youth and change - That's what Obama is selling and that's what the convention ought to be adverstising.

What surge? - Don't even discuss the surge when talking about Iraq. Instead focus again on the fact that the initial war was an act of sheer foreign policy idiocy. Anyone that supported that war doesn't have the judgement to be talking about foreign policy or national defense. Period. Bonus- make sure you mention Lieberman by name when pushing this.