Just got back

Just got back from Texas. Partied myself REALLY sick at Austin City Limits Festival. It was SO SO SO awesome. Maybe I'll have some time for recapping, but probably not. Have a meeting tomorrow regarding all the work I've done on a BLM project. Except that I've not done a SINGLE thing yet. Get to be sick AND up all night. Yay!

At least someone is in charge!

A quote from Eve Ensler:

♫ "Sarah Palin does not believe in evolution. I take this as a metaphor. In her world and the world of Fundamentalists nothing changes or gets better or evolves. She does not believe in global warming. The melting of the arctic, the storms that are destroying our cities, the pollution and rise of cancers, are all part of God's plan. She is fighting to take the polar bears off the endangered species list. The earth, in Palin's view, is here to be taken and plundered. The wolves and the bears are here to be shot and plundered. The oil is here to be taken and plundered. Iraq is here to be taken and plundered. As she said herself of the Iraqi war, "It was a task from God.""

Lucky for us that God is such a competent leader. If we just do nothing, God will take care of us.

Another terrific McCain plan!

The McCain-Palin health care plan would require employees to pay taxes on the value of health care provided by their employees. What's this about tax cuts? Oh, I get it. Cut = more.

Palin is on those substantive issues!

Listening to NPR this morning, a Libertarian Palin supporter called in to talk about all of the substantive issues that Palin is focused upon, naming among them that Palin is an admitted pot smoker. The caller said that because of her focus on such substantive issues, Palin is a great candidate for vice president, and the caller will be voting for the McCain/Palin ticket.

Yes. Pot smoking is a substantive issue that should help us determine who we vote for.

Hayley, on driving

I do have balls, but it's raining, and it's dark.

In response

Rex's response to my tweet:
Pirates don't get bored. They're pirates.

Is that true? Because maybe I want to be a pirate. I hear they're still pretty plentiful off the coast of Somalia.

Sex, drugs, and valuable minerals

Surprise of surprises -- there's corruption in our government! Okay, so you knew that (and, hopefully, that W is to blame). So the NY Times did an article about rampant ethics abuses in the Minerals Managing Service. Sound boring? Not to a nerd like me! As Erin put it: the Bush administration is in bed with the oil and gas companies . . . literally! She's right- the government employees were sleeping with the oil and gas execs. And doing a bunch of coke to boot (which they bought from their secretaries!). Yay Republicans!

If you like having your tax dollars at work for this stuff . . . vote John McCain!

The date.

I'm getting married. On 12 September, 2009. Hurrah!

If you have any skills that might be wedding-planning related, you could volunteer your help and I could promise something like a first born child? Or something? We're on a tight budget, so it's gonna be sort of a low-key DIY affair, but with at least most of the regular trimmings.

Republican National Convention (Part I)

Here are some of my observations from watching last night's RNC events on CNN:

Fred Thompson was talking about the “economic downturn” and how Obama wants to raise taxes during this time—wasn’t it McCain who said the economy was fine? So what’s this Republican talk suddenly about problems with the economy? Plus, Obama will only raise taxes on the rich folks who don’t notice the problems with the economy. Hypocrisy much?

Thompson also made a comment about how Republicans will protect newborns. What exactly is it that Democrats are doing to endanger newborn children? Encouraging infanticide?

I love that the Republicans complain that Obama is a “celebrity,” and that’s the only reason why he’s appealing to Democrats. But I put this to you—Schwarzenegger, Jesse Ventura, Ronald Reagan… Republicans LOVE celebrities. Where are all of the elected Democrat celebrities?

Another problem I have (though this is one you’ve heard over and over)—Obama’s inexperience is one of the most common reasons Republicans decry Obama. But Palin has WAY less experience. Somehow, when it’s a Republican, it doesn’t matter.

The audience tried to get a USA chant going, but Lieberman shut them down. When I was at the DNC, we chanted USA full-force, and no one stopped us. Who are the patriots now, I ask you?

I saw a sign in the audience that read “Democrots for McCain.” Seriously, if that’s evidence of your intelligence level, go right ahead. Because you don’t even know which way is up.

And here are a couple things gleaned from listening to NPR:

McCain badly wanted Lieberman for his running mate, but chose Palin because some Republicans were threatening to bring a competing nominee at the convention. He chose Palin only to avoid an insurrection at the RNC. Because the party is in enough trouble as it is.

How are you a huge supporter of family values when your teenage daughter is getting knocked up? If you were such a great mom, wouldn’t you be able to instill your values in your girl so that doesn’t happen? I thought only low-class welfare mothers got “knocked up.” Maybe they have a nicer term for it when it’s rich people?

Democratic National Convention

Thursday I had the great fortune to attend Obama's acceptance speech at Invesco Stadium in Denver. I'll start by saying that yes, I was a Hillary supporter, but I (a while back) conceded the loss and am 100% behind Obama. He is a great politician and really will be an awesome President.

We got to the stadium at about 1:15 to make sure we wouldn't miss anything (though apparently we missed HUGE lines by arriving so early). Our seats were waaaaay up in the nosebleeds, but we were facing the stage and I can't complain. Besides, they had plenty of big screens. Yonder Mountain String Band was playing when we arrived, and played again after a couple-hour lapse in activity. Since I'm kind of a hippie, I love them and it was good entertainment. Then, around three o'clock will.i.am re-created his Obama endorsement video Yes We Can.

We went to get food, and I will complain about this. As someone who is relatively affluent, I can afford stadium food prices ($5 for a soda, and they claimed only to have large sizes). However, for Obama supporters who are not wealthy, a hot dog for $6 is a little steep. We were also told that we had to purchase water (not true, there are water fountains in public places like a stadium). Again, for someone on a low income, that is outrageous. Attendees were not permitted to bring in food or drink, including water. The campaign should have made some accommodation in this respect, because people need to eat over an eight hour period, and we spend a WHOLE LOT of $$$ on food.

Anywho, we got to see Sheryl Crow and Stevie Wonder play, and that was great. We saw Martin Luther King III speak, which was a treat. Lots of other politicians spoke too, but I'm only mentioning the highlights. Mark Udall is a favorite of mine, so it's always nice to see him speak. Al Gore gave a great speech, of course focused on the climate. All of the speakers gave wonderful endorsements of Obama, and the energy was great in the stadium.

Before Obama spoke, the campaign had a number of ordinary people come out and speak. Of note were those who were staunch Republicans, but because of the way the party treats the working man, they had jumped ship and were voting for Obama. All of these speakers were heartfelt, and it was emotional because they illustrated how the American people are suffering under the Bush Administration.

Obama himself was incredible. He really railed against McCain, which was a departure from his typically patient, reserved style. It was totally appropriate, and all the more effective because he had been so reserved--it didn't sound like the whining that Republicans say it is. As he harped on his policies, you couldn't help but nod your head and agree and cheer, because he is so on point. Obama knows what we need--new energy policies, the right to choice, economic fixes, lower taxes for the middle class, more higher education funding, better K-12 services, and so on and so on. When he was finished, and the fireworks started going off, there were tears in my eyes. It was so powerful, and the energy so incredible, that I couldn't help myself. This party is on the right track, and we need him so badly.