US Politics: same as usual

I can't believe THESE are the kind of people who are vying to lead our country. No wonder our country is slowly going down the toilet...so sad. We have no chance.

Was it true, Lauer asked, that the vetting of Sarah Palin was so woefully inadequate that no one from the campaign traveled to Alaska to interview her husband or any of her political opponents?

"I wouldn't know," McCain said. "The fact is that I'm proud of Sarah Palin, I'm proud of the campaign we waged, she energized our party, she will be a major factor in American politics in the future, and I'm proud of our campaign."

Somewhat taken aback, Lauer told McCain that he found it "somewhat surprising" that he didn't know anything about the vetting process, adding "You were the presidential candidate."

McCain testily shot back by saying that he had no intention of "looking back over what happened over a year ago," adding, "I'm sorry, you'll have to get others to comment on it."

From the new book 'Game Change' by New York magazine's John Heilemann and Time Magazine's Mark Halperin:

- that the affair between John Edwards and his campaign videographer was known about and kept quiet by three of his aides from early on. Edwards comes off in the book as a man with a massive ego and delusional tendencies. His wife Elizabeth is described by insiders as being "an abusive, intrusive, paranoid condescending crazywoman."

- that former President Bill Clinton was involved in an affair in 2006 that many thought would derail Hillary Clinton's run for the presidency and he offended Ted Kennedy deeply while trying to win his endorsement for his wife's campaign by saying the following about then-candidate Obama: "A few years ago, this guy would have been getting us coffee."

- that Sarah Palin believed Saddam Hussein to be behind the attacks on 9/11, didn't understand why North and South Korea were separate (the Korean War) and that she could not properly pronounce Joe Biden's name. The book contends that Palin was a mentally unstable person prone to wild mood swings, describing her being hopelessly lost in a "catatonic stupor" at one point during the campaign.

Thanksgiving ruined? No pumpkin pie?!!!

Yes, you read the title correctly. Word on the pumkinvine is there won't be enough pumpkin pie to go around this year and we'll have to give thanks for sweet potato pie. Oh the humanity.

No, but seriously. How ironic is it the organic pumpkins yielded a better crop than mass production?

Senator Wilson proves South Carolina lacks has class.

As if the story of South Carolina's Governor wasn't funny enough (remember no one could find him...then his aids said he was hiking for a couple of days...then it turns out he was hiking up his mistress' skirt in South America?), now there's this Congressional outburst controversy. Maybe Jimmy thought he said, "You die!"? I love how the last lines of the article are the most compelling argument.

In 2003, Wilson called it "unseemly" and a "smear" for the mixed-race daughter of Sen. Strom Thurmond, Essie Mae Washington-Williams, to identify the longtime South Carolina senator as her father after his death. After a public outcry, he reversed course and said he had the utmost respect for Washington-Williams.

As a state senator, he was an outspoken opponent of efforts to remove the Confederate flag from atop the South Carolina Statehouse.

Who says the media is too liberal? Sounds kind of damning to me! If the shoe fits...


Speaking of shoes, does pat Boone have a pair that match his jacket in this photo? I couldn't find a photo of Wilson with the confederate flag, but this one with Pat Boone is even better. Whatta patriot! (Where's Waldo alert: what's with the guy in back making fun of Pat's "creative" American outfit? He's probably a terrorist. He's definitely un-American fo sho.)

U.S. flaccid thanks to Bush.

President Bush did a heck of a job destroying the U.S. domestically and abroad. Mind boggling how many Americans still like him and think he did a great job. A great job at what? Tax refunds? That's about it...and one could argue those refunds came from President Clinton's economy. And looking at the state of this economy now, were those refunds a good idea? People lost their jobs, lost their houses...but they got $600 per person per household! Whoopee!!!

Not that President Obama is a savior, but at least he accepts this country is in disrepair and something needs to be done. Other, than talking about tax refunds, oil drilling and the 2nd Amendment.

Chicago is #2. Is that an insult?

Dayum...Chicago has a lot of bars. No wonder I love it here! If you can't grab a drink on every corner, what's the point of living anywhere, really.

Top 5 of America's Most Entertaining Cities

1. New York, N.Y.
Restaurants: 35,421
Bars: 3,844
Nightclubs: 400
Museums: 734
Live Theater Venues: 710
Sports Venues: 57
Sports Teams: 7
Forbes' Best Cities For The Outdoors Ranking: No. 21

2. Chicago, Ill.
Restaurants: 15,692
Bars: 2,493
Nightclubs: 219
Museums: 275
Live Theater Venues: 261
Sports Venues: 24
Sports Teams: 6
Forbes' Best Cities For The Outdoors Ranking: No. 25

3. Los Angeles, Calif.
Restaurants: 23,209
Bars: 983
Nightclubs: 283
Museums: 306
Live Theater Venues: 192
Sports Venues: 26
Sports Teams: 7
Forbes' Best Cities For The Outdoors Ranking: No. 32

4. Miami, Fla. (tie)
Restaurants: 9,689
Bars: 734
Nightclubs: 208
Museums: 133
Live Theater Venues: 91
Sports Venues: 18
Sports Teams: 3
Forbes' Best Cities For The Outdoors Ranking: No. 16

4. Washington, D.C. (tie)
Restaurants: 7,814
Bars: 477
Nightclubs: 146
Museums: 211
Live Theater Venues: 112
Sports Venues: 15
Sports Teams: 5
Forbes' Best Cities For The Outdoors Ranking: No. 9

unSupreme Court

Welcome the United Puritanical States of America (UPSA)!

The Supreme Court recently voted to uphold the FCC going crazy collecting fines for cursing/swearing on television networks. Do people get out of control with cursing? Yes. But this ruling opens a huge can of worms with censorship in any media form. Is Catch In The Rye indecent? Is a swear word on a blog indecent? Is Fatal Attraction indecent? Is Lady Gaga's Poker Face indecent? If Justic Scalia (and other conservative babies) had their way, probably:

"Even when used as an expletive, the F-word's power to insult and offend derives from its sexual meaning," wrote Scalia.

I really don't think Americans realize what our rights are and how quickly they can erode if we let them. Just Stevens thinks words are just that:

"As any golfer who has watched his partner shank a short approach knows, it would be absurd to accept the suggestion that the resultant four-letter word uttered on the golf course describes sex or excrement and is therefore indecent," he wrote. "But that is the absurdity the FCC has embraced in its new approach to indecency."

Thanks God liberal and "minority" Americans Obama will be able to appoint new Chief Justices in his first term. This country needs some fixin'!

QUESTION TO PONDER: why do Americans with conservative theology ideology scream "Socialism!" when it comes to monetary issues, but scream for oversight and policing when it comes to entertainment?

Obama blasted for being as stubborn stalwart as Bush?

100 days into the Presidential term, so you know what that means? Time to start getting negative. Which, coincidentally is exactly what the US needs right now to fix the economy and America's reputation abroad. According to recent polls:

the Pew Research Center says Obama has the most polarized early first-term job approval ratings of any president in the past four decades, part of a long-term trend of partisanship becoming more apparent in the measurement.

Now, I'm not saying Obama has done anything spectacular yet or that everyone has to love every decision he makes right now, but clearly, some shady politics are brewing. Political windbags are saying politics are becoming increasingly bipartisan due to redistricting and new media outlets. Uh huh. Let's cut the BS:

Given that bipartisanship is a two-way street, it's possible that Republicans are too resistant to working with the president, while Obama himself isn't willing to compromise enough. At the very least, there are deep and sincere differences between Republicans and Democrats, and they may be too difficult to overcome. Republicans contend Obama hasn't delivered at all.

So let's get this straight? Former President Bush gets to play "you're either with me or you're a terrorist/liberal/un-American" hard ball for 8 years, and he's considered stalwart and dedicated. President Obama trie playing hardball, and he's not compromising and not delivering...in 100 days? I love how this country thinks!

For 8 years, President Bush messed up this country (and the world?), in more ways than one (financially, environmentally, theologically) and we can't cut Obama a break 100 days in. Brilliant!

My only hope is that if Obama can fix this country and return it to the great place that make Americans proud and makes other countries envy, people will remember that the GOP and their conservatism is what almost ruined this country, not elevated it.