10 days and counting...

In honor of the removal of George W. Bush from office in 10 days, 18 hours, 34 minutes and 52 seconds (who's counting?) here are some delicious "Bushisms" to tide you over until then. I hope you laugh as much as I did.

Bush on Education

"You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.''

"Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?"

Bush on Foreign Affairs

"You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror."

Bush on Health Care

"Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB/GYN's aren't able to practice their love with women all across the country."

Out of left Field/ Uncategorizable

"Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream."

Bush On Governing

"All I can tell you is when the governor calls, I answer his phone."

"I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office."

For a complete list, see BBC's article entitled "The Misunderestimated President".

Change has come

Change has come, and this, I know, is making a lot of people nervous. They're nervous about Obama, about his health care plan, about his socialist leanings, and maybe even about his skin color. I have already heard many complaints about the election results, and predictions about the dismal state of affairs we will soon find ourselves in with Obama as president. To those people I have this to say: if you can't handle the results, then move. And don't just tell me you're fleeing to Canada. Actually do it. We don't want you here.

I also feel I need to explain part of the reason why NO ONE should be upset about what happened last night. This election was all about progress, about change, about, as Barack coined, the audacity of hope. We should all be SO honored to be in this country, a country that has come so far in the last 50 years, further and faster perhaps than any other in the history of the world. Who can not be proud and glad when they think of MLK and his dream, that dream that seemed so far off, so unbelievable that it was just that, a far-off fantastical vision of the potential world. That the dream has become a reality, no one can now doubt. And that is the beauty of this victory, because it is not just for Obama the man or Democrats as a party. This victory belongs to everyone who values freedom and equality. It is for those who love the American Declaration of Independence, which declared that "all men are created equal". (I of course would insert "and women"...) We finally can believe that equality is being achieved. That maybe the world is becoming a place where race, religion, and gender matter less than our characters. And that is beautiful.

News Worthy of Postage

I was getting my daily dose of the New York Times today and found two op-ed articles that should be of interest to every American. This election is a very sensitive issue for me. My parents are voting McCain, as are (so far as I know), all of my grandparents. I wonder if any of them know of McCain's plan for revamping health care? I know I didn't. This article boggled my mind. I really had no idea...READ IT!!! And please don't make some lame excuse that the NY Times is a liberal news machine. This is way too important.

McCain's Radical Agenda by BOB HERBERT
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/16/opinion/16herbert.html?em

I also thought the following article was quite insightful. I agreed with it completely. I'm still trying to understand why others don't. By the way, this columnist is awesome...

Making America Stupid
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/opinion/14friedman.html?em

On a non-political yet still serious note, Richard Wright, member of Pink Floyd, died yesterday of cancer. This guy wrote "Us and Them" and "The Great Gig in the Sky," arguably two of PF's best songs. RIP Wright. Your stuff will forever live on in my itunes library.

SNL Skit- Palin and Clinton

The Republican's are getting desperate

I'm sure everyone has heard by now McCain's pick for VP. What a shocker right? Well yeah, in a way. But considering all that is happened during this election so far, not so much.

Let's consider the facts: McCain is really, really, really old. Sorry McCain fans, but he is. This election cycle is about change. Nothing else is as important as this one clear cut and oft repeated message. McCain is the familiar face in congress. He is a hard, seasoned politician. Which is quite obvious I know. But this time around, this quality, what you could call experience, longevity, whatever, is not an asset. Right now, experience makes voters nervous, it makes them wonder, what if its not different this time around? What if a McCain administration is really just a proverbial third term for GW? Obama, in his DNC speech, poked fun of McCain for this very thing. What is different about McCain and Bush?

Which is why he needed to pick a wild card as his VP. His campaign needed an uplift. That uplift is a woman, a mother of five, an Alaskan, and an inexperienced politician. I think McCain is either being extremely smart or very, very stupid. I know of a couple staunch Republicans who are already protesting his choice.

"I can't believe he picked a woman!"
"An Alaskan?"
"What was he thinking when he chose her?"
"Jeez, I guess VP doesn't mean as much as it used to"
... and so on and so forth.

What ever the case, he cannot turn back. The cards are on the table. And that all important message of change, chronicled now by both campaigns, is coming, regardless of who ultimately is victorious.

Change? A House Undivided? No longer...

I am a little more than ashamed. Most of you who know me think of me (I hope) as a very politically-attuned person. Meaning, I actually care about politics. I know shocking, especially considering the level of cynicism in our great, free, and democratic nation. So when I realized last night (as a certain announcement was made, see below) that I had not posted once about politics or history, or the race for the white house, or even about how much I both love and love to hate out current political system I was appalled! What kind of blogger did I think I was/am?
Ergo the following post....Ahem.

Last night, all the while pestering Anna to turn the T.V. back to CNN and NOT to Olympics volleyball (the final), we watched as what I was waiting for was revealed. Barack Obama's running mate/VP pick is ..................................................................................................... ................................. ................Joe Biden! (It felt that long to me too...) The secret has been revealed, the eggs are out of the basket. You're probably saying 'who cares' (Christina) or even more likely 'who the heck is Joe Biden?? (everyone else)'

I have to admit. I was just a little disappointed by the reveal. The guy seems great at all. But I was hoping that Obama stuck to his change mantra.

Sarcasm alert! Apparently, metaphors speak louder than actions. I'm referring, if you haven't guessed yet (OK you probably haven't) to the fact that Obama made his announcement in the Springfield, Illinois courthouse where Lincoln once made his famous "A House Divided" speech. (Lincoln was referring to the biblical passage found in Matthew that reads "A house divided against itself cannot stand") At the time, the country was severed geographically (North and South) and ideologically (Free vs. Slave ). I knew Obama had chosen the spot because it signified the official beginning of the war against slavery/for freedom in America.

I had hoped that the locale meant he was also going to take the ultimate step in fighting the war against political and ideological separation, not, as I said before, through words, but through actions. For me, this meant that he would pick a candidate to run with him from across the party line. Yes, I had hoped he would choose to run with a Republican. Shocking, I know! But, Biden? Who has been a Democratic senator since my mom was 8 and my dad 13! That is a LONG time. Believe me... Don't get me wrong. He seems like a great guy. He's smart, old, and experienced. But when did that ever signify change? And when did the fact that he agrees with Obama in party affiliation (and on most issues) ever embody political gap narrowing?

I'm interested to see how the two interact, what Biden can bring to the table (I hope a great deal), and whether or not the final race will bring out the big, bad, Obama wolf . (if it exists?)

Disclaimer: No. This doesn't mean I will vote for McCain, even if he picks a Democratic running mate, which he won't. It just means I wish Obama was more Obamaesque. And it means that he is no longer above playing party politics, at least in my eyes.

The onion smells funny

Website of the week: http://www.theonion.com/

Brief Intro: It calls itself "America's finest news source" but really it is a site where a whole bunch of writers who think they are quite witty (or who couldn't get hired by legitimate news media) humorize current events and satirically comment on the ridiculousness of modern life.

Highlight: 'Our Dumb World': its basically a map with markers you click on to read funny and semi-inappropriate gibes on said country, local custom, historical event, etc.

Example: Here are just some of the national 'motto's' they created. And my bracketed commentary.

Ireland: Blowing their pot o' gold on whiskey (They could have blown it on something worse)

France: One Nation above God (I love how they're making fun both of France and the U.S's overly trite opinion of France at the same time)

Estonia: United in Circular Dancing (you know you've seen them in action)

Singapore: Where Dirt Gets Death Penalty (it really does)

Australia: As Seen on Animal Planet (really what do you know about the country that you haven't learned from Steve Irwin? Not much.)

Iraq: They had it Coming (picture Bush, Cheney, Rumsfield, Blair, etc doing Chicago's Cell Black Tango) yeah...