Spontaneous Patriotism

Last night was the opening of the Metropolitan Opera.  The performance was simulcast in theatres all around the world.  Before the performance began, the evening started with Maestro Levine leading the orchestra playing The Star Spangled Banner.  Here's what happened in Lowell, Massachusetts:  the entire movie theatre audience rose and many sang our national anthem.  I don't know when I have felt more connected to my country.  No one told anyone to stand.  It was spontaneous, by choice, and moving.  No announcer said (like at baseball games), "Please rise for the singing of the national anthem."  I wish just that act of patriotism could be shown on television so people who think those who attend opera are unpatriotic snobs, etc. could see otherwise.  It isn't just country music fans who love our country.

Oh yeah, and Renee Fleming was the diva to end all divas and sang pretty darn well too...

Throwing her daughter under the bus, continued

Well, well, well...someone else thinks Palin threw Bristol under the bus...read on...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bonnie-fuller/sarah-palin-she-has-chose_b_123282.html

Here's the quote:

--No wonder getting pregnant in high school is truly a girl's worst nightmare, points out Atoosa Rubenstein, the founding editor-in-chief of CosmoGIRL! magazine, and later the editor of Seventeen magazine. Bristol Palin should have "the protection of her mother right now and not be paraded around as a platform. She should have had the privacy to make her own difficult choices and now she has to support her mother's ambitions and policies regardless of what she wants for herself — she's been thrown under a bus," believes Rubenstein.--

Republican racism, hyperbole, downright lies...

Only the Republicans could turn a black kid working hard and getting a good education into a negative.  Phyllis Schlafly said on NPR that Obama is "elite" (and she wasn't saying it in a good way) because he went to "$17,000/year prep school" (I have no idea whether that is true) and an expensive college.  Sarah Palin on the other hand "has worked with her hands."  You have got to be kidding me.  This is racism plain and simple.  I guess black boys shouldn't be going to good schools.  But on to the GOP Convention...

Remember all that "family privacy" Palin was demanding?  Well, she flew in Levi Johnston, father of the illegitimate yet to be born child of her 17 year old daughter, to parade in front of the convention and the television cameras.  Palin said her family was like any other.  Uh, I think not. 

Was last night the most strident, vicious string of speeches ever?  How do they get away with the lies?  Huckabee said that Palin received more votes for Mayor than Biden did for president.  This is not an opinion statement.  It is a fact statement, but the problem is that it ISN'T TRUE.  It isn't even remotely true.  The Washington Post has the numbers.  Biden 63,157.  I think that is more than the total population of Wasilla which now stands at 9780.

Mitt Romney railed on about the "eastern elites."  What the heck is he?  Let's see, how about the ex-Governor of MASSACHUSETTS with a networth according to Money of $202 million dollars.  On top of that he is a Havard grad, you know, that "elite" school in Cambridge, Massachusetts not England, the same one Obama attended. (OK, here's a logic test for Schlafly Republicans:  If Obama is an "elite" because he attended Harvard and Romney attended Harvard, what is Romney?)  How much more "eastern elite" could you get?  I guess he loses the who has the most houses contest with McCain though because as I recall, he has a home in Belmont, MA, a lake house in NH, and a home in Utah.  That's only three to McCain's 7, 8, or is it 9?  

Giuliani?  What can I say.  He was the same Giuliani who LOST and that speech showed why.  The perfect lead up to Sarah Palin, the best speech reader ever.  She said NOTHING about what she and her running mate will do.  Nothing about the economy, nothing about health care, as Giuliani said, NADA.  There was nothing there but rhetoric.  Let's hope she doesn't get to play the double standard game when her lack of substance is attacked by saying, "You bad man, how can you attack a girl?"

Finally, if there is anything that could energize Democrats to GOTV, last night was it.  Now to find the Nashua, NH,  Obama-Biden office... 

P.S.  I started writing this on the 2nd, but didn't post until the 4th.  Somehow blogspot is determined to show this as being posted on the 2nd.

  

 

Palin Throws Daughter Under Bus

The hypocrisy of the Republicans will never cease to amaze me.  The soon to be nominated VP candidate Sarah Palin threw her daughter under the bus.  Why?  Because there were stupid nasty rumors that her Down Syndrome infant was really the child of her 17 year old daughter.  So what would you do if "they" were saying things like that about you?  How about nothing or if you felt like you really, really had to say something releasing your hospital records or maybe some photos of you after the birth of your child.  But no, this wonderful, bright woman decided to out her 17 year old daughter with the news that the girl is 5 months pregnant.  Oh, and we were also assured by Palin that her daughter would be marrying Levi, the father of the child.  Oh and THEN she said the family needed privacy.   Sort of like the guy who kills his parents and then asks for the mercy of the court because he is an orphan.  What narcissism.  I repeat, she threw her daughter under the bus for her own ambition.  Shameful.

Lowest Common Denominator

Sarah Palin.  How in the world have we ended up with this person as the Republican VP candidate?  How could McCain pass over the truly qualified Republican women such as Kay Bailey Hutchison, Olympia Snowe, Condoleezza Rice, Liddy Dole for a woman who, as my friend told me yesterday, is a governor of a state that has fewer people than New Orleans AFTER Katrina?  Does he think that all women are interchangeable?  When she invoked Hillary Clinton in her first speech, I was speechless.  The only thing she shares with Hillary Clinton is gender, but that isn't a reason to vote for anyone.  

Our world is a dangerous place.  It isn't the world of 1949.  No amount of wanting it to be will make it so.  We need the best, the brightest, the most educated as our leader.  We don't need the lowest common denominator as President of the United States, which means the VP can't be the lowest common denominator.  John McCain has endangered all of us with his choice of Sarah Palin.  

On top of it all, she has a 4 MONTH old infant with Down Syndrome.  What is she thinking?  So much for Republican "family values."  Although she is against a woman's right to choose, she has chosen to leave her infant to go on the most grueling campaign trail in the world.  Fathers can certainly take care of babies and I assume Mr. Palin will be taking care of baby Palin.  That's great.  That isn't my point though.  As a mother, although my sons are grown, I can't imagine leaving them when they were infants to go on the road for three months, not when either of them were 4 months old.

This isn't a job where you can work late hours, but come home.  This is leaving home and family behind.   In my opinion this is not a responsible choice and it reflects the narcissism of the person making it. 

Olympic Fever

How have I stayed away from writing with so much going on in the world and my life?  I guess I have just answered the question.  The Beijing Olympics kept us glued to the television set for what seemed like a month.  I never thought I would be riveted by a big swim meet, but who knew those races could be so, so exciting.  China was just a great big stereotypical picture postcard thanks to NBC.  Nothing about Darfur, no repercussions for underage gymnasts (wasn't one missing a baby tooth???), and forget about them telling a little 7 year old girl that she wasn't pretty enough to be on stage, but her voice was.  That pretty much did it for me.  The real gold medals should go to the architects of the "water cube" and "the bird's nest."  I have no idea whether the structures worked for the participants/attendees, but they were beautiful on the television screen and left me wondering why all stadia are as fabulous looking.  Hmmm...maybe it takes a lot of virtually slave labor?

Mamma Mia

So, up until now I have avoided going to see the ABBA musical Mamma Mia!  I sort of looked down my nose at the whole idea.  Tonight I went to see the movie and loved every silly second of it.  Here's what I say to all those snooty movie reviewers:  This isn't some deep intellectual film. When you have lived a real life and are middle-aged, you might get it.  Until then just shut up and go review deep angst ridden movies.  Meryl Streep and the rest of the cast clearly were having a lot of fun and the audience I was sitting in was too.  I haven't laughed or felt happy in a long time and this made me bounce my way out of the theatre.  

Oh, and one more thing:  Pierce Brosnan sang just fine.  This isn't opera (and I know opera).  He carried his tunes and did the speak-sing thing a few times and it worked. 

I'm glad I went.