Where Have I Been?....

Once again life got away from me.  This blog is just an electronic diary that someone may stumble on via the ether now (or later) rather than by digging through all my old books when I'm dead and gone.  I suppose most people blog or write a diary for themselves, not really for anyone else.  It is the one place there isn't any editor/English teacher looking over your work and you can say pretty much whatever you like.

The last month has been mostly working on getting the opera Hansel & Gretel up for Illumination Opera.  It took all my waking hours, but now it is over and there is more music to learn, Christmas is almost upon us (Lessons and Carols Sunday - my favorite service of the year), and all the dreary house chores are still waiting for me.  How I wish with all my heart that I was like Martha Stewart.  I have suddenly realized that I have such a great imagination that I have imagined how nice the house could be so well that I don't feel like I actually have to DO anything to make it happen.  It is pretty daunting anyway when you have to do it all yourself.

There are so many things to write about seriously, but I just can't today.  Here's what I want to know now:  Why is Jennifer Aniston in our face everywhere, everyday?  She must have the greatest publicist on the face of the planet.  I have not seen any indication this woman has any real talent at all.  Other than having snagged Brad Pitt and having had the incredible good fortune to be on Friends, she has done nothing of merit that I know of, but she continues to be thrust in our faces.  I sure wish the little boy in the Emperor's New Clothes would show up and point out (I started to say that she was naked, but apparently she just posed nude for GQ, so that would be pointing out the obvious) how little talent she has compared with thousands of other actresses. After World Peace, Ending Famine, etc., my wish would be for Editors all over the world to come to their senses in the new year and stop featuring JA or anyone else whose fame is just being famous.  Don't tell me about how JA has become a great humanitarian because there are lots of people who have been walking the walk for a very long time who are more deserving of press.  

That's my rant for the day.

Onward and upward

History Has Been Made

I am so proud of my country and couldn't let this historic night pass without saying how much I wish my father could have seen Barack Obama become President of the United States.  He would have been so happy.  We would have been dancing around our living room.  

Now we have to get to work. 

God bless America.

Hair On Fire

The NYT reports today that the President says privately it is a darn good thing he is the decider during this economic crisis.  This from a man who ran his own oil business into the ground and I don't mean he drilled with success, just the opposite.  According to the story today, Bush had to be told that he needs to reassure people that everything is going to be o.k.  Imagine the POTUS needing to be told he needs to be a LEADER.   In a truly bizarre twist, the fact that he hasn't may be a sign that he actually KNOWS that everything is not going to be o.k.  

All the people we have been told were the great financial gurus are spinning like dervishes. Everyone's hair is on fire and no one knows where it will all end.  So why should the Decider? 

We were in California last week.  Boy, do I miss my home state, even after 33 years of living in the east.  My daughter-in-law said there is a German word for the place where your heart is...Heimat.  That place is definitely the Bay Area. If the world is going to hell in a hand-basket, I think the best place to be would be there.  You can actually sit with the windows open this time of year, no air-co, no heating.  Sunshine, sunshine, sunshine...did I mention sunshine?

Anyway, back to financial inferno.  On the plane back home the movie was "Kit Kittredge".  A kid's movie set in the Depression.  It is all about home foreclosures.  Have we gone back to the future?  Are we going to have to start taking in roomers (we do have three empty of people bedrooms)?  I have low-grade fear.  You know that thing that is always there, even when you aren't thinking about it.   I have always said that if we go down, everyone will be going down with us.  We got out of the market and moved to cash just before the first crash.  Not because I'm brilliant, but because my husband is.  He also cashed in so we could purchase our first new car in more than 10 years (we drive cars until they drop and I have bought junkers to drive in the snow) literally a month before the crash.  If he hadn't done that, we wouldn't be driving that Highlander Hybrid that's in the driveway.  We are very, very, very lucky.  I fear for us, but not as much as for those living on the edge.  When the "Decider" made his first calming speech a couple of weeks or so ago, who did he blame for the troubles?  Here are his words:

"Easy credit - combined with the faulty assumption that home values would continue to rise - led to excesses and bad decisions...Many borrowers took out loans larger than they could afford assuming that they could sell or refinance their homes at a higher price later on."

I don't deny that this is part of the problem, but I don't think the collapse is because of people trying to buy homes or flip houses. I'm still trying to figure out how the banks can give you only 2% interest on savings, charge 24% interest on your credit cards and lose money.  Somebody has some splainin to do. 

My last comment is about an interview with a broker on NPR.  In essence he said he wished Paulson would just shut up because everytime he made a comment the market went down.  I'm not waiting for any comments from the Decider.  The election can't come too soon...VOTE OBAMA-BIDEN.

One Debate Down...

Tonight was the first debate.  I'm sorry to say that I am disappointed in my candidate.  He let McCain interrupt him and he also kept saying that he agreed with McCain.  The Republicans will certainly use that to their advantage.  All in all it lacked energy and was, frankly, boring.

The most exciting part of the night came after the debate when Biden did the follow up.  He was dynamic, energetic, positive.  And then who spoke on behalf of McCain? Uh, that should have been his running mate, right?  Nope.  She is missing in action, so who stepped in?  Rudolph Giuliani. 

How pathetic.  The Republican VP candidate can't be allowed to speak on her own.  Get this:  a friend told me that given McCain's age, health problems, etc., actuaries say there is a 66% chance Sarah Palin would become President in McCain's first term.  I'm with Jack Cafferty, that does scare the hell out of me.  God help us all.

When will he learn?

Here I am back thinking about Clinton.  Bill, not Hillary.  Would Bill just shut up?  Could he just say nothing, if he can't say anything nice about Obama?  He continues to give aid and comfort to the Republicans that we don't need right now.  Has he forgotten that he was the leader of the Democratic Party?  Has he forgotten that he got us into this mess?  Has he forgotten that the Republicans have used every dirty smear they could think of against him, his wife, and his daughter?  Now is not the time to say anything, and I mean anything, that could possibly be construed as positive about McCain and Palin.  Just STOP calling McCain "my friend."  McCain is most certainly not your friend Bill.  He is an acquaintance, but not a friend.  Those swing voters, you know, the ones who voted for you, are needed now.  Any bit of praise you give to McCain/Palin will be an excuse for those voters to say to themselves, "Well, Bill thinks they're ok."  The First Dude doesn't need your advice, so just keep it to yourself.

  

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. 

Baseball and culture

Well, Manny just struck out again. The Red Sox are not looking so hot right now. I am now going to go on my "baseball as a reflection of society" rant. The Boston Sporting Globe, er Boston Globe, just had a story about how women wearing pink Red Sox caps should be stoned to death. It didn't really say that, but it may as well have. The jist of the story was that only the "real" fan had a right to root for the Sox. Anyone was new, who hadn't been rooting for the Sox since they were 5, was a poseur at best and like I said, should be stoned to death, no, spit on and kicked into the gutter. I'm a native Northern Californian. I can't imagine anyone in Giant's territory having that kind of attitude.

Today, top of the news, Manny pushed a Red Sox employee down because he couldn't get 16 tickets for a game. Puhleeze. How I want to love Boston, but it is so, so hard when stuff like this is going on. I have lived in New England for 22 years and I am still looking for general civility. It is like the lowest common denominator has become the norm. It became real to me with the "Yankees suck" T-shirts. If my sons had walked in wearing those shirts I would have fainted. Actually the biggest shock was when I was in the Stop and Shop and saw a woman standing in line with her teen-age son and she had on a T-shirt that actually had the "F word" printed on it. I want anyone reading this to think about their mother wearing that across her chest. What has happened to our society?

It's late and I could go on and on. I will let it rest for now and just pray that civility returns.

A Little Night Music - a non-political post

For the last few months I have been working on a production of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music. There were some trials and tribulations, but we finally got it together for our three performances at Indian Hill Music Center. I was very, very, very lucky to be able to play Desiree Armfeldt, something I never thought would happen. It was the most delightful experience with a wonderful, totally believable cast. To tell the truth I have never liked the one song Desiree sings, Send in the Clowns, but when it is heard in the context of the show, it makes complete sense. I still don't think I would like to perform it without the dialogue because the few words that Fredrik speaks are so, so heartbreaking.

How I wish we had more than three performances. Our ensemble was just becoming an ensemble and it was over...

What a Country...

AP FRESNO, Calif. - Forced to leave the combat zone after his two brothers died in the Iraq war, Army Spc. Jason Hubbard faced another battle once he returned home: The military cut off his family's health care, stopped his G.I. educational subsidies and wanted him to repay his sign-up bonus...

My blood pressure is up once again courtesy of the Bush administration. What possible reason can be credibly made to explain the military cutting off benefits to Jason Hubbard? Is there anyone with a brain administering these programs? As a citizen of the United States I am officially outraged and sickened that my country is treating men and women who have been sent to war IN MY NAME this way. Doesn't anyone administering these programs have critical thinking skills? How did the person who sent that letter to Jason Hubbard feel? Oh, I know, it was just his/her job, they were following orders, blah, blah, blah.

How many stories about the inadequate treatment of war veterans do we need before we, the general public, speak out? The Bush Administration gets away with everything from the subhuman conditions at Walter Reed to cutting off benefits from those who served and their families. Just a blip on the news radar screen. What a country.

So you think McCain looks like a reasonable candidate?

I have been telling friends that the only reason McCain has looked like a reasonable candidate is because the "norm" has been shifted so far to the right that he is now in the middle. I would never have thought that things could get so bad that McCain would look centrist, but that is what has happened. DON'T BE FOOLED. DON'T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN. In the interest of getting the word out, MoveOn.org has done research (I LOVE footnotes) and I am reprinting the message about McCain here for you to pass along:

10 things you should know about John McCain (but probably don't):

1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's continued to oppose key civil rights laws.1
2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."23. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.3
4. McCain opposes a woman's right to choose. He said, "I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned."4
5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.5
6. He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated Press reports he and his wife own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.6 7. Many of McCain's fellow Republican senators say he's too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: "The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He's erratic. He's hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me."7
8. McCain talks a lot about taking on special interests, but his campaign manager and top advisers are actually lobbyists. The government watchdog group Public Citizen says McCain has 59 lobbyists raising money for his campaign, more than any of the other presidential candidates.8
9. McCain has sought closer ties to the extreme religious right in recent years. The pastor McCain calls his "spiritual guide," Rod Parsley, believes America's founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a "false religion." McCain sought the political support of right-wing preacher John Hagee, who believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment for gay rights and called the Catholic Church "the Antichrist" and a "false cult."9
10. He positions himself as pro-environment, but he scored a 0—yes, zero—from the League of Conservation Voters last year.10John McCain is not who the Washington press corps make him out to be. Please help get the word out—forward this email to your personal network. And if you want us to keep you posted on MoveOn's work to get the truth out about John McCain, sign up here:
http://pol.moveon.org/mccaintruth/?id=12407-3002530-QUtC4o&t=232
Thank you for all you do.
–Eli, Justin, Noah, Laura, and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team Saturday, April 5th, 2008
Sources: 1. "The Complicated History of John McCain and MLK Day," ABC News, April 3, 2008 http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/04/the-complicated.html
"McCain Facts," ColorOfChange.org, April 4, 2008 http://colorofchange.org/mccain_facts/
2. "McCain More Hawkish Than Bush on Russia, China, Iraq," Bloomberg News, March 12, 2008 http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aF28rSCtk0ZM&refer=us
"Buchanan: John McCain 'Will Make Cheney Look Like Gandhi,'" ThinkProgress, February 6, 2008 http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/06/buchanan-gandhi-mccain/
3. "McCain Sides With Bush On Torture Again, Supports Veto Of Anti-Waterboarding Bill," ThinkProgress, February 20, 2008 http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/20/mccain-torture-veto/
4. "McCain says Roe v. Wade should be overturned," MSNBC, February 18, 2007 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17222147/
5. "2007 Children's Defense Fund Action Council® Nonpartisan Congressional Scorecard," February 2008 http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/PageServer?pagename=act_learn_scorecard2007
"McCain: Bush right to veto kids health insurance expansion," CNN, October 3, 2007 http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/03/mccain.interview/
6. "Beer Executive Could Be Next First Lady," Associated Press, April 3, 2008 http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h-S1sWHm0tchtdMP5LcLywg5ZtMgD8VQ86M80
"McCain Says Bank Bailout Should End `Systemic Risk,'" Bloomberg News, March 25, 2008 http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aHMiDVYaXZFM&refer=home
7. "Will McCain's Temper Be a Liability?," Associated Press, February 16, 2008 http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=4301022
"Famed McCain temper is tamed," Boston Globe, January 27, 2008 http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/01/27/famed_mccain_temper_is_tamed/
8. "Black Claims McCain's Campaign Is Above Lobbyist Influence: 'I Don't Know What The Criticism Is,'" ThinkProgress, April 2, 2008 http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/02/mccain-black-lobbyist/
"McCain's Lobbyist Friends Rally 'Round Their Man," ABC News, January 29, 2008 http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4210251
9. "McCain's Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam," Mother Jones Magazine, March 12, 2008 http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2008/03/john-mccain-rod-parsley-spiritual-guide.html
"Will McCain Specifically 'Repudiate' Hagee's Anti-Gay Comments?," ThinkProgress, March 12, 2008 http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/12/mccain-hagee-anti-gay/
"McCain 'Very Honored' By Support Of Pastor Preaching 'End-Time Confrontation With Iran,'" ThinkProgress, February 28, 2008 http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/28/hagee-mccain-endorsement/ 10. "John McCain Gets a Zero Rating for His Environmental Record," Sierra Club, February 28, 2008 http://www.alternet.org/blogs/environment/77913/
Support our member-driven organization: MoveOn.org Political Action is entirely funded

Bella Italia

Enough of politics for at least one post. I was just looking at photos I took in Italy in June and thought I would post some of my odd favorites. They aren't the usual travel photos, but to me they evoke my Italy. The one titled Greco Roman smile was taken in the museum at Paestum which is south of Naples. Very few Americans go there. It has the most beautiful and most well preserved Greek temples in Europe. I actually enjoyed visiting them more than the Parthenon (that isn't to say one should not see the Parthenon at least once in their lifetime). There are two photos from the Amalfi Coast. The kisses (baci) and hugs (abbracci) photo was taken in a restaurant overlooking the coast. I thought the words and the back of the chair were romantic, so I clicked. La Dolce Vita was taken when we stopped for lemonade on our drive up the coast. Valentino's Last Collection was a serendipitous shot and I love it. We stumbled on the museum which is really a glass structure built over a temple. When we went in this photo shoot was going on. I wasn't sure if it was ok to take a picture, so I quickly framed it up and clicked. The red dresses were knocking me (I LOVE red) and I thought I recognized them, but didn't try to talk to anyone, they were working after all. A few months later there was a story in the NYT Sunday magazine about Valentino retiring and one of the photos used was from that shoot. I did feel a little stupid for not recognizing his work and wished I had gawked at those dresses more than I did. Valentino will be missed. His designs are the epitome of Italian elegance. No one will ever take his place. Maybe I will post more on Italy later, but for now, basta...

McCain and torture

At dinner last night with a couple of friends the conversation turned to Senator McCain and his quest for the presidency. They were both surprised when I said that Senator McCain said waterboarding is torture or more specifically,
“Anyone who knows what waterboarding is could not be unsure. It is a horrible torture technique used by Pol Pot and being used on Buddhist monks as we speak,” said McCain after a campaign stop at Dordt College here.
“People who have worn the uniform and had the experience know that this is a terrible and odious practice and should never be condoned in the U.S. We are a better nation than that.” (see http://thinkprogress.org/2007/10/26/mccain-mukasey-torture/) But, and it is a BIG BUT, when faced with a bill that would end the practice of waterboarding, what did he do? He voted AGAINST it. He rationalized his vote, blah, blah, blah, but the bottom line is, from my perspective, he isn't really a man of principle. He is brilliant though. He knows that even though the Emperor has no clothes, the media won't keep pointing that out. He gets to have his cake and eat it too. (see http://weblogs.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/blog/2008/02/mccain_votes_against_ban_on_wa.html)
If you read the Chicago Tribune site, you will see that Clinton and Obama don't come off much better...they were on the road and didn't vote....

Texas v. the Prez, a life and death issue

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Texas can execute a Mexican murderer being held on its death row. The case pitted President Bush against his home state in a dispute over federal authority, local sovereignty and foreign treaties...Medellin's lawyers argue he was not informed upon his arrest of his right to contact Mexican consular officials. Those officials were never able to meet with him until after his conviction. ###

So, the issue was who's law should the court use. Apparently what Texas did was in violation of a U.S. treaty, according to an international court. The Supremes said that wasn't domestic law and sided with Texas. I wish I had time to delve into this subject more. It is fascinating and no matter what choice you make can lead to unintended consequences. When I saw the story on CNN I immediately thought of the waterboarding issue which I just can't get out of my head. It really is the Golden Rule (no, not the one that says, "he who has the gold rules"). Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. If an American citizen was held in another country would we want that government to subject them to waterboarding (aka torture) or to sentence them to death without being able to seek counsel from the U.S. upon arrest? I think not. Imagine your child in the military being subjected to waterboarding (Geneva Conventions?? To heck with them says Congress, Bush, Cheney, Mukasey, the lot) or being sentenced to death by a court that didn't follow our rules (say in Iran). Not a pretty picture. The whole reason for international agreements like the ones in question is to make a level playing field, to set rules for everyone. We are not an island unto ourselves and the sooner we understand that the better we will all be. I pray for this in my lifetime.

The Shell Game

I realize that a couple of months have gone by since I last posted. Why? Well, life does go on outside the blogosphere (is that the word? is that a word?). World events and the presidential campaign certainly keep us on our collective toes. There is no lack of things to go on a tear about several times a day. My main concern is still why the media continues to play the shell game with all of us. What's under the shells? Walnut shell one: Iraq/the Economy/Healthcare Walnut shell two: Spears/Lohan/Hilton (just pick one) Walnut two: anything that has to do with politicians and sex. Now, just when you thought you had your eye on shell one, ah ha, nope, you are being fed stories about the latest idiota who is prancing around under the influence with no underwear or reading about how a politician got caught in a compromising position with someone not their official significant other. Suckers! Why are we suckers? Because we don't demand that the media keep their eyes on Walnut one. We just keep falling over and over again for Walnuts two and three. The Emperor from Texas has no clothes (this has nothing to do with sex) and the media just keeps us distracted with Walnuts two and three.

I don't see any way to change this and it is more than disheartening. More later...

The choice I didn't want to make...

Edwards is out. Now what to do? I hadn't realized how much I was hoping he would catch fire. When I heard he was no longer in the race I started to cry and was very much surprised by my response. Now I have to make the decision I didn't want to face. I have Clinton fatigue, but want to see a woman. (My 95, almost 96, year old grandmother is a Hillary supporter big time.) On the other hand, I believe by electing Obama we would show a new face to the rest of the world and purge ourselves of the very ugly past. My problem is that, as I think I have said before, Obama doesn't have the gravitas I believe is necessary today. Hillary Clinton is battle hardened. She knows the ropes. I may as well be electing my state Senator President of the United States if I elect Obama. He is a fabulous speaker, no doubt, but is that enough? It is no wonder that young people are inspired by him, including my own sons. I'm not convinced that is enough.
I have read that endorsements don't really mean anything. Why do we make a big thing about them? The news was full of the Kennedy's endorsing Obama. Caroline Kennedy, the Princess of the family, with Obama. Then the old lion, Teddy Kennedy proclaiming Obama the Kennedy torch bearer. Heady stuff for Senator Obama, but so what? I don't doubt Caroline Kennedy's sincerity, but why is her opinion any more important than any one else's? The cynical side of me says that Senator Kennedy has never gotten along with the Clintons and this is payback time.

In my memory it was President Lyndon Johnson who was the champion of civil rights. The civil rights laws owe more to him than any Kennedy. I'm not bashing the Kennedys. My heart was broken when Bobby was murdered and I long to be able to go back and change history; however, I can't.

For better or for worse President Johnson was my president. I remember him defeating Goldwater. It was a wonderful night. Unfortunately Viet Nam destroyed his presidency, as well as thousands of young men of my generation. LBJ's legacy should have been what he did for civil rights; however, he inherited JFK's Viet Nam and paid the price. I will always remember LBJ's Great Society and I mourn the attack of his achievements by the Republicans of today.

So now what to do? Who can inspire our country and bring back the Great Society?

This and that...

Living in New England we are right in the thick of primary madness. This is the first time I have EVER not known who I will vote for in the presidential primary. My 95 year old grandmother is a great Hillary supporter. An 82 year old gentleman I know also supports Hillary because "we will get two for the price of one." Bill Clinton certainly looms large. I have already said that I have Clinton fatigue, but I keep asking myself who has the most experience? Clinton or Obama? Obama is a wonderful speaker. He appeals to the idealists (the young). This is a good thing, no doubt, but he doesn't have the gravitas I want. There have been some rookie mistakes that worry me too. We must have a change, I know that. If only I had a working crystal ball. The fact is that no Democrat will ever be as bad as what we have now. How frustrating to feel helpless.

Today I heard an interview with Peter Galbraith who advised that we go to war with Iraq partially because of the genocide Saddam Hussein was perpetrating. Guess what? Mr. Galbraith now says it was a terrible mistake because of the poor planning on the part of the military (Bush administration) and we are now in an endless war. Gee. Who could have guessed this would happen. I think Mr. G's new book is something about the law of unintended consequences. I predicted this mess and I'm not an historian or middle-east scholar. What I can't see is how to get out without leaving things in a worse mess. The crystal ball is indeed cloudy.