Obamapalooza

So, of course, I watched the infomercial last night. I hope you all did too. But if you didn't, I've posted it here for your benefit. I encourage everyone (yes everyone) to watch it. I was touched, and if you're not, you really don't have a heart. I would bet that everyone in this country knows someone who is exactly like one or more of the people in this video. And what's even more refreshing is the fact that Barack Obama lays out his plan, talking directly to the people for 1/2 hour. In that time he never mentions one negative thing about McCain. It was great. It's hope and it's what we need in our country now.

(Okay so I can't embed it from this computer, and I've spent too long trying)
Here's the link, you should watch it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtREqAmLsoA

If you don't like Obama, that's your right. But I would like to ask you to give me any reason why McCain would be a better president. And don't resort to insults or sarcasm, or hyperbole. Obama isn't doing that. He's not running a campaign based on fear or anger. He's calling for us to be united and fight the challenges we face. He's not mocking his opponent or calling him names. And the reason why is that he's got a plan. So, any McCain supporters, I challenge you: What is your man's plan?

Today's List of Things That Must Go

1.) The Upper Peninsula of Michigan--Why is it part of Michigan? Doesn't make sense to me. It actually has a long border with Wisconsin, and I don't think it ever touches Michigan.
2.) Michiganders--Not to be unduly harsh on Michigan, but I've just been thinking of it lately. So Michiganders? Really? I thought Oregonians were bad, and for the sake of being phonetically pleasing, I would move that it should be Michiganers.
3.) John McCain calling me his friend--I may have mentioned this before, but increasingly it is irritating me. I am not your friend, old man. You are an angry, unpleasant old codger who has run a distasteful, honor-less campaign against my candidate of choice. You are not the admirable "maverick" from 2000, you are now just a desperate, puffy white man who is completely out of touch with the real needs or concerns of Americans.
4.) Elizabeth Hasselbeck--Now she's just dumb. Anyone who can so adamantly defend the McCain-Palin ticket like she does, really shouldn't be worth the time I am taking to write about her on this ridiculous little blog, but it needs to be said. She's an idiot. I realize it's her schtick (sp?) on "The View" to be the token conservative. But there are real conservatives out there who have brains (shocking, I know). They realize that McCain has run a terrible campaign topped off by his terrible pick of a running-mate. But not Mrs. Hasselbeck, she's now out on the stump, introducing Caribou Barbie (AKA Sarah Palin) at rallies and not mentioning anything of substance, but talking about Ms. Palin's wardrobe, and trying to twist the story of the Republicans spending $150,000 on her clothes in the past few months (sheer stupidity on the part of the GOP, especially in this election) into it somehow being the media's fault for reporting it--phooey!! They spent money foolishly on a foolish candidate, and that's that. Anyway, these idiotic partisans (and I know Elizabeth isn't the only one) need to go. They could claim that I am in the same boat, but on the other side. I don't think so though. If Barack Obama were to claim that because he could "see Russia from [his] front porch" he had foreign policy experience (and the list of stupid things the McCain campaign has said goes on and on and on), I would think he was a moron too--luckily he hasn't.
5.) Stupid Facebook fan clubs--I saw recently that one of my "friends" became a "fan of Dieter F. Uchdorf" and a whole slew of other things. I think they are ridiculous. I really feel uncomfortable with the ones that are of LDS general authorities. It just seems to me that someone in a position like that deserves more respect than to be trivialized as a Facebook application.

That is all

The Great Pumpkin Caper

So, Mel and I are pretty darned cool. We have had some fun adventures lately. A couple of weeks ago, as a matter of fact, we were in Intercourse--Pennsylvania that is.
It's a nice little town in the middle of Amish country in PA.
We first went to get some apples from a local orchard there. While there we picked up a couple of pumpkins and this past week, we carved them.

Pics of the applesThere were so many, and boy were the free samples tasty. We bought some and made the tastiest pies ever, but I didn't take a picture.
Then, we went all the way in Amish country to Intercourse

A week later we carved them. This is Melanie's creepy spider and web

I carved a Barack-O-Lantern
My pumpkin and me. I'm just that cool.

Rise and Shout, the Cougars Are Out

So, we'll take a breif sojourn away from the campaign world today.
Anyone who knows me, knows that I have an irrational hatred of Brigham Young University. The odd thing is, most of my best friends went to that school. I like them. I am an active member of the church that runs the school. However, I never had any desire to attend the place, and to this day, I am very happy I didn't. I went to BYU's rival, the University of Utah, and as a UTE, I root for the U and anyone who is playing BYU.
I think it's something that was bred into me. My mother did graduate from the U, and I think that is why I decided to go there. However, it wasn't just that. Coming from Utah and being Mormon, there is a mindset that accompanies attending BYU. It's like people there (at least) feel that they are on a higher spiritual plane than those who don't. So that's where our hatred comes from. It's the disdain with which that BYU fans look at the University of Utah.
There are often occasions in which a student or alum of that school will refer to it as "the Lord's University," or talk about the "coffee swillers" up at the University of Utah. And the funny thing is that anyone who doesn't have their head in the sand knows that the same stuff that goes on at the U or any other college campus can be found going on at BYU--it's just that it's all in secret there.
Last year, after the BYU-Utah game, their receiver, Austin Collie, made a dumb ass comment, saying ultimately that when you obey God's will, he'll step in during a football game to help you win. Which angered me because a) why would the Almighty give a hoot in hell about a d a m n football game, and b) it implies that they are holy because they are Mormon and the University of Utah is not--sorry buddy, you're in Utah, no matter where you go, you'll find good Mormons and jack mormons. So there are probably both on both teams.
All that being said, it is with glee that I report that I watched the Cougars from BYU get trounced by the TCU Horned Frogs last night. I was going to be a causal observer since the five other people in my front room went to BYU and were fans, but when they fumbled (or was it an interception?) on their first drive and TCU scored. I was ecstatic, and could not hide my emotion. They ultimately ended up losing, 32-7, which only begs the question, What have you been doing Austin?
In gloating like this, I am only setting myself and my team up for failure. But I can't help but be happy that I can finally feel justified in thinking that BYU has been overrated (last season definitely) and their true colors showed last night.
So, let's got Utes. Kick some horned toad hiney when they come to Salt Lake, and then do the same to the school down south.

Special Commentary

Nobody states my (or most sane American's) feelings about the despicable McCain-Palin campaign strategies of late better than Keith Olbermann. So here's his special commentary on it from last night.

Vote "That One" 08

Last night, in case you missed it. John McCain showed what could be his most un-presidential behavior yet. Never mind the lies and mudslinging that are defining his campaign of late. In the debate, rather than calling Senator Obama by his title, or by his name even, he referred to him as "that one." He didn't even look at him, and just pointed across his chest at Senator Obama. "Well," you might say, "why is that so wrong?" Here's why it's wrong:
The fact of the matter is that the McCain camp knows that based on the issues alone, they've lost this race. Their own campaign admitted this last week. They have proven to the American people that they have no substance. So, in their attempts to make this a race about character, they're pulling out all the stops. This, I'm sure, is only the beginning. They're gonna continue to paint Obama as different--(not so)subtly reminding us that he's black. They will try to dehumanize him. Look, quite overtly here Sen McCain has refused to aknowledge that his opponent is even a human being. "That one." Shame on you Senator McCain.
This is all part of their campaign now. Sarah Palin is now going around the country saying "Our opponent doesn't see America the way that I [or you] see it." She means this negatively, but I think that really, Obama doesn't see America the way Sarah or John do. He sees America as a light to other countries--a beacon of hope. He sees a land of peace and prosperity, where oportunities abound and the American dream is real. But Sarah won't tell you that. She spouts off discretited rhetoric and lies, stirring the crowd up to anger. Now at rallies, shouts of "terrorist," and "kill him" are being heard regularly, speaking of Obama. No, Sarah Palin, no, John McCain, no, Repulicans, that is not the America that I love!! Maybe hatred and anger are how you see America, but it's an entirely different view than what Barack Obama has, and it's entirerly different from what I see and the vision Senator Obama has for the future.
Their attempts to point out Obama's "otherness" are pathetic. He's a stronger candidate, and they look weak. They show they are desperate and will stoop to any level to try to win. I hope Americans are noticing. As McCain himself once said "if all you run is negative attack ads, it shows you don't have much of a vision for the future." Well, Senator, you're complete lack of honor shows that you have sold your soul, and that you have absolutely no plan for the future.

John S. McCain, Too Risky a Choice

Friends, Readers, or any casual observer who happens to stumble upon my blog:

I write this today to say that, after the past few weeks, if you have any inclination of voting for John S. McCain for president, you are stupid. That, I assure you will be the meanest thing that I will say directly to you through the entirety of this post. Now see, that didn't hurt much. Please bear with me now as I explain why.

Eight years ago, I would not have said that (however, at that time, I didn't know that he had cheated on his disabled wife, trading her in for a new beauty queen because she wasn't pretty enough anymore—but I digress). The John McCain from that time was a decent candidate. He did offer "straight talk" and may very well have been the "maverick" that he claims to be now. However, times have changed. With his desire to become president, he has given in to the same smear tactics and lies that were played against him in 2000, and costing him the nomination. We have seen and heard the constant barrage of negative ads, shrill stump speeches and disingenuous sound bites—this after a vow to have an elevated campaign that would not venture onto the low road. I guess this just shows that when the going gets tough, John McCain is willing to throw all integrity out the window in the hopes of a win.  I think that's my biggest issue with him. I do, however, think that his policy stances are mostly worthless as well.

John McCain, in selling his soul to win the Republican base has voted to support George W. Bush's policies more than 90% of the time. And, in keeping in line with Bush, he has pretty much decided to embrace Dubya's failed policies for the future. Tax cuts he once argued against, he now wants to make permanent (never mind that we're fighting two wars that have cost nearly one trillion dollars). In the past eight years, our country has racked up one third of its national debt—keep in mind that we have been around for 232 years—financed by countries who don't have our best interests in mind.  On the war, John McCain is opposed to any withdrawal from Iraq, when even George W. Bush is supporting a timetable for it. He claims that victory is near, but I would ask him to explain exactly what a victory would entail. In fact I would ask anyone who supports this un-ending war in Iraq to define what a victory there means. Most experts are in accordance that a victory won't come militarily, so I ask Senator McCain, why are we still there?

John McCain is a conservative who has utmost faith in the markets and has called for deregulation over and over. Looking at the financial mess we are now in, it is clear that regulations are needed. He claims that the market is the solution for healthcare issues, when experts show that his plans would (after giving tax dollars to insurance companies) cause an additional 20 million Americans to be un-insured. And here's just some food for thought, imagine if the call for privatizing Social Security, embraced fully by the Republicans a few years back, had passed and tax dollars had been invested in Wall Street for that. Now, millions would have been lost in this vital security for our elderly and less fortunate over the past month alone.

It's a well-known fact that John McCain is a gambler. But with the dire circumstances that our country finds itself in, it's certainly too big a risk to go support a man who will willfully wager the nation's future on the ability to gain political points. I say this in the three major gambles he has taken in recent memory. Last year, at the time of the "surge" in Iraq, John McCain stood for it, when most voices were against it. Yes, that was bold at the time. The surge does seem to have paid off, for now, though contributing all recent success in Iraq to it would be foolish as well. This was a gamble that paid off for now, but it exists in the context of a war that should never have been waged;  a war that Senator McCain called for even before George W. Bush.  Second, his pick of a running mate in Sarah Palin was a risky wager that has held mixed results.  This is a woman who is clearly not qualified to lead the United States. Before being picked, she had given no thought to national or foreign policy. She is well-liked in Alaska, but I would bet that it's hard to have a big gripe against any part of government there when each citizen is paid by the government. She may have "shaken up" the Republican establishment in Alaska, but when she claims (falsely) that she can see Russia, from her home and that gives her foreign policy experience, she fails any competency test that would qualify her to be a breath away from the presidency, especially with a delicately frail candidate. Even this year, she claimed that she didn't know what the Vice President did. She hasn't given thought to the Supreme Court, to economic policy, or to American foreign policy. She has proven that all she can do is talk in circles, avoiding questions, and focus on talking points given to her by her handlers. She can read a speech well, but in this election there's one who can do that far better. The thing is, her speeches are laced with anger, disdain and mocking lines that belittle and degrade. She claims to be Christian, but her words certainly don't reflect that view. Last week she was the laughing stock of America and managed to "wow" some with her performance at the debate because she didn't run from the stage crying, but she offered nothing substantive, nothing more than memorized buzz words. She's a pretty face for a ticket without a plan. Lastly, with the economic crisis, two weeks ago John McCain "suspended" his campaign to look like he was helping resolve the problem. It turns out he was more of a hindrance than anything else. America saw this as a gimmick and it backfired. This is a man who, the day after one of the biggest financial collapses in history, claimed that "the fundamentals of the economy are strong." He proved he had clearly no idea about what is going on, and that going to Washington to "work" on this was just a ploy. This has been a risk that hasn't paid off, and I hope it seals his fate. John McCain is a risky choice, one that we, the American people can't gamble on.

Now we see that when they have nothing else, the campaign will stoop as low as they can to bring up irrelevant acquaintances that mean nothing and try to paint a candidate as evil because he knows a person who did a bad thing at one point in his life, what's the old adage, "those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones?   They are a desperate campaign and are grasping at straws.

So those are my thoughts, and that doesn't even include why Barack Obama is the superior candidate. I can do that tomorrow I guess. But for now, remember that in light of current events, if you still support John McCain, you're an idiot—my dad even said he won't vote for him, and for Darrell to not support a Republican, that means a lot.

Funny

Thoughts on Thursday's Vice Presidential Debate:

However, I think that it may be premature. With all of her hair-brained remarks of late, the bar is set very low for Ms. Palin. But here's hoping that once and for all she'll prove to the entire American electorate just how un-qualified she is.