swift boats scum to town
Well, we’ve hit a new low in supposedly local politics as those vile vets of villainy, the Swiftboat Bums, chip in their 2 million cents to attack Gary King and support the oh-so-squeaky-clean Bibb. To think I actually had some respect for Whitney Cheshire, his campaign manager, as a New Mexican-style Republican, which is to say not-rabidly-radical. My mistake in judgement.
wilson and responsibility
Heather Wilson says quite baldly that she can’t be expected to keep track of 435 House members; the echo chamber picks it up. Let’s see — Heather is on the Page Board. There are about 60 pages. Can she be expected to keep up with 60 pages when it is her job to do so?
Perhaps more importantly, haven’t the Republicans been thumping their chests as “THE Party of Personal Responsibility?” Doesn’t that include responsibility for your job on Capitol Hill? Apparently not.
Isn’t it interesting that other members of the Page Board will testify, but Heather won’t have to. I guess everyone knows her position on the board was meaningless.
Pobrecito Dendahl
Another interesting bit of nonsense conservatives tell each other is why John Dendahl can’t raise money. You see, it’s because Bill Richardson will remember the names of every donor to Dendahl’s campaign. It’s bad business to support Dendahl.
Understand — I don’t doubt that. However, isn’t that cowardice? To let Bully Bill shut you up? Aren’t the Republicans the Party of Balls and Principles? Let’s see them. Or does business sense trump principle for Republicans? Dendahl is simply a bad investment.
It is also interesting to hear the same conservatives object to Richardson’s war-chest and the fact that he is giving money to other candidates. They say those candidates will be in debt to Richardson. Hmmm. This from the same people who insist all campaign money is protected as free speech and handing wads of cash to Republicans doesn’t buy any access. Apparently, only Democrats are corrupted by the system Republicans endorse. Yeah, right.
baseball, football, nascar and narnia
No one expects any decent TV on Saturday night, for whatever reason. Yet, last night was a new low to me (and, I’m sure, a high for many others). Not only did we have baseball, which screws up all of October every year, but football and, omg, Nascar. Choose your poison.
So, we chose to watch the Chronicles of Narnia. When I was a kid, I loved Narnia and it made me aware of literature, and literary technique, in a way that was of necessity new to me. That said, I think I was oblivious to most of its Christian underpinnings. I’m sure I didn’t get the death and resurrection of Aslan in the way that is now obvious even to me. But I grew up believing the bible isn’t as interesting as Aesop’s Fables. And certainly, Narnia, if it is a reworking of Christianity, is much more appealing than the original.
Still, I had to pause the DVD and rail for a few minutes on the madness of war in the name of religion. And I am frustrated more today than at 10 by a story that elevates children to warriors and kings and queens. It is a twisted and stunted imagination that resolves the largest issues with warfare. Real creativity would paint a world in which peace flourishes. But that’s almost beyond conception, isn’t it?
crazy safe
This week, we took our friend, Kathleen to the airport for a flight to Texas and beyond. I sat in the observation area browsing the Web on my laptop. Merri gamely accompanied Kathleen through the gauntlet. Kathleen is 91 years old and nearly blind. It took an hour to get her through security. Her metal knees required a strip search and pat-down.
Kathleen, a kind and patient woman, endured the nonsense and apologized for burdening the insane system that regards her as a potential terrorist. This is the legacy of 9/11, where we turned our world upside-down with madness.
Mind you, I don’t think she should sail through security while “the usual suspects” are the only ones inconvenienced. I just think we need to find a better way to make air travel safer. Some way that doesn’t require groping a 90 year old. mjh