Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Can You Name Anything You Read?

Sarah Palin can't.

"Time Turns Elastic"

Here's a rehearsal clip of a piece co-written by my cousin, Don Hart, and Trey Anastasio of Phish, that received it's world premier this past Saturday night in Nashville.

And, here is a review of the piece.
The piece had all the elements familiar to jam-band junkies: Anastasio’s wandering, whining guitar runs and spacey, nonsensical lyrics. When paired with the crisply performed orchestration, it came off sounding more like the theme song to a Disney film on ’shrooms. It was ambitious, strange and wholly entertaining.

Fair and Balanced My Ass!

Watch this idiot Fox News reporter claim that a near unanimous preference for Obama. in this Scranton, PA diner, is  actually split between Obama and McCain.

Sarah Who?

The island to the left in this photo is Little Diomede Island, the point where Alaska is closest to Russia and thereby gives Sarah Palin foreign policy experience to be President of the US.

Gary Tuchman of CNN went there to get a closer look. It turns out that,
...many of these Alaskans had no idea who Sarah Palin was! It turns out they have no TV on the island, and therefore, many don’t follow the news.
Not only that but the only person on the island who knows who she is, Mayor Andrew Millgrock, says.
...she seems like an okay governor, but exclaims she should probably pay a visit to Little Diomede sometime. It may not help her foreign policy experience says the mayor, but would definitely help her domestic policy experience.
CNN will air the complete report tonight on AC360.

Quote For The Day.

"I think most people would take hiring someone for a summer job more seriously than Senator McCain took the choice of Governor Palin."
Virginia Governor, Tim Kaine

New Ideas v. Experience.

In a CBS interview to air tonight Sarah Palin positioned Thursday's debate between her and Joe Biden as,
"he's got a tremendous amount of experience and, you know, I'm the new energy, the new face, the new ideas and he's got the experience based on many many years in the Senate and voters are gonna have a choice there of what it is that they want in these next four years."
Do you think she is aware of the dynamic at the top of the ticket.  She is after all the running mate of the old guy, John McCain.

Remedial Geography Needed.

First McCain thought Spain was in Latin America and now he has Venezuela in the Middle East. 

Cartoon Of The Day.

From Mr. Fish.

Grandpa McCain Comes to the Aid of Palin.

Now she can't even defend herself.

Happy Rosh Hashana!

From the candidates.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Light Blogging Ahead.


Not sure how much blogging I will be doing over the next week as my good friend from Germany, Sven-Uwe, farrives tomorrow. We'll be kicking around LA, eating our way around LA and I will still have to get a bit of work done. But, I suspect something crazy will happen (maybe the VP debate) that will give me something to bitch about. 

Good Job Bushie!

I've been quiet today as I've been working and I'll admit that the stock marketing and, the big subject for the day, the financial markets mess, is not my area of expertise. 

BUT, these numbers, comparing the day before Bush took office to today tell their own story.
January 19, 2001: 10,587.59
September 29, 2008: 10,365.45

NASDAQ Jan 19, 2001 = 2770.38
NASDAQ September 29, 2008 = 1983.73

CPI, January 19, 2001: 175
CPI, September 29, 2008: 219

Dollar exchange with Euro, January 19, 2001: 1.068
Dollar exchange with Euro, September 29, 2008: .695

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Putin Rears His Head.

Look out Alaska.

Wedding Bells To Change The Subject.

Not sure if I believe this but I wouldn't put it past the McCain campaign as they attempt to change the subject.  From The Times of London:
In an election campaign notable for its surprises, Sarah Palin, the Republican vice- presidential candidate, may be about to spring a new one -- the wedding of her pregnant teenage daughter to her ice-hockey-playing fiancé before the November 4 election.
Inside John McCain's campaign the expectation is growing that there will be a popularity boosting pre-election wedding in Alaska between Bristol Palin, 17, and Levi Johnston, 18, her schoolmate and father of her baby. "It would be fantastic," said a McCain insider. "You would have every TV camera there. The entire country would be watching. It would shut down the race for a week."

The Last Part of The Palin-Couric Interview from SNL.

Nightmare Scenario.

Register. Vote. To Avoid This.

"Act Your Age."

Here I go again, promoting a friend, but if you like great jazz, you won't want to miss Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band's new album called "Act Your Age," which comes out on Tuesday. You can check them out and sample their music here. The musicians are among some of the best musicians in LA, like trumpeter, Wayne Bergeron and saxophonist, Eric Marienthal. Plus, this album features classic performers like Patty Austin, Dave Grusin, Chick Corea and Lee Ritenour.

In my last job, the band helped me launch our product in Hong Kong with a fabulous concert (in 2005) and I love their music. I hope you will enjoy it too.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Outta Here.

Until tomorrow. 

Nothing much happening tonight that catches my wrath or curiosity anyway. I'm off with friends for a night of theater under the stars (oh I forgot we rarely see stars here in LA) at the Getty Villa, to see Agamemnon with Tyne Daly and Delroy Lindo. 

How bad can a warm September night of theater outdoors, across the highway from the ocean, be?

Hooray!




Having spent my childhood and teenage years in the Philadelphia area, I still have a bit of residual joy when the Phillies win a pennant

It happens so rarely.

The Least of These.

Paul Rosenberg, over at Open Left, has a post which attempts to put some focus on the most forgotten among us.
Yet, for all the talk about being "a Christian nation" we seem utterly determined to ignore what Jesus said. This is not just a nice "spiritual" admonition. In the process of demonizing criminals, we feed a process of starving what is best about us. We legitimize a punitive state, in place of one that seeks to develop the best in each of us. The prison/industrial complex grows as the welfare state shrinks.
His post is long, with charts and other info, but well worth reading all of it.

A Retrospective of Many Artists, All of Them One Woman.

I missed this NY Times review of my friend Cathy's show at the Guggenheim in NY. Now I just have to find a reason to get to NY before January.
Exclusion versus inclusion is one of Ms. Opie’s recurrent themes. After shooting freeways in 1995, she drove cross-country to photograph women living in domestic partnerships. The result was a group of deeply felt but unsentimental marriage portraits taken in living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms and back yards from San Francisco, to Tulsa, to New York; homages to families that America knew nothing about.

The bottom-line subject here, as elsewhere in Ms. Opie’s work, was community — elusive, longed-for, temporary, lost — and she addressed it again and with near-abstract subtlety in two landscape series. For one, she photographed a cluster of ice houses set up for fishing on a frozen lake in northern Minnesota. Two years later she took pictures of surfers waiting for waves to gather in becalmed California ocean water.

The Ralph Nader and Obama Girl Show.

For a Saturday afternoon laugh, watch this.

For The Youngsters.

We remember the Keating 5, which included John McCain. And, now he claims to be all in favor of regulation of the financial markets. I say what he said last night, "horsesh*t."

Quote For The Day.

"John McCain showed up without running mate Sarah Palin, which is a shame because she actually has a lot of experience with financial matters. You know, she lives right next to a bank."
--Jimmy Kimmel

Blinky.

What is wrong with him? I know there is a lot wrong but I am referring to his excessive blinking.

From a TPM reader who is a monkey scientist at a University comes this viewpoint.
I think people really are missing the point about McCain's failure to look at Obama. McCain was afraid of Obama. It was really clear--look at how much McCain blinked in the first half hour. I study monkey behavior--low ranking monkeys don't look at high ranking monkeys. In a physical, instinctive sense, Obama owned McCain tonight and I think the instant polling reflects that.

Big News In Mathematics.

Forget politics, don't you think this is the biggest news yet.
Mathematicians at UCLA have discovered a 13-million-digit prime number...
I tried to write the number out for you to see but I died trying.

One Angry Condescending Man.

Good Question.

From Joe Klein,
...one wonders what the McCain campaign would be doing to Obama today if Obama, instead of McCain, had made the major foreign policy factual errors of the debate--calling Pakistan a failed state when Musharraf took over and screwing up the name of Pakistan's new leader. (And, once again, McCain continued to insist that the flagrant Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the leader of Iran, even though there's another guy, Ali Khamenei, was actually has the title Supreme Leader and controls Iran's foreign policy and nuclear program. But then, as ever, McCain seems unwilling to change his locutions in this campaign, even when they are proven false.)

Look Me In The Eyes.

A lot of what America watched last night was impacted by the visual images.  Body language counts. Why can't McCain look Obama in the eyes? Even when shaking hands he looks away.
I remember in 1992 when I met Bill Clinton (briefly after a speech), the lasting impression I had was that when he shook my hand, I felt like I was the only one in the room, the only one he cared about. It's one of the reasons Clinton is so charismatic. How one greets others is a big part of how people react to others.  If you can't even look the person you are greeting in the eyes it says a lot about you.

"Horsesh*t."

At about 4:30 in this video is sure sounds like that was McCain's reaction.  Now that is presidential!

RIP.



On a very sad note, Paul Newman died last night. A long time favorite and great actor, he was one cool guy who starred in some great movies including--Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Sweet Bird of Youth, Hud, The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and one of my favorite movies of all time, Cool Hand Luke.  

Who Won?

I thought Obama won the debate but I doubt if anyone who reads this blog would be surprised by that. 

Even Fox's focus group of undecided voters gave the debate to Obama. Seems to me that if Barack moved independents and undecided voters than he won. Naturally Democrats thought Obama won and Republicans thought the same about McCain so it's those who are non-affiliated who mater most.

Friday, September 26, 2008

Dan Savage Wants To Be Sarah Palin's New Gay Friend.

Go Jack!

Watch Jack Cafferty react to Sarah Palin's interview with Katie Couric.

"I'm 65 and I've been covering politics for a long time. That is one of the most pathetic tapes I have ever seen from someone aspiring to one of the highest offices in this country. And that's all I have to say," 
- Jack Cafferty on the Couric-Palin interview

Changing The Subject To Infidelity.

Pet infidelity
Phyllis DeGioia didn’t mean to become the other woman.

It started innocently, with a kind gesture. The Madison, Wis., woman offered to care for a friend's cat for nine months while the owner, Susan Shalaby, was out of the country. DeGioia had every intention of returning the cat when her friend returned, but Chelsea had other ideas. After Shalaby came back, she moved in with DeGioia until she could find a place of her own and expected Chelsea to resume her place on her bed.

Who Is The Latte Sipping Elitist?

Cindy and John pictured as they leave for Oxford, Mississippi today.

McCain Utterly Confused.


Why does this pool report not surprise me?
McCain now boarding plane at DCA with Cindy, Salter, Rudy Giuliani, wife Judith, and other aides plus pool.
Heading to Memphis, 1:50 minute flight, then motorcade to site
General atmosphere is utter confusion.

Truth Spotted On Twitter.

I'm just so confused by McCain's antics over the past 48 hours. But, this was spotted on twitter (full post refers to Associated Press but the letter count automatically cut it off at the right place, don't you think):

Cartoon Of The Day.

Tom Toles, Washington Post

Thursday, September 25, 2008

She Is Borderline Incoherent.

Watch Palin's answer to Katie Couric's question about the Wall Street bailout. 

Now The Debate Can Go On, Right?



Imagine that.  All without McCain sticking his politically motivated nose in to screw things up.

Schlep To Florida.

Funny Sarah Silverman video urging youth to visit the grandmother in Florida. 

The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.

New Obama Ad On The Economy.

Good and to the point.

How Serious Can He Be?

After a week, he still hasn't read the 3-page Paulson plan.

Drama Queen.

Mickey Kaus summarizes McCain's reaction to various crisis.
No convention today! ... OK, it's on! ... The economy's sound... No, wait, it's going to fall apart unless I go to Washington tomorrow! ... We need a commission! ... We need to fire somebody! ... Get me Andrew Cuomo! ... I want ten more debates! ... But let's postpone the one we've scheduled! ... Do you get the impression a McCain presidency would be a bit exhausting? ...

Cartoon Of The Day. WMDII.

Texting While Driving.

I used to be guilty of this but not anymore. Schwarzenegger does a good thing, making our streets a bit safer come January.  Now if we can only stop women from putting on makeup while driving.

How Does McCain Handle A Crisis?

From Rachel Maddow (my new favorite MSNBC political show) comes this great summary of the McCain campaign.
When Russia was invading Georgia, McCain rushed in, we're all Georgians, let's rumble with Russia! As Hurricane Gustav bore down on New Orleans, he partially cancelled the Republican convention. When Obama fared well at his convention, McCain's response was to throw the ultimate hail Mary pass and choose Sarah Palin, an inexperienced governor, even though his entire campaign was built around criticizing his opponent's inexperience. Economy in chaos? Wall St. in turmoil? McCain now says let's fire the chairman of the SEC in the middle of the crisis. And now that there's a big proposed Wall St. bailout plan, McCain has out hail-Mary'd himself. Suspend the campaigns! post-pone the debate!
If you haven't watched Rachel, or even if you have, read this profile in today's NY Times. She is a breath of fresh air for progressives.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Less Than 4 Months Left...

...of Bush coming into my home and making me barf at dinnertime. 

3BlueDudes.

Here's an interesting site for political junkies that shows the election projections from 78 different websites. 

Currently only 5 sites have McCain ahead, 5 show it a tie and the rest show Obama winning.

Quote For The Day II.

"What are you going to do if you're elected and things get tough? Suspend being president? We've got a guy like that now!"
--David Letterman
September 24, 2008

McCain Suspends The Election.

This could be The Onion news story tomorrow.
Saying the issues confronting America "are too important for partisan politics," Senator John McCain today suspended the 2008 presidential election and said he would assume the presidency on Monday to begin the hard work of governing.

"At this time of domestic and foreign peril, the American people deserve better than a nasty partisan campaign," McCain said in a statement today. "That is why I am suspending this race with Senator Obama and moving into the White House this weekend. My friends, it is time to put governing ahead of petty politics once and for all."

All Hell Breaks Loose.


I go away for a few hours, to the doctor and lunch, and the political "shit hits the fan." 

John McCain tries another gimmick--postponing campaigning and the first debate, like the Palin VP nomination gimmick. You tell me which candidate has been steady at the helm this past 10 days and which one has been reacting like a rank amateur. I guess if you were McCain you would look for any port in the storm.

Jonathan Chait has this to say:
Coming on the heels of George Will's devastating assessment of McCain's temperament, I wonder if an impression is hardening that McCain is too much of a risk-taker to be trusted as president. McCain's romaticism and flair for the dramatic is fun and thrilling, but kind of scary.

Quote For The Day.


Regarding Sarah Palin's VP nomination.
It's all hot-sauce but no catfish.
--Ta-Nehisi Coates

New Foreign Policy Expertise Standard.



Joe Sudbury, at AmericaBlog asks "the" foreign policy question of Joe Biden.
Can you see a foreign country from Delaware? I don't think so.

Duh.

This is news?
And, does anyone care who Lindsey Lohan dates?

I can't wait until the sexual orientation of anyone, celebrity, politician or just common folk, isn't something worth wasting news space.  Not sure I will see that day but I hope so.

Sexist Treatment Of Sarah Palin.

Watch Campbell Brown call out the McCain campaign on their sexist treatment of Sarah Palin as a wilting flower.  "Free Sarah Palin."

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

From One Old Fart To Another.

You're too old to be president, John.


Senile Dementia is marked by a number of symptoms, including, but not limited to: signs of memory loss and language difficulties, confusion and loss of attention span, inappropriate behavior and impaired judgment, irritability or emotional agitation, and physical coordination problems and physical confusion.

Scary Chart.

Here's an illustration to give you an indication of the relative size of the Wall Street Bailout (from Propublica). Click on the link for history of all the bailouts.

Cool Video.

A self-photo a day for 17 years.

Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan

CEO Murdered By Mob.

With the past weeks financial messes revealed, could this happen in the US?

John McCain's Executive Incompetence.

Well said Andrew (in reaction to George Will's column referenced below).
We forget that McCain has no executive experience, just as Obama has no executive experience. But in terms of judgment, of selection of a running mate, of calm in crisis, of a smooth operation, it is McCain who is revealing his total inexperience and unreadiness for the job, not Obama. In fact, there is no comparison. One campaign is chaotic, secretive, impulsive, unpredictable and losing. The other is supremely well-run, as transparent as a campaign can be, unflappable, very predictable, and winning. I know which man I'd prefer to be runing the country in a crisis. Not hotheaded, mercurial, impulsive, gambling McCain.

Today's Laugh From Chris Rock.

Rock rocked on last night's Letterman show, following the Big Dog. On Hillary Clinton's loss:"Oooh the power got her." Funny on Palin too.

Is Pakistan The Coming October Surprise.

Read this article in today's LA Times.  It sure seems like Pakistan is about to explode.

Sarah Palin's Twelve Lies.


Andrew Sullivan documents Palin's lying ways.  The bottom line:
You cannot trust a word she says. On anything.

Marriage For All.

New "No On 8" commercial. 

Up Is Down, Down Is Up.

This new McCain ad is complete nonsense. Who is leading the congressional effort to pass the wall street bailout bill--Sen. Dodd and Congressman Frank, both Obama allies.  And, didn't Obama layout his principals last week when McCain was flailing about?

I know little about the economy, and don't have anything intelligent to add about what is happening in the financial markets, but I do no stupid when I see it.  And, this ad is an effort to fool the American people into thinking night is day and up is down.

85 Days.

That's all the experience Sarah Palin has as Alaska's chief executive. Just 85 days working in the state capital.  Great preparation for vice-president.

Off With His Head!

Longtime conservative columnist, George Will, provides his take on the two candidates reaction to the fiscal crisis. And, it's a doozy. 
Under the pressure of the financial crisis, one presidential candidate is behaving like a flustered rookie playing in a league too high. It is not Barack Obama.
*****
Conservatives who insist that electing McCain is crucial usually start, and increasingly end, by saying he would make excellent judicial selections. But the more one sees of his impulsive, intensely personal reactions to people and events, the less confidence one has that he would select judges by calm reflection and clear principles, having neither patience nor aptitude for either.

It is arguable that, because of his inexperience, Obama is not ready for the presidency. It is arguable that McCain, because of his boiling moralism and bottomless reservoir of certitudes, is not suited to the presidency. Unreadiness can be corrected, although perhaps at great cost, by experience. Can a dismaying temperament be fixed?

Monday, September 22, 2008

Animal Lovers For Obama.

Breaking a tradition of not endorsing a candidate, the Humane Society has endorsed Obama for President.  Palin's nomination didn't help.
While McCain's positions on animal protection have been lukewarm, his choice of running mate cemented our decision to oppose his ticket. Gov. Sarah Palin's (R-Alaska) retrograde policies on animal welfare and conservation have led to an all-out war on Alaska's wolves and other creatures. Her record is so extreme that she has perhaps done more harm to animals than any other current governor in the United States.

A Tender Moment With Sarah Palin.

Basketball v. Nap. Who Wins The Debate Prep.

Help Tina Fay Get Her Wish.


Vote Obama.
"I want to be done playing this lady Nov. 5. So if anybody can help me be done playing this lady Nov. 5, that would be good for me."
Tina Fay, September 21, 2008

Sunday, September 21, 2008

If Only He Could Be.



Josh Marshall wants to be a fly on the wall at this meeting.  I hope he takes a camera and/or tape recorder.

McCain's Too Old And Un-Presidential.

From ABC's This Week.

No Blank Check For Wall Street.

Barack Obama, today in Charlotte, when talking about the probable $1,000,000,000,000 Wall Street bailout had this to say.  
As of now, the Bush Administration has only offered a concept with a staggering price tag, not a plan. Even if the U.S. Treasury recovers some or most of its investment over time, this initial outlay of up to $700 billion is sobering. And in return for their support, the American people must be assured that the deal reflects the basic principles of transparency, fairness, and reform.

First, there must be no blank check when American taxpayers are on the hook for this much money.

Second, taxpayers shouldn’t be spending a dime to reward CEOs on Wall Street.

Third, taxpayers should be protected and should be able to recoup this investment.

Fourth, this plan has to help homeowners stay in their homes.

Fifth, this is a global crisis, and the United States must insist that other nations join us in helping secure the financial markets.

Sixth, we need to start putting in place the rules of the road I’ve been calling for for years to prevent this from ever happening again.

And finally, this plan can’t just be a plan for Wall Street, it has to be a plan for Main Street. We have to come together, as Democrats and Republicans, to pass a stimulus plan that will put money in the pockets of working families, save jobs, and prevent painful budget cuts and tax hikes in our states.
Is this enough? We can't just give away tax payer money to banks without protecting the people.

Read the official Obama Campaign statement and their 7 point plan.

McCain 13, Obama 1.

That's the number of cars the two candidates own (including Cindy and Michelle) according to Newsweek. I guess this makes Obama an elitist.

How many cars do you own?

A Sunday Morning McCain Spoof From SNL.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Eve Harrington Redux.

Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post makes an apt comparison of Sarah Palin to Eve Harrington in the classic Betty Davis movie, "All About Eve."

When I first saw the clip, I couldn't help but think, once again, of Sarah Palin's big-screen doppelgänger, Eve Harrington. Remember, she's the struggling and striving actress who befriended star Margo Channing, and used that association in an aggressive climb to the top of the theater world, in the 1950 movie "All About Eve." And if Palin is Eve, McCain is most definitely Margo.

Voter Made Ad Of The Day.

Original Storyboards Found Of McCain Wall Street Ad.

Paul Rosenberg has found this McCain ad storyboard. Click on the storyboard for a larger version.

Obama v. McCain On This Week's Financial Crisis.

To me the choice is obvious.  Obama is the more presidential, more statesman-like, more thoughtful, intelligent and steady. 

Friday, September 19, 2008

A Real Fish Story.

Pick Up Lines For International Talk Like A Pirate Day.


From John at AmericaBlog.  Check out all 10 but here's number 1.
the number one pickup line for use on International Talk Like a Pirate Day is

1. Prepare to be boarded.

Wow. Health Care To Believe In. Not.

Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation.

Keith Olberman Special Comment Parody.

A non-political video to start the weekend. 
Double meat, sir! Pretty funny.

Question And Answer.

Do you still want to privatize social security?  Watch Jack Cafferty ask and his viewers answer.

Palin And The Rape Kits.

Quote For The Day.

"I met one older Republican man who was voting for McCain because he thought he’d been to the moon."

John McCain's Top Ten Reasons To Attack Spain.

From Pinko Magazine.
10. 1992 Summer Games: WORST. OLYMPICS. EVER.
9. Tapas.
8. Spanish Government banned illegal downloads of Cindy’s favorite album, Global House Diva, Volume 2: Live in Ibiza.
7. Immigrants flooding Texas and New Mexico. Can’t they manage their own border?
6. I WAS A POW ILL ATTACK WHO I WANT. INCOMING.
5. Compañero de cuarto de papa, the Spanish version of Daddy’s Roommate, rocketed to #4 on Spanish Amazon.
4. Sarah Palin saw it from the window of her plane to Kuwait and she just didn’t like what she saw.
3. “You rhyme the name of your country with my last name I’ll fuck you up.”
2. Pesky rule requiring America to defend the territorial integrity of fellow NATO allies elitist, sexist.
1. That trollop Penelope Cruz.

The Two McCains In "Change Is Coming."

"I Make Two Gallons Of Gas An Hour."

Light blogging (in all likelihood) today and tomorrow as I am away from my computer and celebrating a birthday (not mine).  BUT, I leave you for now with a great ad by Vote For Change.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Zapa What? No, Not Frank Zapa.

The Guardian gives John McCain a course on Foreign Policy.
So, to clarify matters for McCain: Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is the lefty prime minister of Spain. The Zapatistas are armed revolutionaries who have declared war on the government of Mexico. Zippy is an irascible non-human character in the children's TV series Rainbow, and Captain Zep was the star of an awesome 1980s British children's sci-fi drama. Franco Zeffirelli is a celebrated Italian film director who I once pretended to know the first thing about in order not to look stupid in a conversation in a restaurant.

Promoting A Friend, Not That She Needs My Good Word.

If you are in NY between September 26, 2008 and January 7, 2009, go see my friend Cathy's show at the Guggenheim. I traveled to Japan in 1994 with Cathy and had a great time. She teaches at UCLA, is a terrific person and world class photographer. I'm lucky to have a portrait she did of me hanging in my home.

Here is what the museum's website says about her work:
Since the early 1990s, Catherine Opie has produced a complex body of photographic work, creating series of images that explore notions of communal, sexual, and cultural identity. From her early portraits of queer subcultures to her expansive urban landscapes, Opie has offered profound insights into the conditions in which communities form and the terms in which they are defined. All the while she has maintained a strict formal rigor, working in lush and provocative color as well as richly toned black and white. Influenced by social documentary photographers such as Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, and August Sander, Opie underscores and elevates the poignant yet unsettling veracity of her subjects.
You won't be disappointed.

Palin Pledges To Pass Law Obama Already Sponsored.

From Wonkette comes this gem from Ms. Palin.
Sarah Palin likes to tell voters around the country about how she "put the government checkbook online" in Alaska. On Thursday, Palin suggested she would take that same proposal to Washington.
"We're going to do a few new things also," she said at a rally in Cedar Rapids. "For instance, as Alaska's governor, I put the government's checkbook online so that people can see where their money's going..."

There's just one problem with proposing to put the federal checkbook online - somebody's already done it. His name is Barack Obama.

Palin-McCain Administration?

Sarah Palin has now claimed top billing to John McCain.  I know she is the star attraction and the crowd begin to dissipate when McCain starts to speak but come on.  

A Man Of The People.


First de Rothschild and now Trump.  
McCain gets the endorsement of all the common folk.

The Rain In Spain Falls Mainly On McCain.

I think Spain is in Europe not Latin America, John.
Late Wednesday night, news made its way from the other side of the Atlantic that John McCain, in an interview with a Spanish outlet, had made a series of bizarre responses to a question regarding that country's prime minister.

"Would you be willing to meet with the head of our government, Mr. Zapatero?" the questioner asked, in an exchange now being reported by several Spanish outlets.

McCain proceeded to launch into what appeared to be a boilerplate declaration about Mexico and Latin America -- but not Spain -- pressing the need to stand up to world leaders who want to harm America.

"I will meet with those leaders who are our friends and who want to work with us cooperatively," according to one translation. The reporter repeated the question two more times, apparently trying to clarify, but McCain referred again to Latin America.

Finally, the questioner said, "Okay, but I'm talking about Europe -- the president of Spain, would you meet with him?" The Senator offered only a slight variance to his initial comment. "I will reunite with any leader that has the same principles and philosophy that we do: human rights, democracy, and liberty. And I will confront those that don't [have them]."


UPDATE:  Just checked the map. From my reading of this map, I think Spain is in Europe.  What about you?

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Lady de Rothschild v. Rednecks.

Lady de Rothschild, McCain's new supporter, calls American workers "rednecks."  Nice going. And, you claim Obama is elitist. How long until she gets thrown under the bus.

Quote For The Day.

"John McCain wants to take on the Old Boys Network. The Old Boys Network? In the McCain campaign, that's called a staff meeting."
Barack Obama 
September 17, 2008 
Elko, Nevada

AFL-CIO Election Mailer.


See it all here.

Christians Need To Shake Things Up.

The wonderful Professor Peter Gomes, a Baptist preacher and theologian (who came out as a gay man in 1992) who teaches at Harvard, hits up the Colbert Report to promote his new book, The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus. He reinforces something I've been thinking about for a while, that Jesus turned things upside down, shook things up, was a rupture to the system (thanks Barry). And, that we Christians need to do the same.  Change is good!
"Churches today are not agents of change, they are agents of conservatism."
Watch the video.

McCain's Straight Talk Express Driver Speaks.

Denied Communion For Endorsing Obama.

Doug Kmiec is a former Reagan administration official and Catholic pro-life scholar. He recently endorsed Barack Obama on the grounds that Obama cared more about the full range of "life" issues and because Kmiec believes that Obama's "abortion reduction" agenda will have more impact on abortion in the short run than the traditional battles against Roe v. Wade. He was recently denied communion by a Catholic Priest for his views. Read his account of this here.
But I was not to receive the Eucharist that evening. The couples who stood in line before my wife and myself received the body of Christ in their hands or on their tongues and returned to their seats. My wife received. My hand outstretched, the priest shook his head from side to side. Was that a no? It was Judgment Day, and I hadn't made it. LSAT Insufficient. Inadequate GPA. Do not pass GO...go directly to Hell.

*****

From the back of the Communion line someone shouted out, "Are you judging this man, Father?" I was grateful for the intervention. Will the Last Day be like this? One friend making an appeal for another? The response was cold: "He has judged himself and been found unworthy."

With no further appeal possible and with my wife exiting in confusion, tears, and offended embarrassment, I returned to my place along. My place? Did I have a place any longer? Was I expected to leave? The double significance of losing the body of Christ--of not having ingested and no longer standing among "the body"--was suddenly all I could think of. Condemned for announcing to the world that I intended to vote for a man who I thought lived the Beatitudes. A black man; a caring man; a talented man. A man different from conservative self and yet calling me to find the best of that self. A man who, in so many ways, asks to care for the least advantaged as he seeks the public responsibility to carry with him, as if it was his own burden the plight of the marginalized and unemployed worker, the uninsured, the widowed mother grieving over a son lost in Iraq. Their hurts, far worse than mine. It was wrong to be damned; to be excluded from the grace of the sacrament of the Lord Jesus Christ, and all I could think was the old Tolstoy folk wisdom "God knows the truth, but waits."
The bold highlighted text is mine and, speaking for me, a big reason I am so strongly supporting Barack Obama.

Joke For The Day.

Sarah Palin is touring rural America in a chauffeur-driven Lexus. Suddenly a cow jumps out into the road, they hit it and the car comes to a stop.

Mrs Palin, in her usual charming manner, says to the chauffeur: "You get out and check - you were driving."

The chauffeur gets out, checks and reports that the animal is dead.

"You were driving; go and tell the farmer!" says Mrs Palin.

Five hours later, the chauffeur returns disheveled, drunk out of his head and with a big grin on his face.

"Goodness! What happened to you," asks Mrs Palin.

The chauffeur replies: "When I got there, the farmer opened his best bottle of whiskey, his wife gave me a slap up meal and their daughter made love to me.

What on earth did you say?" asks his boss.

"I knocked on the door, and when they answered I said to them, 'I'm Sarah Palin's chauffeur and I've just killed the cow.'"
Don't blame me, I nicked it from Mad Priest, who modified a Cherie Blair joke.

Who Is The Elitist?

So former Clinton supporter Lady de Rothschild will endorse John McCain, claiming Obama is an elitist. Priceless!  As Ta-Nehisi Coates says:
When a gazillionaire who insists on being IDed as "Lady" can call a black dude from the South Side, whose mother had him as a teenager an elitist, the word has no meaning.

How Does McCain Get Away With Lying?

Watch and listen to Matt Welch give his take.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Photo Of The Day.

He Pingping of Inner Mongolia, China's autonomous region, the world's smallest man, sits on the lap of Svetlana Pankratova of Russia, the Queen of Longest Legs, as they pose at Trafalgar Square in London on Tuesday.

Barack Is In The Hood.

It's going to be hot tonight in the neighborhood. Barack is in the house. Or at least 3 blocks from the Old Fart's apartment. Maybe I will take the dog for a walk about 7:30 and see what I can see.

UPDATE: Walked down the street and all I could see were TV cameras, lots of limos and excited people entering the hotel. It was still early but I didn't want the secret service to shoot me. 

Now the helicopters are beginning to circle overhead.

Is He "McHoover?"

Referring to McCain's comment that the fundamentals of the economy are strong, Chris Matthews compares John McCain to Herbert Hoover.

Obama Today On McCain's Economic Views.

McCain is for four more years of the same.  It's Bush 2--the failed sequel. 



Or watch the whole speech:

Congratulations Joan!

On Thursday in Nashville, Baez will receive the Spirit of Americana Free Speech award from the Americana Music Association in recognition of her half-century of contributions to American music and the First Amendment.
Read a great post about her, her music and her peacemaking from God Girl.

The Amniocentesis Question Sarah Palin Needs To Answer.

Andrew Sullivan (a pro lifer himself) asks a good question of Sarah Palin.
So why would a pro-life woman choose the procedure that could lead to the death of her unborn child rather than the safe, less invasive procedure? I don't know. It's one of many mystifying weirdnesses in Palin's own account of her pregnancy. Why do you need to know for sure that your baby has DS (Down Syndrome) when it could mean a small risk of killing the child that you're determined to keep alive?

Who Are John McCain's "My Friends?"