Duck Goes Moo!

I was poking around the internet when I saw a big headline on Google News stating, “McCain Suspends Campaign”.

What? Huh? Who? Is he okay? Is his heath failing? Did Palin betray another superior who helped her political career out?

But when I clicked on the link I then saw that McCain was calling a temporary halt to the campaign so he could rush to Washington D.C. and “help”. He’s also calling a halt to the debates.

Stranger yet, Obama claims that he called McCain before all of this and they agreed to announce together that they were both going to work on the issue. The McCain campaign insists this is not true and this was McCain’s idea and his idea only.

Wow, David Letterman and Stephen Colbert are sounding more and more alike with each passing day.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/us/general_election_mccain_vs_obama-225.html

The McCain campaign has been skyrocketing ever since Palin was revealed as the GOP veep and Obama has been falling in the polls, but in the past few days the McCain campaign has begun to lose its luster and fall down in the polls with his opponent.

Obama has not shown any gains, but he has started to stabilize in the polls. Will he surface again as the lead or remain in statistical dead heat with McCain? The upcoming debate Friday will most likely decide where the polls go next.

By the way, here is a great site that exposes lies and mis-truths told by both campaigns: FactCheck.org

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/opinion/14friedman.html?ex=1379044800&en=c3c37388fe4618aa&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

A must read for everyone, though the only people who will be receptive to it will be those already voting for Obama. Anyone who would be for McCain will most likely shut themselves off from the what Thomas Friedman has to say, so as well put and poignant as this article is it will not really change the minds of anyone.

As my friend Ben posted, it seems the GOP is the party that tells you what to think and the Democratic party that tells you things that make you think. Not everyone wants to think and its hard to rally a base with something that is up for interpretation rather than a simple “Drill, Baby, Drill” or deafening chant of “USA!!! USA!!!” to drown out the any other thoughts or opposing views.

Still, I stand by my earlier comment that there is nothing in the platform and ideas of either party that is inherently less intelligent or based in reality; it is the nature of the campaigns in which the difference can be found.

The GOP are waging a campaign based upon culture, as they have for the past couple of decades. The Democrats, on the other hand, are still waging a standard campaign based upon political positions and specific organizations instead of the cultures they belong to.

By playing off of culture specifically, the GOP are able to deafen the ears of whole masses of people to any other opposing viewpoints. No need to argue intellectually why certain things must be done, just make the other viewpoints harder for others to listen to by making yours seem so simple and obvious in comparison to the viewpoints backed by data and open discussion.

This is not to say that the GOP positions cannot be backed by data and discussion, just that generally there is no attempt to do so. There are some noted conservative intellectuals, but they’re generally not mentioned in lieu of gimmicky slogans and Rovean tactics.

But, if it works it works… right? Well, you may win the elections but in the end the tactics employed by the GOP end up dumbing down America and furthering cultural divides. People end up losing interest in politics and start having arguments with empty talking points and slogans instead of exchanging ideas and coming up with new concepts on how things can be done.

This is why I want Obama to win the presidency, beyond the fact that I agree with the majority of his platform and what he has to say. I do not want another campaign based upon culture instead of ideas to win. The culture wars are destroying what is best in America and hinder the natural, Darwinian evolution of ideas and positions. It dumbs down every argument and makes politics unpalletable and incomprehensible to the public.

Unless, of course, my cultural values are blinding me to the fact that the Democrats are waging the exact same kind of campaign as the GOP. Generally, someone who belongs to a certain culture is completely blind to when others use aspects and icons of their own culture to fool them.

Wow, people have said that Sarah Palin looks just like Tina Fey, and to see Tina Fey play Sarah Palin it even more so drives in the point. All Tina Fey had to do is do up her hair and put on a red dress and, voila, she looks just like her.

http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/palin-hillary-open/656281/

Note: you have to watch a commercial first to see the the SNL clip.

It’s not a joke. Fran Drescher, star of “The Nanny”, has been chosen by Condoleezza Rice to become the nasal, Queens-accented voice of America.

“She will support US public diplomacy efforts, including working with health organisations and women’s groups to raise awareness of women’s health issues, cancer awareness and detection, and patient empowerment and advocacy”

Drescher is a cancer survivor and started an organization called the “Cancer Schmancer Movement”.

I usually like to have something more classy and witty to say about something I dislike, but my immediate reaction upon seeing this political cartoon was: wow, what a douche.

Oh, I see Mr. Asay, how horrible of the Democrats to not do anything to help out with New Orleans during their national convention, even though the hurricane took place after it was over, and even though the democrats did raise money and help after Gustav struck.

And of course, you drew the democrats drinking and going crazy, even though the biggest party at the conventions this year was at the RNCC, held by lobbyist Glenn LeMunyon.

Most especially, lets not even think about the fact that the headlining band at the grand ol’ lobbyist party was called “Hookers and Blow”.

Chuck Asay does indeed have some clever spoofs and jabs at both parties… but come on, this is outrageous. Most of his comics are better than this.

Well, I still like him better than Glenn McCoy, who’s idea of political humor comes right out of the annals of yellow journalism and bathroom wall scribbles:

Glenn McCoy, is indeed a big bag of douche, and seems to be in need of professional help.

This just in, McCain has taken the lead in the presidential race.

Also, in related news, I spent the entire day playing Spore.

Okay people, it’s politics season, so if you’re getting tired of all the political postings you better strap in because it going to get a lot worse from here on.

After watching the last day of the RNCC I needed to recharge my mood a bit. Thankfully, Jon Stewart (or his writing team) have been busy with the haha and the very, very poignant political jabs:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=184086&title=sarah-palin-gender-card

Note: you’ll have to wait through the commercials, but it’s worth it.

EDIT:

Actually, I have found the clip on the YouTube, most likely to be pulled soon:

FURTHER EDIT:

Even better, today’s Daily Show:

Polls lately show little gain for McCain, but a major drop for Obama:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com

We’ll see how tonight’s speech by McCain affects things and how things develop over the next few weeks before the first big debate.

I’m once again watching the RNCC, causing me to shout at the TV again. I may not like what they say, but I do want to at least hear them out and see how they are going to be selling the McCain presidency.

Still, I will say this: There is a profound difference between genuine patriotism and collective narcissism.

Well, I just got done watching today’s session of the GOP convention. There was a lot of Obama bashing, as expected, and Giuliani delivered quite a few blows in his speech. One of them implying that Obama hates towns like the one that Palin came from because it isn’t “cosmopolitan” enough for him: “I’m sorry, Barack, that it’s not flashy enough. Maybe they cling to religion there”, he said, playing off Obama’s clumsy comments about problems with closed-mindedness in rural areas.

Giuliani continued a common thread that most of the GOP have been following since Clinton withdrew and Palin came onto the scene: insist that the Dems are sexist and hate working mothers. He wagged his finger angrily and condemned the Democratic party for attacking Palin’s ability to lead because she has children.

He said, “How dare they question whether Sarah Palin has enough time to spend with her children and be vice president. When do they ever ask a man that question?”

Okay… who in the Democratic party has raised this issue? Give me a name or give me it a rest. The only voices even mentioning anything about this issue are the ones carrying the GOP talking points in their pockets. There, I’ve said it.

Giuliani also said, “You have a resume from a gifted man with an Ivy League education. He worked as a community organizer … What?”

Well, whatever Rudy, people in the crowd seemed really roused by that one along with thousand of other zingers about how Obama’s work to help impoverished families and churches in the south side of Chicago to have a voice in America is something to laugh at. Just keep on insisting that Obama is an elitist who is out of touch with the poor if that makes you so happy.

The main show that day was of course Palin, who indeed gave an incredible speech, but I of course didn’t agree with or like much of what she had to say, being a liberal supporting Obama.

She definitely seems to have won over those in the GOP, or at least those in the stadium that night. Her role as the attack dog (or barracuda, as she is known in Alaska) is in place and she gave a ripping series of attacks on Obama. We’ll see how well Obama defends himself against these attacks in the coming days.

Some of her quotes, the first of which is the standard “the media is run by liberals and they are in cahoots with the elitist villains in the government” line:

“I’ve learned quickly these last few days that if you’re not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.”

“I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer,’ except that you have actual responsibilities.”

“Victory in Iraq is finally in sight … he wants to forfeit.”

and of course, the baffling:

“Al-Qaida terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America … he’s worried that someone won’t read them their rights.”

Huh? What? What on Earth is this statement based off of?

Still, I think we may indeed have a rousing series of debates ahead of us, and with Palin and Biden as the Veeps, I hope that we have more than one Vice Presidential debate this season.

I think that both conventions show that this country is far from deciding who our next president will be and that we have a very, very exciting two months ahead of us as this presidential election year comes to a close.

GAME ON!!!

I watched a lot of the GOP convention today, and I was reminded of something a great American author and playwright one time said:

“When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in a flag and holding a cross.”

I was okay with the celebration of the military, the prayer sessions, and the saluting of the flag… but when they started saying things like, “Bush has kept us safe for seven years by staying on the offense”, it just started to irk me something awful.

It’s frighteningly similar to what I’ve read in history books, and in some fictional books like “1984″. Here is a quote from the Wikipedia entry on “Perpetual War”:

The 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell was written from the viewpoint of a citizen of one of three fictional world-dominating superstates. These nations are in a state of perpetual war with each other. The state of war is used by each of the states to justify the control of their populations using Stalinist or other methods. By artificially creating fear and hate of an enemy, the actual existence of which is never made completely certain, the governments provided an excuse for their failures and, in the case of Oceania, enforced obedience to Big Brother. Moreover, eternal war formed the bedrock of the economy, as people could be kept busy manufacturing goods that would not improve their living standards, but would instead be destroyed on the battlefields. Thus perpetual war not only kept the population busy, it also encouraged a “siege mentality” in which hatred of the enemy and love for the government’s protection were social norms. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perpetual_war

I’m not saying this is what is going on, but some of the people and the things they said at the GOP convention smacked a little similar.

There was the complete and total denial of any past mistakes on behalf of the administration, the rewriting of history (for example, Bush saying that McCain never cracked when he was being held as a PoW. McCain did crack and bend to their will, McCain has said so in his interviews), and the repeated phrase “we must stay on the offense to keep America safe” with no mention of an end or an enemy to be fighting, and how people kept repeating the idea that Bush has kept us safe all this time.

It can’t really be as bad as it seemed. It must be the liberal media twisting the events to make it look creepy… even though all the media companies are owned by conservatives and I was watching it on FOX News.

Oy, I think I’ll stick to my silly elephant and donkey cartoons and stop with the conspiracy theories before I scare myself sick.

I watched some of this last night.

Hoo boy, this is wonky politicking at its best. Watching Carville and Bachmann go at it was more fun that I’ve had in a long time. From Bachmann’s frozen smile to Carville’s looks of utter befuddlement I giggled myself silly.

Though I admit I was a bit creeped out and offended by Bachmann.

For one, she looked like she just got back from a Scientology rundown session. She just kept this frozen smile and stare, almost completely motionless during the whole debate. I wonder if she really was just trying to show a contrast between her and the sneering, frowning Carville.

Second, there was how she kept pretending to be offended by the things Carville said. Anytime Carville expressed a different opinion than her or tried to explain his viewpoint she would then say she was offended, say that Carville was being sexist, and then blather on in her consistent, rhythmic talking style to make sure that Carville couldn’t get a word in refute her charges of sexism.

Michelle Bachmann, I have taken feminism classes, I have studied and read about feminists. You, madam, are no feminist.

I mean, really, she kept insisting that Carville was the one being demeaning when it was really her who was being demeaning to women. How dare she co-opt the long and painful struggle for equal rights and treatment for women to defend the GOP’s poor choice of a Veep? I imagine all of her talking points and accusations of sexism were all scripted out and planned, the idea being to keep souring the Dems in the minds of women everywhere.

Do Michelle Bachmann and the GOP think that women are so weak-willed and gullible that they would fall for such an obvious political ploy? Now that is demeaning.

Lately Obama has surged up higher in the polls than he ever has before. Now almost half of those polled say they want Obama to be our next president:

RealClearPolitics.com Poll Chart

But hold on, let’s wait and see how things fair after the GOP convention this week. McCain might experience a similar bump and take the lead. We’ll see tonight if Bush and Cheney speaking on his behalf helps or not. Conservative policy wonks are saying that the pick of Palin is energizing their base and that women are swarming to their ticket… but no polls really seem to reflect that at all.

They’ve even gone as far as to lie about whether or not people clapped for her.

In her grand introduction she mentioned how she was in the great tradition of women who break the glass ceiling like Geraldine Ferraro and Hillary Clinton… and the people booed.

This morning a conservative guest on NPR insisted that they all clapped when she mentioned their names.

Hey, I watched that speech live. Don’t tell me that people clapped when I heard them boo. Feh!

I finally realized who Sarah Palin reminds me of: Laura Roslin.

This is indeed an interesting parallel, as Roslin was a person of very little experience suddenly thrust into being the president of the surviving human race after the cylon holocaust. So that’s the GOP’s plan, they’re not trying to win over female voters, their trying to get the sci-fi geek vote.

Of course, one of the main love stories in BSG (among way, way too many) is that of Adama and Roslin:

But of course nothing like this would ever happen between McCain and Palin… or at least not likely:

Well, I suppose in a way McCain does look a little like Adama:

But wait… who am I fooling. McCain looks a lot more like Saul Tigh:

And their stories are so much alike. Saul was tortured horrifically in an enemy internment camp, just like McCain. They’re both old and balding and at times strangely silly. Though I imagine that McCain isn’t a cylon… unless some insane political stunt was pulled and the RNC paid Ronald Moore a billion dollars to make McCain the final cylon.

Wow, who would of thought it. The choice for VP on the GOP ticket is not Romney, Pawlenty, nor Huckabee, but is instead the Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, a self described “hockey mom”.

A very interesting choice, besides the obvious reason being to try to lure in female voters who are disgruntled with Clinton not being the nominee or getting the VP slot, though Palin is most likely not going to be most Clinton-voters had in mind as the first female VP or Prez.

She’s against abortion, even in cases of rape or incest. She wants to drill Anwar, loves automatic weapons, and wants creationism taught in schools. Though she did fight against the “Bridge to Nowhere” and won against the powerful Ted Stevens.

Once again a very bold and interesting choice, and apparently one that is all part of the “make the GOP seem like the party of change and the Dems the party of empty talk” campaign strategy that all the conservative pundits are now pushing forward with, including Ben Stein.

I had forgotten that Ben Stein started out as a campaign writer for Nixon, but have now been abruptly reminded of how wonkish he can be. He was on Larry King last night talking about how negative and underhanded the Obama campaign is being, and how McCain has not run one political ad that went negative or said anything defacing about Obama’s character.

When Larry King reminded Stein about the “Celebrity Ad” and others like it, Stein replied that those ads were not negative or any sort of attack ad as they were accurate in their portrayal of Obama. Wow…

Still, there may have been indeed some truth stretching in Obama’s big speech last night, which is something the GOP pundits have stressed. FactCheck.org dissects his speech and picks out the parts which may have been less than fully forthcoming.

None-the-less, with both Veeps chosen and the debates ahead, it looks like the next two months are going to be quite a roller coaster ride of politics and punditry.

Ah, ’tis the season to be wonky.

I just got done watching Michelle Obama give a speech at the DNC, and I have to say she gave an incredibly impassioned and powerful presentation, perhaps almost as good as the speeches of her husband. It got me thinking that perhaps the idea was to start off the DNC with Michelle to perhaps win some of the Hillary fans away to worship another strong woman who might one day be president.

Maybe in 2016 the ticket can indeed be “Clinton/Obama” as in “Hillary/Michelle”.

Still I have to admit that the choice of music they played after her speech was a bit… well, demeaning. Here was this woman giving this very intelligent and empowering speech and they follow it up with “Isn’t She Lovely” by Stevie Wonder.

Now, I do like that song a lot, but it almost seemed to downplay how wonderful and well-done of a speech she gave, as if to say, “But, Hey! Nevermind how smart and talented she is, she’s just for looking!”

Okay, well, perhaps I’m reading too much into that, but I did notice that she was also wearing sleeves now. Apparently you can’t be the first lady in a sleeveless blouse.

I finally got some time to finish this issue of “Strange Bedfellows”, which is about two months late. It still needs some sprucing up, but my time is still a bit packed these days and I can’t spend forever on it.

Some notable errors:

on the forth panel Edward’s trunk goes on the wrong side of his arm

the fence posts are a bit oddly placed

Edward’s hair isn’t consistent again. Oh well, perhaps that can be an ongoing gag

Still, I am glad I got this one out of the way so I can move on to another.