Done!

In an Ironic Twist

I've done a bit of reading over at thatsrightnate.com (home of the crazy Obama flag blog post) and frankly I can't tell whether the guy is serious or not. Is it satire? Is it real? Is this a guy on the extreme right who also has a healthy sense of humor? Or is it a guy on the left posing as a guy on the extreme right to make a point?

I have read back through March of 2008, and frankly, I can't tell. There are posts of apparent conservative clarity, and then there are post that are so absurd that there's no way they're serious.

So, I just don't know. Perhaps, like the friend I wrote of in my previous post, my righteous indignation has been transformed to "doh!"

It was hard enough to discern the political fiction from political reality back in the old days. Now that we've added the Internet to the mix, we're playing a whole new game. And it's all making me wonder. . . How is my believing a story that fuels the idea that McCain followers are a bunch of ignorant Yahoos who don't know that states have their own flags any different from "them" believing that Obama is one step away from being a Muslim terrorist.

No Good Title Comes to Mind

A dear friend got pretty worked up about something this week. He was righteous. He was indignant. He was also a few years late to the party. It turns out that the story that got him all riled up was actually three years old, but it was being reported as if it were current. And all the details weren't exactly as as they had been reported. Fortunately, he's the kind of guy who can say "Doh! I guess I got all worked up over nothing."

But something similar has probably happened to most of us at some point during the past few months. We have access to so much information, and as much as we want to be good consumers of the information presented to us, sometimes it's hard to suss out what's true and what's not. And really, it's all part and parcel of what contentious elections like this one do to us. They amp us up. They stimulate our little brains to the point that we're able to see just about anything as a threat to our belief systems, our liberties, and our very way of life. Sometimes it's hard to examine our own reactions and make adjustments, but most of the people I hang with are able to admit when they've misinterpreted information or jumped to the worst possible conclusion. Mainly because they aren't ignorant fools.

Suffice it to say the guy described in the following blog excerpt is NOT one "of the people I hang with." He falls most decidedly into the category of "ignorant fools."

The Obama Potentate flag?
Frequent readers know source links are always supplied here, but in this case I will spare the quoted site author embarrassment.

In keeping with the theme of DemWit, described to your left, I submit the following post, pulled from a Web site, as proof, once more, that ignorance is the greatest enemy of America.

-BEGIN-
Now Obama Has His Own Flag–I Bet the Colors Run

This has really just gone way too far. At an Ohio campaign stop last week Obama gave a speech with a background of American flags which is quite common. However, if you look closely some of the flags are not American flags. The blue field has been changed to show an Obama seal. Yes, there are also stars but have no pattern and they do not add up to 50. Look at that disgusting thing flying with Old Glory.

I can’t believe that the mainstream media won’t report on this. Fortunately, we conservatives have radio. Stalwart reporter Bob Grant immediately called Obama out on the flag saying, “What is that flag that Obama has been standing in front of that looks like an American flag, but instead of having the field of 50 stars representing the 50 states there’s a circle. Would somebody please tell me what that is? Is that the O for Obama, is that what it is?…Did you notice that Obama is not content with having just several American flags, plain old American flags with 50 states represented by 50 stars…He had the flag painted over and the O for Obama. Now these things are symptomatic of a man who would like to be a potentate, a dictator.”

This is why Bob Grant is a great journalist and great reporter. He’s willing to call it like he sees it and not fall in line behind the Obama party line.

What’s really disgusting to me is while watching the least political of American political institutions–a college football game–I saw a state funded university during their halftime show form the Obama flag. This is beyond disgusting. This is an abuse of our tax dollars. If this was a private institution I could understand it, but this was the Ohio State Marching Band–Woody Hayes’ old school. This must not be tolerated. The phone number for the Ohio State University athletic department is (614) 292-7280. Call them and no (sic) that you do not want federally funded Universities engaging in such blatant politicing.
-END-

The above post, errors intact, had only one comment, and here it is:

“That’s the state flag of Ohio, you f***ing moron!”

Succinct.

God bless the USA!

Here's the link to the blog I've quoted above. And, just for fun,here's the link to the crazy flag guy's blog. The best part is the addendum this right-wing nutball apparently added after he had received a few comments:

UPDATE - A reader has just pointed out to me that Obama has also made a flag for campaigning in South Carolina that contains a palm tree and a crescent moon. I don’t think you can get much clearer evidence of his true motives. As for those of you who are saying it is the Ohio state flag–that doesn’t make it right. I don’t care if Obama makes flags for all 50 states–Old Glory is the only flag I need. When will this man stop? Will he be happy before all 50 states have their own flag? What happened to unity?

Gosh. Now I almost feel sorry for him. . .

link to image and explanation on yahoo!

So, I clearly haven't started my politics moratorium yet.

According to my fabulously informed friend Ann, early voting starts in Texas on 10/20. So I apparently have a few more days before I can eschew all things political. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, because I *do* need to figure out my judicial choices before I arrived in the voting booth. I also need to figure out where I stand on the various local props on the ballot. (Really, all these choices make democracy much harder than it needs to be.)

This is all leading up to the fact that I watched the damn debate last night. I didn't mean to. Really, I was intending to watch the finale of Project Runway, or maybe the new episode of 90210 (the new version) I have on my DVR. But noooooo, I got sucked in. And once again, McCain gave me the creepy-jeepies. He is NOT the same man he was 2-3 years ago. That is certain. Just in case he does get elected, I hope the "real" John McCain is the previous version. Because this slightly senile, smirky, eye-rolling, campaign-bot version of McCain scares the crap out of me.

There were several McCain low points in last night's performance, like when Obama called him on his complete lack of reaction when his supporters called Obama a terrorist or suggested he should be killed. McCain's tepid defense of his supporters as the "most patriotic people in this country" or whatever the hell he called them was pathetic and disingenuous. He *knows* that's crazy shit, and he needs to admit it.

But my favorite, favorite, favorite (and by "favorite" I mean "sneeringly condescending and, frankly, terrifying") McCain moment in last night's debate was this one.


Yes, Mr. McCain. You hit the nail right on the head. Those damn women and their "health." Who the hell do they think they are??

When does early voting start in Texas, anyway?

I just wrote a long post about how it was about damn time that McCain started setting things straight with his crazy-ass supporters. A year ago I had a healthy degree of respect for McCain, and I would have argued at that time that McCain had far too much integrity and honor to stand silent on a podium while his supporters called his opponent a terrorist or suggested he should be killed. But the last couple of weeks have proven me wrong. At least today McCain made an effort, whether it was staged or not, to set the record straight. I hope he's at least losing sleep over it, because he's bound to realize that his campaign is responsible for putting this shit out in the world--and he's going to have to live with himself if, god forbid, one of his crazy followers decides to do his moral duty and "save the world" from the evil Muslim terrorist-loving Arab, Obama.

Sigh.

But then I trashed that post because it was depressing and obvious.

Instead what I want to know is WHEN I can vote. Because I'm committed to getting it done at my earliest opportunity--and then I'm going to put my fingers in my ears and sing "la-la-la" at the top of my lungs for the rest of the month. I'm going to stop listening and reading and talking about this shit because it won't matter after I've cast my vote. I'm going to take all this time I've been spending online reading and watching and arguing about politics, and I'm going to work on training my dog to do fun tricks. I'm going to read easy fiction. I'm going to watch the last three episodes of season 1 of Flight of the Conchords. I'm going to ride my bike and jump rope. I'm going to cook huge pots of yummy soups. I'm even going to build a backyard clubhouse for my kids.

What I'm NOT going to do is waste any more time fretting over the unfathomable state of ignorance of my fellow countrymen (and countrywomen). I can't change it and I'm tired of bitching about it.

The end.

My name is Robyn and I am a blog plagiarist

Apparently these days all I can do is lift cool stuff from my friends and repost it on my blog. It's sad, I know. But some stuff is just too good to keep from you.

And so I post the following, which I lifted from my friend Jake's journal. Since most of you are children of the 80s, and since most of you don't know Jake and wouldn't have seen this posted on his journal, I felt like I had to share. This amused me. It also made me a little nostalgic.

An Open Request of You, My Friends

If I ever, for any inexplicable reason, find myself in the national spotlight, please, Please, PLEASE don't let me wink at television cameras. I don't care how good I look in my dominatrix suit and my 3-inch blood red heels, don't let me do it.

Just say no to the wink.

I mean it, doggone it.

Friends simply don't let friends wink on tv.

PTA: Sell Cookie Dough or Rule the World?

Today I'm copying a post verbatim from my friend Sean. To all my PTA-member friends out there--I think we might be settings our sights a little bit too low by focusing on gift-wrap sales and Arts and Culture Day. With our experience and talents, our future is apparently in the White House!

Sometimes you just cant make a joke any funnier.

Meeting Tuesday with the editorial board of The Des Moines Register, McCain was asked why he picked the Alaska governor, someone "who doesn't have a lot of experience."

"Thank you, but I disagree with your fundamental principal that she doesn't have the experience," McCain replied before citing Palin's work as a PTA member, city council member, mayor and governor. "You and I just have a fundamental disagreement, and I am so happy the American people seem to be siding with me."

Join the PTA... become the leader of the free world...

This isn't about HER capacity... it's about HIS judgement. How can ANYONE vote for a person who so obviously belongs in an institution.

Which Came First--the Totem or the Egg?

I've been looking for a nice dragonfly quote to go with the image I've started using as my avatar on a variety of different sites. I haven't found a quote yet, but what I have found is fascinating. I've always been drawn to dragonflies, but for no conscious reason other than I think they're cool. I love the way they look with their colorful bodies and delicate wings. I love the way they race around ponds and streams with the light reflecting off their gauzy wings, touching down and taking off again with no apparent objective or reason. Living in Central Texas, I also LOVE the fact that they eat mosquitoes, which are the bane of my existence a good portion of the year.

What I didn't know, however, was the role the dragonfly plays in Native American lore. The dragonfly is apparently a symbol of change. Some Native American belief systems view the dragonfly as a symbol of renewal after a time of great hardship. According to one source I read, dragonflies "remind us to take time to reconnect with our own strength, courage, and happiness."

Elsewhere I read that as the inhabitants of two realms--starting life in water and moving to air with maturity (but never venturing too far from the water), people who relate to the dragonfly have emotional and passionate early years, but achieve balance, mental clarity, and control as adults.

Hmmmmmm. I don't know much about totems, but the topic has come up recently on several occasions. I guess I assumed a person would seek out and choose their own totem. But perhaps I was wrong. Perhaps the totem seeks you. . . Or me as the case may be. Either way, I don't have to think very hard to come up with ways dragonfly lore completely reflects my frame of mind over the past several months as I've struggled to reconcile my image of the fun, vibrant, unstoppable young woman I once was to the "balanced, mentaly clear, and controlled" woman I have become. (And thanks, dragonfly folklore, that sounds so much better than "old and boring.")

The upshot? Even though I don't know exactly which way it happened--whether I found it or it found me--I'm certain I've identified my totem. And I guess it doesn't matter how it came to be, because the one tattooed on my shoulder is clearly here to stay.

It's Too Bad Alzheimers Jokes Aren't Funny

So this is like the 17th time I've logged on to blogspot today KNOWING I had something I wanted to post, but completely forgetting before the page was actually up in front of me.

But THIS time I remember! And it's worth the wait, I tell you. Or then again, maybe it's not. Anyway. . .

The Austin Symphonic Band is preparing for one of our three yearly free performances at Zilker Park. This concert is scheduled for Sunday evening, October 5th, at 7:00. Here's a link to the ASB website with more information: http://www.asband.org/(Is it just me, or is that site getting uglier and uglier?)

I know some of you with children in band this year were planning on coming out to the Mother's Day concert last year, but it got rained out (I *think* it was Mother's Day that got rained out. Right?). Since it appears that it's never going to rain in Austin again, I think we just might be safe this time.

Suffice it to Say

In Austin, at least, Ike was not at all "the big one." Other than a nice breeze and a few sprinkles overnight, we got nothing. Which is good, I suppose, other than the fact that we really need the rain.

It looks like Galveston, Houston, Beaumont, and the surrounding areas may have gotten hit pretty hard. And apparently a lot of people who were told to evacuate the Galveston area didn't--and then were angered and disappointed when rescue workers couldn't help them during the storm.

That's the part I don't get. I mean, I can see deciding to wait it out, but it seems like you do it with the understanding that you don't get to ask other people to risk their lives to help you out if it's worse than you expected.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I think that part of the deal is pretty clear.

Still, I wish everyone in the storm-hit areas the very best.

The Big One

Hey Guys,
You may not hear from me for a while. I've got preparations to make. I need to get the windows boarded up, gas up the generator, and stock up on Spam and Coke. There's a hurricane coming. And it could be the big one. High schools are cancelling football games and one district even cancelled school on Friday. Hell, FEMA even set up a temporary service center here yesterday.

What? What's that you say? Yes, you're right. I DO live in Central Texas, which is, by any measure, a far piece from the Texas coast. And no, technically I don't think Ike is going to make it this far inland. But we could, potentially, get some tropical storm level winds and rain. And apparently, in this post-Katrina world, we MUST BE PREPARED. So the news stations are on full alert, and city and state officials are itching to prove that they won't be taken unawares. And from now until Saturday it's gonna to be all Ike, all the time.

So, here's MY prediction. Ike is going to take a sharp right turn, and nothing's going to happen in Austin. We, like always, will be right outside the storm. We'll get no rain, no wind, AND no UT football game.

But if you haven't heard from me by Monday, it's because I was wrong. The levy has broken and I'm trapped on my roof. Oh wait. We don't have levies. Doh. Why is this so confusing?

UPDATE: So, now LOTS of districts have cancelled school today and our schools are letting out early. But now I actually understand WHY. The districts have been asked to get their bus fleets of the major evacuation routes (I-35 and hwy 290) as early in the day as possible. Now THAT makes sense.

THIS is why!

This article from the Washington Post is a good example of what I love about Obama. Rather than battling one stupid sound byte with another--he actually fights back with substance. Apparently, this kind of response doesn't make headlines (has anyone seen an Obama story on the front page of the paper lately--ANYTHING?) because it's too boring. But I'll take boring, informed, and intelligent any day.

Forgive me for posting the whole article, but it's short and to the point so I think it's okay. Oh yeah, and it's my blog anyway, so I guess I can do it however I want to!!!

Obama to Palin: 'Don't Mock the Constitution'
By Peter Slevin
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. -- Sen. Barack Obama delivered an impassioned defense of the Constitution and the rights of terrorism suspects tonight, striking back at one of the biggest applause lines in Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin's speech to the GOP convention.

It was in St. Paul last week that Palin drew raucous cheers when she delivered this put-down of Obama: "Al-Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America and he's worried that someone won't read them their rights."

Obama had a few problems with that.

"First of all, you don't even get to read them their rights until you catch 'em," Obama said here, drawing laughs from 1,500 supporters in a high school gymnasium. "They should spend more time trying to catch Osama bin Laden and we can worry about the next steps later."

If the plotters of the Sept. 11 attacks are in the government's sights, Obama went on, they should be targeted and killed.

"My position has always been clear: If you've got a terrorist, take him out," Obama said. "Anybody who was involved in 9/11, take 'em out."

But Obama, who taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago for more than a decade, said captured suspects deserve to file writs of habeus corpus.

Calling it "the foundation of Anglo-American law," he said the principle "says very simply: If the government grabs you, then you have the right to at least ask, 'Why was I grabbed?' And say, 'Maybe you've got the wrong person.'"

The safeguard is essential, Obama continued, "because we don't always have the right person."

"We don't always catch the right person," he said. "We may think it's Mohammed the terrorist, but it might be Mohammed the cab driver. You might think it's Barack the bomb-thrower, but it might be Barack the guy running for president."

Obama turned back to Palin's comment, although he said he was not sure whether Palin or Rudy Giuliani said it.

"The reason that you have this principle is not to be soft on terrorism. It's because that's who we are. That's what we're protecting," Obama said, his voice growing louder and the crowd rising to its feet to cheer. "Don't mock the Constitution. Don't make fun of it. Don't suggest that it's not American to abide by what the founding fathers set up. It's worked pretty well for over 200 years."

He finished with a dismissive comment about his opponents.

"These people."

link to actual article

Mucho Funny!

I don't know how long this has been around, but it's awfully funny. And not even remotely political.

Yay!

Enough with the "Sexy" Up-do Already

Sure, there's lots to be said about Sarah Palin, McCain's choice for running mate. And most of the irrelevant stuff has been said again and again over the past week.

But what I can't bear--the thing hat makes me want to SCREAM every time I see her, is that ridiculous hair. Did she like her prom style so much that she's decided to wear it every day since the big night? Is she being advised by a Playboy centerfold stylist? Because I swear, in the first Playboy I ever saw (yep, teenage girls check 'em out too--to figure out the ideal we're aiming for but will never quite measure up to), there was a whole sexy librarian spread that started with the mousy chick in a navy suit, nerdy glasses, and a prim but touseled up-do and ended with Ms. Prim and Proper, hair down and glasses discarded, spread out naked among the books in the reference section. Maybe Palin saw that one too (she's about the right age, isn't she?) and thought--yeah! That's the look I'm going for.

So, am I a hypocritical anti-feminist because I even care about her hair? Maybe. But I CAN'T STAND IT. And even Jenny, our visiting German teenager who has followed NONE of the media frenzy following Palin's nomination and has no stake in the election, saw her on tv and noticed something was amiss. "Why is McCain holding hands with a porn star at the Republican convention? That woman totally looks like a porn star."



It's the hair, I tell you. Well, and maybe the dominatrix suit and the pretend-I'm-smart glasses, and the makeup. But mostly it's the hair!

(Oh yeah, and her politics suck, too.)

So, I Spent the Morning Writing E-Mail

About noon today, I realized that I had spent much of my Sunday morning writing e-mail. My first reaction was dismay. What a waste of time, right? But then I thought about it a little bit more. I sent four messages this morning. They weren't quick questions and responses, work-related missives, or forwarded jokes (God forbid); they were actual letters, the old-fashioned kind--except for the fact that they were composed and sent electronically.

Once upon a time, spending a Sunday morning writing letters would have been seen as a very productive use of time. So why do I feel like such a lazy slob for doing it electronically?

I suppose it's all a matter of perception.

Seen On MSNBC

Bush to skip convention: White House says president, vice president will focus on hurricane.

That's some award-winning spin, ladies and gentlemen. Someone on the Bush train deserves a big fat promotion. Not only do they get to avoid the crushing truth that his presence wouldn't be doing the Republican Party any favors, but Bush gets another whack at appearing to be a competent leader during a crisis.

Somebody at the White House should be printing up some "Thanks, Gustav" t-shirts. . .

New Year in Poland!

It's official. We're leaving Austin on Christmas morning and arriving in Germany on the following day. We'll spend a couple of days in Germany, then fly with Michael's family to Gdansk, Poland, where we'll ring in 2009! After a couple more days in Poland, we'll return to Germany, spend a few days in my old stomping grounds in Hamburg, and maybe Cologne. Then it's back to the U.S. on 1/7. Theoretically, the girls have to be back in school on 1/6, but we get more trip for our buck if we keep them out the 2-3 extra days. I think they'll catch up. . .

Now we just have to figure out what we're doing with the dog!!!!!! I offered to fly out of Dallas and drop him off at my mom's house, but she passed on that opportunity. Can you imagine? I'm sure we'll come up with something between now and then!

I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. I haven't been in Europe since I left during the summer of 1991. It's been a long, long time!

Good fresh bread, here we come!

Somebody

Yesterday, as I was entertaining myself by listening to mix tapes given to me by cute boys way back when I myself was a cute young thing (and yes, I DO realize that I may very well be in the midst of a mid-life crisis), I happened across a song that I had completely forgotten about. When I was 17, maybe 18 years old, I absolutely adored the song Somebody by Depeche Mode. I used to listen to it over and over again, memorizing the words and (more often than not) crying as I wrote bad poetry and wondered if I would ever have somebody in my life who could live up to the "somebody" described in the song.

As I heard the opening notes on Adam's tape yesterday, I was immediately transported back to the late 1980s, and all the raw, hopeful emotion that that time represented for me came flooding back. Though I had neither thought of nor heard the song in at least 18 years, I remembered every single word.

And with tears streaming down my face as the song came to it's extrordinarily cheesy close, I realized I have EXACTLY what I hoped for all those years ago.

Which is to say--for all my complaining and carrying on, for all my worrying and wondering, for all my self-imposed anxiety and angst--I do know that I'm an EXTREMELY lucky woman.

And I'm grateful for that.