Halloween

Happy Halloween! Want to see something truly frightening? Turn on your TV and wait for a McCain ad. They continue to step up the politics of fear, choosing not to focus on what McCain would do as president, but instead choosing to make the idea of President Obama as frightening as possible. If McCain wins, I'm not afraid that he'll make a bad president (Palin is another matter, of course). He'd still be a step up from W. I just think Obama will make a much stronger president. No, my biggest concern is that Republicans would be further convinced that fear-mongering is the best way to win elections.
McCain, Palin, and the RNC have called Obama dangerously inexperienced, a shady character with links to religious extremists and terrorists, and a socialist. Some of McCain's supporters have taken these already inaccurate and offensive labels a step further to call him a threat to our security, a secret Muslim, a terrorist, and a communist, not to mention Hitler and the Antichrist. Beware of the monster you create. When you train your followers to fear, can you be surprised when they also hate? These aren't the politics we want to see, and they're not the politics I would have expected from McCain.
The ubiquitous "Joe the Plumber" (who, apparently, is not actually a licensed plumber) now seems like McCain's top economic adviser. He would get a bigger tax break from Obama's plan, but doesn't seem to realize that. That makes him a hero to McCain - someone too ignorant to know what will benefit him the most. He's now campaigning for McCain, and recently told another McCain supporter - while being filmed - that he agreed that Obama as president would bring death to Israel. So, apparently he's also now a foreign policy expert, with as much grasp on foreign affairs as he does on economic policy. Is this really the circus McCain wanted as his presidential campaign? Where did it go wrong? I blame the RNC, which has become a monster, feeding off fear, hate, and ignorance. But McCain should have known better. He should have control over his own campaign. Instead, he let the monster control him.
So, kids, monsters are real. Forget watching a scary movie tonight. Just turn on the TV. Watch some ads. Watch the campaign news. It just might scare you to the polls.

Puppy Yuppy

Traci and I are are puppy yuppies: young urban professionals who treat their dogs like kids. I've come to terms with the idea that as a music teacher and an an attorney who enjoy traveling, trying new restaurants, recycling, and supporting Barack Obama, that we are yuppies. The fact that I'm also a beer/music/movie snob (and a foodie) clinches it. We also like way too many items on the "stuff white people like" list. I wouldn't mind, but yuppies once had a negative connotation of greed and materialism, not to mention a certain political disposition. The new yuppies, on the other hand, are socially and environmentally conscious. In light of the updated definition, we've come to accept our yuppiness.
As for the "puppy", we treat our 2 dogs, Schubert and Puccini, like children. They sleep with us at night, I carry on conversations with them, and Traci sings to them. They get excited every evening when the garage door opens and I say, "Mommy's home!" They also like to go to Grandma and Grandpa's (and don't forget their dog, aunt Angel). I feel sorry for unsuspecting visitors who approach the house, hearing barking and yapping, seeing a head bounce in and out of view of the window in the front door. They will soon be attacked by a flurry of leaping dogs with wagging tails and furious tongues. They've entered the house of a couple of puppy yuppies.
But now I've got to go. Traci and I are going out for sushi, then back home to watch a documentary from Netflix with dogs in our laps.

The Veep Deeb

I watched the vice-presidential debate last night. Like many Americans, I was partially expecting to see a Palin train wreck. That didn't happen. She sounded incredibly scripted, talked in circles, offered little or no specifics or substance, and didn't answer many of the questions she was given, staying only on her talking points, but at least she kept her cool. Reading online responses to the debate, many people seem to consider that a victory. Really? Were your expectations that low? Were you actually listening to the questions asked and responses she gave? She even prefaced her inability to articulate responses by stating that she wouldn't answer some questions asked by the moderator. She may as well have said, "I'm only prepared for certain questions, so if you ask me one for which I'm not prepared, I'll retreat back to one of my scripted answers for a different question." Followed by a wink.
The biggest surprise of the night for me was Joe Biden. When Obama selected him as his running mate, I looked him up. He seemed like a strong enough choice, although it was relatively unimportant to me. But I really haven't thought much about Biden since the DNC. Last night, he started fine. Unimpressive, but fine. He got a little repetitive (like Palin) and bogged down in details (the opposite of Palin), but he didn't really grab my attention. About halfway through the debate, though, he hit his stride. He sounded like he was speaking from experience and the heart, and really drove some points home. By the end of the debate, I was really impressed with him. I think he compliments Obama well, and will give sound advice without trying to control the White House.
Speaking of which, I was shocked to hear that Palin wants to expand the powers of the vice-presidency. Especially for someone who, not long ago, didn't know what the vice president does. After 8 years of Cheney pulling Bush's strings and running the show, do we need more power in that office? Particularly if McCain is elected, and Palin is trying to wield that power?
So the big question still remains: Did she convince me that she would be able to handle the vice-presidency or, heaven forbid, the presidency should something happen to McCain? Absolutely not. Her ability to memorize and spew a script ad nauseum is no indication that she has any grasp of the issues or any substance. Her off-script moments in the interview with Katie Couric are jaw-dropping...and not in a good way. Plus, she says "nukular." I don't think I can take someone else in the White House who can't pronounce nuclear. The prospect of President Palin is still very frightening to me, and for reasons far deeper than mispronunciation. I'm surprised that it isn't frightening to more Americans. But on the bright side, I won at Palin bingo!