Takin' It Back

In the midst of all of this turmoil, we have to keep a sense of humor. Here are a few laughs.

Takin' It Back with Barack, Jack: a video for swing voters.

Seeking a President Who Gives Goose Bump's So's Obama: Jed Bartlet's Advice by Maureen Dowd

My Fair Veep by Maureen Dowd

McCain-Palin: Can Liars Really Be Reformers?

With all their talk about religion and family values, you'd think that John McCain and Sarah Palin would be just a tad more honest in their campaign strategies. Maybe even follow the Golden Rule.

Since that disgusting, fear-and-smear convention, the two have been spreading lies on the campaign trail, on the Internet, and on television. Are the American people dumb enough to buy these lies? Unfortunately, they believed George Bush's lies, and look where we are now.

Can liars be reformer? Personally, I don't see these two personality traits going together. Is lying a Christian value? They didn't teach it in my Sunday school. Is someone who has been in Washington for more than 25 years, an outsider, an agent of change? Nooooo..... who's he trying to kid?

Blizzard of Lies is a great editorial by Paul Krugman in today's New York Times. Here's an excerpt:

"...I’m talking, instead, about the relationship between the character of a campaign and that of the administration that follows. Thus, the deceptive and dishonest 2000 Bush-Cheney campaign provided an all-too-revealing preview of things to come. In fact, my early suspicion that we were being misled about the threat from Iraq came from the way the political tactics being used to sell the war resembled the tactics that had earlier been used to sell the Bush tax cuts.

"And now the team that hopes to form the next administration is running a campaign that makes Bush-Cheney 2000 look like something out of a civics class. What does that say about how that team would run the country?

"What it says, I’d argue, is that the Obama campaign is wrong to suggest that a McCain-Palin administration would just be a continuation of Bush-Cheney. If the way John McCain and Sarah Palin are campaigning is any indication, it would be much, much worse."

The Glow: Lighted Art Walk in Oracle

The Glow at the Triangle L Ranch is this weekend-- September 12 and 13-- in Oracle, Arizona. Two of my pieces, including a large alter-- La Mano Mas Poderosa (above)-- will be included in the gallery at the Glow.

The Triangle L Ranch is an old Arizona dude ranch. Each year in the fall the ranch hosts the Glow, a lighted sculpture walk. Lighted paths lead visitors around the grounds. Along the paths is a wide variety of sculptural pieces; more delicate artwork and pieces lit with candles are displayed in the adobe barn gallery. The event also features live music. For information and a map, check out the link. Here are three pictures from last year's Glow.

Desert City Swing

This past weekend was the Desert City Swing Convention in Phoenix. It was a blast. This is a smaller event than the 4th of July west coast swing convention than I attended, but it was still lots of fun. This convention is set up differently from the other in that all of the workshops are included in the registration price, but you have to pay to compete in the dance contests. This was a great deal for me because I enjoy the workshops. Between workshops and open dances, I danced most of the day on Friday and Saturday. Photo at left shows two of the champion dancers showing off their moves. Below, the champion men line up to dance in the final showcase.

This convention was held at the Point Hilton Squaw Peak. One benefit to this location was the close proximity of the guest rooms to the convention center and the Lantana Grill, the main restaurant. Although the architecture of the Point can't compare to the Arizona Biltmore (where the other event was held), the Point was very convenient location.

Sarah Palin: The Anti-Environmentalist

Thanks to the hundreds of you who have read my previous post, "Sarah Palin: The Anti-Feminist". Her are some links related to Palin's deplorable environmental views and more reasons why she is unfit to be a Vice President, let alone President.

All God's Children: This isn't really the name of this video by the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, but it should be. This is a video clip showing how Palin has promoted the brutal killing of wolves and other predators in Alaska. I guess Alaskans have learned nothing from the mistakes made by the lower 48 states when predators were mercilessly exterminated in the early 20th century. We're still trying to fix that bungle down here. Predators are part of God's plan, hello. They serve a purpose in the fabric of life. It also shows a frightening lcak of compassion for animals that she sued the federal government to take polar bears off the endangers spieces list. Below is a photo of an Alaskan who wanted to shoot this bear "because he was there", but the poor bear dropped over from heat exhaustion first. Climate change? That's just a theory. That's just science. Who believes in that?



Why not Rape Alaska? Isn't that God's Will?: An editorial about Palin's "energy policy". The delegates chanted it at the convention, "Drill baby drill." The Republicans are all for continued use of fossil fuels and raping the environment to drill to the max.

Green Candidate: Of course, I'm not referring to her. Here's an interesting editorial by Thomas Friedman on voting green.

Top photo credit: Climate Progress

Bottom photo credit: The eco-Enquirer

Sarah Palin: the Anti-Feminist

Sarah Palin blah, blah, media hype, blah, blah, blah, snappy soundbite, blah. Ever since her scathing pit bull speech last week at the Republican National Convention, I have been mulling over my blog comments regarding the new VP candidate.

I have been a Hillary supporter for a very long time. I believe that many people thought we were supporting Hillary because she is a woman. To me, that shows a lack of understanding and an unwillingness to look at issues--not just at personalities and gender. I supported Hillary because she is and has always been a strong support of women's issues (ie, choice, health care, education, equal rights, equal pay, etc.) She was (and still is) my gal.

When she lost the primary, many pundits said Hillary supporters would vote for McCain. I thought that this was a crock. Obviously, their policies are about as far apart as humanly possible. Apparently, the McCain camp believes that having a woman on the ticket may bring some Hillary supporters over to their side. (We just voted for Hillary because she was a woman, right? Wrong!)

Since the close of the Republican National Conventions, there has been a flood of media coverage about the McCain/Palin ticket-- the illegitimate child, the down syndrome baby, the pentecostal beliefs, the earmarks, the bridge to nowhere, etc. Here is a sampling of my favorite articles and videos.

I see Sarah Palin's nomination as pandering to women voters, and red neck men who voted for Hillary. In The Mirrored Ceiling, Judith Warner talks about Palin's nomination and the trend in American politics to cast votes based upon feelings and likability rather than issues, policies, and what is best for our country. Arianna Huffington also had a great article, Sarah Palin: A Trojan Moose Concealing Four More Years of George Bush. This article focuses on how the Palin media hype has distracted the media and the American people from the fact that the McCain/Palin is more of the same, not change.

In Sarah Palin Gender Card, Jon Stewart shows how the Republicans slammed Hillary when she said she was being unfairly treated by the media, but now say that people are being sexist when they raise questions about Palin.

The maverick/reformer label for the McCain/Palin ticket is ludicrous. In Palin and McCain's Shotgun Marriage, Frank Rich shoots holes in the maverick/reformer lies. Palin is a reformer who hired a lobbyist for her small town; this resulted in $27 million in earmarks. Hmmmm.... someone should ask her what the American people bought for that $27 million investment in Wasila, Alaska. Another part of the Republican shtick is that she "took on big oil" in Alaska. On the radio today, they said that her gubernatorial inaugural ball was paid for my oil companies. Where is the "taking on big oil" part? Maybe she took them as dance partners?

In John McCain's Big Acceptance Speech , Jon Stewart compares McCain's campaign promises to George Bush's 2000 campaign speech. In some cases, they used the same words! It is amazing that people are buying these lies again. McCain has been in the Senate for more than 25 years; he voted with George Bush 90% of the time. Change??? B.S.

In Then There was One, Thomas Freidman reveals the McCain/Palin ticket's anti-environmental policies. I almost puked when the convention goers cheered, "Drill, baby, drill." I also was appalled to learn that Palin sued the feds to take polar bears off the endanger species list. What happened to the all God's children of Christianity? Animals are part of God's kingdom.

Finally, I believe that this presidential election season will change American politics forever. It will no longer be a rarity for a woman or a person of any color besides white to be a viable candidate for president or vice president. Hurray! Maybe we have moved beyond rule by old white men.

All I can say is, Vote Obama! Stop the war. Save our country from irresponsible Republican spending and kick-backs to the rich.

Photo credit: Kodiak Konfidential (Check this blog out to hear what one Alaskan blogger thinks about his governor.)