// October 8th, 2008 // 2 Comments » // Newsy Goodness
I can’t begin to explain how tired I am of the “my friends” quote from John McCain. I am in no way friends with this shifty old curmudgeon. Sara and I joked last night that this would be a no brainer for a debate night drinking game, possibly even outstripping the frequency at which Sarah Palin likes to remind us that her and John are “mavericks”.
I was ecstatic to be shown this t-shirt by Jenny, it’s just perfect.
// September 15th, 2008 // No Comments » // Newsy Goodness
“30 Rock” star and Saturday Night Live Alum Tina Fey appeared on the season premier of SNL to portray Sarah Palin alongside Amy Poehler’s Hillary Clinton. She nails not only the look (no surprise) but the voice and cadence of Palin. This video is funny, but also very very sad.
When I can find a way to subdue my language a touch, I intend on writing up a post on how distasteful and insulting Sarah Palin is in this presidential election… If I never manage to put it together, it’s because I couldn’t find a way to channel my hatred in healthy manner…
// August 24th, 2008 // 5 Comments » // Newsy Goodness
Barack Obama and Joseph R. Biden Jr. in Springfield, Ill. (Photo: Jeff Roberson/Associated Press)
When Barack Obama announced today that Joe Biden was his choice for vice-president, I was ecstatic. Biden adds experience, foreign policy, economic policy, and straight talk that’ll run up one side of McCain and down the other.
Biden is going to shake stuff up. He’s the sort of person who has never had a thought he didn’t immediately vocalize. He’s going to make a lot of headlines for the Obama campaign between now and November, McCain’s smears will no longer go without counter speak. The great part about this is that Biden can engage in the mud slinging while Obama remains above, focusing on the issues.
I know there are many who think Hillary would have been the better choice, but I fully disagree. As strong a candidate as she was, she would add little to Obama’s resume, and will serve the democratic party much better as one of the most outspoken in the Senate. So if you find yourself morose that it isn’t a Barack/Hillary ticket, go watch some Biden vids on YouTube, this guy rocks!
I could continue to talk about why I love Senator Biden, but why not read why the Obama campaign chose him straight from the Obama/Biden campaign’s “Meet Joe Biden” site:
// August 11th, 2008 // 2 Comments » // Newsy Goodness
These two photos are just priceless. When sharing these with a friend he commented, “he said that America doesn’t have any problems”. I suppose when you are staring down the backside of America’s volleyball team it’s easy to think that…
A touch more research on this turns up some funny actual quotes giving additional context to the shots above. From an AP Article:
Both of these came via Digg, the first from here, the second from a blog post wonderfully titled “You Got A Little Sand…Here, Let Me Get That
The George W. Bush Female Athlete Inspection Continues.”
// April 9th, 2008 // No Comments » // Newsy Goodness
On October 9th, 2007, I saw Senator Barack Obama speak to a crowd of over 800 in Plymouth State University’s HUB Courtroom. Coming into election season this was the candidate I had the most hope for. After his now famous DNC speech from 2004, I was sure this would be a strong candidate for exciting new and positive directions for America.
Unfortunately, Obama had done little to impress me in his campaign so far. He speaks platitudes without information or actions to back them up. He has done very little as a Senator, except run for president. This does not endear him or his potential as commander in chief to me.
In person, Obama was even less inspiring. His foreign policy experience and knowledge is weak. He even admits this, claiming the Rumsfeld and Cheney have long resumes and a bad track record, so his “lack of resume” can’t be worse. This doesn’t inspire me.
However, when election time finally came, I was left with only hree options: Obama, Clinton, or Edwards. I had come to like Biden, but he’d dropped. Richardson always seemed like a bit too much of a long shot.
Seeing Edwards stuck out for me as terrifying… During his speech he stated that the best approach with Iraq would be an immediate withdrawal which would lead to a complete anarchy, which would lead to genocide, which would force an international humanitarian effort, which would allow the US to get together with the international community to raise a new Iraq from those ashes. Frankly, this stance is entirely unacceptable. There may be problems in Iraq, but genocide should not be your plan. Ever.
I liked Hillary Clinton in person. She spoke well, her policies were well thought out. However, I find her political maneuvering and style distasteful. I find it easier to hate her, than to like her; even when I agree with what she is saying. This causes her to be seen as divisive. We don’t need division in this country. I’d rather see McCain get the nomination than more division in the country.
This leaves Obama. He’s not perfect. I think he needs more experience, but hopefully this can come with a well chosen cabinet. His inspirational nature could be healthy for the nation. So in the end, not sure which way to go even as I walked into the voting booth, I chose hope. Hope that he surprises me and goes the distance. Hope that he can improve America’s image. Hope that what he says is what he’ll do. Hope for change.
// November 26th, 2007 // 3 Comments » // Newsy Goodness
When I heard Senator Joe Biden would be in town, I knew I would have to see him, but my hopes were low.
Like Richardson, I had also seen him on the Daily Show, but this was a couple years ago. At that time I had him seriously pegged as a potential contender for the presidency. Yet as this campaign season progressed, he put his foot in his mouth a couple times and the media latched on to this pushing him further and further down the list. For me he had joined Mike Gravel and Dennis Kucinich as a long shot candidate.
Seeing Biden speak caused me to do a complete 180. Without question, Joe Biden has been pushed into his current position in the election by bad media coverage. I think this is unfair and dangerous. I passionately hope for Biden to find some momentum and begin to be mentioned alongside or above Clinton and Obama.
Biden is unbelievably strong on foreign policy. Where Richardson had good experience, Biden has that and more. He has even managed to get a bi-partisan non-binding agreement for a plan on how to succeed in Iraq passed in the Senate. This is a huge accomplishment, but better yet, he explained why a non-binding agreement was useful politically. Taking a complicated political maneuver like that and putting into useful understandable terms was great.
His plans for health care seemed reasonable and incremental. Rather than attack an overwhelmingly huge “universal health care” plan, he instead has broken it down into goals that can more easily and independently be accomplished. He also explains where he’ll find the funding for this initiative…
Along with that topic, as he talks it occurs to me that with every initiative and plan he talks about, he states an estimated cost and where he can find the money to fund it in the budget. This level of fiscal responsibility is refreshing.
This is certainly a candidate I can throw my full support behind. Sure he’s had a few controversial comments, but that bit of humanity doesn’t scare me. Down the road, this guy can talk the talk and walk the walk on all the issues.
// October 27th, 2007 // 2 Comments » // Newsy Goodness
Web Urbanist posted “Cramped City Living: 10 of the Narrowest Houses in the World”. This fit nicely with many of the “World’s Largest X” posts I’ve done in the past, plus, the compiled list is amazing.
My favorite is the one pictured above. Owned by a woman named Helenita in Madre de Deus, Brazil, at it’s narrowest, the house is merely 1 meter wide and 10 meters tall.
From New York City is a narrow home with a very Harry Potter-esque address of 75 1/2 Bedford Street. The site lists it’s dimensions: “At 9 1/2 ft. wide, 75 1/2 Bedford St., off Seventh Ave. between Commerce and Moore Sts., is the narrowest house in the city. On the inside, it measures 8 ft. 7 in. wide; at its narrowest, it’s 2 ft. wide.”
“The Wedge” in Scotland “is about 22 ft long by 11ft wide or 6.7m by 3.35m, at its widest point … the front of The Wedge measured just 47in or 1.19m.”
Web Urbanist has a ton of images of other houses which are must see. All of these skinny homes are fascinating to me. I would love to meet the sort of person who would choose this kind of unique house.
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