Random observation on Election 2008

My neighborhood and the surrounding area looks like a helicopter dropped hundreds of McCain/Palin yard signs. The second most popular yard sign is "Yes on 2".

I have little doubt how things will turn out in my precinct. I just hope that isn't indicative of the State results.

Another "That's it!" momement for me and the GOP

In the last four years I've had many moments where my fellow Republicans have caused me to say, "That's it, I've had enough!" Not the least of these was when John McCain won the nomination in March of this year. Since then it seems that the party has been led even further and further down a pretty steep slope right into a mud pit. Sadly, some people that I've admired for years, like Elizabeth Dole, have been happy to jump right in.

Now the California GOP has filed an FEC complaint over Barack Obama's trip recent trip to Hawaii to visit his dying grandmother. One sentence in the post reads in part "...filing the complaint today [Nov. 3rd] now seems to have been ill-advised, if not legally, then certainly politically."

Yep, leave it to the Republicans to do something so incredibly petty and mean spirited AND on the day the man's grandmother dies, too. Idiots.

(No word yet on how that FEC investigation into the $150,000 spent on Sarah Palin's wardrobe is going. Again, idiots.)

From pound puppy to police dog

This is the kind of story I like - the Polk County Sheriff's Department saved a puppy's life and the taxpayers a lot of money.

Narcotics Deputy J.D. Maney found his newest partner in the most unlikely of places — the pound. Rezadu, an 18-month-old black Labrador retriever, has been on the job since late August and has already assisted in several drug arrests.

It wasn't an easy accomplishment for the pair.

Maney, whose last dog was forced into early retirement, was left without a partner for the first time in his 19 years as a canine deputy.

Budgetary cutbacks, combined with Maney's part-time status with the department, led the Sheriff's Office top brass to decide they couldn't afford the $5,000 bill that came with the purchase and training of a new narcotics-sniffing dog, said Chief W.J. Martin.

'But I told him, ‘If you can find a dog and train it yourself, then you can have one,'' Martin said.

Deputy Maney put a lot of time and effort into training his pound puppy and now Rezadu has been nationally certified as a narcotics dog. Congratulations to both officers!

Sex toys for votes

Honestly, this is a real news story: Free sex toys - and much more - for voting

Just when you thought it was safe to focus on the issues in this historic election season, a chain of sex toy shops has joined retailers, restaurateurs and other businesses across the nation in the time-honored tradition of rewarding Americans who go to the polls.

Babeland, with stores in New York, Los Angeles and Seattle, is offering a pair of self-gratifying incentives for voters who present their registration cards, ballot stubs or “word of honor” that they voted next Tuesday.

The rewards are no-so-subtle reminders of this year’s campaign rhetoric. For men, it’s the “Maverick,” a "sleeve" for self-pleasuring. According to a press release, “He’s always there to lend a hand, he works for every man, and he bucks the status quo.” Women can choose the “Silver Bullet” mini-vibrator, which is “a magical solution to difficult problems” and “a great stress-reliever during these troubled economic times!”

Gee, I voted and all I got was a lousy sticker.

UPDATED: Good news! Starbucks is giving out free coffee to voters tomorrow. I hear the new Salted Caramel Signature Hot Chocolate is amazing.

My Election Predictions for 2008

That's 353 electoral votes for Barack Obama. Try as I might I couldn't stretch his lead any larger than that for a humiliating landslide. Apparently there's nothing more vengeful than a bitter Republican.

While I'm prognosticating I'll go out on a limb and predict that Obama also wins the popular vote (duh) and that the Democrats gain 8 seats in the Senate and 29 in the House.

So what will this mean? Does it mean that President Barack Obama and the Democrats will claim a political mandate to enact their liberal ("socialist") agenda the way President Bush claimed his mandate in 2004? Remember this statement?

"I earned capital in this campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it," Bush told reporters. "It is my style."

Whether you remember the comment or not I'm certain you're familiar with the results.

No matter how the next four years turn out there's one thing I'm fairly certain of - Barack Obama will govern with a completely different style.

Here's wishing him - and us - the very best.

NaBloPoMo

I'll be giving National Blog Posting Month a shot in November. The goal is 30 posts in 30 days which should be a challenge considering how rarely I post now.

I'll spend the day trying to get into the spirit and hopefully I'll have something interesting to say before the day is out.

A "weird" foods meme

Found this at Poppy Brite's s place while I was checking to see how she and Chris weathered Gustav. Normally I avoid memes but I have a weakness for food memes so here you go.

# Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
# Bold all the items you've eaten.
# Cross out any items that you would never consider eating (or eating again)


1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile (I can only assume that Alligator counts.)
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth $120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (Once, and I regretted it.)
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frog’s Legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake


A hot dog from a street cart? No. Maybe I should cross that one out as I simply can't imagine a situation where I'd be desperate enough to indulge in that bacteria bath.

Actually, that many of these foods is considered "weird" amuses the hell out of me. Try growing up in the South (Florida!) with some Native American blood thrown in, surrounded by Mexican and Cuban buddies, a great local African American heritage, a proud Greek population and a decent number of Scottish and English friends. Yeah, and people say the South isn't diverse. Oh, and I've employed a Cordon Bleu trained chef, so I have that going for me. I taught him how to cook mustard greens and he taught me to like sweetbreads.

The only ethnic food that I really just don't like (of what I've tried) is Indian. I can choke down curry based foods enough to be polite to my hosts but as far as a voluntary dining choice? No thank you.

Tagging the Parkhoppers, both of them.

I have a girl crush on Donna Brazile

Yeah, I know. I'm married. And straight. And yeah, I'm a Republican. But that doesn't mean that I can't be in love with Donna Brazile. And why not? She's just lovely, she's uber smart, she's funny and she speaks her mind (when it suits her).

What prompted this confession? I was in the kitchen just now doing dishes when a CNN talking head introduced a "behind the scenes at the DNC convention" segment featuring Donna. I just about broke my neck getting to the TV. Yep, that's a sure sign of a fangirl. The segment sucked only because it was too short. (Hey, CNN! If you have access to such an awesome resource why not utilize it more rather than focusing on those lame no name commentators who have nothing better to do than offer their lame opinions of your coverage of the convention? Most industries save the back patting for a post-event staff party.)

Here's another confession: I tune into This Week with George Stephanopoulos each Sunday to watch only the round table. I have it timed perfectly, I flip the TV on just in time to watch Stephanopoulos introduce the weekly participants. Let me tell you, if Stephanopoulos doesn't announce George Will and Donna Brazile I am sorely disappointed. I don't know what it is about their debate but I find it calming and soothing; it gets my week started on the right foot.

Golf Guy has even learned that a 15 minute dose of the round table = a week of a more happy, well grounded Minima. He'll interrupt what he's watching to make certain I get to catch the show. Why? I can't really put my finger on it. Maybe it's just the idea that there are people in the world who can disagree civilly on the fundamentals. Maybe it's the idea that not everyone associated with politics has lost their damned minds. Maybe it's the idea that the adults may still be in charge.

Anyway, Donna Brazile? She's one of my heroes.

If you're interested in politics, biographies or behind the scenes of the 2000 election I suggest you read her book, Cooking with Grease.

Today's reason to love Pushing Daisies

Dear Pushing Daisies, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

Add another to the list - Stephen Root (Office Space, NewsRadio) joins the cast. Root is set to appear in a four-episode story arc for the show's upcoming season.

Sweet!

And Stephen's from Florida, y'all, so you know he's crazy.

Image source

John McCain outsmarted by Paris Hilton

Paris Hilton's response to John McCain's ad.

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

How weird is it that I now like Paris better than McCain? Hell, I'd certainly vote for her before I'd ever vote for him. Maybe I should start a list of people I'd vote for for president before I'd vote for John McCain? Nah, too long, waste of paper. Just rest assured that you're on there.

Maybe next John McCain could make an ad insulting David Hasselhoff? I'd love to hear the Hoff's take on economic policy.