the mac attack

looks like i'm an uncle again. way to go libby and the deej. very proud.




i stole these pics from paul and amy's blog. i will drive to pittsburgh this weekend to see the newest addition. also i will stay until election day so i can help mr. obama with getting out the vote activities. anyone interested in joining me? although, dj did say if i volunteered for barack, I wasn't welcome to stay at his house....so, i guess if you come with me we can split a hotel room...

in loving memory

my tears dry slowly due to the passing of the second season of mad men.

pete campbell: you are almost likable!

don draper: you have emotions!

betty: i love you!

peggy: you are absolved!

joan: don't marry the rapist!

so until july, i will wait patiently and hopefully to find out what pete eventually did with the gun.

really? 77%?

i'm a little embarrassed about this.

russians for palin

paul's blog

go to paul's blog for the d-bate live blogging.

homophobic?

watch this video that was forwarded on to me by pablo escobar. today another friend sent it along to me.



i have a few things i would like to say. first, i consider this video, and the main guy depicted in it, extremely homophobic. second, i think it is naive to think that young students should not be taught about homosexuality. obviously you don't have to explain to the kids the technicalities of gay sex; however, explaining that sometimes two men or two women can find happiness together...? what's wrong with that.

an example. i taught second grade. i had to teach about homosexuality for two different reasons. first, two different students approached me to tell me their moms were lesbians. they wanted to keep it a secret because they felt they would be mocked. i sat the kids down with prepared lessons about homosexuality. i did explain that sometimes two women or two men found that they could fall in love with each other and even be happier that way. i don't see anything wrong with that. i also said that if your parents were like that, then there is nothing wrong with you. i also said that it was wrong to make fun of anyone who happens to be gay.

second, my students regularly employed homophobic slurs: gay, fag, lesbo, etc, etc. sometimes the terms were even applied to me (except for the lesbo one). at that point, you must sit down with the students and tell them why it is wrong to use those kinds of slurs. its not like you're telling the kids about something they don't know when you talk about homosexuality. they are all aware. being able to talk about it in a respectful way that protects the feelings and beliefs of all involved is a mark of a good teacher.

this video, then, i feel is extremely hurtful. if just for the fact that we can work to change some of these attitudes, i hope prop 8 does not pass in california. what is wrong with legalizing gay marriage and thereby removing some of the stigma gays experience? no one is saying that teachers have to teach it is 'moral.' however, they are saying teachers must teach it is legal. drinking is legal, but mormons still believe it is immoral. teachers in the public school system definitely teach that, when you are of age, there is nothing wrong with drinking in moderation. however, we are still able to believe however we want. why are we so threatened by the fact that gay marriage will be taught as legally acceptable in school? do we really believe our children's attitudes are shaped that strongly by our teachers? surely we can teach them what we feel is right at home, and they can be exposed to different ideas at school. how is that any different than what we believe currently about premarital sex, the word of wisdom, etc.?

in ten years, when we look back at this video, i really think most of us will be appalled at the prejudiced attitudes taken by many of its views. what do you think?

lastly, one other thing that is bothering me is the media that is coming out of protectmarriage.com, the website run by a coalition of christian churches. the mormons are one of the chief contributors to this site. i'm afraid it takes quite a partisan look at gay marriage and its advertising borders on fear mongering and misinformation. what do you think? do you agree? disagree?

oh, and one other thing. tomorrow is peter's birthday. we are getting together for a debate watching party, so i'm not sure we will be live blogging. but maybe. stay tuned....

nashville nastiness

here it is: the live blog thread for tonight. 9:00 PM eastern time. please come. feel free to post thoughts, reactions, etc.

the boom

here it is: in response to palin donning her heels and taking off her gloves, it looks like obama is now lowering the boom on mccain's record. enjoy this as you prepare for tomorrow night's debate. we will be live blogging it here, so prepare yourself...

missouri madness

Here it is. The live blog thread for tonight's debate at 9:00 Eastern Time. Be here.

Thursday Night Thunder

All right people. Prepare yourselves. Thursday night brings Sarah Palin's arizona-prepped, expectation-lowered debate versus Joe Biden. We will be live blogging the whole thing right here. So, do what you need to do to find yourself in front of a computer and a television by 9:00 PM eastern time, Thursday night.

One thing that is bothering me about the upcoming debate is the media's insistence on replaying the jonah mcpalin camp's messaging. They have been lowering the expectations for sarah palin, thus making any performance by sarah palin in which she doesn't fall on her face and expose herself for a complete fraud translate into a 'win.' Also, after her horrible appearances on CBS and ABC over the past couple of weeks, her handlers are now saying she won't appear anywhere other than right wing talk shows and the like. I'm sorry, but I can't help agree with campbell brown; this approach to palin by mccain and co. stinks of sexism. Yesterday, when Palin and McCain were interviewed by Katie Couric, McCain jumped in to answer questions and defend palin. It definitely looked like an over-protective father keeping watch over his daughter. They need to unleash Palin and hope that her folksy life story will be enough to over shadow her complete lack of preparation for the vice presidency or possibly the presidency.

So, prepare your thoughts. Ready your typing fingers. Tell your friends. Tomorrow night we shall blog the trash out of the debate. Also, it would be nice to get some palin supporters to join the dialog. So, Gabrielle, Russ, Dad, Grandpa, Libby and DJ (?), etc. please join us as we thrash about in pure, debate-inspired bliss.

oh, and enjoy this sweet performance by the gov at the miss alaska competition: