zen.org Communal Weblog

This is what I got to say at Patrick’s primary school today, introducing the President of Ireland before she gave her remarks in front of the kids and staff at the school:

Today is a very special day for the Dalkey School Project. As Chairperson of the Board of Management, it gives me great pleasure to welcome President McAleese to the school. The last time she visited the school was for the 25th birthday celebrations.

However, for many people here, this is their first time experiencing a Presidential visit; we look forward to hearing the President’s address. It is an honor for me to invite the President to speak.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese.

Dear Senator Snowe,

My wife and I have a home in Islesboro, and thus are in your constituency.

We are very grateful for your decision to help make a real step forward in the repair of the American health care system. Your efforts are a perfect example of the bi-partisan system needed by the citizens of the Unites States to maintain a functional government. Behind the drama constantly surrounding everything political is a selection of representatives who remember why we come out to vote.

Thank you so much for taking a stand. Our boys, ages 7 and 2, are two examples of the people your choice is going to help.

Sincerely,
Brendan and Elana Kehoe,
Islesboro, Maine

I set up a proxy to contribute to the effort to get information out of Iran after the nutzo election. Whether Linux, Mac, or Windows, you can too.

cf. http://blog.austinheap.com/

P.S. I think you need a static IP address, otherwise when you reconnect your broadband the address you shared will no longer work. It should also be a system that isn’t closed/turned off.

Well, I didn’t watch much, but I just read what FactCheck.org said about it. According to them, the only outright lie seems to have come from Mr. McCain, McCain was way off the mark when he said that earmarks in federal appropriations bills had tripled in the last five years…In fact, earmarks have actually gone down. I really wanted an outright lie from Mr. Obama too, but there was not any last night.

Then, these bugged me:

…McCain repeated a misleading line we’ve heard before.

Obama was out of date…As we’ve said before…

McCain repeated an exaggerated claim…

McCain repeated the false insinuation…

Each with a link to past articles that that showed the correction. It’s one thing to goof, but to do it again? Ok, perhaps the log is in my eye for there splinter, but I’m a simpleton, they are going to be in the position formally known as the most powerful person in the free world. Mr. McCain forwent correction three times, and Mr. Obama once. So I guess the Dems win this one too. Most of the others corrections, though worthy of FackCheck.org, where trivial.

As I think both Democrats and Republicans politician have been sticking it to fellow Americans for decades, I really wanted the misinformation to be more even.

Sure, someone told Hill to take up ironing…just like folks (um, hello Bill?) suggested Obama was a boy, not a serious threat. Yes, she was compared to everyone’s ex-wife on the steps of divorce court—I fell off the couch when Mike Barnacle came out with that line!—but so what? It was an accurate description of her screechy delivery the day before.

But it seems to be fine when others suggest Michelle exudes black anger. Or that McCain dotters. Why is it okay to report those subjective views, as long as the subject isn’t the Hillster? Remember comments about Barack’s bowling technique? How about his funny ears? But no one can comment on Hillary’s appearance. I’ve not heard any discussion about her disappeared wrinkles for example—it’s news that she dropped years of stress from her face for the campaign; I want to see a poll on how everyone reacts to the new-Hill versus the old version. Why not? Didn’t we hear about Obama’s white shirts and how so-so GQ they were, I guess uppity on a black guy. No one spends time spooning out regrets for those hard-hitting shots. So why does Hillary deserve apologies when she sure took off her elbow-length gloves whenever she wished—to sucker-punch her opponent? Seemingly, she will not tolerate a broken nail.

The reverse-sexism being forced down the throat of this 67-year old blogger is blocking my airway—and I started out over a year ago as a Hillary Hag (See my 02/10/07 “A Hen-Party for Hillary” post.) This isn’t the reasoned feminism of the 60s; I’m speaking here of blatant bias by women against men. I’m talking about elderly females accusing males of sexism when what they really want for their heroine is preferential treatment because she’s a woman.

They and she shouldn’t be able to have it both ways. Face facts, all Hillary Hags: Hillary lost big-time. It looks better than it was as the memory-challenged media now has embraced her new math. (Given her miscalculations, I began to believe for the first time that girls really do have trouble with arithmetic.) So why exactly should she receive anything other than what the fallen men did? How is it Hillary deserves a world-class psychological severence-package and if Obama—whose campaign was as pure as a baby compared to the dirty tricks the Billary machine churned out—doesn’t deliver it, he receives contempt? When Edwards left the campaign trail, why didn’t the pandering-showboat set sail for poor him? How come Richardson wasn’t kowtowed to when he dropped out? And Biden? These guys just left. Period.

This reverse-sexism is an embarrassment to women of a certain age like me, who did go out and carve careers, who did raise their kids and bake cookies, who don’t today whine that their own lost opportunities are men’s faults.

I no longer have any respect for Sen. Clinton. I think her manipulating of our sisters is pathetic and self-serving. And I’m losing respect—pay attention Barack—for the men who’re scared of being labeled chauvinistic if they fail to acknowledge the heart sewed to the sleeve of a certain set of personally-tailored pants-suits.

Shame, Hillary, shame on you. And guys? Act like men. Please.

As described by Jeffrey Feldman in The Huffington Post, commentator Liz Trotta of Fox News was trying to be funny when she said we should favor the assassination of both Osama bin Laden and Senator Barack Obama. (You can watch it if you don’t believe me.).

Apparently it’s okay to joke about it before they’re elected.

A Barack Obama supporter rang my door bell a few days ago, wanted me to change my party from Green to Democratic to vote April 22. I have until March 24to change my party if I wish to vote Democratic then. I didn’t change. Over a month until Pennsylvania’s primary, with no other delegates up for grabs between now and then. Mrs. Obama is going to be twenty miles from my house today. Hillary Clinton was on the other side of Philadelphia a few days ago. They should publish better schedules, I can’t easily figure where they are going to be, though it’s easy to figure out where they have been. Vote Quimby!

Being 71 Chuck Norris thinks McCain might be too old. It turns out Mr. McCain’s mother, a sprite 95, is still alive! She also seems to be quite the jet setter.

Is it me or does Mr. Huckabee have a similar stare to George W. Bush a dairy cow?

Busted!