Beyond Words

A Republican once asked me how I thought the country "ran", and I told her my feelings about democracy and the US Constitution. She then called me a "radical socialist" and told me I was wrong - that the country "runs" on business. That's how she makes her decisions, and that's how she votes.

If that is the Republican way of thinking - and I have no way of knowing, never having been Republican - then the vote of southern Republican senators last night not to provide a loan to the auto industry is incomprehensible to me.

But it's over now. In a way, I'm glad, because the fight to stay upbeat has been exhausting. Now we can just get on with life in a full-fledged Depression. No more energy wasted trying to avoid it. But here's what I want to say to my fellow Americans from the south:

You seem to think, since your auto plants all have their corporate offices in Asia, that this is not going to affect you. Think again. There are still Ford dealerships and GM repair shops in your states. They are going to tank. Your states produce things that we from US auto-producing states can no longer afford to purchase. More job loss for you.

Oh well!

One out of every ten jobs in the country is directly related to the US auto industry. That translates into a nationwide 10% unemployment rate. At least. I sincerely hope you have a plan for how to get us out of this mess, because up here we are exhausted and out of ideas and things to give back, to satisfy your pettiness.

Oh. And you better hope that that war in Iraq that you are so fond of has all the vehicles it needs - because there will be no place left open here to build any more. The Arsenal of Democracy is officially out of weapons, thanks to you.

I can understand that you now have second...and third...and twentieth...thoughts about the $700 billion you just sank down the rat hole of the financial world. An "industry" that "produces" only paperwork - nothing tangible. If you don't like that deal, fix that deal. Don't take your frustration out on the manufacturing backbone of this nation, asking for a loan of $15 billion - a pittance comparatively speaking.

Does the US auto industry need to restructure? You betcha! (Maybe you can understand a phrase coming from one of your own...) What you did last night effectively prevents that from happening. I would like to ask what you were thinking, but I cannot believe your "decision" comes from conscious thought. It can only have come from "testosterone poisoning".

Dear Republicans and Christian Fundamentalists

Are you certain you know what you are doing in voting for McCain and Palin? Really?

Let me be very clear about this: I take my faith very seriously. And because I do, it marches right along with me into the voting booth. WWJD is for me not just a bracelet, but the key factor in my decision-making. And I have to tell ya - the following disturbs the h*ll out of me:

From a Palin speech this week:
"Where does a lot of that earmark money end up, anyway? [...] You've heard about, um, these -- some of these pet projects they really don't make a whole lot of sense, and sometimes these dollars they go to projects having little or nothing to do with the public good. Things like fruit fly research in Paris, France. I kid you not!"

This was a speech on autism, and a recent study of Drosophila fruit flies showed that a protein called neurexin is essential for proper neurological function -- a discovery with clear implications for autism research.

While we could go on and on about stem cell research, be it from adult cells or embryonic cells, this is research done on fruit flies, for doG's sake! And I'm certain her disdain was not over any moral issue about the relative worth of the life of a fruit fly, but instead about her perception that this research was a waste of tax dollars...perfectly good tax dollars that could instead be wasted on the war in Iraq or subsidies to oil companies.

And in case you missed it, the real fear factor comes into play with her total disdain of anything scientific. Or at least, it should scare you that any scientific research not directly related to blowing up terrorists will - under a McCain Palin administration - immediately become under- if not UN- funded.

You have a week to repent.

Polls

I was recently asked in a poll if I think this is the most important election of my lifetime. Since "undecided" was not one of the possible answers, I concluded - at the time - that my answer was "no" and moved on. As I am likely to do, I have since spent considerable time pondering the question.

"My lifetime" begins with my parents and their peers electing Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson. Truman: the only human being ever to order and complete a nuclear strike. Eisenhower: how many people realize that the "Eisenhower Interstate System" was actually conceived and built as an evacuation route, in the case of nuclear attack? (And how naive were we then, to believe such attacks would continue to be limited to the scope and size of those Truman ordered?) Kennedy: I don't even know where to begin with him. He inspired a generation to patriotism and to reach for the moon and beyond...yet, if he had been asked the same questions asked of Bill Clinton, would he also have been impeached? And Johnson...well...we won't even go there, okay?

My generation came of age by staying "Clean For Gene". Yet what we got as nominees was HHH and...well...Nixon. (And my favorite bumper sticker in recent years remains "I never though I would miss Nixon".)

Remember the campaign of 1968? (Okay - some of you can't, because you weren't born yet. But try to keep up!) It was a time when elections were won or lost based on principles. The party platform was actually written and set at the convention, and it frequently took vote after vote to determine the candidate. Young people rioted in Chicago, in an effort to change the system. And the hope of the generation - Bobby Kennedy - was assassinated (see above comments about his brother - who knows what the whole truth really is?)

If you took a look at the playlist on my iPod, you would see several songs from that era. "This Land Is Your Land"..."Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream". The popular weekly television series "The Smothers Brothers Show" was instantly pulled off the air because Pete Seeger had the balls to sing "The Big Muddy" (from the refrain: "The big fool said to press on..."), after he had been told not to. We actually thought that music was somehow important (and not just syncopated pornography, as it is now...but I digress.)

But something happened. It was more than just the assassination of RFK, the riot in Chicago, Nixon's Watergate. Something hardened us as a people. Turned us inward. Made us cease to care about the bigger picture.

I really, really wish I could figure out what it was, and fix it. Maybe I am just deluding myself, but life seemed more important then, than this self-abosrbed world we now inhabit. In a recent discussion with a government employee, I even said "What's in it for me?" Because I can't find the words or the will to describe what "patriotism" would look like in this millennium.

So my answer to the poll question changes a bit. This could be the most important election of my lifetime. And here's how:

If McCain and Palin are elected, the world will go on as it has for the last 30 plus years. While I am very sorry that John McCain was a prisoner of war and a victim of torture, our generation still can't talk to each other about whether or not it was a good idea that he was in Vietnam at all. Their focus is on maintaining the status quo - don't give me the "maverick" b.s., okay? If life on Main Street is okay, life is okay. There is nothing beyond me and my own personal comfort.

I have to admit to being uncertain of whether or not Obama and Biden could pull off the kind of cultural shift necessary for this to become the most important election of my lifetime. But at least I see the possibility there. More global thinking. More "reaching out" vs. the "acting out" of the petulant crowd currently inhabiting the White House.

Some of my friends and acquaintances call me "The Queen of Cynicism" or "The Queen of Conspiracy Theories". So be it. But the 1960s-style patriotism never completely died in me. I want to love my country. I want my country to be the envy of the world again...not because of what we have, but because of who we are: hard-working, honest, and willing to help people in need.

It's crunch-time in this election, and all indications are that these next few weeks will be some of the most negative ever seen in US political history. So here's my plea to both sides:

I don't care why you hate the other side. Just tell me how we are going to become more than we have been lately.

Folksy and Dangerous

These words were spoken in last night's vice-presidential debate. And Palin is getting a complete "bye" on what she has said. The woman is dangerous, and ought to be exposed as such.

The topic of discussion was the role of the vice president:

PALIN: Well, our founding fathers were very wise there in allowing through the Constitution much flexibility there in the office of the vice president. And we will do what is best for the American people in tapping into that position and ushering in an agenda that is supportive and cooperative with the president's agenda in that position. Yeah, so I do agree with him that we have a lot of flexibility in there, and we'll do what we have to do to administer very appropriately the plans that are needed for this nation. And it is my executive experience that is partly to be attributed to my pick as V.P. with McCain, not only as a governor, but earlier on as a mayor, as an oil and gas regulator, as a business owner. It is those years of experience on an executive level that will be put to good use in the White House also.

IFILL: Vice President Cheney's interpretation of the vice presidency?

BIDEN: Vice President Cheney has been the most dangerous vice president we've had probably in American history. The idea he doesn't realize that Article I of the Constitution defines the role of the vice president of the United States, that's the Executive Branch. He works in the Executive Branch. He should understand that. Everyone should understand that.

And the primary role of the vice president of the United States of America is to support the president of the United States of America, give that president his or her best judgment when sought, and as vice president, to preside over the Senate, only in a time when in fact there's a tie vote. The Constitution is explicit.

The only authority the vice president has from the legislative standpoint is the vote, only when there is a tie vote. He has no authority relative to the Congress. The idea he's part of the Legislative Branch is a bizarre notion invented by Cheney to aggrandize the power of a unitary executive and look where it has gotten us. It has been very dangerous.

We have already surrendered more of our Constitutional rights under the Bush presidency than at any other time in our history. And now Palin, encouraged by Cheney's free ride, intends to go even further.

WAKE UP, PEOPLE!!!!

Surrender?

Breaking news today in Michigan is that John McCain and his handlers have determined that Obama's 13 point lead here is more than they care to try to overcome, and they will be withdrawing all staff from the state and sending them to "battleground" states where they feel they still have a chance.

Part of me thinks this is a wise decision. But...if McCain is conceding Michigan a month before the election, what else is he likely to give up on? And...does this mean he does not feel the need to address problems here, if elected, in a tit-for-tat move?

Why do I feel the political world is spinning out of control?

To Debate, or Not To Debate...

While on a recent trip to DC - home of the terminally self-absorbed - I passed through a gift shop with a sense of humor. Among the offerings was a coffee mug: one side was a drawing of a shadowy figure in obvious disguise, and the other contained this message:
WHEN CONFRONTED
1. ADMIT NOTHING
2. DENY EVERYTHING
3. DEMAND PROOF
4. MAKE COUNTER-ALLEGATIONS
5. ACCUSE SOMEONE ELSE

The shadowy figure could easily be replaced by caricatures of candidates for President of the United States. And this year, the candidate with the most "experience" has the most need of this strategy.

From his refusal to release his complete medical history ("Admit nothing") to his self-proclaimed status as a maverick ("Deny everything" - apparently voting with Bush only 90% of the time means voting against Bush 10 % of the time - woo! - some maverick!), John McCain has nothing to gain and everything to lose in a debate that may or may not happen this evening.

Unfortunately for me, I won't know until late in the evening whether or not there was a debate. During its time slot, I will be working at $8.50 and hour, selling dowdy clothing to middle-aged, middle class women in Macomb County, Michigan - birthplace of Reagan Democrats.

I do this for a variety of reasons. My most recent paycheck was sent it its entirety to an unemployed friend in Florida, to give her another week or so to find a (non-existent) job and not be put out on the street or under a freeway bridge. You see, unemployment isn't just an issue in the Rust Belt. There are no jobs. Anywhere.

During the Bush Administration, a conservative estimate is that 400,000 manufacturing jobs were lost in the State of Michigan. If you are reading this in another state and/or driving a car produced by a manufacturer whose corporate offices are somewhere other than the United States, let me explain to you what that means:

400,000 lost manufacturing jobs means that 1.6 million people who once had health insurance no longer do.

The health implications are, of course, enormous. That means that necessary treatment is not happening. And don't even think about preventative health measures.

Above and beyond those 400,000 now-jobless people and their covered dependants, are millions of others who are affected by their joblessness. For instance, no health insurance means no patients in medical or dental practices. No patients in these practices means layoffs of health-care staff, fewer supplies purchased, diminished disposable income. Diminished disposable income for health-care professionals means fewer haircuts, restaurant meals, new sneakers for the kids.

Have I hit something in your home state yet?

Right now, my $8.50/hour seems like a godsend. The fact that I have a job at all, like a true miracle.

Of course, I am not allowed to express my political opinions while on the job. But nothing prevents me from listening to what is said by customers - predominantly white women. And it isn't pretty.

I will readily admit that people in Michigan might well be tougher...harder...more cynical...than people in many other places in the country. The weather, the grind of working on the line, the mocking from pretty people from places like California and Colorado tends to thicken the skin. Maybe even dull the senses. But know this: just because I live within 1000 feet of a foreign country does not delude me into thinking I am an expert on foreign policy - as McCain's VP Candidate seems to feel her geographic proximity to Russia does.

And the tough, hard, cynical white women of Macomb County - former Reagan Democrats - both know and understand this.

The polls might now show it. Yet. But if McCain is smart (notice I said "if"), he will skip the debate, and quickly grab the shadowy disguise on the front of the DC coffee mug and disappear into the night...because the strategy on the back won't work. Not this time.

Children

Every year when the semester begins, someone posts a list of things with which the current crop of college freshmen would be UNacquainted. Here is my very unofficial list of things that have been lost since this year's second graders were born:

The Bill of Rights of the US Constitution
Under the guise of Homeland Security, all those ethical issues which we felt held our country morally superior to others on this planet have been rescinded or otherwise subsumed by the White House...the same White House that has made the phrase "big government" an obscene term, despite growing the government larger than anyone ever dreamed possible.

Retirement
Once the expected benefit of all middle class people, it will no longer be an option to Baby Boomers who have not already achieved such status. Between the loss of employer-paid or sponsored benefits, the collapse of the stock market (where those who were lucky enough to have some, invested their retirement funds), the collapse of the housing market (everyone's favorite "hedge fund"), and the hardships that are about to be created by the inevitable bailout caused by Wall Street greed, my husband and I - as well as our peers - anticipate working until dementia takes over.

The National Anthem
Already lost to our children is any Christmas song touching on the birth of Christ - although grandmas and reindeer are still acceptable. Since 9-11, not only has the Anthem not become a patriotic rallying cry, but it has been reduced to "that thing that some semi-famous person slaughters before a sporting event begins". Our children no longer know the words nor the tune - and our adults don't care. (Just watch a hockey game from Canada to be reminded of what this used to be like here.)

Two-Parent Families
Although it still takes one person from each gender to make a baby, the idea that there might be something important to be learned from this concept is lost on this generation. The number of children growing up in a home where each child is biologically related to both parents in the home has become statistically insignificant. And the notion that a baby born to a teen-aged mother might have a chance at a better life if adopted by a stable, mature, married couple is now even rejected by the evangelical candidate for Vice President on the Republican ticket.

Personal Responsibility
There are no consequences. No one is allowed to lose or fail. "Mistake" and "bad choice" now mean the same thing. Just watch the current President fly off to his ranch on January 20, 2009 - financially secure and with no children in military service risking their lives to clean up his messes - to see the prime example.

This is just a quick list from me. Can you think of others?

Lipstick on a Republican

Sara Palin made a joke during the Republican National Convention. (And who knew Republicans had a sense of humor?) She said the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull was lipstick. There are many variations on this theme. As a former liturgist, our variation was that the difference between a liturgist and a terrorist is that you can negotiate with a terrorist. Whatever. (And if you have no idea what a liturgist does in the Roman Catholic Church, don't bother trying to figure it out, because it will give you a headache.)

Again, I did a superficial search of the phrase "lipstick on a pig". Barak Obama is being castigated for his use of this phrase...apparently because Palin used the word "lipstick", and now has copyrighted all its uses in the English language. Guess what? Between October 13 and November 1, 2004, Vice President and MRS. Dick Cheney used the phrase at least 4 times in various speeches from Hawaii to Michigan to Ohio to Pennsylvania, referring to John Kerry. And less than a year ago, John McCain used the phrase when referring to Hillary Clinton's health care proposals.

Now, Class...let's be clear about this:
#1. I deliberately termed my search "superficial", because that should indicate to you that I found only the most obvious uses, and a more in-depth search would likely reveal more. Actually, I never even got past page one of a google search for the instances cited.
#2. Republican spin masters are endeavoring to label this is a sexist attack of Obama on Palin, ignoring the fact that a Republican woman - Mrs. Cheney - used the phrase about John Kerry, as well as the Republican Presidential candidate - John McCain - using it about Hillary Clinton. And the last time I looked, despite her pant suits, she is still a woman.
#3. This type of obfuscation should be recognized as the Republican tactic used in the last campaign, named "swift-boating", for deflecting attention away from real issues and onto fluff.

I have to admit being barely able to type at this point. In 2004, John Kerry ran an almost successful campaign for president. Kerry, a man who served this country in combat conditions in the same war that earned John McCain "hero" status, lost the election - at least in part - because a man who couldn't even prove he showed up for all his National Guard sessions convinced his lackeys that Kerry's service was not medal-worthy. Huh?????

Now, because the tactic was so successful, Republicans are trying it again. Forget that Obama was talking about failed Republican programs being recycled by McCain. Nope. The word "lipstick" was used, so they're going to run with it, as a sexist blast of Palin. And the worst part is that there are millions of mindless people out there who will believe this outright lie.

And while we're on the subject of Palin and lies.....

In the same hockey mom/pit bull speech, Palin commented on the 18 million cracks that Hillary Clinton had put in the glass ceiling, and how she (Palin) was going to shatter it. This one in particular, is for you Hillary Haters. For 19 months Hillary campaigned and took all the sexist garbage that was aimed at her. And there was a great deal of it, and you said if she wanted to be President she had to learn how to deal with it. Now any implication of negativity about Palin is viewed as heresy? Gimme a break! What's fit for the goose is...fit for the goose.

Or would that be...pig?

NOT Part 2

Not exactly, anyway.

Earlier today I read a blog about how the Dems were blowing the election. Let me add my two cents.

This "small island" is in the Detroit area. Every morning while drinking my coffee I listen to a local news radio station. Every morning there are radio spots for Obama...several...but always just repeats of the same spot. Every morning the spot is about abortion.

Part 2 was actually going to be about abortion. I did an extremely superficial search of the CDC website, and came up with the statistic that in 2004, there were 839,226 legal abortions in the US. I had intentions of working with that number, to demonstrate how it is really statistically insignificant, when it comes to choosing a "single issue" - if such is the mindset (or NONmindset) of the voter.

But I am beyond "statistically insignificant" and now believe the repeated use of this spot over other possible issues is nothing but stupid. And not only stupid, but playing into the hands of the opposition.

Those of us who live here call all of southeastern lower Michigan by the generic name of "Detroit". So...this is Detroit, for God's sake, and we have more important things to worry about than whether or not McCain/Palin will propose a Constitutional amendment to ban abortion!!!!

Hello? Has anyone noticed that hundreds of thousands of people here have lost their health insurance during the Bush administration? Does anyone running the Obama campaign realize how much unemployment has increased here in the last 7.5 years? How many of our jobs have gone off-shore? How many homes foreclosed here? We're too damn busy trying to keep food on the table to worry about abortion as the key issue in this election. An issue? Yes! But way down the list of what would or would not attract an independent voter in Michigan.

To quote a recently-famous Democrat: IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID!!!!!!!

If Obama's people keep running an abortion spot to the exclusion of all other issues - particularly the economic one that dominates all of our waking hours - this birthplace of Reagan Democrats will spawn a new generation of such, and we will have another 4...if not 8...years of cronyism, stagnation, and stupidity.

Wake up, people!!!!!

Don't Be Duped - Part 1

Class, pandering to a "single issue voter" is dubious at best, and being one is just over the top.

As we knew it would, abortion has reared it's ugly political head. Just the word sends both sides into a frenzy of sign-making. Whatever side of the issue is yours, take a deep breath and consider:

Both sides have needed it to remain an issue, and for the crass-est (is that a word?) of reasons... because people who vote on that issue and that issue alone - without a single thought to whatever else a candidate stands for or condemns - get candidates elected. No brain power expended on the voters' parts. No serious effort to convince expended on the candidate's part. Just chalk up another vote and move on. Do you seriously think it was anyone but the single-issue voters of Ohio who ultimately put George Bush into the White House in 2004 over John Kerry?

How do I know this, you may ask. Read on.

Recently, John McCain said that he favors a Constitutional amendment, making abortion illegal. While not a simple process, it is certainly more direct than waiting for Supreme Court justices to die, and hoping that there is a pro-life President in office to appoint a like-thinking new justice. And it is a process that has been available since the very instant the court decided on Roe v. Wade. How many years is that?

If all those politicians who have been put into Congress and the White House by single-issue voters had spent a couple of years working on this amendment right after Roe v. Wade, it would now be a moot point - one way or another. Remember how quickly the Equal Rights Amendment crashed and burned, as it was rejected at almost light-speed? But in fact, they didn't use this route, instead preferring to use the "dead Supreme Court justice" tactic. Using that tactic, the first substantive case on abortion is wending its way to this Supreme Court, and may arrive there sometime late in the next President's first term. Maybe even later than that - thereby keeping it alive as an issue for yet another presidential election.

So, while abortion may be a gut issue for you, for politicians it is just a way to assure themselves a certain portion of the electorate with no effort expended. That, Class, is my take on those running for office in this manner. Stay tuned for my thoughts on those who vote in this manner!

Recess!

So you THINK you're Pro Life.....

With the selection of Sara Palin as VP candidate on the GOP ticket, the issue of abortion once again raises its head. She calls herself an "anti-abortion feminist". Okay - at least she keeps the terminology clear. But for the rest of us, Class, a lesson in semantics.

First - Anti-abortion DOES NOT EQUAL "Pro Life". And here's why: the ability to abort one specific life ends once a fetus has been removed from the uterus - alive or otherwise. Life, on the other hand, continues for years or decades beyond the delivery room...or not.

Fellow Roman Catholics, listen up. Because any minute now Church leaders will be endeavoring to make this into yet another single-issue election, all the while muddling the single issue. And even if you are not Catholic - perhaps not even a believer - the distinctions still apply.

Pro Life:
Webster's defines the terms thusly:
"pro" - (adv.) in favor: for
"life" - (n.) 1. the quality that distinguishes a vital and functioning being from a dead body or inanimate matter (emphasis mine)

The Roman Catholic Church states that to be Pro-Life, one is committed to preserving and defending life from conception to natural death. Uh huh...

So that means that, to be considered Pro Life a person must necessarily:
--insist that the infant and her mother receive adequate and affordable healthcare throughout their lives
--pay taxes to provide an education that makes the child competitive in the global job market
--establish the means to obtain safe and affordable housing, and punish predatory lending practices on the part of banks and other financial institutions

I could go on. Healthcare, education, and housing, are, after all, necessities of life.

Being Pro Life means the environment must be preserved, and natural resources used wisely and distributed fairly.

Being Pro Life means that Iraqi children have as much right to be "vital and functioning" as American children do.

Being Pro Life means that those approaching retirement need not fear that their hard-earned retirement funds will somehow disappear into a cloud of management greed.

Do you get it, Class? Too often people proclaim themselves Pro Life, yet don't give a damn what happens to that life once it has gone beyond the hospital delivery room. It simply doesn't work that way. If I am Pro Life, then I am for the person throughout life.

These are tough decisions, because they involve a financial and moral cost to me. They involve a commitment to my fellow human beings for longer than 9 months - and we have such a short attention span! But I cannot, in good conscience, call myself Pro Life if all I am interested in is anti-abortion.

As Americans we used to be so much better than that!

Welcome To My Island

Greetings, Class!

While I physically live on an island, this morning I became more aware that I also politically live on an island. And now that the four major players in this year's Presidential election have finally been named, I feel compelled to quote former candidate John Kerry of a few nights ago: "Are you kidding me?"

I was first introduced to feminism in the early 1970s, at a rally at which a number of women - who later went on to become famous as feminists - spoke. In those days it was called "Women's Lib", and, while somewhat scattered in intention, it generated a lot of enthusiasm but little substantive change in the early years. (The failed ERA Amendment must still be kicking around somewhere.)

Through marriage, children, and 2 graduate degrees in a somewhat esoteric area, I met and read some of the greatest female minds of the time, from around the world. Yet I became disappointed and disillusioned that the progress that women were making appeared - to me! - to be on the lowest level of self-actualization.

I now call myself a "post-feminist" - and have not completely defined that term, even for myself. But this morning, while sitting in a waiting room blaring CNN and it's hype prior to McCain's announcement of running mate Gov. Sara Palin of Alaska, the ol' bra-burning, hair-set-on-fire, "men just don't get it" feelings resurfaced. Lucky thing I was in a hospital, because I had visions of stroking out on the spot.

I can completely understand John McCain going after disappointed Hillary Clinton supporters, for what looks to be a tight race between himself and Barak Obama...just as I can understand him going after disappointed John Edwards supporters. But somehow, the poor old dear convinced his muddled self that one uterus is equal to another - hence the selection of Palin. He seems to feel that, since she is a woman, all women will get her support.

Back in a 1988 Vice Presidential debate, Lloyd Bentsen chastised an inexperienced Dan Quayle for his attempt to appear John Kennedy-esque with the following: "Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you are no Jack Kennedy."

While Hillary Clinton was not my first choice during the primaries, and I am not a disappointed Clinton supporter, I must paraphrase Bentsen: Governor, you are no Hillary Clinton.

McCain turned 72 today. As the primary caregiver of my 89 year old mother with dementia, I recognize the signs. The lack of consistency...of self control...the inability to remember important details (how many houses is it?). This 72 year old man with a long history of malignant melanoma - an often fatal disease - then went on to continue to play his commercial about Obama lacking experience. Has he lost his mind? Oh - forgive me! - I already said he did!

So...welcome to my political island. It's quiet here, so I may have a lot to say. You're welcome to join in the conversation - just remember...it's my chalk and my grade book. I get the final say on what's passing and what isn't.

But then...that's what the last seven and a half years has been all about, isn't it?