Pop Politic Madness

I don't usually discuss politics. But I feel I don't need a PHD to discuss this subject...

Ever wonder if the polls are accurate? We got a hot link for you.

Check out how the polls measure up to the outcome.

Oh yeah ...Obama won. They got that right.

Whip It Out Wednesday: Barack Obama

On this, the first ever Whip it out Wednesday, I'm proud to feature our new President, Barack Obama.

Our new President will be a great leader...because he is all the things other people claim to be. He doesn't have to tell the world he's a good father...he simply is. He doesn't have to tell the world he's an intelligent man...he simply is.

Barack Obama symbolizes so many things to so many people, both here and around the world: this country (such as we know it; we could have a very lengthy discussion about the legitimacy of our occupation of the Native American lands, but for purposes of this conversation we'll simply accept that we're Americans) brought Africans here in chains, denied them the right to vote until 150 years ago, and still -- to this day -- has Ku Klux Klan members squealing about "white power." With Obama's election, we finally took the first step to putting all these embarrassing people on the road to extinction. In the eyes of the world, the United States has finally grown up. And though that may not mean anything to the wife-beating, cross-burning racists currently living in this country, in their double-wide trailers, I take comfort in knowing that they're a dying breed and a very small minority of the population.

To Michael Moore, Barack Obama symbolizes the triumph of intelligence. (Yeah, imagine that: a President who went to an Ivy League school...ON HIS OWN INTELLIGENCE, NOT ON HIS DADDY'S COAT-TAILS. A President who graduated said school in the TOP five percent of his class...NOT FIFTH FROM THE BOTTOM. Hell, a President who can actually SAY "nuclear" and "strategy" and won't hold My Pet Goat upside down while reading to kids!)

"Today, we celebrate this triumph of decency over personal attack, of peace over war, of intelligence over a belief that Adam and Eve rode around on dinosaurs just 6,000 years ago," said Moore. "What will it be like to have a smart president? Science, banished for eight years, will return. Imagine supporting our country's greatest minds as they seek to cure illness, discover new forms of energy, and work to save the planet."

Moses Avalon, the respected music industry mogul, thinks that the election of Barack Obama signals the rebirth of the impossible dream. "Forget all the opinion polls of the last four years, skewed and spun for a nation hemorrhaging in so many ways. This is the only poll that matters. The People have spoken. "Enough" is the word. "Get out" is the word," said Avalon. "Tomorrow we will wake up in a world with a new kind of President. One who beat the odds and beat the prejudice. It gives me pause to think what will be possible in the coming years. No idea will be too crazy or too idealistic. We will need to be careful, but as of tomorrow we once again live in the world of dreams."


For me, the election of Barack Obama is a lot like the ending of Return of the Jedi: a small, understated group of rebels, with nothing to back them but their belief in the goodness of people and the wrongness of their quasi-fascist war machine and all its evil constructs (including its evil leader (Cheney) and his patsy (Bush)), toppled a seemingly-limitless regime. Hell, even the celebrations in the streets were remarkably similar (and judging from the feedback on sci-fi boards, I'm not the only one who thinks so).

Clip below:


Regardless of who you voted for -- and though I voted for Obama, I have to say that McCain gave a truly classy concession speech (would it be that his supporters showed that same dignity. The Obama supporters CHEERED McCain, while the McCain supporters BOOED Obama. Even McCain, for all that he ran a dirty campaign, seemed embarrassed by, and for, them) -- you have to admit this was truly a monumental, historic moment. And that, alone, makes Barack Obama worthy of today's ogling.

President Obama

YES WE DID!

Manic Monday: Election Edition

This is Shirley Nagel, a FIRED teacher from Michigan, and a RNC delegate. Ms. Nagel makes my Manic Monday list today because, quite simply, she's a nasty excuse for a human being and paints every decent, non-judgmental, intelligent Republican (yes, they're out there) in a bad light. Coming from an ol'blue New York Democrat, this is saying quite a bit.

You see, on Halloween, Ms. Nagel decided not to give candy to children whose parents were Obama supporters, using the same tired lines that the entire mean-spirited Republican campaign has been using in this, the Rovian era (i.e., scary Muslim, unqualified socialist, and so on), which has made me, nearly every Democrat, and several moderate Republicans ashamed of the country we live in.

This post, however, is not about political or religious beliefs. This post is about the mean-spirited-ness of this woman who, of course, paints herself as a righteous Christian, in line with the Republican ideals. It's one thing to believe what you like -- far be it from me to tell you otherwise. It's one thing to educate children about the political process, and explain your reasoning in an AGE APPROPRIATE manner (a five year old kid doesn't understand about the politics of mud-slinging, folks. My five year old nephew thinks he should vote for Obama because his younger brother, my other nephew, looks like Obama. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was right. Never mind that, at 5 years old, he doesn't understand that he CAN'T vote, bless his heart...).

It's another thing entirely to deny CHILDREN -- who wield NO political influence, and probably, like my nephew, have such a small understanding of the world to begin with (he doesn't think we should vote for McCain because, like his grandfather [my father], McCain is 72 years old, "and he has to take his medicine, and when he takes his medicine, he doesn't feel very well." Do you think he, for all his intelligence, understands "privatizing Social Security" or "no pull-out timetable for the Iraqi war"?!) -- equal rights to HALLOWEEN CANDY (because, y'know, spreading the chocolate wealth around is SO Socialist...) because you don't agree with their parents' politics.

The sad part is, before the Republicans began catering to the racist Dixiecrats and the fringe Religious Right, it WAS known as the party of fairness and reason. If Barack Obama becomes President tomorrow, in a very real way, it is because of a Republican's efforts over 150 years ago (Lincoln) that was the first in a progressive process of civil rights and equality. Even John McCain -- for all that he sold his soul to the Lee Atawater School of Slander -- was, not so long ago, a true maverick who was unafraid to reach across the aisle to the most liberal of Senators (Feingold and Kennedy -- who both prove that Obama is quite MODERATE in his voting record) to pass truly fair and balanced legislation.

Unfortunately, for every McCain-Feingold Act, there's a Shirley Nagel. I truly hope that, whoever wins tomorrow (the writing's on the wall, but let's be elusive so the networks can get their ratings...), they will have the decency and the courage to reach across the aisle and be truly non-partisan in their rule, and render idiots like Shirley Nagel completely obsolete.

1 Day Left

FRIENDLY REMINDER: Only 1 more day left until Election Day, friends! Start stretching your fingers and get your thinking caps on! Get ready to exercise your American right to vote!

We don't care if you're a Republican or a Democrat, JUST GO VOTE! We think this is going to be a huge turnout and we hope that everyone is scheduling around their day tomorrow to head to the polls. We are ready here at PCM, are you?

Cabbage Patch Nominees

With all the serious election news these days -- and, regardless of your affiliation, I urge you all to get out and VOTE next Tuesday! -- today's news is a little light-hearted, for a nice change...

If you, like me, grew up in the 80's, you owned a Cabbage Patch Kid, and quite possibly a Koosa, both of which I still have. (Side note: mine is a bald preemie originally given a very Anglo name [Parker John]. You had the option to send in for a "birth certificate" reflecting a name change to one more of your liking. And so, Pino Caspar -- named, respectively, as a diminutive of my father's name (Giuseppe, or Joseph), and the blond kid my cousin Paula had a crush on in elementary school (Caspar Reskinielsen) -- was named. I know: oy...)

Any-kid-with-issues, this year's presidential candidates -- and their Veeps -- have been immortalized in the form of Cabbage Patch Kids. Is it me, or do the Biden and McCain dolls look near-exactly alike?

Rest assured my Barack "kid" will be joining his brother Pino WITHOUT a name change. :-)