Sooner Be Blue

Mostly politics, a few current events, a squirt of seltzer down yer pants .. a little blog for my rambles and rants.

2008/8/23

So it's Biden.

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@ 12:23 PM (2 months, 29 days ago)
 
I won't try to hide my disappointment. I was hoping for Hillary, but maybe Obama felt she was too controversial, or would outshine him...or that both the Clintons just overwhelmed him. Because you can't have one without the other. Maybe there was too much bad blood from the primaries...
 
Whatever.
 
I understand the approval many have for Biden as a good senator and a good man, but I’m just saying please consider how Obama is pretty much writing all of McCain’s fall political ads for him.
 
Because choosing Biden has sure made the Republicans happy, they already had a slew of political ads ready to run just moments after the long awaited text message arrived. They now have so much grist for their mill...for there are so many problems with this pick.
 
First of all, he’s a man who only a short time ago went on camera saying that Obama wasn’t ready to be president and that the Oval Office was not a good place for “on the job training.” If you don’t think the R's aren't dancing with glee as they plan to use this in McCain political ads this fall, I have a sweet real estate deal for you.
 
The selection of Biden even fails the tried-and-true tests of a good VP pick. He doesn't bring Obama better geography or demographics, he's from Delaware, it always votes Democratic for president. Obama doesn't need Delaware.
 
Biden certainly won't bring to the table the angry army of women and Hillary supporters. Just another “old white guy” on the ticket only pisses off those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling. Hillary could have brought them to the table.
 
Obama will have to stop criticizing McCain for his support of the war, and for ”getting it wrong”...and he'll have to shut up about the surge. Because he has now selected a running mate who not only voted in favor of the war, but came out on McCain’s side in saying what a great idea the surge was. Yep, Obama picked somebody who showed the exact same lack of judgment he was critizing Clinton and McCain for.
 
I'm sure the R's are already running video clips and articles on that little gem.
 
What about Biden's age? He's only six years younger than McCain. So there goes all our fun making jokes about McCain’s age. Because if Obama feels that Biden is ready to step into the Top Job on Day One...age no longer can be an issue.
 
No more “Things John McCain is Older Than” jokes...
 
So much for Change and Hope, because Biden has been in the Senate since the Nixon administration. No political outsider or agent of change is he...and don't forget his long voting records on every issue under the sun. The R's are digging through them as we speak. They'll find something, several somethings, which they can use for their political advantage.
 
Another thing, Obama will have to stop complaining about the “evil lobbyists” who are ruining our political system. Did he bother to look into all of Biden’s lobbyist connections? Talk about lobbing softballs for the  McCain campaign to knock out of the park...
 
Then there's Biden reputation for being a bit of a hot head and losing his temper. You can kiss all those delicious stories about McCain’s legendary temper-tantrums goodbye.
 
Biden is also prone to bad gaffes on the campaign trail...like the time he told an American-Indian supporter, “You can’t go into a Dunkin' Donuts or a 7-11 without a slight Indian accent these days.”
 
Also sometimes when he gets to talking, and lord how he loves to talk, he tends to, uh, exaggerate...to put it kindly. He once told the press “I exaggerate when I’m angry.” Oh dear...
 
I really thought all of the chatter about Biden was a bait-and-switch ploy...designed to throw the press off the scent of the real pick. I saw all the revved up activity at Biden's house last night on the news and thought look at those wily Obama people.
 
But, alas. Now all McCain has to do is avoid picking Mitt Romney as his running mate and he wins the Veep Pick segment of the competition.
 
Sorry, folks. Joe Biden may be a wonderful man with a compelling life story, but how this translates into a strong VP pick for Obama is a total mystery to me.
 

"How do you like me now?"

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@ 10:42 AM (2 months, 29 days ago)

Well I'll be danged...have pigs flown? Hath hell frozen over?
 
"Toby Keith Throws Support Behind Obama"
 
This oughta put a twist in the knickers of the mullett-headed Nascar set.
 
"LOS ANGELES -- Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama is getting a little bit of support from one of the big names in country music.
 
....Keith is best known among non-country music folks for his post-Sept. 11 song, "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue."
 
The song features lines aimed at the Taliban in Afghanistan like, "We lit up your world like the Fourth of July."
 
But Keith has said the song was more of a patriotic tune than a pro-war song.
 
The county music star said that he was impressed that Obama visited Afghanistan to learn about the region. [..]" Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.
 
http://www.wesh.com/entertainment/17241264/detail.html
 
This is BIG. This is an important thing to Obama's campaign.
 
Country music has pretty much supported Republicans since the Vietnam war, and Toby Keith is seen by the beer-swilling rednecks as one of them, and he is. He's also one of country music's most popular acts, and has a lot of clout in the music community.
 
And there are waaay more of those Joe-six-pack guys than there are latte-swilling intellectuals. This vote segment will be important to the election.
 
Unless the rednecks pull a Dixie-Chicks backlash on Toby.
 
It wouldn't surprise me if the righties throw him under the bus. After all he's done too...countless USO trips, fundraisers for wounded vets, etc.
 
It's time more C&W artists spoke up. Toby can stand up there with Willie Nelson, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Country music has some reasonable minds, but there are plenty who've been afraid to speak up...remembering the crap the Dixie Chicks went through.
 
His Obama endorsement just may redeem Toby in my eyes for his part in trashing the Dixie Chicks.
 
He's said to be a lifelong Democrat, but he sure didn't act it, donating money to both Bush and the RNC:
 
http://www.newsmeat.com/celebrity_political_donations/Toby_Keith.php
 
So, you can imagine how much the Republicans have screwed up to have him do a complete turnabout.
 
BUT--there's another way to look at this. See, Toby has a movie coming out - "Beer For My Horses" - and he's a savvy Okie businessman. His country market has probably been tapped out and he sniffs change blowing in the wind. Might as well get in good with the arugula-eating crowd early.
 
That ol' Toby is one crafty cowboy. He could be playing the blue against the red, or maybe he's just out for the green.
 

Bill Maher on religion, part 2

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@ 07:19 AM (2 months, 29 days ago)
 
(From the Larry King Show 8/19) KING: I asked Rick Warren if he could vote for -- would America vote for an atheist? And he said never, because in his opinion, he could never vote for someone who did not believe in a higher authority than himself or herself.
 
MAHER: Well, but see, I used to read parts of Rick Warren's book onstage in my standup act. It produced, I promise you, gales of laughter, because the idea that any person on earth can tell you with such specifics what happens when you die just blows my mind.
 
That somebody on earth, another person, can just say to you, "Oh, yes. And what happens when you get to heaven? Yes. You'll meet Jesus. He's wearing a white robe. There's a little gold piping on the sleeve. And then you go in this room and eat eggs and you watch 'F Troop'."
 
Are you kidding? What are you talking about? You're just a person like I am. You are clueless. You have no idea what happens.
 
KING: Don't you think Rick believes it?
 
MAHER: Of course he believes it, but how -- how ridiculous is that? Like, if I went to the Himalayas to find the holiest of holy men in the world who had all the answers, the guru. And I got to the top of the mountain. I said, "Please, master, can you help me with the ultimate meaning of life?"
 
He'd say, "Yes. There's a guy Rick in Long Beach, Rick Warren. Go ask him. He knows exactly what happens when you die." And, you know, that is my ultimate message. Unless a god told you personally what happens when you die, it all came from another person with no more mental powers than you have, and you don't know. So just man up and say, "I don't know." But they believe.
 
KING: And belief -- belief is a tough thing to counter.
 
MAHER: Yes. And I understand why it's a luxury for some people who don't need it and why a lot of people are less fortunate, and they do need it.
 
So we're not trying to point fingers in this movie. I think we do it -- we're laughing all the way through it. I think we're winking and having a good time, and we're not trying to be judgmental. But at some point, you know, mankind is going to have to shed this skin if he's going to move forward. I do have a serious intellectual problem with it.
 
And on another level it just ticks me off. It's just the ultimate hustle. It's just "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain." You know, why can't they, I always ask -- I asked (the actor) Jesus at Holy Land, "Why can't God just defeat the devil and get rid of evil?"
 
You know, and it's the same reason the comic-book character can't get rid of his nemesis. Then there's no story. If God gets rid of the devil -- and he could, he's all powerful -- well, then there's no fear. There's no reason to come to church. There's no reason to pass the plate. We're all out of a job. You know, it's got to go on.
 
CALLER: Bill, for years, Evangelicals never cared about pollution and the destruction of our environment. They only cared about making converts. Do you think the Evangelicals' new found mission to now save the environment is because they realize it's smart business to appear politically correct?
 
MAHER: Wow, what a well thought question. ...Very good. Thank you. That's one reason why I'm saying Rick Warren is a big improvement, is that he cares about the environment, poor people. He's actually -- has read the New Testament, I think. So there's a Christ-like, not just a Christian element to him. So, great. If they throw their lot in with saving the Earth, that's fantastic.
 
One reason I have always been anti-Evangelical and people who take the Bible literally is because ... Slavery is OK with the Bible, keeping women down, and honor killings and let's not even go into how bad they are to people. But animals, you know, the Bible says man can have dominion over animals. And also they believe people have a soul, whatever that is, but animals don't. So do whatever you want with them.
 
So if they're getting more on the page of being kind to animals and helping the environment, then sign me up.
 
KING: Do you believe it?
 
MAHER: Yes, I do. I don't doubt their sincerity. I doubt their -- you know, I always say it's a neurological disorder. I doubt that part of their mind that's walled off. I want to knock down that door. And, you know, I think this movie ("Religulous") is going to be that for a lot of people. It's going to be the anti-"Passion of the Christ." For all the people who liked that movie, there's another crowd.
 
[Caller asks question about weak minded people]
MAHER: ...Jesse Ventura had that great quote, religion is a crutch for weak minded people who need strength in numbers. Pretty harsh words from somebody who I think was governor at the time.
 
KING: He was.
 
MAHER: I don't know how it's more weak minded to be the one who is saying, look, I don't know what happens when you die. So I'm just going to say I don't know. That, to me, seems a more honest approach than believing in --
 
KING: Well, in truth, don't most people think that? Wouldn't you gather that they don't know? Because if they knew, why would they fear it so much?
 
MAHER: Right.
 
KING: Why would they not -- why would you not -- why fear death?
 
MAHER: You know, I agree. I've never been the person who's been troubled by those big questions. I've never been able to answer them and I know I never will. And you just give yourself a headache thinking about them. I mean, if you start thinking about these things, you kind of get down to why is there anything? Try to ponder that one afternoon...
 
KING: Why is there anything?
 
MAHER: Well, like if the universe begins at a certain point, what was before the universe? Nothing. But how can nothing -- we can't contemplate that, because nothing is something. See, there may be answers. I'm not saying that there isn't something out there. I'm not strictly an atheist. An atheist is certain there's no god.
 
KING: That's a religion.
 
MAHER: Sort of. You know, people say could it be Jesus? Yes, it could be Jesus. It also could be Furbee or the lint in my navel. I have a feeling it's probably not something that smacks of the story that bronze-age men would write down, people who didn't know what an atom or a germ was, or where the sun went at night, or why their women got pregnant.
 
You know, if the Bible was written by a god who's beyond time, it wouldn't be so limited to the morays of that era.