Like a Phoenix rising out of Arizona

This is an attempt to begin posting to Federalcheese again. As a side note, I am writing this post as I watch the San Francisco Giants face a pitcher I played against in high school and college. A pitcher labeled as a “veteran.” AND, I remember watching the new manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks when he played for Stanford. Now that makes you feel old.

I have also been thinking a lot recently about the United States and the problems we face. And there are quite a few. Rising health care costs, rising unemployment, rising budget deficits, a war in Afghanistan, the occupation of Iraq, global warming, Kim Jong Il getting that much ballsier and if you want to buy an American car, you had better make it a Ford. Not to mention Newt Gingrich is somehow becoming the leader of the Republican Party.

With all these problems, here is what I believe should alarm you the most; Two weeks ago Taliban fighters were within one hundred miles of the capital of a nation with a formidable nuclear arsenal. Somehow, news programs seem more concerned with Chrysler’s bankruptcy, but the Taliban is as strong as ever and Pakistan may not be able to stop them.

Do you agree? Let me now your thoughts.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Ah, The Fake News Continues

AP-New York

One day after her rival for the Democratic Party nomination claimed victory, Hillary Clinton spoke to the chess club at La Guardia Middle School in Flushing. The last minute speech addressed the critical debate over Clinton’s refusal to admit defeat after the culmination of the primary season. “I have fought for justice my entire life,” Clinton said. The former First Lady went on to relate a story from her own school years. “I remember playing dodge ball in 3^rd grade and I also remember being quickly knocked out of the game.” Clinton began to tear up as she continued, “I remember seeing all of my friends get hit soon after and it made me mad. So mad that I marched straight up to Mr. Carvolachio I told him the game wasn’t fair.” Clinton persisted and eventually convinced her 3^rd grade teacher to change the rules of the game. “She was a tenacious little bugger back then,” said Vincent Carvolachio, now retired, from his home in Utica, “and I remember her being teased for ruining that dodge ball game.” Carvolachio went on to say the game that day quickly turned into chaos with most of the kids leaving the gym to play foursquare. Clinton ended her speech to the middle school students by telling them not to give in to injustice and later partook in a spirited game of chess with 7^th grader, Bobby Gimnal. “Yeah, it was fun playing chess with her even though she kept asking me if I thought the rules were fair,” Gimnal said after Clinton’s visit.

Oh boy

On the Today Show this morning, former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said George Bush authorized the leaking of Valerie Plame's CIA identity to the press. Yes, the President was accused of treason today. AND...word on the street is Henry Waxman has issued a subpoena for Scott McClellan.

So, just for starters

I have a degree in History which means I like old shit and am kind of afraid of new technology. The fact that I can take a photo with my phone and email it to myself fucking blows me away. So here is the latest photo taken with my phone:

I'm pretty sure they have abandoned the initial business plan at "24 hour" fitness.



This comes on a night when I heard two memorable lines while walking the streets of Seattle:

"Yeah, seafood is pretty good" and "I've been thinking about Toxic Avenger a lot recently."

This is Very Telling

The Key Arena (where the Seattle Supersonics play) couldn't hold all the people who wanted to see Barack Obama last time he visited Seattle. Hillary Clinton's rally wasn't as big, but it was free, as was Obama's. This was just before the Washington caucuses, but even that didn't force McCain to have a free event. He addressed a few people at the Westin hotel...for a fee. Now that McCain is the Republican nominee, he can comfortably go back to Republican elitist politics as usual. Tonight, he's in Bellevue (one block from my work, oy.) and here is what his website has to offer: (italics are mine)

"Tickets for a Photo Opportunity Reception are $10,000 per person or couple (Raise or Contribute). Tickets for a VIP Reception are $2,300 per person, and tickets for the Main Reception are $1,000 per person. Tickets for the Victory Dinner are $33,100 per person or couple. The photo opportunity reception begins at 5:00 p.m., and the VIP reception begins at 5:30 p.m.. The main reception begins at 6:00 p.m., and the victory dinner begins at 7:00 p.m."

The average annual income today for a male in his 30's is...$35,000.

Oh, Hillary.

Hillary Clinton continues to play the race card. Her latest last-ditch effort to stay in the race is to claim more uneducated white people vote for her than Barack Obama. She says these voters are necessary for a Democratic victory in November and that Obama can’t get their support. Clinton won 6 of every 10 white voters in Indiana. Uneducated whites will help back up Clinton’s claim when she wins the upcoming West Virginia and Kentucky primaries, two states that are full of uneducated white people and will both give all their electoral college votes to John McCain this November. Oregon’s primary is coming up as well and anybody who has ever spent time in Oregon knows that there are a lot of white people there. Obama is leading in the polls in Oregon. Washington State Democrats voted 68% for Obama to 31% for Clinton. Washington State has 3% of its voters listed as African-American.

Here’s my point. Obama continues to campaign on the issue of change and one of those changes is not campaigning the old fashioned way by saying what demographics can we win and who can we afford to lose. Clinton used to think working class whites mattered more than blacks. Obama narrowed that gap in Indiana and now Clinton says its uneducated whites that matter. Basically, blacks don’t win elections; whites do, according to Clinton. Obama thinks that large numbers of Democrats showing up on November 4^th wins an election. Traditionally, nominees campaign in states they think they can win. Republicans don’t spend much time during the national campaign in San Francisco and Democrats don’t schedule a lot of rallies in Houston or Dallas. But, I think we are going to see this change with Barack Obama. While Hillary continues to throw out the “I’ve won the big states (with lots of white people in them and never mind the fact that these states will most likely vote for the Democratic candidate whoever that might be) strategy, Obama continues to inspire hope in Americans from all walks of life and it seems to be working. If the sheer number of Democrats showing up for the primaries, show up in November, McCain will back in the Senate chamber in January.