No Shows at the RNC

It has been announced today that Satan himself and his little minion named George will not be attending the Republican National Convention. That's right: it seems that a certain tropical storm named Gustav is going to rain on their parade. I was kind of looking forward to the all the bluster and fear spewing forth from the gaping holes of George W. Bush and the dick they call Dick. The list of Republican no-shows is getting longer and longer. (No Susan Collins, no Gordon Smith, no Larry Craig (it seems he doesn't want to have to visit the Minneapolis airport again,) no Chuck Hagel (who recently praised Obama' running mate Joe Biden,) but you can count on Joe Lieberman being there. He's the new Zell Miller. Remembering the slavering, sputtering traitor?

On another note about the improbable closeness of this presidential race: Obama easily filled Mile High Stadium (I refuse to call it by its corporate name) with 80,000 supporters, while John McCain was having trouble giving away 10,000 tickets for his event announcing his running mate. Oh, and what a running mate! Lock up your pet moose, she's got a gun and a taste for wild game.

Back-to-Back Conventions

The Democratic Convention finished up last night with a stellar speech by the nominee Barack Obama. I wish I had the energy and free time that some bloggers have, so that I could have given a play-by-play of the various speeches during the week. It was quite an inspirational convention. The speech highlights that I saw were Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Dennis Kucinich in addition to the acceptance speech by Barack Obama. I don't know if I'm even-tempered enough to watch any of the Republican Convention, which starts Monday. It will certainly be a summit of deceivers and incompetents. Rudy -9/11- Giuliani will be giving the key note address. You can be sure that they will do their best to try and instill fear into the hearts of millions, while trying to assure us that they are the only ones able to placate our fears with their big brass balls and weapons of mass deception. I'm still sickened by the last Republican convention when they mocked John Kerry's service by wearing their stupid purple band-aids. Meanwhile neo-cons like Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld never served, and we all know that George's daddy got him into the National Guard, which kept him stateside during the Vietnam War. I don't know how these hypocrites sleep at night. I know how their voters sleep, because ignorance is bliss and that ignorance would most likely lead to a blissful sleep. Meanwhile torture has been legalized, people have been kept under lock and key in Guantanamo for years without charges, the government can now tap my phone, open my mail and even enter my home without my knowledge. And my Republican parents just sigh when I rant about these things and say, "Well, we don't know much about that."

John McCain turned 72 years old today and announced Sarah Palin as his running mate. Palin should satisfy the raving lunatics on the evangelical right, because she is against abortion even in cases of rape or incest; she opposes gay marriage and health care benefits for same sex partners; she believes that creationism should be taught alongside evolution in the classroom. She a hardcore right-winger when it comes to Alaska too, endorsing the practice of shooting wolves from helicopters (to preserve moose and caribou populations for hunters); not believing that polar bears should be placed on the endangered species list; and she an avid supporter of drilling in ANWAR. These positions are really not too surprising for the Republicans, but I'm a little surprised that McCain (in his proverbial first executive decision) picked someone with so little experience when they are other perfectly qualified female Republicans available like Elizabeth Dole, Olympia Snowe, or Susan Collins. Instead McCain shows his true colors by picking the former beauty pageant contestant. Were you aware that his first wife and current wife Cindy were also beauty queens? And John was ready to enter his wife in the Miss Buffalo Chip contest at the most recent Sturgis bike rally.

Again I reiterate: This presidential race shouldn't even be close. The fact that it is is partly due to the corporate controlled media, but it's also due to the large portion of Americans that are sub intelligent beasts. Most of these bloodthirsty bastards also call themselves Christians. I'm realizing more and more that when someone declares themselves to be a Christian they are basically giving themselves permission to lie, cheat, murder with the promise of everlasting life in the clouds somewhere, as long ask they as for forgiveness and accept Jesus as their personal savior before their last breath. With this pious attitude they declare themselves unassailable. They don't need proof. They have faith. If one takes the time to examine these concepts they fall apart immediately.

I just need to slow my breathing and stop letting the fascist Republicans rain on my parade every day.

Post-Rational

The first ad at the bottom (appropriately) is a McCain ad featuring a Clinton supporter, who claims that she will now vote for John McCain. Above that we have Chris Matthews trying to make some sense out of couple of loonies that also supposedly Clinton supporters that are now backing McCain. Matthews (for a change) actually calls them on their bullshit. A few nights ago Rachel Maddow referred to these people as "post rational." In other words, they are insane. Firstly, I have a hard time believing that any of these fools ever seriously considered themselves Democrats. More likely they are just shills for the Republican party, spreading disinformation.

Rachel Maddow Kicks Ass!!

Rachel Maddow's new show debuts on September 8th on MSNBC immediately following Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Now all MSNBC has to do is fire Joe Scarborough and Tucker Carlson and send Pat Buchanan back to his senile slumber in the old racist's home and I'll be a happy progressive. (Take note of the enthusiastic applause every time Rachel scores her points.)

Seattle Atheists/Agnostics Meetup

Tonight I attended my second meet-up of the Seattle Atheists and Agnostics. We met at Hale’s Brewery, which is over in the Ballard area of Seattle. We had a room to ourselves, which was more like the foyer in-between the restaurant and the room containing the brew vats. The turnout for our meet-up was around 50 or 60. From what I’ve heard the size of our membership rivals that of New York city, so evidently Seattle is a city full of heretics. I’m proud to call myself a happy member of that community. As always I got to the meeting place about an hour early, but somehow that helps allay any nervousness I have going in. A few others started arriving around 6:30, so I didn’t feel out of place being there so early (the meeting starts at 7 p.m.) Meet-ups are pretty informal gatherings. Once one is at the meeting it’s up to the individual to make introductions and keep conversations going. There are no official topics, or anything. It’s just an excuse for like-minded people to hang out together. Christers have their churches and freethinkers have their brewpubs. I wouldn’t want it any other way. Being the introvert that I am it will probably take me a year of meetings to actually make some acquaintances, but I think my continued attendance is a worthwhile thing. I need to learn to circulate among the other attendees. Instead I tend to stay ensconced at my table and let the conversations come to me. That method of socialization is not the most reliable.

Lucky Seven?

It seems that everyone is trying to guess how many houses John McCain owns. Even John McCain has to have his staff get back to reporters to answer that question, because he's not sure. The Obama campaign has finally realized that owning seven houses worth over 13 million dollars makes John McCain the true elitist outsider. How much did those shoes cost again John?

How Many Mansions Does John McCain Own?

It seems that I was wrong in my last post when I numbered the McCain residences at 5 or 6. It seems the number is closer to 8 0r 9. If you're interested in checking out the luxurious residences of this non elitist then you should look here. All this from parasitically latching on to the beer heiress and dumping his first wife after her disabling car accident. What a classy guy! And to think that Barack Obama and his wife only finished paying off their student loans a few years ago.

Er...Umm...My Friends

Okay, raise your hands if you're voting for the feeble-minded, flip-flopping old guy. We've all seen the verbal blunders of G.W. Bush over the last 7 years (has it only been 7 years? Seems like 7 friggin' decades!), but do Americans really want another barely coherent rich guy running our country for the next four years? Sure, he wears $500 shoes, owns 5 or 6 houses (I lose track, as the McCains do too, since they forgot to pay the last four years of taxes on their beachfront property in Malibu.) and the McCains spend over $200,000 a year on domestic help, but are those enough qualifications to be president? Oh John. You once had us all fooled into believing that you were some type of "maverick," but now we can all see that you're just a corporate whore, who changes positions with the political wind (sometimes during commercial breaks!) to keep that pot o'gold you crave so much within your sights.

Edwards' Wandering Penis a Problem for Obama?

You just knew it was going to happen. The mainstream media (AKA the barbecue media) just had to somehow connect John Edwards straying penis with the entire Democratic party and Barack Obama in particular. It just never seems to come up that John McCain divorced his first wife, while she was recovering from a serious car accident, to marry the rich beer heiress known as Cindy to parlay his good fortune into a political career. This is the same guy, who was born in Panama and yet is trying (with the aid and abetting of the BBQ media) to portray Barack Obama as "exotic." Watch David Gregory spout his nonsense and cringe.

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Kudos to Bob Cesca for the term "barbecue media." His excellent blog is the first place I saw the term being used. I visit his Goddamn Awesome Blog every day. It helps to keep me sane.

Greasy Dino Rossi

So Dino Rossi and his ardent uniformed supporters showed their true colors when a press conference was labeled a private event, so that they could roughly kick out a cameraman, who they said represented the campaign of Christine Gregoire. It seems that the Rossi campaign has a policy of kicking known democratic press people out of his events. All of you folks who have been enjoying the transition from a free America to a police state ruled by paranoia and fear during the two terms under president-select Bush, here is your perfect candidate for Governor of Washington. I have to admit that during the last election I voted for the lesbian Libertarian for Governor. I think this time I'll vote for Gregoire just because Dino Rossi (and his supporters) is such a creep.




Oh, yes...it's public park, but see...we can just call the police and have you to beaten into submission. Resistance is futile.

Breaking the Spell

Daniel C. Dennett speaks about religion as a natural phenomenon and calls for its vigorous examination through the eyes of science. This talk followed a talk by Pastor Rick Warren, bestselling author of A Purpose Driven Life.

Bring on November 4th!

Oh boy. I've been sidelined recently with a parental visit that lasted over two weeks! Meanwhile the political news has been reduced to Paris Hilton, tire pressure gages and breaking news from the National Enquirer that John Edwards had an affair behind the back of his cancerous wife. In the meantime more and more nonsense is spouting forth from anal fissures with names like Ben Stein and Newt Gingrich. Even though I've been quite busy with familial responsibilities lately, I've kept up with my favorite blogs and watched the Countdown show with Keith Olbermann daily. I still don't consider Barack Obama to be the Messiah, but I do think of John McCain as a doddering, wealthy white guy, who will say anything to get elected. I look at him and his trophy wife with her beer fortune and the thought of those two in the White House sends shivers down my spine (to paraphrase Republican Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi.)

More to come as my life shifts back to normal (whatever that is) and I'm able to try and make some sense out of the wackiness known as Religion and Politics.