Around town

I headed over to the 'Big Tent' pro-choice Republican party tonight. Outside the party were several pro-life protestors:

I didn't make the same mistake I made on the first day, assuming they were Republicans, though some said that they were. They said that they are generally not political, just completely pro-life. Then, one of the women volunteered something interesting. They were also against the death penalty. Dawn Summers thinks she's sooooo clever when she hears the term 'pro-life'. She always asks 'oh so they're against the death penalty?' That's right, Dawn, they are. They are also against war except in the cases of when it would prevent more bloodshed. I found all this very fascinating.

Inside the event were several well known liberal Republicans:

Arlen Specter:

Christie Todd Whitman:

Lincoln Chafee

Bill Weld:

Here's something I saw there that I had never seen before:

As I left the event, I saw more pro-life protestors and a few pro-choice protestors.

Then, I saw one of the pro-choicers and a pro-lifer hug and promise to see each other later. I've been so used to the mentality of protestors being utter hatred for the other side, that I was amazed. Here is a photo, pro-lifer on the right, pro-choicer on the left:

Damn

Sorry, just accidentally deleted my ripping into Salon post (I was trying to delete a draft post and hit the wrong one) and now have to head to the floor to hear Arnold.

Me: "Are you counting on Arlen Specter to be a more conservative Senator this time around with your support?'
Rick Santorum: 'No.'

This one is for Mark, Chris and Rachel who all worked so hard on the Pat Toomey campaign only to watch their other Senator (and, to be fair, the president) sell them out:

Click the pic for the video .

UPDATE: An explanation of why I asked Santorum what I did is here.

Yet another technological question.

Anyone know anything about uploading big video files, or if there is a site that condenses them or hosts them or something. I've got something good to show y'all (though my really good one-question interview with Al Franken somehow got deleted) but when I try to upload it, the message reads 'the file is too large'.

Yet another event I'm sorry I missed

The Young Curmudgeon has the goods on a great conservative book panel yesterday.

UPDATE: Part two on the book panel and also a post on the National Review party.

Law&Order Honey

I love Law&Order but I never realized just how beautiful Angie Harmon was until last night when she was on stage at the convention. She was seriously glowing. Protein Wisdom has the perfect observation on her gorgeousness.

I'm an embarrassment to bi-lingual people everywhere.

Sitting in 'blogger's corner' yesterday, I heard two guys speaking Russian behind me. I turned around and asked them where they were from. It turned out that they were filming for a Russian television station and were interviewing bloggers. They asked if they could interview me. I said ok. Then they asked if I could do it in Russian. Uh, ok. I had just finished telling Roger Simon that my Russian is ancient, I talk the way a grandmother would talk. I use no slang and my Russian is extremely proper.

So, I did the interview. I think I did pretty badly, though the two guys were so nice and told me I did well. There are words I just don't know in Russian like 'links' or 'hits' or 'taxes', so my sentences would be like 'mneh nee nravitsa, uh, taxes' (I don't like taxes). I'm comforted by the fact that the interview will only be shown in Russia. I should really never speak Russian again.

Technical Question

Does anyone have any idea how to upload video from dv to my harddrive?

Enough with the politics, it's after 1am

And on to my second favorite topic, Vincent Gallo.

Can't be everywhere

I'm sorry that I missed Club for Growth's first event and not just because Herman Cain was there.

Quote of the Day

'Call me a dreamer, but I'm hoping that at some point before we go to the polls, we can get this campaign past the Vietnam era to at least, say, the late '70s. For example, as a voter, I want to know whether Sen. Kerry or President Bush was in any way involved in disco; and, if so, was it a casual involvement, or did they actually wear shirts with giant collars and do the Hustle.'

Via Ken Wheaton.

Who let this guy in here? Part II.

Finally, a great line.

Oooooh McCain just put the smack down on Michael Moore, who is sitting right there. I take back my earlier snotty comment.

'It was a choice between war and a graver threat. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Not our critics abroad. Not our political opponents. And certainly not a disingenious film maker who would have us believe that Saddam's Iraq was an oasis of peace when in fact it was a place of indescribably cruelty, torture chambers, mass graves, and prisons that destroyed the lives of the small children held inside their walls.'

Class Act

I mean, seriously.

How many times can McCain mention his 'friends in the Democratic party.' Who was his counterpart at the Democratic National Convention, noting how the Republicans also want what is best for the country and mentioning their friends in the Republican party?

More on the party from 4 days ago

When she's not being crazy, Dawn Summers cracks me the hell up.

I love this.

I went to the excellent National Review party tonight with my girls Lisa (btw, go wish her a happy birthday) and Jessica. It was insane. The place was wall to wall packed. I ran into my polling teacher from grad school. He was one of my favorite teachers and I'm not just saying that because I gave him the URL of my site. Though a Democrat, he was rocking a National Review hat and a satirical pin that said 'Kerry is #1 (liberal in the Senate)'. It turns out he is friends with not only Rich Lowry but also queen of the New York rightwing party scene, Alexandra Preate.

Most of the convention bloggers were in attendance as was Evan (who is showing a film at the conservative film festival in Dallas that I'll be attending in Sept.), Oschisms, Eric, Judith, Mary, Kevin, Michael.

I love the convention being in my city. All the regular rightwing events are on steroids, with more people than ever and a great vibe. I had my doubts about the convention being in the city, I thought that the protestors would be a downer but its been so great, the protestors are like crazy cousins who you tolerate but all the good times happen without them.

Just don't get it.

The Washington Post has fallen for the whole Communists for Kerry thing.

Hey

Who let this guy in here?

Or, this one?

Let's get it on.

My first convention related post is up at Dean Esmay's site. I'll be posting here too, so do check in on both sites.

Question

Dawn Summers was whining in my ear recently 'I soooo don't want Bush to win, please let John Kerry win, you guys have everything, the House, Senate and Presidency, we have nothing, pleassssssssssssssssse.'

So, I asked you all what I asked her (though she did not answer): if your guy, whether its Bush or Kerry, was to win this November, and the sacrifice you had to make was that the other party definitely won the presidency in '08, would you do it?

My answer, by the way, is that I would.

Flying.

I've had a looooooong day. Our flight was supposed to depart O'Hare for Newark airport at 2:15pm. At 2:45pm, we were informed that our flight was cancelled due to mechanical trouble and we would be rerouted onto a 4pm flight to LaGuardia. Peter and I would no longer be sitting together and instead would both be in middle seats, 11 rows apart. Great. Oh, AND O'Hare doesn't have wireless access.

We board the plane and it starts what looks to be its trip toward the runway. Just then, the pilot comes on and tells us that no planes are allowed to land at any New York airport and that he'll give us more information as he has it. He comes back on in an hour and tells us he has no new information. Dean Esmay calls and I tell him the news. The stewardess passes by and tells us that someone in First Class heard from someone in NY that Dick Cheney has just flown in and that is the reason for the grounded flights. Another 1/2 hour after that, the pilot comes on and says that there is weather trouble but that we're going to be leaving shortly. Several people are vocally suspicious, about the reason for our delay that is. Even after we land, having had a very turbulent flight in which the 'fasten seatbelt' sign stayed on the whole time, several people voiced their firm belief that it's the RNC causing all this trouble and that the weather is just fine. Is there a condition (other than Leftism) that breeds this kind of conspiracy minded thinking? Why is reality so hard to come by for these people?

Got to NY, finally, at around 7pm. Waited for our bag for over an hour only to discover it was still in Chicago.

Now, I'm going to go for a walk with Ari, forget this day ever happened and look eagerly forward to tomorrow and this amazing experience I and my city are about to have.

I love Protest Warrior

Via Ken Wheaton's excellent photo blog of today's protests.

Understand.

Dawn Eden (that's the good Dawn, not the bad Dawn) doesn't need her choice for president to 'understand' her ala Dr. Phil. I hate the whole idea of women's issues (since, as I've written before, they seem to revolve around having sex and making babies), but I can't imagine looking for understanding from the president on well, having sex and making babies.

Christian hating is a-ok

The anti-convention is beginning to pick up steam. I went to Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn for the "March For Women’s Lives" sponsored by Planned Parenthood. It basically started like pretty much everything else of this type, with some speeches and music. This part was mostly inoffensive except for one of the chants, which went "racist sexist anti-gay! Born again Christians GO AWAYYYYYYYYY!!!"

Dog bites man is not news

Yet, this is a top headline: Michael Moore lashes out at Bush in letter.

One less blogger.

INDC Journal has had a family emergency and will not be blogging the convention. Please join me in wishing Bill all the best and that whatever it is will be ok.

I know you're sick of McGreevey, but......

....here is a good question I have yet to see asked.

Pro-abortion protestors make no sense

"I demand and cherish that right," said Sara Breman, 22, a student from Austin, Texas. "Under Bush that right is being threatened through their way of teaching sexual education — by teaching abstinence."

I'm going to a wedding later today so I don't want to get all worked up again about abstinence teaching but can someone explain to me how teaching abstinence in any way blocks someone's abortion 'rights'?

Live from NY

Check out RNC Bloggers, a compilation of posts from all accredited convention bloggers.

Party v. Beliefs.

Michael Crowley of the New Republic, writing in Slate, predictably takes Zell Miller to task for breaking ranks with the Democrats and supporting George W. Bush. I do understand the anger of Democrats at Zell, all the while understanding why Zell is doing what he is doing. I would be mad as well, if a prominent person in my party decided to support the other party's candidate. On the other hand, beliefs should matter more than party affiliation and Zell holds some firm beliefs. Party or no party, he's sticking to them. I get that.

I know I've written on this before but I am much more interested and involved in the conservative movement that I am with the Republican party. I would much rather hear Wayne LaPierre speak than Ed Gillespie (and not just because Mr. LaPierre makes me want to quit my dayjob and go fight the erosion of the First and Second Amendments with him). My party decided that lax immigration was a good thing. I raged that they were wrong. My party's leader gave the richest segment of the population another entitlement program. I simmered with anger. What I'm trying to say is that, ultimately, parties are meaningless. They're just a way for people to know something about the candidate without actually knowing anything about the candidate. Party loyalty should only extend as far as your main issues. This will be my first time voting Republican in a presidential election (I've always voted Third Party otherwise) and that's because my main issue is terrorism and I feel the representative from the party, that would be George W. Bush, is better equipped to deal with terrorism than his opponent. If my main issue was fighting entitlement programs or immigration, I would probably cast a Third Party vote again. I don't support 'Republicans' like Arlen Specter, despite the (R) next to his name. If I live in Pennsylvania, the Constitution Party candidate would certainly get my vote.

Crowley's anger at Zell is misplaced. His thesis is that Bush is a divider and that the Republicans use Zell as evidence that it's the Democratic party that has left the mainstream. That would be a convenient jab in Zell's eye if it wasn't fact that there are other Democrats gravitating towards Bush. Off the top of my head, I know that former NYC mayor Ed Koch is a Bush fan and St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly is openly supporting Bush as well. Both of these men are Democrats. I also recently saw a poll that said 15% of Democrats are voting for Bush. I know some of these Democrats personally.

Ultimately, people need to decide for themselves if partisanship trumps ideology. For Zell Miller, it does not. And I respect him for it.

I'm scared.

Flying out of Newark airport tonight, I saw some incompetence among the security personnel that I feel might be pretty typical. I put my bag through the scanner and as it left my sight, the guard said 'everyone please take your laptops out of your bags and place them separately in the machine'. I told him 'my laptop is in my bag going through the machine right now'. He said 'it's ok, don't worry about it.' So, I didn't worry about it. I grabbed my bag and, as we were running very late, headed briskly to the gate. About 2 minutes later, I realized I was missing Peter, who I assumed was right behind me. I headed back toward security only to find him explaining to the guard that he did not have a laptop in his bag, though the guard had a firm belief otherwise. Finally, we realize that it was my laptop that has the guard all aflutter. I removed the laptop and ran it again through the machine.

Now, mind you, I was gone. Had I not been with Peter, I wouldn't have returned to security. And the mystery laptop might never have been found. I don't know exactly why removing the laptop from its bag is a helpful thing to the guards, and this question is really not my point anyway. It's nearly 3 years after 9/11 and I still get the impression that security at airports is lax at best, downright comical and dangerous at worst. The only difference is that now the security personnel are government employees and unlikely to ever be fired. Great.

Our hotel, on the other hand, won't even let you into the lobby without showing your room key, and they're serious about it. It's not a good sign when a hotel in Chicago has better security than a New York area airport.

Just a thought.

Memo to the liberal media: perhaps listen to the convention speeches that will be happening this week before writing about them.

Ads

I got my first ad request (coincidentally from my favorite group). Hopefully it will be up soon.

Wish the man a good one

Happy Birthday Glenn Reynolds!

Free movie tickets

I have two tickets to see Brown Bunny (got them free at the Gallo show the other night) at the Sunshine Theater on Houston Street for afternoon shows for either this Saturday or Sunday. I will be in Chicago and, unfortunately, can't attend. Tix will have to be picked up from the Upper East Side.

UPDATE: They've been taken.

Yes, polls should not be trusted

But, I love this sentence:

'In a head-to-head matchup, Bush led Kerry 50%-47% among likely voters, while Kerry led Bush 48%-47% among registered voters.'

So, I like Kerry better if I were to vote, which I probably won't.

In other news: 'Bush's favorable rating of 54% was his highest since April. By contrast, Kerry's 52% was his lowest since January. Bush dominated on personal traits such as "honest and trustworthy" and "stands up for what he believes in." But Kerry continued to lead Bush when people were asked who would better handle taxes, education, Medicare and the economy.'

Could it be that most Americans don't believe Bush is Hitler and/or a liar?

I love bloggers.

There was a semi-impromptu blogger party tonight and it was so fun that you should be very jealous if you did not attend.

First, Dawn Summers and I went to the patriotic art show that I had mentioned earlier. Some photos:

We met up with Eric, Judith and Spot On commenter Vanessa.

Dawn, Vanessa and I then tried to go to the Republican meetup but it was as if the G-ds knew I had a Democrat in the car, so it was not to be. We couldn't find the place, then we couldn't find parking and it was getting close to 9pm so we just gave up.

We got to the party a little after 9 and right away we ran into Steve Silver. Like the time when I met Joe Grossberg in DC, I was surprised that Steve was much better looking than the photo on his blog. Get a new pic, Steve, you're way cuter than you let on. :-)

Other bloggers in attendance included Michael D. Bates (who is not only a blogger but also a delegate to the convention), Peter (who is not only my boyfriend but also a blogger), Doug (who should be at least semi-ashamed that although he came to the blogger party, he hasn't blogged since May), Ari, Jessica, Lisa, Scott, Ken, Mike D., Oschisms, Esther/Madonna, Christi and visiting bloggers Gib, Funnya and Candace and blog commenters Radical Redneck and Tobster (who, by the way, kindly brought me a copy of Homo Extra magazine because it featured Vincent Gallo on the cover). I hope I haven't forgotten anyone, someone please let me know if I have.

I had met everyone, except Christi, Eric, Judith and Steve, at some point before (in the case of Michael Bates, just the night before), and had been dying to meet Candace for the better part of two years. It was so funny to finally see each other. We kept hugging and it was so familiar. She too is much more gorgeous than any of her photos have ever given away. Her shoes were, of course, fabulous. She's in NY until Wednesday at which point her man Ivan will be whisking her off to Russia, but that's clearly not enough. Candace must move to NY. I am officially starting the campaign.

I hope we do another blogger party at some point in the near future. It was fun to put names and faces to words. I'll pick somewhere not as noisy, I promise.

Woooooooo selling out!

Advertise on Spot On. Cheap!

They took out the best parts!

This is what the WSJ featured as my profile:

Karol Sheinin, 27, political consultant, New York. Spot On and Dean's World. Describe your blog briefly. My blog [Spot On] is mostly political but I write about anything from poker to indie music. Dean Esmay's blog is one of the bigger ones and definitely one of the best. How do you plan to cover the convention? I'm going to try, as I guess all the other bloggers will, to get behind the scenes and try to get a feel for what is going on when there is no "official" press around. Why should people read your coverage? I grew up in Brooklyn and I live in Manhattan now so I'll have a local perspective. What's the biggest gap in convention coverage by mainstream media in prior election years? The biggest problem with mainstream media is also the best thing about blogging. Big media can write a story about one aspect of the convention, it'll go to a fact-checker then an editor and be published long after it is written. I can write about events as they happen or very shortly thereafter. I can tell readers a four-sentence story about something funny that happened in the elevator. The mainstream press would have to find an "angle" or, well, a point, other than that it's funny. Moment/speaker/event you're most looking forward to covering. I'm not sure if he's speaking though I've heard rumors that he is, but I can't wait to hear Herman Cain. I worked for him down in Georgia and he'll bring the house down at MSG if they give him a speaking slot. Otherwise, I guess the president will do. I'm also looking forward to the Club for Growth parties. What did you learn about blogging a convention from the Boston coverage? That it's easier than it seems to get caught up in the excitement of being around fellow partisans and forget to find something interesting to write about. Which presidential candidate do you plan to vote for in November? Bush.

This is what I wrote:

First, the basics: Names of all people from the blog who will be there;
ages; occupations; where they're based: Just me, Karol Sheinin, 27. I'm a political consultant in NYC.

Describe your blog briefly: I'm going to be blogging at both my own site www.alarmingnews.com and http://www.deanesmay.com/. My blog is mostly political but I write about anything from poker to indie music. Dean Esmay's blog is one of the bigger ones and definitely one of the best. I jumped at the chance to guest blog for him.

How do you plan to cover the convention -- what kind of content can
readers expect?- I'm going to try, as I guess all the other bloggers will, to get behind the scenes and try to get a feel for what is going on when there is no 'official' press around.

Why should people read your coverage?- I'm grew up in Brooklyn and I live in Manhattan now so I'll have a local perspective.

What's the biggest gap in convention coverage by mainstream media in
prior election years? The biggest problem with mainstream media is also the best thing about blogging. Big media can write a story about one aspect of the convention, it'll go to a fact-checker (insert your own NY Times joke here) then an editor and be published long after it is written. I can write about events as they happen or very shortly thereafter. I can tell readers a 4-sentence story about something funny that happened in the elevator. The mainstream press would have to find an 'angle' or, well, a point, other than that it's funny.

Moment/speaker/event you're most looking forward to covering.- I'm not sure if he's speaking though I've heard rumors that he is, but I can't wait to hear Herman Cain. I worked for him down in Georgia and he'll bring the house down at MSG if they give him a speaking slot. Otherwise, I guess the president will do. I'm also looking forward to the Club for Growth parties.

What did you learn about blogging a convention from the Boston
coverage? That it's easier than it seems to get caught up in the excitement of being around fellow partisans and forget to find something interesting to write about.

Which presidential candidate do you plan to vote for in November? Bush.

The plan

This is my schedule for tonight. Everyone is welcome to join me at any or all of these excursions:

At 6pm, I'm going to see an art show that looks really cool. More info here. The artist's name is Scott LoBaido and the show will be at the Tribute Gallery, 24 Broadway, 6-9pm.

Right after that, I'm heading over to the Republican Party Meetup. I don't know exactly what time that will be. I imagine somewhere between 7:30-8pm. The meetup starts at 7pm and will be at at Barracuda, 275 W. 22nd St.

And finally, I will be seeing many of you lovely people at the blogger party at the Fashion 40 Lounge, 202 West 40th (close to Seventh Ave), at 9pm.

Vincent Gallo is beautiful

The show was great. Vincent has the most heartbreaking smile I've ever seen. Sean Lennon was a much better musician than I expected. And, the guy filming the show for Vincent was so nice in a way that 'friends of the artist' often aren't. He offered me gum and everything.

When she's right, she's right

This is definitely the quote of the day.

Who knew.

With Michele deciding to spend more time with her family and skip the convention, it turns out I'm the only chick blogger who will be covering the Republican National Convention (click the link for photos and info on each credentialed blogger). How funny.

How can I sleep?

Are y'all aware that in something like 24 hours I will be listening to Vincent Gallo perform his beautiful music at Rothko downtown? Because I can think of little else.

Some connections are just more interesting to our press than others.

Headline: Bush campaign lawyer tied to anti-Kerry ads

I must've missed this one: Kerry group lawyer joins Saddam's defense team

Via Blogs of War.

Blogger Party This Thursday

In honor of visiting bloggers Gib, Candace and Funnya, and the fact that summer is damn near over, you are cordially invited to the Fashion 40 Lounge, 202 West 40th (close to Seventh Ave), Thursday at 9:00pm. Everyone is welcome. Apparently, we'll have the table at the mezzanine level but I'll let the hostess know to look out for people. Let me know in the comment section if you're coming so I can make the appropriate adjustments to our current 20-25 person reservation.

P.S Again, no one tell Dawn Summers.

My mom is going to Russia on Thursday

Russian Plane Crashes, Another Disappears

Testing, testing 1, 2, 3

My new camera at work:

Tonight

I won't be able to attend but from 6-8pm: "Spirit of America" is holding a New York City based 2-hour open-beer/wine bar fundraiser (with food) at the Heartland Brewery (West 16th and Union Square Park) on August 24th, 2004 from 6-8PM. The donation is $40. Spirit of America is a charitible, not-for-profit organization that helps Americans serving abroad, currently in Iraq and Afghanistan, to help the poor and underprivileged in those countries. We enable men and women of the American military, Foreign Service and reconstruction personnel to submit requests for goods that will help local people. Typically, the requests are for items that established aid organizations and government bureaucracies are not designed to handle and that fall in the gaps between large-scale assistance programs - yet can make an important difference. For more information, view the evite here.

I'll be at the Howard Mills fundraiser at the Lenox Lounge, in case anyone is heading over to that.

Quote of the Day

Kerry has based his entire campaign on the premise that he is fit to be president because he served in Vietnam. We've treated this as a running joke, and we doubt anyone disagrees that Kerry descended into self-parody when he opened his nomination speech last month by goofily saluting and declaring that he was "reporting for duty." But Kerry appears to be serious about this. He acts as if he really thinks that his Vietnam service is an answer to any objection anyone might have to his record--that it is sufficient to prove he is honest, strong, brave, decisive and wise about national defense.

The 250-plus men who make up Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, however, also served in Vietnam. Indeed, unlike Kerry, many served a full tour of duty there. If Kerry's backers can attack them as liars, Republican stooges and so forth, they can hardly expect that their candidate's Vietnam service will insulate him from criticism. Furthermore, since Kerry has made his Vietnam service the centerpiece of his campaign, it seems unreasonable for him to suggest that no one may question it.

-James Taranto

Well?

If this is true, Chris Matthews must apologize to Michelle Malkin. Agreed, Steve?

Drudge: Kerry's campaign now says is possible first Purple Heart was awarded for unintentional self-inflicted wound...

To each her own

NYC Smurfette has fallen in love with Turtle from the show Entourage.

I don't get it, and I mean I don't get it, but she swears he's hot. I prefer any of the other guys, even Johnny Drama. Go cheer her on or tell her she's crazy.

I cannae believe it.

Drudge: 29 million U.K. workdays lost to hangovers...

I know such talented people.

A high school friend of mine has opened a dessert company in Brooklyn. Check out his site (I know the 'Joseph' of the 3 J's) and get yourself some Tiramisu.

'When the moon is in the seventh house'

By some wacky coincidence, three out of town bloggers, Gib, Candace and Funnya, will be in NYC this week. I think we should do something for the visiting bloggers. Who's in? And, how is Thursday for our shindig?

P.S No one tell Dawn Summers.

UPDATE: I'll pick a when and where (I'm thinking 8:30pm somewhere in midtown) but ya'll will have to do some of the inviting because I'm working way too much to do it myself. Choose your favorite bloggers (blog readers are welcome too) and send them an invite. I have a handy list of NYC bloggers in my sidebar.

More fun with Commies

Jessica has a take on our day spent in the rain with the Communists for Kerry.

UPDATE: The Communists for Kerry have a photo-filled post of Saturday's events.

Pathetic

Protest Warrior has been hacked. They dare have a different opinion. I'll let you find your own irony in idiot hackers that write this:

Modern day nazis pledging their obedience to the State and the platform of state-sponsored terrorism - neo-fascist ProtestWarriors, you have been HACKED by your friendly neighborhood hacker anarchist =)

Right-wing extremists are modern-day brown shirts who abuse and harass activists who are fighting for social justice while claiming to be in the moral right. By infiltrating and crashing legal, peaceful assemblies, the ProtestWarriors are fighting against the democratic process while claiming to uphold the \'core values of this country\'. It is unpatriotic to blindly accept and obey the dogma of the ruling classes, and to lash out at peace activists who are trying to build a better world is intolerable. We\'re shutting you down.

UPDATE: LGF has another instance of hacking and a threat on both Charles from LGF and Instapundit. The lunatics are getting restless.

Really.

'If any good is to come from this episode - as distinct from the accomplishments of my administration - hopefully, it is that New Jersey and increasingly America recognizes that sexuality is an individual imprint and not a statement of competency and capability.'- Jim McGreevey

He's right, he's shown the world that gay people can be just as incompetent and incapable as straight people. Go him.

More Jim: 'While there are many different and sometimes competing influences, it is my humble hope that my "coming out" could, in some small way, help those gay Americans who have yet to become open with their sexuality.'

How, exactly? By teaching them to keep it a secret until you're at the epicenter of a scandal that is threatening to blow your life apart?

So, you McGreevey lovers (no joke intended), what say you now of this sanctimonious twit?

Random Regional Question

Do any New Yorkers know anything about the proposed NASCAR project in Staten Island? And, if so, do you think it's a good idea/bad idea?

Rebuild the same?

I'm not sure what I think of this idea, to rebuild the Twin Towers 'exactly the same shape and position they were before, only taller, stronger and shifted 300 feet East of their original positions.' For a long time after 9/11, I longed for the skyline to return to its familiar shape and wondered about a plan to rebuild the towers in some form, even if they were built hollow and only there to commemorate the original ones. Now, I think homage can be paid by not rebuilding them as they were, allowing that design to die with the people in them and be committed to memory. What do my New York readers think?

Can't say I'm not fair

I criticized Daily Kos for running an ad for a candidate he has nothing in common with other than the (D) after both of their names. On a similar note, what is the deal with so many right-leaning bloggers, Instapundit, Tim Blair, Cathy Seipp, LGF, among others, having the following ad on their blogs:

Don’t Pardon Big Tobacco

On September 13, 2004, the U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Big Tobacco will go to trial.Don’t let Big Tobacco off the hook.
Read More...

Most of the bloggers hosting this ad are right-leaning libertarians who are exactly the kind of people who shouldn't fall for 'the children' arguments on anything. And lawsuits? Since when do these people support government lawsuits against industries like tobacco? Any answers?

Yet another reason for me to love Vincent Gallo

His art:

5. EATING ALONE 1984
mixed paint and pencil on steel, 25 x 37 inches

Via Gallo Appreciation.

Britain must ban all hammers before it's too late!

Police fear serial hammer killer stalks London

Watch out for those Big Macs

Director Mitch was extra-vigilant on a flight recently. May we all learn from his example.

Someone please tell me....

....when exactly did one of my favorite politicos, Alan Keyes, lose his ever-loving mind?

Hangin' with cutie Commies

Jessica and I went down to Union Square to join the Communists for Kerry today. We got there a little while after it started and there were several comrades assembled. Lenin was there, of course, as was Che Guevara and some lesser known Commies. It was so fun. Union Square is a meeting place for all kinds of groups, so we were in the vicinity of a Socialist group (whose banner proclaimed that we must bring the troops home now or face mutiny), a group that wants to 'free' Palestine and the Fulan Gong group.

As noted in the last Communist for Kerry report, the Socialists are actually a lot more easy-going than your regular run of the mill NY liberal. One such liberal came by the table and was literally frothing at the mouth and spitting and calling one of the Commies for Kerry a 'racist'(of course). He said he went to Harvard (again, of course) and that he had a website. My antennae went up. I asked him his site and he said http://www.ukrainianscholarships.org/. I can only imagine what kind of indoctrination these Ukrainian kids will get with this guy involved. He was fuming, screaming 'you're dirt' over and over at one of the guys in Ukrainian. The Socialists, on the other hand, didn't scream or froth, and we got along pretty well with them. Their crime, if anything, was boring us, as the leader of their group read us his police report for being arrested for using a megaphone in public.

One cool, random thing about the event today was how many Soviet-born people were in our group. By my count there was 6, possibly more. I mentioned that to this girl Julia and she said 'it's because we know what the liberals are trying to do, we've seen it before. For example, the lack of American history being taught in American schools. They did the same thing in the Soviet Union. The first thing they did was erase our history.'

Lot's of people mistook the group as actually being pro-Kerry and people were both happy and annoyed at that. A crushing moment came when a kid, no older than 14 or so, came by the table and said 'oh I love Communism, it was just done by the wrong people.' Oy. At one point this guy walked by and looked at the table and said 'you're Communists? This is exactly why we need to keep Bush.' We started laughing and called him back to us, told him he was among friends. He turned out to be, like Jessica, a guitar player in a band.

One thing that Jessica and I noticed was how cutie everyone in the group was. I'm happily taken, as is Jessica, but if you're not the selection could not be better than at Communists for Kerry events.

I've written before how I'm not a protestor and that's why this was so fun and cool. You're not protesting, the Communists for Kerry are putting on a show and it's a good one. Definitely come check them out if you live in NYC. Cigar and Che shirt are optional.

UPDATE: A post by someone who had passed by the Communist for Kerry table and mistook them for actual Commies.

It would be an honor to just be nominated

So, go on and nominate me:

Well, it's better than the other 3.

Which Golden Girl Are You?

Via Anil Dash.

Put your money where your mouth is

The Club for Growth blog has some interesting bidding numbers for Senate races happening this season.

Insuring, of course, that everyone will now see it

Drudge: KERRY FILES FEC COMPLAINT

Put on your favorite Che shirt

....because the Communists for Kerry will be meeting in Union Square Park tomorrow. I believe it starts at 1pm but am waiting for Ivan to confirm. If I'm not working I'm going to try to be there to use my brand-new camera to film the rally. If you're planning to be there, drop a comment in the box below.

UPDATE: The lovely Jessica will be there and that alone should be motivation to attend.

Media bias is all too real.

I know this is exactly the kind of post that can get me in trouble but, to hell with it, if I can't tell you guys the stories that happen in my life, who can I tell (stop with the friends and family nonsense, clearly they've already heard about this)?

So, I'm working for a candidate. Recently, we went to a meeting with a bunch of different press people. We got there while they were interviewing a Democrat. It was all smiles and sunshine. Then, they got to my guy. They asked the most inane questions, focusing at one point for several questions on the design of his mailing (yes, really). There were three reporters sitting together and literally snickering. One of them just could not control himself at all. He kept making sounds under his breath and shaking his head. It was outrageous. I so want to link to the paper of the offending reporters but realize that I can't (and for those of you involved in politics in NY, please don't say the name in my comment section either). Media bias is so much worse than we think it is. And I already think it's pretty alarming.

I came up to the reporter after the panel and said 'I hope you like the candidate better next time so you don't have to keep smirking and making comments while he speaks.' I said this with a smile. Those that know me know how brutal I could've been in this situation, how brutal I wanted to be. I have a death stare that few can match and when dealing with people who have done me wrong I tend to go for the jugular. Dawn Summers and I frequently discuss the meanest ways to handle different situations. Listen, I'm a little immigrant redheaded girl, if I can't use my words and eyes to crush someone, what can I use? But, I couldn't do it because of my position with the campaign. He stumbled for a second and then said 'Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.' I said 'no, it's totally ok, I prefer to know someone's biases than to not know them', flashed a huge smile and walked away.

What not to do if you've got work in the AM

Go to a Young Republican meeting with a wild guy friend from Brooklyn, run into Jessica, go for drinks, be joined by Ivan Lenin of Communists for Kerry, get into a discussion about adoration, ego and love and get home after midnight feeling more than a little drunk.

Ok, this is becoming surreal.

Golan Cipel's supposed 'lover' has been arrested for impersonating an FBI official.

Michelle Malkin v. Chris Matthews

Michelle Malkin has a post about her exchange with Chris Matthews on Hardball. Apparently, he didn't like Michelle disagreeing with him. I mean, how dare she?!

MM:

What I take away from all this is that the Democrat Party waterboys in the media are in full desperation mode. I have now witnessed firsthand and up close (Matthews' spittle nearly hit me in the face) how the pressure from alternative media sources--the blogosphere, conservative Internet forums, talk radio, Regnery Publishing, FOX News, etc. --is driving these people absolutely batty.

Keep bringing it on.

Via Spoons Experience.

And here I thought plaid was so innocent

News from Britain: Hats and scarves for sale at a Burberry accessory shop. For generations it was the marque of choice of many a gentlemen, but the increasing fondness of hooligans for Burberry clothing has now prompted two pubs to ban entry to anyone wearing the brand.

Vice

Well, I've written about cards and drugs today. If I write about porn, I think I'll have all the bases covered. Did you know that porn star Jenna Jameson has a book out?

'Things just ain't the same for gangsters'

A random rap note: has anyone else noticed that drugs have become uncool in rap? In Eminem's disses on Ja Rule (and it's pretty clear that Eminem sets the trend for the rest of the rappers these days), one of his major themes is that Ja is a druggie. Some examples (warning, profanity to follow):

'He smokes a bag of this weed and starts imagining things....'- from Bully

'But if Irv really gave a fuck about Ja like he claims he does, he'd help his boy get off them drugs. But he just keeps feeding him pills and if that E doesn't kill him, someone from G-Unit will' -from Bully

'This muthafucka Ja must've lost his mind. That X got him thinking he was DMX.'- from Bump Heads

E and X mean the drug 'Ecstacy', fyi. I know that Eminem had a song called 'Drug Ballad' in which he says in the beginning of it 'this is my love song' but that was several years ago and that song had a wistful quality to it, like it was about mistakes made in his youth.

Drug use is, supposedly, down among teens and I wonder if it has become less 'cool' than it was when I was a teenager. I remember when 'crackhead' (or mine and Dawn's favorite variation on it: 'crackie') became a part of our vernacular. Smoking crack was seen as really disgusting and low. No one wanted to be a crackhead. I wonder if the same stigma is now starting to get attached to other drugs. Thoughts?

A poker question

Last night was my friend, and sometimes commenter, Pheeleepok's birthday. To celebrate, he and 10 or so friends went to a poker hall. I can't believe that it's legal to operate this kind of establishment in the middle of Manhattan but I'm told that there is some loophole in the law that allows it to function as a 'social club'. I was one of 3 women in the room.

The betting was small denominations, 1-2 if that means anything to anyone reading this. I was playing very tight, under the watchful eyes of my Russian guy friends who would bark at me if I didn't, and stayed in for maybe 2 flops out of the first 20-25. Finally, I drew a QK suited as Big Blind. I watched everyone check and then raised pre-flop and got 3 other players out, leaving one in with me. It was a rainbow flop, all under 10. I raised, trying to scare off the remaining player. He said 'I know I'm facing bullets but I'll see you.' Low card on the turn. I raised again. He called. Low card on the river, no straight or flush possibility. I went all in. He called. I had nothing. He had a pair of sevens. I think I played this correctly, can someone correct me if I'm wrong?

Video killed the radio star.

I finally got my Vaio back and so was able to watch the Swiftvets ad in full and also the RNC's Kerry on Iraq. The latter puts to rest the idea that Kerry was for the war but against the methods used to fight it. It shows with great precision that Kerry was for the war until the rise of Howard Dean and made a political decision to become an anti-war candidate. A must-see.

It does happen.

I have to actually commend the NY Times, for managing to write about the premier of Vincent Gallo's movie, Brown Bunny, without mentioning that he's a Republican.

Quote of the Day

'She sported the red bracelet that's become the new symbol for the movement (though you can no longer get it at Target - unless they sell, you know, red string and scissors there).'
-Yaron

A whole new world

Two Iraqi bloggers are running for the Iraqi National Assembly.

Belief or money.

During a random search, I came across the Daily Kos blog. An ad on his sidebar caught my eye:

One of the most partisan House Republicans currently represents a solidly Democratic district. Phil Gingrey's voting record makes the special interests smile, but it makes the hardworking folks in West Georgia cringe. Help Rick Crawford take back the 11th district for Georgia's working families.
Read More...

Huh. That's interesting. Rick Crawford. Now, where do I know that name from? Oh yeah, when I was in Georgia I went to a candidate's forum and Mr. Crawford was one of the speakers. He looked out into the thin audience (there was a wheelchair race, a school board meeting and a small town version of American Idol going on that night) and said 'now, I'm pro-life, I'm against gay marriage, I want to bring back prayer in schools and I don't want to take away your guns.' I looked at the program and saw Rick Crawford was a Democrat. How totally bizarre. Then he launched into his anti-outsourcing diatribe and I learned that that is what passes for Democrat in Georgia. Glad to see uber-partisan Kos supporting basically a protectionist Republican for office and running his ads on his site. The Kathryn Harris assault is a nice touch.

Bringing the communist revolution to NYC

I love the Communists for Kerry. Check out the pics and story from their last protest. Here's a snippet but do read the whole thing:

At first the libs that came by to view our material were devoid of any sense of sarcasm, irony or satire. One individual who approached me said, "get your commie crap out of here; you're making John Kerry look bad." Other libs thought we were really "cool" (wow, our heroes, real communists!).

That is until they read our literature and their faces turned to that angry twisted expression that only the lib face can do when confronted with a differing point of view (see: Bulldog licking piss off a nettle).

Another addition to the blogroll

Longhorn Mafia- two funny guys, both of which share my birthday.

Kerry/Kerrey

See, if Kerry had followed my awesome advice and picked Bob Kerrey for VP, there would be a good explanation for his staff confusing the two.

BOTW had a funny take on the Kerry staff taking Bob Kerrey's record as their candidate's own:

Remember when John Kerry went to the prom and got doused with pig's blood? Oh wait, sorry, that wasn't Kerry; it was Carrie, Sissy Spacek's character in the eponymous 1976 film. We regret the error.

The Kerry campaign seems to have made a similar mistake.

Favor

Can you all do me a very random favor (details to follow but basically it's a google bomb used for good instead of evil) and click this link:

Al Curtis

Thank you.

UPDATE: Due to new information (thanks Joe!) I have an additional favor to ask of my blogging friends (and enemies): please link to Al Curtis on your sites. You don't have to do it anywhere that will be visible. I will soooooo appreciate it. It's hard promoting a candidate when his website (which is being redesigned as we speak so don't judge it yet) is not even in the top 1000 of Google searches. Thanks much.

UPDATE: SUCCESS! Thank you very much to Michael and Dawn.

Deadly Vets

There's been a lot of talk recently about which ads are 'devastating'. It's true, as most people noted, that the Swift Vets ad is probably the most powerful one around. It's not just the ad, either. It's the whole group. They take Kerry's number one campaign theme and smash it on the floor. This photo is just such an example:

I think the Swift Vets will hurt Kerry, but not because it matters what Kerry did or didn't do in battle 30 years ago. Kerry has chosen to make his campaign about his time in Vietnam and as proof of his leadership, courage and commitment he has touted out other vets to stand beside him. And this has opened him up to his current situation of being poked in the eye with a sharp stick.

Via Dean Esmay.

Just askin'

Why is Dawn Summers the #7 hit for the search 'Golan Cipel photo nude'? And before you ask, I know because I check her stats.

Addition to blogroll

I always love adding NYC bloggers to my list so go check out the latest one: Notes from the Navel.

News from a friend in Athens

K, the city has become state of the art. We have highways, a metro system etc.... who would of thought Greece would belong among the first world countries?

The truth is, though I understand the financial appeal, New York isn't right for the Olympics in 2012. The Olympics have the capability to improve a city like Athens immeasurably. For a city like NY, complete with highways and a subway system already, it would have little potential to force improvements on any grand scale. I will be happy if NY gets chosen for the Olympics but I think it is better suited to elsewhere.

Word.

Via the finally back from vacation James Taranto, I found this site that rates words in the English language on a scale of popularity. I was surprised to discover that my name, spelled correctly with a 'K', is the 65,613th most popular word in English. I guess I have the Pope to thank for that. My name spelled incorrectly with a 'C' is the 6,398th most popular word. Taranto's favorite word kerfuffle is the 67,952nd most popular word in the English. My two favorite words (don't ask) 'moist' and 'cling' are 10,331st and 12,684th, respectively.

Partisan Good News

From the Note:
The Boston Globe watched a focus groups in Ohio this weekend. Yvonne Abraham writes, "During the latest two-hour discussion, however, these likely voters — three of whom now say they are leaning toward Bush and two who are still undecided — described Kerry as ill-defined, overly reliant on his Vietnam service, and decidedly Northeastern."

You're not hip....

.....until you can recognize the background music on Six Feet Under.

The left is officially on crack

Headline: Bush accused of exploiting hurricane in Florida as he offers aid to disaster area

Quote of the Day

'Did you know he actually focus-grouped the phrase "I am a gay American" to see how it would be received by the public? (My guess: a lot better than "My truth is that I am a crook with weakening poll numbers".)'

-Jon Cipriani.

Word to the wise

Never, ever, under any conditions buy anything from Sony. Yes, their products are cute and quick but my laptop went in for service over a month and a half ago. Since then, I've made over 100 phone calls (each averaging 20-60 minutes) trying to determine where my laptop is or when I'm getting it back. No one has any idea and I keep getting people who take my number and promise to get back to me only to, of course, never return my call. At this point, I am the nightmare customer from New York, yelling my head off and saying things like 'I don't care that your office in Florida has been destroyed by the hurricane, find me someone that can help me today.' I'm scaring the poor outsourced workers but I've just had it. No to Sony.

Happy Blackout Anniversary

This is what I wrote last year right after the lights came back on.

Approved Party Activities in NYC

Communists for Kerry are in Union Square today so stop on by and join the revolution.

C'mon, Follow Me

I'm guest blogging over at Dean's World this weekend but will be checking back in here from time to time.

Don't want to vote for Bush and Kerry?

I've got a third option for you (and it's not Nader).

On a sidenote, the 'Jake' mentioned in the piece is pictured over here.

Yeah, ya think?

Headline: GOP to tout Bush's leadership at convention

To the Kerry fans in favor of raising the gas tax:

Kerry: High oil prices threaten economy.

'Kerry's campaign said increasing oil prices saps consumers' spending powers, eats into companies' profits and weakens consumer confidence.'

Liberals in fantasyland

I pulled this off a liberal site called Indyvoter. I love the wishful thinking that imagines that a state like Georgia is in play. To paraphrase Dick Morris: John Kerry can win Georgia, if it's the 40th state he wins. A state like Washington or Maine, both of which Gore won by 5 points, or New Hampshire which Bush won, is considered 'solidly' Democratic while states that Bush won by 5 or more points like Arkansas and West Virginia are considered 'swing' states. With this map as their guide, Democratic voters in Washington or California shouldn't even bother voting. Their guy is a lock.

Come back

You, you and especially you, get back from vacation immediately and comment on McGreevey.

Step Down.

The reason for Jim McGreevey's resignation is not that his truth is that he is a gay American.

His truth is actually that he used his office to assist his boyfriend and raise him to highly paid positions for which he was not qualified. Whether or not the other dimension of the story, the accusations of sexual harassment, will play out, it is important to remember what the real reasons are for this resignation and what they say about McGreevey's character and discipline. In the next few months, Democrats will take a familiar route they mastered under Bill Clinton. They will twist the story and say this wasn't about illegal behavior (sexually harassing Paula Jones or Golan Cipel or using political office to assist their respective lovers), this is about a private behavior (cheating on Hillary or Dina McGreevey or being gay).

This can not stand. Republicans must vocally, forcefully (and, G-d bless us, without Newt 'I cheated on my wife too' Gingrich leading the call on TV) demand the immediate resignation of Jim McGreevey. The longer McGreevey remains in office, the longer Democrats will have to make this a gay issue when in fact the issues are ethics, character and most of all that the governor of New Jersey broke the law. Jim McGreevey is waiting until November to step down so as to help John Kerry win the state without the taint of a downballot scandal. The voters of New Jersey deserve the right to choose their next governor without having the political process subverted, again, so that McGreevey can again help a friend.

Pretty Please

Someone make Dawn Summers stop calling me every five minutes and saying 'his truth is that he is a gay American.'

No Clue

I don't know what is going on with my template but the always kind and awesome Dean Esmay is working on fixing it.

UPDATE: Thank you Dean and King of Fools!

Get over it

Headline: New Bush ad invokes September 11, draws fire.

What part of 'it was the defining moment of his presidency' don't they understand?

Enforce the law.

From Drudge: Border Patrol Given New Powers to Deport Illegals.

Things for which we no longer have patience.

I don't have any more tolerance for America bashing. I used to be better, laughing off comments about what we are or aren't but I can't seem to do it anymore. But then, I have to admit I used to be something of a snotty America-hater myself. I remember saying to my brother, on a trip to Europe, 'you act so American'. He said 'I am American'. 'Huh,' I thought, 'good point.'

9/11 was really it for me. I felt that at the one moment where the world should have just shut up with their jealousy and bitterness there were way too many 'buts' floating around. It's not that I'm mean to the carelessly ignorant, I just react something like this. And then they say 'geez, Karol, what's the problem, why does everything have to be so political for you?' as if they said nothing wrong at all. But it's not just me, and it's clearly not about politics.

Some examples:

I have this phenomenal, totally hippie friend in Montreal. She's an American doing her PhD at McGill. Someone said to her 'you're so American' and they obviously didn't mean it as a compliment. It bothered her and it bothered me for her. She has a compost in her backyard, is a vegetarian, has parties at her house to put together care packages for people in Iraq and, most importantly, hates Bush. She's worldly and excellent and still gets dismissed as 'so American'.

Indie hipster boy Peter gets more worked up these days about America-bashing than I do. And there's the above linked post by wonderful, lovely, travel-obsessed, rock guitar playing Jessica. Or, hardcore Democrat, 'we should raise taxes on anyone who makes any money' Dawn Summers who is on the phone right now telling me how she ate Whoppers the whole time she was in China and doesn't care what anyone thinks of it. When learning that I'm blogging about her she said 'ooh tell the story of how I imitated a British accent while sitting at the student union at Cambridge.' Though, about her, I just want to say: not all of us are like that.

Why not, indeed.

If you're having a bad evening, as I am (let's just say I caught the 80's movie 'Irreconcilable Differences' last weekend about a girl who divorces from her parents and it really spoke to me), go read this post over at Tim Blair and try not to spit out your drink laughing.

Go. Read. Now.

I keep hearing how the Swift Boat Vets ad is 'devastating'. That may be, but I think Mark Steyn's take on it is even more so.

Via Slantpoint.

An event you should support.

The phenomenal organization, Spirit of America, will be holding a fundraiser in NYC. The details:

Location: Heartland Brewery, 35 Union Square West, New York, NY
When: Tuesday, August 24, 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Phone: (646) 366-0235
Cost: $40 for an open bar of wine+beer. Food will also be served.

You can view the evite (with all the reasons why this is a must-attend kind of event) here.

My advice is kick the bum out

I'm the number one search for 'blog entries about rants on ex boyfriends coming back'

Some kind of cowboy, eh?

News:

Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry said on Monday he would have voted for the congressional resolution authorizing force against Iraq even if he had known then no weapons of mass destruction would be found.

Wait, what? Can you repeat that again for anti-war voters and foreign leaders who may not have heard you the first time?

Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry said on Monday he would have voted for the congressional resolution authorizing force against Iraq even if he had known then no weapons of mass destruction would be found.

Yeah, that's what I thought you said.

UPDATE: Not only would Kerry have still gone into Iraq with the knowledge there were no WMD, but he now says 'they went into Iraq in a brilliant military strategy'.

Class Act

'We had only one incident, involving a man with a picket sign reading “Bush Is Zero.” He marched up to the table yelling this slogan at the top of his lungs. We ignored him completely, and he got absolutely no support from by-standers. His grandson, who accompanied him, kept tugging at him to leave and after less than 60 seconds, the man walked away. His intemperate display probably did more harm to his cause than to ours.'

-My friend Ray Agostini on the one negative reaction he received while manning a Bush 2004 table set up in the middle of Manhattan. If you're interested in volunteering at the table, it happens every Saturday so visit my NYC events site for more information.

Someone explain this to me.

I am somebody that has voted Third Party every time I've had the opportunity to vote in a presidential election. That means I voted for Perot in '96 and for Nader in '00. I had my reasons for both of those votes. The Perot one was because my parents had liked Perot in 1992 but didn't vote for him because it was a 'wasted vote' and this had deeply scarred idealistic, 15-year old me. The 19-year old me who actually voted for him owed it to my younger self. Then, in 2000, there was no shot that Bush was going to win NY. I realize the irony of my parents not voting for Perot because he couldn't win and my not voting for Bush because he couldn't win NY. I didn't have any deep affection for him anyway, in fact I felt that I knew hardly anything about him despite being a political junkie and following the election pretty closely. To be fair, I didn't have a television and I didn't use the internet nearly as much as I do now. I was also rooting for Nader to get the 5% and be a nuisance to the Democrats for at least four more years.

Anyway, I tell this whole story because I do not understand how Mickey Kaus can so violently despise Kerry, see him as a hypocrite and a fraud and still plan on voting for him in November. I can kind of understand those people who seethe with hatred for Bush and will vote for an incontinent donkey before him but Kaus doesn't seem to have that deep rooted loathing. Read today's column for some pretty sharp attacks on Kerry. He seems to like Bush a helluva lot more than his guy. And if he doesn't like Bush as much as it seems then why not vote Third Party? I would.

The kindness of friends and strangers

A big, big thank you to Jake, Lisa, Von Bek, Ivan and Michael Nadel for helping me hit my target (and then some) for my camera to use at the convention.

Also, thank you to Dean Esmay for excellent blogging advice and for installing MT Blacklist for me. To quote Mr. Esmay 'Holy crap dude. You had the most spam-infested blog I've ever seen!' Y'all can't imagine how bad it had gotten and Dean rocks the house for helping me out as he has.

I have the best readers in the world. Sigh. I'm so thankful.

UPDATE: This post was by Karol (Peter was logged in and I accidentally posted as him).

Random Regional Question

When I was in Georgia, I learned that all the restaurants (including fast food establishments) provided free refills on non-alcoholic drinks. People would often take their cup back to the counter before they left to fill it up for the road. Is that the same in other states? That is not the case in NY.

Want to see reality in Iraq? (By guest blogger Candace)

Look to Al-Sharqiya, not Al-Jazeera:

"OK, everybody, put on your hijabs," says Riyadh Salman, the show's gentle bear of a producer, as the car pulls up to Kadhim's house.

Inside, an overwhelmed Kadhim watches while the crew unloads box after box into a room. "On our program, the last episode is like Christmas," says Mr. Hanoon, smiling with pride.
[...]
On the way back to the station, the crew stops to look at a house whose roof was ripped off. As they film it, a blast rips through the air, and smoke billows from a nearby mosque. The next day, "Labor and Materials" shows footage of the blast, which killed a young boy, as well as of Kadhim's house. "I like the program, and Al-Sharqiya, because it expresses the suffering of Iraqis without making it pretty," says Mrs. Redha. "It shows the reality."

So much for all those pesky cultural differences impeding American-style democracy. Now, if we could just quit defending the insurgents...

More Begging

So I hear that yesterday's plea for cash to pay for my camera came at a bad time: Paypal was down for some of the day. You're not going to let that stop you, are you? Of course not! So, here is the link again: