Strollerderby : The Gap

They say: Obama Wins

Brett Singer — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 04:11:00 GMT

CNN, The New York Times, and even Fox News have called the Presidential race for Barack Obama. (UPDATE: so has everyone else.)

Amazing to think that it's almost all over after so much campaigning.

Not much to say. I'm still going to watch the news for awhile; I'm like Yogi Berra – it ain't over 'til it's over, y'know? Then again, McCain just conceded. Wow. (Classy speech too, for what it's worth.)

UPDATE: I'm watching Barack's speech now. I can't imagine what must be going through his mind. Think about where he was in 2004. Wow. I know I should have something more articulate to say but "wow" is going to have to do. (It's late.)

My kids don't seem to care that much, which was actually sort of nice in a way. No matter who wins, they get up, go to school, eat lunch, run around, jump on my ribs – a typical day. Eventually I'll talk to them about this election, but not right now.

What about you – how do you feel?

image: me waiting to vote today

McCain's Mom's Morale Super Low

Other Stuff to Vote On Today – Same Sex Marriage, Chicken Cages

McCain Campaign Verbally Abuses an Innocent Child

Obama doesn't say I love you anymore

They say: John McCain is not a maverick

Babble Podcast for November 3, 2008

Republican Candidate Uses Porn-esque Robocall

Jon Stewart says: Ted Stevens is a Cheap Date

N-Word Flies at Palin Rally

Babble Podcast for October 27th, 2008

Babble Talk: The Candidates Health Plans

Joe the racist plumber?

They Say: Obese During Pregnancy? Hatch a Republican!

Sarah Palin Gets Pranked By Canadian Radio Hosts – Video

Which Candidate Has The Best Name?

They say: no one with a uterus should vote for McCain

They say: McCain not thrilled with Palin and she wants to run in 2012

Best political shirt ever - Everyone Poops

109 Year Old Daughter Of Slave Votes For Obama

Other Stuff to Vote On Today – Same Sex Marriage, Chicken Cages

Brett Singer — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:15:00 GMT

So the United States is picking a President today. But there are other candidates, and also many ballot measures in play today.

A quick round-up:

ARIZONA:
- Ban same-sex marriage.
- Require that any initiative involving spending or tax hikes be approved by majority of all registered voters, not just those casting ballots.

ARKANSAS:
- Create state lottery.
- Ban unmarried couples from adopting or being foster parents.

CALIFORNIA:
- Ban same-sex marriage.
- Authorize high-speed rail project.
- Require parental notification for a minor's abortion.
- Create 14-member commission to draw state legislative districts.
- Require all utilities to generate 20 percent of their power from renewable energy by 2010.
- Ban cramped metal cages for egg-laying hens.

I think I'm noticing a trend here.

Several states are voting on ballot measures to "ban same-sex marriage." Personally, I find this bizarre. Isn't it already banned? Are people that freaked out at the possibility of two men or two women marrying each other that they need to put it on double secret probation? (For the record, I think if gay people are crazy enough to want to be married, it's fine. Go for it.)

Looking at the article on MiamiHerald.com, it looks like the to-do of an insane person. Authorize slot machine gambling, check. Allow state's first casino, check. Ban abortion and dog racing, check. Ban cramped metal cages for egg-laying hens, check. (Those are all from different states, not the same one.) That's not to say that all of the measures are insane, it's just funny to think about them out of context. "Let's see, today...Prohibit mandatory union membership and mandatory union dues, authorize slot-machine gambling, and make English the official language of government proceedings. Got it." Busy day.

Sources: Miami Herald, MTV

Read more:

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They say: John McCain is not a maverick

Babble Podcast for November 3, 2008

Republican Candidate Uses Porn-esque Robocall

Jon Stewart says: Ted Stevens is a Cheap Date

N-Word Flies at Palin Rally

Babble Podcast for October 27th, 2008

Babble Talk: The Candidates Health Plans

Joe the racist plumber?

Sarah Palin Gets Pranked By Canadian Radio Hosts – Video

Which Candidate Has The Best Name?

They say: no one with a uterus should vote for McCain

They say: McCain not thrilled with Palin and she wants to run in 2012

Best political shirt ever - Everyone Poops

109 Year Old Daughter Of Slave Votes For Obama

Brett Singer — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 19:45:00 GMT

The line to vote for President and other stuff today might be kind of long. If you get cranky, here's an inspiring story to keep you a little bit sane.

From the Austin American Statesman:

Amanda Jones, 109, the daughter of a man born into slavery, has lived a life long enough to touch three centuries. And after voting consistently as a Democrat for 70 years, she has voted early for the country's first black presidential nominee.
…
Jones' father herded sheep as a slave until he was 12, according to the family, and once he was freed, he was a farmer who raised cows, hogs and turkeys on land he owned. Her mother was born right after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, Joyce Jones said. The family owned more than 100 acres of land in Cedar Creek at one point, she said.
Amanda Jones' father urged her to exercise her right to vote, despite discriminatory practices at the polls and poll taxes meant to keep black and poor people from voting. Those practices were outlawed for federal elections with the 24th Amendment in 1964, but not for state and local races in Texas until 1966.

First of all, the fact that anyone lived to be 109 is cool. More importantly, though, is her story. I can't imagine what it must have felt like for Amanda to cast her vote in this Presidential election.

Source/Image: Statesman.com

Read more:

Other Stuff to Vote On Today – Same Sex Marriage, Chicken Cages

Obama doesn't say I love you anymore

They say: John McCain is not a maverick

Babble Podcast for November 3, 2008

Republican Candidate Uses Porn-esque Robocall

Jon Stewart says: Ted Stevens is a Cheap Date

N-Word Flies at Palin Rally

Babble Podcast for October 27th, 2008

Babble Talk: The Candidates Health Plans

Joe the racist plumber?

Sarah Palin Gets Pranked By Canadian Radio Hosts – Video

Which Candidate Has The Best Name?

They say: no one with a uterus should vote for McCain

They say: McCain not thrilled with Palin and she wants to run in 2012

Best political shirt ever - Everyone Poops

Sarah Palin Gets Pranked By Canadian Radio Hosts – Video

Brett Singer — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 02:07:00 GMT

When you were a kid, did you ever make prank calls? Call a bar and ask to speak to Dick Hertz? Dial 867 5309 and ask for Jenny? Or "is your refrigerator running? Well, you'd better go and catch it!" (That last one is way old school, dude.)

Some lucky grown-ups actually make a living doing that sort of thing. And Sarah Palin is their latest victim.

Marc-Antoine Audette and Sebastien Trudel, two Canadian radio performers who go by the name The Masked Avengers, have made calls to numerous celebrities and government officials, including Britney Spears (she's a celebrity, not a government official – just wanted to clarify that.) Now Alaska's governor can add her name to the ranks of the pranked. The Canuck comedians got through to Sarah Palin herself on Saturday and convinced her – for five minutes – that she was speaking to French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The remarkable thing is how easily they get through. Sure, one would think that Palin would have figured out this wasn't actually the French Prez when he says that he loved the "documentary" that Hustler made about her, "Nailin' Palin." But the really sad part is the staffer who puts her right on the phone. No, "Are we expecting a call from the President of France?" Nothing.

Another good line: "We have the equivalent of Joe the Plumber in France. It's called Marcel, the guy with bread under his armpit."

The campaign released the following statement: "Governor Palin was mildly amused to learn that she had joined the ranks of heads of state, including President Sarkozy and other celebrities, in being targeted by these pranksters. C'est la vie."

So I guess if you catch your children on the phone asking some stranger if they have Prince Albert in a Can (let him out! Ha ha!), maybe you should encourage them? OK, not really.

Here's the entire Sarah Palin prank call for your listening pleasure.

Source: miamiherald.com, huffingtonpost.com

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Sarah Palin on SNL for real

They say: no one with a uterus should vote for McCain

N-Word Flies at Palin Rally

Alec Baldwin Discusses Palin with Letterman

Palin Busted! New Ethics Complaint Filed

Babble Talk: The Babies Tell Us Who Will Be Their Next President

Palin Mocks Autism Research

Joe the racist plumber?

They say: McCain not thrilled with Palin and she wants to run in 2012

Best political shirt ever - Everyone Poops

N-Word Flies at Palin Rally

Brett Singer — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:00:00 GMT

This is really ugly.

I hope that whomever you happen to be voting for, this isn't something you can condone.

As the blog We Are Respectable Negroes (the name comes from the Forty Acres and a Mule document) puts it: "It seems that Barack Obama was finally called a 'nigger' at a recent Republican presidential rally."

Palin will get a lot of flack for not responding, and while I can't argue otherwise, I don't know what she should have said. (In a Palin voice: "Oh, come on now! That's a bad thing to say!") Then again, how do you stand in front of a crowd that screams out something like that?

Michelle Malkin is claiming that the person was actually shouting, "Redistributor!"

Yes, of course. I make that mistake all the time.

(Aside: in case anyone is planning to leave a comment along the lines of, "What about that Sarah Palin hanging effigy? Why aren't you railing against that?" It's terrible and should be taken down immediately.)

I'll ask you -- what do you think you heard? I actually closed my eyes so I couldn't see the captioning on the video. Send the kids out of the room and tell us what you think was said.

Source: We Are Respectable Negroes, MichelleMalkin.com

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Babble Podcast for October 27th, 2008

Which Candidate Has The Best Name?

Flip Flopping on Palin's Kids

Palin Speaks Out On Special Needs Trusts

Joe the racist plumber?

Babble Talk: The Candidates Health Plans

Brett Singer — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:00:00 GMT

Kim Mance breaks down some of the key points in the Obama and McCain health care plans. I have a few thoughts to add.

I didn't realize this, but the debate about a national health care system goes back much further than when Bill Clinton attempted to implement one when he was first elected way back in 1992. "Both Roosevelt and Truman called for health care to be an 'economic right.' Truman then proposed a single-payer health program to cover all Americans. But it was called a 'Communist plot' by a House subcommittee after the American Medical Association denounced it." Funny (not ha-ha funny) how one of the current digs at Obama is that he's a "socialist". I guess socialist is the new communist.

A key difference between their proposals is, "how to ensure that all Americans have access to health insurance. Both want there to be no 'state lines' as there are now, so families can shop around for the best plan. However, Obama will regulate and require insurance companies to cover patients regardless of pre-existing conditions, and McCain will not. McCain will instead work with Governors on (fifty separate) plans to optimize access to health care within each individual state."

One thing that I find very interesting, and encouraging, is that at least both sides are talking about getting more people covered. Back in the 1990's, it was much more of an "us against them" situation, with the Democrats wanting a national health care system and the Republicans wanting everything to stay the same.

To me, a sign that the McCampaign is out of touch on this particular issue is the notion that a family can purchase health coverage for $5,000, or even that they can purchase it at all. First, as Mance points out in her Babble article, $5,000 covers less than half of the typical family's yearly health insurance bill. Obama says that the cost is $12,000, Mance cites a study that puts the number at $12,680. Second, as someone who has run a small business and offered health insurance to employees, I can tell you that it is not that simple to just go buy a plan the way McCain says it is. For an individual, it is significantly more difficult. Health insurers simply don't want to talk to individuals about coverage, they prefer to deal with "groups", meaning employers. So while it sounds nice to say, "hey, here's five grand, you can buy whatever health plan works best for you", it's just not that simple.

There are more details discussed in Mance's article, which is very much worth a read. The bottom line? It's hard to tell what will happen no matter who gets elected, but they agree that the current system isn't good enough. "Neither presidential candidate's health care plan brings us anywhere near a true socialized medicine or single-payer system. But they do both point out the many ways our own health care structure can be improved." That's at least something.

Flip Flopping on Palin's Kids

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New York Times Anthrax Update

Dr. Greene's Vitamins one way to get extra D

Woman leaves toddler in car while she goes to a bar

Santa Claus says: Smoke More

They say: no one with a uterus should vote for McCain

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Palin Speaks Out On Special Needs Trusts

Brett Singer — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 14:00:00 GMT

Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin gave a speech in Pittsburgh on Friday where she discussed the challenges facing children with special needs.

Here is a video clip with a few choice digs at the Obama-Biden tax plan:

If the clip does not appear, try clicking here to see it.

And a couple of pertinent lines from the speech:

As families across America know, the care of special-needs children requires long-term planning, and especially financial planning. A common practice among these families is to establish financial trusts. These are known as special needs trusts, covering years of medical and other costs, and for parents they bring invaluable comfort.
Understandably, then, many families with special-needs children or dependent adults are concerned that our opponent in this election plans to raise taxes on precisely those kinds of financial arrangements. They fear that Senator Obama's tax increase will have serious and harmful consequences -- and they are right. The burden that his plan would impose upon these families is just one more example of how many plans can be disrupted, how many futures can be placed at risk, and how many people can suffer when the power to tax is misused.

I’m unfamiliar with special needs trusts, but it sounds to me like something only someone with money can do. That is, if a family lives paycheck to paycheck, how much financial planning can they really do? Like most political rhetoric, what Palin says is short on specifics and long on fear mongering. (That's true of both sides; lack of details is non-partisan.) Also, "the power to tax"? Oy vey. You would think no Republican administration had ever raised taxes, or that the tax cuts in recent years actually worked. (That's another conversation, but really. Oy vey.)

She also makes this claim:

In a McCain-Palin administration, we will put the educational choices for special needs children in the right hands their parents'. Under reforms that I will lead as vice president, the parents and caretakers of children with physical or mental disabilities will be able to send that boy or girl to the school of their choice -- public or private.

Just like that? Come on. We're not electing a Supreme Ruler; we're electing a President. And anyone who thinks that a school voucher law like the one that Sarah Palin describes (I know that may be an oversimplification, but hey, I can do it too!) will get passed quickly and easily is at best naïve.

A commenter on the nationaljournal.com article says it pretty well:

I find all these promises far too vague and general to mean much of anything. … What about health insurance? … Sorry, I don't need a 'friend' -- I need someone with a plan that does more than 'hope' that 'market forces' will allow me to afford insurance for my child.

I will say that I think it's interesting to hear this much talk about autism/special needs children during an election year. It's possible that this issue was front and center in the past, but if so, I didn't notice.

Text of the full speech is here if you want to read it.

If anyone has more direct experience with special needs trusts, or any of the other issues Palin raised in her speech, I'd be curious to hear your take on what she had to say.

sources: MSNBC, National Journal

Palin Plays the Race Card, Badly

Piper Palin Carries a Louis Vuitton Bag - Is it Hers? Does it Matter?

Morning News: Pregnant With Palin

Sarah Palin on SNL for real

Breaking News: Maya Rudolph to Play Michelle Obama on SNL

Is Sarah Palin the next Oprah?

They Say: More Children Have Allergies

Dr. Greene's Vitamins one way to get extra D

Woman leaves toddler in car while she goes to a bar

They say: no one with a uterus should vote for McCain

Flip Flopping on Palin's Kids

Brett Singer — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 21:00:00 GMT

I was all set to write something about how I didn't really care if Sarah Palin put her children in the public eye. It's part of running for office, especially national office, and hey, this is her job. People rarely complain about men doing it with their kids. Why should it be different for a woman?

But then this story about Piper and her (fake) Louis Vuitton bag popped up, and I had a change of heart.

Is it really fair to put your kids through that sort of scrutiny? Let's review: We had Piper Palin, on video, spitting on Trig's hair.

Then Palin the Candidate brought Piper and Willow (Piper seems to be getting the most screen time, no?) out to a Philadelphia Flyers game. She thought that Philly fans would NEVER stoop so low as to boo her little girl. (Um, Philly fans would probably boo the second coming of Elvis if he was there to give them each a million dollars, but that's another story.)

These are two of many examples where Palin uses the kids as a bit of a shield. Or if "shield" is too strong a word, I think we can all agree that she's "putting them out there," which means what they do will be scrutinized. Unlike her youngest children (Trig for example), the older kids know enough to realize what's going on and hear the insults being hurled their way. Would I want to subject my child to that sort of thing?

The Presidential couple that did the best job of keeping their kids – actually, kid – out of the news was Bill and Hillary Clinton. For all of his obvious failings, Bill (with Hillary's help, of course) told the press every chance he had that Chelsea was off limits. For the most part the media respected that. Now, that was a different time. Clinton left the White House in 2000, which was before the rise of TMZ, Gawker and the constant barrage of celebrity news programs and web sites that track every move the famous make. Still, I doubt that most mainstream media outlets would have "gone after" Palin's children if they were home in Alaska going to school rather than out dropping pucks on the campaign trail.

Of course, if they were in Alaska, Palin would be separated from her kids for quite a long period of time. But how many hours could she possibly be spending with them anyway? Wouldn't they be better off away from all of this nonsense?

Then again (Live! Flip-flopping in action!) what business is it of ours? Since we don't want Sarah Palin to tell us what to do with our kids, how can we tell her what to do with hers? BUT (flip) doesn't it say something about her judgment that she has no problem pulling her kids out of school whenever it suits the campaign, taking them away from their friends? HOWEVER (flop) don't they benefit from her high profile? Am I judging her differently because she's woman?

And so on. You know what the bottom line is, I think? It's not important. What happens to Sarah Palin and her family is important to Sarah Palin and her family. I disagree with her on virtually every issue she has an opinion on, and I think her behavior at campaign rallies has been reprehensible. (Colin Powell said it much better than I ever could.) That's what matters. Her kids? While I can't say I agree with the decisions she appears to be making, they're her decisions. She'll have to live with them. Right?

What do you think?

Photo: MSNBC.com, via Morning News

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The Obamas wear cheap clothes

Piper Palin Carries a Louis Vuitton Bag - Is it Hers? Does it Matter?

Morning News: Pregnant With Palin

$150,000 Spent on Sarah Palin's Clothing

Breaking News: Powell Endorses Obama

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Why Won't Sarah Palin Release Her Medical Records?

Sarah Palin on SNL for real

UPDATE: Jon Stewart says "F*** All Y'All"

Is Sarah Palin the next Oprah?

Brett Singer — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:45:00 GMT

This story from the Hollywood Reporter is making the rounds. It's very odd.

According to HR, "as more and more polls cast doubt on the McCain-Palin ticket, producers and agents across the entertainment world are discussing possibilities for capitalizing on her fame, ranging from an Oprah-style syndicated talk show to a Sean Hannity-like perch in cable news or on radio."

I suppose I could see a Fox News-style show. But Oprah? Come on.

I'm not a big Oprah fan. I think she promotes some questionable stuff, is highly materialistic, and never gets criticized even when her actions might warrant it (she really made some big mistakes with that school she started, for instance). But there's no denying that she is the most successful television host in history, and someone whom millions of people adore. She is also somebody who can say, "I like this book" or "I like this movie" and suddenly that book or movie is number one. (Howard Stern Show producer Gary Dell'Abate told a story on the air about how he tried to get his wife to watch the movie 'Crash' with him. She wouldn't even consider it. Then Oprah said it was great. They watched it that night.) Again, it's not my thing, but Oprah clearly connects with a broad range of people. Sarah Palin is an extremely divisive figure. While that sort of thing plays really well on Fox News and right-wing radio, it doesn't usually work on network or syndicated television. (Anyone remember Rush Limbaugh's late night TV show? I thought so.)

Also, I think Palin has more political aspirations. That's pure speculation on my part, since Sarah and I haven't talked lately. (Actually, we haven't talked ever.) But I'm not the only one who thinks she might want to move into the White House on her own.

Would you watch a show called "Sarah!" starring Palin?

Source: Hollywood Reporter

Flip Flopping on Palin's Kids

Will Ferrell Returns to SNL

Sarah Palin on SNL for real

They say: no one with a uterus should vote for McCain

Joe the racist plumber?

They say: McCain not thrilled with Palin and she wants to run in 2012

Best political shirt ever - Everyone Poops

The Obamas wear cheap clothes

Brett Singer — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:44:00 GMT

This video is from July, but Anya Strzemien at Huffington Post dug it up in the wake of the Sarah Palin's clothesgate.

The video is from Access Hollywood, so don't expect hard-hitting journalism. That said, both Barack and Michelle come across as very normal. Plus you get a really cute moment about 1 minute in when one of the Obama kids says, "But mommy IS important!"

As for the photo, according to Strzemien, that dress costs $34.95. As for Barack, he "hates to shop" and his shoes have holes in them. As someone who goes shopping once a year, and even that is under protest, I can relate.

Here's the video:

Source: HuffPo

Read more:

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Piper Palin Carries a Louis Vuitton Bag - Is it Hers? Does it Matter?

Jon Stewart to Sarah Palin: F*** You

$150,000 Spent on Sarah Palin's Clothing

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Morning News: Pregnant With Palin

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Child Slave Labor, or Why I'm Not Buying Gap Jeans

Karen Murphy — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 14:27:00 GMT

I tend to intentionally stay away from the news most of the time. I know bad stuff happens, and I figure, why wallow in it? Why subject myself and my family to all that when I can live inside my peaceful Happy Bubble? But sometimes things break through the bubble. Sometimes things break through and reach that place of deep compassion and innate sense of wrongness about the plight of people around the world, and it was the story of the children in India who are sold for slave labor to make clothing for The Gap that broke through to me this time.

I kind of like The Gap. The jeans fit me, they're easily available and easy to return, and there's an aura of eco-consciousness that pervades the place. Well, not anymore. There's nothing Madonna or Penelope Cruz or Bono or Sarah Jessica Parker can do to fix this one. Because if kids are working for nothing in sweatshops in India, their forearms tattooed with the number of the sweatshop they belong to, working 19 hours a day until 1 am in dirty, unsafe conditions, I want no part of it. I can't stomach it.

But on the other hand, if not for The Gap, then for whom will these kids work? If the sweatshops "employing" them go out of business, where do the kids go? Will they even have a place to go? I'm the first to admit that the economics of a place that perhaps sees no better option but to sell kids for about $20 into years of slavery is pretty alien to the life I live.

Poverty is the worst form of violence.

And even if this brutal system is working to some degree, it still feels wrong. It *is* wrong. I can't get over that part. And it makes me fucking angry. And horribly, gut-wrenchingly sad. And there's likely no easy solution, either. Any ideas? Meanwhile, I'm not hungry anymore and I certainly don't need any new clothes. Maybe not for years. Maybe never.