October 2008 Archives

Busy day! I was upgrading 2 customers to the same release of software at the same time. It was slightly confusing, but it went okay.

I also worked more on letting folks know about the Erie County Democratic Party email lists. We are slowly getting folks to sign up.

I was late getting out of work, and I really wanted to go to see Rocky Horror at Theatre 145. Fortunately, Deb called to ask if she could come over to work on photos from the candidate forum, so I didn't have to go home to let the dogs out.

Theatre 145 were basically showing the movie, with live performances for some of the musical numbers. I sat in front of Nick, who had the title role in Dracula when I was Van Helsing, 4 years ago. Apparently, he had never seen it before. Amusingly enough, he was dressed as a devil, with red horns, and 2 seats over was a guy dressed as Jesus with fake stigmata. Nick said something about checking with them if I had any moral dilemmas to get both sides.

The performance was pretty good, and I remembered most of the audience participation lines. There was a female playing Dr. Frank N Furter, the sweet transvestite. She was obviously having fun with the part. When the closing credits ran, many of the folks got up on stage to do the Time Warp. I decided to bound up and join in. Fun!

Afterwards, I came home and gave the dogs their evening watch, and then headed out to the bars to check on newsletter supply and give out Obama Pride stickers. When I was at Craze, I had a few very nice conversations, including one with the ever-delightful Sharon, who was dressed as a pirate.

Afterwards, I went to the Zone and chatted/passed out more of the Obama stickers. I was telling folks that my goal was to get them all out before the election. One guy asked if he could have 2, and they happened to be the last ones on the roll. I took that as a sign it was okay to go. I have a fairly well booked day on Saturday.

Duh! Why didn't I think of this before?? A local couple was organizing folks to take out an ad in Monday's Erie Times News in support of Barack Obama/Joe Biden, and folks were emailing back and forth on the WorkerD Google Groups list (which the Lake Erie Alliance for Democracy maintains), the Erie For Obama list that the national Barack Obama web site has, and a few ad hoc lists, but it occurred to me that the Erie County Democratic Party didn't currently have an email list.

It seems to me that it would be good to have both an announcement only sort of list for official stuff, and a discussion list, so that folks could bounce around ideas or that kind of thing.

I also wanted to get the word out about voter protection hotlines and rides to the poll, so this seemed like a good time to get that done as well.

The page to sign up for the email lists is here. We still need to work on getting folks to sign up, but it's a start.

I had been thinking of going to the open circle that the Covenant of Brighidshaven was doing for Samhain. I got word from Paula that Kym, who is going through some very rough times indeed, is going to be joining us on Saturday. I then got the idea that since some of Kym's friends would be at the circle, I should go and get cards signed to bring on Saturday. So, Cindy very graciously got 3 cards, and I went around and let folks sign if they wanted. It reminded me of how I was going up to folks to get them to register to vote or to come to the candidate forum. This season seems to be about approaching folks to get them involved.

We had small wine glasses for holding beverages during the ritual. Someone dropped theirs, and I heard it shatter. "Mazel tov!" I shouted. "Oops, wrong group/event. Sorry."

I was talking later with James and his friend, Tim. I mentioned about Rocky Horror performances this weekend, and Tim mentioned that he had gone to see the movie when it was at the Strand (now the Erie Playhouse) back in 1982 at about this time of year. Hmm. I asked him if he recalled going about Halloween, and seeing folks in the front of the theatre acting it out. He said that he had and then I informed him that he probably had seen me in my underwear. ;)

Way back then, some folks I was hanging out with decided to play with audience participation stuff on Halloween night. I was ultra-nerdy Brad. (I know - contain your shock.) So, I was running around in my skivvies when the character was.

You can't make stuff like this up! I was getting phone messages when I got a beep for a second incoming call. It was a robocall about Sarah Palin visiting Erie on Thursday. (Um, I have been a registered Democrat since I was 18.)

After hanging up the phone,  I got another call from Erie Republican HQ asking me if I wanted to volunteer at the Sarah Palin rally. Actually, what they asked was if I or my husband wanted to volunteer. "Oh, sorry, I meant wife!", the well meaning but obviously clueless woman calling me said. (Silently thought, "You were closer to being correct the first time, although I am single.") "Um, I'm gay and the webmaster for the Erie County Democratic Party, so maybe not so much for doing that." was my response. (I.e. I was being polite but, seriously, WTF!!!)

Deb happened to be over, working on photos from the candidate forum, and she said something about this certainly being good for blog fodder.

It is sounding massively not good for the Republicans. Gov. Palin has apparently moved from being thought of as a diva to being a whack job - by members of the same campaign. Ouch!

The divisions in the McCain-Palin campaign continue to widen with one senior McCain aide telling Mike Allen that Gov. Sarah Palin is "a whack job."
Meanwhile, George Stephanopoulos said this about the "demoralized" McCain campaign on ABC News this morning: "Palin is going to be the most vivid chapter of the McCain campaign's post-mortem... Those loyal to McCain believe they have been unfairly blamed for over-handling Palin. They say they did the best they could with what they got."

McCain-Palin Rift Grows
Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:32:32 GMT

This site is so bizarre that I am wondering if it isn't some kind of sly parody, like Betty Bowers or Landover Baptist. However, all of the blogroll links are to established right wing whack job sites, so it is possible that it is just someone who is really off the deep end.

Still, "wiccas" as a noun meaning people who are wiccan? Using the word "Negro" in anything other than a historical sense? This is ridiculously over the top.

Wow. I am still torn over whether this is someone pretending to a whack job, or a genuine whack job.

WICCAS: The REAL Reason for America’s Financial Crisis!

Posted by prophetessdebbie on October 26, 2008

Negroes who clearly spent their mortgage money on fried foods.

Meet the typical living-high-on-the-hog (apparently, ALL of the hog! LOL!) Negro family.  They got a house even thought they had $65,000 in credit card debt (bling! bling!) and leases on a pimped-out Escalade and a Lexus 400 (both without car insurance and current tags) — even though they both work at Popeye’s Fried Chicken and the father is on AWOL from his parole officer!

Yes, it’s very easy to blame stupid, financially irresponsible Negroes for the current financial crisis.

But the Lord Jesus came to me when I was at T. J. Maxx and explained that the Negroes are not the sole (soul?  LOL!) cause of the problem.  You see, Jesus lays the blame squarely at the dirty, smelly feet of Wiccas!  Apparently, Wiccas are more prevalent than I had realized.  During the 90s, slack police protection allowed them to move into many normal neighborhoods throughout our formerly godly country.  And their unsightly appearance and weird ways drove down home prices.  And when the price of New Zealand lamb rose, Wiccas started stealing neighborhood pets and using them for sacrifices and dinner, scaring neighbors and prompting them to sell their homes below market price lest their darling kitty cats were slaughtered to make furry change purses and gutted for ceremonial jump ropes!

The result?  Negroes with laughable credit were suddenly able to “afford” houses in real neighborhoods lived in by Wiccas!  Of course, black people don’t pay their bills so the mortgages went into default, causing banks to falter, stocks to drop and our whole economy to go into the crapper.

It would be correct to blame Negroes for our current financial problems, but, as Jesus pointed out, the REAL culprit is god-hating, hygiene-impaired Wiccas!

WICCAS: The REAL Reason for America’s Financial Crisis! « Republican Faith Chat

Eeyew! The story that was being given on Friday was seeming to imply that Ashley Todd was possibly mentally unstable and had done this on her own. The fact that McCain's communication director was playing up the story and emphasizing the race baiting aspects and the lies is very disturbing indeed. They deserve to be called on the carpet for lying to the media and the public like this.

Apparently, the McCain campaign backed off the story when it looked like the facts were coming out.

McCain Communications Director Gave Reporters Incendiary Version Of "Carved B" Story Before Facts Were Known

By Greg Sargent - October 24, 2008, 5:12PM

John McCain's Pennsylvania communications director told reporters in the state an incendiary version of the hoax story about the attack on a McCain volunteer well before the facts of the case were known or established -- and even told reporters outright that the "B" carved into the victim's cheek stood for "Barack," according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions.

John Verrilli, the news director for KDKA in Pittsburgh, told TPM Election Central that McCain's Pennsylvania campaign communications director gave one of his reporters a detailed version of the attack that included a claim that the alleged attacker said, "You're with the McCain campaign? I'm going to teach you a lesson."

Verrilli also told TPM that the McCain spokesperson had claimed that the "B" stood for Barack. According to Verrilli, the spokesperson also told KDKA that Sarah Palin had called the victim of the alleged attack, who has since admitted the story was a hoax.

The KDKA reporter had called McCain's campaign office for details after seeing the story -- sans details -- teased on Drudge.

The McCain spokesperson's claims -- which came in the midst of extraordinary and heated conversations late yesterday between the McCain campaign, local TV stations, and the Obama camp, as the early version of the story rocketed around the political world -- is significant because it reveals a McCain official pushing a version of the story that was far more explosive than the available or confirmed facts permitted at the time.

(More at the link below)

TPM Election Central | Talking Points Memo | McCain Communications Director Gave Reporters Incendiary Version Of "Carved B" Story Before Facts Were Known

My friend Laurie pointed this out to me. It may very well have been the case that there have been previous same-sex wedding announcements in the Erie Times News, but I am not sure if I have seen them.

I am just thrilled that this wedding announcement was treated equally like all others.

David Skovron and Jeff Rubin
Published: October 26. 2008 12:01AM

David Skovron and Jeff Rubin were married on Friday, Aug. 8, 2008, on the beach in Santa Monica, Calif. Chris Robinson officiated.
Mr. Skovron (right) is 53 and a playwright who is currently in collaboration with the novelist and filmmaker Clive Barker on a comedy, "The Secret Life of Cartoons," headed for Broadway. Mr. Skovron is the principal and creative force of DSA Productions, a New York-based company that creates product launches and media events worldwide. He is the son of Edwin J. Skovron and the late Catherine Doyle Skovron of Erie.
Dr. Rubin (left) is 55 and a vice president of behavioral operations for ACCOLADE. He is a psychologist and maintains a New York based practice. He received both a master's degree and doctorate from Teachers College, Columbia University. He is the son of the late Barbara and Jack Rubin of New York, N.Y.
A reception was held at their country home in upstate New York on Aug. 16, 2008. The couple resides in Manhattan.

GoErie.com: David Skovron and Jeff Rubin

Technorati Tags: Same-Sex Marriage,Marriage Equality

I went in yesterday for a hair appointment, and my hair stylist was talking with someone who looked familiar. It turns out to have been a guy named Rick that I went to elementary/middle school with, and whom I haven't seen in probably close to 30 years. it was great catching up. He was there with his wife. He reminded me about when we had done a recording of the War of the Worlds for a program that we were both in. It was a lot of fun.

The night before that, I had bumped into a friend out at the bar, and he invited me to an impromptu dinner party he had on Saturday night. I showed up, and it turns out that I was the only person to attend. We had a very nice time talking, and I am glad that I went. Needless to say, there were quite a few leftovers, so I took some home that he had offered. When I went out later to push the candidate forum at the Zone, I bumped into him and we chatted a bit. He is coming to the candidate forum tonight.

Oh well, I need to go finish up on domestic stuff.

2 things from the Erie Steering Committee for Obama meeting today. There were a number of us sitting around the table, and then Pat Cappabianca got a call on his cell phone. The amusing part is that the ring tone was the Love Theme from the Godfather. I joked when he came back in the room that whatever the question was, my answer was Yes. (Please don't hurt me.) It was silly and we all got a good laugh.

Also, the Scutellas are putting together an ad to run in local media that will list names of those of us who support the Obama Biden ticket. Here is what they sent:

TIME IS RUNNING OUT!

Election Day is less than two weeks away.  With that in mind, Pat and I had the idea that the time is perfect to show our support for the Obama/Biden ticket! 

We are planning to buy a half page ad stating that we, citizens of diverse backgrounds and interests have  a common goal that is seeing Barak Obama become the next President and Joe Biden the next Vice-President of the United States.  Our names would be listed on the ad, perhaps giving a nudge to undecided friends and family who would see "our support" and hopefully suit. 

If you would like to be included in our attempt to move along the ground game and become a part of this historic moment, we are asking that you send an email to Mary and Pat Scutella at scutellas@msn.com by Sunday, October 26 stating your intent.  We are asking for a donation of $10.00 per name listed to help pay for the ad space.    

We are not affiliated with the official campaign, except to support the team that we believe can bring about the change we need.  Thank you for taking the time to consider your role at this important moment in our nation's history.

When a small ad-hoc group had a gay-themed float that was in the Erie Bicentennial Parade in 1995, it was vandalized 2 nights before the parade. Pat Scutella (and possibly his wife Mary, I forget) was among the volunteers who showed up to rebuild the float the day before. You can read about the float at http://www.eriegaynews.com/news/article.php?recordid=1995float.html and the gallery of photos that includes Pat Scutella helping to list the repaired portion of the float onto the flat bed truck is at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mkmahler/sets/1333121 (Pat is the person standing on the truck in the album main photo.) Yeah, I know how to hold a grudge. ;)

That's Pat in standing in the white shirt lifting the repaired portion of the float into the flat bed truck.

Well, that was quick. This whole alleged incident reeked to high heaven of a scam.  For what it's worth, I thought this was a whackjob who got carried away. But how vile to play up racist fears to boost your candidates chances. As someone observed, the real black eye is the one that she gave to the McCain campaign.

Police: Campaign Volunteer Lied, Injured Self

MORE: KDKA Online Voters Guide | Campaign '08 News

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A Pittsburgh police commander told KDKA Investigator Marty Griffin that Ashley Todd confessed to making up the story & is facing charges

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― Police say a campaign volunteer confessed to making up a story that a mugger attacked her and cut the letter B in her face after seeing her McCain bumper sticker. 
At a news conference this afternoon, offiicals said they believe the woman's injuries were self-inflicted. 
Ashley Todd, 20, is now facing charges for filing a false report to police.

(More at the article)

kdka.com - McCain Campaign Volunteer Confessed To Making Up Story Of Attack

Too cute/funny! Director Ron Howard recreates well known TV roles with Andy Griffith and Henry Winkler in support of Barack Obama.

You know it's going to be a weird day when I agree with Michelle Malkin about a political matter. Kudos to her for being honest about this. Yup, faking a crime diminishes all of us.

As numerous folks have pointed out, why does she have no swelling or other damage around the black eye? Why did she refuse medical treatment? Why is the B so neat? (If someone was going after my face with a knife, I would think it rather unlikely I would be perfectly still.) If he was kneeling on her chest and holding her hands back with his knees (as she claims), then why is the B upside down?

Violent crime is wrong, no matter who does it. If there is any legitimacy to this story, then the attacker needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, no question! But why would an attacker hang around to make a political statement after robbing someone?

There is more info about the odd nature of the way that the event is purported to have happened here.

Why that McCain volunteer’s “mutilation” story smells awfully weird; Update: Police to administer polygraph; conflicting evidence at scene

By Michelle Malkin  •  October 23, 2008 06:43 PM

Scroll down for updates…”Police planned to administer a polygraph test to Ashley Todd, 20, because her statements about the attack conflict with evidence from the Citizens Bank ATM where she claims the incident occurred, police said”…and more below on following her MySpace, Twitter, and Facebook trails…10/24…more fishiness

Throughout my career, I’ve covered dozens of fake hate crimes — campus hate crime hoaxes, Muslim hate crime hoaxes, fake noose hangings, etc., etc., etc. Most were perpetrated by liberals, but there have been some shameful ones on our side of the aisle as well.

I’ve reported on the great lengths that warped attention-seekers have gone to in perpetrating fake hate crimes, including beating themselves up, carving swastikas on their dorm room doors and walls, locking themselves in bathroom stalls, and burning down their own houses.

Which is why I’m not jumping up and down with outrage over Drudge-promoted story of a McCain volunteer claiming to have been attacked by a black man whom she accused of carving a “B” in her face after spotting her McCain bumper sticker.

(More at link)

Michelle Malkin » Why that McCain volunteer’s “mutilation” story smells awfully weird; Update: Police to administer polygraph; conflicting evidence at scene

Wow! McCain and Palin just keep digging themselves in deeper and deeper.

1. As duly noted, New York City and Washington DC were targeted on September 11, 2001. Does that mean that the Real America was never directly threatened.
2. If Washington is that elitist, why are these two bozos campaigning for offices that are headquartered there? Did someone forget to turn on the irony detector?

Look, there is no real/"Pro America" America. Real Americans are in small towns in Georgia, big cities like Seattle, medium sized cities here in Pennsylvania and everywhere. It is rude to claim that some people have a more legitimate claim to citizenship than others. THAT is elitist, rather than some kind of tainted zip code thing.

I think that they are just repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot.

Fake America located

In tonight's NBC News interview with Brian Williams, McCain explains that the "elites" are located in D.C. and New York City:

WILLIAMS: Who is a member of the elite?

PALIN: Oh, I guess just people who think that they're better than anyone else. And-- John McCain and I are so committed to serving every American. Hard-working, middle-class Americans who are so desiring of this economy getting put back on the right track. And winning these wars. And America's starting to reach her potential. And that is opportunity and hope provided everyone equally. So anyone who thinks that they are-- I guess-- better than anyone else, that's-- that's my definition of elitism.
WILLIAMS: So it's not education? It's not income-based? It's--

PALIN: Anyone who thinks that they're better than someone else.

WILLIAMS: --a state of mind? It's not geography?

PALIN: 'Course not.

WILLIAMS: Senator?

MCCAIN: I-- I know where a lot of 'em live. (LAUGH)

WILLIAMS: Where's that?

MCCAIN: Well, in our nation's capital and New York City. I've seen it. I've lived there. I know the town. I know-- I know what a lot of these elitists are. The ones that she never went to a cocktail party with in Georgetown. I'll be very frank with you. Who think that they can dictate what they believe to America rather than let Americans decide for themselves.

UPDATE: Numerous readers in those cities note that they were the targets on 9/11

Ben Smith's Blog: Fake America located - Politico.com

Goodness! What a mess. It looks like someone at the RNC has been feeding at the trough.

It seems that at least the baby clothes (or most of them) were used. What on earth is a "tricky suit?" It sounds like it should have secret pockets or something. Or something one wears whist hooking up.

Hmm, this whole thing sounds distinctly fishy...

Wardrobe Mysteries Linger

By Michael Luo and Eric Wilson

About that wardrobe …

There are still aspects of the Republican National Committee’s shopping sprees on behalf of Gov. Sarah Palin and her family that are murky.

Some of the fashion experts consulted Wednesday, for instance, about the $150,000 in purchases that appeared on Federal Election Commission records were puzzled by where all of that money had gone, given what they had seen of Ms. Palin’s wardrobe.

Consider also the $4,902.45 charge at Atelier New York, a high-end men’s store, presumably for Ms. Palin’s husband, Todd, the famous First Dude.

Karlo Steel, an owner there, said he had gone through the store’s receipts for September, twice, and found no sales that matched that amount, nor any combination of sales that added up to the total. Because the store carries aggressively directional men’s wear, he caters to a small clientèle and knows most of his customers by name, as well as the history of their purchases.

When The Caucus called Mr. Steel back to ask him to also check August sales just in case, Mr. Steel said he found one purchase that came close to the amount in the campaign finance reports but said that he knew who that customer was and it certainly was not Mr. Palin. Neither was it Jeff Larson, the Republican consultant who showed up in campaign finance records as the one who footed the initial bill before being reimbursed by the R.N.C.

The store carries expensive cut-up T-shirts and tricky suits from avant-garde designers, like Raf Simons, Yohji Yamamoto and Ann Demeulemeester, none of whom typically create beltway-appropriate attire.

(more at the original article.)

Wardrobe Mysteries Linger - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com

OMG! I am so glad that I read this when I was at home for lunch because I laughed out loud! We are talking serious, gut-bunching wild guffawing!

Sarah Palin as an intellectual? It took her 4 colleges in 6 years to get a BA in communications. She couldn't name one newspaper or magazine when Katie Couric asked her what she read. At no point has she ever shown evidence of a curiosity about the unfamiliar.

Oh, and she wanted to name a potential 6th child "Zamboni." That is just way beyond surreal!

Seriously, I was checking to see whether I was on the Onion's fake news site.

You cannot make up crap like this. I am now wondering if her presence on the ticket is some kind of extended performance art piece.

Palin says she considers herself intellectual

1 hr 27 mins ago

AP – Republican vice presidential candidate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, left with daughters Piper, right, and …

NEW YORK – Does vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin consider herself intellectual? You betcha!

"And you have to be up on not only current events, but you have to understand the foundation of the issues that you're working on," Palin said in an interview with People magazine. "You can't just go on what is presented you."

Although Palin didn't name a single newspaper or magazine when CBS News anchor Katie Couric asked where she got her information, the Alaska governor told People that she has always been a "voracious reader" and named reading — anything from biographies to historical works — as her favorite thing along with her children and sports.

Besides author Lawrence Wright's terrorism history, "The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11," Palin said she's reading a lot of briefing papers.

"I appreciate a lot of information. I think that comes from growing up in a family of school teachers," she said.

Palin said if she and husband Todd had had a sixth child, they had already picked a name for a boy joining siblings Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper and Trig.

"I always wanted a son named Zamboni," she said.

The magazine will be on newsstands Friday.

Palin says she considers herself intellectual - Yahoo! News

Are you smarter than a 3rd grader? Apparently, Sarah isn't. The returns are STILL coming in for this uninformed and dangerous woman. Remember when she said that she needed someone to explain to her what the Vice President does all day? It would seem that no one got back to her. Cute how her spokeswoman tries to cover up the gaffe.

And on a completely superficial note, why on Earth is she wearing what looks very much like the red leather jacket that Michael Jackson wore in the Thriller video?

Palin takes heat for saying VP 'in charge' of the Senate

Posted: 12:04 PM ET

From CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

Watch Palin's comments on KUSA Wednesday.

(CNN) – Sarah Palin is taking heat Wednesday for appearing to overstate the role of vice president, saying in a recent interview that she would be "in charge of the Senate" should John McCain win the White House.

The comments came in an interview with Colorado TV station KUSA in response to a third-grader's question, "What does the Vice President do?”

"[T]hey’re in charge of the U.S. Senate so if they want to they can really get in there with the senators and make a lot of good policy changes that will make life better for Brandon and his family and his classroom," she said.

The comments have drawn criticism from Democrats and liberal blogs which note the actual role of the vice president when it comes to the Senate is simply to cast a tie-breaking vote in the event of a stalemate. According to Article I of the U.S. Constitution, the vice president is the "President" of the Senate, but has no executive position when it comes to presiding over the chamber.

Donald Ritchie, a historian in the Senate Historical Office told CNN that Palin's comment was an "overstatement" of what her role would be.

"The vice president is the ceremonial officer of the Senate and has certain ceremonial functions including swearing in new senators and can vote to break a tie," he said. "It’s a relatively limited role. It's evolved into a neutral presiding officer of the Senate.

Ritchie also noted recent vice presidents have played a behind-the-scenes lobbying role on Capitol Hill for an administration's policies, but called it "somewhat limited."

"It's not comparable to the Speaker of the House who is certainly in charge of the House," he said. "The slogan that political scientists use is that the House is ruled by the chair and the Senate is ruled by the floor…the senators are in charge of the Senate."

Maria Comella, a spokeswoman for Palin, said the Alaska governor was simply answering the question in a way a third-grader could understand.

"Governor Palin was responding to a third grader's inquiry," she said. "She was explaining in terms a third-grader could understand that the vice-president is also president of the U.S. Senate."

CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive - Palin takes heat for saying VP ‘in charge’ of the Senate « - Blogs from CNN.com

$150,000??? WTF! Sarah Antoinette seems like she will take whatever isn't nailed down, so long as it is other people's money. So, in the space of about 2 months, she has spent on clothes several times what most people in "Real America" make in a year.

There were also apparently suits from a men's clothing store, so the First Dude is apparently on the Republican gravy train/rainbow tour as well. Apparently, when Sarah is grabbing baubles, her whole family gets in on the action.

Why am I reminded of Roseanne's quip back when she and Tom Arnold were together: "We are America's worst nightmare: white trash with money." At least Roseanne has a wonderful sense of humor.

Republicans spent $150,000 on Sarah Palin's clothes

(Jewel Samad)

Classic Palin style in pencil skirt and heels

 

Jenny Booth

The Republican Party has spent $150,000 in upmarket designer stores on dressing Sarah Palin for the part of vice-president.

During September, more than $75,000 was spent in a single shopping spree at Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis, and another $9,500 at Macy's in the same city - scene of the Republican party convention where John McCain introduced Ms Palin as his running mate. Another $5,000 was spent at Atelier, a classy men's boutique, suggesting that Ms Palin's husband Todd, jocularly known in Alaska as the First Dude, may also have come in for some sprucing up.

Later in the month $50,000 was spent in forays into Saks Fifth Avenue in New York and St Louis, on a procession of neat little waisted jackets, pencil skirts, killer boots and patent heels that have enabled Ms Palin to appear in at least one, and sometimes two or three, new outfits a day.

Republicans spent $150,000 on Sarah Palin's clothes - Times Online

I forget whose blog I originally saw this at, but it was a fun meme.

Is anyone surprised by this?? At all?? For all of the talk about being a reformer and pushing for small government, Sarah seems to be more than happy to bill the state for dragging her kids around. (And how rude to drag them to places where they were not even invited!)

It also sounds like Sarah figured that there could be problems and tried to cover her tracks by making up excuses that they were conducting official state business.

AP: Palin children traveled on state expenses

VP hopeful charged state for children's travel, amended expense reports

In this Feb. 11, 2007 file photo, Bristol Palin, left, and her sister Willow, daughters Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, waves the starting flag for their father Todd Palin at the start of the Iron Dog snowmachine race in Big Lake, Alaska. Palin charged the state for her children to travel with her, including to events where they were not invited, and later amended expense reports that justified their presence as official business.

View related photos

Al Grillo / AP

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Gov. Sarah Palin charged the state for her children to travel with her, including to events where they were not invited, and later amended expense reports to specify that they were on official business.

The charges included costs for hotel and commercial flights for three daughters to join Palin to watch their father in a snowmobile race, and a trip to New York, where the governor attended a five-hour conference and stayed with 17-year-old Bristol for five days and four nights in a luxury hotel.

In all, Palin has charged the state $21,012 for her three daughters' 64 one-way and 12 round-trip commercial flights since she took office in December 2006. In some other cases, she has charged the state for hotel rooms for the girls.

AP: Palin children traveled on state funds - Decision '08- msnbc.com

How horrible and disgusting! Whoever did this needs to spend some time with the bear's mother. This behavior is cruel and inhumane.

Dead bear cub covered in Barack Obama posters found at university

• Matthew Weaver and agencies
• guardian.co.uk,
• Tuesday October 21 2008 10.59 BST
• Article history

A dead bear cub draped in Barack Obama posters has been found at the entrance to a university in North Carolina, police said today.

Police and wildlife officials are investigating the incident at the Western Carolina University.

Maintenance workers found the 34kg (75lb) bear cub in front of the administration building at the entrance to the campus.

It had been shot, and Obama posters were stapled together and placed over its head.

"Someone evidently was wanting to draw attention to the election," Tom Johnson, the chief of university police, told the Asheveille Citizen's Times newspaper.

"If we find out who they are, we'll make sure they'll get some attention themselves."

Leila Tvedt, a spokeswoman for the university, said the institution "deplores the inappropriate behaviour that has led to this troubling incident".

"We cannot speculate on the motives of the people involved, nor who those people might be," she added.

"Campus police are cooperating fully with authorities to investigate this matter."

University police asked state wildlife officials to remove the dead cub and help in the investigation.

The bear hunting season in North Carolina began last week.

Dead bear cub covered in Barack Obama posters found at university | World news | guardian.co.uk

Holy crap! Apparently since Gov. Palin thinks she can see Russia from her house, Sen. McCain figures that they want to kick into his campaign.

McCain camp hits up Russian envoy

On a day on which McCain campaign manager Rick Davis hinted that Obama was taking foreign money, the Russian Mission to the United Nations has released a standard-issue fundraising letter gone a bit astray: It was addressed to the Russian envoy to the U.N., Vitaly Churkin, at the mission's address, but without his title.

As the Russian newswire RIA-Novosti tells it:

Russia's permanent mission to the UN has received a letter from U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain asking for financial support of his election campaign, the mission said in a statement on Monday.
"We have received a letter from Senator John McCain with a request for a financial donation to his presidential election campaign. In this respect we have to reiterate that neither Russia's permanent mission to the UN nor the Russian government or its officials finance political activities in foreign countries," the statement said.
According to Ruslan Bakhtin, press secretary of the Russian mission, the letter dated September 29 and signed by McCain, was addressed to Vitaly Churkin, Russia's envoy to the UN, and arrived on October 16.
The ambassador's title was not included in the letter, and was not clear why the letter had taken over two weeks to arrive.
Enclosed was a request for a donation of up to $5,000 to McCain's election campaign to be returned with a check or permission to withdraw the money from the donor's credit card until October 24.

Bakhtin confirmed the story to Politico, and wouldn't comment on the added oddity of the error coming from the anti-Russian McCain. "We just find it amusing," he said.

Ben Smith's Blog: McCain camp hits up Russian envoy - Politico.com

I recalled yesterday that it was my Grandma's birthday. So, I called to say howdy and offer birthday greetings for her. She turned 91 this year, and is doing fairly well. She is slowing down some, but she has never had to use a walker to get around. Her husband is doing okay. He has some health issues affecting cognitive functioning and mobility, but he is hanging in there. They have been married for about 3 years and he is 6 years younger.

We tend to have fairly strong women in my family. When Grandpa died, I went over to Grandma's and talked with her. I told her that I thought was "definitely not a wimp."

Grandma is also a strong supporter for Barack Obama, and we talked about politics for a bit. All in all, it was a nice call.

Wow! Too cool! A lot of Republicans are getting that a  McCain/Palin administration would be very bad indeed for this country.

So, this makes William F Buckley's son Christopher, Colin Powell and now Ken Adelman.

First Colin Powell, Now…

Ken Adelman is a lifelong conservative Republican. Campaigned for Goldwater, was hired by Rumsfeld at the Office of Economic Opportunity under Nixon, was assistant to Defense Secretary Rumsfeld under Ford, served as Reagan’s director of arms control, and joined the Defense Policy Board for Rumsfeld’s second go-round at the Pentagon, in 2001. Adelman’s friendship with Rumsfeld, Cheney, and their wives goes back to the sixties, and he introduced Cheney to Paul Wolfowitz at a Washington brunch the day Reagan was sworn in.

In recent years, Adelman and his friends Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Wolfowitz fell out over his criticisms of the botching of the Iraq War. Still, he remains a bona-fide hawk (“not really a neo-con but a con-con”) who has never supported a Democrat for President in his life. Two weeks from now that’s going to change: Ken Adelman intends to vote for Barack Obama. He can hardly believe it himself

Interesting Times: George Packer: Online Only: The New Yorker

I can hardly wait until Caribou Barbie gets shipped back to Alaska! Although, I must admit I do find myself thinking of an alternate place for her that would be a great deal warmer.

So, she supports a federal constitutional ban on marriage equality but she would not be "sitting in a seat of judgment telling them what they can and can't do." Um, can I point out that these 2 things are inherently contradictory? Forcing everyone to abide by one's own personal definition is EXACTLY telling them what to do.

And isn't it cute that she tried to play up her support for banning at the federal level is some kind of wild maverick departure from McCain's support for banning the same thing at the state level. Geez! Republicans attacking gay people's equality to score political points. Way to blaze a trail! (Did she not notice that this was Karl Rove's big tactic to help get the Shrubmeister re-elected in 2004?)

I am guffawing at the Log Cabinettes for ever thinking that this person was ever likely to support equality for our community.

And if I hear either one of them use the wearisome slogan "maverick" again while doing exactly the same tired Republican divisive tactics, I will seriously hurl my cookies.

November 4 can't come soon enough!

Palin Breaks With McCain On Gay Marriage Ban

Posted by Scott Conroy| 10

(CBS)

From CBS News' Scott Conroy:
(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) - In an interview with CBN’s David Brody, Sarah Palin signaled her support for a constitutional ban on gay marriage, a position that John McCain once described as “antithetical in every way to the core philosophy of Republicans.”
“I am, in my own, state, I have voted along with the vast majority of Alaskans who had the opportunity to vote to amend our Constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman. I wish on a federal level that that's where we would go because I don't support gay marriage,” Palin said.
“I'm not going to be out there judging individuals, sitting in a seat of judgment telling what they can and can't do, should and should not do, but I certainly can express my own opinion here and take actions that I believe would be best for traditional marriage and that's casting my votes and speaking up for traditional marriage that, that instrument that it's the foundation of our society is that strong family and that's based on that traditional definition of marriage, so I do support that.”
When the federal marriage amendment was being debated in 2004, John McCain broke from his party’s leadership and took to the Senate floor to denounce it in notably stark language.
"The constitutional amendment we're debating today strikes me as antithetical in every way to the core philosophy of Republicans," McCain said. "It usurps from the states a fundamental authority they have always possessed and imposes a federal remedy for a problem that most states do not believe confronts them."
Gay marriage isn’t the only issue on which Palin and McCain have expressed differences of opinion. They have also diverged on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, global warming, cross-border raids into Pakistan, and whether abortion should be permitted in cases of rape and incest.
In a joint interview with CBS News’ Katie Couric, McCain portrayed their differences of opinion on ANWR in a positive light.
“Did you expect two mavericks to agree on—to agree on everything?” he asked.
Though she has criticized Obama for his position on late-term abortion, Palin has lately kept the focus on the Democrat’s tax plan, which she has said contains elements of socialism. Look for her to continue to hammer the Democrats on the economy as she campaigns across Colorado on Monday.

Palin Breaks With McCain On Gay Marriage Ban - From The Road

Okay, I have to admit that when I first saw the headline, I visualized myself taking a drag off the Imaginary Bette Davis cigarette and observing, "Excuse me, but I believe that George W Bush IS max pain."

'Max Payne' beats out 'W.' at box office

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Movie-goers elected a "W," but it was Mark Wahlberg, not George W. Bush.

Wahlberg's action flick "Max Payne" debuted with $18 million to outdo Oliver Stone's film biography of George W. Bush, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Stone's "W." actually ran fourth, opening with $10.6 million to finish behind the family comedy "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" (No. 2 with $11.2 million) and the chick flick "The Secret Life of Bees" (No. 3 with $11.1 million).

"For me, an Oliver Stone film about George Bush doesn't necessarily scream big box office," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. "A film like this is very tough to gauge, but this is exactly what I thought it would do."

Max Payne' beats out 'W.' at box office - CNN.com

The below is from my friend Laurie (of Laurie and Janice.) Pretty nifty that a 5 year old gets the essential character of the 2 presidential candidates!

My daughter Holly was telling me that my 5 year old granddaughter Hailey sat and watched the last debate with her. Don't worry, she wasn't up that late on a school night, they had recorded it. Hailey didn't say much as she watched the debate, but she seemed to be paying attention.

Later that afternoon, Hailey was sitting there playing, and out of nowhere she said,  "Mom, Rock Obama is going to win because he is a cool guy" "And, she added, he is smart". "That other guy was mean" "I don't like him"

So I guess I don't have to worry so much if a 5 year old got all that out of that debate. Now, if we could get all those 5 year olds to the polls....

We cant,I know, so we need to make sure that we all get there! We need your vote, and as we have learned in the past, EVERY VOTE COUNTS!

Political Wisdom From a 5 Year Old’s Perspective
Sun, 19 Oct 2008 19:13:00 GMT

Okay, call me a sap, but I found the video to be oddly moving. Yup, we definitely have a lot of hard work to do to make sure that the election comes out the way that it should, but I feel very strongly that part of success is focusing on what one needs and wants and not so much on what the negative distractions.

I was really feeling beaten down a few weeks ago by some really unwise and rude behavior of someone working on a project that I was also working on. After facing some stress, and letting things get to me, I decided to focus on what I could do and not worry about this other person, who tends to have the planning skills of either Lucy Ricardo or Blanche DuBois. It feels like a great weight was lifted, and I now feel like I am where I am supposed to be.

Oddly enough, although I believe that the music in the video might be a Christian hymn, I first read about the site via a Pagan source.

President Barack Obama.

Envision it. Say it. Feel it. Believe it.

Make it a reality!

You have the power to change this country. And it all begins with your positive vision. Watch this video and join thousands of Americans who are prepared heart and soul to embrace Barack Obama as our next president.

Spend just one minute a day imagining Barack Obama as your president. Click the “I Envisioned It “ button to let the world know that this shared vision of a renewed America is your vision, too. Watch as our numbers and our vision grow.

Share the vision with others. Volunteer. Donate. And above all – VOTE!

See the change. Be the change.

Manifest Obama, America

Manifest Obama, America

It was a fairly packed day. I caught up on some newsletter stuff, and then Deb came over to work further. I took the opportunity to catch up on some housecleaning and pretty much had an antiseptic fit. (Well, for me, that is.)

I also had a Pagan thing to go to, so I got to spend some time with the coven. After ritual, we had a bit to eat and watched an incredibly cheesy "documentary" from the 1970's.

I also wanted to get out some more Obama Pride buttons and push the EGBA candidate forum, so I did that pretty much right after getting home and walking the dogs.

All in all, a fairly fully packed day.

I went to the Beef and Ballots dinner that the Erie County Democratic Party held. The calendar that I had worked on came out pretty well. I left copies at each seat, so hopefully it did some good. The speakers were pretty good. My state rep, Flo Fabrizio kicked serious butt in his speech. I think we are all feeling fairly excited at how things are looking.

Afterwards, I stopped at both of the bars to give out business cards to push the Erie Gay Business Alliance candidate forum on October 26 and also some Obama Pride pins.

What phenomenally poor judgment and what a colossal lack of self awareness Diane Fidele is showing! She claims that she is not racist and it was not her intention to offend. Does she also need to write herself a reminder note: "Remember, when talking with cancer patients, don't ask them how soon they will be dead!" How could anyone see that graphic and NOT think it was racist.

Inland GOP mailing depicts Obama's face on food stamp

Download story podcast

07:07 AM PDT on Thursday, October 16, 2008

By MICHELLE DeARMOND
The Press-Enterprise

The latest newsletter by an Inland Republican women's group depicts Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama surrounded by a watermelon, ribs and a bucket of fried chicken, prompting outrage in political circles.

The October newsletter by the Chaffey Community Republican Women, Federated says if Obama is elected his image will appear on food stamps -- instead of dollar bills like other presidents. The statement is followed by an illustration of "Obama Bucks" -- a phony $10 bill featuring Obama's face on a donkey's body, labeled "United States Food Stamps."

The GOP newsletter, which was sent to about 200 members and associates of the group by e-mail and regular mail last week, is drawing harsh criticism from members of the political group, elected leaders, party officials and others as racist.

... more at the link below

Inland GOP mailing depicts Obama's face on food stamp | Inland News | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern California

Oy! I seem to have a bit of a head cold. Not fun. I feel tired and sluggish. However, we also have the approaching deadline for Erie Gay News, and I had also volunteered to create a calendar handout for the Erie County Democratic Party Beef and Ballots Dinner this Friday. So, I keyed in events and threw something together for the handout, which I need to check with others, and I did some entry for the newsletter.

I am hoping that things slow down soon. I am guessing that they might after the election.

I am fairly well used to handling different topics in relatively rapid succession. As my friend Paula has observed, my inner child needs to be on Ritalin.

I had a call  from Izzy from the Erie Steering Committee for Obama about the calendar I am working on for the Erie County Democratic Party Beef and Ballots Dinner this Friday. I think I am fairly well caught up with entering events for that, I just need to put it together.

I then had an incoming phone call that I hopped over to. It was from a lesbian health care professional friend who had been contacted by a male friend who wanted to know if there were long term effects to anal penetration. I pretty much confirmed what she had told the guy (although being a top, it was more second hand), and things sounded like they were okay.

Back to Izzy, we confirmed that I had pretty much everything that he was aware of.

I almost forgot that we had to launch an online contest for the new Lucinda Williams CD. Fortunately, the reminder in Outlook popped up. We are doing fairly well already. I have to make some mods for an upcoming contest. We also got an unexpected full page ad for Erie Gay News print edition. Yay!

Can anyone explain why we should not be appalled at this? The McCain/Palin campaign is trying to downplay this, but they have been using code words and subtle appeals to racism and bigotry in their campaign.

Vile. Completely and totally VILE!

Yes, Sarah Palin, Your Fans Are Racists

Hours before Sarah Palin showed up to get BOOED at the Flyers opener in Philadelphia, she hosted a rally in Johnstown, PA. And the citizen at left showed up with a stuffed monkey with an Obama sticker on its head. "This is little Hussein," he boasted smugly to cameras. Surely the other McCain/Palin supporters admonished him in the no uncertain terms, yes? No. They giggled and clapped. Watch after the jump.

[via Balk]

Toxic: Yes, Sarah Palin, Your Fans Are Racists

I went to a social event at Edinboro University for GLBT history month. It was low key, but very pleasant. There was a large chocolate sheet cake with a pink triangle to celebrate the event.

I recalled that the pink triangle was first used to identify gay men in Nazi concentration camps, so it seemed semi-amusing that it was now a cake. Some of us joked about the Eddie Izzard routine about "Cake or death? Cake, please!" Dan joked about Nazis and frosting. Yummy! Oppression (or symbols of same) can be tasty!

Color me NOT surprised. Gov. Palin, when she has not been acting like a space cadet, has pretty much been acting like a bully. Not at all shocked to see that this a habitual form of behavior with her.

And this just goes to show that McCain didn't really think things through when he chose her.

A report from Alaska's legislature finds that Gov. Sarah Palin "unlawfully abused her authority" in firing Alaska's public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan. The 263 page report concludes that a "family grudge" was a key reason for the dismissal.
"Monegan says he was dismissed as retribution for resisting pressure to fire a state trooper involved in a bitter divorce with the governor's sister. Palin says Monegan was fired as part of a legitimate budget dispute," the AP explains.
In an attempt to preempt the news, the McCain campaign issued their own report clearing Palin.

Palin Abused Her Power
Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:58:22 GMT

We had a users group meeting for the food bank inventory software suite. Part of the meeting was dinner at work. It went relatively well. The word came that we should try to get our areas neat. I joked with some of the customers that if they valued their lives, they should NOT open any drawers. I am including the photo I took of my cubicle since it is so rare for it to be tidy. (I'm a slob, what can I say?)

At one point, my boss brought out what seemed to be be an immense blue blob of something. He said something like "Bet you have never seen a 5 pound block of Silly Putty before." Nope. I definitely haven't. ;) For some reason, it made me think of a horror movie, and I flashed on an image of the block growing and engulfing people.

Pretty funny!

Goodness! Once Gov. Palin is allowed to speak, she does seem to spend rather a lot of time attacking her running mate's actions, yes?

And in terms of associations with clergy, I think that someone who was prayed over to be protected from all witchcraft might not be so quick to throw out the first stone.

Gad, she is such a clueless moron.

Palin Questions McCain Decision to Not Hit Obama on Wright

October 06, 2008 9:38 AM

Palin Questions McCain Decision to Not Hit Obama on Wright

New York Times columnist William Kristol asked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, if the campaign is hitting Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., for his connections to William Ayers, why wouldn't they go after his much closer connection to Rev. Jeremiah Wright?

"To tell you the truth, Bill, I don’t know why that association isn’t discussed more," Palin said,

"because those were appalling things that that pastor had said about our great country, and to have sat in the pews for 20 years and listened to that —with, I don’t know, a sense of condoning it, I guess, because he didn’t get up and leave — to me, that does say something about character. But, you know, I guess that would be a John McCain call on whether he wants to bring that up."

This comes after Palin publicly questioned another McCain campaign decision, to stop trying to full compete in Michigan.

"I want to get back to Michigan, and I want to try," Palin told Fox News' Carl Cameron. "Todd and I, we’d be happy to get back to Michigan. We’d be so happy to speak to the people there in Michigan who are hurting."

-- jpt

Political Punch

The Erie Times News had this article in the paper yesterday, but I couldn't find this online at either the Erie Times News site nor at the Erie County Government site.

It seems to me that it would be pretty important to get the word out, so I sat down this morning and keyed the whole thing into the Erie County Democratic Party site and also added the various demonstrations to Eventful.com. (And of course took advantage of the nifty "submit this event to other web sites" thing that Eventful has that I just love.) You know how it goes: telegraph, tell a phone, tell a queen.

Don't forget! The deadline to register to vote in Pennsylvania (and Ohio) is TODAY!

The Erie County Elections Office is holding demonstrations on the touch-screen demonstrations that will be used on Tuesday, November 4. The demonstrations will take place at the following times and places:

• Blasco Library, 160 E Front St; Saturday, October 11, 10 AM to 4 PM; Sunday, October 12, 1 to 4 PM; Saturday, October 18, 10 AM to 4 PM; Sunday, October 19, 1 to 4 PM; Saturday, October 25, 10 AM to 4 PM; Sunday, October 26, 1 to 4 PM; Saturday, November 1, 10 AM to 4 PM; Sunday, November 2, 1 to 4 PM
• Harborcreek Township Building, 5601 Buffalo Rd, Wednesday, October 8, 9 AM to 12 noon.
• McCord Memorial Library, 32 W Main St, North East; Wednesday, October 8, 1 to 4 PM.
• Fairview Township Building, 7471 McCray Rd, Friday 10, 9 AM to Noon
• Rice Avenue Community Public Library, 705 Rice Ave, Girard; Friday, October 10, 1 to 4 PM.
• Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Department, 7455 New Road, Edinboro; Monday, October 13, 9 AM to noon.
• Corry Community Center, 15 S First Ave, Corry, Tuesday, October 14, 9 AM to noon
• Union City Public Library,2 Stranahan St, Union City; Tuesday, October 14, 1 to 4 PM.
• Springfield Township Building, 1330 Ridge Road, West Springfield; Wednesday, October 14, 1 to 4 PM.
• Albion Area Public Library, 111 E Pearl St, Wednesday, October 15, 1 to 4 PM
• Summit Township Building, 8900 Old French Road; Friday, October 17 9 Am to 12 noon.
• St. Francis Parish Center, 8880 W Main St, McKean; Friday, October 17, 1 to 4 PM.
• Millcreek Township Building, 3608 W 26th St; Monday, October 20, 9 AM to 12 noon.
• Greenfield Township Fire Company, 10160 Station Rd, North East; Tuesday October 21; 5:30 to 8:30 PM.
• Washington Township Building, 11800 Edinboro Road, Washington Township; Wednesday, October 22, 9 AM to 12 noon
• Waterford Borough Building, 30 S Park Row, Waterford; Wednesday, October 22, 1 to 4 PM.
• Venango Township Building, 9141 Townhall Road, Wattsburg; Monday, October 27, 9 AM to 12 noon.

Election office offers voting machine demos | Erie County Democratic Party

I went to the wedding of 2 friends yesterday. They happen to be a straight couple, but I never think of them as that. (I know - weird. However, they don't tend to think of themselves as a straight couple other.)

I got there kind of early, and just the groom's family was there. When I arrived, they were very friendly and polite. I smiled inwardly, as I recall that the bride had referred to her mother-in-law to be (affectionately) as a "wolverine in Capri pants." I do so love a well-turned phrase. So, running through the back of my mind was the overwhelming thought to NOT verbalize this.

The wedding ceremony itself was very quick. At one point, the groom observed that there were probably more gay people than straight at the wedding. And a lesbian mom, who was there with her partner and their adorable baby boy, performed the ceremony. So, gays threaten straight marriages??? Honey, who do you think was in the kitchen and who helped officiate? Equality threatens no one.

Wishing the happy couple many years of wedded bliss! Love is love!

Hee hee! The graphic below about how Gov. Palin handled the debate is quite funny. And probably closer to reality than the campaign would ever admit.

From Aden Nak:

Leaked from Palin's Debate Prep?
Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:08:16 GMT

Hat tip to the ever delightful Eden on this one! Tastes like homo? Sign me up! ;)

Tastes like what?

Oh, I will pass, thanks...

I waste too much time at work.: Tastes like what?

I just wanted to remind everyone that the deadline to register to vote in the upcoming election (November 4) in Pennsylvania and Ohio is tomorrow, Monday, October 6. The deadline for New York state is this coming Friday, October 10.

I pretty much binged on sending out a reminder email to the various email lists I maintain. Here is what I sent:

Hey all!

We really need everyone to be sure that they are registered to vote at their current address! If you live in Pennsylvania or Ohio, the deadline is this Monday, October 6. If you are in New York, it is next Friday, October 10. Please get your voter registration in to the courthouse (safest bet) or postmarked by that date. This is an EXTREMELY important election. We need everyone to go to the polls and vote on Tuesday, November 4. There are quite a few places online to get the form to send in. One place is http://www.yourvotematters.org/ You can also get the forms at http://maps.google.com/vote. (See? How easy is that, all that you have to do is go to a web site, download a form and mail it in on time.)

Not sure if you are registered or not? Then check out http://www.canivote.org. That will also tell you what your polling place is, so you know where to go to vote on November 4.

Need some motivation about why this is important? Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UaRXvRwhOk. (Thanks, Gary!)

Not sure about where the candidates stand on issues? The next issue of Erie Gay News, which comes out the night of Tuesday, October 21, will have a voters guide, so that you can make an informed choice.

Would you like to hear this very important info in person? Then please come to the Candidate Forum that the Erie Gay Business Alliance will be having on Sunday, October 26 at 7 PM at the Zone Dance Club, 133 W 18th St, Erie PA.

You have the power to help make decisions in several races that will affect your state and your country for years to come. Remember how many of the recent elections have been decided by an incredibly small number of votes. WHAT YOU DO MATTERS!

If you want our community to be taken seriously and to have power and respect, we all need to work together and yup, that means you too!

Register to vote. Get informed. And VOTE! It's the right thing to do!

I had someone write back to me that they had forwarded the email to several folks, and 4 people had checked, and found that they were not registered to vote, as they thought. So, yay! I indirectly helped get 4 people registered to vote. Go, me! (And everyone else along the way who worked, of course.) Stuff like this totally makes my day.

I was at the Erie For Obama steering committee this morning, and Fred, one of the volunteers coordinating signs, said that he caught a kid stealing an Obama/Biden sign from his front yard. When he asked the kid why he was doing it, the kid said that the woman around the corner had offered him $3 to snag her an Obama sign. These are the kinds of problems you like to have.

I feel really pumped about things are currently going for the election. However, we need to not slow down!

You know as interesting as the Obama/McCain and the Biden/Palin debates were, I think that a McCain/Palin debate would be more interesting yet. ;)

Palin Criticizes McCain Decision on Michigan

In an interview with Fox News, Gov. Sarah Palin criticized Sen. John McCain's decision "to pull campaign resources out of Michigan, saying she and her husband Todd would 'be happy' to campaign in the economically distraught battleground state."
Palin said that when she read the news, she "fired off a quick e-mail and said, 'Oh come on, do we have to?'"do we have to?'"

Palin Criticizes McCain Decision on Michigan -- Political Wire

Holy crap! It had come up in the Obama meeting here in Erie that it seems like not much is coming out of the McCain campaign office here. I found this very interesting blog entry on FiveThirtyEight.com. It sounds like the local situation is not that atypical.

I talked with someone about another issue and the phenomenon of another group of people being all talk and no follow through came up. I tend to be a very task completion oriented person and that bugs the ever loving socks off of me.

Here's a relevant excerpt:

Something interesting is happening with John McCain’s campaign. Up until now, we’ve had no trouble gaining access to field offices and volunteers. Here in St. Louis, we were told by Tina Hervey, Missouri Republican State Party Press Secretary, that she had never heard of FiveThirtyEight, and while they trusted Politico, we were people who they had to decide whether we “shouldn’t or don’t need to be talking to.” (McCain’s Missouri press secretary actually works out of Iowa, and did not return calls or email.) I told Tina that’s not a story we wanted to write, that this was our first Republican resistance, and that while she may not have heard of us, we’d probably go over 2.5 million site visits this week, now that we’re regularly past 400,000 per weekday. I told her I’d hold off writing her flat refusal and give her the opportunity to change her mind.
No budging. We were told that we’d be asked to leave public field offices we now attempted to visit. We did not get any promised follow-up helping get access to the post-debate Palin rally last night, and we were locked out. Hmm.
Let’s be clear. We've observed no comparison between these ground campaigns. To begin with, there’s a 4-1 ratio of offices in most states. We walk into McCain offices to find them closed, empty, one person, two people, sometimes three people making calls. Many times one person is calling while the other small clutch of volunteers are chatting amongst themselves. In one state, McCain’s state field director sat in one of these offices and, sotto voce, complained to us that only one man was making calls while the others were talking to each other about how much they didn't like Obama, which was true. But the field director made no effort to change this. This was the state field director.
Only for the first time the other day did we see a McCain organizer make a single phone call. So we've now seen that once. The McCain organizers seem to operate as maître Ds. Let me escort you to your phone, sir. Pick any one of this sea of empty chairs. I'll be sitting over here if you need any assistance.
Given a choice between taking embarrassing photos of empty phone banks, we give McCain’s people the chance to pose for photos to show us the action for what they continually claim we “just missed.” No more. We stop into offices at all open hours of the day, but generally more in the afternoon and evening. “Call time,” for both campaigns, is all day, but the time when folks over 65 are generally targeted begins in late afternoon and goes til 8 or 9pm. Universally, McCain’s people stop earlier. Even when we show up at 6:15pm, we’re told we just missed the big phone bank, or to come back in 30 minutes. If we show up an hour later, we “just missed it” again.
The McCain offices are also calm, sedate. Little movement. No hustle. In the Obama offices, it's a whirlwind. People move. It's a dynamic bustle. You can feel it in our photos.
Up to this point, we’ve been giving McCain's ground campaign a lot of benefit of the doubt. We can’t stop convincing ourselves that there must – must – be a warehouse full of 1,000 McCain volunteers somewhere in a national, central location just dialing away. This can’t be all they’re doing. Because even in a place like Colorado Springs, McCain’s ground campaign is getting blown away by the Obama efforts. It doesn't mean Obama will win Colorado Springs, but it means Obama's campaign will not look itself in the mirror afterward and ask, "what more could we have done?"
You could take every McCain volunteer we’ve seen doing actual work in the entire trip, over six states, and it would add up to the same as Obama’s single Thornton, CO office. Or his single Durango, CO office. These ground campaigns bear no relationship to each other.
Here on out, our skepticism is going to be higher. We truly respect organizers on both sides, because it is grindingly hard work for minimal pay. It’s powered by a belief in doing what’s right. We do not quote them or get them in trouble. Moreover, we truly respect direct action by volunteers – who do exist on the McCain side, just as a tiny, tiny fraction of the Obama side – but if the attitude continues on this unhelpful and obstructive turn, we’re going to spend less time making excuses for what we observe. Less benefit of the doubt. Show us real work and we'll cover it. We want to.

FiveThirtyEight.com: Electoral Projections Done Right: On the Road: St. Louis County, Missouri

I watched a fair amount of the VP debate. I thought Joe Biden did a great job, and Sarah Palin at least sounded somewhat coherent. Let's face it, the bar was set so low for her performance that she pretty much needed not to become visibly incontinent while on stage to surpass it.

I found it rather disconcerting that she seemed not to answer any of the questions. My guess is that she had some prepared talking points, and deviating from those would have been disastrous. Palin doesn't strike me as the type who can think on her feet.

I was really roused by Joe Biden's emphatic support of equal protections for same-sex couples. I felt annoyed when Sarah Palin did the "Me too. Sorta. Whatever. Gosh" thing. I am sorry, but the track record of the 2 parties on equality is fairly stark.

I had a nice phone call in the middle of the debate with my friend, Pat, whom I have known for about 20 years now. She and her husband live in Virginia Beach. They are also Pagan and have been doing belly dance. It was great catching up!

I had a support call from a customer today who was having problems launching reports. I finally figured it out, but then we ran into a problem with opening a Word 2003 document with Word 2007. It turned out that we needed to either set a registry key or create a trusted location.

The Knowledge Base article said to go into the Trust Center, which I thought sounded very much like a touchy-feely counseling center. "Well, I have had trust issues because of my interactions with my motherboard when I was a child process." I wasn't sure at first how to set up a trusted location. "Okay, I am going to show you a flow chart. Can you touch the place on the chart where the bad macro touched your source code. It's all right. We are in protected mode."

Well, we both got a giggle.