Category / observations

Have I entered a parallel universe?

For the life of me, I can’t understand what’s happening in American politics. Who is advising these people? Yesterday I was dumbfounded that Mike Gravel released two “campaign” videos that were metaphors for… something. The first was three minutes of Gravel staring into the camera before he walked over and lobbed a stone into a pond and walked away. The second was nearly seven minutes of a small, smoldering camp fire.

Today we find out that Hillary has finally selected her campaign theme song (after a dramatic, breathless internet vote!). The winner? Celine Dion’s “You and I.” Maybe they’ll elect her Prime Minister of Canada, instead. (One can only hope.)

So I guess the next item was an attempt to re-connect with America. And what is America talking about? No, not the war. No, not illegal immigration. No, not taxes or Congress or terrorism. Give up? The Sopranos. That’s right… Hillary and Bill have created their own spoof of the Soprano’s season finale.

I suppose it can only get worse. At the Caucus blog at www.nytimes.com, Kate Phillps quickly judged that it “by far, represents the best campaign spot we’ve seen this season.”

Geesh. Cut to black, already.

[See the Hillary Soprano Spoof (Or not; you’re not missing anything.)]

Have we really come to this?

Mike Gravel is running for president… for real. And he’d really like you to vote for him. Since we’re in the midst of some dangerous and trying times for our country (we have military personnel in harm’s way, we have people who are devising new ways of killing us, we have people in droves crossing our borders illegally, stuff like that…), Mike wants you to know he’s a serious guy. So he’s taken the advice of a couple of teachers (who teach art and technology, I think) and posted some videos to help you better understand who he is, where he stands, and why he thinks he should be the next President of the United States.

The two videos could be titled “Rock” and “Fire.” I don’t know if they are, but they could be. They could also be titled “I’m” and “Friggin’ Nuts.”

[Watch Mike Gravel in “Rock”]
[Watch Mike Gravel in “Fire”]

Immigration Issue "Fixed"?

Kris W. Kobach, D.Phil., J.D. and Matthew Spalding, Ph.D.have written an article about the current immigration bill that is making it’s way through the Senate. Though it certainly uses some inflammatory language, it’s well worth the read. Personally, this seems like a deeply flawed attempt to fix the immigration problem, but you can decide for yourself. Regardless, it’s always important to know what’s inside these bills.

Be informed, get involved. This is your country, and these are your representatives. Make sure they know what you think!

[Read the Heritage Foundation article, “Rewarding Illegal Aliens: Senate Bill Undermines The Rule of Law”]
[Read the legislation]

"If you're a trust-fund baby, why get a job?"

Ah, one of the great pondered questions. Goes hand-in-hand with, “Who the hell are all these people?” Many are the day we’ve been on the way to lunch or a meeting and encountered the huddled masses at cafes, parks, malls… nearly any spot worth loitering. Who are these people, indeed? And how do they pay the bills? And how can I become one of them?

Writer Chris Colin recently pondered similar questions, except he actually walked up and asked. Turns out there was a pretty decent article hiding in their answers.

[Read “The mystery of the daytime idle: Why aren’t you working?”]

This makes me think of all the people doing the same thing, except they’re doing it online instead of a park. If you’re a daytime idle and doing it from the comfort of a couch or chair somewhere, post a comment and let me know how you’re managing it.