There are times when I truly love the whole giant convoluted mess that is American government.

From http://www.rules.house.gov/POP/house_comm_dec.htm, "Decorum in the House and in Committees":

blah blah blah...
Under section 370 of the House Rules and Manual it has been held that a Member could:

refer to the government as "something hated, something oppressive."
refer to the President as "using legislative or judicial pork."
refer to a Presidential message as a "disgrace to the country."
refer to unnamed officials as "our half-baked nitwits handling foreign affairs."

Oh flist it makes me go all starry-eyed that there is an actual on-the-books rule about being allowed to call people half-baked nitwits.

And God bless you, Wikipedia, for making it easy to find this shit.

Did you watch the President, the news, or any of your flists/twitter feeds/Facebook walls/MySpace whatevers? If so, you might be interested to know that you can send a letter to Congressman Joe Wilson.

Here's what I used (sorry I can't remember where I got it! D:):

There is a time and a place for reasoned debate and disagreement with the sitting President of the United States, but your display tonight during President Obama's address was neither appropriate nor timely. I don't know what power moved you to make such an embarrassing and disrespectful outburst but I sincerely hope that you will listen to the outrage of your colleagues, your constituents, and your fellow citizens and apologize for your conduct, at the very least. If you also take this opportunity to honestly examine why you believed that this was an appropriate action, and one befitting your stature as an elected representative of the people, so much the better.

eta!

The President, the Vice President, and the Speaker of the House at the moment when Congressman Wilson lost his shit.

Man, I am done with people dying. Do you hear me, world? DONE.

Moveon.org is passing this video around today and I'm struck anew with how much there was to admire about Teddy Kennedy, Senator. Teddy Kennedy, Playboy, maybe not so much, but the Senate lost one of its greatest members last night. I keep thinking about not only his political career, but stories from people like Joe the Biden and Orrin Hatch and the 9/11 widow they interviewed on NPR this morning about how gracious and caring and open a man Kennedy was behind the scenes. I'm going to miss his bluster and his big Irish head.



And y halo thar shoutout to Lolhio Senator Sherrod Brown. Good on you, sir, for repeatedly turning down the Congressional healthcare plan until we have a comparable one of our own. So let's actually get that comparable one, yeah?

PS
I did not win the jackpot. :(

Trek fic rec!

The Logic of Languages by misscam; Spock/Uhura (reboot); PG

Very lovely, almost lyrical depiction of the slow build of their relationship. Cam really nails a lot of my favorite pairings in her other fics and does a beautiful job with this one. I have so much love for TOS that it's hard for me to read reboot!fic and not picture the original cast, but I had no such problem with this one. She says she's been bitten by the bug and will probably write more, too. \o/

In movie news, we finally watched W. tonight after avoiding the Netflix sleeve for weeks. I'm really impressed with it. Say what you will about its inauthenticity at times, but it's not often that a movie makes me literally angry with rage over non-trivial things while simultaneously making me feel sympathetic toward someone I loathe. Josh Brolin's embodiment of Bush was kind of scary at times - he doesn't resemble him much irl but he totally had the looks and the physicality down. And Oliver Stone misses more often than he hits in recent years, but one scene set at the Crawford ranch totally put him back in my good graces:

( the scene )

eta
Lol html fail :(

The Obama administration, fearing a battle with Congress that could stall plans to close Guantanamo, has drafted an executive order that would reassert presidential authority to incarcerate terrorism suspects indefinitely, according to three senior government officials with knowledge of White House deliberations.

WTAF

Someone please tell me I've missed out a word somewhere? Please?

In other news, has Perez Hilton gone away yet? Because JFC am I ready for that day.

Pepsi for breakfast = OMG MY BRAIN IS TOO FAST FOR MY HEAD.

• So for some reason it seemed like a really great idea last night to trash almost 2500 words of the BBT Fic That Will Not Die and redo the whole middle to end. With terriblemediocre porn in the place of something that almost resembled a plot. >:(
  
  
• I borrowed a copy of Watchmen the other day* and am only a few pages in but wtf halo thar potential new fandom. I don't even read comics, you guys. What.
  
  
• Also, inkdot is a piece of shit who appears to have gotten me hooked on Carnivàle :D:
  
  
• LOOK I'M NOT TO BLAME FOR ANY OF THIS, OKAY? My flist = sick, twisted purveyors of crackaliciousness and depressingly awesome entertainment. I'm sorry you're all enablers :(
  
  
• You know, it must be awesome to be The Boss. When I publicly bitch about Ticketmaster, all I get is a lousy service charge.
  
  

• With the recession on the brink of becoming the longest in the postwar era, a milestone may be at hand: Women are poised to surpass men on the nation’s payrolls, taking the majority for the first time in American history.
  source

  Wouldn't it be nice if women were taking the majority because of gender equality in the workplace (and the fact that we're, you know, the majority of the population) instead of a new Depression? If it yields any progress on pay equity though, you'd better believe I'll fucking take it.
  
  
• On a semi-related note, this from Feministe is an amazing snapshot comparison of the Obama and Bush administrations. It's kind of an apples-to-oranges comparison given the nature of the two bills being signed into law, but I think any conclusions you may draw can be easily extrapolated.
  
  
• Yup, just thinking the words "Obama" and "administration" together is still enough to make me :D. Although I'm kind of looking forward to being disappointed by something he does (or doesn't do). Politics don't seem real without disappointment and resentment.
  
  
• The StoryCorps story this morning on NPR was a 10 year old girl in San Francisco talking with her mother about learning to read with dyslexia. OMG so teary-eyed by the end because this kid sounds amazing. Her mom asked her if learning to read and learning to love reading has made her think about What She Wants To Be When She Grows Up. Her answer: "I want to teach Humanities and help people with dyslexia with their spelling and stuff." Oh ♥

*AND IT HAS NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DO WITH THAT TALENTED AND HANDSOME JEFFREY DEAN MORGAN.

This icon is totally my go-to for all things JDM, Javier Bardem, Robert Downey Jr, Gerry Butler, and that guy who played Miraz in Caspian, btw.

This journal isn't often used for SRS BSNS topics but today, you get this. DON'T ALL RUSH TO INVISIBLY DOGPILE AT ONCE PLS. This is an orderly journal for orderly people.

dragged_up linked to something yesterday that still has me thinking. It's a photo retrospective of President Bush, as chosen by the White House editors from three major news services. Each of them chose a series of photographs from their archives of the last eight years, and had a conversation with the NYT writer about the moments they'd captured. It's really interesting to see what these men consider to be sort of the iconic moments of the Bush administration. The context of each shot - how it was staged, how the photographers in the press pool interact with the President, the events that lead to and away from that moment - make them even more compelling.

The really amazing thing for me is the series of three photos that come at the end of the article. They were taken directly after his final press conference. After Bush left the room and the television cameras stopped rolling, the pool photographers stayed as he came back out to say goodbye to the people who'd attended the speech/Q&A and the Reuters photographer got these shots.

To be totally honest: they floored me.

Make no mistake - I feel absolutely no affection or goodwill toward this man. His actions range from misguided to criminal, and I think his administration and mindset have done more lasting damage to the country than almost anything else. There is virtually no context in which I have looked at him and not been angry, except watching him get on Executive One and fly away from DC.

( long post is long )

Or you can look at this picture of a kitten. Oh Photoshop. :D:

OBAMA ORDERS CLOSURE OF GUANTANAMO BAY PRISON

Obviously there's a lot of work to be done in order to close the prison and provide for the prosecution (if applicable) of detainees, as well as the deportation/repatriation of those who are not prosecuted but.

:D


(I feel like I should get an Obama icon but it seems kind of creepy to have one of him because I want to take him seriously and not fandomize my admiration. OBVIOUSLY I DO NOT HAVE THIS PROBLEM WITH JOEY THE SHARK. D:)

On a sillier note, there are still three mystery OTPs yet to be guessed over here!


ETA
Did anyone ever find out what happened to aconite? ;_;

So.


Hail to the chief, he's the chief and so we hail him

:D

Other than that, how's every one doing?

Poll #1334475 a beautiful day in the neighborhood
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 26

Today is:

Ticky box?

ETA
TED KENNEDY AND ROBERT BYRD = OKAY! :D

I played hooky from work today to attend an Obama rally. The topic? Jobs. LOL

The first thing I saw when I drove up to the venue was a truck full of SWAT members piling out onto the street, so I decided to park a little further out! The best part (besides actually seeing Obama in the flesh, and passing within less than a foot of the Governor on my way out) was talking to people in the crowd. A nice older guy with a cane parked next to me in a lot a few blocks away from the stadium and walked in with me. He lectured me a bit on the economy (which was a lot nicer than it sounds) and said that he's excited about politics for the first time in a long time. His kids, he said, are 100% behind Obama but he's worried that they support him because he's black like they are, instead of paying attention to how he's going to work for the country.

Inside, I ended up sitting next to a girl who was skipping her college classes to attend. She said that she didn't want to miss the opportunity to hear Obama speak in person, and couldn't believe that none of her friends wanted to come with. We squinted into the sun for hours, waiting for the event to start and lamented the fact that we were so excited to get there that we didn't think about things like sunglasses and visors. We didn't talk much about politics, really, but she did jump out of her seat and cheer when Obama talked about his education plan, especially the bit on how to help people to afford a college education in return for service to their country.

On the other side of me was a lady who calls herself "a rare creature, a black Republican." When I asked why she was there, she said she wanted to vote for Obama because he's black (I hope she didn't run into my escort in!) but she's still a little bit torn. She likes McCain and thinks he wouldn't be all bad as President, but Palin makes her nervous because she doesn't think Palin is strong enough to lead if need be. The conversation kind of devolved into bashing Cheney and Rove at that point, delighting us both. Later, while we were watching the paramedics set up their station and a couple of agents with dogs milling around the edges of the crowd on the field, she said that the biggest problem she has with her party is the support they give to the NRA. She worked as a youth counselor in troubled urban areas for years and said she'd lost count of the number of kids they'd lost to shootings and gang violence. She doesn't know how Obama would change anything relating to guns, but she likes what she hears him say about creating opportunities for kids. She also got a big kick out of Obama taking off his jacket and rolling up his shirtsleeves. :)

I wish I felt guilty about skipping work today but yeah, not going to happen. It's so rare that I step out of my comfort zones and get to talk to people who aren't in the same situation I am. Not that there's a whole lot of deviation in an Obama crowd for an Obama supporter! But all the same, it was really great to hear other viewpoints that aren't from talking heads on the news.

You know, I remember when I liked John McCain, but not why.

I do, however, remember why I love Tom Brokaw. If he broke out a ruler and started thwacking knuckles over the time limits, it wouldn't surprise me in the least.

Also, dear god, town halls are boring as hell.

LOL John McCain totally hearts Ronald Reagan. Now I'm imagining some tawdry Washingtonian love triangle, where Joe Biden declares his love for McCain but McCain only has eyes for the Gipper.

And now I'm grossed out, too.

ETA
if you're still watching, check out Obama's fan in the back row of the section closest to his chair. She's in the middle, wearing blue, and grinning widely whenever he scores a point off of McCain. Totally cracking me up.

ETA 2
Uh, it's probably not a good sign that I've decided to start reading a Washington Post article series about Chandra Levy from earlier this year, instead of paying attention to the debate. Except when Tom Brokaw gets all testy about THE TIME LIMITS! D:

ETA 3
Okay, seriously, so much Brokaw love.

♥Joe Biden♥

(And as always, ♥♥Gwen Ifill♥♥)

Also, lolol the misspoken words in the VP debate tonight are cracking me up

PALIN: [blah blah McCain] is the man we need to leave, er, lead

Well said, ma'am.

I'm just sitting here at the table, minding my own business and avoiding doing work-work any way I can, when it suddenly hit me: by this time next year, George W. Bush won't be sitting in the White House.

(Okay, so I'm a bit slow...)

Dude. I feel like I've just blown my own mind and with something I already knew, no less. Even if the outcome isn't what I hope for, I'm having a huge fucking party on Inauguration Day.

HUGE FUCKING PARTY. There might even be alcohol and other people there!

Some other things that blew my mind today.

eta: one more!
"Bush hails 'undeniable successes' of war"
Bush hails 'undeniable successes' of war
Bush hails 'undeniable successes' of war

OKAY, SORRY. Last one, for realz:

7. Calvin Coolidge, the 30th president, was reported to be a very interesting character. When not having his head massaged with Vaseline during breakfasts in bed or riding his own mechanical bull, he was ringing the White House doorbell and then running off to hide.
(http://polizine.com/2008/02/19/the-10-weirdest-facts-about-american-presidents/)

LOL WHAT.

I barely even have the words right now, guys:

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CALLS VIRGINIA FOR WEBB
http://tinyurl.com/y66p37

WE FUCKING DID IT!

THANK YOU, VIRGINIA! ILU!

1. YAY!

2. OMFG YAY!

3. OMFG I CAN'T BELIEVE IT; YAY!

I can still remember staying up all night long to watch the returns in 2000 and just about sobbing my eyes out when NBC finally went off the air, saying "still too close to call". In 2004, it was all about the sinking feeling in my gut as I watched the approval numbers for the anti-gay marriage legislation float up and up and up*. (Let's not even talk about the reaction to seeing Kerry's concession speech.)

This year? It may not have been the biggest victory in the world, and there's still a lot to be desired from my party, but I am so giddy right now.

America likes us; they really like us!

In other news, last night I dreamt that there was a massive earthquake in Turkey. WTF?



*I've got the same sinking feeling again, plus the overwhelming sense of OMGWTF coming out of Arizona, but. Madame Speaker! OMFG!

Motherfucker. What in the hell is WebCT's problem, anyway? It just took, I swear to God, TEN MINUTES to get from the login page to the welcome page. Meanwhile, I'm watching streaming videos with no problems whatsoever. Well played, internets. Well played.

Should that be 'enquiring' in the subject?

Also, that Clinton interview from the other night is readily available on YouTube. I found a pretty good copy but it's been removed already. DAMMIT. (And his Daily Show appearance!)

Which got me to thinking. What if we do have a female President? What would be her husband's title then (presuming that she is married)? First Gentleman? (I kinda like that one, even if it makes me chuckle when applied to Bill "I Did Not Have Sexual Relations With That Woman" Clinton.) First ... Man? IDK. Presumably the Protocol folks have some idea. Which leads to some other questions: will it be the Protocol office that decides on the title? What duties would the First Man-Lady (Okay, I like that one even better haha) have? Will he fulfill all the "hostess" duties the First Lady typically has? Will he get a cover on Ladies' Home Journal? Will he have to release his special cookie recipe? Lead fashion trends? Read to schoolchildren and open bridges and hospitals? Can we have a nationwide referendum on the correct title so we all have a say in it? Can I nominate First Man-Lady to appear on the ballot?

OMG JUST LET ME INTO MY MESSAGES, WEBCT. GOD.

Wow. How much more could I possibly fail at html tags right now? Jeebus.

Fuck this term limits shit; I want my Bubba back.
(Is there video of this somewhere?)

On a more shallow note, WHY IS THERE SO LITTLE MARGARET FIC IN THE WORLD?

eta
Holy God, could it take any longer to log in to WebCT? This interface is totally useless. Argh.

Can anyone explain, in small, simple words, what the hell is going on with Joe Lieberman? HE HAS ENDANGERED THE JOBAMA!

As for the writing that was on the agenda for today, um, not so much. I don't know if it's dissatisfaction with my fandoms, the depression starting to rear its head again, or just plain old writer's block, but it's actually painful to try to wrench the words out of my brain. And that's so disheartening, because I know they're in there. I know exactly where I want my stories to end up and where they should go next and random things I want to explore between here and there, but ARGH. The blank page has never been so intimidating as it is right now.

God. I'd be happy to get an OOC Squid/Hagrid drabble out at this point.

( completely frivolous meme, because that's all I'm capable of today )

From the Chimp-O-Matic:

I hear there's rumors on the Internets that we're going to have a draft.
--George W. Bush

St. Louis, MO
10/08/2004

( So. )