And I thought the last one was depressing...

The only thing missing from this video is what the protesters were saying across the street. I am not sure it would have reached the same height of ridiculousness, but I am sure it was less than loving as well.



Each person on this video is someone Jesus came to die for, each one of them is precious in his sight. May the Lord break through all of this putrid and vile hatred from both sides with his peace, love, and understanding. May we stop losing our own humanity as we deny others their own.

George Wallace was the wrong comparison

Joseph McCarthy is more like it.




I actually caught this episode of Hardball Live tonight, and seeing it a second time confirms to me that Michelle Bachmann is only taking what has been an implicit message of the McCain campaign and making it about as explicit as one can get.

Later in the program a guest described Bachmann's remarks as fascist. I don't think that does anything to help the debate either, but what is clear is that once again the Republican tactic is to create an us vs. them mentality where anyone who disagrees with them is either:

a) un-American
b) elitist
c)unholy/un-Christian
d) a terrorist
or e) (in the case of senator Obama) all of the above and then some!

While there are definitely democrats who would like to do the same thing, I feel the difference is that we are talking about party radicals in that case as opposed to a full frontal assault by almost all republicans all the way to the top of the ticket. This to me is a huge difference and one which prevents me from even considering the McCain campaign.

When you couple this appearance with the robocalls all over the nation and Governor Palin stating that she loved to visit the 'pro-America' parts of the country today (of course this statement was walked back later when they realized what she had said), you get the equivalent of a modern day Red Scare.

Proof that they can both be civil!

Both of these videos are good for a laugh. After a rough debate the night before, it is good to see that they both really can have a sense of humor about it all. Now...if only they could take that sense of humor and civility and keep it up for the last 2 1/2 weeks.

John McCain's sense of humor is not enough for me to vote for him, however it is enough to remind me why I wanted him to win back in 2000 in the first place. It still is doubtful that he will win, but it is my hope that if he were to win, he would return to his old self. One of the things that really made me angry about both Bush terms were his repeated campaign pledges of bipartisanship that were tossed aside soon after taking office. In the case of a McCain win, I do think he could work with democrats again, but it is going to take a lot of work to undo the damage he has done during the present campaign.

Anyway, enjoy the brief respite from the negativity!

McCain's Remarks:


Obama's Remarks:

Blech?

I have no idea when this happened. All I know is that it is one of the funniest faces ever caught on camera. It is similar to the way people take random screencaps of Jack on Lost.

Maybe he heard David Gergen respond to the question of what should the McCain campaign do by saying "Beats the hell out of me!"

Spread the Wealth Around

Overall I felt that (surprise) Obama won the debate. I am tired and so I doubt much will be coherently said here.

What I do want to mention real quick is that the reply to McCain about spreading the wealth around should have pointed out that for too long we have tried the 'trickle down' economic approach which Republicans always push as a way of free markets taking care of themselves. The problem is not somebody like Joe the Plumber, and it is unfortunate that he would have to pay more in taxes (however I still say 250k is a high number, even for a small business). The problem is that so many large corporations simply do not spread the wealth around on their own. One doesn't have to look very far in the current economic crisis to see that this approach has not worked very well. As the income gap in this country and the world increases, we should not be so quick to dismiss the idea of taxing those more fortunate to aid those who are often struggling due to the large corporations and high income earners.


Finally, I am not suggesting that we have a massive redistribution of wealth, which is why I do feel that it can be the government's role to use that money on programs where it sees fit as opposed to pulling a full Robin Hood. It would be great if we were a country which looked out for one another on the financial stage. The reality though, is that we don't. And where citizen's fail in this regard, that is precisely the time for government to come in and do so itself.

PS David Gergen Rocks.

John McCain's "Comeback Speech"

I will freeze government spending on all but the most important programs like defense, veterans care, Social Security and health care until we scrub every single government program and get rid of the ones that aren’t working for the American people. And I will veto every single pork barrel bill Congresses passes. - John McCain, 10-13-2008

This reminds me of when Schwartzenegger proposed cutting all of California's budget 10% across the board. Both are at the extremes of our options. Whereas Schwartzenegger's plan ignored the fact that different programs have varying degrees of importance, I feel that McCain's spending freeze places the priority of some (including the wrong ones) things over the needs of others. The biggest problem I have with this is that Defense is right there at the top of the list. I would agree that the other three are priorities as well, but I would add many more things to the list. The idea that we would have a spending freeze on energy, education or government aide to low income citizens while putting what we do have into more defense spending is absolutely unacceptable. Somewhere in between the two proposals is a better way. Not every program should receive an equal budget cut, but neither should some just be left out in the cold.

It sounds bold and flashy to declare a spending freeze, but if you tried something like that in your personal life, you would quickly realize that it doesn't work. In fact many families in our country have to make those decisions out of necessity, and it only drives them further into debt. I can't simply stop paying for food because I need to pay my rent. What I can do, is look at how I spend that money and readjust. It may mean I buy less food, or that I drive less, or stay in more.

I appreciate that he wants to look into the spending habits of our government, however the way there should not simply be to stop spending money period.

The trouble with the "Arab" comment

Now for starters, I do give credit to John McCain for taking back the microphone and actually saying something. In the moment I am sure he was thinking on his feet and that was as good as anyone might do.

But, my problem is that his response only goes so far as to explain that Obama is a decent person. He leaves the whole Arab comment out there as if it is not being one that makes Obama a decent person. For starters, Arab is not a synonym for Muslim, nor is it a synonym for terrorist. Being either one of those (Arab/Muslim that is) should not be a disqualifier for being a decent person, or President of the USA for that matter. In fact more Arab-Americans are Christians than they are Muslims. But again, these facts do not have any bearing on one's "American-ness."

Just last night at dinner, someone I was talking to made the comment "Yeah, but don't you at least wish he had a different name? Something less..I dunno..." No, I don't. It can be easier in a place like Cincinnati to retreat into thinking like this because we are primarily a Black and White area. (I should note here that Arab-Americans are classified as white under the current census categories). We aren't confronted with the task of living in a diverse world in our daily lives as much as people in other cities might be. But while it may easier to think this way, that does not make it excusable. It is still prejudice.

I consider my time spent in Los Angeles as one of the more eye-opening experiences when it comes to race and minorities. There are very few cities like it in the world. It was definitely a stretching experience for me, and only part of my own journey of acceptance of others. But it was one I think I needed as well. Los Angeles is certainly no utopia when it comes to race and ethnicity, but for me at least, seeing families and people from all kinds of cultural backgrounds doing what they can to muddle through life there began to break down some of the preconceptions I had. It also showed me that the hesitancy towards anyone/thing not like us is not restricted to white Americans, but is a human trait we all share. However, our response cannot be "See - Everyone is racist so it is ok for me to be a little bit too!" When we live with a lowest common denominator attitude, it can only go lower. If we decide that there are things we can all aspire too, then the chances of it going up also increase.

And the only real way to combat prejudice in my opinion is through fellowship and community with those who are different. I don't think walking in someone else's shoes is really a solution. That is still an isolated action. Walking beside others though, is a communal activity. Whether it is working, worshipping, conversing with, or just enjoying their company, when we spend time with people out of an open heart, we at least provide the opportunity to love our neighbors. While our city may be predominantly white and black, it is not only that. Our goal should not be to seek out our Black friend, our Asian friend, our Arab or Hispanic friends so that we can sleep at night having met our diversity quota. But our goal should be an openness to recognize the diversity that does exist in our City, and then the freedom to develop relationships with anyone regardless of how much they are or aren't like us (I have focused mainly on race here, but this goes for socio-economic status, religious background, or urban/rural divides as well).

Finally, I am not writing this as a condemnation of McCain for his response, but more as a way to try and point in the direction of the real issue there. So yes McCain is right that Obama is a decent family man, but so too are Arabs and Muslims. Let us not make demographics the guage we use to determine decency or american-ness.

You're a Profanity/ Hannity.

This is just plain sad.

This doesn't make me angry, it just makes me depressed.

Clearly the McCain campaign cannot be held responsible for these people, however I do believe that they have a responsibility to reject these kinds of beliefs more forcefully.

Also, comparing these to comments that McCain is too old (not really an issue for me) or Palin is too inexperienced (more of an issue for me) is just not the same. Labeling someone a 'terrorist' is an extremely dangerous thing to do.

No one wins the Town Hall, because it wasn't one...

John Dickerson on Slate.com

The night was billed as a town hall—but I've seen town halls, and this wasn't one. The strict rules apparently had frightened the questioners with foreclosure if they asked anything interesting, followed up with the candidates, or performed any acts of spontaneity. Town halls are supposed to be freewheeling and probing. This format was dull, and the constant ankle-biting between the candidates compounded the problem.

Freedom of the Press

I guess this is Sarah Palin's way of punishing that liberally biased media for abusing their 1st amendment rights: Remove them from contact with those outside the pen.

You ;) betcha ;) Doggone ;) it ;)

;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;) ;);) ;) ;) ;)

Sorry something was stuck in my eye.

The easist/most awesome teapot in the world (so far)

Friday marked the delivery of my latest tea related purchase in my ongoing pursuit of a great cuppa tea. In honor of keeping on top of my finances, I have budgeted a little bit each week to start building not only my collection of teas, but also some of the things needed to brew it well.

I ordered the IngenuiTEA Starter Set from Adagio Teas. It comes with a nice little book on tea as well as a four-tea sampler set (I chose the green tea sampler). I also ordered their 16oz glass mug which is nice, because you can see how good your infusion looks!

I originally ordered it so that I could have something to use at work, but it is so great that I am thinking I will be lugging it back and forth from work so I can use it at home too. Here it is during the infusion:



Basically you heat up your water and fill up the pot. I have found that putting the tea leaves in before the water helps open them up better, otherwise they kind of just hang out at the top of the pot. Anyway, the main reason this thing is so great is because unlike my little wal-mart teapot, which has a tiny infuser, this one allows you to just throw the leaves in as they are. The problem with a tiny infuser is that it doesn't allow the leaves to fully expand, thereby preventing the flavor from reaching its full potential (thats what she said). After the brewing time is up, all you have to do is set the pot on top of a normal sized mug and it will open up a seal on the bottom, allowing only the tea to come out. There is a removable filter at the bottom of the pot which prevents the leaves from draining out with the tea. After you have done that, it looks like this:




And finally here is just the tea itself being held up to the light:



This particular tea was a black tea flavored with coconut. I have normally found it to be very good, however tonight I brewed it too long. Most black teas should be steeped for about 5 minutes, but for some reason the flavored teas from SpecialTeas should only be steeped around 3 minutes. I forgot this, so it came out a little bit on the bitter side. Nothing a few rock sugar crystals couldn't fix though!

I am really enjoying the green teas I have been trying. I am actually surprised the grassiness of some of them isn't too much for me. I will probably write about some of them soon. Or not. You never know :-p

And finally, I tried my first Oolong the other night at the Bean Haus. I wasn't sure what to expect, as the name of it was 'Hairy Crab.' I loved it though. Oolongs are sort of in between a green and black tea, and this one really tasted quite good. It was part grassy, part something I can't remember lol. All I know is that since then it is all I can think about. I can't wait to order some different ones to try here at home!

Brian Williams is a Maverick too.

Say it *is* so Joe- SNL VP Debate

"Oh And for those Joe Six-Packs out there playing a drinkin' game: Maverick!"

With numbers like these...

.... perhaps McCain really should continue his 'maverick' actions. They seem to be doing worlds of good for Obama. The daily tracking polls are only good for measuring trends, but the trend right now heavily favors Sen. Obama.

All I really have to say is something that has already been echoed over and over in the last 24 hours- McCain can't scramble to take the credit for the bailout when he thinks it is going to succeed and then deny any responsibility as soon as it fails. Also- for any Republican that "changed their vote" over a speech. I say screw you. It is either true and you are mentally challenged, or it is false and you are still mentally challenged for expecting the American public to buy into it. In the words of Bill Cosby- "That's Brain Damage!"

Monday's Tea- Almond Cookie

Today I am trying the Almond Cookie blend from SpecialTeas. It is a combination of black tea, almonds, cinnamon, flavouring, safflower blossoms. The smell itself is enough reason to brew this one. It smells, well... cookie-like lol. The official description talks about those windmill cookies with almonds in them, but the first thought I had was of snicker doodles.

As for the taste, this one holds up much better than the caramel from the other day. Whereas I felt the caramel added nothing helpful to that tea, this one brings in the cookie taste after an initial wave of the black tea flavor; leaving you with a nice sweet flavor in your mouth. As it is meant to be a dessert-like tea, adding a bit of sugar only serves to make it better.

Yesterday's Teas - China Tian Mu Qing Ding Organic & Caramel with Caramel Pieces

My latest order for tea came in yesterday and I decided to give a couple of them a try.

The first, China Tian Mu Qing Ding Organic, was actually one of the free samples they send with your order. I have to admit that while I am a huge fan of black teas, I havn't had much experience with green teas. I have enjoyed the pre-made iced green teas, but most of those are so sweetened it is hard to know what you are really tasting.

Overall I was mildly impressed. It is hard to go against the instinct that the longer you infuse it the more flavor you will get out of it (in reality it just turns teas bitter). My general understanding is that green teas range from a smokey flavor to a grassy flavor. This was towards the grassy end of the spectrum, but not so much that I felt like I was just drinking grass. The one thing I did enjoy was that it had a nice semi-sweet aftertaste. I have much more learning to do on the green tea front, so I am unsure what else to say about this one now.

The second tea I tried yesterday was Caramel with Caramel Pieces. This was one that I had been looking forward to, but was kind of disappointed in. The smell was amazing, however the taste did not live up to its smell. It just seemed to have a bit of a flat taste too it. I usually expect a good black tea to hit me with a lot more flavor than this one did. I will certainly give it another try, but I am not expecting too much out of it in the future.

As well as all the tea, I also ordered a bag of raw rock sugar crystals to sweeten tea with. It is recommended over table sugar because it is able to sweeten things without messing with their original taste/flavor. I included a little bit of the crystals in each cup of the black tea, and it did do just that- unfortunately I probably wouldn't have minded if it did cover up the flavor in that one!

The Proclaimers- Two Songs

I have been revisiting The Proclaimers the last few days. Everyone knows 'Im Gonna Be (500 Miles), but I have found that they haven't done an album I dislike.


First a cover of "Whole Wide World" - which to my knowledge was originally done by Wreckless Eric. More recently Will Ferrell sang it in Stranger than Fiction...




And I couldn't find a suitable/legal way to play a song called "If There's a God," so instead here is a video of Peter Kay and Matt Lucas doing '500 Miles' for Comic Relief last year. It is worth it if only for David Tennant dancing in a kilt.

"McCain has found his inner voice...

... it is his inner William Jennings Bryan"

More of John Oliver