Author: Ruby Sinreich

I just couldn’t stop giggling today looking at Wonkette’s series of posts on the “traditional campaign baby-eating contest.”

Affleck and Bush Go Head to Head
“Once again, the parties must face each other down in the traditional campaign baby-eating contest. While Affleck is clearly more enthusiastic about the task, Bush, out of habitual Texan one-upmanship, eats the first of two babies, and goes about it with the sober professionalism we’ve come to expect from this wartime president.”

Consuming the Next Generation, Round Two
Consuming the Next Generation: Round Three
Consuming the Next Generation: Round Four

I’m not staying up for it, but it looks like John Kerry’s speech tonight will kick ass. It’s about time.

Via AMERICAblog.

I’m listening to this NPR program
On Point, which is talking to delegates at the RNC. Those people must have found a great ‘connection’ up there in the city! They are living in a complete fantasy world. They have mutual hallucinations about a “silent majority” who is going to elect Bush. One woman started to say those mean Democrats are always attacking, the host had to interrupt and ask if she’d seen the DNC. Obviously that was out of range of her tunnel vision.

One very disturbing thing I am hearing over and over is “President Bush is decisive… he won’t change his mind… you know where stands.” You know who else people said they knew where he stood? That would be the formerly extremely senior, extremely hateful “Senator No”
Jesse Helms. The man is an international symbol of hate and ignorance. He will forever be a blemish on North Carolina’s political history.

But even more bizarre, I have to wonder how any thinking adult could say about the most secretive presidential administration since at least Nixon (who resigned as as a result of his lies)
that you know where he stands. You don’t know a thing!

The President will address his faithful supporters tonight. There are so many possible reactions a thoughtful Ameeican might have to this. Hiding, crying, screaming, and throwing up come immediately to my mind. Al Franken suggests we share a collective “fuggeddaboutit” [or insert-regional-colloquialism-here] just before Bush speaks. Then shut up and listen to the cute wooden puppet speak. I’m trying to figure out what we should say to dismiss him in North Carolina, maybe “when pigs fly” or “how ’bout the weather?” I’d really like to raise my hand and say “brick wall” like you can do in high school.

Speaking of North Carolina, if you’ve got to the time head over to Republican headquarters in Raleigh and show them what you think in person. Here’s the info I got by e-mail (can’t find a website):

I don’t think there is a more entertaining Republican than Alan Keyes right now. You probably already heard that he called Dick Cheney’s daughter Mary (and all her gay and lesbian ilk) a “selfish hedonist.” But wait, there’s more!

AMERICAblog has the entire transcript and the audio of the interview:

Gay Republican Andrew Sullivan on the convention:

Replace “fractured culture” with “hypocritical Republican party” and I’d strongly agree.

Apparently security expert and ranting UNC professor Cori Dauber can’t believe the results of a new Zogby poll showing that “Half of New Yorkers Believe US Leaders Had Foreknowledge of Impending 9-11 Attacks and ‘Consciously Failed’ To Act.”

I’m shocked that Cori is shocked! She’s much too smart to be that naive.

We live in a country that has harassed and imprisoned its political dissidents for decades, where the sitting president was illegally appointed by bullies in Florida and cronies on the supreme court, where the media dare not critique those in power for fear of losing access to decision-makers. This is a president who would like to have control over what you do in the bedroom and with your own body, who thinks Enron and Halliburton are upstanding corporate citizens, and who thinks looking at him funny is just cause for war (and by the way, who also learned nothing from Vietnam).

I have no doubt (especially with My Pet Goat in mind) that if he did know, the President would not have felt compelled to stop 9/11. It was the most beneficial thing that ever happenned to his presidency. In fact now that I think about it, I think he needed it to happen. Otherwise, he’d have had nothing to distract us with as he flushed the economy and our future down the toilet.

OK, I swear, I’m gonna stop blogging soon. (Because it’s almost 11 and the
Daily Show will come on.)

I just accidentally flipped to the
2004 MTV Music Awards in time to see
Outkast win the Best Video of the Year for (in my opinion) one of the best top 40 pop songs of the century: Hey Ya. That was nice. But much better… this was followed by an Outkast performace/medley with a convention theme! Signs reading “Vote,” “Choose or Lose,” “Delaware,” “Outkast,” “Iowa,” etc. All bouncing in time. I do wish the conventions looked a little more like this…

Not only is this convention not as scripted as the Dems were, it’s full-on awkward. Audio miscues abound. Looong manual set changes are very bad for momentum, espcially since… Hey, is that the same band from Boston? The feel-good rock and soul is getting old.

… The other thing about the frequent extended breaks is that the talking heads must be really having a field day. I wouldn’t know, I’m mostly staying with C-SPAN (less so the more bored I get).

… I can see them handing out the signs to the delegates! A full hour before they will be cued by the big monitor on stage – uncool. Where’s the magic? This really illustrates how very graceful the Dems were. I thought they were a too Hollywood at the time, but this is lame. It might pass for hokey if it was more intentional. For your entertainment value, stick with the donkey.

… But the GOP is definitely winning the silly hat competition. No contest.

… This “compassion” theme couldn’t be more disingenuous. These people are at war with peace and justice. I’ll conserve my outrage and let Jay Ovittore take this rant.

… Oh my! George P. Bush is a hottie, isn’t he? No wonder they keep trotting him out at the conventions.

… Thank you Jaci Velasquez for washing the disgusting taste of Senator Brownback out of my mouth. What a contrast: from gringo shithead preaching the sanctity of life, to cute latina Britney-style salsa. She’s good, but my stomach is churning.

… I was going to watch a little more, just out the corner of my eye. But “Doctor” (Senate Majority Leader) Bill Frist is really making me ill. I’m switching to Comedy Central now before I throw up on the cat.