Despite all evidence to the contrary, there really is good news this election year.
It's almost over.
And come the closing of the final polling place in the country, regardless of outcome, the re-capping and re-re-capping of the whole experience will burst forth in a flood that will make perfect storm Sandy look like a spring shower and shine.
Personally, I think the inevitable will be unneccessary.
Because I think that for many, if not most, of us, the entire political process that history will call the presidential campaign of 2012 can be summed up in ten seconds or less.
Us, too, Forrest.
Us, too.
political commentary and analysis for the political commentary and analysis challenged
Sunday, October 28, 2012
"...And In The Director's Cut, They Take Mourdock and Sununu Along..."
I don't know about Donald Trump, but I know how I'm going to make my next million.
Or first million, as the case may be.
Details coming up.
First, though, a little combo news/back story.
(Access Hollywood/Yahoo) Where others might cut and run, Donald Trump doubles down.
Fresh off his offer to donate $5 million to charity if President Barack Obama releases his college and passport records, The Donald sat down with Access Hollywood's Billy Bush to explain his motives.
After a feisty appearance on the "Late Show with David Letterman" Thursday night, the business mogul entered our interview carrying ratings ammunition -- claiming the media tide is turning his way from the backlash caused by his challenge.
"Are you at all bummed out that it's become fodder?" Billy asked.
"It hasn't become fodder at all," Donald replied. "Last night on David Letterman, the audience stood up and gave me a crazy applause... I'll tell you, the big ratings last night on Letterman helped swing the tide."
The President reacted to Trump's challenge during a late-night appearance of his own, telling Jay Leno that his feud with Donald "dates back to when we were growing up together in Kenya."
Donald told Billy he's not impressed by Obama's dodging of the question at hand.
"[That was] just a conman answer," he told Billy, adding that he is "absolutely" willing to provide proof that he himself is not Kenyan.
Trump may think the media tide is turning -- but he's still battling his friends over the political challenge, including Barbara Walters and Donny Deutsch, who said Trump's announcement would "not be good for him."
"I couldn't care less about my friendship with Donny Deutsch," Donald retorted. "You know they all go on 'The Apprentice,' they kiss my a**, and then they come out negatively."
Adding, "Whatever he wants to say... Donny wants to be a star, it's not working!"
As for Matt Lauer's comments on Access Hollywood Live on Friday (he said Trump is a "provocateur"), The Donald said his record states otherwise.
"You know what? I built a great, great business, I'm worth more than 8 billion dollars, starting with very little," he said. "Let me tell you something, Billy, that's not a provocateur, that's a serious business person."
And what does Donald's wife Melania think of his challenge?
"She thought it was great," he said. "Millions of people think it is great. What does [Obama] have to lose? Unless he's hiding something."
As for whether Donald ran his challenge by Presidential nominee Mitt Romney? "The Apprentice" guru kept his lips sealed.
"I don't want to say. Why should I say?" Donald said. "What difference does it make?"
"Because if Mitt Romney told you it was a good idea... did you tell him you were going to do this?" Billy countered.
"I did not discuss it with him, no," Trump answered.
Re' that million bucks I mentioned earlier...
I think I have a movie idea that Hollywood will jump on like Honey Boo Boo's mama goes after pork rinds.
A hard hitting, true to the facts, as we know them, re-creation of the ill fated flight of Amelia Earheart.
With the legendary avatrix portrayed by Ann Coulter.
Her trusty, and equally ill fated, co-pilot, Fred Noonan, played by, of course, The Donald.
And what makes this version of this oft done story unique?
In this version, the actors actually fly off into the sunset.
And we never hear from either one of them again.
Is......that.....the sound....of......OSCAR?..........
Saturday, October 27, 2012
"...I Keep Waiting For Coulter To Rip Off The Mask, Mission Impossible Style, To Reveal A Box Of Rocks..."
Ann Coulter is dead wrong.
But, so is John Franklin Stephens.
Pudding free proof in a moment.
(CNN) - Conservative commentator Ann Coulter stood by her decision to call President Barack Obama the "r word" in a tweet, and questioned whether the word is indeed offensive.
Coulter was addressing a tweet she sent following the third presidential debate between Obama and GOP nominee Mitt Romney.
"I highly approve of Romney's decision to be kind and gentle to the retard," she posted to the social networking site.
She said in the interview she chose the word "because it's a synonym for 'loser.' " She professed to have used the word since.
Among the reaction to her post was a slew of critical tweets, as well as a blog post addressed to her by Special Olympic athlete John Franklin Stephens that went viral.
"Come on Ms. Coulter, you aren't dumb and you aren't shallow. So why are you continually using a word like the R-word as an insult?" he wrote in the letter. "I'm a 30 year old man with Down syndrome who has struggled with the public's perception that an intellectual disability means that I am dumb and shallow. I am not either of those things, but I do process information more slowly than the rest of you. In fact it has taken me all day to figure out how to respond to your use of the R-word last night."
Stephens appeared separately on "Piers Morgan Tonight" Friday.
"The word retard is offensive, and that I should not be a symbol for someone who is dumb and shallow," he said. "If they wanted to use me as a symbol, use me as a symbol for someone who fights adversity."
Coulter said "language police" were dictating what words should and should not be used, and denied the term was offensive at all.
"It's offensive according to whom? Moron, idiot, cretin, imbecile, these were exactly like retard, once technical terms to describe people with mental disabilities," she said. "Changing the word doesn't change the definition. I was not referring to someone with down syndrome. I was referring to the president of the United States."
In addition, those who are offended by the word have little ground, she suggested.
"No disabled people are saying it, the spokesmen for the disabled," she said.
Pressed on whether the word bore a stigma similar to another offensive word - the n word - she said, "I wouldn't use the n word because it's a curse word."
Ann Coulter is, to any one with anything resembling a micro shard of common sense, dead wrong.
For the obvious reason(s).
That said, though, it must, in fairness, be pointed out that John Franklin Stephens is dead wrong, as well.
Ann Coulter is, in fact, both dumb and shallow.
And while the use of the word "retard" is not only inappropriate but, if nothing else, simply discourteous, were it, for any reason, ever to be welcomed back into the daily vocabulary, it could easily be explained to those unclear on the definition.
One need only provide them with anything written, or spoken, by Ann Coulter.
Friday, October 26, 2012
"...The Scary Part Is The Size Of The Fan Club..."
I have seen and heard a lot.
And being, by nature, a cynic, I've reached a point in life where I've long believed, given the absurd things that human beings are capable of doing, saying, et al, that I cannot be stunned.
Ann Coulter stuns me.
Or, more to the point, that anyone could, for a second, consider giving Ann Coulter credit for being anything other than a sad, needy, neurotic caricature of an "advocate" stuns me.
Listen.
Stunning.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
"...Come Novmber 7, We Should Be Singing 'God Bless America'...Not, 'Thank God, It's Over'..."
And there's a chance this might be the last piece this blog will offer before that.
A miniscule chance, to be sure, but a chance.
That said...
Good luck and best wishes to both of the major party candidates for President Of The United States and I sincerely hope that regardless of who is given the chance to serve, they will serve with purpose and vision, integrity and dignity, energy and passion and bring honor to the office they hold and the nation they lead.
That said...
From the flimsy excuses for positions and platforms, to the distractions of superfluous flotsam and jetsom in place of committed and visionary agendas for the future, to the bitter bickering, cheap shot name calling, lack of substantive discussion on the issues that matter to every single voter, to the establishment of a vitriolic tone that resulted in vicious, acidic, damaging conflict between friend and friend, neighbor and neighbor, families and familes, to the absurd circus of clowns including, but not limited to, Bachmann, Coulter, Trump, O'Reilly, Limbaugh, Maddow, Morgan, Biden, Ryan and, yes, even Obama and Romney, I'm confident, and disappointed, that this particular election can rightly, and fairly, be described as an embarrassment to almost every single principle of the election process the Founders worked long, hard and diligently to provide us.
To voters of every belief, philosophy and/or party stripe, God bless you...and good luck to you.
To all the pundits, political participants and politicans, God bless you...and shame on you.
The arrival of Election Day in America should come as joyful noise.
Not a whimper of exhausted relief.
No matter, who we get...
...we deserved better.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
"...Hey, Ann...Next Time Try This...."Obama Is Habitually Late...So, He's Not Only Tardy, He's Re-Tardy"...."
She's not much of a sailor herself, though, cause she really missed the boat on this one.
(CNN) -- Parents of children with special needs are demanding an apology from conservative political pundit Ann Coulter for tweeting after Tuesday's foreign policy debate that she approved of "Romney's decision to be kind and gentle to the retard."
It appeared to be a response to critiques of Mitt Romney's debate performance, but it wasn't the first time Coulter used the "the r-word" during this election season. And, it's not the first time blogger Ellen Seidman has called her out on it.
"At this point, I'm thinking the woman must surely be aware that the word is offensive, and she chooses not to care. That's pretty vile and heartless," said Seidman, the mother of a special needs child who shares her world on the blog "Love that Max."
"You want to slam the president, go ahead. But you can't think of any other word to use? Come on."
The word "retard" demeans Max and millions more with intellectual disabilities, Seidman tweeted at Coulter. Still, the comment was favorited 1,215 times and earned 2,993 retweets as of this writing, presumably by a number of people who didn't find it offensive. But sentiments from those who chose to respond to Coulter on Twitter ranged from disappointment to outrage.
"You disgust me. That man is the president of this country. (& I'm sure all of the disabled children in America appreciate you.)," actor Sophia Bush tweeted.
"Politics aside, this tweet from @anncoulter was offensive & disgusting. ANY use of the "R" word is unacceptable," @amurphy217 said.
The Special Olympics also condemned her use of the word, saying that it was "sad to see @AnnCoulter continue her use of hateful language by using the #Rword in her discourse."
In an open letter directed at Coulter posted Tuesday on the Special Olympics blog, John Franklin Stephens, a 30-year-old Special Olympian with Down syndrome, described what the word meant to him: "I thought first of asking whether you meant to describe the President as someone who was bullied as a child by people like you, but rose above it to find a way to succeed in life as many of my fellow Special Olympians have.
"Then I wondered if you meant to describe him as someone who has to struggle to be thoughtful about everything he says, as everyone else races from one snarkey sound bite to the next. ... Well, Ms. Coulter, you, and society, need to learn that being compared to people like me should be considered a badge of honor. No one overcomes more than we do and still loves life so much."
Even people known for their sense of humor came out against it. Comedian and Twitter personality @UncleDynamite resurfaced a 2-year-old post from his tumblr in which he explained why he would no longer follow anyone he saw using "the r-word."
He re-posted it after seeing people retweeting and favoriting the tweet, which he found disturbing coming from a a "well-educated, self-described Christian with such a huge public presence."
He hopes she'll read it and maybe have a change of heart, but he's not necessarily counting on it.
"Based upon Ann's tweets today, I'd say she's dug in and unrepentant," he said Tuesday in an e-mail.
"She must not know, love or respect anyone with an intellectual disability, then, and more's the pity.
I'd like to see her after a great day of volunteering at a Special Olympics or Best Buddies event. I'd lay odds she'd never think or say the r-word word ever again, and she'd probably be quick to anger if someone she heard did so."
Others observing the controversy surmised that Coulter used the word solely to draw attention.
"Guys. Ann Coulter is trolling you. Always. Outrage gives her strength. The only thing that will kill her? Complete & utter indifference," @PaprbakPrincess tweeted.
Congress banned the use of the words "retard" and "retardation" in 2010 in federal health, education and labor laws in favor of using the words "intellectual disability." The American Psychiatric Association also plans to replace the term "mental retardation" with "intellectual development disorder" in the fifth version of The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, to be published by in 2013.
Then why do people cling to the word, Seidman and people like her wonder. She has posed the question before in her blog, which is probably why she woke this morning to find a slew of tweets and e-mails asking her to call out Coulter again for repeatedly using "the r-word" to describe President Obama.
The last time was just a few weeks ago in a blog post called "Let's talk about people who cling to the word 'retard.' " In the post, she recounted a series of recent examples of the word being used: in a New York Times article, in the comments of a YouTube video she made for the Special Olympics' annual campaign to end the use of the word, in the comments section of a CNN.com article.
She also included Coulter's last tweet about a video the president made for the National Forum on Disability Issues: "Been busy, but is Obama STILL talking about that video? I had no idea how crucial the retarded vote is in this election."
"Many people think that using the word 'retard' to slam someone is fine—as long as it's not actually directed at a person with disability. I've had plenty of people argue with me over that distinction.
What people don't understand is that every time someone uses the word 'retard,' they perpetuate the idea that people with intellectual disability, like my son, Max, are stupid or losers," Seidman said in an e-mail Tuesday.
"As I've said before, my son shouldn't be defined by ghosts of stereotypes past. He has enough to contend with in this world. Use. Another. Word."
Avenging Annie is notorious for her set in stone, take no prisoners approach to politics.
And not known to waste any of life's precious moments bothering to hear anyone else's point of view.
So, I don't fool myself for a second thinking that there's anything I could say that would enlighten her as to where she's gone wrong here.
But, then, my giving it a shot is unnecessary.
Kirk Lazarus already paved that road and much more articulately that I could have ever attempted.
Annie, Annie, Annie....
If your pathology insists that you keep name calling in your bag, then, at least, have the good sense to
keep it simple....Jack.
Or even stupid.
But not retarded.
Cause even the white guy playing an Australian guy playing a black guy knows....
You never go full retard.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
"...It's Like A Riddle, Wrapped In An Enigma, Inside A Luxury RV Dressing Room...."
Present company included.
I figured one out this morning and am pretty impressed with myself.
If I do say so myself.
First, our story.....
I came across the following article online regarding "undecided voters" as of this date in the 2012 campaign.
Polling in the presidential race is neck and neck, with just 19 days to go until the election.
Each side has consolidated a strong base but neither has enough support to push them over into a majority yet.
The election, then, will come down to an enigmatic group of undecided voters that are alternatively pandered to and mocked in political circles.
So who are these people?
The composite for a prototypical undecided voter is:
- Female
- Single
- White
- Employed
- 18-to-29 years old
- Didn't graduate from college
- Low income
- Union household
- Identifies as Protestant but doesn't go to church
- Skipped the debate.
The most recent poll, taken Oct. 7-11 found that 8% of people are unsure about who they would support on election day. Approached demographically, groups that have rates of uncertainty greater than 8% are more likely to be undecided than the average voter. Check this example out:
Since we know that the percent of the whole sample that was undecided was 8%, here's the conclusion we can draw from this data:
- Protestants are more likely to be undecided than the average voter.
- Baptists, "Others", and voters who are not religiously affiliated are as likely to be undecided as the average voter.
- Catholics and Pentecostal Christians are less likely to be undecided than the average voter.
The prototypical undecided voter is a white 18 to 29 year old woman who didn't graduate from college. She's employed, single, and identifies as an independent.
In elections, she typically splits tickets and considers herself a soft Democrat. She is unsure if she identifies with the Tea Party movement.
She lives in a union household, and is considered low-income. She's a Protestant, but goes to church infrequently or never.
She's not sure about who would take the country in the right direction and doesn't know who she plans to elect to congress. She did not watch the debate or any coverage of the debate.
Granted, this person is a composite and there are probably not a whole lot of people out there who are each and every one of these things.
Being every bit the fan of the N.C.I.S/C.S.I., et al, school of deduction, I was delighted, as you might imagine, when I realized, pretty much from the get go who, in fact, the undecided voter is.
And, just as the article says, they meet not all, but pretty much most, of the criteria.
Age, race, gender, education, marital status, employment status.
Check, check, check, check, check...and check.
Low income?
No, not so much.
Much to our chagrin, I imagine.
But, as for the rest of it?
Non church going, unsure who or what they stand for, unsure as to who will or will not be able to lead the country in the right direction, independant, but oblivious to any debate or coverage of any of the debates.
In short, pretty fuzzy on anything living outside their circle of life.
Son of a gun.
I nailed it from the get go.
And was able to easily answer the question posed by the writer of the piece.
"....so, who are these people?...."
Ooh. Pick me, pick me.
I know, I know.
I know who the undecided voter is.
Lindsay Lohan.
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