Rep. Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen is not my representative, sadly. He's not perfect, but he's better than who I do have.

I don't really care that he pointed out that the repeated lies - in many forms - that the government was taking over health care (I wish) was similar to what the Nazis did with propaganda. It's true. Maybe he did it cynically - in a better world, pundits would notice him because of his "uncivil" rhetoric and then go, yeah, he's telling the truth. Hey, maybe there's a reason he cares. I'd love to see if he went on the cable shows and said why health care reform matters, just to get it out there.

That won't happen, if it does he'll be shouted over.

It really really bothered me that the Daily Show jumped on it last week, but pointing out FOX's hypocrisy today kind of made up for it. Maybe he'll be on the show to explain it. More people will notice than if he was on some talking head program on some 24/7 news channel, because I think plenty of people are like me and can't stand "normal" news shows for more than a few minutes.

Also, I think the Daily Show covered just him last week is kind of a "we go after democrats too, democrats say things that aren't nice too, we're not biased, we're civil."

Anyway...

Health care reform is so important to Memphis. The city is very segregated still and poor, and white flight doesn't help. My god the mayor of the suburbs are immature, as we learned when school consolidation seemed close. When people think of the county, they think rich, white kids go to "good" schools, and poor, black kids go to "bad" schools in the city. That's nonsense, there are "bad" schools in the county, and "good" ones in the city - the same year the county schools made all As in standardized testing, my sister was offered a small scholarship because the high school she was from did not make all As. That high school is in the county.

But I ramble. The main reason health care reform has to happen and is so important to Memphis is our shameful high infant mortality rate. If people, not just pregnant women, but everyone had equal access to good health care, it would go down.

Health care reform is very important to me, as I contemplate joining the military for the health insurance*, and I choose to believe that it is important to Representative Cohen. A sign that he cares about his constituents.

*I'm not kidding. The military offers a guaranteed job, a guaranteed roof over your head, and guaranteed health insurance. All of my relatives who enlisted from my parents' generation on did not do so because they adore their country, but because the military offered an escape from rural poverty.

Letter to My Representative

I just wrote this:

I am a member of your constituency, and I just want you to know that I do not support the repeal of the health care bill. I'm 22, and I have an ongoing illness. Even if it cleared up before I turn 23 in August when I'll be dropped from my dad's insurance (Tricare), I will have to take medicine for the rest of my life. Being covered by my mom's insurance (Cigna) until I'm 26 will make my life much easier. The Affordable Care Act doesn't go as far as I'd like, but it will make my life easier and much better than it would have been before it was passed. Even though this repeal vote is symbolic, it still frightens me. I need this and I'm not the only one in your district who does.

I'll post the reply, even if it's just a form letter.

My representative is a Republican who is a fiscal conservative and supports limited government. He's also a social conservative, but my main concern is the fiscal part. I didn't check what party he belongs to before I wrote the letter, but now I'm 99% sure I'll get a form letter about how "Obamacare" will bankrupt us, even though it won't, and blah blah blah bullshit bullshit.

If he represents the area I think he does, his "limited government" stance cracks me up, though I'm not completely comfortable revealing why. Let's just say it's very hypocritical and a sign that people don't pay attention to their representative's stance beyond party. Also, he may be a Tea Partier, but I don't think he is, or at least he didn't say or do anything to get us on the national news, so that's a plus.

One last thing about this whole thing - my dad says "No soldier wants their kid insured until 26," which is completely false, Tricare was exempt because of a budget misunderstanding and changing it to cover dependents until they're 26 is tied up with defense stuff, and it looks like it didn't make it. Bleh. Anyway, my dad. Some people would make exemptions for their family, like somebody anti-abortion, except for them! At least my dad is consistent, he doesn't think I should be on Tricare past this August and kept asking me if they'd dropped me because I wasn't in school full time this fall. So loving!

I don't want to go on Cigna, the copays are double for appointments. At least I'll keep my doctors. And I won't need referrals! Those are a pain. I've been seeing one doctor since November 2001, but still need a referral. And since I only see him twice a year or so, I have to get one before each appointment. At least I don't need to see my PCM, I can just call them. But Cigna is better than nothing!

Mid-Term Elections!

The first election I voted in was a mid-term election.

In a state I no longer lived in, but I'd registered as soon as possible of course, because I was 18 and duh, I'd been looking forward to this since about 2004! (Illness gives you a lot of time to read.) So when I got back home, it was too late to be registered for the election here.

Happily, it looks like Fincher will not win in my district. He's the Republican candidate. He called out his opponent for being so evil he... I don't know if I can repeat this... voted/worked on/whatever Tenncare. Health insurance for poor people. It's so evil. While Herron said Fincher lied about his taxes and snooze.

As for governor? Too close to call. I hope it's not Haslam because in his ads, he says he has a plan. What is that plan? No one will say. Also, he thinks the state can be run like a business. It can't.

Consolidation of Memphis and Shelby County? I have no idea what this will do or not do. Nashville's consolidation has helped it and Davis County, but... if it does pass, I hope that means we'll go back to the old library system where by gum, I could ride my bike to the library and pick up books I'd ordered from downtown Memphis libraries. Now you kids get off my lawn!


A result from my state that hurts my head. I was ignorant, I didn't read up on the issues ahead of time, but when I did, I did not regret my vote.

There was a proposed constitutional amendment to make it legal to hunt and fish in Tennessee.

Yes, it's already legal. No one was doing anything to make it illegal or to restrict either in any way.

However, gay marriage. So if some states let gays get married, in 10 years, some PETA freaks could take away our hunting rifles and fishing poles.

And, to quote one concerned citizen (I shit you not),

"I'd be bored."

So. It will most likely pass - only 99% of the districts are in, and it's only 84% in support.


Our state constitution. We're changing it for fishing. Way to live up to stereotypes, Tennessee voters!


Though we didn't vote for Rand Paul, so we're not that bad. We didn't field any big tea party candidates, none weird enough to make national waves, so yay?

Where were you on Christmas?

Despite playing softball and being unmarried at her age, Elana Kagan has made it to the Senate confirmation hearings!


I don't like Senator Lindsey Graham - his voice is so smarmy, and he's a southern Republican, so blech.

I saw it on the Daily Show, but seekingferret at dreamwidth (the posts and comment section look remarkably like livejournal, where I do have an account - I don't have one there) has the transcript and her reaction as a Jewish American. And that "New York humor" =  "Jewish Humor" for many, many people.

I agree with her - where was the media outrage?

Sen. Graham asked her what she was doing on Christmas, because of the would-be bomber last Christmas. The exchange makes no sense.

She said she was eating Chinese food. A Jewish senator jumped in to explain away her answer as "New York" humor.

The media reaction has been minimal - I saw it on the Daily Show. (Not that I watch much TV news, it makes me want to break the TV - but it didn't appear on my yahoo front page as "Sen. Graham's outrageous question" or something. I guess the latest way to lose weight is more important.)

She probably went to an old stereotype because it's none of his damn business what she does on December 25th, and if she said that, "Sir, with all due respect, I don't think that's any of your business," it would be in the media about how rude Kagan is. It's a harmless question!

No it's not.

I don't call myself a Christian, but my family does. So we do the Christmas thing - presents and deviled eggs and such. (We also watched vintage Family Feud and it was so creepy the way that Richard Dawson kissed all the women - on the lips. What an invasion of space!) But if someone asked me, I'd ask them why they want to know.

Do they ask Christian nominees what they do for Eid or Passover or Holi?

Non-Christians are the minority in this country, according to many polls by many polling companies. (So it's not just a blip - the results are the same again and again.)

But what really gets my goat is that we call America a country founded on "Judeo-Christian" values. It used to be just Christian, and it may still be in some circles, I wouldn't know. (I prefer "Abrahamic religions" because it covers Muslims as well.)

The "Judeo" part is just an empty gesture.

So my main reaction is "Judeo" Christian my ass.

Very eloquent, nah?

Seekingferret does a much better job, and makes much more sense than me. Do check out her post.

A little thought from a paper I never had to write.

See, I had to write this paper.

Only the pain was so bad I could barely think. And when it wasn't bad, I was sleepy or foggy. I was able to take my final - multiple choice - but not do the paper, which required abstract thinking. Normally, I can BS my way through something, but I couldn't even do that.

Luckily, I got above an 80 in the class without the paper, so I didn't have to do it. (It was my honor's course and to count as Honors, I had to get a B in the class. Honors classes count as my volunteer hours, and well, I can't do 75 hours before June 1st. I just can't do anything.)

Before that, I picked a topic (the Swiss minaret ban) and wrote out some topics while in class. (His powerpoints were always thorough and most of the test questions came straight from there, so I'd copy the powerpoint and then read. Or in this case, work on topics.)

The minaret ban in Switzerland is ridiculous and won't have much effect anyway, I think they had a rule about height in place. And the country only had 4. The imagery pissed a lot of people off - using minarets as guns piercing the Swiss flag, while a woman covered so only her eyes showed looked at you. Except that most of the Muslims in Switzerland are from Eastern Europe and don't wear the niqab or burka.

I also thought of the hijab ban in France and how assimilation is touted as the best way to be an immigrant - by not acting like one at all, forgetting your heritage. Here in the US, we screamed that forever, and now we wonder why the kids (always the kids) don't know about their heritage, oh boo hoo.

But I think that wearing a hijab and going to school or university or working or doing "French" things is a sign of good assimilation - look at me, I'm combining the old and new, a Muslimah can wear her hijab and still be French! Banning it is ridiculous.

Two fictional examples - Rayyan in the Canadian TV show Little Mosque on the Prairie wears the hijab. She's a doctor, she went to medical school. As it's a small town, she treats men and women. Very "Canadian," even with cloth on her head.

I just watched Kurbaan, and ugh, if you're Muslim, AVOID YAAR!!! Except for two women in the movie, they all wear hijabs and big dresses, very conservative. And basically say you can't wear the hijab and be a good Muslimah and work outside the home.

Contrast that with My Name is Khan - Rizvan's sister-in-law wears the hijab, works outside the home, and is more liberal than her husband (she attends Rizvan's wedding to a Hindu).

MNIK and LMOTP are more realistic - you don't have to abandon everything to become a "true" American or Canadian... or French.

I love voting.

When I voted with my mom in 2004 (pressing the Kerry button), I'd learned so much since the last national election that even though I couldn't vote as I was 16, it was still an awe-inspiring moment.

My ancestors, and most of my relatives today, are not rich.

I will never own property.

I will never be a man.

But I still get to vote.

This fact must explain my behavior when I voted early in 2008. I didn't have anything to read and no ipod or mp3 player, but I wasn't bored in a bad way. And I was so excited when I got to vote.

I think of all the fights that guaranteed my right to vote, and the even worse fights for the POC next to me, and it makes me proud to vote. Even if my vote "doesn't matter" because we are in Tennessee. I still voted.

I will be voting this November. I did vote in 2006, but it was by a mail-in ballot, so not that same sense of something important.

I am not saying you should vote for democrats in November (or in 2012) - though that would be awesome!

All I'm saying is that most of us couldn't vote when this country was founded, and we can now. We should exercise that right.


(Yeah, not timely, but whatever. It's still something I'm in awe of, even months away from an election.)

ETA: Perhaps the inspiration was the census. I looked forward to it so much, I am participating, I will be counted! And it took about 5 seconds longer than voting itself (not counting the line). They didn't even ask what TV shows I watched. Just name, race, address, boring. But I'm part of our democracy, I get to be a part!

It doesn't take much to excite me.

By the way, a form I have to fill out for a new doctor - no excitement. Snore.

Well, school started on the 14th.

I've had to drop one class because of health issues, which is never fun.

But we got a snow day today! It was so funny - the e-mails went out at 9 last night, and there wasn't snow on the ground yet. In fact, the e-mails said it was because of the 'warnings' that they were closing school. No snow on the ground at 8, but by 10:30 there was!

And in happy news, Scott Roeder, terrorist, was convicted of first degree murder for the assassination of Dr. Tiller. He shot the man in his church over the summer. Dr. Tiller was one of the few doctors out there providing so-called "late-term abortions." And before you go ew!, read the stories from his patients - these abortions were done to save lives, these were wanted children, and this was a lot of work. He was a good man. (I'm sorry, I can't find the link right now. They were heartbreaking.)

Scott Roeder is a horrible man and a terrorist. Never forget that.

Also -



see more Political Pictures

"It's from a movie!"

Today I needed a ride to my mom's job because my doctor appointment... blah blah blah.

I had to ride with Becky and her friend.

They watched "The Hangover" last night.

Within a couple minutes, Becky used the word "retarded" (or "retard") in a derogatory manner. ("That's so -" or "You're such a -") I objected and asked her not to use that word.

Her response?

"It was in the movie!"

It wasn't even a clever insult using derogatory, cruel language. Just a plain ol' insult. Used everywhere. (They also said other things from the movie about casinos - nothing funny to me, the third party who hadn't seen the movie. If you're going to quote a movie, shouldn't you use a funny or interesting quote to make somebody want to see it and not just go "Hee hee we have an in-joke!")

I didn't tell her this, because she doesn't care. But I wanted to say it. And hey, here's my blog. (She would see it if I said anything on Facebook.)

If you quote a movie, you are endorsing the use of the language in the quote. If I watched the Hangover and liked it, I would like it despite the use of the word "retarded." I would not go around using it, saying it's the movie. This was a phrase my sister liked and felt comfortable saying.

I can analyze a character's use of a word or bigoted thinking without endorsing it. (The difference between agreeing with the sexist BS on "The Simpsons" and analyzing it.) And I think that just repeating it is an endorsement. (Of course, you could be repeating it to go "WTFOMG can you believe they said that?" But that's not what happened.)

Another thing - using song lyrics as a status on Facebook, or anywhere else. My sister and my cousin and some friends do it all the time. I hate it. Some of the lyrics are disturbing, so my mom will ask her about it. "It's just a song!" If you felt comfortable enough to repeat it, you better be ready to explain it.

To sum up - do not hide behind the fact that you are using someone else's words when you say something offensive. You felt comfortable repeating it, that is the problem.

"Responding to your message"

Dear Kaitlyn,



Thank you for taking the time to contact my office about Senator Franken's amendment to the FY2010 Defense Appropriations bill dealing with arbitration. Your input is important to me, and I appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts.



Senator Franken's amendment stemmed from a truly horrible crime committed against Jamie Leigh Jones, an employee of a company performing work in Iraq under a contract with the Defense Department. Please know, this amendment had no impact on law enforcement's ability to pursue criminal prosecution against anyone involved in committing these crimes, and dealt only with the agreements between employers and employees to resolve civil claims in arbitration rather than through litigation. What happened to Ms. Jones in this case is abhorrent and the culprits should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.



Separate and apart then from any criminal prosecution, Ms. Jones filed several claims in court in a civil suit against the company. The company argued that Ms. Jones could not sue in court because the employee signed an arbitration agreement to bring any claims against her employer to arbitration instead of being tried in court. However, the court ruled in favor of Ms. Jones by nullifying the arbitration agreement as to her claims of (1) assault and battery, (2) intentional infliction of emotional distress arising out of the assault, (3) negligent hiring, retention, and supervision of employees involved in the assault, and (4) false imprisonment. The court therefore said that employers can not require that civil claims of sexual assault be resolved through arbitration and that employees like Ms. Jones retain the ability to sue in court.



The Franken amendment sought to codify this court ruling in favor of Ms. Jones by requiring that contractors with the Defense Department exclude those four claims from their employee contract arbitration agreements. However, this amendment went much further than the court ruling by also requiring the exclusion from arbitration agreements of many of the possible employment claims an employee can bring against an employer. First, it is important to note that the Obama Administration opposed the Franken amendment because of its broad application and the problems associated with enforcing it. Rather than a targeted attempt to prevent the types of obstacles that Ms. Jones faced when she fairly sought restitution for the horrific acts that occurred, this amendment went well beyond in an effort to make a sweeping change to existing law among issues that never impacted this employee and that the court never addressed in this case.



I agreed with the court ruling and believe that the civil claims arising out of the sexual assault should not be arbitrated. However, I believe the amendment was too expansive, and went well beyond the situation the amendment was trying to remedy. I believe that arbitration can provide employees with a more efficient and cost-effective avenue for resolving their claims against their employer and I do not believe it should be largely eliminated as an alternative to what is sometimes a very lengthy, contentious, and expensive court process.



Thank you again for your letter. I hope you will continue to share your thoughts with me.



Sincerely,

Bob Corker
United States Senator

The fact that both sent me quite similar letters tells me I'm not the only one to write them about their vote.

And I'm quite sad - where's the snail mail? You wanted my street address for a reason.

"Correspondence From Senator Alexander"

Senator Alexander (I hate that I share a name with that man!) has responded by e-mail.

Dear Kaitlyn,



Thanks very much for getting in touch with me and letting me know what's on your mind regarding arbitration agreements.



Arbitration is a better option than litigation for many employees, but the courts can step in where arbitration doesn't sufficiently protect the rights of workers. Arbitration is neither designed nor intended to address criminal matters, such as sexual assault, but rather to provide an opportunity to resolve civil matters in a more timely, less expensive way than pursuing them in court.



What happened to Jamie Leigh Jones was deplorable, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit made the right decision by saying her case should be resolved in the courts. Specifically, the appeals court held that Ms. Jones' injuries were not related to her employment and thus not covered by the arbitration clause in her employment contract.



On October 3, 2009, the Senate passed the Franken amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill, which would prohibit the Pentagon from contracting with any company that requires its employees or independent contractors to sign mandatory arbitration clauses regarding certain claims. The Defense Department opposed the Franken amendment and was right to do so because it was too broad and banned arbitration in too many cases. When arbitration is inappropriate, the courts should overrule it as they did in this deplorable case.



I'm grateful you took the time to let me know where you stand. I'll be sure to keep your comments in mind as this matter is discussed and debated in Washington and in Tennessee.



Sincerely,



Lamar

Sure.

Justify it.

I just wish that the democrats in this state had BALLS. Maybe this is about arbitration in his mind (ha!), but I wish his opponents would say it was about rape. If the parties were switched, the Republicans would be all over calling him a rapist. I mean, they ran an ad against Harold Ford Jr saying he would steal all the white ladies!

Why do we have to be so nice and wimpy? Swear to god, when I watched local TV in 06 and 08, I could not tell the "pro" Democrat from the Republicans until the end. (The anti... ooh, this one Mississippi anti-Democrat ad was hysterical! It showed the groups of people who had donated to the candidate in the worst light possible. Unfortunately, I don't remember the names or the year.)

One priceless pro-Republican ad for a state senator/something on the state level... it showed the candidate shooting guns with her family while the voice over talked about the sanctity of life!

I love it, I wish I didn't have to live it.

The Franken Senate Defense Appropriations Amendment

You are a disgusting, vile piece of humanity. I am ashamed that I did not get to vote against you in 2006.

You voted against Sen. Al Franken's amendment which would protect RAPE VICTIMS. Surely, rape is an issue both parties agree is bad?

But no.

Franken is a Democrat. This interferes with business.

You disgust me.

I just sent this to Bob Corker and Lamarr Alexander, who are 2 of the 30 Republican men who voted against the amendment.

I am so glad it passed, but damn, what is wrong with people?

Corker wanted my phone number, but Alexander didn't. I'll probably get a form letter in reply. I have before.

The health care "debate" is pissing me off.

I like the "birther" movement. They're idiots. The "mother" went on the Colbert Report and said they wouldn't go away until Obama posthumously made his father a US citizen.

Stupid, but harmless.

Unfortunately, they have gone away, they've been shouted away by ASSHOLE IDIOTS IDIOTS IDIOTS IDIOTS.

I can't read any article about the protesters without seeing red, the recent "news" about the dropped public option almost killed me, I can't stand it.

Why aren't people like me on the TV? People who need the public health option? (Though we want France's system or Japan's or Canada's or...)

People with the gall to survive childhood cancer - uninsurable.

People who had to file bankruptcy because of an illness - especially if they were insured and discovered they were underinsured.

And me.

I'll be dropped August 11, 2012 from the health plan I've been on all my life. Throughout that life, I have had at least 3 separate "pre-existing conditions." If I can get a job, if I can get insurance, I will pay through the nose and get shitty coverage. But I'll take it, because I need pills to live. (Junkie, you know.)

I would rather have my taxes pay for my healthcare - and others.

Whatever happened to love thy neighbor? How can people be so cruel?

OBAMA'S NOT GOING TO KILL YOUR GRANDMA.

Your grandfather, now...

Something that pissed me off

I have an Obama sticker on my laptop.

My Kerry sticker went on my bedroom door as a reminder of the first election I gave a damn about.


So Thursday, I was on my computer, trying to get the damned thing to work (it did), and Becky's friend John came over. He saw my sticker and groaned. Apparently, he sees Obama stuff everywhere and it's killing him.

He reminded me of this bumper sticker I saw (on a SUV or truck with shell with TENNESSEE plates) that said "Conservative in exile." Hello, you're in Tennessee. Tennessee went to McCain, remember? Ugh.

Anyways, apparently ***black people*** wear shirts that say Obama is their president, among other crimes. Oh noes.

My mom did it too, right around the election. "The black teachers and students are so excited, they're calling him their president, but he's half-white." And she voted for him.

I don't get this bullshit and I hate it.

And it's so damned stupid that I can't think of anything to say back. Not that it matters if I do say something. I tried to get John and Beck to stop using "gay" as pejorative, so they switched to homosexual.

So I'm procrastinating...

And I decide to see how my county voted.

We voted for Obama, baby! 63%!

Shelby County is one of six in Tennesse that went for Obama this year.

But what's more depressing is the numbers for my state and my county.

253,633 people in Shelby County voted for Barack Obama.

Less than 400,000 people voted. The wikipedia says our population is just under 900,000. I think we have a few more eligible voters than that.

And the state is worse!

1,093,213 voted for Barack Obama in the entire state, and 1,487,564 voted for McCain. 33,228 voted for "others". (I'm using google maps, so I don't have a decent link.)

Less than three million people voted across the state! Again, that's less than half of our population, according to wikipedia.

What the fuck?

Of course, one can only hope that Tennesseans decided to vote in a completely different manner from the rest of the country and ignored the top and voted for local office and propositions, so more people did vote.

We aren't a swing state, so we didn't get attention, so why bother voting?

Obama supporters could have said the state always goes red, so why bother? And McCain ones could have said the same thing, thinking he had it in the bag. Or they could have realized he wasn't going to win and decided not to vote.

I don't know why people don't vote, since I did. ::smug::

::not so smug::

Damn, my paper is still not done!

God, I love the South.

Delores Gresham is running for state senate here in Tennessee.

She's a Republican. I think. That's the south for you!


Anyways, I heard the ad before I looked at it. The caption said "Married to Will: 39 years" or something to that effect.


And then there's a shot of her and maybe her adult children and her husband striding across a field, all toting their hunting guns. The voice-over says something about traditional values, while the caption says "Protect the NRA and Right-to-Life." (Or something to that effect. I'm not searching for the ad!)

Guns and babies. What could be more American than that duo?

Stupid commercials

The summer heat is making me slow and stupid. I could not, for the life of me, figure out why there commercials asking me to elect Steve Cohen.

He just won, says my brain.

This week, it finally hit me. He's in the House. He has to be elected every 2 years, and hey, this is connected to that there presidential race they keep going on about on the Daily Show!

Yeah, I'm an Honors student. In college. I must be passing because I'm a liberal, there's no other explanation.

Anyways, like all representatives, Cohen has an opponent - Nikki Tinker. She's had two commercials attacking his voting record. One asked why didn't he vote to change a park name and used KKK footage. It's the south.

But the second, god, the second. I actually shouted at the TV, "YOU'RE A DEMOCRAT! ACT LIKE ONE!"

Apparently, Steve Cohen voted against something that would allow prayer in school. And this is a bad thing because we're in the south. Nevermind that you can pray in school all damn day, you just can't make others do so.

But the icing on the cake was the prayer recited throughout the commercial. It's the "Now I lay me down to sleep" one. I thought the kid was going to die because of the vote.

There was an ad for a Republican running up north and until I googled her, I wasn't sure what party she belonged to - pro-gun, pro-family, pro-life. Well, it's the South.

"Operation Deserter Storm"

Combines Iceland and the Daily Show, which is totally awesome. And made me laugh my ass off.

And now, here are the videos! (Oh, and Jason Jones. Not as hot as John Oliver, but still fine. Did you see him as a greaser last night?)

I know it's a bit late, but it's still hilarious.

Travis Childers won

Who?

Him, what with the pro-life and pro-gun liberal agenda that Barack Obama endorsed.

In addition to the ads in the older post, there was another one that made my head feel like exploding.

Well, I can't find it on Youtube. Let me listen to my music.

Aneeeeeeeeways, in the ad, Childers promises many things. Like not raising social security taxes. And not privatizing social security.

So how will it be paid for? Naturally, this is not answered in the ad.

But I can guess that it will be taxes. (Not that I'm opposed to that in the slightest.)

I am glad I don't live in Mississippi.

Why?

There's an election coming up. Between Greg Davis, the Republican, and Travis Childers, the Democrat. Both are middle-aged white guys. Childers has the heavier southern accent.

I don't watch that much network TV, but the bits I do watch are often filled with their commercial fight.

I've seen the ads on Jeopardy while away, far far away in my dorm room. I came home Wednesday, but we were too late for Jeopardy. It happens.

Yesterday, we watched Jeopardy and an hour of Judge Judy. I had no idea how much I missed my mom's "judge shows"!

So many political ads.

There are 2 ads that drive me up the wall. They're done by the National Republican something.







The second one's not an ad, it's a news story about the ad.

Why is Childers responsible for what Barack Obama does? And what does it matter if conservatives can't trust him? He's the Democrat, they wouldn't vote for him anyway!


There are other pro-Davis/anti-Childers ads out there that do not attempt to smear him by saying, "If you elect Childers, women and black men will be in power. LIBERALS! He's a liberal!"

Anyways, the ads say things like he didn't pay his taxes or he doesn't care about the elderly.

Boring, right?

Well, there are ads like that on Childers' side as well, naturally. "Greg Davis did X, Y, Z. He won't be any good in Congress. I'll be better than him! Vote for me!"

Sadly, there have been no ads tying Davis to anyone but himself.

This is the latest Travis Childers ad (to me, anyway, I first saw it yesterday):


He doesn't say what party he is in. And watching that commercial, and only that commercial, would make you think he was the Republican. He's pro-life and pro-gun. He let me down, man, I wish he was as liberal as Barack Obama. The attack ads on Democrats always make me like them more - they're painted as liberals who support gay rights and abortions for all.

Then the response ad comes out and they deny it all. "I'm conservative in everything but name! PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE vote for me!"

It bothers me a whole lot. There is a perfect, one word smear for Democrats, at least here: "liberal". There is nothing similar for Republicans. Every Congressional election feels like it's between two Republicans, going by the commercials.

Does the opposite happen in "blue" states? Do Republicans fall all over themselves to swear they're liberal? I doubt it.


I'm out of things to say, so I'll leave with this infamous Republican attack ad:



You do too have too many guns!

You've GOT to see this!

Today's Get Fuzzy:



I'll come up with something more to say later, or maybe I won't, but damn! I love Get Fuzzy!