Election fatigue...

You know, every time I watch the candidates debate, I find it harder and harder to believe that anyone buys what John McCain is selling. Thank goodness the Democrats are branching out from their time-honored, "roll over and accept smears" tactic, and actually fighting back. But the end result is Obama has to spend more time correcting McCain's lies than talking about the issues.

Then Obama screws himself by giving complex, well-thought-out answers to the questions posed, while John McCain goes for crowd-pleasing, empty answers. "Sure, we can fix social security, it ain't hard, and we're going to. Sure we can work on all of my priorities at the same time, while cutting taxes, freezing spending, and spending $300 billion so the government can own your home mortgage, while regulating Wall Street more, while making sure the government isn't too involved in your life! U.S.A!" And the crowd goes wild.

It's something I noticed with the Bush administration: no one pays attention to whether the Republican candidate's claims are true, plausible, or even possible: when a Republican says they're going to do something, they get the credit as if they had already done it. It's weird and off-putting.

It's like Bill Maher says: Republicans are very good at winning elections. They're willing to lie, dumb it down, use scare tactics, and pander to people. They're good at this game. What they suck at is governing. I just can't believe people seriously think that John McCain is going to "go on up to Washington and straighten those corrupt politicians out." He IS a corrupt politician. H8is campaign is run by lobbyists. He's been there for 30 YEARS and hasn't made anything better, how is he going to start now?

And then the people who decry Obama's 'elitism' and root for Sarah Palin because she's so down-home and folksy. People, when did those two things become qualities of a good leader? We TRIED voting for the guy we'd want to have a beer with, and how did that work out for us? Palin's a moron, and a dangerous moron at that.

You know, even after all the crap McCain has spewed in this election, I think the nation could do okay with him. We'd hvae to be better off than we were with Bush, if only marginally. He wouldn't really change much, but at least he's been around and knows his stuff. We'd be all right. But when McCain dies two years in, and we get President Palin -- oh good Lord. She's Dolores Umbridge -- self-righteous, utterly convinced in her narrow world-view, and determined that everyone share it. *Shudder*.

I just hope Obama can get enough reasonable people to the polls to counter all the ignorance I've been seeing. I just got an email forward that's been circulating in the uber-conservative camps, and it scares the pants off of me. People really believe that Obama's a white-hating secret terrorist who wants to overthrow Washington with his liberal agenda?

I know the answer is that it doesn't matter if these fundies believe that or not -- they won't vote for Obama because the Republican party has convinced them that the Republican party is the decent Christian party. Hell, I know Christians who are voting for Obama, but feel guilty about it. They have to hide it from their friends and loved ones, and they still secretly feel they're selling out God by doing so.

Like I said -- Republicans are really good at winning elections. They're just terrible at running the country, and that's never more obvious than now. I wish people would look past the rhetoric and look at the state our country is in after eight years of clueless Republican rule.

The cool.

So when I turned 25 or so, I remember thinking, "it's going to be weird not to be in the most-coveted demographic anymore." I mean, most advertising at that point was aimed squarely at the high-school kids or college kids, those with either their parent's money or student loan runoff to spend. I thought it would be kind of nice to not have advertisements constantly crammed down my throat; thought this was the time where one breaks free from corporate-sculpted personas and begins to cultivate an original style.

Now that I'm 30 and have a baby on the way, though, I've discovered that there's no such thing as being outside a targeted demographic. Case in point: we spent our teenage years obsessed with being cool, and now we're at the age our parents were when we thought our parents were the least cool people on the planet. So we're freaking out, and we want to start families and whatnot without turning into our hopelessly square parents. I thought I was alone in, for example, wanting to dress my infant in hip, groovy ways that showed I wasn't into the whole pink-and-blue, lace-and-butterflies thing. Then I saw all this:

Cool baby clothes
Punk rock baby clothes
Retro Baby

Yup. Now instead of worrying that I'm being too square or too trendy, I can worry if my baby's too square or too trendy. And all I wanted when I started that google search was a onesie with a skull on it, for Baby Skullhead. Now I'm wondering when we get to stop worrying about being cool. I'm guessing when I turn 80, there'll be an entire product line of walkers, depends, and pill counters with flames, skulls, and rock band posters on them. Funny ol' world.

Diary: You had a baby in the Wal-Mart.

So this weekend me and the missus ended up at Wal-Mart. We promised ourselves we'd only go in, look for the cleaning product that Target didn't carry, and get out before we got tainted by the skanky Wal-Mart vibe. But we failed miserably -- we left with a cart full of stuff, including a new table and lamp for the basement. We also will probably be returning for a crib and a TV in the near future.

This caused us no end of stress, because -- well, to be blunt, we feel like we're better than Wal-Mart. Which, disconcertingly, means we must think we're better than the people who *do* shop at Wal-Mart. We're too cool, too eco-conscious, too globally-minded to shop at such an evil corporation. If we buy a crib there, our fellow hipsters will surely judge us. Well, maybe the Prius will buy us some points.

Thing is, I don't really know any of these fellow hipsters who would judge us for buying a crib at Wal-Mart. Everyone I know thinks we're stupid for not shopping at Wal-Mart, because they have the lowest prices. And I've always judged them for that -- surely anyone who is well-informed about the world around them would gladly pay an extra hundred dollars here and there than go to Wal-Mart, right? Right. . .

I'm not saying Wal-Mart's going to be my first stop for goods and services or anything, just saying that as I get older, my smug superiority gland seems to be shrinking. Not even the Prius purchase can make it swell up again. Maybe that's a good thing.

Linguistic politics.

"Maverick presidential nominee John McCain has chosen an equally maverick vice president, Sarah "maverick" Palin. The two mavericks promise to blaze new maverick trails in Maverickton, D.C., provided McCain wins the national maverick in November. McCain is scheduled to speak tonight on maverick care, national maverickurity, the maverickonomy, and overturning Roe Vs. Maverick. John McMaverick is then expected to rip Obama a new maverick for using the word 'change' too much."

Look, guys. THIS is maverick:

I swear, if you do a shot every time someone covering the RNC says 'maverick', you'll be dead in an hour. Even if you're listening to NPR, who ought to know better.

Lies, damn lies, and politics.

Well, I have to hand it to John McCain for running a campaign that's slightly atypical of the Republican party. There's not the terrorism fearmongering that you usually get -- nothing as bad as Hillary's 3 a.m. phone call ad. Instead, McCain's retreated to the traditional Republican stance: the other candidate is a left-wing liberal who wants to raise your taxes and spend all the money helping welfare mothers by crack. That tactic's a little less odious than the Homeland Security rap, because at least it's one that's clearly, patently, provably false.

Lies: Obama will RAISE YOUR TAXES OMG OMG.

The truth: Obama's tax plan would reduce the average tax bill by at least $1,000 in every income bracket except the very tip-top. It's true he doesn't support the extension of Bush's tax cuts, but his plan does include cuts, rebates, and credits for the middle class. If your income's below $200k a year, your taxes are going down.

Lies: Obama IS TOTALLY LIBERAL LEFT-WING COMMIE OMG OMG.
Obama's positions on those hot-button issues are decidedly moderate. He opposes late-term abortion. He supports civil unions for homosexual couples, not a legalization of gay marriage. He has a moderate take on gun control. Sure, if you think gay people should be put in concentration camps, that everyone has the right to have a tank in their front yard, then Obama looks liberal. But don't we all, in that case?

Lies: Obama's fiscal plan will INCREASE THE DEFICIT OMG OMG.

Truth: Obama's economic proposals are decidedly more fiscally conservative than Bush's. He actually plans to pay for the programs and changes he proposes by cutting spending and increasing corporate taxes. I don't want to get into all the details, but the truth is out there. Check out http://www.barackobama.com/issues/fiscal/ for details.

Lies: Obama IS SOFT ON SECURITY AND DOESN'T SUPPORT THE TROOPS.

Truth: Obama is not averse to using military force. In fact, he supported sending more troops into Afghanistan to actually finish the job there. He wants our troops to be deployed only when necessary, and to have the equipment they need, and to be treated well when they return. He cares far more about the military than the Republicans have for the past eight years.

Lies: Obama LACKS EXPERIENCE.

Truth: If experience = time spent in Washington, then maybe. But if you look at Obama's real-life experience, what he's done in his home state and in his brief time in the Senate, you can see that he knows what he's doing. Let's face it: no presidential candidate has all the knowledge he needs to do the job. W certainly didn't; he relied on people like Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld to advise him. Obama will do the same, only his advisors might possibly be less... oh ... EVIL. What's more, McCain just chose a VP, someone who quite possibly would end up being president, given that McCain is slightly older than God, who has less than two years' experience as a governor and no experience in Washington. Clearly, experience isn't everything.

Lies: Obama is secretly a MUSLIM TERRORIST OMG OMG.

Granted, McCain hasn't leveled this charge; he's let the 527's speak for him. The truth is, if it matters to you, Obama's a Christian. He attends church regularly and talks candidly about his faith.

Oh, and one more bonus lie:

McCain is a MAVERICK W00T.

McCain votes with W 90% of the time. Do we really need 10% change in this country?

Look, if you don't want to vote for Obama because he takes a moderate pro-choice position, or he doesn't favor abstinence-only education, or Republicans are just somehow more Godly, that's your choice. But don't cast that vote for McCain -- that vote for 4 more years of Bush's failed policies -- based on the lies we're being told. Check out Obama's stances for yourself, and if you have an hour, watch his acceptance speech. I guarantee it's an eye-opener.



Lies: Obama is SECRETLY A MUSLIM TERRORIST.

I want my baby-back baby-back baby-back ribs.

We had the sonogram today. I was expecting it to be an emotional time, but was unprepared for the ways in which it was emotional. There was the first rush of joy and love when the baby first appeared on the screen, and then I would get all choked up at odd moments. It went like this:

Tech: here's the baby's hand, and you can see there's all five fingers...
Me: Huh. That's really cool.
Tech: And here is the spine and the ribs...
Me: My baby has ribs! (sniffle sniffle).

For some reason, just seeing the intricate, delicate bones that make up the spine and the ribs really brought it home -- this complex, impossible organism is really and truly developing right now, and it's a combination of me and the woman I love, and it has RIBS!

It also has my chin, which is sad for the little guy/girl. Though my sisters look pretty good with the chin, so if it's a girl we're okay, and a boy can always grow a beard.

You can see the pictures here:
http://flickr.com/photos/skullhead/2805727313/in/set-72157606319204394/

Colander sweet colander.

So we had a wonderful rain storm last night, complete with peals of thunder and flashes of lightning. It was absolutely beautiful. Me, Jess, and almost-baby snuggled in bed, safe and warm under the covers, and listened to the rain tap on our roof. Since my dad and I repaired the roof, we could actually enjoy the rain instead of fearing it!

Then when we woke up, we went to check out the nursery (the room directly under the roof repair). The good news is that it's not leaking where we fixed it.

The bad news is it's still leaking on the same wall, it just moved over a little bit. So now we're looking at maybe replacing the whole roof.

You know, when we bought this house we thought it had a newly repaired, non-leaking roof, a dry basement, and adequate drainage systems. Since then, we've shelled out nearly $7,000 to make the house live up to what we were sold, and we're nowhere near done.

I'm trying to keep positive about this, but I honestly don't know where the money will come from to fix this. I don't really want to outfit our baby with fins and a SCUBA suit so it can sleep in the nursery.