Whine & Cheese

I Hope Like Heck (#20)

Next up, is my second Kindle Single - again, something that is too short to be a magazine article and too long to be a book.  While I tried, I just couldn't resist getting (for a mere $1.99!) Michael Solomon's collection I Hope Like Heck: The Selected Poems of Sarah Palin.  Culled from 24,000 recently released Sarah Palin emails, Solomon re-imagines them, to varying degrees of success, as free-verse "poetry."  

W&C "fans" certainly know how I feel about the former VP candidate and lipsticked hockey mom from Wasilla, Alaska, but for the newcomers, full disclosure that I find Palin to be endlessly entertaining and shiny nugget of pop-culture gold, that is regularly and rudely awakened upon the realization that real Americans folks actually take her seriously.

There is no doubt this tiny e-volume -- a speedy 60-ish pages that I read over the course of one day -- is fully intended to be a snark-fest.  But the funny thing, is if you take away Solomon's razor-sharp introduction and let the "poetry" stand on its own, I have my doubts that many Palin fans would have a problem with it.

Hotly anticipated, the release of these emails thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, pretty much landed with a thud.  This e-book was released shortly thereafter, but now weeks after we haven't heard much about them and likewise there is not a whole lot to grab onto with this collection. Whatever your opinion of Palin, one can't fault her for a sincere/genuine devotion to God, country (including her beloved home state of Alaska), and family in these emails/poetry.  While I think she amplifies her persona for public consumption and is a master media manipulator ("lamestream" or otherwise), this is other further proof that a good part of her is no act.

My favorite piece is from a piece titled "The Corrupt Bastards Club"... here is a portion:

This was the most frustrating issue I've faced in a long time
Because it's hypocritical
And nonsensicle (sic)
It was ok for Murkowski to wine and dine Bill Allen
And members of the Corrupt Bastards Club,
But I'm going to get hassled
Over how many old boxes
Of brownie mixes
We use to serve a flippin' high school football team?

The pièce de résistance is the last and longest "poem" where Palin takes on the voice of God and "explains" why "he" is giving them Trig, her child with Down syndrome.  Again, it's that same-coin/two-sides thing... definitely a whole bushel of wacky, but yet -- keeping an open mind -- quite touching as well.

Again, nothing quite earth-shaking here, but definitely worth the couple of bucks for the hour-ish of entertainment and further insight into one of the polarizing public figures of our time.

Fanning The Flames

I am pretty tired of all this politics, particularly over health care.  But just have to get this out of my head as I think it is only a matter of time before someone is killed due to current (continuing! worsening!) political divide in our country.

If/When something happens, several people will have blood on their hands.

To the former Alaskan governor, who tweeted:  "Commonsense Conservatives & lovers of America: "Don't Retreat, Instead - RELOAD!" Pls see my Facebook page."  Which lead to this:

Which each of those rifle target/cross-hairs representing a person.  This coming on the heels of members of Congress having their offices vandalized and receiving death threats.

To the top rated conservative radio talk show host who says: "We need to defeat these bastards," said Rush Limbaugh. "We need to wipe them out."

And I can not even begin to list things stated by another talk show host on a certain "news" network that too many view as truth.  (Am I wrong in thinking that majority of viewers - myself included - on that other/opposing network, are fully aware they are watching biased "news"?)

To elected officials who yell out things like "Baby Killer!" and "You Lie!" in the House of Representatives, only gives implicit permission of those to use the N-word to a black man or the F-word to a gay man.

Sure elected officials where this anger is coming from are now decrying any of this violence and rhetoric, but I am afraid this barn door has been open for far too long... the horses are long gone... and there is no corralling them back in.  They are out there looking to get their country back, without looking for themselves to see that it never left.

Tammy Whine-ette?

Yesterday I status'd/tweeted that I found "the woman scorned" book and media tour to be almost as abhorrent as the cheating husband. I chalked it up to a bit of my political incorrectness that surfaces from time to time, so I was somewhat relieved when this morning I read from Tina Brown, editor of The Daily Beast:

"I have to say I'm getting increasingly impatient with The Wronged Wives Club," Brown says. "The men they're married to are utter snakes and worms, but these women — they do buy into this stuff, and then they are so humorless about it at the end. Jenny Sanford's book is such a pious document. At some point, I really wish one of these women would begin their book and say, 'I am writing this book out of sweet revenge; my husband was a total worm, and this is payback time.' It would be a little more honest."

Instead, Brown complains, political spouses often retreat to platitudes: 'You know, 'I'm doing this for the children,' " or some such. "It is all nonsense. It is about one of two things: money or revenge. Very often both."

via www.npr.org - Tina Brown's Must-Click List: Bad Things Edition

I would have been satisfied with my 140 characters on the matter, but since Brown expanded on it so well and coupled with Sanford's on The Daily Show (which I had not seen before that status/tweet), it seemed that it deserved a post of its own. (BTW, all references to Sanford are Jenny, not her husband)

I should add that I do (or, at least, did) respect Sanford for not doing the dog-and-pony "stand by your man" press-conference show and moving out on the bum, even though I felt it was a sad commentary that this action, at least in the political world, is considered "going rogue." 

Ok, back to the respect being in the past tense, as my cynical side now thinks Sanford staying out of the initial media spotlight was a calculated move to only fuel interest in her and masterfully played with a first public appearance as one of Barbara Walters' "most fascinating people" of last year, with little doubt the book deal already in place. Can a TV movie be far behind? 

Again, my main criticism of Sanford (and this "Club") is my original quip which Brown nicely, and eloquently, expanded upon.  But I can not not say something about Sanford's strange and squirming-ly uncomfortable (but delicious) appearance on The Daily Show. She got in some well-earned digs and jaw-dropper digs vs. her husband.  But there's something a bit odd about her. I'm hoping it's just that she has a very (very!) dry sense of humor, but I was not totally sure.  In an odd turn, she spoke of missing some of the perks of being South Carolina's First Lady noting that her dogs were bathed and gardens tended by prison inmates.  I was kind of waiting for her to say "black" inmates as this particular discussion had the subtext of a fondly recalling days on the plantation. But it almost seemed like she didn't get it when Jon Stewart chimed in something to the effect  "You know they don't have choice."

Sanford's journey that seem to begin so refreshingly on "the road not taken" has instead ventured onto "politics as usual" highway.

De-Friending, Eliminating the Negative

This is a continuation of sorts of my American Idle politic-ish post from earlier this week... and a further reasons why I am getting a bit sick of politics in that the divide only seems to be getting worse between the political parties and their, if I can borrow a Facebook term, their "fans." 

One of the side effects of the Internet I think is that it promotes group-think as we tend to gravitate towards those with a lot of the same beliefs.  It seems to get to a point where you start thinking that all you think is "right" since all these people around you are saying the same things and/or cheering your own thoughts on.  This can be via the good 'ole fashioned blog or even just a thumbs-up or comment on Facebook.

I have certainly experienced this first hand.  Since I've been blogging (circa 2003!), I have the great fortune of expanding my circle of friends, even if they are the new-world variety that's not so easy to meet up for a dinner or coffee, because they live hundreds or thousands of miles away.  But to get to the point, most of these folks have been Democrats thanks to this blog having a pretty gay sensibility to it (though I've never considered it a "gay" blog).

But over the years, a few Republicans have slipped in... and even more so on Facebook, particularly when a bunch of us who participated in a now defunct tennis contest formed a group on that social networking site.  I don't initiate "friendships" with people I don't "know" (though this definition has loosened up in today's online world... again, "know" not meaning basics like "has ever met in-person"), but a bunch of these tennis folks requested FB friendships and since it was all pretty new (for me) at the time and I certainly needed to up my friend numbers I thought, no harm!

Well, it didn't take long, especially during this past presidential election, to figure out where people stood politically.  It was kinda of fun to see/read the "other side" and ultimately I think it made me more respectful as it made me pause before I posted anything of a political nature... again, I am of the "we can disagree, without being disagreeable" camp.  Now, I won't always say I was successful, but I tried... and try not to name-call, something that increasingly made me cringe even when folks on "my side" do it.  While I certainly think someone holding up a "God Hates F@gs" sign is hmmm... let's say a "hate-filled religious @sshole," I think calling said person has a way of shutting any and all communication down.  Granted one will never (ever!) make progress with someone like that sign-holder, but I think the name-calling (again, however well-earned it may be) does a whole lot of collateral damage with folks on the periphery.

Likewise, I think it's wrong to disrespect to the office of the President, period. While I certainly had many, many, many issues with the previous administration, he was the president.  While I might have found an amusing aspect to it, I would have still thought it very wrong someone yelling out something like "You lie!" to George W during an address to Congress.  One of the very first FB de-friendings was when one of these contest folk who status'd something to the effect of "xxx applauds the Fox Network for refusing to carry Obama's speech tonight."  First, I thought it was wrong for Fox not to air it (this was the main network, not the "news" network... and again, not bias here as I think MSNBC is a "news" network too!) as it was showing a bias and a disrespect to the president, but that this person took the further step calling it "applaud-worthy" was just something unacceptable to me. 

Last week, I deleted another "friend" just last week on similar grounds. The gist of his status was "thanking our wonderful president" for a 500-point drop in the stock market, adding he should be shipped off to Haiti along with other "Dumbocrats." Oh, where to begin! 

Well, for starters, conveniently ignoring the 4,000 points that Dow has gained since last spring... to any kind of joking about Haiti... and while I am honestly think I am pretty slow to pull out the race card (and, likewise, pretty unqualified to do so as a white male)... how can one not see the racial implications of "shipping" him to the first black-led republic and a former slave colony?!   I could laugh off the Dumbocrats tag, but given the rest it was just another proverbial straw on the camel's back. 

I gave him some time to re-consider/think it over, but after it was still there a couple of hours later... with even receiving a "thumbs-up/like" for this status, I hit the "X"/delete button on our "friendship."  Looking back,  I should have expressed how offensive I found his status before deleting him... but alas, I did not... plus I have my doubts he has even noticed (or cares) that I'm gone (unlike my measly 32 friends, he had 200+).  It was an easy delete, in large part, since he was even pushing the "being an acquaintance" line in my online life. 

Of late, I've been more conscious of trying to eliminate this kind of negativity from my life... and I am not just discriminating on political allegiances either.  While, I'll admit to lurking and/or checking in on them from time to time, but there are several liberal folk that I have moved out of "automatically pop up" line of vision, be that RSS feed or Twitter main screen (love the new lists!) or hiding them from my FB live feed.  I still have more progress to make and be better, but I think I have made steps in the right direction.

American Idle

While quite amused with it the day of/day after, I was quite done with the American Idol audition of "Pants on the Ground" after the proverbial 15 minutes, but I still got a kick out of this political cartoon that The Arizona Republic published over this past weekend (though it was an earlier Mike Luckovich work from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution).

Many of my fellow Democrats are frustrated with the way things have been going (or perhaps, more accurately, not going) so far with the Obama administration. Though given what was the alternative, I think there is hardly room to quibble that much, though I feel the same way.  The campaign and inauguration were so inspiring and hopeful, that it does kind of feel like waking up on New Year's Day... or my oft quoted line that the anticipation of the event is often greater than the event itself.  Politics is politics, and it's the same old, same old in Washington.  too wish I was feeling the same way I was a year ago when Obama entered office. But I am frustrated as well that things haven't been getting done and confessed to perhaps my one remaining Republican friend (hi Joanna!) recently that one thing I admire about the GOP was their ability to get things done no matter the majorities (or lack thereof) they held or popular opinion. 

That's what amused me about this alleged earth-moving, political earthquake caused by the new hottie Junior Senator from Massachusetts, which apparently gave him and the Republicans the powerful Senate  majority of 41 members.  The amusing part is that I don't recall the Democrats being that excited, or the Republicans being too worried when the Dems held that "majority" number (or more!) during the George W Bush presidency.  Again, proof of the GOPs ability to get things done regardless.  I think there are a lot of reasons, good and bad, why this is the case with Democrats but I do get a laugh of a phrase that I heard said of them at one point that they have "an uncanny knack of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory." On a side-note, I think this "trend" is more anti-incumbency a pro-Republican or anti-Democrat/Obama movement, though anti-incumbency affects/will affect more Democrats these days.

I think Republicans should be thrilled, if there has to be a Democrat in the White House, that it is Obama. I recall the worry of Hillary Clinton not being a viable POTUS candidate since she was too divisive a figure!  Ha!  While I applaud Obama's attempts at unity and bi-partisanship, I think it's naive and long stopped being a possibility in Washington.  My cynical side doubts that anything substantial will ever get done again in Washington as both parties (and I blame the Dems too) are too obsessed in blocking the other, not allowing the other to be successful.  And, if something does get agreed upon, it'll be so watered down that I doubt its effectiveness... like health care reform.

Anyhow, that's my unfocused babbling on about that...

I had originally continued on here about a recent Facebook de-friending due to political differences... well differences that I think crossed the line, but I'll save that for another post!  Stay tuned.

Prop 8: The Musical

This video is making the rounds, but still thought it was funny (actually Funny or Die) to share... Prop 8: The Musical conceived and written by Hairspray's Marc Shaiman. It is pretty hilarious... particularly for those of us who make up that fairly large overlapping part of the gay/musical theater lover Venn diagram.

As the video screen above notes, the cast is really quite star-studded.

California Gays and The People That Love Them: Jordan Ballard, Margaret Cho, Barrett Foa, J.B. Ghuman, John Hill, Andy Richter, Maya Rudolph, Rashad Naylor, Nicole Parker

Proposition 8'ers and The People That Follow Them: John C. Reilly, Allison Janney, Kathy Najimy, Jenifer Lewis, Craig Robinson, Rashida Jones, Lake Bell, Sarah Chalke, Katharine "Kooks" Leonard, Seth Morris, Denise "Esi!" Piane, Lucian Piane, Richard Read, Seth Redford, Quinton Strack, Tate Taylor

Also... Jack Black, Neil Patrick Harris and, as the Piano Player, Marc "Marc" Shaiman

This & That

You may (or not?!) have noticed there wasn't a blog entry yesterday.  I said awhile back that I wasn't going to push/force writing here, but I have to say it still feels a bit weird to let the day go by without writing at least a little something out.  That said, just a little this and that stream of consciousness today...

But alas, even if there is no entry here you can usually see a twitter or two (or three or four) in the upper left hand corner or elsewhere (like... ummm... Twitter perhaps?!).  I have to admit that status updates are cannibalizing my blog entries (as I suspect they have for many, many others).   I guess some things can (or should) be said in 140 characters or less... or else it's just blogging for the lazy... "I would have written more, but gosh darnit... out of characters!"   I don't know if this is a good thing or bad thing.  A big part of me thinks it is just adding/increasing the attention-deficit of our nation, but it is still a nice little outlet.

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The Twilight craze is fully underway, with the movie primed for a midnight opening tonight.  Just in case, you have been living under a rock, the Twilight series (written by local - and Mormon! - author Stephenie Meyer) is the latest publishing phenomenon (quickly filling the Harry Potter vacuum) about a high school girl and her first love, who just happens to be a 180-year old vampire (though if the movie version is accurate, can pass for Zac Efron's cousin).  I will admit - out of curiosity and this odd attraction to the vampire genre - to reading the first novel,  even though if today's newspaper is to be be believed I am in a minority since this is only something for daughters and their moms. 

As you may recall, I wasn't terribly impressed with the book... and re-iterated to Todd this morning that I wish, given all the hysteria, that it was a better written book.  Alas, he reminded me to stop being a snob.. and again, I will say that whatever gets people, especially young folk, reading is a very good thing.  I pretty much had the same reaction to Harry Potter... reading the first book and pretty much wondering what all the fuss was about (and you can see how my opinion affected future sales in that series!).   That said, I may give the 2nd book in the series a try ... and once we finish watching True Blood, the first book in Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire series as well... like I said, I'm a sucker (ha!) for vampires!

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It's been interesting watching all this post-election/cabinet post stuff with Obama.  In particular, I have been amused by all the criticism about stuff like Joe Lieberman keeping his chairmanships in the Senate or the consideration of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.  Given what we already know about Obama and now having finished reading The Audacity of Hope, these kind of things are soooooo Obama.  As you may recall, I didn't get on the Obama train to fairly late... all that hope, change, "red state - blue state, no the United States" stuff didn't penetrate into my cynical bones.  But once I let that go... drank the kool-aid (I'll give you that)... you either have to be stratospherically cynical that Obama has been planning all this each and every day for the last decade or more... or else come around to thinking this guy is incredibly sincere and really believes/intends to govern in a post-partisan environment. 

I have found the whole Clinton/Secretary of State thing pretty interesting.  I expected there would be some kind of offer... again, this is typical Obama (though this "team of rivals" knee-jerks are getting out of hand), but I didn't expect interest on Clinton's part... and apparently she does, otherwise I don't think it would be buzzing for these many days.  Now, if she would have been the very first female SoS, I think she would have jumped at it... but it's pretty amazing to think - and just in the past two administrations - that she would be the third woman (and continue the decade+ trend of a non-white man) to fill the post.  But given how long this has dragged on, I suspect she will head the State Department.

And likely by the time this entry gets posted, we will have lost our Democratic Governor here in Arizona as it appears that Janet Napolitano will be the Secretary-Elect of Homeland Security.  Napolitano was also rumored to be under consideration for Attorney General, but that fell through earlier this week. 

While I have no real basis/logic for this thought, I kinda sorta would have been okay letting Janet go for the AG slot... but Homeland Security, well... just seems like a disaster waiting to happen... literally!   But the more troubling aspect is that her departure would leave AZ totally Republican run... with the current Secretary of State Jan Brewer moving to the top spot (the third woman to do so in AZ's recent/20-ish year history - though this time at least with the governor not leaving in disgrace)... so while I am happy for Napolitano, it still leaves me a little sad that our little (but important!) bit of "blue" is leaving our red state.

Letter To The Editor

I haven't kept to my promise of keeping it less political this week ... and while I thought I would counter this post with a Photo Friday entry later today, I just checked and today's challenge is "Autumn" ... and sadly enough, I do not have anything in my 950+ photos on Flickr the approaches anything close to "Autumn"... ah, life in summer/"not summer" Phoenix! 

Anyhow, the bad thing about the morning paper is that one tends to read it... well, first thing in the morning and before being sufficiently caffeinated.   This particular letter in today's AZ Republic had my head spinning!  I will protect the innocent/guilty by not posting this man's name and only hope that he was sending this letter to be "edited" vs. expressing a cogent argument/opinion.  Likewise, I am not sure why this particular letter was published other than to illustrate the lack of logic we are up against.   We join this letter already in progress...

I voted for Proposition 102, but I have no objection to gay people having all the rights and benefits of those who are married.  I just can't accept two people of the same sex being married like a man and a woman.

Whether people admit it or not, this country was built on the foundation and principles of the Bible.  It was also built on the principal that government not control what a religion wanted to follow, if any at all.  No matter how much people want to take God out of these United States, we cannot let it happen.

Whether a person worships God, Allah, Buddha, or some other supreme being, or none at all, for this country to survive, the ability to allow that worship or non-worship must continue.  No major religion that I am aware of allows the union in holy matrimony of same-sex couples.

Oy, I don't know where to start!  I am mightily confused how non-worshipers or those allowed to follow no religion at all reconcile the fact that the country was built and who apparent survival rests on the principles of the Bible... which thus kinda sorta leaves out those who are worshiping Allah, Buddha or the uber-mysterious "other supreme being."  And again, I am baffled by this continued belief that marriage is only something one does within religious confines.  That church, synagouge, temple ceremony does not mean a whole lot without the piece of paper issued by the government.

Actually, "holy matrimony" sounds something that is sanctify-worthy and worth of being saved ... so I suggest those caught up on the whole "marriage" semanatics now be required get "holy matrimonied" (and we'll get started on the whole constitutional amendment banning divorce of those united in holy matrimony for the next election cycle)... the "holy" part satisfies all that Bible, keeping founding God principles/save the country stuff... and you'll have all the same rights and benefits of those of us who are married.  Nothing wrong with that, right?

Prop 8 Zingers

Ok, still not quite off the political horse... but this post is kinda fun.  While I know the protests over the passage of California's Prop 8 (and the other anti-gay measures that passed on election day) are a serious matter, can I still be at least amused by some of the protest signs?  I always say don't piss off the gays... as wit/humor is often our biggest weapon!

Here are some of my favorites lines from the protest signs, many from the NYC protest pictures that I saw on various websites this morning.  In some cases, I am sure my very smart readers can figure out whether a man or woman was holding up a particular sign.

Chickens 1, Gays 0

Britney Spears, 55 Hours!  Me, Never?

My gay friends deserve to be unhappy too!

So... when can I vote on your marriage?

Keep your magic undies off my civil rights!

God created the rainbow so I could catwalk to heaven

Gay is the new black

You have 2 wives, I want 1 husband

Oh well, I wasn't using my civil rights anyways

My rights are not granted by your God

Protect Marriage:  Ban the Electric Slide

My mom is a little bit country, my other mom is a little bit rock 'n roll

I love my gay Mormon husband

I'm too old for this shit!  Equal rights now!

Focus on your own family

I didn't ask her to "civil union" me

Did you cast a ballot or a stone?

Would you rather I married your daughter?

Isn't It Ironic...

Don't you think?

I know I vowed to try to get away from the political stuff, but I couldn't just pass this one by. 

Last week, I was just geeking out and seeing how "red" and "blue" different states were ... and have determined that places where lots of people tend to live together are blue... and by a total accident, I hovered over and stumbled upon Maverick County in Texas.  And what Mavericks they were!  Voting overwhelmingly against the team of Mavericks ... but I guess no surprise, since they are basically in Mexico!

And while I planned to cool it on the gay marriage stuff here (for my own mental well-being), I could not not post this You Tube that is pretty much on every gay-oriented blog this morning... Keith Olbermann's passionate response to the passage of California's Prop 8.

As with civil rights issues of the past, I do not believe gay community we can not make progress without voices other than our own... and while a host on a liberally biased news network may be as effective as the Hollywood crowd, it is this very kind argument from our straight allies that might start chipping away and allowing that wall to crumble.

I just finished a book where the character was told of the Chinese proverb/philosophy of "learning to see the good in the bad and the bad in the good" and while it is certainly no comfort to our California friends, perhaps this setback will lead to the greater good.  If Prop 8 was defeated, it might have just been shrugged off as typical/wacky California and the steamroller would have just marched on to more easy targets like Arizona, Florida, and Arkansas.