Too Young to Vote

At last night's Obama town hall meeting, he called on 11-year old Julia Hall to ask her question. But wait, it turns out that Julia's mother is an Obama supporter! I'm shocked! Thanks to investigative blogger Michelle Malkin, the fact that an Obama supporter's child asked a question, has been ferreted out. Can a Pulitzer be far behind?

Republican Vandalism

The best analysis of the town hall demonstrations that I've read:

Republican Town Hall Vandalism

... these behaviors – the eagerness to shut down civil discussion and the willingness to accept untrue claims about the subject to be discussed – both demonstrate the same set of values. It is not a coincidence and it should not be a surprise that the two tendencies travel together among the same group of people. They are both motivated by a lack of interest in truth and reason. A culture that hates truth and reason enough to shut down civil debate is quite likely to also be a culture that does not care whether their reasons for doing so are true or reasonable.

Sarah Palin and her claim of "Death Panels" pops into my head for some reason.

This is the most recent expression of a growing history of intellectual recklessness and vandalism of the political process that has become such an integral part of Republican Culture.

The Republican base is anti-intellectualism. In a reality based on science, reason, and skepticism, the Republican base is no where to be found. Their reality is driven by the primacy of consciousness, whatever they think is true, therefore, must be true. Facts be damned. Their illusion is maintained by Faux News, Rush Limbaugh, and numerous blogs. Critical thinking is not required and even discouraged. The comparisons to religion are obvious and not coincidental.

Worst Person in the World

The gold goes to Keith Olbermann. My favorite news show is (was) Countdown (on MSNBC) and its host has a serious credibility problem. There appears to have been a quid pro quo deal between GE (the parent company of MSNBC) and News Corp. Olbermann was ordered to lay off Bill O'Reilly and he complied. Olbermann's response, that "I am party to no deal" is a classic non-denial denial. Corporate influence is the hallmark of Fox News and now MSNBC, too. Olbermann's stained reputation can only affect other MSNBC shows, such as the Rachel Maddow Show.

Strange Denial

The interwebs are all abuzz about a possible Todd and Sarah Palin divorce. Spokeswoman Meg Stapleton says there's no truth to the rumors:

Yet again, some so-called journalists have decided to make up a story. There is no truth to the recent “story” (and story is the correct term for this type of fiction) that the Palins are divorcing. The Palins remain married, committed to each other and their family, and have not purchased land in Montana (last week it was reported to be Long Island).

The Palins remain married? That's an odd reply, the rumors didn't say they were divorced. The Palins remain committed to each other? This is even more odd. What does that mean? Couples can remain committed to each other and their family, even after a divorce. There is nothing in the "denial" about the couple still being in love. If anything, the rumors are given credence by that odd "denial".

Stupid Acts

President Obama said that the Cambridge police "acted stupidly" when they arrested Harvard Professor Henry Gates. If anyone is interested in the law:

Gates-gate: What's the Law Say?

... one conclusion seems clear -- the legal ground for his arrest was shaky from the start.

What George said:

The arrest was punitive, in my opinion. The officer didn’t like Gates’ lack of submission to his authority, so he arrested him on a disorderly conduct charge (a bogus [punitive] charge, which was why it was thrown out

...

To me, the aspect of race is secondary to punishment. He [Crowley] wanted to punish Gates for having the nerve to question him.

...

At the point the professor was identified, it should have ended. It wasn’t — only because the officer didn’t like the response he was getting

My Good Deed

Back when I lived in LA, actually Oak Park, one Saturday morning I went to see a movie at the AMC in Woodland Hills. I parked my car in a rather deserted lot, being the first movie of the day, and as I got out, I looked down and saw a CA driver's license on the ground. I picked it up. There were no other cars parked to the left so I assumed the DL was lost long before I got there. I put the DL in my shirt pocket and headed into the theater.

After the movie I'm sitting in my car in the parking lot, contemplating what to do. Should I mail the DL to the owner, since the address was on the DL. I considered giving it to a police officer. Both of those options would have taken days to return the DL so I decided to return the DL myself. This is what I would have wanted if it were my DL that was lost.

The address was in Venice. I broke out my Thomas' book of maps of LA (which I kept in the car), found the DL address, and plotted my route. I would take Topanga Canyon to the PCH and from there to Venice. I set off, it was like an adventure. Topanga Canyon is a beautiful drive. Once I arrived in Venice it took some navigating before I arrived at the correct address. I knocked on the door but there was no answer. I left the DL in the mailbox. I never knew if the DL ever made it into the correct hands, but I'd like to think so.

Sarah Palin - Trailer Trash

Letterman has never been very funny, Leno always had him beat in that category. Dave went over the line with the Palin jokes, but she's trying to exploit a misunderstanding to try and score some political victimhood points. And she's using her 14 year old daughter to accomplish this.

First it was like Levi versus Bristol on the Jerry Springer show. Now this. She must think that the only bad publicity is no publicity.