Their Votes (Unfortunately) Count, Too

Recently, the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press released a report called "Presidential Race Remains Even." Part of the report included a section on "Candidate Traits" which revealed this sobering statistic: 13% of voters believe that Sen. Barack Obama is a Muslim. Furthermore, the report states that "54% identify Obama as a Christian, while 16% say they do not know Obama's religion because they have heard different things about it." In last Sunday's (9/21) New York Times, Nicholas Kristof commented on these statistics and the conspiracy to "Otherize Obama." Kristof wrote:

When I’ve traveled around the country, particularly to my childhood home in rural Oregon, I’ve been struck by the number of people who ask something like: That Obama — is he really a Christian? Isn’t he a Muslim or something? Didn’t he take his oath of office on the Koran?
In conservative Christian circles and on Christian radio stations, there are even widespread theories that Mr. Obama just may be the Antichrist.

When I hear stories like this and look at the 13% statistic, I can't help but wonder, "Who are these people that are so misinformed? Where do they live? What do they look like? What the hell have they been reading and listening to on TV and the radio? Fortunately (or unfortunately), I came across this video which provides a brief glimpse into these answers. (As a heads up, there is some obscene and racist language)



Disgusting, isn't it? I'm sure Hillary would be disgusted as well to hear that some of her supporters were spewing this hatred and ignorance. But what can you do really? The woman in the video is so beyond reason that there really aren't many options. Let's just hope she's appearing on Jerry Springer on Election Day and forgets to go the voting station.

To read Kristof's full article, click here.

Jonathan Capehart, Blogger Extraordinaire

Jonathan Capehart, editorial writer at the Washington Post, gets an A+ for his contribution this morning to the Post's Post Partisan blog. I now understand why this guy won the Pulitzer prize in 1999 after reading today's spot-on analysis of Gov. Sarah Palin's response to an oh-so-obvious question from Katie Couric. Capehart wrote:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin should have seen the question coming. But when Katie Couric pressed her to explain what she meant about Alaska's proximity to Russia informing her foreign policy experience, Palin's answer was startling.



And now for Capehart's knockout punch:

This nails-on-a-chalkboard response, and the speed with which it ricocheted in cyberspace, reminded me of another embarrassing video clip of another woman aspiring to a higher position. I'm talking about 2007 Miss Teen South Carolina Lauren Caitlin in her quest to become Miss Teen USA.



How true, right? I think Obama's ad team can go on vacation from here on out. Just show Palin's response to Couric's question and the American public should have all the information they need to understand what a mess it would be having Palin anywhere near the White House. Palin's performance was a disaster and should be highly concerning for all Americans. To be sure, Obama must focus predominately on McCain and his policies, not on Palin and her (substantial) shortcomings. But Palin was McCain's choice, and this decision reveals the type of person he would surround himself with as president.

Let's just hope that Lauren Caitlin wouldn't be offered a cabinet position, too.

To read Capehart's post, click here.

Friday Night Fight

It's on. The University of Mississippi and the rest of the country can breathe a sigh of relief.

And we can now officially say that McCain suspending his campaign and "rushing to Washington" was a ridiculous publicity stunt. But apparently a desperate campaign calls for desperate measures.

An Iota Evening with Murry Hammond

On Monday night I headed over to the Iota Club in Clarendon to see Murry Hammond, a member of the alt-country band the Old 97's. He's been on a solo tour lately to promote his new album "I Don't Know Where I'm Going But I'm On My Way," a beautifully crafted work of traditional and original country, folk, and gospel songs.

The Dallas-based Old 97's are one of my favorite bands, who, despite putting out countless highly-acclaimed albums and building a dedicated fanbase, have never really "hit the big time." (Though you may have seen them in the comedy "The Break-Up" - they are the band that Jennifer Aniston goes to see when she gets stood up by Vince Vaughn). I saw the 97's at a sold out 9:30 Club this past summer who were on tour following their new release "Blame It on Gravity." The show was a high energy affair with all four bandmates - led by singer Rhett Miller - rocking the house to an amped-up DC crowd.

Monday's show was a totally different vibe. While the 97's music can be described as an amalgamation of rock, country, and alternative styles, Murry's own musical focus is firmly rooted in gospel and folk music which he has been able to continue to explore with his first solo album. After hanging out at the bar before the show talking with fans, Murry took the stage with 2 guitars and a melodium in front of about 40 people. For the next hour and a half he played many songs from his new disc and a few of the ones he sings with the 97's. It was a truly moving performance - his voice, songwriting skills, and simple yet full guitar style come together to create a very rich sound. After the show, he stuck around and signed copies of the new album (which is surprisingly hard to find anywhere else) and chatted with some us. A true son of Texas, he was extremely approachable and more than happy to talk with us who came out to see him that night.

Without a doubt, this highly unpublicized solo tour must be a very different musical experience for him. Going from playing sold-out shows at the country's top music clubs with the 97's to singing alone in small cafe joints like the Iota Club must be like night and day for him out on the road. On Saturday, he'll be back with the full band at the Austin City Limits Festival, but last night it seemed like Murry was enjoying a quieter, more mellow side of show biz at one of Arlington's coziest music venues.

To listen to "I Don't Know Where I'm Going But I'm On My Way" online, click here. (Some of my favorite songs include "Wreck of the 97," "Next Time Take the Train," "Lost at Sea," and "Other, Younger Days"). You can also download the album from Amazon here.

For an exclusive interview with Murry about the new album, click here.

For more on the Old 97's, click here.

Resigning: Everybody's Doing It!

One weekend. Two major resignations from influential world leaders. There must be something in the air these days. With the news that both South African president Thabo Mbeki (corruption charges) and Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert (corruption charges) both resigned from their posts this weekend, one can only wonder if the "resignation bug" is contagious and may reach our own shores. It might be wishful thinking, but perhaps President George W. Bush ("lying to the American people" charges) might want to hang up his boots a few months early and get in some quality golf time with Mbeki, Olmert, and maybe even ex-Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf (corruption charges - duh).

In all seriousness, though, I've never been big on the "impeach Bush" argument mainly because getting rid of W. would have elevated Dick Cheney into the Oval Office. Officially that is, since we all know he was calling the shots during the past eight years. Plus, the whole process would have been a politicized, cumbersome, next-to-impossible mess. And let's be honest. Right now, Bush is essentially off everybody's radar screen and the era of reflecting on his presidency has already begun (two good reads are here and here).

The American people have already moved on and are thinking of the future and who is the best man to pick up our country up after Bush's disastrous two terms. That being said, why would anyone choose a candidate who voted with Bush 90 percent of the time?

McCain's Makeover

On the drive in to work today, I was following a car that was sporting both "McCain 2000" and "John Kerry" bumper stickers. At first glance, seeing a McCain sticker sharing the same bumper as a Kerry one seems strange. But there used to be a time when it would have made sense. McCain in 2000 was indeed a real "maverick," one who would reject party politics and pandering in order to promote what he thought was the best direction for our country. A McCain supporter in 2000 would find much in common with John Kerry in 2004.

How times have changed.

The candidate on that "McCain 2000" sticker is not the same candidate on the "McCain/Palin" one of 2008. First off, McCain 2000 would not in a million years have picked anyone as conservative and extreme as Sarah Palin to be his running mate back then. But that's just the tip of the iceberg- from taxes to abortion to campaign finance reform to embracing religious fanatics, McCain has changed his position on all of these issues.

It's hard to figure out how this McCain makeover happened. Fortunately, Jon Stewart and Co. at the Daily Show put together a humorous (and accurate) "documentary" about McCain's changes of heart. Here's "John McCain: Reformed Maverick:"



As for the driver in the car in front of me, I would have loved to find out who he is voting for in November. Unfortunately, at the next stop sign, he turned off to the left.

Well, maybe that's a good sign...

Shame on the GOP

Much has been made about the potentially high turnout rate for this year's presidential election. Both the Democrats and Republicans are revved up and ready to go, with intense voter registration drives and canvassing underway. But recently, it has been disclosed that the Republican party in Michigan has devised a shameful plan to deprive those Americans who lost their homes to foreclosure from voting. Democracy Now! reported this morning:

"In other campaign news, the Obama camp has filed a suit to block a controversial voter suppression tactic in Michigan. The Republican Party in Macomb County admitted this week it plans to use a list of foreclosed homes to block people from voting on Election Day. The plan is likely to disproportionately affect African Americans who are overwhelmingly Democratic voters. In Michigan, more than 60 percent of all subprime loans were made to African Americans. McCain’s regional headquarters are housed in the office building of foreclosure specialists Trott & Trott."

What an absolute disgrace. These Republican "strategists" should be ashamed of themselves, but after 8 years of Bush-Rove politics, what else have we come to expect from the GOP when elections are close? This evening, I received a forwarded e-mail from the organization ColorOfChange.org, which has been closely monitoring this story. The e-mail provided a context for the Republicans' tactic:

"For years, Republicans have engaged in "caging"--challenging the eligibility of voters on election day to suppress turnout and intimidate voters. They'll often try to reject voters by claiming they don't live at the address where they're registered. This year, they've taken it to a new low--the chairman of the Republican Party in Macomb County, Michigan said last week, "We will have a list of foreclosed homes and will make sure people aren't voting from those addresses.""

What type of people in this country sit around and come up with plans to disenfranchise others? They are the ones who should be evicted from their homes, not hard-working Americans who were preyed upon by a gluttonous economic system.

Well, it's not enough just to be angry. Sign the Color of Change's petition calling for Sen. McCain to "publicly denounce the use of foreclosure lists as a basis for challenging voters." Click here to read the mass e-mail and here to sign the petition.

DC on the Silver Screen

Our fair city of Washington has been quite the movie star as of late. From Traitor to Burn After Reading to the upcoming Body of Lies, DC has been getting its fair share of screen time. And she looks pretty good up there.

It is definitely a kick sitting in a movie theatre near where the action is unfolding up on the screen. During Traitor, there was an audible murmur in the theatre in Court House when the camera panned across the Potomac to Rosslyn where the FBI headquarters supposedly was located. (Who knew that Guy Pearce worked one Metro stop away?)

And tonight it was great to see DC featured in the Coen Brothers' new Burn After Reading. While most of the filming took place up in New York, it was a pleasure to see all of scenes filmed around Georgetown. The shot of George Clooney running up 35th Street towards Prospect hit close to home in a good way. Many a weekend in college my buddies and I would trek up that same steep incline with a case of beer from Dixie Liquor at the bottom of the hill on M Street. So there you have it: George Clooney has followed in my footsteps...

Yeah, I know...who am I kidding?

She Did What?

You might say this blog has become somewhat "Palin-centric" as a late. And while I have been trying to limit my exposure to the VP candidate, it is hard not to run into her every day. There she is on CNN! There she is on the cover of Newsweek! There she is at the supermarket checkout counter in US Weekly (yeah, I took a look). And while everyone is in an uproar today about some pig wearing lipstick, I was more appalled by another story that was reported this morning in the Washington Post. Karl Vick wrote on page A4:

"Gov. Sarah Palin is being asked by a local Republican activist to release more than 1,100 e-mails she withheld from a public records request, including 40 that were copied to her husband, Todd."

Very unprofessional, given that Mr. Palin is not an elected official and has no business dealing with internal state functions. But it gets better:

"Palin also routinely does government business from a Yahoo address, gov.sarah@yahoo.com, rather than her secure state e-mail address, according to documents already made public."

Are you serious?! This is shocking on two levels. 1) The governor of an American state is using a Yahoo account to conduct state business? I recognize we are talking about Alaska here, but still - this woman is asking the American people to vote her second in command and is using Yahoo to communicate with her staff? Even Osama bin Laden knows better than to use unsecured electronic communications because they can easily be traced (also reported today in the Post). And 2) Who still uses Yahoo for e-mail? She's definitely out of touch with the mainland US.

So while I have been doing my best to avoid Palin, she keeps popping up with more and more outrageous material. Whether it is her stance on the "Bridge to Nowhere" or her (is it really that interesting?) life story, Palin continues to deliver. But we aren't looking for human interest stories to run the country. We need genuine, organized, and visionary leaders (who also happen to use secure e-mail accounts).

To read the full article, click here.

Joe Biden to the Rescue

I've tried my best to keep my personal life off the pages of this blog. Sure, political opinions, commentary on life in DC, sports affiliations, and musical tastes can all be considered "personal," but they aren't really, you know, personal. That being said, I can't help but write about a dream I had this past weekend. Not a dream in the figurative sense, but a real, REM style, sleeping-in-bed dream. Here it goes:

I'm standing outside on the front lawn of my childhood home in suburban Philadelphia. It's late afternoon. Everything seems calm and normal. Then, out of nowhere, the sky turns dark and a tornado touches down in the distance, heading in my direction. I start running across the lawn when all of a sudden I see a helicopter come flying over the horizon. The helicopter touches down in front of me, piloted by...Sen. Joe Biden. (And yes, he had on shiny aviator glasses). "Get on board!" he yells. I hop on the helicopter, buckle up, put on my headset, and give the thumbs up. "Thanks, Joe!" And then we flew to Florida.

Bizarre, I know. As soon as I woke up, I started analyzing it. Why the tornado? Why Joe Biden? Why at my old house in PA? Why did we fly to Florida? I never bought one of those dream interpretation books so I couldn't come up with anything concrete. All I can think of is that this means the Obama/Biden ticket is going to "rescue" (read: win) Pennsylvania and Florida in November (Amen). Or perhaps it just means that I've been watching too much CNN lately.

Either way, I'm just glad Biden showed up in the helicopter to save me since we all know that Sarah Palin wouldn't have been able to since she got rid of that "corporate jet" on Ebay (or did she?)

I Went to Bed Angry

I went to bed angry last night. Gov. Sarah Palin's acceptance speech was, simply put, insulting and demeaning to any American who has worked to improve his or her country through community service or volunteerism. Remarking that a former community organizer like Sen. Obama doesn't really have any "actual responsibilities" while serving his or her neighbors and fellow Americans is downright wrong. But what other viewpoint can we expect from a member of a political party that has single-handedly smeared the good name of the United States over the past 8 years?

Republicans are quick to tout the military record of Senator McCain as reason enough for him to be the President of the United States. While the military has a very important role in maintaining peace and security throughout the world, joining the armed forces is not the only way that an American can serve his or her country. Unfortunately, Bush-McCain Republicans don't seem to understand this and look down on Americans who contribute their time and energy in other ways.

Ms. Palin, don't tell me that community organizers, civil rights activists, environmental advocates, and soup kitchen volunteers don't have "actual responsibilities." As someone who spent the year after graduating from college working countless hours in an inner city high school in Boston, I can say with confidence: "You just don't get it."

I don't normally read the e-mails that Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe fills up my inbox with every week (I'm sure you get them, too). But today I happened to read the one he sent out early this morning. His response to Palin's comments were right on the mark:

Community organizing is how ordinary people respond to out-of-touch politicians and their failed policies. And it's no surprise that, after eight years of George Bush, millions of people have found that by coming together in their local communities they can change the course of history. That promise is what our campaign has been about from the beginning. Throughout our history, ordinary people have made good on America's promise by organizing for change from the bottom up. Community organizing is the foundation of the civil rights movement, the women's suffrage movement, labor rights, and the 40-hour workweek. And it's happening today in church basements and community centers and living rooms across America.

The GOP does not have a monopoly on the idea of "service." All of us can contribute to this country in our own way - it can be with a gun and a Humvee or it can be with a piece of chalk and a blackboard. We need leaders who understand this. We need leaders who understand that the promise of America is built by all kinds of Americans, with different talents and skills.

McCain and Palin don't understand this. Obama and Biden do. Where do you stand?

Under the City

Most of us spend a lot of time beneath the streets of Washington, DC. Whether heading to work, going to a Nats game, off for a few drinks, or out to see a movie, the Metro gets us to where we need to go. But most of the time, we are either in such a rush or so engrossed in our newspaper or entranced by the song on our iPod that we don't really take the time to look around us. Fortunately, one of DC's rising amateur photographers recently focused her lens on the Foggy Bottom station as two trains were passing each other, capturing a fantastic image of what for that girl on the bench might have seemed like just another passing second at a train station:

Say what you will about the Metro system's failures (and I've said a lot), those underground stations are pretty neat looking places and this photo proves it. I've always pictured them in my mind as a possible set for a futuristic neo-noir film, what with all those geometric shapes and interesting shadows.

My parents went to college in Washington before they built the Metro system but I can't even comprehend getting around the city without a subway. "How did you do it?," I asked my dad. "We used to hitch-hike to class sometimes," he said. Very Edgy. And while it might have worked in 1972, I won't take my chances today.

Anyhow, next time you're underground take a moment to really look around...and just be happy you aren't in a stranger's car.

Thanks to Amanda for allowing me to post her photo. You can check out her great photograpy blog here.

***UPDATE*** This post has been featured on the DC Blogs Noted page. Thanks again for another shout-out!

Wasilla Bait Shop, Part Two

Last night's post about James Carville's strong performance on Larry King received a lot of interest. Unfortunately, I don't have TiVo so I had to wait until today to get the official transcript and video. But it was worth the wait to see it all over again. According to CNN's transcript, here's what Carville said when he held up the picture of Wasilla City Hall:

And we're going to have her be vice president of the United States based on a 15 minute conversation she had with Senator McCain?I mean I'm -- this is -- she was touted experience as mayor of this town in Alaska. This is a picture of the city hall. It looks like a bait shop in South Louisiana, all right?This is executive experience to be vice president of the United States, to be a heartbeat away from the presidency, to have to take over the country when we're fighting three wars, where we have the biggest credit crisis we've had in this country?

Take a look at the video clip below. Carville pulls out the picture at minute 5:55, but the whole video is worth checking out just to see Rep. Michele Bachman's vain attempts to defend John McCain's VP choice, stooping as low as to accuse Carville's comments about Palin's inexperience to be "offensive to women." Hopefully this "you are being offensive to women" response isn't a sign of things to come in terms of the Republicans' strategy for responding to Democratic criticism about Palin.

Something makes me think we won't be so lucky.

To see the transcript of the entire Larry King show last night, click here.

Carville Brings His "A" Game to Larry King

James Carville is tearing it up tonight on Larry King. Larry obviously wants to talk about Gov. Sarah Palin's teenage daughter's pregnancy, but Carville keeps going back to the fact that Palin is utterly unqualified to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.

To drive the point home even further, he held up a photo (similar to the one above) of Wasilla City Hall, Palin's place of employment when she held the position of mayor in that town of 6,715. Carville compared this City Hall to a bait shop in southern Louisiana and though I've never been to Louisiana, I think he's on to something. This photo speaks volumes about Palin's lack of experience and limited qualifications to hold the office of vice president of the United States, and tells us so much more about her than that beauty queen head shot which has been splashed over the Web during the past few days.

Check back for video later (if it's available)

The Best of YouTube, Guardian-Style

Just like the Internet as a whole, YouTube can be a tool that on one hand enlightens and inspires and on the other makes the general population slightly stupider. It can be used to watch news clips and documentaries, but it can also be used to watch videos like this. Fortunately, the good folks at the Guardian newspaper over in the UK put together what they consider to be "the 50 greatest arts videos on YouTube" which range from music and literature to film and stage. The list is by no means exhaustive - and doesn't even come close. But there are a few gems on there. Here are some of my favorites (favourites) from their list:

• John Coltrane performs "My Favorite Things" in Germany in 1961
• Jack Kerouac reads from "On the Road" in 1959
• Aretha Franklin sings on a TV special in Stockholm in 1968
• Martin Scorsese mini-documentary to promote "Mean Streets" in 1973
• The Beatles perform their 1969 Rooftop concert

Here's one I would add myself - Stevie Ray Vaughan's performance of "Riviera Paradise" in Austin, Texas. So much heart and soul put into every single note, especially the softest ones:

To see their full list with descriptions, click here. And put the Guardian on your "favorites" list for news websites. It was my newspaper of choice while living over in Ireland. Politically, like a New York Times with an accent.