Women

If you're a chick like me, you have a theory.
It goes a little something like this: men are fucking up the world. You've had your chance, now step aside and let us clean up your mess. Shouldn't take too long. Oh, and shut your damn pie holes while you're at it.
We don't get a lot of chance to test this theory because men, tenacious gits that they are, cling to power. But things are changing, and if I were you I'd make nice to the women you know, because you never know where this will go.

First we've got Nancy Pelosi.
I have a little bit of a girl-crush on Madame Speaker. She is the closest a woman has ever been to president, and she's pretty fucking close. Two bullets (not that I'm advocating, mind you) and she's there. So that fills me with gyno-pride. More important is that she is kicking some serious goddamned ass. That first 100 hour agenda? Did it in half the time. Whip the Dems in line? Done. Come off smart and together and assured? Done. Nancy is getting things done and making it look easy, and she is sure as hell not backing down from Chimpy and his goons. So here's to you, Madame Speaker. Pelosi '07.

And then there's this other woman. My senator, in fact.
Hillary Rodham Clinton.
How do you solve a problem like Hillary? I'm not her biggest fan. I like her as my senator -- I think she's done a bang-up job at putting NY interests first. I know that given the congress and the president she's had, the amount of progressive legislation she'd be able to pass is exactly nil. But I admit it -- I am suspicious of her DLC triangulating hawkishness. I can forgive her the war vote -- if you're lied to and given bad information, you'll tend to make bad decisions. I want her to apologize for it and make amends, sure. But the war vote itself is not a deal-breaker for me.
It's just that there are so many compromises when it comes to Hil. The biggest of all being that I didn't think she could get elected, and no matter what else I want in this world, what I really, really want is a Democratic White House. And thus my antipathy (or ambivilence, or something in between) towards HRC had a lot to do with my fear that she would steam-roll through the primaries (becaue damn! she has a politcal MACHINE behind her. That woman can raise money like no one you have ever seen) and then be crucified in the general, and we would have President McCain and I would have to move to Holland.
But.
Looking at her this last week since she announced, and reading about her, and thinking about it and all I had this Moment. This moment where I just thought to myself, "she could do it." There's something about her. It's not just that she's smart as hell, or that she's had more shit thrown at her than anyone living and still smells pretty clean, or that she's got the world's most popular politician (save Nelson Mandela, I suppose) at her beck and call. It's just that she seems, I don't know how to describe it -- almost Presidential.
Just remember -- the whole country doesn't have to vote for her. Only the states that went Gore (plus New Hampshire, which is currently bright cobalt blue). Because (and this is another post) fuck the South - the West is where it's at. So Hillary isn't my first choice (Gore/Obama -- just try to think of a way to beat that one. I don't think it can be done) but if it happens, if she can do it, if she does do it, if we have a woman president?
Total girlgasm.

Men

#1
You know, there's a lot of John Kerry hate out there. You'd think that people would hate Bush for lying, cheating and yes, stealing, for the 2004 election. But instead you hear bitching about his campaign, about how he didn't react to the Swift Boat crowd the right way, etc. etc. I guess it's true that Kerry made some mistakes, some of which were costly. But seriously? He won. I believe he won. I have not forgotten Ohio.

Sure, he was a little stiff, and sure he seemed a little elitist. But so the fuck what. He was and is a smart, honorable and brave man. And I really, really wish he was president.

That said, I'm glad that he's not running again. It would be a distraction and too easy to mock. He can't win this time. So thanks, John Kerry, for the good times, and may you have a long and illustrious career in the Senate.

#2
Jim Webb is a fucking man. I can't explain it, but I was seriously impressed by his rebuttal last night. He sounded a little unrehearsed at some points, and a little wooden at others, but dude, he totally nailed it.

Tonight, tonight, tonight

On Tuesday night, the 9 o'clock hour presents a real choice: Bush's State of the Union address (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, PBS, CNN) or "Veronica Mars" (CW).

In related news, V Mars has hopped aboard the online TV bandwagon.

About that surge

So the chimp is going to get on the TV tonight and talk about how sending another 20,000 troops to Iraq is somehow a "new course" that's going to Change Everything. This despite the mid-term election (you know, the one where the nation rose as one and zsaid, "Fuck this War and the party it rode in on!")This, despite the fact that senators and representatives from his own party aren't even willing to publicly voice support for the war anymore. This despite the fact that his hand-picked generals were so against the surge that they resigned/were fired. And the new hander-pickeder generals he chose to replace the old hand picked generals are also against the surge.

So you can't help but wonder why. Why, Chimpy, why? What do you not understand? Who the fuck do you think you're going to help? How could he possiobly think this is a good idea?

I have only two theories. One is that there's still some money to be made there so we're gonna stay, hell or highwater. Two is that he's doing the same damn thing he always does: play to the base. He doesn't need your support. He just needs to win back the hard-core 'pugs. As we've seen too many times, if you get a really mobilized super right-wing fringe all excited, they can suck the air out of any size gathering.

These two theories are not mutually exclusive. In fact, I think they have a name: politics as usual.

Yo!

Hello friends! I know there's a ton going on in the world, but we don't have time for that right now. No. Instead, Check this out. It's here. It's true. It's the Apple iPhone and I am in geek heaven. I