The Only Thing We Have To Fear Is Fear Itself

The McCain Campaign has accused Barrack Obama of palling around with terrorists. They've implied that he's connected to voter registration fraud. Some lunatic from Texas, working for McCain's campaign, filed a false assault charge on a a big black man, who she said carved a "B" on her face and beat her because she had a McCain sticker on her car. Then he robbed her at an ATM. Never mind that the idiot woman carved the letter backward, as she saw it in a mirror, that there was no transaction at the ATM, or that her story kept changing, or that it wasn't the first time she's done such a stunt. None of the truth could stop the Pennsylvania McCain communications director from issuing a statement to the press, one that embellished on an already fake story. Or Matt Drudge from putting in a large red font at the top of his website, before he knew the truth.

McCain's nut-jobs on the campaign trail freely shout "Kill Him!" and "Terrorist," say they know he's an Arab, and carry a toy monkey with the word Obama stuck on it.

A so-called Christian preacher man spoke before a Palin appearance and told his God to step up and do the right thing in this election, because he is bigger than the Hindu god or the Muslim god, that somehow want to bring this great country down.

Rush Limbaugh claims that Colin Powell's decision to endorse Obama was about race. He shouted it on his radio show.

A man in Missouri has placed a sign on his property along a major highway depicting Obama in a turban.

Now, someone has placed letters in Wisconsin mailboxes, claiming to be an official message from Obama, himself. Except it isn't. How sad it is that some frightened racist has to stir up more fear, with words like "Change means... BLACK!" and pretend it's Obama's decree.

Yet, right here in Houston, early voting is double what it was 4 years ago. One of the ways to make sure our votes aren't stolen this time, is to vote early. I voted on Friday. I had to wait about ten minutes. I'm told that waiting in line for early voting is a new event. (If you doubt that votes are not counted, that voters are disenfranchised, and that real voter fraud takes place -- on behalf of the Republican Party, then you really haven't been paying attention. There are several books and a few documentaries on the subject that don't get a lot of attention, but it's out there. You can start by reading "Block The Vote," available here as a pdf download, from the current RollingStone magazine.)

Mudslinging is almost expected around election time, but this time, it's really ugly. I think most Americans are sick and tired of this era of worse-than-ever "politics as usual." Vote. Take your voter registration card and an ID. Get to the polls early.

How did Dubya put it? "Fool me once... Can't get fooled again."

(Be sure to click on all the linked stories above.)

The Greatest Band That Ever Lived

When rockers Weezer released their eponymous-ly titled album earlier this year, given the nickname "The Red Album," it was clear that they really didn't care what anyone thought about their music. Various band members penned songs (not just leader Rivers Cuomo), and they traded off on the usual instruments they play. With lyrics like "I'm a troublemaker, not a double-taker/doin' things my own way, and never givin' up," (from "Troublemaker) or "One look in the mirror and I'm tickled pink/I don't give a hoot about what you think" (from "Pork and Beans"), and "After the havoc that I’m gonna wreak/No more words will critics have to speak" (from "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived"), they left it no doubt how they feel about criticism.

To paraphrase, they don't care, they don't care, they don't care.

That set the stage for their stop in Houston on Thursday (10/23) at Reliant Arena. (The arena is more like a convention hall, but the venue was cozy enough, making for a good view and good sound.) The band came on in white over-alls, and burst into the raucous "My Name Is Jonas." Except Rivers wasn't singing. In fact, he relegated his vocal parts to other band members, throughout the show. He even played drums, sometimes. And the guys played and joked around all night, as if having fun was all that mattered. They played rare b-sides. They removed the over-alls to reveal red track suits. Rivers jumped on a mini-trampoline, and ran across the stage sliding on his knees. At the encore, they brought on about 50 people for what they call a "hootenanny", all carrying instruments ranging from flutes, to guitars, to cellos and tubas to play two songs with the band. For the song "Beverly Hills," Rivers invited the men in the audience to sing the chorus parts, and the women to chime in with a high pitched "gimmee, gimme."


They even did a spot-on cover of Pink Floyd's classic "Time." So good, in fact, I have revisited the original, realizing the sonic mastery that song truly is. Drummer Patrick Wilson played lead guitar and sang. When he introduced the number as "very heavy," he wasn't kidding. A perfect rendition.

Rock 'n roll connoisseur Kevin asked his mom what her fave was. She liked "El Scorcho," but "Hashpipe" will always be tops with her. Ever the inquisitor, Kevin followed up by asking me the same question. I went for the weird and wacky "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived." Justin just shrugged and said of the show, "It was alright."

They said they’d be back in 2009. I can't wait.

Freedom of the Press

Shocked. And Stunned.

Read this endorsement from the local rag, the Houston Chronicle:

"After carefully observing the Democratic and Republican nominees in drawn-out primary struggles as well as in the general campaign, including three debates, the Chronicle strongly believes that the ticket of Sens. Barack Obama and Joe Biden offers the best choice to lead the United States on a new course into the second decade of the 21st century."

I can still hardly believe it. The Chronic-cull, firmly in the Bush camp in 2004, actually made it official on Sunday that Obama and Biden are the best bets to lead our country. In fact, this endorsement is only the second time since 1960 that the newspaper has backed a Democrat for President. Wow.

I'll say it again.

Wow.

Yeah, I know, it's a no-brainer of a choice (it's the economy, stupid), but right here, deep in the heart of Bush country, folks in general, and big institutions like the Houston Chronicle, are uber-conservative. Just to the right of Rush and Hannity.

The announcement came on the same day that Colin Powell tossed his hat into the Obama ring, and the morning after Caribou Barbie appeared on Saturday Night Live. Yikes.

Get this: "The Obama-Biden ticket maintains its strong lead in the race for daily newspaper endorsements, by 124 to 46," according to Editor & Publisher. The website goes on to say "At least 27 papers have now switched to Obama from Bush in 2004, with just four flipping to McCain."

The Times (and the Chronicle), they are a changin'.

Is Your Roof Most Like A Staircase?

"Some of the strongest winds are being found along the west end of Galveston Bay in locations such as Clear Lake, Kemah, Seabrook, Shoreacres, and La Porte where winds are in the 85 to 105 mph range." (From the weather channel.)

After Hurricane Ike huffed and puffed and didn't blow my house down -- but sure the heck did rip my fence apart, along with a few roofing shingles, and spread some neighbors trees around, I called my insurance company. As part of their 10 minute survey (after 45 minutes of beautiful muzak), the agent asked me the above question. I paused. "Er, excuse me?," I mumbled. She repeated her question. Then she followed with "How steep is your roof?" Getting her explanation, I said, "Oh, I see. Um, not steep." What I was thinking but didn't say was "Not as steep as my insurance premium." I wondered how I could phrase that question in a way she'd understand. How about "Are your rates most like the Iraqi war? You know, always escalating when you least expect it, and with no end in sight?"

But I didn't do that. I was very fortunate, living close to the water, and with a predicted 20 foot storm surge that didn't come my way, after all. For that, I am thankful. My fence is tacked up for now (thanks Justin and Kevin, for your fine hammering skills), and soon to be replaced. The cats are happy to run in the backyard. And I can post right here on the blog. (Ptewie! Still hate that word...) What could be better?