Peter’s grandmother, aged 96, whom we call “Bis” for “Bis Nonna”, has an incurable cancer of the blood, and she took a turn for the worse this past week. She was in the hospital for a couple of days, then discharged to a nursing home.
Month: August 2008
Code of Honor
A friend whose opinion I respect and I were talking the other day about the dysfunctionality we’ve noticed in Cape Cod employer/employee relations.
Her theory – and I think it’s a good one – is that because of the high rate of alcoholism, workers here are accustomed to living in abusive situations, so they don’t stand up to it in the office.
This contrasts with her feeling, and mine, that a self-respecting person doesn’t have to tolerate bad treatment. It puts a whole new spin on the supposed virtue of “being able to take it” as neurotic and masochistic, rather than the much-admired “having a thick skin”.
You Read It Here First
As a result of the Democratic leadership’s failure to challenge the mistreatment of Hillary Clinton, I predict that we are going to see an increase in the number of incidents involving young Black men treating older White women with contempt and disrespect.
After all, haven’t the leadership of the Democratic party and the boys at MSNBC given their permission – nay, their blessing – on this particular brand of sociopathy?
In the stratospheric world of the Kerrys, Kennedys, Pelosis and Deans, such things are inconceivable, so it’s impossible to expect that they will acknowledge this as a possibility, let alone take responsibility for it.
It happened to me last evening at a community event at which I was a volunteer. All I can say is, if you’re a middle-aged White woman, watch your back.
We’ve Seen This Before
I grew up in a household where reading the New York Times was a sacred Sunday ritual, but recently, I’ve been perusing the online version for different reasons.
First, I enjoy and learn a lot from reading columns by David Brooks and Paul Krugman. Equally important, though, I want to keep in touch with what the “enemy” is thinking via the opinions of the Times’ editorial board.
Heart of Darkness
The anorexic Barack Obama, aging Joe Biden and permanently disabled John McCain have presented a depressing spectacle this campaign season.
I hadn’t realized this until seeing Governor Sarah Palin yesterday.
This healthy, fit, outdoors-loving, apple-cheeked woman looks to be the only person in the race who has the physical good health and emotional stability to actually serve as Commander In Chief.
Ten Percent
I read that 10% of the delegates to the Democratic convention are teachers.
That means that 10% of the funny hat people we’ve been watching on TV this week have no idea what merit pay is, or what it’s like to be in fear of losing your job over petty office bullshit.
Yawn
Pardon me, but I don’t understand the starry-eyed response from certain parties to the first set of Democratic Convention speakers, particularly Ted Kennedy and Michelle Obama.
First, I couldn’t figure out who Michelle was there to talk about, her brother? Her Dad? Her opening was nonsensical, out of context, like we’d broken in uninvited to a private conversation.
I admire Ted’s courage in facing down cancer, and if his speech had been in support of Hillary Clinton, maybe I would have found it moving and even historic.
But he’s supporting an empty suit, and that’s not exactly blockbuster material.
Looking Better and Better
As the Blog-o-Sphere cranks up the arguments pro and con, I find myself less favorable to John McCain. Supporting NObama is, of course, out of the question.
I contributed to the Clinton campaign and was generally pleased with her transformation from self-conscious, stolid wonk to empathetic, gracious and passionate advocate for those who were not “born lucky”, to paraphrase Governor Zell Miller before he lost it and became a Republican.
Obviously, I was not impressed with the way Obama and his cohorts (Wright, Pfleger and the boys at MSNBC) acted toward Clinton and her supporters. Many women have been called a lot worse than the “N” word, and it seemed that the Obama campaign legitimized and even institutionalized this misogyny.
If the old John McCain were to miraculously reappear, I’d vote for him in a heartbeat. As it is, Ron Paul, Bob Barr and even Ralph Nadar are looking better and better every day.
By A Hair
The only count that matters in this year’s Presidential election is the Electoral College count, so the latest figures by state at sites like USA Election Polls are a lot more important than popularity contests like Rasmussen, which I think have overstated Obama’s support from the beginning.
Using USA Election Polls’ latest numbers, I did a little analysis this morning and came to the conclusion that McCain is a lot closer to winning than the MSM thinks.
Some of the numbers are old, and they precede the Biden announcement, but as of somewhere around the end of July, McCain would have had 253 electoral votes and Obama, 282, 12 more than needed to win the Presidency.
Taking a closer look, though, there is only a 1% difference between McCain and Obama in 5 states: Florida, Virginia, Nevada, New Hampshire and Montana.
Looks to me like this gives Charlie Crist, the popular governor of Florida, a leg up in the VP selection process.
The other possible choice, assuming he’d be interested, is Mayor Mike Bloomberg, whose background might appeal to Floridians who share his ethnicity.
I would love to see McCain select a female running mate, but Carly Fiorina, who was a lousy chief executive and a worse campaign spokesperson, just doesn’t do it for me. Aside from Condoleeza Rice or maybe Elizabeth Dole, neither of whom are on the short list, there aren’t any Republican women who have attained the kind of stature needed to make a credible candidate.
In any event, Obama’s selection of Joe Biden presents a great opportunity for McCain to solidify the Electoral College math. Provided he picks just about anyone but Romney.
Hmph
Some members of the Macworld community were in a state of moderate dudgeon this week over unflattering comments about the iMac in one of their forums.
I’m floored by this, largely because I thought that technical folk of any age enjoyed intellectual exchange with other bright people who don’t necessarily agree with them.
Gueesss not.