The Constitution and the House floor: are you $#*&#ing kidding me?!?!

So, the first day back to work and what do the members of the lower chamber decide to do? They decide to recite the U.S. Constitution into the Congressional Record. Congratulations! The members of your body now know about as much about the legal machinations of our government as the average middle school civics student!

Grandstanding is certainly nothing new to politics, but this has lowered the bar to Lilliputian levels. I hope some House members realize that all 44 Presidents in this country's history have signed DOZENS of bills into law since the Constitution was ratified in 1787 (except poor William Henry Harrison, of course; the poor guy died only 32 days after his inauguration). To keep up their Constitutional fidelity, I trust the House leadership will immediately begin reading every piece of legislation passed during the George Washington Administration. This is only fair if they want a complete picture of our nation's legislative history.

Reading the Constitution and its 27 Amendments and claiming to have a command of the U.S. body politic is akin to someone claiming to be a master of the Star Wars Trilogy after simply watching the opening sequence of Darth Vader boarding the rebel ship at the beginning of the original movie (Episode IV: A New Hope for those of you keeping score at home).

I have a simple message for the House leadership: go back and hit the books some more. You have two more years before your final exams and you're nowhere near ready.

Gainesville Mayoral Candidate Forum - Who are their comedic doppelgangers?

As I sat watching last night's mayoral candidate forum on WUFT's North Florida Journal, I noticed the odd similarity of Richard Selwach to Chris Farley, both in appearance and mannerisms. Later while on the pot (where most of us do the heaviest of thinking whether we admit it or not), I realized that you could match each of Gainesville's mayoral candidates to a famous comedian. Here ya go, for entertainment purposes only.

Ozzy Angulo - Carlos Mencia

This political neophyte was very matter-of-fact and represented the working class of Gainesville. While not as boisterous as Mencia, Angulo pled his case in a language that everyone could easily understand. Dee de-dee!

Monica Leadon Cooper - Julie Hagerty

This was a bit of a tough call. You could also go with Lily Tomlin. There are also some elements of Rita Rudner there. But Julie Hagerty as Elaine in Airplane II just kept coming back to me, especially the line "we're also out of coffee" when a passenger asks her if she's telling them everything. Arguably the winner of the forum, Monica was at times an amalgamation of several classic comediennes and she was often hard to peg down.

Craig Lowe - Andy Kaufman

Craig was not what he seemed last night, which described Andy to a T. He was often stumbling over his words as he looked into the teleprompter with a deer-in-the-headlights look. If you've ever spoken with Craig privately, you know his intelligence and passion for certain issues know no rival. Kaufman was the same way: he exuded lovable, feigned ignorance and innocence, but all along you knew he was the smartest person in the room.

Don Marsh - Eugene Levy

A man who speaks in plain language matter-of-factly states his case so emphatically that he believes there is no way that others could have a position more correct than his own - sort of like that friend's father whom you can't convince is wrong. A candidate for those who remember the George W. Bush years with fondness.

Richard Selwach - Chris Farley

From the Javier Bardem-like haircut to his fidgety nature, Richard channelled the late fatman several times last night. See my initial impressions above.

Are these comparisons accurate? You decide for yourself as North Florida Journal repeats several times this weekend and WUFT-TV Channel 5. Check your listings and have a chuckle.

Get a job in the Obama-Biden administration!

Okay, I know I haven't written about my election night experience yet, but I just wanted to share what I did a short time ago. The incoming administration already has a government domain:

http://www.change.gov

The first time I saw it, I was speechless. Wow. This is the beginning of what could be a new era in transparent government. After exploring the site a bit, I noticed a "jobs" button on the top banner. Five minutes later, I had applied for a job in the incoming Obama Administration. And why not? An administrative position at the Federal Communications Committee (FCC) sounds pretty good to me!

Yes we can...GET EMPLOYED! Try it yourself. You have nothing to lose...

Michelle Obama rocks Gainesville!

It was a warm October afternoon and thousands of people descended on downtown Gainesville to catch who is certain to be the next First Lady. I headed toward the entrance only to be told that I had to get in one of two lines. I followed one line to its end and finally found it...FIVE BLOCKS LATER. The queue was moving pretty fast, however, and I found myself inside within about 20 minutes. The place was already packed when I made it in. I finally staked out a spot in front of Mr. Sidhu's market. I did wander up as far as Starbucks -- even though volunteers kept telling me that there was room that far up, people were packed in like sardines, so I fell back to my safe spot by Sidhu's.

What followed were a litany of speakers, including our Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan, Cynthia Moore Chestnut, Rep. Corrine Brown, and Sen. Bill Nelson. Then, The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" blared through the speakers before Michelle Obama's entrance.

Michelle was, in a word, phenomenal. She got everyone fired up to vote early and told tales of how she and Barack strugged with student loan debt burden and other economic woes that our family also faces. It will surely be great to have someone who understands such things in the White House instead of someone who can't remember how many houses they own.

Perhaps most impressive was a standout statistic: with about 11,000 in attendance at this event, it was the largest crowd Michelle Obama had ever spoken to without her husband.

Special thanks to my co-worker Alena Lawson for the above photo. YES WE WILL!

Our kid loves pizza rolls!

Last night at dinnertime, Aiden was acting finicky when Michelle was cutting up pizza rolls to give him. I found it hard to believe that our son could not like something so yummy. After waiting for the rolls to cool a bit, I gave him a WHOLE one and he wolfed it down! After about 5 or 6 more rolls, his face looked like this:



Kids: ya gotta love 'em!

Final Obama-McCain debate tonight

Well, I'll keep this short and sweet. The final presidential debate is tonight on all major TV networks. McCain threatens to bring up Bill Ayers tonight and I hope he's a man of his word. Americans want to hear about what these candidates will do for the economy and the rest of America instead of who knew who when. The Drinking Liberally Gainesville chapter will be meeting at Gators Dockside in the front room tonight at 8:30 to watch for all interested parties. Early voting begins here in Gainesville on Monday. I'll be one of the first in line. Hope to see you there!

Finally, here's what the front of our house looks like now thanks to my co-worker Rachel and the posters she scored from Obama headquarters. After the Obama victory next month, she should receive a personal letter of thanks from Barack himself. Her efforts have been selfless and tireless. Hooray for her! VOTE!!!!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today would have been my mother's 77th birthday.



My mom passed away this past April 15th. (Yeah, it was tax day. My parents both chose memorable days to go: my dad passed on New Year's Day 1986.) She was simply the most selfless person I've ever known. Her kindness, caring, and charity knew no bounds. After my father's passing, she simply lived to help others, often to her own detriment. As much as I encouraged her to go out and socialize in order to find new friends, she instead chose to remain home, constantly reinforcing her faith and helping as many charities as she possibly could.

It's been a tough year when I revisit the memories of the last moments we spent together. She was strong and dignified until the very end of her life, though. Her charities of choice were wide and varied: from Native American children to Special Olympics to the Humane Society, my mom supported them all. This is not even to mention her tithing to her favorite ministries of choice, including Frederick Price and Robert Schueller. I know we'll be getting mail addressed to her from these charities and more for years to come. It will make future visits to the mailbox filled with fond memories of her boundless mercy and faith.

Although I most closely relate to the Unitarian Universalists these days, I always admired and respected my mother's faith. It provided her with the basic rules of life that she followed. Those rules ultimately influenced me a great deal through my occupations that require empathy and diplomacy. She was simply the greatest woman I've ever known.

I miss you, Mom. I hope you're enjoying all of the benefits you did without while you walked on this Earth. Happy Birthday.

A PSA you'd never see on the air in the US

Due to our really uptight nature, this is a humorous, yet, many would argue, risque PSA about STDs that would never be seen on American television. Belgium's got us beat!



The end is just priceless. He's going straight to hell, though. ;-)

Vote the geek ticket!

For all you BG fans out there:

Tina Fey nails Sarah Palin impersonation...finally!

Okay, so I was going through my DVR program guide the weekend before last and saw that Tina Fey was going to be the guest host on Saturday Night Live. I anxiously pressed record only to later find that it was a repeat of a show from last season, as evidenced by my frustration on Twitter. Well, the new season actually kicked off LAST Saturday when Palin did a cameo at the beginning of SNL:



Hope you enjoyed it!

Palin appeals to the base, isolates all others

After staying up last night to watch all of Sarah Palin's speech at the RNC, I have to say she did a more than adequate job. If, of course, you define adequate as throwing red meat to the Republican base. The incessant name-calling continued in St. Paul, with Mitt Romney throwing the word "liberal" around like he was calling out pariahs. Liberal, in general, means "free" or "of liberty." The Republican Party has used it as their homemade curse word to hang around the necks of unsuspecting victims anywhere to the left of Attila the Hun.

Then came Rudy Giuliani, who apparently thinks that being mayor is still the best prerequisite to being president. If that's true, I guess Gainesville mayor Pegeen Hanrahan will be running in 2012. I look forward to it, quite frankly.

Especially rich were other comments from Mike Huckabee. Despite uttering outright lies from the podium (eg, that Sarah Palin received more votes in her mayoral election than Joe Biden got in this run for president), the crowd still roared their approval. This was all irrelevant, though, because Sarah Palin was yet to speak.

Thanks to Giuliani going way over in his speech, Palin's introductory video wasn't even shown. She immediately came out and introduced her family (along with the guy who knocked up her eldest daughter) like they were all worthy of Nobel Prizes or something. She then said that she would be an "advocate in the White House" for all families with developmentally-challenged children (did someone tell her that the vice president doesn't live in the White House?). This was the pandering I was waiting for! The scary thing is that many families like my own will now vote McCain simply because of that statement. Being a one-issue voter is a scary thing. Voting one-issue as the result of an empty promise without researching her other related stances is downright DANGEROUS!

Then it was back to the glorified name-calling, saying that there is no difference between a mayor and community organizer - except that the mayor actually has responsibilities. I think even our own Mayor Hanrahan would agree that community organizing involves such duties as helping others get jobs, stay off drugs, and get proper advocacy for government assistance. Apparently, the new, improved Republican Party doesn't see such humanitarian actions as responsibilities.

We'll see how McCain does at the podium tonight. His speeches are few and far between, so I'm looking forward to him doing more than reading a prewritten, five-minute radio address. Overall, though, Palin delivered an effective bit of oratory last night with nary a stumble.

Even a broke-dick dog has its moment in the sun now and again.

Sarah Palin, meet Harriet Miers

This is getting more and more unbelievable - almost by the minute. Is there any scandal that this woman doesn't love?

I'm going to take heed of Barack Obama's advice, though. I'm leaving her family out of this, as difficult as that may be. Here's a quote from one of her supporters that really got me:

"The media doesn't understand life
membership in the NRA; they don't
understand getting up at 3 a.m. to
hunt a moose; they don't understand
eating a mooseburger; they don't under-
stand being married to a guy who likes
to snowmobile for fun," explained Rep.
Adam Putnam, a Florida Republican, in
a Politico interview Tuesday. "I am not
surprised that they don't get it. But
Americans get it. A mooseburger means
she is like one of us."

A mooseburger. One of us. Absolutely. Mooseburger is probably not a bad thing, but I don't know how it makes her one of us. I'm not sure who Rep. Putnam is referring to as "us," but I seriously doubt I'm included in that group. She does support the hunting of wolves from helicopters, too. Hell, I do that to whittle away some spare hours in the evenings all the time. Ms. Palin was apparently also a member of the Alaskan Independence Party, which favors Alaska's secession from the United States. Quite the "maverick," right there. Extremist is the more appropriate term.

That's why McCain and Palin make the perfect match. Their consistent extremist (RNC key word: maverick) agenda will only drive more and more wedges between the American people. I think we've had enough of this in the last 8 years. We need health care for all, responsible budgetmaking, building solid relationships with other nations of the world, and other things that the Republican platform is so vehemently against.

McCain now has only a few hours left to make a unilateral change to his ticket. I doubt that will happen, though. It would only make this election more competitive, but whomever is playing the Karl Rove role this time around surely doesn't see it that way. She could always Harriet-Miers her way off the ticket as well, but she's too determined of a person -- damn the consequences. Why else would you name one of your children after the headquarter city of the sports network you aspired to work for? This is McCain's first test at decision-making. How do you think he did in picking Sarah Palin as his running mate? Either way, I'd be lying if I didn't say I am so looking forward to Palin debating Joe Biden. Her speech before the GOP delegates this evening should be a real corker as well.

Last night, President Bush referred to the "angry left" at the RNC Convention. This is a man who should be tried for war crimes once he leaves office. Fred Thompson called Obama "the most liberal, most inexperienced" person to ever run for president. This is a man who had to give himself a round of applause at a rally during the primaries when he ran for president. I hope the American people are smart enough to see through this empty namecalling and see who is really fighting for them when it comes to the issues I mentioned above. They will, eventually; let's just hope it's not too late when they do.

Amy Goodman arrested at RNC

So, the host of our flagship program here at WGOT was arrested this afternoon in St. Paul:



We'll see if we have a host for our program by tomorrow. At least we know what the top story will be.

----------------------------

Amy Goodman and Two Democracy Now! Producers Unlawfully Arrested At
the RNC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
www.democracynow.org

September 1, 2008

Contact:
Dennis Moynihan
Mike Burke

ST. PAUL, MN—Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman was unlawfully arrested
in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota at approximately 5 p.m. local time.
Police violently manhandled Goodman, yanking her arm, as they arrested
her. Video of her arrest can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYjyvkR0bGQ

Goodman was arrested while attempting to free two Democracy Now!
producers who were being unlawfuly detained. They are Sharif Abdel
Kouddous and Nicole Salazar. Kouddous and Salazar were arrested while
they carried out their journalistic duties in covering street
demonstrations at the Republican National Convention. Goodman’s crime
appears to have been defending her colleagues and the freedom of the
press.

Ramsey County Sherrif Bob Fletcher told Democracy Now! that Kouddous
and Salazar were being arrested on suspicion of rioting. They are
currently being held at the Ramsey County jail in St. Paul.

Democracy Now! is calling on all journalists and concerned citizens to
call the office of Mayor Chris Coleman and the Ramsey County Jail and
demand the immediate release of Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar. These
calls can be directed to: Chris Rider from Mayor Coleman’s office at
651-266-8535 and the Ramsey County Jail at 651-266-9350 (press
extension 0).

Democracy Now! stands by Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar and condemns
this action by Twin Cities law enforcement as a clear violation of the
freedom of the press and the First Amenmdent rights of these
journalists.

During the demonstration in which they were arrested law enforcement
officers used pepper spray, rubber bullets, concussion grenades and
excessive force. Several dozen others were also arrested during this
action.

Amy Goodman is one of the most well-known and well-respected
journalists in the United States. She has received journalism’s top
honors for her reporting and has a distinguished reputation of bravery
and courage. The arrest of Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar is a
transparent attempt to intimidate journalists from the nation’s
leading independent news outlet.

Democracy Now! is a nationally-syndicated public TV and radio program
that airs on over 700 radio and TV stations across the US and the
globe.

McCain's entry in the race for change: he wants it to Palin comparison!

So, news has just been released that McCain VP choice Sarah Palin has a pregnant 17-year-old daughter. I sure hope she's ready for all of the things that motherhood will bring. I find it hard to believe that some of her hardcore conservative supporters will smile on such things, with her having had sex out of wedlock.

A applaud the Obama campaign's response to this:

"I have said before and I will repeat again: People's families are off limits. And people's children are especially off-limits. This shouldn't be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin's performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president. So I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories. You know my mother had me when she was 18, and how a family deals with issues and teenage children, that shouldn't be a topic of our politics."

I guess I'm brought further into this debate since Gov. Palin and I do at least have one thing in common after all: we are both parents of a child with Down syndrome. More than one person has suggested that I should support Palin for this reason alone, even if I don't plan on voting from her and McCain. I have to cry foul on this.

Great strides have been made in research on Down syndrome, which is a genetic disorder. By giving power to McCain, Palin, and their ilk, stem cell research will continue to be opposed, which will continue to inhibit (dare I use the word "retard" in its proper form - with emphasis on the second syllable?) medical advances in this area. That's a future that I don't care to offer to my son, thankyouverymuch.

Overall, yes, I think McCain's choice of Palin as a running mate is a piss poor one at best. At 44, she just got her passport last year. Plus, to add to the intrigue, I figured I'd post the following about her response to a Q&A forum from when she was running for governor:

11. Are you offended by the phrase “Under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?

SP: "Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I’ll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance."

Founding fathers? The "under God" portion of the pledge was not added until the 1950s. I'm sorry, but someone who is this much of a neophyte to American civics is not just a poor choice to make for vice president; it's downright DANGEROUS!

I'll have more to opine on this later, for sure. Stay tuned...

Not a bad day for democracy

"Democracy is coming...to the USA." - Leonard Cohen

Tuesday night was quite the time. Mike Byerly was re-elected with a convincing 54% of the vote. It seems like the majority of the folks in this town still don't want this town steamrolled over in the name of progress. Hooray for that.

Eileen Roy also triumphed big as expected, getting two-thirds of the vote to be re-elected to the school board. Barbara Sharpe was newly-elected as well, beating a pretty well-established encumbent.

Ed Crapo remains our property appriaser. The judge runoff will be between Denise Ferrero (who nearly won outright) and Sherman, although only about 60 votes separated her from Rob Groeb without the early and absentee votes being counted yet (yes, that includes my own, but I voted to Stroman, so that won't make much difference). I'd be surprised if 10,000 people show up for this runoff election, so it will be all about these candidates getting out the vote.

Sadie Darnell will also remain our sheriff for another term. I feel bad for Lonnie Scott, but I'm sure he knew it would be an uphill battle with little chance of success. At least he will remain with us on the streets on Gainesville, where he will also be doing a WORLD of good.

Next up (besides the runoff, of course), the general election in November!

Aiden goes berzerk over pasta!

My wife took this video on her phone at dinnertime this evening and I just had to share. It's our son showing his adeptness at sign language followed by his true love of pasta. Included is paternal commentary from yours truly. Enjoy!

How I Voted: the Importance of Tuesday's Democratic Primary Election in Alachua County

As an early voter (I vote at the earliest opportunity afforded to me. always. in person.), I'd like to share the logic behind the way I voted a week ago last Friday. This is an ever-important primary, so I encourage everyone who has not voted by mail or voted early to GET OFF YOUR ASS AND MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!

With that out of the way, here's now I voted for each candidate up for election:

COUNTY COMMISSIONER - DISTRICT 1: Although this is not the first thing on the ballot, it is first in my mind. I cannot stress the importance of this vote enough. It will be a close race, and the winner will no doubt put a drumming on the Republican trotted forth in the general election. I urge everyone to strongly support the candidacy of encumbent MIKE BYERLY. Mike has long championed the conservation angle on pushing our county forward. He had fought tooth and nail, often alone, against developers and others who would have our county turned into another South Florida, with strip malls and urban blight. You may have recieved a mailer a couple weeks back from his challenger, Rick Bryant, talking about his "plan" for Alachua County. If you'll notice, there are no concrete solutions offered in this mailing about this "plan." I'll tell you what Rick Bryant's plan is: to put the business-owner first, no matter what the cost or the size and impact of their business. Our way of life is at stake here, folks. Please don't mess this one up!

SHERRIFF: This is a tough one. Although I believe encumbent Sadie Darnell has done a satisfactory job in her debut half-term as sheriff, I voted for LONNIE SCOTT this time. I work at the Alachua County Jail on a daily basis, so I see the systematic actions of the prison-industrial complex firsthand. While Darnell has brought down the jail population a bit, the same attitude there still remains. When Scott first announced his candidacy, he talked about how he wanted to be the Andy Griffith figure of Gainesville: someone the citizenry would have no problem saying hello to -- or even to approach about a problem, rather than someone with a gun and a badge that instills intimidation and ultimate authority. That speech was really moving for me. Without trying to sound like Joe Biden, let me say that Lonnie is a great family man with upstanding kids that deserve the utmost respect. Darnell just seems a bit distant to me for some reason - but like I said, it's a bit of a toss-up here.

PROPERTY APPRAISER: First of all, I can't believe that this office even has a challenger. What would cause someone to think, "gee, I think I'll challenge the longtime encumbent for the job of property appraiser!" Maybe there's some money to be made in this job because it's certainly not the most high-profile public service job in the county. Needless to say, I voted for ED CRAPO here again. Personally, I don't think our house has been unfairly assessed for property tax purposes. Plus, Ed seems to have done a more-than-competent job thus far. If you want to read what challenger Alonzo Victor Perkins has to offer, please be my guest.

COUNTY JUDGE: First of all, this is an office that lies near and dear to my heart. I will likely have to hear this person on an almost weekly basis at some point because of my occupation. This judge will initially be in the civil division, but they're certainly subject to be moved over to criminal court in the coming years. Since I don't work with private attorneys, I know very little about most of these candidates, but I cast my vote for RHONDA STROMAN. As the youngest candidate of the four, I believe she'll put a fresh perspective on an occupation often seen as dusty and archaic. Another completely competent person for the job would also be Lorraine Sherman, who has supported many progressive and fair causes in the past. With four candidates here, this will no doubt result in a runoff (boy, I'd love to see the voter turnout for THAT election!). I just hope that one of these two candidates makes the cut. I honestly don't have any strong opinions against any of these candidates. These are the two that I've heard the most positive things about, though. The other two candidates are Denise Ferrero and Rob Groeb.

SCHOOL BOARD: I'll keep this short but sweet: EILEEN ROY over Jeannine Murphey Cawthon in District 2 and BARBARA SHARPE over Janie S. Williams in District 4. Why? First, Eileen Roy has fought the tough fight on our school board for education to be done the right way as opposed to the by-the-numbers, no-child-left-behind bullshit that many of the other members feel comfortable in pushing. Sharpe would likely be a staunch ally of Roy's in this endeavor. Plus, the teachers I know that teach in the county recommend both of these candidates.

Don't take my word as gospel by any means, though. I'm just an average joe that strives to be well-informed on these candidates. I put the campaign websites (or at least their respective pitches from the Gainesville Sun) of each candidate above if you wish to do further research. Either way, PLEASE GET OFF YOUR ASS AND MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD! Thank you.

Music Reviews for the Satellite in September

You lucky dawg! By reading this blog, you get a sneak peek at my reviews for the next edition of The Satellite, which won't be out until next week.

FUNKATRON
Funkatron
FunkaRecords

Our hometown groove machine has finally released its debut album after thrilling audiences for some time with its bumping live shows. On this eponymous disc, the party is always on while the musicianship remains in fine form. Although this quintet wears its influences on its sleeve, there are times when the borrowed sounds are uncanny.
“Dance Hippies Dance” grabs the guitar punch from 311’s Tim Mahoney. Likewise, singer Cooper Nolan cops Anthony Kiedis on “That Funky Girl.” Hogtown MC Pra-Spect lends his rhymes to a couple of tunes here, kicking up the b-boy boullabaise. Musically, there’s almost everything but the kitchen sink here (including steel drums!) – just supply the drinks and the crowd and you’re on your way.

EYE ÅLASKA
Yellow & Elephant
Fearless Records

The accompanying press release with this disc describes this band’s musical style as “cinematic rock.” From the tempo and vocals of the opening track, “I Knew You’d Never Fly,” I’d be more pressed to call them “extreme emo.” The big synthesizer sound at the song’s introduction may hint at melodrama, but the vocalist sounds like the dude from that Evanescence song. This EP does have its moments, though. “Roll Right Over” recalls some of Was (Not Was)’s more soulful moments – which was a pleasant surprise. That’s not to say that you’d find these guys out of place at the Warped Tour next summer, though.

Obama: Biden his time

So, I woke up this morning to the following text message:

"Barack has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be our VP nominee. Watch the first Obama-Biden rally live at 3pm ET on www.BarackObama.com. Spread the word!"

It was the pick I would have predicted out of the names being bandered about the past few days. I would've liked to have seen Sen. Jim Webb (VA) get the nod, but Joe's right up there. I'm not gonna lie...I haven't agreed with everything Joe Biden has done over the years, but he'll be an invaluable asset to Barack's campaign. As one pundit put it earlier this week, Biden will "chew up and spit out" any VP candidate McCain will put up for debate against him. Joe's a fiery guy -- almost to the point to being too fiery. He's stuck his foot in his mouth plenty of times (wasn't he the one who said he was amazed at Obama's eloquence and literacy or somesuch thing during the primary season?), but overall, I think he'll be a far bigger asset than liability. Time will only tell, of course.

On to Denver! By the way, my friend WMD (woman of mass discussion) will be doing video blogging here from the DNC Convention this week. Stay tuned.

Obama rallies in Gainesville!

Alright, folks, as we sit around awaiting Barack Obama's text message about his VP choice, I figured I'd let everyone know about a couple local rallies for Obama coming up here in town:

1. This one I got today via text message: "Come rally for Obama with actor Kal Penn! (Sorry, never heard of him. --fs) Saturday from 6pm-8pm at Univ of FL in Rm 102 of Pugh Hall. Please fwd this msg"

2. Obama-Rama! It's Saturday, Sept. 9th from 10am-noon at Satchel's Pizza/Lightning Salvage. It's mostly stuff for the kiddies, but we'll go for the adult fun. Aiden should have some fun, too.

I hope to see you perhaps at both of these events. I'm not sure about going to event #1 tomorrow, but we'll certainly be at #2 since Satchel's is, like, a 3-minute drive from our place.

Go, gooooooBama!

Cheers,
Fred