How Is a Man to Sleep?

Fri   29 Aug 2008   14:49 by Kevin McGehee 6 comments [Get Offa My Lawn!] [SARAH!]

All these interruptions! Jeez, what does a man have to do to get Prominent People Who Are Doing Important Things to let him get on with a puny little month-long nap? Okay, so John McCain has picked Sarah Palin for his running mate. I was against it months ago, more for reasons having to do with Palin’s best interest than anything else really. As I replied to reader Bobbert by e-mail: I like what I’d been reading about Palin. She’s popular up there in a way that no other governor I know of has been. I thought she could have had a real future in national politics—but this kind of short-circuits that. Barack Obama has been running for president longer than Palin has been governor. All the enthusiasm for her nationally has to do almost entirely with her second X chromosome and her attractiveness. Since writing that, I’ve actually seen her (on TV) in action on the stump, at the rally in Ohio where her VP candidacy was announced. I’m warming up to the idea now and getting a much better idea of why she’s as popular in Alaska as she is. Hint: it’s not as much because of X chromosomes up there as it is in the Lower 48. Also worth bearing in mind is how she got to be governor. She defeated an incumbent Republican governor in the primary, someone who was already a big fish in Alaska politics even before becoming governor (a little more detail here) You don’t do that, even in Alaska, without some chops. Skeptical or not, there can be no denying McCain is going to reap a bounce from this choice—a bounce Obama didn’t get from his choice of Joe Biden. Furthermore the timing will undoubtedly squelch whatever bounce the Democrats might have hoped for from their convention. I can begin to imagine that McCain could actually win this more because of votes for the GOP ticket than against Obama. That would be a heck of an accomplishment for Palin. I just wish it weren’t going to be “asterisked” by the identity-politics angle that has overshadowed this election from the very beginning. Me? In November, I’m voting for Palin. Update: Lest anyone think I’ve always been impressed with Palin, or that my turnaround on having her on the ticket is something new, a bit of history: Sarah Palin? Hickel might as well endorse Michael Palin for all the good it would do in November. » Alaska Republicans: Democrats’ Best Friend—7/1/06 When Sarah Palin was nominated to run against former Gov. Tony Knowles (D) in Alaska, I was pretty sure Knowles would walk right over her. I was wrong, and I won’t complain about it. » I Need to Move Around More—11/8/06

Rewriting History in Denver

Wed   27 Aug 2008   5:08 by Kevin McGehee 0 comments [From the Pub] [Get Offa My Lawn!]

Jeffrey Lord writes of his experience on a cable TV show talking to the author of a House resolution apologizing for slavery. With the Congressman in his Memphis district and myself in a Philadelphia studio, the Congressman broke into the discussion the moment we returned from a commercial break to challenge me indignantly. The very idea of asking Democrats to apologize for their support for slavery and segregation and, well, all the rest he had personally cited in his House Resolution, was now a “red herring.” Worse, he said when the point was picked up by another guest, Horace Cooper of the conservative American Civil Rights Union, to demand any sort of apology from the people who did these things was a “rabbit trail.” In other words, a request for Democrats to apologize for their considerably racist history would go nowhere. Would the Democrats be considering an apology at their Denver Convention, I asked sweetly? I brought up the fact that the Democratic National Committee had eliminated from the “Party History” section of their website 52 years worth of history from 1848 until the beginning of the 20th century. Obviously the Democrats won’t be playing the race card this fall. And I’ve got a bridge to sell you. » Read more "Rewriting History in Denver"

This Blogging Hiatus Is Working Out Pretty Well
Mon   25 Aug 2008   11:18 by Kevin McGehee 2 comments [Asides]	I started writing “Play Rough, Fight Dirty“ months ago, and it just sat there for most of the intervening time with Chapter 1 still unfinished. In the last two weeks (or so) I’ve finished that and another chapter. There’s even a plot developing! So, it’s a good thing I suspended blogging activities here until ... oh, crap.

It’s Dukakis-Bentsen!

Sat   23 Aug 2008   8:10 by Kevin McGehee 5 comments [Get Offa My Lawn!] [Here's Your Sign]

We interrupt this blogging hiatus to bring you my reaction to breaking news: Michael Dukakis named Sen. Lloyd Bentsen of Texas as his vice presidential running mate early Saturday, balancing his ticket with a seasoned congressional veteran well-versed in foreign policy and defense issues. Dukakis announced the pick on his Web site with a photo of the two men and an appeal for donations. A text message went out shortly afterward that said, “Mike has chosen Senator Lloyd Bentsen to be our VP nominee.“ » Dukakis selects Bentsen as running mate This suggests that John McCain will have to pick Spongebob Squarepants to be his running mate. Biden: “I knew Dan Quayle. I worked with Dan Quayle. Dan Quayle was a friend of mine. And Spongebob, you are no Dan Quayle.“

His Coming Was Foretold
Thu   21 Aug 2008   17:56 by Kevin McGehee 0 comments [From the Pub] [Get Offa My Lawn!]	See the second question on this trivia quiz posted three and a half years ago. » Read more "His Coming Was Foretold"

A brief conversation with my neighbor’s trampoline

Thu   14 Aug 2008   15:31 by Kevin McGehee 0 comments [Humor?] [From the Pub]

Me: “Uh, hi. I couldn’t help but notice you were looking my way just now.” My neighbor’s trampoline: Me: My neighbor’s trampoline: Me: My neighbor’s trampoline: Me: My neighbor’s trampoline: Me: My neighbor’s trampoline: Me: My neighbor’s trampoline: Me: My neighbor’s trampoline: Me: My neighbor’s trampoline: Me: “STOP LOOKING AT ME!” » Read more "A brief conversation with my neighbor’s trampoline"

I Liked It Better the Old Way

Sun   10 Aug 2008   5:39 by Kevin McGehee 0 comments [Asides] [From the Pub]

I got curious tonight about an event I remembered from my childhood in Sacramento, the “Pig Bowl,” an annual benefit event in which sheriff’s deputies, playing as the Razorbacks, squared off against Sacramento police officers (Bacon Bombers) at Hughes Stadium at Sacramento City College. As a kid I always lived in city limits, so I always rooted for the Bombers. By the time I moved out of city limits I was 20 years old and following a slightly different football interest. I’ve discovered that the game is still played, but it’s no longer police vs. sheriff, it’s no longer played at Hughes Stadium, and it’s no longer called the Pig Bowl. Now it’s “Guns and Hoses,” pitting an interagency team from law enforcement (Hogs) against an interagency team of firefighters (Dogs) and it’s played at Hornet Stadium on the CSU Sacramento campus. It’s just not the same. » Read more "I Liked It Better the Old Way"

I Think That’s Enough for Now

Thu   31 Jul 2008   22:44 by Kevin McGehee 8 comments [Asides]

I’ve got such a huge case of blog fatigue, I think I’m going to challenge myself to not blog at all during the month of August. See you in September. (Or will I?) Update: some of the best of boreblogger nirvana. ‘Nother update: I think I’m going to extend my hiatus until after the GOP convention. Partly because it makes sense to not blog both conventions, and partly as a penalty for the two times I did flout my own moratorium, however justified.

Who Will Even Notice?
Tue   29 Jul 2008   14:59 by Kevin McGehee 5 comments [Alaska] [Get Offa My Lawn!]	I’ve said numerous times that Ted Stevens would be re-elected to three or four additional terms even after he kicks the bucket. This will barely even make a blip on his chances in November. When it comes to electing members of Congress, Alaskans are really kind of pathetic. Update: Like I said…

Well, Isn’t That Special?
Mon   28 Jul 2008   15:06 by Kevin McGehee 0 comments [Asides]	All that‘s been fixed now, and the lost version of the comment template improved upon rather than merely reconstructed. To those who noticed, I apologize for the inconvenience. » Read more "Well, Isn’t That Special?"

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