Tomorrow is World AIDS Day

Much work has been done; many miles more still need to be traveled.

[Edited to add a link to Slate's Pictures of the Day: AIDS Around the World.]

You say it, but do you really mean it?

I had Krystal for lunch. As a non-native southerner, Krystal does not rank on my Top 5 fast-food dining experiences list, but I wanted something with chili, and the nearest Hardee's to me is staffed by incompetents and all-around rude people (like the manager who yelled at me for trying to use an internet coupon). So I don't go there anymore.

Anyway.

So, I went to the drive-thru at Krystal (MetroCenter, should anybody be curious), and as I approached the window, my bag of food was hanging out the window, while being hung on to by a seemingly disembodied arm. I carefully drove up, having to swerve out of the way a bit to not hit the hand holding onto my food with my rear-view mirror, and accepted my food and a "have a nice day" from the owner of the arm that was previously suspected as being disembodied.

I appreciated the sentiment, because I do wish to have a nice day, and it makes me feel aas if I am somehow connected to my fellow humans when we wish for the same things. And then I was struck by a thought: he didn't give me my drink.

So I said to him, "I didn't get my drink." While he didn't take this news badly, necessarily, he certainly didn't take any responsibility for his oversight. "Medium diet Coke, right?" he offered. "Yup, that's it," I responded.

And he got me my drink and handed it to me, without saying another word. No "sorry about that," no repeat of the "have a nice day" wish, no "thank you." His handing over my beverage to me signaled the end of our relationship.

I wonder now if he really wanted me to have a nice day, or if he just said that to me because he had to. And where is it that our all-to-brief relationship became so dysfunctional? Were my expectations too high? Did he harbor secret resentments toward me? Was I too needy? Was he too distant? Was there just a lack of communication on both of our parts?

Heaven knows, but, Guy at the MetroCenter Krystal Drive-Thru: I truly wish for you a nice day.

The Crazies Love Him!

According to a study published in the New Haven (Conn.) Advocate,

The more psychotic the voter, the more likely they were to vote for Bush.

Again, every once in awhile it seems to me that the establishment comes to the party a little late on these things.



Of course, I kid. The one psychotic person I am familiar with did not vote for Bush.



I am sick today. I hate being sick. I went to bed last night feeling perfectly fine and woke up this morning unable to stay vertical for more than a few minutes at a time.

powered by performancing firefox

Is there such a thing as "Too much" stupid?

From a mother microwaving her 3-week old baby, to a dad trying to sell his 5-year old on Craigslist, to Michael Richards' meltdown and subsequent attempt at image rehabilitation, to Kid and Pam and Borat, to Brittney and K-Fed, to Putin reliving his KGB days, to Britney's strict adherence to Paris' no-panty rule, to the media finally acknowledging what many of us have known for a couple of years already, Stupid is bustin' out all over!

To be honest, I could've used this Cornucopia of Stupid in the run up to Thanksgiving, but a Stupid Girl takes her gifts where she gets them.

This, though, I think must take today's Stupid of the Day:

Tony, how do you sleep at night? How do you look at yourself in the mirror? How do you face your children? And what about your guinea pigs, Mr. Snow? Do you think they don't know about your...profession?

I have been asked to leave a place or two in my day, but...

I have yet to be asked to leave a country.

I know the Embassy officially says that they didn't do any such thing, but we'll just pretend that they did, because it's funnier that way.

Uhm, where are the Jesuses?

So, in doing my part to buoy the sluggish American economy this weekend by purchasing gifts to exchange at our early-winter festival, I noticed that while there are blow-up snowmen and blow-up Santas and blow-up Ruldoph the Red-Nosed-Reindeer (not to mention the blow-up snow globe with the snowmen and Santas and Ruldoph the Red-Nosed-Reindeer all on a carousel in some sort of mixed-metaphor nirvana), there are no blow-up Jesuses (Jesi?). Not a one.

There is no blow-up manger, and no blow-up Mary or Joseph, or blow-up Wise Men, or blow-up North Star, or blow-up lowing cattle or blow-up little drummer boy. Oh no. Because that would be unholy or something.

This is so much more befitting the season, dontcha think?

P.S. Get yourselves to see Happy Feet. Though I don't recommend it for younger children (probably good for ages 8-ish and up).

P.P.S. We wound up just going out to CompUSA's Thanksgiving-night sale. Got a computer for $199 after rebates, and then found out there was some programming error on the receipts, so it looks as if there is a $150 rebate the purchaser isn't eligible for. Apparently, CompUSA is aware of the problem and will be issuing a work-around for it in the next couple of days.

But we avoided any early Black Friday sales, instead, only cruised to Best Buy later Friday evening. There was hardly anybody there; in fact, it looked like there were more employees that customers.

Oh, and we went to Cool Springs Galleria this afternoon. I have been there on Tuesday mornings when there have been more people.

I am a little concerned that the holiday sales numbers are going to catch up with real wage growth. By that I mean that holiday sales numbers might fall.

Black Friday previews

I have jumped on the Black Friday bandwagon. I am very ashamed of myself.

So, enough of that.

Anybody got any good links to previews? I'll share mine: http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/

Dear readers, I wish you all plenty to be thankful for this and every Thanksgiving holiday.

See ya after the retail carnage.

Stupidest Op-Ed Piece of the Week and What is Up with the Women of the Right?

And it didn't come either from The Scene or the Tennessean. Go figure.

No, for this week's stupidest op-ed, we have to travel all the way to Lexington, KY, to the Herald-Leader, where "contributing" columnist Jenean Mcbrearty (anybody else think that's a made-up name?) offers us this steaming pile:

Hippies still trying to ruin the country

(no, really, that is the title of the column. Honest. Click through if you don't believe me.)

But wait, I think she really believes it, too. Check this out:

America won't win another war until the 1960s flower children are pushing up petunias.

Fortunately for "Jenean," some of them already are.

Radicalized, the flower children morphed into lefty loonies who now masquerade as social progressives.

You mean all that talk about "freedom" and "equality" was just a disguise? Or that the freedom and equality talk isn't social progressivism? My wingnut-to-English dictionary has gone missing, so if anybody has theirs handy and cares to translate, please comment away.

Such nonsense, now treated as legitimate by the left-leaning media, denigrates the patriotic values and sincerity of half the nation. It undermines the war effort, insults the dead and the survivors of battle and their families, and supports the aims of the enemy. Translated into immigration or national defense policy, it is an invitation to the world to destroy our country.

Alright, now we're getting to the heart of what pisses me off, and why I think that, perhaps, we should rethink this whole "free speech" thing (not really, but boy, does this argument irritate the snot out of me).

Many of those "flower children" are veterans. Many of them fought in a war that we had as little business fighting as the one we are now fighting in Iraq.

Nothing denigrates patriotism more than a fool who believes that questioning a democratic government's policies is akin to being a traitor. Patriotism is not, nor has it ever been, blind allegiance to the people leading us. That's foolishness. That is dangerous. That, Ms Mcbrearty, is what is destroying this nation.

Which leads me to this...

I wonder, though, why is it that so many of the women on the right are such vile, hateful individuals. Ms Mcbrearty spewed forth a Rovian editorial, blaming the left for everything short of the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby. Ms Coulter wrote an entire book on the "treason" of liberals. Ms Malkin is the only American left who thinks it was okay to imprison lawful US residents and citizens of Japanese descent during World War II (well, the only one who doesn't own one of those fancy pointy hats made out of white sheets, anyway). There is a Tennessee blogger by the name of Terry Franks who is as embittered and as genuinely hateful as these other women.

Is it because their men would rather find succor in the arms of crystal methamphetamine and another man than in the arms of them that they have turned into such crones (oh, Lord, do I hate that word; it has the most sexist implications, and I think that women are already women's worst enemies)?

Why are these women, who possess such potential to be forces for good and right and light in the world, so bitter and angry and resentful? Why are these women making entire careers focused on the negative in others, rather than taking the opportunity to nurture the positive in themselves? These women are catty, bitchy, and just plain mean human beings. They demonstrate everything that is bad about womanhood, and none of the good.

I am so proud to be a woman. I am proud I have the opportunity to be a mother and step-mother to young women and women-to-be. I would no more want my daughter and step-daughters to be the kinds of women Mcbrearty, Malkin, Coulter, and Franks represent as I would want them to be like the women on Flava of Love. I want these women in my life to become the absolute best they can be. I want them to be forces for good in the world.

I wonder if anybody wanted those things for Jenean or Michelle or Ann or Terry. I wonder if anybody told them such a thing was possible.

Stupid New Parking Lot Trend

Backing in to parking spaces.

WTF is up with that? Seriously? Are there really that many members of volunteer fire/rescue teams who simply cannot spare the 0.47 seconds extra it takes to back out of a parking space that nearly half of my office building-mates feel the need to back into their spaces?

"Well," says Dear Reader, "what's the big deal?" An excellent question. There are a couple of big deals with this, which I will ennumerate below.

1. People, by and large, have excruciatingly poor spatial sense. They have no idea how to turn the wheel in the proper manner to ensure their vehicle is placed roughly equidistant between the two lines differentiating that parking space from those on the other side (and/or in front) of it. This problem is magnified exponentially when one is trying to drive in reverse. It is raised by factors of 10 when one is backing into a space that is between two previously-parked cars.
2. People, by and large, do not know how to drive in parking lots. You've seen it: two people are travelling at intersecting routes through a parking lot where they will, eventually, intersect. Who has the right of way? Hell's bells, the people I commute near can't figure this out at a traffic signal.
3. People, by and large, do not know how long their vehicle is from their rear tires to the end of their car. As a result, long trunks often impede the sidewalk that runs in front of many of the parking spaces in my office building's lot, thereby, rendering it unusable for the pedestrians for whom it was placed.
4. People, by and large, impede other traffic when they back into parking spaces. This is particularly true for those lots that have one-way traffic and diagonal parking spaces. Those (and all other parking spaces) were designed to be pulled into head on. It's really amazingly simple genius: you pull straight in, and then you can (usually) back straight out. You hardly even have to touch your steering wheel. It is truly incredible when appreciated for its simplicity. But no. Some of you out there think nothing about holding up traffic in parking lots. Imagine this: you are on a two-lane street downtown, that has parallel parking on both sides of the street. Traffic is flowing in both directions. Suddenly, the car in front of you signals right, comes to a stop, and then puts his/her transmission in reverse. 9 times of out 10, your first thought is not a particularly charitable one, is it? But, that is how parallel parking is done. You really do have to impede traffic, if there is traffic to impede. Not so parking lots. Pull head in. That is how they were made.
5. People, by and large, look like self-important twits when they back into parking spaces. Even you. So stop, really. Just pull head in. It's easier on you; it's easier on those around you. Parking lot real estate is going to become exceedingly rare very soon. We all need to do our best to reduce the inconvenience we place on everybody else during the upcoming holiday season. Cutting out unneeded parking lot moves is, IMO, an excellent way to start.

(Now, of course, because Karma has an awesome sense of humor, someone will post a brilliant, unarguable reason why backing into parking spaces should not only be allowed, but required. I, quite frankly, am a little hungry for some pie right now, so if it must be humble, so be it.)

In Which I Have the Best Family Ever

I was sick this weekend. By "sick" I mean I got home from work Friday at about 5pm, crawled into bed, and stayed there until about 6 this [Monday] morning. That kind of sick.

Anyway, Mr. Stupid Girl and I do our grocery shopping on Saturday, and since Thanksgiving is Thursday, this was bound to be a big trip. Only I could not go. I really wanted to, because I am, shall we say, exacting, about what ingredients I need/want for my favorite holiday's meal. There really was no way I could go, though, so Mr. Stupid Girl and I wrote up the list, then we went through it to answer any questions he might have about the particular brand of vanilla I must have in order to maintain stasis in the household.

Sunday afternoon, he took the children off to our local Publix, and, 2 hours, 5 phone calls, and a teeny-tiny bit of money later (seriously, he hardly spend any money; I have no idea how he did that), they came home with exactly what we needed in order to make a glorious T-giving Day feast.

I love my husband, I love our children. And I so totally love Thanksgiving. It is the best holiday ever!

I hope you all have a merry one! (get that? see, I had to inject a little smart-assedness there, otherwise you'd think your Stupid Girl had gone all soft on ya.)

Freakin' awesome awesome-ness

Those of you who only know me by my blog posts probably get the impression that all I do is complain about stuff.

You would be, according to those who know me in the 3-dimensional world, pretty much right on.

Be that as it may, I made the plunge to an mp3 player a few weeks ago, and, while I haven't had time to sit down and really get to know all its features, I have made some discoveries here and there about it, which makes me regret not taking the leap long before.

Today's discovery is the mini speaker, which I noticed when I turned it on and hadn't plugged my headphones all the way in. My cube neighbors noticed it, too. Oops.

So now I am listing to "Solsbury Hill," one of my personal "Life is Good" anthems, trying very hard to resist the urge to yank the headphones out of the jack, so that the entire floor could hear the happy, happy music and dance around with me.

As annoyed as I get about The Stupids, I am still greatful for the ability to find pure joy in a good song. I wish for you all some pure, simple joy in your life.

Stupid Equivocating

The headline reads "Some Americans Lack Food, but USDA Won't Call Them Hungry"

Calling them something other than "hungry" is pretty messed up.

That there are 39 million people in the United States (about as many people who live in California, as a quick reference) who aren't entirely sure where their next meal is coming from is something seriously stupid.

Must everything be political?

Stupid Pundit of the Day

Glenn Beck, not only are you a bigot, you are an asshole, too.

Read some of his comments to the first Muslim elected to the US House of Representatives:

No offense, and I know Muslims. I like Muslims. I've been to mosques. I really don't believe that Islam is a religion of evil. I -- you know, I think it's being hijacked, quite frankly.

With that being said, you are a Democrat. You are saying, "Let's cut and run." And I have to tell you, I have been nervous about this interview with you, because what I feel like saying is, "Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies."

And I know you're not. I'm not accusing you of being an enemy, but that's the way I feel, and I think a lot of Americans will feel that way.

Couple things for you bigots out there who prefer to remain in the closet: don't say bigotted things like this, and you may remain safely ensconsed in your closet of hate. And when you say something to the effect of "I have friends of [insert whatever race/religion/ethnicity/nationality/sexuality/other identifying characteristic you're about to insult here]," that does not mean you aren't still a bigot.

Furthermore, anybody who says "No offense" is about to let something incredibly offensive come pouring out of their piehole; stand back and don't let it splash on your shoes.

And for you Fox-esque pundits*, when you say something bigotted and then try to couch it in terms of your feelings, and then try to further deflect behind the skirts of "America's" feelings, don't be surprised when people shake their heads in awe and wonder, while muttering, "What a flaming asshole." Be comforted in the knowledge that they are, in fact, muttering about you.

You, Glenn Beck, are a flaming asshole, and you owe Congressman Ellison an on-air, very public, very contrite apology.

__________
*Glenn Beck is on-air "talent" at CNN's Headline News, which, many of us are coming to realize, is Fox's CNN affiliate.

The Stupidest Place to Proselytize

No, not New Jersey itself, but a classroom in New Jersey.

It seems as if a certain Mr. "P," a full-time teacher, and a part-time preacher, decided that, in direct contravention of Supreme Court rulings, he should be able, on government time, at government expense, in a government facility, in front of students compelled to be in attendance, it he could preach that:

"He (God) did everything in his power to make sure that you could go to heaven, so much so that he took your sin on his own body, suffered your pains for you and he's saying, 'Please accept me, believe me.'"

He adds, according to the tapes: "If you reject that, you belong in hell. The outcome is your prerogative. But the way I see it, God himself sent his only son to die for David Paszkiewicz on that cross ... And if you reject that, then it really is to hell with you."

I am a Christian. We are raising our children as Christians. We have neighbors, however, who are not Christian. We have neighbors who are Christian who attend a different church than my family and I do on Sunday morning. The public school is meant to accommodate all of my neighbors, not just the ones who go to the same church I do.

Enough, already. For the love of all that is holy, fellow Christians, ease up already! I do not care what you have been preached to; the US is not a Christian country. It is a secular one. We Christians should rejoice in that, because it means that, as long as it is secular, our right to worship as we choose is not in danger.

However, as soon as others try to make the nation into a religious one, those of other faiths will be discriminated against. Sure, it's probably just going to be the Muslims now (and since they're all nascent terrorists anyway, who really cares, right? nudge nudge wink wink), but, balances of power shift, and, while it may be the Christians oppressing the Muslims, that could reverse itself pretty quickly.

So please be careful what you pray for. And stop preaching in school.

Stupid Metro Stormwater Management

Storm drains: when they are blocked with leaves, they are not able to effectively do their raison d'etre. In autumn, deciduous trees, of which there are a few in Nashville, shed their leaves. Said leaves usually are not resistant to gravity, so they land on the ground. Many of those leaves are carried by rain runoff to storm drains. But, leaves tend to not actually go down the drain, so they stay in small piles around the drains, preventing the runoff from actually entering the drain.

Since water, too, is not usually resistant to gravity, it will then flow down hill. Often times, that is into the streets. Then we get what is known as "urban flooding," which, in many cases, is completely preventable.

Hey, Public Works: would you mind greatly ensuring storm drains are kept free of obstructions so that the streets don't flood? That'd be great, thanks.

A Stupid Selfish Wish

Run, Rudy, run!

Please, Mayor Giuliani, run for president. Please show those people who didn't know how to pronounce your name until 9/11/01 the sort of man you really are.

Please allow me the pleasure of watching the gladiator bout between the paleoconservatives and the neoconservatives.

Please allow me to watch my dreams come true.

Stupid Craigslist resumes

It's been a long time since I've taken a swipe at the job-seekers over at Craigslist, so, since the election season is over (and the Titans' season, as well, at least figuratively), I thought I'd resurrect one of my favorite Stupid segments.

Ready for some fun? Me, too!

First, in the category of "where the hell did you learn grammar,"

Ex-FBI computer "security" expert seeking employement

I am not sure why "security" would be in quotation marks, but if he/she means "security" the way the Bush administration has been providing it, then that makes some sense.
****

(by the way, these are all straight copy and pastes. I do no much-needed editing of the craigslist posts.)
****
Ad #2:

Nanny for Professionals

I think this should probably be posted in the "Casual encounters" section, if ya know what I mean.
****

Ad #3

(Please note that this is probably not fair of me, but the irony was just too delicious for me to pass up)

University English Teacher Seeks Work Editing, Writing or Tutoring

This one you'll have to click through to read. Go all the way down to her resume. Note the formatting. Ensuring formatting is correct is a part of proofreading, as I recall. Whoops.
****

In the "Things are tough all over" category:

Guitarist Seeking Work

Gosh, there are out-of-work guitarists in Nashville? Will wonders never cease?
****

In the "Someone who really knows what he wants" category:

Sales guy in Atlanta seeks company to work for in Atlanta Ga

Also, keep in mind that this was posted in the Nashville Craigslist. Atlanta has its own.
****

Last but not least, in the "What, you don't know who I am?" category:

Adraine Knight

Why do people work so hard on platitude-laden objective statements? No shit, you want to help the company and improve your skills. Isn't that the point of a job, after all?

I may have to rethink my earlier post

When I am wrong, I am wrong, and, usually, I admit it.

So, this afternoon, Mr. Stupid Girl suggests that the answer to my dilemma below is that we simply impeach both Bush and Cheney at the same time. Of course, given the Constitutional Line of Succession, that will mean that Nancy Pelosi, presumptive Speaker of the House, will ascend to the presidency.

Wanna see a bunch of neocons burst a jugular vein? Tell 'em President Pelosi has just been sworn in.

*giggle*

P.S. Thanks to my fellow vets and shipmates, former and future.

Stupid Idea of the Day

Don't do it, McCain. You distinguished yourself as a man who is willing to violate his personal moral code in order to advance a party agenda.

My Aunt Kim warned me about you, and it turns out she was right.

Stupid Paybacks

Do you believe President Bush's actions justify impeachment? * 357919 responses
87%--Yes, between the secret spying, the deceptions leading to war and more, there is plenty to justify putting him on trial.

4.4%--No, like any president, he has made a few missteps, but nothing approaching "high crimes and misdemeanors."

6.6%--No, the man has done absolutely nothing wrong. Impeachment would just be a political lynching.

1.9%--I don't know.

I really don't like the guy, but impeachment? Really? Don't you think we should wait until he's out of office and then have the International Criminal Court try him for war crimes? I mean, at least that way he may actually go to jail. The worst possible outcome from impeachment is he gets kicked out of office, and then we have two years of Satan: Do you really want to be responsible for that? Me, neither. So let's just cool it with the impeachment talk, mmm-kay?

Not at all stupid!

AP has called Virginia for Webb, and, with that, Democrats have taken control of both houses of Congress.

A collective sigh was taken across the land. Seriously; did you feel even Republicans taking solace in the results, realizing that the grownups have come back and will be handling things from now on.

Okay, so that's a little over the top, but...

I am not a believer in efficiency in government, particularly not in a representative republican democracy like ours. Gridlock is good, to paraphrase Mr. Gecko. At its best, gridlock allows for reasonable debate and compromise among those people of good will who are trying to represent their constituencies to the best of their ability.

Now, as for Speaker Pelosi and whomever will be Senate Majority Leader (Senator Murtha, anybody?): please do not squander this. As of today, the party is campaigning for '08. Please let's act like it; be examples of civility and decency.

The party is full of good people; please make it clear you are doing their work.

[8:36pm update: Well, it would seem I did not imagine that sigh of relief. Check out this nugget from Rush Limbaugh himself:

The way I feel is this: I feel liberated, and I'm going to tell you as plainly as I can why. I no longer am going to have to carry the water for people who I don't think deserve having their water carried.

And then he gets back to his typical douchebaggery, but, still. It was nice that for two sentences, Rush admitted he was a bullshitter. Admitting it is the first step, Rush, as I am sure you know.]

Mixed Feelings

While I once again voted nearly a straight slate of losers, I am pleased that my district and state are out of sync with the rest of the nation. I am glad that Democrats have taken back majority of the House and (fingers crossed) the Senate. Democratic oversight (if it is properly executed, i.e. not like the Republican Revolution of '94) is crucial to stemming the tide of the ruinous policies of the Bush administration.

Voting for Harold Ford was very difficult for me to do, as I wrote in an earlier post. The reasons I wound up voting for him rather than abstaining are multiple, but all can really be reduced to the Democratic party regaining control over Congress. To those of you saying quizically, "But, Stupid Girl, Ford lost, so your brilliant plan didn't work," you have a great point. When I early voted, the race was still very much a tossup, though I don't think anybody realized how close it would end up, so I had to do what I had to do with the information I had at the time. I think I did the right thing. I don't think Ford and I have much in common besides the superficial (age, skin tone, and party affiliation), but I know that Bob Corker and I only possess membership in the same species in common. There was just no way I could have voted for Corker and not hated myself. I find him to be a vile man, and I hope that Montana and Virginia go the D's way, so that Corker's impact will be minimal over the next six years.

(A parenthetical about "Third Party" candidates: in theory, I love the idea of a multiple-party system. However, our braand of representation really makes third parties unviable. Couple that with the two parties in power doing whatever it takes to remain in powoer, and I think that nothing short of amred revolution will bring actual substantive changes to the elections process.)

I am very discouraged that so many voters have no problem whatsoever with adding discrimination into the state constitution. I have truly tried to understand why people are so afraid of homosexuality. It is something I am resigned to never understanding. To me, the fear seems to be more akin to a phobia, in that it is bereft of logic. If there is anybody reading this blog who voted in favor of Amendment 1 (or whatever similar legislation banning gay marriage in your state) who would like to explain to me why homosexual marriage is so dangerous that its prohibition must be a constitutional issue, please, please, please drop a line. I am interested in understanding your side, but, thus far, there has been no argument presented from the anti-homo side that isn't easily beaten down with cold logic.

A little note about a non-Tennessee race: I was truly surprised that Lincoln Chaffee of Rhode Island was defeated. As the only Republican Senator to vote against authorizing war in Iraq, I felt he was truly a moderate Republican, who out-McCained John McCain on issues regarding this Stupid War. I think he was a moderating voice the Republican party so desperately needs right now. I will be sorry to see him go.

In a post planned for later today, I plan to excoriate the media's coverage of the election. Stupidity abounded, particularly from those at MSNBC. Holy crap, did they suck.

I know I said I was going to bed, but...

I just couldn't resist this little gem:

Former House member charged with assaulting man who defeated him

"Patrick Rose looked like he was trying to get away and then a bunch of men came over and pulled Rick Green off," Whalen said. "He continued trying to go after him and kept shouting 'You need to stop lying' and 'Let him defend himself, the big baby.' "

Rose said he was not hurt.

"Next time I see Rick, I'll remember to keep my left up," he said.

Good advice for us all: keep your left up, dear readers.

Stupid Election Results

(Or lack thereof, as the case is)

This is the third election cycle in which local elections are not called before my bedtime. This time, there are people who are still waiting to vote.

That there were 2 machines at Cora Howe Elementary. There were 20% more voters than in the last election. So this particular polling place has been under-machined for 2 election cycles.

Perhaps it is time for the Davidson County Elections Commission to explain themselves.

But now it's time for the Midterm Midtacular Joint Stewart/Colbert special.

Stop the world, I wanna get off!

Brittany files for divorce from K-Fed.

What is wrong with people?!

*sob*

Stupid Irony

Courtesy Wonkette

That's comedy right there!

A Stupid First, and Probably Only

[Ed. note: when I attempted to post this originally, as far as I know, The Stupid was the penultimate in presenting this irony to the people of America. But, due to some vast Right Wing plot, no doubt orchestrated by Donald Rumsfeld and Ted "Tubes" Stevens, I have been unable to post this until now. Read and enjoy, and know that I said it first!]

Breaking the Silence:

Next week Americans will vote for candidates who have spent much of their campaigns addressing state and local issues. But no future historian will linger over the ideas put forth for improving schools or directing funds to highway projects.
[snip]
It should surprise few readers that we think a vote that is seen—in America and the world at large—as a decisive “No” vote on the Bush presidency is the best outcome.

It should surprise a few of my readers (as if there are more than two, counting me) that the American Spectator has reached the same conclusion I have. Granted, it took them 6 years longer to reach that conclusion, but better late than never, huh?

[P.S. Vote, dammit. Especially if you are a woman in your 20s. I care who you vote for, but, more important to me is that you vote at all. If you don't let your voice be heard, well, then, nobody will listen to you. Or something. Point is: vote.]

More stupid software problems

I am still having problems posting consistently, and I've not been able to publish comments since at least Friday.

If you've posted a comment, please don't think I am trying to censor you; believe me, I am a bit of a comment whore, so I would never do that.

Plus, I've got a wicked entry I wanted to post last night (it's on my laptop at home and I am blogging from work).

So, don't you dare vote tomorrow before reading my "A Stupid First and Probably Only" post, which will hopefully be up tonight.

Stupid Being Childish

Look, I know the bird (or "the road rage finger," as Stupid Girl, Jr. refers to it) is childish. Sue me.

Stupid Confessions, An Unsurprising Update

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - The Rev. Ted Haggard agreed to resign Saturday from his New Life Church after its independent investigative board recommended removal, saying he was guilty ``of sexually immoral conduct.''

``We, the Overseer Board of New Life Church, have concluded our deliberations concerning the moral failings of Pastor Ted Haggard,'' a statement from the church said. ``Our investigation and Pastor Haggard's public statements have proven without a doubt that he has committed sexually immoral conduct.''

Okay, boys and girls. Who here is shocked?

I do hope his family heals soon.

Betty Bowers' take on it (WARNING: NSFW or for small children's eyes)

Stupid Software Problems

There appears to be some issue with my "moderate comments" thing, so for those of you who commented on my posts last night/this morning, thanks for the comments, and hopefully, they'll be up for the world to see soon.

And if you're inside reading this, shut off your computer and get your tushy outside and play. It's gorgeous out.

Really?

Racial slur hurled at crowd gathered to support Ford

Supporters gathered to welcome U.S. Senate candidate Harold Ford to
Franklin were shocked at the outburst of an unidentified passerby who shouted
racial slurs and sexual innuendos at the crowd.

I don't have anything I could possibly say in response to this. The world is populated by idiots

Stupid Confessions

It was 14 years and a dozen lifetimes ago, but I did not believe Bill Clinton when he said he had never inhaled.

Now, I am older, hopefully wiser, and definitely more sensitive to the odor of pure BS.

I don't believe Ted Haggard bought the crank and then didn't use it. I mean, maybe he did. And maybe flaming balls of purple fire are going to fall out of the sky precisely at 1500 hours Central Time today.

I'm just not buying it.

With that said, everybody should read Kat Cobel's take on it.

[5:07pm Update: Haggard Admits Buying Drugs, Getting Massage. I suspect the confession is not quite in toto. And 1500 passed with nary a ball of fire of any color dropping from the sky.]

Stupid War, Stupid Lies; Stupid Lies about a Stupid War

From Editor and Publisher:

Now we learn that one of the first female soldiers killed in Iraq died by her own hand after objecting to interrogation techniques used on prisoners.

She was Army specialist Alyssa Peterson, 27, a Flagstaff, Az., native serving with C Company, 311th Military Intelligence BN, 101st Airborne. Peterson was an Arabic-speaking interrogator assigned to the prison at our air base in troubled Tal-Afar in northwestern Iraq. According to official records, she died on Sept. 15, 2003, from a “non-hostile weapons discharge.”

[...]

“Peterson objected to the interrogation techniques used on prisoners. She refused to participate after only two nights working in the unit known as the cage. Army spokespersons for her unit have refused to describe the interrogation techniques Alyssa objected to. They say all records of those techniques have now been destroyed….”

She was was then assigned to the base gate, where she monitored Iraqi guards, and sent to suicide prevention training. “But on the night of September 15th, 2003, Army investigators concluded she shot and killed herself with her service rifle,” the documents disclose.

A couple things here: for some reason I have been unable to ascertain, this war, or at least how it has been portrayed on television, has been essentially bloodless. In fact, until recently, the media hasn't been able to show pictures of caskets containing the remains of our dead coming home.

I have a problem with that.

Wars kill people.

Let me say that again in a different way: when nations go to war, people die.

Got it?

So, when a government hides the manner in which their servicemen and women die, it should make people wonder why they are withholding that information. What does the administration have to gain by keeping the cause of this woman's death secret? What about Pat Tillman's?

While I write a blog about Stupidity, I am not a stupid person. I know that there will be few people who will demand their government be honest with them. I mean, we haven't for the past six years, have we? Those who have demanded such a thing have been called "traitors" and "America haters" by those sheeple who prefer to remain ignorant (and who, in an odd twist of fate, also have the biggest mouths by far).

If the administration would lie about these relatively insignificant things*, what wouldn't they lie about?

Oh...wait....I think we haven't reached the bottom of the barrel of what they'll lie about.

_______
*For the record (and I include this because somebody's going to pooh their pants saying The Stupid Girl said the death of our servicemembers is insignificant), the death of any human being is not insignificant. The death of any of my brothers and sisters affects me and the family of humans. However, while their deaths are significant, the manner of their death is merely a small detail relative to the fact that they died in a war.