Fashionably Detached

cindymccain.jpgIs it me, or are there increasing numbers of people who claim to “not care” about politics or current events? I do understand that following politics takes a huge amount of tolerance (for lying, distortion of facts, bickering, pettiness — all unpleasant!) and time and that most people don’t have much to spare. “I can barely keep up with my Tweets! How can I find the time to read Huff Post?” Lack of bandwidth, as we used to say before that wasn’t cool any more. So satirical news, ala John Stewart, is all the rage. We want FUN news! Taking anything too seriously, or being passionate about just about anything is so unfashionable. (Except dissing Cindy McCain’s upturned collar which just SCREAMED wealthy ho-bag!)

Now don’t get me wrong. I am right up this alley myself since I want an antidote to my cynical tendencies. I’d rather be detached and laughing than disheartened.

But what does this do for our political landscape in general? It’s how Bush ended up with a second term. The only passion that spoke to people at the time was “support the troops, support Bush as the Commander in Chief.” Was this a manufactured situation to ensure Neocons would stay in power? You’d think so if you followed the shrill side of political reporting, but I’m just not sure I believe it. Would people really go to such lengths, starting a war they thought would be quick and easy just to get their boy reelected? You know what? It probably IS true. And somehow I cannot bring myself to care.

I’m supporting Obama. My own vote for “regime change” at home. But what the heck can we expect after we get past HOPE? My fashionably detached self says, “more of the same.” But my inner activist is ready to kick some congressional and supreme court butt! Where’s my constitutional amendment disbanding the electoral college? How can we break out of the strangling hell of the two-party system and move to coalition government? How can we become a true democracy with more state-level control and less federal strong arming? SEE? DOESN’T THAT SOUND RIDICULOUS?

Ah well, back to watching sitcoms… or this video which is way more fun!

Today Now!: How To Pretend You Give A Shit About The Election

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September 5, 2008 | Filed Under Election '08, Historical Context | Leave a Comment 

You Just Can’t Make This Stuff Up

pp.jpgOkay, so first off, APOLOGIES for a THIRD shameless post in a row about Palin… I know, I’m obsessing as bad as the rest of the media. But today’s news threw me into a gleeful tizzy of laughter. Because I’d been balking at the horrible bloggers who were writing about how Palin’s 4-month old son, Trig, actually belonged to Palin’s 17-year old daughter, and that Palin (senior) was covering for her daughter’s mistake.

Today’s news changed all that. Those bad bloggers were rebuked with a big smackdown of fact. Let’s take a true-or-false quiz, shall we? Yay! Quiz!

  1. Bristol Palin, aged 17, is not Trig’s mother… TRUE!
  2. Bristol Palin CANNOT be Trig’s mother because she’s already four months pregnant… TRUE!
  3. Bristol Palin prayed for at least six months while she was having unprotected sex that God would remind her mom to put just a few condoms in the bathroom drawer… TRUE! (well, at least I bet it’s true, the poor thing!)
  4. Bristol’s own baby will be named Geometry, ‘Geo’ for short… OK, I MADE THAT UP! Get it? Like Trig-onometry? Although I betcha it’s Trig like trigger, like as in gun or rifle or AK-47…
  5. Sarah Palin and all the ultraconservatives will welcome the blessed miracle into the family and no one will say word one about how Bristol really should’ve taken her VERY EFFECTIVE ABSTINENCE-ONLY sex education to heart, er, to bed, er, to the car, or wherever the ungodly act occured. TRUE!
  6. Geometry Palin will have an uncle who’s THE SAME AGE for four-months of the year. I realize this is fairly common for ultraconservatives. Hmmm, something to think about there, like maybe Sarah and her daughter should’ve shared a pack! TRUE!

If you guessed TRUE for all of the above, I’ll email you a membership to Planned Parenthood as a prize! Okay, no I won’t but it does prove that you’re just as cynical (and liberal, yay!) as me. Oh yeah, and think about joining anyway. It’ll take some cash to recover from the Bush hell years.

I really do wish the best for Bristol and her mom/grandma. It’s so awful that it all had to happen under the glaring microscope of an election.

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September 1, 2008 | Filed Under Election '08, Problematic Parenting | Leave a Comment