Don't Blame Drug Addicts?

I'm amazed at the ferocity of the right wingers and how little it takes to get their shorts in a knot. In the Bush years we had the whole thing about "Don't blame America for 9/11" when there were those who were trying to do so. Including, as I recall, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. But there were others -- like talking about social responsibility, understanding terrorists, etc. -- who made it sound like causes had effects, that sort of thing, and that it wasn't just that the "terr'ists hated our freedoms."

OK, point taken. Blaming America isn't the way to go.

So now Hillary Clinton goes to Mexico and says some of the problems Mexico is having with drug cartels and beheadings thereby has something to do with our drug problem in the United States, drug dealers and addicts. And wouldn't you know it, here comes the right wingers (one I heard of, this guy Bill Sammons from Fox; even Chris Matthews jumped on this dead end bandwagon)! "It's Blame America First all over again."

Excuse me. But in this case there is some cause and there is some effect. Now I know you can't easily say which came first, the chicken or the egg (actually I think you can, obviously the chicken -- "Let there be chickens, and there were chickens), but you can say there is a distinct correlation between supply and demand when it comes to illegal drugs.

And anyway, since when did drug dealers and addicts become the kind of Americans we feel like standing up for? "Hey, Clinton, what are you doing besmirching our patriotic drug dealers and addicts?" Don't these cretins cause pain and suffering for all our society? We don't have to say they are America, and that when you insult them you're insulting us all.

C'mon, at least have a brain. Do you hate Obama and Clinton SO MUCH that you just have to reflexively fight the same churlish fights of the Bush years and the first Clinton years at every whipstitch? It's ridiculous.

Palin Calls Hillary a Whiner

It was interesting to hear Palin shouting out to Hillary today, and now to have this Newsweek article in which Palin said Hillary was whining. That's "whining," as in Phil Gramm language.

Brian Schweitzer and Hillary

Brian Schweitzer did a pretty good job in his speech. Following Mark Warner, if he simply stayed awake he had to be an improvement. But he excelled, especially as it went along. Finally, when he had everyone standing and yelling, it was a great moment. It was also nice to see someone at the podium who was so animated.

One tweak: I prefer a little more passion -- not just animation and facial gestures -- a little more edge, with the frustration we have about Bush and McCain being real and deep. I don't want lines that sound rehearsed or forced, I was it straight from the gut, that kind of connection that says we take this very very personally and we will not tolerate four more years of the same.


Hillary

She doesn't have the greatest speaking voice, face it. A lot of her tone has a very artificial feel to it, unpleasant like chewing on aluminum foil. (I supported her in the primaries; I just don't like to hear her speak.) But she capped off the night with the best speech of the night, and obviously the most necessary speech. She needed to put aside all this baloney about a divided party. Obviously, there is nothing about John McCain that by nature should appeal to her voters. A vote for McCain instead of Obama would just be sour grapes and a self-destructive act. It was great that Hillary laid it out and made that crystal clear. She seemed pretty sincere about how bad McCain would be, even though I would have left out the line about being his friend and how great and courageous he is.

PUMA, MA!

It is absurd, insane for any Democrat to support John McCain.

There are absurd and insane people out there, of course. We hope they are getting good care in a health facility. But we hope there aren't people out there who are simply pretending to be absurd and insane, that is, Democrats who were for Hillary Clinton and now are for McCain.

I was for Hillary, especially early on, then through the primaries until just about the time when it was obvious she could never win. This isn't a matter of being for a particular person, but for a Democrat to replace the corrupt Republicans.

For anyone who might have lingering bitterness over the primaries, the time has come to get over it. It's absurd. We need a Democratic president. We have a great nominee. He deserves our full support.

John McCain is terrible. There's no good reason to vote for the guy.

Hillary!

Remind me, please, never to invite Hillary Clinton to a party.

It'd be 2 o'clock in the morning and people'd be drifting away.

3 o'clock and still several hanging on.

4 o'clock, the party, the conversation's over, nearly everyone's gone.

5 o'clock, Hillary's still sitting on the couch, wanting her drink refreshed.

6 o'clock, she still won't leave.

7 o'clock, we take the dog out and invite Hillary along. Then we and the dog are running down the sidewalk, doubling back through the alley, in the back door, doors locked, windows shuttered.

8 o'clock, she's still knocking. "We don't hear that!" the wife says.

9 o'clock, a peek out the blinds. She's milling around on the lawn!

10 o'clock, this is ridiculous, we call the police and have her carted off.