Lest we forget

Three years ago today, while New Orleans drowned, John and George ate cake.

McCain's VP Pick - Gov. Palin, really?

John McCain has certainly surprised everyone with his pick of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska today. A man who would be the oldest president ever should he win, and who has had repeated bouts of cancer just picked a woman who almost no one knows, who has very little experience and is currently being investigated for an abuse-of-power scandal in her state.

It's great that McCain picked a woman, but anyone that has been saying that Obama isn't experienced enough or prepared to be president needs to take a good hard look at who John McCain thinks should be a heartbeat away from being president of the United States.

She's got four years on the city council and then three terms as mayor of a town of about 8000 people before her current post. She's been governor of Alaska for less than two years and was supported by Senator Ted "Bridge to know-where, the Internet is a series of tubes" Stevens. Not much of a record to run on.

On the Issues, a site that tracks each politicians' stance on key issues has quite a few holes on her page due to the fact that she is quite new. (For comparison check out Obama, Biden, and McCain's pages). She's so out of her league its not even funny.

And as for her picking up the leftover Hillary supporters, I wonder how well that will work once they know that she thought Hillary was a "whiner."

UPDATE:
1. I've heard her referred to as Dan Quayle with a ponytail. Kinda funny, hope it sticks.
2. TV people can't figure out if its pronounced PAY-LIN or PAL-IN.
3. Many conservatives are apparently ready to take hemlock after this decision.
4. KOS also has some pretty interesting things about what she said about the war not too long ago and about the financial blunder that she made as mayor that has her small town strapped with higher taxes and programs being cut back.

LATE UPDATE:

EVEN LATER UPDATE - When I first saw this video of course the "What does a VP do all day" crap was shocking, but what didn't sit right with me and I kept stewing about was the "if its good for Alaska" line. Now I know why.

Developements and more waiting

After a few days of phone tag I had a chance to speak to Dr. Ove yesterday and also called Dr. Brumback to request a slot for surgery. I don't have one yet, but I'm a few steps closer than I was at the beginning of the week. I came up with a few questions that I have for Dr. B and got a call back from his assistant this morning. She said that he would call me on Tuesday and we would move forward from there. So, its back to the waiting game for at least 4 more days.

In another development on the leg front I have checked another big item off of my list from a few months back - I've been driving for two days now! I'm enjoying and will continue to enjoy some new found independence at least until I have surgery and am again going to be in the back seat.

My car which has been sitting since March 21st has been looking quite abandoned. So much so that the city police dropped by about a month ago to inquire about it and that on Tuesday there was an orange tag saying that it would be towed away in 48 hours if it wasn't moved. So Dad and I got the compressor out, filled the tires that were very low on air and covered with cobwebs and attempted to jump start it (unsuccessfully). The plan was that we would get it running and then move it to his driveway or mine. While we attempted to jump it I sat in the driver's seat and realized that I would be able to move my foot from gas to break much easier than I had thought. So Wednesday after my battery was fully charge by the Battery Warehouse I decided to give driving around the neighborhood a shot.

To my utter delight I was successful. I've taken Danielle out for some errands, was able to drive my buddy Dan to pick his car up from the shop and myself to a meeting at church today. I'm going to get a temporary handicap tag and look forward to more time behind the wheel before surgery.

At least now I know that even if I only get back to where I am now post-surgery that I will be able to be more independent than I have been for some months now.

Obama and the American Promise

I was hoping that it would live up to the hype and the man did not disappoint me. Here is the full text and the video.

America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this. ....
We are more compassionate than a government that lets veterans sleep on our streets and families slide into poverty; that sits on its hands while a major American city drowns before our eyes.
...
Because next week, in Minnesota, the same party that brought you two terms of George Bush and Dick Cheney will ask this country for a third. And we are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look like the last eight. On November 4th, we must stand up and say: "Eight is enough."
...
It's not because John McCain doesn't care. It's because John McCain doesn't get it.
...
Well it's time for them to own their failure. It's time for us to change America.
...
The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America - they have served the United States of America.
...
But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the nay-sayers don't understand is that this election has never been about me. It's been about you.
...
You have shown what history teaches us - that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington. Change happens because the American people demand it - because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time.
...
This country of ours has more wealth than any nation, but that's not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military on Earth, but that's not what makes us strong. Our universities and our culture are the envy of the world, but that's not what keeps the world coming to our shores.
Instead, it is that American spirit - that American promise - that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend.
...
At this moment, in this election, we must pledge once more to march into the future. Let us keep that promise - that American promise - and in the words of Scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess.

That was right up there with his 2004 Keynote speech, the New Hampshire Primary "Yes We Can" speech, and the race speech. He is truly one of the most gifted orators that we have seen. Its so nice to see someone that can string words together intelligently again, despite republican cries to the contrary he is so much more than a good speech. Hillary tried that argument. Look where it got her. His judgement has again and again proven to be correct.

He hit McCain directly. He tore into Bush and the last eight years. He tied this moment in history to King and the march on Washington. He challenged the way campaigns have been run. He challenged all Americans to fulfill the promise that is America.

McCain Advisor Solves Healthcare Problem!! Re-define it away.

John Goodman, who is an advisor to John McCain and one of the authors of his health care proposal, has come up with a solution to the 47 million uninsured Americans. In his mind since it is illegal for an ER to turn away a patient who needs care then technically no one is uninsured. If we would just change the way they are categorized on the census, then we could fix all sorts of problems -

Lets see -
If we were to consider washing, feeding and dressing yourself as work then no one would be unemployed any more.
If we considered tents, boxes, and bridges as domiciles then - no more homeless.
As long as there are people in society who can read things to you then voila, no more illiteracy!

Wow, this is fun and easy. I'll bet we could end the war and terrorism this way too if we could just come up with the proper way of framing it.......

Convention Day 3

Wow. That was a good night. The convention is definitely building like a crescendo.

The roll call vote, which is now so much theatre, was well orchestrated. Hillary making the motion to end the roll call and make it unanimous, put all of the speculation of a last ditch effort to wrestle the nomination away from Obama to rest once and for all. Any holdout PUMA's have issues that are clearly personal and have nothing to do with the Democratic Party or any of the platform issues. Anyone who voted for Hillary who would consider voting for McCain has problems that NO ONE is going to be able to talk them out of.

For me the best of the night came from Bill Clinton and John Kerry.

Any speculation from last night about what Hillary should have said but didn't was smacked down hard and fast by Bill.

Some key lines -

Hillary told us in no uncertain terms that she'll do everything she can to elect Barack Obama.

That makes two of us.

Actually that makes 18 million of us because, like Hillary, I want all of you who supported her to vote for Barack Obama in November.
....
Everything I learned in my eight years as President and in the work I've done since, in America and across the globe, has convinced me that Barack Obama is the man for this job.

He has a remarkable ability to inspire people, to raise our hopes and rally us to high purpose. He has the intelligence and curiosity every successful President needs. His policies on the economy, taxes, health care and energy are far superior to the Republican alternatives. He has shown a clear grasp of our foreign policy and national security challenges, and a firm commitment to repair our badly strained military. His family heritage and life experiences have given him a unique capacity to lead our increasingly diverse nation and to restore our leadership in an ever more interdependent world. The long, hard primary tested and strengthened him. And in his first presidential decision, the selection of a running mate, he hit it out of the park. .....
Most important, Barack Obama knows that America cannot be strong abroad unless we are strong at home. People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power. (my emphasis - that is quintessential Clinton)

And then John Kerry showed, like Gore (who I hope will deliver tomorrow), that he is so much better than what we saw from him in his campaign. This may have been my favorite speech so far, and one I really wasn't looking forward to seeing. Some key lines -

I have known and been friends with John McCain for almost 22 years. But every day now I learn something new about candidate McCain. To those who still believe in the myth of a maverick instead of the reality of a politician, I say, let's compare Senator McCain to candidate McCain.
...
Candidate McCain now supports the wartime tax cuts that Senator McCain once denounced as immoral. Candidate McCain criticizes Senator McCain's own climate change bill. Candidate McCain says he would now vote against the immigration bill that Senator McCain wrote. Are you kidding? Talk about being for it before you're against it.

Let me tell you, before he ever debates Barack Obama, John McCain should finish the debate with himself.
...
The McCain-Bush Republicans have been wrong again and again and again. And they know they will lose on the issues. So, the candidate who once promised a "contest of ideas," now has nothing left but personal attacks. How insulting to suggest that those who question the mission, question the troops. How pathetic to suggest that those who question a failed policy doubt America itself. How desperate to tell the son of a single mother who chose community service over money and privilege that he doesn't put America first. No one can question Barack Obama’s patriotism. (my emphasis)

Joe Biden's speech was good. Not quite as fiery as I had hoped for, but his story is so compelling. The intro from his son, Delaware Attorney General and reservist about to ship out to Iraq, was really moving. It seems that it would be difficult to have someone who has been a senator for 35 years not be "part of Washington." But they made that point well and he brings experience and foreign policy expertise to the ticket without taking away from the "Change" brand.

The choice in this election is clear. These times require more than a good soldier; they require a wise leader, a leader who can deliver change—the change everybody knows we need.

And then a litany of -

John McCain was wrong. Barack Obama was right.

on Afghanistan, talks with Iran, and the timetable to leave Iraq.

Tomorrow is the big show in the stadium with Obama (who made a "surprise" appearance after Biden's speech). Supposedly Gore will speak and since losing the Presidency and winning Oscars, Grammys, and the Noble Prize he doesn't pull many punches.

Hillary Delivers

The intro video was awesome, so everyone was supercharged when Chelsea introduced her and she took the stage. (You can watch the intro and full speech at CSPAN)

No way, no how, no McCain.

The time is now to unite as a single party with a single purpose. We are on the same team and none of us can afford to sit on the sidelines. This is a fight for the future and this is a fight that we must win together.

It makes sense that George Bush and John McCain are going to be together next week in the twin cities because these days, it's hard to tell them apart.

KA POW!!!

Count me as a PUMAMA (Party Unity My Ass, MY ASS)

Democratic Convention Starts Today

Obama Biden '08!!!

Well, I got my wish it appears! This quote is from a post I wrote back in May-

I really hope that Mr. Biden ends up with a key position in the Obama administration. The man knows his foreign policy and is not afraid to speak up and call people out on their bull shit arguments.

Maybe I could get a job on MSNBC. I wonder if Rachel Maddow needs a co-host. I could do the job sitting down at least.

Are you fired up? Ready to go?

I saw the trauma specialist today

After being in limbo since July 14th I had an appointment with the Orthopaedic Traumatologist at Union Memorial Hospital today. There were some battles with Workman's Comp to get the visit approved and logistics with their red tape, mainly complicated by a woman who from all indications hates her job and takes it out on anyone who asks anything of her. That's a whole other story though.

In many ways this visit went about how I expected it to - the doctor looked at my films and recommended that I have surgery to rebuild the area that was crushed (which is now collapsing) and attempt to fix the alignment of my knee joint.

Dr. Brumback is very blunt and does not sugar coat anything. That's great, but it did hit me (and especially Danielle) like cold water in the face though. He made no promises about increased range of motion. He agreed that I was not a very good candidate for knee replacement (full or partial). He took my x-rays down the hall to the joint replacement guy who concurred. He said that one of his main objectives would be to get the top of my tibia repaired to the point that I would be a better candidate for a knee replacement. He really stressed the fact that this was a severe break that would dog me for the rest of my life and did not paint a very rosy picture of my prognosis. I guess that's better than over promising and under delivering.

I knew that this would be a big deal again, but hearing the details laid out by him was sobering. He'll have to remove the metal plate and screws that are currently there. He will have to re-break the bone and rebuild the top of the tibia where there is now a sizable depression. He also explained that the top of my tibia has been spreading out as the depression gets deeper and he will need to make it narrower. The top of the tibia should be as wide as the bottom of the femur and mine is no where close right now. I'll get a new metal plate and more screws. I will then be "non weight bearing" again for 6 to 12 weeks depending on how I heal.

When asked how soon he could do the surgery his answer was "When do you want to do it?" So, scheduling doesn't seem to be an issue on his end. I'm going to take the weekend to think it over and see if any additional questions come to mind, but there really doesn't seem to be much of a decision to make.

1. Stay as is and adjust my lifestyle accordingly.
2. Attempt a knee replacement that everyone has counselled me to wait as long as possible to do. (not to mention the news today that I'm not really a good candidate)
3. Give this a shot. Hope it improves my quality of life and allows me to put off the replacement for a few years. Worst case - it makes me a better candidate for a successful replacement after my bones have healed from this surgery.

More than anything I'm just trying to digest all that he said and make peace with going back to square one in many ways. Anesthesia and surgery worry me, pain pills have all sorts of negative ties associated with them, and the thought of being non-weight-bearing until Thanksgiving or possibly Christmas is just depressing.

Not surprising, but cold water in the face none the less.

One.org

ABOUT THE VIDEO For more than a year, ONE members have been trailing the presidential candidates asking them to go on the record with their plans to combat global poverty. Now we're taking our message to the airways with this major new TV ad. The ad features Matt Damon with different Americans' voices - among them Michelle Obama, Cindy McCain and Mayor Bloomberg. Watch for it on TV and across the Internet starting Sunday, August 24th, but add your voice and share the online video with your friends now. After, you can learn more about this ad and movement here.

Andrew Sullivan - Does Bush think McCain was tortured?

Conservative Blogger Andrew Sullivan puts the torture debate in a very interesting context -- either John McCain was not tortured while captive in North Vietnam or the US government has been torturing prisoners under the Bush administration. Its one or the other.

The torture that was deployed against McCain emerges in all the various accounts. It involved sleep deprivation, the withholding of medical treatment, stress positions, long-time standing, and beating. Sound familiar?

According to the Bush administration's definition of torture, McCain was therefore not tortured.

Cheney denies that McCain was tortured; as does Bush. So do John Yoo and David Addington and George Tenet.

And...

Now the kicker: in the Military Commissions Act, McCain acquiesced to the use of these techniques against terror suspects by the CIA. And so the tortured became the enabler of torture. Someone somewhere cried out in pain for the same reasons McCain once did. And McCain let it continue.

These are the prices people pay for power.

Home from vacation

I just got home a few hours ago from a week in Western Maryland at Deep Creek Lake with my family. Not the best weather we've had out there, but we still had a great week. As I mentioned in an earlier post, it felt a little funny going on vacation since I haven't worked in several months, but that feeling was fleeting. I love spending time with my family and when you add to that swimming, boating, fishing and watching the Olympics I have a hard time dreaming up a better week regardless of weather.

Get to work

This ad doesn't even scratch the surface of McCain's absenteeism.

He hasn't voted on anything since April 8th.

Last month there was the big Medicare bill that was so important that Ted Kennedy, who is being treated for brain cancer, felt it was too important to miss. It was so important that 99 out of the 100 Senators were there. John McCain is the ONLY senator that missed that vote.

He is the MOST ABSENT Senator in the 110th Congress. He has missed more that 60% of the votes.

Why didn't he campaign on the weekends every once in a while so that maybe he could have shown up to vote a few times this spring? He doesn't work weekends!

I guess since he is running to replace the most vacationing president ever that isn't such a big deal. But don't call him "Bush's third term" he's soooo different from Bush..

Paris Responds to McCain ad

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die

Progress on the second opinion front

I've been having some problems getting an appointment with the trauma specialist in Baltimore that was recommended. Actually I was having problems getting to speak to anyone to even find out if an appointment was possible, and if so when. Until today that is.

After getting Dr. Brumback's name from my friend Dave, I requested an appointment through a form on the Internet. After submitting the form, waiting 4 days, leaving a voicemail at the doctor's office, waiting a few more days, repeating and getting no response I decided to see if Dave or the doctor that he consulted with had any connections to help me get an appointment. Once again Dave came through. He asked a coworker who calls on Union Memorial to stop by and see what they could find out. Turns out the doctor's assistant hadn't gotten the requests. She and I were able to connect this afternoon and I will be able to get an appointment the week of the 18th. I have to get workman's compensation to pre-approve the appointment, but I don't foresee that as a problem and I feel really good after speaking to the doctor's assistant.

I've also got an appointment on the 27th with the joint replacement specialist in my current doctor's practice. I'm hoping that a replacement won't be necessary, but now that I know I'm going to see both doctors I feel like I'll be able to make an informed decision and schedule the next step in this recovery process.

Both doctor's actually offered me appointments next week, but that's the week of our family vacation at Deep Creek Lake in western Maryland. I know I haven't worked since March, but I really need a vacation from my couch, physical therapy and doctor's appointments at the very least. And my family can use a break from walking my dogs and driving me to appointments. My father offered to drive me back for the appointment if that was the only time that he could see me, but I don't want anything to interrupt our vacation.

One other item that I haven't written about is physical therapy. Jessica knows that insurance will only pay for a finite number of appointments per year and she doesn't want me to use them up while we aren't expecting any more progress. So she talked it over with Dr. Ove and they moved me to the "step down" program until after my next surgery. I can use the PT office like a gym membership. I'm allowed to come in and use the equipment without an appointment and do my exercises on my own. So that's what I'm going to do until after surgery. Exercise at home, at the office and use the JAS splint to maintain the range of motion that I currently have. I'll start back with Jessica after surgery.

Obama in his own words about the tire gauge attacks

"It's like these guys take pride in being ignorant."

Keep it coming O!

Mr. McCain - sunscreen is not a healthcare policy!

McCain emphasized that skin cancer is preventable, and implored Americans to wear sunscreen, especially over the summer. What’s wrong with this advice? Not a thing. It’s a smart, sensible thing to say.

But imagine if Obama and his surrogates said the entirety of McCain’s healthcare policy is sunscreen application. McCain doesn’t really care about cancer, they could argue, he just wants everyone to run out at get some SPF 30. Those vying to be Obama’s running mate started holding up bottles of Coppertone during their speeches, saying things like, “We want you to wear sunscreen, you know, it will very mildly improve your chances of not getting sick. But wearing sunscreen is not a healthcare policy for the United States of America.”

This, of course, would be insane. And yet, that’s pretty much what’s become of Republican campaign rhetoric of late.

The McCain campaign and its surrogates have been mocking a recent comment by Obama about some common sense tips to save energy and money. The outrageous suggestion -- inflate your tires and get your car tuned up.

McCain has actually been handing out tire gauges to reporters and you can get one from his website for a donation of $25. (you can get a plain one at the gas station for a buck or two)

As this post (quoted above) over at CarpetBagger Report points out its like they've got a new toy to play with. They also link to the fact that California Gov. Schwarzenegger, Florida Gov. Christ and NASCAR all point to tire inflation and tune ups as energy saving tips.

Maintenance Tips
Inflate Your Tires. Keeping your tires properly inflated is simple and improves gas mileage by around 3%, saving up to 20 gallons of gasoline, or up to $75.

Tune up. Fixing a car that is noticeably out of tune or has failed an emissions test can improve its gas mileage by an average of 4% – saving up to 25 gallons of gasoline and up to $95. (source)

Saving $170 on gas may not be a big deal for the McCains (he spends over $500 for a pair of shoes after all), but for most Americans that's nothing to sneeze at.

Then you've got to consider the cumulative effect if people heed this advice.

According to the US Bureau of Transit Statistics for 2006 there are 250,851,833 registered passenger vehicles in the US. If half of those cars followed the basic suggestion then we are talking about saving 5,644,166,242 gallons of gasoline. Over 5 and a half billion gallons of gas saved per year.

Offshore drilling "would not have a significant impact on domestic crude oil and natural gas production or prices before 2030." That's according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

So the Bush-McCain plan to start drilling in areas currently banned would take 22 years to have a significant impact. By then, inflating our tires and keeping our cars tuned up will potentially have saved us over 123 billion gallons of gas.

Gozer the Gozerian is Back!

I'm not sure that many people will find this as funny as I do, but perhaps that's because Mike, my classmate and teammate from the academy, and I used to quote lines from the movie Ghostbusters constantly. To see Rick Moranis' bizarre speech about the evil that is to come at the end of the movie being used in a pseudo political ad just cracks me up.

It also correctly points out the tone of the McCain campaign right now. The campaign has taken on a "dog whistle" quality. To most mainstream folks and the media his ads seem frivolous at worst and they don't get what all the fuss is about. But to those tuned in to the subtext (which is precisely who the ads are meant for) the message is loud and clear. The republican smear machine has effectively used these tactics in the past against Harold Ford, Max Cleland, and countless others. Hell, Bush even used them against John McCain in the 2000 primary.

The big question is - will it work again?

Red State Update

The Grasshopper and the Ant

The Anonymous Liberal has written an intriguing post comparing our current looming energy crisis to the fable mentioned in the title. (I found it cross posted at Crooks and Liars)

In short, for the last three decades, the Republican Party has been a party of grasshoppers, blissfully encouraging the consumption of ever greater amounts of oil while doing absolutely nothing to prepare for the winter ahead. Indeed, they’ve done everything in their power to marginalize those who have warned that the good times can’t last and that we need to embrace conservation initiatives and develop alternative energy sources.

And now that the long-awaited winter has finally come and we’re all suffering under the weight of sky-high oil prices, what is the Republican response? They seize upon an imaginary quick fix–off-shore oil drilling–and they all rally around it, accusing their opponents of being the obstacle to lower gas prices. They preen and pose, convening fake sessions of Congress to show that they are the ones who really care about gas prices.

They ignore what their own government experts have acknowledged, that allowing further off-shore drilling won’t produce a drop of new oil for at least a decade and, even then, will do little if anything to reduce gas prices. Apparently in the Republican version of the fable, rather than admitting that he’d been short-sighted and reckless in not preparing for the winter, the grasshopper pretends that there’s actually a winter’s worth of food located just beneath his feet and that the only thing keeping him from digging it up is that damn ant.