Quite a Day of Republican Blunder News...

Every time my email buzzes- and it's been buzzing all day pretty much non-stop- it's another piece of news about the Republican party.

First off, I have to ask the question, who the hell did the vetting on Sarah Palin? Oh, wait, there was none. McCain spoke to her for 30 minutes and made up his mind. THAT'S the kind of decision making we need in the White House. Gut feelings. Instinct.

Personally, I think they should have hired the "liberal bloggers" who have come up with quite a bit of dirt. Palin's 17 year old daughter is pregnant- something the Republican "party officials sought to keep... secret."

Um... nice try.
Then there is that speech Palin, made this June "before the Assembly of God, Palin painted the current war in Iraq as a messianic affair in which the United States could act out the will of the Lord." Wait, aren't the religious extremists Al- Qaeda? Aren't they the ones fighting a "holy" war?

Then there is the small problem with her new son in law, Levi Johnston, who seems to be quite a charming, young man. "On his MySpace page, Johnston boasts, "I'm a f - - -in' redneck" who likes to snowboard and ride dirt bikes.

"But I live to play hockey. I like to go camping and hang out with the boys, do some fishing, shoot some s- - - and just f - - -in' chillin' I guess."

"Ya f - - - with me I'll kick [your] ass," he added. "

I can only imagine what he would wear to the Inaugural Ball.

Is that all? Oh, no. Please.

Palin's husband was arrested for DUI in 1986. Hey, we all make mistakes. He was young and foolish, no question. But where was the due diligence on this? What kind of campaign is McCain running?

It also seems Palin "was a member for two years in the 1990s of the Alaska Independence Party, which has at times sought a vote on whether the state should secede." Is that her foreign policy experience? Planning on being in her own country?

My favorite? The leak that Johnny Prozac McCain- who must have been slipping his meds to the family dog- he had a fit over being denied Joe Lieberman or Tom Ridge as his running mate by the powers that be. No one had even been to Alaska to ask any questions. They are there now, and I think that's what we call, a day late and a dollar short.

But then, the Republicans are kinda big on being a dollar short. The current administration has landed us in an estimated 9.5 trillion dollars of debt.

Oh, wait, there are the "anarchists" who were arrested for peacefully protesting the RNC yesterday. I never knew Amy Goodman was an anarchist but I guess asking questions and taking pictures is pretty much against the law in this country now.

I bet there is a lot of prayer going on at the convention right now- for another storm to take the spotlight off what is due to go down as the most ridiculous, ill-advised, blunder-filled, campaign in American history.

Wait... I have another 20 emails... I'm sure there is more...

Bird Diplomacy

For the last few weeks, I have been watching a particular bird- a Robin- fight with himself. Over and over, I watch this bird fling himself into the window reflection- although not very hard- bounce off, flutter a way briefly, only to go for it again.

And again. And again.

I asked Jake to make a scary picture. He did.

The bird went to the other window.

I asked Jake to make two more.



Doesn’t matter. The bird still sits in the crook of the Japanese maple tree, takes aim, and boom.

I have a few observations about this bird. For one, the bird is stubborn. It refuses to “lose” to a superior foe. After about an hour of bouncing, he leaves for the day. Does he learn? Nope. The very next day, he comes back, and tries again.

Clearly, he is right. He will win this battle, a battle he is fighting the same way over and over again. It’s arrogant and without thought or examination.

The bird has no sense of its pattern and how it might actually bring danger to it. Its repeated attempts at being right have left behind oily stains on the windows not to mention a pile of bird poop under the maple tree. It is easy prey.

I have contemplated a slingshot. The PETA people can feel free to complain but the pile of poop is actually on my new deck and I’m sorry, a plain ol’ robin isn’t going to win over a brand new deck.

The oblivious disregard for it’s own safety because it is going to get that bird one-way or another, is probably linked to natural selection. You know the female robins are all saying, That dumb bastard is still slamming into that window.

We’re over here waiting to have some babies and he’s just doing the same damn stupid thing, over and over again.

Not to mention Jake’s pictures are fairly fierce.

It’s almost 3PM. Like clockwork, he’s back.

I’ve had more than one human male see the behavior and say, well, anything to get laid.

That’s not it. Not at all. It’s about stubborn arrogance. It’s about the inability to see past itself or to learn from repeated failure. It’s about hopeless dreams of conquest.

Reminds me of a lot of men I know.

It also makes me think of the Iraq war and the ridiculous rhetoric that is spoken about “winning” war that cannot be won and “stabilizing” a region that has been unstable since the dawn of time.

Just as fruitless and pointless as the bird that just did his first daily attack on the window.

Only the cost is so much higher.