First things first

I think I’ve found a candidate worthy of my support in the 2012 presidential election: Scott Adams.

I don’t agree with everything he supports, but overall I think he’s a pretty reasonable person. Take a look at his post “Why You Should Vote for Me” and you’ll see what I mean.

For example:

Public Debate: I’ll host televised public debates on our domestic policy options, in an entertaining fashion. And I’ll interrupt and humiliate participants who ignore the known facts and the best science. I’ll make it my job to provide the public with useful information, in proper context, and free of politics. You won’t get that from the other candidates. In today’s world, voting and guessing is almost the same thing. The major political parties have a strong interest in keeping voters ignorant. I’ll change that.

Revenge on Congress: According to the polls, most of you think Congress needs a kick in the ass. Neither Romney nor Obama are likely to do much about Congress except gripe about it in a general way. And neither man will complain about his own party. After I finish a few of my public debates as President, I’ll go after individual members of Congress that are favoring politics over the facts. I’ll bring accountability to Congress if I can. At the very least, I’ll shine the light of shame on the worst cockroaches in both parties and make them scurry. You’ll enjoy watching it.

Can you see the appeal?

In case you haven’t heard, 2012 is a presidential election year in the USA. Various GOP candidates are jockeying for their party’s nomination; meanwhile, Obama doesn’t have to worry about primaries, since he’ll be running for his party’s nomination unopposed.

When Obama was elected, like most of this country I was filled with hope. Finally someone who would do the right thing! Justice! Fairness! All that other good stuff!

What we got was a lot of politics as usual. For a long time, I strongly supported Obama, truly believing he would improve our country. When people criticized him, I could point to stuff like this and say, “See? He is making a positive change!”

And then my faith in him started to disappear. Well, “disappear” might not be the best word—it’s still there, just smashed under a pile of broken promises and business as usual. Obama has shown his true colors: he’s no progressive but just another middle-of-the-road conservative. Aside from his party affiliation, he isn’t much different from most mainstream Republicans. Don’t believe me? Take a look at some of his accomplishments.

So am I hugely disappointed in Obama? Yes. Will I vote for him in 2012? Sadly, I probably will (assuming someone better doesn’t come along). The progressive left that got him elected in 2008? He knows we have no choice but to support him in 2012. (I mean, really—where else are we going to go?) So he’s taking us for granted and doing what he can to appeal to those in the center and right.

Hey, anyone know if Ralph Nader has announced his candidacy again yet? :)

So the White House released Obama’s long-form birth certificate in the hopes of finally shutting up the nutcase birthers. Has it worked? For the most part, the jury is still out on that.

But at least one person is already loudly proclaiming his dissatisfaction with the document (and no, it’s not Trump—though he is usually pretty loud):

I demand the White House release video of Obama being born on home plate during the 1961 World Series, with Roger Maris attending the delivery and being heard to remark “That’s a fine-looking future President you have there, Ann.”

I wonder how the White House will response to that one.

…it does.Remember my post the other day about Rush Limbaugh’s attempts to speak “Chinese”? Here’s the follow-up:

“California Lawmaker Receives Racist Death Threat Warning ‘Rush Limbaugh Will Kick Your Ch-nk Ass’”

Last week, California State Sen. Leland Yee (D) called on right-wing hate radio host Rush Limbaugh to apologize for mocking Chinese President Hu Jintao and the Chinese language by speaking gibberish “ching chong chang” Chinese on his radio program. Yee, who is Chinese-American and chairs the state Senate Select Committee on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs, said Limbaugh owes the Chinese-American community an apology for his “pointless and ugly offense.” Naturally, Limbaugh did not apologize, and instead railed against Yee the following day on his radio, calling him out repeatedly by name.

Yee’s call for civility did not sit well with one Limbaugh fan, who responded by sending several racist death threats to Yee’s office this week.

What are the odds that Limbaugh won’t refudiate repudiate his fan’s actions? Pretty good, I think.

Honestly, I can’t imagine how anyone can say this is a bad thing. Seriously–what arguments can possibly be made against this ideal?

I’ve signed the charter. I hope you do, too.

Today is the 200th anniversary of the births of both Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin. I didn’t know until recently that they were born on the exact same day. This connection makes sense, given their shared staunch opposition to slavery. Today is also the 100th anniversary of the founding of the NAACP.

For much of my childhood in Illinois, Lincoln’s birthday—not Washington’s—was a no-school holiday. (“Land of Lincoln,” you know.) I was a little sorry to see it merged into President’s Day: Lincoln was pretty amazing and deserves his own day, I think. And it goes without saying (*cough* last eight years *cough*) that some presidents don’t merit much celebration.

So as you move through today, pause for a moment to reflect on the efforts of those who have worked to dispel prejudice based on so-called race*. We’ve got a long way to go—but we’ve come a long way already, and that gives me hope.

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*As an anthropologist by training, I have to mention that race is a social construct, not a biological fact.

Watching: Iron Man (finally), which I thought was just awesome. I love the ending. At last, a superhero whose conflicts and enemies aren’t based on the utterly predictable trope of needing to maintain a secret identity.

Reading: Feet of Clay, by Terry Pratchett.

Ordering: Seeds for this year’s garden, from Pinetree Garden Seeds (who sells seed packets with quantities and prices that are sensible for home gardeners. We’ve used their seeds for years. I really like this company.

Knitting: A new buttonband for my B.O.B. Sweater. And I need to shorten the hood on Jan’s Wonderful Wallaby. I finished that last fall, and he’s been wearing it ever since, but somehow I ended up making the hood deep enough to suit a Jedi.

Eating: Quesadillas made by Sylvia. Except she likes to call them “tortitos” (and, occasionally, “tornadoes”).

Thinking: About how our eight-year-long national nightmare is over. Oh sure, Obama will definitely do stuff I don’t agree with. But it’s really hard to imagine how he can be worse than his predecessor.

If you showed your political colors via a pumpkin, your sign can go into a compost bin when it’s no longer needed. But if you opted for one of those lawn signs, composting is not an option.

You could, like a few homes I see in my area, continue to display your sign. At this point, though, that smacks of schadenfreude. I think it’s best to have your Schadenfreude Pie, then move on.*

You could just throw it in the trash. But if just thinking about that triggers your want-to-save-the-planet reflex, then try this instead: turn it into a birdhouse. Looks pretty easy to do!

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*The creator of this pie, John Scalzi, has this to say about the pie he made last week: “One of the reasons I love this pie I have invented is that it is perfect for what it’s supposed to be, which is something rich and dark and bitter that you better not have too much of. Last night and this morning, each time I took a slice of it, I took ever-so-slightly more than I should have, and now both times it’s sat in my stomach, threatening reflux. It’s a moral lesson, really: Like this particular pie, too much gloating invites payback. It’s nice to have a physical lesson to go with the existential one.”

It’s been a busy weekend. October ended with a Halloween double-whammy: Sylvia’s first holiday celebration at school (complete with a parade of costumed kids, followed by a concert of songs sung by the kids for their parents—and their camcorders, of course), and trick-or-treating. Sylvia chose to be a “flower fairy” this year (completely her own idea), so we put together an outfit made up of stuff she already had in her closet: tutu, fairy wings, polka-dotted tights, purple shirt, cardigan handknitted by me, black shoes. Jan and I made her a flower wreath (out of pipe cleaners, florist tape, artificial flowers, and ribbons) and a wand (out of a dowel, plus everything that was in the wreath except for the pipe cleaners). She loved it. We spent about five bucks, and she got a costume that was totally unique. Awesome.

Yesterday we headed to the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, New Jersey. Tickets for the three of us were priced at $53. Thanks to one of Jan’s coworkers—who is a long-time volunteer there (he scuba dives into the shark tank to clean it)—we had free passes for the day. WOOT! When we told Sylvia where we were going, she wasn’t really into the idea…until we described the aquarium as “like a zoo for fish.” Then she couldn’t wait to get there.

We had a great time there. The giant tanks are just amazing. They’re well lit, located in dark rooms and (of course) covered with glass, so most of my attempts at photography didn’t turn out too well. One of the best pictures I took was this one, in the area two hippopotamuses (the singular of which is not, as Allan Sherman sang, “one hippopotami”) and an African porcupine share with lots and lots of bird.

This morning we went to church (where the minister talked about the Unitarian and Universalist legacies of working toward justice and urged everyone to vote on Tuesday*), then headed to Winterthur, one of the DuPont estates in northern Delaware. We met up with some friends who live in the D.C. area, and our three kids had a ball running around together. (How is it that two-, three-, and four-year-olds can play outside in not much more than long-sleeve shirts and pants while their parents—bundled up in coats, hats, and gloves—and freezing? Seriously—I wonder if there’s been any scientific research on age-related temperature tolerance.) The fall colors were at their peak. In another couple of weeks, I suspect most of the trees there will be bare.

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*She used an interesting device: an imagined conversation among the ghosts of Joseph Priestly, Dorothea Dix, Robert Gould Shaw, and other prominent, dead Unitarians and Universalists. I wish the wrap-up section had been more…well, more exhortation and less purple prose. I can appreciate the UU unwillingness to tell anyone what to do, but in this case I would love to hear someone stand up and say, “Hey! If you’re here because you believe in justice and human rights and the inherent value of all people and beliefs and want to save the planet, then you need to vote for the candidates and proposals that support your beliefs!” Obviously, a minister can’t tell you to vote for a particular candidate or party, but he or she can certainly prod you more engagingly—more energetically and strenuously—to vote for your beliefs. I went away from the service feeling not particularly inspired (even though I’m certain my minister and I are on the same page politically)—in agreement, but not fired up.