It sure has been a long time since my last post, but here are some of the things I have been up to since I was last posting:
- attended my first wedding as an adult, where I delivered a best man speech for my brother. It was a nerve-racking experience until I gave the speech, whereupon the clock struck hammertime and it was on like donkey kong. The night went from having a dance off with my brother and dad to taking shots of tequila into the wee hours of the morning with my brother's (somewhat) alcoholic friends.
- a 13 hour drive home after the aforementioned night on the town. It hurt.
- training for CGs, which has been at varying times informative, extremely boring, and full of more hungover trials by fire.
- as a corralary: many, many college visits. I have seen over 16 colleges and universities in Virginia in the past few weeks. I think I will have a recap post once I am all done with the tours, to both jog my memory and enter the jone-dome because some of these places have been TRIFLING.
- seen what heretofore has been seemingly impossible: the Spanish National Football Team WIN an international tournament! What a moment that was! I think in the past 6 months I have expended most all of my good sports karma for the decade.
- recommitted myself to postings of note on this blog once again.
07 July 2008
11 June 2008
mac guy
I got a call the other night from my brother (the very one I am writing a best man speech for) asking me to make a slideshow for him and his all-too-soon-to-be wife to be shown during the reception after the wedding. This will be the second wedding-related slideshow for me in as many weeks. Previous to this time in my 22 years of life, I have never been asked to make any sort of creative thing ever.
Why?
Because most people who know me will say that I am pretty much a dullard at making creative, artsy things. Of any sort. I nearly failed art class every year in elementary school, have never been able to fold origami, and the closest thing to a drawing I can usually muster is a funny-because-its-so-terrible stick figure scene. I really can't say that I have ever had any sliver of success at any time in my life when it comes to making visually appealing things of any size, shape, or style. My parents never had my artwork on the fridge... my doodles in notebooks were usually hard long division problems... I struggle to color inside of the lines.
I suck.
So why ask me to make something pretty, something that requires an artistic eye and a flair for the creative? I think its a simple matter of pigeonholing, I've been stereotyped. Is it due to my race, my color, my creed? No. Its because of my choice in computer. I've become a "mac guy".
Apparently owning a mac makes you some kind of creative wizard - after all, why would you get such a machine if you weren't on it to make movies, highbrow digital art, or (evidently) sweet slideshows in iMovie? This is indeed an unfortunate stereotype, because I am no mac guy. Its true, I do enjoy my computer a lot, but not because I am some kind of creative genius. No - I just like it because the OS is really sweet and stable, it has some neat design features, and looks pretty good to boot.
My clients may have made a perilous choice in trusting this art class failure to make something creative. Serves them right for stereotyping.
Not to say that stereotypes can't be useful or hilarious. One only need to think of this fellow to know that.
Euro 2008 match prediction success rate: 62.5% (fucking Greeks let me down, but at least the Spanish were dominant... ole!)
Why?
Because most people who know me will say that I am pretty much a dullard at making creative, artsy things. Of any sort. I nearly failed art class every year in elementary school, have never been able to fold origami, and the closest thing to a drawing I can usually muster is a funny-because-its-so-terrible stick figure scene. I really can't say that I have ever had any sliver of success at any time in my life when it comes to making visually appealing things of any size, shape, or style. My parents never had my artwork on the fridge... my doodles in notebooks were usually hard long division problems... I struggle to color inside of the lines.
I suck.
So why ask me to make something pretty, something that requires an artistic eye and a flair for the creative? I think its a simple matter of pigeonholing, I've been stereotyped. Is it due to my race, my color, my creed? No. Its because of my choice in computer. I've become a "mac guy".
Apparently owning a mac makes you some kind of creative wizard - after all, why would you get such a machine if you weren't on it to make movies, highbrow digital art, or (evidently) sweet slideshows in iMovie? This is indeed an unfortunate stereotype, because I am no mac guy. Its true, I do enjoy my computer a lot, but not because I am some kind of creative genius. No - I just like it because the OS is really sweet and stable, it has some neat design features, and looks pretty good to boot.
My clients may have made a perilous choice in trusting this art class failure to make something creative. Serves them right for stereotyping.
Not to say that stereotypes can't be useful or hilarious. One only need to think of this fellow to know that.
Euro 2008 match prediction success rate: 62.5% (fucking Greeks let me down, but at least the Spanish were dominant... ole!)
09 June 2008
best man
As some of you may know, my brother asked me to be one of the best men at his wedding this summer. Having never been to a wedding before, I found this to be a curious selection, but I didn't hesitate as I felt that it could be a great time considering I think he is a pretty cool guy and his fiancee is just wonderful. Besides, weddings are pretty jubilant affairs - or so I hear - and I am not one to turn down an open bar.
The one catch of course, is the best man toast. As one British writer said: "delivering the best man speech is like kissing the Queen Mother, its a great honour, but nobody wants to do it!" My sentiments exactly. Its not that I get nervous talking in front of big crowds, its just that the subject matter is pretty awkward to deal with. For two to three minutes, I have to wax poetic about lovey dovey shit re: my brother and his now-wife when we have maybe had a serious conversation about twice in our lives.
But the show must go on, so I am writing the speech right now, and it seems decent. Not good, not fork in the eye awful, but passable. I think it will get me out of the situation having done my duty, hopefully getting a few laughs and avoiding any embarrassing slipups or inopportune voice cracks. (I really hope my vocal cords have gotten that out of their system.) Ideally, it will pass by and before I know it I will be drinking a (numerous?) delicious jack+cokes with the rest of the groomsmen and bridal party. And then dancing up a storm in an attempt to seriously embarrass my brother. And then passing out and preparing for my epic journey back to Virginia on Sunday. More on that later.
But enough of that, here is some stuff on today's Euro action:
France 0 - 0 Romania
- more painful to watch than public access, elementary school children-produced television.
+ there is a dude named RAT on Romania.
Netherlands 3 - 0 Italy
- decidedly not what I predicted for the day... I'm sorry I assumed that the Italian National Team would show up and not the Fanculo Miss Nancy Squad.
+ Sneijder, the clutch Dutch Delight!
Euro 2008 match prediction success rate: 66.6% (took a hit as expected, but hopefully there will be recovery with the debut of LA FURIA ROJA!!!)
The one catch of course, is the best man toast. As one British writer said: "delivering the best man speech is like kissing the Queen Mother, its a great honour, but nobody wants to do it!" My sentiments exactly. Its not that I get nervous talking in front of big crowds, its just that the subject matter is pretty awkward to deal with. For two to three minutes, I have to wax poetic about lovey dovey shit re: my brother and his now-wife when we have maybe had a serious conversation about twice in our lives.
But the show must go on, so I am writing the speech right now, and it seems decent. Not good, not fork in the eye awful, but passable. I think it will get me out of the situation having done my duty, hopefully getting a few laughs and avoiding any embarrassing slipups or inopportune voice cracks. (I really hope my vocal cords have gotten that out of their system.) Ideally, it will pass by and before I know it I will be drinking a (numerous?) delicious jack+cokes with the rest of the groomsmen and bridal party. And then dancing up a storm in an attempt to seriously embarrass my brother. And then passing out and preparing for my epic journey back to Virginia on Sunday. More on that later.
But enough of that, here is some stuff on today's Euro action:
France 0 - 0 Romania
- more painful to watch than public access, elementary school children-produced television.
+ there is a dude named RAT on Romania.
Netherlands 3 - 0 Italy
- decidedly not what I predicted for the day... I'm sorry I assumed that the Italian National Team would show up and not the Fanculo Miss Nancy Squad.
+ Sneijder, the clutch Dutch Delight!
Euro 2008 match prediction success rate: 66.6% (took a hit as expected, but hopefully there will be recovery with the debut of LA FURIA ROJA!!!)
08 June 2008
usa - argentina
Sorry for all of the soccer posts as of late, but with the Euros going on and really not that much else taking place in my life, there really isn't much else to talk about.
Sadly, I wasn't able to enjoy today's Euro '08 as much as I would have liked due to a combination of shambolic transmission from my best friends at Comcast and me wasting a lot of time showing my computer illiterate cousin how to burn dvds from his girlfriend's laptop. I am ok with people being computer illiterate (if you are over 40), but what really irks me is when people fill up their generic PC computing box with a lot of generic bullshit spyware nonsense (those stupid search engine bars in IE and animated cursors, terrible). So helping involves a number of hurdles, such as overcoming the fact that your cursor is actually a fucking "I <3 NY" icon and you have filled up your hard drive with adware doodoo. Nice.
But I digress.
Highlight of the day was definitely the USA-Argentina match that I was able to watch without illiterate interruption. Here are some of the things that I liked (+) and didn't like (-) about the match:
+ Gago and Dempsey getting pissy with each other and trading words and fouls in the first half.
+ Eddie Johnson apparently yanking Mascherano's johnson in the second half... much to Javier's chagrin.
- the fact that Argentina continue to be one of the more hideous national sides in the world. Its almost as if they outcrossed Carles Puyol and a thawed Neanderthal to produce the team. (Reference exhibits A, B, and C.)
- refereeing worthy of UVA IMs instead of a FIFA governed international friendly. Who in their right mind could confuse Edu and Mastroeni?
- lackluster American commentary... Aguero plays in the Spanish Primera Liga, or La Liga, not "the Spanish League", that league does not exist. Thanks.
+ a gritty, impressive showing from the Americans (Man of the Match is Tim Howard for me) against a solid Argentina side.
Euro 2008 match prediction success rate: 100% (4 for 4... look for this to take a hit with tomorrow's group of death matches)
Sadly, I wasn't able to enjoy today's Euro '08 as much as I would have liked due to a combination of shambolic transmission from my best friends at Comcast and me wasting a lot of time showing my computer illiterate cousin how to burn dvds from his girlfriend's laptop. I am ok with people being computer illiterate (if you are over 40), but what really irks me is when people fill up their generic PC computing box with a lot of generic bullshit spyware nonsense (those stupid search engine bars in IE and animated cursors, terrible). So helping involves a number of hurdles, such as overcoming the fact that your cursor is actually a fucking "I <3 NY" icon and you have filled up your hard drive with adware doodoo. Nice.
But I digress.
Highlight of the day was definitely the USA-Argentina match that I was able to watch without illiterate interruption. Here are some of the things that I liked (+) and didn't like (-) about the match:
+ Gago and Dempsey getting pissy with each other and trading words and fouls in the first half.
+ Eddie Johnson apparently yanking Mascherano's johnson in the second half... much to Javier's chagrin.
- the fact that Argentina continue to be one of the more hideous national sides in the world. Its almost as if they outcrossed Carles Puyol and a thawed Neanderthal to produce the team. (Reference exhibits A, B, and C.)
- refereeing worthy of UVA IMs instead of a FIFA governed international friendly. Who in their right mind could confuse Edu and Mastroeni?
- lackluster American commentary... Aguero plays in the Spanish Primera Liga, or La Liga, not "the Spanish League", that league does not exist. Thanks.
+ a gritty, impressive showing from the Americans (Man of the Match is Tim Howard for me) against a solid Argentina side.
Euro 2008 match prediction success rate: 100% (4 for 4... look for this to take a hit with tomorrow's group of death matches)
07 June 2008
euro thoughts
The tournament began today, and not a day too soon because I was getting tired of the only thing going on in the soccer world being transfer rumors. I enjoyed both games, and figured I would share my thoughts about each one.
Switzerland 0 - 1 Czech Republic
- Some countries have extremely trifling national anthems. The Czech Republic is one of them. "Where is My Homeland?" asks a question to which the answer is clearly "somewhere behind the Iron Curtain of old", because it sounds like a straight up soviet dirge. Terrible.
- Speaking of national anthems, instead of having the typical, you know, Swiss-looking person singing it, they had what appeared to be a gypsy in a swiss miss red dress. At least it was a respectable tune.
- Philippe Senderos is a clown in "defense". One of his best moves of the day was when he closed his legs to prevent an imminent megging, just to be dribbled around instead. Good job.
- Jan Koller is an absolute lurch of a man. He lacks the spindly, awkward qualities that at least make Peter Crouch entertaining to watch.
Portugal 2 - 0 Turkey
- Whoa, am I playing FIFA? No, thats just Andy Gray commentating on a real life match!
- All bias aside, the new generation of Nike uniforms are a little tight fitting for my taste... I saw a little more nipple outlines from both teams than I would care to see.
- I could have sworn this was a sneak preview of the games in Beijing, but not of the soccer competition. No, no, I thought the team diving competition had begun a few months early. Both teams were guilty of some rather mediocre acting in this respect, chief among all being the antithesis-of-handsome Tuncay Sanli.
- I wish ESPN would quit trying to provide American coverage of the tournament and just patch through telecasts from an English-speaking country that has sportscasters who know what the fuck is going on. Julie Foudy is a sweetheart, but I would even take the squad over at FSC over this.
Euro 2008 match prediction success rate: 100%
Thats all for today, I think I am going to Outback with my parents now. Oh, and Clinton conceded today... could this day get any better?
Switzerland 0 - 1 Czech Republic
- Some countries have extremely trifling national anthems. The Czech Republic is one of them. "Where is My Homeland?" asks a question to which the answer is clearly "somewhere behind the Iron Curtain of old", because it sounds like a straight up soviet dirge. Terrible.
- Speaking of national anthems, instead of having the typical, you know, Swiss-looking person singing it, they had what appeared to be a gypsy in a swiss miss red dress. At least it was a respectable tune.
- Philippe Senderos is a clown in "defense". One of his best moves of the day was when he closed his legs to prevent an imminent megging, just to be dribbled around instead. Good job.
- Jan Koller is an absolute lurch of a man. He lacks the spindly, awkward qualities that at least make Peter Crouch entertaining to watch.
Portugal 2 - 0 Turkey
- Whoa, am I playing FIFA? No, thats just Andy Gray commentating on a real life match!
- All bias aside, the new generation of Nike uniforms are a little tight fitting for my taste... I saw a little more nipple outlines from both teams than I would care to see.
- I could have sworn this was a sneak preview of the games in Beijing, but not of the soccer competition. No, no, I thought the team diving competition had begun a few months early. Both teams were guilty of some rather mediocre acting in this respect, chief among all being the antithesis-of-handsome Tuncay Sanli.
- I wish ESPN would quit trying to provide American coverage of the tournament and just patch through telecasts from an English-speaking country that has sportscasters who know what the fuck is going on. Julie Foudy is a sweetheart, but I would even take the squad over at FSC over this.
Euro 2008 match prediction success rate: 100%
Thats all for today, I think I am going to Outback with my parents now. Oh, and Clinton conceded today... could this day get any better?
06 June 2008
euro 2008
Tomorrow marks the beginning of Euro '08, which I don't think I could be more excited about. Futbol rivals football as my favorite sport, and the prospect of having almost an entire month of top notch competition going on makes me tingle with joy (yeah its that exciting).
And what takes already sumptuous sports competition even better? Yes that would be fantasy sports. As such, I have joined a few leagues and am willing to share my brash and probably incorrect predictions right here. Have more confidence in your predicting abilities, Brendan you say? I would, but... I kind of predicted that Italy would go nowhere in Germany 2006. Yeahhhh, so take these predictions and the commentary for what its worth.
Euro 2008
Preview - Group Stage (projected winners in bold)
Group A
Czech Republic
Portugal
Switzerland
Turkey
// The Czechs and the Portuguese overpower the competition in this one, but I give Rosicky and friends the edge to advance at the top spot. The Swiss will miss out in qualification for the knockout round, but will make it interesting and may well prove me wrong, as host countries are not to be underestimated (unless you are Austria, sry).
Group B
Germany
Croatia
Poland
Austria
// The Germans cruise as they look as comfortable in Austria as they did back in '38. The Croatians pip the Polish and advance as the two seed... sadly the Austrian hosts are blanked and will probably have to streak the Alps or something.
Group C - XXX GROUP OF DEATH XXX
France
Italy
Netherlands
Romania
// The aptly named group of death will offer up some of the best matches of the competition. Apologies to the Romanians, but they will probably be joining the Austrians in their streaking, as they will find it hard to claim a point in this group. I see France going out of the group on top, and the Netherlands missing out on the next round due to a lack of fitness overall.
Group D
Spain
Sweden
Greece
Russia
// With England out of the competition, Spain has sole claim of the title "biggest underperformers with highest expectations". They won't let that title stop them from advancing in first place from the group, but just wait for the later rounds for their patented knockout round chokejob. Sweden will edge out holders Greece for the second spot, as the Greeks will find it hard to repeat the magic of 2004.
So those are my predictions and I am sticking to them... right or (more probably) wrong.
And what takes already sumptuous sports competition even better? Yes that would be fantasy sports. As such, I have joined a few leagues and am willing to share my brash and probably incorrect predictions right here. Have more confidence in your predicting abilities, Brendan you say? I would, but... I kind of predicted that Italy would go nowhere in Germany 2006. Yeahhhh, so take these predictions and the commentary for what its worth.
Euro 2008
Preview - Group Stage (projected winners in bold)
Group A
Czech Republic
Portugal
Switzerland
Turkey
// The Czechs and the Portuguese overpower the competition in this one, but I give Rosicky and friends the edge to advance at the top spot. The Swiss will miss out in qualification for the knockout round, but will make it interesting and may well prove me wrong, as host countries are not to be underestimated (unless you are Austria, sry).
Group B
Germany
Croatia
Poland
Austria
// The Germans cruise as they look as comfortable in Austria as they did back in '38. The Croatians pip the Polish and advance as the two seed... sadly the Austrian hosts are blanked and will probably have to streak the Alps or something.
Group C - XXX GROUP OF DEATH XXX
France
Italy
Netherlands
Romania
// The aptly named group of death will offer up some of the best matches of the competition. Apologies to the Romanians, but they will probably be joining the Austrians in their streaking, as they will find it hard to claim a point in this group. I see France going out of the group on top, and the Netherlands missing out on the next round due to a lack of fitness overall.
Group D
Spain
Sweden
Greece
Russia
// With England out of the competition, Spain has sole claim of the title "biggest underperformers with highest expectations". They won't let that title stop them from advancing in first place from the group, but just wait for the later rounds for their patented knockout round chokejob. Sweden will edge out holders Greece for the second spot, as the Greeks will find it hard to repeat the magic of 2004.
So those are my predictions and I am sticking to them... right or (more probably) wrong.
05 June 2008
hillary supporter
Below is a transcript of a conversation I had with a friend, self-proclaimed feminist, and Hillary Clinton supporter. Keep these things in mind as you read. This kind of logic represents the uphill battle Obama faces in unifying the party before the convention.
(links added after the fact, comments separated from actual conversation by some sweet //)
me: oh come off it
hillary_fan: im mad you think HRC is an albatross
me: for obama, she would be
me: as vp
me: lets be real here
hillary_fan: he would be lucky to have her
me: LOL
hillary_fan: who is better? CERTAINLY not jim webb
me: no, definitely not
hillary_fan: im definitely voting mccain with webb on a ticket. maybe this kathleen sibelius person? i dont know
me: if he is going with a woman, he has to go with the madam governor of kansas
hillary_fan: 18 million people voted for hillary - thats a lot
me: lets quit rounding up here
me: 18 mil voted for obama as well
hillary_fan: right
me: by the rules, he won
hillary_fan: so doesnt that mean 36 mill would vote for both
me: it should!
me: they're all "democrats"
hillary_fan: oh i know he won, im not disputing that
me: as long as you discount those fiendish righties who voted for hillary to prolong the campaign
hillary_fan: or fiendish righties who voted for obama because they know mccain will demolish him
me: mccain isn't closer policy wise than obama
me: oh right
me: limbaugh wasn't urging his people to go out and vote for obama
me: they should FEAR obama
me: he inspires people
me: mccain literally looks like he is going to croak any minute
hillary_fan: why though - he inspires false hope.
hillary_fan: i want to believe him brendan
me: FALSE HOPE?!?!
hillary_fan: i want to sooo badly - i just DONT
me: you are crazy right now, friend
me: I think you need to cool down a bit after the hillary let down
hillary_fan: im sorry! i cant help it! i just dont believe what he says - and thats always been the case
hillary_fan: i mean - i believe he honestly wants change, etc etc. but i dont believe he can do it
me: even if you don't believe in his message of hope, POLICY wise, he supports more similar things than mccain
me: you can't deny that
me: so you can't honestly say that you would rather have mccain in office
me: the gop is dying right now
hillary_fan: everyone says he wants a new kind of politics, but you cant just decide to change everything - sometimes you need to work within an imperfect system to actually accomplish anything, and as much as people hated clinton for thinking she was manipulative, thats what being a succsessful politician IS
me: I'm not saying that he will be 100% successful
hillary_fan: i honestly think obama wouldnt do shit and mccain would keep us safe while taking away some of my rights maybe - and i need to decide which i prefer
me: WOW
me: not just taking away rights... denying them // just ask ellen
me: HE stands with the people who would rather not let gay people get married
hillary_fan: i know
me: HE stands with the people who want nonsense taught in our schools
hillary_fan: and thats an obvious negative
me: HE stands for most everything you DISLIKE!!!
hillary_fan: i KNOWW but i also think he could do positive things - immigration reform, etc
me: I mean he is better than the average repub on some things, but not by much
hillary_fan: and you have to balance that
me: I am telling you right now... he could be a more disastrous president than bush
me: he is all too ready to put other countries to the sword
me: he is against the Webb GI Bill for christ's sake // check that link, its a gem
me: the man makes no sense
hillary_fan: im just going to have to learn more about him, is all im saying
hillary_fan: im not tying mysef down blindly to one party - that makes no sense
me: he claims to be a foreign policy guy but can't keep sunni and shiite straight!
me: thats true
me: but the whole reason for parties is to facilitate collective action
hillary_fan: ill watch the debates, research them both, and make an informed decision
me: collective action based on common beliefs
me: clinton and obama have common beliefs
hillary_fan: i dont want to take collective action for someone im not sure will meet my needs
me: mccain lies far away from those beliefs
hillary_fan: i KNOW they do - practically identical - but he wont do anything
me: so you would rather have someone enacting policy you DISLIKE than someone who will at least try (and probably succeed with a democratic congress on his side) to enact policy you LIKE
hillary_fan: yes - but only because the person i dislike would also inevitably do some things i like
me: bonnie, you must see the fallacy in this
me: I see
hillary_fan: i see it this way - obama would do zero things in office, and mccain would do maybe 10 - 8 of which i would hate, but 2 of which i would like
hillary_fan: so that means mccain would do 2 more things that i like than obama would
hillary_fan: so whats the problem
...
me: I will guarantee you that there will be a bigger democratic majority in the next congress
me: and if thats the case
me: and somehow mccain gets elected with the help of clinton dem defectors
me: that will be the biggest political blunder in decades
me: DECADES //nay, centuries... reference the Whig's missed chance with the death of W.H. Harrison and subsequent Presidency of John Tyler
me: thats my story and i'm sticking to it
hillary_fan: well obviously the dems will take congress - but if mccain wins we KNOW he can be a bipartisan politician, and is, in fact, more moderate than obama, so whwats the problem
me: he was bipartisan... in 2000. he was a maverick... in 2000
me: he has become a right wing panderer in his quixotic quest for the republican nomination and the presidency
me: he doesn't make sense anymore
hillary_fan: in order to get the nomination, he had to. he'll inevitably center himself now
me: and is trying to be ronald reagan and failing
hillary_fan: thats the way he'll win - positioning himself as a moderate to obama's radical communist, or whatever
me: haha // for the record, thats a nervous laugh
This kind of thinking just won't do, Hillary fans out there. Yes, you were emotionally invested in a candidate you thought would be a great president. But she's out of the game now and you need to come to your senses and support the next best candidate for your personal political preferences. So unless you were one of those "Reagan Democrats" anyway, one that has been voting for Republicans since the 80s or whatever and would honestly prefer McCain's policies, get over it. Take your sour grapes, make some wine, and join the Obama camp because we're going to be partying when its January 20, 2009.
(links added after the fact, comments separated from actual conversation by some sweet //)
me: oh come off it
hillary_fan: im mad you think HRC is an albatross
me: for obama, she would be
me: as vp
me: lets be real here
hillary_fan: he would be lucky to have her
me: LOL
hillary_fan: who is better? CERTAINLY not jim webb
me: no, definitely not
hillary_fan: im definitely voting mccain with webb on a ticket. maybe this kathleen sibelius person? i dont know
me: if he is going with a woman, he has to go with the madam governor of kansas
hillary_fan: 18 million people voted for hillary - thats a lot
me: lets quit rounding up here
me: 18 mil voted for obama as well
hillary_fan: right
me: by the rules, he won
hillary_fan: so doesnt that mean 36 mill would vote for both
me: it should!
me: they're all "democrats"
hillary_fan: oh i know he won, im not disputing that
me: as long as you discount those fiendish righties who voted for hillary to prolong the campaign
hillary_fan: or fiendish righties who voted for obama because they know mccain will demolish him
me: mccain isn't closer policy wise than obama
me: oh right
me: limbaugh wasn't urging his people to go out and vote for obama
me: they should FEAR obama
me: he inspires people
me: mccain literally looks like he is going to croak any minute
hillary_fan: why though - he inspires false hope.
hillary_fan: i want to believe him brendan
me: FALSE HOPE?!?!
hillary_fan: i want to sooo badly - i just DONT
me: you are crazy right now, friend
me: I think you need to cool down a bit after the hillary let down
hillary_fan: im sorry! i cant help it! i just dont believe what he says - and thats always been the case
hillary_fan: i mean - i believe he honestly wants change, etc etc. but i dont believe he can do it
me: even if you don't believe in his message of hope, POLICY wise, he supports more similar things than mccain
me: you can't deny that
me: so you can't honestly say that you would rather have mccain in office
me: the gop is dying right now
hillary_fan: everyone says he wants a new kind of politics, but you cant just decide to change everything - sometimes you need to work within an imperfect system to actually accomplish anything, and as much as people hated clinton for thinking she was manipulative, thats what being a succsessful politician IS
me: I'm not saying that he will be 100% successful
hillary_fan: i honestly think obama wouldnt do shit and mccain would keep us safe while taking away some of my rights maybe - and i need to decide which i prefer
me: WOW
me: not just taking away rights... denying them // just ask ellen
me: HE stands with the people who would rather not let gay people get married
hillary_fan: i know
me: HE stands with the people who want nonsense taught in our schools
hillary_fan: and thats an obvious negative
me: HE stands for most everything you DISLIKE!!!
hillary_fan: i KNOWW but i also think he could do positive things - immigration reform, etc
me: I mean he is better than the average repub on some things, but not by much
hillary_fan: and you have to balance that
me: I am telling you right now... he could be a more disastrous president than bush
me: he is all too ready to put other countries to the sword
me: he is against the Webb GI Bill for christ's sake // check that link, its a gem
me: the man makes no sense
hillary_fan: im just going to have to learn more about him, is all im saying
hillary_fan: im not tying mysef down blindly to one party - that makes no sense
me: he claims to be a foreign policy guy but can't keep sunni and shiite straight!
me: thats true
me: but the whole reason for parties is to facilitate collective action
hillary_fan: ill watch the debates, research them both, and make an informed decision
me: collective action based on common beliefs
me: clinton and obama have common beliefs
hillary_fan: i dont want to take collective action for someone im not sure will meet my needs
me: mccain lies far away from those beliefs
hillary_fan: i KNOW they do - practically identical - but he wont do anything
me: so you would rather have someone enacting policy you DISLIKE than someone who will at least try (and probably succeed with a democratic congress on his side) to enact policy you LIKE
hillary_fan: yes - but only because the person i dislike would also inevitably do some things i like
me: bonnie, you must see the fallacy in this
me: I see
hillary_fan: i see it this way - obama would do zero things in office, and mccain would do maybe 10 - 8 of which i would hate, but 2 of which i would like
hillary_fan: so that means mccain would do 2 more things that i like than obama would
hillary_fan: so whats the problem
...
me: I will guarantee you that there will be a bigger democratic majority in the next congress
me: and if thats the case
me: and somehow mccain gets elected with the help of clinton dem defectors
me: that will be the biggest political blunder in decades
me: DECADES //nay, centuries... reference the Whig's missed chance with the death of W.H. Harrison and subsequent Presidency of John Tyler
me: thats my story and i'm sticking to it
hillary_fan: well obviously the dems will take congress - but if mccain wins we KNOW he can be a bipartisan politician, and is, in fact, more moderate than obama, so whwats the problem
me: he was bipartisan... in 2000. he was a maverick... in 2000
me: he has become a right wing panderer in his quixotic quest for the republican nomination and the presidency
me: he doesn't make sense anymore
hillary_fan: in order to get the nomination, he had to. he'll inevitably center himself now
me: and is trying to be ronald reagan and failing
hillary_fan: thats the way he'll win - positioning himself as a moderate to obama's radical communist, or whatever
me: haha // for the record, thats a nervous laugh
This kind of thinking just won't do, Hillary fans out there. Yes, you were emotionally invested in a candidate you thought would be a great president. But she's out of the game now and you need to come to your senses and support the next best candidate for your personal political preferences. So unless you were one of those "Reagan Democrats" anyway, one that has been voting for Republicans since the 80s or whatever and would honestly prefer McCain's policies, get over it. Take your sour grapes, make some wine, and join the Obama camp because we're going to be partying when its January 20, 2009.
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