Bush flip flops on Putin's soul. It seems like only yesterday that Bush said of President Vladimir Putin: "I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straight forward and trustworthy and we had a very good dialogue... I was able to get a sense of his soul." Now, Bush accuses the Russian president of "bullying and intimidation." It remains unclear whether Putin has changed or Bush has bad soul-dar.

Condoleeza Rice leaks conscience to the press. [or "in rare moment, Condoleeza Rice let's conscience slip."] The Secretary of State said "military power" is "not the way to deal in the 21st century."

In a similar episode, the AP lets the truth slip, referring to Joe Lieberman as "the Democratic vice presidential prick* in 2000..."

William Kristol lies only 1/4 of the time. Since joining The New York Times Op Ed team in January, William Kristol has already forced the paper to issue four corrections. Although Kristol founded the Weekly Standard, he prefers writing for The New York Times, where
he can push the neo-con agenda, bring down Obama, and destroy the credibility of a newspaper he hates, all at the same time.

McCain's cone of silence could be confirmed by Ear, Nose and Throat doctor.
The McCain campaign insists that the presumptive Republican nominee was in a cone of silence during Rick Warren's interview of Obama. Some, however, suggest that, since McCain was traveling in his motorcade, "he may not have been in the cone of silence" and might have had "some ability to overhear" the questions. This leaves the McCain campaign in the unenviable position of holding the world's first nationally televised presidential audiological test in order to prove that the cone of silence was unnecessary because the senator is hard of hearing.

Bored with just stealing American jobs, immigrants turn to taking away our medals.

*You would think that with a last name like hers, the AP reporter, Nedra Pickler, would be more careful.

Originally posted at The Field

Have you got this vibe going in your family? We do!

Evolved home education and most all forms of "alternative education" just go hand-in-hand with this vibe. (Anti-intellectual church-driven school-at-home excepted, of course.)

I'll bet your kids exude it too -- Colleen's long-haired Jerry, Not June Cleaver's skateboarders, Nance's two quintessential unschoolers, Doc's quirky country fair quartet, Daryl's dancers, COD's fencer and equestrian. Heck, I was a brainy counterculture fencer myself, once upon a time. (The True Vibe can't be contained, even in regular public school!)

Always unschooled Favorite Daughter and her mostly-schooled boyfriend were part of The World Yo-Yo Contest in Orlando. For five thrilling days, they were organizer Greg Cohen's trusted roadies and grips and security behind the scenes, technical crew supporting and marveling at these brainy counterculture young boys and what they could do.

The contest from July 31 to Aug. 2 drew 196 competitors from 20 countries, mostly teenage boys, who exuded an unthreatening and brainy counterculture vibe. They looked like skateboarders stuck inside on a rainy day.

Many admitted to not quite fitting in back home, where no one seems to take the yo-yo as seriously as they do. Most dressed in black T-shirts and wore their hair long. They had callused middle fingers and forearms scarred by string marks, and often carried backpacks or hard cases filled with yo-yos, some costing hundreds of dollars.

The younger competitors were chaperoned by proud parents or grandparents, willing to keep their distance . . .

Passing guests invariably watched in wonder.

When she got home that Sunday night, FavD didn't stop talking for hours. She planned to blog it all, when she could process it into power of story she could corral and tame. So far that hasn't happened, but maybe it will. If it doesn't, that won't mean it's any less real. Maybe it means it's MORE real than the same old standard stories.

Today Barack Obama is in Orlando (although not literally with yo-yos, AFAIK.) Right now he is saying to the veterans' group that "I believe the American people are better than that", that our performance now must include "acting tough AND smart" to clean up the "calamity left behind" from the past eight years of George Bush and John McCain.

What I love about Obama is that he has the brainy counterculture yo-yo vibe going on. It's like he's speaking a whole new language as he explains the great new moves he's working up to show us. We're all invited to join in and be part of something magical.

But just copying old tricks like churches and schools do, is not merely inadequate. It's a loser move and everybody knows it, which means it's downright embarrassing! Makes the audience uncomfortable even as they try to be polite and respectful. Yes, John McCain, I'm talking to YOU.

My blogging will be at a minimum for at least two weeks. My family is going off to visit my family in California! My son has been counting the days til we leave since August 1st. We are half packed and ready to leave tomorrow. Tomorrow will be airline hell, but by Tuesday I will be happily settling into my California relaxation mode.

I used to love flying. Now, if it wasn't for my family living across the country, I'd avoid flying like the plague. Between Homeland Security's ineffectual but degradingly insulting measures and the airline's incresasingly petty fees and service cuts, the fun has been totally sucked out of air travel, leaving nothing but a husk of misery, anger and bitterness. I used to travel with a smile and just enjoy the ride. Now I fly with a tight lipped sense of dread. Thank you very much airlines. You suck and your suckiness gets worse year after year.

For years US military personnel favored Republicans. I was not always clear on why, I have to admit, and my stepfather was a clear exception to this rule. He fought in WW II and Korea, retired the youngest Lt.-Col. in the history of the US Army (at least up to that point) and taught at Westpoint. And was a lifelong Democrat who in his retirement took to reading The Nation. But the fact was that most US military personnel were Republicans.

That has changed starting in 2002 and as of this year deployed US military personnel have donated to Obama 6:1 over McCain.

From the above linked Daily Kos Diary:

Here are some key talking points:

1. US military 2008 presidential campaign donations, from deployed US troops, favor Barack Obama over John McCain by a 6:1 margin.

2. The Open Secrets study was comprehensive - as ABC notes, "The center tallied money from donors who list the Air Force, Army, Marines, Navy and National Guard as an employer".

3. US military personnel have made a major shift in their donations, in favor of the Democratic Party, since 2002, when military donations favored the GOP by almost 5:1. Now, in '08, those donations favor the GOP only 3:2. That's a huge shift.

I have to agree with Al Giordano, 2008 is the year of the viral video.

Seems the Republicans are losing on the "character" and "values" issues. The pastor and spiritual advisor to the Bush family, the very man who presided at Jenna Bush's wedding recently, has harshly criticized Republican John McCain for his lack of values and poor character and has endorsed Barack Obama.

Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell of the Windsor Village United Methodist Church gave the official benedictions at Bush's inauguration in 2001 and 2005. Although a controversial figure for his first inaugural benediction in 2001 that explicitly excluded non-Christians, and for his inspiration of Bush's "faith based initiatives," there is no question that he is in touch with what Republicans mean when they discuss values and character.

Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell just publicly denounced John McCain's morals and has endorsed Barack Obama.

This seems to have been precipitated by the furor about John Edwards' affair, leading Caldwell to point out John McCain's own infidelities. It was also precipitated by John McCain's offering up of his wife to a topless and rather obscene (keyword: banana) pagent at the Sturgis bike rally last week. I guess John McCain's behavior is not pleasing Christians interested in true values rather than mere words.

The freedom loving sheriff of Denver aided and abetted by the city's major, has created a detention pen full of cages just in time for the DNCC. The place is not even a correctional facility --it's is cages inside an abandoned warehouse with no visible water, bathrooms, ventilation or access to phones and lawyers.

Oh, did I mention this detention place full of human cages was supposed to be a secret?

Denying due process to people without US citizenship, residency papers, green cards or a visa is becoming a business racket for private prisons and private security (aka paramilitary) companies.

The more people are thrown into those jails, the more money the concentration camps make.

Welcome to the new American economy.

h/t American Humanity

When Entertainment Weekly conducted a Woodward and Bernstein-like investigation of "all the presidential candidates'" pop culture favorites, I was shocked-and-awed to learn you are a Curb Your Enthusiasm fan.

Although I disagree with your policies, I must admit I share your taste in television, which, as they say, makes strange bedfellows. So, as a fellow fan, I beg you to "curb your enthusiasm" for the show. Since your endorsement, I've been unable to think of Curb without imagining this frightening image: You are in one of your nine houses in full relaxation mode, you've kicked off your $520 Ferregamo calf skin loafers and you're curled up on the couch with Cindy (whom you just arm wrestled for the remote), snuggling under a polar-bear-fur blanket while a taxidermied bald eagle keeps vigil on the mantle with caribou heads and framed ABBA albums on the walls and you're surrounded by good friends like John Hagee, Rod Parsley and Ralph Reed --your adopted child nowhere in sight (as usual)-- everyone laughing away. I'm scared that this image will haunt me forever and prevent me from enjoying the next season, which I've been looking forward to with much excitement.

I understand that the awkward, white-haired curmudgeon who is always saying the wrong thing as his significantly younger blond wife smiles and suffers is a character with whom you can identify. But I think once you consider the aspects of the show you might have missed, or tried to repress, you'll want to retract your endorsement for the sake of your campaign, your maverick-like integrity, and your country.