Palin’s Power Of Protest Pales

Hello.

So many things changed in the five months I was gone. Neil Gaiman got himself a girlfriend, Dick Cheney finally decided to open his mouth, and has there been even more celebrity up-skirting or am I just seeing things?

Oh and why is Sarah Palin still talking? I thought the Republican Party made themselves clear at the end of the election. She’s become a sort of diva politician. Irritating. Even her exceptions to Dave Letterman’s remarks are uncouth and confusing. She cannot make her self understood. Palin should take a  road trip with Tom Petty and Bob Dylan, she’s so succinct. I read her comments and I can’t decide if she’s upset about the cheap shot taken at her daughter or just milking the whole thing for more media time.  If it were anyone with an ounce of grace ,they would protest clearly and concisely and then drop it in order to keep their child’s name from circulating through the press. But Palin actually seems to enjoy parading her daughter through the media as some sort of Saint of the Unwed Teenage Mothers.  Looking at the skyrocketing statistics from the past ten years, this is  not something that should be encouraged. Most teen mothers are poor and lose choices for a better life. They are not the spoiled self -involved child of a politician who talks like a Dr. Suess character.

Maybe it’s just that Palin can’t  keep a clear thought in her head. Maybe her  Hubble telescope glasses are interfering with her neruons. Perhaps if she opted for a smaller style when she spoke the rest of us Earthlings could understand her tirades . Until that happens, maybe she should just shhh.

 

Dogwoman

Just Say No To Drugging Children

Hello.

Is your child a daydreamer? Do they spend time living in a world of their own creation? Do you find it really annoying when they tell you long winded stories about things that are outrageous? Are you concerned that this might be a sign of mental illness because they are not thinking clearly, like an adult?

Have I got a website/cure for you!

Apparently, if you give them an herbal essence you can cure this terrible affliction. In fact, according to this website, you can cure everything that’s wrong with children today with a few drops of flower essences.

I originally found this in a health food store and spent a good five minutes laughing and the rest of the night being puzzled. Clematis is not a flower I would recommend anyone ingest.  People have an over-confidence problem when it comes to anything labeled “herbal”.  It’s hard to keep in mind that all those nifty medical prescriptions come from plants and flowers, the only difference is the active ingredient has been supercharged or isolated depending on the drug. For a long time Comfrey was on the shelves as a tea, despite the fact that anyone with even a little knowledge would say one should never take Comfrey internally. Eventually the government got wise and ordered that all Comfrey teas be pulled from the shelves.

Herbal medications, like general prescription drugs, ‘cure’ nothing. They alleviate symptoms. And there are a whole bunch of provisos that if one is not aware of can actually make one very ill. For example, if you take warfarin or coumadin you should never drink chamomile tea. Chamomile contains cumarins and if you are on a blood thinner you could bleed internally.

All that aside, if you are giving your child herbal medications to fix shyness or tantrums, there is something wrong with you. Some children are shy, some are bratty,  it’s called having a personality. As for a daydreamer, well some children are more creative than others. It’s not an affliction that needs medication. If they refuse to have any social contact or scream when you touch them get them tested for autism, otherwise leave them alone.

I for one am a champion daydreamer. I love to slip off mentally and take a vacation once in while. Then I write about it. My son also spends time in a world of his own. Then he writes music. There is nothing wrong with nipping out just to enjoy your own mind every so often. It’s called being creative. Without it science would never catch up to fiction.

So parents, relax, and know that having a creative intelligent child is not something you need to have them medicated for. They’ll either outgrow it or write a new symphony.

Hopefully, we will soon find a plant that will cure overactive stupidity in parents, until that day comes……

Dogwoman

Don’t Come Around Here No More

Hello.

John Edwards made a speech last night. It went something like this:

“There is one man who knows and understands that this is a time for bold leadership. There is one man that knows how to create the change, the lasting change, that you have to build from the ground up,” Edwards said. “There is one man who knows in his heart there is time to create one America, not two…”  And that man is–

Alan Greenspan??

Warren Buffett??

William Easterly??

Noooo, Barak Obama.

Edwards, after waiting months to see how the race would turn out, has thrown all of his political weight, all 20 ounces, behind Obama. And he did it right here in the Mich.

Are you (radio edit) kidding me? I smell ploy. Big, billowing clouds of political ploy wafting all over the west side of this state. Seriously, one whole side of our mitten is now covered in snake oil. Someone call the Nature Conservancy I think we have a disaster site that needs cleaning.

These two couldn’t be arsed when it came to the problems with our primary. They blithely stuck with Howard Dean and his mindless drones at the DNC in their quest to disenfranchise Michigan voters. They punished every voter in this state because our primary date was moved. Obama has gone so far as to suggest he get half of the delegates. Even though he refused to put his name on our ballot. Now they’re grandstanding in Grand Rapids?

Ya know who else visited Grand Rapids? George W Bush. Dick Cheney. John McCain. Bono. Ya know why they go to Grand Rapids? Because, Lansing, Detroit and Ann Arbor won’t allow them past the city limits. They have standards. While Grand Rapids is the Babylonian whore of Michigan cities.

The new financial center of our state is located in Grand Rapids. If one wishes to cull the political newbies who control or have large amounts of cash, Grand Rapids is the place to do it. Not to mention, it being the home of one of our most benign and lovably forgettable Presidents, it tends to make a statement. Which statement I’m not sure. Maybe something like “I’m a political hack who wants you to equate me with President Ford.” or maybe “See, I’m a harmless conservative” or “Give me all your money.”

My position is this: When I see Obama in a pair of old jeans, hosting a rally in Flint, shaking hands with Michael Moore and holding a steaming hot pasty, then I might lighten up.

But watching these two slick snakes spend a night patting one another on the back in OUR state is just tasteless and petty.

Tom Petty.

Because as I watched events unfold this is what went through my head:

Don’t come around here no more

Whatever you’re looking for

Give it up

Hey!

Give it up

And now I can’t get that damn song out of my head.

One more thing to hate them for.

Dogwoman

I Know A Place You Can Stick Your Brand

Hello.

If you turned your lights out for an hour on Saturday, I weep for you.

Earth Hour was a sneaky little trick pulled by business entrepreneurs to Brand a political movement.

So was the collection of world wide rock concerts sponsored by the Man in Green, Al Gore.

So is the Red Program

So is any charitable or humanitarian movement in which anyone in a suit whose lips move faster than the rest of them is involved.

Branding is a pandemic.

There is a rush to slap a label on everything in an attempt to market to the overcrowded market. However, if what is being branded is a movement or a humanitarian group or goal, then it’s taking the whole point of that movement or goal and flushing straight down the potty. People are fickle and don’t really like to be told how to feel about issues. Many of the ‘new’ movements are emotionally driven. The pros and cons of each should be left up to the individual, not the corporation. It is lazy to allow a politician or rock star or dot com executive to tell you what to think. People should think for themselves. And many do.

Contrary to popular thought, branding things like Global Warming is actually counterproductive. Yes, it gets more attention but it’s usually negative attention. Rational people are less likely, despite what slick charts tell you, to engage in an activity that has a corporate brand on it. Those who jump through these politically driven hoops tend to be younger and less focused or older and concerned what others think of them.

Politicians love brands because it tells them exactly what to do. Corporations love brands because they can direct their marketing at target audiences, like children. Everything from music groups to art galleries have hired marketing strategists to create a brand that will get noticed. That’s why Amy Winehouse and Lindsy Lohan have recording contracts. They’re not good, they’re just easy.

I think of it this way. The only thing that should be branded is cattle. And only so ranchers can tell one cow from another.

If the powers that wanna be begin branding things like Global Warming or international charities people will be less likely to take them seriously. It is seen as a way to get the attention of children or the hopelessly insecure.

As for Earth Hour, well uh, my house is always lit up as though the Mother Ship has just landed. I like to think of it as a beacon in the darkness of mooing ignorance that surrounds us all. My husbands thinks of it as a condition called ‘Childitis’ i.e.: that act of having children who won’t turn off the light when they leave a room. Sigh.

Dogwoman

Thought For The Days To Come

Hello.

Is it just me or do the Democratic candidates spend more time talking about themselves than the issues?

I still don’t care if Obama is black or Hilary is a woman. No amount of media hype is going to make me care.

I care that these ‘agents of change’ don’t talk about the recession, Iraq, the credit crunch and subsequent devaluation of the dollar, continuing rising insurance and health care rates and educational issues.

I care that the only thing they care about is the other candidate. It’s very sweet, but maybe they could knock that shit off and get back to what is important.

Dogwoman

Book ‘Em Danno

Hello.

There’s a boycott going on, didn’t you know?

Muslim States are boycotting the Paris Book Fair because the guest of honor is Israel.

It’s a book fair. A collection or gathering of writers and publishers. Not a G8 convention. It’s asinine to boycott books because the GOH is a hotbed of political controversy. I’m thinking that if the flyleaf were on the other cover this wouldn’t be an issue. It’s another attempt to politicize an event to make a point. Okay, point made. Move on.

What a terrible thing to happen to writers from countries like Morocco, Iran, Lebanon. Here in America, we don’t get a lot of exposure to World Lit, even if we take the class in college. World Lit class gives us books like Things Fall Apart and Night. Both very good books but, surely we could use some of the North African writers or Norwegian writers or Arab writers. But no. If I want a book by a non American writer I have to sign into Amazon with a fake accent. Most current American ‘Literature’ is crap. To my way of thinking James Patterson is not a writer, he’s a man with a formula and a business plan. I went walking through a bookstore recently and found that seventeen books in the A-L section had the word Daughter in the title. American writers have become so crap they can’t even think of their own titles anymore. We need World Lit writers. Desperately. Please.

My point is, Book Fairs, be they in Paris, London, Turin or elsewhere are there to bring new writers and old writers into a place where literature can be examined openly and not sotto voce in a tiny tea room or remote artists’ loft. Boycotting only hurts the writers. And if a country wants to gain a political foothold, they should stop gagging the very people who can make that happen for them. To issue a boycott for political reasons in a realm where exceptional lying is a way of life just seems a bit oxymoronish. While writers can write about political issues, politics, historically, has never been allowed to decide the moment for writers. Well, except the Salman Rushdie thing, but that’s over so, why dwell?

I’m thinking that the political movers and shakers in this day of bland unexciting news reporting have forgotten a very important point. Writing is an art form. It’s art.

And it takes a small mind to tell an artist that they can’t show their work because they don’t like what the artists from another country have to say.

Dogwoman

Win At Any Kost

Hello.

I just came across a post at the Daily Kos stating that Michigan voters should vote for Mitt Romney because it would screw the Republicans. And since our votes don’t count anyway, what’s the harm?

The harm is:

1.Why would would we want to duplicate Republican tactics that say “win at any cost” ? Emulating shysters makes one into the very thing one is fighting against.

2. I hate Mitt Romney. If we really wanted to screw with Republicans we should vote for Giuliani.

3. I have to live with myself after the election, you know. And one can only take so many showers in a day.

4. There isn’t a Republican candidate that stands a holy hell’s breath of chance at winning the Presidential election. Honestly, President Rommney? Huckabee? McCain might give a a good run but he’s crazy and a liar, so no. And even the Republicans know it.

So thanks Kos, but no thanks. And stop encouraging your readers to participate in this nonsense. It’s a smokescreen. The Kos backs Obama, who is not on the ballot in Michigan. They wouldn’t want Hilary to win Michigan by much of a margin. Between the inevitable write ins and other factors it’s possible to crush and dismiss a Clinton win in Michigan.  What better way to avoid that little faux pas than to ask us to vote for a Republican candidate?

I’m not buying what you are selling.

Dogwoman

Top Tubes

Hello.

So, have you ever been tooling around the net only to find something so horrifying you must stop and examine it from all angles? Today I found just the thing. It’s called, and please I am not making this up, GodTube.

That’s right folks, now for all of you who feel there aren’t enough religion inspired videos on YouTube, there’s finally a place for you. I was particularly entranced with their tagline “Broadcast Him”. Note the capital H. Otherwise, it could be ‘him’ anybody. With the capital it let’s the world know it’s the BIG HIM, not just anyone. And does HIM want to be broadcast? That’s something we’ll have to wait to find out.

The video’s include, sermons, Christian music videos, and a Fox News interview. ‘Cause when I think HIM, I think Fox news. No, really, everyone knows that all of their information comes, not from journalistic integrity, but from on High. By which I mean the White House press secretaries.

This is what their CEO had to say about why they started GodTube:

“Most Christians want to reach un-churched people,” Smith said, “but you have to be really smart about where you reach un-churched people at.”

Un-churched? He makes it sound like if you don’t go to church you have a disease. “Don’t go near them Susie, they’re Unchurched .” At which point the wailing begins and Christians flee to begin preparing for Armageddon. Unchurched, I’ll just put that on my list of words that need never be used again, like the word scrummy.

I am amused when things like this pop up. Christian Fundamentalists harp on and on about secular society and it’s evil ways but they seem to have no problem taking the most popular things from that society and giving them a religious bent. They think they are creating something new but in fact, they are not. The Fundamentalists haven’t had anything new in sometime. Like country music, they just steal a good idea and put their own twist on it. I thought stealing was against the Law?

I should mention at this point that, apparently, there is a JewTube and an IslamicTube as well. As of yet we have not seen a BuddistTube or a JainistTube but, we’re waiting.

I was going to create my own site called ApathyTube but, really, I couldn’t be arsed.

Dogwoman