sonnet 1

although i often start projects (cough-cough-THIS BLOG-cough-cough) that i don't finish, i have a feeling this sonnet is going to be a part of a long-term collection of sonnets describing me, my personality, my beliefs, and the way i am.

sonnet 1

i'm often pressured to rinse my mouth clean,
when it's contents are little more than grit.
i need to swill an elixir serene,
something more liquid than my ash-filled spit.
i'm told i should lust after something cool,
a tonic that could purify my tongue.
oftentimes i speak just like a fool.
my words erupt, from inside out they're flung.
but if i have to drink an antidote
that's purpose is to rid my mouth of sound
i'd rather suffer from an arid throat
than forfeit scripts potentially profound.
apologies to whom my grit offends;
but candor is on what my life depends.

Week in Review: Barack is Swahili for "That One"

This week has provided me with a lot of political events to think about... and consequently blog about.

First of all, the debate this Wednesday, which I already wrote a post about. Obama mentioned a plan, however, that I didn't give enough attention - nor did anyone else really - but I thought was a fabulous proposal and want to mention now. Obama pointed out America's inferior position in the automobile industry - despite the fact that the auto industry was born in the U.S. - due to the lack of alternative fuel technology in comparison with the Asian auto industries. He suggested that we bring that technology to the U.S. and start catching up with the East - which I think is am amazing plan to create jobs, improve the environment with greener technology, and bringing the pride of the automobile back to the United States. That's my 2 cents.

Thursday night brought a breath of fresh air and some laughs at the Alfred E. Smith memorial dinner in New York. There were some hilarious jabs the candidates took at themselves and at each other:

The Chicago Tribune published the following article: (I actually just left the quotes from McCain and Obama that I thought were funny)

NEW YORK -- Barack Obama and John McCain appeared together last night at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner. The entertaining pool report here comes from the New York Times' Jeff Zeleny:

"I can't shake that feeling that some people here are pulling for me," Mr. McCain said, turning to the far side of the stage. "I'm delighted to see you here tonight, Hillary."

Mr. McCain assured those in the ballroom that his rival was not fazed by being called, "That one," during the second presidential debate.

"He doesn't mind at all, in fact, he even has a pet name for me: George Bush," Mr. McCain said.

After a handshake, Mr. Obama took the lectern for his turn.

"I was originally told the venue would be Yankee Stadium. Can somebody tell me what happened to the Greek columns that I requested?" Mr. Obama said.

Later, he added: "I do love the Waldorf Astoria. I hear from the doorstep you can see all the way to the Russian Tea Room."

Mr. Obama, noting his age, said he did not have the pleasure of knowing Al Smith, but added: "From everything Senator McCain has told me, he was a great man."

Mr. Obama called it "a tribute to American democracy" that the two rivals could come together two weeks before the election to "sit down at the same dinner table without preconditions."

Finally, Mr. Obama did a riff on the question that Mr. McCain has been asking voters: Who is the real Barack Obama?

"I actually was not born in a manger," Mr. Obama said.

"Barack is actually Swahili for That One," he added.

"I got my middle name from somebody who obviously didn't think I would ever run for president," he continued.

He predicted that several October surprises were likely to occur, including: "My middle name is actually Steve," he said, speaking over loud applause. "Barack Steve Obama."

The McCains - the senator and his wife - clapped only tepidly when Mr. Obama said, "Fox News accused me of having two African American children in wedlock." The crowd, it seemed, wasn't sure how to respond.

Friday brought back the mudslinging as both candidates hit the campaign trail, with Obama in Virginia and McCain in Florida - and horribly received "RoboCalls" from the RNC regarding Obama's relationship with Bill Ayers were sent out throughout many states, most of which were crucial swing states for this election. Here's the rather nondescript phone call recording from the RoboCall:

Hello. I'm calling for John McCain and the RNC because you need to know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, whose organization bombed the U.S. capitol, the Pentagon, a judge's home and killed Americans. And Democrats will enact an extreme leftist agenda if they take control of Washington. Barack Obama and his Democratic allies lack the judgment to lead our country. This call was paid for by McCain-Palin 2008 and the Republican National Committee at 202-863-8500.

This Saturday, Sarah Palin appeared on Saturday Night Live as herself, to introduce the show in the beginning ("Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!") - and all I can say is that she sucked, she wasn't funny, and everyone who thinks she's "so great for getting out there with people who clearly don't like her, how brave!" can eat it - all it did was further illustrate how grossly unqualified she is and what little knowledge she has by just playing up her "pretty face" (which I personally don't see).

I'm excited to see what ridiculousness next week holds...

"For it's ONE! TWO! THREE! strikes you're out..."

Another one for the books... The third, and final, debate between John McCain and Barack Obama before the 2008 presidential election was tonight. This one was critical for the candidates, as its the last time many undecided voters will hear from the candidates before the election, which is less than 3 weeks away.

McCain had a lot at stake; the debate has been regarded as a "make or break" moment for his campaign based on current polls and the overall condition the campaign has been in recently. How did it end up?

Well, McCain definitely showed that he deserves his latest self-given label: fighter. He was on the offensive all night, he didn't hesitate to bring up Obama's associations with Bill Ayers and ACORN, he boldly questioned Obama about some of his proposals, and he directly addressed Obama's comparisons between McCain and Bush by suggesting he should have run 4 years ago if he wanted to run a campaign against Bush's policies. But he also seemed a bit more of an attack dog than a composed political figure - especially based on his physical demeanor alone. His eyes were very red, watery, and he was constantly blinking, he rolled his eyes at Obama, he did his odd little tongue-jab move numerous times, he interrupted Obama often, corrected the moderator when he asked about climate control ("climate change," he interjected), and he "sneered" (in the words of Anderson Cooper) quite often.

Obama certainly appeared to be on the defensive for the beginning of the debate, but he seemed to handle it well. When addressed about Ayers and ACORN, he clearly explained his relationships with both, their scandals, and how the two do not relate to one another - and how neither Ayers nor ACORN relate to his campaign. He didn't fare so well when McCain accused him of never standing up to Democratic party leaders; his examples were weak and somewhat stretched, which McCain told him were unconvincing later on in the debate. However, he eloquently addressed the issues McCain challenged him on (McCain even complimented his eloquence twice, although in a very sarcastic tone that accused him of being misleading).

Moderator Bob Schieffer asked some questions I was not expecting - but I was so glad they were addressed. These questions included topics like the negative, attacking tones of both campaigns, why each of their running mates would make a better Vice President than the other, and (gasp) abortion. McCain referred to himself as "proudly pro-life" and that he thinks Roe v. Wade should be overturned and abortion laws should be decided by the state, and Obama said he believes abortion is a moral issue best decided personally by women and not the government, especially not the state.

In regard to the extremely hostile ads in the media and supporters at rallies, Obama accused McCain of releasing nothing but negative ads in the media (which CNN.com's post-debate fact check said was true from Sept. 28 to the present time). Interestingly, McCain defended the supporters at his rallies as "patriotic" and some of the best people in the country - even though some of his supporters have caused the media to give him a little flack because of their extreme behavior.

McCain did ALRIGHT... but I certainly don't think whipped Obama's you know what. He was supposed to deliver an amazing campaign message and win over thousands of undecided voters if he wanted to revive his chances to win. He mentioned Joe the Plumber WAY too many times, he didn't get a clear campaign point across - and he kept claiming that Sarah Palin's child has autism when the damn kid has Downs syndrome (way to pay attention, Johnny) - among other things.

Quoting Hillary Clinton's post-debate interview with Wolf Blitzer - I'm getting more and more excited to see "President Obama" in the White House.