This week's favorite

Tolerable?

I used to think that I could live with John McCain as president, that he would be much more tolerable than W.

But then he picked his running mate.

And now I read things like this in the New York Times:

All in all, it’s astonishing that Mr. McCain seems determined to return to Mr. Bush’s first-term policies that have been utterly discredited even within the administration. Judging from Mr. McCain’s own positions, on foreign policy he could well end up more Bush than Bush.

Religulous

"Ambush cinema"

"Preachy"

"Michael Moore"

"Hilarious"

"Inappropriate"

"Offensive"

I found much to like and much to dislike in Bill Maher's attempt to shine a light on the ridiculousness of organized religion. The comparisons that Maher draws between the story of Jesus and the story of Horus are compelling. But his choices of interview subjects are transparently selected from the lunatic fringe.

His insights are simultaneously cutting, hilarious and off-putting. His interview tactics are in the genre of Michael Moore's ambush cinema and he was clearly less than forthright with a number of his victims.

Maher states that he's on one corner selling doubt while the people whom he's interviewing are on the opposite corner selling certainty. For most of the movie, this does appear to be the case. Only as the movie builds to its conclusion is Maher's hypocrisy truly in evidence. He's not peddling doubt but his own brand of certainty. As the images become more apocalyptic, Maher becomes more strident and nothing more than reminiscent of a fire and brimstone preacher.

Aaron Sorkin for President. Or at least campaign manager.

From Maureen Dowd's New York Times Op-Ed column, Jed Bartlet's advice to Barack Obama, written by Aaron Sorkin:

GET ANGRIER! Call them liars, because that’s what they are. Sarah Palin didn’t say “thanks but no thanks” to the Bridge to Nowhere. She just said “Thanks.” You were raised by a single mother on food stamps — where does a guy with eight houses who was legacied into Annapolis get off calling you an elitist? And by the way, if you do nothing else, take that word back. Elite is a good word, it means well above average. I’d ask them what their problem is with excellence. While you’re at it, I want the word “patriot” back. McCain can say that the transcendent issue of our time is the spread of Islamic fanaticism or he can choose a running mate who doesn’t know the Bush doctrine from the Monroe Doctrine, but he can’t do both at the same time and call it patriotic. They have to lie — the truth isn’t their friend right now. Get angry. Mock them mercilessly; they’ve earned it. McCain decried agents of intolerance, then chose a running mate who had to ask if she was allowed to ban books from a public library. It’s not bad enough she thinks the planet Earth was created in six days 6,000 years ago complete with a man, a woman and a talking snake, she wants schools to teach the rest of our kids to deny geology, anthropology, archaeology and common sense too? It’s not bad enough she’s forcing her own daughter into a loveless marriage to a teenage hood, she wants the rest of us to guide our daughters in that direction too? It’s not enough that a woman shouldn’t have the right to choose, it should be the law of the land that she has to carry and deliver her rapist’s baby too? I don’t know whether or not Governor Palin has the tenacity of a pit bull, but I know for sure she’s got the qualifications of one. And you’re worried about seeming angry? You could eat their lunch, make them cry and tell their mamas about it and God himself would call it restrained. There are times when you are simply required to be impolite. There are times when condescension is called for!

Please read the whole column here. Thanks to Susie for bringing this to my attention.

Schedule conflict

It looks like I'm going to miss the debate tonight since I have not one but two meetings back to back starting at 6:30 p.m.

Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing . . .

We Deserve It

From a viral email (as much as I'm a fan of this idea, I find it disheartening that so many people think it's mathematically accurate and actually viable . . .):

I'm against the $85,000,000,000.00 bailout of AIG.

Instead, I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a We Deserve It Dividend.

To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000 bonafide U.S. Citizens 18+.

Our population is about 301,000,000 +/- counting every man, woman and child. So 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up..

So divide 200 million adults 18+ into $85 billion that equals $425,000.00.

My plan is to give $425,000 to every person 18+ as a We Deserve It Dividend.

Of course, it would NOT be tax free.

So let's assume a tax rate of 30%. Every individual 18+ has to pay $127,500.00 in taxes.

That sends $25,500,000,000 right back to Uncle Sam.

But it means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket.

A husband and wife has $595,000.00.

What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595,000.00 in your family?

Pay off your mortgage - housing crisis solved.

Repay college loans - what a great boost to new grads

Put away money for college - it'll be there

Save in a bank - create money to loan to entrepreneurs.

Buy a new car - create jobs

Invest in the market - capital drives growth

Pay for your parent's medical insurance - health care improves

Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean - or else

Remember this is for every adult U S Citizen 18+ including the folks who lost their jobs at Lehman Brothers and every other company that is cutting back. And of course, for those serving in our Armed Forces.

If we're going to re-distribute wealth let's really do it...instead of trickling out a puny $1000.00 ( "vote buy" ) economic incentive that is being proposed
by one of our candidates for President.

If we're going to do an $85 billion bailout, let's bail out every adult U S Citizen 18+!

As for AIG - liquidate it.

Sell off its parts.

Let American General go back to being American General.

Sell off the real estate.

Let the private sector bargain hunters cut it up and clean it up.

Here's my rationale. We deserve it and AIG doesn't.

Sure it's a crazy idea that can "never work."

But can you imagine the Coast-To-Coast Block Party!

How do you spell Economic Boom?

I trust my fellow adult Americans to know how to use the $85 BillionWe Deserve It Dividend more than I do the geniuses at AIG or in DC.

And remember, The Birk plan only really costs $59.5 Billion because $25.5 Billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.

Ahhh . . . I feel so much better getting that off my chest.

Kindest personal regards,

Birk

T. J . Birkenmeier, A Creative Guy & Citizen of the Republic

I did hear on the NPR this evening that the numbers are actually closer to $10,000/American family which is still mind-boggling.

Why women should vote

From an email I recently received (which, I have to admit, I didn't factcheck, contrary to my usual practice):

WHY WOMEN SHOULD VOTE

This is the story of our Grandmothers and Great-grandmothers; they lived only 90 years ago.

Remember, it was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to go to the polls and vote.

The women were innocent and defenseless, but they were jailed nonetheless for picketing the White House, carrying signs asking for the vote.

(Lucy Burns)

And by the end of the night, they were barely alive.

Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden's blessing went on a rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of 'obstructing sidewalk traffic.'

They beat Lucy Burns, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air.

(Dora Lewis)

They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cell mate, Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack.

Additional affidavits describe the guards grabbing, dragging, beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women.

Thus unfolded the "Night of Terror" on Nov. 15, 1917, when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's White House for the right to vote. For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their food -- all of it colorless slop -- was infested with worms.

(Alice Paul)

When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks until word was smuggled out to the press.

Read more.

So, refresh my memory. Some women won't vote this year because -- why, exactly? We have carpool duties? We have to get to work? Our vote doesn't matter? It's raining?

Last week, I went to a sparsely attended screening of HBO's new movie "Iron Jawed Angels." It is a graphic depiction of the battle these women waged so that I could pull the curtain at the polling booth and have my say. I am ashamed to say I needed the reminder.

All these years later, voter registration is still my passion. But the actual act of voting had become less personal for me, more rote.

Frankly, voting often felt more like an obligation than a privilege.

Sometimes it was inconvenient.

My friend Wendy, who is my age and studied women's history, saw the HBO movie, too. When she stopped by my desk to talk about it, she looked angry. She was--with herself. "One thought kept coming back to me as I watched that movie," she said.

"What would those women think of the way I use, or don't use, my right to vote? All of us take it for granted now, not just younger women, but those of us who did seek to learn."' The right to vote, she said, had become valuable to her "all over again."

HBO released the movie on video and DVD. I wish all history, social studies and government teachers would include the movie in their curriculum. I want it shown on Bunco night, too, and anywhere else women gather. I realize this isn't our usual idea of socializing, but we are not voting in the numbers that we should be, and I think a little shock therapy is in order.

It is jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson and his cronies try to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so that she could be permanently institutionalized. And it is inspiring to watch the doctor refuse. Alice Paul was strong, he said, and brave. That didn't make her crazy.

The doctor admonished the men: "Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity."

Please, if you are so inclined, pass this on to all the women you know.

We need to get out and vote and use this right that was fought so hard for by these very courageous women. Whether you vote democratic, republican or independent party - remember to vote.

History is being made.

Read more here and here.

What a crock!

Another tempest in a teapot this past week here in Aspen, this one stirred up by a ridiculously wrong characterization of an attempt to clean up an ordinance here in Aspen. Happily, the City Council last night unanimously passed the ordinance notwithstanding the opponents' attempt to mislead.

What follows is an email exchange on which I was asked to weigh in:

IamMBB writes:

From reading all of the emails (but not the attachment) and with admitted biases regarding some of the players (Red Ant - bad, "city staffer" - good), it appears to me to be a typical Red Ant et al. based attempt to mischaracterize what city council and city staff are attempting to do.

I find "city staffer"'s explanation credible and the "Red Ant" propaganda incredible.

I think that none of this affects you in the least as an owner of a condo. You can remodel or sell to a new owner who might want to remodel with no more difficulty than when you remodeled before.

What "city staffer" is saying is that if your entire building burnt down, under the current rules, in order for the building to be rebuilt, the building would be treated like a new building which would require employee housing mitigation. "City staffer" doesn't think that's the way it should be, so city staff is asking city council to amend the ordinance to allow an exemption in the case of such a catastrophe. This "Red Ant" group (which I despise by the way) sees this as an opportunity to obscure the real issue and try to repeal the requirement for any mitigation at all in any circumstance. Red Ant thinks employee housing is bad.

~Bridget

In a message dated 9/20/2008 1:18:33 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time, xxxxxxx writes:

Hi Bridget

What do you think of all of this? Would there be any reason for you to attend the meeting? It sure sounds bizarre to us. Since we own a unit in a very old building, should we be concerned? Give us your thoughts.


Sent: 9/19/2008 5:09:43 P.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: City of Aspen Ordinance 22 Could Affect your Property Rights

Dear Condominium Association Member,

On Monday September 22, Aspen City Council is considering a proposed amendment to an existing code that could affect your property rights.

To help understand the proposal we have inserted email communication from "city staffer" and also an email from the Red Ant. Also attached are the associated documents for your consideration.

If you would like to protest I have included the email address for each Councilman and that of the Director of Planning. Any letter of protest would then become a part of the formal proposal packet which is given to each Councilman. Alternatively there is a link on the Red Ant email to send a letter of protest as well.


>From:"city staffer"
Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 9:35 AM
To: Real Estate Agent #1
Cc: Real Estate Agent #2
Subject: RE: City of Aspen code changes

These requirements have been in place for some time now, about 20 years. They don’t affect remodeling, but do affect demolition and combining of units. The requirements became very restrictive as a result of the moratorium that ended in May 2007. Staff is proposing a few exemptions to these regulations to accommodate situations that we don’t think should be required to provide mitigation – for example, replacement after a catastrophic fire. City Council did want to see a wholesale range of options for more substantive changes to the program and may be interested in further loosening of the requirements or getting rid of the regulation altogether.

So, yes – the requirements are very limiting for those who want to do more than interior remodels. Any combining of units triggers substantial mitigation. But, the regulations are not new. They’ve been in place for some time and were made more restrictive during the moratorium. Staff is proposing some relaxation for unique situations. And, Council may want to go further on relaxing the requirements.


Monday night, staff will be asking for approval of the proposed exemptions at a minimum and direction on the more substantive changes that Council wanted to discuss.

"City staffer"


From: Real Estate Agent #1
Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 10:19 AM
To: City staffer
Cc: Real Estate Agent #2
Subject: RE: City of Aspen code changes

So if a 4 to 40 unit condominium complex becomes obsolete by way of not being economically feasible to remodel and best to completely rebuild at same dimensions, # units etc., how does current code handle that? There would be required mitigation. In the past, the mitigation would only be required for the expansion, not the replacement. But the 07 code changed that. This type of situation is really where there’s a desire to look at the whole program. There is a point at which older buildings have fundamental issues beyond aesthetics.

How would new proposal change that if any? There’s a full range of options from keeping the situation the same to getting rid of the requirements altogether.

If not a complete re build is their some % of renovation, and if so how calculated, at which the same rules would apply as a complete re build? The City has a definition of demolition with a defined methodology of measuring demo. It was last amended in ’01 or ’02 (?).

If true that a building would want to re build do they switch from free market to deed restricted? There would be required mitigation under today’s code, yes. The existing free-market units can be replaced without having to be deed restricted. If the code is amended, that could change.

We have heard there may be a proposal to mandate all buildings be sprinklered in the City - is that true? I’ve not heard that although starting about 15 years ago the fire code requires buildings over 5,000 s.f. gross to be sprinklered.

Thx.
Real Estate Agent #2.


Civil Commotion Condo-Style. . .

Issue # 10, Sept. 19, 2008

The Red Ant regrets that her instincts (and facts) were right on proposed Ordinance #22 - next Monday night's big discussion at City Council that will update a long-standing land use code section concerning the combination, redevelopment and demolition of "multi-family unit dwellings" (condos, townhouses, etc.) and tighten the exemptions that owners have liberally enjoyed for years.

Later in this email you may click through to send a message to Council to voice your concern before the Monday meeting.


It seems that the City is pressing for unprecedented control of what they see as the destruction of POTENTIAL housing for local workers, regardless of whether or not it's YOUR free-market owned unit.

Community Development Director Chris Bendon read The Red Ant Issue #9 and told us that he "saw nothing off base" in our interpretation.

Consider these realistic examples if the formerly loosely-interpreted list of exemptions is formalized into law, and now enforced:

-Identical units in the same building can have wildly different market values depending on who has lived in each unit in the past. (If a locally employed person --even a well paid executive-- ever lived there, those units would be poisoned, and trigger the "mitigation" rule, others would not.)
-The due diligence process for a condo buyer will be nearly impossible. Imagine having to prove whether or not a local worker (never mind this "local worker" is undefined) EVER lived in a specific unit!
-Lenders, as if they are not nervous enough already in the current market, will be ESPECIALLY wary of this due diligence process and valuation issue.
-And realtors, how do you plan to disclose the ramifications of Ordinance #22 to your condo and townhome buyers and sellers? Will contractual materials mandate a lifetime history (rental and ownership) that indicates whether or not residents were "local workers?"
-This regulation likely will have the perverse result of causing condo owners and HOAs to preclude renting/selling to local workers to avoid tainting the units for future mitigation requirements.

Civil Commotion as a Commodity?

The list of exemptions to Ordinance #22 graciously exempts from the punitive measure "non-willful demolition" due to flood, fire or other natural catastrophe. Then there's the curious exemption due to "civil commotion." Civilcommotion? (We're serious.) Of course there's no definition, but apparently if this is the cause of demolition," well, then, exemption is granted.

Yippee!! There goes the neighborhood! We can see it now. Invitations to the Tupperware parties of tomorrow, a.k.a "A Condo Commotion Posse for-hire." Invite 'em over and they'll show up with their blow-torches and tire irons, have a few beers, and next thing you know, your condo is demolished, and, what a coincidence, so is the one next door. Oh no! OH YES! A "Condo Civil Commotion" just occurred! And now you get to re-build your condo and the one you own next door, as one, thankfully without having to build four bedrooms of affordable housing next to the HOA's swimming pool or in your 2-car garage. " But officer, I swear, I just invited a few buddies over for beers. Yep, they were a little hacked at City Council telling them how many ounces they could drink, and it started a little commotion."

The Gant Ants' House Party!

Thankfully, there are several "Options" open for discussion on Ordinance 22. City Council requested that Staff develop additional options for consideration.

The Red Ant encourages you to re-read Issue #9 and the proposed Ordinance 22, which includes these options in Exhibit A

We feel strongly that there is only one choice:
Option 8. The elimination of the program in its entirety.

The Red Ant is an ardent supporter of affordable housing in Aspen, however, this highly questionable land use code section within Ordinance #22 is not the answer. Many experts we have talked with even question its legality.

The Ant has made it easy to make your voice heard.

To send your recommendation for Option 8 to the Mayor and City Council members, CLICK HERE. You will be asked for your name, local address, and an email will automatically be sent to each of them expressing your view. You may edit or make additions to the email text.

Experts Agree

Our mailbox was full with all of your feedback and advice on our questions about Ordinance 22.

A local real estate attorney states: "The ordinance will create uncertainty in the marketplace. In this shaky economic environment buyers need assurance that their investment is safe. But this ordinance will force buyers to consider whether the future value is going to be appropriated by the local government. And every realtor in town will have to disclose this ordinance to potential buyers."

And local realtor Charley Podolak adds: "One of the many unintended consequences of this ordinance is that many buildings fall into total disrepair. If owners must replace 100% of the units on site with affordable housing first, they will likely utilize all of the allotted FAR, density and height before they can build any free-market units to pay for the development."

Be There! Council Needs To See Your Concern

The Red Ant will be at Monday's City Council meeting to promote Option 8. But this measure needs a large chorus of voices to make an impact on Council. Please join us in Council Chambers to speak to this issue. The meeting starts at 5 p.m. However, this item is well into the meeting agenda.


Public comment will take place when the agenda item is discussed. Your email AND your presence is important to make a difference. If passed, the measure will become law in 30 days.

We have been working on The Red Ant blog,

It is now easier to leave your comments about local civic matters, using a screen name or your real identity. We would love to read your opinions!

Marilyn Marks

Elizabeth Milias

Our email address is RedAntAspen@gmail.com

Join our mailing list!

Colorado's monster ballot

Colorado's ballot this year is the longest in the nation.

We in the City of Aspen are voting for president, US senator, US representative, State Board of Education representative, State representative, District Attorney, 3 county commissioners, 2 State Supreme Court justices, 6 Court of Appeals judges, 1 District Court judge, 14 Amendments to the state constitution, 4 statewide referendums, 3 countywide referendums, 3 citywide referendums, 2 Aspen School District referendums and 1 Roaring Fork Transportation District referendum.

The ballot is 5 pages long.

I'm gonna need a cheat sheet.

Are we there yet?

In the spirit of I wish it was over already, I'm providing this public service announcement:

From the Pitkin County Clerk and Recorder's website:

Elections: Early Voting

Any registered voter in Pitkin County may early vote in a county election at the Pitkin County Clerk and Recorder's Office, 530 E. Main Street, Suite 101, Aspen, Colorado. Early voting is conducted for one (1) full calendar week (M - F) before the Primary Election (only in even years) and two (2) full calendar weeks (M - F) before the November Election. Early voting ends on the Friday preceding the election.

Early voting hours for Pitkin County are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Mail-In Voting/Application

Any registered voter may apply for an mail-in (absentee) ballot; no reason is required for this request. The application for a mail-in (absentee) ballot may be submitted as early as January 1 of the election year. A voted mail-in (absentee) ballot must be returned and in the hands of the Pitkin County Clerk and Recorder by 7:00 p.m. Election Day.
When you return your ballot, your signature will be verified against an existing record in our office. Instructions and ID requirements are outlined on the back of the mail-in (absentee) application form.

You may mail or fax the application. The written request must contain your name, date of birth, residential address in Pitkin County, party affiliation (only if you wish to vote in a primary election), and the address where you wish to have the ballot mailed. You will also need to state the elections for which you are requesting a mail-in (absentee) ballot.

WHO MAY APPLY FOR A MAIL-IN (ABSENTEE) BALLOT FOR YOU?
Answer: Only the registered elector personally. 1-8-104(2)

Forms

• Mail-In (absentee) Ballot Application (English)


• Solicitud de Balota de Votar en Ausencia (Espanol)


• Federal Post Card Application- Registration and Mail-In (absentee) Ballot Request for all persons covered by the Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA)

GENERAL ELECTION - NOVEMBER 4, 2008
Jan 1: FIRST DAY TO APPLY FOR MAIL-IN (ABSENTEE) BALLOT 1-8-104(3)
Oct 6: LAST DAY TO REGISTER TO VOTE for the General Election (29 days before) 1-2-201(3)
Oct 20 : EARLY VOTING begins in county clerk's office (15 days before election) 1-8-202
Oct 28: LAST DAY TO APPLY FOR MAIL-IN (ABSENTEE) BALLOT if ballot is mailed to you 1-8-104(3)
Oct 31: LAST DAY TO APPLY FOR MAIL-IN (ABSENTEE BALLOT) if ballot is NOT mailed to you 1-8-104(3)
Oct 31: LAST DAY TO EARLY VOTE 1-8-208(3)
Nov 4: GENERAL ELECTION (polls open 7:00 am to 7:00 pm) 1-1-104(17)

Tomorrow's PostSecret Favorite

God's green earth

Drove from Aspen to Palisade and back on Wednesday evening. 4 hours.

Drove from Aspen to Denver to Aurora yesterday evening. 4 hours.

Drove from Aurora to Denver to Aurora to Denver this morning. 1.5 hours.

Drove from Denver to Aspen this morning. 3.5 hours.

Drove from Aspen to Thomasville to Basalt to Thomasville to the Harry Gates hut this afternoon. 3.5 hours.

16 hours in the car in just over 48 hours.

Hmmm.

Maggiano's Mushroom Ravioli Al Forno

We ate at Maggiano's in Denver tonight and I didn't get my usual, the Mushroom Ravioli Al Forno.

Since there was an enticing halibut entree on the seasonal menu, I got that instead and I'm going to try to make the Mushroom Ravioli Al Forno myself with the delicious wild mushroom ravioli from Pappardelles.

MAGGIANO'S MUSHROOM RAVIOLI AL FORNO
Source: Jeff Beale, Executive Chef, Maggiano's Little Italy
From: Milwaukee Sentinel Journal Online, March 15, 2005

Ravioli mushrooms in popularity
Posted: March 15, 2005

I. G., Franklin, requested a recipe for a stuffed mushroom appetizer served at Maggiano's Little Italy located in Mayfair Shopping Center, Wauwatosa.

Jeff Beale, executive chef, said the stuffed mushroom recipe is an item on his menu that he is not able to share. Instead, he sent another recipe for a popular mushroom appetizer; Mushroom Ravioli al Forno. He said this recipe is also served as a main dish at the restaurant.

MAGGIANO'S MUSHROOM RAVIOLI AL FORNO

Fresh pasta (see note)
Cream sauce (see recipe)
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup diced Spanish onion, diced
Pinch fresh chopped thyme
2 to 3 medium cloves garlic, finely minced
1 1/3 pounds button mushrooms, chopped
1/3 cup plus 1 heaping tablespoon white wine
1/3 cup whipping cream
Salt and pepper to taste
4 ounces aged Asiago cheese, grated
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese to top ravioli
Freshly chopped parsley to garnish

Make pasta dough (if preparing yourself) and make cream sauce. Set aside.

For filling: In large, heavy-bottomed skillet or pot, melt butter. Add onion and saute over medium to medium-high heat until golden brown. Add thyme and garlic and saute without browning.

Add mushrooms, wine, cream, salt and pepper. Reduce until almost dry, stirring regularly. Turn off heat and add cheese, mixing well. Correct seasonings with salt and pepper. Puree into pulp using food processor. Let filling cool.

Brush beaten egg around edges of both top and bottom pasta squares. Fill each ravioli with a portion of mushroom mixture. If using homemade pasta, or purchased pasta squares that measure 2 by 2 inches, use about 1 heaping measuring tablespoon per ravioli. If using won ton skins, use about 2 tablespoons.

Pinch to seal. You should have about 24 ravioli.

Bring large pot of salted water to full boil. With wide, slotted spoon, drop ravioli into water and cook 2 minutes after water returns to boil and ravioli float to top. When done, remove from pot and drain.

If using pasta dough that is thicker, such as some frozen lasagna doughs, ravioli will have to cook longer. If using won ton skins, they will cook faster.

To serve: Preheat broiler. Divide ravioli between 2 or 4 ovenproof plates. Pour cream sauce over each serving, then top with a fourth of the Parmesan. Set under broiler until golden brown, about 1 minute. Garnish with parsley. Makes 4 appetizer servings or 2 main-dish servings.

Notes: If you have a pasta machine, make your favorite recipe for ravioli and cut into 2-by-2-inch squares. For those without pasta machines, frozen as well as freshly prepared sheets of pasta are available at some specialty food stores. These sheets may produce a thicker ravioli. Won ton skins also can be used but will produce a thinner ravioli. Adjust cooking time accordingly.

The number of ravioli you get will also depend on the type of pasta you use. For example there are 52 won ton skins per package. This will yield 26 ravioli; however they will be larger in size, and will hold more filling than those served at the restaurant.

CREAM SAUCE:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/8 cup diced Spanish onions (cut into 1/2-inch cubes)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Pinch of dried thyme
1 small bay leaf
1/4 cup white wine
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cups whipping cream

In heavy-bottomed pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, thyme and bay leaf and saute until onions are translucent. Do not let them brown.

Reduce heat to medium-high and add wine, salt and pepper. Reduce wine until almost dry.

Add cream, bring to low simmer and reduce until slightly thickened, stirring regularly, about 5 to 10 minutes. Strain through fine mesh strainer and keep warm until ready to use. Makes about 2 cups.

Encouraging dreams

Rachel and Sydney want to go to Europe together. They've been talking about it since sometime last year. My attitude is that that's a fine idea but that they're going to have to figure out how to make it happen.

As part encouragement and part reality check, months ago, Steve and I bought Rachel the book, Europe by Eurail 2008, Touring Europe by Train.

Then, Sydney got invited by People to People to travel with them. As an alumni, Rachel has a standing invitation to join their trips so Sydney and Rachel have now turned their attention in this direction. The trip next summer is called European Heritage and includes travels through England, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland.

The information meeting was tonight in Palisade. Palisade is two hours away from Aspen and neither Syndey nor Rachel drive.

So, in the spirit of encouraging dreams, I drove Sydney & Rachel to Palisade this evening.

If I had known that I was going to have to get up on stage and, along with the other parents of alums, speak to the crowd (and it was a crowd), I wouldn't have been quite so encouraging.

They're on their own from now on . . .

The Last Mistress

I seem to come out of every French movie I see saying, "How french," no matter the genre or era.

The Last Mistress is a French period costume piece with a lot of sex and a bleak world view.

Rake, ne'er-do-well, playboy Ryno de Marigny (played by Fu'ad Ait Aattou) is marrying up to the horror of his fiancee's family's friends. de Marigny convinces his fiancee's grandmother (and the audience) of his love for his betrothed and his earnest desire to make her happy.

Yet, conspiring against the couple are his mistress of 10 years, his own weak nature and his self-loathing.

Asia Argento, as the mistress, Vellini, commands the screen at every turn.

The Women

It got pretty crappy reviews (except from Roger Ebert for some reason) and it never really connected with me but Rachel really liked it and I really liked the moral she took away from it.

She told her friend that rather than showing that a strong woman doesn't need a man, it made the point that you can still be strong and have a man.

Rachel also really liked Jada Pinkett Smith's turn as the lesbian friend, especially during the birth scene.

I enjoyed the cast and the fact that there wasn't a single male in it. Since we knew in advance that there were no men in the movie, we were very aware of it throughout but I'm not sure that we would have noticed it otherwise.

Or at least, I think it would have taken us quite a while to figure it out.

New toy

This is pretty inspiring:

Get it?

Photography day

Took 200 photos today.

Started at 7 am at the Snowmass Balloon Festival, moved to the Saturday Market, continued on Aspen Mountain and finished at the Snowmass Balloon Festival.

Glad I don't have to pay to get all those photos developed . . .

More coolness

Steve's first Mountain Gazette article, published in the July issue, is now available online.

He's got another article in Mountain Gazette's current issue, the September issue.

Wanna see something cool?

Go to The Aspen Times Weekly or if that doesn't work, go to The Aspen Times, click on the Aspen Times Weekly button in the middle of the screen, click on the Aspen Times Weekly View E-edition here button.

Go to page A55. The image at the bottom of the page is Steve's. (If you click on the page on the left, it'll come up in the viewer on the right. Scroll down to the bottom.)

You have to do this this week. Next week (after Saturday), it'll be gone.

The Metropolitan Opera Live in HD

Did you know that the Met has simulcasts?

I didn't.

Well, they do. And I've got tickets to one.

We're going to drive to Lakewood, Colorado, a three hour trip one way on Saturday, November 8, 2008 to see the Met premiere of Doctor Atomic,

John Adams’s contemporary masterpiece explores a momentous episode of modern history: the creation of the atomic bomb. Director Penny Woolcock makes her Met debut with this gripping story that changed the course of history. Baritone Gerald Finley plays J. Robert Oppenheimer, the title character.

We just spent time in Santa Fe, the check-in point for the physicists going out to Los Alamos during WWII and Steve's just read 109 East Palace, which takes its title from the actual check in location so we thought it might be topical to see Doctor Atomic.

Thanks to Aunt Pat for cluing us in!

Man On Wire

Wow.

Being that I was 12 years old when Philippe Petit accomplished his impossible dream of walking on a wire between the newly constructed World Trade Center Towers , I've always been aware of it as a mission accomplished, never really as the amazing feat it truly was.

Man On Wire has changed that.

In a slightly less than linear way, Man On Wire introduces you to not just Petit but his entire team of accomplices and walks you through the process by which they conceived and executing their daring adventure.

Interweaving old French movie styles with interviews, photos, newsclips and dramatizations, Man On Wire makes it clear how young and quixotic these dreamers were and just how close they came to not realizing their dream.

Watching the construction of the World Trade Center Towers through the prism of knowledge of their fate just thirty years later was emotional. Seeing pieces of steel which would become so familiar to us in their destruction being put into place in the optimism of the Towers' creation was poignant.

Watching Petit and his cohorts bring his dream to fruition was inspiring.

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Not really sure if Miss Jane is for me.

I'm halfway through her six novels and, just now, when I figured it out, I said, out loud, "I'm only halfway through?"

Not to say that I've disliked any of the three I've read so far, Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion and, now, Northanger Abbey. Let's just say that none of them have been page turners.

I was aware that Northanger Abbey was a parody and was anticipating reading it. But I found Catherine's obliviousness and Isabella and John Thorpe's conniving quite frustrating. Mrs. Allen was irritating in her cluelessness. Thinking back on it, Eleanor and Henry Tilney were about the only likable characters therein.

On the other hand, I did appreciate Catherine's clear sighted assessment of Isabella's final letter and my heart was warmed by Henry's gallant appearance at the Morlands' residence.

Perhaps since Austen's conclusions are foregone (ie., the main characters will end up happily ever after) and, therefore, I am not reading her novels for plot, I tend to find them rather slow going, reading perhaps a chapter a night until I near the end when the pace picks up slightly.

Tropic Thunder

Embarrassed to say that, while I was repelled by it, I also enjoyed it.

Wouldn't see it again but can't deny that it was funny.

Over the top graphic (as in blood & gore) and even though I knew that they were just playing it for effect, I still had to cover my eyes.

As we were going in, our friend/neighbor/ticket seller said, "Oh, yeah! Something to offend everyone!"

It was ridiculous, just as it was intended to be.

Tom Cruise was over the top, in a hilarious caricature of an arrogant, abrasive studio head.

Also have to say that the boycotts from the Special Olympics people, et al. were probably misplaced.

Thoughts on the McCain speeches

Thoughts on Cindy:

She's definitely not a natural speaker.

Why didn't the video mention Cindy's relationship with her mother?

Why does Cindy only talk about her father and not her mother?

"I have loved him for over thirty years", ever since he left his first wife for me.

McCain:

"You can't win an occupation."

"McCain votes against vets."

Love the protestors.

Cindy's concern for children born into poverty and with birth defects as long as they aren't Americans.

Roberta's lookin' awfully good for a 96 year old.

Much more conciliatory and unifying than Lieberman, Romney & Huckabee but does he speak for the rest of the Republicans?

Any willing patriot? Is that a reference to Bush's position that if you're against him, you're not a patriot?

"Americans want us to stop yelling at each other." Yes, we do.

Man, I really don't like it when Sarah Palin wears her hair up.

She's done all those things and she's your Achilles heel, too.

Instead of introducing her to Washington, hopefully's she's just going back to Alaska to fade into obscurity.

"I work for you." I have to admit that it's that attitude that makes McCain the most palatable Republican I've seen in years.

It's a shame 'cause I feel like I might even be able to tolerate McCain but Palin? Not.

"I'd rather lose an election than lose a war." But define winning. What the heck are we looking for in Iraq?

'What you fight for is the real test." But what are we fighting for in Iraq? What?

"We lost their trust." Yes, you did. And although McCain is not walking the partisan line, the rest of his party still is, based on his fellow Republicans' speeches in the last couple of days.

" . . . and the Latina daughter of migrant workers. We're all Americans." Rather weak applause on that one.

Ugh, I can't stand the hypocrisy of the choices theme. We give you more choices, except for in your personal decisions. We're going to tell you what you can do with your body. Bristol got to make a choice but, if it's up to the Republicans, your daughter won't be able to.

Cutting the business taxes? But how are you going to pay for it? Increase the deficit. Borrow from future generations.

Failed programs. Give me one example, please. Just one specific. Don't get me wrong. I think they're out there. I'm just not sure that the Republicans and I agree on what they are.

But, you know, I'm not sure I disagree with the school choice issue. Probably borne out of my days in parochial school. I remember going to school on a Saturday in the '70s for a school vouchers demonstration.

"We'll encourage alternative fuels." How? By simply saying that they're a good idea? Not enough.

"Georgians need our prayers." Our prayers, but not our support?

It's like he's not on message with the rest of the Republicans. They're all about the partisan rancor.

"I'm not running for president because I think I'm blessed with such personal greatness that history has anointed me to save our country in our hour of need."

You can carry a sign calling him a maverick but you have to learn how to spell it first.

Umm, the Republicans' balloons are great but I have to say I liked the Dems' fireworks better.

Now, why would you use Heart's song, Barracuda, again when they had already asked you not to? Arrogance?

Anne Kilkenny's email

NPR had a story about Anne Kilkenny this evening on All Things Considered. I posted a link to her email on Wednesday. Today, I thought I'd go ahead and post her email here.

From Crosscut.com:

About Sarah Palin: an e-mail from Wasilla

A suburban Anchorage homemaker and activist — who once did battle with the Alaska governor when Palin was mayor — recounts what she knows of Palin's history.

By Anne Kilkenny

Editor's note: The writer is a homemaker and education advocate in Wasilla, Alaska. Late last week, Anne Kilkenny penned an e-mail for her friends about vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, whom she personally knows, that has since circulated across comment forums and blogs nationwide. Here is her e-mail in its entirety, posted with her permission.

---

I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Gov. Sarah Palin since 1992. Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her father was my child's favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a first-name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council meetings during her administration than about 99 percent of the residents of the city.

She is enormously popular; in every way she's like the most popular girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice for vice president and won't vote for her can't quit smiling when talking about her because she is a "babe."

It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents for seven months.

She is "pro-life." She recently gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby. There is no cover-up involved here; Trig is her baby.

She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.

She is savvy. She doesn't take positions; she just "puts things out there" and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.

Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin's kind of job is highly sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their major source of income. Nor has her lifestyle ever been anything like that of native Alaskans.

Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.

She's smart.

Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000 (at the time) and less than two years as governor of a state with about 670,000 residents.

During her mayoral administration, most of the actual work of running this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings, which had given rise to a recall campaign.

Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a "fiscal conservative." During her six years as mayor, she increased general government expenditures by more than 33 percent. During those same six years, the amount of taxes collected by the city increased by 38 percent. This was during a period of low inflation (1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales tax, which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefitted large corporate property owners way more than they benefited residents.

The huge increases in tax revenue during her mayoral administration weren't enough to fund everything on her wish list, though — borrowed money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt but left it with indebtedness of more than $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? Or a new library? No. $1 million for a park. $15 million-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex, which she rushed through, on a piece of property that the city didn't even have clear title to. That was still in litigation seven years later — to the delight of the lawyers involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5 million for road projects that could have been done in five to seven years without any borrowing.

While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office redecorated more than once.

These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.

As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as governor Sarah proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.

In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while she proposed distribution of surplus state revenue: Spend today's surplus, borrow for needs.

She's not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas or compromise. As mayor, she fought ideas that weren't generated by her or her staff. Ideas weren't evaluated on their merits but on the basis of who proposed them.

While Sarah was mayor of Wasilla, she tried to fire our highly respected city librarian because the librarian refused to consider removing from the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of the city librarian and against Palin's attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the librarian are on her enemies list to this day.

Sarah complained about the "old boy's club" when she first ran for mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of "old boys." Palin fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the city and as governor, she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people, creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally grateful and fiercely loyal — loyal to the point of abusing their power to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the case of pressuring the state's top cop.

As mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla's police chief because he "intimidated" her, she told the press. As governor, her recent firing of Alaska's top cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure and she had every legal right to fire him, but it's pretty clear that an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn't fire her sister's ex-husband, a state trooper. Under investigation for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than two dozen contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew her support.

She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town, introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council became one of her first targets when she was later elected mayor. She abruptly fired her loyal city administrator; even people who didn't like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.

Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything publicly about her.

When then-Gov. Frank Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got the best, chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission — one of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no background in oil and gas issues. Within months of scoring this great job, which paid $122,400 a year, she was complaining in the press about the high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this commission (who was also the state chair of the Republican Party) engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a gutsy fighter against the "old boys' club," when she dramatically quit, exposing this man's ethics violations (for which he was fined).

As mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from Sen. Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the "bridge to nowhere" after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.

As governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative action restored most of these projects — which had been vetoed simply because she was not aware of their importance — but with the unobservant she had gained a reputation as "anti-pork."

She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The state party leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a fiscal conservative.

Around Wasilla, there are people who went to high school with Sarah. They call her "Sarah Barracuda" because of her unbridled ambition and predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah's mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and experienced manager, ran for mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.

As governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package of legislation known as "AGIA" that forced the oil companies to march to the beat of her drum.

Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to global warming. She campaigned "as a private citizen" against a state initiaitive that would have either protected salmon streams from pollution from mines or tied up in the courts all mining in the state (depending on whom you listen to). She has pushed the state's lawsuit against the Department of the Interior's decision to list polar bears as a threatened species.

McCain is the oldest person to ever run for president; Sarah will be a heartbeat away from being president.

There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more knowledgeable and experienced than she.

However, there are a lot of people who have underestimated her and are regretting it.

Claim vs. Fact

• "Hockey mom": True for a few years
• "PTA mom": True years ago when her first-born was in elementary school, not since
• "NRA supporter": Absolutely true
• Social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, but vetoed a bill that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships (said she did this because it was unconsitutional).
• Pro-creationism: Mixed. Supports it, but did nothing as governor to promote it.
• "Pro-life": Mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby but declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life legislation.
• "Experienced": Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska. No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city administrator to run town of about 5,000.
• Political maverick: Not at all.
• Gutsy: Absolutely!
• Open and transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at explaining actions.
• Has a developed philosophy of public policy: No.
• "A Greenie": No. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
• Fiscal conservative: Not by my definition!
• Pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built streets to early 20th century standards.
• Pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on residents
• Pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city government in Wasilla's history.
• Pro-labor/pro-union: No. Just because her husband works union doesn't make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim that she is pro-labor/pro-union.

Why am I writing this?

First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed voter. I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting programs in the schools. If you google my name, you will find references to my participation in local government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.

Secondly, I've always operated in the belief that "bad things happen when good people stay silent." Few people know as much as I do because few have gone to as many City Council meetings.

Third, I am just a housewife. I don't have a job she can bump me out of. I don't belong to any organization that she can hurt. But I am no fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will cost me somehow in the future: that's life.

Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100 or so people who rallied to support the city librarian against Sarah's attempt at censorship.

Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.

Caveats: I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in spending and taxation two years ago (when Palin was running for governor) from information supplied to me by the finance director of the City of Wasilla, and I can't recall exactly what I adjusted for: Did I adjust for inflation? For population increases? Right now, it is impossible for a private person to get any info out of City Hall — they are swamped. So I can't verify my numbers.

You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the population of Wasilla, ranging from my "about 5,000" up to 9,000. The day Palin's selection was announced, a city official told me that the current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was 5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to 2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-1990s.

• Anne Kilkenny is a homemaker and education advocate in Wasilla, Alaska.

Otherwise engaged

Can't blog the convention tonight since I have a last minute meeting.

Might or might not watch the McCain speech online later.

But, did you hear that Palin had to get a passport in order to visit Kuwait in 2007?

The woman didn't have a passport?

Geez.

Blogging the Elephant

Didn't really get to see Romney's speech but listened to it on NPR in the car so can't really comment on his individual points but can say that I found it to be full of offensive hyperbole, hate and fearmongering.

Huckabee's a bit better but still . . .

he's for less government except for when it comes to what you do in your bedroom, who you love or what you do with your body.

more votes in Wasilla than Biden got in the primaries? What the heck does that have to do with Biden's experience?

What? What a ridiculous story about the teacher and the desks. Now, I have no problem with respecting and honoring our service men and women but to basically torture a bunch of school kids for an entire day for an answer that they couldn't have known? What do you have to do to earn a desk? The answer is that you can't earn a desk? Yuck.

Linda Lingle: Obama & Biden have no executive experience? Neither does McCain! You know, in Aspen, we have a city manager who handles all the daily executive duties. The mayor is basically another city council member who has a few additional figurehead duties. A little googling tells me that, a mayor, Palin had to hire an administrator and was faced with a recall campaign.

And where did they get the 10,000 number for the population of Wasilla? 2000 Census had it at 5649 and the 2005 Census Bureau estimate has it at 8471.

Guiliani: the people of America get to decide and that's why the Republicans just might win. Although, really the people don't get to decide. Didn't Gore win the popular vote?

Who would you hire? Honestly, I'd hire the younger man. I wouldn't hire the 72 year old.

Guiliani is really hitting Obama where he's weakest, on the experience issue. I actually can't and don't disagree with much of what he's saying about Obama's experience. That's a hard argument to refute.

Drill baby drill? How shortsighted is that?

We're not on offense against terrorism! We're stretched too thin, fighting the wrong enemy. The terrorists are gaining ground in Afghanistan, Pakistan . . .

Wow, an image of Manhattan behind Guiliani. That's pathetic . . .

Moral equivalency? They are both responsible for the situation, the Georgians and the Russians, the Israelis and the Palestinians.

So much distortion.

I think he's running over.

Palin: better hair today. (oh, is that catty?)

Profile in Courage? Nice linkage.

She does have that going for her. You can't say that she's not sending one of her own there. Of course, so is Biden.

The little girl's cute. No way is Bristol standing up.

Being proud of America isn't the same thing as being proud of our wrongheaded chief executive.

I can't wait to see her in a debate against Biden. Wonder if she'll be so smug then.

Is this a protester being pushed out?

McCain has his fair share of once talking bad about people he's now cozying up to.

Govern in good will? There hasn't been much good will tonight.

Oy, she rubs me the wrong way. I'm reading online about her attempts to ban books, teach creationism . .

We've got lots of both? Nothing at all? Isn't it worse to encourage continued reliance on carbon fuels.

I'm watching CNN and I wish the director would fix the contrast. Oh wait, there we go.

Victory? What is victory in Iraq?

Cause healing the planet's a bad thing?

Increase government? More than Bush has?

So she's against reading arrestees their rights? Oh that's right, we don't believe in innocent until proven guilty. More attacks on civil liberties.

Increasing taxes on incomes of $250,000/yr. Her sister makes more than that at the gas station? The coal miner, the farmer makes more than that? FactCheck.org says that last night's speeches seriously distorted the claims about Obama's tax increases. Sounds like she's continuing the distortion tonight.

More partisanship and division. How the hell do they expect to govern when they are so offensive? But this sort of behavior seems to be why they win. Appealing to the lowest common denominator.

I don't remember the Dems being so overblown and negative last week.

This is so depressing.

Note: interesting letter from a citizen of Wasilla about Palin's time as mayor is posted here.

Just gotta say

Rachel asked me this evening who I thought was going to win the election.

Not who I wanted to win but who I thought was going to win.

And I had to answer right away.

Now remember, the night of the Iowa caucus, my gut was telling me, completely unbidden, that McCain was going to be the next president.

This, when McCain wasn't even in the running.

But tonight, my answer was that I'm feeling a lot better about Obama's chances.

Rachel asked, "Because of his speech during the convention?"

No, because of McCain's choice of running mate.

And Rachel, my 16 year old, went off. As should be expected and for obvious reasons, Palin is quite the topic of conversation in the high school and none of it favorable.

The Palin issue has stolen so much attention from McCain. What he hoped would be a diversion from Obama and the Democratic National Convention has turned out to be a diversion from himself and the Republican National Convention.

McCain was trying to appeal to Hillary's supporters at the same time he was alienating them.

Six years ago she was Mick Ireland (the current mayor of Aspen, a city of only 2000 people fewer than Wasilla, AK). The whole thing just makes me shake my head.

For a mother to choose to put herself and her daughter in the spotlight given her daughter's situation is a questionable decision. As Rachel pointed out to me today, the insistence on teaching abstinence is scientifically idiotic. The claim that Palin has foreign policy experience because Alaska is near Russia is ludicrous. The thought that this woman is our go to person in the case of McCain's untimely demise (could you really call it untimely?) is scary (but reminds me of Geena Davis in Commander in Chief, except that I like Geena Davis).

We didn't get Hillary but we got Sarah?

My Current Wordle