Just another brick in the wall

And here I thought I was so unique. It turns out that everyone in the whole damn country except for Henry Paulson and his wife have been hatin' on the bailout. Goshdiggedydang.

But at the same time I feel inspired by what little faith we collectively have in our government. It makes me feel as if perhaps our nation is smarter than I thought.

My 401K has taken a drubbing but Flora and I can always just live on the beach somewhere when I retire.

Flora has promised to live to be 35 so that I will never be alone.

Still hatin' the bailout BUT

I think McCain is going down. What can he say? I am sure his wife is freakin' on how much money their family will lose if the Treasury Secretary doesn't get what he wants.

By the way... why is that women are ALWAYS the secretary unless there are large amounts of money involved and then men have that job?

Henry Paulson is a pig. And here is what he is really upset about: if he doesn't take care of all of his richie rich cronies in this 700B deal... then they will NOT invite him to their summer houses next year.

Boo hoo. His kids will have to shop at Banana Republic like the rest of us.

Hatin' on the Bailout

I feel peace and love towards the planet... but I am just a hatin' on the bailout! Thankfully I am starting to think that this is not a bipartisan thing; conservatives are hatin' too.

But still, why do I feel like the final 700 billion bailout is still going to be a travesty?

I do not think I have ever felt a greater sense of "what is wrong with this country?" I can't even believe that people are still debating/thinking about dare I say hatin' on Sarah Palin. Like who cares?

My only hope is that democrats and republicans are calling their congresspeople and senators in droves and freaking out on them. That is our only hope.

Flora the Beagle

Flora has no idea that she is going up to Wisconsin this weekend but she will LOVE IT. I can only imagine how many critters she is going to chase into their holes/caves/trees.

It is not rocket science to make Flora happy but it is not always feasible for me to make it happen.

I will have fun too.

Fads

It dawned on me today that Sarah Palin may just be a fad. In a few weeks we will be on to something else.

As in, people might see a connection between our failing financial system, impossibly expensive and wasteful war in Iraq and FEMAs inability to get water to Dallas before a radio station could.

I really am an optimist.

Lance, you can kiss my big butt

Must I elaborate?

I think it is okay for Lance to try to come back to professional cycling. Why not? It is very much the only thing he is truly good at. Clearly he is not a good husband, boyfriend, or Dad. He is an okay marathoner but will never be a contender.

So boo hoo. Lance is really only good at riding a bike and winning the Tour de France.

Forget his young kids who would probably love to spend lots of quality time with their Dad. Forget all the celebrity chicks who haven't yet gotten their hands on his gams, and forget the folks at Livestrong his uber famous cancer charity...

OH, WAIT A MINUTE! I must apologize! Lance isn't coming back to cycling because there is no one left in his titanium sandbox... he is doing it to help the global cancer fight!

Yeah right. Um, note to Lance: you have outlived your status as world's most fabulous cancer survivor. There are so many more interesting people besides you who have had cancer and will have cancer so just admit that you are just a selfish SOB and we will all watch your "comeback" with great interest next summer.

Why couldn't McCain have chosen Lance to be his running mate? Would have solved a lot of problems for everyone except my man Barack Obama.

In the eye of the storm

Well dang. Right after I read an email from Amanda telling me about a drought in Olema I got stuck in a terrific rainstorm that still seems to be rockin and rollin ten hours later.

Is this the hurricane coming to us?

Are we still on Ike or on to a new one?

Not only did I not have an umbrella with me today, I had no coat and a pair of sandals. What a kooky day.

Let's get a bit kookier: I am actually happy for Roger Federer winning the U.S. Open. Another Rafa/Raj match would have been epic but let's be fair. Getting a Gold Medal as individual in the Olympics is much better than winning the U.S. Open.

Final tennis note: Go SERENA! Now that was an exciting match.

Amanda: Watch your mailbox. A big old box of rain headed your way.

Seattle

I like Seattle. It feels so small and livable. Today Renee and took a walk around the Sculpture Park. Fantastic! This is the best form of public art. You can mix walking with sightseeing and see a mix of contemporary sculptures.

On our way home we stopped at a Japanese-American owned fish market. It felt very pacific to me. The place was packed and the fish looked fresh and amazing. We got a big salmon and a few dozen oysters. They also had a lot of cool ingredients and noodle packs that I wish someone sold near me in Chicago.

Many years ago I had the good fortune to go on a bike tour in the San Juan islands with my good friend Deb. I picked up this book that I read (part of) many years ago called "The Living" by Annie Dillard. This book had such an effect on me. Sounds dumb since I did not finish the book. But I quit reading it because it was too painful. It was about various phases of settling the pacific northwest. It is called "The Living" because so many people die. Settling the West was not an easy life. Perhaps even less easy on the people who were already here.

In other news, I have never felt a greater need for Jon Stewart in my life. This election is going to continue to be a source of amazing revelations and moments. Without "The Daily Show" I am lost.

News black out

Sorry fans that I have no time in post in my blog during this wonderful week of rockin out republican hypocrisy. I am in Seattle at a bike conference. How banal.

But suffice to say, I am lovin it.

But let me temper my joy with some sobriety. Imagine, if you will, what the grand swath of educated white people in our fair nation would say if Barack Obama had a 17 year old daughter who was pregnant?

A whole different story. And I do believe that the democrats would be right in line with the republicans judging without mercy.

John McCain is nuts. But he still might be our next President.

Who is the majority?

I am too lazy to chase down the stats, but last time I heard, the (slight) majority of women in this country are anti-choice.

Anti choice, pro life, whatever you call it they are opposed to abortion in most cases.

It is entirely likely that there are leagues of women who LOVE the idea of a female anti-choice President or Vice President.

I still think that McCain's choice of a V.P. is an insult to the women of this country but I also think that there are a lot of women in this country who feel insulted by women like me who presume that we speak for thinking women.

I will be pro-choice till the day I die but I do not think this makes me smarter or better than the billions of women who disagree with me.

Speaking of laziness I am too lazy to find sexy pics of Sarah Palin's hottie hubby who proudly refers to himself as the "first dude" of Alaska. If he does not want to wear a speedo to the convention, how about a beach volleyball costume?

Show us those abs big daddy!