Republicans...

...are a bunch of old mean guys afraid of doing anything other than what they've been doing all their lives. Even the ones who aren't old.

Change is really hard; it's not easy for humans to do. I spend lots of time wrestling with this. Urban planning is all about thinking about change, and then trying to convince people that they can figure out a way to change that works for them. It's the second part that's hardest.

This week I interviewed a guy who specializes in How To Plan For An Aging Society. He said the hardest part of what he does is dealing with the fact that nobody really believes that they personally are going to get old and die. He said that he gets best results when he tells communities that they need to plan for old people (ie have houses with one accessible entrance, have sidewalks, include social gathering places within walking distance of residential areas, etc.) because old people might visit them.

Republicans are like that. If we just keep doing what we are doing, except cut government spending more (except for spending on war, of course), everything will be fine. We're not going to get old and die. Oh, no.

Wow, this feels good.

I am so relieved. I know Obama isn't going to be my favorite president ever, and I know he's going to disappoint me and piss me off over and over and over. I don't care. I just want the last eight years to be over, and I want somebody responsible to take care of the mess.

Also, yay for us, for electing the first nonwhite president. I feel... proud of my country.*

Anyway, in spite of my compulsion to follow election results, I did make dinner, and it was nutritious. But right now, Dutch is sitting in the bath (with a bellyful of chard) playing yet another weird game, and she's been there for half an hour. I suppose I should put her to bed or something. But then I wouldn't be able to refresh 15 web pages every three minutes...


*Hey, did you notice I've linked to Fox twice tonight? I must be infused with the spirit of bipartisanship and whatnot.

Think Hoosier.

I should be cooking dinner right now. Dutch is in her room playing some weird game. Cook is at school, taking some weird exam. I am wandering the internets while listening to NPR, pretending that if I position my feet just so and concentrate VERRRRY hard on Indiana, it'll make some kind of difference. I know it's pointless, but I can't stop.

Oh, the internets.

I just wandered, blog-led, to the BEST WEBSITE EVER. Seriously. It'll make you cry.*

I think this would be the time to mention that Cook knows somebody who claims Barack Obama hit on her at a party ten years ago. So he may have slightly uneven moral fiber! And somebody told me today that the fact that he's a smoker is really depressing for her. However, pictures of the man holding babies is really all I need to be reassured that he must be a fantastic guy. And as for McCain? Pah. Also, pah.

* For any number of reasons, depending on your age, gender, political affiliation, etc.

So, the election's coming up, eh? Voted yet, those of you with the option? Packed your stand-in-line-all-day survival kit, those of you without the early voting option?

Not much going on around here, except lots of homework and some fall-themed activities. We scored some homemade pumpkin doughnuts last night, courtesy of Emma Goldman, and today I'm taking Dutch to "Spooky Saturday" at Portland State. We're going to do "kiddie yoga"* and a candy hunt. Also, the leaves are turning kind of yellowy and orangish. It's cold. I was serious about the not-much-going on.


*Were you not clear that I live in a non-real part of the country?

My Middle Name is Hussein

Okay, I know it's totally ridiculous, but if you want to join a list of people who have signed up to (unofficially, obviously) change their middle names to Hussein, please go to this website to join those of us who have already become temporarily handsome.

Voting is Complete

My voting, that is. And that of some other people. The rest of you are a little behind. Dutch, feeling left out as Cook and I filled out our ballots (we're more rested now, and feel competent to make reasonable decisions, sort of), made her own ballot, which consisted of a crumpled piece of scratch paper decorated with rows of filled circles. "We all voted for Barack Obama!" she announced happily.*

And hey, news! Cook got himself a new job! Okay, another temporary job with no benefits, but it's WAY better than his current temporary no-benefit job on every front - more money, more interesting projects, more prestige (really!), shorter commute, etc. In Portland, even temporary no-benefit jobs are in short supply, and this one's pretty desirable as far as such things go. For our next step, we're hoping he'll get a bad permanent job. Personally, I am planning to stay in school for as long as it takes until the market clamors for inexperienced planners.


* A coworker of mine knows a 4-year-old who is such a passionate Obama fan that she fundraises for him with a lemonade stand, and reached a point in the primary season where she had to go stay with her grandmother for a week because she couldn't bear to stay with her Clinton-supporting mom. Dutch is not so committed.

Saturday

I just love Bob Herbert. He's like LOLcats for my political needs - easy to think about and makes me feel happy. Okay, not HAPPY, because he's usually mad about something, but satisfied because I agree with him! I don't have to think at all! This must be how Republicans feel when they watch Bill O'Reilly. The difference, of course, is that Bob and I are right and Bill O'Reilly is, as Bob would say, a nitwit.

Woohoo! Things are going great!

So the economy is going to hell in a handbasket. Nobody I know can find a job. Sarah Palin is starting to terrify me. Everyone in my house is sick. No big deal. Who cares! This week, I got two scholarships! Yes, I did! TWO!!!! I even had to interview for one, with a panel of twelve people. TWO! We're rich!

Okay, true, they didn't give me very much money. Times are tough for scholarship funds, too. Also, based on the fact that the department begged people to apply for scholarships, and that I, a non-stellar but oh-so-deserving student, have now collected multiple (little) scholarships, I think we can conclude that... perhaps the competition wasn't exactly strenuous. But who cares! I took the time to write lots of essays and beg people for letters of recommendation, and fill out lots of forms multiple times and take them to multiple places - I deserve a reward for groping my way through inept bureaucracy.

A New New Deal

Have I mentioned how well other people say things I want to say? One excellent reason to vote for Obama is that he is at least a lot more likely than that other guy to work on creative overhaul and improvement of our infrastructure. This would mean that our towns and cities and public transportation (and yes, damnit, roads) would all be much better off. This would also mean jobs for planners.*

Anyway, I think my good friend Bob is totally right on all counts here. Things have gone seriously astray, and I'd like somebody put some time into fixing them. If Americans have any sense, we can get started in January!


* Like me. What, do you know other unemployed planners?

The danger of vagueness

I'm not voting for Ron Paul, in case you're wondering.

It's so much easier when people do what you expect.

I was listening to a segment on NPR this evening, on young voters, and they mentioned an 18-year-old who had not yet decided who to vote for. "The idiots!" I groused "I can't believe anybody could be undecided between these candidates. How ignorant can you BE!?" and I was working myself into a fine huff when the undecided youth himself started talking about his problem. "Well, I like McCain's position on the Second Amendment..." he said (and I huffed "okay, fine - he's not ignorant, just stupid!") and then he said "...but I like Obama's position on gay rights."

And then my head exploded. (It's hard typing with only half your skull still in place.)

I would rather be a chimera than a Republican.

I've emailed a bit lately with my aunties, who are also in political anguish. Both of them (referring to McCain/Palin supporters) used the phrase "Who are these people?!" which is something that's been perplexing me too. I find it impossible to imagine voting for those terrifying idiots. Just impossible. It's easier for me to imagine many things. Like what it would be like to breathe through gills. Or see through insect eyes. But the idea that McCain and Palin should be in charge of ANYTHING just seems so patently ludicrous that it's just impossible for me to imagine believing it. I know I'm a crazy way-out liberal, and that These People can't imagine voting for Obama. And I do try (I really do!) to understand other people's perspectives. But I just can't do it with this. I can't.

Oh, the debate. Yeah, I listened to it a little. I couldn't do more than that, though, because I just kept thinking about how These People would hear something entirely different than I did.

A totally unrelated frivolous postscript - it turns out that a town in which we stayed during our vacation is the location where the "Twilight" books take place. I wish I'd known that in advance - I've never read the books, but I would have liked to appreciate the efforts of the town to make some money off them!

I'm not exactly suspending my blog.

For a couple of reasons, I'm going to have to cut back on my blogging. One, the financial crisis demands more of my attention. Two, school starts next week. Three, something mysterious has shifted in the internets and NOW I CAN WATCH THE DAILY SHOW ONLINE!!!!!!! I just don't have the time for blogging. I'm sure you understand.

Just in case you were wondering, though, a quick update:
Dutch is back in daycare, and she likes her new, glamorous big-kid class. I like full-time, cheap, reliable, high-quality daycare. We're all happy.
The weather is lovely these days.
That's about it.

I am no longer going to write any original content; other people always say things more effectively.

Taxes can be good. Government spending can be good. Let's talk about that.

Still annoyed

I wish to clarify after my last post that I am not pleased about what I see as misogynist media coverage about Sarah Palin, but I do NOT approve of Sarah Palin as a vice-presidential candidate. I thought there was quite a bit of misogynist media coverage of Hillary Clinton, too, but you won't see me voting for John McCain in some sort of insanely misguided effort at revenge.*

I was listening to some dopey show on NPR this morning, and a random English professor on their "panel" said something about the Sarah Palin pick that made me say "Yeah!" She said something to the effect that it is insulting that John McCain, apparently driven to pick a woman, picked THIS woman, rather than, say, Elizabeth Dole. He picked a woman who was unqualified, who is more or less just a puppet, rather than a woman who could actually be GOOD at the job. It's insulting to all women that John McCain thinks we'll vote for just any woman, just because she's a woman. If I didn't already hate him, I'd have to hate him for this.

* Because I hate John McCain. FYI.