OH. EM. GEE. best inauguration ever!

After debating for many days whether or not I would be willing to brave the cold and crowds on inauguration day, I decided to let the following pros from this list win me over:

• Want to experience Obama euphoria again (Obama euphoria def.--the feeling of extreme happiness when surrounded by Obama supporters/volunteers while volunteering for the campaign)
• Because seriously, when am I going to be this excited over an inauguration again?

So, as expected, Metro effed up big time. Using their special inauguration guide, we decided that it would be best to avoid Metro Rail and take the special Metro bus (16B) down Columbia Pike into the mall. According to the guide, this was the special bus line to take. We boarded said bus (which even had a sign outside the bus proclaiming "take this bus to the inauguration!") and when it arrived at Pentagon Metro Station, we were instructed to get off the bus because it was not going to the mall. Ummm...that's not what the Metro guide said. I thought we were doing the right thing by avoiding Metro rail, but instead we were forced to take it. A sternly worded email to Metro is forthcoming.

Metro rail was such a mess that we had to take the Blue line in the opposite direction, all the way to Franconia (that's the last stop of the line for you Cali peeps) just to insure that we could get on the train in the right direction (towards Largo). Over two hours after our journey began, we found ourselves walking to the mall from Foggy Bottom station and found a nice spot between the Washington Monument and the White House to watch the festivities on the jumbotron.

After I booed at the many times Bush came into view and after I cheered at every Billary sighting and after I cried during the swearing in of both Joe Biden and Barack Obama AND after I cheered and cried during the inaugural address, we headed home via the Memorial Bridge. But not before we saw the Shrub one last time.

In giant effigy form.




Reminiscent of this statue:

image via news.bbc.co.uk

That would be Saddam Hussein if you recall.

And this would be the toppling of the Hussein statue.

image via news.bbc.co.uk

And in true regime toppling fashion, the Bush statue had to come down too.


It's the end of an error! Ding, dong, the Bush era--and its constitution-snubbing, human-rights-violating, world-enraging policies--is dead!

And these Obama supporters couldn't be more grateful!

mccain and US troops/vets: friend or foe?

I could go on and on about last night's debate between Palin and Biden but I won't. Instead, I will focus on one topic of the debate.

While debating Iraq strategy, Palin said that Obama had voted against funding for troops. Biden said that was simply not true and that McCain had done so as well. Palin argued that McCain had done a lot for troops and veterans.

I already know that McCain voted against Jim Webb's (Virginia Senator--Dem) GI Bill that would expand benefits for vets. But someone who has claimed the following in regards to veterans--I love them, and I'll take care of them, and they know that I'll take care of them--should probably take care of them, don't you think? Especially since McCain is a war veteran himself.

So, I needed to know McCain's real records in regards to the troops in Iraq and caring for our veterans. I did some searching and found an incredible post at VetVoice.com, the blog for VoteVets.org. Here are some highlights:

• McCain Voted At Least 28 Times Against Veterans' Benefits, Including Healthcare. Since arriving in the U.S. Senate in 1987, McCain has voted at least 28 times against ensuring important benefits for America's veterans, including providing adequate healthcare.
  
• McCain Opposed $500 Million for Counseling Services for Veterans with Mental Disorders. McCain voted against an amendment to appropriate $500 million annually from 2006-2010 for counseling, mental health and rehabilitation services for veterans diagnosed with mental illness, posttraumatic stress disorder or substance abuse.
  
• McCain Voted Against Adding More Than $400 Million for Veterans' Care. McCain was one of 13 Republicans to vote against providing an additional $430 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs for outpatient care and treatment for veterans.

There's more. Trust.

Also, I love how someone who claims to support our troops apparently doesn't give a sh*t about them when they come back from war. You know, when they start to suffer from PTSD, anxiety, substance abuse, etc.

As far as troops go, here are some highlights:

• McCain voted Against Establishing a $1 Billion Trust Fund for Military Health Facilities. McCain voted against establishing a $1 billion trust fund to improve military health facilities by refusing to repeal tax cuts for those making more than $1 million a year.
  
• McCain voted against a ban on waterboarding--a form of torture--in a move that could eventually endanger American troops. According to ThinkProgress, "the Senate brought the Intelligence Authorization Bill to the floor, which contained a provision from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) establishing one interrogation standard across the government. The bill requires the intelligence community to abide by the same standards as articulated in the Army Field Manual and bans waterboarding." McCain voted against the bill.
  
• McCain Also Supported Outsourcing at Walter Reed. McCain opposed an amendment to prevent the outsourcing of 350 federal employee jobs at Walter Reed Army Medical Center--outsourcing that contributed to the scandalous treatment of veterans at Walter Reed that McCain called a "disgrace."
  
• McCain said it's "not too important" when U.S. troops leave Iraq. This exchange occurred on NBC's Today Show with Matt Lauer:

LAUER: If it's working, senator, do you now have a better estimate of when American forces can come home from Iraq?
McCAIN: No, but that's not too important.

The waterboarding thing really gets to me. How can someone who was tortured in a time of war not be against waterboarding?

Again, there is definitely more. And sources for this info can be found at my source for this post.

I'm so over all the lying in McCain's campaign. It's getting pretty ridiculous.

palin: open mouth, insert foot, endorse obama

One day, I'm going to stop blogging about VP nominee Sarah Palin. But as long as she continues to appear on TV saying stupid things I am going to be more than happy to point them out.

Last night in the latest installment of Couric's month-long interview with Palin (seriously, will Katie ever stop talking to her?), Palin said this regarding Dem VP Nominee Sen. Joe Biden:

I’ve never met him before, but I’ve been hearing about his Senate speeches since I was in, like, second grade.

Joe Biden is 65. John McCain is 72. I'm assuming she's been hearing McCain's speeches since she was in her mother's womb.

Here is Katie Couric calling Palin out on that comment:

You have a 72-year-old running mate, is that kind of a risky thing to say, insinuating that Joe Biden's been around awhile?

And Palin's response:

Oh no, it's nothing negative at all. He's got a lot of experience and just stating the fact there, that we've been hearing his speeches for all these years. So he's got a tremendous amount of experience and, you know, I'm the new energy, the new face, the new ideas and he's got the experience based on many many years in the Senate and voters are gonna have a choice there of what it is that they want in these next four years.

So basically, voters want new energy, a new face, and new ideas? Voters don't want all of that experience, all of those years in the Senate, and being a part of the Washington establishment crap.

Gosh, darn it. Sounds to me like she just described Barack Obama.