Word

The Casper Star-Tribune had a solid editorial on Cynthia Lummis' campaign this week. It's good to know that I'm not the only person that sees the connection between how a campaign is run and how the candidate, if elected, will act in office.

Simply put, we deserve better than what Cynthia Lummis is offering.

I predict a 100% chance of mud,

Regis

The Debate

Some observations:

• I was right - some blows landed by both candidates, but no decisive knockouts.
• Did McCain admit that, under President Bush, the US has committed acts of torture, or am I losing my mind? He said that he differed with Bush on the issue of torture (which must mean that Bush is pro-torture), and later that we would never torture again (which means that we have indeed tortured in the past). It's pretty stunning to hear Bush's number one supporter say as much.
• Obama came across as more composed. McCain, for the most part, kept his composure as well but had a few moments that seemed almost childish and vindictive.
  
• That study of bear DNA in Montana was actually successful, Senator McCain. Maybe you should find another example of government spending to rail against, maybe recreational halibut fishing or the study of crab mating?
• What is the lesson from Iraq? Don't fight stupid wars in the first damn place.
• A reduction of $300 billion in tax revenue is better than an order of magnitude greater than the $18 billion in annual earmark spending. Also, haven't we seen that supply side (trickle down) economics hasn't really worked in the past?
• McCain struck me as kind of (but not quite, maybe borderline?) condescending with his repeated utterances of "you don't get it." He also repeated himself too much.
• Obama definitely came across as more thoughtful, but he could have been a little more succinct. I think he "gets it" more than you do, Senator McCain.
• I lost track of how many times Obama had to refute a charge from McCain as "not true." Yes, there was some level of misrepresentation on both sides, but it seemed to come far more from McCain's side of the stage.

In the end, I've got to give it to Obama. He parried McCain's attacks and made the better case for his election. Less than a week until the Vice Presidential debate.

Senator McCain better put them ads away,

Regis

Get Your Game Face On

After some confusion and overdramatic posturing, John McCain will indeed be attending tonight's presidential debate (the first of three) at the University of Mississippi. I generally look forward to debates and other situations where the candidates get to face off, and this is no exception.

Even though some are already calling the result in favor of McCain.

That's right, before the debate has even started the McCain camp is declaring victory. These little puppies have been popping up around the web today. Being the reasonably reasonable guy I am, I can see having them on hand and ready to bust out immediately following the debate should McCain manage to trounce Obama (my prediction - some hard back-and-forth brawling but no knock outs; Obama will look better but not necessarily be the clear winner). No, the big red flag I see raised by the preemptive release of these ads isn't so much arrogance as it is carelessness. If McCain and his campaign can't wait to declare victory until after the debate concludes, what else will McCain jump the gun on as president?

Maybe he'll throw hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars at hasty and ill-conceived rescue operations for a flailing Wall Street? Or pay thousands less on his taxes before enacting his new tax proposals? He might even launch a preemptive strike against a national threat like Iran, North Korea, or even Spain, those evilest of evildoers?

Senator McCain, I suggest you get your head in the game, or this will be the closest you come to winning anything this election. What's that saying about counting chickens before they hatch, again?

One step at a time - that's all I really want from you,
Regis

Hump Day Happy Hour - Laura Veirs

Holy triple action, Batman! After today's cavalcade of ridiculosity, I know I need some music. This week, I present "Phantom Mountain" by Laura Veirs, and artist whose work I am familiar with from places. One, her songs "Saltbreakers" and "Galaxies" periodically pop up in Pandora, and two, this video by Doug Savage, the cartoonist behind Savage Chickens (I have a link to it below, check it out). I actually have one of his cartoons - specifically, this one - as my desktop at work right now. Anyway, the talented Ms. Veirs had a music video contest about a year ago and Mr. Savage's entry won.



These power converters are awesome,
Regis

Sign of the Times

McCain has suspended his campaign, as the current financial meltdown is so important he has to get back to DC - and that's pretty important, considering he's missed 412 votes out of 643 this session, and 109 out of 110 since March. At any rate, he's got himself a shiny new campaign sign:

Source.

God forbid we expect the president to be capable of multitasking. Is that really too much to ask?

Keep the bubble gum away from McCain,
Regis

Cynthia Lummis and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

It looks like Cynthia "I'm Not Barbara Cubin, Honest!" Lummis, the Republican nominee for Wyoming's lone seat in the US House of Representatives, maybe should have stayed in bed yesterday.

She appeared on Sheridan radio's local events show "Public Pulse" with Gary Trauner, her Democratic challenger, and more or less got schooled; the show is available for download here for about a week. (For the record, I fail to see how transporting oil from Alaska to the continental states - as Trauner supports - when it's cheaper to sell it to Japan as the price of oil is based on the global market will really make a difference, but that's my only real complaint). Host Kim Love struck me as pretty balanced - a pleasant surprise after the last time Trauner was on the show, when the interview could easily be summed up as "Label label label, you're to the left of Charles Rangel on this point, label label." While I'm admittedly biased, it seems to me that Trauner came across as more on top of the current economic situation than did Lummis. Of course, this is bad news for her in an election that's looking more and more to be "about the economy, stupid."

But it gets better. Later that day, Rachael Seidenschnur, Lummis' current and Cubin's former press secretary, called into a Trauner news conference about Washington's proposed Wall Street bailout and, after using a false name and identifying herself as a supporter, tried to ask a question about "Nancy Pelosi's and the rest of the Democrats' energy bill this past week." Seidenschnur admits calling the conference (verified by phone records) but denies using the false name or claiming to be a supporter. Of course, audio recording by the AP disagrees. Lummis has declined comment. Seidenschnur is now leaving Lummis' campaign.

Because I'm such a swell guy, I'm going to give Cynthia Lummis and her campaign a couple words of advice.

First, don't lie about stuff that's easy to get caught on. I don't care if lying has worked pretty well for former Wyoming congressman and current VPOTUS Dick Cheney, just don't do it. I thought we Wyomingites were supposed to have this special value system imparted by the sole virtue of birth, or something.

Second, don't shoot yourself in the foot. It should be common sense, but I guess it bears repeating. And speaking of your foot, keep it out of your mouth.

It's pretty much accepted at this point that a Congresswoman Lummis would be a clone of Barbara Cubin, but with a slightly better wardrobe and improved attendance record (at present, Cubin has missed 47.4% of votes cast during the 110th Congress, the worst record of any living representative). This brings me to my third and final suggestion: even though you really don't have much in the way of positives to run on, maybe you should try it instead of relying on negative tactics. I know I prefer having someone to vote for, rather than against.

Lucky for me, this election is looking an awful lot like Michael Jackson Day in Springfield (which is also Veterans Day) - it can be two things.

It's a dog-eat-dog world and I'm wearing Milkbone underwear,
Regis

Hump Day Happy Hour - TV On The Radio

It's time to rock out or something, so let's get down. In honor of yesterday's arrival of the novel "Dayshift Werewolf" - a past winner of the 3-Day Novel Contest about misfit monsters - here's TV On The Radio's "Wolf Like Me." I'll even go so far as to deem it the best song about lycanthropy ever, topping even "Werewolves of London." Which means, of course, that Kid Rock will eventually ruin this song with a half-assed sample too, so you'd better enjoy it before that talentless hack gets his grubby mitts on it.

Gotta bust that box gotta gut that fish,

Regis

Oh, the Brutality

I went running last night and kind of almost sorta maybe did most of the 28-minute run for Week 8. It wasn't really a continuous process, and I wound up doing four or five blocks at a solid run at the end (I was listening to "Fashion Zombies" by the Aquabats, and decided to keep tempo). It would have been a nice evening, but I somehow managed to chafe the living hell out of my nipples.

Frak me, does this suck. I dont' know that I've ever chafed 'em before. I've run in the same shirt before. I guess I should look into something a bit more high tech? But that's not even the big question right now.

My larger query is why I even have nipples in the first damn place? This is seriously making me rethink my stance on intelligent design.

There is no explanation - these children are just victims,
Regis

Reflection

Seven years ago I was a freshman at the University of Wyoming; it was my second week of school. I was eating breakfast at Washakie (I'm reasonably sure that I had, among other things, a bowl of yogurt) when I looked up at one of the televisions on the wall and saw the second plane hit the South Tower of the World Trade Center. I watched the towers fall, I understood that they'd fallen, but the full impact of the situation didn't sink in for a while. I was left with a kind of hollow feeling, a realization that something bad and world-changing had happened, but it felt so far away.

I went back to my dorm room and picked up my Bible (something I didn't do near enough before, and still don't do enough now). I was reading about how vengeance and justice are in God's hands when Dillon came up to my room and asked what I was doing. I read him the particular verse; he agreed that it was comforting, but his tone was too cheerful or naive or ignorant. He hadn't heard what had happened, so I told him what I'd seen.

Later that day on my way to class, there was a group of people outside the Engineering Building, talking about the attacks. One man claimed with absolute confidence that it was the work of Osama bin Laden. I knew who bin Laden was (I'd written a satire for my high school paper about how he was behind Britney Spears and The Backstreet Boys, true tools of terror that they are), but said we shouldn't rush to judgment, we had to make sure we went after the right people in retribution. I guess we were both right.

Hump Day Happy Hour - The Faces

I realize this is a day late, but I'll make it up to you. This week, I give you The Faces, a band which stands as the best proof available that once upon a time, Rod Stewart wasn't lame (though I will say that, for the record, "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" is pretty awesome on a few different levels). The band also included a post-Jeff Beck Group/pre-Rolling Stones Ronnie Wood. Here's "I'm Losing You."



And since I've got to make up for the tardiness of this posting of aural awesomeness, here's "Stay With Me."



Don't say you love me,
Regis

Canada, Ho!

My 3-Day Novel Contest entry - bearing the amazingly creative title Eye For An Eye - is now in the mail. WInners will be announced in January, so try not to get too antsy waiting for my results. [SPOILER ALERT: I'll get a participation certificate. And there'll be like seventy pages worth of feasts and a marriage and Aragorn gets crowned... wait, that's Return of the King. END SPOILER ALERT]

I can tell it's Friday - I'm wearing a Hawaiian shirt, there's reggae playing ("Pressure Drop" in Pandora FTW), and my motivation for the week is as nonexistant as Sarah Palin's foreign policy experience. It's almost a shame I don't have any red leather pants.

Almost.

You wanna be in the show, come on baby let's go,
Regis

Hump Day Happy Hour - The Hives

In case you hadn't noticed, we're smack dab in the middle of the Republican National Convention - an event that doesn't require much vetting to get on the shortlist of things that make me want to drink. I managed to catch most of the Democrats' big speeches, and I must say I enjoyed the experience (though I still feel like Hilldog is nagging me, no matter what she's saying), but my attempts at watching the red hot GOP action have gone down in flames. And while that may very well qualify them to be president, I still couldn't make it through two minutes of either Fred Thompson or Joe Lieberman. I just couldn't do it, it was that bad.

At any rate, here's one of my favorite non-American bands, Sweden's favorite sons, The Hives. "Walk Idiot Walk" is off their 2004 album "Tyrannosaurus Hives" and has the rare honor of being butchered by me, on the accordion, at an open mic night at the Library in Laramie. I also think it might be about soon-to-be-Former President George W. Bush.



And it's bad,
Regis

I Am The Champions! (3-Day Novel Edition)

Ladies and gentlemen, I have been to the top of the mountain, and it is good. By which I mean, rather, that I have completed my submission, Eye For An Eye, for the 3-Day Novel Contest with tens of minutes to spare. I'll admit, there were a lot of points where I didn't think it would come together, but damn if it didn't fall into place at the end! I'm pretty jazzed about this, even if it only clocks in at 15,892 words (technically placing it at the longer end of novelette status, but whatever). I may even be inspired enough to finally finish my incomplete work from last year's National Novel Writing Month, Trouble Wears a Blue Plaid Shirt.

I've got until Friday to get it in the mail for judging, but I'll get it out sooner than that. Winners won't be announced until January, and I have no illusions concerning the outcome. But really, that isn't the point.

I met my goal - to complete a work of brand-spanking new fiction in three days - and I did it.

No time for losers, I am the champions... of the world,

Regis