The spouse and I went to the urologist today to get the verdict on the biopsy on his removed right testicle.

I was hoping for "benign."

No such luck.

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So The Big Giant Head (as Keith Olbermann has referred to him) has outdone himself this time:

(h/t to The Young Turks for getting this clip up on YouTube)

WYFP is our community's Saturday evening gathering to talk about our problems, empathize with one another, and share advice, pootie pictures, favorite adult beverages, and anything else that we think might help. Everyone and all sorts of troubles are welcome. May we find peace and healing here. Won't you please share the joy of WYFP by recommending?

I was expecting tonight to be writing a diary about how tired I was from waiting hand and foot on my invalid spouse, recovering from surgery performed this past Wednesday (one of many reasons I am still here in California instead of partying working hard with the assorted assemblage in Austin TX.

But that's not the case.

As noted at Politico:

After saying, "I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in the armed forces, as a prisoner of war," he added that these experiences in no way qualify McCain to be president in his view:

"He has been a voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee. And he has traveled all over the world. But he hasn't held executive responsibility. That large squadron in the Navy that he commanded — that wasn't a wartime squadron," Clark said.

"I don’t think getting in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to become president."

Now that the primaries are finally over (deep breath and stiff drink time), we can focus on the true goal -- defeating John McCain and the Republicans in November, and electing Barack Obama as President and as many Senators and House members as humanly possible.

Barack Obama has taken the high road in his approach to McCain so far; he's praised him for his military service and referred to him as a hero. But we know full well that the Republicans won't play by the same Marquess of Queensberry rules. They're likely to pull out all the stops to spread FUD about our candidate (FUD=Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt; typical marketing practice in the technology and other fields).

So, how far should we go in not just responding, but fighting back?

CityLightsLover mentioned this morning (in Cheers and Jeers) that she might not have Internets access this evening (due to weather), so I'm going to try and fill her spot with the nightly summary of events. I know I won't do nearly as good a job as she does, but bear with me.

Well, so much for the "can't get the lunch-bucket crowd vote" meme.

United Mine Workers Union Backs Obama

Falling in behind the man who looks increasingly like the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, the United Mine Workers of America endorsed Barack Obama for president today. The endorsement followed a unanimous vote to throw support his way by the union's National Council of the Coal Miners' Political Action Committee.

Coming the day after the Kentucky primary, which Hillary Clinton won overwhelmingly, and a week after the primary in West Virginia, a coal state also won decisively by Clinton, the endorsement signals a continued consolidation of Democratic-leaning independent group support behind Obama but will have little impact on the small number of remaining voting states or the course of the primary.

[...]

The UMWA had previously endorsed John Edwards for president last Labor Day, the same day the United Steelworkers cast their lot with Edwards. After Edwards's endorsement of Obama, the Steelworkers endorsed him, too, citing Edwards's influence.

This is an open letter to all Kossacks -- indeed, all progressives -- considering running for public office, especially President.

Fuggedaboutit.

WYFP is our community's Saturday evening gathering to talk about our problems, empathize with one another, and share advice, pootie pictures, favorite adult beverages, and anything else that we think might help. Everyone and all sorts of troubles are welcome. May we find peace and healing here.

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So, it looks like the Harold Stassen of our era, Ralph Nader, is once again considering running for President:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ralph Nader could be poised for another third party presidential campaign.

The consumer advocate will appear on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday. Nader launched his 2004 presidential run on the show.

A spokesman for Nader did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Kevin Zeese, who was Nader's spokesman during the 2004 presidential race, but is no longer working for him, said Friday that Nader has been actively talking to "lots of people on all sorts of levels" about the possibility of making another run.

Anyone who was politically aware back in 2000 can still remember Nader's major assertion that there was "no difference" between George W. Bush and Al Gore. The gaping hole in Lower Manhattan, thousands dead in Iraq, the destruction of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, the rape of our Constitution, Gitmo, "extraordinary rendition"...the list goes on, but it should be obvious that Nader was absolutely wrong about "no difference".

A special welcome to anyone who is new to The Grieving Room.  We meet every Monday evening.  Whether your loss is recent or many years ago, whether you have lost a person or a pet, or even if the person you are "mourning" is still alive ("pre-grief" can be a very lonely and confusing time) you can come to this diary and process your grieving in whatever way works for you.  Share whatever you need to share.  We can't solve each other's problems, but we can be a sounding board and a place of connection.

For a moment, an hour, an evening, let's take a break from the contentious world of partisan politics and reflect on what has gone before for us, and what is yet to come for others...

Back in my youth, my family would make a twice a year pilgrimage from our home in the Bay Area down to Santa Barbara -- once in the fall to take my sister down to school at UCSB, then again in the summer to bring her home.

The pattern was pretty much the same -- we'd get up before dawn, get in the car (which was loaded up the night before) and head down US 101. I always liked the fall trip better because my brother would ride in my sister's car with her, leaving me the back seat unencumbered.

Typically, I would climb in the back with my blanket and transistor radio, curl up on the seat (this was the days before child safety seats or even mandatory seat belts) and fall back to sleep. When the car stopped, I'd wake up and ask the proverbial question, "Are we there yet?" Usually the answer was "No"; we'd either stopped in Gilroy to gas up the car, or we'd gotten separated from my sister and were waiting for her to catch up with us. (Dad did have a bit of a heavy foot on the accelerator.)

The UPS dude just left, after delivering my copy of Keith Olbermann's newest book, Truth And Consequences: Special Comments on the Bush Administration's War on American Values.

It's been a struggle to keep the spouse from absconding with it; he's as big an Olbermann fan as I am. But I was able to get my hands on it long enough to skim through it, and is my usual habit to turn to the "Acknowledgements" pages. (I always like to see who's helped out on this type of thing.)

In the acknowledgements he mentions his particular inspirations: John Dean, Joe and Valerie Wilson, Elizabeth Edwards, and a couple of high school teachers. He thanks the "Countdown" staff, the analysts, and folks at MSNBC and NBC.

But towards the end, just before thanking his girlfriend Katy, comes this little paragraph:

I apologize for the shortness of this diary, but I don't have a lot of information yet -- I'll try to flesh it out as the day goes on.

My spouse of 16+ years is a union member -- to be specific, the Amalgamated Transitworkers Union (ATU). This union represents folks out on the front lines of the public transit industry, from bus drivers (like my husband), BART train operators, mechanics, etc. We're extremely pleased with the union, especially the local leadership; on a personal note, they put in a lot of work to save my spouse's ass and get his job back early this year after he'd been fired because he couldn't get his blood pressure down fast enough to satisfy DMV regs (long story there).

A few minutes ago, I was sitting here on the couch with the laptop, watching ESPN and playing some computer games and trying to gear myself up to go pack for a short getaway this week, when the phone rang. Looking at the time, I figured it was an automated call from our pharmacy saying that a prescription is ready so I didn't bother getting up.

Instead, it was an automated call from the union -- stating that ATU is endorsing Hillary Clinton.

This scares me:

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, buoyed by strong support from Christian conservatives, has surged past three of his better-known presidential rivals and is now challenging former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney for the lead in the Iowa Republican caucuses, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Huckabee has tripled his support in Iowa since late July, eclipsing former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, former senator Fred D. Thompson (Tenn.) and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). Huckabee now runs nearly evenly with Romney, the longtime Iowa front-runner.

Huckabee's rise from dark horse to contender in Iowa is one more unexpected twist in a race that has remained fluid throughout the year and adds another unpredictable element to the competition for the GOP nomination. His support in Iowa appears stronger and more enthusiastic than that of his rivals.

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hate |hāt|
verb [ trans. ]
feel intense or passionate dislike for (someone) : the boys hate each other | he was particularly hated by the extreme right.
• have a strong aversion to (something) : he hates flying | [with infinitive ] I'd hate to live there.
• [with infinitive ] used politely to express one's regret or embarrassment at doing something : I hate to bother you.

noun
intense or passionate dislike : feelings of hate and revenge.
• [as adj. ] denoting hostile actions motivated by intense dislike or prejudice : a hate campaign.

ORIGIN Old English hatian (verb), hete (noun), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch haten (verb) and German hassen (verb), Hass ‘hatred.’

Hate.

It's a short word.

It's useful when talking about food: I hate brussels sprouts.

It's necessary when talking about current events: I hate torture.

It's painful when talking about people: I hate (insert candidate name here), I hate you.

This isn't meant to be an anti-Catholic rant -- I have friends and relatives who are Catholic, and I've long been a supporter of causes aimed in helping ameliorate the effects of poverty, such as the work done by Sacred Heart Community Services here in San Jose, St. Vincent de Paul in Oakland and elsewhere, and other worthy causes.

What Pope Benedict XVI is doing, though, totally chaps my hide, as a woman, as an American, and as a non-Catholic Christian.

WYFP is our community's Saturday evening gathering to talk about our problems, empathize with one another, and share advice, pootie pictures, favorite adult beverages, and anything else that we think might help. Everyone and all sorts of troubles are welcome. May we find peace and healing here. Won't you please share the joy of WYFP by recommending?

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