SO WHO YA GONNA VOTE FOR?

The delegates at the DNC look like the people in the country.

What kind of people do you want to run your country? The folks who organized the RNC or the folks who organized the DNC? If the winner is the party who put on the best convention, then there is no contest. The Democrats orchestrated a near-perfect convention.  The purpose of a political convention today is no longer about choosing candidates for president and vice-president, because that's all settled beforehand.  The hope of the Democratic leadership is to fire up the delegates to the convention, the activists and the not-so-active voters watching at home and in gatherings around the country, both Democrats, independents, and stray Republicans to vote and to work to get out the vote which the Republicans are so very anxious to suppress in the battleground states.  The atmosphere at the DNC was electric.  The crowd was fired up. The convention was a huge success.

Because of Isaac, what I saw of the RNC was mostly on videos, and it was Dullsville.  I did not last 5 minutes with any of the major speeches, though I did watch Clint Eastwood to the bitter end of his conversation with the empty chair.  I'm not sure why, but I couldn't seem to click the stop button.  Note to Paul Ryan: Lying speeches can be boring.  The Republican delegates, along with a good many Republicans at large do not have warm, fuzzy feelings about Romney, but they liked some of what he and the other speakers said.  The delegates even applauded Ryan's lies.  The Dem delegates seemed to love Obama, which does make a difference in the enthusiasm of the crowd at the convention and that of the viewers at home. Disclosure: I am biased.

The delegates at the RNC look like the crowd at the country club.

While I am rather cynical about politics here in the US, seeing much of the talk from both parties for the BS that it is, I do believe this election is important and that the team that is elected will make a difference, for good or for ill.  Both parties neglected the matter of increasing poverty in the country, but to suggest an equivalency in the policies of Democrats and Republicans stretches credibility beyond the limit. The dog-eat-dog Darwinian policies of the present Republican Party are shocking and scandalous.  The corporate culture will continue to run the country no matter which party is in charge in the office of the president and the legislature, but let's not pretend that the coming election will affect the poor in the same way. Even marginal attention to the plight of the poor will have an impact, and which party is more likely to address the problem? Note that Sr Simone Campbell, the voice of conscience at the DNC, mentioned the Ryan/Romney budget at the beginning of her speech.

The disappearing middle class is a crisis that if not addressed will increase the numbers of those living in poverty, and we'll end up as a banana republic, with a society that consists of the very rich and the very poor and quite a small middle class. Although I'm disappointed that the Democrats did not highlight the problem of poverty in the country as I would have liked, I believe this election will make a difference to the poor, even if only in a moderate way.

DNC photo from Time.
RNC picture from The Huffington Post.
Sign from Prior Aelred's Facebook page.

COOL CRITTERS

Thanks to Doug.

SISTER ACT

And a fine act it was. Amongst the speeches last night was Sister Simone Campbell's gem in a class all its own.  Sister Simone, one of the "Nuns on the Bus", brought the crowd to their feet cheering and applauding time after time. She dared to mention the P-word and tell stories of the struggles of the people who live in poverty. The plight of the poor, which was not much mentioned in the course of the DNC, stands as a challenge to us all. The "We" in "We the people...." declare to each of us that not one of us stands alone, that I am my sister's keeper; I am my brother's keeper. As the Founding Father Ben Franklin said, "If we don't hang together, by Heavens we shall hang separately". The words were true then, and the words are true now.  Sister Simone served as the conscience of the convention.

MY FAVORITE NOT-AT-THE-CONVENTION PICTURES

President Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha watch Michelle Obama's speech

Hilary Clinton watches Bill Clinton's speech from East Timor in SE Asia

LOUISE EMERSON BROOKS - REST IN PEACE AND RISE IN GLORY

From Susan Russell, whose wife, Louise Emerson Brooks, died Sunday, September 2, 2012 after a long battle with cancer.

There are no words to express the depths of our gratitude for your words of support and love for us and in tribute to Louise's extraordinary life. We will celebrate her life with a service at All Saints Church in Pasadena on Saturday, September 8th at 11am with a reception to follow. Please come prepared to grieve her loss, celebrate her life -- and to tell stories about the part of Louise Emerson Brooks that touched your life. That is quite literally what she said she wanted -- as the producer in her was very clear that she wanted a "production credit" for the liturgical celebration of her life. For more details call All Saints at 626.796.1172.  Here's my new-and-improved 2.0 version:

For those who have asked about memorial gifts, two of the great passions of her life were the work of LGBT inclusion and the work of animal rescue. Contributions to Integrity will help support the distribution of her latest documentary "Voices of Witness: Out of the Box" and contributions to Husky Camp will support the ongoing Siberian Husky Rescue that brought us our beloved Luna and Juno.

Integrity USA in memory of Louise Brooks
http://integrityusa.org/
838 East High St. #291 Lexington, KY 40502

Husky Camp -- Siberian Husky Rescue
http://www.HuskyCamp.com/
SHRRCA
303 Cameo Dr.,
Danville, CA 94526

I met Susan Russell at GC2009.  The next year, I had the pleasure of meeting both Louise and Susan in New Orleans when Susan gave a speech sponsored by the New Orleans Chapter of Integrity and Human Rights Campaign at Trinity Church.  I was amongst the guests at a dinner in their honor and was fortunate to be seated at the same table with Susan and Louise and enjoyed their company and conversation immensely.  I teased Louise that, although I find it difficult to remember names, I would have no problem remembering hers since it was the same as the silent movie star.  Many would not recognize the reference, but Louise knew of whom I spoke. Louise had a sharp wit, which she sometimes expressed in throwaway-lines with a dead-pan expression, so you had to be quick to appreciate how wonderfully clever and funny she was.

Below is a picture of Louise, me, and Susan after Susan's speech.

May Louise rest in peace and rise in glory. May God give comfort, consolation, and the peace that passes understanding to Susan and to all who love Louise.

UPDATE: Louise's obituary in the Pasadena Star News. 

I GET THIS ONE

Grnadpère and I both have hearing loss, so the caption misunderstandings resonate.  We amuse, annoy, and frustrate each other another .  Observers of our exchanges either laugh or shake their heads.

Thanks to Doug.

A MILESTONE...

Today,  the 1,000,000th visit to Wounded Bird was recorded on my counter. Actually, I lost a couple of days when the counter stopped working, so the total was reached a couple of days ago, but I have no record, so today is the big day.  My one millionth visit was from Pawtucket, Rhode Island at 13:45:42.  Congratulations for making my day, visitor from Pawtucket.

This post is No. 6485.  My first post was on January 22, 2007.  I never dreamed Wounded Bird would still be running after five and a half years, nor did I ever believe I'd reach a total of 1,000,000 visits.

Thanks to everyone who visits, and thanks to all who take the time to leave a comment.  Without the encouragement, I would not still be blogging. 

TWO SOLDIERS

Two soldiers were having a chat during their free time.

First Soldier:  "Why did you join the army?"

Second Soldier: "I didn't have a wife and I loved war.  So I joined.  How about you?  Why did you join the army?"

First Soldier:  "I had a wife and I loved peace.  So I joined."


Cheers,

Paul (A.)

Did you tell this joke to your lovely wife, Paul (A.)?

NO LAUGHING MATTER

Some people fake them, others ache for them but for one woman, the big 'O' is the bane of her life... as she has to endure up to 100 orgasms a day.

Kim Ramsey, 44, has a medical condition which makes her feel constantly aroused.
Even the slightest pelvic movement - on a train, in a car, doing domestic chores - can trigger a climax, but the sheer volume has left her tired, in pain and unable to have a normal relationship.

Ms Ramsey, a nurse originally from Hitchin, Hertfordshire, suffers from Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder (PGAD).

My heart goes out to Kim Ramsey.  I hope she's able to find relief from the doctor in London.  I'd never heard of the disorder before, but I understand how it would be difficult to lead a normal life with PGAD.  My local newspaper thought I might find the article interesting, which is how I came to read the article in the Daily Mail. 

LEAVE BIGOTRY BEHIND - ADD MORE BIGOTRY

Click on the letter for the larger view.

The town of St. Martinville, Louisiana was handed a rude awakening recently by a part of a class reunion letter that specifically asked for “White graduates only” for a specific event for the 1973 St. Martinville Senior High School class reunion.

Despite the fact that after almost 40 years of holding segregated class reunions for the graduates of St. Martinville High School, it is the class of 1973 that has made the progressive, momentous decision to begin holding integrated class reunions.

This historic change was put forth through a letter announcing the change, and on the surface that sounds like a good thing. But within that very letter, there was a flagrant request for a “White graduates only” after party, and it is that request that has caught the attention of ABC News and other media outlets.

Supposedly, on Sept. 21st there will be a reception held at the high school after the homecoming, football game, and the letter invites all graduates to attend that function. But after the game, one of the classmates is hosting a continuation of the class reunion at their home, and that is where the request for “White graduates only” was made.

Let me get this straight.  At the same time the organizers made their "progressive, momentous decision to begin holding integrated class reunions", they put their racism on display with a very public insult to non-white graduates.  The people who arranged the "White graduates only" party do not even have sufficient self-knowledge or sense of shame to hide their blatant bigotry by - let's see (pondering) - maybe a separate note enclosed in mailings to white people only?  Or else, they just don't care about insulting "those people".  As the dear, departed Molly Ivins would say, "You can't make this stuff up."