raise your hand if you're a proud republican. ...anyone?

seriously.

i'm not much of a political person. so, i'm a tad surprised to realize that this is the fourth consecutive night that i will not be writing about baby squirrels, goofy movies or foul-mouthed woodchucks. but i do feel compelled to write about what i saw on tv last night.

four nights ago, i wrote about the reaction my elementary school teachers would have given us kids if we misbehaved during a taped speech by the president. last night, in the middle of a speech that will affect the lives of millions of americans, a congressman reacted like a preschooler. and, an hour ago, i heard him praised for his actions. by an adult.

but i was appalled long before joe wilson heckled president obama, calling him a liar in front of the world. wilson's mistake was just the loudest and most egregious one of many throughout the evening.

i can live with all the smug looks of indignation and contempt among the republican
camp. although, to me, their faces seemed a touch rehearsed-- like they all got together in a big room the night before to practice their unhappy faces in front of one another, probably handing out prizes for "most grumpy" and "best scowl" and "most able to hide his blatant racism."

i'm less enthusiastic about rep. eric cantor, who was caught texting during the joint session of the congress. i mean, look, i'm sure he was in the middle of something pretty important-- like the reminder of the gallon of milk he needed to grab from the store on the way home. but, speaking as someone who spent two years praying he didn't get into a car accident because he couldn't afford health insurance? i would have appreciated it if cantor's attention were on what the president was trying to say.

i also wasn't a huge fan of the home made signs i saw in the crowd. as if this wasn't a congressman listening to the president, but some schmoe trying to get on camera during monday night football on espn.

E nter
S ocialist
P arty?
N o!!!

and i wasn't even sure what those guys in the back of the room were doing holding up those pieces of paper. what were they anyway? coloring books? children's books? what were they trying to say? "mr. president, we need your help! we can't seem to stay within the lines, we remain uncertain about eating green eggs with our ham, and we can not find waldo."

but, back to wilson. the proud graduate of the gary p. fartknocker school of book learnin'. in case you haven't heard, in the middle of the speech, congressman joe wilson shouted down to president barack obama, "YOU LIE!"

absolutely inexcusable. even if you disagree with him, there is a time and there is a place to disagree with your commander in chief. but, during the joint session of the congress? with the eyes of the world watching? uhm... no. that wasn't it.

and yet, earlier tonite, i saw this man relentlessly defended. why? because, in the words of this woman who i wont even name... "at least he said it to his face." again, this was an adult who said that.

look, i'm not a democrat. i'm a registered independent. and i'm not even especially proud to be so. i don't really care a whole lot about politics one way or another. i'd much rather be writing about football. or camp haluwasa. or just about anything else in the world. but, tonite, i'm mostly very thankful that i'm not a republican.


the five things i fell in love with today...

1) the start of the nfl season. finally.
2) the dude who stuck his hand out of his car window and yelled at me today, while i was walking to the mt. kisco train station. no idea who he was, or what he said. but it was interesting.
3) the sky over white plains early this morning.
4) troy mother-freaking polomalu.
5) that barack obama seems to not hold too much of a grudge. he publicly forgave wilson today. i suspect, in the same situation, sarah palin would be making this a political statement for the next five months.

song of the day...
"how to be dumb" by elvis costello

movie of the day...
"stand by me"