I don’t get the notion that in order to be considered for the office of Vice President of the United States, you have to make a big show about how you aren’t interested in holding the office.  I mean, Hillary did that, but you know, that’s her prerogative because she thinks Obama will be a shitty (not to mention black) president.  She still thinks she was wronged somehow that the American public did not choose her.   But the rest of the jokers whose names are being bandied about, they didn’t run.  They have no conceivable reason to not want to be Vice President unless, y’know, they actually don’t want to be Vice President.  But this kind of noise just makes me tired of being American: “I haven’t sought it, I’m not running for it, I’m not asking for it. I never asked anything of the campaign. I didn’t endorse him to get anything. I endorsed him to help him.“  Why not just come out and say, “But if he asked me, I’d say hells yes and gladly serve under the exceptional human being that is Barack Obama, and if he doesn’t ask me, I’m still the Governor of Virginia and kind of a badass in my own right”? A little truth, please.

Also, is this the guy who thought the Internet is a series of tubes?  Did anyone notice that the media is now burying the fact that the guy is a Republican when he’s crooked, but displaying in line 2 of the story when he’s a Democrat?  Is that because crooked Republicans aren’t really newsworthy these days?

Also, please note: Dale broke the Internet.  It’s his fault.  This happened right after he started a game with me.

Good Lord. It’s officially a circus.

Creighton outlines some issues with Cary’s instant runoff elections, and in so doing, shakes my faith in the American voting system and baseball’s MVP voting.

All along, I’ve been thinking that I was an Obama or Clinton supporter… but according to the overly simplified flash app at ABC News, my ideal candidates, in order, are Mike Gravel, Chris Dodd, and Dennis Kucinich. However, given that I believe Kucinich hasn’t got a bat’s chance in hell of being elected, and didn’t even recognize the pictures of Gravel and Dodd when they popped up, I’m guessing that I won’t be THROWING AWAY MY VOTE when North Carolina’s primaries roll around. Here’s the worst part about it: ABC matches your views with those of the candidates. Out of eleven key issues, I share views on five with Gravel and Dodd, four with Kucinich.

Heather returned packet #5 today. I could, in theory, be officially done with my essay semester. But who am I kidding? On to packet #6!

Fox News Channel is debuting a parody news show. “Unfair and unbalanced” is how they promote it. This makes me sick! I’ve been teaching my students about rhetoric and how you can gain authority in a poem. This should make an excellent example.

Man, this is how f–ed up the world is right now:

We put all kinds of dollars into nanotechnology so researchers at Cal Tech can make the world’s smallest g.d. smiley. We can’t cure AIDS or cancer.

Our news outlets consider it news that we think the news sucks. Meanwhile, the news continues to suck.

Who the hell is in space to see Apple’s iPod ad? If you’re a damn astronaut, you should already have an iPod, because you have to be playing Steppenwolf’s “Magic Carpet Ride” on repeat.

I don’t give a damn that Randy Quaid was screwed by the producers of Brokeback Mountain. How the fuck does he command a seven-figure salary in the first place?

Oh, and our President still thinks he’s the fist of God. Newsflash: God wouldn’t pick a former cokehead for her fist! She’d pick someone cool and ironic, probably one of those dandies from Belle & Sebastian. I vote for the one with the ears.

… that is, if one can call the Durham Herald-Sun the “mainstream media.” I guess they’re more mainstream than Fox News. But that’s not to say that blogs don’t make it easier for Fox News. Because, hell, they’ll call anything news.

Hey, all you Southern poor! This is working very well for you!

This came in the inbox today, and I think it sounds perfectly reasonable:

“ICE - In Case of Emergency

A campaign encouraging people to enter an emergency contact number in their mobile phone’s memory under the heading ICE (In Case of Emergency), has rapidly spread throughout the world as a particular consequence of last week’s terrorist attacks in London.

Originally established as a nation-wide campaign in the UK, ICE allows paramedics or police to be able to contact a designated relative / next-of-kin in an emergency situation.

The idea is the brainchild of East Anglian Ambulance Service paramedic Bob Brotchie and was launched in May this year. Bob, 41, who has been a paramedic for 13 years, said: “I was reflecting on some of the calls I’ve attended at the roadside where I had to look through the mobile phone contacts struggling for information on a shocked or injured person. Almost everyone carries a mobile phone now; and with ICE, we’d know immediately who to contact and what number to ring. The person may even know of their medical history.”

By adopting the ICE advice, your mobile will help the rescue services quickly contact a friend or relative - which could be vital in a life or death situation. It only takes a few seconds to do, and it could easily help save your life. Why not put ICE in your phone now? Simply select a new contact in your phone book, enter the word ‘ICE’ and the number of the person you wish to be contacted. ”

I’ve been stewing about the Supreme Court’s decision to extend eminent domain to private use. So I’m glad to see that a developer proposes to have his local government sieze David Souter’s home for private use. I will publically support this, and I pledge to bring my tax dollars to your community when I next vacation if this hotel gets built.