New rule in satire

The old standing rule of humor states that if you are going to poke fun at a group, you must be a member of that group, otherwise it's not funny. Or at least, it's not tasteful.

Now there is a new rule! According to some, when engaging in satire, you can only satirize someone who matches your exact racial and ethnic background. Otherwise, it's out of line.

We learn today that some people were miffed that on Saturday Night Live last week, Fred Armisen, played Barack Obama in the debate sketch. This is bad, we're told, because Fred Armisen is not African-American. Incidentally, Armisen is biracial too, but the wrong kind; he's half white and half Asian. Since his ethnicity only matches with Obama's halfway, the sketch would have been better served by Kenan Thompson, whose ethnicity technically also only matches with Obama's halfway. Kenan Thompson is probably the least talented current castmember and doesn't really resemble Barack Obama.

With this new standard, I guess Maya Rudolph can only satirize people with an African American mother and a Jewish father. No more Donatella Versace skits! She's not qualified.

I don't remember a response to this below sketch from last year, which seems to be a little more edgy and also has an actor whose ethnicity does not match his subject's:

50 icebreakers

Through the magic of Google, I encountered the below list of 50 ice breaker questions. After answering all of them I bet you'll feel like you know me really well!

I got this from http://dhc.ucdavis.edu/fh/tw/icebreaker.html

ICEBREAKER QUESTIONS

Who is the most relevant person in our time?
What kind of question is this? Relevant to what? Howbout Sarah Vowell?

What is the title of the best book you have ever read? Why?
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - because I've read it probably 20 times.

What is the name of the best movie you have ever seen? Why?
Brazil hands down - because I had to watch it 4 or 5 times in order to appreciate it.

What comes to mind first when you hear the word "reality"? Why?
Horrible television. Self explanatory.

What is the most beautiful thing about people? Why?
That they can be nice to others. Because they'd be even more beautiful if they were even nicer.

What is the most honest thing you have done?
I don't know how one instance of telling the truth is more honest than another. It's honest or it's not. I can tell you that discussing Santa Claus with my daughter is NOT the most honest thing I've done.

If you could change one thing about yourself what would you change? Why?
My persistent inability to defy gravity.

What is the ugliest thing you know? Why?
How politics works. Because I haven't literally seen how sausage is made.

What do you like to do most with a free hour? Why?
Read. It's relaxing and informative.

What is the most significant event of the last three months? Why?
For whom? January 1st I guess. It made it a whole new year for us, and the last year of the Bush administration.

What force of history are you most aware of as you plan your life? Why?
The impending doom. It's hard to plan around it.

On what basis do you select your friends? Why?
Tolerance of me. It's hard to be a friend with someone who can't tolerate being around you.

What is the most overwhelming thing you know? Why?
We are mortal.

What is the greatest problem in the United States? Why?
Willful and celebrated lack of critical thought. It leads to crappy decisions and decision makers.

What thing makes you most humble? Why?
Smart capable people, because they put me in my place. Therefore, being married makes me humble everyday.

What is the greatest value that guides your life? Why?
The Golden Rule. There's a reason it's called that.

If you could chose to be an animal what animal would you choose to be? Why?
A tortoise. They sit in the sun day in and day out and some can live to be a couple centuries old.

If you could smash one thing and one thing only, what would you smash? Why?
Donald Trump's gigantic ego. He'd be a completely different person.

What is the greatest crime one person can commit against another? Why?
I don't know. But I bet it's featured in some horror film I've refused to watch.

For what do you think you would be willing to lay down your life? Why?
It's hard to know not having done it. I'm sure there's something. Probably not everlasting notoriety though.

What do you feel when you stand on the shore of the ocean?
Happy.

If you were tape recording the sound of violence, what sound would you use? Why?
George W. Bush's State of the Union. It's one of the most violent things my ears have been exposed to.

What sound would you use for beauty? Why?
The sounds the the forest with a mid-day summer breeze blowing through the tops of the trees. What could be better?

If an atomic bomb were to explode a block away in ten minutes, what would you do for those ten minutes?
How big? If it is one megaton or less, maybe there's a chance to get a way far enough to survive. Presumably we're talking a bigger bomb. It's hard to say. There would probably be some lip and ass contact as I said my goodbyes.

What one word would you put on your gravestone? Why?
I'm getting cremated. But if I had a gravestone, I'd probably want my name on it. Otherwise, maybe to encapsulate my feelings on being departed: "Damn." If I had some life insurance and a more wordy gravestone was available, I'd look around for some inspiration.

Choose a word that best describes your life up to this moment? Why?
"Breathing." It's one thing that I've certainly been doing all this time including right now.

What is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen?
None of your business.

What is your biggest worry? Why?
Poverty. Not really sure why.

What idea does everyone in this room want to hear? Why?
Let's go get ice cream! I'm with a four year old.

What do people like best about you? Why?
My beard? Beards are awesome!

What do you think of when you think of tragedy? Why?
Man, that sucks. Because it does.

What person has influenced your life the most? Why?
My parents, because that whole procreation thing and being there from the get-go. Plus, I can blame them then for all my personality flaws.

What skill do you need in order to succeed? Why?
Ambition. Couch potatoes rarely succeed.

What talent should you develop? Why?
Play the guitar. It's a great chick magnet.

What makes you most secure? Why?
Airport security. No, wait.

What institution is most in need of change? Why?
The Vatican. There's at least one reason.

What word best describes advertising? Why?
Obtrusive, because it is.

Choose a word to describe a sunset? Why?
Orange, because it is.

When do you feel most lonely? Why?
At night. Everyone else is asleep.

When do you sense being most alive? Why?
Listening to The Who. How can you not?

What TV advertisement bothers you the most? Why?
I always put on the mute if watching TV. The last one I recall that really annoyed me was the Bob Dole/Britney Spears Pepsi commercial from like 7 years ago.

Choose a word you to describe the elderly population? Why?
Huh? "Aged" I guess.

Why don't you speak to people in class who look lonely?
What class? Hmmm. Maybe they are boring?

What is the biggest waste you know of? Why?
The Pentagon's budget. Just think what you could do with a few hundred billion dollars each year.

What will you be doing ten years from now?
Eating and sleeping at minimum hopefully.

What will save American politics? Why?
Nothing will "save" it. But some things would help: Eliminating the electoral college, instant run-off voting, public financed elections, a Republican Party without James Dobson and pals, a Democrat Party without Joe Lieberman (done!), a few replacements on the Supreme Court, reforming congressional redistricting process for real competition, and a President Barack Obama.

What future discovery do you anticipate the most? Why?
Evidence of life beyond Earth because that would be really cool.

What is the greatest music ever composed?
I haven't listened to everything, but it has to be classic rock from The Who and Led Zeppelin.

What do you love most? Why?
Guacamole.

Why are you here?
I had to be somewhere. It beats Texas.

Testosterone

Last week, This American Life re-ran an episode with the theme of "Testosterone." At first, I considered not listening to it. It didn't sound all that interesting, but I think it is one of their better episodes. It originally aired in 2002, though this was the first time I got to listen to it. I highly recommend it. You can listen for free by following the link.

The second act features an interview with a man who started life as a gay woman, but started taking hormone injections seven years ago. His descriptions on how the testosterone effected the way he sees himself, others, and the world at large are fascinating. There are some awkward moments when the interviewer gets nervous with some of the responses. For example, he suggests that testosterone may have been the cause of his new interest and acumen for science. Uh oh. Let's not go there.

The other great bit comes in Act Three, where the staff and contributors of the show, male and female, test their levels to see how they compare to each other. Let's just say that in the aftermath, they don't suggest that you do this in your workplace. The man with the lowest level laments, half-jokingly, that if he can't be the "manly" guy in public radio, where can he be manly? The woman with the highest levels isn't thrilled either.

How much testosterone does this guy have?

That first pedicure

From the NY Times we get the following distressing story.

• Never too young for that first pedicure

Apparently, one of the popular trends for girls to get a makeover and look just like Hannah Montana. The girls pictured are seven years old.

DFL to fire Molnau soon?

From the Star Tribune: DFL may fire Molnau Thursday, Senate leaders say

Looking forward to it. Hopefully she can be replaced with someone who can run this important agency.

McCain: Unsure if contraception works?

A great story from Cristina Page at the Huffington Post explains why John McCain is a true social conservative. Among other great tidbits, we hear McCain admit to being stumped when asked whether availability of contraception makes any difference.

Most upsetting is McCain's reliance on Sen. Tom "No I'm Not A Crazy Lunatic" Coburn of Oklahoma for guidance on pregnancy and STI prevention policies. It's difficult to find someone more out there on these issues.

Working the corner

So, recently Target got a little bit of attention with billboards with suspicious placement of its trademark target image.

Right now in Minneapolis I had the pleasure of seeing a billboard for pseudo-Italian restaurant, Figlio. Figlio is located in Uptown at Lake Street and Hennepin in the Calhoun Square "mall." It's one of those places that I thought was a cool destination when I was in college and wanted to have a night out in the city. Mix Figlio with a movie at Lagoon, and you're set. Now, older and wiser, I don't go there. It's not that they are bad. It's just that there are many better options.

Anywho. Figlio has a billboard in downtown Minneapolis, and presumably elsewhere in the Twin Citites, with the tagline that they've been "working the corner" for a couple decades. It features the picture of what one concludes is an elderly prostitute. My better half theorizes they are using Chino Latino's ad consultants. I later discover that this is probably true, as Figlio and Chino Latino are owned by the same company, which incidentally, also includes Manny's Steakhouse, Good Earth, and Muffuletta.

The billboard tells us that Figlio is a hip place, I guess, for only hip people. If you don't like the billboard, then you aren't part of their exclusive clientèle. I don't see how aging hookers are supposed to get you in the mood for mediocre pasta in a noisy restaurant, but I guess I'm missing the point.

NPR talks about white people

NPR is something white people like. This week on Talk of the Nation, Neal Conan interviews the creator of the What White People Like blog. The blog, less than a couple months old, has become a big hit.

The blog was also the subject of an LA Times commentary.

Meat

Driving down Lake Street in Minneapolis, I saw a not too uncommon sight: a double-parked delivery truck for one of the street's stores. In this case, it was one of the Halal meat groceries and the items were frozen butchered carcasses. I noticed because the delivery man was running with one on his back across the street. (It was cold and windy.) My best guess is that it was a goat. The carcass was wrapped in a clear plastic bag. The only thing was that the bag wasn't quite big enough and the bottom section of the legs were sticking out of the bag.

Glancing over to the truck with it's back half open, I saw a bunch more frozen goat carcasses. Each one with the legs sticking out into the elements. It looked like they were probably touching the floor bed of the truck. It made me think about getting some roast goat at the nearby Midtown Global Market.

Today's Quote: Getting things done

From last Saturday, Tina Fey tells us in a humorous commentary on SNL in regards to Senator Clinton:

"You know what, bitches get stuff done."

Today's Quote: Divisive politics

Clinton campaign staffers have apparently distributed a 2006 photo of Barack Obama in traditional Somali clothes when he was on a trip in northern Kenya. (Available here) Of course, we know photos like this feed into the racist misconceptions about Obama's background. Via Politico, here is the response from Obama campaign manager, David Plouffe:

“On the very day that Senator Clinton is giving a speech about restoring respect for America in the world, her campaign has engaged in the most shameful, offensive fear-mongering we’ve seen from either party in this election. This is part of a disturbing pattern that led her county chairs to resign in Iowa, her campaign chairman to resign in New Hampshire, and it’s exactly the kind of divisive politics that turns away Americans of all parties and diminishes respect for America in the world," said Plouffe.

It does indicate how low the Clinton campaign may go this next week as we approach the Texas and Ohio contests on March 4. Clearly, the Clinton campaign is no longer worried about damaging Obama in such a way that may dramatically hinder him in the general election.

This latest controversy started when someone form the Clinton campaign emailed the photo to the Drudge Report. The fact that the Clinton people are using Drudge as a dissemination tool may further irritate Democrats who often see the website as the lowest of the lows. Ironically, it was Drudge who broke some of the initial allegations of the Lewinsky scandal.

How many pilots does your plane have?

Here's a reason to have more than one pilot flying a passenger plane:

Plane diverted after co-pilot's death

Running mate possibilities

The Washington Post's The Fix blog has begun to run weekly predictions on likely running mates on the presidential candidates. Right now I'm going to look at Barack Obama's most likely choices.

To start, The Fix lists former North Carolina Senator and presidential hopeful John Edwards, Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia, retired general and head of the U.S. Central Command, Tony Zinni.

I agree that Kaine, Sebelius, and Zinni would be good bets for the short list, but I would be surprised with Edwards or Webb. First, they are both from the Senate and aren't long in the experience realm. In 2000, George W. Bush "assured" voters with the implication that he surrounded himself with experienced experts from his dad's administration, so we wouldn't have to worry about him not knowing who the prime minister of Canada or Pakistan was. Second, they wouldn't do much to deliver either of their states (Virginia or North Carolina). I do think Obama can be competitive in both states in the fall, but neither of those two men do a lot to improve his odds. Gov. Kaine, however, is more highly respected in and out of Virginia and could give a boost.

Obama is not going to offer a second spot to Clinton and she wouldn't take it either. It wouldn't be smart politics. Obama needs a vice president that underscores what his candidacy is about in the general election and maybe shore him up in some way. Geography is clearly a component, but not of the utmost importance. The last running mate who probably made a difference in winning their home state would be Carter's running mate Mondale. One could argue Gore helped Clinton in the south. Though Clinton himself is probably primarily responsible for winning southern states.

Obama needs a running mate with serious foreign policy credentials or someone with leadership experience on important domestic issues. Sebelius and Kaine would fit in the latter manner, with the added benefit of making their small and medium-sized states competitive. Zinni of course helps in the former way. (Where is Zinni from, Virginia?)

I'd also add the following names:

• Bill Richardson - Is a double-whammy of foreign policy cred and a governor working on healthcare and economic solutions. He is both an insider and outsider at the same time and would probably help make New Mexico, Colorado, and maybe even Nevada competitive
• Jim Doyle - As the second-term governor of Wisconsin, Doyle is a respected centrist who could help shore up the Midwest possibly.
• Janet Napolitano - The Arizona governor is a tough-as-nails, centrist westerner. If the Republican nominee was not John McCain, I would put her at the top of the VP list. As it is, she was unable to deliver Arizona to Obama in the primary and is less likely to be able to deliver the state in an Obama-McCain contest.
• Tom Daschle - The former senate minority/majority leader has been an early and close adviser to Obama. He is respected, experienced, a centrist, and his quiet manner means he would not outshine Obama. He might not deliver his home state of South Dakota, but may help in western and plains states.
  
• Ed Rendell - The Pennsylvania governor is a Clinton supporter. Still, he is a two term centrist governor from an important electoral state. If Obama wants to try to patch things up with the Clinonites, Rendell might be a good pick.
  
• Joe Biden - Strong on foreign policy and a good campaigner. On the other hand, he is a senator, a Washington insider, and someone who wouldn't bring additional states to the table.
• Eliot Spitzer - The New York Governor is a Clinton supporter, but he is another tough centrist who has prosecuted all sorts of bad guys: white collar criminals, drug traffickers, human traffickers, violent criminals, and terrorists. He'll probably run for president himself in 4 or 8 years.
  

Another reason to fire Carol Molnau

The Star Tribune unearths that Carol Molnau sold $3 million of land to a developer 8 days after a bill she successfully pushed for the passage of an expansion of a state highway in close proximity to the land. This was when she was in the Legislature in 2000. She has spent the past 5 years as the Lieutenant-Governor and the Department of Transportation Commissioner. Her tenure has had its failings.

The article gives more specifics and looks into what the ethical rules are pertaining to conflict of interest in the state Legislature. For me, it's just one more reason why the Legislature should fire Carol Molnau from her position at the DOT. Governor Pawlenty clearly isn't and she doesn't have the good sense to resign.

The article is a good piece of investigation. It delves into Molnau's pre-legislative career as a local official in Chaska involved in road and land-use decision-making that appears to have financially benefited her directly.
Regarding the sale of land a week after her conference committee finalized the highway's fate, Molnau asserts that putting the highway expansion of the burgeoning suburb had no impact on their sale price. The assertion challenges her credibility a bit. Alternatively, if we take that as her honest opinion, it's still a reason to fire her. If the head of the Department of Transportation doesn't think that suburban/exurban highway expansions would impact the property value of undeveloped land less than a mile away, maybe she's not qualified to be making transportation decisions.

Perhaps the future of the Minnesota state highway system:

Today's Blog: About white people

I recently received a tip to a funny blog called Stuff White People Like. On the whole it is pretty lighthearted and shouldn't be taken very seriously. In truth, it's more of a Stuff Yuppies and Hipsters Like.

A few examples of entries:

• #73 Gentrification - "When one of these white people tell you where they live, you should say “whoa, it’s pretty rough down there. I don’t think I could live there.” This will make them feel even better about their credibility and status as neighborhood pioneers."
• #70 Difficult Breakups - "Once breakup proceedings have been initiated, a white person is immediately thrust into the center of attention in their circle of friends. During this time, they are permitted to talk at great lengths about themselves, listen to The Smiths, and get free dinners from friends who think “they shouldn’t be alone right now.”"
• #63 Expensive Sandwiches - "In most cities, if you need to find a cache of white people get yourself to a sandwich shop."
• #57 Juno - "White people, especially ones over 30, also love movies that take them back to a time when there was zero hip hop influence in white high schools."
• #53 Sarah Silverman - "WARNING: under no circumstances should you EVER list Dane Cook as your favorite comedian. The wrong kind of white people like him. And mentioning him will cause white people to lose all respect for you."
• #51 Living by the water - "Mountain views are also acceptable, but generally seen as a poor substitute."
• #44 Public Radio - "[The] middle portion of the [This American Life] episode where the gay guy who doesn’t own a TV, talks about his one week experiment in TV watching, is an example of what White people love listening to."
• #32 Vegan/Vegetarianism - "As with many white people activities, being vegan/vegetarian enables them to feel as though they are helping the environment AND it gives them a sweet way to feel superior to others."
• #22 Having two last names - "I have a feeling that College Lacrosse and Soccer Jerseys are going to look pretty strange in the next few years."
• #16 "Gifted" children - "But NEVER under any circumstance imply that their child is less than a genius. The idea that something could come from them and be less than greatness is too much for them to bear."
• #5 Farmers Markets - "White people also like Farmer’s Markets because it is outdoors (they love being outdoors), they can bring their dogs and children in expensive strollers, and they get to see other white people."
• #1 Coffee - "I promise you that the first person at your school to drink coffee was a white person. You could kind of tell they didn’t enjoy it, but they did it anyways until they liked it - like cigarettes."

Pete Seeger

This interesting documentary on Pete Seeger will air on PBS on February 27. Seeger is one of the giants of American folk music. He was investigated by the House Un-American Activities Committee, to whom he refused to answer questions. (He did offer to talk about the meaning of his songs about peace, freedom, and non-violence.)

Headline of the day

The Anti-Lobbyist, Advised by Lobbyists

Sexual politics and the Catholic Church

Two stories this week detail troubling incidents emanating out of Catholic schools. First, a woman was told she couldn't officiate a Catholic school boys basketball game because "women weren't allowed to be in positions of authority over men." The name of the school, incidentally, is St. Mary's.

I'm no expert on Catholic theology, but I did attend 11 years of old fashioned Catholic education, and this strikes me as a perversion of Catholic thought. Yes, the Catholics will probably be among the last to allow women to serve as full members of the clergy. Their rationale is that priests and bishops serve in the function of the Apostles and that Jesus didn't select any women Apostles. But the Church, as far as I know, has not in recent times asserted that women have a lesser role in non-clerical matters or within the family. Contrast that to the Southern Baptists. The Catholics just don't want a woman to bless the host because I guess that means no transubstantiation would occur due to the fact that Jesus was only talking to the male Apostles at the Last Supper. Perhaps realizing this, or worried about the growing media attention, the school clarified that it had nothing to do with women's authority over men, but some strange policy regarding keeping the sexes apart in the physical education setting during the adolescent years. (I guess my high school violated this policy, we had co-ed phy-ed.)

Second, in Minnesota, a young, unmarried Catholic school teacher was dismissed after she became pregnant. This type of hypocrisy drives me crazy. The teachings in the New Testament, as I understand them, surround about loving one's neighbor, forgiveness, and not judging. Furthermore, this sends a clear message: "You should be ashamed and banished if you become pregnant outside of marriage." How often do unmarried men in Catholic institutions get similar treatment if they father a child? The worst part is the message to other Catholics, particularly the kids in the school, that it is the better course of action in facing an unintended pregnancy to quietly get an abortion. Is that what the school officials wished this teacher had done? Because that is the message relayed. How many unmarried Catholics in that community will see that and realize that they will have to get an abortion if they get pregnant and wish to stay a part of the community?

I'm pro-choice. But if a religious group opposes abortion on moral grounds, fine. I just wish there would be some consistency in their positions and not demonize those who decide to continue the pregnancy.

New England Patriots: Cheaters?

New allegations surface that New England Patriots coach, Bill Belichick, has been illegally taping opponents for years, going back to the 2000 season. This season, the eventual Super Bowl losers got into trouble when caught taping the opposing team's play call signals. They lost a first round draft choice and got a heavy monetary fine out of it. Some thought it was a slap on the wrist at the time.

We'll see what the NFL does about these new allegations. They can't be thrilled. The NFL got a little bit of negative attention when it came out that they destroyed the seized tapes from the initial allegations. Now no one can go back and look at them as a pattern to these additional allegations.

Thank goodness again the Patriots lost the Super Bowl.

Quote of the Day: Misdirected

Courtesy of the Star Tribune, Ken Plant of the army's Public Affairs office said the following in relation to some recent vandalism of a Minneapolis Army Recruiting office:

"It's misdirected frustration by people who are not too happy with the way things are going. The Army just goes where America tells it to go. If citizens want change, they need to talk about it."

I'd take issue with one aspect of this quote.

I agree with the premise that if people want change in "the way things are going" as one euphemism, the political process is where efforts are effectively spent. Clearly, throwing bricks through a window at an Army recruiting office doesn't really do much except cost the Pentagon a few hundred dollars to repair. These are folks who are misplacing--or at least, not accounting for--tens of millions of dollars. This won't hurt them.

Where I take issue is whether the statement of the brick throwers is necessarily all about the war. I don't know their mindset any more clearly than the Army spokesperson, but there is plenty of things to say about the Pentagon's recruitment strategies. Whether it's their practice of waivers to let just about anyone in (a full 11% of new recruits have convictions according to today's news reports); or the continued discrimination of gay people as they let people with gang tattoos in; or how they have virtually unfettered access to high school students' and their personal information; or how schools are forced to host them lest they loose their funding; or how many recruiting offices are staffed with professional sales people who have not seen combat and set rosy expectations of what their military career will entail; or, admittedly maybe closer to the point Mr. Plant made, because the offices are staffed by people making money off signing up people to commit themselves to fight in an unjust war and risk coming back themselves in a pine box; there may be more to it than simply being against the war.

I don't know. Maybe this person or persons are pissed off about the war, saw the Army recruiting office, and decided to express their opposition with some bricks. All I'm saying is that setting "the way things are going [in Iraq]" aside, there are plenty of other reasons to be dissatisfied with Army recruiting practices. I don't know how to change them, but my guess is that it isn't with bricks.

An afterthought: Can we waste the Pentagon's manpower and resources with a campaign to provide thousands of recruiting false leads? Call them up and be interested, string them along for a bit, then tell them to go to hell? I'm not going to do that because I don't want to talk to an Army recruiter about serving, but that would be at least more effective (and less legally risky) than throwing bricks.

Ted Stevens ain't goin' anywhere

Senator Ted Stevens is apparently going to run for reelection despite being investigated by the feds for peddling influence. He is an occasionally unstable guy who likes to bring the pork to Alaska. When the Senate decided to vote down the infamous "bridge to nowhere," he implied he was about done with the place.

Here's the clip from that floor speech:


And a bit earlier in the debate:

john.he.is

Out of tragedy

It's heartbreaking to read the news some days. Horrific tragedies inundate our eyes and ears seemingly constantly.

Today, the Star Tribune runs a more heartwarming piece. It's about the child of a woman murdered 14 years ago and raised by her grandparents. For me, it serves as a reminder of the lasting effect each of these stories we hear about each day have on peoples' lives, but also that life does go on, even for those touched by tragedy. The headline sums it up.

I know Luanne, the grandmother, and she's a wonderful person. Luanne is a union activist who successfully ran for the Minnesota House of Representatives not long after her daughter was killed. In the Legislature, she was a tireless advocate for countless causes, and remains an energetic advocate in her "post-legislative career." Luanne decided not to run again for election after her knees stopped allowing her to doorknock the thousands of homes in her district. Keep in mind this is a woman in her 60s raising a teenager at the time.

• Touched by tragedy, Chess Koskinen is not defined by it

Election day in Wisconsin and Hawaii

Today on the Democratic side of the presidential run features Wisconsin and Hawaii. Expectations are that it will be close, although Obama is favored in both states. One article I read from the AP notes that Obama is from Wisconsin's neighboring state of Illinois, implying that gave him an advantage. It fails to note that Clinton is a native Chicagoan herself, or that being from Chicago is not necessarily an advantage with Wisconsin voters.

Each summer, thousands of tourists from Illinois flood over the border to Wisconsin. They practically take the state over. They do much for the Wisconsin economy, and probably wouldn't offend the natives too much if it weren't for their overwhelmingly aggressive driving. If it's summer and someone cuts you off on the highway in Wisconsin, chances are they have an Illinois license plate. The decal in the back window for the Chicago Bears just adds insult to injury.

I'm looking curiously to how the media will spin the results of today's primaries. They've been kind of ignoring them, looking more at the March 4 primary contests in Ohio and Texas, which are more advantageous to Clinton. One kind of thinks that there must be a media conspiracy to keep the nomination contest alive by downplaying Obama's recent and anticipated successes and passing on Clinton's flimsy attacks on Obama without any critical investigation. I say "almost." I don't really believe in media conspiracies, or most other conspiracies for that matter. I do wonder if the conventional wisdom of media professionals is to handle Clinton with more kid gloves after their New Hampshire embarrassment. Of course, there are some notable exceptions to that trend.

Dude!

Valentines and gnocchi

A nice essay on Valentine's Day, cooking pasta, and hope: Of Valentine's jinxes and packaged gnocchi - Rebecca Traister at Salon.com.

News Topic: Bishops

Today's random news topic deals with bishops. All are from today's news. Some may be of more interest than others. (I know everyone will be clamoring for the last one.)

• Archbishop objects to Clinton appearance at Catholic university
• Winona bishop says cemetery vandalism may show 'satanic attitude'
• Not all political issues of equal value says Bishop DiMarzio
• Bishop doesn't want to rebuild West Deer church after fire
  
• Catholic radio show comes to Rockford, Ill.; bishop's show now Web accessible

Cruising the Great Lakes

The Star Tribune reports that a company is working to start a cruise line from Duluth to Toronto. Now this is no disrespect to either of the fine cities of Duluth or Toronto, but who would go on that? I imagine that even in the middle of summer, it will be cold as can be in the middle of Lake Superior. And do a lot of people in Toronto find themselves wanting to sail to Duluth, and vice versa?

But what do I know? I'm not in the tourism business. Apparently a similar cruise to Chicago was done last year, though it experienced some problems. The Star Tribune article notes:

"After a Great Lakes tour that was supposed to end in Chicago, it learned there were no marine terminals on the Great Lakes certified to accept foreign travelers.

"Ultimately, he says, its passengers had to disembark on lifeboats bound for Canada then take buses through a land checkpoint into the United States."

Ooops! Someone didn't do their homework! The company behind the Duluth-Toronto cruise is working with the Department of Homeland security for a better way ahead of their cruises.

Won't Get Fooled

If I could pick one concert I would have liked to have attended, it may very well be from the below video with all the members of The Who. I think it's an apt song for an election season. Here's hoping that the new boss won't be the same as the old boss.



For another take on The Who, here's the Blue Man Group doing Baba O'Riley...

Who can beat McCain?

MORE PREDICTIONS! Yes! So, the debate is now who can better beat John McCain, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama? The Republicans appear to be doing what I didn't think they could do this year: choose the most electable candidate. Despite this, I'm going with conventional wisdom and saying the Democrats still go into this election with an advantage. That being said, it's no done deal. This will likely be a competitive election.

I've never been of the camp that holds Clinton is not electable or that the Democrats shouldn't nominate her because of her electability. I do, however, believe Obama is more likely to prevail against McCain. That just adds to the many reasons I voted for him on Super Tuesday.

A few head-to-head polls show Obama doing better against McCain. That is part of the picture, but we should go straight to the Electoral College to investigate true competitiveness.

Below I've made my own assessment of the competitiveness of each state in the two match-ups. In both, Clinton and Obama are likely to prevail in the same states. Obama's advantage, in part because he isn't as devisive of a candidate as Clinton, is where he can make traditionally Republican leaning states competitive.

The winner needs 270 electoral votes to win. Both Democrats start with an advantage. But Obama is going to be able to go after some additional states. Just by picking up one or two of these Republican leaning states he can increase his margin substantially. What's more, this will allow the financially-advantaged Obama to make McCain spread his resources wider as he will have to shore up states like North Carolina and Virginia.

Some of my designations would probably spark some disagreement, which is fair. This is all highly speculative. My main point is that Obama is competitive in more states than Clinton in a match-up with McCain. I think it is difficult to assert the opposite.

STATE	Electoral College Votes	MCCAIN V. CLINTON PREDICTION		MCCAIN V. OBAMA PREDICTION
California	55	SOLID CLINTON		SOLID OBAMA
Connecticut	7	SOLID CLINTON		SOLID OBAMA
DC	3	SOLID CLINTON		SOLID OBAMA
Delaware	3	SOLID CLINTON		SOLID OBAMA
Hawaii	4	SOLID CLINTON		SOLID OBAMA
Illinois	21	SOLID CLINTON		SOLID OBAMA
Massachusetts	12	SOLID CLINTON		SOLID OBAMA
New York	31	SOLID CLINTON		SOLID OBAMA
Rhode Island	4	SOLID CLINTON		SOLID OBAMA
Vermont	3	SOLID CLINTON		SOLID OBAMA
Washington	11	SOLID CLINTON		SOLID OBAMA
Iowa	7	LEAN CLINTON		LEAN OBAMA
Maine	4	LEAN CLINTON		LEAN OBAMA
Maryland	10	LEAN CLINTON		LEAN OBAMA
Michigan	17	LEAN CLINTON		LEAN OBAMA
Minnesota	10	LEAN CLINTON		LEAN OBAMA
New Jersey	15	LEAN CLINTON		LEAN OBAMA
Oregon	7	LEAN CLINTON		LEAN OBAMA
Pennsylvania	21	LEAN CLINTON		LEAN OBAMA
Colorado	9	TOSS-UP		TOSS-UP
Florida	27	TOSS-UP		TOSS-UP
Missouri	11	TOSS-UP		TOSS-UP
Nevada	5	TOSS-UP		TOSS-UP
New Hampshire	4	TOSS-UP		TOSS-UP
New Mexico	5	TOSS-UP		TOSS-UP
Ohio	20	TOSS-UP		TOSS-UP
Tennessee	11	TOSS-UP		TOSS-UP
West Virginia	5	TOSS-UP		TOSS-UP
Wisconsin	10	TOSS-UP		TOSS-UP
Arkansas	6	TOSS-UP		LEAN MCCAIN
Kansas	6	LEAN MCCAIN		TOSS-UP
North Carolina	15	LEAN MCCAIN		TOSS-UP
Alaska	3	LEAN MCCAIN		LEAN MCCAIN
Montana	3	LEAN MCCAIN		LEAN MCCAIN
Georgia	15	SOLID MCCAIN		LEAN MCCAIN
Louisiana	9	SOLID MCCAIN		LEAN MCCAIN
Virginia	13	SOLID MCCAIN		LEAN MCCAIN
Alabama	9	SOLID MCCAIN		SOLID MCCAIN
Arizona	10	SOLID MCCAIN		SOLID MCCAIN
Idaho	4	SOLID MCCAIN		SOLID MCCAIN
Indiana	11	SOLID MCCAIN		SOLID MCCAIN
Kentucky	8	SOLID MCCAIN		SOLID MCCAIN
Mississippi	6	SOLID MCCAIN		SOLID MCCAIN
Nebraska	5	SOLID MCCAIN		SOLID MCCAIN
North Dakota	3	SOLID MCCAIN		SOLID MCCAIN
Oklahoma	7	SOLID MCCAIN		SOLID MCCAIN
South Carolina	8	SOLID MCCAIN		SOLID MCCAIN
South Dakota	3	SOLID MCCAIN		SOLID MCCAIN
Texas	34	SOLID MCCAIN		SOLID MCCAIN
Utah	5	SOLID MCCAIN		SOLID MCCAIN
Wyoming	3	SOLID MCCAIN		SOLID MCCAIN

CLINTON v. MCCAIN

SOLID CLINTON: 154	ALL CLINTON: 245
LEAN CLINTON: 91
TOSS-UP: 113	TOSS-UP: 113
LEAN MCCAIN: 27	ALL MCCAIN: 180
SOLID MCCAIN: 153

OBAMA v. MCCAIN

SOLID OBAMA: 154	ALL OBAMA: 245
LEAN OBAMA: 91
TOSS-UP: 128	TOSS-UP: 128
LEAN MCCAIN: 49	ALL MCCAIN: 175
SOLID MCCAIN: 116

Today's Quote: Marriage

This month's Atlantic magazine features an essay that no doubt sparks a bit of controversy: The Case for settling for Mr. Good Enough by Lori Gottlieb. It's a lengthy and thoughtful piece, written from the perspective of a woman in her 40s who has decided to have a child by herself, attributing her lack of husband to being too picky in her 20s and 30s.

She questions what it means to be single and what it means to be married. At one point she describes marriage in the following, non-romantic way:

"It sounds obvious now, but I didn’t fully appreciate back then that what makes for a good marriage isn’t necessarily what makes for a good romantic relationship. Once you’re married, it’s not about whom you want to go on vacation with; it’s about whom you want to run a household with. Marriage isn’t a passion-fest; it’s more like a partnership formed to run a very small, mundane, and often boring nonprofit business. And I mean this in a good way."

I guess it's a little more optimistic than Marge Simpson, who once said: "Marriage is a constant battle for moral superiority." Or more on point, Edna Krabappel who said, "Ha ha ha. Children, most of you will never fall in love, but marry out of fear of dying alone."

Still, the comparison with running a nonprofit enterprise strikes me as spot on. I would say that it is definitely desirable to want to take vacations with your spouse, though. In fact, I think taking a trip with someone is a great test to the long-term potential of the relationship. You are in close proximity for a length of time. It's an opportunity to connect and have fun together. And of course all traveling involves lots of opportunities to negotiate and deal with unanticipated problems compounded by lack of sleep and stress!

In all seriousness, Gottlieb makes some good points about how we think about romance and marriage. She theorizes that "settling" means more and is increasingly difficult the older you get because you get more set in your ways and accustomed to the independence of being single. Still, there is much to criticize. It is hard for me to understand the perspective of a never-married, single mother in her 40s on issues of marriage, but she has a bit too much confidence with some of her assertions.

Like this one: "...every woman I know—no matter how successful and ambitious, how financially and emotionally secure—feels panic, occasionally coupled with desperation, if she hits 30 and finds herself unmarried.

"Oh, I know—I’m guessing there are single 30-year-old women reading this right now who will be writing letters to the editor to say that the women I know aren’t widely representative, that I’ve been co-opted by the cult of the feminist backlash, and basically, that I have no idea what I’m talking about. And all I can say is, if you say you’re not worried, either you’re in denial or you’re lying. In fact, take a good look in the mirror and try to convince yourself that you’re not worried, because you’ll see how silly your face looks when you’re being disingenuous."

My guess is that there are plenty of single 30 year-old women who are not in denial and perfectly fine not jumping on the marriage bandwagon. Here's one right off the bat from Feministing.com. (The shortened response is here.) Yes, there may be a large segment of the population that has unrealistic expectations of marriage and child-rearing and find themselves running out of time. But I doubt it is universal. Hardly anything is.

Buy this book

Last year the better half got me a great book for Valentine's Day, called Alternadad. It's a hilarious and thoughtful book about raising a kid in today's hipster world. Even if you wouldn't identify yourself as a hipster (as I surely don't) or as part of the "alternative culture" (whatever that means), you'll probably enjoy it.

Neal Pollack honestly writes about his journey to parenthood and the first 3 or 4 years as a father struggling to embrace his new identity without losing too much of the old identity. He also doesn't want his son to have what he sees as the dry, meaningless, suburban upbringing that he endured.

Next week, the book comes out in paperback. Get it at Amazon.com today or request it at your local bookstore. I can confidently assert that it is a great Valentine's or other occasion gift for the father of a young kid.

Incidentally, Pollack is the author of a few blogs on parenting, the most updated being the one hosted by Parents magazine's website.

Today's featured article: Clinton's experience

This week Newseek carries a piece by Fareed Zakaria that discusses Senator Clinton's "experience" as it relates to her presidential bid. Entitled, The Wrong Experience, Zakaria makes the case that Clinton's background and experience lend her to be too cautious.

Zakaria identifies some of my concerns with both of the Clintons. They too readily sell-out their position or co-opt their allies in the name of political pragmatism.

Super Tuesday!

The day is here! Super Tuesday! It's like a holiday. Made even more exciting is the fact that no one knows what's going to happen.

I'm going with the conventional wisdom and say that we're not going to have any candidates drop out tomorrow. On the Republican side, McCain will likely do very well, but I think Romney will do well enough to be in it. The Republican who wins California will probably win the nomination and that looks like John McCain right now. Huckabee will draw his standard 10-20% in each state and will stay around a bit longer despite his very long odds. I doubt Ron Paul will break 10% in any state.

Clinton and Obama will both do well enough to keep on going. The main question is who will end the day with more delegates. The momentum will go to the candidate who has the most delegates.

I suspect that neither contest will go to the respective convention. Neither Clinton nor Obama will want to wait that long and would come to some sort of agreement, even if they have enough delegates to contest it. That being said, I see no advantage to the Democrats in having a known nominee before the Republicans. A known Democratic nominee only helps John McCain, especially if the Democrat is Clinton. Even if Romney does well enough to stay in the race after today, he faces an uphill battle in the remaining states and will have to drop out within a few weeks. Who knows what Huckabee will do, but I don't think he'll be a factor in the primaries after Super Tuesday.

The next question will be, will Mike Bloomberg enter the race? And if so, when? If the Republican nominee looked to be Huckabee, I think Bloomberg would have a chance with an independent run. But if the nominees of the two parties are centrists, which is how Clinton, Obama, and McCain are presenting themselves in a general election, why would Bloomberg get much support? Maybe if it looks like Super Tuesday will solve nothing in either party and that there will be a slugfest to the conventions, that would entice him. But at this juncture I think it is unlikely.