I have a confession to make and... it's not pretty and it's one I don't like having to admit to having. But I'm terrified. Absolutely terrified about something. And that something is... Sarah Palin. I know I spend a lot of time here and over on my Facebook mocking and trashing her but in the back of my noodle, I'm terrified that she could wind up as our new president in 2012. Is it likely? No. But it is possible. There is a scenario that's really not that far outside the realm of possibility that makes it possible. Granted, it would take a ginormous clusterf**k, a perfect storm of poo to bring it to fruition, but it could happen. And that thought is enough to give me cold sweats in the middle of the night.

I know, I know... I'm getting my knickers in a twist over nothing, right? I'm sure that's what most people say. But two things... I know a little bit about politics... and I've come to never underestimate the stupidity of the American people... I won't bang on "the people" too hard for the 2000 Supreme Court appointment of Dubya, but the man certainly got a lot of votes... but in 2004 after 4 years of insane policies, out-of-control spending, 2 disastrous wars he obviously had no real plans for and rampant corruption and incompetence... and he still gets re-elected? That's why I never underestimate the stupidity of the American people. We elected the man we'd "rather have a beer with" rather than the man that would have done a better job for this country.

So... leaving people's stupidity aside for a moment, there is a war raging within the Republican party these days. It's an absolute war of attrition in which the more moderate (read: sane) voices are being driven out of the party and the hard, hard right-wing... the religious fundamentalists, xenophobic/racist, warmongering, bigoted elements of the party are winning. This ain't your daddy's Republican party anymore. Ronald Reagan, the paragon of virtue and decency to Republicans everywhere would never be elected by this party and somebody like Barry Goldwater would be pilloried as a flaming, wild-eyed liberal. The GOP has taken about as extreme a right turn as they possibly could have with people like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck leading the charge. And it doesn't appear that it's going to get any better (read: sane) anytime soon. And this new "mainstream" of the Republican party makes up Palin's base. They LOVE her (if you ask me, they love her much in the way the Branch Davidians loved Koresh or how the People's Temple loved Jim Jones)... regardless of that though, these hard-right nuts, freaks and kooks totally heart Sarah Palin. She is a dynamic figure... the only dynamic figure in a party desperately searching for an identity and a leader and she absolutely energizes them.

During last year's campaign and election, the country was energized and motivated. Voters... especially new voters turned out in droves for Obama. Judging by recent polling I've seen, that energy, that motivation is flagging. It's possible that as the 2012 elections near, that energy will get ramped up again but I'm not so sure. I think a lot of people... typically apathetic when it comes to politics, got out there to be a part of history and nothing more. I'd hoped that the sudden awakening of the electorate last year was the start of something, that we were turning a corner where we'd see more involvement and activism but a recent poll I saw shows that nearly 40% of Democratic voters have no plans to turn out for the 2010 mid-term elections... an incredibly important election where we stand to lose a lot of seats if the people really don't turn out. And if we thought the Republican stall and obstructionist tactics were bad now, imagine what they'll be like if we don't have clear and convincing majorities. Or if we lose one or both houses of Congress altogether.

It's true that Obama's approval ratings have slipped since he first took office. He's still above 50% appproval, but that's a far cry from the 60% + that he enjoyed early on in his term. Add to that, the massive discontent over his recently announced strategy for Afghanistan as well as on various other issues and we start getting into dicey territory. I'm not thrilled with his Afghanistan strategy but I'm hardly surprised by it... and I'm honestly perplexed that so many others seem to be. But if things in Afghanistan go badly, if his strategy flops and things get even more unstable over there, his approval ratings will plummet and I foresee many people viciously turning on him.

And you can't ignore the Faux News factor... they didn't sling this much crap at Clinton. But they turn anything and everything they can, be it a legitimate story or not, into some massive breaking scandal. They are doing everything they can to dumb down the American people even further by feeding them a steady diet of lies, manipulations and distortions... and most people are either too busy or too apathetic to care about finding out the truth of things. Should sentiment in this country really sour on Obama, Faux News could certainly pump out enough garbage to inflame the people's anger even more. And what if there really were a scandal of some kind? Can you even begin to imagine what the fallout of that kind of sh*tstorm would look like?

So yeah... that's the path to a Palin presidency as I see (and fear it)... an energized and batsh*t crazy GOP, an apathetic and unmotivated Democratic base, massive anger over policy issues especially in regard to the conduct of the war, the specter of some scandal that rocks his administration, the ever present propaganda machine that is Faux News and of course, the stupidity of the American people. I realize that's a lot of things that have to come together all at one time. Like I said, it's not "likely" but that doesn't mean it can't happen.

I think it goes without saying that a Palin presidency would spell doom and disaster for this country. If we thought Dubya was an incompetent boob that was supremely unqualified for the post, Palin would make him look like Thomas freaking Jefferson by comparison. If by some off-the-wall chance she actually wins in 2012, I'm going to be hoping and praying that the Mayans were right and the world just implodes on December 21st. I think that would be far more preferable than enduring even a single minute of her reign.

( Cut for Your Protection... )

This is my entry for therealljidol Season 6, Topic 6 "Sunrise". Thanks so much for reading and don't forget to stop by once the polls go up and read some of the fantastic entries!

So how was everybody's Turkey Day? Have we made a full recovery or are we still in the grips of a tryptophan coma? Or did you snap out of it and indulge your masochistic side by getting out into the Black Friday crush?

Turkey Day here was really, really nice. The sister-unit, her boyfriend and I got started early and put together a nice little spread while watching the football games. Turkey, stuffin', (I made a special batch of stuffin' because the sister-unit freakishly enjoys apples and raisins in her stuffin'), green bean casserole, brandy sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, gravy and rolls... it was all good. Except for the fact that we somehow managed to forget to make the deviled eggs. Bummer. I love deviled eggs. For dessert, the sister-unit put together a tasty gingerbread and pumpkin treat. So it was the sister-unit, her boyfriend, his daughter, the niece-unit, our uncle and I for Turkey Day dinner... lots of laughs and a really good time. After we'd finished dinner and got the clean-up out of the way, the 6 of us played a game of Scattergories which brought on even more laughter and fun. All in all, it was a fantastic evening.

The one bummer (aside from the no deviled eggs thing) was that as we sat down to eat, the parentals called the sister-unit. Because they go up to the step-father's family's house every year, she assumed that they were just calling to say Happy Turkey Day and said that she'd call them back after dinner. Apparently though, pops got sick and at the last minute, they decided to stay home instead of heading up north. We felt absolutely awful that they spent the holiday alone. And that awful feeling was only compounded when we cruised over to their house the next day and found out that they'd enjoyed a Turkey Day "feast" which included canned yams and Stove Top stuffing. We seriously felt terrible that their Turkey Day dinner was spent alone and included such craptacular food. We of course brought over a ton of the leftovers so they could at least have some proper Turkey Day fare, even if a day late. It would have been nice to have had them there with us though.

Well... Here's hoping everybody had a wonderful Turkey Day... and if you were out in that Black Friday madness, here's hoping that you're alive and intact.

So... on with your Gluttonyfest 2009 Edition of the Weird News....

From the "Oh, You Shouldn't Have" files... Wondering what to get that special somebody for the holidays? Well look no further than the Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington, Illinois where they are offering shiny, sparkly jewelry made from... reindeer dung. Yes, surprise your loved one with the "Magical Reindeer Gem" necklaces. I mean, who doesn't like wearing dried crap around their necks?

From the "House of 1,000 Corpses" files... A real estate agent in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana got a nasty surprise while showing a house to prospective buyers. In the basement of the house, they discovered a pile containing roughly 100 human bones. Apparently, the previous residents would occasionally discover the bones in their yard and simply toss them into the basement. Adding to the creep factor of the house, it was apparently built on top of a circular mound which parish officials believe is an Indian burial mound. Nice... didn't anybody involved in the building of the home ever see Poltergeist? You just don't build houses on Indian burial mounds!

From the "Mr. Mom" files... An 18-year old in Indianapolis was recently pulled out of his high school classroom and arrested on charges of burglary, robbery, criminal confinement and pointing a firearm. Detectives said that the 18-year old was one of two suspects that forced their way into a home and began ransacking it. However, when a baby began crying, he warmed a bottle in the microwave and gave it to the infant. So take note ladies... he may be a thieving scumbag but at least he's good with kids! Or at least he will be once he gets out of prison.

From the "Super, Super Freak" files... 39-year old Charles Hersel of Thousand Oaks, California has been arrested and charged with "misdemeanor child annoyance" after contacting teens on MySpace and paying them to perform... certain acts. According to several students from Westlake High School in Ventura County, Hersel paid them to slap him and yell profanities at him. He offered cash to the teens to urinate and defecate on him. He was finally arrested after paying a teen the whopping sum of $31 to spit in his face. $31? How in the world did they arrive at that figure? Police said Hersel's motive "wasn't clear." Wasn't clear? How about the motive is... Hersel is a sick and disgusting FREAK?

From the "Til Death Do Us Part" files... 39-year old John Gerholt of Bedford County, Pennsylvania has been charged with forging documents to "steal" a cemetery plot next to his wife... a wife that he allegedly shot and killed in November 2008. Gerholt claims that he "accidentally" shot his 24-year old wife Karen with a sawed-off shotgun... twice. Gerholt's attorney Thomas Dickey said, "This is just another sign of his true love and devotion to his wife, albeit deceased." Wow... he makes cold-blooded murder seem almost romantic, doesn't he?

From the "Special Place in Hell" files... 24-year old Trista Joy Lathern of Waco, Texas recently held a benefit that netted some $10,000 that was to go for her cancer treatment. Unfortunately for all of the folks that donated to Trista's cause though, it seems that all of the hard-earned cash they so willingly gave was actually going to pay for her... breast enlargement. Trista has been charged with "theft by deception" but I think there's a real special spot in hell waiting for her.

From the "Sick Day" files... 29-year old Aaron Siebers of Edgewater, Colorado was recently arrested and charged with filing a false report and obstructing a police investigation after staging an attack on himself all in a ploy to miss his shift at the video store. Siebers apparently stabbed himself in the leg and superficially cut various other places on his body and then told police that he was assaulted by 3 men dressed in black who were either Hispanic or skinheads. Seriously dude... next time you want a day off, I'd suggest throwing yourself in front of a small car or maybe just doing what everybody else does and just fake a cough!

From the "Grassy Knoll" files... Well, we've heard of the Twinkie Defense now get ready for the Jabba Defense. 62-year old Edward Ates is on trial, having been charged with killing his son-in-law and is using a rather unique defense... he was too fat to have committed the crime. Testifying for the defense, a doctor claimed that even though Ates is an expert marksman, he simply could not have made the shot that killed his former son-in-law, Paul Duncsak. The doctor claims that Ates' weight would have prevented him from racing up a flight of stairs and making the accurate shot prosecutors allege because the exertion would have left him short of breath and shaking. Just when you think you've heard everything...

From the "Good Parenting" files... 37-year old Jackie Knott recently pled guilty to endangering the welfare of a child and will spend 5 days in jail after letting her 13-year old daughter ride in a cardboard box on top of her van. Knott's defense was that the box wouldn't fit inside the van so her daughter was simply weighing it down while she drove. I suppose that's better than using the "too fat" defense.

From the "Persistence Pays" files... 68-year old Cha Sa-soon of South Korea recently passed her written drivers test... on the 950th time she took it. Sa-soon has been attempting to pass the test since 2005 but until that magic number 950, had failed to hit the required 60 out of 100 necessary to pass the test. But now that she's passed the written exam, she must take the actual driving test... yikes. Here's hoping the residents of Seoul keep their children indoors and keep themselves away from streets and sidewalks while Sa-soon is testing. This could be a very long few years for the people of South Korea.

And finally... a bonus clip for ya'll. This is an actual customer complaint call that is just hilarious. Especially at the very end when this good ol' boy thought he'd hung up the phone. Enjoy!

This might be funny if it weren’t so utterly pathetic and disgusting. A recent survey of high school seniors in Oklahoma revealed a startling lack of basic civics knowledge in the state. I mean a real, real lack of knowledge… as in only about 25% of the students polled could name George Washington as the first President of the United States.

In observance of… ahem… Constitution Day, the conservative think tank Strategic Vision, based in Oklahoma City conducted the survey, lifting 10 questions from the actual citizenship exam.

According to the INS, roughly 92% of the immigrants who take this test pass it on their first attempt. In comparison, according to Strategic Vision, less than 3% of the students surveyed passed the exam. 3 freaking percent. Talk about a national embarrassment. These questions should be gimmies by the time you’re a high school senior. These are 10 of the most basic questions about civics that any 8th grader should be able to answer.

Think I’m exaggerating about just how simple these questions are? Take a look for yourself. Here are the actual survey questions and the percentage of Oklahoma high school students that got them right.

What is the supreme law of the land? --- 28%
What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution? --- 26%
What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress? --- 27%
How many justices are there on the Supreme Court? --- 10%
Who wrote the Declaration of Independence? --- 14%
What ocean is on the east coast of the United States? --- 61%
What are the two major political parities in the United States? --- 43%
We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years? --- 11%
Who was the first President of the United States? --- 23%
Who is in charge of the Executive Branch? --- 29%

A similar survey of high school students conducted in Arizona recently yielded results equally as abysmal as those in Oklahoma.

Undoubtedly, many people are going to point the finger of blame at the public school system. That just seems to be the default position of many people… among them, conservatives who believe we should be privatizing public education. And while the public school system isn’t without its own share of inefficiencies and ineffectiveness, the results of these surveys imply, at least to me, something far larger and far more disturbing.

How does one get through 12 years of schooling and not be able to name George Washington as this country’s first president? That implies to me, a very willful ignorance and a complete and utter apathy toward this nation’s history and our government. This isn’t just a problem with the public school system… this is a problem that runs much deeper than that. A problem that I believe, begins with the families. In fact, though I do believe that our public school systems have many, many issues, I personally think that a lot of the problems with the education, or lack thereof, that students are receiving today can be addressed through a really radical concept called… get ready… parental involvement. I know, I know… I said it was a crazy and radical idea. However… that is another rant for another day and one I will most assuredly be getting to soon enough.

You might be wondering why I’m making such a big deal or even care about the results of these surveys, right? Well, I personally think that the implications of these surveys are truly frightening. These kids will be voting… they will be helping to decide the future of this country, laws that will impact every single one of us… and yet they know next to nothing about basic civics, about the basic history of this country. I don’t know about you, but that scares the crap out of me. That somebody who doesn’t understand the most basic nuts and bolts of our country’s governmental machinery will be helping to make decisions that will possibly have a far-reaching impact on *my* life… yeah, that terrifies me.

And I don’t know about you, but it strikes me as not just sad and pathetic but also incredibly ironic that Oklahoma and Arizona… two of the reddest of the red states… homes of the chest-thumping, flag-waving uber-patriots who demand honor, reverence and respect for this country’s heritage and history… apparently don’t know a damn thing about this nation’s heritage or history.

I understand that people have the right to be absolutely ignorant in this country. I just wish that so many people didn’t exercise that right with such zeal.

Just wanted to give you all a quick shout to say Happy, Happy Halloween and Samhain Blessings to all of you out there in LJ land! I hope that whatever you're doing, you're being safe and having a fantastic time! So anybody care to share their plans for this most festive eve?

We are having a nice home-cooked dinner followed by some trashy horror flicks. On the docket are some movies I've never heard of... seems that all of the classics had already been rented. Apparently this idea is not a unique one. Shocker that. Among the viewing choices tonight however are Dead Snow... Wrong Turn 3... The Shortcut and Staunton Hill. Mindless brain candy and sure to be trashy but hey, it's Halloween, it's allowed, right?

I hope that everybody is having a wonderful evening whatever you happen to be up to!

Happy Halloween and a Blessed Samhain to you guys!

( A Samhain Poem I Like... )