After watching the three presidential and one VP debates, I am struck with the "Aw Shucks" tone of one of the particpants, in particular. No names, but this one loves the "Joe Sixpack" epitaph. It got me to thinking; how do we choose professions in this country?

After carefully following the 2008 campaign, I am finally getting what is meant by "Small Town Values." Apparently, they include homophobia, xenophobia, and lots and lots of guns. It appears that killing and eating a moose is more important for a VP candidate than knowing where a country sits.

Had to do a double-take when I noticed that Ranbaxy Labs has hired former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani to help defend it against allegations of quality problems with drugs sold in the U.S (click here for more).

Ironically, perhaps, to some, Giuliani's last gig with pharma involved ranting against foreign threats and the insecurity of the U.S. pharma supply. 

What Pres. Lincoln should have said was, "You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, and that's good enough to win an election." Neither candidate for the highest office in the land has mentioned who would be on their respective cabinets, who would play for all the swell programs they are promising, or how soon we would see "change." Rather we have "deuling lipstick" comments! I try to keep a stiff upper lip on my European trips, but it is getting harder and harder to explain what we are doing over here.

Once upon a time, you could remake your image and get away with it. Now, we have everything on tape and can replay it at a moment's notice. Unfortunately, we are not only lazy, but ignorant. [Why else would all those emails from "former Finance Ministers of Nigeria" and the such scam us?] The other night Jon Stewart (Daily Show) played the acceptance speeches of Mr. Bush at the 2000 GOP convention and Sen. McCain's this year. If some of the contestants on "America's Got Talent" could be that synched, they could win. But, like a lot of seniors, what America's Got is not talent, but short-term memory. If we actually took the time to watch earlier speeches by politicians, we would see thay all pretty much "flip-flop." It's just that the first to shout "flip-flopper" wins the propaganda war.

While Congress has  a 14% approival rating, over 90% of the incumbants will be re-elected. Telling the truth will get you ousted. Remember Jimmy Carter saying we have an energy crisis and we're addicted to oil? Threw the bum out, didn't we? How do you like $4/gal gas, hmmmm? If any of the people in Congress actually laid out the problems, we'd throw them out, too. We don't want to hear that we're pampered (give up our SUVs or air conditioning just to save the world...hah!) or use too many resources (why fix something when you can throw it out and get a new one?). Since people are voting against their financial interests, there must be a reason. Maybe fear has something to do with it.

Obama made the mistake of exposing the GOP plan: raise tensions so the masses will cling to their religion and guns! When we are convinced that the "bad guys" are coming to kill us, we attend church (or synagogue or whatever) and stockpile arms. [Within minutes of John Kerry announcing his VP candidate, Homeland Security raised the color warning. No reason other than to re-focus the public on being afraid, I fear.] I seem to remember that the safest place to be was in Red Square in Moscow during the Cold War. You would never be bothered by a petty thief or mugger. All freedoms were taken away for absolute security...the KGB would protect you for that little price. So now, the Homeland Security bill allows wiretapping without warrent, the gov. can ask what books you read, hold you forever "on suspicion", etc. All in the name of security, we have our freedoms taken away. Why? So we can protect our freedoms, of course!

Try putting lipstick on that pig!

In the 1960s and 1970s, I was quite vocal about women's rights: equal pay, advancement opportunities, etc. What I found, in a large number of settings, was that the males agreed with me (mostly). Where I was amazed was the responses of a large number of women. Many made comments like, "that's a man's job" or "a woman's place is in the home." I was hoping that women were no longer their own worst enemies...then Denver happened.

Now, when a woman was made a vice-presidential candidate, her policies or experience didn't seem to matter to many people. Polls show a major swing in "white women" to the Republican ticket. I am especially warmed by the fact that the long-standing values of non-violence (gun control, especially) can be forgotten for a rifle-toting, moose hunter... as long as the person has two X-chromosomes.

Worse yet, her "home life" is out of bounds. However, I wonder what the "well-known" churchmen on the far right (silent on the matter) would make of Obama's daughter being pregnant and unmarried. I'm sure they would point out that it was the logical consequence of the promiscuous liberal ideals she has. [These would be the same people who claimed the flooding in New Orleans four years ago was retribution by God for the sinful lifestyles of the locals. Funny: I didn't hear anything of the sort this year when Iowa and several other WHITE, CHRISTIAN states (all who voted "correctly" in the last election) were flooded.] I know we all have faults, I just like to think we accept and work with others, not condemn them because they are different.

In any case, I would expect in the 21st century, that voters look beyond race and gender and actually read something about the accomplishments of each candidate. What a concept! While I'm not about to break into John Lennon's Imagine, I would like to see a little more kindness and openmindedness in our relationships.

Can we actually THINK for ourselves once in a while and not follow the pack over the cliff?

Watching the Olympics is amazing...even when Bob Costas interviewed our Commander-in-Chief. However, when Bob asked, "How can you seriously address the Russia-Georgia issue with so many problems at home?" I waited for a reasoned response. Silly me...after 7 1/2 years? When "W" answered, "What problems? We have no problems." I remembered a neat bumper sticker I saw the other day:

 January 20, 2009: the end of an error

Live long and prosper, y'all. GO, Team USA!!! What a great bunch of young people, no? Makes a future seem possible.

I have a neat idea: why don't we flood Beijing with fake tickets to the Olympics? Give them a taste of counterfeiting, eh? Maybe a blast of overbooking of seats will show the government our displeasure at them not doing a whole bunch to stop phoney drugs from being made and distributed to the world.

My idea is a prank, but a seriously ill person taking a placebo or, worse yet, a toxic chemical isn't very funny. It is difficult to put any pressure on a country from whom we are borrowing billions a day, I would guess. What would we threaten: that we will repay it faster?

Maybe it's time for a "food tester," such as royalty used in the Middle Ages. We ask the vendors to take the drug, eat the dog food, or brush with the toothpaste before we buy it. We could always employ "Dog, the Bounty Hunter" to go after the counterfeiters, but he might not easily move about in China.

Or, we could remember, if a deal sounds too good to be real...it isn't (real, that is...duh).

Most of us use fillers when we speak: uh, um, you know, clearly, like, and that's what I'm talkin' about. The latest insult to our collective mind is "It is what it is." (Duh!) I can only imagine Glog's mate complaining about how damp and wet the cave is...and his reply? "It is what it is!" That is not the attitude that gave us central heat, electricity in our homes, medicines that save our lives, and reality TV. [Three out of four ain't bad.]

The @#$%-ed saying is a "cop-out' (from my generation) for not bothering to try to improve the human condition. Crooked politics? "It is what it is." Higher and higher enegy? "I.I.W.I.I" Thanks to Pres. RR, we have the trickle down effect in play. Garbage can full? IIWII!

 Could we make an effort to stop with "like, um, er, IIWII, and you know?" PLEASE!?! I was just watching Brian Williams give the news; it was succinct, gramatically correct, without hesitation or fillers. It was beautiful (not the news, itself, but the presentation). I just had to say, "Now,that's what I'm talkin' about!"