"Looney Tunes"

The "looney tunes" quote is from a friend in Arizona--one who voted for John McCain in his most recent run as U.S. Senator but who now is aghast at his pick of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as vice presidential running mate.

I haven't yet, but I shall reply to my Arizona friend: "Sorry, my dear, but I think you're wrong about its being a looney decision--if, that is, we're talking about election year politics." And with the General Election only two months away, why WOULDN'T we be talking about election year politics?

Discussing the race as a matter of what it takes to govern would be sober and wise, perhaps, but not sufficiently on point as to what it takes to win the White House. To me, it's the political savvy in McCain's bold stance that makes the decision so interesting. To wit:

Gov. Palin, who will NOT get this Hillary supporter's vote, almost immediately set out to get disaffected Hillary voters over to the McCain-Palin column by paying homage to Geraldine Ferraro and Hillary Clinton. That's smart. Her nod to the Demo trailblazers might be viewed as cynical by older feminists, but to younger ones--to soccer or "hockey moms"--the appeal could be strong.

Be honest: McCain, who's 72 and a cancer survivor, clearly needed a fresh face and youthful exuberance to try to outdistance Obama and his legions of under-40 fans. With the Palin appointment, no matter how novice the woman is, McCain has instantly dialed up the race a few notches. Here's how:

Joe Biden, whose white hair and 36 years in the U.S. Senate say "experience" to those of us who love and support him, now can be seen as "old" in almost any side-by-side with the governor from Alaska. That's no easy hill to climb--especially in formal debates when an "experienced" man must not be seen as intimidating or overbearing with a "novice" female competitor.

For 72-year-old McCain, this all must be rejuvenating as hell. No longer is HE the primary "oldster;" he's cleverly passed it to Biden, whose experience advantages may now seem less appealing to America's younger, mostly visual voters and/or to hurt Hillary fans.

No matter which side you're on, it's hard to miss the cleverness in McCain's political and election strategy.

But for governing and heartbeat-away considerations? My Arizona friend's concerns are spot-on. I join him in hoping voters will see through election year cleverness and take serious note of the "looney tunes" factor lest "that's all folks" become a reality!

The Katrina Effect

Katrina is everywhere.

The hurricane that ravaged Louisiana and Mississippi coasts three years ago this week still spins, surges and settles over those who endured and survived it. The signs of loss, rebuilding and hope are everywhere.

Even those not affected because we resided outside the South--we, too, feel the hurricane in ways that are palpable now that we live closer to the damages. Two of many recent examples:

In the waiting room at a garage last month, I met a young mother whose two-year-old daughter had died and been buried in a Gulf Coast cemetery not long before Katrina struck. The woman marveled at how a new neighbor in upstate Mississippi (where the family had moved after the storm destroyed their home) volunteered his own time, money and transportation to relocate the coffin and headstone from her child's burial spot so it would be nearer to the family. This had happened within a week after the hurricane.

To accomplish his mission, the benefactor had braved Katrina aftermath and out-argued officials who tried to keep him away from the cemetery that was badly damaged in the storm. But tenacity on behalf of his new, hard hit neighbors meant that he had prevailed after all--and rapidly.

"Now," the young woman said, "our family visits my daughter's grave more often than we would've otherwise, and for less money in gas." She said their neighbor's generosity was even more valuable than the property that had drowned that awful August night.

As if to underscore such stories, a dance troupe I saw perform at the Mississippi Museum of Art last Saturday presented "House of Broken Dreams," choreography based on a Katrina-inspired painting by the same name. The physical and psychological ravages of the storm, so solidly shown in the painting projected on the wall and in the stylized motion of the dancers, paled in comparison to the joys and hopes represented in the final moments of the piece. What's more, it was all done to the brilliant, recorded music of composer-pianist Phillip Glass.

Katrina turns 3 this week. Her survivors will mark the occasion with more stories, more work, more art, and best of all, more HEART than a storm has a right to ask.

Go, O! Go, Joe!

Great veep choice, Senator Obama!

Thanks from a Hillary supporter who appreciates why Hillary wasn't "vetted" as the vice presidential candidate. We're saving her for the U.S. Supreme Court, right?

Meanwhile...

Senator Joe Biden is a smart, likable fellow--a man of the people. Sure, he has a big mouth and big opinions, but they're backed by long years of distinguished public service and sober research on foreign policy issues brought before the United States Senate. Plain talk and informed wordiness are the by-products of such a long, intelligently managed and seriously dedicated career.

So get ready, America. Once we elect O and Joe, expect a steady flow of words, opinions, and informed policies developed through open decisionmaking.

For many of us, the air will feel fresh again. We like it best when Educated Professionals vs. Cheerleading Dummies and Metal-Plant Zombies are in charge of the world that exists beyond Texas. (Yes, Virginia, there is such a thing!)

Homecoming

The storm-dodging, corner-hugging wren is back. He's been roosting beneath the front porch eave for several nights now. I figure the heavy rains of recent days have him seeking shelter again.

Last winter and spring, he made it a habit. His mate even built a nest in the front door wreath. No eggs or babies seen, but the mother sat and sat for weeks. Eventually the nest was empty and mother was nowhere about. Now, it appears, the male is back and comfortable in his digs. I expect his partner eventually will return as well.

Happiness is for the birds--and for those of us who enjoy watching them. Hope soon to have the complete duo back.

On Being Cynical

Are you a cynic? I am. In fact, my cynicism bothers me at times. I worry that Life may be a lot better and Human Beings a lot kinder than I have a habit of crediting. A recent example:

My next door neighbor, a widower who lives alone, recently asked, then asked again a month later, what I planned to do with the huge brush pile at the rear of my property. (To digress, we have many storms here that leave lots of broken limbs.) Answering my neighbor, I said my brother and his friend planned to burn the brush sometime this fall.

Realizing his apparent concern, I said to the neighbor, "Do you have another suggestion?" "Yes," he said. "I'd like to burn it today. The conditions are perfect: recent rains make it easier to work with." I said okay. Thus the work began and ended well a few hours later. My biggest investment? Several trips to deliver ice water to the gentleman and a pan of homemade blueberry muffins later. Polite thanks both ways.

So where's the cynicism? I'm suspicious of his motive. While I'd prefer to think of it as the gesture of a welcoming neighbor, I actually think of it as self-insurance by a man who feared the woman next door, who has a habit of hiring local jobbers for everything, might hire the wrong bunch to burn the brush and wind up causing him a problem. There was at least one hint in that direction, when the fellow noted how the men I'd hired last time had stacked some brush the wrong way and could have caused trouble later. I figure HE figured: "Better do it myself."

Cynical? Realistic? As to another friend's quip that it was good I'd served ice water instead of bourbon, lest fires get lit the wrong way, I said to myself, "Now THERE'S cynicism."

What say you, Gentle Reader? Comments welcomed.

Sex and Rex

Sex and Rex--"rex" as in royalty and power--continue to grab headlines and give us something to exploit, giggle at or be holier-than-thou about.

I refer to the vain John Edwards and the uninteresting looking blonde he slept with while his brilliant, popular wife Elizabeth was presumably at home dealing with breast cancer.

Am I angry at John for taking advantage? No. Am I angry at Elizabeth for forgiving her husband? No. Or at the woman who wanted sex with a handsome, powerful man? No. By me, they're all human and possessed of what human beings have when it comes to sex and power: desire, often lust, followed by fear, satisfaction or confusion afterward.

But I AM angry at the National Enquirer for exploiting it. And at ABC TV for succumbing to such fare. And at the internet gossips for turning it into silly videos and printed snippets blasted everywhere. Yes...and at myself for giving it more than a bah!humbug!outofmyface! response when I learned of it and decided to blog about it.

Of all sins of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, leering at and/or profiteering from the private lives and private sins of others is one of the worst. For me, it ranks second only to invading whole nations and claiming it as anything other than what it is: lust for profit, lust for resources, and/or lust for power. An unholier-than-thou combination, if ever there was one. For the latest proof, I suppose we could ask the poor and the dying in Georgia who're being bombed into new boundaries for lustful, power-hungry Russia right now.

Let's face it: willing sex and willing forgiveness seem a lot nicer in comparison.

"I Want My Tea"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNv6pBV7yEE

Family reunions bring out the best--the best people, the best food, the best stories. And now, the best video.

Chapman Welch, a talented second cousin, soon will be Dr. Welch with a Ph.D. in music. He and wife Jennifer, graduates of North Texas State University in Denton, are vying to win an internet competition that would help finance their advanced studies--his in music, hers in pharmacy at University of Houston.

If you haven't yet, please watch their video. Every "hit" counts toward winning the competition. Chapman and Jennifer are the creators and performers on "I Want My Tea." Good luck to this pair, who're two of our family's best claims to "musical genius."

Others vying for that distinction include Ernie Welch, a bluegrass picker and singer in Corinth, MS (one of Chapman's two older brothers), along with our first cousin Dr. Buddy Hardy, a Jackson, MS physician and church musician, and his daughter Erin, a talented, gorgeous Nashville singer. Winners, all, in my book!

P.S. Did I forget to say the annual Chapman Family Reunion took place in Raymond, MS yesterday? We're all sprung from John Chapman (1788-1848), a large landholder who settled in western Hinds County, MS in the early 19th century. A bunch of Chapman descendants, including my brother and me, still own and occupy parts of the original
purchase.

Playing The Race Card

Talk about cynical!

The McCain crowd has disgraced itself. It has spent valuable time and money purposefully crafting race-based ads aimed at creating doubt about Sen. Barack Obama's fitness to be president.

In an artless, tasteless TV ad, the two most instantly recognizable white chicks in the world (Britney Spears, Paris Hilton) are flashed onto the TV screen moments before images of Sen. Obama and adoring crowds on his recent European tour appear.

The intended message? Depends on who you are and what you've experienced as to how you see it.

For my part, I see a nasty, inept effort to portray Sen. Obama as one whose celebrity is wrongly conferred--like that of the two blonde sexpots who bring little to the table but good looks, brashness and questionable, unearned wealth and fame.

By contrast, an African American male commentator on MSNBC earlier today gave an entirely different explanation. Presumably one who's long accustomed to hearing whites and blacks alike make disparaging comments about relationships between black men and white women (and vice versa), the commentator saw the ad as being about THAT--a way of telling conservative voters, black OR white, that Obama--like the two blondes in the commercial (a) has sex appeal that attracts persons outside his own race, and (b) is a threat to black AND white men because of it.

Regardless of how one's race or gender prepares one to see the McCain camp's ad, the point remains: it is disgraceful and speaks volumes about the depths to which a cynical, behind-in-the-polls presidential candidate will go to inherit the mess that is currently America.

Finally, here's the best indication that the race card was played cynically and purposefully by the McCain crowd: they're crowing this weekend about what a good week they had in knocking Sen. Obama off his pedestal and off his message.

In short, they count it huge that their opponent had to deal with an ugly topic like "race" after being globally extolled as a Citizen of the Planet in Europe and the Middle East last week.

Cynical to the max. Don't you hate it? I do.