It's happened a couple of times now, going back a couple of weeks. Christmas decorations, everywhere. There is, after all, no Thanksgiving to get in the way here. A city obsessed with shopping is even more susceptible to the decorations, of course, and a shopping-obsessed city in Asia...well, you can imagine.
Right, but what is it that has happened a couple of times now? Well, I'm walking past some elaborate storefront with garlands and ornaments everywhere, or a Christmas tree at the mall. And I think - just for a second, but I think it just the same - "But it hasn't even gotten cold yet!"
Power of suggestion is that strong, sometimes.
Equally amusing, I think, is an ad I saw recently from some credit card company, encouraging us all to do a list of extremely expensive things at least once before we die. One of them was "spend Christmas on a tropical island." Technically, I will be doing that this year.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Goodbye 1994, hello 1964!
Well, it wasn't the one-sided blowout some of us (myself included) were hoping for, but I'll take it. Right up to the bitter end, I wasn't quite sure it wasn't going to slip through our fingers. Of course, now we have to see if the Dems don't let the ball drop again like they did in 1993-94. I find it hard to believe anybody anywhere near Obama could fail to appreciate what the right wing s**t machine has in store for the next two years at least. But one should never be surprised at the Democrats' ability to underestimate how dirty the other side plays most of the time.
Then again, they didn't underestimate the threat this time. I'm still a bit surprised they didn't fall into the trap of refusing to criticize Gov. Palin...it's all too easy for me to imagine her getting away with one stupid comment after another without a peep in protest. Maybe something really has changed.
Anyway. Dave's picks and pans:
Most gratifying win: North Carolina (there's still a slight chance it won't go to Obama, but it's looking like a very slight chance just now). Not just at the presidential level, but across the board - Senate, governor (for the fifth time in a row!), and we picked up a House seat. That "godless" ad from Sen. Dole was disgusting, but back in the days of Jesse Helms, it probably would have worked. My only regret is that Helms isn't around to see his home state vote for a...well, you know what he would have called Obama.
Biggest surprise: Rep. Virgil Goode, R-VA, may yet hang on - he was down by somewhere between 80 votes and 522 votes last time I checked, depending on which source you believe - but even if he does squeak through, it's a pretty shocking outcome. Goode was perhaps the last of the old-fashioned right-wing Democrats elected to Congress (he switched parties several years ago), and he has embarrassed himself repeatedly in the past few years with a number of openly bigoted comments. But his district is exactly the sort of place where conventional wisdom holds that a real Democrat can't win, which is perhaps why his far-right profile was tolerated back when he was a Democrat. His big mouth never got him in any trouble before (and neither did his party switch), so it's nice to see it probably catching up with him at last. The Dems definitely won two other seats in Virginia, so if Tom Perriello hangs on against Goode (and I'm guardedly optimistic that he will), they'll have gone from an 8-3 minority in their House delegation to a 6-5 majority - as well as having both Senate seats for the first time since 1966. No wonder the Republicans don't consider it "real America".
Biggest disappointment: There's still a slight chance Al Franken will come out ahead in Minnesota, but it's not looking great there. It's not just that he (probably) lost that bugs me, it's the matter of whom he lost to and why Norm Coleman is a senator in the first place. Coleman won in 2002 almost entirely because the right wing s**t machine got away with lying about Paul Wellstone's funeral turning into an inappropriate political rally. Guess who eventually got the truth out and set the record straight? Yep, it was Franken. Heartbreaking.
I guess I could also throw in a word here about being disappointed with McCain for selling out his principles to get the GOP nod. It's easy to forget now, but a lot of progressives used to consider him our favorie Republican. But from what we've learned about the guy during this campaign, I'm not so sure we were right about him in the first place.
The "if so many Republicans had to lose, why him?" award: I'm blanking on this one this time. There just aren't that many moderate Republicans left. I guess I could name Chris Shays, but he's not as moderate as he has been pretending to be for the past few years. Besides, the sheer symbolic value of having not a single House Republican left in New England is worth it. I'm all but certain that having a party completely shut out of a given region is unprecedented since the Civil War - even at the height of the Solid South era, parts of Tennessee remained reliably Republican. You might think the Republicans would accept this as the price of having some of their more outspoken members argue that the Northeast isn't really American at all...you might think so, but I don't. My theory is that they really and truly believe progressives do hate America and thus shouldn't be offended when they accuse us of as much.
So, no, I'm not too sorry to see Shays go down. A somewhat more legitimate candidate for this title would be Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, R-MD, but he lost in the Republican primary. (The Dems do appear to have won his seat by a tiny margin over the guy who ousted him, though.) Everything I've ever heard about Gilchrest has suggested that he was a decent guy and a good fit for his conservative-but-not-right-wing district. But he was a moderate (I've always expected he was only a Republican because a big plurality of his constituents were too), which was bound to be a problem in the primary for him sooner or later. In fact, although MD-1 is a Republican district (it's the Eastern Shore and some of the more remote exurbs of Baltimore and DC), Gilchrest probably would have been better off switching parties once he was personally popular enough to get away with it, which has been the case for quite a while now.
Quote of the year: "Can I call ya Joe?"
Short, but packed with accidental eloquence about its speaker and exactly who and what she was, that little question didn't just talk, it screamed. It showed just how careless McCain had been with his VP pick. It showed how oblivious she really was to what a laughingstock she was outside the far right. And it showed why plain-folks appeal is a subtle art, best left to folks who aren't really plain. There's a reason why Bill Clinton the Rhodes scholar and Yale Law grad could out-folksy a pig and still be taken seriously: he knew when to turn the populism off. Even George W. Bush's faux-cowboy baloney was more convincing than Failin' Palin.
I was tempted to go with another quote from the same debate, about Biden's wife being a teacher and how her reward was in heaven (I'm leaving off the quotes here because I can't recall her exact words offhand). But where "Can I call ya Joe?" spoke volumes, that comment was just terrifying. The combination of Biden/wife/heaven was also in incredibly bad taste, but I concede it's probably not common knowledge that his first wife was killed in a car wreck unless you're a political junkie like myself. That said, somebody should have told Palin about it so that she wouldn't say a thing like that.
Blessing in disguise: I supported John Edwards in the primaries...and am I ever glad in retrospect that he lost! I know cheating on one's wife is a private failing and it's not really our place to judge - but what if he were the Democratic nominee for president when word had gotten out? He probably would have been on the short list for Obama's cabinet (attorney general, maybe?) if he'd kept his pants up, so I guess the price is paid. But still, what a disappointment from a guy I used to have so much respect for. That said, anybody who has ever cared about DC does owe the guy some gratitude for retiring Lauch Faircloth.
What's left: There will probably be a runoff in the Georgia Senate race, and if Ted "Tubes" Stevens hangs on in Alaska, word is that he'll be either expelled or persuaded to resign his seat. Either way, we could get another crack at that seat...but really, if we can't beat a senile old man who's just been convicted of seven counts, and keep in mind who they elected governor...let's just say I don't like our chances too much!
And in closing...I was impressed with McCain's concession, very classy and conciliatory. I was not so impressed with his audience. It's more or less traditional for the audience at a concession speech to boo at the first mention of the winner's name (I've seen it happen with Democrats and Republicans alike), but only at the first mention, not repeatedly like that. We see how well that disrespect served them this year, so it'll be fun to see if they ever figure it out.
Oh, by the way...
Colorado: 53-46 Obama
Connecticut: 60-39 Obama
DC: 93-7 Obama
Iowa: 54-45 Obama
New Hampshire: 55-45 Obama
Pennsylvania: 55-44 Obama
Virginia: 52-47 Obama
Looks like I did my share. ;)
Then again, they didn't underestimate the threat this time. I'm still a bit surprised they didn't fall into the trap of refusing to criticize Gov. Palin...it's all too easy for me to imagine her getting away with one stupid comment after another without a peep in protest. Maybe something really has changed.
Anyway. Dave's picks and pans:
Most gratifying win: North Carolina (there's still a slight chance it won't go to Obama, but it's looking like a very slight chance just now). Not just at the presidential level, but across the board - Senate, governor (for the fifth time in a row!), and we picked up a House seat. That "godless" ad from Sen. Dole was disgusting, but back in the days of Jesse Helms, it probably would have worked. My only regret is that Helms isn't around to see his home state vote for a...well, you know what he would have called Obama.
Biggest surprise: Rep. Virgil Goode, R-VA, may yet hang on - he was down by somewhere between 80 votes and 522 votes last time I checked, depending on which source you believe - but even if he does squeak through, it's a pretty shocking outcome. Goode was perhaps the last of the old-fashioned right-wing Democrats elected to Congress (he switched parties several years ago), and he has embarrassed himself repeatedly in the past few years with a number of openly bigoted comments. But his district is exactly the sort of place where conventional wisdom holds that a real Democrat can't win, which is perhaps why his far-right profile was tolerated back when he was a Democrat. His big mouth never got him in any trouble before (and neither did his party switch), so it's nice to see it probably catching up with him at last. The Dems definitely won two other seats in Virginia, so if Tom Perriello hangs on against Goode (and I'm guardedly optimistic that he will), they'll have gone from an 8-3 minority in their House delegation to a 6-5 majority - as well as having both Senate seats for the first time since 1966. No wonder the Republicans don't consider it "real America".
Biggest disappointment: There's still a slight chance Al Franken will come out ahead in Minnesota, but it's not looking great there. It's not just that he (probably) lost that bugs me, it's the matter of whom he lost to and why Norm Coleman is a senator in the first place. Coleman won in 2002 almost entirely because the right wing s**t machine got away with lying about Paul Wellstone's funeral turning into an inappropriate political rally. Guess who eventually got the truth out and set the record straight? Yep, it was Franken. Heartbreaking.
I guess I could also throw in a word here about being disappointed with McCain for selling out his principles to get the GOP nod. It's easy to forget now, but a lot of progressives used to consider him our favorie Republican. But from what we've learned about the guy during this campaign, I'm not so sure we were right about him in the first place.
The "if so many Republicans had to lose, why him?" award: I'm blanking on this one this time. There just aren't that many moderate Republicans left. I guess I could name Chris Shays, but he's not as moderate as he has been pretending to be for the past few years. Besides, the sheer symbolic value of having not a single House Republican left in New England is worth it. I'm all but certain that having a party completely shut out of a given region is unprecedented since the Civil War - even at the height of the Solid South era, parts of Tennessee remained reliably Republican. You might think the Republicans would accept this as the price of having some of their more outspoken members argue that the Northeast isn't really American at all...you might think so, but I don't. My theory is that they really and truly believe progressives do hate America and thus shouldn't be offended when they accuse us of as much.
So, no, I'm not too sorry to see Shays go down. A somewhat more legitimate candidate for this title would be Rep. Wayne Gilchrest, R-MD, but he lost in the Republican primary. (The Dems do appear to have won his seat by a tiny margin over the guy who ousted him, though.) Everything I've ever heard about Gilchrest has suggested that he was a decent guy and a good fit for his conservative-but-not-right-wing district. But he was a moderate (I've always expected he was only a Republican because a big plurality of his constituents were too), which was bound to be a problem in the primary for him sooner or later. In fact, although MD-1 is a Republican district (it's the Eastern Shore and some of the more remote exurbs of Baltimore and DC), Gilchrest probably would have been better off switching parties once he was personally popular enough to get away with it, which has been the case for quite a while now.
Quote of the year: "Can I call ya Joe?"
Short, but packed with accidental eloquence about its speaker and exactly who and what she was, that little question didn't just talk, it screamed. It showed just how careless McCain had been with his VP pick. It showed how oblivious she really was to what a laughingstock she was outside the far right. And it showed why plain-folks appeal is a subtle art, best left to folks who aren't really plain. There's a reason why Bill Clinton the Rhodes scholar and Yale Law grad could out-folksy a pig and still be taken seriously: he knew when to turn the populism off. Even George W. Bush's faux-cowboy baloney was more convincing than Failin' Palin.
I was tempted to go with another quote from the same debate, about Biden's wife being a teacher and how her reward was in heaven (I'm leaving off the quotes here because I can't recall her exact words offhand). But where "Can I call ya Joe?" spoke volumes, that comment was just terrifying. The combination of Biden/wife/heaven was also in incredibly bad taste, but I concede it's probably not common knowledge that his first wife was killed in a car wreck unless you're a political junkie like myself. That said, somebody should have told Palin about it so that she wouldn't say a thing like that.
Blessing in disguise: I supported John Edwards in the primaries...and am I ever glad in retrospect that he lost! I know cheating on one's wife is a private failing and it's not really our place to judge - but what if he were the Democratic nominee for president when word had gotten out? He probably would have been on the short list for Obama's cabinet (attorney general, maybe?) if he'd kept his pants up, so I guess the price is paid. But still, what a disappointment from a guy I used to have so much respect for. That said, anybody who has ever cared about DC does owe the guy some gratitude for retiring Lauch Faircloth.
What's left: There will probably be a runoff in the Georgia Senate race, and if Ted "Tubes" Stevens hangs on in Alaska, word is that he'll be either expelled or persuaded to resign his seat. Either way, we could get another crack at that seat...but really, if we can't beat a senile old man who's just been convicted of seven counts, and keep in mind who they elected governor...let's just say I don't like our chances too much!
And in closing...I was impressed with McCain's concession, very classy and conciliatory. I was not so impressed with his audience. It's more or less traditional for the audience at a concession speech to boo at the first mention of the winner's name (I've seen it happen with Democrats and Republicans alike), but only at the first mention, not repeatedly like that. We see how well that disrespect served them this year, so it'll be fun to see if they ever figure it out.
Oh, by the way...
Colorado: 53-46 Obama
Connecticut: 60-39 Obama
DC: 93-7 Obama
Iowa: 54-45 Obama
New Hampshire: 55-45 Obama
Pennsylvania: 55-44 Obama
Virginia: 52-47 Obama
Looks like I did my share. ;)
Monday, November 3, 2008
Is it wrong that I find this offensive?
Getting a work visa almost has to be a hassle, and that's okay. It's the price of being an expat. I also knew when I moved to Singapore that the place was something of a benevolent dictatorship, and I can live with that too. Cultural differences are also bound to pop up, and I'm perfectly used to that. But. One of the hoops we have to jump through to get an Employment Pass for Singapore is an HIV test.
I wasn't scared, much. Obviously an HIV test is always going to be nerve-wracking, but I've been careful, and I knew I was about as likely to be HIV-positive as I was to be pregnant. But that's beside the point. It seriously rubs me the wrong way that the government wants a record of that particular issue when it comes to foreigners. Or anybody else, really. It ain't right, cultural differences or not.
On the bright side, I will get my EP finalized tomorrow, and my raise with it. Which almost makes it seem worth it!
I wasn't scared, much. Obviously an HIV test is always going to be nerve-wracking, but I've been careful, and I knew I was about as likely to be HIV-positive as I was to be pregnant. But that's beside the point. It seriously rubs me the wrong way that the government wants a record of that particular issue when it comes to foreigners. Or anybody else, really. It ain't right, cultural differences or not.
On the bright side, I will get my EP finalized tomorrow, and my raise with it. Which almost makes it seem worth it!
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