There's Always Something...

Halloween...

I feel terrible telling you this.

One year my mother made me a Batman costume for Halloween. Long underwear. Ears. Cape. Black mask. Man!

I wore it with great pride. He was my hero. Detective Comics my favorite read.

Halloween-wise it's been downhill ever since then. 70 years ago. I was 10.

Well, stealing candy from my kids wasn't bad. In fact, that was rather good. I don't remember much since then. In fact, I can't remember anything Halloweenish since.

It was about that time that I began to appreciate Ebeneezer Scrooge as a Christmas hero.

There's a Halloween party for neighbors in our senior community. Supposed to wear a mask or something. They will have extras if you don't have one. I'm staying home and watching a movie. The English Patient. I've seen it before, but it does beat Halloween parties for seniors. At least I would guess it does.

If we had kids I would steal some tiny Mr. Goodbars or Snickers from them. But all 5 are long gone and out protecting their own broods from the terrors of this new age. Halloween has changed a lot. I think.

Bah! Humbug!

I've Discovered a New Blog That Resolves All My Hostilities...

Yes.

How to beat up most anything. I haven't punched anyone or anything out since high school. Actually I'm a gentle soul. Don't even get mad. I tend toward kindness, gentleness and sport a semi-wicked sense of humor.

But there exists a Walter Mitty in most of us and here's a daily blog that will give you all kinds of silly ideas.

Click here.

Obama Looks Exhausted...

Last night, after watching our Phoenix Suns beat the San Antonio Spurs, we turned to more serious matters for just a few minutes. Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were appearing together for a brief shot at Florida.

Obama looked extremely tired. That is long overdue. The guy has been at it for two years now. He has taken on and vanquished some of the toughest old political heads (Hillary and John) in the business. It exhausts me to think of it.

The truth is that all of us who have followed along are pretty stressed out.

John from Arizona, at 72 has about done himself in and as I watch him these days, I truly feel sorry for him. There's nothing left in his tank and he's a better man than what we're seeing. He's too old for the office he seeks, but it's too late to deal with that.

Just think, next Tuesday it will all be over.

Thank God.

Another Look at the Core...

Some time ago, one of my best friends won the Republican nomination to run for Governor of Nebraska. As the campaign went on he ran into a major snag -  the Republican "core" - that is the right wing of the party.

It was a strange thing. As they got into his basic beliefs, mainly regarding social issues, they realized that he wasn't "conservative" enough for them. Suddenly his funds and party support dried up. He lost by a landslide. The guy just wouldn't compromise his beliefs in order to please a handful of rich business people who made up the party "core'.

Since then it has become obvious to me that if someone wants to be truly successful in Republican politics, he or she had better get into bed with the "right" people. The irony is this. Once their control became absolute in the junior Bush administration, their rigidity increased and the mean-spiritedness became universal.

This year a decent man, John McCain, compromised his basic principles and went along in order to get elected. As the election went on, the fruits of the "core" began to fully surface. It became obvious to almost everyone what they really were at heart.

Down went not only McCain, but the entire Republican leadership good and bad. At least it looks that way from here - a week before the vote. John is flawed in many ways, but he doesn't deserve this.

If I were a conservative, I would be for letting the right wing have the whole thing and start a new party made up of responsible conservatives.There are plenty of them around.

The Roves, the Gingriches, the Palins, the Bushes, the Cheneys, the fundamentalist Christian leaders - and their ilk can take the whole thing and go their way.

A responsible group of good conservative men and women will be needed to provide the necessary correctives in governing this country. For them to cowtow any further to the far right is to lose their souls and to betray the vision of a balanced government which the Constitution so wisely envisioned.

25 Greatest News Photos...

Vanity Fair has published its selection of the 25 greatest news photos of our times. That is a pretty ambitious project and they brought it off with power. In the process they brought back some poignant memories. What a time to be alive!

Click here for the collection.

Richie Havens at Woodstock...

My old Kentucky cyber-buddy Alan Creech features a wonderful YouTube production of Richie Havens' performance at Woodstock, lo these many years ago. For some reason it seems as up to date this morning as it did back then.

Do watch and listen!

Texas Can Be Spooky...

Halloween is at hand, people. Preparations this year seem increasingly violent and gory. Death is eerily obvious everywhere one looks - especially in the local press.

I think we should all go to Texas for Halloween this year. Word comes this morning that there will be 12 executions by lethal injection in the next six weeks. Leading the nation.

Oh, dear.

Bra Sizes...

Michael Blowhard shares the information with us (from History.com) that "In 1991, the average bra size in the U.S. was 34B. Today, it's 36C."

Be that as it may, I think the 34B has more to recommend it, all things considered.

Sometimes I Wonder...

Maybe I've stayed too long at the fair.

(Sorry, don't know who to attribute this photo to.)

McCain Drops the Bomb...

Yes sir! He said it yesterday. He dropped the ultimate bomb.

John from Arizona boldly said: "Obama is a Liberal"

Well, he got it right. As a child of liberal education, I proudly shout "amen" and breathe a sigh of relief to see that John is finally beginning to understand who and what he is really up against. A man with an open mind.

Good stuff, John.