Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Never mind politics, or even dinosaurs – it’s vegetables! today. The weather isn’t half bad, so far. This is the exciting one – the June visit, with everything in place. What has come up? What has been eaten by whom?

We won’t be there long – I should blog again on Sunday, maybe even Saturday. But it should be long enough to tidy up and weed and decide what to do about the grass.

There might even be enough lettuce to enhance a sandwich.

As for politics, I could wish last night had been more decisive, that Senator Obama had won both states. Still, this will have to do. I enjoyed it the more for knowing that you might have been there, Mary Lou.

It will be interesting indeed to see who turns up as V.P., Stash haus. Trouble with Mrs Clinton, she’s Old Politics and rather obviates the message of change. Also I gather they don’t like each other much. Also she’d bring Bill along.

I am sorry that we’re hearing so much about sexism as the reason for Mrs Clinton’s failure. I would have thought, personalities apart, that racism was a much higher barrier.

The big breakthrough was surely JFK who proved that the President didn’t have to be a WASP. We were in Northampton, MA, for that election, and I can remember people saying how distasteful it was to vote for an Irish Catholic.

And knitting. I’m not happy with the dinosaur – too many loose-looking stitches where colours are added. I’m about at the point where the legs are being joined together in the body and I may be happier after another inch. I will retreat with relief – if there’s time for any knitting – to the Strathardle Project for the next couple of days, a dusty pink Araucania rugby-shirt sort of sweater for me. A couple of rounds of ribbing were done, months ago.

7 comments:

  1. Good luck with your veggies, Jean. My husband and I managed to tickets to Sen. Obama's town hall style meeting in Bristol, VA this Thursday morning coming up. I'm very much looking forward to hearing and seeing him in person. That's so different from seeing someone thru the filters of the TV, media, and internet, don't you think? I think I can get a camera in but fear there'll be no knitting while waiting in line to get in due to the no bags and limit personal items lines printed on the tickets. Cross your fingers we get a good, early spot in line and get a good seat.

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  2. I did go Jean. I took a look at the line mid afternoon and was so moved by who I saw and chatted with, I thought I couldn't possibly miss this occasion. I stood in a line that wound for blocks thru the downtown for about 2.5 hours and it was really fun. I chatted with a young African immigrant man from Somalia who can't vote yet but had to be there. I overheard a 70ish woman say to her husband, "I don't care, this is the coolest thing I have ever done." And she may be right. I even cried at the event, I was so moved and proud that we could do this. I did knit in line, and thought of you, Jean, so you were there in spirit. Hope your vegetables are waiting to be your snack, and haven't been someone elses!

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  3. A very funny comment last night on one of the networks - Obama would ask Hillary to be VP if he was certain she DIDN'T want the job.

    My husband and I picked up from her speech that she was implicitly pleading for money. I see on the Daily Kos blog that someone else agrees with us.

    This was posted last night: "So Clinton, in her speech, once again mentioned the URL of her website, while the URL was all over her podium.
    You go to her website, and you're met with a petition they're asking visitors to sign:
    I'm with you Hillary and I'm proud of everything we are fighting for.
    If you "sign" it, does it go to a "thank you" page? Of course not. It goes straight to her contribute page.
    Money. That's why she's staying in. To squeeze her hardest core supporters of the cash necessary to pay off her personal loans to her campaign."

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  4. Hillary is most definitely old school party machine politics, which is why she did well in states like Pennsylvania which still operate very much under that system. That a refutation of that system by voters gets discounted as sexism is cheap and disingenuous (though I won't dispute that she got a raw deal from the press - aggravated, in part, by her own truculent attitude towards them). Ah well, it all just shows that politics, like the law, is a ass.

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  5. I have enjoyed reading your commentary about Obama and his race with Mrs. Clinton and thought of you this morning as I heard reports of his victory. I still haven't decided who's side to be on, but will pray that whomever gets in will have the ability/willingness to do what they say they aspire to do.

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  6. Sorry to hog the comments, but I have to add this to the comment I wrote early this morning - I've been able to catch a few minutes of radio here and there throughout today. The Hillary supporters calling into the talk radio programs are spouting her talking points about how she won the general election - more people voted for her than Obama.

    What they don't tell you is this is wrong, as Hillary is counting Florida and Michigan when making this claim.

    Some of the callers are scaring me that Hillary's backers won't support Obama.

    But then I head an interview with (actor) Tim Robbins who is touring with the Actor's Gang production of Orwell's 1984. Robbins claims that the people they have talked to in the "red" states seem to be fed up with the republican party not supporting individual rights and many he's spoken to have said they will vote for Obama rather than McCain.

    This gives me hope for November.

    Mary Lou - what a great opportunity - thanks for sharing it with us.

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  7. As far as the popular vote goes, she's not only counting Michigan (and giving him nothing there) but also ignoring the caucus states. Real Clear Politica, my favorite site on the matter, has the vote several different ways. You can find it at http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2008/president/democratic_vote_count.html
    (Sorry; I haven't mastered tiny URLs; but if you go to RCP you can find this table. (Note that I'm Sister Helen)

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