Of Course, Sometimes The Acorn Falls Really Close To The Tree, Maybe It Even Hits Its Head A Few Times On The Way Down

Are you as tired as I am of this blog's obsession with politics? Do you come here to get away from all that vitriol and anger? Tough.
Mitt Romney has referred to Paul Ryan as his sixth son. So, he must be really proud of Ryan's speech last night at the Republican convention. It was virtually a full-employment act for fact checkers. Now you might suspect the MSM of  bias, but here's a quote from Fox News (Fox News!!!):

On the other hand, to anyone paying the slightest bit of attention to facts, Ryan’s speech was an apparent attempt to set the world record for the greatest number of blatant lies and misrepresentations slipped into a single political speech. On this measure, while it was  Romney who ran the Olympics, Ryan earned the gold.

Oh, by the way, there might have been some confusion about a recent post. Goldwater wrote George Romney, Mitt's father, back in 1964. When George Romney ran for president, he released twelve years of tax returns, because, “One year could be a fluke, perhaps done for show,”  he said.

Oh, oh, another thing; Condoleeza Rice asked over and over at the convention, "Where does America stand?" Let's remember where it stood when she was in charge of American foreign policy; in Baghdad, fighting a costly and pointless war that left thousands of American soldiers dead or disabled, Iraq in shambles, and Iran freed from constraints on both its Eastern and Western borders because of our interventions.  Now John McCain, in his "walk down amnesia lane" wants us to invade Syria, as if al-Qaeda didn't ever use our own weapons against us after we armed them in the 80's or that the last 10 years never happened.

Apparently Acorns Can Fall A Long Way From The Tree, Then Get Up And Run Even Farther Away From The Tree

Here's an excerpt from a fascinating Fresh Air podcast:
After Goldwater lost the general election in a landslide to Lyndon B. Johnson, he wrote an angry letter demanding that Romney explain why he never endorsed him. George responded in a 12-page letter that included a warning that perhaps is even more relevant today than when it was written:

“Dogmatic ideological parties tend to splinter the political and social fabric of a nation, lead to governmental crises and deadlocks, and stymie the compromises so often necessary to preserve freedom and achieve progress,” George wrote.

Greatest Country In The World

Greatest country in the world video I just posted.

Highly Evolved

We went to the fair today. We inadvertently timed our arrival on "Healthy Living Day." I don't know if it was a coincidence that I ate less there than I have in years, but that's what happened. I'm not saying I didn't eat a lot, just less than I have. Still, I totally understand the motivation of an animal that would give up its hands to blissfuly float in the ocean singing the songs of the humpbacks, or even the songs of Barry Manilow, just to avoid having to waddle around with all this gumbo weight.

As The OB/GYN Didn't Say, But It's Hard To Keep Coming Up With Headlines, Once More Into The Breach

So, here I am, once again killing time while it kills me back. Incidentally, I think I might have said that before, but things (or at least, things like me) tend to repeat, don't they? Like those monkeys with the keyboards that kept typing the letter, "s," over and over? So, no Shakespeare, but then scholars believe Shakespeare didn't urinate on his keyboard, proving again that he was a much better playwright than the monkeys, both in the opinion of his critics, and his cleaning lady.
Last week, I heard a review of a book described as, "an epistolary novel — a genre Semple says is one of her favorites. "I just feel like there's this illicit thrill in reading other people's mail, and spying on their lives," she says. "It was so fun." A quote that came from the author, but could just as easily have come from the letter carrier's handbook.
I thought it was a little over the top when I provided a link last week that seemed to imply that Romney and Hitler were the same. I get so tired of people cheapening the Holocaust by comparing things like their assistant  principal, Mr. Kufel, to a Nazi. Especially after my French teacher heard me. But even if Romney and Hitler are in totally different cults, it's still unsettling to hear Romney race-baiting as he was in Detroit recently. He's too smooth and slick to want to personally be a birther, but if you're one, he sure does want your vote.

As The Cheese Curdles

Romney's attack on Obama's welfare waivers overlook one important point.  That is, that the charge is  completely bogus, earning him Politifact's pants-on-fire rating, and  the Washington Post's highest rating of four Pinnochios.  Factcheck.org calls it false and even a Republican architect of the law, Ron Haskins, told NPR: "There's no plausible scenario under which it really constitutes a serious attack on welfare reform." In spite of that, Romney continues to tell this big lie. Who does that?
Now that Romney has selected a career Wisconsin politician as his running mate, it might be a good time to look back at how others have responded to lying Wisconsin politicians.

I'm Running For President, Because I Believe Firmly That I Should Be President

It's been hard to understand why Romney, a man with no firm conviction, other than that he should be president, would even want to be president. This article from the Atlantic might explain it. It doesn't explain why anyone else would want him to be president

Missed Opportunity

The Commission on Presidential Debates has announced their schedule for the candidates to debate each other. A more interesting debate would be to have Mitt Romney on stage alone debating himself since, depending on his audience and the needs of the moment, he has taken every side of every issue.

Just The Usual

As is often the case, I have nothing interesting to report. Well, that's not completely true, I'd be interested in reporting that when I get to work today, they will have made the fifth territorial adjustment to my route in a year, and since it is not the territorial adjustment they meant to make, if they hurry they can squeeze in the sixth adjustment in a year.
But, as far as interesting to you, no, nothing. However, if you're interested in politics*,  there is this.

*No worries if you're not. I'm sure somebody else will take responsibility for the fate of the country, and by extension, the world.

If You're Interested In Good Writing About The Intersection Of Grammar And Politics, You Should Follow The Links.

This week, Grammar Girl talked about making sure that you use credible sources in your writing. If you ever want to cite this blog, I can put your mind at ease, I make it all up. Too bad, I'm just giving it away; I could be working on the Romney campaign. It's gotten so bad that even members of the Mormon church, who believe that Jesus came to America and that American Indians are Israelites, people, in other words, that will believe the writing of a convicted 19th century con man, are calling on Mitt to stop lying.

For the second time this summer, police in Alaska have shot and killed a man wielding a baseball bat. As my friend Rich says, "Who brings a bat to a gunfight?" Maybe, though, if this trend continues,  the police should consider carrying baseballs.

Last week, I updated to OS X, Mountain Lion. Now, all my iDevices sync automatically and constantly with my computer, and messages to and from one device can appear on all of them. Leaving aside their "assimilating" and forced collectivization, you have to admit that the Borg knew how to stay in touch.

Finally, I was talking (or ranting more likely) to my daughter about how the low interest rates that have prevailed since the (over regulated?!!) banks destroyed the economy have made it hard for savers and retirees to make any money on their investments. "It's fine for banks, because they can always make money on the spread, but it's bad for people who have to buy mayonnaise."

Some Philosophers Think, For The Purposes Of This Post, At Least, That Nothing Is Everything

A clerk told me the other day that nothing irritates her. "I know," I told her, "me too, a lot."