whacking at the cobwebs

Last week it occurred to me that the internet, upon which I am now posting, is a narrow and confining place, just like lots of other areas of life in January. Everybody gets so excited about the new year and all the weight they're going to lose and all the changes they're going to make. The glow of Christmas is all warm and life giving. Volumes are spilled about how a new year will bring a new dawn of peace and good will. Everyone wants peace, after all, and it will be easier to go to the gym this year than it was last year. It just will. 

And then the first day back to work after all the debauchery and partying and those most ordinary and average amongst us (me) conclude that it was all a bad idea--the world peace, the thinner waste line, the super duper awesome new school schedule. No, life will go on as it did before. We will just spin in our own stupidity and quietness because nobody cares anyway. And the internet is the perfect way to live out this boring and life sapping dream.

After having read everything there was to read about Chis Chirstie and Obamacare and the new Gates book (not that I read the book, oh no no, the internet addict only reads accounts of other people reading books), I went ahead and read about how the Obama's marriage is falling apart and that poor ship full of scientists stuck in the Antarctic in the summer time in the ice (hee hee hee). 

But then it appeared that I had come to the end. There didn't appear to be anything else to read.

Six or seven more scrolls through Facebook and I was filled with deep rebellion. I have already twice digested the 26 things strong minded people don't do. I have looked at all the memes there are to look at and even laughed at them. I have read all the advice and looked at all the recipes and been warned against the massive and horrific evils of vaccinating and not vaccinating, Islamic terrorism, children leaving church, and been twice through the 50 things you can do to make your kitchen more efficient.

And I feel very mentally squeezed into a small depressing box. I've tasted all the fruits the vast interwebs have to offer (well...not all of them...I'm not totally stupid) and at the end of my long search I am bored and not a tenth as smart as Solomon and every other single person in history and the world who doesn't even have a tiny number of the books or written material I have in my own bedroom.

So then I reread Coctail Time (PG Wodehouse as I'm sure you already know) and I feel the life returning to my heart and mind. Vigor and hope are slowly coming into my limbs. I will go clean the girls room. I will write something else in a place where not everyone will immediately read it. I will sweep the floor. Maybe the Obama's marriage is really on the rocks. How should I know? Why should I know? It's not important or interesting. More interesting and important is my own stupefied soul and the ennui that is so constantly pressing in from the gray weather and the church's brick wall. I don't need to constantly be making it worse by looking at pictures of sunsets and duck ponds with words scrolled across the front. I say constantly, for that is how much my wretched phone feels like it is in my hand. And the words are always so bossy--Live one day at a time! Treasure each moment! Don't be anxious! Pray for the children! Care for others!

Give me a break. For real. A real unbossed, unpious, disurgent, slightly more intelligent break. 

Not from blogging, of course. Please don't you take a break from reading me. That wouldn't do at all. Just please don't make me, or even let me, read any more drivel. 

in the clear light of day

We're going to the pancake barn in a minute as a peace offering to our poor children. They have suffered much in these tempestuous political times, having been made to watch the news and  listen to us chatter and generally be sucked into a morasse of Idiocy. They deserve a pancake.

As for me, I am extraordinary relieved that the whole wretched thing is over. As I finally voted on my third try yesterday (First Time: Doddering Old Ladies couldn't cope with not finding my name in the book and sent me somewhere else. Second Time: Man with enormous mustache tells me "There's no way in hell you're voting here today." Third Time: "Doddering Old Ladies let me cast a paper ballot that probably won't be counted.) rather than feeling a flood of gratitude for our Great Democracy I was filled with a profound sense of Doom. And, of course, that carried itself well into the night.

Apart from the ongoing horror of abortion and my great great worries about the "foriegn policy" of the last few months, my biggest sense of grief is first hand, on the ground knowledge, that the more a government "gives away", the more it takes of the person. The more a government meagerly and miserly doles out to us poor wretches, the less room in the human heart for the majesty, risk, terror and love of God. The more we look to Man, the less we need God. This has real life applications for the local church as we struggle to spread the gospel. The State has won in a real and pracitcal sense the battle for the human soul. Our work here in Upstate NY, already an upward climb, I expect to become darker and more difficult.

And yet, as many have noted, God is soveriegn, Jesus sits gloriously on his throne, and he will bring everything about for his own glory. And so, we are going out for pancakes. And we're turning off the news in repentance for having turned it on in the first place. And we're going to set our eyes toward the high hills, the narrow way, the cool mountain air, going deeper in and further up to know the One in whom, one day, All will be All in All.

election eating

For Breakfast: Cinnamon Rolls that feel healthy because of being whole wheat but not really healthy because of all the butter and sugar. The children will eat them. Matt will eat a carefully measured cup of Fiber One (blech) and I will eat an egg.

For Lunch: Whatever. Who cares about lunch on election day.

For Dinner: Fondue as a nod backwards to Reformation Day. This year, the Swiss Reformation. Last year was the German Reformation (Sausages and Beer). Next year oughta be the English Reformation. What would that be? Steak and Kidney Pie? Trifle? I have a year to consider.

Anyway, Fondue. Really easy. Two pounds of cheese (Emmental, Gruyere, etc. etc.) grated and dusted with flour. Fondue pot rubbed with a garlic. A bunch of white wine. A bay leaf. Heat the wine and add the cheese in handfuls and attentively stir it as it melts. Don't let it clump together on the bottom and burn. Gather in Lots of Bread to dip in the cheese. But, a la Asterix, if you drop your bread in the pot, you have to be thrown into Lake Geneva with a millstone around your feet. Am I remembering that correctly?

And then Nigella's Chocolate Pots. Times 4: 3 bags Godiva dark chocolate chips, 2 cups heavy cream, 1 1/3 cups whole milk, splash vanilla, brandy or something, melted together and then blended and then 4 eggs tempered and added to the hot milk chocolate. Don't burn it like I did tonight! Pour it all into little cups and stuff them in the fridge to wait for the moment you realize, as you're watching the returns, that what you really needed was not more cheese, nor more wine, but a serious amount of chocolate to see you through the difficult times.

the final countdown

As I've wholeheartedly joined with vast swaths of Americans swinging wildly day by day through the Political News Cycle--obsessing over Daily Tracking Polls, watching as stories rise and fall in importance, reading pundits who despair and then rejoice, despair and then rejoice depending on what's happening at that particular moment--I've noticed every day a greater and greater sense of frantic impoverishment. Not in myself, of course, but, as it were, in other people. Imagine! A whole society of people operating from that deep well of loss, anxiety, possible bitterness, worry....oh wait, I've just described every human society. 

So anyway, this is what popped up in my Daily Scripture Moment (because I, at least, read a few verses of Holy Scripture before settling myself down comfortably in the mire of The Huffington Post, Drudge, Hot Air, The New Republic, Ace of Spades, The Daily Kos, The National Review, bla bla bla),

Haggai One

4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? 5 Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.

God is enormously irritated because He's just delivered Judah out of Exile and brought them back to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple. And its not as if this sort of regularly happened in the Ancient World. You wouldn't normally have been taken into exile and let to grow into an even stronger flock and then sent back to your Home with a lot of gold and helpful letters telling everyone to lay off and let you rebuild. It was the work of God and everyone on every side recognized his Providential and Mighty Hand. So when Judah got home and re-paneled their houses but at the First Sign of Discouragement slacked off not just fancying up but building at all the House of the Lord, He was understandably ready to smite them all again. But he didn't have to smite them because the natural result of neglecting God is poverty of spirit and person.

So we only have twelve or thirteen days left until this madness can be put to rest for another three months until It All Starts Again, but perhaps the coming days could be characterized by God's care and providence, rather than foolishness and insanity. Or whatever.

the season

Sitting here with a profound cold in the head trying to watch the Democratic Convention. And again I ask, Why does it all have to be So Late? Elphine has made brownies at this advanced hour to avert the coming apocalypse ("If I don't make brownies today, I'll DIE.")

Ooop, not the convention, football. And so begins a long season of depression as the Cowboys lose a bunch. But we're rooting for 'em anyway.

Much woe on the part of the boys, though, that they're not allowed to favor the Giants when the Cowboys are playing. "I hope they both win" says Elphine, ever the moderate. All she needs is a little bit of plastic surgery and a whole lot of lipstick and the gleam in her eye will take her all the way to the top.

She is developing a gratifying combination of deadpan commentary and timing. Yesterday, as I was struggling along not speaking Mandarin she turned up her nose and at every prompt, responded in English instead of Mandarin.
Pimsleur: Say, I speak a little English.
Elphine: I speak a little English.
Everyone giggles.
Pimsleur: Excuse me, can I ask, do you speak English?
Elphine: Excuse me, can I ask? Do you speak English?
Me: Say it in Mandarin!
Amazingly, though, she stopped when it was no longer funny. What a gift!

Anyway, what was I blogging about? The Convention? Can't remember. Going to bed. Tomorrow I'll discover that the Cowboys really did lose and the Democrats really really really really really really love women.

society for the prevention of cruelty to animals

Being the awesome and involved mother that I am, I went with Elphine on a little field trip on Wednesday to the SPCA in Ithaca. Wow. Talk about the hilton of SPCA's....I don't even know how to complete that sentence. Each dog has a private room and the cats have little sort of condos with gorgeous big windows and climbing structures. The animals receive up to date and thorough dental care--we watched a cat sleeping peacefully while having its teeth cleaned and a cavity drilled--not to mention medical care. The dogs are walked and played with individually every day and the cats are petted and played with. Each room had the name of whoever payed for the room and a quote by that person about some particular animal they loved in some kind of hip font. The front desk was modern and pristine with ultra modern fancy chairs so the person coming to consider an animal would be comfortable and feel happy.

"We work really hard," said our guide, "to place our animals in a forever home."

As we went round and looked at everything she often spoke of an animal's "forever home."

And me, in my sarcastic nasty way, kept thinking all the time
1. so many babies deserve a 'forever home' but never manage to see the light of day. No slick beautiful individualized birthing center for them. No birth at all in fact.
and
 2. so many people around the world would love to have these nice rooms to live in--clean, bright, food, water, medical, dental care.

Now, of course, as a political conservative, and a christian (oh shoot, those should have been put the other way round, oops) I don't for a second begrudge all the lovely cats and dogs at that nice shelter the lovely and wonderful care they're receiving. And I'm delighted that they are all adopted and they avoid so much suffering. Except that the whole place, what with it being Ithaca and all, just breathed an air of moral superiority. As far as I can see, animals, in the west, are a thousand times more valued than people. I speak hyperbolicly of course. It's probably more like two thousand times more. We pour money out like water for our animals. Me included. I spent 400$ once for a cat ultrasound of all things for a cat that then died.

"Animals are so special" our guide said, "they love us and accept us and are always happy to see us when we come home."

Well, that's true. And people can be rotten mean. And turn out badly. And cost a ton more money. And not be happy to see us when we come home. Maybe I've been reading too much Mark Steyn lately but it just seems like as a society we've given up. We're not interested in the work. We want a warm cuddly to see us through our days but can't be bothered to relate to other people in a meaningful way, to care for one another through the difficulty and mess of human life.

"What should you do" the guide asked toward the end, "if you see someone being unkind to an animal?" The girls in the group thought about it and decided it would be good to tell a grown up.
"That's right," said the guide, "or you can call the police, because its against the law to be unkind to an animal." She gazed at us meaningfully and paused to let the full weight of this important message sink in. My own child is very interested in the law. This impressed her very much. I don't think she was planning to be unkind to an animal, but the threat of the law will certainly bring her in line. Of course, other times, we've talked about how the law allows us to kill babies before they're born, just because we want to.

I didn't bring it up on this occasion. We went home thinking about that future day when we will convince Matt to let us have a puppy, because dogs and cats are wonderful and we love caring for them. But more than that, let me just buck the cultural trend, I love the church because in the church people struggle to relate to one another and care for one another and do the hard work of building relationships even when its very painful and hard. And we don't need money or fancy stuff or nice fonts, we really only need Jesus who comes into the middle of it all and gives us himself.

worn and weary

Should I be thankful for the insanity of this current election cycle or start crying out to God for relief from all the suffering? Its kind of a toss-up this morning.

I love politics so much. The debates are so dramatic, interesting and suspenseful. Its like a great and ridiculous novel unfolding morning by morning--poll numbers flinging themselves up and down, pundits screaming wildly into the radio and tv, twitter feeds twinkling across my phone and computer, candidates grinning grudgingly and foolishly as they try to move the country to like them just a little bit. Why wouldn't I enjoy and be thankful for every moment of this ghastly display?

On the other hand, enough already. There's a debate tonight, the State of the Union tomorrow, a debate Thursday, bla bla bla. I don't generally watch tv during the week. I watch football on the weekend as an act of love for my husband who seems to like it (although, strangely, he gets so angry, shouting at various players and throwing things when it looks like the giants are going to win. Do you know, Every Single Team he has rooted for this season has Lost? Remarkable) and on Friday evenings we try together to watch something we can agree upon. The pool of agreeable films and programs, however, seems to diminish every week. And that's it. Not a constant stream of politics on the tv and radio Every Single Night.

But if I don't keep up, I will miss something, won't I? And how awful that would be.

the cut and thrust of national politics

Ok, so I haven't been blogging because I'm obsessed with politics. Really....Obsessed.....

So obsessed that I stayed up till 1am watching the Iowa Caucus returns and then Got Up Early to read the spin. To put it another way, I suffered a bad bad week of school because of my constant attention to the news and spin cycle.

I've never really been obsessed with anything. I mean, of course, when I fell in love with Matt I thought about him a lot and wanted to be with him all the time. And when you have a new baby you kind of think about that a lot. But politics. Wow. SO Exciting.

I say this even sort of resigned to a horrible Romney win and an Obama reelection (blech). Its the process and spin that utterly fascinate me. So. I'm going to try to blog more this week, but I can't make any promises. I HAVE to pull off a full week of school. But I'll probably be up late Tuesday night which will make Wednesday, Thursday and Friday really awful. And then the next week, and then the week after that. I guess I could break my cardinal rule of not blogging about politics. hmmm. Anyway, check you later! I'm looking to watch this morning's debate one way or another!

PS. I'm coming up on writing post number one thousand. How crazy is that! I missed my five year blogging anniversary. I feel like I should organize some kind of party. Suggestions?

That little item of Mr. Obama speaking to all our children

Hee heeeee heeee
Further chaos reigns in the current administration.

The White House revised the plans Wednesday to say students could "write letters to themselves about how they can achieve their short-term and long-term education goals."
"That was inartfully worded, and we corrected it," Higginbottom said.
In the Dallas suburb of Plano, Texas, the 54,000-student school district is not showing the 15- to 20-minute address but will make the video available later.

I love the cut and thrust of domestic politics. This has gotten to be so interesting I might see if I can't go borrow someone's tv so we can watch it as part of our school day. After our CC review, of course, which not only includes some fascinating ancient geography, but also the 10 commandments. Maybe we will even write ourselves letters of how we can achieve our long and short term educational goals. I've already planned that we'll write letters this term. Better yet, lets send the letters to Mr. Obama! Heeeeheeeeeeeeeee
(And really, is that poor man's name really Mr. Higginbottom? Surely this is some kind of joke?)

And There's More!

Would you like some tea with that?

I REALLY wanted to go. I so wanted to go. It is so disappointing to me that I couldn't, but my friends went, and had a marvelous time.
That's right, I have friends




About 300 turned out, from what I hear, and an excellent time was had by all. I, on the other hand, made various suppers, soothed the stormy masses and laid them gently to bed, listened with rapt and adoring attention to my brilliant husband, scrubbed my kitchen floor by hand, and took my prenatal vitimin so that this next baby will be really strong and smart and able to withstand the crazy politics of his (maybe her) day. In short, I upheld the conservative ideal in my own home. And on that note, I'm now going to go bake some bread and plant a garden (just kidding).

Hee hee hee

Obama has to raise taxes on everyone because nobody in his administration is paying theirs. Hee hee hee (that's me laughing quietly and contentedly to myself).

Monday Mourning

Matt is trying to work up the moral fiber to go to the store, even at this late hour, and I'm turning my back on a shattered and filthy kitchen, and there are four children shouting with all their might for some reason unknown to me.

I know Stand Firm and MCJ are more than brilliantly dealing with this disaster, but I wanted to add two cents anyway. I recently had the opportunity to plead with someone, over the phone, who was contemplating an abortion. I have no idea if she carried through, probably she did. I had found out only one or two days earlier that I was pregnant and I was physically and emotionally wrecked after pleading and begging with this poor young woman, able to see in my mind's eye exactly the horrendous and painfilled course she had charted out for herself, the whimsy and triteness with which she spoke of her plans. It was days before I was able to let go of it. I've still been praying for her every minute that I think of it.

The fact is, poor Ms. Ragsdale, with her, "when a woman becomes pregnant within a loving, supportive, respectful relationship; has every option open to her, decides she does not wish to bear a child; and has access to safe, affordable abortion-there is not a tragedy in sight-only blessing...abortion is a blessing and our work is not done..." is in such a horribly precarious position. With the power structures momentarily and temporally on her side, as she flings herself farther and farther down a path of hellish destruction, carrying the most vulnerable and spiritually needy with her, she is laying up for herself millstone of unimaginable proportion. Honestly, if anyone needs desperate prayer, it is Ms. Ragsdale.

Tu Imagine!

I can't resist. This is So Amazing. Hat Tip MCJ and the person he links.

Another Week Ran Swiftly By

I can't keep up.

Part of my current troubles include a computer that is so slow, it might as well sit down and give up. Every now and then I open it with the ridiculous idea that I'll get some pictures uploaded, or check my email, or do the bulletin, or just even open Firefox, only to enter into hysterical despair as it veerryy slooooowly considers to itself whatever it is considering. Then, children screaming around me, I slam it down mid application and go on to the next thing. If you're wondering what machine I'm on now, its Matt's and only because he is cooking dinner and not sitting here in my way.

Also, my wearisome children expect to learn more than my little slips of paper and various curriculum guides tell me they require. They want to 'do school' all the time, skipping play time, skipping rest time (well, I Will Not skip rest time), and of course skipping clean up time. I don't say this to brag, I say this as a mournful complaint because I'm having to work harder to keep up with them.

And then, as we all know, there was the election, upon which we spent time, emotional energy and much conversation-discussing the candidates, whether they are 'good' or 'bad', whether or not they will do 'good' or 'bad' things, why we elect a president instead of making ourselves king, what an honor it is to vote etc. etc. etc. etc.

And then Thursday, E came out in spots which I immediately, and mistakenly, assumed were chicken pox. They were all over her, little tiny red spots, and they itched, so she had a baking soda bath and that seemed to cure it.

And then today, just as our best hour of school was taking off, I had to stop everything and take the babies to their well baby appointments and shots. What a joy. What a great way to spend two hours. Anyway, they're totally healthy. And no, G's legs are not too bowed, they are supposed to look like that at this age. Matt, are you reading this? She's fine.

I've written whole posts in my head, in the absence of the computer, about the end of western civilization, the failure of the church, the demoralization of the republican party, the unhelpfulness of evangelicals who didn't support McCain because they don't think women should dwell in the public sphere (I was going to link someone here, I WAS, but, well, you've probably already found her), the unhelpfulness of McCain himself who seemed determined to loose...but I didn't write any of them, and considering the breakneck speed of the days ahead, I doubt I'll get to it. There is some small consolation, and that is the Sovereignty of God who is not surprised by anything.

We have finally learnt by heart this song.

Right now, A is wandering around, holding a tiny spiderman and singing
'then he had Shealtiel who begat Zerubabel who had Abiud who had Eliakim. Eliakim had Azor who had Zadoc who had Akim....intent to form a new nation, intent to form a new nation, intent to form a new nation'
If God could still bring Jesus into the world, even out of the mess of his lineage, well, he can probably still come back, even though we've elected such a nice young misguided man to be president.

A Little Fuel for the Fire...

Ouch

I stayed up and watched the speech, and the spin...So we're starting school a little late this morning. For school E is wearing her Christmas dress, and A is dressed as Spider man.

As for the speech-Ouch!, I'd hate to be a member of the media. They're not used to meeting Ladies Who Can Dish It Back. What a glorious day.

So Many Things

I'm trying to decide how late to stay up. I REALLY want to see the Palin Speech. But its also been an extremely long day. Hmmmmmmm.

This post will be in Two Parts. Part One: the Palin Pick. Part Two: the First Day of School. And it will be scattered and badly written.


Part One: The Palin Pick
When John McCain announced his choice of Sarah Palin to be his running mate, I astonished my children by dancing ridiculously around the kitchen. I am positively delighted. I Might just vote now. In the days following I have tried to think carefully about why this choice is so interesting and delightful. These are in no particular order.
A. She can wear a skirt and does (see my long lost post, KJS in pants).
B. She didn't set out to be a politician. She joined the PTA, probably got mad about something, ran for local office, was successful and moved on up. She hasn't been sitting in the Senate for the last 30 years arguing with Bush's judicial nominees and otherwise being unhelpful (that would be Biden, if you're not getting who I'm talking about).
C. And this is really the most important, She is Pro Life. And not just politically, she's put her money where her mouth is.
D. I've been trying to understand the media frenzy over the last few days and why it Didn't bother me that she, as the mother of five children, is seeking high office. It is, as Matt pointed out, so interesting that liberals who generally think All women should go to work and leave their children in the hands of strangers for education and care (think Hillary Clinton), suddenly do not think that This woman should do This job, because she has children some of whom have issues. Presumably they believe she should stay home. And honestly, this is probably the most compelling part of the whole Pick, for me. This is where I am constantly struggling in my own professional/family life. I'm an ordained minister of the gospel. I do A Lot of work in the church, of every kind-pastoral care, preching, admin, healing prayer, bible study, christian ed, vestry, the list could go on and on-and I haven't really stopped doing any of that. But my kids are a Priority. They need to be educated, they need to be fed, they need to be read to every day, they need to be taught to clean the house (heh), and I'm not going to let someone else do it for me (although I get plenty of help). In this way I really do have the feminist legacy to thank. The fact that I can do both is because so many before me have. But that very legacy is now angry with me, and Sarah Palin, and every other woman who works in the world but refuses to Buy into that world-the so called 'culture of death', universal preschool, universal health care (God preserve us from such a wretched idea), secular relativism, government schools, I could go on and on. I'm not saying very well what I mean. I just think that Conservative Women are launching A New Age-the Age of Skirts, Babies and Awesome Coolness. Maybe I'll be able to write more coherently about this tomorrow.


Part Two: The First Day of School
I popped awake at 5:30 this morning and was So Prepared I was ready to go a whole half an hour early (I know this will never happen again). I was as nervous as the day I preached my Chapel Sermon in Seminary. We were so early we had time to stop for coffee (well, I did, the children did Not drink coffee, they didn't need it). And we didn't get lost, even though I'd planned for that eventuality. We arrived wildly early and had to dance in the parking lot until other people arrived. We found a series of big glorious school rooms with enormous windows and more toys than you could hope for.

For those of you who aren't caught up, we've joined the local Classical Conversations Group and I am tutoring the Fours and Fives or Abecedarians as they say in CC. A is in my class along with five other 4 and 5 year old little boys. E is in the First/Second grade class with a Fabulous tutor. E was deeply in love at the end of the morning and cried half the way home.

Spending the morning with six little boys proved to be as challenging as I imagined it would be. My expectations were completely met. But, I had a thoroughly good time. They are interesting little guys, and I'm going to enjoy every Wednesday with them. I'm also going to crash into the ground every Wednesday afternoon, Guaranteed, after waving my arms, marching around the room, jumping up and down, clapping, singing, and "teaching" drawing.

Tomorrow we start our time at home-Reading/Phonics, Math, Piano, a little French, Bible, CC Review and Little House on the Prairie. I'm going to use Math U See because Saxon (just even looking at the cover) makes me want to weep and moan. I think we're going to have a jolly good time.

This afternoon, while I slept blissfully on the couch (first time I've been able to sleep in weeks, that's how nervous I've been), E went next door and had her second loose tooth dislodged. So now I have to collect some change and go pry the tooth out of her little hand.

Sorry, More Politics. Can't Help It.

So, on the way home from my six week (heh, actually 4 month) post partum check up (wherein I was complimented many times over for my excellent blood pressure) I heard the news about Spitzer. And then I indulged myself in a little Lenten sin of watching the news about it all for an hour (well, maybe a little longer). And I have two thoughts.

First of all, his wife shouldn't have had to go out and stand there next to him while he talked even more about himself. I note that other people have already said this, and I agree. I don't think any woman should have to go prop up her politician husband in that manner unless she wants to. And this nice lady didn't look like she wanted to. Of course, she married him in the first place. She can't have been completely unaware of his character. Notwithstanding, I hope she wasn't pressured into this public display. If feminism has brought anything to public life (besides so many awful things) it should be that a woman doesn't have to stand next to an awful man at a press conference to make him look good. But apparently it hasn't.

And second, I want to note that I went out particularly to vote against Spitzer when I had the chance, and reveled in my vote and was glad to cast it and have been completely irritated with the New York electorate for the last year that has thrown itself at the feet of this poor pinched ambitious man, may God have mercy on him. I didn't think he'd succumb to this, but I didn't believe him principled in the way that apparently all the rest of New York did, may God have mercy on us all. But then, why am I surprised, we have Hillary Clinton and Chuck Shumer for Senators. Frankly, we deserve what we get.

Politics Tonight, rather than Theology

I'm sorry to say it, but I'm totally addicted to politics. This whole election season has been a smorgasbord of delights. And its doubly interesting to me because I really don't like any of the candidates. Honestly, I probably won't be able to bring myself to vote for McCain (although, Although! I chiefly didn't like him because his wife was so strange looking. When I finally heard her utter a sentence my opinion was much improved) (And. And! I refuse to be suckered into the cattle mentality to 'rally round McCain' just because of the NYT, I won't do it.) So I feel perfectly free to watch with enjoyment And disdain. Particularly, I find it very interesting that it doesn't matter what actually happens on any given day. It really matters what is Made of what Happens. The spin cycle really works and seems to matter terribly. And voters vote accordingly. Amazing.