NotShyChiRev

Just to Let You Know

Tue, 30 Mar 10 15:39:00 UT

This is now an archive blog, as I'm doing most posting now under my "real" name on Facebook. I keep this active, just in case NSCR wants to rev things up again. Feel free to look around.

A Sermon for Girl Scout Sunday: 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Sat, 14 Mar 09 15:40:00 UT

This is our biggest week of the year...none of our scouts are members...but this weekend they come, some with parents in tow...and so it's like a mini Easter...I chose the Corinthians "foolish" passage...so here goes.

Julie was not anyone's idea of a writer or historian. She had to leave school when her parentâs money dried up, she married a man from a family that was more well known than it was well off and she left the genteel confines of her upbringing in New England to come first the wilds of Michigan, then Wisconsin wilderness, and finally a very early Chicago in the 1830's.

This was still decades before the Civil War, in the years after peace had finally been made with the British following the War of 1812. When Julie got to Chicago, she found that there were still people here, some from her own family, that remembered the first days of Chicagoâ¦and, she discovered, that no one was making the effort to write down what they had seen and heard. Her father in law had actually been thereâ¦He was in fact the first white settler in Chicago, John Kinzieâa man whose life had been surrounded by scandal and who had originally supported the English against the Americans in the skirmishes that became the War of 1812â¦He supported them until the scandalous massacre at Fort Dearborn, when Canadian Indians under the direction of the British killed so many soldiers and civilians.

Remarkablyâ¦their story had not been toldâ¦at least not outside of lurid legendsâ¦Julie, who had followed her husband, John H. Kinzie, all over the Midwest had been wanting to write about her adventures in the frontier and this story, the story of the Massacre at Chicago, could be the centerpiece of her memoir. So she began to talk with folksâ¦.and most of them discouraged herâ¦How could a woman tell such an important storyâ¦why would a woman want to tell such an unpleasant storyâ¦.why was she worrying her pretty little head about thisâ¦After all her husband was becoming more of a leader in town and she should just tend to her duties as wife and mother of six and forget all of this foolishness of being a writer and writing a history of the area.

Her husband did become a leaderâ¦he was almost elected mayor of Chicagoâand the school across the street is even named after himâ¦ But Julie would not be deterredâ¦she wrote the story and published it anonymously in 1844âa time when most women could not publish non-fiction under their own namesâ¦Later, it would be the central section of her personal memoirâ¦ called Wau-banâ¦which means morning dawn in one of the Potawatomie dialects.

We know what happened in the earliest days of Chicago because of her foolishnessâ¦Also, in the area of foolishnessâ¦hers was one of the first sympathetic memoirs involving Native Americansâ¦the Indians who committed the atrocities of the Fort Dearborn massacre were the only âbadâ Indians she wrote aboutâ¦all of the other stories spoke of a decent people who worked hard and were neighbors and friends. Julie was mocked by a lot of men in her day for thinking of the natives as people and friends instead of just enemiesâ¦but today she is revered by historians for telling so many stories that needed to be told.

The apostle Paul was mocked a lot for the story he told too. This story of Jesusâ¦the son of God who came to earth and was mocked and killed by the authorities and then rose triumphantly on Easter to free the world from slavery to sin and deathâ¦This story was just, well, foolish. Everybody thought soâ¦in the area there were two kinds of folksâ¦The Jewsâ¦and, well, everybody elseâthe folks the Bible calls the Gentilesâ¦.It means "the nations"â¦the people who weren't Jews. In today's passage from First Corinthians, Paul is telling it like it isâ¦Everyone thinks what we are saying is foolishâ¦.the Jews think it's foolish because this is not how God worksâ¦.God is powerful and does things like make rainbows and part the seasâ¦that's how you know God is on your sideâ¦not being humble and becoming a carpenter who dies on the crossâ¦the Gentiles, part of the Greco-Roman Empire, were people who followed Philosophers, great thinkers who could solve all the world's problems not with self-sacrifice and resurrection, but through good ideas and wisdom. They couldn't see any wisdom in following someone whose philosophy was so simple and wellâ¦so unsuccessfulâ¦this Jesus whose philosophy was "Love God and love one another as you love yourself." That was too simpleâ¦and too difficultâ¦loving someone else as much as you loved yourself? Loving God instead of fearing the gods and buying them off with a sacrifice in the temple? That was just foolishnessâ¦

And Paul doesn't disagreeâ¦Yes, Paul says, all of the folks around us think we are foolsâ¦and well, we areâ¦After allâ¦isnât love foolish? Why on earth should someone make someone else more important in their lives than they are? That's dumbâ¦why would you want to make yourself vulnerable to someone else like that? After allâ¦how do you know if they love you back? How do you prove that it's good or rightâdoes love result in great signs and wonders like the rainbow? Or does love make logical sense if we can't prove that the other person loves us back.

Yes, love is perfectly foolishâ¦crazyâ¦nonsenseâ¦That is, until someone knows loveâ¦until we feel the love of a parent or a spouse or a friendâ¦and realize the great gift that love is in our livesâ¦How it can hold us up when we are down, how it can turn the day around, how it can inspire us to be better people because someone depends on us or because we want to make the world a better place for the people we love. Yes, love is foolishâ¦but it's also the greatest thing there is. It is the thing that turns the world upside downâ¦it is the thing that says the person who is most important to me is not the most powerful oneâ¦or the richest oneâ¦or the prettiest oneâ¦or the smartest oneâ¦.the one who is the most important is the one who needs me the mostâ¦the one I can helpâ¦and it doesn't matter if they love me backâ¦

This turns the whole world upside downâ¦.this foolishness of Godâ¦that makes forgiveness more important than justiceâ¦and compassion more important than being right, or in charge, or powerful, or wealthy. We canât prove itâ¦like the ancient Jews could with signs from Godâ¦or the Greeks could with their philosophies and theoriesâ¦in the foolishness of Godâ¦ proof isnât what's importantâ¦helping isâ¦loving isâ¦trusting is.

The foolishness of the Gospelâ¦the foolishness of love, is very frightening to some peopleâ¦when the world is turned upside downâ¦some people get very uncomfortable, even afraidâ¦whether it is something as minor as a frontier mother writing the most important history of the first major event in the life of our city or as important as making love more important than power or philosophyâ¦

And some people do terrible things when they are confronted with the foolishness of Godâ¦some lash out, refusing to believe that being more powerful or being ârightâ all the time isn't more important than love, and the compassion and justice that it requires of usâ¦and so they do terrible things like killing Martin Luther King Jrâ¦.or hanging Jesus on a crossâ¦.

But if we open ourselves up...if we allow the foolishness to wash over usâ¦sometimes we can do amazing thingsâ¦instead of being overwhelmed by the hunger in the world, we can help feed our neighbors with gardens and food pantriesâ¦.instead of being afraid of people who come from another country or whose skin is a different color, we can reach out in friendship and make our neighborhoods and the world a more peaceful placeâ¦

We can indeed be inspired by foolishnessâ¦.just like the person who was inspired by Julie and her book about Chicagoâ¦did I mention Julieâs whole name? Juliette Augusta Magill Kinzieâ¦She had a granddaughter who was inspired by her grandmother's audaciousnessâ¦her willingness to stand up to terrible oddsâ¦her desire to make the best of every situation and her foolishness in doing something that only a man was supposed to doâ¦Her granddaughter was named after herâ¦.Juliette McGill Kinzie Gordonâ¦who after her marriage was known as Juliette Gordon Lowâ¦the founder of the Girl Scouts in the United Statesâ¦

Like Juliette and her granddaughterâ¦Let us not be afraid to be considered foolishâ¦Let us heed Paul's invitation to boldly and bravely follow the fools of the worldâ¦fools like Juliette Gordon Lowâ¦.fools like Martin Luther King, Jrâ¦.fools like Jesus Christâ¦.and may all the world be foolish tooâ¦.

Because you didn't see it on HBO....

Sun, 18 Jan 09 23:08:00 UT

A Prayer for the Nation and Our Next President, Barack Obama

By The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire

Opening Inaugural Event

Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC

January 18, 2009

Welcome to Washington! The fun is about to begin, but first, please join me in pausing for a moment, to ask God's blessing upon our nation and our next president.

O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will.

Bless us with tears - for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women from many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.

Bless us with anger - at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

Bless us with discomfort - at the easy, simplistic "answers" we've preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth, about ourselves and the world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.

Bless us with patience - and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be "fixed" anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.

Bless us with humility - open to understanding that our own needs must always be balanced with those of the world.

Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance - replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences, and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.

Bless us with compassion and generosity - remembering that every religion's God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.

And God, we give you thanks for your child Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.

Give him wisdom beyond his years, and inspire him with Lincoln's reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy's ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King's dream of a nation for ALL the people.

Give him a quiet heart, for our Ship of State needs a steady, calm captain in these times.

Give him stirring words, for we will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.

Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States.

Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.

Give him the strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters' childhoods.

And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we're asking FAR too much of this one. We know the risk he and his wife are taking for all of us, and we implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold him in the palm of your hand - that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity and peace.

AMEN.

Wishing All the Best of Christmases

Thu, 25 Dec 08 01:05:00 UT

I'm doing a staycation thing this Christmas, being a bit contemplative.

Hoping you all have the Merriest of Christmases and a most joyous new year.

I know, I know...where are the promised posts...THIS WEEK FROM BAYOU CITY...I PROMISE

Sun, 23 Nov 08 22:00:00 UT

Life...a bit insane...

Highlights of the last month...

a trial involving much pain and sadness, and, I hope, justice

funerals

dance rehearsals

movie retreats

shivering

a man with a gun pointing it at me

in a few words...

distractions...

so...soon...very soon.

We interupt this Silence...for some Movie and God talk

Wed, 12 Nov 08 13:15:00 UT

Friends,

I'm leading a retreat this weekend at a church camp on the lovely, freezing, rain-soaked western shore of Lake Michigan.

It's entitled, "Faith on Film" and I'm looking at all kinds of ways that faith, God and religion are depicted in films.

First, any particular ones that come to mind for you?

Second, that's why no posts yet. This sorting through DVD's and watching hours and hours of movies, including "The Robe" (eek), "The Greatest Story Ever Told" (Oh, John Wayne, you bad, bad actor), and "King of Kings" (Jesus wasn't enough to carry a movie, we needed an underground freedom movement led by Barabbas to keep us involved in the story), takes LOTS of time.

Coolest religious allusion to date...."Children of Men"
the scene in the barn. PUH-LEEZE, one more allusion to the Nativity and Luke is gonna sue for copyright infringement.

I'll be back, I promise...

Soon.

Peace,
Out

Coming Soon to a Blog Near You

Tue, 28 Oct 08 14:56:00 UT

Still on a break til next week...but there are many rhetorical irons in the fire....

Including...

My Current Obscure Celebrity Crushes

Some Original Thoughts on Sarah Palin
(As opposed to to the far more rare original thoughts OF Sar--nevermind, there I go being snarky.)

Maybe a sermon or two

An Ipod Update

A Rant about Mozilla Firefox AND Google's Browser

See you next week...NOW...
Vote! Vote for the 40-something Illinoisan of your choice, but VOTE!

Taking a break until after the election

Mon, 29 Sep 08 16:11:00 UT

I find that when I start writing these days on issues of public concern that I am rarely civil and rarely snarkless.

The world has plenty of snark right now to go around, and I don't want to contribute further to an inflammation of our global temperament.

Peace for now...peace for always.

Vancouver Island

Thu, 11 Sep 08 09:54:00 UT

Okay...so you want to get away. And you were thinking about Europe, but the dollar is in the crapper and airfares are insane and who wants to pay for every checked bag on an international flight?

Consider British Columbia.

I'm on a retreat at a place called the "Honeymoon Bay Lodge and Retreat" a couple of blocks from Lake Cowichan on Vancouver Island. Who knew within an hour of a gorgeous, relatively cheap retreat center there would be beautiful scenery, wineries, organic farms, whale watching, fly fishing, beautiful hikes, and incredible food.

Run, don't walk to your Orbitz and plan a con ed event or a personal retreat to this place.

More later when I'm back in the States.

Peace,

NSCR

I just don't understand why people like you have to make such a big deal out of it, rubbing it in our faces...

Tue, 19 Aug 08 15:33:00 UT

Hmmmm....Well, here's why...

From the Baltimore Sun...

Steven T. Hollis III, 18, of Randallstown and Juan L. Flythe, 17, of West Baltimore - both of whom are members of the Bloods gang, according to police - were arrested and charged Thursday evening with first-degree murder. They are accused of killing a fellow gang member days before his high school graduation in May.

The body of Steven Parrish, 18, was found May 29 in a wooded area near his parents' home and Woodlawn Cemetery.

"It's awful," Baltimore County prosecutor William B. Bickel said in an interview after yesterday's bail-review hearing in Towson. "You're talking about a gangland-style execution because he was gay. They took him out back in a field and stabbed him to death."

An autopsy revealed that Parrish died of both blunt-force and stabbing injuries, according to court records. He suffered 50 superficial cutting wounds to his arms, neck, head, wrist and hands in addition to one stab wound to the chest that injured his heart and caused significant blood loss. He also had bruises on the left side of his neck.

A neighbor told police that Parrish left his parents' home with another young man and walked toward the woods. About a minute later, the witness and other neighbors heard someone yelling and pleading, "Stop! Why are you doing this to me? I didn't do anything!" according to court documents.

Investigators discovered that the victim was a member of a subset of the Bloods gang known as the Family Swans.

On the day before Parrish's death, several members of the gang met at his home, according to charging documents. There, Hollis and Flythe discussed finding what they believed to be "gay" text messages on Parrish's cell phone.

Angered by the messages and a photograph they found, they worried that their Bloods group would appear weak to others if word got out that they had a gay member, according to court records.

"As a result, they decided that Steven Parrish 'had to go,'" police wrote in charging documents. "There was no date or time discussed for the killing, but it was made very clear to all those present that Parrish was going to be killed."

Flythe later told his fellow gang members that he and Hollis confronted Parrish, who did not deny that the messages were "gay" in nature, according to court records. Flythe also told his associates that they stabbed and hit the victim before stomping on his neck, according to charging documents. A red bandanna was placed over Parrish's face and he was left in the woods.

This young man did NOTHING to make his sexuality an issue...but because alternative sexuality is still stigmatized, particularly gay male sexuality, as less than male, as un-masculine, it inspires hatred and fear, and in this case....murder.

Why do "people like me" make an issue of our sexuality? So someday it won't be an issue...so someday people will see that we are smart and stupid, masculine and fey, tall and short, neat and sloppy, tough and timid, holy and profane, erudite and awkward, noble and crass...in short, that we are human beings. It's not that our sexuality means nothing, for surely it is a special and cherished part of our humanity. It's that, like every other child of Eve, one trait does not define who we are...and until folks can get past this aspect of who we are, we have no choice but to 'rub it in your face' until you can see it for what it is, and not for the spectre it remains...we remain...when it remains in the shadow of secrecy.

Is truthfulness no longer a virtue?

Tue, 19 Aug 08 14:12:00 UT

The paucity of truth in public discourse inspired Stephen Colbert to coin the term (or at least popularize the term) "truthiness", a sort of fake truth that basically consists of making stuff up that supports whatever proposition one s making.

A teacher friend of mine here in Chicago was having trouble with a student who was repeatedly lying--to get out of things, to get certain things, to bully teachers with administrators. This child's mother was confronted with the legion of lies...and her response was to the effect of, "Well, I have to lie all the time to get what I want, so now is as good a time as any for her to learn that."

Wave after wave of attacks on Senator Obama on the internet continue to spout lies concerning his religious beliefs, his family and countless other topics....and though I'm not as familiar with them, I'm sure there are falsehoods being asserted against McCain.

It is now the general consensus that the President of the United States misstated and/or actively misled the American people and the world to get us to go into war in Iraq...yet when someone proposes impeachment, he is laughed off the floor.

Is truth an old fashioned virtue?

Have we become so jaded by the idea of ideologies being presented as truth that we have lost touch with truth that is the stuff of quantifiable reality?

This teacher friend asked me as a minister what she should say to this parent who doesn't think that telling the truth is important and who seems to think that lying to get what you want is just fine.

My response to her was not some deep theological point...it was to ask these questions...

1. Is it okay with you if the surgeon you are taking your child to treat a potentially fatal disease lied on her job application at the hospital about her training and experience?

2. Is it okay with you if the contractor who built your house lied about the amount and strength of the rebar used in constructing the foundation that prevents your house from collapsing on you in your sleep?

The modern social contract cannot survive if there is not some trustworthiness built into the system. We cannot live our lives assuming that everyone is lying to us. Life cannot work that way...at least outside of a cave.

So what's to be done? How to we reclaim the value and virtue of telling the truth?

A Little Aside About the Insanity of Illinois Politics

Thu, 14 Aug 08 23:03:00 UT

So...here in the Land of Lincoln, we are in a real mess.

The Democratic leadership of the state is fighting tooth and nail with one another...so the governor and the Senate president on one side and the speaker of the house and almost everyone else on the other side are going at it all the time...and sadly, nothing is getting done. It's embarrassing.

As one would expect, the Republicans are hoping to capitalize on this (as well they should, I imagine, as much as I disagree with their policies)...so they had a big press conference in front of the Lincoln statue in Springfield today....a handy spot for Republicans who want to look important, since they've pretty much been a blip on state politics for the last few years....but I digress...

So they called this gathering and, in a desperate attempt to link up to his surroundings, Illinois Republican Chairman Andy McKenna (and I heard the quote live on NPR, so you know I'm not making it up) said, and I paraphrase..."This great Republican said a house divided cannot stand...and that's what we have now, and it's worse than what Lincoln was talking about..." Now those aren't the exact words, but he DID say the current stalemate in Illinois was WORSE than the divided house to which Lincoln was referring...WHICH WAS THE UNITED STATES WHERE STATES HAD ILLEGALLY SECEDED FROM THE UNION!!!!

Is this guy really THAT stupid? Is he really equating the juvenile and idiotic antics in Springfield with insurrection and sedition?!?!?!

Someone send this guy back to a U.S. History class please....sheesh!!!

Pa The Tic!

Julia Child was a spy against the Nazi's? Way Cool!

Thu, 14 Aug 08 00:31:00 UT

One of my fondest memories was sitting in the lobby of a resort hotel in Aspen, Colorado one afternoon. Julia Child had been signing books in the Food and Wine Festival Tent earlier, and now she was having a cocktail with a few people she knew. I was about 12 feet away sitting in another cluster of chairs.

What I remember most about briefly talking to her as she signed my cookbooks (I still have them) and about watching/eavesdropping as she had a drink, was her ready laughter and the expression of genuine interest on her face as she encountered others...

How cool to learn that she used that open-faced inquisitive nature to spy for the OSS against the Nazis!

What a tasty morsel to add to the memory of the rich feast that was Julia Child.

New Things the World Can Do Without...

Mon, 11 Aug 08 23:01:00 UT

Not to be the curmudgeon...or what the heck, maybe being a curmudgeon, I have sampled certain new things that are being touted as the next big thing...but that, like New Coke, in this reporter's opinion miss the mark, or are just a waste of time, money, and/or our collective energies.

1. The Vivanno from Starbucks. Kudos to the faltering birthplace of the barista for keeping calorie counts below 300, but sadly, that's where the kudos end. Proviso: I am lactose intolerant so I was drinking the soy milk versions...but banana and chocolate...boring, and to be honest, the combination of banana and chocolate, which I loved on those frozen dipped wonders from my childhood...is sort of revolting. The all fruit version (bananas w/ orange and mango juice) is just nasty. Oh, and the whey powder...let's just say I'm glad I live alone.

2. The NuvaRing Contraceptive commercial...Grade Z computer animation, which actually shows cyber-women spreading their legs most unflatteringly and, well, is utterly, totally creepy. If you wear the NuvaRing device you get a nicer swimsuit, a thinner stomach, and you get to sit in the non-bubbling kiddie pool? Is there some code here I'm missing? Get this crappy ad off of my TV for women and gay men (aka Lifetime and Bravo) ASAP please! Thanks.

3. The new "90210." Um, you are kidding right? I thought they had already brought this show back...but called it "The OC," and or "GossipGirl," and/or whatever pubescent b/s that the networks that were born after I was are using as filler between new reality shows.

4. Drew Carey on the Price is Right. Um, is anyone else noticing that Mr. Carey seems to be phoning this in in a major way? I think perhaps he enjoyed the first 40 shows, but the 'aw, shucks' mid-western bonhomie has given way to post-modern boredom...and it shows. Even watching only a YouTube snippet here and there, he has all the enthusiasm of a summer squash. I like Drew, but seriously...either start hitting the coffee before each showing, or put this old warhorse down....the showcase showdown is a no-show.

5. (Okay, this isn't a HOT NEW THING, but it's new and it bites, so here goes.) The new smaller products on the grocery shelves at the same price. As NPR recently reported, inflation is being dealt with by the great shrinking cereal boxes and tubs of my non-margarine spread. I first noticed it when the two tubs of Country Crock Light were next to one another in the fridge...the new one smaller...but the price was the same. And have you noticed the number of slices in the package of swiss cheese and white cheddar has diminished? New ways to secretly trick the consumer, AKA, me. Phhhhhllbbbtttt!

6. The New George W. Bush. Oh, I'm sorry, that's John McCain. Who knew the Straight Talk Express could SO transform itself as to become a mouthpiece of Bush foreign policy and the domestic agenda of the Religious Right? Sigh.

7. The post-Tyler Florence Bruschetta Burger at Applebee's.
Okay, so I know it's not good for you. But when this first came out...with its pesto and bruschetta and mozarella cheese on focaccia...with the tower of skinny garlic fries dusted with shaved parmesan...it kicked some food chain butt. Now, our man Tyler's name is off the menu...the focaccia is grittier, the cheese is almost gone, the fries are boring Applebees fries with no shaved parm...In short..the thrill is gone, this is just one more tired burger you can't eat with your hands...BOOOO HISSSSS!

8. Dare I say it, the new season of "Project Runway." I don't like these people, I don't care about these people, I don't like their clothes...I want my Austen Scarlet and my Christian, Chris, Jack and Rami. If I hear one more "I work in leather" or one more "holla at your boy" I'm gonna lose it. (Blayne, I've heard Christian's 'fierce', I knew Christian's fierce, and your 'holla' is no 'fierce'. Go home.) Can't we just skip to Suede, Keith, Kenley and Terri as the final four and get on with this? Even Tim Gunn seems bored.

Have you seen it? McCain's cynical "Obama as Jesus" Ad?

Mon, 4 Aug 08 13:14:00 UT

Okay...I'll put this on the table. It's not news...I've said it before.

I had concerns about whether Senator Obama was ready to run for President. I thought another term in the Senate would have done him good.

But...

Right now, I'd vote for Obama even if I thought he wasn't ready.

I would vote for almost anyone other than the man who is approving the ads being run by McCain and his water carriers. This latest ad, which seeks to paint Obama as some sort of megalomaniac with a messiah complex is not only in the worst possible taste, cutting and pasting snippets taken out of context so poorly as to appear to be done on someone's home computer (a PC even), it belittles religion, people of faith, and the IDEA that a person can be inspirational or inspired.

At first, I thought it had to be someone else's ad...or a parody. But no...it's right there on McCain's website.

This is disgusting.

I'm the last person to ever say something like "God wants Barack Obama to be President" because it is simply wrong to say and grossly presumptuous. Still, one wonders if the mocking tone (which seems to be trying to be Daily Show-esque) doesn't end up mocking faith more than Obama.

Regardless, in the 'gloves off' land of Presidential politics, this has to be a new low.

SHAME, SHAME, SHAME on you Senator McCain.
Stick the fork in this campaign.
From my perspective, it's over.