"Al Qaqaa"

[giggle]


(And to think, Cronkette doesn't appreciate my humor!)

Check out this slate article by Richard Rushfield - it gives new meaning to "no guts, no glory." Excellent stuff, and the balls on this guy! Stepping out of the Green Zone in Baghdad might be safer than wearing a Bush/Cheney T-shirt and a button in Silver Lake.

I heard a Nader stump speech as part of a series on All Things Considered riding home on the "L" today.

Nader sure does make a hell of a lot of sense. You can't help but agree with him on the issues of electoral and democratic reform. (Although to hear him speak, it's pretty clear why poor Ralphie never found that perfect woman. Hey, in high school some guys were varsity quarterback. Other guys were Ralph Nader. Most of us fell somewhere in between.)

Except, my inner dialogue kept finishing his thoughts - taking it one step further. Yeah, I hear you Ralph...but you're still helping to keep Bush in the White House.

I understand your concerns, Ralph, and they are very real, and we definitely need to do something about it and work for change. But let me put it to you this way: YOU ARE HELPING TO KEEP BUSH IN THE WHITE HOUSE.

How 'bout in terms you can understand: "You run = You help Bush."

"'No-wolf,' eh? 'No-wolf, no-part.' Waddya think?'"

(God, it makes me so mad.)

The balls on this guy. You want electoral reform? Work for electoral reform! The very problem with our electoral system is that a third party candidate only helps one of the other two main parties, instead of serving as a legitimate alternative candidacy to reach the White House.

That's the systemic problem. That's what we need to fix first. ...SO DON'T DO IT!

Is your campaign really part of the solution, Ralph? Push the country as far to the right as possible and really make a wreck of things until we cry "uncle" and push the reset button? Because that's all your doing, Ralph. You're saying "Look, look what happens when a third candidate tries to run. You like that? I'm gonna keep running until everything's gone to shit - since I've sabotaged the moderates - and then, maybe then, you'll listen to me."

I mean seriously, that's the logic of Nader's campaign, more or less, isn't it?

It's stubborn, it's all-or-nothing. It's my way or "there's no difference between the other two guys."

*I did it my way.*

It's idiotic. And unfortunately it totally blemishes his fine career as a consumer and environmental advocate.

If you're thinking of voting Nader, let me try to dissuade you:

Vote Ralph Wiggum, instead. ("Oh boy, sleep! That's where I'm a viking!")

The kid's a hell of a lot smarter.