From the DNC:
Tonight, don’t let George Bush’s henchmen steal another victory. We need your online help immediately after the debate, so save this email, print it out, and have it ready with you as you watch the first Presidential debate tonight.
Well… fortunately, the Chicken Littles that we call weathermen around here were wrong yet again (though my experience at the grocery store on Thursday evening indicates that they did manage to sell lots of beer and bread). The storm didn’t stall out over us as predicted. Some people lost power (ours was out for about an hour on Thursday) and there was some flooding in the usual parts of town. But the rain was over by the wee hours of Friday morning and today was a beautiful, clear, sunny day — nice enough to enjoy a walk through Coolidge Park and across the Walnut Street Bridge. I took the photo of the park at right from the north side of the bridge (you can see that the river is pretty high and muddy).
I took the picture below from the south side of the bridge. In the foreground is the Riverset Apartments in downtown. There are two sets of glass peaks behind them: first the Aquarium Expansion, which is still under construction, and then the Tennessee Aquarium itself. In the background is Elder Mountain (aka Raccoon Mountain).
Visiting Ground Zero, either while on vacation in July or up for the protests in August/September.
Here we are, getting all hot and bothered about something so trivial as a presidential election when there are ([outdated link raising the issue of who has the "worst pundit hair" redacted]) much more important issues at stake!
And, yes — we’re getting a lot of wind and rain, but so far no flooding or damage.
Can someone explain this?
From Andrew Sullivan, former log cabin republican (this is just an excerpt — you really must read the whole thing ([outdated link redacted]) here):
I CANNOT SUPPORT HIM IN NOVEMBER: I will add one thing more. And that is the personal sadness I feel that this president who praises freedom wishes to take it away from a whole group of Americans who might otherwise support many parts of his agenda. To see the second family tableau with one family member missing because of her sexual orientation pains me to the core. And the president made it clear that discriminating against gay people, keeping them from full civic dignity and equality, is now a core value for him and his party. The opposite is a core value for me. Some things you can trade away. Some things you can compromise on. Some things you can give any politician a pass on. But there are other values – of basic human dignity and equality – that cannot be sacrificed without losing your integrity itself. That’s why, despite my deep admiration for some of what this president has done to defeat terror, and my affection for him as a human being, I cannot support his candidacy. Not only would I be abandoning the small government conservatism I hold dear, and the hope of freedom at home as well as abroad, I would be betraying the people I love. And that I won’t do.
From ([outdated link redacted]) South Knox Bubba (see complete article here):
Tonight’s message was that true compassionate government and safety nets are obsolete. It seems Bush and the GOP are ready to leave behind the past, including the Constitution, Americas position of respect around the world, and now the less fortunate among us.
([outdated link redacted]) Amy Sullivan weighs in with:
By far, the biggest cheers and ovations came when Bush denounced gay marriage (I couldn’t see Cheney from where I was sitting…any television shots of him applauding that line?) and after several of the jingoistic, We-don’t-answer-to-no-one statements. The folks around us were whooping and hollering at those, and starting “U.S.A.” chants whenever they got the chance. I had a flashback to sitting in the middle of the football stadium at Penn State for a Michigan away game a few years ago–it’s a little frightening to be that outnumbered by a rather rabid crowd.
And so, quite possibly the most meanspirited convention in recent memory ended. I realize that 1992 is well-remembered for Buchanan’s disturbing speech, but what exactly were people expecting from Pat Buchanan? The hateful rhetoric this time around was launched by the likes of Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney and Dennis Hastert. These are the supposedly mild guys who are supposed to make the party palatable to independents, but apparently they didn’t get the party memo because they were all too busy overcompensating for their moderate leanings. I honestly don’t think it would have been any worse to have actual rightwingers like DeLay behind the podium.
William Saletan writes:
This was a speech all about what Bush will do, and what will happen, if he becomes president.
Except he already is president. He already ran this campaign. He promised great things. They haven’t happened. So, he’s trying to go back in time. He wants you to see in him the potential you saw four years ago. He can’t show you the things he promised, so he asks you to envision them. He asks you to be “optimistic.” He asks you to have faith.
Sorry, Dubya. No can do.
I feel better now. Sorry about my previous outburst. 
There’s a reason half a million people took to the streets in NYC on Sunday, despite the heat and humidity.
Ugh. Black is white! Up is down! This speech defies even my low expectations!
Just one little example: right after claiming that he values all US citizens (btw, zygotes are decidedly not citizens), Bush launched into anti-gay rhetoric! How is it possible that so many people support such a stupid asshole?
Four more months! Four more months! Four more months!
While you’re watching the convention coverage this evening, here are a few good places for discussion:
… and THIS is just freakin’ kewl.
Do you have any suggestions for additions?
If last night was any indication of the tone that the republicans want to set in their campaign, tonight Dubya should spew lots of bile and hate while not fussing over silly little details like truth and accuracy. (Well, acutally, he’ll probably just try to scare us with gloom and doom scenerios now that Zell and Dick have done his dirty work for him.) As Bush accepts his party’s nod, I offer this image, taken last Saturday afternoon in lower Manhattan, at the site of the World Trade Center.
If watching his smirking chimpness gets to be too much for you tonight, head over to the New York Press to read their ([outdated link redacted]) 1001 Things to Hate About the Convention.
Hello! I'm Alice, which is my real name (most of the other names here have been changed, though, to protect the innocent). I live in an almost-100-year-old house in downtown Chattanooga, TN with my first husband, G-Dog (who is from New Canaan, CT), and a cockapoo named Nonnie (the moniker comes from a Laurens van der Post book). We have one kid (that we know of) -- a daughter, Emmie, who plays a supporting role on the blog. She's off being a student, but she pops in often enough to keep things interesting.
I originally hale from Batavia, NY, a quiet little town in rural western New York. G-Dog and I met while attending college in Carlisle, PA, and then moved on to Chapel Hill, NC together before finally settling in Tennessee. Other places we've lived in long enough to have a mailing address include London and San Francisco.
This blog is about a lot of things -- the places I visit, things I cook, people I meet, photos I take, things I read, and -- of course, politics. I'm an unrepentant, arugula-eating, progressive, liberal, lefty, euro-loving, educated elitist and I'm looking forward to an administration that doesn't raise my blood pressure quite as often as the outgoing one did...
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