Election day is Tuesday, which means this is one of those rare times I'll be looking forward to a Wednesday. The stereotype in US politics is that Democrats think Republicans are mean, and Republicans think Democrats are stupid. To combat this, here in Massachusetts we have the Republican candidate for governor, Mitt Romney, looking stupid and Shannon O'Brien, Democrat, being mean.
The ads from the New Hampshire senate race are on our TV channels, too. Shaheen is going with the Social Security scare. One of her ads features an old woman saying "What will I do without my Social Security?" Oh, please. The consultant who thought that one up should have his severed head mounted above the Hooksett toll booth as a warning to others.
Reading:
Bill Bryson, The Lost Continent -- Travels in Small-Town America
After "A Walk in the Woods," "Notes from a Small Island," "I'm a Stranger Here Myself," and "In a Sunburned Country," I wish I had quit reading this guy while I was ahead. This was his first travel book and it shows. At the time he wrote this, he was also writing for the Independent in the UK, which is sort of the party organ for Old Labour. He flatters his core readership by confirming what they already know: Americans are fat vulgarians, they litter their breathtaking vistas with strip malls and trailer parks, and the food is bad. Sigh. Maybe we should let the Brussels bunch instruct us in how we should manage our affairs -- at least they are paying proper attention to regulating sausages and cheese.
Insight: See above. Also, 15,000 miles in a Chevette is probably not as good an idea as it sounds (the book was published in 1989, so there were some still running).
Quote: "I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to." This should have stopped me.
I haven't been blogging, I know. I've been putting another site together, graphics and all, which you can access through this site.
