Adventures in Democratic Fundraising (aka Michele Bachman)

For those of you who are finding it difficult to keep up with Michele Bachmann's Gaffe a Day - or, like me, can't figure out why the Republican Party doesn't disown her - I decided to collect some of her greatest hits.

She's the one who almost got herself un-elected last November with this comment:

"I'm very concerned that he may have anti-American views," Bachmann said of Obama. "That's what the American people are concerned about."

Her Democratic opponent received almost half a million in donations in the 24 hours after that remark, which rose to over 800 thousand just three days later. You think she'd have taken the hint and shut up. But she was just getting warmed up for 2009.

"I find it interesting that it was back in the 1970s that the swine flu broke out then under another Democrat president Jimmy Carter," said Bachmann.

Too bad Gerald Ford was President when this happened.

"FDR applied just the opposite formula. The Hoot-Smalley Act [sic], which was a tremendous burden on tariff restrictions. And then, of course, trade barriers, and the regulatory burden and tax barriers. That's what we saw happen under FDR that took a recession and blew it into a full-scale depression."

Er, that's Smoot-Hawley, you retard. And they were two Republicans. Their Act was signed by President Hoover, another Republican.

"But there isn't even one study that can be produced that shows that carbon dioxide is a harmful gas."

Let's see...maybe we can send her to Cameroon and let her try it out for herself.

To GOP Chairman Michael Steele: "You be Da MAN!".

I felt sorry for Steele after that one.

I could go on for considerably longer. So I won't.

birds and dreams and mirrors

Although I was hoping DD would not appear in my dreams again, he showed up early this morning, in two editions. During the first dream we were traveling by car to his apartment (again, not where he really lives). Another ex from over 10 years ago, and the only other kinkster I ever dated, was in the car with me. DD was in the back seat, stark naked and not looking happy about it. The ex-boyfriend is, conversely, being extremely pleasant to all.

We eventually arrive at DD's place. He has somehow found his clothing, but we're separated and I can't make it to his apartment. I get in an elevator that won't stop at his floor. Finally I make it there, only to see that his apartment is strangely empty, and a woman is moving her stuff in. I don't remember much more about the dream, except that his new girlfriend begins to abuse DD for not fessing up about my existence, and I abuse DD for not telling Ms. New Girlfriend about my existence. He offers neither of us an apology, even though New Girlfriend has him literally pressed up against a wall.

One portion of the dream that I'm convinced is particularly meaningful is that DD has a woman moving in with him, and his own belongings have disappeared. The closet is full of her clothes, while his things are gone.

I wake up, crawl out of bed, make myself semi-presentable, and begin hunting for a car repair place. The a/c in my beloved bimmer has a slow leak, and I need to buy some plaster of paris for wall repair. During this time, the car's rear-view mirror decides to fall off without warning.

During the air conditioning service, several of us notice a bird that looks fine, but can't fly, walking through the garage. The kind employees help me get the bird into the box and I take it to a bird "rehabber", who identifies the bird for me as a sora rail (see photo below) and diagnoses it as "probably flew into something". The bird sanctuary turns out to be quite a fascinating place, although nobody can explain why a water bird is hanging out in East Dallas.

formerly delightful, now dismissed

Last week I decided to rid my e-mail and other communications systems of the boyfriend formerly known as Delightful Date. The reasoning was fairly simple: it doesn't matter why he's not calling any more, as the relationship is not the type I want now. So why obsess about getting him to explain his silence? Chances are he'd fib anyway, which would piss me off - something I avoid at almost all cost, since if I'm in a proper, indignant rage, I have trouble letting it go.

It's an odd thing about these decisions: once you make them, the angst you felt about the situation evaporates fairly quickly.

I'm still curious to see if he comes through with the funding for my working on his Web site and other marketing stuff, but I'm not holding my breath. Sure, I wonder why he threw me a curve by mentioning it, and it would be difficult to turn down the money as I could do a lot of things for my mother with it. (No, she has no bucket list, but there are other uses for extra money.) And frankly I think he was just trying to encourage himself. I'll feel sorry for him if the business goes down the tubes, but it's not like he's unemployable.

wonderful new time-wasters

For reasons unknown, I can look at lolcats at work, but am blocked from a lot of similar sites like Pundit Kitchen. Thankfully I'm not blocked from failblog.org, which features photos like these:

a cunning plan

Still unhappy about the recent change in my work style - ie., from being unsupervised and happy, to being micro-managed, infantilized and generally pissed off - I decided to do some research. How can I keep the Poison Dwarf at bay and out of my hairdo?

Being too cheap to buy the books, I did some bookstore research, nosing through the business section. Although I only found one with advice for those of us with "difficult" bosses, I liked the suggestion that I bombard PD with a surplus of information regarding my work. She'll spend so much time digging through the information overload, she won't have time to plot new ways to run me off. Since she is practically illiterate to begin with, it might even be fun.

After an invitation to an Easter concert from OOD*, I've heard nothing more from him. Am rather depressed.

DD is also quiet, but I'm at the point where I don't care any more. I finally figured out that it doesn't matter why he's being distant - what matter is that it isn't the sort of relationship I want now. I'd like a bit of weekend face time with an amour. Not that I have time to look, but I'd rather wait and see what fate has in store for me.

* See key at right.