You know when you have that song running around through your head?

This one's been on my mind for the last few months.

Cult of Personality - Living Colour

Look into my eyes, what do you see?
Cult of personality
I know your anger, I know your dreams
Ive been everything you want to be
Im the cult of personality
Like mussolini and kennedy
Im the cult of personality
Cult of personality
Cult of personality

Neon lights, a nobel prize
The mirror speaks, the reflection lies
You dont have to follow me
Only you can set me free
I sell the things you need to be
Im the smiling face on your t.v.
Im the cult of personality
I exploit you still you love me

I tell you one and one makes three
Im the cult of personality
Like joseph stalin and gandi
Im the cult of personality
Cult of personality
Cult of personality

Neon lights a nobel prize
A leader speaks, that leader dies
You dont have to follow me
Only you can set you free

You gave me fortune
You gave me fame
You me power in your gods name
Im every person you need to be
Im the cult of personality
Look into my eyes, what do you see?
Cult of personality
I know your anger, I know your dreams
Ive been everything you want to be
Im the cult of personality
Like mussolini and kennedy
Im the cult of personality
Cult of personality
Cult of personality

Neon lights, a nobel prize
The mirror speaks, the reflection lies
You dont have to follow me
Only you can set me free
I sell the things you need to be
Im the smiling face on your t.v.
Im the cult of personality
I exploit you still you love me

I tell you one and one makes three
Im the cult of personality
Like joseph stalin and gandi
Im the cult of personality
Cult of personality
Cult of personality

Neon lights a nobel prize
A leader speaks, that leader dies
You dont have to follow me
Only you can set you free

You gave me fortune
You gave me fame
You me power in your gods name
Im every person you need to be
Im the cult of personality

My contribution to the decline of society

Assicons

(_!_) a regular ass

(__!__) a fat ass

(!) a tight ass

(_*_) a sore ass

(_o_) an ass that's been around

(_x_) kiss my ass

(_X_) leave my ass alone

(_zzz_) a tired ass

(_E=mc2_) a smart ass

(_$_) Money coming out of his ass

(_?_) Dumb Ass

(_Nice_) Nice Ass

File under "Dog Bites Man" and other non-news stories

It's kind of distrubing that they actually had to do a study to figure this out.

Study: McCain coverage mostly negative

The good news for John McCain? He's now receiving as much attention from the national media as his Democratic rival. The bad news? It’s overwhelmingly negative.

Just 14 percent of the stories about John McCain from the conventions through the final presidential debate were positive in tone, according to a study released today, while nearly 60 percent were negative—the least favorable coverage of any of the 4 candidates on the ticket.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20081022/pl_politico/14829

What's the next headline we're going to see? "Palin repeated mocked on SNL by flaming liberals. News at 11"?

Perspective On Life Back Home

I’ve been itching to write something about the presidential race, but I’m trying really hard not to. It’s not that I don’t have a lot to say, but I’m trying to wean myself off of it for now. My assumption is that Obama is going to win, so I’m sure that I’ll have a lot to say over the next four years.

But for now, I’d like to offer a little perspective on what we’re going through, from someone who I read on a regular basis. So, without further adu, here’s Michael Yon:

http://www.michaelyon-online.com/

Traveling along the roads of Afghanistan (when there are roads) provides a different perspective on life back home. Folks in the U.S. are worried about the economy, and while I can understand that many are struggling, it’s easy to forget how much we still have. In Afghanistan, and other countries all over the world, there are many people who literally beg for their next meals.

Americans worry about who will become our next president. Despite what their opponents say, if Barack Obama is elected, he’s not going to turn the U.S. into a socialist state (at least I don’t think he will) and John McCain is not going to invade Iran (at least I don’t think he will). Even though a great deal of noise is made about ideological differences between Democrats and Republicans, it’s remarkable how much both sides agree about certain vital issues, and how stable our nation’s fundamental policies are. No matter who is elected, America will remain true to its basic values of freedom, democracy, private enterprise and public service. The change of government will occur in an orderly fashion, no bloodshed, revolutions or coups. Think about it: When this campaign is finished, either an African American man will be president or a woman will be vice president. The candidacy of Barack Obama has demonstrated how American society as a whole is NOT racist. For all the scars we have inflicted on ourselves (slavery and racism being one of the worst), our democratic society is self-healing, even if that process can be painful and slow.

We might take a moment to remind ourselves that we do not live in a land of tribal law or a place where intergenerational feuds are part of the social fabric. Look at Afghanistan. Widows abandoned and shunned. Orphans everywhere. People missing limbs from the millions of mines still dotting the landscape. Millions. Tribes and warring ethnic factions and police so corrupt they make the Mafia look like do-gooders. Taliban. HIG. Al Qaeda. And a lot more suicide bombers than Senators. (Trust me on that one.)

The people of Afghanistan are extremely friendly and welcoming. But let’s face it. They live in a world of constant struggle. Their country was already primitive, and their existence difficult enough before they became a place of conquest, civil war, and now a clash of civilizations (or, to put it more accurately, a clash between dozens of civilized countries and violent anarchy).

The woman above was begging beside the highway. And she was not the only one. I was a passenger driving through Taliban country in a pickup truck when I took her photo. Car bombs detonate on that road all the time. Americans and others die there. And this woman, covered as most women in Afghanistan whom I see are, probably a widow, was begging just beside a police checkpoint, which, sooner or later, likely will get attacked. She might get blown to pieces by a car bomb. She apparently has no money, probably no family, nowhere else to go, and no other way to live. Still, she endures.

The world economy is having its problems, but it’s going to come back sooner or later. Meanwhile, those of us in America, and throughout the west, should count our blessings. We have our families. We have governments which, for all their flaws, at least are reasonably functional, or in many cases, highly functional. We have hope. Or at least we have reason to hope.

Makin Friends

Last weekend was my wife’s 25^th anniversary of her high school graduation. So, what better excuse to get together with a bunch of people, who, since the last reunion 5 years ago, you’ve been trying to avoid.

The first event of the reunion was on Friday night, and it was in a lodge, in a park near our house. Going into this, I thought that the only positive aspect of the whole evening was the fact that if I got really drunk, and made an ass of myself, I could walk home. Which, considering some of her friends, and once alcohol is mixed in, there is always the possibility that I’ll make an ass of myself. I’m not saying that I don’t care for some of her friends, but, well, let’s be honest, I really don’t care for some of her friends.

Before we go down that road, let’s move on, shall we?

So I’m standing around talking with another “dragged along husband”, whom, if we’re being frank here, (I’m not really Frank, I’m just being frank. Please don’t call me Frank), I don’t really care for. But, I was told I had to play nice and keep him company, or else he would be an ass to my wife’s friend. Apparently, there was a lot of “being an ass” potential in the crowd that night. Strange how that works out when spouses are dragged along to high school reunions. I may not be Sherlock Holmes, (or Frank), but I think I see a connection here.

Anyway, back to the story. As we’re standing there, people would come by, squint at us, screw their faces up, stick out their hands and say “I know it’s been so long, but I just can’t seem to place your face. Who are you again?” Since I was trying to be nice, I would kindly extend my hand in greeting and politely tell them that I didn’t go to their school, that I was my wife’s (who they all knew) spouse and that she was right over there if they wanted to talk with her. Most of them would amble away, so grumpy spouse #2 and I could get back to our drinking.

After about the 4^th or 5^th time of this (and about the 3^rd or 4^th beer), it was really getting old. I marched right over to the table where the name tags were, grabbed a blank tag and pen and in big block letters wrote:

“I DIDN’T GO TO YOUR SCHOOL AND I DON’T KNOW WHO YOU ARE”

For the other husband, I wrote this name tag:

I’M WITH STUPID (this had arrows underneath pointing to the right and left).

Now, as strange people came up to me, they’d stick out their hand and start to read the name tag. I’d start shaking their hand and wait until I saw the realization spread across their face that I was a complete and utter stranger to them, before I'd start laughing. It was great fun. Once the joy of that joke wore off, and I’d consumed a lot more beer, I snuck back to the name tag table, and in smaller letters, wrote “ , fucker” at the end of my name tag. That's when the fun really began.

Let’s just say, by the end of the evening, I didn’t have to walk home, but it was a close thing.

"It's like déjà vu all over again."

As John McCain heads into the second round of presidential debates tonight, Yogi Berra's words come to mind. Mr. McCain could do worse than remind the middle class what happened to them the last time a charismatic Democratic candidate promised them a tax cut. While he's at it, he might also remind them how much more expensive it will be to send Barack Obama to the White House at a time when his fellow Democrats will have a majority in both houses of Congress.

AP Photo/Mandatory Credit: Ron Haviv / VII

Bill Clinton promised one in 1992.

The Clinton years hold some good lessons on both these scores. Back when Mr. Clinton was campaigning for president in 1992, he made a pretty direct pitch: Raise taxes on people making more than $200,000, and use those revenues to fund tax relief for the "forgotten middle class."

In an October presidential debate, then-Gov. Clinton laid out the marginal-rate increase he wanted and some of his plans for the revenue that would be brought in. He followed with a pledge:

"Now, I'll tell you this," he said. "I will not raise taxes on the middle class to pay for these programs. If the money does not come in there to pay for these programs, we will cut other government spending, or we will slow down the phase-in of the programs."

Mr. Clinton, of course, won that election. And as the inauguration approached, he began backtracking from his promise. At a Jan. 14, 1993, press conference in New Hampshire, he claimed that it was the media that had played up a middle-class tax cut, not him. A month later, he announced his actual plan before a joint session of Congress.

On page one of the New York Times, the paper described the fate of the middle-class tax cut this way: "Families earning as little as $20,000 a year -- members of the 'forgotten middle class' whose taxes he promised during his campaign to cut -- will also be asked to send more dollars to Washington under the President's plan."

Here's the link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122333585431009523.html

What's that old say about studying history? Something about those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it? Whatever. Obama says it aint so!