After 5+ years of reading this place, I can't quite think of another phrase that wraps up us in any better way.

In this this nascent post-Bush era, after all of our arguments, our passions, our travails...

Oh, fuck that noise, how 'bout our personal stories of anguish over that little bit of our country that got fucked up; our joined stories of "you've got to be fucking kidding me"; and most importantly our sense of "what the fuck happened to our country?"

I'm tired of fighting over every little thing...

We are the change we are waiting for.

Root for who you want, but damnit: that line rings true.

Wow. I was watching C-Span's coverage of Michelle Obama's stemwinder (really, it is) and boom - Mrs. Governator.

That's cool, cool, cool.

And what up with Michelle? She's a doozy at the speechifying herself. I'm just kind of trying to avoid the pre SuperBowl hoopla and bam! there's this kick ass speech by her. Oprah was great, but damn, Michelle is awesome.

We've got two kickass candidates fighting out one of the most important elections in our lifetime. Either way history - real history - will be made.

That's fucking cool.

Cool beans.

I'm for Obama in this race, but I'll support Hillary just as enthusiastically.

They're both cool, people. They're not perfect, but I really think their heart is in the right place. When you boil it all down it really seems to be the most important thing. Their heart is in the right place.

Yeah, mooshy. I know. I don't care. Throw it at me.

I felt more like a Democrat tonight watching that debate than at any other time in my life (I'm 38).

I think we might have arrived campers. I think we might just have arrived.

:D

Words matter. The way we say things matter. For good and for bad. They matter. Our ideas can only catch fire when we find a way to phrase them in such a way that people not only understand what we're saying, but that we're inspired by them

I watched Obama talk this morning and I will admit that I got a little teary. He spoke of higher things and higher callings and I was moved. I'm 37, born in 1969 and all the great speakers were dead by that time. King, RFK... I've listened to Cuomo in 1984 and Jackson in 1988 and they were good speeches but... they still lacked a certain je ne sais quoi. They felt like well said critiques rather than calls to higher action.

I'm no naif. I was an actor for a long time doing the "classics" and have had my fair share of speaking beautiful words. They're powerful indeed. I also spent my fair time around pastors who worked with words as well.

more...

When I turned on the television yesterday to get my daily ration of Tweety (Hardball), BowTie (Tucker), and TheBeard (The Situation Room) I was met with preemption. On a day when the prosecution rested in the Scooter Libby trial; another helicopter went down in Iraq; and 4 more soldiers died; I was preempted.

With what?

The death of Anna Nicole Smith. Evidently, the death of someone in our ridiculous pantheon of celebrity is more important. The Gods are angry... and bummed! We must pay penance and be subjected to endless nonsense about someone who did next to nothing but be white, buxom and blonde. Oh, right, and titillate our sensibilities. Or something like that.

(more on the flip - I always wanted to write that!)

Tristan Taormino, sex columnist for the Village Voice has just written a really genius column on the whole Jack Ryan sex fiasco.

Jeri Ryan's story points to a common problem of couple sexual incompatibility, but it goes beyond that: Her husband tricked and coerced her into going places she didn't want to, both literally and figuratively. Jack Ryan still stands by his statement that her allegations aren't true, while attempting to spin the story in all sorts of ways. He's a victim of the media. He didn't break any laws. He was not unfaithful. He just wanted to have sex with his wife (I feel your pain on that point, dude). As he said on 20/20, "We've had people elected to office who have done things that are much worse than that." Yeah, Jack, but they're Democrats.

More on the flip...