Well, I'm pretty sure that there are things available that could make his use of a computer possible. I mean, don't people who have no arms use computers? (I mean, obviously, with additional technology. .. which McCain can surely afford.)

"He can't use a computer because he was a POW" is one of the more valid mentionings of his being a POW. I find it refreshing.

The war injury story struck me as a particularly lame attempt to shift the question -- the ad's issue was "John McCain isn't prepared for the realities of the current world" and the attempted response was about whether or not he could click the button. Redirect FAIL.

On the subject of honorifics, Emmett still calls all his teachers Mr./Miss/Mrs. Last Name. In Little League though, we tend to get called by our first names, though sometimes it's Coach David.

In college, my political science professor in my freshman year insisted that everybody in the class be called Mr. or Miss Last Name. His logic was that he wanted all of us to be on the same plane for our discussions, but that he was unwilling to give up the formality of being addressed by his first name. It was awkward for about a week, and then turned out to be a positive in-group thing which was reinforced when you'd see your classmates at parties and could only address them as Ms. Teague or Ms. McKhann. We all grew to like it. And it definitely raised the tone of the conversation just to say things like, "In addressing Mr. Meyer's point..." etc.

McCain campaign did claim his war wound prevents him using computers. But there are photo's of him using a Blackberry.

He also bragged about his BBQ prowess, saying that part of the awesomeness of his recipe involved him squeezing 15-20 lemons over the meat while it's on the fire. Somehow, I have a hard time parsing being able to squeeze 30-40 lemon halves while not being able to type on a computer. Hunt and peck, dude.

I'm not watching the debates tonight, for there is not enough whiskey in the WORLD to get me drunk enough.

Also, I was raised on military bases so I Sir and Ma'am people all the time.

As in "don't shoot me, or you get her for President" type of life insurance.

If that's the case, shouldn't she be a better choice for the Obama ticket? I mean, really.... The kind of people who really, really Do. Not. Want. Mr. McCain to be president are a whole lot less likely to vote with a semi-automatic weapon, than those who object to Mr. Obama's leadership.

Dear God, please keep Barak Obama safe. He's got little kids, and a wife who loves him. He's got work to do here, and I really think he isn't done doing it. Please.

The kiddos in after care call me "Miss Val." This was my choice. The school would have preferred that I had them call me "Miss Winters," but I felt pretty strongly that it was important to put me in a different class than their teachers. The Miss indicates a level of respect, but the first name offers a little more freeness, which I feel fits with the position.

And, interestingly, I'm writing a paper about that very subject for my History of the English Language class--looking at how the kids style shift between the way they talk to their teachers, me, and their friends.

And, relatedly, we're doing a scavenger hunt this afternoon. I'm trying to figure out what the "prize" should be. I'm thinking of just having it be a new Mad Libs book, but I'm not sure the little kids will get as excited about that...

Just a quick chuckle.

I am for sure "Miss M---" at work. Like Erin, most of my Hispanic students just call me "Miss." Occassionally, they will call me "M&M" and if it's done respectfully, I'm okay with that, too, since it's a shortening of Miss M.

I will occassionally call my students "Miss ---" or "Mr. ----" to model good manners. I also call them "sir" and "ma'am" all the time just to model good manners. And, it sometimes masks the fact that I can't always remember their names! (What?? I have 500 students in a year. Seriously.)