The thing about the Acorn non-scandal is mainstream news seems to be buying a lot of it - which means a lot people don't know it ISN'T a scandal.

"Isn't She Lovely?" But I like the others listed too.

AUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Why must people be SO STUPID?!?

I ask myself this every day.

This state seems to have more than it's fair share of stupid people too, Barb. I would start a campaign to rid Florida of stupid people; however, I fear how few would remain once we were through.

I am so burnt out. I sincerely need a comp day. I'm just FRIED.

Timelies all!

Tired. But "Pushing Daisies" is on soon! Yay!

"Pushing Daisies" on HD, it's wonderful!!!!!!!

I don't know anyone who rents an apartment, so I'm venting and querying here. I got a notice today from the site manager about me breaking my lease with "heavy footsteps". Which of course means my downstair neighbor who already informed me that she could hear me waking up at 5:30 in the morning and I told her I would try to be more quiet. And I told her that I could hear her slamming the doors closed, and she said she'd try to be more quiet.

Things were peachy for a while and then the doors began slamming again, and in my ears, maliciously so, but I let it got, because it was during daylight hours, and the air conditioners were off, which makes everthing louder.

My mother visited, she left, I got the notice that I was walking too heavily. The previous tenants never complained about me walking around in my apartment on the second floor. They said I was wonderfully quiet. Since the first conversation with my neighbor, I tried to be more quiet getting out of bed, but it's hard to remember "Be quiet or the Narmene monster will get you" when I am just regaining conciousness. Even so, I tip toe in the morning, and all the doors are shut ever so quietly when I head out.

And she slams the doors. Two doors, she manages to slam them four times. I've ignored this, figuring it was the lack of a/c white noise and it was daytime, whatever.

Then I get the notice.

I told her that if there was ever any problem, to talk to me. So, now, do I call up my site manager and explain that there's no way I can walk any quieter without not actually living there (the floors are really creaky, even for me) and that she's a noisy bitch as well, or should I first go to my neighbor and try and work things out.

I mean, I want to work things out with here because, hell, we're neighbors, I want where I live to be pleasant. But if she sicked a lease violation on my ass, I also want to sick one back at her. My 250 lb mother visited for the weekend and I couldn't here her opening and closing the downstairs door or my own apartment door. So my waif-like neighbors door-habits seem even more malicious than before. Overly paranoid and cynical? Gah! This upset me so much when I got the notice. I'm afraid to get up from the computer and walk to the bathroom for fear she might find it too noisy!

Mostly, I want to do violence upon her for being such a fucking light sleeper (this is the same woman who called the maintenance guy to dispose of the decapitated mouse on the stoop, instead of tossing it into the bushes and washing her hands. This is also the same woman who is allergic to catsw and is living in a "Cat Friendly Community").

I'd just talk to the site manager and be very reasonable.

I'm going to ask the vet about sub-Q fluids. I've gotten more food into him, but he's not drinking on his own, and that worked last time. He's also got these twitches I hate. I've been googling and a strong possibility is pancreatitis. Lots of the same symptoms, diagnostics don't turn up anything, and what worked last time is what is recommended. Can't hurt.

He's now on torbutrol, which is an opiate and I think he's a little stoned.

Also? Either last night's little maudlinfest messed up my sinuses, or I'm getting a cold. Feh.

There's no reason McCain can't win this thing. It is pretty easy to imagine he can get FL, OH, NC, VA, IN, WV, and MO. At that point, he'd need MN, or WI, or both CO and NV to go for him and he'd win it.

I actually find it very hard to imagine him winning all those states now. There are the generic reasons, such as:

1. He's so far behind. The only candidate in modern times to stage such a comeback was Reagan, and the circumstances driving that comeback don't exist for McCain.
2. He's thoroughly outclassed in spending.
3. He's throughly outclassed in the ground game.
4. He's thoroughly outclassed in campaign discipline and focus.
5. The economy isn't going to cease being a concern by the election, and Obama has led on economic capability since even before the debates.
6. Pre-debates, the electorate was uncertain about Obama as an untested quantity - yet he was still level with or ahead of McCain, whom they thought they knew well. Post-debates, they are now convinced Obama has the leadership qualities they expect in a President. They wanted to like him before, they feel safe liking him now.
7. Conversely, the main constant in McCain's campaign has been change - searching for that one big gesture that'll turn it all around. Picking Palin, the campaign suspension debacle, going negative, and he's hit the reset button this week too. (At least I think he did - it's hard to tell until he actually picks a message to run with.) And people are getting nervous about him. While they're getting comfortable with the notion of President Obama, they're buying into the 'erratic' and 'out of touch' labels with McCain.
8. He chose Palin.
9. Conservatives are deserting him. Partly his fault, for looking weak, pandering to the fringe and so forth. Partly not; the Repubs through the Bush administration have handed too much power to their agitated god-botherers, and the economic crisis has opened faultlines between them and the economic conservatives. McCain doesn't have the political ability to keep them together.

In short, he has no tools (money, ground game, skilled campaigners, or even goodwill) with which to turn things around, not to the extent he needs. There's always the chance of a huge gamechanging external event, but it's extremely unlikely, if it happened it would still have to compete with people's pocketbooks for attention, and McCain would have to be able to take big advantage of it - so far, Obama's been the more capable. But even all that isn't (just) why I find it very hard to see McCain taking all those states.

McCain, you'll recall, was an unlikely victor in the Repub primaries. Conservatives don't really trust him, the base is lukewarm about his credentials. That gave him the chance to appeal to moderates and independents, who get turned off by the free-range crazy, but ever since Palin he's been pandering to the "Amen is Hebrew for 'You betcha!'" bunch, and right now he's pleasing neither group. Furthermore, pleasing the base (show Obama for what he really is OMGWTFROTFHS) is now diametrically opposed to reaching undecideds and moderates (for God's sack, quit it with the hatemongering and show us some priorities! Were hurting here!)

And that's why he can't win all those states - because they're divided between the two camps. He pleases the crazies, he can maybe win NC, VA, IN, possibly even OH if he does an amazing job. But he'll turn off FL, NV, WI, MN, probably CO too. If he doesn't pander, then VA and NC are gone. And OH and MO. (Note that in some states, he really needs both to keep the base and to shore up the independents. Big ask.)

The McCain campaign, right now, is built on two electromagnets. The more he tries to charge them up, the more they repel each other. IMO, that's why he can't win this.