Maybe she has a point.

Kathleen Parker, most well-known as a Republican Washington Post writer who has come out against Sarah Palin, wrote an interesting column last week entitled, "Call off the Pit Bull."

In it, she argues that McCain and Palin are subtly trying to make us think that Barack Obama is a terrorist. An excerpt:

Neither McCain nor Palin would dare mention Obama's middle name, Hussein, but they can play up Obama's past associations and let others connect the dots. Terrorist. Muslim. Dangerous. Other.

It is legitimate to question character and dubious associations -- and William Ayers is certifiably dubious. The truth is, Obama should have avoided Ayers, and his denouncement of Wright was tardy. But this is a dangerous game.

The McCain campaign knows that Obama isn't a Muslim or a terrorist, but they're willing to help a certain kind of voter think he is. Just the way certain South Carolinians in 2000 were allowed to think that McCain's adopted daughter from Bangladesh was his illegitimate black child.

I have to admit, I snorted a little when I read it. I mean, come on! Certainly, Parker doesn't think the average American voter is that dumb.

But then I saw this video.



Now I know that this video is an amateurish one. It could have been edited all sorts of ways. I'm sure there were many more people outside the rally who rolled their eyes when asked if Obama was a terrorist. Hell, it could have even been staged. But the anger in this video seems pretty real to me. And it floors me.

So once again, I wish we could start talking more about the ideas for our country instead of all this other bullshit.

Questions for those voting for McCain.

I've now seen several military spouse bloggers talk about Obama's connection to Bill Ayers. So I have a few questions:

(1) Re: Ayers, at what point do your present actions for good outweigh a sordid past? Or can it ever? Don't you think there's a big difference between Obama being linked to Ayers in the 60's on subversive activities versus him working on a conservative educational grant decades later?

(2) How are McCain's connections to some less-than-savory characters different, i.e., Charles Keating?

I'm very curious to hear the responses.

Now this is just funny.

Last call for Book Club.

If you want to participate, email me at nonessentialequipment {at} gmail {dot} com. And if you already emailed me, be on the look-out for a Google Group invite.

Debate? What debate?

All over the blog world, people are talking about the VP debate. Some are claiming the Biden win, others the Palin.

But the truth of the matter is, much like the Presidential debate before it, I doubt anyone learned anything new. If you were for Obama/Biden before, you still are. And if you were for McCain/Palin, there's no change there either.

Some people may just be wondering who the heck General McClellan is.

But me? I'm wondering what a Hillary Clinton/Sarah Palin debate would have looked like.

3 in a week.

Yet another soldier. This one not just from our community but from our battalion.

This is just getting way too hard.

Economics 101

"Shit, did you see how far the Dow dropped?"

"Yeah. Enrique called last night. He said he wished he would have sold our stocks before the drop."

"Makes you almost wish you hadn't saved anything. If we'd have bought that new TV, at least we'd still have it."

"Well, you have to look at the silver lining, I guess."

"And what's that?"

"With Wall Street in the toilet, Enrique bets that recruiters are going to make their numbers and then some this fall"

Another death.

Another one. Too many. I don't know if I can sit through another Memorial Service.

But I will.

No tickers for me, please.

Must. not. look. at. investments.

It really sucks when you are responsible with your money and you lose a huge chunk of it because other people aren't. And by others, I'm talking about both consumers and lenders.

David Carr had a great piece in the New York Times about some NPR reporters who actually had the audacity to ask the question, "Why are they lending money to people who can't afford to pay it back?"

A good reminder that even if you don't understand economics, a little common sense can go a helluva long way. For everyone.

I don't usually do this, but...

I get all kinds of weird emails about this blog. People who want me to stump for a candidate, try a product or plug their book. I even got a marriage proposal once. He even might have been serious. Usually, I send them a nice, "Thanks but that's not my bag."

And when I received an email from the International Medical Corps a few weeks ago about their Top 25 American Express' Members project, "Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children." I did the same thing. I don't write all that often about social issues in Africa. But after I declined, I read up on them and was pretty impressed. Impressed enough, as an AmEx card holder, to vote for them.

Lo and behold, they made it to the Top 5 without any help from my puny blog. Mostly because it's a good project.

So, if you happen to carry an AmEx, check out the projects. Vote. Because $1.5 million could do a whole lot of good right about now.