out and about in Squirrel Hill and a tea party hangover

I would call this brilliant timing.



And here is the street where I park Jeepzilla.



And poor Jeepzilla looks pretty much settled in for a long winter's nap. Not moving anytime soon.



So we're about as snowed in as you can get around these parts with this once-in-15-years storm. Good times, as I really needed to get to the library this weekend and... not happening. No vehicle, no/ extremely limited public transportation, and, right, libraries all closed. So here I am, indulging in something that I know isn't good for me: Sunday morning news programs. And of course, they're giving a disproportionate share of attention to the tea party types.

I picked on the left last time, so it's time for the right. Why do conservatives prefer to listen to idiots like Sarah Palin? I hate the rampant anti-intellectualism she represents. She wanted to create foreign policy without a basic grasp of geography, to remold the Supreme Court without the ability to name a single court decision when asked (didn't we ALL learn about Brown v. Board of Education, Miranda v. Arizona, hell, Roe v. Wade?). Her hypocritical faux-folksy shtick pits straw man "professors" against "real Americans," as if intelligence and education precludes one from being a real American-- and are unfit to have any input into policymaking. Glad to know that I'm not a real American. But studying at an elite institution, possessing advanced degrees doesn't magically exempt anyone from paying mortgages, arranging childcare, or buying groceries and gasoline. Either that or they forgot to show me the free grocery secret handshake at graduation.

On top of the ridiculous presupposition that intelligent Americans aren't real Americans, where does this leave intelligent, articulate, educated conservatives? Take George Will, for example. Is he not a real American, or do his political leanings allow him to be grandfathered into the club? Why can't conservatives embrace this kind of figurehead instead?

I see the Republicans falling into the same trap that the Democrats did about 6 years ago-- attacking, but not offering tangible, reasonable alternatives. I'm still waiting to see a reasonable Republican health plan rather than abstract suggestions like "allow people to buy insurance across state lines." Minor adjustments to the health insurance market are not going to fix a fundamentally flawed delivery and payment system. Anyway, I'll be truly shocked if any kind of health care reform is passed. I wonder where that's going to leave us in about 15-20 years, when the boomers are in long term care and swelling Medicaid and Medicare.

the more things change...

I was under the impression that the Huffington Post was a somewhat left-er leaning kind of place. So why is this incredibly insulting, sexist piece of shit there-- and not being denounced for the incredibly insulting, sexist piece of shit writing it is? Apparently "smart women" have problems dating because of competitiveness, force of personality, not putting a relationship (read: the man) ahead of everything else in their life, etcetera. It's your typical women need to make the man feel superior, so dumb yourself down and fit yourself into some sort of unrealistic ideal or else you're probably going to die alone kind of piece. This so-called "doctor" ends by telling smart women to "show up as love." What the hell is that supposed to mean? "...[E]mbodying joy, compassion and sensuality, telling him how great he is, making him feel like a billion bucks and the conqueror of worlds...." Um. Is this supposed to mean it's solely the woman's job to bring all that stuff to the table? What if I want to be the conqueror of worlds, to feel like a billion bucks or want compassion? And why should I tell someone they're great before I even know them? I'll tell someone they're great when I think they're great, not when I want them to grace me with their attention.

It's a scary day when I'm mostly in agreement with Jezebel commenters.