Wow. Those "Diana from V" eyes are still in evidence, but I never thought I'd see Mrs. John McCain publicly showing her support for same-sex marriage! Meghan must've recruited her! In any event, kudos to Cindy for coming down on the right side of history for something!
UPDATE: Just a note to show how quickly (and how hideously) the far-right can turn on its own. I found this image at FreeRepublic.com the crown jewel of Teabaggistan on the interwebs. There, Mrs. McCain is being excoriated for her pro-gay (and gasp! pro-choice) stance. The vitriol (which you can find here) is accompanied by this rather tasteless "fun with PhotoShop" job. Gotta love that teabagger humor. . .
Do you remember V and V: The Final Battle, back in the 80s? It starred Faye Grant (from The Greatest American Hero), and Marc Singer (Beastmaster) who was fully clothed here, but in very tight jeans. They were the leaders of a resistance against an alien invasion. The twist was, the aliens presented themselves as our friends, here to help us eradicate all disease. But they were really ugly lizard people who were rounding us up for food!
The first miniseries was true event television for me, and I ate it up. But it was oddly unresolved at the end. Fortunately, it was successful, and the sequel was produced. It was just as engrossing, and wrapped with the defeat of the alien overlords. Except it wasn't. V: The Series premiered soon after, and then things went down hill.
The low budgets, and the difficulty sustaining a storyline where some humans were still on the aliens' side sunk the show. Still, I watched every episode. Jane Badler as the creepy lizard leader, Diana was bitch-tastic. And one of the aliens was on our side, Willie, played by Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger of A Nightmare on Elm Street). The characters were great, but the re-used footage from the mini-series, and the cheapness of the production just killed it.
These days, budgets may not be as much of an issue, with CGI effects instead of models. The same might be said for the makeup, where it might be made more believable that the lizard faces under the skin could actually be under the skin. In the original, the shape of the lizard head bore no resemblance to the human faces stretched over them. Maybe they'll fix that.
Anyway, I'm as excited for the remake as I was for the original, so I hope they get it right. My suggestion: Cindy McCain for the part of Diana!
[Excerpt]
ABC's V series remake -- will it really happen?
. . .The possible good news is that ABC sees the future and it is sci fi. They've done well with Lost (OK, that's borderline sci fi but becoming more so with this time travel stuff they've introduced) and even Life on Mars has that little bit of sci fi element to it. But that's it for anything even remotely sci fi on ABC's winter schedule. . .
Making fun of someone's malapropisms (unless it's George W. Bush) is dangerous business. Because, karma is sure to get you for it. That at least seemed to happen tonight on Countdown with Keith Olbermann, after the host made fun of this clip of John McCain inadvertently saying the "C" word on live TV. At least is sure sounded like it to me.
But the slip of the tongue isn't really the funny part, or at least not the main funny part to me. We all know that McCain has used the "C" word on purpose before, and we all know who he aimed it at. And that person, Mrs. Cindy McCain, was standing right there this time. And Cindy--again, maybe just my opinion--flinched! Watch.
John McCain's willingness to scoop into the political gutter to smear Barack Obama is more puzzling, when you consider McCain's own past. You've got McCain's Keating Five involvement, and Cindy McCain's drug abuse problem. And then there's the whole issue of the original Mrs. McCain.
Thus far, I don't believe Barack Obama or Joe Biden have brought up any of these things directly. Even their surrogates have kept any input on these stories decidedly on the down-low, if they've been involved at all. But the fact remains that if Obama chooses to go negative, he's got a gold mine of actual factual slime.
Sure, the McCain campaign would be sure to cry foul. But what leg have they got to stand on? They've used lies and innuendo for weeks now to fling poo at Obama? And if these little scandal nuggets were in Obama's past? Do you really think they wouldn't have come up by now?
[Excerpt]
Let the record show McCain's cheating past
Voters entitled to know the good, bad and ugly
Suppose Barack Obama had dumped a crippled wife and married a beer heiress one month after the divorce.
Do you really think he wouldn't have been tripped up by such a scandalous past? The Republicans would have had a field day mocking his character. But John McCain's tawdry personal history is rarely mentioned. . .
I'm not sure if I've even alluded to the fact that John McCain's wife, Cindy once had a rather troubling addiction to prescription medication. . .that was not prescribed to her. It's all fairly sordid, and involved stealing from her own charity. The Barack Obama campaign has until now avoided digging too far into the McCains' past. So has the media for the most part.
But when you're the recipient of a constant barrage of misleading, disgusting lies, day after day like Obama has been, perhaps you start to rethink the "Mr. Nice Guy" approach. And it must be refreshing to know that you can "go negative" without having to lie.
Now, I have no idea if the Obama campaign is driving this story into the mainstream or not. But I certainly would not blame him--in fact would cheer them on--if they did.
[Excerpt]
Cindy McCain's tangled story of addiction
Consequences of her drug abuse were more complex than she's portrayed
When Cindy McCain is asked what issues she would champion as first lady, she often cites one of the most difficult periods of her life: her battle with — and ultimate victory over — prescription painkillers. Her struggle, she has said repeatedly, taught her valuable lessons about drug abuse that she would pass on to the nation. . .
In perhaps the year's goofiest talking point, Cindy McCain is the latest to trot out "Alaska is right next to Russia," in an attempt to shore up Sarah Palin's lack of international experience. And the odd thing is, I watched this move from Free Republic's message boards early on Friday, to Steve Douchey Doocey on FOX & Friends, to the GOP candidate for first lady.
Is this now the prefered route of information in the Republican Party?
I'm often ruled by my inner child. . .which is a nicer way to say that I'm immature. Because of this, there are a chunk of posts on my blog that are probably ill advised. So, how freeing it would be to have a blog that consists of little else!
Actually, that's probably overstating things a little. TotallyLooksLike.com features "separated at birth" type match ups, and certainly they aren't all insulting. And even those that are can be uncannily accurate.
Randi Rhodes, host of her own radio show on the Nova M Network often runs a comedy bit at the beginning of a new hour called, "How to be a GOOD Republican." It also sometimes has a title (paraphrasing here) like "What You Must Believe to be a Republican."
It just occurred to me that if all the faux outrage and stupid (stupid, stupid, stupid) emails that were floating around were genuinely believed by the candidates and voters, you'd almost have to believe that Barack Obama, his wife and Democrats in general, were evil incarnate. We know that they mostly don't believe this stuff, they just use it for political purposes.
But I thought it might be interesting to list a few things that they claim to believe, Let's see, you'd have to believe that:
Barack Obama is a crazy Christian.
Barack Obama is a covert Muslim too.
Barack Obama switched bodies with Keith Ellison, and was sworn into the Senate on the Koran.
Barack Obama hates the troops.
Barack Obama hates America.
Barack Obama probably hates the baby Jesus.
Michelle Obama hates America. We're allowed to attack her mercilessly for a few ill-chosen words.
Barack Obama doesn't qualify for President, since he was born in Hawaii to a Citizen.
Barack Obama is scary because he's too young at 46.
Barack Obama's popularity around the world is a bad thing.
Barack Obama's middle name is "Hussein" like Saddam, and his last name sounds like "Osama." This make him a bad man, unfit to be President.
Barack Obama knows some people who turned out to be bad guys. Ipso facto, Obama is bad too.
Barack Obama has changed his position on some issues. he's a flip-flopper.
Then, you have to believe this:
John McCain is a straight talker on religion. Even if he's claimed to be both Baptist and Episcopalian.
John McCain loves the troops so much, he was against the GI Bill.
John McCain--who has said he didn't love America until he came back from Viet Nam--loves America.
Cindy McCain has had a few scandals in her day, but she's off limits. Leave her alone.
John McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone, outside America. Do NOT question his citizenship. It's not like it was Hawaii.
It would be wrong to point out that John McCain is 72. And an old 72. So what?
It would be inappropriate to refer to "J. Sidney McCain," but "B. Hussein Obama" is acceptable.
John McCain was one of the Keating Five, and had lots of shifty acquaintances over the years. So?
John McCain has changed his positions as conditions changed "on the ground." This is different from flip-flopping. Somehow.
And most importantly:
Emails with the tag-line, "Send this to everyone you know!" are to be believed as 100% true, as long as they are about a Democrat. Or a virus that will eat your hard drive.
Do yourself a favor if anything here feels true to you. Go to Snopes.com, and read for yourself why everything you know is wrong! Thankyouverymuch.
From The Jed Report comes a great distillation of the "pride and patriotism" issue that John and Cindy McCain are trying to claim, while taking hits at Barack and Michelle Obama. It's well worth a look. . .
There's a lot of buzz the last couple of days about John McCain's back-story. Until recently, John McCain has been referred to in largely glowing terms by the press. Maverick. The Straight Talk Express. War Hero. Experience. But there are chinks in his white knight armor, and you can better believe that some of those are going to be exposed before November.
The story of John McCain's return to the States, and of the treatment of his first wife and subsequent remarriage was spotlighted here a few days ago. Conservatives are attempting to wave the story off, saying that the first Mrs. McCain is still supportive of her ex-husband. Even so, I've got to think some of the women in the "Democrats for McCain" movement might be more than a little troubled by this story.
[Excerpt]
Different hero, different war
With a great deal of restraint and not a trace of opinion, the New York Times last week reported details of what writer Nicholas Kristof calls "an awkward time" in John McCain's life. The story, related in delightfully quaint language, managed to be fairly astonishing regardless of one's feelings about the Republican presidential candidate whose most familiar handle is that of "war hero. . ."
Once again with help from friend and contributor Stupid Monkey Planet, my attention is drawn to this story about John McCain's back story. It doesn't quite fit with the narrative they're drawing up for him, but it certainly does have a certain GOP familiarity about it. Newt Gingrich, anyone?
[Excerpt]
The wife U.S. Republican John McCain callously left behind
. . .McCain likes to illustrate his moral fibre by referring to his five years as a prisoner-of-war in Vietnam. And to demonstrate his commitment to family values, the 71-year-old former US Navy pilot pays warm tribute to his beautiful blonde wife, Cindy, with whom he has four children.
But there is another Mrs McCain who casts a ghostly shadow over the Senator’s presidential campaign. She is seldom seen and rarely written about, despite being mother to McCain’s three eldest children. . .
I have an explanation for this ordinarily reprehensible behavior that will save everybody a little time. Some people say that Cindy McCain is actually a "Visitor," as seen in the 80s (ahem) docu-dramas, V, and V: the Final Battle. This doesn't make her a bad person, you understand. Remember Willie? He was a good guy. But then Willie did later become Freddy Kruger. . .uh, I digress. Back to my point. As a Visitor, Mrs. McCain has a diet of live rodents, and thus has no recipes of her own to print! Mystery solved.
Aren't you dying to know the favorite homemade dish of the next possible president?
So to save time, they put all this stuff on the website. But now the McCain campaign has been outted by TMZ.com and the Huffington Post for serial plagiarizing of Cindy McCain's alleged favorite recipes. . .
As the campaign for the Presidency goes on, we keep hearing about how contentious and dirty it is. It's not though, not really. There is always mudslinging, and nitpicking, and mountains being made out of molehills--but this is not unusually bad. It's par for the course.
The real nasty comes later, when we get to the general election. That is where the gloves really come off. But I have a suggestion for Barack Obama (or Hillary Clinton, should things change dramatically). Just run photo collages of John McCain. Just look at these pictures! You don't need to say a word! The one with John and Cindy in goggles will frighten small children (and older adults who remember the TV series, "V." (All photos linked to their original source)
