A Personalized Message from CNNBC Video

I got this wild message from those tireless people at MoveOn.org...maybe you've gotten it already yourself. I think this takes personalized marketing to the limit. It's a fascinating sensation to watch it: your own 1.5 minutes of simulated fame. And it pretty much made me decide to vote early, next Monday. I promise!!

Click on the link, watch the video, and customize to send along to your friends.

(It's definitely worth a trip to click on that link, I'm telling you!)

Dear Ellen,
Oversleeping. Getting the car fixed. Having to pick up the second-cousin's stepkids on the other side of town. These are just a few of the reasons millions of Americans won't vote on November 4th.

It's not like they hate voting. They want to do it. They know they should. And mostly, they intend to. But some of your friends won't get around to actually voting because they haven't been reminded vividly enough.

That's why we developed this funny, scary video. It shows people what it might look like if we lose the election by a single vote: theirs.

Here's a version we prepared for you. You're in it—seriously, you, Ellen. Check it out—and if you like it, send it to your friends:

Watch it: http://www.moveon.org/r?r=31274&nid=275coW.A_yFjoKS7sQoT.jI4MDkx&id=14591-9332476-z165Uyx&t=3

Thanks for all you do.

–Peter, Joan, Carrie, Daniel and the rest of the team

Dinner Talk with Teens

Some of the questions hovering around the dinner table at our house lately, not all of which led to full-fledged conversations:

1. Are we human, or are we dancer?
2. What would it mean if we were "denser"?
3. Would that be better than dancer, or worse?

4. Have you seen the lyrics to the Palin Rap from Saturday Night Live? Aren't they great?
5. What do other kids say about your Obama t-shirt?

5. Is Joe Plumber in jail yet? We heard a rumor that he was. Did you know there's a Joe Plumber who is really a plumber?
6. What about that Joe Leiberman, how did he go from being Al Gore's running mate to stumping for John McCain?
7. Will McCain say that everyone who owes back taxes will have to go to jail under Obama's "regime"?
8. What has happened to the polls since Powell's endorsement? How can the polls be accurate with such a small sample? (Click on that phrase to go to Daughter Number Three for a look at cell phone phenomenon and how it affects the polls.)

9. Why is there that creepy line in Carousel, when Julie (mom) says to Louise (daughter): "Yes, it is possible for someone to hit you real hard, and you can't feel it."
10. Is it possible to interpret that line in a positive way, rather than as an indication of masochism or an apology for domestic violence? Did the kids at South know about Middle Way House before they got involved with Carousel?
11. What does Carousel imply about childhood trauma and the stigma of a parental legacy? About masculinity and low self esteem? About carousel barkers as "artist types"?
12. What is antisocial personality disorder? Jigger has it, but does Billy Bigalow? Could he have turned his life around, if he'd had the right words, and not missed all of his "golden chances"?
13. What's up with that sexual assault scene in the woods between Jigger and Carrie? Doesn't it remind you of Little Red Riding Hood? Is it true what the song says: "There's nothin'so bad for a woman as a man who thinks he's good!"? Is Carrie trapped by Mr. Snow and all of those children?
14. Is it ever possible to change someone fundamentally, through the power of love?
15. How is Carousel a story about atonement and reparation? And does Billy "walk alone" at the end, as he heads back to purgatory, or wherever he seems to live, in limbo?
16. What about those class tensions in the story? Kind of neat and tidy (or classically oppositional) the way it's set up from the beginning as a choice between two different types of men: the sexy-but-tortured On the Waterfront carni guy, or the fishy patriarchal entrepreneur.
17. How are the kids in Sounds of South dealing with all this heavy stuff? Isn't it impressive that they are thinking about these things?

18. By the way, why does your English teacher give you such an unreasonable amount of homework?
19. Why would anyone ask you to write 10 poems about To Kill a Mockingbird, and even insist that each poem be 10 lines long? Doesn't she know that real poets probably don't set line limits at the outset of writing most of the time anymore? And why do you have all of those other huge assignments for that book, without any class discussion?
20. Do you want me to bring this up with your teacher?
21. Are there connections between Carousel and To Kill a Mockingbird?

22. How will you ever find time for dance lessons? Which kind would you like best? When can you start? Are you human...or are you dancer? What would the lyrics to a song called "Dancer" be?

Colin Powell Endorses Obama

I was very pleased to see Colin Powell's endorsement of Obama, and was especially taken by these remarks about religion. No one else of his stature has yet given "the really right answer" to that question, so far as I know.

I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said: such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is he is not a Muslim; he's a Christian, has always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, "What if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country?" The answer's "No, that's not America." Is there something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion he's Muslim and he might be associated with terrorists. This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

Meanwhile, McCain's campaign makes robocalls, planting seeds of fear, falsehood, and innuendo. As Powell makes clear, that's not the direction we should be taking, "not the way we should be doing it in America."

Obama vs. McCain: Three for Three

The debates are over, and I thought this was the best of them. I don't think the side-by-side at the round table format served McCain so well, showing viewers his shaking hands and that perpetual thumbs up.

He seemed so palpably relieved at the end, when he thumped Obama and pumped his hand, saying "Good job! Good job!" I get the feeling that he'll be relieved in November, too, when this is over for him – he doesn't seem up to the enormous challenges.

Too often McCain, in this and the other debates, tried to gain traction by attacking Obama, raving vaguely about this or that. It has been impressive to see how cool, calm, and collected Obama remains: coming back on point with clear sentences, facts and clarifications – force, lucidity, and ease. Flashing a grin at the occasional attack absurdity, and then regaining his serious countenance. Refusing to take the bait. For this he gets called "flat" by some of the pundits, who seem to relish the prospect of more Jerry Springer-style TV.

This unflappability is one of Obama's most attractive features: his steady calm invites intelligent interaction rather than emotional bluster. McCain's darting tongue and self-satisfied sneers and grins add too much erratic static to the conversation: whether it's with voters, Joe Plumber, Joe 6-Pack, or in future conversation with Putin, should he "rear his head." We sorely need someone with a different conversational demeanor.

I hate to dwell so much on personal appearance, but I do think this points to deeper issues, born out by McCain's self-definition as "maverick." I looked up "maverick" on Wikipedia, and here's what I learned:

Samuel Augustus Maverick (July 23, 1803–September 2, 1870) was a Texas lawyer, politician, land baron and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. His name is the source of the term "maverick", first cited in 1867, which means independent minded. Maverick was considered independent minded by his fellow ranchers because he refused to brand his cattle. In fact, Maverick's failure to brand his cattle had little to do with independent mindedness, but reflected his lack of interest in ranching. He is the grandfather of U.S. Congressman Maury Maverick, who coined the term gobbledygook (1944).

Hmmm...the connection to Texas and gobbledygook seems very apropos.

I enjoyed clicking into Daughter Number Three's play-by-play of the debate, and especially liked this laugh-out-loud observation at 9:25, quoting McCain: "The same opportunity you and I and Cindy and your wife have had." Guess McCain is for same-sex marriage after all.'

And I thought Hillary was outstanding in her after-debate comments on CNN. Interesting how she insisted that she wants to remain in the Senate: she'll be the lioness of the Senate now.